analysts fear osama bin laden ancestral homeland cannot tackle the militants
on its own
saleh said on sunday he is open to dialogue with al qaeda militants indicating
he may show some leniency to the jihadists whom analysts say he does not view
as the main threat to his shrinking power base
with shiite rebellion in the north and movement for autonomy in the south
the central government asserts little control over the country which is also
reeling from an economic crisis aggravated by dwindling oil reserves and water
shortage
germany is by far the largest european contributor of development aid to yemen
with some million euros million dollars earmarked for the impoverished
country for
sanaa has turned to the energy rich gulf cooperation council gcc states and
the international community for help but aid has been slow in coming
us envoy rallies europe for mideast peace
paris jan afp
the us envoy for the middle east on monday moved to rally europe behind fresh
efforts for two state peace deal in the region saying the united states had
set timetable for negotiations
we are working with the parties to resume negotiations as soon as possible with
set timetable for their successful conclusion george mitchell told reporters
after meeting with french foreign minister bernard kouchner
our partnership with all our friends and allies in europe in support of these
objectives is critical he added
an eu spokesman in brussels meanwhile said that mitchell and other special
representatives of the middle east diplomatic quartet will meet in brussels on
wednesday to discuss the new us plan to restart peace talks
kouchner and mitchell are also due to meet there on tuesday with the new eu
foreign affairs chief catherine ashton
central to our efforts is resolving the israeli palestinian conflict on the
basis of two states mitchell said on monday
no one country no one leader can accomplish these objectives alone it will
take combined and concerted effort and partnership to achieve it
on monday israel maariv newspaper said washington was pushing plan to
restart peace talks that foresees reaching final deal in two years and
agreeing on permanent borders in nine months
us officials said friday that mitchell had already met in recent days with un
secretary general ban ki moon the quartet comprises the european union russia
united nations and united states
the palestinians have insisted that israel halt all its settlement activity in
the whole west bank before they will agree to peace talks
vw posts record sales of million vehicles
frankfurt jan afp
volkswagen the biggest european car maker posted record sales of million
vehicles for on monday as it pursues japanese rival toyota for the the
title of world number one
vw full year result was an increase of percent from the figure and
represented global market share of percent up from percent year
earlier statement said
it added that market share should be even stronger as it works to overtake
toyota by as the biggest car maker in the world
among the german group brands the vw nameplate reported percent
increase to million vehicles last year while its high end unit audi posted
separately drop of percent to
that was nonetheless better than fall of percent by rival bmw which said
it had delivered million cars owing to weaker consumer confidence and
tighter credit markets
vw benefitted from car scrapping premiums worldwide in as buyers focused
on smaller less expensive autos to make the most of state subsidised windfalls
makers of luxury cars nonetheless said their results had begun to pick up
towards the end of the year and bmw sales chief ian robertson told reporters at
the detroit car show that sales were expected to rise in the single digit
percentage range in
audi exceeded its sales target and said it aimed to deliver more than one
million autos this year
on friday daimler said its sales had dropped by percent to almost
million mercedes benz smart city cars and other autos
football sevilla squillaci to undergo ankle surgery
madrid jan afp
sevilla french international defender sebastien squillaci is to undergo
surgery on an injured ankle that could keep him out of action for another two
weeks the club said on monday
it said the year old will travel to paris on wednesday for the arthroscopic
surgery decision taken after discussions that involved french national team
doctor alain simon
the club announced on january that the central defender would be unavailable
while he rested his ankle day after he was replaced during the club
defeat to atletico madrid
squillaci signed from lyon in the summer of could return to the pitch in
little more than two weeks if all goes well the club said monday
sevilla who have lost their last three league matches are currently fifth in
the primera liga points behind leaders barcelona
cricket kohli steers india to victory with century
dhaka jan afp
virat kohli cracked brisk century to power india to an easy six wicket victory
over bangladesh in the last triangular one day series match here on monday
kohli made an unbeaten for his second one day hundred as india surpassed
bangladesh with seven overs to spare in the day night match
sri lanka and india who had already qualified for wednesday final finished
their league engagements with three victories from four matches bangladesh lost
all of their four games
india got off to solid start when gautam gambhir and dinesh karthik
put on for the opening wicket before man of the match kohli pressed home the
advantage with an attractive ball knock
kohli dropped on by mohammad ashraful at deep mid wicket off paceman syed
rasel completed his century and his team win with his th four
off spinner naeem islam was the most impressive bowler dismissing gambhir and
yuvraj singh to finish with
the hosts were earlier well served by skipper shakib al hasan and mohammad
mahmudullah not out who cracked fighting half centuries to prop up the
