in iraq many were professional singers and musicians but since the war in
and the subsequent rise of religious extremism they have been pushed even
further into poverty and exclusion refile of previously offered report
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guard of banned yemen daily killed in new clash with police
sanaa jan afp
guard of banned newspaper in south yemen was killed tuesday in renewed
clashes with police outside the publication offices while three policemen and
three guards were wounded witnesses said
police attempted to storm the offices of al ayyam daily in aden to arrest guards
who had killed policeman and wounded another on monday when security forces
were trying to disperse demonstration protesting the continued ban of the
newspaper witnesses told afp
clashes between police and the armed guards of the offices had been sporadic
since before dawn said the witnesses
among those sought after by the police is the daily owner and editor hisham
bashraheel who is wanted by prosecutors in sanaa to stand trial for his alleged
role in the murder of man in front of the paper offices in
last year one person was killed and three wounded in gunfight which erupted as
police moved in to arrest bashraheel
the newspaper was closed by the authorities in may week before the gunfight
al ayyam one of the largest newspapers in the south was one of eight closed at
the time over allegations of inciting separatism in the region amid wave of
deadly unrest there
electric car think to be assembled in us in report
oslo jan afp
think an electric car maker based in norway will assemble its vehicles in the
united states next year and hopes to roll out more than units year the
wall street journal said on tuesday quoting the group chief executive
nothing has been finalised yet but decision is expected today think
spokesman james andrew told afp
think which will receive local and state incentives is expected to invest
million dollars million euros to modernise an assembly plant in indiana
the wall street journal said in an article to be published on tuesday
several us states had been in competition for the investment
the newspaper reported that the project was to be officially announced in
indiana on tuesday
the plant would have an assembly capacity of more than cars year but
production would be in the low thousands in chief executive richard
canny said
the think city small plastic vehicle that seats two adults and two children
is expected to sell for around dollars after tax rebate of some
dollars the wall street journal said
after teetering on the brink of bankruptcy think was saved in august by group
of investors including ener of the us the owner of enerdel which supplies
batteries for the think cars
enerdel is the largest shareholder in the carmaker holding percent
in northern europe production of think cars was transferred last year from oslo
to plant in the finnish town of uusikaupunki where the finnish group valmet
automotive already assembles models for german sportscar maker porsche
the think city has maximum speed of kilometres miles an hour and
range of kilometres miles
taiwan resumes ban on some us beef imports
taipei jan afp
taiwan parliament resumed ban on certain us beef imports tuesday triggering
an angry response from the united states and fears the move could damage ties
with the island most important ally
lawmakers unanimously passed an amendment to the food health law banning imports
of cow organs minced beef and other items seen as high risk such as spines and
eyes said parliamentary speaker wang jin pyng
this is victory for the taiwanese people and display of people power
said lawmaker kuan bi ling from the opposition democratic progressive party
dpp
however the lawmakers vetoed dpp proposal to further ban us beef on the bone
us beef has been restricted for years over concerns about mad cow disease
the american institute in taiwan ait expressed its dismay at the latest move
and warned it would undermine taiwan credibility as responsible trading
partner
this will make it more difficult for the us to conclude further agreements to
expand and strengthen bilateral trade and economic ties said ait acting
spokesman christopher kavanagh
the ait handles unofficial ties with taipei after washington switched diplomatic
recognition to beijing in
taiwan president ma ying jeou vowed to patch up ties with washington saying
he hoped the fallout from the beef dispute would be limited to the trade area
we will do our best to resolve the dispute and amend ties with the united
states this is trade dispute he told reporters
we hope this will not affect security or political matters and the hard built
trust at the senior level
washington has remained key ally and leading arms supplier to taiwan despite
the lack of official ties
taiwan plans to send delegation of government officials lawmakers and experts
to the united states in bid to limit the fallout from the beef controversy
officials said
we will continue to communicate with the us on the beef issue while trying to
ease the concerns of taiwan public said presidential spokesman wang yu chi
parliament move backed by both the dpp and the governing kuomintang party
effectively overturned health department decision late last year to allow
