Tuesday 7 January 2014

Dunya TV

Dunya TV

Asian markets rise after upbeat US trade data

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HONG KONG (AFP) - Asian markets rose on Wednesday, taking a lead from Wall Street after another set of data indicating the US economy is getting back on track.The upbeat US trade statistics also helped the dollar resume its upward trend against the yen, while investors await the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve's most recent policy meeting to see if another cut in its stimulus could be on the cards.Tokyo rose 1.04 percent by the break on the back of a weakening yen, Hong Kong added 0.90 percent, Shanghai gained 0.61 percent, Seoul advanced 0.11 percent and Sydney was flat.After a tentative start to 2014 -- caused by profit-taking after healthy gains last year -- US shares enjoyed a rally on Tuesday after the Commerce Department said the country's trade deficit shrank in November as exports hit a record high for a second straight month.The deficit narrowed 12.9 percent from October, the second month in a row of contraction, to $34.3 billion, the smallest figure since September 2009. It was also much better than forecasts of $40.4 billion.The upbeat numbers added to growing optimism about the world's number one economy and could tilt the Fed to consider further reducing its stimulus programme.The central bank said at its last meeting that from January it would cut its bond-buying by $10 billion a month to $75 billion. Minutes for that gathering are due for release later Wednesday and could give clues about the bank's intentions for the future as the economy gathers pace.The data further supports the view that the outlook for the US economy is improving, St George Bank economist Janu Chan told Dow Jones Newswires.On Wall Street the Dow rose 0.64 percent, the S&P 500 gained 0.61 percent and the Nasdaq climbed 0.96 percent.The dollar extended its gains on Wednesday after enjoying a pick-up in New York following the trade figures.The greenback bought 104.84 yen in early Tokyo exchanges, compared with 104.69 yen in New York late Tuesday, although it is still well below the five-year high of 105.41 yen touched at the start of last week.The euro was at $1.3630 and 142.90 yen, from $1.3614 and 142.53 yen.Oil prices were higher. New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate for February delivery, was up 29 cents at $93.96 in early Asian trade while Brent North Sea crude for February sat at $107.42.Gold fetched $1,228.76 at 0230 GMT compared with $1,239.00 late Tuesday.

Australia to buy 16 lifeboats to return asylum-seekers

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SYDNEY (AFP) - Australian Immigration Minister Scott Morrison on Wednesday said all steps necessary will be taken to halt boatpeople amid reports that Canberra is planning to buy 16 lifeboats to ferry them back to Indonesia.Fairfax Media said the government would purchase boats similar to those carried by cruiseships to be able to get asylum-seekers intercepted at sea back to Indonesia if their own vessels were unseaworthy.Few details on how the hard-hulled boats would operate were provided, but reports said asylum-seekers would be transferred to them near Indonesian waters, with sufficient fuel and provisions for them to return to that country.It follows revelations Tuesday that the Australian navy had turned back at least one asylum-seeker boat without first informing Jakarta, prompting fresh anger in Indonesia about Canberras tough policies on boatpeople.It was the first reported instance in which the new Australian government had turned a boat back without Indonesian cooperation, adding to recent tensions between the two countries over a spying row.Morrison refused to confirm the lifeboat reports, saying people-smugglers had used official commentary to make dangerous assumptions about our maritime operations, which puts people at risk.The government will continue to take all steps necessary to stop the boats consistent with our commitments to the Australian people and to protect safety of life at sea, he said in a statement.Since Operation Sovereign Borders began, illegal arrivals by boat have declined by more than 80 percent.Under the policy, which helped propel Tony Abbott to power, the government has promised to turn back boats when it is safe to do so.The move has irked Jakarta, which has warned it could breach Indonesian territorial sovereignty, with Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa on Tuesday again voicing opposition.The Labor oppositions acting immigration spokesman, Mark Dreyfus, told ABC radio the government must clearly explain what was happening.We are being left to guess what our navy is being asked to do -- that is not acceptable, he said.The only justification for this cover-up is a political one where the minister and the prime minister are not wanting to explain to Australians whats going on because that would make clear just how disastrous the impact this has had on our relationship with Indonesia.The government has adopted a policy of only commenting on asylum-seeker issues once a week or when a serious incident occurs.

