Nine killed in helicopter, plane collision over NY

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Nine people, including five Italian tourists, were killed on Saturday when a small plane hit a helicopter over New York and both crashed into the Hudson River, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.

He said there were five Italian tourists and a pilot aboard the helicopter and three people on the plane including the pilot and a child. Two bodies had been recovered but there was no hope of finding survivors.

"This has changed from a rescue to a recovery mission," Bloomberg said. "There's not going to be a happy ending."

Search and rescue craft had rushed to the area in the vicinity of West 14th Street in Lower Manhattan immediately after the midair collision at noon (1600 GMT). Police divers started looking for survivors and wreckage. The weather was clear and mild.

Bloomberg said the plane, a Piper Saratoga, appeared to hit the back of the helicopter, which immediately broke up and fell into the river. Police had found one piece of wreckage in murky waters and the search for bodies and debris would probably continue for a few days.

The helicopter was operated by Liberty Helicopter, the largest sightseeing and charter helicopter operator in the U.S. Northeast.

An eyewitness told the NY1 local TV station he saw a wing come off the plane around the time of the collision. The helicopter "fell like a stone" into the river, the witness said. Others reported hearing a loud boom.

Chunks of debris also fell on the New Jersey side of the river, narrowly missing motorists.

The National Transportation Safety Board said in a statement it had dispatched a 10-member team to investigate the collision.

In January, a US Airways jet with more than 150 people on board crashed into the frigid Hudson River off Manhattan after apparently hitting a flock of geese. All aboard survived.

The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association reports there have been 70 midair collisions involving 140 aircraft in the United States over the last 10 years. There were fatalities aboard 83 of those aircraft.

Bruce Landsberg, president of the AOPA Air Safety Foundation, said in a statement that "we should avoid speculating about who did what or who is at fault until the (NTSB) investigation has run its course."

Prescott Arizona police nab DUI driver with tire spikes after chase

Prescott, AZ - An Arizona man was arrested for several serious DUI related charges after he allegedly ran through nine red lights and almost hit two police units. The suspect led Yavapai County police on a chase early Wednesday morning.

The suspect, Michael Francis, was booked into the Yavapai County Jail in Camp Verde on two counts of aggravated vehicular assault, felony flight, extreme DUI and reckless driving.

The police were first alerted to Mr. Francis when a woman called the police to say that Francis had been following her.

To catch him, Prescott police had to ultimately disable his vehicle using tire spikes. According to police reports, Mr. Francis' blood alcohol content was .215, well over the "super extreme" DUI limit of .20 in Arizona. Depending on his criminal history, he may face 7 years or more in prison if convicted. He is currently being held on $15,000 bond while awaiting his hearing next week.

SPORTS: Roddick,Fernando , del Potro into Washington semi finalss

WASHINGTON: Andy Roddick defeated big-hitting Ivo Karlovicin two tiebreaker sets on Friday to reach the semifinals of the Legg Mason Classic.

Top-seeded Roddick won 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5), with the typical scoreline for two big servers disguising the repeated service breaks.

In other quarterfinals, fourth-seeded Fernando Gonzalez defeated Tommy Haas 7-5, 6-4, setting up a semi against second-seeded defending champion Juan Martin del Potro, who advanced after Robin Soderling withdrew before their match with a right elbow injury.

Playing in his first tournament since losing in an epic Wimbledon final, Roddick is two wins away from his fourth Washington title after overcoming the first two breaks of his serve in six career matches against the 2.05-meter (6-foot-10) Karlovic.

Roddick entered the match with a 4-1 record against the Croatian, who leads the ATP Tour in aces with Roddick one spot behind. Their six previous sets had gone all the way to a tiebreaker, a trend that held in this match, even with both players broke the other's serve twice.

After netting a volley to go down 1-3 in the first, Roddick broke back to get it to 3-4. The action moved to that inevitable tiebreaker, which the American took control of by winning the first three points.

In the second set, Karlovic broke in the opening game, with Roddick hitting a ball out of the stadium in frustration.

His composure returned and after earning his second break, Roddick lost only five more points on his serve the rest of the way, while earning a mini-break to go up 4-3 in the tiebreaker.

Roddick will play the winner of Friday's late quarterfinal between American John Isner and No. 8-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych.

