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iraqi government takes measures to bring blackwater to justice spokesman
us sees first month since iraq invasion without combat death
baghdad jan afp
the us army said on friday that it had suffered no combat related deaths in
december the first month without battle fatalities since the invasion
december passed without any service members being killed in action the
military said in statement this was the first month in the history of
operation iraqi freedom without any us military being killed in combat
was also the least violent year for us forces in iraq with soldiers
having died compared to in and in
in total american soldiers have died since the invasion to oust
saddam hussein according to tally compiled by afp based on the independent
website www icasualties org
we enter the new year with mixed emotions said general ray odierno the top
us commander in iraq
while we are thankful that no troops were killed in action in december we are
equally mindful of those who have lost their lives while serving our nation our
thoughts and prayers go out to their families and all that have lost loved
one in iraq
ski jump schlierenzauer takes nd leg of four hills
garmisch partenirchen germany jan afp
austrian gregor schlierenzauer the defending world cup champion won the second
leg of the four hills ski jump event on friday
following poor showing last tuesday at oberstdorf where he could only place
ninth schlierenzauer made no mistake this time as he leapt and for
total of points
that was enough to see off compatriot wolfgang loitzl who twice jumped for
points while swiss rival simon ammann was third after jumping and
venue record for points
austrian andreas kofler who won at oberstdorf came in fourth with leaps of
and for points
the new year has started off well that was really perfect day said
schlierenzauer who put his off day at oberstdorf down to stomach upset
finnish five time overall winner janne ahonen second at oberstdorf on his
comeback from retirement could only manage sixth this time after jumps of
and gave him points
after the two races kofler leads the way with point advantage over loitzl
with ahonen third five points further back
after adding to schlierenzauer previous venue record of two years ago
ammann is fourth just three points adrift of ahonen and three ahead of
schlierenzauer
ammann leads the overall world cup standings after eight of events with
points with schlierenzauer second on ahead of kofler on
the mainly german crowd of had little to cheer regarding the home
contingent coached ironically by an austrian in werner schuster as pascal
bodmer was their top finisher in th spot while vice world champion martin
schmitt could only come in th
schuster complained that schmitt and co are currently jumping well below their
potential
the next leg comes sunday at innsbruck with the final leg also in austria at
bischofshofen on january
iraq expresses astonishment over dropping of blackwater case
baghdad jan afp
iraq expressed astonishment friday over the dropping of charges against
blackwater guards accused of killing civilians in one of the bloodiest
incidents involving private security firm here
the decision by us judge to dismiss the criminal charges also sparked outrage
among iraqis and baghdad government spokesman vowed that it would act
forcefully and decisively to prosecute the blackwater criminals
was astonished by this decision human rights minister wejdan mikhail told
afp there was so much work done to prosecute these people and to take this
case into court and don understand why the judge took this decision
us federal judge ricardo urbina on thursday dismissed the charges against the
five saying prosecutors violated their rights by using incriminating statements
they had made under immunity during state department probe to build their
case
the case was among the most sensational that sought to hold blackwater employees
accountable for what was seen as culture of lawlessness and lack of
accountability as it carried out its duties in iraq
the guards who had been part of convoy of armoured vehicles had been charged
with killing unarmed iraqi civilians and wounding others during an
unprovoked attack at busy baghdad roundabout using guns and grenades
one of them has said what happened in nisur square how they killed innocent
iraqi people that were just in their cars without any weapons am very
astonished and am waiting for the us embassy to give me the judge decision
in full the iraqi human rights minister said
what happened was very bad because so many innocent iraqi people young
students were shot by someone who liked to shoot unarmed people
mikhail added that she had requested meeting with us embassy officials in
baghdad the embassy did not immediately confirm that the meeting would take
place or if it did who it would involve
the judge decision was welcomed however by the company chief executive
joseph yorio who said the company supports the judge decision to dismiss
the charges
from the beginning xe has stood behind the hundreds of brave men who put
themselves in harm way to protect american diplomats working in baghdad and
other combat zones in iraq
the firm renamed itself xe after the iraqi government banned it last january
over the killings
government spokesman ali al dabbagh said iraq would act forcefully and
decisively to prosecute the blackwater criminals
