his flight unaware that security personnel wanted to check his laptop
find it unfathomable that someone can simply disappear with his laptop after
security checks harald schneider from the bavarian police union said
therefore it is necessary that there are more security personnel and police
if you check someone you should be able to stop him german police union
chief josef scheuring told the sueddeutsche zeitung daily
he also said that the situation was not helped by airport security firms which
took over the role in the employing poorly paid and unmotivated staff
airports around the world have been on high alert since nigerian man allegedly
tried to blow up an airliner over the united states on december with
explosives concealed in his underwear
us homeland security secretary janet napolitano was to press european union
interior ministers at meeting in toledo spain on thursday to install body
scanners at airports in the nation bloc
de maiziere said that tests in germany on body scanners were very promising
and that the government would make decision on whether to introduce them later
this year
perhaps we could offer them to passengers in order to gain people trust
saying in one channel there is body scanner which is quick and that in other
body search which takes bit longer then we can see how high the acceptance
is he said
he added that he was in favour of europe wide legal framework for their
introduction
iraqis protest in support of saddam candidates ban
najaf iraq jan afp
hundreds of shiites staged demonstrations thursday in iraq southern cities of
najaf and basra in support of decision to bar election candidates linked to
executed dictator saddam hussein
election organisers have banned from the march vote more than candidates
said to be members of saddam outlawed baath political party or who formerly
worked for his once deadly military and intelligence network
in shiite majority najaf kilometres miles south of baghdad hundreds
marched and some held banners that proclaimed baathists and nazis are two
faces of the same coin and the return of the baath is the return of attacks
and prison an afp correspondent said
the demonstration was organised by an association devoted to victims and
prisoners of saddam toppled sunni minority regime
we ask the baghdad government and local authorities to punish the baath and its
representatives who continue to belong to the party said demonstrator salah
al mussawi
in basra iraq sprawling southernmost mainly shiite city around
protesters took to the streets some holding banners that said shame on
baathists and the baathists of yesterday are the mps of today
the demonstrators in najaf and basra also demanded the lifting of parliamentary
immunity for dhafer al ani leading sunni mp who they said was an apologist
for the baath party
ani from the national concord bloc is among the candidates excluded from
taking part in the vote
haiti rescuers refuse to give up hope
port au prince jan afp
search teams in haiti on thursday refused to abandon hope of finding more
survivors of the massive magnitude quake after two children were pulled
alive from the rubble in hours
more than eight days after the devastating tremor which killed at least
and left million homeless rescuers said they could not rule out the
possibility of some victims still being alive under the debris
and they said the powerful aftershock that shook haiti on wednesday could
have dislodged masonry giving fresh opportunities to free any last remaining
survivors
the aftershock could have made the structures subside but it might have also
freed people trapped between two pieces of concrete said french firefighter
gilles perroux
as the focus of aid efforts turned to the vast task of providing food water
medicine and shelter to an increasingly desperate population rescuers said
chances of survival were slim but not impossible
on the eighth day is anyone alive we believe or else we would not be here
while we are in the country we will stay hopeful said another french rescuer
fabrice montagne
experts say victims can still pull through if they are not too badly wounded
have found an air pocket and have something to eat or drink
two children were pulled from the wreckage of collapsed buildings in port au
prince on wednesday
five year old boy was found in the wreckage of his home in port au prince
while neighbors dragged out an year old girl from under rubble in another
part of the city
it truly is miracle she came back to life bit by bit she is blessed by the
gods said dominique jean surgeon working at field hospital set up by
french aid groups
on tuesday three survivors were found including year old woman trapped in
supermarket and year old woman brought from the wreckage of port au
prince cathedral three week old baby was also rescued
un spokeswoman in geneva said earlier wednesday that international teams had
rescued people from the debris of collapsed buildings
meanwhile makeshift hospitals were still struggling to treat the tens of
thousands of people who were injured in the quake
we carried out operations on tuesday in the previous six days we have cared
for more than haitians said french doctor thierry allafort duverger in
clinic in the upscale suburb of petionville
the clinic normally carries out plastic surgery procedures for the well off
inhabitants of the district but is now one of special public hospitals set
up to care for earthquake victims
thousands of us troops were pouring in as other nations pledged to send in
hundreds more to help distribute aid provide medical treatment and try to keep
the streets secure as people scavenged to keep alive
the biggest aftershock yet struck as dawn broke on wednesday
god wants to destroy all haitians because they are bad because they are
cursed eleude joseph shell shocked mother of two told afp at squalid
camp of survivors in the place saint pierre
