SEATTLE: He keeps them in warm, comfortable bug dorms, feeds them on meals of human blood with the occasional sugar water snack and lives in awe of their killing power.

Seattle-based research scientist Stefan Kappe says mosquitoes are the most dangerous animals in the world.


Which is probably why when his laboratory colleagues slice their heads off with miniscule needle-like scalpels and squeeze them with tweezers to extract early forms of the malaria parasite from their saliva glands, he feels no concern about cruelty to animals.

Kappe has spent his working life trying to figure out how this tiny malaria-carrying insect can inflict so much death and disease on humans, and what he and his team can do to stop it.

According to the World Health Organisation, malaria kills a child every 45 seconds in Africa and costs that continent's economy $12 billion a year.

FORMIDABLE PREDATORS

Kappe, molecular biologist and expert in parasitology who trained first in Germany then the United States, has no doubt the killer parasitic disease will one day be wiped out across the world, but acknowledges it's a tough fight.

"They are formidable little predators," he says as he looks through the mesh window on one of the mosquito bug dorms at his

Seattle BioMed laboratory and insectary. A handwritten sticker on this dorm says "fed."

"They are uniquely adapted to take blood meals, and unfortunately infectious diseases have taken a ride along with this ability of the mosquito to bite you and take your blood," Kappe says.

Until this week, some of the world's best scientific minds had failed to make an effective vaccine against malaria -- or any parasitic disease for that matter -- and Kappe says eradication can't be achieved without one.

RTS,S was recognized as the first effective malaria vaccine on Tuesday when scientists released data showing it halved the risk of children getting the disease in a large Africa trial.

"Right now malaria vaccine development stands at a very interesting point because we have a partially effective vaccine in RTS,S," Kappe told Reuters.

Experts stressed that RTS,S -- developed by the British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline and the non-profit PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative -- will be no quick fix.

At around a 50 percent protection rate, the new shot is less effective against malaria than other vaccines are against common infections like polio and measles.

"The RTS,S vaccine will always stand as the first really successful vaccine that can partially protect against malaria," Kappe said. "But to eradicate the disease -- and that is our goal -- you need a vaccine that protects 90 to 100 percent. So we have to build on RTS,S."

To do that Kappe's team is taking various routes -- most of which involve breeding large numbers of these dangerous animals in warm, soupy trays in what he calls the "swamp room."

After dissecting them, modifying them, breeding more generations and then allowing them to drink malaria-infected blood from a skin-like covered cup, he sets them on brave human trial volunteers who agree to be bitten in the name of science.

Seattle BioMed is a non-profit research institute that works on research to eliminate the world's most devastating infectious diseases, funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and around 500 other donors.

One of the institute's approaches to creating a vaccine centers around immature forms of the malaria parasite called sporozoites, which are carried in the saliva glands of female malarial mosquitoes and transferred into humans when they bite.
The process of infection with malaria takes a complex path, starting in the human victim's blood and moving into the liver.

Inside the liver, the sporozoites change form and then grow and divide into thousands of merozoites. These in turn burst out from the liver cells and back into the blood.

Once back in the blood, the merozoites multiply in red blood cells, again burst out and produce more parasites, eventually damaging the brain and lungs, causing fever, chills, anemia and, in severe cases, death.

DELETING THE PARASITE'S GENES

Kappe's team is seeking to interrupt this process at a critical stage and has found a way of genetically modifying the sporozoites to delete key genes from their DNA, so that while they still make it into the liver where they trigger a strong immune response, they are also genetically programed to die off there.

"What we're interested in is preventing the liver-stage parasite from completing its development," explains Ashley Vaughan, a molecular geneticist working with Kappe.

"If you have enough sporozoites going to the liver and stopping there, they will alert your immune system that your liver is seeing a large amount of malaria, which would then generate a protective response.

"So if you then get bitten by a mosquito carrying natural malaria, the parasite would go to your liver, that same response would be triggered and your immune system would kill it.

"This would mean you'd never get a blood-stage infection, and never get sick."

