Tuesday 17 December 2013

Dunya TV

Dunya TV

South Sudan clashes claim 400-500 lives: UN

Posted:

UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - Between 400-500 bodies have reportedly been taken to hospitals in South Sudans capital after clashes between rival army factions, a UN official told the UN Security Council on Tuesday.UN peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous added that another 800 people have been wounded in battles between troops loyal to President Salva Kiir and an opposition leader, according to diplomats in closed council consultations on the new African crisis.Between 15,000 and 20,000 people have sought refuge in UN compounds around Juba since the troubles started on Sunday, the official was quoted as saying.Ladsous told the council the death toll was based on reports given by Juba hospitals but the UN has not yet confirmed the figure because of new clashes on Tuesday.Security Council president Gerard Araud, Frances UN ambassador, would not confirm the toll after the talks.There is a heavy toll, it is obvious, Araud told reporters, while adding that precise figures were not yet available. There are dozens and scores of casualties, it is really not a minor incident, he said.Araud added that fighting had also been reported outside of the capital, in Pibor in Jonglei state which has a history of clashes between rival ethnic groups.Juba remains extremely tense and it appeared the clashes were being carried out on ethnic lines, Ladsous told the 15-member council.Salva Kiir has accused troops loyal to former vice president Riek Machar of staging a coup attempt in the impoverished nation.The government said 10 key figures including ex-ministers have been arrested, but that Riek Machar was on the run.Salva Kiir is an ethnic Dinka while Riek Machar is a Nuer.UN leader Ban Ki-moon spoke with Salva Kiir on Tuesday and urged him to offer dialogue with the opposition. Ban also spoke with the president of neighboring Uganda, Yoweri Musseveni, about the unrest, officials said.The Security Council meeting was called at the request of the United States which has ordered non-essential diplomatic staff out of South Sudan.Araud said the council was preparing a statement on the crisis and would discuss South Sudan again in coming days.

European Union takes key steps on bank deposit guarantee system

Posted:

BRUSSELS (AFP) - The EU took a step Tuesday toward a new bank regulatory framework after the European Parliament reached a political accord with EU leaders on how to fund a deposit guarantee system.Bank deposits under 100,000 euros ($137,000), which governments have pledged to protect since 2010, will now be covered by funds set aside by the banks themselves, a Parliament statement said.As a result, the taxpayer will no longer be called on to help a problem bank, whose future will be settled through an overall EU Banking Union framework being negotiated to supervise, restructure and if necessary close failing lenders before they damage the wider economy.EU Financial Markets Commissioner Michel Barnier, who first mooted the idea three years ago, welcomed the move as increasing protection for savers and as another important step to financial stability.A deposit guarantee system is the third pillar of the Banking Union after an already agreed Single Supervisor Mechanism and a Single Resolution Mechanism, currently being discussed.The Parliament said the agreement reached with the Lithuanian European Union presidency requires each member state to set up a guarantee fund worth 0.8 percent of all its covered deposits within 10 years.Depositors will be able to get their money within seven working days, it said, an improvement on the previous suggestion of 20 days.This is a good day for the taxpayer and for depositors, said Peter Simon, the Social Democrat MEP who led the negotiations for the Parliament.We have further severed the link between taxpayers and banks, and depositors will be able to receive their money more quickly, Simon said.The central aim of the Banking Union is to ensure that it is the banks themselves who fund bailouts, rather than the taxpayer who has so far put up hundreds of billions of euros to rescue problem lenders.Banks will contribute differently to the deposit fund according to their risk profile, with those exercising riskier activities contributing more, Parliament said.The 17 eurozone finance ministers were meeting late Tuesday to thrash out final details on the SRM before meeting their 11 non-euro counterparts on Wednesday.

