the arsenal players missing from wednesday hoem match against bolton where
victory would see the gunners go top of the table on goal difference
nasri injury is what call day injury it is clean hamstring
injury said wenger
ramsey absence will be the same but it is not hamstring injury it is
thigh
arsenal are optimistic though that left back kieran gibbs foot and midfielder
jack wilshere hamstring will be back for tough run of matches that see
wenger men up against aston villa manchester united chelsea and liverpool in
successive fixtures
we have little chance to get denilson abdomen and theo walcott rib back
for wednesday and to get nicklas bendtner recovering from hernia surgery back
in days maybe wenger said
plans halted for mosque near london olympics site
london jan afp
plans to build giant mosque near london olympic stadium have collapsed
after local authorities said monday an islamic group failed to submit planning
application in time
tablighi jamaat group with roots in india wants to build complex with
space for worshippers in east london which would be hub for muslim
competitors and spectators at the games
but the group missed deadline this month to formally outline its plans to the
local london authority and it has now been issued with warning that it must
close temporary mosque it is operating on the site by thursday
there was an outcry when the group unveiled its plans for the site in with
people petitioning the government to prevent the development
tablighi jamaat was founded in india during the british raj it says it is
apolitical but opponents of the mosque plan have expressed concern at the
group strict interpretation of islam
spokesman for the local newham council said the council has responsibility
to be reasonable in such cases and the mosque trust was encouraged to submit
long term strategy for the site which is identified as having significant
developmental opportunities for the local community
this did not happen
temporary planning permission expired on october and any operations
since then have been unlawful
the trust was given until january to submit masterplan for the site although
failed to meet this deadline
spokesman for the muslim council of britain said tablighi jamaat had been
subjected to some unfair coverage
we would hope that they will be able to work in cooperation with the local
council if they wish to set up mosque in the area spokesman inayat
bunglawala said
he added tablighi jamaat has no ties to terrorism it has been subjected to
some unfair coverage
the mosque trust was unavailable for comment
urgent seven militants among dead in kabul attacks minister
kabul jan afp
seven militants were among the dead monday after violent attack on the centre
of kabul claimed by the taliban the interior minister said
yemen vows to strike qaeda as long as it poses threat
sanaa jan afp
yemen will hit back at al qaeda for as long as it poses threat to the state
the interior minister warned as the islamist group denied government claims of
having killed six of its leaders
these strikes will not be the last as long as terrorist elements target state
security and stability and institutions said major general mutahar rashad al
masri quoted on monday by the state news agency saba
the minister speaking at weekend conference on security said al qaeda in the
arabian peninsula aqap had suffered heavy losses including the death of
number of its leaders
the interior ministry said on saturday that aqap military boss qassem al rimi
was among six leaders of the group killed in yemeni air strike the previous
day in the eastern part of saada province
but al qaeda has denied any of its members were killed in the raid according to
us monitoring group site intelligence group
none of the mujahedeen fighters were killed in that unjust and insidious
raid rather some brothers were slightly wounded aqap said in statement on
jihadist forums according to site
the agent yemeni government seeks through these pretences to prove false
victory which it presents as gifts to us president barack obama and british
prime minister gordon brown it said
the aqap statement quoted by site mocked an international conference which the
british leader is due to host in london on january on fighting extremism in
yemen
the meeting was called days after the failed attempt on christmas day by young
nigerian national to blow up us passenger plane
the alleged perpetrator umar farouk abdulmutallab is thought to have been
trained in yemen the ancestral homeland of fugitive al qaeda chief osama bin
laden
the interior ministry has so far put up on its website the photos of four of the
six people said to have been killed but it has provided no proof of their
deaths
local tribal leader said gunmen presumed to be from aqap had cordoned off the
area firing at any vehicle that tried to approach victims of the air strike
had probably been evacuated whether dead or alive he said
according to the site report aqap called on muslims to declare jihad against
the infidels and their agent helpers not only on the ground but in the sea and
air as well
it noted the presence of foreign warships in the gulf of aden the arabian sea
and the red sea
as they declared it to be an open war on the people of islam we must declare
an open war against the crusaders and their traitor helpers al qaeda said
yemen is under us pressure to clamp down on al qaeda and analysts say the
government of the impoverished state is keen to show the world it can crush the
militants on its own
in december it claimed to have killed more than aqap militants in two
separate air strikes
yemen on saturday also announced the arrest of another three suspected al qaeda
members near the saudi border
that followed the capture earlier this month of three militants believed to be
behind threats against western interests in sanaa that caused embassies to close
for several days
the government wants to avoid foreign military intervention targeting al
