Friday 21 October 2016

Dunya TV

Dunya TV

Karachi: Governor Sindh, Deputy Mayor visit Empress market

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KARACHI (Dunya News) - Governor Sindh Dr Ishratul Ibad visited citys Empress Market on Friday night, Dunya News reported. Deputy Mayor Karachi Arshad Vohra and Commissioner Karachi also accompanied Ibad.Speaking on the occasion, Dr Ishratul Ibad said that he will fulfil his obligation as governor Sindh. The Sindh governor also solaced Arshad Vohra and reassured him to give powers through his office.The Sindh governor further said that National Action Plan will continue till the elimination of last terrorist. He also praised Rangers and police for their services in the city.Dr Ishratul Ibad also said that Lyari Expressway and Mass Transit Project would be completed next year.

Tennis: Kuznetsova one win from WTA Finals

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MOSCOW (AFP) - Top-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova advanced into the final of the Kremlin Cup on Friday with a hard-fought win over fourth seed Ukrainian Elina Svitolina to give her hopes of making the WTA Finals a further boost.Russias two-time Grand Slam title winner, ranked ninth, won 6-1, 6-7 (2/7), 6-4 to level her record with Svitolina at 1-1.I started well but in the second set I lost my nerve, said Kuznetsova. I could do nothing about it.Kuznetsova added that she felt no pressure ahead of Saturdays final where she will meet Moscow-born Australian Daria Gavrilova.Regardless of the result, I consider this season to be a success. Im in the top 10 and even if I fail to make it into the WTA Finals its not the end of the world.If defending Kremlin Cup champion Kuznetsova, 31, retains her title she will claim the eighth and final place at the season-ending WTA Finals in Singapore next week.Should she lose, Johanna Konta of Great Britain will take the last spot.Gavrilova saw off Germanys Julia Goerges 7-5, 6-1 to reach her first WTA final.In the final I know Sveta (Kuznetsova) will get a lot of support, but this is normal, Gavrilova told the press.It has been a great week and I am playing with no pressure so I will go out on Saturday and play my game and see what happens.In the ATP section, second seeded Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas crashed out to Fabio Fognini 6-2, 6-2, falling to the Italian for the second event in succession after a first-round defeat at Shanghai last week.Fognini will next face Germanys Philipp Kohlschreiber, who ousted Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci 6-4, 6-2.In the other semi-final, veteran Frenchman Stephane Robert, 36, who overcame local favourite Daniil Medvedev 7-5, 0-6, 6-4, will face sixth-seeded Pablo Carreno Busta.The Spaniard ousted Russian teenage qualifier Alexander Bublik 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (7/1).

Football: Messi back for Argentina's World Cup duel with Brazil

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BUENOS AIRES (AFP) - Lionel Messi was named in Argentinas squad for their heavyweight World Cup clash against bitter rivals Brazil on Friday having missed the last three fixtures through injury.Messi had been sidelined from international duty with a thigh injury but buoyed by a midweek hat-trick for Barcelona in the Champions League against Manchester City, he returns to an Argentina team struggling in fifth spot in World Cup qualifying. Only the top four sides are guaranteed a place in the finals in Russia in 2018 with the fifth-place finishers facing a play-off.Without Messi, Argentina drew with Venezuela and Peru and lost 1-0 at home to Paraguay.They face Brazil in Belo Horizonte on November 10 before hosting Colombia in San Juan five days later.Argentina squad:Goalkeepers: Nahuel Guzman (Tigres de Monterrey/MEX) Sergio Romero (Man Utd/ENG) Geronimo Rulli (Real Sociedad/ESP).Defenders: Martin Demichelis (Espanyol/ESP), Mateo Musacchio (Villarreal/ESP) Nicolas Otamendi (Man City/ENG), Ramiro Funes Mori (Everton/ENG), Gabriel Mercado (Sevilla/ESP), Facundo Roncaglia (Celta Vigo/ESP), Emanuel Mas (San Lorenzo), Pablo Zabaleta (Man City/ENG).Midfielders: Javier Mascherano (Barcelona/ESP), Guido Pizarro (Tigres de Monterrey/MEX), Lucas Biglia (Lazio/ITA), Ever Banega (Inter Milan/ITA), Enzo Perez (Valencia/ESP), Nicolas Gaitan (Atletico Madrid/ESP), Angel Di Maria (PSG/FRA) Julio Buffarini (Sao Paulo/BRA), Marcos Acuna (Racing Club).Attackers: Angel Correa (Atletico Madrid/ESP), Lionel Messi (Barcelona/ESP), Paulo Dybala and Gonzalo Higuain (Juventus/ITA), Sergio Aguero (Man City/ENG), Lucas Pratto (Atletico Mineiro/BRA).

