meeting in the presidential palace in ouagadougou without their aides the
official said
compaore is the mediator in political crisis wracking guinea which has been
under the rule of junta since december
local journalists said the three men had also met in ouagadougou late wednesday
shortly after konate arrived from guinea capital conakry but no details of
those talks were released
camara arrived in burkina faso late tuesday officially to pursue his
convalescence following hospitalisation for more than month in morocco after
being shot in the head by his aide de camp on december
guinea is trying to emerge from crisis sparked by the massacre by junta troops
of more than people at an opposition rally in conakry on september
un report on the stadium massacre in conakry named camara as suspect when it
accused troops of crimes against humanity during the crackdown
the possibility of camara return has raised concerns in guinea and in the
international community notably france and the united states
dadis camara return under the present circumstances risks sparking civil
war in guinea said mamadi kaba an official from the guinean chapter of the
african encounter for the defence of human rights said wednesday
the african and international communities must mobilise and assume their
responsibilities to prevent dadis from returning to guinea
konate who has distanced himself from camara raised hopes of way out of the
crisis with landmark speech on january in which he announced power sharing
deal in which the opposition could choose prime minister
urgent clinton haiti death toll will reach tens of thousands
washington jan afp
the death toll from haiti catastrophic earthquake will reach tens of
thousands of people us secretary of state hillary clinton said thursday as she
warned of an unimaginable disaster in the country
urgent britain gives million dollars to haiti minister
london jan afp
britain will donate more than six million pounds million dollars
million euros to quake hit haiti international development secretary douglas
alexander said thursday
pakistan taliban chief cultivates ruthless reputation
islamabad jan afp
hakimullah mehsud the pakistan taliban chief that militants say escaped
deadly us drone strike thursday is young ambitious commander with string
of high profile attacks to his name
local television stations carried unconfirmed reports he may have been killed in
the attack on the border of north and south waziristan but the militia said
their leader had already left the area and was alive
believed to be aged about the militant was born jamshed mehsud in small
mountainous village in south waziristan near the afghan border and rose through
the taliban ranks to become commander in three tribal districts
the long haired bearded insurgent has flair for the theatrical putting on
shooting displays for reporters and once posing with us military humvee
vehicle reportedly snatched from nato convoy headed to afghanistan
but it is the deadly attacks he allegedly masterminded and his penchant for
dispatching suicide bombers across the country that have fuelled his reputation
for ruthlessness and ambition analysts say
security officials and taliban sources say he was behind the june suicide
attack on the pearl continental hotel in the northwest city peshawar which left
at least nine people dead
hakimullah mehsud tried to be assertive by being very ruthless and committed
several acts of terrorism across the country but in the process he could hardly
consolidate his position defence and security analyst talat masood told afp
it will be huge setback to the taliban and their entire organisation if
reports about mehsud death are true he said
islamabad has offered reward of million rupees about dollars for
information leading to the militant capture dead or alive
mehsud succeeded baitullah mehsud who ruled the tehreek taliban pakistan
ttp movement from until he was killed in us drone attack in august
initially studying at an islamic religious school hakimullah mehsud left his
education early to take up arms with the taliban
he was appointed spokesman for the extremists in before being promoted
in to the post of commander of orakzai khyber and kurram districts part
of the semi autonomous tribal zone bordering afghanistan
there he began making name for himself staging audacious attacks on nato
supply trucks heading to foreign troops in afghanistan
mehsud was also allegedly involved in the planning of attacks in the eastern
city of lahore last year the may suicide blast at police building which
left people dead and raid at police academy in march which killed eight
he appeared in video clip broadcast on local television in october to dispel
rumours that he had been killed during infighting over baitullah succession
vowing revenge on the united states for the missile strike that killed his boss
later that month he eluded the pakistani army when it captured his hometown
kotkai as part of large scale offensive against the insurgents
in his latest video appearance mehsud appeared in clip alongside jordanian
who blew himself up on us military base in afghanistan last month killing
