information regarding the intelligence agency procedures and structures which
forced change in the cni organisation
but he stressed the information had not damaged the national security of spain
the european union or nato nor was it related to counter terrorism activity
an investigation had started in july after the cni began to suspect that it
had been infiltrated by spy
prosecutors said garcia recorded the information on dvds cds and cassettes
which were found when authorities searched his two homes in the canary island of
tenerife following his arrest
impact of yemen northern conflict neglected icrc warns
geneva jan afp
the international red cross warned on monday that yemen top humanitarian
problem the worsening impact of the conflict in the north has been largely
neglected ahead of conference on the country this week
dominik stillhart deputy director of operations at the international committee
of the red cross said the revived fighting between shiite rebels and government
forces around saada since august was worse than ever
in the run up to the conference in london it is important to realise that the
humanitarian situation in north yemen is worse than ever he told journalists
if no immediate action is taken to counter this trend the north of yemen could
slide into long term humanitarian crisis
the international conference on wednesday on extremism social and economic
issues in the poorest arab state was prompted by botched christmas day bombing
of us airliner by year old nigerian thought to have been trained in
yemen
whereas much of the focus is security related one should not forget the
conflict in the north which is clearly in humanitarian terms the number one
problem of yemen today stillhart said
the resurgent northern conflict is not directly related to the crackdown on
alleged al qaeda militants in yemen according to analysts and diplomats
about people have received help from the red cross and red crescent
since fighting resumed last august but overall needs in the area clearly
exceed the humanitarian response capacity stillhart said
many civilians were out of reach he added there is clearly need for food
aid
total of about people have been displaced by the northern conflict
since it first erupted in according to the office of the un high
commissioner for refugees unhcr
the latest round of clashes erupted on august when government forces
launched operation scorched earth an offensive to stamp out the uprising
among the zaidi shiites minority in mainly sunni yemen but the majority in
the northern mountains
earlier this month yemen prime minister ali mujawar claimed that the northern
rebels and southern secessionists stood together in an axis of evil with al
qaeda
karzai to seek removal of taliban names from un blacklist
istanbul jan afp
afghan president hamid karzai said monday he would ask at this week
afghanistan conference in london for the names of taliban members to be removed
from un sanctions list
will be making statement at the conference in london to the effect of
removing taliban names from the un sanctions list karzai told reporters after
talks with his pakistani and turkish counterparts in istanbul
he said the idea had met resistance in the past but as we are talking today
there is more willingness that this can be reconsidered
urgent france calls for tougher eu sanctions against iran
brussels jan afp
france european affairs minister pierre lellouche on monday urged his eu
partners to prepare new sanctions against iran which he said were now required
due to tehran intransigence over its nuclear programme
police crime in russia up by percent in
moscow jan afp
crimes committed by russian police rose by percent in with more than
cases on record russia police watchdog told afp monday
the number of crimes committed by police totalled in an percent
increase on the previous year spokesman andrei moskovkin said
more than of the crimes recorded involved corruption and abuse of power
in total crimes offences and infractions by police were recorded last
year in russia percent increase on
russia interior ministry and ministry of police have been at the centre of
number of scandals in the past months involving corruption murder and the
falsification of evidence
russian president dmitry medvedev responded by announcing major reforms of the
police and prison system
medvedev ordered that the chief of police in the tomsk region in siberia be
removed from his position friday following the death of journalist in tomsk
who had been savagely beaten by police officer
finnish court rejects extradition of chechen couple
helsinki jan afp
finnish court rejected monday lithuanian extradition request for chechen
couple wanted on charges of abusing their foster children citing the couple
pending asylum application
the district court found that despite the general prerequisites for extradition
there is basis for refusal as the gatayevs have sought asylum in finland
against lithuania and the processing of the application in finland is
incomplete the helsinki district court said in statement
it added that extradition at this stage would breach the couple right to find
out whether they are entitled to asylum
earlier this month finnish police arrested the couple khadizhat gatayeva and
malik gatayev on an arrest warrant issued by lithuania which they fled last
year while appealing jail sentences for abuse and extortion of foster children
the pair who have run orphanages in the chechen capital grozny and in
lithuania are seeking asylum in finland because of alleged abuse by lithuanian
authorities
the district court decision can be appealed within seven days and the couple
will be held in custody until the court decision becomes legal it said
law of probabilities backs hopes for conference hears
london jan afp
the law of probabilities backs theories that we are not alone in the universe
