Thursday 28 November 2013

Dunya TV

Dunya TV

Weapon cache blast, attack kill 13 in Libya

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TRIPOLI (AP) - Libyan security officials say an explosion at a weapon cache in a southern air base and an attack on checkpoint in an eastern city have killed 13 people.The officials said that the two incidents took place Thursday. In the southern town of Barek al-Shati, they said a storeroom housing tank ammunition at an air base exploded, killing 10 and wounding 20. It was not immediately clear what caused the explosion.One official said a group of looters were trying to smuggle the ammunition out at the time of the blast.In Benghazi, officials said gunmen attacked a checkpoint manned by marines, killing three and wounding three.The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to journalists.

World's oldest bank to be 'profoundly different' by 2017

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MILAN (AFP) - The board of troubled Italian lender Monte dei Paschi di Siena -- the worlds oldest bank -- Thursday approved a restructuring plan which it said will create a profoundly different bank by 2017.The plan, which includes significant job and branch cuts and the sale of small subsidiaries, had been given the green light on Wednesday by the European Commission.The scheme envisages a drop in the number of branches from 2,750 in 2012 to 2,200 by 2017 and the number of employees is expected to be cut from 31,000 at the end of 2011 to 23,000 by the end of the period.The lender also hopes to boost its internet use, increasing the number of web customers from a current 1.0 percent to 10 percent, it said in a statement.The bank said it aimed to cut costs by 713 million euros ($969 million) from 2012, and is aiming for a net profit of 900 million euros in 2017.It confirmed borrowed funds would be repaid to the European Central Bank by the deadline in 2015.

Austria: 20 players questioned over match-fixing

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VIENNA (AP) - Criminal investigators say 20 current and former footballers in Austria have been interrogated for their alleged involvement in fixing at least 17 league matches, including nine in the countrys top-flight division, since 2004.Investigators said Thursday house searches were conducted in Vienna, Lower-Austria, Carinthia and Salzburg.All first-division games under suspicion include either Kapfenberg or Groedig, both former clubs of Dominique Taboga, who was arrested Wednesday for his alleged attempt to manipulate games after he claimed former international Sanel Kuljic had talked him into match-fixing to settle a personal debt.Without identifying the players questioned, investigators say they obtained a list with 26 footballers names on it from two Albanian men, who were arrested last week for allegedly coordinating the fixing.

At least seven killed in quake near Irans nuclear plant

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TEHRAN (AFP) - A 5.7 magnitude earthquake on the Gulf coast near Irans sole nuclear power plant killed seven people and injured 30 on Thursday, emergency response chief Hassan Qadami told state media.So far, there are seven dead and 30 injured receiving hospital treatment, the official IRNA news agency quoted Qadami as saying.

Wasim Akram to receive award on diabetes fight

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LAHORE (AFP) - Popular Pakistan paceman Wasim Akram Thursday said he will receive the first-ever young leaders award in sports for his fight against diabetes in a congress in Melbourne.The 47-year-old, renowned for his left-arm pace bowling, has been fighting against the disease since 1997.I have fought against diabetes because of my discipline and hard work and the young leaders award will be a just reward for my discipline, Wasim told AFP.Wasim will get the award during the World Diabetes Congress to be held in Melbourne, Australia from December 2-6.The International Diabetic Foundation will be organising the congress.Wasim, who took 414 Tests and 502 one-day wickets, will also deliver lecture to help create awareness on diabetes.There is a need to create an awareness about diabetes because a lot of people dont know about it and think that its not curable, said Wasim, declared player of the match in Pakistans World Cup win against England in Australia in 1992.According to the World Health Organisation statement of 2011 around 12.9 million people have been diagnosed with diabetes in Pakistan.Wasim said he will also give coaching on how to deal with the disease.I will give lectures and will coach people on how to cure the disease through exercise and balanced diet and share my experiences with those afflicted with the disease, said Wasim.Wasim married Australian Shaniera Thompson in August this year -- his second wife after his first died in October 2009.

