Friday 3 April 2015

Dunya TV

Dunya TV

Football: Celtic stroll as champs eye another title

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GLASGOW (AFP) - Celtic closed in on another Scottish Premiership title on Friday after a 2-0 win at struggling St Mirren moved the defending champions eight points clear at the top.Ronny Deilas side made a spluttering start to the season under their new manager, but the Glasgow giants have hit their stride in recent months and look odds-on to retain the Scottish crown.James Forrest finally broke St Mirrens stubborn resistence midway through the second half when he finished off a fine move from close range.And when Forrests drive was handled by St Mirren defender Victor Genev for a penalty in the 80th minute, Stefan Johansen slotted in the spot-kick to widen the gap over second-placed Aberdeen with nine games remaining.Bottom of the table St Mirren remain four points behind Motherwell, whom they play on Tuesday after the Steelmen face Kilmarnock on Saturday.St Mirren were defending very deep and very brave. It was difficult to break them down, Deila said.We were patient but were not clinical enough, but it was a fantastic first goal.After that, we controlled the game and I dont think they had a chance.James Forrest had a hard time against the full-back, but we were not going to take him off.We have been patient with him and we are getting the reward for it.Forrest, Kris Commons, Adam Matthews and Anthony Stokes returned to Celtics starting line-up as Efe Ambrose, Gary Mackay-Steven, Nir Bitton and John Guidetti all started on the bench.Celtic had picked up 13 wins and a draw in their last 14 league matches against St Mirren and the visitors were quickly on top again.After Stokes dragged an early drive wide, Commons had three attempts at making the breakthrough.The first was saved by Mark Ridgers at the near post, the second hit the side-netting and he should have scored the third when he fired straight at the St Mirren goalkeeper.Meanwhile, in the Celtic goal, Craig Gordon had been all but redundant until just before the half-hour mark when he stretched to save a Stephen Mallan header.Ridgers then denied Forrest after he had been set up by Commons, but St Mirren couldnt hold on past the 64th minute.Scott Brown took the ball from Commons and quickly threaded a pass through a packed penalty area to Adam Matthews.When Matthews cut the ball back, Forrest bundled it past Ridgers to break the deadlock.The points were sealed when referee Alan Muir pointed to the spot after Genev was adjudged to have handled Forrests shot, with Johansen confidently knocking the penalty past Ridgers to keep the Scottish League Cup winners on course for the treble.

Football: Monaco and St. Etienne lose ground after stalemate

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PARIS (AFP) - Monaco came back to earn a 1-1 draw at home to Saint-Etienne on Friday as both teams lost ground on the leading trio at the top of Ligue 1.Two-time defending champions Paris Saint-Germain continue to lead Lyon by a point, and Sundays opponents Marseille by two, while Monaco climb within five of the capital club in fourth, having played the same number of matches.Saint-Etienne remain solid in fifth and six points off the pace having played a game more.We have some regrets, yes. I think we had the best chances, the best situations, even before scoring, said Saint-Etienne coach Christophe Galtier.Mevlut Erding put the visitors in front 28 minutes from time with a glorious glancing header that stunned the home crowd following a cross from Franck Tabanou.Turkish international and former Paris Saint-Germain striker Erding, 28, met the ball perfectly as he ran into the box and sent his header past the stranded Danijel Subasic and into the Monaco goal.However the lead was short-lived as Leonardo Jardims men were back on level terms six minutes later when Anthony Martial clipped the ball home when picked out inside the area.The two best defences in the top flight then locked up shop as neither team were able to find a late winner.Im disappointed because our aim is always to win, said Jardim.But we were up against good opponents who knew how to get in behind us. That created difficulties for us.PSG can strike a major blow in the title race by continuing their impressive recent record against Marseille when the bitter rivals meet at the Stade Velodrome on Sunday.Laurent Blancs side, who are still in the running for four trophies, have spent most of the season playing catch-up at the top but finally reached the summit after beating Lorient 3-1 in their last outing a fortnight ago.Blancs side have dominated the fixture known as Le Classique in recent years, with their 2-0 win at the Parc des Princes in November their sixth in a row against OM.With their main rivals facing each other, Lyon will hope to take advantage when they go to Guingamp on Saturday.Elsewhere, Bordeaux, in sixth, host Lens on Sunday, while bottom side Metz entertain fellow strugglers Toulouse and Lorient host Brittany rivals Rennes on Saturday.