5th ODI: New Zealand win toss, decides bowl against West Indies

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HAMILTON (AFP) - New Zealand won the toss and sent the West Indies in to bat in the fifth and final one-day international at Seddon Park in Hamilton on Wednesday.Its a good surface and history suggests that it gets a little bit easier to chase later on, Blacks Caps skipper Brendon McCullum said.With the sun out, we think if theres any variable pace itll come through in that first innings.New Zealand are 2-1 up going into the final match, with one game rained out. The Black Caps named the same team that won by 58 runs in Nelson last Saturday.The West Indies made two changes, bolstering the batting by bringing in Kieran Powell for Narsingh Deonarine and including all rounder Andre Russell at the expense of Tino Best.Teams:New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Jesse Ryder, Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Brendon McCullum (capt), Corey Anderson, Luke Ronchi, Nathan McCullum, Tim Southee, Kyle Mills, Mitchell McClenaghan.West Indies: Johnson Charles, Kieran Powell, Kirk Edwards, Lendl Simmons, Dwayne Bravo (capt), Chadwick Walton, Denesh Ramdin, Andre Russell, Jason Holder, Sunil Narine, Nikita Miller,Umpires: Chris Gaffaney (NZL), Ranmore Martinesz (SRI)TV umpire: Ian Gould (ENG)Match referee: Chris Broad (ENG)

North Korea to hold parliamentary vote in March

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SEOUL (AFP) - North Korea announced Wednesday elections to its rubber-stamp parliament in March, the first under leader Kim Jong-Un as he seeks to cement his grip on power after purging his uncle.The presidium of the Supreme Peoples Assembly (SPA) decided the election -- held every five years -- would take place on March 9, the Norths official KCNA news agency said.The last parliamentary vote -- a highly staged process with only one approved candidate standing for each of the 687 districts -- was held in 2009 under the leadership of Kims father, Kim Jong-Il.Kim succeeded his father in December 2011, and the March election will be closely watched for any further revelations on the changing power structure in Pyongyang.He has already overseen sweeping changes within the Norths ruling elite -- the most dramatic example being the execution of his powerful uncle and political mentor Jang Song-Taek last month on charges of treason and corruption.In his New Year message last week, Kim said the country had been strengthened by the removal of factionalist scum.Since Jangs execution, the North has recalled and purged a number of diplomats and officials working overseas, according to Seouls top official for North Korea affairs.Jang, like many top North Korean officials was a member of the SPA, and the March vote will provide an opportunity to see if any senior figures are removed from the candidates list.It will also be interesting to see who the new faces are, as some of them may be tagged for a key role under Kim Jong-Un, said Kim Yeon-Chul, a professor at Inje Universitys Unification Department.The official turnout in 2009 was put at 99.98 percent of registered voters, with 100 percent voting for the approved candidate in each seat.The rubber-stamp parliament is usually called into session twice a year for a day or two to pass government budgets and approve personal changes.The last session in April 2013 saw the appointment of a new prime minister Pak Pong-Ju -- seen by some as an economic reformer. It also adopted a special ordinance formalising the countrys position as a nuclear weapons state.

