Dunya TV

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• SC to hear petition against Musharraf today
• CEC to meet Baloch leaders today
• CEC meets caretaker Balochistan CM
• Najam Sethi takes oath as caretaker CM Punjab
• Warplanes strike rebels posts in Damascus: NGO
• Child among four civilians killed in Afghan raid
• At least 24 dead in Peru bus crash: police
• Pre-dawn operation removes part of Berlin Wall
• Sharapova beats Errani in Sony Open quarters
• Third-seeded Ferrer books Miami semi-final
• Athletics: Bolt, Blake and Felis to run in Kingston
• IOC backs Rio Olympic preps after stadium closure
• Scientists find new gene markers for cancer risk
• Cyprus banks to reopen today with tight controls
• Oil prices ease back after day of strong gains

SC to hear petition against Musharraf today Posted: ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - The three-member bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhary will hear a case against former president Pervez Musharraf under Article 6 of the constitution.Maulvi Iqbal Haider had filed a petition in 2010 in Sindh High Court accusing Pervez Musharraf of violating the constitution when he imposed emergency in Pakistan on November 3, 2007.The Sindh High Court in its verdict on October 21, 2010 convicted Pervez Musharraf of treason and directed the petitioner to approach Supreme Court for further proceedings.

CEC to meet Baloch leaders today Posted: QUETTA (Dunya News) –Chief Election Commissioner, Fakhruddin G Ebrahim, has reached Quetta where he will meet leaders of Balochistan National Party (BNP), Jamhoori Watan Party(JWP), BNP-M, Hazara Democratic Party and Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party.Talking to media soon after his arrival in Quetta, Fakhruddin G Ebrahim said that the Election Commission not received any application of delimitation of constituencies in Quetta. He said that law and order situation in Quetta is same as in other parts of the country. Meanwhile, BNP leader Sardar Akhtar Mengal and JWP leaders Talal Bugti, Brahamdakh Bugti and Fahd Bugti acquired nomination papers for the upcoming elections.

CEC meets caretaker Balochistan CM Posted: QUETTA (dunya News) - Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim held a meeting with interim Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Ghous Bakhsh Barozai on Wednesday and discussed overall security situation in the province and the arrangements regarding upcoming general elections.The interim CM informed Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim that army will be deployed in any part of the province if necessary during the polls. Barozai further said that he would hold meeting with Balochistan nationalist leaders to convince them that their reservations regarding elections would be removed.

Najam Sethi takes oath as caretaker CM Punjab Posted: LAHORE (Online) - Senior journalist Najam Sethi has taken oath as the caretaker chief minister of Punjab. The oath was administered by Governor Punjab Makhdoom Ahmed Mehmood.Speaking to the media following the oath-taking ceremony, Sethi said the caretaker administration had the agenda of implementing the orders of the Election Commission, judiciary and ensure that elections are held in a transparent manner.“Journalists will be my eyes and ears and keep me informed of problems in the province.”The caretaker chief minister sent a message to bureaucrats in Punjab that incompetence and corruption would not be tolerated.According to Sethi no relatives or friends of his would be allowed any undue advantage during his tenure, adding that action would be taken against individuals who use his name to seek favoritism.“Maintaining law and order is a majority priority for me,” Sethi said. There will be zero tolerance for violence against minorities, the caretaker chief minister added.Commenting on the formation of the caretaker provincial cabinet, Sethi said no political personality would be included.

Warplanes strike rebels posts in Damascus: NGO Posted: BEIRUT (AFP) - Syrian warplanes launched two strikes on Qaboon in northeastern Damascus on Wednesday, as rebels fighters seized three army posts near the ceasefire line with Israel, a watchdog said.Two air strikes were carried out on rebel-held buildings in Qaboon, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, adding that violence in Damascus has risen after insurgents seized control of Jobar district in the citys east.There is now fighting in Tadamun, Assali, Yarmuk, Qadam and Qaboon districts, Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP of outlying neighbourhoods of the capital that have previously seen intermittent violence.Elsewhere, rebels seized three small army positions in Quneitra province in southern Syria near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, said the watchdog.In Homs, in central Syria, the army pressed its campaign against rebel enclaves, pounding the district of Khaldiyeh in the heart of the city, the Observatory added.The United Nations says more than 70,000 people have been killed in Syrias conflict, which erupted in 2011 after an anti-regime revolt turned into an insurgency when the army unleashed a brutal crackdown against dissent.On Wednesday alone, at least 73 people were killed in violence across Syria, according to a preliminary toll released by the Observatory. Among the casualties were 20 civilians, 19 soldiers and 33 rebels.

