the wake of last month failed terror plot blamed on an al qaeda branch located
there umar farouk abdulmutallab the year old nigerian suspected of trying
to destroy us airplane in midflight is believed to have studied and received
training in yemen afptv visits the language school in sanaa where abdulmutallab
studied
special report
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nsv vid
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hurt as egyptian police activists clash over gaza relief convoy
cairo
about people were injured late tuesday in clashes between egyptian police and
pro palestinian activists trying to get relief convoy into the gaza strip
militants and medics said some activists belonging to the convoy led by
charismatic and outspoken british mp george galloway broke down the gate at
the port in el arish to protest an egyptian decision to ship some of the goods
through israel
news
images and soundbites
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survivors evicted after brazil landslides
angra dos reis brazil
brazilians affected by widespread landslides have been evicted from their homes
to make way for preventive demolition mudslides set off by torrential rains
have killed more than people in the past days along the brazilian coast as
hopes for more rescues dimmed with each passing hour but the demolitions mean
that many survivors are now left with nowhere to go
news
voiced report
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images and soundbites
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prayers at tokyo temples to ease worries over future
tokyo
huge crowds are flocking to tokyo temples to celebrate the new year
marks the year of the tiger for many it an opportunity to pray for good
health and prosperity at time of increased uncertainty
lifestyle amp culture
voiced report
nsv vid
broadcast ready vid
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space age powerboat destroyed in japan whaling clash
at sea antartica
futuristic powerboat sent to harass japanese whalers has been sliced in two
and is sinking after clash in antarctic waters activists said on wednesday
all six crew on the ady gil trimaran which holds the round the world record
were rescued unharmed the sea shepherd animal rights group said in statement
news environment
images of clashes provided by japan institute of cetacean research icr
raw vid
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images of clashes provided by sea shepherd anti whaling activists
raw vid
web mmv
chile prepares for post bachelet presidency
santiago
chileans go to the polls on january for presidential run off to elect
successor to president michelle bachelet who is barred from seeking second
consecutive term under the constitution chile first female leader leaves
legacy of moderate socialist reform and reputation as one of the nation most
popular leaders ever
special report
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nsv
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quiet national holiday for crisis struck cameroon
yaounde
this year cameroon is celebrating years of independence the central african
nation was first german colony and before being divided between france and
britain there are few commemorative ceremonies but most cameroonians are more
preoccupied by the future as the economic crisis has hit the country hard
special report
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french shopping spree as seasonal sales begin
paris
the bitter cold and snow didn deter consumers from starting bargain hunting in
france biannual sales on wednesday handbags shoes or clothing shoppers from
all over flocked to paris department stores
news economy amp finance
images and soundbites
raw vid corrected number
web mmv
sarkozy bruised by rings in new year
cholet france
france president nicolas sarkozy delivered his new year wishes to
industrial and labour representatives on wednesday the french leader insisted
new carbon tax to fight global warming would come into force in july as the new
year saw the end of corporate and inheritances taxes
news economy amp finance
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 will file the following report
angola minibus unavoidable for visiting football fans
luanda
angola is hosting the african nations cup for the first time in the event
year history the oil rich nation has built brand new stadiums for the
occasion but improving the transport infrastructure has proved more
troublesome task massive traffic jams and lack of public transport force city
dwellers to use private minibuses to get around
sport
voiced report
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we have filed the following report overnight
google unveils new smartphone
washington
google unveiled its new nexus one smartphone on tuesday in direct challenge to
heavyweight apple iphone handsets
news
voiced report
vus
attention clients this video is available under specific license agreement
only for license to this service please contact your afp commercial agent no
access usa japan australia
us security rules likely to harm ties with nigeria government
abuja jan afp
new us security restrictions on air passengers from nigeria are likely to harm
ties between the two countries the government in abuja warned on wednesday
nigeria views this action as having the potential of undermining long standing
