Eid-ul-Azha being celebrated today

LAHORE (Dunya News) - Eid-ul-Azha is being celebrated today (Wednesday) in commemoration of the supreme sacrifice offered by Hazrat Ibrahim and his son Hazrat Ismail in the fulfillment of the divine order.Special prayers will be offered for the prosperity of the country and unity among the Muslim Ummah. It will be followed by offering sacrifices of animals by the faithful in accordance with the Sunnat-e-Ibrahimi.The main Eid congregation in Lahore will be held at the Badshahi Mosque. Eid congregations will also be held in cities, towns and villages across the country.

Karachi: Security plan for Eid-ul-Azha finalized Posted: KARACHI (Dunya News) – Karachi police have finalized security plan in order to maintain law and order on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azaha and 19,400 police officials will be deployed in the city.According to sources, Eid congregations will be held at 3,987 mosques, 315 Imam Bargahs and 330 Eidgahs in the city.According to sources, 560 police mobile will also patrol the city during Eid days.According to IG Sindh Nadeem Baloch, forces would be deployed at different sites particularly Eid gatherings and parks while special measures would be arranged for security of minorities places.He further informed that senior officers monitor sensitive sites, with the warning that any negligence in this regard would be unbearable.

Eid-ul-Azha: Security beefed up in Peshawar Posted: PESHAWAR (Dunya News) – Security has been beef up in Karachi ahead of Eid-ul-Azha and 2,000 policemen would be deployed in the city for the purpose.The city has been divided into four zones where 2,000 police officers would render services. The security around Mosques, Eidgahs and Imam Bargahs has also been beefed up.

Libyan Al Qaeda suspect pleads not guilty Posted: NEW YORK CITY (AFP) - A Libyan Al-Qaeda suspect arraigned in a New York court on Tuesday pleaded not guilty to charges related to the 1998 bombings of US embassies in East Africa.Anas al-Libi was snatched from the streets of the Libyan capital Tripoli by US commandoes on October 5 and at the weekend brought to New York, where he was indicted by a grand jury in 2000.The 49-year-old was on Tuesday escorted into New York Southern District courtroom 24A wearing a black sweater and grey jogging pants, with a bushy grey beard and closely cropped black hair.Judge Lewis Kaplan read out the list of conspiracy charges against him. Libi spoke in a gravelly voice only to confirm his name and age, and that he understood the proceedings.Kaplan adjourned the next hearing until October 22.The August 7, 1998 bombings of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania killed 224 people and wounded thousands of others.The computer expert, whose given name is Nazih Abdul Hamed al-Raghie, was on the FBIs most wanted list with a $5 million price on his head for his presumed role.The married father-of-four is accused of conspiracy to murder, kidnap and maim Americans and of plotting to maliciously damage and destroy US property, and attack US defense buildings.

