Wednesday 27 November 2013

Dunya TV

Dunya TV

Iran, Turkey call for ceasefire before Syria talks

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TEHRAN (AFP) - Irans top diplomat said Wednesday that Tehran and Ankara would press for a ceasefire in Syria ahead of peace talks planned for January, the Mehr news agency reported.All our efforts should be carried out to finish the conflict and reach a ceasefire even before Geneva 2, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said after a meeting with his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu.Iran and Turkey have similar standpoints on several issues, including that there is no military solution to the Syrian crisis, Zarif said.We should not wait until these two months (and let) the Syrian people suffer a worse situation. Even before Geneva 2, the ground should be prepared for reaching a ceasefire which will lead to success at Geneva 2, he said.He urged all the involved parties to respect a ceasefire.Iran is a key ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assads embattled regime, while neighbouring Turkey has strongly backed the rebels seeking to overthrow him.Of course, Iran and Turkey have different stances on Syria but we try to minimise them. What matters is to finish the war in Syria and move towards a political solution, Zarif said.Irans policy is not to interfere in the internal affairs of regional countries, he added, denying Syrian opposition charges that his government has provided military support to Assads forces.After multiple delays, the Geneva 2 peace conference, originally proposed by Russia and the United States earlier this year, is now scheduled for January 22, although the United Nations says it has yet to decide who will be invited.Iran said on Tuesday that it was ready to take part, provided there were no conditions attached.The Syrian opposition is strongly opposed to any Iranian participation.Davutoglu said Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will visit Iran next year, reciprocating a trip to Turkey by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani scheduled for January.Zarif is to visit Turkey on December 17, the Fars news agency reported.

Kerry returning to Isreal next week amid Iran row

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WASHINGTON (AFP) - US Secretary of State John Kerry will visit Israel next week for talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seeking to calm tensions with the Jewish state over the Iran nuclear deal.Kerry will also travel to Ramallah for talks with the Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas as he tries to keep delicate Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations on track, a US official said Wednesday.The Middle East leg of the December 3-6 trip will come after the globetrotting top US diplomat first attends a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels next Tuesday, and then travels to Moldova as well.In Chisinau, Secretary Kerry will meet with senior Moldovan officials. He will discuss bilateral issues, as well as Moldovas path toward European integration, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.But the toughest leg will be his return to Israel and the West Bank -- his eighth overnight visit since he became secretary of state in February.Netanyahu has angrily denounced the weekend deal struck in Geneva with Iran to rein in its nuclear program as an historic mistake.He insists that any deal with Tehran must have the sole purpose of dismantling Irans military nuclear capability.And he is sending his security advisor, Yossi Cohen, to Washington for talks on the details of the six-month interim accord under which Iran will freeze parts of its suspect nuclear program in return for limited sanctions relief.Israel, the Middle Easts sole if undeclared nuclear-armed state, has refused to rule out military action to halt Irans nuclear drive.Secretary Kerry will meet with Prime Minister Netanyahu to discuss a range of issues including Iran and the negotiations with the Palestinians, Psaki said.The talks, relaunched earlier this year, have faltered amid Israeli plans for new settlement building.The moves have angered the Palestinian negotiation team, which in November presented its resignation to Abbas. But the Palestinian leader has yet to accept them in a move which some say is designed to avoid responsibility if the talks collapse.Kerry last visited Israel and the West Bank in early November, when he held marathon talks with Netanyahu on the peace process. After spending a day in Jordan he then flew back to Tel Aviv for two more hours of talks with the Israeli leader, before heading to Geneva talks on Iran.

Afghan gunmen kill six local staff of French aid group

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MAZAR-I-SHARIF (AFP) - Suspected Taliban gunmen on Wednesday shot dead six local staffers working for the French aid group ACTED on rural development projects in northern Afghanistan.The men were dragged from their car in the Pashtun Kot district of Faryab province, which borders Turkmenistan, before being gunned down, provincial police chief Nabi Jan Mullahkhail told AFP.They were travelling in a car from (the provincial capital) Maimana to Almar district, he said. They were chased by Taliban suspects and their car stopped in Pashtun Kot.ACTED (the Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development) condemned the killings and clarified the death toll at six after local officials earlier said seven people had died.Six Afghan employees were killed following an ambush that targeted a team of seven people. One person was injured, ACTED spokesman Adrien Tomarchio said in a statement from Paris.They were killed in the course of their work to support development in the north. We deplore the deaths of our colleagues while they were carrying out their duties.Today our thoughts are with the families and relatives of our lost colleagues and to our teams in Afghanistan.ACTED is a non-governmental organisation founded in 1993 that runs reconstruction projects in Afghanistan and across the developing world.It runs 34 projects in Afghanistan, and last year had 864 local staff and 13 international staff in the country, according to its website.Faryab provincial governor Mohammadullah Batash appealed for ACTED not to pull out of the region.ACTED is one of the most active organisations in Faryab, conducting many development projects, including on education issues, he told AFP.We will do our best to bring the perpetrators to justice. I hope the ACTED continues its activities in our province.French foreign ministry spokesman Romain Nadal condemned the attack as barbaric.The Taliban, who have fought a guerrilla war against the US-backed Kabul government since being ousted from power in 2001, were not immediately available for comment.Northern Afghanistan is generally more peaceful than the south and east of the country, but Islamist insurgents, rival militias and criminal gangs are active in many districts.A French employee of ACTED was held hostage in Afghanistan for more than two months earlier this year before being safely released.He was taken captive in Kabul when the unmarked ACTED car he was travelling in to work was blocked by another vehicle. Four armed gunmen then dragged him from the car.