NASA delays cargo mission for space station repairs

Posted:

WASHINGTON (AFP) - NASA on Tuesday postponed a cargo mission to the International Space Station and instead scheduled three spacewalks so that astronauts can fix a broken cooling system at the research outpost.The decision means that Orbital Sciences' first regular supply-ship mission to the ISS will be put off until next year.Instead, a pair of US astronauts will embark on three spacewalks that culminate on Christmas Day, in order to fix the week-old equipment breakdown.NASA astronauts Rick Mastracchio and Mike Hopkins will remove a pump module that has a failed valve, NASA said in a statement.They will replace it with an existing spare that is stored on an external stowage platform.On December 11, a faulty valve caused a breakdown in one of the station's two external cooling loops, which circulate ammonia outside the station to keep both internal and external equipment cool, the US space agency said.Attempts to fix the problem from the ground were apparently not enough to allow the Orbital mission to berth at the research outpost to unload supplies.NASA said the three spacewalks are scheduled for December 21, 23 and 25. The six-man crew was never in danger due to the problem, but NASA has said it would like the system fixed for good, and soon.That means Orbital Sciences' privately owned cargo ship will have to wait for 2014 to start its journey on its first regular commercial mission to supply the orbiting outpost.The company did a demonstration launch and berthing at the ISS in September, showing it was capable of the mission and paving the way for more supply trips.When NASA lost its capacity to reach space with the retirement of the 30-year shuttle program in 2011, Orbital Sciences and SpaceX stepped in to fill the void with their privately-made supply spacecraft.Both companies have lucrative contracts with the US space agency to ferry supplies to the ISS.SpaceX, the California-based company owned by Internet entrepreneur Elon Musk, became the first private company to reach the ISS in 2012 and has a $1.6 billion contract for 12 missions with its Dragon space capsule.Orbital has a $1.9 billion contract with NASA for eight cargo missions to the ISS, toting supplies, food, science experiments and spare parts.The last time astronauts stepped out to replace a faulty ammonia pump was in 2010, and the repair also took three spacewalks to complete.The December trio of spacewalks will mark the first time astronauts have ventured outside the orbiting outpost since a helmet leak brought an early end to a European astronaut's outing in July.Italian Luca Parmitano was wearing a US-made spacesuit when a water leak flooded his helmet and risked drowning him.Two Russians aboard the station are scheduled to step out on a spacewalk for maintenance work on their own module at the lab on December 27.Commander Oleg Kotov and Flight Engineer Sergey Ryazanskiy are slated for the outing to install cameras and other equipment on a platform outside the Russian segment of the station.

US lottery jackpot swells to $636 million

Posted:

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Frantic Americans snapped up $1 lottery tickets on Tuesday as the Mega Millions jackpot swelled to $636 million, making it the second-richest lottery draw in US history.Brisk sales were reported in the 43 states where Mega Millions is played -- and if no winner emerges by this weekend, the jackpot could potentially balloon to a staggering $1 billion on Christmas Eve.The jackpot has been rolling since it was last hit in Maryland for $190 million on October 1, said the Multi-State Lottery Association in a statement.Drawings were scheduled for 11:00 pm Tuesday (0400 GMT Wednesday) and again on Friday at the same time. The record jackpot of $656 million in March 2012 was split between ticket holders in Illinois, Kansas and Maryland, but this draw is the first since a rule change in October.Previously, players picked five numbers from one to 56 plus a number from one to 46.Now it's five numbers from one to 75 plus a number from one to 15 -- shifting the odds of winning from one in 176 million to one in 259 million.By comparison, the odds of being struck by lightning in the United States in one's lifetime is one in 10,000, according to the National Weather Service.

Cricket: 'Glory days are back' says Aussie media

Posted:

SYDNEY (AFP) - Australia's media wallowed in the Ashes humbling of old enemy England on Wednesday, saying they urn-ed it and the glory days are back.The triumph was given prominent coverage, with the Sydney Daily Telegraph screaming No mercy for the dismal Poms while lavishing praise on Michael Clarke. Cricket writer Malcolm Conn called it the skipper's finest hour.To pick up a cobbled-together side from the wreckage of poor Indian and England tours and reclaim the Ashes in such emphatic fashion is one of the great achievements in Australian cricket, he said, after the home side took an unbeatable 3-0 lead in the series.Clarke and coach Darren Lehmann have not built a side with Australia's next generation of stars, as Allan Border and coach Bob Simpson did through the late 80s to so surprisingly win the 1987 World Cup and 1989 Ashes.Instead, the current captain and coach have dragged a bunch of ageing hard heads out of the Last Chance saloon and given them an unexpected shot at glory.An ageing team finally coming good was a theme the Sydney Morning Herald also ran with, while simply stating It's ours on its front page.Seldom can it be confidently stated that one moment is a highpoint in a sportsman's career, but for a lot of this Australian team, nothing will match it because there is so little time left, wrote Malcolm Knox.He pointed to Chris Rogers and Brad Haddin, who are both 36, while Ryan Harris is 34.Shane Watson, George Bailey, Mitchell Johnson and Clarke all have, as cricketers, a lot more yesterdays than tomorrows. They are a mature team with only the present to play for, he added, while rejoicing in their emphatic defeat of England.The overwhelming margin of their victories against a team that tormented them just a few months ago is one of those examples of why it's called cricket, wonderful cricket -- wonderful in both senses: excellent and marvellous.Even the usually staid Australian Financial Review devoted nearly two pages to the story, proclaiming the Glory days are back.The Australian media largely focused on their own team, leaving criticism of the hapless English to their British counterparts, summed up by England veteran Geoff Boycott, who said Alastair Cook's men had cocked it up big time.The Australian waded into the debate, asking in a headline if Weary Captain Cook could go down with his rudderless ship.Cook knows the recriminations that await him, wrote the daily's Wayne Smith.If he needed a preview of the stinging vitriol to come, he only had to glance at the English media yesterday.Even before the start of play... the raging debate was whether Cook could, or even should, survive as captain. He added that the inescapable evidence is that England is a team in decline.One would be tempted to say terminal decline were it not for the fight displayed yesterday by Ben Stokes and in recent times by Joe Root and Michael Carberry.

Perth Glory sack coach over player revolt

Posted:

PERTH (AFP) - Perth Glory were on the hunt for a new coach Wednesday after sacking former Socceroo Alistair Edwards following a reported player revolt led by skipper Jacob Burns.Edwards was given his marching orders by the A-league club, which boasts former Arsenal and Chelsea star William Gallas among its ranks, just one year into a three-season deal.Perth media said senior players had become increasingly frustrated over his team selections, including perceived nepotism towards his two sons Cameron and Ryan, who play for Glory.Tensions reached a flashpoint on Friday, which the club acknowledged in a statement.In the Perth Glory change rooms following the match against Melbourne Victory on Friday December 13, differences of opinion were voiced by a number of players and coaches, it said.Chief executive Jason Brewer said the club tried to reach a compromise but regrettably that was not possible.I am disappointed in this outcome, as we tried at all times to find a workable compromise, but ultimately the best interests of the players, staff, fans, sponsors and business partners of Perth Glory Football Club are my primary concern, and always will be, said Brewer.

Cells from eye 'printed' for the first time

Posted:

PARIS (AFP) - Neuroscientists on Tuesday said they had used an inkjet printer to print cells from the eye, making a practical step in the quest to grow replenishment tissue for damaged or diseased organs.Researchers at England's University of Cambridge extracted two types of cells from rat retinas and sent them through a printer nozzle to see if they survived.The cells remained healthy after being printed, retaining their ability to survive and grow in culture, they reported in the British journal Biofabrication. Three-dimensional printing is one of the new frontiers in engineering.In that field, liquid or powdered polymers are substituted for ink. Sprayed in layers, the plastic forms a 3-D shape -- a boon for designers or exporters, for example, who want to show off a model of their product.But biotechnologists are also interested in printing, given the potential it offers for building artificial tissue in layers.This is the first time that the technology has been used to successfully print mature cells from the central nervous system, the scientists said. They cautioned, however, that much work lay ahead.The co-authors, Keith Martin and Barbara Lorber of the university's John van Geest Centre for Brain Repair, said the hope was one day to build retinal tissue for people suffering from degenerative diseases of the eye.The loss of nerve cells in the retina is a feature of many blinding eye diseases, they said in a press release. The retina is an exquisitely organised structure, where the precise arrangement of cells in relation to one another is critical for effective visual function.The team used a piezoelectric inkjet printer head, which expelled so-called glia cells and retinal ganglion cells from adult lab rats through a single nozzle less than one millimetre (0.04 of an inch) across.The feat is important, because inkjet fluid has a narrow margin of error in terms of viscosity and surface tension. Adding cells to the liquid complicates its properties significantly, said inkjet engineer Wen-Kai Hsiao.The only hitch was a large loss in the number of cells through sedimentation, meaning that they tended to sink to the bottom of the fluid reservoir and could not be printed.But the cells that were printed were undamaged and sound. The delicate cellular membranes survived, despite the high speed at which they were ejected.The next steps will be to see if other retinal cells, including light-sensitive photoreceptors, can be successfully printed and experiment with commercial print heads, which use multiple nozzles.

