Dunya TV

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• John Kerry arrives in Islamabad
• DIK Jail guards were scanty and ill-equipped
• JI flays raise in POL, electricity prices
• 10 die in Shanghai after hottest July in 140 years
• PTI will protest if bye-polls rigged: Imran
• Multan: LHC takes notice of acid attack on woman, daughter
• Qatar: Benitez died of heart failure
• Oil above $104 after US GDP, supply reports
• 9 Turkish athletes banned for steroid use
• UK seeks to better relations with Iran
• Greece wins IMF praise despite slow state reform
• Sri Lanka takes South Africa ODI series 4-1
• 24 migrants drown off Turkish coast
• Italy: Berlusconi's defense makes its final arguments
• NSA phone spying document declassified

John Kerry arrives in Islamabad Posted: ISLAMABAD (Web Desk) - US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Islamabad on Wednesday night on a three-day visit to discuss issues ranging from bilateral relations to regional situation.He was received by Director General Foreign Office for America‚ Dr Sohail‚ Chief of Protocol Zaheer Ahmed Janjua and other senior officials of the Foreign Affairs Ministry. US Ambassador to Pakistan Richard Olson was also present.During his stay‚ John Kerry will hold talks with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Advisor to the Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz.The two sides are expected to discuss resumption of strategic dialogue as well as cooperation in diverse fields including energy.The US Secretary of State during his visit to Pakistan will reinforce Washingtons continuing commitment to Pakistan.A statement released by State Department Spokesperson Jen Psaki in Washington said that Kerry is in Pakistan for consultations with the newly elected civilian government and to reinforce the United States continuing commitment to the Pakistani people.

DIK Jail guards were scanty and ill-equipped Posted: DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan (AP) - Only a handful of badly armed guards were posted at a Pakistani prison assaulted by Taliban militants earlier this week even though the government had intelligence indicating the facility was under threat, the prison chief said Wednesday in an admission likely to feed accusations of negligence over the deadly jailbreak.The 35 guards, only 10 of whom had weapons, faced 150 attackers. Some were so scared during the assault late Monday night that they hid in sewer pipes, and others opened up one of the prison's main gates after the militants threatened them, said a senior government official.These details are likely to spark further criticism of the government, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province where the prison was located. The militants freed over 250 prisoners during the attack and killed more than a dozen people.Increasingly, the militant network appears an organized, emboldened and well-armed force running rings around a sluggish, even inept, security network, said an editorial in Pakistan's leading English language newspaper, Dawn.The Taliban have smuggled over two dozen militants they broke out of the prison in the town of Dera Ismail Khan to one of the group's stronghold in the country's tribal region, two commanders said.The deadly raid was codenamed Freedom from Death, cost 11.5 million rupees ($115,000) and took six months to plan, said the commanders, speaking to The Associated Press by telephone on condition of anonymity for fear of being targeted by security forces.It's unclear how so many heavily-armed militants were able to travel unhindered in vehicles and motorcycles to the walls of the prison, especially given the intelligence indicating a possible attack.Only 10 of the 35 guards at the prison were armed, and some of their AK-47 assault rifles were not even in good shape, said the head of the prison, Ghulam Rabbani. He said the armed guards fought valiantly until they ran out of bullets. But the militants were armed with bombs and grenades, as well as guns. The 10 of my men did their best, said Rabbani. They fought bravely.But a senior official in the provincial government, Ali Amin Gandapur, criticized the guards, saying some of them were found hiding in sewer pipes and drains and others opened a main gate for the militants after they were threatened.This is such a shame, said Gandapur, minister of revenue. I promise they all have to lose their uniforms.Rabbani defended his men, saying unarmed guards had a right to hide since they were tasked with controlling the prisoners, not protecting the jail from attack. He held a meeting with city administrators the day of the attack to discuss the threat to the prison, but they were not prepared when the raid happened, he said.The Taliban carried out a similar attack on a prison elsewhere in the northwest less than 18 months ago. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has suspended 27 police and prison officials in the wake of the attack, including 22 members of an anti-terrorist squad who were supposed act as a quick response force, but failed to do so, provincial officials said.Authorities have managed to capture 41 of the 252 prisoners who escaped from the prison, said police official Salahuddin Kundi. There were 482 inmates in the prison at the time of the attack. A curfew is still in place in Dera Ismail Khan as authorities search for more of the fugitives.Militants managed to smuggle 25 of their colleagues to the South Waziristan tribal area, located very close to Dera Ismail Khan, and plan to transport them to North Waziristan, Pakistan's main sanctuary for Taliban and al-Qaida fighters, the Taliban commanders said.It's unclear whether there are more escaped militants making their way to the tribal region. Dera Ismail Khan's commissioner, Mushtaq Jadoon, said Tuesday that 25 dangerous terrorists had escaped. A civilian adviser to the prison department in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Malik Mohammad Qasim, said at least 38 of those who escaped were either convicted of or on trial for terrorism.The Taliban commanders said 18 of the 150 militants who took part in the attack on the prison received special commando training. The operation was the brainchild of Adnan Rasheed, a militant who was freed in an attack on a prison in the town of Bannu in April 2012. It was led by a commander named Khitab Mehsud, who was a close aide to slain Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud.The militants had orders to complete the operation in an hour and not to spend more than 20 minutes in the prison, but the raid ended up taking two hours to complete, the commanders said. Earlier reports indicated the operation went on for over four hours.The militants killed six policemen, six Shiite Muslim prisoners one of whom was beheaded and two civilians, said Jadoon, the commissioner. Many hard-line Sunni extremists consider minority Shiites to be heretics.The militants didn't meet any resistance when they retreated back to South Waziristan, said the commanders.

