snow and ice caused traffic problems in western and southwestern france amid
warnings of more to come while torrential rain hit parts of italy and officials
feared the swollen tiber river could threaten rome in coming days
in britain transport links in densely populated southern and central parts of
england were snarled up by the cold weather
the military was called in to help the drivers of up to cars which were
stranded overnight on major road in hampshire southern england
the military have been working with us all night they re helping people to get
out of their cars and moving the cars to the side of the road so gritters can
get through police spokeswoman said
the runway at london gatwick britain second airport was closed leaving
thousands of people stranded in the departure terminals
hundreds of schools around britain were also closed and football matches were
called off including wednesday night league cup semi final between manchester
united and manchester city
hospitals were also affected all non urgent operations in oxford were
cancelled as the disruption turned the spotlight on infrastructure services
in britain
the national grid issued gas balancing alert for only the second time ever
on monday after percent surge in demand because of the weather
this was an indication that it might be necessary to cut supplies or get hold of
more to avoid what it called gas supply emergency spokeswoman stressed
that supplies were in place to cope with demand
but the main opposition conservatives have obtained figures which they said
showed britain had only eight days of supplies in storage based on current
usage levels
prime minister gordon brown said the government was doing our best to help
people including giving out payments to elderly people to cover heating bills
and ensuring local authorities have enough grit for icy roads
the operators of britain biggest rock salt mine winsford in cheshire
northwest england earlier said they faced unprecedented demand
we would obviously like to be able to fulfil every authority needs in full
but the reality of the situation at present is that that is simply not
possible the winsford salt union said
german salt company esco which supplies across europe also said it would
prioritise provision for motorways and major roads
one positive impact of the white out was enjoyed by police in manchester
northern england who said they had caught fugitive prisoner by following his
footprints in the freshly fallen snow
tennis qatar open tennis results st update
doha jan afp
results from the third day of the qatar open here on wednesday denotes
seeding
nd rd
nikolay davydenko rus bt marco chiudinelli sui
rafael nadal esp bt potito starace ita
steve darcis bel bt younes el aynaoui mar
lukasz kubot pol bt sergiy stakhovsky ukr
roger federer sui bt evgeny korolev rus
viktor troicki srb bt olivier rochus bel
border shootout kills egyptian policeman wounds two gazans
rafah gaza strip jan afp
cross border gunfire killed an egyptian policeman and seriously wounded five
palestinians on wednesday after youths hurled rocks over the border fence during
protest in southern gaza officials said
the year old officer succumbed to his wounds in hospital in the divided
border town of rafah an egyptian security official said
witnesses in gaza said shots were fired from both sides of the border and medics
said five palestinians suffered serious gunshot wounds
witnesses said the egyptians opened fire after about young palestinians
hurled stones at them an egyptian security official said nine policemen were
slightly wounded by the stone throwing
fifteen palestinians were wounded when hamas security officials used batons and
teargas and fired shots in the air to disperse the stone throwers
the incidents took place following demonstration called by the hamas rulers of
gaza to protest egypt construction of an underground barrier meant to stop
smuggling through cross border tunnels
egypt deployed hundreds of officers to reinforce the border as well as fire
trucks and ambulances amid concerns palestinians might try to breach the border
during the protest
hamas called the incident regrettable
we are not interested in raising tension at the border said spokesman sami
abu zuhri
but he said the protest was the result of the anger felt in gaza over the
egyptian decision to build the underground barrier
hundreds of demonstrators held up green hamas flags and chanted god is
greatest
one metre yard away from egypt we ask why the siege hamas mp mushir al
masri told the demonstrators
we came today to say no to the wall he said
israel and egypt have imposed blockade on the impoverished territory since
hamas seized control of the coastal strip in after ousting forces loyal to
western backed palestinian president mahmud abbas hundreds of tunnels have
since been used to smuggle consumer goods and weapons into the territory
masri said the protest also aimed at demonstrating solidarity with pro
palestinian activists who clashed with egyptian police at the nearby el arish
port on tuesday
about people were injured in the clashes
tuesday violence erupted after some activists accompanying an aid convoy
for gaza broke down gate at the port to protest egypt decision to allow only
of the convoy vehicles to enter gaza through rafah
el arish was calm on wednesday and the convoy had made its way to gaza where
an egyptian security official said trucks had already started crossing through
rafah
there had also been agreement on letting an additional through there with
the fate of the remaining to be discussed the official said
football chivu fractures skull
rome jan afp
inter milan romanian international defender cristian chivu fractured skull and
was taken to hospital on wednesday during his side victory over chievo
chivu suffered the injury just after half time in clash of heads with chievo
player sergio pellissier
he is in hospital confirmed inter coach jose mourinho
he has fractured his skull and we hope he will be able to recover very quickly