Gonzalez too is playing in his first event since Wimbledon. Tied at 5-5 in the first set, he angled a forehand past the charging Haas for the first break point of the match. He then had three forehand winners in his own service game to close out the set.

``Both of us played really good tennis in the beginning,'' said Gonzalez, who has been dealing with right knee tendinitis.

``I only had one break point and I did it. That gave me a lot of confidence for the rest of the match.''

Gonzalez broke serve to open the second set and again to go up 5-2 against a frustrated Haas. A Wimbledon semifinalist this year, Haas broke back and then held his serve to get to 5-4. But the 11th-ranked Gonzalez rebounded and put away an overhead smash to win the match. The Chilean improved to 5-0 in quarterfinals this year.

``He made two mistakes in the first game (of the second set) and I took advantage,'' said Gonzalez, who reached the finals in Washington in 2003.

Del Potro is hoping the day off following a lengthy third-round match will help him earn his first career victory against Gonzalez.

``I've lost to him three times in my career and I hope I can get my first win (Saturday),'' said the sixth-ranked Argentine, who has picked up five tournament titles since their last head-to-head match in 2007.

``He's a different player now,'' Gonzalez said. ``He's one of the new generation and he's had really good results the past year. But, it's better to have a positive record when you (next) meet.''

Soderling, a finalist at the French Open, was expected to have his elbow scanned on Friday.

``My elbow started to bother me two weeks ago and this morning it was really sore,'' the Swede said, adding that he hopes to play one or two tournaments before the U.S. Open.

FIA closes Zarco Exchange Company

ISLAMABAD: The Cyber Crime Circle of Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has closed 727 branches of Zarco Money Exchange company across the country including its head office and arrested eight people on charges of money laundering.

FIA, on public complaints, raided the head office of Zarco Money Exchange company at Larnce Road in Lahore and took into custody all the records relating to money transfer.

Syed Lakht-ul-Hasnain, owner of the company, is at large. FIA has arrest warrant against the owner.

Those arrested include IT Engineer Abdul Musavir Waqar, Shahid Butt, Nadim Ishtiaq, Irfan Ishaq, Shahbaz Khan, Qadir Malik and Kashif Javed.

California DUI cases with female defendants on the rise

Sacramento, CA - After reporting on the latest outrageous Sacramento DUI case issued by the California Court of Appeals this week, a case that involved a very drunk woman, we found it telling that, according to the Sacrament Bee, female DUI arrests are on the rise.

Although men still account for more DUI arrests than women, the number of female arrestees has been climbing at an alarming rate in recent years. It is interesting to note that the age group with the highest representation amongst arrested female drivers in the Sacrament area (by far) is the 21-30 year old bracket. Statewide, that age bracket represented 43 percent of all DUI arrests in 2007.

Still, in 2008, women represented only 23.7 percent of the total DUI charges filed in Sacramento. But those numbers mean little when compared with the very real damage that female drunk drivers are doing. The Bee's story gives some recent examples of 4 people who have died at the hands of female drunk drivers.

SPORTS: Canada refuses visa to Pakistan kabaddi squad

ISLAMABAD: The Canadian High Commission has refused visas to Pakistani kabaddi squad without giving any reasons.

Pakistan has been isolated in the world of sports due to fragile law and order situation in the country and now western countries have started refusing visas to Pakistani players.

The kabaddi players were scheduled to appear in Canadian kabaddi tournament, slated to be held on Aug 16.

‘An international courier service managing Canadian visa applications has handed us back all the passports without any visa stamps,’ an official of the Pakistan Kabaddi Federation (PKF) told Dawn.

‘They [Canadian High Commission] did not give any reasons for refusal of visas,’ he said.

The official pointed out: ‘We submitted passports of the players and the officials on July 26 through the Sports Ministry after fulfilling all requirements but are at a loss why our applications were not entertained.’

Federal Sports Minister Pir Aftab Shah Jilani, when approached, said: ‘This is very sad that the players were refused visas by the Canadian High Commission. We will contact the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for further action.’

‘We will take up the issue at the highest forum,’ the minister said. Zakir H. Sayed, former director general of the Pakistan Sports Board and sports commentator, said: ‘Our credibility around the world is now being suspected because our players go missing on international tours.

‘The ministry has to look into the level of tournament whether it was an international event or a local event,’ he said.

‘The ministry must swing into action to save future credibility of Pakistani sportsmen by investigating all the issues pertaining to visa,’ he said.

