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Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Dunya TV

Dunya TV

Madrid, Barcelona set to dominate La Liga again

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Arch rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona are the obvious candidates to battle it out for La Liga bragging rights, as a host of pretenders attempt to put pressure on the outright favourites when the new campaign kicks off on Saturday. The two sides finished 39 and 30 points ahead of third-placed Valencia last season and with no challengers having significantly strengthened, the battle at the top is likely to have a familiar look to it.Champions Real Madrid will begin with almost the same squad that ended Barcelonas run of three consecutive titles last term.Coach Jose Mourinho fended off early interest in his Argentine striker Gonzalo Higuain from big spenders Paris Saint-Germain, while Raul Albiol, Alvaro Arbeloa and Angel Di Maria have all signed extensions to their contracts.Mourinhos efforts to strengthen a squad that accumulated 100 points, while losing only two games, appear to be focused solely on the capture of Croatian playmaker Luka Modric from Tottenham.Negotiations have continued all summer, but Madrid president Florentino Perez is well-known for his patience and the deal may only be struck towards the closure of the transfer window on August 31.Their Catalan rivals finished nine points adrift last season and the team will have a brand new look as Tito Vilanova replaces Pep Guardiola as coach after four glittering years at the Camp Nou. The only addition so far to their squad is the return of full-back Jordi Alba from Valencia for a fee of 14 million euros.The return of David Villa after eight months out with a broken tibia will be like a new signing for a Barca side that relied heavily on Lionel Messis 50 league goals in his absence.Valencia start the new term with former defender Mauricio Pellegrino taking over as coach from Unai Emery, who has left the club to take over at Spartak Moscow after a trio of third-place finishes in four years.New signings include former Real Madrid central midfielder Fernando Gago and Mexican winger Andres Guardado from Deportivo La Coruna.Centre-forward Roberto Soldado will again lead the line after finishing last season as the top Spanish-born player with 17 goals.Malaga fans have abruptly stopped celebrating their clubs first ever qualification for the Champions League after a fourth place finish.Star players Santi Cazorla and Salomon Rondon have left for Arsenal and Rubin Kazan respectively amid the withdrawal of financial support from the clubs Arab owners.Atletico Madrid have again been busy in the transfer market as Diego Simeone attempts to stamp his style on a side he much improved on his return to the club as coach in January.The Argentine wasted little time in signing Cristian Rodriguez from Oporto, Cata Diaz from Getafe and ex-Newcastle midfielder Emre from Fenerbahce while bringing back Raul Garcia after a successful season on-loan at Osasuna.After leading the club to its second Europa League title in three years, Simeone may have done his best bit of business in convincing Colombian striker Gustavo Falcao that his future remains at the Vicente Calderon after he notched 24 goals in his debut season.Levante go into their first ever season of European football with hopes of mounting another spectacular campaign after coming sixth last term.Meanwhile, Sevilla have signed almost a whole new defence in Dutch centre-half Hedwiges Maduro from Valencia, Brazilian left-back Cicinho from Palmeiras, Alberto Botia from Gijon and Spanish international goalkeeper Diego Lopez from Villarreal.After appearances in the Europa League and Spanish Cup finals, Athletic Bilbao are expected by many to improve on last seasons 10th place. However, the Basques have not enjoyed a stable pre-season.They first had to convince Argentine coach Marcelo Bielsa to remain in his post and also overcome the news they may be forced to sell star striker Fernando Llorente after he rejected a contract extension.Newly-promoted Deportivo La Coruna, Celta Vigo and Valladollid will all be looking to re-establish themselves in the top flight, which may mean a battle for the lower places between such clubs as Granada, Rayo Vallecano, Getafe and Mallorca.


