Sunday 21 June 2015

Dunya TV

Dunya TV

Iran lawmakers curtailed on power to veto nuclear deal

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TEHRAN (AFP) - Irans parliament curtailed its own power to block a nuclear deal with world powers Sunday, effectively removing a longstanding threat that a final accord could be torn up by lawmakers.A draft bill presented on Wednesday, which laid down strict criteria for Iran to accept any agreement, had threatened to complicate upcoming talks on the long-pursued deal, which are due to conclude on June 30.However, in a boost to President Hassan Rouhanis government, key amendments to the proposed legislation will now move the formal oversight of a deal out of the hands of lawmakers.The original text said parliament would have to ratify key criteria for an agreement to be binding but the amended bill instead gives the right of supervision to the countrys Supreme National Security Council (SNSC).The council comprises ministers, military commanders and handpicked appointees of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Irans supreme leader who will have the final word on any agreement. The council is also chaired by Rouhani, who is pushing hard for the deal.Whatever decision the leader takes in this regard, we should obey in parliament, speaker Ali Larijani said after 199 MPs voted for the amendments in the 290-member chamber.We should not tie the hands of the leader, he added.Only three lawmakers opposed the changes and five abstained, with six not voting and dozens more absent.Although the sponsor of the original bill, Alaedin Boroujerdi, the chairman of parliaments national security and foreign policy committee, said it was designed to insulate Irans negotiators from the Wests excessive demands, Larijani suggested otherwise.We want to help the country and not create new problems, he said, referring to the need to coordinate with the SNSC.According to the official IRNA news agency Larijani earlier told Ahmad Tavakoli, a conservative MP critical of the bill being delayed: We are not discussing the sale of potatoes, but an important issue for the country.And IRNA later cited Rouhani as saying that in the current situation, in order to advance the country and resolve its problems, we need to help each other more.Iran and the P51 powers (Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States plus Germany) agreed the outlines of the nuclear deal on April 2 after intensive talks went past a March 31 deadline.Major roadblocks that remain include the Wests ability to enforce tighter inspections of Irans nuclear sites and other facilities.Iranian officials insist there can be no inspections of military sites and the legislation published on Sunday forbids access beyond conventional supervision of nuclear sites.French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, on a visit Sunday to the Palestinian territories and Israel, said any nuclear deal with Iran must be able to be verified.We think that we must be extremely firm and that, if an agreement is to be reached, that agreement must be robust, he added.Any deal will still have to be rubber stamped by Tehrans parliament but it would be highly unlikely for lawmakers to oppose a text approved by the SNSC.The bill stipulates the need to lift all sanctions imposed on Iran as punishment for its nuclear programme, under which leading states have suspected the Islamic republic of developing a bomb.However, the altered draft law is now more specific and says sanctions need only be lifted on the day Iran starts implementing its obligations, as opposed to on the day of an agreement.Officials in Tehran have pushed for the measures, mostly economic, to end immediately but in a sign of greater flexibility, Rouhani said on June 13 that weeks or even months will pass between signing and implementing the deal.Iran has for years been faced with UN, EU and US sanctions that have ravaged its economy.In a measure that mirrors that taken in Tehran, President Barack Obama has given US lawmakers 30 days to review a nuclear deal.Iran denies its nuclear programme has military objectives, insisting it is for purely peaceful energy development purposes capable of reducing its reliance on fossil fuels.

