6 Dec 2011

Jason Aldean won six American Country Awards

American Country Awards celebrates new musicians Jason Aldean, Chris Young, Scotty McCreery and veteran singer Carrie Underwood

Country music's newest superstar Jason Aldean won six awards Monday in Las Vegas, including the night's top honors artist of the year and record of the year for "My Kinda Party."
It's true, 2010 has been a non-stop party for Aldean. More than a million fans turned out for his arena tour, his platinum album has spawned four hits so far and the awards are starting to pile up after years of being ignored.

Carrie Underwood's fans came through for her again at the fan-voted awards a year after she was the top winner on the inaugural show with six trophies. She picked up three awards this year, including female artist of the year and female single of the year for "Mama's Song."

As expected, the show's focus was mostly on country music's emerging stars. Thompson Square also won three trophies — blue Fender Telecasters with an embossed silhouette of the U.S. The husband-and-wife duo of Shawna and Kiefer Thompson rode their breakthrough single "Are You Going to Kiss Me Or Not?" to group single, new artist single and new artist video of the year awards.
Chris Young won two awards, breakthrough artist and single of the year for "Voices," "American Idol" winner Scotty McCreery was named new artist of the year and Lady Antebellum won a second straight group of the year.

Along with the night's top two honors, Aldean also was named touring artist of the year and won male single of the year for "My Kinda Party" and vocal collaboration single of the year for "Don't You Wanna Stay" with Kelly Clarkson.

Alabama won a Greatest Hits Award and Toby Keith was named artist of the decade as the most-played country star on radio over the past 10 years.
Blake Shelton won video of the year for "Who Are You When I'm Not Looking." He dedicated the win to his father, Dick, who is in the hospital with pneumonia. He then appeared to tear up at the end of his performance of "God Gave Me You."
The Associated Press
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largest black holes discovered by scientists

Scientists have discovered the largest black holes yet, and they're far bigger than researchers expected based on the galaxies in which they were found.
An artist's rendition of a mammoth black hole, NASA
The discovery suggests we have much to learn about how monster black holes grow, scientists said.

All large galaxies are thought to harbor super-massive black holes at their hearts that contain millions to billions of times the mass of our sun. Until now, the largest black hole known was a mammoth dwelling in the giant elliptical galaxy Messier 87. This black hole has a mass 6.3 billion times that of the sun.
Now research suggests black holes in two nearby galaxies are even bigger.

The scientists used the Gemini and Keck observatories in Hawaii and the McDonald Observatory in Texas to monitor the velocities of stars orbiting around the centers of a pair of galaxies. These velocities reveal the strength of the gravitational pull on those stars, which in turn is linked with the masses of the black holes lurking there.

The new findings suggest that one galaxy, known as NGC 3842, the brightest galaxy in the Leo cluster of galaxies nearly 320 million light years distant, has a central black hole 9.7 billion solar masses large. The other, named NGC 4889, the brightest galaxy in the Coma cluster more than 335 million light years away, has a black hole of comparable or larger mass. Both encompass regions or "event horizons" about five times the distance from the sun to Pluto.

Astronomers had suspected that black holes more than 10 billion solar masses large exist, based on light from quasars, cosmic objects from the early universe that are no more than a light year or two across but are thousands of times brighter than our entire galaxy.

The light of quasars is thought to come from matter driven to incandescent brightness as it spirals at high speeds into supermassive black holes. This is the first time scientists have detected black holes approaching such theorized giants in size.

This pair of black holes is 1.6 to 4.6 times more massive than one would predict from their galaxies, based on details such as the brightness of the bulges at their centers. These findings suggest that black holes may grow differently in large galaxies than in small ones.
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Dozens killed in rare Afghanistan attack / CNN

photo: photo: AP / Musadeq Sadeq
Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Twin suicide bombings killed dozens Tuesday in Afghanistan, most of them in a mass-scale sectarian attack on Shiite worshippers unlike anything the country has seen in its decade-long war.
The terrorist attacks in the cities of Kabul and Mazar-e Sharif killed 58 people and wounded scores of others, officials said.
A suicide bomber detonated a device at a Shiite shrine in Kabul as worshippers were marking the Shiite holy day of Ashura, Afghan Health Ministry spokesman Kargar Norughli said. Fifty-four people were killed and 150 were wounded, said Afghan Health Ministry spokesman Kargar Norughli.
Four people were killed by an explosion at a roundabout on a busy street in Mazar-e Sharif, the provincial capital of Afghanistan's northern Balkh province, police official Lal Mohammad Ahmadzai said. Another 21 were wounded in that attack.
"The enemies tried to spread fear in this important holiday in the city," Ahmadzai said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks. The Taliban denied involvement.
Haji Mohammad Mohaqiq, a leading Shiite member of Parliament, blamed "foreign criminals."
The attacks showed "that those who claim to be defenders of Islam" are liars, and showed "how far from humanity they are," he said.

