Dunya TV
Dunya TV |
- PTI workers boycott conference in London, Reham leaves without speaking
- Case registered against Abid Sher Ali, father for ECP rules violation
- Rocket barrage kills 26 Iranian exiles at Iraq camp
- Rescuers retrieve bodies from crashed Spanish military helicopter
- Spanish coast guard abandons search for 35 missing migrants
- Obama to send special forces to Syria
- Ukraine soldier killed by rebel fire at Donetsk airport
- Tennis: Nadal battles past Cilic into Swiss semi-finals
- Russia says hit 1,623 targets in Syria in bombing campaign
- Tennis: Muguruza marches, Kvitova scrambles into WTA semis
- Tennis: Gasquet survives Karlovic ace barrage
- Football: Blatter again points finger at Sarkozy over Qatar
- RugbyU: South Africa beat Argentina in World Cup third place play-off
- Germany to funnel refugee flow as 17 children die at sea
- Golf: Van Zyl sets the pace in Turkey
| PTI workers boycott conference in London, Reham leaves without speaking Posted: LONDON (Dunya News) – As news of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s Chairman (PTI) Imran Khan’s marriage dissolution spread like wild fire, PTI workers on Saturday boycotted a party press conference held in London. Attendance of PTI workers remained negligible as majority avoided the meeting. Khan’s former wife Reham Khan refused to address the conference and left the meeting towards an undisclosed location without speaking.Also read: Imran, Reham mutually agree to divorceAccording to the details, the conference was also boycotted by the party’s local leaders. The main sponsors of the conference also withdrew their sponsorship after observing the scanty attendance.Allegedly, arrangements had been made to accommodate 500 people but were visited by only 100 participants. Organizer of the meeting faced a heavy setback due to the failure of the event.According to sources, Reham’s ex-husband Khan had earlier stopped her from attending the meeting.Read Further: Reham Khans tumultuous journey duringlast 10 monthsThe rumors that had the media and people abuzz turned out to be true as the recently wed couple decided to part ways citing differences in the espousal. The couple divorced with mutual consent after ten months of marriage, PTI spokesperson Naeemul Haq confirmed.To a question, he said they have divorced on a personal matter.She (Reham) wanted to get involved with politics and that is not what Khan wanted at all. She just did not want to sit at home, a private TV channel reported.Soon after their marriage, some PTI leaders and supporters had expressed concern over her participation in party politics after which Imran Khan announced she would not contest polls or attend any party gatherings.Soon after the news broke, Imran Khan stated that this is a painful time for him and Reham. He requested everyone to respect their privacy.Read Further: Jehangir Tareen says being dragged into divorce for no reasonPPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has directed all the party leaders and workers not to make any adverse comments on anybody’s personal matters.“We are harbingers of our rich traditions and dignity. We represent every segment of society. We respect individual’s privacy. Hence we should not indulge in things, which don’t suit our morals and ethics,” he exhorted party leaders and workers.Meanwhile, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also urged all the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders to refrain from commenting on Khan’s personal matters.Imran Khan, who is 63 and the father of two sons from his previous marriage to British socialite Jemima Khan (nee Goldsmith), had tied the knot with TV journalist Reham on January 8 this year in a simple ceremony at Bani Gala.Reham is host of a political talk show in Pakistan and was previously a BBC weather host. She is also a divorced mother of three.  |
| Case registered against Abid Sher Ali, father for ECP rules violation Posted: FAISALABAD (Dunya News) – A case was registered against Federal Minister for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali and Chaudhary Sher Ali, the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) Mayor group leader and Abid Sher Ali’s father, along with various other leaders of PML-N for conducting an election campaign rally which was in violation of the electoral code. Both father and son had conducted the rally in Dhobi Ghat ground of Faisalabad for the upcoming Local Bodies (LB) election.According to the details, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had earlier taken notice of it’s rules violation and summoned both father and son, along with other PML-N leaders. Police also came in action and has registered a case against them along with all PML-N leaders present on stage during the rally including Member of Parliament Assembly (MPA) Tahir Jameel and former MPA Khawaja Islam.Also read: ECP summons Sher Ali group for violationA case was also registered on the basis of a report submitted by the ECP and District Coordination Officer (DCO) against the Federal Minister for Water and Power in Gulberg police station due to violation of section 144.Also read: ECP takes notice of Sher Ali groups public meetingMeanwhile police also registered a case against MPA Imran Zafar and 70 other individuals for taking out a rally in Gujrat.  |
