Friday 10 October 2014

Dunya TV

Dunya TV

Karachi: Arms, explosive recovered during search operation

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KARACHI (Dunya News) – According to details, a large quantity of arms and explosive material was recovered from a house during a search operation conducted by Rangers in PIB Colony of Friday.The sources said that dozens of suspects were also arrested during the search operation.On the other hand, gang war accused hurled hand grenades at Rangers and police in Afshani Gali in Lyari when they were busy in seach operation. SHO Kalakot and an officer of Rangers were injured in the attack.In a separate development, police arrested two dacoits from Sachal area and recovered arms from their possession. Some unidentified persons shot dead a man in Saeedabad area.

Uch Sharif: 3 militants killed in police encounter

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UCH SHARIF (Dunya News) – According to details, three militants of banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, with the help of their accomplices, had managed to escape from police custody on Thursday. A heavy contingent of police launched a search operation to nab the culprits. The terrorists came face to face with police in Bakhari area near Uch Sharif where they were killed in exchange of fire with police. The deceased were identified as Qari Nazir, Ahsanullah Fahad and Ghulam Hussain.

Puerto Rico court rules for bank in $230M tax case

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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) A court in Puerto Rico has ruled that a deal calling for the U.S. territorys government to repay $230 million to one of the islands biggest banks is valid.The ruling issued late Friday by the Court of First Instance aims to resolve a lengthy financial feud between the government and Doral Financial Corp.Doral Bank had argued it was owed a $230 million refund in overpaid taxes. The government originally agreed the bank had the right to request the refund but then sought to back out of the deal.Doral officials are welcoming the court ruling, but Puerto Ricos Treasury Department says it will appeal.The ruling comes as Puerto Rico struggles with $73 billion in public debt and enters its eighth year in recession.

Nielsen admits to errors in TV measurement

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NEW YORK (AP) The Nielsen company on Friday admitted to errors dating back to March in its measurement of television viewing, statistics that serve as the foundation for billions of dollars in advertising spending for the entire broadcast industry.The company blamed a software glitch for errors that, industry officials said, mistakenly credited ABC for viewing that was in reality spread across all of the broadcast networks. Nielsen described the errors as minuscule, but the extent will become better known next week when the company issues corrected ratings for the first week of the television season.Nielsen executives said the errors only became apparent in the past few weeks when the beginning of a new television season meant more people were tuning in.The differences are small enough that those of us who look at these numbers every day and live by them didnt notice a difference, said Patricia McDonough, Nielsen senior vice president for planning policy and analysis.The mistakes came up in adjustments Nielsen makes to its ratings each day between an early morning estimate of viewers and a more complete accounting that is released late in the afternoon. The morning estimate doesnt account for schedule changes in individual markets and sometimes doesnt assign some market results to individual networks.It was discovered that all of the unassigned viewing was mistakenly being credited to ABC, making that networks afternoon viewership estimates consistently higher than those reported earlier in the day.CBS research chief David Poltrack said his network became suspicious upon looking at ratings for Dancing with the Stars on Sept. 22. Two big ABC affiliates, in New York and Chicago, carried the Monday Night Football game that night between the Chicago Bears and New York Jets instead of Dancing. When Nielsen adjusted its ratings to account for two large markets that did not carry Dancing, it stood to reason that the shows ratings would drop with the more detailed afternoon accounting.Instead, the Dancing With the Stars afternoon numbers went up. CBS began noticing a pattern of ABC ratings being adjusted upward in the afternoon and called it to Nielsens attention, Poltrack said.Its unclear whether the errors are significant enough to impact advertising spending, which is based on Nielsens estimates of how many people are watching individual shows. Nielsen said that in more than 98 percent of programs, the difference was 0.05 of a ratings point or lower.More significantly, the error rocks the industrys confidence in Nielsen, making networks wonder if the company is paying close enough attention to its basic research at a time it is launching new initiatives to measure viewership on mobile devices or online video, Poltrack said.Why is it that Nielsen didnt discover this? Poltrack said. Why did we have to discover it?Nielsen Global President Steve Hasker said the company was already reviewing the potential problem before a network called attention to it.Our entire industry relies upon Nielsen for accuracy and veracity, and we hope that they can quickly resolve this issue, said ABC spokesman Kevin Brockman. He said ABC is confident that even corrected numbers will illustrate the networks positive momentum this season. The networks ratings this season are consistently higher than last year.Networks will be scrutinizing the revamped numbers to see, for example, if ABCs reported victory over NBC in the evening news ratings, for the first time in five years, holds up.Nielsen said its glitch does not affect the companys estimate of overall TV viewing, only the network to which that viewing is credited. It does not affect the companys ratings of cable networks.