Orbital readies cargo mission to space station

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WASHINGTON (AFP) - The first regular contract flight of Orbital Sciences unmanned cargo ship is poised for launch on Wednesday toward the International Space Station, NASA said.The Cygnus spacecraft is set to take off from Wallops Island, Virginia atop an Antares rocket at 1:32 pm (1832 GMT), carrying 2,780 pounds (1,260 kilograms) of gear including science experiments, supplies and hardware.Weather conditions are 95 percent favorable for launch, and the biting cold temperatures in the region Tuesday were expected to climb in time for launch, NASA said.The launch window stays open just five minutes. In case of delay, another attempt could be made Thursday that would still allow Cygnus to reach the space station by January 12.The attempt was delayed in December due to a cooling system breakdown at the ISS, which required American astronauts to make two spacewalks in order to replace an ammonia cooling pump.If the launch goes ahead this time, it would mark the companys second trip to the orbiting outpost, coming on the heels of a successful demonstration launch in September.That mission proved that the company can reliably carry out regularly scheduled operational missions to the ISS for NASA, said David Thompson, Orbitals chairman and chief executive officer.Now our team is focused on executing another flawless launch and in-orbit operation to deliver much-needed supplies to the astronaut crew on board the space station.Orbital has a contract with NASA worth 1.9 billion dollars for eight cargo resupply missions to the global space lab.Orbital and SpaceX are two private companies that have stepped in to ensure the United States ability to reach the orbiting outpost, after the retirement of the 30-year space shuttle program in 2011.SpaceX, owned by Internet entrepreneur Elon Musk, became the first commercial entity to reach the space station with its Dragon cargo ship in 2012, and has a $1.6 billion contract with NASA.Unlike SpaceXs Dragon capsule, Cygnus cannot return to Earth intact but will burn up on re-entry into Earths atmosphere, disposing of any unwanted cargo.It is ferrying some unusual science experiments for the astronauts aboard the station in cooperation with students back on Earth.One is an experiment called Ants in Space that aims to help students compare the behavior of ants in orbit -- recorded by video cameras at the ISS -- to ants on Earth.Another is an experiment aimed at helping understand drug-resistant superbugs. It includes 128 test tubes that will measure 38 different concentrations of antibiotic on E. coli bacteria.

US alarm on smoking saves 8 million lives: study

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NEW YORK (Reuters) - More than half of American men and over a third of women were smokers on January 11, 1964, when Dr. Luther Terry delivered the first Surgeon Generals Report on Smoking and Health outlining the links between tobacco use, lung cancer and death.Fifty years later, smoking rates have been cut by about half, and a new study estimates that 8 million Americans have been saved from premature smoking-related deaths.You look back in history to 1964, and in reality the world was a very different place when it came to tobacco use and smoking, said Rear Admiral Boris Lushniak, the acting U.S. Surgeon General.A collection of reports released online on Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) highlights how public-health efforts, from cigarette taxes to advertising limits, have helped curtail smoking rates.The reports also identify new trouble spots, including communities whose members have not been able to quit in significant numbers.Lushniak believes the next step should be a resolve to introduce an endgame within the next 50 years. That concept will be part of an upcoming Surgeon Generals report on January 16 celebrating the anniversary of the original, he said.The next stage really needs to be a resolution to move ahead to this smoke-free generation concept, Lushniak said.One paper estimates that about 17.7 million deaths from 1964 to 2012 were related to smoking. Without any of the tobacco control measures introduced in that period, an additional 8 million people would have died, according to Theodore Holford of the Yale School of Public Health in New Haven, Connecticut, and colleagues.The average American lifespan is also more than two years longer because those deaths have been averted, the researchers suggest.TREMENDOUS ACCELERATIONAlthough Terrys 1964 report was not the first scientific review to connect cigarettes and health issues, it is widely considered a turning point in the battle against smoking.The announcement gave tremendous acceleration to the study of cigarettes and health, Dr. Otis Brawley, chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society in Atlanta, told Reuters Health.Terry gathered 10 doctors, pathologists, chemists, statisticians and other experts to review the available evidence.Because the tobacco industry in those days was so important to the U.S. economy, Brawley said, the announcement was made on a Saturday to lessen any impact on the stock market.The committees conclusion was that smoking causes lung cancer in men and that men who smoke are more likely to die of heart disease than those who dont.Based on research since then, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates there is a two- to four-fold increase in the risk of heart disease and stroke for smokers. The CDC also estimates that smoking increases the risk of lung cancer 13 times among women and 23 times among men.The U.S. is not alone in lowering smoking rates over the past few decades, another new study found.Researchers from the University of Washington found that Canada, Mexico, Iceland and Norway cut the proportion of their populations that smoke by more than half from 1980 to 2012.Worldwide, however, the slowdown is weaker, said Dr. Christopher Murray, one of the studys authors.Data from 187 countries shows that about 41 percent of men and 11 percent of women worldwide smoked in 1980, and those rates have since declined to about 31 percent for men and 6 percent for women in 2012.The actual number of smokers, however, rose from an estimated 721 million in 1980 to 967 million in 2012 as the worlds population grew.TROUBLE SPOTSOne approach to cutting the smoking rate involves targeting groups that are more likely to use tobacco.People with mental illnesses, for example - including depression and anxiety disorders - had a slower decline in smoking rates, another report says.Benjamin Cook, the reports lead author and a senior scientist at the Center for Multicultural Mental Health Research at the Cambridge Health Alliance in Massachusetts, and colleagues write that people with mental illness historically smoke at twice the rate of people without mental illnesses.If you were able to decrease those rates of smoking among people with mental illness, then you can really make a dent in national rates, he said.The JAMA reports did not pinpoint what have been the most effective measures to induce people to quit smoking. But public health advocates say the combination of tobacco taxes, smoke-free air laws, youth education campaigns and adequately funding state tobacco and anti-smoking programs has made a difference over time.I think we know what prevents people from continuing to smoke or not smoke at all, said Dr. Mariell Jessup, president of the American Heart Association.Persistent efforts to keep children from smoking are also key, Brawley added.Very few smokers - less than 10 percent - start smoking as adults, he said. We really need to focus on keeping kids from smoking.Brawley and Jessup said attention needs to be paid to electronic cigarettes - also known as e-cigarettes - which are electronic devices that deliver nicotine through vapor instead of tobacco smoke.Previous studies have suggested that people can use the devices as smoking cessation tools, but some public health advocates worry that e-cigarettes may introduce more people to nicotine, the addicting chemical found in tobacco.E-cigarettes can be a very bad thing, can be a very good thing, and it can actually be both, Brawley said. We need to figure that out.

