Thursday 15 May 2014

Dunya TV

Dunya TV

Car bomb kills 43 near Syria-Turkey border: monitor

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BEIRUT (AFP) - A car bomb killed at least 43 civilians and wounded dozens on the Syrian side of the Bab al-Salama border crossing with Turkey on Thursday, a monitoring group said.Women and children were among the dead in the blast in an area used as a car park, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, updating an earlier toll of 29.Gruesome photographs posted online by activists showed shocked men standing over charred, blackened bodies, some missing limbs.A video of the scene posted on YouTube showed smoke rising from the tangled remains of a blown-up car and luggage lying abandoned amid the chaos.The area around the crossing has been targeted by car bombs before.In February, a blast on the Syrian side killed six people and wounded 45.The Syrian side of the crossing is under the control of Islamist rebels who have been battling jihadists from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant since early January.Other border crossings between Turkey and Syria have also been targeted, including the Bab al-Hawa post in the northwest, where two suicide bombers killed 16 people in January.

Putin says Russia 'still open' to Ukraine gas solution

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MOSCOW (AFP) - President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Russia is still open to talks on Ukraine's gas debt, accusing the EU of failing to make specific proposals to help prevent a cutoff of supplies from next month.In an open letter to European leaders, Putin also called on Brussels to more actively engage in finding ways to stabilise crisis-hit Ukraine's economy.Unfortunately, we have to say that we have not received any specific proposals from our partners as to how to stabilise the situation, Putin said in the letter released by the Kremlin.He said Russia was forced to threaten to cut off gas supplies from June 3 after switching to up-front payments because Ukraine has amassed a gas debt of $3.5 billion (2.6 billion euros).The Russian Federation is still open to continue consultations and work together with European countries in order to normalise the situation, Putin said.We also hope that the European Commission will more actively engage in dialogue in order to work out specific and fair solutions that will help stabilise the Ukrainian economy.Nearly 15 percent of all gas consumed in Europe is delivered from Russia via Ukraine and Brussels fears that a cutoff could lead to disruptions in supplies to the EU.In response, the European Commission called Putin's claims unfounded and said Brussels had sought talks for a long time.So far some progress has been made, and Russia and Ukraine must now build on that, notably regarding the definition of the gas price, said Commission spokeswoman, Pia Ahrenkilde-Hansen. Let me reiterate the EU's clear expectation that all sides involved remain reliable, responsible supply and transit partners - in their very own interest. Energy should not be used a as political weapon.Ukraine has refused to cover its obligations in protest over Moscow's decision to nearly double the price it charges Kiev for gas imports following the February overthrow of its Kremlin-backed regime.The danger for EU nations is that Ukraine -- its state coffers effectively empty and almost completely reliant on $17 billion promised by the International Monetary Fund -- will not cover its debt and instead start taking the gas Russia had earmarked for its European clients.The nation of 46 million began dipping into supplies meant for Europe when it was cut off from Russian gas during previous price disputes in 2006 and 2009.Putin pointed out that Russian gas giant Gazprom has not received a single payment... despite the fact that Ukraine has received the first tranche of an IMF loan to the amount of $3.2 billion.In Brussels on Tuesday, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said his government would take Russia to court unless it agreed to a gas supply contract based on market prices.

