Tuesday 27 May 2014

Dunya TV

Dunya TV

Snowden worked as a spy 'at all levels': NBC

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WASHINGTON (AFP) - US fugitive intelligence leaker Edward Snowden trained as a spy and worked undercover overseas for intelligence agencies, he told NBC News in excerpts of an interview aired Tuesday.In his first interview in US media, Snowden hit back at claims that he was merely a low-level contractor, saying he worked at all levels from -- from the bottom on the ground, all the way to the top.Snowden, who has been charged in the United States with espionage, was granted asylum by Russia in August 2013 after shaking the American intelligence establishment to its core with a series of leaks on mass surveillance in the United States and around the world.In the interview, taped last week and to air in full on Wednesday, Snowden defended himself against claims minimizing his intelligence experience before he stole and leaked a trove of classified documents revealing the NSA's program of phone and Internet surveillance.I was trained as a spy in sort of the traditional sense of the word in that I lived and worked undercover overseas -- pretending to work in a job that I'm not -- and even being assigned a name that was not mine, he said.He said he had worked covertly as a technical expert for the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency, as well as as a trainer for the Defense Intelligence Agency.I don't work with people. I don't recruit agents. What I do is I put systems to work for the United States. And I've done that at all levels from -- from the bottom on the ground all the way to the top, he said.So when they say I'm a low level systems administrator, that I don't know what I'm talking about, I'd say it's somewhat misleading.

US deploys warship carrying marines off Libya

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WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States is deploying an amphibious assault ship with about 1,000 marines off the coast of Libya in case the US embassy must be evacuated, a US defense official said Tuesday.The USS Bataan was to be in the area in a matter of days, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.The move was described as precautionary in case conditions in Libya, where militia battles have plunged the country into anarchy, worsen and require the embassy's evacuation.The State Department said last week that the embassy in Tripoli was operating normally despite an offensive launched against Islamist militias by a dissident general, Khalifa Haftar.In addition to the 1,000 marines on board, the Bataan is equipped with several helicopters.The United States also has available 250 marines, seven tilt-rotor Osprey aircraft and three refueling aircraft in Sigonella, Italy.The precautions come amid ongoing controversy over a September 2012 attack on the US consulate in Benghazi in which four Americans, including ambassador Christopher Stevens, were killed.

Yemen joins WTO, says it aims to be maritime hub

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GENEVA (AFP) - Yemen joined the World Trade Organization on Tuesday, vowing to use its membership and strategic location to overcome years of strife and transform itself into a hub for maritime commerce.Saadaldeen Ali Salim Talib, trade minister of the Arabian Peninsula nation, formally handed over Yemen's entry treaty in a ceremony with WTO chief Roberto Azevedo.We have easy access to three continents, Africa, Asia and Europe. Our location is on the highway of trade. Our port in Aden is three hours away from the highway, Talib told reporters.We want to be on the value chain with the rest of the economies of the world, he added, saying it would revive an age-old trading history that saw Yemeni seafarer communities take root in places as far apart as Wales and Indonesia.Yemen's WTO admission will take the Geneva-based organisation's membership to 160 when it comes into force officially on June 26.Existing members had given a green light at a WTO summit in Bali last December, but Yemen then had to ratify its entry deal.WTO accession negotiations can be tortuous -- Yemen's began in 2000 -- as would-be members first strike deals with countries already in the trade body.Those accords are then folded together into a single accession treaty setting out the give and take involved in joining the club.It's been a hard process, said Talib, underlining that Yemen was also trying to break with years of instability, enacting political and economic reforms hand in hand.We hope that the new Yemen will have a bigger role in the international scene, especially in trade and industry and getting connected with the rest of the world, he told reporters.WTO membership is seen as a key step in the global economy because it gives countries easier access to other countries' markets under a set of agreed rules, as well as a forum to deal with trade disputes.It is also considered a badge of confidence.The reform process has not always been easy. But in becoming a member of the WTO, Yemen has sent a very clear signal to traders and investors that the country is open for business, Azevedo told reporters.It brings out organisation closer to universal membership. It is a sign of the relevance and vibrancy of the global trading system, he said.

