of all time
also called the qumran manuscripts the scrolls attributed to the jewish
essenes religious community are of huge historical interest especially for
biblical scholars
the first fragments were discovered in arid caves along the shores of the dead
sea by bedouin shepherd in
the bedouins sold them to group of syrian christians they gave the scrolls
to their orthodox bishop who took them to the united states in harahsheh
said
israel antiquities authority has said israel is the rightful custodian of the
dead sea scrolls
six nato soldiers die in afghan violence
kabul jan afp
six foreign soldiers three of them american and at least one french were
killed monday in wave of violence in afghanistan nato and french defence
officials said
the nato led alliance said that in addition to the americans and the french
soldier two others had died of their wounds an official speaking on condition
of anonymity told afp one of the two was also french
one of those whose nationality was not officially identified was killed by an
improvised bomb explosion in southern afghanistan said the nato led
international security assistance force
monday deaths take to the number of foreign soldiers killed in afghanistan
so far this year according to an afp tally based on that kept by the
independent website icasualties org
in the attack on french troops insurgents raided convoy of french and afghan
forces in the alasay valley northeast of kabul according to president nicolas
sarkozy office
non commissioned officer paid with his life for the commitment of france to
the peace and security of the afghan people and an officer was very gravely
wounded sarkozy statement said
about half of the french soldiers serving in afghanistan with nato forces
fighting taliban insurgency are based in kapisa province and the neighbouring
region of sarobi outside kabul
the americans were killed in an engagement with enemy forces in southern
afghanistan isaf said without giving further details including the exact
location of the incident
southern afghanistan is at the heart of taliban led insurgency now in its
ninth year
last year was the deadliest since the insurgency began with foreign
soldiers dying in afghanistan compared to in
of the casualties were us nationals while the rest were from more than
other nations in the coalition fighting the taliban under us and nato
command
the united states and its allies invaded afghanistan in late to capture al
qaeda leaders whom washington said were responsible for the attacks on us
cities and taliban commanders who sheltered the islamist network
the insurgency launched by remnants of the taliban regime months after their
ouster has gained pace and the united states and nato are set to deploy
another troops during this year on top of the current
the insurgency is largely concentrated in southern and eastern afghanistan but
is expanding to the previously calm north and west
afghanistan defence ministry said its forces killed nearly dozen insurgents
in battles at the weekend in the province of helmand the heartland of the
insurgency
president hamid karzai paid tribute on monday to british journalist killed
while travelling with us marines fighting the taliban
rupert hamer of the sunday mirror newspaper was blown up saturday by roadside
bomb as he accompanied marines patrolling near nawa in helmand
philip coburn photographer for the british tabloid working alongside
hamer was seriously injured and us marine was also killed
the president praised the courage of the correspondent demonstrated in trying
to cover the real situation on the ground in helmand karzai office said
hamer was the second foreign journalist killed in afghanistan in days
on december canadian reporter michelle lang of the calgary herald was killed
in kandahar province in southern afghanistan alongside four soldiers when
roadside bomb exploded beneath their vehicle the taliban claimed
responsibility
in three journalists including lang died in afghanistan according to
tally by the international news safety institute
sarkozy gets tough with elite schools
paris jan afp
french president nicolas sarkozy on monday threatened to take steps to force
france elite schools of higher education to admit more students from low
income families and minorities
the grandes ecoles institutes are balking at government plan to set aside
percent of new admissions for candidates who receive student aid
the grandes ecoles are not reserved for few insiders or the children of
the old bourgeoisie sarkozy said in an address in gif sur yvette in the
southwest suburbs of paris
these schools are for everyone as long as you work as long as you have
talent
sarkozy tasked his ministers for national education and higher education along
with the commissioner for equal opportunity to hold talks with the directors of
the elite colleges to seek solutions
expect concrete and quick results if we get them then dialogue will have
been enough if we do not get them we will have to resort to other means he
warned without elaborating
france elite schools such as engineering institute ecole polytechnique
have been accused of catering to the country well heeled whose sons and
daughters have access to the best venues to prepare for the entrance exams
sarkozy announced in late plan to set aside percent of places in so
called preparatory classes for the entrance exams for poor students many of
whom hail from the high immigrant suburbs
that goal was reached in september but the government now wants the top schools
to go one step further and set aside percent of first year places to
scholarship students
sarkozy argued that the percent target was not tantamount to an admissions
quota and urged the schools to reconsider their selection process by allowing
entry through other channels than written exam
contrary to french universities that do not apply selection criteria to
candidates the grandes ecoles take in students based on the entrance exam
