Dunya TV

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• 5.6 magnitude quake jolts Northern Areas
• Death toll in Quetta blast jumps to 83
• Govt, Qadri agree on scrutiny period of 14 days
• Karachi violence claims 2 more lives
• Chaman: 3 shot dead after abduction
• Bangladesh PM hints at backing ban of Islamic party
• Afghan leader says he'll ban airstrike requests
• Hezbollah warns Israel not to attack Lebanon
• UN rights chief says world hesitating on Syria
• Serena faces Azarenka in Qatar final
• Nadal struggles into Brazil Open final
• Messi nets 300th, 301st goals in Barcelona win
• Arsenal beaten by Blackburn in FA Cup
• Pistorius' agent cancelling races
• Thousands rally against Portugal austerity

5.6 magnitude quake jolts Northern Areas Posted: An earthquake measuring 5.6 on Richter Scale hit parts of Northern Areas on early Sunday morning. The areas where quake was felt included Swat, Chitral, Ghazar and Khyber Agency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.Panic spread in the area after the quake and people came out of their hoses. No casualty was reported yet from the areas where the quake was felt.

Death toll in Quetta blast jumps to 83 Posted: The death toll in the bomb blast at a vegetable market at the Kirani Road in Quetta has reached 83.The powerful bomb in a water tanker ripped through a packed bazaar in Hazara town, an area dominated by Hazara community on the outskirts of Quetta on Saturday.Some 180 people were also wounded in the attack, most of them seriously.We have recovered more dead bodies from the debris of a collapsed building. The death toll has now risen to 83, senior Quetta police official Wazir Khan Nasir said,CCPO Quetta Zubair Mehmood said the water tanker, which officials said was packed with some 800 kilograms (1,750 pounds) of explosives, was placed near a pillar of a two-storey building, which collapsed in the blast.We fear that several people have been trapped inside. Rescue work is ongoing but I see very little chance of their survival, Mehmood said.A spokesman for the banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi group has claimed responsibility for the bombing.The blast was so heavy that windows of the nearby buildings were broken.After information, police and rescue teams reached the site of occurrence and cordoned off the area but noon could be arrested during search operation.The bodies and wounded persons were shifted to hospital for legal formalities and first aid.According to initial reports a remote controlled device was used for the blast.Governor Balochistan has announced one-day mourning in the province for the victims of the blast while one-day mourning will also be observed in Sindh. Governor also announced compensation of Rs one million for each victim of the blast.

Govt, Qadri agree on scrutiny period of 14 days Posted: The government and Tehrik e Minhajul Quran (TMQ) chief Dr Tahirul Qadri agreed on the scrutiny period of 14 days instead of 30 days for election candidates.Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Qamar Zaman Kaira told this while briefing the media about meeting of the both delegations at TMQ Headquarters on Saturday. He said that it was requested by the government delegation that period of 14 days instead of 30 days was enough and Dr Qadri accepted the request after consulting his team of Pakistan Awami Tehrik, however, elections would be held in 60 days after announcement of caretaker set-up.Kaira said the courts were respectable, adding that overseas Pakistanis send foreign exchange which was supportive for the country and the government respected them as well.To a question, he said the announcement of the date for caretaker setup delayed due the busy schedule of the Prime Minister.He, however, said the names of caretaker would soon be announced after consultation with the Prime Minister and Dr Tahirul Qadri.He dispelled the impression that there would be any delay in the elections and said that assemblies would be dissolved by March 16. Commenting on defection of 9 members of Punjab Assembly, he suggested awards for Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and opposition leader in the National Assembly Ch Nisar for making turncoats.To a question about the MQM, he said that their grievances would be redressed and expressed determination that all coalition partners would contest election jointly.Dr Tahirul Qadri said that the government delegation had come according to the Islamabad agreement and rumours had no reality. He said that amendment in the constitution was needed for the scrutiny period as it was seven days earlier.He demanded of the government to form a national anti-terrorism policy. All leaders condemned bomb blast in Balochistan and expressed grief over deaths of several citizens.The government delegation comprised PML-Q leader Ch Shujaat Hussain, Minster for Information, Qamar Zaman Kaira, Federal Law Minister Farooq H Naik and Mushahid Hussain Syed.

