Thursday 1 January 2015

Dunya TV

Dunya TV

PM to chair parliamentary parties heads meeting today

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ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has invited all parliamentary parties’ leaders in Islamabad today (Friday) to review progress of implementation of the anti-terrorism National Action Plan.All parliamentary parties’ leaders have been invited in a crucial meeting by PM Nawaz Sharif to review developments in implementation of NAP in Pakistan. Consultation to root out terrorism and extremism would also be made by parliamentary parties regarding to-be-constituted national plan.PM Nawaz Sharif will also address concerns arisen on the establishment of military courts in the country.

Tennis: Murray, Wawrinka move into Abu Dhabi semi-finals

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ABU DHABI (AFP) - Andy Murray set up a Mubadala World Tennis Championship semi-final clash with Rafael Nadal when he battled to a hard-earned 7-6 (7/1), 5-7, 6-4 win over Spains Feliciano Lopez on Thursday.Murray, 27, needed five match points before he secured victory and will next look to clinch a double over Nadal in the Abu Dhabi exhibition tournament having defeated the Spanish great in the final in 2009.It was really good, Murray told the www.national.ae.We played two-and-a-half hours, and it was a fairly high-quality match. There were some periods in the match, a couple of games, where the level dropped a bit, but there were some good rallies.Lopez is a different opponent to most of the players you play on the tour these days, so it was a good test for me, and I am happy I got two-and-a-half hours of good, competitive tennis to start the year.Murray said he was looking forward to facing Nadal as the worlds top players use the three-day exhibition tournament for crucial practice ahead of the new ATP season, which gets underway this weekend.When you have not played a match after a while, normally you can wake up a bit stiff the next day, a bit sore, added Murray.So I will see how I wake up on Friday, but it is good for me to be able to test myself against Rafa and I will keep trying to improve.I am now guaranteed another two matches here, which is perfect and exactly what the players want.In Thursdays late match, Australian Open champion Stan Wawrinka eased past Spains Nicolas Almagro 6-3, 6-2.Wawrinka will next face world number one Novak Djokovic in Fridays semi-finals.

Football: United momentum gone with the wind at Stoke

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LONDON (AFP) - Manchester United lost further momentum in the Premier League title race after drawing 1-1 with Stoke City at a windy Britannia Stadium on New Years Day.Radamel Falcao equalised for the visitors after former United trainee Ryan Shawcross had scored the first Premier League goal of 2015 in the second minute, but it was a third draw in four games for Louis van Gaals side.United, who lost Ashley Young to a hamstring injury, remain third, but could fall 12 points behind leaders Chelsea and nine points behind Manchester City if the top two win their games later on Thursday.City entertain Sunderland at the Etihad Stadium, while Chelsea visit Tottenham Hotspur in the late kick-off.Stoke caught United cold by taking the lead inside second minutes, with Shawcross volleying into the net from close range after Peter Crouch had helped on a corner.Mame Biram Diouf, another United old boy, then spurned a glorious chance to extend Stokes lead when he bundled his way past Jonny Evans, only to curl wide with his left foot.Falcao equalised in the 26th minute, hooking home left-footed at the back post after Wayne Rooneys corner had been flicked on by Michael Carrick to register the third goal of his loan spell from Monaco.Amid difficult, blustery conditions, both sides had chances to win the game, with Robin van Persie volleying narrowly wide for United and Crouch glancing a header against the post for Stoke.Stoke also felt that they should have been awarded a penalty when a shot from Crouch struck Chris Smalling on the arm.We didnt deserve any more than a draw, said United manager Van Gaal. They were closer to a winning goal than us. We should have played better today.Elsewhere on Thursday, a place in the top four will be at stake at St Marys, where fourth-place Southampton entertain fifth-place Arsenal.Freshly appointed West Bromwich Albion manager Tony Pulis will watch from the stands at Upton Park as his new club tackle West Ham United.Managerless Crystal Palace visit Aston Villa, while Newcastle United, whose manager, Alan Pardew, will be absent after being given permission to speak to Palace about succeeding the sacked Neil Warnock, host Burnley.

