Friday 2 December 2016

Dunya TV

Dunya TV

Coast Guard official shot dead in Karachi

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KARACHI (Dunya News) – According to details, a Coast Guard official was shot dead in firing incident in Zaman Towb area of Korangi in Karachi on Friday, Dunya News reported.The deceased was identified as Imtiaz. Sources said that Imtiaz offered resistance during a robbery upon which he was shot dead by dacoits.In another incident, some unidentified persons opened fire and wounded a man in Korangi area. The victim was shifted to a nearby hospital for medical assistance.

Karachi: Two arrested in Rangers targeted operation

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KARACHI (Dunya News) – According to details, Rangers conducted a targeted operation on an intelligence report in Bohri Bazar area of Karachi on Friday and arrested two suspects, Dunya News reported.Sources said that all the entry and exit points were sealed before the operation and Rangers personnel carried out house-to-house search and apprehended two suspects.On the other hand, police carried out an operation in Soldiers Bazar area and arrested an accused. Police sources informed that arms were also recovered from the arrested accused.

Qismat Baig's alleged killer Rana Muzammil confesses

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LAHORE (Dunya News) - The alleged killer of stage actor Qismat Baig, Rana Muzammil has confessed for doing the crime on Friday, reported Dunya News.The former friend of Qismat Baig said that he had asked the stage actor to come to Faisalabad but she refused straight away, which angered him. He said that he wanted to teach her a lesson for refusal.Rana Muzammil told that he had hired criminals for the job by paying them Rs. 500,000. He also said that his intention was not to kill her, but to just injure and scare her. He also revealed that he had relationship with her for seven years.

Half of rebel Aleppo falls to Syrian forces

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ALEPPO (AFP) - Syrian government forces have recaptured half the former rebel stronghold of east Aleppo, a monitor said Friday, in an offensive that has left bodies in the streets and sparked global outrage.Rebels put up fierce resistance in the southeastern outskirts of the battered city, but government forces closed in on opposition territory from the east. President Bashar al-Assads forces have made swift gains since their offensive against Aleppo -- once Syrias commercial powerhouse -- began on November 15.Tens of thousands of civilians have streamed out of the citys east, and Russia has renewed calls for humanitarian corridors so aid can enter and desperate residents can leave.Regime forces Friday consolidated their control over two eastern districts and were pushing further to squeeze the shrinking rebel enclave, said Syrian Observatory for Human Rights head Rami Abdel Rahman.After the recent advances, the regime is comfortably in control of half of former rebel territory in the citys east, he said. The loss of east Aleppo -- a rebel stronghold since 2012 -- would be the biggest blow to Syrias opposition in more than five years. Earlier Friday, anti-government fighters had successfully rolled back regime gains in Sheikh Saeed on Aleppos southeastern outskirts.Sheikh Saeed borders the last remaining parts of Aleppo still in rebel hands -- a collection of densely populated residential neighbourhoods where thousands have sought refuge from advancing regime forces.In preparation for street-by-street fighting in these districts, hundreds of fighters from Syrias elite Republican Guard and Fourth Division arrived in Aleppo Friday, the Britain-based Observatory said.It said four civilians were killed in rebel rocket fire on government-held areas, bringing to 59 the civilian toll in the citys west. More than 300 civilians, including dozens of children, have been killed in east Aleppo since the offensive began, according to the Observatory.Intermittent clashes rocked residential buildings on Aleppos eastern edges Friday, as regime forces sought to secure the road towards the airport.AFPs correspondent in east Aleppo said ferocious clashes could be heard in the Tariq al-Bab district, where regime forces advanced Thursday.Civilians had already totally emptied the adjacent neighbourhood of Al-Shaar, where a few rebels manned positions in front of shuttered shops and bakeries. Vegetable stalls -- empty for months because of a devastating government siege -- now lay shattered by heavy artillery fire.The escalating violence has been met with international outrage, including a UN warning that east Aleppo could become a giant graveyard.Moscow has proposed setting up four humanitarian corridors into east Aleppo. We have informed the UN in New York and Geneva that there is no longer a problem with the delivery of humanitarian cargo to eastern Aleppo, Russias Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.He said the UN was coming up with a plan and approval from Syrian authorities remained essential.Moscow has announced several humanitarian pauses in Aleppo to allow civilians to flee, but until the recent escalation, only a handful did so.East Aleppo residents have been wary of previous such offers because of Russias support for Assad, including a bombing campaign backing his forces since September 2015. US Secretary of State John Kerry late Friday said he had spoken to Lavrov about the situation in Aleppo.We are deeply concerned about the humanitarian disaster that continues to unfold in Aleppo, he said.It is absolutely vital that the killings be replaced by immediate moves of humanitarian goods.Dozens of families trickled out Friday, adding to the more than 50,000 people who have poured from east Aleppo into territory controlled by government forces or local Kurdish authorities, the Observatory said.Among those fleeing are nearly 20,000 children, according to estimates by the UNs childrens agency.What is critical now is that we provide the immediate and sustained assistance that these children and their families desperately need, UNICEF spokesman Christophe Boulierac said.Its a race against time, as winter is here and conditions are basic.The conflict erupted in March 2011 with protests calling for Assads ouster, and has since evolved into a highly globalised war that has killed more than 300,000 people.Also Friday, around 2,000 people including rebels and their families quit an opposition-held town north of Damascus under a deal with the government. The evacuation of Al-Tal was the sixth such operation in three months.