JI flays raise in POL, electricity prices Posted: LAHORE (Online): Ameer Jamaat e Islami Syed Munawar Hasan has strongly reacted to the proposed raise in the POL, gas and electricity prices terming it drone attack on the masses on the auspicious occasion of Eid.In a statement, he said that mini budgets by the government every other day had made the life of the people miserable.He said a number of new taxes were levied in the annual budget while the frequent raises in POL and energy prices were adding to the worries of the people.He counseled the government to desist from raising the POL and gas prices.He said that with the proposed raise of Rs 5 per liter, the government would cause another flood of price raise that would lead to fresh deprivations for the masses.Syed Munawar Hasan said that the load shedding of electricity had led to the closure of thousands of industrial units, rendering millions of workers jobless.Many of them were starving and some were even committing suicides.Terming the one and a half months performance of the new government as poor the JI Ameer said while the masses were living from hand to mouth, the luxuries of the ruling junta continued as usual.He said all government promises for end of load shedding had proved false.Meanwhile Secretary General Jamaat e Islami Liaqat Baloch has congratulated new President Mamnoon Husain on his election to the high office, and urged him to practically prove himself the head of the state.Speaking at an Iftar dinner in the city, he said that the foremost challenge before the new president was the Karachi situation.He said that the Prime Minister’s visit to Karachi and shake hand with the elements involved in target killings, extortion and black mailing had driven the country into darkness again.He said this U- turn by the ruling party would have dreadful results. He said this move of the government had disappointed the people of Karachi, the industrialists, traders and the forces working for democracy.Liaqat Baloch said, the government drive against electricity and gas thieves had slowed down within a few days.

