Tuesday 25 October 2016

Dunya TV

Dunya TV

Football: Zidane 'not worried' by Ronaldo strike rate

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MADRID (AFP) - Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane has dismissed concerns surrounding Cristiano Ronaldos supposed troubles in front of goal that have led to boos from the clubs notoriously demanding fans.The Portugal superstar has scored four times in nine appearances for the Spanish league leaders since returning from the knee injury that forced him off in his countrys Euro 2016 final win over France.He failed to find the net in Madrids last two games and there were boos from sections of the Santiago Bernabeu crowd after the three-time world player of the year missed a chance in Sundays 2-1 victory over Athletic Bilbao.Personally, its not that I am indifferent to it, I would prefer him to score two or three goals in every match, but I am not worried because I know it will pass, Zidane said ahead of Wednesdays trip to third-tier Cultural Leonesa in the last 32, first leg of the Copa del Rey.He is still getting lots of chances and soon he will put them away. I was also booed when I was a player, it can happen and it means the crowd expect a lot of the player.The Bernabeu is special. But he knows it, he is used to it and he is not worried.Ronaldo is rested for Wednesdays game along with Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema, Marcelo and goalkeeper Keylor Navas.They should all return for Saturdays trip to Alaves.

Golf: Majestic McIlroy guns for major scalps at WGC

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SHANGHAI (AFP) - A resurgent Rory McIlroy is looking to end 2016 in style, starting by winning the prestigious World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions in Shanghai this week.But the PGA Tours newly-crowned FedEx Cup champion will have to overcome all four of 2016s first-time major winners and 40 of the worlds top 50 players in a star-studded field if he is to lift the title for the first time.The list of champions of the tournament dubbed Asias Major reads like a whos who of golf. But the Northern Irishmans illustrious name is missing from a WGC-HSBC Champions roll of honour featuring Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Martin Kaymer and Bubba Watson, something McIlroy would love to put right.Here, yes, Id love to tick that one off, McIlroy told AFP. Ive won in Hong Kong before. Ive won in Shanghai but it wasnt an officially sanctioned event at the time (the Shanghai Masters in 2011).Id love to win in China again and Ive played well enough on this golf course to win but just havent really done enough when it mattered. Hopefully this year will be the year to change that. The good news for McIlroy is that he appears finally to have put his injury-wracked 2015 behind him. McIlroy ripped ankle ligaments playing football and had to miss his British Open defence and a large chunk of last season. And so wretched were his 2015 fortunes that when he got to Shanghai a year ago he was floored by a dodgy sandwich and severe food poisoning which meant he could not practise. McIlroy did manage to tee off 12 months ago -- albeit 10 pounds lighter -- and finished tied 11th, the only time he has failed to make the top six at Sheshan.Ive avoided the club sandwich this week, joked McIlroy. The aim is to get out of China in one piece. Im taking every precaution to be in good shape, he laughed.McIlroy still went on to win the Race to Dubai and it seemed his game had turned the corner, more so when he won the Irish Open in May. But he missed the cut in two majors -- the US Open and the US PGA championship -- largely because of an inability to find the cup with the putter.But his mojo returned on the greens during the FedEx Cup series last month as he stormed to two wins in four events -- the Deutsche Bank Championship and the season-ending Tour Championship -- and a $10 million bonus.After the FedEx Cup and the Ryder Cup I wanted to take some time off as it was a busy stretch of golf, said former number one McIlroy. I went to Dubai last week for a few days to practise and, yeah, the games feeling really good and Im really happy with where Im at.Id love to do the double (FedEx Cup and Race to Dubai). Theres a lot of ground to make up but thats nothing a couple of wins wouldnt fix.Masters champion Danny Willett leads the Race to Dubai standings and has great memories of the 7,261-yard Sheshan course on the western outskirts of Shanghais seething metropolis of 24 million people.The Englishman shot a flawless 62 with 10 birdies in the final round a year ago to finish in a share of third place.British Open champion and Olympic silver medallist Henrik Stenson lies second in the European Tour standings and will be looking to close the gap with McIlroy lurking in third.US Open Champion Dustin Johnson took his first big tournament win at the WGC-HSBC Champions in 2013 while US PGA Champion Jimmy Walker completes the full house of 2016 major winners in China this week.Justin Thomas, who retained his PGA Tour CIMB Classic title in Kuala Lumpur last week, plus US Ryder Cup talismen Patrick Reed and Rickie Fowler and defending champion Russell Knox are also in the hunt for a share of the $9.5 million prize fund -- the richest in world golf outside America and the majors.