No military intervention on the table for Libya: Kerry

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ROME (AFP) - US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Friday that there would be no foreign military intervention in Libya and called for a diplomatic solution as violence flared in the capital Tripoli.Our tools are diplomacy. We are not looking at other options, Kerry told journalists alongside his Italian counterpart Paolo Gentiloni following a summit in Rome on the future of countries in the Mediterranean region. I dont think any country is prepared to engage in military action.Kerry said that diplomatic efforts had made progress, disagreeing with Gentiloni who said that negotiations have not yet produced results. There has been a significant shift in the last month of efforts diplomatically to bring general (Khalifa) Haftar to the table... and create a series of meetings to try to resolve some differences, said Kerry, referring to the military strongman who has refused to support a UN-backed unity government.He instead supports a parallel authority, based in eastern Libya near the border with Egypt, that controls much of the countrys oil production.Fighting between rival militias erupted in Tripoli on Thursday and continued on Friday, with shooting heard throughout the day as most residents stayed at home.The city is controlled by a loose alliance of militias of different political and religious factions, and clashes between them are an almost daily occurrence. At least eight people were killed on Thursday and Friday, a source at the Al-Khadhra hospital in Tripoli said.Five years after Libyas 2011 revolution that toppled longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi, the country remains embroiled in violence and political chaos as the militias and two rival governments vie for power.

Taliban kill 23 civilians in Afghanistan: police

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KANDAHAR (AFP) - Taliban insurgents have killed 23 civilians after they lost 29 of their fighters in an abortive attack on police in southern Afghanistan, police sources said Friday.The Taliban insurgents have launched coordinated attacks on police checkpoints in Nesh district of Kandahar yesterday (Thursday), and they faced resistance from Afghan forces, Kandahar police said in a press statement.Following the Taliban attack, 29 Taliban fighters were killed and a number of others sustained injuries, and large numbers of weapons and ammunition were confiscated from them, the statement added.The brutal enemy after suffering defeat against Afghan forces, took their revenge by killing 23 civilians including five children and two women, it said.The police statement said the Taliban had sought refuge in the homes of civilians and killed them after they opposed the insurgents.According to Nesh district police commander Niaz Mohammed the attacks occurred Wednesday and Thursday.After their defeat, the Taliban wanted to hide in the houses and when the civilians showed their opposition, the Taliban killed them, he told AFP.Six members of a policemans family were among the victims. In total 23 people (civilians) were killed.Contacted by AFP, Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi rejected the claims as false.While Nesh district borders Uruzgan province, which is a major opium producer and has a high Taliban presence, its population is considered pro-government and Islamists insurgents rarely intervene there.During the last Taliban offensive in October on Kunduz, the economic capital of northeast Afghanistan, civilians who had fled the fighting accused the insurgents of hiding in their houses or seeking to establish their positions there.As in Nesh, they told AFP that those who resisted were killed.The security situation has eased on most fronts in recent weeks with the coming of winter after a particularly brutal fighting season in which nearly 2,600 civilians were killed and another 5,800 wounded in the first nine months of the year, according to the UN.The Afghan military has also suffered at least 2,000 deaths since January, according to a security source, while a record half million people have been displaced by fighting.

