the open society initiative said tuesday it had called an urgent meeting of
civil society groups on thursday to seek an independent investigation into the
killings
more than people suspected of involvement in the violence have been
arrested
nigerian opposition politician shot dead police
lagos jan afp
gunmen shot dead prominent opposition politician in nigeria southwestern
ogun state police said tuesday amid rising tensions ahead of general elections
next year
chief dipo dina was killed monday night in ota by unknown gunmen who ambushed
his vehicle senior police officer told afp
we are still investigating the circumstances of his death he said
dina who like many politicians held the traditional title of chief was the
opposition action congress ac gubernatorial candidate in disputed april
poll
tensions have been rising as the country prepares for general elections in
several prominent politicians including justice minister and two
gubernatorial candidates have been murdered by unidentified gunmen in recent
years and police have failed to prosecute the killers
gubernatorial poll in southern anambra state on february is being seen as
bellwether for next year election
the ac said tuesday in statement that dina killing was the latest
indication of rising culture of intolerance and insecurity in the country
and signals dangerous trend that must be curbed urgently
nation that is not at war and yet loses high number of its prominent and
non prominent citizens to senseless killings cannot and should not expect to be
taken seriously by civilised nations this madness must stop ac spokesman lai
mohammed said
alert
fiat calls two week production halt in italy from february
merkel warns iran time is running out
berlin jan afp
german chancellor angela merkel ramped up the pressure on iran tuesday over its
disputed nuclear programme saying next month would be critical time for the
world community to decide on sanctions
speaking after talks with israeli president shimon peres merkel said that the
theme of sanctions would be tackled in february when france holds the rotating
chair of the united nations security council
think february will be the crucial month merkel said
asked whether berlin would support military solution to the dispute merkel
replied germany wants diplomatic solution to this conflict and therefore we
consider sanctions to be the next step
merkel said the sanctions should be agreed within the united nations but if
china or russia or other countries do not go along with the security council
then group of like minded countries should aim for the same result
peres said his country had nothing against the iranian people but rather the
iranian regime
would firmly urge the international community to act as soon as possible in
order to dismantle the threat to world peace which is being articulated in the
iranian regime he said
asked whether it was possible to compare iran president mahmoud ahmadinejad
with adolf hitler merkel said the fact that the iranian president has
questioned israel right to exist is completely unacceptable for german
chancellor
merkel said there had already been clear reductions in germany trade with
iran although she acknowledged there was long tradition of economic
cooperation between the two countries
any sanctions against tehran would only work if they were applied over the
widest possible basis she added
earlier tuesday one of germany largest firms siemens denied it had acted
illegally after rights groups accused the industrial group of selling technology
to iran that could be used to monitor the internet
peres was due wednesday to address the parliament on international holocaust
remembrance day to pay tribute to the six million jews killed by the nazis
including his grandparents and uncle
the president who was accompanied to germany by holocaust survivors of german
origin attended memorial service tuesday at platform of the grunewald
train station from where thousands of berlin jews were expelled to nazi labour
and death camps
peres trip came exactly week after prime minister benjamin netanyahu visited
berlin for meeting between the german and israeli cabinets dominated by the
middle east peace process and the iranian nuclear programme
on thursday the president was due to leave germany for davos in switzerland
where he will join world leaders and top officials at the world economic forum
kurds in halabja celebrate chemical ali execution
halabja iraq jan afp
hundreds of kurds took to the streets of the iraqi town of halabja on tuesday to
celebrate the execution of chemical ali hanged for the gassing of some
of its residents in
the execution is just and it fills me with joy that cannot describe said
kulala mohammed who lost two brothers in the attacks
went to pray at the grave of my brothers and to tell them you can now rest
in peace your enemy has gone forever and halabja can be reborn he told afp
ali hassan al majid better known by his macabre nickname was hanged on monday
after being ordered executed for the halabja attack the fourth death sentence
handed down against the infamous henchman of executed iraqi dictator saddam
hussein
in the town cemetery relatives gathered at am gmt the exact
time years ago that majid forces launched their deadly cocktail of mustard
gas and the nerve agents tabun sarin and vx on the small town
mourners stood in prayer around halabja memorial for victims of the atrocity
while others laid wreaths of flowers along the rows of tombstones where they
were buried
aras abed vice president of the association of halabja victims who lost
family members said he was swimming in happiness
