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International ( English News ) |
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( Urdu News ) بین الاقوامی خبریں
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More than 300 dead as big freeze grips Europe
KIEV: Temperatures have plunged to new lows in Europe where a week-long cold snap has now claimed more than 300 lives as forecasters warned that the big freeze would tighten its grip over the weekend.
A total of 300 people have died from the cold weather in the last seven days according to an AFP tally, with Ukraine suffering the heaviest toll.
People have been found dead on the streets in some countries, while thousands have been trapped in mountain villages in Serbia. In Italy, Venice's canals started freezing over and even Rome was dusted in snow.
The lowest temperatures recorded in Europe were in the southwest of the Czech Republic, where the mercury dropped as low as minus 38.1 degrees Celsius (minus 36.5 Fahrenheit) overnight Thursday.
The EU executive said Friday that vital Russian gas deliveries had dropped in nine countries, with Russian giant Gazprom invoking flexibility clauses as it also braves a cold snap. Supplies fell 30 percent in Austria and 24 percent in Italy.
Ukraine's emergencies ministry raised its death toll to 101 since the cold snap took hold, 64 of whom died on the streets.
Almost 1,600 people have sought medical attention for frostbite and hypothermia and thousands have flocked to temporary shelters. (AFP)
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يورپ ميں شديد سردي سے ہلاکتوں کي تعداد300سے تجاوزکرگئي
جنيوا… يورپ ميں شديد سردي کي لہر سے، ہلاکتيں 300 سے تجاوز کرگئيں، فن لينڈ ميں درجہ حرارت منفي 40 ڈگري سينٹي گريڈ تک گر گيا. يورپ ميں جاري شديد سردي اور برفباري کے سبب ہلاکتوں کي تعداد 306 تک پہنچ گئي ہے. سب سے زيادہ متاثر ہونے والے ملک يوکرائن ميں ٹھٹرکر ہلاک ہونے والوں کي تعداد 131ہو گئي ہے. جبکہ فن لينڈ ميں درجہ حرارت منفي 40 ڈگري سينٹي گريڈ تک ريکارڈ کيا گيا. شديد سردي کے باعث متاثرہ ملکوں ميں متعدد ايئرپورٹ بند کرديے گئے ہيں جبکہ ريلوے کا نظام بھي شديد متاثر ہے. ادھر لندن ميں شديد برفباري کے باعث دنيا کے مصروف ترين ہيتھرو ايئرپورٹ نے اتوار کے دنروز اپني کْل 1300 پروازوں ميں سے نصف سے زائد منسوخ کر ديں. شديد برفباري سے برطانيہ کے کئي علاقوں ميں موٹر وے بھي متاثر ہيں.
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Obama says US, Israel 'in lockstep' on Iran
WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama on Sunday sought to reassure Americans over the threat posed by Iran, saying the United States was working "in lockstep" with Israel to bring Tehran to heel over its suspect nuclear program.
Obama said the Islamic republic was "feeling the pinch" of ever tougher sanctions imposed by the international community, and dismissed concerns that Tehran could retaliate by striking US soil, saying such a strike was unlikely.
"I've been very clear -- we're going to do everything we can to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon and creating a nuclear arms race in a volatile region," Obama said in a live pre-Super Bowl interview with NBC.
"We have mobilized the international community, in a way that is unprecedented. They are feeling the pinch. They are feeling the pressure," he said.
"My number one priority continues to be the security of the United States. But also, the security of Israel. And we're going to make sure that we work in lockstep, as we proceed to try to solve this -- hopefully diplomatically."
When asked if he believed the Jewish state would launch a pre-emptive strike on Iran's nuclear installations, Obama replied: "I don't think Israel has made a decision."
Asked if Washington would be consulted first, he said he couldn't go into specifics but added that the two allies had "closer intelligence and military consultations" than ever before.
On whether Iran could possibly strike US targets in retaliation, Obama said: "We don't see any evidence they have those intentions or capabilities."
He added: "Again, our goal is to resolve this diplomatically. That would be preferable. We're not going to take options off the table, though."
The US president cautioned that "any kind of additional military activity inside the Gulf is disruptive. And has a big effect on us. It can affect oil prices."
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman was due in Washington on Monday, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit the United States in early March, though a meeting between Netanyahu and Obama was not yet confirmed.
Iran maintains that its nuclear program is for strictly peaceful purposes.
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اسرائيل نے ايران پر حملہ کرنے کا حتمي فيصلہ نہيں کيا،اوباما
واشنگٹن. . . .. . امريکا نے کہا ہے کہ اسرائيل نے ايران پر حملہ کرنے کا حتمي فيصلہ نہيں کيا، تاہم اس کي تشويش درست ہے.امريکي صدر بارک اوباما نے ايک انٹرويوديتے ہوئے کہا کہ امريکا کے پاس شواہد نہيں ہيں کہ ايران امريکا پرحملہ کرنے کي صلاحيت يا ارادہ رکھتا ہے. انہوں نے کہا کہ امريکا کي طرح اسرائيل بھي يہ توقع رکھتا ہے کہ ايران کو اپنے جوہري پروگرام کو ختم کرنا پڑے گا اور اس سلسلے ميں اسرائيل اورامريکا مل کر کام کريں گے.امريکي صدر نے کہا کہ ايران اس وقت دباو? کا شکار ہے.انہوں نے کہا کہ ہمارا مقصد معاملے کو سفارت طور پر حل کرنا ہے تاہم ايران کے جوہري پروگرام کو روکنے کے ليے کوئي بھي آپشن استعمال کيا جاسکتا ہے.انہوں نے کہا کہ ايران کو جوہري ہتھيارحاصل کرنے سے روکنے کے ليے تمام وسائل بروئے کار لائے جائيں گے.