even though fear he will be on the sidelines for while
antamina to spend billion dollars on peru expansion
lima jan afp
international mining concern antamina will spend billion dollars to expand
its production capacity after getting green light for the project from
government authorities local media reported wednesday
the company which mines zinc and copper hopes the capital investment will
allow it to increase its productivity in acash province in northern peru by
some percent according to published reports citing company ceo ian kilgour
anatamina is joint venture with the swiss mining group xstrata canada teck
anglo australian bhp billiton and japan mitsubishi corporation
the capital investment will allow antamina to continue mining at the site for an
additional six years through officials said
the announcement in peru comes as another south american mining power chile
saw striking workers at two giant copper mines producing more than four percent
of the world copper returned to work wednesday after two day strike
football chivu fractures skull
rome jan afp
inter milan romanian international defender cristian chivu fractured skull and
was taken to hospital on wednesday during his side victory over chievo
chivu suffered the injury just after half time in clash of heads with chievo
player sergio pellissier
he is in hospital confirmed inter coach jose mourinho
he has fractured his skull and we hope he will be able to recover very quickly
even though fear he will be on the sidelines for while
cia attacker ranked best al qaeda informant in years report
washington jan afp
jordanian informant suspected of suicide bombing that killed seven cia
officers in afghanistan last week was ranked the agency best lead on al qaeda
in years the new york times said on wednesday
citing us intelligence officials the times said the jordanian man was thought
to have information about top al qaeda members including the whereabouts of
ayman al zawahiri the organisation number two
in fact the central intelligence agency was so enthusiastic about the
information humam khalil abu mulal al balawi might offer that top officials at
the cia and white house were told he was being brought to afghanistan for
meeting
but instead of offering some of the tips the united states has sought for years
balawi detonated an explosives belt in the middle of us base in khost killing
seven cia operatives
the times reported that balawi background as radical islamist was known to
both jordanian and us intelligence but that the two agencies believed he had
been persuaded to turn on his former colleagues
this was one of the agency most promising efforts senior intelligence
official told the paper on condition of anonymity
balawi had established his credibility by feeding his jordanian supervisor
series of tips about al qaeda that checked out and built up so much trust with
jordanian and us intelligence that he was not properly searched when he entered
forward operating base chapman for meeting with cia operatives
while working as an informant he had contributed anti american essays to
jihadist websites under the name abu dujana al khorasan purportedly to maintain
contacts and gather information
but officials told the newspaper that the views he expressed online turned out
to represent his real beliefs
relatives told afp that balawi had been radicalised by the devastating offensive
which israel launched on gaza in december
the israeli military operation in gaza affected humam and he wanted to join
doctors of the jordan medical association as volunteer and go to gaza said
his brother asking for his given name to be withheld
humam was angry because of the crimes committed by israel in gaza
in february he told us he was going to turkey but his turkish wife has not
seen him and we have not heard from him not even call or mail he added
we thought he was in gaza we were worried
the attack was the deadliest against the cia since
it has been followed by barrage of criticism of the cia including from the
top us military intelligence official in afghanistan who accused the agency of
poor intelligence gathering
iceland caught in storm after icesave veto
reykjavik jan afp
iceland was caught in political and economic storm wednesday with doubts
growing over its recovery and eu membership bid after the president vetoed
compensation deal to cover the icesave bank collapse
iceland president olafur ragnar grimsson on tuesday refused to sign the so
called icesave bill on compensation to the british and dutch governments
instead referring the issue to referendum because of public opposition
the decision immediately sparked anger in britain and the netherlands where
officials urged reykjavik to meet its international obligations after they had
had to compensate local savers who lost their money in icesave
on wednesday standard and poor put icelandic debt on creditwatch negative
saying the veto could undermine the country rescue package from the
international monetary fund although the imf has said there was no link
amp said that as result we could lower our ratings on iceland by one to
two notches within month
moody investors service meanwhile said the president move had uncertain
credit implications but will certainly complicate any near term plans for
iceland to exit from its financial and economic crisis
on tuesday fitch credit rating agency downgraded iceland long term debt
rating to junk status from bbb to bb citing renewed wave of domestic
political economic and financial uncertainty
the icesave bill narrowly approved by the icelandic parliament on december
calls for billion euros billion dollars to be paid to the british and
dutch governments who had to compensate more than british and dutch
savers who lost money in the collapse of the icelandic bank
the payout has stirred up resentment among many ordinary icelanders
about people or about quarter of the electorate have signed
petition protesting against the bill which they fear will doom them to decades
