dinner around pm it added
the white house was left red faced after dashingly dressed but uninvited
couple tareq and michaele salahi cleared through security and mingled at
the dinner where they shook hands with obama
the wife michaele was also pictured cozying up to vice president joe biden for
photograph
obama later called the couple entry screwup telling cbs television
minutes last month that he was unhappy with everybody who was involved in the
process
lawmakers have ordered the couple to appear before congress on january
the secret service released its statement after ronald kessler the author of
book on the secret service and its heavy workload reported that the agency
discovered the third gate crasher when it tried to match surveillance footage
with the guest list
the agency spotted an african american man wearing tuxedo who had not been
invited he appeared to be with members of the indian delegation kessler wrote
on newsmax com news website
the glitzy event was the first state dinner thrown by obama and invitations were
coveted prize in washington social circles
obama invited singh for the prestigious occasion in bid to show his commitment
to warming ties with the world largest democracy which has been uneasy about
the us administration early emphasis on china and pakistan
vietnam condemns china tourism plan for archipelago
hanoi jan afp
vietnam has condemned what it says is chinese plan to develop tourism on the
disputed paracel archipelago
the paracels would be included in china plan to develop nearby hainan island
into an international tourist site vietnamese foreign ministry spokeswoman
nguyen phuong nga said in statement late monday
china announced its intention on december the ministry said
nga demanded china immediately end the plan which causes tension and further
complicates the east sea situation
vietnam and china have long standing dispute over sovereignty of the paracels
and more southerly archipelago the spratlys both are in the south china sea
which vietnam calls the east sea
in december vietnam and russia signed major arms deal which reportedly
involves the purchase of six submarines analysts said the deal aims to bolster
hanoi claims against china over the potentially resource rich islands
vietnam says its policy is to ensure peaceful outcome to the maritime
disputes
football sydney coach lavicka confirms for season
sydney jan afp
czech coach vitezslav lavicka signed on for another year with australia table
topping sydney fc on tuesday confirming him for the rest of the league
season
the year old lavicka took up the second year of his two year contract along
with assistant michal zach the club said
we have built very good foundation here at sydney fc and together as club
we will work very hard and keep improving lavicka said
sydney fc is great club and sydney is wonderful place michal and my
families love the weather here we spent our first christmas and new year eve
here and it was very special for us
lavicka was appointed last february becoming sydney fifth coach in five
turbulent seasons following germany pierre littbarski england terry butcher
and australians branko culina and john kosmina
he was named czech coach of the year in after winning the czech league with
fc slovan liberec and taking the side to the qualifying stages of the champions
league
sydney failed to reach last seasons play offs but will now set their sights on
reaching the upcoming grand final in march
dollar edges down in asia
tokyo jan afp
the dollar remained under pressure in asian trade on tuesday as renewed optimism
about the global economic outlook spurred demand for growth sensitive
currencies
the dollar fell to yen in tokyo morning trade down from in new york
late monday the euro rose to dollars from but fell to yen
from yen
the tokyo market took its cue from new york where the greenback was sold
overnight as traders took profits on its recent climb said jitsuo tachibana
senior manager in the foreign exchange division of sumitomo trust bank
positive us and chinese manufacturing data released on monday bolstered hopes
the worst of the economic global slump is over encouraging investors to seek
out riskier but higher yielding currencies than the us unit
the us institute for supply management said its purchasing managers index rose
to percent in december from percent in november fifth consecutive
expansion and well above forecasts for percent
manufacturing in china continued to expand in december with new factory orders
up for the ninth month in row according to survey by hsbc china
after the pace of global expansion in manufacturing activity cooled in november
it has accelerated again in the final month of raising hopes that growth
in will be much better than last year nab capital analysts wrote in
note
this has buoyed stock markets pushed commodity prices higher and increased the
likelihood that global economic growth will continue to exceed that in the us by
comfortable margin weighing on the greenback
the market was turning its attention to key monthly jobs data due out in the
united states on friday that are seen as crucial indicator of the health of
the world largest economy
trading is expected to be rangebound for the rest of the day as market players
are now trying to factor in forecasts for us payrolls figures to be released
later this week sumitomo trust bank tachibana said
many investors are hoping the us economy will finally stop shedding jobs in
december after months of hefty losses
philippine massacre suspect pleads not guilty
manila jan afp
the prime suspect in the worst political massacre in the philippines pleaded not
guilty when he appeared in special police court on tuesday on multiple counts
