official visit
milan italy trial resumes in corruption case against prime minister silvio
berlusconi accused of buying the silence of his british former lawyer david
mills
saturday january
tokyo ruling democratic party of japan holds party convention
sunday january
kiev ukraine holds presidential elections
santiago second round of presidential elections in chile
monday january
abu dhabi world future energy summit to
abuja summit of heads of state of the economic community of west african states
ecowas
ankara mehmet ali agca turk who tried to kill pope john paul ii in set
to be freed from prison
beijing austrian president heinz fischer visits to
kuwait new hearing in trial of six kuwaitis accused of plotting to attack us
military base
milan italy trial resumes in case against prime minister silvio berlusconi
concerning television rights for his broadcasting group mediaset
vilnius arms smuggling trial resumes of michael campbell alleged member of the
hardline real ira
tuesday january
paris trial of alleged eta deputy military chief harriet aguirre and two other
members of the basque separatist organisation arrested in
tokyo th anniversary of signing of japan us security treaty
wednesday january
athens trial begins of policeman who allegedly shot dead student alexis
grigoropoulos in december triggering riots across greece
ho chi minh city four democracy activists including prominent lawyer le cong
dinh and it engineer nguyen tien trung to go on trial for subversive activities
and
toledo spain european justice and interior ministers meet to
washington socialites tareq salahi and wife michaele quizzed by congress after
gatecrashing white house state dinner
saturday january
colombo sri lanka holds presidential election
monday january
brussels eu foreign ministers meet
wednesday january
davos switzerland world economic forum to
madrid trial opens of basque separatist leader arnaldo otegi
milan italy verdict expected after trial of four google executives for an
internet video showing the bullying of teenager with down syndrome
oswiecim poland ceremonies marking th anniversary of the liberation of the
auschwitz nazi death camp
thursday january
london international conference on afghanistan
five dead injured in french apartment blaze police
nimes france jan afp
fire in an apartment in the southern french city of nimes killed five people
on new year day and left others injured investigators said friday
the five dead two adults and three children had been living in the same
apartment on the top floor of the six storey building and were apparently from
the same family an autopsy has been ordered
several of the injured were living in neighbouring apartment and suffered from
smoke inhalation they were being treated in hospital
the fire origin is not known but it looks like an accident the city
deputy public prosecutor gildas pavy told afp
other residents of the building were evacuated and housed elsewhere
huge parties massive security usher in new year worldwide
new york jan afp
new yorkers greeted the new year under the protection of snipers in times square
and millions worldwide shrugged off security fears to usher in fresh decade
with massive celebrations
russians were treated to surprise cartoon caricaturing president dmitry
medvedev and prime minister vladimir putin while at least five people were
killed and about injured in revelry involving fireworks and guns in the
philippines
parties to bid farewell to decade that saw the september attacks
wars in afghanistan and iraq and disastrous economic crisis brought out
millions in the world major cities
but strict security measures were taken across the globe after the christmas day
attempt by nigerian suspect to blow up us airliner bound for detroit
fireworks burst into the night sky in auckland new zealand the first major
city to see in the new year
in australia about million people watched fireworks from the iconic sydney
harbor bridge and four barges
police minister michael daley urged revellers to keep lid on their drinking
if you re one of these fools that can handle their grog and likes to go out
and ruin other people nights make yourself new year resolution to grow up
and behave yourself and start practising that on new year eve he said
thousands crammed into hong kong harbor where fireworks were unleashed
from the city tallest skyscraper and other buildings
such spectacles however were banned in thailand after fireworks caused new
year eve blaze at bangkok nightclub year ago killing people
the us embassy in indonesia said meanwhile it had received warning of
possible attack on the resort island of bali the scene of multiple bombings
targeting westerners but local authorities denied knowledge of any alert
in the philippines where the five deaths occurred making noise by exploding
firecrackers and firing guns into the air are common ways of greeting the new
year
the celebrations draw on ancient superstitions in which the noise is meant to
drive away evil spirits
huge parties were held at iconic european sites including the eiffel tower in
paris
scores of cars were burnt in french cities but authorities said the number was
lower than the hundreds witnessed year ago
in london more than people lined the banks of the river thames to watch
fireworks explode from the london eye the giant ferris wheel across from big
