Dunya TV

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• Obama looks to take fight to Islamic State in Libya
• Obama, Rousseff share Zika concerns
• Facebook aims to block private gun sales
• Gujrat: Unidentified suspects open fire on private college
• KP govt decides on expelling illegal Afghan residents from Province
• Citizens to bear brunt of PIAs privatization postponement
• Karachi: Police demolish numerous lairs of gangwar groups
• Quetta: Shots fired at security forces convoy, 2 terrorists killed
• Dunya News obtains CCTV footage of Bacha Khan University attack
• Opposition absent as Syria 'peace talks' start
• Chicago cop to sue family of black teen he killed
• Mother who took toddler to Raqqa convicted by UK court
• Four miners rescued in China after 36 days trapped underground
• Football: Torres out of Barca trip, Atletico future in doubt
• 'Many months' before start of battle for Mosul: coalition

Obama looks to take fight to Islamic State in Libya Posted: WASHINGTON (AFP) - President Barack Obama has asked key advisors to draw up options for ratcheting up the fight against the Islamic State group, including opening a new front in Libya.Eighteen months after a US-led coalition began airstrikes against IS in Iraq and Syria, multiple administration sources said Friday that the White House wants to speed up and broaden the effort.Efforts will deepen to retake Raqa in Syria, Mosul in Iraq and to check the extremists growth in Afghanistan, but there is an increasing focus on Libya.Potential options are said to range from intensified air strikes to participation in a UN-backed ground force that would help take Libyas estimated 3,000 Islamic State fighters.Officials caution that Obama has not yet been presented with concrete military plans, though the security situation is acute.Action in Libya is needed before Libya becomes a sanctuary for ISIL, before they become extremely hard to dislodge, said one US defense official.We dont want a situation like in Iraq or Syria.Since rebels and Western airpower toppled Moamer Kadhafis regime in 2011, the country has effectively lacked a government.In the chaos a disparate group of foreign fighters, homegrown militiamen, tribes and remnants of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group have coalesced around the IS banner and gained a foothold.Extremists have recently taken control of Kadhafis home town of Sirte, a strategic port near oilfields that could provide a lucrative source of income.Next stepsUntil now, US involvement in Libya has been limited to isolated airstrikes and the deployment of US special forces, who are building ties with local armed groups and providing intelligence.In November, an American F-16 fighter jet struck the eastern town of Derna, killing Abu Nabil -- also known as Wissam Najm Abd Zayd al-Zubaydi -- the local IS leader.On Thursday, Obama convened his National Security Council to discuss current operations and the next steps.The president directed his national security team to continue efforts to strengthen governance and support ongoing counterterrorism efforts in Libya and other countries where ISIL has sought to establish a presence, according to a White House account of the meeting.Republicans, with one eye on Novembers US presidential election, have pilloried Obama and one-time secretary of state Hillary Clinton for not doing more to prevent Islamic States rise.Congress has been calling for a real strategy from the president to defeat ISIS, said a spokesman for House Speaker Paul Ryan.Well see whether this is just more talk or if it will be backed up with the will and the resources necessary for victory.Further steps -- including ground operations -- are likely to depend on Libyans ability to form a Government of National Accord, which the UN is still trying to bring together.There needs to be a political solution to get a military solution, said another defense official, echoing comments from diplomats.We hope that there is the beginning of a political solution so that there is a legitimate government that can invite us to go after ISIL.Washington is also looking to European nations -- facing a more acute threat from the collapse of a country a short distance across the Mediterranean -- to play a leading role, including former Libyan colonial power Italy.Obama will host the Italian head of state, President Sergio Mattarella, at the White House on February 8.France and Britain are also slated as possible contributors.Secretary of State John Kerry is expected to meet his European counterparts in Rome on February 2.The idea is to have a coalition of nations, a defense official said.Some security experts say the deteriorating situation on the ground may leave the administration few options but to launch a ground campaign, even if the long-term path is unclear.The unfortunate reality is that this is a bad option, but its the only one, said Patrick Skinner, a former CIA case officer now with The Soufan Group, a consultancy.IS-linked terror attacks from Turkey to Indonesia have sharpened concerns about the groups reach and potency, even as it suffers losses in Mesopotamia.They cannot let the Islamic State run Libya, they just cant.They are holding really key spots. You cant let the Islamic State have a port, thats insane.According to Karim Mezran, a Libya expert at the Atlantic Council, any government in Libya is unlikely to survive without foreign support and would have to invite in foreign troops in.Without an international force of support there is no way the new government can ever get into Tripoli, he said.