of murder
the case against andal ampatuan jnr accused over the killing of people in
the violence wracked southern philippines last month has thrown the spotlight
on the nation corruption plagued political and justice systems
more than heavily armed police escorts took ampatuan to the special court
inside the national police headquarters for his arraignment and bail hearing
the first steps in judicial proceedings that many fear could drag on for years
not guilty amptuan jnr lawyer sigfrid fortun told the court when asked to
enter plea as his client stood beside him
the judge adjourned the hearing until next week after the prosecution asked to
present over dozen witnesses to block ampatuan application for bail
ampatuan jnr allegedly led of his men in stopping convoy carrying
supporters of political rival and journalists on november the dead included
pregnant women and about journalists
the victims were systematically murdered and buried in shallow pits or dumped in
grasslands just near the national highway in maguindanao province where
amapatuan jnr father and namesake was governor
ampatuan snr as well as several other clan members were later arrested after
martial law was imposed in manguindanao and charged separately with rebellion
ramon casiple an analyst with the institute for political and economic reform
said the public must monitor the trial every step of the way
what we are facing here is very strong clan with very strong political
connections and the capability to intimidate or even kill witnesses he told
afp
this puts the justice system to test because past cases with heavy political
overtones have never been satisfactorily concluded
casiple cited the trial of former president joseph estrada who was deposed in
military backed popular revolt in for massive corruption
after marathon six year trial he was convicted and sentenced to life
imprisonment only to be pardoned and set free by his successor gloria arroyo
at the end of the day it still politics talking and these warlords will not
go down quietly casiple said
some in ampatuan jnr battery of high profile lawyers also worked in the
estrada trial and they are expected to raise technicalities to delay this case
he said
one judge has already backed out from the explosive case saying he feared for
his life there have also been calls from prosecutors for the justice department
to ensure the safety of witnesses
in her report to congress defending martial law arroyo said those massacred
bore marks of despicable torture contempt and outrageous torment
she also said that clan followers had threatened to carry out attacks if their
patrons were arrested
the brussels based international crisis group said last month however that
arroyo was partly to blame for the massacre because she had allowed local
despot to indulge his greed and ambition
ampatuan snr had controlled maguindanao province for most of the past decade and
was grooming his son to take his place as governor in national elections in may
ampatuan snr influence and power grew because arroyo allowed him to maintain
strong heavily armed militia as part of government strategy to contain
muslim separatist insurgents in the south
in exchange for the support ampatuan also helped deliver votes from the
province to arroyo and her candidates in the election allegedly through
cheating
the shocking crime forced her to cut political ties with the clan but critics
say the ampatuans may still hold enough political power to avoid the penalties
many believe they deserve
have serious doubts about the whole exercise said harry roque chairman of
the advocacy group centerlaw philippines who is also private prosecutor
representing the slain journalists
us rally boosts asian markets
hong kong jan afp
strong rally on wall street spurred by positive economic data in the united
states and china powered an early rise for asian markets on tuesday
commodities stocks were the main gainers as crude oil pushed well past the
dollar mark on the back of upbeat sentiment over the global recovery as well as
the onset of winter in the northern hemisphere
tokyo shares were up percent by the break while hong kong opened
percent higher and singapore was percent stronger
overall sentiment is upbeat tsuyoshi kawata senior strategist at nikko
cordial securities in japan told dow jones newswires
shanghai edged up percent and sydney added percent pushed by
resources firms thanks to oil rally
wall street jumped percent on the first day of trade for the new year as
dealers welcomed december manufacturing data showing the strongest pace of
activity by us industry since april
the institute for supply management said its manufacturing index also known as
the purchasing managers index pmi climbed to percent in december from
percent in november for fifth consecutive month of expansion
that followed news on monday that two pmi surveys in china had shown strong
growth
overnight new york main oil futures contract light sweet crude for delivery
in february closed up dollars at dollars per barrel after hitting
dollars its highest since october
brent north sea crude for february rose dollars to dollars in london
reports that russia had cut fuel supplies to belarus also pushed up prices
despite denial from minsk dealers said
however the dollar fell back slightly as the positive economic outlook led
investors to seek out riskier plays
in early asian trade the greenback fell to yen from in new york
late monday
in hong kong gold opened higher at us dollars an ounce up
from monday close of dollars
small cars take centre stage at delhi auto show
new delhi jan afp