Child among four civilians killed in Afghan raid Posted: KABUL (AFP) - Four civilians, including a child, were killed in a two-day raid against Taliban insurgents by Afghan and international forces in a restive province south of the capital Kabul, officials said Wednesday.A spokesman for NATOs International Security Assistance Force said it was aware of the allegations of civilian casualties but insisted that foreign troops were not directly involved.A local official said the joint operation in Logar province was launched after the Taliban kidnapped two Afghan National Army soldiers two nights ago.Four civilians were killed and four were injured in the fighting. One child was among those killed, said district governor Mohammad Rahimi Amin, who added that 23 Taliban fighters were also killed and 40 detained.Another Afghan official, who spoke to AFP on the condition of anonymity, confirmed the civilian casualties. A statement from the Afghan interior ministry confirmed the Taliban deaths but made no mention of any civilians killed.The issue of civilian casualties in coalition operations is highly sensitive in Afghanistan, where the United States and its NATO allies have been fighting the Taliban for 11 years.In the past they have provoked harsh criticism from Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who is due to step down at elections next year which will coincide with the scheduled withdrawal of foreign combat troops.Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mudjahid said in a text message that 28 civilians were killed in the Logar raid along with 15 militants. The Islamists are known to routinely exaggerate their claims and distort toll figures.

At least 24 dead in Peru bus crash: police Posted: LIMA (AFP) - At least 24 people, most of them mine workers, were killed Wednesday when their bus plunged into a ravine in southern Peru, local police said.Another 18 people were injured, according to a provisional toll given by a highway police official in the city of Arequipa, located 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) south of the capital Lima.Police warned the toll may rise as more bodies could be trapped under the wreckage of the vehicle, which rescue personnel has so far failed to move.The cause of the accident was not immediately known, police said.Most of those aboard the bus were mine workers headed from Orcopampa district to Arequipa, where they planned to take part in religious festivities leading up to Easter on Sunday.

Pre-dawn operation removes part of Berlin Wall Posted: BERLIN (AP) - Work crews backed by about 250 police removed parts of the Berlin Wall known as the East Side Gallery before dawn Wednesday to make way for an upscale building project, despite demands by protesters that the site be preserved.Residents of the area expressed shock at the move, which followed several protests including one attended by American celebrity David Hasselhoff.Police spokesman Alexander Toennies said there were no incidents as work began about 5 a.m. to remove four sections of the wall, each about 1.5 yards (1.2 meters) wide. That will make way for an access route to the planned high-rise luxury apartments along the nearby Spree River.The East Side Gallery is the longest remaining stretch of the Berlin Wall. Construction workers removed a first piece earlier this month as part of a plan to make a road to a new luxury apartment complex . The public outcry brought a halt while local politicians and the investor said they were looking for a solution to keep the rest of the wall untouched.The investor, Maik Uwe Hinkel, decided to remove four more 1.5-yard (1.2-meter) wide parts of the wall, according to Toennies.The constructor had the right to do this and he informed us a few days ago about his plans. Last night we were told that he wanted to remove the wall pieces early this morning, Toennies said.Plans to remove part of the 1.3-kilometer (3/4-mile) stretch of wall sparked protests whose main message was that developers were sacrificing history for profit.At least 136 people died trying to scale the wall that divided communist-run East Berlin from West Berlin. Over the years, the stretch has become a tourist attraction with colorful paintings decorating the old concrete tiles.I cant believe they came here in the dark in such a sneaky manner, said Kani Alavi, the head of the East Side Gallerys artists group. All they see is their money, they have no understanding for the historic relevance and art of this place.By mid-morning the six-yard (meter) gap was covered by a wooden fence and protected by scores of police. Passers-by and a handful of protesters stared in disbelief.If you take these parts of the Wall away, you take away the soul of the city, said Ivan McClostney, 32, who moved here a year ago from Ireland. This way, you make it like every other city. Its so sad.In an emailed statement, Hinkel said the removal of parts of the wall was a temporary move to enable trucks to access the building site. He said after four weeks of fruitless negotiations with city officials and owners of adjacent property he was no longer willing to wait.The East Side Gallery was recently restored at a cost of more than 2 million euros ($3 million) to the city. The wall section stood on the eastern side of the elaborate border strip built by communist East Germany after it sealed off West Berlin in 1961. At least 136 people died trying to scale the wall until it was opened on Nov. 9, 1989.The stretch of wall was transformed into an open-air gallery months after the opening and is now covered in colorful murals painted by about 120 artists. They include the famous image of boxy East German Trabant car that appears to burst through the wall; and a fraternal communist kiss between Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and East German boss Erich Honecker.