although an encounter with an advanced civilisation may shock our species
scientists at conference said here on monday
there is no firm evidence that life exists elsewhere but there is very firm
probability for it said baruch blumberg an astrobiologist at the fox chance
cancer center in philadelphia
my clear prediction is that living generations have an excellent chance of
seeing extra terrestrial life being detected said martin dominik an
astronomer at the university of st andrews scotland
life on earth may have been kickstarted thanks to carbon molecules and dust that
drift through interstellar space said pascale ehrenfreund an astrochemist at
george washington university washington
if so the basic building blocks of life at least as recognised on earth
must be widespread in planetary systems in our milky way and other galaxies
she suggested
the two day conference is being hosted by britain royal society one of the
cradles of modern science as part of series of discussions on major issues to
mark the academy th anniversary
the meeting is not intended to give any conclusion on whether other life exists
but give snapshot of where we are in our quest to find it and speculate on
the impacts of such discovery on human society
lord rees president of the royal society said it was essential to admit to
our present ignorance
we don even know how life began here on earth and that being said we don
even know how to place our bets on how widespread life is or where to look for
it he said in an interview
even so new astronomical tools including powerful orbital telescopes are
exposing extra solar worlds or planets orbiting other stars and one of them
could eventually be revealed as potential haven for life said blumberg
since more than extrasolar planets have been detected and the number
is increasing rapidly he said
intriguingly though none so far has been found to be in the lucky position of
earth
we inhabit rocky planet orbiting in the so called goldilocks zone where it is
not too hot not too cold but just balmy enough for water one of the key
ingredients for life as we know it to exist in liquid form
some of the speakers scorned hollywood notion of the extraterrestrial whose
anatomy was invariably inspired by human design four limbs and head housing
an external brain and whose behaviour was driven by human emotions of anger and
love
if alien life exists our first discovery is likely to be in microscopic form
which would not be too disconcerting for our civilisation said albert harrison
social psychologist at the university of california at davis
it could be as bacterium found in promising sites in the solar system such as
the sub soil of mars jupiter satellite europa or on the saturnian moon
enceladus which are thought to harbour oceans beneath their icy crust some
hope
simon conway morris professor of evolutionary palaeobiology at the university
of cambridge offered contrasting view
my own opinion is that the origin of life is complete fluke he said
fear that we are completely alone there nothing out there at all not
thing
should smart aliens want to contact us he warned we should not necessarily
think they will be cuddly kind and wise in the spielberg genre
they could be like the aztecs just as aggressive and extremely unpleasant he
said if wrong and the telephone rings whatever you do do not pick it
up we might not want to say hello
alert
france calls for tougher sanctions against iran over nuclear issue
moderate quake strikes off indonesia
jakarta jan afp
moderate magnitude earthquake struck off the south of indonesia sumatra
island monday us geologists said there was no immediate tsunami warning
the quake struck at pm gmt about kilometres miles south
southeast of bengkulu on sumatra island at depth of kilometres the us
geological survey said in preliminary report
indonesia sits on the pacific ring of fire where the meeting of continental
plates causes high volcanic and seismic activity
magnitude quake that struck sumatra island on september killed more
than people
urgent karzai to seek removal of taliban names from un blacklist
istanbul jan afp
afghan president hamid karzai said monday he would ask at this week
afghanistan conference in london for the names of taliban members to be removed
from un sanctions list
final haiti quake toll expected to be dead minister
port au prince jan afp
the final nationwide toll from haiti devastating january earthquake is
expected to be dead health minister alex larsen said on monday with
bodies already counted
we re expecting figure of around dead larsen told journalists in
port au prince of the nationwide toll
at the health ministry we ve counted more than bodies he said
including those counted by the united nations mission in haiti minustah
the number of homeless is around one million
the magnitude quake leveled much of the haitian capital and caused even
more extensive damage to towns nearer the tremor epicenter in the americas
worst ever recorded disaster
relentless bloodshed across iraq
baghdad jan afp
at least people were killed and wounded in three minibus borne bombings in
baghdad on monday less than six weeks from general election following are
some of the major attacks in iraq since the us led invasion of march
jan three massive and apparently coordinated bombings targeting hotels in
baghdad kill at least people and wound
dec car bombs targeting offices of the labour interior and finance
ministries court and police in baghdad kill at least people and wound
around
oct suicide bombings at the justice ministry and baghdad governorate kill
people and wound more than in the deadliest attacks in more than two
years
aug truck bombings devastate the finance and foreign ministries in iraq
worst day of violence in months killing people and wounding around
feb bombs at baghdad pet markets kill people
aug more than people slaughtered in four coordinated suicide truck
