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
despite the continuing threats from al qaeda it took stiff beating on friday
an air strike killed six suspected leaders of the group including its military
boss qassem al rimi who was among the people who escaped in
cycling fall leaves kessler in induced coma
madrid jan afp
german cyclist matthias kessler was friday in an induced coma in hospital in
the spanish island of majorca after suffering head injury during fall but
his life is not in danger the hospital said
the year old suffered the fall on wednesday after his bicycle hit cat
during training ride in mallorca with fellow german rider andreas kloden
matthias kessler suffered severe cranial trauma and is in the intensive care
unit in an induced coma spokesman for the son dureta hospital in the
majorcan capital of palma said
the rider is in serious condition but his life is not in danger he told
afp
kessler positive for testosterone in while riding for astana and his two
year suspension expired in july
zambia launches second television channel
lusaka jan afp
zambia vice president george kunda friday launched the country second
public television channel which will be aired hours day by the state run
broadcaster
kunda also called for the zambia national broadcasting corporation to be
innovative in the face of competition from private institutions
due to government policy of liberalisation many other television stations
have come up the private stations have come and they will now be able to offer
competition to the national broadcaster which think is healthy situation
kunda said
the channel will be called tv and has been on test transmission since august
last year and is the only station to be televised hours
since independence the broadcaster has been running one television channel and
in the government liberalized the airwaves which saw two private
television stations set up in the capital
the new television channel will only be televised in lusaka before being
extended to other parts of the country
thousands waiting in haiti hospitals for surgery aid worker
geneva jan afp
thousands of people were on friday waiting in haiti hospitals for surgical
treatment following the earthquake the head of the charity doctors without
borders msf in haiti said friday
stefano zannini said in telephone news conference that they needed surgical
and immediate interventions
in msf hospitals we have thousands ready for surgical interventions he added
risk of riots in haiti brazilian defense minister
brasilia jan afp
the delay in getting water food and shelter to the desperate population of
haiti capital is raising the risk of riots brazilian defense minister
nelson jobim warned friday after visiting the quake hit city
we are worried about security he bluntly told reporters on arrival in
brasilia after two day stay in port au prince
as long as the people are hungry and thirsty as long as we haven fixed the
problem of shelter we run the risk of riots he said
brazil is in command of the un peacekeeping force deployed to haiti before
the quake and is using its troops for disaster relief efforts
it lost of its citizens in the quake according to jobim
they were soldiers in the peacekeeping mission high profile civilian
camapigner for children rights zilda arns the deputy un representative in
haiti luiz carlos da costa and another unidentified brazilian
another four brazilian soldiers were missing though jobim said that term was
really euphemism suggesting he believed they were also dead
the brazilian army said of its soldiers were injured in the quake the globo
news website said of them arrived in brazil on friday for medical treatment
brazil has sent at least six flights full of aid for haiti quake survivors and
its troops including water food medical supplies and rescue personnel more
were due to leave friday
pakistani taliban release audio of leader denying his death
peshawar pakistan jan afp
the pakistani taliban released an audio recording allegedly made friday of
leader hakimullah mehsud denying he had been killed in us bombing raid as the
military investigated the reports
missiles fired from an unmanned us aircraft killed at least islamist
insurgents at training camp in pakistan lawless northwest tribal belt
thursday and security officials said mehsud may have been among the dead
the government and the army say they cannot confirm the death while the
tehreek taliban pakistan ttp group mehsud commands say he is alive and well
and sent the recording to media friday to back up their claims
reporters familiar with mehsud said the voice appeared to be his but there was
no mention of dates or the bombing alleged to have killed him making it
impossible to confirm if it was recorded before or after thursday strike
sometimes they the government launch propaganda about my martyrdom through
media and sometimes they say that the operation has been completed in south
waziristan this can never happen mehsud said
he was referring to military operations against taliban strongholds launched
last year in the tribal district of south waziristan
hakimullah mehsud assumed leadership of the group blamed for the deaths of
thousands of people in attacks across pakistan after his predecessor baitullah
mehsud was killed in us drone strike in august last year
the ttp denied baitullah mehsud death for weeks apparently amid fierce
infighting over his successor
hakimullah mehsud himself had to counter rumours of his own demise at the hands
of rival militant in october prompting the militant chief to make number of
audio and video statements denying he had been killed
conflicting reports emerged from intelligence agents and security officials in
the northwest on friday with some saying mehsud was injured while others said
the ttp chief and some of his top commanders were likely killed