The attackers committed "these crimes for the interest of those foreigners who are controlling them so that they could create hatred among Muslims in Afghanistan," he said.
In Iraq, where large scale sectarian attacks have occurred frequently, government officials and analysts have said the goal of extremists was to foment sectarian tensions.
The U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan issued a statement Tuesday condemning the "the twin suicide bombings that killed dozens of worshippers, many of them women and children."
The bombs detonated nearly simultaneously, the statement said.
Afghanistan has seen attacks on mosques. In 2006, rioting broke out between Shiites and Sunnis at an Ashura festival in Herat, leading to several deaths. But the country has not seen sectarian attacks of the scale that occurred Tuesday.
The attacks came a day after an international conference in Bonn, Germany, addressed the state of affairs in Afghanistan, and Afghan officials pushed for international support and contributions.
The U.S. Embassy statement Tuesday vowed that the United States "remains undeterred in standing with the Afghan people against the scourge of terrorism in our mutual aim of promoting peace and prosperity."

Gen. John Allen, commander of NATO's International Security Assistance Force, said, "An attack against Ashura pilgrims on one of the holiest of days in the Islamic calendar is an attack against Islam itself, and we denounce and condemn these atrocities in the strongest of terms. Our prayers and deepest sympathies are with the families and loved ones of those innocent civilians killed or injured in today's horrific attacks."
Ambassador Simon Gass, NATO's senior civilian representative in Afghanistan, called the attacks "horrifying."
"That men, women and children are killed and injured on Ashura is particularly tragic," he said.
Ashura commemorates the martyrdom of Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad. Hussein's death in battle in Karbala, Iraq, in 680, is one of the events that helped create the schism between Sunnis and Shiites, the two main Muslim religious movements. Shiites are a minority presence in Afghanistan, which is predominantly Sunni.

At the Bonn conference on Monday, Afghan President Hamid Karzai warned that the Taliban could make a comeback as the country struggles with security a decade after a U.S.-led coalition ousted the hardline militia from power.
"If we lose this fight, we are threatened with a return to a situation like that before September 11, 2001," Karzai said.
In an e-mailed statement to journalists, Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said he condemned Tuesday's attacks. He accused NATO forces of playing a role in the attacks "to sow mistrust and hatred among Muslims so they can stay longer."
Karzai, at Monday's conference, said that though there had been progress over the past 10 years, stability remains a distant goal.
"Our shared goal of a stable, self-reliant Afghanistan is far from being achieved," he said.
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Planet similar to Earth discovered: NASA

This artist's conception illustrates Kepler-22b, a planet known to comfortably circle in the habitable zone of a sun-like star. It is the first planet that NASA's Kepler mission has confirmed to orbit in a star's "habitable zone" -- the region around a star where liquid water, a requirement for life on Earth, could persist.
NASA announced the discovery of another planet close enough to the sun it orbits to potentially support life.
Called Kepler-22b, about 2.4 times the radius of Earth and about 600 light-years away. And it orbits in the "habitable zone," the region of space just far enough from a star that liquid water could exist on the planet's surface -- a discovery could have profound implications in the quest for alien life, said Alan Boss, an astrophysicist with Carnegie Melon University.
The host star lies about 600 light-years away from us (1 light year is about 6 trillion miles) toward the constellations of Lyra and Cygnus, the researchers said, and is about 25 percent less luminous than the Sun. Kepler-22b orbits the star every 290 days, as compared with 365 days for the Earth, at a distance about 15 percent closer to its star than the Earth from the Sun -- close enough to suggest a pleasing, balmy temperature on the surface.

The planet is  in the middle of what astronomers call the Goldilocks zone, that hard to find place that's not too hot, not too cold, where water, which is essential for life, doesn't freeze or boil and this new planet might well be not only habitable but perhaps even inhabited.
The discovery team, led by William Borucki of the NASA Ames Research Center, pored over photometric data from the NASA Kepler space telescope. They watched for tiny dimmings of star light -- dimmings that can only be measured by a highly specialized space telescope like Kepler -- which indicate that an Earth-size planet is transiting between us and a star.
So far the Kepler telescope has spotted 2,326 candidate planets outside our solar system with 139 of them potentially habitable ones. Even though the confirmed Kepler-22b is a bit big, it is still smaller than most of the other candidates. It is closest to Earth in size, temperature and star than either of the two previously announced planets in the zone.
Of the 54 habitable zone planet candidates spotted in February 2011, Kepler-22b is the first to be confirmed.
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5 Dec 2011

New Zealand is voted as the least corrupt nation on earth

New Zealand is voted as the least corrupt nation on earth, and Somalia is seen as the most corrupt, a German organization, Transparency International said in a report released this week.
Overall, the top spots are occupied mostly by European countries, with the exception of New Zealand, Singapore at No. 5 and Australia, which is tied for eighth with Switzerland.
In addition to Somalia and North Korea, which are tied for last at No. 182, the bottom of the list includes Myanmar, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Sudan, Iraq, Haiti and Venezuela.
The report was prepared by the independent, nonpartisan Transparency International organization, which says it drew its conclusions based "on different assessments and business opinion surveys carried out by independent and reputable institutions."
The information used to compile the index includes "questions relating to the bribery of public officials, kickbacks in public procurement, embezzlement of public funds and questions that probe the strength and effectiveness of public-sector and anti-corruption efforts," Transparency International said.
The complete report can be seen at www.transparency.org.
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Rafael Nadal seals Davis Cup for Spain

Rafael Nadal beat Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro in a thrilling match to secure the Davis Cup for Spain. World number two Nadal lost six games in a row in the first set but came back superbly to win a high-class encounter 1-6 6-4 6-1 7-6 (7-0) in Seville.
The victory was his 16th successive win in Davis Cup singles on clay and gave the hosts an unassailable 3-1 lead.
However Nadal said his busy schedule, which includes the Olympics, meant he would not play Davis Cup in 2012.
His success secured Spain's fifth Davis Cup title and their third in four years, while Argentina have yet to win it.

