Friday 3 October 2014

Dunya TV

Dunya TV

Football: Spanish court rejects Messi tax fraud appeal

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MADRID (AFP) - Barcelona star Lionel Messi on Friday moved closer to facing trial over alleged tax fraud after a Spanish court rejected his appeal against being named in the case and ordered the probe to go ahead.The Argentine forward and his father, Jorge Horacio Messi, were accused last year of not paying 4.16 million euros ($5.26m, 3.26m pounds) in tax on earnings from the players image rights from 2007-2009 through the creation of a web of shell companies in Belize and Uruguay.Both Messi and his father, who is also the players manager, denied wrongdoing and pointed the finger instead at a former agent of the player when they were quizzed at a court in Gava, the Barcelona suburb where the player lives, in September 2013.Based on the Messis testimony, public prosecutors called for the case to be shelved.But the court in July ruled that there was sufficient evidence to believe Messi could have known and consented to the creation of a fictitious corporate structure to avoid paying taxes on income from his image rights and ordered the prosecution of the case to go ahead.Messis lawyers appealed but on Friday the court said it had dismissed entirely their petition and upheld its earlier ruling.In this type of crime, it is not necessary for someone to have complete knowledge of all the accounting and business operations nor the exact quantity, rather it is sufficient to be aware of the designs to commit fraud and consent to them, the court said in its ruling.Messi and his father have five days to appeal the courts ruling.If the court rejects that appeal, prosecutors will have to formally ask the court to send him to trial -- a move which Messis legal team can again appeal.If the court agrees there is enough evidence to send the player to trial, it will then set a date. Messi can appeal this decision as well.The players father made a payment of five million euros in August 2013 to cover alleged unpaid taxes, plus interests.That was thought likely to significantly reduce any sentence should they be found guilty.Messi, 27, won the Ballon dOr title four times between 2009 and 2012, but lost his crown last year to Real Madrids Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo. He is the fourth richest sportsperson in the world, according to a ranking published in June by Forbes business magazine.The player moved up to fourth from 10th place in just a year with an annual income of just under $65 million, it said.Between 2007 and 2009 he earned more than 10.17 million euros in image rights, including contracts with Adidas, Danone, Pepsi-Cola, Procter and Gamble, and the Kuwait Food Company.Spain has been cracking down on tax evasion as it fights to repair the countrys public finances after the collapse of a decade-long property bubble in 2008 tipped the economy into a deep double-dip recession.

Asian Games: S. Korea dunk Iran to win basketball gold

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INCHEON (AFP) - South Korea upset continental champions Iran 79-77 after a frenetic final two minutes to capture Asian Games gold in the mens basketball on Friday.The Koreans kept their nerve after slipping five points behind with 122 seconds remaining to win their fourth title -- and their first since stunning Yao Mings China at the 2002 Asian Games in Busan. They also completed a basketball double after South Korea beat China in the womens final on Thursday.Forward T.J. Moon hit a team-high 19 points and sank a couple of clutch free throws down the stretch as South Korea held off the mens favourites and their sharp-shooting captain Samad Nikkhah Bahrami, who scored 30 points.Moon missed one of two foul shots with 12 seconds left -- enough time for Nikkhah Bahrami to attempt a Hail Mary three which would have won it for Iran.I was nervous about them hitting a three to win, Moon told AFP. He had been making shots all night but luckily he missed. The crowd definitely gave us a lot of energy tonight, he added. The players were hustling for every loose ball. That definitely gave us added momentum. It was just relief when the buzzer went off.South Korea opened the match with a 9-0 run in an electrifying start while Irans players couldnt buy a basket until their inspiration skipper scored with 6:10 left on the clock in the first quarter.They started very strong and we had to use a lot of energy to catch them, said Nikkhah Bahrami, who plays his club basketball in China. We started too slow. That really hurt us.Local fans enjoying the cheerleaders and hotdogs had little idea of what was to come as a spirited Iran side launched a furious fightback after their poor start.They twice threatened to break the game open in the fourth quarter, a monster slam dunk by centre Kim Jong-Kyu with South Korea trailing 72-68 getting the adrenalin pumping again for the home team and igniting the crowd.The visitors, who took bronze in Guangzhou, China four years ago, kept their composure and looked to have iced the game when Nikkhah Bahrami made a tough two going moving to his right from the top of the arc.But a three-pointer from captain Yang Dong-Geun and a three-point play from Kim, who finished with 17, caught Iran cold before Moons free throws provided the dagger blow for South Korea.It means the world to win the Asian Games gold medal, said Korean coach Yoo Jae-Hak. We were desperate to win. I cant describe how happy I am.

