Female suicide bombers kill 37 in Moscow metro

MOSCOW: Explosions detonated by two female suicide bombers killed at least 37 people and injured dozens more on two packed Moscow metro trains in the morning rush hour on Monday, officials said.

It was the worst attack in the Russian capital for six years.

President Dmitry Medvedev said that Russia will fight terror without hesitation and to the end, ordering security to be stepped up on transport across the country.

"The policy to suppress terrorism in our country and the fight with terrorism will be continued," Russian news agencies quoted Medvedev as telling an emergency meeting convened after the twin blasts.

"We will continue the operation against terrorists without hesitation and until the end," he added.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said that the "terrorists" responsible for the twin suicide bomb attacks in the Moscow metro will be caught and "destroyed."

"I am sure that law enforcement agencies will do everything to find and punish the criminals" who carried out the attack, Russian news agencies quoted Putin as saying during a visit to the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the blasts but suspicion fell on groups from Russia's North Caucasus, where the Kremlin is fighting a growing Islamist insurgency.

But the head of the Federal Security Service, Alexander Bortnikov, said the two suicide bombers were likely from Russia's mainly Muslim North Caucasus region.

The first blast tore through the second carriage of a train as it stood at the Lubyanka metro station, close to the headquarters of Russia's main domestic security service (FSB), at 0756 (0356 GMT), killing 25 people.

Another blast wrecked the second carriage of a train waiting at the Park Kultury metro station at 0837 (0437 GMT), killing 12 more people, an Emergencies Ministry spokeswoman said.

"The blast hit the second carriage of a metro train that stopped at Lubyanka, at 0756 (0356 GMT)," ministry spokeswoman Irina Andrianova told Reuters.

She said there were killed both inside the carriage and on the platform. The stations were packed with rush hour commuters.

"Two female terrorist suicide bombers carried out these bombings," Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov told reporters at Park Kultury metro station.

Surveillance camera footage posted on the Internet showed bodies lying in Lubyanka station lobby and emergency workers treating victims.

The current death toll makes it the worst attack on Moscow since February 2004, when a suicide bombing killed at least 39 people and wounded more than 100 on a metro train.

Chechen separatists were blamed for that attack.

Earth Hour 2010: 60 Minutes of Helping Mother Earth

NEWS:  The global event organized by World Widelife Fund or WWF will be held tonight. It is expected that millions of people will join in this event all over the world by simply turning off the lights and other electrical equipments for sixty minutes. This is the way to raise the awareness and send the message to the people about the climate change due to global warming.

The Earth Hour 2010 will take place on this day, 8:30 PM to 9:30 PM local time. There are more than 90 countries around the world who will participate to this event. From America, Europe, Asia and Australia and other continents, cities, towns and iconic places will cooperate for this world wide campaign.

Join the Earth Hour tonight and get involved to raise the awareness at help to stop nor minimize the cause of global warming. What time is Earth Hour? It is just less than 1 hour and 30 minutes.

Heavy motorbike race held on Lahore-Islamabad motorway

PAKISTAN: A heavy motorbike race was held for the first time on the Lahore-Islamabad motorway on Tuesday.

Fifty motorcycle riders participated in the race which ranged from Toll plaza Lahore to Bhera.

Federal ministers Samsam Bukhari and Imtiaz Safdar Waraich and IG-Motorway Dr Waseem Kausar also witnessed the race.

Motorcycles from 600cc to 1837cc were included in the race.

Punjab minister for local bodies Dost Mohammad Khosa also took part in the race and rode on a 1300 cc motorcycle.

Youth interested in heavy motorcycle race participated from all over the country.

India to buy drones from Israel

NEW DELHI:  India will buy spy drones from Israel.  According to Indian media reports, in a contract inked with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) a few days ago, India has ordered a few more `Heron' MALE (medium-altitude, long endurance) drones, ground control systems and data terminals for around Rs 700 crore, defence ministry sources said.

Under the latest deal, Indian Navy will now get two more Herons to add to its UAV fleet of eight Searcher-II and four Herons, which are being used for maritime surveillance up to 200 nautical miles.

There is also the ongoing Rs 1,163 crore joint IAI-DRDO project for NRUAVs (naval rotary UAVs) or unmanned helicopters operating from warship decks for advanced ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) missions.

