Cricket: Warne calls for new Australia coach

SYDNEY: Test great Shane Warne on Wednesday called on Australia coach Mickey Arthur to be replaced by former New Zealand skipper Stephen Fleming days after branding the nation's cricket chiefs "muppets".

The outspoken leg-spinner, who said he was "frustrated on many levels at present", praised Fleming as "the best opposition captain we played against" on his website www.shanewarne.com.

"I believe he brings a lot to the table, a calmness, an intelligent understanding of the game and a very good cricket brain. He's a good communicator too as well as a good leader of men."

Warne, 43, who also wants former Test wicketkeeper Rod Marsh as chairman of selectors, said the current Australian set-up was not working as the players gear up for two Ashes series against England over the next year.

In a post entitled "Where is Australian cricket at? Part 1" on his website, Warne said: "The next 12 months is the biggest 12 months of cricket for the Australian cricket team in a long, long time.

"If we do nothing now, we will be where we were 30 years ago. There needs to be urgent action and a new strategy/plan put in place."

In Twitter comments on Monday, Warne blasted Cricket Australia's policy of rotating players, which has attracted stinging criticism from other greats of the game.

Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland has told Warne he is happy to discuss Warne's ideas but has expressed disappointment with the manner in which he expressed his concerns, CA said on its website.

Australia, third in the Test and one-day rankings, lost the recent Twenty20 series against Sri Lanka after drawing the one-day series and beating the visitors in the Test series.

Warne was last week fined A$5,000 (US$5,250) for a code of behaviour breach in the domestic Big Bash League.

And he apologised earlier this month after a foul-mouthed rant against West Indian all-rounder Marlon Samuels that earned him a ban and a A$4,500 fine.

Warne claimed 708 Test wickets in a celebrated career that also courted controversy, including a fine for taking money from a bookmaker. He was sent home from the 2003 World Cup for taking a banned diuretic.

Also on Wednesday, CA said that Australian pace great Dennis Lillee has been appointed to CA's's high-performance team as a fast bowling advisor.

- AFP/al

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Delhi HC stays non-bailable warrants against Raj Thackeray

NEW DELHI: In a relief to MNS chief Raj Thackeray, the Delhi high court on Wednesday stayed the execution of non-bailable warrants (NBWs) issued against him in 2008 for his alleged anti-Bihari remarks.

"The operation of the NBWs is stayed," Justice Sunil Gaur said after hearing brief arguments advanced by senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi seeking to quash the summoning orders passed in 2008 by a lower court at Muzaffarpur in Bihar on two private complaints lodged against him.

The court also issued a notice to Sudhir Kumar Ojha, a Bihar-based advocate, and sought his response on the plea of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief while posting the matter for further hearing on April 16.

Initiating the arguments, Rohatgi said, "The summons have been issued on bald complaints of a lawyer and, moreover, the complaints do not satisfy the ingredients envisaged under section 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) of the Indian Penal Code."

The court, after going through the content of the alleged speeches, said, "It seems it is insulting..."

In response to the observation, the senior lawyer said, "Anybody can have the right to have his or her personal opinion about an issue and they (statements) cannot be held as offensive without being tested".

The counsel for Thackeray sought exemption from personal appearance for the MNS leader during trial court proceedings, saying there were as many as 16 private criminal complaints filed against him and they have been transferred to Delhi following an order of the Supreme Court.

The high court granted exemption from personal appearance for a day to the MNS chief who was to appear in a Delhi court on Thursday in connection with the two cases.

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Timbuktu’s vulnerable manuscripts are city’s "gold"

French and Malian troops surrounded Timbuktu on Monday and began combing the labyrinthine city for Islamist fighters. Witnesses, however, said the Islamists, who claim an affiliation to al Qaeda and had imposed a Taliban-style rule in the northern Malian city over the last ten months, slipped into the desert a few days earlier.

