Dunya TV

4 killed in US drone strike in Miranshah
Sarkozy urges Medvedev to back Arab League Syria plan
Car bomb attack in Somali capital kills 8
39 killed in Dominican migrant boat capsizing
Congress committee discusses killings, human rights in Balochistan
SC to hear Gilanis appeal against contempt charge today
Obama briefed on relations with Pakistan, Afghan reconciliation
Ivory Coast into African Cup final against Zambia
Fabio Capello quits as England coach
Sharapova reaches Open GDF Suez quarters
Djokovic not sure to play Davis Cup for Serbia in 2012
Schumacher fastest on 2nd day of testing in Jerez
Study on mice shows fasting weakens cancer
Researchers probe 200-year-old shipwreck off US
Oil prices rise after US supply report

4 killed in US drone strike in Miranshah

Posted:

A US drone attack targeting a militant compound near Miranshah Bazar killed four people and wounded two others on early Thursday morning. In the second drone strike in about 24 hours, two missiles hit the compound located in Miranshah in North Waziristan near the Afghan border. "A US drone fired two missiles at a compound used by militants in Miranshah and four militants have been killed," the official said. The strike and death toll were confirmed by intelligence sources. Panic and fear gripped the area after the attack and unmanned US spy plane kept flying in the area for some time. It followed a drone strike on Wednesday on a compound in Tappi, 10 kilometres (six miles) southeast of Miranshah, which security officials said killed 10 insurgents.

Sarkozy urges Medvedev to back Arab League Syria plan

Posted:

French President Nicolas Sarkozy Wednesday urged his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev to give full support to an Arab League peace plan to persuade Bashar al-Assad to quit as Syria s leader. During a phone conversation, Sarkozy also told Medvedev of "the necessity to increase the pressure on the Syrian regime to cease its brutal repression of the Syria people," said a statement from the French president s office. The Kremlin confirmed the two men had discussed the crisis in Syria and said the Russian president had updated Sarkozy on the outcome of a mission to Damascus on Tuesday by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. "The president of France has been informed about Russian efforts aimed at an urgent cessation of any violence in Syria through the launch of all-encompassing dialogue between conflicting parties and the promotion of democratic changes in this country," said Medvedev s office. "At the request of Mr Sarkozy, the Russian president let him know the results of the talks" between Lavrov and Assad. Lavrov has said that Assad told him he was "fully committed" to ending the bloodshed in Syria where rights groups say some 6,000 people have been killed since an uprising began 11 months ago. His mission came after Russia and China vetoed a UN resolution criticising Assad s crackdown on opponents to his rule. The Arab League plan, which envisages Assad transferring power to his deputy and the formation of a national unity government within two months, has been firmly rejected by Syria.

Car bomb attack in Somali capital kills 8

Posted:

A car bomb parked near a hotel in Mogadishu exploded, police commander Ahmed Hassan Maalin said. Eight people were killed and 11 were seriously injured, Somali parliamentarian Mohamud Abdullahi Wehelie said. Two parliamentary members were among those wounded, parliamentary member Dahir Iro said. Wehelie called the explosion a "cowardly and heartless attack." The Somali militant group al-Shabab claimed the attack in a Twitter message, saying the target was a restaurant frequented by senior government officials, members of parliament and intelligence personnel. African Union troops supporting the weak U.N.-backed government have largely pushed al-Shabab out of Mogadishu, but the militants continue to carry out roadside and suicide bombings in the capital. Somalia has not had a functioning central government for more than 21 years.

39 killed in Dominican migrant boat capsizing

Posted:

At least 39 people were confirmed dead after a rickety Dominican boat overloaded with migrants bound for Puerto Rico capsized over the weekend, Civil Defense officials said Wednesday. Bodies have washed ashore for days since the boat went under Saturday off Sabana de la Mar, 155 kilometers (95 miles) northeast of the capital Santo Domingo. The accident is one of the worst in memory in this Caribbean nation, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti. The bodies recovered Wednesday "were in an advanced state of decomposition, so we are proceeding to bury them immediately," said Luis Frias, head of Civil Defense in Sabana de la Mar." Civil defense officials have direct proof of eight survivors, though they believe there were more who managed to swim ashore or were aided by area fishermen. Some 70 people were believed to be aboard the boat when it was swamped by heavy waves in rough weather. Illegal migration in flimsy boats, particularly to the US island territory of Puerto Rico, is a constant problem in the Dominican Republic, where residents often seek to flee economic hardship.