imports of us beef on the bone cow organs and minced beef which was met with
public outcry
this is vote of no confidence in president ma ying jeou and he should
apologise for disregarding public opinion said lawmaker tsai huang liang of
the dpp
the dpp and some activists have accused the authorities of bowing to pressure
from washington to downplay the alleged health risks of certain us beef
products
taiwan banned all us beef imports in december over fears of mad cow
disease in taipei relaxed the rules to permit imports of boneless beef
some scientists believe that consumption of the brains and spinal cords of
animals infected with mad cow disease can lead to the potentially fatal
creutzfeldt jakob disease in humans
euro inflation accelerates to percent in december eu
brussels jan afp
annual inflation accelerated across the nations using the euro in december
with the rate of increase for consumer prices nearly doubling official data
showed on tuesday
prices climbed percent according to flash estimate from the european
union eurostat data agency loosening from the percent revised reading
for november that marked the first time prices compared to one year earlier
had risen since april
analysts said the rise mainly reflected energy costs which have risen again
after collapse in the price of oil and gas during the financial crisis
the spike and the prospect of further increases in early is unlikely to
worry the european central bank given that it is very much an energy price base
effects story and underlying inflationary pressures currently remain depressed
said howard archer of ihs global insight
bnp paribas economist clemente de lucia said that the price of oil rose by more
than euros dollars in the year to december and that energy price
inflation accounted for about percent of headline inflation
even though confidence indicators have increased over recent months firms selling price expectations did not report similar trend he added
revised brussels estimates for eurozone growth predict percent for and
percent in
green light for new settler homes in east jerusalem
jerusalem jan afp
israeli authorities said on tuesday they had approved the construction of
homes for jewish settlers in occupied east jerusalem in move the palestinians
said would further threaten peace efforts
the jerusalem municipality gave its green light for the construction of four
residential buildings on the historic mount of olives spokesman said adding
that the buildings would comprise flats
the construction is part of project launched by the irving moskowitz family
which has already built religious school in the neighbourhood and aims to help
develop strong jewish presence in mainly arab east jerusalem
we condemn this decision in the strongest language and we condemn the israeli
government continuing construction of settlements in east jerusalem and the
west bank chief palestinian negotiator saeb erakat told afp by phone from
doha where he is travelling with president mahmud abbas
israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu government is talking about peace
and negotiations in way that is totally opposed to the reality on the ground
where settlement activity is continuing he added
month moratorium on new building permits for settler homes in the occupied
west bank announced by netanyahu in late november excludes construction in east
jerusalem which israel captured in and later annexed it in move not
recognised by the international community
israel insists that the entire city is its eternal indivisible capital but
palestinians are determined to make jerusalem eastern sector the capital of
their promised state
some jewish settlers live in east jerusalem alongside
palestinian residents
israel continued expansion of settlements is one of the biggest obstacles to
the resumption of peace talks with the palestinians now suspended for year
british chill closes airports schools
manchester england jan afp
heavy snow and freezing temperatures wreaked havoc on road and rail links in
parts of britain tuesday forcing the closure of two airports and hundreds of
schools officials said
in northwest england heavy snow blocked roads and triggered accidents in the
cumbria region while manchester and liverpool airports were closed
significant amount of snow has fallen overnight and continues to fall at the
airport and across greater manchester said spokesman for the major air hub
britain busiest outside the london region
meanwhile some train services between london and leeds were cancelled
in scotland flights were delayed at aberdeen and glasgow airports while train
services were disrupted between glasgow and edinburgh and there were delays on
trains from glasgow to london
hundreds of schools were closed in scotland and northern england including some
in north yorkshire as teachers struggled to get into work and parents kept
their children at home
in the south london had freezing temperatures but was largely spared
disruption although forecasters said snow and icy conditions were expected to
move southwards during the day
euro inflation accelerates to percent in december eu
brussels jan afp
annual inflation accelerated across the nations using the euro in december
with the rate of increase for consumer prices nearly doubling official data
showed on tuesday
