Dunya TV

Dengue claims five more lives in Lahore
Lahore: Crackdown against kite flying, two arrested
General James calls on Ashfaq Pervez Kayani
New Greek govt takes over, former banker at helm
Palestinian UN bid goes to the Security Council
14 killed, Syria accused of 'crimes against humanity'
Bus plunges into ocean off St. Lucia; 16 die
400 French troops to leave Afghanistan this year
15 dead as govt forces shell Yemen demo
Turkish quake death toll rises to 24
Key Mexico minister killed in helicopter crash
Federer, Berdych reach Paris Masters semifinals
Hamilton fastest in 2nd Abu Dhabi practice
Loeb wins 8th rally title after Hirvonen retires
Japan, Uzbekistan advance in Asian qualifying

Posted:

A Davis Road resident, 47-year-old Muhammad Ijaz, died at the Mayo Hospital on Friday. Another dengue victim, 46-year-old Kishwar Khatoon of Sanda, lost her fight against the disease while 30-year-old Muhammad Afzal of Kot Khwaja Saeed died at the Ganga Ram Hospital. Two other patients, 58-year-old Ahsan-ul-Haq and 78-year-old Muhammad Hussain lost the battle against dengue at the Ittifaq Hospital. Both the victims belonged to Model Town locality of Lahore. With five more deaths, the toll from dengue fever has rose to 325 in Lahore. In Faisalabad, 55-year-old Rasheeda Bibi died from dengue fever while an eight-year-old girl Saadia lost her life in Badin. Meanwhile, 12 new cases were reported in Faisalabad, raising the number of dengue patients in the city to 1,522 whereas, around 20.752 people have so for been affected by dengue virus in Punjab.

Lahore: Crackdown against kite flying, two arrested

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The Lahore police took action against kite flyers after a young man, Asif of Sabzazar, died on the third day of Eid-ul-Azha when the string used in kite flying cut his throat. The CCPO Lahore has directed all the SHOs of the city to take action against the kite flyers. Police have arrested two people from Wahdat Colony and Gulshan Ravi areas in this regard and recovered large quantity of kites from their possession.

General James calls on Ashfaq Pervez Kayani

Posted:

General James N. Mattis, Commander US Central Command (CENTCOM) Friday called on Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. According to ISPR press release, they discussed bilateral issues and matters of mutual interest, with special emphasis on improving coordination between ISAF and Pakistan Army, at Pak-Afghan border.

New Greek govt takes over, former banker at helm

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Greece s new technocrat Prime Minister Lucas Papademos assumed power Friday at the helm of an interim coalition government that will seek to push through tough economic reforms and ensure the country avoids a catastrophic default. Papademos, a former European Central Bank vice president, leads a government including ministers from three parties. Although the vast majority of posts are retained by members of outgoing Prime Minister George Papandreou s Socialists, the bitter rivalry between that party and the conservatives of Antonis Samaras is being at least temporarily set aside as Greece s politicians struggle to put the country back on track financially and ensure it can retain its cherished position in the eurozone. "The new cooperation government will do the best it can to address the country s problems, and I believe that with the cooperation of all and the new government stresses this and the unity of all, we will achieve that," Papademos told Papandreou. Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos retained his post, the conservatives got the key positions of foreign affairs and defense, and ministerial positions also went to members of a small right-wing party with nationalist leanings. "We can all together, under conditions of national unity and social cohesion, overcome the crisis, implement a tough programme that requires sacrifices, but that at the end opens up prospects, hope, for the rebuilding of the country and the economy," Venizelos said. Papademos who was appointed Thursday after two weeks of political turmoil that infuriated European leaders, horrified Greeks and led to mayhem on international markets must now ensure his government passes Greece s latest debt deal: a €130 billion ($177 billion) agreement reached by the European Union on Oct. 27.