FIFA waits to find out 'scale of damage' at venue

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SAO PAULO (AP) - World soccer governing body FIFA said it was assessing the extent of damage to the stadium hosting the 2014 World Cup opener as officials inspected the grounds Thursday to determine what may have caused the deadly accident, just weeks before all stadiums for one of the biggest events in world sports were scheduled to be completed.Two workers were killed Wednesday when a crane collapsed and a 500-ton metal structure toppled over part of the stadium in Sao Paulo, aggravating already urgent worries that Brazil wont be ready for soccers showcase event next year.FIFA wants all 12 World Cup stadiums ready by the end of December, and Brazilian news reports have cited unnamed workers as blaming the rush to finish the Arena Corinthians for the decision to raise the last missing piece of roofing on Wednesday, despite several days of heavy rains that softened the earth around the stadium.The hypothesis that the rain-soaked ground might have ceded under the weight of the equipment is one of three main lines of investigation, said Brazilian media reports. Human error and a problem with the crane are the other hypotheses.In the wake of Wednesdays accident, it looked increasingly likely that FIFA will have no choice but to accept the Sao Paulo venue after its original December deadline. Brazilian officials have halted work on the stadium at least until Monday, and could decide to freeze further work for weeks or even months. Such a decision would come as a blow to FIFA since the governing body has said repeatedly stressed it has no Plan B for next years World Cup particularly since nearly 1 million tickets to the matches have already been sold.It is too premature to make any detailed assessment on the situation of the Corinthians Arena as we are still awaiting the technical report to be able to evaluate the scale of the damage, FIFA said in a statement sent to The Associated Press. We will be able to provide an update earliest next week following the FIFA Organizing Committee of the FIFA World Cup.The accident comes days ahead of next weeks high-profile World Cup draw in the resort city of Costa do Sauipe to be attended by FIFA officials and other top names in world soccer.Work at the Corinthians Arena was advanced but all activities have been halted at least until Monday to give workers a three-day mourning period. Workers who showed up at the site on Thursday were turned back by security guards.Load operator Sergio Almeida told the AP he believed the crane operator might not have followed proper procedures.The crane operator moved the piece about 50 meters and then left for lunch. Someone must have told him to do that because you arent supposed to move the crane with the piece on it, said 23-year-old Almeida. It was the last one. But it kept swinging. He tried to right it, but when he saw what was going to happen, he jumped.A sequence of photos released by the sports daily Lance showed the metal structure going down and the crane falling just moments later after not sustaining the weight.Constructor Odebrecht said it would not immediately comment on unsourced reports by local media saying that there had been a previous warning about the stability of the ground underneath the crane. Odebrecht has said the model of the crane is one of the most advanced in the world and can sustain loads three times heavier than the metal structure that it was carrying.Besides the Corinthians stadium, Odebrecht is also involved in the construction of the new Fonte Nova stadium in Salvador and the Arena Pernambuco in Recife. It also renovated Rio de Janeiros Maracana Stadium, home of the final.Former Corinthians President Andres Sanchez said Wednesday that the accident didnt cause any major structural damage, but added that getting the stadium delivered on time was the least of the clubs concern.I dont want to know about FIFA right now; we are worried about the families of the victims, he said.Ricardo Trade, CEO of the local World Cup organizing committee, said only local authorities would determine if there is a need to suspend construction, but he didnt believe this is going to cause delays with the World Cup opener nearly seven months away on June 12.FIFA released a statement on Wednesday saying that the safety of workers is the top priority for footballs governing body. The stadium was about 94 percent finished before Wednesdays accident. The metal structure that collapsed cut through the stadiums outer walls, destroying part of the outside of the building and slamming into a giant LED panel that runs across the facade.The newspaper Estado de S. Paulo said public prosecutors had previously pointed to 50 irregularities at the venue, including some related to emergency drills.World Cup preparations have been plagued by setbacks including cost overruns, stadium delays, accidents, labor strife and huge street protests in the run-up to the June tournament, once envisioned as a coming-out party for South Americas largest nation, which is also scheduled to host the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.Wednesdays werent the first fatalities at 2014 World Cup stadiums. Three workers have died in accidents at three construction sites over the past two years, and one stadium had work halted for nearly a week this year because of safety concerns.The web portal R7 reported Thursday that 23 construction workers were killed in on-site accidents and another 132 were injured over the past five years in the city of Sao Paulo alone. The report said it had compiled statistics from the municipal health ministry.

