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| British hospitals under pressure by Afghan injuries LONDON: Hospitals treating British troops wounded by Afghan insurgents are under growing pressure, a watchdog warned Wednesday.Medical centres in both Afghanistan and Britain are struggling to cope with mounting numbers of injuries amid increasingly fierce opposition from Taliban-led enemies, Britain''s public spending watchdog said. Two major treatment centres in Britain -- the main hospital for dealing with seriously injured troops, and the main rehabilitation centre -- are \"under increasing pressure,\" said the National Audit Office. \"Casualty numbers from military operations are placing increasing demands\" on the centres, said the watchdog.\"In addition, the main field hospital in Afghanistan Camp Bastion is currently coping with casualty levels, but working close to capacity,\" it said. Defence officials will announce later Wednesday an increase in the number of beds at the rehabilitation centre, from 66 to 96, the local newspaper reported. The watchdog said the number of British troops recorded as seriously injured in Afghanistan in 2009 was 131, citing defence ministry figures that go up to the end of October. |
| 160 bodies recovered from Afghan avalanche site: official KABUL: A total of 160 bodies have been recovered from an area hit by avalanches in a treacherous mountain pass in northern Afghanistan, a provincial governor said Wednesday. \"Since yesterday, we have recovered a total of 160 bodies,\" Abdul Basir Salangi, governor of Parwan province, where the Salang Pass is located, told while talking to a French news agency. He said 84 people have been injured in the avalanches that struck the busy road connecting the capital Kabul to the north of the country Monday, burying people in vehicles on the strategic pass. |
| Obama says music fueled civil rights movement WASHINGTON: Crediting civil rights-era protest songs and their spiritual predecessors for his election, President Barack Obama sat in the East Room of his White House and listened to an all-star lineup of performers pay tribute to the music that he said fueled freedom marches and civil disobedience.The nation''s first black president transformed the grand ballroom into a concert hall packed with members of his Cabinet, Congress, civil rights leaders and students for a program that will air on public television later this week for Black History Month. Queen Latifah''s rendition of the Marvin Gaye classic \"What''s Going On\" and Yolanda Adams'' spirited rendition of Sam Cooke''s \"A Change Is Gonna Come\" were early highlights of a night that continued the Obamas'' effort to open the White House to America''s soundtrack.\"The civil rights movement was a movement sustained by music,\" Obama said as he welcomed his audience.He said activists from coast to coast were inspired by spirituals, felt their will sharpened by protest songs and base broadened by artists of hope. He said their work paved the way toward a more just America that allowed him to make history in 2008 with his election.\"Tonight, we celebrate the music of the movement,\" Obama said.That celebration was supposed to come on Wednesday, but faced with another major winter storm the White House decided to move the concert ahead by a day to beat what could be a second crippling snowfall in a week. As guests packed the first floor of the executive mansion, heavy snow landed on the South Lawn and blanketed the rest of Washington.Smokey Robinson, Bob Dylan and Joan Baez were on the schedule of performers, along with Natalie Cole, Jennifer Hudson, John Legend, John Mellencamp, Seal and the Blind Boys of Alabama.The Howard University Choir and The Freedom Singers performed at a mansion that in its history was maintained by slaves.Morgan Freeman, who read excerpts from historical works throughout the night, harkened back to the song lyrics Obama invoked during his election-night victory speech in Chicago''s Grant Park.\"A long time coming,\" Freeman said.He later deadpanned: \"I wish I could sing.\"Obama said the music helped the movement''s faith as their leaders were jailed and their churches bombed.\"It''s hard to sing when times are rough,\" Obama said. \"The hymns helped ... advance the cause of the nation.\"Tuesday night''s concert is just the latest imprint first lady Michelle Obama has left on Washington''s social scene. There was a conga line to Earth, Wind and Fire''s performance when the Obamas hosted the nation''s governors a year ago. Stevie Wonder played a concert in the East Room last year. Marc Anthony took to the South Lawn for an evening of Latin music, and Foo Fighters played the Fourth of July party there.Mrs. Obama also brought top classical music performers such as Joshua Bell to the White House to work with high school students. That model repeated itself in a pre-concert workshop Tuesday when they heard from Robinson and Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon, one of the original Freedom Singers in the 1960s who traveled around the country sharing stories from the civil rights movement. Adams and Toshi Reagon also took up microphones and performed songs from that era.Obama election should be a point of pride for the students in the regal dining room, Robinson told students.\"We''ve come a long, long way,\" said Robinson, who also performed.Washington has been buried in snow since winter weather began piling onto the region Friday. Some places were already under nearly 3 feet, and another round could dump as much of 20 inches in the Washington region by Wednesday night. |
