Wednesday 19 March 2014

Dunya TV

Dunya TV

Obama says no US military action in Ukraine

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WASHINGTON (AFP) - President Barack Obama warned Wednesday that Russian might is not right but ruled out any US military action in Ukraine.Obama said in an interview with California NBC television outlet KNSD that Russia had violated another country's sovereignty by marching into the Ukrainian region of Crimea.But he reiterated that we are not going to be getting into a military excursion in Ukraine.What we are going to do is mobilize all of our diplomatic resources to make sure that we've got a strong international coalition that sends a clear message, Obama said.Might doesn't make right. We are going to continue to ratchet up the pressure on Russia as it continues down its current course.But Obama cautioned that even the Ukrainians would acknowledge that for us to engage Russia militarily would not be appropriate and wouldn't be good for Ukraine either.

Ban Ki-moon heading to Russia and Ukraine: UN

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NEW YORK (AFP) - United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was on Wednesday preparing to set off for Russia and the Ukraine to encourage a peaceful settlement of the crisis threatening conflict between them.Ban will meet with Russia's President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Thursday and with Ukraine's interim leaders President Olexsandr Turchynov and Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk in Kiev on Friday.The Secretary-General has consistently called for a solution that is guided by the principles of the United Nations Charter, Ban's office said, urging all parties to resolve the current crisis peacefully.Moscow and Kiev are on the brink of conflict following a breakdown in relations in the wake of last month's overthrow of Ukraine's former Kremlin-backed president Viktor Yanukovych.On Tuesday, Putin signed a treaty absorbing the Ukrainian region of Crimea into Russia and on Wednesday pro-Russian troops stormed a Ukrainian naval headquarters on the peninsula.UN spokesman Farhan Haq said Ban was calling for a de-escalation and restraint from all sides and he will continue to plead for that when he goes to Russia and Ukraine.(Ban) wants to build a constructive dialogue ... between Moscow and Kiev aimed at agreeing on specific measures that will pave the way to a diplomatic solution, Haq said.He believes that although matters have been difficult in recent days, the path towards a peaceful resolution of the crisis is still open, added Haq.Much of the international community, including the United States and the European Union, rejects the annexation of Crimea as illegal, but Moscow in turn refuse to recognize the Ukrainian government.US President Barack Obama has invited G7 leaders to meet in The Hague on Monday on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit to discuss Ukraine.UN diplomats have been deployed to Ukraine by Ban since the start of the crisis, with envoy Robert Serry followed by deputy Jan Eliasson and UN Human Rights chief Ivan Simonovic.None has been able to convince Moscow or Kiev to start a dialogue. Serry was forced to leave Crimea abruptly after threats from armed men, while Simonovic aborted a trip to the disputed region for logistical and security reasons.Thirteen of the 15 members of the UN Security Council backed a US draft resolution unequivocally condemning Crimea's referendum last weekend on joining Russia. The resolution was vetoed by Moscow while China abstained.

Iraq violence kills 37 nationwide

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BAGHDAD (AFP) - Violence across Iraq, including shelling and clashes in a militant-held city on Baghdad's doorstep, killed 37 people on Wednesday amid a protracted surge in bloodletting with polls looming next month.The bloodletting also wounded dozens more as the authorities struggle with the country's worst unrest since 2008, when it was just emerging from a brutal Sunni-Shiite sectarian war that killed tens of thousands and displaced countless others.The violence, in which more than 2,000 people have died already this year, has been primarily driven by discontent in the minority Sunni Arab community, that alleges mistreatment at the hands of the Shiite-led government and security forces, and by the civil war raging in neighbouring Syria.In Wednesday's deadliest incidents, shelling by government forces in Fallujah and clashes in and around the city killed 15 people and wounded 40, according to Ahmed Shami, the chief medic at the city's main hospital.The violence erupted just after midnight and continued through to the morning in northern, eastern and southern neighbourhoods of the city. It was unclear how many casualties resulted from the shelling, and how many from the clashes.Security forces have periodically shelled neighbourhoods of Fallujah in recent months, arguing that they are targeting anti-government fighters holding the city.Tribal leaders in the city confirmed the doctor's account.After midnight, shelling first targeted several areas... and clashes also happened, said Mohammed Saleh, a leader of the Bijari tribe.Mahmud al-Zobaie, a leader of the Zoba tribe, added: There are many people killed and wounded, and many homes have been damaged because of the shelling.Fallujah has been outside government control since militants overran it and parts of nearby Ramadi, capital of the predominantly Sunni surrounding province of Anbar, in early January.Security forces have managed to wrest back control of Ramadi but a stalemate has persisted in Fallujah, just a short drive from Baghdad.Attacks elsewhere in Iraq killed 22 others, security and medical officials said.North of the capital in Ishaqi, four policemen were killed and four were wounded when they tried to investigate a parked car that had a booby-trapped corpse inside.When they opened the car door, the explosives-rigged body exploded, two police officers said.Violence in and around Baghdad, meanwhile, killed a dozen people, and attacks in the restive provinces of Diyala, Nineveh and Kirkuk -- all north of the capital -- killed six.More than 300 people have been killed so far this month and upwards of 2,000 since the beginning of the year, according to AFP figures based on reports from security and medical sources.Analysts and diplomats have urged the Shiite-led authorities to do more to reach out to the disaffected Sunni minority, but with elections due to be held on April 30, political leaders have been loath to be seen to compromise.