Brazilian court suspends construction of Amazon dam

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A federal court in Brazil on Tuesday ordered that work on the huge Belo Monte dam in the Amazon be suspended, saying native communities affected by the controversial hydroelectric project must be heard.The regional federal court ruled that the construction of the dam across the Xingu River, a tributary of the Amazon, should be halted until indigenous peoples can have their say at a congressional hearing, a court official said.The dam, expected to produce 11,000 megawatts, would be the third-biggest in the world, after Chinas Three Gorges facility, and Brazils Itaipu dam in the south.The Brazilian court noted that when Congress approved the project in 2005, it called for an environmental impact study after the start of the work.Under the law, the native communities were given the right to air their views in Congress on the basis of that environmental impact study, but this was not done, the court said.It said that the Norte Energia consortium in charge of the project will be able to appeal the decision to a higher court.Norte Energia told AFP it was awaiting formal notification of the court ruling before responding.The court said the consortium was liable for a daily fine of $250,000 should it flout the order. Its a historic decision for the country and for the native communities, said Antonia Melo, coordinator of the Xingu Vivo indigenous movement.Its a great victory which shows that Belo Monte is not a done deal. We are very happy and satisfied. By the end of the year, some 12,000 workers were scheduled to work day and night on the site, located in the northeastern state of Para, and up to 22,000 were to be at the site next year.Work on the dam began a year ago, despite fierce opposition from local people and green activists.Indigenous groups fear the dam will harm their way of life while environmentalists have warned of deforestation, greenhouse-gas emissions and irreparable damage to the ecosystem.Avatar director James Cameron and actress Sigourney Weaver have given their backing to dam opponents, drawing parallels with the natives-versus-exploiters storyline of their blockbuster Hollywood movie.Belo Monte is expected to flood an area of 500 square kilometers (200 square miles) along the Xingu and displace 16,000 people, according to the government, although some NGOs put the number at 40,000 displaced.Some 150 indigenous activists recently occupied one of the dams four construction sites for three weeks to demand that Norte Energia honor commitments made to their communities.The federal government plans to invest a total $1.2 billion to assist the displaced, by the time the dam is completed in 2019.


Israel not decided on Iran strike: Panetta

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Israel has not yet decided whether to strike Iran over its suspect nuclear programme, US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Tuesday, as Tehran dismissed the threat of an imminent attack.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak in recent days had stiffened their rhetoric on Iran, suggesting they were thinking more seriously of military action against Tehrans nuclear facilities.When asked about the issue at a press conference, Panetta offered reassurances, echoing the White House line that there is still time to negotiate a solution to the nuclear showdown.Ive said this before, Ill say it now -- I dont believe they made a decision as to whether or not they will -- they will go in and attack Iran at this time, Panetta told reporters.Obviously, theyre an independent -- theyre a sovereign country. Theyll ultimately make decisions based on what they think is in their national security interest, he noted.The reality is that we still think there is room to continue to negotiate.Earlier this month, Panetta visited Israel, where his pleas for more time to let diplomacy run its course received a less than warm welcome from Netanyahu and Barak. Speculation in the Israeli press about a possible strike has since multiplied.The Jewish state insists that Iran is on the point of developing nuclear weapons, and says it reserves the right to act to prevent that. Tehran insists the program is solely for peaceful, civilian purposes.Repeated rounds of talks between Iran and the permanent five members of the United Nations Security Council -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- plus Germany have failed to end the standoff. Tehran has refused to make major concessions on its right to enrich uranium, a process used to make nuclear fuel but also the core of an atomic bomb.US President Barack Obama has stressed that his position is that he will stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons a step further down the path to developing an atomic arsenal than the Israeli red line.There is concern in Washington that a unilateral Israeli strike may not destroy Irans underground nuclear facilities, could spark Iranian retaliation worldwide and may drag the United States into another war in the Middle East.Any kind of military action ought to be the last alternative, not the first, Panetta said Tuesday.General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, emphasized that any military strike would likely only delay Irans nuclear program, not ruin it altogether.I may not know about all of their capabilities. But I think that its a fair characterization to say that they could delay but not destroy Irans nuclear capabilities, Dempsey told reporters.On Tuesday, Iranian ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told reporters that Tehran was not taking the Israeli threats seriously.Even if some officials in the illegitimate regime (Israel) want to carry out such a stupid action, there are those inside (the Israeli government) who wont allow it because they know they would suffer very severe consequences from such an act, Mehmanparast said.


