Thursday 25 December 2014

Dunya TV

Dunya TV

Tokyo: Market stocks lower 0.25 percent

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TOKYO (AFP) - Tokyo stocks closed 0.25 percent lower on Thursday, snapping a five day winning streak, as profit-taking and a stronger yen dragged the market down in thin holiday trade.The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange ended down 45.48 points at 17,808.75, while the Topix index of all first-section issues slipped 0.33 percent, or 4.76 points, to 1,421.26.

World Cup winner White set for Montpellier role

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PARIS: (AFP) - South Africas 2007 World Cup winning coach Jake White is set to be named manager of Top 14 side Montpellier according to LEquipe on Thursday.The 51-year-old -- a two-time IRB world coach of the year -- has signed a six month contract according to a well-informed source. His appointment will place almost unbearable pressure on head coach Fabien Galthie as White will be the former France captains superior.Galthie, who has been seen as a potential successor to present France coach Philippe Saint-Andre should he step down after next years World Cup, has seen his position at the club weakened with a seven match losing run dating back to October 11 which only ended in their game last Saturday with a narrow win over Toulouse.They are presently in sixth place, the last position for the post-season play-offs, 11 points off leaders and defending champions Toulon.White is coming with a view to being in charge of the team completely, the source told LEquipe. He will be above Galthie. He will have the role of manager, that is what has been negotiated.However, a close friend claims that Galthie -- who has guided the team from nowhere to becoming a regular contender for the French title taking them to the 2011 final -- will feel the appointment has pushed him into a corner where he has no option but to resign.Galthie, who also coached his first club Stade Francais to the 2005 French championship and European Cup finals, was allowed to stay on after Montpellier president Mohad Altrad held talks with the players before the Toulouse game but only if the 45-year-old could turn their fortunes around.Galthie has the feeling that they want to make him so disgusted that he leaves and therefore is less costly to them in terms of a pay out, the friend told LEquipe.Since leaving the Springboks post in 2007 White has held coaching posts with Australia side Brumbies and then as director of rugby with South African outfit The Sharks but resigned in September this year and has been acting as a technical advisor to the Tongan national team.Montpelliers next game is an away trip to bottom side Castres on Sunday.