Golf: Jacquelin takes lead in Dunhill Links

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ST ANDREWS (AFP) - Frances Raphael Jacquelin moved to the top of the leaderboard after the second round of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship on Friday.Jacquelin shot a 70 at the pro-am event to move nine under par -- one shot ahead of Irish duo Shane Lowry and Padraig Harrington, Englands Oliver Wilson and Frances Alexander Levy.Eleven of the top 12 scores came from players who were at Kingsbarns on Friday and Carnoustie on Thursday, when calm conditions meant traditionally the hardest of the three venues played relatively easy.Wind and rain made scoring more difficult on Friday but Jacquelin birdied his final two holes to move into pole position for a fifth European Tour title.Im pretty happy, especially the way I finished. I birdied 17 and 18 so it was good before having dinner and going to rest, Jacquelin said.Ive been working hard every year since the last 20 years to be at this position. I feel good. Its a long weekend.Lowry, who finished joint third in this event 12 months ago, was the only player in the top 12 to play at St Andrews on Friday, meaning he will face Carnoustie on Saturday before the final round is again played over the Old Course.To be honest, the way I played to shoot two under was quite good, said Lowry after a round containing four bogeys and six birdies.The forecast was pretty bad today and everyone was expecting the worst, but it wasnt actually that bad.Scottish duo Richie Ramsay and Chris Doak are two shots off the pace on seven under, with compatriot Stephen Gallacher another shot back and Gallachers European Ryder Cup team-mate Rory McIlroy five off the lead on four under.McIlroy started the day nine shots off the pace and dropped back to two over par with a bogey on the 14th.However, the world number one responded in style with a superb fairway-wood approach to the par five 16th and rolled in the eagle putt from 15 feet on his way to a round of 67 at Kingsbarns.I think the eagle on 16 kickstarted something for me, he said. I just went from there, started to knock a few putts in.I felt like I struck the ball pretty well for the first couple of days, but just to see a few putts roll in sort of gave me a little bit of confidence and played well after that.

Facebook steps up battle on 'fake likes'

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SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - Facebook said Friday it has stepped up its battle against spammers who promise to deliver likes to its members, and warned users on using such scams.The worlds most popular social network said that to date, it has obtained legal judgments of nearly $2 billion against fraudulent activities on Facebook. It was not clear how much of that was actually collected.Facebooks moves appeared to counter concerns that users -- including politicians and companies selling products -- are buying likes to make them appear more popular. And it is targeting a cottage industry which seeks to deliver these results to Facebook members, often promising 10,000 likes or more for a fee.We write rules and use machine learning to catch suspicious behavior that sticks out. When we catch fraudulent activity, we work to counter and prevent it, including blocking accounts and removing fake likes all at once, Facebook site integrity engineer Matt Jones said in a blog post.As our tools have become more sophisticated, weve contributed some of our spam-fighting technology to the academic community as well, in hopes of helping other companies combat similar problems.Jones said that Facebook if necessary takes the spammers to court to remind would-be offenders that we will fight back to prevent abuse on our platform. We also limit likes per account to make spammers operations less efficient.Jones said the moves are aimed at preserving authenticity on the network of more than one billion members. Facebook uses various techniques including algorithms to detect when there is a suspicious spike in likes.Its important to remember that fraudulent activity is bad for everyone -- including page owners, advertisers, Facebook and people on our platform, he said.We have a strong incentive to aggressively go after the bad actors behind fake likes because businesses and people who use our platform want real connections and results, not fakes.

Yahoo wants to invest in Snapchat: report

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SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - Flush with cash from its investment in Alibaba, Yahoo is angling to buy into hot mobile messaging startup Snapchat, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.Yahoo has been in talks to take part in a funding round that would value Snapchat at $10 billion, but how much it plans to invest remained cloudy, according to the Journal.A Yahoo spokesman declined to comment.In a shrewd move led by Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang in 2005, the California Internet firm paid a billion dollars for a 40 percent stake in Alibaba that has paid back the investment many times over.Unconfirmed reports surfaced earlier this year indicating that Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba had been considering investing in Snapchat.Snapchat rocketed to popularity, especially among teens, after the initial app was released in September 2011. Created by then Stanford University students, the app allows the sending of text and photo messages that disappear seconds after being viewed.The company had last year rejected a buyout offer from Facebook, judging the $3 billion offer too low, US media reports have said.Snapchat has also been courted by other investors and would-be buyers, including a group led by Chinese Internet giant Tencent.Talk of Yahoo being interested in Snapchat came the same day that Yahoo bought the startup behind mobile messaging application MessageMe for a price reported to be in the double-digit millions.The team behind MessageMe has joined Yahoo, a Yahoo said in an email reply to AFP.They built a mobile messenger application focused on personalization and creativity, and were excited to welcome the eight MessageMe employees to the Yahoo team.MessageMe confirmed the acquisition at its website and told users the application will shut down in November to free the team to focus on building mobile communications products for Yahoo.Yahoo chief Marissa Mayer has been on a lengthy buying spree backed by money pumped into the companys coffers by Alibaba.Mayer has been striving to re-invent the company as an online venue for premium, personalized content after its Internet search service crown was taken by Google.Activist investment firm Starboard Value meanwhile urged Yahoo last week to explore a tie-up with online rival AOL, saying such a deal could help the struggling Internet pioneer unlock value for shareholders.

Hackers hit bank. Is your money safe anywhere?

