five dead as taliban militants strike across kabul
kabul jan afp
taliban gunmen and suicide bombers attacked buildings across the heart of kabul
on monday triggering fierce gun battles with security forces and killing at
least five people including child
fires were blazing after two shopping centres cinema and the only five star
hotel in the afghan capital were targeted by heavily armed militants who set off
wave of explosions witnesses and officials said
five people including civilians and security personnel were killed and
wounded the public health ministry said in the most spectacular strike on
kabul since taliban militants laid siege to government buildings in february
killing at least people
defence ministry spokesman mohammad zahir azimi said child was among the dead
also telling afghan television that four terrorists had been killed two who
blew themselves up and two shot dead by security forces
president hamid karzai said the situation was under control after hours of
fighting in the highly fortified capital
the enemies of the afghan people conducted series of attacks today causing
fear and terror among the population karzai said in statement
the president condemns these terrorist attacks and has instructed the security
entities to intensify security in the city and take action to arrest those
responsible for these brutal and unpatriotic attacks
the blitz of attacks began at the peak of morning rush hour when suicide
bombers stormed major government and commercial buildings around pashtunistan
square setting off explosions and sending clouds of black smoke into the sky
the islamist taliban militia waging an increasingly deadly insurgency against
the western backed kabul government and foreign troops in afghanistan claimed
responsibility
twenty of our suicide bombers have entered the area and fighting is ongoing
zabihullah mujahid who called himself taliban spokesman told afp naming
government ministries and the presidential palace as the targets
shopping centres were also hit smoke billowed from the qari sami mall in the
city centre while second shopping mall the gulbahar centre about one
kilometre half mile away was also ablaze
saw four people wrapped up in patus blankets coming and the guard went
forward and asked them what are you doing said local grocer ismail who was
in his shop in one of the malls when militants stormed in
one of them opened his patu and showed the guard suicide vest packed with
explosives and said to him get out of my way or you ll die
parts of the serena hotel kabul only five star hotel were also ablaze
police and military snipers patrolled rooftops with some militants still inside
the ariana cinema and shooting at security forces interior ministry spokesman
zemarai bashary said
the united states condemned the attacks as desperate and ruthless act by
the taliban whose rebellion to topple the government and oust foreign troops
has been gaining strength since their regime was toppled after us led invasion
in
the people doing this certainly will not survive the attack nor will they
succeed but we can expect this sort of thing on regular basis us special
envoy to afghanistan and pakistan richard holbrooke said in new delhi
the un mission in afghanistan condemned the attacks
the location of the attack in central kabul at time when many civilians
were present demonstrates staggering disregard for civilian lives un special
representative kai eide said in statement
the attacks came day after the government said karzai was to announce new
plan aimed at forging peace with the islamist taliban
the last major attack on the capital was on december when suicide car
bomber blew up his vehicle outside the homes of former senior government
officials killing eight people and injuring more than
on october guesthouse occupied by united nations employees was overrun by
taliban militants who murdered six un workers while in february about
people were killed in coordinated attacks on government buildings
indonesian car sales drop percent in auto group
jakarta jan afp
indonesian car sales slumped percent in an industry group said monday
after the global economic downturn hit southeast asia largest economy
the indonesian automotive industries association said national car sales dropped
to units from in
the association did not provide reasons for the fall but analysts attributed it
to the global crisis which weakened consumer and corporate purchasing power
in possible sign of recovery the association said new car sales at dealers
operated by conglomerate pt astra international rose percent from november to
units in december
afp gmt news advisory
paris jan afp
duty editor martin bennitt
tel
miracle survivors pulled from haiti rubble
taliban stage mass attacks on kabul
wouldbe pope assassin released from jail
somali pirates take huge ransom for supertanker
haiti quake ndlead wrap
port au prince
rescuers pull dazed survivors from the ruins of haiti flattened capital as aid
workers struggle to reach hundreds of thousands of people desperate for food
water and medicine six days after devastating quake
words gmt by deborah pasmantier graphic picture video
afghanistan unrest rdlead wrap
kabul
taliban gunmen and suicide bombers attack buildings across kabul killing at
least five people including child and triggering fierce gun battles with
security forces
words gmt by sardar ahmad graphic picture
turkey vatican agca wrap
ankara
mehmet ali agca the turk who tried to kill pope john paul ii in is
