clearly there was security information about this individual activities and
that was information that was shared with the us authorities that is the key
point brown official spokesman told reporters
he went on we are pretty certain that he was radicalised outside the uk he
left the uk in october
but it is also clear that whilst he was here he was attempting to make contact
with people and that is the intelligence that we were able to secure from the
intelligence services
abdulmutallab graduated in june from university college london with
degree in engineering with business finance
he was barred from re entering britain in may after applying for visa to
study at bogus college he was subsequently put on security watchlist
barring him from future entry into britain
brown spokesman defended the decision not to act on the intelligence
there are number of individuals who try and reach out to radicals and others
it does not necessarily mean they are going to be planning any specific action
he said
speaking about abdulmutallab he added whatever he decided to do he decided
to do whilst he was out of the country and then obviously tried to re enter the
country
tennis nadal trail to drought breaker made easier
doha jan afp
rafael nadal who played mock tennis with roger federer on suspended magic
carpet was on monday given slightly easier path to the final of the opening
tournament of what could be transformative season
though spain australian open champion looked relaxed and happy while
performing with his great rival in the middle of local souq sunday he has not
won tournament for nearly nine months since struggling with injuries
however nadal starts the atp world tour tuesday with comfortable looking
draw in the qatar open against simone bolelli the world number from italy
and with his projected semi final opponent suddenly removed
the fourth seeded mikhail youzhny fell at the first hurdle against sergiy
stakhovsky the former us open junior finalist an outcome which may be more
helpful to nadal than it may at first seem since the russian demolished him in
the opening week of the season in the chennai final
now though youzhny let slip two set points at and in monster
point tie break before losing to the dynamically attacking multi
lingual czech based ukrainian
nadal has made it clear he would like to end his title drought this week though
to do that he will probably have to overcome federer who succeeded him both as
french open and wimbledon champion in saturday showdown on ground level
court
before that federer could conceivably have semi final against familiar and
dangerous foe ivo karlovic whose victory over him at cincinnati in did
much to knock him from the world number one spot after four year tenure
the six foot ten inch croatian beat fabio fognini young italian pushing
towards the top by karlovic securing in both sets early breaks of
serve which had huge psychological effect upon the encounter
because karlovic finished the men tour top of the stats lists both for
the number of aces and the percentage of service games won it meant
that once fognini has dropped serve the sense of an uphill struggle was very
steep indeed
karlovic will though have to win once more to earn likely last eight with
nikolay davydenko the russian whose last atp world tour event saw him beat
federer en route to becoming the year end masters champion in london
us overhauls terror watch lists
washington jan afp
us terror watch lists have been radically revised after foiled attack on us
bound jet white house spokesman said monday as tough new airport screening
measures swung into effect
officials had conducted major review of all the lists that determine whether
person is allowed to board us bound flight in foreign country spokesman
bill burton said
probably thousands upon thousands upon thousands of names were scrubbed and
probably dozens were moved to different lists he told journalists
the news came as president barack obama who has denounced systemic
intelligence failures in the christmas day plot prepared to meet with us
intelligence chiefs and security officials on tuesday to review the findings of
two probes into the plot
obama has directly linked the al qaeda network responsible for the september
attacks on the united states to the botched bid to blow up northwest
jet with people on board on flight from amsterdam to detroit
the administration has also ordered tight new security measures for passengers
flying to the united states after year old nigerian umar farouk
abdulmutallab allegedly tried to bring down the jet
travelers flying from or via countries including iran nigeria and yemen will
have to undergo mandatory enhanced screening before boarding their us bound
flights under the new rules
according to us prosecutors abdulmutallab tried to bring down flight using
device containing the explosive petn also known as pentaerythritol
stitched into his underwear it was not spotted by the traditional metal
detectors it failed to go off properly but sparked an on board fire that was
swiftly put out when passengers intervened
as the country searched for answers to how the attack was only narrowly avoided
agents from the us federal bureau of investigation were monday in ghana
investigating abdulmutallab stay in the country
