Thursday 17 April 2014

Dunya TV

Dunya TV

US to send 'non-lethal' military aid to Ukraine: Hagel

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WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States will send helmets, medical supplies and other non-lethal military aid to Ukraine amid fears of another Russian incursion there, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Thursday.Hagel said he had informed Kiev that President Barack Obama has approved additional non-lethal military assistance for health and welfare items and other supplies.The aid includes medical supplies, helmets, sleeping mats and water purification units for Ukrainian troops, as well as shelters, small power generators and hand fuel pumps for Ukraine's border security force.But it does not appear to contain any combat equipment, such as bulletproof vests or night-vision goggles.Washington had sent some 300,000 food rations to Kiev in late March.The United States continues to stand with Ukraine, Hagel told reporters during a joint press conference with Poland's visiting Defense Minister Tomasz Siemoniak.The aid makes up part of a long wish list of items sought by Kiev over the past several weeks, as its ill-equipped forces face a pro-Russian uprising in the east, and the specter of Moscow annexing another huge chunk of its territory after the seizure of Crimea last month.The United States will continue to review additional support that we can provide to Ukraine, Hagel said.Several US lawmakers -- most notably veteran Republican Senator John McCain -- have issued scathing denunciations of the West's tepid response to the crisis.McCain, who lost the White House election to Obama in 2008, decried steps taken by the United States and European Union thus far as almost laughable during a visit to Lithuania on Wednesday.He and other lawmakers have called on Washington to provide military assistance to Ukraine, including light arms and anti-aircraft defenses.Hagel tried to reassure NATO members such as the Baltic states and Poland worried about the impact of Russia's actions in Ukraine on their security.Washington is fully committed to making sure their territory is respected, in accordance with NATO obligations, he said.Since the start of the Ukrainian crisis, the Pentagon has sent 12 F-16 fighter jets and their support teams to Poland.And Hagel said the planes would stay there until the end of the year, as he called on other European members of NATO to contribute reinforcements.The United States and Poland separately agree to increase their military cooperation for anti-aircraft and special forces capabilities, according to Siemoniak.Poland is due to host a NATO antimissile defense site in 2018 aimed at guarding against Iranian threats that have raised the ire of Moscow.We are talking about the presence of the American troops in Poland, the defense minister acknowledged.But Siemoniak stopped short of calling for the establishment of US military bases, as requested by the conservative Polish opposition.There may be some new opportunities for rotational-basis forces, Hagel said. But no decisions have been made, and we'll continue to discuss these issues as NATO is discussing these issues.Since the end of the Cold War, NATO has balked at setting up bases in members states that once belonged to the Soviet bloc, in an effort to avoid angering Russia.

