defeat the extremists and al qaeda said organizer victor ghalib begg chair of
the council of islamic organizations of michigan
their actions really harm all of us begg told afp it gives bad name to
muslims and it important for religious leaders to speak out the things these
people do that ticket to hell not to paradise
google wants to buy sell electricity in us
new york jan afp
internet search giant google is seeking government authority to buy and sell
electricity in the united states further expansion of its operations aimed at
boosting renewable energy
in document filed last month with the federal energy regulatory commission and
obtained by afp google indicated that its google energy unit asked for market
based rate authority
under that authority google energy will engage in wholesale electric power and
energy transactions as marketer the filing said
the move marked an additional step by the california based internet giant to
reduce its carbon footprint
google announced in that it would invest in renewable energy it has
already launched free software powermeter that allows individuals and
businesses to monitor their energy consumption
the company in mid december pledged on its blog going green at google that it
was going to make its operations carbon neutral and reduce greenhouse gases
blamed for global warming
niki fenwick google spokeswoman told specialist website cnet that the
company wanted to become player on the power grid
right now we can buy affordable utility scale renewable energy in our
markets fenwick said
we want to buy the highest quality most affordable renewable energy wherever
we can and use the green credits she said
we don have any concrete plans we want the ability to buy and sell
electricity in case it becomes part of our portfolio
bulgarian police find body of man kidnapped year ago
sofia jan afp
bulgarian police found friday the body of man kidnapped year ago and held to
ransom after breaking up gang specialising in such crimes interior minister
tsvetan tsvetanov told journalists
the gang had demanded ransom of one million leva half million euros for
ulian lefterov described as car thief tsvetanov said adding that member
of the gang had led police to his body near sofia
he said the gang was suspected of carrying out or kidnappings over the
past two years
police investigated some kidnappings in with at least seven of them
involving ransom
tsvetanov also announced new crackdown on crime in country regularly
criticised by the european union for its ineffective justice system and failure
to act against gangs and corruption
he said measures would also be taken against judges who allowed the release of
convicted felons and prosecutors who failed to protest
us missile strike kills five in nw pakistan officials
miranshah pakistan jan afp
us missile strike killed five militants friday in pakistan northwest
officials said as us senator defended the attacks which fuel anti american
sentiment in the muslim nation
the drone strike took place in tappi village in north waziristan stronghold
of taliban and al qaeda linked militants in the lawless northwest tribal belt
which runs along the border with afghanistan
the us drone fired two missiles on house the house was completely
destroyed senior security official told afp on condition of anonymity
five militants were killed and three were injured in the attack vehicle
parked in the house was also destroyed he added
two intelligence officials in the area and local administrative official also
confirmed the attack and the toll
the militants were using this house as hideout all the militants killed were
local and were attached to hafiz gul bahadur said an official
hafiz gul bahadur is militant who fought with the taliban when us led troops
invaded afghanistan and is reputed to control up to fighters whom he sends
across the border but who do not attack in pakistan
it was the fifth missile strike by an unmanned us spy plane so far this year as
the administration of us president barack obama puts pakistan at the heart of
its fight against al qaeda and islamist extremists
suspected us drones have increasingly targeted north waziristan bastion of
al qaeda fighters the taliban and the haqqani network that attacks the
us and nato troops fighting in neighbouring afghanistan
washington is increasing pressure on pakistan to tackle militants who use its
soil to launch attacks in afghanistan and american officials have said that the
highly secretive drone programme has eliminated some top fighters
but the attacks on pakistani territory fuel anti american sentiment in the
nuclear armed muslim nation and the government publicly condemns the strikes
speaking during visit to islamabad on friday us republican senator john
mccain defended the attacks saying friends don always agree on every issue
and admitting that it was an issue of tension between the nations
we will continue to try to find common ground with the pakistani government as
we have to do everything we can to protect americans from the attacks of
terrorists who may be based here and operate out of pakistan he said
his comments came day after al qaeda reportedly said an attack on us
military base in eastern afghanistan which killed seven cia agents last month
was carried out to avenge drone strikes that have killed prominent militants
in the last strike on wednesday us missiles flattened fort used as taliban
training centre in north waziristan killing militants
north waziristan neighbours south waziristan where pakistan has been focusing
its most ambitious military offensive yet against homegrown taliban militants
it sent about troops into the region on october
portugal mps approve gay marriage
lisbon jan afp
portugal parliament friday approved plans to legalise gay marriage less than
three decades after revoking the country ban on homosexuality but rejected
proposals to allow same sex couples to adopt
the bill passed with limited public controversy in what has traditionally been
one of europe most socially conservative countries