Football: Gerrard set to leave Liverpool -- reports

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LONDON (AFP) - Steven Gerrard is set to make the shock announcement that he will leave Liverpool at the end of the season, according to reports on Thursday.Reds captain Gerrards Anfield future has been the subject of speculation for several months and he is believed to have decided to continue his career overseas when his contract expires in the close-season.The 34-year-old, who scored two penalties in Thursdays 2-2 draw against Leicester at Anfield, has already been linked with a move to MLS franchise LA Galaxy and a Daily Express report says he poised to go public on his plans on Friday to avoid speculation over his future becoming a distraction during the rest of the season.Clubs from the Middle East will also express interest in Gerrard according to the report, with the former England midfielder free to speak to foreign sides since the first minute of 2015.Gerrards announcement that he plans to leave his boyhood team, the only club he has played for in his illustrious professional career, will come as a huge blow to many Liverpool supporters who anticipated he would extend his playing career with the club by at least another year. Liverpool offered Gerrard a new deal in November, but it is said he has decided the time is right to move on at the end of the campaign and experience something different.Gerrard joined Liverpool as an eight-year-old and has made 695 appearances during a remarkable career at the club, scoring 180 goals, and lifted 11 trophies. His greatest moment came when he scored in the Champions League final in 2005 and inspired Liverpool to come from 3-0 down at half-time against AC Milan and win the trophy on penalties.But his hopes of winning the Premier League are likely to remain unfulfilled after Liverpool came up agonisingly short last season and lost out to Manchester City.Gerrard returned to the starting line up for Thursdays draw with Leicester after being rested for Mondays win over Swansea.But, with his performances below his previous high standards for much of this season, the prospect of being a substitute in more matches next season as manager Brendan Rodgers manages his fitness has helped shape his decision to quit Anfield.The Express report says Gerrard, who famously turned down two moves to Chelsea during the first decade of the 21st century, will not play for another club in England out of respect for Liverpool.

LeBron to miss 2 weeks with knee, back injuries

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CLEVELAND (AP) - Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James is expected to miss at least the next two weeks with injuries to his left knee and back.The timing of the injuries is another blow to the Cavaliers, who have been jarred by a rash of medical issues and failed to live up to the enormous expectations triggered by James re-signing as a free agent with Cleveland last summer.The team said on Thursday that James has knee and back strains. Hell be treated with anti-inflammatories, rehabilitation, training room treatments and rest, and the Cavs projected he will miss two weeks. If hes out for just that span, James will be back for a Jan. 15 game in Los Angeles against the Lakers. The Cavaliers begin a five-game West Coast trip on Jan. 9.James, who turned 30 on Dec. 30, missed his second straight game on Wednesday. Before his team lost 96-80 to Milwaukee, the four-time league MVP said all tests on his knee had come back negative. He acknowledged his knee has been hurting all year, which helped explain why James hasnt shown the same explosiveness driving to the basket, and his willingness to defer to teammates.He also acknowledged that 11 NBA seasons have taken a toll on his body.Ive got 41,000 minutes on me, including the playoffs, he joked. You drive that car in the winter time.James has never missed more than five straight games in his professional career. If the two-week timetable holds up, his absence could reach 10 games or more. That could be a major problem for the Cavaliers, whove had issues with chemistry and recently lost starting Brazilian center Anderson Varejao for the season with a torn Achilles. On top of that, forward Kevin Love missed Wednesdays game with back spasms and reserve Shawn Marion has sat out the past two games with a sprained ankle.If that wasnt enough, first-year coach David Blatt has come under intense scrutiny for the teams sluggish start.At 18-14, the Cavs have lost three straight and four of five heading into Fridays game in Charlotte.James briefly left Clevelands game at Miami on Christmas Day his first in the regular season against his former team after jumping into the stands to chase an errant pass, and was grabbing at his left knee in obvious discomfort not long afterward. That was not the cause of the injury, just a recurrence of an ongoing issue, James said before the Milwaukee game.It was before that, but it reaggravated it, James said. Its been hurting pretty much all year. Ive been playing with it and it goes away, it comes back.Including playoffs, James has logged 41,082 NBA minutes ninth-most among all active players.James lost weight before this season, but insisted it wasnt to compensate for a loss of speed, to help him jump higher or try to prolong his career. However, he seemed to understand that he needed to make changes to remain the games best all-around player.

Formula One: Button marries long-term girlfriend

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LONDON (AFP) - British former world champion Jenson Button confirmed via Twitter on Thursday that he has married his long-term girlfriend, Japanese-Argentine lingerie model Jessica Michibata.The pair were pictured at a New Years Eve ceremony in Maui, Hawaii in several British newspapers.Happy New Year from Mr & Mrs Button Button tweeted. Were excited to see in the New year with family and loved ones, we hope youre tooThe marriage capped a turbulent year for 34-year-old Button, whose father, John, died in January.Button, who won the world championship with Brawn in 2009, was recently confirmed as one of McLarens drivers for the 2015 season alongside the returning Fernando Alonso.