| Rocket barrage kills 26 Iranian exiles at Iraq camp Posted: BAGHDAD (AFP) - A rocket barrage killed at least 26 Iranian exiles at a camp near Baghdad, UN chief Ban Ki-moon said Friday after the deadliest attack against the opposition group in years.The United States and United Nations condemned the attack on the Peoples Mujahedeen Organisation of Iran (PMOI), which demanded that its members be protected.The attack may help to accelerate the long-running process of relocating PMOI members outside Iraq, which has been going on for years.Ban condemns the attack... on Camp Hurriya (Liberty), near the Baghdad International Airport, which left at least 26 residents dead and many more wounded, a UN statement said.He called for the perpetrators to be brought to justice and for the relocation process to be accelerated, terming it the only safe and durable solution for the residents.According to Iraqi security sources, at least 15 rockets fired from an area west of Baghdad called Bakriya struck in and around Camp Liberty on Thursday evening, while the PMOI put the number of rockets at more than 80.Powerful militia groups are present in areas west of Baghdad, and the Islamic State terrorist group lacks the interest to attack the PMOI.The PMOI released photos said to show bodies of the victims killed in the rocket attack, one of which showed 20 people lying in two rows on stretchers on the ground.Camp Liberty, a former US military base, has since 2012 housed members of the PMOI, a group that originally opposed the shah but later fought alongside Saddam Husseins forces against Irans clerical rulers after the 1979 Islamic revolution.The PMOI was also accused of taking part in the brutal suppression of a 1991 Shiite uprising against Saddam, making it widely reviled by members of the countrys Shiite majority, which came to power after 2003.Iraq investigating attackHuman Rights Watch has cited former PMOI members as having reported abuses ranging from detention and persecution of ordinary members wishing to leave the organisation, to lengthy solitary confinements, severe beatings and torture of dissident members.Iraqi joint operations command spokesman Yahya Rasool said an investigation into the attack is under way, and that two Iraqi security personnel were wounded in the incident.Rasool said a truck mounted with rocket launch tubes was found in Bakriya, north of Camp Liberty.The people behind this attack are terrorist criminals who want to destabilise the country, he said, without naming any group or nation.US Secretary of State John Kerry said in a statement that the United States strongly condemns (the) brutal, senseless terrorist attack on Camp Hurriya that killed and injured camp residents.No matter the circumstances, on this point we remain absolute: the United States remains committed to assisting the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in the relocation of all Camp Hurriya residents to a permanent and safe location outside of Iraq, he said.The UNs High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres said: This is a most deplorable act, and I am greatly concerned at the harm that has been inflicted on those living at Camp Liberty.Every effort must continue to be made for the injured and to identify and bring to account those responsible.The PMOI has been repeatedly targeted in the years after being disarmed following Saddams overthrow, with dozens of its members killed in attacks it generally blamed on Iranian and Iraqi authorities.The group, which has a powerful network of former and current officials who advocate on its behalf, successfully lobbied to be removed from the US and EU terror lists, but more than 2,000 remaining dissidents at Camp Liberty are still waiting to be relocated to other countries.  |
| Rescuers retrieve bodies from crashed Spanish military helicopter Posted: MADRID (AFP) - Rescue crews on Friday retrieved the bodies of two of the three crew members who died when a Spanish military helicopter crashed in the Atlantic off the coast of Africa, the defence ministry said.The continued effort by the Spanish navy divers throughout the day has allowed for the retrieval of two of the three deceased troops, the minister said in a Twitter message.The lack of light as night arrived prevents the work from continuing. The work will resume in the early morning.The helicopter went down on October 22, about 280 nautical miles (520 kilometres) from an air base on Gando, its destination on the Spanish island of Gran Canaria, off the coast of Morocco.It had set off from Mauritania after refuelling following two weeks of military exercises in Senegal.Spains defence ministry said at the time that Morocco had said the crew members had been rescued by a fishing vessel which was taking them to Dakhla, a town in Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara.But the following day Spanish Defence Minister Pedro Morenes said the information provided by the Moroccan authorities turned out to be wrong and rescuers resumed the search.Spanish searchers spent days searching until they located the submerged cabin of the helicopter on Thursday with the dead crew members inside.Morones met with relatives of the deceased again on Friday to inform them of the latest developments, the defence ministry said.The ministry has not said what may have caused the helicopter to go down.  |
