law an independent commission probing dutch political support for the still
controversial war says
words moved by martine pauwels picture
nireland britain ireland politics thlead
belfast
the main political parties in northern ireland express new hope that deal can
be struck over transferring policing powers from london to belfast despite
scandal which has engulfed the province most senior politician
words gmt by eamonn mallie picture
netherlands jews wwii frank gies thlead obit
the hague
miep gies the woman who hid dutch youngster anne frank from the nazis and
guarded her diary that became one of the world most read books has died after
brief illness at the age of
words gmt by mariette le roux picture
france britain crime thlead
versailles france
jessica davies niece of britain junior defence minister is sentenced to
years in prison for drunkenly stabbing and killing frenchman she had picked up
in bar in paris suburb
words gmt by rory mulholland picture sketch video
africa
nigeria oil unrest britain colombia thlead wrap
lagos
gunmen seize three britons and colombian shooting dead their police escort in
the first major kidnapping for six months in southern nigeria oil producing
niger delta region
words gmt
asia
china military missile test thlead
beijing
china says it has successfully tested missile intercept system in what
analysts describe as show of its advanced air defence capabilities amid
tensions over us arms sales to taiwan
words moved by robert saiget picture
us diplomacy asia newseries
honolulu hawaii
us secretary of state hillary clinton seeks to defuse dispute over us air
base in japan as she meets with her japanese counterpart katsuya okada
words gmt by lachlan carmichael
hongkong us crime trial rdlead
hong kong
an american woman dubbed the milkshake murderer for the killing of her high
flying banker husband in one of hong kong most sensational crime cases
launches her final appeal
words moved by polly hui picture
corrected well covered bum and big hips good for health study
london jan afp
having extra weight on your behind big hips and solid thighs is good for you
british researchers said on tuesday
carrying fat on the hips thighs and behind rather than around the waist has
range of health benefits and actively protects against diabetes and heart
disease experts at oxford university said
fat around the hips and thighs is good for you but around the tummy is bad
said dr konstantinos manolopoulos one of three scientists behind the research
which was published in the international journal of obesity
big bottom is much better than carrying fat around the waist which tends to
release more harmful fatty acids into the body the research shows
belly fat also releases molecules called cytokines which trigger inflammation
raising the risk of diabetes and heart disease
but fat carried on the thighs traps these harmful fatty acids and stops them
from latching on to the liver and muscles and causing range of health
problems including insulin resistance
although fat around the thighs and backside tends to burn slower and be harder
to shift it can release beneficial hormones which protect the arteries and help
blood sugar control the research showed
the idea that body fat distribution is important to health has been known for
some time said manolopoulos who is researcher at the oxford centre for
diabetes endocrinology and metabolism ocdem
however is it only very recently that thigh fat and larger hip circumference
have been shown to promote health that lower body fat is protective by itself
it is shape that matters and as far as health is concerned being pear
shaped is preferable to being apple shaped
in an ideal world the more fat around the thighs the better providing the
stomach stays slim manolopoulos said
unfortunately you tend not to get one without the other he said
bulgaria eu commission hopeful under fire from meps
brussels jan afp
would be eu humanitarian commissioner bulgaria rumiana jeleva found herself
under fire over her financial interests as she underwent european
parliamentary hearing on tuesday
bombarded by questions jeleva denied that she had sought to hide the financial
interests
she urged the assembled meps to look at the relevant supporting documents you
will see that it is quite clear that bulgarian law has been complied with she
stressed urging the parliamentarians to concentrate on the matter in hand her
aptness for the eu commission post
however several of her interlocutors saw the two matters as inextricably linked
asking her why she did not list her activities as manager of the global consult
company between and
would like to assure you that have declared everything have to declare
she assured her interlocutors
if had done something wrong the bulgarian authorities would have exposed it
long ago she added
as jeleva hearing was underway some meps distributed documents in the chamber
on jeleva work with global consult which disappeared from her list of
declared interests in
jeleva was in particular questioned by compatriot antonyia parvanova whom she
accused of helping to spread the rumours
not talking about rumours talking about official documents
parvanova countered
jeleva the year old former bulgarian foreign minister who was once an mep
herself has also had to defend herself against rumours of links between her
husband and organised crime before she took up the post as her country top
diplomat last year
never comment on rumours in the press on facts related to my private life we
are here to discuss plans on crisis response don have anything to hide
she insisted
jeleva was the first of eu commission chief jose manuel barroso nominees to
come under such fierce parliamentary grilling
on monday europe new foreign affairs chief british peer catherine ashton won
tepid support at her parliamentary confirmation hearing after failing to impress
