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More than 100 militants have been killed in four days of heavy fighting in a tribal area near Pakistan's border with Afghanistan, officials say.



Pakistan said nine of its soldiers were killed in the battles in Bajaur.

Fighter jets, helicopter gunships and artillery were all reportedly used to pound the militants' positions in the strategically important area.

The Pakistani Taleban say that only seven of their men died. Neither claim has been independently verified.

Security has deteriorated sharply in recent weeks along the frontier, which the Afghan government and Nato say is a haven for al-Qaeda and Taleban militants.

Talks between Pakistan's new government and Taleban leaders broke down in June.

Heavy fighting

Bajaur civilians were evacuated as fighting raged over control of a strategically important post near the Afghan border.

On Friday the security forces - members of the frontier corps - pulled back from the position.

They moved to Khar, the main town in the Bajaur tribal agency, to where the Taleban are reported to have followed them.

The militants have now surrounded the town, according to a government official in Khar, who spoke to the BBC's Urdu service on condition of anonymity.

This is all further troubling evidence for Pakistan's military and government that the Taleban threat continues to grow, reports the BBC's Mark Dummett from Islamabad.

One soldier told the BBC Urdu service by telephone that a number of troops had been taken hostage by the Taleban insurgents.

"One of my men was killed on the spot when the Taleban attacked us, while four went missing. The rest of us laid down our arms and were captured," said the man, who identified himself as Subedar Ghausuddin.

There is mounting US pressure on the Pakistani government to crack down on militants who use the border region to launch cross-border raids into Afghanistan.

BBC News

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Researchers may have found a way to halt the biological clock which slows down our bodies over the decades.



A US team thinks it may have found the genetic levers to help boost a system vital to cleaning up faulty proteins within our cells.

The journal Nature Medicine reported that the livers of genetically-altered older mice worked as well as those in younger animals.

They suggested it might one day help people with progressive brain diseases.

The researchers, from Yeshiva University in New York, are focusing on a process which is central to the proper working of cells.

The fundamental chemicals of cells - proteins - often have very short working lives, and need to be cleared away and recycled as soon as possible.

The body has a system for doing just that, but it becomes progressively less efficient as we get older.

This leads to progressive falls in the function of major organs - the heart, liver and brain, some of which contribute to the diseases of old age.

Dr Ana Maria Cuervo, from Yeshiva, created a mouse with two genetic alterations.

The first, when activated, boosted the number of specific cell receptors linked to this protein recycling function, while the second allowed the first to be turned on whenever Dr Cuervo wished simply by modifying the animal's diet.

Switched on

She waited until the mice were six months old - the point at which age-related decline in the protein-recycling system begins - then turned on the receptor gene.

When examined at two years old, the liver cells of these mice were far more effective at recycling protein compared with normal mice.

When the overall liver function of the very old genetically-modified mice was tested, they performed at a comparable level to much younger mice.

Dr Cuervo said: "These results show it's possible to correct this protein 'logjam' that occurs in our cells as we get older, thereby perhaps helping us to enjoy healthier lives well into old age."

She now plans to test animal models of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, believing that the abnormal protein deposits in Alzheimer's in particular might be dealt with more effectively this way.

Thomas von Zglinicki, Professor of Cellular Gerontology at Newcastle University, said that the results were "very exciting".

"It's not often you see studies where they have managed to improve function in this way.

"What they seem to have managed is to maintain the mice at this young stage, and both restore and maintain normal activity."

He said that it should, in theory, be possible to achieve the same effect across the whole body.

A spokesman for the Alzheimer's Society said: "As we age we have an increase in protein misfolding and general faults in protein processing, so the ability to maintain an effective system to clear these would be beneficial.

"However, a direct line to the clearance of defective proteins in the brain is not so clear from this research."

BBC News

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Parts of the spectacular Beijing Olympics opening ceremony were faked, it has emerged.

The global television audience of more than three billion people watched in amazement as a series of giant footprints outlined in fireworks proceeded through the night sky from Tiananmen Square to the Bird's Nest stadium - except they were watching a computer animation.

Even the giant television screens within the stadium itself broadcast the fake images.

Stunned viewers thought they were watching the string of fireworks filmed from above by a helicopter.

But in reality they were watching a 3D graphics sequence that took almost a year to produce.

It even included a 'camera shake' to mimic the effect of filming from a helicopter.

The dupe was revealed by China's Beijing Times. Speaking to the paper, the man responsible for the animation said he was pleased with the result.

"Seeing how it worked out, it was still a bit too bright compared to the actual fireworks," Gao Xiaolong told the newspaper.

"But most of the audience thought it was filmed live - so that was mission accomplished."

The designers even added some haziness to simulate the polluted Beijing skyline.

Broadcasters around the world had no choice but to show the footage because it all came from one feed provided by Beijing Olympic Broadcasting - the organisation responsible for filming the games.

The ceremony has also been strongly criticised by architect Ai Weiwei, who helped design the Bird's Nest stadium.

Writing on his blog, Mr Ai described the ceremony as "a recycling of the rubbish of fake classical culture tradition; a sacrilegious visual garbage dump and an insult to the spirit of liberty; low class sound play that's just noise pollution".

