Sunday 28 December 2014

Dunya TV

Dunya TV

Hundreds await rescue, one dead after Italian ferry blaze

Posted:

ATHENS (AFP) - Rescuers were working into the night Sunday to save nearly 300 passengers trapped on a burning Italian ferry as coastguards reported one man had died in the high-seas drama.By late evening, Italian Transport Minister Maurizio Lupi said the flames were under control while the Italian navy said 190 people of the 478 on board had been evacuated.Its going to be a long night, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said on Twitter.Throughout the day, strong winds and choppy waters hampered efforts by teams from Greece, Italy and Albania to retrieve more passengers from the Norman Atlantic.The blaze, which sent huge clouds of smoke into the air, was said to have started on the ferrys car deck in the early hours when the vessel was some 44 nautical miles northwest of the Greek island of Corfu.A Greek passenger who had fallen from an escape chute into the Adriatic Sea with his wife was found dead by Italian coastguards, despite repeated attempts at an air rescue amid six-metre (19.6-foot) waves.His wife was safely plucked from the water and transferred to the Italian port of Brindisi.In desperate scenes earlier in the day, terrified passengers pleaded by mobile phone live on TV to be saved from the vessel, which was travelling from the Greek port of Patras to Ancona in Italy.I cannot breathe, we are all going to burn like rats -- God save us, cried one of the ships cooks in a call to his wife, she told journalists.Alongside rescue efforts by a flotilla of ships, including nearby merchant vessels, helicopters were slowly winching passengers to safety two at a time.- Our shoes were melting -As darkness fell, the Italian navy said that a tugboat, the Marietta Barretta, had finally been able to attach itself to the ferry, raising hopes it could be stabilised sufficiently to accelerate the evacuation of the 287 left on board.Greek Marine Minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis confirmed the towing operation but said he did not know the destination of the tugboat.Although Albania was much closer, he said the final decision rested with the Italian rescuers who were coordinating the efforts.Greek passenger Nikos Papatheodossiou told Mega television that the towed ship was moving at a speed of around two to three (nautical) miles per hour.Italian navy spokesman Riccardo Rizzotto told Rainews that the stricken vessel was some 40 nautical miles from Otranto in southern Italy and 13 nautical miles from Albanias coastline.Rizzotto earlier said the weather was so bad we need an extraordinary level of support.Freezing passengers huddled on the top deck and bridge of the ship told of their terror in calls to Greek television stations.We are on the top deck, we are soaked, we are cold and we are coughing from the smoke. There are women, children and old people, passenger Giorgos Styliaras told Mega TV.Another told the station that our shoes were melting from the heat of the fire when they were mustered in the ships reception area.Haulage company boss Giannis Mylonas, who was in contact with three of his drivers on the vessel, said there were between 20 and 25 tanker trucks filled with olive oil on board.The captain of the ferry was named as 62-year-old Italian Argilio Giacomazzi.I cant wait to give him a hug, his daughter Giulia told ANSA news agency.- Ferry passed checks -Vessels close to the ferry, leased to Greek operator ANEK Lines, rushed to give assistance after picking up its distress signal at 0200 GMT, the Greek coast guard said.The Greek maritime ministry said 268 of the passengers were Greek, with the crew made up of 22 Italians and 34 Greeks. The rest of the passengers included 54 Turks, 44 Italians, 22 Albanians, 18 Germans as well as Swiss, French, Russian, Austrian, British and Dutch nationals.Among those rescued and evacuated to hospitals near Lecce on Italys southeastern heel were a two-year-old Swiss boy, his four-year-old sister and their seven months pregnant mother, according to Italian media.The Norman Atlantic left Patras at 1530 GMT on Saturday and made a stop at the Greek coastal town of Igoumenitsa, before heading to Ancona when the fire took hold.The car deck of the Italian-flagged ferry, built in 2009, was believed to have been holding 195 vehicles when the fire broke out.It remained unclear how the fire started.Carlo Visentini, the chief executive of the Visenti Group which owns the boat, said the vessel underwent checks on December 19 in Patras and the minor flaws revealed had been addressed, including a problem with a fire door.This was immediately repaired to the satisfaction of the inspectors, he said.