there were no reports of anyone being killed or wounded by the aftershock
but some severely damaged buildings came tumbling down including the last
surviving wall of the main cathedral
international efforts are also focusing on rebuilding the country with major
donor conference set for monday in montreal
imf chief dominique strauss kahn called for multilateral aid plan on the scale
of the us marshall plan that rebuilt europe after world war ii
haiti ambassador to spain yolette azor charles said reconstruction could
take years and warned the death toll could top as help has yet to
reach many villages
the united states poured in more troops who had been due to deploy to the
middle east and europe while us general said the capital main port vital
to moving in tonnes of aid should be up and running again on friday
backed by three ships and squadron of helicopters the new troops should be in
place by the weekend as the total us forces helping out in haiti swells above
in coming days
bed capacity us naval hospital ship also arrived off haiti with about
medical personnel and was ready to start taking on board the worst of the
injured
avatar leads the way in british award nominations
london jan afp
james cameron sci fi epic avatar received eight nominations including best
film as the contenders for this year bafta awards were announced thursday
strong showing for avatar at the baftas which are awarded in london on
february could set the computer animated blockbuster up for success at
the oscars two weeks later
the movie already won best picture and best director at this month golden
globes and is poised to become the biggest grossing film ever overtaking
titanic another cameron hit
iraq war thriller the hurt locker and an education also got eight
nominations at the baftas formally known as the british academy film awards
stars including george clooney and andy serkis will fight it out for the leading
actor award while meryl streep and audrey tautou are up for leading actress
big names in the frame for best director include cameron for avatar quentin
tarantino for inglourious basterds and cameron ex wife kathryn bigelow for
the hurt locker
the hurt locker is up for categories including best film best director and
leading actor for jeremy renner
an education is coming of age drama set in london based on memoir
by british journalist its nominations include best adapted screenplay for
british novelist nick hornby
clooney role in up in the air earned him nod for leading actor but he will
have to fight it out with jeff bridges crazy heart colin firth single
man renner and serkis sex amp drugs amp rock amp roll
streep role in julie amp julia sees her named alongside tautou coco
before chanel as leading actress contender
they face competition from gabourey sidibe precious carey mulligan an
education and saoirse ronan the lovely bones
the nominees for best film are avatar an education the hurt locker
precious and up in the air
among those joining cameron and tarantino in the battle for best director are
lone scherfig for an education and neill blomkamp for district
other notable nominees include singer david bowie son duncan jones formerly
known as zowie bowie
jones is up for the outstanding debut by british writer director or producer
award for directing science fiction movie moon
securing south waziristan could take year pakistan army
islamabad jan afp
securing and stabilising the pakistani taliban stronghold of south waziristan in
the northwest tribal belt will take between six months and year the chief
military spokesman said thursday
islamabad sent about troops backed by fighter jets and helicopter
gunships into battle in the lawless region bordering afghanistan in october and
says they are making progress and militants are fleeing
military spokesman major general athar abbas told reporters it would take
between six months to year to completely stabilise south waziristan which
was needed before security forces opened up any new fronts
his comments came as visiting us defense secretary robert gates said he planned
to ask pakistani leaders about plans to broaden their campaign to north
waziristan which borders south waziristan
north waziristan is bastion of al qaeda linked militants and the haqqani
network known for attacking us and nato troops fighting the taliban in
afghanistan and the us has been pounding the area with drone missile strikes
abbas dismissed criticism that pakistan had been slow to move against the
haqqani network said the cia had failed to provide actionable intelligence
pakistan launched number of assaults on northwest taliban strongholds last
year and claim to have cleared swat valley of the military threat
but attacks blamed on the tehreek taliban pakistan show no sign of abating
with massive suicide blasts and other attacks increasingly targeting civilians
and government and military installations
washington meanwhile is anxious to see islamabad also target the afghan
taliban within its borders and al qaeda linked militants using the tribal region
to plot and launch attacks into afghanistan
football hurting tevez points finger at neville
london jan afp
carlos tevez has admitted that he was hurt by gary neville assertion that
manchester united were right to sell him to manchester city and accused his
former team mate of being disrespectful ahead of this week stormy derby clash
neville provocative comments inspired tevez to score two goals in in city
league cup semi final first leg win on tuesday and the argentina striker
claimed he had been justified in goading his former team mate after the first of
them
neville who was warming up on the touchline responded with one fingered
gesture that is being examined by the english football association but is not
expected to lead to any disciplinary action
tevez admitted he had been enraged by neville pre match comments