Indian Army is also going in for two more `troops' (8 birds each) of advanced Heron UAVs for Rs 1,118 crore after the Defence Acquisitions Council approved it in February 2009.

No change in policy on Jerusalem: Israel

 Palestinians:  Israeli policy on Jerusalem remains unchanged, the prime minister's office said on Friday, one day after the premier returned from Washington where he faced pressure to freeze settlements.

"The prime minister's position is that there is no change in Israel's policy on Jerusalem that has been pursued by all governments of Israel for the last 42 years," Prime Minister Benjamin Netayahu's office said in a statement.

Israel insists a partial moratorium on settlement building it imposed in the occupied West Bank cannot be extended to east Jerusalem as it considers the entire city its "eternal and indivisible" capital.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for Netanyahu said on Friday the United States had not agreed to further Israeli construction in East Jerusalem, clarifying a comment made by another aide.

Spokesman Mark Regev said that when Nir Hefez said understandings had been reached, he was "articulating the Israeli position, he is not articulating a joint position."

Netanyahu's spokesman Nir Hefez told Army radio the day after their return from a troubled U.S. visit that Netanyahu had reached a "list of understandings" on policy toward Palestinians with President Barack Obama in their talks in Washington.

But "there were additional points still in disagreement between the sides," Hefez added.

The Americans have reportedly given Netanyahu a series of demands needed to kickstart moribund peace talks with the Palestinians.

Netanyahu will meet his inner forum of seven senior ministers to draw up Israel's response to Washington, Cabinet Secretary Zvi Hauser told public radio on Friday, denying media reports the United States had given Israel a deadline.

"I suggest you wait patiently. The forum of seven is meeting today in the afternoon to discuss things. If there is a necessity for further discussions they will happen," Hauser told the radio.

"All aspects of the issue will be examined and they will formulate Israel's position according to Israel's interests and in the time needed to do so," he said.

Palestinians have demanded a complete Israeli settlement freeze in occupied land including East Jerusalem and the West Bank. Israel sees all of Jerusalem as its capital, a claim that is not recognized internationally.

The Obama administration had also objected to Israel's latest settlement plans for East Jerusalem, including a blueprint for 1,600 housing units published while Vice President Joe Biden was visiting, igniting new controversy this month.

Hefez said that despite these differences, Obama and Netanyahu had agreed in 90 minutes of talks in Washington on Wednesday that Israeli "construction policy in Jerusalem doesn't change."

Netanyahu left Washington after a three-day visit on Thursday, "with a list of understandings and additional points that are still in disagreement between the sides regarding how to renew the talks with the Palestinians," Hefez said.

Hefez's comments seemed to conflict with indications from U.S. officials they had sought to coax Israel into suspending further East Jerusalem projects and discussing core issues such as borders and the status of Jerusalem in indirect talks Washington seeks with Israel and the Palestinians.

Obama's spokesman Robert Gibbs said he had asked Netanyahu to take steps to build confidence for proximity talks so that progress can be made toward comprehensive peace.

"I think we're making progress on important issues. But nothing more on substance to report than that," Gibbs said on Thursday.

Gibbs also said U.S. officials wanted clarification about any further building in Jerusalem, after a city official on Wednesday said final approval had been given to develop a neighborhood from which Palestinians were evicted last year.

Palestinians said they had no indication of any agreement reached in Obama's talks with Netanyahu about renewing negotiations.

"There is absolutely nothing new, as of this moment, regarding the situation facing the peace process," Nabil Abu Rdainah, an aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, told Reuters on Thursday.

Israeli may be held by Qaeda in Algeria: report

DUBAI :  An Israeli man who disappeared in Algeria nearly a week ago may have been kidnapped by Al Qaeda's North African wing, an Arabic daily said on Friday.

Asharq al-Awsat, citing what it described as "informed sources, "said the Israeli man entered Algeria with a Spanish passport and disappeared in Hassi Messaoud, 800 kilometer (500 miles) south of the capital Algiers.

News of the possible kidnapping comes a day after Osama bin Laden threatened Qaeda would kill any Americans it takes prisoner if accused Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is put to death.

"Investigators think it is likely that he was kidnapped by the Qaeda in the Islamist Maghreb (AQIM)," the newspaper quoted the sources as saying.

