Dunya TV

Extra-judicial laws will not be accepted: CJP
Quetta: 8 miners abducted from Machh
4 NATO containers cross Torkham border
Karachi: PPP, MQM core committee meets at CM House
Bomb threat closes Canada, US trade link
At least 95 killed in Nigeria tanker truck fire
Russia threatens to veto tough UN Syria resolution
US piles more sanctions on Iran
Oil price falls on concerns about global economy
Fears about global economy push euro to 2-year low
S African scientists find most complete pre-human skeleton
Quadruple amputee swims from Spain to Morocco
Rolland wins 11th stage of Tour de France
Hewitt advances to Hall of Fame semifinals
Blatter defends his role in FIFA kickbacks scandal

Extra-judicial laws will not be accepted: CJP

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Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry on Thursday said that the judiciary would not allow any unconstitutional step against Parliament. Addressing to Balochistan High Court Bar, CJP Iftikhar said that the judiciary would be first to stand up against any unconstitutional step in the country. “We will oppose any unconstitutional act in the country just like November 3, 2007,” he said. He further said that it was in the code of conduct of the judges that they would not support any unconstitutional act. Addressing the Balochistan issue, the CJP said that the province is going through a difficult phase and violation of Human right is at its peak in the province. The CJP Iftikhar said that law and order situation in KPK and Balochistan has affected the situation in Punjab. Army personnel were killed in Gujrat and Police officials from KPK were targetted in the main city of Punjab, Lahore, he added. The chief justice said that the the judiciary is overburdened as executive has failed to to overcome on many issues. He further said that the police forces in the country are so demoralized that they are not able to fight against the terrorism.

Quetta: 8 miners abducted from Machh

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According to details, the abducted miners were from Swat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and were working for two mining companies in Machh. On Thursday, they were present at their residence after duty when some armed persons attacked and kidnapped eight miners. Earlier, six miners and a doctor (also from Swat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) were kidnapped from Marwar area, 8okm away from Quetta, and later killed. Their dead bodies were recovered from Digari area.

4 NATO containers cross Torkham border

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Four NATO containers were handed over to political administration at Jamrood after clearance during thorough checking by security forces. The container trucks crossed Torkham border into Afghanistan under security provided by local administration. Transporters looked very happy on the resumption of NATO supply.

Karachi: PPP, MQM core committee meets at CM House

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The Core Committee of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Thursday discussed in detail draft Sindh Local Government bill 2012 and exchanged views on its various clauses at the Chief Minister House. The MQM was represented by Dr Farooq Sattar, Kanwar Jameel and Syed Sardar Ahmed while the PPP was represented by Agha Siraj Durrani, Ayaz Soomro and Syed Murad Ali Shah. Both the sides presented various recommendations. The meeting witnessed progress towards the resolution of the issue. Later, it was decided that the next meeting of the committee will be held at the Chief Minister House on July 14 (Saturday).

Bomb threat closes Canada, US trade link

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The Detroit to Windsor Tunnel, a major road trade link between Canada and the United States, was closed on Thursday by police investigating an anonymous bomb threat. "Detroit-Windsor Tunnel is currently closed to traffic after a non-specific, anonymous bomb threat was received. Find alternate routes," the police service in Windsor, Ontario announced on Twitter. The 1.5-kilometre (0.9-mile) long tunnel that connects downtown Windsor with downtown Detroit has been evacuated and is closed in both directions, according to public broadcaster the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Traffic -- normally up to 2,000 cars an hour -- has been re-routed over a nearby bridge, CBC said. Carolyn Brown, vice president of the tunnel operating firm, told CBC that a bomb threat was called into a duty free shop at the Canadian entrance of the tunnel and police are now doing a visual sweep of the roadway. Canadian media noted police appeared to have focused their investigation on a phone booth across the street from the duty free shop, and boat traffic on the Detroit River has also been halted.