Trump taps retired general Mattis for defense secretary

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CINCINNATI (AFP) - US President-elect Donald Trump said Thursday that he has picked the tough-talking retired general James Mattis to be his defense secretary as he soaked up adulation at a buoyant Ohio rally that recalled this years rough-and-tumble campaign.The splash of hard news came during a sea of soaring -- and then blunt -- rhetoric from the 70-year-old Republican billionaire, who was speaking at his first post-election event following days of meetings about forming his cabinet.We are going to appoint Mad Dog Mattis as our secretary of defense, Trump told cheering supporters in Cincinnati, referring by nickname to the four-star Marine general who headed the US Central Command, with authority over troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.Hes our best. They say hes the closest thing to (World War II) general George Patton that we have, Trump said, apparently divulging his pick days ahead of schedule as his transition team had already said there would be no more cabinet announcements this week.Mattis will require both Senate confirmation and a special waiver of a law that bans uniformed military officers from serving as secretary of defense for seven years after leaving active duty.At least one Democrat, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, already signaled she will oppose the waiver.Civilian control of our military is a fundamental principle of American democracy, the senator tweeted from New York.Trumps surrounding himself with military figures -- he has picked retired general Michael Flynn to be his national security advisor and is considering retired general David Petraeus for secretary of state -- has unnerved some observers who point to Americas long tradition of civilian government.At the start of his address, Trump launched lofty appeals to unite what he called a very divided nation and reject bigotry and prejudice in all of its forms.Americans will come together -- we have no choice, we have to, he added.On the economy, Americans will be the captains of their own destiny once again, he promised.He even vowed to try to work with Democrats to end gridlock in Congress.But the Manhattan property mogul, who defeated Hillary Clinton last month to win the White House, dramatically returned to the abrasive tone that marked his controversial and ultimately victorious campaign.He savaged the nations extremely dishonest press, slammed illegal immigration and the countrys refugee program, mocked his critics and vowed to drain the swamp in establishment-heavy Washington.It became a loose, swerving speech that kicked off what his team has branded a thank you tour -- a victory lap of sorts that will take him to several political battlegrounds including Ohio, perhaps the nations ultimate swing state.I love you Ohio the populist political novice said to a loud cheer from a crowd that filled roughly half the US Bank Arena, which has a capacity of around 17,000. Trump lamented the roadblocks surrounding the venue, which he said had depressed attendance.The tone was decidedly more boastful than his afternoon appearance in neighboring Indiana, where he visited a company and claimed credit for saving American jobs.The president-elect, who made guaranteeing jobs for blue-collar US workers a key campaign plank, strode triumphantly through an Indiana factory that makes Carrier air conditioners, trumpeting a deal to keep 1,100 manufacturing positions from moving to Mexico.He then starkly warned other US firms that they will face consequences if they relocate abroad.The era of economic surrender is over, Trump assured. Were going to fight for every last American job. It is time to remove the rust from the rust belt and usher in a new industrial revolution.During the race, the Republican billionaire threatened to slap tariffs on firms that decamped for places like Mexico or Asia, where labor and other costs are cheaper.Buy American and hire American, he said in Ohio. That will be our new mantra.Carrier has announced it will preserve more than 1,000 jobs and continue to manufacture gas furnaces in Indianapolis, thanks to $7 million in state incentives negotiated with the help of Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence, Indianas governor. Several hundred jobs will still move to Mexico.The deal is an unorthodox industry intervention, and Trump signaled he could carry it out again when in office. What happened today in Indiana, were going to do that all over the country, he said in Cincinnati.The White House avoided criticizing Trumps effort, saying saving jobs is laudable, but expressed skepticism about the strategy of keeping jobs in America one company at a time.Mr Trump would have to make 804 more announcements just like that to equal the standard of jobs in the manufacturing sector that were created in this country under President Obamas watch, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said.Trump appeared in his element in Cincinnati, said Beth Desch, a recently unemployed 59-year-old at the rally.Very upbeat, very optimistic, very happy to be where he is, she said.Trump basked in the glow of a campaign-style event, looking back fondly at how he trounced his rivals in the most brutal campaign in modern times.We did have a lot of fun fighting Hillary, didnt we? Trump quipped as his supporters cheered.