Obama, Rousseff share Zika concerns Posted: WASHINGTON (AFP) - Brazil and the United States agreed Friday to launch a high-level bilateral group to develop a vaccine against the Zika virus that has spread rapidly across the Americas and been linked to microcephaly.President Dilma Rousseff and her US counterpart Barack Obama discussed their shared concerns about the virus progress, the White House said.The leaders agreed on the importance of collaborative efforts to deepen our knowledge, advance research and accelerate work to develop better vaccines and other technologies to control the virus.It said the pair also agreed to continue to prioritize building national, regional and global capacity to combat infectious disease threats more broadly.Rousseffs office said the bilateral group would develop a partnership in the production of vaccines and therapeutics.It will be based on an existing cooperation agreement between Brazils Butantan Institute of biomedical research and the US National Institutes of Health to develop a vaccine against dengue.No matter how fast they are able to act, scientists have warned that it could take years for a Zika virus to become commercially available.The tropical virus is blamed for causing brain damage in babies as it sweeps through Latin America, and Rousseff, whose government is deploying 220,000 soldiers to help eradicate the mosquitoes that transmit it, has likened the outbreak to a battle.Since Zika, which originated in Africa, was detected in Latin America last year, there has been a surge in babies born with microcephaly, or abnormally small heads.Brazil, the hardest hit, sounded the alarm in October, when a rash of microcephaly cases emerged in the northeast.Since then, there have been 270 confirmed cases of microcephaly and 3,448 suspected cases, up from 147 in 2014.The otherwise mild Zika virus is also suspected of causing a rare neurological disorder called Guillain-Barre syndrome in some patients, in which the immune system attacks the nervous system, causing weakness and sometimes paralysis.Most patients recover, but the syndrome is sometimes deadly.

Facebook aims to block private gun sales Posted: SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - Facebook on Friday set out to block people from using the leading social network and its Instagram photo-sharing service for private gun sales.Although Facebook doesnt participate in outright gun sales, it has been a forum for negotiations, and it intends to put an end to that.The California-based social network on Friday updated its policy for managing regulated goods to prohibit people who arent gun dealers from using Facebook to offer guns for sale or negotiate private sales of firearms.Over the last two years, more and more people have been using Facebook to discover products and to buy and sell things to one another, Facebook head of product policy Monika Bickert said in an email response to AFP.The policy change will not affect licensed gun dealers who tout their wares on the social network, which is used by 1.59 billion people monthly.Facebook has similar restrictions on regulated goods such as prescription and illegal drugs.Facebook and Instagram in 2014 restricted posts about buying or selling guns to users 18 years of age or older.The social network has been under political pressure in the United States to prevent posts that could result in people sidestepping gun-buying laws or background checks.

Gujrat: Unidentified suspects open fire on private college Posted: GUJRAT (Dunya News) – Unidentified suspects in a car late Friday night opened fire on a private educational institution named Concordia College. The onslaught shattered windows of the campus building. Armed suspects fled the scene after the crime.Upon notification, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) City Mustafa Gillani and Station House Officer (SHO) Sajjad Zaidi reached the crime scene with a heavy contingent of police.According to SHO Zaidi, 6 fires were shot at the building which shattered a glass door.A CCTV footage of the incident has also been received.

