Monday 24 August 2015

Dunya TV

Dunya TV

Ashes to dashes as England and Australia fail Test exam

Posted:

LONDON (AFP) - One of the charms of Test cricket is that a match scheduled to last five days allows for the possibility of a fightback, even if a team falls behind early on.It was a charm, however, completely lacking from the 2015 Ashes, which ended with England winning the five-match series 3-2 despite Australias innings and 46-run win in the concluding Test at The Oval on Sunday.This Ashes equalled in length the shortest five-Test series of modern times of 18 days that took place when England played the West Indies in 2000.The fifth day wasnt needed in any of the matches, with the nearest thing to a close contest, Englands 169-run win in the series opener in Cardiff.Prior to the series both sides spoke about their intention to play aggressive cricket. It became such an ingrained mantra, it was almost as if the thought of playing out a maiden filled some batsmen with a sense of dread.Australia rectified their approach at The Oval, where their opening boundary did not arrive until the 15th over of the match and they still piled up 481, but by then it was too late to save the Ashes.Full credit to England -- they won the key moments in this series, they outplayed us, said Australia coach Darren Lehmann.We had four of the five top wicket-takers and three of the four top run-scorers, but we didnt win the key moments, the former Australia batsman added. It was an unbelievable series.Arguably the most unbelievable aspect of all was Australias collapse to 60 all out in just 111 balls on the opening morning of the fourth Test at Trent Bridge, with England paceman Stuart Broad taking eight for 15.The green-tinged pitch at Trent Bridge re-opened the debate about just how much home advantage is acceptable.While the English climate produces surfaces that are generally more conducive to swing and seam bowling than many places elsewhere in the world, there was a feeling following Australias 405-run win in the second Test on a docile pitch at Lords of groundsmen being instructed to prepare wickets that aided horizontal movement. The irony was that it needed an Australian, in new England coach Trevor Bayliss, to point this out. But while the WACA pitch in Perth may be quicker than many around the world, at least visiting teams know what they are going to get, whereas the suspicion remains that wickets in England can too often be made to order.I think Test cricket is a five-day battle...The fans of the game deserve to see a really good contest for five days, said retiring Australia captain Michael Clarke. I think the past three Test matches have not been that case.Unsurprisingly, Bayliss disagreed, pointing out that playing the moving ball was a skill in itself.You look at the five games, if the second team had batted like the first we would have had five-day games, said Bayliss. The wicket didnt change in 10 minutes from one innings to the next and it certainly didnt change in an hour and a half at Trent Bridge. I think the wickets, with a bit in them, is different to what these guys are used to. I think the batters have to learn to fight a little bit harder...Just to watch batsmen belting the ball everywhere, to me, is not what Test cricket is about.But the fact just three of the last 14 completed Test series won by the away team -- Pakistan in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and Australia in the West Indies -- suggests that an age of ever shorter tours and back-to-back matches is making life harder for visiting sides as never before.I think winning away from home for every Test country is the big thing now, said Lehmann. Thats the challenge for the world game because theres a huge advantage playing at home.

Killer of 4 cops hanged in Bahawalpur

Posted:

BAHAWALPUR (Dunya News) – One death row convict was sent to the gallows in the New Central Jail Bahawalpur on early Tuesday morning, Dunya News reported.Death row prisoner Zulfiqar alias Nana was executed for murdering four police officials during an encounter in 1997. He was sentenced to death in 2001. Zulfiqar’s dead body was handed to his heirs after the execution.

Rawalpindi: Funeral prayers of Shawal martyrs offered

Posted:

RAWALPINDI (Dunya News) – According to Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), funeral prayers of Lt Col Faisal Malik and soldier Zohaib was offered in Rawalpindi.Corps Commander Rawalpindi Lietuenant Colonel Qamar Javed Bajwa and other high ranking civil and military officials attended the funeral prayers. Lietuenant Colonel Faisal Malik and soldier Zohaib embraced martyrdom during the clash with terrorists in Shawal on early Monday.

No change in US' stance on Kashmir: State Department

Posted:

WASHINGTON (Agencies) - The US said on Monday that there has not been any change in its position on Kashmir which remains a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan, as it ruled out any role for itself in the revival of Indo-Pak talks.The tensions in the region are significant. We recognise that, and we believe its important for leaders of both countries to resume this dialogue and the discussion and to try to come to some resolution, State Department Spokesman John Kirby told reporters at his daily news conference.“What we have said, particularly with the tension in Kashmir, is that our position has not changed, that this is an issue that India and Pakistan need to resolve,” Kirby said.