of poverty all because of the mistakes of handful of bankers and financial
regulators that sparked their country financial collapse in october
the icelandic parliament is expected to reconvene on friday to discuss whether
to hold the referendum on february political advisor for prime minister
johanna sigurdardottir told afp
sigurdardottir has staked her political future on passage of the bill
suggesting her government could step down if it were blocked
poll among icelanders and published on wednesday by the mmr polling
institute indicated that percent would vote no to the icesave bill in
referendum and percent would support it
meanwhile britain and the european commission warned iceland no vote could
jeopardise its bid to join the european union
britain financial services minister paul myners told the bbc this
development would need to be factored into decision as to whether we would
be supportive of iceland application to join the eu
and spokesman for the commission which is preparing an opinion for the eu
member states on how long iceland might need to join the bloc said economic
questions like the case of icesave will be analysed very closely
baldur thorhallsson political science professor at the university of iceland
and an eu specialist told afp he expected the icesave debate to play role in
iceland membership bid
decision is expected in march from the eu on whether to start the
negotiations and think the uk and netherlands will hesitate before agreeing to
the negotiations he said
icelandic support for an eu application soared above percent at the height of
the country financial collapse with the bloc seen by many as safe haven
but by september gallup poll showed that percent of icelanders opposed
eu membership and only percent supported it
the eu implications however took backseat in iceland on wednesday with more
attention paid to the impact the icesave bill would have on the country
economic recovery as concerns grew that foreign investment could be hit as
result
the key to the recovery is that iceland has access to international financial
markets vilhjalmur egilsson director of the federation of icelandic
employers told the daily frettabladid
newspaper morgunbladid wrote in an editorial that despite everything we can now
be in better position if we play the situation well the nation could benefit
from strong resistance against excessive and unfair demands
frettabladid noted in its editorial however that icesave will not disappear
if the law is not adopted adding referendum will not close the issue in
any way
viral phenomenon ancient microbe invaded human dna
paris jan afp
humans carry in their genome the relics of an animal virus that infected their
forerunners at least million years ago according to research published
wednesday by the british science journal nature
the invader is called bornavirus brain infecting pathogen that was first
identified in
scientists led by keizo tomonaga of japan osaka university compared the dna of
range of mammals including humans apes elephants marsupials and rodents
to look for tell tale signatures of bornavirus code
in the human genome the team found several bornavirus fragments but also in the
form of two genes that may be functional although what they do is unclear
until now the only viruses known to have been handed on in vertebrates were
retroviruses which work by hijacking cellular machinery in order to reproduce
retroviruses are effective in infiltrating the germline the dna of
reproductive cells which means their sequence or part of it is handed on to
ensuing generations
by some estimates retroviruses account for as much as eight percent of the
human code for life
bornavirus has different stealth tactic replicating in the nucleus of
infected cells
the disease owes its name to the german town of borna where regiment of
cavalry horses was wiped out in by mysterious heated head disease
later research also found the disease among sheep llamas ostriches cats and
cattle although how it spreads is poorly understood
the impact of bornavirus on the human genetic odyssey is likely to trigger
fierce debate
the big questions are whether it provided potential cause of genetic mutation
or innovation in our species or whether it provided source for inherited
illness or conversely protection
bornavirus has not been clearly linked to diseases in humans although some
researchers speculate there could be link with schizophrenia and other mental
disorders
chad lifts sanctions on newspaper
ndjamena jan afp
chadian court on wednesday lifted sanctions against the weekly la voix
newspaper month after it was seized and shut down by the authorities
judicial source said
the court in ndjamena ruled the paper management not guilty of breaking
administrative rules overturning december decision that ordered the seizure
of all the newspaper publications
it triumph for the law and it proof that la voix has been properly
constituted defence lawyer jean bernard padare told afp
first launched last may the privately owned la voix employes around people
and has circulation of around impressive by chadian standards
in december its director innocent ebode cameroonian national and his
accountant amadou bouba gong daba were separately abducted and beaten up by
unidentified men according to their own accounts to afp
us stocks drift higher after private jobs report
new york jan afp
us stocks drifted higher wednesday after data showed the us private sector lost
more jobs than expected in december ahead of the government keenly awaited
labor report at the end of the week
the dow jones industrial average rose points percent to
at gmt pulling into positive territory from weak opening
the technology heavy nasdaq composite climbed points percent to
and the broad market standard amp poor index advanced
points percent to
payrolls firm adp reported before the opening bell the nonfarm private sector
shed jobs in december the smallest drop since march
most analysts had expected losses in the key private sector report which