Kmart becomes latest retailer hit by data theft

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NEW YORK (AP) Sears Holdings Corp. announced late Friday that it detected a data breach at its Kmart stores that started last month and that certain customers credit and debit card accounts may have been hacked.The data theft at Kmart is the latest in a string of incidents that have hit several big retailers, including Target, Supervalu and Home Depot. For the Hoffman Estates, Illinois-based parent company, however, the breach comes at a time when its struggling with losses and sales declines as it fights to stay relevant with shoppers.Sears Holdings, which also operates Sears stores, says that Kmarts information technology department detected on Thursday that its payment data systems had been breached. But it couldnt provide the number of affected cards. However, it said that it was able to remove the malware. It also noted that based on a forensic investigation to date, no personal information, debit cards, PIN numbers, email address, and social security information were obtained by the hackers. And theres no evidence that Kmart.com shoppers were affected.Sears says Kmart immediately launched a full investigation and is working with a leading security firm. It added that its also working closely with federal law enforcement authorities and banking partners in this ongoing investigation. Kmart is also implementing further advanced software to protect customers information.The company said that it will be providing free credit monitoring protection for those customers who shopped with a credit or debit card in its Kmart stores during the month of September through Thursday. It also emphasized that customers have no liability for any unauthorized charges if they report them in a timely manner, according to the policies of most credit card companies. Sears said that the most up-to-date information will be available on its website, kmart.com and customers can contact its customer care center at 888-488-5978.The announcement comes a few weeks after Home Depot, the nations largest home improvement chain, said that a data breach that lasted for months at its stores in the U.S. and Canada affected 56 million debit and credit cards. Thats far more than a pre-Christmas 2013 attack at Target Corp., which compromised 40 million credit and debit cards.The size of the theft at Home Depot trails only that of TJX Companies heist of 90 million records disclosed in 2007.Targets high-profile breach pushed banks, retailers, and credit card companies to increase security by speeding the adoption of microchips in U.S. credit and debit cards. Supporters say chip cards are safer, because unlike magnetic strip cards that transfer a credit card number when they are swiped at a point of sale terminal, chip cards use a one-time code that moves between the chip and the retailers register.

Ebola toll passes 4,000 cases worldwide

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Madrid (AFP) - The death toll from Ebola has passed 4,000, the World Health Organization said Friday, while a Madrid nurse was fighting for her life and authorities worldwide tried to prevent panic over the deadly disease.The WHO said 4,033 people have died from Ebola as of October 8 out of a total of 8,399 registered cases in seven countries. The sharp rise in deaths came as the UN said aid pledges to fight the outbreak have fallen well short of the $1 billion (800 million euros) needed.Beyond west Africa, where almost all the deaths have occurred, fears grew about the worst-ever Ebola epidemic.From Australia to Zimbabwe, and Macedonia to Spain, people who showed signs of fever or had recent contact with Ebola victims were whisked into isolation units or ordered to stay in their homes.Authorities warned that hoaxes could trigger panic as a man was taken off a US flight by a bio-hazard team after he sneezed and reportedly said, I have Ebola. You are all screwed.Serious concerns remained in Spain over how the virus could have spread in the countrys main isolation hospital.Healthcare workers told AFP the quarantine floor of Carlos III hospital in Madrid, where 44-year-old nurse Teresa Romero was infected, was shut last year as a result of spending cuts and only re-opened for two missionaries flown back from Africa with the disease in August.Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy visited the hospital, where Romero, who caught the haemorrhagic fever while caring for the missionaries, was said to be in a stable but serious condition on Friday.Doctors there took in seven more patients for observation late Thursday. Romeros husband and 12 other people, most of them medical staff, were also under observation, though a male nurse had been discharged, the hospital said.- Ebola staff stressed -In a sign of the stress at the hospital, staff did not show up for work on Friday.There are fewer staff signing up to help, said one nurse caring for Romero, Charly Manuel Torres, referring to voluntary extra cover at the hospital.We are very stressed. We are working under a lot of pressure.The United Nations and leaders of the Ebola-stricken nations of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone pleaded for greater help for the frontline of the disease in Africa.UN Deputy Secretary General Jan Eliasson said only a quarter of the one billion dollars sought to combat the disease had been pledged. He appealed for doctors, nurses and other healthcare personnel to come forward.His comments echoed a plea on Thursday from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon who said resources to support the fight must be increased 20-fold.Cases are growing exponentially, Ban said. Do not wait for consultation. Just take action.We have to work now so that it is not the worlds next AIDS, CDC Director Tom Frieden warned at the meeting.I would say that in the 30 years Ive been working in public health, the only thing like this has been AIDS, he said, adding that there was a long fight ahead.But in Liberia, where the official death toll was put at 2,316 by the WHO on Friday, the government said it had banned journalists from Ebola clinics, arguing it was to protect patients privacy.The move came as nurses at the largest government Ebola clinic in the capital Monrovia staged a go slow to demand hazard pay, defying a request by UN health officials to avoid industrial action during the crisis.- Alerts abound -In France a public building was briefly evacuated in a Paris suburb on Thursday when an African man felt ill. Earlier, the arrival of a group of schoolchildren from Guinea had sparked panic at a French school. Ebola was ruled out in both cases.Macedonia quarantined people who had come into contact with a Briton who died on Thursday after exhibiting Ebola-like symptoms.The US, Canada and Britain boosted screening at major airports.The Moroccan government called for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations to be postponed due to the epidemic.The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicted the number of cases could mount to 1.4 million by January unless strong measures are taken to contain the disease.