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NEW YORK (AP) Hackers stole personal information from millions of JPMorgan Chase customers this summer, in one of the biggest breaches of a financial company.The bank says only non-financial data was taken names, addresses, telephone numbers and email. But thats still a lot of personal detail, and experts warn that customers need to be vigilant about identity theft in the next several months.The theft involving 76 million households and seven million small businesses raises questions about the safety of personal information, especially at banks.What risks do people face? Will this keep happening? And can bank customers reduce the threat of identity or financial theft?Q: How concerned should I be if the hackers didnt get Social Security numbers, bank account or credit card information?A: We may not yet know the full scope of what the hackers were able to steal, says Eric Chiu, president of HyTrust, a cloud security company based in Mountain View, Ca. They can sit on your network for months, siphoning off data before being detected, says Chiu. He says that customers addresses and phone numbers could be used or sold to others who might combine that information with other stolen data. It could then be used to access accounts or even to open new accounts in the unwitting customers names.Even if the information isnt used for phishing schemes or direct fraud, it could be sold on the gray market to people who might want to send spam or sales pitches to bank customers. Theres a good market for that kind of data, says Adam Kujawa, head of malware intelligence at Malwarebytes, a San Jose, California company that makes security software.Q: How close did the hackers get to stealing customers money or more sensitive financial data?A: We dont really know. The hackers may not have been looking to siphon funds, says Chiu, because data is whats gold now. Other security experts say the banks public statements suggest that its defenses were partly successful, because hackers werent able to get other information.Q: So is this a partial win for the bank?A: It might be, says Mike Lloyd, chief technology officer at Sunnyvale, Ca.-based RedSeal Networks. But the bank shouldnt declare victory cybersecurity is a never-ending war against new and evolving threats.Q: What else could happen?A: One concern is that this breach was a reconnaissance mission in preparation for a bigger hack, says Craig Carpenter, chief strategist at AccessData, a cybersecurity firm. They dont have to crack the entire system tomorrow, he says. They could have simply been mining for data, or looking to leave something behind that would allow them to get into (JPMorgans servers) easier next time.Q: What else should banks do to protect customer data?A: The financial industry is already doing more than other industries, says Dwayne Melancon, chief technology officer for the cybersecurity firm Tripwire, in Portland, Oregon. Chase in particular is known for using advanced security technology, says Avivah Litan, an analyst with Gartner, a technology research firm based in Stamford, Connecticut. But she also says that most companies have trouble keeping up with constant threats, and one big vulnerability lies with employees. While businesses tend to spend more on defending against outside attacks, many hacks begin with a compromised employee account. Litan says companies must do more to screen workers and also train them in security precautions.Q: Should I close my account at JPMorgan?A: At this point, theres no indication thats necessary. Steve Weisman, a Boston attorney and author of several books and articles about identity theft, says it wont do any good because other banks may be equally vulnerable to hacking. Theres no place to run and hide. You should monitor your account regularly and dont trust any communications you receive.Q: After big attacks against retail chains and now Chase, should we expect more breaches?A: The size and scope of the breaches are going to get worse, not better. Target, Home Depot and JPMorgan Chase are just the beginning, says Darren Hayes, a professor and expert in cybersecurity at Pace University in New York. Its safe to presume that hackers have been sitting inside these banks and business networks for months, even years, sometimes not doing anything. Hackers these days are patient ... and are extremely effective at just gathering a lot of data over time.Q: Is there any way to protect myself if theyre this sophisticated?A: Change your passwords regularly, dont click on links in suspicious emails (they could be phishing attempts by scammers), and regularly check online statements for any charges you dont recognize. Be wary of calls requesting personal information.Q: How bad is the fallout so far?A: The New York-based bank says theres no evidence of financial fraud associated with the breach.

UN urges Mexico government to find 43 missing students

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MEXICO CITY, Oct 04, 2014 (AFP) - The United Nations in Mexico urged authorities Friday to conduct an effective search for 43 students who vanished after a deadly police shooting last week, calling it one of the most terrible events of recent times.The UN intervention came as relatives of the aspiring teachers criticized search efforts and met with interior ministry officials, pleading for a serious federal investigation to find the students in the gang-plagued southern state of Guerrero.Witnesses told AFP that municipal police officers hauled away the students in patrol cars after shooting at buses that the youngsters had hijacked in the town of Iguala on September 26.Three students were killed in the shooting. Three other people died in a gun attack on a soccer team bus on the outskirts of town. Authorities have detained 22 officers over the shootings.The extreme gravity of the incidents linked to the disappearance of so many people make it one of the most terrible events of recent times, the UN said.It called on the government to coordinate and reinforce all measures at its disposal to conduct an effective and diligent search.The UN urged the abductors to return the students alive and called on the government to take measures to ensure that violations of human rights like those that were reported are not repeated.The UNs human rights body has dispatched personnel to the region and has contacted victims, families and local authorities.The police shooting in Iguala came as Mexicos army faces its own abuse allegations after three soldiers were charged with homicide over the June killing of 22 drug suspects south of the capital.In the Iguala case, state prosecutors issued arrest warrants for Mayor Jose Luis Albarca and the police chief, who have disappeared from public view.One hypothesis that we have is that the mayor thought that the comrades were going to boycott or interrupt a speech his wife was going to give that afternoon and his state-of-the-town speech the next day, said Vidulfo Rosales, a human rights lawyer representing the families of the missing.The students, from a teacher training college near the state capital Chilpancingo, say they had gone to Iguala for fundraising activities and had taken buses to return home when they were attacked.- Its a farce -==================Forcing bus drivers to transport them is a common practice among the regions student-teachers.After a meeting between relatives and Deputy Interior Minister Luis Enrique Miranda in Mexico City, Rosales said the official pledged that federal authorities would draw up a new search strategy.We believe that theres no serious, exhaustive, objective, responsible search preceded by a serious strategy that ensures success, Rosales said.Relatives voiced concerns that municipal police officers handed the students to a violent drug gang. A gang is suspected in participating in the second shooting.Scores of soldiers accompanied nine relatives who went door to door on Wednesday around Iguala, handing out pictures of the missing and asking for any information.But relatives later complained that the search lacked any prior investigations by the authorities.Then on Thursday, Governor Angel Aguirre deployed 1,600 government employees to Iguala, drawing scorn from relatives who say state workers are not suited for such work.Its a farce, a mockery, said Anaceli, a 26-year-old law student who refused to give her last name and whose 18-year-old nephew is missing.We are not happy, said Meliton Ortega, who is looking for his 17-year-old nephew. We will be happy when our boys reappear.

