Tuesday 10 December 2013

Dunya TV

Dunya TV

Team's dismal record in Perth have no bearing on 3rd Ashes Test: Coach Flower

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PERTH (AFP) - Coach Andy Flower insists England are not scared of firebrand paceman Mitchell Johnson and that the teams dismal record in Perth will have no bearing on the outcome of the pivotal third Ashes Test.Johnson terrorised the England batsmen in Brisbane and Adelaide, taking his side to the brink of reclaiming the Ashes after three consecutive series defeats.And the left-arm quick, who has taken 17 wickets with his 150 kilometre-an-hour (93 miles-an-hour) deliveries, has been tipped to bowl even faster on his home ground, the WACA, in the match starting on Friday.Despite a dressing room full of bruised and battered batsmen, Flower rejected claims that the players were afraid of Johnson, saying they were used to pace at the top level of the game.One thing I would say about playing fast bowling is that our batsmen have to display the combination of skill and determination to bat long periods against it, he said.Because if we do expose our lower order, they will struggle against that sort of pace. So the responsibility lies with the batsmen in that regard.England have a dismal record in Perth, where their only win in 12 attempts came in 1978 but must find a way to halt the Australian juggernaut, for whom a victory would give them an unbeatable 3-0 lead in the five-Test series.Flower is undaunted by his sides previous struggles at the WACA but he is hoping captain Alastair Cook wins the toss the team is able to bat first and post a big score on the board.I think past glories mean nothing in this context, Flower said on the England and Wales Cricket Board website.Weve got a big challenge to stop the momentum of the opposition and to get ahead in the game. We had Australia 130 for six in Brisbane, but since then theyve been ahead in both games.Englands second-innings 312 at Adelaide was the first time they have passed 200 in the series, with a number of batsmen, including Cook, struggling for form and Flower challenged his players to be more selective with their strokes.The challenge at Perth will be to assess those conditions accurately and have clarity on the risk/reward that you always have to judge when youre batting, he said.While Adelaide offered a pitch suitable for spinners, with Monty Panesar selected alongside Graeme Swann, Perth is more of a fast-bowlers track and Flower suggested there would be changes.We have taken some serious hits but we do have a squad full of people who are determined to turn the ship around, and thats what we must do, he said. Well assess those conditions and see who will best be able to help us take 20 wickets.

About 230 million children under 5 never registered: UN

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UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The U.N. children's agency says nearly 230 million children under the age of five around the world have never had their birth registered.A UNICEF report issued to mark its 67th birthday on Wednesday said globally that amounts to one in three children.UNICEF Deputy Director Geeta Rao Gupta said birth registration not only acknowledges a child's identity and existence but is key to guaranteeing that children are not forgotten, denied their rights or hidden from the progress of their nations.UNICEF said children without identification documents are often excluded from education, health care and social security.It cited many barriers to birth registration from parents who are unaware of its importance to cultural barriers and fear the consequences of reporting a birth, including the misuse of personal information.

Nairobi mall attackers may have escaped: NYC police

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New York (AFP) — The four attackers responsible for killing at least 67 people at a Kenyan shopping mall may have escaped due to lax security, according to a New York police report released Tuesday.The victims aged eight to 78, from 13 different countries, were killed at the Westgate mall in Nairobi during a terrifying assault claimed by Somalias Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab terror group.The media speculated the gunmen may have escaped in the chaos of the September fighting, although security sources in Kenya said they died in a final stand off with commandos.The New York police report said the last confirmed sighting of the attackers on the malls CCTV system was on September 22 at 00:54 hours, 12 hours after the start of the attack.It took Kenya almost four days to declare the mall safe. The day before doing so, Kenyan forces started a fire and collapsed a large part of the mall, the report said.It is unknown if the terrorists were killed or escaped the mall. A major contributing factor to this uncertainty was the failure to maintain a secure perimeter around the mall, it said.The New York conclusions are based on information obtained by its police officers and unclassified open source information.Interpol is assisting Kenya in trying to identify four bodies suspected of being those of the gunmen. No identification has yet been announced.The New York report also highlighted poor coordination between the Kenyan police and the army, which saw troops kill one police officer and wound the commander of a police team.Most of the victims were probably killed in the first hour of the attack when the gunmen engaged in wholesale killing of those trying to hide in places like storerooms, the report said.According to witnesses and CCTV footage, the gunmen did not want to take hostages, only kill a broad spectrum of people.The New York police report also confirmed a conscious but erratic attempt at avoiding Muslim casualties but voiced fears over the possibility of future copycat attacks.At least one attacker asked some of the victims if they were Muslim, if they answered yes they were asked the name of the Prophet Mohammeds mother. If they didnt know, they were shot.It also clearly illustrates that armed assaults by terrorists on soft targets such as a shopping mall are a simple, effective and easy to copy tactic, the report said.Shebab said the attack was a warning to Kenya to pull its troops out of southern Somalia, where they are fighting the extremists as part of an African Union force.Western officials suggest as many as 94 could have died in the attack, with some victims potentially remaining under tons of rubble after part of the malls roof collapsed.The four attackers are understood to have trained in Somalia.In Kenya, four ethnic Somalis are due in court next week over the massacre, charged with supporting a terrorist group.They also face charges of entering Kenya illegally and obtaining false identification documents.