Russia, West reach deal on Ukraine crisis but Obama cautious

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GENEVA (AFP) - Russia, Ukraine and the West reached a surprise deal Thursday aimed at easing the worst East-West crisis since the Cold War, but US President Barack Obama cautioned it was uncertain if Moscow would stand by the agreement.The agreement laid out concrete steps to restore security for all citizens and crucially urged all illegal armed groups to disarm and vacate seized buildings.While not spelt out explicitly, that was a likely reference to pro-Kremlin separatists who have taken over parts of Ukraine's restive southeast.The deal appeared to mark a sharp change from the tone taken by Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier in the day, when he left the door open for armed intervention in Ukraine.UN chief Ban Ki-moon said he was encouraged that the four-way talks yielded a deal, and said he expected all sides to show their serious intention to implement the agreement. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier also welcomed it as a first important step, but Obama gave a cautious reaction to the agreement, saying: We are not going to count on it until we see it.I don't think we can be sure of anything at this point. I think there is the possibility, the prospect, that the diplomacy may de-escalate the situation, he told reporters.At the same time, Obama said he was coordinating with leaders in Europe about further sanctions against Moscow if progress was not evident within days.We have put in place additional consequences that we can impose on the Russians if we do not see actual improvement of the situation.The United States and European Union have already imposed punitive sanctions on key Russian and Ukrainian political and business officials, including members of Putin's inner circle.But wider-reaching sanctions could hit Russia's key energy sector, dealing a blow to an already struggling economy.Earlier Thursday, Putin said he hoped he would not have to use his right to send Russian troops into its western neighbour, in what appeared to be a thinly-veiled threat against Kiev.I very much hope that I am not obliged to use this right and that through political and diplomatic means we can solve all the acute problems in Ukraine, he said, warning that Ukraine was plunging into the abyss.In an escalation of tensions, Kiev banned all Russian males aged 16 to 60 from entering Ukrainian territory, a measure described by Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as disgusting.Kiev's new, untested leaders earlier this week launched a much-hyped military operation against separatists in the restive east, but the action failed spectacularly, with the militants blocking troops and even seizing six of their armoured vehicles.Washington and Kiev have accused Russia of supporting these insurgents, who have been behaving in very similar ways to militants who seized public buildings in the Crimean peninsula before it was annexed by Moscow last month.But Moscow has categorically denied links to the gunmen and blamed Ukraine's interim leaders -- brought to power in February after the ouster of pro-Kremlin president Viktor Yanukovych -- of bringing the country close to civil war.The upper house of parliament on March 1 authorised the Russian leader to send troops into Ukraine after Yanukovych's ouster, and Moscow later went on to take over Crimea.Russia has raised further concern by massing tens of thousands of troops at the border, but in an apparent bid to reassure his counterparts in Geneva, Lavrov said Russia had no desire to send troops into Ukraine.Ukraine has shown admirable, sometimes I think even remarkable restraint, in the face of considerable challenge, US Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters after hammering out the deal in Geneva with Lavrov, Ukraine's Andriy Deshchytsya and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.While saying that the West is not giving up on Crimea, Kerry added that we did not come (to Geneva) to talk about the peninsula.Instead, the four-parties' agreement included a call for an amnesty for those who vacated occupied buildings and surrendered weapons.It added that a dialogue that included all Ukrainians regions should be launched -- apparently addressing Moscow's concerns that the rights of Russian speakers be assured.I can see why they (Russians) did this as they felt that the sanctions were quite close to being imposed, so they had to take a step back, Kiev-based political scientist Andreas Umland said.But I'm sceptical... I don't think it's all over.No timeline was given for the implementation of the agreement, but Ukraine's foreign minister said it should begin in the coming days.Meanwhile, Kerry described as grotesque pamphlets which were sent to Jews in east Ukraine's main city, ordering them to register.In the year 2014, after all of the miles travelled and all of the journey of history, this is not just intolerable, it's grotesque. It is beyond unacceptable, he said.The incident has been dismissed by the local chief rabbi as nothing more than provocation.Separately, the European Union announced Thursday it had agreed to hold talks with Russia on its gas supplies to Europe through Ukraine, warning Moscow its reliability as an energy source was at stake.The announcement came even as Putin ramped up pressure on Ukraine by setting a one-month deadline for Kiev to settle its debt for gas imports from Russia.

Iraq policeman dies shielding recruits, attacks kill 21

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BAGHDAD (AFP) - An Iraqi policeman sacrificed himself to shield army recruits from a suicide bomber northeast of Baghdad on Thursday, as attacks mainly targeting security personnel killed 21 people nationwide, officials said.The violence comes as Iraq suffers a protracted surge in bloodshed that has killed more than 2,650 people this year despite wide-ranging security operations against militants.In Baladruz, northeast of Baghdad, policeman Raad Kadhim Hattab threw his arms around a suicide bomber who was trying to target an army recruitment centre, the interior ministry said.The bomber detonated his explosives, killing Hattab and a recruit and wounding 10 more, police and a doctor said -- a toll that would almost certainly have been higher were it not for the policeman's sacrifice.Another Iraqi policeman also gave his life to protect Shiite pilgrims from a suicide bomber in December last year.Militants killed 13 members of the security forces on Thursday in the northern province of Nineveh, one of the most dangerous areas in Iraq.In Mahallabiyah, west of Nineveh's capital Mosul, militants with automatic weapons attacked a military site, killing 12 soldiers and wounding 15, while a police colonel was gunned down southeast of the city, a police officer and a morgue employee said.Near the town of Tuz Khurmatu, north of Baghdad, militants who blocked a road and searched cars found three soldiers in a minibus and killed them, police Colonel Mustafa al-Bayati said.Shallal Abdul Baban, a local official responsible for the Tuz Khurmatu area, said the soldiers were shot in the head, and added that the militants also beat the bus driver, injuring him.In Baghdad, a car bombing in the Karrada district killed at least three people and wounded at least 12.Thursday was the deadliest day for the Iraqi army since February 11, when 17 soldiers were killed.Militant groups frequently target the security forces, some of whom lack adequate training and discipline.They are even able to hit targets that should be highly secure, such as government buildings, police stations, prisons and military installations.The justice ministry announced earlier this week that Iraq's infamous Abu Ghraib prison west of Baghdad has been closed because of security fears.Abu Ghraib and another prison near the city were the targets of major assaults by militants last July, in which hundreds of inmates were freed.Justice Minister Hassan al-Shammari said the ministry decided to close Abu Ghraib as part of precautionary measures related to the security of prisons, adding that the facility is in a hot area.In another sign of the reach of militant groups and the weakness of security forces, anti-government fighters have since January held all of the city of Fallujah near Abu Ghraib, and shifting parts of Anbar provincial capital Ramadi, farther west.The security forces face a major test on April 30 when Iraqis vote in the first parliamentary election since American forces withdrew at the end of 2011.The rising violence that has plagued Iraq over the past year has been driven mainly by widespread anger among the Sunni Arab minority, who say they are mistreated by the Shiite-led government and security forces.It has also been fuelled by the civil war in neighbouring Syria.More than 410 people have been killed in violence this month, according to AFP figures based on security and medical sources.