"It is unclear so far whether the Israeli is dual-national or his Spanish passport was forged. It is also unclear why he was in the desert and how he entered the country."

Western countries say that unless the region's fractious governments join forces to fight the insurgents, Qaeda could turn the Sahara desert into a safe haven along the lines of Yemen and Somalia and use it to launch large-scale attacks.

China dissidents among record 237 Nobel contenders

OSLO: A record 237 candidates are in the running for this year's Nobel Peace Prize, the Nobel Institute said, with Chinese dissidents and the founders of the Internet known to be on the list.

"The final number of candidates is 237, including 38 organisations," Geir Lundestad, the head of the Nobel Institute, said.

That, he said "is the highest number we've ever had," exceeding the previous record of 205 candidates for last year's prize, which to widespread surprise went to US President Barack Obama.

The names of nominees are kept secret by the institute for 50 years. But those who are entitled to nominate are allowed to reveal the name of the person or organisation they have proposed, if they wish to do so.

A number of Chinese dissidents are thus known to figure on this year's list, including Liu Xiaobo, who was recently sentenced to 11 years in prison for co-authoring a manifesto calling for political reform in China.

Other dissidents on the list, including Hu Jia, Gao Shisheng, Chen Guangcheng, Bao Tong and Rebiya Kadeer, the exiled leader of the Chinese Uighur minority.

A win by any critic of the Chinese regime would certainly provoke rapid condemnation from Beijing, which reacts vehemently each time a Chinese dissident is mentioned as a candidate and which in the past has warned the Norwegian Nobel Committee not to interfere in China's internal affairs.

Russian human rights group Memorial and its founding member Svetlana Gannushkina have also been nominated for the prestigious prize, as has the International Space Station.

Other nominees include three people widely regarded as the creators of the Internet: Americans Larry Roberts and Vint Cerf and Britain's Tim Berners-Lee, whose inventions gave rise to sites like Twitter that helped unite opposition demonstrators in Iran.

Israeli nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu, who has long figured among the candidates, is also in the running for the 2010 prize despite his appeal to be removed from the list.

"Attention surrounding the Nobel Peace Prize keeps growing and awarding the prize to Barack Obama last year may have increased interest," Lundestad said, explaining the record number of candidates this year.

Figuring on the growing list in no way means a person or organisation has the blessing of the five-member Nobel Committee that awards the prize however, according to the Nobel Institute.

Thousands of people are eligible to submit nominations, including members of parliament and government worldwide, university professors, previous laureates and members of several international institutes.

The Nobel Committee that awards the prize is also eligible to nominate candidates.

After the Obama "bombshell" last year, observers are expecting a more conventional prize winner this year, said head of the International Peace Research Institute in Oslo (PRIO) Krisian Berg Harpviken.

"The 2010 peace prize is most likely to be awarded to a candidate who has made a significant contribution to the prevention, amelioration or resolution of armed conflict, in line with the spirit of Alfred Nobel's will," he wrote on the Prio website.

"Unlike 2009, however, the recipient of this year's prize is probably not going to be somebody who is a household name around the globe," he added.

His picks included the Special Court for Sierra Leone, woman doctor and head of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission Sima Samar, and American Gene Sharp, the founder of a non-profit group devoted to studying and promoting the use of nonviolent action.

The name of the winner will be announced in early October, and the award will be presented at a formal ceremony held -- as tradition dictates -- on December 10.

Japan's spouse hunters hone skills at marriage school

TOKYO: In search of Mr. or Mrs. Right, dozens of Japanese are attending a newly launched school in Tokyo that aims turn them into marriage material.

The Infini school offers various classes for wannabe brides and grooms at a time when many people in Japan are either shunning the institution of marriage or are finding it very difficult to hook up with a partner.

The school, which is open to men and women, teaches students how to talk, walk and present themselves elegantly in a bid to capture the hearts and minds of prospective partners and their parents, who are often a major obstacle to successful unions.

Infini, which opened last month, now has about 30 female students. An almost equal number of males has signed up, but those who actually turn up to class are much fewer than their female counterparts.

Instructors provide critiques about students' dress, posture and even details such as how they cross their legs or get out of a car. Men and men are taught different skills, which range from how to set a table well to how to be more emotionally expressive.