Bayern beat CSKA 3-1 in Champions League

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MOSCOW (AP) - Defending champion Bayern Munich beat CSKA Moscow 3-1 on Wednesday, setting a new Champions League record of 10 straight victories.Bayern, which had already qualified for the knockout stages, took the lead through Arjen Robben in the 17th minute. Mario Goetze made it 2-0 with a solo effort early in the second half.Keisuke Honda scored a penalty for CSKA in the 62nd, but Thomas Mueller converted one for the visitors just three minutes later to restore the German sides two-goal advantage.Bayern had equaled Barcelonas 2002-03 record of nine wins in a row three weeks ago.Bayern leads Group D with 15 points. CSKA has three points for third, six points behind second place Manchester City which has also reached the last 16 and was playing Viktoria Plzen later.

Real, Man United, PSG advance in Champions League

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LONDON (AP) - Nine-time winner Real Madrid qualified for the Champions Leagues last 16 alongside Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday, while Juventus kept alive its chances of reaching the knockout stages.Madrid, which only needed a draw at home to Galatasaray to clinch top spot in Group B, won 4-1 with goals from Gareth Bale, Alvaro Arbeloa, Angel Di Maria and Isco.Juventus claimed its first win of the campaign and moved into second place in the same group with a 3-1 victory over Copenhagen. A draw away to Galatasaray on the final matchday will be enough for the Italian champions to advance.United qualified from Group A with an emphatic 5-0 win at Bayer Leverkusen and PSG advanced from Group C with a 2-1 win against Olympiakos.

Alpine Skiing: Vonn confident she will ski in Sochi

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NEW YORK (AFP) - Reigning Winter Olympic downhill champion Lindsey Vonn said Wednesday she is confident that she will be able to ski at the Sochi Games in February despite being injured in a crash last week.Vonn told US Olympic telecaster NBCs Today show that tearing a reconstructed ligament in her surgically repaired right knee when she fell at Colorados Copper Mountain during a training run has not ended her hopes for a strong season and more Olympic gold.Unfortunately, it was really bad timing for me, but Im still confident, Vonn said. I still feel like I have a lot left to achieve this season. I just have to kind of take it day by day right now, but I still have time before Sochi.Vonn, the girlfriend of 14-time major golf champion Tiger Woods, was hoping to return to competition in a World Cup event this week at Beaver Creek, Colorado, on the new Raptor course where the 2015 World Championships will be staged.Instead, the crash -- which also bruised her shoulders and left her with minor facial cuts -- forced her to skip the US races. She hopes to regain enough stability in her knee to race next week in World Cup events at Lake Louise, Canada.Ive been doing rehab and Ive been progressing every day, but in the next couple of days Im going to start getting on snow here at Vail and see how it feels and hopefully get a couple of days of training before I head up to Canada, Vonn said.If things go well, Ill be racing next week. If they dont, then Im going to have to reassess and kind of see where I stand and if I can make a comeback for this season. Im feeling good from rehab. I feel stable.I put some weight on it yesterday as far as doing some weighted balance exercises and doing some squats and things like that, and it felt really good, so Im very hopeful, but, like I said, I really dont know until I get on snow.Its one thing to feel stable while youre doing squats. Its another thing to feel stable while youre actually racing at 90 miles an hour.There definitely is a long ways to go there, but Im confident that its going to be OK. At this point, thats all I can do is stay positive. Im kind of out of options at this point. Im hoping that its going to be stable and Im hoping that I continue racing.Vonn was wearing a knee brace when she suffered her latest mishap after a February 5 crash at the World Championships in Austria that ended her 2012-2013 campaign. In that mishap she tore the anterior cruciate ligament and medial collateral ligament in her right knee and fractured her tibia.Vonn said that brace helped ease the damage in the latest crash which was not a result of her trying to return too fast from injury.