and established us nigeria bilateral ties and the goodwill the us enjoys in
nigeria statement released after cabinet meeting said
snow brings mayhem to britain as europe shivers
london jan afp
soldiers helped rescue stranded drivers wednesday as britain most brutal
winter in decades caused chaos for travellers and bitterly cold temperatures
cloaked much of europe
millions of people in london and the south east of england was blanketed in
heavy snow after storms spread from scotland and the north of england where
they have caused problems for days
bitterly cold and wintry weather is forecast to continue for the next couple of
weeks with further snowfall expected at times said the met office calling the
recent cold spell the worst to hit the country since
southern counties could be hit by to centimetres inches of snow the met
office said while snow storms swept across central london turning the city
parks and squares white
eurostar said it had cancelled four trains between london paris and brussels as
precaution because of the snow just weeks after freezing temperatures caused
three day service shutdown in the run up to christmas
much of the rest of europe was also in the grip of freezing temperatures due to
weather front from siberia
norway was among the coldest with temperatures in the central town of roeros
falling to minus degrees celsius about minus fahrenheit
in the netherlands the ice was thick enough for the year first skating event
on natural ice with up to people expected to make the two kilometre
mile circuit on the henschoter lake in utrecht
snow and ice caused traffic problems in western and southwestern france amid
warnings of more to come while torrential rain hit parts of italy and officials
feared the swollen tiber river could threaten rome in coming days
in britain transport links in densely populated southern and central parts of
england were snarled up by the cold weather
the military was called in to help the drivers of up to cars which were
stranded overnight on major road in hampshire southern england
the military have been working with us all night they re helping people to get
out of their cars and moving the cars to the side of the road so gritters can
get through police spokeswoman said
the runway at london gatwick britain second airport was closed leaving
thousands of people stranded in the departure terminals
hundreds of schools around britain were also closed and football matches were
called off including wednesday night league cup semi final between manchester
united and manchester city
hospitals were also affected all non urgent operations in oxford were
cancelled as the disruption turned the spotlight on infrastructure services
in britain
the national grid issued gas balancing alert for only the second time ever
on monday after percent surge in demand because of the weather
this was an indication that it might be necessary to cut supplies or get hold of
more to avoid what it called gas supply emergency spokeswoman stressed
that supplies were in place to cope with demand
but the main opposition conservatives have obtained figures which they said
showed britain had only eight days of supplies in storage based on current
usage levels
prime minister gordon brown said the government was doing our best to help
people including giving out payments to elderly people to cover heating bills
and ensuring local authorities have enough grit for icy roads
the operators of britain biggest rock salt mine winsford in cheshire
northwest england earlier said they faced unprecedented demand
we would obviously like to be able to fulfil every authority needs in full
but the reality of the situation at present is that that is simply not
possible the winsford salt union said
german salt company esco which supplies across europe also said it would
prioritise provision for motorways and major roads
tennis cilic fights his way into chennai quarter finals
chennai india jan afp
defending champion marin cilic survived scare from marcel granollers before
advancing to the quarter finals of the dollar atp chennai open on
wednesday
the world number fought back from set down to beat the valiant st ranked
spaniard after two hours and minutes of intense tennis
it was croatian cilic fourth successive win over granollers including semi
final victory in the same tournament last year
the second seeded cilic is favoured to retain the title after top seed robin
soderling of sweden was knocked out by american robby ginepri in the first round
on tuesday
both players held their serve in the first set to force the tie breaker which
granollers won after cilic appeared to lose his composure following two disputed
line calls
granollers and cilic traded two breaks each in the second set before the croat
broke again in the eighth game and easily held his own serve in the ninth to
draw level
cilic went break up in the seventh game of the third set ending granollers
resistance on the show court of the nungambakkam tennis stadium
it was not easy for me today said cilic
marcel played very good game but once broke him in the second set my game
started to improve and served and volleyed much better
cilic conceded few line calls during crucial moments of the match upset him
some calls were suspicious he said they hurt me more than they hurt him it
