come out against gay marriages but has never formally called for referendum
alert
clinton slams ruthless repression of demonstrators in iran
urgent major revisions made to us terror watch list white house
washington jan afp
us terror watch lists have been profoundly revised in the wake of thwarted
christmas day bomb attack on us bound jet white house spokesman said on
monday
tours restart to north niger after rebel truce
niamey jan afp
tour operator announced monday it is to restart charter flights to north
niger suspended for nearly two years because of rebel violence
niger tourism minister fatouma sani morou said peace had returned to the area
and flights could begin again
point afrique which ran weekly charter flights from france to the northern
nigerien city of agadez from until spring will restart trips at the
end of january
north niger is home to the country main tourist sites and was also the scene
of tuareg rebellion which began in february
the tuareg rebel groups have now laid down their weapons and the door to the
treasures of the sahara desert is open again point afrique said in
statement
the tuaregs are indigenous nomadic tribes who roamed the sahara for centuries
before nations of the region gained independence from european colonial powers
the rebels sought better integration and more benefits from mining in the area
and agreed to lay down arms following talks brokered by libya
tennis qatar open tennis results st update
doha jan afp
results from the first day of the qatar open here on monday denotes seeding
st rd
evgeny korolev rus bt martin vassallo arguello arg
olivier rochus bel bt abdulla hajji qat
marco chiudinelli sui bt paolo lorenzi ita
ivo karlovic crox bt fabio fognini ita
barcelona president sets sights on political career
madrid jan afp
the president of european football champions barcelona said monday he was
considering creating political party to seek independence for spain
catalonia region and running for office himself
catalonia whose main city is barcelona and which has long been home to an
independence movement will hold regional elections in the autumn
am attracted by the idea of running with new party open to all other
parties or platforms that believe catalonia needs its own state joan laporta
told el mundo newspaper in an interview
will decide before easter and will announce it when my mandate as head of
fc barcelona is finished this summer the year old lawyer said
what clear to me is that if run want to be president of the regional
government
he said he has had discussions with catalonia main nationalist parties
laporta club leadership has at times been controversial but he has
nonetheless presided over hugely successful era for barcelona one of the
world most famous teams
in barca won record six titles including the european champions league
spanish league and the world club championship
they currently lead the table unbeaten after the first games of the season
with two point lead over arch rivals real madrid
but the club success has brought high expectations laporta was almost ousted
in after barcelona failed to win any titles over the previous two seasons
barca goes beyond football he told el mundo we are participants in one of
history most moving epics the one that guides suppressed people toward
freedom
laporta said that before reaching decision on whether to begin political
career he wanted to know whether the some percent of catalonians who polls
show favour independence were ready to pursue the idea
don know if catalonia wants leader or martyr he said me don
want to be martyr but want to be leader and the national aspiration to
obtain freedom for my country seems wonderful to me
laporta who has headed barcelona club since and was re elected president
in told the newspaper that we are nation that lacks state
it has already been shown that the spanish state has not resolved the problems
of catalonians whether they be economic social cultural or linguistic
those in favour of catalonian independence say the region which is heavily
industrialised and accounts for percent of spain gross domestic product
contributes far more to the spanish economy than it gets in return
the catalan language which was banned during the dictatorship of francisco
franco is widely used in the wealthy region
during the era of franco who died in the club camp nou stadium was one
of the few places that catalan could be spoken freely
laporta said the region meets all the conditions to be great european
country spain includes good people who would let us leave in peace if
referendum favours independence he said
partial and unofficial referendum was held in catalonia in december
an overwhelming percent of those who voted said yes to the question do
you agree that catalonia become social democratic and independent state and
member of the european union
but only about percent of the region population of more than seven million
were called on to cast ballots by the organisers in selected towns and
villages and turnout was less than percent
further referendums are planned in other parts of the region over the next few
months
spain constitutional court is also expected to rule in the coming weeks on the
legality of the region statute of autonomy with fears that negative
decision could fuel separatist sentiment
the statute approved by the spanish parliament and endorsed by catalan voters
in referendum gave the regional parliament enhanced powers
most controversially it describes the region as nation within spain
catalonia like other spanish regions already controlled most aspects of
government including health and education
the constitutional court is reviewing the document in response to request by
