'Wild Recon' host admits to selling rare lizards

Posted: LOS ANGELES (AP) - The former host of Animal Planet's Wild Recon cable TV show has admitted he offered to sell two endangered Iranian desert monitor lizards without a permit.City News Service says 36-year-old Donald Schultz pleaded guilty to violating the Endangered Species Act in federal court in Los Angeles on Tuesday.As part of a plea deal, Schultz is expected to be sentenced Jan. 28 to two years' probation and 200 hours of community service. Prosecutors also proposed a $6,000 fine and $3,000 restitution.Schultz's attorney didn't immediately return a call and an email message seeking comment.Schultz offered to sell the rare lizards for $2,500 to an undercover federal wildlife agent who answered his 2010 offer on Facebook.On his show, Schultz parachuted into remote locations to take biological samples from deadly snakes and other dangerous animals.

Japan trade deficit widens as imports surge Posted: TOKYO (AP) - Japan's trade deficit nearly doubled in October, as growth in imports outpaced robust increases in exports to the U.S. and China, the Finance Ministry reported Wednesday.A weakening in the Japanese yen over the past year has helped exports, but it has also increased the cost in yen terms for imports, especially of oil and natural gas to help offset the loss of generation capacity from nuclear plants idled after meltdowns in 2011 at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant.A 68 percent increase in costs for imported crude oil in October helped push the trade deficit up 96 percent over a year earlier to 1.09 trillion yen ($10.9 billion), the preliminary customs data showed. Imports surged 26 percent year-on-year to 7.2 trillion yen ($72 billion), while exports climbed nearly 19 percent to 6.1 trillion yen ($61 billion).It was the 16th straight month of deficits, which also reflect lackluster demand for exports thanks to a slowdown in growth in China and other developing economies.In yen terms, Japan's vehicle exports jumped 24 percent over a year earlier. Exports of chemicals, machinery and electronics also rose at a double-digit pace. But the offshoring of much of Japan's manufacturing is increasing the costs for industrial components such as semiconductors and optical lenses, further eroding net export growth. Imports of electronics rose 28 percent.The United States remained Japan's biggest export market, with shipments rising 26 percent from the year before to 1.16 trillion yen ($11.6 billion), while exports to China climbed 21 percent to 1.15 trillion yen ($11.5 billion).

Murdoch divorce proceeding nearly final Posted: LOS ANGELES (AP) - Rupert Murdoch's divorce from his wife of 14 years, Wendi Deng Murdoch, is nearly final and the sides are close to amicably resolving the matter.That's according to a person familiar with the situation who spoke Tuesday on condition of anonymity because the matter is personal. The person said the pair will appear in a New York court on Wednesday to formalize the agreement.The divorce won't alter the succession plan for the pair of media companies that 82-year-old Rupert Murdoch controls through a family trust, 21st Century Fox and the recently spun-off publishing company, News Corp.Wendi Deng Murdoch, 44, is not a shareholder, according to the person. Their two school-age children, Grace and Chloe, are beneficiaries of 8.7 million non-voting shares being held in a separate trust.