U.S. Postal Service eyes e-commerce to offset declining mail

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(Reuters) - Facing a slump in the mail it had been delivering since the days of Americas Revolutionary War, in 2012 the U.S. Postal Service began aggressively targeting e-commerce and lapsed customers as the way to salvage its declining business.Really it started almost at the level of cold-calling, talking to people who really hadnt spoken to us in a long time, said Nagisa Manabe, who joined the USPS in May 2012 as chief marketing and sales officer from Coca-Cola Co after a career in the private sector. And really trying to persuade them to consider us as a very viable alternative in the shipping market.With further drops in its traditional bread-and-butter products ahead, the USPS wants to capitalize on e-commerce, which consulting firm Detroit LLP has predicted should grow 14 percent this holiday season alone. But industry experts question whether the USPS has enough space in its delivery vans and whether its unionized work force can handle a greater proportion of the e-commerce market.Over the past two years the USPS has rolled out real-time scanning for packages, a vital tool for online retailers and consumers alike to track their packages. It is also upgrading all of its delivery workers handheld scanners.The rise of the Internet has taken a heavy toll on first-class mail, the USPSs most profitable product. That falling business played a significant role in the USPSs fiscal 2014 loss of $5.5 billion, its eighth consecutive year in the red.From 2009 to 2013, the volume of first-class mail deliveries dropped more than 20 percent. In the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, USPS deliveries declined to 155.4 billion pieces from 158.2 billion. First-class deliveries accounted for 2.2 billion pieces of that decline.But package deliveries rose to more than 4 billion pieces from 3.7 billion, accounting for $1.1 billion of the USPSs revenue growth of $1.9 billion. In the run-up to Christmas, the USPS has been doing Sunday deliveries for Amazon.com Inc in a number of cities. Manabe adds that the agency will handle the online retailers push into same-day and next-day deliveries in many markets.EBay Inc is another major customer and Manabe says pretty much anyone whos in the e-commerce space at least does some volume with us.FLEET OVERHAULMany in the delivery industry are waiting to see how the USPS has handled surging e-commerce volumes in the days before Christmas.The USPSs competitive advantage lies in the fact that it already delivers to every house in America and analysts estimate it can do so for around a quarter of the cost charged by United Parcel Service Inc and FedEx Corp, which are both competitors and customers of the USPS.The U.S. Postal Service has the ultimate last-mile delivery network, so it has a real opportunity here, said Vinnie DeAngelis, vice president of postal relations at Neopost USA, which provides tracking and other software for e-commerce retailers and delivery companies.According to shipment-tracking software developer ShipMatrix Inc, in 2013 the USPS accounted for 59.2 percent of e-commerce deliveries, while UPS accounted for 31.9 percent and FedEx 8.9 percent. The USPS has predicted holiday package volume growth of around 12 percent this year from Nov. 17 to Christmas.In the years ahead, the USPS expects 80 percent of U.S. ZIP codes will see significantly more business, Manabe said. But many of the USPSs current delivery vehicles are more than 25 years old and built for mail instead of larger packages.They (the USPS) tend to operate smaller vehicles that really cube out (fill up) pretty quickly as opposed to the network we have in place, FedEx Executive Vice President Michael Glenn said during a Dec. 17 earnings conference call with analysts. Delivery companies measure their vehicles three-dimensional space in cubes.The USPS plans to spend more than $10 billion over the next four years on a new fleet of vehicles. Manabe said that could mean three or four different sizes of vehicles to handle different package volumes in urban and rural areas.Some industry experts are concerned that the USPS, whose operations are dictated by Congress, may have trouble handling e-commerce growth due to its quasi-government unionized workers.When I think about the USPS business model, I dont believe they are ever going to get the productivity of FedEx or UPS, said Brian Hancock, a board member of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals.But Manabe insists the unionized work force is on board and recognizes the importance of e-commerce.The last few delivery days before Christmas have been a test for the USPS. After struggling with a late surge in online orders last year that left an estimated 2 million packages stranded on Christmas Eve, UPS and FedEx both made it clear this year that they would reject a last-minute flood of packages if it threatened their systems.Rick Jones, a former UPS executive and now CEO of regional delivery company Lone Star Overnight, says that for many retailers this holiday season, the USPS may have become the carrier of last resort.The question is whether their smaller vehicles, which are designed for mail rather than packages, could handle the extra volume, he said.

Ramdin calls on players to believe in themselves

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PORT ELIZABETH (AFP) - West Indian captain Denesh Ramdin said on Thursday he believed his teams problems against South Africa was a lack of self-belief although he stressed several times they were up against the number one team in the world.Speaking ahead of the second Test, which starts at St Georges Park on Friday, Ramdin said: We need to believe in ourselves.He highlighted the failure of any West Indian batsman to score more than 39 on the way to defeat by an innings and 220 runs in the first Test in Centurion.The West Indies batting line-up had been significantly weakened prior to the tour with the withdrawals of explosive opener Chris Gayle and the experienced Darren Bravo.Weve stressed to the guys who got starts in the first Test that they need to kick on to 70, 80, even a hundred.Ramdin said the good performances in Port Elizabeth would be important for individuals.Playing against the number one team in the world you want to do well. If you do well you get a lot of credit for it.The West Indian captain said he believed that the loss through injury of Kemar Roach, their best bowler at Centurion, could be overcome by the inclusion of either Shannon Gabriel or Kenroy Peters.They are both good enough to do the same job as Kemar.The message to the bowlers was to bowl a fuller length than they did in the first Test, where short-pitched bowling was dealt with comfortably by the South African batsmen.Hopefully the guys will look deep into themselves and pull out that magical performance, said Ramdin.South African captain Hashim Amla, meanwhile, looked for more of the same from his players.The guys are nice and fresh after a few days off. Hopefully we can set the tone as we did in the first Test.Amla said it was likely South Africa would include Pakistan-born leg-spinner Imran Tahir.The 35-year-old -- who has taken just 40 wickets in his previous 15 tests -- was called up as the sole specialist spinner after an injury to left-armer Robin Peterson.Traditionally the ball tends to turn a bit here, so a spinner has more of a role to play, said 31-year-old Amla.Amla added he expected the St Georges Park pitch to be more batsman friendly than Centurion -- even though he scored 208 there -- although he cautioned that because of the surface, scoring rates tended to be slower.