prices climbed percent according to flash estimate from the european
union eurostat data agency loosening from the percent revised reading
for november that marked the first time prices compared to one year earlier
had risen since april
the previous month rise largely reflected energy costs that have risen again
after collapse in the price of oil and gas during the financial crisis
revised brussels estimates for eurozone growth predict percent for and
percent in
un cuts somalia food relief over islamist threat
nairobi jan afp
attacks by al qaeda linked rebels have led to the suspension of food
distributions in large swathes of somalia leaving one million people outside
the relief net the un food agency said tuesday
rising threats and attacks on humanitarian operations as well as the
imposition of string of unacceptable demands from armed groups have made it
virtually impossible for the world food programme wfp to continue reaching up
to one million people in need in southern somalia it said in statement
wfp humanitarian operations in southern somalia have been under escalating
attacks from armed groups leading to this virtual suspension of humanitarian
food distribution in much of southern somalia it said
mired by almost uninterrupted civil conflict since the ouster of president
mohamed siad barre and plagued by recurring natural disasters somalia is often
described as one of the world worst humanitarian crises
the radical islamist insurgent group shebab whose leader last year proclaimed
allegiance to al qaeda supremo osama bin laden has overrun and looted several
key un compounds in southern somalia in recent weeks
the latest to have been overrun was in the southern town of buale which the wfp
said was temporarily closed together with the agency offices in wajid
beledweyn and other major southern hubs
staff safety is key concern for wfp and recent attacks threats harassment
and demands for payments by armed groups have decimated the humanitarian food
lifeline it explained
in the areas they control the shebab have also imposed strict conditions on
foreign humanitarian organisations effectively prohibiting their operations
somalia shebab fighters increasingly under the spell of al qaeda ideology
have been gradually weeding out the few foreign aid groups still operating in
the country central and southern regions
late last year the shebab administration in the south central regions of bay
and bakool handed aid groups list of rules to comply with including
registration fee of dollars payable twice year
drawing fresh comparisons with afghanistan under the taliban in the
shebab also imposed conditions complying with the strict brand of islamic law
they enforce in the regions under their control
aid organisations should distance themselves from anything that will affect
proper islamic culture like promoting adultery and establishing women
groups said document spelling out the rules obtained by afp
world women day is singled out along with christmas and world aids day as
proscribed celebrations while preaching democracy is also listed as value
interfering with islam that should be banned
wfp is deeply concerned about rising hunger and suffering among the most
vulnerable due to these unprecedented and inhumane attacks on purely
humanitarian operations the statement said
some estimates say that close to half of somalia million inhabitants are in
need of humanitarian assistance many of them emergency food aid
wfp is continuing to provide life saving food distributions in the rest of the
country including the capital mogadishu reaching more than two thirds of the
hungry it has been targeting or million people it said
backed by the international community but still under equipped and ill trained
the security forces of somalia federal transitional government have so far
failed to quash bruising shebab led nationwide insurgency
iran bans contact with groups including bbc hrw
tehran jan afp
iran has banned its citizens from having contact with organisations including
the bbc human rights watch and opposition website rahesabz as well as us funded
broadcasters state media have reported
the deputy intelligence minister in charge of external affairs said that the
blacklisted groups were suspected of being involved in efforts by western
governments to topple the islamic regime as part of soft war and that it was
an offence to communicate with them
any kind of contact by individuals or legal entities with those groups involved
in the soft war is illegal and prohibited state media quoted the deputy
minister as saying on monday without giving his name
the blacklisted organisations also included us government funded voice of
america and radio farda as well as us based pro monarchist satellite channels
israeli public radio and the outlawed rebel people mujahedeen
the deputy minister also called on the public to avoid irregular contacts with
embassies or foreign nationals or centres linked to them
citizens should be alert to the traps of the enemies and cooperate with the
intelligence ministry in protecting the nation and neutralising the plots of
foreigners and the conspirators he said in allusion to opposition sympathisers
who have held repeated protests over the past seven months
other blacklisted groups included the brookings institution us philanthropist