Oil prices fall to lowest level in 6 months

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NEW YORK (AP) - Oil prices are falling to their lowest level in nearly six months after the government reported the 10th straight weekly increase in U.S. crude supplies.Benchmark U.S. crude for January delivery fell $1.38, or 1.5 percent, to close at $92.30 a barrel Wednesday. Trading was light due to the holiday-shortened week.The Energy Department said the U.S. crude supplies rose by 3 million barrels, or 0.8 percent, last week, and the government said supplies are above average for this time of the year.In other energy commodities, wholesale gasoline, heating oil and natural gas prices rose.In metals, gold prices fell $3.60 to $1,237.80 an ounce. Silver, copper, platinum and palladium fell as well.Agricultural commodities were mixed. The price of wheat and corn rose while soybeans fell.

Misbah hails Pakistan series victory

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PORT ELIZABETH (AFP) - Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq hailed his country's first win in a bilateral series against South Africa after they pulled off a thrilling one-run win in the second one-day international at St George's Park in Port Elizabeth on Wednesday.Hashim Amla (98) and AB de Villiers (74) took South Africa to the brink of victory but South Africa could score only seven runs off the last nine balls, while losing two wickets.Set to make 263 to win, they finished on 261 for six.Misbah admitted that a win seemed unlikely with two overs to go.He said: But there is always pressure on the side batting second. We knew that we would have a chance if we had one good over so that South Africa needed more than a run a ball in the last over, especially if they had new batsmen at the crease.The good over was provided by off-spinner Saeed Ajmal, who conceded only two runs in the penultimate over and finished with the wicket of Amla, caught at deep square leg going for a big hit.Junaid Khan had JP Duminy caught in the deep off the second ball of the final over during which he conceded only three singles before the last ball went for four leg byes.It really means a lot to us to beat South Africa in a bilateral series for the first time, especially doing it in South Africa, said Misbah.It was especially satisfying because Pakistan were recently beaten 4-1 by the same opponents in the United Arab Emirates.It is a young side and now they believe they can win. That was what was lacking (in the previous series), said Misbah.In a match reduced to 45 overs a side by morning rain, South Africa had fallen well behind the required run rate when De Villiers joined Amla.De Villiers slammed 74 off 45 balls as he and Amla put on 110 off 78 deliveries to reduce the chase to less than a run a ball.But De Villiers played one audacious shot too many to be caught at deep backward square leg after slamming 74 off 45 balls.De Villiers struggled to explain yet another failed run chase by his team, who have now lost their last seven matches when batting second.I had the game in my hands with Hash out there with me, he said.I've finished a lot of games like that before and I was on a bit of a roll there. I should have caught my breath a little bit and looked at the situation again. It is very disappointing.Opening batsman Ahmed Shehzad was named man of the match. He made 102 after Pakistan were sent in to bat under heavily overcast skies.Fast bowler Dale Steyn took a career-best six for 39, including two wickets in the last over of the innings, but the other South African bowlers struggled to contain their opponents, who won the first match in Cape Town by 23 runs on Sunday.Shehzad, 22, hit eight fours and two sixes in a 112-ball innings which ended unhappily when he hit the ball to mid-on and set off for a run before being sent back by batting partner Umar Akmal. He could not beat Imran Tahir's throw to wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock and gestured angrily at Akmal.The dismissal came off the last ball before the compulsory batting power play, which was taken after 35 overs.Shehzad, who made his first-class debut aged 15, shared a third wicket stand of 124 off 134 balls with Sohaib Maqsood, who made 42 off 59 balls.The pair came together after Steyn had snared two early wickets, bowling Nasir Jamshed and extending his ascendancy over Mohammad Hafeez, who he had caught behind. It was the 15th time Steyn had dismissed Hafeez in international matches.

Nepal, UAE qualify for World Twenty20

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DUBAI (AFP) - Nepal qualified for their maiden ICC World Twenty20 finals with a five-wicket win over Hong Kong at Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.Nepal survived a last-over scare to score the required 13 runs, with 10 runs coming from the first two deliveries and a last-ball misfield producing the winning runs.Joining Nepal at the March 16-April 6 tournament in Bangladesh are the United Arab Emirates, who return to the global stage for the first time in 17 years.The UAE qualified courtesy of successfully defending a modest score of 118 runs to upset the Netherlands by 10 runs.The last time they competed at this level was at the cricket World Cup in 1996.Nepal and the UAE join Ireland and Afghanistan, who booked their tickets on Monday, at the finals with the two remaining qualifiers to be determined on Thursday.

