the initial funding support came from some countries organisations and
companies
russia duma ratifies european court reform
moscow jan afp
the lower house of russia parliament voted on friday to ratify long delayed
protocol on reforming the european court of human rights clearing the way for
the reform to proceed
the duma ratified the protocol with an overwhelming majority of votes in
favour and opposed reversing its position after it previously rejected the
protocol in
russia was the last member of the nation council of europe not to have
ratified protocol of the european convention on human rights aimed at
streamlining the work of the court and reducing its backlog of cases
officials in moscow have frequently complained about the strasbourg based court
which has ruled numerous times against russia in cases concerning atrocities in
the war in chechnya and conditions in russian prisons
qaeda has never abandoned yemen just getting stronger
sanaa jan afp
recent activity by the yemen branch of al qaeda including its claimed bid to
bring down us airliner means the group is getting stronger in the region
rather than has opened new front analysts say
the jihadist network founded by osama bin laden whose ancestral home is this
impoverished corner of the arabian peninsula has remained entrenched in yemen
even under crackdown by the authorities they say
its numbers have in recent months been swelled by fighters fleeing neighbouring
saudi arabia and pakistan where life has become increasingly precarious for
them
yemeni analyst said al jemhi cautions that one must never forget that al qaeda
has its origins in yemen
the country has been refuge even if only temporarily for arab fighters
returning victorious from the jihad against the soviets in the
here unlike in their home countries where they were viewed with suspicion they
were welcomed as heros some of the yemenis among them were even incorporated
into the country security apparatus
al qaeda history of attacks against american targets dates back to december
when the first such incident took place in yemen port city of aden
but had an unexpected twist to it
bombers targeted hotel in the port of aden thought to be housing us marines en
route to somalia but the marines had already left and the only victims were
non americans said alternately to be two tourists or tourist and hotel
employee
eight years later in october al qaeda scored major coup again in
aden suicide bombers in high speed boat rammed the side of docked american
destroyer the uss cole the explosion blew gaping hole in the side of the
ship and killed sailors
in the aftermath of that attack under intense pressure from washington the
yemeni authorities dismantled number of jihadist cells rounding up dozens of
fighters
al qaeda was wounded but it never disappeared jemhi says it even increased
in numbers particularly after the us led invasion of iraq thousands of young
men left to fight there and also in afghanistan
one western intelligence agent who spoke on condition of anonymity said
second generation of al qaeda in yemen emerged on february when
convicts escaped from the sanaa headquarters of yemen security services
including number of men who had been jailed over the cole incident
among the fugitives was nasser al wahaishi man who was to become leader of
al qaeda in the arabian peninsula aqap when it was formed in early by
the merger of the yemeni and saudi branches of the group
they rebuilt the networks silently and secretly and the first attacks which
targeted oil industry sites were not long in coming the agent said
gregory johnson an american analyst says wahaishi has worked hard to rebuild
and reorganise al qaeda in yemen and has been careful to apply the lessons he
learned from the organisation early failures to his current task
and from its base in yemen the reorganised al qaeda has been working to
destabilise neighbouring saudi arabia analysts say
last october there was shootout in the southern saudi province of jiaan
and two men killed were identified as al qaeda militants who had crossed the
border
one of the men yusef al shehri had spent nearly six years at the us guantanamo
prison and passed through the saudi islamic militant rehabilitation programme
before escaping to yemen
seven weeks earlier another saudi al qaeda member abdullah asiri set off an
explosive hidden inside his underwear in the palace of top saudi security
official deputy interior minister prince mohammed bin nayef
asiri had come from yemen pretending to turn himself into the prince when he
detonated the bomb which killed himself but caused no other serious injuries
we have witnessed the reemergence of al qaeda in the arabian peninsula with
yemen as key battleground and potential regional base of operations from which
al qaeda can plan attacks train recruits and facilitate the movement of
operatives michael leiter director of the us national counterterrorism
center told senate hearing last september
and most recently aqap claimed to be behind botched attempt by nigerian
national umar farouk abdulmutallab to blow up us airliner on christmas day
the united states has accused aqap of having trained abdulmutallab
euro inflation acceleration confirmed
brussels jan afp
inflation increased across continental europe in december official figures
confirmed friday well up on the previous month rise which itself ended run
of falling prices
consumer prices in the eurozone countries climbed by percent according to
figures from the eurostat data agency confirming an initial flash estimate
that was an increase from the percent reading for november which marked the
first time that prices on month basis had risen since april
eu regulators probe feeder ship owners
brussels jan afp
eu competition regulators announced friday that they have launched probe into
an arrangement between shipowners which they suspect is driving up charter rates