"Today is one of the most emotional days of my career," said Nadal, 25, after winning the title for the third time.
"After such a difficult year, this was a spectacular finale to the season. To win a final this way is very special.
"We are very grateful to all the people of Spain. It was the best atmosphere I have experienced in my career.
"Next year I will not play. Next year is a very complex year. It's an Olympic year. I have been, for many years, one of the players that plays the highest number of games in a year, and I don't want to over play.
"So next year, since it's an Olympic year, my participation in the Davis Cup is impossible."
A strangely out-of-sorts Nadal broke Del Potro in the first game but his opponent battled his way back into the match and dominated the Spaniard's serve to take the opening set to the delight of the Argentine fans in the 28,000 Olympic Stadium.

However, Nadal's indomitable spirit helped him halt Del Potro's run and he took the second set with a typically aggressive display that was greeted by a huge roar from the home supporters.
The 10-time Grand Slam winner took the third set in commanding style and the result looked to be a formality with Del Potro, who lost a near five-hour epic to David Ferrer on the opening day, seemingly tiring.
But, as the tension grew with each point, the 11th-ranked Argentine dug deep and produced a series of magnificent winners to keep the tie alive, taking 10 points in a row and then breaking the Spaniard in the eighth game to give himself the chance to serve for the set.

However, amid increasing noise from the crowd, Nadal went on the attack and broke Del Potro's serve to level the set again.
Nadal broke his opponent again but Del Potro was not beaten yet and broke back immediately, firing a blistering forehand winner to take the set into a tie-break, in which the left-hander was unstoppable.
"On home clay they are probably one of the best teams in history," Argentina captain Tito Vazquez said after Spain stretched their record home winning streak to 21 series.
Del Potro left the court in tears for the second time in three days, having also let slip a lead in his five-set loss in his opening singles match.

"Both my colleagues and I must be happy that we have done a good job, not only in this tie but the whole Davis Cup," said 23-year-old Del Potro.
"We could fight Spain on home turf and we could feel that we could beat them.
"But beyond the defeat, I am particularly happy because of what the team gave me and what my colleagues gave me and their support so that I could play better."
SOURCE:BBC SPORTS
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Tiger Woods ends 2-year victory drought/ AP

Tiger Woods holds his trophy after winning the Chevron World Challenge golf tournament at Sherwood Country Club, Sunday, Dec. 4, 2011, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. (AP Photo/Danny Moloshok)
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) — After going more than two years and 26 tournaments without a win, and after so much turmoil in his personal life and with his golf game, Tiger Woods stood over a 6-foot birdie putt Sunday to win the Chevron World Challenge and felt as though nothing had changed.
Finally, the outcome was familiar, too.

Woods poured in the putt to cap off a birdie-birdie finish at Sherwood, close with a 3-under 69 and beat former Masters champion Zach Johnson by one shot. The win ended a drought that lasted 749 days, and might have signaled a change that Woods is on his way back.
He swept his arm across the air, yelled through the din of the gallery and slammed his fist in a celebration that was a long time coming.
"It just feels awesome whatever it is," he said.

Trailing by one shot with two holes to play, Woods came up with two clutch putts. He holed a 15-footer for birdie on the par-3 17th to pull into a tie with Johnson, then hit a 9-iron from 158 yards that landed on the ridge behind the hole and rolled down to 6 feet.
"I've been in contention twice this year, which is not very often," Woods said. "So that's my third time with a chance to win it. I pulled it off this time."
It was his 83rd win worldwide in tournaments that award ranking points, but his first since he won the Australian Masters on Nov. 15, 2009, back when he looked as though he would rule golf for as long as he played.

But he crashed his car into a fire hydrant outside his Florida home on Thanksgiving night, and shocking revelations of extramarital affairs began to emerge, which shattered his image, led to a divorce and cost him four major sponsors. Since then, he has changed swing coaches, caddies and endured more injuries, causing him to miss two majors and fail to make the cut in another.
Now, however, it looks clear that Woods is on an upward path.
"If the man is healthy, that's paramount," Johnson said. "I mean, he's the most experienced and the best player I've ever played with. In every situation, he knows how to execute and win."
Even though those situations have been rare, Woods looked as though he had not forgotten how to win. The only other times he has been in contention this year were the Masters and the Australian Open.
"I felt normal, felt very comfortable," Woods said. "I've been here so many times that, you know, I just feel very comfortable being here in this position. Was I nervous? Absolutely. Always nervous in that position. But it's a comfortable feeling, and I enjoy being in that position. For some reason, it's kind of a comfort to be in there with a chance to win."

Woods won the Chevron World Challenge, which he hosts for his foundation, for the fifth time. He finished at 10-under 278 and donated the $1.2 million to his foundation.
The win moved him from No. 52 to No. 21 in the world ranking, and likely will send expectations soaring for 2012. Woods will not play again until starting his year in Abu Dhabi at the end of January.
If this win felt differently than the last one, Woods wasn't saying.
"They all feel good," he said. "They're not easy. People don't realize how hard it is to win golf tournaments. I've gone on streaks where I've won golf tournaments in a row, but still ... I don't think I've taken it for granted. And I know because of how hard it is."
He had a worthy adversary in Johnson, who had a one-shot lead going into the final round and trailed for only three holes. Johnson tied Woods with a birdie on the par-5 13th, made an unlikely par on the 14th by chipping from the bottom of the green, and appeared to seize control by holing a 12-foot birdie putt on the 16th hole.

