Thursday, 31 October 2013

Dunya TV

Dunya TV

US confident Syria chem arms destroyed by mid-2014

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WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States believes that Syria's large stock of chemical weapons will be destroyed on schedule by the end of June 2014, US officials said Thursday.I am increasingly confident that we will be able to complete this task, the elimination of the Syria's chemical weapons program, within the target date of June 30th of next year, said Thomas Countryman, assistant secretary for international security and non-proliferation.He was speaking as the UN's chemical watchdog said Syria's entire declared stockpile had been placed under a seal and all its chemical arms production equipment destroyed in line with a November 1 deadline.The work is being carried out under an ambitious UN resolution, cobbled together by the United States and Russia, to eliminate Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's entire chemical weapons arsenal.Our target dates are ambitious but they are achievable. We have the support of the international community, Countryman told US lawmakers at a hearing about the conflict in Syria.The United States said it wanted to applaud the OPCW, the United Nations and the Joint Mission staff for their unprecedented work on eliminating Syria's chemical weapons.State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki added that rendering this equipment inoperable is an important step in ensuring that chemical weapons are never used again by the Assad regime against the Syrian people.US ambassador to Syria Robert Ford told lawmakers that the destruction of the regime's chemical weapons is a huge success if in fact it is carried out fully.All stocks of chemical weapons and agents have been placed under seals that are impossible to break, Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons spokesman Christian Chartier told AFP, adding the seals were tamper proof.These are 1,000 tonnes of chemical agents (which can be used to make weapons) and 290 tonnes of chemical weapons, Chartier said in The Hague.OPCW inspectors had until Friday to visit all of Syria's chemical sites and destroy all production and filling equipment in line with a timeline laid down by the Hague-based OPCW and backed by the UN Security Council resolution passed last month.The Executive Council of the Nobel peace prize-winning organization will now meet again on November 5 to decide by November 15 on destruction milestones for the stockpile.The UN resolution was agreed by the US and Russia to avert military strikes on Syria after deadly chemical weapons attacks outside Damascus in August, which the West blamed on Assad's regime.But Ford acknowledged in the Senate committee hearing that opposition rebels had reacted with anguish to President Barack Obama's decision not to press ahead with military strikes.

Iraq PM urges global fight on Al Qaeda

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WASHINGTON (AFP) - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki Thursday pleaded for a major global effort to combat the virus of Al Qaeda and terror networks, likening the fight to a third world war.In Washington for a series of meetings hoping to drum up more support for Iraq, Maliki said that with US help his country had defeated Al Qaeda.But now with the vacuum created by the toppling of long-standing regimes during the Arab Spring, the terrorists found a second chance.His visit to the US comes as Iraq witnesses its worst violence since 2008, a surge in bloodshed that has killed more than 5,400 people this year despite several operations and tightened security measures.We want an international war against terrorism, Maliki said in a speech to the United States Institute of Peace, calling Al Qaeda and its ilk a virus which was trying to spread a dirty wind around the region.If we have had two world wars, we want a third world war against those who are killing people, killing populations, who are calling for bloodshed, for ignorance and do not want logic to govern our daily lives.Maliki also called for the convening of an international conference on counterterrorism to be hosted in Iraq, and his spokesman Ali Mussawi told AFP the idea had been welcomed by US officials.Maliki has received good responses, and everybody he has met has emphasized they will stand with Iraq, to help Iraq in fighting terrorism in Iraq and in the region, Mussawi said by phone from Washington.Maliki also did not rule out running for a third term in elections due next year, but said it would be up to the Iraqi people.His government has been criticized for not doing more to address grievances in the Sunni Arab community over alleged ill-treatment at the hands of the Shiite-led authorities.But the Iraqi leader denied his country was plagued by sectarian unrest, pitting Sunni and Shiite Muslims as well as Kurds against each other, saying all are targeted.He blamed the terror groups for setting back Iraq's struggles to emerge from the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein and the bloodshed of the US invasion to rebuild its institutions, schools and homes.Without terrorism we would have leaped forward in providing services for our people, Maliki insisted.All our efforts should aim at preventing the success of Al Qaeda and other terror organizations, he said, adding that while Baghdad was neutral in the conflict in Syria it was concerned militant groups might win control and gain a platform to wreak havoc across the region.Maliki will meet US President Barack Obama on Friday at the White House to press for military equipment and greater cooperation in fighting militants.We expect the results of the visit will be very good and will improve bilateral relations, and it will lead to solutions, Mussawi said.The United States vowed Wednesday to help Iraq combat terror groups, but said Baghdad needed a broader strategy which was not just based on strengthening its military arsenal.The top US commander in the Middle East, General Lloyd Austin, gave voice to increasing concern in Washington that Al Qaeda will manage to hunker down in a safe haven stretching from western Iraq into Syria.If left unchecked, we could find ourselves in a regional sectarian struggle that could last a decade, Austin told The Wall Street Journal in a rare interview.What we are very worried about is a continued downward spiral that takes you to a civil war, Austin said. It could easily get worse.The Iraqi leader also met Thursday with US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, who stressed the important role that Iraq has in maintaining regional stability, Pentagon spokesman George Little said.

Iraq attacks, including car bombs, kill 26

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BAGHDAD (AFP) - Five car bombs north of Baghdad killed 19 people Thursday, while attacks elsewhere in Iraq left seven more dead, officials said, the latest casualties in a nationwide spike in unrest.The attacks, which wounded dozens, come as Iraq witnesses its worst violence since 2008, a surge in bloodshed that has killed more than 5,400 people this year despite authorities having carried out a swathe of operations and implemented tightened security measures.They struck as Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki visits Washington to press for military equipment and greater cooperation with the United States in fighting militants.In Thursday's deadliest attack, twin car bombs in a residential area in Tuz Khurmatu, a disputed town north of Baghdad, killed seven people and wounded 42 others.Three of the dead were from the same family.As emergency responders rushed to the scene of the attack, a third bomb went off, but did not cause any casualties, Mayor Shallal Abdul told AFP.The two car bombs went off simultaneously, and bear the fingerprints of Al Qaeda, a police major, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP.Tuz Khurmatu is a majority Kurdish town which lies in a disputed area of northern Iraq, where both Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region and the central government in Baghdad vie for power.It is frequently hit by deadly attacks.Two more near-simultaneous car bombs went off in Khales, a restive town north of Baghdad, as a police patrol was passing, killing five people, including a policeman, officials said.The attack, which struck in area filled with car dealerships, also wounded 15 others, including four policemen.Another car bomb in Muqdadiyah, north of Baghdad, killed four people.Police meanwhile found the bodies of three blindfolded women bearing multiple gunshot wounds to the head, execution-style, at an empty plot in a Shiite-majority neighbourhood in northeast Baghdad.A police officer and a medical official said initial investigations showed the women were shot earlier on Thursday.Summary executions were commonplace at the height of the Sunni-Shiite conflict in 2006-2007, when many thousands died.Also on Thursday, gunmen killed a soldier and wounded two others in an attack targeting their patrol in the northern city of Mosul, while a roadside bomb targeting an army patrol northwest of the city left a soldier dead and two others wounded, officials said.And two separate gun attacks and a roadside bombing north of the capital killed five people, including an anti-Qaeda militiaman, police and doctors said.From late 2006 onwards, Sunni tribal militias, known as the Sahwa, turned against their co-religionists in Al Qaeda and sided with the US military, helping to turn the tide of Iraq's bloody insurgency.But Sunni militants view the Sahwa as traitors and frequently target them.Attacks so far in October have killed more than 730 people, according to an AFP tally.The government has come under criticism for not doing more to address grievances in the Sunni Arab community over alleged ill treatment at the hands of the Shiite-led authorities.

Palestinians threaten to sue Israel over settlements

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JERUSALEM (AFP) - Palestinian foreign minister Riyad al-Malki on Thursday denounced Israeli plans to build hundreds of new settler homes in east Jerusalem, threatening to pursue international legal action in response.Israel announced on Wednesday it would build 1,500 new settler homes in the mostly Arab sector of Jerusalem, immediately after the Jewish state released 26 long-serving Palestinian prisoners in line with its commitments to US-backed peace talks.The foreign ministry is seriously looking at turning immediately to international courts and organisations, and filing the necessary complaints in order to stop settlement building, Malki said.He condemned plans approved by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for settlement building, and Netanyahu's attempts to link the settlement issue with the prisoners issue.PLO chiefs convened later on Thursday in Ramallah, in a session chaired by president Mahmud Abbas.The Palestinian leadership will take a number of steps in the next few days to face the settlement offensive, the Palestine Liberation Organisation's executive said after the meeting.Plans to build another new settler homes in east Jerusalem came to light almost immediately after Israel began freeing 21 prisoners to the West Bank and another five to the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.The sequence was almost a mirror image of August 13, when a first tranche of 26 prisoners were freed and Israel announced construction of more than 2,000 new settler homes, mostly in east Jerusalem.The Palestinians agreed to refrain from pursuing legal action against Israel during ongoing peace talks, but have repeatedly warned that continued settlement building would force them to recourse to the International Criminal Court and other international bodies.The settlement issue derailed the last round of peace talks in 2010.US Secretary of State John Kerry, who nudged the sides back to the negotiation table in July, is heading back to Israel and the West Bank next week in a bid to bring fresh impetus to the talks, amid accusations from the Palestinians that Israel is working to wreck peace attempts with its settlement plans.

