Monday 5 August 2013

Dunya TV

Dunya TV

Al Qaeda chief's message led to embassy closures

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WASHINGTON (AP) - An intercepted secret message between Al Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahri and his deputy in Yemen about plans for a major terror attack was the trigger that set off the current shutdown of many U.S. embassies, two officials told The Associated Press on Monday.A U.S. intelligence official and a Mideast diplomat said al-Zawahri's message was picked up several weeks ago and appeared to initially target Yemeni interests. The threat was expanded to include American or other Western sites abroad, officials said, indicating the target could be a single embassy, a number of posts or some other site. Lawmakers have said it was a massive plot in the final stages, but they have offered no specifics.The intelligence official said the message was sent to Nasser al-Wahishi, the head of the terror network's organization, based in Yemen, known as Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the sensitive issue publicly.American spies and intelligence analysts on Monday scoured email, phone calls and radio communications between Al Qaeda operatives in Yemen and the organization's senior leaders to determine the timing and targets of the planned attack.The call from al-Zawahri, who took over for Osama bin Laden after U.S. Navy SEALs killed the Al Qaeda leader in May 2011, led the Obama administration to close diplomatic posts from Mauritania on Africa's west coast through the Middle East to Bangladesh, east of India, and as far south as Madagascar.The U.S. did decide to reopen some posts on Monday, including well-defended embassies in Kabul, Afghanistan, and Baghdad.Authorities in Yemen, meanwhile, released the names of 25 wanted Al Qaeda suspects and said those people had been planning terrorist attacks targeting foreign offices and organizations and Yemeni installations in the capital Sanaa and other cities across the country.The Yemeni government also went on high alert Monday, stepping up security at government facilities and checkpoints.Officials in the U.S. wouldn't say who intercepted the initial suspect communications the CIA, the National Security Agency, the Defense Intelligence Agency or one of the other intelligence agencies that kicked off the sweeping pre-emptive closure of U.S. facilities. But an intelligence official said the controversial NSA programs that gather data on American phone calls or track Internet communications with suspected terrorists played no part in detecting the initial tip. That official spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss the spying publicly.A U.S. official familiar with the threat information said the decision to close the embassies was based on a broad swath of information, not just the intercept. The official said the U.S. has made clear in the past that AQAP makes its own operational decisions that there are back-and-forth communications between Al Qaeda leadership and AQAP, but that they operate independently. The official was not authorized to disclose the information to reporters and thus spoke on condition of anonymity.Once the plot was detected, NSA analysts could use the programs that leaker Edward Snowden revealed to determine whom the plotters may have contacted around the world. Snowden revealed one program that collected telephone data such as the numbers called and the duration of calls on U.S. telephone networks. Another program searched global Internet usage. Therefore, if a new name was detected in the initial chatter, the name or phone number of that person could be run through the NSA databases to see whom he called or what websites or emails he visited.The surveillance is part of the continuing effort to track the spread of Al Qaeda from its birthplace in Afghanistan and Pakistan to countries where governments and security forces are weaker and less welcoming to the U.S. or harder for American counterterrorist forces to penetrate such as Syria, Iraq, Somalia, Mali and Libya as well as Yemen, already home to Al Qaeda's most dangerous affiliate, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which is headed by al-Wahishi.

