Thabo Mbeki said that Sudan and South Sudan agree on oil deal

Sudan and South Sudan have reached an agreement on how to share the oil riches controlled by Khartoum before the country's partition, African Union mediator Thabo Mbeki has said.
"The parties have agreed on all of the financial arrangements regarding oil, so that's done," Mbeki told reporters on Saturday, without offering details.
Mbeki said the production and export of oil would resume, but did not confirm when.
"The oil will be flowing," he said, leaving an AU Peace and Security Council meeting in the Ethiopian capital.

Is US military have a culture of rape

Two US air force trainers have been sentenced in connection with a widening sexual abuse scandal at one of the busiest military training centers in the nation.
Investigators say at least 38 female trainees were victimised at the Lackland Air Force Base in the US state of Texas. Fifteen instructors have been implicated.

"The boys club mentality is not as overt as it was 30 years ago .... This only becomes a crisis when it gets out in public .... The whole process of victims feeling like they are victimised again by the system discourages reporting and keeps a lot of this under wrap." - Morris Davis, a retired US air force colonel who led the investigation into the sexual abuse scandal at the US Air Force Academy in 2003

Last year, nearly 3,200 rapes and sexual assaults were officially reported, but the Pentagon admits that represents just 15 per cent of all incidents.

Ultimatly Saina wins bronze

Saina Nehwal on Saturday created history by becoming the first Indian to win an Olympic Games bronze medal in badminton, though under fortuitous circumstances, as her world number two Chinese opponent retired from the play-off because of a knee injury.

The 22-year-old Saina was trailing 18-21, 0-1 in the high-voltage bronze medal play-off match when her second seeded opponent Xin Wang retired hurt, giving India an unexpected medal without having to sweat much.

After Cuba’s Leuris Pupo equalling world record-Vijay Kumar shoot silver

Army sharp shooter Vijay Kumar on Friday fought a nerve-wracking battle with five other top marksmen to clinch the silver medal in the men’s 25m Rapid Fire Pistol event at the Olympic Games.

Kumar beat back the challenge of world champion Alexei Klimov of Russia, Chinese duo of Ding Feng and Zhang Jian and German Christian Reitz in the 40-shot final to finish runner-up in a thrilling finale behind Cuba’s Leuris Pupo who shot his way to the gold with a world record equalling score of 34.

China slams Clinton remarks on Africa trip

China's official news agency hit back on Friday at suggestions by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that Beijing is only interested in Africa for its natural resources, adding a further layer of tension to already testy Sino-U.S. ties.
Speaking in Senegal earlier this week, Clinton did not name China, but said Washington wanted a "partnership that adds value, rather than extracts it", adding the days of outsiders taking Africa's wealth for themselves should be over.
Xinhua news agency hit back at Clinton's comments, saying her Africa trip was a "plot to sow discord between China (and) Africa".

Anna asure for fight for change

Team Anna on Friday said its political alternative will not compromise on corruption, holding their fight is for changing the system and not power.

“Anna is a hero of people. How long he can remain deaf to the voice of people? He has taken a decision to challenge the political class,” a statement posted on the India Against Corruption website said.

“Now, Team Anna is ready to enter the battlefield of politics. Now, Team Anna is ready to enter the battleground to take on government. Anna has said that he will not dilute his beliefs. The political alternative that will come up will not compromise on corruption. This fight is not for changing power but changing system,” it said.

The uncertaintity after war in Syria

Radical Islamists are waiting to rush into the vacuum that will be created by Assad’s fall

The end game in Syria has commenced. The king has lost several of his pieces and is cornered, with little prospects of escape and win. The best he can aspire to is an honourable draw and even that would appear to be too much to hope for. The alternatives for the king or the President are: offer a draw which means exile to another country or fight till the bitter end.

Complete surrender

The western powers and their allies in the region have made their intentions clear: they will not settle for anything less than complete surrender and perhaps a trial for crimes against humanity either in Damascus or in the International Criminal Court.

When China Rules The World

After three decades of rapid growth, China's economy stands at a crossroads today, its future direction holding implications for the rest of the world. Author Martin Jacques spoke with Sohel Sanghani about the challenges China faces, how its rise as a world power still appears strong - and how India should respond:
Your new book is titled When China Rules The World - is that an inevitable conclusion?
No, it's a figure of speech. I explore China's rise by assessing what sort of power it will be and how it will change the world as it grows richer and stronger.
But considering its latest quarterly growth rate dropped to 7.6%, is this rise so assured?

Assad praises army to fight "criminal terrorist gangs".

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has said that the army's battle with rebel forces would determine the fate of his country, and praised soldiers for confronting what he said were "criminal terrorist gangs".
"The fate of our people and our nation, past, present and future, depends on this battle," Assad, who has not spoken in public for two weeks, said in a written statement marking armed forces day on Wednesday.
Assad said the army was waging a "heroic" battle against the enemy and the country was engaged in a "crucial battle for its destiny".

Controversy on Ramadan fast in France

A French mayor has revoked the suspension of four Muslim camp counselors following an uproar after he said they could not work properly because they might be weakened by their all-day fasting for Ramadan.
Muslim groups threatened to sue the Paris suburb of Gennevilliers for discrimination for recalling the four after an inspector found on July 20 - the first day of the Muslim holy month - that they were not eating or drinking during the day.
Lawyers for the counselors, who had accompanied children from the suburb on a town-sponsored stay at a summer camp in southwestern France, said they might also take the issue to a labor court.