Taliban seize key Afghan district after assaulting forces

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KABUL (Agencies) - Parts of Char Dara district in Afghanistan’s northern Kunduz province fell into Taliban hands after a 10-hour standoff with government forces, local officials said.Afghan Taliban and foreign fighters including Chechens, Uzbeks and al-Qaeda members opened a “major assault” Saturday morning and captured the center of the district at 7 p.m., said Meer Wali, a district policeman involved in the fighting.Afghan forces tactically withdrew to minimize casualties and protect civilians, and reinforcements were deployed Sunday to try to regain control, provincial spokesman Sayed Sarwar Hussaini said. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahed confirmed the capture of the district in an e-mailed statement.The Taliban are attempting to gain territory and have intensified attacks that caused many civilian casualties as U.S.-led forces ended their combat mission last year, leaving all security duties to Afghan personnel. Sixteen Afghans were killed Saturday as their vehicle hit a roadside bomb after a June 13 assault on a checkpoint left 17 Afghan forces dead.Despite the battle in the district, militants are now also fighting government forces in areas 3 kilometers (2 miles) from the governor’s compound to try to capture the provincial city of Kunduz, according to Hamdullah Danishi, provincial deputy governor. Kunduz, part of Taliban’s central war after their spring offensive, almost collapsed in April.“There were too many heavily armed insurgents,” Wali said. The Taliban surrounded the district and cut off supply lines, forcing Afghan security personnel to withdraw, he said.Three Afghan forces were killed and six were wounded while 17 Taliban militants died and 21 suffered injuries, according to Hussaini, the spokesman.The Taliban’s capture of Char Dara came a day after Afghan forces retook another area that had been held by the militants since June 6. The district of Yamgan is now under government control after a two-week battle that killed at least 120 local and international Taliban fighters, according to an e-mail from the Interior Ministry.Four districts of the more than 350 in the war-torn nation are controlled by Taliban, senior military official General Afzal Aman told reporters on June 13. Forty percent of Afghanistan faces a significant threat from insurgents, according to the United Nations.The war in Afghanistan killed 92,000 from 2001 to 2014 and wounded almost 100,000, according to a report this month from Brown University. That toll includes Afghan and foreign civilians, foreign forces and insurgents.

US, allies target Islamic State with 18 air strikes in Iraq

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - US and coalition forces launched 18 air strikes against Islamic State targets in Iraq, with four each in Tal Afar and Mosul, the U.S. military said in a statement.The air strikes hit near nine Iraqi cities in all, destroying Islamic State buildings, tactical units, heavy machine guns and vehicles, the Combined Joint Task Force said in a statement Sunday.Near Haditha, two air strikes hit a militants safe house and an Islamic State headquarters, it said. Other cities affected were Baghdadi, Ar Rutbah, Baiji, Fallujah, Makhmur and Sinjar, it said.In Syria, three air strikes near Tal Abyad on Saturday hit three Islamic State tactical units, destroyed three fighting positions and a heavy machine gun, the military coalition said.

Greece scrambles for debt deal with fresh plan before summit

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ATHENS (AFP) - Greeces prime minister presented new proposals to European leaders Sunday aimed at ending his countrys debt crisis, as Athens announced a frenzied round of meetings ahead of a summit that could determine whether Greece crashes out of the eurozone.In a telephone call with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, Alexis Tsipras detailed a mutually beneficial deal, the Greek premiers office said in a statement.The flurry of diplomatic contacts came as Athens scrambled to reach a deal with its eurozone lenders after five months of deadlock, with Tsipras also scheduled to meet the leaders of its IMF, EU and ECB creditors on Monday before the summit.Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi urged the two sides to seize a window of opportunity, saying all conditions were in place for them to reach a win-win accord.Athens said its new proposals were aimed at reaching a definitive solution to end the standoff between Athens and its creditors as fears deepened over a potential Grexit from the eurozone.The heads of the 19 eurozone countries will hold an emergency summit on the crisis in Brussels on Monday under pressure to prevent Greece from defaulting on its debt with a June 30 payment deadline fast approaching.Separately, the European Central Banks governing council will also meet on Monday morning to discuss whether to raise the level of emergency funding to Greek banks yet again, after the countrys banking system came under intense pressure this week with clients withdrawing massive sums in savings.Underlining the growing concern beyond Greece, several thousand demonstrators gathered in Brussels on Sunday and several hundreds in Amsterdam to plead for solidarity with the cash-strapped country on the eve of the make-or-break summit.In Athens itself, more than 7,000 people took to the streets for the second time this week to protest against austerity and voice support for the Syriza-led government. Demonstrators carried banners that read A different Europe with Tsipras and You cant blackmail the people, the country is not for sale.The head of Greeces biggest bank said she thought sanity will prevail and lead both sides to a deal.To enter into such uncharted waters and take up all the risk both for the eurozone and for Greece for two or three billion (euros) difference, I think its insane, National Bank of Greece chief Louka Katseli told BBC radio.Greeces anti-austerity government met Sunday to refine its proposals, while a European source said Tsipras and Juncker held talks over the weekend, adding that there were many exchanges and informal work under way to find a solution.Failing a deal, Greece is likely to default on an IMF debt payment of around 1.5 billion euros ($1.7 billion) due on June 30, setting up a potentially chaotic exit from the eurozone.Last Wednesday the Greek central bank put the risk in stark terms saying: Failure to reach an agreement would... mark the beginning of a painful course that would lead initially to a Greek default and ultimately to the countrys exit from the euro area and -– most likely -– from the European Union.The IMF was called in to help rescue Greece at the end of 2009 when the debt-plagued country could no longer borrow on international markets.The EUs involvement in the huge bailout, which was to provide 240 billion euros ($270 billion) in loans in exchange for drastic austerity measures and reforms, runs out at the end of this month, but IMF support was supposed to continue to March 2016.Talks between Greeces radical-left government and its lenders have been stalled over disagreements over the reforms demanded in exchange for the final 7.2 billion euro tranche of the bailout, with talk also turning to an extension of the European help.For the Greek government any extension of the bailout should be about kickstarting the countrys devastated economy and not further austerity.They also want an easing of the countrys crippling debt burden, which officially stood at 312.7 billion euros, or 174.7 percent of gross domestic product, in March.The international lenders have rejected a series of proposals from Athens, insisting on their own mixture of cuts and reforms.Minister of state Nikos Pappas, who is close to Tsipras, said the counter-proposals would be unacceptable to whichever Greek political party was in power.Alekos Flambouraris, another Tsipras minister, said Saturday that Athens would propose reworked measures that bridge the gap, while also predicting that Greeces creditors would not be satisfied with the gestures, Greek media reported.Youll see they wont accept loosening budget (restrictions), or our proposal on the debt, he said of two main sticking points in the talks.But the countrys Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, whose flamboyant style has irked many of his European counterparts, turned the tables by putting the onus on the leader of paymaster Germany to do a deal.The German chancellor has a clear decision to make on Monday, he wrote in an op-ed for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.On our side, we will come with determination to Brussels to agree to further compromises as long as we are not asked to do what the previous (Greek) governments have done: accept new debt under conditions that offer little hope for Greece to repay its debts, he wrote, without specifying the compromises.