Students also simulate dates, during which their instructors grade their performance and point out what they did wrong.

The school charges an annual fee of 200,000 yen ($2,217) for unlimited access to its classes.

Bill Gates no longer world's richest

NEW YORK:  billionaire Bill Gates is no longer the world's richest man. That title now belongs to Mexico's telecom titan Carlos Slim Helu, according to Forbes magazine's annual list of the world's richest people unveiled on Wednesday.

Forbes says the improving global economy has pushed up the number of billionaires from 793 last year to 1,011 in 2010.

Carlos Slim added $18.5 billion (USD) to his fortune last year and has a net worth of $53.5 billion (USD), according to the list. This is the first time since 1994 that a person from outside the United States has held the title of "world's richest person".

"Carlos Slim is very dominant in the Mexican economy. He foresaw the rise of communications, so cell phones he embraced, but he's also into more nitty gritty businesses like cement, and he's put together quite an empire," says Steve Forbes, the magazine's editor-in-chief.

Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates slips to number two on the list with a net worth of $53 billion (USD), and Berkshire Hathaway's Warren Buffett comes in at number three with a net worth of $47 billion (USD). Both Gates and Buffett have given billions of dollars to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

"The gap between Bill Gates and Carlos Slim is a very narrow one. Carlos Slim is ahead by about 500 million, which in that atmosphere is pretty close, about 53 and a half billion to 53 billion. But if Bill Gates was truly interested in just being number one, he would not have given away so much money, same with Warren Buffett. They have given away tens of billions of dollars, and Warren Buffett has made it very clear that in the years ahead most of his wealth is going to go to the foundation that was started by Bill Gates and his wife," said Forbes.

India's Mukesh Ambani and Lakshmi Mittal round out the top five with a net worth of $29 billion (USD) and $28.7 billion (USD) respectively.

Ambani's Reliance Industries Limited is the largest private business in India, dealing in petrochemicals, oil and gas, and Lakshmi's ArcelorMittal is one of the world's biggest steel companies.

Forbes magazine generated its billionaire's list on February 12, 2010. Forbes says the list is a global snapshot of where money is being made and where it is being lost.

"The Forbes billionaire list, the ups and downs, the expansions and subtractions reflect what is happening in the economy. These represent entrepreneurs around the world, most of them are people who created their own businesses," said Forbes.

55 countries are represented on the billionaire list, with Pakistan and Finland adding their first billionaires and Iceland losing its super wealthy, says Forbes.

The United States continues to have the most billionaires at 403.

Crediting the improving global economy, Forbes says 97 new billionaires were added to the list this year, including 62 new billionaires from Asia.

"I think even though we knew Asia and some other countries were relatively doing better than the United States, this makes it very graphic, when you see the number of billionaires in South Korea go from 4 to 11, Turkey from 13 to 28, China 28 to 64, Taiwan 5 to 18, underscores that this is a region that is once again on the move," added Forbes.

The world's youngest billionaire is 25 year old Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg with a net worth of $4 billion (USD).

Forbes says Zuckerberg's net worth has quadrupled in the past year. His Facebook social networking website is valued at more than 15 billion (USD).

This is the 24th year of the annual list.

FOAM CITY PIC

ElBaradei free to seek presidency: Mubarak

BERLIN:  Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said on Thursday that former U.N. nuclear chief Mohamed ElBaradei was welcome to run for the presidency if he wants, but tartly dismissed any suggestion that he was a national hero.

Mubarak, who has ruled for almost three decades, made the comments on a visit to Germany, during which he will undergo medical tests, the official Egyptian news agency MENA reported.

ElBaradei, one of Egypt's best-known international figures after leading the International Atomic Energy Agency, arrived home last month to an exuberant reception from his supporters who want him to run for president in 2011.

"If he wants to join any political party as a citizen, he can do so. We do not have any restrictions on this. If he wants to run as an independent, he is also welcome," Mubarak told a news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin.

Analysts say election rules make it almost impossible for any candidate to stage a realistic challenge against the one nominated by Mubarak's ruling National Democratic Party (NDP).

ElBaradei leads a coalition of opposition parties and other activists set up last week to press for political reform. He has garnered tens of thousands of supporters on Facebook and other sites backing him.