Sunday 16 March 2014

Dunya TV

Dunya TV

Magnitude 7.0 earthquake rocks Chile: USGS

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SANTIAGO (AFP) - A powerful magnitude 7.0 earthquake jolted Chile's northwestern coast Sunday, US geologists said, though there were no immediate reports of major damage or injuries.The quake struck at 5:16 pm (2116 GMT), according to the US Geological Survey, which had originally said that two quakes rattled the area within a minute of each other. Located 61 kilometers (38 miles) northwest of the port city of Iquique, the temblor was 35 kilometers deep.A 5.1 aftershock struck 10 minutes later, at 5:26 pm (2126 GMT). It was located 36 kilometers north-northwest of Iquique.Chile's national Emergency Office (Onemi) said there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage to infrastructure.There is a likelihood of a local tsunami being created between the towns of Arica and Tocopilla, so a preventive evacuation was ordered there, the Onemi added.Meanwhile, the US National Weather Service's Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said in a bulletin that earthquakes of this size sometimes generate local tsunamis that can be destructive along coasts located within a hundred kilometers of the earthquake epicenter, Authorities in the region of the epicenter should be aware of this possibility and take appropriate action.But it later cautioned that based on all available data, a destructive Pacific-wide tsunami is not expected and there is no tsunami threat to Hawaii.

Tennis: Djokovic beats Federer for Indian Wells crown

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INDIAN WELLS (AFP) - World number two Novak Djokovic rallied to beat Roger Federer in a three-set thriller on Sunday for the Indian Wells ATP Masters title.Djokovic defeated Federer 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/3) to capture his third title in the California desert to go with those he won in 2008 and 2011.In the 33rd career meeting between the tennis heavyweights, Djokovic avenged a loss to 17-time Grand Slam champion Federer in the semi-finals last month at Dubai.Federer earned his first title in nine months in Dubai and will rise from eighth to fifth in the world on the strength of reaching the Indian Wells final.Trailing in the final set after dropping his serve in the third game, Federer finally clawed back the break in the 10th game to knot the set.From there they went to a tiebreaker that was all Djokovic. Federer sent a backhand long on the first point of the breaker, and Djokovic seized a quick 3-0 lead with an overhead smash off a weak Federer lob and another errant backhand from the Swiss.Federer saved one match point with an ace, but Djokovic ended it on his first opportunity on his own serve when Federer smacked a backhand into the net.Of course I would have liked to win a few more points at the end, but Novak made it hard, Federer said.A break of Djokovic's first service game in the match for a 2-0 lead was the only opening Federer needed to take the first set in 31 minutes.He put 74 percent of his first serves in play and didn't face a break point.The second set was tightly contested, and it wasn't until the eighth game that Djokovic mustered the first break point of the set. Federer saved it with a service winner, but a mis-hit forehand on the next point cost him the break and Djokovic confidently served out the set.Today was an incredible match, an incredibly difficult match, said Djokovic, who denied Federer an unprecedented fifth Indian Wells title to go with those he won in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2012.The 32-year-old Federer was trying to become the oldest player to win a Masters title since a 34-year-old Andre Agassi won at Cincinnati 2004.Instead, Djokovic claimed the 17th elite Masters title of his career and his first trophy of 2014.

Tennis: Pennetta routs Radwanska to win Indian Wells WTA title

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INDIAN WELLS (AFP) - Italy's Flavia Pennetta routed world number three Agnieszka Radwanska 6-2, 6-1 on Sunday to win the Indian Wells WTA crown.Pennetta, 32, claimed the biggest title of her career, needing just one hour and 13 minutes to blow past Poland's second-seeded Radwanska, who was hobbled by a left leg injury.Pennetta's victims in the $12 million (8.6 million euros) combined WTA and ATP Masters tournament included world number two and top seed Li Na of China as well as former US Open champion Samantha Stosur.Pennetta claimed the 10th WTA title of her career and her first since Marbella in 2010. Since then Pennetta had battled through a dismal 2012 season in which she struggled with both a back and wrist injury, dropping as low as 166th in the world.She was considering retirement before reaching the semi-finals of the US Open last year, but Pennetta, who in 2009 became the first Italian to reach the world top 10, will now make it back into the top 15 in the world.It's incredible, something amazing, Pennetta said, recalling almost being in tears after falling in the first round to compatriot Francesca Schiavone here last year.The feeling and everything was so bad, she said. And now, after one year, we have the trophy.Pennetta saved both break points she faced in the match and broke Radwanska in the fifth and seventh games of the opening set, pocketing the first frame with a backhand winner down the line.After holding serve to open the second set, Radwanska called for the trainer and had supportive tape applied around her left knee.She seemed frustrated by reduced mobility as she dropped her serve to trail 2-1 in the second, and didn't win another game.She bravely fought off one match point in the final game, but a double fault and forehand wide gave Pennetta another chance, and the Italian clinched it when Radwanska sailed a forehand long.Pennetta said the challenge in the second set was to maintain her concentration.The first set was I think pretty good, Pennetta said. I tried to go for winners.Second set, I see she has a physical problem and I started thinking too much.Radwanska fought to hold back tears at the trophy presentation.I think it's just the worst thing for a player to not give the 100 percent, especially in the final of the big event, she said.And I just couldn't run as much as I normally do. Just bad luck.Radwanska said she would receive treatment on her knee, and try to be ready to play in the prestigious hardcourt tournament that starts Wednesday in Miami, where she lifted the trophy in 2012.It's still couple days to my first match, so of course I will have a few days off, then we will see, she said. It's big tournament, so I will really want to try.

