Monday 7 July 2014

Dunya TV

Dunya TV

Cycling: Kittel wins Tour de France third stage

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LONDON (AFP) - Marcel Kittel emphasised his status as the best sprinter in the world by winning Mondays third stage of the Tour de France in a bunch finish at Buckingham Palace, London.The 26-year-old German won his second stage out of three at this years Grand Boucle as he proved too strong for the competition down the final straight.Without former world champion and 25-time Tour stage winner Mark Cavendish for competition, Kittel looked in a class of his own.Cavendish crashed on the finish to the first stage in Harrogate on Saturday and dislocated his collarbone, withdrawing from the race before the start of Sundays second stage from York.Launched perfectly by his Giant-Shimano team, the battle behind Kittel was merely for his back wheel and the slipstream his huge frame provides.Peter Sagan, who took second on the stage ahead of Australian Mark Renshaw, won that particular battle but never had the strength nor the belief to try and dive out from behind Kittel to go for the win.Slovak Sagan at least held onto his green points jersey, though.Kittel simply led home a procession, turning the final dash to the line into a demonstration of his pace and power.Having suffered over Sundays gruelling 201km hilly grind from York to Sheffield, the overall contenders took it easy through Mondays stage.Race leader and yellow jersey wearer Vincenzo Nibali kept out of trouble while twice former winner Alberto Contador tested his legs in the final few kilometres by keeping near the front, more to stay away from potential danger than to try to finish high up.He was wise to do so as there was a crash further back around 1.5km from the line.Reigning champion Chris Froome was another to enjoy a fairly anonymous day, although the same could not be said for his Sky teammate David Lopez, who clipped a fan that had strayed too far out into the road to take a picture.Lopez survived the incident but it created a concertina effect behind in the peloton which saw former winner Andy Schleck go down in a spill.Frenchman Jean-Marc Bideau and Jan Barta of the Czech Republic were the escapees of the day, heading off straight from the start and lasting almost 150km in the lead.On a day that was always a near certainty to end in a bunch sprint the 18 World Tour teams didnt bother to get involved in the breakaway, leaving two of the four invited teams to jump on the chance for some extended time in front of the television cameras.They went close but Bideau gave up the ghost with 8km left and Barta battled on for another 2km before agonisingly succumbing to the inevitable.

Subsidy on electricity to be reduced, govt assures IMF

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ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has issued detailed assessment report on Pakistan.According to report, the government of Pakistan has assured the IMF that Rs 150 billion subsidy on electricity will be reduced during the current fiscal year.The report further said that government has given written assurance to the IMF that another surcharge will be imposed to recover Rs 240 billion Syndicated Term Credit Finance (STCF) from consumers if Nepra does not include it in tariff determination.

Cylinder blast injures 7 in Islamabad

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ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – According to details, a cylinder exploded at a hotel in G-9 Markaz, Islamabad on early Tuesday, injuring at least six people.Fire broke out after the explosion while part of the hotel also collapsed.Rescue teams reached the spot and shifted the injured to PIMS Hospital where condition of three injured is stated to be serious.

Oil prices dip as Middle East supply worries ebb

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NEW YORK (AFP) - World oil prices Monday fell as traders eyed the imminent resumption of Libyan crude exports and as Iraqi output remained unaffected by ongoing fighting in the country.US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for August delivery fell 53 cents to $103.53 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the seventh straight decline, pushing the commodity to the lowest closing price since June 6.European benchmark Brent oil for delivery in August shed 40 cents to $110.24 a barrel in London.The lack of geopolitical risk is forcing oil lower, said Bart Melek, head of commodity strategy at TD Securities.Sunni rebels have overrun swathes of Iraq, but after nearly four weeks of fighting, they have yet to directly threaten the key oil-producing region in the country's south. The Iraq situation hasn't cooled down, but there's less anxiety about Iraqi barrels being lost, said Andy Lepow, trader and broker at Jefferies Bache.Analysts also cited the prospect of an imminent return of some Libyan oil production, which has been offline for months due to political disagreement in the North African country. Interim Libyan prime minister Abdullah al-Thani announced last week that the government regained control of two ports at Ras Lanuf and Al-Sidra following a deal with rebels. The ports could add about 500,000 barrels of crude per day to global energy markets, analysts said.The sites are also thought to have perhaps seven-10 million barrels of Libyan oil in storage that could be released.