Florida executes first US inmate of 2014

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WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States put to death its first inmate of the year Tuesday in Florida, after a drop in executions during 2013.Askari Abdullah Muhammad, previously known as Thomas Knight, was convicted of abducting and killing a Miami couple in 1974 and fatally stabbing a prison guard six years later using a sharpened spoon. He appealed his conviction numerous times.Muhammad, 62, died by lethal injection. He was pronounced dead at 6:45 pm (2345 GMT), Florida Department of Corrections spokeswoman Misty Cash told AFP.He made no final statement.As his last meal, Muhammad ate one and a half slices of sweet potato pie, a piece of coconut cake, half a slice of banana nut bread, a quarter bottle of Sprite, two tablespoons of strawberry and butter pecan ice cream, an entire small container of vanilla ice cream and a small handful of corn chips.The inmate was first sentenced to death for killing his boss Sydney Gans and his wife Lillian after abducting them to extort money.He then was served a second death sentence for killing corrections officer Richard Burke in 1980.His death sentence, reversed several times for procedural wrongdoings, was reestablished in September, decades after he was initially convicted.Muhammads death marked the first execution this year in the United States. Florida is putting more people to death faster, despite worries over a new cocktail of barbiturates used for lethal injections.Nationwide, however, 2013 saw the number of executions and death penalties drop to one of the lowest levels in decades, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.Last year, 39 inmates were executed, down from 43 in 2012.Since 1999, which saw a record 98 executions, the number of people put to death has decreased 60 percent across the country.A total of 3,108 prisoners sat on death row on April 1, compared to 3,170 the year before.The number of states that have abandoned the death penalty now stands at 18 out of 50. Six of those states gave up the practice since 2007.