In tests on mice, the so-called genetically attenuated whole parasite (GAP) experimental vaccine has proven 100 percent protective, 100 percent of the time, Kappe and Vaughan said.

And in the first early-stage human trials, where six volunteers agreed to be bitten first by a "vaccine mosquito" carrying genetically modified parasites and then by one with natural malaria, five out of six were protected.

Kappe is worried by the sixth case -- where the trial volunteer went on to develop malaria caused by the parasites in the vaccine failing to stop developing at the right stage.

In the trial, the volunteer was of course immediately treated and cured with anti-malarial drugs, but for the GAP experimental shot to be developed any further down the path to a potentially useful product, the team still has much work to do.

"What we have to do now is learn how to make it safer, and learn how we would be able to manufacture it on a larger scale," said Kappe.

For the moment the manufacturing process is very hands on, and a little gruesome.

Working with microscopes in a laboratory next to the "swamp room," scientists Heather Kain and Will Betz take each mosquito at a time, soak it in an ethanol solution, slice its head off, squeeze its thorax to get the saliva glands out, and then cut open each gland to harvest the sporozoites.

For every potential vaccine dose, the researchers need around 10,000 sporozoites, and all those and more can come from a single mosquito. As Kappe says, "it's hard to imagine making millions of doses" by hand.

"On a good day I can dissect around 200 mosquitoes an hour," says Betz. "But it takes a steady hand." (Reuters)

 PERTH: Australia edged out traditional rivals New Zealand 5-3 to win the men's final of the inaugural International Super Series in Perth on Sunday.

The home side were heavily favoured to win the final of the innovative nine-a-side tournament, which also showcased other trial rules such as shortened 15-minute halves and widened goals, but faced a spirited Kiwi challenge.

Australia, who thrashed New Zealand 7-1 earlier in the tournament, looked in control when they led 3-1 in the first half. However, the Kiwis lifted to draw level early in the second half when Stephen Jenness added to the two goals Blair Hilton had already scored.

The favourites for the 2012 London Olympics eventually steadied from a short corner in the 25th minute, with Liam De Young converting to restore their lead before Glenn Turner sealed the title with less than two minutes to play.

The women's final saw Australia recover from a goal down to beat India 4-1.

Australia dominated early, but it was India that opened the scoring against the trend of play through Soundarya Yendala in the ninth minute. However, Australia struck back through Hope Munro and Kellie White in quick succession and led 2-1 at the break.

The home side broke the game open early in the second half with goals to Marnie Hudson and Ashleigh Nelson within 60 seconds. (AFP)

 LAHORE: Sacrificial animals for sale have started arriving in the old ‘Bakra Mandi’ in the city here, but the buyers’ zeal is not seen yet, Geo News reported.

There is a ban on bringing sacrificial animals to the ‘animals Mandi’ located on Bandar Road here, however sacrificial animals in large number are brought in here every year.

District Administration has announced setting up seven sale points outside the city here, where the concerned towns have been directed to set these ‘Mandis’ by October 25, but no activity is still seen at these sale points in this regard.

 SYDNEY: Police broke up a Sydney protest camp inspired by the Occupy Wall Street movement in an early morning raid on Sunday, making dozens of arrests, police and protesters said.

The 'Occupy Sydney' protest against corporate greed and economic inequality in the Martin Place business district had been going on for a week, with a small group sleeping out in the square despite seizure of camping equipment, setting up solar panels to charge mobile phones.

The raid by about 100 officers came two days after police in Melbourne broke up a parallel protest there in violent scenes. New South Wales state police said they had made 40 arrests in Sydney on Sunday. Some protesters were expected to be charged with crimes, including assaulting police.

Protest spokesman who gave his name as Tim Davis Frank said about 70 people were in the area when the raid started around 5a.m. (1800 GMT Saturday), including some homeless people who had joined the demonstrators.

Police said protesters had originally had permission to protest for two hours, which they had exceeded more than a week ago, and had repeatedly ignored requests to leave.

Although inspired by the 'Occupy Wall Street' movement, the protests generally only attracted crowds of up to a few hundred, largely drawn from left-wing groups.