10 die in Shanghai after hottest July in 140 years Posted: SHANGHAI (Web Desk) - Local journalists have demonstrated the heat by frying meat on the pavement.The national heat alert covers nine provinces, including Anhui, Jiangsu, Hunan, Hubei, Shanghai and Chongqing.According to figures from the Shanghai Meteorological bureau, Shanghai has seen 24 days with temperatures at or above 35C in July.It should be a new record since Shanghai had its own weather recording, said chief service officer Wu Rui.Also, in July of this year Shanghai reached 40.6 degrees Celsius, its highest ever temperature. So the highest temperature in July also broke a record.Parts of China are experiencing a heat wave, with record-high temperatures prompting a national heat alert covering nine provinces.More than 10 people in Shanghai have died after suffering from heatstroke, state-run news agency Xinhua said, citing health officials.In a TV report, journalists from Shanghai TV said they successfully fried a pork chop on a marble slab outdoors in just 10 minutes.The practice appears to have become popular, with photos of slices of bacon and fish being barbecued outdoors by the heat appearing online.The China Meteorological Administration issued the level two emergency heat alert on Tuesday.Anhui, Jiangsu, Hunan, Hubei, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian, Chongqing and Shanghai meteorological bureaus should enter into emergency response on the basis of actual weather conditions, it said on its website.It added that weather forecasts suggested that some areas south of the Yangtze river, including Chongqing, could experience temperatures of over 35C until 8 August.It urged members of the public to avoid outdoor activities and to take protective measures against the heat.It's impossible for people to live without an air-conditioner, a resident was quoted by Reuters news agency as saying.Just going outside in this kind of temperate can roast people.

PTI will protest if bye-polls rigged: Imran Posted: ISLAMABAD (Online) - Chairman Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaaf Imran Khan has warned that his party will not accept the results if the sitting rulers attempt to rig the bye-elections of national and provincial assemblies scheduled to be held on August 22.“In case of any kind of rigging in the bye-elections, our party would offer strong resistance as it would be tantamount to depriving the voters of their real democratic representatives,” said Imran Khan while addressing an Iftar party arranged by DrShehzad Waseem, the Advisor to PTI Chairman on Foreign Political Parties, in his honour at his farm house here.Referring to the disqualification of his party’s candidate Ayla Malik from NA-71, he said that through a calculated attempt their leaders are being kept away from contesting the bye-elections. However, they would win the game with massive public support demonstrated during the last general election, he maintained.The Iftar party, besides Imran Khan, was attended by President Awami Muslim League Sh. Rashid Ahmed, PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi, President Makhdoom Javed Hashmi, MNA Dr. Shireen Mazari, Ghulam Sarwar Khan, Shafqat Mehmood, Fozia Kasuri, Ayisha Gulalai, Shehryar Afridi, Saifullah Khn Niazi, Naeem ul Haq, Sardar Azhar Tariq and a large number of other party members.On the occasion, the PTI Chairman also appreciated the effective role played by the party leader Dr. Shehzad Waseem in running the election campaign of Javed Hashmi for the NA-48 constituency and securing the big victory for him on May 11.He hoped that this time too he along with other party leaders and workers would mobilize all-out support for the success of Asad Umar in the bye-elections.While speaking on the occasion, PTI candidate for NA-48, Asad Umar said that their party will retain the NA-48 constituency with a big margin and urged the party workers to mobilize every segment of the society to muster public support in favour of PTI.He also said that he would make an effective struggle for the holding of Local Bodies elections in the federal capital, represent the local citizens in the parliament and raise voice for the protection of their genuine rights.

Multan: LHC takes notice of acid attack on woman, daughter Posted: LAHORE (Online): The Chief Justice of Lahore High Court has directed District and Sessions Judge of Multan to send report about the submission of challan by police before the relevant court within three days so that the investigation could be concluded fairly and honestly.The LHC Complaint Cell had taken notice of report published in a section of press that acid was thrown on a woman and her daughter for resisting a rape attempt in Multan.The D&SJ has reported that victims succumbed to injuries and the case had been registered against Nazeer Hussain and Altaf Hussain.Both have been arrested, recoveries have been made and they are behind the bars.As per police report, challan has been completed and will be presented before the Anti-Terrorism Court soon.Complaint Cells has directed D&SJ Multan to ensure compliance of the orders of Chief Justice regarding submission of challan in letter spirit within three days.