But before fleeing, the militants reportedly set fire to several buildings and many rare manuscripts. There are conflicting reports as to how many manuscripts were actually destroyed. (Video: Roots of the Mali Crisis.)

On Monday, Sky News posted an interview with a man identifying himself as an employee of the Ahmed Baba Institute, a government-run repository for rare books and manuscripts, the oldest of which date back to the city's founding in the 12th century. The man said some 3,000 of the institute's 20,000 manuscripts had been destroyed or looted by the Islamists.

Video showed what appeared to be a large pile of charred manuscripts and the special boxes made to preserve them in front of one of the institute's buildings.

However, a member of the University of Cape Town Timbuktu Manuscript Project told eNews Channel Africa on Tuesday that he had spoken with the director of the Ahmed Baba Institute, Mahmoud Zouber, who said that nearly all of its manuscripts had been removed from the buildings and taken to secure locations months earlier. (Read "The Telltale Scribes of Timbuktu" in National Geographic magazine.)

A Written Legacy

The written word is deeply rooted in Timbuktu's rich history. The city emerged as a wealthy center of trade, Islam, and learning during the 13th century, attracting a number of Sufi religious scholars. They in turn took on students, forming schools affiliated with's Timbuktu's three main mosques.

The scholars imported parchment and vellum manuscripts via the caravan system that connected northern Africa with the Mediterranean and Arabia. Wealthy families had the documents copied and illuminated by local scribes, building extensive libraries containing works of religion, art, mathematics, medicine, astronomy, history, geography, and culture.

"The manuscripts are the city's real gold," said Mohammed Aghali, a tour guide from Timbuktu. "The manuscripts, our mosques, and our history—these are our treasures. Without them, what is Timbuktu?"

This isn't the first time that an occupying army has threatened Timbuktu's cultural heritage. The Moroccan army invaded the city in 1591 to take control of the gold trade. In the process of securing the city, they killed or deported most of Timbuktu's scholars, including the city's most famous teacher, Ahmed Baba al Massufi, who was held in exile in Marrakesh for many years and forced to teach in a pasha's court. He finally returned to Timbuktu in 1611, and it is for him that the Ahmed Baba Institute was named.

Hiding the Texts

In addition to the Ahmed Baba Institute, Timbuktu is home to more than 60 private libraries, some with collections containing several thousand manuscripts and others with only a precious handful. (Read about the fall of Timbuktu.)

Sidi Ahmed, a reporter based in Timbuktu who recently fled to the Malian capital Bamako, said Monday that nearly all the libraries, including the world-renowned Mamma Haidara and the Fondo Kati libraries, had secreted their collections before the Islamist forces had taken the city.

"The people here have long memories," he said. "They are used to hiding their manuscripts. They go into the desert and bury them until it is safe."

Though it appears most of the manuscripts are safe, the Islamists' occupation took a heavy toll on Timbuktu.

Women were flogged for not covering their hair or wearing bright colors. Girls were forbidden from attending school, and boys were recruited into the fighters' ranks.

Music was banned. Local imams who dared speak out against the occupiers were barred from speaking in their mosques. In a move reminiscent of the Taliban's destruction of Afghanistan's famous Bamiyan Buddha sculptures, Islamist fighters bulldozed 14 ancient mud-brick mausoleums and cemeteries that held the remains of revered Sufi saints.

A spokesman for the Islamists said it was "un-Islamic" for locals to "worship idols."

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All 20 on board Kazakh airliner "killed in crash"

ALMATY, Kazakhstan: All 20 people on board a domestic flight in Kazakhstan operated by the SCAT airline died Tuesday when their Bombardier jet crashed on approach to Almaty airport in thick fog, the airline said.

"Twenty people were on board -- five crew members and 15 passengers," the airline said in a statement, quoted by the Interfax news agency.

"According to preliminary information there are no survivors," the statement added, saying the aircraft was a CRJ-200 made by Canadian manufacturer Bombardier.

SCAT said the plane went down about five kilometres (three miles) short of the financial centre's main airport on a flight from the northern steppe city of Kokshetau.