bombs targeting the yazidi religious sect in two kurdish villages in northern
iraq the deadliest single day toll since the invasion
july suicide truck bombing kills people in emerli village north iraq
april car bombs in baghdad shiite districts kill
march anti shiite attack in northern town of tal afar kills
march shiite pilgrims slaughtered across iraq
feb suicide truck bombing in baghdad market kills
nov at least killed in car bombings targeting baghdad shiite
stronghold of sadr city
feb insurgents bomb shiite shrine in samarra triggering wave of communal
bloodshed hundreds killed
sept triple car bombing leaves dead in mainly shiite town of balad
sept suicide bomber kills at least people in kadhimiyah shiite
district of baghdad
feb suicide bombing in hilla south of baghdad kills at least
june wave of coordinated attacks across iraq kills more than
march bombs targeting shiites in karbala and baghdad kill more than
feb at least people killed in twin suicide bombs targeting hq of two
kurdish political parties in arbil
final haiti quake toll expected to be dead minister
port au prince jan afp
the final nationwide toll from haiti devastating january earthquake is
expected to be dead health minister alex larsen said on monday with
bodies already counted
we re expecting figure of around dead larsen told journalists in
port au prince of the nationwide toll
at the health ministry we ve counted more than bodies he said
including those counted by the united nations mission in haiti minustah
the number of homeless is around one million
the magnitude quake leveled much of the haitian capital and caused even
more extensive damage to towns nearer the tremor epicenter in the americas
worst ever recorded disaster
three blasts targeting baghdad hotels kill at least
baghdad jan afp
three huge and apparently co ordinated minibus bombs targeted hotels in baghdad
on monday killing at least people and wounding less than six weeks before
general election
iraqi politicians and us forces have warned of rising violence ahead of the
march vote the second parliamentary ballot since the us led invasion
ousted saddam hussein but ushered in deadly and long lasting insurgency
us secretary of state hillary clinton said extremists were trying to upend
progress toward democracy
the first bomb struck near the palestine and sheraton hotels in abu nawaz close
to where giant statue of saddam was symbolically toppled almost seven years
ago at around pm gmt an interior ministry official said
the second and third blasts just minutes later targeted the babylon hotel in the
central district of karrada and the hamra hotel in jadriyah in the south of the
capital he added
iraqi military spokesman in baghdad major general qassim atta said all three
bombings were suicide attacks
an interior ministry official told afp that people had been killed and
were wounded the streets leading to the hotels were immediately sealed off
preventing journalists from approaching
security source said armed clashes broke out near the hamra in what appeared
to be diversionary attack before the suicide bomber drove his minibus at the
hotel seconds later and detonated it
the first explosion in abu nawaz shook ground miles away from the site of the
blast and sent plumes of smoke rising hundreds of metres yards into the sky
monday attacks differed from recent high profile bombings in baghdad in that
they targeted hotels one of the capital few remaining symbols of tourism
rather than government buildings
the hotel bombings were followed around minutes later by government
announcement that saddam notorious cousin and henchman chemical ali hassan
al majid symbol of the fallen regime had been executed
nearly people were killed and more than were wounded last year in co
ordinated vehicle bombings at government buildings including the ministries of
finance foreign affairs and justice in august october and december
the latest attacks occurred less than two weeks after security forces sealed off
baghdad after being tipped off that bomb laden cars had been parked in the city
insurgents weakened in the past year have in the past six months changed
tactics and mounted successful attacks on hard targets such as government
buildings rather than so called soft targets in civilian areas
there are widespread fears in the wake of the bloody attacks to hit baghdad in
the second half of that political violence will rise in the weeks leading
up to the march vote
the election is seen as crucial step towards consolidating iraq democracy
and securing complete us military exit by the end of as planned
however bitter row has broken out in recent weeks after hundreds of candidates
were banned from taking part in the election because of their alleged links with
saddam
the dispute has alarmed the united states and the latest bombings will add to
washington concerns
when people believe in the political system and that they can chart their own
future then that poses direct rebuke to those who try to govern by fear
intimidation and violence clinton told reporters on monday
we unfortunately believe that that there will be continued efforts by the
terrorists by al qaeda in iraq in particular to try to upend the
commitment of the iraqi people toward democratic future
the iraqis themselves by their actions are demonstrating great deal of
courage
us vice president joe biden was in baghdad for hours at the weekend after
which he said he was confident iraq leaders would find just solution to
the exclusions issue
he did however say the united states supported the exclusion of candidates
linked to saddam outlawed baath party and military and intelligence services
the issue is not the goal of holding individuals accountable for their past
actions but the process of disqualification itself he said urging legitimate
procedures
iraqis under their leaders understand that if the people see the process as
fair and transparent it will enhance the credibility of the election