Jihadists murder Briton, battle for Kurdish town

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London (AFP) - Islamic State jihadists mounted brutal offensives on both the Syrian battlefield and in their online propaganda war Friday, murdering a British hostage and attempting to storm a key border town.In a video released by the group in response to US-led air strikes against it, a masked IS fighter beheads British driver Alan Henning and threatens a US captive, aid worker Peter Kassig.The footage, almost identical to three previous execution films released by the group, inspired revulsion around the world and drew a stark warning from Britains Prime Minister David Cameron.We will do all we can to hunt down these murderers and bring them to justice, he said, declaring that the apparent murder shows just how barbaric and repulsive these terrorists are.US President Barack Obama condemned the brutal murder and warned that the US-led coalition will continue taking decisive action to degrade and ultimately destroy the IS group.The IS video, found online by SITE, a private terrorism monitor, opens with a news report about the British parliaments vote last week to authorize air strikes against jihadist targets in Iraq.- Knife-wielding militant -Then it cuts to Henning, on his knees against a desert backdrop and wearing an orange prison-style outfit, with a masked militant standing over him wielding a combat knife.An image received from Britains Foreign and Commonwealth Office on September 15, 2014 shows British aid worker Alan Henning holding a child in a refugee camp on the Turkish-Syrian border Henning, a 47-year-old volunteer driver who went to Syria with a Muslim charity, explains to camera that, as a member of the British public, he is being made to pay for the parliamentary vote.Then the jihadist, who has the same British accent as the killer in previous IS execution videos, directly addresses Cameron.The blood of David Haines was on your hands, Cameron. Alan Henning will also be slaughtered, but his blood is on the hands of the British parliament, he declares, then cuts the hostages throat.Kassig, a former US army soldier and Iraq veteran in his twenties who returned to the Middle East to found an aid agency, is then shown alive and threatened by the knife-wielding militant.Obama, you have started your aerial bombardment in Sham, which keeps on striking our people, the militant says, using the Arabic term for Syria and the Levant.So it is only right that we continue to strike the necks of your people.The jihadists have previously released videos showing the murders of American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff and of British aid worker David Haines.- Huge plumes of smoke -Hennings apparent murder came as other IS fighters besieged the Syrian town of Kobane on the Turkish border, where Kurdish militiamen are mounting a desperate defence.Turkish troops take position in the southeastern town of Suruc on October 3, 2014 Huge plumes of smoke were seen rising from Kobane as its outnumbered defenders came under fire from IS fighters who have advanced to its gates despite US-led air strikes against them.At least 60 mortar rounds rained down on the town Friday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which described it as the heaviest bombardment since mid-September.It said a Chechen IS fighter was leading the assault on the town, which is considered a strategic prize.The fierce fighting came a day after the Turkish government won authorisation from parliament to take military action in Syria and Iraq.We will do whatever we can so that Kobane does not fall, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said, adding that about 186,000 refugees had come across from Syria in less than two weeks.Turkish Parliament members convene to vote on a motion seeking a green light for the use of Turkish troops in Syria and Iraq against Islamic State group jihadists, at the Parliament in Ankara on October 2, 2014 He called for a no-fly zone above northern Syria, saying that Damascus could otherwise carry out strikes on the Aleppo region with all its might and send three million refugees into Anatolia.President Bashar al-Assads Syrian regime was quick to respond with a warning of its own, saying the Turkish stance represents a real aggression against a member state of the United Nations.Ankara has not said what action it might take to prevent IS fighters from taking the town, and with it unbroken control of a long stretch of Turkeys more than 900 kilometre (560 mile) border with Syria.The United States has been working to build an alliance against the jihadists, who have declared an Islamic caliphate on a tract of Iraq and Syria where they have committed widespread atrocities.The Pentagon said aircraft from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates joined US warplanes in new bombing raids Friday.Syrian Kurds stand in the back of a pick-up truck in the southeastern town of Suruc after crossing the border into Turkey on October 2, 2014 Coalition planes hit IS tanks, oil refineries and a training camp.American aircraft also conducted three air raids in Iraq, including two northeast of Fallujah.With the coalitions air component expanding, Dutch Defence Minister Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert said her country could send F-16 fighter bombers into action over Iraq by this weekend.Australia also decided to join combat sorties in support of Kurdish forces and the beleaguered Iraqi army and Canadas parliament is expected to vote on Monday to back a plan to send fighter jets.