between and percent of students at the most prestigious schools such as
polytechnique and business school hautes etudes commerciales hec are from poor
backgrounds according to government figures
france is home to one of europe biggest arab and black minorities but is
overwhelmingly ruled by white establishment while unemployment is at its
highest in immigrant suburbs
berlin state opera conductor suitner dead at report
vienna jan afp
austrian maestro otmar suitner the longest serving conductor at the berlin
state opera has died aged austrian news agency apa reported monday quoting
the conductor secretary
suitner died in berlin hospital last friday apa reported
he was born in innsbruck on may and studied piano and conductor at the
mozarteum in salzburg
after engagements as conductor in remscheid and ludwigshafen mannheim suitner
became general music director of the dresden state opera in
in he moved to the state opera in the former east berlin where he
remained the director until
suitner conducted regularly at the world famous bayreuth festival between
and where he is credited with having conducted one of the fastest ever
ring cycles
the sprawling four opera cycle wagner magnum opus usually takes around
hours to perform but suitner reading came out at just over hours
wagner along with strauss and mozart formed the core of his repertoire but he
was also keen exponent of contemporary music conducting the world premieres
of operas by composers such as paul dessau
suitner retired for health reasons he suffered from parkison disease in
aged after conducting his last ever concert in goeteborg sweden
ireland leader stands aside in sex politics scandal
belfast jan afp
northern ireland leader peter robinson stood aside monday to try to clear his
name over scandal linked to his wife affair which is threatening power
sharing government here officials said
robinson will stand down for six weeks lawmakers were told as the pressure
finally got to the northern ireland first minister after days of pressure due to
the sex and politics row
enterprise minister arlene foster has been asked to take on the functions of
first minister during his absence northern ireland assembly speaker william hay
told lawmakers
have this afternoon received written notice from the first minister peter
robinson that under the northern ireland act he has designated mrs arlene
foster to exercise the functions of the office of first minister
the designation takes immediate effect he said
robinson wife iris also top politician last week admitted having an affair
with year old and securing pounds euros dollars
from two wealthy developers to help him set up cafe
peter robinson has denied any knowledge of the deal which he would have had to
report to parliamentary authorities but there were calls for him to quit over
the weekend
his announcement came after the dup power sharing partners sinn fein tabled an
emergency motion calling for robinson to explain himself before the assembly
robinson year old wife who is expected to quit her seats in the northern
ireland assembly and the british parliament lower house of commons imminently
is receiving acute psychiatric treatment in belfast
she previously admitted attempting suicide and suffering severe depression
the scandal is playing out against an already tense backdrop in northern
ireland
power sharing between ex foes the dup and sinn fein was under strain due to
failure to agree on the transfer of policing powers from london to belfast the
last stage of the devolution process
the brutal fact is that we were heading for dangerous political crisis in
northern ireland even before the robinson revelations irish political expert
paul bew wrote in the times newspaper monday
robinson has vowed to clear his name but one of his illustrious predecessors as
leader of the semi autonomous province said sunday his position was becoming
untenable
david trimble who jointly won the nobel peace prize in for his efforts to
bring stability to northern ireland predicted in bbc interview that robinson
would quit in the next few days
close friend of robinson predecessor and mentor ian paisley david mcilveen
also said robinson should consider standing aside temporarily
robinson conservative dup which is protestant and wants northern ireland to
remain part of britain has since shared devolved powers from london in an
administration with socialists sinn fein which is catholic and wants the
province to join the republic of ireland
their failure to agree when control of the sensitive issue of policing should be
handed to belfast has fuelled concerns that power sharing could break down
there are also fears of return to sustained violence in northern ireland
where three decades of civil unrest known as the troubles killed at least
people but was largely ended by the good friday agreement
last year two british soldiers and policeman were shot dead in attacks
claimed by dissident republicans
in the latest incident friday catholic police officer was seriously injured
after bomb exploded under his car as he drove to work
imf mission heads to debt stricken greece
washington jan afp
the international monetary fund said monday it is sending an imf mission to
athens this week for talks on helping debt stricken greece overcome its
financial crisis
the imf said in statement that the mission at the request of the greek
authorities would begin tuesday and last for about week to explore
possibilities for technical assistance from the imf in the coming months on
pension reform tax policy tax administration and budget management
the mission is within the context of the regular surveillance that the imf
provides to its membership it said
the greek government on friday announced percent increase in tobacco and
alcohol taxes and higher inheritance tax as it fended off european union
pressure for drastic action to tackle its debt mountain