| Spanish coast guard abandons search for 35 missing migrants Posted: MADRID (AFP) - Spains coast guard said Friday it has called off the search for 35 migrants missing at sea after their boat shipwrecked between Spain and Morocco.The search has ended and it will not be resumed, a coast guard spokeswoman said, a day after rescuers plucked 15 migrants alive from the remains of the boat and found the bodies of four others.The coastguard began looking for the stricken boat after receiving a call on Wednesday from an NGO based in Morocco which warned that a vessel loaded with migrants had departed from a beach near Al Hoceima.A coastguard vessel spotted the troubled boat just after midday on Thursday, some 39 nautical miles (72 kilometres) northwest of the town of Al Hoceima in northern Morocco.Two women and 13 men were clinging to what was left of the boat, which had lost its hull. Some of the migrants did not have life jackets.The 15 rescued migrants, who were transported by the coastguard ship to the southern Spanish port of Malaga, said there had been 39 other people on board who fell overboard.It is the most serious migrant boat accident off the coast of Spain this year and it came as at least 17 children and nine adults drowned when three boats sank en route from Turkey to Greece.The migrants on the boat were from the Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Mali, Guinea and Cameroon, said Helena Maleno of the NGO which first sounded the alarm, Caminando Fronteras.A total of 12 women were on board the boat, including two who were pregnant and who are among the missing, she added.We learned of the departure of the boat because we received calls from family members of those on board, Maleno told AFP.The 15 surviving migrants were presented before a judge on Friday to begin the deportation from Spain without taking into account that they just had a huge shock, she added.They are people who have been displaced due to tragedy and conflict. They are not met with the respect of international conventions, said Maleno.If they had been French victims of a bus accident in Spain, they would not be treated like this.This year alone, more than 3,000 people have died while trying to make the perilous journey to Europe across the Mediterranean. More than half a million people have made the voyage in Europes worst migration crisis since World War II, most to Greece and Italy.  |
| Obama to send special forces to Syria Posted: WASHINGTON (AFP) - President Barack Obama has authorized the first sustained deployment of special forces to Syria, the White House said Friday, reversing a long-standing refusal to put US boots on the ground.Obama okayed a deployment of fewer than 50 special operations personnel in the north of the war-ravaged nation, in a bid to strengthen forces fighting the Islamic State group, spokesman Josh Earnest said.While US fighters are believed to have previously carried out covert missions in Syria -- they had not been deployed there on a continuous basis.For over a year, the US has led a 65-member coalition that has conducted air strikes against more than 13,000 Islamic State targets in Iraq and Syria.But that has had only a limited impact in stopping the jihadi advance.Efforts in Syria have been plagued by the complexities of a civil war that has killed more than 240,000 people since March 2011 and prompted the most serious refugee crisis since World War II.Obama has been reluctant to involve the United States in another ground war in the Middle East, backing opposition groups that are an uneasy mix of Kurds, Turkomen and major sects of Muslim community.Many have proven keener to fight Syrian President Bashar al-Assad than the Islamic State.Obama was recently forced to scrap a half billion dollar mission to train Syrian opposition fighters, who had come under sustained attack from Assads forces, IS fighters, Iranian-backed Hezbollah, groups linked to Al-Qaeda, and, more recently, Russian air strikes.The point is to get some guys on the ground, get eyes on, work with units that are there fighting (Islamic State) and see what more is possible, said one official.The source also said that weapons would not go to the Kurdish Peoples Protection Units, known as the YPG, who have recently been accused of war crimes by Amnesty International.Mission creep?The White House denied the move was a reversal of Obamas pledge not to put combat troops in Syria, saying Americans would not be leading the charge up the hill.Our strategy in Syria hasnt changed, said Earnest, rejecting accusations of mission creep.But a senior US defense official seemed to leave open the possibility of an increased US ground presence.As we develop new opportunities to support capable and local forces, we will consider those, we will make recommendations to the President, the official said on condition of anonymity.Hes given every indication of his willingness to consider recommendations provided they are consistent with the strategy of achieving a victory that sticks.Obama came to office vowing to end two wars in Muslim nations that had cost thousands of US lives, sapped the coffers and done little to advance US interests in the region.Officials indicated the new mission would echo existing operations in Iraq, where military personnel coordinate local ground forces, channel weapons supplies and direct air support.But in Iraq, the line between combat and non-combat troops has been hazy.US forces took part in a recent raid on a jihadist-run prison in northern Iraq, resulting in the first death of a US serviceman in action in Iraq since 2011.Experts said the US announcement could foreshadow an assault on the Islamic State groups bases in Raqa in Syria and Ramadi in Iraq.The White House also announced Friday the deployment of A-10 ground-attack planes and a dozen F-15 tactical fighter jets to the Incirlik base in southern Turkey and increased assistance to Lebanon and Jordan as part of the ramped up effort.Its not clear that this will be enough to take Raqa, said Faysal Itani of the Atlantic Council.However, it could help attract local recruits to what will be seen as an empowered effort, and perhaps help build some trust between Kurdish and Arab forces.  |