Johnson thought his birdie putt on the 17th was good all the way until it burned the edge of the cup. Woods, running out of time, drained his birdie putt to force a tie and send the tournament to the 18th. Johnson missed a 15-foot birdie try, leaving the stage to Woods.
Johnson closed with a 71 and still took home $650,000 for the holidays. Paul Casey, who opened with a 79, had his third straight round in the 60s to finish alone in third at 5 under.
"Tiger can have a long career," Casey said when he finished. "We might look back in another 10 years and actually forget about the last couple of years."
Woods had a four-shot lead over Graeme McDowell a year ago, a margin that evaporated quickly when Woods showed early signs of a struggle, particularly with a pair of three-putts. There was no such evidence this time.

After nearly driving into trouble to the right of the par-5 second, Woods escaped and hit wedge to 3½ feet for birdie. His lone bogey on the front nine came at the par-3 eighth, with a back right pin that requires a fade. Woods tugged it well left of the green, and his pitch at a 45-degree angle was too strong and rolled into the fringe about 15 feet away.
Johnson's chip on the third was too strong, he three-putted from about 35 feet for bogey on the fifth and he played a poor chip from below the eighth green for another bogey.
They were tied at the turn when Woods began to pull away. From the right rough, Woods hit a soft sand wedge that landed in the first cut short of the green and fed down the slope to about 4 feet. He two-putted from long range for birdie on the par-5 11th to stretch his lead to two shots when Johnson caught a buried lie in the bunker.

Woods bogeyed the 12th from a bunker, though, and Johnson's birdie on the 13th set up a final hour that was up for grabs until Woods came through in the clutch on the last two holes.
Woods' tournament, which has an 18-man field, has been a good omen for others over the years. The most recent example was Jim Furyk, who won in 2009 and then had his first three-win season the next year and captured the FedEx Cup.

No one ever imagined Woods needing a boost, but that might be the case.
"I don't think we're going to see another 2011, if that makes sense," Furyk said, alluding to Woods failing to reach the FedEx Cup playoffs this year. "If he steadily progresses, keeps getting confidence and moving forward, he's going to return and be one of the best players in the game again."
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Iran claims it downed U.S. drone/ CNN

Unclear whether Iran shot down drone, a U.S. official says
(CNN) -- Iran's military on Sunday claimed it shot down a U.S. drone into eastern Iran.
State media cited a military official who identified the aircraft as an RQ-170 Sentinel.
NATO's International Security Assistance Force said a U.S. unarmed reconnaissance aircraft was flying a mission over western Afghanistan -- which borders Iran -- last week when operators lost control.
A U.S. official with knowledge of the incident said the crew operating the unmanned drone reported a loss of flight control just before the drone went down.

U.S. officials believe the drone Iran is referring to may be the same one, but the U.S. government has not confirmed that it was shot down, the source said.
The RQ-170 Sentinel is a stealth drone developed for the Air Force to help provide intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. Although the Sentinel was developed for the Air Force, the U.S. official did not say whether it was the U.S. military or the U.S. intelligence community operating the drone at the time of the incident.

The official said the drone's mission was to fly over Afghanistan. American officials over the years have been adamant that U.S. assets do not fly over Iranian air space.
Iranian media reported that the RQ-170 was slightly damaged and in the hands of Iranian forces.
"Armed forces with a dominant control over the country's borders managed to identify and down the invading plane," the Islamic Republic News Agency reported.

The unnamed Iranian military official called it a "clear example of aggression" and added that Iran is "fully ready to counter any aggression," the report said.
In July, Iran's military made a similar claim, saying it downed a U.S. "spy drone" flying near its Fordo nuclear enrichment plant in Qom province. But Iran backtracked on the statement a few days later, saying the incident was actually part of a training exercise.





RELATED NEWS
Iran Says It Shot Down Unmanned US Spy Plane- ABC News
Iranians claim to down US drone - BBC News
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Two giant pandas from China landed Sunday in Scotland/The Associated Press

BEIJING — Two giant pandas from China landed Sunday in Scotland, where they will become the first to live in Britain in nearly two decades.

The 8-year-old pair, named Tian Tian and Yang Guang — or Sweetie and Sunshine — were welcomed by bagpipe players and a host of dignitaries as they touched down at Edinburgh Airport on a specially chartered Boeing 777 flight called the "Panda Express."

The pandas, from the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan, are to stay for 10 years at Edinburgh Zoo, where officials hope they will give birth to cubs. The female, Tian Tian, has had twin cubs in the past, but not with Yang Guang. The male panda has previously fathered cubs as well.

The loan marked the beginning of a U.K.-China research program on the animals, and both sides have described it as a signal of a growing friendship between Scotland and China. China sometimes gives or lends the cuddly looking animals — considered a Chinese national treasure — to other countries to boost relations.

"It shows that we can cooperate closely not only on commerce, but on a broad range of environmental and cultural issues as well," said British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg.

Zoo officials have spent the past five years securing the loan of the animals, which are expected to boost Scottish tourism. The loan was announced in January, when Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang visited Britain to sign billions in trade deals.