gary was very disrespectful which is out of character but he didn know the
whole story of why left manchester united and believe deserved his
respect the striker said
we achieved lot together at united was the second top scorer there in my
first season at the club and deserve respect from my fellow professionals
tevez who celebrated his second goal with an ear cupping gesture to the united
directors and dugout said he felt he was justified in making his point
football is form of theatre and it was just form of banter he said
there was nothing malicious intended was not trying to incite anyone but
was entitled to say to neville that he should have been more respectful
for the second goal ran to the touchline and cupped my ears and looked up to
the part of the ground where the united directors were sitting and also to
ferguson in the dugout because wanted them to know this was my response to
them saying was not worth the money
people from united have been speaking about me publicly and criticising me but
wanted to do my talking on the pitch because that was the best way of
responding to all these people such as neville who were saying united were
right to let me go
asia markets give mixed reaction to china economic data
hong kong jan afp
news of china blistering economic growth was tempered by looming inflationary
risks and fears of further tightening by beijing as asian shares put in mixed
performance thursday
chinese data out earlier in the day showed gross domestic product in the asian
powerhouse returned to double digit growth in the fourth quarter of at
percent while the full year figure of percent beat expectations
but china biggest rise in inflation for months underlined the broader
challenges of breakneck growth amid warnings from the world bank and
international monetary fund that the country could face an economic bubble
china consumer price index the main gauge of inflation rose percent
year on year in december prompting some risk aversion among investors focusing
on the possibility beijing will again move to put the reins on lending
hong kong shares dropped percent with the hang seng index down
points at
icbc fell percent to hong kong dollars bank of china dropped
percent to and citic bank dropped percent to
policymakers will need to move soon to stop the economy from overheating said
brian jackson hong kong based strategist at royal bank of canada
shanghai saw volatile trade but closed up percent or points at
in contrast to hong kong financials led the gains on expectations interest
rates will rise to curb inflation
shenzhen development bank surged percent to yuan china merchants bank
was up percent at yuan
on wednesday beijing top regulator said china will rein in credit this year
the euro fell to five month low against the dollar as worries that china
monetary policy fears reduced demand for risk sensitive currencies
the european unit dropped to dollars at one point the weakest since
august in late tokyo trade it stood at from late wednesday in
new york
the dollar gained to yen from the euro rose to yen from
local markets followed the biggest drop of the year on wall street which dived
percent on mixed earnings from key american banks
bank of america and morgan stanley missed analysts expectations while wells
fargo posted an unexpected profit goldman sachs was due to report thursday
japanese stocks nevertheless shrugged off new york disappointment with the
nikkei closing up percent at
shares in japan airlines were flat at two yen day after sinking to record
low following the carrier bankruptcy filing and announcement it would delist
its shares next month
sydney closed down percent or points to bhp billiton fell
percent to australian dollars and rio tinto shed percent to
south korean shares closed percent higher with the kospi gaining
points to
oil rose ahead of key us inventory report later in the day new york main
contract light sweet crude for march delivery was up cents to dollars
barrel reversing earlier losses
brent north sea crude advanced cents to dollars
hong kong gold closed at us dollars an ounce down from
wednesday dollars
in other markets
singapore fell percent or points at
the singapore market is getting whacked because of weakness in hong kong said
local house trader
capitaland was cents down at dollars global supply chain manager noble
group dipped cents at
taipei dropped percent or points to after overnight
declines on wall street
the market was also weighed by the government decision to sell shares that
state funds purchased last year to stabilise the market dealers said
kuala lumpur rose percent or points to
concerns over global economic growth and regional weakness affected sentiment
giving some players the excuse to take profit but we still think the market
will rise further in the mid term dealer said
glove manufacturer top glove added percent to vehicle manufacturer
proton rose percent at
jakarta lost percent or points to
bank rakyat fell percent to and bank negara shed one percent at
rupiah carmaker astra international fell percent to
bangkok fell percent or points to
coal producer banpu plunged baht to and energy firm ptt plc lost
to baht
coal producer banpu plunged baht to close at and energy firm ptt
plc lost to baht
uob kay hian securities analyst kosin sripaiboo said the market was affected by
domestic and international factors including china decision to rein in credit
this year
wellington closed flat as lower local currency and stronger than expected
retail sales figures offset falls in overseas markets
the nzx fell points to
the market is holding up quite well considering what happened in overseas
markets overnight hamilton hindin greene broker grant williamson said
manila was flat after weak opening the composite index added points
to
philippine long distance telephone dropped percent to pesos
mumbai fell percent or points to