IOC drops plagiarism probe into SKorean member

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LAUSANNE (AP) - The International Olympic Committee has dropped an ethics investigation into a South Korean member accused of plagiarism.IOC President Thomas Bach says the ethics commission closed the case into athlete member Moon Dae-sung, a former gold medalist in taekwondo who was accused of plagiarizing much of his university doctorate thesis.The investigation began in April 2012.Bach says the IOC repeatedly asked the university for its own findings but has yet to receive its decision.As a result, Bach says, the ethics panel decided to close this file at least for the time being but it could be reopened if new facts emerge.In May, the IOC reprimanded Hungarian member and former Hungarian president Pal Schmitt after a university panel found that much of his thesis had been plagiarized.

US lawmakers reach budget two-year deal

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WASHINGTON (AFP) - Congressional negotiators on Tuesday reached a two-year deal on US spending which aims to avoid a repeat of the government shutdown that paralyzed Washington in October.President Barack Obama hailed the agreement as a sign of rare bipartisan cooperation in the strife-filled US legislature.Its a good sign that Democrats and Republicans in Congress were able to come together and break the cycle of short-sighted, crisis-driven decision-making to get this done, the president said shortly after the deal was announced.The agreements main brokers, Democratic Senator Patty Murry and House Republican Paul Ryan, said it sets the new annual budget caps for 2014 and 2015 at just over $1 trillion -- slightly higher than current levels -- and at least partially repeals the automatic, widely loathed budget cuts known as sequestration.I see this agreement as a step in the right direction, Ryan, the 2012 Republican vice presidential nominee and chairman of the House Budget Committee, told reporters, noting that the deal does not raise taxes on Americans.We have broken through the gridlock and reached a bipartisan budget compromise that will prevent a government shutdown in January, added Murray, the Senates top budget chief, who said she and Ryan set aside their political differences to reach a compromise over weeks of negotiations.We agree that our country needs some certainty and we need to show that we can work together, she added.Under a deal reached in October that ended a crippling 16-day shutdown, federal spending authority expires on January 15, when a new agreement will need to be in force.Tuesdays deal provides for $85 billion in mandatory savings while allowing for $63 billion in sequestration relief, leaving some $22 billion in deficit reduction, according to Ryan.By most accounts the deal is an underwhelming one, far from the grand bargain envisioned by some optimists in Washington earlier this year.But it sets the warring Democratic and Republican Parties on track for further cooperation on fiscal policy, ending the cycle of budget feuding that has marred Washington since 2011.While modest in scale, this agreement represents a positive step forward by replacing one-time spending cuts with permanent reforms to mandatory spending programs that will produce real, lasting savings, House Speaker John Boehner said.The challenge now is selling the agreement to skeptical conservatives and liberals in the Senate and House of Representatives.Murray said she was hopeful the deal will pass muster in the Republican-led House this week before that chamber breaks for the year-end recess.Each chamber must pass a budget bill by January 15 or risk another government shutdown.Senator Marco Rubio was quick out of the gate in opposition to the deal, saying it merely furthers Washingtons irresponsible budgeting decisions by spending more than government brings in.We need a government with less debt and an economy with more good-paying jobs, and this budget fails to accomplish both goals, making it harder for more Americans to achieve the American Dream, Rubio said.Conservative groups such as Americans For Prosperity have already come out opposing the agreement, saying it blows past the budget caps established in the Budget Control Act of 2011.Liberal group Democracy for America blasted the agreement for failing to include an extension of unemployment insurance.Democrats should stand strong and reject any budget deal that fails to adequately protect those who continue to look for work, the groups chairman Jim Dean said.