Several thousand rally in Athens against austerity

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ATHENS (Reuters) - Thousands of people rallied in front of parliament in Athens on Sunday, urging Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to resist pressure from international creditors to accept more austerity in exchange for unlocking billions of euros in bailout funds.The demonstration by supporters of Tsiprass ruling Syriza party and others opposed to the euro, was the second anti-euro rally in a week in central Athens and came a day before a vital summit meeting in Brussels to try to break the deadlock that has left Greece on the brink of default.Singing, waving Greek flags and banners with slogans such as No to the euro, The People will not be blackmailed and The countrys not for sale, several thousand people filled the street in front of parliament.They want to humiliate us, why else do they insist on all these measures? We will not tolerate it any more, said 65-year-old former teacher Yiota Kananakari.With speculation over Greeces future in the euro intensifying, a counter-rally urging the country to remain in the single currency was held last week, with another scheduled to be held on Monday.Like the earlier anti-austerity and pro-euro rallies over the past week, Sundays demonstration was far smaller than the mass protests of tens of thousands that have filled Syntagma Square in central Athens at other points during the crisis.Opinion polls show broad support for Greece remaining in the euro, but there has also been deep resentment at the cuts to pensions and wages imposed on Greece during years of recession that have left an unemployment rate of more than 25 percent.The people have said no to the measures and the lenders must understand this, they must listen to us, said 65-year-old pensioner Fotis Mavroudis. How can someone get by on 400 euros (£286.6) month, with all these taxes, with all the bills we have to pay?After a weekend spent with close aides working out Greeces proposals to lenders, Tsipras is due to meet the heads of the European Commission, the European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund, the main creditors, before a broader meeting of euro zone leaders on Monday.Officials say he is ready to make concessions in some areas but has resisted cuts to pensions that the lenders have demanded to shore up Greeces battered public finances.Greece needs a deal to unlock bailout funds frozen during months of wrangling before a June 30 deadline when a 1.6 billion euro payment to the IMF falls due. If it fails to meet that payment, it risks losing ECB support that its banking system relies on to continue operating.However even before the June 30 deadline falls due, the stability of the banking system could face pressure unless a deal is reached with withdrawals reaching more than 1 billion euros a day by the end of last week.