the us strike hit in remote and mountainous area between the districts of
north and south waziristan and the military spokesman said access to the
taliban controlled area was one hurdle in obtaining information
so far we do not have confirmation of him either getting killed or getting
injured it will take little more time to confirm this or otherwise military
spokesman major general athar abbas told afp
intelligence agencies are at their work they are trying to probe and find out
from their sources
the ttp has already issued number of statements denying mehsud death and on
friday militant spokesman azam tariq said his boss had left the shaktoi area
pounded by the missiles to minutes before the strike
hakimullah is alive and safe met with him last night there was not even
scratch on him tariq told afp by telephone
more than people have been killed in about us drone strikes since august
with surge in under us president barack obama seven drone strikes
have hit the tribal northwest this month alone
the bombings fuel anti american sentiment in muslim pakistan and the ttp
repeatedly vow to avenge the raids
want to caution the pakistani nation that the drone attacks in tribal areas
are danger to pakistan security and sovereignty mehsud said in the
recording issued friday
from now onwards any dangerous step that the taliban will take in pakistan
the responsibility will be on the government
with washington pressing islamabad to tackle militants who use its soil to
launch attacks in neighbouring afghanistan pakistan armed forces last year
carried out multiple assaults on ttp strongholds across the tribal belt
despite the offensives attacks blamed on the ttp show no sign of abating with
bombings increasingly hitting civilians on january about people were
killed in suicide bombing at volleyball game in northwest town
urgent three killed in us missile strike in nw pakistan officials
miranshah pakistan jan afp
us drone attacks killed three militants in pakistan tribal belt on the
afghan border friday destroying militant compound pakistani officials said
urgent three killed in us missile strike in nw pakistan officials
miranshah pakistan jan afp
us drone attacks killed three militants in pakistan tribal belt on the
afghan border friday destroying militant compound pakistani officials said
us to formally ask china for explanation on cyber attacks
washington jan afp
the united states said friday that it will formally ask the chinese government
in the coming days for an explanation of china based cyberattacks on the
internet giant google
we will be issuing formal demarche to the chinese government in beijing on
this issue in the coming days probably early this week state department
spokesman crowley told reporters
it will express our concern for this incident and request information from
china as to an explanation of how it happened and what they plan to do about
it he said
us secretary of state hillary clinton has already informally asked for an
explanation from china for what google said was wave of highly sophisticated
cyberattacks aimed at chinese human rights activists
the white house on thursday backed google decision to no longer submit to
china internet censorship in row the search giant warns could lead it to
pull out of the country
the row has threatened to rattle ties between washington and beijing already
frayed over number of issues from the copenhagen climate change debacle to
the value of the chinese yuan and number of other trade disputes
rallying dakar rally results
santa rosa argentina jan afp
dakar rally results on friday after the th and penultimate stage km
special run between san rafael and santa rosa in central argentina
motorcycles
th stage
pal ullevalseter nor ktm hr min sec cyril despres fra ktm
at sec marc coma esp ktm min sec francisco lopez chi aprilia
alain duclos fra ktm helder rodrigues por yamaha
jakub przygonski pol ktm jonah street usa ktm olivier pain
fra yamaha ruben faria por ktm
overall standings
cyril despres fra ktm hr min sec pal ullevalseter nor ktm at
hr min sec francisco lopez chi aprilia helder rodrigues
por yamaha david fretigne fra yamaha alain duclos
fra ktm jonah street usa ktm jakub przygonski
pol ktm olivier pain fra yamaha juan pedrero garcia
esp ktm
selected
marc coma esp ktm
oklahoma executes convicted double murderer
washington jan afp
julius young who was convicted of beating woman and her son to death with
baseball bat has been executed in the us state of oklahoma prison officials
said friday
young was put to death by lethal injection late thursday spokeswoman jerry
massie said
young was sentenced to death in for the killings two years earlier of his
former girlfriend and her son who were found beaten to death in their tulsa
oklahoma home
oklahoma has executed people since when the death penalty was
reestablished in the united states including three last year
rallying dakar rally results
santa rosa argentina jan afp
dakar rally results on friday after the th and penultimate stage km
special run between san rafael and santa rosa in central argentina
motorcycles
th stage
pal ullevalseter nor ktm hr min sec cyril despres fra ktm
at sec marc coma esp ktm min sec francisco lopez chi aprilia
alain duclos fra ktm helder rodrigues por yamaha
jakub przygonski pol ktm jonah street usa ktm olivier pain
fra yamaha ruben faria por ktm
overall standings
cyril despres fra ktm hr min sec pal ullevalseter nor ktm at
hr min sec francisco lopez chi aprilia helder rodrigues
por yamaha david fretigne fra yamaha alain duclos
fra ktm jonah street usa ktm jakub przygonski
pol ktm olivier pain fra yamaha juan pedrero garcia
esp ktm
selected
marc coma esp ktm
security situation in haiti remains ok gates
washington jan afp
security conditions in quake hit haiti remain pretty good but water and food
