White House praises Muslims ahead of House hearing.

STERLING, Va. – Muslim Americans are not part of the terrorism problem facing the U.S. — they are part of the solution, a top White House official said Sunday at a Washington-area mosque.

Deputy National Security Adviser Denis McDonough set the Obama administration's tone for discussions as tensions escalate before the first in a series of congressional hearings on Islamic radicalization. The hearings, chaired by New York Republican Peter King, will focus on the level of cooperation from the Muslim community to help law enforcement combat radicalization.

The majority of the recent terror plots and attempts against the U.S. have involved people espousing a radical and violent view of Islam. Just a few weeks ago a college student from Saudi Arabia who studied chemical engineering in Texas was arrested after he bought explosive chemicals online. It was part of a plan to hide bomb materials inside dolls and baby carriages and blow up dams, nuclear plants or the Dallas home of former President George W. Bush.

King said the Muslim community could and should do more to work with law enforcement to stop its members from radicalizing and recruiting others to commit violence.

"I don't believe there is sufficient cooperation" by American Muslims with law enforcement, King said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union." "Certainly my dealings with the police in New York and FBI and others say they do not believe they get the same — they do not give the level of cooperation that they need."

In New York City on Sunday, about 300 protestors gathered in Times Square to speak out against King's hearing, criticizing it as xenophobic and saying that singling out Muslims, rather than extremists, is unfair.

McDonough said that instead of condemning whole communities, the U.S. needs to protect them from intimidation.

McDonough spoke to an interfaith forum at a Northern Virginia mosque known for its longtime relationship and cooperation with the FBI. The executive director of the center, Imam Mohamed Magid, also spoke, as did speakers from a local synagogue and a Presbyterian church.

After McDonough's remarks, King told The Associated Press he agreed with what the deputy national security adviser said.

"I think it's a validation of everything I've been trying to do," King said, adding that he and McDonough spoke Friday evening. "There is a real threat, it's a serious threat."

The White House has said it welcomes congressional oversight.

The administration has tried to strike a balance on the thorny issue, working to go after homegrown Islamic extremists without appearing to be at war with the Muslim world. There has been an effort to build stronger relationships with Muslims — internationally and in the United States.

During his remarks Sunday, McDonough called the mosque a "typically American place" and said it reminded him of his Catholic parish where he grew up in Minnesota.

"Being religious is never un-American. Being religious is quintessentially American," he said.

He commended the mosque's members for taking "an unequivocal stand against terrorism."

"You've sent a message that those who perpetrate such horrific attacks do not represent you or your faith, and that they will not succeed in pitting believers of different faiths against one another," McDonough said.

The White House is close to finalizing a strategy for countering violent extremism. McDonough leads a working group of 13 federal agencies and offices — including the National Counterterrorism Center and the departments of Defense, Education, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Justice and State — focused on finding ways to confront the problem.

On Sunday, McDonough said the strategy would involve continuing efforts to understand the process of radicalization, as well as further outreach to Islamic communities in the United States. He also promised further efforts to dispel "misperceptions about our fellow Americans who are Muslim."

"No community can be expected to meet a challenge as complex as this alone," McDonough said. "No one community can be expected to become experts in terrorist organizations, how they are evolving, how they are using new tools and technology to reach our young people."

Witness Joy as opposition beats back Gadhafi forces in Misrata.

Standing outside a courthouse Sunday that the Libyan opposition is using for a base of operations in the town of Misrata, a witness described a sense of jubilation against a backdrop of blood stains and rocket fragments.

"I'm standing in the middle of a ... battlefield," the witness told CNN by phone from Misrata after a fierce fight between rebels and Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's forces.

People were holding their hands up, singing, chanting and cheering, he said. "Everyone is hugging everyone."

CNN is not identifying witnesses and sources for safety reasons.

Videos posted on YouTube and thought to be out of Misrata showed damage to buildings and several shots of people celebrating around the opposition flag -- once being raised on a pole, and another time being waved by a man atop a charred vehicle that had a dead body inside.

A doctor at Central Misrata Hospital said 42 people were killed in the fighting -- 17 from the opposition and 25 from the pro-Gadhafi forces. Among the dead was a 3-year-old child, killed from direct fire, the doctor said. At least 85 people were wounded, the doctor said.

The fighting continued on the city's outskirts Sunday evening.

The witness described the opposition's victory in central Misrata even as people some 200 kilometers (125 miles) west, at a pro-Gadhafi demonstration in Tripoli, insisted the government had taken back the coastal central Libyan city.

After reports of the opposition successfully holding onto Misrata, east of Tripoli, Libyan state TV showed a graphic stating that "strict orders have been issued to the armed forces not to enter cities taken by terrorist gangs."