Australian court OKs logo ban on cigarette packs

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Australias highest court upheld the worlds toughest law on cigarette promotion on Wednesday despite protests from tobacco companies that argued the value of their trademarks will be destroyed under new rules that will strip all logos from cigarette packs.The decision by the High Court means that, starting in December, tobacco companies will no longer be able to display their distinctive colors, brand designs and logos on cigarette packs. The packs will instead come in a uniformly drab shade of olive and feature graphic health warnings and images of cancer-riddled mouths and blinded eyeballs. The government hopes the new packs will make smoking as unglamorous as possible.British American Tobacco, Philip Morris International, Imperial Tobacco and Japan Tobacco International are worried that the law will set a global precedent that could slash billions of dollars from the values of their brands. They challenged the new rules on the grounds that they violate intellectual property rights and devalue their trademarks.The cigarette makers argued that the government would unfairly benefit from the law by using cigarette packs as a platform to promote its own message, without compensating the tobacco companies. Australias constitution says the government can only acquire the property of others on just terms.


PPP workers clash in Barrister Sultan Mehmoods rally

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Workers of the Pakistan People’s Party started quarreled with each other in Muzaffarabad during a public meeting of Barrister Sultan Mehmood. During the fight, the rally turned into war zone while the PPP activists seized control of the stage and attacked each other with punches and kicks.


Man killed over robbery resistance in Lahore

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As per details, unidentified armed men tried to snatch money from Haji Ashraf, cashier of a petro pump. On resistance, they opened fire, killing Ashraf on the spot.Robbers managed to flee from the scene.Police have registered a case and started investigation.


NRO implementation: SC to hear review petition today

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Five-member bench headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa will hear the review petition. Others members of the bench are Justice Sarmad Jalal Usmani, Justice Gulzar Ahmed, Justice Ather Saeed and Justice Ejaz Afzal.The government had filed a review petition against the July 12 verdict of the Supreme Court on the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) implementation case.Three-member headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry will hear NICL case.


Independence Day function held at Minar-e-Pakistan

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The Punjab Sports Board (PSB) in its build up to the Punjab Youth Festival 2012 organization, held a special Independence Day evening on the footsteps of Minar-e-Pakistan on August 14.The function featured characters like Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Fatima Jinnah and other personalities of Pakistan Movement.Apart from the SBP Director General Mr Usman Anwar several other dignitaries were present on the occasion which was also graced by Speaker Rana Mohammad Iqbal, Deputy Speaker Rana Mashhood Ahmed Khan, secretary Haroon Ahmed Khan, DCO Lahore Noorul Amin and principal staff of Chief Minister Punjab.Small airplane models’ flight in the air above Minar-i-Pakistan attracted all the participants. These model planes carried the national flags air in made the occasion more charming and worth-watching.A number of school children presented tableau presenting the atmosphere of independence and sang national songs while they were attired in character of the nation’s creators and father of the nation.Speaking on the occasion, Rana Mashood reminded the participants about the main purpose of the formation of Pakistan and informed that his government is bringing the youth of the country to one platform through Punjab Youth Festival.Speaking on the occasion, Usman Awar said that the main reason to organize the evening on the platform of the Punjab Youth Festival on this special occasion was to give a message to the youth to dare to achieve their goal.He further added that the festival will roll into action from August 26 throughout the province in which apart from other sports events a number of social events will also be held.


Hindu community will not leave Pakistan: Genral Panchayat

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Hindus in Larkana and other parts of country said that they believe that the Pakistani government will provide them full protection and they will not leave their motherland at any cost.General Hindu Panchayat in a statement showing commitment to the ideology of Pakistan said that they believe in the constitution that the country protects all the religious sects of society.In a meeting Chairman General Hindu Panchayat Larkana Lekhraj Mal and others said that the Hindu communities in Sindh on the target of robberies, kidnappings of male and female and land mafia.They said there are various criminal activities have risen in Jacobabad, Shikarpur Larkana, Kamber-Shahdadkot and other parts of Sindh due to lawlessness, while a major issue of girls, alleged that the abductors are forcing girls to convert religion and marry, so that the Hindu community suffered from a sense of deprivation and their alleged for law and order issue they said.A Hindu Panchayat leader told that 40,000 Hindus were living in Jacobabad and 70 percent of local business controlled by the Hindu Community due to which the robberies and abduction cases increased in Jacobabad and other parts of Sindh.