seven cia agents and his jordanian handler
the jordanian claimed the attack was to avenge the death of baitullah and
sources close to intelligence services said us efforts to track down hakimullah
had been stepped up since the cia bombing
analysts say hakimullah youth and relative inexperience mean he has weak
hold on power with senior militant wali ur rehman now in charge of south
waziristan the key stronghold of the taliban
don think he has the calibre of baitullah mehsud to command respect
everywhere said retired general and defence analyst talat masood soon after
hakimullah succession last year
mehsud was previously known by the nom de guerre zulfiqar before taking on his
current guerrilla name hakimullah which means one who has knowledge
he married his second wife last year but it is not known if he has any
children he is the first cousin of qari hussein the master trainer of suicide
bombers for the ttp
afghan market suicide bombing kills general
kandahar afghanistan jan afp
suicide bomber blew himself up at crowded market in restive district of
southern afghanistan on thursday killing up to civilians in the deadliest
attack in four months
the bombing in the dihrawud district of uruzgan province comes as attacks by the
hardline taliban militia escalate with violence spreading to regions that have
so far been relatively peaceful
this was suicide bomber on foot who detonated himself at the gate of money
exchange market said afghan army general abdul hameed commander of national
forces in uruzgan
up to now civilians have been killed and wounded he added
provincial police chief juma gul hemat had earlier said civilians were
killed
in early september people were killed by suicide bomber outside mosque
in eastern afganistan and at least died in an attack in kandahar in august
just days after the fraud tainted presidential election that returned hamid
karzai to power
un figures published on wednesday showed that more than civilians were
killed in making it the deadliest year for ordinary afghans since the
us led invasion
in another attack in the neighbouring province of helmand one of the most
violent regions of the country police officer was killed and five others were
injured nato and afghan authorities said
there was no immediate claim of responsibility but both attacks bore the
hallmarks of the taliban the hardline islamist militant group waging an
intensifying insurgency to overthrow karzai western backed government
in the helmand attack suicide bomber blew up an explosives packed car
killing one police officer and injuring five others including four police
officers and civilian nato and afghan officials said
according to initial reports one afghan police officer has been killed and four
wounded in suicide vehicle ied strike in musa qala nato international
security assistance force isaf said
the statement was referring to improvised explosive devises crude bombs that
have become the pivot of the taliban arsenal and are now responsible for up to
percent of foreign troops deaths military intelligence officials say
the district chief of musa qala abdul salem confirmed the attack
afghan civilians caught in the cross fire between insurgents and afghan and
western troops bear the brunt of the violence now in its ninth year
the united nations released report on wednesday that found civilian casualties
rose percent in over the year before
it said that civilians were killed in the war in making it the
deadliest year for ordinary afghans since the us led invasion toppled the
taliban regime from power in
it said percent of the deaths were caused by taliban attacks while
international troops and afghan security forces were responsible for percent
there are international troops in afghanistan fighting the insurgency
under us and nato command figure set to rise to by august
oil prices steady after topping dollars
london jan afp
oil prices steadied on thursday after earlier topping dollars as traders
paused to assess the state of energy inventories in key consumer nation the
united states
new york main futures contract light sweet crude for delivery in february
rose cents to dollars per barrel after earlier hitting high of
dollars
london brent north sea crude for february slipped two cents to dollars
new york crude fell sharply on wednesday to an intraday low of dollars on
fresh signs of weakening us energy demand traders said
the oil price came under pressure wednesday and fell after the release of the
us inventory data to the lowest level since the start of the year said
commerzbank analyst carsten fritsch in note to clients
however the price was able to recover lost ground and reached dollars
per barrel again supported by benign equity markets
analysts said the sharp fall on wednesday was triggered by the key us department
of energy doe report which showed crude oil reserves soaring by million
barrels in the week ending january
that was far more than most forecasts for gain of million barrels
distillates including heating fuel and diesel rose by million barrels
the doe said confounding forecasts for million barrel drop
distillates are in focus amid an ongoing cold snap in the united states