200,000 kids may starve in Somalia as aid runs dry: UNICEF

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GENEVA (AFP) - The United Nation's children's agency said Tuesday that 200,000 children may die of starvation this year in war-ravaged Somalia if it does not raise enough funds to provide vital aid. If funding is not received immediately, UNICEF will have to suspend essential life-saving health services within one month, spokesman Christophe Boulierac said.UNICEF, which has been providing 70 percent of all health services in Somalia, has so far received just 10 percent of the $150 million it needs for its activities in the country this year, he said.The lack of funding is dramatic, amid warnings that the troubled country, which was hit by an extreme famine less than three years ago, could be sliding back into a food crisis.Some 50,000 children under the age of five are already suffering from severe malnourishment and UNICEF warned that could balloon to 200,000 without aid from the UN agency.Somalia was the hardest hit by extreme drought in 2011 that affected over 13 million people across the Horn of Africa, with famine zones declared in large parts of the war-ravaged south.Some 250,000 people, around half of them young children, died in Somalia during that famine, according to the UN, which has warned that poor rains and conflict could be paving the way for a new food emergency.Today we have an early warning, with the ingredients of a perfect storm for a humanitarian crisis, Andrew Lanyon, head of the Somalia Resilience Programme, a coalition of aid agencies, said earlier this month.Life-saving health care services, such as treatment for diarrhoea or pneumonia and antibiotics, currently given to 620,000 Somali children would also be suspended without more funds, Boulierac said.Around 280,000 pregnant women would also lose access to antenatal check-ups, Boulierac told reporters in Geneva.The UN's World Food Programme, which in April distributed food to 664,495 people in Somalia, has also warned it has been forced to lay of staff and reduce aid because of a shortfall in funds.

Greece faces new debt threat of unpaid taxes

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ATHENS (AFP) - Greece has finally made progress on balancing its spending, but data released Tuesday shows it is facing a new debt threat: unpaid taxes have soared over 66 billion euros ($90 billion).According to finance ministry figures, over 3.3 million Greeks -- a third of the population -- have trouble keeping up with tax payments.The number of non-payers has rapidly increased since the beginning of the year. We are looking for solutions, a finance ministry official told AFP.The sum is now worth nearly a third of annual output.The level of tax arrears has steadily climbed since 2010, when Greece nearly went bankrupt and had to appeal for an EU-IMF bailout, in return for which severe state cutbacks and tax hikes were imposed.The huge level of tax arrears is forcing the government to consider ways to facilitate repayment, a ministry official told AFP.One possible option is to extend the duration of repayment -- currently set into 12 monthly instalments -- and lessen the burden on households.The coalition government of conservative Prime Minister Antonis Samaras is hoping that the country will limp into economic growth this year, after six gruelling years of austerity.This, it is hoped, will enable the state to give some tax relief without endangering the nation's tight budgetary constraints.Last year the government balanced its budget save for debt financing costs.The government is eager to win back popular support, after a defeat in last weekend's European elections to radical leftist party Syriza.

Football: Simeone, Alonso hit with UEFA charges

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PARIS (AFP) - UEFA opened disciplinary proceedings against Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone and Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso on Tuesday following Saturday's Champions League final.Simeone rushed on to the pitch to angrily confront Real defender Raphael Varane in the wake of Real's fourth goal in Lisbon.The Argentine's furious reaction apparently came in response to Varane kicking the ball in Simeone's direction following Cristiano Ronaldo's penalty that put the icing on a 4-1 victory in extra-time.Meanwhile Alonso, who was suspended for the final, was also charged for breaching the general codes of conduct. In addition, both clubs were also charged over the use of pyrotechnics and for the inappropriate behaviour of their players. Five Real players were booked during the final while seven Atletico players were cautioned.The cases will go before UEFA's control and disciplinary body on July 17.