for certain kinds of vessels
the european commission has opened formal antitrust investigation concerning
the baltic max feeder scheme over potential breach of eu rules on
restrictive business practices the eu top regulator said
brussels is concerned that the owners to combat low charter prices are
agreeing to remove so called port feeder ships from service and collectively
cover the costs of doing so
the reduction in the number of ships which usually operate in ports ferrying
cargo between deep sea vessels and container terminals on land could then
cause the cost of chartering the vessels to rise
the commission is in particular concerned that the scheme may be aimed at
reducing capacity and therefore at pushing up charter rates for such vessels
brussels said in statement
the baltic max feeder scheme was devised by german tax advisor anchor
steuerberatungsgesellschaft as response to the current overcapacity in feeder
container vessels which has brought down charter rates
korea demands south apologise over alleged plan
seoul jan afp
north korea said friday it would shun any dialogue with south korea unless seoul
apologises for allegedly drawing up contingency plan for the communist
regime collapse
the north powerful national defence commission ndc which is headed by
leader kim jong il denounced the alleged plan as crime and said it would
stage holy war against those who drew it up
unconfirmed south korean news reports say officials in seoul have drawn up
contingency plan to administer the north in case of regime collapse coup or
popular uprising there
south korean authorities must keep it in mind that unless they apologise over
the anti dprk north korea crime before the whole nation they will be
thoroughly excluded from any dialogue and negotiations aimed at improving inter
korean ties and securing peace and stability on the korean peninsula said an
ndc statement carried by the north official news agency
the north said monday it wants talks with the united states on treaty to
formally end the korean war before it makes any further moves towards
nuclear disarmament
it did not mention talks with south korea about any pact to end the war which
concluded only with an armistice
south korea and the united states rejected the proposal saying the north must
first return to nuclear disarmament talks
pan national holy war will be staged aimed at eradicating the headquarters of
south korean authorities including the presidential blue house which led in
drawing up this plan the ndc statement said without elaborating
it urged the south to disband its unification ministry and the national
intelligence service holding them responsible for drawing up the contingency
plan
bargain hunting lifts stocks as intel boosts tech firms
hong kong jan afp
investor concerns that china will move to further rein in lending were brushed
aside in asia on friday as bargain hunters moved in following losses in the
morning
technology plays were big gainers after us bellwether intel the world biggest
chipmaker posted profit surge of almost percent
chinese shares fell early on but ended percent higher as investors picked
up cheap property and banking stocks
the two sectors have been the main losers on fears that beijing was likely to
impose more stringent rules to stop soaring house prices and cap lending
the shanghai composite index which covers both and shares was up
points at
it is just technical rebound and the upside is likely limited as concerns
over monetary tightening are still lingering guoyuan securities analyst simon
wang told dow jones newswires
huatai securities analyst dai shuang said there are expectations that the
government may take fresh administrative measures to rein in rapid bank lending
growth near term
in bid to ease runaway economic growth the government this week increased the
amount of money banks must hold in reserve and raised the yield on one year
bills for the first time in five months
despite the chinese rebound hong kong fell percent or points to
japan nikkei rose percent or points to its best since
october
shares in cosmetics maker shiseido soared percent to yen on news it
will spend billion dollars to buy bare escentuals of the united states
and troubled japan airlines which has lost around percent this week over
fears it is about to apply for bankruptcy fell one yen to yen
sydney closed flat after spending much of the day in the red
the amp asx was up points at thanks to late rally after
commonwealth bank of australia said it expected big rise in first half cash
profit
regional stocks had been weighed by disappointing data from the united states
that showed retail sales fell unexpectedly by percent in december
analysts had expected gain of percent in sales the key driver of us
economic activity
but technology stocks were boosted after intel said net profit soared nearly
nine fold by percent to billion dollars in the three months to
december
intel also said it expects revenue of between billion dollars and
billion dollars this quarter better than the billion dollars forecast by
analysts
the dollar dropped to yen in tokyo afternoon trade from in new york
late thursday as the impact of the retail data set in while the euro slid to
dollars from and held steady at yen
in asian oil trade concerns over demand in the united states sent new york
main contract light sweet crude for february delivery cents lower to
dollars barrel
brent north sea crude for march delivery dropped cents to dollars
gold was at us dollars an ounce in hong kong in the afternoon down
from thursday close of dollars
in other markets
seoul was percent or points up at
bellwether samsung electronics gained percent to won hitting
record price and hynix semiconductor climbed percent to fresh
week high
singapore closed flat the straits times index edging down points to
the muted reaction to intel good results suggests that the market is more
