Thursday 19 December 2013

Dunya TV

Dunya TV

IMF signs off on next aid disbursement for Pakistan

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund on Thursday said Pakistan has so far complied with most of the conditions under its $6.7 billion loan program, and gave the country its next chunk of aid.The IMFs board said Pakistan had not managed to stick to its promise to have a certain level of international reserves by the end of September, but waived the requirement since the government has since fixed the issue.The approval means Pakistan is set to receive about $553 million from the IMF.The authorities performance under the (program) has been satisfactory, Nemat Shafik, the IMFs deputy managing director, said after the board discussed Pakistan.Nonetheless, overall vulnerabilities remain high, and it will be crucial to consolidate the fiscal adjustment, boost external buffers, and deepen structural reforms.Pakistan had averted a balance of payments crisis in 2008 after securing an $11 billion IMF loan package, which was suspended two years ago after economic and reform targets were missed.This time, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, elected in May, promised the IMF to privatize loss-making state industries, reform a faltering energy sector, expand Pakistans tiny tax base and cut government borrowing.But the financial situation remains dire. Pakistans foreign exchange reserves have dwindled. Tax collection is also a huge hurdle in a country where just 0.57 percent of citizens paid income tax last year, contributing to one of the lowest tax-to-GDP ratios in the world. Public services are woefully underfunded.A more ambitious approach is needed to improve tax administration and eliminate tax loopholes, Shafik said.

4.7 magnitude quake jolts parts of Sindh, Balochistan

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KARACHI (Dunya News) -A 4.7-magnitude earthquake hit several districts of Sindh and Balochistan early on Friday, seismologists said.The tremor was felt in Larkana, Khairpur, Shahdadkot, Dadu, Mahire, Pad Eidan, Faizgunj, Jacobabad in Sindh province and Dera Murad Jamali, Naseerabad, Jaffarabad and Jhal Magsi in Balochistan province.The quake struck at 00:28 am local time (1928 GMT) at the relatively shallow depth of five kilometres (three miles), 63 kilometres west of Larkana in Sindh province, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said.In an initial assessment, the USGS said there was a low likelihood of casualties and damage.

Altaf asks party workers to prepare for LB Polls

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KARACHI (Online): Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain has asked party workers to fully prepare for upcoming local bodies elections.Addressing party workers in Karachi, South and Central Punjab, he said those living in palaces could never understand the problems of the poor masses, adding that only middle class could feel the grievances of deprived class of the people.In his speech, Altaf Hussain paid tribute to workers for remaining steadfast during hard times.

Karachi: Two girls molested

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KARACHI (Dunya News) – According to details, the first incident occurred in the jurisdiction of Sachal Police Station where an 11-year-old girl was molested. The accused managed to escape.The ill-fated girl has been shifted to Jinnah Hospital.The other incident occurred in the jurisdiction of Shahrah-e-Faisal Police Station where 23-year-old woman was molested by three people. Police have arrested an accused on suspension.

Obama would veto Iran bill: spokesman

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WASHINGTON (AFP) - The White House warned Congress Thursday that President Barack Obama would veto a bill threatening new sanctions on Iran, saying it could derail diplomacy aimed at sealing a comprehensive nuclear deal.The bill, backed by both Democratic and Republican senators, would impose new sanctions on Tehran if it violated an interim nuclear agreement reached last month or if no final deal is reached.But the White House appears alarmed that the move could undermine the Iranian negotiating team or offer the Islamic Republic an excuse to walk away from the negotiations.If it were to pass, the president will veto it, White House spokesman Jay Carney said.Carney argued that the legislation was unnecessary because if a deal was not reached there would be no impediment to Congress, in conjunction with the White House, swiftly passing tougher sanctions.Twenty-six US senators introduced new Iran sanctions legislation earlier Thursday, despite an intense White House lobbying campaign.The Nuclear Weapon Free Iran Act, introduced by Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Robert Menendez, fellow Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer and Republican Senator Mark Kirk, would kick in should Iran violate the temporary deal or should negotiators fail to reach a comprehensive final agreement.Current sanctions brought Iran to the negotiating table and a credible threat of future sanctions will require Iran to cooperate and act in good faith, said Menendez in a statement introducing the legislation.It was not immediately clear if or when the bill could see a vote on the Senate floor. A vote this year is highly unlikely, with the Senate set to recess this week until early 2014.Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has indicated he is opposed to bringing such a bill to the floor in January, saying he agreed with the Obama administrations call to give the delicate negotiations a chance to work.Should the landmark interim deal collapse, the proposed sanctions would require Iran to reduce its oil production and would apply new penalties to the Islamic republics engineering, mining and construction industries.The new legislation was introduced as negotiations were set to resume Thursday in Geneva between Iran and world powers in the so-called P51: the United States, China, Britain, France, Russia and Germany.

