Wednesday 1 February 2017

Dunya TV

Dunya TV

Cricketer Shoaib Malik celebrates his 35th birthday

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LAHORE (Web Desk) - The former captain of Pakistan cricket team in all three formats, Shoaib Malik celebrated his 35th birthday on Wednesday, reported Dunya News.Malik, who led Pakistan to the final of inaugural World T20 and was integral part of 2009 World T20 winning team, was born on 1 February 1982. He has represent Pakistan since 1999.

Bid to use minor girl as suicide bomber foiled in Quetta too

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QUETTA (Dunya News) - A minor girl was taken into protective custody on Wednesday in Quetta, who was going to be used for to suicidal bomb attack, reported Dunya News.Earlier, similar incident happened in Lahore as two boys were recovered, who were also going to be used for the same purpose. The ages of boys were between 12 and 14.Suicidal jackets and explosives were also recovered in Lahore. In Quetta, the girl was 10-year-old and FC personnels told that accused had told the girl to go to a crowdy place and press the button to explode the bomb.FC personnels have the girl in their protective custody and are trying to find her parents.

Sarfraz Ahmad blessed with a baby boy

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KARACHI (Dunya News) - Captain of Pakistans T20 Cricket team Sarfraz Ahmad was blessed with a baby boy on Wednesday in Karachi, reported Dunya News.According to details his wife gave birth to the boy in a local hospital. The good news came for Sarfraz at the right time as people want him to be named skipper in all three formats.

Islamabad United replace Andre Russell with Steven Finn

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LAHORE (Dunya News) - Islamabad United added English fast bowler Steven Finn to their rooster in the place of West Indian all-rounder Andre Russell, reported Dunya News.Andre Russell was an integral part of Islamabad United team in the first edition but had to be dropped after getting banned due to using the prohibited substance.The two-times Twenty20 World Cup winner was revealed to have committed the violation 11 months ago after registering three filing failures in 2015. That constitutes a failed drugs test under World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) rules.Islamabad United are the defending champions of the competition, which would be held from 9 February to 7 March.

Lyari gangster Baba Ladla killed in encounter with Rangers

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KARACHI (Dunya News) - Lyari gangster Noor Muhammad alias Baba Ladla and two of his accomplices were killed in exchange of fire with Rangers in Phoolpatti Lane area of Lyari in Karachi on Wednesday night, Dunya News reported.According to details, Rangers conducted a raid in Phoolpatti Lane on an intelligence report upon which the gang war accused present in the area opened fire at the raiding party. Rangers’ personnel returned the fire due to which three gang war accused, including Baba Ladla, were killed.Three other gang war accused managed to escape from the scene. One Rangers official was also wounded in the shootout. Rangers officials also recovered large quantity of arms from the dead accused.Baba Ladla had gone into hiding when Karachi operation was started. He was also commanding a gang war group in Karachi.Baba Ladla was wanted by the police in more than 100 serious offences including murder, attempted murder, extortion and kidnapping for ransom. Government had set prize money of Rs 2.5 million over his head.Sources told that Baba Ladla group was also involved in attack on Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) minister Javed Nagori’s office in which Javed’s brother Akbar Nagori died and 6 including a police officer were injured.

Karachi: 4 accused nabbed in police operation

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KARACHI (Dunya News) – Crackdown against criminal elements under National Action Plan (NAP) continues in Karachi as police apprehended four accused during operation in different parts of the city on Wednesday, Dunya News reported.According to details, police arrested a dacoit in injured condition after an encounter in Gulistan-e-Johar Block-12 area. Police sources said the dacoit, identified as Ashfaq, was busy in looting residents of the area along with his accomplices when he was apprehended. Police also recovered arms from his possession.Police also arrested a street criminal after an encounter near Afghani Building in Shershah area while tow of his accomplices managed to escape.On the other hand, police conducted a raid on a narcotic den in Machko area and arrested two drug peddlers. Police have registered a case and started investigation.

