Thursday 21 April 2016

Dunya TV

Dunya TV

Obama in Britain with royal lunch, Brexit on the menu

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LONDON (AFP) - US President Barack Obama was set to wade into the poisonous Brexit debate on Friday and become Queen Elizabeth IIs first lunch guest after turning 90.Obama flew into Britain late Thursday to begin what is his fifth and likely final presidential visit to the kingdom.The president, along with First Lady Michelle Obama, will pay tribute to the queen, who celebrated her 90th birthday on Thursday, when they meet at Windsor Castle, west of London.The president has very much enjoyed his engagements with the queen over the years, said top Obama foreign policy aide Ben Rhodes.The queen has reigned since 1952, during which time she has met with a string of US presidents from Harry Truman to Obama, who leaves office in January.After lunch at Windsor Castle, Obama will travel to Prime Minister David Camerons Downing Street office for talks that come ahead of a crunch British referendum on its European Union membership on June 23.Obama is sure to be asked to weigh in on the controversial issue during a joint press conference afterwards, or at a town hall-style meeting with youngsters on Saturday.Britains departure from the EU -- a so-called Brexit -- could have deep ramifications for Washingtons special relationship with London, and on the stability of the 28-country bloc itself.Obama has consistently said he favours a strong Britain in a strong EU.Seen from Washington, Camerons decision to call a referendum was a bold -- if not downright risky -- gamble that could leave Britain and the EU badly weakened.Obama is not an instinctive pro-European, said Ian Bond of the London-based Centre for European Reform think-tank.He opposes Brexit because it risks creating more problems for America in Europe.Polls put the pro-EU and Brexit camps neck-and-neck among those who express a preference to vote.Obamas focus is on how Brexit would affect Europes ability to help America tackle international problems, said Bond.Britain has long been a key conduit for US influence in Europe.Downing Street insisted that close ties would endure and sought to underscore areas of continued cooperation by saying the talks would focus heavily on the fight against the Islamic State jihadist group.Britains relationship with the United States is special and enduring. Based on shared values and convictions it has stood the test of time, Cameron said.I am deeply proud of what it has allowed us to achieve, in dealing with the global challenges we both face and ensuring the security and prosperity of our people.I am confident that Britain and the US can continue to build on a solid basis of friendship and a shared commitment to freedom, democracy and enterprise to shape a better world for future generations.Obamas seven years in office have seen the United States try to disentangle itself from wars in the Muslim world and pivot toward the growing economies of Asia.But sovereign debt crises, jihadist terror attacks and now Britains potential exit from the EU have thrust Europe back onto Obamas agenda.However, for the US president, wading in is not without risk.Pro-Brexit supporters have issued calls for the US president to stay out of the European Union referendum debate and cast him as a meddling outsider.Nigel Farage, leader of the anti-EU UK Independence Party, said Obama should butt out while former cabinet minister Iain Duncan Smith said he failed to see how an intervention by the US leader could be appropriate.More than 100 members of Britains parliament have reportedly written to the US ambassador in London to make their displeasure known.It could be a potent argument in a country that shares cultural affinities with the United States, but which is deeply wary of being treated as Washingtons lapdog.During Obamas visit he and the first lady will also have dinner on Friday with Queen Elizabeths grandson Prince William, his wife Kate and his brother Prince Harry.From Britain he will travel to Germany for a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other EU leaders.