Kerry angered by Israeli minister's sharp criticism

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WASHINGTON (AFP) - In a rare move, Secretary of State John Kerry protested Wednesday to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about strong criticism of US foreign policy by his outspoken defense minister.In a telephone call, Kerry told Netanyahu the comments made by Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon are inconsistent with strong ties between Israel and the United States, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.Clearly his comments were not constructive, Psaki told reporters, after Yaalon slammed the US administration for showing weakness around the world, particularly on its policy with Iran and Ukraine.Secretary Kerry spoke with Prime Minister Netanyahu this morning and protested to him his concerns about these comments, she said, adding that the United States has an unshakeable commitment to Israel's security.It is certainly confusing to us why Defense Minister Yaalon would continue his pattern of making comments that don't accurately represent the scope of our close partnership on a range of security issues and on the enduring partnership between the United States and Israel.But Kerry has a thick skin and we're ready to move forward and keep talking about the peace process, Psaki added.It is not Yaalon's first diatribe against the administration of President Barack Obama and Kerry himself.In January, the State Department denounced as offensive comments made by the defense minister accusing Kerry of an incomprehensible obsession with his push for Middle East peace.Yaalon was later forced to apologize to the top US diplomat, who has been trying to hammer out for the past year a comprehensive peace treaty between Israel and the Palestinians.Psaki refused to divulge what Netanyahu's response was on Wednesday's call, nor whether Kerry had asked the Israeli prime minister to fire Yaalon.Netanyahu's office would not comment on the call, but Israeli news website Ynet said the premier had spoken to Yaalon about the matter and that a source in the defense minister's office said Yaalon was expected to smooth things over with the Americans.In an address to Tel Aviv University, Yaalon was quoted as saying Tuesday that if the United States continued to demonstrate weakness overseas, its own security would be harmed.If you sit and wait at home, terrorism will come again, the Haaretz daily quoted him as saying.If your image is feebleness, it doesn't pay in the world... I hope the United States comes to its senses. If it doesn't, it will challenge the world order and the United States is the one that will suffer.He also toughened his line on Iran and appeared ready to back an Israeli military strike.We had thought the ones who should lead the (military) campaign against Iran is the United States... But at some stage, the United States entered into negotiations with them, and unhappily, when it comes to negotiating at a Persian bazaar, the Iranians were better, he said.

