Monday 20 October 2014

Dunya TV

Dunya TV

Lahore: Woman jumps from 4th floor along with two kids

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LAHORE (Dunya News) – According to details, a woman named Abida first tossed her two children from window of her 4th storey house and then jumped herself after a domestic dispute with her husband in Faisal Town area of Lahore on Monday, killing her minor son on the spot while injuring herself and her daughter.Rescue workers shifted the dead body and injured to Jinnah Hospital. According to doctors the injured are stated to be in critical condition. Police Have registered a case and started investigation.

Football: Neymar relishing partnership with Messi, Suarez

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MADRID (AFP) - Barcelona forward Neymar is looking forward to welcoming Luis Suarez into his and Lionel Messis star-studded strike partnership when the Uruguayan returns from a four-month ban this weekend.Suarez looks set to make his debut for the Catalans on the biggest stage of all as Barca face Real Madrid for the first time this season at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday.Neymar and Messi have already combined for 17 goals in 10 games so far this season and the Brazilian is convinced For me Messi is the best player in the world and I am happy to be able to play alongside him, said the 22-year-old.But Luis Suarez is among the best too and I am sure he will bring many good things to our team.Before concentrating on the Clasico, Barca welcome Ajax to the Camp Nou on Tuesday in a crucial Champions League clash following the Catalans defeat away to Paris Saint-Germain in their last European outing.It will be a very difficult and a very important match. We always play to win but I believe Ajax to be a great team both in defence and in attack. We will have to work hard to win, added Neymar.We need to think about doing everything possible to beat Ajax and afterwards we can begin to think about Madrid. Ajax are a great team and we are all concentrating on this game.Barca boss Luis Enrique also stressed the importance of not looking ahead to the clash at the Bernabeu, but played down the idea that this could be a vital week in his sides season.We are used to playing every three or four days and the only important game and one in our minds right now is Ajax. The players are aware of how important this match is, he said.I dont have doubts about my team, nor about the game at the Bernabeu independent of the result against Ajax.The sensations at the moment are very good. We have only drawn one game in the league, only lost one in the Champions League, which we didnt deserve to lose.It is not a key week. The key weeks arrive in April and May. It is an interesting week rather than a key one.Enrique is though expected to rotate his side for the visit of the Dutch champions, who have only taken two points from their opening two games in Group F.Sergio Busquets, Ivan Rakitic and Andres Iniesta are all expected to return after being rested in the 3-0 win over Eibar on Saturday.And Marc-Andre ter Stegen could also make his third appearance for the club should Enrique continue his policy of using the German in the Champions League despite Claudio Bravos run of eight clean sheets in La Liga.

New Zealand all out for 230 against South Africa

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MOUNT MAUNGANUI (AFP) - New Zealand were all out for 230 after 45.1 overs in the first one-day international against South Africa at Mount Maunganuis Bay Oval on Tuesday.Luke Ronchi top-scored on 99, contributing to a New Zealand record 10th-wicket partnership of 74 with Trent Boult (21) after the Black Caps lost the toss and were sent in to bat.South Africas attack shared the honours, with Vernon Philander, Morne Morkel, Imran Tahir and Ryan McLaren all taking two wickets apiece.