Six missing adults, children found alive in Nevada

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RENO (AP) - A desperate search for a couple and four children missing for two days in the below-zero cold of Nevadas rugged mountains turned jubilant Tuesday when rescuers found them alive and well near their overturned Jeep.About 200 people had searched by land and air after the group of six failed to return Sunday from a trip to play in the snow near their hometown of Lovelock, in Nevadas high desert.They stayed together and that was the key that allowed them to live through this experience. You dont see that that often in search and rescue, said Paul Burke, search-and-rescue coordinator for the state. They did some pretty unusual things, heating up rocks and things. Staying together, that was a big deal.Their Jeep had overturned just off a road. A member of the rescue team said the engine would no longer start, but the group stayed in the upside-down vehicle for shelter, burning the spare tire to keep warm.The six were taken to a hospital, where about 100 well-wishers lined the street and broke into cheers when two of the smallest children were taken from an ambulance. Others walked into the hospital on their own.The mood where Im ats ecstatic, said Col. Tim Hahn of the Civil Air Patrol, which used several planes to search for the group. We are thrilled beyond words.Rescuers began scouring the Seven Troughs Area wilderness on Sunday night for James Glanton, 34; his girlfriend, Christina McIntee, 25; their two children, Evan and Chloe Glanton; and Shelby Fitzpatrick and Tate McIntee, a niece and nephew of McIntees. The children range in age from 3 to 10.The situation grew more dire as overnight temperatures in Lovelock dipped to minus 16 degrees (minus 8.9 Celsius).A cellphone forensics team analyzed which towers the groups phone was in contact with during their trip, giving searchers a better idea of where they might be, Hahn said. They were so far out in the wilderness that they apparently were unable to call for help.Search volunteer Chris Montes said he and two rescuers with him first spotted childrens footprints in the snow, then followed a set of Jeep tracks until they found the flipped vehicle and the family beside it.They just said that they knew somebody was going to find them, Montes said.The discovery prompted a wave of relief on social media.Very glad to hear the missing family in Lovelock has been found and they are safe Gov. Brian Sandoval tweeted. Thank you to all who worked so tirelessly to find themThe Seven Troughs area is named for seven parallel canyons below Seven Trough Peak, elevation 7,474 feet (2,278 meters). It is about 20 miles (32 kilometers) southeast of Black Rock Desert, where the annual Burning Man counterculture festival is held.Most of the roads are dirt and more easily traveled by ATVs or other off-road vehicles. Seven Troughs is a popular area for hunting chukars, a pheasant-size winter game bird.

US job openings reach 5-year high a hopeful sign

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WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. employers advertised the most job openings in more than five years in October, and the number of people quitting also reached a five-year high.The Labor Department said Tuesday that job openings rose 1 percent to a seasonally adjusted 3.93 million. That is the highest figure since May 2008, three months after the Great Recession began. And the number of workers who quit rose 2.5 percent to 2.39 million, the most since October 2008. More workers quitting can signal a healthy job market, because most of those people likely either have a new job or are confident they can find one.Total hiring, though, slipped 2.6 percent to 4.5 million after reaching a five-year high in September. Still, overall hiring has risen 5.2 percent in the past year.More hiring, job openings and quits point to a more dynamic job market. That trend creates more opportunities for people out of work or looking for a new job.Another positive sign in the report: Layoffs plunged 16 percent to 1.47 million, the lowest level on records dating to 2001.Still, while fewer layoffs are welcome, businesses need to step up hiring to more quickly reduce the still-high unemployment rate of 7 percent.Job openings remain just below the 4 million figure that is thought to be consistent with a healthy job market. And employers usually hire about 5 million people each month in a normal economy.The job market remains competitive, even though the competition is easing. There were 2.9 unemployed people, on average, for each available job in October. Thats down from a ratio of nearly 7 to 1 in July 2009, just after the recession ended. In a healthy economy, the ratio is typically 2 to 1.Other recent reports show that businesses are adding jobs at a solid, steady pace. Employers added 203,000 positions in November, the government said Friday. The unemployment rate fell to a five-year low of 7 percent. Job gains have now averaged about 200,000 for the past four months.Those figures reflect net payroll gains, the number of people hired minus those who were laid off, quit or retired. Tuesdays report on job openings and labor turnover provides more details than the monthly employment report.Both Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Janet Yellen, who has been nominated to succeed him next year, have cited greater overall hiring and quits as key signs of the job markets improvement.