afraid of bad news than reacting to good news said amfraser senior vice
president of equity sales gabriel gan
singapore airlines fell eight cents to dollars united overseas bank
tumbled cents to and property firm city developments was down eight
cents to
taipei rose percent or points to its best level since
june
au optronics added percent to taiwan dollars and innolux rose
percent to both boosted by the intel data
kuala lumpur was percent or points higher at
techs continued to rally on expectations of better earnings but latex glove
plays finally succumbed to profit taking after good run dealer said
among technology firms mpi added percent to ringgit while unisem was
up percent to top glove slid percent to
jakarta was flat rising points to
telkom advanced percent to rupiah while rival indosat jumped
percent to rupiah
bangkok gave up percent or points to close at
coal producer banpu fell to baht and siam cement was off to
baht
manila lost percent or points to on profit taking
wellington fell percent or points to
korea demands south apologise over alleged plan
seoul jan afp
north korea said friday it would shun any dialogue with south korea unless seoul
apologises for allegedly drawing up contingency plan for the communist
regime collapse
the north powerful national defence commission ndc which is headed by
leader kim jong il denounced the alleged plan as crime and said it would
stage holy war against those who drew it up
unconfirmed south korean news reports say officials in seoul have drawn up
contingency plan to administer the north in case of regime collapse coup or
popular uprising there
south korean authorities must keep it in mind that unless they apologise over
the anti dprk north korea crime before the whole nation they will be
thoroughly excluded from any dialogue and negotiations aimed at improving inter
korean ties and securing peace and stability on the korean peninsula said an
ndc statement carried by the north official news agency
the north said monday it wants talks with the united states on treaty to
formally end the korean war before it makes any further moves towards
nuclear disarmament
it did not mention talks with south korea about any pact to end the war which
concluded only with an armistice
south korea and the united states rejected the proposal saying the north must
first return to nuclear disarmament talks
pan national holy war will be staged aimed at eradicating the headquarters of
south korean authorities including the presidential blue house which led in
drawing up this plan the ndc statement said without elaborating
it urged the south to disband its unification ministry and the national
intelligence service holding them responsible for drawing up the contingency
plan
haitians claw through debris as nation gasps for aid
port au prince jan afp
despairing haitians clawed by hand to seek survivors in the rubble of their
homes as frustration grew at the trickle of aid friday after quake the red
cross said may have killed people
stench of death hung over the capital port au prince with rotting bodies
littering the streets as residents spent third night in the open rattled by
aftershocks following tuesday earthquake
despite the launch of massive global aid operation there was no sign of heavy
lifting equipment among the ruins as tons of material and badly needed supplies
clogged up the international airport
adding to the logistical nightmare were reports of looting and gunshots in the
scramble for help forcing some rescue crews to stop work at nightfall
if international aid doesn come the situation will deteriorate quickly we
need water and food urgently said one survivor lucille
some dead had already been buried by thursday peru prime minister
velasquez quesquen said from port au prince after haitian officials earlier
warned the overall toll may exceed
the united nations said three million people lived in areas hit hardest by the
quake and that had been left homeless
the international committee of the red cross said the quake the largest to hit
the caribbean country in more than years had killed to
people
at port au prince flights jostled for space on the small airport tarmac and
single runway as aid poured in from around the world but the big problem was
getting it to where it was needed most
the united states has assumed air traffic control but flights were delayed as
staff struggled to unload supplies
little aid had trickled down to the streets an afp video showed scuffles
breaking out as helicopter dropped food over one part of port au prince
sporadic gunshots could be heard and witnesses said there had already been some
looting in city sadly familiar with bloodshed and natural disasters
our biggest problem is insecurity yesterday they tried to hijack some of our
trucks today we were barely able to work in some places because of that said
delfin antonio rodriguez rescue commander for the dominican republic
in the agonising wait residents dug through mountains of concrete their
efforts punctuated by the screams and moans of those trapped
some set up temporary shelters with sheets and covers others trekked out
carrying meagre belongings searching for refuge outside the city
doctors struggled to treat the vast numbers of sick and injured
hundreds of corpses some mutilated and half clothed lay rotting outside the
flattened central hospital waves of distraught haitians moving from body to
body in search of loved ones
haitian born rap star wyclef jean called it the apocalypse
we spent the day picking up dead bodies all day that what we did he told
fox news
there so much bodies in the streets that the morgues are filled up the
cemeteries are filled up
dozens of people were rescued as sniffer dogs began to comb the ruins but
moments of joy were few
the international commmunity has so far pledged some million dollars
million euros in aid according to the un