Iraqi PM in Tehran for crisis talks on IS

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TEHRAN (AFP) - Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi arrived in Tehran late Monday on his first visit to Iran since taking office after the crisis triggered by the advance of Islamic State militants.Iraqi state television said Abadi, whose country remains beset by IS, arrived shortly before midnight for talks with Iranian officials including President Hassan Rouhani about the ongoing battle, which has drawn in US and other international air strikes.IS fighters hold towns just a few miles (kilometres) from the Iranian border, and the Islamic republic has been reported by senior Kurdish officials to have deployed troops inside Iraq.Abadis visit is all the more important given his surprise elevation to the premiership after the removal in August of Nuri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister whom Iran had resolutely backed since 2006 until this summers cataclysmic events.Malikis armed forces failed in the face of a lightning surge by IS fighters into Iraq from Syria, eventually resulting in him stepping down from the top job after Iran publicly endorsed Abadis candidature as premier.No schedule has been released but Abadis trip is expected to last one day only. Iran has supported the Baghdad government throughout the crisis and was the first country to send arms to Kurds fighting IS militants in northern Iraq.Major General Qassem Suleimani, the chief of Irans elite Quds Force, has been spotted in Iraq, where it is believed he played a key role in coordinating military operations.As Shiite neighbours, Iran and Iraq have been close since the removal of Sunni dictator Saddam Hussein in the US-led invasion of 2003.Speaking earlier in the city of Najaf after a rare meeting with the most revered figure among Iraqi Shiites, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Abadi ruled out any foreign ground intervention to assist government forces in retaking territory lost to jihadists and urged Sunnis to give up such hopes.No ground forces from any superpower, international coalition or regional power will fight here, Abadi told reporters, reiterating previous remarks on the issue.This is my decision, it is the decision of the Iraqi government.Some officials and Sunni tribal leaders in areas most affected by the unrest have argued the world should step up its involvement from air strikes to a ground intervention against IS.Iraqi state television said it was the first time in four years that Sistani had met a high-ranking Iraqi government official.Abadis talks in Iran on Iraqs war against IS come with the situation in the balance. Since June, the militants have seized control of swathes of Iraq and brought it to the brink of collapse.

Jihadists kill at least 10 in attack on Kurdish-held Iraq town

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BAQUBA (AFP) - The Islamic State jihadist group on Monday attacked the Kurdish-controlled town of Qara Tapah, northeast of Baghdad, killing at least seven peshmerga troops and three civilians, officials said.The militants attacked from two sides, lobbing mortar rounds into the town, which lies 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the Iranian border.We have asked for air support from the international coalition, a senior military officer in the area said, referring to US-led forces carrying out air strikes against IS.According to peshmerga leaders and a hospital official in the nearby town of Khanaqin, at least seven peshmerga and three civilians were killed by the shelling and in the fighting that raged in surrounding villages.Almost half of the towns population fled today. Were talking about around 9,000 people, said a resident who gave his name as Haidar.The head of an organisation promoting the rights of Iraqs Turkmen minority also spoke of an exodus of several thousand people.Qara Tapah, where three car bombs killed at least 45 people on October 12, has a mixed population of Arabs, Kurds and Turkmen.The people who remain are young men who are carrying weapons to defend their town alongside peshmerga fighters, Haidar said.We are afraid IS will encircle us and turn this town into a second Amerli, said Haidar, in reference to a majority Turkmen Shiite town farther north that was besieged by IS for two months.In August, an alliance of federal forces, Kurdish troops and Shiite militias eventually broke the siege of Amerli, where residents held off the jihadists against all odds.