France to free Rwandan genocide suspect

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PARIS (AFP) - France will release a man accused of involvement in the 1994 Rwanda massacre after the Paris appeal court ruled in his favour on Friday, his lawyer said.Claude Muhayimana, who obtained French nationality in 2010, was arrested a year ago in the northern city of Rouen.He will be freed in the middle of next week, his lawyer Philippe Meilhac said. A judicial source confirmed the decision to AFP.Muhayimana had been placed under investigation for genocide and crimes against humanity following a complaint from the CPCR, an organisation that tracks suspects in the genocide in which around 800,000 people -- mostly members of the minority Tutsi community -- were killed in a 100-day orgy of violence, largely by Hutus.Rwandan authorities have requested his extradition, accusing him of involvement in the killing of thousands of people in a church and a stadium in the western district of Kibuye. At the time, Muhayimana was working as a driver for a guesthouse.But Frances appeals court refused to extradite him on the grounds that the crime of genocide was not on the statute books in Rwanda in 1994.On Friday, the appeals court in Paris confirmed the earlier judgement of a magistrate to free Muhayimana.His lawyer said: He denies the accusations against him. He has always said that as a member of a mixed family himself, with a Tutsi mother, he tried to save lives.Alain Gauthier, the president of the CPCR, said he was disappointed by the decision.The important thing is that he is put on trial one day, he said.Around 20 other investigations relating to the massacres are ongoing in France. One genocide suspect, Pascal Simbikangwa, was tried and convicted in Paris in March last year and sentenced to 25 years in jail. He is now appealing.

Rio police fire tear gas at protest over boy's death

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RIO DE JANEIRO (AFP) - Brazilian police fired tear gas Friday to break up a protest in a Rio de Janeiro slum that erupted after a 10-year-old boy was killed in what officers called a shootout with drug traffickers.Some 300 residents of the Complexo do Alemao, a sprawling group of shantytowns notorious for violence, blocked an access road to the area after the boy, Eduardo Jesus Ferreira, was killed by a gunshot -- the fourth person killed there in just over 24 hours.The police do nothing but kill our neighbors shouted some protesters, while others chanted slogans against the Police Pacification Unit (UPP) that has occupied the favela, or slum, since it was sent in to wrest control from drug gangs in 2010.Witnesses said the march was proceeding peacefully when police fired tear gas without provocation.The protesters responded by throwing stones. One police officer was injured.We were forced to use non-lethal weapons to contain the protesters, police told AFP, without specifying what led to the decision.Police say Ferreira was shot Thursday night when they came under fire from a group of criminals in Areal, one of the slums that make up the complex of 70,000 people.But his parents, Terezinha Maria de Jesus and Eduardo Ferreira, rejected that account.There was no shootout. The only shot heard was the one that killed my son. I ran out of the house and recognized an officer from the SWAT team near Eduardo, who was lying on the ground. When I got close, he told me he would kill me too, the boys mother told newspaper Globo.She said her son was not involved in the drug trade.The officers involved have been taken off the street pending an investigation, which will include ballistics tests.President Dilma Rousseff expressed her solidarity with the boys parents and said: The circumstances of this death must be clarified and those responsible tried and punished.On Wednesday, a woman in the same area was killed by a stray bullet from a shootout between police and drug traffickers.Her daughter was also wounded.Two other residents were killed in unexplained circumstances.Shootouts have been on the rise in the past three months in the complex, once touted as an example of the pacification programs success.In all, 38 police units have been sent into 174 impoverished, crime-wracked neighborhoods around Rio, which will host the Olympics next year.

