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Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Dunya TV

Dunya TV

Some NGOs are working on anti-state agenda in Pakistan: Lord Nazir

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LONDON (Dunya News) - Lord Nazir Ahmed, member of British House of Lords, while talking exclusively to the Dunya News said that some NGOs in Pakistan are working on anti-state agenda.Lord Nazir said that some NGOs are getting their funds from India and Israel and these NGOs work on foreign agenda. He further said that government should establish an institution for scrutiny of all NGOs working in Pakistan and also keep an eye on their funding.

Ban calls for immediate humanitarian truce in Yemen

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GENEVA (AFP) - UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Monday called for an immediate humanitarian truce in Yemen as peace talks began in Geneva and a Saudi-led Arab coalition continued aerial bombardments of the ravaged country.Global powers are keen for a speedy resolution of the conflict, fearing the growing power of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the Yemeni branch of the jihadist network which has taken advantage of the chaos to seize territory.We do not have a moment to lose, Ban said, adding that the fighting was giving strength to some of the worlds most ruthless terrorist groups.I hope this week starts the beginning of the end of the fighting, Ban said, stressing this was vital to get crucial humanitarian supplies through.The UN has described the countrys humanitarian crisis as catastrophic, with 80 percent of the population -- 20 million people -- in need of aid.Ramadan begins in two days, Ban said, stressing that the holy Muslim month should be a period for harmony, peace and reconciliation.I have emphasised the importance of another humanitarian pause for at least two weeks, the UN chief said, after meeting the government delegation.Yemen has been wracked by conflict between Iran-backed Shiite rebels and exiled President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadis internationally recognised government. Ban said the violence had killed more than 2,600 people, half of them civilians.Today, Yemens very existence hangs in the balance, Ban said. While parties bicker, Yemen burns.He also called on the warring factions to reach agreement on local ceasefires, with the withdrawal of armed groups from cities.But analysts said there was little optimism over the talks, which began on Monday without the presence of the Iran-backed rebel delegation after their plane was delayed in Djibouti.The UN announced later on Monday that the UN plane carrying the Huthi representatives was finally on its way to Switzerland after the layover in Djibouti.The UN had worked to get the rebel group to Geneva on time but there are issues involving international aviation that are beyond the control of the UN, spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.Pre-dawn air strikes meanwhile targeted Huthi rebel positions in the main southern port city of Aden and continued throughout Monday, residents said, as fighting raged on between rebel forces and pro-government fighters.Rebels fired Katyusha rockets at a residential part of Adens Mansura district, said Ali al-Ahmedi, spokesman of the pro-government Popular Resistance -- a coalition of pro-government fighters, Sunni tribes and southern separatists.Medics at a nearby hospital said that three members of the same family were killed and four others were wounded in the attack. AFP could not immediately verify the toll given by Popular Resistance sources of 20 rebels and seven pro-government fighters killed in Aden.Underscoring the need for immediate action in Yemen, Ban said: The ticking clock is not a time piece, it is a time bomb.The rebels, supported by military units loyal to ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh, have seized control of large parts of the country including the capital Sanaa, forcing Hadi to flee to Saudi Arabia in February.Yemen Foreign Minister Riad Yassin said the prospects were for a breakthrough were poor.Im not very optimistic, Yassin told AFP, adding that they (the rebels) never respect any treaty.Yassin likened the rebels to the Islamic State group or Nigerias Boko Haram and accused them of sending far more representatives and advisors to the Geneva talks than had been agreed.They want to come here to make chaos, he said.The government delegation led by the foreign minister reiterated its demands on Sunday night, including that any ceasefire must see the militias withdraw from all territory they have conquered.Fearing an Iran-friendly regime on its southern border, Riyadh has been leading a campaign of air strikes against the rebels since March 26 but has so far failed to rout them from territory they have seized.Any chance of success at the first talks between the warring factions since Hadi fled Sanaa was very unlikely, Yemen expert Laurent Bonnefoy said, adding: Indeed, each side appears to be inflexible, disinclined toward compromise.