| Dutch find cocaine hidden among Valentine roses AMSTERDAM: A week before Valentine''s Day, a consignment of cocaine was found hidden among 20,000 roses from Latin America at Amsterdam airport, Dutch authorities said on Wednesday. The roses, a popular Feb. 14 Valentine''s Day gift, arrived last Sunday on a flight from Bogota, Colombia, which stopped over in Puerto Rico, the public prosecutors'' office said in a statement. The drug was found in cellophane packets hidden inboxes containing the roses. Three people in the Netherlands were arrested and police found a total of 9 kg (20 lb) of cocaine in their possession, including the seized shipment, with a street value of about 1.3million euros. The Netherlands is a major flower trading hub, home to the world''s biggest flower auction house and is the source of 60percent of the world''s flower exports. |
| Death toll from Afghan avalanches rises to 68: army KABUL: Another 39 bodies were recovered Wednesday from the site of avalanches on a treacherous mountain pass in northern Afghanistan, bringing the official death toll from the disaster to 68, an army doctor said. \"We have recovered 39 bodies from two locations and more bodies from another location along the Salang Pass,\" said General Ahmad Zia Yaftali, chief doctor in the Afghan army. Another 29 bodies were recovered from the site, in the Hindu Kush mountains, on Tuesday, the doctor said. A blizzard struck the busy road connecting the capital Kabul to the north of the country Monday, precipitating an avalanche that buried people in vehicles on a strategic pass. |
| Restaurant in Jakarta makes diners feel at home JAKARTA: The Apartment restaurant, located in south Jakarta, has become a new attraction for diners with its unique \"home\" concept.People eat at tables nestled among furniture in seven \"rooms\" similar to those you would find in a sophisticated apartment. Each of the seven rooms has a different theme and diners can choose where to go according to their mood.Some sit on a king-size bed and talk to their friends and order food. Others go to one of the five tables in the bathroom area, complete with shower heads and towels. The \"library\" is ideal for those who want to have a quieter meal.Apartment owner, Budiman Gani, said the restaurant, which opened eight months ago, was a pet project 11 years in the making.\"The concept of the ''Apartment'' is home. We really want our guests to feel comfortable as if they are eating in their own home,\" said Gani.Gani said he was happy with the numbers of customers that hit 4,000 a month and is even planning a business expansion.\"Yes, we are going to expand. We are thinking of other provinces that may be suitable for this kind of dining concept, probably Bali. And it doesn''t stop there, because I just came back from Australia and I have seen the FB scenery there and there is big opportunity, so we are exploring to that direction as well,\" he said.Most of the food is modern European cuisine.And customers were thrilled with their dining experiences.\"I want to try the living room and bedroom in my next visit,\" said Dessy, a first-time guest.Many Indonesians go by on name.\"I like the menu, the atmosphere, it''s comfortable and not too crowded,\" said another customer, Robert, sitting with friends in a \"Jacuzzi bath\".Western expats homesick for a breakfast fry-up and coffee are regular customers, according to Gani, while Friday and Saturday nights see more local young people visiting and enjoying the signature cocktails served in each room. |
| Israeli warplanes bomb southern Gaza JERUSALEM: Israeli warplanes bombed several sites in southern Gaza overnight in response to rocket fire from the Hamas-run enclave, the army said on Wednesday. There were no immediate reports of casualties from the Palestinian side. The attacks came in response to rocket fire from the impoverished enclave over the past several days, the army said in a statement. The rocket fire did not result in any injuries. Israel has repeatedly targeted the vast network of tunnels used to smuggle food, construction materials as well as weapons from Egypt into Gaza, which has been under a punishing blockade since Hamas seized control there in June 2007. |
| India arrests 1,000 ahead of Bollywood film launch MUMBAI: Police have arrested more than 1,000 right-wing Hindu activists in the Indian city of Mumbai as part of increased security to stop violence over the release of a new Bollywood film. \"Right now, 1,000 plus people have been arrested. Most of them (the arrests) are preventive,\" senior officer Devan Bharti told foreign news agency on Wednesday. The arrests come amid a simmering row between top actor-producer Shah Rukh Khan, who stars in the film \"My Name Is Khan\", and a local hardline Hindu nationalist party, the Shiv Sena. Shiv Sena leaders have called on Khan to apologise after comments he made regretting the absence of any Pakistan players in the Indian Premier League Twenty20 cricket tournament starting next month. Khan, who part-owns IPL outfit the Kolkata Knight Riders, has refused to apologise and defended questions about his patriotism. |