Dozens killed in fresh Yemen clashes

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SANAA (AFP) - At least 60 people were killed in Yemen as clashes raged between Shiite rebels and Al-Qaeda militants backed by Sunni tribesmen battling for territory in the strife-hit country, sources said Monday.The rebels, known as Huthis, have been facing fierce resistance from Al-Qaeda fighters and tribesmen as they seek to expand their areas of control after seizing the capital Sanaa and the Red Sea port city of Hudeida.A suicide bomber killed 15 people on Monday, including children, when he detonated his explosives-laden car near a rebel checkpoint in the town of Rada, south of Sanaa, witnesses and a tribal source said.It came after heavy fighting erupted overnight in Rada, a mixed Sunni-Shiite area that has been the scene of frequent clashes.Twenty rebels were killed in another car bombing that targeted a building where they had gathered and in subsequent clashes, tribal and security sources told AFP, adding that 12 rebels were also captured by Al-Qaeda militants.The town was rocked by powerful explosions, with rocket-propelled grenades and artillery used by both sides in several hours of clashes, security officials said.Ten more rebels were killed during clashes Monday in the Anas district of Dhamar, a Shiite-populated province taken last week by the rebels, said medics and tribal sources.Meanwhile, 15 fighters from Al-Qaeda and tribesmen were killed in the Rada clashes, tribal sources said.Al-Qaeda militants also attacked rebel positions northeast of Rada and along a road connecting the town in Baida province to neighbouring Dhamar.Fighters backed by tribesmen also recaptured the town of Udain, in southwestern Ibb province, which they had briefly overran last week in response to the rebels advance, a tribal source said.They then moved towards nearby Ibb city, triggering heavy clashes late Monday with the rebels.The Huthis have seized on chronic instability in Yemen since the 2012 ouster of long-serving autocratic president Ali Abdullah Saleh to take control of large parts of the country.President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadis weak Sunni-led central government has failed to stop the rebels, despite a UN-brokered peace deal that was supposed to see them withdraw from the capital.Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the extremist networks powerful Yemeni branch, and Sunni tribesmen have instead fought to halt the rebel advance, leaving dozens dead including 47 Huthi supporters in a suicide bombing in Sanaa this month.The fighting has raised fears of Yemen -- located next to oil kingpin Saudi Arabia and important shipping routes in the Gulf of Aden -- collapsing into a failed state.Hadis government is also a key US ally in the fight against Al-Qaeda, allowing Washington to conduct a longstanding drone war against the group on Yemeni territory.The rebels faced no resistance when they took control of Sanaa last month and have refused to leave despite appearing to agree to the naming of a new prime minister under the UN deal.They have since moved south and easily captured Dhamar but have faced heavy fighting in Sunni-majority Ibb province and from Al-Qaeda in Baida province.Tribesmen have accused government forces in the area of collaborating with the rebels in their advance.Tribesmen are fighting alongside Al-Qaeda because the army is supporting the Huthis, a tribal chief said.On Sunday, negotiations hosted by provincial governor Yehya al-Iryani to convince all fighters to withdraw from Ibb city failed, a mediator told AFP.The Huthis insisted on deploying their fighters alongside security forces in Ibb... to fight Al-Qaeda and prevent it from taking over the province.The Shiite rebels have traditionally been concentrated in the northern parts of Yemen, on the border with Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia.Yemeni authorities and Saudi Arabia have accused Iran of backing the Huthis in a similar fashion to its support for Lebanons powerful Shiite militia Hezbollah.Gulf Arab states have warned that instability in Yemen is threatening regional security.Security forces on Monday confiscated scores of motorbikes in Sanaa, enforcing a temporary ban aimed at preventing the use of motorcycles in attacks.

Nigeria declared Ebola-free in 'spectacular success'

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Abuja (AFP) - Nigeria was declared Ebola-free on Monday in a spectacular success in the battle to contain the spread of a virus which is devastating Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia where more than 4,500 people have died.The World Health Organization said Nigeria -- Africas most populous country where eight deaths had sparked fears of a rapid spread through its teeming cities -- had shown the world that Ebola can be contained.Another west African nation, Senegal, was declared free of the virus on Friday.European Union foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg said the bloc must step up efforts to contain Ebola and prevent it becoming a global threat.Amid concerns that the global response has been too slow, the 28 EU nations boosted their funding to around 500 million euros ($600 million) and pledged to do more to get foreign medical staff onto the Ebola frontline.They also agreed to appoint a coordinator to oversee the response to the virus.My colleagues all agree that the idea of an Ebola coordinator is a good one, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said.The person will be named in the coming days.In the United States, the absence of any new cases in the last five days prompted cautious optimism from health authorities that the virus has been contained there after a flawed initial response.It was also announced on Monday that an anonymous patient, being treated at a facility in Georgia, had recovered and been released from hospital.And a Norwegian woman who contracted the virus while working for Doctors Without Borders in Sierra Leone has been cured after treatment in Oslo, the health charity said.In another encouraging step, test results showed a Spanish nurse who was the first person to contract the virus outside Africa appears to now be clear of the disease after receiving treatment.But while the rest of the world appeared to be winning the fight to keep Ebola at bay, the three west African countries which account for the vast majority of the deaths -- Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea -- were counting a rising human and economic cost.The UN said a third member of its staff had died of the disease.Edmond Bangura-Sesay, a driver for the UN Women agency in Sierra Leone, had been quarantined on October 14 after his wife fell ill.She is receiving treatment for the virus and a UN team was trying to trace everyone who had contact with him.Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf warned Sunday that a generation of Africans was at risk of being lost to economic catastrophe because of the crisis.This fight requires a commitment from every nation that has the capacity to help -- whether that is with emergency funds, medical supplies or clinical expertise, she said in an open letter.- More funds -The WHO declared Nigeria free of Ebola after 42 days passed without any new cases of the haemorrhagic fever among its 170 million citizens.The virus is gone for now. The outbreak in Nigeria has been defeated, the WHOs representative in Nigeria, Rui Gama Vaz, said.This is a spectacular success story that shows to the world that Ebola can be contained.In Luxembourg, the EU foreign ministers agreed the European Commission should guarantee appropriate care for international health responders.They said that should include the option of medical evacuation to ensure staff working in the worst-hit countries receive the best care should they fall ill themselves.That has been a key stumbling block in trying to boost the number of foreign medical workers prepared to work in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.The ministers also called on the international community to meet the $1.0 billion (782 million euros) sought by the UN.British Prime Minister David Cameron pressed his EU colleagues to double their own contribution to one billion euros.About 100 more people, most of them health care workers, are being tracked in Texas after coming in contact with the first patient diagnosed in the United States in late September.Still, officials said it was reassuring that no new infections had emerged in recent days.Latin America has so far been spared Ebola, but the leaders of 12 countries there and in the Caribbean pledged to tighten border checks to stop it spreading to the region.At a conference in Havana, they agreed to increase checks at ports and airports and draft a regional action plan by November 5.Cuba has sought to place itself at the forefront of the international response to the epidemic, sending 165 doctors and nurses to west Africa with another 300 on the way.The contribution brought rare praise for Cuba from US Secretary of State John Kerry.

