the seven client nations have ordered total of aircraft for some
billion euros billion dollars
french defence minister herve morin told rfi radio on thursday that paris was
ready to share the burden of the extra costs
not bothered by the fact that we would have to pay part of the cost
overruns because believe this is magnificent programme morin said
we must still negotiate and these additional costs have to be shared between
the countries and the manufacturer he added
morin is hoping for cost sharing agreement before the end of january and ahead
of nato defence ministers meeting in istanbul on february and
but germany has shown little appetite to shell out more money
we are striving to find solution in accordance with the signed contract and
we will not be rushed german government spokesman ulrich wilhelm told press
conference on wednesday
britain defence ministry said on tuesday that it remains committed to the
project but not at any cost
we regard the ongoing negotiations as the best means by which to determine
more deliverable programme ministry spokesman said at the time
germany and france are the project biggest customers with and orders
respectively which means berlin position will be crucial
key to moving forward from here is germany not britain said howard
wheeldon senior strategist at brokerage firm bgc partners
guess that germany will be put under degree of pressure today but nothing
will emerge until they get back home and report back to german chancellor angela
merkel
overall still expect deal on price and quantity to emerge over the
next days or so
the heads of airbus and eads ramped up pressure on the governments this week to
pledge more money for the programme by the end of january warning that the
future of the company depended on it
eads chief executive louis gallois also expressed disappointment that thursday
meeting did not involve the plane maker
now it high time for decision airbus chief executive tom enders said on
tuesday adding that the viability of airbus as whole was at stake
zionist methods used to kill iran scientist ahmadinejad
tehran jan afp
iranian president mahmoud ahmadinjad said thursday zionist methods were used
in the bombing of top atomic scientist as angry mourners chanting anti us and
anti israeli slogans buried the slain professor
one can see the level of the enemy grudge in the way he was assassinated the
method of bombing was zionist one the mehr news agency quoted ahmadinejad as
saying it did not elaborate
massoud ali mohammadi particle physics professor at prestigious tehran
university died when bomb strapped to motorbike was triggered by remote
control as he was leaving his home on tuesday morning
he was hezbollahi and pious university professor serving his people
ahmadinejad said using term indicating person dedication to the islamic
republic regime
the enemies by killing the elite cannot take away the knowledge from the
iranian nation the president added
iranian officials have accused the cia and mossad the intelligence agencies
respectively of the united states and israel of having hand in the murder of
the atomic scientist
senior israeli official in jerusalem who asked not to be named declined to
respond to ahmadinejad accusation saying that israel consistently refuses to
comment on such issues
an afp correspondent said meanwhile that some mourners joined funeral
procession thursday from ali mohammadi home in an affluent north tehran
neighbourhood to nearby shrine
around policemen were deployed in the area during the procession and burial
relatives and members of the elite revolutionary guards placed the body of ali
mohammadi in an ambulance which then carried it for burial at the shrine
military marching band led the procession followed by hundreds of mourners
many of whom were chanting death to israel and death to america
mourners also chanted slogans against the so called hypocrites the islamic
republic term for the outlawed people mujahedeen which some have accused of
having had hand in the assassination
some chanted nuclear energy is our undeniable right in an allusion to
accusations by iranian officials the killing was an attempt by western powers to
disrupt iran controversial nuclear programme
neither the police nor the intelligence services have yet reported any leads in
their investigation
on thursday the media advisor to president mahmoud ahmadinejad told afp that the
united states britain and israel were high on the list of suspects
our security and intelligence apparatus are pursuing those behind the blast to
bring them to justice as soon as possible said ali akbar javanfekr
america britain and israel have the most animosity towards our scientific
progress especially the nuclear programme so when our scientists are targetted
they become high on the list of suspects he said
similar allegations by other iranian officials of us involvement in the attack
have been dismissed out of hand by washington
parliament speaker ali larijani iran former chief nuclear negotiator on
wednesday accused us president barack obama of state terrorism over the killing
the political affiliation of the murdered scientist remains unclear
people close to him have stressed his close links with the elite revolutionary
guards where he seems to have worked for more than years until
official media and regime hardliners have referred to him as revolutionary
teacher who was martyred
but several opposition websites said that ali mohammadi was among the academics
whose name appeared in june letter supporting mir hossein mousavi the
defeated presidential election candidate and current opposition leader
football neill joins kewell at galatasaray
london jan afp
lucas neill is set to be reunited with australia team mate harry kewell at
galatasaray after the turkish club announced they had signed the defender from
everton
neill who only signed for everton in september after leaving west ham at the
end of last season confirmed that he was close to finalising move to
istanbul