At least 95 killed in Nigeria tanker truck fire

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A tanker truck caught fire and exploded in Nigeria on Thursday shortly after breaking down, killing at least 95 people who then rushed to the scene to scoop fuel, an official said. At least 50 others were injured in the incident in the oil-rich southern Niger Delta region, said Rivers State spokeswoman Ibim Semenitari. Despite decades as an oil producing region, the majority of those living in the Delta remain desperately poor and mostly without access to proper medical care, education or work. Anger over the situation on several occasions has driven young people to attack foreign oil firms based there and steal fuel from pipelines. Yushau Shuaib, a spokesman for the West African country s emergency management agency, said the 95 people were killed in the explosion as they ran to the truck to take fuel. The truck accident took place near Okogbe town in the Niger Delta a region of swamps, mangroves and creeks roughly the same size as South Carolina. The cause was not immediately known, although fatal crashes are common in Nigeria where decades-old roads are normally pitted with potholes and drivers frequently fail to observe traffic laws. Moreover, corruption often hinders or slows down road maintenance projects. Environmental activist Nnimmo Bassey, however, was quick to blame the truck s accident on country s notoriously bad roads. "This tells a tragic story about the state of national infrastructure and the poverty of the people," said Bassey.

Russia threatens to veto tough UN Syria resolution

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Russia said on Thursday it would veto a Western-backed UN Security Council draft resolution threatening sanctions on Syria if it comes to a vote, as 16 months of violence claimed another 45 lives. "If they decide this (a vote on Thursday), knowing that for us the text is unacceptable, then we will not allow it to pass," Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov told the Interfax news agency. But Gatilov said he did not expect a vote so soon, as "the process of consultations is only just starting and should take some time." "As a whole, their resolution is unbalanced and foresees that obligations should only be fulfilled by the Syrian government. Practically nothing is said about the obligations of the opposition," he said. Britain, France, Germany and the United States have submitted a draft text that would give President Bashar al-Assad 10 days to implement UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan s ceasefire plan or face tough new sanctions. If the Security Council were to approve it, the resolution would allow for non-military sanctions under Chapter VII of the UN Charter if Syrian government forces keep up their offensive on cities. Negotiations on the draft and a rival Russian resolution, which does not mention sanctions, started in New York on Thursday. A vote must be held before July 20, when the mandate of the UN observer mission in Syria ends. Gatilov objected to the draft linking an extension of that mandate, which Russia supports, with the introduction of sanctions if Damascus does not fulfil certain conditions. Meanwhile, the White House said the defection on Wednesday of a senior Syrian diplomat is a sign that Assad s regime is weakening. "I can confirm that the Syrian ambassador to Iraq defected," said spokesman Jay Carney, branding Nawaf Fares  decision to join the revolt "another sign of the desperation that is enveloping the Assad regime." Fares announced that he was joining a small but growing list of officials who have defected as the regime battles a near 16-month-old uprising. "I call on all free and worthy people in Syria, particularly in the military, to immediately rejoin the ranks of the revolution," Fares said in a message aired on Al-Jazeera television. He has since taken refuge in Qatar, Iraq has said. Meanwhile, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said a top officer who defected last week, General Manaf Tlass, has been in contact with Syria s opposition.

US piles more sanctions on Iran

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The Obama administration is hitting Iran with more sanctions designed to hinder the country s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. The Treasury Department announced new financial sanctions Thursday. They have been imposed on 11 companies affiliated with the Iranian defense ministry, Revolutionary Guard Corps and national shipping line as well as a university, all for actions they took to support the programmes. Treasury is also slapping penalties on four men, including an Austrian national and three Iranians, for similar activity. Several of the firms are subject to existing U.S. and European sanctions. Treasury has also identified several front companies operating on behalf of the sanctioned entities, including energy firms based in Hong Kong, Switzerland and Malaysia.

Oil price falls on concerns about global economy

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The price of oil has been on a bumpy ride, changing direction almost every day this month as the economy sputters along. Investors and analysts say it s hard to tell where prices are headed. China and other emerging economies appear to need more oil. Yet those increases are offset by weaker demand in the U.S. the world s biggest oil consumer where the job market has stagnated, and in Europe, which continues to wrestle with massive government debts. The latest batch of data continued to deliver mixed views of the global economy. Reports out of Europe on Thursday said borrowing costs rose in Spain and unemployment rose in Greece, stoking concerns about the region s financial crisis. Meanwhile, the U.S. Labor Department said the number of people filing for unemployment benefits plunged last week. Economists said they thought the drop will be temporary. The International Energy Agency said global oil demand should rise this year, but the increase will be less than what it predicted a month ago. Benchmark U.S. crude fell by 81 cents to $85 per barrel in New York, while Brent crude lost 33 cents to $99.90 per barrel in London. Natural gas futures dropped nearly 2 percent after the government said U.S. supplies grew more than expected last week. The Energy Information Administration said the nation s supply is nearly 20 percent higher than the five-year average. In other futures trading, heating oil lost 2 cents to $2.74 per gallon, while wholesale gasoline added nearly a penny to $2.77 per gallon.