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Judge wants Iraqiya MP's immunity lifted
BAGHDAD: A judge has called for parliament to lift the immunity of an MP with the Sunni-backed Iraqiya bloc, the deputy and a judicial spokesman said Sunday, at a time of crisis with Iraq's Shiite-led government.
Two other MPs who are opponents of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki also face arrest warrants and requests for their immunity to be lifted. Parliament is to vote on the three cases "soon", according to a parliamentary source.
"I received a request on Thursday to have my immunity lifted," MP Haidar al-Mullah, spokesman for the bloc, told AFP.
"I am accused of offending the judiciary and saying that the judicial system is politicised," Mullah said. "This is a new attack against Iraqiya and part of the continuous attacks against us."
Iraqiya began a boycott of parliament and the cabinet in December in protest at Maliki's alleged centralisation of power. The parliament boycott was ended last week.
It has called for Maliki to either respect a power-sharing deal or quit.
Maliki, a Shiite, has said he wants his Sunni deputy sacked after the latter said he was "worse than Saddam Hussein," while the country's Sunni vice president has been charged with running a death squad and has been hiding out in the autonomous Kurdish region of north Iraq.
Abdelsattar Birakdar, spokesman of the Higher Judicial Council, said Mullah was accused of having offended Judge Saad al-Lami in a late November interview.
Lami filed a complaint, after which a court "studied the case and then issued an arrest warrant against him and sent a request to parliament to lift his immunity in order to prosecute him," Birakdar said.
Mullah said Lami was "influenced by Maliki."
Another deputy in the case, independent MP Sabah al-Saadi said it was not the first time that he risked losing his immunity.
"Five months ago, there was a request to lift my immunity. I had been accused of offending the government, but nothing happened, and I do not know if there is a new request," he said.
"We know that the Iraqi judicial system is not completely independent, and I think that offending the government is not a crime, but rather a part of the political process," he said.
Saadi has criticised Maliki, including charging that he was acting like the late dictator Saddam Hussein.
Birakdar said his case was based on a request filed by the premier.
According to local media reports, MP Salim al-Juburi of the Iraqiya bloc also faces having his immunity lifted. He has been charged with terrorism, a charge he denies. (AFP)
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عراق:عدالت کاايک رکن پارليمنٹ کااستثناختم کرنے کامطالبہ
بغداد . . .. . . عراق ميں ايک عدالت نے پارليمنٹ سے رکن اسمبلي حيدر ال ملا کا استثنا ختم کرنے کا مطالبہ کياہے.العراقيہ بلاک کے ترجمان حيدرال ملا کے مطابق بغدادکي ايک عدالت نے ان کا استثنا ختم کرنے کي درخواست دي ہے جو انھيں موصول ہوچکي ہے.غيرملکي خبرايجنسي نے ذرائع سے بتاياہے کہ وزيراعظم نوري المالکي کے مخالف العراقيہ بلاک کے دو ديگر رکن پارلے منٹ کے استثنا کے خاتمے کيلئے بھي پارليمنٹ ميں درخواست دي گئي ہے تاکہ ان کے گرفتاري کے وارنٹ جاري کيے جاسکيں.پارليمنٹ جلد ہي ان تينوں کيسوں کا ووٹ کے ذريعے فيصلہ کرے گي.
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At least 56 dead in fresh Syrian violence
DAMASCUS: At least 56 people were killed in violence across Syria on Sunday, half of them civilians, rights group the Syrian Observatory said Sunday.
Government forces had launched an assault on the city just hours before the UN vote, leaving scores of people dead.
The opposition Syrian National Council (SNC) reported a "massacre" in Homs on Friday, saying more than 230 civilians were killed during the assault by regime forces.
The killings have prompted a wave of anger against Syria around the world - and sparked protests at Syrian embassies and missions in countries, including Australia.
Opposition groups in Syria say Russia and China have effectively handed the Syrian regime a "licence to kill" by refusing to support the UN resolution.
"The SNC holds Russia and China accountable for the escalation of killings and genocide, and considers this irresponsible step a licence for the Syrian regime to kill," the SNC said in a statement.
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شام ميں مظاہرين اور سيکيورٹي فورسزميں جھڑپيں ، 56افراد ہلاک
دمشق…شام ميں مظاہرين اور سيکيورٹي فورسز کے درميان جھڑپوں ميں اہلکاروں سميت 56 افراد ہلاک ہوگئے ہيں. ايک ہيومين رائٹس گروپ کي جانب سے جاري بيان ميں کہاگيا ہے کہ شام ميں سيکيورٹي فورسزکے ہاتھوں بے گناہ شہريوں کي ہلاکتوں کاسلسلہ جاري ہے.بيان کے مطابق اتوار کے روزمختلف جھڑپوں اور پرتشددواقعات ميں حمص ميں تيئس شہري اور سات فوجي ، درعايا ميں دو شہري اورچار فوجي جبکہ عدليب ميں تين شہري اور چودہ فوجي ہلاک ہوئے.زباداني ميں بھي تين فوجي مارے گئے.
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Mullah Omar wrote to Obama: officials
WASHINGTON: Current and former U.S. officials told a foreign news agency that reclusive Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar wrote to President Barack Obama last year indicating an interest in talks key to ending the war in Afghanistan.
The previously undisclosed communication was considered authentic by people who saw it, but skeptical administration officials say they cannot determine if it actually came from Omar. The unsigned letter was passed through a Taliban intermediary in July. An administration official says it represented views consistent with what Taliban emissaries had been telling U.S. officials.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the letter and its contents are part of sensitive diplomacy.
A direct message from Omar could be a strong signal that the Taliban movement is interested in negotiation at the highest levels.
