Dunya TV

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• Taliban attack kills 13 Afghan soldiers
• Iraq bombs against Sunnis kill 12
• Kerry backs S Korea bid to ease crisis with north
• Under Chavez shadow, Venezuelan to pick new leader
• Strong 6.0 magnitude quake hit western Japan
• Golf: Tiger charges to the top while Guan hit for slow play
• Barca-Bayern, Madrid-Dortmund in Champions League
• Chelsea-Basel, Fenerbahce-Benfica in Europa League
• Ogier leads Rally of Portugal after 1st day
• Wawrinka beats Garcia-Lopez in Casablanca quarters
• Brits, Americans feud over world's smallest park
• Bird flu vaccine 'many months' away: US experts
• Austria's glaciers shrank in 2012: study
• Oil falls 2 percent on weak economic data
• Pak Army is not mercenary, says Imran

Taliban attack kills 13 Afghan soldiers Posted: KABUL (AP) - Taliban militants stormed an Afghan army outpost on Friday, killing more than a dozen soldiers in an area that is a major infiltration route for insurgents crossing the mountainous border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.The Taliban are stepping up their attacks this spring, analysts say, as they try to position themselves for power ahead of national elections and the planned withdrawal of most U.S. and other foreign combat troops by the end of 2014. The persistent violence has undermined confidence in the ability of President Hamid Karzais forces to take over the countrys security.The attack began at dawn in Nari district of Kunar province, a volatile area that serves as a pathway for insurgents traveling to Afghanistan from their sanctuaries in northwestern Pakistan. Hostilities have surged as weather improves, allowing easier movement through the remote area.The militants started by firing 20 rockets at the outpost, which housed about 30 soldiers, provincial police chief Abdul Habib Sayedkhaili said. He said three Afghan soldiers and four Taliban were killed. But Defense Ministry spokesman Mohammad Zahir Azimi told The Associated Press that 13 soldiers were killed in the fighting, which lasted about five hours.Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attack and said the insurgents captured the base, seizing ammunition and weapons. He said 15 Afghan soldiers died in the attack and that the militant fighters suffered no casualties. The Islamic militant movement frequently exaggerates the number of people killed and wounded by its attacks.This years fighting season is being closely watched because Afghan forces have to operate with less support from the international military coalition, making it a test case of their ability to operate independently as U.S. and other foreign troops take on more of an advisory and training role.Afghanistan now has about 100,000 international troops, including 66,000 from the United States. The U.S. troop total is scheduled to drop to about 32,000 by early next year. The bulk of the reduction is to occur after fighting presumably winds down in the winter.The Taliban want to show the international community that they are the power in Afghanistan, said Jawed Kohistani, an Afghan political and military analyst. Relations between the Afghan government and the international community are not so good, which is good for the Taliban.Col. Thomas Collins, a spokesman for U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan, said the coalition had no involvement in Fridays fighting and has little presence in the area where the attack occurred, giving the Afghan National Army more of a leadership role there. Our coalition footprint has been reduced significantly, he said.He said the militants attacked several small bases housing Afghan units, but only caused casualties at the one in Nari district. He said 13 Afghan soldiers were killed, but that reinforcements were sent and the Afghan security forces took the base back fairly quickly and basically pushed the enemy out of the area.Fridays attack came nearly a week after a fierce battle between U.S.-backed Afghan forces and insurgents elsewhere in Kunar province, one of the most dangerous areas of the country. That led to an airstrike that Afghan officials said killed 11 Afghan children. An American civilian adviser also was killed in the fighting. The international coalition said the investigation into the casualties report from the airstrike was ongoing.