Cyprus leaders to resume peace talks, keep up momentum

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NICOSIA (AFP) - Rival Cypriot leaders have agreed to resume UN-backed reunification talks in what was hailed Friday as a significant development after negotiations broke down in Switzerland last month.The agreement was an important development because it removes the problems created in Mont Pelerin without consolidating the deadlock with unforeseeable consequences, President Nicos Anastasiades said in a televised address.The momentum that existed has been preserved and can continue at the point where talks broke off in the Swiss resort, the Greek Cypriot leader said.Anastasiades said a prolonged deadlock could have killed off the peace process and that political powers had wanted the stalled negotiations to resume.The decision to return to the negotiating table was taken during a UN-hosted dinner for the two leaders in Nicosias UN-controlled buffer zone late on Thursday.It was the first time that Anastasiades and his Turkish Cypriot counterpart Mustafa Akinci had met face-to-face since last months disappointment in Switzerland.There had been mounting international pressure for the leaders to pick up where they left off in an effort to reach a deal before the end of this year, although that deadline now appears to have lapsed.The leaders have decided to immediately re-engage in their negotiations and have instructed their negotiators to continue meeting in order to achieve further progress on all outstanding issues interdependently, a UN statement said.In line with their joint resolve to reach a comprehensive settlement as soon as possible, they further decided that they will meet in Geneva on 9, January, 2017, it added.On January 11, they will present maps of their respective proposals for the internal boundaries of a future federation.From 12 January, a conference on Cyprus will be convened with the added participation of the guarantor powers (Greece, Turkey and Britain). Other relevant parties shall be invited as needed, the UN said.Anastasiades said the Turkish Cypriot side had pledged to submit a map on territory in Geneva.Progress on the above issues will take us within reach of an agreement, creating the conditions and prospects for a successful outcome in the discussion of the fundamental issue of security and guarantees that will follow.Crunch talks between the two leaders on ending the islands decades-old division collapsed with the two sides still far apart on the issue of territory and no date set for a new round.Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded the island in response to an Athens-inspired coup seeking union with Greece.It has always been agreed that some of the territory currently controlled by the Turkish Cypriots will be ceded to Greek Cypriot control in any peace deal.Turkish Cypriots made up just 18 percent of the islands population in 1974, but they currently control more than a third of its territory.Just how much and which land they should give up has bedevilled four decades of peace talks.There are also differences over post-solution security arrangements with Anastasiades wanting all Turkish troops on the island to leave but Akinci determined to keep a Turkish military presence.UN envoy Espen Barth Eide was in Athens on Friday for talks with Greek leaders and was to travel to Ankara on Monday.He said he strongly supported the idea of a meeting at a highest level between Greece and Turkey to discuss Cyprus.Im trying to inspire that to happen because I think this is healthy, that those two (guarantor) powers have direct contact, Eide said. The purpose is not to solve all the questions but to have a better understanding of what we have to do and what to achieve in the conference.Greece, like former colonial power Britain, has said it is willing to give up its right of intervention as a guarantor power. Turkey says it is ready to discuss security issues in five-way talks but without any preconditions.Greece on Friday welcomed the resumption of talks.Athens is going to intensify its diplomatic efforts within the framework of the European Union so that there is a convergence of views on the crucial problem of security and guarantees, government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos said.Anastasiades and Akinci have been among the most outspoken proponents of a deal within their own communities, but any agreement they reach will have to be approved by their respective voters.In 2004, a UN-drafted peace blueprint was approved by Turkish Cypriots but resoundingly rejected by Greek Cypriots in simultaneous referendums.