British crackdown on EU migrant benefit begins on Jan 1

Posted:

LONDON (AFP) - A British crackdown on benefit tourism will begin on January 1 when migrants from the European Union will be banned from claiming unemployment handouts until three months after arrival, Prime Minister David Cameron announced Wednesday.Cameron said the move, part of a package of immigration measures announced last month, would make Britain a less attractive place for EU migrants who want to come here and try to live off the state.The prime minister is under pressure from his Conservative party and right-leaning newspapers to manage an expected influx of migrants from Bulgaria and Romania, two of the EU's poorest members, when restrictions on their entry to Britain end on January 1.I want to send the clear message that whilst Britain is very much open for business, we will not welcome people who don't want to contribute, Cameron said.Most EU citizens coming to the UK come here to work as part of the single market and contribute to the economy and pay their taxes.But for those who come here without jobs to go to, we are today tightening up the rules to stop them claiming out of work benefits from day one.The new rules mean migrants from all 27 of Britain's fellow EU countries will be unable to claim Jobseeker's Allowance, a handout of at least 56.80 a week ($92.50, 67.20 euros), until three months after their arrival.The allowance will be cut off six months after the first payment, unless the claimant has compelling evidence that they have a genuine chance of finding work, Cameron's office said.Under the crackdown announced by Cameron last month, EU migrants will also be banned from claiming housing benefits, while migrants found begging or homeless will be removed and barred from re-entering Britain for a year.The plans have been criticised by the EU's employment commissioner Laszlo Andor, who warned that Britain risked being seen as the EU's nasty country.Cameron said the crackdown would bring an end to a something for nothing culture.He has also proposed quadrupling the fine levied on businesses which employ migrants for less than the national minimum wage, to up to 20,000 per employee, in a bid to stop employers exploiting cheap migrant labour.Cameron has pledged to renegotiate Britain's relationship with the EU before holding a referendum on membership of the bloc by 2017.

US hospital shooting leaves two dead, two injured

Posted:

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Two people were killed and two injured in a shooting Tuesday at hospital in Nevada, in which the gunman apparently took his own life, police said.The incident occurred at a building connected to the Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno, reports said. We have two people confirmed deceased in the building, said Reno Police Department deputy chief Tom Robinson.The shooter is one of the deceased, he said, adding that the fatal wound appears to be self-inflicted.He gave no other details.The incident came days after the anniversary Saturday of the Sandy Hook massacre which killed 26 people including 20 children in Newtown, Connecticut.

Football: Barcelona cruise into Copa del Rey last 16

Posted:

MADRID (AFP) - La Liga leaders Barcelona comfortably secured their place in the last 16 of the Copa del Rey with a 3-0 win over third-tier Cartagena on Tuesday, to seal a 7-1 win on aggregate.Cartagena threatened to embarrass their illustrous hosts when Zurdo struck the post midway through the first-half.However, any hopes the visitors had of a famous victory were quashed when Pedro neatly swept home Martin Montoyas cross for his third goal of the tie.Without a host of regular starters, Barca struggled to create clear-cut openings all evening but they were gifted a second goal 23 minutes from time when Mariano Martinez turned Cristian Tellos cross into his own net.And Neymar rounded off the scoring with his sixth goal in his last three games when he headed home Andres Iniestas cross three minutes from time.Barca will now face Getafe in the last 16 after the Madrid side thrashed Girona 4-1 to secure their place in the next round by the same score on aggregate.Osasuna, fresh from their 2-2 draw against Real Madrid on Saturday, will face Los Blancos again in January should Madrid overcome Olimpic Xativa on Wednesday as the Navarrans progressed on away goals after a 1-1 draw at home to Malaga on Tuesday.Meanwhile, Levante beat second division Recreativo Huelva 4-0 to also progress 4-1 on aggregate.

Three killed, several injured in Rawalpindi blast

Posted:

RAWALPINDI (Dunya News/ Agencies) – At least three persons including a Station House Officer died and several others injured in a blast near Imambargah in Gracy Lane here on Tuesday.The strike took place in the Gracy Lines neighbourhood of the garrison city of Rawalpindi, which neighbours the capital Islamabad, as worshippers prayed inside the mosque, senior police official Akhtar Laleka said.The bomber came on a motorcycle and detonated himself when intercepted by police at the first checkpoint, he added.The bomb destroyed several motorcycles and damaged nearby shops, said an AFP photographer at the scene.Hospital officials said at least three people were killed and 14 others were wounded.We have three bodies and 14 wounded people at our hospital, Asif Qadir Mir, chief of the local government hospital, told AFP.There has been a rise in sectarian violence in Pakistan after several deadly clashes between Sunni and Shiite Muslim groups near Islamabad in November.Allama Nasir Abbas from Islams minority branch was killed late Sunday in Lahore, the capital of Punjab province, after addressing a religious gathering.On November 19, gunmen killed a senior Shiite university director along with his driver in Lahore, while another Shiite leader and his guard were killed in Karachi in early December.Three days later, Shamsur Rehman Muawiya, chief of the Sunni extremist organisation Ahl-e-Sunnat Wal Jammat for Punjab province, was killed in Lahore.Pakistan is rife with sectarian clashes, with Sunni militant groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Taliban often attacking gatherings by Shiites, who constitute some 20 percent of the countrys population.President Mamnoon Hussain and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif strongly condemned the blast.On the other hand, Punjab CM Shahbaz Sharif has taken the notice of the incident and sought a report from the authorities concerned.A security high alert has also been issued for the capital city of Islamabad following the brutal suicide attack in Rawalpindi.

Three killed, several injured in Rawalpindi blast

Posted:

RAWALPINDI (Dunya News) – At least three persons including a police sub-inspector died and several others injured in a blast near Imambargah in Gracy Lane here on Tuesday.According to police, the suicide blast occurred near a procession that was being taken out from the Imambargah. A number of vehicles and motorcycles were also damaged in the explosion.Law enforcement agencies cordoned off the area and rescue teams and Bomb Disposal Squad reached at the site of the incident.The injured were shifted to hospital for treatment.Police have started investigation into the incident.President Mamnoon Hussain and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif strongly condemned the blast.

Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan rejects offer of peace talks

Posted:

ISLAMABAD (Reuters/ Web Desk) – Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan on Tuesday rejected peace talks with the government and its chief Mullah Fazlullahhas pledged to step up attacks as part of his campaign to topple the central government and establish his own version of Sharia rule in Pakistan.Like previous governments this one is a puppet of the United States. Its powerless and dollar-hungry, said Shahidullah Shahid, a Pakistani Taliban spokesman.He told Reuters the Taliban had information that plans were already under way for a state military operation, saying the Taliban were ready for battle.They should happily launch a military operation against us. We have seen their military operations in the past and would like them to start this long-awaited operation, he said defiantly.Pakistan ruled out military action against the Taliban on Tuesday and promised to pursue peace only through talks, but the insurgents immediately rejected its call for negotiations.Earlier, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif chaired a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security here on Tuesday.The committee deliberated upon the government’s strategy to engage various groups of Pakistani Taliban to address issues of extremism and militancy.The committee reaffirmed government’s commitment to the strategy of negotiations with TTP and considered the use of other options only as a last resort.Mullah Fazlullah, the Pakistani Talibans new hardline leader, says peace talks are meaningless and has pledged to step up attacks as part of his campaign to topple the central government and establish Islamist rule in Pakistan.The emergence of Mullah Fazlullah as TTP’s new hardline leader has prompted speculation that Pakistan might have to ditch hopes for a negotiated ceasefire and resort to military action against militants holed up in lawless ethnic Pashtun areas on the Afghan border.Under Fazlullah, Taliban fighters took over Pakistans Swat valley in 2009, imposing austere Islamic rule and eventually prompting the army to launch a major offensive to flush them out of the strategic region just 160 km (100 miles) northwest of Islamabad.Nicknamed Mullah Radio for his fiery broadcasts in Swat, Fazlullah is best known for ordering the assassination of teenage female education activist Malala Yousafzai. She survived the attack and now lives in Britain.Fazlullah has now promised a new campaign of shootings and bombings against the government, particularly in the densely populated Punjab province - Sharifs political powerbase.But, a month after he took over as the Taliban chief, there have been no major attacks in Pakistan.The Pakistani Taliban are allied with the Afghan Taliban but Afghan Taliban militants are intent on expelling foreign forces from Afghanistan and do not fight the Pakistani government.Fazlullah, who fled to Afghanistan after the 2009 operation, has now returned to his homeland to lead the insurgency.He was named as the leader of TT last month after his predecessor, Hakimullah Mehsud, was killed in a U.S. drone strike on November 1. Unlike Fazlullah, Mehsud had been more open to idea of talks.

World experiences hottest November in 137 years: US

Posted:

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The month of November was the hottest since record-keeping began in 1880, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Tuesday.The finding was based on globally averaged land and surface temperatures last month, NOAA said in a statement.The combined average temperature over global land and ocean surfaces for November 2013 was record highest for the 134-year period of record, NOAA said.The average temperature was 0.78 Celsius (1.40 Fahrenheit), above the 20th century average of 12.9 Celsius (55.2 Fahrenheit), NOAA said. It was also the 37th November in a row with worldwide temperatures above the 20th century average.In fact, the last 28 years have been warmer than normal, NOAA added. The last below-average November global temperature was November 1976 and the last below-average global temperature for any month was February 1985, the agency said.Many parts of the world had warmer than average temperatures last month, while record warmth was seen in parts of Russia, India and the Pacific Ocean. There were no parts of the world with record cold temperatures last month, but parts of Australia and North America were cooler than average.

Football: Jack Wilshere charged over Manchester City gesture

Posted:

LONDON (AFP) - The Football Association (FA) announced on Tuesday that Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere has been charged over an alleged offensive gesture during his sides Premier League defeat at Manchester City last Saturday.Television pictures showed Wilshere raising his middle finger -- apparently towards home supporters -- during the Premier League leaders heavy 6-3 loss to City at the Etihad Stadium. The England international, 21, has until 6 pm (1800 GMT) on Wednesday to respond to the charge.Arsenal midfield player Jack Wilshere has been charged by the FA with making an offensive and/or insulting and/or abusive gesture, read a statement from the FA.The charge follows an alleged gesture made during the fixture between Manchester City and Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday 14 December. The incident was not seen by match officials, but was caught on video.Wilshere has been charged under a new FA pilot project enabling a three-man disciplinary panel to review footage of incidents not seen by the match officials and advise if action needs to be taken.The FA added: For an FA charge to follow, all three panel members must agree it is a sending-off offence. In this instance, the panel were unanimous.Liverpool striker Luis Suarez was suspended for one match, fined 20,000 ($32,500, 23,600) and warned as to his future conduct after making a similar gesture to opposition fans following a 1-0 defeat at Fulham two years ago.A one-game suspension would rule Wilshere out of his sides clash with second-place Chelsea on Monday.Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said after the game against City that the club would accept any disciplinary action taken against Wilshere, if he did it.
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)