Tuesday 1 October 2013

Dunya TV

Dunya TV

Shutdown chokes Washington, political standoff deepens

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WASHINGTON (AFP) - The first US government shutdown in 17 years has put a choke hold on Washington, with the White House and Republicans digging in for an extended struggle with no way out in sight.National monuments were barricaded on Tuesday, US war cemeteries in Europe closed, and hundreds of thousands of federal workers were sent home without pay, after dawn revealed the wreckage of America's latest paralyzing political crisis.President Barack Obama accused conservatives in the House of Representatives of waging an ideological crusade by making government funding conditional on gutting his landmark health care law.His top foe, Republican House Speaker John Boehner, meanwhile claimed Obama was pursuing a scorched earth policy by refusing to negotiate, as the rhetoric hit new heights and hopes for a swift end to the standoff faded.The president was in feisty form at a White House event marking the rollout of a key portion of Obamacare, which turned into an extended taunt at Republicans for failing to halt implementation of the sweeping law.This Republican shutdown did not have to happen -- I want every American to understand why it did happen, Obama said.They have shut down the government over an ideological crusade to deny affordable health care to millions of Americans. It was the morning after on Capitol Hill, where late night brinkmanship sent America into its first government shutdown in 17 years when the money ran out at midnight.Boehner, who effectively chose to side with the uproarious Tea Party faction of his party rather than risk his job by attempting to pass a straight funding resolution stripped of political poison pills, lit into the president.Washington Democrats have slammed the door on reopening the government by refusing to engage in bipartisan talks, he wrote in an opinion piece in USA Today.The political paralysis remained unbroken as the Senate followed through on Majority Leader Harry Reid's promise, rejecting the House's demand that the two chambers appoint formal negotiators to thrash out a deal. So far at least, Boehner is dancing on precarious political ground.A Quinnipiac University poll found voters, by a margin of 72 percent to 22 percent, oppose the shutdown of the government as a way to derail Obamacare.The New York Daily News tabloid had a more blunt summation: House of Turds its front page read, in a swipe at Republicans modeled on the hit Netflix political mini-series House of Cards.Thousands of federal workers trekked into town only to clear their desks and be told they were not essential to running the US government machine.Young aides trooped out of the White House, leaving Obama with only a skeleton crew on hand.Perplexed tourists were turned away from monuments and museums on the National Mall secured behind barriers and tape reading Police Line: Do not Cross. But one hardy group was made of sterner stuff -- an ageing band of the so-called Greatest Generation showed up at the World War II memorial and refused to be denied entry.Those visiting their dead comrades in France, Belgium, Italy and elsewhere were turned away, as funding dried up for American cemeteries in 20 foreign fields. Another symbol of hard-won freedoms -- The Statue of Liberty in New York -- was off limits to disappointed tourists.The military and border patrol were kept at full strength, but the Pentagon was due to stand down almost half of its 800,000 civilian employees.Warring lawmakers, exhausted by Monday night's political theatrics, stirred under the serene Capitol Rotunda, but early hopes that a compromise would emerge once the shock of the shutdown had hit proved premature.House Republicans sought to pass a trio of measures funding popular parts of government, including veterans benefits and museums.The plan appeared to be an attempt to shame Democrats who say they will not negotiate with a gun to their head with the government closed.That proposal shows the utter lack of seriousness that we're seeing from Republicans, said White House spokesman Jay Carney. All three bills were defeated, heaping more pressure on Congress to end the stalemate.Democratic leader in the Senate, Reid, added: We won't be forced to choose between parks and cancer research... or the FBI.Democratic tactics were designed to thwart every Republican attempt for a face-saving exit and to force an eventual climbdown by Boehner.Obama warned that the shutdown could have disastrous consequences for America's sluggish economic recovery.We know that the last time Republicans shut down the government in 1996, it hurt our economy. And unlike 1996, our economy is still recovering from the worst recession in generations, the president said.To highlight his case, Obama was due to meet CEOs of some top Wall Street firms at the White House on Wednesday.