Egypt army officers killed in shootout with militants

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CAIRO (AFP) - Two senior Egyptian army officers were killed during a raid on a jihadist hideout north of Cairo on Wednesday, as security forces close in on militants in the Nile Delta.Six members of the Al-Qaeda-inspired Ansar Beit al-Maqdis (Partisans of Jerusalem) group, which has been implicated in a spate of attacks on security forces, were also killed in the hours-long shootout, the army and police said.The jihadists have increasingly shifted their campaign of bombings and shootings from their base in the restless Sinai Peninsula to the Nile Delta and the capital.Ansar Beit al-Maqdis has claimed responsibility for some of the deadliest attacks in a wave of violence that has killed more than 200 soldiers and policemen since the army overthrew Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July.The brigadier and colonel killed in the early morning shootout were both bomb disposal experts, the army said.The cell targeted was suspected of involvement in a Saturday attack on a military checkpoint that killed six soldiers, as well as a January bombing of Cairo police headquarters.The interior ministry said several barrels filled with explosives were discovered in the warehouse near the Nile Delta town Al-Qanatir Al-Khayriya, 30 kilometres (20 miles) north of the capital.Television footage showed forensic experts sifting through bomb-making materials, including ball bearings used to make blasts more deadly.Police also found a vehicle previously identified as the getaway car used in the Cairo police headquarters bombing and last week's checkpoint attack.Most of the attacks since Morsi's overthrow have taken place in the Sinai, where jihadist leaders are believed to be based.The group has posed a persistent challenge to army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who is widely expected to contest and win upcoming presidential elections.Sisi attended the funeral of the slain officers on Wednesday.By God, we are all prepared to die now for our country, he told relatives of one of the officers in footage broadcast on state television.Ansar Beit al-Maqdis had claimed the downing of a military helicopter in the restive region using a heat-seeking missile, as well as the Cairo police headquarters bombing.The group said last week that its founder, Tawfiq Mohamed Fareej, was killed recently when a car accident set off a bomb he was carrying.Fareej was the field commander of an August 18, 2011 cross-border raid into Israel that killed eight Israelis, the group said.Several new militant groups have sprung up in the face of a deadly security crackdown on Morsi's supporters, which has killed at least 1,400 people, according to Amnesty International.Interim president Adly Mansour on Wednesday ordered the justice ministry to open an investigation into the August dispersal by security forces of the Rabaa al-Adaweya Islamist sit-in that left hundreds dead.A new Islamist group, Ansar al-Shariah, claimed responsibility on Monday for a spate of attacks on police in the Nile Delta that it said had targeted 28 security men.The same name is used by jihadist groups in several other countries.The government has designated Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organisation, but the group says it is committed to peaceful protest.On Wednesday, at least two people were killed when student supporters of Morsi clashed with police at several university campuses.Morsi and dozens of Brotherhood leaders face trial on a number of charges, including collusion with militants to carry out attacks.Former president Hosni Mubarak, toppled in a 2011 popular uprising, also faces trial on various charges.On Wednesday, a court postponed his corruption trial to March 27.

Football: Van Persie rescues United in Champions League

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MANCHESTER (AFP) - Robin van Persie scored a hat-trick as Manchester United kept their season alive by storming back to beat Olympiakos 3-0 and reach the Champions League quarter-finals on Wednesday.United were left on the brink of elimination after losing the first leg of the last 16 tie 2-0, but on a stirring night at Old Trafford the Dutchman's treble took them into the last eight for the first time since 2011.Van Persie's evening was to end on a sour note, as he was stretchered from the field in the latter stages after going down holding his leg, but it did not dampen United's celebrations.It was the first time United had ever overturned a two-goal deficit in the competition and made them only the sixth team to have clawed back a disadvantage of two goals or more in the Champions League era.Victory was far from straightforward, however, with United goalkeeper David de Gea notably producing a fine double save shortly before Van Persie levelled the tie in first-half injury time.United's progress will ease the pressure on manager David Moyes, whose position was the subject of intense press speculation prior to kick-off, but he will remain under scrutiny over the season's closing weeks.Sunday's 3-0 loss at home to Liverpool left United 12 points outside the top four in the Premier League, meaning that they may have to qualify for next season's Champions League by winning the current edition.United, for whom Ryan Giggs excelled in central midfield, made their attacking intent immediately clear, with the forwards pressing high up the pitch and sighs echoing around the ground whenever the ball went backwards.Olympiakos received two early setbacks when Kostas Manolas and Alejandro Dominguez picked up bookings that would have ruled them out of the first leg in the quarter-finals, but they worried United on the counter-attack.A low Jose Holebas cross had to be hacked clear by Phil Jones, while Hernan Perez should have done better than hoist the ball high and wide from 12 yards after being picked out by Joel Campbell.Gradually, United raised the tempo, and after Wayne Rooney had put a header against the post from a floated Giggs cross, they secured a foothold in the tie in the 25th minute.Giggs was the architect, his raking pass freeing Van Persie, who was clattered from behind by Holebas, and after referee Bjorn Kuipers pointed to the spot, the Dutch striker swept home from 12 yards.Visiting goalkeeper Roberto then touched a Patrice Evra header over the bar, but United would have had a mountain to climb had De Gea not produced a stunning double save to thwart David Fuster and Dominguez.Within minutes the tie was level, as Giggs -- again -- freed Rooney with a lofted ball into the inside-right channel and the England man centred for Van Persie to slam home.United had the momentum and seven minutes into the second half they made it count when Van Persie whipped a 25-yard free-kick past an oddly static Roberto to complete his first Champions League hat-trick.The hosts remained vulnerable, however, with Olympiakos needing just one goal to regain the lead, and there were heart-in-mouth moments when De Gea was obliged to save from Perez and Dominguez.Ultimately United survived, but at the cost of Van Persie's injury and a booking to Evra that rules him out of the first leg of their quarter-finals.