| Ukraine soldier killed by rebel fire at Donetsk airport Posted: KIEV (AFP) - A Ukraine soldier died Friday during in fighting with insurgents near the shelled-out remains of the airport in Donetsk, a stronghold of the pro-Russian separatists, the army announced.One soldier was killed and another injured a military statement said.Earlier in the day the army reported rebel fire against its positions in the village of Piski, an area controlled by Kiev forces near the flashpoint Donetsk airport which fell into separatists hands in January.On Tuesday another Ukraine soldier was killed in a mortar fire exchange near the remains of the airport.Such attacks highlight the fragile nature of the latest ceasefire, in place since September 1, in a conflict which has cost more than 8,000 lives in the past 18 months.Donetsk airport was for several months the scene of fierce fighting between the Ukraine army and the pro-Moscow insurgents before falling into separatist hands, and remains one of the main flashpoints.The lull in fighting has raised hopes of an end to one of Europes deadliest conflicts since the Balkan wars of the 1990s, but the process has been slow and periodic exchanges of deadly mortar fire still flare up.The sporadic fighting and seemingly irreconcilable differences over the pro-Russian regions future status within a unified Ukraine means that a peace process that was meant to be finished by the end of the year will drag on into 2016.  |
| Tennis: Nadal battles past Cilic into Swiss semi-finals Posted: BASEL (AFP) - Rafael Nadal reached the Swiss Indoors semi-finals on Friday with a hard-fought 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 triumph over Marin Cilic, his third three-set victory this week.The 14-time Grand Slam champion from Spain will next face Frances Richard Gasquet who survived 32 aces from Ivo Karlovic to keep his hopes of a World Tour Finals place alive with a 6-4, 6-7 (2/7), 7-6 (8/6) win.Nadal, the third seed, began turning his match with 2014 US Open champion Cilic on its head after going down a set and a break. The third seed retrieved the break in the fourth game, 2-2, with a forehand winner.He then took a 5-3 lead as Cilic delivered three double-faults to lose serve in an eight-minute game, opening the door for Nadal to push through.With the sets level, Nadal went to work closing out the evening, breaking to start the third and concluding with another break as the Croatian ended with seven double-faults while losing serve four times in two and a quarter hours.I was just fighting, always trying to find solutions in a difficult situation, said Nadal. He played a great first set and it was tough to find any chances on return.I changed my position (on return) a bit in the second set and it seemed to work well. This was an important victory for me against someone playing very well.Cilic fired 37 winners but was undone by 49 unforced errors and is now 0-11 against top 10 players since winning the 2014 US Open.The 29-year-old Nadals confidence is fast returning after a slow start to 2015 and some indifferent play in the ensuing months when his ranking slumped to a 10-year low.I needed to play with the right tactic and motivation and try to improve every day, said Nadal. Its not easy but Im working hard to find the feelings and find the mental strength to come back.Nadal has already qualified for the World Tour Finals to be staged in London from November 15 along with Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka and Tomas Berdych.Gasquet is chasing one of the last two spots remaining in the eight-player finale.But the Frenchman with the picture-book, single-handed backhand faces almost impossible odds, needing to win titles this weekend and next week at his home Paris Masters.Anything less will send rivals Kei Nishikori and Spains David Ferrer to the year-end showpiece.Ferrer and Nishikori are both injured and neither is playing this week.Six-time Basel champion Federer was bidding later Friday for the semis against Belgian David Goffin in a re-run of the 2014 final won easily by the Swiss in his hometown.The winner of that match will play Jack Sock, who beat fellow American Donald Young 5-7, 6-4, 6-2.Karlovic, 36, who beat second seed Wawrinka in the opening round, laid on his trademark serving attack against Gasquet, with the 11th ranked Frenchman defending in style.Gasquet found himself level in the third set, which went to a tiebreaker.The Frenchman saved a match point with a backhand pass down the line, then secured his own match-winning chance with a return at the feet of the two-metre-tall Karlovic.Gasquet raised his racquet in triumph a point later as Karlovic sent a volley into the top of the net after almost two and a half hours.  |
