Britons saving less, says survey

LONDON (AP): Britons have been putting away less savings from their paychecks every autumn since 2005, and nearly half are planning to save even less this winter as they struggle to stay afloat amid the economic downturn, according to a survey published onFriday by a British savings organization backed by the country's Treasury.

The National Savings and Investments' quarterly savings survey revealed that Britons saved an average of 6.4 percent of their income _ or 87.23 pounds ($130.16) _ during the September to November quarter of this year.

In the same quarter of last year, they saved an average of 6.8 percent of their incomes, or 91.10 pounds. In autumn 2005, Britons' saved an average of 7.2 percent of their incomes.

The survey, which interviewed 3,045 British adults between Sept. 6 and Nov. 2, showed that the amount Britons are saving is likely to fall even lower in the coming months as the economic downturn squeezes household budgets.

Of those surveyed, 45 percent said they would probably save less this winter than they did in the autumn, compared to just 18 percent who said they were likely to save more.

The survey said that Britons' widely view their lack of savings as a problem, with a third of those interviewed concerned that they would not have enough money to cope in an emergency.

``Even those with good savings habits are feeling more of a pinch in the current economic climate,'' National Savings and Investments said in its report accompanying the survey results.

However, as Britons are saving less, they are also borrowing less _ an indication that many people may be paying for their living expenses upfront as the cost of unsecured loans and mortgages increase as a result of the credit crunch.

Earlier this month, the Bank of England published figures showing that net lending to individuals grew by 1.3 billion pounds ($2 billion) in October _ just a third of the previous six-month average of 3.6 billion pounds.

EU leaders inching towards climate change deal

Brussels (AP): European Union leaders inched towards a deal on Friday intended to set a worldwide example on fighting global warming by forcing industry to clean up and rewarding renewable energy.

The leaders were also near agreement on a USD 258-billion Europe-wide economic stimulus package to ease the effects of a recession. The downturn overshadowed talks on the costly climate deal.

Diplomats and experts haggled during the night over detailed and complex plans on how the 27-nation bloc will implement commitments to cut back emissions by 20 percent by 2020.

The EU's credibility on combating climate change is on the line at the two-day summit talks, which started yesterday. Current EU president France, trying to ensure that a deal is reached Friday, was offering sweeteners to newer EU members in Eastern Europe worried about the economic impact on their heavy industries.

An EU deal could breathe new life into UN global cimate talks in Poznan, Poland.

"I came from Poznan so I know that they are actually sitting and waiting for a European response," said Swedish Prime Minister Frederik Reinfeldt.

He said several EU countries still disagreed over how to share the costly burden the cuts will have on national economies, and on finding cleaner ways to produce energy.

The eyes of Europe's economic rivals are on the talks to see how the bloc manages to balance economic growth while keeping intact promises to rein in emissions.

The EU wants to get a deal now to rally others, like the United States, China, India, Russia and Brazil -- into a global agreement under debate at the Poznan UN talks.

Vatican raises opposition to embryonic stem cells

VATICAN CITY (AP): The Vatican is raising its opposition to embryonic stem cell research, in vitro fertilization and human cloning to a new level.

But the Vatican is also saying in a major new bioethics document that it approves of some forms of gene therapy and encourages stem cell research using adult cells. And it says parents could in good conscience inoculate their children with vaccines produced with cells derived from aborted fetuses.

The Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on Friday issued the ``instruction'' on bioethical questions that have emerged in the two decades since its last such document was published.

The Vatican's overall position is formed by its belief that human life begins at conception.

Russia celebrates Constitution amid change

MOSCOW (AP): President Dmitry Medvedev on Friday defended his proposal to extend the presidential term from four years to six, saying it would adapt Russia's post-Soviet Constitution to 21st Century conditions.

Medvedev's proposal, made last month, seems certain to change the constitution for the first time since it was adopted 15 years ago. Some observers believe the move prepares the way for Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to return to the presidency.

Kremlin critics have denounced the plan as an effort by Putin and Medvedev to extend their grip on power. They say it would violate the spirit of the constitution by decreasing voters' control over government.