think ll be joining up and looking forward to joining my new team mates
on sunday the year old told sky sports news
now delighted ll be joining massive european club with great ambitions
for the season it ll be wonderful new challenge for me absolutely
delighted club like galatasaray will be my next team
statement posted on galatasaray website on thursday said the defender had
agreed an month deal with the club no fee was disclosed but everton had been
reported to be considering an offer of pounds for the player
neill made league and two cup appearances at everton but did not feature in
any european matches which means he will able to play for his new employers in
the europa league
he said the move had come out of the blue was very shocked he said
didn instigate any kind of move from everton but once found out the two
clubs were in negotiations it became clear had to look after myself and my
family
neill said he was leaving everton on amicable terms
ve loved it from the moment got there he said the club have been so
welcoming and the guys in the changing room have been amazing
to everybody at everton ll thank every single one of them my time there has
been magnificent and ll wish them the very best for the season
there is no ill feeling whatsoever and let hope everton have fantastic
second half of the season
dog breeding concerns highlighted in british report
london jan afp
major changes are needed in the way pedigree dogs are bred in britain an
inquiry triggered by hard hitting television documentary about the crufts dog
show said thursday
the probe raises welfare concerns over puppy farms inbreeding and the breeding
of animals with physical characteristics which are prized at dog shows but can
cause health problems for the dogs
it was set up in the wake of controversial bbc documentary about crufts
which said some dogs on show suffered from genetic diseases after years of
inbreeding
the bbc later dropped crufts from its schedules and the kennel club which runs
the prestigious dog show filed formal complaint over the documentary
many breeders exercise high standards of welfare but negligent management on
puppy farms is major welfare issue as is inbreeding in pure bred dogs said
the report author cambridge university professor patrick bateson
fashions for extreme conformations are also cause of welfare problems
this is when dog is bred with specific characteristics which can cause health
problems like flattened snouts linked to breathing problems
bateson added widespread concern was expressed about dogs that are farmed and
bred for profit sometimes on large scale
bateson recommendations following month inquiry include compulsory
micro chipping of all puppies creation of an independent council on dog
breeding and beefing up an accreditation scheme for breeders
his probe was funded by the kennel club and dogs trust but was independent and
backed by the department for environment food and rural affairs
mongolia declares moratorium on executions
ulan bator jan afp
mongolia president on thursday declared moratorium on the death penalty and
called for its abolition saying it degraded human dignity and was not an
effective means of deterring crime
president tsakhiagiin elbegdorj told lawmakers that all death sentences
carried out by gunshot would be commuted to year prison terms as he could
not bring himself to sign any execution orders
there is blemish on the shiny name of mongolia this black spot is capital
punishment which degrades the supreme human right to life elbegdorj said in
speech to parliament
what if mistake was made when imposing sentence what if the state deprived
its innocent citizen of life because of miscarriage of justice in court
proceedings he asked noting crimes were punishable by death
elbegdorj who said no executions had been carried out since he took office in
mid admitted there were discrepancies in mongolia records on the
number of executions carried out situation he said worried him gravely
mongolia is member of the global family the united nations does not support
the imposition of the death penalty the president said
rights watchdog amnesty international welcomed the announcement calling it
bold move
the government of mongolia has shown that it has strong commitment to human
rights by introducing moratorium on the death penalty said roseann rife
amnesty deputy director for the asia pacific
amnesty international urges other countries in the region to follow
mongolia example
according to amnesty elbegdorj commuted the death sentences of at least three
convicts in executions are carried out in secret and the bodies of those
executed are not returned to the families
over un staff still missing after haiti quake
geneva jan afp
more than expatriate un staff members are still missing two days after
deadly earthquake damaged much of haiti capital united nations spokeswoman
said thursday
over people are unaccounted for said elisabeth byrs spokeswoman of the
un office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs
she said the figure was for foreign staffers and she had no information at all
about national staff
the un was very anxious not just for international staff but also national
staff from whom we have no news she said
the un assistance mission in haiti minustah was the hardest hit in tuesday
magnitude earthquake with its main headquarters building in port au prince
flattened
the offices of other un agencies in the capital were also damaged in the quake
which caused widespread devastation in port au prince and the surrounding area
the world food programme which earlier said its building was still standing
added on thursday that it had not been able to establish contact with of its
local staff
the united nations has heavy presence in the impoverished and aid dependent
caribbean nation
israeli army launches offensive against supermodel refaeli
jerusalem jan afp
israel army has launched campaign against israeli supermodel bar refaeli and
called for boycott of products she promotes after she asked to be listed as