Clinton papers on Lewinsky, others released

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WASHINGTON (AP) - The White House strategy to defend President Bill Clinton against the political fallout of his affair with intern Monica Lewinsky is detailed in documents the National Archives released Friday, part of a batch of records that might shed light on painful chapters in Hillary Rodham Clintons life as she ponders another bid for the presidency.The papers include lists of talking points, questions prepared for media interviews and efforts to defend the president against impeachment, part of 10,000 pages of records being released from the Clinton administration.Many records involving Lewinsky are redacted, but one document sheds light on her job: Lewinsky sent an official request to hang a picture of Clinton, signing a telecommunications bill, in a White House legislative affairs office. Behind the scenes, Clinton officials were adamant that they were not trying to discredit Lewinsky.There is no evidence whatsoever that the White House was directing or involved in any campaign against her, Clinton aide Sidney Blumenthal wrote in a January 1999 memo.The papers touch on the Whitewater investigation into Bill and Hillary Clintons land dealings in Arkansas, the 1993 death of Deputy White House Counsel Vincent Foster and pardons Bill Clinton granted in the final hours as president.The papers show that the Republican-led investigation into Fosters suicide infuriated the White House, which tried to recruit bestselling author William Styron to write a piece critical of the probe. Clinton communications specialists even drafted a piece for the novelist and author of a memoir of his own depression. It is unclear if the piece was ever published.With these documents the National Archives will have released about 30,000 pages of papers since February. Both the Obama White House and the Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock, Arkansas, have signed off on their release.In addition to the 1990s-era events, the papers touch on Elena Kagan, now a Supreme Court justice, who as a White House counsel defended Bill Clinton in the lawsuit brought by ex-Arkansas state employee Paula Jones. Clintons testimony for the Jones lawsuit, in which he denied a sexual relationship with Lewinsky, led to his impeachment in 1998. The House approved two articles of impeachment against Clinton, but he was acquitted by the Senate.In one document, an aide notes then Maryland Gov. Parris Glendening, a Democrat, explained why he felt he needed to distance himself from Clinton.Hillary Clintons influence in the White House is also expected to be explored in the papers, from her role on Clintons unsuccessful health care overhaul plan to her 2000 Senate campaign in New York. Bill Clinton left office in January 2001.Past installments have offered an unvarnished look at Bill Clintons two terms, detailing his unsuccessful attempt to change the health care system, Republicans sweeping victories in the 1994 midterm elections and the shaping of his wifes public image.Hillary Clinton, who went on to serve as a senator from New York and as President Barack Obamas secretary of state, now is a powerful advocate for Democrats in the midterm elections and the leading Democratic prospect for president in 2016. The possibility of a presidential campaign has heightened interest in the documents by media organizations, political opposition researchers and historians.