Israel, Palestinians hold peace talks with US envoy

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JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israeli and Palestinian negotiators met Thursday with US envoy Martin Indyk to try to find a way to extend faltering peace talks, with one Palestinian source calling the discussion difficult.The meeting, which had been put off by a day, began in the late afternoon in a Jerusalem hotel, Palestinian sources said.The discussions are very difficult, one source said.Israel implied that the delay had been caused by the killing of an Israeli police officer in the West Bank this week, but the Palestinians said the meeting was pushed from Wednesday to Thursday to enable Indyk to take part.Israeli and Palestinian negotiators met on their own on Sunday and held a three-way meeting with Indyk a week ago in last-ditch efforts to save the stagnant peace process launched by US Secretary of State John Kerry in July for a period of nine months.State Department spokeswoman Jennifer Psaki said this week that Israeli and Palestinian negotiators are striving to reach an agreement to extend the talks beyond their April 29 deadline.Washington is pushing for an extension but the negotiations hit an impasse two weeks ago when Israel refused to release a group of Palestinian prisoners as agreed at last year's launch of the talks.Under the agreement, Israel had committed to free 104 prisoners held since before the 1993 Oslo autonomy accords in four batches, but it cancelled the release of the last group of 26.Among them are 14 Arab Israelis which the Jewish state is refusing to set free.The Palestinians retaliated by seeking accession to several international treaties.Thursday's new round of talks came as Palestinians marked Prisoners Day with rallies across the West Bank and Gaza Strip in solidarity with thousands of their jailed compatriots.Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat added his voiced to the protesters on Thursday by calling anew on Israel to free the last batch of prisoners.And prisoners minister Issa Qaraqe said on Voice of Palestine Radio that signing up to international treaties, including the Fourth Geneva Convention, could pave the way to prisoners' rights.Despite the crisis, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina stressed the talks could be extended if Israel released the last batch of prisoners.What's needed now is Israel's commitment on issues that could lead to an extension of talks. If they commit, we're ready, he said on Wednesday.And Abbas told Israeli opposition MPs visiting him in the West Bank administrative centre of Ramallah he would insist that the 14 Arab Israelis were among those released, Haaretz newspaper reported.It said that if talks were extended, Abbas would want the first three months to be devoted to a serious discussion of borders.The Palestinians want a state based on the lines that existed before Israel occupied the West Bank and Gaza in the 1967 Six-Day War.According to Channel 2 television, Israel's Shin Bet domestic security agency head called for 10 of the 26 prisoners slated for release to be deported abroad or transferred to the Gaza Strip.Progress in the peace talks has stumbled over all key issues, namely borders, Jewish settlements, security, the status of Jerusalem and the fate of Palestinian refugees.