Nadal beats Janowicz to reach Paris quarterfinals

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PARIS (AP) - Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic overcame big servers Thursday to reach the quarterfinals of the Paris Masters.Nadal defeated last year's runner-up Jerzy Janowicz 7-5, 6-4, while Djokovic rallied from a set down to beat John Isner 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-2.Defending champion David Ferrer, Juan Martin del Potro, Tomas Berdych, Roger Federer, Stanislas Wawrinka and Richard Gasquet also won their third-round matches.The Paris Masters has turned into a rehearsal for the ATP World Tour Finals as the eight quarterfinalists are also the eight players who qualified for the London tournament next week. Wawrinka and Gasquet grabbed the last two spots at the season ending-event when Berdych eliminated Milos Raonic of Canada 7-6 (3), 6-4.Nadal broke for a 6-5 lead before whipping a forehand winner down the line to take the first set.The top-seeded Spaniard and Janowicz traded breaks early in the second set before the Pole double-faulted to hand Nadal a 3-2 lead. The U.S. Open champion clinched the victory when Janowicz's forehand sailed long.Nadal next faces Frenchman Gasquet, who downed Kei Nishikori of Japan 6-3, 6-2.Djokovic couldn't find a breakthrough in the first set as Isner saved six break points to force the tiebreaker and won it when Djokovic's backhand sailed wide.The second-seeded Serb raised his game in the second set, making only two unforced errors and breaking Isner twice.I just needed to be very tough mentally and just believe I can make a break, Djokovic said. I knew as soon as I make a break I'm going to start playing better and relaxed in a way, so that's what happened.Djokovic then won the last five games of the match, finishing off the American with a backhand volley.Djokovic stretched his winning streak to 14 matches after taking the China Open and the Shanghai Masters titles in October.In China, I have had probably the best two weeks of the year, except at the beginning of the year, so it gives me a lot of confidence, Djokovic said. I feel that I'm back mentally where I need to be, and hopefully I can maintain this winning streak and I can kind of keep on playing better and better.The Australian Open champion next plays Wawrinka, who beat Nicolas Almagro of Spain 6-3, 6-2.The seventh-seeded Swiss rallied from a 3-1 deficit in the first set and broke Almagro twice in the second.Federer also moved into the quarterfinals by dismissing Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany 6-3, 6-4.The fifth-seeded Swiss saved three break points and broke once in each set, improving his record against Kohlschreiber to 8-0.I'm just really focused on trying to win as many matches as I can, get some momentum going, and getting in form, Federer said. I felt good again for the second straight day here in Paris. It's still early in the tournament, and it's a good thing that I feel so good so early. I hope to maintain this kind of a play, and if possible try to get just a touch better.Federer, who won the Paris Masters in 2011, next meets del Potro in a rematch of last weekend's Swiss Indoors final. The fourth-seeded Argentine overcame Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.Del Potro broke for a 5-4 lead in the deciding set before hitting a forehand winner on match point.Spain's Ferrer cruised past Gilles Simon of France 6-2, 6-3, to next play Berdych.Berdych saved three set points in the tiebreaker against Raonic before firing a forehand winner to convert his sixth set point. Raonic dropped serve in the opening game of the second set and lost the match when he sent a forehand return long.

Wawrinka, Gasquet book last 2 ATP Finals spots

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PARIS (AP) - Richard Gasquet and Stanislas Wawrinka grabbed the last two remaining spots for the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals after Milos Raonic lost to Tomas Berdych 7-6 (13), 6-4 Thursday in the third round of the Paris Masters.Raonic needed at least a runner-up finish in Paris to have a chance to qualify for the London tournament next week, which features the top eight players. This will be Wawrinka's first appearance while Gasquet also qualified in 2007.Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, David Ferrer, Juan Martin del Potro and Berdych had already booked their spots before playing in Paris. Andy Murray also qualified but withdrew from the event to recover from back surgery.Roger Federer made the tournament for a 12th straight year by defeating Kevin Anderson of South Africa in the second round on Wednesday. Federer was happy to see both Wawrinka and Gasquet join him.Since Richard has a one-handed backhand, I like it. I like to see one-handed backhands in the Masters, a smiling Federer said about one trait he shares with Wawrinka and Gasquet.The 17-time Grand Slam champion was not surprised by fellow Swiss Wawrinka's good season.Physically we know how tough he is, Federer said. I think it was important for him mentally to show the players and the press, I guess, and the critics, that he can hang tough with the best guys and do it on all surfaces.Wawrinka won the Portugal Open and had three runner-up finishes while Gasquet clinched three titles this year. They also both reached the semifinals of the U.S. Open.Going to London is not a normal thing, Wawrinka said. You need to have an exceptional year. This year I had very good results to be able to compete for this. What changed this year is that I really tried to enjoy my victories more.Wawrinka beat Nicolas Almagro of Spain 6-3, 6-2 in Paris on Thursday to reach the quarterfinals while Gasquet defeated Kei Nishikori of Japan 6-3, 6-2.

Ivanovic beats Stosur at Tournament of Champions

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SOFIA (AP) - Ana Ivanovic overcame Sam Stosur 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 on Thursday for her second straight victory in the group stage at the season-ending WTA Tournament of Champions.The two-time tournament winner played very aggressively to win the opening set in just 30 minutes. Stosur then broke Ivanovic's serve in the second set to go up 5-3. But Ivanovic got the early break at 2-0 in the third set and cruised from there. She will play Russia's Elena Vesnina on Friday with both players still trying to secure a spot in the semifinals.Vesnina outlasted Bulgaria's Tsvetana Pironkova 6-2, 4-6, 6-0 for her first victory at the tournament.In Thursday's last match, top-seeded Simona Halep of Romania swept past Ukraine's Elina Svitolina 6-1, 6-1, to finish the round-robin phase unbeaten. She had already qualified for Saturday's semifinals.

FIFA rule cairo safe for World Cup playoff against Ghana

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LAGOS (AFP) - FIFA have ruled that Cairo is safe for a 2014 Africa Zone World Cup playoff between hosts Egypt and Ghana.Ghana had raised objections to Cairo hosting the return leg playoff after the recent anti-government protests in Egypt.But officials of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) said they have since received a FIFA decision that the game be played in Cairo on November 19 after a visit by their security inspection.FIFA said that the decision by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to go ahead with a November 10 CAF Champions League return leg final in Cairo further shows the situation in Egypt has normalised.Egypt host Ghana in a return leg of a final World Cup playoff on November 19.Ghana won the first game in Kumasi 6-1 last month.

Squash: Matthew downs Shabana to reach world semis

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MANCHESTER (AFP) - Nick Matthew strengthened his assertion that even at the age of 33 he can reclaim the world title, producing a performance which denied fellow former champion Amr Shabana a semi-finals place on Thursday.Matthew, who won the world title in Al Khobar and in Rotterdam, was enduringly efficient in the way in which he crafted a straight games victory over Shabana, four times the former world champion.The Englishman's 11-8, 11-4, 11-7 victory over the Egyptian was however only really in doubt for a game and a half, after which Shabana's lack of match play following a lengthy illness became increasingly apparent.He is such a great player. Sometimes I sit back in the corner and I admire it, said Matthew. Then I remember I have to compete against it. I was nervous at the beginning, but the cheer I got from the crowd when I walked on relaxed me, so thank you to Manchester for that.The value of a world championship only 60 miles from his Yorkshire home became increasingly apparent for Matthew, who identified his tactics correctly and executed them calmly.This included extending the rallies early on -- one of them last more than eighty shots -- before identifying moment to risk the drops with more frequency.By the end of the second game Shabana had ceased to run all of them down, and the outcome was becoming predictable.There were some trademark disguises and a familiar facility for mixing the short and the long games, but Shabana's touch was not as he would have liked it to be. Early in the third game he raised his arms to the heavens and blew ironic kisses after succeeding with a feather-light backhand volley drop.Better may yet be to come from the 34-year-old, and Matthew was in no doubt that Shabana has it in him still to be a force when he has had more time to train and has played more tournaments.Asked whether beating such a great player was as good as it gets, Matthew was not prepared to allow that it was. Happy as I am now I have to think it's a step long the way, he said.I have to keep my feet on the floor. If I do the same thing on Sunday (the day of the world final), then I will think it is as good as it gets.Matthew will on Saturday play the winner of Ramy Ashour, the Egyptian who took away his title in Doha almost a year ago, and Saurav Ghosal, the first Indian ever to reach the World Championships quarter-finals.

Study: Hefty soda tax would reduce UK obesity

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LONDON (AP) - Slapping a 20 percent tax on soda in Britain could cut the number of obese adults by about 180,000, according to a new study.Though the number works out to a modest drop of 1.3 percent in obesity, scientists say that reduction would still be worthwhile in the U.K., which has a population of about 63 million and is the fattest country in Western Europe. About one in four Britons is obese.Researchers at Oxford University and the University of Reading estimated a 20 percent tax on soft drinks would reduce sales by 15 percent and that people would buy beverages like orange juice, milk and diet drinks instead. They said the tax would have the biggest impact on people under 30, who drink more sugary drinks than anyone else. No funding was provided for the study, published online Thursday in the journal, BMJ.Every possible alternative that people would buy is going to be a better than a sugary drink, said Mike Rayner of Oxford, one of the study authors. (The tax) is not a panacea, but it's part of the solution.Rayner acknowledged the government might shy away from introducing such a hefty tax at a time when the economy is still shaky. Last year, Britain's Conservative-led coalition had to backtrack on a sales tax it planned to levy on fat-laden meat pies after a public outcry.Such soft drink taxes have been used or considered elsewhere, including France, Mexico, Norway and some U.S. states, but previous analysis of them have found mixed results on people's drinking habits.In the past, the U.K. has relied on convincing businesses to make their products healthier as opposed to resorting to taxes; that strategy reduced salt levels in processed foods by 20 to 50 percent.Last week, Britain announced another government-led initiative, in which several major food companies promised to cut the amount of saturated fat in their products. Critics slammed the deal and said the U.K. shouldn't rely on voluntary measures to fight the country's growing waistlines.We are at the mercy of these (food and drink) companies, said Tam Fry, spokesman for the National Obesity Forum. Fry was not linked to the BMJ study and said the proposed 20 percent tax would be a hard sell. Instead, Fry said the government should simply fine companies if they exceed a certain threshold for the amount of sugar allowable in food and drink.Companies should be coerced with fiscal measures rather than punishing the consumer with taxes, Fry said. We are in such a predicament with obesity in this country that we have to put the pussy-footing measures to one side, he said. It's time for the stick to come out.

Scientists fear renewed threat to white pine trees

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CONCORD (AP) - A fungus targeting white pine forests has mutated and poses new threats more than a century after it first hit the United States, American and Canadian scientists said Thursday.A mutant form of white pine blister rust was discovered by Cornell University researcher Kerik Cox in 2011 in Connecticut. After two years of study, scientists now believe a large number of host plants called ribes previously thought to be immune to the fungus are susceptible. Ribes include valuable niche crops like black currants and gooseberries that are used in products from jam to vodka.Spores from infected ribes are carried by wind to the pines where the fungus invades the tree, eventually killing it.This is a problem both for the forest industry and for growers (of ribes), said Isabel Munck, a plant pathologist for the U.S. Forest Service based in Durham, New Hampshire. She estimates up to half the plants previously thought to be immune have been found to be infected.When the fungus first hit in 1909 and spread outward from New York state, a massive eradication effort including a federal ban on planting ribes, helped stem the destruction. Still, within 13 years, about half the pines in New Hampshire were infected by the fungus, which is native to Asia and is believed to have hitchhiked here on an infected pine seedling from Europe.Philippe Tanguay, a molecular forest pathologist with the Canadian Forest Service, said a genetic fingerprint of the new discovery determined it was a mutation of an existing strain of blister rust and not a new strain.There are other treatments including fungicides used on ribes, pruning of infected pine branches or removal of trees, she said.It's a worry in timbering states like New Hampshire and Maine and in Canada.Pine is still the king in New Hampshire, said Kyle Lombard, the state's forest health program manager. We grow and cut more pine in New Hampshire than any other tree species.Eastern white pine is native to eastern North America. It ranges as far north as the Canadian Maritimes, westward to the Great Lakes and as far south as Mississippi. Munck said scientists are just getting a handle on the mutation and part of the early effort will focus on outreach to other states.This is all brand new, she said.