Indonesia resumes search for missing AirAsia plane

Posted:

JAKARTA (AFP) - Indonesia resumed at dawn Monday the search for an AirAsia plane that went missing in the Java Sea with 162 people on board, a search and rescue official said.We have resumed the search for the missing AirAsia plane at 6:00 am. We are heading to east Belitung island, Tatang Zainuddin, deputy operations chief of Indonesias National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) told AFP.The Airbus A320-200 disappeared en route from Surabaya in Indonesias east Java to Singapore after the crew requested a change of flight plan due to stormy weather, in the third crisis for a Malaysian carrier this year.We are sending out four aircraft today to help locate the AirAsia plane. We hope we can find it soon. There will also be help from various search and rescue offices in the cities around the area, Zainuddin said.We are expecting vessels and planes from Malaysia and Singapore. We are processing the papers and hopefully they can join us in an hour at the earliest. We hope we can find the plane as soon as possible.

Alleged sex victims sue when predator wins lottery

Posted:

ORLANDO (AP) - Two alleged victims of a registered sex offender have filed a lawsuit seeking damages for pain and suffering after the man won $3 million in a Florida Lottery jackpot.Timothy Poole purchased the winning ticket earlier this month in Mount Dora, near Orlando. He took a lump sum payment of about $2.2 million.Poole was accused of sexually battering a 9-year-old boy in 1999. Poole denied the allegations but pleaded guilty to attempted sexual battery and was sentenced to time served.His probation was revoked in 2003 after he failed to show up for counseling.The lawsuit was filed by two brothers, who were ages 9 and 5 when Poole was arrested.In 2010, the Legislature eliminated a statute of limitations for victims of sexual battery younger than 16.

50 Britons trapped in French Alps gymnasium after heavy snow

Posted:

ALBERTVILLE (AFP) - A group of around 50 British holiday makers bitterly complained of inaction Sunday after being stuck in a French gymnasium for a second night following heavy snowfall in the Alps.The group were among around 15,000 motorists and travellers stranded in Frances Savoie region while going to or from ski stations.The tourists, travelling with Britains Crystal Ski tour operator, slammed the company for failing to get them to their Val Thorens and Val dIsere ski resort destinations despite their long wait in a gymnasium refuge in the town of Albertville.Several of them decided to reach their destinations on their own -- by taxi or other private means of travel -- while others rented hotel rooms in Albertville to wait it out.Were still stuck in Albertville, where we were put to sleep with excuses for 28 hours, Sarah Stewart, holed up in the gymnasium, said on Twitter.Another person tweeting as Mountain Maud first used black humour claiming we are losing the will to live now, before adding that the tour operators organisation and management is ridiculous -- they have NO idea whats going on.A spokeswoman for Crystal Ski told AFP around 1,000 clients had been blocked at the Chambery airport by the storms, but about 500 of them had been taken by bus to Lyon to board planes back to Britain.Those remaining behind are waiting to travel to their ski resorts, and should be there this evening now that the roads are open, she said.

Search halted for missing AirAsia plane as night falls

Posted:

JAKARTA (AFP) - Indonesia suspended until first light the search for an AirAsia plane that went missing Sunday in the Java Sea with 162 people on board after the crew requested a change of flight plan due to stormy weather.The Airbus A320-200 disappeared en route from Surabaya in Indonesias east Java to Singapore, in the third crisis for a Malaysian carrier this year.Around 11 hours later, the search halted with no sign of the plane and was set to resume at 7:00 am (0000 GMT) Monday -- or earlier if the weather allows, Indonesian transport ministry official Hadi Mustofa told AFP.AirAsia said 155 of those on board Flight QZ8501 were Indonesians, with three South Koreans and one person each from Singapore, Malaysia, Britain and France. The Frenchman was the co-pilot.With hard details few and far between, panicked relatives gathered at Singapores Changi airport while in Surabaya hundreds of Indonesians thronged the terminal.An anguished 45-year-old woman said she had six family members on the plane.They were going to Singapore for a holiday, she told AFP in Surabaya. They have always flown with AirAsia and there was no problem. I am very worried that the plane might have crashed.Indonesian Louis Sidartha, 25, told reporters in Singapore that her fiance was on board the flight.They had taken separate flights from Surabaya to Singapore. She only found out about the missing aircraft upon arriving in Singapore on a later flight.Air traffic controllers lost contact with the twin-engine aircraft around an hour after it left Surabayas Juanda international airport at about 5:20 am (2220 GMT Saturday).- Multinational search -Shortly before disappearing, the pilot asked to ascend by 6,000 feet to 38,000 feet to avoid heavy clouds, according to an Indonesian transport ministry official.The plane requested to air traffic control to fly to the left side, which was approved, Djoko Murjatmodjo told a press conference.But their request to fly to 38,000 feet from 32,000 feet could not be approved at that time due to traffic, there was a flight above, and five minutes later the flight disappeared from radar.According to our climate radar, the weather was not good. There was enough cumulonimbus (cloud) there, said Murjatmodjo.He said Indonesia had deployed seven aircraft, four navy ships and six boats from the search and rescue agency.The search focused on waters around the islands of Bangka and Belitung in the Java Sea, across from Kalimantan on Borneo island.But Murjatmodjo said the transport ministry had also asked the army to carry out ground searches, including in mountainous areas.We have focused all our strength, from the search and rescue agency, the military, police and help from the community as well as the fishermen, said rescue agency chief F.H.B. Soelistyo.He said three ships and three planes from Malaysia would join the search Monday. A Singaporean C130 plane joined Sundays operation, and two Singaporean planes would be deployed Monday with Australia also offering help. The US has also said it was ready to assist.Frances air accident investigation authority, the BEA, said two safety investigators, accompanied by two Airbus technical advisors, would leave for Jakarta on Sunday evening.- Massive shock -The aircraft was operated by AirAsia Indonesia, a unit of Malaysian-based AirAsia which dominates Southeast Asias booming low-cost airline market.AirAsias flamboyant boss Tony Fernandes, a former record industry executive who acquired the then-failing airline in 2001, arrived in Surabaya, where most of the passengers are from.Obviously this is a massive shock to us and we are devastated by what has happened. Its unbelievable, he told a press conference.We dont want to speculate. We dont know whats happened yet so well wait for the accident investigation... Our concern right now is for the relatives and the next of kin.Indonesias President Joko Widodo said his nation was praying for the safety of those onboard.His country, a vast archipelago with poor land transport infrastructure, has seen explosive growth in low-cost air travel over recent years.But the air industry has been blighted by poor safety standards in an area that also experiences extreme weather.AirAsia, which has never suffered a fatal accident, said the missing jet last underwent maintenance on November 16.Former French pilot and aviation expert Gerard Feldzer said the movement performed by the aircraft at the time it disappeared could be tricky.Its possible that it lacked speed, he said. When one is not far from the maximal altitude of the plane the margin for manoeuvre is very limited and it can go down.The planes disappearance comes at the end of a disastrous year for Malaysian aviation.Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 disappeared while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in March with 239 passengers and crew, and in July flight MH17 was shot down over troubled Ukraine killing all 298 on board.