Tennis: Nadal, Djokovic, Federer cruise in Monte Carlo

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MONTE CARLO (AFP) - Rafael Nadal racked up his 300th career claycourt win to reach the Monte Carlo Masters quarter-finals on Thursday where he was joined by longtime rivals Novak Djokovic, the defending champion, and Roger Federer.World number one Nadal finished with an ace on match point to seal his landmark 6-1, 6-3 win over Italy's Andreas Seppi while Djokovic cruised past Spain's Pablo Carreno Busta and Federer saw off Czech Lukas Rosol.Nadal became just the 11th man to crack 300 wins on clay -- the last to do so was Spaniard Carlos Moya, who ended his career in 2007 with 337 victories.Nadal still has ground to cover on clay before approaching the all-time top winner on the surface -- Argentine Guillermo Vilas who compiled a record of 644-183 on the surface three decades ago.The Spaniard said he felt an improvement in his play against Seppi, with the win taking him into another meeting with compatriot David Ferrer. Spanish sixth seed Ferrer booked his place by beating Bulgarian number 12 Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 6-2.I did what I had to, said top seed Nadal. But playing David (Ferrer) is never easy. If you are not at the top of your game you will lose. I'm just glad to be in a quarter-final.Nadal had a few spots of bother against Italy's Seppi, with the world number one forced to save five break points in the sixth game of the opening set for a 5-1 lead.At 4-1 I just stopped moving my legs, it was mental, not physical, he explained.In the second set, Nadal dropped serve to love while leading 4-2. But he got it straight back for 5-3 and finished off the victory in 93 minutes.Djokovic, who ended Nadal's eight-year Monte Carlo winning run in 2013, put in what amounted to a training session as he won the first nine games in a 6-0, 6-1 rout of lucky loser Carreno Busta which took 47 minutes.My object is to keep playing like this, said the Serb. It's impossible to predict the future, but I'm sure my quarter-final will take longer than this match.I'm inspired to be defending this title and want to keep playing at my top level.Djokovic next plays Spanird Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, who beat fifth seed Tomas Berdych 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 with the Czech reportedly suffering with a back injury.Third seed Stanislas Wawrinka earned a free trip into the last eight when Spain's Nicolas Almagro retired before their third-round match with a foot injury.The Australian Open winner will face Canadian eighth seed Milos Raonic, who beat 11th-seeded Spaniard Tommy Robredo 6-4, 6-3.Seven-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer, the fourth seed, spent just 57 minutes on court getting past Rosol 6-4, 6-1 and next plays ninth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.Federer, the record 17-time Grand Slam winner, came back from a break down in the first set before crushing his opponent to win an ATP-leading 26th match this season. He won 10 of the last 11 games.I was able to find my way into the match, said the Swiss, 32. After four games you usually know what's going to work, what's not going to work.I also came to the net some, I was effective on break points. My first serve started to work better. It was a more difficult start to the match. But as long as I found a way to turn it around and stay calm, it was good, I was very pleased.Frenchman Tsonga celebrated his 29th birthday with a win in controversial circumstances over flamboyant Italian Fabio Fognini, who went into meltdown in a 5-7, 6-3, 6-0 defeat.The 10th seed won just four points in the final set, where he was jeered by fans.Today I felt a lot better than the first day, where my legs felt very heavy, said Tsonga. I knew I could stay on the court for a long time.In the beginning he was better than I was physically, but I made him play each point and I didn't make any unforced errors.

Vietnam pulls out of hosting Asian Games

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HANOI (AP) - Vietnam has withdrawn as the host of the 2019 Asian Games, saying it lacked funds and the countrys reputation could be at risk if things dont go smoothly.In a statement late Thursday, the government said hosting the event in Hanoi could promote the countrys image and position.However if the hosting is not properly and successfully prepared, it will have the opposite effect,The statement said public money is limited and must be prioritized for other immediate tasks.There was no immediate reaction from the Olympic Council of Asia, which organizes the event. The OCA website still had Hanoi scheduled as the 2019 host, with a video promoting the event.The OCA will have to quickly decide on a replacement host, though it does have the benefit of an extra year as Hanoi was to have been the first games of a new schedule that would put the event the year ahead of the Summer Olympics. Incheon, South Korea, will host the Asian Games this year.Surabaya, Indonesia, had been the other serious bidder for 2019, while Dubai, United Arab Emirates, expressed initial interest but withdrew.Spending on sports venues and associated infrastructure for similar multi-sports events typically costs host countries in the hundreds of millions of dollars.The Asian Games features similar events to the Summer Olympics but also include sports popular in Asia. More than 40 nations take part.The Vietnamese governments decision to host the games had generated domestic opposition in the media and on blogs.Many commentators had been asking why it was prepared to spend so much at a time when the economy was struggling to recover from a slump.