The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland will pay more than 600,000 pounds ($935,000) a year to China for the loan of Sweetie and Sunshine, not including the expense of importing bamboo from the Netherlands.

The pair of pandas, which were given an in-flight meal of bamboo, apples and carrots, will have two weeks to settle at the zoo before going on display to the public. They will be kept in two separate enclosures for a few months until they are ready to be introduced to each other.

The zoo also plans to put four hidden "panda cams" in their enclosures and stream the footage online to attract viewers from around the world.

Britain's last giant panda, Ming Ming, lived in the London Zoo until 1994, when she was returned to China.

In 1974, British Prime Minister Edward Heath received two pandas from the Chinese government as a goodwill gift to mark his visit to China. Female Ching-Ching and male Chia-Chia became a much-loved attraction at the London Zoo, but never produced any cubs.
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3 Dec 2011

ICC seeks Sudan defence minister arrest over Darfur

Sudan's Defence Minister Abdelrahim Mohamed Hussein.
The International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor has requested an arrest warrant for Sudan's defence minister for alleged crimes in Darfur.
Luis Moreno-Ocampo said Abdelrahim Mohamed Hussein was suspected of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in 2003-04.
The Hague-based ICC has already indicted Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir on genocide charges in Darfur.
A senior Sudanese official has dismissed the warrant as "ridiculous".

Rabbie Abdal Attie told the BBC the ICC was a "tool of the West" and was trying to destabilise Sudan but that the warrant would not affect the country.
In another development, Kenya and Sudan have resolved their diplomatic row triggered by a Kenyan court issuing its own warrant for President Bashir after he was allowed to visit Nairobi in August in defiance of the ICC request.

The latest warrant request was made by Mr Moreno-Ocampo's office in a statement on Friday.
It asked the ICC "to issue an arrest warrant against the current Sudanese Defence Minister Abdelrahim Mohamed Hussein for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in Darfur from August 2003 to March 2004".

The statement added that Mr Hussein was among those who "bear greatest criminal responsibility" for atrocities in Darfur.
At the time, Mr Hussein was both Sudan's interior minister and its representative in Darfur.
Mr Moreno-Ocampo said he was requesting the warrant now "to encourage further public focus" on Sudan's policy and actions, and to "promote cooperation" to arrest the three Sudanese officials the ICC has already indicted.

Abdelrahim Mohamed Hussein is very much part of President Omar al-Bashir's inner circle, so for those close to him, this is another attempt to destabilise their man - and the country.
That is not helping matters at a time when Sudan wants its $40bn (£25bn) or so of foreign debt forgiven.
ICC judges will now study the prosecutor's request before deciding whether to issue a warrant.
Together with President Bashir, the court has also indicted another former Interior Minister Ahmad Muhammad Harun and Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman, a suspected leader of the Janjaweed militia, over alleged atrocities in Darfur.

The ICC says that Mr Harun reported directly to Mr Hussein.
They all deny the charges and refuse to surrender to the ICC.
The mainly Arab Janjaweed militia is accused of carrying out a policy of ethnic cleansing and genocide against Darfur's black African population after rebels took up arms in 2003, accusing the government of ignoring the region.

According to the ICC, attacks followed a pattern, with Sudan's military surrounding a village, the air force bombing it and then soldiers and Janjaweed fighters going in on foot, killing, raping and looting.
The Hague-based court has also indicted two Darfur rebels, who are accused of attacking African Union peacekeepers in Darfur. The suspects surrendered to the court last year.

Despite the warrant, Mr Bashir has visited several countries, especially in Africa, without being arrested.
After the Kenyan court issued a warrant for Mr Bashir's arrest on Monday, Sudan ordered the expulsion of Kenya's ambassador in Khartoum, and threatened to expel Kenyan peacekeepers from Sudan and not to allow planes flying to Kenya to go through Sudanese airspace.

But on his return from an emergency trip to Khartoum, Kenyan Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula on Friday said relations were now "back to normal" and that no diplomats would be expelled.
He said that while the government respected the court, he said he would guarantee that Mr Bashir would not be arrested on Kenyan territory.

Mr Wetangula said Kenya would not withdraw from the ICC but, like other African countries, it was concerned that the court was unfairly targeting the continent.

"We have voiced concerns about the manner in which the ICC has been pursuing African leaders and leaving leaders with much, much heavier responsibility of human rights and murderous actions," he said, pointing to the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The African Union has urged the UN Security Council to defer the warrant against Mr Bashir in order to help the search for peace in Darfur.

Mr Moreno-Ocampo is set to be replaced as ICC chief prosecutor by his deputy, Fatou Bensouda, from The Gambia.

She is the only candidate in the 12 December election and is to take up her new duties in June 2012, the ICC says.

Some 2.7 million people have fled their homes since the conflict began in Darfur in 2003, and the UN says about 300,000 have died - many from disease.

Sudan's government says the conflict has killed about 12,000 people and the number of dead has been exaggerated for political reasons.
(Story : BBC)
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RELATED NEWS
ICC prosecutor seeks Sudan defense minister's arrest - REUTERS
ICC prosecutor seeks warrant for Sudan's defence minister- AFP
Sudan's defense minister accused of war crimes - CNN
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Row over Pakistan actress Veena Malik nude 'ISI' photo

FHM cover with Veena Malik
A row has erupted over an image of Pakistani actress Veena Malik sporting the initials ISI on her arm, with FHM India insisting it is not fake.