innings
bangladesh were struggling at before shakib and mahmudullah steadied the
innings with run stand for the sixth wicket to set the stage for late
onslaught which saw the hosts score in the last overs
shakib fell in the th over caught behind while attempting to scoop left arm
seamer ashish nehra over the wicket keeper he hit one six and eight fours in
his th half century
mahmudullah cracked one six and five boundaries in his career best knock while
naeem made an unbeaten off just balls late in the innings with the help of
one six and two fours
nehra was the highest wicket taker with off overs
urgent ireland leader vows to fight mischievous allegation
london jan afp
northern ireland first minister peter robinson vowed monday to fight unfounded
and mischievous allegations against him after temporarily stepping aside
following his wife affair with teenager
us surge in afghanistan succeeding commander
washington jan afp
the commander of nato troops in afghanistan said on monday that us troop
buildup in afghanistan had started to turn the tide against the taliban
we ve been at this for about seven months now and believe we ve made
progress general stanley mcchrystal said in an interview with abc television
but he added it not completed mission yet
president barack obama last month approved mcchrystal request for major
increase in us troops in afghanistan ordering reinforcements
the general recounted recent meeting in the helmand river valley in the
country south former taliban stronghold as an example of progress
underway
when sit in an area that the taliban controlled only seven months ago and now
you meet with shura of elders and they describe with considerable optimism the
future you sense the tide is turning he said in remarks posted on the us
network website
asked if nato led forces were shifting the momentum against taliban insurgents
the general said believe we re doing it right now
believe we ve changed the way we operate in afghanistan we ve changed some
of our structures believe we are on the way to convincing the afghan people
that we are here to protect them
but he said time was short
think that clock is in the minds of the afghan people so do feel that we
have got to move quickly to convince them that we can help them build
country he said
saudi says israeli settlements preventing peace talks
riyadh jan afp
the saudi cabinet said on monday that israel expansion of jewish settlements
is preventing efforts to revive stalled peace talks with the palestinians the
official spa news agency reported
israel continuing expansion of settlements in the occupied west bank and east
jerusalem is major obstacle to the resumption of the peace process spa
quoted cabinet statement as saying
israel has come under increasing pressure to freeze settlement construction and
expansion before peace talks with the palestinians can resume negotiations were
called off more than year ago over the war in the gaza strip
last week us secretary of state hillary clinton urged the palestinians and their
arab backers to accept resumption of talks without any preconditions such as
settlement freeze
representatives of the middle east diplomatic quartet will meet in brussels on
wednesday to discuss new us plan to restart the peace talks an eu spokesman
said
on monday israel maariv newspaper said washington was pushing plan that
foresees reaching final deal in two years and agreeing on permanent borders in
nine months
new foreign chief urges greater eu role in world affairs
brussels jan afp
the eu new foreign affairs chief urged europe on monday to play greater role
in world affairs but steered clear of thorny diplomatic issues in
confirmation hearing
in three hour session at the european parliament in brussels catherine ashton
also distanced herself from her past as an anti nuclear campaigner an issue
that could have damaged her chances of keeping the top job
am convinced there is clear call inside the eu and around the world for
greater european engagement to promote peace protect the vulnerable fight
poverty and address the many problems of our time ashton said
we have to answer this call combining leadership and partnership defending
our values and promoting our interests listening to what our partners say and
making sure that when we speak our voice is heard
ashton appeared relaxed throughout confidently responding to the euro mps whose
questions mainly focused on institutional concerns and how the former eu trade
commissioner saw the future of eu foreign policy
the post of top eu diplomat under its previous holder javier solana has
focused on smoothing relations and boosting europe influence in such places as
the middle east iran and the balkans
but the job has been beefed up by the lisbon treaty of reforms which entered
force in december and now includes seat as senior vice president of the
european commission
in largely non confrontational question and answer session the year old
british baroness gave general answers showing an understanding of the main
issues in her brief but avoided talking about any shifts of policy
powers for eu foreign and defence policy remain in the hands of the bloc
member states
it is unclear whether ashton will take over as international nuclear envoy from
solana who laboured largely fruitlessly for several years to get iran to enter
talks on suspending uranium enrichment
but ashton stuck to the european union twin track line of diplomacy coupled
with the threat of sanctions through the un security council
attacked by british conservative deputies over her role as an activist with the
campaign for nuclear disarmament organisation she said the relevance of the
is not the relevance of
not member of cnd and have not been member of cnd for or years
she said adding not ashamed of who am or what ve been
the session was the first in series of us style confirmation hearings to
determine whether ashton and other would be commissioners in the eu powerful