Modi poised for victory as India steers right

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NEW DELHI (AFP) - Hindu nationalist Narendra Modi looked set to sweep to power in India Friday, riding a wave of public support for his message of jobs and development that has drowned out his past as a religious right-winger.Vote counting will start at 8:00 am (0230 GMT) at the climax of a marathon six-week election that saw a record 551 million people file through polling booths from the Himalayas to the country's southern tip. Modi, a 63-year-old son of a low-caste tea seller, has reinvented himself from a controversial regional leader tainted by anti-Muslim riots to an aspiring statesman intent on helping India fulfil its potential. Survey after survey has indicated his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is heading for its best ever result in a parliamentary election after 10 years of rule by the leftist Congress party and the Gandhi political dynasty.After a highly personalised campaign built around him and his record running western Gujarat state, expectations are sky-high of what Modi will deliver in a chaotic and still poor country that is home to a sixth of humanity.I've been to Gujarat and I saw good roads, good infrastructure and good hotels -- it was quite like America, said Ajit Singh, a wrestling coach who spoke to AFP on the streets of New Delhi. When Modi comes there will be progress, he said.Stock markets have risen 5.0 percent in the last week as heady -- many say unrealistic -- optimism has returned to a country frustrated with its leaders over low economic growth, rising food prices and corruption.Modi's promises to revive the flagging economy have won him corporate cheerleaders, while his rags-to-riches story and reputation as a clean and efficient administrator satisfy many Indians' desire for strong leadership.He was always assured the votes of his core Hindu nationalist supporters, but his election pitch has drawn the urban middle classes as well as the poor, whose loyalty has traditionally been to Congress and its welfare schemes.Attacks from his opponents -- one called him a devil and the Butcher of Gujarat -- as well as warnings from secular-minded critics and religious minorities appear to have failed to dent his rise.The BJP's previous best showing was in elections in 1998 and 1999 when it won 182 seats and ran the country until a shock defeat to Congress in 2004. Exit polls, which failed to predict the 2004 reversal, forecast that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) should reach a majority of 272 seats -- with other allies keen to join.A BJP victory and a Modi prime ministership would usher in a new style of leadership by an abrasive Hindi-speaking nationalist drawn from outside the usual Delhi power circles.It would leave Congress, the only national secular force that has ruled India for all but 13 years of its history, in tatters and raise doubts about whether the Gandhi dynasty can provide the country a fourth prime minister.They can't believe it, they can't believe that someone from such a simple background could beat them, Modi's sister Vasantiben Modi told AFP in an interview at her modest home in Gujarat on Thursday.Rahul, the newest generation from the Gandhi bloodline, is forecast to lead his party to its worst ever result in his first national campaign.After years of criticism of his aloof style, the media-shy Cambridge graduate gave further ammunition to his critics by skipping a farewell dinner this week for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, India's third-longest serving premier.While 81-year-old Singh was hailed by US President Barack Obama as a wise and decent man, Modi would be an awkward prospect for Washington and other Western powers.The bachelor, elected three times as chief minister of his state, was boycotted by the US and European powers for a decade over religious riots in Gujarat in 2002 which left around 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, dead.Modi, who rose through grassroots Hindu organisations, was accused of whipping up sentiments against Muslims and then deliberately failing to control the violence, or even conniving in it.Several investigations, including one monitored by the Supreme Court, have found no evidence of personal wrongdoing and he denies the accusations.While his focus on the campaign trail has been jobs -- he has said his only religion is development -- his desire to push through his party's core Hindu nationalist agenda remains an open question.Among others, the BJP manifesto includes a pledge to build a temple to honour the Hindu god Ram at the site of a former mosque in northern India, an infamous religious flashpoint that sparked deadly rioting in 1992.He has to succeed on the economy and that's the thing on which he will be judged, said Christophe Jaffrelot, an academic on India from Sciences Po university in Paris and King's College London.But what if he fails to relaunch the economy? The Hindutva (Hindu nationalist) plank is the plan B, he told AFP.

Kerry meets Israeli chief peace negotiator in London

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LONDON (AFP) - US Secretary of State John Kerry Thursday met with Israel's chief peace negotiator Tzipi Livni in London, just weeks after his relentless bid to broker a treaty with the Palestinians came screeching to a halt.US officials confirmed that the top American diplomat had held surprise talks with Israeli Justice Minister Livni, as they took advantage of both being in London at the same time for different meetings.Kerry voiced concern after two Palestinians were shot dead by Israeli forces Thursday during a protest outside the Ofer prison near Ramallah, on the West Bank.Kerry again urges both sides to refrain from unhelpful steps, a senior State Department official said in a statement.He is concerned about the violent incident that took place today outside the Ofer prison and calls upon both sides to exercise maximum restraint.Kerry met Livni after holding talks on Wednesday in the British capital with Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas in the wake of the collapse last month of the peace process.The State Department official said he and Livni both happened to be in London and it provided an opportunity for them to catch up since the pause in the negotiations.Kerry gave Livni the same message as he had stressed to Abbas -- that the fate of the talks lies in the hands of the Israelis and Palestinians.While the door remains open to peace, the parties must determine whether they are willing to take the steps necessary to resume negotiations, the US official said.Kerry had also reiterated to Abbas on Wednesday that any Palestinian government must recognise Israel and commit to non-violence.British Foreign Secretary William Hague later tweeted to confirm he had also met with Livni for talks on the peace process, urging that the opportunity for peace must be seized.Kerry coaxed the Israelis and the Palestinians back to the negotiating table in July 2013 after a three-year hiatus, and both sides agreed to keep talking for nine months.But the April 29 deadline expired with the peace process in disarray, forcing Kerry and his team to declare a pause in the negotiations.In more violence in the region, Israeli border police shot dead two Palestinians on Thursday during a demonstration in the West Bank marking the 66th anniversary of the Nakba, or catastrophe of the Jewish state's creation in 1948.The shooting triggered a warning from the Palestinians that they may seriously consider a halt to security coordination with the Israeli side, Palestinian security spokesman Adnan al-Damiri told AFP.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meanwhile on Thursday accused the Palestinians of teaching their children that Israel should be made to disappear.The Israeli answer was to continue building our country and our unified capital, Jerusalem, said the right-wing premier.