He was directly critical of China's ruling communist party, characterising the ceremony as "a showcase of the reincarnation of the Marxist imperialism; the ultimate paragon of an all embracing culture of fascist totalitarianism; an encyclopaedia that encompasses total defeat in intellectual spirit."

Mr Ai helped design the stadium alongside Swiss architect firm, Herzog and de Meuron.

But since then, he has become an outspoken blogger against the Olympics and the Chinese regime. Unusually, he has not been censored by the authorities.

Organiser said that the footprint fireworks were there for real, but thought it unsafe to try to film them - so they recreated them instead.


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Ousted Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has said he will not return to Thailand from the UK.



In a statement released to the Thai media, Mr Thaksin said he and his wife would remain in the UK, "where democracy is more important".

Mr Thaksin is on bail over corruption charges but failed to make a scheduled Bangkok court appearance on Monday.

Thailand's Supreme Court has now issued an arrest warrant for the billionaire, who owns Manchester City football club.

Mr Thaksin says the charges are politically motivated and an attempt to remove him from politics.

'Political enemies'

The former leader had been due to return to the Thai capital on Sunday after a court allowed him to attend the Olympic Games opening in Beijing.

He and his wife - who is on bail pending an appeal after she was jailed for three years for tax fraud - were to appear before the Supreme Court in a case involving the allegedly unlawful purchase of land.

Instead Mr Thaksin issued a statement announcing his decision not to return home.

"What happened to me and my family and my close relations resulted from efforts to get rid of me from politics," he said in the hand-written statement.

"These are my political enemies. They don't care about the rule of law, facts or internationally recognised due process."

Mr Thaksin apologised to the Thai people for his decision to live in the UK, where his daughter is attending university and where he owns several properties, as well as the Manchester City football club.

"If I am fortunate enough, I will return and die on Thai soil, just like other Thais," he said.

Observers have said that the former prime minister may attempt to claim political asylum in the UK, but there was no reference to this in the statement.

Thailand's Supreme Court reacted swiftly.

"The court sees that the defendants have broken their bail terms. Therefore, it issues an arrest warrant and orders their bail bonds to be seized," a statement said.

Wrangling

The court had agreed to try several cases against Thaksin Shinawatra for allegedly abusing his power while in office.

Mr Thaksin was the first Thai prime minister to serve a full five-year term.

He was extremely popular in rural areas but far less so amongst the Bangkok elite. In September 2006 the military removed him from power, accusing him of corruption.

Military-backed investigators began probing allegations against him. But then Mr Thaksin's allies won power in the first post-coup polls.

The former leader returned to Thailand in February. He said he had no plans to return to politics but his opponents did not appear to believe him.

Political wrangling between the two sides intensified and anti-government street protests resumed in the Thai capital. Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej was accused of acting as a proxy for Mr Thaksin and faced calls to step down.

In the meantime the courts - newly empowered by the military-backed constitution - continued to pursue various cases against Mr Thaksin and his family.

Last month, in an unexpected move, the former prime minister's wife was jailed for tax fraud.

The ruling will both have shocked Mr Thaksin and served as a powerful indication of what could lie in store for him at the hands of the courts, analysts say, hence his decision to remain in the UK.

Meanwhile the UK's Premier League has insisted it is prepared to invoke its "fit and proper persons test" as regards Mr Thaksin's ownership of Manchester City if necessary.

"If we feel the rule has been breached, we will invoke it," said Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore.

"We will not turn a blind eye to issues of a serious nature.

"It is quite a complex matter and we can't just make a judgement on the spot but clearly we have a club owner who has not yet been found guilty of any offence."

Mr Scudamore said the league would seek advice from the UK Home Office and Foreign Office.

BBC News

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Chinese shares have fallen to their lowest level for 19 months, rattled by fears about inflation.



Wholesale prices jumped 10% in July from a year earlier, the highest rate in 12 years, official data showed.

The data sent the Shanghai Composite tumbling 5.2% to close at 2,470 points, down 60% from last October's peak.

Investors are concerned that rising inflation combined with the prospect of slower economic growth will hurt company profits.

Margins squeezed

However, China reported a rise in its trade surplus, which swelled to its highest level in eight months in July, despite the economic slowdown hitting many of its customers overseas.

The 10% rise in China's producer price index, which measures the price of goods as they leave the factory, was up sharply from June's rate of 8.8%.

The rise was primarily due to rising energy costs, with crude oil costing 41.2% more than a year ago and a 32.6% rise in the cost of petrol.

"Producers' profit margins are being squeezed sharply and even though tough market competition will delay the pass-through to retail prices, it will happen eventually," said Xing Zhiqiang, an economist at China International Corp.

BBC News

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Sir Bill Cotton, the BBC's former managing director of television, has died, the corporation has said.

Sir Bill, who retired in 1987, died in hospital in Bournemouth at the age of 80.

He spent seven years as the BBC's Head of Light Entertainment between 1970 and
1977, overseeing classic shows like The Two Ronnies, Morecambe and Wise and
Monty Python's Flying Circus.

He also spent four years as the Controller of BBC1.


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