executive arm are up to the job
the european commission draws up legislation that impact on the lives of
million europeans and enforces existing rules it had budget of billion
euros billion dollars in
however many members of the european parliament which has also been bolstered
by new powers are keen to flex their political muscle
the assembly which is conducting hearings in brussels until friday and in
strasbourg next monday and tuesday cannot reject any individual commissioner
but can vote down the entire team at its plenary session on january
should it do so european commission president jose manuel barroso who has
already been confirmed for second five year term would be forced to seek
new candidate or candidates from the nations whose nominees are targeted
no surprises are expected but in the deputies rejected the candidature of
italy rocco buttiglione as the top eu justice official largely due to his
views on homosexuality
other major hearings include belgium karel de gucht on tuesday for trade
commissioner michel barnier of france controversial appointee as internal
market and financial services commissioner faces the lawmakers on wednesday
alert
ireland leader vows to fight mischievous allegation
emerging countries lead global economy back to normality
basel switzerland jan afp
emerging economies are driving global recovery the head of the ecb said
monday after central bankers concluded that the world economy was returning to
normality
at global level there is confirmation of the progressive normalisation
of the economy european central bank ecb president jean claude trichet said
on behalf of the central bank chiefs
we are in recovery mode that is something that is very much due to the
emerging economies trichet added after the first quarterly meeting of the year
at the bank for international settlements bis
these economies had demonstrated resilience and were very very clearly
in more dynamic mode now the ecb chief told reporters
the assessment marked an upbeat beginning to two months after the
influential group of central bankers said the world had pulled out of economic
freefall but still faced risks that could knock confidence
however trichet also warned that commercial banks must ensure that they clean
up their balance sheets in the wake of the financial crisis and credit crunch
that precipitated the worst recession since the great depression of the
we are telling our banks that they have to do themselves everything to
reinforce their balance sheet by all appropriate means he said
that included putting aside their own profit and being moderate in
remuneration behaviour he added amid an ongoing debate over pay and bonuses
at banks that are feared as being so large as to present risk to the entire
financial system and economy if they run into trouble
trichet also added note of caution about the risk of inflation especially in
the emerging economies leading the recovery
anchoring solidly price stability in the medium and long run is essential for
the stability of our economies and for the recovery he explained
although inflation last year even dropped to negative levels in some nations
economists fear that it could rebound uncontrollably unless governments stop
pumping money into their economies as recovery takes hold
the central bankers met the heads of several major commercial banks at the bis
over the weekend to underline the need for sound financial system to support
long term growth
they said they hoped that new international standards aimed at bolstering the
banking industry ability to weather future financial crises would be finalised
by the end of this year
timely completion of the basel committee reform programme is critical to
achieving more resilient banking system that can support sound economic growth
over the long term trichet said in statement released by the bis
leading central bankers and national regulators in the basel committee on
banking supervision said last month that they were aiming to strengthen bank
regulation by the end of once their proposals were refined and tested this
year
the reforms which have been in the offing for several months are part of the
international response to the crisis triggered by the collapse of financial
markets and several major banks over the past two years
the head of the financial stability board italian central bank chief mario
draghi on saturday warned that the financial system still remained very fragile
despite clear improvement
six nato soldiers die in afghan violence
kabul jan afp
six foreign soldiers three of them american and at least one french were
killed monday in wave of violence in afghanistan nato and french defence
officials said
the nato led alliance said that in addition to the americans and the french
soldier two others had died of their wounds an official speaking on condition
of anonymity told afp one of the two was also french
one of those whose nationality was not officially identified was killed by an
improvised bomb in southern afghanistan said the nato led international
security assistance force
monday deaths take to the number of foreign soldiers killed in afghanistan
so far this year according to an afp tally based on that kept by the
independent website icasualties org
in the attack on french troops insurgents raided convoy of french and afghan
forces in the alasay valley northeast of kabul according to president nicolas
sarkozy office
non commissioned officer paid with his life for the commitment of france to
the peace and security of the afghan people and an officer was very gravely
wounded sarkozy statement said
about half of the french soldiers serving in afghanistan with nato forces
fighting taliban insurgency are based in kapisa province and the neighbouring
region of sarobi outside kabul
the americans were killed in an engagement with enemy forces in southern
