Dunya TV

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• Powerful cyclone heads for Australian mining town
• Samsung defends working practices in China plants
• CNG stations in Sindh closed for 24 hours
• Suicide car bomber kills 6 in northern Mali
• Iran, world powers respond to counter-offers
• US frees detained immigrants as budget cut looms
• Hockey coach gets 15 days in jail for tripping
• US Senate confirms Hagel for defense secretary
• Zardari to leave for Iran on 2-day visit
• Tahirul Qadri leaves for Canada
• Rain, wind turn weather cold in Lahore
• Del Potro downs Baghdatis in Dubai
• World powers, Iran hold useful Talks in Kazakhstan
• Earthquake shakes Quetta, Sibi, RYK
• Tamil rebel being subjected sexual violence in jail

Powerful cyclone heads for Australian mining town Posted: PERTH (AP) - Australia's major iron ore port is closed and residents on a remote stretch of the country's west coast are taking shelter from a powerful cyclone.The storm with winds gusting to 230 kilometers (140 miles) per hour at its center is expected to hit the Western Australia mining town of Port Hedland on Wednesday evening. The outer edge of the storm has already brought wind gusts of 120 kilometers (75 miles) per hour to the port.Up to 400 millimeters (16 inches) of rain is forecast within 24 hours.The port used by the nation's mining giants to export iron ore was closed Tuesday. Officials aren't sure when shipments can resume.

Samsung defends working practices in China plants Posted: SEOUL (AFP) - Samsung Electronics defended its working practices Wednesday after a lawsuit was filed in France against the South Korean giant over conditions at its supplier plants in China.Based on a September report by the US-based monitor China Labor Watch, a trio of French rights and consumer protection groups accused Samsung of deceiving consumers by violating its own vows on ethical working conditions and using child labour.In a statement, Samsung said it maintained a zero tolerance policy on child labour and had audited all its supplier sites in China following the China Labor Watch report. We are implementing new hiring policies to strengthen identity verification measures, despite no instance of child labour being identified in the audits, the statement said.It was not clear whether the French courts would agree to hear the groups' complaint or what consequences the suit could have on Samsung's operations in France.The China Labor Watch report said employees at Samsung supplier plants in China worked up to five times the legal overtime limit and were denied basic labour rights. At the time, the South Korean company rejected charges of inhumane working conditions as totally unfair but acknowledged that their audits had uncovered some inadequate practices including excessive overtime.

CNG stations in Sindh closed for 24 hours Posted: KARACHI: The CNG stations across Sindh, including Karachi, closed at 8:00am Wednesday till 8:00am Thursday.According to the Sui Southern Gas Company, the decision has been taken by gas load management.According to a spokesman of Sui Southern Gas Company, the decision has been taken due to shortage of supply of gas from different gas fields and low gas pressure.Special vigilance teams will monitor the situation to ensure implementation of the decision and any gas filling station which violated the schedule would be closed for further 24 hours.

Suicide car bomber kills 6 in northern Mali Posted: MALI (AFP) - A suicide bomber killed at least six people after ramming his explosives-laden vehicle into a checkpoint in the northern Malian city of Kidal on Tuesday, military and hospital sources said.The attacker struck a checkpost manned by Tuareg separatists supporting the French-led military offensive against Islamist insurgents.The suicide attack targeted the checkpoint on the eastern side of Kidal which is manned by the MNLA (National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad), a French military official told AFP in Gao, the main city in the north.A hospital source told AFP there were seven dead including the bomber, with another 11 wounded.Several other officials confirmed the blast was an attack following an initial report that it may have been a controlled explosion of ammunition seized from the Islamist insurgency.The Islamic Movement for Azawad (MIA), another armed group, said its fighters were also on duty at the targeted checkpoint.Suicide attackers did this, Alghabass Ag Intalla, whose group is a moderate splinter of the Al-Qaeda-allied Ansar Dine group, told AFP. They are against us and against the French, he added.A local government official speaking on condition of anonymity said the attack occurred on the road leading to Menaka.Everybody is afraid here in Kidal. The car bomb came from the centre of Kidal. That's scary, we don't know how many other car bombs are waiting in there, he said.Kidal is around 1,530 kilometres (950 miles) northeast of the Malian capital Bamako and the nearby Ifogha mountains have become a haven for Al Qaeda-linked fighters forced out of cities after France's intervention in January.Overwhelmed by the superior fire-power of the French air force and special forces, Islamist hardliners pulled out of the towns they had ruthlessly ruled for nine months, imposing an extreme form of sharia law.They regrouped and reverted to guerrilla tactics, launching hit-and-run attacks against French or pro-government forces and resorting to suicide attacks.