Qatar: Benitez died of heart failure Posted: DOHA, Qatar (AP) -Qatari club El Jaish says Ecuador striker Christian Benitez died of heart failure.The club released a statement Wednesday with the cause of death, but provided no further details. Benitez died Monday, the day after playing his first match for the club.The finding comes a day after Ecuadorean football chief Luis Chiriboga said the player had been taken to a hospital with sharp stomach pains, developed peritonitis and died of cardiorespiratory arrest.The club also says it plans to hold a ceremony before it sends Benitez's body to Ecuador on a private plane. A funeral was planned for Thursday in Quito and a tribute in the General Ruminahui coliseum.

Oil above $104 after US GDP, supply reports Posted: NEW YORK (AP) -US benchmark oil was up $1.25 to $104.33 per barrel at midday on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil fell $1.47 Tuesday to finish at $103.08 per barrel, the lowest closing price since July 3.Traders had plenty of data to assess Wednesday. The government said the U.S. economy grew at a better-than-expected annual rate of 1.7 percent in the second quarter. And a survey by payroll company ADP showed businesses created a healthy 200,000 jobs this month.The Energy Department said oil supplies rose by 400,000 barrels last week the first increase in five weeks although supplies at the crucial Cushing, Oklahoma, hub for benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude were down by 1.9 million barrels.The price of benchmark WTI was up 7 percent this month as of Tuesday. Analysts say any further gains in oil prices should be limited because of abundant supplies.The government said gasoline supplies rose as well last week, up 800,000 barrels. Demand for gasoline increased by 3.2 percent in the four weeks ended July 26 compared with a year earlier.Bank of America Merrill Lynch issued a report Wednesday that said rising production in the U.S. and slowing growth in emerging markets should constrain oil prices.The research firm said that unless a deteriorating geopolitical outlook in the Middle East results in further crude oil supply disruptions, the rally in WTI prices is unlikely to persist.Later Wednesday the Federal Reserve will give an updated assessment of the U.S. economy when it wraps up a two-day meeting in Washington.On Friday the release of employment data for July will be examined for hints about future energy demand in the worlds No. 1 economy.Brent crude, traded on the ICE Futures exchange in London, rose 13 cents to $107.04 per barrel.In other energy futures trading on Nymex:Wholesale gasoline was flat at $2.97 a gallon.Heating oil rose 3 cents to $3.04 a gallon.Natural gas rose 1 cent to $3.44 per 1,000 cubic feet.

9 Turkish athletes banned for steroid use Posted: MONACO (AP) - Nine Turkish track and field athletes have been banned after testing positive for anabolic steroids, the latest doping scandal there during Istanbul's campaign to win 2020 Olympics hosting rights.The IAAF said Wednesday all had received two-year bans and that six are women, including two teenagers.Six cases involved field athletes testing positive for stanozolol at Turkey's national university championships held in May at Bursa. Stanozolol is the steroid used by Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.Among those six, three athletes also tested positive for oral turinabol, the steroid used in state-sponsored East German doping programs in the 1970s and 1980s.The IAAF confirmed the disciplinary cases days after its president, Lamine Diack, suggested Turkish athletics officials need to clean their house.They are bidding for the 2020 Olympics but every few days we have three or four athletes caught for doping, Diack said in London. He is a member of the International Olympic Committee which on Sept. 7 will choose Istanbul, Madrid or Tokyo as 2020 host.In June, eight Turkish athletes, including 2004 Olympic hammer silver medalist Esref Apak, were caught doping, and dozens more were reported to have tested positive before the Mediterranean Games hosted by Turkey.In May, the IAAF asked the Turkish federation to prosecute cases against Olympic 1,500-meter champion Asli Cakir Alptekin and two-time European 100-meter hurdles champion Nevin Yanit over alleged doping violations.Responding to Diack, the Turkish National Olympic Committee said the series of cases is not evidence of more cheats.It is evidence that we are stepping up to fight this problem more aggressively and coming into line with top-tier sports nations, the Turkish Olympic body said in a statement.In the latest verdicts, the IAAF said 17-year-old discus thrower Burcu Akmazoglu tested positive for both banned steroids in Bursa. She is suspended from competing through June 13, 2015.A second teenager, 18-year-old hammer thrower Elif Akbas, also tested positive for stanozolol at the student event.An IAAF list of sanctioned athletes shows that stanozolol and oral turinabol were both found in samples taken at Bursa from Kubra Danis, a 22-year-old shot putter, and Gokce Celenk, a 25-year-old discus thrower. Javelin throwers Sarik Bilgin, who is 25, and 21-year-old Gulsum Ozdemir Gunes also tested positive for stanozolol.The IAAF said the other cases involve two field athletes and one runner.Ali Ekber Kayas, a 26-year-old 400-meter runner who competed at the 2012 world indoor championships in Istanbul, gave a sample with oxandrolone at a national competition in May 2012. He is suspended through July 2, 2014.Shot putter Nilgun Ozturk tested positive for methandienone at the same competition, and received the same ban as Kayas.The IAAF said 21-year-old javelin thrower Berkay Tolun tested positive for stanozolol during training in May. His ban expires on June 6, 2015.The Turkish Olympic body acknowledged that more doping cases could follow.In the short term, the redoubling of (the Turkish anti-doping agency) testing and sanctioning procedures will mean more positive tests, it said. We want clean young Turkish athletes winning medals on home soil in 2020.