Medvedev used a Constitution Day address in the Kremlin to defend the proposal. It won quick approval from parliament _ which is by dominated United Russia, Putin's political party _ and is now sailing through compliant regional legislatures.

``The constitution is a fundamental document,'' Medvedev said. ``But that doesn't mean that we can't look at the constitution through the eyes of modern people, people who live in the 21st century.''

Although Putin was popular, he was constitutionally barred from seeking a third consecutive term as president. His chosen successor, Medvedev, won the post in March by landslide.

Putin has said the term extension was not tailored for him and would boost democracy. But the push to enact the constitutional change just months after Medvedev's election has led to speculation that Medvedev's term could be cut short so Putin could assume the presidency again.

Van Johnson, heartthrob in '40s, dead

NEW YORK (AP): Van Johnson, Hollywood star of the movies' golden age, has died, a close friend said.

Family friend Wendy Bleiweiss said Johnson died on Friday at an assisted living center in Nyack, New York. He was 92.

Johnson was known for his boy-next-door wholesomeness and was a major heartthrob in the 1940s.

Among his films were ``Brigadoon,'' ``A Guy Named Joe'' and ``The Caine Mutiny.'' His co-stars included Humphrey Bogart, Elizabeth Taylor and June Allyson.

Many of his early films had World War II themes, including ``30 Seconds Over Tokyo.''

Israel warns its citizens to avoid visiting Goa

Jerusalem, (PTI): Israel has warned its nationals not to travel to Goa during the next two weeks, saying that the tourist hotspot is a "potential" terror target during the new year celebrations.

"The Goa region is a potentially tempting target for Islamic terror groups, particularly leading up to the New Year celebrations," Israel's Counter-Terrorism Bureau (CTB)said in a statement.

About 40,000 Israelis visit India every year and Goa is one of the most favoured destination for them, especially between Christmas and the New Year.

The "trance" music parties and "full moon" parties are particularlypopularamong youngIsraelis.

Six Israelis were killed in an attack on Nariman House in Mumbai last month but travel agencies here told that it has had little affect on those planning trips to India.

'Commander of the British Empire' award for Raj Loomba

London (PTI): Leading NRI entrepreneur Raj Loomba received the 'Commander of the British Empire' award from Prince Charles in recognition of his charity work at a colourful ceremony at Buckingham Palace here.

"It is wonderful that you are looking after widows and education of their children," Charles told him, hailing the work of the Loomba Trust, which works in India, Uganda, Kenya, and Syria among other countries.

Loomba pointed out that his Trust was also doing charity work with 'Youth Business International' supported by the Prince.

Raj Loomba is a tireless campaigner for improving the plight of widows and their children in India, Uganda, Kenya, Syria, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Columbia. In India 4,000 children of widows are being educated by the Trust, which raises funds through charity.

A dinner hosted by Veena Loomba, wife of Raj following the award ceremony, was attended among others by Lord Navnit Dholakia, Deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords and Tony Baldry, Former Tory Minister in Thatcher's Government.

Veena and Raj Loomba jointly founded the Loomba Trust, of which Cherie Blair, wife of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, is the president.

Palin tops worldwide Google search, Americans prefer Obama

Washington (PTI): Sarah Palin may have ended up on the losing side of the landmark U.S. electoral battle for the White House, but she has finished first on Google's image search list. U.S. President-elect Barack Obama came fifth in Google's list of the most popular searches in 2008 worldwide.

However, "Obama" was number one on the Google "fastest-rising" list followed by "Facebook" "ATT," a US phone company, "iPhone," "YouTube" and "Fox News", while Palin only finished seventh on the list of fastest-rising searches on Google.com by U.S. users in 2008.

The defeated U.S. Vice-Presidential candidate, topped the the Web search chart. The glamorous Palin finished number one on Google Image Search in 2008, Google said.

"Beijing Olympics 2008" came in at number two on the Google list of "fastest-rising" searches around the globe this year followed by "Facebook login" and "Tuenti," a Spanish social networking Website.