engineering giant larsen and toubro fell percent to after it said
net sales fell six percent
and state run engineering firm bharat heavy electricals fell percent to
on profit taking
dow jones newswires contributed to this story
rugbyu meyer heading back to sharks
perpignan france jan afp
south african fly half steve meyer is to leave french champions perpignan and
return home to play for the coastal sharks club president paul goze announced
here thursday
the year old will join the durban based club next week in time to prepare for
the new super season
meyer left the sharks in to play for perpignan but his time in france has
been troubled by injuries sidelining him for months
steve has had nothing but bad luck with us with one injury after another goze
said
but he has always given his all in trying to get back to full fitness and in no
way do we want to stand in the way of his career
cort ndy am ak
romania guarantees eib loan to ford car plant
bucharest jan afp
the romanian government on thursday signed an agreement enabling us car maker
ford to access loan from the european investment bank eib for its plant in
craiova
the state guarantee will cover percent of the million euro loan which
will help finance the development of low emission engine
we hope this agreement will give new stimulus to the craiova plant and to the
group investment in romania prime minister emil boc said during ceremony
it will also help preserve jobs spur technology transfers and develop the car
maker activities in this country he added
ford bought former daewoo plant in and plans to invest million euros
to modify it in order to achieve an annual production of cars and
engines from
the plant is kilometres miles west of bucharest
in november the european commission gave its green light to the planned state
guarantee saying it was compatible with the ec treaty which permits aid
to remedy serious disturbance in the economy of member state
romania plans to provide similar guarantee to french car maker renault owner
of the dacia plant in pitesti which needs million euros from the eib in
order to build testing site at titu
booming chinese economy snaps at japan heels
tokyo jan afp
china appears to be on the brink of overtaking beleaguered japan as the world
second biggest economy after another blistering performance in analysts
said thursday
asia two biggest economies look to have ended in tight race but china
which grew percent last year is soon expected to unseat its neighbour from
the position it has held for more than years
it may have already overtaken japan in and if not is likely to do so
this year said brian jackson senior strategist at royal bank of canada in
hong kong
china on thursday reported nominal unadjusted for inflation gross domestic
product gdp for of trillion yuan or trillion dollars at today
exchange rates
japan posted nominal gdp of about trillion yen or trillion dollars
in and its economy is expected to have shrunk by roughly six percent last
year reducing the figure to about trillion dollars
if you look at nominal figures the japanese and chinese economies are now very
close to each other in size said yoshikiyo shimamine chief economist at
daiichi life research institute in tokyo
japan is scheduled to release its gdp figures on february
with china expected to post another year of strong growth in japan seems
likely to end this year in third place worldwide as it struggles to cope with
renewed deflation and shrinking population experts said
china returned to double digit growth in the fourth quarter of with red
hot expansion of percent
without china boom japan economy would be even more sluggish given that the
two are major trading partners analysts said
comparisons between the two countries are complicated by exchange rate
fluctuations if the yen weakens further that could hasten china ascent to
world number two behind the united states
and china could overtake the united states as early as
pricewaterhousecoopers said in report thursday underlining the seismic
change in global economic power
by india could also take third spot to relegate japan to fourth the
business consultancy said
but in terms of per capita gdp china with population of more than
billion people trails far behind japan with about million
on this basis china ranked th in the world in with nominal gdp per
person of dollars while japan was rd at dollars according to
the international monetary fund luxembourg was top with dollars
japan economy staged stunning recovery from the ashes of world war ii and in
the it was widely predicted to outstrip the united states
but it suffered decade of stagnation after an asset price bubble burst in the
early
the country plunged back into recession in as its exports collapsed due to
severe global downturn
it returned to growth in the second quarter of exiting year long
downturn but the recovery remains fragile with falling consumer prices high
public debt and weak domestic demand all major concerns for policymakers
china meanwhile has achieved remarkable growth since opening up its economy
years ago growing at an average of more than nine percent each year in the
three decades since three times the world average
growth stalled in the second half of as the global crisis took hold but
rebounded in the latter half of last year thanks in large part to massive
government stimulus package
latvian government wins new bailout mandate
riga jan afp
the government of crisis hit latvia won new mandate thursday for talks with
international lenders but parliamentary revolt dented the fractious ruling
coalition
in vote lawmakers approved bill empowering the centre right
government to continue talks with the international monetary fund european
union and other lenders who are steering billion euro billion
dollar bailout to keep the baltic state afloat
think it was very significant decision for the country financial