Pakistan has the highest number of road accidents in Asia

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KARACHI (Dunya News) - Road accidents have earned Pakistan a dubious distinction as the country has the worst road traffic accident rate in Asia, Dunya News reported.Pakistan is first in terms of number of road accidents in Asia while ranked 48th in the world. This was revealed in Dunya News programme ‘Dunya Kamran Khan Kay Sath’ on Wednesday.This was also revealed in the programme that at least 51,400 people were killed in 97,500 road accidents in the ten-year period from 2004 to 2013.The high accident rate is often attributed to numerous U-turns and dangerous turns on the major roads. Experts are of the opinion that 35 percent of the road accidents are caused by the faulty designing of the roads.Moreover, fast and reckless driving, poor road infrastructure and lack of safety precautions lead to a high number of motorbike accidents in big cities like Karachi.

Firing incidents claim two lives in Karachi

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KARACHI (Dunya News) – According to details, some unidentified persons riding on a car opened fire and killed a man in Defence area of Karachi on Wednesday. The deceased Umar Zahid was standing outside his house when the attackers shot him dead.Police have also recovered dead body of an 18-year-old girl from an under-construction house in Sarhani Town area. Police shifted her body to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital where doctors said that the deceased was shot dead after molestation. On the other hand, Rangers conducted operation in Baldia, SITE, Kemari and Zaman Town areas and apprehended five accused. Rangers spokesman informed media that who were arrested included two members of a political party and one Lyari gang war accused. Arms were also recovered from them.Separately, Rangers also recovered huge cache of arms belonging to MQM-London which was buried in Yaseenabad Graveyard. The arms recovered included two LMGs, five SMGs, three repeaters, one thirty bore rifle, seven pistols and 350 bullets.

Suarez, Messi score as Barca edge Athletico 2-1 in CDR 1st leg

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BARCELONA (REUTERS) : Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi scored stunning goals to edge Barcelona towards a fourth consecutive Kings Cup final with a 2-1 win at Atletico Madrid on Wednesday, although the holders were lucky to survive a late onslaught from the hosts.Suarez opened the scoring with a breath-taking individual goal in the seventh minute, carving Atletico open with a thrusting run from the halfway line and producing a crisp low finish before Messi smashed in off the post from outside the area in the 33rd.Atletico vastly improved in the second half and after Antoine Griezmanns header reduced the deficit in the 59th minute they laid siege to the Barca area, but the equaliser remained elusive.The return leg at the Nou Camp takes place next Tuesday although neither Barca forward Neymar nor Atletico captain Gabi will be able to play through suspension after picking up bookings.