Bayliss backs Stokes to become one of the greats

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CHITTAGONG (AFP) - England coach Trevor Bayliss has backed Ben Stokes to become one of crickets all-time greats, joking that the combative allrounder is likely to deck anyone who dares give him a rest.With star paceman Jimmy Anderson currently sidelined, Stokes is emerging as one of the keys to Englands chances on a marathon tour of the sub-continent which will see them play five Tests in India in November and December after wrapping up a two-Test tour of Bangladesh.Stokes was named man of the match after Mondays dramatic finale to the first Test in Chittagong which saw England edge home by 22 runs in a nail-biting contest.In a match otherwise dominated by spin, Stokes took six wickets with a mixture of classic seam and reverse swing that underlined his growing intelligence as a bowler and importance to the pace attack.But he also scored 85 in the second innings in a sixth-wicket partnership with Jonny Bairstow worth 127 runs which effectively turned the course of the game.Bayliss said the 25-year-old was still at a relatively early stage in his career but had the potential to be an all-time great.Its going to be easier to judge the longer he goes. The potential of the guy -- he could be right up there with some of the all-time best all-rounders, Bayliss told reporters in Chittagong.Only time will tell, but certainly, the strides hes made here on the subcontinent playing spin have been top class. It wasnt all that long ago we were wondering how he might go on spin-friendly wickets, but hes a guy that works extremely hard in the nets.Since the retirement of Andrew Flintoff nearly a decade ago, England have been lacking a top-quality pace bowler who can also bat up the order and give them an ideal balance to the side.Stokes career best 258 against South Africa at the start of the year suggested his batting class but he had been seen as vulnerable to spin -- a facet of his game he has worked exhaustively to improve.I think its his defence to spin that has improved out of sight, said Bayliss.We know that if he gets a bad ball, he can hit anything over the fence but youve got to be there to get that loose ball, he added ahead of the teams departure for the second Test in Dhaka which begins on Thursday.Hes a guy that in the past probably hasnt had a lot of footwork -- plays from the crease a little bit and backs his eye and hands.But as we saw in the one-dayers and this Test, he defended really well off the front foot, got right forward and smothered the ball before it had a chance to spin and jump past the outside edge.While Englands management say they may have to rotate players during the tour to keep them fit and fresh, Stokes has made clear he will reject any offer to put his feet up and the selectors will have to drop him instead.Asked if Stokes could play all seven Tests, Bayliss said it would took a brave man to bet against it and indicated that he would more likely be given a breather between the Tests.Im not sure were game enough to drop him out anyway, might get a thump in the head, said Bayliss of a player who once broke his wrist when he smashed his locker in a fit of anger.Hes a very resilient person, let alone cricketer. Weve got to watch what he does between the Tests to make sure he is available for all the matches.

Lahore: Roof collapse injures 8 people

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LAHORE (Dunya News) – At least eight people, including four women, got injured when roof of a house collapsed in Mochi Gate area near Nisar Hawaily in Lahore on early Wednesday morning, Dunya News reported.Rescue teams reached the spot and rescued eight wounded people trapped under the debris and shifted them to the Mayo Hospital.The rescue sources informed that several people are still trapped under the rubble. Residents of the area said that a blast was also heard before the roof collapse.Note: This is a developing story and will be updated soon.