Tensions high as more protests planned in Missouri

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ST. LOUIS (AP) - Tensions were high Friday as the St. Louis region prepared for whats expected to be four days of large-scale protests and marches over the fatal shooting of a black 18-year-old by a white police officer events being held in the wake of a similar fatal police shooting.Several civil rights organizations are joining together to host protests through Monday, starting with a Friday afternoon rally outside St. Louis County prosecutor Bob McCullochs office. A march through downtown St. Louis is planned for Saturday.Protesters will continue calling for charges against Darren Wilson, the white Ferguson officer who shot the unarmed Michael Brown on Aug. 9 in the St. Louis suburb. A state grand jury is hearing evidence but not expected to decide until next month. The Justice Department has opened a civil rights investigation.Black leaders in St. Louis also want the Justice Department to investigate the fatal shooting of Vonderrit D. Myers by a white St. Louis officer on Wednesday night. Police say Myers shot at the officer, but Myers parents say he was unarmed. The officers name has not been released.St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson said police are prepared for the protests.These groups come together for the right reasons to have their voices heard, Dotson said. Its our job as law enforcement, regardless of the message, to protect them. Its when the agitators come in to try and take advantage of the stage thats been created that we have problems.Hundreds of people gathered late Thursday to protest Myers death. At one point officers used pepper spray to force the crowd back. St. Louis police spokeswoman Schron Jackson said one officer was struck in the arm by a brick someone threw. Eight protesters were arrested, including five for unlawful assembly.The officer was off-duty and working neighborhood patrol for the private firm GCI Security when shooting Myers.Jackson said he was wearing his police uniform and carrying his department-issued weapon.Dotson said the officers suspicion was aroused when Myers and two other males started to run but stopped. Once the officer made a U-turn, the three decided to run.The officer chased them, and he and Myers got into a physical altercation. Dotson said Myers pointed a gun at the officer and began shooting.Ballistic evidence showed Myers fired three shots before his gun jammed, Dotson said. Police said they recovered the 9 mm gun, which was reported stolen on Sept. 26.The officer responded by firing off 17 rounds, the chief said. Preliminary autopsy results show a shot to the head killed Myers.Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce said an assistant U.S. attorney will work with her office so that both state and federal laws can be reviewed. She offered no timeline on the investigation.Online court documents show that Myers was free on bond when he was killed. He had been charged with the unlawful use of a weapon, a felony, and misdemeanor resisting arrest in June.

Ebola scares give Spain bad case of jitters

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Madrid (AFP) - Nurses are staying off work, foreigners are flying home and children are missing out on party invitations as fear of infection by deadly Ebola mounts in Spain, fuelled by online hoaxes.We are very stressed, said Charly Manuel Torres, one of the nurses caring for Teresa Romero, the Madrid nurse who became the first person to catch the disease outside Africa.Our families say to us: Are you sure youre alright? Sure youre not going to get infected? Wash yourself carefully, Torres said.Staff at the Carlos III hospital where Romero is being treated are at the centre of concerns that she may have spread the virus to others.If you work at Carlos III, you cant go anywhere. Your kids dont get invited to birthday parties and that it is tough, added Elena Moral, a spokeswoman for the public sector workers union CSI-F.Roberto Tornamira, of Spains biggest union UGT, said cleaners were nervous about going into rooms in a hospital in the Alcorcon district where Romero spent a few hours before being transferred to Carlos III.Work inspectors suspended cleaning in the Alcorcon hospital after they found cleaners working without face masks, Tornamira said.In Spain we love kissing each other on the cheek, but now people are doing that less, he added.Paloma Parrilla, a spokeswoman for the SAE nurses union, said staff are worried because we have seen that there have been failings in the protection system.Some people are refusing to do any work and some arent even turning up, she said. It is natural because we are human.- Hoaxes on the web -Hoaxes and false rumours have fuelled the anxiety, teeming online and via WhatsApp, a mobile phone messaging service highly popular in Spain.Hoaxes about Ebola are continuing via WhatsApp, warned the Guardia Civil national police force in a message on its Twitter account.Seek information from trustworthy media and do not spread panic.The force cited an example of a fake news article talking of a new case of infection in southern Madrid.The jitters have yet to hit tour companies and airlines, which said they had not noticed an increase in cancellations nor heard major concerns from tourists.That was reassuring, for the time being, for Spain, which relies on tourism for more than a tenth of its economic output.But some foreigners living in Spain got infected by the fear.I decided to leave because of the infected patient, said Sarah Anderhofstadt, a German student of 23, studying at a Madrid university under the Erasmus foreign exchange programme.Anderhofstadt said she was particularly sensitive to news of the nurses infection on Monday because her own father died of an infectious disease.She has only been in Madrid since September but on Friday she was due to fly back to her home town near Munich, hoping to return in a few weeks.On Monday night I couldnt sleep. It affected me really personally. My mother is going crazy. She leaves 50 messages a day on my voicemail, she said.Two of her friends, a Polish and an Italian student, have also bought tickets to fly home.If there are no new cases in two or three weeks, I will come back, because I love Erasmus and I was really keen to come here, Anderhofstadt said.But now I feel a bit paranoid. Its best that I go home and come back when the situation has calmed down a bit, and above all when I have calmed down myself.