Iraq bombs against Sunnis kill 12 Posted: BAQUBA (AFP) - Bomb attacks on Sunni Muslim worshippers in Baghdad and north of the Iraqi capital killed 12 people on Friday, officials said, the latest in an uptick in violence ahead of provincial polls next week.In the deadliest single blast, a roadside bomb struck after prayers at the Omar bin Abdul Aziz mosque, in the town of Kanaan in restive Diyala province, a police colonel and a doctor said.Overall, 12 people were killed and 30 others wounded, the sources said.Two more bombings, in Baghdad and another town in Diyala, one near a Sunni mosque and the other as Sunni worshippers were returning from mid-day prayers, wounded seven people.Also on Friday, police near the main northern city of Mosul found the corpses of two policemen and a soldier, all three with gunshot wounds to the head and chest. The group had been kidnapped a day earlier.Iraq is to hold provincial elections on April 20, its first polls since 2010.Attacks on candidates have left at least a dozen election hopefuls dead, according to an AFP tally. That, and the fact that only 12 of Iraqs 18 provinces will vote due to a government postponement, has raised questions over the credibility of the polls.They come with the country mired in a political crisis that has pitted Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki against several of his erstwhile national unity cabinet partners, and after more than three months of anti-government protests by the Sunni Arab minority.Violence killed 271 Iraqis last month, the highest monthly figure since August, according to an AFP tally.

Kerry backs S Korea bid to ease crisis with north Posted: SEOUL (AFP) - US Secretary of State John Kerry Friday demanded North Korea scrap an expected missile test and dial down its virulent rhetoric -- but also backed new peace overtures by Seoul and appealed for reason to prevail.As Pyongyang aimed fresh nuclear threats at Japan, Kerry urged China to step in and said the North would never be accepted as a nuclear power.Visiting Seoul to give full US backing to military ally South Korea, Kerry mixed tough talk with more conciliatory comments about the prospects for a peaceful way out of a crisis that has sent inter-Korea tensions soaring.In particular, he said Washington chose to honour the vision of South Koreas new President Park Geun-Hye, who was elected on a pledge of greater engagement with Pyongyang.Were prepared to work with conviction that relations between North and South can improve and they can improve very quickly, Kerry said.I think we have lowered our rhetoric significantly and we are attempting to find a way for reasonableness to prevail here, he added.Park has made a series of statements in recent days hinting at a dialogue with Pyongyang.Yonhap news agency quoted Park as telling ruling party officials Friday that the South should meet with the North and listen to what North Korea thinks.There was no indication what form such a meeting might take.Many observers say the crisis that has engulfed the region since North Korea early this year staged a rocket launch and atomic test was manufactured by Pyongyang to try to force Washington into agreeing to direct talks.Kerry made clear that a US-North dialogue was not currently on the table and stressed that any talks by any parties would require a change of course and tone from Pyongyang.The rhetoric that we are hearing from North Korea is simply unacceptable by any standards, Kerry told a news conference in Seoul alongside South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-Se.His arrival coincided with a new commentary from the Norths official Korean Central News Agency, which warned of Japan being consumed in nuclear flames should it get involved in any conflict on the peninsula.Japan positioned Patriot missile batteries around Tokyo as a pre-emptive defensive measure after US and South Korean intelligence reports suggested North Korea was preparing an imminent mid-range missile launch.Tokyo late Friday said all aircraft were now required to report to the US military before flying near the main US air base in Okinawa, apparently as part of the precautions against a possible launch, Kyodo New reported.Kerry directly warned North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un that any such launch would be a huge mistake.The apocalyptic threats that have been flooding out of Pyongyang for the past month and a half were given extra menace Friday by a US military spy agency report that the North had a nuclear-armed ballistic missile.