Commercial KTK television said the plane crashed into a suburb of Almaty but gave no information of possible casualties or damage on the ground.

The Kazinform news agency reported that officials from both the interior and transportation ministry had travelled to the site of the crash.

The accident came just a month after a crash that killed 27, claiming the lives of much of the top echelon of the Kazakh state border service including the acting chief.

Aviation disasters remain a scourge across the former Soviet Union due to ageing hardware that often has not been replaced since the fall of the Soviet regime, as well as human error.

- AFP

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Syrian crisis: India to pledge Rs 14 crore for humanitarian needs

NEW DELHI: Deeply concerned about the hardships and sufferings of the people of Syria as a result of unabated violence there, India will be pledging about Rs 14 crore towards humanitarian assistance in a UN conference which will be held in Kuwait on Wednesday.

This assistance will be in the form of life saving drugs, food and other essential items required by the people of Syria, ministry of external affairs said here.

Minister of state for external affairs E Ahamed will be participating in the 'high-level international humanitarian pledging conference for Syria', an important initiative of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs to express support to the humanitarian needs of the Syrian people. It is being hosted by the emir of Kuwait.

"India has been closely following the developments in Syria and is deeply concerned about the hardships and sufferings of the people of Syria as a result of unabated violence in Syria," MEA said, adding it has already responded positively to the humanitarian needs of the people of Syria and had decided to provide humanitarian assistance to Syria in the form of life saving drugs and fortified biscuits.

"In keeping with India's commitment to extend support to the Syrian people, India will be pledging an amount of around Rs 14 crores towards humanitarian assistance to the people of Syria in the conference," the ministry added.

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Space Pictures This Week: Martian Gas, Cloud Trails

Image courtesy SDO/NASA

The sun is more than meets the eye, and researchers should know. They've equipped telescopes on Earth and in space with instruments that view the sun in at least ten different wavelengths of light, some of which are represented in this collage compiled by NASA and released January 22. (See more pictures of the sun.)

By viewing the different wavelengths of light given off by the sun, researchers can monitor its surface and atmosphere, picking up on activity that can create space weather.

If directed towards Earth, that weather can disrupt satellite communications and electronics—and result in spectacular auroras. (Read an article on solar storms in National Geographic magazine.)

The surface of the sun contains material at about 10,000°F (5,700°C), which gives off yellow-green light. Atoms at 11 million°F (6.3 million°C) gives off ultraviolet light, which scientists use to observe solar flares in the sun's corona. There are even instruments that image wavelengths of light highlighting the sun's magnetic field lines.

—Jane J. Lee

Published January 28, 2013

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5 Years Later, What's New on Immigration Reform?

The announcement of a proposal for immigration reform inspired renewed excitement for some involved in the fight Monday, but other players in the debate felt a sense of déjà vu.

Monday afternoon, senators introduced a framework of changes previewed over the weekend, with President Obama and a secret group from the House of Representatives expected soon to follow suit.

The press conference was held by Senators Chuck Schumer, John McCain, Dick Durbin, Lindsey Graham, Bob Menendez, Marco Rubio, Michael Bennet and Jeff Flake. Menendez called it "meaningful and comprehensive" immigration reform.

But former Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla., who worked on this same issue under President George W. Bush in 2007, said this proposal "is a lot like what we did five years ago -- remarkably so."

Martinez said it puts "a little more emphasis" on dealing with legal immigrants who overstay their visas, shifts from framing the policies as reuniting families to rewarding skilled laborers, and the phrase "guest worker" -- which was a point of contention then -- is now absent.

But in terms of things like creating a path to citizenship and requiring an electronic verification system for employers to determine an applicant's legal status, "All of these things are exactly what we did before," Martinez said.

J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo| Susan Walsh/AP Photo

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To Martinez, this replay is a good thing. He said a "political evolution" and a new appreciation for Hispanic voters created a positive climate for reforms this time around.