needs to be delivered urgently us defense secretary robert gates said on
friday
the security situation remains ok gates told news conference citing
reports of minor looting
but it was vital to bring food and water to haitians quickly so people do not
in desperation turn to violence he said
ukraine hopefuls in final push for embittered voters
kiev jan afp
ukraine presidential election candidates friday made final effort to appeal
for the support of voters deeply disillusioned with the orange revolution on the
last day of campaigning
leading opinion polls ahead of sunday vote is pro russian politician viktor
yanukovich the defeated candidate in when the orange revolution street
protests forced re run of rigged polls and sparked hope of new era
by contrast the winner and champion of ukraine eu integration president
viktor yushchenko is set for humiliating first round exit with his reputation
scarred by the failure of the revolution to deliver reform
yanukovich dour ex mechanic once jailed for theft hopes to win sunday
election outright but it is almost certain that he will fail to win majority
and that the poll will go to second round on february
he is expected to be joined in run off by prime minister yulia tymoshenko
famed for her traditional golden hair braid whom analysts believe still has
time to make up the difference over the next three weeks
think that the intrigue is not over yet volodymyr fesenko director of the
penta centre for political studies in kiev told afp
think tymoshenko has chances to win if she succeeds in mobilizing post orange
voters wanting european integration and wins voters from the defeated
candidates
yanukovich is to hold rally billed as celebration gala concert in central
kiev at gmt with glitzy ukrainian pop singers taisia povaliy and svetlana
loboda
tymoshenko meanwhile will want to ensure her second place standing is not
endangered by late surge from third place candidate businessman sergiy
tigipko who appears to have made gains over the last weeks
tymoshenko yanukovich and yushchenko are to make last ditch appeals for votes
with separate late night appearances on ukraine highly popular political talk
shows before the deadline for campaigning expires at midnight
tymoshenko stood side by side with yushchenko in the orange revolution but they
fell out dramatically afterwards the president spent much of the campaign
seeking to destroy her character to the delight of yanukovich strategists
although both share strong belief in eu integration the erstwhile allies
became locked in bitter personal power struggle each convinced that the other
was criminally responsible for wrecking the country
all revolutions disappoint but this one has disappointed more than most said
andrew wilson of the european council on foreign relations
the president criticised for concentrating on grandiose historical issues
rather than reform spent the last campaign day presenting book entitled to
the nation which compiled the main speeches of his term
during the book presentation he took parting shot at tymoshenko accusing her
of destroying the country and declared am not politician would prefer
to be called statesman
yanukovich draws his strongest support in the industrial and largely russian
speaking east of ukraine whereas tymoshenko heartland is the more
agricultural west where the ukrainian language predominates
as final card tymoshenko could raise yanukovich convictions and jail
sentences in and for theft and assault which were both erased by the
courts in december
one of the stranger contenders is vasyl gumeniuk local politician from
western ukraine who registered his candidacy after changing his surname to
protyvsikh or against all in ukrainian
in another case of election cynicism website entitled prodaygolos com ua
sellyourvote com emerged ahead of the polls allowing ukrainians the chance to
auction off their vote
after it caused something of scandal however visitors are now being told the
mysterious site is closed
rallying lucky for ullevalseter in dakar bikes
santa rosa argentina jan afp
norwegian motorcyclist pal ullevalseter won the th moto stage of the dakar
rally on friday km race between san rafael and santa rosa in central
argentina
the victory took ullevalseter ktm into second place in the overall standings
leapfrogging the chilean francisco lopez known as chaleco who finished
min sec behind the norwegian in fourth place on his aprilia
france ktm rider cyril despres sec behind ullevalseter in second place
continues to enjoy healthy lead of hr min at the top of the motorbikes
general classification
spain marc coma another ktm rider finished third on the day min sec off
ullevalseter pace
coma was handed controversial time penalty of hr min for illegally changing
wheel during the seventh stage and is now hr min behind despres in the
overall standings
portugal helder rodrigues yamaha remains fourth overall with frenchmen
david fretigne yamaha and alain duclos ktm fifth and sixth respectively
ahead of saturday final stage which will take the competitors back to buenos
aires
alert
three killed in us drone missile strike in nw pakistan officials
mauritanian opposition to boycott political forum
nouakchott jan afp
mauritania opposition will boycott political forum to be held in nouakchott
this weekend on the grounds that it has not been consulted an opposition
official said friday
the conditions aren ripe for dialogue where the opposition has not been
consulted in advance said mohamed moustapha ould bedredine member of the
coordination of forces of democratic opposition cfod which groups several
parties
we re boycotting this reunion because we don find it falls in line with the
spirit of dialogue established in dakar he added referring to talks last june
