Monday 4 August 2014

Dunya TV

Dunya TV

Tennis: Ivanovic re-enters top 10 after Washington quarter

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PARIS (AFP) - Former French Open champion Ana Ivanovic climbed back into the top 10 of the latest WTA rankings, released on Monday.Serena Williams maintained her number one position ahead of China's Li Na, after winning last week's tournament in Stanford.Ivanovic, who last week reached the quarter-finals in Stanford, moved up one place as former number one Victoria Azarenka dropped out of the top 10.The other movers in the top 10 were German Angelique Kerber and Canada's Eugenie Bouchard who swapped places in seventh and eighth respectively.

Cycling: Vakoc wins Polish 2nd stage, takes overall lead

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WARSAW (AFP) - Czech Petr Vakoc won the second stage of the Tour of Poland on Monday to move into the overall lead.The 22-year-old, winner of the Tour of Slovakia last year, ditched his two Polish fellow escape companions in the last 20km and soloed to victory on the 226km stage from Torun to Warsaw.Australian Michael Matthews took second in a sprint finish 21sec back with Belgian Boris Vallee third.Vakocs win left him 27sec ahead of Belarussian Yauheni Hutarovich, who started the day in yellow having won Sundays opening stage, in the overall standings with Russian Roman Maikin third at 31sec.

Ebola death toll rises to 887: WHO

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GENEVA (AFP) - The World Health Organization said Monday the death toll from the Ebola epidemic in west Africa has now reached 887 after 61 more fatalities recorded at the end of last week.Giving an update on the deadly virus -- the worst Ebola outbreak ever -- the UN health agency said the 61 deaths were reported between last Thursday and Friday in Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.It said there had also been 163 new cases of people infected with the virus in that time, bringing the total number of confirmed and likely cases from the outbreak so far to 1,603.According to the latest WHO tally, which includes both laboratory-confirmed and suspect cases, Guinea saw 13 new cases and 12 deaths last Thursday and Friday, Liberia, 77 new cases and 28 deaths, while Sierra Leone saw 72 new cases and 21 fatalities. One suspect case was also reported in that time in Nigeria.WHO Director General Margaret Chan has warned that the response of some of the affected countries to the epidemic had been woefully inadequate, and that the outbreak has been moving faster than our efforts to control it.Ebola, a form of haemorrhagic fever for which there is no vaccine, causes severe muscular pain, fever, headaches and, in the worst cases, unstoppable bleeding.It has killed around two-thirds of those it has infected since its emergence in 1976, with two outbreaks registering fatality rates approaching 90 percent.The death rate in the current outbreak is 55 percent.

Oil prices up on turmoil in Iraq, Libya

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NEW YORK (AFP) - Oil prices moved higher on Monday following a weekend of turmoil in key petroleum producers Libya and Iraq.US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for September delivery snapped a five-day losing streak, gaining 41 cents to $98.29 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.European benchmark Brent oil for September delivery rose 57 cents to $105.41 a barrel in London.The rally came on continued violence in Libya, where at least 22 more people died in clashes in Tripoli over the weekend, lifting the death toll to 124 since July 13 with more than 500 wounded.Analysts have said the violence threatens efforts to restore oil production in the North African country.Fighting also raged on in Iraq, where Baghdad's air force and Kurdish fighters from Syria joined forces with Iraq's embattled peshmerga to push back jihadists whose latest attacks sent thousands of civilians running for their lives.Sunni militants have also seized two small oilfields in Northern Iraq which a North Oil Company official said had a combined capacity of 20,000 barrels per day.During the entire weekend, the newswires were filled with violence in the Middle East, whether it was Iraq or Libya, said Andy Lipow of Houston energy consultancy Lipow Oil Associates. The combination of these events starts putting a pull on the crude oil price.US oil prices last week sank to six-month lows on concerns about anemic growth in US demand for gasoline during the summer driving season.Lipow said traders remain cautious on US gasoline demand, but that continued violence in key oil producing regions could easily push oil prices back up.