Iran victory within Obama's reach

Posted:

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US President Barack Obama has won the backing of a fresh clutch of senators for his Iran deal, raising the prospect he could yet dodge a humiliating legislative rebuke.For months, Republicans and rebellious Democrats have looked on course to pass a resolution against the nuclear deal, a stinging rejection of a central Obama foreign policy goal.But, with 15 Senate Democrats backing the deal in as many days -- including Senate minority leader Harry Reid and Michigans Debbie Stabenow on Monday -- the White House may dodge a political bullet. A no vote next month would not be enough to scupper the whole nuclear agreement -- thanks to Obamas veto power -- but it could foreshadow trouble ahead.It could empower the next president to upend the deal and signal problems in lifting Congressionally mandated sanctions, a crucial part of the agreement as far as Tehran is concerned.Congress often tries to influence foreign policy, but the 1999 rejection of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty is one of only a handful of recent examples of lawmakers repudiating a presidents top foreign policy priority.Even George W. Bushs contentious war in Iraq won Congressional approval.The White House, facing a momentous defeat, has tried hard to lower expectations.In public it has long appeared resigned to losing the initial vote, and to the need for a presidential veto.Our goal all along has been to build as much support in Congress as we possibly can, said spokesman Josh Earnest on Monday.What we have been focused on is building the kind of support that we need in both the House (of Representatives) and the Senate to sustain a presidential veto.But with just two Democrats publicly opposed to the deal -- with a half dozen waverers still undeclared -- the vote in the Senate looks like being tight.Behind the scenes those in favor of the deal are lobbying furiously to avoid the veto, with campaign donors threatening to withhold future funding.A majority in the House for the resolution of disapproval is probably certain, said Corey Boles, a senior analyst with the Eurasia Group. It is an open question whether opponents of the deal will be able to muster the necessary 60 votes in the Senate to advance the measure.Republicans need the support of a total of six Senate Democrats to pass a resolution against the deal.So far they have won over two -- New Yorks Chuck Schumer and New Jerseys Bob Menendez.The White House needs 41 votes to forestall the resolution, and just 34 Senate votes to uphold Obamas veto.So far 28 Democrats have declared their support for the deal. Forty-one is definitely possible, said Jamal Abdi of the National Iranian American Council, which has been lobbying fiercely in favor of the agreement.A number of important swing votes have broken our way. The opposition still needs to find four more Democrats to cross lines, he said.If I were them I would be sweating now.

Turkey's Erdogan calls snap polls

Posted:

ANKARA (AFP) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday called snap elections in an unprecedented move to break weeks of political stalemate after Junes inconclusive legislative polls.A presidential statement released after a meeting between Erdogan and parliament speaker Ismet Yilmaz gave no date for the elections but the president had previously said he expected the polls to be held on November 1.The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), co-founded by Erdogan, lost its overall majority in the 550-seat parliament in the June 7 polls for the first time since it came to power in 2002, forcing the party to seek a coalition partner.But the AKPs coalition talks with opposition parties failed to produce a government, an outcome critics say the combative Erdogan sought all along.In line with the constitution, Mr President has decided that the Turkish parliament will undergo renewed elections, the presidency said in a statement.It said Erdogan was exercising his rightful powers to call the polls after no coalition was formed within a 45-day deadline.Erdogan is to meet Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Tuesday to discuss arrangements for an interim caretaker government to rule Turkey up to the polls, the official Anatolia news agency said.This is the first time in the history of modern Turkey that parties have failed to form a coalition after elections and repeat polls have been called.Erdogan wants the AKP to win back an overall majority and govern alone.He is also seeking to fulfil his dream of a revamped presidency with boosted executive powers, which will require a majority of at least three fifths.The president indicated in recent weeks that he was not in favour of coalition governments, but dismissed criticism that he had impeded the coalition negotiations. Under Turkeys constitution, Erdogan was obliged to give the second-placed Republican Peoples Party (CHP) a mandate to lead coalition talks.But he refused to do so because the CHPs leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu refuses to set foot in Erdogans controversial new presidential palace.The opposition has accused Erdogan of violating the constitution, with Kilicdaroglu blasting the president for seeking to stage a civilian coup. The opposition CHP and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) have refused to take part in a short-term election government.This forces Davutoglu to hold talks with the pro-Kurdish Peoples Democratic Party (HDP) -- which he has accused of being a front for Kurdish militants from the outlawed PKK -- as well as independent figures to form an interim government. It remains to be seen if Novembers polls will see the AKP increase its share of vote and win back an outright majority, with many analysts sceptical that the results will be much changed from June 7. Marc Pierini, visiting scholar at Carnegie Europe, said the AKP has a chance of winning back its simple majority but would be unable to win the three-fifths of seats needed to call a referendum to change the constitution and give Erdogan the broader powers he craves.With 258 seats, the AKP was 18 seats short of a single-party government. On November 1, they may -- may -- recoup that loss and be back in power alone, he said. But 258 was very, very far from the 330 seats qualified (three-fifths) majority, so the executive presidency reform is dead in the water, he said.The elections will come at a time of a dual offensive against Kurdish militants and Islamic State jihadists in Iraq and Syria, with some critics blaming Erdogan for operating a war machine to seek political gains for his AKP.A spike in violence between Turkish security forces and Kurdish militants has nullified a 2013 ceasefire with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which is designated as a terrorist organisation by Turkey and much of the international community. At least 814 Kurdish militants have been killed in Turkey and in neighbouring Iraq while at least 60 members of the Turkish security forces have lost their lives in over one month of fighting, Anatolia reported.Two Turkish soldiers and a policeman were killed in new attacks blamed on PKK militants in the countrys restive southeast, officials and the army said Monday.