Australia's economy weathered the global economic crisis better than most developed nations, buoyed by its key resources exports, and currently has a low unemployment rate. (Reuters)

 DUBAI: Former chairperson of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and first lady, Begum Nusrat Bhutto, died at the age of 82 after protracted illness in Dubai on Sunday.

Begum Nusrat Bhutto was born in Isfahan, Iran on 23 March, 1929. She married to founder of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in 1951. After the death of her husband in 1979, she remained the chairperson of the PPP from 1979 to 1983.

She was allowed to leave Pakistan by the military government of Ziaul Haq in 1982 for London after she was diagnosed with cancer.

She was elected Member of National Assembly (MNA) from Larkana in 1988 and 1993.
Nusrat Bhutto had two sons Mir Murtaza Bhutto and Shahnawaz Bhutto and two daughters Benazir Bhutto and Sanam Bhutto.

The body of Begum Nusrat Bhutto will be brought to Sukkur from Dubai on a chartered flight on Sunday night.

She will be buried in Garhi Khuda Buksh in Larkana beside the grave of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

The Pakistan People’s Party has announced 40-day mourning on the death of its leader.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani announced 10-day national mourning and public holiday on Monday and cancelled all his engagements.

The Federal Cabinet will also not hold its meeting on Tuesday.

 LAHORE: The killer Dengue fever claimed four more lives including that of two women in Lahore, Geo News reported Saturday.

In Lahore alone the total dengue death toll now has reached 236, whereas 265 deaths have been registered overall in Punjab.

With 242 more confirmed cases the tally of total patients, so far, has jumped to 18,300. On the other hand 199 more cases have surfaced in Lahore to take the figure for the city to 15,609.

At the moment, around 1,385 patients are under treatment in the heart of Punjab.

Doctors told Geo News that guidelines for the treatment of pregnant women suffering form the deadly disease have been devised. The patients coming in with hemorrhage/shock are being taken care at the high-dependency units.

Doctors add that patients returning to hospitals with a relapse or a new infection are the most critical.

 MUMBAI: Bollywood actors Shahrukh Khan and Kareena Kapoor enthralled the audience as they promoted their upcoming film 'Ra One' by dancing to the tunes of the movie's popular numbers 'Chammak Challo' and 'Criminal'.

Hundreds of audience gathered to catch a glimpse of their favourite stars at an event in Mumbai.

Khan and Kapoor enticed the audience and distributed the film's merchandise such as tennis caps.

"I think she has been one of the biggest strengths in the film," said Khan.

Khan was all praise for the child actor Armaan Verma who essays the role of his son, Prateek Subramanium in the movie.

The story of Ra One revolves around Khan, who plays the lead protagonist, turning into a superhero in order to fulfill his son's expectations.

The movie takes a turn when Khan's character designs a videogame that has an impact on the lives of the characters, in both negative and positive ways.

Besides Khan and Kapoor, actors Dalip Tahil, Satish Shah and Shahana Goswami also essay key roles in the thrilling movie.

The music of the film is composed by musician duo Vishal-Shekhar.

The action-packed science-fiction film, directed by Anubhav Sinha, is slated for October 26 release. (Reuters)

 ABU DHABI: Kumar Sangakkara hit his eighth double hundred and Prasanna Jayawardene notched up a fighting century to thwart Pakistan's hopes of victory to salvage a draw for Sri Lanka in the first Test here on Saturday.

Sangakkara scored 211 during a marathon near eleven-hour stay while Prasanna made 120, for his fourth century, as Sri Lanka piled on 483 to frustrate Pakistan on the fifth and final day at Abu Dhabi stadium.

A cluster of wickets in the final session with Umar Gul taking 4-64 left Pakistan with an improbable target of making 170 in a maximum 20 overs, but they called it quits on 21-1 after 10 overs.

Sangakkara finally fell in the last over before tea, when he was trapped leg-before by the part-time leg-spinner Azhar Ali for his first wicket in Test cricket but not before he had frustrated Pakistan for almost two sessions.