Tennis: Del Potro out of Miami with wrist injury

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MIAMI (AFP) - Former US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro withdrew from the ATP Miami hardcourt tournament on Wednesday, citing the left wrist injury that has nagged him for several weeks.The eighth-seeded Argentina star, who has been forced to pull out or retire in his past three events, was replaced in the 96-man field by German lucky loser Benjamin Becker.I still feel pain in my left wrist and I don't feel competitive to go on court, Del Potro said. It's a pity because this is a special tournament for me since there are many Latin fans and Argentines in particular.In the next few days I will visit my doctor again to determine the following steps.Del Potro also withdrew from the ATP hardcourt event at Indian Wells earlier this month.World number one Rafael Nadal, three-time Miami champion Novak Djokovic and Australian Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka are the top seeds.Two-time Miami winner Roger Federer is seeded fifth while reigning champion Andy Murray, who split with coach Ivan Lendl on Wednesday, is the sixth seed.

Boxing: Japan's Kameda gives up IBF title

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TOKYO (AFP) - Japanese boxer Daiki Kameda said Wednesday he was giving up the International Boxing Federation super-flyweight title which he had retained despite controversy.I intend to give up the IBF (champion) belt, the 25-year-old fighter told reporters at Tokyos Narita airport before leaving for a two-month training camp in the US state of Florida.There are many strong boxers in Miami. I want to engage in boxing from scratch again.Kameda lost to Venezuelas Liborio Solis on a split decision in Osaka on December 3, in what would have been a unification title bout. Solis was stripped of his World Boxing Association super-flyweight title the day before for being overweight.An IBF official incorrectly announced on the eve of the fight that Kamedas title would have been left vacant if he lost to Solis.But an IBF rule says a champion retains his crown regardless of the result of a title bout if his opponent fails to make the weight. Kameda accordingly kept his belt in the storm of confusion.The reason I lost is that I was weak. I must admit this, said Kameda, whose older and younger brothers Koki and Tomoki are reigning and former world boxing champions.I want to become a much stronger boxer. I must apologise to my fans and to the public for causing a big commotion.

US oil prices rise following inventory report

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NEW YORK (AFP) - Oil prices in New York rose Wednesday after a US oil inventory report showed lower supplies at a crucial trading hub.US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for April delivery advanced 67 cents to finish trade at $100.37 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.European benchmark Brent oil for May delivery fell 94 cents to $105.85 a barrel in London.Analysts attributed the rise in US prices to the Department of Energy's (DoE) weekly oil inventory report, which showed supplies at the crucial Cushing, Oklahoma, trading hub falling by 200,000 barrels to 29.8 million barrels.That compared with supplies of 49 million barrels at Cushing a year ago.Stocks have drawn down fairly considerably at Cushing, said Andy Lebow, a senior vice president of energy derivatives at Jefferies Bache.There's less supply, so you're going to have to pay a premium for spot barrels.The DoE report painted a mixed picture on crude supplies. While supplies fell at Cushing, overall US supplies rose by 5.9 million barrels, more than the 2.3 million barrels expected by analysts surveyed by Dow Jones Newswire.The gain in WTI came on the heels of a big jump in US oil prices Tuesday due in part to news of higher pipeline capacity to move crude from Cushing to Gulf Coast refineries.The US Federal Reserve Wednesday decided to continue to trim back its stimulus program by $10 billion, as expected. Analysts said the oil market did not move signficantly on the Fed news.