after less than three hours debate friday parliamentary vote went mainly
along party lines with the left wing majority backing the measure proposed by
prime minister jose socrates and the right wing opposition voting against
it will now be reviewed in committee before coming back for final vote in
parliament and could gain final approval before visit by pope benedict xvi
due in portugal in may
socrates said the aim of the legislation was to remedy decades of injustice
towards gays recalling that as recently as homosexuality was crime in
portugal
am of generation as we all are which is not proud of the way it
treated homosexuals the prime minister said before lawmakers in parliament
this is step that will seem completely natural in the near future in the
same way that gender equality abortion rights and unmarried couples living
together are normal now
gay marriage has been approved by numerous countries and will be approved by
many more have no doubt about that
in contrast to spain where the run up to the legalisation of gay marriage in
brought hundreds of thousands of demonstrators onto the streets the bill
in portugal provoked only muted opposition even from the political right
ratifying the bill would mean portugal joined the list of european countries
allowing gay marriage which currently includes belgium sweden spain the
netherlands and norway
number of other european countries including britain france and germany
permit same sex civil partnerships
some of the fiercest debate on the bill came over proposals from the left bloc
and green parties to extend adoption rights to same sex couples
they said that by not allowing gay and lesbian couples to adopt the government
was effectively making them second class citizens
defending the government decision to exclude adoption rights from the gay
marriage bill socrates said the issues at stake were different
adoption is different matter from marriage because adoption does not only
involve free consenting adults adoption is not couple right it is the
child right he said
socrates also rejected demand backed by the right for referendum on gay
marriage following petition which collected more than signatures
gay rights campaigners outside parliament greeted the result of friday vote
with cries of joy and celebrated with champagne and wedding cake
while normally vocal on the role of marriage and the family in society the
catholic church refused to mobilise on the issue which lisbon cardinal
patriarch jose policarpo said was parliament responsibility
recent poll showed voters were fairly split on the issue of on gay marriage
with percent against and percent in favour
however the same survey by the eurosondagem institute showed clear majority
percent of portuguese opposed to adoptions by same sex couples
car bomb injures policeman in tense ireland
belfast jan afp
car bomb seriously injured northern ireland policeman friday in the latest
upsurge of violence in the province as looming political crisis threatened
the already strained government here
the police officer reportedly catholic was on his way to work when the
suspected device went off in randalstown northwest of belfast
serving police officer has been seriously injured following the explosion of
device under his car said spokeswoman for the police service of northern
ireland
the incident happened short distance from the british army massereene
barracks where two soldiers were shot dead on march last year the first such
killings in more than decade
it is the latest in string of attempted car bombings since then further
underscoring the threat posed by dissident groups to the fragile peace in the
british controlled province
first minister peter robinson leader of the democratic unionists dup
condemned the cowardly evil act and said those responsible will not succeed
in returning northern ireland to the dark days of the past
his deputy in the power sharing government martin mcguinness from catholic
republican sinn fein said his thoughts were with the policeman family
adding these actions serve no purpose and will not further any cause
the attack came two days after landmark announcement that northern ireland
largest loyalist paramilitary group the ulster defence association had
completely disarmed
the uda is the last loyalist paramilitary group to disarm since the good
friday agreement which largely ended three decades of violence between pro
british protestants and catholic opponents of british rule
police declined to name the officer hurt friday but lawmaker william mccrea
said he believed he was catholic and ireland rte broadcaster said he was
leading irish speaker and member of the gaelic athletic association
irish prime minister brian cowen condemned the blast as an act of senseless
violence by tiny minority who he vowed will not succeed in deflecting us
from the path of peace on this island
political tensions meanwhile mounted as robinson rebuffed innuendo about him
after television probe reported details of financial dealings linked to his
wife affair with teenage lover
the story erupted this week in an emotionally charged admission of the affair by
robinson and his wife iris who also tried to commit suicide last year while
suffering from depression
but it is threatening to develop into political crisis after bbc programme
reported iris robinson had secured pounds dollars
euros from wealthy developers for her then year old lover so that he could
open restaurant
iris robinson who is also politician but announced her resignation last month
on health grounds faces charges she failed to declare her financial interest
since she sat on the council which approved the business project
more seriously for her husband it is claimed that he became aware of the
situation but failed to alert appropriate watchdog authorities which would be
breach of parliamentary rules
completely reject bbc spotlight attempt to implicate me by insinuation and
innuendo robinson said adding will be resolutely defending attacks on my
character and contesting any allegations of wrongdoing