Golf: Tiger says he's practicing well, back in December

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NEW YORK (AFP) - Tiger Woods, the 14-time major champion sidelined by back injury for the past 14 months, says he is practicing well and will return to competitive golf in December.Woods, appearing Thursday night on Late Show with Stephen Colbert, said he will launch his latest comeback at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas on December 1-4.Ill be there, Woods said. Im playing.The 18-player event hosted by Woods is owned by his charity foundation. Woods made a similar return from injury at the event in 2014 when it was played in Orlando, Florida.Woods had said last month he would make his return at last weeks US PGA Safeway Open in Napa, California, but later withdrew from the event and the Turkish Airlines Open next month, saying his game was not yet ready for competition.Woods, a former world number one who has plunged to 802nd in the rankings while idled, told Colbert is game is improving well.Im not quite there, where I feel like I can shoot 63s and 64s in tournaments, Woods said. Im shooting the low rounds at home. But I just dont quite feel as quite ready to shoot those type scores under tournament conditions.Woods, who turns 41 in December, underwent back surgery twice last year.Woods has won 79 US PGA titles, three shy of Sam Sneads all-time record, and is four shy of the record 18 majors won by Jack Nicklaus. Woods said on the Charlie Rose show earlier this week that he intended to pass Nicklaus total.Earlier this month, Woods was a vice captain for the triumphant US Ryder Cup team at Hazeltine. He has been named an assistant captain to Steve Stricker for next years Presidents Cup.

Formula One: Rosberg tops Hamilton in US practice despite track debris

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AUSTIN (AFP) - Championship leader Nico Rosberg bounced back to top the times with Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton back in third place after Friday afternoons second free practice ahead of this weekends United States Grand Prix.The two Silver Arrows cars were separated by the Red Bull of Australian Daniel Ricciardo in a session that saw the top three wind up more than eight-tenths of a second clear of the pack led by four-time champion Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari.Hamilton was fastest in the opening session in the morning, but he was pegged back in the afternoon when Rosberg clocked a best lap in one minute and 37.358 seconds at the Circuit of the Americas, 20-kms out of Austin.That was 0.194 seconds quicker than Ricciardo and 0.291 faster than Hamilton who trails Rosberg by 33 points in the title race with four races remaining.Both Mercedes men complained in different ways about their tyres, but kept low profiles in the paddock after the session as they analysed their data.Just let me know if my tyres have any cuts, said Rosberg, referring to the amount of dangerous debris that had littered the circuit during the session.Ricciardo, as usual, was beaming with optimism afterwards. That was good and we are feeling confident, but I am sure there is more to come from Mercedes and we dont know how cautious they were being today.Vettel was 0.820 seconds adrift in fourth ahead of Dutch teenager Max Verstappen in the second Red Bull, Renault-bound Nico Hulkenberg of Force India and his team-mate Sergio Perez.A tough day for us, said Vettel. We had problems in the morning when a little wing failed and came off and we lost some track time.I think we have been on the back foot today and Im not entirely happy with the balance of the car yet. Its a bit too nervous all round.I think we can improve. I think the Ferrari you saw today is not the Ferrari you will see tomorrow.Jenson Button, the 2009 champion, was an encouraging eighth ahead of his McLaren-Honda team-mate and two-time champion Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen who was 10th in the second Ferrari.Rosberg can clinch his maiden drivers title if he finishes second in the final four races with Hamilton winning them all, but he has said he wants to win in style.On a bright Texan day with an air temperature of 22 degrees Celsius and a track temperature of 37 degrees, the action was mostly routine with a only a few interruptions for debris on the circuit.The second practice was halted by a red flag for three minutes shortly before the hour mark, when a piece of carbon-fibre was collected at Turn Four. It appeared to have broken off one of the cars as they rode the high kerbs.The day was notable, too, for being an anniversary of three memorable championship showdowns of the past -- Niki Lauda clinching his third title in Estoril on October 21, 1984, Ayrton Senna colliding with Alain Prost to confirm his second title in Suzuka in 1990 and, in 2007, Raikkonen grabbing his first title ahead of Hamilton in Sao Paulo.The first two tussles involved McLaren team-mates and the third a former McLaren driver, in a Ferrari, beating a McLaren driver. In their current mediocre position, McLaren may find it a bitter-sweet set of memories as they fend off rumours of the impending exit of long-serving boss Ron Dennis, widely reported by British newspapers this week.