the investigation will allow the fbi agents to gather more information on the
suspect stay in ghana deputy information minister james agyenin boateng told
afp
he did not say when the fbi team arrived in ghana and how long the agents plan
to stay in the west african country
it is ghana first known official comment on the allegations by nigerian
authorities that abdulmutallab arrived in lagos on december on virgin
nigeria flight from ghana
obama also revealed that abdulmutallab had spent time in yemen where he was
allegedly in contact with the yemen based al qaeda in the arabian peninsula
aqap
the us house intelligence committee said monday that it would hold january
hearing on the botched attack and lawmakers expected to receive the preliminary
findings of the reviews ordered by obama
the united states has meanwhile closed its embassy in yemen fearing an attack
and secretary of state hillary clinton said monday it would only reopen when it
was believed safe
we review our security conditions constantly and we ll make decision on
reopening the embassy when the conditions permit the top us diplomat said
tennis qatar open tennis results nd update
doha jan afp
results from the first day of the qatar open here on monday denotes seeding
st rd
evgeny korolev rus bt martin vassallo arguello arg
olivier rochus bel bt abdulla hajji qat
marco chiudinelli sui bt paolo lorenzi ita
ivo karlovic crox bt fabio fognini ita
viktor troicki srbx bt daniel gimeno traver esp
sergiy stakhovsky ukr bt mikhail youzhny rusx
afptv agenda for tuesday
paris dec afp
we plan to file the following videos on tuesday please check the advisory for
any additions or amendments
spain takes reins of revamped eu
brussels
spain has assumed the rotating presidency of the european union the first under
new leadership structure for the bloc which includes its first full time
president and new foreign policy supremo to mark the occasion it is
unveiling new artwork that will hang in the european council hall for the next
six months
images
house of cards in colombian jungle
santiago de cali colombia
dedicated environmentalists or eccentric architects almost decade ago the
jimenez family moved from the city of cali to humble home in the jungle made
entirely out of paper
voiced report
hubert reeves warns on biodiversity
paris
canadian astrophysicist hubert reeves world famous defender of environmental
causes says the threat to biodiversity is threat to humanity itself in an
interview with afptv reeves calls the copenhagen summit on climate change
partial success but adds that he still very worried about what our world
will look like in three decades
images and soundbites
designer aims for air travel revolution with zero carbon aerolabe
le mans france
finding an alternative to heavily polluting air transport is dream for many
researchers now one magnificent man and his flying machine say they could have
the answer solar powered balloon which uses wings to help it fly it may
sound and look unusual but the french designer and his backers have high
hopes for the aerolabe voiced afptv report
voiced report
magic way out of poverty for township teens
khayelitsha south africa
from crime ridden african township to the bright lights of las vegas stage
nkombuzo nkonyana is forging an innovative way to make his problems vanish into
thin air as he carves out career as an aspiring magician the year old
sees magic as his best chance to get out of khayelitsha township one of the
poorest areas near cape town and the world cup next year might just give him
his big break refile of previously offered report
voiced report
gypsies seen as outcasts in new ultra conservative iraq
al zuwayr iraq
gypsies or rom have lived in the middle east for centuries and until the fall
of saddam hussein played an important if marginal role in the local culture
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
voiced report
us says door still open on iran nuclear issue
washington jan afp
the united states said on monday the door is still open for iran to comply
with world demands on its nuclear aims but warned it was talking with allies
about the next steps which could include sanctions
the door is of course still open for iran to do the right thing and live up to
its international obligations said bill burton white house spokesman
we ll be going through the appropriate process to try to get them to the table
and do exactly what they re supposed to do burton said adding that president
barack obama national security team and other top advisors were due to meet
this week to determine what the next steps are
separately secretary of state hillary clinton said the united states has
discussed with its allies pressure and sanctions on iran over its nuclear
program which the west suspects is cover for atomic weapons building
we have begun discussions with our partners and like minded nations about
pressure and sanctions said clinton
our goal is to pressure the iranian government particularly the revolutionary
guard elements without contributing to the suffering of ordinary iranians who
deserve better than what they are currently receiving she said
tehran has already ignored us set december deadline to accept the iaea
brokered deal aimed at allaying fears about its nuclear drive by shipping most