House vote delayed as US debt deadline nears Posted: WASHINGTON (AP) - House Republican efforts to pass legislation averting a U.S. debt default and ending a partial government shutdown collapsed Tuesday night, and a top ratings firm warned of a possible downgrade in the countrys creditworthiness.Just hours after unveiling it, Republican leaders apparently lacking votes from their own rank-and-file pulled legislation to reopen the government and raise the amount of money the Treasury can borrow to pay the nations bills.The setback came just two day before the Obama administration says the government will be out of money to pay debts.The wrangling in the House had imposed a daylong freeze on Senate negotiations on a bipartisan compromise that had appeared ready to bear fruit a day earlier.Shortly after the House efforts fell apart, aides said Senate leaders had renewed talks to reopen the government and prevent a default.House Republican leaders had unveiled a bill to allow the Treasury to borrow normally until Feb. 7 and to reopen the government with sufficient funds to carry it to Dec. 15.A spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner had said it would be put to a vote Tuesday night. But the bill had been stripped of key conservative demands related to President Barack Obamas health care plan, and Boehner soon pulled it.The New York Stock Exchange fell 133 points after rising a day earlier when optimism spread that a deal might be at hand.Fitch Ratings announced after the markets closed that it was putting the governments AAA bond rating on watch because of uncertainty over the debt limit.Fitch, one of the three leading U.S. credit ratings agencies, said it expects the debt limit will be raised soon, but added, the political brinkmanship and reduced financing flexibility could increase the risk of a U.S. default.The partial shutdown began 15 days ago after House Republicans refused to accept a temporary funding measure to provide the money to run the government unless Obama agreed to defund or delay his signature health care reform. House Republicans also refused to move on needed approval for raising the amount of money the Treasury can borrow to pay the nations bills.House Republicans have since dropped their demands to defund or delay the health care law, known as Obamacare.The latest House proposal had also done away with plan to delay a medical device tax created under the health law, and another provision to impose tougher income verification standards on individuals and families seeking subsidies for care under the law.Democrats had viewed both as concessions to Republicans, and deemed their inclusion as a violation of Obamas vow not to pay a ransom to the Republicans for passing essential funding and borrowing measures.The House measure would have kept one provision linked to the health care plan: Members of Congress, the president, vice president and thousands of aides would no longer be eligible to receive employer health care contributions from the government that employs them.Congress is trying to pass two measures that are normally routine: A temporary funding bill to keep the government running and the legislation to raise the borrowing limit.But a hard-right tea party faction of Republicans in the House has seen both deadlines as a weapon to get their way on gutting the health care overhaul, designed to provide tens of millions of uninsured Americans with coverage.The partial government shutdown has furloughed 350,000 federal workers.With the global economic standing of the U.S. hanging in the balance, Republican poll numbers have plummeted. Senate Republicans in particular were eager to end the partial government shutdown and avoid an even greater crisis if the government were to default later this month.A proposed bipartisan Senate plan is far from the assault on Obamas health care reform law that conservative tea-party Republicans originally demanded as a condition for a short-term funding bill to keep the government fully operational. It also lacks the budget cuts demanded by Republicans in exchange for increasing the governments $16.7 trillion borrowing limit.

War-related deaths near 500,000 in Iraq: study Posted: WASHINGTON (AFP) - Nearly half a million people have died from war-related causes in Iraq since the US-led invasion in 2003, according to an academic study published in the United States on Tuesday.That toll is far higher than the nearly 115,000 violent civilian deaths reported by the British-based group Iraq Body Count, which bases its tally on media reports, hospital and morgue records, and official and non-governmental accounts.The latest estimate by university researchers in the United States, Canada and Baghdad in cooperation with the Iraqi Ministry of Health covers not only violent deaths but other avoidable deaths linked to the invasion, insurgencies and subsequent social breakdown.It also differs from some previous counts by spanning a longer period of time and by using randomized surveys of households across Iraq to project a nationwide death toll from 2003 to mid 2011.Violence caused most of the deaths, but about a third were indirectly linked to the war, and these deaths have been left out of previous counts, said lead author Amy Hagopian, a public health researcher at the University of Washington.Those included situations when a pregnant woman encountered difficult labor but could not leave the house due to fighting, or when a person drank contaminated water, or when a patient could not get treated at a hospital because staff was overwhelmed with war casualties.These are all indirect deaths, and they are significant, Hagopian told AFP.The aim of the study was to provide a truer picture of the suffering caused by war, and hopefully to make governments think twice about the harm that would come from an invasion, she said.I think it is important that people understand the consequences of launching wars on public health, on how people live. This country is forever changed.The research team from the University of Washington, Johns Hopkins University, Simon Fraser University and Mustansiriya University conducted the work on a volunteer basis using pooled internal resources instead of seeking outside funds.Their tally was compiled by asking adults living in 2,000 randomly selected households in 100 geographic clusters across Iraq if family members had died, when and why.Researchers used the survey data, which was completed by 1,960 of those chosen, to calculate the death rate before the war and after. When multiplied by the whole population, they returned a number that represented excess deaths.Researchers estimated there were 405,000 excess Iraqi deaths attributable to the war through mid-2011.They also attempted to account for deaths missed because families had fled the country, and estimated 55,805 total deaths, bringing the total to nearly 461,000.About 70 percent of Iraq deaths from 2003-2011 were violent in nature, with most caused by gunshots, followed by car bombs and other explosions, said the study.Coalition forces were blamed for 35 percent of violent deaths; militias were blamed for 32 percent. The rest were either unknown (21 percent), criminals (11 percent) or Iraqi forces (one percent).Heart conditions were the most common cause of non-violent death from 2003-2011 -- indicating a key role of stress in war-related deaths -- followed by chronic illness and cancer.In a perspective article accompanying the PLoS Medicine study, Salman Rawaf, director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Center at Imperial College London, said the latest research would likely be called into question, as have other estimates before it, with most perceived as being politically motivated, deliberately either over-reporting or suppressing the number of deaths.This estimate carries substantial uncertainty, and undoubtedly the methodology and findings of this latest study will be controversial and debated, he wrote.However, the attempt to quantify the catastrophe created by war is valuable in the context of understanding the health consequences of war, he said.Living in Iraq today is no longer about how many have died, but how future deaths should be prevented.

