Friday 13 September 2013

Dunya TV

Dunya TV

Bombing in Sunni mosque in Iraq, attacks kill 33

Posted:

BAGHDAD (AP) - A bomb hidden inside an air conditioner exploded Friday at a Sunni mosque packed with worshippers northeast of Baghdad, the deadliest in a series of attacks in Iraq that killed 33 people, officials said.The blast in the village of Umm al-Adham on the outskirts of Baqouba, a former insurgent stronghold, left the green and white walls of the mosque spattered with blood. Debris was strewn across the tiled floor.Police said at least 30 people were killed and 45 wounded. Two security officials said the bomb was hidden inside an air conditioner unit placed in the window.Baqouba, 60 kilometers (35 miles) northeast of Baghdad, also was hit with deadly violence earlier this week. Three car bombs targeting outdoor markets Tuesday killed at least 10 civilians in the city.A roadside bomb also killed two soldiers and wounded two others in the northern city of Mosul, while gunmen shot and killed Khalaf Hameed, a local municipal official in the nearby Shora district, authorities said.Hospital officials confirmed the causality figures for all the attacks. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.Iraq is weathering its deadliest bout of violence in half a decade, raising fears the country is returning to the sectarian bloodshed that pushed it to the brink of civil war in the years after the U.S.-led invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein.The months-long surge of bloodshed is taking place against the backdrop of rising tensions between Iraq's Sunni and Shiite Muslims. The tensions are being inflamed in part by the sectarian divisions reflected in the civil war in neighboring Syria.Members of Iraq's Sunni Arab minority have been protesting against the Shiite-led government since December, angered over what they see as second-class treatment of their sect and what they see as unfair application of tough anti-terrorism measures. Attacks surged after a deadly crackdown on a Sunni protest camp by security forces in April.There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Friday's attacks.Al-Qaida's local branch, known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, and other Sunni extremists have tried to harness the anger of many Sunnis, even as more moderate members of the sect appeal for calm.Al-Qaida has claimed responsibility for a number of large-scale bombings in recent months and is believed to be behind other coordinated attacks. It frequently targets Shiite civilians, members of the security forces and those seen to be closely tied to the country's Shiite-led government.There has also been a spike in attacks on Sunni mosques in recent months. While it is possible that Sunni extremists could be to blame, Shiite militias that had been largely quiet for years may also be behind those assaults.More than 4,000 people have been killed in violent attacks since the start of April, including 804 just in August, according to United Nations figures.Also on Friday, al-Qaida in Iraq claimed responsibly for a failed assassination attempt that took place early this month against a prominent Sunni militia leader opposed to al-Qaida, according to a statement posted on a militant website.Al-Qaida said that three suicide bombers tried to storm the house of Wisam al-Hardan in Baghdad after attacking all the checkpoints leading to his residence.Al-Hardan was recently appointed by the Iraqi prime minister to lead the anti-Al-Qaida Sunni militia known as Sahwa. The Sunni leader was not hurt in the attack that killed seven people, including six of his bodyguards.Sahwa fighters joined U.S. troops in the war against al-Qaida at the height of Iraq war. Ever since, it has been a target for Sunni insurgents who consider them traitors.

Thousands of Morsi supporters rally in Egypt

Posted:

CAIRO (AFP) - Thousands of Mohamed Morsi's supporters rallied on Friday in Cairo against the military, as supporters and opponents of the deposed Islamist president clashed elsewhere in Egypt.The rallies come nearly a month after the August 14 crackdown by security forces on two pro-Morsi protest camps in Cairo that led to clashes in which hundreds of people were killed, the worst carnage in Egypt's recent history.Either we recover their rights, or we die like them, protesters chanted of those who lost their lives in the crackdown, as they marched toward Rabaa al-Adawiya Square, the site of one of those camps.An AFP correspondent said soldiers used barbed wire to block roads to the square in the Nasr City district, with troops in helmets and carrying shields standing guard.Protesters chanted Abdel Fattah is the butcher, referring to army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, as they passed a government building guarded by soldiers.The protesters, including several in cars, carried flags bearing portraits of those killed in Rabaa al-Adawiya.They made a stop outside the apartment building of one of those killed, where his relatives had hung his picture outside a window.The man's mother told AFP he was killed when police broke up the Rabaa al-Adawiya camp.Morsi supporters also rallied in other parts of Egypt.Clashes between pro- and anti-Morsi demonstrators were reported in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria where one person was killed and five injured, state media said, adding that security forces arrested several protesters nationwide. State media and security sources said police fired tear gas when protesters clashed with opponents in the Nile Delta towns of Tanta and Mahalla, while three people were injured in the province of Bahaira.Friday's protests were called by the Anti-Coup Alliance, led by the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood to which Morsi belongs, under the slogan of Loyalty to the Martyrs' Blood.The group has called for more protests to be held on Saturday.Morsi, the country's first democratically elected president, was ousted by the army on July 3 after massive protests demanding his resignation. The new military-installed authorities have since arrested more than 2,000 of his Islamist supporters.On Thursday, interim president Adly Mansour extended for another two months a state of emergency in force since the mid-August bloodshed, citing security concerns.

Bomb at market in India's remote northeast kills 8

Posted:

GAUHATI (AP) - A homemade bomb exploded Friday at a market in India's violence-wracked northeast, killing at least eight people and injuring seven others, police said.The fatalities included two policemen, a police officer said. He said the explosion occurred in Imphal, the capital of remote Manipur state. The officer spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.Details were not available immediately. The region is about 470 kilometers (260 miles) southeast of Gauhati, the capital of Assam state.No group has claimed responsibility for the explosion. At least 17 separatist groups are active in Manipur state.The rebels say the region is ignored by the central government. Most residents are ethnically closer to groups in Myanmar and China than to the rest of India.

Serbia, Canada tied 1-1 in Davis Cup semi

Posted:

BELGRADE (AP) - Milos Raonic served 34 aces to outlast Janko Tipsarevic in five sets Friday and level the Davis Cup semifinal between Canada and Serbia at 1-1 after the opening singles matches.Raonic beat Tipsarevic 5-7, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 10-8 in a 4-hour, 11 minute match on an indoor clay court at Belgrade Arena.My serve kept me alive, Raonic said. I kept on plugging away and hoping my time would come.Earlier, top-ranked Novak Djokovic swept aside Vasek Pospisil 6-2, 6-0, 6-4 to give Serbia a 1-0 lead.Tipsarevic, Serbia's No. 2 player, had a match point against the big-serving Raonic when leading 5-4 in the fifth set. The Canadian eventually served out the match with four aces in the final game.I'm extremely disappointed because I played well, but didn't use my chances. He served real well, especially in the fifth set.Djokovic, coming off a four-set loss to Rafael Nadal in the U.S. Open final on Monday, won 12 consecutive games midway through Friday's singles match dispatched the 41st-ranked Canadian without facing a break point.The Serb said he was still recovering from the change of the time zones and jet leg after arriving to the Serbian capital on Wednesday.I'm glad the match was short, Djokovic said. I forced him to make mistakes. ... I find additional inspiration while playing for my country.Pospisil said Djokovic played an amazing match and gave him no chance.There is no excuse, Pospisil said. He is the No. 1 player in the world for a reason.Canada has never made it this far in the Davis Cup, while Serbia won the event in 2010.Doubles are played Saturday and reverse singles on Sunday.The winner will face either the Czech Republic or Argentina in the final in November.

