Thursday 4 December 2014

Dunya TV

Dunya TV

21 injured in road accident near Taunsa Sharif

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TAUNSA SHARIF (Dunya News) – According to initial reports, at least 21 people got injured when a passenger bus turned turtle at Kot More on Indus Highway near Taunsa Sharif on early Friday morning.The ill-fated bus was going to Dera Ghazi Khan from Rawalpindi. Police and rescue teams reached the spot and shifted the injured to Tehsil Headquarters Hospital.

Car bombs in Kirkuk, Baghdad kill 33

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KIRKUK (AFP) - The first major attack in the disputed Iraqi city of Kirkuk in months killed 18 people Thursday, while two car bombs in a frequently targeted Shiite district of Baghdad left 15 dead.Its a busy street with restaurants and shops, there is great destruction, a Kirkuk police colonel said, adding that a suicide car bomb was used.He said the target of the explosion was a popular cafe called Dawooda in the predominantly Kurdish northern neighbourhood of Shorjah.Both he and the head of the health directorate for Kirkuk province, Sabah Mohammed Amin, said the blast killed at least 18 people and wounded 22.In the capital Baghdad, two car bombs went off at around 6:30 pm (1530 GMT) near markets in different parts of the sprawling northern district of Sadr City that are usually bustling with people on Thursday evenings.At least nine people were killed and 25 wounded in one blast, while at least six died and 22 were hurt in the other, a police colonel and a hospital source said.The capital is rocked by several blasts a week, including suicide bombings, most of which have lately been claimed by the Islamic State group.The disputed oil hub of Kirkuk, about 240 kilometres (150 miles) north of Baghdad, is an ethnically mixed city which lies outside the recognised autonomous Kurdish region but is currently under the full control of the Kurdish peshmerga forces.The last major bomb attack in Kirkuk was in August when triple blasts, including two targeting the Kurdish security forces, left 38 dead.Violence has increased in the Kirkuk region in recent weeks, as IS fighters are being squeezed out of some of the positions they had held in the east of the country since June.

Ghani promises self-reliant Afghanistan at London talks

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LONDON (AFP) - President Ashraf Ghani outlined his vision for a more self-reliant Afghanistan at a conference in London on Thursday as he welcomed the withdrawal of foreign combat troops after 13 years.Ghani pledged results from peace talks with the Taliban and stressed he would do things differently from his predecessor Hamid Karzai, who had troubled ties with Western countries.After agreeing to form a national unity government with chief executive officer Abdullah Abdullah in September, Ghani has vowed to build up Afghanistans self-reliance, reducing its dependence on aid by boosting its feeble economy and rooting out corruption.The world is not responsible for everything for Afghanistan. It is us who are responsible for everything, Ghani said after the meeting. We are determined to do business differently.The conference came with the international combat mission in Afghanistan, which peaked at 130,000 troops in 2010, winding down at the end of this year. Some 12,500 NATO troops, mainly American, will stay on for several years to train and advise Afghan forces.Ghani hailed the move away from having foreign combat forces in Afghanistan and the continued partnership with donor countries.Your continued support for Afghanistan... gives us the confidence that you will be standing next to us, though in a non-combat role, he said. This transition from combat to non-combat is most welcome.However, President Barack Obamas pick to be the next US ambassador to Kabul said this week that US leaders will discuss whether to prolong the timetable for the withdrawal of American troops with Ghani when he visits Washington early next year.US Secretary of State John Kerry and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also addressed the conference, promising to back Ghanis reforms.Kerry hailed a moment of transformation for Afghanistan.We have a government in Kabul that merits our confidence... They can be confident of the support of the international community, he said.Sharif said he would work with Afghanistan to boost regional economic ties, adding that the two would take on terrorism as a common enemy.British Prime Minister David Cameron, whose country co-hosted the event and will retain a training mission in Afghanistan from 2015, said it would be with Afghanistan every step of the way.The warm reception for Ghani comes in contrast to the rocky relationship Western countries had with his predecessor Karzai, despite them pouring billions of dollars into Afghanistan after the Taliban regime was toppled in 2001.Many diplomats are now hoping to reset relations under the former World Bank economist, who has written a book on rebuilding failing states.During his trip to London, Ghani also stressed his commitment to a peace process with insurgents, saying he believed that the withdrawal of foreign troops would change the dynamic and the narrative.Give us the space and the time and you will see the results, he told an audience at foreign affairs think-tank Chatham House.While no new ministers have yet been appointed to his national unity government, Ghani said there would be a new cabinet within two to four weeks with four women included in the new line-up.

