added
on monday foreign minister manouchehr mottaki made similar positive comments
we are ready to help with the realistic approach and at the same time we will
wait for public and backstage developments in iran nuclear case mottaki told
reporters
british foreign secretary david miliband said financial sanctions could help
bring the islamic state into line
we believe that financial sanctions have an important role to play in
exerting pressure at the appropriate points in the iranian regime and not
affecting the iranian people miliband told lawmakers
world powers made up of the un security council five permanent members plus
germany met in new york on saturday but failed to reach an agreement about new
sanctions
the six are concerned about tehran rejection of un brokered deal under which
most of iran low enriched uranium leu stockpile would be shipped abroad to
be further enriched into reactor fuel
iran has come up with its own counter proposal of staged and simultaneous swap
of leu with nuclear reactor fuel this has been largely rejected by world
powers insisting tehran accept the international atomic energy agency offer
the new york meeting brought together senior officials from britain france
germany russia and the united states but china signalling its reluctance to
back tougher sanctions pushed by the west sent lower level diplomat
in beijing mehmanparast opposite number ma zhaoxu also at press
conference on tuesday said china has all along proposed the proper settlement
of the iran nuclear issue through dialogue and consultation
we hope relevant parties can enhance consultations show flexibility and
promote the early peaceful solution of the relevant issue in proper manner
ma said his country was aware of the proliferation concerns of the western
nations but insisted the islamic republic had the right to the peaceful use of
nuclear energy
iran defence minister reiterated that his country was not cowed by the threat
of military action
why are there so many warships there the westerners know that these warships
are the best target for operation by iran if they do anything against us
vahidi said
iranian officials have repeatedly threatened to deliver crushing response
and hit us targets including its bases in the gulf and neighbouring iraq and
afghanistan if iran nuclear sites are attacked
the united states and its regional ally israel which accuse iran of seeking
atomic weapons under the guise of civilian nuclear programme have never ruled
out military option to thwart tehran nuclear drive
iran denies the charges
iraq pm maliki denies sunni purge ahead of election
baghdad jan afp
iraqi prime minister nuri al maliki on tuesday denied the war torn nation
sunni minority was being targeted by blacklist that has barred more than
candidates from its march general election
deny that the sunnis are being targeted the sunnis will be much more
important partners this time than at the last election maliki shiite said
in an interview on the state run al iraqiya television channel
yes there are lot of sunnis on the election blacklist but there are maybe
more shiites he said pointing out that percent of the outlawed baath
party membership was shiite
the premier however defended controversial process that has seen
candidates said to have links to the baath party or military and intelligence
apparatus of ousted dictator saddam hussein banned from the upcoming poll
only the criminals and murderers of the baath regime will be adversely
affected maliki said by process which has seen the names given to the
independent high electoral commission ihec iraq election organiser
the iraqi constitution prevents the existence of this organisation just as
european countries prohibit nazis from taking part in the political process he
added
all iraqis are in agreement that the baath is racist sectarian violent
organisation we have no intention of reconciling with those who regard osama
bin laden as muslim chief or saddam as martyr
the names of blacklisted candidates have been given to their respective parties
who have three days to appeal the decision which has alarmed washington and the
united nations ahead of the polls
afp gmt news advisory
washington jan afp
duty editor michael mathes
tel
us troops pour into haiti
almost killed in fresh nigeria clashes
fears for obama agenda if kennedy seat lost
karazi orders afghan security review
haiti quake ndlead wrap
port au prince
us troops led by marines descend from helicopters onto the ruined haitian
capital as week after massive quake the us military ramps up huge aid
operation for desperate haitians
words gmt by daphne benoit and beatriz lecumberri picture video
graphic
nigeria unrest religion thlead wrap
kano nigeria
fresh clashes between muslims and christians have killed people in the
central nigerian city of jos senior muslim cleric in the city says after
authorities impose hour curfew and order troops into the strife torn city
words gmt by aminu abubakar
us vote politics senate wrap lead
boston massachusetts
republicans hope for huge upset in an election for ted kennedy old senate
seat which could scupper president barack obama health reform drive and cloud
his entire agenda
words gmt by marcia scott harrison picture
afghanistan unrest thlead wrap
kabul
afghan president hamid karzai orders review of security in the capital after
audacious attacks by taliban militants highlighted the vulnerability of the
city defences
words gmt by lynne donnell graphic picture video
haiti quake
