Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Mid Day International News

Mid Day International News

Tiger Woods' mistress blames his ex-wife Elin for his affairs

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Tiger Woods' mistress Loredana Jolie has accused his wife Elin Nordegren of being an uncaring 'gold-digger' in her book that details her alleged 20 sexual encounters with the now-divorced golfer.

She has blamed Nordegren for his serial cheating.

Jolie, an escort who charged up to 16,000 dollar a night for sex, insists Woods remained married only to protect his fortune.

''Obviously they didn't have such a close relationship because if I was in his house, where the hell was she?'' News.com.au quoted her as stating.

The book -The Real Diary: Lessons from the Good Time Girl to Champion - will be published next month to coincide with the first anniversary of the car crash outside Woods' Florida home that unleashed the sex scandal that cost him his marriage.

Woods was divorced by his 30-year-old wife two months ago. Swedish-born Nordegren received an estimated 100 dollar million settlement and custody of their children.

Woods had admitted to a string of affairs, with as many as 14 women saying they had slept with him.

In her book Miss Jolie, 27, a former Playboy model, portrays Woods as a sex addict who was used to getting his own way.

A fifth of world's life at extinction risk

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A fifth of the world's mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fishes are in imminent danger of going extinct, says this year's edition of the benchmark IUCN Red List. The percentages of threatened invertebrates and plants are similar.

Releasing the findings at the October 18-29 UN biodiversity summit, being attended by 192 countries, here Wednesday, Simon Stuart, chair of the Species Survival Commission of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), said their findings on vertebrates showed that "nature's backbone is at risk".

Around 3,000 scientists from around the world have worked to put this Red List together. They have found that 25 per cent of all mammals, 13 per cent birds, 41 per cent amphibians, 22 per cent reptiles and 15 per cent fishes risk extinction, mostly due to loss of their habitats and some due to over hunting.

A recent study by the Kew Botanical Gardens had found that around six million species - 20 per cent of all plants and invertebrates - face the extinction threat too.

But it's not all bad news. IUCN has found 64 species that have improved their status in the Red List, moving from the critically endangered to the endangered category, for example. Stuart said all these were in areas that had been protected, "proving the importance of conservation". Results show that the status of biodiversity would have declined by at least an additional 20 percent if conservation action had not been taken.

The successes include three species that were extinct in the wild and have since been re-introduced back to nature: the California condor and the black-footed ferret in the US, and Przewalski's horse in Mongolia.

Conservation efforts have been particularly successful at combating invasive alien species on islands. The global population of Seychelles Magpie-robin, increased from fewer than 15 birds in 1965 to 180 in 2006 through control of introduced predators, like the brown rat. In Mauritius, six bird species have undergone recoveries in status, including the Mauritius kestrel, whose population has increased from just four birds in 1974 to nearly 1,000.

But very few amphibians - the most threatened vertebrates - have shown signs of recovery.

This year's study used data for 25,000 species from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, to investigate the status of the world's vertebrates (mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fishes) and how this status has changed over time. The results show that, on average, 50 species of mammal, bird and amphibian move closer to extinction each year due to the impacts of agricultural expansion, logging, over-exploitation, and invasive alien species.

"The 'backbone' of biodiversity is being eroded," said the doyen of ecologists, Edward O. Wilson, of Harvard University. "One small step up the Red List is one giant leap forward towards extinction. This is just a small window on the global losses currently taking place."

Southeast Asia has experienced the most dramatic recent losses, largely driven by the planting of export crops like oil palm, commercial hardwood timber operations, agricultural conversion to rice paddies and unsustainable hunting.

Recently, an UN-sponsored study called The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) calculated the cost of losing nature at $2-5 trillion per year, predominantly in poorer parts of the world. A recent study found one-fifth of more than 5,000 freshwater species in Africa are threatened, putting the livelihoods of millions of people dependent on these vital resources at risk.

Vatican opposes execution of Saddam's minister

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The Vatican has spoken out against the execution of former Iraqi foreign minister Tariq Aziz, who was sentenced to death on Tuesday for the persecution of and efforts to 'liquidate' Iraqi religious parties under Saddam Hussein's rule.

"The position of the Vatican with regard to the death sentence is known," Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said late Tuesday.

"We thus hope that the sentence against Tariq Aziz will not be enforced, especially so that reconciliation and the re-establishment of peace and fairness in Iraq can be promoted after the great suffering it has lived through," he added.

Lombardi also noted that the Holy See normally "does not publicise its opinion, but is active through diplomatic channels".

Obama to Zardari: Act against terror groups

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Days before his visit to India, US President Barack Obama telephoned Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari to talk about the need to do more to deal with terrorist groups in Pakistan that are a threat to his country and its neighbours.

Both Obama and Zardari "acknowledged that more work needed to be done to address the direct threat to our countries posed by terrorist groups in Pakistan," according to a White House readout of the conversation Tuesday.

"They also agreed that the US and Pakistan have worked hard to build an atmosphere of trust and cooperation, and committed to ongoing efforts to build a stronger, strategic, and more collaborative US-Pakistan relationship," it said.

Obama, who is not going to Pakistan on his trip to India and three other nations, "concluded the call by conveying his intention to visit Pakistan in 2011 and personally welcomed President Zardari to visit the United States in the coming year," The White House said.

Obama "called Pakistani President Asif Zardari to consult with him on the progress made during the recent US-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue, and to reinforce America's commitment to partner with Pakistan on economic, development, and governance priorities."

Obama emphasised the US commitment and support for democracy and transparency in Pakistan, highlighting that the US and Pakistan share an interest in ensuring democratic traditions in Pakistan are strengthened.

He also acknowledged Pakistan's economic difficulties, and encouraged Zardari to work to pass key economic reforms, such as tax reform and containing energy subsidies, the White House said.

Obama, according to sources, also sought to reassure the key US ally that America's relations with New Delhi did not affect its partnership with Pakistan.

He also told Zardari that his visit to India, so far his longest trip abroad, should not be seen as neglecting Pakistan. Obama reiterated the US desire to "helping Pakistan in helping us in Afghanistan", a subject also discussed extensively during the strategic dialogue, the sources said.
Posted by Harshad at 7:30 AM

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