RugbyL: Harris hails gritty Salford

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LONDON (AFP) - Salford coach Iestyn Harris saluted his gritty team after they lost full-back Kevin Locke to a concussion inside the first 15 minutes but still ground out a victory over in-form Huddersfield.Former Giant Josh Griffin scored a try and kicked three goals in the 18-12 win that lifted Harriss side up to fourth in the Super League table on Friday.Lockes blow to the head had forced an early re-shuffle in the Red Devils back line, but Ben Jones-Bishop was a more than able deputy at full-back, laying on Griffins opener before scoring the second himself.And while the Giants, who had come into the game on a four-match winning run, mounted a late response with Aaron Murphy and Jack Hughes both crossing, it was too little too late.Wigan Warriors are up next for the Red Devils on Monday and Harris is confident his side are just clicking into gear at the right time.If youre not prepared to defend like your life depends on it then youll never win anything, he said.It was nice to see us do well at that, given that we conceded far too many points in the early part of the season.We werent flash with the ball but we did the basics right. Were starting to build some momentum now but itll be a mental challenge for us to back this up at Wigan on Monday.Injury woesWhile Salford are likely to be without Locke for Mondays clash, that is only a minor problem compared to the injury woes of St Helens, who slipped to a 12-4 loss to local rivals Wigan.With Aussie half-backs Luke Walsh and Travis Burns out already, St Helens cause was not helped by losing skipper Jon Wilkin on the eve of the clash at the DW Stadium.And with Hull FC next up on Monday, Saints head coach Keiron Cunningham admits his side will need to be patched up fast, especially considering Walsh will not be fit in time as he continues his rehabilitation from a broken leg and ankle injury.He (Walsh) is not far off, Cunningham said. Hes training with us and hes looking very good. There is a time frame he has to get to before the specialist clears him. Its imminent and I wish it was Monday but its not.I thought it was a brilliant effort (against Wigan). We lose an in-form half-back in Travis Burns at Hull KR and then the day before the game we lose Jon Wilkin.We had no time to do anything as a team together, which is no excuse, a lot of other teams are in that situation but we were in the game for 70-odd minutes.Elsewhere, Wakefield head coach James Webster says his side are right up against it after a thumping 40-4 loss to Catalans Dragons on Thursday kept them bottom of the standings.We are well and truly under the pump at the moment, said the former Parramatta Eel.Has a club ever not fielded a team? Were close to that situation. Mondays going to be a hard job for us, mentally and physically.But its a challenge for me, the club and the players. We can look for all the excuses in the world, but we should probably be doing better than were doing.

Cycling: All eyes on Thomas in open Flanders field

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BRUGES (AFP) - Welshman Geraint Thomas will line up as an unlikely favourite when the usually Belgian-dominated Tour de Flanders begins on Sunday.Of the 98 editions of the second of five Monument races, 68 have been won by Belgians.The first ever winner was Belgian Paul Deman in 1913 and four of the six riders to have won it a record three times are also from the host country.Yet this year, a plucky Welshman, a Slovak, a Czech, a German and a Norwegian will be among the front-runners trying to succeed Switzerlands Fabian Cancellara as champion.And one of the reasons they will be feeling confident is that Cancellara -- one of the riders on three wins -- is injured, along with Tom Boonen, another of the most successful Flanders competitors.Between them, that pair have won this race in six of the last 10 years but with Cancellara nursing two broken vertebrae in his back and Boonen recovering from a dislocated shoulder, the race is wide open.The only former winner in the field will be Belgian Stijn Devolder, who earnt back-to-back wins in 2008 and 2009.But Devolders greatest successes have been as a foil for a team leader, exploiting the attention on that rider to escape to victory.He was Boonens teammate when he won his two Flanders titles and was gearing up to help Cancellara this year now that he rides for Trek.As the new team leader, he wont be able to fly under the radar as in the past.However, the Belgian showed good form at Three Days of De Panne earlier in the week, finishing second overall, and he will surely be one of the contenders.But it is Thomas who will likely be the most marked rider following his strong showing last week at E3 Harelbeke, which he won, and Gent-Wevelgem, where he was third.He proved in those two cobbled classics that he is continuing to develop as a top Spring Classic specialist having spent much of his career until now as a jack of all trades.Last year he finished eighth at Flanders and seventh at Paris-Roubaix a week later, but he will be eying nothing less than victory on the cobbles and brutal short climbs around West Flanders this time around.fierce competitionCompetition will be fierce, not least from Czech Zdenek Stybar, who was second to Thomas at E3 and won Strade Bianche last month.He might be more suited to Paris-Roubaix, though, where he finished sixth and fifth in the last two years.The cycling world is also waiting for Slovak Peter Sagan to finally deliver on his great potential by winning one of the Monuments.He won E3 12 months ago and Gent-Wevelgem the year before, and has finished in the top 10 numerous times at Spring Classics, but the closest hes come to winning one of the big ones were second place finishes at both Flanders and Milan-San Remo last year.Dutchman Niki Terpstra, the Roubaix champion, will be another face to look out for and has the advantage of a strong team around him.Like Stybar and Belgian Stijn Vandenbergh, he rides for Etixx-Quick Step.But without Boonen in their ranks this time, there may not be a clear leader and already Terpstra and Vandenbergh failed to make their numbers count in the final at Gent-Wevelgem last week, finishing second and fourth respectively.And they wont be the only strong team as Thomas can bank on support from Ian Stannard and world and Olympic time-trial champion Bradley Wiggins at Team Sky.Belgiums hopes will rest on many shoulders: Vendenbergh, fourth last year, Sep Vanmarcke, third last year, Jurgen Roelandts, Jens Debusschere, Greg Van Avermaet, second last year, and Bjorn Leukemans -- the list is almost endless.But while Flanders suits a specialist puncher, there are also a couple of sprinters who could be in the mix. Norways Alexander Kristoff and John Degenkolb of Germany -- the last two Milan-San Remo winners -- both have the ability to keep in contact on the short climbs and the kick finish to leave everyone in their wake.

