car bomb was detonated near mosque and two other bombs blew up in retail
market as darkness fell in the city kilometres miles south of baghdad
according to security official
an interior ministry official in the capital gave the casualty toll as dead
and wounded however local government official in najaf told afp that three
people were killed and injured of whom were in serious condition at
pm gmt three bombs exploded at the same time close to large
market at jumla targeting the innocent passers by and traders local
government official said the victims are being transported to hospital
najaf is home to the mausoleum of imam ali the son in law and cousin of the
prophet mohammed and attracts shiites from around the world especially
neighbouring iran
an afp correspondent in the city said iraqi security forces deployed in large
numbers after the bombings with routes into the city sealed off
the explosions resulted in tens of victims medical official said
while attacks in iraq remain common especially in baghdad and the northern
cities of mosul and kirkuk violence in najaf has become rare
the last major attack in najaf dates back to february when suicide car
bomber struck an iraqi police checkpoint killing people and wounding dozens
more
violence in iraq dropped dramatically in to its lowest level since the us
led invasion of figures showed on january but monitoring group warned
that security gains were levelling off
according to an afp tally of statistics released by the defence interior and
health ministries total of civilians were killed by violence last year
less than half of toll of
the toll was markedly lower however than one compiled by iraq body count
ibc an independent britain based group which put the number of civilians
dead in at
despite the disparity ibc toll was also dramatically lower than its
figures it said in its annual report
ibc noted that while there had been significant improvements in security in
such violence still afflicts iraq population more than any other
and the second half of saw around the same number of civilian deaths as the
first which ibc warned may indicate that the situation is no longer
improving
prime minister nuri al maliki has promoted himself as having improved security
across iraq and aims to retain his post after general election due on march
un deaths in haiti leap to its worst ever disaster
united nations jan afp
the united nations said thursday at least of its staffers were confirmed to
have died in the devastating haiti quake the worst disaster in its history to
strike the global body
speaking by videolink from the haitian capital david wimhurst spokesman for
the mission known as minustah told reporters here that the dead included four
police officers military personnel and civilians
but total of un staffers still unaccounted he said
wimhurst said he was on the third floor of minustah main building when the
quake struck tuesday killing more than people according to haitian
authorities and was able to escape through window
un statement said the four dead police officers were one from argentina one
from burkina faso and two from niger while others were missing
updating figures earlier provided by un chief ban ki moon wimhurst said total
of soldiers including brazilians were confirmed dead injured and
were missing among un civilian personnel he reported deaths injured and
missing
the brazilian military said thursday the were in their base headquarters
which collapsed tuesday when the magnitude temblor struck port au prince
it added that brazilian soldiers who survived were badly injured and would be
repatriated to brazil for medical treatment
brazil is in charge of the military component of the strong un
stabilization mission in haiti minustah and the biggest contributor with
soldiers
minustah troops and police has been deployed since mid to
help stabilize the impoverished caribbean island nation of nine million people
ban did deliver one piece of good news announcing that an estonian police
officer was pulled out of the rubble alive early thursday and transferred to an
argentine hospital in port au prince sniffer dogs helped locate the officer who
was under four meters of debris
it small miracle ban said
nesirky identified the estonian as tarmo joveer bodyguard extracted from
minustah main building the christopher hotel which was flattened in
tuesday quake
but ban said he still was not in position to confirm the death of his special
envoy to haiti hedi annabi which was announced by haitian president rene preval
wednesday
some un peacekeepers are patrolling port au prince helping maintain order
and assisting in distributing humanitarian relief the un chief added
as un planners scrambled to coordinate massive relief effort for haiti quake
victims the un boss said he was gratified by the dimension of the
international response
people throughout the world want to help one of our biggest challenges will be
to help them to help haiti to the utmost he said adding un members states
have responded with an outpouring of support and assistance
supplies are beginning to arrive by airlift three french cargo planes arrived
yesterday as well as one flight from venezuela ban noted
rescue teams from france china the united states and the dominican republic
were already on the ground he said
the haiti tragedy recalled the august suicide bombing on un offices in
baghdad in which people including un special envoy sergio vieira de mello
were killed
in december two suicide blasts targeting un offices in algiers killed at
least people including un staffers three of them foreign nationals
latvia eyes euro adoption central banker
riga jan afp
latvia central bank chief on thursday hailed an expected government target of
for adopting the euro in the recession afflicted baltic state
am proud and glad that the government agreed that finally once and
for all will be declared as the euro entry year ilmars rimsevics told
reporters
latvia centre right government has said it plans formally to fix target next
month but it gave as the likely date in report to lawmakers this week
rimsevics warned against failing to stick to that