Security warning after Israel kills 2 Palestinians

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RAMALLAH (AFP) - Israeli forces Thursday shot dead two Palestinians during a Nakba Day demonstration in the West Bank, prompting a Palestinian warning of a halt in security coordination with the Jewish state.The demonstration was held to mark the anniversary of the Nakba, or catastrophe of the 1948 establishment of the state of Israel on the former British mandate of Palestine.The Palestinian leadership cannot remain idle in the face of Israel's violations, the latest of which was the killing of the two young Palestinians today (Thursday) near Ramallah on the West Bank, Palestinian security spokesman Adnan al-Damiri told AFP.And all this prompts the leadership to seriously consider a halt to security coordination with the Israeli side, he said.According to Israeli media, the Jewish state counts on coordination with the Palestinian Authority (PA) for its targeted killings in Gaza and to counter threats in the West Bank.Security and medical sources earlier said Musaab Nuwarah, 20, and Mohammed Udeh, 17, died in a Ramallah hospital after being shot in the chest during a protest outside Ofer jail near Ramallah.Israel's military said its border police had clashed with around 150 protesters, using anti-riot methods and rubber bullets, although Damiri said live rounds were fired.Protesters set fire to tyres and hurled stones at border police, an army spokesman said.Other Palestinian rallies for Nakba Day were held in the northern city of Nablus, in Hebron in the south of the West Bank and in east Jerusalem, where police reported a clash and arrests.Hundreds of demonstrators, some carrying Palestinian flags or banners calling for refugees to be allowed to return to their former homes, also marched in the Gaza Strip near the Erez crossing with Israel.In Ramallah, where Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas and his PA has their headquarters, people stood in silence on the streets for 66 seconds while sirens wailed.On this 66th anniversary of the Nakba, we hope this year will be the one in which our long suffering ends, Abbas said in a speech broadcast late Wednesday.It is time to put an end to the longest occupation in modern history and time for Israel's leaders to understand that there is no other homeland for the Palestinians but Palestine, he said.After nearly nine months of fruitless US-sponsored peace talks, Israel suspended its participation in negotiations last month when Abbas's Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) announced a unity deal with the Islamist movement Hamas which runs Gaza.US Secretary of State John Kerry, who met Abbas in London on Wednesday, was also to hold informal talks with Israeli negotiator Tzipi Livni in the British capital, a US official said.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday accused the Palestinians of teaching their children that Israel should be made to disappear.The Israeli answer was to continue building our country and our unified capital, Jerusalem, said the rightwing premier.Another answer to the Nakba is our passing the Nation Law, clarifying to the world that Israel is the State of the Jewish people, he said in remarks relayed by his office.Netanyahu has pledged to enshrine Israel's status as the national homeland of the Jewish people in law.He has repeatedly demanded Palestinian recognition of Israel's status, but Abbas has flatly refused. In 1948, more than 760,000 Palestinians -- now estimated to number more than five million with their descendants -- fled or were driven out of their homes.Around 160,000 stayed behind and became Israeli citizens.They and their descendants currently number about 1.4 million people, or some 20 percent of Israel's population.Palestinian chief peace negotiator Saeb Erakat, in a commentary published in Israel's left-leaning daily Haaretz, said the PLO has officially recognised Israel's right to exist since 1988.But the concept of an exclusively Jewish state necessarily implies the negation of the Nakba, Erakat wrote.