Fears about global economy push euro to 2-year low

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The euro has fallen 4 percent against the dollar this month due to Europe s spreading financial crisis and worries of an economic slowdown in China. Traders will see how China s economy is doing Friday when the country releases its second-quarter gross domestic growth figures. Economists expect growth to have fallen to 7.3 percent, down from the previous quarter s 8.1 percent. A slowdown hurts other country s economies that were expecting China to increase demand for exports and keep the global economy growing. The euro fell to $1.2195 late Thursday from $1.2226 late Wednesday. Earlier, the euro fell as low as $1.2165, its lowest point against the dollar since July 1, 2010. The dollar also got a boost against the euro a day after the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve s June meeting. The minutes, released Wednesday, suggested that another round of bond purchases by the Fed was not imminent. Those purchases would have pushed interest rates lower, weakening the dollar. The British pound fell to $1.5428 from $1.5494. The dollar rose to 0.9846 Swiss franc from 0.9822 Swiss franc. The dollar fell to 79.31 Japanese yen from 79.65 Japanese yen and to 1.0186 Canadian dollar from 1.0213 Canadian dollar.

S African scientists find most complete pre-human skeleton

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South African scientists said Thursday they had uncovered the most complete skeleton yet of an ancient relative of man, hidden in a rock excavated from an archaeological site three years ago. The remains of a juvenile hominid skeleton, of the Australopithecus (southern ape) sediba species, constitute the "most complete early human ancestor skeleton ever discovered," according to University of Witwatersrand palaeontologist Lee Berger. "We have discovered parts of a jaw and critical aspects of the body including what appear to be a complete femur (thigh bone), ribs, vertebrae and other important limb elements, some never before seen in such completeness in the human fossil record," said Berger, a lead professor in the finding. The latest discovery of what is thought to be around two million years old, was made in a one-metre (three-foot) wide rock that lay unnoticed for years in a laboratory until a technician noticed a tooth sticking out of the black stone last month. The technician, Justin Mukanka, said: "I was lifting the block up, I just realized that there is a tooth." It was then scanned to reveal significant parts of an A. sediba skeleton, dubbed Karabo, whose other other parts were first discovered in 2009.  Parts of three other skeletons were discovered in 2008 in the world-famous Cradle of Humankind site north of Johannesburg.  It is not certain whether the species, which had long arms, a small brain and a thumb possibly used for precision gripping, was a direct ancestor of humans  genus, Homo, or simply a close relative. "It appears that we now have some of the most critical and complete remains of the skeleton," said Berger. Other team members were equally enthusiastic. "It s like putting together the pieces of a puzzle," university laboratory manager Bonita De Klerk said. The skeleton of what has been dubbed Karabo and is thought to date back to around two million years old, would have been aged between nine and 13 years when the upright-walking tree climber died. Remains of four A. sediba skeletons have been discovered in South Africa s Malapa cave, 50 kilometres (30 miles) north of Johannesburg, since 2008. The individuals are believed to have fallen into a pit in the cave and died. The sediba fossils are arguably the most complete remains of any hominids found and are possibly one of the most significant palaeoanthropological discoveries in recent time. The Cradle of Humankind, now a World Heritage Site, is the oldest continuous palaeontological dig in the world. The university also announced it would open up the process of exploring and uncovering fossil remains to the public and stream it online in real time. A special laboratory studio will be built at the Cradle of Humankind. "The public will be able to participate fully in live science and future discoveries as they occur in real time -- an unprecedented moment in palaeoanthropology," said Berger. The lab and the virtual infrastructure are expected to be built within a year, according to Qedani Mahlangu, a regional minister of economic development. The university is in talks with Shanghai Science and Technology Museum in China, Britain s Natural History Museum and the Smithsonian in the United States to set up virtual outposts for the live science project.