qaeda said adel al ahmadi yemeni specialist on the group
yemen is trying to say that it can accomplish the mission on its own and just
needs logistical assistance and political support to consolidate its regime
in the face of local adversaries
separately yemeni minister called on the united states to send home the
estimated remaining yemenis being held at guantanamo bay
on january the white house said it had decided to suspend transfers of
guantanamo bay prisoners to yemen following the plane bombing plot
we are ready to rehabilitate them in such way that they will return to good
path and not do anything that would hurt the security of yemen religious
affairs minister hammud al hattar told afp
hattar also rejected suggestions that the yemenis be sent to neighbouring saudi
arabia
brazil toll in haiti quake rises to call for concrete aid
brasilia jan afp
brazil on monday called for the world outpouring of sympathy for haiti to
become concrete reconstruction aid as it updated its national death toll in
the quake to at least
the entire world is aware now that awareness has to be transformed into
concrete aid in money so that haiti can be rebuilt brazilian president luiz
inacio lula da silva said in his weekly radio program
this is the moment to put your hand in your pocket and help
brazil he said was pledging million dollars and noted the world bank was
offering million dollars
we think there are other countries that can do more he said adding that
coordination was needed to determine how best to use the money for
reconstruction
the european union on monday pledged million dollars in emergency and long
term aid to haiti while the united states last week said it would provide
million dollars
lula stressed that brazil had an important role to play in haiti being in
military command of the strong un peacekeeping force stationed there since
the bodies of two more brazilian peacekeepers were identified on the weekend
bringing the total number of dead brazilian soldiers with the mission to
according to the army
that brought brazil national total to at least including the deaths of the
deputy civilian head of the un mission and high profile children rights
campaigner
two other brazilian peacekeepers are missing presumed dead
the south american nation has sent several military flights laden with food
water and medicine to haiti it has also set up field hospital in the
peacekeeper main base next to the airport in the capital port au prince
rugbyu peel out of wales squad
cardiff jan afp
wales suffered major setback monday when scrum half dwayne peel was ruled out
of their six nations opener against england with groin problem
peel absence left wales coach warren gatland without two senior scrum halves
as british and irish lion mike phillips has also been sidelined with injury
scarlets number nine martin roberts is now the favourite to start against
england at twickenham on february
peel who was due to undergo scan monday after injuring himself playing for
sale in their european cup defeat by cardiff blues on saturday was not even
named in the man six nations squad announced by gatland
back row forward ryan jones will captain wales in the tournament and the squad
features the return of several experienced players from injury in full back lee
byrne prop adam jones and lock ian gough
but gatland looking to next year world cup in his native new zealand has
also included several up and coming talents in blues scrum half richie rees and
saracens prop rhys gill
we are now at the beginning of our countdown to the world cup and this slightly
larger squad reflects that said gatland
we have brought in some youngsters to put some pressure on some of our senior
players and to help increase the depth we have in certain positions
elsewhere we are very happy to welcome back the likes of adam jones and lee
byrne who were both obviously missed in tshe autumn although at full back in
particular certain james hook provided more than ample cover
our first match at twickenham could set the tone for the championship for both
sides we will both be desperate to win that first up match added gatland
whose side finished fourth two places behind england in last year edition
despite victory over the red rose in cardiff
wales like england were beaten by both new zealand and australia during their
november home series gatland men ending with comprehensive loss
to the wallabies at the millennium stadium
wales squad
backs dan biggar andrew bishop lee byrne gareth cooper jonathan davies
leigh halfpenny james hook tom james stephen jones kristian phillips tom
prydie richie rees jamie roberts martin roberts tom shanklin shane williams
forwards huw bennett luke charteris bradley davies rhys gill ian gough
paul james gethin jenkins adam jones alun wyn jones deiniol jones ryan
jones capt eifion lewis roberts dan lydiate andy powell matthew rees
jonathan thomas sam warburton gareth williams martyn williams
alert
seven militants among dead in kabul attacks interior minister
dutch plane leaves to fetch haitian children
the hague jan afp
plane chartered by the netherlands and two adoption agencies flew out to
quake hit haiti monday to fetch around haitian children being adopted by
dutch families the government said
the aim is that the children come as quickly as possible to the netherlands
foreign ministry spokeswoman ozlem canel told afp
the children were aged from few months to seven years the justice ministry
said
the adoption process which could normally take several years was being speeded
up after the earthquake nearly week ago that killed tens of thousands of
people and left many more homeless officials said
about people including doctors nurses psychologists and immigration
officials were on the plane that left amsterdam around noon canel said
the haitian authorities have given their agreement for the children to leave
justice officials said
the children had not been hurt in the quake de nederlandse adoptie stichting