Under Chavez shadow, Venezuelan to pick new leader Posted: CARACAS (AFP) - With Hugo Chavez casting a religious-like shadow, Venezuelan voters will choose Sunday between his handpicked successor Nicolas Maduro, who sees himself as the late leftist leaders apostle and an opponent vowing change.The presidential election will cap a quick but bitter campaign that pitted Maduro, the acting president, against opposition leader Henrique Capriles in a nation divided by Chavezs oil-funded socialist revolution.Anointed by Chavez as his political heir, Maduro is favored to complete the deceased leaders six-year term. He has cast himself as his mentors son while promising to defend Chavezs popular health, education and food programs.One month after Chavez died, many of his supporters vow to fulfill the last wish of their charismatic comandante.The phrase Chavez, I swear, my vote is for Maduro is recited in songs and rallies, printed on T-shirts and street walls.While the late president lifted millions of people out of poverty, his successor will inherit a country beset by SouthAmericas highest murder rate, with 16,000 homicides last year, and a fragile economy.Maduro, a former bus driver and union activist who rose to foreign minister and vice president under Chavez, enjoyed leads of as much as 20 percentage points over Capriles in opinion polls.The most recent survey by the Datanalisis polling firm, published Thursday by Credit Suisse bank, gave him a 9.7-point lead. The poll was conducted between April 1-5.Maduro did not win over new followers, though he wasnt looking for new ones. He is presenting himself not as a candidate, but as a vehicle for Chavez and his legacy, said Luis Vicente Leon, director of the Datanalisis polling firm.The two candidates closed their campaigns with huge rallies on Thursday, with Maduro tearfully pledging to be the president of the poor before throngs of followers in Caracas.During the campaign, Maduro adopted Chavezs bombastic rhetoric, calling Capriles a little bourgeois while alleging that former US officials were conspiring to assassinate him. He drew the oppositions ridicule by saying that Chavezs spirit had visited him in the form of a bird.While Chavistas pledge their vote for Maduro, many warn that they will not hand him a blank check.Chavez was the Robin Hood of Latin America and we will continue fighting so that Maduro will continue his legacy, said Mauro Lopez, 45, an oil rig operator at the state-run firm PDVSA.Capriles, the energetic 40-year-old governor of Miranda state, is running in his second presidential election in six months after losing to Chavez by 11 points in October -- the oppositions best result against the socialist leader.While he has promised to continue Chavezs social missions, Capriles wants to cut the governments deal with Cuba in which Caracas ships 100,000 barrels of oil per day while Havana sends doctors and other experts to Caracas.Make no mistake, next Sunday is time to open a new cycle and change this situation, Capriles, who is offering a business-friendly alternative modeled after Brazils center-left policies, said at his last campaign rally late Thursday.

Strong 6.0 magnitude quake hit western Japan Posted: TOKYO (AFP) - A strong 6.0-magnitude earthquake hit western Japan early Saturday but there was no risk of a tsunami, the countrys meteorological agency reported.The quake struck at 5:33 am (2033 GMT on Friday) near Awaji island in the Seto Inland Sea southwest of the city of Kobe at a relatively shallow depth of 10 kilometres (six miles), the agency said.Local train services were suspended to check safety, while Kansai airport in Osaka Bay was temporarily closed, Japans public broadcaster NHK said, adding that there were no immediate reports of major damage or injuries.The epicentre was close to the 1995 Kobe quake that struck the port city, killing more than 6,000 people.