Congress committee discusses killings, human rights in Balochistan

Posted:

The subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, chaired by Republican from Califorinia, Dana Rohrabacher, held a session to discuss the target killings and human rights situation in Balochistan and termed it a matter requiring urgent attention. He has also co-authored an article a few days ago favouring independent Balochistan. Rohrabacher, spelling out Balochistan s history, said "it is a turbulent area and the people of Balochistan have not benefitted from the natural reserves and minerals found in their area." He said that the US attached huge importance to the question of human rights and the Balochistan-Afghan border area was a cause of concern too because of its volatile nature. On the question of independence for Balochistan, he said "if people in Balochistan have a right to self-determination, people of Kashmir have a right to self-determination as well." He also cautioned that those demanding human rights should also be careful about human rights of others, in an obvious reference to the killing of non-Balochs by Baloch nationalists. He went on to add that Pakistan was not acting in US interests and "we can t support everything that Pakistan does because of the fear of instability and disturbing the lines that we are drawing." Dispelling the impression that the committee had some anti-Pakistan agenda, he said "this hearing is not a conspiracy, but we want to understand the situation in Balochistan." Congressman Russ Carnahan urged the US administration to take-up the situation in Balochistan with the Pakistani government and push them for addressing the grievances of the Baloch people. Congressman Ted Poe advocated for US assistance to Pakistan. "We don t need to give American money to Pakistan, because they don t deserve it," he stated and said that America should look towards India as a preferred ally in the region. Testifying during the hearing, defense analyst Ralph Peters said that "Balochs never wanted to be with Pakistan and are looking for independence now." Assistant Professor of Georgetown University, Christine Fair, however said that targeted killing of Balochis is indeed taking place "but they are also targeting people of other ethnicities and sectarian killing are also a problem." Dr. Hosseinbor, a Pakistani-American of Balochi origin regretted that "more than 4000 people have disappeared in Balochistan since 2001." Balochs, he said, had never accepted borders drawn with Afghanistan and Iran and this was the historical root-cause of the conflict that had blossomed because of the injustices over the years. Ali Dayan Hasan, Pakistan Director of Human Rights Watch clarified that "human rights organizations don t take any position on demand of independence, and want human rights in Balochistan to be upheld as per the Pakistani constitution." "Both Balochs and non-Balochs in the province have been indulged in violence and the ordinary people in the province, consequently, fear for their life", he said while faying the Pakistani government and security forces for failing to implement a rights-respecting rule of law in Balochistan, which, in his opinion, was mandatory if it wanted to improve the situation. The spokesperson of the US state department, Victoria Nuland, however, chose to disassociate from the Congress hearing. "We are aware of this hearing. As you know, the Congress holds hearings on many foreign affairs topics. These hearings don’t necessarily imply that the US government endorses one view or another view. I would underscore that the State Department is not participating or involved in this hearing today," she asserted. When pressed for the US administration s stance on Balochistan and the demand for independence from Baloch nationalists, she clearly said that the US was not favouring the demand for Balochistan s independence. "Our view on this has not changed, and you know where we’ve been on Balochistan. We encourage all the parties in Balochistan to work out their differences peacefully and through a valid political process, within Pakistan," she observed. The US, she said, engages with Pakistan on a whole range of issues, including ways to foster economic development and expand opportunity in Balochistan. She was, though, unaware when asked whether anybody from the state department was invited to the Congress hearing or not. - Contributed by Awais Saleem, Dunya News correspondent in Washington, DC

SC to hear Gilanis appeal against contempt charge today

Posted:

An eight-member bench of the Supreme Court (SC), headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, will hear the appeal filed by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani appeal against contempt charge today. Gilani was told last week to appear before the court on 13 February to be charged with failing to reopen corruption cases against the president. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has filed an appeal against appearing before the Supreme Court on contempt charges.

Obama briefed on relations with Pakistan, Afghan reconciliation

Posted:

The US President Barack Obama met with his national security team, headed by National Security Advisor Tom Donilon, Wednesday at the White House in what was described by the White House spokesman as a part of Obama s regular meetings on Afghanistan and Pakistan. The President received an update on the US engagement with the Pakistani government on a range of issues of mutual interest, including efforts to strengthen cooperation along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Sources informed Dunya News that the tension between Pakistan and United States after the Salala checkpost attack on November 26 was also discussed and options to move forward, including Pakistan s demand of a clear-cut apology, were discussed. "However, the US administration has decided to wait for recommendations originating from Pakistani parliamentary review before making any next move", sources added. The President also received an update on Afghanistan, including the building of capable Afghan security forces, America s support for an Afghan-led reconciliation process, and the ongoing efforts to build a long-term, strategic partnership between the United States and Afghanistan. The President was briefed on the recent contacts between US and Taliban and the efforts to take other stakeholders like Afghanistan, Pakistan and India on-board in this regard. The President also received an update on preparations for the NATO Summit in Chicago, where, according to a White House spokesperson, “the United States will further define the ongoing transition to Afghan-lead security and NATO’s commitment to the future of Afghanistan as agreed to at the 2010 NATO Summit in Lisbon." - Contributed by Awais Saleem, Dunya News correspondent in Washington, DC