Dollar surges on Fed hint of higher interest rates

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NEW YORK (AFP) - The US dollar surged Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen sketched out a rough time-table for when the central bank could raise benchmark interest rates.At 2100 GMT Wednesday, the euro fell to $1.3827 from $1.3932 late Tuesday.The dollar bought 102.32 Japanese yen, up from 101.42.The euro advanced to 141.53 yen from 141.29.The Fed, as expected, decided to continue to trim back its stimulus program.The central bank revised its forward guidance on interest rates, dropping a threshold of 6.5 percent unemployment while adding that it still expects very low rates for a considerable time after the bond-buying program ends, according to a communique.But a remark from Yellen during a news conference sent US stocks lower while fortifying the dollar.Yellen said the time-frame for raising interest rates could be on the order of around six months after the stimulus ends, expected at its current taper pace by year-end.The Feds actions left investors with a very clear message, said Kathy Lien, managing director at BK Asset Management. Today, Janet Yellen began to set expectations for tightening.The fact that Janet Yellen is talking about rate hikes at all in her first meeting as Federal Reserve Chair is extremely bullish for the dollar and providing specifics on timing gives investors a target to look forward to, Lien added.Among other currencies, the British pound dipped to $1.6536 from $1.6587.The dollar advanced to 0.8807 Swiss franc from 0.8732.

Strong Ireland send UAE out of World Twenty20

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SYLHET (AFP) - Ireland sent debutants United Arab Emirates crashing out of the World Twenty20 on Wednesday, winning the Group B match in Sylhet by the Duckwoth Lewis method.The Irish, who opted to bowl after winning the toss, restricted their opponents to 123-6 in 20 overs before reaching 103-3 in 14.2 overs when two power failures and then rain stopped play.Ireland were declared the winners by 21 runs using the Duckworth Lewis formula.It was Irelands second win on the trot.A second successive defeat for UAE means they are eliminated from the tournament.Ireland lost their opener Paul Stirling, who hit a brilliant 60 in his teams three-wicket win over Zimbabwe Monday, for just eight but quickly rallied.Ed Joyce topscored with 43 while skipper William Porterfield made 33 not out.Irelands bowlers, led by spinner Paul Stirling (2-12) and paceman Kevin OBrien (2-17) kept it tight, preventing any UAE batsmen from hitting a big innings despite a soild 35-run start in five overs.Once opener Amjad Ali fell for 20, it all went wrong for the UAE who were competing in the World Twenty20 for the first time.Shaiman Anwar topscored with a 28-ball 30 which included two sixes.Elsewhere in Group B, Zimbabwe beat the Netherlands earlier Wednesday, putting them in contention for a place in the Super-10 stage.The Dutch also have one win from two games and are still in with a chance of progressing.The top two teams in both Group A and B will join the eight seeds in the next round, starting from March 21.Brief Scores:UAE: 123-6 in 20 overs (Shaiman Anwar 30; P. Stirling 2-12, K. OBrien 2-17)Ireland: 103-3 in 14.2 overs (E. Joyce 43, W. Porterfield 33 not out)Ireland win on Duckworth Lewis method.