Syria relief efforts intensify even as peace talks falter

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BEIRUT (AFP) - Aid groups launched their largest delivery of assistance yet in war-torn Syria on Thursday after the UN evacuated hundreds of besieged residents, intensifying relief efforts even as peace talks falter.The International Committee of the Red Cross said that the 65-truck convoy of food and medicines to the besieged rebel-held town of Rastan was the first aid it had been able to deliver to the areas 120,000 residents since 2012.Earlier, the United Nations evacuated 500 people in urgent need of life-saving medical attention, and their families, from four other besieged towns, two held by the government and two by rebels.The two relief operations came after the Syrian opposition walked away from UN-backed peace talks complaining that more needed to be done to relieve civilians in rebel-held areas.More than four million people live in besieged or hard-to-reach areas with little or no access to food or medicines.ICRC spokesman Pawel Krzysiek said on Thursdays convoy was carrying food parcels, wheat flour and other nutritional items, as well as medicines and equipment to improve water supply in Rastan, a rebel-held enclave in the central province of Homs that has been under army siege since 2012.This is the largest joint humanitarian convoy we have done in Syria so far, he told AFP.Once they reach Rastan, ICRC and Syrian Arab Red Crescent teams will assess the water and waste infrastructure, as well as the nutritional and other needs of residents.Many of the 120,000 people living in and around the town had fled fighting in neighbouring Hama province.The United Nations carried out the medical evacuations from the four besieged towns in a carefully synchronised joint operation with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent that lasted through Wednesday night.At dawn on Thursday, the evacuees were brought to a staging area in a rebel-held part of central Syria before being transported on for treatment, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said.Exactly 250 evacuees were brought out of the besieged rebel-held towns of Madaya and Zabadani near Damascus. The same number were evacuated from Fuaa and Kafraya, pro-government towns under siege by Islamist rebels.The UN had announced earlier this month that it would try to carry out a large-scale medical evacuation from the four enclaves.Such operations can take weeks to organise, although rebels, regime forces and even militant groups have been ready to strike local deals to enable aid deliveries or large-scale evacuations.Late Wednesday, nearly 500 people - including fighters of the Islamic State jihadist group and their families - quit a flashpoint town east of Damascus.The Observatory said that a deal between IS fighters, residents and regime forces saw the militants leave Dumeir, about 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the capital.IS and its militant rival Al-Qaeda are not party to an increasingly strained truce between the government and non-militant rebels.The cessation of hostilities came into force on Feb 27 and initially saw a significant reduction in bloodshed.Although none of its signatories have officially declared the truce dead, violence has surged in recent weeks, particularly in and around Idlib and the battleground northern city of Aleppo.On Tuesday, suspected government air strikes on the Idlib province towns of Maaret al-Numan and Kafranbel hit two markets, killing at least 44 civilians, according to the Observatory.Both towns are controlled by Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front and so are not covered by the ceasefire.But the strikes drew a furious reaction from the opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC) which said they vindicated its decision to suspend its participation in UN-brokered peace talks in Geneva.The Observatory reported new air strikes on Thursday against rebel-held towns in Homs province in central Syria that are covered by the truce.Some of the strikes involved barrel bombs, crude munitions infamous for their indiscriminate nature, the Britain-based watchdog said.The UN, as well as Russia and the United States - who brokered the truce - are desperate to see it hold long enough to secure a negotiated settlement of the five-year conflict.But the walkout by the HNC has left a political solution increasingly distant, and has emboldened the government delegation to take a tougher line on any settlement.The governments chief representative in Geneva Bashar al-Jaafari said his delegation would continue with the UN-brokered indirect negotiations.But he said only opposition members who reject terrorism (and) who do not work for the sake of a foreign agenda would be permitted to join a broad-based unity government.That would appear to rule out the HNC, whom he described as a group of extremists, terrorists and mercenaries working for Saudi Arabia and Turkey, the oppositions main backers.The regimes main supporters are Iran and Russia.Moscow announced last month that it was scaling back the military intervention it launched in September in support of President Bashar al-Assad.But NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday that Russia maintains a considerable military presence in support of the Assad regime in Syria.

In Moscow, Israel PM pushes Putin on Syria, Iran concerns

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MOSCOW (AFP) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow Thursday over fears the Kremlins involvement in Syria and weapons deliveries to Iran could bolster the Jewish states fiercest opponents.Israel has obvious and evident red lines connected to our security, Netanyahu told Putin at the start of the meeting.Firstly, we are doing everything that depends on us to stop the most hi-tech weaponry from Syria and Iran from falling into the hands of Hezbollah, he said, referring to Lebanons powerful Shiite militia.Secondly, we are doing everything in order to prevent an additional terrorist front opening up against us in the Golan Heights.Russia is currently flying a bombing campaign in support of forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad in Syria.Iran and allied Shiite militia Hezbollah are also battling on the side of the regime in Damascus -- making the trio de facto allies on the ground.Israel fears that the chaos in Syria could help strengthen its arch-enemy Hezbollah and Netanyahu admitted for the first time this month that Israel had attacked dozens of convoys there which were transporting weapons to the group.It was the first clear public acknowledgement that Israel had carried out attacks in neighbouring Syria with which it is still officially at war.Russia has also stirred Israeli ire by pushing ahead with the long-awaited delivery of the S-300 air defence system to Tehran.Iran used its annual Army Day parade last week to showcase parts of the systems -- ordered from Moscow in 2007 but not delivered until now due to UN Security Council resolutions relating to Tehrans nuclear programme.Netanyahu last visited Moscow in September when he and Putin agreed to set up a hotline between the two sides to avoid accidental clashes between Russian and Israeli forces in Syria.

Kerry, Zarif to meet again in NY on Iran sanctions relief

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WASHINGTON (AFP) - US Secretary of State John Kerry will meet in New York on Friday with Irans Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, as Tehran complains that Washington has not lived up to its nuclear deal obligations.Kerrys spokesman told reporters in Washington that the two top diplomatic chiefs will hold another day of talks following a meeting at the UN on Tuesday.Tehran has said it is not receiving enough sanctions relief.In these discussions with Foreign Minister Zarif tomorrow, I fully expect that they will continue to talk about the sanctions relief process, and the degree to which banks, foreign and domestic, as well as institutions foreign and domestic are evaluating their options under the JCPOA, State Department John Kirby said Thursday, referring to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action as the international nuclear deal is also known.The two men will address the degree to which they have before them a sufficient level of understanding to make decisions with respect to sanctions relief, Kirby said at the State Departments daily briefing.This weeks meetings mark the first face-to-face encounters between Kerry and Zarif since January, when they met in Vienna to formally implement the nuclear deal.Iranian officials have complained that the United States has not lived up to its side of the nuclear agreement because Western banks and corporations have been reluctant to renew business ties.Kirby said nothing could be further from the truth.We certainly are not trying to become an obstacle in any way of foreign banks and institutions working with Iran through the sanctions relief process and doing legitimate business with Iran, he said.He added: We believe we are working hard to try to explain what the obligations are, what the responsibilities are and what the opportunities are for foreign institutions and banks under the JCPOA.Washington, for its part, has also pointed the finger at Tehran, warning that it retains the right to impose new sanctions over Irans ballistic missile tests.