Tennis: Nadal puts Spain on brink of victory

Posted:

PARIS (AFP) - Rafael Nadal showed no hint of a US Open hangover as he crushed Sergiy Stakhovsky 6-0, 6-0, 6-4 to put Spain 2-0 up on Ukraine in their Davis Cup World Group play-off in Madrid on Friday.The world number two and new US Open champion returned to action less than four days after securing a second success at Flushing Meadows, and a 13th Grand Slam in total.Yet he showed no signs of fatigue as he mastered his favourite clay surface and in so doing inflicted a humiliating defeat on the world 92nd ranked player who dumped Roger Federer out of Wimbledon in July.It is a positive moment and a very special year for me, arguably the best, Nadal said.I have played in 11 finals and won 10 tournaments so I can't ask for more.I feel comfortable, I feel like I am playing well but from experience I know they are moments that come and go and I have to enjoy them.Earlier, Fernando Verdasco had battled back from a set down to beat world number 40 Alexandr Dolgopolov 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 to put Spain firmly in command.And such is Nadal's desire to kill the tie off that he has chosen to pair up with Marc Lopez for Saturday's doubles clash.I am here to try and help the team. Once I have made the effort to come here, to play the doubles is only a small extra effort.Hopefully we can finish the match tomorrow and then I can rest on Sunday.Another player to dish out a tennis lesson was Britain's Andy Murray, who thumped 16-year-old Borna Coric 6-3, 6-0, 6-3 as Croatia and Britain finished the day tied at 1-1 in Umag.The US Open junior champion initially caused Britain's world number three problems but from 3-3 in the first set, Murray won nine games in a row to take complete control.I played ... to exhaust him since I knew it would be difficult for him to play senior tennis given that until yesterday he was in junior tennis, said the 26-year-old Wimbledon and Olympic champion.He is very talented and it was not easy to play against him.However, his British teammate Daniel Evans was then well beaten 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 by Ivan Dodig as Croatia drew level.In other play-off ties Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka, fresh from his semi-final run at the US Open, made a flying start to his country's meeting against lowly Ecuador in Neuchatel.World number 10 Wawrinka beat Emilio Gomez, ranked 340th, 6-3, 6-0, 6-3.Long overshadowed by Swiss icon Roger Federer, who is four years his senior, Wawrinka is now squarely in the limelight thanks to a run of solid performances.World number 164 Marco Chiudinelli then made it 2-0 for Switzerland with a 3-6, 6-1, 6-3, 7-6 (9/7) win over Julio Cesar Campozano, 295th in the ATP rankings.Philipp Kohlschreiber and Florian Mayer put Germany in control of their clash with Brazil.Kohlschreiber beat Rogerio Dutra Silva 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 while Mayer coasted to a 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 success against Tomaz Bellucci.In a match that started Thursday, Israel went 2-1 up on Belgium after Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram beat Steve Darcis and Olivier Rochus 6-3, 5-7, 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 in the doubles.The Netherlands took a 2-0 lead over Austria as Robin Haase beat Andreas Haider-Maurer 6-4, 6-3, 6-1, and Thiemo de Bakker defeated Jurgen Melzer 5-7, 7-5, 5-7, 6-4, 6-1.

Golf: Furyk fires 59 at BMW Championship

Posted:

CHICAGO (AFP) - Jim Furyk fired the sixth 59 in US PGA Tour history on Friday, reaching golf's magic number in the second round of the BMW Championship.Furyk capped his round at the par-71 Conway Farms Golf Club with a three-foot birdie at the ninth hole, his last of the day.He had 11 birdies, one eagle and one bogey and joined Brandt Snedeker atop the leaderboard.Furyk is the first US PGA Tour player to post a 59 since 2010, when both Paul Goydos and Australian Stuart Appleby achieved the feat.David Duval, did it in 1999, Chip Beck in 1991 and Al Geiberger was the first to card a 59 on the US tour in 1977.Furyk got to six-under through his first six holes with four birdies and an eagle.He picked up five more birdies before a bogey at the par-four fifth, but kept his bid for a slice of golf history on track with birdies at the seventh and ninth to finish at 12-under on the day.Furyk and Snedeker are tied atop the leaderboard on 11-under 131, three strokes in front of Zach Johnson.The $8 million tournament is the third of four events in the US tour's FedEx Cup playoffs, which will culminate with the Tour Championship.