foreign resident to pay less taxes media reported on thursday
the boycott call was issued by armed forces human resources director avi zamir
when he addressed students in herzliya near tel aviv
can take on bar refaeli but you can the mass circulation yediot aharonot
newspaper quoted him as saying in urging israelis not to buy products she
promotes including lingerie
bar refaeli who is reported to have recently rekindled her romance with us
actor leonardo dicaprio already stirred anger in the army when she got an
exemption from military service when she got married in but she divorced
soon after that
euro slips before ecb decision
london jan afp
the euro eased thursday against the dollar as investors awaited an interest rate
announcement from the european central bank
in london morning deals the euro dipped to dollars from late in
new york on wednesday
against the japanese unit the dollar increased to yen from yen late
on wednesday
traders were waiting for monetary policy decision meeting by the european
central bank and press conference by its governor jean claude trichet for
clues on prospects for interest rates in europe
markets expect the ecb to hold its key lending rate steady at percent and
see little prospect of revisions to the bank assessment of the economy or when
it will halt its policy tool of flooding markets with cash
at the same time the eurozone faces an unprecedented internal crisis with
financial woes in greece and other bloc members putting interest rate talk on
the back burner the ecb decision is due at gmt
were it not for greece today meeting and press conference would likely have
been dull affair said calyon analyst daragh maher
interest rates will remain unchanged and there is no real compulsion for
trichet to say anything much different from december meeting in terms of
economic growth and the outlook for monetary policy
but while the greek pm may argue that outside assistance will not be required
many will wonder quite where the ecb stands were the pm to be proven wrong
maher added it is hard to imagine any clear cut stance being offered by the
ecb more likely trichet will try to side step it by using language such as we
trust the greek government will take the necessary steps
this will neither placate markets nor unnerve them most likely leaving the
euro just below
meanwhile lacklustre beige book survey on economic conditions in the united
states on wednesday dampened speculation that the federal reserve might hike
interest rates earlier than expected this year
the report said data from the federal reserve districts showed modest
improvement in key areas such as consumer spending manufacturing and housing
elsewhere the yen was sold after data showed japan core machinery orders
slumped worse than expected percent in november from the previous month
underscoring moves by companies to slash capital spending
in london on thursday the euro was changing hands at dollars against
dollars late on wednesday yen pounds
and swiss francs
the dollar stood at yen and swiss francs
the pound was at dollars
on the london bullion market the price of gold rose to dollars an
ounce from dollars on wednesday
european industry turns back to black
brussels jan afp
factory output across continental europe core euro currency zone rose by
sharp percent in november suggesting recovery momentum may be turning after
slew of doubts
the increase was twice that predicted by analysts polled by dow jones newswires
and eases concern that the recovery in the eurozone manufacturing sector
could be starting to stutter markedly said howard archer of ihs global
insight
the results more than compensated for disappointing october blip after five
month run of growth going back to may
nevertheless official statistics released by the european union on thursday
showed that industrial production in the countries that use the euro was down
by percent compared to november
the respective figures for the full nation bloc which also includes the last
major economy still in recession britain and eastern industrial powerhouse
poland gave percent monthly rise and percent annual fall
the monthly results provide boost after the jobless nature of europe
recovery was laid bare last week with data showing that one in every workers
across the continent core euro currency area is now unemployed
china has also surpassed euro powerhouse germany as the world leading exporter
for the first time
exchange rate movement has taken its toll but archer added that eurozone
manufacturers will be relieved to see that the euro has retreated from its
late november month high of dollars to currently trade around
dollars with hopes it softens further
despite the millstone of ongoing greek debt woes and the joblessness drag on
consumption bnp paribas economist clemente de lucia also sensed better news
around the corner
survey data signal that the ongoing rebound in industrial output could have
continued also in december he noted
the output index of the manufacturing pmi purchasing managers index rose to
the highest level since september while the industrial confidence
indicator from the european commission reached its highest level since september
the detail in the eurostat figures showed percent growth across the eurozone
compared to october for the production of durable consumer goods like fridges
and televisions but decline of percent for energy
on monthly basis production rose in of the member states for which
information was available but fell on an annual basis in of the with the
notable exception of poland which saw percent rise
country specific data for the biggest players showed france recording
percent increase over october after percent decline the previous month
and germany posting percent growth compared to percent decline
services dominated britain industrial production rose by percent after
flat october
myanmar minister pledges free election asean
danang vietnam jan afp
myanmar foreign minister has told southeast asian counterparts that promised