greece whose public spending deficit rose to percent of output last year
and debt to percent of gross domestic product must present its crisis
program to the eu by the end of the month
cricket india beat bangladesh by six wickets
dhaka jan afp
india defeated bangladesh by six wickets in the last league match of the
triangular one day series here on monday
brief scores
bangladesh in overs india in overs
deal with imf close turkish president
ankara jan afp
turkey and the international monetary fund have resolved their differences and
an agreement on new imf loan for the country appeared near turkish president
recep tayyip erdogan said monday
negotiations will be wrapped up in the space of days or weeks he said in
report carried by the anatolia news agency adding that disagreements with the
imf have been largely resolved
turkey and the imf have been discussing terms of the loan for more than year
notably on the conditions the fund would impose on ankara
the imf has never disclosed details of its differences with the turkish
government
turkish media last week said the two sides had been able to reach an accord but
the reports were denied by the imf
the imf in accorded turkey loan of billion dollars billion
euros which expired in
formula one fia to appeal briatore ruling
paris jan afp
the international automobile federation fia is to appeal french court
decision to overturn the lifetime ban on former renault boss flavio briatore
briatore was let off the hook last week by the tribunal de grande instance in
paris which found that the fia sanction imposed in september for allegedly
ordering nelson piquet junior to crash at the singapore grand prix was
illegal
new fia president jean todt however believes the world governing body has
case against the year old italian and that an appeal is in order
statement from the fia said the president of the fia has consulted the fia
senate and the fia lawyers about the decision of the tribunal de grande
instance de paris of january
it was unanimously agreed that an appeal would be prepared
in his election campaign last summer fia president jean todt and his team
announced new measures for constructive change including disciplinary
procedure would be introduced work on this is well advanced
once in place this will address the issues in the court judgement
nonetheless an appeal is merited
while the appeal is under way the world motor sport council decision of
september remains in full effect
the decision to appeal means the suspension against briatore and the five year
ban handed to the team former director of engineering pat symonds remain in
force
the scandal centred on driver piquet junior claims that the team had ordered
him to crash deliberately at singapore to enable teammate fernando alonso to go
on and win
briatore has denied all the accusations levelled against him and vowed to fight
to clear his name
he said that the french court decision gives me back my dignity and the
freedom which they arbitrarily tried to take away from me
nigeria political elite discusses missing president
lagos jan afp
regional governors from nigeria states headed into emergency talks monday
to discuss the country power vacuum as calls grew for ailing president umaru
yar adua to step down officials said
all the governors are meeting this evening to discuss matters of national
importance including the president continued absence from the country an
official from southern nigerian state told afp
the meeting comes as nobel laureate wole soyinka prepared to lead march and
rally in the capital abuja on tuesday to protest yar adua seven week absence
from the country
we are displeased by the vacuum created by the long absence from office of
president umaru yar adua spokesman for the civil rights movement save
nigeria group sng yinka odumakin told afp
the growing speculation over yar adua comes as africa most populous nation and
second largest oil producer faces its most serious constitutional crisis in
decades
the country has also been thrust into the international spotlight by islamist
fundamentalist violence in the north and the failed christmas day bombing of
us airliner by young nigerian prompting its appearance on nation terror
watchlist by the united states
the year old president has not been seen or heard since he was flown to
hospital in saudi arabia on november for treatment for acute pericarditis an
inflammation of the membrane around the heart
aides have insisted he is responding well to treatment but nigeria opposition
has demanded proof that yar adua is even alive
supplementary budget was rushed to his bedside for his signature last week
and the government was forced to strenuously deny opposition claims that the
signature was forged some rights activists want the president declared missing
tuesday rally will coincide with the first formal debate by lawmakers as both
chambers of the national assembly meet to debate the political vacuum created by
the president absence and lack of information about his condition
we will discuss the indisposition of the president said ita enang chairman
of the house of representatives committee on rules and business
recent weeks have seen growing calls from several prominent nigerians and
organisations for either the president resignation or the temporary transfer
of power to his deputy goodluck jonathan
there has been no word from yar adua office on his state of health since
november when the nature of his condition was revealed
the president former teacher from nigeria muslim majority north has his
defenders lagos governor babatunde fashola said the ongoing debate on what
should happen in the absence of yar adua was storm in tea cup
the constitution provides as best as possible within human contemplation
what should happen when situations like these arise
therefore think it big storm in tea cup really to begin to conjecture
all sorts of positions the position is clear
