nuclear reactor near the border with iraq it said
iraq will take the necessary diplomatic measures in cooperation with the iaea
to suppress the dangers and complications arising from the construction of
nuclear installations near the border it said in an official statement
tehran which is embroiled in showdown with the west over its disputed nuclear
programme which washington suspects is cover to build an atomic bomb
announced on november it plans to build new uranium enrichment plants
iran insists the programme is purely peaceful and designed to meet the islamic
republic growing energy needs
afp world news agenda
paris jan afp
what coming up around the world
two grilled in angola over togo team attack
german minister in yemen over kidnap crisis
luanda cabinda police in angola question two suspects over the shooting attack
on the togolese football team at the africa cup of nations in the enclave of
cabinda the first match in cabinda kicks off at gmt when ivory coast plays
burkina faso picture violence angola togo fbl afr
sanaa german foreign minister guido westerwelle arrives in yemen where five
germans have been held by kidnappers for the past six months for talks with
yemeni officials yemen germany diplomacy
brussels new european union foreign affairs chief catherine ashton and would
be eu commissioners grilled by the european parliament from gmt over their
suitability for their jobs eu politics parliament commission
bucharest lawmakers in romania one the european countries worst hit by the
global slump meets from gmt over the adoption of new budget romania
economy budget
detroit michigan the nation premier auto show opens in the wake of one of
the worst years in motown history us auto show
london high court expected to rule in the case of thousands of nepalese gurkha
soldiers who want greater pension rights in britain from gmt britain
military nepal
los angeles court begins hearings into challenge against proposition whose
approval by percent of california voters in november referendum
annulled state supreme court decision that authorized homosexual unions from
gmt us society gays marriage court
versailles france jessica davies the niece of british government minister
goes on trial accused of the murder of young frenchman found dead in her
apartment with his throat slit trial starts gmt picture video france
britain crime
wichita kansas the man who gunned down one of america best known abortion
doctors goes on trial in case that once again focuses attention on the legal
but controversial medical procedure us abortion trial politics
zagreb social democrat ivo josipovic celebrates victory in croatia run off
presidential election croatia vote picture
afghan president pays tribute to slain british journalist
kabul jan afp
afghan president hamid karzai paid tribute on monday to british journalist
killed in afghanistan while travelling with us marines fighting the taliban
rupert hamer of the sunday mirror newspaper was blown up saturday by roadside
bomb as he accompanied marines patrolling near nawa in the southern province of
helmand the ministry of defence in london said
philip coburn photographer for the british tabloid working alongside
hamer was seriously injured in the explosion and us marine was also killed
the president praised the courage of the correspondent demonstrated in trying
to cover the real situation on the ground in helmand statement from karzai
office said
the president extends his heartfelt sympathies and condolences with the
grieving family and friends and to the media community in britain
hamer was the second foreign journalist to be killed in afghanistan in days
on december canadian reporter michelle lang of the calgary herald was killed
in kandahar province in southern afghanistan alongside four soldiers when
roadside bomb exploded beneath their armoured vehicle
the taliban claimed responsibility for that attack
in three journalists including lang died in afghanistan according to
tally by the international news safety institute
the united states and nato have troops in afghanistan fighting an
insurgency concentrated in the southern provinces of helmand and kandahar with
another troops being deployed over the course of this year
iran says us general attack remarks thoughtless
tehran jan afp
tehran on monday dismissed as thoughtless comments by top us general that
iran atomic sites could be attacked if the nuclear issue remains unsolved the
official irna news agency reported
his comments are thoughtless and it is better that any statement made in this
regard take constructive approach foreign ministry spokesman ramin
mehmanparast was quoted as saying
general david petraeus head of us central command centcom that oversees the
middle east told cnn on sunday that iran nuclear facilities certainly can be
bombed even though they are reported to be heavily fortified
the level of effect would vary with who it is that carries it out what
ordnance they have and what capability they can bring to bear petraeus added
petraeus said the united states had contingency plans to address iran nuclear
ambitions if negotiations falter between the islamic republic and western
nations
it would be almost literally irresponsible if centcom were not to have been
thinking about the various what ifs and to make plans for whole variety of
different contingencies he told the broadcaster
but he would not comment on reports that israel which says iran presents an
existential threat to the jewish state may attack its arch foe nuclear
facilities
tehran is at loggerheads with western nations which believe it is developing
nuclear weapons under the cover of civilian nuclear energy programme iran
denies the charges
without elaborating on the contingency plans petraeus said it could be some
time before washington decides whether to execute them and that diplomatic
efforts would continue in the meantime
the united states is leading efforts to impose fourth round of un sanctions on
iran after it failed to meet an end of year deadline to accept deal offered by