On Sunday morning, pro-Gadhafi militias converged on Misrata from three different points, trying to retake control of the city, the witness said. He saw four tanks, though other witnesses told him there were a total of six. Using heavy artillery, the ground forces and tanks headed for the courthouse operations base.

Tanks fired rockets at the building, and black smoke could be seen rising from it, he said.

The opposition couldn't match the government's weaponry, but rebels took to the streets using what weapons they had, such as machine guns. And some simply picked up whatever they could find, with some resorting to sticks, he said.

Speaking to CNN during the battle, he said, "People are willing to die for the cause," describing them as "fearless" and "amazing."

Later, after the forces had been repelled from the city center, the witness said, "I can't believe it.

"The will and the determination and dedication that people are showing here on the ground, it just makes you speechless," he said.

Describing the scene, he said, "We're talking about a rocket on the ground. We're talking about blood everywhere."

CNN could not confirm witness reports for many areas in Libya, including Misrata.

Valerie Amos, the United Nations' Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, said Sunday that there was "urgent" need for humanitarian aid in Misrata because "people are dying and need help immediately." The world body has gotten reports that Libyan Red Crescent ambulances dispatched from Tripoli have been trying to get into Misrata to transport out dead and injured people.

"I call on the authorities to provide access without delay to allow aid workers to help save lives," Amos said in a statement.

Gates in Afghanistan to evaluate war progress.

KABUL, Afghanistan –  U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates arrived in Afghanistan Monday, beginning a two-day visit with U.S. troops, allied commanders and Afghan leaders to gauge war progress as the Obama administration moves toward crucial decisions on reducing troop levels.

Gates planned to travel to eastern and southern portions of Afghanistan, the areas most fiercely contested by the Taliban insurgency.

Defense Department spokesman Geoff Morrell told reporters flying with the Pentagon chief from Washington that Gates wants to get a first-hand feel for changes on the ground since he last was in Afghanistan in December.

The U.S. is committed to beginning a troop withdrawal in July. But the size and scope of the pullback will depend on the degree of progress toward handing off full control to the shaky Afghan government.

Morrell said Gates expects to hear from troops and commanders that U.S. and NATO strategy is making important progress against the relentless Taliban, who are thought to be gearing up for a spring offensive.

U.S. commanders have been saying for weeks that the Taliban are suffering big losses in territory and personnel, while being denied the funding and infiltration routes they have relied on in the past to ramp up guerrilla operations each spring.

Marine Maj. Gen. Richard Mills, top commander in the southwestern province of Helmand, told reporters last week that a Taliban counteroffensive is anticipated.

Mills said he expects the Taliban to try "to regain very, very valuable territory ... lost over the past six to eight months." He added that U.S. and allied forces are intercepting "as many of the foreign fighters as we can" who come from Pakistan to attack U.S. and Afghan troops.

Gates sees the spring as a potentially decisive period for President Barack Obama's war strategy, which includes beginning to withdraw U.S. forces in July.

This week's visit is Gates' 13th trip to Afghanistan, and probably one of his last as defense secretary. He has said he will retire this year but has not given a date.

After Afghanistan, Gates planned to fly to the Stuttgart, Germany, headquarters of U.S. Africa Command to attend a ceremony Wednesday marking the arrival of a new commander, Army Gen. Carter Ham.

Gates will attend a NATO defense ministers meeting in Brussels on Thursday and Friday.

Rebels Capture Oil Port from Pro-Qaddafi Forces While Defending Opposition-Held City.

TRIPOLI, Libya -- Moammar Qaddafi's forces on Saturday broke through rebel lines at an opposition-held city that is closest to Tripoli in a dawn attack that could prove crucial to the regime's defense of the Libyan capital, witnesses said.

The rebels' setback at the city of Zawiya, 30 miles (50 kilometers) west of Tripoli, was the second in as many days. A large arms and ammunition depot outside the city of Benghazi, the largest city in the rebel-held east of the country, blew up Friday in a massive explosion that completely destroyed an area three times the size of a soccer field.

Ambulance drivers who rushed to the site reported that at least 26 people were killed in the blast.
Associated Press photographers who arrived at the site of the explosion Saturday saw entire buildings, cars and trees flattened and smoldering as a result of the blast.

It was not immediately clear how the depot blew up, but suspicion immediately fell on Qaddafi agents seeking to deny the rebels the arms and ammunition they need to fight their way westward toward the Qaddafi-held city of Sirte on the Mediterranean coast.

The rebels, however, fared better elsewhere, capturing the key oil port of Ras Lanouf from pro-Qaddafi forces in their first military victory in a potentially long, westward march from the east of the country to the capital Tripoli hundreds of miles to the west.