Britain says one of its nationals on missing AirAsia jet

Posted:

LONDON (AFP) - A British national was on board the AirAsia plane carrying 162 people that went missing in bad weather Sunday en route from Indonesia to Singapore, the foreign ministry said.We have been informed by the local authorities that one British national was on board, a ministry statement read.Their next of kin has been informed, and we stand ready to provide consular assistance, it said.British media identified the passenger as Chi Man Choi, a manager working for Alstom Power electricity company in Indonesia.The reports said he was travelling with his two-year-old daughter Zoe, who has Singaporean nationality.His wife and son travelled on an earlier flight.Air traffic controllers lost contact with the Airbus A320-200 around an hour after it left Juanda international airport at Surabaya in east Java, at 5:20 am (2220 GMT Saturday).Shortly before disappearing, the plane asked permission from Jakarta air traffic control to deviate from its flight plan and climb above bad weather in an area noted for severe thunderstorms.

Pervez Musharraf trying to weaken Sindh govt: Asif Zardari

Posted:

KARACHI: (Dunya News) – Co-Chairman Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Asif Ali Zardari has said that former president Pervez Musharraf is trying to weaken Sindh government. He asked the political parties to take notice of the conspiracies being hatched up by former military dictator. “Will not allow those attempting horse-trading to succeed in their notorious designs”, said former president.In a statement issued by Farhat Ullah Babar, spokesperson to former president, Asif Ali Zardari has said that Pervez Musharraf is trying to weaken Sindh government with the help of ‘certain elements’. He said that PPP will never allow such activities.Zardari said that PPP was an organized political force. He said that the conspirators will not be allowed to succeed in their notorious designs.

Small plane with 2 aboard goes missing in Guyana

Posted:

GEORGETOWN, Guyana: (AP) - Authorities in Guyana are searching for a small cargo plane that vanished with two people aboard while flying over remote jungles in the South American country.Guyanas civil aviation department says the twin-engine, 10-seat Britten-Norman Islander aircraft went missing on Sunday.The two men on board a pilot and the cargo planes loader both were identified as Guyanese. They had been delivering fuel and other cargo for mining camps in southwestern Guyana.Rescuers had yet to find any sign of a fire or wreckage.Earlier this year, another small plane disappeared while bringing supplies to miners in the countrys dense western jungles.

Altaf demands immediate compensation for Timber Market fire victims

Posted:

LONDON: (Dunya News) – Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain has demanded immediate compensation for the Timber Market fire victims from the government, Dunya News reported.Altaf Hussain telephoned at MQM relief camp, set up for the victims, and asked for details of the relief activities. He praised the workers for fighting the fire and saving the people stuck up in Timber Market.Altaf appealed to make immediate arrangements for rehabilitation of the victims and compensation for their losses.

Saudi: Salaries will not be cut to curb spending

Posted:

RIYADH (AP) - The Saudi Finance Ministry says it is not trying to trim public salaries, wages and allowances after an earlier government statement said efforts were being made to reduce such expenditures in the face of a nearly $39 billion deficit.The state-run Saudi Press Agency on Sunday quoted an unnamed ministry official as saying there is no validity to comments being made on social media that the government plans to cut wages.On Thursday, an official statement carried on SPA in English said the government would continue to invest heavily in development programs and create more job opportunities for its citizens with more efforts to reduce current expenditures, especially expenses of salaries, wages, allowances and the like, which represent nearly 50 percent of the approved budget expenditures for 2015.

Bahrain police arrest Shiite opposition chief: party

Posted:

DUBAI (AFP) - Police in Bahrain arrested the head of the banned Shiite opposition movement Al-Wefaq on Sunday after he had been called in for questioning, his party said.After Sheikh Ali Salmans party announced his arrest, clashes broke out between security forces and hundreds of Al-Wefaq supporters gathered at his house in the Shiite village of Bilad al-Qadim near Manama, witnesses said.Police used tear gas and birdshot to disperse the crowds protesting against Salmans arrest, the witnesses said. There was no immediate news of casualties.Salman had been summoned to the criminal investigation department on Sunday morning and questioned about violating certain aspects of the law, an interior ministry statement said earlier.It provided no further details.Al-Wefaqs statement said Salman was arrested after a lengthy interrogation at the ministry by police.His lawyer, Abdullah al-Shamlan, tweeted that Salman had been accused of inciting hatred against the regime and calling for its overthrow by force.He said he had not been allowed to attend his clients questioning.Shamlan said the Al-Wefaq chief was also accused of insulting the judiciary and the executive branch, of sectarian incitement, of spreading false news likely to cause panic and undermine security and participation in events detrimental to the economy.Al-Wefaq demanded the immediate release of its leader, calling his detention a dangerous adventure that will complicate the political situation in Bahrain.- Security barricades -It said he had been detained for more than 10 hours for the sake of investigation for false accusations against him.The party statement denounced the security forces for erecting barricades outside several Shiite villages, mainly on roads leading to the Al-Wefaq headquarters in a Manama suburb.Salman, 49, secured a new four-year term as Al-Wefaq chief at its general congress on Friday.The same day thousands of Shiites protested along a road linking two of their villages near Manama to call for the dismissal of parliament and the government.In July, the justice ministry sued Al-Wefaq, demanding that it rectify its illegal status following the annulment of four general assemblies for lack of a quorum and the non-commitment to the public and transparency requirements for holding them.The Manama administrative court slapped Al-Wefaq with the ban on October 28 and gave it three months to hold an assembly to elect its leadership.The ruling came after Al-Wefaq announced it was boycotting a parliamentary election in November, the first in the Gulf state since Sunni authorities crushed Shiite-led pro-democracy protests in 2011.Al-Wefaq, which withdrew its lawmakers from parliament in protest, condemned the vote as a farce.It has called for an elected prime minister who is independent from the ruling royal family.Bahrain, home base of the US Navys Fifth Fleet, is ruled by the Sunni Al-Khalifa dynasty but the population is majority Shiite.In 2011 the authorities crushed a month-long pro-democracy protest led by the opposition, but protests continue in Shiite villages outside the capital.At least 89 people are estimated to have been killed in clashes with security forces, and hundreds have been arrested and put on trial since the uprising.

Cisse prolongs Everton's bleak mid-winter

Posted:

NEWCASTLE (AFP) - Senegalese striker Papiss Cisse kept up his impressive scoring record to inspire Newcastle United as they came from behind to beat Everton 3-2 in the Premier League on Sunday.Cisses fifth goal in six games sparked the recovery after Arouna Kone had found the net on his full Premier League debut for Roberto Martinezs Everton, an injury-ravaged 18 months after joining from Wigan Athletic.Cisse levelled before the interval and second-half goals from Ayoze Perez and Jack Colback enabled Alan Pardews men to end a four-game losing streak.Substitute Kevin Mirallas gave Everton hope by reducing the arrears in the 84th minute from Leighton Bainess through-ball, but it was not enough to prevent Everton sliding to a third straight defeat.Martinez made seven changes to the team beaten 1-0 by Stoke City on Boxing Day, notably handing a top-flight debut to England youth defender Luke Garbutt, and saw Everton take a fifth-minute lead.Aiden McGeadys channel ball cut out Yoan Gouffran and found Seamus Coleman making progress down the right. The Irishman sent over an inviting low cross and Kone swept home confidently from six yards.It was the Ivory Coast internationals first goal since May 2013, his Goodison Park career having stalled after he suffered a serious knee injury that ruled him out for most of last season.Moussa Sissoko spurned a clear opening to draw Newcastle level, a heavy first touch allowing keeper Joel Robles to block as the midfielder bore down on goal from a Cisse flick.But the hosts drew level 11 minutes before the break, as their increasing pressure finally told.- Cisse tussles with Coleman -Cheick Tiote swapped passes with Colback and sent over a deep cross that Mike Williamson hooked back to Cisse, who made no mistake from close range.Cisse was perhaps fortunate to still be on the field at that point, having earlier caught Coleman in the throat with a flailing arm in an off-the-ball incident that went unseen by the match officials.Pardews side ended the half in the ascendency, and it took a fine block from Sylvain Distin to deny Daryl Janmaat as the Dutch international latched onto Paul Dummetts knock-down from a Perez centre.Robles produced a fine save low to his left to keep out a Gouffran effort early in the second half, but Newcastle did not have to wait long before taking a 51st-minute lead.As with the first goal, Tiote was prominent in the build-up, finding Perez on the edge of the Everton area.The Spaniard turned and threaded a low shot through the legs of his marker Coleman and into the bottom-left corner past a rooted Robles.Samuel Etoo should have equalised just after the hour, but the former Cameroon striker wasted some determined approach play from Baines by firing the defenders low cross wastefully over.They were made to pay with 23 minutes left as Newcastle stretched their advantage through Colbacks first goal for the club.Janmaats ball into the Everton area should have easily been cut out by Ross Barkley.But the substitute allowed the pass to reach Colback, a close-season signing from neighbours Sunderland, who rolled a left-foot shot past Robles.Cisse almost made it four soon after, only to be denied by Robles, but despite Mirallas giving the visitors hope, it was to prove immaterial.

