Tuesday 10 March 2015

Dunya TV

Dunya TV

Fury as Australia PM calls Aboriginal communities a 'lifestyle choice'

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SYDNEY (AFP) - Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott faced a wave of criticism Wednesday, including that he was unfit to be leader, after describing living in remote Aboriginal communities as a lifestyle choice.The countrys indigenous people are the nations most disadvantaged, with a much shorter life expectancy than other Australians while suffering disproportionate levels of imprisonment and social problems such as unemployment.Abbott said late Tuesday he supported a plan to close more than 100 remote Aboriginal communities across the vast Western Australia state if essential services could not be provided.Its the job of the taxpayer to provide reasonable services in a reasonable way, to indeed to provide high quality services in a reasonable way, he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.What we cant do is endlessly subsidise lifestyle choices if those lifestyle choices are not conducive to the kind of full participation in Australian society that everyone should have.Aborigines have lived in Australia for at least 40,000 years and the comments drew stinging criticism, with Abbotts key indigenous advisor Warren Mundine saying Aboriginal people had a cultural connection to their land, and it was not simply a matter of going to live in the bush.These people are actually living on their homelands and it affects a lot of things, it affects their cultural activities, it affects their native title, it affects a number of areas, he said.Its about their life, its about their very essence, its about their very culture.Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Mick Gooda said the comments were baffling and would cause offence in the indigenous community.Were going to make a situation thats pretty bad already in those places even worse, he said.Abbott defended the remarks on Wednesday, saying he was being realistic.If you or I chose to live in a very remote place, to what extent is the taxpayer obliged to subsidise our services? he said.It is incredibly difficult for the kids to go to school if theres only half a dozen of them and getting teachers there is all but impossible.Similarly its very difficult for adults to get a proper job if theres no employment within hundreds of miles. And this is where we have to be a little bit realistic.Abbott last year spent almost a week running the government from a remote Aboriginal community in the nations far north and will do the same this year.Rolf de Heer, an acclaimed filmmaker who has made indigenous movies including Ten Canoes, said the comments were so inappropriate that its laughable.It shows such ignorance that he has no right to be the prime minister of Australia, the Sydney Morning Herald quoted him as saying.Aborigines are believed to have numbered around one million at the time of British settlement in 1788, but there are now just 470,000 out of a total population of 23 million.

Back in political fray, Clinton ends silence on email uproar

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NEW YORK (AFP) - Presumed 2016 presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton stormed back onto Americas political stage Tuesday, seeking to quell concerns she used private email while secretary of state but acknowledging it was not the smarter option.In her first public comments since the controversy erupted last week, Clinton said she exclusively used a personal email account as a matter of convenience, and insisted that the private server she used suffered no security breaches.She also said no classified material was divulged in the emails, while promising she had turned over all work communications to the State Department.But of the 63,320 emails Clinton sent and received during her four years as top diplomat, she defiantly said about 30,000 of them were personal, private records -- such as those planning her daughters wedding and yoga routines -- and had been deleted.And in a move not calculated to silence her critics, she said the Clinton family server on which all her emails were stored would not be turned over to the government or an independent commission.Clinton, mindful of how several Republican lawmakers have questioned her actions, said she had taken unprecedented steps to comply with the law requiring official records be kept.Looking back, it might have been smarter to use two separate phones and email accounts, Clinton told reporters after speaking at a United Nations womens conference.I thought one device would be simpler, and obviously it hasnt worked out that way.Some 21 months after she left office, following a State Department request to her and previous secretaries of state, Clinton turned over some 55,000 pages of emails.We went through a thorough process to identify all of my work-related emails and deliver them to the State Department, she said.But she offered no avenue for proving that potentially embarrassing work-related emails were not permanently deleted.Asked directly if she or her team destroyed any work emails, she was unequivocal: We did not.The former first lady and US senator has been accused, mainly by her Republican opponents, of trying to improperly keep her emails out of the public domain.While Clinton apparently contravened State Department guidelines against conducting official business on personal email, she insisted her actions were legal.The 20-minute appearance, her first before a swarm of reporters since the email revelations last week, was an effort for the famous Democrat to tamp down the uproar before she possibly launches a run for the White House, as early as April.But the press conference was less a study in seamless preparation for an all-but-certain campaign rollout and more a form of crisis management before two dozen television cameras.Called to testifyRepublicans kept up the pressure, demanding the entirety of Clintons correspondence be reviewed for release.Secretary Clinton didnt hand over her emails out of the goodness of her heart -- she was forced to by smart, determined and effective oversight by the House Select Committee on Benghazi, House Speaker John Boehners spokesman said, referring to the panel investigating the terror attacks in Libya in 2012 that killed four Americans.Smelling fresh blood, committee chairman Trey Gowdy warned that Clintons comments provided more questions than answers.Without access to Secretary Clintons personal server, there is no way for the State Department to know it has acquired all documents that should be made public, Gowdy said.I see no choice but for Secretary Clinton to turn her server over to a neutral, detached third-party arbiter who can determine which documents should be public and which should remain private.Gowdy also said he would urge Clinton to appear twice before his committee, first to clear up her role and resolve issues surrounding her exclusive use of personal email, and then in a public hearing on Benghazi.Clinton, who has laid low for months, had come under mounting pressure to address the emails, which Republicans have seized on as a sign Clinton may have sought to keep sensitive emails private despite her official communications being part of the public record.The email publication process will take months, but the State Department said it would soon release an initial batch of 300.Potential Republican presidential rival Jeb Bush recently released 250,000 emails from his time as Florida governor.The Democratic National Committee noted that Bush too used a private account on a private server.