Sangakkara batted for 651 minutes, faced 431 deliveries and hit 18 boundaries during an epic knock.

With just 25 overs remaining and the match heading towards a draw, Prasanna fell caught behind off paceman Aizaz Cheema but by that time he and Sangakkara had changed the course of the match.

Sangakkara flicked Cheema to fine-leg for his 18th boundary to reach his double hundred after 604-minutes of defiant batting, punching the air in delight.

Together with Prasanna, Sangakkara added 201 for the sixth wicket stand, erasing the previous best of 169 in Pakistan-Sri Lanka Tests for this wicket between Kamran Akmal and Yasir Arafat at Karachi two years ago.

Sangakkara, 33, has also achieved a personal landmark by scoring a double hundred as he is now third behind Sir Donald Bradman (12) and West Indian Brian Lara (nine) in terms of scoring Test double hundreds.

Pakistan captain Misbah-ul Haq employed all possible means but the Sangakkara-Prasanna pair did not served up any chances in the first three hours. Prasanna reached his hundred with his 11th boundary, an uppish drive off spinner Saeed Ajmal.

In all Prasanna hit 12 boundaries during his 273-ball knock.

Resuming at 298-5 Sri Lanka survived the morning session unscathed as the overnight pair of Sangakkara and Prasanna kept Pakistan's three-pronged pace attack at bay to take their team to 364-5 at lunch.

Prasanna, dropped by substitute Wahab Riaz off Gul on 11 -- one of six catches Pakistani fielders dropped on Friday -- hit Aizaz Cheema and off-spinner Saeed Ajmal for consecutive boundaries to help Sri Lanka erase the deficit.

Sangakkara, whose wicket was crucial for both Pakistan and Sri Lanka, then came into his own hitting Ajmal for an exquisite cover drive to the ropes and gave no chance to bowlers.

Pakistan used all five bowlers but were left to rue the missed chances of Friday which spoiled their chances of taking the lead in the three-Test series.

The second Test starts in Dubai on October 26, while the third will be played in Sharjah from November 3.

 ISLAMABAD: Prices of milk, beef and mutton have risen by 18 percent while cooking oil has also become expensive by 26 percent during the week ended on October 20 compared to the same period last year, Geo News reported on Saturday.

According to figures released by the Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS), during the week ended on October 20, 2011 the Sensitive Price Index reflected an overall increase of 8.24 percent compared to the prices in the corresponding period last year.

Prices of red chili and powdered milk have recorded increase of 60 and 21 percents respectively in the period in question. Rates of Kerosene oil rose by 28 percent, petrol 33 percent while diesel increased by 27 percent.

According to economic experts, the country whose poor segments of society are forced to spend about 70 percent of their income on food, its government seems to be unmoved as no measures to control prices are in sight.

 KABUL: US and coalition forces have completed an operation against militants in eastern Afghanistan.

According to the US Army, Operation Nike IV was launched on October 13, in the mountains of Musa Khel at the border of Khowst and Paktya provinces, adding that it was completed on Oct 18.

The US Army has claimed that the operation has reduced the ability of extremists to launch attacks against Afghan and ISAF forces.

Eleven militants have been apprehended and arms have been seized during the operation, the US Army added.

 LAHORE: Punjab Governor Lateef Khosa said Saturday he was considering asking Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to take a vote of confidence from the Punjab Assembly, Geo News reported.

Talking to media Khosa said that Shahbaz Sharif was constitutionally not a member of the Punjab Assembly.

Khosa added: “a case is pending in Supreme Court over the incompetence of Shahbaz Sharif and we are looking at the court in this regard.”

The Punjab governor said he seriously thought the Chief Minister did not even have a simple majority and might be asked to take a vote of confidence from the assembly. However no decision had been made in this regard, he added.

 KABUL: Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Afghanistan would support Pakistan in case on an attack by any country including the US and India, Geo News reported.

“If Pakistan is attacked and the people of Pakistan need Afghanistan’s help, we will be there for Pakistan” Karzai said while speaking to Geo News senior journalist Saleem Safi.