forecasters have predicted milder weather for the weeks ahead
stocks of distillates posted the first build up in five weeks which was
surprising given last week low temperatures noted fritsch
the united states is the world biggest energy consuming nation and so has
major influence on oil prices
however the doe report was not all that pessimistic said serene lim an oil
analyst with anz bank in melbourne adding that it indicated demand could soon
pick up
the refinery inputs were up for most of the areas and the refineries were
operating at slightly higher rate than the past month lim said
new york crude on monday rose to month high near dollars on the back of
robust chinese data but then went into reserve on news that beijing was starting
to cool its economy and the prospect of milder weather
pvm oil analyst tamas varga warned that the market might have further to fall
the tightening of monetary policy in china and what seems to be the end of
cold spell in the northern hemisphere serve as warning that prices in general
could be overheated in the short term varga said
the early euphoria seen last week and at the end of last year seems to be
running out of steam and more downside pressure might be on the cards before the
herd changes direction again
lithuania could turn to imf but prefers bonds minister
vilnius jan afp
lithuania has not ruled out seeking international monetary fund help amid its
deep economic crisis but still prefers to tap funds on the open market its
finance minister said thursday
as long as the country needs to borrow money it illogical in my opinion to
rule out the possibility of turning to the imf ingrida simonyte told
reporters
however the government is sticking to the same strategy as in and we
foresee that we ll use the options available on the financial market to finance
our needs she said
lithuania aims to borrow total of billion litas billion euros
billion dollars this year of which more than billion litas would be used
to pay off earlier debt
simonyte said vilnius could launch new bond issue in the first quarter of this
year although she declined to say in what currency
last october lithuania raised billion dollars via bond issue carrying an
annual interest rate of percent
the issue maturing in january was the biggest ever sale of lithuanian
government bonds on foreign markets
there has been repeated speculation however that lithuania could turn to the
imf as its once robust economy withers
lithuania northern neighbour latvia slid into one of the world deepest
recessions in and in december that year won billion euro bailout
from the imf european union and other lenders
lithuania has made repeated swingeing budget cuts and its centre right
government has repeatedly insisted that the measures are enough to ward off the
need for bailout
lithuanian authorities estimate that the economy may have shrunk by percent
in compared with officials and independent forecasts for range
from percent contraction to growth of at least percent
lithuania country of million people broke from the crumbling soviet bloc
in and joined the european union in
alert
clinton haiti death toll will reach tens of thousands
greece unveils debt crisis plan
athens jan afp
greece on thursday unveiled blueprint for spending cuts aimed at solving
debt crisis that has shaken the eurozone as the government prepares to present
the plan to the european commission
the three year plan aims to rein in the country runaway public deficit and
bring it under the limits imposed for countries sharing the euro currency by
prime minister george papandreou said
our three year effort will be decisive for the future of the country
papandreou told cabinet meeting on the crisis programme which european
authorities have requested we want to turn the page as fast as possible
the plan is to be presented to european officials on friday for approval
we have defied predictions in the past we will do it again today he said
am sure that our european partners will appreciate our efforts not only from
government but from an entire population
finance minister george papaconstantinou described the greek plan as roadmap
to overcome great obstacles and reverse the huge credibility gap that greece
is facing in the financial markets
the crisis plan aims to reduce the public deficit to percent of gross
domestic product by under the percent limit for countries sharing the
euro currency he said the deficit reached percent of gdp last year
the programme seeks to stabilise greece debt burden one of the highest in
the eurozone and reduce it to percent of gdp by
the programme also forecasts an economic contraction of percent in it
foresees return to growth of percent in and percent in
the government intends to boost its revenue by overhauling the tax system
according to copy of the plan released to reporters
it has invited team of international monetary fund experts to discuss the
prospect of technical assistance on tax policy and budget monitoring
the socialist government also plans spate of spending cuts including civil
service hiring freeze in percent cut in ministry spending and salary