Basketball: France, Lithuania, Serbia into quarters

Posted:

LJUBLJANA (AFP) - Basketball giants France and Lithuania booked their spots in the quarter-finals of the 2013 European championships in Slovenia with victories on Friday and were joined in the knockout stage by surprise losers Serbia.France bounced back from a 14-point loss to Lithuania two nights earlier and beat Latvia 102-91 to improve their record to 3-1 in Group E in Ljubljana.France's NBA stars led the way with Nicolas Batum collecting 19 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, while Tony Parker scored 23 points, Boris Diaw added 16 points, and former NBA player Alexis Ajinca tallied 25 points in the win.Lithuania blasted their way past Belgium 86-67 with three players reaching double figures and four more hitting at least seven points.Toronto Raptors star center Jonas Valanciunas collected 12 points and 10 rebounds in less than 13 minutes of action for Lithuania, who improved to 3-1 in the group.During this tournament our main players have played really big minutes and it was not necessary to put them back, and it was also a good opportunity for other players to show something, said Lithuania coach Jonas Kazlauskas.Belgium dropped to 0-4 despite Jonathan Tabu hitting 15 points.Serbia also advanced to the quarters despite an 82-75 defeat against Ukraine. Maxym Korniyenko scored 21 points while Pooh Jeter tallied 20 points for the Ukrainians, who improved to 2-2.Serbia dropped to 3-1 but still went through while getting 22 points, 10 rebounds and four assists from Nemanja Bjelica and 17 points from Nenad Ksrtic.Playing against Serbia is very special because of what basketball means to them and we knew that to have any chance we had to play our best game not on one end, but both ends of the floor, said Ukraine's coach, the former NBA coach Mike Fratello.Ukraine or Latvia will claim the fourth berth from Group E while the Belgians have been eliminated.EuroBasket 2013 will continue on Saturday with three games in Group F. Croatia (2-1) will take on Italy (2-1) in the first battle, followed by Spain (1-2) versus Finland (1-2) with the night-capper seeing Greece (1-2) squaring off with hosts Slovenia (2-1).

Hawaiian woman wins 35-letter name battle

Posted:

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - A Hawaiian woman with a 35-letter surname has persuaded the Pacific island US state's authorities to change their official ID card format, because her king-sized name won't fit.Janice Keihanaikukauakahihuliheekahaunaele, whose traditional Hawaiian name comes from her late husband, said she would never consider using a shortened version, and so used local media to press officials to take action.I love the Polynesian culture I married into, I love my Hawaiian name. It is an honor and has been quite a journey to carry the names I carry, Keihanaikukauakahihuliheekahaunaele, whose maiden name was Worth, told AFP.For years she has carried two forms of identification: her driving license, which only has room for 34 characters, and her official Hawaii state ID card which in the past had room for all 35 letters.But the problem came after Keihanaikukauakahihuliheekahaunaele's state ID was renewed in May -- and came back the same as her driver's license, with the last letter missing, and with no first name.Then a traffic cop pulled her over. The policeman looked at my license and saw I had no first name. I told him it is not my fault that my license and state ID are not correct and I am trying to get it corrected.He then told me 'Well, you can always change your name back to your maiden name.' This hurt my heart, said Keihanaikukauakahihuliheekahaunaele, who was originally from New York and worked on Wall Street until 1991.Over the last 22 years I have seen Hawaii is being bulldozed and the culture of Hawaii being trampled upon and this policeman treated my name as if it is some mumbo-jumbo, added Keihanaikukauakahihuliheekahaunaele, whose friends call her Loke.Exasperated, she took her case to a local TV station, KHON-2, who publicized the problem, putting pressure on the Hawaii Department of Transportation (DoT).Within days, authorities, who had previously told her it would take two years to change and the surname character limit would remain at 35, had decided they could act more quickly.We understand how she feels and are working to correct the situation, Hawaii's DoT spokeswoman Caroline Sluyter told AFP.By the end of the year, we should have the new character limits in place which will be 40 characters for the first and last names, 35 characters for the middle, and 5 for the suffix, she said.