Brazil's Rousseff to address impeachment in UN trip

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BRASILIA (AFP) - Brazils President Dilma Rousseff flew to New York on Thursday to sign a global climate change pact but she will use the international stage to denounce efforts to impeach her.The opposition criticized Rousseffs plans to address the issue at the United Nations, days after the lower house of Congress sent impeachment proceedings to the Senate, which is expected to vote on opening a trial by mid-May.Rousseff is going to the UN to sign the climate deal on Friday, but a government official told AFP that her speech would include one sentence about the crisis back home that has left her fighting for her political life.The official did not give more details, but cabinet chief Jaques Wagner told reporters late Wednesday that Rousseff would have to express her indignation about the coup that is developing in Brazil during her trip.Rousseff says charges that she used illegal accounting tricks to mask budget deficits in an election year in 2014 have no legal foundation.Rousseff will likely describe the impeachment process as artificial and false, because Dilma is an honest woman who did not commit any crime, Wagner said, without specifying at what point during the visit she would make such remarks.Rousseff already has a sympathetic ear among other left-wing governments in Latin America.Cubas communist leader Raul Castro called the impeachment process this week a parliamentary coup while Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said her ouster would be a threat to the people of the Americas.US President Barack Obama, who has repaired relations with Rousseff following strains over a US spying scandal, voiced hope last month that Brazil would resolve its political crisis in an effective way.After Fridays signing ceremony, Rousseff will join a lunch with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. The leftist leader will return home late Friday or early Saturday.The opposition has already warned her against criticizing the impeachment process, which she has described as a coup, while she is abroad.Saying that we are experiencing a coup in order to get support and legitimacy to stay in power will only worsen the economic crisis, worsen the social crisis and worsen the political crisis, said Marina Silva, an environmentalist who finished third in the 2014 presidential election.Senator Cassio Cunha Lima said it would be a crime against the nation for Rousseff to use the trip to criticize the impeachment process.Rousseff decided to go to New York even though she had cancelled her attendance at the ceremony to light the Olympic flame in Greece on Thursday ahead of the Games in Rio de Janeiro in August.Her trip means that Vice President Michel Temer, whom she accuses of conspiring to oust her, will be in charge of the country until her return.If the Senate opens a trial next month, Rousseff would have to step aside for 180 days and Temer would take over in the meantime.After that, a two-thirds majority vote would be enough to oust her permanently, leaving Temer to serve out her term, which ends in late 2018.Brazilians have also been angry at the countrys deep recession and a massive corruption case at state oil giant Petrobras.While Rousseff has not been accused of a crime in the Petrobras case, a Supreme Court judge agreed late Wednesday to add testimony of a ruling party senator who claims that she was well aware of the purchase of a US refinery that turned into a $792 million loss.

Blast at Mexico petrochemical plant kills at least 13

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COATZACOALCOS (AFP) - The death toll from a thunderous blast at a petrochemical plant in Mexico has risen to at least 13, officials said Thursday, in the latest accident plaguing state-run oil giant Pemex.A cloud of toxic chemicals spewed from the plant after Wednesdays explosion, which sent huge plumes of thick, black smoke billowing into the sky.Pemex insisted the toxic cloud posed no threat to the population, but the explosion triggered panic among locals still traumatized by a 1991 blast at the same plant that caused a deadly gas leak.The death toll could rise further as 136 people were injured, 13 of them critically. Another 18 people are missing, officials said.The blast in the city of Coatzacoalcos in eastern Veracruz state was so powerful it was felt 10 kilometers (six miles) away. It shattered windows and forced the evacuation of schools and businesses.Crews kept working Thursday to cool off one particularly hard-hit area of the plant, hosing it down with water.Investigators have yet to enter this area because of fears that structures might collapse, Luis Felipe Puente, a senior civil protection official with the state interior ministry, told Milenio television.We have searched the affected area within the complex, and sadly so far located 13 victims, Puente wrote earlier on Twitter.The blast at the Petroquimica Mexicana de Vinilo (PMV) plant was caused by some kind of leak, said Jose Antonio Gonzalez, chief executive of Pemex.The plant uses flammable materials like chlorine and ethanol but we do not know the cause of the leak, he told Televisa television.He assured locals that the toxic cloud caused by the blast had been dissipated by the wind and posed no risk.Pemex co-owns the plant with a private company, Mexichem, which operates the facility.Some 100 plant workers and about 2,000 residents had to be evacuated, according to Veracruz governor Javier Duarte.Duarte rushed to the scene of what he said was a very strong explosion, where fire crews had the blaze under control.As the situation unfolded, he urged people living in the vicinity to remain indoors as the cloud of chemicals dissipated.School classes in Coatzacoalcos, a port city, and nearby communities were suspended.Pemex said Wednesday afternoon the situation was completely under control.Soldiers set up a security cordon several kilometers from the plant, where workers families flocked at dawn, anxiously awaiting news of their loved ones.We dont know what happened to Miguel Angel. He was working for a company inside the area affected by the explosion, a relative told AFP.Many outside the plant said they feared the number of missing was far higher than the 18 people announced by officials.Residents were still struggling to get over the shock caused by the blast, which blew out the windows of stores and homes.I left my house running. I thought the whole city was going to catch fire, said Marcela Andrade Moreno.Other terrified residents feared a repeat of the 1991 explosion at the same facility. The death toll from that incident officially stands at six, although local media insist the number is much higher.We live in a time bomb, said Abelardo Garduza, a merchant from the village of Allende located a few kilometers from the plant.Pemex has had to deal with several deadly accidents at its land-based and offshore facilities in recent years.Even its headquarters –- a skyscraper in the heart of Mexico City –- was hit in January 2013 by a blast caused by a gas buildup that killed 37 people.Accidents have hit several oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, while fires have erupted in pipelines after fuel thieves punctured them.In February, two people were killed and at least seven injured in a blaze at a Pemex oil platform off the coast of Campeche, also in the southeast.Pemex provides one-fifth of the Mexican governments revenue but has posted huge losses amid crumbling production and oil prices.The government has implemented a sweeping reform of the energy sector, which opens it to foreign investors for the first time in decades and partly aims to help modernize aging infrastructure.