governments promised money experts and equipment donations rolled in by text
message and internet and hollywood idols lent their star power to appeals for
funds
china france iceland the united states and venezuela were among nations with
teams on the ground
the aid coming in includes field hospitals doctors medicines search and
rescue teams with sniffer dogs water and water purification equipment food
tents blankets heavy lifting equipment as well as soldiers and experts
us president barack obama said to the people of haiti we say clearly and with
conviction you will not be forsaken you will not be forgotten
secretary of state hillary clinton and defense secretary robert gates were
coordinating the us effort including million dollars in immediate aid and
the deployment of more than us troops plus three amphibious ships and
several coast guard cutters
the uss carl vinson giant nuclear powered aircraft carrier was due to drop
anchor off the stricken nation later friday
the carrier cavernous space ordinarily reserved for fighter planes is now
filled with helicopters to dispatch water medicine and other aid
us state department spokesman pj crowley said eight search and rescue teams with
total of people were on the ground and countries had sent or pledged
help
obama and french president nicolas sarkozy along with brazil canada and
others will hold conference on reconstruction the french presidency said
people throughout the world want to help said un chief ban ki moon
the united nations which has been assuming security in the impoverished
nation since said staffers had been killed in the quake the worst
disaster in the global body history while were missing
oil prices fall under dollars
london jan afp
oil prices extended losses friday on weak energy demand and news the us
commodity and options regulator was looking to tighten controls in the energy
futures market analysts said
in report the international energy agency also said oil demand in will
be sluggish in the developed world with emerging markets accounting for any
increases and top producers switching supplies to eastern growth markets
new york main futures contract light sweet crude for delivery in february
fell cents to dollars barrel in friday trading
brent north sea crude for march delivery dropped cents to dollars
barrel
oil prices had already slipped on thursday as traders weighed weak energy demand
in the united states that raised concern about the strength of fragile
recovery in the world largest economy
the us department of energy doe on wednesday reported an unexpected increase
in us petroleum reserves
in roller coaster week for oil markets new york crude rose to month high
of dollars on monday on the back of robust chinese data but subsequently
tumbled on news that beijing was tightening money supply to tame economic
growth
think this was much needed correction because oil had run up to almost
dollars per barrel said tony nunan risk manager with mitsubishi corp
lot of this optimism and euphoria was driven by chinese demand like the us
china is major oil consumer
nunan said the increase in us energy stockpiles was reality check because
people realised that the inventories were still high so there lot of fear
and uncertainty in the market now
the doe said crude reserves soared million barrels in the week ending
january far more than the consensus forecast for million barrel gain
distillates including heating fuel and diesel rose million barrels
the doe said confounding forecasts for million barrel drop
distillates are currently in focus amid an ongoing cold snap in the united
states the world largest energy consumer but forecasters have predicted
milder weather for the weeks ahead
prices were also impacted by the commodity futures trading commission proposal
thursday to regulate the energy futures market
there strong feeling that it could impose positions on energy contracts so
think that was one of the bearish catalyst to oil prices nunan said
meanwhile the international energy agency on friday warned of possible downside
risks to economic recovery for members of the organisation for economic
cooperation and development oecd grouping of of the world richest
economies
oil demand recovery in the oecd will likely remain sluggish the paris based
iea said in its monthly oil market report
demand growth in derives entirely from outside the oecd it added
the iea left unchanged an earlier forecast of percent rise in demand in
from to million barrels per day mbd
the report explained that much of that increase would come from asian markets
and some of it from latin america and the former soviet union
rich nations set for sluggish oil demand iea
paris jan afp
oil demand in will be sluggish in the developed world with emerging
markets accounting for any increases and top producers switching supplies to
eastern growth markets the iea said on friday
the international energy agency also warned of possible downside risks to
economic recovery for members of the organisation for economic cooperation and
development oecd grouping of of the world richest economies
oil demand recovery in the oecd will likely remain sluggish the paris based
iea said in its monthly oil market report
demand growth in derives entirely from outside the oecd it added
the iea left unchanged an earlier forecast of percent rise in demand in
from to million barrels per day mbd
the report explained that much of that increase would come from asian markets
and some of it from latin america and the former soviet union
in the united states the world biggest economy and largest oil consumer the
iea said demand continues to fall relative to very weak baseline
the us economy remains fragile the iea added
as the map of oil demand changes the world biggest producers like russia and
saudi arabia are turning their attention to growth markets and reducing supplies
to europe and the united states the iea said