But Ira Mehlman of the Federation for American Immigration Reform said he is not impressed.

"It's essentially the same legislation that was offered and rejected in 2007," Mehlman told ABC News."It includes nothing for the primary constituency -- namely the American public. It's all based on what the immigrants and particularly the illegal immigrants want and what employers want."

The two plans focused on achieving bipartisan support, molding immigration law to meet the needs of the economy, and the condition that reform would only happen simultaneously with the strengthening of border security.

The difference, according to immigration lawyer Cori Alonso-Yoder of immigrant-focused non-profit Ayuda, is the messaging in this proposal.

"The message is very helpful to people who are used to hearing a not-welcoming tone towards immigrants," Alonso-Yoder said Monday. "I think that's sort of what distinguishes this from efforts that we saw in 2006, 2007 things that I think were more harsh on immigrants."

This time around the plan alludes to racial profiling and human trafficking, two issues Alonso-Yoder said her clients "confront on a daily basis and are dealing with on a daily basis."

Related: 'Dreamers' React to the New Immigration Reform Framework

She said she believes the intent in this legislation is good and that it will have some success -- at least outside of the House of Representatives.

"My concern is just seeing how this will all sort of play out in a system that is already filled with patchwork fixes, and how deep this reform will go, how broad it will sweep," Alonso-Yoder said.

The collapse of President George W. Bush's 2007 immigration bill may be a bad sign for Obama -- who is expected to announce his own plan today -- and others hoping to change the immigration system.

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Bipartisan group of senators to unveil framework for immigration overhaul

A key group of senators from both parties will unveil on Monday the framework of a broad overhaul of the nation’s immigration laws, including a pathway to citizenship for more than 11 million illegal immigrants.

The detailed, four-page statement of principles will carry the signatures of four Republicans and four Democrats, a bipartisan push that would have been unimaginable just months ago on one of the country’s most emotionally divisive issues.

The document is intended to provide guideposts that would allow legislation to be drafted by the end of March, including a potentially controversial “tough but fair” route to citizenship for those now living in the country illegally.

It would allow undocumented immigrants with otherwise clean criminal records to quickly achieve probationary legal residency after paying a fine and back taxes.

But they could pursue full citizenship — giving them the right to vote and access to government benefits — only after new measures are in place to prevent a future influx of illegal immigrants.

Those would include additional border security, a new program to help employers verify the legal status of their employees and more-stringent checks to prevent immigrants from overstaying visas.

And those undocumented immigrants seeking citizenship would be required to go to the end of the waiting list to get a green card that would allow permanent residency and eventual citizenship, behind those who had already legally applied at the time of the law’s enactment.

The goal is to balance a fervent desire by advocates and many Democrats to allow illegal immigrants to emerge from society’s shadows without fear of deportation with a concern held by many Republicans that doing so would only encourage more illegal immigration.

“We will ensure that this is a successful permanent reform to our immigration system that will not need to be revisited,” the group asserts in its statement of principles.

The framework identifies two groups as deserving of special consideration for a separate and potentially speedier pathway to full citizenship: young people who were brought to the country illegally as minors and agricultural workers whose labor, often at subsistence wages, has long been critical to the nation’s food supply.

Expanding visas

The plan also addresses the need to expand available visas for high-tech workers and promises to make green cards available for those who pursue graduate education in certain fields in the United States.

“We must reduce backlogs in the family and employment visa categories so that future immigrants view our future legal immigration system as the exclusive means for entry into the United States,” the group will declare.

The new proposal marks the most substantive bipartisan step Congress has taken toward new immigration laws since a comprehensive reform bill failed on the floor of the Senate in 2007.

It comes as the White House is gearing up for a renewed push for reform. On Tuesday, President Obama will travel to Las Vegas to urge quick action; he told Hispanic members of Congress at a White House meeting Friday that the issue is his top legislative priority.

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One dead in Cairo clashes as political turmoil escalates

CAIRO: One person was killed in Cairo on Monday as clashes between police and protesters raged into a fifth day, and President Mohamed Morsi scrambled to contain deepening divisions with calls for national dialogue.