Tunisia arrests blogger for 'defaming' army officer: lawyer

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TUNIS: (AFP) - Tunisian authorities have arrested a blogger who has been critical of the party of newly elected president Beji Caid Essebsi, as he returned home from France, his lawyer said Thursday.Yassine Ayari, 33, was detained overnight at Tunis-Carthage airport and whisked to jail in line with a court verdict pronounced against him last month.On November 18 Ayari was tried in absentia on charges of defaming army officers and sentenced to three years in jail.But according to his lawyer Sami Ben Amor, the blogger, who was living in France at the time, was unaware of the verdict against him.Ayari has denied the charges against him and a new hearing in the case has been set for January 6, Ben Amor said.This case undermines freedom of speech and is the first of its kind to emerge under the reign of Beji Caid Essebsi, said the lawyer, adding that Yassine Ayari is paying the price of his political views.Essebsi, an 88-year old anti-Islamist politician, won Tunisias first free presidential election on Sunday, capping off the transition to democracy in the birthplace of the Arab Spring.His victory follows October legislative polls won by his Nidaa Tounes party.In recent months, Ayari had published blogs very critical of Nidaa Tounes.Essebsi is a veteran politician who served under previous Tunisian regimes, including in the government of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali who was ousted in the 2011 uprising.

Tokyo: Market stocks lower 0.25%

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TOKYO (AFP) - Tokyo stocks closed 0.25 percent lower on Thursday, snapping a five day winning streak, as profit-taking and a stronger yen dragged the market down in thin holiday trade.The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange ended down 45.48 points at 17,808.75, while the Topix index of all first-section issues slipped 0.33 percent, or 4.76 points, to 1,421.26.

US company to open tuna cannery in American Samoa

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PAGO PAGO, American Samoa: (AP) – A Washington state company is making a $70 million investment in a tuna cannery in the U.S. territory of American Samoa.The canned tuna products from American Samoa will carry the Made In USA label, said officials with Tri Marine International. Based in Bellevue, Washington, Tri Marine took over the lease of a government property three years ago after another cannery closed.Tri Marines cannery plant is expected to employ some 1,500 workers when fully operational and is operated by the companys Samoa Tuna Process Inc., located on seaside village of Atuu. American Samoas economy is dependent on the tuna cannery industry.We are $70 million confident of our investment in the cannery project, Tri Marine Chief Executive Officer Renato Curto said.Ultimately, our decision to invest came down to our belief that tuna is a good, nutritious product, that tuna stocks can be sustainably managed for the long-term and that processing in the islands is the right thing to do, he said.Gov. Lolo Matalasi Moliga said the territorial government stands firm in its support of Tri Marine, especially on this latest investment that will boost the local economy and provide more jobs to residents looking for work.The investment will allow the company to remain competitive in this very competitive global industry, Moliga said.Outgoing chamber of commerce chairman Lewis Wolman said that besides the large workforce, the new cannery will have direct impacts like buying products from local vendors and supporting the shipping industry. But it will also have significant indirect impacts, such as the purchases made by workers from their paychecks.An inauguration ceremony is planned for Jan. 24.The new cannery will focus on the U.S. market, where tuna products from American Samoa are duty-free, said Curto, adding that this helps offset the higher cost of processing in the territory as compared with industrialized centers in low-labor-cost countries like Thailand, Philippines and China.We are targeting retail and food service clients who want to know where their tuna was caught, who caught it, how it was caught and where it was processed, Curto said.The company plans to produce private label and its own brand of tuna markets. The brand is made by Tri Marine subsidiary, The Tuna Store, and it is already on shelves under the name Ocean Naturals.In additional to the new cannery, Tri Marines Samoa Tuna Processor Inc., a cold storage facility, opened last year. The facility can receive fish directly from the fishing boats. Curto said catch from the boats can be sized and separated by species before being processed by local plant or exported as whole fish.Tri Marine also owns a fleet of 10 U.S.-flagged purse seiners based in Pago Pago to supply tuna to the cannery, he said. Curto said the company has invested well over $200 million in American Samoa between its fleet and facilities.There have been some concerns by a few American Samoa officials that Tri Marines new cannery will compete with the companys SolTuna Inc. cannery operation in the Solomon Islands, a South Pacific country with a land mass of 11,000 square miles.But Curto said SolTuna, which is a partnership between Tri Marine and the Solomon Islands government, produces products for other markets, which includes the South Pacific region and Europe where products from Solomon Islands have duty-free access.