Syrian army dash to al-Bab risks Turkey clash

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BEIRUT/ISTANBUL (Reuters) - A rapid advance by the Syrian army towards the Islamic State-held city of al-Bab risks sparking a confrontation with Turkey as Damascus seeks to stop its neighbour penetrating deeper into a strategically important area of northern Syria.Northern Syria is one of the most complicated battlefields of the multi-sided Syrian war, with Islamic State now being fought there by the Syrian army, Turkey and its rebel allies, and an alliance of U.S.-backed Syrian militias.In less than two weeks, Syrian army units have moved to within 6 km (4 miles) of al-Bab, a city that is also being targeted in a campaign waged by the Turkish military and its allies, groups fighting under the Free Syrian Army banner.A source in the military alliance fighting in support of President Bashar al-Assad told Reuters on Wednesday the Syrian army aimed to reach al-Bab and was ready to clash with the FSA fighting alongside the Turkish army if necessary.However, the source, a non-Syrian, said the main aim was to frustrate Turkeys ambitions and to acquire a strong hand in the game unfolding on that front, rather than to provoke an all-out confrontation.If a clash does occur, it would be the first time Syrian government forces have confronted the Turkish army on the ground in northern Syria since Turkey launched its operation in August.Russia, Assads most powerful ally, has carried out air strikes targeting Islamic State in the al-Bab area in support of both sides, underlining big shifts in the diplomatic landscape.The non-Syrian military source spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not an official spokesman for the pro-Assad alliance.The attack is led by the armys elite Tiger Force, with intelligence support from a command centre in Aleppo staffed partly by Iranian advisors, the pro-Assad source said. The army campaign was receiving Russian air cover when asked for.Assad has been backed in the war by an array of Iranian-backed Shiite militias, including Hezbollah, and the Russian air force.The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based group reporting on the war, said on Wednesday the Turkey-backed forces had made new advances to the southwest of al-Bab, calling this an effort to halt the gains by Syrian government forces.Turkey launched its campaign in Syria, Euphrates Shield, in order to secure its frontier from Islamic State and halt the advance of the powerful Kurdish YPG militia. Helping rebels to topple Assad is no longer seen as a priority for Ankara.The Euphrates Shield campaign has carved out an effective buffer zone controlled by Turkey-backed rebel groups, obstructing the YPGs plans of linking up Kurdish controlled areas in northeastern and northwestern Syria.Turkey sees the YPG as a terrorist group and a threat to its stability.The YPG and allied militia are receiving air support from a U.S.-led coalition because they are also fighting Islamic State, which has declared swathes of Syrian territory part of its caliphate that also stretches into Iraq.Turkey has criticised the coalition for what it sees as insufficient air support for the ground offensive, while welcoming Russian air strikes coordinated with it in the al-Bab area this month.We are carrying out our efforts with the coalition forces, and Russia provides support from time to time as well, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said last week.Al-Bab is located 40 km (25 miles) northeast of Aleppo, where Assad defeated rebels in December, his biggest victory of the war.Assad has vowed to retake all of Syria, though large areas are out of his control and he is still heavily dependent on military support from his foreign allies.Turkey has said progress by its rebel allies in al-Bab has been slowed by efforts to avoid civilian casualties. The Observatory has blamed Turkish bombardment for heavy civilian casualties, however.Erdogan in November forecast that al-Bab would fall quickly, and said last week Islamic State was suffering serious blood losses there.We should finish the job in al-Bab swiftly and not go any deeper. The efforts are in this direction, he said.Fierce Islamic State resistance including car bomb attacks have inflicted a heavy toll on Turkish troops. Five were killed and nine wounded on Jan. 20 near the city. Another Turkish soldier was killed on Sunday.A senior Turkish security official told Reuters the campaign was not going slowly, but according to plan. The circumstances change as we go deeper, the official said.We are not in a rush in al-Bab. There are many conditions to consider such as the weather, the fact this is new terrain for our troops. We’d rather go slowly but strongly with a minimum of casualties, the official said.

Rex Tillerson confirmed as US secretary of state

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WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US Senate confirmed former ExxonMobil chief Rex Tillerson as the next secretary of state on Wednesday (Feb 1), handing a major boost to President Donald Trump as he builds his cabinet.Tillerson was confirmed by a vote of 56 to 43, with four Democrats ultimately joining all 52 Republicans voting in favour.Trump has repeatedly blasted Democrats for dragging out the confirmation process, and took to Twitter late Monday to accuse them of delaying my cabinet picks for purely political reasons.Tillerson, 64, had come in for severe criticism from Democrats who warned that his business approach and lack of government experience would hurt Americas standing in the world.But Republicans rallied around the nominee, after initial hesitation by Senators John McCain, Marco Rubio and Lindsey Graham about Tillersons ties with Russia and his position on human rights.Mr Tillerson led a global enterprise with 75,000 employees, possesses deep relationships around the world, and understands the critical role of US leadership, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker said in a statement.He has expressed a commitment to defend American values and to restore US credibility by strengthening old alliances and building new ones.Democratic Senator Joe Manchin backed Tillerson, saying he will bring a unique perspective to the State Department and provide wise counsel and objective advice to the president on our nations foreign policy.With Tillersons confirmation and pending swearing-in, Trump will have several key members of his national security team in place, including Secretary of Defence James Mattis, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly, CIA Director Mike Pompeo and US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley.