Punjab CM celebrates Independence Day with children

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Shahbaz Sharif remained at the function for about more than two hours and holding a national flag in his hand also sang national songs with the students and special children. He also met the children who played tunes on the band.He announced cash prize of 50 thousand rupees for the boy and girl students and an equal amount for the special children who had presented national songs. He also announced a cash prize of 15 thousand rupees for the music director. He especially thanked the guests who had come from Turkey and Iran.Later, the Chief Minister inspected e-library at Government Post-graduate Girls College Samanabad after its inauguration and talked to the people in Islamabad and facilitated them on Independence Day through the video conferencing facility available at the library.Addressing the students, the CM said that success in life could only be achieved through hard work.


Neanderthals did not interbreed with humans

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Cambridge University researchers concluded that the DNA similarities were unlikely to be the result of human-Neanderthal sex during their 15,000-year coexistence in Europe.People living outside Africa share as much as four per cent of their DNA with Neanderthals, a cave-dwelling species with muscular short arms and legs and a brain slightly larger than ours.The Cambridge researchers examined demographic patterns suggesting that humans were far from intimate with the species they displaced in Europe almost 40,000 years ago.The study into the genomes of the two species, found a common ancestor 500,000 years ago would be enough to account for the shared DNA.Their analysis, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), contradicts recent studies that found inter-species mating, known as hybridisation, probably occurred. Dr Andrea Manica, who led the study, said: To me the interbreeding question is not whether there was hybridisation but whether there was any hybridisation that affected the subsequent evolution of humans. I think this is very, very unlikely.Our work shows clearly the patterns currently seen in the Neanderthal genome are not exceptional, and are in line with our expectations of what we would see without hybridisation.So, if any hybridisation happened then it would have been minimal and much less than what people are claiming now.Evidence has shown that Neanderthals were driven into extinction by humans who were more efficient at finding food and multiplied at a faster rate.A previous study in 2010 suggested that interspecies liaisons near the Middle East resulted in Neanderthal genes first entering humans 70,000 years ago.Modern non-Africans share more with Neanderthals than Africans, supporting the claim that the mixing occurred when the first early humans left Africa to populate Europe and Asia.The existence of a 500,000-year-old shared ancestor that predates the origin of Neanderthals provides a better explanation for the genetic mix.Diversity within this ancestral species meant that northern Africans were more genetically similar to their European counterparts than southern Africans through geographic proximity.This likeness persisted over time to account for the overlap with the Neanderthal genome we see in modern people today.Differences between populations can be explained by common ancestry, Dr Manica said.The idea is that our African ancestors would not have been a homogeneous, well-mixed population but made of several populations in Africa with some level of differentiation, in the way right now you can tell a northern and southern European from their looks, she said.“Based on common ancestry and geographic differences among populations within each continent, we would predict out of Africa populations to be more similar to Neanderthals than their African counterparts – exactly the patterns that were observed when the Neanderthal genome was sequenced, but this pattern was attributed to hybridisation.Hopefully, everyone will become more cautious before invoking hybridisation, and start taking into account that ancient populations differed from each other probably as much as modern populations do.”Northern Africans would be more similar to Europeans and ancient similarity stayed because there wasnt enough mixing between northern and southern Africans.Population diversity, known as substructure, cant explain data on the shared genes, said David Reich, a professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School, in Boston who authored the 2010 study.We have ruled out the possibility that ancient substructure can explain all the evidence of greater relatedness of Neanderthals to non-Africans than to Africans, he added.Dr Manica said hybridisation between Neanderthals and humans can never be disproved entirely.


