CIA asked private security firm Blackwater to find al-Qaeda leaders

A secret CIA programme to hunt down and assassinate al-Qaeda leaders in Iraq and Afghanistan was partly outsourced to Blackwater, the private security contractor being investigated for killing civilians in Iraq, it emerged yesterday. The revelation that the agency would use a private contractor to assist in such a covert programme has raised questions over the legality of the move.

The Times reported this month that Blackwater’s founder, Erik Prince, was accused in court documents by two unnamed former employees of murder, weapons smuggling and the deliberate slaughter of Iraqi civilians. He has denied the allegations, part of a lawsuit filed by Iraqi families who claim that relatives were unlawfully killed by Blackwater guards in Iraq.

The deadliest incident involved the killing of 17 Iraqi civilians by Blackwater personnel in Baghdad in September 2007, which led to manslaughter charges against six of them. The company has since lost its State Department contract in Iraq.

According to US officials familiar with the CIA assassination programme, Blackwater helped the agency with planning, training and surveillance. The programme never became fully operational and no assassination missions were carried out. It is unclear if there was ever any intent for Blackwater to carry out covert killings.

The existence of the programme was kept secret from Congress for seven years, but was revealed to congressional leaders in June by Leon Panetta, the new head of the CIA. He cancelled it because he believed that it was moving towards becoming fully operational. The North Carolina-based company, which has since changed its name to Xe Services, was paid millions of dollars to provide training and weaponry.

Mr Panetta also told congressional leaders that he believed that Capitol Hill had been kept in the dark about the project because Dick Cheney, then the Vice-President, told the CIA in 2002 that Congress did not need to be informed as the agency already had the authority to kill al-Qaeda leaders. The House Intelligence Committee has started an investigation into why Congress was not informed about the programme for so long, and whether it was kept illegally in the dark.

The CIA has regularly used contractors for intelligence analysis and operations, the former CIA director Michael Hayden told Congress last year. Contractors took part in the interrogations of terrorist suspects, but are no longer allowed to do so.

Murray moves toward possible ranking breakthrough

Andy Murray stayed in touch with his dream of seizing the world number two ranking from Rafael Nadal, stopping Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-1, 6-3 Thursday in the third round of the Montreal Masters.

Number three Murray needs to reach the semi-finals, and also hope that defending champion Nadal - back after more than two months away nursing knee tendinitis - does not progress into the final four.

Serbia's Novak Djokovic, seeded fourth, reached the last eight with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Russian Mikhail Youzhny.

Djokovic won this event two years ago in Montreal, while Nadal won last year in Toronto as the event alternates between the cities.

"I played quite solid, as much as I needed to," said Djokovic, who is falling out of the mix in the discussion of top players as Roger Federer, Nadal and Murray dominate.

"I didn't start the match well, but I recovered really well, won four games in a row. At the end I was struggling a little bit with double faults. But overall I think I played well."

Argentinian sixth seed Juan Martin Del Potro, champion for a second straight year in Washington at the weekend thanks to a victory over Andy Roddick, staged a comeback over Victor Hanescu of Romania 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Murray has now won all three of his matches with former number one Ferrero, beating the 29-year-old Spaniard on grass this summer at Queen's and Wimbledon. Victory took 77 minutes as the Scot never faced a break point.

He now stands 47 wins and seven losses this season, with four titles earned and next faces either Nikolay Davydenko or Fernando Gonzalez.

FTSE 100 shares up on France, Germany data

London stocks climbed higher on Thursday after new data showed France and Germany have emerged from recession and the 16-nation eurozone economy shrank by less than expected in the second quarter.

The FTSE 100 index of leading shares rose 0.82 percent to 4,755.46 points.

Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) was the most widely traded stock, seeing 105 million units change hands, followed by Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), which saw 102 million shares switch owners.

British insurer Prudential was the top gainer, up 51.2 pence -- or 10.7 percent -- to end at 529.5, followed by oil facilities provider Petrofac, which added 74.5 pence -- or 8.92 percent -- to stand at 910.

The casualties of the day were travel giant Thomas Cook, which slipped 11 pence -- or 4.78 percent -- to finish at 219, and business information company Thompson Reuters, which shed 35 pence -- or 2.57 percent -- to end at 1,933.

Elsewhere, the pound gained against the dollar but was practically flat against the euro.

Sterling was worth 1.6585 US dollars at 15:58 BST, up from from 1.6480 at Wednesday's close, while it inched up to 1.1615 euros from 1.1614 over the same period.

ICC Champions Trophy 2009

The 2009 ICC Champions Trophy is a One Day International cricket tournament originally scheduled to be held in Pakistan in 2008 (originally due to be held 12-28 September 2008, but postponed by the ICC due to security fears expressed by several participating countries on 24 August 2008, after speculation that the tournament would be held elsewhere (England, Sri Lanka, or South Africa)).
On 24 July 2008, the ICC announced that the tournament would take place in Pakistan after all despite players from Australia, England, South Africa and New Zealand raising concerns over touring the country. It will be the sixth edition of the ICC Champions Trophy, a tournament previously known as the ICC Knock-out.
On 22 August, 2008, South Africa announced that it would not take part in the Champions Trophy due to security concerns and two days later, the ICC announced that the tournament would be postponed until October 2009. At their board meeting in January 2009, the ICC decided to move the tournament out of Pakistan on security concerns. At the time, Sri Lanka was the favoured alternate host.
Later in March 2009, the ICC Chief Executives' Committee recommended to the ICC board that the tournament be held in South Africa as there were concerns that the weather in Sri Lanka during September and October could result in a lot of games being washed out. The ICC board then ratified the ICC CEC recommendation and the event is now scheduled to take place in South Africa between 24th September to 5th October. Matches will be played at Wanderers Stadium and Centurion Park, both in the Johannesburg area

Textile policy to make plans for sustainable growth: PM Gillani

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani Wednesday said the Textile Policy aims at incorporating the strategies that are essential to address the challenges confronting this sector on a sustainable basis besides meeting the expectations of the industry.