Searches for "Heath Ledger," the Australian actor who died in January, was listed at number four followed by "Obama" as in Barack Obama, the Democratic candidate for the White House and now U.S. President-elect.

Apart from providing a global view of searches on the the Web this year, Google also released search data for more than 30 countries.

Mumbai attacks raise concerns about terrorism

WASHINGTON (AP): The commando-style siege blamed on Lashkar-e-Taiba in Mumbai last month is raising new concerns in the U.S. intelligence community, both about the tactics used and the unsettling possibility the operation was conducted independent of Al-Qaida.

That could mean there is a new global terrorist organization to combat, requiring the resources and attention now focused on combatting Osama bin Laden's organization.

``People are looking closely at whether (Lashkar) is trying deliberately to raise its profile vis-a-vis other terrorist organizations and/or its geographic footprint,'' a U.S. counterterrorism official said, speaking anonymously because he was not authorized to discuss this intelligence on the record.

Lashkar-e-Taiba is a militant Islamic group - based in Kashmir and banned in Pakistan - that has been blamed by India and also U.S. National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell as the likely perpetrator of the Mumbai attack.

While the assessments aren't finished, U.S. counterterrorism officials assume the Mumbai attack heralds a change in Lashkar-e-Taiba's agenda, expanding its targets from Kashmir and India to include American, Israeli and Western interests.

It is still unclear whether al-Qaida played a role in planning, supplying, or timing the attack, according to U.S. intelligence officials. The groups are loosely allied. Lashkar signed on to bin Laden's Islamic Front for Jihad against America and Israel in 1998.

Since the 2001 U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, Lashkar fighters have been detected among militants in combat against American forces.

Senior intelligence officials discount the theory that the Mumbai attack was meant to shift Pakistan's attention back to Kashmir and away from its military campaign against al-Qaida and Taliban targets in the tribal areas. The Mumbai attack was planned for more than a year, they say, but Pakistan's offensive began just months ago.

If Al-Qaida did not play a direct role, it is possible Lashkar was trying to impress Al-Qaida, auditioning to become an official franchise of the organization. That would raise Lashkar's global profile; the benefit to al-Qaida would be the spread of its jihadist brand.

A third possibility is Lashkar acted on the same extremist philosophy that guides Al-Qaida, but carried out its attack independently. That would mean Western intelligence agencies now have to be concerned with two groups capable of spectacular international terrorist attacks, said Bilal Saab, a research analyst at the Brookings Institution.

Anit Mukherjee, a former Indian army officer and counterinsurgency expert, said Al-Qaida's involvement would force the United States to broaden operations in Pakistan to target Lashkar and Jaysh-e-Muhammed, which is another Kashmiri extremist group that Mukherjee said conducted an attack with Lashkar on the Indian parliament in December 2001. ``American officials didn't want to take on (those) terrorist organizations,'' Mukherjee said.

Traditionally limited to Kashmir, Lashkar's operations in the last seven years have included spectacular attacks in India - including the 2006 Mumbai train attack that killed around 200, according to Indian and U.S. intelligence officials. It popped onto American screens after the Afghan invasion because of its close relationship with the Taliban. It was put on the U.S. terrorist organization list in December 2001. Pakistan formally banned it in 2002.

However, it maintains some 2,200 offices across Pakistan for recruitment, fundraising, and social services, according to a U.S. intelligence report . It is estimated to have up to several thousand members, almost exclusively Pakistanis from outside Kashmir.

``It's not as if they're an unknown new kid on the block. But Mumbai certainly ratchets up (Lashkar's) profile,'' the U.S. counterterrorism official said.

If Al-Qaida is not directly implicated, the United States could continue to view Lashkar as a regional threat to be dealt with by India and Pakistan, Mukherjee said.

``If officials make that distinction, it is shortsighted,'' he said. ``Lashkar and Al-Qaida share the same ideology.''