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طالبان رہنماملاعمر کااوباما کے نام خط کا انکشاف
واشنگٹن … افغانستان ميں طالبان کے رہنما ملا عمر کي جانب سے امريکي صدر بارک اوباما کے نام مذاکرات کيليے ايک خط لکھے جانے کا انکشاف ہوا ہے.غير ملکي خبر رساں ايجنسي نے دعوي? کيا ہے کہ ملا عمر نے صدر بارک اوباما کو گذشتہ سال جولائي ميں ايک مراسلہ تحرير کيا تھا ،جس ميں افغانستان ميں جنگ بندي کے معاملے پر بات چيت ميں دلچسپي کا اظہار کيا گيا تھا. خط ديکھنے والے اسے اصلي قرار ديتے ہيں ليکن امريکي انتظاميہ نے خط کي تصديق سے گريز کيا ہے. ان کا کہنا ہے کہ وہ اس بات کا فيصلہ نہيں کرسکتے کہ يہ خط ملا عمر کي جانب سے آيا ہے. ملا عمر کے نام سے اس غيردستخط شدہ خط کو جولائي ميں طالبان کے ايک رابطہ کار نے پہنچايا تھا. امريکي حکام نے نام ظاہر نہ کرنے کي شرط پر بتايا کہ خط اور اس کے مندرجات حساس سفارت کاري کي ذيل ميں آتے ہيں.
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Man claims found shipwreck, may hold $3bn platinum
GORHAM, Maine: A Maine seafarer said he had found the wreck of a World War II merchant ship off the Massachusetts coast, sunk while carrying a cargo of the precious metal platinum valued today at nearly $3 billion, an unprecedented find that has raised some doubts.
Greg Brooks of Sub Sea Research in Gorham, Maine, said on Thursday he had discovered the submerged ship in 2008 some 50 miles (80 km) off the Massachusetts coast and, using a remotely run submersible vessel, identified it last summer as the British freighter Port Nicholson.
The coal-fired ship, which is resting 700 feet (300 meters) under water, was sunk by torpedoes in a June 1942 attack by a German U-boat, Brooks said.
The vessel had been bound for New York from Nova Scotia in Canada with 1.707 million ounces (48,393 kgs) of platinum, intended as a special wartime payment to the United States from the Soviet Union, he said.
That much platinum, if verified, would have a value today of $2.77 billion, at a market price of $1,624 per ounce.
"If all the cargo is brought up, it will be the richest shipwreck in the world," the treasure hunter said.
The Port Nicholson, which Brooks said was owned by British shipping firm Port Line Ltd, was part of a convoy under military escort when enemy ship U-87 fired multiple torpedoes, sinking it and along with the troop ship Cherokee, causing many deaths.
Sub Sea Research said it verified the shipwreck using an underwater camera, has seen "declassified documents verifying the cargo" and interviewed survivors and relatives of the crew.
Brooks said the port of origin and tonnage led him to believe the ship may also have been carrying around $165 million -- at today's prices -- worth of other valuable metals.
He said he is "99.9 percent sure" the platinum was on board and the wreck site shows no signs of any past salvage work.
"As time went on, it was forgotten about, because it was a secret cargo," he said.
Platinum is used in catalytic converters in automobiles and has other industrial uses in goods ranging from computers to dental equipment and in cancer treatment.
In 2009, a federal judge gave Sub Sea salvage rights to the ship. Brooks said he hopes to begin recovery operations soon.
But some involved with the case question the wreck's purported cargo, which -- if accurately described -- would be the biggest cache ever recovered beneath the sea.
An attorney representing the British government in the matter said he is skeptical about the cargo and disagrees over who can claim to own it today under maritime law.
"I don't have any official information yet on whether any of the things they claim were on there, were on there," said the Tampa, Florida-based attorney, Timothy Shusta. "Our initial research into it indicated the ship was carrying machinery and military stores."
Wartime ship manifests historically were unreliable, and false ones sometimes were published to disguise the real cargo on board, Shusta said.
He agreed that Sub Sea Research had been named custodian of the wreck in U.S. court documents, allowing it to carry out salvage operations. But he disputed that this meant it can keep what it finds.
Most likely, maritime law will state that the cargo ultimately belongs to either the ship's owner, which he said is Britain, or possibly to former USSR-member Russia, which Sub Sea Research said later made good on the lost payment from the ship, Shusta said.
If the payment was not made, the U.S. government may have a claim to it, he added.
Even so, Sub Sea Research likely is entitled to an as-yet undetermined salvage award, "if they bring something up," he said.
A similar case from five years ago is still playing out in U.S. courts.
In 2007, Florida deep-sea salvager Odyssey Marine Exploration recovered an estimated $500 million in gold and silver coins from a 19th century ship sunk off the Spanish coast.
Since then, federal courts have ruled in favor of Spain's claim to the treasure, although the money has not yet been paid. (Reuters)
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سمندر ميں خزانہ تلاش کرنيوالوں کو کھربوں روپے کا سامان مل گيا
بوسٹن ... سمندر ميں خزانہ تلاش کرنے والي ايک ٹيم نے جنگ عظيم دوئم کے ايک غرق شدہ بحري جہازکے ملبے سے 71 ٹن يورينيم برآمد کرليا ہے.سمندر ميں خزانہ تلاش کرنے والے ايک گروپ کو امريکي رياست ميساچوسٹس کے قريب ايک بحري جہاز کے ملبے سے 272 ارب روپے کا سامان ملا ہے. بحري جہاز ايس ايس نکلسن امريکا سے 71 ٹن يورينيم لے کر روس جارہا تھا. اس کو 1942 ميں جرمني نے غرق کرديا تھا. جس کے بعد سے اس کي کوئي خبر نہيں تھي. گروپ کے رکن گريگ بروکس کا کہنا ہے کہ جہاز کا مقام خفيہ رکھا جارہا ہے، يہ معاملہ ٹاپ سيکرٹ ہے. ملنے والي رقم سے بچوں کے ليے فلاحي کام کيے جائيں گے.