of its low enriched uranium leu stockpile abroad to be further enriched into
reactor fuel
despite the threat of tougher sanctions iran has rejected the offer drawn up by
the un agency and come out with its own proposal of simultaneous and staged
swap of leu with reactor fuel
world powers have been pushing for iran to accept the un brokered deal and are
also mulling fresh un sanctions after tehran dismissed the year end deadline
iran is already under three sets of un security council sanctions over its
defiance and refusal to suspend enrichment which lies at the heart of
international fears about its nuclear programme
china is involved in the talks that also include britain france germany
russia and the united states
tehran insists its nuclear program is designed for peaceful purposes and aims to
provide new energy sources to growing population
clinton also slammed what she called the ruthless repression of demonstrators
against the iranian regime
we have deep concerns about their behavior we have concerns about their
intentions and we are deeply disturbed by the mounting signs of ruthless
repression that they are exercising against those who assemble and express
viewpoints that are at variance with what the leadership of iran wants to hear
clinton said
iranian police are still holding of the people they arrested in tehran
on december when opposition supporters staged protests during the shiite
religious commemoration of ashura
iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad has accused the united states and israel
of staging the opposition protests during the ashura rituals
afptv updated advisory
paris jan afp
we will file the following videos
us tightens security for us bound flights
washington
ten days after an al qaeda bid to blow up detroit bound flight the united
states tightened security measures for us bound airline passengers including
mandatory enhanced screening of all travellers from nations some on
terrorism blacklist transport officials said the new measures were part of
drive to put in place long term security measures and that inbound passengers
would be subject to random screening or so called threat based screens
archival footage of us airports voiced news report
news
file footage already transmitted
raw vid
voiced report
vus
attention clients this video is available under specific licence agreement
only for licence to this service please contact your afp commercial agent no
access usa japan australia
dubai ambition reaches skywards with world largest tower
dubai
the world tallest building is in dubai on monday in the presence of sheikh
mohammed ruler of the gulf state at more than metres the burj dubai
towers above new billion dollar district called downtown burj dubai which
houses the biggest shopping centre in the middle east
news economy
images and soundbites transmitted by gmt
raw vid
web mmv
we have already filed the following
sneak peak inside burj dubai ahead of inauguration new offer
dubai
ahead of the firework studded inauguration monday of the world tallest tower
promoters of the burj dubai opened its th floor for look at the interior of
the needle shaped building which is to be used as hotel apartment complex
and office block
news
images and soundbites
raw vid
web mmv
abbas says peace talks conditional on end of settlements new offer
sharm el sheikh egypt
palestinian president mahmud abbas has said he is open to peace negotiations
with israel but that as agreed with egypt talks could only resume when jewish
settlement activity ends his statement made monday in egypt after talks with
president hosni mubarak contradict reports in israel maariv newspaper that
mubarak was to press abbas to accept us peace plan to restart the talks
immediately
news
images and soundbites transmitted by gmt
raw vid
web mmv
egypt court upholds niqab ban new offer
cairo
an egyptian court has upheld ruling by the education ministry to ban women
from wearing the full face veil in university examination halls the ministry
took the decision in october to ban the niqab veil covering the entire face
usually worn by devout muslims for security reasons reactions to the ban have
been mixed
news
images and soundbites
raw vid
web mmv
the african nations cup kicks off in angola on sunday as part of our series on
african football we have filed the following report
angolans prepare for african nations cup
luanda
angola is racing against the clock to get everything ready for the african
nations cup which kicks off on january after almost three decades of civil
war angolans view the tournament as symbol of peace but it is also huge
challenge to modernise the country delapidated infrastructure in time
sport
voiced report
nsv vid
broadcast ready vid
web mmv
rio police make fresh bid to pacify city favelas
rio de janeiro
authorities in rio de janeiro have long struggled to control the city violent
favelas which remain largely controlled by warring drug gangs now the state
government has adopted fresh strategy seeking to establish permanent
presence in the slums with new police force it the latest attempt to boost
security ahead of the olympics awarded to rio last year amid much fanfare
special report
voiced report
nsv vid
broadcast ready vid
web mmv