often happened on crucial points but that tennis you just have to get on
with the game
cilic quarter final opponent will be th ranked santiago giraldo of
colombia who beat czeck jan hajek in minutes
thiemo de bakker of the netherlands also advanced to the quarter finals with
demolition of compatriot robin hasse
he will play the winner of tuesday last match between fourth seed janko
tipsarevic and last year runner up somdev devvarman of india for place in
the semi finals
tennis sharapova pulls off comeback win against zheng
hong kong jan afp
russian maria sharapova pulled off comeback win against zheng jie at an
exhibition match in hong kong on wednesday as the year old sets her sights on
the australian open later this month
sharapova recovering from shoulder injury got off to strong start and
pulled ahead of zheng in the first set
but zheng ranked in the world fought back to even the match at as both
players traded powerful ground strokes
the year old then took the first set in tie breaker after sharapova
blasted shot past the baseline
zheng continued the pressure in the second set several times answering
sharapova blistering serves with cross court winner
but three time grand slam winner sharapova now ranked in the world found
her stride and clawed back from two games down to win the second set
forcing third set which she took
zheng definitely played really well but as we all know in tennis it never
over until the last point sharapova told reporters after the match
ll take whatever comes my way if that means losing the first set and then
coming back fine but obviously would have loved to win it in two sets
sharapova the former world number one who crashed out of beijing in october in
third round loss to china peng shuai had arthroscopic surgery over year
ago on her right shoulder and was out of action until may last year
zheng said she thought her aggressive style early on would help her best
sharapova
think have some chance to win but need more belief more confidence
she told reporters
think too much should just go for it
the hong kong tournament features four teams with three players each
representing russia europe the americas and asia pacific in singles and
mixed doubles play
on thursday american champion venus williams is set to play caroline wozniacki
the teenaged danish sensation ranked number four in the world while retired
star michael chang will play six time grand slam winner stefan edberg
earlier wednesday russia vera zvonareva easily overpowered japanese
newcomer ayumi morita beating her in just over an hour
despite warm support from the crowd morita billed as one of asia rising
stars struggled with weak service game and unforced errors in her match with
the more experienced zvonareva
nordic skiing tour de ski results
toblach italy jan afp
results of the fourth stage of the tour de ski series here on wednesday
men
fourth stage km freestyle
petter northug nor hr min sec dario cologna sui at sec
marcus hellner swe jean marc gaillard fra matti heikkinen
fin axel teichmann ger curdin perl sui tord
asle gjerdalen nor ivan babikov can tom reichelt ger
same time
tour de ski standings after four stages
petter northug nor hr min sec dario cologna sui at sec
marcus hellner swe jean marc gaillard fra matti heikkinen
fin axel teichmann ger curdin perl sui tord
asle gjerdalen nor tom reichelt ger ivan babikov can
principal retirements emil joensson swe maxim vylegzhanin rus dusan
kozisek cze teodor peterson swe eldar roenning nor alexander legkov
rus
world cup standings after of events
petter northug nor pts marcus hellner swe matti heikkinen
fin maxim vylegzhanin rus dario cologna sui
women
th stage km pursuit freestyle
arianna follis ita min sec petra majdic slo at sec
justyna kowalczyk pol aino kaisa saarinen fin marianna
longa ita min sec alena sidko rus riitta liisa roponen
fin olga savialova rus kristin stoermer steira nor
vibeke skofterud nor
tour de ski standings
arianna follis ita hr min sec petra majdic slo at sec
justyna kowalczyk pol aino kaisa saarinen fin marianna
longa ita min sec alena sidko rus riitta liisa roponen
fin olga savialova rus kristin stoermer steira nor
vibeke skofterud nor
afp
urgent us security rules likely to harm ties with nigeria government
abuja jan afp
the new us security rules on air passengers from nigeria are likely to harm ties
between the two countries the government in abuja warned on wednesday
football weather forces arsenal bolton postponement
london jan afp
arsenal have been forced to call off their premier league match against bolton
at the emirates stadium wednesday due to the weather the london club said
the south of england and many other parts of the country are currently under
heavy snow wreaking havoc with scheduled fixtures in both football and rugby
across the country
the pitch at the emirates stadium was playable but as with both of this week
league cup semi finals there were safety issues affecting fans and concerns
over transport
club statement read despite making every effort to stage tonight
wednesday match against bolton wanderers the sudden and unpredicted adverse
change in weather conditions in the highbury area has left us no choice but to
postpone the fixture
we apologise for any inconvenience this has caused and wish to state that this
decision was not made lightly and supporters safety and travel arrangements
were major factors in our thinking