Iran, world powers respond to counter-offers Posted: KAZAKHSTAN (AFP) - World powers and Iran were due Wednesday to respond to offers presented by both sides in a final day of talks aimed at breaking a decade of deadlock over Tehrans nuclear drive.The first day of gruelling negotiations in a swank hotel in Kazakhstans commercial capital Almaty concluded Tuesday with both sides relieved to have pushed the talks along for another day.They swapped offers that could ease some sanctions on Iran in exchange for concessions on its disputed nuclear programme -- proposals that had been discussed in various forms at three previous meetings in the past year.The big powers official spokesman measured his words carefully as he laid out what the world expected Iran to do next to convince nations it was not in hot pursuit of a nuclear bomb.We hope very much that the Iranian side comes back (on Wednesday) showing flexibility and a willingness to negotiate, added the spokesman for EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton.The ball is very much in their court, Michael Mann stressed.On the table is an offer for the five permanent UN Security Council members and Germany to ease sanctions on Irans gold and precious metals trade while simultaneously lifting some restrictions on the Islamic republics banking operations.The measures are meant to introduce good will in Tehran while encouraging it to stop enriching uranium to 20 percent -- a level seen as being within striking distance of military capabilities.The powers also want Iran to shut the Fordo plant where such high-grade material is produced and to ship out the existing stock it does not need for established medical purposes.Iran counters that its rights to enrich uranium -- entrusted to every nation but stripped from Iran due to its failure to cooperate with nuclear inspectors -- must be respected before negotiations can proceed any further.Iran has also stipulated that it would only consider giving up enrichment to 20 percent if all forms of sanctions against it were lifted -- a condition unpalatable to Washington.We will not accept anything beyond our obligations and will not accept anything less than our rights, Irans chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili declared before setting off for Kazakhstan.US Secretary of State John Kerry countered on a visit to Berlin on Tuesday that he hoped Iran itself will make its choice to move down the path of a diplomatic solution -- comments carrying the implicit threat of air strikes of the type threatened by Israel.The Jewish state launched a unilateral attack against the Osirak nuclear reactor in Saddam Husseins Iraq in 1981 and has spoken of Iran approaching the same red line that demanded immediate action.Few expect Wednesdays meeting to conclude with anything beyond promises to hold more discussions at various levels. But proponents of this approach argue that such painstaking negotiations avert much more serious dangers. Its clear that no one expects everyone to walk out of here in Almaty with a done deal. This is a negotiating process, Ashtons spokesman Mann said.Iran already has a nuclear power plant in the southern city of Bushehr -- built with Russian help -- but Irans supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has described atomic weapons as a sin.

US frees detained immigrants as budget cut looms Posted: WASHINGTON (AFP) - US officials revealed Tuesday that they had released hundreds of detained immigrants in recent days to trim expenses ahead of massive automatic budget cuts due to take effect this week.With three days to go before the so-called sequester -- $85 billion in across-the-board cuts -- takes effect, federal agencies are tightening belts as feuding lawmakers appear unable to reach a better-tailored deal.Noting the fiscal uncertainty generated by the looming onset of the cuts, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) spokeswoman Barbara Gonzalez said the agency had been forced to act.Over the last week, ICE has reviewed several hundred cases and placed these individuals on methods of supervision less costly than detention, she said in an email to AFP.All of these individuals remain in removal proceedings. Priority for detention remains on serious criminal offenders and other individuals who pose a significant threat to public safety.The ICE, which is charged with deporting undocumented immigrants, is holding around 30,000 detainees across the country, agency sources told AFP.The agency carried out a record 1.2 million deportations during President Barack Obamas first term. There are an estimated 11 million undocumented workers in the United States, many of whom have lived here for several years.A bipartisan group of senators has been working to craft an immigration reform bill, with many Republicans keen to shore up Hispanic support after massively losing the key demographic to Obama in last years election. But the immigration effort is one of the few issues where bipartisan agreement may be possible in a bitterly divided Washington that has thus far been unable to avert the almost universally unpopular sequester.The automatic cuts, agreed upon during the tense 2011 budget standoff, were intended as a poison pill that would force lawmakers to reach across the aisle and strike a more palatable compromise to trim the bloated national debt.But Republicans, who control the House of Representatives, have refused to approve any new revenue while Obama and his fellow Democrats have called for a balanced approach of spending cuts and the closing of tax loopholes.Republican champions of small government have welcomed the sequester cuts in principle but objected to cuts in defense and other programs they support. Representative Bob Goodlatte slammed the release of the detainees and joined fellow Republicans in accusing the White House of scare tactics. Its abhorrent that President Obama is releasing criminals into our communities to promote his political agenda on sequestration, he said.House Homeland Security Chairman Michael McCaul, another Republican, accused the administration of using the sequester to return to a de facto catch-and-release policy on illegal immigrants.While cutting spending is crucial, letting potentially dangerous detainees out of federal custody is not a responsible option, McCaul said in a statement.A reduction in (the ICEs) bloated administrative budget, which includes worldwide conferences costing millions of dollars, would cover the cost of keeping these detainees in federal custody.Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has meanwhile warned that the sequester would result in the equivalent of 5,000 fewer border patrol agents, out of a total force of 21,000.

