10 METRO Tuesday, October 6, 2009 D Maeve Donovan Interviewed live at NCI by Newstalks Claire Byrne Wednesday 7th October, National College of Ireland Presents 1 - 2pm Register at www.ncirl.ie National College of Ireland, Mayor Street, IFSC, Dublin 1 Managing Director, The Irish Times Surfers in South Africa are claiming they have broken the world record for the most surfers riding one wave. They say they had more than 105 people. The event was part of the Earthwave Global Surf Challenge Picture: EPA record breakers? METROWorld InDOnesIa: a man sits in front of a market destroyed by last weeks 7.6- magnitude earthquake that killed more than 1,000 people. Rescue workers yesterday called off the search for life under the rubble, focusing instead on bringing aid to survivors Picture: AP Samoa: Hundreds of survivors of the tsunami in the samoas gathered at a church on high ground to mourn lost relatives, pledging to rebuild their obliterated communities after a disaster that killed 177. The Congregational Christian Church of Lalomanu was packed with about 1,000 people, including relatives from australia and new Zealand and rescue workers for a belated funeral service for 52 friends and loved ones. Families are gradually coming to terms with the losses inflicted when tsunami waves roared ashore after an underwater earthquake struck last Tuesday with a magnitude of up to 8.3, killing 136 in samoa, 32 in american samoa and nine in nearby Tonga. China: The government pledged stronger bonds with isolated north Korea, calling their relationship a boon to peace, while reports of swoops on north Korean ships underscored strains. The renewed courting between the two communist neighbours came in messages between Chinese president Hu Jintao and north Koreas top leader, Kim Jong-il, who at the weekend greeted Chinese premier Wen Jiabao at the start of a visit intended to bolster bilateral relations. The messages marked 60 years since the countries established formal ties, and made no mention of the norths nuclear weapons programme, stressing instead their focus on shoring up sometimes tense ties. GreeCe: socialist leader George Papandreou trounced the governing conservatives in a landslide election victory after a campaign focused on dramatically different visions of how to dig the country out of its worst economic crisis in years. Mr Papandreou (pictured), a 57-year-old former foreign minister whose father and grandfather were both prime ministers, had insisted Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis plans for austerity to face the international financial crisis were wrong. Instead, he said he would inject up to 3billion to revive Greeces economy. South afriCa: Former police chief Jackie selebi pleaded not guilty to charges of corruption at the start of his trial in Johannesburg yesterday. selebi is charged with receiving payments from Glenn agliotti, a convicted drug smuggler accused of playing a role in the 2005 murder of a mining tycoon. a former leading anti-apartheid activist, selebi (pictured) says he is the victim of a conspiracy and accuses prosecuting officials of graft. President Jacob Zuma appointed Bheki Cele as the new police chief in July, with selebi suspended since January 2008. GermanY: Revellers at europes biggest beer festival downed a record 6.5million litres of lager despite falling attendance figures after a terrorist scare. Visitor fell to 5.7m at the annual Oktoberfest in Munich, but beer consumption soared to a record- breaking average of 1.14 litres per person, while festival-goers munched their way through 111 spit roasted oxen. BILLIONS of dollars that the US has sent Pakistan to battle militants has been diverted to the domestic economy and other causes, such as fighting India, it emerged yesterday. Between 2002 and 2008, while al-Qaeda regrouped, only $500million (343m) of the $6.6billion (4.53bn) in US aid actually made it to the mili- tary, two army generals have said. Their account was backed up by other retired and active generals, former bureaucrats and government ministers. At the time, Pervez Musharraf, a Washington ally, served as both chief of staff and president, making it easier to divert money intended for the mili- tary to bolster his image at home through economic subsidies. Generals and ministers say the di- version of the money hurt the military, with helicopters critical to the battle By roGEr wEAThErS President misused $6bn Pakistan aid against insurgents in mountainous re- gions not available; night vision equipment was taken away every three months for inventory and returned three weeks later; equipment was bro- ken, and training was lacking. The details on misuse of American aid came after legislation to triple general aid to Pakistan cleared Con- gress last week. The misuse of funding helps to explain how al-Qaeda, dismantled in Afghanistan in 2001, was able to regroup, grow and take on the Pakistani army. A SUICIDE bomber disguised as a security officer struck the lobby of the UN food agencys Pakistan HQ yesterday, killing five, a day after the Pakistani Talibans new leader vowed fresh assaults. The blast raises questions as to how the bomber evaded tight security at the compound in Islamabad. index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html