Dollar slips against euro Posted: NEW YORK CITY (AFP) - The dollar dipped against the euro Tuesday as traders awaited a speech by Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke hoping it will reveal the direction of the banks easy-money policy.The euro bought $1.3535 around 2200 GMT, up from $1.3507 at the same time Monday.The dollar rose slightly against the Japanese currency, to 100.13 yen from 100.00 yen. The euro rose to 135.53 yen from 135.06 yen.The uncertainty over the timetable for the Fed to taper stimulus has kept the dollar and most major currencies on a leash, said Joe Manimbo, senior market analyst at Western Union Business Solutions.Investors hope to glean fresh taper clues in remarks by Fed chair Ben Bernanke after the market close today and in Wednesdays release of the minutes from the central banks late October meeting, he said.Bernanke is scheduled to address the National Economists Club in Washington on monetary policy and, on Wednesday, the Fed publishes the minutes of the Federal Open Market Committees October 29-30 policy meeting, which made no hint that a taper was in the wings.Investors also will have crucial US retail sales data for October to weigh, considered a key indicator of the consumer spending that accounts for the bulk of activity in the US economy.With the market still divided on the timing for tapering, the level of consumer spending last month and the bias of the central bank after the US government shutdown will play a key role in how the dollar trades, said Kathy Lien of BK Asset Management.If spending contracts for the second month in a row, the US will need consumers to spend voraciously this (holiday shopping) season for the Federal Reserve to seriously consider tapering this year, she said.The euro, meanwhile, benefited from ZEW data showing investor sentiment in Europes largest economy rose in November to its highest level in four years, suggesting the eurozones economic recovery is on track.The dollar also weakened against other major currencies, falling to 0.9111 Swiss franc from 0.9127 late Monday.The pound rose to $1.6120 from $1.6108.

Death anniversary of Faiz Ahmed Faiz being observed today Posted: LAHORE (Web Desk) - Death anniversary of poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz is being observed today (Wednesday).Faiz was born in Sialkot on February 13‚ 1911.In the 1930s Faiz Ahmed Faiz married Alys Faiz‚ a British woman. They had two daughters. Alys Faiz’s influence on Faiz’s life and poetry is reputed to have been great.He started a branch of Anjuman Tarraqi Pasand MussanafineHind in Punjab in 1936. Also he was a Member and Secretary of this branch.Faiz was also Editor of Mahanama AdabeLateef (19381942 AD). He became a lecturer in English at MAO College‚ Amritsar in 1935 and then at Hailey College of Commerce‚ Lahore.He briefly joined the British Indian Army and was promoted to the rank of Lieut. Colonel in 1944. He resigned from the Army in 1947 and returned to Lahore to become the first editor in chief of the Pakistan Times‚ a paper started by Mian Iftikharuddin under Jinnah’s patronage.This paper played an important role in partition. Faiz spent much of the 1950s and 1960s promoting communism in Pakistan.He was charged with complicity in a failed coup attempt known as the Rawalpindi Conspiracy case and was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment in 1951.The jail term gave him a firsthand experience of the harsh realities of life‚ and provided him with the muchneeded solitude to think and write poetry. Two of his greatest works DasteSaba and ZindanNama were products of this period of imprisonment.In 1959 he was appointed as Secretary‚ Pakistan Arts Council and worked in that capacity till 1962.Returning from London in 1964 he settled down in Karachi and was appointed as Principal at Abdullah Haroon College. Faiz distinguished himself as a journalist and was editor of the Pakistan Times‚ the Urdu newspaper Imroze and the weekly LailoNihar.In the 1965 war between India and Pakistan he worked in an honorary capacity in the Department of Information. In exile he acted as Editor of the magazine Lotus in Moscow‚ London and Beirut.Faiz was the first Asian poet to be awarded the Lenin Peace Prize‚ the Soviet Union’s equivalent to the Nobel Prize in 1963. He was died on 20 November 1984.

Ghana through to World Cup, Egypt misses out Posted: CAIRO (AP) - Ghana has qualified for the World Cup with a 7-3 aggregate win over Egypt in the playoffs to seize the fourth of five African places available at the finals.Egypt won Tuesday's second leg 2-1 in the first international in Cairo in two years, but Ghana progressed because of its 6-1 win at home in the first leg last month.The 2010 quarterfinalist joins Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Cameroon at the showcase in Brazil next year. Burkina Faso can make it a clean sweep for West Africa if it ousts Algeria later Tuesday for the continent's final place at the World Cup.Amr Zaki scored in the 25th minute and Gedo in the 84th for Egypt. Kevin Prince-Boateng scored Ghana's goal on the counter in the 89th.