Mogadishu: Somali islamists attack African Union's peacekeeping base

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MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somali Islamist militant Al Shabaab attacked the main African Union peacekeeping base in the capital Mogadishu on Thursday, a spokesman for the group said.Sporadic gunfire could be heard from inside the compound, a Reuters photographer said. A Western diplomat inside the base said the compound walls had not been breached.AU officials could not be reached for comment. Our fighters have entered AUs Halane base by force through the gate and now fighting is going on inside the base, Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, al Shabaabs military operation spokesman, said.The AU base is on the edge of the Mogadishu international airport compound, which has a tight security cordon and blast walls. It is also used as a base for U.N. operations in Somalia.The airport area also houses the British and Italian embassies. Aleem Siddique, spokesman for the United Nations in Somalia, said all U.N. staff were safe and accounted for.

Lahore: 3 terrorists allegedly to attack Kot Lakhpat Jail arrested

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LAHORE (Dunya News) – The security forces on Thursday arrested as many as three terrorists including, two women carrying rocket launcher, maps of the jails and army uniforms.The terrorist gang had reportedly planned to attack the Kot Lakhpat Jail.According to the details, the police and the officials of the security forces did a combined operation and arrested three terrorists from a house in the Fareed Colony of the Kot Lakhpat area.The officials have seized a rocket launcher and uniforms of the security agencies from their possession. According to the sources, the terrorists were planning to attack the Kot Lakhpat Jail.However, they have been transported to an unknown location for interrogation. Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Shahbaz Sharif admired the security agencies for their pre-emptive strike and failing the evil plan.According to a statement, the CM said that the law enforcement agencies made a terrorists’ plan fail.

Saudi to dig into reserves for 2015 budget

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RIYADH, Saudi Arabia: (AP) - Saudi Arabias Cabinet on Thursday endorsed a 2015 budget that projects a slight increase in spending and a significant drop in revenues due to sliding oil prices, resulting in a nearly $39 billion deficit.In a sign of mounting financial pressure, the Finance Ministry said the government would try to cut back on salaries, wages and allowances, which contribute to about 50 percent of total budgeted expenditures. That could stir resentment among the kingdoms youth, who make up a majority of the population and are increasingly struggling to find affordable housing and salaries that cover their cost of living.The price of oil the backbone of Saudi Arabias economy has fallen by about a half since the summer. Saudi Arabia is extremely wealthy, but there are deep wealth disparities and youth unemployment is expected to mushroom absent a dramatic rise in private sector job creation. The International Monetary Fund says almost two-thirds of employed Saudis work for the government.A the height of Arab Spring protests sweeping the region in 2011, King Abdullah pledged $120 billion to fund a number of projects, including job creation and hikes in public sector wages. The move was largely seen as an effort to appease the public and blunt any challenges to monarchical rule.Associate Fellow and energy researcher at Chatham House, Valerie Marcel, said massive government spending across the Gulf on public sector salaries is really the thing that keeps the lid on the bottle. She said that for now the Arab monarchies of the Gulf can afford to run deficits due to surpluses accumulated over the years from high oil prices.Saudi-based investment firm Jadwa Investment said the deficit will be financed comfortably using the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agencys huge stock of net foreign assets, which totaled $736 billion at the end of November. The 2015 budget even includes a slight increase in overall spending, which will be up 0.6 percent from the previous year.The IMF said in a report this week that the decline in oil prices highlights the need for energy-rich Arab Gulf countries to diversify their economies away from oil. It said Gulf governments need to change the incentive structure of the economy to encourage individuals to work in the private sector.In neighboring United Arab Emirates, some members of the Federal National Council, which mainly performs an advisory role, lamented this week that the countrys $13 billion 2015 budget is a a salary budget, according to the Abu Dhabi-based newspaper The National. More than 80 percent of most federal agencies budgets were allocated to salaries, the newspaper reported.Saudi Arabia, the Arab worlds largest economy, said it would dig into its reserves to cover the difference between $229.3 billion (860 billion riyals) in projected expenditures and $190.7 billion (715 billion riyals) in revenues for the coming fiscal year. A quarter of expenditures will be spent on the education sector.The budget is expected to allay investor concerns that the drop in oil prices could lead to less government spending and reduced economic growth.The Finance Ministry said the budget was adopted under international economic and financial conditions that are challenging. The 2015 budget reflects an expected cut in revenues of around $88 billion from 2014, mostly due to the slump in global oil prices.The kingdoms figures for the current fiscal year show a deficit -- for the first time since 2009 -- of $14.4 billion (54 billion riyals). Total expenditure had been projected at $228 billion, but ran 29 percent higher, at $293 billion, due to expansion work at Islams two holiest mosques, among other projects, according to the Finance Ministry.The published version of the 2015 budget did not include a projected oil price. Jadwa Investment estimates that Saudi Arabia is projecting a price of $56 per barrel for Saudi export crude, or around $60 per barrel for Brent crude, and production unchanged at 9.6 million barrels per day.