The contrasting fortunes of the two sides over the past 24 hours suggest that the conflict in Libya, which began Feb. 15 with anti-Qaddafi protests, could endure for weeks and maybe months, with neither side mustering enough military power to decisively defeat the other.

Witnesses said Ras Lanouf, about 87 miles (140 kilometers) east of the Qaddafi stronghold of Sirte, fell to rebel hands on Friday night after a fierce battle with pro-regime forces who later fled.

An AP reporter who arrived in Ras Lanouf late Saturday morning saw Libya's red, black and green pre-Qaddafi monarchy flag adopted by the rebels hoisted over the town's oil facilities. The witnesses spoke on condition of anonymity because they feared reprisals.

One of the rebels, Ahmed al-Zawi, said the battle was won after Ras Lanouf residents joined the rebels.

"We won the battle when the people joined us," said al-Zawi, who took part in the fighting. He said 12 rebels were killed in the fighting, in which rocket propelled grenades and anti-aircraft guns were used.

Officials at a hospital in the nearby city of Ajdabiya, however, said only five rebels were killed in the attack on Ras Lanouf and that 31 others were wounded.

There was no explanation immediately available for the discrepancy in the figures.

"They just follow orders. After a little bit of fighting, they just run away," said another rebel at Ras Lanouf, Borawi Saleh, an 11-year veteran of the army who is not an oil company employee.
The march on Sirte, said al-Zawi, would start after the rebels regroup and reorganize.

In Zawiya, witnesses said forces loyal to Qaddafi, Libya's ruler of 41 years, were inside the city after overcoming rebel positions with heavy mortar shelling and machine gun fire. They said the shelling damaged government buildings and homes.

The hours-long attack started at dawn and the rattle of gunfire and explosions could be heard as the witnesses spoke to the AP by phone. They also spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing for their own safety.

They said several fires were raging in Zawiya on Saturday and that heavy black smoke hung over many parts of the city of some 200,000 people. They said snipers were shooting on sight anyone on the streets or residents who venture out on their homes' balconies.

The city's rebels, they said, had retreated to take new positions deeper inside the city.

"We will fight them on the streets and will never give up so long as Qaddafi is still in power," said one of the rebel fighters, who also spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

White House Resigned to Short Term Deals, as the Fed Says Major Cuts Will Cost Jobs.

The White House is arranging talks with key lawmakers aimed at reaching a budget agreement for the rest of the fiscal year, but officials are privately resigned to accepting more short term deals, though spokesman Jay Carney says that's "no way to run a business or a government."

The big fight will be over spending cuts that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke says will likely cost jobs in the short run. But Bernanke also says Congress and the White House need to agree on a plan "that will persuade markets that there's going to be real progress made against the deficit over the next five and 10 years."

The White House announced the budget talks, which will be led by Vice President Biden, in a statement after the Senate passed a two week continuing resolution to keep the government's spending authority from expiring at the end of the week. In the statement, President Obama said "Living with the threat of a shutdown every few weeks is not responsible, and it puts our economic progress in jeopardy."

House Speaker John Boehner says if the White House had gotten involved in the budget debate earlier "...we might have had something to talk about, but the fact is that we were forced to move on our own."

Privately, administration officials doubt Democrats and Republicans can agree on a package of spending cuts for the rest of the fiscal year in just the next couple of weeks. And Congress takes a week long break later this month, so officials are resigned to accepting more short term continuing resolutions. It's a frustration for federal agency heads, which can't plan their spending because they aren't sure what their budgets will be.

Meanwhile, even though there was little if any argument over the $4 billion in cuts in the CR that passed today, lawmakers say those were easy. Carney says the White House is prepared to go along with another $4 billion in cuts in another spending agreement of a few weeks, and he says that will almost meet the Republicans half way on their push for $100 billion in cuts.

The reasoning behind that calculation is that Republicans want to trim $100 billion from Mr. Obama's 2011 budget proposal, which was never adopted. The continuing resolutions are based on the 2010 spending plan, which was $41 billion less. So the White House feels like it has already agreed to $41 billion in spending cuts. Republicans are unconvinced. Speaker Boehner said today, "The house position is clear: cut $100 billion. We have no clue where our colleagues on the Senate side are."

And once negotiations for further cuts begin, Carney suggests, Democrats aim to turn the tables on Republicans and saddle them for responsibility for a 'jobs weak' economic recovery. He said the president's aides rejected a Republican proposal for $100 billion in cuts because "we cannot accept a proposal that does harm to our capacity to grow the economy and create jobs."

Democrats feel they got support from Bernanke, who told the House Financial Services Committee a $60 billion budget cut over the remainder of the fiscal year would cut economic growth one or two percentage points this year and another point in 2012. "And that would translate into a couple of hundred thousand jobs" Bernanke said. "So it's not trivial."