Former Australian prime minister Gough Whitlam dead at 98

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SYDNEY (AFP) - Former Australian prime minister Gough Whitlam, one of the nations most admired figures who led the country through a period of massive change, died Tuesday aged 98, his family said.Our father, Gough Whitlam, has died this morning at the age of 98, his children Antony, Nicholas, Stephen and Catherine said in a statement. A loving and generous father, he was a source of inspiration to us and our families and for millions of Australians.Whitlam remained one of Australias most towering figures despite being the countrys only prime minister to be sacked, a touchstone moment in the nations political history.He led Labor to its first victory in 23 years at the December 1972 election on the back of the famous Its Time campaign before being sensationally sacked in 1975 by Governor-General Sir John Kerr.His dismissal was prompted by a refusal by parliaments upper house, where his Labor Party did not hold a majority, to pass a budget bill until the government agreed to call a general election.To end the impasse, Kerr took the unprecedented step of sacking Whitlam and installing then opposition leader Malcolm Fraser as caretaker prime minister.Despite being in power for only three turbulent years, Whitlam launched sweeping reforms of the nations economic and cultural affairs, cementing his place as one of Australias most revered leaders.He stopped conscription, introduced free university education, recognised communist China, pulled troops from Vietnam, abolished the death penalty for federal crimes and reduced the voting age to 18. His family said there would be a private cremation and a public memorial service.