India's Jet Airways flies into record quarterly loss

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NEW DELHI (AFP) - Indias Jet Airways, partly owned by Gulf carrier Etihad, announced Tuesday its biggest quarterly loss and vowed stringent cost-cutting steps as it struggles to become profitable in the fiercely competitive airline market.The countrys second-largest airline by market share reported its net loss jumped to 21.54 billion rupees ($366 million) for the financial fourth quarter ended March 31 from 4.96 billion rupees in the same period last year amid soaring costs.The publicly traded airlines net loss for the year soared to 41.3 billion rupees from the 7.8 billion loss it posted the previous year.We need to take stringent measures to ensure our success in this challenging and competitive aviation industry. There can be no short-term solutions, said Jet chairman Naresh Goyal.The company named its fourth chief executive since last June and said it would reconfigure planes and write down overvalued assets as part of efforts to return to profitability.Our first priority on the journey to profitability will be to establish a more solid financial foundation, Goyal, a former travel agent who set up the carrier, said.The board has approved details of a three-year business plan to reshape the airline and return it to profitability, Jet said.It did not specify details of the measures but said it planned a major restructuring, network and fleet changes and significant product enhancements.- Regional rivals -The company, which in April 2013 sold a 24 percent stake to Etihad for $379 million, is set to see rivalry intensify in the already crowded Indian market.The investment by the fast-growing Abu Dhabi-based carrier is intended to give Etihad a bigger foothold in the Indian market and compete with regional rivals which transport a large slice of Indian passenger traffic to the Gulf and beyond.Etihads purchase of a minority stake in Jet came after the government relaxed foreign ownership rules to allow overseas carriers to buy up to 48 percent of local airlines.Etihad said in a statement it was a long-term strategic investor in Jet Airways and committed to supporting the airline, one of half a dozen key players in the market.All of Indias airlines have been reporting losses apart from market leader IndiGo.Malaysias AirAsia, Asias biggest budget airline, will start flying in the domestic aviation sector in a joint venture with Indias Tata group.The Tata group has also set up a joint venture with Singapore Airlines which will initially be a domestic airline and eventually fly internationally.Two new airlines are set to start operations within months.Jet said aviation veteran, Cramer Ball, 46, a former chief executive of Air Seychelles, who has also worked in top positions at Etihad and Gulf Air, would be its new head.Ball is also a certified accountant, Jet said.Airline earnings have been hit by expensive fuel prices and slower passenger growth as India faces its deepest economic slowdown in a decade.Jet said costs leapt by 29 percent during the quarter from a year earlier while it took a one-off seven-billion-rupee charge on its low-cost carrier Jetlite.

S.Africa man allegedly holds family captive for 'years': report

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JOHANNESBURG (AFP) - A South African man has been arrested for allegedly holding captive and abusing his wife and five children for more than a decade, a media report said Tuesday.Afrikaans-language newspaper Beeld reported the children -- who were tortured with an electric cable and blowtorch -- never left the house and have never been to school.The paper claimed he allegedly kept his wife as a sex slave.Police confirmed they detained the 36-year-old on Friday for the suspected abuse of five children aged between two and 16 years. The charges against him are attempted murder and assault, police spokesman Lungelo Dlamini told AFP.He appeared in court yesterday but he's going to appear again tomorrow to apply for bail.He allegedly abused five of his kids.Beeld quoted a neighbour as saying: We didn't know the children existed. I didn't know that for years we've been living next to a monster.

Chemical weapons team visits Syria chlorine site after attack: rebels

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BEIRUT (AFP) - A Syrian rebel commander said a team from the world's chemical weapons watchdog investigating an alleged chlorine attack against rebel-held Kafr Zita managed to visit the town Tuesday, hours after coming under attack.Inspectors overseeing the dismantling of Syria's weapons program had been forced to return to their base after their convoy was attacked, but all were safe, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said.The Syrian foreign ministry accused rebels of kidnapping the team, while opposition activists said the regime planted an explosive device under one of the vehicles to try to stop investigators from investigating the alleged use of chlorine.Then, on Tuesday afternoon, the OPCW team arrived in Kafr Zita in the company of the Syrian Saiqa force, which is part of the (rebel) Free Syrian Army, said Colonel Mohammad al-Ali, general commander of the faction.Amateur video distributed by activists showed two white UN vehicles parked in what appeared to be Kafr Zita, and opposition fighters meeting with a member of the delegation.The visit to Kafr Zita was aimed at investigating allegations that Syrian government forces unleashed a chlorine attack on the town last month.If confirmed, the attack would be in breach of Syria's commitments under the Chemical Weapons Convention.The Syrian government signed the convention last year as part of a Russian- and US-brokered deal under which it pledged to destroy all of its chemical arsenal.Syria was not required to declare its stockpile of chlorine -- a toxic but weak agent -- as it is widely used for commercial and domestic purposes. But its use for military purposes would still be a breach of Damascus's undertakings under the convention.Activists and doctors have also alleged the use of chlorine gas as a weapon targeting rebel-held areas in Idlib province, in northwestern Syria.

Ukraine must use 'peaceful means' to regain east: Ban

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UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday urged Ukraine to use exclusively peaceful means to regain control in the east of the country from pro-Russian separatists.The secretary general is alarmed by the continuing violence that we have seen in the east during the weekend, Ban's spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.He urges that the restoration of state control over government facilities be achieved through exclusively peaceful means including an inclusive political dialogue.The spokesman was responding to a question about Ukraine's claims on Tuesday that its army had retaken the airport in the eastern city of Donetsk after a day of airstrikes and gun battles with separatist militants that left dozens of people dead.Ban has repeatedly called for calm and a return to talks since the start of the pro-Russian uprising in April.The battle for Donetsk, the main transport hub in Ukraine's industrial heartland, erupted Monday just hours after president-elect Petro Poroshenko vowed to take a tough stand against the terrorists.