Taliban talking secretly to Kabul government

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ISLAMABAD (AP) - The Taliban have held secret talks with representatives of Afghan President Hamid Karzai to try to jumpstart a peace process that stumbled and stalled at the starting gate, according to Afghan officials and a senior Taliban representative.The discussions with members of the Afghan High Peace Council have so far been unofficial and preliminary, seen as an attempt to agree on conditions for formal talks. But they do suggest an interest on both sides in proceeding, or at least toying, with a peace process that has been mired in controversy since the official opening of a Taliban political office in June in the Gulf nation of Qatar.Habibullah Fauzi, a former Taliban diplomat who is now a member of Karzai's High Peace Council, told The Associated Press that some individuals (on the peace council) have met Taliban on an individual basis, though he would not say who or when. He also said he'd heard reports of meetings in Saudi Arabia between High Peace Council members and Taliban who were in that country to perform the Islamic pilgrimages of Umrah and Hajj.The Afghan government certainly is in contact with certain leaders and certain figures among the Taliban, Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesman Janan Musazai said Sunday at a news conference in Kabul.The Taliban marked the opening of their political office in Qatar by flying their white flag, emblazoned with a Quranic verse, and a sign that identified the group as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. That enraged Karzai, who accused the religious militia of trying to establish a government in exile. Peace talks involving the United States that were to follow the official opening ended before they could begin, threatening the possibility of a negotiated end to 12 years of war.Last week U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry sought Pakistan's help to press the Taliban into opening negotiations with Karzai's representatives. The Taliban's leadership is believed to be living in Pakistan.The hope is that they will start talks soon with the High Peace Council, Sartaj Aziz, adviser to Pakistan's prime minister on national security and foreign affairs, told the AP on Sunday. It is at a very fragile place right now.One of the Taliban's representatives in Doha, Qatar told the AP that secret talks with the High Peace Council have already begun.The representative, who was a senior official in the Taliban government during its five-year rule that ended with the U.S.-led invasion in 2001, said that Taliban negotiator Mullah Abbas Stanikzai met last month with a senior member of the High Peace Council in Dubai, a city in the United Arab Emirates. He said the two tried to reconcile differences and pave the way for an official meeting.The Taliban representative talked with the AP in Islamabad in a rare face-to-face interview. He spoke on condition of anonymity, saying the Taliban's leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar, had ordered his spokesmen to refrain from public statements.At the Dubai meeting, Stanikzai said the Taliban would not compromise on the use of their flag and name, according to the Taliban representative, who also said the Taliban considered the High Peace Council chairman Salahuddin Rabbani a controversial figure because of his father, Burhanuddin Rabbani, an anti-Taliban fighter and former president who was killed by a suicide bomber in 2011.But the Taliban also offered concessions at the Dubai meeting, the Taliban representative said. The Taliban is ready to discuss the existing Afghan constitution, which he suggested the religious movement would be willing to accept except for three clauses. He did not identify the offending clauses.He also said the Taliban leadership was ready to acknowledge that it made a mistake in denying girls access to education and politics. He said the Taliban were prepared to accept women as lawmakers. While the religious military will not participate in the 2014 Afghan elections, it would consider participating in the following round.But he said the Taliban would want the winner of next year's balloting to succeed Karzai to be only an interim ruler, holding a second election soon after the last of the foreign troops leave Afghanistan at the end of 2014.He also said the Taliban would not compromise in their opposition to any foreign forces remaining in Afghanistan after 2014, saying the religious movement was not convinced that a residual force would restrict its activities to training and mentoring the Afghan National Security Forces. The size of a residual force has not yet been decided but it is expected to include U.S. Special Operations Forces for hunting down Al Qaeda militants.The talks will likely restart soon, the representative said, adding that both sides still remain far apart and that the Taliban have little trust in Karzai. Pakistan is talking to us and advising us to open talks, he said, adding that the Taliban are also trying to patch up differences within their own ranks.

Bombing of bakery, other attacks in Iraq kill 9

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BAGHDAD (AP) - A series of attacks in Iraq on Monday, including a bombing of a bakery in the capital, Baghdad, killed 9 people.Violence has been on the rise in Iraq this year, but attacks against civilians and security forces have especially spiked during the Islamic holy month of Ramazan, which began early last month.The surge in the bloodshed has raised fears of a return to the widespread killing that pushed the country to the brink of civil war after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.The deadliest of Monday's attacks took place as people lined up in the afternoon to buy bread from a bakery in the mainly Shiite area of Kamaliyah in eastern Baghdad. Four people died and 14 were wounded in that attack.Shortly before sunset, a car bomb exploded in a busy street in the town of Tal Afar, 420 kilometers (260 miles) northwest of Baghdad, killing three people and wounding 12 others, police said.Earlier Monday, gunmen shot and killed the owner of a neighborhood power generator along with his son in the town of Madian, 20 kilometers (14 miles) southeast of the Iraqi capital.Medical officials confirmed the casualty figures for all the attacks. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.At least 621 people have been killed since the start of Ramadan, according to an Associated Press count, making it the bloodiest Ramadan in Iraq since 2007.