Kurds in near full control of Syria town

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AKCAKALE (AFP) - Kurdish forces seized nearly full control of the Syrian town of Tal Abyad on Monday, fighting only pockets of jihadists on a vital supply line for the Islamic State group.The Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (YPG) advanced into Tal Abyad after taking a border post and cutting off the road south to the de facto IS capital of Raqa, a monitoring group said.The Kurdish fighters are in almost full control of Tal Abyad, said Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.Abdel Rahman said there were still some small pockets of resistance from small groups of Islamic State fighters who are still holed up inside.At least 40 jihadists were killed as they fled Tal Abyad for Ein Issa, another town still under IS control.It came hours after the Kurdish forces said they had completely surrounded Tal Abyad.There is nowhere Daesh can escape to, said YPG commander Hussein Khojer, using the Arabic acronym for IS.The advance is a blow to IS, which had been battling to hold onto Tal Abyad and preserve its main supply line between Raqa and the Turkish border.Kurdish fighters and Syrian rebels began their main advance on Tal Abyad on June 11, backed by air strikes from the US-led coalition fighting IS.Coalition air strikes are exacting a high price on Daesh terrorists across Iraq and Syria, said US Brigadier General Thomas Weidley.Since fall 2014, Kurdish forces in both Iraq and Syria, enabled by the coalition, have only taken territory from Daesh, never ceding it.The clashes have prompted thousands of civilians to flee, with some 20,000 crossing into Turkey since last week, including at least 3,000 for the second consecutive day.The flood of refugees has created chaos at times, with some cutting through the border fence or scrambling over loops of barbed wire in frustration at the delay in crossing.Parents passed screaming children over one section of trampled fencing, and a mother grasped her baby by one arm, a pacifier dangling from its neck.Tal Abyad lies some 85 kilometres (50 miles) north of Raqa, and analysts say it serves as a primary conduit for incoming weapons and fighters, as well as for outgoing black market oil.It has been an IS stronghold for a while now, and it has been described as the gateway to Raqa, said Charlie Winter, a researcher on jihadism at the London-based Quilliam Foundation.Certainly, its of strategic importance because its a border town through which equipment, recruits, etc. can pass.Tal Abyad is also just 70 kilometres (40 miles) east of the Kurdish-majority town of Kobane, where Kurdish forces battled for months before expelling invading IS forces in January.Tal Abyad serves as the main lifeblood channel for IS, connecting Raqa city to the outside world, said Mutlu Civiroglu, a Kurdish affairs analyst.Tal Abyad is a financial and logistical hub for IS. Once you cut this hub it is going to be very hard for IS to smuggle in fighters, to sell oil and deal in the other goods they deal in.Kurdish forces have been chipping away at IS territory in Raqa province -- once completely under the jihadist groups control -- for around three months.According to the Observatory, they have seized some 50 towns and villages in the province.Winter said he expected IS to mine the town heavily.The Kurdish advance has prompted criticism from Turkey, where the YPG-linked Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) fought a decades-long insurgency and is listed as a terrorist group.Nihat Ali Ozcan, an analyst at the Ankara-based TEPAV think tank, said Ankara was concerned about rising separatist sentiment among Kurds in Turkeys southeast.If Tal Abyad is seized by Kurds, after Kobanes liberation, Kurds might emerge as a fighting force against Turkey, Ozcan said.The Kurdish advance has also prompted allegations of ethnic cleansing by some Syrian rebel groups who say YPG forces are expelling Sunni Arabs and Turkmen from the area.Kurdish forces reject those allegations, saying they have only asked civilians to evacuate potential battle zones to avoid casualties.Meanwhile, in Aleppo, at least 23 people were killed and 100 wounded, around half of them children, in rebel rocket fire on regime-held parts of the northern city, state media said, condemning it as a massacre.