A U.S. intelligence official said the focus on determining Al-Qaida's role, if any, distracts from the central problem: armed groups with extremist ideologies who have safe havens from which to launch attacks. The intelligence official spoke anonymously because he is not authorized to speak publicly.

No matter who planned it, Saab, the Brookings analyst, believes the commando tactics used by the 10 gunmen in Mumbai were meant to make an international splash.

Suicide bombings could have killed as many people, but Saab believes the attackers were aiming for a lengthy operation that would draw the eyes of the world. U.S. counterterrorism officials agree.

``The classical objectives of terrorism is to make everyone watch,'' Saab said.

U.N. seeks funds to meet health needs in Myanmar

New York (PTI): The United Nations has asked the international community to urgently provide funds to meet health requirements in the cyclone-devastated areas in Myanmar which are in the process of rebuilding.

Around 1,40,000 people lost their lives and more than 8,00,000 were rendered homeless by the cyclone Nargis which hit the nation in May last.

Till now, two-thirds of the funds for the U.N.'s $451 million appeal have been met, but agriculture and early recovery sectors are lagging behind with only 25 per cent and 39 per cent of needs being met so far.

"The past seven months' experience of responding to the health needs of the cyclone-affected population has shown that effective aid delivery can be achieved," U.N.'s Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Bishow Parajuli said,

Cautioning that the progress could unravel unless coordinated efforts are made to support the country's health system, Parajuli said, "The cyclone has resulted in a significantly increased level of general vulnerability amongst the population."

Applauding efforts of the disease surveillance reporting system set up with Myanmar's Health Ministry which helped prevent disease outbreaks and malnutrition through vaccination campaigns and other activities, the U.N. said that the fears of a 'second wave of death' has been averted, with nearly 7,50,000 people having been treated in the Ayeyarwady Delta by health providers.

Meanwhile, dozens of heads of diplomatic missions, U.N. agencies and non-government organisations (NGOs) met in the capital Yangon on Tuesday and made a field trip to examine the health facilities on Wednesday.

Cracks appear in Obama foreign policy team

WASHINGTON (AP): The first sign of cracks in President-elect Barack Obama's foreign policy team of rivals emerged on Monday as his choices for secretary of state and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations visited the State Department.

As the designated Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Obama's choice for U.N. envoy, Susan Rice, separately visited the diplomatic agency's headquarters in Washington's Foggy Bottom neighborhood, persons familiar with the transition said Rice wants to install her own transition team inside the department.

Such a move by an incoming U.N. ambassador would be rare, if not unprecedented, because the job is based at the United Nations in New York, where Rice already has a small transition staff, the sources familiar with the incoming administration said.

The push by Rice, an early Obama supporter whose position the President-elect wants to elevate to a cabinet post, also is a signal that she intends to use her influence with the new president to play a more significant role than previous U.N. envoys, they said. The transition sources spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.

Officials with Clinton's transition team would not comment on the matter, and aides to Rice could not be reached immediately. State Department officials would not comment about issues related to the transition.

It was not clear whether Clinton and Rice, who had strained relations during the Democratic primaries because of Rice's steadfast backing of Obama, saw each other at the State Department as Clinton left the building shortly after Rice arrived.

During the presidential campaign, some Clinton aides saw Rice's early decision to back Obama as a betrayal because of her previous role as a high State Department official during President Bill Clinton's administration. Rice's desire to place her own team in Washington could fuel speculation that those tensions will carry into the new administration.

The officials could not say whether Clinton's team had formally objected to Rice's plan, or even whether Rice would be able to install a separate transition team inside the State Department. They noted that dueling transition teams could complicate the handover by blurring lines of authority.

Technically, the job of U.N. envoy falls under the authority of the secretary of state, although some previous U.N. ambassadors have held cabinet rank. The last U.N. ambassador to be part of the president's cabinet was Richard Holbrooke, who had a famously icy relationship with then-Secretary of State Madeleine Albright during the Clinton administration.

Albright, who was President Clinton's first ambassador to the United Nations, was a mentor to Rice. But the two had a falling out when Albright, America's first female secretary of state, lined up behind Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination and Rice backed Obama.