| Russia says hit 1,623 targets in Syria in bombing campaign Posted: MOSCOW (AFP) - Russia on Friday said its airforce had destroyed 1,623 terrorist targets in Syria in a month-old bombing campaign to support forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.Overall our planes made 1,391 sorties, destroying 1,623 terrorist targets, including 51 training camps and 131 storage facilities, Andrei Kartapolov, a senior defence ministry official, said in televised comments.Kartapolov added that 249 communication and command posts, 35 car bomb workshops, 371 fortified positions and 786 field camps and bases were also destroyed.Russia has carried out strikes since September 30, publishing nearly daily information about the campaign it says targets primarily Islamic State jihadists.The US and its allies -- which are carrying out a separate bombing campaign -- says Moscow has however concentrated on other groups which oppose both IS and Assad.The Russian military has claimed its strikes have caused panic and mass desertion among the terrorist ranks, but the Syrian armys ground offensive has seen mixed results as it lost ground after capturing several towns earlier this month.It is premature to talk about complete victory over the terrorists in Syria, Kartapolov said.Despite considerable losses and mass desertion, militants continue to resist government forces in several areas. However all of their attempts to counter-attack have been thwarted.The defence ministry nonetheless said that ground offensives by the Syrian army in the Aleppo, Latakia, Hama and Homs provinces had led government forces to recapture some 350 square kilometres (135 square miles) of territory in the last three weeks.The village of Sneisil in the Homs region was among the areas recaptured by the government, the Russian defence ministry said, adding that there was intense fighting for control of Salma, a village in the northwestern province of Latakia.Kartapolov also claimed that militants with Al-Qaeda affiliate Nusra Front and Islamic State group, who have been fighting each other for months, have joined forces in Hama province.The latest bombing claims come as Russias foreign minister is meeting with his counterparts from 17 other countries involved in the Syria conflict -- including the US and Iran -- in the broadest diplomatic push yet to find a solution to the crisis.  |
| Tennis: Muguruza marches, Kvitova scrambles into WTA semis Posted: SINGAPORE (AFP) - Garbine Muguruza reached the WTA Finals last four unbeaten on Friday after a tough win over Petra Kvitova -- who also qualified for the semis with help from her fellow Czech Lucie Safarova.On a rollercoaster last day of group play, Muguruza and Kvitova shared 15 service breaks in a see-sawing three-setter before the increasingly impressive Spaniard won 6-4, 4-6, 7-5.Kvitovas hopes were hanging by a thread but she went through when her friend and Fed Cup teammate Safarova beat Angelique Kerber 6-4, 6-3, stopping the German finishing second in White Group.Already-eliminated Safarova said she met a delighted Kvitova in the locker room and she said she might buy me some beers.Muguruza will play Polands Agnieszka Radwanska in Saturdays semi-finals while Kvitova will meet Maria Sharapova, who like Muguruza has swept through all three of her group matches.The semi-finals line-up raises the possibility of a title clash between fast-rising star Muguruza and Russias Sharapova, the established force with five Grand Slam titles to her name.You know to be here for me is a great pay-off after the whole year, and hopefully I can continue winning and playing like this, said Muguruza, who is also into the doubles semi-finals.Safarova, who was already eliminated and playing for little more than personal and national pride, was delighted to keep Kvitovas hopes alive with her win over Kerber.Teamwork Well, Im happy for her that she went through to the semis, Im happy for my win as well, she said.The two will lead defending champions Czech Republic at the Fed Cup final in Prague next month against a Russian team spearheaded by Sharapova. After Fed Cup we can celebrate, Safarova said.In Fridays first match, Muguruza didnt have it easy against two-time Wimbledon winner Kvitova and she had to dig deep in a messy first encounter with the Czech.With five breaks in the final set alone, Muguruza grabbed the crucial break for 6-5 and it took her four match points before she closed it out with a lunging volley.Kerber, who needed to win only one set to qualify, did not mask her disappointment and indicated she was distracted by people audibly calculating her match progress during a changeover.They were counting. Okay she won one set, now you must win just one set, she said. I was not feeling good. From the first point I couldnt find my rhythm. I was actually not there, she added.I was tight and I was not playing my tennis. Lucie played a good match for sure, but for sure it was not my best match today.Muguruza is bracing herself for a very demanding Saturday as she will also play the doubles semi with compatriot Carla Suarez Navarro against Czechs Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka.Its going to be a challenge for me to see how much my body can handle, because now I dont have a day off, said Muguruza, 22.So, I mean, its great to be in my position I think now, to be playing singles and doubles semifinals, but its going to be hard. I have to recover well and do everything possible to be ready for both matches.  |
| Tennis: Gasquet survives Karlovic ace barrage Posted: BASEL (AFP) - Frances Richard Gasquet survived 32 aces from Ivo Karlovic to keep his hopes of a World Tour Finals place alive on Friday with a 6-4, 6-7 (2/7), 7-6 (8/6) quarter-final win at the Swiss Indoors.Gasquet is chasing one of the last two spots remaining in the eight-player season finale in London from November 15.But the Frenchman with the picture-book, single-handed backhand faces almost impossible odds, needing to win titles both this weekend and next week at his home Paris Masters.Anything less will send rivals Kei Nishikori and Spains David Ferrer to the year-end showpiece.Ferrer and Nishikori are both injured and neither is playing this week.The London field already includes Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka, Tomas Berdych and Rafael Nadal.Gasquet will