Record freeze extends to eastern United States, at least eight dead

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NEW YORK (Reuters) - A deadly blast of arctic air shattered decades-old temperature records as it enveloped the eastern United States on Tuesday, snarling air, road and rail travel, driving energy prices higher and overwhelming shelters for homeless people.At least eight deaths have been reported across the country because of the polar air mass sweeping over North America during the past few days. Authorities have put about half of the United States under a wind chill warning or cold weather advisory.Temperatures were expected to be 25 degrees to 35 degrees Fahrenheit (14 to 19 degrees Celsius) below normal from the Midwest to the Southeast, the National Weather Service said.The agency that oversees the electric grid supplying the mid-Atlantic and parts of the Midwest said electricity suppliers were struggling to keep up with surging demand as the cold forced some power plants to shut.This particular cold is far-reaching and most of our neighbors are experiencing the extreme conditions we are, said Michael Kormos, executive vice president for operations at the agency, PJM Interconnection. Its members include units of American Electric Power Co, FirstEnergy Corp, Exelon Corp, Public Service Electric & Gas Co.Oil refiners were also hit, with Marathon Petroleum Corp and Exxon Mobil Corp both experiencing cold-related outages. Homeless shelters and public buildings took in people who were freezing outside.Daniel Dashner, a 33-year-old homeless man who typically sleeps under a bridge on Milwaukees south side, said he opted to seek a spot at a shelter on Monday night.Usually if I have four or five blankets, I can stay pretty warm, but when that wind is blowing, I dont care how many blankets I have, the wind blows right through me, he said, as temperatures dropped to minus 6 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 21 degrees Celsius).COLDS BROAD REACHMajor U.S. cities were in the grip of temperatures well below freezing, with Chicago seeing 2 F (minus 17 C), Detroit 0 F (minus 18 C), Pittsburgh 5 F (minus 15 C), Washington 19 (minus 7 C) and Boston 15 F (minus 9 C).New Yorks Central Park recorded the lowest temperature for the date, 4 Fahrenheit (minus 16 C), rising to 9 F (minus 13 C) on Tuesday afternoon with wind chills making it feel much colder, meteorologists said.At New Yorks Bowery Mission homeless shelter, the 80-bed dormitory was full on Monday night and 179 other people slept in the chapel and cafeteria, officials said.Schools in Minneapolis and Chicago were closed. Cleveland remained below freezing after temperatures fell to minus 11 F (minus 24 C) on Monday, breaking a 130-year-old record.Impassable snow and ice halted three Chicago-bound Amtrak trains Monday, stranding more than 500 passengers overnight in northwestern Illinois. The passengers were being taken to Chicago by bus on Tuesday.In the normally mild south, Atlanta recorded its coldest weather on this date in 44 years, when the temperature dropped to 6 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 14 degrees Celsius), while temperatures in northern Florida also briefly dropped below freezing, though the states citrus crop was unharmed, according to a major growers group.Among the deaths reported was a 51-year-old homeless man in Columbus, Georgia, whose body was found in an empty lot after spending the night outdoors.Two men died in Westerport, Massachusetts while duck hunting on Tuesday when their boat capsized, dropping them into a frigid river, officials said. A third man was rescued.Four cold and storm-related deaths were reported around Chicago and an elderly woman was found dead outside her Indianapolis home early Monday.AIRLINES STRUGGLEThe cold snap could cost the U.S. economy up to $5 billion, when lost productivity and lost retail sales are accounted for, estimated Evan Gold, senior vice president at Planalytics, which tracks weather for businesses. He said about 200 million people in major cities might face bill shock for heating.The deep freeze disrupted commutes on Tuesday with icy or closed roads and flight delays. Some 2,380 U.S. flights were canceled and 2,912 delayed, according to FlightAware.com, which tracks airline activity. Airlines scrambled to catch up a day after the cold froze fuel supplies, leading to flight cancellations, many at Chicago OHare International Airport.Hardest hit were travelers who had booked trips on JetBlue Airways Corp, which on Monday halted its flights at New Yorks three major airports and Boston Logan International Airport overnight. Flights resumed by midday on Tuesday.Tuesday proved too cold even for some polar bears. At Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, a 14-year-old female polar bear named Anana has been mostly in her indoor enclosure, where temperatures are 40 F (4 C), said zoo spokeswoman Sharon Dewar.She said that in their native environment polar bears build up a layer of fat to help them through the Arctic winter of long periods of sub zero temperatures. But she said, we dont create that fat layer in zoo animals because that would normally not be something they would be comfortable with.