Golf: Birdie binge lifts Putnam past Mickelson

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HOUSTON, April 4, 2015 (AFP) - Phil Mickelson, tuning up for a run at a fourth Masters title, had seven birdies on Friday but settled for a share of second place behind Andrew Putnam after two rounds of the Houston Open.Putnam nabbed six of his seven birdies in his last seven holes, his seven-under 65 vaulting him to the top of the leaderboard on 12-under-par 132.Mickelsons seven birdies were balanced by two bogeys in a five-under-par 67 that left him tied for second on 133.He was joined on 11 under by unheralded American Austin Cook, who birdied his last four holes in a seven-under 65.It was a further stroke back to Canadas Graham DeLaet, who carded a 67, and American Luke Guthrie, who signed for a 68 for 134.Putnam, a PGA Tour rookie with just one top-25 finish on his resume, teed off on 10 at the Golf Club of Houston and was one under through nine holes.But he caught fire coming in, stringing together four straight birdies starting at the par-four third.He punctuated his round with two more birdies at eight and nine -- from the rough at the par-five eighth and with a 15-foot putt at the final hole.Mickelson had set the early pace.After going birdie-bogey at the second and third holes, Mickelson added three more birdies on the front nine.His march continued with birdies at 11, 13 and 15 -- where he rolled in a 22-foot putt.Mickelsons lead dwindled as a wayward tee shot cost him a bogey at 17, but he regrouped for a solid par at the last and held the clubhouse lead before Putnam stormed home.Mickelson, who has yet to post a top-10 finish this season, is looking for a boost heading into the first major of the year at Augusta National next week.Hell have plenty of competition on the weekend. Rising star Jordan Spieth carded a 66 on Friday and headlined a group of six players sharing sixth place on nine-under 135. He was joined by fellow Americans Shawn Stefani, J.B. Holmes, Hunter Mahan and Mark Wilson and Frances Victor Dubuisson.

US condemns civilian attacks in latest Syria violence

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WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States on Friday condemned the latest wave of violence in Syria which has left dozens of civilians dead and displaced thousands more.Fierce fighting between forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and extremist rebels, including the Al-Qaeda affiliated Al-Nusra front in Idlib city, had reportedly left more than 100 civilians dead and forced 30,000 people to flee.State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said in a statement that Islamic State terrorists had massacred more than 40 people in Mabujeh in Hama province, including women and children, while regime forces also bombed the town.The United States strongly condemns attacks this week against Syrian civilians, Harf said.The US is also deeply concerned by attacks on the Yarmuk refugee camp in Damascus by IS jihadists, Harf said, which had left 18,000 civilians in the area at risk.Yarmuks inhabitants have already suffered from the regimes violence and have lived under siege for nearly two years, deprived of desperately needed essentials, including food and medical relief, Harf said.The United States reiterates that all forces must cease unlawful attacks on civilians and comply with international law.