Australia scores late to knock out Brazil from Women's World Cup

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MONCTON (AP) - Substitute Kyah Simon scored in the 80th minute to lift Australia to its first Womens World Cup knockout win, a 1-0 upset of Brazil and star Marta on a rainy Sunday afternoon.After Katrina Gorry won a ball at midfield, Lisa de Vannas shot from the top of the penalty area was turned aside by Brazilian keeper Luciana. But the rebound went straight to Simon, who had entered in the 64th minute. She buried the shot for the first goal allowed by Brazil all tournament.I was just thinking about the slippery conditions, Simon said. Its wet, and I needed to follow up and thankfully I was in the right place at the right time.Aussie goalkeeper Lydia Williams stopped Christianes header off a long free kick in the 90th minute to clinch Australias first win in three tries against Brazil in World Cup play. Williams finished with six saves.Australia moves on to face the winner of Tuesdays match between Japan and Netherlands.It was just one moment of magic, Australia coach Alen Stajcic said.Brazil was seeking its fifth consecutive trip to the quarterfinals.It was one detail, Brazil coach Vadao said through a translator. One ball that we lost at midfield. We had control of the game especially in the second half.The 10th-ranked Australians had finished second behind the United States in Group D, the so-called Group of Death.Its a big moment there, showing we can compete with the worlds best, and we did it here again today, Stajcic said.It was the 14th international goal for the 23-year-old Simon.Its such an achievement and such a milestone in our career, she said. You know, the people that doubted us, we proved them wrong and kept progressing and playing positive football.

150 dead bodies brought to Edhi morgue in past 24 hours

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KARACHI (Dunya News) -- As many as 150 dead bodies have been brought to the Edhi morgue in the past 24 hours as well. The increase in the number of bodies has over capacitated the Edhi center.The Edhi administration said that they died of various diseases, some even died of heat and aging.As per the Edhi administration, 30 unclaimed bodies have been laid to rest after they could not be identified, neither were they reported missing.

Confusion mounts as PP 97 winning candidate claimed by both PTI, PML-Q

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GUJRANWALA (Dunya News) – Following Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidate Nasir Cheema’s victory in re-election on PP 97’s 33 polling stations as per the unofficial and inconclusive results, both PTI and Pakistan Muslim League Quaid (PML-Q) have claimed victories.According to details, PML-Q said that Cheema will be deemed a candidate of the party on whose symbol he contested election, adding that since Cheema contested on PML-Q election symbol, he remains PML-Q member provincial assembly (MPA).The PML-Q said that this victory belongs to them and not the PTI.The PTI, however, said that it didn’t have any choice but to continue on PML-Q election symbol because Cheema was PML-Q candidate in 2013’s general elections and today’s re-election was a continuation to that election. It said Cheema has joined PTI now.Whether this will create a legal trouble or not is yet to be seen.

Umar Kaathio Al-Qaeda Sindh's head, reveal Safoora terrorists

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KARACHI: (Dunya News) – The terrorists involved in Safura carnage have on Sunday made some shocking revelations. They told that Al-Qaeda Sindh is headed by Umar Kaathio. Arrested terrorist Tahir told that Umar Kaathio was his neighbor and he joined Al-Qaeda on his advice, reported Dunya News.According to the revelations, the alleged Al-Qaeda Sindh leader Umar Kaathio is a resident of Kotri, Sindh, and is a fugitive these days. The arrested terrorists revealed that all the attacks are planned with fake names while names are changed again after the terrorist activity.The arrested terrorist Tahir also confessed killing 7 police officers, 3 members of Bohri community and three workers of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM). He said that he ganged up with Saad Aziz to carry out operations in Hyderabad.According to the arrested terror suspect, a group of 6 worked together in Hyderabad related terror activities. He said that he was first jailed in 2006 for killing a Hindu boy and started working as a commander after being released in 2009. He said that he didn’t know the real names of many of his aides.

Bangladesh wins 2nd ODI to clinch 1st ever series vs India

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DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Bangladesh secured its first ever series win against India on Sunday with a comfortable six-wicket victory in the second one-day international.Left arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman returned figures of 6-43, his second consecutive five-for, as India was bowled out for 200 in 45 overs.The match was reduced to 47 overs after a two-hour rain delay with Bangladesh set a winning total of 200 under the Duckworth-Lewis calculation.Shakib Al Hasan smashed 51 not out to help Bangladesh reach 200-4 in just 38 overs. Litton Das made 36 while Soumya Sarkar scored 34.For India, opener Shikhar Dhawan hit 53 and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni made 47.