Hockey coach gets 15 days in jail for tripping Posted: RICHMOND (AP) - A Vancouver junior hockey coach has been sentenced to 15 days in jail for tripping a player during a postgame handshake.Martin Tremblay swept out the leg of an opposing player while the teams were going through the typical hockey ritual of lining up to shake hands after the game. Two players, a 10-year-old and a 13-year-old, fell to the ice. The move was caught on video and worked its way around the Internet.Richmond provincial court Judge Patrick Chen sentenced Tremblay to jail, saying he wasnt satisfied that time served in the community was enough to denounce or deter the man for his actions.

US Senate confirms Hagel for defense secretary Posted: WASHINGTON (AP) - The vote Tuesday was 58-41, with four Republicans joining Democrats in backing President Barack Obama's nominee.The vote ended a contentious fight over the president's choice for his second-term national security team.Republicans opposed the former 12-year Republican senator casting him as out of the mainstream and overly critical of Israel. But Democrats stood together for Hagel, a twice-wounded Vietnam combat veteran.Hagel will succeed Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, who is stepping down after four years as CIA director and Pentagon chief.The vote came just hours after Republicans dropped their delay and allowed the nomination to move forward. The Senate vote to end the delaying maneuver known as a filibuster was 71-27.Earlier, Chuck Hagel alleged that India has over the years financed problems for Pakistan in the war-torn country.A video containing these remarks from an unreleased speech of Hagel at Oklahoma’s Cameron University in 2011 was uploaded by Washington Free Beacon, sparking a strong reaction from India which said such comments are contrary to the reality of its unbounded dedication to the welfare of Afghans.Hagel, during the speech said, India for some time has always used Afghanistan as a second front, and India has over the years financed problems for Pakistan on that side of the border.And you can carry that into many dimensions, the point being that the tense, fragmented relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan has been there for many, many years, Hagel said.Reacting to this, the Indian Embassy here said, such comments attributed to Senator Hagel, who has been a long-standing friend of India and a prominent votary of close India-US relations are contrary to the reality of India’s unbounded dedication to the welfare of Afghan people.It added that India’s commitment to a peaceful, stable and prosperous Afghanistan is unwavering, and this is reflected in our significant assistance to Afghanistan in developing its economy, infrastructure and institutional capacities.Our opposition to terrorism and its safe havens in our neighbourhood is firm and unshakable.India’s development assistance has been deeply appreciated by the people and the Government of Afghanistan, and by our friends around the world including the US. We do not view our engagement with Afghanistan as a zero sum game, the embassy said.Hagel’s remarks are in sharp contrast to viewpoint of Obama Administration that has always been in praise of India s developmental role in Afghanistan and in fact has been pressing New Delhi to do more in Afghanistan.

Zardari to leave for Iran on 2-day visit Posted: ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - During the visit‚ the President will hold talks with Iranian leadership on a host of bilateral issues and the regional situation.The Presidential Spokesperson Farhatullah Babar said that the visit is a manifestation of the great importance Pakistan attaches to its relations with Iran. The visit is part of the ongoing contacts at the leadership level to further strengthen the bilateral relations and to consult each other on regional and international issues of concern to the two countries, Babar said.Zardai has been urging for further strengthening of the bilateral relations and for early completion of the mega projects between the two countries and expressed the hope that the visit would lend further impetus to the efforts aimed at early completion of the bilateral projects.