Golf: Tiger charges to the top while Guan hit for slow play Posted: AUGUSTA (AFP) - World number one Tiger Woods made three birdies in four holes to grab a share of the lead as he made the turn in Fridays second round of the 77th Masters.Top-ranked Woods, a 14-time major winner and four-time Masters champion, birdied the par-4 fifth and seventh and the par-5 eighth to stand on five-under with the back nine yet to play at formidable Augusta National Golf Club.Also on five-under were Mark Leishman, trying to become the first Australian to win the Masters, and 53-year-old American Fred Couples, the 1992 Masters winner who closed with a birdie to grab the 36-hole clubhouse lead at 139.A Leishman bogey at the 14th dropped him out of sole possession of the lead.It was the first birdie at the fifth for Woods since his most recent Masters triumph in 2005 as he tries to win his first major title since the 2008 US Open and signal a full return from his slide to 58th in the world rankings.How well Woods performs could decide whether or not Chinese 14-year-old Guan Tianlang makes the cut for the weekend after the Asian schoolboy was hit with a seldom-imposed penalty for slow play.After taking the extra stroke for a bogey at 17, Guan finished on 75 in the second round and on four-over 148 for 36 holes, right on the edge of cut line, which includes the top 50 and level or anyone within 10 strokes of the lead.I respect the decision they make, Guan said. This still is a wonderful experience for me. I have enjoyed playing in the Masters and I think I did a pretty good job.Guan became the first player punished for slow play in a major since American Steve Lowery at the 2004 PGA Championship.Today is pretty hard because if youre timed only 40 seconds, its pretty hard because you need to make the decision, Guan said. The wind switched a lot.One day after 45 players fired par or better at Augusta National, wind and tougher pin positions over the 7,435-yard layout kept the worlds top golfers struggling simply to hold their positions.Its a hard course out there, Couples said. I felt very good about what I shot. I had a couple little hiccups and did some other good things to shoot my score. But you know, the golf course is winning today.They put most of the pins in, I thought, really hard spots.Leishman, who shared the first-round lead with Spains Sergio Garcia on 66, took bogeys at the par-3 fourth and sixth holes but answered with birdies on the par-4 seventh and par-5 eighth until faltering on the back side.Argentinas Angel Cabrera birdied five of the last six holes to fire a 69 and finish on 140 while Australias Adam Scott, Englands David Lynn and American Jason Dufner were in the clubhouse on 141.A group on 142 for 36 holes included Germanys Bernhard Langer, the 1985 and 1993 Masters winner, Spaniards Sergio Garcia and Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano and Northern Irelands Rory McIlroy, whose round of 70 included an eagle at eight.Digging in and grinding it out was pleasing for me, McIlroy said. The eagle on the eighth really got me going. A 70 was a good score today. You had to be really disciplined.When we teed off it was rainy and windy. The wind was in a real unusual direction. Its a tough enough course as it is without wind like that.Dustin Johnson opened with a five-under par 67, the best round of his career at Augusta National, but was a victim of Fridays tougher conditions by the end, playing the last five holes in six-over after having led by two strokes.The course is very tricky today, some pretty challenging pin positions, 2008 Masters champion Trevor Immelman of South Africa said. I fought as hard as I could when I was out there.

Barca-Bayern, Madrid-Dortmund in Champions League Posted: NYON (AP) - Its a Spain vs. Germany double bill in the Champions League semifinals.Barcelona will play Bayern Munich in a clash of runaway league leaders who are ranked by UEFA as the two best teams in Europe. Bayern hosts the first leg on April 23.Real Madrid faces an exciting Borussia Dortmund in a repeat of their 1998 semifinal, when the Spanish side dethroned the reigning champion. The first leg is on April 24 in Dortmund, where Madrid lost in the group stage last October.Its the best match possible in this competition, Barcelona director Amador Bernabeu told The Associated Press. Its difficult for us and for Bayern.Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, the Bayern chairman, said he was very happy to play the top favorite to win the Champions League.I find it very thrilling to be playing against the best team in Europe, Rummenigge said.Dortmund coach Juergen Klopp was content to avoid a German rival which already took his teams Bundesliga title this season.I dont have to repeat that Real is a difficult opponent, but from the three possible opponents Real is the only one weve beaten this season, Klopp said.Fridays draw featured four former European champions who have combined to win 18 titles in the competitions 58-year history.It avoided a repeat of the Spanish giants ill-tempered semifinal in 2011, when Barcelona advanced after winning 2-0 in a spiteful first leg in Madrid which included players and coaches brawling near the tunnel at halftime.Return games are on April 30 in Madrid and May 1 in Barcelona. The final is on May 25 at Wembley Stadium, where Barcelona lifted the giant trophy two years ago.Barcelona and Bayern, both four-time European champions, stand atop the UEFA rankings based on their record in European club competitions over the past five years.Barcelona has won two Champions Leagues in that spell, and beat Bayern in the quarterfinals on its 2009 title run.We got a fearsome beating there, 0-4, Rummenigge recalled. Messi alone ran circles around us. Its going to be a Herculean task to limit (him).Bayern was runner-up last season against Chelsea and also in 2010 against an Inter Milan team coached by Jose Mourinho.Now at Madrid, Mourinho can become the first coach to lead three different clubs to the title. He also won with Porto (2004), and joined Ernst Happel (Feyenoord 1970, Hamburg 1983) and Ottmar Hitzfeld (Dortmund 1997, Bayern 2001) as two-time winners.Madrid, a nine-time European champion, and Dortmund, met in the group stage. Dortmund won 2-1 at home and then was denied a victory by the same score at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium when Germany international Mesut Oezil scored an 89th-minute leveler.