Texas tracks 50 exposed to Ebola, 10 'high risk' cases

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Dallas (AFP) - Texas health officials were monitoring 50 people for Ebola exposure Friday, 10 of whom are at high risk of the disease after close contact with the first diagnosed US patient.Meanwhile, leading US health authorities sought to reassure the public that an outbreak of Ebola in the United States was unlikely due to the nations modern healthcare system.The 50 were narrowed down from an initial pool of 100 people thought to have come into contact with the sick man.For the next three weeks they will be checked for fever twice daily, and are currently doing well, said David Lakey, commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services.Most of these individuals are low risk. There are about 10 individuals that are at high risk, so we are watching those individuals very carefully.The people are health care workers and those who came in close contact with Thomas Eric Duncan, who traveled from Liberia to Texas in late September and was announced Tuesday as the first diagnosed US case of Ebola.Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told a White House news conference that the US health care system would make it extraordinarily unlikely that we would have an outbreak.He acknowledged missteps in the way Dallas handled the situation at first, with the hospital admitting a flaw in electronic health records left doctors unaware of the patients travel history to Africa.Duncan was sent home after initially seeking treatment, and was in the community, showing symptoms and therefore contagious, for four days before he was isolated.There were things that did not go the way they should have in Dallas, but there were a lot of things that went right and are going right, Fauci said.Contract tracing is now going on, and that is the important thing.- Closely monitored -US President Barack Obama takes part in a briefing on the outbreak of the Ebola virus in West Africa during a visit to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on September 16, 2014 in Atlanta, Georgia Duncans girlfriend and three members of her family have meanwhile been ordered to stay inside in a Dallas apartment under police guard.A hazardous materials team arrived Friday to remove the sheets and towels Duncan used while he was sick, according to pictures posted online by the Dallas City Hall.A cleanup team was turned away on Thursday over problems with permits for dangerous waste.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials continue to monitor the health of the four people in the apartment, but Duncans girlfriend, Louise, has complained of the quarantine.They did not bring food yet, Louise told CNN.Im just hanging in there, depending on God to save our lives.Louise said she cleaned the apartment with bleach after Duncans Ebola diagnosis and, when asked if she came into contact with Duncans fluids, she said she did not think she had.The family has been ordered to stay in the apartment until October 19, the end of the viruss incubation period.- Potential new case -A Health worker uses a piece of cardboard to carry a thermometer as he looks after a patient at a World Health Organization health center in the Liberian capital Monrovia, on October 3, 2014 Meanwhile, concerns mounted elsewhere in the United States about the potential spread of Ebola, which has already killed 3,338 people in West Africa.A patient with Ebola-like symptoms -- which can include fever, vomiting and diarrhea -- who recently traveled to Nigeria was hospitalized at Howard University in Washington.In an abundance of caution, we have activated the appropriate infection control protocols, including isolating the patient, hospital spokeswoman Kerry-Ann Hamilton told AFP.A 33-year-old American cameraman for NBC News was diagnosed with Ebola in Liberia on Thursday and was said to be returning to the United States for treatment.The State Department has helped facilitate the return home of a total of five Americans from West Africa for Ebola treatment, and a sixth with a high risk for Ebola exposure since the outbreak began earlier this year, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.She said the five include the freelance cameraman, Ashoka Mukpo. He is scheduled to arrive in Omaha, Nebraska Monday morning.

Luxury carmakers crank up sales while keeping the dream alive

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Paris (AFP) - Faster, shinier and as inaccessible as ever to mere mortals: the latest luxury cars remain the stars of the Paris Motor Show but manufacturers face a tricky balance between meeting demand and maintaining exclusivity.The latest offerings from Bentley, Rolls Royce and Lamborghini purred onto the stage at the Paris Motor Show, which opens to the general public on Saturday, at a time of record luxury car sales.With a wealth of new super-rich clients in China and the Middle East, the fast-growing luxury car segment is presenting a unique challenge to bosses who know their greatest currency is rarity.If you are producing too many cars you have a problem in selling them, you start discounting and you start destroying the value of the brand, or the dream, said Lamborghini boss Stephan Winkelmann.You buy a Lamborghini not because you need a car but because you want a dream to become reality.In Paris the luxury Italian carmaker unveiled the sporty yet curvy Asterion, its first hybrid supercar.A Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe is presented at the Paris Motor Show on October 2, 2014 For Lamborghini it is not about the volume of cars we are selling, it is about being profitable and always selling less than the demand. This is one of the key sentences in the luxury business, said Winkelmann.Last year we sold 2,121 cars, this year will be more and the year 2015, I think we are even going to do more.The productivity versus rarity condundrum is seen as having contributed to the downfall of Ferrari president Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, pushed out of the flashy sports car brand earlier this month.Montezemolo reportedly hoped to keep the red and black brand exclusive by limiting sales to some 7,000 cars a year, whereas his replacement Sergio Marchionne chose volume, said Remi Cornubert, an expert in strategy development at the Oliver Wyman consultancy.While the hyper-luxury car market remains marginal, with only 0.1 to 0.2 percent of the global market, it is the faster growing segment, said Jonathon Poskitt, an analyst at research company LMC.- Something unique -Visitors and staff members gather near cars at the Porsche and Lamborghini stands at the Paris Motor Show on October 2, 2014 Bentley unveiled the latest version of its Mulsanne Speed, which promises to go from 0 to 100 km/h (60 miles/h) in only 4.9 seconds.The British luxury automaker noted a record 19 percent growth in 2013 with sales of over 10,000 cars, and hopes to reach 15,000 by 2018.Rolls Royce president Thorsten Muller-Otvos said the British carmaker would sell more than 4,000 cars this year for the first time.We are not volume driven ... we are always producing one car less than we can sell, but we have expanded our worldwide footprint, he told AFP, highlighting substantial growth in China and the Middle East.Rolls Royce rolled out its new Phantom Metropolitan at the Paris Motor Show, but to satisfy its clients, will only be producing 20.Our customers dont want to see Rolls Royces at every single street corner. You want to make sure you are not comparable to others, that you have something unique, said Muller-Otvos.