spain conservative opposition popular party
pal mjs wdb sas
lenovo tailors thinkpads for entrepreneurs
san francisco jan afp
chinese technology giant lenovo is taking aim at the booming small business
market with new line of thinkpad notebook computers tailored for
entrepreneurs
lenovo thinkpad edge line redesigns technology long relied on by global
corporations to fit the needs and preferences of operators whose territory may
be smaller but is no less precious
analysts project the number of small businesses worldwide will climb to
million in and that they will account for two thirds of the notebook
computers sold
small business is an enormous market and it is growing fast lenovo thinkpad
notebooks segment manager charles sune told afp while providing glimpse at the
new edge models
thinkpad machines have become staple among corporations interested in
notebooks geared to handle the performance and security demands of executives
the edge design is the first significant change to the thinkpad design in
years and for the first time ever adds amd microprocessors to machines that had
been driven exclusively by intel chips
neo amd chips provide edge computers with high graphics performance while
enabling lenovo to offer base model for dollars some percent of the
laptops sold are priced less than dollars
amd brings better performance in that price range in graphics sune said
this is not replacement this is complementary at the top of the line intel
is still great technology
edge notebooks have lenovo trademark full keyboard but the keys were reshaped
to have larger tops and the top row re assigned to functions such as web cameras
and internet telephony that are of interest to small businesses
edge models also come pre loaded with internet telephone service skype
in another first lenovo is expanding from basic black thinkpad models to offer
edge in glossy red
it is our belief these platforms will give an edge to small businesses based on
the thinkpad dna that we include to make these truly business quality
notebooks sune said
thinkpads have traditionally targeted government agencies academic
institutions corporations and other large organizations
lenovo has also reacted to growing interest in netbooks bare bones laptops
built to perform few basic applications and act as gateways to software
offered as services in the internet cloud
sune showed off an model that he referred to as an ultraportable instead
of netbook
large corporations are showing intense interest in lightweight inexpensive
ultraportable computers that can serve as second use machines for employees on
the go according to lenovo
lenovo gave the screen nearly an inch and half bigger than inch
displays typical in netbooks the computer giant also kept its full size
keyboard confident that it is what users like
lenovo ultraportable machines will combine amd and intel chips and be
available in red as well as black prices for models will start at
dollars and can be customized with dollars described by sune as real
sweet spot in terms of performance value
we will sell to individuals schools and small business certainly but the
focus is it being business solution in this size form factor and at these
price points sune said
lenovo is continuing its commitment to its classic thinkpad line with upgraded
models that are the thinnest and lightest in what has been the best selling
platform in the company portfolio
lenovo is also adding nvidia graphics technology to new models
urgent us to reopen yemen embassy when conditions permit clinton
washington jan afp
the united states will reopen its embassy in yemen when security conditions
there permit secretary of state hillary clinton said monday
alert
major revisions made to us terror watch lists white house spokesman
fbi in ghana to probe botched us plane attack minister
accra jan afp
agents of the us federal bureau of investigation have arrived here to probe the
sojourn in ghana of nigerian man accused of attempting to blow up us
airliner ghanaian minister said monday
the investigation will allow the fbi agents to gather more information on the
suspect stay in ghana deputy information minister james agyenin boateng told
afp
he did not say when the fbi team arrived in ghana and how long the agents plan
to stay in the west african country
it is ghana first known official comment on the allegations by nigerian
authorities that the suspect umar farouk abdulmutallab arrived in lagos on
december on virgin nigeria flight from ghana
nigerian information minister dora akunyili had said on thursday that the
suspect after arriving from ghana spent less than minutes at the lagos
airport before boarding his next flight to amsterdam
agyenin boateng said that ghana has purchased full body scanner to be
installed at the kotoko international airport in accra the nation biggest
airport where security has been beefed up
the nigerian suspect has been accused of trying to trigger an explosion on
northwest airlines flight from amsterdam to detroit on christmas day with
chemicals which had been stitched into his underwear
delayed gaza relief convoy arrives in egypt
el arish egypt jan afp
relief convoy led by british mp arrived in the egyptian mediterranean town
of el arish on monday after dispute with cairo on the route to be taken for
its gaza bound aid
around activists arrived at el arish airport day after ferry brought
their almost relief laden trucks to the town port some kilometres
miles from egypt rafah border crossing with the gaza strip
mp george galloway struck conciliatory note on arrival telling reporters at
the airport that he wished to thank the ruling national democratic party for
welcoming us