stability prime minister valdis dombrovskis told reporters
but the largest player in his five party coalition the people party broke
ranks and he had to rely on the opposition to win
dombrovskis played down the revolt
like to underscore that this is not vote about the government but on the
international loan programme he said adding that he would hold talks with the
people party
the people party also sought to calm concerns that the rebellion was the death
knell of the dombrovskis government which took office in march last year
after the people party pulled out of previous coalition
we think we must do everything to keep the government stable said vineta
muizniece head of the people party parliamentary caucus
she nonetheless warned that parliament should have more control over taxation
and budget issues which are part and parcel of the bailout
on wednesday president valdis zatlers had chided the people party and
dombrovskis new era movement saying they must stop punching each other at the
expense of state interests
under the terms of the rescue package agreed in december latvia repeatedly
has slashed public spending and raised taxes to try to plug gaping hole in
state coffers
lenders have paid out total of billion euros so far the government is
hoping to receive million euros from the eu and million euros from the
imf this year
payouts of tranches of the bailout which runs until depend on the belt
tightening which has sparked regular coalition infighting
the government turned to parliament after latvia top court ruled last month
that it had violated the constitution by cutting pensions to save money
requiring changes to the bailout
latvia which had double digit boom after joining the eu in is now in
one of the steepest recessions in the nation bloc authorities estimate its
economy shrank by up to percent last year
the country of million people broke from the soviet union in
serbian president accuses outgoing croat leader of warmongering
belgrade jan afp
serbian president boris tadic on thursday branded his croatian counterpart stipe
mesic warmonger over mesic comments that he would send in the army if
bosnian serbs proclaimed independence
mesic statement published tuesday is direct warmongering and threat to
regional security serbian state television rts quoted tadic as saying
it is threat to the safety of all people and all nations in the region the
president said adding that he would talk about mesic remarks at the friday
session of the un security council
tadic was due to attend the security council session as it will deal with
kosovo the former serb province that declared independence in
croatian papers quoted mesic who is due to step down on february speaking
to journalists about recent calls by bosnian serb prime minister milorad dodik
for referendum on the independence of the serb dominated republika srpska rs
section of bosnia
if were president at the time when milorad dodik called referendum on
separation of the rs from the rest of bosnia would send in the army to
block the posavina corridor mesic was quoted as saying
the posavina corridor runs along croatia border with bosnia
mesic did not deny he made the comments but quickly sought to down play them
saying zagreb was committed to fulfilling its obligations under the dayton peace
agreement which ended the war in bosnia
serbia foreign minister vuk jeremic earlier criticised mesic remarks
this is yet another one of mesic obvious provocation attempts mesic is
man who has neither political nor moral weight jeremic said after the talks
with his czech counterpart jan kohout in belgrade wednesday
since the end of the war bosnia has been divided into two entities the rs and
the muslim croat federation they are united by central government institutions
but have wide ranging federal powers and autonomy
dodik has often warned that he would want referendum on independence for the
area if its autonomy were threatend
russia denies fleet boost over us poland missile plan
moscow jan afp
russia on thursday said it had no plans to boost the arsenal of its baltic fleet
in response to poland announcement that the united states will deploy patriot
type missiles close to russian borders
no changes are planned in the combat components of the baltic fleet in
connection with the deployment of us patriot missiles close to the border with
russia the defence ministry said in statement carried by news agencies
earlier the ria novosti news agency had quoted high ranking official in the
baltic fleet as saying russia would be boosting the weaponry of the fleet
ships submarines and aircraft in response to the polish announcement
the underwater surface and air components of the fleet will be strengthened
the source told the news agency
he said that ships would be equipped with highly accurate longer range missiles
while the defences of submarines would also be boosted there was no immediate
explanation for the discrepancy in the reports
the defence ministry statement said that any moves to rearm and modernize
russia navy including the baltic fleet would take place within the
framework of an already announced military reform drive
poland defence minister bogdan klich said wednesday the patriot type surface
to air missiles would be deployed in northern poland some kilometres
miles from the russian exclave of kaliningrad
he insisted the choice of the site close to kaliningrad had no political or
strategic meaning its good infrastructure is the only reason the patriot
missiles could arrive as soon as late march or early april klich said
president barack obama in september scrapped plan agreed in to install
controversial anti missile shield system in poland and the czech republic that
had enraged russia
vietnam monk beaten parish sealed by police priest
hanoi jan afp
vietnamese catholic monk was beaten and seriously injured after trying to