Karachi: 3 terrorists killed in encounter with Rangers

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KARACHI (Dunya News) – According to details, Rangers conducted a targeted operation in Baldia Ittehad Town on Tuesday on intelligence reports that terrorist of banned outfit are present in the area during which militants opened fire at the law enforcement agency personnel. The rangers returned the fire as a result three terrorists were killed.Two Rangers official also sustained injuries in exchange of fire with the terrorists. Rangers also recovered arms from the dead terrorists.On the other hand, police recovered dead body of a woman from a house in Baldia Ittehad Town. The deceased was identified as Yasmin. According to SSP Baldia, domestic dispute was behind the killing and said that police have launched a search to arrest Yasmin’s husband.Separately, some unidentified persons opened fire in Orangi Town area and shot dead a man. The identity of the deceased is not yet known.Police also carried out a search operation in areas around Cantt Station and arrested 10 suspects. The arrested persons were shifted to police station for further investigation.

Will continue to support Pakistan in fight against terrorism: US

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WASHINGTON (Dunya News) - US State Department spokesperson, John Kirby, in his opening remarks during the press briefing in Washington on Tuesday condemned the overnight terrorist attack on the police training centre in Quetta in which over 60 cadets were killed. John Kirby extended condolences on behalf of the United States to the victims and their families, including the police cadets who were embarking on careers of public service.The spokesperson further said that the US stands with the people and the Government of Pakistan in this very difficult hour, and we will continue to work with our partners in Pakistan and across the region to combat the threat of terrorism.John Kirby termed terrorist attack in Quetta as cowardly, lethal, horrific and added that it is not the first time that the people of Pakistan have fallen victim to terrorism. Many soldiers and civilians have died. “This isn’t some theoretical exercise for the Pakistani people,” he said.He further said that the US is committed to supporting the Government of Pakistan in its efforts to end the scourge of terrorism and violent extremism and to promote peace and stability.

EU questions budgets of seven eurozone countries

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BRUSSELS (AFP) - The European Commission on Tuesday demanded clarifications from seven eurozone countries over their draft budgets, expressing particular concern that Italy, Cyprus and Finland are not meeting EU targets.Belgium, Portugal, Spain and Lithuania, whose budgets were flagged for different reasons, have also been sent letters by the EU executive seeking explanations. The countries responses are due by Thursday.For Italy, Cyprus and Finland, we have a real problem, a European source said, adding that the three countries could potentially see their budgets rejected by Brussels.Italy, the eurozones third biggest economy, is notably forecasting a budget deficit of 2.3 percent of GDP in 2017 -- significantly higher than that expected by Brussels -- due to a deadly earthquake in August as well as the costs of dealing with a huge influx of migrants crossing the Mediterranean from North Africa.We will need clarifications on the amounts included on the draft budget for consideration as exceptional expenditures, commissioners Valdis Dombrovskis and Pierre Moscovici wrote to Rome.The Commission also wrote to the governments of Belgium and Portugal -- even though their budgets are in line with EU rules -- because their ability to stick to them is in doubt.Spain and Lithuania have also been requested to send updated budgets in the coming days, as both are in the process of forming new governments.Spain and Portugal, both of whom have let their budgets slide, have until now avoided sanctions from Brussels, but they remain under threat of having their funding cut.The European Commission is seeking by Monday to either approve or reject the draft budgets presented in mid-October by the eurozone countries.In the event of a rejection -- which would be unprecedented -- the Commission would seek a revised budget within three weeks, a European source said.

Bodies of Quetta martyrs not given ambulance, sent homes on wagons

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QUETTA (Dunya News) - Balochistan government sent bodies of martyrs of Quetta blast on the roof tops of wagons instead of ambulances on Tuesday, reported Dunya News.Bodies of martyrs were sent to different districts of Balochistan, wrapped up in Pakistans flag but on the top of wagons as government officials said that they could not be sent in ambulances due to roads and paths.

Govt delegation meets PPP leaders, discuss PTI rally

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ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - Government delegation of finance minister Ishaq Dar, railway minister Khawaja Saad Rafique and minister of ports and shipping Hasil Bizenjo met Pakistan Peoples Partys (PPP) leaders on Tuesday, reported Dunya News.PPPs leaders Ahsan Aitzaz, Khurshid Shah and Qamar Zaman Kaira was present as they discussed TORs of Panama Leaks issue and government requested PPP to cooperate with them during PTI rally.PPP leaders made it clear that Bilawal Bhutto Zardaris four points are their road map and government will have to accept that to expect cooperation from PPP.