Addressing the Special Cabinet meeting convened to consider the Textile Policy 2009-14 at the PM Secretariat, the Prime Minister said for the first time in the history of the country, the government was adopting a five-year Textile Policy, which would give the vision that was needed for the textile sector.

Gilani said the textile industry has had its highs and lows, with robust beginning that lost the momentum halfway. He said Pakistan is no more known for its premium quality cotton and cotton products as value conscious competitors have edged us out in the international market.

The Prime Minister said Pakistan is the fourth largest producer of cotton but is ranked 12th in global textile exports, and stressed the need for its improvement for the benefit of people. He mentioned that at present the textile industry is beset with energy shortages, security concerns and high cost of capital.

Textile exports last year, he added, registered a negative growth of 9.5 percent, which is a matter of serious concern. He said textile sector is plagued by inherent problems which are historical and complex. The Prime Minister said we also need to look at external factors which affect our industry seriously.

He said a quota-free trade regime has brought more challenges than opportunities while exposing the ill-preparedness of our textile industry in a competitive global grade environment. The recent global financial meltdown and sharp falls in trade volumes have thrown up new challenges. Last year Pakistan’s total exports were down by 6.7 percent and textile exports 9.5 percent mainly because of global demand shrinkage, he added.

The Prime Minister said keeping both domestic and global contexts in mind, it was necessary than ever before to come up with a comprehensive response strategy. He hoped that the textile policy 2009-14 is equipped with appropriate policy instruments. He said the ultimate goal of the textile policy is the creation of an enabling environment for the industry to grow.

Textile sector, he added has been the major provider and foreign exchange earner and must continue to be so. He said focus on this sector should give a clear message that this government puts poverty alleviation, job generation and industrial development very high on its agenda and is taking all possible steps in this direction.

Pakistan celebrates 62nd Independence Day Today

ISLAMABAD: The nation would celebrate 62nd Independence Day of Pakistan today, Friday with great zeal, enthusiasm and renewed commitment to make Pakistan strong, progressive and prosperous. It will be a public holiday.

The day will dawn with special prayers in mosques for the progress and prosperity of the country.

Celebrations will begin with a 31-gun salute in the Federal Capital and 21-gun salute in all the four provincial capitals. At 7.58 am, all vehicular traffic will stop for two minutes with the sounding of sirens and national anthem will be played at 8:00 am.

A change of the guard ceremony at the mausoleum of Quaid-e-Mohammed Ali Jinnah, Pakistan’s founder, in Karachi would also take place.

A number of events have been chalked out to celebrate the Independence Day in a befitting manner and pay homage to those, who laid down their lives to create an independent motherland for the coming generations.

The main event of the day will be a flag-hoisting ceremony in the Capital. Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani will unfurl the national flag.

Keeping alive previous traditions, all the government and private buildings have been illuminated. People, all over the country have decorated their houses, shopping centers and offices with national flags, banners, lightings, paintings and balloons, particularly in green and white colours.

The ruling Pakistan People’s Party as well as other major political parties are all set to celebrate the historic day in a dignified manner by hoisting national and party flags.

To mark the occasion in a befitting manner, the electronic and print media have planned comprehensive programmes. The electronic media would present various programmes including national songs, talk shows, dramas and children programmes. The print media would carry out special supplements, features and articles, highlighting the importance of the day and sacrifices rendered by heroes and nation’s forefathers for it.

Rallies, processions and colorful functions under the aegis of various public and private sector, social and political organizations in all small and major towns and cities of the country will be the hallmark of the day.

In these programmes, the speakers would highlight the significance of the day, goals set for the future and in words of the father of the nation, Quaid-e-Azam bring “Unity, Faith and Discipline” to its people.

In the Federal Capital the main celebrations include flag hoisting ceremony at the premises of Lok Virsa, while the artisans would display their work, folk music performances at open air theater, photographic exhibition will be the other major features of the day.

The Heritage Museum will remain open to public from 10.00 a.m. to 8.00 p.m for local and foreign visitors.

British High Commission Islamabad is not issuing visa to Pakistan’s World Champion Pakistan Blind Cricket team

ISLAMABAD: British High Commission Islamabad is not issuing visa to Pakistan’s World Champion Pakistan Blind Cricket team, scheduled to start tour England from 9th to 18th August 2009 for a cricket series of 3 One-day Internationals and 1 T/20, the Blind association has said. Blind Cricket England & Wales (BCEW), has invited the World Champion Pakistan.

Pakistan Blind Cricket team applied for the U.K visas through Gerry’s Visa Application Center Islamabad on 8th July 2009. “We requested British High Commission Islamabad and British Embassy Abu Dhabi several times to issue visas to Pakistan Blind Cricket Team, PBCC also provided them the Funds approval from Pakistan Cricket Board and N.O.C from the Government of Pakistan for the said tour but visas are still held in abeyance,” the association said.

As per the original schedule the Pakistan Blind Cricket team has to depart on Sunday but still the players are waiting for the visas.“If British High Commission may not issue visas until Monday then the tour will be called off,” a statement said.
The cancellation of the tour on one hand will cause huge financial loss to both PBCC and Blind Cricket England & Wales and on the other hand will create disappointment in the Blind Cricket players. We “are forced to think that, we, the visually challenged are the underprivileged part of the society whose fundamental rights of even playing cricket are being denied”. PBCC requested the Government of Pakistan to play their part and help us in getting our due right.