US keeping a close eye on situation in Pakistan: Admiral Mullen

WASHINGTON: US chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Admiral Mike Mullen has said that Pakistan Army Chief, Gen.

Ashfaq Pervez Kayani knows well “what is best for Pakistan” and what are its needs and problems.Talking to media here at Pentagon, Admiral Mullen said US is keeping a close eye on developments taking place in Pakistan and the ways to prevent the situation from getting worse. This what US mission is all about, he added.He termed Pakistan an important ally in war on terror and that the US-Pakistan military ties of are of strategic nature.Admiral Mike Mullen said that now the right way of approaching Pakistan is through the newly elected democratic government.Now we should look ahead of president Musharraf who no longer holds the office of the head of state, he asserted.

Several injured in Kohat attempted suicide attack :

KOHAT: Several people have been wounded in an attempted suicide attack at security forces camp in Kohat on Friday.According to reports, an explosive-laden vehicle has reached at the gate of security forces camp in north of Kohat tunnel that was exploded by the firing of security forces. Eighteen security men were injured in the blast. The wounded have been shifted to CMH Kohat where two were reported in a critical state. Meanwhile, Kohat tunnel has been closed for traffic.

Pitt and Clooney at Venice debut :

The Venice Film Festival has opened with the premiere of the Coen brothers' dark comedy Burn After Reading.
The film, starring George Clooney and Brad Pitt, is showing out of the competition at the annual event.
Before the screening, the stars posed good-naturedly for pictures and signed autograph books for fans lining up along the red carpet.
There are 21 movies competing for the coveted Golden Lion this year, with entries from Ethiopia and Turkey.
The festival continues with a fly-on -the-wall film about fashion designer Valentino Garavani - billed as a glimpse into a world of bygone glamour.
The movie was directed and produced by special correspondent for Vanity Fair magazine, Matt Tyrnauer.

Internet Explorer gets makeover :

Microsoft has released the second "beta" or test version of its latest browser Internet Explorer 8 (IE8).
It remains unclear when a final version of the program will be shipped, with the test version currently available for download.
IE8 offers a few surprises compared to the initial beta version released in March.
New features will include improved privacy and search functions, and ways to keep track of portions of web pages.
The release debuts two functions that were not available in the March release. However, many in the blogosphere have noted that several of the improvements in IE8 have been available on other browsers for some time.

Obama launches historic campaign :

Barack Obama has accepted the Democratic Party's historic nomination to run for president of the US in front of a crowd of some 75,000 people.
In an address at the party's national convention in Denver, he promised he would do his best to keep alive the American dream of opportunity for all.
"America, we are better than these last eight years," he told cheering crowds. "We are a better country than this."
Mr Obama is the first African-American to be nominated by a major US party.
In his speech, Mr Obama promised to reverse the economic downturn afflicting the US and restore the nation's standing in the world.
He also attacked the record of the Bush administration and his Republican rival for the presidency, John McCain.

Leaking mushroom soup halts plane :

A Ryanair plane was forced to land in Germany after a passenger had an allergic reaction to mushroom soup.
The soup leaked onto the man from a jar in an overhead locker on a flight from Budapest to Dublin on Monday, the airline said.
His neck reportedly swelled up and he struggled to breathe, forcing the plane to divert for emergency medical help.
On the same day, another Ryanair flight had to make an unscheduled landing in France after losing cabin pressure.
A spokeswoman for Ryanair said the jar contained "a vegetable oil/mushroom soup type substance".
"It is procedure when a passenger requires medical attention to divert to the nearest airport," she said.
"The cabin crew and pilot take that decision."
The Boeing 737 landed at Frankfurt Hahn Airport where the man was treated by doctors.
The plane was delayed for two hours before continuing its journey to Dublin.

Putin blames US for Georgia role :

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has accused the US of provoking the conflict in Georgia, possibly for domestic election purposes.
Mr Putin told CNN US citizens were "in the area" during the conflict over South Ossetia and were "taking direct orders from their leaders".
He said his defence officials had told him the provocation was to benefit one of the US presidential candidates.
The White House dismissed the allegations as "not rational".
Georgia tried to retake the Russian-backed separatist region of South Ossetia this month by force after a series of clashes.
Russian forces subsequently launched a counter-attack and the conflict ended with the ejection of Georgian troops from both South Ossetia and another rebel region, Abkhazia, and an EU-brokered ceasefire.