Monday 19 January 2015

Dunya TV

Dunya TV

Argentina special prosecutor found fatally shot at his home

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BUENOS AIRES, Argentina: (AP) - A prosecutor who had accused Argentine President Cristina Fernandez of shielding Iranian suspects in the nations deadliest terror attack was found dead with a gunshot wound, authorities said Monday, and the government raced to distance itself from suspicion by declassifying information the prosecutor had requested.Alberto Nisman, who was set to testify Monday in a Congressional hearing about the 1994 bombing of the countrys largest Jewish center, was found in the bathroom of his Buenos Aires apartment late Sunday, federal prosecutor Viviana Fein told Telam, Argentinas official news agency.We can confirm that it was a gunshot wound, .22 caliber, she said, adding that it was too early in the investigation to know what had happened.The death came only five days after Nisman accused Fernandez and other officials of reaching a deal with Iran that shielded some officials from possible punishment for the attack that killed 85 people and wounded more than 200.Hours after Nisman had been scheduled to testify about the allegations, the presidency ordered the declassification of the names of the agents that Nisman had demanded as part of his probe, apparently an attempt by the administration to show transparency and avoid any accusations of wrongdoing.Congresswoman Cornelia Schmidt-Liermann said she had planned to pick Nisman up Monday at his residence and accompany him for his testimony.Everybody who had contact with him the last 24 hours says he was confident about his testimony, she told The Associated Press. There is no indication, under any circumstances, that he killed himself.Nisman lived in Le Parc tower, a complex of luxury condos in the trendy Puerto Madero neighborhood of Buenos Aires. Reporters and others gathered outside Monday were not allowed to enter, the norm in such exclusive complexes, where many residents come and go via underground parking garages.Nisman had 10 federal police assigned to his protection, according to a statement from the Ministry of Security, which did not provide details on where the officers were posted when Nisman died. Government officials, including Cabinet chief Jorge Capitanich, have declined to comment on the investigation.Nisman was appointed 10 years ago by Fernandezs late husband, then-President Nestor Kirchner, to revive a floundering investigation into the bombing of the Argentine-Israeli Mutual Association in Buenos Aires.A small white van with several hundred pounds of explosives detonated in front of the seven-story building, causing it to collapse in the densely populated area of town.Argentina has one of the largest concentrations of Jews outside of Israel, with estimates ranging around 200,000, mostly in Buenos Aires.After years of inconclusive investigations and failed trials, an Argentine judge in 2006 accepted Nismans request to order the arrest of a former Iranian president, foreign minister and other officials. Interpol later put most of them on its most-wanted list.But Argentina and Iran reached agreement in 2013 to jointly investigate the attack, a move viewed with skepticism by Jewish leaders who feared it would undermine Nismans probe.Last week, Nisman accused Fernandez and other senior Argentine officials of agreeing not to punish at least two former Iranian officials in the case. He asked a judge to call Fernandez and others, including Foreign Minister Hector Timerman, for questioning.The president and her foreign minister took the criminal decision to fabricate Irans innocence to sate Argentinas commercial, political and geopolitical interests, Nisman said last week.A federal judge had begun the process of deciding whether to hear the complaint and whether anyone should be summoned for questioning.Fernandez has yet to comment on the allegations, and by Monday afternoon had not commented on Nismans death. Last week, administration officials called the prosecutors allegations ludicrous.Fernandezs administrations popularity has waned amid rising inflation and other economic ills and Nismans death could further cloud her last year in office.I dont think well ever know the truth but I have no doubt that he was killed, said Estela Damonte, a 47-year-old museum guide, adding that she had seen Nisman on television last week and it was clear that he believed deeply in his case.Its impossible that he killed himself, she said.Federico Valdez, who works at an insurance agency, had a different take.Everything indicates that he killed himself, said Valdez, 62. The bathroom door was locked from the inside, something even confirmed by the prosecutors mother.Opposition Congresswoman Patricia Bullrich told local news media that Nisman told her he had received threats after denouncing the president.Late Sunday, federal police agents in charge of Nismans protection alerted their superiors that he wasnt answering phone calls, according to the Security Ministry statement. When he also didnt answer the door, they decided to alert family members, according to the statement.When Nismans mother wasnt able to open the door because a key was in the lock on the other side, a locksmith was called to open it, the ministry said. A .22 caliber handgun and a shell casing were found next to Nismans body.Israels foreign ministry expressed deep sorrow over Nismans death.Nisman, a courageous, venerable jurist who fought intrepidly for justice, acted with determination to expose the identities of the terrorists and their dispatchers, a ministry statement said.Within hours after news of Nismans death spread, a well-known group called Indignant Argentines called for demonstrations later Monday in several areas of Buenos Aires.Nisman died but his denouncement does not, Sergio Bergman, a prominent rabbi in Buenos Aires, posted on Twitter. Our sorrow and condemnation will result in more memory, truth and justice