Tennis: Djokovic advances to Miami final

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MIAMI (AFP) - Defending champion Novak Djokovic defeated the hard-serving John Isner 7-6 (7/3), 6-2 on Friday to reach the final of the ATP Miami Masters.Djokovic, a four-time winner here, set up a Sunday final clash with two-time champion Andy Murray, who swept past Czech Tomas Berdych 6-4, 6-4 at Crandon Park.The 27-year-old Djokovic is looking to become the first player to complete the Indian Wells-Miami Open sweep on three separate occasions.The top-seeded Djokovic won the first set in a tiebreaker then got the early break in the second set to go up 2-1.Djokovic served brilliantly, blasting 10 aces and winning 80 percent of his first-serve points in the 90-minute match.His two service breaks against Isner were the key to victory as the towering American had not been broken coming into the semi-final contest.Murray, who lost to Djokovic in the 2015 Australian Open final and again in the semi-finals at Indian Wells less than a fortnight ago, won this event in 2009 and 2013 and was runner-up in 2012.

UN Security Council to discuss pause in air strikes on Yemen

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UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - The UN Security Council will meet Saturday to discuss a Russian proposal for humanitarian pauses in the Saudi-led air campaign in Yemen, diplomats said.Russia called for the meeting amid growing alarm over the rising civilian death toll from the fighting in Yemen.UN aid chief Valerie Amos said Thursday she was extremely concerned about civilian deaths after agencies reported that 519 people had been killed and nearly 1,700 injured in two weeks of fighting in Yemen.The UN childrens agency this week said at least 62 children had been killed and 30 injured over the past week in Yemen, and that more of them were being recruited as child soldiers.Aleksey Zaytsev, spokesman for the Russian mission at the United Nations, said the closed-door consultations would be about possible humanitarian pauses in air strikes.The meeting is scheduled for 1500 GMT.Violence has sharply escalated in Yemen following a Saudi-led air campaign launched on March 26 to stop an advance by Shiite Huthi rebels that forced President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi to flee to Saudi Arabia.The United Nations is backing Hadi as Yemens legitimate leader in the face of the Huthi uprising that has plunged the poor Arab state deeper into chaos.The Huthis seized power in the capital Sanaa in February and last month advanced on the port city of Aden, Hadis stronghold, forcing him to go into exile.

Obama and Raul Castro to 'interact' at Americas summit: US official

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WASHINGTON (AFP) - President Barack Obama and Cuban counterpart Raul Castro will have an interaction when they attend next weeks Summit of the Americas in Panama, a US official said Friday.It will be the first between the two leaders since the historic rapprochement between Havana and Washington.Clearly President Obama knew when he made the decision to go to the summit, and he knew that Cuba had been invited to the summit... that there would be an interaction, US State Department official Roberta Jacobson said at the Brookings Institution.The leaders are together a lot of the time. And so there will be an interaction with Raul Castro, she added, declining to speculate about the nature of any possible meeting between the two leaders.But she added Obamas only confirmed meeting was with Panama leader Juan Carlos Varela.None of the presidents meetings are scheduled other than his bilateral with President Varela as the host, she said.So I dont know exactly what kind of an interaction that will be. But theyve obviously already spoken on the phone... and theres been a lot of interaction since then at a lower level.In separate remarks, State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf expressed skepticism that the thaw in US-Cuba relations may lead to the opening of embassies in Havana and Washington before next weeks summit, which takes place on April 10-11.Asked to give an assessment of the likelihood of embassies being opened before the summit, Harf replied: Its not a lot of time, lets put it that way.The United States and Cuba have already held three rounds of talks since January on restoration of diplomatic relations and the reopening of their embassies.Washington had initially targeted a reopening of the embassies in time for the Summit of the Americas.