Sharapova beats Errani in Sony Open quarters Posted: KEY BISCAYNE (AP) - The grunts were long and loud in the final game, as if Maria Sharapova was pushing a couch across nearby Crandon Beach.Trying to winning the Sony Open must feel that way to Sharapova, a four-time runner-up. She returned to the semifinals Wednesday despite a patchy performance, beating Sara Errani 7-5, 7-5.Sharapova made 57 unforced errors, including 13 double-faults, and overcame three set points in the second set. The two sets took 2 1/2 hours, and a flurry of mistakes by both players left spectators groaning.Sharapova had the last laugh, whacking a forehand winner on match point.She really made me work for this match, Sharapova said. I had to dig deepso many opportunities, a few ups and downs. Im definitely happy to get through another one.Seeded No. 3, shell play Thursday against the winner of the quarterfinal Wednesday night between No. 15-seeded Roberta Vinci and No. 22 Jelena Jankovic.She faced Errani in a rematch of last years French Open final, which Sharapova won to complete a career Grand Slam. But she has never won Key Biscayne, losing the final in 2005, 06, 11 and 12.Ive been so close to winning, Sharapova said. I would love to win this. Ive been coming to this tournament since I was a little kid as a spectator. To be playing here, to be doing so well and getting to that stage, I sure hope I can go further this time.The quarterfinal took place with the stadium half empty despite postcard weather. Attendance is down about 7 percent from last year, and promoters blame the absence of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.Sharapova struggled with both her first and second serves, and in the second set she lost eight consecutive service points. While she and Errani waged a series of long, entertaining baseline rallies, both were also prone to blowing easy shots.Sharapovas superior firepower proved the difference. Serving at 4-5 in the second set, she saved three set points and held. Two games later she endured one final double-fault, then hit winners on the last two points.Errani, seeded No. 8, fell to 0-26 against opponents ranked in the top five.Sharapova has won 10 consecutive matches, all in straight sets. She won the Indian Wells championship this month and is bidding to become the third woman to claim that title and Key Biscayne in the same year. Steffi Graf did it in 1994 and 1996, and Kim Clijsters won both in 2005.

Third-seeded Ferrer books Miami semi-final Posted: MIAMI, March 27, 2013 (AFP) - Third-seeded Spaniard David Ferrer rallied for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 victory over unseeded Austrian Jurgen Melzer Wednesday to lead the way into the semi-finals of the Miami ATP Masters.Ferrer, winner of titles in Auckland and Buenos Aires already this year, will face either French 11th seed Gilles Simon or giant-killer Tommy Haas of Germany for a place in the title match.Haas, the 15th seed, toppled world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in straight sets on Tuesday to book his quarter-final berth.

Athletics: Bolt, Blake and Felis to run in Kingston Posted: KINGSTON (AFP) - Usain Bolt, the two-time reigning Olympic champion at 100 and 200 meters, will run at the Jamaica International Invitational athletics meet on May 4, organizers announced on Wednesday.Yohan Blake and US sprint star Allyson Felix will also compete in the meeting, but meet director Donald Quarrie, a former Olympic 200 champion, said there will be no showdown between Bolt and Blake in the same event at Kingston.Bolt has been confirmed, but his coach, Glen Mills, will decide on the event he will run at a later date, Quarrie said.Blake, second to Bolt in both sprints at the London Olympics, is also undecided about his event.Bolt and Blake will run, but not in the same event, Quarrie said. Hopefully next week we should know the event.Felix, the Olympic 200m champion, will compete in the meet for the first time and she will have a showdown with Jamaicas Veronica Campbell-Brown in the womens 100, Quarrie said.Felix, a three-time world champion in the 200, first ran in Kingston at the 2002 world junior championships.Two-time Olympic 100m womens champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce will run the 200, the event in which she finished second at the London Olympics.Hansle Parchment, a London Olympic bronze medallist, will run the 110m hurdles.