“We will never forget the hospitatlity of the Pakistani people” Karzai said, adding that no one including China, US and India could incite the Afghan people against Pakistan.

The Afghan President further said that both countries should work together for peace.

 KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Saturday cut its key policy rate by 150 basis points to 12 percent for the subsequent two months, citing a decline in inflation and government borrowings, it said in a statement.

The central bank said it cut its policy rate by 150 basis points as it was "taking some comfort from declining inflation and high probability of meeting the FY12 inflation target together with a need to support private sector credit and investment growth."

In September, annual consumer inflation was 10.46 percent, compared with 11.56 percent in August, and 13.77 percent in July, mainly due to a high base effect, which is to last through December. Although inflation had risen month-on-month by over one percent.

However the central bank said there was a high probability that Pakistan would meet its target of average inflation at 12 percent for 2011/12 fiscal year.

This was the first monetary policy announcement after the government of Pakistan ended its $11 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan programme on Sept. 30.

It is also the second rate cut in fiscal year 2011/12 (July-June).

SBP raised rate by 50 basis points in November 2010, and held it steady until it slashed it by 50 basis points to 13.5 percent on July 30, also exceeding analyst expectations.

The decline in government borrowing from the central bank was also one of the reasons for the rate cut, the SBP said.

According to provisional data, the outstanding stock of government borrowings was 1,051 billion rupees ($12 billion) on Sept. 30, lower than the agreed limit of 1,155 billion rupees ($13.22 billion) for the fiscal year 2011/12. (Reuters)

 NEW YORK: Anti-corporate activists who triggered a national protest movement by occupying a square near Wall Street could not be more focused, except on one little detail: what exactly it is that they want.

After three weeks of permanent demonstration at Zuccotti Park in Manhattan, protesters have astonished doubters -- and won attention from both President Barack Obama and his Republican opponents -- with their staying power, organizational savvy and ability to grow.

The core sleeping rough is only a few hundred, but more than 5,000 people streamed through rush-hour traffic last week and smaller branches of the Occupy Wall Street brand are popping up in cities nationwide to protest the fate of the little guy in America, or what they call "the 99 percent."

They use every latest social media tool. They rake in thousands of dollars in donations to buy basic supplies for the camp. By and large they maintain steely discipline when marching so as to avoid provoking the police.

They are in every way the model of a grassroots protest movement -- except for that absence of a unified demand.

On Saturday, the start of the fourth week for a protest that initially seemed unlikely to survive a few days, about 1,000 people swarmed away from New York's Financial District to a park further uptown.

The gathering showcased the strengths of the movement. Peaceful, brimming with intellectual discussions about economic policy, and unfazed by the scorching sun, the crowd took part in what the protesters call their General Assembly -- a daily gathering where practical matters are discussed.

Because megaphones would contravene the laws on unsanctioned demonstrations, the protesters use an ingenious method of relaying what speakers have said in a chorus through the crowd.

For an hour, the demonstrators discussed minutia of how to maintain and improve their protest machine. Only no one was saying where the machine wanted to go.

A forest of handmade cardboard protest signs decried everything from the Afghanistan war to the bailout of Wall Street institutions and soaring college tuition fees.

But the absence of a simple, common goal frustrated some.

"The problem with their street theater is that it discredits the whole thing. It doesn't seem serious," said writer Chris Gay, 53. "They have got the attention, but now what? Once you have people's attention, you need some proposals."

Scathing criticism was leveled Friday by none other than Liberia's peace campaigner Leymah Gbowee, shortly after she was named joint winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.

She praised the US activists for their energy, but said: "If you are doing a protest you need to have an agenda. If you wake up in the morning and poke a guitar, take a drum downtown and someone is singing and another one is dancing and movie stars are coming and saying do this, do that... and everyone is confused, you'll be there for a long time."

Some pundits believe that a likely avenue for Occupy Wall Street is to develop into a left-wing version of the conservative Tea Party movement.