The unidentified man was killed by birdshot to the head, a police official told AFP, as demonstrators and police lobbed rocks at each other on a bridge and in an underpass leading to Tahrir Square and tear gas hung heavily in the air.

Morsi late on Sunday sought to crack down on violence which has swept Egypt since Friday in which more than 45 people have died, declaring a month-long state of emergency in the provinces of Port Said, Suez and Ismailiya.

In a televised address he also slapped the three provinces with night-time curfews, while calling the opposition -- which accuses him of betraying the revolution that brought him to power -- to a national dialogue at the presidential palace at 6:00 pm (1600 GMT) Monday.

Specifically included in the invitation for talks are the three leaders of National Salvation Front (NSF) opposition coalition, leading dissident and founder of Al-Dustur party Mohamed ElBaradei, former Arab League chief Amr Mussa and presidential candidate Hamdeen Sabbahi.

The NSF was to meet in the early afternoon to consider a response to Morsi's call, Hussein Gohar of the Egyptian Social Democratic Party told AFP.

In a statement late Sunday, Sabbahi's movement expressed its "refusal to participate amid the continuing bloodshed and continuing crimes by the regime against demonstrators".

It said it believes that "any serious call for dialogue needs real guarantees for success, the most important being that the president offers political solutions and security."

ElBaradei said on Twitter that "if the president does not assume responsibility for the bloody events, does not commit to the formation of a salvation government and a committee to amend the constitution, all dialogue is a waste of time."

The unrest highlights the deep split between Morsi's mainly Islamist allies, and an opposition of leftists, liberals, Christians and deeply religious Muslims calling for freedom and the separation of the state from religion.

It also underscores the long-standing tensions between protesters and a police force long accused of human rights abuses.

Morsi's television address, in which he appeared both flustered and angry, came after a second day of rioting rocked Port Said sparked by death sentences handed down on Saturday against supporters of a local football club Al-Masry over stadium violence last year that killed 74 people.

At least 46 people have lost their lives in the Suez Canal cities in three days, with Port Said the worst hit with 37 fatalities. Hundreds have also been injured in the violence.

On Sunday, as thousands marched in the funeral procession of Port Said residents who died in clashes a day earlier, chanting "Our city is being hit by the interior ministry" and "Down with Brotherhood rule!" bursts of gunfire scattered mourners amid chaotic scenes that brought on more rioting.

Crowds attempted to storm three police stations in the Port Said, while others looted and torched an army social club, security officials said.

Unrest also erupted on Sunday in Suez, another canal city, where protesters surrounded a police station, lobbed Molotov cocktails at security forces and blocked the road leading to the capital, security officials said.

Morsi warned that he was ready to take further measures unless there was an end to the deadly unrest that has swept Egypt since Friday, when protests to mark the second anniversary of the anti-Mubarak revolt turned violent.

A few hundred people took to the streets of Ismailiya just after Morsi's announcement and clashed with police, an AFP correspondent said. A medical source said six people had been injured.

Egypt was under a state of emergency for more than three decades in the wake of the assassination of president Anwar Sadat in 1981 and until May last year, a month before Morsi was elected.

Ending the state of emergency -- which allowed authorities to detain people without charge and try them in emergency security courts -- was a key demand of protesters who toppled Hosni Mubarak in 2011.

- AFP/xq

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Narendra Modi should be BJP's PM candidate, Yashwant Sinha says

NEW DELHI, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Yashwant Sinha on Monday endorsed Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi as the party's prime ministerial candidate in the next general election.

"Wherever I go, the common people and party workers say they want Narendra Modi to be the prime minister candidate from BJP," Yashwant Sinha told reporters here.

"After considering all aspects, I too feel if BJP declares him as the prime minister candidate, it will make a huge difference to the party," he said.

He added that it was his personal view. The BJP has so far maintained silence on the issue.

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