Tahirul Qadri leaves for Canada Posted: LAHORE (Dunya News) –Minhaj-ul-Quran chief Tahirul Qadri has left for Canada for 'medical checkup'.Talking to the media at the airport before leaving for Canada on a private airline flight via Dubai, he said he is going to Canada for medical checkup and will be back in Pakistan on March 11.On Tuesday, Qadri said he would support every step of the Election Commission to hold a free and free election in the country. He said, “Our reservations on the constitution of election commission have not entirely been removed.”He said that Election Commission should implement the new nomination papers and the demand of information therein in letter and spirit.

Rain, wind turn weather cold in Lahore Posted: LAHORE (Dunya News) – Weather turned cold in Punjab and other cities of the country after rain with winds lashed most cities of the country including Lahore.Rain with winds was recorded in different parts of the country including Lahore, Kasur, Sheikhupura Jhang Faisalabad and other districts of the Punjab.Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has predicted widespread rain for most parts of the country during the next 24 hours with chances of heavy snowfall over the hills.Widespread snowfall, heavy at times, is expected over the hills of Malakand, Hazara, Murree, Galiyat, Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir. Hailing is also expected at isolated places in the plains of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) and Punjab including Islamabad during the period.

Del Potro downs Baghdatis in Dubai Posted: DUBAI (AP): Juan Martin del Potro saved three match points Tuesday to get past Marcos Baghdatis 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (4) at the Dubai Championships, while Nikolay Davydenko upset ninth-ranked Janko Tipsarevic in straight sets.Del Potro, who reached the quarterfinals in Marseille and won his 14th title the week before in Rotterdam, appeared sluggish early, handing the first set to Baghdatis when he hit one of his three double faults. But the 2009 U.S. Open champion served better in the second, and broke Baghdatis to go up 3-2. The two traded breaks in the third and Del Potro won it when the Cypriot hit a forehand into the net after a short rally.I was fighting every time of the match, Del Potro said. Hes a great player. He fights like me every point, and we made fantastic rallies. The crowd was enjoying the game. Im so glad to beat him tonight in Dubai.Del Potro said his left wrist is still bothering him, having missed most of 2010 after having surgery on it and still struggling to return to the top.Im trying to keep focus on this tournament because its very important, Del Potro said. And then to come for Indian Wells and Miami, I need good results here.In other matches, sixth-ranked Tomas Berdych made easy work of American wild-card entry Rajeev Ram, beating him 6-1, 6-3. Australian Bernard Tomic withdrew from his match against Romanian Victor Hanescu after falling behind 3-2 in the first set.Davydenko, who reached the Qatar Open final in January, overwhelmed Tipsarevic 6-0, 7-5. It was the third tournament in a row that the Serb had lost his opening match after he injured his heel at the Australian Open.The big-hitting Tipsarevic had trouble with his serve all match, committing six double faults and finishing with a first serve percentage of only 49 percent.The 46th-ranked Davydenko said it was clear Tipsarevic isnt playing at this best.Maybe he doesnt have the confidence after the Australian Open, the Russian said. After his injury, he tried to come back. (His) game is good but is not enough now. Maybe he will feel better in America.