Sudan's Bashir flies out of S.Africa, defying court order

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JOHANNESBURG (AFP) - Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir flew out of South Africa on Monday, defying a court order for him to stay as judges weighed up whether he should be arrested for alleged war crimes and genocide.The International Criminal Court (ICC) said it was disappointed at South Africas failure to heed its calls to detain Bashir on long-standing arrest warrants over the Darfur conflict.As his plane took off on the final day of an African Union leaders summit in Johannesburg, the local high court was still hearing arguments over an urgent application to force the authorities to detain him.Our position has always been that South Africas obligation is clear and unequivocal. It had an obligation to arrest him, the ICCs chief deputy prosecutor James Stewart told AFP.After Bashir had departed, South African judge Dunstan Mlambo also issued a harsh rebuke of the government for ignoring Sundays court order, requiring the authorities to keep him grounded.The conduct of the respondents -- to the extent that they have failed to take steps to arrest and detain (Bashir) -- is inconsistent with the constitution of the Republic of South Africa, Mlambo said.President Bashirs hurried departure from Waterkloof military airport outside Pretoria sparked anger from rights groups.When he took off from South Africa today, he took with him the hopes of thousands of victims of grave crimes in Darfur who wish at last to see justice done, Human Rights Watch said in a statement.By allowing this shameful flight, the South African government has disregarded not only its international legal obligations, but its own courts.South Africa is a signatory of The Hague-based ICC, which has often been criticised for only targeting African leaders.Dressed in his traditional white robes, a smiling Bashir waved his cane in the air as he stepped off the plane after landing back in Khartoum and then drove around in an open-topped car surrounded by a crowd of supporters.Sudanese officials in Johannesburg earlier shrugged off the court case and said the South African government had given them assurances about Bashirs trip.At the summit, Bashir had posed for a group photograph on Sunday along with South African President Jacob Zuma and Zimbabwes President Robert Mugabe, who is the current chair of the 54-member group.This is not the headquarters of the ICC anyway and we dont want it in this region at all, said Mugabe at the summits closing press conference.There is the view that we should distance ourselves from the ICC, but unfortunately the treaty that set it up was signed not by the AU, but by individual countries, he added.The ICC indictments relate to the western Sudanese region of Darfur, which erupted into conflict in 2003 when black insurgents rose up against Bashirs Arab-dominated government, complaining of marginalisation.Khartoum unleashed a bloody counter-insurgency using the armed forces and allied militia.The United Nations says 300,000 people have been killed in the conflict and another 2.5 million forced to flee their homes.The South African government said it would enquire (into) the circumstances how Bashir left the country despite the court order, which was obtained by the Southern African Litigation Centre, a legal rights group.Its an embarrassment for South Africa, Jakkie Cilliers, of the Institute for Security Studies think-tank, told AFP.My feeling is that by allowing him in they wanted to demonstrate to the world a common position of Africa on the ICC.The ICC had called on South Africa to spare no effort in ensuring the execution of the arrest warrants against Bashir, 71, who seized power in Sudan in an Islamist-backed coup in 1989.The United States, which is not a signatory to the ICC, said it was disappointed that no action was taken by South Africa.UN chief Ban Ki-moon said the arrest warrant was a matter I take extremely seriously and the authority of the ICC must be respected.

UK sisters feared headed for Syria conflict with their 9 children

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LONDON (AFP) - Three British sisters are feared to have travelled with their nine children to join up with jihadists in Syria, a lawyer for the childrens parents said Monday.The family, from Bradford in northern England, went missing after travelling to Medina in Saudi Arabia for an Islamic pilgrimage.Sisters Sugra Dawood, 34, Zohra Dawood, 33, and Khadija Dawood, 30, travelled to Medina with their children, aged three to 15, on May 28.They were due to return to Bradford on Thursday, but they broke off all contact with their family back in Britain two days earlier.Preliminary inquiries suggest at least 10 members of the family boarded a flight from Medina to Istanbul -- a commonly used route into Syria.There are no details of an eight-year-old and a five-year-old member of the party boarding the same flight.Balaal Khan, a lawyer for the childrens fathers, said it is understood the sisters have a relative fighting for either Islamic State or another extremist group in Syria, and it is feared they have met up with him.The fathers are distraught, they feel helpless and they dont now what to do. They want the children out of harms way, he said.They are concerned that their childrens lives are in danger.The suspicion, and main concern, is that the women have taken their children to Syria.The local West Yorkshire Police force has launched an investigation, saying they were working with foreign authorities.A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: We are in contact with West Yorkshire Police and Turkish authorities and our ready to provide consular assistance.