Lewis Hamilton ahead in Japan as typhoon threatens

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Suzuka (Japan) (AFP) - Championship leader Lewis Hamilton stayed ahead of Mercedes teammate and rival Nico Rosberg in Fridays Japanese Grand Prix practice as teenager Max Verstappen became the youngest Formula One driver.Verstappen, at 17 years and three days, managed the 12th fastest time in the opening practice before engine trouble forced him out in a cloud of smoke.Hamilton set the best lap time of 1min 35.078sec, 0.240sec faster than Rosberg, on a day of multiple crashes in which the Briton also had a scare.Mercedes have an outside chance of claiming the constructors title at the Suzuka race and the times set by their British and German drivers, fierce rivals all season, pointed to another high-speed duel on Sunday.Typhoon Phanphone, which is bearing down on Japan, is threatening to barge into their plans however. Torrential rain is predicted for Sunday which could force organisers to bring forward the start by a few hours.Bad weather could have a new topsy-turvy impact on the championship, finely balanced with Hamilton leading Rosberg by three points in the championship standings with five races remaining.Nico Rosberg (front) and Lewis Hamilton drive in the first practice session in Suzuka on October 3, 2014 for the Formula One Japanese Grand Prix The rivals maintained their truce at Suzuka however, with both praising the work of Mercedes to keep them so competitive at vastly different tracks.Its amazing what this team has done, to be able to come to one of the most demanding circuits for down-force and to be that competitive is fantastic, said Hamilton.The car didnt feel spectacular this morning, but on the option tyre this afternoon it felt really good - except when I nearly went off- Ricciardos big crash -I thought I was going off and into the barriers and I only just caught it, Hamilton said, explaining how he had caught and corrected his car during one of many heart-stopping incidents in a session with two red flags, several minor crashes and a series of errors.Max Verstappen listens to a Toro Rosso crew member in the pit in Suzuka on October 2, 2014 ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix Red Bulls Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo took the blame for a big crash when he slid off the circuit at the final corner as he completed his first flying lap.He careered through a gravel trap and hit the barriers with the left front corner of his Red Bull.I made a mistake, said Ricciardo. I did my first quick lap and everyone is cooling after that, producing fast lap, slow lap and then fast again.On the slow lap, there was a yellow flag, so I went extra slow so that once I started my quick lap the yellow flag would have cleared and I would have been able to push.Lewis Hamilton signs an autograph for a fan in the paddock of the Suzuka circuit on October 3, 2014 The tyres probably cooled too much and out of the last chicane I got on the power and had a few moments and just couldnt catch it.The second practice session at Suzuka ended early when Frenchman Jean-Eric Vergnes Toro Rosso also ground to a halt with smoke pouring from the rear, resulting in a red flag.Japans Kamui Kobayashi also crashed his Caterham and Mexican Esteban Gutierrez lost control of his Sauber while Ferraris Kimi Raikkonen and Nico Hulkenberg of Force India both had minor run-offs as rain fell sporadically.Verstappen, son of former Formula One racer Jos Verstappen, grabbed the spotlight in the first session when he took control of Vergnes Toro Rosso. He will take over from the Frenchman from next season.The teenager, who is not old enough to drive on public roads in his native Netherlands, pulled over after 21 laps.I have a problem in the engine, the Dutchman, who will replace Jean-Eric Vergne next season, radioed to his team. I have smoke out of the engine. What should I do?He was still happy with his start.I was not even close to the limit, said Verstappen, who did not run in the second session. I was just driving safely without doing any crazy stuff.Off the track, attention continues to focus on the future of Spanish driver Pedro Alonso of Spain, who has been tipped for a move to McLaren.Outgoing Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo said at the Paris Motor Show that Alonsos future was being discussed in Japan.If he says he will stay, we will be happy. If we decide together to end our collaboration, it will be in the best manner possible, he said.

Nadal crashes in China as Serena withdraws

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Beijing (AFP) - Rafael Nadal crashed out of the China Open Friday, tiring at the end of a gruelling three-set quarter-final against qualifier Martin Klizan, while reigning womens champion Serena Williams withdrew injured.In only his third outing since returning from three months on the sidelines, 14-times Grand Slam winner Nadal managed just two points in the last four games of a match that he lost 6-7 (7/9) 6-4, 6-3.The world number three won the first set at the tie break, and was 4-3 ahead in the second before Slovakias Klizan fought back and forced a decider.The second seed then appeared to be edging through to the semi-finals after breaking serve in the third set to make it 3-2 in his favour.But Klizan, who is ranked 56th by the ATP, then tore into Nadal, taking nine consecutive points in quick succession and the final four games as he closed in on victory.Before Beijing, Nadal had not played competitively since he was dumped out at Wimbledon by 19-year-old Australian Nick Kyrgios.Serena Williams during her China Open match against Lucie Safarova in Beijing on October 2, 2014 He was then struck down in training by a right wrist injury which forced him to miss the US Open.The nine-time French Open champion looked more composed during the previous two rounds in the Chinese capital, which he won in straight sets.But the quarter-final loss was a grim awakening that it may be a while until he is back to his world-beating best.It will not be easy after what happened, Nadal said.Always when you are outside for a few months, as I said the other day, is not the same as if you are coming back the next season that everybody starts from zero.You are coming back now, and the other players are on the road, are in rhythm. Physically you feel more tired.Klizan will meet third seed Tomas Berdych in the semi-finals, after the world number six Czech beat American John Isner, his doubles partner, 6-1, 6-4.Martin Klizan celebrates after beating Rafael Nadal in the China Open in Beijing on October 3, 2014 Reigning champion Novak Djokovic powered through to the last four as he overcame fifth seed Grigor Dimitrov 6-2, 6-4.Everything worked well. The second set was up and down. But generally was a good performance, the world number one said.The Serb is bidding for his fifth title in Beijing, a tournament he has won every year since 2009 -- apart from 2011, when he did not take part.He will now face Briton Andy Murray in the semi-finals after the sixth seed won his quarter-final against Croatias US Open champion Marin Cilic 6-1, 6-4.Murray broke serve three times in the first set but was forced to wait until the final game of the second set to break again and clinch victory.The 27-year-old Scot is vying for his second consecutive title in China after he won in Shenzhen last weekend.He is desperately chasing points as he pushes to qualify for the ATP World Tour Finals next month, which features the top eight mens players.Only five berths are available as the worlds top three players -- Djokovic, Roger Federer and Nadal -- have already confirmed their place for the London tournament.Murray is in ninth position and is aiming to pick up points in Beijing and at the Shanghai Masters next week. Berdych meanwhile, holds the eighth berth.The duel between Murray and Djokovic Saturday will be a re-match of their epic US Open quarter-final, which Djokovic won 7-6 (7/1), 6-7 (1/7), 6-2, 6-4.- Serena frustrated -Novak Djokovic during his China Open match against Grigor Dimitrov in Beijing on October 3, 2014 In the womens competition, world number one Serena Williams withdrew from the tournament with a left knee injury.The reigning champion was due to play Australian Samantha Stosur after winning her third round match Thursday evening with a bandaged knee.Its really frustrating, especially from here. This is a really big tournament for me. Im defending champ, the 33-year-old said.Stosur, the 2011 US Open winner and former world number four, will now go straight into the semi-finals where she will play Petra Kvitova.Third seed Kvitova beat Italian Roberta Vinci 7-6 (7/2), 6-4 to book her place in the last four.The world number three won the inaugural Wuhan Open last Saturday, her third title of the year.Fourth seed Russian Maria Sharapova won her quarter-final match against compatriot Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-0, 6-4.The victory means she will face ninth seed Serb Ana Ivanovic for a place in the final.Ivanovic made the last four following the withdrawal of her scheduled quarter-final opponent Simona Halep on Thursday. The Romanian world number two retired after her three-set victory against Andrea Petkovic in the third round.The $5.4 million China Open will reach its climax on Sunday.