Football: Rosicky sinks Spurs to boost Arsenal title bid

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LONDON (AFP) - Tomas Rosicky fired Arsenal back into the Premier League title race as the Czech midfielder's quick-fire strike clinched a crucial 1-0 win over north London rivals Tottenham on Sunday.Arsene Wenger's side began the weekend seven points behind Chelsea, but they moved to within four points of the leaders -- with a game in hand -- thanks to Rosicky's winner after just 72 seconds.The Czech midfielder's goal, and the gritty defensive display that followed it, secured Arsenal's first league win at White Hart Lane since 2007 in Wenger's 999th match in charge.The third placed Gunners feared their title challenge was fading after a defeat at Stoke, but they are firmly back in the race and a titanic encounter against Jose Mourinho's Chelsea side looms at Stamford Bridge next weekend.It's a huge result because we were under pressure to win before the game, Wenger said.Tottenham played well and sometimes we were under pressure, so we needed some special resilience to get away with it. It's three massive points.Tottenham's third successive defeat was harsh on Tim Sherwood's fifth placed team, who look to have blown their chances of qualifying for the Champions League via a top-four finish.First and foremost, I wanted the performance. We got that but we didn't get the result, Sherwood said.The fans won't be happy with that but anyone who has seen that performance will know we didn't deserve to lose.Arsenal had already defeated their hated neighbours twice this season and they were quickly back in the ascendancy thanks to a virtuoso contribution from the man nicknamed 'the little Mozart'.Rosicky was only playing because of an injury to the club's record signing Mesut Ozil, but he took less than two minutes to make a more decisive contribution than the German has managed for months.Rosicky seized possession near the halfway line after a Tottenham attack broke down and surged forward with real intent.Tottenham were caught short-handed at the back and the Czech picked out Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain on the edge of the penalty area.Oxlade-Chamberlain couldn't control the ball, but it rolled fortuitously back to Rosicky and, although the angle didn't suggest the shot was on, he unleashed a ferocious half-volley that flashed into the top corner past the stunned Hugo Lloris.It was just Rosicky's third club goal of the season, but Spurs will be sick of the sight of the 33-year-old, who also scored against them in the FA Cup third round.Rosicky was pulling the strings and he produced a perfectly-weighted pass to put Oxlade-Chamberlain clean through on goal, but the midfielder chipped woefully wide with just Lloris to beat.Tottenham threatened for the first time when Andros Townsend whipped over a teasing cross that just eluded Emmanuel Adebayor.That provided a much-needed jolt of adrenaline for the hosts, who had made a lethargic start in unseasonably warm temperatures.The mercury rose even higher when Arsenal right-back Bacary Sagna escaped with only a booking from referee Mike Dean after clattering Danny Rose with a crude lunge.Tottenham should have been level just after half-time when Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny made a hash of a routine cross.Szczesny tried to catch the ball one-handed but instead fumbled it to Nacer Chadli, yet Arsenal escaped as the Belgian winger shot tamely at Laurent Koscielny with the goal at his mercy. Sherwood questioned his players' character after their thrashing at Chelsea last weekend, but he could have no complaints here.Spurs were the dominant force and they went close twice in quick succession.First Chadli flicked wide from Townsend's low delivery, then Adebayor rose highest to meet Nabil Bentaleb's cross but couldn't hit the target with his header.Sherwood, involved in a row with Benfica boss Jorge Jesus in midweek, has cut a manic figure on the touchline as results have gone against him and he let his emotions get the better of him again when he threw the ball at Sagna in the closing stages.The hosts kept pressing for an equaliser, but Arsenal, superbly marshalled by Koscielny, threw enough bodies in the way to repel the assault.