Hostages safe in Paris armed robbery, thief on the run

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PARIS (AFP) - Several people taken hostage Friday evening in a Paris travel agency were released safe and sound, police said, but the armed robber who seized them was on the run.Armed robbery on Massena Boulevard in Paris: operation over, police tweeted. Six people have left. The thief is not on the premises.Other police sources said seven hostages had been found safe and sound after the hold-up at the travel agency in the Chinatown area of southern Paris 13th arrondissement.The incident sparked a major police operation in the French capital, where security jitters remain high after a string of terrorist attacks over the last two years, including the November 2015 Paris attacks which left 132 people dead.Police set up a security perimeter around the Asieland travel agency, which specialises in Asian travel.Drivers were warned to stay away from the area. Police sources told AFP earlier that the robber was armed with a handgun.The agency sits in Paris 13th arrondissement, a residential area that is packed with Asian restaurants and is home to a large Chinese community.The ground-floor offices sit at the base of a large residential tower block and next to one of Paris main tram lines.The robber had attacked the company at around 6:30 pm (1730 GMT), trapping several people inside.The hostages were let out around two and a half hours later, their hands on their heads, a police source said, adding that they were taken into the care of emergency services in a neighbouring building.Police then searched the building and realised the attacker had fled the scene.We saw four or five people coming out with their hands on their heads, followed by around 15 officers, local resident Zinedine told AFP.There was no shooting, we heard no explosion. Its over, said the 55-year-old, who had left home to buy cigarettes. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo thanked police for their speed and professionalism on Twitter, adding: I offer all my support to the staff and customers of the agency that were confronted with this criminal act.The capital is under tight security, with troops patrolling the streets daily, under a state of emergency imposed by President Francois Hollande after last years Paris attacks.The hold-up in Chinatown comes at a time of heightened safety concerns among Paris large Chinese community following a fatal attack on a tailor in August and a series of muggings.More than 10,000 Chinese Parisians staged a protest march in September calling for increased security for the community following the killing of Zhang Chaolin, beaten to death during a robbery.

Erdogan urges Turks to convert foreign currency to lira

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ANKARA (AFP) - President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday urged Turks to convert their foreign money into gold and lira to stimulate the countrys economy as Turkeys currency continued its slide against the dollar.For those who have foreign currencies under the pillow, come change this to gold, come change this to TL (Turkish lira). Let the lira win greater value. Let gold win greater value, he said during a televised speech in Ankara.What necessity is there to let foreign currency have greater value? he asked.The lira lost value against the dollar as he delivered his speech, however, reaching lows of 3.51.Later the Istanbul Exchange said on its website it would convert all of its cash assets into Turkish lira in support of (Erdogans) call, leading the lira to make up some of its losses against the greenback after it reached record lows of 3.58.The lira was at 3.50 against the dollar around midnight (2100 GMT) on Friday, down 0.30 percent on the day in another volatile 24-hours for the currency.In November alone, the lira haemorrhaged more than 10 percent of its value against the dollar.Erdogan also suggested that there were forces playing games against Turkey, which Turks could counter by changing their money.Dont worry, in a short while, we will destroy this game, he said.The Turkish currency was also reacting to Erdogans repeated insistence on lowering interest rates because, he claims, there is no other remedy.He pointed to the United States, Japan and Europe as examples of economies where rates are low and questioned why Turkey still had such high rates.After several rate cuts earlier this year, the central bank stepped in with an unexpected hike of 50 basis points in its leading rate last month.But concerns over Turkeys political instability, including the governments race to expand Erdogans powers, as well as its fractious relationship with the European Union, meant a rally in the lira was short-lived after the banks announcement.Worries over Erdogans influence grew after Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Thursday that the government would bring a bill to parliament next week which would change the constitution and hand the president increased powers.The economys fragility and the lira decline seem not to have gone unnoticed by the government with its economic coordination committee meeting for five hours on Friday night in Ankara.In a statement reported by local media after the meeting ended, the committee said it decided on several measures to support public finances, the banking and finance sector as well as the property and labour markets -- but gave no further details of its decisions.It said technical studies would be undertaken before it publicly shares the measures next week.