Cycling: Cavendish grabs Tour of Abu Dhabi lead

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ABU DHABI (AFP) - Britains Mark Cavendish sprinted to victory on the second stage of the Tour of Abu Dhabi on Friday, snatching the race leaders red jersey in the process.Cavendish, second at the world championships in Doha last weekend, inherited the overall lead from Giacomo Nizzolo who is four seconds off the pace.Having missed out on victory on the opening stage of the 2016 Abu Dhabi Tour, Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data) timed his sprint perfectly on day two to take the win and put himself into the overall race lead.Third behind Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek-Segafredo) and John Degenkolb (Giant-Alpecin) on Thursday, Cavendish put his Dimension Data team to work during the stage to ensure the ideal set-up. The Manxman repaid them with victory, the first for a British rider in the race.Italian Elia Viviani (Team Sky) placed second with Andrea Guardini (Astana) in third.Cavendish’s bonus seconds for the win saw him take the race lead from Nizzolo.On another relatively short stage, the day’s escape group of Stanislau Bazhkou (Minsk), Jens Keukeleire (Orica-GreenEdge), Jan Polanc (Lampre Merida), Dion Smith (One Pro Cycling), Samuel Williams (One Pro Cycling) and Eugert Zhupa (Willier-Southeast) was given little room to grow a large time gap.Keukeleire and Smith were both in the previous day’s break. Both were in the hunt for bonus seconds in the intermediate sprint to move up the general classification having started the day in fourth and fifth respectively. Keukeleire moved up to third for his effort.Bazhkou dropped out of the break with 20km to go, leaving five out front with a one minute and 45 second gap.The peloton left it very late as the break went under the flamme rouge with 10 seconds over the chasing bunch, as Team Sky hit the front. As the break were scooped up with around 500m to go, the sprinters started to open up their efforts.Viviani hit the front first, but Cavendish managed to out-accelerate his Olympic omnium rival to win.The 2016 Abu Dhabi Tour hits its most decisive stage on Saturday, the only stage that features a significant hill. The 11km climb to Jebel Hafeet will give the climbers a chance to shine and move up the overall classification. The race concludes on Sunday, October 23.

IS raids Iraq's Kirkuk to draw attention from Mosul offensive

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KIRKUK (AFP) - Jihadists staged a brazen raid on the Iraqi city of Kirkuk Friday, in what appeared to be an attempt to divert attention from the huge offensive against their Mosul bastion.Residents awoke to the sound of shooting and praise for the Islamic State blaring through mosque loudspeakers.Some attackers, whom one senior Kirkuk official numbered around 100, carried grenades and wore explosives vests or belts in the assault claimed by the Islamic State group.An AFP reporter attended the interrogation of one suspected jihadist who said after being captured by Kurdish forces that the attack was designed to ease the pressure on the Mosul front to the northeast.Todays attack was one of caliph Baghdadis plans to demonstrate that the Islamic State is remaining and expanding and reduce the pressure on the Mosul front, he said.The young man in a grey tracksuit had his hands cuffed and gave his name as Hani Aydan Mustafa, but his role in IS was unclear.Two years ago in Mosul, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared a caliphate straddling Iraq and Syria. One of its main slogans was to remain and expand but it has been shrinking steadily since last year and losing Mosul could mean the end of its days as a land-holding force in Iraq.The attack on Kirkuk, a strategic city some 240 kilometres (150 miles) north of Baghdad, demonstrated the groups continued ability to time its attacks and grab headlines.Around morning prayers, I saw several Dawaesh (IS fighters) enter Al-Mohammadi mosque, Haidar Abdelhussein, a teacher in the Tesaeen neighbourhood, told AFP.They used the loudspeakers to shout Allahu Akbar (God is greatest) and Dawla al-Islam baqiya (Islamic State remains), he said.At least five suicide bombers targeted government buildings, including Kirkuks main police headquarters. At least six policemen and 12 jihadists were killed in clashes.A senior police officer said the main obstacle to flushing out holdout attackers was the risk from snipers.Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadis office announced that reinforcements would be dispatched to Kirkuk to help track down remaining attackers and end the crisis.A journalist for a local Turkmen television station was killed by an IS sniper, and health officials also said 51 wounded residents were evacuated to nearby hospitals.A curfew was in place and sporadic gunfire could still be heard as night fell on what was now a war zone, with armoured vehicles taking up position and security forces manning rooftops or crouching behind walls.IS is unlikely to hold positions in Kirkuk for long, and its attack had no immediate impact on the offensive against Mosul, the biggest Iraqi military operation in years.The governor of Kirkuk, Najmeddin Karim, told AFP he suspected the involvement of IS sleeper cells.Kurdish peshmerga fighters have played a major role in the Mosul advance, and both they and federal security forces have made gains on several fronts.Political and military leaders have praised what they say is speedier than expected progress, with IS offering deadly but so far ineffective resistance as forces backed by air strikes steamroll towards the edge of Iraqs second city.The jihadists defenders of Mosul are vastly outnumbered and the final outcome is hardly in doubt.But they have been launching waves of suicide bombers to make the anti-IS drive as slow and painful as possible.Also on Friday morning, gunmen wearing suicide vests stormed a power plant being built by an Iranian company near Dibis, a town southeast of the Mosul offensives main area of operations, and just 40 kilometres (25 miles) from Kirkuk.Three suicide bombers attacked the power plant at around 6:00 am (0300 GMT), killing 12 Iraqi administrators and engineers and four Iranian technicians, Dibis mayor Abdullah Nureddin al-Salehi told AFP.A police lieutenant colonel confirmed the casualty toll from the attack, which was also claimed by IS.IS controlled more than a third of Iraq two years ago, but its self-proclaimed caliphate has been shrinking steadily.A 60-nation US-led coalition and neighbouring Iran have helped Iraqi forces regain one city after another, and Mosul is now the groups last major stronghold in the country.US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter said Friday he was confident that Turkey would take part in the battle to retake Mosul, following tensions between Ankara and Baghdad over the presence of Turkish troops in northern Iraq.I think there is agreement there in principle, he said in Abu Dhabi after a visit to Turkey.The jihadist group claimed responsibility for at least five suicide car bomb attacks om Kurdish forces attacking their positions northeast of Mosul.Up to 10,000 peshmerga are involved in this operation from three fronts, making it one of the largest ground-led assaults in the war against ISIL, the peshmerga command said in a statement.Iraqi forces have not provided figures for their losses, but the statement said a number of peshmerga have paid the ultimate sacrifice.The coalition announced that a US service member accompanying elite Iraqi forces northeast of Mosul was killed on Thursday.According to the United Nations, 5,640 people were displaced in the first three days of the operation that Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared on October 17.It said up to 1.2 million people may still be inside Mosul, trapped by the estimated 3,000 to 4,500 IS fighters digging in for a major urban assault by the advancing Iraqi forces.The aid community fears an exodus of massive proportions that could peak as winter sets in without sufficient shelter capacity for refugees.