final death toll from haiti expected to be minister
port au prince jan afp
the final nationwide toll from haiti devastating january earthquake is
expected to be dead health minister alex larsen said on monday with
bodies already counted
we re expecting figure of around dead larsen told journalists in
port au prince of the nationwide toll
ericsson cuts more jobs profit plunges
stockholm jan afp
ericsson announced on monday an extra job cuts under restructuring which
bit deeply into fourth quarter net profit at the firm the world leader in phone
network equipment
total announced job cuts are now about generating huge restructuring
charges with the intention of bringing equally huge cost savings
but ericsson chief executive hans vestberg refused to issue forecast for
earnings telling reporters it was too early to say how the market would
develop financial daily dagens industri said in its online edition
the swedish telecom giant which has some employees worldwide said sales
had dropped in the fourth quarter owing to cuts in investments by mobile phone
operators in number of markets including in developing nations in central
europe the middle east and africa
in sign of the impact of the economic crisis on the telecom industry
ericsson net profit plunged by percent to million kronor million
euros million dollars between october and december
that was in contrast to net profit of billion kronor in the same period
of the company said in statement
the profit was much lower than expected as analysts polled by dow jones
newswires had forecast net profit of billion kronor
restructuring costs nearly doubled to billion kronor in the fourth quarter
compared to billion kronor in the same period in and for the full year
the charges totalled billion kronor the company said
the company estimated that its restructuring programme would cost up to
billion kronor and bring annual savings of between billion and billion
kronor
when the initial restructuring programme was announced in january it
was anticipated that the actions would result in reduction of the number of
employees by some of which about in sweden ericsson said
the has been exceeded and is estimated to reach approximately the
company said in the statement
analyst jan dworsky at handelsbanken said the cuts were necessary amid rising
competition from chinese rival huawei
it has to be done to fight off the competition coming primarily from the
chinese suppliers it necessary to do what they re doing he said
ericsson has also suffered from the difficulties at its two joint ventures sony
ericsson and st ericsson which together chalked up charges of billion
kronor
sales fell by percent to billion kronor in the fourth quarter in the
wake of the global economic crisis and the rising competition
ericsson said the anticipated decline in sales of older gsm networks had
accelerated owing to the economic crisis but was not yet offset by the growth
in mobile broadband and investments in next generation ip networks
during the second half of networks sales were impacted by reduced
operator spending in number of markets vestberg said in statement
during operators in number of developing markets especially central
europe middle east and africa became increasingly cautious with investments
he said
meanwhile other markets including china india and the us continued to show
good development with major network buildouts vestberg said
despite the gloomy earnings report the company said it planned to increase its
dividend to shareholders by kronor to kronor
ericsson shares were down by percent at kronor on the stockholm stock
exchange in late afternoon trading
alert
karzai says will seek the removal of taliban members from un sanctions list
fiat forecasts return to profit in
milan jan afp
italian automaker fiat on monday reported higher than expected net loss in
but forecast return to profit this year as long as european governments
continue to offer incentives to buy eco friendly vehicles
the automaker announced net loss of million euros billion dollars in
compared with profit of billion euros the previous year
analysts had predicted net loss of some million euros according to
consensus compiled by dow jones newswires
the annual loss is the first for the italian icon since its return to profit in
under its dynamic new boss sergio marchionne credited with turning the
company around after four straight years in the red
fiat said in statement that it would propose to shareholders the payment of
dividends totalling million euros in after paying no dividends last
year
the group forecast net profit of between million and million euros in
subject to continued availability of eco incentives in the european
automotive market it said
schemes such as cash for clunkers bonuses for swapping in petrol guzzling cars
for more fuel efficient models will help fiat achieve turnover of between
billion and billion euros the statement said
without such programmes turnover would be some billion euros less it said
the group sales including the fiat lancia and alfa romeo brands remained
stable in at million units
italy the group largest market has announced that it will maintain the eco
incentives while germany said it will abandon its programme
the italian group put the loss down to restructuring costs and write downs
related to the strategic realignment with chrysler last year when the italian
group obtained percent stake in the ailing us automaker in exchange for
access to fiat technology
the stake will rise to percent and eventually to majority stake as long as
targets mandated by the deal are achieved and taxpayer funds are repaid
fiat posted fourth quarter loss of million euros compared with net
profit of million euros year earlier
after particularly difficult with uneven trading conditions across the
group international scope of operations is positioning itself as