KP govt decides on expelling illegal Afghan residents from Province Posted: PESHAWAR (Dunya News) – Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government on Friday has decided on expelling illegal Afghan residents from the province. The decision comes in light of the attacks on Army Public School (APS) last year and on Bacha Khan University on January 20th, the onslaughts which hundreds martyred.The government of KP has demanded from the Federal government that Afghan immigrants be sent back or be limited to the camps while illegal Afghan residents will be expelled from the province. Parliamentary Secretary Shaukat Yousafzai has stated that the Federal government is creating hurdles in expelling the Afghan immigrants.According to official statistics, there are approximately 15 lac Afghan residents in KP province out which 10 lac are registered while 5 lac are living illegally.The Provincial government has taken a stance that the various acts of terrorism in the province more or less have some links to Afghanistan and has stated that the Federal government should take quick measures to send the Afghan refugees back.Police, acting on the government’s advice, has also started a crackdown against illegal Afghan residents in various areas of KP; however thousands of refugees still manage to enter the country through a border that spans hundreds of kilometers.These refugees and illegal Afghan’s, residing in KP since years now are becoming a burden on the province’s economy.According to a Interior Department’s report, Pakistan has 42 Afghan refugee camps in total out which 29 are situated in various districts of KP. 220 Afghan criminals are in the province’s jails carrying out their sentence.

Citizens to bear brunt of PIAs privatization postponement Posted: ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Citizens will have to bear the brunt of Pakistan International Airlines’ (PIA) privatization postponement as government bowed down to the protest of PIA employs on Friday. A further loss of Rs. 21 billion is expected elevating the total deficit to Rs 3.5 trillion.The national airline is facing a loss of Rs 110 million each day which amounts to monthly Rs 3.5 billion.According to a report submitted to the Public Accounts Committee, the national airline suffering from the deficit is able to manage its operational costs, however payments of loans and interests is impossible.PIA suffered losses of more than Rs. 159.65 billion in the past 5 years. In 2011 it suffered a loss of 28 billion, in 2012 the losses stood at Rs. 29.77 billion, in 2013 at Rs. 44.71 billion, in 2014 at Rs. 29.31 billion while in 2015 the losses were at Rs. 27.83 billion.According to the documents, the number of employed PIA personnel stands at 14,847 which are working for 38 airplanes. 390 employees perform their duties per plane of PIA.

Karachi: Police demolish numerous lairs of gangwar groups Posted: KARACHI (Dunya News) – Police late Friday night demolished various lairs of gangwar groups in numerous areas of the city including Lyari Chakiwara and Baghdadi.Police obliterated the hideouts of gangwar groups Asif Mitthal and Shehzad Comrade.In a separate incident, police conducted action in Shah Faisal Colony Block 4 area and arrested 4 gamblers.A crackdown against crime has been intensified by police and Rangers in Karachi and other parts of Sindh leading to several arrests and extermination of numerous criminal elements.

Quetta: Shots fired at security forces convoy, 2 terrorists killed Posted: QUETTA (Dunya News) – Shots were fired late night Friday at a security forces convoy in Quetta’s area of Mastung in an attack by terrorists of an outlawed organization. The forces responded with a befitting reply, killing two terrorists while 2 managed to escape.According to the details, terrorists opened fire at a security forces convoy on routine patrol. The law enforcement agency managed to exterminate 2 of the terrorists in retaliatory fire.The firing exchange between the officers and the terrorists lasted for an hour before the threat was subdued.A hunt is underway for the arrest of 2 of the escaped suspects.

Dunya News obtains CCTV footage of Bacha Khan University attack Posted: CHARSADDA (Dunya News) – Dunya News on Friday has obtained the CCTV footage of attack on Bacha Khan University by terrorists on 20th of January which left 23 martyred and more than 25 injured.The 21-second footage shows that all terrorists were dressed in shalwar kameez. None of the suspects had covered their face.The video also shows that the four terrorists entered the University by climbing over the rear wall of the campus. All four perpetrators then proceeded with their terrorist activity in the form of a group.According to the CCTV footage, the felons started shooting in hostel, canteen and guest house. Panic spread after the firing and students can be seen running towards safe points, whereas some of the students and staff can be seen setting a ladder against a wall, trying to escape.