Meanwhile, Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit and the media head at the Canadian High Commission were not available for comments on the said issue.

Squad: Khan Abbas, Akhtar Pathan, Imtiaz Alam, Kashif Riaz, Musharraf Javed, Mohammad Mansha, Mohammad Irfan, Kashif Khan.

Officials: Mohammad Sarwar (secretary), Mohammad Asghar (manager), Mohammad Hussain (referee), Ahmad Bhatti (coach).

BUSINESS: IMF boosts loan to Pakistan by $3.2 billion

WASHINGTON: The International Monetary Fund on Friday said it had approved an additional 3.2 billion dollar loan to Pakistan to help the country weather the global economic crisis.

The IMF said the extra funds for the loan program to Pakistan would ‘help the country address increased balance of payment needs’ and increase the total loan to 11.3 billion dollars.

The IMF executive board also approved an extension of the loan to the end of 2010, an additional three months, and the payment of a third instalment of the loan of 1.2 billion dollars, the multilateral institution said in a statement.

Four billion dollars had already been disbursed, as part of a program to help Pakistan weather the global crisis.

The board decisions were made after IMF completed its second review of its loan, a so-called Stand-By Arrangement, originally approved last November.

The country approached the IMF last year for a rescue package as it grappled with a 30-year high inflation rate and fast-depleting reserves that were barely enough to cover nine weeks of import bills.

‘The macroeconomic outlook for 2009/10 remains difficult, and the external position is subject to considerable downside risks,’ said Murilo Portugal, IMF deputy managing director, in the statement.

The extra IMF aid ‘will help mitigate these risks and enable the implementation of the government’s fiscal program; however, this financing is temporary and should be used as a bridge until the revenue reforms bear fruit.’ The board also agreed that part of the additional funding ‘could be used to finance priority spending until the disbursements of donor support pledged for 2009-2010 are received.’ The IMF approved Pakistan’s request for waivers for failing to meet certain criteria, including a budget deficit that is 0.9 percent of economic output and continued weakness in banking supervision and tax policy.

‘Pakistan’s economy has continued to stabilize,’ Portugal said.

He welcomed Pakistan’s progress in reforms in the financial sector and the foreign exchange market and in strengthening the social safety net.

‘These achievements are appreciable, considering the security developments that resulted among others in the large number of internally displaced persons, the global economic recession, and the difficult domestic political environment.’—AFP

Asia’s most wanted terrorist killed in Indonesia shoot-out

BEJI: Asian terror suspect Noordin Mohammed Top was killed during a raid on his hideout by heavily armed counter-terrorism police in Indonesia on Saturday, Metro TV reported.

The television station did not disclose its sources and police have not confirmed the report.

Two body bags were seen being taken from the rural house in Central Java following a 17-hour siege involving repeated police gunfire and explosions.

Police surrounded the house in rural Central Java at 4:00 pm (on Friday after arresting two people at a nearby market who were reported to be relatives of the tenant of the property.

The end of the operation came after the arrests of Noordin accomplices in Jakarta and the death of two men recruited to be suicide bombers for his network during a raid on their safe house outside the capital, police said.

The two would-be bombers, accused of involvement in the 2004 attack on the Australian embassy in Jakarta which killed 10 people, were shot dead by police as they prepared to throw home-made bombs during the raid early Saturday.

Malaysian Islamist Noordin is one of Asia’s most-wanted terror suspects and is accused of multiple attacks in Indonesia since 2003 which have killed around 50 people, including last month’s suicide blasts at luxury hotels in Jakarta. —AFP

Baitullah Mehsud is alive, claims Hakeemullah Mehsud

PESHAWAR: The spokesman of Tahreek-e-Taliban and close relative of Baitullah Mehsud has denied the reports of killing of Baitullah Mehsud and claimed that he is alive.

Talking to an Arabic Television, Hakeemullah said Baitullah is alive and remained leading Tahreek, a videotape will be release soon as a proof of statement.

Hakeemullah said Baitullah gone into hiding as a part of strategy and he is not in contact with anyone after drone attack.

Replying to question about his presence in father-in-law house, Hakeemullah said living in in-laws house is against Peshtoon tradition and Baitullah was not present in his father-in-law house at the time of drone attack. He said meetings of Majlis Shura of Tahreek-e-Taliban are part of routine.