Ivory Coast into African Cup final against Zambia

Posted:

Ivory Coast will play Zambia in the final the African Cup of Nations after edging out Mali 1-0 on Wednesday with an individual goal from Gervinho on the stroke of halftime. The Arsenal forward capitalized on a defensive error at Stade de l Amitie to race half the length of the pitch and shoot past goalkeeper Soumaila Diakite. Didier Drogba and Yaya Toure both hit the post as Ivory Coast dominated for most of the game, reaching the final without conceding a single goal at the tournament. The Ivorians are now within reach of a first African title in 20 years. The Zambians advanced to Sunday s decider in Libreville after surprising Ghana 1-0 in the first semifinal.

Fabio Capello quits as England coach

Posted:

Fabio Capello quit as England coach on Wednesday just four months before the European Championship, after publicly challenging the Football Association s decision to strip John Terry of the captaincy. The Italian, whose contract was due to expire after Euro 2012, walked out on the job after four years following an hour-long meeting with FA chairman David Bernstein and general secretary Alex Horne at Wembley Stadium. Bernstein publicly undermined Capello last week by not consulting him before taking the captain s armband from Terry, who is facing a racism trial. Capello criticized the decision on Italian television, insisting it was "absolutely" the wrong decision. Such a public breach with his employers meant there was no way forward in the job for the Capello. "We have accepted Fabio s resignation, agreeing this is the right decision," Bernstein said. "We would like to thank Fabio for his work with the England team and wish him every success in the future." The former Real Madrid and Juventus coach replaced Steve McClaren in the job after England failed to qualify for Euro 2008. Capello clung onto his job in 2010 despite England s disappointing World Cup campaign. Now England needs a new manager for Euro 2012.

Sharapova reaches Open GDF Suez quarters

Posted:

Top-seeded Maria Sharapova beat Chanelle Scheepers of South Africa 6-3, 6-1 Wednesday to reach the quarterfinals of the Open GDF Suez. Sharapova broke for a 4-3 lead in the first set and twice more in the second, clinching the victory when Scheepers netted a backhand. In first-round matches, American qualifier Bethanie Mattek-Sands finished off Kristina Barrois of Germany with her 10th ace to secure a 7-6 (3), 6-2 win. Barrois rallied from a 4-1 deficit to force a tiebreaker. But Mattek-Sands won six straight points to take the first set and then broke Barrois twice in the second. Mattek-Sands will next play seventh-seeded Roberta Vinci, who beat Simona Halep of Romania 6-4, 6-4. Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic and Monica Niculescu of Romania also advanced, along with French wild card Pauline Parmentier and American teenager Christina McHale. Parmentier jumped out to 3-0 in the final set and hit a backhand cross-court winner to edge eighth-seeded Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain 2-6, 6-3, 6-3. The Frenchwoman had 31 winners to only 15 for Medina Garrigues. Niculescu outlasted Jarmila Gajdosova of Australia 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 in an erratic match of 14 service breaks. Zakopalova cruised past French wild card Alize Cornet 6-3, 6-1 by winning eight straight games to lead 5-0 in the second set. McHale beat lucky loser Varvara Lepchenko 6-4, 7-5 in an all-American match and will face Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium. Wickmayer led 6-1 in her first-round match when American veteran Jill Craybas retired because of a right leg injury.

Djokovic not sure to play Davis Cup for Serbia in 2012

Posted:

Tennis world number one Novak Djokovic said Wednesday he was not certain he would be able to play for Serbia in 2012 Davis Cup due to his "packed agenda," Beta news agency reported. Djokovic has already said he would skip the first round of the Davis Cup match with Sweden to be played in southern Serbian town Nis on 10-12 February in order to get some rest from the busy season. "I am sorry that I will not play against Sweden in Nis... I can not promise that I will take part in this competition this year," Beta quoted Djokovic as saying. Djokovic returned to Serbia, where he is considered a national hero, after winning the Australian Open in the longest finals in the history of this tournament against Rafael Nadal. He recently said his main focus this year would be on the Olympic Games and the French Open, a Grand Slam win that would see him hold all four major titles at once. Djokovic said his participation in the Serbia Open tournament -- which he won in 2011 -- this spring was not "definitive yet." "I am on the list (of the participants), but it will be difficult to organise everything. In order to take part in it, I would have to make radical changes in my agenda," Djokovic said, adding that he would consult with his team.