Japan PM Abe loses two female ministers over cash scandal

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Tokyo (AFP) - Japans Prime Minister Shinzo Abe suffered a double setback Monday with the resignations of two female cabinet ministers over claims they misused political funds, dealing a blow to his proclaimed gender reform drive.Industry minister Yuko Obuchi and justice minister Midori Matsushima quit after days of allegations that they had misspent money in what opponents insisted was an attempt to buy votes.Their loss reduces to three the number of women in the cabinet, after Abes widely-praised move in September to promote a record-tying five to his administration.Im the person who appointed the two. As prime minister, I take responsibility for this and deeply apologise for this situation, Abe told reporters.Yoichi Miyazawa, a lawmaker and nephew of former prime minister Kiichi Miyazawa, will replace Obuchi as industry minister, Abe said.Yoko Kamikawa, a 61-year-old female politician and former state minister in charge of Japans declining birthrate, was named as the new justice minister.The double resignations are the first significant problem for Abe since he swept to power in December 2012, ending years of fragile governments that swapped prime ministers on an annual basis.While commentators generally agreed that this would not be the end of the hard-charging premier, who has moved to reinvigorate Japans lacklustre economy, they cautioned that he was now vulnerable.This is Abes first major stumble, said Tomoaki Iwai, professor of politics at Nihon University in Tokyo.His approval rate is likely to fall and Abe will be under pressure. If he repeats similar mistakes, its going to be a fatal blow to his administration.Obuchi, who carried on the dynasty of her father, a former prime minister, offered a fresh, youthful face on the front benches -- a place generally dominated by older men.As a mother of two, her family-friendly image was expected to help convince a sceptical public on the safety of re-starting Japans stalled nuclear power plants.But her elevation had also reportedly irked some longer-serving male politicians who felt they were passed over in favour of a younger woman with little cabinet experience.- Subsidised theatre trips -Obuchis downfall started last week when reports emerged that she had spent political funds on make-up and accessories as gifts for supporters.They were followed by claims that she had subsidised theatre trips for voters from her rural constituency.The claims, which were priced at tens of millions of yen (hundreds of thousands of dollars) over several years, were taken as evidence of attempted vote buying.It is not permissible for me as Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry to have economy and energy policies stalled because of my own problems, she told a press conference carried live on multiple television channels.I will resign and focus on probing what has been called into question, she told reporters after a 30-minute meeting with Abe.Matsushima has been under fire for allegedly giving out cheap paper fans with her name and picture printed on them, in what critics said was a bid to buy support.One of those fans was for sale on an Internet auction site Monday, with the price having reached 2,100 yen ($20).Money scandals are not uncommon in Japanese politics, where the pork barrel reigns and rules on spending tend to be slightly opaque, barring little except explicit bribery and vote buying.The promotion of five women to his cabinet was seen as part of Abes bid to boost the role of women in society, a move viewed as vital to help plug the holes in Japans workforce and make better use of a pool of latent talent.Asked if she felt her relative youth and her gender had played a role in the way the scandal emerged, Obuchi demurred.I only learnt now that this issue could be seen in this light, she said.Sadakazu Tanigaki, secretary-general and the number two in Abes ruling Liberal Democratic Party, earlier said Obuchis resignation was extremely regrettable.As Ms Obuchi was symbolic of women having an active role, I think there will be damage (to the government), Tanigaki told reporters.