ben
spain had an extra reason to party with the country taking over the eu
presidency for six months at midnight
this is the best street party in the world now am going to work on my first
hangover of said gerry shalloe year old english teacher from
ireland who lives in madrid
but there was mourning in finland after lone gunman chose the last day of the
year to kill four people in rampage in shopping mall he also murdered
former girlfriend and later turned his weapon on himself
russians gathered on moscow red square to toast and were later treated to
surprise cartoon on state television gently mocking medvedev and his strongman
prime minister
television cartoons of russian leaders have been virtual taboo over the last
half decade
pope benedict xvi in traditional prayers in st peter basilica on the last day
of the year called on christians to help families hit by economic difficulties
and unemployment
us cities celebrated in the shadow of last week attempted airliner attack
thousands of police officers were deployed in new york backed by surveillance
cameras rooftop snipers and devices able to detect radiation or biological
agents
partygoers in times square were not allowed to carry backpacks or alcohol and
were banned from reentering the zone once they left
on wednesday police ordered the brief evacuation of times square and
investigated what they said was suspicious van which later proved to be
harmless
we assume here that new york is the number one terrorist target in america
city police commissioner raymond kelly said
in afghanistan where western powers have been fighting the taliban for most of
the past decade us led soldiers were on alert after two militant attacks
claimed the lives of eight americans and five canadians
south african president jacob zuma used his new year message to rally for unity
for the football world cup the first ever to be held in africa
new year eve also presented the world with blue moon second full moon
in single month for only the second time in nearly two decades
afp world news agenda
paris jan afp
what coming up around the world
world rings in new year
new york revellers ring in the new year across the globe with spectacular
firework displays and massive parties hosted by world capitals against
backdrop of tightened security newyear world
baghdad monitoring reaction after us federal judge dismisses criminal charges
against five blackwater security guards accused of shooting dead people in
baghdad in september iraq us justice security blackwater
multi national forces iraq the us led military coalition that invaded in
changes its name to united states forces iraq usf following the
withdrawal of all other foreign troops
detroit government probe continues into the botched bombing of us bound
jetliner amid growing debate over the failure of us intelligence agencies to
prevent it us attacks nigeria
helsinki finland mourns the victims of shopping mall shooting spree by lone
gunman who killed five people including an ex girlfriend before killing
himself finland crime shooting
kabul security situation in afghanistan after taliban militants said they were
behind separate attacks that killed seven cia officers and five canadians
afghanistan unrest
london britain awaits the homecoming of former hostage peter moore freed two
and half years after being kidnapped in baghdad with four bodyguards britain
iraq hostage
ramallah west bank the secular fatah movement led by palestinian president
mahmud abbas marks the th anniversary of its launch of armed struggle against
israel mideast conflict palestinian fatah
sanaa jizan saudi arabia developments on the yemeni saudi border after yemeni
rebels said they would withdraw from saudi territory if riyadh halts attacks on
their fighters yemen unrest saudi
tehran monitoring after iranian opposition leader mir hossein mousavi said he
was ready to sacrifice his life in his campaign to have the disputed june re
election of president mahmoud ahmadinejad overturned iran politics opposition
afp world news agenda
hong kong jan afp
what coming up around the world
world rings in new year
new york revellers ring in the new year across the globe with spectacular
firework displays and massive parties hosted by world capitals against
backdrop of tightened security newyear world
baghdad monitoring reaction after us federal judge dismisses criminal charges
against five blackwater security guards accused of shooting dead people in
baghdad in september iraq us justice security blackwater
multi national forces iraq the us led military coalition that invaded in
changes its name to united states forces iraq usf following the
withdrawal of all other foreign troops
detroit government probe continues into the botched bombing of us bound
jetliner amid growing debate over the failure of us intelligence agencies to
prevent it us attacks nigeria
helsinki finland mourns the victims of shopping mall shooting spree by lone
gunman who killed five people including an ex girlfriend before killing
himself finland crime shooting
kabul security situation in afghanistan after taliban militants said they were
behind separate attacks that killed seven cia officers and five canadians
afghanistan unrest
london britain awaits the homecoming of former hostage peter moore freed two
and half years after being kidnapped in baghdad with four bodyguards britain