TTP ready for ceasefire if govt does so first: spokesman

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LAHORE (Web Desk) - Spokesman for Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan has said that Taliban were ready to declare ceasefire if Pakistan government does so first.Responding to the appeal made by Pakistani Ulema in a conference held in Islamabad, TTP spokesman Shahidullah Shahid said the TTP Shura had decided to proceed with the talks with the government in the light of the resolution of All Parties Conference.Thanking Imran Khan for his suggestion about opening of Taliban office, he said there was no need for an office for talks.Earlier, in a conference held in Islamabad on Monday, notable Ulema and Mashaiks had appealed to government and the Taliban to declare immediate ceasefire and start process of peace talks.Ulema were of the view that violence was no solution to any problem.The TTP insists it targets only legitimate military assets in its fight against the Pakistani state and says the recent attacks were a conspiracy to scotch the proposed talks.But a Taliban commander in the countrys northwest admitted the prospect of negotiations had led to division within the movement.Hardline groups closer to Al-Qaeda, more sectarian and anti-West in outlook than the mainstream TTP, have rejected talks.Factions from Mohmand and Khyber tribal areas and Darra Adam Khel district -- all neighbouring Peshawar -- are staunchly opposed and the authorities are probing whether they were behind the recent attacks.Another militant source said overtures made to certain groups had triggered the Peshawar attacks as others sought to make their influence felt.But security officials remain sceptical about the TTP denials, saying the sophisticated nature of the three attacks suggested an experienced, well-equipped group was behind them.Though TTP has publicly disowned the latest series of bombings, we are very much convinced that TTP as an organisation is involved, a senior security official in Peshawar told AFP.They want to build pressure on both provincial and central governments before the peace talks.Pakistan government is under extreme public pressure due to these recent attacks and losing public support on the proposed peace talks.Even with public backing, the two sides positions look difficult, if not impossible, to reconcile.On one side the TTP have laid down exacting conditions for taking part in talks -- the withdrawal of troops from the tribal areas, the release of their prisoners and a government ceasefire.

Kurdish rebels reject Turkey reforms

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ANKARA AP) - Kurdish rebels say democratic reforms proposed by Turkey that include the lifting of some restrictions on the use of the Kurdish language wont advance a peace process to end a nearly 30-year conflict.A rebel statement carried by the pro-Kurdish Firat news agency Tuesday said the reforms were crumbs thrown at Kurds and the group would issue a declaration on the issue next week.The rebels have already said this month that they are suspending their planned pullout from Turkey into bases in northern Iraq as part of the peace talks, arguing that the government had not fulfilled promises to improve Kurdish rights.The group says the proposed reforms unveiled on Monday showed that the government did not have the mentality or capacity for a resolution of the conflict.

Pakistan-India dialogue must continue: PM

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LONDON (Web Desk) - Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif said dialogue process between Pakistan and India must continue to resolve all outstanding issues.He was talking to newsmen in London on his way back home from New York after attending the UN General Assembly session.The Prime Minister termed the meeting with his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh as productive.He said all important issues including Kashmir and Sir Creek came under discussion and he also pointed out the Indian interference in Balochistan.To a question‚ Nawaz Sharif said Taliban have disowned the recent bomb blasts in a church in Peshawar and we will have to identify the elements behind such attacks.

25m dollars are smuggled out every month: Governor SBP

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ISLAMABAD (Online) - Governor State Bank Yasin Anwar has termed the issue of devaluation of rupee against dollar as ‘sensitive’.Speaking at a Senate committee meeting , which met with Nasreen Jalil in the chair, Governor State Bank blamed rumors and speculations as major cause for rupee devaluation.He revealed that dollars were being siphoned out through Chaman and FATA, and around 25 million dollars were being transferred abroad from Karach, Lahore and Islamabad airports every month.Meanwhile, Information Minister says power tariff plan has been prepared in consultation with the Council of Common Interests.Minister for Information and Broadcasting Pervaiz Rashid has said that the government is ready to take difficult decisions instead of printing currency notes.In a statement he said that‚ the power tariff plan has been prepared in consultation with the Council of Common Interests.He said this will be no impact on the consumers using up to 200 units of electricity while the subsidy has