Football: Seven up for Barca as Messi breaks another record

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MADRID (AFP) - Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick to become Barcelona's all-time record goalscorer as they cut the gap on La Liga leaders Real Madrid to four points ahead of their meeting next weekend with a 7-0 thrashing of Osasuna.After a slow start, the hosts were sparked into life by Messi's opening goal as he flicked home at the near post from Alexis Sanchez's cross.Sanchez was next on the scoresheet as he finished off a similar move involving Andres Iniesta and Jordi Alba before Iniesta's wonderful strike from 25 yards made it 3-0.Messi then broke another record by registering his 370th Barca goal to overtake Paulinho Alcantara as the club's record marksman before rounding off his hat-trick in between further strikes from Cristian Tello and Pedro Rodriguez.To enter into the history of this club is spectacular, Messi told Barca TV.If you play in this team it is much easier. This group continues to do great things and I think it deserves to continue winning things.Next up for Barcelona is a trip to the Santiago Bernabeu next Sunday and Messi is sure they can get themselves back into the title race by ending Madrid's five-month unbeaten run in all competitions.I hope we see a good version of Barcelona and we can get a positive result, which we need to still be in there fighting for La Liga just a point behind.We have a unique opportunity to cut the gap on Madrid. It will be a very difficult game because we are playing away from home and Real Madrid is a great team playing with a lot of confidence. It will be difficult but it all depends on us.Amazingly, Barca had to withstand a bright opening from Osasuna as Victor Valdes produced a great save to deny Emiliano Armenteros and Oriol Riera was rightly flagged offside as he put the rebound into the net.However, the Catalans opened the scoring 10 minutes later when Sanchez was fed by Xavi and Messi got across his man to delicately touch home the Chilean's low cross.Sanchez should have doubled his side's advantage two minutes later when he chipped over with just Andres Fernandez to beat, but the former Udinese man made amends when he side-footed home after a lovely one-two between Alba and Iniesta opened up the Osasuna defence.Iniesta then made it 3-0 with just his second goal of the season 11 minutes before half-time with a sweetly struck left-footed effort that flew into the top corner.Fernandez was forced into fine saves from Dani Alves and Xavi to ensure Barca didn't go in even further ahead at the break.Osasuna should have got themselves back in the game early in the second-half as Riera and Roberto Torres failed to hit the target when presented with clear sights of goal.They were soon further behind, though, as Messi slammed home Iniesta's cut-back just after the hour mark to surpass Alcantara's 369 goals in 357 games between 1912 and 1927.Substitute Tello got his side's fifth goal with virtually his first touch as he whipped the ball into the far corner from just outside the area.Messi fittingly sealed his hat-trick as he received Dani Alves' pass before easily side-footing in from close range for his 31st goal of the season.And Messi then teed up Pedro to make it 7-0 in stoppage time with a neat low finish past Fernandez.

Golf: Sparkling finish brings title for Aussie Senden

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PALM HARBOR (AFP) - Australian John Senden birdied two of the last three holes in impressive fashion Sunday to win the Valspar Championship, his first US PGA title in eight years.The 42-year-old from Brisbane sank a 68-foot chip shot to birdie the 16th and a 22-foot birdie putt at 17 on his way to claiming the $1.02 million (733,600 euros) top prize at the $5.7 million (4.09 million euros) event.Senden fired a one-under par 70 in the final round to finish 72 holes at the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook on seven-under par 271, defeating American Kevin Na by one stroke.With the difficulty of the course, the winning score always stays in single figures so I knew if I could just stay in the moment I could just give it a shake, Senden said.Since his lone prior US PGA win at the 2006 John Deere Classic, Senden had played 205 events with four runner-up efforts his best showings.Senden, who was second at this event in 2007 and 2008, booked a berth in next month's Masters and became the first over-40 winner on the US PGA Tour since American Woody Austin last July.Clinging to a share of the lead, Senden sank his pitch from the rough at the par-4 16th to seize the top spot, dropping the wedge shot short and watching the ball roll into the cup.It was just like a magic shot, Senden said.On 17, he followed with the long birdie putt to grab a two-stroke edge and parred the last to set the mark to beat.At 17 I had the line and struck in well and it went right in the middle, Senden said.Na sank a 14-foot birdie putt at 17 to give himself a chance to force a playoff with a 40-foot birdie attempt at the last but missed to hand the title to Senden, whose back nine had three birdies, three bogeys and three pars.American Scott Langley was third on 279, one stroke in front of England's Luke Donald and Americans Will MacKenzie and Robert Garrigus.American Robert Garrigus, who led when the day began, stumbled with double bogeys at the third and sixth and a bogey at the fourth to fall back, opening the door to a fistful of rivals.Senden had a tap-in birdie at the par-5 opening hole and sank a three-foot birdie putt at the fifth to take sole possession of the lead at eight-under.Na sank a 10-foot birdie putt at the fifth to match him for the lead briefly but followed with back-to-back bogeys and a double bogey on the next three holes to fall back.Senden found a greenside bunker at seven and stumbled to his first bogey in 31 holes to stand on seven-under, but when nearest pursuer Langley took a bogey at 12, the Aussie found himself two strokes clear of the field.Senden hit a bunker at the 12th and missed an 11-foot par putt to slide back to six-under and Langley answered with a five-foot birdie at 14 to match him for the lead.When Senden lipped out on an eight-foot par putt at the par-3 13th and took a bogey, Langley was alone at the top.But Senden responded with a 15-foot birdie putt at the par-5 14th and moments later, Langley missed a 10-foot par putt at 16 to leave the Queenslander back in front by himself.But momentum swung again when Senden found a bunker at the par-3 15th and made bogey, leaving him sharing the top spot and five other players within a stroke of the lead, setting up the late drama.South African Rory Sabbatini sneezed hard on the 13th tee and suffered a rib injury that left him struggling to finish the final six holes. He fired a 78 to end on 292.Mark Calcavecchia withdrew due to illness after nine holes Sunday. The 53-year-old American sought medical attention and had been ill before the round.