limitations on highly paid public sector workers
the proposed cuts have riled the country civil servant association adedy which
has called for hour strike next month
the government has also pledged to restore credibility to its official
statistics by boosting the independence of the national statistics service
greece late last year caused an uproar in brussels by announcing that the
previous conservative administration had under reported deficit
for over years and thanks to the euro greece had notched high growth rates
with demand largely fed by easy access to loans the finance ministry said on
thursday
the country had also ran twin public and current account deficits and failed to
impose tight fiscal discipline the ministry said
across europe there is concern that serious fiscal problems in greece and
elsewhere threaten the credibility of the eurozone and could be precursor to
similar debt crises in other european economies
in the recent past we ourselves gave reason for mistrust and it is up to us
to restore our country reputation again papandreou told news conference on
wednesday
greek officials concede that athens still has mountain to climb to regain
credibility and analysts are still sceptical that greek plans will work
the further details provided by the greek government today on how it plans to
tackle the fiscal crisis are unlikely to reassure the markets much capital
economics european economist ben may said in note
its fairly optimistic forecasts for the economy to shrink by this year
expand by in and pick up thereafter suggest that it is relying on
cyclical upturn to do much of the work he said
on thursday the greek statistics service said unemployment in the country had
risen to percent in october from percent month earlier
greece woes were set to dominate meeting of european central bank governors
on thursday that was nominally supposed to focus on interest rates
athens is not the only eurozone capital causing alarm in frankfurt however
the credit rating agency moody has warned that portugal economy also faces
slow death unless it becomes more competitive and officials collect more tax
revenues
alert
britain gives million dollars to haiti quake effort minister
facts about us military robots
washington jan afp
us drone missile strike killed people in northwest pakistan thursday
pakistani officials said
herewith survey on unmanned vehicles used by the us military and intelligence
agencies in the air and on the ground including those employed to bomb
militants in pakistan and afghanistan
the robots include
mq predator the predator is propeller powered drone that can fly at an
altitude of up to meters feet for up to hours with video
cameras and radar sending back data to control center thousands of miles away
originally designed for surveillance and used heavily in iraq and afghanistan
the predator can be armed with two hellfire anti tank missiles slightly smaller
than cessna plane the predator is about eight meters feet long with
wingspan of more than meters feet the aircraft made by general atomics
aeronautical systems cruises at speed of knots
mq reaper the reaper is larger more powerful and heavily armed version of
the predator that can be equipped with precision guided bombs and hellfire
missiles manufactured by the same firm that makes the predator the plane is
meters feet long with wingspan of meters feet it can cruise at
knots and reach an altitude of up to meters feet
rq global hawk designed to replace the cold war era spy plane the jet
powered global hawk flies reconnaissance and surveillance missions at high
altitude using sophisticated sensors and cameras the plane made by northrop
grumman can fly for up to hours at an altitude of meters
feet and reach speed of knots
rq raven the smaller raven can be carried in backpack and is launched into
the air by hand allowing soldiers to look at video from around corner or over
the next hill weighing in at kilograms pounds and less than meter
long the raven can fly for up to minutes and reach speed of knots
manufactured by aeroenvironment the plane was first deployed in
pakbot an unmanned ground vehicle equipped with cameras sensors and
mechanical arm the pakbot can climb up stairs and over rocks with its tank
treads resembling the robot in the animated film wall the vehicle comes in
different sizes and can weigh from six to kilograms to pounds the
vehicle lacks the autonomy of an unmanned plane and has to be steered remotely
by soldier the pakbot has been used mainly to search for and dismantle
explosives in iraq and afghanistan
swords the special weapons observation remote direct action system swords is
ground robot designed to be armed with an rifle machine gun or
rocket launcher three robots have been built so far and reportedly the military
and the contractor foster miller are working out remaining technical problems
the us army has reportedly used the swords robots for surveillance and guard
missions in iraq but the vehicles have not fired shot in combat
mule the military is testing and developing other armed ground robots
including the mule vehicle about the size of humvee armed with anti tank