Suicide bombers hit Shiites as Iraq unrest kills 41

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BAGHDAD (AFP) - Three suicide bombers detonated explosives belts among Shiite pilgrims in Iraq on Thursday, killing at least 36 people, while militants shot dead a family of five, officials said.The deadliest attack hit the Dura area of south Baghdad, where a bomber targeted pilgrims at a tent where they are served food and drinks on their way to the shrine city of Karbala, killing at least 20 people and wounding at least 40.Among those killed in the blast was Muhanad Mohammed, a journalist who had worked for both foreign and Iraqi media, one of his sons told AFP.He was the seventh journalist to be killed in the country in less than three months.Two more bombers targeted pilgrims in areas south of Baghdad -- one in Yusifiyah, killing eight people and wounding at least 32, and another in Latifiyah, killing at least eight people and wounding at least 18.At Yarmuk Hospital in Baghdad, wounded people were rushed in on gurneys for treatment. Those injured included children and an old woman whose face was covered in blood.One distraught man in the lobby of the surgery department repeatedly struck himself in the face with both hands, overcome with grief.In the street outside, empty wooden coffins sat on vehicles, while people cried and screamed over the loss of loved ones.Hundreds of thousands of people make pilgrimages to the city of Karbala, many of them on foot, during the 40 days after the annual commemoration marking the death of the Prophet Mohammeds grandson, known to Shiites as Imam Hussein.The 40th day, known as Arbaeen, falls on December 23 this year.Sunni militants, including those linked to Al-Qaeda, frequently target members of Iraqs Shiite majority, whom they consider to be apostates.The throngs of pilgrims on the roads make for an easy target, and they have been hit by a series of attacks in the past few days.On Wednesday, a suicide bomber targeted Shiite pilgrims in Khales, north of Baghdad, killing five people and wounding 10.The toll would likely have been higher were it not for the selfless actions of a policeman who embraced the bomber just before the attack, in an effort to shield others from the blast.On Tuesday, two attacks against pilgrims in and near Baghdad killed at least eight people, and on Monday two car bombs targeting pilgrims south of the capital killed at least 24.Also on Thursday, militants dressed in army uniforms attacked the house of an anti-Al-Qaeda militiaman in the Abu Ghraib area, west of Baghdad, killing him, his wife and their three children.The Sahwa militia are made up of Sunni Arabs who joined forces with the United States from late 2006, helping to bring about a significant reduction in violence.They are often targeted by Sunni militants, who consider them traitors.Violence in Iraq has surged this year to levels not seen since 2008, when the country was just emerging from a brutal sectarian conflict.More people were killed in the first eight days of this month than in all of December last year.And more than 6,550 people have been killed since the beginning of 2013, according to AFP figures based on security and medical sources.Analysts say that widespread discontent among Iraqs minority Sunni Arab community is a major factor fuelling the surge in unrest, while the civil war in neighbouring Syria, which has bolstered extremist groups, has also played a role.And though the government has made some concessions aimed at placating Sunni Arabs, including freeing prisoners and raising the salaries of Sahwa fighters, underlying issues remain unaddressed.