23 killed in Chad suicide bombings blamed on Boko Haram

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NDJAMENA (AFP) - Twenty-three people were killed and over 100 injured in twin suicide bombings targeting police in the Chadian capital Monday, with the government blaming Boko Haram militants for the bloodshed.They were the first such attacks in the capital of the central African nation, which has been on the frontline of the regional fight against the Nigerian Islamist group.Boko Haram chose the wrong target. These lawless and faithless terrorists will be flushed out and neutralised wherever they are, the government said in a statement.It said 23 people were killed and another 101 wounded in the simultaneous bombings outside the police headquarters and police academy in NDjamena.It said four terrorists were also killed, but did not give details. Earlier, a police official had told AFP that two suicide bombers carried out the attacks, which came as police cadets were attending a training course at the academy.There was no immediate claim of responsibility but French President Francois Hollande also accused Boko Haram militants of being behind the barbaric attack.There is no doubt that Boko Haram is responsible and will be brought to justice for this new humanitarian horror, Hollande said during a visit to Algiers where the regional threat posed by jihadists was high on the agenda.Chad, a former French colony, is a close ally of France in its counter-terrorism Operation Barkhane in the Sahel region and the French army has set up its headquarters for the campaign in NDjamena.The Chadian government said the situation was quickly brought under control Monday, but the rare assault on the capital prompted the creation of a crisis cell and vehicles with darkened windows were banned from NDjamena.Chadian security forces were also seen taking up positions on the streets.President Idriss Deby was expected to return home during the day from an African Union summit in Johannesburg, an official said.In his absence, government ministers held a crisis meeting to discuss the bombings.The former French colony is part of a four-nation coalition also including Nigeria, Cameroon and Niger that was created to tackle the Boko Haram insurgency after the group stepped up cross-border attacks.Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau has on several occasions threatened to attack Chad and other countries in the coalition. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in a statement, condemned Mondays twin attacks and praised Chad for its courageous role in the fight against Boko Haram.He also welcomed progress on sending an African Union-backed multi-national force to tackle the rebels.Last week, Abuja hosted a summit where Nigeria and fellow coalition members plus Benin rubber-stamped an 8,700-strong regional force to replace the current four-nation grouping.The long-awaited Multi-National Joint Task Force, which had originally been due to become operational in November, has its headquarters in NDjamena, under a senior Nigerian officer.Boko Haram has been waging a six-year campaign of violence in northeastern Nigeria that has left at least 15,000 people dead and increasingly spilled across borders.Chads involvement in the fight against Boko Haram began in January when Deby sent troops to assist neighbouring Cameroon, whose far northern region was coming under attack from the rebels.More than 70 Chadian soldiers have died in operations against the Islamists, including attacks around Lake Chad where the borders of Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon and Niger meet.Nigerias new President Muhammadu Buhari, who has vowed to make crushing Boko Haram a priority, visited Chad and Niger earlier this month to build up the regional coalition against the Islamists.Boko Haram declared that they are in alliance with ISIS (Islamic State), so terrorism has gone international. They are in Mali, they are in Nigeria, they are in Syria, they are in Iraq, they are in Yemen, he told AFP at the summit in South Africa on Monday.Its an international problem now, he said.Boko Haram, whose name roughly translates as Western education is forbidden, aims to create an Islamic caliphate in the territories it controls and earlier this month declared allegiance to the Islamic State group.

Tennis: Federer advances in Halle after final set tie-break

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HALLE (AFP) - Seven-time champion Roger Federer survived a nervous first round challenge on Monday before prevailing at the ATP Halle Open 7-6 (8/6), 3-6, 7-6 (7/5) over home hope Philipp Kohlschreiber. The 33-year-old 17-time Grand Slam winner was pushed all the way by the 2011 Halle champion before clinching a second round matchup against either Ernests Gulbis or Sergiy Stakhovsky after just over two hours on centre-court.Federer has reached the final of the last nine editions of the grasscourt Wimbledon tune-up, winning seven, but was given an almighty scare by the 31-year-old world number 28 who reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals in 2012. There was more luck for German players elsewhere in the draw, as Florian Mayer, Alexander Zeverev and Dustin Brown all advanced. Mayer is now one match away from reaching the Halle quarter-finals for a fifth time following a 6-2, 0-6, 7-6 (7/4) win over German wildcard Jan-Lennard Struff. On grass, its all about one or two points, said Mayer.I could have won 6-3 in the third, then he played a few amazing points and suddenly its 5-4, 15-30 on my serve. He hit a return with the frame right on the line and almost had match point. I could also have lost 6-4. he added.