Obama to nominate Pentagon chief today

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WASHINGTON (AFP) - President Barack Obama on Friday will announce his choice to replace Chuck Hagel as Pentagon chief, the White House said.Favored for the post is Ashton Carter, a former deputy defense secretary under Leon Panetta from October 2011 to December 2013.While stopping short of confirming the pick, the White House has hailed Carters detailed understanding of the Pentagons inner workings, and recalled that the Senate had unanimously confirmed his nomination as the Defense Departments number two in 2011.However, said White House spokesman Josh Earnest: Its actually the presidents nominee, and he will announce it tomorrow.Hagel, the outgoing Pentagon chief, announced his resignation last week. Officials privately said he was forced out after losing the confidence of the White House, as the United States wages an air war against Islamic State jihadists in Iraq and Syria.Carter, 60, has gained a reputation as an expert on hi-tech weapons and military budgets, portraying himself as a reformer intent on making the vast Pentagon bureaucracy more efficient.While Carter is fluent with weapons programs and technological trends, he has less experience overseeing war strategy and has never served in uniform -- unlike his predecessor, Hagel, who was wounded in the Vietnam War.When Carter stepped down last year, officials denied reports he had clashed with Hagel.Former number three Pentagon official Michele Flournoy has taken herself out of the running for a post that would have made her the first woman to lead Americas military. She cited family reasons.

Tennis: Agassi 'embarrassed' at IPTL flop

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SINGAPORE (AFP) - American legend Andre Agassi said he was embarrassed at his International Premier Tennis League cameo on Thursday after he was left out of the final night of action in Singapore.The eight-time Grand Slam champion was reduced to watching from the sidelines as his Singapore Slammers team-mates, including Serena Williams and Tomas Berdych, beat the UAE Royals 27-25.Agassi lost 6-3 to Mark Philippoussis on Tuesday and 6-2 to Fabrice Santoro on Wednesday, and was replaced by Pat Rafter for Thursdays legends match against Goran Ivanisevic.The 44-year-old, who now mainly plays exhibition tennis, said the inaugural IPTL was a great experience, but added: I wasnt fond of it being so full-on and competitive.Coming back here Im a bit embarrassed with the way I was not responding to the environment from a playing perspective, Agassi said. So I would have to make some adjustments and change how much I play so I can flat-out compete and make somebody else look shitty.Agassi took out his frustrations on his racquet during Wednesdays loss to Santoro, in a tie which Singapore eventually won 24-23. By Thursday, he was able to joke about his form.Yesterday the two games I won ended up being the deciding two games, he said.Agassi earlier compared the pressure of the quickfire IPTL, which has a 20-second serve clock and no advantage scores, to facing Pete Sampras -- with whom he contested five Grand Slam finals.It was Agassis first outing in the IPTL and could be his last, as he is now heading home and did not confirm whether he will return next year.If I do come back Ill spend a few months trying to get myself better form, he said.