Chelsea-Basel, Fenerbahce-Benfica in Europa League Posted: NYON (AP) - European champion Chelsea is the latest English favorite lined up for surprise Swiss side Basel, in the Europa League semifinals.Fridays draw sent Chelsea on a first-leg trek to St. Jakob Park, where Tottenham lost a quarterfinals penalty shootout on Thursday and Manchester United was eliminated from the Champions League last season.I like to be the underdog, Basel president Bernhard Heusler said after UEFA paired Fenerbahce with Benfica in the other semifinal. We are still a small Swiss side in the eyes of the English fans.Basel opens against Chelsea on April 25, and Fenerbahce hosts Benfica in Istanbul on the same date. Return matches are on May 2. The May 15 final is at Amsterdam Arena.Chelsea aims to complete an unlikely double by lifting the second-tier trophy as the reigning Champions League winner.All four semifinalists began the season in the Champions League before being eliminated and dropping into the second-tier competition.Basel, like Fenerbahce, has reached its first semifinal in any European club competition.Though Basel has never won a UEFA match in England, it led 2-0 at Tottenham in the first leg before being pegged to 2-2.Last season, the Swiss champion drew 3-3 at Old Trafford in the Champions League group stage before a 2-1 home win sent Basel to the last-16 at Uniteds expense.It wasnt so long (ago) that people told me that Basel always fails against teams in England, said Heusler, whose team has progressed despite selling star players Xherdan Shaqiri and Granit Xhaka in the offseason and firing coach Heiko Vogel late last year.Chelsea also fired a coach midseason, and Roberto di Matteos interim replacement Rafa Benitez aims to add a Europa League trophy to his UEFA Cup win with Valencia in 2004 and Champions League title with Liverpool the next year.None of the semifinalists has won the Europa League, or its predecessor the UEFA Cup. Benfica was beaten finalist in 1983, against Anderlecht.Fenerbahce has enjoyed its best European run despite negative headlines over its links to a 2011 match-fixing case and UEFA punishments for its fans behavior. Home games against BATE Borisov and Viktoria Plzen in earlier knockout rounds were played in an empty stadium.Two years ago we were banned from Europe, this year we were threatened by being banned from Europe and two times we played in a silent stadium, Fenerbahce chief executive Hasan Yilmaz told The Associated Press. Sometimes they motivate us even more and give us the edge.Yilmaz praised the commitment of players such as Netherlands forward Dirk Kuyt and Portugal midfielder Raul Meireles who joined in the offseason despite suggestions UEFA would bar the Turkish club from its competitions.Players can be great and very expensive but they are not part of a team, Yilmaz said. These are great players. There is a strong friendship and I trust our team.

Ogier leads Rally of Portugal after 1st day Posted: LISBON (AP) - Championship leader Sebastien Ogier was the fastest driver at the Rally of Portugal through Fridays opening five stages, with Daniel Sordo as his nearest chaser.Ogier started the day strong by winning the first stage and then moved back to the top of the time standings after Mads Ostberg crashed in the third stage.Ogier, who leads the championship by 31 points after three of 13 rallies, steered his Volkswagen Polo through the days stages in 49 minutes, 33 seconds.Sordo in his Citroen was 4.4 seconds behind, followed by Finlands Jar-Matti Latvala and Mikko Hirvonen.Former Formula 1 driver Robert Kubica, driving in his first gravel rally, had to retire in the fifth stage after puncturing two tires. It was unclear whether he would return on Saturday.