Cricket: Ireland fury over 'vicious personal attack' on Mooney

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SYDNEY (AFP) - The Zimbabwe and Ireland teams at the World Cup united Wednesday to condemn a newspaper article which mocked Irish all-rounder John Mooneys battle with alcohol and depression.Mooney took the boundary catch which eliminated the Africans from the World Cup in Hobart last Saturday.But his match-winning efforts were greeted in the Zimbabwe Herald under the headline: Alcoholic dumps Zim out of WC.The 33-year-old Mooney has suffered from depression and battled alcohol abuse in the past and was forced to quit Irelands tour of the West Indies last year.Zimbabwe batsman Brendan Taylor, who was the stand-in captain in Saturdays game, issued an apology to Mooney on Wednesday.On behalf of the Zimbabwe cricket team, we just want to express our apologies to @Irelandcricket and John Mooney for the unacceptable article, tweeted Taylor, who made 121 in the game which his team lost by an agonising five runs.Taylor shared a fifth-wicket stand of 149 with Sean Williams (96) but the game -- and Zimbabwes future in the tournament -- turned with Zimbabwe needing 32 to win off 20 balls when Williams hooked Kevin OBrien towards deep midwicket where Mooney reached high to grab the ball.There were doubts over whether the big Irishman had touched the boundary with his foot, which would have resulted in a six.As the decision was reviewed, Williams left the field and the catch stood.Youve got to take his (Mooneys) word for it, said Taylor in the immediate aftermath of the game.The Zimbabwe Herald article questioned the Irishmans credibility, claiming the catch was a shameless piece of fielding dishonesty... is it possible for a person like Mooney to be trusted?Cricket Ireland chief executive Warren Deutrom condemned the article as crass and represented a gross error of judgement.It would be easy to dismiss (the story) as a childish diatribe if it wasnt for the vicious personal attack on John which cannot pass without comment, and possible action, said Deutrom in a statement.John represents his country with honour, distinction and integrity. That he does in the face of personal challenges about which he has spoken openly and movingly demonstrates incredible hard work and great courage.We understand, as does John, that public figures may occasionally be subject to negative comment, but in mocking John in such a contemptuous fashion, and using his personal difficulties as a mere punchline, the Zimbabwe Herald has demonstrated breath-taking crassness and a gross error of editorial judgement.