Golf: Tiger struggles to five-over 77 in comeback round

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ORLANDO (AFP) - Tiger Woods made a woeful start to his latest injury comeback Thursday, firing a five-over par 77 to stand last after round one of the 18-player Hero World Challenge.The former world number one ended a four-month competitive layoff with four bogeys, one birdie and a double bogey at Isleworth, a 7,354-yard layout where Woods once fired a 59 in a practice round with Mark OMeara.Woods, who had not played in an event since the PGA Championship in August while recovering from a back injury, was five-over after eight holes and played the inward nine at par but showed he still has plenty of work remaining to recapture the form that brought him 14 major titles, four shy of Jack Nicklaus all-time record.It was just one of those days where nothing goes your way, Woods said. I feel like I didnt hit it that poorly.Woods, who turns 39 on December 30, has not won a major title since the 2008 US Open. He must become the first player to win four majors beyond his 39th birthday to match Nicklaus.Woods stood 11 strokes behind leader Jordan Spieth, who opened with a 66 after winning the Australian Open last week. He sank a 20-foot par putt at 18 to stay one in front of fellow Americans Rickie Fowler, Steve Stricker and Zach Johnson and Swedens Henrik Stenson.While Woods struck the ball with speed and power and showed no sign of the back pain that sidelined him most of the year, he was erratic off the tee at the start, sending his first three drives well left.I have zero pain, Woods said. Havent said that in a long time. Its nice to be able to launch it again.Woods botched four chip shots, a sign his once-mighty short game needs more work than he has managed in the month since he returned to hitting golf shots.My short game was awful, Woods said. I didnt make anything. It certainly is surprising I could hit chips that poorly. I flubbed them. I hit some terrible chips.One round at an 18-player invitational event will not make or break his return, but by hitting only 9-of-14 fairways and 11 of 18 greens in regulation in a poor showing, Woods indicated any return to form will be a long and difficult journey.I made too many mistakes, Woods said.Woods, who has returned to younger motions for his latest swing changes after talks with new consultant Chris Como, sent his first tee shot since August 8 out of bounds to the left off the first tee on his way to a bogey.He missed a 15-foot par putt at the par-3 second after another poor tee shot and rescued par at the par-5 third.I missed it on the wrong side a few times on the front nine, Woods said.Woods blasted a drive into a bunker at the par-5 seventh and took two shots to escape on his way to a bogey.At the eighth, Woods went well left off the tee near a fence at a house adjacent to the course. His second shot struck a tree and Woods would blast his approach over the green and stub a chip on the way to a double bogey.Woods made his lone birdie at the 12th, lipping out on his approach, but his second shot at the par-5 13th rolled down a slope and off the green. After one chip rolled back to him and another plopped only a few feet away, his third try stopped inches from the cup for a tap-in bogey.I hit two of the best shots I can hit on 13 and I walked away with a six, Woods said.At the par-5 17th, Woods missed the green in two, chunked another chip, then chipped to the far edge of the green and made a 10-foot comeback par putt to avoid his third bogey of the day on a par-5 hole.

Snooker: O'Sullivan seals last eight berth with 147

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LONDON (AFP) - Ronnie OSullivan surged into the UK Championship quarter-finals in typically dominant fashion as his superb 147 break sealed a 6-0 thrashing of Matthew Selt on Thursday.OSullivans fourth round maximum at Yorks Barbican Centre was the 109th in snooker history and the 13th of his career.The 38-year-old, who had a scare when the final blue wobbled in the jaws of the middle pocket before dropping, is set to earn 44,000 pound ($68,966) for the break, which is the first of the tournament.The achievement was even more remarkable as the five-time world champion is playing on a broken left ankle, sustained while out running in Essex last week.Such was the pain of the injury that OSullivan suggested after his first-round victory he might have to withdraw from the tournament if there was no improvement.However, OSullivan played through the pain and on Thursday rewarded the watching public with another potting masterclass.OSullivan will play Anthony McGill for a place in the semi-finals as he continues his bid for a fifth UK title.Earlier on Thursday, Hong Kongs Marco Fu sealed his place in the last eight with a dramatic 6-5 win over Shaun Murphy.Murphy beat Fu 10-9 in a tense 2008 final and the pair went the distance again, with the match being decided on the final black.The Englishman had looked on course to seal a place in the last eight when he built a 5-3 lead, helped by a superb 137 in the fifth frame, but Fu battled back to level things up at 5-5.Murphy again seemed to have the edge in the final frame but, after compiling a break of 54, he snookered himself on the final yellow and Fu did not let his opportunity slip, the 36-year-old potting all the colours to take the decider 74-62.

Swimming: Le Clos sets 100m butterfly short-course world record

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DOHA (AFP) - South Africas Chad le Clos set a new world record of 48.44sec in the 100m butterfly at the World Short-Course Swimming Championships in Doha on Thursday.The 22-year-old had already threatened the world record this season, just 0.08sec off Evgeny Korotyshkins mark at the World Cup in Hong Kong in September.Le Clos cut 0.04sec off Korotyshkins record from November 2009 -- all the more impressive given that was during the performance-enhancing suit era.

