qaeda leader ayed al shabwani whom the government said it had killed last
week tribal source said
the attacks which began in the morning occurred in the village of erq al
shabwan in maarib province al shabwan region and were continuing into the
afternoon said the source asking not to be named
tribal forces in the village were responding with anti aircraft fire and
number of people had been killed the source added
the strike comes less than week after yemen said it killed six suspected
leaders of al qaeda in the arabian peninsula in saada province north of the
capital including shabwani
aqap denied that anyone was killed in the attack on three vehicles in
remote desert area of the province saying instead that some of its members had
been wounded
the government said qassem al rimi the military leader of aqap was among those
who died in the missile attack
it also said shabwani ammar al waili saleh al tais egyptian ibrahim mohammed
saleh al banna and an unidentified sixth person were also killed
rimi was among people who had made daring escape from state security
prison in sanaa in february that left the yemeni government red faced and
he was on list of wanted suspects
banna also known as abu aymen al masri was said to be an ideologist of the
group
iran snubs nuclear fuel deal diplomats
vienna jan afp
iran has responded to un brokered nuclear fuel supply deal rejecting some of
the conditions called for by the west and insisting on simultaneous exchange
of fuel diplomats here said wednesday
one western diplomat speaking on condition on anonymity told afp that iran
gave its response at meeting between the international atomic energy agency
new chief yukiya amano and iranian ambassador ali asghar soltanieh earlier this
month
the iaea refused to say whether the meeting took place or on its possible
content
but according to the diplomat soltanieh reiterated the islamic republic
earlier position including the demand for simultaneous fuel swap which the
west has persistently ruled out as unacceptable
the iranians did not give their response in writing however the diplomat
noted
instead the iaea drew up the minutes of the meeting and then asked soltanieh to
verify that the memo correctly reflected iran position
his response was yes the diplomat said
another diplomat also said it was unclear whether iran had actually delivered
written response but certainly there was no agreement to the trr tehran
research reactor proposal the diplomat said
under the terms of plan hammered out under the iaea auspices last october
the islamic republic was to have shipped abroad most of its stockpile of
enriched uranium for processing into fuel for reactor that makes radio
isotopes for medical use
the proposals brokered by the iaea then chief mohamed elbaradei were seen as
way of appeasing western fears that iran was stockpiling uranium for covert
nuclear weapons programme because it would have seen most of the islamic
republic uranium taken out of the country before any reactor fuel was
dispatched in return
but tehran which insists its atomic programme is entirely peaceful declined
for months to give any formal response to the offer with iranian officials
taking seemingly contradictory positions on it
world powers gave iran until the end of to accept the deal but the deadline
was ignored prompting talk of fresh sanctions against the islamic republic
in washington on tuesday us state department spokesman philip crowley
commented am not sure that they have delivered formal response but it is
clearly an inadequate response
on january iran repeated its counter proposal for staged fuel swap but
left the details open to discussion
if the other side expresses readiness for the gradual and staged swap we will
discuss the details foreign ministry spokesman ramin mehmanparast said
iranian foreign minister manouchehr mottaki insisted that tehran in fact had
until the end of january to reach uranium swap deal stressing it will press
on with plans to produce highly enriched nuclear fuel if there is no agreement
mottaki gave the west one month ultimatum to accept the iranian counter
proposal
iran is already under three sets of un security council sanctions over its
defiance and refusal to suspend enrichment which lies at the heart of
international fears about its nuclear programme
the process that makes nuclear fuel can also be used to make the fissile core of
an atomic bomb
the united states israel and other world powers suspect tehran is making
nuclear bomb under the guise of civilian programme an allegation iran
vehemently denies
sharia police rape case sparks debate in indonesia aceh
banda aceh indonesia jan afp
the islamic police force in indonesia aceh province should be disbanded after
three officers were charged with gang raping woman in custody rights
activists said wednesday
activists said the force did nothing but harass women about their clothes and
humiliate young unmarried couples and had now brought shame on the deeply
religious province on the northern tip of sumatra
this very shameful act has tarnished the implementation of sharia law in aceh