London schoolgirls 'stole jewellery' to fund Syria flight

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LONDON (AFP) - Three London schoolgirls who fled to Syria are believed to have stolen family jewellery to fund their travel, police said Tuesday as the trios relatives expressed disbelief at their actions.Schoolfriends Kadiza Sultana, 16, and 15-year-olds Shamima Begum and Amira Abase, left their homes last month and flew to Istanbul, from where they are believed to have joined Islamic State (IS) terrorists in Syria.Giving evidence before parliaments home affairs committee, Britains national police lead on counter-terrorism, Mark Rowley, said the girls paid a travel agent more than GBP 1,000 (1,409 euros, $1,506) for their flights.Asked where they found the money, he said: We think its linked to theft from families. We think its linked to taking jewellery from one of their family members.However, family members later said that the girls must have found additional funds elsewhere, as the jewellery that was missing was not of great value.We havent lost GBP 2000 worth of jewellery, Shamimas sister Renu Begum told ITV News.I feel there is someone out there helping in terms of funding because theres no way my sister has got the cash to fund herself, said Kadizas sister Halima Khanom.I really hope the police would now make it their business to establish where these funds came from because it clearly wasnt from home, added Kadizas cousin Fahmida Aziz.The girls are among 26 British young women who have gone to join IS fighters in Syria, according to Rowley, who is assistant commissioner of Londons Metropolitan Police.But he said that so far we have no evidence to suggest they are involved in terrorism, and they could return home to Britain without facing charges.Normal teenagerEarlier, Abases father Hussen Abase told the committee that his daughter was a victim -- adding that he believed she had been terrified by police attention following the flight of another schoolfriend to Syria in December.Police spoke with Sultana, Begum and Abase and four other girls from the same London school after the 15-year-old girl went missing in December, and gave them a letter requesting further permission from their parents to talk to them.None of the trio passed on the letters, and their relatives have complained that they could have acted to stop the girls going to Syria if they had known the situation.Abase said of his daughter: She is the kind of girl who, if it (is) sunset, will call me to pick her up. So how on Earth (can) she travel to abroad and to join ISIS (IS)? The letter terrified my daughter.He added that the family was mentally disabled by her loss, saying: We focus on our children to come back home, not in prison, because they are victims.In her evidence to the committee, Begums older sister Sahima also said there was no indication that the younger girl had been radicalised.My sister was into normal teenage things. She used to watch Keeping Up With The Kardashians, she told lawmakers.Metropolitan Police Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe said he was sorry if the families felt let down by the police, and acknowledged officers had failed to get the letters through to the parents that could have alerted them to the risk.But he told the committee: I dont think we would go as far as saying therefore that caused the girls to go. There was nothing more we could have done to prevent that.

Strong 6.6-magnitude quake shakes northeast Colombia

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BOGOTA (AFP) - A deep 6.2-magnitude earthquake shook northeast Colombia on Tuesday and was felt as far away as the capital Bogota, in the center of the country, where some buildings were evacuated.There were no immediate reports of victims or major damage, though car crashes were reported in Bogota and local media in Bucaramanga, the capital of the region where the quake struck, said city hall had structural faults after the quake.The traffic lights started trembling like flags, Luis Aponte, a Bogota taxi driver, told AFP.The quake hit at 3:55 pm (2055 GMT) in the department of Santander, a region with frequent seismic activity.The US Geological Survey said the quake had a depth of 147 kilometers (91 miles), with its epicenter near the town of Aratoca, about 270 kilometers from Bogota.The Colombian Geological Service put the magnitude at 6.6 and the depth at 161 kilometers.At the moment no one has been injured by the earthquake anywhere in the country. We remain on alert, President Juan Manuel Santos wrote on Twitter.Aviation officials said flights were disrupted at the airport in the central city of Manizales because of volcanic ash, which is sometimes released by seismic activity. The rest of the countrys airports were operating normally, they said.Bogota Mayor Gustavo Petro said some buildings in the capital sustained slight damage but that no one was wounded.Tremors were felt as far away as neighboring Venezuela.The Andean region of South America, including Colombia, is part of the Pacific Oceans seismically turbulent Ring of Fire, which makes it prone to earthquakes.