Sweden protests Saudi flogging of convicted blogger

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HELSINKI (AP) - Swedens Foreign Ministry says it summoned Saudi Arabias charge daffaires to protest the flogging of a blogger convicted of insulting Islam.Ministry spokesman Jon Pelling says the diplomat at the Saudi Embassy in Stockholm was summoned Monday to express the concern over the conviction and public flogging of Raif Badawi.Saudi officials on Friday postponed a second round of flogging after a doctor said Badawis wounds from the first 50 lashes had not yet healed.His first flogging took place on Jan. 9 before dozens of people in the Red Sea city of Jiddah.Badawi was sentenced in May to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes for criticizing Saudi Arabias powerful clerics and ridiculing the countrys morality police on a liberal blog he founded.

German anti-Islam group vows that it won't be silenced

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DRESDEN, Germany (AP) - A German group protesting what it calls the Islamization of the West vowed Monday that it wont be silenced after its weekly rally was canceled following an alleged terrorist threat against one of its organizers.The planned demonstration in Dresden by PEGIDA, or Patriotic Europeans against the Islamization of the West, was scrapped and local police banned all rallies Monday after being informed of a call for attackers to kill Lutz Bachmann, PEGIDAs best-known figure.Mondays cancellation doesnt mean that well let ourselves be gagged ... (or) deprived of the right to freedom of assembly and opinion, co-organizer Kathrin Oertel said at a news conference. Bachmann said a demonstration is planned for next week.About 25,000 people attended last weeks PEGIDA demonstration in Dresden, police estimated. Similar groups in other German cities havent drawn anywhere near as much support, and there have been much larger demonstrations against them.While German politicians have alleged that the group is stirring racist sentiments with its anti-foreigner rhetoric, they have also backed its right to hold protests.As chancellor, regardless of whether I like the contents, I have an immediate interest in ensuring that there can be demonstrations in every place in Germany, because it is a fundamental right, Chancellor Angela Merkel said in Berlin.The great majority in Germany rejects PEGIDA and has taken to the streets against PEGIDA in recent weeks, said German Justice Minister Heiko Maas, a sharp critic of the Dresden rallies. That must continue to be possible, even if there were certainly good reasons for the individual decision by security authorities in Dresden.In neighboring Denmark, a group using the PEGIDA name held a peaceful rally in central Copenhagen on Monday. Police said that about 200 people attended the torchlight march through the city streets while an anti-PEGIDA protest attracted an estimated 350 demonstrators.Police spokesman Allan Teddy Wadsworth-Hansen said the marches were held in an orderly fashion, as police strived to keep the two groups apart and no one was arrested or taken into custody.Smaller PEGIDA rallies were also held in the Danish cities of Arhus and Esbjerg and an estimated 70 people turned up for an anti-Islam demonstration near the City Hall in the Norwegian capital Oslo. A counter demonstration there drew 200 protesters.In Spain, a group using the PEGIDA name and a small far-right group called Alianza Nacional have been trying to organize a protest march in front of Madrids largest mosque. But the regional office of the Spanish Interior Ministry banned the latest request for a protest this Friday, saying such a march could pose a serious risk to public security.