human rights activist teuku achmad fuad said
we urge the aceh government to disband the sharia police as they have failed to
do anything useful
women rights activist evi narti zein said the sharia police role so far
only frightens people especially women without muslim headscarves or with tight
clothes
the year old student was allegedly raped in police cell in east aceh
earlier this month after being arrested with her boyfriend under local laws
designed to enforce islamic morals
rights activists said the sharia police were not empowered to detain anyone and
could only issue warnings
page on popular social networking website facebook condemning the sharia
police over the rape has attracted more than members
provincial deputy governor mohammad nazar defended the force and said the rape
was an isolated incident
we can disband the sharia police because we need them to implement sharia
law he told afp
what went wrong is the personal integrity of the three officers not the
institution he said adding that the offending officers would be punished
teungku faisal ali of the aceh ulemas association top islamic body said the
alleged rapists should be made an example of how sharia law works in aceh
most indonesian muslims are moderates but aceh has special autonomy and one of
the ways it has defined itself as different from the rest of the country is
through the implementation of sharia law
an islamic law authorising the stoning to death of adulterers and the flogging
of homosexuals was enacted by the aceh parliament on september but has not
been signed into effect by the governor
greek court postpones trial on teen killing that sparked riots
amfissa greece jan afp
ringed by riot police and an anarchist demonstration court in central greece
on wednesday postponed the trial of policeman accused of shooting teenager
year ago sparking major violence
the court in the small town of amfissa where the trial was relocated for
security purposes moved the trial to friday as the main lawyer of accused
officer epaminondas korkoneas was occupied with another trial
korkoneas is accused of fatally shooting year old alexis grigoropoulos
during december night patrol in the bohemian athens district of exarchia
the incident sparked several days of riots
around anarchists marched through the centre of amfissa on wednesday
chanting anti police slogans and demanding that the process be moved to athens
korkoneas is on trial for voluntary homicide while his partner vassilis
saraliotis is accused of complicity
one far left extremist group has threatened to kill korkoneas prompting
authorities to send more than police to amfissa which is kilometres
miles northwest of athens
greece supreme court has rejected bids by the teenager family to move it
back to the capital the court was told wednesday that grigoropoulos mother
gina tsalikian was also unable to attend the trial opening as her own mother is
in grave condition in an athens hospital
tsalikian who has also appealed to greek prime minister george papandreou
argues that holding the trial far from athens hampers the presence of key
witnesses
we do not understand why this trial has to be held in amfissa one of the
grigoropoulos family lawyers alexandros katsantonis told reporters outside the
courthouse
several banks and shops in the town of inhabitants boarded their
storefronts for fear of violence
korkoneas has said that in the december incident he fired in the air to disperse
youths including grigoropoulos who threw stones at his squad car
an autopsy report indicated that the boy was hit by bullet that ricocheted
onto him but lawyers for the boy family point to the testimony of witnesses
who say the policeman took aim and fired
indian police clash with students over proposed state
hyderabad india jan afp
indian police used batons and tear gas against stone throwing protesters on
wednesday after two students committed suicide in an apparent macabre show of
support for the creation of new state
the clashes erupted as thousands of people gathered at osmania university in
hyderabad capital of the southern state of andhra pradesh
the city home to international it giants such as google and microsoft has been
the centre of protests since the national government announced in december that
the state would be carved into two
some students were injured when police used batons to disperse crowds who pelted
police with stones and shouted slogans officials said
protesters also burned police vehicle during the clashes that were sparked by
the deaths of two people who set themselves on fire reportedly in support of
the proposed new state to be called telangana
police told the press trust of india an year old girl burnt herself to death
in her room on tuesday and left suicide note saying she was unsure whether
telangana would ever be formed
also on tuesday venugopal reddy who had reportedly been distressed over
the delay in forming telangana set fire to himself and died at the university
furious students refused to let his body be removed from the campus
the ndtv news channel said reddy was believed to have left suicide note