Gunmen kill 2 journalists in southern town in Guatemala

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GUATEMALA CITY (AP) - Gunmen shot and killed two journalists and wounded a third Tuesday as they walked in a park in southern Guatemala, the editor of Prensa Libre newspaper said.Danilo Lopez, the local correspondent for Prensa Libre, and Federico Salazar, of Radio Nuevo Mundo, were killed in a park in Mazatenango municipality.The men were the vice-president and secretary, respectively, of the recently created Suchitepequez Press Association, according to Centro Civitas, a nonprofit organization dedicated to journalists human rights.Prensa Libre editor Miguel Angel Mendez Zetina said Lopez had worked at the paper for more than a decade and recently filed a complaint against Jose Linares Rojas, the mayor of San Lorenzo, for making death threats against him. Lopez had written stories about the lack of transparency surrounding public funds in Linares administration, the editor added.Two mayors from Mazatenango municipality had threatened him for his stories, Mendez said. Danilo was a very ethical reporter, very transparent and he was very good at accounting for public funds and how this impacted communities.Marvin Robledo, director of Radio Nuevo Mundo, said Salazar had not mentioned any problems or threats and was not working on anything special when he was killed.Were going to await the investigations, we dont know the motive, Robledo said.Lopezs family said he had also been threatened recently by Julio Juarez, the former mayor of Santo Tomas La Union, who had left his post to become a congressional deputy candidate, according to a statement from the press association.Local volunteer firefighters said a third man, Marvin Tunches, was taken to a hospital in serious condition. The press association said Tunches was a reporter for a local cable channel and requested protection for him.Local prosecutors announced through their Twitter account the capture of a suspect in the attack.During the current government, four journalists have been killed in the Suchitepequez department. Investigators have received 20 complaints about aggression toward journalists so far this year.Miguel Gonzalez Moraga of Centro Civitas, said that while President Otto Perez Molina announced a program in November 2014 to protect journalists, so far no related actions have been made public.

London schoolgirls 'stole jewellery' to fund Syria flight

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LONDON (AFP) - Three London schoolgirls who fled to Syria are believed to have stolen family jewellery to fund their travel, police said Tuesday as the trios relatives expressed disbelief at their actions.Schoolfriends Kadiza Sultana, 16, and 15-year-olds Shamima Begum and Amira Abase, left their homes last month and flew to Istanbul, from where they are believed to have joined Islamic State (IS) jihadists in Syria.Giving evidence before parliaments home affairs committee, Britains national police lead on counter-terrorism, Mark Rowley, said the girls paid a travel agent more than 1,000 pound (1,409 euros, $1,506) for their flights. Asked where they found the money, he said: We think its linked to theft from families. We think its linked to taking jewellery from one of their family members.However, family members later said that the girls must have found additional funds elsewhere, as the jewellery that was missing was not of great value.We havent lost 2000 pound worth of jewellery, Shamimas sister Renu Begum told ITV News.I feel there is someone out there helping in terms of funding because theres no way my sister has got the cash to fund herself, said Kadizas sister Halima Khanom.I really hope the police would now make it their business to establish where these funds came from because it clearly wasnt from home, added Kadizas cousin Fahmida Aziz.The girls are among 26 British young women who have gone to join IS fighters in Syria, according to Rowley, who is assistant commissioner of Londons Metropolitan Police.But he said that so far we have no evidence to suggest they are involved in terrorism, and they could return home to Britain without facing charges.Earlier, Abases father Hussen Abase told the committee that his daughter was a victim -- adding that he believed she had been terrified by police attention following the flight of another schoolfriend to Syria in December.Police spoke with Sultana, Begum and Abase and four other girls from the same London school after the 15-year-old girl went missing in December, and gave them a letter requesting further permission from their parents to talk to them.None of the trio passed on the letters, and their relatives have complained that they could have acted to stop the girls going to Syria if they had known the situation.Abase said of his daughter: She is the kind of girl who, if it (is) sunset, will call me to pick her up. So how on Earth (can) she travel to abroad and to join ISIS (IS)? The letter terrified my daughter.He added that the family was mentally disabled by her loss, saying: We focus on our children to come back home, not in prison, because they are victims.In her evidence to the committee, Begums older sister Sahima also said there was no indication that the younger girl had been radicalised.My sister was into normal teenage things. She used to watch Keeping Up With The Kardashians, she told lawmakers.Metropolitan Police Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe said he was sorry if the families felt let down by the police, and acknowledged officers had failed to get the letters through to the parents that could have alerted them to the risk.But he told the committee: I dont think we would go as far as saying therefore that caused the girls to go. There was nothing more we could have done to prevent that.

