relations
after north korea first nuclear test in japan stopped all trade froze
air and sea transport links with the north and banned almost all visits by north
korean citizens
football torres sees salvation in cup
liverpool jan afp
fernando torres believes liverpool can rescue disappointing season by winning
the fa cup and ending anfield four year wait for trophy
having fallen away in the race for the premier league title as well as being
eliminated from the champions league the fa cup and the europa league represent
rafa benitez last chances of ending this campaign with some silverware
liverpool will entertain premier league strugglers burnley in the fourth round
of the cup if they overcome reading from england second tier in replay at
anfield on wednesday
although liverpool beat chelsea in the community shield in august the
merseyside club last major piece of silverware was in may when they
defeated west ham to win the fa cup
torres at atletico madrid at the time remembers watching that final on
television in spain despite hitting goals in appearances he has yet to
win anything at liverpool but the spain international has not given up hope of
ending this season with medal
remember watching the fa cup final when liverpool played against west
ham it was great match said torres
jose reina steven gerrard and jamie carragher have told me all about it
in this country it is the most important trophy after the title if we won it
then we would play in the community shield winning gives you the chance to get
more honours and that should always be our aim
of course we want to finish in the top four too if we could do that and win
the fa cup it would be the best season we ve had for the last three or four
years
know we finished second last year but to win something and finish in the top
four would be better than that
benitez has often used the early rounds of the fa cup to give fringe players
chance to stake claim but the spaniard insists the competition is more
important than ever to liverpool this season
the liverpool manager started with gerrard and torres in the side at the
madejski stadium on january yet the premier league club were still held to
draw gerrard goal earning replay after simon church had given the hosts
surprise lead
neither side has played since after their scheduled games at the weekend were
postponed because of the freezing conditions which have gripped england
liverpool home game with tottenham on sunday was called off hours before it
was due to take place but club officials are confident the reading tie will go
ahead
always in the fa cup it really important to do things right said benitez
who is without injured full back glen johnson and suspended midfielder javier
mascherano
everyone wants to win and it massive competition so we have to be ready
reading are just two points above the relegation zone and caretaker manager
brian mcdermott insists staying in the championship is the club principal
objective
we must use the draw with liverpool to move forward and the performance has
certainly galvanised us as group said mcdermott
although it was great occasion which saw our players perform to their
undoubted potential points in the league remain our priority
iceland international striker gunnar thorvaldsson who has joined reading on
loan from danish side esbjerg has received international clearance but is
ineligible to play at anfield
reading completed the loan signing of stoke right back andy griffin on tuesday
but he is also ineligible
czech activist arrested in west bank returns to prague
prague jan afp
czech activist returned to prague tuesday after israeli security forces had
arrested her in raid in the west bank town of ramallah the news agency ctk
said
immigration police and israeli soldiers arrested eva novakova at her home in
ramallah in an overnight operation sunday
the year old who had been working as media coordinator for the pro
palestinian international solidarity movement was then escorted to ben gurion
airport in tel aviv
at three in the morning armed soldiers and immigration police officers
entered my apartment they took me away so fast had no time to warn
anyone novakova said to the media when she arrived at prague airport
my visa expired in september yes was staying in israel illegally but israel
is illegally occupying the palestinian territories she said
her visa had expired but that not the reason they arrested her novakova
lawyer omar shatz told afp adding that the israeli interior ministry has no
authority to operate in the palestinian territories
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
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 promised state
car bomb threat prompts baghdad security lockdown
baghdad jan afp
iraqi security forces sealed off baghdad on tuesday after tip off that
insurgents planned multiple car bombings in the city highlighting concerns
about violence in the run up to general elections
major general qassim atta spokesman for the city military command told afp
that preventative security measures were taken as part of search operation
across the iraqi capital
terrorist groups intended to detonate car bombs in baghdad on tuesday morning
he later said in an official statement
the security measures were imposed to protect civilians which included
shutting off many roads and taking steps to find the suspected cars he added
coordinated vehicle bombings in baghdad in august october and december killed
nearly people in all and wounded more than others
tuesday lockdown caused gridlock with cars buses and lorries backed up as
bridges and routes into the city were closed forcing people to travel on foot
as military helicopters circled overhead
bridges across the tigris river that lead into the heart of baghdad were
temporarily closed following the early morning alert but re opened at around
am gmt
government spokesman ali al dabbagh told reporters that the car bombs were