N.African dust stimulates monsoons: study

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PARIS (AFP) - Desert dust from North Africa and the Arabian peninsula stimulates monsoon rains over India, said a study Sunday suggesting that desertification from global warming may boost these seasonal downpours.Analysis of satellite data showed that dusty conditions in North Africa and West Asia were followed within days by stronger monsoon rains in the subcontinent, according to research published in the journal Nature Geoscience.Dust in the air absorbs sunlight west of India, warming the air and strengthening the winds carrying moisture eastward, the US-based Pacific Northwest National Laboratory said in a press release.This results in more monsoon rainfall about a week later in India.Indians have long known that heavy dust brought by strong winds occurs frequently just before monsoon rains, but no scientific link has previously been drawn.The study... shows that natural airborne particles can influence rainfall in unexpected ways, with changes in one location rapidly affecting weather thousands of miles away, said the statement.Commenting on the findings, William Lau of NASAs Earth Science Division said the reported effect could become more pronounced with climate change.The expected expansion of desert and arid regions under global warming could enhance dust transport from the deserts of the Middle East and North Africa to the Asian monsoon regions, further enhancing monsoon rainfall, he said.The researchers stressed that dust was not the only phenomenon to affect monsoons.Others factors include temperature differences between land and ocean, changes in land use, global warming and local effects of pollution heating or cooling air and affecting clouds.The strength of monsoons has been declining for the last 50 years, said study co-author Phil Rasch.The dust effect is unlikely to explain the systematic decline, but it may contribute.

Mercury, the incredible shrinking planet

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PARIS (AFP) - Beneath its Sun-scorched exterior, the planet Mercury is cooling, which is causing it to shrink ever so slightly, scientists said Sunday.Over the last 3.8 billion years, the planet has shrunk by up to 14 kilometers (8.8 miles) to reach its present diameter of 4,800 km (3,032 miles), they said.Mercury, like Earth, is believed to have a superhot metallic core.But unlike Earth, it has no tectonic plates which bump and jostle and slide in response to the stress that heat loss causes on the planet's crust.Instead, Mercury has just a single, rigid top layer, which means the stress is transmitted directly to the planet's surface, causing it to wrinkle into gouges and ridges as the planet cools.Planetary geologists led by Paul Byrne at the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington used a tally of these features to get a yardstick for the planet's thermal contraction, the term for shrinkage through heat loss.They studied nearly 6,000 landforms recorded by NASA's Messenger spacecraft to look for these telltales.Earlier estimates based on images of only 45 percent of the planet suggested a contraction of 1.6 to six kilometres (one to four miles) over the course of its history.The starting point for the measurement is the end of the late heavy bombardment of the Solar System -- a period that ran from around 4.1 billion to 3.8 billion years ago, when our star system was a shooting gallery of comets and other icy bodies which smashed into the nascent planets.The study appears in the journal Nature Geoscience.

Nepal rout Hong Kong in clash of World T20 debutants

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CHITTAGONG (AFP) - Nepal marked their arrival on the international cricket stage with a massive 80-run win over fellow newcomers Hong Kong in a preliminary group match at the World Twenty20 Sunday.Nepal hammered 149-8 after being sent into bat and then bowled Hong Kong out for just 69 in 17 overs in the day-night match at Chittagongs Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury stadium.The memorable group A win was set up by skipper Paras Khadka and Gyanendra Malla, who put on 80 for the third wicket after Nepal were reduced to 36-2 in 5.1 overs.Khadka hit a 37-ball 41, while Malla made 48 off 41 balls with four boundaries and a six.Nepal lost four wickets off the last four deliveries of the innings -- two of them run out -- which denied them a bigger total.But even the 150-run target proved too stiff for Hong Kong after the inspirational Khadka had opener Irfan Ahmed caught behind with the first ball of the innings.Hong Kong suffered a dramatic middle order collapse, losing four wickets in eight balls at the same score of 58.The innings was wrecked by Nepals two left-arm spinners, with Shakti Gauchan claiming three wickets for nine runs and Basant Regmi taking three for 14.Babar Hayat top-scored for Hong Kong with 20, but eight batsmen failed to reach double figures against the steady Nepalese attack.Khadka said the win augurs well for the future.There is good spirit in the team and the boys are really hungry to do well, he said. We want to play good cricket and continue that way in other matches too.We have to start all over again in our next game against Bangladesh and take the positives from this game.Hosts Bangladesh had thumped Afghanistan by nine wickets in the group A tournament opener in Dhaka earlier on Sunday.Hong Kong captain Jamie Atkinson said poor batting let his team down.I think it was a decent effort to keep them down to 149, but the batting was disappointing, he said.We need to work harder and show we are a better team than this result indicates.Nepal and Hong Kong are among six qualifiers -- the others being Ireland, Afghanistan, the United Arab Emirates and the Netherlands -- who joined Zimbabwe and Bangladesh in the two-group preliminary league.The two group winners will then contest the Super-10 round with the top eight Test nations -- Australia, Pakistan, South Africa, England, New Zealand, India, Sri Lanka and the West Indies -- from March 21.The final is on April 6 in Dhaka.Brief scores:Nepal 149-8 (Paras Khadka 41, Gyanendra Malla 48, Haseeb Amjad 3-25, Nadeem Ahmed 2-26)Hong Kong 69 all out in 17 overs (Babar Hayat 20, Shakti Gauchan 3-9, Basant Regmi 3-14)Nepal won by 80 runs.