IOC backs Rio Olympic preps after stadium closure Posted: LAUSANNE (AP) - The IOC expressed confidence Wednesday in Rio de Janeiros preparations for the 2016 Olympics despite the temporary closure of the stadium that will host track and field events.Rio authorities said Tuesday they decided to shut the Joao Havelange Stadium because of structural problems with the roof.International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams said the stadium closure was no reason for alarm.There are still more than 3½ years to go before the games and we are absolutely confident that they will deliver, he told The Associated Press, adding that the IOC is in regular contact with Rio 2016.Track and fields governing body said it is monitoring the situation.We have noted this and will keep a very close eye on developments, IAAF spokesman Nick Davies told the AP.Rio officials said Wednesday there is no timetable for the stadiums reopening but the venues preparations for the games should not be affected.We are continuing with the Olympic projects, they are our responsibility, said Armando Queiroga, president of Rios department in charge of the stadium. We are very confident in what we planned to do.IOC executive director Gilbert Felli reiterated that this will be a crucial year for Rio organizers.The games are very complicated to organize, he said in Istanbul, where the IOC was assessing the Turkish citys bid for the 2020 Olympics. The scope is huge. You always have, during the seven years, some key parts. Each organizing committee reaches at some point some difficulty.Rio (is) in a key period of delivering the facilities. And as such you have some key monitoring to have. We are not concerned that the Brazilians will not be able to deliver the games.Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes announced the stadiums closure on Tuesday immediately after receiving the reports of structural problems with the roof.Officials said it could take up to 60 days to evaluate the full extent of the problem and determine a solution. Paes said on Tuesday that the venue will remain closed for as long as necessary.It has been the main Rio stadium since the Maracana closed for renovation ahead of the Confederations Cup and the 2014 World Cup. It was built for the Pan American Games that Rio hosted in 2007.The venue is expected to be upgraded from a 46,000-capacity stadium to a 60,000-capacity venue for the Olympics, when temporary seats will be added.

Scientists find new gene markers for cancer risk Posted: NEW YORK (AP) - A huge international effort involving more than 100 institutions and genetic tests on 200,000 people has uncovered dozens of signposts in DNA that can help reveal further a persons risk for breast, ovarian or prostate cancer, scientists reported Wednesday.Its the latest mega-collaboration to learn more about the intricate mechanisms that lead to cancer. And while the headway seems significant in many ways, the potential payoff for ordinary people is mostly this: Someday there may be genetic tests that help identify women with the most to gain from mammograms, and men who could benefit most from PSA tests and prostate biopsies.And perhaps farther in the future these genetic clues might lead to new treatments.This adds another piece to the puzzle, said Harpal Kumar, chief executive of Cancer Research U.K., the charity which funded much of the research.One analysis suggests that among men whose family history gives them roughly a 20 percent lifetime risk for prostate cancer, such genetic markers could identify those whose real risk is 60 percent.The markers also could make a difference for women with BRCA gene mutations, which puts them at high risk for breast cancer. Researchers may be able to separate those whose lifetime risk exceeds 80 percent from women whose risk is about 20 to 50 percent. One doctor said that might mean some women would choose to monitor for cancer rather than taking the drastic step of having healthy breasts removed.Scientists have found risk markers for the three diseases before, but the new trove doubles the known list, said one author, Douglas Easton of Cambridge University. The discoveries also reveal clues about the biological underpinnings of these cancers, which may pay off someday in better therapies, he said.Experts not connected with the work said it was encouraging but that more research is needed to see how useful it would be for guiding patient care. One suggested that using a gene test along with PSA testing and other factors might help determine which men have enough risk of a life-threatening prostate cancer that they should get a biopsy. Many prostate cancers found early are slow-growing and wont be fatal, but there is no way to differentiate and many men have surgery they may not need.Easton said the prospects for a genetic test are greater for prostate and breast cancer than ovarian cancer.Breast cancer is the most common malignancy among women worldwide, with more than 1 million new cases a year.Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men after lung cancer, with about 900,000 new cases every year.Ovarian cancer accounts for about 4 percent of all cancers diagnosed in women, causing about 225,000 cases worldwide.The new results were released in 13 reports in Nature Genetics, PLOS Genetics and other journals. They come from a collaboration involving more than 130 institutions in the United States, Europe, and elsewhere. The research was mainly paid for by Cancer Research U.K., the European Union and the U.S. National Institutes of Health.Scientists used scans of DNA from more than 200,000 people to seek the markers, tiny variations in the 3 billion letters of the DNA code that are associated with disease risk.The scientists found 49 new risk markers for breast cancer plus a couple of others that modify breast cancer risk from rare mutated genes, 26 for prostate cancer and eight for ovarian cancer. Individually, each marker has only a slight impact on risk estimation, too small to be useful on its own, Easton said. They would be combined and added to previously known markers to help reveal a persons risk, he said.A genetic test could be useful in identifying people who should get mammography or PSA testing, said Hilary Burton, director of the PHG Foundation, a genomics think-tank in Cambridge, England. A mathematical analysis done by her group found that under certain assumptions, a gene test using all known markers could reduce the number of mammograms and PSA tests by around 20 percent, with only a small cost in cancer cases missed.