It has caused a sensation in Pakistan for both the nudity and the initials of Pakistan's controversial Inter-Services Intelligence spy agency.
Pakistani media have quoted a spokesman for Ms Malik as saying she never took part in such a photoshoot.

But FHM India's editor told the BBC that nothing had been doctored.
"We have video footage of the shoot as well as emails from Veena about how she's looking forward to the cover," Kabeer Sharma told the BBC's Nosheen Abbas in Islamabad.

"The idea to have ISI written on her arm was mine, and it was Veena's idea to have it in block letters," he added.
He said that the image was intended to be playful, saying that: "In India we joke about this... if anything goes wrong... we say the ISI must be behind this."
The ISI has been in the headlines in recent months after senior US officials accused it of supporting militants based in Pakistan's tribal areas who target Western troops in Afghanistan.
In September the most senior US military officer Adm Mike Mullen said that the Haqqani militant network "acts as a veritable arm of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence Agency".
Pakistan has vehemently denied such allegations.
Pakistan outrage
Correspondents say that the image, which is the cover of the December issue of the Indian edition of the global men's magazine, has caused a storm in Pakistan with many people expressing outrage over the nudity and the boldness of the photo.
Many Pakistanis on the micro-blogging site Twitter are also expressing bemusement at the image.
The Express Tribune newspaper in Pakistan said a representative of Ms Malik had denied she posed for the shoot.
"Veena knows her limits. I know we have done quite bold stuff/shoots, those which are available on our website, but she knows her parameters," Sohail Rashid is quoted as saying.
FHM's editor said he had never heard of the representative and added that Ms Malik had not got in touch to ask him to modify or remove the image.
The actress has been at the centre of controversy before.
She caused outrage among conservative circles in Pakistan for appearing on the Indian reality show Bigg Boss in 2010. She hit the headlines again in March this year by challenging the views of a Pakistani cleric on television
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UN says 307 children killed during Syrian crackdown

Syrian families and their children carry pictures of Syrian boy Hamza al-Khatib, who anti-government activists say was tortured and killed by Syrian security forces. (Jamal Saidi/Reuters)
Syrian authorities killed at least 307 children in their crackdown on opposition protesters, the UN human rights chief said Friday, urging world powers to refer these and other allegations of Syrian "crimes against humanity" to the International Criminal Court.
Syria's President Bashar Assad — trying to defeat an 8-month-old revolt challenging his autocratic rule — faces widespread international condemnation and sanctions over the bloody crackdown. The UN says more than 4,000 people have died.

Navi Pillay, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, said new reports of violence in Syria reinforce the need for the Security Council to submit the situation in the country to the Hague-based court.
"In light of the manifest failure of the Syrian authorities to protect their citizens, the international community needs to take urgent and effective measures to protect the Syrian people," Pillay told an emergency meeting of the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva.

The 47-nation rights council responded by passing a resolution backed by 37 African, European, Asian, Arab and American members chiding Syria for "gross and systematic violations of human rights."
4 countries opposed motion
Russia and China were among four countries to vote against the motion. The two permanent members of the Security Council have condemned the bloodshed, but are resisting further international pressure on Syria. Six countries abstained.
The resolution also established the post of a special human rights investigator to probe abuses in Syria. But the final draft removed direct references to the Security Council, and to "international accountability mechanisms" like the ICC.

Syria's ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva, Fayssal al-Hamwi, said the U.N. action would "not in any way be in the interest of the people of Syria and will not help it put an end to its crisis."
The council's third emergency meeting on Syria came amid mounting international pressure on the Assad regime. The U.N. says the nation is on the verge of civil war, and the Arab League, European Union, Turkey and the United States have all approved measures to sanction the Syrian economy, which relies on oil and tourism.

Pillay said her office had received reliable information that the death toll since the start of the eight-month uprising was now "much more" than 4,000.
"The Syrian authorities' continual ruthless repression, if not stopped now, can drive the country into a full-fledged civil war," she said.

An independent panel's report to the Human Rights Council this week said it found widespread evidence of "crimes against humanity" and use of excessive force against civilians.
The chairman of the international commission of inquiry, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, a Brazilian professor, told the council Friday that the 307 children killed included 262 boys and 45 girls. He said November was the deadliest month so far — with 56 children killed.
© The Associated Press, 2011
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World's Oldest Tiger Species Discovered

The extinct Longdan tiger (Panthera zdanskyi) was a jaguar-sized tiger that lived in what is now northwestern China more than 2 million years ago. Shown here, an artist's reconstruction of the tiger.
CREDIT: Velizar Simeonovski et al, PLoS ONE


The oldest extinct species of tiger known yet has been discovered in China, scientists say.

Although the skull of the more than 2-million-year-old fossil is smaller than most modern tigers, it appears very similar in shape, researchers added.

The tiger (Panthera tigris) is one of the largest living cats, a giant predator native to Asia reaching up to 13 feet (4 meters) in length, including its tail, and weighing up to 660 pounds (300 kilograms). The beast's origins are under intense debate, with suggestions it arose in north-central China, southern China or northern Siberia.
Now scientists have discovered a new skull and jaw from an extinct jaguar-sized tiger in northwestern China dating back 2.16 million to 2.55 million years, predating other known tiger fossils by up to a half-million years. This represents the oldest complete skull hitherto found of a pantherine cat — the lineage that includes tigers and all other living big cats.

