Wednesday 21 December 2016

Dunya TV

Dunya TV

Okara: Two killed in road accident at National Highway

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OKARA (Dunya News) – At least two people were killed when two trucks collided at the National Highway in Renala Khurd area near Okara on Wednesday, Dunya News reported.According to details, two trucks coming from opposite side collided head on, killing drivers of the both trucks. The accident was so severe that the trucks caught fire after the collision. Rescue teams reached the spot and shifted the dead bodies to hospital.

Olympics: Tokyo 2020 slashes budget to $17 billion

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TOKYO (AFP) - Tokyo Olympics organisers unveiled a smaller budget of up to $17 billion on Wednesday after coming under pressure to cut ballooning costs.The figure, down from last months pledge to cap spending at $17.78 billion, follows warnings that the bill for the 2020 Games could soar as high as $30 billion.Organising committee chief executive Toshiro Muto said the entire Games budget would be between 1.6 trillion and 1.8 trillion yen, which he put at $15-16.8 billion.Under the latest exchange rate, the same yen figure is worth $13.6-15.3 billion. This years Rio Games cost $12 billion, while London 2012 came in 8.77 billion pound or $13.7 billion under the exchange rate at the time.Wednesdays figure, the most complete budget yet for Tokyo 2020, comes after officials scrambled to slash the costs of building some venues.It was revealed at talks between the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Tokyo and national governments, who are meeting regularly to try to cut costs.This does give the overall picture, IOC vice-president John Coates said by videolink from Sydney.We are pleased with the progress you are continuing to make, he said, adding: We think that we can work with you to find... more savings.Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike, who was elected this year vowing to bring down costs, said some 40 billion yen would be saved after a review of the canoeing, volleyball and swimming venues.The three-party meeting by the committee, the central government and the Tokyo government, will get to work on specifics early next year, Koike told reporters, with cost-sharing on the agenda.I want to strictly check who will pay for what as swiftly as possible. In the battle to cut costs, she had proposed moving the canoeing venue 400 kilometres (250 miles) north of Tokyo to Miyagi prefecture, one of the areas hardest hit by Japans 2011 tsunami disaster.But the idea faced resistance from the organising committee, which argued that changing sites was impractical and could end up costing more.Koike dropped the plan last month and announced that canoeing would stay in Tokyo but with the venue built at a sharply reduced cost.She also said then that Tokyo would build a new aquatic centre with 15,000 seats, smaller and cheaper than the original plan for a 20,000-seat facility.And last week Koike said the volleyball venue would stay in the capital but be built at a lower cost.In a meeting last month, Muto said the organising committees working budget was capped at less than two trillion yen ($17.78 billion) and officials were committed to pushing it lower.But Coates refused to accept the figure and said overall costs would have to come down significantly.

Tennis: Australian Open prize money rises to $36m

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SYDNEY (AFP) - Next months Australian Open will offer Aus$50 million (US$36.25 million) in prize money, with the mens and womens singles champions both netting a cool $3.7 million, organisers said on Wednesday.The tournament-record purse, up 14 percent on the 2016 edition, also offers players $50,000 even if they lose in the first round.It was especially important for us to increase the compensation for players in the early rounds and qualifying, and this year we have made some real gains, tournament director Craig Tiley said in a statement.Our aim is to shift the break-even point for professional players, to ensure that tennis is a viable career option for the best male and female athletes in the world, he added. Prize money for qualifying matches at the years first tennis Grand Slam is up 39 percent, and the $50,000 reward for reaching round one is a rise of 30 percent.By comparison, last years US Open offered a total purse of US$46.3 million, while players won 28.1 million pound (US$34.7 million) at Wimbledon and 32 million euros (US$33.3 million) at the French Open.