released from prison after almost three decades behind bars but immediately
faces authorities over his status as draft dodger
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 more than five million dollars in
ransom on the deck
words gmt by mustafa haji abdinur file picture
haiti quake
haiti quake us aid water
aboard the uss carl vinson
the crew of us aircraft carrier stationed off the coast of haiti is working to
supply victims of last week earthquake with the most coveted resource
drinking water
words gmt by daphne benoit
haiti quake un ban ndlead
united nations
un secretary general ban ki moon on monday will brief the un security council
about the situation in haiti after he toured the devastated haitian capital and
brought home the remains of two top un officials killed in powerful earthquake
there
words gmt by gerard aziakou picture
haiti quake france us aid scene lead
port au prince
more than five days after an avalanche of rubble plunged her into painful and
solitary black hell and hours after international teams heard her determined
cries marie france is rescued
words gmt by beatriz lecumberri and dave clark
haiti quake eu aid lead wrap
brussels
european nations pledge funds for haiti with the european union hoping to reach
over million euros on top of emergency aid for the quake ravaged nation
words gmt picture
europe
ukraine vote rdlead wrap
kiev
voters force ukraine into tense presidential election run off between two old
rivals who favour closer ties with russia by rejecting the pro western leader of
the orange revolution
words gmt by stuart williams graphic picture video
mideast germany israel diplomacy lead
berlin
israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu arrives in berlin with top ministers
to hold historic joint cabinet meeting on german soil underlining the strong
ties forged in the wake of the holocaust
words gmt by ron bousso picture
greece violence trial
athens
greek extremists threaten protests for this week highly charged trial of
police officer accused of shooting teenager year ago an incident that
sparked the country worst riots in decades
words gmt by helene colliopoulou file picture
africa
somalia piracy shipping greece thlead
mogadishu
somali pirates free the greek supertanker maran centaurus one of the largest
ships ever hijacked after plane drops more than five million dollars in
ransom on the deck
words gmt by mustafa haji abdinur file picture
somalia piracy shipping ransoms focus
nairobi
from parachuted bundles of dollar bills to suitcases of cash transiting through
east african capitals there are many ways to deliver ransoms to somalia
modern day buccaneers
words gmt by jean marc mojon
nigeria unrest religion lead
kano nigeria
nigerian security forces cordoned off district of the city of jos where
clashes between christians and muslims left dead
words gmt
middle east
attacks yemen qaeda lead wrap
sanaa
yemeni forces will strike al qaeda extremists for as long as they pose threat
the interior minister warns as the islamist group denies government claims of
having killed six of its leaders
words gmt by michel moutot
uae energy environment lead
abu dhabi
forum on renewable energy in the oil rich emirate of abu dhabi issues new
alarm over climate change urging action to increase dependence on clean energy
words gmt by ali khalil picture
asia
japan airline company distress jal lead
tokyo
japan airlines shares plunge to an all time low of just five us cents on the eve
of an expected bankruptcy filing that could be one of the biggest in japan in
recent decades
words moved by hiroshi hiyama graphic
entertainment
entertainment us film globes ndlead
beverly hills california
james cameron avatar blockbuster takes top honors at the th golden globes
winning best picture and best director for cameron to cement its status as an
oscars front runner
words moved by paula bustamante picture
afp
cricket indian pacemen rattle bangladesh
chittagong bangladesh jan afp
indian pacemen zaheer khan and ishant sharma did the early damage to put
bangladesh under pressure in the opening test here on monday
bangladesh were well placed at for no loss before slipping to at stumps
on the second day in reply to india first innings total of with zaheer
taking two wickets in successive overs and sharma one
raqibul hasan was unbeaten on one and mohammad ashraful had yet to open his
account when play was called off due to bad light only overs were bowled
because of poor weather on monday
sachin tendulkar earlier scored superb not out under pressure for his th
test century to boost india total he cracked two sixes and fours in his
ball knock
bangladesh then got off to sound start with left handed openers tamim iqbal
and imrul kayes playing some attractive shots against the indian
strike bowlers
iqbal was initially more aggressive scoring in the opening four overs before
his partner opened his account
kayes outscored iqbal after lunch hitting left arm seamer zaheer for two
boundaries in an over and then driving shanthakumaran sreesanth for four
zaheer broke the partnership when he removed kayes who was trapped leg before
while playing across the line he then bowled iqbal in his next over with
delivery that kept low
sharma lone victim was shahriar nafees who was caught by venkatsai laxman at
second slip after contributing only four
india posted their lowest ever total against bangladesh despite tendulkar
century their previous lowest in completed innings was in dhaka in