Crimea votes to join Russia by 93 percent: Exit poll

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SIMFEROPOL (AFP) - Crimeans voted overwhelmingly Sunday in favour of joining former political master Russia as tensions soared in the east of the splintered ex-Soviet nation amid the worst East-West crisis since the Cold War.Exit polls cited by local officials showed 93 percent of the voters in favour of leaving Ukraine and joining Russia in the most serious redrawing of the map of Europe since Kosovo's 2008 declaration of independence from Serbia.I am happy. Honestly, I'm 60 and I never thought I would live to see this happy day, said Alexander Sorokin as he strolled the waterfront of Sevastopol -- home of tsarist and Kremlin navies since the 18th century and a city that like most of the peninsula is heavily Russified.Ukraine's new pro-European leaders and the West have branded the vote as illegal because the strategic Black Sea peninsula has been under de facto control of Russian forces since the start of the month.The options facing voters were either to join Russia or go back to a 1992 constitution that effectively made Crimea into an independent state within Ukraine. Retaining good relations with Kiev was not an alternative.International condemnation of the referendum began pouring in from world capitals even before the polls had closed.US Secretary of State John Kerry demanded that Moscow pull back its forces to their bases in Crimea in return for constitutional reforms in Ukraine to protect minority rights.A US State Department official said Kerry told Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in a phone call that as Ukrainians take the necessary political measures going forward, Russia must reciprocate by pulling forces back to base.The European Union said it would be deciding on sanctions against Russia on Monday that include the possible seizure of the foreign assets of top Kremlin officials and travel bans for senior ministers.We reiterate the strong condemnation of the unprovoked violation of Ukraine's sovereignty... and call on Russia to withdraw its armed forces to their pre-crisis numbers, the EU said in a statement.But Russian President Vladimir Putin -- accused of orchestrating the vote as a way of seizing Ukranian land and punishing its leaders for spurning closer relations with Moscow -- said he would respect its outcome.The Russian tri-colour was flown all over Crimea amid a festive atmosphere that reflected a profound mistrust of the new Kiev leaders through the largely Russified southeast of the nation of 46 million people.This is a historic moment, Crimea's self-declared premier Sergiy Aksyonov told reporters after casting his ballot in the regional capital Simferopol.Cossacks and pro-Moscow militias were patrolling outside polling stations and Russian troops guarded the unofficial border between Crimea and the rest of Ukraine.Pro-Russian groups in favour of holding a similar referendum in the flashpoint eastern industrial city of Donetsk stormed the local security and legal headquarters demanding the release of their self-appointed governor.Ukraine's interim President Oleksandr Turchynov -- in power since last month's ouster and flight to Russia of Kremlin-backed Viktor Yanukovych -- also accused Russia of fanning tensions in eastern Ukraine as a way of justifying an invasion.The result has been pre-planned by the Kremlin as a formal justification to send in its troops and start a war that will destroy people's lives and the economic prospects for Crimea, he said.There were signs however of a possible easing in Crimea as Ukraine said its forces on the peninsula had reached a temporary truce with Russia to lift the blockade around Ukrainian bases.But AFP reporters saw no sign of the agreement being implemented at the Perevalnoye base outside Simferopol as Russian forces stood rooted in place.Three people have died in clashes between nationalists and Russian supporters in Ukraine's southeast since Thursday -- the first fatalities since nearly died in a week of carnage in Kiev last month -- and the region remained fraught with tensions as Crimeans voted to join Kremlin rule.Around 4,000 pro-Moscow activists rallied in Donetsk to support Crimea's referendum and 6,000 turned out in Kharkiv with a large Russian flag and a sign reading Our Homeland is the USSR.- 'Not going to vote' -Not everyone in Crimea was happy to return to Russia for the first time since peninsula was symbolically gifted to Ukraine by Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev in 1954.Some Crimeans said they would spoil their ballots in protest and there was a call on social media for people to cook vareniki -- Ukrainian dumplings -- instead of going out to vote.Crimean authorities denied irregularities but accredited journalists including AFP were prevented from entering some polling stations in the port city of Sevastopol and in Simferopol. Several people were seen voting before polls opened.Foreign observers were present although the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said it would not monitor because it was not officially invited by Ukraine's national government.Crimea's indigenous Muslim Tatar community -- deported to Central Asia en masse in Soviet times -- largely boycotted the referendum.Of course we are not going to vote, said community leader Dilyara Seitvelieva in the historic Tatar town of Bakhchysaray.The situation is very dangerous.But the sentiment was vastly different among ethnic Russians.We have waited years for this moment, said 71-year-old Ivan Konstantinovich.- 'Crimean Spring' -Preparations to become part of Russia -- a process that could take months -- are to begin this week.Russian lawmakers are also expected on Friday to debate legislation that would simplify the process under which the Kremlin can annex a part of another state.There has been no armed confrontation between Russian and Ukrainian forces but there have been several incidents involving journalists and pro-unity activists condemned by Amnesty International as extremely worrying.The authorities are calling the vote a Crimean Spring but many locals are concerned about a possible legal vacuum and economic turmoil.One immediate worry is about the availability of cash and there have been long queues outside banks with Crimeans rushing to withdraw their money.Ukraine's government has said Crimea cannot survive since it depends on electricity as well as energy and water supplies from the mainland.Bakhchysaray native Anna Ivanovna, 70, said she had voted to join Moscow, but was apprehensive.Yes, we will be Russians. It's good but at the same time, at my age, it's hard to change countries.