UN votes to set up panel to prepare Syria war crimes cases

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UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - The UN General Assembly on Wednesday agreed to set up a panel to gather evidence on war crimes in Syria, taking a first step toward prosecuting those responsible for atrocities in the nearly six-year war.A resolution on establishing the investigative mechanism was adopted in the 193-nation assembly by a vote of 105 to 15, with 52 abstentions.The panel will work closely with the UN Commission of Inquiry which has submitted several reports detailing atrocities committed during the war that has killed more than 310,000 people.Civil society groups have also been compiling documents, lists of witnesses and video footage that could one day be used in a court of law.The measure prepared by Liechtenstein was co-sponsored by 58 countries including the United States, France, Britain, Italy and Germany as well as regional powers Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.Addressing the assembly, Liechtensteins Ambassador Christina Wenaweser said the resolution would address the Security Councils failure to ensure those responsible for serious crimes face justice.Russia, Syrias main ally, and China in 2014 blocked a request by the council that the International Criminal Court begin investigations of war crimes in Syria.We are finally taking one meaningful step to meet the expectations that we have failed for such a long time, Wenaweser said. Syrias Ambassador Bashar Jafaari slammed the measure, saying it was contrary to the UN charter and a flagrant interference in the internal affairs of a UN member-state.Russia, China and Iran were among the countries that opposed the measure.The resolution tasks the UN secretary-general to report within 20 days on the establishment of the new panel, which will be funded by the United Nations.It will set up an international, impartial and independent mechanism to assist in the investigation and prosecution of those responsible for the most serious crimes in Syria since March 2011, when the conflict began.The panel will collect, consolidate, preserve and analyze evidence of violations of international humanitarian law and human rights violations and abuses and prepare files in order to facilitate and expedite fair and independent criminal proceedings, according to the draft text.Human rights groups applauded the move. By establishing the investigative mechanism, the General Assembly is helping pave the road to accountability after years of unchecked atrocities, said Balkees Jarrah, senior international justice counsel at Human Rights Watch.Perpetrators now know that evidence of their misdeeds will be collected to hasten the day when they find themselves in the dock, she said.

Winter solstice: Shortest day of the year today

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LAHORE (Dunya News) - Today is the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year and the longest night, reported Dunya News.The Met Department said that the sun will rise at 6:59 am and will set at 5:04 pm, making the day only 10 hours long.The days would now start lengthening till June 20 to June 21 when again the process would repeat itself.On or around June 21 each year, the rays of the sun become perpendicular to the Tropic of Cancer at 23°30 North latitude. This day is the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere.

Final round of local body elections in Punjab today

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LAHORE (Dunya News) - The polling for the seats of Chairmen, Vice Chairmen, Mayors and Deputy Mayors in the Local Government Institutions of the Punjab Province would be held today (Thursday), reported Dunya News.In Punjab, out of 224 seats, 64 candidates have been elected unopposed. Out of 10 municipal corporations in Punjab, 5 candidates of Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz (PML-N) have been elected unopposed, whereas the rest would be elected today.34 District council chairmen were also elected whereas 179 municipal committee chairmen would be elected. 54 municipal committee chairmen have also been elected unopposed.

Sindh govt still undecided about appointment of IG Sindh

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KARACHI (Dunya News) – The PPP-led Sindh government is still undecided about appointment of new IG Sindh to replace AD Khawaja who was sent on forced leave by Syed Murad Ali Shah-led provincial government, Dunya News reported.The Sindh government failed to send any name for the appointment of new IG Sindh to the federal government. Responsibilities of IG Sindh Police were handed over to Additional IG Mushtaq Mehar after AD Khawaja was sent on forced leave.According to sources, Additional IG Karachi Mushtaq Mehar, Chairman Anti-Corruption police establishment Sindh, Ghulam Qadir Thebo and senior officer of police group Sardar Abdul Majeed Dasti are in the run for the slot of IG Sindh Police.