Tennis: Ivanovic claims she is entering 'new era'

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BIRMINGHAM (AFP) - Ana Ivanovic, the former French Open champion who has taken more than six years to climb back into the worlds top six, claims her progress has taken her into a new era.Ivanovic, both modestly likeable and conspicuously glamorous, appears to have overcome some of the self-doubt and obsessiveness which threatened to spoil her career after reaching number one at the age of only 20.Reaching the semi-finals at Roland Garros recently has been a galvanizer of a new optimism for the Serbian whose climb up the rankings will enable her to defend her title at the Wimbledon warm-up event in Birmingham this week as the number two seed.I really think its a new era in my career. The last couple of weeks have been really exciting, the 27-year-old said. I am just improving, and getting better - and getting to be where I want to be.What has made the difference, she reckons, is balance. When I was young it was so much about tennis, and not really having time off, not sort of letting my hair down, or enjoying free time, she said.It was more controlled by the team. It was just work. Now Ive changed that. I do work off court but also enjoy myself -- go to the beach and have a coffee with a friend, enjoy shopping. Thats made a big difference.Why it has taken so long to reach this happy conclusion is because, she admits I felt guilty doing that Her brother Milos has helped her, she says, along with a fitness coach, physio, and sparring partner, who leave her with so much less to think about.They take care of things, and help me improve and have fun, she said.Her enjoyment is likely to continue on Wednesday when she begins her title defence and her Wimbledon grass-court preparations against a lucky loser, while Simona Halep, the number one seed from Romania, starts against Naomi Broady, a local wild-card entry.Two seeds went out on the first day. Alize Cornet, the 11th-seeded Frenchwoman who sensationally ended Serena Williams attempt at a sixth Wimbledon title last year, lost 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 to American Christina McHale.Later Garbine Muguruza, the ninth seed, who would like to follow the grass-court exploits of her adaptable Spanish compatriots Conchita Martinex and Arantxa Sanchez, was discouragingly outplayed 6-3, 6-1 by Magdalena Rybarikova, ranked outside the top 50.However the out-of-form Slovakian showed just how much this can be a specialists surface. Despite having suffered six first-round defeats this year, Rybarikova performed much as she did -- with strident down-the-line hitting and cleverly mixed-in slices -- when winning the title here six years ago.Two former world number ones, Victoria Azarenka and Jelena Jankovic, begin their bids to show that they can still be dangerous contenders on Tuesday.Jankovic, the 15th-seeded Serbian and a former titleholder, plays Tereza Smitkova, the world number 62 from the Czech Republic; Azarenka, the 12th-seeded Belarusian who is starting to recover from a series of injuries, faces Varvara Lepchenko, the world number 37 from the United States.