Obama didn't believe his own war policy: Robert Gates

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WASHINGTON (AFP) - Former defense secretary Robert Gates has delivered a scathing critique of President Barack Obamas handling of the war in Afghanistan in a revealing new memoir, US media reported Tuesday.In Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary of War, Gates recounts how Obama appeared to lack faith in a war strategy he had approved and the commander he named to lead it, General David Petraeus, and did not like Afghan President Hamid Karzai, according to The New York Times and The Washington Post.As I sat there, I thought: the president doesnt trust his commander, cant stand Karzai, doesnt believe in his own strategy and doesnt consider the war to be his, Gates writes of a March 2011 meeting in the White House.For him, its all about getting out.Having approved deploying more than 30,000 forces after an acrimonious White House debate, the US president seemed plagued by doubts and surrounded by civilian aides who sowed distrust with the military, Gates writes.Obama was skeptical if not outright convinced it would fail, Gates writes in the memoir, which is due to be released on January 14.In contrast to his subdued, even-keeled public demeanor as Pentagon chief, Gates strikes a sometimes bitter tone in his memoir.Gates, a former CIA director whose career dates back to the Nixon administration, voices frustration at the controling nature of Obamas White House, which he says constantly interfered in Pentagon affairs, even though civilian aides lacked an understanding of military operations.The White House national security staff took micromanagement and operational meddling to a new level, he writes, comparing the approach to the Nixon era of the 1970s.All too early in the administration, Gates writes, suspicion and distrust of senior military officers by senior White House officials -- including the president and vice president -- became a big problem for me as I tried to manage the relationship between the commander-in-chief and his military leaders.After a tense meeting on Afghanistan in September 2009, Gates says he came close to resigning because he was deeply uneasy with the Obama White Houses lack of appreciation -- from the top down -- of the uncertainties and unpredictability of war.A statement from National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden later defended Obamas record on Afghanistan.It is well know that the President has been committed to achieving the mission of disrupting, dismantling and defeating Al-Qaeda, while also ensuring that we have a clear plan for winding down the war... Hayden said.Hayden also hit back at Gates assertion that Vice President Joe Biden had been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades.The President disagrees with Secretary Gates assessment... Joe Biden has been one of the leading statesmen of his time and has helped advance Americas leadership in the world, she said.Gates, however, gives credit to Obama for approving the raid on Osama bin Ladens compound in Pakistan, which he himself initially opposed.It was one of the most courageous decisions I had ever witnessed in the White House.Although Gates heaps praise on former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, he is stunned by an exchange between Obama and Clinton in which the two openly admitted they opposed a troop surge in Iraq in 2007 for purely political reasons.To hear the two of them making these admissions, and in front of me, was as surprising as it was dismaying, he says.Gates helped oversee the deployment of additional troops to Iraq during the Bush administration.A Republican, Gates served under ex-president George W. Bush and was asked to stay on at the Pentagon for two years after Obama entered office.

Sheikhupura: 3 killed over banner fitting dispute

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Sheikhupura: (Dunya News) – In an armed dispute between Pakistan Muslim League N’s Qaiser and Umer Hayyat work groups, three men were killed as a worker of one group tried to place banner on the house belonging to the other group’s member. A total of three men were killed including brothers of Qaiser and Umer Hayyat.Row among political workers over petty issues is a routine matter when it comes to the political campaigning during general and local body elections. Various elections related violence incidents have claims a number of lives including those of the election candidates.Only yesterday, in separate incidents, at least four Local Bodies election candidates were gunned down in Karachi. This is in addition to the three various incidents took place last week which claimed lives of three candidates of which one belonged to PML N while the other two were of Majlis Wahdatul Muslimeen.Security forces seem helpless as the number of casualties claimed by election related violence escalates with every passing day.