it important to note that missing the target date would push the
perspective of joining the euro into an unknown future he said
it not as simple as boarding the jurmala riga train where if one leaves we
just board the next one in or he said referring to the frequent
connection with jurmala popular seaside resort near the capital riga
latvia which is locked in its deepest recession since breaking from the
crumbling soviet union in sees the euro as safe haven
the nation of million people had enjoyed several years of breakneck economic
growth notably after joining the european union in
but it swung into recession in and remains mired in one of the severest
economic crises in the nation eu
latvian authorities estimate that the economy may have shrunk by percent in
compared with and could contract percent this year
at the end of latvia signed billion euro billion dollar
bailout with lenders including the international monetary fund and the eu
under its terms latvia has slashed spending and raised taxes to gradually plug
its public deficit the shortfall between revenues and outlays by in
an austerity drive also meant to help it adopt the euro
under the maastricht treaty that created european economic and monetary union
countries must meet certain conditions before they can switch to the euro
they mainly concern public finances debt inflation and exchange rate stability
latvia currency the lat is pegged to the euro
unfortunately our forecast shows that inflation will go up in and
and it possible that latvia external debt will rise and will be near
critical limit which wouldn allow latvia to join euro in future years said
rimsevics
that why adopting the euro could be postponed until or later he
warned
sixteen eu nations now use the euro two slovenia and slovakia are former
communist economies while latvia ex soviet neighbour estonia is widely
expected to switch in
rugbyu aussie fly half daruda to quit french side
paris jan afp
australian fly half scott daruda who left behind super career with western
force last year to play for agen is quitting the french club after failing to
hold down regular first team spot
romain sola and francois gelez have been favoured by coaches christian lanta and
christophe deylaud as agen have moved to the top of the french second division
daruda is former australian under and under international
facebook launches global relief page for disaster victims
washington jan afp
facebook launched global relief page thursday that helps members assist
victims of natural disasters such as the earthquake that hammered impoverished
haiti
the devastating earthquake in haiti has underscored the internet critical
role in connecting the world population in times of tragedy facebook
spokesman andrew noyes said in statement
in response to this and in anticipation of future disasters facebook has
launched the global relief on facebook page where our more than million
members can educate themselves and find out how to help
the facebook spokesman said that since tuesday magnitude earthquake in
haiti more than status updates minute have been posted to facebook
containing the word haiti
thousands of dollars have been raised through facebook causes and groups like
the american red cross oxfam america and partners in health have mobilized
supporters through their facebook pages noyes said
we hope the global relief on facebook page will thrive as resource for
individuals non profits governments and industry to raise awareness of the
good being done for those in need around the world
the global relief on facebook page is located at facebook com globalrelief
china defends web censorship after google threat
beijing jan afp
china declared its internet open thursday but defended censorship that has
prompted web giant google to threaten to pull out of the country adding
potential new irritant in china us relations
but google appeared to be winning the battle for hearts and minds with chinese
online users flooding the web and visiting the company beijing offices to
express support and urge the internet giant not to leave china
the chinese government administers the internet according to law and we have
explicit stipulations over what information and content can be spread over the
internet foreign ministry spokeswoman jiang yu told reporters
jiang comment marked china most direct response yet after google shock
announcement tuesday that it would stop bowing to chinese internet censors and
could pull out of the world largest online market of million users
google said the move was protest against censorship and what it called highly
sophisticated cyber attacks on its systems which were aimed at chinese human
rights activists and believed to have originated in china
china employs vast system of web censorship dubbed the great firewall of
china that blocks content such as political dissent pornography and other
information viewed as objectionable
but at google offices in beijing dozens of supporters stopped by to voice
their support leaving messages flowers and fruit
goodbye google you can build the wall but you can separate the hearts of
the people we want to see the other side of the wall said message from one
supporter
freedom said another message in english and chinese
the chinese spokeswoman jiang declared the country internet open but
declined to offer detailed response to us secretary of state hillary clinton
call for china to explain the alleged cyber attacks
believe if there are some appeals for that authorities will investigate
it jiang said at the regular news briefing
she refused to elaborate and also refused to comment when asked repeatedly
whether the purported attacks originated in china and were orchestrated by the
government
the issue was shaping up as the latest item on growing list of disputes
between china and the united states over trade climate change and human rights
state media said chinese parliamentary leader wu bangguo told group of
visiting us senators the two sides should respect each other core interests
and properly handle sensitive affairs without specifically mentioning google