Formula One: Van der Garde wins court ruling against Sauber

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MELBOURNE (AFP) - An Australian court on Wednesday ruled that Dutchman Giedo van der Garde can drive for Sauber at the season-opening Formula One Grand Prix in Melbourne this weekend.Van der Garde had claimed he was guaranteed a drive for the 2015 season but that the Swiss team reneged on the deal and instead handed births to Swedens Marcus Ericsson and rookie Brazilian Felipe Nasr.He originally took his case to a Swiss arbitration tribunal which ordered Sauber to keep him on the team, and Supreme Court Justice Clyde Croft backed that ruling, enforcing it in Victoria state.The decision opens the door to the 29-year-old driving at the Australian Grand Prix this weekend, giving him just two days to prepare for Fridays pre-race practice sessions.Sauber lawyer Rodney Garratt had argued it would be reckless to let him compete in an unfamiliar car and without going through the two-week custom seat-fitting process.He said such a move would put other drivers and support staff at an unacceptable risk and it would be reckless and dangerous.But van der Gardes lawyer Tom Clarke said in 2012, a Formula One driver was fitted with a seat just three days after being granted a drive by an emergency ruling.

Japan marks 4th anniversary of quake-tsunami disaster

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TOKYO (AFP) - Japan on Wednesday commemorates the fourth anniversary of the quake-tsunami disaster which swept away thousands of victims and sparked a nuclear crisis, while survivors are still struggling to recover from the tragedy.Remembrance ceremonies will be held in towns and cities around the disaster zone and in Tokyo, where Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko are to lead tributes to those who died in Japans worst peace-time disaster.A national moment of silence is to follow the cry of tsunami alarm sirens which will be set off at 2:46 pm (0546 GMT), the moment a 9.0-magnitude undersea quake hit.Its gigantic force unleashed a towering wall of water that travelled at the speed of a jet plane to the coast. Within minutes, communities were turned to matchwood, and whole families drowned.The National Police Agency said a total of 15,891 people are confirmed to have died in the disaster with another 2,584 still listed as missing. Human remains are sometimes still found years later.Thousands of people afflicted by the tsunami remain unable to turn the page on the horror of 2011. For them, grief is frozen in time because they cannot find the bodies they need to mourn.Somebody needs to do this, walking along the shore, said Takayuki Ueno, who combed a desolate winter beach during the weekend for the bones of his three-year-old son killed by the monstrous tsunami.Otherwise there is no possibility that anyone will be found, said the 42-year-old man whose daughter and parents were also killed by the tsunami in northern Fukushima.Massive waves also crashed into the Fukushima nuclear plant, triggering reactor meltdowns and explosions, and setting off the worst atomic crisis in a generation.The crippled plant remains volatile and the complicated decommissioning process is expected to last for decades, as fears persist over the health effects of leaked radiation. Tens of thousands were evacuated from the stricken area.Despite the government pledging billions of dollars in reconstruction aid, progress in disaster-hit regions has been slow, some communities remain ghost towns, and thousands of disaster refugees struggle to cope.According to the government, more than 80,000 survivors still live in temporary houses, while nearly 230,000 people, mostly evacuees from Fukushima, are taking refuge.Reconstruction is shifting to a new stage, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told a news conference on Tuesday.We will help disaster victims become self-sustaining, Abe said. As the government, we will provide the best possible support.