Israel settlers block roads in 'Day of Rage'.

Settlers tried to block a main highway and burned tyres at the entrance to Jerusalem, launching a "Day of Rage" to protest police action during an outpost demolition, officials said.

"There were a number of attempts to block the Jerusalem road. Police quickly arrived and dispersed them," police spokesman Micky

In one incident, a handful of protesters tried to block the main Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway at a point halfway between the two cities, while others put burning tyres in the road at the entrance to Jerusalem, he said.

Settlers are holding a day of protests following clashes at the Havat Gilad outpost near Nablus which broke out early on Monday when police came to demolish a caravan, a tent and another half-built structure at the site.

During the incident, the settlers say police used excessive force to remove demonstrators, using stun grenades and paint ball guns against them.

Some hardline settlers have threatened to carry out "price tag" attacks against Palestinians on Thursday -- a policy which involves attacks on the local population as a direct response to "anti-settler" activity by the Israeli government.

Police were on high alert to prevent violence, said Rosenfeld.

"We have stepped up patrols in different areas in Judaea and Samaria (the West Bank) and Jerusalem and we are prepared to deal with disturbances as they happen," he said.

3 Dutch marines held in Libya after failed rescue.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – Three Dutch marines are being held by authorities in Libya after they were captured by forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi while trying to rescue Dutch workers, a Defense Ministry spokesman said Thursday.

The three were surrounded by armed men and captured Sunday after landing near Sirte in a Lynx helicopter that was on board the navy ship HMS Tromp, which is anchored off the Libyan coast to help evacuations from the conflict torn country, spokesman Otte Beeksma told The Associated Press.

Dutch officials are in "intensive negotiations" with Gadhafi's government to secure the marines' release, he said.

"We have also been in contact with the crewmen involved," Beeksma said. "They are doing well under the circumstances and we hope they will be released as quickly as possible."

Asked if the Dutch government considered the marines hostages, Beeksma said, "they are being held by Libyan authorities."

Prime Minister Mark Rutte said news of the men's capture was kept quiet to assist talks on their release. Dutch daily De Telegraaf first reported their capture in its Thursday edition.

"These are situations that benefit from total secrecy because then you can carry out discussions in peace to ensure these people get home safely," he told national broadcaster NOS.

"It is terrible for the crew of the Lynx helicopter," Rutte said. "Everything is being done to make sure the crew gets home."

Two people the marines were trying to rescue also were captured but have since been released and have left Libya.

The identities of the marines were not released.

News of the marines' detention by Gadhafi came a day after anti-government rebels fought off forces loyal to Gadhafi in a fierce battle for Brega, a strategic oil facility 460 miles (740 kilometers) east of Gadhafi's stronghold in Tripoli.

Gadhafi's crackdown has been the harshest in the Arab world to the wave of anti-government protests sweeping across parts of the Middle East and North Africa. His forces are regrouping in an attempt to regain territories now controlled by opponents of his regime.

Later Thursday, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, is scheduled to announce he is opening an investigation into possible crimes against humanity committed in Libya.

Davis’ family arrives in Pakistan.

LAHORE: Raymond Davis’ alleged family reached Pakistan between Wednesday night and Thursday morning, Dawn News reported.

The family that arrived at Allama Iqbal International Airport included a woman, two men and three children. They were escorted out of the airport under high security arrangements and were taken to an unidentified location.

The vehicles that were carrying Davis’ alleged family had false number plates, Dawn News reported.

The name of one of the men and the woman, listed in their travelling documents, were as Randy Field and Beth Page, claimed sources.

According to sources, two individuals with similar names had previously been deployed in Pakistan, as USAID employees.

The US Embassy and Pakistani officials have not yet accepted nor rejected any claims.

Organizers call for second round of demonstrations across China.

Beijing; Nearly a week after calls for widespread pro-democracy protests fell flat in China, organizers are making another attempt at rallying support for the so-called "jasmine" demonstrations for this weekend.

Efforts to organize last Sunday were deemed largely unsuccessful after casual observers and police outnumbered the few protesters that showed up for the demonstrations.

On Friday, anonymous instructions on a site on Facebook, which is blocked in China, encouraged people to show up at central locations in about two-dozen major Chinese cities and "go for a walk" together this Sunday. Along with Facebook, Twitter and YouTube continue to be blocked, making calls for action available only to those outside mainland China or to Chinese who have access to virtual private networks with foreign IP addresses.