number of deputies with what they called vague answers to policy questions
the parliamentary hearings will continue until january in the form of
question and answers sessions
each eu nation is allowed to nominate one commissioner except portugal from
where barroso himself hails
the european parliament cannot reject commissioners individually but the meps
can veto the entire college if they are unhappy with any of the nominees
the parliamentarians were to deliver their opinion on jeleva and the other
nominated commissioner quizzed tuesday later in the day
football champions egypt off to winning start
benguela angola jan afp
defending champions egypt defeated nigeria in their opening africa cup of
nations group match at the ombaka stadium here on tuesday
nigeria coach shuaibu amodu said his team paid the price for some schoolboy
errors
we played well and controlled the game especially in the first half but somehow
we made some silly mistakes and we were punished said miserable amodu
skipper joseph yobo said had they sustained their first half performance they
would have recorded maximum points
we started well and got goal but they came at us and equalised they also
scored early in the second half to unsettle us
had we come out in the second half as we did in the first half we would have
won this very difficult game said the everton defender
the six time champions brought to an end year old winless run they have
endured against the west africans and most importantly gave them head start
to progress to the knockout stage of the tournament
against the run of play nigeria took the lead after minutes through the
exciting chinedu obasi who powered home left footed rocket of shot from
outside the box beyond diving goalkeeper essam el hadary
emad motaeb drew egypt level in the th minute when he got to the end of
quick counter attack initiated by wael gomaa and skipper ahmed hassan to round
goalkeeper vincent enyeama and slot the ball into an empty net
skipper hassan gave the champions the lead in the th minute when he thundered
home blinder past enyeama from outside the yard box
substitute mohamed nagi completed the demolition job on nigeria in the th
minute when he drove home pile driver for the third goal to the delight of the
noisy strong crowd
before that mohamed zidan should have extended egypt lead on the hour mark
when all alone with enyeama inside the box but he blasted wide
hoffenheim striker obasi late inclusion in the super eagles squad to angola
was at the heart of several nigerian attacks against an eyptian team missing key
stars like mohamed aboutrika mohamed barakat and amr zaki through injury
zidan would have put the defending champions in front after seven minutes but
his final shot sailed over the bar with goalkeeper enyeama beaten
and immediately after obasi stunning opening goal said moawad would have
drawn egypt level but he sliced his final effort off target
on minutes borussia dortmund striker zidan again threatened the nigerian
goal but his low shot screamed into touch to the relief of enyeama
yakubu aiyegbeni had penalty appeal refused by the referee from mauritius
rajindraparsad seechurn in the th minute after egyptian defender mahmoud
fathalla handled the ball inside the box
and moments later kalu uche fired wide from inside the area
in the rd minute leftback taye taiwo launched an ambitious attack down the
left wing before pulling back for kalu uche who failed to hit the target
it was miss nigeria would rue as moments later egypt countered for al ahly
striker motaeb to score the equaliser as the pharaohs finished the first half
the stronger of the two teams
in the second half egypt continued to create chances with zidan troubling the
nigerian back four again and again while at the other end goalkeeper el hadary
kept out whatever nigeria could produce as the champions showed they cannot be
taken lightly in angola
chavez new exchange rates may boost inflation analysts
caracas jan afp
venezuela will be forced to pour greenbacks into an unofficial gray market
here to support the national currency fueling what is already latin america
highest inflation rate analysts predicted
president hugo chavez announced friday the bolivar would trade at to the
dollar for non essential goods double the present rate and at rate of
bolivars to the dollar for basic goods in an election year move aimed at
favoring the poor
the government is going to rein in the impact of the changes on the gray
market dollar by flooding the market with lot of dollars economist gustavo
rojas told afp with inflation already around percent
while the government says it aims to get rid of the gray market dollar at some
point down the line economists shrug off the idea
as long as there is government fixed exchange rate the gray market dollar
is going to be there because it is trying to meet the demand for dollars of
people who do not have access to the official exchange rate economist and
university professor jesus cacique explained
exchange rates on the gray market are pegged to dollar denominated bonds issued
by the venezuelan government which trade at far higher rates of exchange than
the official rate set by the government since
it is legal but finance minister ali rodriguez has said the government
eventually aims to phase it out some factors surrounding its use are however
illegal such as publishing the unofficial rate
chavez after announcing the new exchange rate system warned that the
government and central bank would intervene in the market to squelch any
currency speculation
in late faced with plunging oil prices on which caracas budget coffers
depend the government cut back on the amount of dollars it was giving importers
and citizens who travel abroad favoring its own international buying needs and
delaying some payments