missiles and turret mounted machinegun the multifunction utility logistics
and equipment mule robot is supposed to fire only when human operator
remotely pulls the trigger the mule could be ready for deployment as soon as
urgent clinton depth of haiti quake disaster unimaginable
washington jan afp
the depth of the humanitarian disaster haiti faces in the aftermath of
catastrophic earthquake is unimaginable us secretary of state hillary clinton
said thursday
us launches major aid operation for haiti
washington jan afp
sweeping us military and civilian operation to aid quake hit haiti kicked into
high gear thursday with washington sending ships helicopters planes and
possibly thousands of troops
president barack obama recalled two top deputies from foreign trips with
secretary of state hillary clinton returning to washington thursday to help
coordinate us efforts after haiti worst earthquake in more than century
forward teams of civilian and military experts began landing in haiti wednesday
as us aircraft searched for survivors and tried to assess the damage from
tuesday magnitude quake with about troops on stand by to move in
as wealthy neighbor with the world most powerful military the united states
appeared well placed to lead aid efforts for the impoverished caribbean nation
mobilizing an array of specialists ships planes and helicopters
have directed my administration to respond with swift coordinated and
aggressive effort to save lives obama said wednesday
search and rescue teams from florida virginia and california will arrive
throughout today and tomorrow
clinton abruptly cut short her planned trip to asia flying back from hawaii and
warning that tuesday quake appeared to have caused very high loss of life
defense secretary robert gates canceled plans for weekend trip to australia
and decided to remain in washington to continue to manage the department
response to the humanitarian crisis in haiti pentagon spokesman geoff morrell
said in statement
on wednesday us navy maritime patrol aircraft usually used to track drug
trafficking in the region flew over the stricken city of port au prince while
coast guard cutter with helicopter flight deck arrived off the coast
the uss carl vinson aircraft carrier was en route and set to arrive thursday
while destroyers and more coast guard ships were on the way general douglas
fraser head of the us southern command told reporters
coast guard commander diane durham said grim conditions awaited them at the
city port
piers have collapsed into the water cranes have toppled over shipping
containers are in the water buildings at the wharves have collapsed durham
told cbs news
more than people were feared dead after the earthquake razed homes
hotels and hospitals leaving the capital in ruins and bodies strewn in the
streets
this is going to be one of the highest in terms of loss of life in recent
years as far as we can tell clinton said comparing the devastation to the
asian tsunami
the us military said it would possibly send in large amphibious ship with
marine expeditionary unit of about personnel to help with medical and
other aid operations
and commanders had put us army brigade of about soldiers at fort bragg
north carolina on alert for possible deployment
team of us air force experts was also set to arrive to help restore air
traffic control and communications at the airport badly needed as hub for
relief efforts
about us military personnel were on the ground and some military
engineers medical specialists and other experts were flying in aboard
transport plane to help organize emergency aid fraser said
an initial survey of the quake aftermath from the air indicated the damage was
mainly concentrated around the capital but the full scale of the disaster was
still unknown he said
we don have clear assessment right now of what the situation on the ground
is he said
us officials will also be acutely aware of the need to try to stem any mass
panic or attempts to flee haiti by sea to reach the united states
over the years hundreds have made the perilous kilometer mile
journey in leaky boats and many have perished on the way
obama said wednesday the us defense and state departments along with the us
agency for international development would lead relief efforts after the heart
wrenching tragedy
the people of haiti will have the full support of the united states in the
urgent effort to rescue those trapped beneath the rubble and to deliver the
humanitarian relief food water and medicine that haitians will need he said
china defends web censorship after google threat
beijing jan afp
china declared its internet open thursday but defended censorship that has
prompted web giant google to threaten to pull out of the country adding
potential new irritant in china us relations
but google appeared to be winning the battle for hearts and minds with chinese
online users flooding the web and visiting the company beijing offices to
express support and urge the internet giant not to leave china
the chinese government administers the internet according to law and we have
explicit stipulations over what information and content can be spread over the