the statement by wu nominally china second ranking political figure is
typically used by beijing to express displeasure about what they view as
unwanted interference in chinese affairs
on wednesday white house spokesman robert gibbs confirmed that the obama
administration had held talks with google while declining to offer details he
stressed the united states backed the right to free internet
eu competition commissioner neelie kroes on thursday expressed concern about
internet policy in china underlining the importance of an open network
however chinese official said tight internet controls were needed saying the
nation online environment faced severe challenges as it grew and became more
central to the nation economy
wang chen head of the central government information office said in
comments on the government website that the nation must strive to build
healthy civilised safe and orderly internet environment
such wording is usually employed to justify censorship
chinese internet users flooded the web with messages of support for google and
the ideal of free and open online environment
it not google that withdrawing from china it china that
withdrawing from the world one user said on twitter sentiment echoed in
other tweets the micro blogging site is currently blocked by beijing
an editorial in china english language global times newspaper said google
departure would be setback to china and serious loss to china net culture
meanwhile the financial times reported that the chief executives of microsoft
and hewlett packard had declined to back google threat to pull out of china
over censorship and cyber attacks
obama unveils billion dollar bank fee
washington jan afp
president barack obama lashed out thursday at obscene corporate bonuses and
proposed fee to raise billion dollars in years from top banks to recoup
every single dime of wall street bailout
we want our money back and we are going to get it obama said terming
massive government bailout of the banking industry as distasteful though
necessary adding it left the sector with heavy duty to taxpayers
my determination to achieve this goal is only heightened when see reports of
massive profits and obscene bonuses at some of the very firms who owe their
continued existence to the american people obama said
the plan if approved by congress would raise billion dollars from big
financial institutions over years including foreign banks operating in the
united states but is already facing opposition from the financial sector
officials said it could remain in place for up to years and collect
billion dollars the current estimate of the shortfall the government would face
from the bailout
obama blamed big banks and finance houses for causing the economic crisis with
high risk lending practices and blind rush to enrich themselves
firms took reckless risks in pursuit of short term profits and soaring bonuses
triggering financial crisis that nearly pulled the economy into second great
depression obama said
the administration unveiled the tax as wall street firms gear up to announce
huge bonuses for top executives move sure to inflame the public as americans
face percent unemployment and deep economic misery
the title of the initiative the financial crisis responsibility fee makes it
clear the administration is placing blame on the sector for the worst economic
meltdown since the great depression
yet valerie jarrett senior adviser to the president insisted that we re not
trying to pick fight with banks
it very solid solution to make sure taxpayers are made whole she told
msnbc television
the obama administration has repeatedly said it would try to recoup the full
cost of the billion dollar troubled asset relief program tarp which was
used to bail out banks and also tapped to aid crippled automakers
senior us official said the program which has seen some money already paid
back would now effectively leave the government around billion dollars out
of pocket
it is in many ways offensive for those at our major financial institutions to
suggest they can today afford excessive often outlandish bonuses for their top
executives but cannot repay taxpayers the official said
but the financial services roundtable which represents top financial
services firms said the fee was strictly political
two thirds of the tarp investment from banks has already been repaid with
large profit to the taxpayer said the roundtable president and chief
executive steve bartlett
this proposed tax will do nothing more than stifle economic recovery and
encumber more pressing concerns such as covering new regulatory costs
republicans also opposed the plan
it will fatten the wallets of democrats on capitol hill by billion dollars
over the next years said michael steele the chairman of the republican
national committee
the administration proposal which requires congressional approval will apply
only to firms with over billion dollars in assets applying fee of
percent of liabilities of the companies under formula aimed at getting the
most from those with the riskiest asset mix
it will cover around firms including that are us based and to which
are us subsidies of foreign companies it will last years or as long as
necessary to recoup losses under tarp
no small or community banks would be covered by the plan
even though auto firms general motors and chrysler also got money from the tarp
fund they will not have to pay the fee officials said
according to treasury report to congress published on monday the government
had committed billion dollars of tarp funds as of january
of that figure billion dollars have been disbursed banks have already
repaid billion dollars of those funds leaving billion dollars
outstanding
eu to quiz france over pressure on renault
brussels jan afp
the eu competition watchdog said thursday it would seek explanations from france
about its pressure to prevent carmaker renault from moving production of its
clio models to turkey
eu competition commissioner neelie kroes said she had instructed her office to
contact the french authorities to seek explanations after they sought to
pressure renault not to shut down factories in france