haiti quake us military security hospital scene
port au prince
the arrival of us troops at haitian hospital and at the country presidential
palace elicits both jubilation and resentment among residents of quake damaged
port au prince
words gmt by deborah pasmantier picture
haiti quake us passport lead scene
port au prince
hundreds of haitians crowd around the us embassy building in port au prince
clutching us and haitian documents some in pieces week after quake shook
the capital into ruins
words gmt by sophie nicholson picture
haiti quake us tourism
miami
luxury cruise ships will continue to dock as normal at an idyllic resort in
northern haiti despite the deadly earthquake week ago that devastated the
caribbean nation the company says
words gmt by juan castro olivera file picture
haiti quake un ban ndlead
united nations
the security council votes to send extra security personnel to quake hit
haiti to help maintain order and protect aid convoys as the world body mourns
its dead at solemn ceremony here exactly one week after the devastating
earthquake
words gmt by gerard aziakou
americas
us afghanistan pakistan attacks court lead
new york
pakistani neuroscientist accused of trying to kill us soldiers and fbi agents
during mysterious incident at an afghan police station goes on trial in new
york
words gmt by sebastian smith
britain us food company takeover cadbury kraft thlead wrap
new york
us food giant kraft seals deal to buy famed cadbury for some billion
dollars as the famed british chocolate maker accepts sweetened bid creating
world leader in food and confectionery
words gmt picture graphic
we have also moved
britain us food company takeover cadbury kraft history profile
us food company kraft profile
us food company kraft rosenfeld profile
us company banking earnings citigroup thlead
new york
citigroup posts net loss of billion dollars in the final quarter of
capping another year in red ink as the battered financial giant struggled to
emerge from the financial crisis
words gmt
middle east
iran nuclear politics thlead wrap
tehran
tehran welcomes what it calls the west newfound realism about its nuclear
drive after world powers failed to agree on new sanctions as britain says it
backs punitive financial measures against iran regime
words gmt by hiedeh farmani
iraq vote rdlead wrap
baghdad
more than candidates banned from running in iraq march general election
are accused of being part of ousted dictator saddam hussein once deadly
political and military nexus
words gmt by ammar karim picture
europe
britain iraq military politics inquiry ndlead
london
the first former cabinet minister to give evidence to the iraq war inquiry
insists britain had always wanted diplomatic solution to the crisis before the
invasion
words gmt by guy jackson picture
asia
pakistan unrest us missile rdlead
miranshah pakistan
us drone missile attack kills at least five suspected militants in the th
such strike targeting pakistan northwest taliban strongholds this month
security officials say
words moved by hasbanullah khan
china us it internet google telecom mobile rdlead
beijing
google says it has postponed the launch of two mobile handsets in china in the
latest fallout from its threat last week to withdraw from the asian giant over
cyberattacks and censorship
words moved by susan stumme
afp
rugbyu england croft to miss six nations start
london jan afp
england will be without tom croft for at least their first two matches in this
season six nations after the injured flanker was ruled out for five to six
weeks on tuesday
the leicester back row suffered knee injury during the tigers european
cup thrashing of italian club viadana on saturday
england rugby football union rfu have since confirmed croft injury and he
will miss the six nations opener against wales at twickenham on february and
the match away to italy the following week
he is also doubtful for the home fixture against reigning champions ireland at
twickenham on february
an rfu statement issued tuesday said scan has confirmed that tom croft
leicester tigers sustained grade two medial cruciate ligament injury to his
left knee in the heineken european cup game against viadana last weekend
he has now started his rehabilitation programme with view to returning to
action in five to six weeks
the england team medical staff will continue to work closely with leicester
tigers during his recovery process
croft advanced his international career during last season six nations where
he was substitute in the first three games but started the final two against
france and scotland
the year old impressed sufficiently to be handed late call up for the
british and irish lions tour of south africa after alan quinlan was ruled out
through suspension
croft seized his unexpected chance against the springboks by scoring two tries
in the first test match the tourists lost on their way to series
defeat
earlier this season he suffered six week layoff because of knee injury and
the viadana match was just his second game back
northampton courtney lawes will be aiming to replace croft after being
promoted to the senior squad ahead of the six nations while harlequins fit again
back row nick easter is also in contention
football ghana edge man burkina faso into quarter finals
luanda jan afp
ghana defeated man burkina faso here on tuesday to reach the africa cup
of nations quarter finals
the world cup qualifiers and four time continental champions will now face hosts
angola here at the november stadium on sunday for place in the semi finals