let us also realise that there is pilot and co pilot therefore this thing
should not cause all this hoopla is it causing said fashola
top politicians and human rights activists are among those listed to participate
in tuesday rally
soyinka who won the nobel prize for literature is to address the rally
tagged enough is enough and protest at slow down in government business and
political reform since yar adua was taken ill
military court jails kyrgyzstan ex minister
bishkek jan afp
military tribunal jailed former kyrgyz defence minister turned opposition
politician for eight years monday on charges of embezzlement and negligence in
trial he said was politically motivated
ismail isakov former ally of president kurmanbek bakiyev who resigned from
government and joined the opposition in october denied the charges against
him
the court found isakov guilty and sentenced him to eight years in jail
tribunal judge serik abiyev said
the charges relate to the period that he was defence minister
isakov said they were intended to destroy the opposition
the court verdict is political order destruction of the dissenting
opposition by the authorities he said as his supporters chanted shame on such
trial and hands off general isakov
bakiyev administration is increasingly criticised by human rights groups who
complain of growing number of attacks on opposition activists and independent
journalists
isakov was close ally to bakiyev during his ascent to power after
uprising in which the kyrgyz leader promised greater democracy and prosperity
for the impoverished ex soviet nation
most of bakiyev allies later returned to the opposition accusing the new
authorities of nepotism and authoritarian tendencies
ireland leader steps aside assembly speaker
belfast jan afp
northern ireland leader peter robinson stepped aside as first minister on monday
for six weeks to clear his name amid scandal linked to his wife affair with
teenager top official said
enterprise minister arlene foster has been asked to take on the functions of
first minister during his absence northern ireland assembly speaker william hay
told lawmakers
have this afternoon received written notice from the first minister peter
robinson that under the northern ireland act he has designated mrs arlene
foster to exercise the functions of the office of first minister
the designation takes immediate effect he said
robinson wife iris also top politician last week admitted having an affair
with year old and securing pounds euros dollars
from two wealthy developers to help him set up cafe in belfast
peter robinson leader of the democratic unionist party has denied any
knowledge of the deal which he would have had to report to parliamentary
authorities
after several prominent figures called for him to quit over the weekend
robinson bowed to pressure monday after the dup power sharing partners sinn
fein tabled an emergency motion calling for robinson to explain himself
he was to make statement to the assembly at pm gmt
israel arrests foreign activist in west bank raid lawyer
jerusalem jan afp
israeli security forces arrested foreign activist in raid in the west bank
town of ramallah overnight on monday according to her lawyer
immigration police accompanied by israeli soldiers carried out the late night
operation to seize eva novakova czech citizen from her home in downtown
ramallah lawyer omer shatz told afp
her visa was expired but that not reason for them to arrest her he said
adding that the israeli interior ministry has no authority to operate in the
palestinian territories
the ministry of the interior was acting outside of the sovereign territory of
israel they wouldn invade poland to arrest someone
he added that novakova had since been escorted to tel aviv airport where the
authorities appeared intent on deporting her
the year old had been working as media coordinator for the pro palestinian
international solidarity group
the israeli military would not immediately comment on the incident
in recent months israel has arrested scores of palestinian activists involved in
weekly west bank protests against its controversial separation barrier but
arrests of foreigners are extremely rare
it is also rare for israel military to carry out raids inside major towns in
the occupied west bank which are governed by the western backed palestinian
authority
last week amnesty international protested against the detention without trial of
three leading palestinian activists saying they may be prisoners of
conscience held for protesting over the barrier
two of the men have not been charged with any offence while abdullah abu rahma
has been charged with incitement stone throwing and possession of arms the
latter for collecting spent cartridges and tear gas grenades used by israeli
forces to disperse protesters
protest organisers say israel has arrested people from the west bank village
of bilin in the past six months and from the neighbouring village of nilin in
the past months most have since been released
israel says the barrier helps prevent attacks against its citizens but
palestinians say the fences walls and closed roads snaking across the west bank
are aimed at snatching land that should be part of their future state
urgent imf mission heads to debt stricken greece
washington jan afp
the international monetary fund said monday it is sending an imf mission to
athens this week for talks on helping debt stricken greece overcome its
financial crisis
gay marriage goes on trial in california
los angeles jan afp
opponents and defenders of gay marriage geared monday for an epic court showdown
in california which could see the controversy go all the way to the supreme
court
at issue is so called proposition approved by percent of california voters
in november referendum which annulled state supreme court decision
that had allowed gay marriage
the court decision affected thousands of couples who had rushed to get legally