that sent the gray market dollar value soaring to as high as three times the
official rate even though the government sold bonds to drive down that rate
domingo maza former central bank chief said the gray market dollar will
continue to play an important role in setting prices if the current system is
maintained as expected
rojas said that with the devaluation the government may have plenty of bolivars
in hand but it cannot satisfy the country hard currency demands at rate
of around to the dollar because it simply does not have that many
greenbacks he added
the gray market dollar exchange rate is headed higher later this year he
predicted likely more bad news for the stressed local economy
france warns of flight cancellations in snow
paris jan afp
airlines may have to cancel up to half of their flights from paris main
airport on wednesday when heavy snow and sleet are expected french aviation
authorities warned
the state civil aviation safety authority dgac recommended flights be cancelled
warning that strike action would disrupt services further though it was not
clear on tuesday evening to what extent airlines would comply
the dgac has asked airlines to cancel from tomorrow morning at least percent
of their flights from roissy charles de gaulle airport which could rise to
percent if necessary it said in statement on tuesday
at orly airport paris other main hub south of the capital traffic will be
reduced by percent it added
it said that an airport strike in several cities was likely to disrupt air
traffic further
it advised travellers due to fly on wednesday to contact their airlines
well covered bum and bug hips good for health study
london jan afp
having extra weight on your behind big hips and solid thighs is good for you
british researchers said on tuesday
carrying fat on the hips thighs and behind rather than around the waist has
range of health benefits and actively protects against diabetes and heart
disease experts at oxford university said
fat around the hips and thighs is good for you but around the tummy is bad
said dr konstantinos manolopoulos one of three scientists behind the research
which was published in the international journal of obesity
big bottom is much better than carrying fat around the waist which tends to
release more harmful fatty acids into the body the research shows
belly fat also releases molecules called cytokines which trigger inflammation
raising the risk of diabetes and heart disease
but fat carried on the thighs traps these harmful fatty acids and stops them
from latching on to the liver and muscles and causing range of health
problems including insulin resistance
although fat around the thighs and backside tends to burn slower and be harder
to shift it can release beneficial hormones which protect the arteries and help
blood sugar control the research showed
the idea that body fat distribution is important to health has been known for
some time said manolopoulos who is researcher at the oxford centre for
diabetes endocrinology and metabolism ocdem
however is it only very recently that thigh fat and larger hip circumference
have been shown to promote health that lower body fat is protective by itself
it is shape that matters and as far as health is concerned being pear
shaped is preferable to being apple shaped
in an ideal world the more fat around the thighs the better providing the
stomach stays slim manolopoulos said
unfortunately you tend not to get one without the other he said
spanish flamenco star farruquito completes jail sentence
madrid jan afp
spanish flamenco star farruquito on tuesday completed his three year jail
sentence for hit and run death in while speeding and driving without
licence
he entered the jail in the southern city of seville in january but was
granted work furlough for good behaviour in april of the following year which
meant he only had to sleep at the prison during the rest of his sentence
farruquito which means little pharoah struck pedestrian down in seville in
september his victim benjamin olalla later died at the hospital
in july the year old was sentenced to months in prison for reckless
driving and leaving the scene of an accident the sentence was raised to three
years in year following an appeal by the victim family
farruquito whose real name is juan manuel fernandez montoya was arrested in
march
his younger brother originally confessed to the crime after police traced the
car but farruquito later said he was the one who hit olalla
the grandson of the legendary flamenco dancer el farruco and son of the
acclaimed singer el moreno farruquito began his career at the age of five on
broadway in new york
eta member reveals plot to kill former spanish pm
madrid jan afp
suspected eta member detained last week in spain has told police he took part
in plot by the basque separatist group to kill former prime minister jose
maria aznar source close to the investigation said tuesday
pedro maria olano told investigators he transported missile launcher that
year which the group intended to use in an attack against aznar when he visited
the basque region in northeastern spain the source told afp
the missiles which were to be used during this attack were seized in october
in southwestern france at the time of the arrest of former eta leadeer
mikel albizu who also went by the alias mikel antza olano added
aznar served as prime minister for two consecutive terms from to
he survived an eta car bomb in while he was leader of the conservative
opposition popular party thanks to his vehicle armour plating
but people were injured in the attack including woman who died several
months later from her injuries
police arrested olano overnight thursday in the basque town of lizartza and
searched his home and that of his parents seizing documents
judge on tuesday ordered that he remain in custody while he is investigated