Tennis: Nadal survives shaky start, sets up Rome date with Murray

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ROME (AFP) - Rafael Nadal continued to search for his best clay form, surviving a shaky start on Thursday to reach the quarter-finals of the ATP-WTA Rome Masters and a date with Andy Murray.The top seed beat Russian Mikhail Youzhny, winning 12 of the last 13 games in a 6-7 (4/7), 6-2, 6-3 win which took almost three hours.Murray and Nadal have not played each other for more than two and a half years, when Murray beat the Spaniard in a 2011 Tokyo final. Less than 24 hours after being severely tested by Gilles Simon, Nadal found himself in trouble against Youzhny, who last won a set against the world number one back in 2008.After spending 73 minutes in losing the opener, Nadal finally found enough form to take the victory at a tournament where he is looking to win for the eighth time.Andy will be a very tough match, he's playing well, but I'm confident I can do it, said Nadal, who added that if he does not take his chances against the Scot he will be spending the weekend (at home) in Mallorca.I've had two long matches and I had hoped not to be on the court for so long, but that's the way it is.Murray, who quit here with back problems a year ago and eventually required surgery, closed out a welcome win on his 27th birthday with an ace against Jurgen Melzer.The Scot won 7-6 (7/1), 6-4 to advance to his second straight clay quarter-final after Madrid a week ago.To be honest it's not a bad thing for me to play Nadal because I haven't played him for a long time, said Murray.With the French Open and Wimbledon I would be quite interested to play him to see how his game changed and all the things I can do to make it difficult for him.It might be better for me to play with him now rather than at the French or Wimbledon.Meanwhile, Monte Carlo champion Stanislas Wawrinka joined fellow Swiss Roger Federer on the scrapheap as back pain resulted in a 5-7, 6-2, 6-3 loss to 15th seed Tommy Haas.Wawrinka said that after playing a match in the chill two days earlier, he started having back problems, but he said the injury should not affect his chances for Roland Garros, starting in 10 days time.It was difficult to give the intensity. I know my back, I just need some rest - maybe two days is enough - But I'm not worried about it, he said.Second seed Novak Djokovic came from a set down to beat Philipp Kohlschreiber 4-6, 6-2, 6-1, while David Ferrer, Grigor Dimitrov, Milos Raonic and Jeremy Chardy, who beat Federer 24 hours earlier, also reached the quarter-finals.In women's play, reigning champion Serena Williams brushed aside Varvara Lepchenko 6-1, 6-2, while Chinese second seed Li Na defeated 2010 French Open finalist Samantha Stosur 6-3, 6-1 to reach the quarter-finals.Today I was very focused on what I had to do on the court to put pressure on her, said Li, who won in 68 minutes with five breaks of the 30-year-old Australian.Putting on pressure was the key to the match, otherwise she can totally control you.Li, runner-up in Rome in 2012, will next face Italian 10th seed Sara Errani, who beat Czech Petra Cetkovska 6-3, 7-6 (7/3).

Tennis: Sharapova suffers first loss of clay season

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ROME (AFP) - Ana Ivanovic handed Maria Sharapova her first loss of the spring clay season as she beat the Russian eighth seed 6-1, 6-4 on Thursday to reach the quarter-finals of the ATP-WTA Rome Masters.Sharapova had won back-to-back titles in Stuttgart and Madrid, compiling a dozen straight victories.I wasn't sharp today but Ana played well, said Sharapova. I'm going to try to recover the next two or three days, settle down in Paris and get my body ready for a week of training.Ivanovic, the 2008 Roland Garros winner and world number one, had won just two of ten previous meetings with the four-time grand slam champion, the last seven years ago at a Roland Garros semi-final.The Serb next plays Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro.

Tennis: Berdych to play Davis Cup against France

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PRAGUE (AFP) - Tomas Berdych said Thursday he would return to the Czech Davis Cup team for the semi-finals against France at Roland Garros after taking a break in the quarter-finals in Japan.I am always proud to play for my country... I will play Davis Cup against France, the 28-year-old Berdych, the world number six, said on Twitter.The Czechs, who won the trophy in 2012 and 2013 led by Berdych and veteran Radek Stepanek, will face France on September 12-14.Great news, the Czech team will play against France in the Paris quarter-finals at full strength, including Tomas Berdych, the team said on its Facebook page.Without Berdych, the Czechs swept Japan 5-0 in the April quarter-finals in Tokyo for their 11th straight Davis Cup win.Berdych and Stepanek also have an impressive record in Davis Cup doubles, having lost only one of their sixteen rubbers together.Berdych is an exception among top players who often shun the Davis Cup to focus on their individual careers.He has only missed three ties since he was first called up to the Czech Davis Cup team in 2003.