appealing to sonia gandhi president of india ruling congress party to grant
separate telangana state
pti said university officials decided to postpone exams scheduled for this week
and local political leaders visited the campus and urged students not to take
drastic measures to show their support for telangana
the dispute has raged since those in favour of separate state went on hunger
strike in november led by former federal labour minister chandrasekhar rao
osmania has been the site of frequent violent protests for and against the
creation of telangana which would cover much of andhra pradesh impoverished
tribal belt and include hyderabad city
andhra pradesh is india fifth largest state in terms of territory and the
telangana cause is championed by many locals who allege government neglect of
the drought prone area
rescuers tears as haiti miracle survivors are freed
port au prince jan afp
rescuers hauled woman out of the haiti earthquake rubble after she survived
for week without food or water and barely able to move
another elderly woman started singing when she was pulled out of the wreckage of
port au prince cathedral hours before hoteline losana became the latest of
haiti miracle survivors
despite us military warnings that the operation would soon switch to the
recovery of thousands of bodies rescuers kept up the search into wednesday for
survivors like hoteline losana who defied the deadly odds
losana was pulled from the ruins of port au prince shopping center
she is conscious and in good form thiery cerdan of the french group rescuers
without borders which carried out the nine hour operation with haitian firemen
and american experts
losana had been in an apartment over supermarket when the magnitude quake
struck on january the rescuers said she had no food or water could barely
move and owed her survival to the position in which she was stuck
we pulled someone out seven days after an earthquake that is quite
extraordinary said bruno besson another member of the french team
hours earlier mexican firefighters rescued anna zizi from beneath the ruins of
the roman catholic cathedral zizi aged about was pulled from rubble two
hours short of full week after the quake struck
it seems rescuers were communicating with her and managing to get water to her
through tube she was singing when she emerged said sarah wilson of british
charity christian aid
some of the rescuers were so overcome that they started crying
the united nations said that people had now been rescued by international
teams in the past week and that there were still hopes of finding more
but major general daniel allyn deputy commander of the military operation in
haiti said us forces would soon switch the focus of the operation to recovering
bodies rather than looking for survivors
the haitian government gave latest toll of dead with another
injured and more than million left homeless
us troops fanned out across the ruined capital where the pace of the relief
operation has heightened street tensions
camped out under makeshift tents among the rubble survivors faced desperate
hunt for food and water for many looting is the only way
look when you are hungry and poor nobody helps you have to steal defiant
young man named vincent said as people plunged into the ruins of flattened
supermarket in the hope of finding food or something to sell
on tuesday us paratroopers secured the ruined presidential palace which is now
surrounded by squalid refugee camp
from there strong squad of soldiers marched to the city general
hospital which is swamped with injured people
we are here to provide security to the hospital we work with the government of
haiti we have rules of engagement but we are on humanitarian mission
sergeant bill smith told afp
us marines also landed southwest of port au prince to link up with un
peacekeepers before more troops and equipment arrives
state department spokesman gordon duguid said there were troops in or
around haiti with about marines and sailors also expected to take part in
the relief operation
the un security council voted unanimously to send extra un troops and
police to haiti to help maintain order and protect aid convoys
relatives told afp that haitian police killed year old girl fabienne
cherisma while firing warning shots over looters in the capital
some witnesses in the angry crowd including the girl father said policeman
had aimed deliberately at the girl while others spoke of warning shot that
went astray
the us deputy military commander allyn said there were now around daily
flights into the capital damaged airport and that two airstrips in the
coastal city of jacmel and in san isidro in neighboring dominican republic
would be in use by thursday
in huge global effort more than billion dollars has been pledged in aid
funding for haiti united nations data showed tuesday
international efforts are also focusing on rebuilding the country with major
donor conference set for monday in montreal
meanwhile in surreal scene the giant berth cruise ship liberty of the
seas dropped anchor off the port of labadee where royal caribbean international