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Mortar fire kills 217 in Syrian 'massacre'
NICOSIA: Mortar fire killed 217 people and left hundreds more injured in a "massacre" in the central Syrian city of Homs overnight Friday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The rights group said the mortar fire had hit the Al Khalidiya district of Homs, which has become a flashpoint of the 10-month revolt against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
"It's a real massacre," the observatory's director Rami Abderrahman told AFP, calling for the "immediate intervention" of the Arab League to end the killing.
The Al Jazeera and Al-Arabiya television channels showed images of dozens of bodies on the ground.
The Syrian Observatory also reported that two civilians were killed in the Damascus suburb of Rastan late Friday, while eight army deserters were shot dead in various regions of Syria.
The violence broke out after thousands of people across Syria defied the government crackdown to mark the 30th anniversary of a notorious 1982 massacre in the central city of Hama that killed thousands.
News of the latest deaths came as a diplomat in New York said members of the UN Security Council would meet Saturday morning for a vote on a resolution condemning the violent repression in Syria.
The text is the same as a draft resolution sent to the council's 15 members on Thursday.
It highlights the UN body's support for an Arab League plan for a democratic transition while leaving out explicit references to calls for Assad to step down, the diplomat said Friday.
The Homs violence ended an already bloody day in Syria which, by the Syrian rights group's count, left 150 people dead.
At least 35 people were reported killed across the country in other incidents on Friday, among them 16 civilians, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The Britain-based group said 14 soldiers were also killed in clashes with the rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) and that five army deserters also lost their lives.
In addition, one person died of wounds sustained on Thursday, and the bodies of three other people were either found or returned to their families.
Amid growing concern that Syria is sliding into all-out civil war, an officer with the FSA claimed the regular army "is in a pitiful state and getting close to collapsing."
Major Maher Nouaimi, based in Turkey, told AFP by telephone that "even though the army has huge military capabilities, soldiers no longer have the will to fight or are ready to do so."
He said there was growing discontent among officers and the rank and file against commanders, who are largely drawn from Assad's Alawite community, an offshoot of Shiite Islam.
Most conscripts in the military are from Syria's majority Sunni Muslim community. (AFP)
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شام: سکيورٹي فورسز کے حملے،217 افراد ہلاک
دمشق … شام ميں سکيورٹي فورسز کے حملوں ميں217 افراد ہلاک ہوگئے ہيں.غير ملکي خبرايجنسي کے مطابق شام کے شہر حمص ميں سکيورٹي فورسز کي جانب سے کي گئي فائرنگ اور بمباري سے 105 افراد ہلاک ہوئے اور حمص کے ضلع خالديہ ميں سکيورٹي فورسز کے حملوں ميں ہلاکتوں کي تعداد107 ہے. انساني حقوق کے مبصرين کے مطابق شام کي سکيورٹي فورسز کي فائرنگ سے ہلاکتوں کي تعداد 217 ہو گئي ہے.
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Gunmen attack police station in eastern Cairo
CAIRO: Gunmen torched a police station in eastern Cairo on Friday and freed detainees, security officials told AFP, amid nationwide unrest following football-related violence that left scores dead.
The gunmen, carrying automatic weapons, stormed the police station in the Al-Marg district, freeing the detainees before setting fire to the building. (AFP)
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قاہرہ:پوليس اسٹيشن نذرآتش، گرفتار ملزمان چھڑا لئے گئے
قاہرہ … مصر کے دارالحکومت قاہرہ ميں ايک پوليس اسٹيشن کو نامعلوم مسلح افراد نے آگ لگادي اور زير حراست افراد کو چھڑاکر لے گئے.غير ملکي خبرايجنسي کے مطابق مشرقي قاہرہ ميں ايک پوليس سٹيشن پر نامعلوم مسلح افراد نے دھاوا بول ديا اور وہاں موجود زير حراست افراد کو چھڑاليا . مسلح افراد نے جاتے ہوئے پوليس اسٹيشن کو آگ لگادي. اس واقعے ميں تاحال کسي جاني نقصان کي اطلا ع نہيں ملي.زير حراست افراد کو فٹبال ميچ ميں ہنگاموں کے بعد حراست ميں ليا گيا تھا.
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Brazil minister quits over corruption charges
BRASILIA: Brazil's minister of cities resigned Thursday amid allegations of irregularities, the eighth member of President Dilma Rousseff's Cabinet to step down since June.
Rousseff accepted Mario Negromonte's resignation and wished him luck in his new projects, the office of the presidency said in a brief statement.
Aguinaldo Ribeiro, also of Negromonte's Progressive Party, was named to replace him. The Progressive Party is part of the governing coalition.
The Cities Ministry coordinates urban development policies in a country where more than 80 percent of the population live in cities.
Negromonte is accused of awarding public work contracts to companies that had financed his party. He denies all accusations and said his resignation in no way indicated he was guilty.
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برازيل کے ايک اور وزير نے کرپشن کے الزامات پر استعفي ديديا
برازيليا … برازيل کے ايک اور وزير نے کرپشن کے الزامات پر استعفي? دے ديا ، وہ بدعنواني کے الزامات پر ايک سال کے دوران مستعفي ہونيوالے نويں وزير ہيں.برازيل کے صدر ڈلما روسيف نے جب سے اقتدار سنبھالا ہے تب سے ان کي حکومت مسلسل الزامات کي زد ميں ہے. اب ان کي کابينہ ميں شامل شہروں کے وزير ماريو نيگرومونٹے نے کرپشن کے الزامات پر استعفي? دے ديا ہے. برازيلي صدر پرکئي ماہ سے شہروں کے وزير کو برطرف کرنے کيليے دباو? تھا. شہروں کے نئے وزير ري بيرو نے عہدہ سنبھالنے کے بعد کہا ہے کہ حکومت کو سخت چيلنجز کا سامنا ہے.برازيل کے ايک اور وزير نے کرپشن کے الزامات پر استعفي? ديديا.