host of new small cars were tuesday set to jostle for attention at the start
of the indian auto show showpiece event for compact vehicles in one of the
world fastest growing markets
autoexpo which runs in new delhi until january will feature global
releases of cars designed for india growing middle classes whose appetite for
vehicles is driving sales growth of more than percent year
recent months have seen foreign giants ford general motors hyundai and renault
join stampede to india where each has promised small cheap model designed
for what ford boss alan mulally termed the sweet spot of the market
many of these will be on display during the week including concept small cars
from japan honda and toyota general motors new beat vehicle as well as the
india made polo by germany volkswagen
organisers are keen to stress the range of cars and technology on display the
percent increase in exhibition space compared with the last edition in
and the more than exhibitors from countries
that what makes us feel now that delhi is as big and as important as any auto
show in the world pawan goenka president of the society of indian automobile
manufacturers siam told reporters monday
ahead of the event general motors took the wraps off its beat model which it
intends to sell in more than countries worldwide including europe parts of
asia and north america
karl slym head of gm india said the beat priced at rupees
dollars in its basic form would help increase indian sales by percent this
year to units but he admitted that the competition was getting tough
there is competitive market in india he told reporters there are more and
more players coming in with different capabilities
all new entrants are looking to unseat indo japanese alliance maruti suzuki
which accounts for percent of all car sales in india and has been top
selling brand for two decades
this year show is the th but it first caught the world attention in
when indian manufacturer tata motors unveiled its nano the world cheapest car
that has since hit the roads
the rupee dollar nano kickstarted the race to produce cheap
small vehicles which account for percent of all car sales in india
french automaker renault and japanese partner nissan aim to challenge this price
level with an ultra low cost car in
renault has projected india car sales will more than triple within decade to
six million sales annually from million
incomes are rising steadily meaning indians are following the familiar pattern
of upgrading their personal transport from push bikes to motorbikes then to
cars
ten global launches of vehicles from heavy trucks to two wheelers are planned at
the delhi event which will see an expected million visitors pass through
its doors
the afp tuesday economics news advisory
paris jan afp
we shall shortly move the following economics business and financial news
stories
india auto
new delhi
host of new small cars are set to jostle for attention at the indian auto
show showpiece event for compact vehicles in one of the world fastest
growing markets
words by adam plowright file picture
india state politics economy it hyderabad focus
hyderabad india
the city of hyderabad once symbol of the new emerging india and home to it
giants such as google and microsoft is mired in protests threatening its
future as an investment friendly hub
words by syed amin jafri file picture
billion dollar avatar strikes box office paydirt
los angeles jan afp
ground breaking science fiction epic avatar smashed the one billion dollar
barrier over the weekend and is on course to become the highest grossing film of
all time final figures showed monday
fueled by consecutive holiday weekends and pricey tickets north american
sales for james cameron blockbuster scooped another million dollars for
three week total of million according to the figures
with more than million dollars internationally avatar has become only the
fifth film ever to gross more than one billion dollars and is fourth on the all
time list of top earners box office tracker exhibitor relations said
cameron oscar winner titanic remains the highest grossing movie of all
time with billion dollars followed by lord of the rings finale and
pirates of the caribbean dead man chest
however exhibitor relations chief analyst jeff bock said that if avatar
continues to register large numbers at the north american box office it could
threaten the titanic record
bock noted the sci fi saga earnings had registered only nine percent fall
from the previous week which augured well for the film
the way that it holding up is incredible bock said if we see another
million dollar weekend next week then you know this movie is in it for the
long haul and if that the case titanic better watch out
avatar tells the story of paralyzed war veteran jake who is sent on mission
from earth to the planet pandora where he falls in love with blue humanoid
named neytiri of the alien na vi race
the film is drawing in all demographics including people who would not
normally have seen film bock said
it reportedly cost around million dollars to make and market the
blockbuster yet analysts predict the film success will lead to surge in
studios developing films for
the ramifications of avatar performance are huge ripple effects are going
to occur fast and furiously bock said
in only three weeks avatar has become the fourth highest grossing film ever
the gains far outweigh the risks right now
coming in distant second for the weekend but still with respectable
million dollars was guy ritchie sherlock holmes its two week total has now
reached million dollars
in third place also in its second week was the comedy alvin and the
chipmunks the squeakquel which took million dollars