Afghan govt controls less than 60 percent of country: watchdog

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KABUL (Reuters) - The Afghan government controls less than 60 percent of the country, a U.S. watchdog agency reported on Wednesday, after security forces retreated from many strongholds last year.Afghan soldiers and police, with the aid of thousands of foreign military advisers, are struggling to hold off a resurgent insurgency led by the Taliban, as well as other groups like Islamic State.As of November, the government could only claim to control or influence 57 percent of Afghanistans 407 districts, according to U.S. military estimates released by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), in a quarterly report to the U.S. Congress.That represents a 15 percent decrease in territory held compared with the same time in 2015, the agency said in a report.SIGAR’s analysis of the most recent data provided by U.S. forces in Afghanistan suggests that the security situation in Afghanistan has not improved this quarter, it said.The numbers of the Afghan security forces are decreasing, while both casualties and the number of districts under insurgent control or influence are increasing.More than 10 percent of districts are under insurgent control or influence, while 33 percent are contested, according to the report.Some of the most contested provinces include Uruzgan, with five of six districts under insurgent control or influence, and Helmand, with eight of its 14 districts under insurgent control or influence.U.S. military officials say much of the loss of territory reflects a change in strategy, with Afghan forces abandoning many checkpoints and bases in order to consolidate and focus on the most threatened areas.Insurgents tried at least eight times to capture provincial capitals, although each assault was eventually beaten off.According to U.S. military estimates, the number of Afghans living under insurgent control or influence decreased slightly in recent months to about 2.5 million people.But nearly a third of the country, or 9.2 million people, live in areas that are contested, according to SIGAR, leading to some of the highest civilian casualty rates the United Nations has ever recorded in Afghanistan.Afghan security forces also sustained heavy casualties, with at least 6,785 soldiers and police killed in the first 10 months of last year, with 11,777 wounded, SIGAR reported.Casualty figures are rarely released by the Afghan government, while difficulties in confirming and tracking troop numbers make any figures subject to wide variation.SIGAR reported some progress in combating corruption, which has plagued both Afghan military and political institutions.

Manchester United drop two more points at home

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MANCHESTER (AFP) - Manchester United dropped two more points in the English Premier League (EPL) as they failed to score and drew 0-0 with Hull City at home.Hulls draw at Old Trafford gave them a small measure of revenge for last weeks League Cup semi-final defeat at Manchester Uniteds hands.Mourinho made nine changes to the United team that had crushed Wigan Athletic 4-0 in the FA Cup on Sunday, but Hull goalkeeper Eldin Jakupovic repelled everything the hosts threw his way.He saved spectacularly from Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Paul Pogba in the first half and produced a stunning goal-line to block to deny substitute Juan Mata what seemed a certain goal in the second half.United continue to press, but Hull new boy Lazar Markovic almost completed a smash-and-grab win in the 86th minute, the on-loan Liverpool winger seeing his shot come back off the post.The point took Hull off the foot of the table, but Marco Silvas much improved side are still four points from safety.Everton remain seventh, nine points below the Champions League places, after a 1-1 draw at Stoke City.Peter Crouch gave Stoke an early lead with his 100th Premier League goal, but Ryan Shawcross turned Seamus Colemans cross into his own net in the 39th minute to give the visitors a point.