Turkey president convenes Cabinet amid power-grab claims

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ANKARA, Turkey: (AP) - Turkeys president on Monday convened a Cabinet meeting for the first time, a political maneuver that is raising concerns among critics that he is pushing ahead to expand the powers of the largely ceremonial presidency.Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has dominated Turkish politics for the past decade as prime minister and was elected president in August, has set his sights on turning the parliamentary system into a presidential one, giving the head of state more executive powers.He has been pushing for a constitutional change to usher in a presidential system a difficult task that would depend on whether the ruling party can win enough seats in elections in June for the constitutional shift.In the meantime, Erdogan insists that as the first president to be elected by the people and not by parliament, he has a mandate to exercise more powers.On Monday, he invoked a rarely used presidential power to call and preside over a Cabinet meeting, usually chaired by the prime minister.Opposition parties say the president can call a Cabinet meeting in exceptional conditions only and accuse Erdogan of overstepping his powers and seeking greater involvement in the running of the government.Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc told reporters at the end of the Cabinet meeting that Erdogan could chair more meetings in the future but added these would not be routine.Our president will use his constitutional powers whenever there is a need, Arinc said.Erdogan, who has displayed increasingly authoritarian tendencies, has raised the number of directors at the presidency from four to 13, leading to assertions that he had created his own shadow Cabinet.Arinc rejected the claims, saying: We would want to benefit from our presidents assessments, but decisions are taken by our government.Turkish media have reported a rift between Erdogan and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu over his decision to chair the meeting. But Davutoglu told reporters last week that the constitution granted the president certain powers and that it was natural for Erdogan to preside over the meeting.The last time a president chaired a Cabinet meeting was in 2000 when then President Suleyman Demirel, who was ending his seven-year term, chaired a meeting to bid farewell to the ministers.Erdogan held the meeting at his new 1,150-room palace in Ankara, which he inaugurated in October.

Senegal beats Ghana 2-1 with late winner at African Cup

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MONGOMO, Equatorial Guinea (AP) - Senegal came from behind to win 2-1 with a last-minute goal on Monday, striking a big blow to Ghanas qualification chances at the African Cup of Nations.Substitute Moussa Sow stole victory right at the end in the Group C opener after Senegal had gone behind early and then dominated after that.Senegal missed a string of chances in the second half before Sow hit the winner in the 93rd minute at Mongomo Stadium.Andre Ayew stroked home a 14th-minute penalty for Ghana after Christian Atsu was fouled by Senegal goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul.But Senegal produced long periods of pressure and Mame Biram Diouf equalized with a second-half header, after his initial effort bounced back off the post.Substitute Sow then scored at the very end, when Ghana was clinging on, sending the small section of Senegalese fans in the Ghana-dominated ground crazy.Senegal was overlooked by many in Group C with Algeria, Ghana and South Africa tipped as the leading teams in whats probably the tournaments toughest group.Its very simple. We know that we are capable of beating any team in this competition, Senegal keeper and captain Coundoul said.Ghana captain Asamoah Gyan sat out his countrys opening game, watching from the bench after he was diagnosed with a mild bout of malaria over the weekend and had to spend a night in the hospital in the town in far-eastern Equatorial Guinea.

McCain urges 'boots on the ground' to combat IS

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JERUSALEM (AFP) - US Senator John McCain on Monday urged the deployment of international ground forces to combat extremists in Syria and Iraq, as he toured the Middle East with a Senate delegation.For months weve been bombing (Syrian border town) Kobane and we still havent driven ISIS out, the Senate Armed Services Committee chairman told reporters in Jerusalem.Since the air campaign started... ISIS has increased their size and areas of control.The reality is, we need more boots on the ground... we need intelligence, we need special forces, and we cant treat Iraq and Syria as different battlegrounds because its the same enemy, McCain said.We are going to have to have an aircraft exclusionary zone which provides a buffer in order for us to not only train and equip (rebels), but to take care of refugees, he added.IS began its offensive on Kobane in mid-September and came close to overrunning the town. But Kurdish fighters, backed by a steady campaign of US-led air strikes, have gradually recaptured territory.McCain was heading a delegation of US senators on a trip to the region that included visits to Israel, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.The US military is to send more than 400 troops to train Syrian rebel forces as part of a long-planned effort to build up a moderate opposition to take on IS.The training will take place in Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar and is expected to start in the early spring, the Pentagon says.But President Barack Obama, wary of having the US drawn into the multi-sided civil war in Syria, has been accused by some rebel groups, lawmakers and allies of moving too slowly to help the Syrian opposition.US troops have already started training Iraqi government and Kurdish forces in the fight against the IS terrorists, with about 2,100 Americans deployed to Iraq.