he added that an iraqi investigation had shown that the five guards were
unquestionably responsible for the deaths of the civilians
according to iraq civilians were killed in the shooting but the guards were
charged with deaths
foreign security teams in iraq long operated in legal grey area but under
military accord signed with washington last november baghdad won concession
to lift the immunity to prosecution previously extended to us security
contractors
ordinary iraqis expressed anger at urbina decision to dismiss the charges
dropping the charges against those guards disrespects the lives of the
innocents who were killed said abu uday university professor who did not
want to give his given name
the rights of the families of the victims must be guaranteed those who lost
their sons because of the rashness of guards who tried to show off their
abilities with no respect for people lives
the top us commander in iraq general ray odierno said he feared backlash
against private security firms working here
we all know that it was not us soldiers sailors or marines who did this it
was private security company odierno told press conference
what worry about is there will be backlash against private security companies
that continue to operate in iraq wouldn like to see that
blackwater ended its operations in iraq in may after the us state department
refused to renew annual contracts for the company
headquartered in north carolina blackwater was one of the largest security
firms operating in iraq with about staff and had been employed to protect
us government personnel since the invasion
blackwater chief hails ruling in iraq shooting case
washington jan afp
the ceo of the company formerly known as blackwater issued statement praising
judge decision to dismiss charges against five of his firm security guards
charged with fatally shooting unarmed iraqis
the company supports the judge decision to dismiss the charges said joseph
yorio chairman and ceo of the newly christened xe services in statement
appearing in several us media
from the beginning xe has stood behind the hundreds of brave men who put
themselves in harm way to protect american diplomats working in baghdad and
other combat zones in iraq he said
like the people they were protecting our xe professionals were working for
free safe and democratic iraq for the iraqi people read the statement
released late thursday
yorio remarks came after federal judge dismissed criminal charges against
the security guards who were accused of having gone on shooting rampage in
heavily trafficked baghdad intersection in september
judge ricardo urbina without ruling on the merits of the case said prosecutors
had violated the defendants rights by using incriminating statements they had
made under an immunity deal with the us state department
the government used the defendants compelled statements to guide its charging
decisions to formulate its theory of the case to develop investigatory leads
and ultimately to obtain the indictment in the case urbina ruled
prosecutors engaged in reckless violation of the defendants constitutional
rights in building the case against the security workers who were to have
gone to trial in february
blackwater worldwide changed its name to xe pronounced zee in february
following what the company said was change of business focus
critics however suggested that the rebranding was an effort to polish an image
tarnished by an alleged culture of lawlessness and lack of accountability among
blackwater workers as they carried out their duties in iraq
afptv updated advisory
paris jan afp
we have filed the following videos
rio beach party ushers in new year
rio de janeiro
two million people crammed copacabana beach to celebrate the new year with
massive fireworks display and night of music and revelry
news culture amp lifestyle
images
raw vid
web mmv
jordan rings in new year
amman
like many other countries around the world jordan ushered in the new year with
gusto especially as the festivities the year earlier had been cancelled because
of the war in gaza
news culture amp lifestyle
images and soundbites
raw vid
web mmv
iraqis hopes for
baghdad
as iraqis welcome in new year and new decade afptv talks to ordinary
citizens what they hope for the new year
news
images and soundbites
raw vid
web mmv
multi layered leadership takes over eu
paris
new look leadership structure designed to streamline the european union begins
in earnest on friday when spain assumes the rotating presidency alongside the
bloc first president herman van rompuy but as spain prime minister jose
luis rodriguez zapatero van rompuy and eu commission chief jose manuel barroso
jostle for position at the bloc top table it still unclear how it going
to work
news
voiced report
nsv vid
broadcast ready vid
web mmv
icy new year dip in northern france
malo les bains france
courageous french men and women brave the cold waters of the north sea to take
traditional annual dip to welcome in the new year
culture amp lifestyle
images and soundbites
raw vid
web mmv
detoxing thai style
koh phangnan thailand
in need of detox after christmas excesses one option is to head for the
beaches of thailand where combination of clean living fasting and the added
twist of some colonic irrigation could leave you feeling like new person
that if you manage to resist the temptation of the all night parties just over
the hill