Two killed in clashes in south Lebanon refugee camp

Posted:

SIDON (AFP) - Two people were killed late Monday when clashes erupted between rival armed groups in Lebanons largest Palestinian refugee camp, near the southern port city of Sidon.Fighting between the Jund al-Sham Islamist group and members of Palestinian President Mahmud Abbass Fatah movement began in the northern part of Ain al-Hilweh camp and quickly spread, an AFP correspondent said.Hospital sources in Sidon told AFP that two people were killed, including a Fatah officer. They did not confirm whether the second victim was a civilian or a militant.At least six people were wounded, a Palestinian source said.Families of the wounded gathered at hospitals in Sidon to wait for news.The sound of fierce gunfire and rocket fire could be heard from neighbouring Sidon. The Lebanese army reinforced its positions at the four main entrances to Ain al-Hilweh.The escalating rivalry between Islamist groups and Fatah has erupted into clashes several times over the past few months.On Saturday, two Fatah members were killed when Islamists tried to murder a leading Fatah official. It was unclear what sparked Mondays clashes, and each side blamed the other.We can confirm that there is a large number of wounded, one Palestinian source inside the camp told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity. Ambulances have not been able to enter the camp because of the intensity of the fighting, and because theyre happening near the camps entrances, the source added.An AFP correspondent said dozens of families fleeing the violence were heading into Sidon.The impoverished Ain al-Hilweh camp has gained notoriety as a refuge for extremists and fugitives and for the settling of scores between factions.By long-standing convention, the army does not enter the Palestinian refugee camps, leaving the factions themselves to handle security.More than 450,000 Palestinians are registered in Lebanon with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees. Most live in squalid conditions in the countrys 12 official refugee camps.

Migrant wave enters EU member Hungary after Macedonia hold-up

Posted:

BUDAPEST (AFP) - More than 1,000 migrants and refugees arrived in EU member Hungary late Monday, the first of around 7,000 who found their gruelling journey to Europe blocked when Macedonia declared a state of emergency last week.An AFP photographer said at least 1,000 people entered Hungary from Serbia via a cross-border railway track, close to the southern Hungarian village of Roszke.Their arrival comes just days before the Hungarian government deadline of August 31 for the completion of a razor-wire barrier along the length of its southern border with Serbia -- which is not a member of the EU -- in a bid to keep migrants out.The group -- most of them refugees from war-torn Syria -- arrived at a section of the border not yet fenced off by razor-wire. They were met by Hungarian police who escorted them to a nearby refugee registration centre, according to Hungarian state news agency MTI.Many told AFP they had passed through Serbia after travelling from Macedonias border with Greece -- which Macedonia closed for three days last week, declaring a state of emergency after being overwhelmed by the huge influx of people amid Europes worst migration crisis since World War II.There were chaotic scenes on Friday as Macedonian police lobbed stun grenades at desperate migrants trying to cross newly-laid rolls of barbed wire at the frontier.At least 7,000 people made it north to Serbia after Macedonia finally reopened its Greek border on Saturday.The group are hoping to follow roughly 100,000 others who have crossed over into Hungary -- their entry point to the European Union after the Balkans -- which has responded with aggressive anti-migrant measures, including the razor-wire barrier.Hungary is also building a 4-metre (13-foot) fence behind the razor wire, while Budapest plans to pass legislation in September to criminalise illegal border-crossing or any attempts to cut through or climb over the fence.The interior ministry also gave the green light Monday to the deployment of special police units of border hunters to intercept migrants.The western Balkans route has now become one of the main ways into the EU for the several hundreds of thousands of migrants entering the bloc this year, fleeing war, poverty and persecution in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia.