Overheated Brazil passengers open plan emergency exits

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SAO PAULO: (AP) - Brazilian news media say passengers trapped in a plane without air conditioning in the brutal heat of the southern hemisphere summer opened the emergency exit doors.Globo television network broadcast videos shot inside the plane that show overheated passengers fanning themselves before deciding to open the emergency exits.The 130 passengers on Sundays flight from Rio de Janeiro to Sao Paulo were trapped inside the jet on a runway for an hour.The Brazilian airline Gol said in a statement Monday the air conditioning units used on the ground were defective. The airline eventually moved the passengers onto another jet. It says no measures were spared to minimize the discomfort to passengers.Rio is experiencing a heatwave, with temperatures hitting 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius).

Euro currency's missing pieces challenge policymakers

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FRANKFURT, Germany: (AP) - Europes struggle with economic stagnation is raising questions about whether its prized project the shared euro currency can bounce back or even just survive.Fundamental gaps left at the euros creation in 1999 are haunting its policymakers. The euros missing pieces have come into sharper focus as the European Central Bank prepares to decide Thursday whether more monetary stimulus is needed to ward off crippling deflation and as Greece faces a Sunday election that could conceivably lead to its leaving the 19-nation eurozone.Richer countries reluctance to share taxpayer money with poorer ones is still blocking change. Fixing the euro will be a matter of years and thats only if the political will can be mustered.The alternative to change, according to economists and some officials, is that voters may turn their backs on an idea that promised prosperity but didnt deliver.No less a figure than Mario Draghi, head of the ECB, said in a recent article its clear that our monetary union is still incomplete. And at a Brussels conference Monday, Pierre Moscovici, the EUs commissioner for economic and financial affairs, said the current state no growth, high unemployment was unsustainable.If nothing changes in five years, the European project will be rejected, Moscovici said.Or, as Draghi argued, countries have to be better off inside than they would be outside.Economists often note the euros lack of a central budget. One central bank the Frankfurt-based ECB must devise one monetary policy for 19 countries, each of which has its own budget and a different way of running its economy. When one member is hit with a disaster, theres no central automatic spending to soften the blow.A shared budget is the most important missing component and also explains why the eurozone is so fragile, said Paul De Grauwe, a professor at the London School of Economics and author of The Economics of Monetary Union. And a fiscal union you can only have within a political union, because you need some supranational institution that is capable of directly taxing and spending.In contrast, the U.S. has a large federal budget that means rich states constantly send money to poorer ones without most people giving it one thought. When Floridas real estate boom collapsed, the state government didnt have to take over the busted banks. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation did. Meanwhile, federal money kept coming to Florida residents to pay their Social Security pensions, their unemployment insurance and their Medicare old-age health insurance.Not so in Greece, Portugal and Ireland. When those governments faced bills running into the billions for jobless workers, collapsed banks, pensions and health costs they were bailed out by other European Union nations. But they had to agree to painful budget cuts and tax increases that sank their economies even deeper into recession.That pressure to cut back is one factor keeping European growth slow and unemployment high11.5 percent overall and 26 percent in shell-shocked Greece. There, the left-wing Syriza party, which is leading ahead of Sundays vote, has said it plans to reject the bailout conditions, a step that could lead to Greece running out of money and leaving the eurozone.The troubled countries lack the safety cushion that comes from having their own currency, which would fall in value and make them cheaper places to do business. Instead, they have to cut labor costs.So the burden of adjustment ... falls squarely on labor, basically on cutting labor costs, said Simon Tilford, deputy director of the Centre For European Reform in London. That, politically, is a precarious basis for a currency.The eurozone has added safeguards since the crisis started in 2009, particularly a bailout fund to lend to troubled countries and common banking oversight to keep failing banks from busting government finances. Rules limiting deficits were toughened and countries budgets, labor costs and trade balances subject to common review.Yet eurozone growth was only 0.2 percent in the third quarter last year and inflation was minus 0.2 percent. Inflation that low is a sign not just of lower oil prices but of weak demand that some fear could persist for years or even decades, like it has in Japan.Still, calls for sharing some spending or financial risk such as by ramping up common spending on infrastructure, or borrowing collectively through so-called Eurobonds is still facing a firm no from Germany and several other countries such as Finland and the Netherlands.So whatcan be done?Draghi argued since U.S.-style budget transfers between richer and poorer are not foreseen, its time for countries to make up for that by deciding their economic policies together, to the point of sharing sovereignty. Members need to push each other harder for basic reforms such as clearing.