Iran's Rouhani appoints reformist as top deputy

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TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran's new president has appointed a prominent reformist as his top deputy, state TV reported Monday, his most prominent pick as he tries to fill out a government balanced between the reformists who helped secure his election and the conservatives who still have tremendous influence in the running of the country.Hasan Rouhani named Eshaq Jahangiri, a former industry and mines minister, as First Vice President, the broadcast said. Jahangiri is a close ally of former reformist president Mohammed Khatami, who is disliked by hard-liners.Iran has several vice presidents, but Jahangiri would be first in line of succession of anything were to happen to Rouhani.Rouhani, who was primarily supported by reformists and centrists but who pledged to form a non-factional government, has also proposed several conservatives for his Cabinet.Rouhani won a landslide victory in June presidential elections. He took the oath of office Sunday and sent his proposed Cabinet list to the parliament for a vote of confidence.Also Monday, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei appointed former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to an advisory body.In a decree announced on state TV, Khamenei appointed Ahmadinejad as a member of the Expediency Council, a body that advises the top leader on state matters. The council is headed by former powerful president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a bitter enemy of Ahmadinejad.Ahmadinejad lost the support of clerical hard-liners when he was perceived to challenge Khamenei in 2011, causing his political influence to drop dramatically. He remains popular with some Iranians, however. It is not clear what if any political role he will play in the future.

Hiroshima marks anniversary of US atomic bombing

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HIROSHIMA (AFP) - Tens of thousands were due to gather at a peace memorial park in Hiroshima on Tuesday to mark the 68th anniversary of the United States' (US) atomic bombing of the Japanese city.Ageing survivors, relatives, government officials and foreign delegates were to observe a moment of silence at 8.15am (7.15am Singapore time), the time of the detonation which turned the city into a nuclear inferno.An American B-29 bomber named Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on Aug 6, 1945, in one of the final chapters of World War II. It killed an estimated 140,000 by December that year. Three days later, the port city of Nagasaki was also bombed.The Allied powers have long argued that the twin attacks brought a quick end to the war by speeding up Japan's surrender, preventing millions more casualties from a land invasion planned for later in the year.

Bayern begins defense of German Cup with 5-0 win

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BERLIN (AP) - Thomas Mueller scored a hat trick as Bayern Munich opened its German Cup defense with a 5-0 win over fourth-tier side BSV Rehden.Xherdan Shaqiri opened the scoring in the 18th, deflecting in Arjen Robben's shot from close range after the Rehden defense failed to clear the ball.Mueller was unmarked when he scored just before halftime with a header from Rafinha's cross.Rehden goalkeeper Milos Mandic denied Mario Mandzukic with an acrobatic save early in the second half, and Mueller hit the crossbar from the resultant corner.However, the Bayern attacker dusted himself off to make it 3-0 from the penalty spot after he was brought down in the area in the 58th, and he completed his hat trick in with a header in the 64th.Mueller was still furious with himself for missing another chance late on, before Robben wrapped up the scoring two minutes from time.Earlier Monday, Klaas Jan Huntelaar scored one goal and set up another for Schalke to defeat fifth-tier FC Noettingen 2-0 to advance to the second round.Huntelaar struck in the 30th minute but the visitors were made to wait until the fourth minute of injury time before the Dutchman could set up offseason signing Leon Goretzka to secure the result.Second-division side Paderborn defeated third-tier MSV Duisburg 3-2, and another second-division side, Union Berlin, won 2-1 at third-division Jahn Regensburg.