Zimbabwe alive in World T20 with last-ball win

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SYLHET (AFP) - Skipper Brendan Taylor and Hamilton Masakadza kept Zimbabwes hopes alive in the World Twenty20 tournament Wednesday with a hard-fought five-wicket win over the Netherlands in Sylhet.Taylor hit a solid 39-ball 49 while Masakadza scored 43 off 45 balls to help Zimbabwe pass their 141-run target with a six off the last ball.When Taylor was dismissed after hitting two fours and a six, 15 runs were needed off the last 11 balls.When the last over began, seven were still needed.Sean Williams hit a lucky boundary and then ran himself out for 26 with the scores tied.But Vusi Sibanda hit paceman Ahsan Malik for a huge six to give Zimbabwe victory.Taylor said there was still plenty of room for improvement.We committed very basic errors on the boundary which cost us 10-15 runs, he said. It wasnt good enough for a professional outfit.Hopefully, we can rectify that against the UAE and well be a chance.Netherlands skipper Peter Borren felt his team fell 20 runs short.That said, weve got a good varied bowling attack, but we would have been confident with 150, he said.The Netherlands, who won the toss and batted, were lifted from a precarious 19-3 to 140-5 by a fighting 58-ball 72 not out from Tom Cooper, including nine fours and a six.Cooper added an invaluable 52 for the fifth wicket with brother Ben Cooper (20) after spinner Prosper Utseya (2-24) had dismissed opener Stefan Myburgh for a duck off the third ball of the innings.The Netherlands won their opening match against the United Arab Emirates in Group B. They will now face Ireland on Friday to decide who goes through to the next round.Wednesadays win keeps Zimbabwe in the race after they lost their first match to Ireland. They face the UAE on Friday.Bangladesh won both their games in Group A.The top two teams from the preliminary rounds will join the eight seeded teams in the Super-10 stage starting March 21.Brief scores:Netherlands 140-5 in 20 overs (T. Cooper 72 not out, P. Utseya 2-24)Zimbabwe 146-5 in 20 overs (B. Taylor 49, H. Masakadza 43; P. Seelaar 2-9)Zimbabwe won by five wickets.

Support strong for open Internet in developing world

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WASHINGTON (AFP) - Support is strong across emerging and developing countries for an Internet without government censorship, a US survey showed Wednesday.The Pew Research Center found a majority opposed to government restrictions on online activity in 22 of 24 countries surveyed.Support was especially high among younger people and in countries with a high percentage of people using the Internet.Eighty-nine percent of those surveyed in Venezuela said they supported an unfettered Internet, as did at least 80 percent in Lebanon, Chile, Egypt, Argentina and Brazil.The numbers were high in Mexico (79 percent), South Africa (77 percent), Bolivia (76 percent), Malaysia and the Philippines (both at 73 percent) and Nigeria (72 percent).Support for Internet freedom tends to be strong in nations with high rates of Internet penetration, such as Chile and Argentina, where roughly two-thirds of the population is online, the Pew report said.It is less common in nations with lower penetration rates, like Indonesia and Uganda, where 55 and 49 percent, respectively, said they oppose government censorship.The report comes days after the US government announced it was giving up its key role in charge of the Internets technical operations, handing over those functions to the global multistakeholder community.While US officials said they would work to maintain a free and open Internet, critics of the decision said the move opens the door to other countries to impose new controls on online activity.In the Pew survey, Pakistan had the lowest percentage of people expressing opposition to censorship -- 22 percent -- but 62 percent of people polled gave no response or were undecided.Among younger people in the 18-29 age bracket, a strong majority supported an open Internet in every country except in Pakistan, Pew said.The results from Russia contrasted with those of the rest of the survey, with a relatively low percentage of 63 percent saying they oppose censorship even though Russia has among the highest levels of Internet use.The well-educated were more likely to support an open Internet in many countries. In Tunisia, for example, 73 percent of college graduates said it is important to have Internet access without government censorship, compared with 56 percent of the overall population.Pew researchers polled 21,847 people in 24 emerging and developing economies from March 3, 2013 to May 1 in face-to-face interviews.The margin of error ranged from 3.5 percentage points in Venezuela to 7.7 points in Turkey, with most of the national surveys between four and five percentage points.