india reeling at on sunday lost their remaining two wickets in less than
eight overs in the morning with left arm spinner shakib al hasan and paceman
shahadat hossain finishing with five wickets apiece
shakib grabbed for his sixth haul of five or more wickets in tests and
shahadat took for his third
tendulkar who had only tail enders sharma and sreesanth for company went for
shots early in the morning in pursuit of his century
resuming on his overnight score of he pulled shahadat for four in the
first over after play started minutes late due to fog and then hoisted
shakib over long on for six
tendulkar was on when last man sreesanth joined him and completed his century
with two successive fours off shahadat
five dead as taliban militants strike across kabul
kabul jan afp
taliban gunmen and suicide bombers attacked buildings across the heart of kabul
on monday triggering fierce gun battles with security forces and killing at
least five people including child
fires were blazing after two shopping centres cinema and the only five star
hotel in the afghan capital were targeted by heavily armed militants who set off
wave of explosions witnesses and officials said
five people were killed and wounded the public health ministry said in the
most spectacular strike on kabul since taliban militants laid siege to
government buildings in february killing at least people
defence ministry spokesman mohammad zahir azimi said child was among the dead
also telling afghan television that four terrorists had been killed two who
blew themselves up and two shot dead by security forces
president hamid karzai said the situation was under control after hours of
fighting in the highly fortified capital
the enemies of the afghan people conducted series of attacks today causing
fear and terror among the population karzai said in statement
the president condemns these terrorist attacks and has instructed the security
entities to intensify security in the city and take action to arrest those
responsible for these brutal and unpatriotic attacks
the blitz of attacks began at the peak of morning rush hour when suicide
bombers stormed major government and commercial buildings around pashtunistan
square setting off explosions and sending clouds of black smoke into the sky
the islamist taliban militia waging an increasingly deadly insurgency against
the western backed kabul government and foreign troops in afghanistan claimed
responsibility
twenty of our suicide bombers have entered the area and fighting is ongoing
zabihullah mujahid who called himself taliban spokesman told afp naming
government ministries and the presidential palace as the targets
shopping centres were also hit smoke billowed from the qari sami mall in the
city centre while second shopping mall the gulbahar centre about one
kilometre half mile away was also ablaze
saw four people wrapped up in patus blankets coming and the guard went
forward and asked them what are you doing said local grocer ismail who was
in his shop in one of the malls when militants stormed in
one of them opened his patu and showed the guard suicide vest packed with
explosives and said to him get out of my way or you ll die
parts of the serena hotel kabul only five star hotel were also ablaze
police and military snipers patrolled rooftops with some militants still inside
the ariana cinema and shooting at security forces interior ministry spokesman
zemarai bashary said
the united states condemned the attacks as desperate and ruthless act by
the taliban whose rebellion to topple the government and oust foreign troops
has been gaining strength since their regime was toppled after us led invasion
in
the people doing this certainly will not survive the attack nor will they
succeed but we can expect this sort of thing on regular basis us special
envoy to afghanistan and pakistan richard holbrooke said in new delhi
the un mission in afghanistan condemned the attacks
the location of the attack in central kabul at time when many civilians
were present demonstrates staggering disregard for civilian lives un special
representative kai eide said in statement
the talblitz was attacks came day after the government said karzai was to
announce new plan aimed at forging peace with the islamist taliban
the last major attack on the capital was on december when suicide car
bomber blew up his vehicle outside the homes of former senior government
officials killing eight people and injuring more than
on october guesthouse occupied by united nations employees was overrun by
taliban militants who murdered six un workers while in february about
people were killed in coordinated attacks on government buildings
dominican border hospitals filled with haiti quake victims un
geneva jan afp
hospitals on the dominican republic border with haiti are overwhelmed with
quake victims while crucial fuel supplies in haiti are reaching critically low
levels the united nations said monday
the warning came as the un led aid effort broadened to thousands more people in
severely battered outlying communities of the caribbean island nation and aimed
to cover the shelter needs of some one million survivors of the magnitude
earthquake
hospitals in the border region are overwhelmed and have begun to refer patients
to other cities the un organisation for the coordination of humanitarian
affairs added in its latest situation report on haiti citing its official in
the neighbouring dominican republic
there is shortage of specialised medical supplies equipment and physicians