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Oil up sharply on U.S. jobs surge, Iran
NEW YORK: Brent crude prices rose to a near three-month peak on Friday in heavy volume trading after a report showed the U.S. economy in January created jobs at the fastest pace in nine months, fueling hopes of stronger demand in the top petroleum-consuming nation.
Both Brent and U.S. crude extended gains late as the euro recovered against the dollar and as oil investors covered short positions ahead of the weekend, eyeing simmering tensions between tensions with the West over Tehran's nuclear program.
Oil had initially rallied ahead of the jobs report after Iran's supreme leader warned of retaliation over "threats of oil embargo and war."
"The euro came back and there were shorts being covered ahead of the weekend with the situations in Iran and Greece still out there," said Stephen Schork, president at the Schork Group.
Brent March crude rose $2.51 to settle at $114.58 a barrel, a fourth straight rise and the highest settlement since November 8. For the week, Brent was up 2.8 percent.
U.S. crude futures, snapping a string of five straight lower settlements, rose $1.48 to settlement $97.84 a barrel. But it posted a 1.73 percent weekly loss.
Brent crude trading volume was 28 percent above the 30-day average, with U.S. turnover 30 percent above its 30-day average in post-settlement trading.
Brent/U.S. crude spread was at $16.74 a barrel based on Friday settlements, having briefly moved above its 200-day moving average just above $17, the biggest Brent premium to its U.S. counterpart since the intraday high of $18.80 reached on November 9.
Speculators cut their net long positions in U.S. crude oil futures and options in the week to January 31, data from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed.
U.S. gasoline and heating oil also rose as a refinery problem in the Midwest and the cold snap in Europe added support, along with the positive jobs report.
News late in the session that exports from Iraq's southern hub Basra were halved by bad weather on Friday added support, sources said.
U.S. JOB GROWTH SURGE
U.S. nonfarm payrolls jumped by 243,000 in January, more than the expected gain of 150,000. The U.S. unemployment rate dropped to a near three-year low of 8.3 percent.
"The jobs number came much better than expected and gave the (crude) market a nice pop, but the question will be whether this is really a reflection of the entire economy," said Gene McGillian, analyst at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut.
"We'll be watching to see if the rally in the Brent/WTI spread starts to top out, because the fundamentals in the EIA data (rising stockpiles, weak demand) are still there."
U.S. crude stockpiles have risen two consecutive weeks, according to Energy Information Administration data released Wednesday and gasoline demand continued to trend below year-ago levels.
Gasoline stockpiles also rose last week despite a drop in refinery utilization and rise in refined products imports.
U.S. stocks rose and the jobs report helped propel the Nasdaq index to an 11-year high and key industrial feedstock copper jumped nearly 3 percent as the employment report sparked optimism about economic growth across markets.
Crude's rise came even as the dollar index .DXY initially strengthened on Friday, before pulling back. A stronger dollar can pressure crude prices because it increases the cost of oil for consumers using other currencies. (Reuters)
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تيل کي قيمتيں تين مہينے کے دوران بلند ترين سطح پر
نيويارک … عالمي منڈي ميں تيل کي قيمتيں تين مہينے کے دوران بلند ترين سطح پر پہنچ گئيں، عالمي منڈي ميں آج خام تيل کي قيمت ميں2.51ڈالر في بيرل اضافہ ديکھا گيا. يہ اضافہ مارچ ميں فراہم کيے جانے والے تيل کيليے لاگو ہوگا. تيل کي قيمت ميں اضافہ امريکا کي معيشت ميں بہتري کے نتيجے ميں سامنے آيا ہے. رپورٹ کے مطابق گذشتہ مہينے دو لاکھ 34 ہزار افراد کو ملازمتيں دي گئي تھيں. سرکاري اعداد وشمار کے مطابق اس وقت امريکا ميں بيروزگاري کي شرح 8.3 ہوگئي ہے جو تين برسوں ميں کم ترين ہے.
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US assessing risks of Taliban transfer: Petraeus
WASHINGTON: The Obama administration asked intelligence agencies for additional assessments of the risks of transferring five senior Taliban detainees to a third country as part of efforts to broker peace with Afghan militants, U.S. spy chiefs told Congress on Tuesday.
In testimony before the Senate Intelligence committee, the intelligence officials did not specify which country might be involved. But Reuters and other news agencies have reported that the detainees could be sent to the Gulf state of Qatar, which is acting as an intermediary in peace negotiations.
CIA Director David Petraeus said that analysts from his agency had provided the Obama administration officials with a more recent assessment - the last was done in 2009 - of the security risks of transferring the five Taliban leaders from the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
If transferred, the five supposedly would still be subjected to detention or at least heavy surveillance.
But neither Petraeus nor the other intelligence officials offered additional details as to what kind of control or surveillance measures would be imposed by any third country which might be willing to accept transferred detainees.
"In fact, our analysts did provide assessments of the five and the risks presented by various scenarios by which they could be sent somewhere -- not back to Afghanistan or Pakistan -- and then based on the various mitigating measures that could be implemented to ensure that they cannot return to militant activity," he said.
Petraeus' statement came in response to questions from the committee's vice chairman and ranking Republican, Senator Saxby Chambliss, who has emerged as a leading Capitol Hill critic of the proposed transfer.
Chambliss said that any move to transfer the five specific Taliban detainees who are the focus of discussions within the Obama administration is likely to meet with opposition on Capitol Hill.
"It appears from these reports that in exchange for transferring detainees who had been determined to be 'too dangerous to transfer' by the administration's own Guantanamo Review Task Force, we get little to nothing in return," Chambliss said.