Opposition absent as Syria 'peace talks' start Posted: GENEVA: (AFP) – A UN-led push to chart a way out of Syrias tangled civil war got off to a shaky start Friday, with only representatives of Bashar al-Assads regime attending the first day of supposed peace talks in Switzerland.The main umbrella body representing the myriad opposition and rebel groups in the five-year-old conflict were refusing to take part at the start of what are meant to be six months of intra-Syrian negotiations in Geneva.A member of this group, the High Negotiations Committee (HNC), told AFP however that a small, low-level team of three spokesmen were en route for Geneva where they might meet with UN envoy Staffan de Mistura.The media delegation... might meet with de Mistura, with the Americans, but the programme is not clear yet, Fuad Aliko said. But not as negotiators.Neither de Mistura nor Syrias UN ambassador Bashar al-Jaafari commented to reporters as they began discussions inside Genevas Palais des Nations, the European UN headquarters.The talks, backed by all the external powers embroiled in the war, are the biggest push yet to end a conflict that has killed more than 260,000 people and facilitated the meteoric rise of the extremist Islamic State (IS) group.The highly complex conflict, which has been raging for almost five years, has also destabilised the already restive Middle East and drawn in not only regional powers like Saudi Arabia, Iran and Turkey but also the United States and Russia.It has also forced millions of Syrians from their homes, many of them into neighbouring states and further afield, causing a major political headache for the European Union which received more than one million migrants in 2015.De Mistura issued an emotional video message on Thursday to Syrians both inside and outside the country saying that after previous failures, this new effort cannot fail.Historic opportunityThe Geneva negotiations, if they happen properly, would not be face-to-face between the regime and its opponents. Instead they are proximity talks where go-betweens shuttle between the different participants.They are part of an ambitious plan launched in Vienna in November by a raft of key actors including Russia, the United States, Gulf states, Iran and Turkey that foresees elections within 18 months.Despite Western pressure, the HNC umbrella group has been refusing to show up in Switzerland before an agreement is reached on aid reaching hundreds of thousands of people stuck in besieged towns.The US State Department said Thursday these demands were legitimate but called on the opposition to take part in what it called an historic opportunity.And we still believe they should do so without preconditions, spokesman Mark Toner said. We believe these demands, while legitimate, shouldnt keep the talks from moving forward.The HNC, which engaged in a fourth day of talks in Riyadh on whether to attend, has also asked for clarifications after the UN issued invitations to other opposition figures.De Mistura reportedly issued individual invitations to a list of figures opposed to the regime but who are thought to have closer ties to Moscow and have limited influence on the ground.Randa Kassis, a member of that list, told AFP in Geneva on Friday that despite the uncertainty on who would attend, something has to start. We have to think of the Syrian people.The HNC and its Saudi and Turkish backers have also objected to the participation of Syrian Kurdish groups that have made key advances against IS in northern Syria in recent months.Russia, however, which has helped the regime of President Assad make inroads against rebels with air strikes since September, says Kurdish involvement is essential.Inflexible AssadFrance-based Middle East analyst Agnes Levallois said the opposition was growing increasingly frustrated that the question of Assads fate, a key stumbling block in previous talks, was being put off.Assad is feeling stronger and stronger so is being inflexible, she said.Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, whose country also backs Assad and is at daggers drawn with regional rival Saudi Arabia, said during a visit to Paris on Thursday that the process would take time.We hope that these talks will succeed as soon as possible. But I would be surprised if they succeed very quickly because in Syria there are groups who are at war with the central government and also amongst themselves, French media quoted him as saying.There is interference in the internal affairs of Syria, he added.

Chicago cop to sue family of black teen he killed Posted: CHICAGO (AFP) - A Chicago police officer plans to sue the family of a black teenager he shot and killed, claiming emotional distress, US media reported Friday.The teens neighbor -- a mother of five -- was caught in the crossfire after answering the door and was also killed by police in the December 26 incident.The shooting came as the US city was reeling from a series of incidents in which police were accused of being too ready to pull the trigger on their service weapons.City officials apologized for the death of Bettie Davis, 55, but have said Quintonio LeGriers shooting was justified.The family of LeGrier, 19, has repeatedly said there was no reason why police should have opened fire when responding to a domestic disturbance at their home.Police said LeGrier was brandishing a baseball bat and threatened the responding officer.His family insists there was no need to respond to the mentally disturbed teen with deadly force when all they were doing was asking for help.Officer Robert Rialmo plans to file a civil suit against LeGriers estate, citing emotional distress and assault, his lawyer Joe Brodsky told WGN-TV.Brodsky did not immediately return a request for comment.Police tactics and racism have been the subject of a national debate since protests erupted in Ferguson, Missouri, in mid-2014 over the shooting death of a black teenager, 18-year-old Michael Brown.The US Justice Department is investigating how Chicago police use force after the death of another black teenager, Laquan McDonald, who was shot 16 times as he was walking away from officers.