Volkswagen owners will get a choice: a buyback or repairs

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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The owners of nearly half a million polluting Volkswagens in the U.S. will have the option of selling them back to the company or getting them repaired at VWs expense, under a deal announced Thursday by a federal judge.The tentative agreement outlined by Senior U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer, however, left many questions unanswered, among them: How much can car owners expect in a buyback? Will they be compensated for any reduced gas mileage and performance resulting from a repair? And how soon could the program start?Breyer, who is presiding over a tangle of litigation created by the VW emissions cheating scandal, said the deal will include substantial compensation for owners. But he did not elaborate and warned attorneys in the case not to talk about the continuing negotiations, saying that could cause confusion among customers.A person who was briefed on the matter but asked not to be identified because the deal had not been made public said Wednesday that Volkswagen would spend just over $1 billion to compensate owners. Elizabeth Cabraser, the lead attorney for hundreds of Volkswagen owners, disputed that figure Thursday but did not offer an estimate of her own.Details of the agreement are expected to come out over the next couple of months. Breyer set a June 21 deadline for attorneys from the U.S. Justice Department and for Volkswagen owners to file additional paperwork about the agreement.After that, owners will get the chance to comment before Breyer signs off on any deal.The scandal erupted in September when it was learned that the German automaker had fitted many of its cars with software to fool emissions tests and had put dirty vehicles on the road. Car owners and the Justice Department sued.Although it is too soon to tell whether VW owners will be satisfied, and there are still other liabilities that must be addressed, this is the beginning of the end of the story, said Michael Steel, an attorney in San Francisco who has advised car manufacturers.Volkswagen owner Peggy Schaeffer, a North Carolina librarian with a diesel 2010 Jetta SportWagen, said she wanted VW to fix her car when she first heard about the scandal. But the more she hears about potential fixes, the more she prefers the idea of a buyback.Experts say fixing older-model diesels will be complicated and costly and will probably cut their performance and fuel mileage — two main reasons customers bought them. Breyer did not say how the vehicles would be repaired — whether, for example, it would involve a software fix or new hardware.Don Marron, a banker and self-described Volkswagen enthusiast from Allentown, Pennsylvania, who owns a diesel 2012 Jetta SportWagen, said he wants VW to offer him about $5,000 in compensation beyond the cost of any repair.If the fix turns it into a dog, or it gets 5 to 10 miles per gallon less than it did already, Im not interested, he said.Volkswagen said in a statement after the hearing that the agreement is an important step on the road to making things right. The automaker said it intends to compensate its customers fully and to remediate any impact on the environment from excess diesel emissions.The deal affects the owners of about 482,000 Volkswagens with 2-liter, four-cylinder diesel engines, most of them VW Jetta, Golf and Passat models dating to the 2009 model year.No agreement has been reached yet on Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche diesel vehicles with 3-liter, six-cylinder engines — an additional 90,000 or so vehicles.Breyer said the agreement will include a fund to deal with the effects of the pollution, and Volkswagen will be required to commit other money to promote green automotive technology.The deal does not address potential fines and penalties, Breyer said.In the U.S., the company faces as much as $20 billion in fines for Clean Air Act violations alone, though that will probably be negotiated down.The Justice Department and the Environmental Protection Agency are also weighing potential criminal charges against the company and senior executives.Nor does the agreement settle lawsuits by state and local governments, which are seeking billions from VW.In addition, some Volkswagen dealers have sued over financial losses from diesel cars sitting on their lots that cant legally be sold until the emissions problems are resolved.