Football: Porto crush Basel to reach quarter-finals

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PORTO (AFP) - Porto remained unbeaten in the Champions League this season and qualified for the quarter-finals for the first time since 2009 as they defeated Swiss side Basel 5-1 on aggregate on Tuesday. Goals from Yacine Brahimi, Hector Herrera, Casemiro and Vincent Aboubakar, combined for a 4-0 win at the Estadio do Dragao, and continued Basels poor form in Portugal as their coach Paulo Sousa endured a miserable return to his homeland. The first leg had finished 1-1 three weeks ago in Switzerland. The Swiss champions have yet to win on six trips to Portugal while Sousa, a former Benfica and Sporting Lisbon midfielder, saw his side fail again in their bid to reach the quarter-finals for the first time. Algerias Brahimi eased the nerves of the home fans and put the two-time champions in charge with a precision free-kick after just 14 minutes. Former Argentina international Walter Samuel, who won the 2010 Champions League with Inter Milan, committed the offence that led to the setpiece and Brahimi made no mistake from just outside the box. The 25-year-old, curled the ball past the wall as Basel keeper Thomas Vaclik stood rooted to his line and was well beaten to the left of his goal. Samuel was later sent off in the final minute for a second yellow card. Portos Brazilian captain Danilo was then carried off with a worrying injury, and left the stadium in an ambulance, when he collided just outside the penalty area with his own goalkeeper and compatriot Fabiano. Hector Herrera then scored his third goal of the competition with a neat right-foot shot from the edge of the area two minutes after half-time as Basel continued to crumble. Brahimi again played a key role as his surging run and lay-off to Herrera laid the foundations for the goal. As Basel struggled to stay in touch, the evening went from bad to worse for the visitors on 56 minutes with another precision strike from Casemiro. The Brazilian hit a long range free-kick that flew past Vaclik and killed off any chances of a Basel comeback. Cameroonian Aboubakar put the gloss on a fine nights work for the Portuguese champions with their fourth goal on 76 minutes with another high quality strike from 25 yards. Porto, who won the competition in 1987 and 2004, now go into the hat for the quarter-finals for the first time since they were beaten 3-2 in the last eight by Manchester United in 2009.

Venezuelan leader seeks decree powers amid US rift

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CARACAS (AFP) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro will request Tuesday special decree powers to confront what he termed imperialist aggressions from the United States, as relations between the countries sank further.Maduro will submit his request to the National Assembly, dominated by his ruling socialist party, a day after US President Barack Obama ordered new sanctions against seven Venezuelan officials over an opposition crackdown.The Venezuelan leader wrote on Twitter that he would attend the assembly session to personally deliver the request for the Enabling Law for Peace and Sovereignty.He had declared on national television late Monday that he would ask for an anti-imperialist law to prepare ourselves for all scenarios and win through peace, but he did not provide details.Shortly after the US sanctions were announced, Maduro recalled his envoy to Washington and denounced the US action as the most aggressive, unjust and harmful blow against Venezuela.The US State Department denied that Washington was promoting instability or seeking to undermine Maduros administration, with spokeswoman Jen Psaki saying the goal of the sanctions is to persuade the government of Venezuela to change their behavior.Analysts and non-governmental organizations said Maduro could seize on the special powers to curb individual rights, invoking the specter of an external threat to justify his request.Using the external enemy, which is imperialism, the government takes advantage to build a more repressive legal framework, Edgard Gutierrez, coordinator of the Venebarometro polling firm, told AFP.Rocio San Miguel, head of the Control Ciudadano NGO specializing in security issues, said the legislation would be an instrument against the internal enemy ... to undermine human rights.Special powers likelyMaduro, who was elected to succeed his late mentor Hugo Chavez in April 2013, had obtained one-year-long powers to impose economic laws by decree later that same year. Chavez issued hundreds of decrees during his 1999-2013 administration.Maduros popularity has sunk in the past year amid an economic crisis, galloping inflation and huge lines outside supermarkets plagued by drastic food shortages.He is likely to gain special powers again. Maduro would need 60 percent of the unicameral assemblys votes, a majority his party holds with 99 pro-government deputies out of 165 lawmakers.Maduro has accused Washington of backing an opposition plot to overthrow him in a coup that would have involved bombing the presidential palace. The US government has dismissed the charges as baseless.In activating the sanctions, Obama called the situation in oil-rich Venezuela an extraordinary threat to the national security of the United States.The two nations have not exchanged ambassadors since 2010. The US State Department restricted visas to dozens of Venezuelan officials last month, prompting Maduro to demand Washington to reduce its diplomatic presence in Caracas and require visas for US tourists.US sanctions sick jokeVenezuelas regional allies Cuba and Ecuador closed ranks behind Caracas.An official statement published in communist Cubas state-run media called the US sanctions arbitrary and aggressive. It was the first confrontation between Havana and Washington since the two countries agreed to seek normal relations in December.Cuba again reiterates its unconditional support and that of our people for the Bolivarian Revolution, the legitimate government of President Nicolas Maduro, and the heroic brotherly people of Venezuela, the statement said.Ecuadors leftist President Rafael Correa took to Twitter to denounce the US sanctions as grotesque and a sick joke.The European Union said it was closely watching developments in Venezuela but would not join Washington in imposing sanctions.The secretary general of the Organization of American States, Jose Miguel Insulza, said the regional bodys permanent council should hold a meeting about the US-Venezuela row.