Ancient jewelry stolen from top Macedonian museum Posted: SKOPJE (AP) - Macedonian police say 166 artifacts, including gold and silver jewelry, dating from the 4th century A.D. have been stolen from storage in the country's biggest museum.Police said Tuesday that an organized crime ring is thought to be behind the theft, and the antiquities are believed to have been sold abroad.Authorities are still uncertain when the pieces were taken from the Museum of Macedonia in central Skopje. Last month, curators reported that 60 artifacts, mainly earrings, pendants, rings and bracelets from two cemeteries in central Macedonia, had gone missing. They later added another 20 artifacts to the list.Police spokesman Ivo Kotevski said a full investigation raised the number of missing artifacts to 166. He said museum employees are being questioned.

Pillion riding ban ends in Karachi Posted: KARACHI (Dunya News) - The provincial Home Department has announced to end the six-day long ban on pillion riding has been ended in Karachi.Pillion-riding ban was imposed six days ago across Sindh province over security concerns for Muharram 9 and 10.Later on, the top security officials held a meeting at the end of Yaum-e-Ashur (Muharram 10) and decided to continue the ban on pillion riding till end of Muharram’s Soyem on Sunday midnight.The authorities eliminated pillion-riding ban in other parts of Sindh on Sunday but extended it for another two days in the metropolis, in the wake of grave security situation in the country.

Hijacker who returned to US denied bail in Florida Posted: MIAMI (AP) - An American who returned from Cuba to face U.S. charges that he hijacked an airliner to Havana decades ago was denied release on bail Tuesday, in part because of an outstanding arrest warrant claiming he committed a New Jersey armed robbery.Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Medetis said at a bail hearing that William Potts faces still-active charges that he robbed a gas station attendant at knifepoint in Bergen County, New Jersey, on March 26, 1984. Thats the day before Potts boarded a New York-to-Miami flight and hijacked it to Havana by claiming in a note that he was a black militant called Lt. Spartacus who had bombs on board, according to the FBI.Medetis told U.S. Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman that Potts would be arrested by New Jersey authorities if released on bail in the hijacking case. She also contended that Potts, a fugitive for nearly 30 years, could easily flee prosecution and is a danger to the community, based on the robbery charge and the hijacking itself.He has on a number of occasions admitted to the offense, Medetis said. He described what he did as an act of terrorism.Potts attorney, Paul Korchin, noted that Potts voluntarily returned to the U.S. to resolve the charges and that his mother and several siblings living in the Atlanta area would co-sign for any bail amount. His two daughters, Korchin said, were permitted to come from Cuba to the U.S. in December 2012 and now live with Potts mother.He has arrived at the place he wants to be, Korchin said.Goodman, however, sided with the prosecutor against bail, noting that under air piracy laws there is a presumption for a defendant to be kept jailed before trial except under unusual circumstances. Goodman also noted that Potts faces a sentence of 20 years to life, a prime incentive to flee the country.Potts, 56, served more than 13 years in a Cuban prison after hijacking the Piedmont Airlines flight. Korchin said he was also held for about two more years in a Cuban immigration facility, finally winning his release in 2000, and that Potts hopes a U.S. judge will give him credit for some or all of that time behind bars.Medetis said Potts admitted the hijacking in interviews with the FBI and in a written statement after he returned to the U.S. She said theres no requirement for a judge to count Potts Cuban jail time toward any U.S. sentence.Goodman agreed, telling Potts that a federal judge would have the discretion to give some credit, a little bit of credit, all the credit or no credit.