at these hospitals and no clear inventory of what is needed ocha warned
the international organisation for migration iom friday reported an increase
in haitians crossing into the border town of jimani to reach hospital there
the dominican red cross was setting up field hospital there to cope with the
surge ocha said monday
meanwhile the fuel situation in haiti is becoming more and more critical
with restrictions now in place the un said warning that shortage could have
serious impact on the massive international relief effort
the national telecommunications system has been partly restored but without
access to fuel the mobile network will be cut off within days which will have
serious implications for the humanitarian operation ocha added
some gallons of fuel was due to be ferried in by truck from the dominican
republic which shares the caribbean island of hispaniola with haiti
however road linking an international aid hub in the dominican capital of
santo domingo to the haitian capital port au prince was congested pushing the
journey time up to hours ocha said
new hub for the foreign aid airlift was opened up at the airport of the
southwestern dominican holiday resort of barahona to ease the strain ocha
spokeswoman elisabeth byrs said
forty three search and rescue teams with rescue workers and dogs were
at work digging out people from the rubble of collapsed buildings by sunday
while food deliveries were gaining pace
emergency workers were expanding to battered towns west and southwest of port
au prince including gressier petit goave where some people live and
leogane with population of
un teams reported three days ago that to percent of the buildings in
leogane were destroyed
now the emphasis is on all the communities around port au prince those are the
priority byrs told afp on monday
the iom was aiming to set up temporary camp for quake survivors within
week but the location has yet to be decided spokeswoman jemini pandya said
the overall aim is to cover the needs for families one million people
within the next few weeks ocha said
on sunday un secretary general ban ki moon toured makeshift tent city for
people which sprung up on square next to the collapsed ruin of the
presidential palace in port au prince
french growth forecast nearly doubled minister
paris jan afp
the french government has nearly doubled its growth forecast to percent
from previous percent finance minister christine lagarde said on monday
france resisted the global slowdown better than many other major economies and
escaped year long recession in the second quarter of this year
one dead after worst flooding in egypt sinai for years
el tor egypt jan afp
woman died and at least nine were hurt as heavy rains and floods pounded
egypt sinai forcing rescuers to move around parts of the peninsula by boat
officials and witnesses said monday
the ras sidr area on the west coast of the peninsula saw the heaviest flooding
on sunday night and rescue services used rubber rafts to search for the injured
and those trapped in their homes an official said
one woman died and nine were injured in the town of abu sweira in ras sidr
security official told afp
flooding blocked main roads in the resort town of sharm el sheikh and heavy
rains brought down the ceiling in part of the airport an afp correspondent
said
parts of sinai including taba nuweiba and sharm el sheikh experienced
electricity cuts as thousands of tourists in the popular diving resorts spent
the night by candle light in the worst flooding to hit sinai since january
tennis nadal throughs in straight sets over luczak
melbourne jan afp
defending champion and second seed rafael nadal of spain wore down australian
peter luczak to win his first round match at the australian
open on monday
wall street sell off hits asian shares
hong kong jan afp
wall street worst performance so far in weighed on asia stocks monday
amid fresh fears over the pace of recovery while japan airlines sank to new
low ahead of its expected bankruptcy
dive in oil prices also hit sentiment as crude tumbled after the
international energy agency iea last week predicted sluggish demand this
year in the developed world with emerging markets accounting for increases
however bargain hunting mixed with local factors in some markets helping other
shares into the black
doubts about the strength of recovery in the us the world biggest energy
user were raised last week when it reported crude reserves had increased
despite severe cold snap across much of the country
new york main light sweet crude contract has slid from month high of
dollars early last week in singapore monday new york crude for february
delivery fell cents to dollars barrel
brent north sea crude for february delivery was down cents at dollars
oil is under pressure primarily from economic considerations said victor
shum singapore based analyst with energy consultancy purvin and gertz
some of the economic data out of the us were not really robust and so these
data raised doubts about the health of the us consumer and the strength of the
us economy
dealers in the region were also absorbing percent fall on wall street
friday the biggest drop this year amid lack of enthusiasm over earnings
results so far
tokyo was off percent or points at
jal plunged percent to an all time low of five yen five cents day
before it is expected to file for bankruptcy as it struggles under enormous
debts it is also widely thought jal will delist its stock