Karachi violence claims 2 more lives Posted: According to details, some unidentified persons opened fire in Metrowil area of Site and killed a 35-year-old man. Police have shifted the body to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital. The identity of the deceased is not yet known. Police have also recovered two bullets from the pocket of the victim.Dead body of a man, stuffed in gunny bag was also recovered from Maripur area. Police have shifted the body to Civil Hospital.Some unidentified persons also opened fire in Majeed Colony area of Landhi and wounded a man. Meanwhile, miscreants set ablaze a bus in Jahangirabad area while another vehicle was torched in Jinnah Square area of Malir.

Chaman: 3 shot dead after abduction Posted: According to details, the victims were on their way to Afghanistan from Kuchlak and were abducted by some armed persons near Quetta-Chaman Road.The kidnappers later shot dead the victims and threw their bodies near Qilla Abdullah Railway Station. Levies officials have shifted the bodies to nearby hospital.

Bangladesh PM hints at backing ban of Islamic party Posted: Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina indicated Saturday she would back a ban on the countrys largest Islamic party, as tens of thousands of people joined the funeral of an anti-Islamist blogger.Hasina said after a meeting with the mourning relatives of Ahmed Rajib Haider that the Jamaat-e-Islami party, whose members are suspected in the bloggers murder, had no right to be in politics in free Bangladesh.Demonstrations championed by the countrys online activists have seen thousands take to the streets for the last two weeks demanding the execution of leaders of the Jamaat-e-Islami party who are on trial for war crimes.Rival protests by Islamists demanding a halt to the trials of Jamaat leaders including its chief and deputy chief over their role in the 1971 independence war have turned violent across the country, leaving 13 people dead.Late on Friday Haider, an organiser of the anti-Islamist protests, was hacked to death with a machete near his Dhaka home.Police have yet to comment on a possible motive, but his brother said Haider was targeted by Jamaats student wing for his online activities. Fellow blogger Shakil Ahmed said a pro-Jamaat website had last week named Haider as a target.Hasina visited Haiders home on Saturday and hinted in comments to reporters that she would back a ban for Jamaat.Anyone can assume who were behind this, she said, alluding to Jamaat.Many claim they are a democratic political party, a democratic force. Now it is proved that they believe in terrorism not democracy, she said.We will do to them what is necessary. They have absolutely no right to be in politics in free Bangladesh.Thousands of people including war veterans joined the funeral late Saturday at Dhakas Shahbag intersection, where protests have been staged against Islamist groups since February 5.Local police chief Sirajul Islam told AFP at least 50,000 people attended the funeral.We touched his coffin and vowed that we wont leave the protests until the government finds his killers, and bans Jamaat and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir, said blogger and protester Mahbubur Rahman.Clashes between police and Islamists have intensified since last week after a senior Jamaat leader was sentenced to life imprisonment for mass murder.Jamaat and the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party have said the trials are based on bogus charges and are part of a wider political vendetta.The government rejects the accusations and says the trials are needed to heal wounds of the nine-month war in which it says three million people were killed, many by pro-Pakistani militia whose members allegedly included Jamaat officials.The killing on Friday was the second attack in Dhaka against a blogger critical of Islamist groups in less than a month, after the stabbing of a self-styled online militant atheist by three unidentified men.