Spain, England qualify for World Cup Posted: LONDON (AP) - Spain, England and Russia sealed spots in next years World Cup finals on Tuesday while Bosnia-Herzegovina also topped its group to reach a major tournament for the first time as an independent nation.On the final night of group-stage play, France and Cristiano Ronaldos Portugal were consigned to next months playoffs just like in qualifying for the 2010 World Cup but the rest of Europes big teams will definitely be in Brazil next summer.The other second-place finishers to make the playoffs on Tuesday were Iceland, Greece, Ukraine and Romania and Croatia, joining Sweden which had already advanced to Mondays draw. Denmark had the worst record of the nine group runners-up and missed out.Spain will defend its world title after securing top spot in Group I ahead of France by beating Georgia 2-0, with Alvaro Negredo and Juan Mata scoring.The French overcame Belarus 3-0 but needed Georgia to pull off a shock in Albacete to climb above the Spanish.Wayne Rooneys first-half header and Steven Gerrards late solo goal earned England a nerve-shredding 2-0 win over Poland at Wembley Stadium and the three points it needed to stay ahead of Ukraine in Group H. The Ukrainians 8-0 win in San Marino proved immaterial.The feel-good story of the night came in Kaunas, where Bosnia-Herzegovina sparked scenes of delirium back in Sarajevo by beating Lithuania 1-0 through Vedad Ibisevics 68th-minute goal to reach its first World Cup since being granted independence from Yugoslavia in 1992.For many Bosnians, football has been a rare cause for joy since the country descended into nearly four years of war two decades ago, killing more than 100,000 people and leaving a legacy of poverty, high unemployment and political strife.The national team had missed out on the last two major tournaments by losing in the playoffs to Portugal both times, but this time Bosnia-Herzegovina got it right.Almost 10,000 Bosnians jumped, cried and screamed Vamos Bosnia, or go Bosnia in Portuguese, in the central square in Sarajevo when Ibisevic scored what proved to be the winner after good work by Edin Dzeko, and fans were heading to the airport to wait for their team to arrive in the middle of the night.Greece defeated Liechtenstein 2-0 but lost out to the Bosnians on goal difference.Russia only needed a point to guarantee first place in Group F, and drew 1-1 at Azerbaijan. Portugals 3-0 win over Luxembourg was in vain, leaving Ronaldos side a point behind, and it must go through the playoffs to reach a major tournament for the third straight time.It was still a nervy finish for Russia, which opened the scoring through Roman Shirokov in the 15th and was further boosted when Maksim Medvedev was dismissed for Azerbaijan in the 75th. However, the hosts equalized when Vagif Javadov headed home in the 90th but Russia, coached by formerEngland manager Fabio Capello, held on for the point to qualify for a World Cup for the first time since the 2002 tournament.Silvestre Varela, Nani and Helder Postiga were the goal scorers for Portugal, which was without Ronaldo owing to the Real Madrid forwards booking in the costly 1-1 home draw with Israel on Friday.Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and Germany had automatically qualified for the finals before Tuesday.The list of teams going through to the playoffs was also finalized and it proved to be a bittersweet night for Denmark, which beat Malta 6-0 to equal its biggest World Cup qualifying win but still missed out on the two-legged playoffs, which take place on Nov. 15 and 19.Iceland is the surprise name in the playoffs after finishing runner-up in Group E following a 1-1 drawing in Norway. Slovenia could have gone above Iceland but lost 1-0 to the Swiss.Romania pipped Turkey and Hungary to second place in Group D behind the Netherlands courtesy of a 2-0 win over Estonia. The Turks were second heading into the last games but lost 2-0 at home to the Dutch.On Friday, Sweden became the first country to confirm its place in the playoffs by guaranteeing finishing runner-up to Germany in Group C. The two teams met in their final qualifier, with Germany coming from 2-0 down to win 5-3 as Andre Schuerrle grabbed a second-half hat trick.Croatia lost 2-0 to Scotland but had already virtually guaranteed a playoff spot through its second place in Group A behind Belgium.