Hillary Clinton, meanwhile, was to dine Monday night with the nation's current, second, female secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, at Rice's apartment in the exclusive Watergate complex. The two Rices are not related, and Condoleezza Rice said on Sunday that she thought Clinton would do a great job.

Also Monday, Clinton was to meet privately with Democratic John Kerry, incoming chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, according to a Democratic official. Kerry, once a contender for the secretary of state job, will oversee Clinton's confirmation. Kerry has pledged to hold ``swift and fair'' confirmation hearings for Clinton.

JeM chief Masood Azhar under house arrest

Islamabad (IANS): Pakistani authorities have placed restrictions on the movement of Maulana Masood Azhar, chief of the outlawed Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), "by confining him to his multi-storeyed concrete compound in the Model Town area of Bahawalpur", a media report Tuesday said.

"Well-placed official sources say Masood Azhar's activities have been restricted in the wake of the Indian government's demand to hand him over to New Delhi," The News said.

The confinement comes even as Pakistani security forces have launched a crackdown on the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terror group that India says is responsible for the Mumbai attacks that claimed 172 lives and injured nearly 250.

LeT commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhwi and 19 of his men were arrested in the crackdown that began Sunday.

The crackdown and Masood Azhar's confinement come within the 48 hour deadline the US set on Sunday for Pakistani action in the wake of the Mumbai mayhem.

Following the attacks, India had given to Pakistan a list of three people - Maulana Masood Azhar, Dawood Ibrahim and Tiger Memon - for their immediate extradition.

The Defence Committee of the Cabinet (DCC), at a meeting here Monday chaired by Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, had rejected the demand, saying there was no extradition treaty between India and Pakistan.

Masood Azhar had been released from an Indian prison in exchange for the passengers and crew of an Indian Airlines jet that suspected Pakistanis hijacked to Kandahar in Afghanistan while on a flight from Kathmandu to New Delhi.

New Delhi also blames him for the Dec 13, 2001 attack on the Indian parliament in New Delhi that almost triggered a war in the sub-continent.

Quoting official sources, The News said New Delhi had sought Masood Azhar's arrest and extradition while citing a 1989 agreement between India's Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) "which binds both the agencies to collaborate with each other to trace out the most wanted terrorists and criminals and hand them over to their respective counterpart".

But, as The News noted, "it is not for the first time that (Masood Azhar's) movements have been restricted by the Pakistani authorities".

"Every time the Indian government demands his extradition, he is confined to his under-construction headquarters in Bahawalpur," the newspaper added.

Soon after Masood Azhar was released, he discarded the Harkatul Mujahideen (HuM) terror group to launch the Jaish-e-Mohammad.

"Since then, having gone through many ups and downs, especially in the wake of the 2001 attack on the Indian parliament and the 2003 suicide attacks on (then president) Gen. (Pervez) Musharraf in Rawalpindi, the Jaish had been renamed as Khudamul Islam (KuI) and reorganised under the command of Mufti Abdul Rauf, the younger brother of Masood Azhar", The News said.

The US State Department had designated the JeM a foreign terrorist organisation in Dec 2001, prompting the Musharraf regime to ban the outfit in January 2002.

Masood Azhar has been formally arrested by the Pakistani authorities only once, on Dec 29, 2001 following the attack on the Indian parliament. However, a three-member review board of the Lahore High Court ordered his release Dec 14, 2002.

More protests planned in Greece following riots

ATHENS (AP): Police were bracing for more violence at demonstrations planned on Monday across Greece to protest the fatal police shooting of a 15-year-old boy in Athens.

Dozens of stores, banks and cars were torched or smashed in weekend rioting after the teenager was shot late Saturday in circumstances that remain unclear.

The weekend riots were the worst Greece has seen in years, with police holding overnight running battles and firing volleys of tear gas at rampaging youths who left parts of Athens' main shopping district gutted and looted.