Colombia, FARC 'differences' on post-conflict justice: negotiator

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BOGOTA (AFP) - Colombia and the FARC have considerable differences about what kind of justice should be meted out to rebels who lay down their arms as part of a peace agreement, a top negotiator acknowledged Monday.These issues are very complex, said Humberto la Calle, Bogotas chief negotiator in talks with the Marxist guerrilla group.In the matter of transitional justice, as might be expected, we are still facing considerable differences, la Calle said.The talks, which have been held in Cuba since November 2012, aim to end Latin Americas oldest conflict, which has claimed more than 220,000 lives over the past 50 years.The delegations have been holding technical discussions in recent days to examine the general panorama for the next stages of the negotiations, de la Calle said on Colombian television. A new round of negotiations is scheduled to begin February 2.Besides reparations for victims and a cease-fire, negotiators are expected to take up the question of legal status of former guerrillas. Opponents of the peace process have accused the government of offering to let them walk free without punishment.Colombia must adapt to international and national standards, notably where international crimes are concerned, said de la Calle, adding however that there was still room for penal alternatives.During a previous peace process in the early 2000s with right-wing paramilitary groups blamed for massacres of civilians, Colombian authorities offered members of those groups reduced sentences in return for confessions.But an overwhelming majority of Colombians, 89 percent, oppose dispensing with prison sentences for the guerrillas, according to a poll made public in October by Radio Caracol.The FARC, formed in 1964, has an estimated 8,000 fighters, mainly deployed in rural areas.

Karachi: Govt bans pillion riding for 3 days

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KARACHI (Dunya News) – The government on Monday has banned pillion riding for at least three days in wake of the anti-polio drive.According to the details, the action has been taken after unidentified culprits attacked the anti-polio team in Orangi Town earlier today. A police official was injured in the attack. The Additional Inspector General (IG) had requested the government to impose a ban on pillion riding in the city. Upon which the Interior Department Sindh imposed a ban starting from January 20 12am until January 22.However, exceptions would be made in the ban for children, aged people and journalists.

EU agrees to stick to Russia sanctions policy

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BRUSSELS (AFP) - EU foreign ministers agreed Monday there would be no change in the blocs Russia policy, including sanctions, as the unions diplomatic chief warned the Ukraine situation had got much worse in recent weeks.They said they would stick to their course until Russia fully implemented the Ukraine peace accords it had backed in September, despite EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherinis suggestion of a review in the way the European Union deals with Russia.EU foreign ministers agree we must keep sanctions pressure on Russia until it helps deliver peace in Ukraine, Britains Philip Hammond said on Twitter said after talks in Brussels.EU must stay the course, Hammond added.The 28-nation EU imposed limited economic sanctions after the annexation of Crimea in March 2014, with more stringent measures following the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in July.With a fresh round of fighting erupting in eastern Ukraine, Mogherini said the latest developments on the ground are not encouraging, rather the contrary.The situation on the ground today is much worse than in last weeks, Mogherini told a press conference after the talks.In a briefing paper before the meeting, Mogherini had asked ministers to look beyond the immediate Ukraine crisis to consider if both sides could make progress on shared concerns such as Syria, Iraq and terrorism.She also suggested controversially that a distinction might be made between sanctions imposed for Russias annexation of Crimea in March and those for backing pro-Moscow rebels in eastern Ukraine.