iraq hostage
ramallah west bank the secular fatah movement led by palestinian president
mahmud abbas marks the th anniversary of its launch of armed struggle against
israel mideast conflict palestinian fatah
sanaa jizan saudi arabia developments on the yemeni saudi border after yemeni
rebels said they would withdraw from saudi territory if riyadh halts attacks on
their fighters yemen unrest saudi
tehran monitoring after iranian opposition leader mir hossein mousavi said he
was ready to sacrifice his life in his campaign to have the disputed june re
election of president mahmoud ahmadinejad overturned iran politics opposition
taiwan ma promises billion dollar infrastructure boost
taipei jan afp
president ma ying jeou said friday that taiwan would invest around billion
taiwanese dollars billion us in infrastructure projects to help boost
its economy
projects include metro system connecting taoyuan airport with the capital and
the expansion of science park in the centre of the country which alone will
create jobs in five years ma said in new year address
we will seize the economic revival to push for major investment projects he
said the year ahead is critical year to invigorate taiwan economy
the government will also continue to offer employment incentives in bid to
create new jobs he said
taiwan plunged into recession in late amid the global financial crisis
although its economy has shown signs of improvement in recent months with
jobless rates easing and export orders growing
iraq death toll in lowest since the invasion
baghdad jan afp
the number of people killed across iraq in december was and the civilian
death toll in was making the year the least violent since the us led
invasion of officials said on friday
according to figures from the defence interior and health ministries
civilians police officers and soldiers were killed last month in
addition insurgents were killed and another arrested
the figures put the number of wounded during the month at
december toll was three times higher than the previous month which was the
least violent since with killed
according to figures compiled by afp the total number of civilians killed in
was despite series of massive attacks targeting government
buildings in baghdad it was still the least violent year since
the tolls supplied by the authorities are well below figures published on friday
by iraq body count an independent body which tracks the number of civilians
killed as result of violence
in report it said violence fell dramatically in but added that
improvements in security appear to have levelled off and insurgents have shifted
tactics to larger scale bombings
the british based group said that overall civilians were killed as
result of violence until december less than half of total of
last year also saw the lowest toll among us personnel since the invasion with
deaths as against in and in
total of american soldiers have died in iraq since according to an
afp count based on data from the independent icasualties org website
tennis oudin unafraid of hopman rivals
perth australia jan afp
they ll be the tournament odd couple on the court but emerging us youngster
melanie oudin believes she and teammate john isner can be threat in the mixed
teams hopman cup starting on saturday
the americans are seeded seventh in the unique eight nation event but oudin
showed at last year us open and wimbledon that she was more than capable of
springing surprise
oudin reached the fourth round at wimbledon defeating jelena jankovic in the
process and then went one better at the us open reaching the quarter finals
with hopman cup rival elena dementieva and former world no maria sharapova
among her scalps
speaking here on friday the year old oudin said she didn fear any of her
hopman cup rivals
pulled it off at the us open and maybe we can pull it off here she said
everyone in the draw is tough but think doing well at wimbledon and the us
open this past year really helps my confidence
going into tournaments now won be afraid who play in the first round
or within the draw
oudin ranked th in the world and isner open their hopman cup campaign
against spaniards tommy robredo and maria jose martinez sanchez on sunday
playing the seasoned martinez sanchez will be new experience for oudin
never played her before but know she lefty and know she
got strong serve and is really good at doubles and she is going to be coming
into the net against me lot she said
it should be good match
the americans then face top seeds and home side australia on tuesday which will
pit oudin against world no samantha stosur
oudin and isner will make an interesting pairing in the often deciding mixed
doubles rubbers here with isner standing cm feet and oudin just cm
feet
fifteen inches is quite big difference and think it going to be pretty
funny when we play mixed doubles oudin said
played mixed doubles only few times but had really good
time when played so looking forward to it and it should be fun
oudin said she had taken great confidence out of her results in and was
looking forward to continuing to rise up the rankings this year
iran mousavi ready to die for opposition cause
tehran jan afp
iranian opposition leader mir hossein mousavi said on friday that he was ready
to sacrifice his life in his campaign to have the disputed june re election of