the enemy of the kurds and of all humanity got what he deserved he said
karwan adham who represented some of the victims at the trial said everyone
who commits such crimes and who murders should suffer the same fate as ali
hassan al majid
three quarters of the victims at halabja thought to have been the deadliest
ever gas attack against civilians were women and children
in march as iraq eight year war with iran was coming to an end kurdish
peshmerga rebels with tehran backing took over the farming community of
halabja near the border
the iraqi army responded by bombing the area forcing the rebels to retreat into
the surrounding hills leaving their families behind
iraqi jets then swooped over the small town and for five hours sprayed it with
nerve agents
majid had already been sentenced to death for genocide over the kurdish
offensives that left an estimated kurds dead in the and for war
crimes committed during the ill fated shiite uprising in southern iraq
in march last year the iraqi high tribunal handed down third death sentence
for the murders of dozens of shiites in sadr city and najaf
the iraqi government said his execution happened without any violations
shouting or cries of joy in sharp contrast to his cousin saddam death on the
gallows in december
kenya watchdog to challenge uk for dismissing torture claims
nairobi jan afp
the kenya human rights commission khrc said tuesday it would challenge move
by the uk government striking out claims of torture by the british colonial
administration in kenya
khrc chief muthoni wanyeki said the law of state succession invoked by britain
to dismiss the claims by four elderly mau mau independence fighters alleging
torture and rape was legally challengeable and morally repugnant
we are afraid that by seeking to invoke legal technicality in its defence as
opposed to relying on the substance of the mau mau suit the british government
is either knowingly or unknowingly waging war of attrition on the mau mau
torture survivors wanyeki said
most of these survivors are now quite advanced in age and don have long
time to live in fact one of the lead claimants susan ciongombe ngondi passed
away we contend that the mau mau torture survivors have waited for too long for
justice and the time to get justice is now she added
the rights activist said mps lawyers and human rights groups would soon be
sending letter of protest to british foreign secretary david miliband while
another group was also planning to convene special meeting to review the legal
options at london school of oriental and african studies next month
the british government had argued that it is not liable for the acts of the
colonial administration and that the kenyan government was now responsible for
whatever happened before independence was obtained in
that is absolutely not acceptable torture has never been core duty of the
state so it is crazy to imply that it is the core duty passed on to our
government wanyeki said
in june the veterans of the mau mau revolt which led to series of
bloody clashes between kenyan nationalists and british forces throughout the
left kenya for the first time in their lives to take legal action in
person in london
the three men and two women claimed they were subjected to sexual abuse forced
labour castration and various forms of torture
table of imf world economic forecasts
washington jan afp
here are the international monetary fund latest key economic growth
projections for and issued tuesday
the numbers represent percent change and the numbers in brackets represent
percentage point revisions of the twice yearly world economic outlook report
published on october
gdp growth
world
advanced economies
united states
japan
eurozone
germany
france
italy
spain
britain
canada
emerging economies
africa
developing asia
china
india
latin america
brazil
mexico
middle east
central and
eastern europe
russia
top spanish chef to close el bulli for two years
madrid jan afp
el bulli the spanish restaurant repeatedly crowned the world best will
temporarily close in and its famed avant garde chef ferran adria
announced on tuesday
no meals will be served in el bulli in and he told news
conference at madrid fusion the annual international culinary conference
focussing on the cutting edge in haute cuisine
but el bulli is not closing down these are not two years on sabbatical need
time to decide how is going to be know that when return it will not
be the same said the father of so called molecular gastronomy
el bulli on spain northeastern catalan coast was last year named the world
best for the fourth year in row by britain restaurant magazine other
publications have similarly raved about adria and his food
but adria said he found working hours day difficult
it like telling british designer john galliano to go work in factory he
said
adria and heston blumenthal in england have since the late rocked world
cuisine by using science to deconstruct and rebuild food
taste bud treats on the menu of adria three star restaurant have included
oyster meringue hot ice cream frothy truffle cappuccino and liquid ravioli
while vegetables are turned into lollipops or whipped foams
he has had to respond to critics who say the chemicals used in his molecular
gastronomy make it unhealthy
homemade ice creams those which are excellent must have stabilising
substance to avoid crystallisation sugar goes through chemical and physical
transformation chocolate contains lecithin agar is thick substance that has
been used in japan for centuries he said once in response to criticism from
another top spanish chef santi santamaria
the tomato also has chemical composition he said