Schumacher fastest on 2nd day of testing in Jerez

Posted:

Michael Schumacher set the fastest pace on the second day of Formula One preseason testing Wednesday at the Jerez Circuit track. The German driver, entering the final year of his Formula One comeback, used Mercedes  car from last year to clock an early morning lap of 1 minute, 18.561 seconds that proved unbeatable. Schumacher says "it was a good and productive test, full of lots of useful information, and I am now looking forward to driving our 2012 car for the first time at the next test." While Schumacher used last year s car to continue trying out the new Pirelli tires, Mark Webber came in second at 0.623 seconds behind driving Red Bull s new 2012 vehicle. Daniel Ricciardo of Toro Rosso was third, while Kimi Raikkonen was fifth after having the fastest lap on day one.

Study on mice shows fasting weakens cancer

Posted:

While it remains unknown if the same approach could work in humans, or if it would even be safe, researchers said the findings suggest a promising new route of study for improving response to cancer treatment. In the mice experiments, "the combination of fasting cycles plus chemotherapy was either more or much more effective than chemo alone," said senior author Valter Longo, professor of gerontology and biological sciences at the University of Southern California (USC). Longo and colleagues previously published findings in 2008 that showed how fasting protected normal cells against chemotherapy in a study that focused on one type of cancer and a single chemo drug. The latest study expands on that research to show that fasting makes cancer cells more vulnerable, and spanned several different types of cancer in mice. Types of cancers studied included breast cancer, melanoma, glioma and human neuroblastoma. All cancers studied showed that fasting combined with chemotherapy improved survival, slowed the growth of tumors and/or limited their spread. The study appears in the journal Science Translational Medicine. "We don t know whether in humans it s effective," Longo said, adding that for now fasting should be "off-limits" to cancer patients, although they should feel they can ask their doctors about the possibility. In 2010, a small study of 10 human cancer patients who tried fasting cycles with their drug treatment showed that they perceived fewer side effects from chemo, according to self-reported data. The study was published in the journal Aging. The results of a phase 1 trial assessing the safety of fasting two days before and one day after chemotherapy in patients with breast, urinary tract and ovarian cancer, conducted at the USC, have been submitted for presentation at the annual meeting of the American Society of Cancer Oncologists later this year. "A way to beat cancer cells may not be to try to find drugs that kill them specifically but to confuse them by generating extreme environments, such as fasting that only normal cells can quickly respond to," Longo said.

Researchers probe 200-year-old shipwreck off US

Posted:

Researchers from the U.S. Navy and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution are looking for clues to the identity of a 200-year-old shipwreck lying just off the Rhode Island coast. The two recreational divers who found the wreck are confident that the ship is the USS Revenge, commanded by navy hero Oliver Hazard Perry. The Revenge sank in 1811 after striking a reef. Researchers are using a torpedo-shaped robot to survey the wreck. They hope to use the data to locate artifacts that could confirm the ship s identity. Rhode Island native Perry was cleared of responsibility for the loss of the Revenge. But his career stalled until he was sent to the Great Lakes, where he commanded U.S. forces to victory over the British navy in the War of 1812.

Oil prices rise after US supply report

Posted:

Benchmark crude rose by 18 cents to $98.59 per barrel in New York. Brent crude, which is used to price foreign oil varieties, rose by 29 cents to $116.52 per barrel in London. The Energy Information Administration reported that the United States  crude supplies increased by 300,000 barrels last week, much less than the increase of 2.25 million barrels analysts expected. Analysts were betting that refineries would continue to replenish stockpiles as they usually do in the first few months of the year. But last week they also cut back on imports as oil and gasoline demand dropped. The EIA said that U.S. petroleum demand fell by 4.8 percent to a four-week average of 18.1 million barrels per day. That s the weakest four-week average since April 1997, said Tom Kloza, publisher and chief oil analyst at Oil Price Information Service. Oil prices had risen earlier in the day, to above $100 per barrel, following an industry survey that predicted supplies would move in the opposite direction, dropping by 4.5 million barrels. The EIA report countered that. "That took the wind out of the sails" of energy commodities, said Gene McGillian, a broker and oil analyst at Tradition Energy. Meanwhile, doubts about Greece s ability to follow through with spending cuts and other austerity measures necessary to avoid bankruptcy pushed the dollar higher. Oil, which is priced in dollars, tends to drop in value as the dollar rises and makes crude more expensive for investors holding foreign money. In other energy trading, heating oil fell by a penny to $3.18 per gallon, while gasoline futures rose by about 1 cent to $2.94 per gallon. Natural gas futures rose by a penny to $2.48 per 1,000 cubic feet.

PoliticusUSA

Cricket - Sports

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Dunya TV

Dunya TV

0 comments:

Reuters News Agency

World EYE