Attackers storm UN base in South Sudan

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UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - Attackers stormed a UN base where civilians took refuge in South Sudan on Thursday, killing three Indian peacekeepers with other deaths feared, officials said.The United Nations has lost contact with the base at Akobo in Jonglei state and the fate of more than 30 ethnic Dinka civilians sheltering there was also unknown, UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq told AFP.We have received reports of people killed and injured and are in the process of verifying, said UN deputy secretary general Jan Eliasson who strongly condemned the attack.The UN Security Council called emergency consultations for Friday on the mounting crisis in South Sudan where hundreds have been killed this week in battles between President Salva Kiir and former vice president Riek Machar.Three Indian peacekeepers were targeted and killed in the assault on Akobo, said Indias UN ambassador Asoke Mukerji. A minutes silence for the soldiers was held at a UN meeting on peacekeeping in New York.Forty other Indian peacekeepers and six UN police advisors were moved to safety at a nearby South Sudan Peoples Liberation Army (SPLA) camp, Haq said.The UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) would send 60 reinforcements and aircraft to pick up the peacekeepers. But they would only arrive Friday because Akobo is so difficult to get to, Haq said.The attack was carried out by ethnic Nuer youths in a state which has long suffered from the deep ethnic divisions in South Sudan, the worlds youngest country.The SPLA has split into factions supporting Salva Kiir, an ethnic Dinka, and Riek Machar, a Nuer.UN forces are also protecting 14,000 civilians gathered around a base in Bor, capital of Jonglei state, and protecting the Bor airstrip, Haq said.Bor fell to Riek Machars forces on Wednesday.Hundreds of people have been killed in the capital, Juba, alone since clashes between rival factions of the Sudan Sudanese army erupted on Sunday.Haq said there were unconfirmed reports of several students killed by security forces at Juba University on Wednesday.Several hundred students have stayed on the university campus and asked for UN protection, the spokesman said.Between 2,000 and 5,000 civilians have gathered in another part of Juba, the Kator complex, and had also requested help from UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) peacekeepers, Haq said.More than 15,000 people have sought shelter at two UN and one World Food Programme compounds in Juba.Haq said that food and water supplies and sanitation at the compounds are overstrained.UN leader Ban Ki-moon was appalled by the attack on Akobo, said a separate statement released by the spokesman.If reports of civilian deaths were confirmed those responsible must be held accountable for their crimes, Ban added in the statement.The future of this young nation requires its current leadership to do everything possible to prevent South Sudan descending into the chaos that would be such a betrayal of the ideals behind its long struggle for independence, Ban said.South Sudan became independent in 2011 after a two-decade civil war with Sudan in which more than two million people died.

London theatre ceiling collapses during show, 88 wounded

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LONDON (AFP) - The ceiling of a packed London theatre collapsed on the audience during a performance Thursday, wounding more than 88 people including children and leaving terrified theatregoers covered in blood and dust.The incident happened at the Apollo Theatre during the West End show The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time and comes the week before Christmas when Londons theatres are traditionally busy.Witnesses heard creaking noises in the 112-year-old theatre before the collapse but thought it was part of the show, before a section of the ceiling collapsed and brought down parts of the balconies.Rescuers commandeered a red London double decker bus to transport some of the wounded to hospital, according to AFP journalists at the scene.Emergency services said that they did not believe there were any fatalities and that all those trapped after the incident had now been freed.We have treated 81 walking wounded and seven more seriously injured patients at the Apollo Theatre incident, London Ambulance Service said in a statement.There were around 720 people in the audience at the time, the London Fire Brigade said.A section of the theatres ceiling collapsed onto the audience who were watching the show. The ceiling took parts of the balconies down with it, senior firefighter Nick Harding said.In my time as a fire officer Ive never seen an incident like this. I imagine lots of people were out enjoying the show in the run-up to Christmas.The London Fire Brigades Union said that an ornate ceiling of plaster and wooden supports collapsed.AFPTV reporters saw several people being stretchered away from the scene.Others including some with bandages on their heads were being treated in the lobby of the nearby Queens Theatre, where the musical Les Miserables was showing, which had been turned into a triage centre.Desmond Thomas, 18, part of a school party watching the show, said they heard noises before the accident.Maybe 10 minutes into the performance we heard a tap-tap noise, we thought it was rain, he told AFP.There was a crack and then it suddenly seemed to get bigger and suddenly it collapsed. The next thing we knew the whole theatre filled with dust and smoke.A thunderstorm had hit London in the hour before the incident.A red London bus took several casualties including a child to hospital afterwards, AFP journalists saw.London hospitals said they were on major incident footing.Pictures on social media showed people fleeing the theatre with head injuries and covered in dust.Simon Usborne, a writer for the Independent newspaper, said there was a cloud of dust obscuring the stage after parts of masonry appeared to fall away.There was panic, there was screaming, he said.Martin Bostock said he suffered a head injury after he was hit by falling debris.It was complete chaos in the theatre. Absolutely terrifying and awful, he told Britains Sky News.I was in the lower stalls with my family in the early stages of the show.I think the front part of the balcony fell down. At first we thought it was part of the show.Then I got hit on the head.We got out with cuts and bruises. I think most people did.

