Tuesday 6 May 2014

Dunya TV

Dunya TV

Pakistan High Commission, diplomats' security is India's responsibility: FO

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NEW DELHI (Web Desk) – Pakistan’s Foreign Office has demanded of Indian authorities to thoroughly investigate the letters to find out who sent them to Pakistan High Commission.Islamabad conveyed to India diplomatically that it was New Delhi's responsibility to ensure the security of Pakistan High Commission and all its diplomats and other staff.On Tuesday Indian media quoted as official sources confirmed that the Pakistan High Commission has received ‎letters in the past few days threatening to harm Pakistan officials.Pakistan's deputy high commissioner to India took up the matter with the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Tuesday.Pakistan has demanded that the letters be thoroughly probed and the identity of the sender be ascertained. It conveyed to India diplomatically that it was New Delhi's responsibility to ensure the security of Pakistan High Commission and all its diplomats and other staff.An Indian government source here said one threat letter had been received from Pakistan high commission and that security authorities had been sensitized about the matter. We provide maximum possible security to all missions and same is the case with Pakistan, he said. There was no confirmation about who sent the letters threatening to harm Pakistani diplomats.The development comes in the middle of the ongoing general elections in which Pakistan has willy-nilly become a part of the strenuous campaign being followed by both BJP and Congress. The 2 parties came together recently to slam a statement by Pakistan interior minister Chaudhary Nisar Khan that Modi as prime minister would not be good for peace in the region.Khan said Modi as India's PM would destabilize regional peace because be had not learnt any lesson from his shameful acts as Gujarat chief minister. This was after Modi said that he would try and bring underworld don Dawood Ibrahim back to India. The BJP also asked Pakistan to mend its ways.Modi himself though has spoken about the importance of building trust with Pakistan. We should not be constrained by what has happened in the past if the present throws up new possibilities in terms of solutions, he said.Pakistan was also angry with India last week for refusing to give visas to over 500 Pakistani pilgrims who wanted to visit the Ajmer shrine. While India regretted the development saying it wasn't possible to ensure security for the pilgrims at the time of elections, Pakistan protested officially saying that this was the 4th time India had rejected visas for Ajmer pilgrims in the past 1 year.

1st ODI: Sri Lanka beat Ireland by 79 runs

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DUBLIN (AFP) - Sri Lanka beat Ireland by 79 runs to win the first one-day international at the Clontarf ground in Dublin on Tuesday.After losing the toss, Sri Lanka made 219 for eight in their full 50 overs before dismissing Ireland for just 140 in reply with more than 10 overs to spare.Man-of-the-match Ajantha Mendis starred with both bat and ball for Sri Lanka, hitting an unbeaten 18 off just nine balls before taking three wickets for 27 runs with his unorthodox spin.Suranga Lakmal struck with the new ball on his way to three for 29 in an innings where Ireland captain William Porterfield top-scored with 37.Sri Lanka had been in trouble at 95 for five before the lower order, with Nuwan Kulasekara making an unbeaten 42, got the tourists -- without star batsmen Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara -- to a total that proved more than enough.The two-match series concludes at Clontarf on Thursday, with Sri Lanka then continuing their tour with limited overs and Test campaigns in England.Brief scoresSri Lanka 219-8, 50 oversIreland 140, 39.5 overs (A Mendis 3-27, S Lakmal 3-29)