Barcelona thrash Hercules 7-0 in Copa Del Rey

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MADRID, Dec 21, 2016 (AFP) - Turkey international Arda Turan scored a hat-trick as holders Barcelona thrashed third-division side Hercules 7-0 in the second leg of their Copa del Rey last-32 tie.Turan struck his second hat-trick in as many weeks -- following a quickfire treble against Borussia Moenchengladbach in the Champions League a fortnight ago -- as Barca eased into the last 16 following an 8-1 aggregate win.Luis Enrique rested his formidable front three of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar but the floodgates opened once Lucas Digne broke the deadlock on 37 minutes at the Camp Nou.Ivan Rakitic added a penalty before half-time with Rafinha and Paco Alcacer the others to get on the scoresheet.Luciano Vietto and Wissam Ben Yedder also scored three goals each as last years beaten finalists Sevilla pummelled fourth tier Formentera 9-1 in Andalusia, completing a 14-2 victory over the two legs.Rodrigo netted both goals for Valencia in a 2-1 win over Leganes in an all-La Liga affair, with the former progressing 5-2 on aggregate.Eibar, Deportivo La Coruna and Osasuna also advanced to the next round.

Karachi: Minor girl killed after falling into water tank

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KARACHI (Dunya News) – According to details, the family of a man named Adeel of Burns Road went to attend a wedding ceremony at a marriage hall in the Tipu Sultan area of Karachi where Four-year-old girl Arbish disappeared while playing.The family looked for the missing girl everywhere but found her body in an uncovered water tank of the marriage hall. The body of the girl was shifted to a private hospital where doctors confirmed her death.Police have registered a case against the administration of the marriage hall at the Tipu Sultan Police Station and started investigation.

Balotelli sent off as Monaco, PSG close gap on Nice

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PARIS (AFP) - Mario Balotelli and Younes Belhanda were sent off in the dying seconds as Ligue 1 leaders Nice stumbled into the winter break with 0-0 draw at Bordeaux, allowing Monaco to trim the gap at the top to two points.Paris Saint-Germain eased the pressure on coach Unai Emery by beating Lorient 5-0.Bordeaux had suffered three successive defeats -- conceding eight goals in their last two outings -- and a frustrating evening for Nice ended disastrously with Balotelli and Belhanda dismissed for off-the-ball incidents.Lucien Favres side will now start 2017 without two key players after the pair were shown straight red cards in the closing stages.Radamel Falcao scored a penalty in a 2-1 win over Caen as Monaco rebounded from their defeat at home to Lyon last weekend.The Colombian striker won and converted a spot-kick shortly after half-time for his 11th goal of the season before Tiemoue Bakayoko scored for the second game running at the Stade Louis II.Herve Bazile grabbed a consolation for Caen in stoppage time.Edinson Cavani struck his league-best 18th goal this term as reigning champions PSG snapped a three-games winless run with a five goal demolition of bottom side Lorient at the Parc des Princes.Emery had challenged his players to finish 2016 on a high after a series of disappointing results and Belgium international Thomas Meunier opened the scoring with a superb 25th-minute lob.Lorient centre-back Zargo Toure turned a cross from Lucas into his own net for PSGs second just before the break, and captain Thiago Silva headed in a third minutes after the restart.Cavani tucked away a penalty after he was brought down in the area, with Brazilian international Lucas racing onto a fine Marco Verratti pass to seal a resounding victory.PSG head into the break trailing Nice by five points as they chase a fifth consecutive French title.Lyon claimed their fourth win in a row with France internationals Alexandre Lacazette and Nabil Fekir on target in a 2-0 triumph over Angers.Bafetimbi Gomis scored his 10th goal of the campaign to help Rudi Garcias Marseille beat Bastia 2-1 and extend their winning run.Marseille looked destined to leave Corsica with just a point after Alexander Djiku levelled on 83 minutes, but on-loan Tottenham Hotspur forward Clinton Njie swept home an injury-time winner.Portugal striker Eder rescued a point for Lille with superbly-taken late volley in a 1-1 draw with Rennes, while Nantes continued their resurgence under former Portuguese international Sergio Conceicao by beating Montpellier 1-0 to climb out of the relegation places.