that led to an accord among protagonists in mauritanian crisis and to the
election in july won by president mohamed ould abdel aziz
in principle we re favourable to all dialogue but the unilateral approach of
the majority doesn suit us ould bedredine said
the parliamentary majority led by the union for the republic upr has
organised three day forum from saturday to monday in nouakchott on governance
in mauritania years after independence
according to the organisers the conference will deal with matters such as the
revision of the constitution administrative and political institutions the
role of the opposition in democratic regime relations between the authorities
and the opposition
guinea acting ruler threatens to quit junta source
dakar jan afp
the interim head of guinea ruling junta has threatened to resign over the
proposed return to the country of regime leader moussa dadis camara recovering
from an assassination attempt in burkina faso
split emerged within the junta when interim leader sekouba konate and other
members met with camara thursday in ouagadougou to discuss his future on
thursday an unnamed junta member told afp from the burkina faso capital
camara flew into ouagadougou late tuesday from morocco where he had received
treatment after he was shot in the head in december assassination bid
interim leader general konate offered to resign when other junta members pressed
for camara return to conakry said the source contacted by telephone from
dakar
camara ally colonel moussa keita permanent secretary and minister in the
junta insisted that camara return
if that is what you want then offer my resignation the source quoted the
interim leader as saying
konate accused keita of looking to plunge guinea into war the source said
moussa are you looking for war in guinea you will get it he was quoted as
saying
he reportedly added yes you want the country to burn you know that dadis
betrayed us he tricked all the people let stop pretending abroad that we are
popular it not true the people are tired of us
the united states is hoping burkina faso president blaise compaore will
persuade camara not to return home senior state department official told afp
thursday
compaore has been mediating peace in guinea which has been mired in political
crisis sparked by military coup led by camara on december
unrest worsened when troops massacred more than people at an opposition
rally in september last year according to un figures hundreds more were
wounded and women and young girls were publicly raped
recent un report on the massacre in guinea capital conakry named camara as
suspect and accused the army of crimes against humanity
the international criminal court said friday visit by its deputy prosecutor to
investigate the stadium incident planned for next week would be postponed for
logistical reasons
fatou bensouda would make the trip at the at the invitation of guinean
authorities
konate has offered to share power in transitional government with the
opposition in an effort to bring peace to the country
both france and the united states have expressed fear of civil war in guinea if
camara returns
william fitzgerald deputy assistant secretary of state for african affairs
told afp thursday that camara continued absence could provide an opening for
konate
we would hope that blaise compaore holds on to dadis allows him to convalesce
there because don think he fully recovered and konate be given the
opportunity to return and continue transition with civilians said fitzgerald
konate proposal is for the forces vives active forces coalition of
political parties trade unions and civil society organisations to present an
interim prime minister from the opposition who will oversee transition to
elections as soon as possible
guinea has been under military rule since bloodless coup on december
when camara became head of state within hours of the death of hardline ruler
lansana conte who took power in
yemen qaeda chiefs killed in air attack senior official
sanaa jan afp
an air strike on friday on an al qaeda in the arabian peninsula aqap position
in north yemen killed six suspected leaders of the group including its military
boss senior yemeni official said
qassem al rimi was among people who made daring escape from state
security prison in sanaa in february that left the government red faced
six al qaeda leaders including the network military chief qassem al rimi
were killed on friday the official said on condition of anonymity
ammar al waili ayedh al shabwani and saleh al tais were also killed in the
raid on friday morning in al ajashir desert region in eastern saada
province he said
the two other leaders were not named while two other men fled the scene
aqap has claimed responsibility for botched attack on us airliner on
christmas day
friday news came on the day britain said it would host an international
meeting on fighting extremism in yemen on january in london rather than on
the th as originally planned
foreign office spokesman could not yet confirm which countries would attend
in friday sermon meanwhile powerful cleric sheikh abdulmajeed al zendani
said it would be religious duty dictated by god to defend yemen through
jihad or holy war if it is occupied by foreign power
he was responding in part to comments on wednesday by carl levin chairman of
the us senate armed services committee who urged washington to consider
targeting al qaeda in yemen with drones air strikes or covert operations but
not invade the country
from the moment the enemy invites itself onto our territory and occupies us
our religion imposes the obligation of jihad on us said zendani whom the us
administration labels global terrorist
it is religious duty dictated by god he said during his sermon in sanaa
this order of god cannot be annulled by anyone not king not president