have consistently taken tough line against knee jerk protectionism
economic nationalism risks setting off spiral of retaliation that would make
the crisis ten times worse and destroy any chance of recovery said kroes
race to find survivors in ruined haiti
port au prince jan afp
rescuers raced against the clock thursday to find survivors among thousands of
corpses in quake hit haiti as planeloads of international aid began arriving in
the ruined nation
with officials warning the overall death toll may top there were fears
that desperate haitians already living in one of the world poorest nations
will soon fall prey to hunger and disease
the stench from rows of unclaimed rotting corpses began to hang over the capital
port au prince as the international aid operation led by the united nations and
the united states swung into place
planeload of chinese soldiers flew into the capital airport at first
light bringing with them three sniffer dogs swiftly followed by two teams of
french firefighters also backed by trained dogs
people throughout the world want to help un chief ban ki moon said as he
also revealed that un staff had been killed in tuesday quake in the
worst disaster ever for the global body
one of our biggest challenges will be to help them to help haiti to the
utmost he said adding un members states have responded with an outpouring of
support and assistance
rescue teams from france china the united states the dominican republic and
venezuela were already on the ground he said
food water and shelter are all in desperate need as scores of people began
erecting makeshift tents from sheets and awnings in city square
schools hospitals hotels ministries and the presidential palace lie in ruins
and people caked in blood and dust pleaded for help next to the bodies of the
dead dumped in the grounds of the damaged main hospital
global charity warned that two million children may be at risk following the
disaster as they struggle to cope alone many sleeping next to corpses
reflecting the grim mood in the impoverished capital city of two million
totally unprepared to cope with tragedy of this magnitude preacher warned
in creole about the end of the world
us president barack obama sought to lift up despairing people who through the
long nights since the quake have at times united in prayer and song
to the people of haiti we say clearly and with conviction you will not be
forsaken you will not be forgotten he said
washington is sending ships helicopters planes rescue teams floating
hospital and more than troops
the uss carl vinson aircraft carrier was to arrive later in the day with
destroyers and more coast guard ships en route and troops on stand by
meanwhile special us rescue team from virginia and their sniffer dogs were
combing the rubble in port au prince there were shouts of joy as one man was
miraculously pulled out alive and in good shape from the remains of the un
compound where some are still missing
it was rare moment of hope among deepening despair
this is an unbelievably traumatic experience for children in haiti said
gareth owen director of emergencies for the london based global charity save
the children
no generation of haitian children in hundred years has experienced this scale
of disaster before and we have to act fast to minimize both the physical and
psychological damage to them owen said
with every hour crucial international rescue teams were using heavy lifting
gear and sniffer dogs to search the ruins as well as distributing desperately
needed medicines food and water
the priority is to find survivors said elisabeth byrs spokeswoman for the
un office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs we are working
against the clock
but the us federal aviation authority said the airspace had been closed thursday
afternoon because it was saturated and haiti asked countries not to authorize
any more flights to port au prince for now
casualty figures were impossible to calculate although haitian prime minister
jean max bellerive said the final death toll could be well over
us secretary of state hillary clinton who canceled an asia trip and returned to
washington said the death toll would reach tens of thousands
the earthquake was the latest tragedy to hammer haiti already scarred by years
of unrest crime political tumult and natural disaster
former us president bill clinton united nations special envoy to haiti
warned of an unprecedented humanitarian disaster
early estimates indicate that nearly three million people almost third of
haiti population may need aid making this one of the great humanitarian
emergencies in the history of the americas he wrote in an op ed published in
the washington post
jordan confirms bomb near israeli embassy convoy
amman jan afp
roadside bomb exploded near an israeli embassy convoy headed to israel from
the jordanian capital on thursday causing no casualties an israeli envoy
posted in amman confirmed
the israeli embassy convoy left amman and was headed for the hussein bridge
when the blast occurred nobody was hurt the diplomat contacted by telephone
told afp referring to the crossing between jordan and the israeli occupied west
bank also known as allenby bridge
the bridge stands about kilometres miles west of amman
while cars including two israeli embassy cars were travelling near the town
of naur on the road between amman and the jordan valley bomb exploded without
causing casualties or damage the cars were not damaged by the blast
information minister nabil sharif told afp
an investigation is under way to determine the circumstances of the explosion
he did not say what kind of explosives had been used
source close to the investigation said the blast left crater
centimetres four inches deep and centimetres inches wide
an afp photographer said police blocked all roads leading to the site of the
blast
israeli diplomats often travel home on thursdays the start of the muslim
weekend in jordan and return on sundays to jordan which has had peace treaty
with the jewish state since
israeli media reported earlier that the bomb had detonated near the convoy