Obesity clips up to 8 years off your life, says study

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PARIS (AFP) - Obesity and extreme obesity can reduce life expectancy by up to eight years and deprive people of as much as 19 years of good health, according to a study published on Friday.The research -- a mathematical model based on US health data -- should be a useful tool for doctors advising patients who are worryingly overweight, its authors said.The biggest area of concern is for people who become obese while they are young.The pattern is clear, said Steven Grover, a professor of epidemiology at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. The more an individual weighs and the younger their age, the greater the effect on their health.(...) They have many years ahead of them, during which the increased health risks associated with obesity can negatively impact their lives.Grovers team used data from a big US project, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which monitored thousands of people over years, to analyse the risk of early death and ill health among adults of different body weight.They compared overweight and obese people against people of normal weight in terms of life expectancy.They also calculated the number of years of good health that each individual could -- statistically -- expect.This was defined as being free of cardiovascular disease or diabetes -- two diseases that are closely linked with excessive weight. The estimates applied to people aged between 20 and 79.The outcome was dramatic, according to the paper, which appears in the journal Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology.Individuals who were in the overweight category -- who had a body mass index (BMI) of 25 to 29.9 -- were estimated to lose between zero and three years of expected life.Between 0.8 and 5.9 years of life were lost for obese people, with a BMI of 30 to 34.9.The extremely obese, with a BMI of 35 or more, lost between 0.9 and 8.4 years of life expectancy.The greatest loss in expected lifespan was found among those aged 20-39.On the other hand, the loss was smaller and sometimes negligible among those who were only overweight.Healthy life-years lost to diabetes and cardiovascular problems ranged from 0.5 years to 19.1.The biggest loss was among women who were extremely obese in the 20-39 age bracket. The least loss was among men who were overweight and aged between 60 and 79.The data came from a subset of 4,000 people in the 2003-2010 US survey, all of them white, for whom more details about their health and blood sugar were known.The warning should be treated as conservative, as the study only factored in two obesity-related diseases, said the study.Cancer, respiratory disease, liver and kidney disease have also been linked to chronic overweight.

Oil tumbles lower on reports of new Saudi price cuts

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NEW YORK (AFP) - Oil prices fell in London and New York on Thursday helped by reports that Saudi Arabia has trimmed its export prices and is doing nothing to tighten supplies.US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for delivery in January lost 57 cents from Wednesdays close to $66.81 per barrel.In London deals, Brent North Sea crude for January lost 28 cents to $69.64.Prices for both remained around $2 a barrel above their Monday lows, but there was no sign of support in the markets.Reports said Riyadh cut January prices for its crude to Asian and US buyers, as the worlds leading exporter defends its market share and, some analysts speculate, seeks to drive high-price producers out of the market.A source familiar with official Saudi policy says they have no particular price level in mind and will allow the market to arrive at an appropriate price level, said Tim Evans of Citi Futures.That contrasts, Evans noted, with the Saudi stance as recently as May that it saw $100 a barrel for Brent as ideal for both exporters and consumers.Also contributing to continued weakness in prices was the European Central Banks decision to hold off on new action to spur growth in the eurozone. But ECB chief Mario Draghi stressed the bank has stepped up preparations for additional measures to fight deflation in the eurozone, keeping the door open for a full quantitative easing program early next year if economic indicators do not improve.

Euro gains as ECB holds off on fresh easing

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NEW YORK (AFP) - The euro rebounded Thursday after the European Central Bank refrained from expanding its stimulus, putting off a possible full quantitative easing program to early next year.As analysts said German opposition appeared to have blocked a move at this time, ECB President Mario Draghi stated after a policy meeting that the central bank is gearing up for action sometime in early 2015. After falling sharply in expectation of some action from the ECB now, the euro reversed course against both the dollar and yen, rising to $1.2380 and 148.27 yen.The ECB cut its growth and inflation forecasts for the eurozone, and Draghi said it would assess the impact of existing easing efforts to boost growth shortly.Should it become necessary to further address risks of too prolonged a period of low inflation, the governing council remains unanimous in its commitment to using additional unconventional instruments within its mandate. This would imply altering early next year the size, pace and composition of our measures, he said.Draghi stressed that early next year does not necessarily mean the ECBs January meeting.The ECB is very concerned with falling economic growth and inflation expectations, but has not seen enough evidence that the benefits of QE would outweigh the risks at this point, said Matt Weller at Forex.com.