adoption agency told afp
nine children who did not yet have an adoptive family in the netherlands would
also be brought back and would stay with host family until they were adopted
it added
six haitian children adopted by dutch families arrived in the southern town of
eindhoven on sunday on dutch military aircraft the foreign ministry said
canadian german arms dealer in dock for slush fund affair
augsburg germany jan afp
an arms dealer extradited from canada to germany over his alleged role in
scandal that helped propel chancellor angela merkel to power went on trial
monday
after losing decade long battle to avoid extradition karlheinz schreiber
appeared in court in the southern city of augsburg and pleaded innocent to the
allegations of tax evasion bribery and accessory to fraud
strongly and fully deny the charges read against me and dispute the
accusations schreiber said in statement read by one of his attorneys
schreiber holds dual canadian and german citizenship and was handed over to
german authorities in august after protracted high profile campaign to remain
in canada
prosecutors say he withheld more than million euros million dollars
in taxes between and and offered bribes to ensure government approval
for the sale of armoured cars to saudi arabia
schreiber is accused of playing key role in sprawling slush fund affair that
rocked the christian democratic union cdu party in the and tarnished the
legacy of former chancellor helmut kohl
he is believed to have made an undeclared one million mark euro cash
donation to the cdu prompting political scandal that claimed the scalp of the
then head of the party wolfgang schaeuble now finance minister
kohl acknowledged that the cdu had received illegal donations under his
leadership but he has steadfastly refused to disclose who had made them
during the affair merkel wrote an editorial in the frankfurter allgemeine
zeitung daily in calling for kohl to come clean over the funding scandal
and for the party to break with its murky past
merkel willingness to take on her mentor kohl legend within the party as
one of the main architects of germany unification marked her out as
future leader and she was elected head of the cdu the following year
she faced pointed questions last year about how she could appoint schaeuble to
be the steward of germany finances when he had accepted briefcase full of
cash from schreiber she defended her minister with terse response
despite schreiber allegedly deep involvement in dark chapter of german
political history experts did not expect major revelations from the trial
imagine schreiber knows some things that could still embarrass some people
said otfried nassauer director of the berlin information centre for
transatlantic security and specialist on the arms industry
nassauer expected that the defendant would bite his tongue in front of the
judges however
if convicted schreiber could face years in prison his trial is scheduled to
last until may
russia should cut abortions to boost population minister
moscow jan afp
russia should cut its high abortion rate to boost population growth the health
minister said monday amid government efforts to reverse post soviet
demographic decline
the topic of reducing abortions is definitely on today agenda this won
solve the birthrate problem percent but around to percent health
minister tatyana golikova said quoted by russian news agencies
golikova said that in there were million births in russia and
million abortions russia has long had one of the world highest abortion
rates
russia population fell precipitously after the collapse of communism
dropping from around million then to some million today due to various
factors including economic difficulties and high alcoholism rates
the government has taken range of measures to fight the population decline
including paying money to mothers for having babies and awarding medals of
parental glory to parents of many children
in late december prime minister vladimir putin announced that russia in
had experienced its first annual population increase since
blair to go before iraq war inquiry jan official
london jan afp
former prime minister tony blair will give long awaited testimony to britain
iraq war inquiry on january officials said monday
blair who controversially backed the us led invasion of iraq will face
full day of questioning at the chilcot inquiry according to an updated schedule
on the probe website
the former premier has long been expected to be the star witness at the inquiry
which was launched in november after the withdrawal of virtually all of
britain forces from iraq six years after the war began
last month blair admitted in television interview that he would have backed
the war even if he knew iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction wmd
triggering fresh criticism
blair who quit as premier in and is now the middle east quartet envoy
told the bbc it would still have been right to remove iraqi leader saddam
hussein because of the threat he posed to the region
also due to appear at the inquiry next week is peter goldsmith the former
british attorney general who advised blair on the legality of the war
spearheaded by the us administration under then president george bush
scheduled to appear this week are two key ministers from the time of the iraq
war then defence minister geoff hoon on tuesday and foreign secretary jack
straw on thursday
blair chief of staff at the time jonathan powell was due to give evidence
later monday at the inquiry chaired by former civil servant john chilcot
brazil toll in haiti quake rises to call for concrete aid
brasilia jan afp
brazil on monday called for the world outpouring of sympathy for haiti to
become concrete reconstruction aid as it updated its national death toll in
the quake to at least
the entire world is aware now that awareness has to be transformed into
concrete aid in money so that haiti can be rebuilt brazilian president luiz