Euro falls ahead of this week's ECB meeting

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NEW YORK (AFP) - The euro fell Monday against the dollar and the Japanese yen, ahead of a European Central Bank meeting later this week.The ECB meeting on Thursday comes amid continued concerns at the low level of inflation in the eurozone.Christopher Vecchio, currency analyst at DailyFX, predicted a cautious tone about eurozone economic conditions in spite of some improving data.Soft inflation expectations are dogging the euro in the near-term, Vecchio said. ECB likely will not announce new stimulus measures, but fresh statements suggesting the need soon for such measures could drive the currency lower, he said.The ECB meeting this week, then, absent of any real action, will at least bring along with it a rather dovish slant from Governor Mario Draghi at the post-meeting press conference, Vecchio said.Kathy Lien, managing director at BK Asset Management, said ECB chief Draghi and other policy makers will maintain a dovish bias and continue to talk about the need for additional stimulus.Draghi could also touch on the eurozone's banking troubles after Portugal enacted a 5.0 billion euro rescue package for Banco Espirito Santo, Lien said.Investors are not convinced that this will be the end of Europe's banking troubles, she wrote.

ICC warns Trent Bridge over sub-standard pitch

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LONDON (AFP) - The International Cricket Council (ICC) officially warned Trent Bridge on Monday after its pitch was rated poor following last month's first Test between England and India.Match referee David Boon reported the playing surface after the match in Nottingham ended in a tame but high-scoring draw.The International Cricket Council has today announced that Trent Bridge has been given an official warning under the ICC Pitch Monitoring Process following the first Test between England and India last month, read a statement from the world governing body.In reaching the verdict, the ICC observed that the pitch did not provide a fair contest between bat and ball throughout, and concluded that the pitch prepared for the match was of an unacceptable standard for Test cricket.The ICC said that the sanction took into account Trent Bridge's history of producing good quality international pitches, that monitoring of the pitch preparation had been appropriate, and that both Nottinghamshire and the England and Wales Cricket Board have pledged to relay the pitch.Murali Vijay and Joe Root both scored centuries in the match, while there were 10 other half-centuries, including by tail-enders Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, twice, and James Anderson.

England set for Viv Richards Stadium return

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LONDON (AFP) - England on Monday released details of their 2015 tour of the West Indies, including a first match at Antiguas Sir Vivian Richards Stadium since their abandoned game there in 2009.In the second Test match at the venue five years ago, the West Indies managed to bowl only 10 balls before the game was called off after the outfield was deemed unsafe due to excess sand.The venue was subsequently banned from hosting international cricket for 12 months, but it staged a Test match against New Zealand last year and three one-day games against England earlier this year.It will now host the first of Englands three Tests against the West Indies on April 13, which will be followed by matches in Grenada and Barbados.We thank the West Indies Cricket Board for their assistance with the organisation of the tour and we know the venues will prove extremely popular with the thousands of cricket lovers who follow England to the Caribbean, said Paul Downton, managing director of the England cricket team.It will also be exciting for many to visit the new venue of Grenada for the first time.

7 including 5 kids die as house collapses in Faisalabad

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FAISALABAD: (Dunya News) – An under-construction house collapsed today in Faisalabad leaving 5 kids among 7 dead. 3 laboureres also got injured in the incident. The deceased included 4 sisters and two twin brothers as well.According to Police, second storey of the house was being constructed in Thekrewala, Faisalabad. The house was owned by a lady named Hameeda Bibi. Hameeda Bibi was giving tuitions to the kids when suddenly ceiling of the second floor fell and the entire house collapsed.When Rescue 1122 teams arrived on the scene and removed debris of the building, Hameeda Bibi, her 17-year-old daughter Shaista, 14-year-old Sana, 10-year-old Saba and 4-year-old Amna had already died. 2 seven-year-old twin brothers Ahsan and Bilal, who had come for taking tuitions, had also given in by then.The tragic incident saddened atmosphere of the area. According to the Rescue team, 3 labourers also got injured in this accident. The injured have been shifted to Allied Hospital, Faisalabad.