culture amp lifestyle
voiced report
nsv vid
broadcast ready vid
web mmv
harnessing the wind in your backyard
touche france
while some people worry about wind farms being built near their homes others
are erecting their own turbines in their own backyard the practice is gaining
in popularity in france where homeowners are setting up turbines and earning
money by selling surplus energy back into the grid
environment amp nature economy
voiced report
nsv vid
broadcast ready vid
web mmv
nigeria filmmakers labour under sharia law
kano nigeria
there hollywood and bollywood and even nollywood nigeria movie
production but there also kannywood whose name comes from the northern
nigerian city of kano where many of the country movies are produced local
filmmakers now complain however that the muslim state sharia law has forced
them to rein in their business refile of previously offered report
culture amp lifestyle
voiced report
nsv vid
broadcast ready vid
web mmv
siberian tiger twins stars of baghdad zoo
baghdad
baghdad al zawraa zoo is enjoying baby boom particularly among its big cats
recently it siberian tigers gave birth to twins while its bengal tigers have
also produced cub these swelling numbers among its residents are also
reflected in the expanding number of its visitors this is rebirth for zoo
which was in dire straits back in refile of previously offered report
culture amp lifestyle environment amp nature
voiced report
nsv vid
broadcast ready vid
web mmv
contact
jacqueline pietsch
richard tompsett
croatia pm downplays genocide court battle with serbia
zagreb jan afp
croatia prime minister insisted friday that tit for tat row with serbia over
genocide allegations stemming from zagreb independence war would not worsen
ties between the ex yugoslav republics
prime minister jadranka kosor comments came after serbia said thursday it was
filing genocide counter complaint at the un top court over croatia
fight for independence which claimed some lives
this process is under way said kosor referring to belgrade decision to
lodge the complaint
they have made this gesture this complaint exists but that is part of
history while we have common future we really want to live here as good
neighbours she said
the international court of justice decided year ago that it would hear
zagreb own complaint of genocide and ethnic cleansing lodged against
belgrade in for its role in croatia independence war
the serbian government said in its statement on thursday that the court would
receive reply to croatia compliant as well as counter complaint against
the republic of croatia for genocide committed against serbs during the
war
according to the united nations more than ethnic serbs fled croatia in
when the croatian army launched military operation to retake territory
occupied by rebel serbs
nordic skiing majdic wins oberhof prologue
oberhof germany jan afp
slovenia petra majdic won the prologue of the tour de ski stage event which
counts towards the nordic skiing world cup here on friday
majdic covered the km in min sec to finish ahead of russia natalia
korosteleva at sec and poland justyna kowalczyk at sec
germany claudia nystad who won the prologues of the two previous editions
finished th with finland virpi kuitunen winner of the tour de ski
placing th
poland launches chopin bicentenary celebrations
warsaw jan afp
poland launched year of celebrations friday to mark the th anniversary of
the celebrated composer frederic chopin which will include events both at home
and abroad
culture minister bogdan zdrojewski officially launched chopin year at the house
where chopin was born in zelazowa wola kilometres miles west of the
capital warsaw
later friday the warsaw philharmonic was set to give its first concert as part
of the year events and on thursday the chinese pianist lang lan will play
some of the composer most celebrated pieces at concert in warsaw
chopin year will include around separate events from concerts and
exhibitions to films and theatrical performances with only of them
taking place in poland itself
the bicentenary events are not to popularise the music of chopin he doesn
really need to be popularised said former culture minister waldemar dabrowski
who is overseeing the year celebrations
chopin year is aiming presenting an image of poland today to the world through
the music of chopin he added
chopin spent the first years of his life in poland before leaving in november
just before the polish uprising against russia
in the following years he spent time in vienna and then paris where he died
aged only on october
briton freed after iraq kidnap ordeal arriving home
london jan afp
briton freed this week after being kidnapped in iraq in is expected to
fly home friday for reunion with his family officials said as controversy
over his ordeal refused to die down
peter moore computer expert was released unharmed wednesday after two
and half years captivity during which all four of his bodyguards also
britons are thought to have been killed
it is likely that peter moore will return home today spokeswoman for the
foreign office in london said no further details were issued and it was
believed his family had requested privacy
moore is reportedly going to be sent to safe house on his return for
assessments by doctors and psychiatrists and help in readjusting to normal life
relatives of moore and of the guards captured with him have meanwhile spoken of