for conspiracy with view to carrying out an assassination
in february was sentenced him to two years in jail for threatening to kill the
mayor of lizartza who has taken hard line against basque separatists
eta considered terrorist organisation by both the united states and the
european union is blamed for deaths in year campaign for independence
in the basque region of northern spain and southwestern france
rugby union under pressure johnson to reveal england squad
london jan afp
martin johnson is set to unveil his england squad for this season six nations
on wednesday with critics urging him to take bold approach
former players and media pundits alike berated what they saw as england
excessively conservative play during november series where the side managed
just one try in three matches during lacklustre win over argentina and were
well beaten by both australia and new zealand
admittedly johnson was deprived of several first choice players through injury
but the manner of their play left fans frustrated and the unusual sound of the
home side being booed at twickenham demonstrated their feelings
johnson who was appointed england manager without any previous senior coaching
or management experience has won just six of his games in charge
england world cup winning captain was never one for flash play during
his days as an international lock and since taking charge off the field in april
has always emphasised the importance of winning above all else
but england detractors claim there is little value in pragmatic approach
that still results in the team getting beat every time they face decent
opposition and insist johnson will have to broaden his horizons if they are to
be serious contenders at next year world cup in new zealand
england backs lacked much in the way of creative spark in november and the
pumas wallabies and all blacks all spoke of how comfortable they had felt in
defence
england attack coach brian smith the former australia and ireland
international conceded recently the backroom team had been over prescriptive
in their pre match instructions in november and promised new approach
many observers doubt whether johnson is ready to loosen the shackles but his
squad could feature the return of several attack minded players from injury
should full back delon armitage centre riki flutey and fly half toby flood all
be included following variety of fitness problems there is no doubt that
england try scoring options would be increased
up front back row nick easter who in the past has proved an effective link man
between the forwards and the backs is pressing for recall
under the terms of complicated release agreements with england premiership
clubs johnson can make five non injury changes to his squad and in form
northampton wing chris ashton has made his case for call up with nine tries in
league matches this season
as things stand at the moment lewis moody england outstanding player in
november is not technically member of the senior squad
but the leicester back row who has been touted as an alternative england
captain to current skipper steve borthwick is set to continue in place of the
injured tom rees
england runners up in last season six nations to grand slam champions
ireland begin their campaign at home to wales on february
corrected top tijuana drug lord el teo captured mexico police
tijuana mexico jan afp
teodoro el teo garcia simental one of mexico most wanted drug lords was
captured early tuesday on the northwestern baja california peninsula federal
police official said
they detained teodoro garcia simental el teo it was in la paz baja
california sur they also detained one of his brothers known as el torito
added the official who declined to be named
garcia is on list of mexico most wanted drug traffickers with reward of
up to million dollars offered for his capture
hitman called the soup maker last year confessed to dissolving hundreds of
bodies in acid for garcia and his gang has been blamed for spiralling bloodshed
in the border city of tijuana
the arrest is the second major victory for president felipe calderon
controversial clampdown on organized crime in less than month
top drug lord arturo beltran leyva died in shootout with marines in raid
south of mexico city last december
more than people have died in spiraling drug violence in the past three
years in mexico
health warning for tv watching study
washington jan afp
relax in front of the television
be forewarned each hour you spend there boosts chances of premature death by
percent and chances of death from cardiovascular disease by percent
major study released tuesday found
the australian study appearing in circulation journal of the american heart
association looked at the health habits of people between
it found that sedentary spell on the sofa watching tv had negative effects on
blood sugar and blood fats
whether one is obese overweight or fit an hour of television time day
delivers an percent higher risk of early death nine percent higher risk of
cancer death and percent higher risk of death from cardiovascular disease
the research found
people who watch television four hours day see their increased rate of death
from any cause by percent and from cardiovascular disease it soars by
percent
the human body was designed to move not sit for extended periods of time
said david dunstan lead author of the study with the baker idi heart and
diabetes institute in victoria australia
technological social and economic changes mean that people don move their
muscles as much as they used to consequently the levels of energy expenditure
as people go about their lives continues to shrink dunstan said
for many people on daily basis they simply shift from the chair in the car
to the chair in the office to the chair in front of the television he said
