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paris hong kong
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austrian man found not guilty in kazakh spy boss kidnap case
vienna oct afp
an austrian man was found not guilty by court here monday of attempting to
kidnap the ex head of the kazakh secret service in the austrian capital in
in unanimous verdict the accused known only as ildar was found not
guilty on all counts in the trial for the attempted abduction of exiled kazakh
spy boss alnur musayev
prosecutors claimed year old ildar attempted to abduct musayev on behalf
of foreign power
he was also charged with bribing police officers to illegally obtain the
whereabouts of rakhat aliyev the former son in law of kazakh president
nursultan nazarbayev
like musayev aliyev took refuge in austria and the two men were close friends
musayev had been head of the kazakh secret service knb from to
while aliyev who had extensive dealings in the world of politics and business
had been deputy foreign minister and then ambassador to austria
in march kazakh military tribunal sentenced both men in absentia for an
attempted coup
but the year old former deputy foreign minister always maintained his
innocence and claimed he was the victim of political witch hunt designed to
crush his chances of running in the presidential elections
afp gmt economics news advisory
paris jan afp
duty editor dario thuburn
telephone
un tourism rdlead
madrid
the global tourist industry should recover strongly in after the economic
crisis and the swine flu pandemic produced one of the most difficult years for
the sector the un world tourism organisation says
words gmt by denholm barnetson pictures
somalia piracy shipping greece thlead
mogadishu
somali pirates free the greek supertanker maran centaurus one of the largest
ships ever hijacked after plane drops record ransom on the deck
words gmt by mustafa haji abdinur file picture
stocks europe lead wrap
london
europe main stock markets inch up after weak start to trading in asia as
investors await fresh developments in the cadbury takeover saga
words gmt
forex europe lead wrap
london
the euro drops against the dollar as investors anticipate weak business
sentiment survey from germany and looming budget crisis in greece
words gmt
commodities energy oil price ndlead wrap
london
oil prices rise as opec member the united arab emirates describes current price
levels as very reasonable
words gmt
afp gmt news advisory
paris jan afp
duty editor stefan smith
tel
violence feared in desperate haiti
taliban stage mass attacks on kabul
would be pope assassin released from jail
somali pirates take huge ransom for supertanker
haiti quake thlead wrap
port au prince
fears desperate haitians will resort to violence grow despite the mammoth
international relief operation gathering pace and the arrival of thousands more
american troops
words gmt by deborah pasmentier picture graphic video
afghanistan unrest thlead wrap
kabul
taliban gunmen and suicide bombers attack buildings across the heart of kabul
triggering fierce gun battles with security forces and killing at least five
people including child
words gmt by sardar ahmad graphic picture video
we will also move afghanistan unrest attacks timeline
turkey vatican agca ndlead
ankara
mehmet ali agca the turk who tried to kill pope john paul ii in is freed
from prison after almost three decades behind bars keeping his motive shrouded
in mystery
words gmt by burak akinci picture
somalia piracy shipping greece thlead
mogadishu
somali pirates free the greek supertanker maran centaurus one of the largest
ships ever hijacked after plane drops record ransom on the deck
words gmt by mustafa haji abdinur file picture
haiti quake
haiti quake aid military focus
port au prince
vital aid and strong surge of us marines bring drip of hope to
despairing haitians still seeking basic supplies and security nearly week
after the killer earthquake
words gmt picture
haiti quake un ban newseries
united nations
un chief ban ki moon is expected to ask for reinforcements to bolster his
battered mission in haiti as he briefs the security council on his visit to the
quake hit caribbean nation
words gmt
haiti quake relief aid un icrc lead wrap
geneva
aid agencies say huge international relief operation for survivors of haiti
devastating earthquake is gaining pace amid warnings that survivors are growing
increasingly desperate
words gmt by peter capella
we will also move haiti quake figures facts
europe
ukraine vote thlead wrap
kiev
voters in ukraine force two longtime rivals who both favour close ties with
russia into tense presidential election run off rejecting the pro western
leader of the orange revolution
words gmt by stuart williams picture video graphic
ukraine vote politics analysis lead
kiev
whoever becomes ukraine next president russia has strengthened its influence
and the orange revolution dreams of creating different model for post soviet
states have suffered rude awakening
words gmt by stuart williams
we have also moved ukraine vote yushchenko profile
britain iraq military politics inquiry thlead
london
former prime minister tony blair will give long awaited testimony to britain
iraq war inquiry next week officials announce as more key figures give evidence