Britain grants asylum to around 1,500 Syrians

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LONDON (AFP) - Britain has granted asylum to around 1,500 Syrians fleeing the brutal conflict in the last year, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg revealed Tuesday, as rights groups and even anti-immigration politicians urged action over the refugee crisis.The British government has defended its policy of focusing on giving aid to help more than 2.35 million refugees caught up in the civil war, rather than offering a comprehensive resettlement programme.But Clegg appeared to surprise opposition politicians when he told parliament that Britain had in fact given asylum to some 1,500 Syrian refugees since January 2012.We have accepted about 1,500 asylum seekers, he said.Of course we should do that. We have accepted hundreds of asylum seekers who have sought and been provided with refuge in this country under our international obligations.Official figures from the Home Office, or interior ministry, showed Britain has in fact granted asylum to more than 2,000 Syrians since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began in March 2011 -- 1,500 of them since last January.The government had come under unexpected fire last month from Nigel Farage, leader of the anti-immigration UK Independence Party, who criticised it for apparently refusing to resettle Syrian refugees.Amnesty International also accused European leaders last month of a truly pitiful response to the crisis.A Home Office spokeswoman clarified on Tuesday that the government drew a distinction between resettling refugees from Syria, and giving asylum to those who have managed to make their own way to Britain.If theyve arrived in the UK and made their own way here, thats treated on a case by case basis, the spokeswoman told AFP. Our policy is that were providing in-country aid and assistance in the region.The British government has given some 500 million ($820 million, 602 million euros) of aid to help Syrian civilians caught up in the civil war, including 236 million for neighbouring countries hosting hundreds of thousands of refugees.

US sends armored battalion to South Korea

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WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US military plans to deploy an armored battalion to South Korea to allow for greater responsiveness in case of a crisis with North Korea, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.Eight hundred troops and armored vehicles from the 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment will be stationed at camps Hovey and Stanley near the demarcation line with the North starting next month, the Pentagon said in a statement.The rotational deployment is part of a strategic shift towards the Asia-Pacific region and allows for greater responsiveness to better meet theater operational requirements, it said.Washington has 28,500 troops on the ground in the South and a treaty with Seoul calls for the US military commander to lead both the American contingent and South Koreas 640,000-strong force in case of a war with the North.During peacetime, each side maintains operational command of their own troops.South Korea agreed to take over wartime operational command of all troops starting in 2015, after delaying a previous target date in 2012.Tensions with North Korea have prompted Seoul to reconsider the plan, and the South has asked Washington to review the timing of the scheduled transition.The combat ready cavalry unit will stay in South Korea for a nine-month tour but will leave its armored vehicles behind for troops that follow them, the Pentagon said.The announcement came a day after Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel hosted South Koreas Foreign Minister Yun Byung-Se for talks at the Pentagon.The two discussed the importance of maintaining a robust combined defense of the Korean Peninsula as a strong deterrent against provocations from North Korea, spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby said.South Korea and the United States have called for vigilance against possible provocations after North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un ordered the execution of his uncle, Jang Song-Thaek, for an alleged plot.

