The Malaysian Insider :: Breaking Views
The Malaysian Insider :: Breaking Views |
| Armstrong to admit to doping in Oprah interview, says report Posted: 12 Jan 2013 07:48 AM PST  Former cyclist Lance Armstrong. — Reuters pic But Armstrong, 41, likely will not offer great detail about specific cases and events, the paper said, citing an unidentified source with knowledge of the situation. The interview is scheduled to tape on Monday at Armstrong's home in Austin, Texas, and set to air on Thursday on the Oprah Winfrey Network. Such an admission would mark a major reversal for the famed cyclist. Armstrong has always vehemently denied using performance-enhancing drugs and has never been proven to have tested positive. But an October report from the US anti-doping body USADA cited Armstrong's involvement in what it characterised as the "most sophisticated, professionalised and successful doping program that sport has ever seen," involving anabolic steroids, human growth hormone, blood transfusions and other doping. Less than two weeks later, Armstrong's seven Tour de France victories were nullified and he was banned from cycling for life after the International Cycling Union ratified the USADA's sanctions against him. The New York Times reported last week that Armstrong was considering an admission of using banned drugs with the hopes of persuading anti-doping officials to allow him to resume competition in athletic events that adhere to the World Anti-Doping Code. Another motivation might be to keep the scandal from hurting Livestrong, the cancer-support charity he founded in 1997, USA Today said on Saturday. Armstrong, a survivor of testicular cancer, stepped down as a board member in November. Armstrong's planned admission, however, carries the risk of getting him sued or held reliable by those who believe he defrauded them by lying about his use of drugs, the paper reported. — Reuters |
| Pakistani Shi’ite keep second night of vigil over 96 bomb victims Posted: 12 Jan 2013 07:40 AM PST  Members of the Hazara community and various NGOs sit-in during a protest against last Thursday's twin bomb attack in Quetta, in Lahore. — Reuters pic Leaders of Shi'ite Hazaras, the ethnic group which was the target of Friday's twin bombings in the provincial capital Quetta, have vowed not to bury their dead until authorities promise to protect them from a rising tide of sectarian attacks. Around 2,000 people spent Friday night outside keeping vigil at the site of the bombings - claimed by the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) Sunni militant group - spreading plastic sheets over the shrouded bodies to keep the rain off them. By Saturday, the number had swelled to around 5,000. Muslim tradition requires that bodies are buried as soon as possible and leaving them above ground is a powerful expression of grief and pain. A delegation led by Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Syed Khurshid Shah met Shi'ite leaders after they complained about what they believe is the indifference of most Pakistani politicians to their plight. Syed Dawood Agha, the vice president of the Shi'ite Conference of Quetta, said negotiations were underway with the government but nothing had been decided by Saturday night. Small protests were also held in the cities of Lahore, Karachi and the capital of Islamabad, where around two hundred protesters held candles and placards demanding an end to attacks on Shi'ites, who make up 20 percent of Pakistan's population. Parliamentarian Bushra Gohar from the Awami National Party (ANP) was the only prominent politician attending the protest in the capital. She said there were several reasons why officials had been slow to respond: support for militants, fear or indifference. "It could be pure callousness," she said. "Many political parties also support these groups. They are proxies." Security policy in Pakistan is dominated by the army, which denies accusations it retains ties to militant groups, in part to counter the influence of India. The ruling Pakistan People's Party (PPP), which has seen some of its own senior politicians gunned down, has often been unwilling to speak out against militants for fear of being killed. — Reuters |
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