Haiti road accident kills 16

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PORT-AU-PRINCE (AFP) - Sixteen people were killed and about 30 injured in Haiti, authorities said Friday, after a commercial bus carrying passengers and merchandise plunged into a ravine.The bus was carrying several dozen passengers at the time of the accident in the town of Saint-Michel, about 30 miles from the capital Port-au-Prince.There are many people with head fractures. People are in shock, regional civil protection leader Raymonde Jourdain told AFP.Last month, at least 23 people, including an infant, died in a similar accident when a bus hurtled down a hill and into a ravine in the coastal town of Petit-Goave.

Eurozone pressed over growth during IMF meet

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Washington (AFP) - The worlds economic policy elite kept up pressure on the eurozone Friday to fight off stagnation, with Germany under the gun to support more spending to spark growth.But Berlin continued to fend off pressure to allow a loosening of budget constraints across the struggling euro area, saying it would be foolish to sacrifice the gains made in improving government finances.Finance ministers and central bank chiefs from around the world, in Washington for the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, voiced strong worries that the eurozone economy was stalling and on the edge of a new recession.Underscoring their concern, markets continued to plummet. European shares, measured by the Euro Stoxx 50 index, fell 1.4 percent Friday for a loss of 3.7 percent over a week. Wall Streets S&P 500 index sank 2.1 percent Friday, for a 3.1 percent weekly loss.The European economy, especially the eurozone, is facing stronger headwinds than we had expected during our spring meetings, said Poul Thomsen, head of the IMFs European department.Domestic demand is recovering too slowly, and external demand has also disappointed, he said.An extended period of very low inflation... will make it much more difficult for those countries that have to reduce still-excessive public debt burdens, and households and companies to clean their balance sheets.Earlier this week the IMF pared its growth forecast for the eurozone to 0.8 percent this year and 1.3 percent in 2015, but also said there was a 40 percent chance that the region could fall back into recession.European Central Bank President Mario Draghi admitted that slowing demand was a factor in pulling down inflation, which is now at 0.3 percent and seen as a clear indicator of the risk of the eurozone contracting.Most attention has turned to Germany, with Berlin being urged to ease its objections to greater spending on growth- and job-producing activities like infrastructure development even if it means higher debt loads for eurozone governments.- Germany resists spending push -Traditionally a backer of strong government budgetary discipline, even the IMF this week stressed that more borrowing and deficit-spending by states aimed at strengthening growth is desirable.But German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said it would be foolish to put at risk the gains made in stabilizing public finances across the eurozone.And anyway there is not much to be achieved in terms of strengthening long-term growth, he told journalists in Washington.Germany appeared to have some support for its emphasis on restructuring rather than spending as a path back to strength for the eurozone.Top finance officials of the G20 group of industrial powers, also meeting in Washington Friday, focused on reforms as the solution.Theres a recognition that Europe can get better, but it does need to make the decision to carry out these structural reforms, said Australias Treasurer Joe Hockey, whose country holds the G20 presidency.But Germany remained under pressure to allow some ground for stimulus.The malaise in Europe was reflected in new ratings agency actions Friday. S&P lowered its outlook for France to negative, implying a downgrade could come within months if its situation does not turn around.And S&P cut Finlands top-grade AAA rating as well.While Europes difficulties were seen as the greatest threat, the IMF-World Bank meetings kept the focus on other looming perils for the global economy: turmoil in Ukraine and the Middle East, and the still-uncontrolled Ebola epidemic in West Africa, which has killed about 3,900 people in just a few months.World Bank President Jim Yong Kim faulted the world community for a slow reaction to the epidemic, which the Bank warned could cause nearly $33 billion in economic damage to the countries of West Africa next year if not brought under control by December.The stakes of this effort in human lives and economic growth are incredibly high and grow higher every day we delay in ramping up our response, he said.