UN condemns attack on Iranian embassy Posted: UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - The UN Security Council and UN leader Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday condemned suicide bombs at the Iranian embassy in Beirut and called on Lebanese to stay out of the Syria conflict.The double attack killed at least 23 people and wounded almost 150 and heightened fears that Lebanon will be sucked into Syrias civil war. The 15-member Security Council and Ban released statements that strongly condemned the attack.The council appealed to all Lebanese people to preserve national unity in the face of attempts to undermine the countrys stability. It stressed the importance for all Lebanese parties to respect Lebanons policy of disassociation and to refrain from any involvement in the Syrian crisis.The UN secretary general calls on all in Lebanon to recognize that such appalling and indiscriminate acts of violence target all in Lebanon, said deputy UN spokesman Farhan Haq.He urges all Lebanese parties to act with restraint and to support the institutions of the state, and particularly the security forces, as they seek to prevent further acts of terrorism.UN political chief Jeffrey Feltman on Tuesday highlighted to the UN Security Council reports that Lebanese militia Hezbollah was fighting with President Bashar al-Assads forces in Syria in clear violation of a statement by Lebanese parties to stay out of the war.

Nokia shareholders approves sale of phone to Microsoft Posted: HELSINKI (AFP) - Nokia shareholders voted overwhelmingly Tuesday in favour of selling the companys mobile business to US software giant Microsoft in an attempt to reinvent the once-proud Finnish telecoms titan.According to Nokia -- which will now become a telecom equipment and services company -- the deal was almost unanimously approved with 99.52 percent support from shareholders at an extraordinary meeting in Helsinki.The yes vote was expected. Analysts judge the deal as positive for the ailing Finnish firm.It was expected that the decision of selling the mobile phone division would arouse strong emotions, Nokia board chairman and interim chief executive Risto Siilasmaa said during the meeting.We are certain that if we had continued with the old strategy, we would have most likely put Nokia, its shareholders and its employees in serious difficulties.Nokias share price has doubled since the plan was announced in early September with Microsoft agreeing to pay 5.44 billion euros ($7.35 billion) for the loss-making companys mobile phone division.

Obama asks lawmakers to delay sanctions on Iran Posted: WASHINGTON (AFP) - President Barack Obama asked key senators Tuesday for a delay in imposing new sanctions on Iran, but apparently failed to win over hardened skeptics of a proposed interim nuclear deal with Tehran.Obama met the lawmakers at the White House on the eve of the next round of nuclear talks between the P51 powers and Iran in Geneva, and as some senators mull increasing sanctions on the Islamic Republic -- a move opposed by the administration.Senator Bob Corker, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations committee, emerged from the talks after nearly two hours and said there were still concerns a US plan to offer Iran some sanctions relief in return for freezing some aspects of its nuclear program ceded too much leverage.We had some folks in the room that were satisfied, I think we had some folks in the room that were very unsatisfied, Corker told reporters.The Tennessee lawmaker said he would go back to Capitol Hill and think about what the president told him before making his own decision on whether to support new sanctions.Obama has asked senators for a pause in sanctions to allow negotiating teams in Geneva to continue their work. The powers taking part in the talks there include Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States, as well as Germany.The White House believes a modest and reversible set of measures to ease Irans economic pain is needed as a show of faith that Washington is serious about a final deal and also to shield Iranian negotiators from pressure from hardliners in Iran.But officials insist that the core architecture of the sanctions regime will remain in place until a final deal is concluded to ensure that Iran is unable to build a nuclear bomb.Corker said talks between Obama and the Democratic leaders and top Republicans of the Senate Banking, Intelligence, Foreign Relations and Armed Services committees had offered the most clear indications yet of the interim deal the administration is proposing.He (Obama) asked for a period of time, Corker said, adding that Senate procedure meant there would be no votes on toughening sanctions on Iran in the Senate until after the US Thanksgiving holiday at the end of next week. There was no immediate comment on the talks from the White House.Corker, however, said it was not yet a fait accompli that an interim deal would be concluded in Geneva in the next round of talks.