Spanish island fights snake invasion

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MADRID (AFP) - A Spanish island has summoned world experts to help it stamp out an invasion of white snakes that threaten to eat all its rare lizards, a conservationist said Tuesday.Rangers on Gran Canaria, the biggest of Spains Canary Islands, have killed thousands of Californian Kingsnakes, which have spawned from pet snakes that slithered into the wild.The snakes pose no threat to humans but have been munching up other creatures such as the rare Gran Canaria Giant Lizard, environmentalist Ramon Gallo, head of a project to control the snake population, told AFP.That lizard is unique to Gran Canaria and if the snakes end up spreading all over the island they will make it an endangered species, he said.We are talking about saving the Canary Islands biodiversity, which is one of the greatest assets the islands have for the world. The Canaries are a biological laboratory and the snakes are putting at risk one of its most important species.Gallos team won EU funding in 2011 for a four-year campaign to cull the snakes. On Thursday and Friday it will host international experts, including US snake specialists, for a conference to raise awareness of the threat.He said the snakes were first detected in the wild on Gran Canaria in 1998, apparently spawned from a small number of pets that made it into the bush. The Kingsnake is a popular pet, growing to no longer than 1.8 metres (just under six feet).They thrived in the mild, sunny climate of Gran Canaria, where they found no natural predators and plenty to eat -- chiefly lizards, which they corner or squeeze to death.The kingsnakes come in various colours, but in the main area where they live on Gran Canaria, most of them are the albino type -- white with light yellow stripes and pink eyes.Since 2007, Gallo said, about 2,000 of them have been killed -- clubbed to death by rangers or members of the public, or caught by trained falcons, dogs or in traps.But uncounted swarms of them are thought to be living out of sight underground, he added.The International Seminar on the Management of Invasive Exotic Reptiles runs from May 8 to 9 in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

US denounces 'bogus' referendum plan in east Ukraine

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WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States on Tuesday denounced moves by pro-Russian separatist groups in eastern Ukraine to organize what it called a bogus referendum.Comparing Sunday's plebiscite to an earlier vote that preceded Moscow's annexation of Crimea, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said: This is the Crimea play-book all over again.The United States notes with concern efforts by pro-Russian separatists in Donetsk and Luhansk to organize a bogus independence referendum , Psaki told reporters.Kiev and its Western backers see Moscow's main aims as making sure the planned referendum goes ahead, while sabotaging nationwide presidential election due to be held two weeks later.The West considers the May 25 presidential elections as crucial to restoring legitimacy to the leaders of the former Soviet republic, who were installed by the parliament after pro-Moscow president Viktor Yanukovych fled in the face of widespread pro-democracy protest.Assistant Secretary for Europe Victoria Nuland said the presidential elections on May 25 will be the most pluralistic election that there has ever been in Ukraine with some parties fielding more than one candidate after splits.And far more pluralistic than anything that's been seen in Russia.But she voiced concerns about whether the people in eastern Ukraine would have the chance to vote for their candidate given the tensions on the ground with pro-Russia militias controlling several towns.The OSCE was expected to send in 1,000 observers and the US was supporting a further 3,000 observers, she said.This will be the best observed transatlantic elections for many, many years, Nuland said, speaking at the US Institute of Peace think-tank.Psaki also warned that if Russia takes the next step to move into eastern Ukraine and annex it, harsh EU and US sanctions will follow.Russian President Vladimir Putin has so far held off ordering an invasion to protect Ukraine's Russian-speaking population although Moscow claims to be receiving thousands of calls for help from eastern Ukraine.Still, Putin has kept an estimated 40,000 troops on the border for the past two months.Psaki's comments came as Russia rejected a new peace initiative amid mounting fears of open war.Nearly 90 people have died in less than a week: half around the eastern town of Slavyansk, held by rebels since early April; and half in the southern port city of Odessa, where clashes culminated in a deadly inferno last Friday. Most of those killed have been pro-Russian fighters and activists.

Football: Vidic 'set' for sad Old Trafford farewell

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LONDON (AFP) - Nemanja Vidic has said he is uncertain as to how he will react when he takes part in his final home match as a Manchester United player on Tuesday evening.The Premier League fixture against Hull is set to be the final time club captain Vidic, 32, turns out in front of the Old Trafford faithful as a United player, with the Serbia centre-back joining Inter Milan after the end of the season.You never know what is going to happen with your emotions, Vidic said in an interview published in Tuesday's matchday programme for the Hull game. You can try to predict but I wasn't emotional before and I haven't cried yet We will see what happens after the last game. It is going to be sad.As we didn't do well this season, that walk around Old Trafford won't be the same after many years where we have always been celebrating something after the final game. Now, it has become a chance to thank the fans for supporting us this year. I think this is definitely the least that we can do.Asked if he had a message for the United fans, Vidic replied: Thank you for all the support you have given me over the years. I know I will be supporting the club in the future. Hopefully, we can win as many trophies as we did in my eight years over the next eight years.Vidic become a fans' favourite during a spell at United that has seen him win five Premier League titles and one Champions League crown.However, he made only 19 league appearances last season after he was laid low by a severe knee injury first suffered in a shock Champions League defeat by Swiss side Basel in 2011 that led to two major operations.And he has been largely powerless to prevent a slump this term that has seen United, the reigning English champions, fail to qualify for the Champions League and sack manager David Moyes, just months after the former Everton boss was appointed to succeed retired serial trophy-winner Alex Ferguson.