Tennis: Hewitt's Queen's farewell ends in defeat

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LONDON (AFP) - Lleyton Hewitt suffered a frustrating farewell to Queens Club as the four-time champion squandered a match point in a 6-7 (5/7), 7-5, 6-2 defeat against South Africas Kevin Anderson on Monday.Hewitt is embarking on a prolonged goodbye tour before retiring after next years Australian Open and he was hoping for one last hurrah on his final visit to the Wimbledon warm-up event.But the injury-ravaged 34-year-old, making his 16th Queens appearance, is ranked 100 places below the big-serving Anderson and he was unable to bridge that class gap in a hard-fought first round clash.After failing to serve out the match in the second set, Hewitt allowed Anderson to wriggle out of trouble and the world number 17 eventually coasted through to a second round tie against French Open champion Stan Wawrinka or Australian youngster Nick Kyrgios.Ive loved playing here for so many years. Its one of my favourite tournaments of the year outside of the majors, Hewitt said.It was special to come back. Knowing it was going to be the last one, as well. Ive played so many big matches in front of big crowds here over the years.For most of the first two sets I played pretty well out there.I dont think it will be that emotional the rest of the year. Im fortunate because not many people in sport get to go out on their terms and so far it looks like Ill be able to do that.Only Boris Becker, John McEnroe and Andy Roddick have won Queens as often as Hewitt, who made his debut here as a brash teenager in 1998 and claimed the last of his titles in 2006.Despite his success in this manicured corner of west London, the most recent of Hewitts two Grand Slam titles came way back in 2002 at Wimbledon and he has spent the latter part of his career battling to overcome a series of debilitating injuries, including having a metal plate inserted into the toe of his left foot.His ranking has slipped down to 117 as a result and a fifth defeat in his six matches in 2015 suggests he is limping rather than sprinting towards his career finish line.Granted a wildcard by nostalgic tournament organisers, Hewitt did his best to roll back the years and, although he couldnt convert five break points in the first set, he did just enough to take the tie-break.After saving a break point in the second game of the second set, Hewitt was back on the offensive and he broke for a 4-3 lead when Anderson tamely netted a backhand.But crucially he couldnt convert a match point when he served for the win at 5-3 and Anderson broke back.That proved the turning point as the South African reeled off four successive games to take the set before overpowering the fading Hewitt in the decider.While his farewell hadnt gone to plan, Hewitt was still given a standing ovation by the packed Centre Court crowd, which included his wife Bec and assorted members of his family.Meanwhile, Richard Gasquet became only the third Frenchman in the Open era to win 400 singles matches after defeating Italian qualifier Simone Bolelli 6-1, 6-2 in the first round.The world number 19, who was back in action for the first time since his French Open last-16 exit against Novak Djokovic, joins Yannick Noah (476) and Fabrice Santoro (470) in the select group of Frenchmen to reach 400 victories. The 28-year-olds reward for reaching that notable landmark is a second round tie against Canadian third seed Milos Raonic.In his first match for over a month following minor surgery on his right foot, Raonic marked his Queens debut by defeating British wildcard James Ward 5-7, 6-3, 6-2.

Football: Germany, Norway advance to knockout round at Women's World Cup

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WINNIPEG (AFP) - Favourites Germany beat Thailand 4-0 to advance to the knockout rounds of the Womens World Cup as Group B leaders ahead of Norway who secured their berth by beating Ivory Coast 3-1 on Monday.The two European heavyweights join champions Japan and Brazil who are already through to the last 16 with a game to spare.Germany have seven points from three games, equal with Norway, but ahead on goal difference largely thanks to their 10-0 hammering of Ivory Coast in their opener.Thailand, in third with three points, could still advance as one of the four best third-place finishers out of the six groups. Fellow newcomers Ivory Coast however go home after three loses during which they scored three goals but conceded 16.Germany came up against stiff resistance from the 29th-ranked Asians in Winnipeg, before Melanie Leupolz broke through after 24 minutes.And two quick-fire headers from second-half substitute Lena Petermann after 56 and 58 minutes got the worlds top ranked team into their stride.Despite Thailand goalie Waraporn Boonsing pulling off a string of saves Sara Daebritz got a fourth for the former two-time champions after 73 minutes.It was a coachs luck to play a joker that then scores two goals, said Germany coach Silvia Neid of Petermann.We rarely managed to show our superiority, Neid continued. In the end were glad we won the group and are into the last 16, what has happened doesnt really matter because this is where it starts now.Germany next play the best third-placed finisher from Group A, C, or D in Ottawa on Saturday, as Norway play the second-placed finisher from Group F, which includes France, England, Colombia and Mexico, next Monday.Coach Nuengruethai Sathongwien said Thailand were still hoping to make the next round.We had problems preventing high balls and the German air attacks, she said.We tried to attack but their defence was very good.We still have a chance to go through to the next round. We have some hope.Germany, knocked out of the 2011 World Cup in the quarter-finals, opened by inflicting a heavy defeat on Ivory Coast before holding Norway 1-1.In Moncton, a double from Ada Hegerberg on six and 62 minutes and a third from Solveig Gulbrandsen after 67 gave the Norwegians all three points.Ange NGuessan got one back for the Ivory Coast after 71 minutes.Im very emotional this evening because of my girls performances, said coach Clementine Toure of the 67th-ranked African side.They came here (to Canada) jet-lagged and with very little preparation and took on the top team in the world (Germany).Theyve really gotten into the competition and Im pleased to see the progress theyve made in the three matches.Norway beat Thailand 4-0 in their opener before drawing with Germany.In Group A, hosts Canada play the Netherlands in Montreal and China take on New Zealand in Winnipeg in their final group games later Monday.