intended to strike sensitive government sites but would not give specific
details
the rare decision to close off much of the city and the increased military
presence prompted claims of coup by callers to popular iraqi radio phone in
shows leading to an official denial
such rumours were risible and without foundation defence ministry spokesman
major general mohammed al askari told reporters in baghdad
insurgents weakened in the past year have in recent months changed tactics and
mounted successful high profile attacks on hard targets such as government
buildings rather than so called soft targets in civilian areas
tuesday heightened security comes ahead of the conflict wracked country
general election on march
there is widespread concern in the wake of the bloody attacks conducted in
baghdad in the second half of that political violence will rise in the
weeks leading up to the vote
the election the second since saddam hussein was toppled in us led invasion
in is seen as crucial to consolidating iraq democracy and securing
complete us military exit by the end of as planned
however politicians and parties linked to executed dictator saddam
outlawed baath party have been barred from taking part in the poll move seen
as blow towards efforts at national reconciliation
the us military meanwhile said joint security operation conducted with iraqi
forces in baghdad on january led to the arrest of an al qaeda in iraq aqi
terrorist suspected of building large scale vehicle bombs
according to recent intelligence reports aqi fighters operating in baghdad
continue planning attacks in an attempt to disrupt the political progress in
iraq us army statement said
polish wwii survivors want aid from german rail company
warsaw jan afp
polish concentration camp survivors association urged german rail operator
deutsche bahn tuesday to provide humanitarian aid to people deported by its
nazi era predecessor
the german railways want to enter the polish market and make money in poland
they already made plenty during world war ii stanislaw zalewski head of
poland main association of former camp inmates told afp
we want them to devote part of their profits to humanitarian aid for
concentration camp survivors and former forced labourers he said
medical care and drugs cost lot in poland and the majority of our members
aren well off zalewski added
according to germany based association train of commemoration deutsche bahn
wartime incarnation deutsche reichsbahn made sum currently worth at least
million euros million dollars from transporting the nazis victims
the figure may even have been more than one billion euros billion
dollars train of commemoration said in report published last november
germany state controlled deutsche bahn recently lodged formal request with
polish authorities for licence to operate passenger services in neighbouring
poland
nepal seeks extension of un mission
kathmandu jan afp
nepal has asked the united nations to extend its mission in the country
government official said tuesday following international criticism of delays to
the peace process
the un mission in nepal unmin was set up in to support the peace process
after year civil war between maoist rebels and the state and its mandate
is due to expire on january
formal request has been sent to the un security council for the extension of
unmin until may foreign ministry spokesman durga prasad bhattarai
told afp
unmin mandate has already been extended four times since it was established
and the un has expressed serious concern over the slow progress of the peace
process blaming continuing disagreements between political parties
nepal maoists waged decade long insurgency before winning landmark elections
in
but their government fell last year and the resulting political chaos has
severely hampered the peace process which includes drafting new constitution
and the integration of maoist former fighters into the regular army
britain bans islamist group after row over planned march
london jan afp
britain announced ban tuesday on radical islamic group which triggered
outrage by planning an anti war march through town where processions are held
for soldiers killed in afghanistan
islam uk will be banned from thursday under anti terror legislation making it
criminal offence punishable by up to years in jail to be member of the
group which also uses other names said home secretary alan johnson
have today laid an order which will proscribe al muhajiroun islam uk and
number of the other names the organisation goes by it is already proscribed
under two other names al ghurabaa and the saved sect he said
proscription is tough but necessary power to tackle terrorism and is not
course we take lightly we are clear that an organisation should not be able to
circumvent proscription by simply changing its name he added
prime minister gordon brown said last week that he was appalled by islam uk
plans to commemorate the muslim civilians killed in the conflict with march
through wootton bassett in southwest england
hundreds of people regularly gather in the town which is close to the raf
lyneham airbase where the bodies of british soldiers are returned from
afghanistan to pay their respects
islam uk said sunday it was abandoning plans for the march adding the group had
successfully highlighted the plight of muslims in afghanistan without it
taking place
its leader anjem choudary condemned the banning order
the word terrorism has been defined in the dictionary as the use of violence
against community or section of the community he told bbc radio denying
that any of his group members were involved in violence
have been campaigning to say that that is precisely what the british
government is doing in iraq and afghanistan and even domestically he added
oddly we are now being targeted as an extremist or terrorist organisation and
even banned for merely expressing that feel this is failure of the concept