Icardi scores twice as Inter Milan beat Lazio 3-0

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MILAN (AFP) - Mauro Icardi took his Serie A goal tally to a league-leading 14 with a brace in a 3-0 win over Lazio that gave Inter Milans fans some unexpected festive cheer.Lazio travelled to the San Siro looking for a win that would have pushed Simone Inzaghis men up to second at five points behind Juventus.But the visitors, who won both fixtures against Inter last season, failed to make the most of a promising opening half when Ciro Immobile and Felipe Anderson came close to breaking the deadlock.Lazio paid the price in 11 second-half minutes, first when Argentina midfielder Ever Banega pounced on a defensive mistake by Sergej Milinkovic-Savic to beat Federico Marchetti with a searing strike into the top corner.Icardi headed Inters second two minutes later. The Argentine moved two goals past Roma striker Edin Dzeko and Andrea Belotti of Torino in the Serie A goal standings just nine minutes later with his second of the night.Inter remain in seventh place but their ninth win of the campaign and fourth in six games under new coach Stefano Pioli closed the gap on Juventus, who will face AC Milan in Doha for the Italian Super Cup on Friday, to 12 points.Pioli, sacked by Lazio in April after a heavy defeat to city rivals Roma, had to reshuffle for the visit of his old club with Joao Mario and Felipe Melo both suspended and Chilean defender Gary Medel out injured.Lazio suffered a blow prior to kick-off when Stefan Radu pulled up in the warm-up to be replaced by Gil Patric. But the team put on the early pressure.It took just 30 seconds for Immobile to threaten an early goal, only for Inter keeper Samir Handanovic to block. When Senad Lulic pounced on the rebound, Danilo DAmbrosio came to the rescue.Inter midfielder Ivan Perisic missed one chance, but soon at the other end Handanovic was at full stretch to save Immobiles daisycutter with one hand.Anderson then skipped past four players on a diagonal run into the area only to see his shot come off the leg of DAmbrosio.From the corner, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic nodded just over.Lazio looked to be heading for more of the same after making a bright start to the second half.But a messy attempt by Milinkovic-Savic to control the ball just outside the area saw Banega step in, steal possession and unleash a drive that flew past Marchetti and into the top corner.Lazio were punished again when Icardi sneaked around his marker as he waited for DAmbrosios cross from the right and planted a low header past the Lazio keeper.Inzaghi went all-in, replacing Patric with Keita Balde on the hour. Four minutes later, the Senegal strikers angled strike in the area brought a reflex stop from Handanovic.But any hopes of a Lazio fightback were buried on 65 minutes when Icardi moved off his marker at Banegas corner and his first-time drive sneaked inside the net.Icardi should have had his hat-trick, but was stopped by Marchetti on 71 minutes then saw a late strike hit the woodwork.