president mahmoud ahmadinejad overturned
am not unwilling to become martyr like those who made that sacrifice after
the election for their rightful national and religious demands mousavi said in
his first statement on his kaleme org website since deadly clashes on sunday
my blood is no redder than theirs he added
mousavi nephew ali was among at least eight people who died during sunday
opposition protests during shiite muslim rituals for ashura
he called on ahmadinejad government to halt its crackdown against his
supporters which saw hundreds of people arrested during the demonstrations
he urged the government to take responsibility for the problems it has created
in the country release political prisoners and recognise people right to
lawful assembly
say openly that until there is an acknowledgement of the existence of
serious crisis in the country there will be no possibility of resolving the
problems and issues he said
the former prime minister rejected demands from hardliners for him to renounce
his accusations of fraud in the june election in which he was ahmadinejad main
challenger
clearly and explicitly say that the order to execute kill or jail former
parliament speaker and pro reform presidential candidate mehdi karroubi
mousavi and people like us will not solve anything
supposedly you calmed things down through your arrests violence threats and
closure of newspapers and other media what appreciation does that show for the
change in public opinion about the islamic republic
mousavi rejected charges by ahmadinejad and other officials that he and his
supporters were lackeys of iran western foes
we are neither americans nor britons we have sent no congratulations cards to
the leaders of major powers he said in mocking allusion to card the iranian
president sent to barack obama on his election as us president in
consider it necessary to stress that we and the green movement have an
islamic and national identity and are against the domination of foreigners he
said of his election campaign colour that has become the opposition signature
we are loyal to the constitution he added dismissing accusations by
hardliners that the opposition protests against ahmadinejad re election have
turned into campaign to topple the islamic regime
we want an honest and compassionate government that considers diversity of
opinion and the popular vote to be opportunities not threats
we consider invasion of people privacy interrogations ransackings
newspaper closures and restrictions on what is published to be violations of the
constitution
mousavi demanded in particular that the authorities end their interference with
internet services in iran which have been the main conduit for the opposition
to spread news of its protests and arrests of its leaders
we are ready to show in debates that today the rights and interests of the
oppressed of workers government employees and other classes of people are
being swamped by massive corruption he added
mousavi statement made no reference to his current whereabouts state media
reported on thursday that he had fled the capital tehran for the northern
province of mazandaran on the caspian sea coast
opposition website rahesabz reported new protests in central tehran on thursday
and sporadic clashes with security forces day after the regime brought
hundreds of thousands of its own supporters onto the streets of major cities in
massive show of strength
france car burnings down this new year
paris jan afp
france enjoyed relatively peaceful new year eve with scores of cars reported
burned apparently fewer than the hundreds witnessed year ago authorities
said on friday
interior minister brice hortefeux said in statement that arrests were made
across the country and police officers injured but no major incidents were
reported the official toll of burned cars was due later he said
in the eastern city of strasbourg traditionally hotspot for new year
disturbances media said about cars had been set on fire police in the
hauts de seine district near paris reported cars burned
early on friday police in paris said arrests were made in the capital
mainly for burning cars and throwing objects at officers but no major clashes
with police were reported
the interior ministry had mobilised police in the capital and
nationally for the night after authorities counted cars set on fire
year ago
it is quiet for new year eve no clashes with the police and no city
violence said one police source in the seine et marne district just outside
paris
there were fewer cars burned than normal said another in val de marne also
near the capital
meanwhile an apparently accidental fire in an apartment in the southern french
city of nimes killed five people and left others injured police said
in separate incident people were harmed six of them seriously by carbon
monoxyde fumes at party in suburb of paris in circumstances that were not
yet clear on friday morning police said
bur rlp gk
afptv advisory
paris jan afp
we will file the following videos
rio beach party ushers in new year
rio de janeiro
two million people crammed copacabana beach to celebrate the new year with
massive fireworks display and night of music and revelry
news culture amp lifestyle
images already transmitted
raw vid
web mmv
jordan rings in new year
amman