of democracy and freedom
total of british service personnel died in afghanistan last year the
bloodiest for the british military since the falklands war total of
have been killed since operations began in
the mayor of wootton bassett steve bucknell welcomed the ban
very pleased the march was called off in the first instance and hope that
no one else tries to arrange any kind of march or protest whatever their
motivation he said
local mp for wootton bassett james gray added mr choudary can sound like
clever cheerful lawyer modest and sensible and in sense that even more
worrying than extremist hate preachers
british anti terror legislation allows groups to be banned which commit or
participate in acts of terrorism prepare for promote or encourage terrorism or
are otherwise concerned in terrorism
it was widened in to include groups which unlawfully glorify the
commission or preparation of acts of terrorism
choudary added challenge anyone to authentically prove that any of our
members have been involved in any violent activities or promoting violent
activities or asking anyone to carry out any sort of military operations
believe if an ideology is worth having you need to struggle for it and you
need to sacrifice for what you believe don believe the british government
are willing to do that but am willing to do that
believe that ultimately we will prevail
aol says to close german french offices
paris jan afp
us internet company aol announced on tuesday that it intends to close its french
and german offices as part of worldwide round of job cuts
aol began meetings at its european offices on monday when it announced plans to
shut down installations starting in spain and sweden
plan to close offices in france was presented to staff on monday an aol
spokesman told afp
no timetable was presented and aol will first consult with staff representatives
as required under french law he said
aol france which has around employees will fulfill its commitments toward
its clients employees and suppliers the spokesman said
in germany aol will close its offices in hamburg duesseldorf frankfurt and
munich cutting jobs another spokesman said
the internet pioneer had announced on monday that it would cut jobs after
voluntary departure programme failed to meet target of trimming one third of
its global workforce
aol which was spun off from media giant time warner last month after troubled
merger had announced in november it would take million dollar charge as
part of restructuring as it regained independence
in december aol said the reduction in the workforce representing about
jobs was to be voluntary with involuntary layoffs to be used only if the
restructuring target were not met
but only employees took the voluntary departure programme aol spokeswoman
alysia lew said on monday
in the united states the new york based company said it began notifying
limited number of individuals affected by the layoffs on monday with the
majority of the pink slips being delivered on wednesday
aol which employed people in will have employees after the
restructuring plan is completed
the company is currently the number four gateway to the web after google
microsoft and yahoo while its dial up internet access business has been
gradually supplanted by high speed broadband services
time warner combined with america online in at the height of the dotcom
boom with aol using its inflated stock as currency for the transaction
time warner was forced in to massively write down the value of aol and the
aol name was removed from the group corporate title in
aol formerly known as america online became separate traded company on
december
battles in central somalia kill displace hundreds
mogadishu jan afp
clashes in central somalia have killed at least and displaced hundreds
witnesses said tuesday as pro government militia fought to take control of the
region from islamist rebels
fighting erupted late monday in wabho and warholo villages in central somalia
between the government allied ahlu sunna wal jammaa and fighters from the al
qaeda inspired shebab
the fighting is still continuing we are pushing them back to their last
stronghold and if allah wishes we will kick them out of the region soon
said sheik abdulahi abdurahaman abu yusuf commander for the pro government
group
we killed many of them and we lost one fighter he added elders in the region
said the clashes left at least people dead
one elder moalim mohamoud said most of the dead are the combatants and the
civilians have fled those villages
shebab officials confirmed the fighting but declined to give details
meanwhile hundreds of civilians fled clashes between ahlu sunna and shebab
allies hezb al islam in the town of beledweyne medical sources and residents
said
at least people were wounded in the fighting they said
everybody is fleeing because both sides have started using heavy mortar shells
and the fighting is getting worse said abdiraham ise an elder in
beledweyne
since last week pro government forces have battled with the hardline shebab
islamists who control large areas of south and central somalia killing dozens
mainly fighters
the radical islamists who have vowed to oust the government have carried out
relentless attacks since last may killing hundreds of civilians and displacing
thousands of others
founded in to promote moderate sufi islam in somalia ahlu sunna renounced
its policy of non violence in early to engage in armed struggle against the
radical shebab and their hezb al islam allies
while the ahlu sunna leadership does not fully recognise president sherif sheikh
ahmed transitional government it too wants to rid somalia of the shebab and
its al qaeda inspired ideology
arcelormittal workers go on strike in algeria
algiers jan afp
some workers at the arcelormittal steel factory near annaba in eastern
algeria on tuesday launched an open ended strike led by the main union at the
plant union leader smain kouadria said