taking israeli ambassador to jordan dani nevo to the allenby bridge crossing
romanian parliament adopts austerity budget
bucharest jan afp
the romanian parliament on thursday adopted the austerity budget key
condition for new disbursements from an international rescue package to the
cash strapped country
total of lawmakers voted for the draft and against
the adoption of the budget is good news because it lays the foundation for
financial stability romania representative to the international monetary
fund imf mihai tanasescu told realitatea tv news channel
the budget is marked by reduction in the public deficit from percent of
the gross domestic product in to percent
it also forecasts return to growth be it meagre percent after
contraction of the economy estimated at percent in
inflation is expected to drop to percent and unemployment should come down
to percent at the end of the year from percent average in
most amendments submitted by the opposition were rejected after prime minister
emil boc pleaded for an end to overspending
the adoption of the budget in the form negotiated with international lenders
should unblock the billion euro bailout package put on hold in november
the imf the european union and the world bank had decided to postpone new
disbursements after the toppling of boc first government
they pledged however to send new mission to romania as soon as the budget was
adopted and promised new tranches worth around billion euros of their loan
would be quickly cleared
britain wrong to stop aid to terror suspects wives eu advisor
luxembourg jan afp
britain is wrong to restrict social security payments to the wives of terror
suspects the top european court advisor said in an opinion thursday
eu advocate general paolo mengozzi whose opinion is influential but not binding
on the european courts argued that while those on the un security council
sanctions list were not eligible for aid benefits paid to their spouses should
be seen as direct aid to those on the terror list
the opinion could have repercussions for britain anti terror laws
the case was referred to the european court by britain house of lords after
the wives of suspects whom britain says have links to al qaeda osama bin laden
and the taliban have appealed against restrictions on their benefits claiming
violation of their rights
they argue that while their husbands are subject to an asset freeze they
themselves are not and should continue to receive social security aid such as
child benefit and housing support
under british anti terrorism laws the spouses of terror suspects may also see
their social payments restricted
it is clear to me the advocate general said in written opinion that by
enduring payment of the rent charged for the residential occupation of real
property or the sums payable for the consumption of domestic utilities the
appellants do not provide their spouses the suspects with economic resources
he said he couldn see how anyone on the terror list could obtain any such
assets given that his funds and or economic resources have been frozen
the advocate general concluded that restrictions on social assistance payments
to the terror spouses should only be applied when the couple live together and
the money may be used to pay for goods or services which the person included on
that terror list will use or from which he will benefit
urgent haiti air space saturated aid flights halted us
washington jan afp
warning that its airspace is saturated haiti has asked the united states and
other countries not to authorize any more flights to port au prince for now the
us aviation authorities said thursday
football algeria back in business with mali defeat
luanda jan afp
algeria gave their hopes of qualifying for the africa cup of nations quarter
finals significant shot in the arm here thursday with win over mali
it moved the world cup qualifiers on to three points in group level with
malawi who play angola later the hosts and mali are on one apiece
algeria coach rabah saadane made two switches from the team routed by malawi
on monday with rafik saifi and samir zaoui making way for yassine bezzaz and
abdelkadar laifaoui
saadane found himself one man down before kickoff after kaled lemmouchia walked
out on thursday morning reportedly upset at not making the starting xi
mali nigerian coach stephen keshi wielded the axe for this second run out
dropping no fewer than six of the side that drew with angola last sunday
including african footballer of the year frederic kanoute
the sevilla striker was joined on the bench by goalkeeper mahamadou sidibe
souleymane diamoutene bakaye traore el hadj traore and mamadou bagayoko
among those gaining call up were back to full fitness juventus star mohamed
sissoko and his fellow midfielder seydou keita
the barcelona player earned his place after coming off the bench against angola
to score twice
lively enough opening from two sides desperate to get three points on the
board to keep their quarter final dreams intact saw algeria karim ziani curl
in from the left in the fifth minute with soumaila diakite tipping the ball over
the woodwork
that early promise proved false dawn as the game turned scrappy for lengthy
period
algeria displaying little more bite than they had done against malawi forced
diakite into action approaching the half hour when karim matmour fed ziani whose
effort from outside the box was parried to safety
the highlight or rather lowlight of the game for mali came when bakary soumare
was booked for an ill judged tackle on yassine bezzaz meaning the french based
back will miss the next match
mali paid dearly for that as ziani floated in the ensuing freekick from
metres out for defender rafik halliche to head past diakite two minutes before
the break
mali almost drew back level in the st minute when algeria keeper faouzi
chaouchi did well to stop diaye tightly angled shot from the left of the box
but aside from late burst of pressure algeria held on comfortably
angola take on malawi later in luanda with group final batch of matches next
tuesday pitting mali against malawi in cabinda and algeria against the hosts
back here at the november stadium