Global maternal deaths falling, but not fast enough: WHO

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GENEVA (AFP) - Global maternal deaths have fallen sharply in recent decades, but women in sub-Saharan Africa are still by far the most likely to perish while pregnant, the World Health Organization said Tuesday.Fresh WHO statistics show the number of maternal deaths worldwide fell to 289,000 last year, down 45 percent from 1990, when an estimated 523,000 women died during pregnancy or childbirth.While this marks a big step forward, the UN's health agency stressed it was far from good enough.There is still one woman dying every one and a half to two minutes somewhere in the world ... because she is trying to give life, said Marleen Temmerman, who heads the WHO's department of reproductive health and co-authored the report.That is like having two airplanes crashing every day, she told reporters in Geneva, insisting this should be much higher on the agenda.The WHO report emphasises that the dangers of childbearing are still felt far more acutely in the developing world, and in sub-Saharan Africa especially, than in wealthy countries.While a woman in Chad faces a one in 15 risk of dying during pregnancy and childbirth during her lifetime, the risk is more than 1,000 times smaller for a woman in Finland, the statistics show.African nations are heavily represented among the 10 countries that account for around 60 percent of all maternal deaths globally, including Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia and Kenya.Several African nations meanwhile also figure among those who had succeeded in slashing their maternal mortality rates the most in the past 23 years, WHO said.Rwanda, Equatorial Guinea and Eritrea were among a select group of only 11 countries, mainly in Asia, that have reduced maternal deaths by over 75 percent since 1990, thus reaching the Millennium Development Goal target ahead of the 2015 deadline.- US mortality rates jump -Most countries however are unlikely to meet that target by next year, Temmerman said, calling for far more investment in care for expecting mothers.Expanding family planning and access to contraception is also vital to help avoid unwanted pregnancies, especially among teens, at far greater risk of complications.The new WHO report provides a startling new overview of the reasons women die during pregnancy and childbirth.It shows that 28 percent of the deaths are linked to pre-existing medical conditions, like diabetes, malaria, HIV or obesity, exacerbated by pregnancy.Severe bleeding, mainly during and after childbirth, is the second leading cause,accounting for 27 percent of the deaths, the report shows.Integrated care for women with conditions like diabetes and obesity will reduce deaths and prevent long-lasting health problems, Temmerman said.A number of wealthy countries have seen an increase in maternal mortality rates, with the rate in the United States for instance jumping 136 percent to 28 deaths for 100,000 live births last year.In Canada, the number of deaths also shot up 81 percent to 11 deaths for 100,000 live births in 2013.The report did not provide an explanation for the hikes, but WHO scientist Colin Mathers stressed such countries had started off with low numbers so the statistical changes were not as significant, and were likely largely explained by improved reporting methods for maternal deaths.Temmerman hinted though that women waiting longer and having children in wealthy nations might explain some increases in maternal deaths.Older age in pregnant women contributes to a higher risk for diabetes, and more hypertension-related problems, she said, pointing out that there are issues with being pregnant too young, but also being pregnant too old.

Former BBC broadcaster Hall admits assault, faces rape trial

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LONDON (AFP) - Former BBC broadcaster Stuart Hall pleaded guilty Tuesday to indecently assaulting a girl but will face trial on 15 counts of rape.The 84-year-old admitted an indecent assault on a girl aged under 16, between 1978 and 1979.He denied 20 other counts of sexual assault, including 15 alleged rapes.A jury was to be selected later Tuesday at Preston Crown Court in northwest England ahead of a trial on those charges which is expected to last seven days.Hall presented the hit BBC television show It's a Knockout in the 1970s and 1980s and later became a well-known radio football commentator.He is charged with eight counts of rape and three indecent assaults against one alleged victim between 1976 and 1981, in Manchester and the neighbouring county of Cheshire in northwest England.One of those alleged rapes is said to have taken place when the complainant was under 13.He is also charged with seven counts of rape and two of indecent assault against another complainant, between 1976 and 1978 in Manchester.Five of the alleged rapes are said to have taken place when she was under the age of 16.Known for his florid descriptive style, scattered with allusions to literary classics, Hall was until recently a familiar voice on BBC radio commentating on English Premier League football.