the complex is completely paralysed kouadria told afp the workers are
gathered outside the management offices
kouadria said the strike began because of the management refusal to renovate
the coking plant at the factory at el hadjar which the union saw as reneging on
decision made last october
the top management has informed us that the renovation of the coking plant is
not priority kouadria said
management was not immediately available for comment
last october the management of the factory decided to shut down the coking
plant which is more than years old for year estimating that this was how
long it would take to renovate the facility
then they abandoned the project according to kouadria
the el hadjar plant subsidiary of the world steel giant arcelormittal
employs about people and produced tonnes of steel in
according to its managing director vincent le gouic
formerly the property of the algerian state the steel plant was privatised more
than eight years ago in october percent of the shares in the firm were
bought by the indian company ispat member of the mittal group
eu commissioner unrepentant over dr congo criticism
brussels jan afp
the european union new nominee as top trade official refused on tuesday to
soften his stance toward the democratic republic of congo days after kinshasa
declared him persona non grata
in confirmation hearing at the european parliament karel de gucht currently
aid commissioner stood by remarks last month in which he questioned the
capacity of authorities in congo to effectively use eu aid money
am not going to change anything in my remarks this is the position of the
european commission spoke in the name of the commission he told the
lawmakers in brussels
if the congolese authorities want to speak to me they can come to brussels
he said
in strasbourg on december de gucht said tens of millions of euros were being
sent to dr congo but asked what is in the end the effectiveness of all this if
you don have proper counterpart in the political arena
the eu is major aid donor to dr congo sending some million euros
million dollars since including around million euros annually in
humanitarian assistance in and last year
last thursday dr congo government spokesman lambert mende said we note that
here is character who is incapable of having normal dignified relations with
our country any visit to dr congo would not be desirable
without wanting to damage our good relations with the eu we want nothing to do
with this character mende added in comments that could have hurt de gucht
chances of being confirmed as eu trade commissioner
de gucht also noted tuesday that the eu foreign affairs chief catherine
ashton had been due to summon the congolese ambassador in brussels to explain
that the former belgian foreign minister stance was that of the commission
de gucht had planned to travel to goma and could have used his visit to sign
documents activating number of major aid projects
jordan top islamist pleads not guilty in corruption trial
amman jan afp
jordan muslim brotherhood leader hammam said pleaded not guilty to corruption
related charges at court in amman on tuesday judicial official said
said and six other members of the movement pleaded not guilty tuesday to
charges of abuse of power negligence and violating the law in the work of the
islamic centre society charity which is the financial arm of the brotherhood
the official said
seventeen other members pleaded not guilty to the same charges last month
the trial was adjourned until january
in the government suspended the administrative board of the charity
founded in over suspected corruption and appointed committee to run the
society which runs several orphanages schools and social centres in jordan
it politically motivated case it has no legal foundation the group
lawyer hekmat rawashdeh told afp
the government is simply trying to control the charity and it has no evidence
we will provide proof to the court that the accusations are false
jordan muslim brotherhood established in plays key role in the
country political life through its islamic action front iaf which is the
main opposition party in the kingdom
iraq invasion was illegitimate dutch probe
the hague jan afp
the us led invasion of iraq lacked legitimacy under international law an
independent commission probing dutch political support for the still
controversial action said tuesday
there was insufficient legitimacy for the invasion for which the netherlands
gave political but no military backing commission chairman willibrord davids
told journalists in the hague
the commission report said the wording of un resolution cannot
reasonably be interpreted as the dutch government did as authorising
individual member states to use military force to compel iraq to comply with the
security council resolutions
the resolution passed in had offered iraq final opportunity to comply
with its disarmament obligations
the dutch commission which started its work in march last year was set up by
the government following pressure from opposition politicians and the public for
probe of claims that crucial data had been withheld from dutch decision makers
who opted to support the us led action
the netherlands had sent about troops to iraq in july to take part in
post invasion un mandated iraqi stabilisation force they left iraq in
the probe found that dutch policy on the issue had been defined by the foreign
ministry under then minister jaap de hoop scheffer who later became nato
secretary general
the prime minister jan peter balkenende still premier today took little or
no lead in debates on the iraq question he left the matter of iraq entirely to
the minister of foreign affairs the report said
the commission also found that dutch intelligence services did not have any
significant amount of independently sourced information that iraq possessed
weapons of mass destructions the main justification used by the united states