Obama salutes end of NATO combat mission in Afghanistan

Posted:

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US President Barack Obama saluted Sunday the milestone end of NATOs combat mission in Afghanistan, but warned the country remains a dangerous place.For more than 13 years, ever since nearly 3,000 innocent lives were taken from us on 9/11, our nation has been at war in Afghanistan, the president said in a statement.Now, thanks to the extraordinary sacrifices of our men and women in uniform, our combat mission in Afghanistan is ending, and the longest war in American history is coming to a responsible conclusion.Obama thanked the troops and intelligence workers who served in Afghanistan, crediting them with devastating the core Al-Qaeda leadership, delivering justice to Osama bin Laden, disrupting terrorist plots and saving countless American lives.We are safer, and our nation is more secure, because of their service.And he honored those who were wounded or killed in the long war, including more than 2,200 US soldiers who lost their lives to make this progress possible.But, Obama warned, Afghanistan remains a dangerous place, and the Afghan people and their security forces continue to make tremendous sacrifices in defense of their country.Under a bilateral agreement with Kabul, about 12,500 foreign troops will remain in Afghanistan. They will not be involved in direct fighting, but will assist the Afghan army and police in their battle against the Taliban, who ruled from 1996 until 2001.Thats down from around 130,000 troops from 50 nations at the 2011 peak.The remaining soldiers will continue to face risks, Obama said, emphasizing the enduring commitment of the United States to the Afghan people.

Khurshid Shah shows reservation over army court's establishment

Posted:

SUKKUR (Dunya News) – Opposition leader in the National Assembly Khurshid Shah on Sunday has showed a reservation over the establishment of the army courts saying that these courts could also be used for political revenge.He expressed these views while talking to the media in Sukkur.He said that they are accepting the establishment of the military courts only because they have no other option.On the other hand, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Pervez Rashid said that army courts in the past were used to suppress democracy but army courts now would protect the democracy.In a statement, he said that they would not accept the agenda of any party at gun point. If they got scared today then extremist organisations would turn the country to a graveyard, he added. Pervez also said that the peace in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul is as dear to them as peace in Islamabad.Pakistan and Afghanistan would fight terrorism together, he added.

Did MQM's Waseem Akhtar resign after May 12 incident? Asks Memon

Posted:

KARACHI (Dunya News) – Provincial Minister for Information Sharjeel Memon on Sunday has retaliated to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s (MQM) demand of his resignation posing a question whether the MQM members resigned after the May 12 incident or not.He posed this question to the MQM members in a press conference in Karachi.He said that the administration came in action right after the authorities concerned learnt the news of fire erupting in the Timber Market. The government officials reached the spot at time, he added.Memon demanded off MQM chief Altaf Hussain to send the employees of the Water Board back to their jobs as they are workers of the MQM and work for the party at expense of their jobs.
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)