their anger at the british government handling of the matter
the bodies of three bodyguards alec maclachlan jason swindlehurst
and jason creswell were handed over to british officials last year
fourth alan mcmenemy is also believed to be dead
mcmenemy father dennis accused the foreign office of deceit lies and cover
up while moore mother avril sweeney said the government had never told the
truth the guardian reported
the paper said thursday that iran revolutionary guard led the kidnap operation
and took the five to iran within day of their abduction
general david petraeus the us regional military commander reiterated to
reporters in baghdad friday that moore spent at the very least part of his
time in captivity in iran
that is based on an intelligence assessment and obviously ve not had chance
to hear it certainly not to talk to him but nor to hear anything that he has
said petraeus said
some commentators said deal may have been done to free moore after qais al
khazali leader of the group which captured the britons from government
building in baghdad was recently transferred from us to iraqi custody
moore father graeme moore said he believed this is what had happened
about four weeks ago got tip that there had been secret meetings between
the kidnappers and the americans regarding al khazali he said without
revealing his source
couldn find out any more progress of the meetings as it was all being kept
hush hush the whole thing was kept very secret to stop the foreign office
messing it up
was told they were being kept out of the loop and knew nothing about it until
the kidnappers handed peter over to the iraqi authorities
but the foreign office denied any deal was done
the united states transferred qais al khazali to government of iraq custody
under the two countries status of forces agreement it said in statement
the uk continues to be kept informed of this process through its contacts with
the united states and the government of iraq
separately the government of iraq is carrying out process of reconciliation
with groups willing to renounce violence and enter the political mainstream
since holding hostages is incompatible with reconciliation we judge that
progress on the wider reconciliation effort will benefit hostages held in iraq
there has been no prisoner exchange deal in the case of peter moore
britain and iran have also played down reports of link to iran
netherlands rejects venezuelan accusations
the hague jan afp
the netherlands rejected friday allegations by caracas that the united states
was using dutch caribbean islands to mount military operations against
venezuela
the latest allegations by venezuela that curacao and aruba are being used by
the united states to prepare an attack against that country are unfair baseless
and fantastical dutch news agency anp quoted foreign minister maxime verhagen
as saying
the netherlands does not permit the use of its territory for aggression and
aspires to good relations with venezuela
anp said that verhagen was asking the venezuelan ambassador to explain his
country allegations at meeting next week
venezuela foreign ministry on thursday called on the international community
to condemn alleged incursions into its airspace by us military drones launched
from aruba and the netherlands antilles
venezuela again calls on the international community to denounce the us use
of the colonies of aruba and curacao for the preparation of military aggression
against venezuela the statement said
the subsequent violation of venezuelan airspace on the part of the 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
the ministry did not give details of the alleged incursions
earlier this month venezuela president hugo chavez charged that the us
military was using the dutch islands off his country caribbean coast as
staging area for possible attack
he also accused the united states of launching spy plane from colombia that he
said violated his country airspace and vowed to shoot down any future such
aircraft
caracas suspended diplomatic relations with colombia in july in response to
military bases deal between washington and bogota calling it military threat
to the sovereignty of latin american countries and saying it paved the way for
possible attack on venezuela
watchman questioned in france over stolen painting
marseille france jan afp
french police have questioned night watchman at museum from where valuable
painting by th century artist edgar degas was stolen judicial official said
friday
police in the southern port city of marseille released the man without charge on
friday after detaining him on thursday evening the official said adding the
investigation is continuing
the picture colourful image of singers performing on theatre stage was
missing when staff opened up the cantini museum in marseille on thursday
the national museums service said the picture was pastel work titled the
chorus worth euros million dollars and measuring centimetres
by about inches by
it was loaned by the orsay museum in paris for an exhibition of theatre themed
artworks including some works by degas
prosecutor jacques dallest said on thursday that the painting had been unscrewed
from the wall there was no sign of break in and the theft may have been an
inside job
source close to the investigation said the watchman questioned was on duty
early on thursday morning when the theft was believed to have taken place