and britain for the war none were ever found
balkenende has repeatedly stated that dutch backing for the invasion was based
on then iraqi leader saddam hussein refusal to respect un security council
resolutions
the commission report said the dutch government did not disclose to parliament
the full content of us request for support
but there was no evidence it added to support rumours that the netherlands
had made clandestine military contribution to the invasion
last month former un weapons inspector said former us president george
bush and british prime minister tony blair shared conviction that hussein was
threat blinding them to the lack of evidence justifying war and causing them
to mislead the public
an official inquiry has started in britain with blair set to testify in the
coming weeks into the intelligence used to make case for war
one killed in sri lanka poll attack police
colombo jan afp
gunmen in sri lanka on tuesday opened fire on bus carrying supporters of the
main opposition presidential candidate killing one political activist police
said
several other people were wounded when unidentified attackers sprayed bullets
into the vehicle of campaigners backing sarath fonseka in elections due on
january
one person was killed instantly another opposition supporter was hospitalised
and several others had minor injuries local police officer who declined to
named told afp by telephone
sri lankan elections have been marred in the past by violence but tuesday
shooting near the town of hungama in the south of the island was the first in
the run up to the presidential vote
fonseka former general quit the army and entered politics last month over
differences with president mahinda rajapakse who accused him of trying to seize
power after crushing separatist tamil tiger rebels last year
china raises bank reserve ratio amid overheating fears
beijing jan afp
china central bank announced tuesday it would increase the amount of money
banks must keep in reserve as the government seeks to guard against possible
economic overheating
the people bank of china said in notice on its website that the deposit
reserve ratio would be hiked by basis points
the ratio is the minimum amount of money that banks must keep in reserves and
not use for lending or other purposes
the increase will take effect on monday the central bank said
the announcement is the latest recent sign that the government is moving to rein
in an explosion in new lending that has raised fears of inflation economic
overheating and possible rash of bad loans
last week it raised the interest rate on its three month treasury bills and
earlier on tuesday increased the rate on its one year bills
ex british pm blair wanted peaceful solution in iraq aide
london jan afp
tony blair ex chief spin doctor alastair campbell insisted tuesday the former
british premier was determined to deal with saddam hussein regime peacefully
until just before the iraq war
at public inquiry on the conflict campbell one of the ex prime minister
closest allies said blair wanted to pursue diplomatic route right up to
crucial vote on the iraq war in the house of commons on march
he not doing this because george bush wants him to do it this was his
genuine belief that iraq had to be confronted over its continued defiance of the
un campbell said
that his position and that policy that he pursued the whole way through
right to the house of commons vote right to that point the prime minister
was hopeful this thing could be resolved peacefully
he added think the prime minister was all the way through trying to get it
resolved without single shot being fired
us led forces strongly supported by britain began their invasion of iraq two
days after the house of commons vote despite the lack of explicit backing from
the un security council
campbell is the first big name witness to appear before the chilcot inquiry to
face questions about the intelligence britain used to make the case for war
after arriving amid scrum of photographers campbell also told how current
prime minister gordon brown then finance minister would absolutely have been
one of the key ministers blair discussed decisions on iraq with
blair is due to appear in late january or early february while brown will not
be called until after this year general election which is expected to be held
in may
campbell downing street former director of communications and strategy
resigned in august the month after ministry of defence weapons expert dr
david kelly was found dead near his home with slashed wrists
earlier that year he fiercely denied bbc report that he sexed up dossier
claiming iraq could launch chemical or biological attack within minutes to
help justify the war
kelly believed he may have been the source of the bbc story and officials
confirmed his name as such to some reporters
campbell insisted he had decided to resign to spend more time with his family
well before kelly death
an official inquiry one of number of probes to which he has already given
evidence over the iraq war subsequently exonerated him over the affair
campbell has kept relatively low profile since leaving downing street
publishing his memoirs and novel he is also advising brown ruling labour
party informally ahead of the election
blair faced major backlash in britain over the decision to stand shoulder to
shoulder with then us president george bush over the war he resigned in
despite having led his labour party to three election wins
the iraq inquiry led by retired top civil servant john chilcot has faced
claims from some critics that it is not questioning witnesses rigorously enough
but chilcot hit back last month insisting it was not here to provide public
sport or entertainment but to get to the facts
the daily mail newspaper said in an editorial tuesday that campbell who worked
for blair for nine years must face the toughest possible grilling over how
britain became involved in the iraq war