"Apparently, the Taliban will not have to stop fighting our troops and won't even have to stop bombing them with IEDs. I have also heard nothing from the (U.S. intelligence community) that suggests that the assessments on the threat posed by these detainees have changed," Chambliss continued.
He added: "I want to state publicly, as strongly as I can, that we should not transfer these detainees from Guantanamo."
Chambliss called on the administration to declassify the intelligence assessments on the detainees, "so that we can have a full and open debate about the wisdom of this transfer before it takes place." (Reuters)
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امريکاکاگوانتا نامو بے ميں قيدطالبان رہنماو?ں کي منتقلي پر غور
واشنگٹن … امريکي حکومت نے گوانتا نامو بے ميں قيد پانچ اہم طالبان رہنماو?ں کي بيرون ملک منتقلي کي صورت ميں لاحق سيکيورٹي خطرات پر انٹيلي جنس اداروں سے اضافي جائزہ رپورٹس طلب کرلي ہيں.امريکي سينيٹ کي انٹيلي جنس کميٹي کے سامنے بيان ديتے ہوئے سي آئي اے کے سربراہ ڈيوڈ پيٹرياس نے کہا کہ اگر طالبان رہنماو?ں کو رہا کرنے کا فيصلہ کيا گيا تو انہيں پاکستان يا افغانستان نہيں کسي تيسرے ملک بھيجا جائے گا. ميڈيا رپورٹس کے مطابق يہ تيسرا ملک قطر ہوسکتا ہے جو امن مذاکرات ميں ثالث کا کردار ادا کررہا ہے. ڈيوڈ پيٹرياس نے کميٹي کو بتايا کہ طالبان رہنماو?ں کو گوانتا نامو بے سے منتقلي کے بارے ميں سيکيورٹي خطرات پر سي آئي اے نے اپني حاليہ جائزہ رپورٹ اوباما انتظاميہ کو پيش کي ہے. اگر انہيں گوانتا ناموبے سے منتقل کيا گيا تب بھي وہ زير حراست يا انتہائي سخت نگراني ميں رہيں گے.
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Iraq detains 16 vice presidential guards
BAGHDAD: Iraqi security forces have detained 16 of Tareq al-Hashemi's bodyguards, the interior ministry said, in a move the fugitive vice president said Tuesday was the latest in a string of false accusations.
Hashemi is hiding in the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq after the Baghdad authorities issued a warrant for his arrest in mid-December on charges of running a death squad.
The Kurdistan authorities have so far declined to hand him over to the central government for trial.
"Interior ministry security forces detained 16 members of Vice President of the Republic Tareq al-Hashemi's guard, who were practising assassinations with silenced rifles and pistols targeting interior ministry officers and judges," the ministry said in a statement posted on its website on Monday.
The statement said the guards confessed after being detained, and that the arrests followed confessions by some of their colleagues.
Hashemi's office denounced the detentions and said it "does not represent anything new in the series of fabricated accusations, and will not attract the attention of the Iraqi people."
A statement said the guards had previously been told they were not wanted and allowed to go on leave, but were later arrested.
"Is it reasonable that people involved in terrorist activities prefer to return to a site that is sealed off by (security forces) to be arrested, or is it logical for them to take the first chance for them to run away?" Hashemi asked, noting that they had such a chance when they went on leave.
Meanwhile, human rights group Amnesty International said two women employed by Hashemi's office -- Rasha Nameer Jaafer al-Hussein and Bassima Saleem Kiryakos -- were detained on January 1 and that their whereabouts were not known.
"Amnesty International fears both women may be at risk of torture or other ill-treatment," Amnesty said, adding that their arrests appeared to be related to their association to Hashemi.
The December accusations against the vice president came amid a wider row between the secular Sunni-backed Iraqiya bloc, of which he is a member, and the Shiite-led government.
Iraqiya began a boycott of parliament and the cabinet in December to protest against what it charged was Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's centralisation of power, and it has since called for Maliki to respect a power-sharing deal or quit.
Maliki, a Shiite, has also said his Sunni deputy Saleh al-Mutlak should be sacked after the latter said the premier was "worse than Saddam Hussein."
Iraqiya announced on Sunday that its MPs would return to parliament, somewhat easing the crisis, though it has not yet decided to return its ministers to the cabinet. Its MPs returned to parliament on Tuesday.
"The majority of the members of Iraqiya participated in the session today," said Iraqiya MP Faiza al-Obeidi.
"We conducted the second reading of the 2012 budget and negotiated on an amnesty law" for Iraqis who have been involved in violence.
The "return is very significant for us due to the importance of these two laws and of the national conference," Obeidi said, referring to a conference proposed by President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, aimed at resolving Iraq's political crisis.
Iraqiya won the most seats in March 2010 parliamentary elections but was outmanouevred by Maliki in forming a government.
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عراقي نائب صدر کے 16 محافظ قتل کے الزام ميں گرفتار
بغداد … عراق کے نائب صدر طارق الہاشمي کے سولہ محافظوں کو سرکاري حکام اور ججوں کے قتل کے الزام ميں گرفتار کر ليا گيا ہے.عراق کي وزارت داخلہ نے مذکورہ گرفتاريوں کي تصديق کي ہے اور کہا ہے کہ ان محافظوں کو مختلف الزامات ميں گرفتار کيا ہے. يہ لوگ سائلينسر لگي بندوقوں اور پستولوں سے سرکاري حکام اور ججوں کو قتل کررہے تھے.دريں اثناء انساني حقوق کي عالمي تنظيم ايمنسٹي انٹرنيشنل نے ايک بيان ميں اطلاع دي ہے کہ طارق الہاشمي کے دفتر ميں ملازم دوخواتين راشا نمير جعفر الحسين اور باسيمہ سليم کيرياکوس کو يکم جنوري کو گرفتار کر ليا گيا تھا ليکن اس کے بعد سے ان کے بارے ميں کوئي اطلاع نہيں ہے.ايمنسٹي نے اس خدشے کا اظہار کيا ہے کہ ان دونوں خواتين کو تشدد کا نشانہ بنايا جاسکتا ہے،ان سے ناروا سلوک کيا جاسکتا ہے اور ان کي گرفتاري کا طارق الہاشمي سے وابستگي سے تعلق ہے.