Oil slips as Syria talks continue

Posted:

NEW YORK (AP) - The price of oil fell Friday as the U.S. and Russia held discussions in Geneva aimed at getting Syria to give up its chemical weapons.U.S. benchmark crude for October delivery fell 39 cents to close at $108.21 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. For the week, oil dropped 1.7 percent after closing last Friday at a two-year high of $110.53.American and Russian chemical weapons experts huddled in a Geneva hotel to haggle over technical details that will be critical to reaching a deal for securing Syria's chemical weapons arsenal. Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met to examine political developments and plot a new international conference in Geneva to support the creation of a Syrian transitional government.I will say on behalf of the United States that President Obama is deeply committed to a negotiated solution with respect to Syria, Kerry said after his meeting with Lavrov.Syria is not a major oil producer, but oil traders say the possibility of a wider conflict could interrupt production and shipping routes in the Middle East and cause prices to rise. In recent days, oil prices have risen and receded in accordance with the perceived likelihood of a U.S. military attack.The November Brent contract, the benchmark for international crudes, rose 17 cents to $111.70 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London.

Euro-dollar rate stable ahead of key Fed meeting

Posted:

NEW YORK CITY (AFP) - The euro-dollar rate was stable Friday, days before the US Federal Reserve is expected to begin cutting its $85 billion stimulus in recognition of a strengthening US economy.Despite the prospects for less easy money flooding into the US economy, the euro held onto its recent gains, supported by rising confidence in eurozone growth.At around 2200 GMT, the euro was at $1.3292, compared with $1.3299 late Thursday.The Japanese currency was slightly higher: the dollar bought 99.39 yen, compared with 99.47 a day earlier, while the euro was at 132.11 yen, down from 132.28.Most analysts said that with months of Fed forewarning, the much-anticipated taper is well-baked into the forex market, with US bond yields having jumped sharply over the past four months.The only questions will be, just how much will it reduce the monthly bond-buying program, and how fast -- the latter a function of how strong the Fed policy makers judge US economic growth.At its September 17-18 meeting, we look for the Fed to taper its asset purchases to $70 billion per month from the current $85 billion pace, said Michael Gapen at Barclays.Although the average pace of payroll employment growth has slowed in recent months, we still see (the FOMC, the Fed's policy board) as ready to begin slowing balance-sheet expansion, since many participants are likely to view cumulative progress in reducing unemployment since last fall as meeting the hurdle for tapering.But Kathy Lien of BK Asset Management said some recent weakness in US economic data could put off the taper, and said that underpinned the dollar's relative weakness to the euro recently.It is becoming increasingly difficult for the Federal Reserve to justify reducing stimulus next week. A slowdown in consumer spending and sluggish job growth screams of a recovery that is losing momentum, she said Friday.We could see additional liquidation of positions in the US dollar ahead of the announcement of Fed policy on Wednesday, she said.The British pound continued to rise amid some improved confidence in its economy on a fall in unemployment. The pound rose to $1.5878 from $1.5803 late Thursday.The dollar meanwhile slipped to 0.9300 Swiss franc from 0.9303 franc.

Misbah stands firm as Pakistan stumble

Posted:

HARARE (AFP) - Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq stood firm as his side lost five wickets chasing victory on the fourth day of the second Test against Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club on Friday.Set 264 to win, Pakistan were 158 for five at the close of play, setting up a tense last day with Zimbabwe having a realistic chance of sharing the series and earning a rare victory against one of cricket's major nations.Misbah was unbeaten on 26 and will resume batting on Saturday with wicketkeeper Adnan Akmal (17 not out), with Pakistan needing another 106 runs to win.Pakistan made an aggressive start to the chase after bowling out Zimbabwe for 199, breaking a trend of slow scoring on a wearing, cracked pitch. But they were forced to become more cautious as the Zimbabwe bowlers struck at regular intervals.First-change bowler Tendai Chatara made a crucial breakthrough when he dismissed Mohammad Hafeez and Azhar Ali in quick succession to reduce Pakistan to 46 for two in the 12th over.Opening batsman Manzoor Ahmed stroked his way to his second half-century of the match, hitting 11 fours in an innings of 54 before he was caught at short leg off off-spinner Prosper Utseya.That brought Misbah in to join fellow veteran Younis Khan but Pakistan suffered a huge blow when Younis was bowled for 29, shaping to play left-armer Brian Vitori to leg and losing his leg stump.Misbah might have given a difficult chance when he was on 14, with wicketkeeper Richmond Mutumbami diving far to his right but unable to hold on to a low deflection.But Mutumbami made no mistake when Asad Shafiq tried to cut Utseya and top-edged the ball into the wicketkeeper's gloves.Chatara finished the day with two for 29 from 13 overs, while Utseya had two for 40 from 13 overs.Earlier, left-arm opening bowler Rahat Ali took five for 52 as Zimbabwe were bowled out after adding only 78 runs to their overnight 121 for four.Rahat made the first breakthrough of the day when he had Vusi Sibanda caught behind for 10 and he followed up with the key wicket of Zimbabwe captain Brendan Taylor, who made 27 off 83 balls, as well as tail-ender Chatara.Off-spinner Saeed Ajmal claimed two wickets and left-arm fast bowler Junaid Khan one as Pakistan kept the Zimbabwe batsmen under pressure.Pakistan won the first Test at the same venue by 221 runs.Zimbabwe have only won 10 of their previous 93 Test matches, with six of the wins coming against fellow minnows Bangladesh. But they have beaten Pakistan on two occasions, in 1994/95 and 1998/99. They have also beaten India twice, most recently in 2000/01.

5-year-old girl's rape: CJP, CM take notice

Posted:

LAHORE (Dunya News) – Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry has taken the notice of the rape of a five-year-old girl in Lahore. The CJP has also sought a report from the IGP Punjab of the incident.According to media reports, the girl was abducted and sexually assaulted and was dumped outside the Ganga Ram Hospital in a semi-conscious state. The girl was transferred to the Services Hospital where she remained in critical condition for several hours. Police said that they are identifying the criminal in the case via CCTV video from the Ganga Ram Hospital. Initial investigations reveal that he was on carrying the child on foot and is believed to be 18 years old.Earlier, Punjab CM Shahbaz Sharif also took the notice of the incident and ordered police to arrest the accused.

Delayed vaccines tied to whooping cough risk

Posted:

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Children who are not vaccinated according to the schedule recommended by U.S. health officials are at an increased risk of catching whooping cough, according to a new study.Researchers found kids who fell significantly behind on their diphtheria, tetanus and acellular pertussis (DTaP) shots were between 19 and 28 times more likely to be diagnosed with whooping cough, also known as pertussis, than children who were vaccinated on time.What we found - not surprisingly - was that kids who were not vaccinated on time were at a greater risk of pertussis, compared to those who were vaccinated on time, Jason Glanz, the study's lead author from the Kaiser Permanente Colorado Institute for Health Research in Denver, said.Researchers suspect that's due to the use of a new type of pertussis vaccine - which has fewer side effects, but is less effective over the long run - and to more children missing or delaying vaccination.Although parents sometimes believe delaying their children's vaccines and following alternative schedules is safer, Glanz said there is no evidence that they are any safer in terms of adverse events than what's typical.For the new study, he and his colleagues compared the vaccination records of 72 children who were diagnosed with pertussis in one of eight healthcare systems between 2004 and 2010 and 288 similar kids who didn't get the disease. All of the children were between the ages of three and 36 months.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends children receive doses of the DTaP vaccine at two, four and six months of age, another dose between 15 and 18 months and a booster shot when they're four to six years old.The researchers found that about 47 percent of children diagnosed with pertussis were not vaccinated according to that recommended schedule, versus about 22 percent of kids in the comparison group.Just over a third of the cases could have been prevented had they been vaccinated on time, Glanz said.His team also found that the longer parents delayed getting their children vaccinated, the higher the kids' risks of catching pertussis climbed.Those who were three doses behind, for example, were 19 times more likely to get whooping cough than kids who were caught up on their shots, and those who were four doses behind had 28 times the risk.I think the nice thing about this study is that it quantifies the risk, Dr. Mary Healy, director of vaccinology and maternal immunization for the Center for Vaccine Awareness and Research at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston, said.Pertussis is a particularly serious disease. The difficulty with pertussis is that it's very often underappreciated how serious it can be, Healy, who was not involved with the study, said.In an ongoing pertussis outbreak in Texas, about 2,000 cases have been reported in the state this year. So far, two infants, who were too young to receive the DTaP vaccine, have died.Healy told Reuters Health it's also important for adults including pregnant women in their third trimester to get booster shots of the vaccine to protect young children and those with weakened immune systems.Glanz said common side effects of the vaccine include fever, discomfort and a sore arm. Serious side effects are rare, he said, adding that parents should understand that delaying their kids' vaccines puts the children at a greater risk of catching pertussis.The purpose isn't to demonize parents or marginalize them. We're doing this not because we're pro-vaccine but because we're pro-child, he said.