Russia's Crimea move could reignite Karabakh conflict: analysts

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BAKU (AFP) - Russias annexation of Crimea could reignite an unresolved dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorny Karabakh region two decades after a deadly war, analysts say.Armenian separatists backed by Yerevan seized Nagorny Karabakh from Azerbaijan in a 1990s conflict that claimed some 30,000 lives.The two sides agreed a temporary ceasefire in the bitter dispute in 1994, but Baku still claims the region, and international attempts to resolve the conflict have proved fruitless.Experts fear Moscows takeover of the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine -- which has led to the worst standoff between Russia and the West since the Cold War -- may give fresh impetus to the simmering conflict.Theres no doubt that the events in Ukraine, the rising tensions between the West and Russia, and the return to a Cold War-type mentality will affect the Karabakh conflicts settlement, said Tatul Hakobyan, an independent analyst in Yerevan.Exchanges of gunfire are still frequent between the armies of Armenia and energy-rich Azerbaijan -- whose defence spending exceeds its rivals entire national budget. Baku has repeatedly vowed to retake the region militarily.Moscow ally Armenia openly supported Russias actions in Ukraine, which independent Armenian analyst Manvel Sarkisian said could bolster its Karabakh claims.When Armenia supported Crimeas joining Russia, it effectively supported the principle of nations self-determination, which it applies to Karabakh, he said.Meanwhile, Azerbaijan fears that an emboldened Kremlin may step up the pressure with threats to recognise Karabakhs independence.Crimeas occupation by Russia created a dangerous precedent and Azerbaijan watches this with fear, said Elkhan Shahinoglu, an independent analyst with the Baku-based Atlas thinktank.Russian President Vladimir Putin has cited nations right for self-determination to justify the occupation of Crimea. Under the very same pretext, Moscow could blackmail Baku with threats to recognise Karabakh, Shahinoglu said.One cant rule out that after Ukraine, Azerbaijan will be Russias next target.- Conflict risk high -Since the May 5, 1994, ceasefire, no tangible progress has been achieved at negotiations mediated by France, Russia and the United States, the so-called Minsk Group, under the umbrella of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).Analysts in both countries agree it would not take much to kindle a new conflict.International mediators efforts have proved fruitless and the risk of a fresh armed conflict remains high, Shahinoglu said.In justifying their positions, Baku and Yerevan appeal to two somewhat conflicting norms of international law.While Azerbaijan cites the principle of territorial integrity of states, Armenia insists the right of self-determination of peoples provided a legal basis for the ethnic-Armenian majority to proclaim Karabakhs secession from Azerbaijan in 1991.Events in Crimea show that post-Soviet states borders are disputable, Sarkisian said.Russia opted to prioritise the principle of nations self-determination over the principle of territorial integrity of states.The move will undoubtedly have some consequences for Karabakh.The Soviet Unions collapse in 1991 ushered in a period of political turmoil and separatist conflicts in many newly independent states.Analysts said the Kremlin was inciting conflicts between and within the ex-Soviet republics to maintain influence over its former vassals and prevent them from forging closer ties with the West.Russia wants to reassert its dominance in the post-Soviet space and sponsors separatist conflicts there, said independent Azerbaijani analyst Rasim Musabekov.Karabakh is occupied by Armenia, but its no secret that Russia is behind the scenes.