the new revelations come amid already heightened strains in the devolved
administration in belfast between robinson pro british dup and sinn fein who
want united ireland
robinson deputy mcguinness said he wanted urgent clarification
was shocked at the financial revelations made in last night spotlight
programme he said
have sought an urgent meeting with the first minister to discuss the
implications for the office of the first minister and deputy first minister
rallying kubica to race monte carlo rally in renault clio
paris jan afp
renault formula one driver robert kubica will compete in the monte carlo rally
later this month behind the wheel of renault clio the automobile club de
monaco acm confirmed on friday
we received his commitment today acm spokesman patrick mannoury told afp
ahead of the race from january
the polish driver has already contested two rallies with renault since he left
the bmw formula one team at the end of last season
however the opening round of this year intercontinental rally challenge
could prove to be his biggest challenge yet
kubica who finished th in the formula one standings last season placed th
in the rallye du var the last round of the french championship in november
which covers similar terrain to the monte but crashed his clio on the taormina
messina rally in sicily earlier in the year
kubica is not the only formula one driver competing in rallies this season with
finland former world champion kimi raikkonen competing with citroen
car bomb injures policeman in tense ireland
belfast jan afp
car bomb seriously injured northern ireland policeman friday in the latest
upsurge of violence in the province as looming political crisis threatened
the already strained government here
the police officer reportedly catholic was on his way to work when the
suspected device went off in randalstown northwest of belfast
serving police officer has been seriously injured following the explosion of
device under his car said spokeswoman for the police service of northern
ireland
the incident happened short distance from the british army massereene
barracks where two soldiers were shot dead on march last year the first such
killings in more than decade
it is the latest in string of attempted car bombings since then further
underscoring the threat posed by dissident groups to the fragile peace in the
british controlled province
first minister peter robinson leader of the democratic unionists dup
condemned the cowardly evil act and said those responsible will not succeed
in returning northern ireland to the dark days of the past
his deputy in the power sharing government martin mcguinness from catholic
republican sinn fein said his thoughts were with the policeman family
adding these actions serve no purpose and will not further any cause
the attack came two days after landmark announcement that northern ireland
largest loyalist paramilitary group the ulster defence association had
completely disarmed
the uda is the last loyalist paramilitary group to disarm since the good
friday agreement which largely ended three decades of violence between pro
british protestants and catholic opponents of british rule
police declined to name the officer hurt friday but lawmaker william mccrea
said he believed he was catholic and ireland rte broadcaster said he was
leading irish speaker and member of the gaelic athletic association
irish prime minister brian cowen condemned the blast as an act of senseless
violence by tiny minority who he vowed will not succeed in deflecting us
from the path of peace on this island
political tensions meanwhile mounted as robinson rebuffed innuendo about him
after television probe reported details of financial dealings linked to his
wife affair with teenage lover
the story erupted this week in an emotionally charged admission of the affair by
robinson and his wife iris who also tried to commit suicide last year while
suffering from depression
but it is threatening to develop into political crisis after bbc programme
reported iris robinson had secured pounds dollars
euros from wealthy developers for her then year old lover so that he could
open restaurant
iris robinson who is also politician but announced her resignation last month
on health grounds faces charges she failed to declare her financial interest
since she sat on the council which approved the business project
more seriously for her husband it is claimed that he became aware of the
situation but failed to alert appropriate watchdog authorities which would be
breach of parliamentary rules
completely reject bbc spotlight attempt to implicate me by insinuation and
innuendo robinson said adding will be resolutely defending attacks on my
character and contesting any allegations of wrongdoing
the new revelations come amid already heightened strains in the devolved
administration in belfast between robinson pro british dup and sinn fein who
want united ireland
robinson deputy mcguinness said he wanted urgent clarification
was shocked at the financial revelations made in last night spotlight
programme he said
have sought an urgent meeting with the first minister to discuss the
implications for the office of the first minister and deputy first minister
air canada ordered to offer nut free seats
ottawa jan afp
canada transportation regulator has ordered air canada to accommodate
passengers with severe nut allergies by seating them in new nut free zones on
aircraft
the agency has determined that buffer zone including an announcement within
that zone is the appropriate accommodation for persons with disabilities due to
their allergy to peanuts or nuts the canadian transportation agency said in
its ruling
the agency had received two complaints from passengers with nut allergies since
one of the complainants had hidden in the airplane washroom for minutes while
nutty snacks were served to other passengers on flight from frankfurt to
toronto
in another case traveler was removed and was rebooked on another flight two
and half hours later in which all nuts were removed other passengers on the