after their opening defeat to favourites ivory coast this was must win
game for ghana if they weren to be sent home in disgrace
and andre ayew son of one of africa most decorated players abedi pele
ayew earned them the three points with the decisive first half goal and the
runners up spot in group behind table toppers and fellow world cup qualifiers
ivory coast
ghana serbian coach milovan rajevac said this was very important game for
our team psychologically it was tough it was competitve match burkina faso
played more offensively than they had against ivory coast they were capable of
scoring especially from set pieces
it was hard with the weather conditions and the pitch was far from perfect
in the second half they attacked more which gave us the chance to counter
atttack but we lacked concentration in our finishing
loooking ahead to the last eight match up with the hosts he added we played
friendly against angola two months ago draw we know them well
burkina faso only required draw to see them go through after tight defensive
strategy had harvested one point in their goalless opener against ivory coast
and their coach paulo duarte explained his switch from defensive to offensive
tactics in this second match
we attacked more than in our opening game against ivory coast because whover
plays for draw will lose
ghana have good players we tried to get back into the match after they scored
but then we went down to ten men and that made things difficult
ghana suffered major eve of match blow with chelsea midfielder michael
essien having to pull out with right knee injury picked up in training on
sunday though he was on hand to watch from the stands his team mates
triumph
rajevac who made four changes from the side that fell to ivory coast had
already suffered raft of injuries to key members of his squad
burkina faso marginally had the better of forgettable first half hour that
lacked punch until the th minute when ghana bayer leverkusen defender hans
adu sarpei conjured up perfect cross from the right flank for ayew to head
sharply past keeper daouda diakite
sarpei picked up yellow card shortly after for late challenge on jonathan
pitroipa to add to the three already dished out by seychelles referee eddy
maillet to burkina faso mamadou tall pitriopa and mady panandetiguiri
burkina faso emerged for the second half knowing they had to accomplish
something they had failed to do in angola up to now namely score if they and
not ghana were to progress
ghana however remained firmly in control and on minutes burkina faso were
down man as maillet red carded defender mamadou tall for challenge on
asamoah gyan
draman almost extended ghana lead with quarter of an hour remaining but his
shot came to rest in the near post side netting
apple owns percent of mobile apps market gartner
washington jan afp
more than billion dollars was spent on mobile phone applications last year
with apple grabbing over percent of the growing market according to research
firm gartner
apple accounted for at least percent of the billion downloads of the
mini programs for smartphones last year gartner said
gartner put revenue from mobile phone applications at billion dollars in
and predicted it would rise to billion dollars this year and
billion dollars by
apple announced earlier this month that more than three billion paid and free
applications for the iphone or ipod touch had been downloaded from the
california company online app store since it was launched in july
we see no signs of the competition catching up anytime soon apple chief
executive steve jobs said at the time
gartner analysts agreed saying that apple could hold on to at least two thirds
of the market if current sales trends hold for
as smartphones grow in popularity and application stores become the focus for
several players in the value chain more consumers will experiment with
application downloads gartner research director stephanie baghdassarian said
games remain the number one application and mobile shopping social
networking utilities and productivity tools continue to grow and attract
increasing amounts of money baghdassarian said in staement
apple splits revenue from mobile phone applications with the independent
developers who create the programs and submit them to apple for approval
the success of apple app store has led blackberry maker research in motion
microsoft nokia palm google and others to launch their own mobile phone
applications stores
canada pledges million canadian dollars for haiti aid
ottawa jan afp
canada pledged million canadian dollars million us in aid for haiti on
tuesday in response to united nations call for help for nearly three million
people affected by last week quake
the newly promised funds bring canada total aid contribution to million
dollars million us
international cooperation minister bev oda said contributions were starting to
make difference in caring for the injured preventing the spread of disease
and providing water food and other essentials
today announcing that we will contribute million dollars to the
united nations appeal to help un organizations deliver essential services to
approximately three million people over the next six months
oda outlined
million dollars million us would be directed to food security needs
through the world food program to help provide million meals in the next
days
million dollars million us will go to unicef for health nutrition
water and sanitation for women and children
million dollars million us will go to six canadian aid