Suspicion surrounds Mohammad Hafeez's bowling action again

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GALLED: (Dunya News) – Mohammad Hafeez’s bowling action has on Sunday been reported as suspicious by the Match Referee Chris Broad. Hafeez bowled 20 overs in the Test and bagged 2 wickets in exchange of 44 runs but his bowling action has been reported by Chris Broad to the International Cricket Council (ICC). It is the same ground where Saeed Ajmal’s bowling action had been reported, after which he had been banned, reported Dunya News.Talking exclusively to Dunya News, Team Manager Naveed Akram Cheema said that though Hafeez’s action has been reported, he can play for Pakistan till the decision.It is pertinent to mention here that Hafeez’s action had been reported last year in November while playing New Zealand in Abu Dhabi. He had to face a ban after this report but got his action cleared in April, 2015, through a test in Chennai’s bio-mechanic lab. Now his action has been suspected once again.

Deadly heat in Karachi takes over 100 lives

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KARACHI (Dunya News) – More than a hundred people have died due to intense heat wave in Karachi in the past 24 hours, Dunya News reported.According to details, Jinnah Hospital’s spokesperson Doctor Seemi Jamali said that dozens have died because of the intense heat in the metropolitan in past 24 hours.She said all bodies are of men whose ages are 45 and above.Meanwhile, as many as 150 dead bodies have been brought to the Edhi morgue in the past 24 hours as well. The increase in the number of bodies has over capacitated the Edhi center.The Edhi administration said that they died of various diseases, some even died of heat and aging.As per the Edhi administration, 30 unclaimed bodies have been laid to rest after they could not be identified, neither were they reported missing.

Opposition announces protest in Punjab Assembly against load shedding

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LAHORE: (Dunya News) – Opposition Leader in Punjab Assembly Mian Mehmood-ur-Rasheed has on Sunday announced to protest against the rising load shedding on the stairs of Punjab Assembly. Opposition members will sit on the building stairs for a while to record their protest and will also submit a resolution condemning the load shedding in Assembly Secretariat, reported Dunya News.PTI leader Mian Mehmood-ur-Rasheed has said that he will also invite Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Pakistan Muslim League – Quaid (PML-Q) and Jamaat Islami (JI) to join the protest. Opposition Leader said that load shedding had become out of control. He said that government makes tall claims and promises but reality is completely opposite.

All murderers of Benazir Bhutto have gone except one: Zardari

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NAUDERO (Dunya News) – Former president Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday said that all murderers of Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) slain leader Benazir Bhutto have gone except for one, Dunya News reported.According to details, Zardari arrived at Garhi Khuda Bakhsh from Naudero via helicopter along with daughter Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari and Prime Minister Azad Kashmir Chaudhry Abdul Hamid.Zardari paid a visit to Benazir Bhutto’s mausoleum and recited prayers after laying wreath. He went back to Naudero via road after that where birthday celebration of the slain Prime Minister was arranged.Talking to the participants, Zardari said in his address that Bhutto had nominated people she believed would harm her in her life, adding that all but one of the murderers are gone.

PP-97 Gujranwala re-poll: PTI's Nasir Cheema emerges victorious

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GUJRANWALA: (Dunya News) – Nasir Cheema of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has on Sunday won the PP-97 of Gujranwala after re-polling on 33 polling stations of the constituency. According to unofficial results, Nasir Cheema got 10,405 votes while Ashraf Warraich of Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) secured 9966 votes. Nasir Cheema thus emerged victorious in the overall election with a total of 27529 votes in the 119 polling stations while Ashraf Warraich secured a total of 26,216 votes, reported Dunya News.According to the details, Ashraf Warraich had won this seat in General Election 2013 but Pakistan Muslim League – Quaid (PML-Q) candidate Nasir Cheema had challenged the result in Election Tribunal. Nasir Cheema had claimed that 15,000 extra votes had been polled by the PML-N candidate. Justice Kazim Ali Malik ordered re-polling in 33 polling stations of the constituency.Nasir Cheema has switched from PML-Q to PTI now and though PTI had announced him as their candidate, he contested this election on the symbol of bicycle, which is PML-Q’s election symbol. Along with the PTI, Nasir Cheema also enjoyed the support of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Jamaat Islami (JI), Pakistan Awami Tehreek(PAT), Chattha League and Sunni Tehreek.After deducting the results of these 33 polling stations, Nasir Cheema’s votes counted to 17,124 while Ashraf Warraich’s counted to 16,250. In the re-polling on these 33 polling stations today, Nasir Cheema secured 10,405 votes while Ashraf Warraich bagged 9966 votes.
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