Trump advisers urge Republican leaders to unify ahead of election

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HOLLYWOOD, Fla./WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Top advisers to Donald Trump pledged to Republican Party leaders on Thursday that the New York billionaire would adopt a more presidential demeanor after weeks of bashing the party, and urged them to unify behind the political outsider.Trumps representatives, including newly recruited senior advisers Paul Manafort and Rick Wiley, met with leaders of the Republican National Committee behind closed doors at a conference room at an oceanside resort hotel where the party is holding a three-day meeting.Over shrimp, crab legs and an open bar, the advisers expressed confidence that Trump would win the Republican presidential nomination without the party having to resort to a contested convention in Cleveland in July, according to three attendees.Trump, 69, needs 1,237 delegates to win the nomination outright for the Nov. 8 election. Rivals Ted Cruz, 45, and John Kasich, 63, are trying to stop him from getting a majority of delegates, so they can force a contested convention in which one of them could emerge as the nominee.Party leaders told reporters after the session that Trumps envoys said Trump, as the Republican nominee, would be able to expand the electoral map to include several states Republicans have not won in a general election in a generation.One attendee, South Carolina Republican Party Chairman Matt Moore, said the Trump team told the group it expected Trump to have a more presidential demeanor over the next few weeks.In recent weeks, Trump has railed against the party for developing what he said was a rigged system in which Cruz was able to amass delegates in Colorado without Republicans actually voting.Moore said he was taking a wait-and-see attitude on whether Trump would change. The proof is in the pudding, he said.Manafort told reporters after the meeting that we talked about how were going to expand the map.As for how to improve Trumps negative image held by some voters, Manafort said: We just have to present him in a way that shows all sides of Donald Trump.STOP FIGHTING AMONG OURSELVESFormer presidential candidate Ben Carson, the retired neurosurgeon who has endorsed Trump, also addressed the group. Talking to reporters as he walked into the meeting, Carson said his message was that Republicans should stop fighting among ourselves and unite behind Trump.“I don’t think anyone can win if the Republican Party and the conservatives don’t consolidate, he said.Trump, who has alarmed some establishment Republicans with his comments on immigration, Muslims and trade, has begun to moderate his message in recent days.Trumps campaign has hired staff versed in the ways of Washington and has begun holding regular meetings on Capitol Hill with current and potential supporters.Trump clashed again on Thursday with Cruz, a U.S. senator from Texas, this time over a North Carolina law passed last month requiring transgender people to use government and school bathrooms that correspond with the sex on their birth certificates.During an appearance at an NBC Today show town hall, Trump sided with critics of the law, passed by a Republican-controlled legislature, saying it was unnecessary and that North Carolina was paying a big price because of negative business reaction.His comments drew immediate criticism from Cruz, a staunch social and fiscal conservative who supports the law and said Trump had caved to political correctness as he seeks to broaden his appeal.Cruz, along with Kasich, 63, the Ohio governor, addressed leaders on Wednesday at the RNC meeting, which is focused on the partys July convention.Cruz said he had the ability to unite the party behind him after a bitter nomination battle. Kasich cited opinion polls showing he was the only Republican candidate who could defeat Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton.