Sheikhupura: Child without arms draws pics of Quaid

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Unluckily, Jamshed Saleem is deprived of both arms but his enthusiasm is alive as he made snaps of national flag, Mizar e Quid and Allama Iqbal. At his creative achievement, his parents were optimist finding him full of true passions and life force.They have perceived that his disability can’t become a stumbling in his way of life.Reviewing his creative achievement, Allied School Sheikhupura management has vowed to bear all the academic expenses.Jamshed Saleem is not only a support for his parents but a ray of hope for the entire nation.


148.6m lottery win is 'frightening'

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The British couple scooped more than £148m on the EuroMillions lottery on Friday - the second biggest prize ever won in the UK.Adrian Bayford, 42, and his Scottish wife Gillian, have yet to decide what to spend their money on.The couple live in a modest new build detached house on a quiet cul-de-sac in Haverhill, Suffolk. They have two children and run a secondhand music shop in the town.Their windfall is the biggest after Colin and Chris Weir won £161 million last July.


London slips down list of best cities

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Melbourne is the best city in the world to live in while Sydney, Adelaide and Perth also make the top 10 and Brisbane comes in at number 20, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit global “liveability” study.By contrast there is not a single British city in the top 50. London, basking in the afterglow of the hugely successful Games that saw Team GB reach third place in the medal table, is judged to be just the 55th most desirable place to live in the world and has fallen in the rankings after last summer’s riots.Manchester remains Britain’s best city according to the study, which looks at crime levels, education, health care, culture and infrastructure, but it also dropped points to reach number 51 following the widespread looting and disorder that reached its shopping centres last August.Jon Copestake, the surveys editor, said: “UK cities have seen a slight downgrade in liveability due to the mass outbreaks of civil unrest that took place last year.“Although hosting the Olympics has subsequently provided a definite boost for Londons profile, it was already among the worlds most vibrant cities, with plenty to see and do, so has had no impact on overall lifestyle.” The EIU first began ranking cities to test whether or not companies should pay staff a hardship allowance if they make employees relocate to a different country.Its researchers look at how “tolerable” it is to live in a particular place given its crime levels, threat of conflict, quality of medical care, levels of censorship, temperature, schools and transport links.In the latest rankings for 2012, Melbourne came top having overtaken Vancouver in Canada.Australia’s second city is famed for its sporting events, although is perhaps still best known in Britain as the setting for the soap opera Neighbours.According to the EIU Melbourne came close to recording a “perfect score” with a liveability rating of 97.5 per cent, losing points only for climate, culture and petty crime.Like most of the cities at the top of the league, it is much less crowded than the long-established metropolis of London.“Australian cities continue to thrive in terms of liveability: Not only do they benefit from the natural advantages of low population density, but they have continued to improve with some high profile infrastructure investments, said Mr Copestake.The study said that mid-sized cities in wealthy countries can support “a range of recreational activities”, again suggesting that Australia under-performed at the Olympics.Londoners need not lose heart however, as the report noted that “global business centres tend to be victims of their own success”.“The ‘big city buzz’ they enjoy can overstretch infrastructure and cause higher crime rates.”In total Australia – which finished 10th in the Olympics medal count, with just seven golds compared with Britain’s 29 – has four cities in the top 10.Auckland, New Zealand, also makes the premier league along with three Canadian cities - Vancouver, Toronto and Calgary.Just two European destinations make the cut – Vienna and Helsinki.Unsurprisingly, unrest in the Middle East and North Africa has damaged the scores of cities such as Damascus in Syria, now ranked 130th out of the 140 surveyed.Dhaka in Bangladesh props up the table, although the EIU does not include trouble spots such as Kabul, Baghdad or Mogadishu on the grounds that few companies are likely to send staff to live there.


Lahore: Girl electrocuted with naked wires

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According to sources, the sole daughter of her parents Nayab Bibi was resident of Queen Road. Her father had set a stall of national flags in front of his house.The girl climbed up to the roof in order to observe her father but unluckily she was trapped by naked electric wires and ultimately died on the spot.The area people have expressed condolence on her death while declaring Lesco responsible for her tragic end.They have reservations that if the Lesco doesn’t take proper steps to cover the naked wires passing from their roofs, their kids also may fall victim to electricity.


Posted by IMRAN ALI SOOMRO (DARVESH) at 8/15/2012 07:36:00 AM

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