No change in Yaya Toure situation - Pep Guardiola

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MANCHESTER, United Kingdom (AFP) - Pep Guardiola is standing by his decision not to pick Yaya Toure due to comments by the midfielders agent, the Manchester City manager said on Tuesday.Guardiola has frozen Toure out of the first-team picture after the Ivorians agent, Dimitri Seluk, said his client had been humiliated when he was left out of Citys Champions League squad.City visit Manchester United in the League Cup fourth round on Wednesday, giving Guardiola a chance to rotate his squad, but he said that until Seluk apologises, Toure will remain on the sidelines.You know the situation from Yaya, Guardiola told reporters at his pre-match press conference.I would like to come with Yaya, believe me, but you know the situation.Guardiola is seeking to end a run of five matches without victory -- the joint-longest such sequence of his glittering managerial career.Toure, 33, has been at City since joining from Barcelona in 2010 and has won two Premier League titles, two League Cups and one FA Cup during that time.

Coalition huddles as forces inch towards Mosul

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QARAQOSH (AFP) - Iraqi forces were inching to within striking distance of eastern Mosul Tuesday as coalition defence chiefs gathered in Paris agreed to also take on the jihadists Syrian bastion of Raqa.With the Mosul battle in its second week, French President Francois Hollande called for the coalition to prepare for the aftermath and the next stages of the campaign against the Islamic State group (IS).The United Nations said it had received reports of a new series of atrocities by the jihadists as troops close in on its last major urban stronghold in Iraq.Forces from the elite counter-terrorism service (CTS) retook areas close to the eastern outskirts of Mosul.On our front, we have advanced to within five or six kilometres (three to four miles) of Mosul, their commander, General Abdelghani al-Assadi, told AFP.We must now coordinate with forces on other fronts to launch a coordinated attack on Mosul, he said, speaking from the Christian town of Bartalla.Kurdish peshmerga forces are making gains on the northeastern front, but federal forces advancing from the south have some way to go before reaching the outskirts.Meanwhile, thousands of men from the Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary umbrella group dominated by Tehran-backed Shiite militias were preparing for a push to the west of mainly Sunni Mosul.The Hasheds mission will be to cut off and prevent the escape of (IS) towards Syria and fully isolate Mosul from Syria, said Jawwad al-Tulaibawi, spokesman for the Asaib Ahl al-Haq militia.We expect that it will be a difficult and fierce battle, he said.Iraqi Kurds and Sunni Arab politicians have opposed the Hasheds participation in the operation, as has Turkey, which has a military presence east of Mosul despite repeated demands by Baghdad to withdraw its forces.Tensions have risen between Baghdad and Ankara, whose foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, warned Tuesday that if there is a threat to Turkey, we are ready to use all our resources including a ground operation.As Iraqi forces advance, the United Nations said it has received reports of dozens of execution-type killings by IS in Nineveh province, of which Mosul is the capital.Citing preliminary reports, the UN said those killed included 50 police officers who had been held hostage.In Paris, French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian was meeting coalition counterparts, including Pentagon chief Ashton Carter, to review the war on IS after more than two years of air strikes, training and on-the-ground military advisers.Besides coordinating their support for the forces closing in on Mosul, ministers also discussed the Syria side of the campaign and said they were laying the groundwork for the isolation of Raqa.France is keen to tackle Raqa, where the 3,000 to 4,000 IS fighters include a contingent of around 300 French nationals whose potential return to France when the caliphate disintegrates is considered a major national threat.As the ministers met, Hollande warned that the recapture is not an end in itself. We must already anticipate the consequences of the fall of Mosul.What is at stake is the political future of the city, the region and Iraq, Hollande said, calling for all ethnic and religious groups to have a say in the future running of Mosul.Seeking to draw attention away from the Mosul campaign, IS has staged attacks in the northern city of Kirkuk and western town of Rutba in recent days.Jihadists seized two neighbourhoods in Rutba, but officials said that as of Tuesday it was fully back in government hands.Senior Iraqi and US military officials have reported that IS leaders are already trying to leave Mosul to reach the Syrian side of their caliphate.But a senior official close to Le Drian said a few hundred IS fighters recently moved in the opposite direction, reinforcing the estimated 3,000 to 5,000 jihadists defending Mosul.IS had shown increasing pragmatism in recent battles, tending to fall back in the face of superior firepower.But with its claim to run a caliphate losing credibility with every new loss of territory, IS has mounted a fierce and well-organised resistance in the fight for Mosul.The city is where IS supremo Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi proclaimed the cross-border caliphate in June 2014, and its loss could spell the end of the groups days as a land-holding force in the Iraqi part.In Moscow Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov equated US support for Iraqi efforts to recapture Mosul with Russian backing of a Syrian government offensive to seize rebel-held east Aleppo.

