Tuesday 3 September 2013

Dunya TV

Dunya TV

Federal cabinet to discuss Karachi situation today

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KARACHI (Dunya News) - Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will chair a federal cabinet meeting today with regard to restore law and order in the metropolis.Nawaz Sharif reiterated his resolve that government would use full force for bringing peace back in Karachi and strengthening the economy.On Tuesday, while chairing a meeting in which leaders from all the political parties were present, Nawaz said that he would not carry out the politics on the issues of terrorism, and establishment of law and order in Karachi. There is not any favouritism in his mind regarding Karachi.He has neither any apple of his eye nor any disliking in the city.“Law and order and development of economy are linked with each other. If the investment would not come to the country ,how we would eliminate the poverty, unemployment and the investment would come only when law and order situation would be improved”, PM added.He said that there are many discussions are on the peace of Karachi. People are talking about the options of army and rangers, someone is uttering about targeted operation. But to resolve the problems faced by Pakistan, consensus on national level must be attained.He said that Pakistan is the homeland of entire Pakistani nation and all the people would have to live here. The government wants to create harmony on Karachi situation.The Prime Minister was of the view that now it is the high time to put the national interest on top priority by keeping the internal differences and personal gains aside. Political leadership should provide guidance to the government so that a joint line of action may be adopted for the peace in financial hub, Karachi.

US Open: Serena Williams wins quarterfinal 6-0, 6-0

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NEW YORK (AP) - The top-ranked and No. 1-seeded Serena Williams advanced to the U.S. Open semifinals with a comprehensive 6-0, 6-0 win Tuesday over 18th-seeded Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain.Williams is looking better and better with each match at the years last Grand Slam tournament. With two more wins, no matter the exact scores, shell earn a fifth title at Flushing Meadows and 17th major championship overall.Williams won 53 of 71 points against Suarez Navarro, dominating pretty much every statistical category. The first set took just 19 minutes, while the second was slower, lasting 33 minutes, but no less lopsided.In Fridays semifinals, Williams will play 2011 French Open champion Li Na of China.Asked in an on-court interview if her game is peaking, Williams replied: No. Not yet. I hope not. Im just trying to do the best that I can.Through five matches, Williams has dropped a total of 13 games so far. For comparisons sake: Suarez Navarro lost more games than that in her previous match alone, 15, while eliminating No. 8 Angelique Kerber.The conditions were so tough, so it definitely was not her best tennis today, Williams said of the windy conditions and Suarez Navarro, who was playing in her third career major quarterfinal Tuesday, which happened to be her 25th birthday.Williams ended with a 20-3 edge in winners. She made fewer unforced errors, 12-9 and won 23 of 26 points on first serves.When Williams did face a break point for the first time, 42 minutes and 11 games into the match, she came up with a big serve and raced forward for a simple putaway that she punctuated with a yell. Moments later came a second break chance, but even with Williams stumbling to the court, Suarez Navarro dumped the ball into the net.In mens fourth-round action in the afternoon, top-seeded Novak Djokovic won 45 of 53 service points while eliminating 43rd-ranked Marcel Granollers 6-3, 6-0, 6-0 in a grand total of only 79 minutes.Djokovic, who won the 2011 U.S. Open and lost in last years final to Andy Murray, reached his 18th consecutive major quarterfinal. Next up is a match against 21st-seeded Mikhail Youzhny of Russia, who was two points from defeat but came back to edge two-time major champion Lleyton Hewitt 6-3, 3-6, 6-7 (3), 6-4, 7-5.The other mens matches were at night, with Murray facing Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan, and No. 5 Tomas Berdych playing No. 9 Stanislas Wawrinka.Earlier Tuesday, the fifth-seeded Li needed nearly 2½ hours to get past 24th-seeded Ekaterina Makarova of Russia 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-2.On three occasions, Li went up a break in the second set, nearing eventual victory each time, but could not finish things. She then was up 3-0 in the tiebreaker before faltering. Still, she recovered well and closed the match by taking the last four games, then joked that she would grab a bag of chips and enjoy watching Williams against Suarez Navarro.Regardless of who shed face next, Li made the point that what would be important is to focus on herself.I mean, if you only think about what (your) opponent (is) doing, of course you already lose the match before you come to the court, Li said. For tennis you have to figure out what you have to do on the court, what you should do.Li has only won one of nine career matches against Williams heading into Friday. Tough, tough opponent, Li said. But is (a) good challenge to play against her.The quarterfinals on the other half of the draw are Wednesday: second-seeded Victoria Azarenka of Belarus against 48th-ranked Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia, and 10th-seeded Roberta Vinci against 83rd-ranked Flavia Pennetta in a matchup between two Italians in their 30s.While the other women in that section all advanced Monday, Azarenkas fourth-round match against 2008 French Open champion Ana Ivanovic was postponed until Tuesday at 11 a.m. because of rain.Azarenka got off to a slow start, but eventually got going and beat the 13th-seeded Ivanovic 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in a topsy-turvy match with a combined 16 service breaks and 17 double-faults.I think, two-time Australian Open champion Azarenka said, were just great returners.Lamented Ivanovic: I felt like I could break her, but it was very frustrating that I was losing my serve constantly.