Palestinian UN bid goes to the Security Council

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The Palestinian bid for UN membership went to a divided Security Council Friday after its admissions committee approved a report saying there is no consensus among the 15 council nations. For Palestine to become a UN member state, it needs the recommendation of the Security Council. That requires nine "yes" votes which the Palestinians don t appear to have and no veto by a permanent member. The US has said it will veto a resolution supporting Palestinian membership if necessary. Portugal s UN Ambassador Jose Filipe Moraes Cabral, the current council president, told reporters after a brief closed meeting that the council will examine the report and discuss possible future actions. He gave no timetable. Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian UN observer, said the Palestinian leadership "will make a determination very quickly as to the next step forward in the UN system" after consultations with Arab leaders and supporters of its membership bid. One option is for the Palestinians to ask their supporters in the Security Council to introduce a resolution recommending membership. Mansour noted that many countries, including Israel, did not gain UN membership on their first attempt and there was no shame in seeking a vote and failing. Another option is for the Palestinians to go to the General Assembly, where there are no vetoes, and seek a resolution that would raise their status from a UN permanent observer to a nonmember observer state, which would put it on a par with the Holy See. The admissions committee report said the council is divided among those who support Palestinian membership, those who can t support it now and therefore would abstain, and those who believe the application doesn t meet the criteria for membership and oppose it. The report does not include the number or names of countries that would support, abstain, or oppose Palestinian membership. When the admissions committee met last week, diplomats said China, Russia, Brazil, India, South Africa and Lebanon announced their support for Palestinian membership. France, Britain and Colombia announced they would abstain, and Bosnia later announced it would, too. While Nigeria, Gabon, Germany and Portugal didn t announce a final position, diplomats said Nigeria and Gabon will likely vote "yes" and Germany and Portugal will abstain or vote "no."

14 killed, Syria accused of 'crimes against humanity'

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At least 14 people were killed in violence in Syria on Friday, most of them civilians in the restive city of Homs, as Human Rights Watch accused the regime of crimes against humanity. The Arab League, meanwhile, held a preparatory session in Cairo on the eve of a meeting of foreign ministers to discuss Syria s failure to respect proposals to end the crisis. Opposition leaders have been pressing the League to suspend Syria s membership over the crisis which the UN says has cost more than 3,500 lives since protests against President Bashar al-Assad erupted in mid-March. Eight people were killed in Homs in the latest violence, including four civilians shot by security forces in Al-Bayada neighbourhood and a 63-year-old man shot by a sniper, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Residents in Homs also found the corpse of a young man who went missing the previous day and the bodies of two others, the Observatory said, without saying when they were killed. The deaths in Homs came amid mass anti-regime rallies demanding the Arab League suspend Syria s membership in the pan-Arab body to sanction its brutal, eight-month crackdown on dissent. Security forces broke up demonstrations in Al-Malaab, a main thoroughfare in Homs, but rallies relocated and mushroomed, engulfing eight neighbourhoods, the Observatory said. Five people died in Daraa province, cradle of the revolt, including a 13-year-old boy killed by a bomb blast in Mseifra and a man hit by security forces who opened fire against protesters in the same town. In the northwestern province of Idlib, near Turkey, "security forces shot dead a man in the town of Ariha," where demonstrations erupted after the weekly Muslim midday prayers. The Observatory also reported the entry of tanks into the Idlib town of Sheikhun in the wake of "mass demonstrations" and "violent clashes" that led to the "retreat by security forces from government buildings." In Damascus, security forces on the streets of Barzeh and posted snipers on rooftops, after a wave of arrests and deadly violence shook the neighbourhood. And "security forces unleashed heavy gunfire to disperse demonstrations," in the eastern oil hub of Deir Ezzor.

Bus plunges into ocean off St. Lucia; 16 die

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A minibus carrying mourners from a funeral plunged off a cliff into the ocean in the eastern Caribbean island of St. Lucia, killing 16 people, authorities said Friday. The dead include an infant, a pregnant woman and the bus driver, 47-year-old Michael Alexander, who apparently missed a turn in the road and plunged 50 feet (15 meters) down a cliff, said Chief Fire Officer Lambert Charles. A young girl who was found alive in the debris died en route to a hospital, he said. Crews are still looking for a 17th person they say is missing. Police said they are investigating what caused the Thursday night accident in the southwest village of Choiseul that shocked this island of approximately 160,000 people. Foreign Minister Rufus Bousquet, who represents Choiseul in Parliament, described the accident as "a human tragedy of unprecedented proportions." All the dead were from Fond-Lor, within the community of Dugard in the village of Micoud on the island s east coast, said Police Corporal Trevor Constantine.

400 French troops to leave Afghanistan this year

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France is pulling 400 troops out of Afghanistan this year as part of its plan to withdraw all of its forces by the end of 2013. President Nicolas Sarkozy said Friday that 200 troops left in October. Another 200 will leave before the end of the year. His was speaking at a ceremony to commemorate France s war dead on the anniversary of the end of fighting in World War I. France has 4,000 troops currently in Afghanistan, primarily in the east. Sarkozy has said he will steadily draw down those forces but refused opposition calls for the calendar to be sped up. The international coalition plans to withdraw all combat troops from the country by the end of 2014.