but the convoy arrival came after bitter dispute between its organisers and
the government which banned the convoy from entering egypt sinai from jordan
by ferry forcing it to drive north to the syrian port of lattakia
cairo accused the convoy organisers of trying to embarrass egypt which has
refused to permanently open its rafah border crossing with gaza after the
islamist hamas movement took control of the palestinian enclave two years ago
the government said it had given advance warning to the organisers that they
would not be allowed to cross from aqaba in jordan to nuweiba port in south
sinai
last march galloway gave thousands of dollars and dozens of vehicles to the
hamas run government in gaza after arriving in an aid convoy
israel and egypt have severely restricted travel to and from the gaza strip
since hamas seized power there in june after winning palestinian
legislative elections in
hamas takeover of the impoverished and densely populated territory led to an
israeli blockade that allows in only very basic supplies gaza was devastated in
war last winter between hamas and israel
venezuela may close mining industries to save energy
caracas jan afp
venezuela may close its nationalized aluminium and steel industries in battle
to save energy during prolonged drought the electricity minister said in
comments published monday
if we have to close the industries in guayana in southern venezuela because
guri reservoir has dried out we ll have to do it angel rodriguez told daily
el mundo
the minister also proposed closing government ministries or changing their hours
to reduce energy consumption
venezuela is flush with oil the country primary export and natural gas
but relies mainly on hydroelectric generation to meet domestic energy demand
amid drought across swathes of latin america plants at guri which generate
percent of venezuela electricity reached alert levels in mid december and
continue to drop by six to eight centimeters per day rodriguez said
venezuela already began with new measures rationing electricity use in
malls businesses and billboards
aluminium and steel plants also already cut some production lines to reduce
energy consumption of some megawatts mw per day
president hugo chavez set up the electricity ministry at the end of october to
help solve the problems he blamed on the drought and wastage and his critics
blamed on bad management and lack of investment
energy rationing was due to last until may with the return of the rainy season
the drought has also provoked water rationing particularly in the capital
caracas
alert
us will reopen its embassy in yemen when conditions permit clinton
key us lawmakers to get jan briefing on plane attack
washington jan afp
the us house intelligence committee will hold january hearing on the
thwarted christmas day attack on us airliner the panel spokeswoman said
monday
lawmakers expect to receive preliminary findings from reviews ordered by
president barack obama after the failed plot into airline security
procedures said courtney littig
democratic representative silvestre reyes the panel chairman expects that
the january th briefing will include the preliminary findings of the
president internal review she said
the obama administration has also ordered tight new security measures for
passengers flying to the united states after year old nigerian umar farouk
abdulmutallab allegedly tried to bring down northwest airlines jet
according to us prosecutors abdulmutallab tried to bring down flight using
device containing the explosive petn also known as pentaerythritol
stitched into his underwear it was not spotted by the traditional metal
detectors it failed to go off properly but sparked an on board fire that was
swiftly put out
several other us congressional committees have also scheduled hearings to
discuss security failures that led up to the plot
football koller signs for cannes
prague jan afp
former czech international striker jan koller out of contract with russian
first division side samara has signed for months with french third division
side cannes his agent confirmed monday
he preferred peaceful life with his family despite offers from german and
chinese clubs agent pavel paska told the ctk agency
koller was also targetted by german bundesliga club hamburg
the top czech scorer in the history of the national team with goals in
matches koller played for monaco from to and owns home in the
principality along the coast from cannes
at years no longer have big ambitions want to play football for fun
said the striker
he started his career at sparta prague also playing for belgian sides lokeren
and anderlecht and german clubs borussia dortmund and nuremberg
tennis qatar open tennis results
doha jan afp
results from the first day of the qatar open here on monday denotes seeding
st rd
evgeny korolev rus bt martin vassallo arguello arg
olivier rochus bel bt abdulla hajji qat
football new gunners deal for rosicky
london jan afp
tomas rosicky the czech international midfielder has signed new contract at
arsenal the club announced monday without revealing the length of the deal
rosicky who was signed from borussia dortmund in is the th player to
sign new contract for manager arsene wenger since may
the year old has been rewarded for his fine form this season after missing
nearly two full seasons through injuries which had threatened to end his career
prematurely
the last two seasons haven been easy for me because of injuries but feel it
speaks volumes about the club belief in me for this to be signed and truly
believe have lot left to offer the club my team mates and all the
supporters rosicky said
it felt like home since arrived here four years ago and believe we re on