Truce extended in Aleppo but UN delays evacuations

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ALEPPO (AFP) - The UN said Friday security concerns had forced it to delay planned evacuations from Syrias Aleppo, as Russia extended a truce that was largely holding for a second day.Moscow said it was extending the unilateral humanitarian pause in the Syrian governments Russian-backed assault on opposition-held east Aleppo until 1600 GMT on Saturday.But there was no sign that civilians or rebels were heeding calls to leave, with Damascus and Moscow accusing opposition fighters of preventing evacuations.In Geneva, the UN rights council called for a special investigation into the violence in Aleppo in a resolution fiercely critical of Syrias government.East Aleppo, which the rebels captured in 2012, has been under siege by the army since mid-July and has faced devastating bombardment by the government and its ally Russia since the September 22 launch of an offensive to retake the whole city.Nearly 500 people have been killed, more than a quarter of them children, since the assault began. More than 2,000 civilians have been wounded.The scale of the casualties has prompted outrage in the West, with Washington saying the bombardment amounted to a possible war crime.Russia announced a halt to its air strikes from Tuesday and the unilateral ceasefire from Thursday.The Syrian army says it has opened eight corridors across the front line for the more than 250,000 civilians in rebel-held areas to leave, but so far almost none have taken up the offer.There has been no movement in the corridors in the eastern district. For the moment, we havent seen any movement of residents or fighters, said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.Syrian state media accused rebels of preventing people from leaving the citys opposition-held sector.And Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said fighters were using threats, blackmail and brute force to prevent civilians and rebels evacuating.The United Nations had hoped to use the truce to evacuate injured people from Aleppo, and possibly deliver aid.But on Friday afternoon, a spokesman said the operation had been delayed because of security concerns.Medical evacuations of sick and injured could unfortunately not begin this morning as planned because the necessary conditions were not in place, said Jens Laerke of the United Nations humanitarian office OCHA.David Swanson, an OCHA spokesman in Turkeys Gaziantep, said a four-day plan had been drawn up to begin with two days of evacuations to west Aleppo, rebel-held Idlib or Turkey.If successful, the plan would then see aid delivered for another two days alongside continuing evacuations.No aid has entered Aleppo since July 7 and food rations will run out by the end of October, UN chief Ban Ki-moon warned on Thursday.The Syrian opposition National Coalition and rebel Free Syrian Army criticised UN policy in a statement, saying it plays into the Assad regimes plans to empty Aleppo.It accused the world body of becoming a tool in the hands of Russia.Moscow and Damascus have called on civilians to leave so that their offensive can focus on former Al-Qaeda affiliate the Fateh al-Sham Front and the recapture of east Aleppo.Friday afternoon, rebel fire into west Aleppo killed one person and wounded three, Syrian state media said.Moscow has shown no sign of winding down its intervention, despite criticism of the civilian death toll and allegations that hospitals have been hit.A Russian aircraft carrier battle group was transiting the Channel between England and France Friday en route to the eastern Mediterranean.The UN human rights council called in a resolution for a comprehensive, independent special inquiry into the events in Aleppo, and for those responsible for the most serious violations to be identified.The resolution demanded that warring parties in particular the Syrian authorities and their allies, allow unrestricted humanitarian access to desperate civilians and end immediately all bombardments and military flights over Aleppo city.The Syrian government warned Turkey after deadly strikes against Syrian Kurdish fighters in the north of the country.Since late August, Turkey has targeted both the Islamic State jihadist group and Syrian Kurdish fighters considered terrorists by Ankara.US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter said Friday he saw a role for Turkey in an eventual assault on ISs de facto Syrian capital of Raqa.Turkey will have a role ultimately in the collapse of Raqa and then as a party in the region will have an interest in making sure that the governance of Raqa is one that is reflective of the population there, he said in Abu Dhabi.