Oil ends month with 6 percent drop

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NEW YORK (AP) - Oil fell for a third straight day Thursday, and finished October with a second consecutive monthly decline.Benchmark U.S. crude for December delivery fell 39 cents to close $96.38 a barrel at on the New York Mercantile Exchange. For the month, oil dropped $5.95 a barrel or 5.8 percent.Ample supplies of oil have weighed on the price. The Energy Department said this week that U.S. supplies increased 4.1 million barrels last week. Over five weeks, supplies have risen by more than 25 million barrels, suggesting muted demand.The outcome of a two-day meeting of the Federal Reserve's policy committee added to the pressure on oil prices. The central bank's positive tone on the economy indicated that it might be prepared to slow its bond purchases by early next year, sooner than some have assumed.The withdrawal of stimulus would result in higher interest rates and a stronger U.S. dollar, making oil more expensive for holders of other currencies.Brent crude, a benchmark for international crude also used by U.S. refineries, fell $1.02 to $108.84 on the ICE exchange in London.

Euro dives vs. dollar on deflation worries

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NEW YORK CITY (AFP) - The euro slumped against the dollar Thursday after discouraging eurozone inflation data raised concerns about looming deflation in the single-currency bloc.The euro bought $1.3579 around 2100 GMT, down from $1.3735 at the same time Wednesday. Earlier the beleaguered currency fell to a two-week low at $1.3573.The euro dropped to 133.60 yen from 135.29 yen, while the dollar also fell against the Japanese currency, to 98.37 yen from 98.50 yen.The euro-dollar rate slipped back below the 1.3600 handle as the eurozones consumer price report highlighted a growing threat for deflation, David Song, an analyst at DailyFX, said in a market note.Data released by the European Union statistics agency Eurostat on Thursday showed inflation across the 17-country eurozone fell sharply in October to an annual rate of 0.7 percent, the lowest level in nearly four years.The reading came in well below the European Central Banks target of 2 percent, ahead of the ECB monetary policy meeting next Thursday.That was much weaker than expected, said Charles St-Arnaud of Nomura.That clearly raises the possibility that the ECB next week will show a little more pessimism about growth prospects and signal its willingness to lower interest rates, one of the tools it can use to ward off deflation, he said.Given the strength of the euro and the weak inflationary outlook, pressure looks set to build on the ECB to loosen monetary policy further, said economist Ben May at London-based Capital Economics.The dollar firmed against the Swiss currency, to 0.9069 franc from 0.8991 franc late Wednesday.The pound slipped to $1.6033 from $1.6038.

Tamim on top as Bangladesh beat New Zealand, win series

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DHAKA (AFP) - Tamim Iqbal became Bangladesh's top run scorer in one-day cricket on Thursday as his team beat New Zealand by 40 runs in the second ODI to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.Set a target of 248, New Zealand caved in for 207 in 46.4 overs to suffer their sixth successive ODI defeat to Bangladesh, who won Tuesday's series opener by 43 runs.Off-spinner Sohag Gazi and paceman Mashrafe Mortaza led Bangladesh's bowling attack, sharing six wickets between them to stifle New Zealand, who lost to Bangladesh 4-0 in their previous visit in 2010.Mashrafe provided the early breakthrough when he bowled Hamish Rutherford for one before Sohag took a return catch to dismiss the other opener, Anton Devcich for 19.The tourists were soon on 45-3 when Abdur Razzak trapped Grant Elliot lbw for 14.Corey Anderson (37) and Ross Taylor tried to repair the damage, but a stunning catch by Mushfiqur Rahim off Mashrafe ended their 61-run stand and gave Bangladesh a firm grip on the match.Bangladesh sensed victory when occasional left-arm spinner Mominul Haque had New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum out lbw for 14.Taylor (45) held down one end before he was caught by Mahmudullah off Sohag at long on.Some late blows by Nathan McCullum (25 off 23 balls) and unbeaten Kyle Mills (27 off 25 balls) only delayed the inevitable.New Zealand captain McCullum congratulated Bangladesh for their series win.We gave ourselves a real opportunity to chase the total down, he said after the match. But credit to Bangladesh that they played better cricket than us. We are having a rough time as a unit.Earlier, Corey Anderson and James Neesham each grabbed four wickets as New Zealand bowled out Bangladesh for 247 on a slow Sher-e-Bangla pitch.Anderson finished with 4-40 while Neesham claimed 4-53, his second successive four-wicket haul in the series.Bangladesh also lost wickets at crucial times even though most of their batsman got a decent start.Tamim Iqbal scored an arduous half-century but was out just when the team were looking for him to accelerate.His 58 off 86 balls, which included five fours and a six, saw him overtake Shakib Al Hasan to become Bangladesh's leading scorer in one-day international cricket.Tamim, who has now 3,702 runs to his name in 124 ODIs, put on 63 with debutant Shamsur Rahman in the opening stand after captain Mushfiqur Rahim won the toss and elected to bat.Shamsur, replacing Anamul Haque in the line-up, managed only 25 before he fell to Nathan McCullum.Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur hailed Tamim for his effort.We were 20 runs short on this track. We needed a good opening partnership, said Mushfiqur. It wasn't an easy track to bat on. Tamim deserves all the credit for staying there.Bangladesh went into the batting powerplay in the 36th over on 149-3, but three wickets in three consecutive overs pegged them back.Mominul Haque (31) and Mushfiqur Rahim (31) were the other notable scorers for Bangladesh.The third match of the series will be held on Sunday at Fatullah.

Govt slashes POL prices

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ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - The Federal government has approved decrease in petrol, diesel, Hi-Octane and kerosene oil prices.According to the notification issued by Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA), price of petrol has been slashed by 0.48 paisa per liter only while diesel and kerosene cost has been decreased by 0.20 paisa, 0.13 paisa per liter respectively, while a decrease of Rs 2.67 per liter has been made in price of Hi-Octane.These new prices of petroleum products will be affective from mid night tonight.
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Wednesday, 30 October 2013

Dunya TV

Dunya TV

Tablighi congregation at Raiwind begins today

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LAHORE (Online): Today, Thursday, marks the beginning of phase one to the global Tablighi congregation at Raiwind. The concluding prayer to the congregation shall be recited by 3rd November. Entire preparations for the congregation event have been fulfilled. Lahore Transport Company has taken over the responsibility to providing transportation to the participants to the congregation in alliance with the private transport operators. The transport availability as in accordance to the plan for the first phase is from 31st October to 3rd November. And for the second phase the transport facility shall be available to the participants from 7th November to 10th November. The transport would travel via Ferozepur Road, Canal Road and Multan Road before reaching Raiwind Saddar beginning from the railway station and general bus stand as per the devised plan. The shuttle service shall be run from Rasool Pura, Jiabhaga till Raiwind bypass.

No change in stance on drone attacks: Pervaiz Rashid

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ISLAMABAD (APP) - Minister for Information and Broadcasting Pervaiz Rashid said on Wednesday that the government had not changed its stance on the issue of drone attacks. He said Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz during his recent visit to the United States had also raised the issue with President Barack Obama.Talking to reporters after the launching ceremony of projects/newsletter organized by the Forum of Pakistan Ombudsman, he said the nation was united on the issue of drone attacks and now the international community was also supporting its stance.He expressed the confidence that the government would succeed in halting the drone strikes soon.Replying to a question, the minister said the government was working on a plan to produce cheap electricity through coal and alternative resources and hoped that the power load-shedding would be overcome gradually.Work is underway to complete 6600 MW coal power project in Gadani, which will help improve power supply situation, besides reducing its price for the people, he added.Pervaiz Rashid said the present government had taken serious steps to tackle complex issues, which were ignored during the last five years. Efforts were being made way to ensure peace in Karachi, besides improving law and order situation in Balochistan, he added.Answering another question, the minister said the Prime Minister had also raised the issue of Dr Aafya Siddiqui’s release during his US visit, which was taken up by the previous governments.He said the government was making sincere efforts to revive the economy so as to give relief to the people.Pervaiz Rashid said the government believed in freedom and protection of the citizens as no citizen had been abducted or had gone missing during the last five months.He said the government would take all possible steps to save mega enterprises and national institutions and make them profitable.The minister siad that the country’s foreign policy was not an individual issue but was chalked out by the government.He said the Prime Minister had also raised the Kashmir issue in his address to the United Nations General Assembly. Pakistan’s stance on the Kashmir dispute is long-standing that it should be resolved according to the UN resolutions, he added.Replying to a question regarding the threat of PTI leaders to block the NATO supply route if drone attacks continued, the minister said, “Political leaders do issue such statements.”He said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had even failed to administer polio drops to children. The federal government is well aware of its responsibilities and performing its task in the best manner, he added.The minister said the issue of Dr Shakeel Afridi was not discussed during the Prime Minister’s visit. Whatever was discussed, had already been appeared in the media.Regrading trial of former President Pervez Musharraf under Article 6, he said a committee had been constiuted on the issue and a decision in this regard would be taken in the light of committee’s report.

US drone strike kills three in Miranshah

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MIRANSHAH (Dunya News) - A US drone strike targeting a compound in Zafar Town area of Miranshah on Thursday killed three people.The attack took place near Miranshah, the main town in the North Waziristan tribal district bordering Afghanistan.A US drone fired two missiles on a compound, hitting a part of the house and also a vehicle parked there, killing three people.Fire engulfed the vehicle soon after the attack, while local people were trying to recover the dead bodies and injured trapped beneath the rubble of the compound.The incident comes a week after Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif urged US President Barack Obama to stop drone strikes during a meeting in Washington.The Pakistani defence ministry Wednesday said 317 US drone strikes in the countrys tribal areas had killed 67 civilians and 2,160 militants in Pakistan since 2008.US drone attacks are deeply unpopular in Pakistan, but Washington sees them as a vital tool in the fight against militants in the lawless tribal areas along the border with Afghanistan.The Pakistani government has repeatedly protested against drone strikes as a violation of its sovereignty.But privately officials have been reported as saying the attacks can be useful in removing militants from the country.