organizations to provide water and sanitation medical treatment shelter and
security and
million dollars million us is earmarked for the international red
cross and red crescent whose canadian and norwegian branches are providing care
for people day at field hospital set up over the weekend
the funding is in addition to five million dollars million us in aid
announced last week and on top of million dollars million us in
donations collected so far from canadians that are to be matched by the federal
government
figure skating russian world champions turn up heat at euros
tallinn jan afp
world champions oksana domnina and maxim shabalin turned up the heat at the
european figure skating championships on tuesday as they returned from injury
to lead russian in the compulsory dance
less than month from the winter olympics domnina and shabalin performed to
the sultry tango romantica to lead reigning european champions jana khokhlova
and sergei novitski by comfortable points going into thursday original
dance with the free dance final set for friday
we looked into each other eyes and we showed true passion said domnina
the role of the strong courageous man suits maxim very well
shabalin said for the first day we can be very happy we coped with our
nerves and we skated well without any mistakes or wobbles
the couple were unable to defend their european title last year after shabalin
injured his knee during the compulsory dance and they missed this year grand
prix season because of the recurring problem
but their tango proved hit as they achieved points with khokhlova and
novitski scoring
their compatriots are however determined to hold on to their european title
the europeans is like final test before the olympic games and we ll debut our
new free dance here we hope to repeat last year success said khokhlova
italy federica faiella and massimo scali are sitting third with with
britain brother and sister team sinead kerr and john kerr fourth after scoring
us to shift soon to recovering bodies in haiti military
washington jan afp
the united states expects to transition very soon from searching for survivors
of haiti killer earthquake to recovering bodies top us military commander
said tuesday
hopes were dimming that survivors could be found under the rubble nearly week
after the devastating temblor that leveled port au prince and surrounding areas
leaving up to people dead
we fully expect that we will transition very soon from the search phase to the
recovery phase said major general daniel allyn deputy commander of the us
military operation in haiti
but at week after the initiation of the earthquake we have not found any
us survivors in the last two days so we are doubtful that we will be
fortunate but obviously we remain in prayer and hopeful
his comments came just hours after the united nations said survivors could still
be found under the debris
international search and rescue teams have extracted more than survivors from
beneath collapsed buildings since the disaster struck on january un office
for the coordination of humanitarian affairs ocha elisabeth byrs told afp
some us marines anchored off haiti coast in four naval vessels on
monday bringing the total us military contingent to including
aboard vessels offshore allyn told reporters
total us troop strength of over was expected to operate in the
impoverished caribbean nation within the coming weeks with around half of
them involved in delivering humanitarian assistance ashore he said
around marines began moving ashore early tuesday after establishing
beachhead to support relief efforts west of port au prince
survivors were still scrambling for desperately needed food and water supplies
after massive logjam at the capital us controlled airport which has only
one runway and whose control tower was destroyed
allyn said some flights were now taking place per day and that two
additional airstrips in the coastal city of jacmel and in san isidro in the
neighboring dominican republic would be used by thursday to relieve some of
the pressure on port au prince
the us military has delivered over bottles of water and food
rations so far he said
some gallons liters of water per day was being produced aboard
us naval ships he added noting that self sustaining water production
capacity was just days away
another pounds kilograms of food and water were also delivered by
air to jacmel
dozen water purification units were also set to arrive in haiti within days
on monday aircraft flew from pope air force base in north carolina to
drop large pallet filled with supplies in northeast port au prince delivering
nearly meals and over liters gallons of water
but another air drop of this size was not expected until wednesday said colonel
david lapan pentagon spokesman
it takes forces on the ground to secure the areas where these drops must go in
and to organize the people to avoid chaotic distribution when those supplies
come in allyn said
us regrets end to refueling mission for afghanistan
washington jan afp
the united states expressed regret tuesday that japan ended naval refueling
mission for us and other military operations in afghanistan saying it had made
clear to tokyo how critical it was
we have communicated directly to the japanese government not only our
appreciation for the refueling mission but we ve also tried to be very clear
that it made an enormous difference in our ability to operate us asia envoy
kurt campbell said
it will be missed it played huge and critical role and we regret it the