Muslims in Italy protest over freedom to worship

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ROME (AFP) - Several hundred Muslims staged a protest prayer outside the Colosseum in Rome on Friday over what they see as unfair restrictions on their freedom to practise their faith in Italy.Organisers said they had called the demonstration following the recent closure on administrative grounds of five makeshift mosques.Many Italian Muslims suspect local authorities are responding to a climate of mistrust caused by recent Islamist attacks in Europe by closing down the places of worship on the grounds of easily resolved problems such as the number of toilets on a particular premises.We feel people are pointing the finger at us, said Francesco Tieri, a convert to Islam who acts as a coordinator for a number of Islamic groups.There is no political will to recognise that we are here and that we are a peaceful community.We are forced to rent places to pray -- which for us is like breathing air, if we cant do it we die.According to official figures there are just over 800,000 Muslims living in Italy legally and officials estimate that a further 100,000 live in the country permanently without official papers.That would suggest the community makes up more than 1.5 percent of the population and that Islam is the second most followed faith in the mostly Roman Catholic country.Islam however is not recognised as an official religion, unlike Judaism or the Mormon faith, and many Muslims from north Africa and South Asia feel discriminated against on the grounds of both race and religion.Rome is home to the biggest mosque in the Western world but proposals to construct traditional-style mosques elsewhere have frequently run into opposition from local councils who can withhold planning permission on any number of technical grounds ranging from the size of proposed parking facilities to the architectural harmony of a particular neighbourhood.Right wing parties have called for a blanket ban on any mosques built with funds from donors outside of Italy.Lawmaker Barbara Saltamartini of the anti-immigration Northern League called Fridays demonstration an unacceptable provocation which should never have been allowed to take place in Rome.

London airport evacuated after 'CS gas' incident

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LONDON (AFP) - A suspected CS tear gas spray was found at London City Airport after passengers and staff were evacuated Friday following a chemical incident that left 27 travelers feeling unwell and halted flights.Londons innermost airport re-opened three hours after the incident was first reported, after 500 people were evacuated and several passengers treated for breathing difficulties.A search of the airport led to the discovery of what is believed to be a CS gas or spray, Scotland Yard police headquarters said in a statement.Whilst the cause of the incident has not yet been confirmed, officers are investigating if it was the result of an accidental discharge of this canister.Officers are investigating whether it may have been discarded by a passenger prior to check-in.There have been no arrests and enquiries continue.The London Ambulance Service said two casualties were taken to hospital and 25 treated at the scene for breathing difficulties.David Morris, 28, said he was at the check-in desk for his flight to Edinburgh.I was talking and started to cough to the point I was not able to keep talking, he said, calling the situation quite scaryWithin two minutes, they shouted for everyone to get out, he said, with check-in staff jumping over their desks.Everyone was shouting and rushing towards the door.The London Fire Brigade was called to reports of a chemical incident at the airport in east Londons Docklands, which caters mainly for business travellers and short-haul flights.It said the terminal was ventilated, searched and declared safe, adding that no elevated readings had been registered during the search.Several incoming flights from destinations such as Frankfurt, Amsterdam and Paris were diverted to other airports or cancelled.The airport said there would be continued disruption to flights and urged passengers to contact their airlines.Spanish businessman Fernando Bausa was hoping to travel to Madrid.Our flight has been cancelled, after waiting here more than three hours. Now we are trying to know whats going to happen with us, if there will be another flight tomorrow, he told AFP.Caitlan Russell, a South African travelling to the Netherlands, said: When I arrived, it was just people standing around, with medical blankets on, and lots of ambulances, emergency services.German tourist Anne Kunz was flying to Luxembourg.The help we received was great. We received blankets, coffee and cold drinks, she said.London City Airport is the 13th busiest airport in Britain, with a total of 4.3 million passengers last year.