george soros open society institute and the washington based national
endowment for democracy
on monday intelligence minister heydar moslehi said that iran had arrested
several foreign nationals at anti government protests during shiite muslim
ashura rituals last month that left at least eight people dead
they had entered iran only two days before ashura their cameras and equipment
have been seized he added without specifying how many had been arrested or
their nationalities
in late november supreme leader ayatollah ali khamenei said iran was in the
throes of soft war with its enemies abroad who were fomenting the street
protests that have hit the country since hardline president mahmoud
ahmadinejad disputed june re election
iranian american kian tajbakhsh who used to be an independent consultant for
soros open society institute was rearrested in the aftermath of the election
and sentenced to years in jail
deep freeze in china as korea cleans up after record snow
beijing jan afp
the chinese capital was in the grip of its coldest weather in years tuesday
after snow storms caused chaos while south korea sent out an army of civil
servants and soldiers to clear clogged roads
china national weather centre said the mercury dipped tuesday to minus
degrees celsius four fahrenheit the lowest in more than two decades after
beijing was hit by its heaviest snowfall in years at the weekend
but air travel was back to normal at beijing international airport following
three days of flight cancellations and delays caused by the heavy snow and
freezing temperatures and schools were open again
the freezing weather was expected to continue until thursday for the chinese
capital nearby tianjin and inner mongolia with temperatures forecast to fall
as low as minus degrees celsius the weather centre said on its website
on the outskirts of beijing thousands of truck drivers were forced to sleep in
their vehicles for two nights when snow made the road impassible and caused
kilometre mile back up the state run beijing news reported
some drivers said they were afraid to sleep for fear of dying of exposure but
others said they were prepared for the traffic snarl up
we brought food as we expected the jam said one trucker who brought two
cases of instant noodles and thermos of water
in inner mongolia train hit wall of snow more than two metres more than
six feet high on sunday leaving travellers in the dark and without
heating overnight before they could be evacuated the china daily said tuesday
though snow stopped yesterday the temperature was minus celsius freezing
the doors zhang jianwen police officer involved in the rescue effort told
the paper
nearly people including police and local farmers dug out the train which
was heading from the city of harbin to baotou in inner mongolia the report
said
central china is under snow storm warning until wednesday stretching from
henan to hunan provinces the weather bureau said
in south korea tens of thousands of civil servants and soldiers were mobilised
to clear record snowfalls as freezing temperatures left roads and highways icy
in many areas
weathermen said it stopped snowing late monday in seoul and nearby areas but the
southwest coast received up to centimetres about eight inches of snow
between late monday and early tuesday
almost centimetres of snow fell in seoul on monday the heaviest since
records began in according to the korea meteorological administration
man in his fell to his death from the roof of badminton court in seoul
while trying to clear snow on monday yonhap news agency said
in the central city of cheongju some chickens perished as their coops
collapsed under the weight of snow it said
in seoul alone about people including civil servants and volunteers were
mobilised to remove snow
the defence ministry said solders were deployed for snow clearing
nationwide while military helicopters carried blankets and food to isolated
villages
cars crawled along icy roads as temperatures plunged to minus degrees
celsius degrees fahrenheit in seoul and minus in cheolwon northwest
of the capital
day after heavy snowfalls grounded many flights service on international
routes returned to normal tuesday but domestic air traffic and railway
transportation remained crippled in some areas
korea to return korean fishermen
seoul jan afp
south korea agreed tuesday to send back two north korean fishermen who were
rescued earlier this week after their boat drifted into southern waters
officials said
south korea coastguard rescued the two on sunday near chain of tiny islands
in the sea of japan east sea known as dokdo in korea and takeshima in japan
seoul told pyongyang in cross border message tuesday that it would repatriate
the fishermen as early as possible the unification ministry said
the two koreas agreed to repatriate the two wednesday through the truce village
of panmunjom in the demilitarised zone which splits the peninsula it said
they have expressed their desire to return home during questioning by our
authorities spokesman chun hae sung told reporters
south korea has sent back north koreans who accidentally cross the border but
choose to be repatriated
on october group of north koreans defected to the south after crossing
the border in small fishing boat seoul rejected pyongyang demands to send