Eight including five policemen, killed in Kenya attack

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NAIROBI (AP) - A government official says unknown gunmen killed eight people, including five policemen, in an ambush in eastern Kenya.Samuel Arachi, deputy inspector general of police, said Tuesday the eight died when a police car was sprayed with bullets 9 kilometers (5 miles) from the Kenya-Somalia border. Kenyas border area with Somalia has suffered attacks on government officials and non-Somali civilians since Oct. 2011 when Kenya sent troops into Somalia to fight the Islamic extremist al-Shabab rebels.Al-Shabab, which is fighting Somalias western-backed government, has vowed to retaliate against Kenyas military incursion. The group claimed responsibility for the Sept. 21 terror attack on a Nairobi mall in which at least 67 people died.Musa Yego, the criminal investigations chief in Garissa County, said al-Shabab is suspected of carrying out Tuesdays attack.

Targeted operation brings crime down by 35 in Karachi: Qaim Ali Shah

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KARACHI (Web Desk) - Chief Minister Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah has said that crimes have decreased by thirty five percent in Karachi due to ongoing targeted operation against terrorists‚ kidnappers and extortionists.Talking to British High Commissioner Adam Thomson‚ Shah said the operation will continue with full might till the elimination of the last criminal.The British High Commissioner the British companies want to invest in Karachi particularly in water desalination plants to provide potable water to the people.

Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry retires today

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ISLAMABAD (Web Desk) - A full court reference in honour of Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry will be held today (Wednesday) as he is retiring after serving as judge of the apex court and Chief Justice of Pakistan for more than one decade.The reference will be held in Court Room No.1.According to sources of the Registrar office of the Supreme Court, full court reference will be held today (Wednesday) and all the judges of the apex court will participate in the reference. Attorney General for Pakistan Munir A Malik, Vice Chairman Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) Syed Qalab e Hassan and President Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) Kamran Murtaza will deliver their speeches on the occasion.The outgoing Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry will also deliver his speech on the occasion and highlight performance of the judiciary regarding dispensation of justice in the country especially the role of apex court.According to biodata of the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry who is retiring today, was born on December 12, 1948 and completed his early education from Quetta, Balochistan and did his LLB from Sindh.His lordship enrolled as an advocate of district courts in the year 1974, as Advocate High Court in 1976 and as Advocate Supreme Court in 1985, and practiced law in all fields/subjects like Constitutional, Criminal, Civil,Tax, Revenue, etc.He was elected as President Balochistan Bar Association, Quetta in 1986 and was elected twice as Member Balochistan Bar Council.He was appointed as advocate general Balochistan in 1989. He was elevated as Additional Judge of High Court of Balochistan in the month of November, 1990.He also discharged duties as banking judge, judge special court for speedy trials, judge customs appellate court as well as company judge.He was appointed as chairman Balochistan Local Council Election Authority in the year 1992 and thereafter for second term in the year 1998.He was appointed as permanent Judge of Balochistan High Court in the year 1993. He also remained as Chairman Provincial Review Board for the Province of Balochistan on the recommendations of the Chief Justice of Pakistan.Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry was also appointed twice as chairman of Pakistan Red Crescent Society Balochistan by government of Balochistan.He was appointed as Chief Justice of High Court of Balochistan on April 22, 1999. After serving about one year, he was elevated as Judge Supreme Court of Pakistan on February 4, 2000.He also remained as chairman, Enrollment Committee of Pakistan Bar Council. Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry was also appointed as judge incharge Supreme Court Staff Welfare Committee by the then Chief Justice of Pakistan.He was appointed as Chief Justice of Pakistan and took oath of the office on June 30, 2005.However, he was rendered dysfunctional from March 9, 2007 to July 20, 2007 and from November 3, 2007 to March 16, 2009.His lordship attended 22nd Biennial Congress on the Law of the World held in Beijing & Shanghai, China in September, 2005 and participated in International Conference and Showcase on Judicial Reforms held in the Philippines in November, 2005.He also visited United Kingdom in February, 2006 in connection with The UK-Pakistan Judicial Protocol on Child and Family Laws.Attended XVII World Congress of the “International Association of Youth and Family Judges and Magistrates” at Belfast, Northern Ireland in August, 2006.Visited Malaysia in August, 2006 to deliver a Public Lecture on the topic, “The Relationship between Law and Mortality in Islamic Common Law System”.Visited India on Golden Jubilee Celebration of Indian Law Institute in November, 2006.Attended the Symposium on 47th Anniversary of the Constitutional Court of Turkey in April, 2009.Attended the 17th Commonwealth Law Conference on “Emerging Economics and the Rule of Law - Opportunities and Challenges” in Hyderabad, India in February, 2011.His lordship attended International Conference of Jurists 28th-29th May, 2012, United Kingdom.He was also awarded different awards by the International Organizations including the National Law Journal, published in the United States,honoured him as the lawyer of the year for 2007.The Nova Southeastern University conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa. The Honorary Degree Citation of May 10, 2008.The Association of the Bar of the City of New York also granted Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry an honorary membership in the association on November 17, 2008, recognizing him as a “symbol of the movement for judicial and lawyer independence in Pakistan.”He also received Medal of Freedom from the Harvard Law School (HLS).First Life time Achievement Award.The Karachi Tax Bar Association also presented First Life Time Achievement Award to Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry in recognition of His lordship struggle for rule of law and independence of judiciary on March 3, 2012.Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry received International Jurists Award 2012 from Rt. Hon. Lord Phillips, President of Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, conferred by International Jurists Council on May 28, 2012 in recognition of his Lordship’s unique and tremendous contribution in the field of administration of justice.The Sindh High Court Bar Association conferred Life Time Achievement Award to Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on September 28, 2012.On Tuesday, addressing the last full court meeting led by him, Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry expressed satisfaction on the way the judiciary.Appreciating Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry's efforts, the chief justice-designate Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jilani said the outgoing chief justice possesses strong nerves. I feel proud to have been part of his team, he added.On the occasion, Justice Asif Saeed Khosa said that he would proudly tell his grandsons that he worked with the chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.Lauding the hard work of Justice Chaudhry, Justice Saqib Nisar said that the chief justice played the best innings and called him 'Sachin Tendulkar' of the apex court.Addressing the full court, Justice Jawwad S Khawaja said that he is short of words to appreciate the efforts of the retiring chief justice.Highlighting the significance of the verdicts, Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali said that each verdict of Justice Chaudhry is a landmark.Paying tribute to the leadership of retiring chief justice, Justice Nasir ul Mulk said the leadership qualities of Justice Chaudhry are priceless.Justice Amir Hani Muslim said that the personalities like the outgoing chief justice are born in centuries.

Bid to colonize Mars wins high-profile backing

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WASHINGTON (AFP) - A Dutch entrepreneurs bold quest to colonize Mars won high-profile support Tuesday from a US aerospace giant, although the timetable for putting humans on the red planet has been pushed back two years.Mars One chief executive Bas Lansdorp said Lockheed Martin would, for $250,000, produce a mission concept study for an unmanned Martian lander that would precede the $6 billion manned mission.Britains Surrey Satellite Technology will meanwhile turn out a similar study, for 60,000 euros ($80,000), for a satellite that would hover in orbit over the lander and relay data and images back to Earth.Plans call for the unmanned lander to reach Mars in 2018.But as for the ultimate goal of putting humans on Mars, Lansdorp told reporters in Washington that our first humans will land in 2025 -- two years later than he announced earlier this year.The first four earthlings-turned-Martians would be joined every two years by additional groups of four or more astronauts -- all on one-way tickets to spaces next frontier, he said.Some 200,000 people have already applied to go to Mars, Lansdorp said, and they will learn by the end of this year whether they have passed the first-round selection process.Lockheed Martin, which made $2.65 billion in fiscal 2011, mostly from defense contracts, built NASAs Phoenix robotic spacecraft that landed on Mars in 2008 in search of evidence of water.Ed Sedivy, the companys chief engineer for civilian space projects, said the Mars One lander would likely look like Phoenix on the outside, albeit with a carpet of thin solar paneling running off its side.Inside, however, it would be fitted with the latest space electronics, said Sedivy, who was previously Lockheed Martins point man for the Phoenix mission.Although Lansdorp opened his press conference by saying Lockheed Martin will build the first Mars lander for Mars One, Sedivy said it had been contracted so far only for the concept study.Besides conducting experiments, including a search for possible ways of creating water on Mars surface, the lander will carry letters from youngsters on Earth to welcome the first Martian colonists, Lansdorp said.He also envisioned a camera dangling from a balloon several hundred meters above the lander that would beam images back to Earth in real time.Lansdorp expects it will cost $6 billion to put the first humans on Mars, where they will be expected to star in the galaxys first interplanetary reality TV show.He expects a big chunk of funding to come from sponsors and partners such as universities with experiments theyd like to see piggy-backing onto the mission.A range of potential pitfalls might prevent Mars One from becoming a reality, including an inability to return to Earth, the small living quarters and the lack of food and water on Mars.That assumes, of course, that radiation endured by its astronauts during the trip is not lethal, and that their spacecraft will be able to negotiate a volatile landing onto the harsh Martian landscape.The project has garnered plenty of skeptics, but its supporters include Dutch Nobel laureate Gerard t Hooft, who won the 1999 prize for physics and appears in a video for Mars One on the Indiegogo crowd-funding website.The worlds space agencies have only managed to send unmanned robotic rovers to Mars so far, the latest being NASAs $2.5 billion Curiosity rover, which touched down in August 2012.If it succeeds, Mars One would be the first private-sector initiative, manned or unmanned, to explore another planet.