Meanwhile, LinkedIn, one of the last social networking sites allowed in the country, was blocked in China on Friday as the government ramped up internet censorship.
'Jasmine' protests fizzle in China

This time around, organizers are masking the events as "liang hui" -- a Mandarin term which commonly refers to meetings held each March by China's political leadership. The cleverly selected terminology is an attempt by protest organizers to circumvent censorship on popular microblogs in the lead-up to actual meetings held by the National People's Congress and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

Words such as "jasmine" in Chinese and "Wangfujing" -- the famous Beijing shopping strip where Sunday's demonstrations are set to begin -- were not searchable on China's most popular microblog, Sina Weibo, on Friday. The Chinese name of U.S. Ambassador Jon Huntsman Jr. -- who showed up at last Sunday's "jasmine" protest in Beijing -- are also blocked.

When searching the terms, users see a message that states: "According to relevant laws and policies, search results cannot be shown."

Huntsman, wearing a black leather jacked with a patch of the American flag on his left shoulder, was captured at last week's protest in a widely viewed video posted on YouTube, in which he's called out by some in the crowd. One asks if he is "hoping China will become chaotic?" -- a reference to the unrest that has consumed several countries in Africa and the Middle East as protesters there demand democracy.

Speaking in Mandarin, Huntsman tells them that he "just came to have a look." The hecklers accuse him of pretending to not know about the protest and feigning ignorance.

The U.S. Embassy declined comment.

For Sunday, organizers have posted details on the Facebook page encouraging participants to be peaceful. In the event of "adverse treatment" the site advised individuals to be as tolerant as possible and show a "high level of Chinese character" in the "pursuit of democracy and freedom., "

Nearly 400 dead, missing in NZ quake.

CHRISTCHURCH: New Zealand rescuers worked frantically through the night Wednesday to reach trapped survivors after a catastrophic earthquake left nearly 400 people dead or missing in Christchurch.

Prime Minister John Key, declaring a national emergency after New Zealand's worst natural disaster in 80 years, said the region around the country's second-largest city had suffered "death and destruction on a dreadful scale".

Rescuers had to amputate limbs from survivors to free them from smouldering ruins of buildings reduced to debris in minutes, while dazed survivors were plucked from the rubble in a desperate overnight rescue mission.

Christchurch resident Tom Brittenden said he saw a woman die with her baby in her arms when she was hit by falling debris in the city's Cashel St Mall. Her baby survived but she was killed instantly.

"We tried to pull these big bricks off (her)... she was gone," he told the Christchurch Press.

Rescuers had recovered 75 bodies since the 6.3-magnitude quake struck at lunchtime Tuesday, and about 300 people were still missing, officials said.

The quake was the deadliest to hit New Zealand since 256 people died in a 1931 tremor, and it came six months after a 7.0-magnitude quake weakened buildings in Christchurch but miraculously resulted in no deaths.

The latest tremor toppled many buildings and left central Christchurch strewn with debris. The city's landmark cathedral lost its spire. Dozens of aftershocks rocked the city Tuesday and overnight, hampering rescue efforts.

Warm-up: India spin out Kiwis for big winWarm-up: India spin out Kiwis for big win

Chennai: Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni led a solid batting display by Indians with an explosive unbeaten century to set up a crushing 117-run victory over a hapless New Zealand in a lop-sided warm-up game ahead of the World Cup here on Wednesday.

Dhoni smashed a 64-ball 108 not out and Gautam Gambhir contributed a classy 89 as India first scored an imposing 360 for five after electing to bat and then shot out New Zealand for 243 in 43.1 overs to notch up their second World Cup warm-up victory on the trot.

Chasing an imposing 361 to win, New Zealand batsmen wilted under pressure as Indian spinners took centrestage on a helpful pitch at the MA Chidambaram Stadium to maintain a clean slate ahead of their World Cup opener against Bangladesh in Dhaka on Sunday.

Needing to score at a stiff rate of 7.20 runs an over, it was always a tough task for the team playing second and expectedly Indian slow bowlers extracted turn and bounce from the pitch as the Kiwis surrendered without much fight.

Harbhajan Singh, Piyush Chawla and Yuvraj Singh broke the back of the Kiwi batting, taking two wickets apiece while Ravichandran Ashwin also had a satisfying outing with 1/31, having provided the initial breakthrough by dismissing opener Martin Guptill.

Ashish Nehra, who went without wicket in his initial spell, took the last two wickets.

Barring the openers - Brendon McCullum (58 off 54 balls) and and Guptill (38 off 45 balls) - who negotiated the Indian new ball bowlers well, all other batsmen, including Ross Taylor, who captained the Kiwis on Wednesday, Jessy Rider and Scott Styris failed to rise to the occasion.

Except for the opening stand of 94 from 15 overs, the Kiwis could not put up any more substantial partnerships as Dhoni rotated Harbhajan, Ashwin, Yuvraj and Chawla.

Both Chawla and Ashwin bowled a tight line and length and Dhoni continued with them for long spells, perhaps to assess the right one for the second spinner's slot for the tournament proper.