not ulema muslim scholars zendani added
yemen council of clerics which includes zendani had made similar call for
jihad on thursday if foreign forces join the fight against aqap
if any party insists on aggression or invades the country then according to
islam jihad becomes obligatory said statement signed by clerics
the clerics stressed strong rejection of any foreign intervention in yemeni
affairs whether political or military
they also rejected any security or military agreement or cooperation between
yemen and any foreign party if it violates islamic sharia law and the
setting up any military bases in yemen or in its territorial waters
on friday zendani repeated that we reject any interference in yemeni affairs
adding that the right of self defence is duty
he urged arab and muslim states to support yemen before catastrophe occurs
the islamic nation will not stand by with its arms crossed in the face of these
crusades he added
to defend ourselves and defend our country and our territory we only fear
god and we are confident in victory he said to cries of allahu akbar god
is greater
washington has accused aqap of training the man who allegedly carried out the
christmas day failed attack nigerian umar farouk abdulmutallab
sanaa has intensified operations against the militants insisting it can tackle
them on its own without the need for foreign intervention
friday operation was the latest in series of blows since december when the
government launched its latest campaign against al qaeda
on tuesday security forces killed abdullah mehdar said to be the group
kingpin in shabwa province east of the capital
provincial governor ali hassan al ahmadi said dozens of fighters including
saudis and egyptians who had fled afghanistan were hiding in shabwa
among them he said were current aqap chief nasser al wahaishi his saudi
number two saeed ali al shehri and radical us yemeni cleric anwar al awlaqi
week ago officials announced the capture of key leader mohammed al hanq and
two other militants believed behind threats against western interests in sanaa
that caused embassies to close for several days
friday attack also came day after the defence ministry vowed to do clear
yemen of al qaeda jihadists and warned that intensive operations will continue
against osama bin laden extremists
us president barack obama has said he has no intention of sending troops to
yemen or to somalia in the horn of africa just across the bab al mandab
strait
wfp says food stocks mostly intact at haiti warehouses
geneva jan afp
the un food relief agency said friday that little food appeared to have been
taken from its warehouses at haiti capital port au prince after earlier
reports of looting
world food programme spokeswoman emilia casella said earlier that local partners
had indicated that the agency warehouses were looted
but wfp staff who were able to reach warehouse on friday morning haitian time
found that food stocks were there
can say that there has been absolutely no looting but as of this morning
haiti time our staff on the ground were able to reach the warehouse in question
and it was badly damaged casella told afp
but the food appears to be there she added
the warehouse visited held tonnes of food and was the agency biggest in
the country the agency said thursday that it had about tonnes of food in
haiti
casella had said earlier that the food agency would have to restock in order to
provide urgent food aid for million people affected by the deadly earthquake
in an emergency looting is something that is not unusual she stressed
casella said the agency estimates that some two million people would require
urgent food assistance in the coming month
the un food agency is examining the possibility of setting up kitchens in
the capital particularly in areas where many homeless people are concentrated
each kitchen is expected to feed about people day added casella
highlighting challenges faced by relief organisations on the ground casella
said the physical destruction is so great that physically getting from point
to point with the supplies is not an easy task she said
getting physically tonnes and tonnes of equipments of food and water is not as
instant as twitter or skype or hour satellite news she added
romanov family calls for probe into last tsar murder
moscow jan afp
descendants of the romanov dynasty called on russia friday for the reopening of
probe into the execution of the last tsar nicolas ii lawyers for the royal
family said
grand duchess maria vladimirovna viewed as the head of russia imperial
dynasty by some monarchists has appealed to moscow tribunal charging that
last year decision to close the investigation was illegal and unfounded
the romanov family believes the halting of the investigation may contradict
supreme court ruling that nicolas ii and his family were victims of
political repression lawyer german lukyanov told reporters in moscow
the investigative committee seems to have found that some kind of criminals
carried out the killing he said arguing that it was political killing
carried out on the order of the state
the family has requested that investigators hand over copy of their decision
to close the case lukyanov said
the descendants of the romanov dynasty which ruled russia from to
are scattered around the world and some contest grand duchess maria
vladimirovna claim to be the direct heir to the russian throne
tsar nicholas ii his german born wife alexandra and their five children were
shot dead in the cellars of house in the urals city of yekaterinburg where
they were being held prisoner after the russian revolution
italy jews divided over pope upcoming synagogue visit
rome jan afp
italy jewish community was divided friday over an impending visit by pope
benedict xvi to the city main synagogue after he angered many by moving world