US air drops, Turkey boost Kurd battle against jihadists

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Mursitpinar (Turkey) (AFP) - Kurds battling jihadists for the Syrian border town of Kobane welcomed a first US airdrop of weapons Monday as neighbouring Turkey said it will help Iraqi Kurds to support the fight.In an apparent bid to cut Kobane off from Turkey, two suicide car bombings struck the north of the town facing the border, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said, without giving an immediate casualty toll.And the jihadists of the Islamic Jihad (IS) group sent in reinforcements from Jarabulus to the west of Kobane, as shelling of the centre of town resumed towards the end of a relatively calm day.Ankara has refused land deliveries of arms to the Syrian Kurds, who are linked with Turkeys outlawed rebel Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), but said it was helping Iraqi Kurds to reinforce the strategic town in a reversal praised by Washington.The Syrian Kurdish forces in Kobane hailed the airdrop, saying it would help greatly in the towns defence against a nearly five-week IS offensive.US Secretary of State John Kerry said it would have been morally very difficult to turn your back on a community fighting ISIL, using another acronym for IS.And a senior administration official said the airdrop was in recognition of the impressive resistance put up by the Kurds and the losses they were inflicting on IS.Three C-130 cargo aircraft carried out what the US military called multiple successful drops of supplies, including small arms, provided by Kurdish authorities in Iraq.The supplies were intended to enable continued resistance against ISILs attempts to overtake Kobane, said US Central Command.- We thank America -The US-led coalition has carried out more than 135 air strikes against IS targets around Kobane, but this was the first time it had delivered arms to the towns defenders.The military assistance dropped by American planes at dawn on Kobane was good and we thank America for this support, said Redur Xelil, spokesman for the Syrian Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (YPG).It will have a positive impact on military operations against Daesh and we hope for more, he added, using the Arabic acronym for IS.Xelil declined to detail the weapons delivered but said there was coordination over the drop.IS launched its Kobane offensive on September 16, swiftly pushing Kurds back to the town itself and sparking an exodus of 200,000 refugees into Turkey.But the Kurds have kept up a dogged resistance on the streets of the town, of which they control around half.Ankara has kept the YPG at arms length because of its links to the PKK, which has waged a three-decade insurgency for Kurdish self-rule in southeast Turkey that has left some 40,000 people dead.But Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Turkey was now helping Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga forces to bolster the fight in Kobane.We are assisting peshmerga forces to cross into Kobane, he said. We have no wish at all to see Kobane fall.With the shift in Turkish strategy, US State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf said: We welcome those statements from the foreign ministry.The European Union, meanwhile, urged Turkey to open its border for any supply for the people of Kobane, in a statement after a meeting of its foreign ministers.The YPG said no peshmerga had yet arrived in Kobane, while the Iraqi peshmerga said Syrian Kurds trained in northern Iraq would be sent in but not Iraqi Kurds.- IS opens new front? -But despite carrying out its first airdrops in Kobane, the US military says its top priority remains Iraq, where IS swept through much of the Sunni Arab heartland north and west of Baghdad in June.Since last week, the Iraqi capital has seen a rise in the number of bomb attacks, several of which have been claimed by the Sunni extremist IS.And on Monday a suicide bomber detonated explosives outside a Shiite mosque in the central Baghdad neighbourhood of Sinak, killing at least 11 people.The violence has raised fears IS will attack large gatherings of Shiite worshippers during the upcoming Ashura commemorations, the target of devastating bombings in past years.But IS appeared Monday to have opened up another front in Iraq with an attack on the Kurdish-controlled town of Qara Tapah that killed 10 people and sparked an exodus of half its population of 9,000.We are afraid IS will encircle us and turn this town into a second Amerli, said a resident who gave his name as Haidar, in reference to a majority Turkmen Shiite town farther north that was besieged by IS for two months.In August, an alliance of federal forces, Kurdish troops and Shiite militias eventually broke the siege of Amerli, where residents held off the jihadists.

France, Germany pledge to boost investment

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Berlin (AFP) - France and Germany, the eurozones two biggest economies, promised Monday to do what was needed to boost investment in the single currency area at a time when the regions economy is flagging badly.We agreed to draw up a joint paper by the time of the next Franco-German economic council, which will contain the investment possibilities in both countries and our joint vision of Europe, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said.He was speaking at a joint news conference with his Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel and their French counterparts, Michel Sapin and Emmanuel Macron, following a mini-summit in Berlin.The next Franco-German council will meet on December 1.Mondays meeting came at a crucial time for Paris, which is at loggerheads with Brussels over its 2015 budget as it is likely to overshoot EU debt targets once again.According to a report in the weekly Der Spiegel, Germany is helping France to draw up a pact with the European Commission on deficit reduction and structural reforms to win Brussels approval of the 2015 budget plans.France believes that Germany could help the eurozones stalling economy by loosening its purse strings and increasing investment to match the savings Paris is seeking to make in public spending.Fifty billion euros savings for us and 50 billion of additional investment by you -- that would be a good balance, Macron had told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.Its in our collective interest that Germany invests.At the news conference, Macron said 50 billion euros ($64 billion) was the figure Germany could afford to invest without jeopardising its budget.Both Schaeuble and Gabriel made it clear that while they did not dispute the figure, most of that investment should come from private rather than public funds.- German growth engine stalls -Recent data has suggested that the German economy -- traditionally Europes growth engine -- is stalling, threatening to pull the eurozone back into recession and put the brakes on the global recovery.France, grappling with sky-high unemployment and a ballooning budget deficit, has been spearheading a campaign for Germany to soften its stance on fiscal austerity.But Berlin remains adamant that the only way out of crisis is for eurozone countries to get their finances in order by sticking to agreed rules on the size of their deficits.Asked by the daily Bild whether Europe should abandon the path of austerity, German Economy Minister Gabriel said: No.But the money we spend on Europe can be put to better use -- for investment in research and development, in a fast Internet and in saving energy, he conceded.All four ministers denied that with the joint paper to be presented in December, the eurozones two biggest economies were seeking to strike some sort of deal.I havent asked anything of Germany, said Macron.Everyone must do what do what needs to be done, but added: It is true that Germany has more room than we do to boost investment.French Finance Minister Sapin also refuted that any deal was on the table.There is no pact. Were not looking for a pact. Were looking for everyone to take their responsibilities, he said.The ministries of Sapin and Schaeuble have been working for weeks now on various investment proposals. The efforts of the eurozones two largest economies will flank similar efforts made at a European level, with the new EU Commission also keen to boost investment.The Franco-German effort will create momentum which will be beneficial to everyone in Europe, said Sapin.