Football: Brazil set Chinese date with Argentina

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RIO DE JANEIRO (AFP) - Brazil and Argentina will hold a South American Superclassico gala match on October 11 at Beijing's Bird's Nest stadium, the countries' respective federations and South American confederation Conmebol said Thursday.Brazil won the last two editions of the occasional friendly series in 2011 and 2012.However, there was no game last year with Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari keen to give his players a free week in an already crammed schedule.

First Earth-sized planet found in 'habitable zone': NASA

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WASHINGTON (AFP) - The hunt for potential life in outer space has taken a step forward -- an international team of researchers has discovered the first Earth-sized planet within the habitable zone of another star.The exoplanet dubbed Kepler-186f was first spotted by scientists using NASA's Kepler telescope, according to research published Thursday in the US journal Science.The exoplanet, located some 500 light years from Earth, orbits in what is seen as the sweet spot around its star: not too close and not too far, so it could have liquid water, considered a crucial component to possibly hosting life. The discovery of Kepler-186f is a significant step toward finding worlds like our planet Earth, said Paul Hertz, NASA's Astrophysics Division director at the agency's headquarters in Washington.The planet is the right size and is at the right distance to have properties that are similar to our home planet, said Elisa Quintana of the SETI Institute at NASA's Ames Research Center in California, the lead author of the paper published in Science.We can now say that other potentially habitable worlds, similar in size to Earth, can exist. It's no longer in the realm of science fiction, she said, speaking at a press conference.Kepler-186f is around 1.1-times the size of Earth -- which researchers say is key to predicting the composition of the surface and its atmosphere.When planets are 1.5 times the size of Earth or larger, many of them seem to attract a thick hydrogen and helium layer that makes them start to resemble gas giants like Jupiter or Saturn.Kepler-186f is the fifth and outermost planet orbiting the Kepler-186 star, right on the far edge of that solar system's habitable zone, meaning the surface temperature might not be warm enough to stop water from freezing. However, it is also slightly larger than the Earth, and so the hope would be that this would result in a thicker atmosphere that would provide extra insulation, explained San Francisco State University astronomer Stephen Kane, another member of the team behind the discovery.Scientists using the NASA's Kepler telescope first discovered it by tracking transits -- shadows that cross in front of the star.The finding was confirmed by observations from the W.M. Keck and Gemini Observatories.But current technology does not allow astronomers to see the celestial body directly or do any analysis to determine its atmosphere or composition.Some people call these habitable planets, which of course we have no idea if they are, said Kane. We simply know that they are in the habitable zone, and that is the best place to start looking for habitable planets.Solar systems like Kepler-186, with an M-Dwarf star at its center, may be the best chance for finding a habitable planet, because there are so many of such stars and because many are very nearby.However, because M-dwarfs are cooler, smaller and dimmer than our sun, they interact differently with planets, the researchers said.Kepler-186f is therefore more like an Earth cousin than an Earth twin. It has similar characteristics but a different parent, Tom Barclay, researcher at the Bay Area Environmental Research Institute at Ames, said at the NASA press conference.And whether Kepler-186f is actually habitable would depend largely on the planet's surface temperature, which would be linked to whether it has an atmosphere and what that atmosphere was like, Barclay explained.Future missions are being designed to characterize the planets around M Dwarfs in more detail, he said.However, because its star is quite dim, Kepler-186f may not be suitable for follow-up studies, Quintana had explained earlier.However, our research tells us that we should be able to find planets around bright stars that will be ideal targets to observe with telescopes like NASA's Webb orbiting telescope, currently under construction, she said in a press release.Of nearly 1,800 planets detected over the past 20 years, only around 20 orbit within the so-called habitable zone -- and all appear to be larger than Earth, which makes it harder to tell whether or not they are gas giants.The Kepler space telescope, launched in March 2009, observes some 150,000 stars, a few thousand of which have been found to have possible planets.