Iraq violence killed 15,000 in 2014, worst in 7 years: govt

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BAGHDAD (AFP) - Violence in Iraq killed more than 15,000 civilians and security personnel in 2014, government figures showed Thursday, making it one of the deadliest years since the 2003 US-led invasion.Figures compiled by the health, interior and defence ministries put the death toll at 15,538, compared with 17,956 killed in 2007 during the height of Sunni-Shiite sectarian killings.Last years toll was also more than double the 6,522 people killed in 2013.Yet again, the Iraqi ordinary citizen continues to suffer from violence and terrorism. 2014 has seen the highest number of causalities since the violence in 2006-2007. This is a very sad state of affairs, UN Iraq envoy Nickolay Mladenov said in a statement.The UN put the number of civilians killed in Iraq during 2014 at 12,282.Iraq Body Count, a Britain-based NGO that tracks violence in Iraq, gave an even higher toll, saying that 17,073 civilians were killed, which would make it the third deadliest year since 2003.For Iraqis, it has been the most difficult and painful of years because of the attack of the (Islamic State group) terrorist gangs, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said in a New Years speech, referring to jihadists responsible for much of the bloodshed.The year got off to a bloody start, with the government losing control of parts of Anbar provincial capital Ramadi and all of Fallujah -- just a short drive from Baghdad -- to anti-government fighters.The violence was sparked by the demolition of the countrys main Sunni Arab anti-government protest camp near Ramadi in late 2013.It spread to Fallujah, and security forces later withdrew from areas of both cities, leaving them open for capture.That was a harbinger of events in June, when the Islamic State (IS) group spearheaded a major militant offensive that swept security forces aside.The militants overran Iraqs second city Mosul and then drove south towards Baghdad, raising fears that the capital itself would be attacked.They were eventually stopped short of the capital, but seized swathes of five provinces north and west of the city.A renewed IS push in the north in August drove Kurdish forces back towards the capital of their autonomous region, helping to spark a US-led campaign of air strikes against the jihadists.That effort has since been expanded to training for Iraqi forces aimed at preparing them as quickly as possible to join the fight against IS.Iraqi soldiers and police, Kurdish forces, Shiite militias and Sunni tribesmen have succeeded in regaining some ground from the jihadists.But large parts of the country, including three major cities, remain outside Baghdads control.Iraqis also suffer from daily bombings and shootings in Baghdad and elsewhere that claim hundreds of lives each month.

Kerry, Lavrov discuss Ukraine and Middle East crises

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WASHINGTON (AFP) - Top US diplomat John Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov spoke Thursday to discuss the crises in the Middle East and Ukraine, officials said.Secretary Kerry and Foreign Minister Lavrov spoke by phone today. They discussed the situation in the Middle East and Ukraine, according to a senior State Department official. The two diplomats have a good relationship, despite sometimes frosty relations between their governments on several issues, including Ukraine. Earlier this month, Lavrov said a new US sanctions law against Russia could undermine relations between Moscow and Washington for a long time.The United States voted this week against a bid by Palestinians to win backing for a UN resolution on a final Israeli-Palestinian settlement, a move Russia supported. Kerry and Lavrov last met face-to-face on December 14 on in Italy, where they spoke for more than three hours on a number of issues, discussing the situation in Ukraine and Syria.

EU never threatened Pakistan with sanctions over hangings

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BRUSSELS (Agencies) - European Union (EU) spokesman said that they never stopped Pakistan on implementation on death sentences in the country.Capital punishment is legal in Pakistan and is ranked fifth after the People’s Republic of China, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United States. The European Union continues to do business with Iran, Saudi Arabia, China and USA. How is it possible that the EU would only discriminate and force Pakistan who is fighting a bloody war since 2001?It seems for that very reason Nawaz Government did not extend the moratorium but quietly put ‘a ban on executions’ of over 8000 criminals waiting to be hanged. The EU and USA has no problem with the Islamic Sharia Laws as they have benefited from them when US Citizen Raymond Davis was released from all murder charges of two Pakistani citizens after paying the ‘blood money’ to the families of the victims.The Presidential moratorium imposed by Asif Zardari expired on 30th June 2013 and the government announced it had no plan to extend it. The government stated there would be no general amnesty for the convicts waiting for execution.