ot wdb mjs
clinton deeply resents foreign criticism on haiti
washington jan afp
secretary of state hillary clinton said tuesday she deeply resents foreign
criticism of the us response to the earthquake in haiti saying the united
states was doing as much as it could
deeply resent those who attack our country the generosity of our people and
the leadership of our president in trying to respond to historically disastrous
conditions after the earthquake clinton told state department employees at
forum marking one year in office
clinton did not single out critics but said that some of the international
press either misunderstood or deliberately misconstrued the us decision to send
thousands of troops to haiti
the united states needed to send both troops and civilians to deliver aid to
the haitians who desperately needed it clinton said
we re scrambling as quick as we could to do everything we needed in the past
two weeks she said
leftist allies venezuela bolivia and cuba have criticized the united states for
its response to the quake accusing us forces of occupying the country rather
than helping its people
senior italian official separately deplored lack of coordinated
international aid effort in haiti saying that the united states had too many
officers there and could not find capable leader
clinton told the state department employees that directions had been sent to us
embassies around the world to counter criticism of the haiti relief effort
she pointed to the response as model for the future saying that the united
states should be ready to fight against allegations it sees as unfair
have absolutely no argument with anyone lodging legitimate criticism
against our country think we can learn from that and we are foolish if we
keep our head in the sand and pretend we can she said
what we re asking for is that people view us fairly she said
us budget deficit to hit trillion dollars in cbo
washington jan afp
the us government budget deficit is expected to fall to trillion dollars
in its fiscal year from trillion dollars in estimates by
congress showed tuesday
but if legislation were enacted in the next several months that either boosted
spending or reduced revenues the deficit could equal or exceed last
year shortfall the congressional budget office cbo warned
it said that at percent of gross domestic product the estimated
deficit would be slightly smaller than the shortfall of percent of gdp
trillion dollars posted in it said
last year deficit was the largest as share of gdp the basic measure of
country overall economic output since the end of world war ii
un chief to visit cyprus if reunification talks make headway
united nations jan afp
un chief ban ki moon will travel to cyprus shortly if ongoing talks on
reunification of the divided mediterranean island make headway un official
said tuesday
ultimately ban will make decision to go based on whether he feels such
visit would be helpful in getting deal on cyprus said the official speaking
on condition of anonymity
the source said ban could head for cyprus sunday after attending the annual
summit of the african union in addis ababa
the un secretary general was to attend an international conference on
afghanistan in london thursday
monday rival cypriot leaders kicked off second round of day long talks in an
accelerated un push to try and reunify the island this year and end years of
division
after three days of un led negotiations ended without progress on january
the onus is on this second series of intensive talks to produce results
the greek and turkish cypriot leaders say they are committed to finding
solution this year while the united nations is hoping will usher cyprus
settlement
president demetris christofias greek cypriot and turkish cypriot leader
mehmet ali talat are hoping to secure much needed breakthrough after months
of sluggish negotiations
peace talks were launched amid much optimism and fanfare in september but
the two sides remain divided on the core issues of property security and
territorial adjustments
cyprus has been split since turkish troops seized and occupied its northern
third in in response to greek led coup aimed at uniting the island with
greece
olympics reigning snowboardcross champion frieden retires
geneva jan afp
reigning olympic snowboard cross champion tanja frieden on tuesday announced her
retirement from top flight sport after she tore both achilles tendons in world
cup event last week
the year old was forced to withdraw from the winter olympics in vancouver
after she suffered the injuries and dislocated shoulder during qualifying for
canadian world cup event at stoneham last week
frieden announced the end of her racing career at press conference in zurich
where she underwent an operation on saturday at local clinic
it not the career end had wished for said frieden who had geared her
season to the defence of her turin gold
the swiss skiing federation said in statement that frieden had realised soon
after she was injured that her career in the sport elite had come to an end
doctors said frieden should recover from the tendon injuries within eight weeks
but ruled out any intensive sporting activity for another six months it added
frieden who also holds norwegian passport said she was mulling over future
projects with her sponsors
along with her olympic medal frieden had racked up world cup snowboard
podiums and win since she first joined the circuit in
security chief at davos found dead swiss police
davos switzerland jan afp
the police commander heading security for the world economic forum annual
meeting in davos was found dead on tuesday morning local police said adding