Harbhajan, who bowled four overs on the trot, was in his usual penetrative bowling.

Earlier, an explosive unbeaten knock of 108 by Dhoni and a classy 89 by Gambhir powered India to an imposing 360 for five after electing to bat.

After sharing 68 runs in 9.3 overs for the fourth wicket with Gambhir, Dhoni set the nearly-packed Chepauk stadium on fire as he tore into the Kiwi bowling in the company of Suresh Raina, who made his exit just 12 balls before the hosts ended their innings.

Raina made a quickfire 50 off just 26 balls with three huge sixes and four boundaries and added 124 runs in 9.2 overs along with Dhoni.

For the hapless New Zealand, Jacob Oram and Tim Southee were the most successful bowlers sharing two wickets each, while Kyle Mills accounted for one wicket.

Openers Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar started cautiously as the Kiwi pacers extracted bounce and also kept up a steady line in length to stifle the Indian openers.

Tendulkar (17) was the first to go with the scoreboard reading 35 and soon Sehwag (23) followed suit as India were reduced to 42 for two.

However, Gambhir hit form at the right time and resurrected the Indian batting along with Virat Kohli (59), adding 106 crucial runs for the third wicket to save India from the embarrassment of another batting collapse like in Bangalore against Australia.

After Kohli's departure, Gambhir involved in a 68-run stand for the fourth wicket with Dhoni. The hosts made good use of the opportunities and also showed better on-field intensity as both Gambhir and Dhoni rotated their strike and looked for big runs.

During their stay, the pair scored at 7.15 runs an over together for 9.3 overs at the pitch.

Dhoni, who took the role of aggressor after Gambhir's exit, was in his elements as he stepped on the gas and went on a run hunt, hitting the bowlers, particularly Jacob Oram, all around the park.

After completing his half century in just 40 balls, Dhoni raced to 61 with five successive boundaries, including a four at the square leg region and one over the bowler Oram, who was taken off from duty at the end of 43rd over.

Dhoni continued his blitzkrieg and sent spinner Nathan McCullum to the ropes twice, much to the amusement of over 35,000 odd crowd that cheered every shot of the host captain.

New Zealand, skippered by Ross Taylor, used as many as seven bowlers on the wicket which offered good bounce with the odd ball keeping low. But spinners McCullum and Luke Woodcock came a cropper against the mighty Indian batting.

Hunter sues after failing to find elephant

A Polish hunter who dreamed of shooting an elephant has sued a German-based travel company after it sent him to a part of Africa where he said there were no elephants to be found, a newspaper reported.

The company, which organizes hunting expeditions, insists there are elephants in the area of Zimbabwe it sent the hunter, identified only as Waldemar I, the newspaper said.

"From what I know, (the hunter) should have seen elephant excrement there," it quoted the company owner as saying.

Even though the company organized a second trip for the luckless hunter during which he managed to kill a male elephant, the man still filed for damages worth $130,000 over his first expedition.

Cameron calls in Larry the cat to catch the rats

LONDON: Downing Street has a new occupant -- a street-smart character with a licence to kill.

Larry the cat has been brought in to the Prime Minister's official residence to clean up a gang of rats who have been openly parading in front of the TV cameras.

He had lately been living at the Battersea Dogs and Cats Home after having been taken in as a stray.

He was recruited on Tuesday specifically for catching rats, but Prime Minister David Cameron's young children are believed to have been in favour of seeing him move in.

Larry will be looked after by Downing Street staff, who helped choose him, and will have the run of most of the offices and official rooms as well as the garden.

Battersea said Larry showed all the signs of the hunter instinct needed for seeing off rats as well as the right qualities in coping with the demands of daily life at Number 10.

"He's quite independent and has bags of character," it said in a statement. "I can definitely see Larry holding his own at Downing Street."

The BBC has shown footage of rats scuttling down the London street as correspondents reported live on camera.

Downing Street had asked for a cat that was happy meeting new people, but had few other requirements, the shelter said.

The last cat to stalk Downing Street, Humphrey, vanished shortly after Tony Blair and his wife Cherie moved in in 1997.

Humphrey's predecessor in the corridors of power, Wilberforce, served four prime ministers, including Harold Wilson and Margaret Thatcher, before his death in 1988. (Reuters)

Rahat Fateh Ali arrested in India

NEW DELHI: Interior Minister A. Rehman Malik on Sunday telephoned High Commissioner of Pakistan to New Delhi Shahid Malik to inquire details about the detention of famous Pakistani singer, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan at Indira Gandhi International Airport.

According to a statement issued here on Sunday, the minister said that he was examining the matter. He has also asked Pakistani High Commissioner to India to monitor the matter thoroughly.