Obama names ambassador to Pakistan

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WASHINGTON (AFP) - US President Barack Obama on Tuesday nominated veteran diplomat David Hale as ambassador to Pakistan.Hale, currently ambassador to Lebanon, has previously served as the top US diplomat in Jordan and was special envoy for Middle East peace under Obama.The United States has vowed to step up security and intelligence cooperation with Pakistan in a bid to combat Islamist militants.But relations have often been strained.The succesful US mission to kill Osama bin Laden on Pakistani soil, US nuclear agreements with India and support for Delhis UN Security Council bid have all rankled in Islamabad.Hale will have to be confirmed by lawmakers before taking up his post.

Proteas aim for consistency against UAE

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WELLINGTON (AFP) - AB de Villiers wants consistency and commitment in South Africas final pool match against the United Arab Emirates on Thursday, aware the Proteas stop-start form cannot continue as the tournaments knockout phase looms.At their best, de Villiers men have looked like world beaters, becoming the first team in history to post successive one-day international totals of 400-plus in Pool B wins over the West Indies and Ireland.But they have also been skittled out for 177 and 202 in losses to India and Pakistan respectively, reviving memories of the hated chokers tag that has haunted previous World Cup campaigns.The Proteas were many pundits tip to lift a maiden World Cup this year but their inconsistency means bookmakers are now ranking them behind co-hosts Australia and New Zealand.With a quarter-final against a dangerous Sri Lanka appearing likely, the UAE match presents a final chance for some South African fine-tuning.It also has the potential to provide crucial practice for seamer Vernon Philander, who has missed the past three games with a hamstring injury. De Villiers was at a loss to explain the Pakistan defeat and said he wanted to see an improvement against the UAE. Nothing was really happening at 100 percent, de Villiers said after the 29-run loss. It was almost like a car thats been stuck in second or third gear.Thats not going to win you cricket games, especially not under pressure and in big tournaments like this. So we need to have a chat about what maybe went wrong... and try to get to fifth gear again against the UAE.Victory against the UAE would most likely see South Africa finish second in Pool B behind India, setting up a last eight showdown with Sri Lanka.The amateurs of the UAE, many of them Pakistani expatriates, are winless so far in the tournament and should not present a hurdle if South Africa are anywhere near their best.The teams have met only once before, when South Africa posted a 169-run win at the 1996 World Cup.UAEs best performance so far at this years tournament was a gutsy two-wicket loss to fellow non-Test nation Ireland and captain Mohammed Tauqir admitted he was wary of South Africas batting power.Tauqir said there would be no shame in conceding 400-plus runs to a line-up that includes the likes of de Villiers, Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis, who are all in the top 10 run-scorers at the tournament.Asked about his strategy to stop a South Africa run-fest, he quipped: It seems the only way they cannot score 400 runs is (we) win the toss and bat. The way they are going, theyre scoring 400 runs against West Indies and Ireland. I think we need to bowl well, need to field well to restrict them. Now even considering 400 is not an embarrassing total, you know. So, yeah. We will be putting in a lot of effort against South Africa.