Euro, yen edge higher in quiet forex market

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NEW YORK (AFP) - The euro was slightly higher against the dollar while the yen picked up a little ground in mostly quiet forex market action Monday.A fall for the third straight month in German industrial production in May hit share markets but had no real impact on the common currency.According to the economy ministry, industrial output decreased by 1.8 percent in May, after slipping by 0.3 percent in April. Manufacturing output was down 1.6 percent and construction output off 4.9 percent.Analysts said a key cause was slowing economies in Asia and the Ukraine crisis.The numbers show that risk factors like slowing emerging market economies, including China, and geopolitical conflicts do have an impact on the German economy, said ING DiBa economist Carsten Brzeski.The German industry is currently treading water. Already last week, German new orders had dropped in May, with the sharpest drop coming from orders from outside the Eurozone, Brzeski said.Analysts continued to put a cap on the euro's potential upside, pointing to the European Central Bank's continued dovish stance, even after it kept its monetary policy unchanged last week.The ECB's 'lower for longer' stance is prohibitive for the Euro because the British pound and the US dollar are being bombarded with strong economic data and rising sovereign yields as a result, said Christopher Vecchio at DailyFX.

Broad ready for gruelling India series

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NOTTINGHAM (AFP) - England seamer Stuart Broad has insisted the hosts have the bowling depth required to cope with a frenetic Test series against India.Wednesday sees the two nations meet at Nottinghamshire paceman Broad's Trent Bridge home ground for the first of five Tests condensed into a six-week period.Both Broad and new-ball partner James Anderson looked tired during England's recent 100-run second Test defeat by Sri Lanka at Headingley -- a result that saw the Islanders claim their first series win on English soil.And if England are kept in the field for long stretches at a time by a powerful-looking India top order, the pair's stamina is bound to be tested to the utmost.England national selector James Whitaker has suggested Broad, Anderson, and fellow pacemen Ben Stokes, Liam Plunkett, Chris Jordan and Chris Woakes could all be rotated during the series in a bid to avoid players being 'bowled into the ground' and breaking down injured.And with England's squad lacking a frontline spinner following the retirement of Graeme Swann, captain Alastair Cook is either going to have show more faith in part-time off-break bowler Moeen Ali, who made his debut during the Sri Lanka series and scored a hundred at Headingley, or hope the quicks run through India in short order if over-bowling of the seamers is not to become an issue.We've got 42 days, 25 Test match days, 10 training days, five travel days -- (that) only leaves two days without cricket duty, Broad, speaking at Trent Bridge on Monday, told Sky Sports.A lot depends on how we bowl. If India are getting four or five hundred every innings then the bowlers might have to take a break from time to time.But if we're bowling really well and we're only fielding for 80-90 overs an innings, that obviously makes a huge difference on the workload.He added: It's not a major concern in the near future and it's something the seamers just need to get used to -- a bit of extra bowling workload, bowling a bit more when the ball is not doing a huge amount.Meanwhile Broad was adamant that it was just a matter of time before Cook was back amongst the runs.It is now 14 months since the 29-year-old opening batsman scored the last of his England record 25 Test hundreds while his tactics as a captain in the field against Sri Lanka -- where his top score was 28 -- saw him criticised by the likes of Shane Warne, Geoffrey Boycott and England exile Kevin Pietersen.He's obviously worked hard in the nets as Cooky does, he's always first in and last out, Broad said. He just needs that change of luck, all cricketers go through it from time to time and it's Cooky's turn.The Sri Lanka series followed England' 5-0 Ashes drubbing in Australia.But Broad insisted morale remained high among the squad as they prepared to face an India side who were thrashed 4-0 during their last Test series in England three years ago.We lost the series against Sri Lanka but we played a lot of good cricket in that series, he said. We did some brilliant stuff with some debut hundreds and that sort of thing.The confidence is good coming into this series.Obviously, the last time India were here it was probably the best series we have played for years, but a lot of that team has changed.Some players can take some confidence from that but the majority of players have changed from that series so this is a completely fresh series. We've got to restart and go again.