UK seeks to better relations with Iran Posted: LONDON (AP) - Foreign Secretary William Hague says Britain is open to better relations with Iran on a step-by-step basis and he is willing to meet with Tehrans foreign minister.The Foreign Office says Hague stressed the need for urgent progress to resolve the Wests concerns about Irans nuclear program in a phone call with Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi.It said Thursday that Hague made clear that the U.K. was open to improvements in the bilateral relationship with Iran, on a step-by-step and reciprocal basis and is willing to meet in New York in September during the United Nations General Assembly.The call comes after Hasan Rouhani won Irans June 14 presidential election.Rouhani has pledged to follow a path of moderation, reviving hopes for easing tensions with the West.

Greece wins IMF praise despite slow state reform Posted: ATHENS (AP) - The International Monetary Fund said Greece had made exceptional progress in stabilizing its economy and remains on course to emerge from a near six-year recession in 2014, despite missing targets for privatization and axing state jobs.In a 207-page report published Wednesday, the Washington D.C.-based institution also cautioned that Greece needs to make major structural reforms so its economy can grow in the long-term.Greeces coalition government is struggling to meet staff reduction targets in the large public sector, and is due to announce details later Wednesday of its plan to suspend up to 25,000 employees on reduced pay by the end of the year. Though some will then be transferred, the government admitted that some wont find a new job and will be fired.The country has been surviving on rescue loans from the IMF and other eurozone countries since 2010, when it lost access to long-term debt markets.Austerity measures demanded in return for the 240 billion euro ($319 billion) bailout program have hammered the economy and seen unemployment surge to 27 percent. Greeces annual economic output is around a fifth smaller than when it entered recession in 2008.The fiscal adjustment remains exceptional by any international standard, the IMF said.The IMF described the countrys privatization program as being painfully slow and expressed concern that mass staff transfers and firings planned in the public sector may not have the desired effect.The (IMF) is concerned that the focus is shifting significantly away from ensuring the exit of redundant and unqualified staff to relocation of such staff within the public sector, it said.Poul Thomsen, the IMFs mission chief in Greece, said he was confident the recession would end soon and that eurozone countries would make good on their pledge to provide Greece with additional debt relief after Athens balances its state budget.I have no doubt we will see a bottoming out of recession next year, early next year. I am still confident, Thomsen said.The government, meanwhile, said it was finalizing a credit system for its new transfer-and-firing mobility scheme in the public sector taking qualifications, work assessment and experience, as well as family status and other social factors into account to meet its target of firing 15,000 workers on the state payroll by the end of next year.Workers will be suspended on reduced pay during an assessment period of up to eight months. The government conceded that many of those suspended would ultimately be fired in contrast to an earlier pledge.It is true that there will be a number of employees placed who will be placed in the mobility scheme who will not be absorbed and they will have to head to the exit ... we must be sincere about this, Administrative Reform Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told private Antenna television Tuesday.Unfortunately the truth is that the country was bankrupted by its large state. And now we are obliged under conditions of great pressure to make these changes, he said.Mitsotakis said the country would be in a better position if the public sector reforms had started three years ago, instead of the cuts to pay and hikes in tax that have unduly hit the private sector.Unfortunately, the wrong choices were made three years ago, he said.