Wawrinka beats Garcia-Lopez in Casablanca quarters Posted: CASABLANCA (AP) - Top-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland cruised past Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 6-1, 6-2 on Friday to move into the semifinals of the Grand Prix Hassan II.The 2010 champion will next play Tommy Robredo of Spain, who beat Benoit Paire of France 7-6 (4), 2-6, 6-0.Second-seeded Kevin Anderson of South Africa also advanced to the last four by defeating Grega Zemlja of Slovenia 6-4, 6-4. He will face Martin Klizan of Slovakia or Robin Haase of the Netherlands.Wawrinka won seven straight games to win the first set and take a 2-0 lead in the second.The Swiss broke serve twice in each set and saved the only break point he faced with a forehand winner while serving for the match. He clinched the victory when Garcia-Lopez sent a forehand wide.In the first quarterfinal, Robredo saved two set points to force a tiebreaker and took the first set when Paire netted a backhand.The fourth-seeded Paire jumped to a 5-1 lead in the next set and won it with a backhand drop shot.Paire wasted two break points in the opening game of the third set, and Robredo dominated the rest of the way.The Spanish veteran, who reached the final in Casablanca 12 years ago, converted his first match point when Paire netted an overhead.Anderson broke Zemljas serve in the fifth game before saving four break points at 4-3 to grab the first set. The South African capitalized on Zemljas inconsistent serve to break his opponent twice in the final set.

Brits, Americans feud over world's smallest park Posted: PORTLAND (AP) - The British and the Americans are quarreling tongue in cheek over territory again, this time over who has the world's smallest park.One, in Portland, Oregon, is essentially a concrete planter, two feet (0.6 meters) in diameter, with soil and some vegetation, and the Guinness Book of World Records says it's the smallest.The other is about 5,000 miles (8,050 kilometers) away, in England. They don't claim to have a physically smaller park theirs is 15 feet (4.5 meters) by 30 feet (9 meters). But they dispute whether Portland's is a park at all.What started as two Brits' stunt to drum up publicity for a charity run at their park sparked some cross-pond banter. One online commenter wrote, If that's a park then my window box should take the title.Someone who said they were from Portland replied, Yes, but our park has leprechauns. Does yours?Leprechauns? That's right. The faux feud has helped unearth the curious story of a Portland newspaper columnist's quest to get the park declared the smallest and his claim that it was home to leprechauns.The tale goes back to 1946, when Dick Fagan returned from World War II. From his office at the Oregon Journal newspaper, he could see a hole in the street where a light post was supposed to be erected. Fagan got tired of looking at the hole and planted flowers in it.An Irishman with a vivid imagination, Fagan wrote about the park in his columns spinning tales about leprechauns who lived there. Somehow, Guinness proclaimed Mill Ends Park the world's smallest park in 1971.Jamie Panas, the record-keeper's spokeswoman, said she didn't know how that determination was made. But she said the entry in the Guinness database reads, in part: It was designated as a city park on 17 March 1948 at the behest of the city journalist Dick Fagan (USA) for snail races and as a colony for leprechauns. Snail races? That's right. Snail races.Over the years, Portland has been kind to the tiny park, giving it equal care as that afforded to the 200 or so normal-size parks scattered around the city.St. Patrick's Day ceremonies have been held there. It has plants and other vegetation. Strange objects have appeared mysteriously within it a miniature swimming pool with a diving board, a tiny Ferris wheel and a UFO.The Occupy Wall Street movement, those protesters against income inequality, gave the park some recognition. In December 2011, a small group put miniature protest signs and toy tents in the tiny park and held a protest. One protester was arrested for refusing to leave.And now, Portland's littlest park is getting big headlines. It started with a British sports management company called KV Events, based in Lichfield, north of Birmingham. It was promoting the world's shortest fun run, around Prince's Park in Burntwood.The park has the Guinness title of the United Kingdom's smallest park. It has a fence, a bench and three trees. It was founded in 1863 to commemorate the marriage of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, to Princess Alexandra of Denmark.Promoters Paul Griffin and Kevin Wilson decided to have some fun, launching a faux challenge to Portland's claim figuring that would generate publicity for the race and for the charity the race is intended to benefit.The gauntlet was thrown down when Wilson told LichfieldLive.co.uk, a local website, that the Portland park was just a glorified flower pot.Portlanders have come to its defense. Someone put a toy soldier with a bazooka in the vegetation as well as a fence a defensive perimeter.We Americans have a pretty good track record when it comes to taking on the Brits. Perhaps they're still smarting over that whole American Revolution thing, said Mark Ross, spokesman for Portland Parks & Recreation.Wilson says he has no intention of actually asking Guinness to take away Portland's title. There is talk, however, of a North Atlantic alliance: A sister-park relationship between the two, whatever that might look like.