France snubs Google culture launch amid row

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PARIS (AFP) - Frances culture minister on Tuesday cancelled her attendance at a Paris launch of a Google cultural hub at the last minute, in a snub to the US giant over data protection and other issues.The French government is at loggerheads with Google over privacy, a push to make it pass on part of its advertising revenue to newspapers and other content providers its search engine links to, and its controversial tax arrangements.Culture Minister Aurelie Filippettis office told AFP she had decided not to go as planned to the launch of the Lab -- which Google Vice President Vint Cerf attended -- so as not to be seen as fully backing the tech firm despite the quality of the project.At this stage, we do not have enough assurances on a certain number of issues, one aide said, adding Filippetti wanted Google to commit more resolutely on areas such as the protection of personal data and taxation.Cerf said he was very disappointed by Filippettis last-minute cancellation.Its a disappointment because this is not about politics, this is about culture. This is about recognising global culture and making it available and exploring technology and the way in which it affects art, he said in an interview with parliamentary channel Public Senat.The Lab is a place in the French capital designed to enable artists, museums, foundations and other cultural players to meet the US giants engineers and gain access to its technology.A workshop equipped with experimental technology such as a giant interactive screen, a 3D printing stand and a very high-resolution camera will be made available and the Lab will also set up a residency programme for young artists from around the world.It is a physical extension of Googles online Cultural Institute, which showcases exhibitions, archives and monuments from around the world on the Internet.Like other technology giants, Google has come under the spotlight following revelations by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden of widespread online eavesdropping by US and other intelligence agencies.But the firms have argued they have no choice but to give information when requested to do so by the US government.Earlier this month, Google said the number of requests for user data from governments and law enforcement organs had doubled since 2010.Aside from Snowdens revelations, Frances data protection watchdog maintains Google has failed to comply with the European countrys national privacy guidelines and announced in September it would take action against the US giant.France is also currently investigating Googles practice of channelling revenues through Bermuda to reduce its exposure to taxes in a number of countries.