Indian army opens unprovoked fire at LoC, Pak Army responds

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RAWLAKOT (Dunya News) – Indian Army opened indiscriminatory fire at Battal Sector area of Line of Control on Tuesday, reportedly violating the ceasefire between the two countries. The aggression was timely responded by Pakistan army men. No casualties or injuries were reported.According to sources, Indian army opened unprovoked fire at the point of Battal Sector using heavy machine guns. The move was reciprocated by Pakistan Army.The firing caused a sense of fear among the locals who resorted to being stuck at home.The firing is reportedly continued after short intervals; however, no loss of life was reported.

Libya militia stole US weapons in raid: report

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WASHINGTON (AFP) - Militia fighters stole hundreds of American-supplied automatic weapons and other equipment in a raid on a Libyan base where the US was training local forces, bringing an abrupt end to the secretive program, a report said Tuesday.Elite US troops have been tasked since last year with covertly forming local counterterrorism units in Libya, Mauritania, Niger and Mali, part of US efforts to widen the war against Al-Qaeda affiliates in Africa, The New York Times reported, citing American officials.It has been financed in part with millions of dollars in classified Pentagon spending, the Times said, and involves instructing and equipping handpicked commandos in the four countries, with the hope the teams will eventually be able to take on fighters like Boko Haram.But the initiative has endured several setbacks, notably in Libya, where the training was suddenly cut short in August last year when a group of armed militia fighters overpowered a small Libyan guard force at a training camp outside the capital Tripoli, the newspaper said.As well as automatic weapons, the fighters seized night-vision goggles and vehicles, it added, saying that American instructors were promptly sent home. US officials are now looking for a more secure site to get the program going again.But last summers debacle and the political upheaval in Libya since then have caused American officials to rethink how they select local personnel, the Times said.The American trainers had issued the Libyans M4 automatic rifles and Glock pistols, and the Libyans were responsible for safeguarding them at a warehouse. But all were taken in the pre-dawn raid on August 4, believed carried out by a local militia that overpowered the Libyan guards.The American trainers were not at the training camp at the time because they would usually stay at a nearby villa, leading to suspicions that the theft was an inside job.Much of the equipment was later recovered, but some news reports suggested at least some of the weapons had gone on sale on the black market, the report said.The take-away here is theyre going to take a lot more adult supervision to make sure the checks and balances are in place, so you dont have outside militia taking over, the Times quoted a former American Special Operations officer as saying.The program in Mali has failed to get off the ground as the new civilian government struggles to recover from a coup.The Pentagon, meanwhile, is spending nearly $15 million in Niger on a new counterterrorism unit there, the Times said, and $29 million in Mauritania.

Tunisia delays trial of suspects in US embassy attack

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TUNIS (AFP) - A Tunisian court delayed for the third time Tuesday the appeals trial of Islamists accused of attacking the US embassy in 2012, with numerous defendants and lawyers absent.The appeals court in Tunis adjourned the trial until July 1 to appoint a lawyer for two of the accused, the judge said after a brief hearing.The trial had already been postponed in January and March, because the prosecution failed to summon two thirds of the defendants to court.But despite an official summons, only seven of the accused appeared at Tuesdays hearing.Last year, the public prosecutor appealed the two-year suspended jail terms given to 20 suspects for their roles in the attack, after the United States and Tunisia strongly criticised the leniency of the sentences.Hundreds of angry Islamist protesters attacked the US mission in Tunis after an American-made film mocking their religion was published on the Internet, unleashing a wave of violence across the Muslim world.Tunisias Islamist-led government accused the radical Salafist group Ansar al-Sharia of orchestrating the attack in which four of the assailants were killed.