Bird flu vaccine 'many months' away: US experts Posted: SHANGHAI (AFP) - US public health experts said developing a vaccine for the H7N9 strain of bird flu could take many months, as China seeks to control an outbreak which had killed 11 people by Friday.Chinese authorities have confirmed 43 human cases of H7N9 avian influenza since announcing nearly two weeks ago that they had found the strain in humans for the first time.Writing in the New England Journal of Medicine, Timothy Uyeki and Nancy Cox of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said worldwide efforts to develop a vaccine had started, but it would take time.Even if new vaccine manufacturing technologies... are utilised, the process from vaccine development to availability will probably take many months, said the article posted on the journal's website on Thursday.China said this week it expects to have a vaccine ready in seven months.Chinese health officials say they do not know exactly how the virus is spreading, but it is believed to be crossing to humans from birds.The journal article said the outbreak was a seminal event that raised global concerns and it urged China to enhance surveillance.It might herald sporadic human infections from an animal source... or it might signal the start of an influenza pandemic, the article said.Experts fear the prospect of such viruses mutating into a form easily transmissible between humans, which has the potential to trigger a pandemic.The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday that there was no evidence of human-to-human transmission.Shanghai, which has 20 confirmed cases, was the first to halt trading in live poultry and cull birds last week, followed by other cities in eastern China -- the site of the outbreak.In Nanjing, a woman cut an official with a broken bottle as she tried to protect her chickens after the city barred residents from raising poultry at home and ordered them to cull birds, China News Service said Friday.I want to get bird flu, so I can infect you, the emotional woman told urban management officials seeking to kill her birds.The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FA0) on Thursday expressed worry over the possible spread of H7N9 to China's neighbours through infected poultry.There is a possibility that if inadvertently or advertently somebody moves infected poultry across the border from one country to another you can have a spread of the virus, said Subhash Morzaria, Asia regional manager for the FAO's emergency centre for animal diseases.Japan on Friday gave itself new powers aimed at curbing outbreaks of infectious diseases in people, as it nervously watches the spread of H7N9 bird flu in neighbouring China.Under a new law, the government can strengthen quarantines at airports, vaccinate doctors and government officials, shut schools and cancel events with large numbers of people.China has earned international approval for its transparency for H7N9, after being accused of covering up Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2003.Chinese scientists are to be congratulated for the apparent speed with which the H7N9 virus was identified, said the New England Journal of Medicine article, adding they had quickly made public the genome sequences.

Austria's glaciers shrank in 2012: study Posted: VIENNA (AFP) - Nearly all of Austrias glaciers shrank significantly last year, with one glacier receding a record 97.3 metres (319.2 feet), the Austrian Alpine Association (OeAV) said Friday.Out of the 95 glaciers measured, 93 retreated an average 17.4 metres (57 feet) in 2012 while just two were unchanged, the body said in its annual report.One of the masses of ice, the Pasterze glacier that counts as Austrias longest, showed the biggest recorded loss -- 97.3 metres -- since records began in 1879.In 2011, the group found Austrian glaciers declined by an average of 17 metres, compared to 14 metres in 2010.According to the latest findings, 98 percent of the countrys glaciers retreated in 2012.The reason for the declines is last years high average temperature, said Andrea Fischer of the University of Innsbruck, charged with tracking the glaciers for the alpine club.Fischer said she expected the countrys glaciers to decline further in coming years.