elections would be held this year and would be fair the asean secretary general
said thursday
surin pitsuwan said the military ruled state foreign minister nyan win made
the comments at dinner wednesday in vietnam with his counterparts from the
association of southeast asian nations asean
that was done last night and it was assured that it will be this year and it
will be free fair and credible surin told reporters on the sidelines of an
asean foreign ministers meeting
no date has been set but everything is moving on course that what we were
told
marty natalegawa foreign minister of asean largest member indonesia said
we ve also been told that the preparations are well under way
surin said the asean ministers have expressed their high hope that the issue of
myanmar will be resolved this year and that we can move on to the new era of
asean relations and cooperation with the international community
asean which has principle of non interference in members affairs has long
faced criticism for not taking firmer stand on myanmar
nyan win refused to make any comment to afp on thursday
how the election is conducted how it is perceived will help great deal in
shaping the international community perception about our region natalegawa
told reporters
but he added that asean will not be held hostage by the issue
the united states and the member asean bloc agreed in november that myanmar
scheduled elections must be free fair inclusive and transparent to be
credible
the call came after us president barack obama and myanmar prime minister thein
sein took part in the first ever asean us summit in reversal of
longstanding us policy of shunning the myanmar regime
critics of the junta are demanding that detained opposition leader aung san suu
kyi party the national league for democracy be allowed to take part in the
ballot
last week the united states voiced doubts whether elections in myanmar
formerly known as burma would be credible and urged the junta to engage the
opposition and ethnic minorities
the election would be the first since aung san suu kyi party won the
last ballot by landslide but was never permitted to take office
reclusive junta leader than shwe last week urged citizens to make correct
choices at the polls the regime has so far failed to set date or issue
election laws despite promising to hold the polls this year
big brother bill sparks protests in bulgaria
sofia jan afp
controversial bill allowing round the clock surveillance of the internet and
mobile communications of suspected criminals triggered protests in the bulgarian
capital thursday
organisers said that around protestors from non governmental freedom of
speech organisations gathered outside parliament shouting bulgaria is not big
brother is not and we are not terrorists
the bill which passed the first of two readings in parliament in december
gives the interior ministry access to data on mail and mobile telephone
comunications of anyone suspected of crime punishable with jail terms of two
years and more
second reading is required before the bill can become law and had initially
been scheduled for thursday the reading was postponed in view of the protests
major internet providers and mobile phone operators have also urged parliament
to withdraw the bill
the ngos argued the bill breached basic human rights such as the privacy of
personal correspondence allowing constant and untransparent information
control of all citizens
politicians and investigative journalists could become targets with their
correspondence monitored without their knowledge they said
under current legislation the interior ministry can request court order for
access to data in investigations of major criminal offences
but police have complained that the process is lengthy and providers are
reluctant to respond quickly to such requests they have suggested an amendment
to the bill requiring providers to respond to requests within two hours
the parliamentary committee on internal affairs was set to decide later on
thursday whether to withdraw the bill as whole or give it the green light with
certain amendments
china says four nationals buried four missing in haiti
beijing jan afp
china said thursday that four of its peacekeepers were buried in the rubble of
haiti devastating earthquake and another four chinese nationals were still
missing
the government also said group of chinese rescue personnel and load of
relief supplies had arrived in haiti which does not have official relations
with beijing but china longtime rival taiwan
four chinese serving in the un peacekeeping mission were buried while another
four people from working group sent by china ministry of public security
were missing foreign ministry spokeswoman jiang yu told reporters
earlier chinese press reports had said all eight were buried
an initial chinese media report following tuesday quake had also suggested
other china nationals were missing in addition to the eight but subsequent
reports have made no further mention of that figure
jiang confirmed all other chinese in haiti were safe including more than un
peacekeepers
the magnitude quake toppled buildings including the headquarters of the un
mission which has run peacekeeping operations in haiti since
the chinese plane carrying the relief workers and tonnes of supplies left
beijing late wednesday and had already reached the caribbean nation xinhua news
agency reported
it said three sniffer dogs were also aboard
china central government has said the chinese red cross society would donate
one million dollars in aid supplies
haitian prime minister jean max bellerive told cnn the final death toll from the
quake could be well over while president rene preval told the network
could be dead
google case throws spotlight on cyber attackers
tokyo jan afp
while the average hacker might once have been mischievous teenager or
cybercrook today internet attackers are increasingly likely to be state
sponsored or fighting for political goals experts said