Egypt extends vote for president amid low turnout reports

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CAIRO (AFP) - Egypt gave voters an extra day to vote for a president Tuesday, in a surprise move amid a reportedly low turnout in the first election since the overthrow of the Islamist leader.Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the ex-army chief who toppled Islamist president Mohamed Morsi last year, is the clear frontrunner. But his campaign had hoped for a large turnout for a decisive show of support.After reports of a meagre turnout on the first day of voting on Monday, his backers and sympathetic media harangued voters to go and vote as Morsis Muslim Brotherhood had called for a boycott.One television anchor, the ultra-nationalist Tawfiq Okasha, went as far as suggesting that people who do not vote should be shot.The decision to extend the voting into Wednesday was made to give a chance to the largest possible number of voters to cast their ballots, said a member of the electoral commission quoted by state news agency MENA.The commission added later in a statement that the vote had been extended because of a heatwave that resulted in a crowding of voters during the evening hours.A comfortable win for Sisi over his sole rival, the leftist Hamdeen Sabbahi, has never been seriously in doubt.But the Brotherhood, subjected to a brutal police crackdown in which hundreds of its supporters have been killed, has called for boycott and said it will not recognise the outcome.So too have key activists behind the 2011 uprising that toppled long-time strongman Hosni Mubarak in 2011. They fear Sisi is an autocrat in the making.The interior ministry said turnout on the first day of the election was about 16 million out of the countrys 53 million eligible voters.But some Cairo polling stations visited by AFP were deserted in the first hours of voting on Tuesday.I dont want to be part of those responsible for all those people who died, Tarek Salim told AFP at a Cairo cafe, explaining his decision not to vote.Another abstainer, Diaa Hussein, complained there was no real choice. Sisi didnt leave a chance for anyone else to win, he said.Gamal Abdel Gawad, an analyst at the American University of Cairo, said the extension of voting affects the credibility of the election process.There was no need to raise expectations of a high turnout. When the result of an election is already known, there is very little incentive for voters to come out and vote, he said.- World is watching -Sisi issued a personal plea for a large turnout after casting his own ballot on Monday.The entire world is watching us, how Egyptians are writing history and their future today and tomorrow, he said, surrounded by cheering supporters.The rival candidates have portrayed the vote as a choice between stability and the freedoms promised by the pro-democracy uprisings in the region.The Arab worlds most populous nation has been rocked by turmoil since the 2011 uprising which has ravaged the economy and its vital tourism sector.Sisis ouster of Morsi on July 3 triggered the worst peacetime bloodshed in recent Egyptian history, but the former army chief has vowed to stamp out the violence.A big security force deployment prevented any major polling day incidents.We need an iron fist to restore the situation, said 63-year-old engineer Kamal Mohamed Aziz, who had come with his wife to vote for Sisi.But civil servant Karim el-Demerdash said he had voted for Sabbahi to try to preserve the gains of the 2011 uprising.I am sure that the election results are already decided but this is the last attempt to bring the revolution into power, he said.Sisi has said true democracy will take a couple of decades, and suggested he will not tolerate protests disrupting the economy.He has also pledged to eliminate the Brotherhood, which won every election following Mubaraks overthrow after being banned for decades.Forgery will never grant legitimacy to a butcher nor will it lessen the determination of revolutionaries, the Brotherhood said as it urged a boycott.The Brotherhood has been decapitated by a police crackdown that has killed more than 1,400 people and left all of its top leaders in jail or exile.Morsi himself has been detained and put on trial.This election will not wipe the slate clean after 10 months of gross human rights violations, said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui of Amnesty International.

Crude prices slip, with all eyes on Ukraine

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LONDON (AFP) - Oil dipped Tuesday but remain underpinned by concern that the Ukraine crisis could potentially cause a disruption in gas supply and send prices soaring, analysts said.The US benchmark, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for delivery in July, slid 40 cents to $103.95 per barrel.Brent North Sea crude for July shed also 40 cents to stand at $109.92 a barrel in London late afternoon trading.As the escalating crisis in Ukraine continues, we expect high volatility and nervous trading conditions in the oil market, said analyst Myrto Sokou at the Sucden brokerage in London.A fierce battle erupted in the rebel-held eastern belt of Ukraine on Monday, just hours after president-elect Petro Poroshenko vowed he would not let the country become another Somalia.Ukrainian fighter jets and combat helicopters struck the terminal building at an airport in the eastern city of Donetsk to try to dislodge scores of separatist gunmen who seized the complex, triggering hours of heavy firefights.Billionaire chocolate baron Poroshenko was on Monday confirmed by Ukraines election chief as the new president after polls over the weekend, which were triggered after pro-Russian leader Viktor Yanukovych was ousted in February.Following a successful presidential election on Sunday, newly elected Ukrainian president, Petro Poroshenko, claimed he will resolve conflicts between Russia and Ukraine in a matter of hours, giving hope for a hasty end to the unrest, said Inenco oil analyst Chloe Bradley.Although air strikes in Ukraine yesterday initially raised concerns over an escalation in violence, Poroshenkos government seemed to gain control of the situation, regaining ownership of the airport.It is likely Poroshenkos determination to end the violence quickly has had an effect on oil prices.Washington and its European allies supporting Ukraines interim Western-friendly government have accused Russia of fomenting unrest in the country, allegations Moscow denies.Investors fear a full-blown conflict in the ex-Soviet state, a conduit for a quarter of European gas imports from Russia, will disrupt supplies and send energy prices soaring.
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