holding firm in fourth place was it complicated comedy starring meryl
streep alec baldwin and steve martin earning million dollars
fifth place belonged to the blind side about white couple who give black
teen home and new lease on life with million dollars
up in the air starring george clooney in the acclaimed story of corporate
downsizer who questions his role in life held sixth place with million
dollars
disney the princess and the frog took seventh with million while
eighth place went to romantic comedy did you hear about the morgans with
million dollars
in ninth was invictus clint eastwood drama starring matt damon and morgan
freeman about how south african president nelson mandela united his country
around the rugby world cup
tenth spot was taken by nine the broadway musical film adaptation starring
daniel day lewis as film director in mid life crisis juggling wife marion
cotillard mistress penelope cruz and film star muse nicole kidman it
scored million dollars
bankruptcy cloud for britain ruling labour party report
london jan afp
british prime minister gordon brown party faces funding crisis threatening
to hamper its strategy for reelection report said tuesday after campaigning
kicked off in earnest
david blunkett former government minister and party strategist said labour
was heading into the election at greater financial disadvantage than any time
since when it suffered landslide defeat
we are trying to be careful so we don end up bankrupt after the election if
this all goes pearshaped blunkett told the times newspaper
brown has not yet set date for the election although it must be held by june
and experts say may is the most likely date
but both major parties are jostling for an early advantage and campaigning
revved up monday with the troubled economy the main battleground
battered by record recession and scandal over lawmakers expense claims
britons face the prospect of five months of electioneering
david cameron leader of the opposition conservatives released part of his
party draft manifesto monday while finance minister alistair darling tried to
discredit tory plans to cut public spending and firm up britain finances
cameron is tipped by opinion polls to oust brown who risks becoming one of
britain shortest serving premiers of recent times he only took over from
tony blair in june
blunkett said labour lacked the big money and big charisma that sustained it
when blair who led labour to landslide victory in was prime minister
the party has been in power ever since
labour has been forced to scrap planned manifesto meeting of its national
policy forum on cost grounds and the conservatives were preparing to outspend
it by factor of about three to one the newspaper said
blunkett chair of labour election development board said labour had war
chest of eight million pounds million euros million dollars mainly
from trade unions
but this could rise to million pounds if the centre left party could secure
more individual donations
the centre right conservatives were expected to raise about million pounds
for the campaign according to the newspaper
court upholds moussaoui conviction life prison term
washington jan afp
us appeals court upheld monday the conviction and life sentence of zacarias
moussaoui for complicity in the september attacks on the united states
the us court of appeals for the th circuit rejected claims by us lawyers for
moussaoui the only person charged in the united states in the attacks that
claimed nearly lives that his guilty plea and sentences on six criminal
conspiracy counts were invalid
it also struck down their efforts to refer the case back to federal court in
alexandria virginia where he pleaded guilty in of conspiracy in the
suicide hijackings of passenger planes that crashed into new york world trade
center the pentagon and field in pennsylvania
we affirm moussaoui convictions and sentences in their entirety and deny his
motion to remand the three judge panel said in its ruling
the court decision took place amid intense debate over whether terror suspects
should be tried in civilian us courts or in specially designed military
tribunals known as military commissions
republicans and some of president barack obama fellow democrats have blasted
his administration decision to try nigerian accused of trying to bring down
us bound jetliner on christmas day
lawmakers also have pushed back against the white house plans to transfer five
accused plotters including self proclaimed mastermind khalid sheikh
mohammed from the us military prison in guantanamo bay cuba to new york for
trial in us federal court
moussaoui attorneys had asked that their client sentence and conviction be
remanded because his constitutional rights were violated and the government had
failed to provide classified evidence that could have been used for his defense
but justice department lawyers argued that the judge presiding over the trial
ensured that moussaoui french national of moroccan descent understood his
rights
moussaoui claims that the district court failed to inform him of the nature of
the charges and ensure that he understood them the appeals court said in its
page opinion we disagree
after dodging the death penalty during months long trial in the alexandria
court moussaoui was sentenced to life in prison the court of appeals upheld
that sentence
we find it significant that moussaoui never sought to rescind the admissions he
had just made nor to withdraw his guilty plea during the nearly year long
period that elapsed between his plea and the conclusion of the sentencing
proceeding the appeals court judges wrote
moussaoui who later recanted his testimony only to claim he was part of another