Afghan leader says he'll ban airstrike requests Posted: Angry over civilian deaths, President Hamid Karzai announced plans Saturday to ban Afghan security forces from requesting international airstrikes on residential areas.If he issues the decree as promised, the move would pose a significant new challenge to government troops who have relied heavily on foreign air power to give them an advantage against insurgents on the battlefield even as the U.S. and other countries prepare to end their combat mission in less than two years.The declaration came as anger mounted over a joint Afghan-NATO operation this week that Afghan officials said killed 10 civilians, including women and children, in northeast Kunar province.I will issue a decree tomorrow that no Afghan security forces, in any circumstances, in any circumstances can ask for the foreigners planes for carrying out operations on our homes and villages, Karzai said in a speech at the Afghan National Military Academy in Kabul.Civilian deaths at the hands of foreign forces, particularly airstrikes, have been among the most divisive issues of the 11-year-old war and have complicated negotiations for a bilateral security agreement that would govern the foreign presence in the country after 2014.The U.S.-led coalition has implemented measures to mitigate them, but the Afghan military also relies heavily on air support to gain an upper hand in the fight against Taliban militants and other insurgents.Many Afghan and international officials have expressed concern that the impending withdrawal of international combat forces by the end of 2014 will deprive government security forces of that crucial weapon. President Barack Obama has announced that he will withdraw about half of the 66,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan within a year.Karzai has frequently denounced airstrikes and even demanded that they cease. But his speech Saturday was the first time he threatened to formalize his concern with a decree.The U.S.-led military coalition already said in June that it would limit airstrikes to a self-defense weapon of last resort for troops. That followed a bombardment that killed 18 civilians celebrating a wedding in Logar province, which drew an apology from the American commander.Afghan and coalition officials frequently offer differing accounts of military operations, with local residents claiming civilians were killed while foreign troops insist they targeted insurgents. The line is often blurred because insurgents dont wear a uniform and are usually part of the community, with airstrikes and night raids hitting areas where women and children also are asleep.

Hezbollah warns Israel not to attack Lebanon Posted: The leader of Hezbollah has refused to comment on a Bulgarian report that said members of the Lebanese militant group carried out an attack that killed five Israeli tourists in the European nation.Sheik Hassan Nasrallah says the issue is being followed calmly and carefully.Speaking to hundreds of supporters via video link, Nasrallah warned Israel Saturday not to attack Lebanon, saying Hezbollahs response will be harsh.The July 18 bombing killed the five Israelis as well as a Bulgarian bus driver and the suspected bomber at the airport in the Black Sea resort of Burgas.Three men are suspected in the attack, including the bomber.The latters identity has not been established. The names of the two other suspects, believed to still be alive, have not been made public.

UN rights chief says world hesitating on Syria Posted: The UN rights chief said Saturday that the international community was hesitating to take action on Syria because countries were weighing up whether any military intervention would be worth it.Urging that some sort of international action be taken against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Navi Pillay repeated her call for him to be investigated for crimes against humanity and war crimes.Asked by Britains Channel 4 television whether it would be difficult for the United Nations to intervene in a place like Syria, she said: Its an intergovernmental decision on what kind of action: intervention, peacekeeping, military intervention or a referral to the international criminal courts.We urge that action be taken immediately. If there is doubt or hesitation it is because people are assessing the value of military intervention in places like Libya, Syria and Afghanistan.It could become a long, drawn out war with no guarantees that civilians would not be harmed in that process.The UN high commissioner for human rights said Assad should face international justice.War crimes are being committed by President Assads forces -- his security forces -- and other groups allied to him, the South African said.He is responsible and there should be a referral by the Security Council to the International Criminal Court.The former ICC judge said Assad had demonstrated a manifest failure of his obligation as a head of state to protect your citizens and that would be the opening for international intervention -- of whatever kind.Rebels pressed an offensive in northern Syria on Saturday, attacking Aleppo airport and two airbases, as a rights watchdog and residents reported hundreds of people held in a string of sectarian kidnappings.French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, speaking at a security forum in Abu Dhabi, called for urgent action to bring about a power transfer that excludes Assad.