the verge of achieving something special together
looking forward to the coming months and hope that together we are all
celebrating at the end of the season
rosicky follows the likes of robin van persie abou diaby eduardo alex song
denilson theo walcott and aaron ramsey in signing new contracts in the past
year
wenger said have spoken many times of tomas class and contribution not
only on the pitch but off it as well and very much feel that this new
contract reflects that
tomas vision and touch is remarkable and know that we will all benefit from
his input in the coming seasons tomas is special talent and we re delighted
that he has committed his future to arsenal
serbia accuses croatia of genocide at un court report
belgrade jan afp
serbia has accused croatia of genocide at the the international court of justice
icj in reaction to zagreb charges of mass killings by belgrade state news
agency tanjug reported monday
serbia legal representatives have filed counter complaint at the hague based
icj the agency said citing foreign ministry sources
the icj the un highest court had decided year ago to hear zagreb
complaint of genocide and ethnic cleansing by belgrade during croatia
independence war which claimed some lives
the government of serbia decided last week to submit to the icj response to
the croatian compliant as well as counter complaint against the republic of
croatia for genocide committed against serbs during the war
according to the united nations more than ethnic serbs fled croatia in
when the croatian army launched military operation to retake territory
occupied by rebel serbs
euro bounces back against dollar
london jan afp
the euro bounced back sharply against the dollar on monday the first trading
day of the new year as traders took profits on the us unit recent gains and
awaited key us data for fresh direction
dealers said that having risen steadily in the last few weeks of it was
only to be expected that some players would take profits on the dollar as
got underway
at the same time positive us and chinese manufacturing data bolstered hopes the
worst of the global slump is over thereby encouraging investors to seek out
riskier but higher yielding currencies than the us unit they added
in late london deals the european single currency was at dollars up
from dollars in new york late on thursday before the new year holiday
weekend
against the japanese currency on monday the us unit fell to yen from
on thursday
dealers said news that in december the us manufacturing sector was expanding at
its fastest pace since april gave all markets real boost especially
after the chinese figures earlier in the day
the institute for supply management said its purchasing managers index rose to
percent in december from percent in november fifth consecutive
expansion and well above forecasts for percent any number above percent
indicates growth
the sector may be benefiting from an excessive destocking cycle said norbert
ore chair of the ism survey committee
ian shepherdson at high frequency economics said the ism index was propelled by
rebound in the new orders index which tends to lead the other components and
therefore suggests the january headline index will rise further
we remain of the view that this survey overstates the pace of broad economic
growth because of its large company manufacturing bias but overall no doubt
this is robust report shepherdson added
dealers said the market will likely now wait for friday key us employment
report to see if the recovery is beginning to put dent in the high levels of
jobless
market attention will concentrate on november us labour market report
on friday noted commerzbank analyst antje praefcke
meanwhile the euro garnered some support from the report showing eurozone
manufacturing activity expanded in december although at slower pace than first
thought
in london the euro was changing hands at dollars against dollars
late on thursday at 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 thursday
economic crisis clips dutch airport wings
the hague jan afp
nearly four million fewer passengers travelled through amsterdam schiphol
airport last year largely due to the global financial crisis dutch operator
schiphol group said monday
total of million passengers used the amsterdam schiphol airport in
percent fewer than the year before it said in statement
the number of commercial flights dropped percent to and the volume
of freight by percent to million tons according to preliminary
figures
the reasons for the strong decline in passenger and freight traffic and in the
total number of flights are the global economic crisis and the introduction in
july last year of flight tax the statement said
the group said schiphol expected cautious recovery of about percent in
passenger numbers and one percent for freight in
according to schiphol group the airport is the fifth biggest in europe and th
globally based on passenger numbers
football italian tax man takes shine off more maradona jewelry
rome jan afp
italian financial authorities are set to auction off pair of earrings worn by
maradona as they continue to pursue the argentine football legend over massive
tax debts ansa reported monday
maradona diamond studded gold earrings were seized by italy financial police
during his visit to specialist weight loss clinic in merano during september
valued at around euros the sale of the earrings is unlikely to make huge
dent in his million euros tax bill which according to an italian taxpayer
association www contribuenti it has accrued million euros in interest
however the fact they are for sale signifies that maradona is being given no