internet foreign ministry spokeswoman jiang yu told reporters
jiang comment marked china most direct response yet after google shock
announcement tuesday that it would stop bowing to chinese internet censors and
could pull out of the world largest online market of million users
google said the move was protest against censorship and what it called highly
sophisticated cyber attacks on its systems which were aimed at chinese human
rights activists and believed to have originated in china
china employs vast system of web censorship dubbed the great firewall of
china that blocks content such as political dissent pornography and other
information viewed as objectionable
but at google offices in beijing dozens of supporters stopped by to voice
their support leaving messages flowers and fruit
goodbye google you can build the wall but you can separate the hearts of
the people we want to see the other side of the wall said message from one
supporter
freedom said another message in english and chinese
year old employee at an internet company who gave only his surname zhang
told afp that chinese censorship had gone too far
in the last few years it has become harder and harder to go around the great
firewall you have to spend more time and money he said
if google leaves china think that china has the capability to block all
google sites inside china they will make lot of people unhappy
the chinese spokeswoman jiang declared the country internet open but
declined to offer detailed response to us secretary of state hillary clinton
call for china to explain the alleged cyber attacks
believe if there are some appeals for that authorities will investigate
it jiang said at the regular news briefing
she refused to elaborate and also refused to comment when asked repeatedly
whether the purported attacks originated in china and were orchestrated by the
government
the issue was shaping up as the latest item on growing list of disputes
between china and the united states over trade climate change and human rights
state media said chinese parliamentary leader wu bangguo told group of
visiting us senators the two sides should respect each other core interests
and properly handle sensitive affairs without specifically mentioning google
the statement by wu nominally china second ranking political figure is
typically used by beijing to express displeasure about what they view as
unwanted interference in chinese affairs
on wednesday white house spokesman robert gibbs confirmed that the obama
administration had held talks with google while declining to offer details he
stressed the united states backed the right to free internet
the president and this administration have beliefs about the freedom of the
internet gibbs added
however chinese official said tight internet controls were needed saying the
nation online environment faced severe challenges as it grew and became more
central to the nation economy
wang chen head of the central government information office said in
comments on the government website that the nation must strive to build
healthy civilised safe and orderly internet environment
such wording is usually employed to justify censorship
but chinese internet users flooded the web with messages of support for google
and the ideal of free and open online environment
it not google that withdrawing from china it china that
withdrawing from the world one user said on twitter sentiment echoed in
other tweets the micro blogging site is currently blocked by beijing
strongly asking google to stay the government is really too overbearing
said one posting on baidu com google chief rival in china
an editorial in china english language global times newspaper said google
departure would be setback to china and serious loss to china net culture
alert
clinton depth of haiti quake disaster unimaginable
airbus partners hold crunch talks in london
london jan afp
the seven partner countries involved in the multi billion euro dollar airbus
project were to meet in london on thursday amid doubts about the future of
the delayed and over budget programme
france has vowed to do everything to save the airbus military transport
aircraft project but germany appears reluctant to invest more cash and britain
said that it remains committed but not at any cost
turkey has already refused to plough more money into the programme which is
three years behind schedule and which is estimated need more than five billion
euros and up to billion euros more to be completed
belgium luxembourg and spain are the three other countries involved in the
project and set to take part in the meeting at the british ministry of defence
european aircraft maker airbus and its parent group the european aeronautic
defence and space company eads were not invited to the talks
airbus has said it could pull the plug on the project unless it gets extra money
pledges by the end of the month warning that the failure of the programme
could hurt the viability of the company as whole
airbus has employees around europe with some working on the
transporter that can carry troops armoured vehicles and helicopters