Pakistan: 3 percent of drone deaths were civilians

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ISLAMABAD (AP) - The Pakistani government said Wednesday that 3 percent of 2,227 people killed in U.S. drone strikes since 2008 were civilians, a surprisingly low figure that sparked criticism from groups that have investigated death tolls from the attacks.The number, which was provided by the Ministry of Defense to the Senate, is much lower than past government calculations and estimates by independent organizations that have gone as high as 300. The ministry said 317 drone strikes have killed 2,160 Islamic militants and 67 civilians since 2008.The attacks, which mainly target suspected Islamic militants near the northwestern border with Afghanistan, are widely unpopular in Pakistan because they are viewed as violating the countrys sovereignty and killing too many civilians. The Pakistani government regularly criticizes the drone program in public, even though it is known to have secretly supported at least some of the strikes in the past.Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif pressed President Barack Obama to end the attacks in a visit to the White House last week, but the U.S. considers the attacks vital to its battle against al-Qaida and the Taliban and gave no indication it was willing to abandon them.Defense Ministry officials could not be reached for comment, and the statement posted on the Senates website did not give any indication why the number was so much lower than past government calculations and outside estimates.A U.N. expert investigating drone strikes, Ben Emmerson, said earlier this month that the Pakistani Foreign Ministry told him that at least 400 civilians have been killed by the attacks in the country since they started in 2004.Emmerson called on the government to explain the apparent discrepancy, saying the figures provided by the Foreign Ministry since 2004 indicated a much higher percentage of civilian casualties.If the true figures for civilian deaths are significantly lower, then it is important that this should now be made clear, and the apparent discrepancy explained, Emmerson said in an email.The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, based in London, has estimated that drones have killed at least 300 civilians in Pakistan since 2008, while the Washington-based New America Foundation put the figure at 185. These estimates are often compiled based on media reports about the attacks.Pakistans overall death toll is lower than some other totals, although not to the same degree as its figure for civilians. The New America Foundation registered 2,651 people killed in the same period, while the Long War Journal website has 2,493.The danger of traveling to the remote tribal region targeted by the strikes makes it difficult to compile an accurate number of civilian casualties.The U.S. rarely speaks publicly about the CIA-run drone program in Pakistan because it is classified. But some American officials have insisted that the strikes have killed very few civilians and that estimates from the Pakistani government and independent organizations are exaggerated.Amnesty International called on the U.S. to investigate reports of civilians killed and wounded by drone strikes in Pakistan in a report released earlier this month that provided new details about the alleged victims of the attacks, including a 68-year-old woman killed while farming with her grandchildren.Mamana Bibis grandchildren told the London-based rights group that she was killed by missile fire on Oct. 24, 2012, as she was collecting vegetables in a family field in the North Waziristan tribal area, a major militant sanctuary near the Afghan border. Bibis relatives testified before members of the U.S. Congress on Tuesday.The Amnesty report also cited witnesses as saying that a volley of missiles hit a tent where 18 men with no links to militant groups were eating after work, then a second struck those who came to help the wounded on July 6, 2012 in North Waziristan. Pakistani intelligence officials at the time identified the dead as suspected militants.In its latest statement, the Pakistani government said 21 civilians were killed in 2008, nine in 2009, two in 2010 and 35 in 2011. But it insisted no civilians have been killed since then.Amnesty researcher Mustafa Qadri said he was skeptical about the government figures because it conflicted with their research and indicated a failure of the state to adequately investigate alleged civilian casualties.The London-based human rights group, Reprieve, called the governments civilian casualty figures inaccurate, based on higher numbers it said were submitted to the Peshawar High Court by the top official in North Waziristan earlier this year.An Associated Press study in early 2012 of 10 of the deadliest drone strikes in North Waziristan over the preceding 18 months found that of at least 194 people killed in the attacks, about 70 percent at least 138 were militants. The remaining 56 were either civilians or tribal police, and 38 of them were killed in a single strike.The Interior Ministry also said Wednesday that terrorist attacks have killed 12,404 people and wounded 26,881 others since 2002, although these figures were disputed by some senators. The government has been battling an insurgency by the Pakistani Taliban, which seeks to topple the countrys democratic system and impose Islamic law. It was not clear if the figure involved only attacks on civilians, or also attacks on security forces.A roadside bomb killed five soldiers and wounded three others Wednesday in the South Waziristan tribal area, the Pakistani Talibans main sanctuary before the army conducted a large ground offensive in 2009, said military officials. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with military policy.Also Wednesday, a bomb exploded in a market in southwestern Pakistan, killing two people and wounding at least 20 others, said police official Ahmad Raza. The attack occurred in Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province. The province is home to both Islamic militants and separatists who have waged a low-level insurgency against the government for decades.

UN: US says it doesn't, and won't, spy on UN

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UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The United Nations said Wednesday it has received assurances from the U.S. government that U.N. communications networks are not and will not be monitored by American intelligence agencies. But chief U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky would not comment on whether the world body had been monitored in the past, as reported recently by the German magazine Der Spiegel.Nesirky said the United Nations had been in contact with Washington about the reports that surfaced two months ago and has received a U.S. guarantee of no current or future eavesdropping.Back in August when these reports first surfaced, we said we would be in touch with the relevant authorities, he said. And I can tell you that we were indeed in touch with the U.S. authorities. I understand that the U.S. authorities have given assurance that the United Nations communications are not and will not be monitored.Nesirky would not elaborate on whether spying had taken place and declined to answer related questions. For emphasis, he held up a piece of paper that said: No comment.A U.S. official told The Associated Press that The United States is not conducting electronic surveillance targeting the United Nations headquarters in New York. The official, who was not authorized to be named, spoke on condition of anonymity.It was not clear whether foreign U.N. missions in New York could be monitored by U.S. intelligence agencies.Former U.S. Ambassador John Bolton, who held the post at the United Nations from 2005-2006, would not comment on what may or may not have gone on in the past because hes no longer in government.That said, it seems to me that the United Nations and everybody walking through the U.N. building are perfectly legitimate intelligence targets, and I think any decision by any president to say we are not going to eavesdrop on U.N. headquarters is a mistake, he told the AP.Theres nothing in the U.S. Constitution that says you may not eavesdrop on the U.N., Bolton said. Silence and a deeply emphasized No comment is how you should deal with all these intelligence questions.Der Spiegel reported that documents it obtained from U.S. leaker Edward Snowden show the National Security Agency secretly monitored the U.N.s internal video conferencing system by decrypting it last year.Der Spiegel quoted an NSA document as saying that within three weeks, the number of decoded communications had increased from 12 to 458. Der Spiegel also reported that the NSA installed bugs in the European Unions office building in Washington and infiltrated the EUs computer network.The United Nations lodged objections. U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq said in August that international treaties protect U.N. offices and all diplomatic missions from interference, spying and eavesdropping.The inviolability of diplomatic missions, including the United Nations, has been well-established in international law, and therefore all states are expected to act accordingly, Nesirky said Wednesday.The 1961 Vienna Convention regulates diplomatic issues and status among nations and international organizations. Among other things, it says a host country cannot search diplomatic premises or seize its documents or property. It also says the host government must permit and protect free communication between the diplomats of the mission and their home country.However, wiretapping and eavesdropping have been used for decades, most dramatically between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

Iraq seeking new US aid after pushes out troops

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WASHINGTON (AP) - Nearly two years after the U.S. military left the country, Iraq is now asking for more American weapons, training and manpower to fight a bloody resurgence of Al Qaeda.Violence in Iraq has risen in recent months to levels comparable to the darkest days of the nations civil war.Iraqs request will be discussed during a White House meeting Friday between Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and President Barack Obama.Officials say al-Maliki is expected to ask for new assistance to bolster Iraqs military and battle Al Qaeda.That could be speeding up the delivery of U.S. weapons and improving national intelligence systems. Iraqi officials have not ruled out asking the U.S. to send military special forces or additional CIA advisers to help train and assist counterterror troops.

Shooting, bombings in Iraq kill at least 24

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BAGHDAD (AP) - Shooting and bombings, including two separate overnight suicide attacks targeting Iraqi government forces and an allied militia, killed at least 24 people, officials said on Wednesday.The deadliest of the attacks took place late Tuesday in the town of Tarmiyah, north of Baghdad. Two suicide bombers detonated their explosives-laden belts among a group of soldiers and Sahwa militiamen gathered in the orchard of a local Sahwa leader, killing 12, a police officer said.To maximize casualties, the suicide bombers blew themselves up in sequence: the first detonating among the group and the second at the gate of the compound as people tried to flee, the officer said. The dead included nine soldiers, one a brigade commander, and three militiamen, while 23 were wounded, he said.A former insurgent stronghold, Tarmiya is located about 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of Baghdad.The Sahwa movement, also known as the Awakening Council, was formed by U.S. forces in 2007 to help fight the insurgents during the height of Iraqi war. Ever since, it has been a target for Sunni hard-liners who consider them traitors.In a village outside the northern city of Mosul, a suicide bomber rammed his car into a checkpoint leading to a police station late Tuesday, killing three police officers and four civilians, another police officer said. When an ambulance rushed to the scene, gunmen opened fire on its crew, killing one and wounding three, he said. Mosul is located about 360 kilometers (225 miles) northwest of Baghdad.In Wednesdays violence, a bomb exploded near an outdoor market in the afternoon in Baghdads western suburbs of Abu Ghraib, killing three shoppers and wounding nine, officials said.Also, police said gunmen shot dead an interior ministry employee in a drive-by shooting in northern Baghdad.Medical officials confirmed the casualty figures for the attacks. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to talk to media.Violence has spiked in Iraq since April, with the pace of killing reaching levels unseen since 2008. Tuesdays attacks bring the death across the country so far this this month to 595, according to an Associated Press count.