Mother who took toddler to Raqqa convicted by UK court Posted: LONDON: (AFP) - A mother who took her toddler to Syria and joined the Islamic State (IS) group is thought to have become Friday the first British woman to be convicted after returning home.Tareena Shakil, 26, was found guilty of IS membership and encouraging terrorism in posts on Twitter before leaving Britain.The court in Birmingham, central England, heard she was radicalised on the Internet and in October 2014 told her family she was going to Turkey for a beach holiday.Instead, she crossed the border into Syria and then went to IS stronghold Raqqa.I left to build us all a house in heaven, Allah promised us heaven if we sacrifice our worldly life, she wrote in a message to a relative. Im not coming back.In Raqqa, she was kept in a large house with other single women and posed with her son for a selfie while wearing a black balaclava branded with the IS symbol.Other pictures found on her phone showed her posing with an AK-47 assault rifle and a hand gun.However, Shakil found life under IS rules too strict.In January 2015, after repeatedly looking up I want to leave ISIS on the Internet, she and her son travelled by road to the Turkish border.They ran one kilometre to escape into Turkey, dodging a three-man IS patrol before handing themselves into the Turkish military, she told the court.She was arrested when police boarded her flight home at Londons Heathrow Airport last February.During her trial, Shakil claimed she only travelled to Syria because she wanted to live under Sharia law.She will be sentenced on Monday.

Four miners rescued in China after 36 days trapped underground Posted: HONG KONG (AFP) - Four miners who had been trapped underground for 36 days in a collapsed Chinese gypsum mine have been rescued, state media reported Friday.The operation to save the men trapped more than 200 metres underground took two hours as they were hauled up to the surface one by one in a narrow capsule, according to state broadcaster CCTV.Dramatic footage released by CCTV showed rescue crews applauding as the men were brought above ground in Shandong province, eastern China.The men were shown being wrapped in military blankets, blindfolded to protect their eyes, and put into ambulances.They had suffered no major injuries and would soon be able to return home, Xinhua quoted Cao Qingde, deputy head of the local hospital where they are being treated, as saying.The four were among 29 trapped when the mine collapsed on December 25. Of the 29 miners, 11 were rescued the following day and one was pronounced dead while 13 remained unaccounted for following the rescue, CCTV said.Rescuers first detected signs of life on December 30.The four were named by CCTV as Hao Zhicheng, aged 50, Li Qiusheng, aged 39, Guan Qingji, aged 58, and Hua Mingxi, aged 36.Rescuers managed to contact the miners on January 8, the broadcaster reported, and sent down food, clothes and lamps through a tunnel.However, complicated geological conditions made the rescue difficult with crews having to face structural instability of the tunnel and falling rocks.The incident was the latest deadly accident in a country where safety rules are often flouted to cut costs.The mine owner committed suicide by drowning himself at the scene soon after the collapse, Xinhua reported previously.The cause of the collapse is under investigation, but industrial safety regulations are often flouted in China and corruption enables bosses to pursue profits at the cost of worker safety.Four officials in Pingyi, where the mine is located, including the countys party chief and head of government, were removed from their posts in the wake of the accident.The gypsum pit and other mines in its vicinity were ordered to stop production in October by local authorities because of a risk of sinkholes, but it kept operating secretly, the Beijing Times reported earlier.Accidents linked to lax industrial safety enforcement have seen hundreds of people killed in China this year, including this months landslide in the southern commercial hub of Shenzhen and chemical blasts in the industrial city of Tianjin in August.China is the worlds largest coal producer and official data showed colliery accidents killed 931 people last year.The government says the number of fatalities is declining, but some rights groups argue the actual figures are significantly higher due to under-reporting.