Oil prices mixed ahead of long Easter weekend

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NEW YORK (AFP) - Oil prices finished in mixed fashion Thursday ahead of the long Easter weekend as Russia and the West sought to defuse the escalating Ukraine crisis.The main US contract, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for delivery in May, rose 54 cents to close at $104.30 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange(NYMEX).Brent North Sea crude for June dipped seven cents to $109.53 a barrel on the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) in London.The New York futures contract found support from positive US economic news, said Carl Larry of Outlooks Oil and Opinion.Initial unemployment claims rose much less than expected last week and stayed near seven-year lows. The Federal Reserve reported manufacturing in the Philadelphia region on the mid-Atlantic coast increased in April, hitting an eight-month high.Traders closely followed talks in Geneva between Ukraine, Russia, the European Union and the United States. The foreign ministers reached a breakthrough agreement aimed at calming the situation in eastern Ukraine, where government forces trying to reassert control have faced pro-Russia resistance.There are concerns that any full-scale armed conflict in the region will disrupt supplies and send oil and gas prices rocketing because Ukraine is a major conduit for Russian gas to western Europe.Traders were cautious ahead of the long Easter holiday weekend. The NYMEX and ICE markets will be closed Friday.Nobody wants to take a risk over three days, with something bad happening with Russia and Ukraine, Larry said, explaining the market's upward bias.Tim Evans of Citi Futures said that WTI also was still benefiting from Wednesday's report of a decline in US crude-oil inventories at the Cushing, Oklahoma hub, the delivery point for the WTI contract.Those supplies fell last week by 800,000 barrels, to 26.8 million barrels, their lowest level since October 2009.

Dollar-euro rate flat, yen lower as Ukraine crisis simmers

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NEW YORK (AFP) - The dollar-euro exchange rate was virtually unchanged for a second day Thursday while the yen slipped again amid worries about the simmering Ukraine crisis.A deal struck in talks in Geneva between the US, European Union, Ukraine and Russia to ease the crisis took some of the short-term worries out of the market, where traders in many forex centers including London and New York were to start the Easter weekend holiday on Friday.The parties in the Geneva talks agreed to restore security in eastern Ukraine, where forces from Kiev had moved to oust armed pro-Russia separatists from government buildings they had occupied.Not all of the positivity surrounding the dollar was Ukraine-based, though, as a flotilla of encouraging North American economic releases revealed themselves, said Neal Gilbert of Forex.com.He noted modestly strong data from the US -- on manufacturing in the Philadelphia region and on jobs -- and a rise in Canadian prices.As economic report after economic report about US activity is released, we are really beginning to see that the prognostication by many market commentators, that the harsh winter was having a serious effect on growth, seems to be coming true, he said.

Troubled Trott to take another break: report

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LONDON (AFP) - England batsman Jonathan Trott is set to take another break from cricket due to the same stress issues that forced him to quit the recent Ashes series, according to a report on Thursday.Trott decided to pull out of Englands tour to Australia after the first Test in Brisbane with what the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) described as a stress-related illness.The 32-year-old spent four months away from the game working with a psychologist and the ECBs medical team in a bid to rebuild his career.Trott later described his Ashes exit as a case of burn-out and said he hoped to return to England duty this season.But according to the Daily Mails report on Thursday he has had to step away from the firing line again after just one Championship match for his England county Warwickshire in which he scored 37 and 26 against Sussex.According to the Mail, it was a far from easy decision to take for the emotional Trott, but his anxiety levels have been so high that he felt he had no choice for his own wellbeing.The report says an announcement to confirm Trotts decision is expected in the next 24 hours, although the player himself was unavailable for comment on Thursday.The news will inevitably lead to speculation that Trotts England career is over, but he reportedly hopes more specialist treatment will enable him to return.Speaking weeks before news of Trotts relapse, former England captain Michael Vaughan had criticised the batsman for playing down the illness in a television interview.I feel a little bit conned we were told Jonathan Trotts problems in Australia were a stress-related illness he had suffered for years, Vaughan said.We were allowed to believe he was struggling with a serious mental health issue and treated him with sensitivity and sympathy.He was obviously not in a great place but he was struggling for cricketing reasons and not mental, and there is a massive difference.Trott has played in 49 Tests for England, scoring nine centuries and 18 half-centuries.He has scored 3,763 Test runs at an average of 46.45, with a highest score of 226 against Bangladesh at Lords in 2010.