IMF chief warns Greece: 'A debt is a debt'

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DUBLIN (AFP) - IMF chief Christine Lagarde on Monday warned of consequences if European countries try to renegotiate their debts, ahead of Greek elections which an anti-austerity party is tipped to win.Collective endeavours are welcome but at the same time a debt is a debt and it is a contract, the International Monetary Funds Lagarde told the Irish Times during a visit to Dublin.Defaulting, restructuring, changing the terms has consequences on the signature and the confidence in the signature, she said.Alexis Tsipras, the head of the anti-austerity Syriza coalition, has called for the renegotiation of the terms of the Greek bailout set by its main creditors -- the IMF and the European Union -- and a partial cancellation of its enormous public debt.He has called for a conference of creditors and frequently refers to the London Conference in 1953 which cancelled German debt after World War II.Yannis Dragasakis, a Syriza lawmaker and deputy speaker of parliament, reacted to Lagardes comments.It is necessary to adjust the debt because it is not currently sustainable. The Greek economy has suffered a disaster and its capabilities are currently limited, he said.Our proposal does not solely concern Greek debt, but the problem of excessive debt facing many European countries, he said.At a press conference later on Monday Lagarde talked about the European Central Banks planned quantitative easing programme.Asked whether the measures might further undermine the fiscal credibility of heavily indebted EU states, she said: The more efficient it is, the more mutualisation there is, the better.Lagarde also met with Irish Finance Minister Michael Noonan and urged Ireland to hold on to hard-won gains at a time when the eurozone country is ending budget austerity and returning to economic growth.What I hope is that all the efforts and all the sacrifices that were made in the last five years will not be in vain and will not be wasted by excessive measures, she said.I would trust the wisdom of the Irish people to see what is in the best interest of the country and of the economy and of the people of Ireland.

4000 IT teachers forced to perform clerical duties

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LAHORE: (Dunya News) – 4000 IT teachers in various schools of Punjab are performing duties of clerical staff instead of teaching computer skills to the students, reported Dunya News. Computers are in bad conditions and their hardware condition is not in appropriate condition but instead of teaching computer to the students, IT teachers are performing duties in the accounts and mailing departments of the school.Punjab government had promised to provide IT education to the students but 4000 teachers appointed in 2009 are currently performing clerical duties. On the other hand, most of the computers in the 4426 IT labs, established in 2009, are out of order while the IT labour is also not performing.According to details, Punjab government had spent a massive sum on establishing IT labs in 2009 but the dream to educate the students on modern lines could not be fulfilled because of misplaced priorities of the government. It is pertinent to mention here that 4426 IT labs had been established in high and higher secondary schools of Punjab in 2009 but the government lost its focus after hiring 4000 IT teachers.Sources in Education Department claim that headmasters have assigned clerical duties to the IT teachers due to government negligence. Sources told Dunya News that the issue has been highlighted before the education department on numerous occasions yet no change has been seen as yet.Central Secretary General of Punjab Teachers Union Kashif Shahzad told Dunya News that this issue has been brought into the notice of the education department.This story was publlished in Daily Dunya on January 19, 2015.