on the controversial conflict
words gmt picture
un tourism rdlead
madrid
the global tourist industry should recover strongly in after the economic
crisis and the swine flu pandemic produced one of the most difficult years for
the sector the un world tourism organisation says
words gmt by denholm barnetson pictures
africa
nigeria unrest religion rdlead
kano
troops and police patrol the flashpoint nigerian city of jos after weekend
clashes between christians and muslims left at least people dead hundreds
injured and thousands displaced
words gmt by aminu abubakar
middle east
mideast germany israel diplomacy ndlead
berlin
israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu and top ministers pay solemn visit
to germany for historic joint cabinet meeting underlining the strong ties
forged in the wake of the holocaust
words gmt by ron bousso picture
uae energy environment ndlead
abu dhabi
world leaders raise fresh alarm on climate change urging international action
to increase use of clean energy at four day forum that opened in the oil rich
emirate of abu dhabi
words gmt by ali khalil
egypt religion unrest copt focus
cairo
egypt has sought to minimise the repercussions of the recent killing of six
coptic christians in southern egypt by qualifying the incident as criminal
rather than sectarian affair
words gmt by ines bel aiba
americas
chile vote lead wrap
santiago
chilean billionaire media magnate sebastian pinera celebrates his victory in
presidential elections that ends two decade hold on power by the left wing
coalition of outgoing head of state michelle bachelet
words gmt by jose luis varela picture video
environment
india environment glaciers warming un lead
paris
un climate scientists still reeling from scandal involved hacked emails are
to probe reports that predictions for the catastrophic loss of himalayan
glaciers were wrong as an expert says he had flagged the mistake as early as
words gmt by marlowe hood
eu praises conduct of ukraine polls
brussels jan afp
the european union welcomed monday the general good conduct of weekend
presidential elections in ukraine and urged kiev to ensure that the second
round is just as peaceful
the commission welcomes the positive conduct of the first round of the
presidential elections in ukraine the eu executive arm said in statement
the commission expects that the leaders of ukraine will ensure that the next
round of voting on february will take place in similarly peaceful
environment and that it will build on the positive aspects of the first round
sunday polls were won by veteran politician viktor yanukovich ending the rule
of president viktor yushchenko but he failed to secure majority and must face
run off against prime minister yulia tymoshenko
despite squabbles over regional violations no main candidate questioned the
results
the trans atlantic security body osce and other observers said monday that
ukraine elections were of high quality and met democratic commitments in
major turnaround from the last presidential polls
the european union will continue to support ukraine in its democratic
development and looks forward to the further deepening of eu ukraine relations
the commission said
tymoshenko pledged last week to bring ukraine into the eu within five years if
she wins the elections yanukovich is seen as pro russian figure
luxembourg fm calls for european tax
paris jan afp
luxembourg finance minister called for new tax to fund the european union
budget saying in monday le figaro newspaper he favoured levy on financial
transactions or carbon tax
our citizens have direct link with their national budget but this is not at
all the case when it comes to the european union budget the minister luc
frieden wrote in commentary for the french daily
it would therefore make sense to rethink the financing of the european budget
through european tax imposed on certain services or products that would go
directly into the european budget he said
european environmental tax such as carbon tax or tax on certain
financial transactions would be particularly suitable he added
the eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers met in brussels on monday with its
chairman calling for the group to be given greater powers for surveillance of
national economies in the wake of the economic crisis
riyadh plans mass transit system
riyadh jan afp
increasingly traffic choked riyadh is planning to build monorail mass transit
system the capital governor said on monday
routes detailed designs and engineering for kilometre mile light
monorail on two lines are ready and awaiting budget allocation prince salman
bin adbul aziz said in report on infrastructure development
the planning commission has completed design and engineering specifications and
implementation plans for the train and comprehensive plan for bus
transportation in preparation for launching the projects upon adoption of the
necessary budget said the report released by the state spa news agency
the metro will include kilometre mile roughly north south line through
the busy batha shopping area in the heart of the old city and kilometre
mile roughly east west line in the newer north where financial hub is
under construction