National Assembly condemned Israeli strikes on Gaza

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ISLAMABAD (Web Desk) - National Assembly on Monday unanimously condemned Israeli strikes on Gaza and demanded immediate ceasefire and payment of compensation for destruction of infrastructure in Palestinian areas.This House unanimously condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the brutal Israeli strikes against the Palestinian people of Gaza and those abetting this genocide including unarmed civilians and innocent women and children, said a resolution adopted by the House.Israeli attacks have resulted in the loss of precious lives, injuries to thousands, and displacement of large number of people from their homes, causing the people of Pakistan and the Muslim World great pain and anguish, stated the resolution presented to the House by Advisor to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs and National Security.The House also expressed deep concern at the brazen and blatant violation by Israel of Security Council resolutions which have called for immediate suspension of Israeli activities and warned of serious consequences for the region, including likely exacerbation of existing tensions, violence and despair, undermining any chances of achieving durable peace.It expressed heartfelt sympathy for the Palestinian people and unequivocal support for their cause and welcomed the adoption of a resolution by the emergency session of the UN Human Rights Council, launching an independent inquiry into the gross violation of humanitarian and human rights laws in Gaza by Israel.The National Assembly called upon the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to convene an emergency session in order to take effective action to stop Israeli brutality against innocent civilians forthwith and urged UN Security Council to take appropriate action of this issue.The House also called upon the international community to negotiate immediate and unconditional ceasefire in Gaza; require Israel to completely halt its air, ground and naval offensive, remove its forces from the area, and its blockade of Gaza; ensure immediate resumption of negotiations for achieving a comprehensive peace agreement, providing inter-alia for establishment of a viable, geographically contiguous Palestinian state, based on pre 1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its Capital; and compensate for the destruction of the entire infrastructure of Gaza.The House appreciates the action of the Pakistan government to donate US$ one million (Rupees 100 million) to UNRWA for providing material support especially food and medicine to the Palestinian people; and observe July 25, 2014 as a national day of mourning and protest.National Assembly also called upon the Muslim Ummah to focus, in parallel with political initiatives already taken, on direct and tangible support for the affected persons, by providing substantial financial assistance to alleviate their immense suffering and meet their growing humanitarian needs.

Anti-gun former Reagan spokesman Brady dies at 73

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WASHINGTON (AFP) - Former White House spokesman James Brady, who was shot and wounded in a 1981 attempt to assassinate his then boss President Ronald Reagan, has died, his family said Monday. He was 73.In a statement to US news media, the family said Brady --who became a leading advocate of tougher handgun laws after being shot -- had passed away after a series of health issues.We are enormously proud of Jim's remarkable accomplishments -- before he was shot on that fateful day in 1981 while serving at the side of President Ronald Reagan and in the days, months and years that followed, they said.Brady was among four people shot and wounded -- including Reagan himself -- when John Hinckley Jr. attempted to murder the president outside the Washington Hilton hotel on March 30, 1981, only 69 days after he took office.His serious head wound left him with partial paralysis and slurred speech. Unable to return to work, the Illinois native nevertheless retained the title of White House press secretary throughout the Reagan administration.With his wife Sarah, he took a prominent role in efforts to enact tougher handgun laws in the United States, notably through an advocacy group that came to be known as the Brady Campaign.

PTI invites Jamaat-i-Islami to join 'Azadi March'

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ISLAMABAD: (Dunya News) – Vice Chairman Pakistan tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Shah Mehmood Qureshi met Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) Head Maulana Sirajul Haq is Islamabad today. Shah Mehmood invited JI to join PTI’s long march on August 14.Sirajul Haq asked for time to consult other party members. JI Head advised Pakistan Muslim League (N) and the PTI to find a middle way instead of following the politics of conflict. He urged both the parties to solve their matters through talks.Former Finance Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhawa (KPK) government Sirajul Haq said that it would have been better if PTI consulted it before announcing the long march.

Government feels no threat from 'marches': Pervez Rasheed

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ISLAMABAD: (Dunya News) – Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Pervez Rasheed has said that government is not threatened by marches. He said that Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) Chief Dr. Tahirul Qadri did not enjoy public support.Talking to the media today (Monday), Pervez Rasheed said that all administrative measures have been taken to cope with Imran Khan and Tahirul Qadri. “Those who attempt to take law in their hands will be dealt with iron hand”, warned PML-N Senator.The Senator also informed that Punjab Government was reviewing Tahirul Qadri’s statements that he made yesterday (Sunday) during his press conference in Lahore. Pervez Rasheed alleged Tahirul Qadri of trying to incite violence. “Law will take care of Tahirul Qadri”, said the PML-N leader.Pervez Rasheed told that investigations about Dr. Qadri’s money-laundering were underway. “It is the duty of the government to ensure public safety and stop people from violating the law”, Pervez Rasheed said.Federal Minister said that Pervez Musharraf had taken law in his hands so law took action against him. He said that if someone will try to take law in his hands in future, same will happen to him.PMLN Senator informed that administrative measures have been taken to cope with both the marches. He welcomed the protesters to Islamabad saying, ”People are in a mood to picnic, we welcome them in Islamabad and will facilitate them”.