History-makers Bosnia, Russia qualify for World Cup Posted: PARIS (AFP) - Bosnia-Herzegovina reached their first ever major finals on Tuesday as a 1-0 win over Lithuania saw them confirm their place at next years World Cup.They will be joined by Russia, who had not reached a World Cup finals since 2002 and who sealed their place at Brazil 2014 with a 1-1 away draw in Azerbaijan.Bosnia -- who had lost twice to Portugal in play-offs for the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012 -- progress at the expense of Greece, who go into the play-offs, while Portugal finish runners-up to Russia and will also contest a winner takes all play-off.The final two automatic European places will be decided later on Tuesday with four teams in the running, holders Spain, France, England and Ukraine.Vedad Ibisevic was Bosnias hero as he scored what was the most important of his 20 international goals as the 29-year-old Stuttgart striker struck in the 68th minute.His sidefooted effort came just two minutes after he had seen another shot brilliantly saved by Giederius Arlauskas, who had denied Bosnia throughout the match in a stunning performance.Arlausakass performance could be put into the context that only the Germans and the Dutch have scored more goals in the qualifying games than the Bosnians.Greece by contrast have failed to sparkle in front of goal and were only able to beat Liechtenstein 2-0 in Athens.Dimitris Salpingidis scored in the seventh minute but the goal shy Greeks -- who had only scored 10 goals going into the match from their previous nine qualifiers -- failed to add to that until veteran Giorgos Karagounis, appearing in his 130th game for the national side, scored with a free kick nine minutes from time.Greece coach Fernandos Santos, who was praised for guiding unfancied Greece to last years Euro 2012 quarter-finals, said his side were unfortunate to have to contest the play-offs with the points they had accrued.If you would have told me before the start of the qualifying round that with 25 points we would not have gained a direct berth to the World Cup I would not have believed it, he said.We have to congratulate Bosnia for their performance and finishing first.Russia too scored early on in Baku, Roman Shirokov netting for the visitors, and although Azeri substitute Vagif Dzhavadov levelled in time added on a point was still enough for the Russians to progress.Im satisfied with our performance in this qualifying campaign, said coach Fabio Capello.We finished in first place having such a strong opponent as Portugal in our group.We played well in all of the matches except the game in Northern Ireland where we produced unsatisfactory football. But in general I have positive memories from this campaign.Portugal, who were missing the suspended Cristiano Ronaldo, got on top early at home to Luxembourg as Silvestre Varela and Nani scored in the first-half - but only after Luxembourg had had a player sent off.However, they were only able to add one more in the second-half as veteran striker Helder Postiga scored 11 minutes from time.Portugal and Greece will learn who their opponents are in the play-offs in the draw next Monday.Portuguese coach Paulo Bento admitted they had not been the best team in the group but pledged his side would do their utmost to reach Brazil.When results and performances have not been good it is logical to shake things up, said Bento, who took them to the Euro 2012 semi-finals.However, we cannot as we have a short time only to prepare for the play-offs in the best possible manner.