55 killed in Cameroon train derailment: minister

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YAOUNDE (AFP) - Fifty-five people were killed and almost 600 injured when a packed Cameroon passenger train derailed on Friday while travelling from the capital Yaounde to the economic hub Douala, the transport minister said.The train, crammed with people due to road traffic disruption between the two cities, came off the tracks just before reaching the central city of Eseka, transport minister Edgar Alain Mebe Ngoo said.Several carriages swung off the track as the train derailed leaving debris strewn across adjacent rail tracks.The minister, via state broadcaster CRTV, said 55 people had been confirmed dead and a further 575 were injured in the incident, updating an earlier toll.The cause of the accident is not yet clear, he said, adding that several of the injured were in very serious condition.Transport ministry officials have rushed to the accident site.The train left Yaounde at around 11:00 am (1000 GMT) and derailed around midday some 200 kilometres from the capital, the transport minister said.The train route was particularly busy after a bridge on the road linking Yaounde and Douala collapsed in heavy rain overnight Thursday, paralysing traffic and sending extra waves of travellers onto trains.Intervention and security teams have been mobilised, the rail company Camrail, a subsidiary of French investment group Bollore, announced.

Up to 25 feared dead in raid on migrant boat

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ROME (AFP) - Up to 25 people were missing, feared drowned, Friday after men on a Libyan coastguard speedboat attacked a packed migrant dinghy during a rescue operation off the north African state.German NGO Sea-Watch, which is taking part in the multinational search and rescue operation in the Mediterranean, said the tragedy happened after its boat Sea-Watch 2 and a passing oil tanker were sent to help the distressed dinghy in the early hours.As the rescue operation proceeded just beyond Libyan territorial waters north of the port of Sabrata, a speedboat bearing the Libyan coastguard insignia arrived and tried to steal the dinghys outboard engine, spokesman Ruben Neugebauer told AFP.The men, who spoke Arabic, beat some of the migrants with sticks and some clambered onto the dinghy, causing panic which resulted in one side of the boat deflating and most of the passengers ending up in the sea.After the assailants left, Sea-Watch said it rescued 120 people and recovered four corpses from the water.Other bodies were seen floating but could not be recovered and it was estimated that between 15 and 25 of the people who had been on the board were unaccounted for.Sea-Watch said in a statement that its two speedboats had been hassled in an aggressive way during the attack, preventing our crew from providing life vests and medical aid to the people in need.All of these deaths could have been avoided but for this intervention, Neugebauer added.The spokesman said the NGO had no way of knowing if the attackers had any contact with the Libyan coastguard or had simply hijacked one of their boats.But he said the incident highlighted the dangers inherent in European plans to train and equip the Libyan coastguard to be able to restrict the flow of migrant boats from the conflict-torn country towards Italy.It is hard to know who is doing what in Libya, he said. It shows once again it is not a good idea to build a whole European policy based on these guys. You never know whose hands the equipment will end up in.The EU training initiative is due to begin at the end of this month following vetting of around 80 Libyan coastguard staff who are due to take part.A Libyan coastguard spokesman told AFP Friday they had not been aware of the incident involving Sea-Watch, which will send shockwaves through the humanitarian groups helping to save lives alongside navy and coastguard ships from a number of European countries.If confirmed it is very alarming news, said Flavio Di Giacamo of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).The Italian coastguard, which had despatched the Sea-Watch as part of its coordination of operations in the area, said around 3,000 people had been rescued in 20 operations and that seven bodies had been recovered.This brings to around 5,400 the number of people rescued this week.According to the UN, at least 3,654 people have died trying to cross the Mediterranean this year, the bulk of them on the Libya-Italy route.Attempts at the dangerous crossing are continuing despite worsening weather as winter approaches, with more than 2,400 migrants rescued off Libya in total since Sunday.The Italian interior ministry said Friday that more than 146,500 migrants had landed in Italy so far this year.The number of arrivals is similar to that of the previous two years but the pressure on the countrys reception facilities is mounting as it has become harder for migrants to move on to other EU countries.Meanwhile in Rome, G6 interior ministers said repatriating irregular migrants was a central part of Europes policy on migrant flows.Repatriations are a fundamental element of the strategy, one which complements hosting, Italian Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said after a meeting of his counterparts from Spain, Germany, France, Britain and Poland.Alfano said migradnts who were not refugees or not fleeing war or persecution had to follow the rules for entering Europe.