UN chief appalled by 'barbaric' attacks in Palmyra

Posted:

UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Monday he was appalled by reports that Islamic State militants had demolished a temple in Syrias ancient Palmyra.IS fighters packed explosives in the Baal Shamin temple and blew up the shrine on Sunday, Syrias antiquities chief said.Ban also voiced outrage over the murder of Khaled al-Assaad, the retired chief archeologist at Palmyra whose body was mutilated after he was beheaded on August 18.These barbaric acts of terror join a long list of crimes committed over the past four years in Syria against its civilian population and heritage, Ban said in a statement.Palmyra is listed as a world heritage site by the UN cultural body UNESCO, and Ban recalled that destroying world cultural sites was a war crime.The UN chief called on world governments to unite and act swiftly to put a stop to this terrorist activity.

White House admits Biden mulling 2016 run

Posted:

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The White House on Monday acknowledged that Vice President Joe Biden is still weighing a possible run for the top job, amid controversy surrounding Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton.Biden, President Obamas deputy for nearly seven years, has previously said he would make a decision on entering the 2016 race by the end of the summer.I would assume that that means hes got a another month or so to think about this and announce a decision, said White House spokesman Josh Earnest.Obama has so far been careful not to pick among the Democratic candidates.But several close aides have jumped from the White House to Clintons campaign in recent months.Her struggles to explain why she used a private email server to conduct state business has raised questions about her status as presumptive nominee.Democrats have long been concerned about the prospect of a half-hearted primary race leading to Clintons nomination.Biden would provide Clinton with stiff competition, but his path back to the White House is not entirely clear.He has been a presidential candidate twice and twice lost badly.Earnest did not rule out the possibility that Obama would ultimately chose between his vice president and his former secretary of state.I wouldnt rule out an endorsement, he said.Speculation about Bidens plans were fueled by reports over the weekend that he had met privately with Senator Elizabeth Warren, an influential voice in the Democratic Partys left wing.

French woman, four Britons killed in Canada float plane crash

Posted:

MONTREAL (AFP) - Six people, including a French tourist and four Britons, died in a pontoon plane crash in Canadas Quebec province on Sunday, officials said Monday.The French victim, Emilie Delaitre, born in 1987, was visiting the country with her aunt and uncle, who did not board the plane with her, the French consulate told AFP.The four British victims of the crash have not been identified.The small Beaver aircraft operated by Saguenay Air had taken off from a strip at Tadoussac on the north shore of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, about 500 kilometers (311 miles) northeast of Montreal. The region is popular with whale watchers.Police said the plane crashed in a densely wooded area that is difficult to reach.The pilot was very experienced and had worked 14 years at Saguenay Air, company chief executive Jean Tremblay told public broadcaster Radio-Canada.

Fires in US state of Washington largest in its history

Posted:

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - A group of wildfires blazing in the western US state of Washington have become the largest in the states history, officials said Monday.The so-called Okanogan complex of wildfires in the north-central part of the state has already surpassed last years record-breaking Carlton fires, US Forest Service fire spokesman Mike Ferris told AFP.The Okanogan fire had grown to more than 250,000 acres (104,000 hectares) Monday, according to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC), which said the blaze was only 10 percent contained.Three firefighters were killed battling a portion of the Okanogan fire last week and 1,250 people are currently helping quell the blaze.Statewide, 16 large wildfires have ravaged 600,000 acres, destroyed 200 homes and are threatening another 12,000 residences, according to a statement from Washington Governor Jay Inslee.That combined damage makes the current fires certainly the most severe in terms of timing of multiple large fires simultaneously, Jaime Smith, the governors spokeswoman, told AFP Monday.President Barack Obama has approved Inslees request for a federal declaration of emergency, which releases federal funds to help the state pay for the cost of fighting the blazes.The Okanogan fire alone has already cost $8.5 million to date, the NIFC said Monday.Seven hundred members of the Washington National Guard were added to the state-wide firefighting effort Sunday and helicopters from surrounding states were brought in to help.