Pennetta advances at Rogers Cup in Toronto

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TORONTO (AP) - Flavia Pennetta defeated Urszula Radwanska 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 Monday to advance to the second round of the Rogers Cup in Toronto.Mona Barthel edged Jie Zheng 6-7 (3), 6-3, 7-6 (1).American Bethanie Mattek-Sands entered the tournament as a lucky loser when Britain's Laura Robson pulled out because of a right wrist injury.Robson was coming off a strong performance at Wimbledon where she reached the fourth round the first British woman to do so since 1998.

Football fan banned for 3 years for racist gesture

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SUNDERLAND (AP) - A Sunderland supporter has been handed a three-year football banning order for making a racist gesture towards Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku, one of the Premier league's top scorers last season.Court officials said Liam Jones was given an 18-month conditional discharge after he admitted causing racially aggravated harassment, alarm or distress by making a monkey gesture towards Lukaku, who is black, while watching his team lose 4-2 to West Brom last November.Jones, who first pleaded not guilty to the charge, had been photographed in the stands making the gesture after Lukaku scored.A trial had been due to take place next month but at a hearing last week Jones entered a guilty plea.Lukaku, who is back at Chelsea, scored 17 goals on loan at West Brom last season.

12-year-old Ye to play at European Masters

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CRANS-MONTANA (AP) - Twelve-year-old golfer Ye Wocheng of China is set to play at the European Masters in September.Tournament organizers say Ye has been accepted for the Sept. 5-8 event in the Swiss Alps, which is jointly sanctioned by the European and Asian tours.Ye became the youngest-ever player in a European Tour event after qualifying for the China Open in May. He missed the cut after shooting two rounds of 79.Ye's record-setting appearance followed weeks after fellow Chinese golfer Guan Tianlang made history at The Masters by playing at the age of 14.

31 Turkish athletes suspended for doping

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ANKARA (AP) - In the latest scandal affecting Turkish track and field during Istanbul's bid to host the 2020 Olympics, 31 athletes have been suspended for two years each for doping violations.The Turkish Athletics Federation announced the sanctions Monday, including that of hammer thrower Esref Apak, the 2004 Olympic silver medalist. His case had been announced in June.The bans come five days after the IAAF confirmed that nine Turkish athletes, including two teenagers, received two-year bans for using anabolic steroids.Worse could follow for the sport in Turkey when TAF completes investigations into alleged doping by Asli Cakir Alptekin, the women's 1,500-meter champion at the 2012 Olympics, and two other female team members in London last year.The files of Asli Cakir Alptekin, Nevin Yanit and Pinar Saka were not assessed because the process of investigation following their defense statements is continuing, the federation said Monday in a statement published on its website.Turkey's doping problems threaten to affect Istanbul's campaign against 2020 Olympic bid rivals Madrid and Tokyo. International Olympic Committee members will choose a winner on Sept. 7.Still, Turkey's most senior Olympic official said Monday's sanctions were a clear signal of how seriously it is responding.This work is part of a concerted, and much more aggressive, anti-doping policy in Turkey that has been in place for over six months, Turkish Olympic Committee president Ugur Erdener, an IOC member, said in a statement.At least three of the 31 new suspensions, including Apak, were in Turkey's London Olympic team. Tugce Sahutoglu competed in women's hammer and Elif Yildirim was in the 4x400-meter relay squad.The TAF listed all 31 athletes' names without specifying details of their doping violations or dates of their suspensions from competing.They included another men's hammer thrower, Fatih Eryildirim, who competed alongside Apak at the 2011 world championships in Daegu, South Korea.Many suspensions were expected after reports that multiple athletes tested positive in a targeted program ahead of the Mediterranean Games, which Turkey hosted in June.The stream of Turkish doping cases prompted TAF chairman Mehmet Terzi to resign last week after nine years in office.I look forward to working closely with the new incoming chairman of Turkish athletics who I will expect to aggressively seek out and expel all athletes who cheat using performance-enhancing drugs, Erdener said. Led by the Turkish Government, Turkey has zero-tolerance for doping and it is our intention to have clean, young athletes competing on the international sporting stage in the future.Fresh revelations in Turkey prompted FIFA to reassess more than 600 samples taken there in the past year.FIFA said it was concerned by the apparent widespread scope of the scandal but found no football players had tested positive for banned drugs.