five permanent un security council members britain china france russia and
the united states plus germany
iran has given the west until the end of january to accept its own proposal of
gradual swap of its low enriched uranium leu for further enriched uranium to
fuel tehran research reactor
mehmanparast reiterated that iran was ready for staged swap
the un deal however envisages the shipment of most of iran leu abroad to be
further refined into reactor fuel by russia and france
yemeni authorities know where hostages are held german fm
sanaa jan afp
german foreign minister guido westerwelle said during surprise visit to sanaa
monday he was told by yemeni authorities that they know where five germans and
briton kidnapped in june are being held
westerwelle told reporters that yemen president ali abdullah saleh had told him
during their talks monday morning that he had information little than two
hours ago that they know where the german hostages are being held
the german minister said he had thanked the yemeni government for their efforts
to see our hostages released
westerwelle also said the german embassy was doing everything it could to bring
the intolerable situation of the german hostages in yemen to good end
the family of the five germans and the briton were abducted in northern yemen in
june along with two german bible students and south korean who were shot dead
soon afterwards
yemen deputy premier for defence and security affairs rashad al aleemi said
last week that the remaining hostages were alive
we have confirmed information that they are still alive they are five germans
and british national the deputy prime minister for defence and security
affairs rashad al aleemi told reporters
the three possible places they could be in are the provinces of maarib al
jouf and saada he said
available information confirm that there is coordination between the northern
shiite rebels huthis and the al qaeda in this matter
at the time of the kidnapping germany said it had no evidence that al qaeda was
involved
the three children were seen in new video two weeks ago but the footage
featured no sign of their parents
the sanaa government had repeatedly accused the huthi rebels of staging the
kidnappings charge they deny saying the government itself is behind the
abductions and is using them as an excuse to attack the rebels
soyinka others to stage protest rally over president absence
lagos jan afp
nigeria nobel literature laureate wole soyinka will lead protest march
and rally tuesday in abuja against president umaru yar adua long absence from
office organisers said on monday
we are displeased by the vacuum created by the long absence from office of
president umaru yar adua spokesman for the civil rights movement save
nigeria group sng yinka odumakin told afp
yar adua was taken to faisal hospital in jeddah saudi arabia on november for
treatment of acute pericarditis an inflammation of the membrane covering the
heart
since then yar adua has not spoken publicly but his aides have repeatedly said
he was responding well to treatment
the rally and the march will coincide with the first formal debate of
parliamentarians in both chambers of the national assembly on the health of
yar adua and the political vacuum created by his absence
in the past weeks several nigerian individuals and organisations have called for
either his resignation or the transfer of power to his deputy goodluck
jonathan
since november when an official statement said yar adua was suffering from
severe heart condition there has been no further official word on his health
situation which has triggered rumour and speculation
also listed to participate in the tuesday rally in abuja are former biafra
warlord chukwuemeka odumegwu ojukwu renowned tele evangelist tunde bakare and
more than dozen top politicians and human rights activists
the rally tagged enough is enough to be addressed by soyinka and other
speakers is being organised to demand news of the whereabouts of the president
and also to protest the power vacuum vacillation over electoral reform
corruption as well as the terror tag on nigerians
washington has put nigeria on its terror watchlist after the failed attempt by
year old nigerian umar farouk abdulmutallab to blow up us jetliner on
chrismas day
football dutch defender hooiveld bound for celtic
glasgow jan afp
scottish champions celtic are set to make year old dutch defender jos
hooiveld their first signing of the new year press reports said on monday
the aik solna player will cost in the region of million pounds and he will be
given the role of replacing scotland defender gary caldwell who is heading to
middlesbrough to join former hoops boss gordon strachan
hooiveld told the daily record think my style of play will be good for the
scottish league and can do very good job for celtic
it should be something special for me to play for celtic because they are
big classic club
in many ways they are like aik to me because they have big and passionate
following of supporters
all the town of glasgow speaks about football it massive interest to
everyone it will be very good move for me
aik won the double in sweden recently but have fallen on hard times financially
hooiveld joined the club on free transfer months ago
the defender failed to make the grade at first club heerenveen in the
netherlands and was even rejected by scottish side livingston after trial
there in
celtic must also consider whether to make fresh bid for preston defender sean
st ledger after seeing an approach rejected by the championship club last week
on trial in uae human trafficking prostitution case
abu dhabi jan afp
fourteen men and woman have been charged in connection with the largest human
trafficking and prostitution ring to have been busted in abu dhabi united
arab emirates newspaper reported on monday
the defendants are accused of involvement in ring which allegedly promised
jobs in the oil rich uae to women most of them from morocco but then forced
them into prostitution the national reported