Russia says halt in Aleppo bombing will be extended

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MOSCOW (AFP) - Moscow said Tuesday that Russian and Syrian warplanes have not conducted any air strikes on the city of Aleppo for the last seven days and are upholding a moratorium on bombing.All flights by Russian and Syrian air forces have been completely halted in a 10-kilometre zone around Aleppo since October 18, senior military official Sergei Rudskoi said at a briefing. The moratorium on air strikes by Russian and Syrian planes around the city will be extended, he added, without specifying a timeframe.A so-called humanitarian pause declared by Damascus and Moscow ran out at 1600 GMT on Saturday, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported there were air strikes afterwards against the opposition-controlled district of Sheikh Saeed. Russias defence spokesman Igor Konashenskov said earlier that six passages for civilians to leave rebel-held eastern Aleppo were still functioning and that 48 women and children left late Monday.Moscow had on Monday ruled out early moves to renew its total ceasefire in Aleppo after the brief halt ended, admitting that few people had used humanitarian passages to leave the city and blaming failures by the US-led coalition.Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday urged the United Nations to do more to facilitate the evacuation of the injured from the battered city.In a phone conversation with his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Lavrov stressed that representatives of the UNs humanitarian agencies should act in a more resolute manner to remove the obstacles preventing aid from getting in to eastern Aleppo and those injured from getting out, the Russian foreign ministry said.Syrian doctors have deplored the failure to evacuate the wounded and sick from rebel-held areas of Aleppo, also blaming the UN for failing to guarantee their security.More than 250,000 people are still living in the besieged area.For its part the UN on Monday criticised Syrian forces and rebel groups for failing to organise evacuations during the ceasefire window.Russian and Syrian planes had stopped bombing from the air on Tuesday last week ahead of the ceasefire.The West has accused Moscow of perpetrating potential war crimes in Aleppo through indiscriminate bombing in support of a regime offensive to retake total control over Syrias second city.Nearly 500 people have been killed and more than 2,000 wounded since the Syrian army, backed by Russian airpower, launched an operation to recapture eastern Aleppo on September 22.Russia is a key ally of Syrias government and began a military intervention in support of President Bashar al-Assad in September last year.Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem is set to hold talks with Lavrov in Moscow on Friday.UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon last week said no UN aid convoy has entered Aleppo since July 7 and food rations will run out by the end of October.