Rioters were still barricaded Monday morning at two university campuses in Athens, while youths blocked two main roads in the capital and an urban rail system. Demonstrations also turned violent Monday in a small central Greek town of Trikala, where one policeman was reportedly injured and blocked a nearby national rail route.

In the second-largest Greek city of Thessaloniki, dozens of youths from the university marched down a major street, overturning trash cans setting some on fire on Monday morning.

Protesters planned more demonstrations on Monday evening in at least five Greek cities, including Athens and Thessaloniki in the north.

Britain and Australia have urged tourists to take care when visiting Athens and be aware of possible violent demonstrations.

Authorities have charged a 37-year-old police officer with murder over the shooting Saturday night of 15-year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulos in Athens' volatile central Exarchia district. Grigoropoulos was shot in the left side of the chest and died before an ambulance transported him to a state hospital, Health Ministry officials said.

The Police Officers' Association has apologized to the boy's family, and President Karolos Papoulias sent a telegram to his parents expressing his condolences.

``This death was a blow to the country ... I am certain that those responsible will be held to account,'' Papoulias said.

Police spokesman Panayiotis Stathis defended the police's handling of the riots, despite the extensive damage.

Police said 14 people had been arrested in Athens over the weekend for public disturbance offenses and looting. Health officials said hospitals have treated 29 people with minor injuries sustained during Sunday's violence.

``Under the circumstances, I think we achieved the best possible result. Human life was protected, both that of the demonstrators and the police, that's the most important thing,'' Stathis said.

Next EU presidency wants to boost ties with Israel

BRUSSELS (AP): The Czech government says it wants to boost the European Union's ties with Israel once it assumes the bloc's presidency in January.

Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg says Prague will ask the EU's 27 countries to agree to stepping up ties with Israel.

The Palestinians oppose any EU effort to widen relations with Israel in political, economic, scientific, security, health and other spheres. They say Israel should do more to ease the humanitarian crisis in their areas.

Schwarzenberg says increasing relations would ``not only in the interest of Israel but also very much in the interest of the Palestinian people.''

The Czechs hold the EU presidency in the first half of 2009.

Fire aboard Russian warship kills officer

Moscow (AP): Russia's navy says a fire aboard a warship has killed an officer.

Navy's spokesman Captain Igor Dygalo says the small blaze broke out Monday on the frigate Neukrotimy, or Indomitable, at a Baltic Sea base.

He says the fire was put out quickly but an officer from the crew was killed.

Frequent accidents are plaguing Russia's navy even as increasingly far-reaching voyages reflect a Kremlin effort to increase the country's global influence.

An accident aboard a nuclear-powered submarine killed 20 people last month.

The Indomitable was damaged in an embarrassing accident in 2005. An explosion of practice ammunition ripped its hull open and it began to sink on the Neva River in St Petersburg on the eve of Navy Day celebrations.

Britain's manufacturers see costs slide in November

LONDON (AP): Sliding oil prices pushed British manufacturers' costs lower in November, official figures showed Monday, further stoking expectations that the Bank of England could cut its benchmark rate to an all-time low of 1.00 percent in January.

The Office for National Statistics said prices at the factory gate _ also known as output prices _ fell by 0.7 percent in November from the previous month. November's fall came on the heels of October's record 1.0 percent decline and pushed the annual rate of increase down to a year low of 5.1 percent from 6.7 percent.

Meanwhile, manufacturers' raw material costs _ also known as input prices _ slid 3.3 percent in November, pushing the annual rate of increase down to 7.5 percent from 15.4 percent.

Analysts said the data further reinforces predictions that the Bank of England, which has already cut its benchmark rate by 3 percentage points in two months to 2 percent, could reduce interest rates a further percentage point at its next rate-setting meeting in January.

There was some disappointment though that the figures showed that core output prices, which exclude energy and food costs, actually rose 0.2 percent during the month, partly because of the fall in the pound. However, with the downturn set to be deep and prolonged, analysts said the core rate will likely fall soon too.

``Given that the manufacturing sector is facing its worst downturn since the early 1980s, core prices are likely to fall back in the coming months,'' said Paul Dales, economist at Capital Economics.