like many other countries around the world jordan ushered in the new year with
gusto especially as the festivities the year earlier had been cancelled because
of the war in gaza
news culture amp lifestyle
images and soundbites transmitted by gmt
raw vid
web mmv
iraqis hopes for
baghdad
as iraqis welcome in new year and new decade afptv talks to ordinary
citizens what they hope for the new year
news
images and soundbites transmitted by gmt
raw vid
web mmv
multi layered leadership takes over eu
paris
new look leadership structure designed to streamline the european union begins
in earnest on friday when spain assumes the rotating presidency alongside the
bloc first president herman van rompuy but as spain prime minister jose
luis rodriguez zapatero van rompuy and eu commission chief jose manuel barroso
jostle for position at the bloc top table it still unclear how it going
to work
news
voiced report transmitted gmt
nsv vid
broadcast ready vid
web mmv
icy new year dip in northern france
malo les bains france
courageous french men and women brave the cold waters of the north sea to take
traditional annual dip to welcome in the new year
culture amp lifestyle
images and soundbites transmitted by gmt
raw vid
web mmv
detoxing thai style
koh phangnan thailand
in need of detox after christmas excesses one option is to head for the
beaches of thailand where combination of clean living fasting and the added
twist of some colonic irrigation could leave you feeling like new person
that if you manage to resist the temptation of the all night parties just over
the hill
culture amp lifestyle
voiced report already transmitted
nsv vid
broadcast ready vid
web mmv
harnessing the wind in your backyard
touche france
while some people worry about wind farms being built near their homes others
are erecting their own turbines in their own backyard the practice is gaining
in popularity in france where homeowners are setting up turbines and earning
money by selling surplus energy back into the grid
environment amp nature economy
voiced report transmitted by gmt
nsv vid
broadcast ready vid
web mmv
nigeria filmmakers labour under sharia law
kano nigeria
there hollywood and bollywood and even nollywood nigeria movie
production but there also kannywood whose name comes from the northern
nigerian city of kano where many of the country movies are produced local
filmmakers now complain however that the muslim state sharia law has forced
them to rein in their business refile of previously offered report
culture amp lifestyle
voiced report transmitted by gmt
nsv vid
broadcast ready vid
web mmv
siberian tiger twins stars of baghdad zoo
baghdad
baghdad al zawraa zoo is enjoying baby boom particularly among its big cats
recently it siberian tigers gave birth to twins while its bengal tigers have
also produced cub these swelling numbers among its residents are also
reflected in the expanding number of its visitors this is rebirth for zoo
which was in dire straits back in refile of previously offered report
culture amp lifestyle environment amp nature
voiced report transmitted by gmt
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contact
jacqueline pietsch
richard tompsett
somalia shebab says will send fighters to yemen
mogadishu jan afp
somalia hardline shebab insurgents on friday said they will send fighters to
yemen where government forces are battling al qaeda suspects to help fight
the enemy of allah
we tell our muslim brothers in yemen that we will cross the water between us
and reach your place to assist you fight the enemy of allah said sheikh
mukhtar robow abu mansour top official of the al qaeda inspired militants
today you see what is happening in yemen the enemy of allah is destroying your
muslim brothers he said in northern mogadishu where he displayed hundreds of
newly trained young fighters
call upon the young men in arab lands to join the fight there
yemeni forces last month launched raids on suspected al qaeda targets in the
centre of the country and the sanaa region killing more than islamist
militants several rebels were also wounded in clashes this week
the shebab control large swathe of south and central somalia and have wrested
control of much of the capital mogadishu where they have relentlessly attacked
government and african union forces
us missile strike kills three in pakistan
miranshah pakistan jan afp
missiles from us drone slammed into car killing three militants friday the
second such strike in two days in pakistan tribal region of north waziristan
security officials said
the northwest rife with islamist extremist networks has been the focus of
hail of bombings in the past month by us spy planes as washington targets
militant groups it says pakistan is struggling to tackle
the morning attack by drone aircraft struck vehicle carrying suspected
militants in ghundikala village kilometres nine miles east of miranshah
the main town of north waziristan close to the afghan border
us drone fired two missiles targeting vehicle and killing three
militants senior security official in the area told afp
the identity of militants is not known yet it is also not clear whether any
high value target was present in the area when the attack took place
another security official confirmed the strike and the casualties both
officials requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the us strikes in