face either third seed Nadal or former US Open champion Marin Cilic in the Basel semi-finals on Saturday.Karlovic, 36, who beat second seed Wawrinka in the opening round, laid on his trademark serving attack, with the 11th ranked Gasquet defending in style.The Frenchman found himself level in the third set, which went to a tiebreaker. Gasquet saved a match point with a backhand pass down the line, then secured his own match-winning chance with a return at the feet of the two-metre-tall Karlovic.Gasquet raised his racquet in triumph a point later as Karlovic sent a volley into the top of the net after almost two and a half hours.Later Friday, top seed Federer was continuing his bid for a seventh home title against Belgian David Goffin in a re-run of the 2014 final won by the Swiss.Jack Sock was taking on Donald Young in an all-American quarter-final.  |
| Football: Blatter again points finger at Sarkozy over Qatar Posted: PARIS (AFP) - Suspended FIFA president Sepp Blatter has again accused former French president Nicolas Sarkozy of influencing the awarding of the 2022 World Cup hosting rights to Qatar rather than the United States.Qatar controversially won the right to host the 2022 World Cup, a decision that has since sparked a series of corruption investigations surrounding FIFA and its officials.Speaking to Fridays edition of Britains Financial Times, Blatter repeated the claims he made on Wednesday to Russian news agency TASS that FIFAs executive committee had originally agreed to award the 2018 tournament to Russia and the next World Cup to the US.Blatter told the FT that there had been a gentlemans agreement that the two World Cups in question would go to the two superpowers -- although Moscow denies there was any such arrangement.It was behind the scenes. It was diplomatically arranged to go there, said Blatter, who has found himself at the centre of a FIFA corruption storm ever since being re-elected to a fifth term in May.However, as he stated on Wednesday, Blatter, who is set to stand down after Februarys FIFA presidential election, said Sarkozys influence moved the goalposts -- something the French politician strongly denies. Just one week before the election I got a telephone call from Platini and he said, I am no longer in your picture because I have been told by the head of state that we should consider ... the situation of France. And he told me that this will affect more than one vote because he had a group of voters, said Blatter.Platini, the suspended UEFA chief, admitted to voting for Qatar at the election in December 2010 when the World Cups were awarded to Russia and the tiny desert kingdom, but denied doing so on the orders of Sarkozy, who was French president from 2007-2012, despite the latter having not long beforehand invited him to dinner with the future Qatari emir, Tamim ben Hamad al Thani, then the prince of Qatar.Speaking to French 24-hour news channel BFMTV on Thursday, Sarkozy also denied using his influence to affect the World Cup vote.There you go, once again someone who attributes great power to me, said Sarkozy from Moscow where he was meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin.That was not my aim, nor was it to manage PSG, nor to attribute the World Cup to anyone in particular, he added ironically.But you thank him (Blatter) nonetheless from me. It was doubtless a reference that points to his very great friendship with Michel Platini.Blatter told TASS on Wednesday that after the Franco-Qatari summit, four European votes deserted the United States and the result was 14-8 (to Qatar). Otherwise, according to Blatter, the United States would have won the right to host the World Cup by 12 votes to 10 following the supposedly secret ballot in 2010.Earlier this month, both Blatter and Platini, who is a FIFA vice-president as well as running European football, were suspended by FIFAs independent ethics committee for 90 days as part of a wide-ranging investigation into corruption at the heart of world footballs governing body.Those suspensions are related to a 1.8 million euro ($2 million) payment made by FIFA to Platini in 2011 for consultancy work carried out several years earlier. Both parties deny there was anything untoward in the payment, for which there was no written contract, despite the inexplicable delay.Meanwhile, former Portugal star Luis Figo, once a presidential candidate himself, has given his backing to UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino, whose own candidature has been seen in many quarters as sounding the death knell of Platinis own bid.His experience, competence, capacity for work and his honesty make him the best candidate for the presidency, said Figo, who eventually pulled out of the last FIFA election in May, said of Swiss lawyer Infantino.Banking giant Credit Suisse also revealed on Friday that it is under investigation by Swiss and US authorities over links to FIFA officials accused of bribery and corruption.Credit Suisse has received inquiries from these authorities regarding its banking relationships with certain individuals and entities associated with FIFA, the bank said in a statement.US and Swiss authorities are probing whether Credit Suisse and other institutions waved through improper transactions or failed to observe anti-money laundering regulations in dealing with the accounts of FIFA associates.  |
