65 percent Pakistanis want trial of Pervez Musharraf :

ISLAMABAD: The Gallup survey (Pakistan) Tuesday revealed that 63 per cent people rejoice over President Musharraf’s resignation, while only 15 per cent regret it. “20 per cent were ambivalent about saying they were neither happy or unhappy”, the survey added.The majority of Pakistanis, 64 per cent, also reject his claims of economic accomplishments and good government during his last nine-year tenure.

Surveys have shown that, rightly or wrongly, majority of Pakistanis attribute current economic crisis and inflation to bad policies of Musharraf regime.The majority of Pakistanis take a pessimistic view of the past nine years, 70 per cent said it was bad or vary bad and only 18 per cent said it was good or very good. The remaining did not give a view.

As his tenure comes to an end, 55 per cent Pakistanis expect that conditions in the country would improve with Musharraf’s resignation, 19 per cent take a pessimistic view said conditions will worsen; 19 per cent expect no change.Although there is uncertainty as to whether charges will be pressed against the former President, for suspending the constitution among others things, 65 per cent support holding a proper trial while only 26 per cent are in favor of the “forgive and forget” option.On the issues of restoring deposed judges, 85 per cent want Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry and other judges to be restored immediately, 6 per cent oppose restoration, while 9 per cent advise not to take up the issue right now.

Asif fails again to clear dope test :

Asif fails again to clear dope test

KARACHI: Pakistani fast bowler Mohammad Asif failed again to clear his dope test and his 'B' sample has tested positive for the banned steroid nandrolone. However, this is strange to note in this case that the quantity of nandrolone was 6.2 in the previous test but this is time it is 5.4.Mohammad Asif said that he would challenge on this basis that how the quantity of nandrolone varied as the tests were taken at the same time. The 25-year-old fast bowler tested positive during the Indian Premier League competition held between April and June, and the Pakistan Cricket Board suspended him in July on the basis of his first sample.Asif tested positive for nandrolone in 2006 along with fellow paceman Shoaib Akhtar. He was banned for one year and Akhtar for two, but the bans were overturned on appeal.

Suicide bomber kills 30 in D I Khan, Taliban claim responsibility :

D. I. KHAN: A powerful suicide blast ripped through the crowded emergency ward of district Headquarters Hospital here Tuesday, killing at least 30 people and wounding many others.

IGP NWFP Malik Naveed told reporters that the blast took place when activists of a religious sect and relatives of victim, Basit Shah who was shot dead by unknown gunmen near Faqiri gate here, were gathered at gate of emergency ward of the hospital to protest the cold bloo ... Full Story

Families to get cholesterol tests :

The UK is expected to endorse the screening of families for an inherited cholesterol disorder which increases the risk of heart disease.
Final guidance due next week is tipped to recommend that children of people with familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) should be tested by the age of 10.
FH affects one in 500 people in the UK, or 110,000 people, yet only 20% of cases are currently diagnosed.
Siblings and children of people with FH have a 50% risk of inheriting it.

Big Brother star Goody has cancer :

Reality TV star Jade Goody has been diagnosed with cervical cancer, her publicist has confirmed.
The 27-year-old had been appearing in an Indian version of Big Brother, called Bigg Boss.
Max Clifford told BBC Radio 1's Newsbeat Goody was "extremely upset and frightened and will be back as soon as they can get her on a plane".
Show producers confirmed Goody had left the house for "medical reasons". She is due to arrive back in the UK later.
"Jade had some tests recently, then she went off to India to appear in the Indian Big Brother," Mr Clifford said.
"Yesterday we got a call from her consultant to say she had cancer of the cervix and so she has to come back straight away."

Wild dolphins tail-walk on water :

A wild dolphin is apparently teaching other members of her group to walk on their tails, a behaviour usually seen only after training in captivity.
The tail-walking group lives along the south Australian coast near Adelaide.
One of them spent a short time after illness in a dolphinarium 20 years ago and may have picked up the trick there.
Scientists studying the group say tail-walk tuition has not been seen before, and suggest the habit may emerge as a form of "culture" among this group.
"We can't for the life of us work out why they do it," said Mike Bossley from the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS), one of the scientists who have been monitoring the group on the Port River estuary.
"We're doing systematic observations now to determine if there's something that may trigger it, but so far we haven't found anything," he told BBC News.