comes ahead of the labor department nonfarm jobs data release friday which
includes government workers
with the reported adp number being close to the consensus estimate and the
prior month number being upwardly revised from decline of to
decline of the key takeaway for the market this morning is that the adp
report won prompt any negative rethinking of estimates for friday nonfarm
payrolls report said patrick hare at briefing com
the labor department is expected to report nonfarm payrolls were unchanged
after shedding in november and the unemployment rate ticked higher to
percent from percent
traders also mulled the institute of supply management latest non
manufacturing or purchasing managers index that showed the vast us services
sector returned to growth in december though jobs were still being lost
the ism index increased to percent in december from surprisingly weak
percent in november number above indicates growth so the survey
shows the sector that accounts for the bulk of us activity just barely in
expansion mode
the market was expected to pore over the minutes of the federal open market
committee policy setting meeting last month to be released at gmt
seeking clues to the state of the economy budding recovery from recession and
the direction of monetary policy
the fomc extended the central bank record low interest rates at the december
meeting and reaffirmed this policy would remain in place for an extended
period to support still precarious economic recovery
among stocks in focus monsanto dropped percent to dollars after
reporting fiscal first quarter loss amid falling sales in herbicide roundup
and corn and soybean seeds
boeing leapt percent to dollars the aerospace giant announced an
order from the united arab emirates for six globemaster iii advanced
military airlifters at an undisclosed price
exxonmobil edged up percent to dollars the oil major and state owned
qatar petroleum announced they would jointly develop petrochemical complex on
the industrial site of ras laffan the financial terms were not disclosed
bonds pulled back the yield on the year treasury bond climbed to
percent from percent tuesday while that on the year bond rose to
percent from percent bond yields and prices move in opposite directions
us services sector swings to growth but just barely
washington jan afp
the us services sector returned to growth in december according to survey
wednesday showing still sluggish pace of activity with jobs still being lost
the institute of supply management said its nonmanufacturing or purchasing
managers index increased to percent in december from surprisingly weak
percent in november
any number over indicates growth so the survey shows the sector that
accounts for the bulk of us activity just barely in expansion mode
among the sub indexes the ism survey showed the business activity index at
percent up points from november while the new orders index fell to
percent
employment however remained weak the index rose points to percent
indicating jobs are still being cut but at slower pace than in prior months
the ism said seven sectors showed growth while nine contracted
analysts had expected the headline index to be somewhat stronger at
percent
ian shepherdson at high frequency economics said the index is little more than
slave to the recent performance of core retail sales which are rising at only
moderate pace
he added that unlike the manufacturing sector which is benefiting from the weak
dollar and the rebound in global trade flows companies in the ism non
manufacturing survey are largely reliant on domestic consumer demand which
remains hugely constrained by the need for further deleveraging
aaron smith at moody economy com nonetheless called the report encouraging
for overall economic growth in gross domestic product
the survey still looks somewhat soft relative to our fourth quarter forecast of
around percent growth though we would emphasize that the relationship
between the ism surveys and gdp growth can be loose he said
in particular the nonmanufacturing survey often lags gdp growth during
cyclical downturns and recoveries
but smith said the employment index was disappointment that will likely mean
it will take some additional time for the overall economy to return to job
growth
tennis atp chennai open results collated
chennai india jan afp
collated results from the third day of the dollar atp chennai open
tennis tournament here on wednesday denotes seeding
nd rd
marin cilic cro bt marcel granollers esp
thiemo de bakker ned bt robin haase ned
santiago giraldo col bt jan hajek cze
janko tipsarevic srb bt somdev devvarman ind
us security rules likely to harm ties with nigeria government
abuja jan afp
new us security restrictions on air passengers from nigeria are likely to harm
ties between the two countries the government in abuja warned on wednesday
nigeria views this action as having the potential of undermining long standing
and established us nigeria bilateral ties and the goodwill the us enjoys in
nigeria information minister dora akunyili told reporters
nigeria expresses its disappointment and concern over the undeserved placement
of nigeria on the countries of interest list said akunyili reading from
statement released after cabinet meeting
washington on sunday introduced new security measures for passengers flying to
the united states from countries after year old nigerian was accused of
trying to blow up us jetliner over detroit on christmas day
umar farouk abdulmutallab trained mechanical engineer who had explosives
sewn into his underwear had boarded northwest airlines flight from amsterdam
to detroit he had flown to amsterdam on klm flight from lagos
nigeria has since december expressed its deep sorrow and dismay over the
incident which it condemned in all its ramifications the statement said
it is on record that nigeria has signed and ratified nine out of un and au
african union instruments on counter terrorism dealing with issues ranging
