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S. Lanka president confirms 30-month jail for Fonseka

COLOMBO (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s president confirmed a 30-month jail term for his ex-army chief Sarath Fonseka who led troops to victory over Tamil rebels and ended a decades-long civil war, officials said Thursday.
Fonseka fell out with President Mahinda Rajapakse over who should take credit for defeating the Tamil Tigers in May last year, and [...]

Read More » No commentSeptember 30, 2010

Pakistan relieved over Butt apology

KARACHI (AFP) – Pakistan’s cricket community expressed hope Thursday that by withdrawing match-fixing accusations against England, national cricket chairman Ijaz Butt can help repair ill feeling between the countries.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman had claimed England players were paid “enormous amounts of money” to lose The Oval match in a series the hosts ultimately [...]

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3 Japanese freed by China as dispute winds down

BEIJING – China on Thursday released three Japanese detained after allegedly entering a restricted Chinese military zone, as tensions over a maritime dispute began to unwind.
The three were freed after admitting to violating Chinese law but a fourth, identified as Sadamu Takahashi, remained under house arrest and was being investigated for illegally videotaping military targets, [...]

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NKorea heir apparent appears in state-run paper

SEOUL, South Korea – North Korean state media published the first official images Thursday of Kim Jong Un, the youngest son of leader Kim Jong Il and heir apparent of the impoverished, nuclear-armed state.
A photo of senior Workers’ Party officials appeared on the front page of Thursday’s edition of the authoritarian regime’s main Rodong Sinmun [...]

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India braces for violence amid holy site verdict

LUCKNOW, India – India sent hundreds of thousands of troops into the streets Thursday as it braced for a potential eruption of violence ahead of a court decision on whether Hindus or Muslims should control a disputed holy site.
The conflict over the compound in the town of Ayodhya, 350 miles (550 kilometers) east of New [...]

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Inter-Korean military talks end with no progress

SEOUL, South Korea – North and South Korea ended their first working-level military talks in two years Thursday with no progress as the meeting stumbled over the deadly sinking of a South Korean warship blamed on Pyongyang, Seoul’s Defense Ministry said.
The rare encounter came hours after Pyongyang vowed to strengthen its nuclear deterrent in response [...]

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Indonesia cancels tsunami alert after major quake

JAKARTA (AFP) – Indonesia on Thursday cancelled a tsunami alert issued after a major quake struck off West Papua, the national geophysics agency said.
The Indonesian Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency measured the earthquake at 7.4 while the US Geological Survey recorded two closely spaced quakes measuring 6.6 and 7.2.
“The tsunami alert has been lifted and [...]

Read More » 1 commentSeptember 30, 2010

Major 7.2 quake hits eastern Indonesia: USGS

JAKARTA (AFP) – A major 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit off the coast of Papua in eastern Indonesia Thursday, the US Geological Survey said, following shortly after a 6.6 magnitude one in the same area.
Indonesia on Thursday issued a tsunami alert following the major quake which struck off West Papua, the national geophysics agency said. — [...]

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Ijaz Butt withdraws England allegations

LONDON (AFP) – Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ijaz Butt said Wednesday he was withdrawing comments alleging England players had ‘thrown’ this month’s third one-day international at The Oval.
Butt had claimed England players were paid “enormous amounts of money” to lose The Oval match in a series the hosts ultimately won 3-2.
The England and Wales Cricket [...]

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Vuvuzelas making a comeback, at Commonwealth Games

NEW DELHI – The Commonwealth Games could end up sounding an awful lot like the football World Cup.
Vuvuzelas, the long plastic horns that created a constant din — and plenty of debate — at games during this year’s World Cup in South Africa, are on sale in New Delhi, and they have been selling steadily [...]

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