Afghanistan wins 1st international football title

Posted:

KATHMANDU (AP) - Afghanistan won its first international trophy in football on Wednesday, beating India 2-0 in the South Asian Football Federation Championship.The Afghans, who were a founding member of the Asian Football Confederation in 1954, have a long football history but only recently re-emerged on the world scene after decades of war and insurgency. When the Taliban ruled from 1996-2001, they severely restricted sports and football stadiums were used to stage executions of those who ran afoul of the Islamist movements harsh laws.Afghanistan has never played at the World Cup, or even at the Asian Cup. But the country has been getting better in recent years, rising up the FIFA rankings to No. 139 on the latest list.On Wednesday, Mustafa Azadzoi put Afghanistan ahead early in the first half at Dashrath Stadium, and Sanjar Ahmadi doubled the lead in the second. When it was over, the Afghan players walked around the field with Afghan flags draped on their shoulders. They then held hands and started to dance in a circle in celebration.Im proud of my whole country. I congratulate my dear countrymen, Afghanistan goalkeeper Mansur Faqiryar said.The win over India avenged the teams loss in the SAFF Championship final two years ago. India beat the Afghans 4-0 in the 2011 championship match.In Kabul, some Afghans gathered in Mecca Market, a store selling a variety of items, to watch the game on TV. Shortly after it ended, celebratory gunfire was heard around the capital.I am extremely happy, and I am very proud, said Waheedullah, who like many Afghans goes by one name. How I can explain my feelings? From the beginning till now my eyes were glued to the TV. My friends and I were just praying, praying to be champions. Its one of the happiest days of my life.Salahuddin, a police officer holding a Kalashnikov, celebrated the historic victory with several other officers.Congratulations Congratulations Salahuddin repeated to his colleagues.Afghans began playing football about 90 years ago, and the countrys national federation was founded in 1922. Afghanistan joined FIFA in 1948.Throughout the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, football gained a strong following in the country, but it nearly died out during the 10-year Soviet occupation from 1979 to 1989 and the civil war that followed from 1992 to 1996.After the hardline Taliban regime was toppled in 2001, sports in Afghanistan was reborn, with both cricket and football on the rise in international competitions.The football teams success has been a point of unity in a country riven by ethnic divisions, with Afghans of all backgrounds praying for victory.

Govt withdraws Secretary Civil Aviation's transfer notification

Posted:

ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - The federal government has withdrawn the transfer notification of secretary civil aviation, Muhammad Ali Gardezi.A three member bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry heard the case pertaining to the transfer of Secretary Civil Aviation.Attorney General, Munir A Malik submitted the written reply in court which said that the prime minister believed in transparency.The statement added that the secretary was not transferred because he referred the matter of delay in the construction of Islamabad airport to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).The decision to transfer Gardezi which was taken on September 10 was cancelled while additional charge of secretary civil aviation was also taken back from Nargis Sethi.
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)