saudi arabia has been increasingly diverting both grades arab heavy and arab
medium crude oil to meet growing domestic power generation and higher sales
into asian markets the report said
saudi exports of arab heavy to europe in the first nine months of were down
to just kbd crude oil measurement unit from kbd in and
kbd in while export volumes to asia have gone up it added
russia is following similar trend with the inauguration in december of new
pipeline and asian export terminal in eastern russia and rerouting of crude
oil from baltic and black sea ports to the east in the iea said
the iea study also reported surge in oil prices earlier this month because of
the arctic chill in europe and the united states with prices rising to month
highs but later easing to between and dollars per barrel
the weather related surge in prices that ushered in the new year may prove
fleeting because of backlog in supplies the iea said adding that the
market would look for signs of economically driven oil demand growth
political tensions in iran nigeria and russia have also helped boost prices in
recent weeks by raising the prospect of supply disruptions the iea said
pointing in particular to brewing russia belarus oil transit dispute
france defends auto aid against eu suspicions
paris jan afp
france defended itself on friday against suspicions of trade protectionism by
european union authorities over its efforts to stop french car maker renault
shifting production abroad
france europe minister pierre lellouche said he was surprised to learn from
press reports that eu competition commissioner neelie kroes had questioned the
legality of the terms of france financial support for its auto sector
kroes said on thursday she had told her office to contact french authorities to
seek explanations after they pressured renault not to shut down factories at
home and move production to turkey
lellouche responded in statement on friday that the government was entitled to
approach renault over its production plans and last year state aid to the
french auto sector was totally compatible with eu community law
he added nothing in the agreed commitments forbids the state as shareholder
from discussing the company strategy with renault managers and expressing
its wish to have vehicle intended for the european market made in the eu
french government measures taken last year to support the auto sector in the
economic downturn included generous loans to car makers on condition that they
keep production and jobs in france
sarkozy has vaunted those measures as helping drag france out of recession last
year and reacted with annoyance to reports that renault may stop making its clio
model in france producing it only at factory in bursa turkey
we re not giving all that money to support the auto sector so that all our
factories can leave to go abroad he told members of parliament at meeting on
wednesday
strongly contest the idea that these big companies just because they are
global no longer have nationality
eu authorities are keen to clamp down on any government measures that they see
as breaching the european union free trade and competition rules
have consistently taken tough line against knee jerk protectionism kroes
said on thursday
economic nationalism risks setting off spiral of retaliation that would make
the crisis times worse and destroy any chance of recovery
lellouche said france was ready to respond to the commission concerns when
officially contacted and called on eu authorities to work to protect jobs in
the bloc
some left homeless by haiti quake un
geneva jan afp
some people have been left homeless by the devastating earthquake in
haiti which destroyed one in homes in the capital port au prince the united
nations said on friday
helicopter assessment by the un mission in haiti found that some areas
suffered percent destruction with many buildings collapsed
first estimates suggest some percent of the housing in port au prince has
been destroyed which roughly translates to about people left homeless
said elisabeth byrs spokeswoman of the un office for the coordination of
humanitarian affairs
urgent russia duma ratifies european court reform
moscow jan afp
the lower house of russia parliament voted on friday to ratify long delayed
protocol on reforming the european court of human rights clearing the way for
the reform to proceed
football why have liverpool slumped this season
london jan afp
liverpool season went from bad to worse on thursday when club captain steven
gerrard star striker fernando torres and playmaker yossi benayoun were all
ruled out through injury just day after the club fa cup defeat at home to
second tier reading
this season liverpool had been tipped to win their first english title since
but now find themselves points behind leaders chelsea having already
exited the champions league at the group stage
so how has it come to this for the merseysiders below afp sport looks at few
factors that may have contributed to liverpool poor run
transfers
manager rafael benitez has spent some million pounds on signing players
since arriving at anfield in and while the likes of torres and benayoun
have been successes too many such as josemi and antonio nunez have failed to
make much of an impact
meanwhile striker robbie keane was sold back to tottenham just months after
arriving at anfield
and selling xabi alonso one of his best buys to real madrid in pre season
appears to have left hole in liverpool midfield that has yet to be filled
tactics
benitez has often been accused of excessive caution in the way he sets his teams
up for premier league matches with critics alleging this puts too much of
burden upon torres and gerrard to score goals they cite december defeat
away to bottom of the table portsmouth as case in point
boardroom rows
few clubs have managed to be successful on the field against backdrop of