Squash: Cool David reaches British Open quarter-finals

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KINGSTON UPON HULL (AFP) - Nicol David's coolly carved-out 11-6, 13-11, 11-4 victory over Sarah-Jane Perry which carried her to the quarter-finals of the British Open included a 24th birthday gift to the hard-hitting but tempestuous Englishwoman.It took the form of exemplary focus and patience, which helped the world number one from Malaysia chisel her way through a difficult second game in which she saved a game point.Had Perry been able to adopt some of those qualities herself, she could have caused David even more trouble than she did; instead she had to settle for what might have been and some idea of what might help her do even better in future. David, too, may take important things from the match.This was her first outing on an all-glass court since losing her world title last month, and she dealt comfortingly well with the uncertainties of new conditions, with a crowd cheering for her opponent, and with important moments in which she let leads slip.I hadn't played her before, so it was a case of getting used to what she was doing with the ball, David said. Because her hands are really good, and you have to be ready for what's coming.Once I got used to a certain angle or a certain space I was settling down a bit better - but without doubt she played really well. I had to dig deep, but I know I have to keep going, and to take the lead and take it right through. Happy birthday to herThe first game saw Perry angered by a refereeing decision at 6-6, immediately lose five rallies in a row to drop it 11-6.The pivotal second game saw her get a warning for dissent at 5-7, which seemed to make her focus better and which was followed by her surging to 9-7 and to 10-9.That game point was saved when David's speed of foot pressured Perry into putting a volley drop shot down. After that several disciplined rallies pulled the favourite away from difficulty and into a two-game lead.She next plays Omneya Abdel Kawy in a repeat of the 2010 world final at Sharm el-Sheikh.That became possible after the 11th-seeded Egyptian came from two games down and saved two match points during an improbable survival.These dramas happened in a 8-11, 9-11, 11-6, 11-9, 13-11 victory over Camille Serme, the sixth-seeded French player, who led by 7-6 in the fourth game, by 6-3 in the fifth game, and stood within one good blow of victory at 10-9 and 11-10.Kawy, one of the most skilful wielders of a racket the women's game has seen, saved both of those with outrageous return-of-serve volleys which rolled dead from the nick between the forehand sidewall and the floor.I had already made the decision that it's in or nothing, Kawy said, explaining her audacity. Thank god they went in. Hopefully I won't need to do that again.Earlier Alison Waters, the fifth-seeded Englishwoman, and Joelle King, the fourth-seeded New Zealander, came through to contest the other quarter-final in the same half of the draw.

Cycling: Australian Matthews retains Giro as Evans lurks

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MONTECASSINO (AFP) - Race leader Michael Matthews of Australia won the gruelling sixth stage of the Giro d'Italia on Thursday as compatriot Cadel Evans lurked on a day's racing marred by a nasty crash.Matthews, 23, surged home in a sprint finish to the 257km stage from Sassano to Montecassino, the longest on the Tour, ahead of Belgian Tim Wellens and Evans.The leading peloton had a 49sec advantage over the main chasing pack that included a host of rivals to Evans, the big beneficiary of the day's racing.It was all for the win today, said Matthews. Fair play. It was me against him (Cadel Evans) for the jersey and the stage, and I was lucky enough to have really good legs in the final after my team put me in the perfect condition at the bottom of the climb.On this sort of terrain, it's definitely my best win, and totally a dream come true. Winning a hilltop finish over Cadel Evans while wearing the Maglia Rosa in the Giro d'Italia: it doesn't get much better than that.Heavy rain made for a slick surface and there were two falls in the final 12km, 8.7km of which was a steep climb.Evan's BMC teammate, Switzerland's Steve Morabito, accelerated away to build up a lead that the fallen riders were unable to reel in.In the general classification, Matthews has a 21sec lead over Evans, with Colombian Rigoberto Uran at 1min 18sec.Everyone wanted to be in the front because of the wet conditions, Matthews said of the lead-up to the worse crash.The road narrowed before the roundabout, we were riding at 60 kph, and everyone wanted to be in the front. If you're lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time, you're OK. That's racing these days. It's all about positioning.Spain's Joaquim Rodriguez pulled out of the race later on Thursday with injuries suffered while falling, his team Katusha confirmed.A medical release stated that 'Purito' had suffered a fractured finger and two broken ribs on a stage that took place just three days after his 35th birthday.Rodriguez had targeted winning the Giro after coming a close second to Ryder Hesjedal two years ago, but he finished the stage seven minutes behind winner Matthews.Friday's seventh stage is a 231km ride from Frosinone to Foligno, and Matthews vowed no let-up.We'll try again for the win tomorrow. We have a really strong team for the lead-outs, as we showed in the opening team time trial, he said.We're not going to back down now: we have two stage wins now. We'll push all the way and see how far we can get.