Clinton warns Trump is 'threatening' US democracy

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CLEVELAND (AFP) - Hillary Clinton excoriated rival Donald Trump as a threat to American democracy Friday for not pledging to honor results of the upcoming presidential election, as the bitter rivals battled for supremacy in battleground states.The 2016 election cycle pitting the Republican nominee against the former secretary of state has turned increasingly toxic, with Trump fueling wild conspiracy theories about vote rigging and Clinton warning that the provocative billionaire was straying into authoritarianism.We know the difference between leadership and dictatorship, and the peaceful transition of power is one of the things that sets us apart, Clinton told a rally in Cleveland, Ohio, one of the key swing states up for grabs on November 8.Donald Trump refused to say that hed respect the results of this election. By doing that, hes threatening our democracy.Her comments marked a stern rebuke to Trumps bombshell suggestion during their third and final presidential debate that he may not recognize the election result -- a surprising rejection of political norms.Trump, 70, then told a rally crowd that he could launch a legal challenge if Clinton prevails. His remarks follow weeks of Trump warning about the likelihood of a rigged election including massive voter fraud, despite members of his own party disavowing the comments and Trump earning condemnation from President Barack Obama.Despite isolated allegations of voter fraud, controversy over the tight 2000 vote and rampant gerrymandering, US elections have been regarded as free and fair.Invigorated by both her commanding poll numbers and Trumps eyebrow-raising declarations, the candidate vying to become Americas first female president was in Ohio aiming to block Trumps efforts to claim the blue-collar heartland state.Trump, well aware that no Republican has ever won the White House without winning Ohio, campaigned in the Buckeye State Thursday.Meanwhile the Manhattan real estate mogul hosted rallies Friday in the battlegrounds of North Carolina and Pennsylvania.Eighteen days. Youre going to look back at this election and say this is by far the most important vote youve ever cast for anyone at any time, Trump told a crowd in Fletcher, North Carolina.Were fighting this juggernaut.... because they have billions of dollars theyve raised, he said of the Clinton campaign, which reportedly has outspent Trump on television advertising in recent months.Trump said he would give the campaign everything he had, right up until the actual vote.Win, lose or draw... I will be happy with myself, he added. I dont want to think back if only I did one more rally I would have won North Carolina by 500 votes instead of losing it by 200 votes, right?Clinton is narrowly leading in polling in North Carolina, a state Obama won in 2008 but lost to Republican Mitt Romney in 2012.Clinton and Trump are coming off an evening of stinging humor at a white-tie charity event in New York where they traded jokes and jabs at what is meant to be a friendly roast -- and where Trump was booed.The bitterness of the campaign was quickly on display, with Trump calling the 68-year-old Clinton corrupt and jabbing her for disclosures from her campaigns hacked emails.Here she is in public, pretending not to hate Catholics, he said, as Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York looked on.Despite the prickly barbs -- including Clinton proclaiming that Trump sent a hearse to bring her to the dinner -- the two candidates shook hands at the end of the evening.Trump is trailing badly in the polls, and his debate threat opened him up to a stinging attack from Obama at a Miami rally.When you try to sow the seeds of doubt in peoples minds about the legitimacy of our election, that undermines our democracy, Obama said Thursday.When you suggest rigging or fraud without a shred of evidence, when last night at the debate, Trump becomes the first major party nominee in American history to suggest that he will not concede despite losing... that is not a joking matter.In the battle of the battlegrounds, Clinton holds leads in several states, ranging from razor-thin, such as in North Carolina, to moderate in Florida and Pennsylvania and commanding in Virginia.She is even narrowly ahead in Arizona, the traditionally Republican-leaning state where First Lady Michelle Obama -- who galvanized voters with a searing attack on Trump last week -- campaigned for Clinton on Thursday.If Trump loses Florida, Pennsylvania and North Carolina, Clinton is all but assured of victory, experts have said.In Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Trump supporters streamed into a convention center to hear Trump speak in their depressed former steel town, where most mill jobs have evaporated.Trump promised that he would bring many of them back. We dont make things anymore he told the cheering crowd. When Im president, were going to start making things again in America.