PML-N policies are anti-poor, says Imran

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ISLAMABAD (Online) - Chairman PTI Imran Khan condemning the latest price bomb has said that the latest increase in electricity and fuel prices is yet another step in the anti poor & anti-middle class policies of the PML N government.In a strong worded condemnation statement Imran Khan said the electricity price hike is an Unprecedented increase in price never before seen in Pakistan with the middle class consumer has been hit the hardest In some cases the bills of middle class consumers will more then double as a result of this brutal price hike.“The increases in prices that is continuing, is criminal because it is not just making the citizens pay for the cost of electricity but also the cost of corruption and incompetence.”“Therefore these latest increase in electricity and fuel prices is yet another step in the anti poor & anti-middle class policies of the PML N government”, he said.Imran pointed out that the first such discriminatory step was taken in the budget in which GST and other indirect taxes were increased along with the previous round of oil and electricity price increases, the forced devaluation of the rupee and the unprecedented note printing in the first 3 months of this government.Khan asserted that instead of cracking down on power theft, recovering the bills of defaulters, increasing the tax net by recovering dues from tax evaders and taking measures to make use of the changed international laws to recover the illegitimate wealth stashed abroad by Pakistanis, the government just keeps on taking one anti-people measure after another to make the lives of the people of Pakistan miserable.He said PTI demands that this criminal and unjustifiable increase in electricity prices is reversed with immediate effect.We also demand that the govt explain to the nation why fuel prices have been increased when the international prices of oil declined during the month of September which has led neighboring India to reduce petrol prices? Khan questioned.Khan also asked why the government is not prepared to cut its lavish lifestyle, huge mansions and frivolous expenditures?Khan declared that PTI rejects these price hikes and will protest in the Assemblies and across the country. The government has become anti-people and has betrayed the mandate given to it by the Pakistani nation.

Karachi Police arrest killer of Naimat Ali Randhawa

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KARACHI (Dunya News) – Addressing a joint press conference here on Tuesday Additional IG Police Shahid Hayat and spokesman of Rangers revealed that the accused involved in Advocate Naimat Ali Randhawa’s murder has been arrested.“An accused Kazim Abbas Rizvi, who belongs to MQM, has confessed that he and 7 other persons were involved in murder of eight persons,” police chief said.AIG claimed that four other criminals linked to the said case have also been arrested and more arrests were expected.The Rangers spokesman said that political parties were sheltering the criminals.It was informed in the press conference that Rangers and police had recovered huge cache of Indian arms from office of a political party during a raid.“Indian arms have been recovered from office of a political party that proves that anti-state elements had infiltrated in the political parties,” the police official said.About the MQM press conference held earlier, Shahid said such press conferences were held only to confuse the masses.MQM leader Dr Saghir Ahmad in the press conference Tuesday alleged that Rangers had rummage through an MQM office, destroying it completely.AIG Shahid said operation in Karachi would continue till the elimination of miscreants.The killer of Naimat Ali Randhawa Advocate, who was pleading the murder case of journalist Wali Babar, has been arrested and is linked to MQM Unit 178.According to police, a pistol has been recovered from Kazim Abbas Rizvi and he had admitted to killing 8 other persons also.To a question AIG said the murder of Randhawa was socially and politically motivated and had nothing to do with sectarianism.He said police and Rangers were after the criminals, adding some criminals who fled the city before the operation had been arrested from other cities.

FPCCI rejects electricity, petrol price hike

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ISLAMABAD (Online) - The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry on Tuesday rejected sharp increase in the price of power and petroleum prices terming it a cruel decision which will break the back of masses reeling under inflation.Government has taken electricity out of the reach of the common man under pressure from the IMF which cannot be accepted as it will push country into an intense political turmoil, said Zubair Ahmed Malik, president FPCCI.Speaking to the business community, he said that business community will never allow government to make life of man on street miserable to please international lenders.Life of the dispossessed is being made difficult to raise Rs 175 billion annually but government would not consider containing energy theft worth Rs 250, Rs 500 billion corruption in the FBR, unjust tax exemptions to aristocracy worth tens of billion or imposing tax on the massive income of landed elite, he said.Adopting any of those measures would have culled the crisis but policymakers are bent upon sacrificing voiceless masses which is unfortunate, he observed.The FPCCI chief said that IMF or government are not concerned about development of the country otherwise they would have shifted some burden on landed nobility which have so far failed to discharge national obligation by paying any tax.Those who claimed to transform Pakistan into a welfare state and an Asian tiger have disappointed masses as well as the business community through their pathetic performance; we will not allow them to shift entire blame and burden on the masses.Zubair Ahmed Malik said that the performance of the government has left much to be desired, they have no control over critical matters, and their energy policy has failed while economic managers are committing one blunder after another.He noted that the benefit of foreign or local loans have never benefited masses or country but the privileged class and the funds raised from the recent steps would also be misused after laying waste to the country.The business leader said that international oil going down internationally with India slashing prices to a great extent to benefit poor while the same have been revised upward for the fourth time since present government assumed power.FPCCI will not play the role of silent spectator in the current situation, he said, adding that the government should realise their mistake to reverse the decision before it has to pay a heavy price for it, warned Zubair.