Oil prices mixed; WTI drops on abundant US supplies

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NEW YORK (AFP) - The US benchmark oil price fell for the first time in four trading sessions Thursday amid near-record high US inventories, while Brent edged higher supported by the Ukraine crisis.The US benchmark, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for delivery in June, dropped 87 cents to close at $101.50 a barrel.In London, Brent North Sea crude for June advanced 25 cents to settle at $110.44 a barrel as the contract expired.Investors in WTI focused on the overall bearish crude-oil number from Wednesday's Department of Energy oil inventories report, prompting selling, said Bob Yawger of Mizuho Securities.It appears that the market is very well-supplied, he said.At 398.5 million barrels last week, US crude reserves are within striking range of their record-high of 399.4 million barrels in late April.Yawger said that WTI also was getting pressure from a broad sell-off in US equities.US economic indicators were mixed, with initial unemployment claims falling to a seven-year low last week but industrial output falling in April. Consumer inflation ticked higher but remained tame and well below the Federal Reserve's 2.0 percent target.Traders also digested eurozone economic output data for the first quarter that came in weaker than expected.Investors sought shelter from riskier assets amid the ongoing Ukraine crisis.Ukraine's interim leaders were battling Thursday to keep the country stable ahead of the May 25 presidential election, pressing on with a military offensive to quell a bloody pro-Moscow insurgency in the eastern industrial heartland.Ukraine is a vital conduit for Russian oil and gas exports to Europe, and any escalation of the conflict could severely disrupt supplies and send prices soaring, analysts say.The market shrugged off a modest upgrade to 2014 oil demand growth from the International Energy Agency.The IEA raised its 2014 forecast by 65,000 barrels per day to 92.8 million barrels, largely because of unexpectedly strong demand in the first quarter, driven by consumption in the US.No big surprises from the IEA today with the focus still on Ukraine amid elevated risk premium, VTB Capital analyst Andrey Kryuchenkov told AFP.

Euro-dollar rate flat amid equities selloff

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NEW YORK (AFP) - The euro-dollar rate was little changed while the yen gained amid a broad sell-off in European and US equities Thursday that was driven in part by eurozone growth worries.The main movement of the day in financial markets was from stocks and other risk assets to quality bonds. That pushed down yields on US Treasuries; the 10-year bond hit 2.48 percent during the day, a low last seen in October.Eurostat reported that gross domestic product across the 18-nation eurozone grew by just 0.2 percent in the three months to March, dashing market expectations for 0.4 percent expansion.However, the German economy sprinted ahead at an 0.8 percent pace.GDP figures largely disappointed, with only the German release providing any upside to the data, said Alpari trader Craig Erlam.That's pretty much in line with what we've become accustomed to: a two-tier eurozone with Germany the engine behind any growth.The data gave strength to expectations that the European Central Bank will ease monetary conditions to fight off disinflation in its next policy meeting. Analysts expect that will ultimately help boost the US dollar, benefiting from stronger growth in the US economy.

Pakistani student attacked in Indian University

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MUMBAI (Dunya News) – Unidentified persons attacked a Pakistani student studing in India’s Pondicherry University on Thursday leaving him severly injured, Dunya News reported.According to reports, 24-year-old Pakistani student Ali was attacked in his hostel room at Pondicherry University.At least three individuals attacked Ali with iron rods which gave him bruises and injuries on head and neck.Ali saved his life by hitting the alarm button, following which, his friends came and rescued him.Ali was rushed to the hospital and received the medical care before getting recharged the same day. According to Indian media, the attackers succeeded in fleeing the scene.Ali is the only Pakistani student at Pondicherry University.Police launched an investigation after registering the case.