Petrol prices to be reduced from April 1: Ishaq Dar

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ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Finance Minister Ishaq Dar announced on Dunya News’s show ‘Kyun’ on Sunday that the petrol prices will be reduced from April 1st. “Sheikh Rasheed got nervous by our performance,” he claimed. Sheikh Rasheed is mistaken as the dollar was sold for even 97.50 rupee per unit, he added.He said that Sheikh Rasheed and many other politicians are spreading hopelessness.Earlier, presiding National Economic Council in Islamabad, he said that ‘friendly’ country has given 1.5 billion dollars as unconditional ‘gift’ for Pakistani people.He maintained this amount is neither borrowed, nor remuneration against any services Pakistan has to provide.He said national economy is showing upward trend and the rupee will further strengthen.Dar said inflation is moving down and foreign reserves increasing.To a question‚ Ishaq Dar said international markets are reposing confidence in the markets of Pakistan and showing keen interest in different sectors.He said measures are being taken to control the smuggling of gold. He said measures are also being taken to resolve energy problem and to add more energy in the system.Ishaq Dar said gas supply will be ensured to industrial sector.

Lahore: Protesting nurses split, clash over contract letter issue

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LAHORE (Dunya News) – Nurses protesting over contract-letter issue divided and clashed with each other as Punjab government issued contract letters to ad-hoc nurses. Letters will be distributed in General and Mao hospitals in the first phase of the process. One faction of the nurses continues the sit-in process till now, Dunya News reported.According to reports, the protesting nurses have been divided into two factions. Member Young Nurses Association Raheela Akhtar said that nurses must end the strike after receiving the contract letters following which, the participating nurses entangled and manhandled each other.Those against this development pushed Raheela out of the protest.Meanwhile, Punjab government has distributed three-year contract letters to the ad-hoc nurses after accepting their demands. The letters also assures the permanent appointment after three years of contract period.Contract letters have been distributed to nurses in General and Mao hospitals in the first phase. Punjab government has also announced to accept nurses recruited under Board of Management as ad-hoc nurses saying the contract letters will be distributed to them in next two days.Nurses expressed satisfaction over receiving of the letter. Government successfully split the nurses’ faction; however, a large number of nurses is still unwilling to accept contract letters and continue to protest. This faction wants immediate permanent appointment instead of three-year long contractual period.Members of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Pakistan Muslim League Quaid (PMLQ) and Pakistan Awami Ittehad among members of civil society participated in the sit-in protest to show solidarity.