there was the recruiter in morocco the kingpins in the uae who oversaw the
logistics and handlers to control the women the english language newspaper
said
then there were the women all lured here in the hopes of good job only to
find themselves enslaved in seedy underworld of prostitution
according to court testimony the women were kept locked in villa and several
flats after their arrival in the gulf arab state then beaten and threatened
with death to force them to work as prostitutes it said
the national said that the group leader syrian who had fled the emirates
was alleged to have forced his moroccan wife of five months into prostitution as
well
the abu dhabi court is to issue verdict in the case on january
it remains unclear how many women are lured to the uae each year to work in the
sex trade the number of trafficking cases brought before uae courts increased
last year to from in said the national
german fm in surprise visit to yemen
sanaa jan afp
german foreign minister guido westerwelle paid surprise visit to sanaa on
monday as pressure mounted on yemen to rein in al qaeda militants believed
behind botched attempt to bomb us airliner
westerwelle the first european minister to visit sanaa since the yemeni branch
of al qaeda claimed responsibility for the failed christmas day attack was
holding talks with president ali abdullah saleh and other top officials
also on the agenda was the fate of five germans including three children and
british national who have been held by kidnappers in yemen for the past six
months
westerwelle told reporters that saleh had told him during their talks monday
morning that he had information little than two hours ago that they know
where the german hostages are being held
the family of five germans and briton were abducted in northern yemen in june
along with two german bible students and south korean who were shot dead soon
afterwards
last week senior yemeni official said the government had information that the
five germans and the briton were still alive and that there appeared to be an
al qaeda link to the kidnapping
westerwelle arrival in the yemeni capital follows visits to saudi arabia
qatar and the united arab emirates where he held discussions with officials on
regional issues including the situation in yemen
based on his talks in the gulf westerwelle made the quick decision to go to
yemen to get the feeling of the situation on the ground member of his
delegation said
the foreign minister is concerned that further destabilisation in yemen could
have negative impact on the entire region and beyond the delegate said
westerwelle who informed key european partners and washington in advance of his
visit was expected to deliver message that european and arab partners seek
stable government in sanaa
impoverished yemen long standing scourge of extremism was thrown into the
spotlight after senior yemeni officials said umar farouk abdulmutallab the
nigerian man who allegedly tried to blow up us bound jet had spent time in
the country with al qaeda extremists
london and washington have announced plans to fund counter extremism police in
the country but us president barack obama said in comments published on sunday
that he has no intention of sending american troops to yemen
recent strikes on al qaeda positions in yemen including cruise missile attacks
were however reportedly led by the united states which has vowed to boost its
economic and military aid to sanaa
yemen has been hostile to any suggestion of us military intervention but
analysts fear osama bin laden ancestral homeland cannot tackle the militants
on its own
saleh said on sunday he is open to dialogue with al qaeda militants indicating
he may show measure of leniency to the jihadists whom analysts say he does
not view as the main threat to his shrinking power base
if al qaeda lay down their arms renounce violence and terrorism and return to
wisdom we are prepared to deal with them saleh told abu dhabi tv
with shiite rebellion in the north and movement for autonomy in the south
the central government asserts little control over the country which is also
reeling from an economic crisis aggravated by dwindling oil reserves and water
shortage
germany is by far the biggest european contributor of development aid to yemen
with some million euros million dollars earmarked for the impoverished
country for
the german official said westerwelle in his talks with yemeni authorities would
also press for good governance and would raise the issue of widespread
corruption in yemen while also calling for national dialogue to resolve
internal strife as means to restore stability
the yemeni government has turned to the energy rich gulf cooperation council
gcc states and the international community for help but aid has been slow in
coming
cricket simons is india bowling consultant
new delhi jan afp
former south africa paceman eric simons has been appointed india bowling
consultant the cricket board announced monday
simons has been appointed bowling consultant of the indian cricket team for the
test series against bangladesh and the test and one day series against south
africa board secretary srinivasan said in press release
the two test series against bangladesh starts in chittagong on sunday south
africa are scheduled to tour india next month for two tests and three one day
internationals
the year old simons who played one day internationals for south africa
was head coach of the proteas from
he also worked as consultant with royal challengers bangalore during the
second edition of the indian premier league ipl in south africa last year
india have been without bowling coach since venkatesh prasad was sacked last
october following the team disappointing champions trophy campaign in south
africa
india head coach gary kirsten is also former south africa player
snow traps drivers in portugal
lisbonne jan afp
snow blocked several major roads in portugal on monday where dozens of drivers
and passengers spent the night in their cars or buses
about main roads were closed across northern and central portual because of