Cyprus banks to reopen today with tight controls Posted: NICOSIA (AFP) - Cyprus confirmed that banks would reopen on Thursday after a nearly two-week lockdown on the bailed-out country, but only under the first capital controls of their kind in the eurozone.Finance Minister Michalis Sarris issued a decree Wednesday for draconian temporary restrictions limiting daily withdrawals to 300 euros ($385), which he said were needed to prevent the collapse of credit institutions.The central bank confirmed branches that have been shuttered since March 16 -- leaving desperate Cypriot homes and businesses with limited cash -- would be open from 1000 GMT to 1600 GMT on Thursday.At least two shipping containers reportedly filled with cash were delivered to the central bank in Nicosia on Wednesday night, an AFP journalist said.The decree came as around 1,500 anti-austerity protesters marched on the presidential palace to protest the EU-IMF rescue package which delivers a major hit to big bank depositors and will see thousands left jobless.Protesters chanted Troika out of Cyprus, substituting Troika for Turkey in a chant Greek Cypriots traditionally use to condemn the 1974 Turkish invasion.Under a deal agreed in Brussels on Monday, Cyprus is trying to raise 5.8 billion euros to qualify for a 10-billion-euro bailout from the troika of the European Union, European Union and International Monetary Fund.Depositors with more than 100,000 euros in the top two banks face losing a large chunk of their money while Cyprus agreed to major reforms to its crucial banking system, bloated with Russian money and exposed to Greek debt.The deal kept the east Mediterranean island from crashing out of the euro but has caused anger at home.Earlier this week officials had originally said that all banks would reopen on Tuesday, then that Bank of Cyprus and number two lender Laiki would stay closed on Thursday, and finally that all of them would stay shut until then.The banks will serve the public tomorrow from 12 noon to 6 pm, central bank spokeswoman Aliki Stylianou told AFP in Wednesday.The capital controls accompanying the reopening of the banks would last for four days before they were reviewed, Sarris said in a decree.In addition to the 300-euro daily limit, they ban the cashing of cheques.They also prohibit people from taking more than 1,000 euros in cash abroad, with customs officers authorised to make checks at border crossings.Non-cash payments or money transfers outside Cyprus are prohibited, with some narrowly defined exceptions, and there is a limit of 5,000 euros a month in credit or debit card purchases while abroad.Cyprus is the first eurozone country to impose capital controls after bailouts -- unlike Greece, Spain, Portugal and Ireland, which have also received multi-billion-dollar rescue packages.

Oil prices ease back after day of strong gains Posted: NEW YORK (AP) - The price of oil eased back to below $96 a barrel Wednesday, a day after hitting a five-week high on the back of solid U.S. economic data, which raised hopes of the pace of recovery in the worlds largest economy.By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark oil for May delivery was down 40 cents to $95.94 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.On Tuesday, the Nymex contract added $1.53 to finish at the five-week high of $96.34 a barrel following strong durable goods orders figures from the government and a stronger-than anticipated rise in the Standard & Poors/Case-Shiller 20-city price index.Though the U.S. economy is providing support to oil prices, analysts say it is too soon to forget about the debt crisis in Europe, especially after the recent events involving Cyprus. The country teetered on the brink of bankruptcy until a deal was reached early Monday to provide it some 10 billion euros ($12.9 billion) from international lenders. The deal, however, requires Cyprus to slash its oversized banking sector and inflict hefty losses on large depositors in troubled banks.The events in Cyprus have provided another very visible albeit extreme illustration of the financial problems and uncertainties in Europe which are holding back the global recovery, analysts at Capital Economics said. Indeed, even though the Cypriot economy itself is tiny, the ramifications could still be felt worldwide, both in economic activity and in financial market volatility.The uncertainty in Cyprus has heaped particular pressure on the euro, which makes crude oil priced in dollars a less enticing investment for traders using currencies other than the dollar. On Wednesday, the euro was down to $1.2777 from $1.2861 late Tuesday in New York.The weak euro is the key element that continues to dominate the markets today ... and adding further pressure to the commodity markets, Sucden Financial Research in London said in a report. Until the situation clears, we expect further volatility and nervous trading conditions in the oil market.Traders will also be watching for the release of fresh data on U.S. stockpiles of crude and refined products.Data for the week ending March 22 is expected to show a build of 1.6 million barrels in crude oil stocks and a draw of 1.6 million barrels in gasoline stocks, according to a survey of analysts by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos.

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