Power blackouts hit nearly half of Venezuela

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CARACAS (AP) - Venezuelas main power distribution network failed Tuesday, depriving nearly half the country of electricity and knocking out traffic lights and water service in much of Caracas, which normally escapes such outages.Electrical Energy Minister Jesse Chacon said on state TV that the failure was in the backbone that carries electricity from the Bajo Caroni region, where 60 percent of Venezuelas power is generated.He said 11 of 23 states lost power and that, in the Andean region near Colombia, the neighboring country was helping supply electricity.Power that was lost at midday was restored in Caracas by nightfall, but officials said blackouts could persist in other regions.Despite possession the worlds largest proven oil reserves, Venezuela has been plagued in recent years by worsening power outages. They have, however, rarely affected metropolitan Caracas, home to more than one-sixth of the countrys 28 million people.President Nicolas Maduro said the oil industry, the lifeblood of the economy, was not affected by the outage. He called the outage strange via Twitter and blamed the extreme right-wing, as he has in the past, without offering evidence.Maduro also said he had ordered the military to protect the entire country. The capitals subway service was temporarily interrupted, and authorities evacuated riders from several trains.Opposition politicians say the government, while spending billions on programs for the poor, hasnt invested enough in the electrical grid and generating plants to keep up with growing demand.Authorities say delays in several initiatives designed to boost electricity output are partly to blame.Chacon, a longtime close aide to the late President Hugo Chavez, was named energy minister after Maduros April election. The previous energy minister was a brother of Chavez, Argenis.

India says 1 woman killed every hour over dowry

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NEW DELHI (AP) - One woman dies every hour in India because of dowry-related crimes, indicating that the countrys economic boom has made demands for dowries even more persistent, womens rights activists said.The National Crime Records Bureau says 8,233 women were killed across India last year because of disputes over dowry payments given by the brides family to the groom or his family at the time of marriage.The conviction rate in dowry-related crimes remained a low 32 percent, according to statistics the bureau published last week.Indian law prohibits the giving or receiving of a dowry, but the centuries-old social custom persists.Dowry demands often continue for years after the wedding. Each year, thousands of young Indian women are doused with gasoline and burned to death because the groom or his family felt the dowry was inadequate.Womens rights activists and police said that loopholes in dowry prevention laws, delays in prosecution and low conviction rates have led to a steady rise in dowry-related crimes.Dowry demands have become even more insistent and expensive following Indias economic boom, Ranjana Kumari, a womens rights activist, said Tuesday.She blamed a growing culture of greed as India opens its economy to foreign goods that the younger generation cannot afford but badly want.Marriages have become commercialized. Its like a business proposition where the groom and his family make exorbitant demands. And the wealthier the family, the more outrageous the demands, Kumari said.Suman Nalwa, a senior New Delhi police officer dealing with crimes against women, said dowry practices extended to all classes in society. Even highly educated people dont say no to dowry, she said.