Sri Lanka adds chinaman bowler for England ODIs

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COLOMBO (AP) - Sri Lanka has picked uncapped chinaman bowler Lakshan Sandakan for the fourth and fifth one-day internationals against England.Seam bowler Suranga Lakmal also returns after an injury layoff in the 16-man squad named on Thursday.Sandakan has taken 58 first-class wickets in 14 matches at an average of 22, and a wicket in every 34 deliveries.Batsman Mahela Jayawardene, who opted out of the third match citing personal reasons, also returns. Thilina Kandamby makes way for him after a disappointing performance in his return to international cricket after more than three years.Kandamby made a two-ball duck on Wednesday in the loss in Hambantota.Seam bowler Shaminda Eranga has also been left out.The fourth match in a series Sri Lanka leads 2-1, is on Sunday in Colombo.Sri Lanka: Angelo Mathews (captain), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kusal Perera, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Lahiru Thirimanne, Ashan Priyanjan, Jeevan Mendis, Rangana Herath, Dilruwan Perera, Lakshan Sandakan, Dhammika Prasad, Suranga Lakmal, Thisara Perera, Lahiru Gamage, Ajantha Mendis.

Football-related deaths in Argentine this year reach 15

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BUENOS AIRES, Argentina: (AP) - The death of defender Franco Nieto pummeled and stoned by hooligans after a lower-division match brings the toll to 15 this year in football-related deaths in Argentina.The non-profit group Salvemos al Football (Lets Save Football) made the announcement on Thursday. The group says at least 14 died in 2013.The 33-year-old Nieto, who played for the club Tiro Federal, was beaten and bashed with rocks on Saturday, and died on Wednesday.The referee called off the game against Chacarita when fighting broke out on the field with 15 minutes remaining, and Tiro Federal leading 3-1.Police in Aimogasta, 1,200 kilometers (750 miles) northwest of Buenos Aires, said Nieto was attacked after the match as he was getting into a car, where his wife and 40-day-old daughter were waiting.Police said three assailants were involved.Its horrible, said Roque Jaime, a top-ranking police official in Aimogasta. They beat him, kicked him and, after that, hit him in the read with a rock, which was fatal.Football violence was endemic in Argentina, with clashes in stadiums but more often on the streets around stadiums, where rival hooligan gangs brawl in turf wars.The Argentine Football Association has been faulted for doing little. It says the violence simply reflects rising crime rates in the country.

Rome's Jewish Museum shows how Ghetto was in 1880s

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ROME: (AP) - Visitors to Romes Jewish Museum can now walk streets as they were before the Ghetto neighborhoods demolition in the 1880s.Tucked behind Romes main synagogue, the museum on Thursday evening unveiled an interactive table that enables people, with hand movements, to simulate strolling the Old Ghetto.Researchers studied watercolor landscapes from the times, city property records as well as photographs taken before the district was demolished during Romes makeover to be modern Italys capital.The neighborhood is home to one of the worlds longest continuously-inhabited Jewish communities. Sixteenth-century Pope Paul IV ordered Jews confined there; papal edicts enforced the Ghettos duration until the mid-18th century.Many streets today look remarkably unchanged, but the interactive table shows how the Tiber lapped up against Ghetto buildings before river embankment construction.

Amazon selling its own diapers, baby wipes

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ATLANTA (AP) - Amazon is launching its own line of diapers and baby wipes exclusively for its Prime members to get more shoppers to sign up for the $99 annual program.The new line is called Amazon Elements. Amazon, the largest U.S. e-commerce company, already sells other store-brand products, including bedding and bath items and patio furniture. Its Amazon Basics line includes home and office products. It also sells Kindle tablets and e-readers, the Fire phone and set-top video streaming devices.The Seattle company has been investing heavily in services for its loyalty program, Prime, which has an estimated 40 million members. It has expanded Sunday delivery, added a grocery delivery service and music streaming for Prime members aand offers original TV shows such as the critically acclaimed Transparent.Bernstein Research analyst Carlos Kirjner said consumer products is one of the two fastest growing categories for Amazon, along with clothing. Amazons expansion will mean tougher competition for traditional consumer product companies, he said, and they may have to change the way they sell and price their own goods.Seattle-based Amazon also said Thursday that Amazon Elements items will say where they were made and where their ingredients were bought. Each product has a code that can be scanned by Amazons app for more details.
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