``These numbers support our view that the bank needs to cut interest rates even further to stave off the threat of deflation,'' he added.

Thai court bans Premier for 5 years, flights to resume

Bangkok (PTI): Thailand on Tuesday plunged into a fresh political turmoil after a court delivered a body blow to embattled Premier Somchai Wongsawat and outlawed the three ruling parties for electoral fraud, promting protesters to lift the week-long blockade of the international airport here.

It was "not a problem. I was not working for myself. Now I will be a full-time citizen," Somcahi told reporters in the northern city of Chiang Mai after the country's Constitutional Court's verdict that barred him from politics for five years.

Somchai abandoned a cabinet meeting after the court in the capital, Bangkok, ordered the dissolution of country's top three ruling parties for electoral fraud. A government spokesman said that Premier and his entire cabinet would step down.

The court said "dishonest political parties undermine Thailand's democratic system."

Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi international airport, under seige from anti-government activists for a week, has reopened to cargo flights.

"As of this moment the PAD (People's Alliance for Democracy) has allowed flights to take off and land immediately, both passenger and cargo flights," senior alliance member Somkiat Pongpaiboon told reporters here.

The main airport and the domestic airport Don Muang have been taken over by the protesters since a week now and no flights have landed or taken off with more than 300,000 passengers waiting to leave Thailand.

Meanwhile the head of Thai airports said that Suvarnabhumi international airport will remain closed for passenger flights until December 15 due to disruptions caused as a result of protests. As of this morning, cargo flights were allowed to land at the international airport.

Death toll in Karachi violence rises to 40

Karachi (IANS): At least 40 people have been killed in rioting that started late Saturday in the port city of Pakistan, Online news agency reported on Tuesday.

Five bodies were recovered by the police late Monday in the Raees Amrohvi colony of the city, media reports said, adding that unidentified miscreants set a number of houses on fire in the locality.

Sounds of sporadic gunfire were heard late in the night in the colony and the adjacent areas, reports said.

Residents of Orangi, the worst-affected area, staged protests against the killings and demanded more police contingents in their area.

The provincial government of Sindh Monday reissued shoot-at-sight order following escalation of ethnic riot in the city.

Political tensions between Urdu-speaking Muttahida Qaumi Movement and Pashtuns from the North West Frontier Province who have settled in Karachi for jobs have led to clashes in the past.

Some people voted for Barack because of me: Bush

New York (PTI): U.S. President George W Bush has said the results of the November presidential polls were a "repudiation of Republicans" and admitted that "some people voted for Barack Obama because of me".

Asked by ABC news if Obama's victory was in any way repudiation of his administration, Bush said, "I think it was a repudiation of Republicans."

"And I'm sure some people voted for Barack Obama because of me," the two-term President who was going out of office with a dismally low approval rating, said.

But he added: "I think most people voted for Barack Obama because they decided they wanted him to be in their living room for the next four years explaining policy."

Bush said Republican presidential nominee John McCain, whom Obama defeated, faced a "tough headwind" in his campaign, particularly in terms of economic climate and the perception of Republican Party.

But he also praised the Obama campaign's organisation and message.

When asked what his parting relationship will be with the President-elect, Bush said that he will reach out to him.

"One of my parting words to him (Obama) will be: 'If I can help you, let me know,'" Bush said.

Somalia cannot stop piracy alone, says its PM

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP): The Somali Prime Minister said his country had been torn apart by a long civil war and cannot stop piracy alone.

Nur Hassan Hussein said the piracy problem ``is part of the legacy of the situation of the country. This 18 years of civil war is followed by disorder.''

Hussein said Tuesday in an interview with The Associated Press in Nairobi, Kenya, that stopping piracy is ``not something Somalia can do alone. This needs a tremendous effort.''

Hussein has appealed for international troops for Somalia after his government's Ethiopian allies said they would pull out their troops soon.

Pirates have taken advantage of lawlessness in Somalia to launch attacks on foreign shipping form the Somali coast. Around 100 ships have been attacked so far this year.