PM hosts farewell reception for outgoing COAS

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ISLAMABAD (APP): Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif hosted a farewell reception in honour of the outgoing Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani on Wednesday. Speaking on the occasion, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif lauded the services of General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani for defence of the country. He said that General Kayani played a key role in strengthening democracy.Senior officers of the armed forces, federal ministers and other senior officials also attended the reception.

Altaf demands withdrawal of Pakistan Protection Ordinance

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KARACHI (Dunya News) - MQM chief Altaf Hussain has strongly condemned the Pakistan Protection Ordinance and has demanded its withdrawal from the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Altaf has termed the ordinance authoritarian, undemocratic and unconstitutional.Mr. Hussain has demanded withdrawal of the ordinance because he fears it could be used for violating a person’s human rights.He expressed these views while addressing the Rabita Committee, Hyderabad’s Zonal Committee and other departments.Addressing the prime minister in his speech, he said, “We had tried to persuade you not to establish special courts in 1988, but you rebuffed our pleas and requests. We saw that one such special court awarded you a sentence. Now, you have committed the same mistake again by promulgating this undemocratic and unconstitutional ordinance. This ordinance can be used to persecute you and your friends in future.”“You have allowed police and law enforcement agencies to keep people in detention for 90 days. May I ask who would be responsible for deaths of detainees if they die of police torture in custody,” asked Altaf Hussain.MQM chief deplored the silence of lawyers and human rights organizations over this undemocratic and unconstitutional ordinance. He said people and organizations who believe on human rights should express their condemnations vocally.He also made an appeal to the Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry to revoke this ordinance because it violates the fundamental rights of a person.Altaf Hussain condemned the arrest of MQM Surjani Town’s Sector in-charge Islam-ul-Haq and deplored that MQM which had been making efforts for peace and order in the country and the province was being targeted and its leaders were being arrested on trumped-up charges. He said that supporters of killers who had killed thousands of policemen and army jawans were freely roaming about and carrying out their political activities. These terrorists have attacked our defense installations and released the videos of executions of our soldiers.He deplored those who had pronounced terrorists as martyrs were allowed to stage protests in their support while MQM was being targeting. He added that patriotic people belonging to MQM could not carry out their peaceful political activities because of raids and arrests and they could not stay at their home because of oppressive measures of the government. He asked what kind of justice was this.Altaf demanded that Islam-ul-Haq should be produced before the court and put in jail custody.

Justice Tassaduq Jillani made new CJP

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ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani, the senior most judge of the Supreme Court after Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, has been appointed new Chief Justice of Pakistan. Notification of his appointment has also been issued.He will take oath of his office on December 12. President Mamnoon Hussain will administer oath at a ceremony to be held at the President House.Earlier, President Mamnoon Hussain has given approval of appointment of Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani as new Chief Justice of Pakistan.The President gave the approval on the advice of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif as per Article 175-A clause-3 of the Constitution of Pakistan.It is worth mentioning here that Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani refused to take oath as PCO judge when former president General (r) Pervez Musharraf seized power in a 1999 coup after deposing the then PM Nawaz Sharif’s government.Justice Jilami who is most senior judge of the Supreme Court, was also dismissed along with other judges after by the Musharraf regime after declaration of state of emergency in November 2007.The new CJP would assume charge on December 12 after retirement of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on December 11.Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jilani would serve as CJP till his retirement on July 5, 2014.

US says working with Cuba to solve banking issue

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HAVANA (AP) - Washington said Wednesday it is actively working with Cuba to find a new financial institution to handle its diplomatic accounts in the United States, after the Caribbean nation announced that a banking cutoff had forced it to halt nearly all U.S. consular services just ahead of the holiday high season for travel.The U.S. State Department said in an emailed communique that the U.S. bank that had handled Cubas accounts severed the relationship due to a business decision, and that the government does not have the power to interfere or order any bank to handle a foreign missions account.It added that Cubas situation is not unique, saying the closure of embassy accounts can hurt operations at other diplomatic outposts.The U.S. government seeks to help foreign missions in the United States that have trouble obtaining banking services, the State Department said, while ensuring the continued security of the U.S. financial system including through appropriate regulatory oversight.We would like to see the Cuban missions return to full operations.On Tuesday, Cuba stopped providing almost all consular services including passport and visa processing at both the Cuban Interests Section in Washington and its Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York.It blamed the 51-year-old U.S. embargo, which outlaws most financial transactions with the Communist-run country, for its banking difficulties. Havana said it had tried unsuccessfully to move its accounts to multiple other banks, and expressed regret for the negative impact that slashing consular services will have for people planning trips to the island.Cuba receives as many as 500,000 visitors from the United States each year. Most are Cuban-Americans with relatives back home, plus smaller numbers of travelers on academic, religious and cultural exchanges. All are legal under embargo rules.The halting of consular services threatens to disrupt such trips ahead of the holidays, a popular time of the year for Cuban-Americans to visit family on the island.