France begins demolition of 'Jungle' migrant camp

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CALAIS (AFP) - Workers escorted by scores of French police officers moved into the Jungle in Calais on Tuesday, demolishing shacks and tents emptied of migrants who were being bussed to shelters around France.The demolition work began on the second day of a massive operation to clear the squalid settlement in northern France, where an estimated 6,000-8,000 migrants, mostly Afghans, Sudanese and Eritreans, have been living.The start of the clean-up operations sends a sign that La Lande camp is really over, said Fabienne Buccio, head of security in the region, using the official name for the camp known as the Jungle.The finality of the operation was driven home by the demolition operation, as mattresses, blankets, clothes, pots and suitcases left behind by the migrants were piled on top of the wood and plastic sheeting used in their shacks.Wearing hard hats and orange overalls the workers used electric saws to take down wooden shelters and earth-moving equipment to clear debris from the site that has for years been a launchpad for attempts to reach Britain.Riot police carrying shields sealed off the area.Beforehand, aid workers and officials had gone tent-to-tent to ensure the area had been vacated.Since Monday, around 2,700 people have been transferred to shelters around France while around 600 unaccompanied minors have been moved to a container park in the Jungle where families had been staying, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said. Others, including a number of Afghans, are waiting until Wednesday, billed as the last day for bus transfers.Ali Othman, a Sudanese 18-year-old vowed he would not leave voluntarily. They can detain me, jail me, throw me out on the street. I still want to go to Britain. he said, smoking a cigarette outside his tent.But the sprawling shantytown, one of Europes biggest slums, was rapidly becoming a ghost town.It makes me sad to see the camp in this state, said Marie Paule, a charity worker who started volunteering at the Jungle last year.I have a heavy heart... but its the best solution for them.The migrants face a choice between requesting asylum in France or being possibly deported.Earlier Tuesday, hundreds of anxious minors queued to be interviewed by French and British officials who will decide their fate. The Doctors Without Borders (MSF) charity accused officials picking those who will be accepted into Britain of excluding a number of children by selecting on the basis of appearance.Cazeneuve said all unaccompanied minors with proven family links in Britain would eventually be transferred and that London had also committed to reviewing all other cases where it was in the childs interest to settle across the Channel.Britain has taken in nearly 200 teenagers over the past week. Hundreds more are waiting for a decision.British Interior Minister Amber Rudd pledged to bring eligible children from France to Britain as quickly and as safely as possible in the coming days and weeks, without specifying numbers.Located on wasteland next to the port of Calais, the four-square-kilometre (1.5-square-mile) Jungle has become a symbol of Europes failure to resolve its worst migration crisis since World War II.More than one million people fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East, Asia and Africa poured into Europe last year, sowing divisions across the 28-nation bloc and fuelling the rise of far-right parties.Calais has long exerted a pull on migrants who try to board lorries or jump onto trains heading across the Channel to England, where they believe their job and integration prospects to be better than in France.Over the past year, police have battled near-nightly attempts by migrants to climb onto trucks bound for Calais port -- a perilous pursuit that has cost dozens of migrants their lives.Calais Mayor Natacha Bouchart said seeing people queue to leave the camp was a great relief.But many locals fear more camps will sprout up in the area once the Jungle is razed.Around France, the resettlement of asylum-seekers has met with a mix of hostility and solidarity. Villagers in the wine-making hamlet of Chardonnay gave two dozen Sudanese youths a chilly reception on Monday while Paris and Nantes saw small pro-migrant rallies.Back in the Juno togle, Arbat, a 25-year-old Sudanese migrant, said he was ready to move on.I know my future is no longer here, he said in good French, adding that he wants to marry a French woman. They tell me they are all beautiful. Is it true? he joked.