Rahat Fateh Ali Khan who was arrested at Delhi airport on Sunday for possessing undeclared currency of 100,000 US dollars will be presented before court on Monday.

His manager Chitresh Srivastava has also been arrested.

Rahat Fateh Ali Khan arrived here on a flight from Karachi and was intercepted by personnel from Directorate of Revenue Intelligence.

Khan has several hit numbers to his credit and had won the Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer this year for 'Dil To Bachcha Hai Ji' from the movie 'Ishqiya'.

Rahat, 37, who has crooned several Bollywood chartbusters, had flown from Karachi to New Delhi. He is the nephew of Pakistani singing legend Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.

Raymond Davis does not enjoy blanket immunity: Qureshi

ISLAMABAD: Regarding the issue of Raymond Davis, former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Wednesday said the US national does not enjoy blanket immunity, DawnNews reported.

Addressing a press conference in Islamabad after his meeting with US Senator John Kerry, Qureshi said the foreign office had briefed him on January 31 that Davis did not enjoy the blanket immunity that the US was claiming for him.

Qureshi said that his stance on the Davis issue was principled and that he would stand by his position.

He said that for him Pakistan’s sovereignty and dignity were most important and that if need be he would apprise the people of Pakistan of more facts.

Whether I have a ministry or not, I will always remain with the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Qureshi told reporters.

He further said that the United States should realise the sacrifices that Pakistan has made in the war against terror.

He said both Pakistan and the United States needed each other’s cooperation.

Oil prices up in Asia supported by Mideast tensions

SINGAPORE: Oil prices were up in Asian trade Wednesday, lifted by continued protests in the Middle East, analysts said.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for March delivery, was up 38 cents to $84.70 per barrel.

Brent North Sea crude for delivery in April advanced 21 cents to $101.85.

"Oil prices in general are still expected to be supported by protests in the Middle East," said Chen Xin Yi, commodities analyst for Barclays Capital.

Crude prices had risen over supply concerns in the volatile region as demonstrators in various Arab states drew inspiration from pro-democracy protests leading to the ouster of leaders in Tunisia and Egypt.

Unrest has followed in Iran, Yemen and Bahrain.

US president Barack Obama on Tuesday warned autocratic US allies they cannot crush the Middle East's youthful "hunger" for change and offered "moral support" to Iranian protesters defying a crackdown.

Davis is ‘a diplomat’, declares FO

A letter written to Law Ministry from Foreign Office, declared the US double murderer of two Pakistani citizens, Raymond Davis, ‘a diplomat’, Geo News reported late Tuesday.

According to letter, US citizen Raymond Davis was designated in Pakistan at US consulate in Lahore as ‘a diplomat’ and all the same, he enjoys ‘diplomatic immunity’ according to Vienna Convention.

A few minutes ago, US President Obama and Senator Kerry demanded Pakistan to acknowledge Davis as a diplomat and urged for his early release.

Iran opposition protests, agency reports shooting

Thousands of Iranian opposition activists rallied in support of popular uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia on Monday and a semi-official news agency said one person was shot dead and several wounded by protesters.

An opposition website said dozens were arrested while taking part in the banned protests, which amounted to a test of strength for the reformist opposition in the Islamic state.

By late evening, chants of "Allahu Akbar" (God is Greatest) echoed from Tehran rooftops in scenes reminiscent of 2009 protests against the disputed reelection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Eight people were killed in those mass street demonstrations which lasted about a month and resulted in many arrests and several executions.

A witness said security forces fired teargas to scatter thousands marching toward a Tehran square on Monday. There were also clashes between police and demonstrators, and dozens of arrests, in the city of Isfahan, another witness told Reuters.

The semi-official Fars news agency cited violence on the part of protesters in a report that could herald a hard line by authorities clearly eager to head off any resurgent opposition.

"One person was shot dead and several were wounded by seditionists (opposition supporters) who staged a rally in Tehran," Fars said, without giving further details.

Some Tehran protesters chanted "Death to the dictator" during protests, which continued in some places into the evening. Other demonstrators marched in silence.

Some chants drew comparisons between the Iranian leadership and the autocrats deposed in recent weeks in Tunis and Cairo.

By late evening, the protests appeared to have eased off.

Amnesty International condemned the authorities' reaction.

"Iranians have a right to gather to peacefully express their support for the people of Egypt and Tunisia," it said.

Describing events, state television said: "Hypocrites, monarchists, thugs and seditionists who wanted to create public disorder in Iran were arrested by our brave nation ... These people set garbage bins on fire and damaged public property."

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has called the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia against secular, Western-allied rulers an "Islamic awakening," akin to the 1979 revolution that overthrew the U.S.-backed shah in Iran.