South Sudan rebel chief Machar vows to attend peace talks

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JUBA (AFP) - South Sudan rebel chief Riek Machar has promised to attend peace talks, UN chief Ban Ki-moon announced Tuesday as he pushed efforts to end a brutal civil war he said enrages my soul.The UN secretary general flew into South Sudan as fighting raged between warring parties in defiance of international pressure and despite dire warnings of genocide and famine in the nearly five-month-old conflict.The visit, which comes as rebels and government forces battle for control of a key oil town, is the latest major drive for a ceasefire in a war that has seen the worlds youngest nation collapse amid a brutal cycle of war crimes.The conflict destroying this fragile young country is senseless, Ban said, warning that if fighting continues one million people could soon face famine.Both sides in the conflict have been accused of widespread ethnic massacres, rape and recruitment of thousands of child soldiers.What I have seen and heard today breaks my heart and enrages my soul, Ban told reporters, as he wrapped up his one-day visit, where he met President Salva Kiir as well as some of the tens of thousands sheltering inside hugely overcrowded fortified UN peacekeeper bases.They are too frightened of attacks to leave the protection of the peacekeepers, even though the camps themselves have come under attack and conditions are dire with flooding and little shelter from alternating baking heat and torrential rains.Bans visit comes days after US Secretary of State John Kerry flew into the capital, a visit in which he extracted promises from Kiir to meet face-to-face with rebel chief Machar, a former vice-president.Ban said Tuesday that Machar had promised he will be present at talks in the Ethiopian capital.- Senseless war rages -Ban said the meeting had been tentatively scheduled for Friday, although the date may be pushed back as Machar has said it will take time for him to travel to the venue.But despite US warnings of sanctions if fighting continued, the government has pushed forward a major offensive to claw back towns from the gunmen, capturing a rebel stronghold and forcing Machar to flee into the bush.Leaders must close the wound they have opened, they must support justice and accountability for crimes committed, and they must address the root causes of the conflict, Ban added.Kerry has since warned of serious implications unless the fighting stops.Ban last visited South Sudan amid euphoric celebrations at its independence from Sudan in July 2011, after it voted to split away following decades of war with Khartoum.But as he arrived Tuesday, battles raged around the dusty northern town of Bentiu, ramshackle capital of the oil-producing Unity state, four days after government troops moved to wrest back control.Defence Minister Kuol Manyang told AFP government troops were in control of the town centre, but that heavy fighting was ongoing in surrounding villages.Forces include both mutinous troops as well as ragtag forces, including a fearsome militia called the White Army, after the ash they daub on their bodies, both to ward off mosquitoes and as war paint.The war has claimed thousands -- and possibly tens of thousands -- of lives, with over 1.2 million people forced to flee their homes.Almost five million people are in need of aid, according to the UN.A January ceasefire was never enforced. Stop-start peace talks in Ethiopia have yet to forge agreement on even the basic agenda.Aid agencies are warning that South Sudan is now on the brink of Africas worst famine since the 1980s, while both Kerry and the UN human rights chiefs have spoken out over their fears that the country could slide towards a genocide.Although starting as a personal rivalry between Kiir and Machar, the conflict has seen armies divide along ethnic lines and fighting pitting members of Kiirs Dinka tribe against Machars Nuer.The conflict erupted on December 15 with Kiir accusing Machar of attempting a coup. Machar then fled to the bush to launch a rebellion, insisting that the president had attempted to carry out a bloody purge of his rivals.

14 killed in clash between rival Taliban groups, bomb blast

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MIRANSHAH (AFP) - At least 12 militants died during a shootout between rival factions in a restive Pakistani tribal region near the Afghan border Tuesday, officials said, while two died in a separate attack.Supporters of Tehreek-e-Taliban commander Khan Said Sajna and followers of the late TTP leader Hakimullah Mehsud clashed in the Shawal area of the troubled North Waziristan district, a security official told AFP.Four other militants were wounded during the gunfight which was still continuing, the official said late Tuesday.Local intelligence officials and militant sources confirmed the clash and casualties.Earlier in the day two militants were killed in a bomb blast at a bazaar in Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan, known as a stronghold of Taliban and Al-Qaeda linked militants.It was a remote control bomb which targeted Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan militants. Two of them have been killed and two others are injured, an intelligence official told AFP.A militant source confirmed the attack, and said that those killed were members of the main faction of the TTP, headed by warlord Mullah Fazlullah.No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but infighting between different Taliban factions have killed dozens of people in the area recently.Washington calls the region the most dangerous place in the world.The latest attack comes two weeks after the Pakistani Taliban formally ended a ceasefire called to promote talks with the government aimed at ending the militants' bloody seven-year insurgency.Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's government began negotiations with the TTP through intermediaries in February, with the ceasefire beginning March 1.Since the TTP rose up against the Pakistani state in 2007, more than 6,800 people have been killed in bomb and gun attacks around Pakistan, according to an AFP tally.Violence erupted last month between the Sajna and Mehsud factions, both part of the TTP, which has been waging a bloody seven-year insurgency against the state.The feud began after Sajna, a senior commander, was rejected for the TTP leadership following the killing of then-leader Mehsud last November, militants say.The TTP has long been riven by infighting.Sajna had been seen as a strong candidate to become TTP chief following Mehsud's death.But the movement's ruling council at the last minute elected Mullah Fazlullah, who hails from Swat and is believed to be hiding in Afghanistan.