Cancer often due to bad luck, not genes or environment

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MIAMI (AFP) - Cancer is often caused by the bad luck of random mutations that arise when cells divide, not family history or environmental causes, US researchers said Thursday.The study in the January 2 edition of the journal Science was led by researchers at Johns Hopkins University and based on a statistical model that includes many types of cancer in a range of human tissues.However it did not include breast cancer, which is the most common cancer in women, or prostate cancer, which is the second most common cancer in men after skin cancer.In the adult cancers they did measure, about two-thirds could be explained by random mutation in genes that encourage tumors to grow, while the remaining one third was due to environmental factors and inherited genes.This study shows that you can add to your risk of getting cancers by smoking or other poor lifestyle factors, said study author Bert Vogelstein, a professor of oncology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.However, many forms of cancer are due largely to the bad luck of acquiring a mutation in a cancer driver gene regardless of lifestyle and heredity factors.He added that people who live a long time without getting cancer, despite being long-time smokers or being exposed heavily to the Sun, do not have good genes.The truth is that most of them simply had good luck, he added.The team sought to look at cancer in a new light, by searching the scientific literature for information on how many times stem cells divided over the course of an average persons lifespan. This process of self-renewal occurs naturally in the body and helps repopulate cells that die off in a specific organ.Researchers have long understood that cancer can arise when stem cells make random mistakes, known as mutations. But the study represents the first attempt at comparing how many cancers arise from this process, compared to family history or environmental factors.Some 22 cancer types arising in 31 tissues studied could be traced back to random mutations, the study found.The other nine had incidences higher than predicted by bad luck and were presumably due to a combination of bad luck plus environmental or inherited factors, the university said.These nine types included lung cancer and skin cancer -- which are influenced by exposure to smoke and sunshine -- as well as some cancers known to be hereditary.The findings mean that an even greater emphasis should be placed on early detection of cancer and research that could detect these harmful random acts before they lead to widespread cancer.Changing our lifestyle and habits will be a huge help in preventing certain cancers, but this may not be as effective for a variety of others, said biomathematician Cristian Tomasetti, an assistant professor of oncology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Bloomberg School of Public Health.We should focus more resources on finding ways to detect such cancers at early, curable stages.Breast and prostate cancers were not included in the study because the literature did not show reliable stem cell division rates in those areas of the body, the authors said.

Brazil's Rousseff sworn in for 2nd term

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BRASILIA (AP) - Brazils President Dilma Rousseff was sworn into her second term in office Thursday, confronting an expanding kickback scandal at the state-run oil company, a moribund economy and less congressional support for her ruling coalition.Her surprisingly narrow October election and the weakening of her ruling coalition among lawmakers will make it more difficult for her to tackle the challenges, experts said. Some also said she will have to change her rigid management style and seek compromise.But in a 40-minute inaugural speech before congress, Rousseff sharply defended her record, noted the great strides Brazil has made in social inclusion with her government programs and said shes ready to fight graft and end impunity for the rich and powerful.The Brazilian people want even more transparency and more combat against all types of crimes, especially corruption, she said. And they want the arm of justice to reach everyone equally. Im not afraid to face these challenges.Thiago Aragao, a political analyst for the Brasilia-based Arko Advice consulting firm, said Rousseff needs to solve the economy by stimulating growth, fiscal responsibility and domestic and international credibility.The scandal at the Petrobras oil company is the most tricky problem, Aragao said, because its not over yet and we dont know the range of destruction it could cause.The alleged graft scheme that could be the biggest yet uncovered in Brazils history, and it complicates what Aragao said is the presidents third big problem: keeping support among her base in congress.An ongoing federal investigation into the alleged kickback scheme has already resulted in charges against 39 people, many top executives from Brazils biggest construction and engineering firms, and it is expected to implicate dozens of politicians, many from the ruling coalition, by the end of February, according to Brazils attorney general.Rousseffs challenges aside, inauguration marks the seventh consecutive time a directly elected Brazilian president has started a term in office, something that hasnt happened in Latin Americas biggest nation in nearly a century.

940 cars set alight during French New Year

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PARIS (AFP) - The French government on Thursday reported a 12-percent drop in the number of cars torched on New Years Eve - a ritual among revellers in the countrys high-rise suburbs.The number of vehicles set alight on the night of December 31 fell from 1,067 a year ago to 940, the interior ministry said in a statement.This year also saw fewer arrests for disturbances on New Years Eve, falling from 322 in 2013 to 308.The ministry credited the substantial, active and dissuasive mobilisation of the security forces with keeping the seasonal crime wave in check.Frances Socialist government increased security during the holiday period following three violent street attacks in the run-up to Christmas, in which one person was killed and over 20 injured.In two of the attacks, the assailants shouted the Islamic phrase Allahu Akbar (God is greater).Over 90,000 police, gendarmes, soldiers and emergency service workers were deployed to protect the public on December 31.