Tennis: Del Potro determined to return

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BUENOS AIRES (AFP) - Former US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro has vowed to come back despite 15 sad and sombre months of injury hell.Speaking in a Youtube video, the 26-year-old spoke of his determination to play again despite needing a third operation on his troublesome wrist in just 15 months.The 2009 US Open winner has dropped to 578 in the world but hes not giving up.He said he has suffered difficult weeks and months, sad days and sombre days since his last tournament in Miami at the end of March.But Im not giving up he said despite announcing that he needs another operation on his left wrist.I will continue to fight for what I love the most. I hope to return one day to the court, he added in a serious tone.Del Potro has won 18 titles during his career but the highlight came at just 20 years of age when he defeated Roger Federer to win the 2009 US Open.He started having problems with his wrist in 2012 but it was after the 2014 Australian Open that he truly injured it, requiring surgery.He first went under the knife in March 2014 and only returned to action in January, although he was again forced into undergoing an operation two months later.He had already spent 10 months away from the court in 2010, dropping outside the worlds top 400, due to an injury to his right wrist.

Cycling: Sagan sprints to stage win as Dumoulin keeps lead

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LAUSANNE (AFP) - Peter Sagan sprinted to victory on the shortened 117.3km third stage of the Tour of Switzerland on Monday as Tom Dumoulin maintained his overall lead.Slovakias Sagan edged out Spains Daniel Moreno and Thibaut Pinot of France in the finish at Olivone.Dutchman Dumoulin finished with the leaders to maintain his five second advantage over Moreno and Saga in second and third.Britains Geraint Thomas and Pinot, who was third at last years Tour de France, round out the top five, separated by just 12 seconds.Bad weather on the St-Gothard mountain saw the start of the stage moved from Brunnen to Quinto and the distance cut by more than 50km.A three-man breakaway of Stefan Denifl, Marco Marcato and Branislau Samoilau built up a lead of six minutes on the peloton at one point but Sagans Tinkoff team and Dumoulins Giant outfit led the chase.Once the trio were reeled in, a number of other riders tried to attack alone but Tinkoff chasaed hard to ensure Sagan reigned in the sprint.Tuesdays fourth stage is over 193.2km from Flims Laax Falera to Schwarzenbach and is suited to a sprint finish.

Oil prices drop on Greece, US output worries

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LONDON (AFP) - Oil prices slid on Monday amid bearish news on US industrial output and a breakdown in Greeces debt talks.Worries that US oil output is not declining and Saudi Arabia could further ratchet open its oil pumps also are keeping a ceiling on prices, analysts said.US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for July delivery dropped 44 cents to $59.52 a barrel compared with Fridays close.Brent North Sea crude for July shed $1.28 to stand at $62.61 a barrel in London trade.The US reported industrial output fell another 0.2 percent in May after an 0.5 percent drop in April, not unexpected but still casting a cloud on the strength of the economy.Mays reading was well below expectations, and offers little relief after the weak first quarter, said Amanda Augustine of BBVA.Investors were focused as well on the turmoil from the breakdown in Greeces talks with creditors, though the euro picked up strength during the day, providing some support to crude prices.Its a continuation of the selloff we saw at the end of last week on oversupply concerns, said Matt Smith of Clipper Data.Were moving to the low end of the range now, we continue to be volatile and yet range-bound.Investors are also focusing on Iran ahead of a June 30 deadline for the Islamic republic and world powers to come to an agreement on curbing Tehrans nuclear program.If a deal is reached and implemented, the powers have agreed to gradually scale back sanctions imposed since 2012, including on its petroleum industry.Iran has the worlds fourth-largest oil reserves but its exports have fallen from more than 2.2 million barrels per day in 2011 to about 1.3 million because of the sanctions.