Badminton players expelled from Olympic

Eight female badminton doubles players were disqualified on Wednesday from the London Olympics after trying to lose matches to receive a more favorable place in the tournament.

The Badminton World Federation announced its ruling after investigating two teams from South Korea and one each from China and Indonesia. It punished them for “not using one’s best efforts to win a match” and “conducting oneself in a manner that is clearly abusive or detrimental to the sport” in matches Tuesday night.

“We applaud the federation for having taken swift and decisive action,” IOC spokesman Mark Adams told The Associated Press. “Such behavior is incompatible with the Olympic values.”

Blast in libyan city Bengazi

A major explosion rocked the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi on Wednesday, broadcaster Al Arabiya reported, apparently targeting a military intelligence building.

There were no immediate reports of casualties. The building is in the district of Fuwaihat, near the Tunisian and Turkish consulates.

Meanwhile, the Libyan Red Crescent said an Iranian team of seven medics were abducted by gunmen after they left a meeting at its office in Benghazi on Tuesday. An official in the Iranian Health Ministry confirmed the abductions. The delegation was in Benghazi to sign an agreement related to humanitarian activities with the Libyan Red Crescent, the IRNA news agency reported.

Europe’s debt crisis has ramifications beyond the financial markets.

The number of people unemployed across the 17 countries that use the euro hit a record high in June, official figures showed Tuesday, in a stark reminder that Europe’s debt crisis has ramifications beyond the financial markets.

Eurostat, the EU’s statistics office, said 17.801 million people were out of work in the eurozone in June. That was 1,23,000 more than May, and is the highest level since the euro was formed in 1999. The increase was the 14th in a row and means that around 2.25 million people have lost their jobs since April 2011.

Obama warned US Economy and Hopful about Eurozone

President Barack Obama warned on Monday the U.S. economy would face continuing "headwinds" over the next few months, with Europe's debt crisis still posing a challenge, but predicted the euro zone and its currency would remain intact.
"I don't think ultimately that the Europeans will let the euro unravel but they are going to have to take some decisive steps," Obama said at a campaign fundraiser in New York.
"I am spending an enormous amount of time trying to work with them, and (Treasury Secretary) Tim Geithner is trying to work with them," he said. "The sooner they take some decisive action, the better off we're going to be."

Al-Qaeda and USA in same side in Syria Fighting

Syria state television has broadcast images of soldiers battling what they called "foreign terrorists".
Amateur videos have also revealed foreign fighters allegedly hoping to wage a religious war in Syria.
The country's uprising has been played out constantly on the internet website YouTube, but while the brutal images of death remain the same, images of the armed opposition are changing.
Some groups say they are affiliated with al-Qaeda, fly its flags, and say they now have training camps inside the country.
Phil Rees, filmaker and author of 'Dining with Terrorists', told Al Jazeera that for Al Qaeda, Syria is "an attractive place to come now."

To save Euro-ECB thinks the unthinkable

The European Central Bank is thinking the unthinkable to save the euro, including resuming its controversial bond-buying program and possibly even pursuing quantitative easing - in effect printing money.
Bold action is probably at least five weeks away, insiders say, though some more clues may come when the ECB reveals its latest interest rate decision on Thursday.
Several other pieces have to fall into place before the ECB will act decisively, insiders say. These include a request for assistance from Spain, which Madrid is still resisting, a decision by euro zone leaders to let their bailout fund buy bonds at auction, and a German court ruling on the legality of the euro zone's permanent rescue fund, due on September 12.

How the politicians has looted India

Politicians dutifully disclose their increasing assets at each election but no questions are ever asked about how they acquired this wealth nor are any explanations provided

“Study these four men washing down the steps of this unpalatable Bombay hotel. The first pours water from a bucket, the second scratches the tiles with a twig broom, the third uses a rag to slop the dirty water down the steps into another bucket, which is held by the fourth. After they have passed, the steps are as dirty as before… They are not required to clean,” but simply to execute an assigned duty. V.S. Naipaul’s famous remarks in his early work An Area of Darkness aptly describes the sheer futility of the ritual disclosures of assets by election candidates.

Narang shoot Bronze-India at Olympic today

*Gagan Narang won the bronze medal for India in the 10-m air rifle event at the London Olympics 2012 with Romania's Alin George Moldoveanu winning gold and Italy's Niccolo Campriani winning silver

*Bombayla bows out in pre-quarters 

 

India at Olympics today

*Saina begins Olympic medal bid with Victory 

*Swarn in singles sculls quarters, lightweight doubles team out 

*Jai Bhagwan storms into second round of 60kg event

*Vardhan gets lucky, enters men’s singles draw 

*Jwala-Diju losing stint continues

A sea of broken dreams, For Indian women in America

When Pavitra’s Delta Air Lines flight flew into Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on a crisp blue July morning back in 2008, her heart pounded with excitement. Though it was a dangerous time economically and few companies were hiring, her husband landed a good job with a major IT firm and was assigned to projects across the U.S.

Pavitra, who had a bachelor’s degree from India and some work experience, had made a careful plan to embark on a course of higher studies — permitted under her current H-4 visa — and then seek employment. It was all coming together for her, it seemed. But she was in for a rude shock.