that it appeared to be suicide
dr markus reinhardt commander of the graubuenden cantonal police was found
dead in his hotel room in the morning the southeastern swiss police force said
in statement on the eve of the meeting of global business and political
leaders
all indications point to suicide it added
reinhardt has headed the canton police force since
with the passing of dr markus reinhardt canton graubuenden the graubuenden
and swiss police have lost treasured important personality said police in
tribute
local authorities said another senior police officer had taken over his duties
for the forum the swiss news agency ats reported
freed guantanamo detainee arrives in switzerland authorities
geneva jan afp
former uzbek detainee released from the controversial us military detention
centre for terror suspects at guantanamo bay has arrived in switzerland as
free man swiss authorities said tuesday
the swiss justice ministry declined to give details on the man or even the exact
date of his arrival in january in bid to preserve his privacy and avoid
harming his integration into local society
the uzbek citizen that switzerland has decided to host on humanitarian grounds
arrived in geneva during the course of this month it announced in statement
he is today free having neither been accused nor sentenced it added
the swiss federal government and geneva regional government agreed to grant
asylum to the uzbek who was cleared for release by us authorities in last
month
they said the man had pledged to respect swiss law learn the language of his
new home and find work
football nigeria bonus row looming
benguela angola jan afp
row over the win bonus of africa cup of nations semi finalists nigeria is
brewing after special committee failed to come up with their own contribution
officials have disclosed
the team are on massive bonus in angola with the agreement that the nff will
pay half of the bonus while the world cup presidential task force ptf
pay the other half disclosed top nigeria football federation official
the nff have so far paid the bonus for the team qualification from the group
stage and also after the quarter final but the ptf are yet to come up with
their own cash he added
this cannot go on because the nff resources have been fully stretched and it
would be impossible for them to pay the team by the time they qualify for the
final
the ptf made up of top government officials and politicians was set up by the
nigeria presidency to assist the nff qualify the eagles to the world cup in
south africa
nff spokesman ademola olajire said the team have been paid their win bonus for
both qualification from the group rounds as well as reaching the last four but
would refuse to elaborate further
each player was paid dollars for getting past the first round of the
competition and received an additional for beating zambia to get to the
semi finals
coach shuaibu amodu got double those amounts and his assistants slightly less
each player will get dollars if they beat fellow west african rivals
ghana on thursday in luanda to reach the final of this year nations cup
nigeria budgeted more than three million dollars for the nations cup in angola
urgent us budget deficit to hit trillion dollars in cbo
washington jan afp
the us government budget deficit is expected to fall to trillion dollars
in its fiscal year from trillion dollars in the congressional
budget office projected tuesday
two students killed in huge venezuela protests
caracas jan afp
two students were shot dead in huge demonstrations in venezuela after president
hugo chavez pulled the plug on television station critical of his government
officials said tuesday
the demonstrations also left people injured in mountainous merida state
authorities said while marchers torched some buildings and vehicles local
media reported
yosinio carrillo and supporter of chavez socialist party was shot dead
monday when student groups supporting and opposing the government clashed in
merida home to one of venezuela main universities
interior minister tareck el aissami told state television carrillo was
ambushed
medical student marcos rosales was shot three times and died of his
injuries during the protests merida governor marcos diaz orellana said
chavez opponents on monday blocked access to many universities across the oil
rich but still developing south american nation
authorities sent students scrambling with tear gas in caracas on monday student
groups planned more protests for tuesday
the government ordered stations including opposition network rctv to cease
broadcasting midnight saturday for refusing to air chavez speeches as
required under law passed in december
under the measure every broadcast station whose programming is at least
percent venezuelan made is considered national media outlet
the measure requires national media outlets to air speeches by chavez and other
top officials as well as government announcements
chavez critics however see many of those speeches which can last for hours as
government propaganda
journalist and human rights groups have expressed concern over the muzzling of
press freedoms and have called for peaceful protests against the law
the united states said its embassy in caracas had raised its concerns about the
new law with venezuelan authorities
any time the government shuts down an independent network that is an area of
concern and we will continue to voice those concerns to any government
including the government of venezuela said us state department spokesman
philip crowley
clinton deeply resents foreign criticism on haiti
washington jan afp