Serena faces Azarenka in Qatar final Posted: Serena Williams celebrated her recapture of the world number one ranking with her best performance of the year in a 6-3, 6-2 trouncing of Maria Sharapova to reach the Qatar Open final on Saturday.Spectacularly heavy hitting carried the 15-time Grand Slam title-winner into Sundays final against top seed and defending champion Victoria Azarenka.Saturdays defeat for French Open champion Sharapova was the Russians first in Doha where she had won the title in both her previous appearances.Williams showed few signs of the back and ankle injuries or of the cold which had been bothering her, and it was as if regaining the top spot, as she will on Monday, had removed the shackles from her mind and body.It also earned Williams a final against Australian Open winner Azarenka and gives her a chance to prove she is indeed better than an opponent who will hold the top spot for just one more day.Williams standard was a revelation.Gone was the heavy movement which weighed her down during her narrow escape against Petra Kvitova in Fridays quarter-finals, and in its place was dynamic early ball hitting to follow up the best serve in the womens game.The 31-year-old, who will be chasing a 48th career title on Sunday, also served far better than previously this week, and once Sharapova had delivered a double fault to drop serve in the sixth game Williams got on top and never looked back.Maria always plays well and consistently and I am just trying to be consistent as well, said Williams, who will become the oldest woman to hold the top ranking on Monday.Tomorrow will be a great match. You guys hopefully will come out and cheer for me.Sharapova too hit the ball a mighty blow, and the weight and fierceness of some of the rallies between them can rarely have been equalled.But hard as the Russian tried to give back as much as she got, she never looked like preventing her 10th consecutive loss to the American.Azarenka, the only leading player in the world who remains unbeaten this year, also looked impressive, achieving her 13th successive win of 2013.The top-seeded Belarusian did that with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, a thumping result against the fourth best player in the world and one which might lead to back-to-back defence of titles.

Nadal struggles into Brazil Open final Posted: Rafael Nadal struggled into the Brazil Open final on Saturday by downing Argentine lucky loser Martin Alund in three sets.The former world number one, who is recovering from a knee injury, battled hard to dismiss his 27-year-old opponent, who is ranked 111 in the world, winning 6-3, 6-7 (2/7), 6-1 in nearly two hours.Sundays final will pit the 26-year-old Spanish star against Argentine David Nalbandian, who whipped Italian Simone Bolelli 6-3, 7-5 in 85 minutes in the other semi-final.Nadal is the top seed in this $455,775 tournament, his second comeback event after a seven-month absence due to his knee injury and then illness.Last week, he competed in the Vina del Mar Open in Chile, losing the singles and doubles finals.Alund more than held his own against the world number five, prevailing in the second set before Nadal stepped on the gas and sealed victory with a masterful performance in the decisive third set.The Spaniard, who has 11 Grand Slam titles, won the Brazil Open in 2005, when it was held in Costa do Sauipe in eastern Bahia state.Last year, the tournament was moved to Sao Paulo.The Brazil Open is part of the Latin American clay court swing, along with the Vina del Mar event and the Mexico Open, in Acapulco, where Nadal plans to compete later this month.The three low-profile Latin American events are routinely ignored by the worlds top three players -- Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Andy Murray.

Messi nets 300th, 301st goals in Barcelona win Posted: Lionel Messi scored his 300th and 301st career goals for Barcelona and extended his record-scoring run to 14 league games in a 2-1 comeback win at Granada on Saturday, four days before its Champion League last-16 match at AC Milan.Messi pounced on a rebound of Cesc Fabregas strike five minutes after halftime to cancel out Odion Ighalos opener that had come against the flow of play in the 26th.The Argentina star then claimed the victory in the 73rd with a brilliantly struck free kick to record his 17th multi-goal game of the season and take his league-leading goal tally to 37 goals.Despite the result, Granada confirmed its revival under new coach Lucas Alcaraz, which included a win over Real Madrid two rounds ago. But even the minnows best efforts werent enough against Barcelonas all-time leading scorer who again proved impossible to stop.It was Barcelonas first win in three away matches before it heads to San Siro on Wednesday.Barcelona stayed on course to reclaim the league title with its 21st win in 24 rounds. It leads Atletico Madrid by 15 points and Madrid by 19 before their games on Sunday.Earlier, Malaga edged out Athletic Bilbao 1-0 thanks to Javier Saviolas first-half goal and Willy Caballeros sound goalkeeping ahead of its Champions League game at Porto.Saviola scooped Lucas Piazons low cross into the net to score what proved to be the winner at La Rosaleda Stadium in the 18th.Bilbao carried the initiative the rest of the way, but Caballero made various stops, including back-to-back saves of tries by Ibai Gomez and Aritz Aduriz in the 34th.Malaga, which visits Portuguese champion Porto on Tuesday, pulled to within four points of third-place Madrid with its first victory in four home games.