them back
but seven north korean fishermen whose boat accidentally drifted into south
korean waters were returned home last month across the closely guarded land
border
golf captain monty looks for ryder cup boost at royal trophy
bangkok jan afp
ryder cup captain colin montgomerie will put his reputation on the line when he
leads europe into battle against holders asia in this week royal trophy
the year old one of the greatest ryder cup players of all time is backing
his matchplay expertise by agreeing to play as well as skipper europe at amata
spring country club from thursday
asia thumped europe last year after losing the first two editions of the
tournament in and and will field strong team including the poster
boy of asian golf ryo ishikawa of japan
europe have lost germany martin kaymer two time winner last season and
alvaro quiros of spain from the original eight man line up although montgomerie
can call on swedish big guns henrik stenson and robert karlsson ryder cup
teammates in and
montgomerie accepted the dual role of captain and player from tournament creator
seve ballesteros after the spanish legend decided he was not fit enough to
skipper europe after undergoing chemotherapy following brain surgery
ballesteros guided europe to their two victories before handing over the reins
to jose maria olazabal last year who failed to deliver the pick me up that he
had promised
seve invited me to captain europe at the royal trophy it will be an
excellent opportunity for me to spend time with some key players who are likely
to be with me at celtic manor in october for the ryder cup said montgomerie
am really pleased to be representing europe in thailand and am determined to
regain the royal trophy for europe it would be wonderful to secure victory for
seve
ballesteros believes that the royal trophy will grow into one of the world
most important events and his appointment of montgomerie as playing captain has
given the tournament added significance in global golf
have the utmost confidence that he will lead our players with the greatest
ability passion and determination he said
world number seven stenson and karlsson europe leading player in are
an obvious pairing given their fourball and foursomes experience in the world
cup and ryder cup
fellow swedes alexander noren the winner of the european masters last season
and peter hanson are also in the line up along with england simon dyson who
hit the headlines with two victories on the european tour in
soren kjeldsen of denmark and spain pablo martin make up the team
ishikawa was asia secret weapon last year as he was making his first
professional appearance outside of japan but montgomerie will know all about his
huge potential as he played in three majors later in
we all know that the europeans will be fully committed to defeat us this time
around but am very confident about my game and about the capability of the
asian team said ishikawa
asian captain naomichi joe ozaki has kept faith with the thai duo of thongchai
jaidee and prayad marksaeng pga tour regular charlie wi of korea and china
leading player liang wen chong from last year winning side
they are joined by indian pairjeev milkha singh and rising star gaganjeet
bhullar and japan koumei oda
the royal trophy features alternate shot foursomes fourball and singles
matches
teams
europe colin montgomerie player captain scotland henrik stenson robert
karlsson alexander noren peter hanson all sweden simon dyson england
soren kjeldsen denmark and pablo martin spain
asia naomichi joe ozaki captain japan thongchai jaidee prayad
marksaeng both thailand jeev milkha singh gaganjeet bhullar both india
ryo ishikawa koumei oda both japan charlie wi korea and liang wen chong
china
french consumer confidence slips official index
paris jan afp
french household confidence slipped in december for the first time for four
months the national statistics office insee said on tuesday
the insee index for household confidence fell by one point to minus but
remained far above the low point of minus in the middle of last year insee
said
however despite the recovery from last year the index was far below the
average level of the last years insee said
football african nations cup fixtures
luanda jan afp
fixtures for african nations cup in angola times gmt
group
seeding angola mali algeria malawi
luanda unless noted
jan
angola mali
jan
algeria malawi
jan
algeria mali
angola malawi
jan
angola algeria
at cabinda
malawi mali
group
seeding ivory coast ghana togo burkina faso
cabinda unless noted
jan
burkina faso ivory coast
ghana togo
jan
burkina faso togo
ghana ivory coast
jan
ivory coast togo
at luanda
burkina faso ghana
group
seeding egypt holders nigeria benin mozambique
benguela unless noted
jan
egypt nigeria
benin mozambique
jan
benin nigeria
egypt mozambique
jan
benin egypt
at lubango
mozambique nigeria
group
seeding cameroon tunisia zambia gabon
lubango unless noted
jan
cameroon gabon
tunisia zambia
jan
gabon tunisia
cameroon zambia
jan
cameroon tunisia
at benguela
gabon zambia
quarter finals
jan
at luanda
winners gp runners up gp
at cabinda
winners gp runners up gp
jan
at benguela
winners gp runners up gp
at lubango
winners gp runners up gp
semi finals
jan
at luanda
winners winners
at benguela
winners winners
third place
jan
at benguela