Pospisil beats Hewitt in 2 sets in Vienna opener Posted: VIENNA (AP) - Vasek Pospisil saved two set points before beating former No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt 7-6 (6), 6-4 in the first round of the Erste Bank Open on Tuesday.Pospisil trailed the now 53rd-ranked Australian 6-4 in the tiebreaker before reeling off four straight points to take the opening set. An early break in the second proved enough for the seventh-seeded Canadian.Its very special for me to beat a former No. 1, said the 23-year-old Pospisil, who won just two games in his only previous match against Hewitt at Newport last year. Ive come a long way since. I started working with another coach and Ive put in a lot of hard work.Pospisil next plays Robin Haase. The Dutchman, who won both of his career titles in Austria, rallied to beat Ilija Bozoljac of Serbia 5-7, 6-2, 6-2.Also, the son of 1988 Olympic champion Miloslav Mecir stunned Pablo Andujar of Spain 6-4, 6-4 in his first ever main draw match. The 25-year-old Miloslav Mecir Jr. of Slovakia, who is ranked 240th and came through three qualifying rounds, served nine aces and never faced a break point.Earlier, Daniel Brands of Germany beat Andreas Haider-Maurer 6-4, 7-6 (5) despite the Austrian serving 16 aces. The 57th-ranked Brands managed one break in the opening set against the 2010 finalist and held serve throughout to set up a second-round match against top-seeded former champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.Dominic Thiem, playing in only his second ATP event this year, defeated Daniel Gimeno-Traver of Spain 6-4, 5-7, 6-4. The 20-year-old Austrian reached the second round for a third straight year and will play either sixth-seeded Gael Monfils or Marinko Matosevic of Australia.Also, Michael Russell of the United States failed to convert any of his 13 break points in a 6-3, 6-4 loss to qualifier Mirza Basic of Bosnia-Herzegovina; Ruben Bemelmans of Belgium had 10 aces while beating Jan Hajek of Czech Republic 6-2, 6-0; and Slovakias Lukas Lacko defeated Austrias Gerald Melzer, brother of former two-time champion Jurgen, 7-6 (5), 6-1.

Wozniacki , Stephens win openers at Luxembourg Posted: LUXEMBOURG (AP) - Top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark struggled to a 6-3, 7-6 (2) win over local favorite Mandy Minella to reach the second round of the Luxembourg Open on Tuesday.Second-seeded Sloane Stephens of the United States made lighter work of her day as she beat 2009 champion and Swiss wild card Timea Bacsinszky 6-3, 6-3.Two seeds fell: No. 4 Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium lost to Katarzyna Piter of Poland 6-4, 6-2, and No. 6 Mona Barthel of Germany lost to Stefanie Voegele of Switzerland 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (3).Third-seeded Sabine Lisicki of Germany also was in trouble early on against Croatias Donna Vekic before she recovered to win in three sets 2-6, 6-3, 6-0.

Justin Rose takes 2-shot lead in Grand Slam Posted: SOUTHAMPTON (AP) - U.S. Open champion Justin Rose shot a 4-under 67 on Tuesday for a two-shot lead over Jason Dufner in the PGA Grand Slam of Golf.The 36-hole exhibition is for the four major champions this year. British Open champion Phil Mickelson chose not to play and was replaced at Port Royal Golf Course by Padraig Harrington.Rose took the lead from the start despite a wayward tee shot. From the adjacent second fairway, unable to see the green, Rose hit a 6-iron from 186 yards within a foot for a birdie. He added three more birdies on the front nine. Rose made two bogeys in the wind on the back nine.Dufner, the PGA champion, had a 69. Masters champion Adam Scott shot 70, while Harrington opened with a 74.

Oil falls toward $101 as US debt deal awaited Posted: NEW YORK (AP) - Oil fell toward $101 a barrel Tuesday as negotiations on Irans nuclear program got under way in Geneva, and U.S. lawmakers tried to hammer out an agreement to raise the governments borrowing limit and avoid a possible default.Benchmark crude for November delivery fell $1.20 to close at $101.21 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.The price of oil has swung back and forth for two weeks as lawmakers attempt to resolve an impasse that has left the government partially closed and the markets worried about the U.S. defaulting on its debt for the first time. The U.S. has to increase the amount of debt it can sell by Oct. 17, the Treasury says.On Tuesday, House Republican leaders floated a plan to colleagues to counter an emerging Senate deal to reopen the government and forestall a default on U.S. obligations. The events prompted an outbreak of partisan rhetoric, mixed with urgent warnings that both the U.S. and global economies could suffer severe damage quickly unless Congress acted by Thursday.The start of talks in Geneva on Irans nuclear program between the Islamic Republic and Western powers also weighed on prices.Traders are speculating about the end of U.S.-led sanctions against Iran further down the road, allowing Tehran to increase oil exports which have fallen by over 1 million barrels a day over the past two years.The Geneva talks should provide some better assessment about whether Iran is ready to do something else than talk, said analyst Olivier Jakob of Petromatrix in Switzerland.Brent crude, the benchmark used to set prices for international crudes used by many U.S. refineries, fell $1.08 to $109.96 on the ICE futures exchange in London.In other energy futures trading on Nymex, natural gas fell 3 cents to $3.79 per 1,000 cubic feet (28.32 cubic meters).