afghanistan isaf said without giving further details including the exact
location of the incident
southern afghanistan is at the heart of taliban led insurgency now in its
ninth year
last year was the deadliest since the insurgency began with foreign
soldiers dying in afghanistan compared to in
of the casualties were us nationals while the rest were from more than
other nations in the coalition fighting the taliban under us and nato
command
the united states and its allies invaded afghanistan in late to capture al
qaeda leaders whom washington said were responsible for the attacks on us
cities and taliban commanders who sheltered the islamist network
the insurgency launched by remnants of the taliban regime months after their
ouster has gained pace and the united states and nato are set to deploy
another troops during this year on top of the current
the insurgency is largely concentrated in southern and eastern afghanistan but
is expanding to the previously calm north and west
afghanistan defence ministry said its forces killed nearly dozen insurgents
in battles at the weekend in the province of helmand the heartland of the
insurgency
president hamid karzai paid tribute on monday to british journalist killed
while travelling with us marines fighting the taliban
rupert hamer of the sunday mirror newspaper was blown up saturday by roadside
bomb as he accompanied marines patrolling near nawa in helmand
philip coburn photographer for the british tabloid working alongside
hamer was seriously injured and us marine was also killed
the president praised the courage of the correspondent demonstrated in trying
to cover the real situation on the ground in helmand karzai office said
hamer was the second foreign journalist killed in afghanistan in days
on december canadian reporter michelle lang of the calgary herald was killed
in kandahar province in southern afghanistan alongside four soldiers when
roadside bomb exploded beneath their vehicle the taliban claimed
responsibility
in three journalists including lang died in afghanistan according to
tally by the international news safety institute
ieds are cheap and easy to produce mainly using fertiliser and mobile phone
switches
they have become the taliban weapon of choice according to senior us
military intelligence officer who said recently that ieds were responsible for
up to percent of foreign troop deaths
giant swastika on frozen german lake police
berlin jan afp
vandals have carved giant swastika measuring five metres feet across in
the snow on frozen lake in the northern german city of schwerin police said
on monday
the unknown perpetrators apparently scraped out the banned nazi symbol with
snow shovel on friday they also scrawled other nazi slogans on the lake police
added appealing for witnesses
under german law the use or display of nazi symbols is strictly forbidden
like much of europe germany has suffered an arctic frost in recent days with
much of the northern part of the country paralysed by heavy snowfalls
despite icy weather overall trend is warmer experts
paris jan afp
frigid weather that has gripped swathes of the northern hemisphere this winter
is unusual but does not undermine an overall global trend of warming experts
said on monday
northern europe and northeast asia have experienced brutal snowstorms and
freezing temperatures and cities as far south as seville in spain and miami in
florida have been plunged into the deepest chill in decades
the reason is natural phenomenon known as the arctic oscillation said barry
gromett of britain met office
it relatively abnormal pattern but it not unprecedented at all it
something that happens every years or so he said in an interview with afp
also called the northern hemisphere annular mode or the north atlantic
oscillation the anomaly consists of massive system of high pressure air that
sits over greenland
it like great big boulder in the stream it cuts off europe supply of
mild moist atlantic air instead we get arctic winds that feed in clockwise
which means we get the cold stuff off scandinavia and the arctic regions
frigid air streams are also deflected around the boulder into southerly north
america he said and another consequence is to strengthen the grip of the so
called siberian high pressure system intensifying wintery weather in northern
china and other parts of northeast asia
just as some parts of the world are experiencing extreme lows in temperature
others are having unusual highs as warmer winds are directed to unusual places
said gromett
parts of canada and alaska have been experiencing temperatures that are five to
degrees celsius nine to degrees fahrenheit above the norm while parts
of north africa and the mediterranean basin have also been significantly warm
in fact in the first week of january crete recorded temperature of more
than he said
michel daloz with meteo france the french national weathercaster said the
northern hemisphere cold spell in was relatively balmy compared with
previous episodes
the natural variability of the climate means that there are troughs of cold
from time to time he said
in and there were temperatures of between and
to across france daloz said
nor did it undermine data showing relentless warming he said
in fact in early december our main focus was on the clement weather he
said
according to the met office is provisionally the fifth warmest on record
and could be the warmest ever driven by the man made greenhouse effect and
by return to el nino natural warming phenomenon caused by buildup of warm
water in the western pacific
el nino reappeared in june and is likely to persist through the first
quarter of according to the un world meteorological organisation wmo
in geneva wmo expert omar baddour said the present arctic oscillation was
probably the severest in to years but predicted it would soon end
generally it lasts few weeks or month month and half it started in
december so we are nearing the end of the episode baddour said