Hong Kong democracy protesters digging in for long haul

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Hong Kong (AFP) - Thousands of pro-democracy supporters took to Hong Kongs streets Friday night after protest leaders implored them to dig in for the long haul following the collapse of talks with the government.The mass rally attracting an estimated 15,000 drew the biggest crowd of the week, with numbers swelling as the night progressed and some demonstrators arriving with food, tents and bedding as the protests moved into their third week.Crunch negotiations between protesters and Beijing-backed city officials were scheduled for Friday but fell apart Thursday after the government pulled out, blaming protesters for threatening to expand their campaign.Demonstrators are calling for Beijing to grant the former British colony full democracy and for the citys Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying to resign.Under plans unveiled by China in August, Hong Kongs citizens will be able to vote for Leungs successor in 2017, but only two-to-three vetted candidates will be allowed to stand -- something detractors have dismissed as a fake democracy.As Friday evening progressed the crowd of demonstrators grew from around 7,000 to 10,000 and then to more than an estimated 15,000 at the main protest site, a stretch of highway opposite the city governments headquarters, an AFP reporter on the scene said.During the rally pro-democracy leaders gave speeches, protesters chanted Keep occupying and sang the Cantonese version of a revolution anthem from hit musical Les Miserables Do You Hear The People Sing?.- The government must talk -Activists are banking on mustering significant numbers over the weekend and also potentially expanding their sit-ins to keep pressure on the government.I miss my bed at home but to struggle for democracy I call for everyone here to continue staying here, Occupy Central co-founder Benny Tai said.The crowds were smaller than the tens of thousands attending last week but the protest has begun to take on an air of permanence, with tents, portable showers and even the occasional bed.I will continue to stay here until the government talks to us, Yuki Law, a 21-year-old nursing student told AFP.The government has never responded to the citizens so we want to support the movement until the government has a real response for us, 27-year-old human resources officer Vincy Chan told AFP.She said the governments refusal to engage had backfired and brought more people out to protest.Student leaders Friday insisted they were still open to finding a middle ground with the government but vowed no let up in their occupation of parts of Hong Kong despite growing public anger over the disruption they have caused.Hong Kong Federation of Students general secretary Alex Chow told the crowd: A lot of people tell us to give up and to go but when we look back at history 10 to 20 years from now we will see that Hong Kong people are making a new history.Come to occupy the road outside the public headquarters, come bring your tents to show our persistence on long term occupy action, student leader Joshua Wong told supporters.But if Hong Kongs leadership were rattled by the prospect of renewed large-scale protests they showed little sign of it.City officials said Friday Chief Secretary Carrie Lam -- who had been due to lead the talks with students -- will leave for Guangzhou on Saturday on official business while Leung will head there Sunday.- Running out of patience -Analysts warned that the collapse of the talks pushes the confrontation between democracy protesters and the government into a dangerous phase, with neither side willing to back down.But Michael DeGolyer, a professor at Hong Kong Baptist University, said a violent reaction from police was unlikely given it could reinvigorate the protest movement.Theyre not going to do the martyrdom thing. That would be a completely unnecessary act of dominance, he said.Officers, however, hinted they might try and dismantle some of the barricades put up by protesters.With patience among many Hong Kong residents running out following days of disruption, pressure is mounting on both Leung and the protest leaders to solve the stalemate.Leungs opponents were given a major boost this week when details emerged that he had kept secret large payments from an Australian company while he was in office.The Beijing-backed chief executive has denied any wrongdoing, saying he was under no obligation to declare the earnings and that he did not work for any company while in office.But opposition lawmakers have threatened to bring impeachment proceedings against him while the citys top prosecutor will probe the allegations after a complaint was lodged with Hong Kongs anti-corruption watchdog.Observers say Leungs bosses in China show no signs of dropping their support for the embattled leader.