15 dead as govt forces shell Yemen demo

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Government forces shelled a protest site in the city of Taez on Friday, killing 15 civilians, medics and witnesses said, as a UN envoy aimed to revive efforts to resolve Yemen s political crisis. Security forces loyal to embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh started shortly after midnight to shell areas around Freedom Square, where demonstrators hold rallies against the regime, witnesses said. "A total of 15 civilians were killed, including three children and three women," a medic source, adding that 12 women were among 40 wounded. Residents said the shelling in Yemen s second-largest city later intensified, focusing on the Al-Rawdah and Zeid al-Mushky districts, which have been at the forefront of anti-regime protests. Witnesses said Republican Guard troops, commanded by Saleh s son Ahmed, also fired artillery rounds into central Taez where thousands of protesters were gathered to call for the veteran president s prosecution. It was the first time security forces have shelled Freedom Square during the weekly Muslim weekly prayers, they said, adding that the upper floors of a hospital were also targeted. According to witnesses, anti-regime tribesmen repelled a raid by security forces on western Taez. The escalation in violence coincided with the return of the UN envoy to Yemen, Jamal Benomar, to revive efforts aimed at resolving the country s 10-month political turmoil. Benomar, who arrived in the capital on Thursday, began meeting with several government and opposition figures to discuss recent developments and the best means for resolving the current crisis.

Turkish quake death toll rises to 24

Posted:

The death toll from the second earthquake to hit eastern Turkey in about two weeks rose to 24 on Friday as several rescue teams clawed through heaps of concrete to search for two journalists believed trapped in the rubble of a collapsed hotel. Colleagues of the two reporters from Turkey s Dogan news agency were among dozens of people anxiously waiting for news outside the wreckage of the Bayram Hotel, one of the two hotels that fell apart when the 5.7-magnitude quake hit the eastern city of Van late Wednesday. "In our profession we always come across disasters," Dogan agency s general manager, Ugur Cebeci, told The Associated Press as he watched rescuers in red overalls search through the debris of the once five-story hotel. "But we are grappling with helplessness here." Journalists and relief workers who had rushed to the region in the aftermath of a more powerful earthquake that hit the region on Oct. 23 themselves became victims when the hotel, weakened by the earlier temblor, collapsed Wednesday. The fatalities include a Japanese relief worker who had come to distribute aid to quake survivors. Rescuers pulled out 12 bodies from the wreckage of the Bayram Hotel as well as the low-budget Aslan Hotel on Friday, raising the death toll to 24, according to state-run TRT television. The dead include at least eight employees of a construction company who were in Van to assemble temporary housing units for survivors in nearby villages.

Key Mexico minister killed in helicopter crash

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Mexican Interior Secretary Francisco Blake Mora, a key figure in the country s bitter war on drug cartels, died in a helicopter crash near Mexico City on Friday, along with seven others. "Unfortunately the interior secretary, his collaborators and the helicopter crew were found dead," government spokeswoman Alejandra Sota said in a televised address. Blake, 45, was the second interior secretary to die in an air accident during the presidency of Felipe Calderon, after Juan Camilo Mourino died in a small plane crash in Mexico City three years ago. Blake and his colleagues had been traveling from Mexico City to Cuernavaca, in the neighbouring state of Morelos, Sota said. Media reports said Blake had been heading to a meeting of prosecutors. A search began after the helicopter disappeared from its projected route, and authorities have now started a probe into the circumstances of the accident, she added. TV pictures showed the wreckage of a helicopter in a wooded, mountainous area, with several other choppers on the ground nearby. Calderon, whose presidency has been defined by a controversial military crackdown on the country s drug gangs involving tens of thousands of troops, met with Blake s wife Friday. The other victims were three government officials, including deputy minister Felipe Zamora, and the helicopter crew.

Federer, Berdych reach Paris Masters semifinals

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Roger Federer earned his 800th victory by beating Juan Monaco of Argentina 6-3, 7-5 Friday to reach the semifinals of the Paris Masters. Federer will next play Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic, who edged Andy Murray of Britain 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France also advanced after his opponent, top-ranked Novak Djokovic, pulled out because of a shoulder injury. Federer slammed seven aces and hit 25 winners compared to only eight for Monaco. The 16-time Grand Slam champion won five straight games to rally from a 3-1 deficit and took the first set when Monaco netted a backhand. Federer broke for a 6-5 lead in the final set when Monaco made a forehand error, winning the match with an ace. Earlier, Murray broke Berdych in the seventh game and took the first set with a crosscourt forehand winner. The Briton rallied from a 5-2 deficit in the second to force a tie-breaker but Berdych hit a forehand winner to level at one set apiece. Berdych broke serve at 4-4 in the final set and held on to clinch victory.