the club will announce the revised date for this match in due course and all
tickets currently held will be valid for the rearranged fixture
the match became the latest sporting fixture to fall foul of the severe wintry
weather affecting the british isles after an assessment of the ground and
surrounding areas on wednesday
corrected iceland outlook clouded by icesave veto moody
london jan afp
international ratings agency moody said the icelandic president refusal to
approve compensation deal with london and amsterdam on the icesave bank
collapse complicates his country recovery outlook
while not downgrading iceland ratings or putting it on notice as other
ratings groups have done moody investors service said the move has uncertain
credit implications but will certainly complicate any near term plans for
iceland to exit from its financial and economic crisis
earlier wednesday standard and poor put iceland on creditwatch negative amid
concerns president olafur ragnar grimsson veto of the icesave act which
provided compensation for british and dutch savers could hit ties with the
international monetary fund
if it did we could lower our ratings on iceland by one to two notches within
month amp said
the imf said the decision would not affect its relations with iceland
on tuesday fitch ratings downgraded iceland long term debt rating from bbb
to bb or junk bond status citing renewed wave of domestic political
economic and financial uncertainty for the country
for its part moody said iceland was well placed to weather period of
temporary uncertainty without impact on its current baa rating
at the same time any indication of renewed political instability and or
serious international pressure would signal real credit concerns and could lead
to negative rating action it warned
the icesave act is now subject to referendum expected within the next few
months
afp middle east news agenda
nicosia jan afp
duty editor simon martelli
news desk
middle east news agenda for thursday
ankara palestinian leader mahmud abbas wraps up two day visit to turkey
mideast diplomacy turkey
bethlehem orthodox christians celebrate christmas
kuwait city kuwaiti parliament holds special session to discuss bill
calling for stateless arabs to be granted civil and social rights
kuwait politics stateless
rafah gaza strip egypt monitoring after deadly clashes between egyptian police
and palestinians on the egypt gaza border mideast conflict gaza egypt
sanaa following developments after yemeni security forces captured key al
qaeda leader and two other militants believed behind threats against western
interests in sanaa which prompted embassies to bolt their doors police said
yemen unrest qaeda
yemen deputy prime minister for defence and security rashad al alimi holds
press conference on security issues in the country yemen unrest security
washington jordanian foreign minister nasser jawdeh visits washington for talks
with us secretary of state hilary clinton just days after us media cited
western intelligence agents said the man who blew himself up at cia base in
afghanistan was jordanian
egyptian foreign minister ahmed abul gheit visits washington accompanied by
intelligence chief omar suleiman
top obama ally to retire from us senate
washington jan afp
democratic senator christopher dodd head of the powerful senate banking
committee planned to announce wednesday he was not seeking re election in
november in blow to president barack obama agenda
dodd retirement confirmed by two democratic sources brought to three the
number of high profile democratic officeholders to decide in just hours that
they will not seek new term as anti incumbent anger threatens obama party
the connecticut senator due to announce his decision at noon gmt had
faced stiff uphill reelection fight and democrats hoped his departure in
state obama easily won in would help keep his seat
dodd hurt by controversial home loan and failed white house bid has
been key author of legislation to enact obama top domestic priority
remaking us health care and key player in efforts to revamp rules for wall
street battle climate change and pressure iran over its nuclear program
his decision came after democrat byron dorgan announced he was retiring as
senator from north dakota state where republican white house hopeful john
mccain defeated obama by eight points last year
dorgan move hurt democratic morale at the dawn of an election year but
critically imperiled the party vote majority the bare minimum needed in
the seat senate to overrun any republican delaying tactics
over this holiday season have come to the conclusion with the support of my
family that will not be seeking another term dorgan said citing desire
to pursue other priorities after years in public life
dodd aides declined to comment on his decision but democratic officials who
confirmed he was retiring did not disclose details of his future plans
dorgan denied his decision was tied to glum political prospects saying he would
have won reelection if he had run but republicans pounced on his retirement as
symptom of democratic pessimism about the coming election
for nearly year congressional democrats have been turning deaf ear to the
concerns of the american people and as the elections of approach many of
these same democrats are deciding to simply leave office instead of risking