May 11 protest aimed at strengthening democracy: Imran Khan

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ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chief Imran Khan has said there is no real but an artificial democracy in the country.A meeting of PTI’s core committee held at Bani Gala on Tuesday.The core committee gave approval of launching a movement against the present electoral system from May 11 and finalised suggestions about arrangements of sit-in at Islamabad’s D-Chowk.Talking to media after the meeting, Imran Khan said that PTI does not want to derail the democratic system but it wants justice.He said the PTI moved Supreme Court, Election Commission, election tribunal but saw no progress against polls rigging.The PTI chief said it was beyond understanding why thumb verification process had not been carried out in the four constituencies.Criticizing PML-N and PPP, PTI’s senior leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi said the two mainstream parties of the country have a secret deal to maintain a status quo.He said that PTI has decided to demonstrate its mass power at D-Chowk on May 11 and the federal will be responsible for any mishap if it tries to create any hurdle in the protest.

Pakistan High Commission in India receives threats

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NEW DELHI (Web Desk) – Fearing threats to its establishments and diplomats in the country, Pakistan has sought more security from India.According to Indian media, official sources confirmed that the Pakistan High Commission has received ‎letters in the past few days threatening to harm Pakistan officials.Pakistans deputy high commissioner to India took up the matter with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Tuesday.Pakistan has demanded that the letters be thoroughly probed and the identity of the sender be ascertained. It conveyed to India diplomatically that it was New Delhis responsibility to ensure the security of Pakistan High Commission and all its diplomats and other staff.An Indian government source here said one threat letter had been received from Pakistan high commission and that security authorities had been sensitized about the matter. We provide maximum possible security to all missions and same is the case with Pakistan, he said. There was no confirmation about who sent the letters threatening to harm Pakistani diplomats.The development comes in the middle of the ongoing general elections in which Pakistan has willy-nilly become a part of the strenuous campaign being followed by both BJP and Congress. The 2 parties came together recently to slam a statement by Pakistan interior minister Chaudhary Nisar Khan that Modi as prime minister would not be good for peace in the region.Khan said Modi as Indias PM would destabilize regional peace because be had not learnt any lesson from his shameful acts as Gujarat chief minister. This was after Modi said that he would try and bring underworld don Dawood Ibrahim back to India. The BJP also asked Pakistan to mend its ways.Modi himself though has spoken about the importance of building trust with Pakistan. We should not be constrained by what has happened in the past if the present throws up new possibilities in terms of solutions, he said.Pakistan was also angry with India last week for refusing to give visas to over 500 Pakistani pilgrims who wanted to visit the Ajmer shrine. While India regretted the development saying it wasnt possible to ensure security for the pilgrims at the time of elections, Pakistan protested officially saying that this was the 4th time India had rejected visas for Ajmer pilgrims in the past 1 year.