| RugbyU: South Africa beat Argentina in World Cup third place play-off Posted: LONDON (AFP) - Springbok great Bryan Habana was denied a World Cup record as South Africa beat Argentina 24-13 in the third place play-off at Londons Olympic Stadium on Friday.Habana needed just one try to break the World Cup career record of 15 he shares with retired New Zealand star Jonah Lomu.But in what is likely to be the 32-year-old wings final World Cup match, Habana squandered several chances before being taken off in the 67th minute by Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer. Habanas fellow wing JP Pietersen and lock Eben Etzebeth, from a Habana pass, did score tries.Fly-half Handre Pollard kicked 14 points as South Africa, who started the tournament with a shock defeat by Japan in the biggest World Cup upset of them all, finished on a high to come third as they did in 1999.It looked like a Nicolas Sanchez drop-goal and penalty would be all Argentina had to show for their efforts. But a converted try in stoppage time from replacement front-row Juan Pablo Orlandi gave the Pumas the last word.South Africa great Victor Matfield in his 127th and last Test, led the Springboks in place of Fourie du Preez, injured in the 20-18 semi-final defeat by defending champions New Zealand. Ruan Pienaar replaced du Preez at scrum-half.Argentina too had a new skipper.The Pumas, looking to equal their best World Cup-placing of third in 2007, made 10, mostly enforced, changes, with skipper Agustin Creevy, wing Juan Imhoff, veteran centre Juan Martin Hernandez and prop Marcos Ayerza all missing.Sanchez captained the side for the first time in hooker Creevys absence.Argentina were a man down as early as the fifth minute when Irish referee John Lacey sent scrum-half Tomas Cubelli to the sin-bin for obstruction.South Africa kicked the ensuing penalty for a line-out, which they duly won.The ball was worked right, with Pietersen going over for a try after good hands from Pienaar and full-back Willie Le Roux.Pollard landed the difficult conversion and South Africa led 7-0.Minutes later Habana almost had his record-breaking try but he was beaten to the touchdown by Pumas full-back Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino. Argentina, who in August achieved their first win over South Africa with a 37-25 success in Durban, fell further behind when Pollards penalty made it 10-0.Meanwhile Habana, who knocked on in the 18th minute, missed an even better opportunity for the record on the half hour when, in space and unmarked, he could not hold Pollards high looping pass.Either side of two more Pollard penalties, Habana saw another chance go begging.The Springboks won a turnover and Habana regathered out on the left before chipping in-field.But his run was halted when Lacey penalised him for pulling on the Amorosinos shirt when he did not have the ball.South Africa led 16-0 at half-time.But early in the second half, Sanchez, reclaiming his position as the World Cups leading points scorer after briefly losing it to Pollard, landed a skimming drop-goal to get Argentina on the scoreboard.Argentinas joy, was short-lived, however.Habanas pass to Etzebeth gave the lock, sliding in on his knees, just enough space out on the left to score a try.Pollard missed the conversion, but another penalty stretched the Springboks lead to 24-3 before Sanchez, surprisingly given the deficit, kicked a penalty.As the second half wore on, Springbok flanker Schalk Burger, lock Matfield and then Habana, all world champions in 2007, were replaced to applause from a crowd of more than 55,000 as they made their World Cup farewells.  |
| Germany to funnel refugee flow as 17 children die at sea Posted: BERLIN (AFP) - Germany agreed with Austria Friday to new rules for a more orderly passage of migrants, as the death of 17 children at sea highlighted the treacherous journey of those trying to reach Europe.After a week in which tensions flared between the neighbour states, Germanys interior ministry said that the influx massing at its border with Austria would now be funnelled through five entry points.We would like to have a more orderly procedure, a spokeswoman for the interior ministry told AFP following a bilateral agreement which took immediate effect.There was more grim news on Friday evening as the Spanish coastguard called off the search for 35 people lost at sea when their boat went down between Spain and Morocco. Four bodies had already been pulled from the water.Germany imposed controls at its 800-kilometre-long (500-mile-long) frontier with Austria in mid-September in a bid to slow the arrival of thousands of asylum seekers per day.But tempers erupted again this week when Germanys Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere on Wednesday accused Austria of sending asylum seekers to its border without any warning, prompting the urgent talks between the two sides.Vienna announced plans this week to build a barrier at its Slovenian border to stem the tide, drawing criticism from French President Francois Hollande, who said Friday after talks with Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann that such walls had no place within the European Union.As Europe struggles to find a response its worst migrant crisis since World War II, nine adults lost their lives along with the 17 children when the boats went down in frigid waters en route to Greece from Turkey.Although rescue officials in Greece and Turkey managed to pull another 157 people from the water, such drownings have become an almost daily occurrence as thousands of people brave high seas to make the crossing on flimsy, overloaded vessels.Deaths almost dailyGreek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras expressed shame over Europes failure to prevent yet another humanitarian tragedy, and said it was crucial to