But the opposition see events in Tunisia and Egypt as resembling their own protests after the June 2009 election which they say was rigged in favor of President Ahmadinejad.

RIOT POLICE

Police in Bahrain, where tensions arise from discontent among a Shi'ite majority, fired teargas and rubber bullets to break up pro-reform demonstrations and witnesses said one protester was killed. Analysts say any large-scale unrest in Bahrain could embolden marginalized Shi'ites in nearby Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said of the action against Iranian protesters: "President Ahmadinejad ... told the Egyptian people that they had the right to express their own views about their country. I call on the Iranian authorities to allow their own people the same right."

Large numbers of police wearing riot gear and security forces were stationed around the main squares of the capital and pairs of state militiamen roamed the streets on motorbikes.

There were minor clashes at some points across the sprawling capital city of some 12 million people, witnesses said. Mobile telephone connections were down in the area of the protests.

Video posted on the Internet showed young men, some holding sticks, gathered around overturned garbage bins, some of which were on fire. The demonstrators marched toward Azadi (Freedom) Square, a traditional rallying point for protests. Hundreds of marchers also gathered in Isfahan and Shiraz, witnesses said.

Security forces surrounded the homes of opposition leaders Mirhossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi preventing them joining the march, their websites said.

Noting official Iranian backing for demonstrations in Egypt and Tunisia, Mousavi and Karroubi asked permission to hold their own marches in solidarity. But authorities refused, wary of a repeat of the protests in 2009, which saw the greatest unrest since the revolution of 30 years earlier.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul, on a visit to Tehran, called on Middle Eastern governments to listen to their people.

The Iranian authorities accuse opposition leaders of being part of a Western plot to overthrow the Islamic system.

Taliban warns Pakistan against releasing U.S. prisoner

U.S. Senator John Kerry was due in Pakistan as part of the Obama administration's efforts to resolve the crisis.

Raymond Davis, the U.S. consular employee jailed in the Pakistani city of Lahore for shooting two Pakistanis last month, says he acted in self-defense during an armed robbery.

Washington insists Davis has diplomatic immunity and should be released but the Pakistani government, fearful of a backlash from Pakistanis already wary of the United States and enraged by the shooting, says the matter should be decided in court.

"If (Pakistani) rulers hand him over to America then we will target these rulers. If Pakistani courts cannot punish Davis then they should hand him over to us," said Azam Tariq, spokesman for the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (Taliban movement of Pakistan).

"We will give exemplary punishment to the killer Davis."

On Thursday, the United States is expected to present a petition to a Lahore court to certify that Davis has diplomatic immunity and should be released.

The warning from the al-Qaeda linked Taliban, which has kept up suicide bombings to destabilize Pakistan's government despite several army offensives, underscores the charged atmosphere surrounding Davis' case.

Cash-strapped Pakistan, one of the largest non-NATO recipients of American military aid, is loathe to risk losing U.S. support by keeping Davis in jail but also fears antagonizing Islamist groups who see the government as a U.S. puppet.

The issue has become a lightning rod for anti-American sentiment in Pakistan, which the United States counts as an important, if unreliable, ally in its war against militancy.

Davis' fate is certain to come up between Kerry, the influential chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and member of President Barack Obama's Democratic party, in his meetings with Pakistani officials.

GOVERNMENT FACES PRESSURE

Jamaat-e-Islami, a religious and political party capable of organizing large protests, accused the United States of exerting "unprincipled and unlawful" pressure on Pakistan.

"Why is America hell bent on trampling on Pakistani law and its judicial system? We will forcefully protest if he is released without a court order," Jamaat-e-Islami deputy chief Liaquat Baluch told Reuters.

Religious parties don't win many votes in elections. But the government can't afford to ignore the groups who often seize on issues concerning the United States to promote their cause.

"Of course he (Davis) should not be released. He has committed a crime and he should be punished. He doesn't have immunity," said Yahya Mujhaid, a spokesman for Jamaat-ud-Dawa, which was blacklisted by the U.N. over its links to the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant group blamed for the 2008 attack on Mumbai. It denies it has links to the LeT.

"If he is released, we will register our protest but in a peaceful way. We will hold rallies ... Not only us, the whole of Pakistan will protest against any such move."

Some members of the Pakistani media, which has in the past accused U.S. aid workers of being spies, have also called for Davis to be put on trial in Pakistan.

"Raymond Davis is not a diplomat but a U.S. spy," the Taliban spokesman said.

Supporters of the slain men have held protests and burned U.S. flags. In addition to the two men Davis shot, a third man was killed when a U.S. consulate vehicle, apparently trying to rescue Davis, struck and killed a passer-by.

Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said the provincial government sent the U.S. consulate reminders that it should hand over the car and the driver who killed the man.