second flight were also asked not to bring nuts onboard
in its ruling the federal regulator noted that the nut allergies in these cases
were so extreme that nuts did not have to be ingested rather the mere presence
of nuts in the immediate environment was enough to cause concern
the three member panel deemed these allergies to be tantamount to an impairment
or disability which airlines must accommodate
air canada argued it should be up to the passengers to take precautions against
exposure to nuts it does not serve peanuts on flights but does serve
smokehouse almonds cashews and other snacks which may contain nuts
if passenger is allergic or sensitive to products that may be found in the
aircraft cabin it is the passenger responsibility to bring the proper
medication and to have the proper protection air canada said in its
submission
but allergy specialists said peanut proteins have been found in commercial
airline air filters demonstrating they may become aerosolized in flight and
remain suspended in aircraft cabins
the regulator said that creating nut free buffer zone is the best solution
and gave air canada days to come up with recommended size of the buffer
nato forces capture huge cache of drugs weapons
kabul jan afp
international forces in afghanistan said friday they seized huge cache of
opium heroin and weapons in southern kandahar province centre of illegal
drugs production fuelling taliban insurgency
combined air and ground operation early friday had stopped suspicious
vehicle later found to be carrying the drugs and weapons nato international
security assistance force isaf said
subsequent search of the truck revealed more than pounds
kilograms of processed opium more than pounds of wet opium paste
approximately pounds of heroin and multiple firearms with ammunition it
said
most of the drugs were destroyed on the spot and two men were detained it
added
kandahar and neighbouring helmand produce most of the world opium the raw
material of heroin in an illicit industry worth billions of dollars
drugs as well as protection money extorted from aid projects is funding an
insurgency that has become increasingly virulent in recent years experts say
the un office on drugs and crime unodc said last month that lower
cultivation output and falling prices of opium have seen its export value in
afghanistan drop percent since
in the potential gross export value of opium from afghanistan was
billion dollars or about quarter of the country gross domestic product
unodc found in its afghanistan opium survey
in the export value was billion dollars or third of gdp
the report said market forces are moving against the afghan drugs trade as
lower revenues and excess production have put damper on supply
but experts in kabul say stockpiles are growing as smugglers cut supply to
create shortage and push up prices
they also say militants are increasingly on the payroll of smugglers protecting
supply routes into neighbouring countries as trucks cross porous borders with
drugs and return with weapons
president hamid karzai has vowed to clamp down on the drugs trade and opium
cultivation
afghan officials particularly police are said to be involved in the lucrative
trade
western media have alleged the president younger brother ahmad wali karzai
who heads kandahar provincial council is involved in the drugs business
karzai has repeatedly denied the allegations
later friday and also in kandahar foreign and afghan forces seized truck
carrying tons of fertiliser containing ammonium nitrate often used by
militants to make the crude bombs that are exacting huge toll in the war isaf
said
the combined force destroyed the fertiliser returned the truck to the owner
and compensated him for the fertiliser isaf said in statement
military officials have said ammonium nitrate is little used in agriculture in
afghanistan rather than in improvised explosive devices or ieds which are
planted by roadsides and usually detonated by remote control
us intelligence officer said recently that up to percent of casualties
among foreign forces are caused by ieds
in more than foreign troops died in afghanistan compared to for
all of with the upcoming influx of us soldiers bringing the fight to the
taliban will mean more battles and higher death rate officials say
clinton working to restart mideast talks without preconditions
washington jan afp
us secretary of state hillary clinton on friday said she was working to restart
peace talks between palestinians and israelis without preconditions
we are working with the israelis the palestinian authority and the arab
states to take the steps needed to relaunch the negotiations as soon as possible
and without preconditions she said
un plans interorganizational meeting on peace security
united nations jan afp
un secretary general ban ki moon will host two day meeting bringing together
the heads of major international organizations and groups to discuss
international peace and security
the meeting is scheduled for january and in new york under the title
cooperating in times of crisis said ban spokesman martin nesirky
the focus of the meeting will be to assess recent experiences and explore new
avenues for cooperation across disciplines ranging from peacemaking and conflict
prevention to peacekeeping and crisis management he added
ban has invited the heads of organizations including the african union the
caribbean community caricom the arab league the economic community of west
african states ecowas nato the organization of the islamic conference the
organization of american states and the organization for security and
cooperation in europe osce
also invited is joao vale de almeida the director of external relations for the
european commission and the commission president representative to the and
the security council is also recognizing the critical importance of this
issue nesirky added
china which holds the council rotating presidency in january has already
planned thematic debate on the issues of cooperation between the un and other
organizations that will follow ban meeting on january