Indian magazine chief quits over sex case handling

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NEW DELHI (AFP) - The managing editor of Indian investigative magazine Tehelka quit Thursday after coming under fire over her handling of allegations that the publications founder sexually assaulted a reporter.In an email to staff, Shoma Chaudhury denied being part of a cover-up to protect Tehelkas founder and editor Tarun Tejpal who is under investigation over claims he sexually assaulted the woman twice in a hotel in the holiday state of Goa.However Chaudhury, who announced last week that Tejpal was standing aside for six months over what he has described as a bad lapse of judgement, acknowledged that she could have done many things differently.The alleged victim, who has since resigned from the English-language monthly magazine, first made the allegations against Tejpal in a detailed email to Chaudhury.As a result of whats transpired over the past few days my integrity has repeatedly been questioned by people from our fraternity and, in fact, by the public at large, Chaudhury wrote in her mail which has been seen by AFP.I do not want questions raised about my integrity to tarnish the image of Tehelka, which it has done in the past week. Therefore, I resign as Managing Editor with immediate effect, she added.Scores of supporters from Indias opposition BJP party, which regards the magazine as biased, held a noisy protest outside Chaudhurys home and demanded her arrest.She did not stand up in support of her woman colleague and for the past one week she has been trying to suppress the complaint and facts in the case, shouted senior BJP leader Vijay Jolly.He squirted paint outside her gate and defaced her nameplate, replacing her name with the word accused which was painted in black.Police escorted Chaudhury away as the protesters tried to enter her home, leading former BJP president Nikhil Gadkari to try to distance the party from the protest amid criticism in the local media.You may escape today but young men and women of Delhi will get you, warned Jolly.Chaudhurys resignation comes three days after the alleged victim also quit the magazine, saying she had come under pressure from Tejpals family to drop her allegations.Tejpal, 50, who was due to be questioned by Goa police Thursday, said he would reach the western Indian state only Saturday, an officer said in state capital Panaji.The resort state police said they would announce their next course of action in a news conference later Thursday.Tehelka has garnered a reputation for hard-hitting investigations on corruption as well as sexual violence against women and gender inequality, and was hailed for its reporting of a deadly gang-rape in New Delhi last December.The Tehelka scandal has dominated the Indian news agenda for the last week, with rivals accusing the magazine of hypocrisy.

England court overturns bail of Italian mafia boss

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LONDON (AFP) - Englands High Court on Thursday overturned a decision to grant bail to an Italian mafia boss who was arrested in London after two decades on the run.Domenico Rancadore is wanted in Italy to serve a seven-year jail term for his role in the Sicilian mafia and authorities are seeking his extradition.The High Court decision was postponed from Wednesday when the 64-year-old former fugitive was taken to hospital with heart problems.Judge John Goldring said it was clear that Rancadore had heart trouble, which should be borne in mind.But there was a real risk -- indeed a very real risk -- that he would abscond if granted bail, he said.In my view this appeal should be allowed and Mr Rancadore remanded in custody.A review hearing is listed for December 16 at Westminster Magistrates Court, with the extradition hearing scheduled for February 20-21 at the central London court.Known in the mafia as The Professor, Rancadore had been on Romes list of most dangerous criminals.He had been living in a modest suburban house in west London under the name of Marc Skinner, with his English wife and children, when he was arrested on August 8 this year.He was granted bail at Westminster Magistrates on Monday. However, he was not released after prosecutors issued notice to lodge an appeal.Prosecutors told an earlier court hearing in August that Rancadore was a leader in a gang that spread terror on the Italian island of Sicily, systematically murdering anybody who did not comply with the will of the members of the organisation.Rancadore was convicted in his absence of Mafia links in Italy after he went on the run and moved to Britain in 1993.

2015 Tour starts with short time trial in Utrecht

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PARIS (AP) - The 2015 Tour de France will begin with a short time trial around the Dutch city of Utrecht.Organizers say the race will begin on July 4 with a 13.7-kilometer (8.5-mile) race against the clock. Utrecht will also host the start of the second stage, but no further details were given.Utrecht is the sixth Dutch city to stage the Grand Depart of cyclings marquee race. Amsterdam was the first in 1954, followed by Scheveningen (1973), Leiden (1978), s-Hertogenbosch (1996) and Rotterdam (2010).