"The discovery of the identity of this fossil is vitally important for providing a greater understanding of the fossil history of big cats and the relationships between them," said researcher Andrew Kitchener, principal curator of vertebrate biology at National Museums Scotland in Edinburgh.
The scientific name for this newfound species is Panthera zdanskyi, after the late Austrian paleontologist Otto Zdansky, who revealed much about ancient Chinese fossil carnivores. It was unearthed in 2004 on the eastern slope of Longdan, a village in Gansu, China, giving it the informal name of the Longdan tiger. The cat was only recently analyzed and described online Oct. 10 in the journal PLoS ONE.

The skull of this extinct cat had robust, well-developed upper canine fangs and a relatively long nose, details typical of tigers. Although the size of the skull is comparable with that of the smallest females of living tiger subspecies, its overall shape suggests it belonged to a male. Indeed, despite about 2 million years of separation, the skull of the Longdan tiger appears surprisingly similar to that of modern tigers.
"It seems likely that this tiger's diet would have been similar to that of today's and would have included ungulates such as deer and pigs,"Kitchener told LiveScience.
The skull of this extinct cat had robust, well-developed upper canine fangs and a relatively long nose, details typical of tigers. CREDIT: J.H. Mazak et al, PLoS ONE
The researchers suggest this extinct cat was a sister species to the modern tiger. Their analysis argues that the tiger lineage developed features of its skull and upper teeth early on, while its lower jaw and teeth evolved at a different rate. A similar pattern of "mosaic evolution" is seen in the cheetah lineage, they noted. The evolutionary trend of increasing size in the tiger lineage is likely coupled its prey evolving larger body sizes, the researchers added.

"It will be interesting to see whether further fossil big cats are discovered in China and elsewhere, which expand our knowledge of the distribution of this species and fill in more gaps in the tiger's fossil history," Kitchenersaid. "Confirming a more precise dating of Panthera zdanskyi would also be invaluable for understanding its position in the tiger's evolutionary timescale."
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Via LiveScience
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2 Dec 2011

2012 Grammy Nominees in pictures(Gallery)

Adele landed nominations for Record and Song of the Year for "Rolling in the Deep" and Album of the Year for "21." (Jeff Kravitz/Getty Images)
Record of the Year
Adele - "Rolling in the Deep"
Bon Iver - "Holocene"
Bruno Mars - "Grenade"
Mumford & Sons - "The Cave"
Katy Perry - "Firework"
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Kanye West may get a chance to expand his already-huge collection of 14 Grammys as he picked up a leading seven nominations. (Randy Brooke/WireImage/Getty Images)
Song of the Year
Kanye West - “All of the Lights”
Mumford & Sons - “The Cave”
Bruno Mars - “Grenade”
Bon Iver - “Holocene”
Adele - “Rolling in the Deep”
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Notable Grammy snubs include Nicki Minaj --  Best New Artist nomination. (Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic/Getty Images)
Best New Artist
The Band Perry
Bon Iver
J. Cole
Nicki Minaj
Skrillex
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Rihanna along with Radiohead, Bon Iver, Drake and Mumford & Sons each received four nods. (The Image Gate/Getty Images)
Album of the Year
Adele - 21
The Foo Fighters - Wasting Light
Lady Gaga - Born This Way
Bruno Mars - Doo-wops and Hooligans
Rihanna - Loud
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Bruno Mars got nods for Record and Song of the Year for "Grenade," and Album of the Year for Doo-Wops and Hooligans. (Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic/Getty Images)
Best Pop Solo Performance
Adele - "Someone Like You"
Lady Gaga - "You and I"
Bruno Mars - "Grenade"
Katy Perry - "Firework"
Pink - "F***in' Perfect"
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Coldplay  arriving at the Q Awards 2008, the event was held at the Grosvenor House in Park Lane, London, UK. (October 6, 2008 - Photo by FlynetPictures.com)
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
Tony Bennett & Amy Winehouse - "Body and Soul"
The Black Keys - "Dearest"
Coldplay - "Paradise"
Foster the People - "Pumped Up Kicks"
Maroon 5 & Christina Aguilera - "Moves Like Jagger"
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Singer Cee Lo Green along with Melanie Fiona received a Best Traditional R&B Performance nomination for "Radio Message." (Taylor Hill/FilmMagic/Getty Images)
Best Pop Vocal Album
Cee Lo Green - The Lady Killer
Rihanna - Loud
Bruno Mars - Doo Wops & Hooligans
Lady Gaga - Born This Way
Adele - 21
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DJ Deadmau5 performs at the Activision E3 2010 preview held at Staples Center on June 14, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. (June 13, 2010 - Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images North America)
Best Dance Recording
Robyn - "Call Your Girlfriend"
Deadmau5 - "Raise Your Weapon"
Duck Sauce - "Barbara Streisand"
David Guetta - "Sunshine"
Skrillex - "Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites"
Swedish House Mafia - "Save the World"
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Swedish singer, Robyn, takes the stage at Lovebox 2011 at Victoria park in a very animated performance.
(July 17, 2011 - Photo by Bauer Griffin)