Court upholds Diab extradition over 1980 French bombing

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OTTAWA (AFP) - A Canadian appeals court on Thursday rejected a bid to stop the extradition of a Canadian university professor accused of a deadly 1980 bombing of a Paris synagogue.The Court of Appeal for Ontario denied Hassan Diabs appeal of a 2011 court decision and the Canadian governments order to extradite the University of Ottawa sociologist to France.Both requests are dismissed, the court said in its decision.Diab, however, is not expected to go anywhere soon as his lawyers said they will now ask the Supreme Court of Canada to hear the case.Diab denies any involvement in the first fatal attack against the French Jewish community since the Nazi occupation in World War II, which left four dead and many wounded.Canadas justice minister in April 2012 signed an order to send Hassan Diab to France after a Canadian court in June 2011 approved his extradition despite its concerns the French case is weak.Diabs lawyers at the appeals court sought to discredit handwriting analysis of five words undertaken by Frances expert in the case.The handwriting sample is considered to be the smoking gun in the decision to extradite Diab, his lawyer Marlys Edwardh told the appeals court.It showed that Diab likely signed a Paris hotel slip under a false identity (Alexander Panadriyu), which was also used to purchase a motorcycle used in the bombing.Diabs legal team also sought to prove that then-justice minister Rob Nicholson reached beyond his jurisdiction in ordering Diabs surrender, and that some of the evidence in the case came from unsourced intelligence from the French government, raising questions about its reliability.His lawyers also said that the intelligence has a plausible connection to torture.

Jazeera journalists' lawyers quit over 'insult' to Egypt

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CAIRO (AFP) - The main lawyers representing Australian journalist Peter Greste and another Al-Jazeera reporter on trial in Cairo quit in court on Thursday, accusing the Qatari broadcaster of working against Egypt.Greste, watching the proceedings from the caged dock, appeared taken aback when his lawyers announced to the judge that they were quitting the case, which has sparked international concern for the detained reporters.The Australian is on trial with four other journalists for the Qatar-based broadcaster on charges of aiding the blacklisted Muslim Brotherhood and defaming Egypt.Only three of the journalists are in prison, along with six other defendants in the case. The rest of the 20 defendants are abroad or in hiding.In Thursdays session, lead defence lawyer Farag Fathy said he and two colleagues also representing producer Baher Mohamed would no longer represent the reporters.Al-Jazeera is using my clients. I have emails from (the channel) telling me they dont care about the defendants and care about insulting Egypt, Fathy told the court.He accused the Qatari channel in their coverage of the trial of fabricating quotes and attributing them to him.An Al-Jazeera spokesman said: The lawyer who made an outburst in court today made his position on the team untenable.We now have the best legal representation working in harmony, focused on getting our journalists out of jail, he added.Greste earlier told reporters from the dock: I am baffled. This is the first time we have heard of this problem.The military-installed authorities have been incensed by Al-Jazeeras coverage of their crackdown on supporters of ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi after his overthrow by the army in July.- 15,000 people jailed -At least 1,400 people, mostly Islamists, have been killed in street clashes since, and more than 15,000 have been jailed.A third journalist, Egyptian-Canadian Mohamed Fahmy, the Cairo bureau chief of Al-Jazeera English, is also in custody.His lawyer, Ibrahim Abdel Wahab, accused prosecutors of trying to hinder his work.They asked us to pay 1.2 million pounds (around 123,000 euros, $168,704) to get copies of the evidence, he told AFP.One defendant, Khaled Abdel Rahman, was in the dock on Thursday after being arrested recently.I have never collaborated with Al-Jazeera and I never sent videos to the channel. I am not a member of the Muslim Brotherhood and I dont know why I am in this dock, he told AFP.In previous hearings, prosecutors had presented video footage and an array of photographs with no apparent link to the case.The trial was adjourned until May 22.Another Al-Jazeera journalist who works for the Arabic channel, Abdullah Elshamy, has been detained for nine months and has yet to face trial. He has been on hunger strike since January in protest at his detention.His brother Mosaab told AFP that Abdullah was placed in solitary confinement in the maximum security (wing) of Torah prison in Cairo.Rights group Amnesty international called on Thursday for Elshamys immediate and unconditional release.By placing a hunger-striker in solitary confinement, instead of transferring him to a hospital or allowing him to see a doctor, the Egyptian authorities are deliberately putting his life and health at risk, an Amnesty statement said.
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