High level appointments, transfers in Pak Army Posted: RAWALPINDI (Online) - In a major reshuffle before the retirement of Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Pakistan Army Promotion Board Tuesday approved several transfers and postings of some of the top military officials.According to reports, Lieutenant General Sajjad Ghani has been appointed as the corps commander, Karachi.Earlier, he was serving as Quartermaster General (QMG) at General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi, and will now replace Lieutenant General Ijaz Chaudhry, who has been appointed as Inspector General Arms at GHQ, Rawalpindi.Lieutenant General Muhammad Latif has been appointed as Quartermaster General (QMG) at GHQ Rawalpindi by replacing Lieutenant General Sajjad Ghani.These transfers at the top of military hierarchy come at the heels of two crucial changes at the helm of military affairs in the country. It is significant to recall that the government has already been mulling on the new names for Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJSC).Meanwhile, the Formation Commanders’ Conference will be held at GHQ on Wednesday, November 20 (today), which would be chaired by COAS General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani.Defense analysts have the view that if Army Chief Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani would retire from his post as per the schedule, then it would be the last Formation Commanders’ Conference under his chairmanship.According to information sources are astonishing on the delay by the government for announcing new names for the key posts in Pak Army.It is pertinent to recall that PM Nawaz Sharif during election campaign had announced that his party would follow the principle of seniority for appointing new Army Chief.

Youth arrested for sharing objectionable content on Facebook Posted: TOBA TEK SINGH (Dunya News) - The government has started taking action against those who are involved in spreading hate speech on social media.Police Station Kamalia, Sadar registered a case against 25-year-old Raza, who was accused of uploading objectionable material on his Facebook wall.A computer was also recovered from the possession of the accused.According to DPO Toba Tek Singh, a case under section 295-A of the Pakistan Penal Code was registered against the accused.

Two Twitter users jailed in UAE, Kuwait for dissent, blasphemy Posted: KUWAIT/DUBAI (Reuters) - A United Arab Emirates court has jailed a man for two years for tweeting about a political trial and Kuwait handed a five-year prison term to a Kuwaiti Twitter user for insulting the Prophet Mohammad, activists and a lawyer said on Tuesday.The cases and similar previous prosecutions highlight the sensitivity of Gulf Arab states to political dissent, criticism of senior officials, ruling family members and to comments they regard as blasphemous, especially on social media.In the UAE, activists said Walid al-Shehhi, who was arrested in May, was convicted on Monday of violating the countrys Internet crime law by a court in the capital Abu Dhabi. He was also fined 500,000 dirhams ($136,100).Shehhi had used his Twitter account to question the trial of 94 alleged Emirati coup plotters and to call for the release of detainees he believed were held for backing democratic reforms, according to a local activist who asked not to be named.In July, a UAE court jailed 61 Islamists among the 94 accused of conspiring to overthrow the government in a case that reflected the authorities deep mistrust of Islamist groups.Thirty Emiratis and Egyptians are now on trial in the UAE over charges of setting up an illegal branch of Egypts Muslim Brotherhood.Reporters Without Borders condemned Mondays ruling and called for the release of Shehhi.The authorities are trying to make an example out of Shehhi in order to dissuade Emirati citizens from posting any information about the latest trial that strays from the official line, the group said in a statement.Last year the UAE tightened the law on online dissent, stipulating jail terms for anyone who derides or caricatures the countrys rulers or state institutions on the Internet. Several people were arrested after the law was amended.A Kuwaiti court sentenced Mussab Shamsah to five years in prison on Monday after he was convicted of insulting the Prophet Mohammad on Twitter, his lawyer, Khalil Ahmed, told Reuters.Ahmed said Shamsah had meant no offence against the prophet. The verdict is very harsh and we will appeal, he said.Earlier this year, Kuwait sentenced a man to five years in prison for insulting the emir on Twitter and a woman to 11 years in jail for insulting the emir, inciting regime change and insulting a religious sect via Twitter.Social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook have enlivened public debate in the Gulf countries - which control state media and restrict freedom of speech - after the Arab revolts of 2011. Users range from ruling family members and ministers to government supporters and dissidents.The UAE and Kuwait, U.S. allies and major oil exporters, have weathered the popular uprisings that ousted autocratic Arab rulers elsewhere, but show little tolerance for any dissent.Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have also detained several activists on charges that have included defaming ruling figures or spreading false news on Twitter.