Growing number of US Jews disowning religion

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NEW YORK (AP) - A new survey of US Jews has confirmed some of the communitys worst fears: One in five American Jews say they have no religion, and their ranks appear to be growing.Jews in this category feel pride in being Jewish and a strong sense of belonging to the greater Jewish community.But they say their connection is based mostly on culture and ancestry, not necessarily on belief in God or observance of religious law.A large majority said remembering the Holocaust, being ethical and advocating for social justice formed the core of their Jewish identity.The report, released Tuesday by the Pew Research Centers Religion & Public Life Project, is an in-depth look at how American Jewish identity has changed in recent decades.The findings track closely with a 2012 Pew report that found about 20 percent of Americans in general said they had no religious affiliation, an increase from 15 percent in the last five years.Secularism has long been part of American Jewish life, which includes movements such as the Society for Humanistic Judaism founded in Detroit in the 1960s.However, the Pew survey found the percentage of American Jews who say they are atheist, agnostic or have no particular religion is highest among younger generations.About one-third of Jews born after 1980 say they have no religion, compared to just 7 percent for those born before 1927.And the report found evidence that the numbers of Jews with no religion could continue to rise. Among Jews married after 2000, nearly six in 10 chose a non-Jewish spouse, making them less likely to raise their children Jewish or join Jewish organizations.The report contains no definitive finding on the overall size of the American Jewish population. Estimates can vary significantly depending on what definition is used for who can be considered Jewish.Controversy still surrounds the 2000-2001 National Jewish Population Survey, a major study which some academics and others insist undercounted the number of U.S. Jews.In this latest Pew survey, researchers generally placed American Jews into two categories: those who say their religion is Jewish dubbed Jews by religion and those who say they are Jewish but say they have no particular religion, called Jews of no religion.According to these categories, Pew estimated that the U.S. is home to 6.7 million Jews.The surveys authors also provided a wide range of higher and lower estimates using broader and narrower definitions of Jewish identity.The survey confirmed that liberal Reform Judaism is the largest movement within American Jewish life, with membership of about one-third of all U.S. Jews. About 18 percent of Jews say they belong to the centrist Conservative movement, while 10 percent of US.Jews say they belong to the stricter Orthodox movement.However, large percentages of Jews do not affiliate with a branch of Judaism, including 40 percent of Jews under age 30, and 33 percent of Jews in their 30s and 40s.Pew researchers found that most U.S. Jews who leave one stream of Judaism for another move toward the less traditional.Still, the survey found that Orthodox Jews are not only having larger families, but also seem to be doing a better job of keeping younger generations within the fold.About half of US Jews in the survey said they had been raised Orthodox but no longer consider themselves part of the movement.But the percentage of dropouts is much lower about 17 percent among those ages 18 to 29. Jewish scholars say this can partly be explained by generational experience: Significant numbers of Orthodox Jews left the movement in the 1950s through 1970s.About seven in 10 feel very or somewhat attached to Israel and more than 40 percent had visited it. About 40 percent of Jews said they believed God gave the land that is now Israel to the Jewish people.However, only 38 percent say the Israeli government is making a sincere effort to establish peace with Palestinians. Just 12 percent consider the Palestinian commitment to peace-building sincere.Forty-four percent of American Jews say building settlements in the West Bank strengthens Israels security.The study indicates Jews feel accepted within American society. Only one in seven said they had been called an offensive name or were publicly snubbed because of their religion in the last year. About 40 percent believe Jews still face significant discrimination in the U.S.But they say they face significantly less discrimination than other minority groups, including U.S. Muslims, gays and lesbians, and African-Americans.The Pew study was based on interviews with 3,475 American Jews conducted from Feb. 20-June 13, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