At least 14 dead in Peru bus accident

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LIMA (AFP) - At least 14 people died and 25 others were injured Thursday when a passenger bus plunged off the road in the Ancash region of Peru, authorities reported.The 48-passenger vehicle lost control and tumbled 20 meters (65 feet) off the Pativilca-Huaraz route in the Cajacay district some 280 kilometers (170 miles) north of Lima, a spokesman for the police said.Officials at a regional hospital where the casualties were treated said the rescued passengers were freed by police and firefighters.Accidents are frequent in Peru, where poor road conditions are compounded by unpaved roads, even along the windiest roads of the Andes.Inexperienced drivers and mechanical bus failure also are frequent problems.The year 2012 saw 4,050 people die in Peru traffic accidents, compared to 3,411 people in 2011, according to the governments National Institute for Statistics and Informatics (INEI).The latest figures from INEI indicate that in the first quarter of 2013, 781 people died in traffic accidents.

West Indies all out for 367 at lunch

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HAMILTON (AFP) - An unbeaten ton by Shivnarine Chanderpaul carried the West Indies to 367 in their first innings against New Zealand in the third Test on Friday as they look to level the series.Veteran Chanderpaul was 122 not out, his 29th Test century, when the innings ended just on lunch with the dismissal of Tino Best for 25. The pair put on 35 for the last wicket.The 39-year-old Chanderpaul, who rescued the West Indies with a 200-run stand with Denesh Ramdin (107) when the side were in trouble at 86-5, notched up two notable milestones in his innings.He overtook Australian Allan Border as the sixth most prolific run scorer in Test history, and replaced Indias Sachin Tendulkar as the batsman with the most unbeaten centuries -- 17.Meanwhile, New Zealand quick Tim Southee was closing in on the milestone of a century of dismissals as he moved to 98 from 29 Tests with the wickets of Darren Sammy (three) and Veerasammy Permaul (20).The West Indies resumed the second day at 289-6 and lasted five overs before Southee struck with a ball that moved away from Sammy who could not resist having a dab and gave wicketkeeper BJ Watling a faint edge.He removed Permaul in a three-ball battle in which the first two went for six and four, and the third, a full-length delivery, was edged to Peter Fulton at second slip.Trent Boult, fresh from a 10-wicket haul in New Zealands second Test victory in Wellington, sent down 24 overs in Hamilton before getting his sole reward when he bowled Sunil Narine for two.Fulton, who produced safe hands to remove Permaul, was guilty three overs later of spilling a straight-forward chance from Tino Best off Corey Anderson who was then on four. Best added a further 21.Southee returned the best figures for New Zealand with four for 79 while Anderson took three for 47.

Football: Vanishing spray to feature at World Cup

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MARRAKECH (AFP) - FIFA president Sepp Blatter on Thursday confirmed that referees would be allowed to use a vanishing spray to mark out free-kicks at next years World Cup finals in Brazil.Referees will use the spray during matches to mark a line on the ground where the defensive wall, and ball, must be stationed at free-kicks.The water-based spray, which disappears about a minute after use, has been trialled during the ongoing Club World Cup in Morocco.The teams, players, referees and delegations are happy with it. One of the Bayern representatives told me the other day that now free-kicks can be taken with the wall nine metres back instead of five or six and we are going to use it at the World Cup in Brazil, Blatter told reporters in Marrakech ahead of Saturdays Club World Cup final between European champions Bayern and host nation champions Raja Casablanca.It will be used in addition to goal-line technology in Brazil, with Blatter adding: Everyone has been convinced by the tools and were similarly impressed.The vanishing spray was previously tested at this years under-20 World Cup in Turkey and at the under-17 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates, while it is also notably used in matches in Argentina.It is used to stop players in the defensive wall creeping closer to the ball, while a circle is also drawn where the ball is to be placed for a free-kick.I like it. The mark left by the spray disappears after 15 or 20 seconds. The rules say that the wall must be a certain distance back and now that is respected, said Bayern coach Pep Guardiola.It is a good idea. I hope it is kept and does not disappear in the future.