UN resolution would condemn Syria rights abuses

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UNITED NATIONS (AP) - A draft U.N. resolution initiated by Saudi Arabia would strongly condemn widespread and systematic gross violations of human rights by the Syrian government and any abuses by anti-government armed groups.Saudi Arabia, which backs rebels fighting to overthrow President Bashar Assad, has strongly criticized the Security Councils failure to resolve Syrias civil war and other conflicts, citing this as one reason for rejecting a seat on the U.N.s most powerful body earlier this month.U.N. diplomats said the draft resolution, obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press, is expected to be submitted to the human rights committee of the less powerful but much larger General Assembly by Fridays deadline. The committee is expected to discuss it next week and vote on it in late November. If approved, it is virtually certain to be adopted by the 193-member General Assembly in December.Unlike Security Council resolutions, General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding, but they do reflect world opinion and carry moral and political weight.The draft resolution is highly critical of the Assad government, expressing outrage at the continuing escalation of violence that has killed more than 100,000 people in 2 1/2 years of fighting and alarm at the regimes failure to protect its people.It blames Syrian authorities for a wide range of human rights abuses including the indiscriminate use of ballistic missiles and cluster munitions; the killing and persecution of protesters, human rights defenders and journalists; attacks on schools and hospitals; and torture, sexual violence and rape in detention.The draft strongly condemns the use of chemical weapons in Syria and strongly points to their use by the Syrian government in an Aug. 21 poison gas attack that killed hundreds of civilians in the Damascus suburb of Al-Ghouta.It notes that the Arab League and the Organization of the Islamic Conference have held the Syrian government fully responsible for the Al-Ghouta attacks, and calls on the Security Council to take the necessary measures against all those responsible for the chemical weapons attack to ensure accountability.Diplomats said the resolutions strong demand for accountability and an end to impunity could be a problem for some countries when it comes to a vote, because of the precedent it could set.The draft also expresses grave concern at the spread of extremism and extremist groups.It strongly condemns all foreign fighters in Syria, singling out those fighting for the government, especially Hezbollah militants from neighboring Lebanon.Their involvement further exacerbates the deteriorating human rights and humanitarian situation, which has a serious negative impact on the region, it says.Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey are providing arms, money and logistical support to the rebels. The Saudis and other Sunni Arab governments are eager to counter their regional rival Iran, which supports Hezbollah and has thrown its weight behind Assad.The draft calls for an end to all violence, including terrorist acts and intimidation that may foment sectarian tensions.It also demands an end to all human rights abuses, the immediate release of all detainees and immediate steps by the Syrian government to expand humanitarian relief operations.The draft supports a new Geneva peace conference aimed at establishing a transitional government and the Syrian peoples aspirations for a peaceful, democratic and pluralistic society ... in which there is no room for sectarianism or discrimination on ethnic, religious, linguistic, gender or any other grounds.

21 killed in truck, tanker crash in Zimbabwe

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HARARE (AP) - Zimbabwe state radio says 21 people headed to a funeral died when their open truck collided with a tanker carrying ethanol fuel in southeastern Zimbabwe.The state-run Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corp. reported Wednesday that the truck ferrying mourners side-swiped a tanker carrying the highly flammable ethanol spirit distilled from sugar. It said the collision happened in the sugar plantation district of Chisumbanje, about 460 kilometers (285 miles) from the capital, Harare.State radio said the tanker exploded and most of the 21 passengers were burned beyond recognition in the fire. The coffin on the truck headed to the burial was also incinerated.Road accidents, common in Zimbabwe, are blamed on overcrowding of vehicles, poor roads, speeding, poor maintenance and shortages of tires and essential spare parts in the troubled economy.

Federer beats Anderson at Paris Masters

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PARIS (AP) - Top-seeded Rafael Nadal didnt play his best tennis Wednesday but still found a way to reach the third round of the Paris Masters, while Roger Federer qualified for the ATP Finals for a 12th straight year.Nadal beat Marcel Granollers 7-5, 7-5 in an all-Spanish meeting and Federer defeated Kevin Anderson of South Africa 6-4, 6-4.I didnt play well tonight, Nadal said. Something that can happen after two weeks without playing and after a long time without playing on this kind of surface.Nadal broke for a 6-5 lead in each set and clinched the victory when Granollers sent a forehand wide. The match stats pointed to a narrow margin of victory, with Nadal hitting 20 winners to 15 for Granollers and making 23 unforced errors compared to 22 for his opponent.The rhythm of my legs tonight was poor, Nadal said. Im slower than usual, and a lot of mistakes, easy mistakes.Nadal was playing at the Paris Masters for the first time since 2009. He missed the tournament for the past three years because of injuries or fatigue.The victories in days that you are not playing well have much more value than the victories on days that you play well, Nadal said.The U.S. Open champion is seeking a record sixth Masters title in a single season. He will next play last years runner-up, Jerzy Janowicz of Poland.Nadal unseated Novak Djokovic atop the rankings by reaching the final of the China Open in October. He now has a 30-2 record on hard courts this year.Federer has had a rough season by his own high standards, losing in the second round at Wimbledon and in the fourth round at the U.S. Open to drop to No. 6 in the rankings.Anderson shanked a forehand to drop serve in the opening game and Federer hit a forehand winner to take the first set.The fifth-seeded Swiss then took a 5-1 lead in the second set and held off a late charge from Anderson to clinch the victory when the South Africans backhand sailed wide.Defending champion David Ferrer, Juan Martin del Potro and Stanislas Wawrinka also moved into the third round.Ferrer of Spain overcame Lukas Rosol of the Czech Republic 6-0, 2-6, 6-3, and Del Potro beat Marin Cilic of Croatia 6-4, 7-6 (3).Cilic was playing only his second match since the end of his four-month ban for a positive doping test, while del Potro entered the Paris Masters following titles at the Swiss Indoors and Japan Open, plus a runner-up finish at the Shanghai Masters.Del Potro capitalized on a backhand error from Cilic to break for 5-4 in the opening set. The fourth-seeded Argentine then took a 6-2 lead in the tiebreaker and clinched the victory on another backhand error from Cilic.Meanwhile, Wawrinka defeated Feliciano Lopez of Spain 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 to stay in the race for the two remaining ATP Finals spots. In the final set, the seventh-seeded Swiss broke Lopez in the second game and did not face any break points.John Isner, Nicolas Almagro, Gilles Simon, Grigor Dimitrov and Philipp Kohlschreiber also won their second-round matches.Isner of the United States outlasted Polish qualifier Michal Przysiezny 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-3.A semifinalist two years ago, Isner broke for 3-1 in the last set when Przysiezny netted a routine volley. The American hit 27 aces and 47 winners. Isner will next face second-seeded Djokovic.Simon edged wild card Nicolas Mahut 6-4, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (3) in an all-French meeting, Almagro of Spain beat Ivan Dodig of Croatia 6-4, 6-3, BulgariasDimitrov overcame Fabio Fognini of Italy 6-3, 5-7, 6-2, and Kohlschreiber cruised past Tommy Haas 6-2, 6-2 in an all-German match.

Halep, Stosur, Pavlyuchenkova win in straight sets

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SOFIA (AP) - Simona Halep, Samantha Stosur and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova were straight-sets winners at the season-ending WTA Tournament of Champions on Wednesday.Top-seeded Halep defeated seventh-seeded Alize Cornet of France 6-4, 6-4, with a second consecutive round-robin win in the Serdika group easing her way to the semifinals. The Romanians last match of the group stage will be against Ukraines Elina Svitolina, who replaced injured Maria Kirilenko.Former U.S. Open champion Stosur swept to an impressive 6-3, 6-3 victory over fifth-seeded Russian Elena Vesnina in the Sredets group, needing only 38 minutes to seal the opening set. Vesnina took a surprise 3-0 lead in the second set before Stosur stormed back to take the match. In Wednesdays last match, Russias Pavlyuchenkova defeated Svitolina 6-2, 6-4.

Football: Bale, Ronaldo star as Real hammer Sevilla

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MADRID (AFP) - Gareth Bale scored twice and Cristiano Ronaldo notched a hat-trick as Real Madrid thrashed Sevilla 7-3 on Wednesday in their league clash.Bale was making his first start at the Santiago Bernabeu and made an immediate impact as he put the hosts 2-0 up within half an hour.Ronaldo then added a third, but Sevilla fought back through an Ivan Rakitic penalty and Carlos Bacca.Bale then set up Karim Benzema and Ronaldo to put Real 5-2 ahead before Rakitic replied once more with a stunning strike for Sevilla, although he was to blot his copybook by missing a penalty later.Ronaldo went on to complete his hat-trick and Benzema rounded off the scoring after Sevilla had been reduced to 10 men when Stephane Mbia was sent-off with 14 minutes remaining.Real boss Carlo Ancelotti had made four changes to the side that lost 2-1 to Barcelona at the weekend with Benzema restored to the number nine role between Ronaldo and Bale in attack.And the Frenchman proved his worth in the move for the opener as he raced onto Iscos pass before cutting the ball back for Bale to fire high into the net on his favoured left foot.Benzema then teed up Bale twice more as the Welshman was firstly denied by a smart save from Beto before blasting inches over from 20 yards.Bale was credited with his second of the evening on 27 minutes when his free-kick took a huge deflection off the arm of Alberto Moreno and looped into the net past the helpless Beto.Five minutes later it was 3-0 when Isco was unnecessarily dragged down inside the area by Fernando Navarro.Ronaldo stepped up to fire home and celebrated with a military salute in a mocking response to Sepp Blatters description of him as a commander last week.Yet, Sevilla were back in the game before half-time when firstly Sergio Ramos was harshly penalised for a push on Diogo Figueiras and Rakitic converted the resulting penalty.And two minutes later Vitolo ghosted past Alvaro Arbeloa on the right and squared for Bacca to roll into an empty net.Sevilla could even have been level just after the break when Jairo was denied by DIego Lopez when clean through on goal.However, seconds later a trademark Madrid break saw Ronaldo feed Bale and his cut-back was calmly slotted home by Benzema for his first goal in eight games.Bale then provided his second assist of the evening seven minutes later as his low cross was swept home by Ronaldo.Even at 5-2 the action was far from over as Bale was lucky to escape a booking when he threw himself to the ground looking for a penalty moments later.And with the Real crowd still infuriated by the referees decision not to award a penalty for that incident, Rakitic curled in a wonderful effort from outside the box to make it 5-3.Xabi Alonso was then introduced by Ancelotti for his first appearance of the season following groin and foot injuries.Ronaldo made the game safe when he sealed his hat-trick with a deflected effort from the edge of the area.Rakitic, though, should have completed hat-trick of his own when Ronaldo was penalised for a foul on Figueiras just inside the area, but the Croat ballooned his second spot-kick well over the bar.The visitors were reduced to 10 men shortly after when Mbia was shown a second yellow card after clashing with Luka Modric.And Benzema rounded off a wild night when he headed home Marcelos cross 11 minutes from time.

City beat Newcastle 2-0 in League Cup

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LONDON (AP) - Alvaro Negredo and Edin Dzeko scored in extra time to send Manchester City to the quarterfinals of the League Cup with a 2-0 win at Newcastle on Wednesday.Newcastle dominated in the early stages but City weathered the storm and then raised its game in extra time. Negredo broke the deadlock from close range after a simple move in the 99th minute before Dzeko took the ball round goalkeeper Tim Krul to seal the victory in the 105th.In the nights other fourth round match, Tottenham and Hull were level at 2-2 after extra time with the game going into a penalty shootout.