Aleppo evacuations resume after delays

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ALEPPO (AFP) - Evacuations from the last rebel-held pocket of Aleppo resumed on Wednesday despite heavy snowfall, clearing a path for Syrias army to take full control of the devastated city.The evacuations -- which have seen thousands withdraw from the one-time opposition stronghold of east Aleppo -- faced delays earlier on Wednesday, leaving hundreds hungry and cold waiting to escape.But Syrian state television reported that after a 24-hour delay, 20 buses carrying armed men and their families had left for rebel territory to the west of the city.Ahmad al-Dbis, who heads a team of doctors and volunteers coordinating evacuations, said a convoy of 20 buses had transported 1,500 people out of the last rebel pocket of Aleppo, including 20 wounded.The evacuations were on the verge of being finished, according to Ahmad Qarra Ali of the powerful Ahrar al-Sham rebel group.All the evacuations will be completed today, in several convoys, he told AFP.A Syrian military source also told AFP the last evacuations could take place on Wednesday, but the process has been plagued by repeated holdups.At least 25,000 people have left rebel districts of Aleppo since opposition fighters agreed last week to withdraw after years of fighting, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross, which is overseeing the operation.The retreat from Aleppo -- which had been divided into a rebel-held east and government-controlled west since 2012 -- marks the biggest victory for President Bashar al-Assads forces in nearly six years of civil war.It follows a month-long army offensive and weeks of siege that killed hundreds and left rebels with less than 10 percent of the territory they once controlled in the city.Brokered by regime ally Russia and opposition supporter Turkey, the evacuation plan has moved forward in fits and starts. After seeing no movement on Wednesday morning, an AFP correspondent saw buses arriving one after the other in the afternoon in Ramussa, the government-held district of southern Aleppo through which evacuation convoys have been passing.The evacuees had spent hours in freezing temperatures waiting in the buses to depart, as snow blanketed Aleppo and swirled through its crumbled buildings.The buses are not heated. The passengers, including women, children and elderly people, are suffering from the cold. They dont have food or water, said doctor Dbis.Robert Mardini, the regional head of the ICRC, called for evacuations to resume, saying on Twitter that weather conditions are harsh and people are exhausted.It was unclear how many civilians remained inside east Aleppo, though Dbis said there were a few thousand who were still hoping to leave.The delays on Wednesday appeared to be connected with a parallel evacuation of residents taking place in the villages of Fuaa and Kafraya in northwestern Syria.The two Shiite-majority villages are under siege by the rebels, who are mainly Sunni Muslims.Shiite-dominated Iran, another key Assad ally, was reported to have insisted on the evacuations of Fuaa and Kafraya for the Aleppo withdrawal to go ahead.Delays in the evacuations were reported there -- after about 750 people had been able to leave in recent days -- but later on Wednesday state television reported that four buses, and two ambulances carrying wounded, had been able to leave.The evacuation of Aleppos rebel sector is seen as a pivotal moment in a war that has killed more than 310,000 people and triggered a major humanitarian and refugee crisis.As well as handing a major victory to Assad, it has given fresh energy to international efforts to end the conflict.Russia, Iran and Turkey agreed on Tuesday to guarantee Syria peace talks and backed expanding a ceasefire in the country, laying down their claim as the main powerbrokers in the conflict.In a joint statement, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the Aleppo evacuation should finish within one or two days.Repeated diplomatic attempts -- including several rounds of peace talks in Geneva -- have failed to resolve Syrias conflict, but UN envoy Staffan de Mistura has said he hopes to convene new negotiations in Geneva in February.The United States, another supporter of the opposition, has for years been a key player in the diplomatic efforts but has been largely excluded from involvement in the evacuation effort.With President Barack Obama in his final weeks in office, Lavrov on Tuesday praised the Turkey-Iran-Russia format on Syria as the most effective way forward.In a rare show of international unity, the UN Security Council did on Monday unanimously adopt a French-drafted resolution to monitor the Aleppo evacuations.The government and other parties on the ground agreed to allow 20 observers to be sent to east Aleppo to monitor evacuations, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said, but it was unclear when they would be able to deploy.

US-backed alliance advances in north Syria near IS jail

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BEIRUT (AFP) - A US-backed Arab-Kurdish alliance advanced Wednesday to several kilometres from the largest prison held by the Islamic State jihadist group in Syrias northern province of Raqa, a monitor said.Members of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) were eight kilometres (five miles) from the jail near the countrys largest dam at Tabqa on the Euphrates River, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.On December 10, the SDF announced phase two of its campaign against ISs de facto Syrian capital of Raqa some 50 kilometres east of Tabqa in the same province.The alliance has since captured dozens of villages and hamlets, the Observatory says, after taking 700 square kilometres (270 square miles) from the jihadists in a first phase of the assault from November 5.Western hostages of the jihadist group are believed to have been held at the jail near the town of Tabqa, where top IS leaders live, the Britain-based Observatory said.Kurdish officials told AFP on Wednesday that many of the jihadists had fled before the SDF advance.IS fighters have no more heavy weapons -- they are weakened and flee without resisting, said Moslem Sheikh Nouh, a commander with the alliance.Suzdar Rounahi, a Kurdish commander, agreed.IS is not resisting, absolutely not, she said, adding that the jihadists take to their heels in flight.The SDF is backed by air strikes from a US-led coalition as well as by some US forces on the ground.Washington said this month it was sending 200 additional troops to join the 300 it has already deployed to support the Raqa campaign.Despite recent setbacks, IS still controls areas of Syria and neighbouring Iraq, where it has faced an offensive since October on its main bastion of Mosul.This month, IS seized the ancient city of Palmyra in central Syria for the second time, just eights months after President Bashar al-Assads army backed by Russia drove the jihadists out.IS overran large parts of Syria and Iraq in 2014, proclaiming Raqa the capital of its caliphate, after Syrias war started in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government protests.