secretary of state hillary clinton said tuesday she deeply resents foreign
criticism of the us response to the earthquake in haiti saying the united
states was doing as much as it could
deeply resent those who attack our country the generosity of our people and
the leadership of our president in trying to respond to historically disastrous
conditions after the earthquake clinton told state department employees at
forum marking one year in office
clinton did not single out critics but said that some of the international
press either misunderstood or deliberately misconstrued the us decision to send
troops along with civilians to haiti
senior italian official on sunday criticized the lack of coordinated
international aid effort in haiti saying that the united states had too many
officers there and could not find capable leader
vienna opera ball to pay tribute to chopin
vienna jan afp
musical and ballet tributes to composer frederic chopin medley of opera arias
and flutter of ballgowns will fill vienna state opera house on february
for the th edition of its glamourous ball
in year celebrating the polish composer th birthday the world famous
opera house has recruited the creme de la creme to open proceedings at its
annual waltz fest organisers said tuesday
dancers from the vienna and warsaw ballets will perform together to chopin
scherzo nr piece that is important as link with vienna because it is
one piece that chopin conceived in vienna noted choreographer giorgio madia
in an opera ball first pianist and chopin prize winner krzysztof jablonski
will play this piece and the minute waltz to be performed by students of the
vienna opera ballet live on stage
top soloists of vienna opera house have also been recruited to perform short
medley of opera arias assembled by in house conductor alfred eschwe
they range from bizet carmen to puccini la boheme and closer to home
richard strauss die fledermaus not forgetting works by wagner verdi
tchaikovsky rossini and lehar
the annual ball high society event has been broadcast live since
reaching millions of viewers at home and abroad
glamourous affair where businessmen and politicians mingle with local
celebrities and wannabees the opera ball is an exclusive event with tickets
going for euros apiece top box can fetch up to euros
us police arrest heavily armed man with military map
new york jan afp
authorities in the us state of new jersey announced the arrest of heavily
armed man who stockpiled military grade weapons in motel room and possessed
the map of us military facility
the man was wearing bullet proof vest and carrying concealed assault rifle
as well as large quantities of ammunition when he was arrested following
chase in branchburg new jersey the prosecutor office said
the suspect lloyd woodson was confronted by police patrolman in the
early hours of monday at quick chek discount convenience store
he was extremely nervous and had large bulge in the front of his military
style jacket prosecutor wayne forrest and local police chief brian fitzgerald
said in statement
after foot chase to trailer park police used pepper spray to subdue woodson
and found he was carrying inside his coat loaded bushmaster semi automatic
assault rifle altered to fire heavy caliber ammunition
he also carried four additional magazines containing ball type and hollow point
ammunition the rifle serial number had been erased
later detectives searched woodson motel room and found an arsenal of military
grade weapons the authorities said
these included another assault rifle mm cobray grenade launcher another
bullet proof vest night vision scope police radio scanner and hundreds of
rounds of ammunition
detectives also found map of us military installation and map of an out
of state civilian community middle eastern red and white colored traditional
headdress
woodson was charged with multiple weapons offenses
prosecutors did not reveal any possible motives
but the incident came as security services in the united states are on
heightened alert for islamist militant attacks in addition to the constant
threat of gun massacres committed periodically in public places
football adebayor and toure poised for city return
manchester england jan afp
manchester city could field returning african stars emmanuel adebayor and kolo
toure in their league cup semi final second leg against manchester united at old
trafford on wednesday
former arsenal striker adebayor returned to training monday having been on the
togo bus that was fired upon during the ongoing african nations cup in angola
in an incident that left their assistant coach and squad spokesman dead
togo withdrew from the tournament after the january attack in the disputed
enclave of cabinda for which the separatist front for the liberation of the
enclave of cabinda flec claimed responsibility
toure who like adebayor used to play for arsenal finds himself back at
eastlands simply because african nations cup favourites ivory coast lost in the
quarter finals to algeria
spoke with emmanuel yesterday monday city manager roberto mancini said
tuesday he is training with us now and think he will be ready to be on the
bench
the italian added we won see kolo until tomorrow wednesday and need to
see how he has recovered before decide whether he is also on the bench or
whether he plays
am sad for him that the ivory coast got knocked out but am happy for us
mancini said
city who haven won major trophy since lifting the league cup in have
advantage after last week first leg at eastlands
israel lifts immunity of druze lawmaker after syria visit
jerusalem jan afp
an israeli druze lawmaker said tuesday he has been stripped of his parliamentary