Greece, creditors locked in stalemate over loan deal

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ATHENS (AFP) - Greece and its creditors were locked in a stalemate Monday after loan talks collapsed over the weekend, bringing Athens just two weeks away from a catastrophic default on its debt.Both sides insisted on Monday they were willing to engage but without making the decisive step to break the deadlock.While the European executive insisted the EU-IMF creditors had made major concessions, the radical left government in Athens continues to reject what it views as irrational austerity demands.The talks concerning the release of the 7.2 billion euros ($8.1 billion) in rescue funds remaining in Greeces bailout have dragged on for five months.On Monday, hours after Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras defiantly called on the creditors to be more realistic, Athens said it was ready to return to the talks at any time.We await the invitation of the (creditors) and will respond at any time to continue the negotiation, Tsipras office said, although it did not say if it was ready to meet the creditors demands.The PM had earlier lambasted the creditors for political opportunism.One can only see a political purposefulness in the insistence of creditors on new cuts in pensions after five years of looting under the bailouts, Tsipras told Greek newspaper Efimerida Ton Syntakton.But an EU spokeswoman said the EU and IMF have already made major concessions to Greece. Its not a one-way street, Annika Breidthardt told a press conference.She added: The concessions ... made and the flexibility that has been shown are already quite substantial.In Frankfurt, European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi urged all sides to go the extra mile but insisted the ball was in Athens court.A strong and credible agreement with Greece is needed, not only in the interest of Greece, but also of the euro area as a whole, Draghi told the European Parliaments Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs in Brussels.While all actors will now need to go the extra mile, the ball lies squarely in the camp of the Greek government to take the necessary steps, he said.French President Francois Hollande likewise urged Greece to not waste time.This message is for Greece, Hollande told reporters at the Paris Air Show. It should not wait and should restart discussions with the institutions... Lets not waste time.Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann, who has generally been sympathetic to Greeces arguments, on Monday said recession-hit Athens demand for a change in course was perfectly understandable.Greece constitutes a warning on what happens when one applies only austerity, Faymann, who is visiting Greece on Tuesday, told Greek state agency ANA. The chancellor argued in favour of a five-year plan to give hope back to the Greeks.The deadlock sent Athens Stock Exchange plunging as much as 7.14 percent Monday before closing with a 4.68 percent drop, with bank stocks especially hard hit.Draghi however gave the assurance that the banks were currently solvent and that the ECB will continue to provide liquidity to them to help finance the economy.Greeces 240 billion euro bailout expires on June 30, and to meet that deadline, a reform deal must be resolved by a meeting in Luxembourg on Thursday of the eurozones 19 finance ministers, who control the purse strings of the rescue programme.Also at the end of the month, Greece faces a 1.6 billion-euro payment to the IMF with another 6.7 billion euros due to the European Central Bank in July and August, which Greek officials have said the government cannot afford.Valdis Dombrovskis, the EUs vice president responsible for the euro, said Monday that in view of the persistent uncertainty, the EU had slashed its projection of Greeces GDP growth for 2015 from 2.5 percent to 0.5 percent.Speaking at the start of Innovative Enterprise Week in Riga, he said: Needless to say, all projections for Greece are subject to a particularly high degree of uncertainty since... the agreement is still not reached.All sides had agreed that the talks were the last chance for Athens to unlock vital bailout cash in return for tough reforms that Tsipras still doggedly refuses.But Greece said the IMF was particularly hardline on its demands.The Funds position was intransigent and tough because it was insisting on further pension cuts and a rise in value-added tax on basic goods, like electricity, an Athens source added.But in a rare statement on their position in the talks, the IMF took a conciliatory approach, writing in an official blog that a deal would require difficult decisions by all sides -- including Greeces European partners.Greece is shattered economically after six years of crisis and despite two rescue programmes since 2010.Its debt mountain is equivalent to 180 percent of GDP, or almost twice the countrys annual economic output.According to an EU source, savings from the reform measures put on the table by Greece fell short by two billion euros.

Euro gains despite breakdown in Greece talks

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NEW YORK (AFP) - The euro strengthened against the dollar and yen Monday despite the breakdown in talks between Greece and official creditors that heightened worries the eurozone country will default on its debt.The common currencys gain was modest, but reversed early weakness that came after a rise in tensions between Athens and its EU creditors over the terms for a release of another 7.2 billion euros in bailout funds.Helping the euro was fresh US data on industrial output showing an 0.2 percent downturn in May, worse than expected.With the Federal Reserve meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday to review plans for an interest rate hike, the poor data supported the view that the Fed will remain patient and wait to see what economic data does over the next month or two.Its shaping up to be a make-or-break week for the greenback as all eyes turn to a highly-anticipated US Federal Open Market Committee interest rate decision, said David Rodriguez of Daily FX.

Posted by IMRAN ALI SOOMRO (DARVESH) at 6/16/2015 07:21:00 AM

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