Zambia's president dies in France :

Zambia's leader Levy Mwanawasa, 59, has died in a Paris hospital after suffering a stroke in June.
Vice-President Rupiah Banda, who is expected to take over as acting leader, made the announcement on state TV.
President Mwanawasa suffered a stroke at an African Union summit in Egypt and was then flown to France, where he had remained in hospital.
He came to prominence recently for being one of the African leaders most critical of the violence in Zimbabwe.
Mr Mwanawasa's health was an issue during his presidency.
In April 2006, he suffered a minor stroke four months before general elections.

Afghan ambush kills French troops :

Ten French soldiers have been killed in an ambush by Taleban fighters east of the Afghan capital, Kabul.
A further 21 French troops were wounded in one of the heaviest tolls suffered by the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf).
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has announced he will travel to Kabul to assure troops of his support.
The deaths come amid warnings that insurgents are closing in on the capital city.
The loss of life is thought to be the heaviest suffered by the French military since 58 paratroopers were killed in Beirut in 1983.
The BBC's Emma-Jane Kirby, in Paris, says news of the deaths is bound to provoke anger in France, where about two-thirds of people say they are opposed to any French involvement in the conflict.
But President Sarkozy insisted France remained committed to the fight against terrorism, and that the mission in Afghanistan would continue.

Decision on deposed judges today: Naek

ISLAMABAD: Federal Law Minister Farooq H. Naek said Tuesday that decision regarding restoration of deposed judges would be taken today (Tuesday). Talking to media, he said leaders of the ruling coalition would decide on president’s accountability. About impeachment, he said, “Pervez Musharraf has resigned as president so there is no question of impeachment motion.”

Musharraf free to go anywhere including U.S: Boucher

WASHINGTON: Richard Boucher, the US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia said that US government would not raise any objection if the former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, after his stepping down from presidency, resolves to settle anywhere in the world including America.

This he said while talking to a senior journalist in a segment “Khabron Se Agey” of Geo T.V program “Voice of America”.Referring to Musharraf’s past role in war on terror that is said to have declined his popularity among masses he said, that was his own decision and the current government of Pakistan is committed to follow the footsteps of ex-president of Pakistan in war on terror. Responding to a question regarding Dr. Aafia Siddiqi he said that, US army apprehended her on 17 July this year as she was charged with firing on US army however only she can reveal as to where she remained for past five years.US forces did not torture Aafia and such reports are baseless, he added.

In pictures: Musharraf's career :

Jade enters the Indian BB house :

Reality TV star Jade Goody has spent her first night on the Indian version of Celebrity Big Brother.
It comes 18 months after the 27-year-old was accused of racism towards Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty in the UK show.
Goody told Indian audiences before she went in to the house the incident with Shetty was "in the past" and that she was "not proud of it".
Shetty takes Davina McCall's role on the Indian show, known as Bigg Boss.
"I know I have behaved wrongly but that was my yesterday," Goody said.
"Today, I have changed for the better and I am here to prove it. I am determined to be myself and win everyone's heart."

Lennox recovers from back surgery :

Singer Annie Lennox has undergone an operation on her spine following a back injury, the star's spokesman has said.
The former Eurythmics singer was forced to leave an Aids conference in Mexico early after suffering a back spasm.
The 53-year-old said she "felt a bit like Elizabeth Taylor" as she was wheeled off the plane in the UK.
Her spokesman said the surgery to release an impinged nerve went as planned, and the Aberdeen-born singer was now recovering at her London home.
Writing in an earlier blog posting before her operation, she said the spasm had left her in "more pain than I've ever experienced in my life".
It also made her left foot completely numb.
Lennox said she was now recovering in bed "with my left foot like a dead fish, freezing and numb".
The release of her forthcoming album, a retrospective of 14 songs due next month, has been postponed until next year.
She added: "Some of my plans and schemes have had to be put on hold, because there's not much I can do if I can't walk properly."

Apple launches iPhone bug fix :

Apple has released a software update aimed at fixing bugs in its new 3G iPhone, which will hopefully improve 3G reception and end dropped calls.
Apple has not specified which bugs are being targeted. Calls seeking clarification were not returned.
"The information Apple gives is vague," said Josh Pigford, of the Apple Blog. "We're guessing it will sort problems like 3G glitches and lost calls."
Some users have complained of problems with 3G access and connectivity.
Chris Neher, of MacDailyNews.com, said there was nothing new in Apple's lack of comment on the subject. He added: "This is the way Apple handles these issues."