Shock, defiance in Kenya after Shebab massacre 148 at university

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GARISSA (AFP) - The bodies of the 148 students and security officers massacred by Somalias Shebab Islamists in a Kenyan university were flown Friday to Nairobi where their desperate and grieving loved ones were waiting.The day-long siege of Garissa University was Kenyas deadliest attack since the 1998 bombing of the US embassy in Nairobi, and the bloodiest ever by the Al-Qaeda-affiliated militants.The Kenyan government, however, vowed that it would not be intimidated.Amid international revulsion at the attack, US President Barack Obama called Kenyan leader Uhuru Kenyatta and vowed to stand hand-in-hand with his government and the Kenyan people.Pope Francis condemned the massacre as an act of senseless brutality.Survivors recounted how the masked gunmen taunted students before killing them at the campus near the Somali border.Many were forced to phone their parents to urge them to call for Kenyan troops to leave Somalia -- before shooting them anyway.As the gunmen prowled the corridors hunting down more people to kill, some students smeared blood from their dead friends over their bodies to pretend they too had been shot.There were bodies everywhere in execution lines, we saw people whose heads had been blown off, bullet wounds everywhere, it was a grisly mess, said Reuben Nyaora, an aid worker who helped the wounded.Others appeared to have been killed by knives.The day-long siege ended with four gunmen killed in a hail of gunfire, and one suspect reportedly arrested.At least 79 people were also wounded in the attack on the campus, which lies near the border with Somalia.Those killed were all students apart from three policemen and three soldiers.On Friday, a huge crowd of traumatised survivors and relatives gathered at the university gate, desperate for news of who was killed or wounded.I am so worried, I had a son who was among the students trapped inside the college, and since yesterday I have heard nothing, said Habel Mutinda, an elderly man, his face streaming with tears.I tried to identify his body among those killed... I have to do that before the body goes bad in the heat.Kenya will fight backVisiting the scene of the carnage, Kenyas Interior Minister Joseph Nkaissery vowed his country would not give in to the Shebab, who despite losing territory inside Somalia have stepped up operations in Kenya.Kenyas government will not be intimidated by the terrorists who have made killing innocent people a way to humiliate the government, he told reporters, promising that the government would fight back.We shall win this war against our enemies.Emergency workers scoured the campus collecting bodies, with the final toll declared late Friday as 148.Obama, who will make a long-awaited return to Kenya, his fathers homeland, in July, said words cannot adequately condemn the terrorist atrocities that took place.The future of Kenya will not be defined by violence and terror; it will be shaped by young people like those at Garissa University College, he added.Hurling grenades and firing automatic rifles, the gunmen stormed the university at dawn on Thursday as students were sleeping, shooting dead dozens before setting Muslims free and holding Christians and others hostage.Just before darkness fell, Kenyan troops moved in on the dormitory where the gunmen were holed up, apparently determined to prevent a drawn-out siege like that seen in the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi in September 2013.Maureen Manyengo, a 21-year-old education student from western Kenya, said she hid inside her wardrobe after seeing several friends killed.I could hear the attackers telling my friends, Do not worry, we will kill you, but we will die too, she recalled, saying the attackers spoke in Kenyas Swahili language, not Somali.I could also hear them saying You will only be safe the day your president removes the soldiers from Somalia.Gunmen also warned students it was only the start of such attacks.Bounty offered for mastermindSeveral buses took traumatised students from the university -- which has been ordered to close permanently -- back to their home areas, as the bodies of those killed were flown to the capital.Scores of weeping family members gathered Friday at the main Nairobi mortuary, where a line of the dead students were laid out.The university siege marks the worst attack on Kenyan soil since the 1998 bombing of the US embassy in Nairobi by Al-Qaeda, when 213 people were killed by a huge truck bomb.The Shebab also staged the Westgate mall siege in which four gunmen killed 67 people over four days.Shebab spokesman Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage said the killings were in revenge for the presence of Kenyan troops in Somalia as part of the African Unions force supporting the internationally-backed government in Mogadishu.Kenya is at war with Somalia, Rage said.A $215,000 (200,000 euro) bounty was offered for the capture of alleged Shebab commander Mohamed Mohamud, a former Kenyan teacher believed to now be in Somalia and said to be the mastermind behind the Garissa attack.