Shab-e-Qadr observed with religious reverence

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LAHORE (Dunya News) - Shab-e-Qadr, also known as Laylat-ul-Qadr was observed all over the country on Monday night with great religious zeal and sanctity.People offered night long prayers and recited holy Qur’an in Masjid and homes across Pakistan.The believers sought forgiveness of Allah and His mercy and offered collective prayers to seek Allahs Forgiveness throughout the night till ‘Sehri’. Milad, Zikr, Quran Khwani and religious gatherings were arranged by the Muslims across the country.

Oil posts small loss; US pump prices fall

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NEW YORK (AP) - Oil fell slightly Monday as the market waited for the latest forecasts for global demand.Benchmark crude for September delivery fell 38 cents to close at $106.56 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.The U.S. Energy Department, the International Energy Agency and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries all this week release their latest assessment of the energy markets, which includes a forecast for worldwide demand for oil. Analysts are anticipating some downward revisions, given a slowdown in Chinas economy.The slowed Chinese growth will be demanding of additional downward adjustments in global demand estimates by the various agencies, wrote Jim Ritterbusch, president of energy consultancy Ritterbusch and Associates, in a note to clients.The market did have a swing of about $2 during Mondays trading. A week ago, oil jumped nearly $5 on Wednesday and Thursday as the global economic picture seemed to brighten, even as central bankers in the U.S. and Europe indicated theyd maintain programs that helped to keep interest rates low. Then Friday, disappointing figures on hiring in the U.S. pushed oil down by 95 cents, though it still ended the week with a gain of more than $2 a barrel.Brent crude, traded on the ICE Futures exchange in London, fell 25 cents to $108.70 per barrel.In other energy futures trading on the Nymex, natural gas fell 3 cents to $3.32 per 1,000 cubic feet (28.32 cubic meters).

England retains Ashes after 3rd test ends in draw

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MANCHESTER (AP) - England retained the Ashes on Monday but only after grim Manchester weather came to the team's rescue on the final day of the third test.Rocking at 37-3 and with Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott and Kevin Pietersen losing their wickets, the English were stumbling in their bid to bat out the day and secure the series-clinching draw.Then a band of persistent rain promised by forecasters for the past two days arrived shortly after lunch, denying Australia a shot at a series-saving win.Play was abandoned as a draw an hour after tea, leaving England with an unassailable 2-0 lead with two tests remaining in the series. Not since 1981 has it won three straight Ashes series, extending the team's dominance over its great rival since 2009.It's an anticlimax in one way today, said captain Cook. (But) the feeling in the dressing room is a pleasant one. We wanted to retain the Ashes now we want to go and win it.England's players waved to what was left of a sparsely populated crowd from their dressing-room balcony and then went down to the pitch to sign autographs and shake hands with fans.But it was a thoroughly unsatisfactory end to a test that was building up to a thrilling finale after four days of absorbing cricket.And Australia will bemoan the fact that rain has spared England when not a single minute was lost to weather in the series up until Sunday afternoon.It's obviously very disappointing, said Australia captain Michael Clarke, who was named man of the match after his first-innings 187. Unfortunately, when you play in the U.K., there's an opportunity that rain will play a part.After being dominated in losses at Trent Bridge and Lord's, the tourists hit back strongly in the third test and have had England on the rack since the opening day in Manchester.But they were well aware that rain could scupper their chances and had no option but to declare overnight on 172-7 setting England a victory target of 332.Initially, the bleak forecast proved wide of the mark. Play began 30 minutes late because of overnight rain but the sun was poking out from beneath a full cloud covering and there wasn't an umbrella in sight in a sparsely populated crowd when Cook was trapped lbw by Ryan Harris in the 15th ball of the innings.The England captain wasted a review, as replays showed he was clearly out.England was on the defensive Root took 26 balls to get off the mark and Trott narrowly survived an lbw review from Harris before his sketchy innings came to an end when he glanced a leg-side edge to wicketkeeper Brad Haddin. The score was 15-2 after an hour's play and Australia was scenting a chance under the floodlights.Pietersen was England's star act in the first innings with a dazzling 113 but after one classy pull for four, he was dropped at second slip by Michael Clarke before eventually departing when he edged behind for Haddin's seventh catch of the match. With Pietersen referring the call to DRS before heading back to the pavilion after audio revealed a clear nick, both of England's reviews were used up.Root and Bell survived to lunch but Bell took a fierce blow to the thumb from Siddle in the third delivery after the resumption, the ball floating over the slip cordon to safety.While Bell was receiving treatment, rain started to fall again and there wouldn't be another ball bowled. Root finished on 13 and Bell on 4.After three test matches, to be in this situation is very pleasing, Cook said.England hasn't been at its best this series, only winning the first test by 14 runs and being outplayed here in Manchester. It gives Australia renewed hope of not just leveling the series by winning the final two tests in Durham and at The Oval but also reclaiming the tiny urn in the return series starting November.