The Tea Party has likewise lacked unity over much other than anger at the status quo. Yet it proved a powerful weapon during the 2010 congressional elections.

According to this scenario, the youth-driven activists of Occupy Wall Street would then reignite Obama's tattered base just in time for what will likely be a bitter reelection fight in 2012.

A budding alliance between the activists and high-profile trade unions already has the potential to generate considerable street power.

Yet few protesters seem ardent about Obama, the Democrats or politicians in general. And they seem highly unlikely to seek the equivalent of the potent relationship that the Tea Party forged with right-wing media and Republican billionaires.

"People realize we have to be careful. It is an election season, but the banks control the government," Lindsey Smith, 25, said, holding a placard that linked Wall Street's titans to Washington's masters.

"They give millions and millions of dollars to the politicians. Wall Street funds campaigns and then they get bailed out. It's completely corrupt."

Disillusioned with the political and business elite, the protest movement appears determined, for now, to instead follow its idiosyncratic path.

If anything, the lack of hurry to name a goal reinforces the message that these protesters don't play by normal rules.

"The exhausted political machines and their PR slicks are already seeking leaders to elevate, messages to claim, talking points to move on. They, more than anyone, will attempt to seize and shape this movement," the latest edition of the protest camp newspaper The Occupied Wall Street Journal said.

"For Wall Street and Washington, the demand is not on them to give us something that isn't theirs to give. It's ours. It's on us. We aren't going anywhere. We just got here."

At Saturday's rally, Neha Kagal, 26, a student from India, said the protest's diffuse nature is "the good part of it."

"That's what gets more people involved -- and that's what revolutions are made of." (AFP)

 KARACHI: The miseries of the flood affectees in Sindh could not be eased out even today, which could be gauged from the fact that a man jostling for obtaining ‘Pakistan Card’ died of cardiac arrest in Badin, while two persons including an infant, 8 months old succumbed to the stomach disease.

A person standing in the queue for two days at the Pakistan Card Centre set up at Golarchi in Badin area died of cardiac arrest, while in Pangrio an infant eight months old and at Malkani Sharif, an old man aged 65 died of stomach disease.

District Badin facing acute shortage of food items as the administration has badly failed to come to the rescue of the flood affectees.

Mir colony, Akhtar Town, Zeeshan Town and other adjoining areas in Mirpur Khas still remain submerged in the accumulated rain water, which could not be drained out even after weeks, while those who had taken refuge in the relief camps are suffering from different diseases without necessary medical aid, as the hospitals are also surrounded by rain water. Most of the residential areas of Sanghar also remain inundated.

The cultivators at Kachoo flood affected area Wahi Pandi in Dadu staging protest against additional bills and torched them in rage, while the work for draining out the rain water moving with snail’s pace.

The standing crops on a vast area including three fish farms were washed away, as a breach occurred in Khora canal near Gambat, Khairpur.

 LAHORE: Punjab unification block leader, Tahir Javed, by suggesting Punjab Chief Minister, Shabaz Sharif to dissolve the provincial assembly in a bid to stem the senate elections, has aroused spontaneous uproars in the country’s politicking.

People’s Party former law minister, Babar Awan bluntly said, “Gone are the days when Khalil Khan used to fly doves---now it cannot happen so.

Unification block is a group that parted ways with the Muslim League-Q, maintains a separate identity in the Punjab assembly and supports the Muslim League-N.

The leader of this unification block, Tahir Javed proposed to the Punjab Chief Minister, Shahbaz Sharif to dissolve Punjab assembly prior to the senate elections for paving way for holding general elections in the country.

Tajir Javed’s salvo hit the target and PPP Babar Awan immediately jumping to the fray declared this proposal undoable. He said that gone are the days when Khalil Khan used to fly the doves.

Legal expert, S. M. Zafar said that dissolving the assembly was within the powers of the chief minister. He said that whatever may be intention, Tahir Javed has let loose a new debate by giving his proposal.

LAHORE: Killer Dengue continues to plague the city and on Saturday seven people including three women lost their lives to the virus, Geo news reported. The toll now stands at 195 in Punjab while 175 of the deaths have taken place in Lahore.