Football: Torres out of Barca trip, Atletico future in doubt Posted: MADRID: (AFP) - Atletico Madrid striker Fernando Torres will miss his sides top of the table clash with Barcelona on Saturday due to an ankle injury and faces an uncertain future at his boyhood club.Torress loan deal from AC Milan expires at the end of the season, but Atletico have been hit with a one-year ban on registering new players from February by FIFA.The club would therefore need to hope their appeal against the ban is successful or sign Torres on a permanent deal before Mondays transfer deadline to secure his long-term future at the club.The former Liverpool and Chelsea striker returned to a heros welcome at the Vicente Calderon last January, seven-and-a-half years after he left for England.However, his decline in performance in recent years has continued, scoring just eight times in 50 games since his return, including none in his last 19 appearances.As a result, Atletico coach Diego Simeone has insisted that Torres will have to earn a longer term deal between now and the end of the season, but the 31-year-old is still loved by the Atletico fans who remember his better days when he captained the club whilst still a teenager.Indeed, despite being sidelined by injury, his name was chanted in Atleticos 3-2 Copa del Rey defeat by Celta Vigo on Wednesday.There is no division between Simeone and Torres for Atletico fans. They love us both unconditionally, Simeone said on Friday.The fans want Atletico to win. They havent stopped loving (deceased former player and coach) Luis Aragones who is no longer there, or Kiko, who has retired. Idols like Torres will be loved forever.Of more pressing concern for Simeone is how to end Barcelonas 25-match unbeaten run and regain top spot of La Liga at the Camp Nou.Atletico and Barca are locked on 48 points at the top of the table, but Barca have a game in hand.Simeones men boast the best defence in Europe - having conceded only eight goals in 21 league games this season - but even Atletico have been unable to stop Barcas star front three of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez.The South American trio has combined for nine goals in Barcas five consecutive wins over Atletico since Suarez joined last season.Barca are the best team in the world and these three guys have a special partnership that is difficult to see, added Simeone.“There is normally always jealousy and egos, but there it is the total opposite.The arrival of Suarez has strengthened the whole system and the marvellous thing about those three is that there is no envy. There are healthy, happy people and for those of us who love football that is marvellous.

'Many months' before start of battle for Mosul: coalition Posted: WASHINGTON (AFP) - An assault to retake the Iraqi city of Mosul from the Islamic State group wont start for many months, a spokesman for the US-led coalition fighting the jihadists said Friday.Iraqs second largest city fell to IS fighters in June 2014 as they overran vast regions in northern and north-central Iraq, as well as in Syria.Iraqi security forces who were supposed to secure the city collapsed in the face of the extremists advance.It is going to be many months before we see actual operations for Mosul begin, Colonel Steve Warren, a Baghdad-based spokesman for the coalition told reporters.Right now, our focus is lets start training some brigades, lets start building some combat power, lets continue to train some police, he said via videoconference from Baghdad.When the offensive can be launched will depend on the speed of the training effort, he added.US officials -- who have been pushing Iraq to launch an assault on Mosul following recent successes including the recapture of the city of Ramadi -- have repeatedly highlighted the need to increase the number of Western military trainers in Iraq.The question is expected to be taken up during a February 11 Brussels meeting of coalition defense ministers.Warren said the coalition currently envisioned launching roughly 10 brigades for the Mosul assault, with each one representing about 2,000 to 3,000 soldiers.These are all to be trained, Warren said of the soldiers.Some of the brigades have already been trained by the coalition but we want to give them additional training, he added.The United States has deployed some 3,500 soldiers in Iraq, with the mission to train and advise local troops.Mosul, in northern Iraq, lies some 50 miles (80 kilometers) west of the Kurdish capital, Arbil.The city holds special significance for the IS group, as it was where IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi proclaimed his caliphate straddling Iraq and Syria.US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter recently said that the main objective of the anti-IS coalition was to destroy its power centers in Syria and Iraq -- Raqa and Mosul.

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