Lastnight World: Year on,boat lost in tsunami spotted

Spoof of anthem angers Kazakhstan

MOSCOW: Kazakhstan has termed the playing of a spoof of its anthem at the Arab Shooting Championships in Kuwait on Thursday as “a scandal,’’ and demanded a probe into the incident. As Maria Dmitrienko of Kazakhstan was receiving her gold medal,the public address system broadcast the spoof anthem from the movie Borat,which offended many Kazakhs by portraying the country as backwards and degenerate.

Dalai Lama has ‘Nazis-style ideas’

Beijing: A state-run Chinese website has accused the Dalai Lama of “instigating self-immolations and advocating Nazi-style racial segregation ideas”. The commentary on China Tibet Online,also carried by the Xinhua News Agency,is one of the strongest reactions from Beijing to protests in Tibetan areas,where about 30 monks,nuns and lay people have set themselves on fire in the past year.

Pakistan: 7 soldiers,22 militants killed

Islamabad: At least seven security personnel and 22 militants have been killed in clashes between troops and rebels in Pakistan’s restive South Waziristan tribal region over the past 24 hour,officials said Saturday.

Kofi Anan on way to Russia,China

New York: With the bloodshed showing no signs of abating,the UN-Arab League peace envoy for Syria,Kofi Anan,flew to Moscow in an effort to secure strong Russian support for his efforts to bring about a ceasefire and open political dialogue. While Western and Arab states are calling for Bashar al-Assad to stand down first,Russia is putting the onus on rebels and their foreign supporters to halt their year-long uprising,saying its ally Syria was ready for talks. Anan will meet President Dmitry Medvedev on Sunday.

Meanwhile,China said Anan will also visit Beijing next week to discuss ways to mediate an end to the crisis in Syria.