Wounded Iraqis fill hospitals as Mosul op drags on

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ARBIL (AFP) - Mohammed Abdulrazzaq was gathering water in Mosul when shrapnel tore into his legs, making him one of a growing number of wounded from the battleground Iraqi city putting huge strains on hospitals.Iraqi forces launched a massive operation on October 17 to recapture Mosul, the countrys last city held by the Islamic State group, and while they have advanced into its east, large parts remain under jihadist control.Abdulrazzaq said his arms were loaded with jerry cans of water when the shellfire struck with a huge boom that left him deaf in one ear.He then saw the blood squirt from his legs.His legs covered in bandages, Abdulrazzaq is now hospitalised in Arbil, the capital of Iraqs autonomous Kurdish region that is located around 100 kilometres (60 miles) east of Mosul.There, it is a terrible street war, said the bearded 43-year-old.At the hospital, every day, I see dozens of wounded arrive. We are already being crammed in and there will be many more, he said.His wife, five children and 80-year-old mother are still in Mosul, where IS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi announced the groups cross-border caliphate in 2014.Saddam Georgis, who was also wounded by shelling in Mosul, lived for two weeks in an area liberated from ISs brutal rule.Like others he welcomed the arrival of Iraqi forces in the citys Al-Alam district.But while the jihadists had been pushed out of the area, it was still within range of their mortar rounds.They are not humans, not Muslims, they strike civilians, aim at houses, the 45-year-old said from intensive care.Georgis remembers the sound of the explosion and the shock of the shrapnel -- like a stone that hit me in the thigh -- the spurting blood, being transported on a makeshift cart.After that, he recalls nothing until he woke up in hospital.I dont even know if my four children were able to reach relatives in Mosul, he said, his wife sitting at his bedside.Zainab, a 10-year-old girl, was also hit in the legs by shrapnel, as was her two-and-a-half-year-old sister.Our neighbourhood has been liberated but the firing continues, their mother said.Human Rights Watch has said that IS is indiscriminately attacking Mosul residents who refused to retreat when it did, and that Iraqi and US-led coalition forces are also putting civilians in danger.Residents said (IS) members told them in person, by radio, and over mosque loudspeakers that those who stayed behind were unbelievers and therefore valid targets along with the Iraqi and coalition forces, the rights group said.The hospital where Zainab, her sister and the two men are being treated is facing a wave of patients, said Rauf Karim, its head nurse.Some days we receive 25 new patients, others more than 30, including children, Karim said.The growing number of wounded adds to several crises already burdening the medical sector in Kurdistan, said Saman Barzanji, the head of the Arbil health department.It has already had to contend with the arrival of large numbers of people displaced by the war with IS as well as wounded members of the Kurdish security forces, all while the region faces major economic challenges.Our operating rooms are facing severe shortages of instruments and equipment, he said, adding: This is a crisis and soon we could have a disaster.How long can we hold on?