IMF warns South Africa of crisis if reforms delayed

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JOHANNESBURG (AFP) - The International Monetary Fund warned Tuesday that South Africa is trailing other emerging markets and must quickly implement reforms if it wants to avoid crisis.The IMF, in an annual report on Africas largest economy, pointed to painfully high unemployment and a plethora of other economic troubles staking the country.South Africas growth has underperformed and vulnerabilities have increased considerably, the IMF said, predicting continued sluggish growth of 2.0 percent this year and 2.9 percent in 2014.Absent structural reforms, growth will be insufficient to reduce unacceptably high unemployment the report said, pointing an economy increasingly vulnerable to shocks.Risks are tilted firmly to the downside.Unemployment is officially at 25 percent, but is closer to 35 percent including those who have given up looking for work. Around 50 percent of all young people are without a job.While South Africa has made important strides to correct disparities caused by decades of apartheid rule, the Washington-based institution said systemic problems have come to the fore in recent years.The economy has underperformed other emerging markets and commodity exporters, exacerbating South Africas already high levels of unemployment and inequality and contributing to rising social tensions.Nearly two decades after Nelson Mandela swept to power South Africa is among the most unequal countries in the world.Street protests are common across the country, often prompted by the lack of basic services or the presence of foreign workers.A series of strikes have also hit the mining, automotive, transport, public and manufacturing sectors, halting production and often resulting in deadly clashes with police and between rival unions.The ruling African National Congress has pointed to the economic crises in Europe -- a key trading partner -- as the main cause of the countrys economic malaise.The IMF agreed that contributed to weak growth, but said domestic factors were an important reason why South Africas growth has been below that of other emerging markets.The IMF warned serious domestic reforms were needed to the labour market as well as improvements in the business climate and trade liberalisation.A far-reaching economic plan -- dubbed the National Development Plan -- put forward by the government in 2011 has been put on ice amid opposition from within the ruling ANC and its trade union and communist allies.Prompt progress on NDP implementation could build reform momentum and reduce policy uncertainty, the IMF stated.Limited reform progress leads to an inexorable build-up of vulnerabilities.But with general elections due within the year, quick implementation is unlikely.

MQM doubts impartiality of Rangers' operation

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KARACHI (Dunya News) - Rabita Committee says Rangers operation in the city was targeting MQM’s members.Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, MQM leaders expressed serious concerns about on-going targeted operation in the city.They strongly criticised ranger’s raid on MQM’s office in Landhi area.Speaking on the occasion, MQM member Dr Saghir Ahmad has said that Rangers took 15 MQM workers into custody after the raid on Rabita office on Tuesday.He added that the workers were tortured after taking into custody, adding wrong impression about arrested workers is being misconstrued as being terrorists.Dr Saghir Ahmad demanded to public the identification of arrested people who were captured during the on-going operation.He mentioned that terrorists were given a chance to run away from the city.“City has been left on the mercy of terrorists”, he said.While condemning the raid on MQM office, Dr Saghir Ahmad said that raid on MQM Rabita office was condemnable, adding that it had been assured before the operation that none of political party would be targeted.He demanded that those arrested should be presented before the courts.Dr Saghir Ahmad also demanded of the government to keep an eagle eye on the operation.

India lawmaker jailed for 4 years over corruption

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NEW DELHI (AFP) - A lawmaker from Indias ruling Congress party was Tuesday jailed for four years for corruption, becoming the first MP to lose his parliamentary seat under new rules for convicted politicians, reports said.Rasheed Masood, 66, was convicted last month of cheating, conspiracy and forgery in a nearly 20-year-old graft case that involved fraudulent nominations of students in medical colleges.The court which sentenced Masood Tuesday also imposed four-year jail terms on two retired bureaucrats and one year of imprisonment on nine students in the case, the Press Trust of India (PTI) and other media reported.V.N. Ojha, a lawyer for the Central Bureau of Investigation which led the trial, told the judge that Masood had spoiled the career of meritorious students by nominating undeserving candidates including his own nephew.He....should be given maximum punishment as the students who suffered nearly two decades ago cannot be compensated for, the prosecutor was quoted as saying by PTI.Masood can appeal in the High Court but is disqualified from parliament after the Supreme Court ruled in July that convicts will have to vacate their seats in the legislature even during an appeal.The fate of Masood, a member of the upper house of the national parliament, appeared sealed, after the governments move to pass an executive order that would have allowed convicted lawmakers to stay in office was abruptly stalled last week.The planned order was criticised vociferously by Rahul Gandhi -- vice-president of Congress and scion of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty who is the face of the party before elections next year.The government is likely to withdraw the decree after a meeting of the cabinet on Wednesday.Masoods sentencing comes just a day after a court in the eastern state of Jharkhand found Congress regional ally Lalu Prasad Yadav guilty of a multi-million dollar scam in which public money intended to buy cattle feed was siphoned off.The convictions are a blow to Congress as it gears up for a tough electoral battle next year.Masood, who hails from the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, served as junior health minister in the early 1990s.Defence lawyers had pleaded for leniency, citing his age and health, while the prosecution had asked for the maximum seven-year sentence.