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At auto show, Obama takes swipe at Romney
WASHINGTON: After getting behind the wheel of shiny new American cars at a Washington auto show, President Barack Obama took a veiled swipe at his most likely White House opponent Mitt Romney for having opposed the 2009 auto bailout.
"The U.S. auto industry is back," Obama told reporters who watched the Democrat take the driver's seat in a number of vehicles, including fuel efficient and electric models, muscle cars, SUVs and trucks made by General Motors (GM.N) and Chrysler.
"It's good to remember the fact that there were some folks who were willing to let this industry die. Because of folks coming together we are now in a place where we can compete with any car company in the world," he said.
GM regained its title as the world's top-selling automaker in 2011, less than three years after the bailout that many Republicans, including Romney, decried as wasteful.
It included $50 billion to GM and more than $12 billion to Chrysler in taxpayer-funded bailout and bankruptcy financing, including loans and working capital. U.S. taxpayers still own about a third of GM's equity.
Romney, a former Massachusetts governor who grew up in the car hub Detroit, has said GM and Chrysler would have recovered without the injection of government funds.
The New York Times opinion piece he wrote in 2008 titled "Let Detroit Go Bankrupt" has haunted him on the campaign trail and Obama, who considers the auto revival one of his main accomplishments, has alluded to it in the past.
GM was the world's largest automaker until 2008 when Toyota took its place. Obama is pushing exports as a way to help the struggling U.S. economy recover ahead of the November 6 election and said on Tuesday he was "very proud" of the sector's resurgence.
"The fact that GM is back, number one, I think shows the kind of turnaround that's possible when it comes to American manufacturing," Obama said. (Reuters)
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صدر اوباما کا واشنگٹن ميں منعقدہ آٹو شو کا دورہ
واشنگٹن … امريکي آٹو انڈسٹري کي ساکھ کو سہارا دينے کيلئے صدر اوباما نے واشنگٹن ميں منعقدہ آٹو شو کا دورہ کيا.دورہ کے دوران اوباما نے نمائش ميں پيش کي گئي مختلف گاڑيوں اور جنرل موٹر کے تيارکردہ ٹرک کي ڈرائيونگ سيٹ بھي سنبھالي.نمائندوں سے گفتگو کرتے ہوئے انہوں نے کہا کہ اب امريکي آٹو انڈسٹري ميدان ميں واپس آگئي ہے دنيا کي کسي بھي کار کمپني کا مقابلہ کرسکتي ہے ، واضح رہے کہ تين سال قبل ٹوئيوٹا جنرل موٹرز پر بازي لے گئي تھي مگر اوباما انتظاميہ نے اسے بحران سے نکال کر دوبارہ اول نمبر پر پہنچاديا.اس بيل آو?ٹ پلان کو اوباما کے حريف روميني نے تنقيد کا نشانہ بناياتھا.
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Yemeni info minister escapes life bid
ADEN/SANAA: Gunmen riddled the car of Yemen's information minister with bullets as he left a cabinet meeting in the capital on Tuesday but he escaped from the assassination attempt unhurt, an aide said.
In southern Yemen, at least 12 al Qaeda militants, including four local leaders, were killed in a drone strike in southern Yemen. It was one of the biggest such strikes believed to have been carried out by the United States in Yemen.
Both incidents highlighted the multiple security problems in Yemen which have alarmed regional power Saudi Arabia and the United States.
In the capital Sanaa, unidentified assailants opened fire on Information Minister Ali al-Amrani's car as he prepared to leave from a cabinet meeting. The minister was not hurt, his secretary, Abdel-Basset al-Qaedi, said.
It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack on Amrani, who quit outgoing President Ali Abdullah Saleh's ruling General Peoples Congress (GPC) party following the outbreak of protests against his long rule and joined his opponents.
He was named information minister in a coalition government between the opposition and the GPC after Saleh signed a deal to transfer power to his deputy, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, in a move aimed at averting civil war.
In the drone strike, between 12 and 15 people were killed in the attack on militants travelling in two vehicles, a tribal leader told Reuters. The dead included at least four leaders of Yemen-based al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), he said.
Residents said the drone hit the militants overnight east of Lawdar in Abyan province. No civilians were hurt, they said.
"This can be considered as one of the biggest American strikes because it targeted a large number of al Qaeda leaders at the same time," the tribal leader, who declined to be identified, told Reuters by telephone.
"Unlike in previous attacks, this one seems to have achieved its goals and, unlike previous attacks, it did not result in civilian casualties."
In one of the deadliest strikes in late 2009, more than 40 civilians, including women and children, died in an air strike which Washington said targeted al Qaeda.
Al Qaeda militants have regrouped in the mountains of Yemen after blows in Saudi Arabia and Iraq over the past few years. They exploited months of protests against Saleh last year to broaden their control on swathes of territory in Yemen's south.
Tribal leaders said one of those killed was Abdel-Munem al-Fatahani, who was wanted over attacks on the U.S. destroyer Cole in 2000 and a French oil tanker in 2002.
Militants denied that Fatahani or any local al Qaeda leader was killed and said only foot soldiers died. But a tribal chief and witnesses insisted Fatahani was among the dead, saying the militants had closed off the areas and quickly buried the dead.
U.S., SAUDI ARABIA WORRIED
The United States has repeatedly used drones in Yemen to attack militants from AQAP, described by CIA Director David Petraeus recently as "the most dangerous regional node in the global jihad".