Fittipaldi in top panel for Bianchi crash probe

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Paris (AFP) - Former world champion Emerson Fittipaldi is part of a high level panel named Monday to propose new safety measures after the Japan Grand Prix crash that left French driver Jules Bianchi fighting for his life.The 10-member group, which will also include renowned former Formula One team chief Ross Brawn, will make recommendations by early December, the International Automobile Federation (FIA) governing body said.Bianchis Marussia car smashed into a recovery vehicle on the drenched Suzuka track on October 5 leaving the 25-year-old with life threatening brain injuries.Bianchi is still in intensive care in a Japanese hospital and a communique released by his team and family last week said he was in a critical but stable condition.The investigation panel will carry out a full review of the accident to gain a better understanding of what happened, and will propose new measures to reinforce safety at circuits, an FIA statement said.The group will start work this week and present its findings at the next meeting of the World Motor Sport Council on December 3 in Doha, it added.FIA president Jean Todt announced five days after the crash that a panel would investigate the crash.The inquiry is to be chaired by Peter Wright, president of the FIA safety commission, and include heavyweight Formula One names such as two-time drivers champion Fittipaldi, who still heads the FIA drivers commission.Brawn helped Ferrari win several titles as technical director and stood down as Mercedes team principal at the end of last year.Former Ferrari team leader Stefano Domenicali is in the group along with former driver Alex Wurz, chief racing steward Gerd Ennser, Eduardo de Freitas, World Endurance Championship racing director, circuits commission chief Roger Peart, FIA court of appeal judge Antonio Rigozzi, and Gerard Saillant, president of the FIA medical medical commission.- Race changes ahead -The Japan Grand Prix went ahead in heavy rain after a typhoon battered part of the country.A film of the accident showed one driver Adrian Sutil aquaplane off the dry racing line, causing his Sauber to spin off the track.Bianchi appeared to do the same, but attempted to correct his slide and was pitched, nose-first into a collision with the heavy vehicle, carrying a crane to recover Sutils car.Japan race director Charlie Whiting said that not everybody slowed down in response to yellow alert flags waved on the track.He said that Bianchi had slowed but refused to say by how much.Whiting said the FIA was already considering ways to control cars in dangerous conditions, including an electronically controlled speed limit when yellow flags are in use.The FIA was also thinking of fitting skirts to all recovery vehicles to ensure it was impossible for cars to go beneath them, as Bianchi did, Whiting said.

Blind's late leveller rescues draw for Manchester United

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West Bromwich (United Kingdom) (AFP) - Daley Blind rescued spluttering Manchester United with a dramatic late equaliser in Mondays 2-2 draw against West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorns.Albion had twice led through Stephane Sessegnon and Saido Berahino, but United avoided an embarrassing defeat as substitute Marouane Fellaini equalised with his first United goal before Blind scored the second leveller in the 87th minute to ensure Louis van Gaals side stretched their unbeaten run to three matches.Uniteds erratic display was another reminder to van Gaal that his team remain very much a work in progress.They are without an away league win this season, suggesting they are a long way from rivalling Manchester City and Chelsea for the title this term.Im very disappointed because we played our best match of the season and the result is not good enough, van Gaal said.We could have won but that does not count in our world. We gave it away which is a pity because we could have had a new start if we had won.United sit sixth in the Premier League table - already 10 adrift of leaders Chelsea and just three ahead of the Baggies, who were excellent value for their point following a display which provided further evidence they are progressing under head coach Alan Irvine.Albion began with the confidence of a side who had won two of their previous three league matches, with Sessegnon almost sending Berahino clean through with a threaded pass after five minutes.And the home side had to wait just another three minutes to take the lead courtesy of a stunning strike from Sessegnon.Van Gaal is unlikely to have been too impressed with Luke Shaws defending as the England left-back allowed Andre Wisdom to charge from his own half deep into United territory.Wisdoms clever cut-back was met with a wonderfully whipped first-time effort from the edge of the area from the former Sunderland man which flew inside the right upright.