Cycling: Hesjedal admits to doping in dark past

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PARIS (AFP) - Canadas 2012 Tour of Italy champion Ryder Hesjedal admitted on Wednesday to having taken performance enhancing drugs 10 years ago after choosing the wrong path.The 32-year-old -- who turned professional in 2005 -- released a statement through his Garmin team responding to claims that he took doping products made in former rider Michael Rasmussens autobiography, which was published on Wednesday.Rasmussen, a serial doper who pulled out of the 2007 Tour de France while leading because he had missed several doping tests before the race, claimed that he had helped teach Hesjedal and two Canadian team-mates who were then competing in mountainbike racing to inject EPO in 2003.Hesjedal held his hands up to the allegations but insisted that was in a different era and he was clean now.I have loved and lived this sport but more than a decade ago, I chose the wrong path, said Hesjedal, who has ridden for Garmin since 2008.And even though those mistakes happened more than 10 years ago, and they were short-lived, it does not change the fact that I made them and I have lived with that and been sorry for it ever since.To everyone in my life, inside and outside the sport - to those that have supported me and my dreams - including my friends, my family, the media, fans, my peers, sponsors - to riders who didnt make the same choices as me all those years ago, I sincerely apologize for my part in the dark past of the sport. I will always be sorry, added Hesjedal, who has won stages on all three Grand Tours.Rasmussen, who was King of the Mountains on the Tour de France in 2005 and 2006 but has since admitted he doped from 1998-2010, recounted in detail the visit of Hesjedal.It soon became evident that the three Canadian mountain bikers, Seamus McGrath, Chris Sheppard and Ryder Hesjedal, had seen the light, he wrote.A good result in the World Cup (2003, ed.) could send them to the Olympics in Athens in 2004.They moved into my basement in August, before I went to the Vuelta a Espana, and right after I had done the Meisterschaft von Zurich. They stayed there for around two weeks.I trained with them in the Dolomites and taught them how to perform vitamin injections, and how to take EPO and Synacthen (cortisone).

Oil falls after another increase in US supplies

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NEW YORK (AP) - The price of oil fell more than $1 a barrel Wednesday as the U.S. government reported another big increase in crude oil supplies.Benchmark U.S. crude for December delivery dropped $1.10 to $97.10 a barrel at midday on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract dropped 48 cents on Tuesday and is down about 4 percent in October.An Energy Department report released Wednesday for the week ended Oct. 25 showed an increase of 4.1 million barrels in crude oil stocks. Over five weeks, supplies have risen by more than 25 million barrels.Analysts surveyed by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos., expected supplies to rise 3.5 million barrels last week.The market is also waiting for Wednesdays outcome of a two-day Federal Reserve policy meeting. The Fed is expected to reinforce expectations that it wont begin reducing its mammoth monetary stimulus until next year.Brent crude, a benchmark for international crude also used by U.S. refineries, slipped 19 cents to $108.82 on the ICE Exchange in London.
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Tuesday, 29 October 2013

Dunya TV

Dunya TV

Israel agrees to build 1,500 homes in east Jerusalem

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JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Interior Minister Gideon Saar have agreed to build 1,500 new homes in the east Jerusalem settlement of Ramat Shlomo, Israeli army radio said Wednesday.The early-morning report came shortly after Israel freed 26 veteran Palestinian prisoners alongside US-brokered peace talks.Last week, an Israeli official said new tenders were to be announced in the large settlement blocs and in east Jerusalem in the coming months as part of understandings reached with both the Palestinians and Washington.The Palestinians -- who view continued settlement construction as a major obstacle to peace -- flatly denied any such agreement.In August, Israel announced plans for more than 2,000 new settler homes in tandem with the first prisoner release, angering the Palestinians.In March 2010, Israel sparked the ire of the US administration by announcing, during a visit by Vice President Joe Biden, that 1,600 new homes would be built in Ramat Shlomo.Israel captured east Jerusalem during the 1967 Six Day War and later annexed it in a move never recognised by the international community.The radio said that Netanyahu and Saar also agree to push ahead with two other east Jerusalem projects; an archaeological and tourist centre just outside the Old City walls and a national park on the slopes of Mount Scopus.

Inadequate proof Saudi sought inmate death: Prison

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DENVER (AP) - Colorado prison officials said Tuesday they did not find enough evidence to take action against a Saudi inmate who was accused of trying to have another inmate killed.No criminal charges were filed and no internal discipline was pursued against Homaidan al-Turki, said Roger Hudson, a spokesman for the state Department of Corrections.Al-Turki is serving an indefinite prison term after he was convicted in 2006 of sexually assaulting his housekeeper and treating her as a virtual slave when he lived in the Denver suburb of Aurora.Prosecutors, who are fighting al-Turkis request to finish his sentence in Saudi Arabia, said at a court hearing last week that an inmate accused al-Turki in 2007 of trying to have a fellow inmate killed.Prison officials released a redacted copy of a report on the alleged threat on Tuesday in response to an open-records request by The Associated Press.Hudson said prison officials reviewed the allegation but not enough evidence was found to file administrative charges, and no criminal case was filed.He said some inmates were moved for their own safety, but he did not identify them.The district attorneys spokeswoman did not immediately return a phone call Tuesday. Al-Turkis lawyer, Hal Haddon, has said the prison allegations were baseless. He said the report substantiated that.Its totally consistent with what we said in court about this and its totally inconsistent with what the prosecutors have been implying, he said.Prosecutor Ann Tomsic raised the allegation at last weeks hearing.Al-Turki has denied assaulting or mistreating the housekeeper.He is serving a sentence of eight years to life but has refused to participate in a mandatory prison program for sex offenders, putting his release in doubt. His lawyers say parts of the program violate his religious beliefs.Saudi officials told a judge at last weeks hearing that al-Turki could get treatment at home that would include family participation and Islamic and cultural education not available in Colorado.Tomsic questioned whether Saudi Arabia would give al-Turki effective supervision and whether he was even a candidate for treatment because of his refusal to participate in the prison program.The hearing resumes Thursday.

UN confirms outbreak of polio in Syria

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GENEVA (AFP) - The UN health agency on Tuesday confirmed an outbreak of polio in war-torn Syria, which had been free of the crippling disease since 1999, and said it feared it would spread.Oliver Rosenbauer, spokesman for the World Health Organizations anti-polio division, told reporters that laboratory tests had confirmed the presence of the disease in 10 out of 22 suspected cases reported in children almost two weeks ago.All 22 children were stricken with acute flaccid paralysis, which is the symptom of a number of different diseases, including polio.In 10 of those cases, theyve isolated wild polio virus type one, Rosenbauer said.The other 12 are still being investigated, he added, saying test results were expected in coming days.Thanks to a global drive against polio, the virus is now endemic in just three countries: Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria.That has raised speculation that foreign jihadists battling President Bashar al-Assad could have brought the virus to Syria.WHO officials declined to comment on that speculation.But US officials said Washington was extremely concerned by the outbreak of polio, especially in view of the decline of medical services in the humanitarian crisis in Syria.State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki urged all sides to allow access for polio and other needed vaccinations and other humanitarian assistance to those in need in Syria.Rosenbauer stressed that even if polio is endemic only in three countries currently, the virus could have arrived from elsewhere.For example, there is currently an outbreak in the Horn of Africa.Anybody can carry the virus, and thats the big danger as well, that it can go very, very widely, Rosenbauer told AFP.This is the problem with this disease: unless you eradicate it from the remaining endemic areas you are going to run the risk of seeing polio re-emerge in polio-free ones, he said, noting that outbreaks occur time and again around the globe.Countries with complex emergencies like Syria or Somalia are particularly at risk because the health systems deteriorate and immunisation levels deteriorate, he added.The Syrian cases were clustered in the northeastern Deir Al Zour province, and all affected children are under the age of two.There are no additional hot cases that we know of. Of course disease surveillance is now ongoing across Syria and neighbouring countries as well, to look for other acute flaccid paralysis cases, said Rosenbauer.We consider a single case an outbreak because you have to assume that others are infected by the disease who are not showing symptoms... By the time you find one case, the horse is out of the barn, he added.An analysis of the genetic code of the virus is underway to try to track its source, and the result should be known by next week, Rosenbauer said.Last week aid agencies and Syrian health authorities stepped up efforts to vaccinate 2.4 million children against polio, as well as measles, mumps and rubella.Before the conflict began in 2011, around 95 percent of all Syrian children were vaccinated against polio.The United Nations says that 500,000 children there have not been vaccinated against polio in the past two years.Rosenbauer said that all the children who have caught the virus in Deir Al Zour appeared to have never been vaccinated against polio, or had not received a full course of the vaccine.Outside Syria, vaccination campaigns which had been planned in refugee camps will have to be broadened to head off the risk of a wider outbreak, he said.Ideally you want to target all children under the age of five across the region, said Rosenbauer.An estimated 115,000 people have been killed in Syria and millions driven from their homes since a brutal crackdown on peaceful pro-democracy protests in March 2011 escalated into civil war.Of the more than two million Syrians who have fled abroad, most are in neighbouring Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Iraq.

Iran says four rebels killed in fresh clash

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TEHRAN (AFP) - Iranian security forces have killed four members of a rebel group behind an ambush that left 14 border guards dead, the guards' commander said Tuesday.We clashed with Jaish-ul Adl and killed four of them, the Fars news agency quoted Brigadier General Hossein Zolfaqari as saying.According to the report, the clash took place near the town of Mirjaveh, close to the border with Pakistan in restive southeast Iran, some 1,200 kilometres (745 miles) from Tehran.Zolfaqari did not say when it took place.Jaish-ul Adl, a Sunni rebel group formed last year whose name means Army of Justice in Arabic, has claimed responsibility for the deadly ambush on Friday in the mountains of Sistan-Baluchestan. The attack killed 14 border guards and wounded another seven.Iran in retaliation said it had executed 16 rebels -- eight Sunni insurgents and eight drug traffickers, all of whom had been on death row, according to Iranian media.Whatever measure they take against us, our response will be more crushing, Zolfaqari said.In a press briefing in the afternoon, he said that 20 bandits had been killed in 67 clashes near the border since March 2013, the Mehr news agency reported.The general also warned that Iran reserves the right to pursue the bandits on Pakistani soil, adding that his unit had informed its Pakistani counterparts of this, Mehr added.Tehran has demanded Islamabad take measures to control the borders more seriously, saying the militants had crossed from Pakistan and fled back across the border after the attack.Iran says it plans to exert more pressure on Pakistan to prevent such attacks.A deputy interior minister will visit Pakistan to discuss the attack, foreign ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham said Tuesday during her weekly briefing.Another Sunni militant group, Jundallah, Arabic for Soldiers of God, has also launched deadly attacks on civilians and officials in the southeast.Iran captured and hanged its leader, Abdolmalek Rigi, in June 2010.The restive region near the Pakistani border is home to a large community of minority Sunni Muslims, unlike the rest of Shiite-dominated Iran.Drug traffickers and Sunni militants have clashed with Iranian forces in the region on several occasions.