Arsenal beaten by Blackburn in FA Cup Posted: Arsenals miserable season reached a new low on Saturday when the team was beaten 1-0 by second-tier Blackburn in the fifth round of the FA Cup, leaving manager Arsene Wenger facing an eighth straight season without silverware.Humiliated by fourth-tier Bradford in the League Cup quarterfinals in December, Arsenal left to jeers from its own despairing supporters after Colin Kazim-Richards stabbed home a 72nd-minute winner at Emirates Stadium to create the latest big surprise in the FA Cup.Wenger had never previously lost to a lower-division team in the famous old competition in his 17 years at the London club.Its painful and disappointing to lose a game like that, said Wenger, whose gamble in resting many of his top players ahead of Tuesdays Champions League last-16 first leg against Bayern Munich completely backfired. Its very difficult to accept.The Champions League is the only trophy Wengers men have left to play for and they are big underdogs in that competition, too, especially after this lackluster display. The clubs last trophy was the FA Cup in 2005.

Pistorius' agent cancelling races Posted: Oscar Pistorius agent has begun cancelling races since the Olympic athlete was charged with the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.Pistorius agent, Peet van Zyl, told The Associated Press that he cancelled the contract on Saturday for a high-profile rematch next month with fellow double-amputee Alan Oliveira to promote the 2016 Rio Olympics and Paralympics.Oliveira, who beat Pistorius in the 200 meters at the Paralympics in London last year, and Pistorius were to run a straight 200 on Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro on March 31.Pistorius was charged with the murder of Steenkamp after she was shot dead at the home of the multiple Paralympic champion on Thursday. South African prosecutors have said they will pursue a more serious premeditated murder charge against the 26-year-old Pistorius, leaving him possibly facing a life sentence.I cant plan anything, Van Zyl said of Pistorius immediate running career, which was not a priority after the murder charge and Steenkamps death. I will only have him run when he is in a condition to run as a world-class athlete. Physically and mentally fit.Pistorius broke down and wept on his first appearance in court on Friday, while his family said on Saturday in a statement to the AP that they were devastated and in a state of total shock.Pistorius uncle, Arnold Pistorius, said they were also grieving for Steenkamp, her family and her friends.Van Zyl said he had first cancelled two races in Australia, in Sydney on March 9 and Perth on March 16, which were to start Pistorius season as he aimed to qualify for the world championships in Moscow in August and build on his historic runs on his carbon-fiber blades at the London Olympics.A 150-meter race in May against Britains Jonnie Peacock, the single-amputee sprinter and 100-meter Paralympic champion, also had to be called off, as well as scheduled Diamond League appearances and a race at the Drake Relays in Iowa in the United States.Pistorius and his longtime coach Ampie Louw planned to give up track together after the next Olympics and Paralympics in Rio but it was uncertain if Pistorius will ever compete at the highest level again, having made history as the first amputee athlete to run at the able-bodied worlds in 2011 and then the Olympics last year.In all, Van Zyl said he had canceled around seven 400-meter races, as well as the exhibitions against Oliveira and Peacock.

Thousands rally against Portugal austerity Posted: Thousands of protesters rallied in Portugal on Saturday against austerity measures imposed on the country by its international creditors.Answering a call from the CGTP, Portugals leading union, some 5,000 protesters marched in Lisbon and organisers said tens of thousands rallied in about 20 cities across the country.We want to break with the commitments made in return for the rescue plan, break with right-wing policies, demand the resignation of the government and new elections, union chief Armenio Carlos said.Crushed by a soaring public debt load, Portugal has implemented tough austerity measures in return for rescue loans from the European Union and International Monetary Fund.Under the weight of cutbacks in public spending, the unemployment rate rose sharply in the fourth quarter of last year to 16.9 percent while the economy contracted by 3.2 percent in 2012.We can feel the lack of money every day, the cost of transportation has gone up, along with school fees. This policy has no future, it is destroying the countrys economy, said protester Maria Manuel Reis, a 55-year-old civil servant.

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