Germany fingers Tunisian asylum seeker in Berlin market attack

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BERLIN (AFP) - German authorities triggered a Europe-wide manhunt Wednesday for a rejected asylum seeker suspected of involvement in a deadly truck assault on a Berlin Christmas market claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group.Officials said the suspect, 24-year-old Tunisian national Anis Amri, had already been under investigation for planning an attack, in a development certain to fuel public outrage.Asylum office papers believed to belong to Amri, alleged to have links to the radical Islamist scene, were found in the cab of the 40-tonne lorry that rammed through the crowd, killing 11. The twelfth victim, the hijacked trucks driver, was found shot in the cab. Prosecutors released a European wanted notice with two photos of the dark-haired, brown-eyed suspect and offering a reward of 100,000 euros ($104,000) for information leading to the arrest of Amri, who they warned could be violent and armed.Tunisian anti-terrorism police were questioning Anis family, a security official told AFP, as another source said he had been arrested several times in Tunisia for alleged drug use.He fled to Italy after the 2011 revolution that overthrew longtime dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and spent three years there before travelling on to Germany, the source said.When I saw the picture of my brother in the media, I couldnt believe my eyes. Im in shock, and cant believe its him who committed this crime, his brother Abdelkader Amri told AFP.But if hes guilty, he deserves every condemnation. We reject terrorism and terrorists -- we have no dealings with terrorists.The interior minister of Germanys North Rhine-Westphalia state, Ralf Jaeger, said counter-terrorism officials had exchanged information about Amri, most recently in November, and a probe had been launched suspecting he was preparing a serious act of violence against the state, Jaeger said.Prosecutors in Berlin later said that Amri was under investigation for allegedly trying to carry out a robbery to fund the purchase of automatic weapons, possibly to carry out an attack with accomplices he still hoped to recruit.But after keeping tabs on him from March until September this year, they failing to find evidence of the plot and stopped the surveillance.Amri came to Germany in July 2015 but his application for asylum was rejected this June. His deportation, however, got caught up in red tape with Tunisia, which long denied he was a citizen. The required documents only arrived Wednesday, two days after the Berlin attack, said Jaeger. A conservative lawmaker, Stephan Meyer, told reporters Amri was apparently known to authorities and belonged to the Salafist-Islamist scene.A previous suspect -- a 23-year-old Pakistani asylum seeker -- was released late Tuesday for lack of evidence, prompting fears of a killer on the loose and further rattling nerves in a shocked country.Six of the dead have been identified as German while media reported one of the victims was an Italian woman.Twenty-four people remain in hospital, 14 of whom were seriously injured.The scenes of the attack revived nightmarish memories of the July 14 truck assault in the French Riviera city of Nice, where 86 people were killed by a Tunisian Islamist.The IS-linked Amaq news agency said a soldier of the Islamic State carried out the Berlin carnage in response to appeals to target citizens of coalition countries.There was no evidence to back the claim, nor did Amaq identify the perpetrator.Germany is part of a US-led coalition fighting IS in Iraq and Syria.Tunisia is one of the biggest sources of jihadist fighters, with some 5,500 of its nationals believed to be involved in combat in Syria, Iraq and Libya.The Berlin attack comes at a delicate time for Chancellor Angela Merkel who is running for a fourth term in 2017 but has faced strong criticism over her decision last year to open the countrys borders to refugees.The case has inflamed the debate about asylum policy in general, and in particular the speed at which rejected asylum seekers can be deported. Germany this year moved to declare Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia as safe countries of origin, to raise the bar for asylum requests after last years record influx of around 890,000 people.But the bill has been stuck in the upper house for months over human rights concerns in those countries. A Polish man, killed with a gunshot, was found in the articulated trucks passenger seat. The 37-year-old Pole named Lukasz worked for his cousin Ariel Zurawskis transport company in northern Poland. Zurawski told Polish television he was a good guy and said his body showed signs of a struggle with the assailant or assailants including stab marks.An autopsy indicated that the driver was still alive at the time of the attack, the daily Bild reported.Europe has been on high alert for most of 2016, with bloody jihadist attacks striking Paris since last year and Brussels.In Germany, two attacks in July in the southern state of Bavaria were committed by asylum seekers and claimed by IS.
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