US Senate sets Syria resolution deadline, bars ground forces

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WASHINGTON (AFP) - The Senate drafted a bipartisan measure Tuesday that imposed a 90-day deadline for American military intervention in Syria and barred the use of US troops on the ground there.Congress this week is debating President Barack Obamas push for a military response to what he says was Syrian President Bashar al-Assads use of chemical weapons against his own people last month on the outskirts of the capital Damascus.The Senate Foreign Relations Committee re-worded the resolution put forward by the White House to restrict it to limited and tailored use of the United States Armed Forces against Syria, according to a copy of the draft obtained by AFP.The authorization provided by the resolution shall terminate 60 days after the date of the enactment of this joint resolution, except that the president may extend, for a single period of 30 days, such authorization if he deems it necessary for the carrying out of such military operations, according to the measure.The authority granted in section 2 does not authorize the use of the United States Armed Forces on the ground in Syria for the purpose of combat operations, it added.Committee chairman Senator Robert Menendez, a Democrat who said he backs Obamas plan for the use of force against Assads regime, and whose office crafted the measure with staff from ranking committee Republican Senator Bob Corker, said he expected a vote on the measure Wednesday.Our negotiations have led to a much narrower authorization that provides for the appropriate use of force while limiting the scope and duration of military action, prohibiting boots on the ground, and requiring the Obama administration to submit their broader plan for Syria, Corker said in a statement.This is one of the most serious matters that comes before the Congress, so as we proceed to a potentially defining vote next week, the president and his administration must continue to vigorously make their case to the American people.House Democrats on Tuesday released their own joint resolution on military intervention in Syria, with a strict 60-day deadline for intervention with no apparent extension.Congress returns from its summer recess on September 9. Senate leaders have said they intend to hold a vote on the resolution next week, while House leaders have said they aim to act quickly but have not provided a time frame.

6.5 quake hits east Japan: USGS

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TOKYO (AFP) - A strong 6.5 magnitude earthquake hit eastern Japan on Wednesday, the US Geological Survey said, but local authorities said there was no risk of a tsunami.The quake struck at 0018 GMT at a depth of 404 kilometres (251 miles), the USGS said.The epicentre is in the Pacific, hundreds of kilometres (miles) south of Tokyo. We see no risk of a tsunami, a spokesman for the Japanese weather agency said.The quake, measured at 6.9 by Japanese seismologists, was centred on a spot more than 600 kilometres south of Tokyo, the USGS said.AFP journalists in the Japanese capital reported feeling a long, rumbling quake that shook buildings. They said it was the largest they had felt in the quake-prone city for some time.A spokesman for Tokyo Electric Power said the earthquake did not cause any additional damage at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, the site of the worst nuclear accident in a generation where radioactive waste water has been leaking into the Pacific Ocean.We have confirmed that there was no immediate abnormality, according to data collected by monitoring equipment, a TEPCO spokesman said, adding that crews will patrol the crippled plant's vast campus to survey whether any physical damage has been caused.A series of leaks of radioactive water at the nuclear plant has left TEPCO on the back foot in recent months.On Tuesday the Japanese government announced it was stepping in with 47 billion yen ($470 million) of public money to build a wall of ice underneath the plant to prevent polluted water seeping out into the sea.