Best Dance/Electronica Album
Skrillex - Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites
David Guetta - Nothing But the Beat
Robyn - Body Talk, Pt. 3
Deadmau5 - 4x4=12
Cut Copy - Zonoscope
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Mumford & Sons at the 2011 BRIT Awards held at The O2 Arena.
(February 15, 2011 - Photo by Bauer Griffin)
 Best Rock Performance
Coldplay – “Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall”
The Decemberists – “Down By The Water”
Foo Fighters – “Walk”
Mumford & Sons – “The Cave”
Radiohead – “Lotus Flower”
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Musician Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters perform onstage during the 2011 MTV Movie Awards at Universal Studios' Gibson Amphitheatre on June 5, 2011 in Universal City, California.
(June 4, 2011 - Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images North America)
Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance
Dream Theater – “On The Backs Of Angels”
Foo Fighters – “White Limo”
Mastodon – “Curl Of The Burl”
Megadeth – “Public Enemy No. 1″
Sum 41 – “Blood In My Eyes”
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Musician Thom Yorke of Radiohead performs during day 3 of the Coachella Valley Music & Art Festival 2010 held at The Empire Polo Club on April 18, 2010 in Indio, California.
(April 17, 2010 - Photo by Michael Buckner/Getty Images North America)
Best Rock Song
Mumford & Songs - "The Cave"
Coldplay - "Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall"
The Decemberists - "Down by the Water"
Radiohead - "Lotus Flower"
Foo Fighters - "Walk"
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Musical group Kings of Leon arrives at the 52nd Annual GRAMMY Awards held at Staples Center on January 31, 2010 in Los Angeles, California.
(January 30, 2010 - Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images North America)
Best Rock Album
Jeff Beck – Rock ‘N’ Roll Party Honoring Les Paul
Foo Fighters – Wasting Light
Kings Of Leon – Come Around Sundown
Red Hot Chili Peppers – I’m With You
Wilco – The Whole Love
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Musical group Foster the People arrives at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards at Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE on August 28, 2011 in Los Angeles, California. (August 27, 2011 - Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images North America)
Best Alternative Music Album
Bon Iver – Bon Iver
Death Cab For Cutie – Codes And Keys
Foster The People – Torches
My Morning Jacket – Circuital
Radiohead – The King Of Limbs
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Jay-Z & Kanye West at the 2011 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show - Performance.The Armory, New York, NY.November 9, 2011. (November 9, 2011 - Photo by Bauer Griffin)
Best Rap Performance
Chris Brown, Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes – “Look At Me Now”
Jay-Z & Kanye West – “Otis”
Lupe Fiasco – “The Show Goes On”
Nicki Minaj & Drake – “Moment 4 Life”
Wiz Khalifa – “Black And Yellow”
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Whiz Khalifa performs at the BET Hip Hop Awards 2011 at Boisfeuillet Jones Atlanta Civic Center on October 1, 2011 in Atlanta, Georgia. (September 30, 2011 - Photo by Chris McKay/Getty Images North America)
Best Rap Song
Kanye West - "All of the Lights"
Wiz Khalifa - "Black and Yellow"
Dr. Dre & Eminem - "I Need a Doctor"
Chris Brown, Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes - “Look At Me Now”
Jay-Z & Kanye West - “Otis”
Lupe Fiasco - “The Show Goes On”
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Best Rap Album
Jay-Z & Kanye West – Watch The Throne
Lil Wayne – Tha Carter IV
Lupe Fiasco – Lasers
Nicki Minaj – Pink Friday
Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
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Singer Ledisi performs at the 33rd Annual UNCF An Evening Of Stars on August 14, 2011 in Pasadena, California.
(August 13, 2011 - Photo by Valerie Macon/Getty Images North America)
Best R&B Song
Cee Lo Green - "Fool For You"
Kelly Price - "Not My Daddy"
Charlie Wilson - "You Are"
Marsha Ambrosius - "Far Away"
Ledisi - "Pieces of Me"
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Singer R. Kelly performs at the 2011 Pre-GRAMMY Gala and Salute To Industry Icons Honoring David Geffen at Beverly Hilton on February 12, 2011 in Beverly Hills, California.
(February 11, 2011 - Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images North America)
Best R&B Album
Chris Brown - F.A.M.E.
El DeBarge - Second Chance
R. Kelly - Love Letter
Ledisi - Pieces of Me
Kelly Price - Kelly
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Best Country Song
Thompson Square - "Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not"
Blake Shelton - "God Gave Me You"
Trace Adkins - "Just Fishin'"
Vince Gill - "Threaten Me with Heaven"
Kenny Chesney & Grace Potter - "You and Tequila"
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(L-R) Musicians Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott, and Dave Haywood from the musical group Lady Antebellum arrive at the 2010 American Music Awards held at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on November 21, 2010 in Los Angeles, California.
(November 20, 2010 - Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images North America)
Best Country Album
Eric Church - Chief
Lady Antebellum - Own the Night
Blake Shelton - Red River Blue
George Strait - Here for a Good Time
Jason Aldean - My Kinda Party
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Singers Akiva Schaffer, Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone of The Lonely Island perform onstage during the 63rd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards held at Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE on September 18, 2011 in Los Angeles, California. (September 17, 2011 - Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images North America)
Best Comedy Album
Patton Oswalt - Finest Hour
The Lonely Island - Turtleneck & Chain
Kathy Griffin - 50 & Pregnant
Louis C.K. - Hilarious
"Weird Al" Yankovic - Alpocalypse
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