Al-Qaeda gunmen still holding Yemeni soldiers hostages

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SANAA (AFP) - Al-Qaeda gunmen were still holding hostages at a Yemeni army headquarters in Mukalla Tuesday, a day after the army was said to have recaptured the building, a military official said.Gunmen from (the Qaeda-affiliated) Ansar al-Sharia group are still holed up on the buildings third floor and are holding soldiers hostages, he said.He did not say how many jihadists or hostages were in the building in the southeastern city.The militants seized the headquarters after a suicide bomber rammed a car into the entrance.The attackers, dressed in special forces uniforms and arriving in four military vehicles, then took much of the garrison hostage in an assault that killed five soldiers, the official said.But late on Monday a military official said Yemeni forces recaptured the building.It turned out that they only took the first two floors of the three-storey building.Clerics from the region have been in contact with the insurgents in a bid to convince them to free the hostages, the official said.Mukalla is the capital of the southeastern province of Hadramawt province and is a major port city.Mondays attack was the second major assault on the army in 10 days.On September 20, suspected Al-Qaeda fighters killed at least 56 soldiers and police in coordinated dawn attacks in Shabwa province further west.That was the deadliest day for security forces since the army recaptured a string of southern towns from the jihadists in a major offensive last year.In June 2012, the army recaptured large swathes of the south which Al-Qaeda had held for nearly a year.Since then, the extremist group has launched mainly hit-and-run attacks, with its members under the constant threat of monitoring and missile attack from US drones.Washington regards Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula as the global jihadist networks most dangerous affiliate and has stepped up its drone strikes against the group in recent weeks.

Bolt, Farah nominated for IAAF 2013 World Athlete of Year Award

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PARIS (AFP) - World and Olympic champions Usain Bolt of Jamaica and Mohamed Farah of Britain have both been named among those on the 10-man shortlist for the IAAF 2013 World Athlete of the Year Award.Both men starred at the recent World Athletics Championships in Moscow where Bolt won gold in the 100 and 200 metres and Farah clinched a rare 5,000-10,000 metres double.The womens shortlist has top Jamaican sprinter Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce as well as Ethiopian long-distance stars Meseret Defar and Tirunesh Dibaba.The shortlist will be cut back to just three after a voting process and the winners will be announced by the IAAF at a ceremony on November 16.Candidates for the World Athlete of the Year Award:-MenMohammed Aman (ETH)Usain Bolt (JAM)Bohdan Bondarenko (UKR)Ashton Eaton (USA)Mohamed Farah (GBR)Robert Harting (GER)Wilson Kipsang (KEN)Aleksandr Menkov (RUS)LaShawn Merritt (USA)Teddy Tamgho (FRA)WomenValerie Adams (NZL)Abeba Aregawi (SWE)Meseret Defar (ETH)Tirunesh Dibaba (ETH)Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (JAM)Zuzana Hejnova (CZE)Caterine Ibargen (COL)Sandra Perkovic (CRO)Brianna Rollins (USA)Svetlana Shkolina (RUS)

UN experts urge POSCO to halt steel plant in India

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NEW DELHI (AP) - A UN panel of experts is urging South Korean steel giant POSCO to suspend plans for a $12 billion steel plant in eastern India over human rights concerns.The call by the UN experts follows a June report by rights groups saying tens of thousands of people were being threatened by illegal land seizures in the state of Orissa.The project, one of Indias biggest foreign investments, has been mired for eight years by legal hurdles and sustained protests.As Indias economy has slowed, however, some legal hurdles have been cleared in recent months, allowing the company to obtain a license to explore for iron ore.In August, POSCO said it was deeply anguished that the June report had subjected the project to fallacious criticism, distorted facts and erroneous interpretation.
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