| Sri Lanka set for snap election COLOMBO: Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse has dismissed parliament to pave the way for a snap election in April as political tensions mounted over the arrest of his main rival Sarath Fonseka.Rajapakse, who was returned to power last month after defeating former army chief Fonseka in a bitter election battle, dissolved the assembly from midnight Tuesday, two months early, his spokesman Lucien Rajakarunanayake said.A formal announcement on the date for the election is expected later this month but officials said it was likely to be held on April 8.The move came hours after the defence ministry said Fonseka, who was arrested by troops at his office in Colombo on Monday, will face a court martial on charges of conspiring against the government.\"The broader charges were that he engaged with political leaders and political parties that were working against the government,\" defence ministry spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella told reporters.\"He shall be tried and punished for that offence by a court martial.\"Asked if Fonseka could be tried for treason, Rambukwella said: \"It could be one of the charges.\"Fonseka and his former ally Rajapakse fell out after the army''s crushing defeat of the Tamil Tiger rebels in May, with both seeking to take credit for ending the 37-year separatist insurgency.Fonseka, 59, the only four-star general in the army, quit in November and then challenged Rajapakse for the presidency but was roundly defeated by his former commander in chief in the January 26 poll.The opposition said Fonseka was seized by the military on Monday while he was discussing plans to contest the parliamentary election with several senior party leaders who had backed his failed bid for the presidency.The government said Fonseka had been \"conspiring\" with opposition politicians while he was still the army chief and has also accused him of plotting a coup to overthrow Rajapakse and kill members of his family.Earlier this month, Rajapakse sacked a dozen senior military officers described by the defence ministry as a threat to national security. More were arrested from Fonseka''s office.Sri Lanka''s former peace facilitator, Norway, joined the United Nations, France and the United States in expressing concern over Fonseka''s arrest and deplored mounting government pressure on journalists and dissidents.\"There is a tremendous need for the government of Sri Lanka to work to overcome the fissures that exist within its society,\" US State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said.Norway said Fonseka''s arrest \"will have consequences on the possibility to progress towards lasting political stability\" in Sri Lanka while France said it was \"extremely worried\".UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said Secretary General Ban Ki-moon \"is following developments in Sri Lanka with concern\" and urged Colombo authorities \"to follow due process of law and provide all necessary protections (for Fonseka) and guarantees to his safety.\"The Sri Lankan government is concerned about Fonseka''s apparent willingness to testify at any probe into alleged war crimes committed by Sri Lankan troops last year in the final stages of the conflict with Tamil Tiger rebels.Fonseka told reporters shortly before his arrest that he was willing to face an international investigation, saying: \"I am not prepared to protect anyone, if they have committed war crimes.\"The government has resisted international calls for a probe, amid charges that a senior defence official ordered the killing of surrendering rebel leaders.The United Nations says 7,000 civilians died during the final stages of the conflict.Opposition leader and former premier Ranil Wickremesinghe said Fonseka''s arrest was \"a big blow to democracy\" in Sri Lanka.Fonseka''s wife Anoma gave a tearful press briefing Tuesday, saying her husband had been treated \"like an animal\".\"This is not an arrest. It is an abduction,\" she said. \"What I want to tell the government is: ''Just be reasonable. Treat him like a human being.''\" |
| Study supports gastric surgery for obese teens MELBOURNE: Australian researchers Wednesday said a new study supported the use of lap-band surgery for severely overweight teenagers after it found the procedure helped them lose 80 percent of their excess fat.The study, conducted at Monash University and the Royal Children''s Hospital in Melbourne, showed dramatically better results among adolescents who had the surgery, compared with those on a strict diet and exercise regime.It found that after two years, teens who underwent the appetite-reducing procedure lost an average of 79 percent of their excess weight, while those who stuck to the rigorous lifestyle shed just 13 percent.\"While this study confirms that some adolescents can achieve substantial weight loss and health improvements through diet and exercise, gastric banding should be considered for those severely obese adolescents who find primary weight loss methods unsuccessful,\" study author Professor Paul O''Brien said.The government-funded research, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, tracked 50 severely obese teens aged 14 to 18 over two years between May 2005 and September 2008.Half of the group were given the gastric banding surgery, involving a silicon clamp that shrinks the stomach and reduces appetite, and ordered to eat only three small meals and exercise for 30 minutes each day.The other 25 were kept on a strictly supervised diet and exercise regime.The adolescents given the surgery were found to lose, on average, more than 10 times the weight of the other group -- 35 kilograms (77 pounds) each, compared to three kilograms.In addition, six participants in the lifestyle group withdrew from the study after gaining weight, despite having access to a personal trainer, physician, dietician and regular guidance.Study co-author Professor Susan Sawyer said that while lapband surgery was not a quick-fix solution, it should be more readily considered for adolescents.\"The results of the study will challenge those who feel uncomfortable about any possible role of surgery for severely obese adolescents,\" said Sawyer, director of the hospital''s Centre for Adolescent Health.\"Until we can find more successful behavioural and medical approaches to treat those with severe obesity, the results of the study unequivocally favour lap-banding in terms of weight loss and therefore are really suggesting that it needs to at least be considered.\" |
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