us assistant secretary of state for east asia and pacific affairs told reporters
following japan move on friday
nfl chargers sign turner to three year deal despite playoff defeat
san diego california jan afp
norv turner signed three year contract extension to coach the san diego
chargers through on monday one day after disappointing defeat in the
national football league playoffs
turner has record and the chargers are under his guidance in
december but lost at home to the new york jets last sunday after having
won games in row to earn first round playoff bye and home field edge
extremely proud of the job norv has done with this team chargers
president dean spanos said
in three seasons he led the team to three division titles confident
that if we strengthen our roster and continue to provide norv the assets he
needs this team will have continued success
the chargers have lost in the playoffs five times in the past six years without
reaching the super bowl and chargers fans were booing several play calling
decisions during the defeat
hillary clinton to attend haiti aid conference in montreal
washington jan afp
us secretary of state hillary clinton will attend conference of international
donors in montreal on monday to raise aid for haiti the state department said
secretary clinton plans to attend this meeting said state department
spokesman philip crowley
the conference aims to coordinate international aid to haiti and ensure donors
adopt clear common vision in rebuilding the quake shattered country
canada foreign minister lawrence cannon said earlier
nigeria talking to shell chevron on licences official
abuja jan afp
the nigerian government is in talks with the united states oil firm chevron and
anglo dutch oil giant shell over the renewal of their shallow water oil
licences an official statement said on tuesday
chevron and shell are still in negotiations with the federal government over
the renewal of their expired licences statement by the ministry of petroleum
resources quoted junior oil minister odein ajumogobia as saying
the statement dispelled media reports that the renewal of the licences was
stalled due to the absence of president umaru yar adua
yar adua left nigeria on november and has since been receiving treatment in
saudi arabia hospital for heart ailment
the minister of petroleum resources has the full authority under extant laws to
renew leases and licences the statement said underlining that no specific
authorisation from the presidency was required
nigeria state run oil giant nigerian national petroleum corporation nnpc in
may signed an oil financing deal worth two billion dollars with the united
states oil firm mobil producing nigeria mpn
nnpc said the new deal which represents modification of an existing
agreement provides for repayment on cash basis not with oil as was the
case in the past
mpn is subsidiary of american exxon mobil corporation and the second largest
oil producer in nigeria
similar deal worth one billion dollars was sealed same month between the nnpc
and french group elf petroleum nigeria limited epnl
british couple loses cyprus holiday home court case
london jan afp
london court ruled tuesday that british couple must demolish their holiday
home in northern cyprus decision that could have implications for thousands
with property on the disputed land
turkey foreign ministry criticised the verdict warning it could compromise
the possibility of reunification and long lasting peace for the island divided
since
president demetris christofias the greek cypriot leader said the ruling was
legally and politically important
it is an answer to the turkish side which wants to reject the right of
ownership or the use of one property he told reporters
cyprus has been split since turkey occupied its northern third in in
response to an athens engineered greek cypriot coup aimed at uniting the island
with greece
following the court ruling david and linda orams must now hand the land back to
the original owner of the property in lapithos meletios apostolides and pay
him damages
apostolides family fled to the south of the island in and he launched
court action in cyprus which was followed by string of subsequent legal
hearings amid disagreements over the case
but tuesday judgement by the court of appeal in london backed the cypriot
court and the european court of justice ecj and could set precedent for
thousands of other people who have built holiday homes in northern cyprus
this creates new legal framework in those cases where foreigners are
trespassing on such properties constantis candounas apostolides lawyer said
afterwards but each case must be decided on its own particular facts
the orams had argued at the latest court hearing that the president of the ecj
vassilios skouris could have been biased when his court ruled that british
courts should enforce the nicosia court decision
their lawyers alleged that skouris had links to the president of cyprus who had
awarded him an honour
but appeal court judge malcolm pill rejected this saying there was no real
possibility that the resident of the ecj would be influenced by the honour he
received or by his other contacts
the judgement of the court is in no way tarnished by those contacts considered
either individually or cumulatively
urgent us regrets end to japan refueling for afghanistan
washington jan afp
the united states said tuesday it regrets the end to japan refueling mission
for afghanistan saying it will be missed because of the critical role it