Microsoft CEO fuels debate on women in tech

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Washington (AFP) - Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadellas gaffe over women, pay raises and karma comes as the US tech industry is facing up to questions over diversity and gender equality.Nadella, named CEO at the tech giant in April, swiftly backtracked from his comments in which he suggested working women should trust karma for pay raises.I answered that question completely wrong, Nadella said in a memo to staff, aiming to quell a firestorm over his comments at a conference on Thursday.Yet Nadella touched a nerve at a time when Silicon Valley faces renewed scrutiny over the gender pay gap, and a lack of diversity in both the workforce and top management.The tech sector is still a non-traditional occupation for women, said Ariane Hegewisch, study director at the Washington-based Institute for Womens Policy Research, which monitors issues on women and employment.Theres not a lot of evidence that karma has been friendly to women in this area.Research earlier this year by Joint Venture Silicon Valley, a California think tank, found that men in the region who hold graduate or professional degrees earn 73 percent more than women with the same educational qualifications. The gap was 40 percent for those with a bachelor’s degree.An Equal Pay Project campaign launched this week calculated that American women over the course of their careers are paid $435,000 less than male counterparts, adding up to a staggering $29 trillion in aggregate.In recent weeks, major tech firms have been looking at the issue with diversity reports that examine the composition of the workforce.Microsoft reported earlier this month that its staff was only 29 percent women. At Google, the figure was 30 percent. For Facebook, the percentage of women was 31 percent, but just 15 percent in technical jobs.- The geek culture -According to research from the National Center for Women and Information Technology, citing census data, women obtained 18 percent of computer science degrees in 2012, down from 37 percent in 1985. The report said women held 25 percent of jobs in the technology industry, down from 37 percent in 1990.Some blame the male-dominated geek culture.Researcher Catherine Ashcraft of the University of Colorado said that despite a wealth of educational efforts to promote girls participation in computing, there has been little increase in the number of women in the field.She said these programs often fall short because they take a narrow view of their purpose, ignoring important factors that shape girls identities and education/career choices -- not least broader narratives around gender, race, and sexuality.The tech sector has its share of well-known female CEOs -- Marissa Mayer at Yahoo, Meg Whitman at Hewlett-Packard, and co-CEO Safra Catz at Oracle -- despite the small proportion in the industry overall.Hegewisch said that the tech sector has become in some ways more difficult for women since the 1980s.The geek culture has gotten stronger and the work-all-night culture has gotten stronger, so this might be pushing women out, Hegewisch told AFP.She said women remain underrepresented in just about every segment of the tech industry, in contrast to some other fields like finance.Women might study math or science, but they might go into general business, because the working conditions and culture (in tech) are not that welcoming, she said.Nadellas comments came coincidentally during an on-stage discussion at the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing conference in Arizona.The Microsoft chief stunned the audience by saying that women, instead of asking for a raise should just trust that the system will actually give you the right raises as you go along.Nadella later scrambled to damp down the controversy, in comments in Twitter and in a memo to Microsoft staff.But Hegewisch said that the fact that Nadella made the slip-up at a conference for women in computing suggests he lacks a grip on the issues.It shows he doesnt really have a clue about the debate, she said. And it shows just how far we have to go.

Malala in peace move after Nobel win with India's Satyarthi

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Oslo (AFP) - Pakistans Malala Yousafzai, who became the youngest ever winner of the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, made a high-level peacemaking move after sharing the award with Indias Kailash Satyarthi for championing childrens rights.The 17-year-old girls education activist -- who heard of her win during a chemistry lesson at her school in Birmingham, England -- invited the prime ministers of oft-warring India and Pakistan to the ceremony in Oslo in December when she and the 60-year-old Indian activist will receive the award.The award is for all the children who are voiceless, whose voices need to be heard, she told a press conference held at the end of the school day so she wouldnt miss class.Malala has lived in Britain since she was brought there for treatment after being shot in the head in 2012 by the Taliban near her home in Pakistans Swat Valley for her advocacy of the right of girls to go to school.The selection of such a young winner was bound to make headlines, but it also came amid news that 17 civilians died in the worst violence in decades in the disputed Kashmir region between India and Pakistan.Malala did not miss the significance of the moment, paying tribute to her co-winner anti-child labour activist Satyarthi and inviting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif to celebrate their joint win.The Norwegian Nobel Committee said the duo had been chosen for their struggle against the repression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education.Through her heroic struggle Malala has become a leading spokesperson for girls’ rights to education, the committee saidStanding on a box so she could reach the podium, the teenager joked that the Nobel would not help in her exams or in arguments with her young brothers. And she paid emotional tribute to her father who did not clip my wings. I am thank him for letting me fly.- Voice of our heart -Joyful Pakistanis celebrated her receiving the prestigious award in her home town of Mingora with dancing, singing and the sharing of cakes.Ayesha Khalid, who was at school with Malala, said: Its not Malala alone winning this award, the girls of Pakistan have won it...(she) is the light of our eyes and the voice of our heart.She has proved that you cant put a halt to education by blowing up schools.Satyarthi, who founded a consumer campaign in the 1980s to combat child labour in the handmade carpet industry, said he was delighted, calling the Nobel prize recognition of our fight for child rights.The low-profile activist heads the Global March Against Child Labor, a combination of some 2,000 social groups and union organisations in 140 countries. He is credited with helping tens of thousands of children forced into slavery by businessmen, landowners and others to gain their freedom.Something which was born in India has gone global and now we have a global movement against child labour, he told Indian television.- Malala pride of Pakistan -Pakistans premier Sharif called Malala the pride of his country.She has made her countrymen proud. Her achievement is unparallelled and unequalled. Girls and boys of the world should take the lead from her struggle and commitment, he told AFP in a statement.US President Barack Obama also congratulated her, saying he was awe-struck by her courage.The head of the UN educational organization UNESCO praised both winners, saying the awarding of the peace prize sends out a resounding message to the world on the importance of education for building peaceful and sustainable societies.Kailash Satyarthi is a close friend of UNESCO and has been at the forefront of the global movement to end child slavery and exploitative child labour since 1980, UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova said.Malala stands with us in the struggle for universal education, especially for girls, Bokova said.The chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Thorbjoern Jagland, said Malalas youth was not a factor in awarding the prize.Our consideration has been to highlight the young who have stood up... and the old who have worked for years against child labour and for childrens rights, he said.We have noticed that she has received a long line of other prizes.... The most important thing in the fight against extremism is to give young people hope, he added.Since her brush with death, Malala has become an international star. She received a standing ovation in July 2013 for an address to the United Nations General Assembly in which she vowed she would never be silenced.