al qaeda plot is serving life sentence in solitary confinement at
supermaximum security prison in colorado
during the trial moussaoui testified that he was supposed to hijack fifth
plane and crash it into the white house four planes were involved in the
attacks defiant he shouted god curse america to the courtroom and swore the
united states would never catch al qaeda leader osama bin laden
he can still ask the full appeals court to review his request and then make
final appeal before the us supreme court
arrested several weeks before the al qaeda attacks in new york and washington
moussaoui was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of release in
may
but the central intelligence agency cia handed moussaoui possible unintended
lifeline in november by admitting that it provided false information to the
court when the defense team requested interrogation tapes of two terror
suspects
the cia had said in may that it did not have any recordings adding it has
since found an audio tape and two videos
in court papers filed in november the prosecution argued that moussaoui
name was not mentioned in any of the three recordings and that therefore the
cia mistake was not detrimental to the defendant
the recordings still exist unlike interrogation videos of two al qaeda
suspects that the cia has admitted destroying in revelation that
triggered charges the agency was trying to cover up possible torture
us denies its warplanes violated venezuelan airspace
washington jan afp
the us southern command denied monday that us military aircraft based in the
caribbean had violated venezuelan airspace as charged by caracas
the basic bottom line is that there no substance to those allegations
command spokesman stephen lucas told afp the miami florida based command is
responsible for all us military operations in the region
the access agreements we ve negotiated with the governments of netherlands and
netherlands west antilles allow us to fly counter drug missions out of cura ao
and aruba we do that in cooperation with many nations in the area he added
lucas said the most recent accidental incursion of us warplane into
venezuela airspace occurred in may the plane flew out of curacao he
added
on friday the netherlands also rejected accusations that the united states was
using the islands to mount military operations against venezuela calling the
allegations unfair baseless and fantastical
venezuela foreign ministry on december called on the international
community to condemn alleged incursions into its airspace by us military drones
launched from aruba and the netherlands antilles
it said the intrusions by us military aircraft allows us to conclude that the
warmongering us government in league with the government of the kingdom of the
netherlands is preparing an aggression against the territory and people of the
bolivarian republic of venezuela
leftist venezuelan president hugo chavez has stepped up his anti us rhetoric
since colombia agreed in october to give the united states access to some of its
air bases for anti drug trafficking operations
chavez believes the agreement masks us intentions to attack his country
tokyo stocks up percent at break
tokyo jan afp
japanese shares rose percent in morning trade on tuesday as overnight gains
on wall street underpinned positive sentiment day after the tokyo market
closed at month high
the tokyo stock exchange benchmark nikkei index climbed points or
percent to the broader topix index of all first section shares
added points or percent to
overall sentiment is upbeat tsuyoshi kawata senior strategist at nikko
cordial securities told dow jones newswires
shares in japan airlines climbed more than three percent after percent
surge on monday following the government pledge to double state funded loan
to the cash strapped carrier
freescale promises bargain price tablet this year
san francisco jan afp
freescale semiconductor on monday unveiled blueprints for tablet computer to
be priced at less than dollars us when it debuts later this year
the devices will sport touch screens with as much as four times the viewing area
of typical smartphones and be about third of the size of an average netbook
computer according to the texas based company
we believe the tablet will emerge as popular form factor for the next
generation of smartbooks said freescale vice president of sales and marketing
henri richard
by introducing this prototype reference design freescale intends to play
vital role in propelling the mainstream adoption of smartbooks
the tablets are designed with features including wireless internet connectivity
all day battery life and instant activation
versions of the tablet operating on android and linux software will be
demonstrated at the consumer electronics show that officially starts thursday in
las vegas according to freescale
freescale which specializes in making chips embedded in devices is hoping the
blueprint will jump start creation of smartbook tablets based on the company
microprocessors
products based on the design could be in the market by mid year according to
freescale
there is clearly strong end user demand for tablet form factors and new
reference designs look to play major role in helping electronics makers
speed tablet smartbook products to market said abi analyst jerr orr
football asian cup qualifying standings
singapore jan afp
asian cup qualifying standings ahead of wednesday matches played won
drawn lost goals for goals against points
group
japan
bahrain
yemen
hong kong
group
kuwait
australia
oman
indonesia
group
uzbekistan qualified
uae
malaysia
group
syria
china
vietnam
lebanon
group
iran
singapore
thailand
jordan