Zimbabwe limits Pakistan to 249-9 on 1st day

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HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) - Zimbabwe cricketers appeared to turn their frustration from an ongoing pay dispute on to Pakistan in restricting the visitors to 249-9 on the first day of the first test on Tuesday.Fast bowlers Tinashe Panyangara (3-71), Shingi Masakadza (2-40) and Tendai Chatara (2-64) shared seven wickets and offspinner Prosper Utseya got the key scalp of captain Misbah-ul-Haq (53).Azhar Ali top-scored with 78 including nine fours before he was caught by Vusi Sibanda, who took three catches in the slips.Tailenders Saeed Ajmal (49 not out) and Junaid Khan (17) added an invaluable 67 runs before Khan was dismissed in the last over of the day.Ajmal dominated the ninth-wicket stand by hitting six fours and a six, but he will be hoping last man Rahat Ali survives the last ball of Panyangaras over on Wednesday to have a crack at a half century.Zimbabwe took the field only after the Zimbabwe Cricket Union agreed to clear the players dues before the second test next week. However, middle-order batsman Sean Williams preferred to wait for his dues to be cleared and opted out of the test.Earlier, stand-in Zimbabwe captain Hamilton Masakadza won the toss and elected to field first after regular captain Brendan Taylor had to be with his wife, who gave birth recently.The decision paid off within the first hour when Pakistan lost three wickets for just 27 runs.Mohammad Hafeez, man of the series in Pakistans 2-1 victory in the one-day internationals last week, pushed at Chataras delivery which got some extra bounce and edged to Sibanda for Zimbabwes first breakthrough in the seventh over.Hafeez was declared fit from a hamstring injury which he sustained during Pakistans 108-run victory over Zimbabwe in the third and decisive one-dayer.Panyangara then had Khurram Manzoor (11) playing his first test match after three years leg before wicket and clean bowled the experienced Younis Khan (3) in successive overs to have Pakistan in trouble.Ali resurrected Pakistans innings with a 93-run stand with Misbah before Sibanda pulled out a brilliant catch at short midwicket off a mistimed drive. Misbah hit seven boundaries and faced 94 balls before he tried a reckless stroke to make it 120-4.Asad Shafiq also gifted his wicket after lunch when he charged down the track off Utseyas tossed up delivery and gave a simple catch to Tino Mawoyo at backward short leg as the ball brushed off the batsmans pads off an inside edge as Pakistan progressed to 156-5 at tea.Just when it looked like Ali could get a century after tea, he played a rash stroke like Misbah did after lunch and chased a wide delivery of Masakdaza to Sibanda at second slip.Ajmals assault helped Pakistan hit back late in the day as the tailender hit two exquisite drives to the boundary off Panyangara.

Ohio Man who threatened police holds 'Idiot' sign

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CLEVELAND (AP) - A man who threatened officers in Cleveland is making a court-ordered public apology by standing near a police station with a sign describing himself as an idiot.A judge had ordered 58-year-old Richard Dameron to stand outside a local police station with a sign bearing an apology. He began the vigil Monday and must stand outside for three hours each day for the rest of the week.Dameron was convicted of threatening officers in 911 calls.His public shaming isnt the first of its kind in the city.The Cleveland judge who sentenced Dameron previously made a woman wear an idiot sign in public for driving around a school bus.

2-tone lobster, orange and brown, shown in Maine

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MAINE (Web Desk) - Maine has seen its share of blue lobsters, orange lobsters, albino lobsters and calico lobsters. But one on display at a Portland research facility has all of those turning green with envy.The lobster at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute is half orange and half brown.The lobster was caught by lobsterman Jeff Edwards and was donated by Ship to Shore Lobster Co in Owls Head.Research Institute spokesman Steven Profaizer says its being kept in a tank used by the LabVenture education experience. For the program, the institute transports about 10,000 students each year.As for the lobster, it is indeed rare. The Lobster Institute at the University of Maine tells WMTW-TV.