salman also said comprehensive network of buses was being planned in
conjunction with the metro
earlier reports said the government was studying mass transit system for the
six million inhabitant capital but no details had been released
with only handful of mini buses serving few routes riyadh has virtually no
public transportation and commuters rely on company transport or private cars
salman report gave no hint on how the city will deal with one of the
overriding issues of public transport how women who are banned from driving
and who are required to travel with male guardian and avoid contact with
unrelated men will be able to make use of it
currently women must be driven to schools or jobs by member of their family or
chauffeur adding to the growing congestion on the city streets
security forces patrol nigerian city after deadly unrest
kano nigeria jan afp
troops and police patrolled the flashpoint nigerian city of jos on monday after
weekend clashes between christians and muslims left people dead and hundreds
injured officials and religious leader said
security forces were sent in to quell the fighting and impose curfew in the
central city where hundreds of people were killed in religious clashes last
year
the latest unrest erupted early sunday when christian youths protested the
building of mosque in christian majority area of the city nigeria th
largest with population of
houses and vehicles were set alight in the fighting which was contained to the
nassarawa gwom district and sealed off by troops on monday residents said
security forces searched cars and people on the street for weapons they said
security personnel have succeeded in quelling the unrest and restoring calm in
the affected area of the city plateau state police spokesman mohammed lerema
told afp
we have cordoned the nassarawa gwom district as strategy to prevent the
violence from spilling over to other parts of the city he said
the head of the city central mosque balarbe dawud told afp more than
people had been injured in the fighting most of them from gun shots
we have received dead bodies since yesterday eleven of them were buried
yesterday and we are conducting funeral for the remaining five he said
so far these bodies were brought from the scene of the fighting to the
mosque he said adding that these were in addition to ten counted at
hospital morgue on sunday
the red cross said more than people have been displaced as result of the
fighting and were sheltering in mosques churches and police barracks however
it declined to give any casualty toll
so far we are still compiling list of casualties and displaced people
therefore we don have an exhaustive figure to give out the head of the red
cross in jos awwalu mohammed told afp
we have also taken the injured to various hospitals in the city for treatment
he added
jos is centrally situated between the muslim dominated north and the christian
south of africa most populous country and has fast become the focus of
sectarian tensions nigeria million people are divided almost equally
between muslims and christians
state information commissioner gregory yenlong said the disturbances had ended
am happy to announce that peace has returned to the city following the
restoration of law and order in nassarawa gwom by security agents he said
he said the curfew would remain in force to ensure that no security breach
happens the government calls on the people to go about their normal business
without fear
the local university has told its students to go home
jos the capital of plateau state and other central and northern areas have
been plagued by religious violence
in november hundreds of people were killed in jos in two days of fighting
triggered by rumour that the mainly muslim all nigerian peoples party had lost
local election to the christian dominated peoples democratic party
state officials put the death toll at about but other sources gave toll
twice that figure
last month at least people were killed in clashes between security forces
and members of radical islamist sect in the northern bauchi state
another sect boko haram which means western education is sin staged an
insurrection in july in nearby borno state when at least people were killed
as security forces crushed the unrest
football africa slams world cup stab vests
johannesburg jan afp
british company is marketing stab proof vest to football fans visiting south
africa for the world cup move denounced monday as scare tactics to make
money off crime fears
we think it abominable it not necessary it money making exercise
using scare tactics said rich mkhondo spokesman for the organising committee
protektorvest company is marketing stab proof vests to tourists who fear being
mugged and stabbed during the world cup at cost of rands dollars
euros also offering free delivery at hotel in johannesburg or pretoria
the company can also customise the vest with team or national emblems
south africa has one of the world highest crime rates with an average
people killed every day but mkhondo said fans would be safe as the country will
have in place comprehensive security plan
south africa chief world cup organiser danny jordaan says the country is
spending billion rands to beef up security