In testimony to the U.S. Congress in September, Petraeus said that AQAP was behind the December 2009 plot to blow up a U.S. airliner as it approached Detroit and a 2010 effort to send bombs hidden in computer printers on two cargo aircraft.
Al Qaeda militants already control swathes of land in southern Abyan province and the capture of Radda underscored concerns that protracted political upheaval in Yemen over the fate of Saleh could give al Qaeda's regional wing a foothold near oil shipping routes through the Red Sea.
Protests have continued after Saleh transferred his powers and activists are pressing on with demands that Saleh, who is in the United States for treatment, be tried for alleged killings of protesters and the government be purged of his relatives.
In a separate incident on Tuesday, Yemeni security sources said that at least three al Qaeda militants were killed in a clash with government soldiers outside Radda, about 170 km (105 miles) southeast of Sanaa, which was briefly captured by al Qaeda earlier this month.
The sources said five Yemeni soldiers were wounded in the clash, which targeted Tareq al-Dahab, a relative of assassinated U.S. citizen and al Qaeda cleric Anwar al-Awlaki. Dahab, who led the assault on Radda, was not hurt in the clash, but tribal sources said five Yemeni soldiers also died.
Separately, tribesmen kidnapped six aid workers from a tourist area west of Sanaa on Tuesday. State news agency Saba said the abductees were a German, a Colombian, an Iraqi, a Palestinian and two Yemenis. (Reuters)
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يمني وزير اطلاعات علي العمراني پر قاتلانہ حملہ
صنعا…يمني وزير اطلاعات علي العمراني قاتلانہ حملے ميں بال بال بچ گئے.عرب ٹي وي کے مطابق مسلح آوروں نے دار الحکومت صنعاء ميں وزير اطلاعات علي العمراني کي کار پر اس وقت اندھادھند فائرنگ کي جب وہ کابينہ کے ہفتہ وار اجلاس سے واپس جارہے تھے. حملہ آواروں کي چند گولياں ان کي گاڑي پر لگي تاہم وہ محفوظ رہے.
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Obama confirms drone strikes in Pakistan
President Barack Obama on Monday confirmed that US drone aircraft have struck Taliban and Al-Qaeda targets within Pakistan -- operations that until now had not been officially acknowledged.
When asked about the use of drones by his administration in a chat with web users on Google+ and YouTube, Obama said "a lot of these strikes have been in the FATA.
"For the most part, they've been very precise precision strikes against Al-Qaeda and their affiliates, and we're very careful in terms of how it's been applied," Obama said.
"This is a targeted focused effort at people who are on a list of active terrorists, who are trying to go in and harm Americans, hit American facilities, American bases, and so on."
Explaining that many strikes were carried out "on al-Qaeda operatives in places where the capacities of that military in that country may not be able to get them," Obama confirmed that Pakistan's lawless tribal zone was a target.
"So, obviously, a lot of these strikes have been in the FATA, and going after al-Qaeda suspects who are up in very tough terrain along the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan," he said.
"For us to be able to get them in another way would involve probably a lot more intrusive military action than the ones we're already engaging in."
US officials say Pakistan's tribal belt provides sanctuary to Taliban fighting for 10 years in Afghanistan, Al-Qaeda groups plotting attacks on the West, Pakistani Taliban who routinely bomb Pakistan and other foreign fighters.
Sixty-four US missile strikes were reported in Pakistan's semi-autonomous tribal belt last year, down from 101 reported in 2010, according to AFP tallies.
The United States had until now refused to discuss drone strikes publicly, but the program has dramatically increased as the Obama administration looks to withdraw all foreign combat troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2014.
The Pakistani government is understood to agree to the program despite popular opposition at home, and drones have reportedly killed dozens of Al-Qaeda and Taliban operatives and hundreds of low-ranking fighters since 2004.
But the missile strikes fuel widespread anti-American resentment, which is running especially high in Pakistan since US air strikes inadvertently killed 24 Pakistani soldiers in November.
A US-NATO investigation blamed the deaths on a litany of errors and botched communications on both sides. But Pakistan rejected the findings, insisting the strikes had been deliberate.
Islamabad is now reviewing its entire alliance with the United States and has kept its Afghan border closed to NATO supply convoys for two months.
It ordered US personnel to leave Shamsi air base in western Pakistan, widely believed to have been a hub for the CIA drone program, and is thought likely to only reopen the Afghan border by exacting taxes on convoys. (AFP)
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امريکي صدر بارک اوباما نے پاکستان ميں ڈرون حملوں کي تصديق کردي
واشنگٹن. . . .. امريکي صدر بارک اوباما نے پاکستان ميں ڈرون حملوں کي تصديق کردي .غيرملکي خبر ايجنسي کے مطابق امريکا نے پہلي بار باضابطہ طور پر پاکستان ميں ڈرون حملوں کي تصديق کي ہے. گوگل اور يوٹيوب استعمال کرنے والوں کے سوالوں کا جواب ديتے ہوئے امريکي صدر نياعتراف کيا ہے کہ امريکا نے پاکستان ميں اہداف پر ڈرون حملے کيے ہيں. ان کا کہنا تھا کہ يہ حملے القاعدہ اور اس کے ساتھيوں پر کيے گئے، ان لوگوں کا مقصد امريکا، اس کے شہريوں اور اہداف کو نقصان پہنچانا تھا. صدر اوباما نے بتايا کہ ڈرون طياروں کے ذريعے بيشتر حملے پاکستان کے قبائلي علاقے فاٹا ميں کيے گئے. انہوں نے دعوي? کيا کہ حملے پورے احتياط سے کيئے گئے اور ان ميں شہريوں کي ہلاکتوں کي خبر درست نہيں ہے.
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