Egyptian police detained Italian student before his murder - sources

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CAIRO (Reuters) -An Italian student who was tortured and murdered in Egypt had been detained by police and then transferred to a compound run by Homeland Security the day he vanished, intelligence and police sources say. The claims contradict the official Egyptian account that security services had not arrested him.Giulio Regeni, a 28-year-old postgraduate student, disappeared on Jan. 25, friends say. His body was found on Feb. 3, dumped on the side of a road outside Cairo. It showed signs of torture, according to forensic and prosecution officials in Egypt.Egyptian officials have strongly denied any involvement in Regenis death. Soon after his body was found, police suggested he was the victim of a car accident. Weeks later they said he might have been killed by a criminal gang impersonating policemen.But three Egyptian intelligence officials and three police sources independently told Reuters the police had custody of Regeni at some point before he died.Mohamed Ibrahim, an official in the media department of Homeland Security, said: There is no connection whatsoever between Regeni and the police or Interior Ministry or Homeland Security. He has never been held in any police station or here. The only time he came into contact with police was when the police officials stamped his passport when he landed in Egypt.If we had any suspicions concerning his activities the solution would have been simple: Expel him.The Interior Ministry also denied Regeni had been detained, saying this account had no basis in truth.Regenis fate has re-focused attention on broader allegations of police brutality in Egypt and created tensions between Cairo and Italy, one of Egypts most important trading partners.A senior forensic official told Reuters that Regeni had seven broken ribs, signs of electrocution on his penis, traumatic injuries all over his body, and a brain hemorrhage. He had been killed by a sharp blow to the head.Pointing to the signs of torture, human rights groups such as the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms and Amnesty International have suggested Regeni may have been killed by Egyptian security services. Rome is demanding Egypt find Regenis murderers.All six intelligence and police sources told Reuters that Regeni was picked up by plainclothes police near the Gamal Abdel Nasser metro station in Cairo on the evening of Jan. 25. Security had been heightened that day because it was the anniversary of the beginning of the 2011 Arab Spring uprising that toppled President Hosni Mubarak.An Egyptian man was picked up at the same time. Three sources gave his name but Reuters was unable to verify the mans identity. His connection to Regeni, if any, is unclear.It is also unclear why the men were picked up, though all the sources said the two had not been specifically targeted but were detained as part of a general security sweep.One of the intelligence officials said the two men were taken to the Izbakiya police station, a fortress-like compound located beneath a flyover near downtown Cairo.They were transported in a white minibus with police licence plates, he said.The three police sources said officers on patrol in the area that night confirmed to them that Regeni had been taken to Izbakiya.We were told that an Italian was arrested and he was taken to Izbakiya police station, said one of the police officers, who confirmed the detainee was Regeni.A senior police official in the Izbakiya station told Reuters that he recalled an Italian being brought in and said he would check the records to confirm the name. He subsequently declined to comment.I dont know anything about it, he said. I checked the books. Regenis name was not there.One of the intelligence sources said that Regeni was held at Izbakiya for 30 minutes before he was transferred to Lazoughli, a state security compound run by Egyptian Homeland Security.The sources did not say what happened to the Italian after that. Reuters was unable to obtain information on the whereabouts of the Egyptian.THIS IS OUR WORKOn March 24, Egyptian police said they had discovered Regenis bag and passport following a shootout with a criminal gang whose members had in the past posed as policemen. Police suggested he might have been a victim of this gang.Italian officials have dismissed the story. Regenis family have said they believe the student was not killed for criminal gain.The family declined to comment.Regenis parents have said that if Egypt fails to uncover the truth behind their sons murder they want Rome to respond strongly. Paola Regeni, his mother, said she might release a photograph – held by the familys lawyer – to show the world what had happened to him.Italy has significant economic interests in Egypt, including the giant offshore Zohr gas field, which is being developed by Italys state energy producer Eni.A delegation of Italian businessmen led by then-Industry Minister Federica Guidi cut short a visit to Cairo and returned home when Regenis body was recovered in February.On April 8, Italy recalled its ambassador to Egypt for consultations because, the Italian foreign ministry said, Egyptian investigators in Rome had failed to hand over all their evidence to the Italians.Italian prosecutors said they still wanted details from Cairo mobile phone towers that had connected to Regenis mobile phone. Egypt said this would violate Egyptian laws and the constitution.Ahmed Essam, a Vodafone official in Egypt, told Reuters that security officials had asked him about a technical issue related to an investigation that is still ongoing about something secretive. He would not elaborate.Police sources said security officials had asked Essam for telephone recordings but added they could not elaborate.President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has said Egypt deeply regretted Regenis death and intended to continue its full cooperation with Italy to resolve the case and bring the culprits to justice.Regeni, who studied at Cambridge University, was researching trade unions in Egypt, focusing on street vendors. In the aftermath of the 2011 uprising, vendors were often used by police to attack protesters or acted as informers. Some vendors were also targeted by the police for blocking roads.His obituary on the Cambridge University website said Regeni sought to understand how the labor sector was changing in the country, in the context of economic globalization and greater international institutional linkages.A colleague at Cambridge said Regeni had not flagged any concerns about his safety.But Regenis research had raised the suspicions of police, a security source told Reuters. The trade union movement is seen as the origin of the 2011 uprising and the last bastion of dissent under Sisis crackdown.Egypts interior and foreign ministers both dismissed the allegation that security forces were behind Regenis murder.Any foreigner who does this kind of research is followed by the security services, a mid-ranking Homeland Security official told Reuters. This does not mean that we suspect him. This is our work.