year of transition and stabilisation the statement said
fiat industrial debt figure closely watched by the market shrank from
billion euros in to billion euros in
scotiabank predicted in an auto industry overview last month that new car sales
around the world would gain momentum this year likely setting the stage for
record sales in
global car sales will continue to be buoyed by the ongoing massive and
synchronized monetary and fiscal stimulus said carlos gomes senior economist
of scotia economics the bank research arm in its global auto report
the report said better access to credit and the return to three percent growth
in the world economy will enable car sales to recover half the ground lost
over the past two years setting the stage for record volumes in
four wounded as rival burundi rival factions clash
bujumbura jan afp
four supporters of burundi national liberation forces fnl were wounded when
the former rebel group clashed with ruling party youth for the second time in
week officials said monday
the scuffles in northeastern burundi between the opposition fnl supporters and
the ruling cndd fdd party youth wing imbonerakure come against backdrop of
growing political tension in the small central african nation where general
polls are due in six months
yesterday fnl officials and supporters wanted to inaugurate their new office
in kabanga in busoni district when imbonerakure youth led by mp jean baptiste
nzigamasabo came to prevent them kirundo province governor juvenal muvunyi
told afp
it quickly turned into violent street battles between the two groups by the
time got there there were already four wounded three of them seriously all
from the fnl he said
another four people were injured in identical circumstances in bujumbura on
january prompting opposition leaders to charge that president pierre
nkurunziza was using his party youth wing as campaign militia
burundi main opposition parties and rights organisations have all expressed
concern that the regime was cracking down on political freedoms ahead of
elections due to begin in june this year
italy says afghan meet should look at somalia
washington jan afp
italy foreign minister called monday for an upcoming afghanistan conference in
london to also tackle the threat of extremism from somalia and other countries
during visit to washington foreign minister franco frattini highlighted
italy commitment to fund the daily operations of ministries in somalia
former italian colony that has lacked an effective government for nearly two
decades
but italy cannot do so alone frattini told joint news conference with us
secretary of state hillary clinton
will raise the point in london while talking about terrorism we have to
take into consideration there is unfortunately dissemination of terrorist
cells not in yemen only but in the horn and in the north of africa he added
this is problem that concerns us all
yemen has been growing source of concern in the united states since nigerian
who allegedly trained in the arabian peninsula poorest nation was charged with
trying to blow up northwest airlines jet bound for detroit
the united states has also worried that somalia already major source of
piracy could become haven for extremists akin to the lawless border area
between afghanistan and pakistan
in shift president barack obama administration has shipped weapons to
somalia to help president sharif sheikh ahmed embattled government fend off an
offensive by the al qaeda inspired shebab movement
clinton and other foreign ministers will take part in the talks wednesday and
thursday which are expected to look at ways to give afghans greater control of
security and provide incentives for fighters to leave the taliban
football egypt captain hassan sets african record for most caps
benguela angola jan afp
egypt skipper ahmed hassan shrugged off groin strain to set new all time
african record of caps in an africa cup of nations quarterfinal against
cameroon here monday
on wednesday the year old midfielder equalled the record of
international appearances by legendary striker and compatriot hossam hassan when
he stepped out for nations cup group game against benin at the ombaka stadium
here in benguela
clutch of egyptian players including ibrahim hassan and hany ramzi as
well as cameroon rigobert song have won at least century of caps each for
their respective countries
ahmed hassan made his international debut in friendly against ghana on
december as raw year old player
in over years of international football action the former anderlecht
and besiktas midfielder has won three nations cup winner medal in
and he was picked as the best player of the tournament four years ago and
angola is his eighth nations cup appearance
sam lp
british irish leaders race to rescue ireland power sharing
belfast jan afp
british and irish leaders said they would make an unscheduled dash to northern
ireland on monday to help its power sharing executive resolve deadlock on
policing that threatens its future
british prime minister gordon brown said he and irish premier brian cowen hoped
to assist the completion of talks between the nationalist catholic sinn fein
and the pro british democratic unionists dup who share power in belfast
negotiations between the two partners over the transfer of police and justice
powers from london to their joint government are the final and most
controversial part of the devolution process
but the discussions have stalled and sinn fein has warned that it could pull
out of the government altogether unless progress is made
the sense of crisis has been heightened by sex and funding scandal involving
the wife of first minister peter robinson who had an affair with year old
whom she helped financially triggering police investigation
robinson the leader of the dup has stood aside temporarily as first minister
vowing to clear his own name but remains engaged with the devolution talks