Spain deports Madrid train bombing convict to Morocco

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MADRID (AFP) - Spain on Sunday deported a Moroccan man after he completed a 10-year jail sentence for obtaining the explosives used in the 2004 Madrid train bombings that killed 191 people, the government said.Spains National Court in 2007 sentenced Rafa Zouhier, 34, to 10 years behind bars for collaborating with the Islamist cell that carried out the countrys deadliest-ever terrorist attack.The court ruled that Zouhier had acted as the intermediary between a former Spanish miner who supplied the explosives and the leader of the cell that carried out the attacks, but did not know the use to which the dynamite would be put.Although Zouhier, a former drug dealer turned police informer, was not convicted and sentenced for weapons trafficking until 2007, he had been behind bars since March 19, 2004.Spanish police escorted him to Tangiers in northern Morocco immediately after his release in the early hours of Sunday from the Puerto de Santamaria prison in Cadiz in southwestern Spain, an interior ministry spokesman said.Officers flanked Zouhier, who wore a black hooded sweatshirt and had his hands handcuffed behind his back, as they led him from a white police van into a small plane that took him to Morocco, a video released by the ministry showed.Zouhier, a martial arts expert from Casablanca who moved to Spain when he was a teenager, was deported to Morocco under a provision in Spanish law that makes conviction for a serious crime grounds for expulsion.During his trial, Zouhier declared himself to be super innocent. He was expelled from the courtroom on four occasions -- including once for apparently failing to take the proceedings seriously when he nudged another defendant with his elbow.Public prosecutors had asked for Zouhier to be jailed for 20 years for his part in the bombings.Victims groups welcomed his swift deportation.We are relieved, satisfied and happy because this risk to society is now in Morocco, Pilar Manjon, the president of the March 11 Victims Association who lost her 20-year-old son in the bombings, told public radio RNE.He will no longer do shady deals with drugs in our country nor will he obtain explosives for any other attack, she added.Zouhier married a 32-year-old Spanish computer sciences teacher in September 2013. According to daily newspaper El Mundo, they met at a nightclub where he worked as a bouncer before his arrest, and they had hoped to remain in Spain after his release.Spanish courts have sentenced 18 people for the shrapnel-filled bomb attacks that killed 191 people and injured about 2,000 on four commuter trains heading for Madrids Atocha station.The coordinated attack was claimed by militants who said they had acted on Al-Qaedas behalf in retaliation for Spains involvement in the US-led invasion of Iraq.The seven chief suspects committed suicide on April 3, 2004, by blowing themselves up in an apartment near Madrid, also killing a policeman.

Impoverished Haiti manufacturing its own Android tablet

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PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - Better known for producing third-world poverty and political mayhem - as well as a world-class rum - the Western Hemispheres least developed country has made a surprising entry into the high-tech world with its own Android tablet.Sandwiched between textile factories in a Port-au-Prince industrial park next to a slum, a Haitian-founded company has begun manufacturing the low-cost tablet called Sûrtab, a made-up name using the French adjective sûr, meaning sure, to suggest reliability.Unlike the factories next door where low-paid textile workers churn out cheap undergarments for the U.S. market, Sûrtab workers are equipped with soldering irons, not sewing machines.Dressed in sterile white work clothes, and a hair net, Sergine Brice is proud of her job. I never imagined I could, one day, make a tablet by myself, she said.Unemployed for a year after losing her position in a phone company, Brice, 22, was not sure she had the skills when she took the job after Sûrtab opened last year.When I arrived and realized the job deals with electronic components, I was wondering if I would be able to do it. But when I finished my first tablet ... I felt an immense pleasure, she said.Her family and friends were skeptical. None of them believed me, she said. Tablets made in Haiti? What are you talking about? they told her.Haitians have in our minds the idea that nothing can be done in this country. I proved that yes, we Haitians have the capacity to do many things, she said. Its not just Americans or Chinese. Weve got what theyve got, so we can do it too.With $200,000 in start-up funds from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and using imported Asian components, the factory produces three models all with 7-inch (18-cm) screens that run on Google Incs Android operation system. They range from a simple wifi tablet with 512 megabytes of RAM for about $100, to a 3G model with 2-gigabytes of memory for $285.The small factory with 40 employees is a throwback to the 1970s and 1980s when Haiti had a thriving assembly industry, including computer boards, as well as baseballs for U.S. professional teams.Political turmoil, and a U.S. economic embargo in the 1990s following a military coup, put them out of business.A product such as Sûrtab shows that Haitians are not just destined for low-wage, low-skilled jobs, said John Groarke, country director for USAID. Its the sort of high-skilled job that the country needs to work its way out of poverty.Brice, who works an eight-hour shift, would not disclose her salary. Sûrtab employees receive a bonus for each tablet that successfully passes the quality control and the company says it pays two to three times the Haitian minimum wage of $5 a day.INDIVIDUALLY ASSEMBLEDWith only a limited selection of expensive imported tablets available in Haiti, Sûrtab is the cheapest device on the market.Its easy to use and it takes really good quality photos, like any other tablet, said one happy customer, Lisbeth Plantin. And its great to see Made in Haiti on the back, she added.At the factory there is no production line, instead workers assemble each device from start to finish.We could have done like in Asia, one task per employee, which is faster, but we wanted to have a better quality product, said Diderot Musset, Sûrtabs production manager.Depending on the model, it takes an employee between 35 minutes and an hour to make a tablet. The company produces between 4,000 to 5,000 tablets a month, but plans to double that in April.We want the parts of the market which are not taken by the big players, especially in developing countries. These people would like to have a tablet but cannot afford an iPad, he said, referring to the Apple Inc device that costs at least $300 in U.S. stores and is barely available in Haiti.All the factory floor employees are women.It was not a choice we made but it happens that women have better results. I think women may be more open to learn something completely different from what they were doing before, Musset said with a smile.The company is running into inevitable skepticism about the quality of a Haitian-made tablet. Some people only believe in it when they come here and see the girls working, he said.The company has a retail distribution deal in Haiti with Digicel, a global telecom company that dominates the local cellphone market, as well as sales to Haitian government ministries and local non-governmental organizations.A university in Kenya also ordered 650 Sûrtab devices.Sûrtab is hoping to diversify its product line beyond tablets, said Patrick Sagna, director of business development.We want to establish a presence in the software sector. We are in contact with people from San Francisco who are ready to work with Haitian developers, he said.Sûrtabs investors are looking to build an applied science graduate school, as well as looping in Haitis skilled arts and crafts industry to help with design.Rather than importing covers for our tablets, we will produce them locally, said Sagna. We want our packaging, made with recycled and recyclable materials, to become a traveling cultural exhibition to highlight Haitian culture around the world, he added.