Oil prices fall after brief rally

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NEW YORK (AFP) - Oil prices dipped Monday on concerns about high supplies and more signs from key Middle Eastern producers that OPEC has no plans to cut crude output.US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for November delivery slipped four cents to $82.71 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.European benchmark Brent oil for December delivery fell 76 cents to $85.40 a barrel in London.Crude rose Thursday and Friday in a break from the fairly steady downward trend that has cut more than 20 percent from prices since mid-June.Mondays market was preoccupied with slowing economic conditions in Europe and China and with more than ample (oil) supplies that will slosh around the world, said Gene McGillian, broker and analyst at Tradition Energy. McGillian said the market was also reacting to reports that Iran would not seek an emergency meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to cut output in response to falling prices. OPECs biggest producer, Saudi Arabia, has previously signaled plans to keep production high.The market is in the process of trying to find a bottom, McGillian said.

New iPhones deliver big profits for Apple

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San Francisco (AFP) - The new big-screen iPhones helped propel Apples profit and revenue in the past quarter, as the California tech giant delivered stronger-than-expected results.Profit rose 13 percent to $8.5 billion, as revenues jumped to $42.1 billion in the fiscal fourth quarter ending September 27, the California-based company reported Monday.Apple said it sold more than 39 million iPhones in the quarter, boosted by the launch last month of the large-screen iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, which hit some markets on September 19. That compared with 33.8 million in the same period a year ago.The iPhone accounted for more than $23 billion in revenue, more than half of Apples overall earnings for the quarter.Sales of iPads -- which may have been lower ahead of the October launch of new models -- fell from a year earlier to 12.3 million, producing some $5.3 billion in revenues.Apple also sold 5.5 million Mac computers and 2.6 million iPods in the quarter.The results were the best ever for the September quarter, and the fiscal year that just ended was one for the record books, chief executive Tim Cook said in a statement.Apple, the worlds biggest firm by market value, closed its fiscal year with a profit of $39.5 billion on revenues of nearly $183 billion.Trip Chowdhry at Global Equities Research said Apples quarterly report handsomely beats (expectations) on both top line and bottom line.These results validate our investment thesis Apple is a multi-year, multi-product, multi-service and multi-geography growth company.- Shares rise -Apple shares rose 1.1 percent to $100.91 in after-hours trade following the results.Apple continues to hit it out of the park, independent analyst Jeff Kagan said.Apple was showing strong growth, year after year, until a couple years ago. Thats when they fell and that lasted for a while. However Apple now appears to be back.Amit Daryanani at RBC Capital Markets said Apples guidance for the key upcoming holiday season was also ahead of most predictions.Apple forecast revenue between $63.5 billion and $66.5 billion and gross profit margins between 37.5 percent and 38.5 percent.The big upside driver in the quarter was iPhone units, Daryanani said, adding that Apples forecast leaves plenty for upside surprises.Apple last month increased the screen size for its new iPhones, yielding to consumer preference and following a trend begun by rivals, including Samsung.The iPhone 6 Plus is Apples first product in the growing market for phablet phones, which are increasingly replacing tablets.Apples smartphone market share is strong in the US market but globally was less than 12 percent in the second quarter, ahead of the latest launch, according to research firm IDC.As appetites for tablet have diminished, Apples market share has slipped to 25 percent, compared to 70 percent for the rival Android platform, according to Strategy Analytics.
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