from money laundering drug trafficking crime to nuclear terrorism it said
foreign minister ojo maduekwe summoned us ambassador robin sanders on tuesday to
protest the measures
made it clear through the us ambassador to the us government that this is
unacceptable to nigeria maduekwe said
they didn need to put us on that list and we want to be off that list he
said adding that nigeria had since independence in always maintained very
excellent relations with the united states
northern ireland loyalist group disarms
belfast jan afp
northern ireland largest loyalist paramilitary group announced wednesday that
it had completely disarmed milestone in the troubled province peace
process
the political wing of the ulster defence association uda blamed for about
murders in its campaign to maintain british rule during three decades of civil
strife said it had put the remainder of its arsenal beyond use
today the leadership of the uda can confirm that all weaponry under its control
has been put verifiably beyond use said ulster political research group uprg
leader frankie gallagher at press conference in belfast
he said they accepted the legitimacy of the power sharing government between the
pro london democratic unionists dup and the republican sinn fein
the ulster defence association was formed to defend our communities we state
quite clearly and categorically that this responsibility now rests with the
government and its institutions where legitimacy resides he said
the move month before long running amnesty on giving up arms ends was
facilitated by the independent international commission on decommissioning
iicd under the leadership of canadian general john de chastelain
it was verified by two independent witnesses the former church of ireland
primate lord robin eames and former top civil servant george quigley
the uda is the largest and last loyalist paramilitary group to hand over its
weapons following the good friday agreement which largely ended three
decades of violence in the province known as the troubles
loyalists are northern ireland protestants who want the province to remain part
of britain and are historic foes of catholic republicans who believe it should
become part of the republic of ireland
the other main loyalist groups ulster volunteer force uvf and red hand
commandos rhc announced last june that they were putting all of their weapons
beyond use
the irish republican army ira the main republican paramilitary group
finished destroying its arsenal four years ago
the completion of the decommissioning process by the uda is further
significant milestone in the peace process said irish premier brian cowen
taken together with the completion of decommissioning by the ira and the
uvf it is clear signal that northern ireland has moved on and that the
democratic institutions established by the good friday agreement are the means
through which the entire community in northern ireland and the people of these
islands can and will build lasting peace and prosperity
britain northern ireland secretary shaun woodward said it was major act of
leadership by the uda and further comprehensive evidence of the success of
politics over violence in northern ireland
the peace accord ended most of the violence which had plagued northern
ireland for decades killing at least people and paved the way for the
establishment of devolved self rule in
sinn fein lawmaker gerry kelly also welcomed the uda disarmanent saying
this process has been about taking the gun out of irish politics
loyalist groups began disarming in but the process was suspended after two
british soldiers and policeman in northern ireland were shot dead by dissident
republicans in march last year
the process restarted after reassurances from the british and irish governments
that those responsible for the attacks would be vigorously pursued
police pro russians clash in ukraine
sebastopol ukraine jan afp
ukrainian police and pro russian demonstrators clashed in the crimean port of
sebastopol wednesday during visit to the city by nationalist presidential
candidate witnesses said
close to thousand protesters tried to block anti russian politician oleg
tiagnybok from entering cultural centre to meet with his supporters the
demonstrators chanted sebastopol crimea russia and fascism will not pass
the protest degenerated into stone throwing and police made several arrests an
afp correspondent said
the crimea has an overwhelmingly russian speaking population and is also home to
the russian navy black sea fleet
ukraine goes to the polls to elect new president on january
vodafone says will sell google smartphone within weeks
london jan afp
british mobile phone giant vodafone announced wednesday that it will start
selling google nexus one smartphone in britain within the next few weeks with
france and germany likely to follow
the touch screen device launched on tuesday and produced in collaboration with
taiwan electronics group htc poses direct challenge to apple top selling
iphone
can confirm that vodafone is the first operator to partner with google to
offer the nexus one in europe starting soon in the uk in few short weeks
vodafone spokeswoman told afp
no detail on pricing and precise timing has yet been made but that will come
in few weeks
customers will be able to purchase subsidised nexus one phone with vodafone
contract the device will also be available directly through the google web
store
google said earlier it had reached strategic partnerships with telecom firm
verizon in the united states and vodafone in europe
vodafone added wednesday that the group was in talks to sell the nexus one in
france germany and other european countries this year
we re in early discussions with google to introduce the offer in france
through sfr and in germany and spain and more european countries are expected
during the spokeswoman said
our agreement with google stretches beyond europe all vodafone geographies
and over time we will be working to provide offers in other vodafone
operating countries