married in the west coast state after the state supreme court decision
but just months later proposition amended the california constitution to state
that only marriage between man and woman is valid or recognized in the
state of california
opponents argue that the amendment discriminates against gays and therefore
violates the us constitution
federal court judge vaughn walker has now agreed to hear the suit filed by
supporters of gay marriage and said it was constitutional issue that belonged
in federal court
but the decision has angered those against gay marriage who argue that
californians have already spoken on the issue
this lawsuit is an attempt by judge walker to put the voters of california on
trial and it wrong walker has not dealt with this properly he doesn care
about the law brian brown director of the national organization for marriage
which opposes gay marriage told afp
think our founding fathers would be rolling over in their graves if they
heard that the constitution guarantees the right to redefine marriage this is
absurd he said
whatever ruling judge walker eventually makes is likely to be challenged and the
issue seems set to go all the way to washington and the nine justices who sit on
the nation highest court
those who support gay marriage believe the court case which at judge walker
request will be carried live on the video sharing site youtube will be an
opportunity to enlighten the public
discrimination hurts us and doesn help anyone the trial will offer chance
for the public to listen to the expert witnesses on both sides and hear the
cross examinations of those witnesses said jennifer pizer director of lambda
legal national marriage project
she added people have so many misconceptions and misunderstandings about gay
people and what sexual orientation is all about
pizer is also counting on the two star lawyers representing the plaintiffs
theodore olson and david boies who are teaming up here after being fierce
opponents in the supreme court fight for the presidency between george
bush and al gore
olson who defended bush is prominent conservative and pizer believes his
advocacy and passion for equal treatment of lesbian and gay couples here will
reach the ears and hearts of many people who have not understood this issue
before
but the stakes are huge for both supporters and opponents of gay marriage
no one in america thinks that this trial is going to end at this level brown
said eventually it will go to supreme court
supreme court ruling would seal the fate of gay unions across the united
states without possibility for appeal by one side or the other
the california court case follows several setbacks for gay marriage proponents
on thursday new jersey lawmakers rejected bill authorizing gay marriages as
did lawmakers in new york state few weeks ago
only five us states today permit gay unions iowa connecticut massachusetts
vermont and new hampshire
clinton starts asia tour amid concerns over japan ties
washington jan afp
us secretary of state hillary clinton headed to hawaii monday for talks aimed at
mending cracks in the year old us japan security alliance the first leg of
new asia tour
following her two night stop in hawaii clinton will travel to papua new guinea
before winding up her ten day tour in new zealand and australia where security
in the pacific and beyond will also be high on the agenda
in honolulu on tuesday her aides said clinton will urge her japanese
counterpart katsuya okada to help end row over us airbase and clarify
japan stand over an alliance that has underpinned security in asia for
years
in tokyo yomiuri newspaper and other japanese reports said sunday that clinton
and okada will make final arrangements for statement stressing the crucial
contribution of their alliance to global peace
the governments are preparing for the statement with which prime minister
yukio hatoyama and president barack obama will celebrate the th anniversary
and commit to further deepen the alliance japanese defense minister toshimi
kitazawa said according to jiji press
the security treaty signed on january has formed the bedrock of the
post war japan us alliance under which pacifist japan relies on massive us
military presence to guarantee its security
tokyo relations with its most important ally have hit turbulence over the
controversial futenma air base which hatoyama has suggested should be moved off
the southern island of okinawa or even outside japan altogether
the center left hatoyama who took power in september has pledged to review
past agreements on the us military presence including plans to shift futenma
within okinawa and to deal with washington on more equal basis
the stand has raised questions about the future of the alliance
joseph nye former senior pentagon official said in commentary in the new
york times last week that washington should proceed carefully on the base
dispute
this is an issue with long back story that could create serious rift with
one of our most crucial allies he warned
some in washington want to play hardball with the new japanese government but
that would be unwise for mr hatoyama is caught in vise
kurt campbell the us assistant secretary of state for asia and pacific affairs
said clinton and okada will also discuss mutual security concerns over the
nuclear ambitions of both north korea and iran
they will also talk about china rising power as well as the military junta in
myanmar
clinton will meet with the us military pacific command and visit the uss
arizona memorial which commemorates the americans who died in the japanese
surprise attack on december that triggered war with the united states
she will arrive in port moresby on thursday to discuss economic development and
efforts to combat climate change it will be the first visit to papua new guinea
by us secretary of state since madeleine albright visited in
on january clinton will travel to auckland new zealand