Ross Brawn to step down from Mercedes position

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PARIS (AFP) - Ross Brawn will step down from his position as Mercedes team principal at the end of the year, the German Formula One outfit confirmed on Thursday, ending months of speculation.The 59-year-old is one of the longest-serving figures in modern Formula One but it remains unclear whether he will retire from the sport or join another stable such as Ferrari in 2014 or McLaren-Honda in 2015.The English engineer largely contributed to the seven world titles won by Germanys Michael Schumacher at Benetton and then Ferrari.He then joined Honda F1 as team principal in 2007, buying out the team and renaming it Brawn GP, going on to win the world constructors championship and drivers title double in 2009 with Jenson Button.Runners-up in the world constructors championship this year behind Red Bull, Mercedes will now be run by joint executive directors - Austrian Toto Wolff in charge of business and Irelands Paddy Lowe overseeing the technical side.The most important consideration in my decision to step down from the role as team principal was to ensure that the timing was right for the team in order to ensure its future success, said Brawn, who will formally leave the team on December 31.The succession planning process that we have implemented during this year means we are now ready to conduct the transition from my current responsibilities to a new leadership team composed of Toto and Paddy.

Somalia appoints Bashir Isse Ali as central bank chief

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MOGADISHU (AFP) - Somalia appointed a temporary governor for the central bank Thursday, the third official in just over a year designated to head an institution mired by corruption allegations.Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon said the cabinet had approved the appointment as interim governor of Bashir Isse Ali, who has already served in the post under past governments. The appointment also comes amid political infighting between the president and prime minister.After two decades of civil war our financial institutions were not fit for purpose, Shirdon said in a statement. It will be up to Mr. Ali, alongside our international partners, to continue to implement the programme of reforms that are needed in our financial institutions.In September, Abdusalam Omer stepped down as governor amid accusations by United Nations experts that the bank had become a slush fund for political leaders with millions of dollars siphoned out, claims that were dismissed by the government.Earlier this month his successor Yussur Abrar resigned complaining she had been pressured to sign off on corrupt deals, claims the government also denied.The government, which took power in August 2012, was the first to be given global recognition since the collapse of the hardline regime in 1991, and billions in foreign aid has since been poured in.Widely praised as it took power, the government is now split with the prime minister facing a confidence vote in parliament this week after he resisted President Hassan Sheikh Mohamuds demand that he resign.The precise cause of the power struggle is unclear, but politicians have pointed to wrangling over alleged corruption, personal loyalties as well as Somalias complex clan politics, where each community expects to be represented in the corridors of power.Sources close to the office of the prime minister claimed the president had barred all central bank signatories -- including Shirdon -- from withdrawing cash amid widespread allegations of graft.Ali, who studied in the US and Nairobi, headed the central bank between 2006-10 under the notoriously corrupt previous administration.He also served as deputy-governor under the hardline rule of Siad Barre, who was toppled in 1991, as Somalia descended in all-out civil war.

German court jails woman who killed her three children

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LANDSHUT (AFP) - A German court Thursday jailed for 14 years a mother who killed three of her children, a young daughter and twin babies, in a forest before a failed suicide attempt.The mentally unstable 39-year-old mother, a bakery saleswoman identified only as Bianca T., first strangled her six-year-old daughter, then smothered the four-month-old twins.The woman acted in the throes of desperation after the twins father committed himself to a psychiatric ward for depression and she could not convince him to return home.In harrowing testimony, the court heard how the terrified six-year-old, Anna-Lea, had struggled and pleaded for her life, saying Mama, I dont want to die, not today, maybe tomorrow.After the attacks on November 13 last year, the woman intended to take her own life and headed, with the childrens bodies in her car, straight for a carpark to jump off the roof, having sent her partner text messages about the killings.The man called police who then spotted the woman in her car, leading to a high-speed chase. The woman deliberately crashed in a suicide attempt but walked away almost unscathed from the wreck, the court in Landshut, southern Germany, was told.After her arrest, the mother confessed, claiming to have smothered the twins -- a boy and a girl named Fabian and Lisa -- but an autopsy later found both had also suffered fractured skulls and the boy broken limbs.Anna-Lea and Fabian were declared dead in hospital, where surgeons attempted to save the life of Lisa before she too died of her injuries.Im sorry, Im so sorry, the woman said in tears in court, testifying that she had acted without a clear motive.I committed these acts, I know... But its as if it wasnt me. Its like I was outside of myself, said the woman, who has had a total of six children from three fathers.Prosecutors had demanded a sentence of 14 years and six months on murder and manslaughter charges for the woman, and the defence 13 years.