Kenya mulls ending International Criminal Court membership

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NAIROBI (AFP) - Kenyas parliament was recalled Tuesday to debate ending membership of the International Criminal Court, ahead of a crimes against humanity trial of the vice-president starting there next week.Parliamentary Deputy Speaker Joyce Laboso issued the order for the special sitting of the assembly, with parliament to meet on Thursday.However, even should Kenya choose to leave the ICC -- the first country potentially to do so -- it would not affect upcoming trials since legal proceedings have already started.On Tuesday, the ICC trial opens of Vice-President William Ruto on three counts of crimes against humanity for allegedly organising 2007-2008 post-election unrest that killed at least 1,100 people and displaced more than 600,000.Rutos trial comes about two months ahead of that of President Uhuru Kenyatta, who faces five charges of crimes against humanity, including murder, rape, persecution, deportation and other inhumane acts.Lawmakers are expected to debate and vote on a possible departure from the Rome Statute of the ICC, following a request from the senates majority leader Kithure Kindiki.Any law in this country or internationally like the Rome Statute can be repealed and can be amended, said Asman Kamama, one of at least 30 lawmakers supporting Kindikis petition. It is not cast in stone and we want to be the trail blazers in the continent.The Jubilee Coalition of Kenyatta and Ruto dominate both houses of Kenyas parliament. The Hague-based court was set up in 2002 to try the worlds worst crimes, and countries voluntarily signed up to join.Lawmakers will debate a motion on whether to pull out from the ICC, but any actual withdrawal requires the submission of a formal request to the United Nations, a process that would take at least a year.Withdrawing from the Rome Statute has no impact on cases already open, it does not affect investigations, proceedings or trials which have already started, ICC spokesman Fadi El Abdallah said.Kenyattas trial opens in The Hague on November 12.Both Kenyatta and Ruto have said they will cooperate fully with the court. They deny the charges against them.Radio boss Joshua Arap Sang will stand trial alongside Ruto, also on crimes against humanity charges. The 2007 elections were marred by allegations of vote rigging, but what began as political riots quickly turned into ethnic killings and reprisal attacks, plunging Kenya into its worst wave of violence since independence in 1963.Kenyatta and Ruto were fierce rivals in the 2007 vote, but teamed up together and were elected in March in peaceful polls.Ruto will be the first senior politician to stand trial for crimes carried out during the violence, with Human Rights Watch this week stressing the importance of the ICC as a court of last resort.

Russian gay rights activists plan to meet Obama

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MOSCOW (AP) - Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights activists said Tuesday they have been invited to meet with President Barack Obama on the sidelines of this weeks Group of 20 summit in Russia.Obama and his administration have voiced concern over a law recently passed by Russias parliament that targets homosexual propaganda.Igor Kochetkov of LGBT Network told The Associated Press that his organization will accept the invitation to meet with Obama in St. Petersburg on Thursday. The St. Petersburg-based advocacy group Coming Out said it also was invited but hasnt decided yet whether to go.The White House would not comment on the meeting. However, Obama has frequently met with civil society groups when traveling abroad. In 2009, he met with a group of Russian rights activists while visiting Russia, but members of the LGBT community were not present then.The bill on propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations among minors was signed into law by President Vladimir Putin on July 29. Russian lawmakers say the law doesnt outlaw homosexuality but merely discourages discussion of it among people younger than 18. However, the law has outraged Russian liberals and some sectors of the international community, just five months before the start of the Winter Olympic Games in the Russian city of Sochi.The law has sparked a boycott of Russian vodka in gay bars across North America and scattered calls for a boycott of the 2014 games. However, Obama has joined other world leaders in calling a boycott unnecessary.Obama was to hold talks with Putin in Moscow and St. Petersburg before the G20 summit, but the U.S. leader canceled that plan in response to Russias decision to grant temporary asylum to Edward Snowden, the American who leaked highly secretive details about U.S. National Security Agency surveillance programs.