Gunmen kill 14 Libya soldiers at power plant

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TRIPOLI, Libya: (AP) - A Libyan military official says gunmen have killed 14 soldiers guarding a power plant in the central city of Sirte.The official Libyan news agency says the military chief of the self-proclaimed government in the capital Tripoli has ordered an investigation into the slaying in Sirte, which is controlled by Islamist militias allied with the Tripoli government.It is not clear who carried out the attack early Thursday.Nouri Abu-Sahmein, the military chief appointed by the Tripoli government, said in his statement the military prosecutor would lead the investigation.Battles among rival militias in Libya have left hundreds of people dead and thousands displaced in recent weeks. Anti-Islamist militias back the internationally recognized government, which is based in the countrys Far East.

Jamrud Ghandi: TTP commander Saddam killed by security forces

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KHYBER AGENCY (Dunya News) – Tehrik-i-Taliban (TTP) commander Saddam on Thursday has been killed in the latest strike with the security forces as the Operation Khyber One of the Pakistan Army continues successfully.According to the details, as many as five TTP commanders including, one injured have been arrested in Ghandi village of Jamrud area.On one hand the Pakistan Army is targeting TTP members in the northern Waziristan in the Operation Zarb-e-Azb whereas in Khyber Agency, the army is eliminating the evil of terrorism by Operation Khyber One.

Bilawal to not attend Benazir's death anniversary ceremony

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KARACHI (Dunya News) – Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is reported to not attend his mother, Benazir Bhutto’s death anniversary ceremony as PPP leadership maintains that doctors have advised Bilawal to not undergo a journey and take rest.According to the PPP leadership, Bilawal would not attend Benazir’s death anniversary ceremony in Garhi Khuda Baksh on December 27.Bilawal has been restrained by the doctors to not travel. However, former president Asif Ali Zardari would attend the ceremony to be held in remembrance of his late wife along with his two sons. Both of them have reached Karachi from London.Moreover, the central PPP body would attend the death anniversary.

Altaf Hussain urges establishment of administrative units

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KARACHI (Dunya News) – Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain on Thursday has said that the establishment of administrative units is necessary for the stability of democracy and solutions of the problems being faced by the people of the country.He expressed these views while talking to the European Parliament’s nominated member, Amjad Bashir via telephone at the MQM centre Nine-Zero.MQM chief said that to strengthen the government’s administration, the formation of administrative units is important. He also said that none of the democratic governments have held local body elections. Hussain further said that the transference of authority to the lower-levels which are easily accessbile to the common man is avoided.

Monkey gives first aid to electrocuted friend

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NEW DELHI (AP) - Onlookers at a train station in northern India watched in awe as a monkey came to the rescue of an injured friend resuscitating another monkey that had been electrocuted and knocked unconscious.The injured monkey had fallen between the tracks, apparently after touching high-tension wires at the train station in the north Indian city of Kanpur.His companion came to the rescue and was captured on camera lifting the friends motionless body, shaking it, dipping it into a mud puddle and biting its head and skin working until the hurt monkey regained consciousness.The first monkey, completely covered in mud, opened its eyes and began moving again.Crowds of travelers watched the Sunday scene in amazement, filming and snapping pictures.
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