inacio lula da silva said in his weekly radio program
this is the moment to put your hand in your pocket and help
brazil he said was pledging million dollars and noted the world bank was
offering million dollars
we think there are other countries that can do more he said adding that
coordination was needed to determine how best to use the money for
reconstruction
lula stressed that brazil had an important role to play in haiti being in
military command of the strong un peacekeeping force stationed there for
the past four years
the bodies of two more brazilian peacekeepers were identified on the weekend
bringing the total number of dead brazilian soldiers with the mission to
according to the army
that brought brazil national total to at least including the deaths of the
deputy civilian head of the un mission and high profile children rights
campaigner
two other brazilian peacekeepers are missing presumed dead
the south american nation has been sending several military flights laden with
food water and medicine to haiti it has also set up field hospital in the
peacekeeper main base next to the airport in the capital port au prince
uae energy minister says oil prices very reasonable
abu dhabi jan afp
united arab emirates energy minister mohammad bin dhaen al hamli said on monday
that world oil prices are very reasonable
hamli was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of four day alternative
energy forum being held in the uae capital
he was subsequently asked if he preferred prices to be in excess of dollars
barrel and said don like over and don like
am not comfortable with volatility in prices
he repeated in english and arabic more than once that he considered current
prices to be very reasonable
hamli considered the markets to be well supplied saying inventories are up
around days
he also said crude prices are linked to the performance of the us dollar
there is direct link between the rate of the dollar and oil prices when we
see the dollar rate down we find oil prices going up and vice versa he said
crude futures fell earlier on monday amid doubts over the strength of economic
recovery in the united states analysts said
but new york main contract light sweet crude for february delivery later
jumped cents to dollars barrel
brent north sea crude for delivery in march rose cents to dollars
barrel in london midday deals
meanwhile the dollar was trading up monday against the euro amid worries over
the looming budget crisis in greece
the uae minister whose country sits on the world fifth largest proven
reserves of crude had told participants in the forum that the gulf nation was
aiming to diversify its sources of energy through building nuclear plants
the uae last month awarded south korean led consortium contract worth
billion dollars billion euros to build four nuclear power plants
nuclear deals are part of the uae strategy to diversify its sources of
energy he said
important to note the reason we went for the nuclear option is that it was the
most viable given that the uae does not have natural gas enough to fuel its
economy he said
the uae reserves of gas are however trillion cubic feet six trillion
cubic metres ranking it sixth in the world after russia iran qatar saudi
arabia and the united states
we are going to have energy from fossil fuels nuclear and renewables it
will bring balance and sustainability hamli added
the uae capital was chosen last year to host the headquarters of the recently
founded international renewable energy agency irena as the country vies to
take the vanguard in developing alternative energy despite having the world
largest ecological footprint per capita
brazil toll in haiti quake rises to call for concrete aid
brasilia jan afp
brazil on monday called for the world outpouring of sympathy for haiti to
become concrete reconstruction aid as it updated its national death toll in
the quake to at least
the entire world is aware now that awareness has to be transformed into
concrete aid in money so that haiti can be rebuilt brazilian president luiz
inacio lula da silva said in his weekly radio program
this is the moment to put your hand in your pocket and help
brazil he said was pledging million dollars and noted the world bank was
offering million dollars
we think there are other countries that can do more he said adding that
coordination was needed to determine how best to use the money for
reconstruction
lula stressed that brazil had an important role to play in haiti being in
military command of the strong un peacekeeping force stationed there for
the past four years
the bodies of two more brazilian peacekeepers were identified on the weekend
bringing the total number of dead brazilian soldiers with the mission to
according to the army
that brought brazil national total to at least including the deaths of the
deputy civilian head of the un mission and high profile children rights
campaigner
two other brazilian peacekeepers are missing presumed dead
the south american nation has been sending several military flights laden with
food water and medicine to haiti it has also set up field hospital in the
peacekeeper main base next to the airport in the capital port au prince
eu earmarks almost half billion euros for haiti
brussels jan afp
european union nations earmarked on monday sums approaching half billion euros
in emergency aid and reconstruction funds to help rebuild quake ravaged haiti
at emergency talks in brussels eu development ministers decided that the
european commission and eu nations will donate million euros in emergency
humanitarian aid senior officials told reporters
the eu executive arm will also provide just over million euros in early
rehabilitation aid and further million euros in medium to long term
reconstruction money for total of million euros million dollars
we recognise that more aid and support is needed and more has been agreed eu
foreign affairs chief catherine ashton told reporters after the talks