the carrier market value is now just million dollars less than the cost
of one new jumbo jet
while tokyo has said it will try to ensure its survival during restructuring
investors expect to lose most or all of their money if it files for bankruptcy
in the meantime many short term speculators are trading the shares to try to
make quick profit dealers said
this has become pure money game said masatoshi sato strategist at mizuho
investors securities there is really no meaning to the level of the shares
the firm stock has plunged percent over the past three months
hong kong was percent or points down at
however shanghai closed up percent or points at
the index morning falls were erased by airlines which were boosted by china
eastern airlines reporting that it expected to turn profit for
the carrier climbed percent to yuan and air china rose percent to
yuan
chinese and hong kong banks and property plays were held by growing concerns
beijing will further tighten monetary policy to keep lid on the nation
soaring economic growth
investors are on the sidelines as they are waiting for further monetary policy
signals which will have an impact on sectors such as banks guoyuan securities
analyst simon wang told dow jones newswires
meanwhile china launched the csi cross straits index monday in bid to
boost financial cooperation in the greater china region
but on its first day the index which covers firms listed in the mainland
hong kong and taiwan ended down percent from its opening level to
according to the company website
sydney ended percent or points higher at on gains in the
financial sector which offset falls among the big miners
bhp billiton dropped percent to australian dollars us dollars
and rio tinto shed percent to
seoul added percent or points to finish at
the euro slid to dollars in tokyo afternoon trade from in new york
late friday it rose to yen from the dollar gained to yen
from
and in hong kong gold closed flat at us dollars an ounce
unchanged from friday
in other markets
singapore was percent or points higher at
dmg technical analyst james lim said further gains would likely be limited with
no major moves this week
we note that the immediate trend is looking much more muted we thus believe
that consolidation would be forthcoming for the index he said
singapore telecom rose one cent to dollars and singapore airlines climbed
four cents to
taipei lost percent or points to
the drop was despite three trade related agreements with china going into effect
saturday
lead cause of the fall was because financial authorities said they would allow
total of million us dollars worth chinese institutional investments in the
local market lower than the previously expected one billion dollars
kuala lumpur was flat shedding points to close at
public bank rose percent to ringgit while southern steel climbed
percent to ringgit
manila dropped percent or points to
there nothing in the local front to move the market joseph roxas of eagle
equities said adding that investors were likely to look for overseas cues
jakarta lost percent or points to
miner bumi resources fell percent to rupiah and telecoms provider
indosat gained percent to
bangkok was flat edging up points to
coal producer banpu fell to baht and siam cement was off to
baht
wellington fell percent or points to close at
fletcher building fell cents to dollars and contact energy was down
eight cents at
in mumbai indian shares rose percent with the share benchmark sensex
closing points higher at
banking and software stocks were main gainers after indian firms posted better
than expected third quarter earnings last week
india largest private lender icici bank rose percent or rupees to
software exporter tcs rose percent or rupees to after posting
percent third quarter profit beating forecasts
tourism in haiti should rebound from quake un
madrid jan afp
the tourist industry in haiti and in the caribbean in general should not
suffer any long term effects from the country devastating earthquake the head
of the un world tourism organisation said monday
we do not expect much long term effects in terms of tourism taleb rifai said
we have seen cases like this in other parts of the world in the past he said
such as the indian ocean tsunami and other natural disasters
the effects of course will be immediate but our experience shows that the
recovery in these situations becomes quick in terms of the public perception
said the head of the madrid based unwto
he said the effect on haiti would be more in regard to tourism infrastructure
as regards the caribbean as whole we do not think it will have long
lasting effect he said
we think that in the public mind and the public perception the attitude of
solidarity toward haiti is powerful to the extent that it would probably be able
to stand up on its feet the country in particular and the region in general
tuesday magnitude earthquake flattened much of the impoverished caribbean
nation where bodies have been buried in mass graves and international
aid workers are struggling to cope with the scale of the disaster
rifai was speaking at news conference in madrid to announce the unwto annual
world tourism barometer
the report said tourism in the caribbean region returned to growth in the last
four months of although arrivals were down five percent in the americas as
whole last year
cricket bangladesh india first test scoreboard
chittagong bangladesh jan afp
scoreboard at stumps on the second day of the first test between india and