Football: Lewandowski puts Bayern Munich back on top

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BERLIN (AFP) - Robert Lewandowski scored twice as Bayern Munich moved back top of the Bundesliga on Friday after coming from an early goal down to win 3-1 at Mainz.It puts the onus back on surprise-package RB Leipzig, who drop to second on goal difference but can reclaim top spot on Saturday with a draw or victory at home to mid-table Schalke.German champions Bayern looked back to their best after a poor run by their high standards that saw them lose at Borussia Dortmund and then Russias Rostov in the Champions League.They got back on track by beating Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 last weekend and were good value for the three points at Mainz, who stunned the Bavarians last season on Bayerns way to the Bundesliga title.Fridays game was preceded by a minutes silence for the victims of this weeks plane crash in Colombia that wiped out the Brazilian team Chapecoense.The visitors were caught cold however after just four minutes when Jhon Cordoba -- a Colombian -- scored at Opel Arena to thrill most in the 34,000 crowd.Carlo Ancelottis men reacted, with Franck Ribery wasting an opportunity before prolific Polish striker Lewandowski made it 1-1 on eight minutes.Misfiring Thomas Mueller twice squandered opportunities to increase Bayerns lead, but on 21 minutes Dutch wing wizard Arjen Robben -- who had set up the equaliser for Lewandowski -- made it 2-1 when he headed home.Robben, making his 150th Bundesliga appearance, should have made it 3-1 minutes later but he poked over when through on goal.The second half was all Bayern but it took until injury time for them to make the pressure count, Lewandowski stepping up to curl the ball beautifully into the top corner from a free-kick that he had won.It was the forwards fourth consecutive brace at Mainz.

UK pensioner returns library book... 63 years late

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LONDON (AFP) - A British pensioner has returned a library book to her school some 63 years after taking it out, the librarian said Friday.The woman, now in her 70s, found the 1929 copy of Travels With A Donkey In The Cevennes by Robert Louis Stevenson while clearing out her house.The book, which charts the authors 120-mile (195-kilometre) solo hike through the Cevennes mountains in southern France, contained a stamp showing it was due to be returned to North Walsham High School in Norfolk, eastern England, in 1953.Luckily for the student, the market town school has a policy of not fining students for overdue books.The lady who brought back the Robert Louis Stevenson book apologised for not returning it sooner -- but better late than never, school librarian Liz Sawyer said, appealing for others with overdue books to do the same.While we dont lose many books, there must have been a few which have been inadvertently retained by students over the years, she said, adding: It would be really nice to get some of them back.The worlds largest fine for an overdue library book is $345.14 (323 euros) according to Guinness World Records.That book, returned after 47 years by the borrowers daughter, was lent out by Kewanee Public Library in the US state of Illinois, and was due back in April 1955.

Football: Ronaldo, Mourinho in 'tax evasion, money laundering' claims

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PARIS (AFP) - Cristiano Ronaldo and Jose Mourinho could have been involved in a multimillion-euro system of tax evasion and money laundering, according to leaked documents obtained by a number of media outlets.A group of 12 European newspapers said it intends to disclose over the next three weeks the results of investigations into widespread alleged corruption at the heart of football under the banner Football Leaks.Based on leaked documents obtained by German weekly Der Spiegel, the outlets claim that Real Madrid and Portuguese star Ronaldo could have hidden 150 million euros in tax havens in Switzerland and the British Virgin Islands.Ronaldo, it is claimed, benefits from a system developed by his agent Jorge Mendes. They cite two operations related to advertising revenue of the Portuguese star. The first, between 2009 and 2014, could represent 74.8 million euros via an offshore company called Tollin, registered in the British Virgin Islands, said the report released Friday. He would have eventually declared a part of it, added the report sent to AFP by the Mediapart organisation.The lawyers of the player told the (media) consortium that a Spanish tax audit aimed at Cristiano Ronaldo was still in progress, the newspapers said. In the second operation, Ronaldo could have avoided 31 million euros of taxes according to these newspapers, making the most of 12 days of an ultra-advantageous tax regime on his marketing rights for the period 2015-2020.According to the European Investigative Collaborations (EIC) consortium, Manchester United manager Mourinho is said -- again via Mendes -- to have concealed 12 million euros in a Swiss account owned by a British Virgin Islands company. It was subject to a tax audit in Spain... which resulted in a recovery of 4.4 million euros, penalties included. Fridays first batch of leaks centred on a system put in place, according to the newspapers, by Mendes, the super-agent of Ronaldo and Mourinho.The system overall would have accounted for a loss of at least 185 million euros of sponsorship income from the tax administrations through a network of offshore accounts and offshore companies in Ireland, the British Virgin Islands, Panama and Switzerland.In response, Mendess company Gestifute said Friday that Ronaldo and Mourinho had fully respected their obligations vis-a-vis the Spanish and British authorities. The company accused the media consortium of operating in an insidious way concerning the stars tax obligations. It said that neither Ronaldo nor Mourinho have been implicated in legal proceedings of the tax evasion commission in Spain.