Quadruple amputee swims from Spain to Morocco

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A quadruple amputee successfully swam across the Straits of Gibraltar to Morocco Thursday as part of an effort to swim between all the world s continents. Philippe Croizon, who lost his arms and legs in an electrical accident, has already swum the English Channel as well as between Indonesia and Papua-New Guinea, and between Asia and Africa in the Gulf of Aqaba. Croizon, a French citizen, swims with the aid of prosthetic flippers attached to his leg stumps and a snorkel to breathe through. He made the nine-mile (14-kilometre) crossing from Tarifa, Spain, in just over five hours with a friend, Arnaud Chassery. Croizon said upon his arrival near the city of Tangiers that he is trying to link the continents of the world with his swimming to show "we are all together on the same planet." "We have proven that an able-bodied person and a handicapped person can link the five continents together by swimming. We ve proven that we are all the same, that there are no differences, whatever the politics, the skin color, the religion or the handicap," Croizon said. The swimmer s arms and legs were amputated after he suffered an electric shock in 1994 as he stood on a ladder adjusting his television antenna, which touched a power line. Croizon was greeted by friends and well-wishers, as well as his mother Monique Croizon, and they celebrated by waving French and Moroccan flags on the picturesque beach. "The crossing was quite difficult. We had to swim more than I m used to. I m used to long distances but that was a really long distance.  There were strong currents," he said. "My back was hurting for a while, but I really wanted this and we ve completed the third of our swims." Croizon plans a swim across a section of the Bering Straits, which although a shorter distance, is made harder by the near freezing water temperature. He hopes to make that crossing next month, depending on the weather and sea conditions. He added that after crossing the Bering Straits, he will be received by President Barack Obama.

Rolland wins 11th stage of Tour de France

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Frenchman Pierre Rolland claimed an epic 11th stage victory on the Tour de France Thursday as race leader Bradley Wiggins of Britain took another step towards overall victory. Rolland soloed over the finish line after an epic day of racing to claim his second victory in the race a year after his maiden win at Alpe d Huez and hand Europcar their second win in as many days. The yellow jersey group of Wiggins came over the finish line of the 148 km stage from Albertville 59sec later. It included Italian contender Vincenzo Nibali and Belgian Jurgen van den Broeck. Wiggins came under attack several times on the final 18km climb to La Toussuire -- notably by Nibali and Van den Broeck. However thanks to the help of Sky teammate Chris Froome the Englishman was ultimately able to reel them in and then drop defending champion Cadel Evans of Australia. Evans, the 2011 champion, ran out of steam in the final kilometres of the climb to finish over a minute behind Wiggins and see his bid for a successful defence severely compromised. Rolland s victory comes a day after teammate Thomas Voeckler claimed his first stage win this year at Bellegarde-Sur-Valserine.

Hewitt advances to Hall of Fame semifinals

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Lleyton Hewitt of Australia defeated Dudi Sela of Israel 6-4, 6-3 to advance to the semifinals at the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships on Thursday. It marked his second straight-sets victory in three matches on Newport s grass courts. The 31-year old Hewitt, the No. 1 player for 75 consecutive weeks from 2001-03, has undergone five surgeries in the past four years and entered the week ranked at a career-low of 233 on the ATP Tour. Wild card Ryan Harrison beat fellow American Jesse Levine 6-3, 6-4 to advance to the quarterfinals. Germany s Benjamin Becker also moved to the quarters, ousting Canadian and No. 3 seed Milos Raonic 6-3, 6-3.

Blatter defends his role in FIFA kickbacks scandal

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FIFA President Sepp Blatter has defended his role in a World Cup kickbacks scandal, in which former boss Joao Havelange took millions of dollars in payments from marketing deals. FIFA published a Swiss prosecutor s report on Wednesday confirming Havelange s role in the scandal. Blatter was FIFA s top administrator for 17 years during Havelange s FIFA presidency. Asked if he knew that Havelange took kickbacks from disgraced marketing agency ISL, Blatter says "commission" payments were legal in the 1990s. Blatter says "I can t have known about an offense that wasn t even one." Blatter says only FIFA s Congress can remove the 96-year-old Havelange as FIFA honorary president. Blatter says "I don t have the power to call him to account."