Djokovic, Federer set up Shanghai semifinal

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SHANGHAI (AP) - Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer set up a rematch of their Wimbledon final with convincing straight-set wins to reach the semifinals of the Shanghai Masters on Friday.The top-ranked Djokovic defeated David Ferrer 6-4, 6-2 to extend his winning streak in China to 28 matches, while Federer played a nearly flawless second set to beat Julien Benneteau of France 7-6 (4), 6-0.It will be the 36th meeting in their rivalry, which has been remarkably close, with Federer taking 18 of their matches and Djokovic 17. The players have split their four matches this year, though Djokovic earned the far biggesr prize with his second Wimbledon trophy in July.There is no clear favorite, Djokovic said. Every time we play against each other, its a thriller.The Serb would seem to have a slight advantage given his recent dominance in China, where he hasnt lost since a semifinal defeat to Federer in Shanghai in 2010. Since then, hes captured the China Open three times, and the Shanghai Masters twice.But Djokovic doesnt believe the court or his sizeable contingent of Serbian-flag-waving Chinese fans will give him an edge.Well, its not like he didnt have a lot of success anywhere he went, including China, he said. He knows how to play here. He has also big support.Djokovic played much better on Friday than he did in the previous round, when he struggled to put away big-hitting Mikhail Kukushkin.He was tested just once against the fifth-seeded Ferrer, while serving for the first set at 5-4. The Spaniard played remarkable defense to fight off three set points, then held two break points for 5-all. He failed to convert either, though, and Djokovic finally ended the tiring, 13-minute game with a drop shot followed by a volley into the open court.Federer, too, played his most solid match of the week against Benneteau. He had 34 winners to only 13 unforced errors, and won nearly all of the points on his first serve (34 of 37).The Swiss star, who will overtake Rafael Nadal to return to No. 2 in the rankings next week, said he has faced Djokovic so many times now, there were no secrets to each others games.Well see how much he can actually do, how much he can neutralize me, and how much I can do with him, he said.But hes playing a great season again. Ill give it the best shot I have. I have a good game at the moment.The other semifinal will feature two veterans playing some of their best tennis Gilles Simon and Feliciano Lopez.Lopez, who knocked out an ailing Rafael Nadal in the second round, defeated Mikhail Youzhny 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 in the quarterfinals.At 33, the Spaniard is having a resurgent year, winning his fourth career title at Eastbourne and rising to No. 16 in the rankings, one off his career high. Hes also a three-time semifinalist in Shanghai, though hes never advanced to the final.Simon upset sixth-seeded Tomas Berdych 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-0. It was his second top-10 win of the week after beating fourth-seeded Stan Wawrinka in the second round.Asked the last time he managed to do that, he said, I dont know. You tell me. Maybe never.Lopez has won two of their three previous meetings, though both matches were on grass.
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