afghan midwives on frontline to save lives
bamiyan afghanistan
decades of war in afghanistan have taken devastating toll on its people who
have the world second highest rate of maternal mortality after sierra leone
dire shortage of clinics and health professionals has led to thousands of
preventable deaths every year though new foreign funded efforts are making
strides in saving women and their babies
special report health and medicine
voiced report
nsv vid
broadcast ready vid
web mmv
france joins europe flu vaccine sell off
paris
france has joined other european countries in selling off millions of its
emergency swine flu vaccines after buying far more than needed to fight the
outbreak the government admitted at the weekend france which spent
million euros billion dollars on vaccines for the virus now says
qatar had bought of its doses egypt is in negotiations to buy two
million more and that discussions are under way with mexico and ukraine
archival footage of vaccine production and interview with specialist
news health and medicine
images and soundbites
raw vid
web mmv
sun shines on golf growth in china
yalong china
hainan island in the south china sea is fast becoming one of asia finest
golfing destinations with several world class courses and developers rushing to
build dozens more once dependent on foreign players the industry is now being
built on the back of new wave of chinese golfers refile of report
originally transmitted on november
culture and lifestyle sport
voiced report
nsv vid
broadcast ready vid
web mmv
light therapy clears up those winter blues
paris
feeling the winter gloom but unable to take sunny holiday why not try light
therapy from clearing up skin problems to helping improve your sleep experts
claim that putting yourself under lamp which imitates sunlight is as good as
lying on beach without the sunburn the technique has been used by doctors
for years and is now attracting an ever growing audience refile of report
originally transmitted on jan
culture and lifestyle
voiced report
nsv vid
broadcast ready vid
web mmv
contact
michelle hoffman
warwick wise
us terror watch lists overhauled official
washington jan afp
us terror watch lists have been revised in the wake of thwarted christmas day
bomb attack on us bound jet white house spokesman said on monday
spokesman bill burton said there had been major review of all the lists which
determine whether person is allowed to board us bound flight in foreign
country
probably thousands upon thousands upon thousands of names were scrubbed and
probably dozens were moved to different lists he told journalists
football everyone wants to join city now mancini
manchester england jan afp
roberto mancini is confident he will have no trouble attracting more big names
to manchester city but the italian insists transfer deals will have to wait
until after wednesday league cup semi final first leg against manchester
united
mancini has been tipped to take patrick vieira from his former club inter milan
on loan until the end of the season and he refused to confirm or deny the
speculation on monday
all the players want to join manchester city he said that is normal with
big club who is going to have big future
people are not only talking about patrick vieira they are also saying other
inter players ivan cordoba and cristian chivu
they are all good players but the most important thing for me is the match
against manchester united
the other things we can talk about with the club after the derby we will see
then
mancini confirmed brazilian star robinho and defender micah richards should be
available to face united but shaun wright phillips and roque santa cruz are both
doubtful while nedum onuoha definitely misses out with calf strain
the absence of onuoha means year old dedryck boyata is likely to continue in
defence after impressing on his debut during the fa cup third round win at
middlesbrough on saturday
door still open for iran cooperation obama spokesman
washington jan afp
white house spokesman said monday that the door is still open for iran to
provide information about its nuclear program before the international
community takes the necessary next steps
the door is of course still open for iran to do the right thing and live up to
its international obligations said white house spokesman bill burton
we ll be going through the appropriate process to try to get them to the table
and do exactly what they re supposed to do burton said adding that president
barack obama national security team and other top advisors were due to meet
this week to determine what the next steps are
us discussing with allies pressure and sanctions on iran
washington jan afp
the united states has discussed with its allies pressure and sanctions on iran
over its nuclear aims us secretary of state hillary clinton said on monday
we have begun discussions with our partners and like minded nations about
pressure and sanctions said clinton
our goal is to pressure the iranian government she said
clinton slams ruthless repression of protestors in iran
washington jan afp
us secretary of state hillary clinton on monday slammed what she called the
ruthless repression of demonstrators against the iranian regime
we have deep concerns about their behavior we have concerns about their