the average time people spend watching television daily is three hours in
britain and australia while in the united states it is hours day
protesters block work on turin lyon rail link
milan jan afp
some preparatory construction work began tuesday in northern italy for the high
speed rail line to link the italian city of turin with lyon in france but
several hundred protesters managed to block drilling at one site
crews were involved at several sites in drilling work needed to determine the
path of the rail line officials said
it is fundamental step said mario virano head of special commission for
the italian government on the rail project
but at site in the val di susa where kilometre mile tunnel through
the alps is to be built the drilling could not take place because protesters
occupied the location
we were who waited through the night in the cold to prevent them passing
and they ended up leaving said alberto perino one of the leaders of the so
called no tav movement trying to stop the high speed train link mainly for
environmental reasons
they did not stop anything we will return to this place later virano told
afp
france and italy signed an accord in to build the high speed rail link
virano special commission is expected to present by the end of the month the
options for the path of the rail line
construction of the high speed rail link estimated to cost between to
billion euros about to billion dollars partly financed by the european
union is slated to begin in with the launch of service some years
later
dutch premier welcomes findings on iraq invasion
the hague jan afp
dutch prime minister jan peter balkenende welcomed an independent commission
findings tuesday that the netherlands never gave any military support to the
us led invasion of iraq
am pleased that the commission could disprove these stubborn rumours the
premier told journalists in the hague after the release of commission report
stating that the invasion had lacked legitimacy under international law
the commission found no sign of dutch military support for the invasion
said balkenende
the government appointed commission had been tasked to probe dutch political
backing for the still controversial us led war
balkenende said the government would study the report in detail before giving
fuller response
but he also welcomed finding that there was no proof of the netherlands giving
its political support in exchange for then foreign minister jaap de hoop
scheffer later nomination to the position of nato secretary general
the government decision to back the invasion had been one of honour and
conscience said balkenende who was also the head of government in
opposition political parties have demanded parliamentary inquiry
dutch premier welcomes findings on iraq invasion
the hague jan afp
dutch prime minister jan peter balkenende welcomed an independent commission
findings tuesday that the netherlands never gave any military support to the
us led invasion of iraq
am pleased that the commission could disprove these stubborn rumours the
premier told journalists in the hague after the release of commission report
stating that the invasion had lacked legitimacy under international law
the commission found no sign of dutch military support for the invasion
said balkenende
the government appointed commission had been tasked to probe dutch political
backing for the still controversial us led war
balkenende said the government would study the report in detail before giving
fuller response
but he also welcomed finding that there was no proof of the netherlands giving
its political support in exchange for then foreign minister jaap de hoop
scheffer later nomination to the position of nato secretary general
the government decision to back the invasion had been one of honour and
conscience said balkenende who was also the head of government in
opposition political parties have demanded parliamentary inquiry
forrester sees it spending rebound in
san francisco jan afp
global spending on information technology it will rebound this year rising
more than six percent to top trillion dollars us forrester research inc
said wednesday
the technology downturn of and is unofficially over forrester vice
president and principal analyst andrew bartels said in release
all the pieces are in place for tech spending rebound he added
the health of the technology industry will improve faster than the overall
economy in the united states with it spending growing at double the rate of the
country gross domestic product according to forrester
it purchasing in the us this year is predicted to climb percent to
billion dollars
europe is expected to be the stage for the strongest technology spending with
purchases boosted to percent due in part to the euro strength against the
us dollar
it purchasing is predicted to grow percent in canada percent in the
asia pacific region and by percent in latin america
the weakest growth will be about percent in eastern europe africa and the
middle east according to forrester
the industry tracker said that global purchases of computer gear will rise
percent while spending on software will increase percent
we are entering new six to seven year cycle of it growth and innovation
bartels said
global spending on information technology sank percent in according to
forrester
football mozambique benin teams
benguela angola jan afp
teams for africa cup of nations group match between mozambique and benin on
tuesday
mozambique
joao rafael samuel chapanga bila eugenio almiro lobo marthinho mucuana
dario khan edson sitoe simao elias pelembe manuel bucuane capt dario
monteiro
coach mart nooij ned
benin
yoann djidonou khaled adenon damien chrysostome capt mickael pote boco
ramouald jocelyn ahoueya muri ogounbiyi singbo felicien seidath tchomogo
stephane sessegnon razak omotoyossi