Qadri refuses to join Model Town incident investigation

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LAHORE (Dunya News) – Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief Dr Tahirul Qadri has refused to become the part of investigation related to Model Town tragedy, Dunya News reported.Inspector General Punjab Police Mushtaq Ahmad Sukhera had written a letter to Tahirul Qadri to join investigation into the incident.However, the PAT chief refused and said Punjab Police, who were killer of his party workers, were probing the incident.Meanwhile, in an informal discussion with newsmen after Iftar dinner at Minhajul Quran, Dr Tahirul Qadri said his agenda was different from that of PTI chief Imran Khan.He said revolution was not linked to only demanding elections or vote verification in four constituencies.Qadri said there would be no demand, no condition and no negotiations with the government during the revolution.The PAT chief said the present system in the country has left to follow the principles of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. He said that new social contract would be introduced through revolution.Dr Tahirul Qadri said he would announce the date to launch revolution after consultation. He said that the pat revolution would be constitutional, democratic and peaceful.At least 12 people including two women were killed during violent clash between the supporters of Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief Tahirul Qadri and police on June 17.The clash began when supporters of Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) tried to stop police from removing hurdles outside their leader’s house in Lahore’s Model Town area.It is pertinent to mention here the government had formed judicial commission to probe the incident while Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah resigned from his office to face the investigation.

Islamabad police arrest couple, seize weapons

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ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - Police on Monday foiled an attempt to smuggle huge cache of weapons and recovered twenty 12 bore automatic rifles, one SMG and over 23 rounds from a vehicle near Peshawar Mor.As per details, police stopped a suspected car near Peshawar Mor, following which its occupant tried to escape from the scene. Police team chased the vehicle and managed to arrest accused Akhtar Nawaz along with his wife.Police recovered huge cache of weapons including 12 bore automatic rifles, one SMG and over 23 rounds from the possession of the accused.

Internet crowd bites big into potato salad project

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SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - The transformative power of online crowd funding is being poured into a bowl or two of potato salad.A Kickstarter project with a simply stated goal of making the classic US summer picnic side-dish had raised more than $9,000 from 1,351 backers as of Monday and was attracting more support.Basically, Im just making potato salad, project mastermind Zack Danger Brown said in an unabashedly succinct description at his page at the website where people pitch ideas in the hope that folks on the Internet will pitch in with funding.I havent decided what kind yet.Brown blasted past his original funding goal so fast that he added stretch goals that include making twice as much potato salad, trying more than one recipe, upgrading the mayonnaise, and sending people themed baseball caps.His funding campaign shot past those faster than a spud out of a potato gun.Upon passing the $1,000 funding point, the Ohio man promised an online live stream starring him making the potato salad after the Kickstarter funding round closes on August 2.Most of the pledges came in the form of one or two dollars each, with those backers to be rewarded in simple ways, including their names being said aloud while the potato salads is being made.Bigger money backers kicking in $10 or more are in line for rewards ranging from hand-written potato-themed haiku and access to the kitchen during the salad making to homage T-shirts or a Potato Salads of the World recipe book.I love this project a backer with the screen-name Devorah Brehony said in a Kickstarter chat forum post on Monday. Its so insane.

More than 400 terrorists killed as Army marches on North Waziristan

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Army is making headways deep into the badlands controlled by Taliban as the Operation Zarb-e-Azb continues with success. More than 400 terrorists have been killed so far according to the reports. Heavy ammunition and modern weapons have been found in the areas recovered from the terrorists. Several IED factories have also been taken into custody by the Pak Army as the Taliban flee leaving their belongings behind. Landmines have been found in large numbers from these regions. Heavy equipment has also been recovered from these areas which could have been used to make anti-tank landmines.According to the ISPR, Operation Zarbe-e-Azb is continuing with great success in the North Waziristan Agency. Pakistan Army claims that most of the land has already been evacuated and the rest will be recovered within a few days.Chief of the Army Staff General Raheel Sharif also visited North Waziristan Agency today and met the troops fighting on the front. Army Chief encouraged and appreciated the soldiers fighting on the war front. He reiterated his resolve to continue the operation till the last terrorist is alive. The General also congratulated the Jawans fighting on the front saying that they were an asset of the Pakistan Army in this war against terrorists. Raheel Sharif thanked the common people of Pakistan for giving firm support to the Army in its War on Terrorism. Paying rich tributes to the martyred soldiers Army Chief said that they had laid their lives for saving the nation and that their sacrifices will always be remembered by the Pakistan Army and nation.On the other hand, the IDPs continue to get registered with the government to seek the cash aid being provided to them. A massive number of people have left their homes in Miranshah and other areas of Waziristan where operation is being carried out. Most of the IDPs are settled in Bannu and so far more than half a million Internally Displaced Persons have been registered with the government. Unofficial sources claim that the number has actually exceeded seven hundred thousand but because many of the IDP families do not get registered, the exact number cannot be figured out. Federal Minister for Information Senator Pervaiz Rasheed has said that IDPs are getting registered in large numbers because registration is a must for the cash aid. Army Chief has also paid rich tributes to the IDPs who have left their homes and are living in camps due to the operation.