Clipboards hijacked in web attack :

Computer security firms are warning about an attack that hijacks the clipboard where copied text is stored.
The attack puts a hard-to-delete weblink into the clipboard that, if followed, leads people to a website selling fake security software.
The code that inserts the link has been found in flash-based adverts seen on many legitimate websites.
The attack on the clipboard has hit both Windows and Mac users of the Firefox web browser.

Game sharers face legal crackdown :

A British woman who put a game on a file-sharing network has been ordered to pay damages to the game's creator.
Topware Interactive has won more than £16,000 following legal action against the woman who shared a copy of Dream Pinball 3D.
Damage awards from cases against three other suspected sharers of the game are also pending.
The test cases could kick off thousands more against other Britons suspected of sharing the same title online.
'Thousands' more
In the case heard at London's Patents County Court the game maker won damages of £6,086.56 plus costs of £10,000.
"The damages and costs ordered by the Court are significant and should act as a deterrent," said David Gore, a partner at Davenport Lyons who acted for Topware.
He added: "This shows that taking direct steps against infringers is an important and effective weapon in the battle against online piracy."

Australian plea for 'ugly' women :

The mayor of a remote Australian mining town has come under fire after saying that female "ugly ducklings" might benefit from its shortage of women.
John Molony told a newspaper last week that "with five blokes to every girl, may I suggest that beauty-disadvantaged women should proceed to Mount Isa".
The council has since been swamped with complaints from both men and women.
But Mr Molony has refused to apologise for the remarks, saying he was "telling it like it is" in the Queensland town.
Located 1,829km (1,136 miles) from Brisbane, Mount Isa is home to one of the world's biggest underground mines.
In 2006, there were just 819 women aged 20-24 living there out of a total population of 21,421, according to the most recent census.
'Lonely women'
In an interview with the Townsville Bulletin last week, Mr Molony proposed a novel solution to Mount Isa's shortage of eligible women.

The Banana Splits in TV comeback :

Children's TV classic The Banana Splits is getting a modern makeover.
Fleegle, Bingo, Drooper and Snorky are to star in new comedy shorts and music videos on the Cartoon Network in the US, and its website, from September.
A series of DVDs, live concerts, music CDs, and online games from the anarchic crew are expected to follow.
"Everything that made The Banana Splits popular in the '60s is back, including the group's terrific humour and music," said Jordan Sollitto, of Warner Bros.
"We take great pride in having carefully updated the look and feel of the original show for today's kids while retaining all of the elements that made the original Banana Splits such a hit."
The Banana Splits came onto the scene in 1968 as hosts of The Banana Splits Adventure Hour, a show created by Hanna-Barbera that featured comedy and music videos.
They are a costumed rock band made up of Fleegle (a dog), Drooper (a lion), Bingo (a gorilla) and Snorky (an elephant) who hang out in their Banana Pad while playing music and telling jokes.
The show's theme song, The Tra La La Song, quickly became a classic.
The new shorts share the same "groovy" look of the original TV series.

Florida braced for tropical storm :

The US state of Florida is braced for Tropical Storm Fay, which is thought to have claimed dozens of lives on its rampage through the Caribbean.
Forecasters warned Fay could reach hurricane force as it approached the Florida peninsula.
The storm's centre has already crossed Florida Key West with winds near 60mph (97km/h), flooding some roads.
Florida's Governor Charlie Crist warned that Fay threatened a "major disaster", but he insisted the state was prepared.
With a state of emergency in place, Mr Crist said some 500 national guard members had been deployed, with another 8,500 on standby.
The US National Hurricane Center said the storm still had the potential to top sustained winds of 74 mph (119 km/h) by the time it hits the west coast of Florida early on Tuesday.
Across Florida at least 22 school districts, a number of colleges and a university have cancelled classes.

Nato holds Georgia crisis summit :

Nato foreign ministers are gathering in Brussels for an emergency summit to discuss how the alliance should respond to Russia's military action in Georgia.
On the eve of the meeting, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the West must deprive Russia of any strategic victory from its assault on Georgia.
But major differences remain among Nato members as to how far they should go in seeking to punish Russia, analysts say.
Moscow denies Tbilisi's claims Russian troops are not pulling out, as pledged.