Indian rupee slides again

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MUMBAI (AFP) - Indias currency slid Tuesday and the share market crashed nearly 3.5 percent in another major sell-off caused by uncertainty in the Middle East and a new gloomy economic forecast by Goldman Sachs.The rupee, the worst performing major currency in Asia this year, closed down 2.46 percent at 67.63 rupees to the dollar, up from the days lows, while shares closed down 651 points or 3.45 percent to 18,234.66 points.In India, we have cut our full-year GDP growth forecast to four percent, from six percent, Goldman Sachs said in a note to clients.The investment house added that the rupee was likely to reach 72 per dollar in six months time, recovering to 70 over a 12-month horizon.Goldman Sachs added growth could be even weaker and the rupee might fall further than its targets especially if there are pressures on the banking and corporate sectors due to weakness in growth.Goldman Sachs joined a string of investment houses from HSBC to Nomura which have cut their growth forecasts for the once-booming Indian economy.The most bearish was BNP Paribas, which slashed its forecast to 3.7 percent from 5.2 percent target, saying Indias macro muddle was nearing crisis levels. But a top advisor to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh rejected the investment houses dire projections.Indias economy is likely to grow around 5.5 percent this fiscal year, lifted by strong farm output, C. Rangarajan told reporters in New Delhi.Agriculture growth should reach four-to-five percent this year, thanks to bountiful monsoon rains, boosting expansion, said Rangarajan, chairman of the Prime Ministers Economic Advisory Council. The agriculture sector grew just 1.7 percent last year.Even if we assume the non-farm sector will grow at the same rate as last year, the GDP growth rate would be closer to 5.5 per cent, Rangarajan said.Indias economy grew by just 4.4 percent in the first three months of the fiscal year, the slowest quarterly expansion in over four years, sparking widespread worry about its prospects.The concern was amplified on Monday when an HSBC survey showed that Indias manufacturing shrank in August for the first time in over four years.Indias growth rate slowed to decade low of five percent last year, partly due to high interest rates which weighed on demand. Russian reports of missile launches in the Mediterranean Sea accelerated the downward trend in mid-afternoon trading.The stock market plunge was led by banking shares on worries about the effect of corporate bad debts on their balance sheets.The rupees depreciation will pose a major challenge for Raghuram Rajan, the new central bank governor, who takes charge Thursday, replacing outgoing chief Duvvuri Subbarao.We saw a temporary recovery in the rupee, said Param Sarma, chief executive with consultancy firm NSP Forex, referring to a two-day rally late last week. But this could not be sustained amid persistent concerns about the economy, Sarma said.The currency has also been depressed by the record current account deficit -- the broadest measure of trade -- which has been fuelled by Indias massive oil import bill.

Israel, Palestine football chiefs hold landmark talks

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ZURICH (AFP) - Israeli and Palestinian football chiefs shook hands Tuesday in landmark talks brokered by FIFA in a drive to end bitter disputes over security restrictions on players going to and from the Palestinian territories.The closed-door meeting between Palestinian Football Associations (PFA) president Jibril Rajub and his Israeli opposite number Avi Luzon were a watershed, FIFA chief Sepp Blatter told reporters. It was historic because it was the first time that the two presidents met. They shook hands, the world football governing bodys boss said.It was also historic because it was the first time they spoke together. In the past, when they came to the FIFA congress, they just looked at each other and went away. At the beginning it was a little bit lively. I wont say any more. But at the end it was trust, confidence and football, he added.Neither the Israeli nor Palestinian delegation met with reporters, with FIFA officials saying that it had been agreed that Blatter would speak on behalf of all participants.The meeting came just weeks after a politically-charged dispute over Israeli entry restrictions on players from Arab nations which led to the delay of a youth tournament hosted by the PFA.In response, the PFA upped the ante by urging FIFA to suspend Israel from international football, charging that Israeli policies were smothering the development of the game in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.Israel meanwhile points to the abuse of football facilities by Palestinian militants to fire rockets at its cities and warns that sport has been used as a tool to disseminate anti-Israeli propaganda.The basic problem in the region is the security problem of Israel and the fact that Palestine is recognised as a full member of FIFA but is not yet recognised as a full member of the United Nations, said Blatter.But now in football, they can make a step forward, and this step forward I think will be fruitful. The two associations will work together, and we will monitor the different steps, he added.The idea is that by the end of the year, when we come together for the FIFA executive committee, we should have a solution for how it will be easier for movement of footballers.Palestine has the right to play, Blatter insisted. The solution will be that one day, they play football together, he added. He acknowledged that whatever the footballing outcome, the ball would still be in the political court.Football is not a solution, but football can help, he said.Tuesdays meeting was the first of a task force created in July after Blatter visited the Middle East for talks with Israeli and Palestinian football and political leaders. It yielded several concrete pledges, no small matter given deep regional tensions.The two national associations will designate a liaison officer. They will sit together and identify the control problems concerning the teams, the material, officials, referees. Then they will have a meeting which is already scheduled to be held this month in Amman, Blatter said, adding that he was optimistic about the outcome.While the Palestinians lack broad international recognition for their would-be state, the PFA joined FIFA in 1998. The future Israel joined in 1929, when it was still under British control, 19 years before independence.The meeting also involved the leaders of European footballs governing body UEFA and the Asian Football Confederation. Most Arab nations are members of the latter.For political reasons, Israel has had a rocky road in international football, having played in Asia until 1974, then Oceania, before joining UEFA in 1991.