Baseball: Major Leagues set to pick up pace in 2015 race

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LOS ANGELES (AFP) - The talent-packed Washington Nationals, hard-luck Cubs and Seattles maturing Mariners are among the clubs tipped to contend as the clock starts ticking Sunday on the 2015 Major League Baseball season.Americas pastime, famed as a game ideally suited to the lazy days of summer, will feature new rules this year designed to boost the pace of play.A game clock will time breaks between innings and pitching changes, and players could also face fines for time-wasting in the batters box as MLB tries to speed up games that last year averaged more than three hours for the first time in history.Games themselves may unfold a bit more briskly, but its still a marathon and not a sprint to reach the World Series that starts in October and could trickle into a November finish.As the San Francisco Giants and Kansas City Royals showed last year in their unlikely runs to a thrilling seven-game World Series won by the Giants, almost anything can happen in the course of that lengthy season.The Giants, fueled by an electrifying effort from left-handed pitcher Madison Bumgarner, captured their third World Series title in five seasons, denying the Royals in their first playoff run in 29 years.Both teams eked into the post-season as wild-card teams, and neither is a lock to battle for the championship again.Instead its the Nationals making noise, after adding Max Scherzer to an already powerful pitching rotation that includes Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann, Gio Gonzalez and Doug Fister.Can Washington finally live up to their billing after last years post-season flop?If not, look for perennial contenders St. Louis, the big-spending Los Angeles Dodgers, the youthful and talented Pittsburgh Pirates or even the longtime losing Chicago Cubs to contend in the National League.The Cubs are hoping their revamped Wrigley Field will be the backdrop to their first title run since 1908.The Cubs have added one of the best managers in baseball in Joe Maddon, and inked left-handed hurler Jon Lester as they try to return to the post-season.They start their campaign on Sunday, when they host the Cardinals, with a full slate of 14 Opening Day games to follow on Monday.A-Rod returnsIn the American League, the Mariners are hoping a $57 million off-season investment in slugger Nelson Cruz -- who hit an AL-leading 40 home runs for Baltimore last year -- will pay off with a first playoff appearance since 2001 and perhaps a first World Series win.But American League West division rivals the Los Angeles Angels and their AL Most Valuable Player Mike Trout will pose a formidable challenge.Expect Detroit, long the class of the AL Central to be in the mix.The Boston Red Sox, having lured sluggers Pablo Sandoval from the Giants and Hanley Ramirez from the Dodgers as free agents, boast one of the best lineups in baseball but may not have the pitching to match.In New York, it will be a season of adjustment for Yankees fans, after the retirement of respected captain Derek Jeter and the return of drug-tainted third baseman Alex Rodriguez.Rodriguez sat out Jeters farewell season serving a doping ban.After vehemently denying and finally admitting his transgressions, he could find himself playing first base, where manager Joe Girardi tried him in the pre-season.He could also step into the designated hitter slot to resume his rise up baseballs all-time home run list.With 654 homers, Rodriguez needs seven to move past Willie Mays into fourth on the chart.

War situation in Saudi Arabia, 300 Pakistanis stuck at Medina airport

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MEDINA MUNAWARA (Dunya News) – More than 300 Pakistani passengers on Saturday were stuck at Medina Munawara airport as a war situation in Saudi Arabia was implemented. The Pakistanis stuck at the airport have been waiting to return home for the past 3 days. The Saudi authorities have not given them the clearance for their return. Majority of them are Umrah pilgrims.The Saudi airlines was supposed to bring the Pakistani passengers to Riyadh and then to Lahore. The passengers complained that they were suffering due to the lack of interest of Pakistans Embassy.The Saudi government is only allowing permission to leave to foreigners after a clearance due to Saudi Arabia’s ongoing war with Yemen.

Altaf Hussain expresses regret over Karimabad incident

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LONDON (Dunya News) – Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain on Friday expressed his regret over the Karimabad incident. The MQM chief appealed to public of NA-126 not to conduct any activity which may further aggravate the situation and the environment of understanding gets disturbed.Hussain appealed to the leaders, members and workers of the party to play their role in maintaining a peaceful atmosphere.
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