urgent clinton working to restart mideast talks without preconditions
washington jan afp
us secretary of state hillary clinton on friday said she was working to restart
peace talks between palestinians and israelis without preconditions
pianist lang lang to star in chopin animation
warsaw jan afp
celebrated chinese pianist lang lang is to star in projekt chopin project
chopin feature length animated film focusing on the music of frederic
chopin producers said friday
lang lang will play one of the four principle roles in the film agnieszka
adamkiewicz coordinator for the international co production told afp
he will also supervise music for the film and himself play the works of chopin
appearing in it she added
lang lang wowed world wide audience at the opening ceremonies of the
summer olympics in beijing and played at december award ceremonies in oslo
norway where us president barack obama received the nobel peace prize
projekt chopin made using technology will combine real and puppet
characters in story in which composer chopin travels the universe on flying
piano
produced by breakthru films the film has budget of million zloty
million euros million dollars the production company was awarded an
oscar for best short animated film in for peter and the wolf musical
tale by celebrated russian composer sergei prokofiev
projekt chopin is expected to be released this fall
according to his official website lang lang has begun working on the soundtrack
in warsaw where on thursday he also inaugurated the year of chopin
celebrations marking years since the composer birth more information
about scheduled events is available on www chopin pl
born to polish mother and french father frederic chopin left what was then
russian ruled poland in november just before major polish rebellion
against russian powers he first moved to vienna and then settled in paris where
he died in at the age of
alert
clinton calls for resumption of mideast talks without preconditions
argentine judge blocks government debt plan
buenos aires jan afp
an argentine judge on friday thwarted government efforts to use central bank
reserves to pay down the national debt deepening major political and
institutional crisis
the judge temporarily suspended government decree allowing the use of reserves
to pay debt set to mature in according to judicial source plan which
forced central bank chief martin redrado from office
judge maria jose sarmiento on friday provisionally suspended the application of
the decree judicial source told afp
ruling party lawmaker miguel angel pichetto said the government would
certainly appeal the decision
the government argues the move is urgent and necessary to retain international
creditors confidence decimated after the country default in
president cristina kirchner had strongly backed the use of dollar reserves to
cover billion dollars of debt that is due to mature soon in bid to
return argentina to international credit markets
the country owes around billion dollars in total
although argentina now has long running fiscal surplus it cannot borrow
freely in international capital markets due to lingering investor mistrust and
because it still has to settle with bondholders who boycotted previous debt
restructuring in
redrado refusal to transfer the cash to government coffers led to his sacking
on thursday
redrado stance drew support from opposition lawmakers who vowed not to give
his dismissial parliamentary backing
but president kirchner on thursday bypassed that congressional opposition
sacking redrado by decree
the measure signed by kirchner entire cabinet at an emergency meeting placed
central bank vice president miguel pesce in provisional control of the bank
but lawyer for redrado on friday said his embattled client had launched
legal challenge against that move
redrado became president of the central bank in under the government of
nestor kirchner the husband of the current president and his mandate was due
to expire in september this year
investors earlier voiced concern that kirchner decisions could spark
protracted political battle with opposition paralyzing the country political
system
they also looked to respected former central bank chief mario blejer who is
said to be outside the country as an anchor of stability in the crisis
blejer who led the central bank under the government of eduardo duhalde from
to during one of the country worst economic crises has been
tipped as redrado long term successor
cricket tharanga jayawardene fire sri lanka into final
dhaka jan afp
mahela jayawardene and upul tharanga cracked solid centuries as sri lanka
stormed into the triangular one day series final with crushing nine wicket win
over bangladesh on friday
makeshift opener jayawardene hit for his th one day hundred and tharanga
an unbeaten for his eighth century as sri lanka surpassed bangladesh
with more than seven overs to spare in the day night match
sri lanka top the table with three wins from as many games followed by india
and bangladesh each side will play four league matches before the
top two advance to the final on january
former captain jayawardene and left handed tharanga reduced the match to no
contest with record run stand for the opening wicket
sri lanka previous best for the opening wicket against bangladesh in one day
internationals was between sanath jayasuriya and kumar sangakkara in an asia
cup match in karachi in
mahela did fantastic job today the wicket was little slow to start off
with and it helped us said sri lanka captain sangakkara
bangladesh skipper shakib al hasan used as many as eight bowlers but none could
keep the pressure on jayawardene and tharanga who continued to dominate the
rival attack with attractive shots
jayawardene middle order batsman initially rested for this tournament before
being summoned following injuries to couple of players looked in good touch
from the beginning
he went for shots early in his innings and took runs in an over from paceman
rubel hossain including three fours he reached his century in style firmly