that includes the police officers deployed for the event but also new
equipment including helicopters water cannons body armour and new patrol
vehicles
security forces patrol nigerian city after deadly unrest
kano nigeria jan afp
troops and police patrolled the flashpoint nigerian city of jos on monday after
weekend clashes between christians and muslims left people dead and hundreds
injured officials and religious leader said
security forces were sent in to quell the fighting and impose curfew in the
central city where hundreds of people were killed in religious clashes last
year
the latest unrest erupted early sunday when christian youths protested the
building of mosque in christian majority area of the city nigeria th
largest with population of
houses and vehicles were set alight in the fighting which was contained to the
nassarawa gwom district and sealed off by troops on monday residents said
security forces searched cars and people on the street for weapons they said
security personnel have succeeded in quelling the unrest and restoring calm in
the affected area of the city plateau state police spokesman mohammed lerema
told afp
we have cordoned the nassarawa gwom district as strategy to prevent the
violence from spilling over to other parts of the city he said
the head of the city central mosque balarbe dawud told afp more than
people had been injured in the fighting most of them from gun shots
we have received dead bodies since yesterday eleven of them were buried
yesterday and we are conducting funeral for the remaining five he said
so far these bodies were brought from the scene of the fighting to the
mosque he said adding that these were in addition to ten counted at
hospital morgue on sunday
the red cross said more than people have been displaced as result of the
fighting and were sheltering in mosques churches and police barracks however
it declined to give any casualty toll
so far we are still compiling list of casualties and displaced people
therefore we don have an exhaustive figure to give out the head of the red
cross in jos awwalu mohammed told afp
we have also taken the injured to various hospitals in the city for treatment
he added
jos is centrally situated between the muslim dominated north and the christian
south of africa most populous country and has fast become the focus of
sectarian tensions nigeria million people are divided almost equally
between muslims and christians
state information commissioner gregory yenlong said the disturbances had ended
am happy to announce that peace has returned to the city following the
restoration of law and order in nassarawa gwom by security agents he said
he said the curfew would remain in force to ensure that no security breach
happens the government calls on the people to go about their normal business
without fear
the local university has told its students to go home
jos the capital of plateau state and other central and northern areas have
been plagued by religious violence
in november hundreds of people were killed in jos in two days of fighting
triggered by rumour that the mainly muslim all nigerian peoples party had lost
local election to the christian dominated peoples democratic party
state officials put the death toll at about but other sources gave toll
twice that figure
last month at least people were killed in clashes between security forces
and members of radical islamist sect in the northern bauchi state
another sect boko haram which means western education is sin staged an
insurrection in july in nearby borno state when at least people were killed
as security forces crushed the unrest
canadians dead missing in haiti
ottawa jan afp
eleven canadians died and are missing in the earthquake that struck haiti
last week canada foreign affairs minister lawrence cannon said monday
the updated number of missing persons was less than previously announced on
sunday canada was still searching for people who had not been heard from
since the devastating quake
it evident that as the hours pass the probability of finding people safe and
sound diminishes cannon told press conference
so far canadians had been found alive and of them have returned to
canada aboard military aircraft used to transport aid to haiti he said forty
more were expected to arrive in canada monday
cannon said he has spoken with haitian prime minister jean max bellerive the un
peacekeeping chief alain leroy organization of american states secretary
general jose miguel insulza us secretary of state hillary clinton as well as
his brazilian and french counterparts celso luiz nunez amorim and bernard
kouchner and top officials from six latin american countries
the friends of haiti group agreed to hold talks in montreal on january to lay
the groundwork for larger summit to discuss haiti reconstruction cannon said
netanyahu to visit auschwitz next week official
berlin jan afp
israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu will visit the auschwitz nazi death
camp in poland on international holocaust remembrance day next week an official
said on monday
the israeli premier will hold talks with polish leaders in warsaw before what
was expected to be highly emotional visit for the hardline premier to the