China coal mine blast kills 21: report

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BEIJING (AFP) - An explosion at a coal mine in northeast China has killed 21 people, with rescuers attempting to reach the sole survivor after three days trapped underground, state media reported early Saturday.The blast occurred late Tuesday at the private mine in Qitaihe City, Heilongjiang province, trapping 22 workers, Xinhua news agency said.Twenty-one of them had been confirmed dead Friday night, it said, citing provincial authorities.Rescue efforts had been hampered by debris from the blast in some of the tunnels, according to an earlier Xinhua report.China is the worlds largest coal producer and deadly accidents are common. In November 33 miners were killed in a colliery explosion in the southwestern municipality of Chongqing and in September at least 18 were killed in a mine blast in the northwestern Ningxia region.Officials say the number dying annually in the countrys mines has fallen substantially in the past decade, to fewer than 1,000 a year. But some rights groups argue the actual figures are significantly higher due to under-reporting.

Athletics: Bolt wins unprecedented sixth Athlete of Year award

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MONACO (AFP) - Sprint king Usain Bolt won an unprecedented sixth IAAF male Athlete of the Year award on Friday, Ethiopian Almaz Ayana picking up the female award after her record-setting 10,000m gold in Rio.I live for the moments I walk into the stadium, said Bolt, who will retire next year. I love competing, I dream of being in the stadium competing against the best.Bolt, previously winner in 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2013, was rewarded for another blistering season that saw him claim three gold medals (100m, 200m and 4x100m relay) at the Rio Olympics for the third consecutive Games.The 30-year-old dominated the 100m in 9.81sec and came back four days later with a 19.78sec victory in the 200m to secure a third straight Olympic title over both distances, a first.The following day he anchored Jamaica to victory in the 4x100m in 37.27sec, the fourth fastest of all time. His 9.81sec gold medal-winning performance in Rio was the second fastest in the world, his 19.78sec in the 200m the third fastest.Bolt ended his season unbeaten in six individual finals, having made history as the first athlete to win three consecutive Olympic triples.Its definitely a big deal, Bolt said of the award.When you get to be athlete of the year it means that all the hard work has paid off, so if I can win it for a sixth year means as much as the first one.He had been up against Briton Mo Farah, who claimed a historic Olympic double-double in the 5000m and 10,000m, and South African Wayde van Niekerk, whose Olympic gold medal-winning run in the 400m also eclipsed the world record set by Michael Johnson.In the female category, Almaz claimed the title after smashing the 10,000m world record in Rio.Picking up brilliantly where she left off in 2015 as the world 5000m champion, 25-year-old Almaz proceeded to rewrite the all-time lists in the 5000m.After a 14:16.31 performance in Rabat, she threatened the world record with a 14:12.59 run in Rome, the second-fastest performance of all time.That momentum continued in late June at the Ethiopian Olympic trials for 10,000m where she triumphed in 30:07.00, the fastest ever debut over the distance.In Rio she went faster still, opening the Olympic athletics programme with a stunning 10,000m world record of 29:17.45 that knocked more than 14 seconds from a record set 23 years earlier.At 5000m, Almaz took Olympic bronze and won the Diamond Race.She beat off competition from Jamaican Elaine Thompson, who won golds in the 100 and 200m in Rio before helping Jamaica to a silver medal in the 4x100m relay, and also Polish Olympic hammer champion and world record holder Anita Wlodarczyk.
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