Somali president survives attack

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MOGADISHU (AFP) - Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud escaped unhurt Tuesday from an ambush on his heavily armoured convoy claimed by Al-Qaeda linked Islamists, the latest attack targeting the internationally backed leader.Shebab gunmen claimed to have ambushed the convoy as it travelled to the port of Merka south of the capital and boasted of destroying vehicles with rocket-propelled grenades. But officials said that the attack had failed and all in the presidential entourage were safe.Gunmen tried to disrupt the presidents trip ... but I can confirm the president and his delegation are well and reached their final destination Merka to have meetings with local community, said Somali army official Mohamed Qorey, speaking by telephone from Merka.The president was travelling in an armoured convoy from the 17,700-strong African Union force (AMISOM) that fights alongside the Somali army against Shebab gunmen.We ambushed a convoy that was escorting the self-appointed Somali president, Shebab spokesman Abdulaziz Abu Musab told AFP.The attack took place at the small settlement of Buffow, close to Merka, a former Shebab stronghold captured one year ago around 100 kilometres (60 miles) south of the capital.The presidential convoy was attacked but they have continued after about 15 minutes of heavy gunfire, said Ibrahim Adan, a resident of Buffow.One Somali government soldier was wounded, according to local elder Omar Moalim. Diplomatic sources played down the attacks saying it had consisted of little more than a roadside bomb.Residents in Merka said Mohamud appeared in the port, greeting officials and residents as he toured the town.He was fine and well, meeting the people who had come to see him, said Nasir Abdirahmam, a resident of Merka.Somalias weak central government, selected in a UN-backed process in August 2012, has made some progress in Mogadishu but has little concrete influence outside the capital.The government was the first to be given global recognition since the collapse of Somalias hardline regime in 1991.But the authorities have been dealt a number of setbacks in recent months, including a string of Shebab attacks, accusations of rape against the army and AU soldiers and a pull-out by aid workers because of a wave of kidnappings and killings.Shebab fighters in May 2012 ambushed the convoy of Mohamuds predecessor, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, but the president escaped unharmed.More recently, Shebab fighters have carried out a series of bombings, attacks and killings aimed at overthrowing the government.UN Monitoring Group reports in July estimated the Shebab are still some 5,000 strong, and said they remain the principal threat to peace and security to Somalia.In June, Shebab suicide commandos carried out a brazen daylight attack on a fortified United Nations compound, and in July a suicide car bomber attacked a Turkish embassy complex in the city.Last month Doctors Without Borders -- an aid agency that has earned a reputation for working in the toughest of conditions -- closed all its operations in the war-torn country, warning of growing insecurity.

Czechs want to co-host Euro 2020

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PRAGUE (AP) - The Czech Republics football federation says the country wants to be one of the 13 to co-host the 2020 European Championship.Federation secretary general Rudolf Repka said Tuesday it will declare its interest to UEFA by the Sept. 12 deadline and the detailed final bid will be submitted by April 25.For a successful bid, the country still needs to build a new stadium that seats at least 30,000. Repka said the proposed venue will likely be in Prague but gave no details.The tournament will be contested in 13 stadiums in 13 countries, and UEFAs executive committee will choose the host cities in September 2014.On Friday, Slavia Pragues stadium hosted the European Super Cup match between Bayern Munich and Chelsea but that venue has only some 21,000 seats.
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