Japan's Mizuho in US, Canada suits over Mt. Gox bitcoin losses

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(Reuters) - Mizuho Bank, one of Japan's largest lenders, has became ensnared in North American legal fallout from Mt. Gox, once the world's biggest bitcoin exchange, which collapsed last month after losing nearly half a billion dollars worth of customers' digital currency.Lawsuits in the United States and Canada represent a new legal front - and a deep-pocketed defendant - in the battle over Mt. Gox, which claims hackers stole huge amounts of its own and its customers' assets.Mizuho, the core unit of Mizuho Financial Group Inc, Japan's second-biggest megabank by assets, was added as a defendant on Friday to an existing U.S. lawsuit against Mt. Gox for allegedly aiding in a fraud by providing banking services to the exchange.Also on Friday, Mizuho was named in a class-action lawsuit in Canada against Mt. Gox, alleging a lengthy security breach at Mt. Gox resulted in the pilfering of millions of dollars' worth of its users' bitcoins.A Mizuho spokeswoman in Tokyo declined comment on Sunday on the lawsuits, filed in Chicago federal court and the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.Tokyo-based Mt. Gox closed its virtual doors on February 25 and three days later filed for Chapter 11-style bankruptcy protection with a Japanese court.CUSTOMERS SUSPECT FRAUDThe company said it had likely lost all 750,000 customer bitcoins it was holding, as well as 100,000 of its own and 2.8 billion yen in cash. That represents $567 million of vanished assets at current market prices, as well as about 7 percent of the bitcoins in circulation.Mt. Gox blames systematic attacks on what it acknowledges was lax computer security. Customers - more than 99 percent of whom are non-Japanese - suspect a massive fraud.On Monday, Mt. Gox filed for a U.S. Chapter 15 bankruptcy, which shields the company from lawsuits in U.S. courts as the Tokyo case proceeds.Mizuho held non-bitcoin currency on behalf of Tokyo-based Mt. Gox and its customers, according to the amended U.S. complaint by Gregory Greene, an Illinois resident who has said he lost $25,000 when Mt. Gox shut down.The U.S. suit accuses Mizuho of knowing of Mt. Gox's fraud, of not segregating funds that belong to Mt. Gox from those of its customers and of continuing to provide banking services that inflated losses for bitcoin customers.Mizuho profited from the fraud, said the complaint.The Canadian plaintiffs allege that all non-bitcoin currency received by the Mt. Gox defendants from its users was held in an account or accounts at Mizuho.MIZUHO VS MT GOXIn fact, the bank by January was trying to close the exchange's account.An unnamed Mizuho manager at Mizuho bank, in a recording leaked on the internet, asks Mark Karpeles, Mt. Gox's 28-year-old French CEO, to close his firm's account with the bank, citing compliance issues and moves by other banks to cut ties with the exchange.The recording was confirmed as authentic by a person familiar with the situation.If Mizuho had to close the account forcibly, the manager warned, it could damage Mt. Gox's business.There would be confusion when your regular users try to deposit money. We don't think that's right, he says. If there's confusion, we'd come under criticism and you'd be in trouble as well.Karpeles told the Mizuho official Mt. Gox was unwilling to cooperate.The Canadian suit was filed on behalf of all persons in Canada who paid a fee to Mt. Gox to buy, sell or otherwise trade bitcoins and all those who had bitcoins or currency stored with Mt. Gox on February 7.While the U.S. bankruptcy stopped American courts from issuing orders against the Tokyo company, it does not protect Karpeles, the parent company Tibanne or Mt. Gox's U.S. affiliate. On Tuesday, the U.S. assets of those three were temporarily frozen by the federal judge overseeing Greene's lawsuit.The amended U.S. complaint said that despite the asset freeze, evidence suggests defendants continue to receive bitcoins in the United States.The amended complaint also added as defendants two executives of Mt. Gox, Jed McCaleb and Gonzague Gay-Bouchery.A Baker & McKenzie attorney who represented Mt. Gox in its U.S. Bankruptcy, John Murphy, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.The U.S. case is Gregory Greene v Mt. Gox Inc et al, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, No. 14-01437. The Canadian case is David Joyce, et al and MtGox Inc, et al, Ontario Superior Court of Justice, CV-15-500253-00CP. ($1=101.4650 Japanese yen).
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