heavy snow police said schools were shut across the worst hit regions
emergency services evacuated people from three buses in the guarda region of
central portugal on sunday night passengers in fourth bus stayed in the
vehicle all night the regional emergency services command said
scores of car and truck drivers were also stuck in their vehicles
roads were closed around vila real bragance braga and porto in the north and
aveiro guarda viseu castelo branco leiria and portalegre in the centre of
the country police said
heineken to buy mexican brewery worth billion euros
the hague jan afp
dutch beer maker heineken said monday it would acquire mexico fomento
economico mexicano femsa brewery valued at billion euros billion
dollars through an all share transaction
heineken will create major new platform for growth by acquiring the beer
operations of femsa via an all share transaction the dutch company said in
statement
heineken will acquire femsa cerveza comprising percent of femsa mexican
beer operations and the remaining percent of femsa brazilian beer business
that heineken does not currently own
heineken said the implied equity value of femsa cerveza maker of such brands as
dos equis tecate and sol was billion euros the total implied enterprise
value with net debt and pension obligations was billion euros
as result of the deal femsa will hold percent interest in the heineken
group making it the second largest shareholder femsa will have the right to
appoint two non executive representatives to heineken supervisory board
the transaction is expected to be earnings per share accretive after two years
and to deliver positive economic profit after six years said the statement
the transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of
through this deal we become much stronger more competitive player in latin
america one of the world most profitable and fastest growing beer markets
heineken chief executive jean francois van boxmeer said
it also helped consolidate heineken position as the world second largest
brewer by revenue billion euros
the acquisition strengthens considerably our position within the global beer
market expands our portfolio of leading international brands and enhances our
leading position in the us import market
femsa chief executive officer jose antonio fernandez carbajal said the deal
would allow femsa beer operations to become an integral part of heineken
leading global platform
heineken shares gained more than percent in value on the amsterdam stock
exchange following the announcement
british minister niece on trial for murder in france
versailles france jan afp
the niece of britain junior defence minister told police she was monster
after she confessed to the drunken murder of young frenchman in french
court heard on monday
jessica davies the year old niece of britain multi millionaire junior
defence minister quentin davies looked pale and drawn as she turned up in court
in versailles west of paris on the first day of her trial
dressed in jeans and grey cardigan her hair pulled back in ponytail davies
showed no emotion as the charge sheet was read out before the three judges and
nine member jury
in november police turned up at davies apartment in the chic paris suburb
of saint germain en laye and found the body of olivier mugnier who had been
stabbed and whose throat had been slit according to the indictment
davies then told police did it can tell you why but did it am
monster the court heard
davies had picked up mugnier in bar hours earlier and after taking him to her
apartment contacted police to say she had stabbed the year old man justice
officials said
police said she was four times over the drink drive alcohol limit and could
barely stand or speak when they arrested her
davies arrived at the courthouse in police van and rushed into the courtroom
where her parents were present as were the victim family
the trial is expected to last two days with verdict due on tuesday
she faces maximum sentence of years in prison if convicted of voluntary
homicide without premeditation
davies born in london to british father and french mother was reportedly
depressed after splitting up with her french boyfriend with whom she had shared
the one bedroom flat for four years
press reports said she had tried to commit suicide few months before the
murder of mugnier
she had taken to going out on boozing sessions and picking up men neighbours
and locals said
on the saturday night before mugnier death she was seen drinking pints of beer
and shots of alcohol in sullivan irish pub in saint germain en laye
legal sources said psychiatrists who had examined davies found she suffered from
psychological problems and had borderline personality and that
responsibility at the time of the crime was altered
the british press had speculated after her arrest that mugnier death was the
result of sex game that turned to violence
british papers drew parallels with high profile murder in italy in sex
game that turned violent and led to its victim being stabbed in the neck just
few days earlier of year old british student meredith kercher
the papers said french police have probed whether davies was inspired by that
murder for which us student amanda knox was handed year prison term last
month and for which her italian boyfriend also got years in jail
police found stab wounds on the young man body some of them on his throat
his death was caused by knife blow to the chest police said
her uncle quentin davies caused scandal in when he defected from
britain opposition conservatives to the ruling labour party just before
gordon brown was named the new prime minister
he has since been appointed as brown junior defence minister
malaysia defends allah stance as ninth church attacked
kuala lumpur jan afp
malaysia on monday defended its refusal to allow non muslims to use the word
allah as dispute over the issue saw ninth church attacked in spate of
fire bombings and vandalism
the sidang injil borneo church in the central state of negri sembilan was the