Bangladesh's top court halts Abdul Quader Molla's execution

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DHAKA (AFP) - Bangladeshs highest court on Tuesday halted the execution of a top Islamist just 90 minutes before he was to become the first person executed for war crimes committed during the countrys bloody independence fight.Supreme Court chamber judge Syed Mahmud Hossain stopped the execution of Abdul Quader Molla, a senior leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami party described by prosecutors as the Butcher of Mirpur, until 10:30 am Wednesday (0430 GMT), the court registrar said.The execution has been halted pending a hearing on Wednesday, the registrar told AFP, without elaborating.Defence lawyer Shishir Munir said they were seeking a last-minute review of Mollas execution order as the countrys constitution enshrines rights for a death-row convict to have his appeal heard in the Supreme Court.Molla has been convicted of mass murder and rape during the Bangladeshs 1971 independence war against Pakistan.Earlier in the day, Bangladeshs secular government had said it would go ahead with the execution of Molla at one minute past midnight -- despite a global outcry over the lack of a right to appeal.In anticipation of the hanging, security has been tightened across the country and outside the jail in Old Dhaka where it was set to take place.Observers worry Mollas execution could trigger massive protests in the unrest-plagued country, which is experiencing its worst political violence since independence.At least 224 people have died in battles between opposition protesters, police and government supporters since January this year.Bangladeshs deputy law minister Quamrul Islam had earlier announced the execution, adding the Jamaat leader had refused to seek a last-minute presidential clemency.Prisons chief Main Uddin Khandaker said all preparations had been made for the execution.Twenty-three members of Mollas extended family visited the jail to say good-bye to him, his son Hasan Jamil told AFP outside the prison gate earlier in the day.My father is being executed only because of his involvement in Islamic movement in the country, Jamil said, adding Molla looked calm hours ahead of when the execution had been scheduled, and had asked all family members to be patient.On Sunday, a tribunal signed an execution order for Molla, and sent it to the main jail in the capital Dhaka, raising speculation that the former journalist could be hanged any moment.New York-based activist group Human Rights Watch and two UN Special Rapporteurs have warned that by executing Molla without giving him the opportunity to appeal for a review, the country could be breaking international law.What logic do they have to stop the execution? Islam told AFP when asked about the criticism from rights experts. Did they stop the execution of Saddam Hussein? he said, referring to the former Iraqi dictator who was hanged in December 2006.Molla was convicted of rape, murder and mass murder, including the killing of over 350 unarmed Bengali civilians.Prosecutors described him as the Butcher of Mirpur, after a Dhaka suburb where he committed most of the atrocities.A domestic war crimes court had originally sentenced him to life imprisonment in February -- but the sentence prompted protests by tens of thousands of secular demonstrators, who viewed it as too lenient.Under pressure, the government amended the war crime law retroactively to allow it to appeal the sentence and seek the death penalty, which the Supreme Court then handed down in September.UN expert Gabriela Knaul argued that any death sentence had to be reviewed by a higher tribunal, as laid down in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which Bangladesh is a party.Defence lawyers and Knaul had said the Supreme Court should have reviewed its own verdict, as enshrined in the countrys constitution, which the government rejects.Bangladeshi laws allow review of any death sentences in the Supreme Court, but prosecutors had said there is no such provision in the special war crime laws, which were enacted to prosecute suspected war criminals.New York-based Human Rights Watch said the execution order was particularly reprehensible because the laws to hang Molla were retroactively passed in order to enable the death penalty, and where the right to appeal is not allowed.Bangladesh regularly carries out the death sentence, but Mollas death would be the most high profile execution since January 2010, when five ex-army officers were put to death over the assassination of the countrys founding leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Two Croatia players face World Cup bans by FIFA

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ZURICH (AP) - Croatias Mario Mandzukic risks being suspended for all three World Cup group matches when FIFA judges his disciplinary case on Thursday.FIFA says its disciplinary panel will also consider a case against Croatia defender Joe Simunic, who led fans in Zagreb chanting a fascist slogan after the team qualified by beating Iceland last month.Mandzukic will miss the World Cup opener against Brazil after being sent off for an appalling studs-high challenge in the playoff second-leg match.The Bayern Munich player gets an automatic one-match ban for his challenge on Icelands Johann Gudmundsson.FIFAs panel can impose a longer sanction if they consider it to be serious foul play.Croatia also plays Cameroon and Mexico in Group A.

UK fraud case against billionaire Dahdaleh dropped

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LONDON (AP) - A U.K. case against Canadian-British billionaire Victor Dahdaleh collapsed Tuesday, clearing the tycoon of allegations he bribed senior officials at Aluminium Bahrain BSC, known as Alba.The Serious Fraud Office dropped the case after concluding there was no realistic prospect of conviction. The case fell apart after a key witness changed his story and two American witnesses refused to take part.The collapse of the case will be embarrassing to the SFO, which is seeking to rebuild its reputation under new leadership.Dahdaleh is the chairman of metals and chemicals firm Dadco and has been active in politics on both sides of the Atlantic.Dahdaleh also served as the past president of the Canada-United Kingdom Chamber of Commerce, an honor that gave him a place at the table when Queen Elizabeth II queen and her husband Prince Philip attended a dinner at the Canadian High Commission in London in 2005.
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