Dollar mixed as US budget talks bog down Posted: NEW YORK CITY (AFP) - The dollar traded mixed Tuesday amid bogged-down US budget and debt ceiling talks that prompted Fitch to warn it could downgrade the US AAA credit rating.The euro was trading at $1.3525 around 2100 GMT, down from $1.3559 at the same time Monday.The Japanese currency, often considered a safe haven in times of uncertainty, firmed. The dollar fell to 98.16 yen from 98.67 yen Monday and the euro tumbled to 132.77 yen from 133.79 yen.Financial markets were on tenterhooks as Washington politicians remained deadlocked over a deal to reopen the federal government and avoid default on its debts.The US Treasury has warned that if Congress fails to lift the $17.6 trillion debt ceiling by Thursday, it will lose its ability to borrow and could run out of cash to pay all its obligations.After the US stock markets closed, Fitch announced it had placed the United States's AAA credit rating on watch for a downgrade. It said the prolonged debt-ceiling negotiations risk undermining confidence in the role of the US dollar as the preeminent global reserve currency, by casting doubt over the full faith and credit of the US.Tuesday marked the 15th day of a partial federal government as the White House and Republicans battled over funding for the 2014 fiscal year that began October 1.For the past two weeks, investors have been hopeful that Congress will pass a bill that will avoid the first-ever default, said Kathy Lien of BK Asset Management.But 15 days into the US government shutdown and with just under 36 hours to go before the Treasury reaches its borrowing limit, their optimism is fading quickly. Many investors fear that if the US defaults on its debt, the dollar will collapse, she said.The dollar strengthened against the Swiss currency, to 0.9122 franc from 0.9102 franc Monday.The pound rose to $1.5997 from $1.5980.

Nation set to celebrate Eid-ul-Azha today Posted: ISLAMABAD (Web Desk) - Nation is celebrating Eid-ul-Azha today with traditional zeal and religious fervour.The day would dawn with special Eid sermons where Ulema would stress for the unity of Muslim Ummah and prayers would be held for the prosperity and well being of the country. The largest Eid Congregations would be held across the country.In Rawalpindi, main biggest Eid Congregation to be held at Liaqat Bagh while in Lahore, biggest Eid Congregation be held at Badshahi Mosque.Ulema and khateebs from different schools of thought would deliver special sermons and lectures to highlight the significance of the day.To celebrate Eid-ul-Azha, Muslims sacrifice animals including cow, goat, sheep and camel according to their purchasing power on any of the three days of Eid. People this year have suffered a lot due to the mounting prices of the sacrificial animals.Different slaughtering points have been set up in different places of federal capital for the convenience of the people.Mostly workers living in the federal capital have gone to their villages to celebrate Eid with their families but there is still lot of hustle and bustle in the federal capital.The administration has further beefed up the security for Eid. A contingency plan has been issued to ensure and maintain law and order, safety and security of the general public. Police personals would perform their duties outside the mosques and public places.

Elephant eats bride at Thai wedding Posted: PHUKET (Web Desk) - Elephants make exotic but unpredictable wedding guests, as one bride who travelled Thailand for her big day found out.After tying the knot at a ceremony in Phuket, the bride from Melbourne spotted a three-year-old Indian elephant on the hotel lawn.Video shot at the wedding shows the woman who is wearing a long dress and clutching a bouquet, moving in to pose with the creature.But the friendly animal appears to get the wrong idea. As the bride edges closer, the naughty mammal wraps its trunk around her and pulls her towards its mouth.After a few moments it releases her from the amorous clinch to laughter from wedding guests.The comical moment was captured on camera by photographer Abraham Joffe, who said: She wasnt injured. It just licked her face and breathed down her throat.She just got this horrible elephant breath in her lungs. Everyone was laughing. She was a bit shaken up.She was a little bit embarrassed but they were all pretty laid back, being Aussies. It wasnt a prim and proper sort of day.