There will be no compromise on national integrity and democracy: Asif Zardari

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LAHORE (Dunya News) – Former President Asif Ali Zardari while in a detailed telephonic conversation ‎with Pervaiz Elahi as well as Chaudhry Shujaat said that there would be no compromise upon national ‎integrity and democracy at any cost whereas Shujaat responded that Azadi march would strengthen ‎democracy.‎Zardari said that protesting is a fundamental democratic right but it should not damage the nation in ‎any way, adding that if the democratic process is derailed and damaged due to the conflict of particular ‎political parties then all the political parties will be held responsible for it.‎On the other hand, Shujaat was of the opinion that Azadi march would further strengthen democracy ‎in Pakistan because the march is not intended against democracy but rather it is aimed against the ‎corrupt government.‎

Nawaz Sharif stops PMLN from 'no-confidence movement' in KPK

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ISLAMABAD: (Dunya News) – Prime Minister of Pakistan Muhammad Nawaz Sharif has forbidden the Pakistan Muslim League (N) members of Khyber Pakhtunkhawa (KPK) provincial assembly to bring ‘No confidence Movement’ against the provincial government of the province.A meeting of senior PML-N leaders was held today in Islamabad which was presided over by the Prime Minister. The meeting was attended by senior party leaders including Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique, Chief Minister Punjab Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif, Hamza Shahbaz Sharif and others.Country’s political situation, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI)’s long march and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT)’s ‘revolution march’ were discussed in the meeting. The participants also discussed how the situation needs to be handled.Nawaz Sharif forbade the Muslim League members of the KPK assembly to bring a no-confidence movement against the KPK government. “We believe in democracy”, said the Prime Minister.PM Nawaz Sharif said that PTI must get chance to complete its tenure and perform as KPK government. He said that PTI has got the mandate in KPK which must be respected.

Ghana seeks IMF bailout after currency plunge currency

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WASHINGTON (AFP) - Ghana has requested aid from the International Monetary Fund to stem a plunge in its currency and close a large fiscal deficit, President John Mahama said Monday.Mahama, in Washington for a US-Africa summit, said his country needs help to make structural adjustments, including to the huge government wage bill, so that it can balance its budget within a few years.The international capital markets... think there is a credibility gap unless you have the support of the IMF, he said. We want to work with them and see how we can turn this deficit around quickly.Mahama did not give any details on how much money the country would seek from the IMF, which normally provides three-year loans while a country rights its finances but also has an emergency Rapid Credit Facility to help governments address sudden financial problems.Once a shining example of economic growth in Africa, Ghana is struggling with high inflation and its currency, the cedi, has slumped 40 percent against the dollar this year.The ultimate objective is to stabilize the cedi in order that domestic prices will be brought under control, Finance Minister Seth Terkper told local Joy FM radio.Ghana has become the second country in sub-Saharan Africa to request help from the IMF this year after Zambia turned to the Washington-based body in June.Despite large oil deposits and a wealth of raw materials such as gold and cocoa, growth has been hit by government overspending and inflation is now running at 15 percent.Analysts at Capital Economics said Accras budget deficit has widened to over 10 percent of economic output because of a sharp rise on current expenditure such as public sector wages and subsidies.The current account deficit has ballooned and now stands at over 12 percent of GDP, despite the ramping up of Ghanas oil exports over the past years.This in turn has led to an increase in public sector debt levels, compounded by recent allegations that the Bank of Ghana is attempting to finance the deficit by printing money, Capital Economics said.- Partners with the IMF -Mahama decided to turn to the IMF on Friday, after long denying Accra needed international assistance, following a crisis meeting with his economic team.In Washington, he said the country is already partners with the IMF and working to make the kind of structural reforms that would likely come with a loan from the Fund.We are going to discuss and see how we can work together to implement changes, he said.Much of what the IMF would prescribe, we are doing already.Terkper said the move would help to restore investors confidence in Ghanas economy.When you stabilize the cedi you are also looking at a situation where investors do see a more predictable economy as they bring their investments into the economy, he said.This will be the first program that we start discussion with the Fund that takes account of our transition into an economy that has become a middle-income country.The first African country to gain freedom from colonial rule, Ghana has seen rapid economic growth since it started exporting gold, cocoa and oil in 2010.But falling prices for the yellow metal, government overspending and difficulties in raising Ghanas oil production beyond 100,000 barrels per day have prompted skepticism among investors and lenders.In March, ratings agency Fitch warned that Ghana could face a credit downgrade due to its rising debts and depreciating currency.
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