latest to be targeted amid anger over court ruling that overturned
government ban on minorities using allah as translation for god
the church attacks which erupted last friday have sent tensions soaring in the
multicultural nation where the muslim malay majority lives alongside ethnic
chinese and indian communities
home ministry secretary general mahmood adam who briefed foreign diplomats on
the crisis monday said they had asked why the term was off limits when it is
widely used by christians in indonesia and the middle east
they don understand the situation here they just want to know why it can be
allowed in other countries and not here he told reporters
be fair you have to compare apples to apples oranges to oranges our
landscape is different from other countries malays here are different from
muslims in other countries
the row flared after the high court on december ruled in favour of the
catholic newspaper the herald which argued for the right to use allah in its
malay language section
malaysia christians say they have used the word without incident for
centuries but the ruling party which is vying for popularity among muslims
with the opposition islamic party insists it must be used only by muslims
it says that the use of allah by christians could cause confusion among
muslims and encourage religious conversion which is illegal in malaysia
the ruling in the catholic newspaper favour was suspended last week pending an
appeal after the government argued the decision could cause racial conflict
since friday churches have been pelted with molotov cocktails splashed with
black paint and had windows smashed with stones triggering tighter security at
places of worship nationwide
the latest attack targeted the sidang injil borneo church which conducts
services in the national language malay its door was left blackened by fire
which filled the building with smoke
we have been using the word allah during the service as most our church
members speak the malay language senior pastor eddy marson yasir said of the
congregation which mostly hails from sabah and sarawak states on borneo island
prime minister najib razak has called for calm and said the government will not
tolerate any threat to racial harmony
mahmood from the home ministry reiterated the government condemnation of the
violence and said malaysia would do all in our power to protect religious
freedom
the row is one of string of religious disputes in recent years that have
strained relations between muslim malays and ethnic chinese and indians who fear
the country is being islamised
about nine percent of malaysia million people are christians including
some catholics more than half of malaysia catholics are from
indigenous groups mostly from borneo
azmi sharom from the universiti malaya criticised the ruling united malays
national organisation umno for stoking malay nationalism in order to protect
its voter base after elections where it lost unprecedented ground to the
opposition
the soil has already been prepared by umno the tone has been very much about
the malays being under threat sharom said adding that the allah ban had no
basis in theology
instead of making stand on principle umno are trying to make sure they
don lose appeal to their voters even if it means they are appealing to bunch
of racists he said
china hong kong lead asian market rally
hong kong jan afp
shanghai and hong kong led regional stocks rally on monday as investors
welcomed beijing green light for new futures market as well as short
selling experiment in china
the markets were also given lift by data released the day before that showed
mainland exports surged percent in december to snap month falling
streak
the week started on high across the region despite disappointing jobs figures
out of the eurozone and the united states on friday which dampened recent
optimism for the global economic recovery
shanghai closed up percent or points at as securities
firms and banks rallied on beijing approval friday of stock index futures
market and trial for short selling and margin trading dealers said
however the index was off earlier highs on profit taking
hong kong benchmark hang seng index ended up percent or points
at
the approval raises expectations that brokerages may gain lot from the
diversification of investment tools huatai securities analyst zhou lin told
dow jones newswires
margin trading allows investors to borrow money from financial institutions to
buy shares or other securities that they expect to rise
if the price goes up they can pay back the borrowed money if the price goes
down investors must still pay back the full amount
short selling is similar operation in which investors sell borrowed shares
expecting the price to decline if the price does fall they can buy the shares
at the lower price and return them to the lender
there were also gains in sydney which ended percent or points
higher at on the back of the china export figures
seoul closed flat down points to as auto and tech exporters lost
ground on concerns over the strength of the korean won singapore was
percent higher in afternoon trade
tokyo was closed monday for public holiday
the us labor department reported the economy lost jobs in december while
the unemployment rate held at percent
and in the european union the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for the
euro countries hit percent in november the highest since the currency was
launched decade ago and up from percent in october
in japan report said troubled japan airlines jal is expected to slash
jobs or about percent of its workforce in three years as part of
rehabilitation plan to keep it flying
the layoffs coupled with cuts in benefits and wages will be carried out with
the sale of jal subsidiaries including jal hotels co kyodo news reported
the dollar which rallied last week on the back of comments from japan new
finance minister that he preferred weaker yen fell on the jobs news
the dollar stood at yen in mid afternoon trade down from yen in new
york trading late friday