World powers, Iran hold useful Talks in Kazakhstan Posted: ALMATY (AFP) - World powers and Iran on Tuesday exchanged offers at useful talks in Kazakhstan aimed at breaking a decade of deadlock over Tehrans nuclear drive, despite low expectations of any deal.The meeting in the Kazakh city of Almaty comes as sanctions bite against the Islamic republic and Israel still refuses to rule out air strikes to knock out Irans suspected nuclear weapons drive.There was no hint of any initial breakthrough with the first round of closed-door talks stretching late into Tuesday evening as the parties agreed to resume the talks on Wednesday.We had a useful meeting today, said a Western official.Discussions took place this evening, (and) we are meeting again tomorrow, the official added. An Iranian source close to the talks also confirmed the negotiations would continue Wednesday.The world powers are offering Iran permission to resume its gold and precious metals trade as well as some international banking activity which are currently under sanctions, Western officials told AFP.But in exchange, Iran will have to limit sensitive uranium enrichment operations that the world powers fear could be used to make a nuclear bomb, the sources added.We have come here with a revised offer and we have come to engage with Iran in a meaningful way, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who negotiates with Iran on behalf of the world powers, said in a statement.Iran would have to stop enriching uranium to 20 percent and shut down its controversial Fordo plant where such activity occurs, a Western official said.An Iranian source told AFP Tehran had come up with a counter-offer, whose final nature would be determined by terms posed by the big powers.The source stressed there was no question of Tehran closing the Fordo plant where uranium is enriched to up to 20 percent -- a level seen as being within technical reach of weapons-grade matter.But Iran could envisage halting the enrichment of uranium to 20 percent, if all international sanctions against it were dropped, including UN Security Council measures, the source said.US Secretary of State John Kerry, visiting Berlin, said there is a diplomatic path in the nuclear crisis and expressed hope that Iran itself will make its choice to move down the path of a diplomatic solution.The talks pit the world powers of Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States -- represented by Ashton -- against the Iranian team of top nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili.The talks are the first such encounter since a meeting in Moscow in June 2012 and Iranian officials have doused expectations by insisting they will offer no special concessions.Its clear that no one expects everyone to walk out of here in Almaty with a done deal. This is a negotiating process, said Ashtons spokesman Michael Mann.Iran denies it is developing nuclear weapons and wants the world to respect its right to enrich uranium -- something current UN sanctions say it cannot do because of its refusal to cooperate with nuclear inspectors.The Iranians went into the talks by issuing a string of comments suggesting they were willing to listen to offers without softening their own position.We will not accept anything beyond our obligations and will not accept anything less than our rights, Jalili declared before setting off for Kazakhstan.Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Moscow was hoping that the talks would now move into a phase of bargaining rather than just offering proposals.There needs to be a political will to move into that phase. We call on all participants not to lose any more time, he said, quoted by Russian news agencies.The talks come with the lingering threat of Israel launching a unilateral strike on Iran just as it had done against the Osirak nuclear reactor in Saddam Husseins Iraq in 1981.Iran already has a nuclear power plant in the southern city of Bushehr -- built with Russian help -- but Irans supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has described atomic weapons as a sin.

Earthquake shakes Quetta, Sibi, RYK Posted: QUETTA (Dunya News) - An earthquake of moderate intensity has shaken parts of Quetta, Sibi and Rahim Yar Khan, causing people to flee into the streets, but there are no initial reports of damage.The epicentre of the earthquake is sated to be 24 KM from Sibi.

Tamil rebel being subjected sexual violence in jail Posted: COLOMBO (AFP) - Sri Lankan security forces continue to use rape and other forms of sexual violence to torture suspected Tamil rebels nearly four years after the end of the islands civil war, a rights group alleged Tuesday.The New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) claimed widespread rape of detainees during the separatist conflict that ended in May 2009, and said politically motivated sexual violence by the military and police has continued.The report, coinciding with the UN Human Rights Council sessions in Geneva, gathered accounts of 75 cases of alleged rape and sexual abuse between 2006 and 2012 in both legal and secret detention centres in Sri Lanka, HRW said.Most of the rape victims spoke to Human Rights Watch outside of Sri Lanka, and corroborated their accounts with medical and legal reports, the report said. All suffered torture and ill-treatment beyond the sexual violence.Sri Lankas military dismissed the HRW report as speculative creativity, but said there had been five cases of sexual violence alleged to have been committed by seven soldiers between 2007 and May 2009, the height of fighting during the war.Five soldiers had been dismissed for sexual violence, the military said, adding that the HRW report was an exaggeration.The report by the HRW is not more than a piece of speculative creativity and the allegations contained therein are far from the truth, military spokesman Ruwan Wanigasooriya said.Rights groups as well as Tamil Tiger rebels have previously accused Sri Lankan troops of using sexual violence against detainees, but the latest report comes at a time when Sri Lanka faces fresh censure over its rights record.In the 141-page report, titled We Will Teach You a Lesson, HRW said most of the victims spoke to them after leaving the island and often bribed officials to get out of the country.One man detailed how he was tortured by security forces and medical records corroborated his claims, the report said.Two officials held my arms back [while] a third official held my penis and inserted a metal rod inside, HRW quoted the victim as saying. He had surrendered to government forces in May 2009.Sri Lankas military has routinely dismissed allegations of sexual violence as well as other war crimes as an attempt to discredit them by remnants of the Tamil Tigers.Government forces crushed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in a no-holds-barred campaign that also sparked widespread allegations that up to 40,000 civilians were killed in the final months of fighting.The United States is due to move a fresh resolution at the UN Human Rights Council in March, urging Sri Lanka to probe alleged war crimes.The UN estimates 100,000 people perished during Sri Lankas 37-year ethnic conflict which ended with the wiping out of the entire military leadership of the LTTE.

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