attacks against internet giant google and other firms blamed on china based
cyber spies have raised fresh questions about the role of governments in web
warfare
google said tuesday it would no longer censor search engine results in china and
possibly pull out of the lucrative market complaining about highly
sophisticated cyber attacks aimed at chinese human rights activists
china based cyber warriors struck the internet giant and reportedly more than
other unidentified firms in an apparent bid for computer source codes
intellectual property and information about activists around the world
given the targets the hackers appeared to be attempting to gain information
relating to specific individuals said paul craig principal security consultant
at security assessment com an advisory firm in new zealand
this does raise the possibility of government sponsored attack against
individuals or commercially sponsored attack he said
typically the online criminal hacker is attempting to steal intellectual
property financial information or money this does not seem to be the motive
in this case he said
chinese hackers are notoriously patriotic and were blamed for past cyber attacks
on the website of tokyo yasukuni war shrine seen by many asian nations as
symbol of japan past war time aggression
google said its investigation revealed that accounts of china human rights
activists who use its free email service in europe china or the united states
have been routinely accessed using malware sneaked on to their computers
the internet giant did not specifically accuse the chinese government of being
behind the cyber attacks but china is seen as the probable culprit due to the
sophistication of the attacks the targets and the fact the assaults originated
in that region
it is always difficult to prove that any particular event is related to state
sponsored hacking chester wisniewski senior security adviser at internet
security firm sophos wrote in his blog
it is clear that google feels it has very strong evidence that this is the case
or it would not disclose publicly such an attack the dramatic change in stance
could signal trend for other companies who were allegedly victimised by the
same attackers he added
some industry watchers said the hackers in the google case might not have been
politically motivated
in general internet users in china are young people many of them are
teenagers they might organise attacks but often for very childish reasons
said masaki ishiguro senior researcher at the mitsubishi research institute
politics or issues of freedom of speech might just serve as reason or
trigger for young people to stage attacks he said
one thing is sure cyber attacks are becoming increasingly sophisticated in
july of last year the white house state department and pentagon websites were
targeted in coordinated cyber attack that also crippled sites in south korea
south korea blamed the attacks on north korea
cyber attacks have become large scale and highly organised said judy wu
research manager at consulting firm idc asia pacific in hong kong
while hacking technologies are now easily accessible on the internet many of
the cyber attacks are certainly state sponsored she said
state backed attacks used to target governments or defence agencies but are
also now apparently being directed at large corporations she said
there have been growing number of reports of cyber attacks and network
infiltrations apparently linked to the political goals of regimes it security
firm mcafee inc noted in its virtual criminology report
while we have not yet seen hot cyber war between major powers the efforts
of nation states to build increasingly sophisticated cyber attacks capabilities
and in some cases demonstrate willingness to use them suggest that cyber
cold war may already have begun it warned
formula one schumacher eyes up eighth title
berlin jan afp
seven times world champion michael schumacher said thursday he does not expect
to win the world drivers championships in his first season back but wants to
win an eighth title within three years
the year old has signed three year deal to come out of retirement to race
for german stable mercedes gp having last contested formula one race in
for ferrari
in our long term targets with mercedes we have clear objective want to
become world champion again schumacher told bild
perhaps that will not happen in my first season back but it is realistic over
the three seasons his contract runs until
before his retirement in october schumacher won grand prix races and he
admits he has missed the buzz of formula one driving although he only
considered return to the track last year
when went to formula one races after retiring was more annoyed than
frustrated not to race said the german
and despite his advancing years schumi says age will not be factor when he
returns to racing on march in bahrain
apparently have succeeded in pushing back the effects of aging must have
good genes said schumacher
zionist methods used to kill iran scientist ahmadinejad
tehran jan afp
iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad said on thursday that zionist methods
were used in the attack on leading nuclear scientist who was killed in
bombing outside his tehran home report said
one can see the level of enemy grudge in the way he was assassinated the
method of bombing was zionist one the mehr news agency quoted ahmadinejad as
saying it did not elaborate
the scientist massoud ali mohammadi died when bomb strapped to motorbike
was triggered by remote control as he was leaving his home on tuesday morning
he was hezbollahi and pious university professor serving his people
ahmadinejad said using the term employed to indicate person dedication to
the islamic republic regime
they enemies by killing the elite cannot take away the knowledge from the
iranian nation the president added
iranian officials have accused the cia and mossad the intelligence agencies
respectively of the united states and israel of having hand in the bombing