Lazio fan arrested in Poland

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WARSAW (AFP) - Polish police on Thursday arrested a large group of Lazio supporters prior to a Europa League game between the Italian side and Legia Warsaw, said an AFP journalist at the scene.Stones were thrown at police who were escorting the supporters towards the stadium, a police spokesman told AFP.Police then used force to arrest the supporters, numbering several dozen, with around 30 police vans involved in the operation.The trouble came after 17 Lazio fans were arrested following a fight outside a hotel in the Polish capital on Wednesday evening.Lazio need a win in the match at the Wojska Polskiego stadium to qualify for the knockout stages of the Europa League, while Legia are already eliminated.

Hong Kong, Netherlands qualify for World T20 finals

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DUBAI (AFP) - Hong Kong and the Netherlands secured the last two qualifying spots for next years ICC World Twenty20 finals in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.With a 29 run defeat of Papua New Guinea, Hong Hong secured their first ever appearance on the global stage, while the Dutch, who beat Scotland, make their return after missing out on the last two tournaments.Hong Kong, with captain Jamie Atkinson a frustrated spectator nursing a broken thumb, did it the hard way, overcoming a disastrous start.Recovering from 19 for four inside four overs they went on to post 137 for nine, bowling out Papua New Guinea for 108 with five balls remaining.A delighted Hong Kong vice-captain Waqas Barqat said: I have no words. It will be the first time Hong Kong will play in the ICC World Twenty20 tournament.I think the whole team was really keen to qualify and go to Bangladesh.Even after losing four wickets early on, the guys had self-belief and we did it, he said.Later at the Zayed Cricket Stadium the Netherlands defeated Scotland by eight wickets with 13 balls to spare.Hong Kong and the Dutch join already qualified Ireland, Afghanistan, Nepal and the United Arab Emirates at the March 16-April 6 finals in Bangladesh.2014 World Twenty20 qualifying resultsHong Kong 137-9, 20 overs (Babar Hayat 48; Pipi Raho 3-22, Willie Gavera 3-23) v Papua New Guinea 108 all out, 19.1 overs (Charles Amini 30; Munir Dar 3-26)Result: Hong Kong won by 29 runsItaly 130-9, 20 overs (Carl Sandri 34, Damian Crowley 32) v Namibia 105 all out, 19.4 overs (Gareth Berg 3-12)Result: Italy won by 25 runsScotland 147-6, 20 overs (Matt Machan 61, Michael Leask 58) v Netherlands 149-2, 17.5 overs (Wesley Barresi 75 not out, Ben Cooper 40, Michael Swart 30 not out)Result: Netherlands won by eight wickets

Pope wants closer look at Vatican's finance reform

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VATICAN CITY (AP) - Pope Francis on Thursday named his top assistant to look into the work of two commissions of inquiry he set up last summer to investigate the finances of the troubled Vatican bank and Holy See administration.A Vatican statement said papal secretary Monsignor Alfred Xuereb will be Francis delegate, keeping his eye on the committees and keeping him informed in collaboration with the secretariat of state on their working procedures and possible initiatives.The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said the aim was purely to smooth communication between the pope and the commissions as they intensify their work ahead of meetings between the pope and his eight cardinal advisers.But the move appears to create a new filter between the commissions and the pope that could raise questions about their independence: Originally, these experts were supposed to report directly to the pope and present him with recommendations.Thursdays statement suggests the Maltese-born Xuereb and the Vaticans powerful secretariat of state will be the popes main points of reference for the work of the independent commissions.Francis first named a study committee for the Vatican bank in June to help clean up the scandal-marred institution that has been the subject of money-laundering investigations by Italian prosecutors.He named another commission in July to look into the Holy Sees full financial picture to try to provide greater transparency and cut down on waste.The Holy Sees financial problems were revealed publicly last year with the leaks of papal correspondence by the butler of then-Pope Benedict XVI, which then later appeared in a blockbuster book.The documents exposed the petty turf battles among Vatican bureaucrats, allegations of corruption in the awarding of Vatican contracts and enormous fiscal waste, including the 550,000 euros ($720,115) spent by the Holy See in 2009 for its Christmas Nativity scene in St. Peters Square.
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