West Indies learning from South Africa: Ramdin

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CAPE TOWN (AFP) - West Indies captain Denesh Ramdin said on Thursday that the main benefit of playing in South Africa was the opportunity for his young side to absorb some of the lessons that have made the hosts the number one team in the world.Speaking ahead of the third and final Test starting at Newlands on Friday, Ramdin said he hoped the West Indies would continue the improvement they had shown in the rain-hit drawn second Test after being beaten by an innings and 220 runs in the first contest.We made a slow start to the tour. Now we are gaining momentum, he said.Going into the third game, it is going to be a different atmosphere here, we can really enjoy it. Its a new year, hopefully we can change some things. We are playing against the number one team in the world. If we can take some of the things they do, we can probably move up against the rankings.Asked to identify specific areas where they could learn from South Africa, Ramdin said: Their bowlers dont bowl a lot of bad balls. Our bowlers bowl too many bad balls. Their batters dont give many chances. You cant give them opportunities because they score big hundreds. Sometimes our batters play too freely.Ramdin said there was a good chance the West Indies would go into the Test with an unchanged team, which would mean having only six specialist batsmen, together with four seam bowlers and spinner Suleiman Benn.Playing six batsmen has worked for us, said Ramdin. It puts a bit more pressure on the batters. It did work for a bit because Marlon (Samuels) and Kraigg (Brathwaite) had a big partnership. Unfortunately Shiv (Chanderpaul) and myself didnt get some runs. It could have been different. If Shiv and myself score runs and the lower order chip in we can get 350.One change Ramdin is likely to make, if he wins the toss, is to bat first.In the first two Tests he sent South Africa in but he said he expected a good pitch. The last time we played here (in 2007/08) a lot of runs were scored so if we get the opportunity well try to bat first.South African opening bowler Vernon Philander said the hosts were looking forward to playing at an iconic venue where they have had much success.Its a place we like to play. The boys are all geared up. Newlands always has something in it for the bowlers on days one and two.Its always a good cricket wicket. It will have a bit more pace and bounce than Port Elizabeth.

Dominican gov't won't recognize gay marriage at UK embassy

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SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic: (AP) - The Dominican Republic says it will not recognize a same-sex marriage performed for the first time in the conservative Caribbean country.In a Thursday statement, Foreign Ministry spokesman Miguel Medina said our legislation does not recognize this type of marriage.The statement comes two days after the British embassy tweeted that a Dominican man and his British partner had exchanged vows in its Santo Domingo offices.The U.K. announced in June that same-sex couples could marry at British consulates in 25 countries. The Dominican Republic is the only Caribbean nation on that list. Embassy officials say more same-sex ceremonies will be performed in the future.The chairman of the Dominican Council of Evangelical Churches said the embassy ceremony brings a curse to the nation.

Greece, Italy vary wildly on ferry missing numbers

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BRINDISI, Italy (AP) - Greece and Italy have issued widely different figures for how many people are still not accounted for in the ferry fire that killed at least 11 people in the Adriatic Sea.The numbers ranged from as many as 98, according to Italian prosecutor Giuseppe Volpe, to 18, according to the Greek Merchant Marine Ministry. Greece says Italys list is full of duplications and misspellings but the discrepancy could not be immediately explained since the prosecutors office was closed for the New Year holiday.A tug began towing the fire-ravaged ferry across wind-whipped seas toward Italy on Thursday afternoon. Giuseppe Barretta, owner of the tug boat company, told The Associated Press in the Adriatic port of Brindisi that the operation started near the coast of Albania, where the Norman Atlantic ferry had been stranded after Sundays pre-dawn fire.He estimated the towing could take 15 hours, depending on weather. Earlier, the Italian Coast Guard said waves in the region were as high as 5 meters (16 1/2 feet) and winds were blowing at more than 40 knots (46 mph).Once the ferry arrives in Brindisi, Italian authorities will inspect its interior for any possible other bodies.Cmdr. Floriana Segreto of the Italian Coast Guard said a total of 477 people were rescued from the stricken ferry. That figure, plus the 11 dead, would mean at least 488 people had been onboard as it sailed from Greece to Italy.Thats more than the 474 people who Greek officials said were officially on the ferry leading to questions about Italys tally or suggestions that the ferry also carried an unknown number of unregistered migrants.Italy says it rescued or discovered some 170,000 migrants and asylum seekers at sea last year as they tried to slip into Europe.
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