New age of discord as Putin rips up post-Soviet order: analysts

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MOSCOW (AFP) - Russia is heading to a new era of confrontation with the West as President Vladimir Putin reasserts Kremlin power by tearing up the post-Soviet order that prevailed for over two decades, analysts say.On December 8, 1991 then Russian President Boris Yeltsin and the leaders of Ukraine and Belarus met at a remote dacha to sign the document that effectively dismembered the USSR into independent states.But by snatching Crimea from Ukraine, Putin has shown a readiness to redraw Russias current frontiers and shatter the order that dates from the so-called Belovezhskaya Accords.It remains unclear whether Putin will stop there or will be tempted to take other Russian-speaking regions from Ukraine, Moldova or even Belarus and Kazakhstan.But what is clear from Russias lightning takeover of Ukraines Russian-speaking peninsula and a landmark Kremlin speech by Putin on Tuesday is the Russian strongmans sense of mission to restore Russian power.We are at the start, but not at the end, of a stormy development of events, said Nikolai Petrov, professor at the Higher Economic School in Moscow.Putins speech concluded the current stage of the absorbtion of Crimea. The question is, what happens next? he said.- Resisting containment -Putin made clear that Russia was tired of being pushed into a corner by the West who he accused of time and again deceiving us and taking decisions behind our backs.Putting the standoff into a historic context, he said that the West was persisting with its policy of containment towards Russia which had been in place during the 18th and 19th centuries of Tsarist rule and the 20th century under the Soviet Union.Everything has its limits, said Putin, warning that the West had crossed a line by helping install an anti-Kremlin government in Kiev after the overthrow of president Viktor Yanukovych.Petrov said there would be a new Cold War if Putin took any moves that went beyond the taking of Crimea.This is the beginning of the game. The sides have exchanged predictable moves but now comes the exchange of unpredictable blows, he said.Putin in his speech blasted the world order that took shape after the collapse of the bipolar system when the USSR disintegrated, saying it had allowed the US to disregard international law from Yugoslavia to Iraq and Libya.In a sign of where Russias diplomatic priorities now lie, he reached out to China and India.Putin has declared war on the West and no reconciliation is possible, said Petrov. Now the West will play for the liquidation of the Putin regime.Dmitry Trenin, director of the Carnegie Centre in Moscow, described Russias seizure of Crimea as a watershed in its foreign policy.Up until now Moscow only talked about red lines, he said. The post-Soviet settlement in Eastern Europe is now history.- Redrawing the post-USSR map -For Putin and many Russians, the incorporation of Crimea into Russian territory simply rights a historic wrong that resulted in the Russian-speaking region ending up in post-Soviet Ukraine.Crimea was transferred to the Soviet republic of Ukraine by Communist Party chief Nikita Khrushchev in 1954, a decision that Putin said may have been motivated by his guilt in organising mass repressions in Ukraine in the 1930s.But the sheer fact that Putin sent pro-Moscow forces into Crimea to seize the region shows a disregard for the borders set in 1991.Russia may be the biggest country in the world by landmass, but it is still a shrunken entity compared with the reach it enjoyed during the Tsarist Russian Empire and Communist rule.Putin can feel he has triumphed, wrote the business daily Vedomosti. Russia, in his opinion, has refused to fulfil the rules of the unfair Belovezhskaya world order.In his speech, Putin portrayed Russians as the victims of the break-up of the USSR, an event he once famously described as the greatest geo-political tragedy of the 20th century.What seemed unthinkable, unfortunately, became reality and the USSR collapsed, he said.Putin said millions of Russians had woken up in 1991 in foreign countries and Russians could now be described as the most dispersed people in the world.His remarks raise the question of whether the Crimea swoop will be a one-off or will be followed by the return of other Russian-speaking territories.A Russian move into east or southern Ukraine would mark an even greater escalation. Lawmakers in the Russian-speaking separatist Moldovan territory of Transdniestr have already asked to become part of Russia.Timofei Bordachev, deputy editor of the pro-Kremlin, Russia in Global Policy Journal, said further actions would depend as much on the behaviour of the United States as Russia.A free, independent and neutral Ukraine could be a guarantor of peace in central Europe. Russia in that case would not continue its active policies in the east and southeast of Ukraine, he said.

World T20 warm-up: South Africa beat Pakistan by eight wickets

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FATULLAH (Web Desk) - South Africa beat Pakistan by eight wickets in the warm-up match of World Twenty 20 here on Wednesday.Hashim Amla scored 24 and while AB De Villiers remained not out on 20 runs. Umar Gul and Shahid Afridi took one wicket each.Earlier, Pakistani captain Muhammad Hafeez won the toss and elected to bat first but tight and Economic bowling from Tsotsobe restricted Pakistan to 71 runs.Pakistan’s entire batting line-up once again collapsed very badly as only three batsmen scored in double figure.Umar Akmal, Ahmed Shahzad and Sohaib Maqsood were the top scorers from Pakistani side while Shahid Afridi scored only six runs.Waune Parnell, LL Tsotsobe and BE Hendricks took two two wickets while AM Phangiso and JP Duminy got one wicket each.Remember Pakistan has to face their traditional rival India on the opening match of Tournament.
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