Turkey downplays effect of political crisis on economy

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ANKARA (AFP) - The Turkish government, battling an escalating political crisis, turned Tuesday to limit potential damage to the economy, downplaying its effect on growth.Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said the crisis, which has seen the lira plunge to record lows, would likely be short-lived and Turkeys economy would post the 4 percent growth it has forecast.He also dismissed the need to raise interest rates, which economists and analysts have been warning Turkey may need to do to ensure inflation and the countrys large current account deficit remain under control.The Turkish government has been struggling to contain the political fallout from the graft probe that poses the biggest challenge to the 11-year rule of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.The high-level corruption scandal centring on allegations of bribery for construction projects as well as illicit money transfers to sanctions-hit Iran has rattled Erdogans Islamic-leaning government ahead local polls in March and presidential elections in August.The probe, which has seen dozens of top businessmen and political figures including the sons of three ministers arrested, has pushed the government to sack hundreds of police involved in corruption investigations.After touching a new record low 2.19 lira to the dollar on Monday, the Turkish unit rebounded Tuesday following the Simseks comments to 2.16.Stocks, which have also slumped, rose by 0.84 percent.Simsek acknowledged on CNN-Turk television that the government is facing a significant challenge in the political arena, but we think this will not go on for a long time.He downplayed the economic impact.There could be a slowdown to some extent in the first quarter. But I believe that as uncertainty lessens and the environment calms, growth could still be around 4 percent, Simsek added.The government has been forecasting that growth will pick up from an expected rate of 3.6 percent in 2013 to 4.0 percent for this year.Simsek also rejected the need to raise interest rates, saying it could contain the current account deficit by limiting loan growth.He said Turkish authorities had already managed to contain credit growth, one of the main causes of Turkeys trade and investment imbalance, without raising interest rates.The Turkish government is taking non-traditional measures to limit demand for imports that is behind the large current account deficit of 7.5 percent of GDP.It has announced a crackdown on excessive consumer debt that will see tighter limits imposed on credit cards, including restrictions on what people may purchase.But while the central bank has not raised its official policy rate of 4.5 percent, it has become effectively inoperative in recent months, with banks increasingly only able to borrow from the central bank at the overnight rate of 7.75 percent.The Turkish central bank has been selling off its dollar reserves to support the lira, but has so far not raised official interest rates.Higher interest rates which would help attract foreign investment, but slow economic growth.Foreign analysts are not as confident that Turkeys economy will escape unscathed.Fitch ratings agency, while it maintained Turkeys sovereign credit rating at BBB-, the lowest invest-grade rating, warned Tuesday the economy remained vulnerable.If the corruption scandal drags on, it could weaken the government and undermine its ability to take timely policy measures that would maintain economic stability.With limited reserves, the central bank may little choice to raise interest rates.The recent fall in the lira may now force its hand, said William Jackson, an economist at London-based Capital Economics.On balance, we think it is more likely than not that policymakers will raise the (overnight) lending rate at this months monetary policy committee meeting.

First chemical materials removed from Syria: UN-OPCW

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DAMASCUS (AFP) - A first shipment of material has been removed from Syria under a deal to rid the country of its chemical weapons arsenal, the joint mission overseeing the disarmament said Tuesday.A first quantity of priority chemical materials was moved from two sites to the port of Latakia for verification and was then loaded onto a Danish commercial vessel today, the mission said in a statement.It added that the ship had sailed for international waters and would remain at sea awaiting the arrival of additional priority chemical materials at the port.This movement initiates the process of transfer of chemical materials from the Syrian Arab Republic to locations outside its territory for destruction, the statement said.Maritime security is being provided by naval escorts from China, Denmark, Norway and Russia, it added.The head of the disarmament mission, Sigrid Kaag, was on Wednesday to brief the United Nations Security Council on the latest progress in the operation.The removal had been scheduled to take place before December 31, but Syrias worsening civil war, logistical problems and bad weather had delayed the operation.The year-end deadline for the removal of key weapons components was the first major milestone under a UN Security Council-backed deal arranged by Russia and the United States that aims to eliminate all of Syrias chemical arms by the middle of this year.Under the plan, the chemicals will be taken from Latakia to a port in Italy where they will be transferred to a US Navy vessel fitted with equipment to destroy them at sea.The OPCW has turned to the US military for assistance after no country volunteered to destroy the chemical weapons on its soil, despite an international consensus that the weapons be neutralised outside Syria.The US-Russia deal was aimed at heading off US military strikes against President Bashar al-Assads regime after hundreds of people were killed last August in a chemical weapons attack outside Damascus.

Gas leakage caused 2013 Egypt balloon crash: report

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CAIRO (AFP) - A fiery hot air balloon crash in Egypt last year that killed 19 tourists was probably caused by a gas leak, an official Egyptian report released on Tuesday said.The accident took place on the morning February 26, soon after the balloon lifted off in the southern city of Luxor.A fact-finding committee found the likely cause was a gas leak in the upper section of the hose... near the burner, the report said.The leak sparked a blaze that spread throughout the balloon, it said.The tourists, from Britain, France, Hong Kong, Hungary and Japan, died when the balloon plummeted to the ground after catching fire.The pilot and one tourist survived by jumping from the balloon, officials said at the time.In 2009, 13 foreign tourists were injured at Luxor when their hot air balloon hit a communications mast and crashed. Sources at the time said the balloon was overcrowded.
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