World Bank staff press Kim over selective bonuses

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Washington (AFP) - The World Banks staff association has called for a meeting with President Jim Yong Kim citing a climate of fear and confusion and unhappiness over bonuses granted select top officials.An internal memo obtained by AFP Friday asked Kim to discuss issues related to reforms he has instituted since becoming Bank president two years ago with staff ahead of the banks annual meetings next week.The staff association memo cited major frustration over bonuses to senior management leading the cost-cutting exercise currently underway (and) insufficient budgets to deliver projects.It also cited a lack of communications from management on the Global Practices moving forward, and the overall climate of fear and confusion that is permeating the corridors.The association, representing a workforce of around 10,000, requested a town-hall meeting with Kim next week in order to convey staff frustrations and confusion to him directly without filter.Staff need to see and hear from President Kim now and have their concerns addressed.A week before the annual gathering of bank members and staff in Washington, the poverty-fighting institution has been riled by news that, despite Kims efforts to cut spending, certain senior officials have received generous bonuses.A key figure involved in the Bank restructuring, chief financial officer Bertrand Badre, received a $94,000 bonus for fiscal year 2014, in addition to his net annual salary of about $380,000.After an anonymous flyer on the issue circulated earlier this week, about 200 staff assembled in the main hall of World Bank headquarters in Washington Thursday, according to the staff association.After President Barack Obama nominated him to lead the Bank, Kim launched a sweeping reorganization aimed at cutting $5 billion in annual expenditures by $400 million over three years, including possible staff cuts.The reorganization also comes as the World Bank faces a challenge to serving developing country clients from the new development-focused BRICS bank being launched by Brazil, Russia, China, India and South Africa.On Wednesday Bank spokesman David Theis justified issuing bonuses amid an austerity program as necessary to attract and retain high-caliber management.

US unemployment rate falls below 6%

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Washington (AFP) - The US jobs machine shifted into higher gear in September, pushing the unemployment rate down to the lowest level in six years.In a boost for President Barack Obama a month before midterm congressional elections, the Labor Department reported Friday that the economy pumped out 248,000 net new positions last month, sending the jobless rate to 5.9 percent.Together with upward revisions from previous months, this eased concerns about a late-summer slump in job creation.The solid run so far this year -- an average of 227,000 jobs each month -- brought the number of officially unemployed down to 9.3 million, the fewest since July 2008.But the data also showed continued weakness in wages, and still-large numbers of long-term unemployed, part-time workers and labor market dropouts.That could challenge Obamas bid to prove that his stewardship of the economy has served Americans well, ahead of the November midterm congressional elections.Obamas Democrats are battling to prevent Republicans from seizing control of both houses of Congress, and the president hit the campaign trail this week to promote his economic record.Speaking at an Indiana steelworks Friday, he boasted that since the 2008-2009 recession, the US has put more folks back to work than Europe, Japan, and all other advanced economies combined.Over the past 55 months our businesses have now created 10.3 million new jobs, he said.It has got a little bit to do with some decisions we made quite early on in my administration.- Flat wages, low participation -Chart showing monthly US unemployment since September 2013 The September jobs market data underscored those gains.Job creation was strongest in the restaurant industry, health care, food and beverage stores, and administrative services, with also modest additions in construction and government hiring.But weaknesses persisted. The number of those who have dropped out of the labor market -- a volatile figure month-to-month -- rose by 315,000, almost as much as the fall in the number of unemployed.The civilian labor force participation rate fell a tick to a new low of 62.7 percent, far below the 66 percent level prior to the severe recession.The number of involuntary part-time workers was little-changed in September at 7.1 million, and wages were down slightly for the month.Indeed, since the recession weekly wages have risen by just over two percent a year, barely staying ahead of inflation, adding to the feeling among many Americans that things have not improved.Much of the decline in the unemployment rate is due to people leaving the labor force, said Dean Baker at the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington.While the labor market is improving, it still has a long way to go before reaching full employment, he said.People wait in line for a retail job interview on October 2, 2014 in New York City Chris Williamson of economic consultancy Markit said policy makers will remain bothered by stagnant paychecks for most people.Without substantially higher wage growth, the fear is that households will pull back on consumption if interest rates and borrowing costs start rising, snuffling out the wider economic recovery.That adds little fresh pressure on the Federal Reserve, which has been focused on cutting joblessness, to move more aggressively to tighten monetary policy from the current easy-money stance.Fed Chair Janet Yellen has argued for much of the year that significant slack in the labor market gives the central bank more time before it has to raise its benchmark fed funds interest rate up from the zero-level where it has been since late 2008.So far the Fed has signaled it expects an initial rate hike in the second half of 2015.Economist Harm Bandholz of UniCredit said he expects wage gains are about to gain some momentum and the Fed could also shift gears faster than currently anticipated by most financial market participants.US markets were happy with the news. The S&P 500 gained 1.1 percent, and the dollar surged to $1.2501 to the euro, the strongest level in five years.