Dubai to host World Expo 2020

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DUBAI (AFP) - The Gulf emirate of Dubai celebrated its successful bid on Wednesday to host the World Expo 2020, with its ruler promising to astonish the world.Fireworks exploded off the sides of the Burj Khalifa, the worlds tallest tower, after the result of the competition held in Paris was announced.Jubilant residents cruised through the city in their cars waving flags of the United Arab Emirates, of which Dubai is a member.We renew our promise to astonish the world in 2020, said the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, in a government statement.Dubai Expo2020 will breath new life into the ancient role of the Middle East as a melting pot for cultures and creativity, said Sheikh Mohammed.He said Dubai Expo 2020 will undoubtedly stand out as the best edition in the history of the event in terms of preparation and presentation.The Gulf city state beat Russias Ekaterinberg in the final round of voting to clinch a prestigious event credited with delivering a huge boost to tourism and business for its host city.The four candidate cities, which also included Brazils Sao Paulo and Turkeys Izmir, had pulled out all the stops during 20 minute presentations before voting by the 168 member states of the International Exhibitions Bureau (BIE), which oversees the organisation of the events.According to UAE officials, 40 percent of the estimated 227,000 new jobs expected to be created as a result of Expo will be in the tourism and travel sectors.The site chosen for the event is spread over 438 hectares (1,082 acres) and located between the international airports of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, capital of the UAE.

Businessman guilty found of killing Chinese family in Britain

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LONDON (AFP) - A businessman who stabbed a Chinese family of four to death at their home in Britain was found guilty Wednesday of murdering them.Du Anxiang, 54, was convicted by a jury at Northampton Crown Court in central England. He was to be sentenced Thursday.Du killed lecturer Ding Jifeng, 46, his wife Ge Chui, 47, and their daughters Xing, 18, and Alice, 12, at their home in the town on April 29, 2011.The trial jury heard how Du massacred the Dings, his former business partners, in revenge after losing a 10-year legal battle over a Chinese herbal medicine business.Du fled Britain, travelling through France and Spain to Morocco, where he was arrested in July 2012 after more than a year on the run. He was extradited in February.This was a brutal, shocking crime. Du Anxiang travelled to the Dings home armed with a knife and killed the whole family, Steve Chappell of the Crown Prosecution Service said after the trial.This was an act of pre-meditated revenge and Du knew what he was doing.The Ding family were honest, hard-working and well-liked people. It is a tragedy that their lives were cut short in this way.Du was left owing 88,000 (105,000 euros, $143,000) from the legal battle and the night before the killings was served an injunction freezing his assets.He wrote a farewell note to his wife before heading to the Dings house with a knife, some cash and his passport.He first attacked the couple, leaving them for dead in the kitchen before going upstairs and slaying their daughters, who were cowering in a bedroom.Ding had been stabbed 23 times; his wife 13 times; Xing had 11 stab wounds, and Alice had four.Jurors wept when they were played a frantic call to the emergency services made from Alices mobile phone.Officers were sent to the wrong address and their bodies were discovered two days later by a neighbour.Du was eventually found in Tangiers, sleeping rough on some planks at a building site where he had been working in return for food and shelter. The site owner recognised his picture in a newspaper and informed the Moroccan police.Du hails from Changsha, the capital of central Hunan province. He did not give evidence during the trial.Leighton Williams, from the British embassy in Morocco, said Du told him he regretted ever moving to Britain, had lost everything and had gone to see the Dings in a last-ditch attempt to resolve matters.All he told me was that his friend had just laughed in his face, he said, giving evidence.He just said I just went crazy and at that time he became very emotional and broke down again.Forensic psychiatrist Nigel Eastman said Du told him: If the Dings had apologised to me I probably would not have done that.Ding worked in the chemistry and environmental sciences division at Manchester Metropolitan University. His wife taught Mandarin part-time at a local business school.Both were from Hangzhou, the capital of eastern Chinas Zhejiang province. The couple were British passport holders and their daughters were born in Britain.Speaking outside court, Ge Chuis father Cui Zuyao said on behalf of the family: During the whole trial we listened with deep sorrow and pain.Finally today the verdict is murder. Du Anxiang deserves what he receives; justice has been served.
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