Sri Lanka takes South Africa ODI series 4-1 Posted: COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) - Tillakaratne Dilshan was bowled for 99 and Kumar Sangakkara smashed an unbeaten 75 on Wednesday to propel Sri Lanka to a convincing 128-run win over South Africa, and a 4-1 victory in their one-day international series.Electing to bat first after winning the toss, Sri Lanka scored a challenging 307-4 in 50 overs. Dilshan hit 13 boundaries in his 110-ball innings and shared 163 runs for the second wicket with No. 3 batsman Lahiru Thirimanne (68). Sangakkara faced just 45 deliveries and hit 12 boundaries.South Africa started the run chase with promise but was dismissed for 179 in the 44th over. Captain AB de Villiers top scored with 51.Seamer Suranga Lakmal and spinner Ajantha Mendis took three wickets each.

24 migrants drown off Turkish coast Posted: ISTANBUL (AP) Turkey's state run Anatolia news agency says that at least 24 migrants have drowned after a boat capsized in the Aegean Sea 10 miles off the Turkish coast.The Turkish Coast Guard responded to an SOS call from the speed boat's captain early Wednesday. Video footage taken by Anatolia shows a coast guard boat returning with bodies under sheets on the deck.News reports said that 42 people were rescued, including citizens of Syria, Burma and Afghanistan.Rescuers were continuing the search.

Italy: Berlusconi's defense makes its final arguments Posted: ROME (AP) - Silvio Berlusconis reinforced defense team made its final arguments Wednesday in front of Italys highest court, seeking the reversal of a tax fraud conviction that could bring a quick halt to the three-time former premiers 20-year political career.The highly anticipated decision could weaken the fragile coalition government of Enrico Letta, which is struggling to pass measures to help Italy out of recession. A decision could come later Wednesday or Thursday.Berlusconi has urged supporters not to let the decision interfere with the government, but analysts warn that the situation is volatile and already center-right lawmakers slowed work in Parliament to protest the high courts decision to take the case in July instead of the fall.Berlusconi and three others were convicted in October of tax fraud in the purchase of TV rights for Berlusconis Mediaset network. Berlusconi was sentenced to four years in prison with a five-year ban on public office, which was confirmed on appeal.If also confirmed by Italys highest court, Berlusconi would lose his Senate seat and be banned from running in elections for the duration of any public office ban.The state prosecutor on Tuesday recommended shortening the public office ban to three years which Berlusconi defense lawyer Franco Coppi told reporters indicates a blatant error in the sentencing.Berlusconis defense team, long-time defender Niccolo Ghedini and Coppi, an appellate expert, began what was expected to be several hours of arguments late in the afternoon Wednesday. Earlier, defense lawyers for the other three defendants made their case.At one point, chief justice Antonio Esposito grew impatient with the exhaustive arguments, telling a lawyer for one of the defendants: We have read everything.

NSA phone spying document declassified Posted: WASHINGTON (AP)The Obama administration is declassifying documents about its telephone spying program to try to tamp down congressional opposition to domestic surveillance.The documents will provide little solace, however, to Americans hoping to understand the legal analysis that underpinned the widespread surveillance.And the redacted documents show only in broad strokes how National Security Agency officials use the data.One particular type of analysis, called hop analysis is hinted at but never fully discussed. That allows to the government to search the phone records of not only suspected terrorists, but everyone who called them, everyone who called those people, and others who called them, as well.With that authority, the government can search the records of millions of people in an investigation of one person.

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