the city hall which runs the museum said people had visited the
exhibition and the show was due to close in marseille on january and later go
on tour to italy and canada
blackwater chief hails ruling in iraq shooting case
washington jan afp
the ceo of the company formerly known as blackwater issued statement praising
judge decision to dismiss charges against five of his firm security guards
charged with fatally shooting unarmed iraqis
the company supports the judge decision to dismiss the charges said joseph
yorio chairman and ceo of the newly christened xe services in statement
appearing in several us media
from the beginning xe has stood behind the hundreds of brave men who put
themselves in harm way to protect american diplomats working in baghdad and
other combat zones in iraq he said
like the people they were protecting our xe professionals were working for
free safe and democratic iraq for the iraqi people read the statement
released late thursday
yorio remarks came after federal judge dismissed criminal charges against
the security guards who were accused of having gone on shooting rampage in
heavily trafficked baghdad intersection in september
judge ricardo urbina without ruling on the merits of the case said prosecutors
had violated the defendants rights by using incriminating statements they had
made under an immunity deal with the us state department
the government used the defendants compelled statements to guide its charging
decisions to formulate its theory of the case to develop investigatory leads
and ultimately to obtain the indictment in the case urbina ruled
prosecutors engaged in reckless violation of the defendants constitutional
rights in building the case against the security workers who were to have
gone to trial in february
the case was among the most sensational that sought to hold blackwater employees
accountable for what was seen as culture of lawlessness and lack of
accountability as it carried out its duties in iraq
rallying sainz al attiyah puts woes to bed ahead of dakar rally
buenos aires jan afp
spanish ace carlos sainz and qatari teammate nasser al attiyah said friday they
had put last year woes behind them as they embarked on another dakar rally
campaign in argentina
now racing for volkswagen after his switch from bmw the year old al attiyah
raced for the latter in last year edition along with swedish female co driver
tina thorner and had joined the leading pack when he was disqualified after
missing series of stage six checkpoints
sainz also had his troubles and had to quit after an accident in the th stage
when he had built up handsome lead
the spaniard says that is all now mentally behind him
ve swiftly turned the page as soon as the race ended was already thinking
of the next one he told reporters as he and al attiyah prepared to head off on
their kilometre adventure across argentina and chile
the qatari was in ebullient mood
am here to win volkswagen has everything need to do it he smiled
al attiyah scored his first world rally championship point in argentina last
year so he feels the terrain suits him
volkswagen are spoilt for choice when it comes to experienced drivers as no less
than giniel de villiers last year winner is also on the team as is us
driver mark miller
volkswagen other drivers are all very strong said the south african
and then there those from bmw the hummer and also the mitsubishi racers
it ll be tough race he forecast
volkswagen motorsport director kris nissen said the team were hoping for great
things once again given that the car is even better than last year
friday opening stage was km ride from buenos aires to colon
the race is being held in south america for the second straight year
the edition was cancelled amid security concerns after the murder of four
french tourists in december in mauritania where the rally was to spend
several days
after relatively smooth opening trio of stages the race will head into terrain
in chile which is the most unforgiving anywhere on the planet not least the
bone dry atacama desert lifeless ultra arid zone which is said to be
times drier than death valley
figure skating savchenko struck down with glandular fever
berlin jan afp
germany aljona savchenko hot favourite for the olympic pairs title in
vancouver next month with skating partner robin szolkowy is suffering from
glandular fever
savchenko has cut down on her training and might not compete in the
european championships in estonia from january sources said
savchenko and szolkowy who have been skating together since are the
reigning two time world pairs champions and have won the european crown for the
last three years
suicide car bomb kills at pakistan volleyball game
peshawar pakistan jan afp
suicide bomber blew up car packed with explosives in the middle of crowd
gathered for volleyball game in northwest pakistan village on friday
killing at least people
it marked bloody start to for pakistan which has seen surge in attacks
blamed on taliban militants in recent months as islamist fighters avenge
military operations aimed at crushing their northwest strongholds
in the village of shah hasan khan in bannu district which borders taliban
stronghold south waziristan man detonated his vehicle as sports fans gathered
at field to watch two local teams face off at volleyball
the villagers were watching the match between the two village teams when the