Nawaz, Karzai, Cameron discuss Afghan situation

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LONDON (Web Desk) - Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed to continue efforts for security and prosperity of the region.According to a statement issued by the office of the British Prime Minister‚ the understanding was developed during tripartite conference among Pakistan‚ Afghanistan‚ and Britain in London.The tripartite conference reiterated its pledge for economic cooperation and support to the Afghan reconciliation process.The conference also discussed post foreign troops withdrawal situation from Afghanistan besides ways for durable peace and stability in the country.Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif‚ Afghan President Hamid Karzai‚ and British Prime Minister David Cameron attended the conference.

Two more killed in Bangladesh political violence

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DHAKA (AFP) - Police opened fire at Bangladesh protesters on a remote island Tuesday, killing two and bringing to 20 the death toll in demonstrations aimed at forcing the premier to make way for a caretaker government ahead of elections.An official said police fired rifles after hundreds of protesters from the countrys largest Islamic party, a key ally of the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), attacked them on Kutubdia island in the Bay of Bengal with rocks and sticks.Two protesters have died in the firing, district administrator Ruhul Amin told AFP, adding about a dozen policemen were injured in the clashes.Two more demonstrators were in critical condition after being shot, Kutubdia health centre doctor Abul Bashar told AFP, and were referred to a hospital on the mainland.Another two people were killed in an earlier series of clashes between the opposition and ruling party supporters Tuesday.The four fatalities brought to 20 the death toll since Friday, when the opposition began a push to force Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to quit.After a series of mass rallies at the weekend, the BNP and its Islamist allies launched a three-day general strike, which ended Tuesday.BNP leader Khaleda Zia, who has twice served as premier, has branded the current government illegal and says that a neutral caretaker government must be set up three months before national elections, due in January.Hasina has scrapped the caretaker system and instead proposed an all-party interim government led by herself to oversee the polls.On Saturday, Hasina invited Zia to hold talks and urged her to postpone the strike, during a 40-minute phone conversation believed to be the first time the battling begums have spoken in at least a decade. Begum is an honorific for a Muslim woman of rank.Zia spurned the request, but said she was ready for talks after Tuesday.Leaked audiotape of the conversation has since showed the two leaders spent most of the conversation quarrelling over their past records.You killed people by carrying out the August 21 grenade attack, Hasina said during the call, referring to blasts at her rally in 2004 which killed at least 20 people and injured Hasina, then the opposition leader.We did not do the killing. The longer you live is better for us. The more indecent language you use, the better for us, said Zia.Hasina also accused Zia of celebrating a fake birthday on August 15 -- which is also the anniversary of the assassination of Hasinas father, who was the countrys founding leader, along with almost her entire family.Zia shouted back: Cant anybody be born on that day?Bangladesh has been ruled alternately by Hasina and Zia since 1991, apart from when a military-backed government ran the country between 2007 and 2008.On Tuesday, scores of people were injured as the opposition staged demonstrations in almost every city and town across the country on the third day of the strike.Police officials told AFP a protester was hacked to death by ruling party activists in western Magura town, and another drowned at a coastal town in Chittagong as he tried to escape clashes between rival supporters.A senior police officer and an eight-year old child were seriously injured by small bomb attacks in the capital Dhaka, Hit by seven splinters, the officer was rushed to hospital. He is seriously injured but now out of danger, Maruf Hossain, deputy commissioner of Dhaka police, told AFP.Amid mounting tensions over the spiralling political violence, a court in Dhaka has postponed its Wednesdays verdict on 823 soldiers accused of massacring scores of top army officers in a mass mutiny in 2009 soon after Hasina came to power.While no senior officers were implicated in the 2009 mutiny, the uprising fuelled the sense that many people serving in the military were opposed to Hasina.Since independence in 1971, Bangladesh has seen at least 19 coups -- although the power of the military has diminished in recent years.While the nation has a long history of political violence, this year has been the deadliest since the former East Pakistan broke away from Islamabad and gained independence.At least 150 people have been killed since January after a controversial court began handing down death sentences on Islamist leaders allied to ex-premier Zia.

Drone-hit Pak family recounts terror before US Congress

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WASHINGTON (Web Desk) - A Pakistani family affected by US drone strikes, appeared before members of the US Congress on Tuesday to record their account from when they were targeted last year.Rafiq ur Rehman – a primary (elementary) teacher in North Waziristan – and his children Zubair (13) and Nabila (9) are the first victims of the covert drone programme to give evidence in person to members of Congress. The children’s grandmother – Mr Rehman’s mother – Mammana Bibi (67) was killed in a CIA strike in October 2012.The family was accompanied by Jennifer Gibson, an attorney with the human rights charity Reprieve.Rehman’s son Zubair, 13, said that the “US drone took my grandmother’s life.”Replying to a question Rehman said when his mother died in the drone strike, the neighbours “told me that see what US has done to your mother, you should hate US.”“Our children now do not want to go to school, they even fear to play outside, we live in a constant fear. Before drone campaign started, we were busy in our own lives.”In reply to a question raised by an Al Jazeera correspondent, Congressman Alan Grayson said that presence of five members of Congress at the briefing indicated that there is a fair amount of interest from representatives. He conceded that he does not see any formal briefing on drones soon as most of the house committees are chaired by the people who are friends of military industrial complex not those who oppose of it or are sceptical of it. “I believe that over the span of time it people will realise the gravity of this issue.”The Congressmen present though defended the strikes on allegations that they ammounted to war crimes citing legal ussyes.To a question on what would he say if he got the chance to meet President Obama, who approves the strikes Rehman said, “I would like to tell President Obama that what happened to me and my family is wrong”.“I would urge him to find a peaceful answer to end this war. During my stay here in US I noticed that everyone here lives in peace here and I dream that my children also be able to live in peace.”Rehman urged the US and Pakistan government to achieve peace.Earlier, Nabila's father, Rafiq Rehman, said he accepted an invitation from a documentary production company to come to the United States because as a teacher, I wanted to educate Americans and let them know my children have been injured.My daughter does not have the face of a terrorist and neither did my mother. It just doesn't make sense to me, why this happened, he told AFP in an interview.The Rehmans said they have no connection to any anti-US extremists or Al-Qaeda militants, and as they mourned their grandmother, they were confounded by inaccurate accounts of the October 2012 bombing raid.Media reports afterward confirmed a drone strike took place, but said missiles hit a house, with one version alleging a car was struck and several militants killed.But the Rehmans said no building or car was directly hit in the attack, and that paved roads are some distance away. They say missiles landed in the field where their grandmother was teaching Nabila how to recognize when okra are ripe enough to pick.After a loud boom, where my grandmother was standing, I saw these two bright lights come down and hit her, said Nabila. And everything became dark at that point.She noticed blood on her hand and tried to wipe it away with her shawl. But the blood just kept coming, she said.Shrapnel lodged in her right hand and she was treated at a local hospital. Her brother, Zubair, suffered shrapnel wounds to his left leg, which required two operations. His family had to take out a loan to pay for the surgery.Since the attack, Zubair said he has trouble sleeping and no longer goes outside to play cricket.I don't feel like going outside and playing with my friends. I don't feel like going to school. It's really destroyed my life, he said.His sister said the US government's explanation for drone strikes did not apply to her family.When I hear that they are going after people who have done wrong to America, then what have I done wrong to them? What did my grandmother do wrong to them? I didn't do anything wrong, she said.The Rehman family's experience features in a new documentary, Unmanned: America's Drone Wars, which takes a critical view of the air strikes.

Dialogue with Taliban to start soon: Nisar

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ISLAMABAD (Web Desk) - Federal Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said that National Counter-Terrorism Authority (NACTA) would be revived as a major counter terrorism authority in the country.He was talking to the participants of 99th National Management Course for senior officers in Islamabad‚ on Tuesday.The minister said coordination between all the intelligence agencies will be improved to create a joint intelligence directorate. Similarly‚ a Rapid Response Force shall be created‚ which will also host an air-wing to urgently tackle any terrorism related emergency situations in the country.The minister also briefed them about the governments stance on the security related issues‚ and the dialogue process with the Taliban that is likely to take place in the near future for which all homework has been done in consultation with all the stakeholders.He also informed them about the policy to control drug trafficking and stressed that regional cooperation was required and the routes of the drug traffickers needed to be constantly monitored.Chaudhry Nisar told the participants that the laws regarding evidence were being strengthened.The matter is already being addressed through promulgation of new ordinance to improve the role of law enforcing agencies in interrogation and during prosecution.

Bangladesh crush New Zealand by 43 runs

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DHAKA (AFP) - Bangladesh beat New Zealand by 43 runs in the first one-day international at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka on Tuesday.Scores: Bangladesh 265 all out in 49.5 overs (Mushfiqur Rahim 90, Naeem Islam 84; J. Neesham 4-42, T. Southee 3-34) and New Zealand 162 all out in 29.5 overs (G. Elliot 71, Rubel Hossain 6-26)Rubel Hossain claimed six wickets including a hat-trick as Bangladesh crushed New Zealand by 43 runs Tuesday in the first one-day international, leading 1-0 in the three-match series.Rubel finished with 6-26, helping the hosts to dismiss New Zealand for 162 runs after the visitors were set a revised target of 206 runs in 33 overs in the rain-hit match at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka.New Zealand were 82-3 in 20 overs, replying to Bangladeshs 265 all out, when rain halted the game for nearly two hours.Needing 124 off 78 balls on resumption, Corey Anderson hit some lusty blows before Rubel turned the table with his hat-trick.Rubel bowled Anderson, who scored 46 off 31 balls including three fours and fours sixes, before taking the wicket of Brendan McCullum and James Neesham to complete the hat-trick in his third over.New Zealand skipper McCullum was caught by substitute fielder Shamsur Rahman while Neesham flicked a catch to wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim on the leg side as Rubel became the third Bangladeshi to claim a hat-trick in a one-day international (ODI).Rubel took the wicket of Ross Taylor before rain later added Nathan McCullum and Grant Elliot (71) to his tally, equalling the record of Mashrafe Mortaza for the best ever ODI bowling for Bangladesh.Mashrafe, who claimed 6-26 against Kenya at Nairobi in 2006, took the catch of Elliot, the last man out for New Zealand.The visitors conceded a defeat as Kane Williamson was unable to bat for a thumb injury.Earlier, Mushfiqur and Naeem Islam hit half-centuries to set up Bangladeshs total after New Zealand captain McCullum won the toss and elected to field.The pair added 154 for the fourth wicket to rescue the home side from a perilous 25-3.Skipper Mushfiqur hit a solid 90 off 98 balls with eight fours and two sixes before he fell to Neesham.Naeem struggled initially, taking 17 balls to get off the mark, but soon grew in confidence to hit a career-best 84 off 113 balls.Naeem, who was picked in the starting line-up after Bangladesh were forced to leave out ailing all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, smashed 12 fours in his fourth one-day half-century.Tim Southee ended Naeems innings when he forced an edge to the wicket-keeper.Neesham and Southee were the pick of New Zealand bowlers, sharing seven wickets between them as Bangladesh lost their last five wickets for 33 runs.Neesham claimed a career-best 4-42, while Southee returned with 3-34.