certain defeat said michael steele republican national committee chairman
the question will be can democrats recruit serious and viable candidates in
both of those states harold ford chairman of the centrist democratic
leadership council told msnbc on wednesday
the senate retirements came as democratic governor bill ritter of the once
solidly republican state of colorado and one time rising star in the party
also reportedly was set to announce he would not seek reelection
dodd saw his political stock fall beginning in late with his failed bid for
the democratic presidential nomination which garnered meager public support
he also drew heavy fire over receiving discounts from troubled lender
countrywide financial
dodd faced deep disapproval from voters in his home state and the prospects of
tough re election fight against wealthy businesswoman linda mcmahon
republicans will have to defend six open seats in november while democrats must
defend four
democratic senators appointed to fill vacancies in illinois and delaware
seats held by obama and vice president joe biden respectively have said they
will leave office when their terms expire in january
dorgan decision came after public opinion poll found him trailing north
dakota republican governor john hoeven who has yet to enter the race by
double digits
among the other white house allies in trouble democratic senate majority leader
harry reid and senator blanche lincoln of arkansas
mid term us elections typically see the party that holds the white house lose
congressional seats and republicans hope rising anti incumbent tide fed by
double digit unemployment will further boost their fortunes
football weather forces arsenal bolton postponement
london jan afp
arsenal have been forced to call off their premier league match against bolton
at the emirates stadium due to the weather the london club said wednesday
the south of england and many other parts of the country are currently under
heavy snowfall
iceland outlook clouded by icesave veto moody
london jan afp
international ratings agency moody said the icelandic president refusal to
approve compensation deal with london and the hague on the icesave bank
collapse complicates his country recovery outlook
while not downgrading iceland ratings or putting it on notice as other
ratings groups have done moody investors service said the move has uncertain
credit implications but will certainly complicate any near term plans for
iceland to exit from its financial and economic crisis
earlier wednesday standard and poor put iceland on creditwatch negative amid
concerns president olafur ragnar grimsson veto of the icesave act which
provided compensation for british and dutch savers could hit ties with the
international monetary fund
if it did we could lower our ratings on iceland by one to two notches within
month amp said
the imf said the decision would not affect its relations with iceland
on tuesday fitch ratings downgraded iceland long term debt rating from bbb
to bb or junk bond status citing renewed wave of domestic political
economic and financial uncertainty for the country
for its part moody said iceland was well placed to weather period of
temporary uncertainty without impact on its current baa rating
at the same time any indication of renewed political instability and or
serious international pressure would signal real credit concerns and could lead
to negative rating action it warned
the icesave act is now subject to referendum expected within the next few
months
alert
us new security rules likely to harm ties with nigeria government
clinton to visit australia new zealand png
washington jan afp
us secretary of state hillary clinton will leave next week on visit to
australia new zealand and papua new guinea that will touch on international
security issues development and the environment
the chief us diplomat will be joined in australia by defense secretary robert
gates for annual consultations with their counterparts on building relations
between the longtime pacific allies the state department said
clinton will also visit honolulu hawaii where she will deliver policy speech
on multilateral engagement with the asia pacific region and meet with the us
military pacific command it said in statement
the january visit marks clinton first trip to the countries since the
inauguration year ago of president barack obama who has developed close
relationship with australian prime minister kevin rudd
clinton will arrive on january in canberra where she and gates will hold the
th australia united states ministerial consultations with their counterparts
foreign minister stephen smith and defense minister john faulkner
they will discuss key global and regional security challenges the state
department said
she will also stop in melbourne it said
clinton will meet in new zealand with prime minister john key conservative
elected in and meet with veterans from the two countries at the auckland
war memorial museum the state department said
new zealand declared itself nuclear free in and refused entry to us nuclear
ships leading the united states to suspend its defense obligations to the then
ally under three way treaty with australia
both australia and new zealand have contributed troops to afghanistan though
there was no sign that either country will add more of its own forces to the us
troop surge in that central asian country