Oil falls 2 percent on weak economic data Posted: NEW YORK (AP) - Signs that the global economy isn't strong enough to quickly burn through the world's ample supplies of oil and gasoline sank crude oil prices for a second straight day.Weak U.S. economic reports Friday followed on the heels of reduced forecasts for oil demand. Oil dropped 2 percent.U.S. crude futures fell $2.22, or 2.4 percent, to $91.29 barrel in New York. Brent crude, which is used to price oil used by many U.S. refiners to make gasoline, fell $1.34 to $103.04, the lowest level since mid-July, in London.Supplies of both oil and gasoline are plentiful, and demand appears to be weak.It's the usual culprits, said Judith Dwarkin, Chief Economist at ITG Investment Research. Supply growth is outpacing demand growth.The falling crude prices will help extend a long, slow slide in retail gasoline prices, forecasters say. The average price of a gallon of gasoline in the U.S. fell a penny overnight to $3.56 per gallon (3.8 liters). That's 23 cents lower than the high for the year, set on Feb. 27. And gas is now 36 cents a gallon cheaper than a year ago at this time.In each of the last two years the global oil market faced falling supplies because of production disruptions in the North Sea, East Africa, and Iran, which was facing tighter sanctions. This year, production has proceeded mostly as expected. U.S. output is booming, but Saudi Arabia and other OPEC nations have cut back somewhat in response.In the U.S., refining capacity is at an all-time high and refiners have gotten a head start on making gasoline for the summer driving season. With supplies above normal for this time of year, refineries might pull back on oil purchases in the coming months. That will slow the drawing down of oil supplies, and keep prices lower.At the same time, the global economy still shows signs of weakness, suggesting that oil consumption will grow less than expected. When economic growth slows, drivers, shippers and travelers use less gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.The U.S. Commerce Department said Friday that sales at U.S. retailers fell 0.4 percent last month, indicating that higher taxes and weak hiring likely made some consumers more cautious about spending. The Commerce Department also reported that companies restocked their shelves at a much slower pace in February than in the month before, a sign that companies expect consumers and businesses to pull back on spending.OPEC, the U.S. Energy Department and the International Energy Agency, which represents a group of oil-consuming nations, all lowered their outlook for global oil demand this week. The IEA on Thursday dropped its forecast for demand this year by 45,000 barrels to 90.6 million barrels a day.

Pak Army is not mercenary, says Imran Posted: ISLAMABAD (Dunya New):-Giving an interview to the CNN, PTI chairman said that uprising in northern areas of the country could not be suppressed by drone attacks or military operation; rather it needs to win heart and mind of the people who are expressing resistance in the face of military operations.He said that the PTI is the only party which has worth in the sight of the people of northern areas and after coming to power, it would bring the trouble situation on track for rule of law and consolidation of democratic values.Throwing light on current socio-political aspects of the society, he said that rulers have nothing to do with the problems faced by the common man; rather their aim is to collect money in the name of so-called democracy.He added that Pakistan Army should come out of US and NATO war as it is not a mercenary; rather it is an independent and civilized army which has its specific ideology.Later, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman Imran Khan has announced he will declare war on illiteracy in the country and will treat it as a national emergency when he assumes office.Khan said that he intended to create a specialist cabinet of advisors and implement a ten-year multi-pronged plan to reach full literacy in Pakistan.“Illiteracy is one of the main factors holding back the country’s development and is closely related to the ongoing levels of poverty and income inequality”, said Khan.The statistics are somewhat daunting. Due to many years of underinvestment in education, some 42% of the adult population (15-64 years) lack basic literacy and 44% of young children (5-10 years) are not even attending primary school, thereby perpetuating the problem. If Pakistan is to reach its stated goal of full literacy by 2025, then a twin track approach is needed to expand primary education to universal access and to tackle the adult illiteracy problem with all available resources.PTI has already committed to expanding the education budget to 5% of GDP, making another Rs 8,687 million available for investment in the necessary schools and trained teachers. However, the need in the primary education sector is for another 120,000 schools and 342,000 teachers, almost doubling the primary sector and leaving very little for an effective adult literacy campaign.

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