Oil prices drop as tight supply concerns ease

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LONDON (AFP) - Oil prices dropped Monday on easing concerns over tight supplies linked to violence in Iraq and Libyan disruptions, analysts said.Brent North Sea crude for delivery in August fell 41 cents to stand at $110.63 a barrel in late London deals.US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for August slid 75 cents to $103.31 a barrel compared with Friday's close.Desmond Chua, market analyst at traders CMC Markets, said oil prices continue to track lower as Iraq's production remains unaffected by the recent unrest.The rebel group has overrun swathes of Iraq and is close to Baghdad following a lightning offensive since June 9, displacing hundreds of thousands of people and initially alarming global oil markets.After nearly four weeks of fighting with government forces, however, the group has yet to directly threaten the key oil-producing region in the country's south. Iraq is the second biggest producer in the 12-nation OPEC oil cartel, pumping 3.4 million barrels a day and sitting on more than 11 percent of the world's proven reserves. Prices were being pulled down also by the prospect of Libyan oil production returning to normal, traders said.Libyan production has been severely limited for a year after rebels blockaded terminals as part of a campaign to restore autonomy in the country's eastern region. Its output currently stands at 320,000 barrels per day, about a fifth of its normal output. But the re-opening of two terminals should hike output by about 500,000 barrels a day according to analysts.Last week's US jobs data meanwhile showed that the world's biggest economy added 288,000 jobs in June, well above expectations of 215,000. The unemployment rate also fell to 6.1 percent from 6.3 percent in May. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 17,000 for the first time on Thursday after the solid jobs data release.US markets were closed Friday for the Independence Day holiday and open lower amid profit-taking on Monday.Chua said investors would next be looking to minutes from the Federal Reserve's June meeting to be released Wednesday for clues about the strength of the US economy.

IBM to help curb pollution in China

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WASHINGTON (AFP) - IBM said Monday it had signed an agreement to help curb pollution in China, starting with the dangerous smog that afflicts Beijing.The US computing giant said it would launch a 10-year program called Green Horizon that would support China in transforming its national energy systems and protecting the health of citizens.IBM said one of the first partners to come on board is the Beijing municipal government.The collaboration will leverage some of IBMs most advanced technologies such as cognitive computing, optical sensors and the internet of things all based on a Big Data and analytics platform and drawing on IBMs deep experience in weather prediction and climate modelling, IBM said in a statement.IBM will seek to identify the type, source and level of emissions in the city, which has long grappled with pollution and last year gained notoriety for the dangerous blanket of haze that enveloped the area.By having access to real-time data about Beijings air quality, authorities will be able to take steps to either curb pollution or alert citizens more efficiently.IBMs effort also seeks to more accurately predict Chinas energy needs to help it draw more from renewable sources and curb carbon emissions.Chinas Supreme Court has set up a special tribunal to deal with environmental cases amid rising public discontent over pollution.Officials said last week that the number of overseas tourists visiting Chinas capital fell by 10 percent last year compared to 2012, with air pollution blamed for the decline.