we are coordinating under the strategic umbrella of the united nations working
closely with the united states and with others she underscored
international aid workers are struggling to cope with the scale of the disaster
in the caribbean island nation where officials fear the final death toll could
top
quarter of million more were injured and million left homeless in the
wake of tuesday magnitude quake
we ve also begun to think about the needs in the medium to long term in
bringing together conference to be able to express how we re going to be able
to turn our desires into pratical contributions ashton said
britain itself trebled its humanitarian aid to million dollars international
development secretary douglas alexander announced
it is now clear that the international community is dealing with an almost
unprecedented level of devastation he said in statement
the impact of this earthquake is magnified because it has hit country that
was already desperately poor and historically volatile
france will release million euros in emergency funds in response to un
appeal foreign minister bernard kouchner said monday in paris
according to an initial eu assessment more than physical structures were
destroyed or damaged in the haitian capital port au prince
but aid has been difficult to get into haiti given the number of planes and
ships descending on the country to help while people in need have no way of
knowing where to go to find the food and water they so badly need
another us military personnel were expected by monday to join
already on the ground or in ships off haiti
us admiral said more humanitarian aid was coming through guantanamo the us
naval base in cuba every day
spanish foreign minister miguel angel moratinos said the un had asked the eu to
provide logistical support for ships laden with emergency supplies and
helicopters to help unload aid
he also said the world wanted brussels to provide police units to protect the
aid distribution and prepare the roads with military engineers demand
ministers discussed at their talks in brussels
britain development aid secretary michael foster at the meeting said his
understanding is that the us has some troops on the ground in haiti and
that should be more than enough as security mission
any contingent sent would be done only at the request of the un officials said
ashton who travels to new york on wednesday for meetings with us and un
officials said there was no question of swamping the system stressing the
big logistical questions
she underlined you can just walk in and dump aid you have to plan to do it
properly to make sure it reaches everyone
another eu diplomat said the bloc is also likely to back calls for an
international reconstruction conference on haiti to be held under the auspices
of the un and the world bank
iraqi province gives saddam loyalists hours to leave
najaf iraq jan afp
local government officials warned saddam hussein loyalists on monday to move out
of the shiite province of najaf in central iraq within hours or face an iron
fist
they demanded the exodus after meeting to discuss security in the wake of
triple bomb attack last week in najaf about kilometres miles south of
baghdad that left up to people dead
the baath gang of saddam has one day to leave the province or we will use an
iron fist against those who have failed to distance themselves from the baath
and al qaeda the officials said in statement
the leader of the provincial council which is dominated by the party of prime
minister nuri al maliki shiite blamed the bomb attack on baathists
referring to saddam outlawed sunni dominated baath party
the council next measure will be to purge local government institutions of
baathists said the statement which also asked baghdad to use its intelligence
services to identify wrongdoers
the demand could further inflame sunni shiite tensions after many sunnis were
among candidates barred last week from the conflict wracked country march
general election purportedly because of baathist links
baath party membership was key condition for obtaining job and gaining
promotion in public sector employment during saddam regime as consequence
the party included large numbers of sunnis and shiites
controversial process of de baathification was adopted by washington diplomat
paul bremer head of the coalition provisional authority following the invasion
in which saw thousands of saddam era employees sacked
resentment among sunnis over that decision and subsequent shiite dominated
government lingers despite national reconciliation process aimed at healing
such rifts
khaled jashami member of the supreme iraqi islamic council siic one of the
country biggest shiite parties however was adamant that drastic measures
were needed in najaf
this decision aims to target those who have refused to repudiate the baath
party and its ideas who have on their hands the blood of innocents in najaf and
other cities he said
we took this decision to rid najaf of baathist ideas we will seriously work to
purge the security services and government institutions he added
in response baghdad government spokesman ali al dabbagh insisted that no plan
existed to sack interior and defence ministry employees
attacks in najaf are rare but last thursday incident caused large number of
casualties although accounts of the numbers varied
an interior ministry official in the capital said people were killed and
wounded while local official in najaf said three people died but gave much
higher wounded toll of including in serious condition
yachting oracle gives alinghi monday deadline to sign deal
madrid jan afp
america cup challenger oracle has offered to drop its latest legal action
against alinghi if the swiss defender signs deal the two sides negotiated in
singapore by gmt on monday
oracle last week asked the supreme court of the state of new york to rule on
whether alinghi had infringed nationality rules by allegedly using us made sails