Football: Battle lines drawn as PSG, Chelsea reconvene

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LONDON (AFP) - Eleven months on, but with the same coach and broadly the same team, Paris Saint-Germain return to Chelsea on Wednesday seeking to prove their worth as a Champions League force.In last seasons quarter-finals, PSG came to Stamford Bridge leading 3-1 from the first leg and with a huge 13-point advantage in Ligue 1, only to crash out after Demba Bas 87th-minute strike took Chelsea through on away goals.This season, a round earlier, the tie is more delicately balanced at 1-1, and it is Chelsea who are dominating domestically, five points clear in the Premier League with a game in hand, while in France, PSG trail Lyon by a point.But in contrast to last season, PSG have Zlatan Ibrahimovic fit and in form, with the giant Swede having scored his third goal in four games and provided a delightful assist for Javier Pastore in Saturdays 4-1 defeat of Lens.Laurent Blancs side have now gone 14 matches without defeat in all competitions and despite their failure to recapture last seasons heights, they remain in contention for an unprecedented four-trophy haul.Were halfway through a two-legged tie, said Blanc, who has spoken of an opportunity to change the perception of PSG.Chelsea have a slight advantage because they scored a very important away goal. We have to do what they did in Paris. Thats our objective.We know what we have to do, and Chelsea too, although they also have to ask themselves whether to attack or defend. But we know we have to score at least one goal to qualify.With PSGs owners, Qatar Sports Investments, having taken over at the Parc de Princes eight years after Roman Abramovich first brought his rubles to Stamford Bridge, the French champions have had to face the barrier of Financial Fair Play (FFP), which Chelsea did not have to worry about when Jose Mourinho was building the first great team of the Abramovich era.The FFP sanctions that PSG were hit with last year restricted their close-season transfer activity, but they were nonetheless able to splash out an astonishing 50 million euros ($54.5 million) to sign David Luiz from Chelsea.Costas gamesThe Brazil centre-back deputised for Thiago Motta in central midfield in the first leg, but with the Italy international fit again after a calf injury, Luiz is expected to take his place in an all-Brazilian back line alongside Thiago Silva, Marquinhos and Maxwell.In Lucas Mouras absence, Pastore is due to link up with Ibrahimovic and Edinson Cavani -- who cancelled out Branislav Ivanovics opener in the first leg -- in Blancs three-pronged attack.Meanwhile, Mourinho has confirmed that midfield lynchpin Nemanja Matic is fit to play despite hurting his ankle during the celebrations that followed Chelseas 2-0 League Cup final victory over Tottenham Hotspur.There were barbs exchanged in the pre-match press conferences, with Blanc urging his players to be mindful of Chelsea striker Diego Costas games and Mourinho accusing PSG of systematically fouling Eden Hazard in the first leg.Mindful that a single PSG goal could alter the complexion of the tie completely, Mourinho has urged Chelseas fans to create as intimidating an atmosphere as possible.I think if somebody tomorrow (Wednesday) has to be a little bit magic, its the crowd, he said.We played a (League Cup) semi-final against Liverpool a few weeks ago, and it was fantastic. The crowd was extra.So the same way in Paris we had a fantastic stadium supporting the home team, hopefully tomorrow we can have that in our favour.The first leg was overshadowed after mobile phone footage emerged showing a group of Chelsea supporters preventing a black Frenchman from boarding a Paris Metro train prior to the game and chanting racist songs.Chelsea reacted by banning five fans from Stamford Bridge and inviting the victim, known as Souleymane S., to attend the second leg, but he is believed to have declined the invitation.

Ireland ready with date for destiny at Cricket World Cup

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HAMILTON (AP) - Ireland will have its rendevous with Cricket World Cup destiny in Adelaide on Sunday when it meets Pakistan in the final match of the tournaments group stages.An eight-wicket loss to India on Tuesday left Ireland with three wins from five matches in Pool B and meant its hopes of reaching the quarterfinals now hang entirely on the outcome of the match at Adelaide Oval.If Ireland wins, the team will make history by progressing to the tournaments knockout rounds. If it rains and the Irish share the points with Pakistan, they still have a chance of progressing. If it loses, it will be remembered for another giant-killing effort at this tournament but, ultimately, that effort will have been in vain.
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