Tablets to overtake PCs by 2015: survey

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WASHINGTON (AFP) - Tablet computers will outsell personal computers by 2015 globally in another sign of the shifting tech landscape, a survey showed Monday.A report by the research firm Gartner said that the shift comes despite a cooling of the tablet market in 2014 and some stability in PC sales, due to upgrades of aging devices.The research firm said it expects total PC sales this year of 308 million units, with some growth in ultramobiles offsetting declines in traditional desktop and laptop purchases.For 2014, PC sales will still hold a lead over tablets -- with sales expected of 256 million units. But by 2015, tablet sales will hit 320 million to 316 million for PCs, it sales.The prediction came in a report which said total device sales including PCs, tablets and mobile phones hit 2.4 billion units this year.Gartner analysts said the tablet market is cooling a bit, with growth slowing to 23.9 percent this year, around half the pace of 2013. The PC market meanwhile is seeing relative stability -- with a decline expected of 2.9 percent after a 9.5 percent drop last year.Gartner analyst Ranjit Atwal said PC sales are being helped by upgrades and replacements of aging devices.This year, we anticipate nearly 60 million professional PC replacements in mature markets, he said.Sales of mobile phones are expected to reach 1.9 billion units in 2014, a 3.1 percent increase -- with smartphones accounting for two-thirds of the total.Taking into account all the devices, Google Android is expected to represent around half of all sales -- 1.16 billion, Gartner said. Windows devices will account for 333 million while Apples iOS and MacOS will total 271 million, the report said.

IDPs rendering great sacrifices for elimination of terrorism: Pervaiz Rashid

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ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Federal Minister for Information Pervaiz Rashid has said that the entire nation stands with the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) who have rendered great sacrifices for elimination of terrorism from the country.Talking to newsmen after the meeting of Senate Standing Committee on Information, Pervaiz Rashid said that the IDPs were facing some difficulties due to intensity of weather in Bannu.He said that every possible facility is being provided to the Internally Displaced People of North Waziristan.Pervaiz said said displaced people are getting themselves registered in a large number.The minister said that the government was providing financial assistance to each IDPs family equal to the average income of other Pakistanis.He said that the IDPs would be relocated to their hometowns in North Waziristan after the operation.Responding to a question, Pervaiz Rashid said that there was no scandal of the government after one year and there was no reality in reports of differences within the cabinet members.Responding to another question, the minister said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan was engaged in politics of non issues.He said the PTI chief should go to the Parliament if he wanted electoral reforms and amendments in laws and constitution and play his role in electoral reforms committee.

Chaudhry Nisar says rumours about grouping in PML (N) are baseless

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ISLAMABAD: (Dunya News) Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) leader and Federal Minister of Interior, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has termed all the rumours about differences among the party ranks as baseless. Nisar said that he enjoyed cordial relations with all the cabinet members. “I have great relations with everyone, not only the cabinet members but the entire parliamentary party”, said Ch Nisar Ali Khan. Ch Nisar expressed surprise over the rumours and said that it was impossible for him to think about his personal matters at a time when the country was going through such troubled times.Chaudhry Nisar also said that he never had any differences with the party leadership and all the rumours about such differences bore no substance. He further said that he could not be upset with anyone for interfering in his ministry as nobody could try interfering in his ministry in the first place. He said that his meeting with the Chief Minister Punjab Shehbaz Sharif and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was only for discussing the political and administrative issues in the country and not for anything related to his personal relations with anyone in the party. He especially mentioned that he had no differences with Finance Minister Ishaq Dar which was being speculated in the media.Previously it was reported by various sources that Nisar had some differences with the party leadership. It was reported that the Interior Minister was looking for other political options than PML (N). Some sources even claimed that the party was divided into three groups while Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan headed the strongest group out of the three. Though all these were rumours, what PML (N) leaders confirmed was that there was a slight difference of opinion between the party leaders on certain issues. Chaudhry Abid Sher Ali had said that though Nisar shared a different opinion on certain issues, rest of it was plain speculation by some media circles and that party had no grouping within its ranks.Chief Minister Punjab Mian Shehbaz Sharif had wooed Nisar back in by meeting him twice in Rawalpindi. On Thursday (3-7-2014) evening CM brought Ch Nisar Ali to Lahore along with him and a meeting between Prime Minister and the PML (N) stalwart took place next day. It was reported after the meeting by Dunya News that all Nisar’s grievances were removed by the party leader.Interior Minister, while talking to media in Islamabad today, said that he shared great relations with the party leadership and if someone was trying to spread rumours about the split in the party, he did not deserve to be responded to.
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