Athletics: Olympic champ exonerated over doping

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ANKARA (AFP) - Olympic 1500m champion Asli Cakir Alptekin of Turkey was Thursday exonerated of doping by the Turkish Athletics Federation.Back in April, Alptekin had been provisionally suspended by her Federation and charged with doping by the International Athletics Federation (IAAF) after anomalies were discovered in her biological passport.It has been decided that there is no grounds for national sporting sanctions against Asli Cakir Alptekin as she did not violate any anti-doping rules, said a statement from the disciplinary commission on the Turkish federations website.The disciplinary measures imposed on the athlete have been lifted.Alptekin was a shock winner of the 1500m in London last year having earlier in 2012 shaved more than 5sec off her personal best.The 28-year-old was previously handed a two-year doping suspension in 2004 and faced a lifetime ban if convicted this time around.Alptekins compatriot and European 110m hurdles champion Nevin Yanit was also provisionally suspended in April and then handed a two-year ban in August, as one of 31 Turkish athletes hit with that punishment.Alptekin, who was forced to miss the world championships in August because of her provisional supension, won the Olympic final ahead of compatriot Gamze Bulut, with Ethiopian-born Maryam Yusuf Jamal, who competes for Bahrain, third.

NBA: Bryant has broken bone in knee: Lakers

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LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant has a broken bone in his left knee and is expected to miss six weeks, the NBA team said Thursday.You hate it for Kobe, Lakers coach Mike DAntoni said in remarks posted on the teams Twitter feed. Hes worked so hard to get back.Bryant missed the first 19 games of the season as he continued to recover from surgery to repair a torn left Achilles tendon suffered in April.He had played just six games and averaged 13.8 points.Bryant was injured Tuesday in the third quarter of a 96-92 win over Memphis. He walked carefully to the bench but returned later to the contest and finished with 21 points.

Formula One: Rosberg suffers Bahrain tyre scare

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PARIS (AFP) - German Nico Rosberg suffered a scare while testing in Bahrain on Thursday when a new Pirelli prototype tyre exploded at more than 300km/hr.The Mercedes driver was not hurt in the incident but the German team still pulled the plug on the test at the Sakhir circuit in Manama.Pirelli explained the test, which also involved Ferrari, Red Bull and Toro Rosso, involved several completely innovative prototypes in terms of structure and composition with the view to developing the best solutions for next season.The tyres were supposed to be used for next season but Pirelli said the type of tyre that blew would not be used again.But they insisted: The security of the tyres that will be supplied next season has not been compromised.

200 cars stolen in Germany 'now owned by Tajik elite'

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BERLIN (AFP) - About 200 cars stolen in Germany have been tracked down in Tajikistan, where most are now driven by family and friends of President Emomali Rakhmon, media and officials in Berlin said Thursday.The case of the German-registered cars, including 93 BMWs located via their GPS systems, has caused friction between Germany and the Central Asian country, mass-circulation daily Bild reported.The German foreign ministry did not confirm it had called in the Tajik ambassador over the case, but a spokeswoman said there have been talks with the Tajik side on cooperation in fighting organised crime.The Tajik embassy denied as completely unfounded the charge that stolen German cars had ended up with the presidents family, saying the claim aimed to damage the reputation of the nation and the head of state.It said that in order to resolve the wider case of the stolen cars, the Tajik side has already declared its willingness and all-round support toward the German embassy in Dushanbe and the (German) foreign ministry.Berlin city justice department spokeswoman Lisa Jani said the stolen cars were located in Tajikistan by the Westwind task force of German and Lithuanian investigators, mostly using the vehicles GPS tracking systems.When Tajik authorities had failed to respond to requests to help in the investigation, Berlins justice minister Thomas Heilmann had written to Germanys then-foreign minister Guido Westerwelle, she told AFP.Most of the vehicles are in the possession of people who have business or family ties with the family of the Tajik president, Heilmann wrote to the foreign minister at the time, said Jani.Tajikistan had to date not replied to the request for legal assistance or taken steps to return the cars, she added.The Tajik embassy in its statement said that cars imported across its borders had already passed through several countries and changed owners but were all checked by customs and required to have legal papers.It stressed that Tajikistan is a member of Interpol, respects its international commitments and treats any request for international legal assistance according to its national laws.Tajikistan said it had asked the German authorities to provide information from its database of stolen cars to Tajikistan authorities to prevent their illegal import into the territory of the Republic of Tajikistan. However, this has not happened.
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