White House concerned by Russia's military moves in Syria

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GENEVA (Reuters) -The United States said on Thursday it was concerned about reports that Russia is moving more military equipment into Syria to bolster President Bashar al-Assad, with a truce in tatters and peace talks in meltdown.Asaad Zoubi, chief negotiator for the main Syrian opposition, the High Negotiations Committee (HNC), said all its members will leave the peace talks in Geneva by Friday, with little prospect of a resumption unless the situation on the ground changes radically.U.N. special envoy Staffan de Mistura will decide on Friday whether talks to end the five-year war that has killed at least 250,000 people can go on without the HNC, and with combatants accusing each other of breaking a February ceasefire deal.Two Western diplomats said it looked like de Mistura would continue the talks until next Wednesday given the late arrival of the Syrian government delegation.The HNC stayed the course, including through extended technical discussions on real substance, one said. Its natural that the special envoy may continue discussion with those still in town who have yet to offer any real ideas, to press them to do so.A second diplomat said some experts from the HNC would remain for technical consultations.HNC spokesman Salem al-Meslet suggested de Mistura might be better off preparing for the next round of talks and ensuring the government was serious.A U.S. official told Reuters on Thursday that Russia has been repositioning artillery to northern Syria -- a move that may suggest the Syrian government and its allies are preparing another assault on the divided city of Aleppo.Its understandable that the opposition felt unable to stay further given sustained regime attacks on Syrian civilians and continuation of siege and starvation tactics, said one senior Western diplomat. Those who back the regime need to get a leash on them.The arrival of Russian reinforcements would risk driving the war into an even higher gear. Russias defense ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed concern over a serious degrading of the situation at the peace talks, a Kremlin spokesman was reported as saying.The HNC, which is backed by Western nations and key Arab states, had this week urged more military support for rebels after declaring the truce was over and said talks would not re-start until the government stopped committing massacres.The talks aim to halt a conflict that has allowed for the rise of the Islamic State group, sucked in regional and major powers and created the worlds worst refugee crisis.Im saddened and believe its a mistake, said a Western diplomat of the oppositions decision.It will be very difficult to find a pretext for them to return given the situation on the ground and now the regime knows that a bombing will ensure they stay away, he said, referring to an air strike this week that killed dozens.REBELS VOW TO FIGHT ONFrance, which accused the government of rushing headlong into violence and showing its refusal to negotiate a political solution, said it would consider with other European powers and the United States the idea of convening a ministerial meeting of major powers in the next two weeks to work out what to do.If the regime insists on stubbornness, obstruction and rejection of international resolutions, we will continue our revolution, Abdullah Othman, head of the politburo of the Levant Front rebel fighting group, told Reuters. Our only option is to realize the revolutions goals.The crushing in March 2011 of pro-democracy protests in the southern city of Deraa triggered demonstrations across Syria that ignited into widespread unrest and a multi-sided civil war.Syria is now a patchwork of areas controlled by the government, an array of rebel groups, Islamic State, and the well-organized Kurdish YPG militia.Far from the main frontlines between government forces and rebels in western Syria, Kurdish groups were fighting one of their most serious battles yet with government forces in the northeast. A Syrian Kurdish official said more than 21 pro-Damascus militiamen had been killed in two days of battles in Qamishli, near the Turkish border.It was a rare confrontation between sides that have mostly left each other alone since the start of the conflict in 2011, and underlined growing Kurdish power that has alarmed neighboring Turkey. Syrian government officials could not be reached for comment.With violence escalating, Syrias fragile peace talks might not resume for at least a year if they are abandoned, one senior Western diplomat warned.DESTROYING TERRORISMEndorsed by the U.N. Security Council, the Geneva peace talks marked the most serious effort yet to resolve the war but failed to make any progress with no sign of compromise over the main issue dividing the sides: Assads future.Government negotiators say Assads presidency is non-negotiable. Underlining confidence in Damascus, a top Assad aide reiterated its view that local truce agreements and destroying terrorism were the way towards a political solution.The opposition wants a political transition without Assad, and says the government has failed to make goodwill measures by releasing detainees and allowing enough aid into opposition-held areas besieged by the military.The war was tilted in Assads favor last year by Russias intervention, supported on the ground by members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps who have been bolstered recently by the arrival of members of Irans regular army.Weve been concerned about reports of Russia moving materiel into Syria, Ben Rhodes, deputy national security adviser to President Barack Obama, said at a news briefing in Riyadh where Obama was at a summit with Gulf Arab leaders.We think it would be negative for Russia to move additional military equipment or personnel into Syria. We believe that our efforts are best focused on supporting the diplomatic process.Press reports in the United States indicated that Russia has moved more artillery into Syria, weeks after declaring a partial withdrawal of its military presence there. Analysts said the Kremlin had changed rather than diluted its military power by increasingly relying on helicopters to support the Syrian army.States opposed to Assad have been channeling military support to vetted rebel groups via both Turkey and Jordan, in a program that has included military training overseen by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.BATTLE FOR ALEPPOThe U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the repositioning of Russian artillery and some forces near Aleppo followed the Syrian governments recapture of the city of Palmyra from Islamic State.The Russian military said on Thursday it had completed the demining of the ancient part of Palmyra.The widely violated truce began fraying some two weeks ago near Aleppo, where the Syrian army accused rebel groups of taking part in assaults by Islamists who are not covered by the ceasefire. Rebels say they were defending themselves from attacks by the army and its Shiite militia allies.Aleppo is divided into areas controlled separately by the Syrian government and opposition. To the north of the city, meanwhile rebels have been battling the Islamic State group, forcing more people to flee.Heavy air strikes have also resumed in opposition-held areas of Homs, with new battles also erupting in Latakia province.

Obama urges 'blood brother' Britain not to leave the EU

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LONDON (Reuters) -U.S. President Barack Obama made an impassioned appeal on Friday for Britain to remain in the European Union, saying membership had magnified Britains place in the world and made the bloc stronger and more outward looking.Fearful that a British exit could weaken the West, Obama arrived in London to tell Britons that issues such as terrorism, migration and economic slowdowns could be tackled more successfully with the UK in the EU.In approaching such a divisive issue, he invoked the interlinked history of the two countries and the tens of thousands of Americans lying in European war graves as his reason for speaking as a friend on the June 23 referendum.The European Union doesnt moderate British influence - it magnifies it, he wrote in the Daily Telegraph newspaper.The United States sees how your powerful voice in Europe ensures that Europe takes a strong stance in the world, and keeps the EU open, outward looking, and closely linked to its allies on the other side of the Atlantic.Obama is scheduled to have lunch on Friday at Windsor Castle with Queen Elizabeth, who celebrated her 90th birthday on Thursday, and her husband Prince Philip. He is scheduled to hold talks after lunch with Prime Minister David Cameron.Obamas visit is a welcome one for Cameron, who is leading the In campaign, but it has drawn scorn from those arguing that Britain should leave the bloc.Opinion polls indicated that British voters are leaning towards the In camp, but many remain undecided.The U.S. government, and many U.S. banks and other companies, fear a Brexit would cause market turmoil, diminish the clout of its strongest European ally, undermine Londons global financial hub status, cripple the EU and weaken Western security.Now is a time for friends and allies to stick together, he said, adding that ultimately the referendum was a matter for British voters to decide.The comments will be welcomed by Cameron who has said that this is no time for Britain to drop out of the club it joined in 1973, especially in the face of what he terms Russian President Vladimir Putins aggression.Asked about Obamas views, Cameron had previously told the parliament, Personally I believe we should listen to advice from friends and other countries and I struggle to find the leader of any friendly country who thinks we should leave.Ahead of a 2014 Scottish vote on independence, Obama said he hoped Britain remains strong, robust and united, a comment that was welcomed by unionist politicians in London.BUTT OUTFor Britains closest ally, EU membership amplifies British influence, facilitates trade for U.S. companies and strengthens the 28-member bloc that Washington views as a pillar of stability in the post-World War Two era.Opponents of the EU, many of whom laud the U.S. alliance, have said that membership has shackled Britain to the corpse of a failed German-dominated experiment in European integration, and that Britain, if freed, could prosper as a sole trader.Out campaigners have said the United States would never agree to dilute its own national sovereignty in the way the EU requires of its member states.New York-born Boris Johnson, the London mayor who heads the Out campaign, said he did not want to be lectured by Americans about EU membership and called the Presidents stance downright hypocritical.For the United States to tell us in the UK that we must surrender control of so much of our democracy – it is a breathtaking example of the principle of do-as-I-say-but-not-as-I-do, he wrote in the Sun newspaper.Nigel Farage, another prominent opponent of EU membership, told Reuters that President Obama should butt out.This is an unwelcome interference from the most anti-British American president there has ever been. Mercifully, he wont be in office for much longer.