Amr Shabana plays down chances of 5th world title

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MANCHESTER (AFP) - Amr Shabana produced such sparkling moments of his old brilliance while reaching the third round of the World Championships that afterwards he had to play down his chances of a fifth world title.Just when the Egyptian squash legend seemed to be running into trouble against Mathieu Castagnet, the world number 30 from France, he produced a fourth game of sublime brilliance to fashion an 11-8, 11-7, 12-14, 11-6 win.Castagnet showed he is an improving and ambitious player by saving three match points, denying Shabana the space and time to carve out winners, and pushing through with three great drops to steal the third game.He also led 4-3 in the fourth. You have to forget who you are playing -- when I was young he was one of my favourite players, Castagnet said.Shabana is still a favourite with the crowds for his sombre charisma and genius shot-making, so much so that it was easy for them to overlook the phases of the contest which were a mental and physical struggle.I just want to play matches, Shabana said when asked what could be expected of him. I love to play and whatever I achieve is a bonus.It is seven months since he last competed and at the age of 34, Shabana is no longer sure what he is capable of. I tried to play too fast but I am happy that I was not panicking (after losing the third game).I had to start all over in the fourth. The way he (Castagnet) played reminded me of Thierry (Lincou, the former world champion from France) -- the way he moved and countered and recovered.He was a tough player and I was happy to win.Shabana also looked a little relieved but he claimed that he was feeling fresh at the end of the 55-minute match, and that is a quality he may particularly need against his next opponent, Miguel Angel Rodriquez.The Columbian, who beat Leo Au of Hong Kong 11-5, 11-8, 11-5, is one of the fastest movers on the tour and can impose a sequence of high-paced rallies, which led to a five-game encounter with Shabana in New York last year.Shabana may still be good enough to earn a quarter-final place, probably against another former world champion, Nick Matthew.The home hope gave hints that he might still be good enough to win the title back at the age of 33, overcoming Max Lee of Hong Kong, 11-7, 11-6, 11-6.Lee gave Matthew plenty to think about, not least an aggrieved complaint that the Englishman was shouting come on too loudly and that the noise was ringing in his ear.Matthew responded by walking across and pretending to look into Lees ear, and with a retort that its not the sort of thing youre inclined to whisper, is it?Matthew now plays the 11th-seeded Omar Mosaad, a powerfully-built Egyptian with a dangerous ability to dominate the middle of the court.

App that lets you get kittens delivered to your door

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WASINGTON (Web Desk) - Cat fans rejoice - you can now have kittens delivered to your door with a new app service.To celebrate National Cat Day, popular website Cheezburger and car hire service Uber have joined forces to deliver kittens across America.Operating in New York, Seattle and San Francisco, anyone can request a kitten delivery by using the Uber app on their smartphones.Customers will be able to play with the kittens for 15 minutes - as well as receive cupcakes and some Uber products - for just $20.The kittens are all available for adoption, and the money customers spend will be donated to a local animal shelter.The service is only available between 11am and 4pm local time today, and Uber says it expects heavy demand, with large queues.

Fishermen net roles as extras in Hollywood films

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LOS ANGELES (Web Desk) - A group of fishermen have found success in unlikely sideline careers as actors after their seafaring looks helped them get roles in Hollywood films alongside the likes of Johnny Depp.A group of fishermen have found success in unlikely sideline careers as actors after their seafaring looks helped them get roles in Hollywood films alongside the likes of Johnny Depp.The men now regularly appear as fishermen and captains, being cast by producers to make scenes more realistic with their long beards and wild hair, and dispense their nautical expertise on set.After bringing in their early morning catch, the fishermen have appeared on set for a string of Hollywood blockbusters, recently returning from the remake of Cinderella , at Pinewood Studios, which features Helena Bonham Carter.The fame came after a chance encounter between 75-year-old Ivor Charles and the makers of Richard Curtis’ The Boat That Rocked, who spotted him near Weymouth in Dorset and asked him to be part of the show.Mr Charles, who said he would like to be the next Captain Birdseye, roped in his friends to sign up to a casting agency.Ivor Charles and his friends in the background of the Hollywood blockbuster Snow White and the Hunstman (BNPS).This has led to hoardes of offers from film producers who want them to star as authentic fishermen in sea faring scenes, and has seen the men appear alongside Johnny Depp, Charlize Theron and Kristen Stewart, as well as rub shoulders with film producer Richard Zanuck.“I was wandering down to my boat one day to go fishing and it happened to be when the filming for The Boat That Rocked was taking place on Portland,” said Mr Charles.I was having a cigarette with a friend when a man with a clipboard came over and asked if I was part of the production.I told him that I wasnt, and that I was just off to my boat like normal.He said that he wanted me to be part of the film as a fisherman so I thought why not?The next thing I knew, I was taking part in the final scene of the film where the main characters get rescued from their sinking ship.Mr Charles, who usually plays a fisherman, has also starred as Captain Smith in National Geographics 2012 documentary film RMS Titanic: Case Closed.He added: “I would never have thought that I would end up on film sets in my 70s but I really enjoy it.All the lads down the pub tease me and call me film star but I dont think theres any chance of seeing me in a leading role any time soon.That said, I would love to be the next Captain Birdseye - just a leaner, meaner, more healthy looking version.The group, which includes Kelvin Moore, Kevin Nurrish, Kevin Hart and Dave Parrott appeared in Tim Burtons gothic comedy Dark Shadows starring Johnny Depp. They also were cast in Snow White and the Huntsman, which features Charlize Theron alongside Kristen Stewart and Chris Hemsworth.Mr Moore, 48, said: “When we filmed Dark Shadows we unloaded a tonne of crab at three in the morning, nipped home for a shower and we were on set at Pinewood Studios by midday.Theres a very set idea of what fishermen should look like so we get told to grow our beards and let our hair get wild.We also advise them on how to make the scenes more realistic.Mr Hart said his highlight of their new sideline career was acting alongside Hammer Horror legend Christopher Lee.I grew up watching Christopher Lee and just to be on the same set as him was awe inspiring,” said the 55-year-old.Our sideline in films is a little out of the ordinary and its great fun.The crew have signed up to agency Mad Dog Casting who describe them as having “a great look as well as the knowledge that comes with being fishermen all their lives.

Cracker attacks in Sindh cities kill one

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HYDERABAD (Dunya News) - At least one person died and four others, including a policeman, were injured during cracker attacks on Tuesday.The cracker attacks spread fear in several cities of Interior Sindh ahead of strike call by Jiye Sindh Qaumi Mahaz (JSQM) that is scheduled for Wednesday.JSQM had given strike call in Interior Sindh against granting police powers to Rangers and Defence of Pakistan Ordinance.Tufail, an employee of a private company, was killed when unknown motorcyclists blasted three crackers in Hyderabad while three persons were injured in firing at a police post in Qasimabad.Unknown persons carried out eight cracker attacks in different areas of Larkana where fear gripped the city.A man received injuries and two motorcycles were partly damaged after seven crackers attacks in Dadu.Crackers attack near utility store in Hangurja area of Khairpur Mirus created panic in the area while cracker attacks were also reported in Mirpur Khas and Jamshoro.

PML-Q objects LB laws in Punjab

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LAHORE (web Desk) - Senior Vice-President of Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid Punjab wing, Muhammad Basharat Raja has said that under the present Local Bodies laws, there will be selection and not election in the Punjab.He was addressing a press conference at the Muslim League House here on Tuesday.Muhammad Basharat Raja reminded that Chaudhry Parvez Elahi, during his tenure as the Punjab Chief Minister, had issued huge amount of Rs 130 billion annually to the local bodies whereas the present rulers had not even released one line Rs 30 billion annual grant for the local bodies, he added.He demanded of the judiciary and the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to take notice as to where these Rs 150 billions have gone.Muhammad Basharat Raja disclosed that there is no representation of the local govt in the Education and Health Authorities which are important problems at regional level, local govt system.Muhammad Basharat Raja further said that provision of direct election for women of villages and indirection election for women of the cities is a decision which is not understandable.In response to a question, the PML leader said that we will actively and fully participate in the local bodies elections.

Syria: Assad sacks deputy PM over unauthorized US meeting

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DAMASCUS (AFP) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad sacked his vice premier on Tuesday, saying the official had been absent without leave and carried out unauthorised meetings abroad, the official SANA news agency said.The move follows media reports that Vice Premier Qadri Jamil had met with the US pointman for Syria Robert Ford on Saturday to discuss proposed Geneva peace talks.Sana said the official was sacked after an absence without authorisation from his post as well as activities and meetings outside the country without authorisation from the government.The United States and Russia have been struggling to convince Syrias warring parties to attend peace talks in Geneva next month aimed at ending the civil war, which has killed an estimated 115,000 people.UN-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi was in Damascus Tuesday as part of a regional tour to rally support for the talks following a rare US-Russian accord to dismantle Syrias chemical weapons.The talks remain in doubt, however, with Syrias increasingly fractured rebels having yet to say whether they will attend.The main opposition National Coalition has said it will not take part in the Geneva talks unless Assads resignation is on the table -- a demand rejected by Damascus -- while several rebel groups have warned that anyone who attends will be considered a traitor.Assad has also cast doubt on the talks, and has said he will not negotiate with any group tied to the rebels fighting his forces or to foreign states.
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