Hamilton fastest in 2nd Abu Dhabi practice

Posted:

Lewis Hamilton drove mistake-free to edge McLaren teammate Jenson Button in the second practice at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Friday, while Formula One champion Sebastian Vettel was unhurt when he slid into a wall. Hamilton clocked 1 minute, 39.586 seconds on the 5.5-kilometer (3.5-mile) Yas Marina circuit, 0.199 seconds quicker than Button, who was fastest in the first practice. The solid run by Hamilton was in stark contrast to his last race at the Indian GP, where his aggressiveness in practice got the best of him and he was penalized three grid places for ignoring yellow flags. Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso, despite also sliding into a wall midway through the session, finished third on the dry track. Vettel ended up sixth after crashing nearly an hour into the second practice. "I lost the car on the entrance to Turn 1," said Vettel, who appeared shaken after the crash but was smiling when he talked to reporters. "I think I was too wide and too far on the curb, so I lost the rear and couldn t catch the car anymore. If you just touch the curb there then it s fine, but I went too far on to it." Having already been crowned champion, Vettel is focused on getting his name into the history books. The two-time F1 champ has already won twice in Abu Dhabi, and another victory this weekend will leave him needing to take the checkered flag in the final race of the season in Brazil to match Michael Schumacher s record of 13 wins in a season. Vettel can also equal the record for the most pole positions in a season (14) at Yas Marina. But after a rare mistake in the second session and a mediocre run in the first, Vettel has plenty of work to do in Saturday qualifying to put him in position to tie those two coveted marks.

Loeb wins 8th rally title after Hirvonen retires

Posted:

French driver Sebastien Loeb has won his eighth straight world rally title after nearest challenger Mikko Hirvonen pulled out of the Wales Rally GB because of engine damage. Loeb, of Citreon, will drive unopposed for the title in the remaining two days of the final rally of the season after Hirvonen was forced to withdraw Friday after puncturing the radiator of his Ford in a crash on the seventh stage. Loeb s latest victory makes him the world s most successful motorsport driver, surpassing Formula One s Michael Schumacher and MotoGP s Valentino Rossi who both won seven titles. Loeb finished the second day of the rally 1.1 seconds ahead of Finland s Jari-Matti Latvala in the other Ford.

Japan, Uzbekistan advance in Asian qualifying

Posted:

Japan beat host Tajikistan 4-0 and Uzbekistan defeated visiting North Korea 1-0 to send both winners into the fourth and decisive round. North Korea became the first team from the 2010 World Cup to be knocked out of the running for Brazil 2014. Australia missed a chance to advance when it was stunned by Oman, which needed the win to remain in contention. Striker Imaad al Hosni scored from close range in the 18th minute and Australia was unable to equalize. Japan brushed aside Tajikistan in Dushanbe to preserve its unbeaten record in Asian qualifying. Striker Shinji Okazaki scored two goals for Japan, his second coming in the final seconds to put the final touch to an easy victory that keeps Japan atop Group C, ahead of second-placed Uzbekistan. Yasuyuki Konno and Ryoichi Maeda also scored for Japan. Alberto Zaccheroni s team beat Tajikistan 8-0 last month, but needed a fortuitous rebound in the 36th minute from a save by Tajik goalkeeper Alisher Tuychiev for Konno to break the deadlock. A header from Okzaki in the 61st doubled the score, and Maeda struck the ball into the top corner to beat Tuychiev in the 82nd. In Dubai, Lee Keun-ho and captain Park Chu-young scored late second-half goals to keep the unbeaten South Koreans on top of Group B after four matches. South Korea beat UAE 2-1 at home a month ago, but didn t break the deadlock until the 87th minute, when Lee sidefooted into an open net. Park then slid into the goalmouth to bundle the ball across the line in the second minute of injury time. In Muscat, Oman striker Imaad al Hosni scored the winner in the 18th minute against the run of the play. Ahmed Hadeed sent a defense-splitting pass to Imaad, who hammered his shot past Australia goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer. Saudi Arabia plays Thailand later in Riyadh. Thailand has four points from three matches while Saudi Arabia has two from same number of games.

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Friday 11 November 2011

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