South Africa eye a clean sweep against Sri Lanka

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HAMBANTOTA (Agencies) - Upbeat with an unassailable 2-0 lead in the Twenty20 series, a rejuvenated South Africa will hope to sign off the tour with a clean sweep when they take on Sri Lanka in the third and the final game today (Tuesday).South Africa, who suffered a humiliating 4-1 defeat at the hands of the hosts in the recently concluded ODI series, switched to the shortest format with intentions of revenge and showed their dominance in the first two T20s. Led by Faf du Plessis, the tourist are in the driving seat having wrapped up the series.However, the top order's show will be a concern. Henry David, Quinton de Kock and skipper du Plessis are there to bolster the side with their good hitting techniques but the trio has failed to deliver in the first two games. A lot will be expected from them in the final game.As far as the middle order is concerned, JP Duminy has been tremendous. He scored 51 off 52 balls in the first match to clinch victory in a low scoring tie and was adjudged Man of the Match. In the second T20 on Sunday, Duminy again came up with a solid innings (30 off 35) and along with David Miller's 36 off 23 helped South Africa posting a defendable 145 after their top order flopped. Riding on Morne Morkel's 2 for 34 and Lonwabo Tsotsobe's 2 for 17, South Africa won the match by 22 runs.For Sri Lanka, their batting is the major area of concern. Except for Kumar Sangakkara none of the batsmen have come good against the South African pace attack. In the first match, apart from Sangakkara's 53-ball 59* the other six batsmen made 37 runs between them. Chasing 115, Sri Lanka made 103.The bowling too has not been productive enough. Sri Lanka's spearhead Lasith Malinga has taken a wicket each in both the matches at an economy of eight, while Angelo Mathews, who has been known for his canny bowling, went wicketless in the second T20.At Hambantota, South Africa will eye a 3-0 result to sign off their tour while the No. 1 T20 side Sri Lanka will play to restore some pride.

Dreyer to swim to Detroit hauling ton of bricks

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ALGONAC (AP) - A long-distance swimmer who calls himself The Shark is ready to jump into a lake near the U.S.-Canada border for a 30-hour swim while pulling a ton of bricks Jim Dreyer calls the brick-filled dinghies his train of pain.The 49-year-old began his 22-mile (35-kilometer) swim Monday and plans to end Tuesday in Detroit.The holder of a number of world records for endurance swimming, Dreyer said he expects to set one this time for longest distance swimming while towing a ton of bricks a record that doesnt currently exist.Nobody has ever pulled a ton of bricks any distance, he said. Pretty surprising, right?Hes doing it without a support boat.One of the dinghies is equipped with a radar target so Dreyer will show up on radar screens. He has to feed himself and wont leave the water until coming ashore.Dreyer is swimming with a GPS tracking device that will post his position online. It also comes equipped with a messaging system.At the touch of a button, Dreyer can send out three pre-programmed messages.One lets his crew know hes OK. A second tells them hes not and to send a boat. A third shows that hes in a life-threatening situation and requires immediate assistance from the Coast Guard.Dreyer is trying to raise money and awareness for Habitat for Humanity.
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