Doctors advise Musharraf to go abroad for medical treatment

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ISLAMABAD (Dunya News/Agencies) – Medical board said an old spinal fracture that was causing the former president General (retd) Pervez Musharraf to experience unbearable pain could not be fixed in Pakistan, thus he must travel abroad for an urgent surgical treatment.A five-member medical board comprising leading physicians thoroughly examined former president’s vertebral column before issuing their advice on Tuesday.Experts say fractures like these have a very poor prognosis if left untreated. In some rare cases it could also lead to lifelong disablement, they added.The case history shows the former president suffered bouts of stabbing pain in his back and leg for the first time two years back, while he was in Dubai.It transpired that so far it has been tolerable for him but now his lower body is racked with crippling pain, which will not subside without surgical intervention.The report further added that no Pakistani medical institution had the facilities as well expertise to perform such a sensitive surgery, thus Musharraf is advised to seek treatment in either Dubai, or North America or Europe.Earlier, former military ruler’s lawyer Farogh Nasim submitted a reply at the Sindh High Court (SHC).Musharraf took the position in his 13-page response to the charges against him that the government was politically victimizing him.Cases against me were on the basis of political grounds, Musharraf said.All the charges against Musharraf were refuted in the statement. He also informed the court that the apex court has not restricted his movement within or outside the country.The reply reportedly added that the government had not been able to prove anything in the cases against him.Musharraf informed court that his ailing mother was being treated in Dubai and the government was not allowing him to visit UAE.He also requested the court to take his name off the exit control list (ECL) so that he could visit UAE to see his mother.

US journalists less satisfied with their work, see negative trend in industry

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WASHINGTON (AFP) - American journalists have become increasingly dissatisfied with their work and see the industry moving in the wrong direction, a new survey shows.The Indiana University survey, which follows up on research first conducted in 1971, found that as newsrooms are shrinking, journalists see themselves having less autonomy and that job satisfaction is on the decline.The 2013 survey shows that, compared with a decade earlier, the updated demographic profile of US journalists reveals that they are now older on average, slightly more likely to be women, slightly less likely to be racial or ethnic minorities, slightly more likely to be college graduates (and) more likely to call themselves Independents politically.Released late last week, it found 59.7 percent say that journalism in the United States is headed in the wrong direction.The median age of full-time US journalists increased by six years from 2002 to 47.In terms of job satisfaction, just 23 percent of the journalists surveyed said they were very satisfied with their work, compared with 33 percent in 2002 and 49 percent in 1971.The survey also suggests journalists are more careful about ethics.Far fewer US journalists in 2013 are willing to say that some reporting practices might be justified in the case of an important story, it said.These practices include using confidential or personal documents without permission, badgering or harassing news sources, seeking undercover employment, posing as someone else, and paying for information. These seem to be indicators of a more cautious and perhaps more ethical journalism.More than 80 percent of those surveyed said social media was important to promote them and their work, and more than two-thirds (69.2 percent) said they are more engaged with their audiences because of this.But just under half -- 48.9 percent -- said social media allow them to communicate better and only 29.7 percent said these platforms enhanced their professional credibility.The report was based on interviews with a random sample of 1,080 journalists including 358 at daily newspapers, 238 from weekly newspapers, 132 from television stations and networks, 97 from radio, 92 from online news organizations, 103 from the wire services, and 60 from news magazines.

Ukraine on verge of war, says German FM

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PARIS (AFP) - Ukraine is just a few steps away from a war that could destroy the security framework in Europe and lead the world into a new Cold War, Germanys foreign minister said on Tuesday.The photographs that we have been receiving are horrifying and we are not very far from a military confrontation in Ukraine, especially after the tragedy in Odessa, said Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier in an interview published in four European newspapers.A blaze at a trade union building in Odessa on Friday left 42 people dead, mostly pro-Russian militants, after running battles with supporters of the new government in Kiev.Steinmeier said a war in Ukraine could destroy the security framework in Europe built over decades.Thats why we must do everything possible to avert this risk and the start of a new Cold War, he told Spains El Pais, Frances Le Monde, Italian daily La Repubblica and Gazeta Wyborcza of Poland.Germany has been pushing for a second international conference in Geneva despite the rapid collapse of the first agreement signed there in April.Steinmeier said the first agreement had failed as it had not put in place a mechanism that would translate what had been decided into reality.The Geneva accord signed by Ukraine, Russia, the United States and the European Union called for all illegal armed groups in Ukraine to surrender their weapons and halt the occupation of public buildings and other sites.Steinmeier said the proposed new conference would establish clear-cut steps to achieve a de-escalation where tensions are particularly high.It should also lead to an agreement on a presidential election due on May 25, which Russia says cannot be held under current conditions.Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday said a second Geneva peace conference would achieve little if the first agreement remained unimplemented.Amid spiralling violence in Ukraine, pro-Russian separatists are preparing their own independence referendum on Sunday, echoing a March vote in the mainly Russian-speaking province of Crimea that led to its annexation by Moscow.
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