Trump, Clinton blitz battleground Florida

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COCONUT CREEK (AFP) - White House rivals Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump staged dueling rallies in the crucial battleground of Florida on Tuesday, blitzing the diverse state as the clock ticks down on the tumultuous presidential race.With two weeks to go before the November 8 election, polls showed Democrat Clinton -- who is vying to become Americas first female president -- dominating nationally and looking for a resounding mandate to govern the bitterly divided country.Early voting began in Florida on Monday, an urgent reminder that candidates have little time left to make their case in the countrys third most populous state, one with a wide mix of constituencies, including numerous retirees, Latinos and Bible Belt whites.The Republican nominee, determined to ride out the controversies hobbling his campaign, made a pitch to Floridas elderly voters by assailing a sharp rise in health insurance premiums expected next year under President Barack Obamas signature health care reform.Its just blowing up, the 70-year-old real estate mogul said at a golf course he owns in Doral, Florida, vowing to repeal and replace Obamacare if elected.You will have such great health care at a tiny fraction of the cost and its going to be so easy, Trump promised a rally in Sanford, Florida a few hours later -- while warning a Clinton presidency would spell more of the same.Poll averages show that the former secretary of state, who turns 69 on Wednesday, is ahead in Florida by 3.1 percentage points, and nationally by 5.4 points, according to RealClearPolitics.Rallying supporters at a college in southern Broward County near Fort Lauderdale, Clinton urged Floridians to help propel her to the White House by getting out and voting right now.Please join me. This is bigger than me. Its bigger than any of us. Its even bigger than Donald Trump if you can believe it, she told the cheering crowd.President Obama -- who will campaign for Clinton on Friday in Florida -- has said he wants an overwhelming Democratic victory in order to send the message that Americans reject Trumps divisive rhetoric.Briefing reporters en route to Fort Lauderdale, Clintons communications director Jennifer Palmieri also made clear what a key piece of the election puzzle Florida represents for Democrats.We dont plan to lose Florida. It is the biggest prize, she said.No one has forgotten that the 2000 US presidential election turned on Florida, where a virtual tie was decided in favor of George W. Bush by the US Supreme Court.Earlier, Trump acknowledged that the White House will likely elude him if he doesnt win Florida and its 29 electoral votes.I think thats probably true, he said in a telephone interview with Fox News. I believe Florida is must-win. I think were winning it, think were winning it big.On the stump in Sanford, Trump pointed to what he called record lines of early voters in Florida -- many, he said, sporting Trump hats and buttons -- as a hopeful sign.I think those are people inclined to vote for us. Do you agree? he said.Trump also lashed out at Obamacare on Twitter and in the phone-in with Fox News, brushing off a question about his recent threat to sue women who have accused him of unwanted sexual advances.He also took direct aim at Obama, alleging based on the WikiLeaks release of Clinton campaign emails that the US president knew about his secretary of states controversial use of a private email server at the time.That means Obama is now into the act, Trump said in Sanford.The New York billionaires standing in the polls has been hit hard, particularly among female voters, since the release of a 2005 video on which he is heard boasting that his celebrity allows him to grope women with impunity.Since then, about a dozen women have come forward with allegations of sexual misconduct.At a campaign event in New Hampshire with Clinton on Monday, fiery liberal Senator Elizabeth Warren served notice on Trump that Democrats are not turning the page on his treatment of women.Nasty women are tough. Nasty women are smart. And nasty women vote, Warren said, quoting a disparaging remark the Republican made about Clinton at their last debate.With his path to the White House narrowing, Trump has railed against the phony polls and appealed to voters to turn out, calling it a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reject the political elite.Clinton, meanwhile, received an endorsement from the last in a long line of prominent Republicans who refuse to vote for their partys nominee, as the ex-secretary of state and retired four-star general Colin Powell announced he would vote for the Democrat next month.

China blast suspects 'confess' as 14 killed: state media

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BEIJING (AFP) - The toll from a powerful explosion in China rose to 14 dead and 147 injured Tuesday, state media said, as three suspects were arrested and admitted to illegally storing explosives.Mondays blast in Xinmin, in the northern province of Shaanxi, tore through five prefabricated buildings, destroying or damaging 58 others, the official Xinhua news agency said. Authorities on Tuesday censored discussion of the incident online.An initial investigation found the incident was caused by illegally stored explosives, state broadcaster CCTV said on its website late Tuesday, adding that three people had been arrested.During the investigation, the suspects confessed to illegally producing and storing explosives, it said.Pictures showed widespread damage, with windows blown out of buildings, a crater in the street, and bloodied victims lying on the ground. Rescue efforts had concluded by Tuesday morning, and more than 100 of the injured were still hospitalised, Xinhua said, citing local authorities.The explosion comes at a time of heightened vigilance for the ruling Communist Party, which holding a high-level meeting in Beijing, the Sixth Plenum.Outraged social media users said that there were comparatively few reports on the incident available online, and others had been deleted, with comments on many platforms disabled.Theyve closed off discussion of the incident and dont dare reveal the numbers of casualties and deaths, wrote one incensed user. Such a big incident, and theyre preparing to quash it under pressure. Another cried: The one-party dictatorship that controls the throne is only interested in the good of the party, not of the people Where is Chinas future?Industrial accidents are common in China, where safely regulations are often flouted.Giant explosions at a chemical storage facility in the northern port of Tianjin last year killed at least 165 people, sending a monumental fireball skyward and mangling structures kilometres away.
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