Fit-again Younis leads Pakistan charge

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ABU DHABI (AFP) - Younis Khan showed no ill effects from dengue fever to score a brilliant century as Pakistan dominated the opening day of the second Test against the West Indies in Abu Dhabi on Friday.The 38-year-old, who missed the 56-run victory in the first Test in Dubai with the illness and was in hospital just last month, smashed 127 to carry Pakistan to 304-4 at the close at Sheikh Zayed Stadium.Younis finally holed out to deep mid-wicket off part-timer Kraigg Brathwaite after five hours at the crease, with fading light prompting the umpires to halt the day six overs before the scheduled close. With Pakistan opting to bat after winning the toss, skipper Misbah-ul-Haq was unbeaten on 90 -- just 10 runs short of his 11th hundred as Pakistans batsmen dominated on a batting-friendly pitch. Younis, who hit 10 boundaries and a six, added 175 for the fourth wicket with Misbah and 87 for the third with Asad Shafiq, who made 68.It was again the two veteran batsmen -- Younis and Misbah -- who put Pakistan on track for another big total with their 15th hundred partnership in 49 innings.Misbah, who has now equalled Imran Khans record of most Test matches as Pakistan captain with 48, hit two sixes and four boundaries as he worked in tandem with Younis to build an imposing total.The West Indies were guilty of sloppy fielding with Younis dropped on 83 when Brathwaite failed to hold a return catch off his own bowling and wicket-keeper Shai Hope handing Misbah a lifeline on 54 off paceman Shannon Gabriel.Gabriel was the best of the bowlers with 2-43.It was Youniss 33rd Test hundred and 11th in the United Arab Emirates, where Pakistan have been hosting international fixtures because of security fears back home. I was a bit worried how I will cope after recovery because you lose weight and strength after dengue, said Younis, who was admitted to hospital last month with the illness.I had not played any cricket since the Oval Test (in August). But I played some club cricket and that helped here.Its a nice feeling to score a hundred and with Misbah taking the team to a respectable total, and I hope the rest of the batsmen take us to big total. Younis and Shafiq led the early recovery after Pakistan lost openers Azhar Ali (nought) and Sami Aslam (six) in the first hour.Shafiq batted well in the extended two-and-a-half hour first session due to Friday prayers, hitting seven boundaries before playing on to Gabriel.Ali, who scored a career-best 302 not out in Dubai, played on to Gabriel in the fifth over before Aslam was bowled by leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo attempting an ambitious drive.Pakistan, who lead the three-match series 1-0, brought in Younis, Zulfiqar Babar and Rahat Ali as they made three changes to their line-up.Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Amir (both rested) and Babar Azam were the trio to make way.The West Indies were forced to leave out unfit wicket-keeper batsman Shane Dowrich, bringing in Hope.The third and final Test starts in Sharjah from October 30.

Ton-up Younis hails recovery from dengue fever

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ABU DHABI (AFP) - Pakistan batsman Younis Khan marked his recovery from dengue fever with a splendid century against the West Indies on Friday but admitted he was concerned after shedding six kilos during his illness.The 38-year-old hit an attractive 127 to guide Pakistan to 304-4 on the opening day of the second Test -- three weeks after he was hospitalised in Karachi suffering the effects of the mosquito-borne disease.Younis had to miss the first Test in Dubai as he had not fully recovered but came back strongly at Sheikh Zayed Stadium on Friday.Normally after dengue you dont have that much strength but I managed to regain it thanks to the doctors and medical staff who gave so much care, said Younis. I had no energy to play in the first Test so I told the board and they accepted it. I got enough rest and probably had I rushed into it I wouldnt have managed this success.Younis admitted he was worried about lack of match practice ahead of his return.I had lost some six kilos and I was worried that I had not played a match since the Oval Test on August 14, said Younis of his last match where he stroked an epic 218 to help Pakistan level the four-match series 2-2 against England.I played some club matches on cement wickets and that helped. It was hot and those matches helped me coming into this Test.Younis added 87 for the third wicket with Asad Shafiq (68) and another 175 for the fourth with skipper Misbah-ul-Haq who was 90 not out at close on Friday.It was his 15th hundred partnership with Misbah in 49 innings.We know we have the responsibility to carry the team. Thats why whenever me and Misbah play together we want to do well, said Younis.We are well aware of the responsibility and our mental preparation is always positive.Younis said he never felt nervous in the nineties -- he has scored the most consecutive hundreds in all Test cricket (31) without being dismissed in 90s.There is no secret as such. Only once in Auckland (against New Zealand in 2001) I got out in the 90s.
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