intentions and we are deeply disturbed by the mounting signs of ruthless
repression that they are exercising against those who assemble and express
viewpoints that are at variance with what the leadership of iran wants to hear
clinton said
fbi in ghana to probe botched us plane attack minister
accra jan afp
agents of the us federal bureau of investigation are in ghana to probe the
sojourn in the country of nigerian man accused of attempting to blow up us
airliner ghanaian minister said monday
the investigation will allow the fbi agents to gather more information on the
suspect stay in ghana deputy information minister james agyenin boateng told
afp
he did not say when the fbi team arrived in ghana and how long the agents plan
to stay in the west african country
it is ghana first known official comment on the allegations by nigerian
authorities that the suspect umar farouk abdulmutallab arrived in lagos on
december on virgin nigeria flight from ghana
nigerian information minister dora akunyili had said on thursday that the
suspect after arriving from ghana spent less than minutes at the lagos
airport before boarding his next flight for amsterdam
agyenin boateng said that ghana has purchased full body scanner to be
installed at the kotoka international airport in accra the nation biggest
airport where security has been beefed up
the scanner when installed would ensure that travellers go through full body
scanning and find out if they are carrying any weapons or drugs he said
he also expressed ghana displeasure at not being informed when the suspect
father reported the young man radical views to the united states and other
foreign security agencies
fighting terrorism is collective responsibility of every country and it is
therefore important that we share security information of this nature if we are
to fight terrorism agyenin boateng said
if we have heard this information given to the us embassy in nigeria from our
nigerian counterparts the suspect would have been subjected to more thorough
screening he said
nigeria and ghana are members of the nation regional bloc the economic
community of west african states ecowas
us authorities have accused the nigerian suspect of trying to trigger an
explosion on northwest airlines flight from amsterdam to detroit on christmas
day with chemicals that had been stitched into his underwear he is currently
being held in michigan prison
washington said monday stricter measures will be compulsory on flights from
nations including nigeria while random enhanced checks will be carried out
on all planes landing at us airport
all travellers from the targeted countries would be subjected to extra body pat
downs and advanced screening of baggage us official said imaging and
explosive detection technology might also be used
urgent door still open for iran cooperation obama spokesman
washington jan afp
white house spokesman said monday that the door is still open for iran to
provide information about its nuclear program before the international
community takes the necessary next steps
urgent us discussing with allies pressure and sanctions on iran
washington jan afp
the united states has discussed with its allies pressure and sanctions on iran
over its nuclear aims us secretary of state hillary clinton said on monday
alert
us has talked with allies about pressure and sanctions on iran clinton
urgent clinton slams ruthless repression of protestors in iran
washington jan afp
us secretary of state hillary clinton on monday slammed what she called the
ruthless repression of demonstrators against the iranian regime
us to reopen yemen embassy when conditions permit clinton
washington jan afp
the united states will reopen its embassy in yemen when security conditions
there permit secretary of state hillary clinton said monday
we review our security conditions constantly and we ll make decision on
reopening the embassy when the conditions permit the top us diplomat said
after word of possible al qaeda strike prompted washington to close its
embassy in the yemeni capital on sunday
portuguese lawmakers expected to vote in same sex marriage
lisbon jan afp
portuguese lawmakers may adopt legislation allowing same sex marriages on
friday parliament committee announced
bill presented by the socialist government of prime minister jose socrates was
likely to be adopted in first reading as left wing parties have large
majority in parliament
lawmakers will also vote on three separate bills submitted by the green party
the left bloc and others which would grant gay and lesbian couples the right to
adopt children
the centre right social democrats have come out in favour of civilian
partnership that would give gays and lesbians the same rights as heterosexual
couplesm minus adoptions
the party is however opposed to the concept of same sex marriages
roman catholic groups and right wing lawmakers have called for referendum on
the issue but socrates has ruled this out
portugal held two referendums on legalising abortions before parliament finally
gave them the green light in
more than people have signed petition to be handed over to parliament
on tuesday calling for referendum to be held on same sex marriages
the roman catholic church which remains influential in portugal has repeatedly