afghans to allow legal challenges at bagram jail official
kabul jan afp
hundreds of inmates held without trial at controversial prison on us base
will be allowed to challenge their detention through the courts when afghanistan
takes over the jail officials said monday
the prison at bagram air field north of kabul has been compared to the cuba
based guantanamo bay detention centre and abu ghraib in iraq due to harsh
treatment of prisoners detained there without charge
in two afghan prisoners at bagram were fatally beaten by us troops since
then us officials have consistently stressed that conditions and treatment have
improved
afghan officials said monday that hundreds of afghan troops would be trained as
prison wardens before control of the bagram facility is ceded
no date has been set for the handover which was formally agreed on saturday
although once the prison is under afghan control inmates will be able to
challenge their detention through the afghan courts defence ministry
spokesman said
general mohammad zahir azimi said the army would take over the running of the
prison until the country judicial authorities which handle prisons were able
to do so
the existence of the bagram prison has undermined national sovereignty so
afghans have long been asked why when we have legal government our citizens
are taken away never to be heard from again azimi told reporters
the prison was established in the wake of the us led invasion of afghanistan
which unseated the extremist taliban regime to hold prisoners taken during that
campaign
last year new buildings were constructed on the base the biggest us military
facility in afghanistan to replace the decades old prison facilities that drew
criticism from rights groups and the afghan government
the bagram prison has been cause of tension between president hamid karzai and
his western backers notably the united states along with the issue of civilian
casualties
about afghans have been returned to civilian custody from bagram and the
guantanamo bay since officials said adding that around more are still
in afghan run prisons
montenegro beauty spot heavily damaged by floods
podgorica jan afp
floods are threatening montenegro ada bojana resort known for its nudist
beaches causing damages estimated at hundreds of thousands of euros local
officials said monday
ada bojana is an island of hectares acres situated on the delta of
the river bojana and the adriatic sea the island is known for its large nudist
resort on long sandy beaches
ada is flooded but the good news is that the water level of the river bojana is
now lower than on sunday gzim hajdinaga mayor of the neighbouring town of
ulcinj told afp by phone
first estimates have put the damages at around euros one million
dollars officials said
the water level in the bojana river after neighbouring lake skadar on the
border between montenegro and albania started overflowing after heavy rains
raging floodwaters forced the evacuation of people and hit homes in
northern albania this weekend
football celtic sign dutch defender hooiveld
glasgow jan afp
celtic announced monday they signed dutch defender jos hooiveld on three
and half year contract
the year old the glasgow giants first signing of the january transfer
window has arrived at parkhead from swedish club aik solna for reported fee
of two million pounds
delighted to sign for club of celtic stature hooiveld told celtic
official website
celtic has magnificent history and is club with great tradition and great
supporters
he added having visited the club and spoken to the manager feel this is the
right place for me and am very much looking forward to meeting up with my new
team mates and hopefully playing my part in bringing success to the club and our
fans
celtic manager tony mowbray said we are very pleased to welcome jos to celtic
he is player who we believe can make an important contribution to the club and
someone we look forward to working with
hooiveld helped aik win the swedish double in his only season with the club
celtic are currently second in the scottish premier league table seven points
behind leaders and arch rivals rangers
vw posts record sales of million vehicles
frankfurt jan afp
volkswagen the biggest european car maker said monday it sold record
million vehicles last year as it pursues rival toyota for the the title of world
number one
vw latest result was an increase of percent from the figure and
represented global market share of percent up from percent year
earlier statement said
finnish firm to market cancer prevention capsule
helsinki jan afp
finnish medical biotechnology group biohit said monday it had developed
capsule that could help prevent stomach and throat cancer by neutralising the
cancer causing compound acetaldehyde
acetaldehyde is produced from alcohol and sugar by microbes in the mouth the
gastric acid of healthy stomach generally kills these microbes but they can
survive in an acid free stomach and continue to produce acetaldehyde there
it is clear that acetaldehyde is class one carcinogenic or cancer causing
factor of the worst kind and it is clear that an acid free stomach is risk
factor for stomach cancer biohit chief executive osmo suovaniemi told afp
he said the capsule developed by biohit in collaboration with researchers from
the university of helsinki neutralised acetaldehyde when taken with meals or
alcohol and could therefore help prevent the development of cancer
how many cancer cases it may prevent in future remains to be seen suovaniemi
said adding it would take years to determine the capsule cancer preventing
impact
suovaniemi said the drug had received the approval of medical authorities after
undergoing clinical testing
biohit aims to make the over the counter capsules available in finnish
pharmacies during the first half of this year and to start marketing them
internationally during at the latest