Battle rages for Ukraine's main eastern airport

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Donetsk (Ukraine) (AFP) - Ukrainian forces clashed with pro-Russian insurgents for control of a strategic airport in the restive east Friday and traded blame over the death of a Swiss aid worker, four weeks into their shaky truce.Heavy fighting engulfed the flashpoint transport hub north of Donetsk, with blasts echoing across the largest rebel-held city throughout the day, but its status remained in dispute.Separatist fighters said they were in control of almost the entire facility, which includes an old terminal and a brand new one built at a cost of nearly $1 billion for the 2012 football European Championship.The Ukrainian military confirmed that gunmen had briefly seized the first floor of the old building, but said they had since been pushed out, even though fighting continued.The weeks-long battle for the prized but no longer operating airport, whose long runway could let the separatists land large planes, has been one of many violations of a Russia-backed ceasefire signed on September 5.A family looks at damage to their house, destroyed during recent shelling in the village of Peski, in the Donetsk suburbs, October 3, 2014 Since then, 71 Ukrainian soldiers and civilians -- and an undisclosed number of separatists -- have been killed across the Russian-speaking rustbelt, including a staff member of the Red Cross, whose office in Donetsk was hit Thursday.Both Moscow and the separatist command pinned the blame on Ukrainian forces, which in turn accused the insurgents. Both sides have pelted Donetsk with long-range missiles that were developed in the Soviet era and are notoriously imprecise.The five-month conflict has killed more than 3,200 people and despite repeated violations of the truce, Western leaders still view it as the only viable option for ending Europes worst crisis in decades.Pro-Western President Petro Poroshenko assured the weary nation Friday that he had enough energy to stop this war, adding that the enemy has made us stronger despite the loss of 946 Ukrainian soldiers and volunteers since the start of hostilities in April.- Russia reinforcing militias? -In Donetsk, a half-deserted city that once had nearly a million residents and is all but completely controlled by the self-proclaimed Donetsk Peoples Republic, Kievs forces seemed to be hanging on by a thread after spending weeks holed up at the airport.Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko answers questions during a press conference in Kiev, on September 25, 2014 Separatist prime minister Alexander Zakharchenko told Russias RIA Novosti news agency that his men controlled 95 percent of the sprawling structure -- all but one building.A female rebel at a checkpoint about two kilometres east of the airport told AFP that clashes around the field had gone on uninterrupted since 7:00 am.We are controlling the main part of the airport, the Ukrainians are still in one building, she said.They (the Ukrainians) still hold two bunkers, we are fighting to take those, said another rebel.The Ukrainian military argued Friday evening that its forces had repelled the attacks and were still in control, also accusing Russia of supplying the militias with reinforcements.Our reconnaissance observed the arrival of considerable armour, heavy artillery and soldiers into this area, defence spokesman Andriy Lysenko said.Russian forces have moved a unit of unmanned aerial vehicles to the airport area for reconnaissance, which are operated by Russian specialists.- Western fears -Kiev and the rebels, who agreed on September 19 to withdraw heavy weapons from a 30-kilometre (18.6 miles) buffer zone along the eastern front line, have blamed each other for violating the deal.Pro-Ukrainian fighters drive in the Donetsk suburb of Peski village, October 3, 2014 Kiev has blamed the recent deaths in central Donetsk on rebel attempts to discredit the army, while the militias accused the Ukrainian military of hitting residential areas by using indiscriminate fire.Firing from (multiple rocket launcher) systems is not targeted. They simply hit a general area, along with everyone in it, Andrei Purgin, number two in the Donetsk separatist command, told AFP.UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he was saddened and disturbed by the Swiss aid workers death, and the outgoing EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton called on all parties to ensure open access for aid workers.But Russian foreign ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich openly sided with the rebels and called for a full investigation.Ukraine meanwhile said it had struck a gas deliveries deal with Norwegian energy giant Statoil to help it cope with a months-long cut in Russian supplies.Both Ukraines state energy holding Naftogaz and Statoil refused to disclose the volumes or price of gas in the contract, reflecting the sensitivities around the move which threatens to infuriate Moscow.
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