UAE man pays $6.45 million for three camels

DUBAI:  An Emirati splurged a whopping 24 million dirhams ($6.47 million) for three camels, including one which cost $2.72 million, at an auction in the desert near Abu Dhabi, an AFP photographer said.

The auction was held Tuesday at the Dhafra Festival for Camels and was attended by the biggest camel owners in the Gulf, among them princes and tribal dignitaries.

The other two camels cost United Arab Emirates national Hamdan bin Ghanem around $2.4 million and $1.35 million respectively.

Citizens of Gulf countries are passionate about camel racing, which is considered a national sport and tradition.

At the festival, competitions are held for the best camel meat and camel milk dishes, and for the best poem written about camels.

Iran successfully fires satellite rocket: reports

TEHRAN:  Iran successfully fired on Wednesday a home-built satellite rocket, Kavoshgar 3, carrying an "experimental capsule," state-owned al-Alam television reported, giving no further details.

The move, a part of celebrations marking the 31st anniversary of the founding of the Islamic revolution, may worry Western powers who fear Tehran is seeking to build a nuclear bomb and missile delivery systems.

Western nations are concerned that the long-range ballistic technology used to put satellites into orbit can also be used to launch warheads, although Iran says it has no plans to do so.

TV reports showed footage of a rocket blasting off from a launch-pad.

Iranian media said earlier the Islamic Republic would on Wednesday unveil three new satellites and another satellite carrier, named Simorgh.

Exactly one year ago, Iran launched a domestically made satellite into orbit for the first time. It has said the launch of the Omid satellite was for peaceful telecommunications and research purposes.

Iran, the world's fifth-largest oil exporter, says its nuclear program is solely to generate electricity, and Ahmadinejad said on Tuesday Iran was ready to send its enriched uranium abroad in exchange for nuclear fuel.

In December, Iran said it test-fired a long-range, upgraded Sejil 2 missile. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown at the time said the launch was of serious concern to the international community and underlined the case for tougher sanctions.

3 US soldiers among 9 killed

PAKISTAN: Nine persons including 3 foreigners were killed and 65 others wounded in a bomb blast in tehsil Balambat of lower Dir.

The blast occurred in the roadside bombing in Koto village, about 10 kilometers (six miles) from Taimargara, the main town in lower Dir district. The explosion also damaged the girls’ school building.

According to US news agency, three US soldiers attached with the Frontier Corps (FC) as trainer were killed in the blast. Three girls students, a security man and two civilians were also killed in the blast. Sixty-five persons including 40 girls’ students sustained injuries in the incident. The bodies and injured were shifted to district headquarters hospital Timargara. Security forces have cordoned off the area.