Civilians under threat as Ukraine clashes flare

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DONETSK (AFP) - Deadly clashes between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian rebels threatened civilians in central Donetsk on Monday, with shelling hitting a hospital and warnings of insurgents launching attacks from residential areas.Ukraine also made fresh accusations of Moscow backing the separatists, alleging that hundreds of Russian troops crossed the border into rebel-held territory to join the fight.After a pause in the fighting early Monday as Orthodox Christians celebrated Epiphany, clashes reignited in the afternoon, with regular explosions heard coming from the direction of the Donetsk airport northwest of the city.The airport has been the flashpoint of an upsurge in violence in recent days that has left a September truce in tatters, with heavy combat shaking the area at the weekend after Ukraine launched a major counter-offensive to push out the rebels.The hospital hit on Monday is however located in the centre of Donetsk, and rebel officials who control the area reported six wounded, including one doctor and five patients. The buildings front was damaged and windows were blown out.A university across from the hospital was also hit and there was speculation in the neighbourhood over whether the intended target was the nearby separatist security ministry.Larissa Polyakova, who was nearby, said students at the university barely missed being hit.Shells fell on the window, she said. Miraculously, the students had left the room 15 minutes before. Can you imagine what would have happened if they were still inside?Elsewhere, in Debaltseve some 60 kilometres (around 40 miles) north of Donetsk, artillery fire killed three people on Monday and wounded 12, according to Ukrainian officials.Concerns mounted over the fate of civilians, with rebels said to be launching attacks from residential areas and Ukrainian forces accused of returning fire.The use of heavily populated areas for launching attacks by pro-Russian separatists in Donetsk and Horlivka and the return of fire into these areas by pro-Kiev forces is putting civilian lives in great danger, Denis Krivosheev, deputy Europe and Central Asia programme director for Amnesty International, said in a statement.Ukraines military reported at least three soldiers killed over the last 24 hours and another 66 wounded, but claimed to be in control of the airport.Rebels have disputed Kievs account and there was no independent confirmation, with journalists unable to approach the site.The blackened and wrecked airport has been hit by repeated on-off clashes, and control has often been divided between a new and old terminal and other installations.An adviser to Ukraines president said rebels blew up part of a ceiling at the battered airport on Monday, causing a section of it to collapse and wounding many soldiers.It was unclear if the wounded were included in the toll reported earlier by the military and further details of the incident were not immediately clear.

Handball: Qatar on verge of last 16 after shock win

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DOHA (AFP) - Cuban-born Rafael Capotes 12 goals helped hosts Qatar pull off a major shock at the Mens World Handball championships on Monday when they defeated highly-fancied Slovenia 31-29 to virtually assure themselves of a place in the last 16 place.In a pulsating and physical encounter, the Qataris held on in a tense final few minutes, to spark wild celebrations at the end of the game.The victory means Qatar, joined world champions Spain at the top of Group A with three wins out of three, and the tournaments hosts may now set their ambitions higher than a last 16 berth after defeating a Slovenia team which reached the semi-finals of the last World Cup.The games star was Capote whose tally included a crucial goal with less than two minutes remaining to give Qatar a slender two goal advantage.Capote even outshone Slovenias Dragan Gajic, the tournaments leading scorer coming into this game, but who was restricted to just three this time out.Qatar began confidently, taking an early lead but had been pegged back by a slow-starting Slovenia in the 13th minute, who led 8-7.But any thoughts that the Europeans might run away with the game were quickly dispelled with goals for the host team from Capote and Kamalaldin Mallash, who ended up scoring seven times, to give Qatar an 18-15 lead at the break.It was an advantage the Qataris were able to hold onto throughout the second half, but their nerves were tested with just five minutes left when Slovenia levelled despite having a player in the sin bin with Tomaz Dolenec scoring twice in as many minutes to make it 28-28.However, a goal from Montenegro-born Zarko Markovic, one of several foreign-born players in the Qatari side, and Capotes final goal gave the hosts breathing space.A final goal from Mahmoud Hassab Alla secured a 31-29 victory prompting huge celebrations among the team and fans at the Lusail Multisports Hall, a gleaming 15,000 stadium north of the capital Doha specially built for the tournament.In Group As other games on Monday, Spain breezed past Chile 37-16 and Brazil kept their slender hopes alive with a 34-29 win over Belarus.Spain and Qatar have six points, Slovenia four from their three games.Also on Monday, in Group B, Croatia smashed Iran 41-22 and Macedonia narrowly beat Bosnia and Herzegovina 25-22.Croatia and Macedonia both have three victories from three games and play each other next.
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