According to sources, 312 new cases of Dengue have been confirmed which has increased the numbers of patients to 14,760 in Punjab while 12,761 in Lahore. 14,448 patients have been cured from the virus so far.

Indonesian experts said that it is crucial to develop awareness among people and how they can protect themselves from the virus.

They also said that nurses and paramedical staff also need to be trained so that they can handle the patients properly.

 KABUL: A father desperately searches for his son, who has been sent on a suicide bomb mission. After losing everything, he ends up homeless and insane on the dusty streets of Kabul.

Tragedy can seem all too common in war-torn Afghanistan, but fortunately, this time, the story of Yacoub is not true.

Instead it is the center of a movie, one of 50 screened during the first Autumn Human Rights Film Festival. The event provides a central Asian stage for directors from Afghanistan and abroad who are tackling human rights issues, and a window for the public to explore challenges many have faced themselves.

"This film festival is special compared to other festivals I have attended, because it's about human rights," said Homayun Morowat, the Kabul-born director of the film about Yacoub, An Apple from Paradise.

The festival takes place at the tenth anniversary of the start of the U.S. military campaign in Afghanistan, a time when the human rights achievements and abuses of the last decade are in sharp focus.

Amnesty International said on Wednesday the Afghan government and its international supporters have failed to keep many of the human rights promises they made to the Afghan people.

But media freedoms are still better than in almost all the surrounding countries, according to the Press Freedom Index compiled by Reporters Without Borders, making the Afghan capital a logical choice to host a central Asian film festival.

Organizers say the festival has been years in the planning and the dates chosen were practical, not political.

"This event is not related to any political issues, and we started to plan it three years ago," said Malek Shaf'ii, the chief executive of Afghanistan Cinema Club.

BIGGEST CHALLENGE

Instead he said they fixed on the human rights theme because over 90 percent of movies and documentaries made by Afghan independent film makers touch on human rights problems.

"Human rights issues are one of the biggest challenges for Afghanistan," Shaf'ii told Reuters in the heavily-guarded French Cultural Institute in central Kabul, where many films were shown.

Afghanistan struggles with desperate poverty and three decades of war that has killed thousands of civilians and maimed or traumatized tens of thousands more. There are also strict restrictions on women, who traditionally have limited rights.

"The first step we can take to improve human rights is just let the people know the problems and challenges, and we are doing this to make a connection between film makers and the public audience," Hassan Zakizadeh, a festival spokesman said.

The film festival, which includes 32 Afghan movies and 18 from other countries, lasts seven days, with screenings in a downtown cinema and a auditorium at the French Cultural Center.

For Morowat, who now lives outside Afghanistan, the making of his film -- which features a despairing father, an innocent son, a corrupt police system and a holy site occupied by gamblers -- helped lift his sadness at the fate of his homeland.

"Now I am relaxed as the experiences are transferred to my audience," he told Reuters after the show. (Reuters)

 BEIJING: Top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki was knocked out of the China Open quarterfinals by Flavia Pennetta of Italy 3-6, 6-0, 7-6 (2) on Friday.

Wozniacki was two points from victory when leading 30-0 in the final game of the third set, but Pennetta won the game and then the tiebreaker.

"I did my best today, but it just wasn't good enough," the Dane said. "I had my chances and didn't take them."

Pennetta will face 11th-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska, who advanced after Ana Ivanovic retired with back pain while trailing 6-3, 3-2.

Also, Monica Niculescu of Romania rallied to beat Maria Kirilenko of Russia 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

In the men's tournament, third-seeded Tomas Berdych reached the semifinals by routing Fernando Verdasco 6-1, 6-0.

Berdych, like top-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, is still in the running for one of the four remaining spots at the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals in London.

Also, Ivan Ljubicic defeated Mikhail Youzhny 7-6 (4), 6-7 (4), 6-2.

 KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Saturday cut its key policy rate by 150 basis points to 12 percent for the subsequent two months, citing a decline in inflation and government borrowings, it said in a statement.