Dollar weakens as China woes rattle global markets

Posted:

NEW YORK (AFP) - The dollar weakened against other major currencies Monday after a Chinese equities meltdown spread into a global market rout on fears about Chinas faltering economy.The dollar had made big gains as the Federal Reserve plans its first interest rate hike since 2006 this year, lifting the benchmark federal funds rate off the zero level where it has been parked since the 2008 financial crisis.But the market carnage Monday emanating from China, where a slowdown in the worlds second-largest economy is spooking investors, cooled expectations the Fed will lift rates in September and hammered the dollar.Americas greenback tumbled to seven-month lows against the euro and yen as worries about global growth all but slammed the door shut to a US rate hike in the weeks and months ahead, said Joe Manimbo, senior market analyst at Western Union Business Solutions.The dollar ended the day down 2.9 percent against the yen and 1.9 percent against the euro as investors fled to the relative safe-haven currencies amid intense market volatility.Boris Schlossberg of BK Asset Management noted that typically, the dollar would rise against the euro in times of risk, and then turn around when stocks rally.But since the European Central Bank began its massive quantitative easing program earlier this year, he said, the euro had become the preeminent carry trade funding currency due to its liquidity and ultra-low costs.As several analysts have pointed out, investors have borrowed heavily in euros and used those proceeds for more risky bets in equities. Therefore the massive crash in global indices has caused a huge unwind in the euro carry trade, pushing the single currency higher not only against the dollar but against every major G-10 trading partner, Schlossberg said.The conventional wisdom on Wall Street assumed that the euro would decline in H2 (the second half of 2015) as the divergence in monetary policies between the Fed and the ECB would make its way felt, said Schlossberg.However the events of the past two weeks have completely upended that thesis.

US oil finishes below $40 for first time since 2009

Posted:

NEW YORK (AFP) - Oil prices sank Monday, with the US crude benchmark finishing below $40 a barrel for the first time in six years on worries about Chinas weakening economy after an equities sell-off.US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for October delivery dropped $2.21 to $38.24 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, its first below-$40 close since February 2009.Brent North Sea crude for October, the international benchmark, plummeted $2.80 to $42.69 a barrel in London, its lowest level since March 2009.The petroleum markets are extending last weeks decline along with global equity markets on Monday as worries over slowing Chinese economic growth intensified, said Tim Evans, energy markets strategist at Ciri Futures.Financial markets endured one of their worst days since the 2008 financial crisis, starting with a rout in Asian bourses on mounting fears that Chinas slowing economy will drag down the global economy with it. European and US stocks joined the sharp sell-off, and commodities were hammered. The catalyst was the Shanghai stock markets 8.5 percent plunge, its sharpest one-day fall in eight years, despite Chinese government efforts to stem market turmoil on markets since mid-June.These jitters over China -- if you think theyre bad for the US equity market, theyre even worse for the global oil market, said John Killduff of Again Capital.Killduff said the issue of an economic slowdown in China, the worlds second-largest economy and crude-oil consumer, goes right to the heart of the matter as far as demand for oil and other commodities.He estimated that the WTI contract had further to fall. I thought wed be getting into the mid-$30s. Now I think well be getting into the mid-$20s, he said.Bart Melek, head of commodity strategy at TD Securities, said the oil market was getting clobbered from two sides: The outlook for demand was weakened by Chinas woes and there was no sign of easing in the global oversupply.We continue to be worried about new Iranian supplies, US drilling activity increasing, maintenance season coming up for refineries... that basically prompts people to think the oil market is going to be oversupplied for longer, said Melek.

Dollar, yuan moves cloud US growth outlook: Fed official

Posted:

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The stronger dollar and Chinas currency devaluation are clouding the US economic growth outlook, a top Federal Reserve official said Monday, while reaffirming that he still expects an interest rate hike this year.Dennis Lockhart, head of the Atlanta Fed and a member of the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee, said that the US economys recovery from the Great Recession in mid-2009 notched an average annual rate of 2.1 percent, slow growth compared with other post-World War II recoveries.Currently, developments such as the appreciation of the dollar, the devaluation of the Chinese currency, and the further decline of oil prices are complicating factors in predicting the pace of growth, said Lockhart, according to his prepared remarks at a forum in Berkeley, California.My own outlook foresees moderate growth, but not a breakout to strongly accelerating growth, he said.Consistent with this picture, I expect the normalization of monetary policy -- that is, interest rates -- to begin sometime this year. I expect normalization to proceed gradually, the implication being an environment of rather low rates for quite some time.Until just a few weeks ago, the Fed was widely expected to raise its near-zero benchmark federal funds rate in the September 16-17 policy meeting, after keeping it pegged there since late 2008 to help support the economys recovery.But Chinas surprise August 11 devaluation of the yuan currency has sparked further turbulence in the global economy, compounded by financial turmoil in the Chinese stock markets since June despite the governments efforts to counter it.Expectations for a Fed rate hike in September have dwindled, as analysts have begun to pencil in a lift-off later in the year or even in 2016.Mondays global market rout supported analysts views that the US central bank will delay tightening its ultra-loose credit policy.
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)