quarter in italy where he played pivotal role in the success of napoli during
his spell at the club from
it was during his playing days there that maradona failed to pay tax on his
earnings in high court ruled that he owed million euros in total
year later in the tax authorities managed to scrape euros off
maradona bill when they seized two expensive watches the argentinian was
wearing while he was visiting naples for charity match
maradona earrings will be sold off on january and they come with bonus
for any football collecting buyer copy of the police charge sheet with
maradona signature
maradona world cup winner in is currently coach of argentina whom he
led through tense and arduous qualification for the world cup final in south
africa this summer
football new gunners deal for rosicky
london jan afp
tomas rosicky the czech international midfielder has signed new contract at
arsenal the club announced monday without revealing the length of the deal
rosicky who was signed from borussia dortmund in is the th player to
sign new contract for manager arsene wenger since may
the year old has been rewarded for his fine form this season after missing
nearly two full seasons through injuries which had threatened to end his career
prematurely
the last two seasons haven been easy for me because of injuries but feel it
speaks volumes about the club belief in me for this to be signed and truly
believe have lot left to offer the club my team mates and all the
supporters rosicky said
it felt like home since arrived here four years ago and believe we re on
the verge of achieving something special together
looking forward to the coming months and hope that together we are all
celebrating at the end of the season
eta prisoners announce year long protest
madrid jan afp
jailed members of the armed basque separatist group eta monday announced year
long series of prison protests including hunger strikes
collective of around eta prisoners held in france and spain said the
campaign would run throughout in response to what they called the two
countries cruel prison policy
the prisoners group also wants to highlight the need to begin democratic
process in the basque country it said in statement published in gara pro
independence basque newspaper
protests will begin next week the group said and will be up and running in
different prisons by march
the group called for the immediate release of prisoners who have completed
their sentences prisoners who are about to be granted conditional release and
prisoners who are seriously ill
the statement also called for an end to solitary confinement and reiterated
demand for eta prisoners to be held together in jails in the basque region
which straddles southwestern france and northern spain
the prisoners group said five of its members had been expelled for criticising
the continuation of eta armed struggle which has now lasted more than
years
eta considered terrorist organisation by both the european union and the
united states is held responsible for deaths in its campaign for basque
independence
spain supreme court recently upheld ruling that outlawed financial support
for eta prisoners families provided by the former regional government which
was led by the non violent basque nationalist pnv party
nordic skiing northug fails to make the grade in prague
prague jan afp
world cup leader petter northug of norway failed to qualify for the third stage
of the tour de ski nordic skiing event here on monday
northug winner of the prologue and the first stage in the event which counts
towards the world cup clocked the th fastest time over the km sprint
through the streets of the czech capital with only the top qualifying for the
quarter finals
after three days of racing in oberhof germany the urban sprint failed to prove
hit with the favourites germans axel teichmann and tobias angerer russian
alexander legkov and finn matti heikkinen all failing to qualify
there were no surprises however in the women event with favourites justyna
kowalczyk of poland slovenia petra majdic and finn aino kaisa saarinen all
qualifying
latvian police probe break in decried as assault on media
riga jan afp
latvian police said monday they were treating as burglary break in at
newspaper offices in the baltic state as the targeted daily said it had
fallen victim to an attack on press freedom
police spokeswoman sigita pildava told the baltic news service that
investigators probing the break in and vandalism at the offices of neatkariga
rita avize nra believed the motive was theft
the break in was discovered monday but is believed to have taken place early
saturday unusually the offices were empty due to the new year holiday
bns reported that three computer monitors and laptop had been stolen while
the editor office and those of the advertising and bookkeeping departments had
also been vandalised
separate advertising firm in the same building had also been targeted police
discovered
nra did not immediately return calls for comment
in statement on its website however it said the break in appeared to have
been carefully planned and dubbed it an attack on press freedom with the aim
of warning us off certain topics
paris based international media rights watchdog reporters without borders said
it was shocked by the break in and dubbed it deliberate assault on press
freedom
the centrist nra which is latvia third ranked daily has reputation for
hard hitting political style and has investigated string of graft scandals
sweden crown princess visits troops in afghanistan
stockholm jan afp
crown princess victoria of sweden and her fiance daniel westling visited swedish
troops in afghanistan sunday and monday the swedish military said on its
website