Oil prices retreat after US-inspired gains

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NEW YORK (AFP) - Oil prices retreated on Thursday as traders banked profits from the previous sessions sharp gains sparked by another decline in US crude production.US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for delivery in June finished at US$43.18 a barrel, down an even US$1.00 from Wednesdays close. Brent North Sea crude for June delivery shed US$1.27 to US$44.53 a barrel.People are taking money off the table, to wait and see what happens, said analyst Carl Larry of Frost & Sullivan.Prices surged four per cent to near five-month highs on Wednesday after the US energy department reported that US output dropped below nine million barrels a day for the second week running, more than 600,000 barrels below the peak production level in mid-2015.High US shale production has been a key contributor to the global oversupply, along with elevated output from other producers including Saudi Arabia and Russia.Reports that Iraq is pushing for new output talks among producers after the collapse of the Doha meeting Sunday had also provided support to crude futures on Wednesday.The Doha meeting fell apart after kingpin Saudi Arabia pulled out owing to bitter rival Irans refusal to impose output limits. Tehran said it was still in the process of restoring production after the removal of nuclear-linked Western sanctions in January.Crude oil backed off from its highest level this year after talk of a second producer meeting in May and a smaller-than-expected build in US weekly inventories gave way to profit-taking, said Jasper Lawler, analyst at trading group CMC Markets.Chances of another producer meeting in May seem fleeting at best. This latest effort ended in an embarrassing failure and the next OPEC meeting is in June, so it makes no sense that another one would take place before that time, he said.

Euro eases after ECB holds policy steady

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NEW YORK (AFP) - The euro fell slightly against the dollar and the yen on Thursday after the European Central Bank (ECB) kept monetary policy on hold but pledged more easing to stimulate growth if needed.The euro slipped to US$1.1288 and to 123.60 yen, but was flat against the pound at 0.7882.ECB chief Mario Draghi rebuffed criticism of the eurozone banks ultra-low interest rates, including one key rate in negative territory. Our policies work, theyre effective. Just give them time to fully display their effects.But he left no doubt that the ECB could further ease monetary conditions if needed.The governing council will continue to monitor closely the evolution of the outlook for price stability and, if warranted to achieve its objective, will act by using all the instruments available within its mandate, he said.

Notification for commission on Panama Leaks almost ready: Ishaq Dar

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LAHORE (Dunya News) – Federal Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar Thursday stated that the notification for the judicial commission or body that will probe into the Panama Leaks case is almost ready, adding that the government only has to add the name of the retired or in-service Judge to the draft. He stated that announcement for the commission will be made in one or two days.Talking to Dunya News during the program ‘Dunya Kamran Khan Kay Sath’, Dar lambasted Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan, saying that he will head towards the court if Khan does not apologise for hurling accusations against his children. He stated that Khan should remain within his limitations, adding that Khan himself had formed an offshore company in the 80’s.Dar further accused Imran of hiding in a house in Gujranwala during the movement for the restoration of judiciary. He added that Khan had jumped over walls in order to avoid getting arrested during the movement.Speaking during the program, Dar congratulated Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Shareef for setting an example of indiscriminate accountability by dismissing the army officers implicated in corruption. Dar stated that whosoever loots the country’s treasury should be punished.

Faryal Talpur, Suhail Anwar Siyal meet Dr. Asim in Jinnah Hospital

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KARACHI (Dunya News) –Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader and former President Asif Ali Zardari’s sister Faryal Talpur and Sindh Interior Minister Suhail Anwar Siyal met with former Federal Minister Dr. Asim Hussain in Karachi’s Jinnah hospital. Sindh Interior Minister has denied the report, saying that there was no such meeting.According to sources, both leaders arrived at Jinnah Hospital and met with Dr. Asim who is held under custody but is being treated at the hospital. Both officials inquired about Asim’s well being.On the other hand, Siyal has denied the news, saying there was no meeting but had actually arrived to the hospital for Talpur’s medical examination.Both leaders, who arrived amid strict security, went back after spending some time at the hospital.
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