British MPs approve first stage of Brexit bill

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LONDON (AFP) - British MPs on Wednesday approved the first stage of a bill empowering Prime Minister Theresa May to start pulling Britain out of the European Union.MPs approved the bill, which would allow the government to trigger Article 50 of the EUs Lisbon Treaty and formally begin two years of exit negotiations, by a margin of 498 to 114.It was the first Brexit-related vote in the House of Commons, with a second and final vote in the lower house set for next week.The opposition Labour party ordered MPs not to block the bill, but dozens rebelled.May is under intense pressure to push the bill through quickly, having promised EU leaders she would trigger Article 50 by the end of March.She told MPs she would publish a long-awaited Brexit strategy paper on Thursday, opening it to parliamentary scrutiny while the Article 50 legislation makes its way through parliament.It will reflect the governments plan for Brexit, Mays spokeswoman told reporters.The government had sought to exclude parliament, insisting it had the power to trigger Article 50 on its own, but the Supreme Court last week ruled it must consult lawmakers.Most MPs campaigned to stay in the EU ahead of last Junes referendum, but as debate on the bill began Tuesday, many said they would accept the result, however reluctantly.The bill could be delayed in the upper House of Lords, where Mays Conservative Party does not have a majority - and where the unelected peers have no fear of a public backlash.A new survey revealed that MPs who campaigned to leave the EU are relatively united in what they want - whereas those who were on the other side have more diverse views.Some 72 per cent of Leavers favour controlling immigration or not paying into the EU budget over retaining access to Europes single market.This reflects Mays own position.She has said she wants to end the free movement into Britain of people from the EU, a demand she acknowledges is incompatible with maintaining membership of the single market.Remainers are much more divided over what to prioritise - which may well make them less able to shape the debate, said Anand Menon, director of the UK in a Changing Europe research programme.The vast majority of Leavers (86 per cent) also believe Britain will be able to make up for any loss in trade with the EU through other deals, whereas 71 per cent of Remainers believe it cannot.But Britains former ambassador to the EU on Wednesday warned that the bloc would likely take a hard line, demanding an exit bill of €40-60 billion (US$43-$64.5 billion) as part of drawn out negotiations.This is a humongous negotiation and project, Ivan Rogers told MPs. I think it will take years to get to the other side of it.In a speech on Tuesday, Ken Clarke, who may be the only Conservative MP to vote against the Brexit bill, accused Leavers of pursuing a fantasy wonderland.At just 143 words, the European Union Notification of Withdrawal Bill has been tightly drafted, making it difficult to amend either to delay the governments plans or to tie its hands in the talks.But Mays opponents are still trying, and dozens of amendments are scheduled for debate over three days in the House of Commons which begins on Monday.The bill will then move to the Lords for debate from Feb 20, with the government hoping for their approval by Mar 7.

Top Trump aide condemns Iranian ballistic missile test

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A top adviser to President Donald Trump delivered a tough warning to Iran on Wednesday for test-firing a ballistic missile and declared we are officially putting Iran on notice for what he called a provocation.A statement from White House national security adviser Michael Flynn condemning the test was an example of a more muscular U.S. foreign policy that Trump has said he would pursue.Iran confirmed on Wednesday it had tested a new missile but said it did not breach a nuclear accord reached with world powers or a U.N. Security Council resolution that endorsed the pact.Flynn said the missile launch violated the 2015 security council resolution.The Islamic Republic has test-fired several ballistic missiles since the nuclear deal in 2015, but the latest test was the first since Trump took office last month.Flynn, in his first appearance in the White House press briefing room, said the missile launch and an attack against a Saudi naval vessel by Iran-allied Houthi militants off the coast of Yemen underscored Iran’s destabilising behaviour across the Middle East.Trump has frequently criticized the Iran nuclear deal negotiated by the administration of his predecessor, President Barack Obama. The new president has called the deal weak and ineffective.While campaigning in September, then-candidate Trump vowed that any Iranian vessels that harass the U.S. Navy would be shot out of the water if he is elected.A section of U.N. resolution 2231 calls on Iran not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using such ballistic missile technology.Flynn said: Instead of being thankful to the United States for these agreements, Iran is now feeling emboldened. As of today, we are officially putting Iran on notice.Trump and Saudi Arabias King Salman spoke by phone on Sunday and were described by the White House as agreeing on the importance of enforcing the deal and addressing Iran’s destabilising regional activities.Mark Dubowitz, head of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington-based policy group that advised Trump during the campaign and has continued to consult with the new administration on Iran, said the missile test was the 12th since the 2015 Iran deal.It’s going to provide further justification for what we expect over the coming months, which is new congressional sanctions, new administration sanctions and a message ... that Iranian aggression needs to be punished and deterred,” Dubowitz told Reuters on Tuesday.
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