notorious death camp on the outskirts of krakow on january the official told
afp
most of the family of netanyahu wife sara perished in the holocaust
in the united nations designated january as international holocaust
memorial day marking the day that auschwitz birkenau the largest nazi death
camp was liberated in
israel president at the time of the designation moshe katzav attended the
anniversary ceremonies that year
then prime minister ariel sharon paid separate visit to the former camp in may
that year and took part in the annual march of the living with teenagers from
around the world
about million people perished at auschwitz birkenau one million of them
jews from poland and the rest of nazi occupied europe some from overwork
starvation and disease but most in the gas chambers
netanyahu was in berlin on monday for landmark joint german israeli cabinet
meeting highlighting the strong complex ties between the two allies in the wake
of the holocaust
at the start of his one day stay the premier paid visit to the holocaust
memorial in the heart of the german capital and presented german chancellor
angela merkel with an abstract inscription of the jewish prayer of mourning
kadish made by holocaust survivor
spain agrees to extradite argentina death flights pilot
madrid jan afp
court in spain monday agreed to extradite an argentine pilot suspected of
flying death flights under the former dictatorship in buenos aires
the court accepted an extradition request from argentine authorities for julio
alberto poch who was arrested in spain in september
it said there are indications that he was involved in the death flights in
which drugged and blindfolded prisoners were thrown alive out of planes during
argentina dirty war in the and
the court also said there were sufficient guarantees that he would have fair
trial in his country according to copy of the ruling
poch was navy pilot in argentina from until late after leaving the
navy he moved to the netherlands and now holds both dutch and argentine
nationality
as many as people including students intellectuals and labour leaders
disappeared or were held in secret jails and torture centres during argentina
right wing dictatorship because of their political views
police arrested poch pilot for dutch airline transavia at valencia
airport in eastern spain as he was preparing to take off for the netherlands
poch said last week he agreed to face trial in argentina to be able to defend
himself against the charges which he denies
britain to host bank tax talks
london jan afp
britain will next week hold seminar on the practicality of levying
extraordinary taxes on financial institutions in the wake of the financial
crisis the treasury announced on monday
meeting at downing street on january will canvass opinion among officials
from nations the imf world bank and academics on the practical challenges
of implementing insurance levies treasury spokesman told afp
british prime minister gordon brown has urged leading economies including the
united states france and germany to consider tax on financial transactions
to make banks more accountable to society
brown has pressed the idea of so called tobin tax but said nations could also
consider an insurance scheme aimed at preventing repeat of the multi billion
dollar state bailouts of banks caused by the financial crisis
tobin tax was originally proposed in by nobel prize winning economist
james tobin as means of reducing speculation in global markets but tobin
himself later began to doubt his own idea was workable
the imf is meanwhile due to publish report in april expected to outline what
it considers to be the best form of extraordinary taxation on financial
institutions
britain has ruled out copying the united states by proposing special tax on
banks to recover state funds already used to bailout lenders
alistair darling told the scotsman newspaper at the weekend that the government
would not be matching proposal announced by us president barack obama on
thursday for new fee on major banking firms
obama last week said he wanted to recover every single dime taxpayers shelled
out to rescue wall street from the economic crisis
his tax plan if approved by congress would raise billion dollars from
big financial institutions including foreign banks operating in the united
states
venezuelan vessel sinks off colombia missing officials
bogota jan afp
venezuelan flagged vessel sank off the coast of cartagena colombia with
people aboard the colombian navy said monday adding that three persons were
rescued
frigate several coast guard vessels helicopter and patrol plane were
conducting search for crew members of the motor vessel calypso which
went down nautical miles off the caribbean port of cartagena
three persons who were traveling on the vessel were rescued the navy said
the vessel was bound for panama when it went down
activists sue after austrian pigs buried alive in snow
vienna jan afp
animal rights groups are pressing charges over an austrian experiment in which
pigs were buried alive under deep snow to study human survival chances in
avalanches prosecutors said monday
an austrian and german animal rights group filed joint suit against the
authors of the experiment claiming it was cruel said public prosecutor