prevent the Aegean Sea from becoming a graveyard for people fleeing war and misery.Most of the deaths occurred off the Greek islands of Kalymnos and Rhodes, where 22 people drowned, among them 13 children, when two boats went down overnight, port officials said.In total, 138 people were rescued from the two boats, with the coastguard continuing its search for survivors.To the north, an AFP correspondent witnessed another boat foundering off the island of Lesbos, with a group of desperate people perched on the roof screaming for help.Another four young children, all of them Syrian, drowned when their flimsy boat heading for Lesbos capsized in bad weather, the Dogan news agency reported.The latest deaths came after 17 people drowned off Lesbos and Samos on Wednesday, 11 of them children.Despite worsening weather at the onset of winter that has made the already hazardous sea voyage even more dangerous, a record 48,000 refugees and migrants arrived last week in Greece, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said.Tsipras also urged Turkey to respect its commitments to halting the flow of people leaving its territory by boat and stressing Athens willingness to be a link between the EU and Turkey on the matter.Merkels unexpected allySince the start of the year, 560,000 migrants and refugees have arrived in Greece by sea, out of over 700,000 who have reached Europe via the Mediterranean, according to the International Organization for Migration.More than 3,200 have died during the perilous crossings, the vast majority on the longer sea route from Libya to Italy.Most are heading for Germany, which is expecting up to a million asylum requests this year, prompting a backlash against German Chancellor Angela Merkel.But Merkel found an unexpected source of support from former nemesis Yanis Varoufakis, Greeces ex-finance minister.Varoufakis, an outspoken critic of Merkels austerity-for-aid response to the Greek debt crisis, said her actions regarding refugees had been exemplary.As a European, it fills me with great pride how Chancellor Angela Merkel is reacting, he told German daily Die Welt.I wish everyone in Europe would do the same.Meanwhile James Bond actor Daniel Craig joined a chorus of concern for desperate people fleeing war and persecution, telling AFP: There is a human tragedy going on. It is up to European governments to step forward and get this sorted.  |
| Golf: Van Zyl sets the pace in Turkey Posted: BELEK (AFP) - South Africas Jaco van Zyl remained the man to catch at the halfway stage of the $7 million Turkish Airlines Open on Friday, as he opened up a two-shot lead on the top of the leaderboard.At the Montgomerie Maxx Royal course, van Zyl had raced to a seven-shot lead at one stage when he was five-under par through his first 12 holes.But he gave some hope to the field as he cooled off coming in.Two bogeys by the South African ensured that Englands Richard Bland (65) and Chris Wood (66) were within striking distance at 12-under par 132, while 2013 champion Victor Dubuisson (64) and Paraguays Fabrizio Zanotti were tied fourth at 11-under par, three behind.World number three and the reigning European number one Rory McIlroy (67) saved a miraculous par on the 18th hole for the second successive day and was four behind the leader at 134 with Frances Alexander Levy (65).Van Zyl, who was laid off for 30 weeks last year because of surgery on both his knees, and then had to endure another two-month wait following another procedure on his left knee, continued from where he left off on Thursday and five birdies in the first 12 holes gave him a seven-shot lead at that stage.But the man who started the year on medical exemption but is now ranked 51st in the Race to Dubai, fumbled slightly coming in, with bogeys on the 13th and 17th (the fourth and eighth of the golf course) after hitting his tee shots into the water on both holes.I had a quick look on the first green (at the leaderboard). It was a little bit surreal. Really enjoyable, but surreal, said van Zyl when asked if he was aware of leading by seven shots.I hit it really nicely the first nine holes. Obviously, didnt make as many putts as I did yesterday. And unfortunately a couple of loose ones coming in.Lying on the couch for a year, you dont quite know what to expect. Being in the position that I am in now, after what I went through last year, Ill take whatever at this stage.Im really comfortable where I am right now and hopefully I will be tomorrow morning when I wake up.Bland, who started on the 10th hole, was even par after his first nine, and then made seven birdies on his back nine for the 65.Wood had just one bogey in his card, on the par-3 second, but was flawless thereafter in the seven-birdie round.McIlroy pulled his tee shot into the right of the 18th hole again like Thursday, but this time, he had to take a penalty shot.But the Northern Irishman shot a great wood shot out of the rough for his third, and made his up-and-down for par and a second consecutive bogey-free round.It was good. I felt like it was a round that could have been a bit better, especially the way I played around the middle of the round, said McIlroy.Not taking advantage of some of the holes coming in is a little disappointing. But anytime you can go the first 36 holes of a tournament without a bogey, its not too bad.Graeme McDowell (65) and Lee Westwood (71) were tied for eighth place one shot behind McIlroy, while 22-year-old Matthew Fitzpatrick jumped up to 11th place at eight-under par with a 63, the best round of the day.  |
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