The central bank said it cut its policy rate by 150 basis points as it was "taking some comfort from declining inflation and high probability of meeting the FY12 inflation target together with a need to support private sector credit and investment growth."

In September, annual consumer inflation was 10.46 percent, compared with 11.56 percent in August, and 13.77 percent in July, mainly due to a high base effect, which is to last through December. Although inflation had risen month-on-month by over one percent.

However the central bank said there was a high probability that Pakistan would meet its target of average inflation at 12 percent for 2011/12 fiscal year.

This was the first monetary policy announcement after the government of Pakistan ended its $11 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan programme on Sept. 30.

It is also the second rate cut in fiscal year 2011/12 (July-June).

SBP raised rate by 50 basis points in November 2010, and held it steady until it slashed it by 50 basis points to 13.5 percent on July 30, also exceeding analyst expectations.

The decline in government borrowing from the central bank was also one of the reasons for the rate cut, the SBP said.

According to provisional data, the outstanding stock of government borrowings was 1,051 billion rupees ($12 billion) on Sept. 30, lower than the agreed limit of 1,155 billion rupees ($13.22 billion) for the fiscal year 2011/12. (Reuters)

 ISLAMABAD: Two leaders of PML-N Chaudhary Waqar Khan and Sardar Iqbal have joined Pakistan People's Party (PPP), Geo News reported.

This they announced in a press conference here on Saturday. They were flanked by PPP leaders Jahangir Badar and Faryal Talpur.

Chaudhary Waqar said it had become too hard to go with PML-N therefore he and his friend Sardar Iqbal decided to join PPP, adding that they would live and die for PPP now.

It is to be noted here that Chaudhary Waqar Khan is the cousin of PML-N leader Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan.

 KABUL: The Kabul government on Saturday demanded that Washington increase pressure on Pakistan to act against insurgents using its soil to attack Afghanistan, saying Afghans were running out of patience.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai held talks with US regional envoy, Marc Grossman, in Kabul just days after President Barack Obama warned Pakistan there were "some connections" between its intelligence services and extremists.

"The Afghan president asked Grossman to put more pressure on Pakistan so that future meetings with them should bring a positive result," one official at the presidential palace told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan, long mired in distrust, have recently deteriorated with Kabul alleging that the murder of its peace envoy Burhanuddin Rabbani was hatched in Pakistan and carried out by a Pakistani.

Kabul accused Islamabad of hindering the investigation and also claimed to have foiled an alleged plot in Pakistan to assassinate Karzai.

The palace quoted Grossman as promising that the United States will "continue putting pressure on Pakistan to take practical steps forward".

Karzai said further meetings with Pakistan "should bring positive results, because after all these suicide attacks and terrorism the people of Afghanistan are losing thier patience," added the statement.

US embassy spokesman Gavin Sundwall told AFP that Grossman was on a tour of the region to discuss preparations for international conferences on Afghanistan's future in Istanbul and Bonn later this year.

"That's what he met President Karzai about this morning," Sundwall said.

Washington has stepped up calls on Islamabad in recent weeks to break ties with the Al-Qaeda linked Haqqani network, blamed for last month's 19-hour siege on the US embassy in Kabul.

On Thursday, Obama accused Pakistan of "hedging its bets" in "having interactions with some of the unsavory characters who they think might end up regaining power in Afghanistan" after US-led foreign troops leave.

"And there is no doubt that there's some connections the Pakistani military and intelligence services have with certain individuals that we find troubling," he added.

Islamabad denies links between the Haqqanis and its intelligence services.(AFP)

 KARACHI: PML-F chief Pir Pagara has threatened to quit the government if ministries in Sindh were taken from his party, Geo News reported.

Pagara said his party had entered into an agreement with President Zardari and not Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah. Pagara added that the CM was holding several portfolios and the government would be in trouble if the PML-F left.

On Friday differences emerged between coalition partners over the allocation of ministries in Sindh. PML-F leaders were informed by the CM that their portfolios would be given to MQM who had recently announced its return to the government.