Taliban's acts of terrorism will be severely dealt with: National Security Committee

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ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – National Security Committee’s session chaired by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif resolved to continue the on-going negotiation process with the renewed determination to deal any terrorist attacks.The session also reviewed national security situation, Taliban ceasefire, NATO forces’ exit from Afghanistan and situation following it.Members showed determination that Pakistan will opt the path of progress instead of engaging in conflicts.The agenda of the meeting was based on three main points which are; the strategy of continuing Taliban negotiations, Afghanistan’s post-elections situation, and border relations with neighbouring Iran.According to Dunya News sources, the subject of Taliban’s decision not to renew ceasefire also came under discussion and the committee expressed deep concerns over the development.Reportedly, civil and military leadership also considered and discussed Taliban’s demands seriously.The committee resolved that no act of terrorism from Taliban side will be tolerated and that the acts of terrorism will be severely dealt with.Director General (DG) Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) Lt General Zaheer ul Islam also briefed the committee about the anticipated situation in Afghanistan after recent presidential elections and scheduled exit of the NATO forces.Earlier, National security meeting headed by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif took place in Islamabad and lasted over three hours.The meeting was attended by Ministers of Defence and Interior, Advisor on National Security, chiefs of three services and Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee.Directors General Inter-Services Intelligence and Intelligence Bureau were also part of this meeting.

India appoints Admiral Robin K. Dhowan new navy chief

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NEW DELHI (AFP) - India appointed a new navy chief on Thursday, nearly two months after his predecessor was forced to quit over a submarine accident that killed two sailors off the Mumbai coast.The government installed Admiral Robin K. Dhowan, 59, who has been acting in the job since the previous chief resigned over the submarine fire in February, the latest in a series of accidents to hit the navy.He is a navigation and direction specialist who has served with distinction in an array of command(s), said a statement announcing the appointment.The submarine fire came six months after 18 sailors were killed when another fully-armed submarine exploded in flames and sank in a military shipyard in Mumbai.The disaster was thought to be the navys worst since the sinking of a frigate by a Pakistani submarine during the war with its neighbour in 1971.Dhowan takes over the top job at a critical time for the navy, which is attempting to upgrade its ageing mostly Russian-built fleet and is facing delays in the acquisition of new submarines.India has been stepping up efforts to guard its territorial waters especially against China, which has been expanding its reach into the Indian Ocean.The Indian navy has 14 submarines, but only between seven and nine are operational at any one time because of regular repairs and refitting.The Indian Express newspaper reported Thursday that Shekhar Sinha, a vice admiral who was overlooked for the top post in favour of Dhowan, could challenge his appointment in an Indian court.Dhowan is slated to retire in two years.

Pakistani hackers deface Modi's campaign website

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DUNYA WEB DESK: India’s Bhartiya Janta Party’s (BJP) prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi’s campaign website was hacked by a team of unidentified Pakistani hackers on Thursday.The defaced page added a number of messages based on anti-India rhetoric mostly targeting India’s conservative politics and army.The rhetoric posted on the defaced website is full of abusive slangs, warning Indian hackers to “back off”.It also targeted Indian media and Bollywood culture for misleading Indian public for the purpose of ratings. It goes on to point out Indian media’s bias and sensationalism against Pakistan.The posted message also speaks greatly of Pakistani Army and Pakistan’s premier intelligence agency Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) while criticizing Indian counterparts.The message criticizes BJP candidate Modi heavily for his controversial role in Gujrat riots that led to killing of over 2000 Muslims and a conflict between Hindu and Muslim populace.The message for Modi on the hacked website tells Modi not to exploit Muslim vote bank saying Modi is not worthy enough to even talk to Muslims.This isn’t the first time a Pakistani hacking group has targeted an Indian high profile website. A digital phenomenon referred to as Cyber Warfare is going on between Indian and Pakistani hackers for over a decade. Both sides have hacked high profile websites of the opponents in the past.

MQM stages protest against workers killing, disapearance

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KARACHI (Dunya News) - Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) on Thursday held a protest demonstration outside Karachi Press Club against detention and extra-judicial killing of party workers.Members of the Co-ordination Committee, MNAs, MPAs, office-bearers, and workers of the MQM including the general public belonging to different spheres of life participated in the demonstration.Addressing the protest rally, MQM leader Dr Farooq Sattar said that bloodshed had become out of control in Karachi.He said if the law enforcers cannot protect lives of the innocent workers then the MQM should be allowed to deal with the plainclothes people.The MQM leader said that the present protest rally was just a trailer and the real film would begin if the government ignored it.Farooq Sattar said that the MQM would organise sit-ins across the country if the government did not take notice of the disappearance of workers.He demanded immediate recovery of the missing workers.MQM had announced protest demonstrations to highlight the issues of missing workers and alleged extra-judicial killings.Similar demonstrations will be held across the country on Friday at various press clubs.
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