leases private resort with beautiful beaches
the company which has donated one million dollars to the relief effort
defended its decision to keep taking passengers there by saying it was important
to still support the haitian economy
iran snubs nuclear fuel deal diplomats
vienna jan afp
iran has responded to un brokered nuclear fuel supply deal rejecting some of
the conditions called for by the west and insisting on simultaneous exchange
of fuel diplomats here said wednesday
one western diplomat speaking on condition on anonymity told afp that iran
gave its response at meeting between the international atomic energy agency
new chief yukiya amano and iranian ambassador ali asghar soltanieh earlier this
month
the iaea refused to say whether the meeting took place or on its possible
content
but according to the diplomat soltanieh reiterated the islamic republic
earlier position including the demand for simultaneous fuel swap which the
west has persistently ruled out as unacceptable
the iranians did not give their response in writing however the diplomat
noted
instead the iaea drew up the minutes of the meeting and then asked soltanieh to
verify that the memo correctly reflected iran position
his response was yes the diplomat said
another diplomat also said it was unclear whether iran had actually delivered
written response but certainly there was no agreement to the trr tehran
research reactor proposal the diplomat said
under the terms of plan hammered out under the iaea auspices last october
the islamic republic was to have shipped abroad most of its stockpile of
enriched uranium for processing into fuel for reactor that makes radio
isotopes for medical use
the proposals brokered by the iaea then chief mohamed elbaradei were seen as
way of appeasing western fears that iran was stockpiling uranium for covert
nuclear weapons programme because it would have seen most of the islamic
republic uranium taken out of the country before any reactor fuel was
dispatched in return
but tehran which insists its atomic programme is entirely peaceful declined
for months to give any formal response to the offer with iranian officials
taking seemingly contradictory positions on it
world powers gave iran until the end of to accept the deal but the deadline
was ignored prompting talk of fresh sanctions against the islamic republic
in washington on tuesday us state department spokesman philip crowley
commented am not sure that they have delivered formal response but it is
clearly an inadequate response
taiwan export orders see record growth in december
taipei jan afp
taiwan export orders in december surged by record percent from year
earlier on strong demand for information technology and communications products
the economic ministry said wednesday
taiwanese companies received orders worth billion us dollars last month
rise of billion us dollars from year earlier the ministry said in
statement
it was the highest growth rate since comparable records began in the
ministry said
the ministry expected the high growth rate to continue in the months ahead as
the exports emerge from last year lows when the world was knocked severely by
the worst economic crisis in many decades an official said
orders for information and communications products the main export items of
the tech savvy island economy increased percent year on year to
billion dollars in december the ministry said
export orders in november jumped percent year on year to billion
dollars earlier data showed
those from china and hong kong taiwan leading export market soared
percent from year earlier to billion dollars and orders from southeast
asia rose percent to billion dollars
but for all of the island export orders fell percent to
billion dollars from the previous year
india wipro says third quarter profits up percent
bangalore india jan afp
indian software exporter wipro ltd said wednesday its consolidated third quarter
net profit beat forecasts to rise percent lending further evidence to the
sector strong recovery
net profit rose to billion rupees million dollars in the three
months ended december up from billion rupees year earlier led by
demand for outsourcing and higher fees
revenues rose by more than five percent to billion rupees the bangalore
based company said in statement to the mumbai stock exchange
by us accounting standards wipro results wednesday showed percent rise
in net profit at billion rupees million dollars from billion
rupees year earlier
the better than expected wipro results follow india largest software exporter
tata consultancy services last week announcing that its consolidated net profit
rose percent in the third quarter on the back of improved orders
we saw positive demand environment driving broad based sequential growth
across all our services and regions said azim premji chairman of wipro in
company statement
we have seen robust recovery in the it infrastructure management services he
said adding that the firm would cash in on the resurgence in business by
forming new sales teams
the company expects revenues from it services to be in the range of billion
to billion dollars for the quarter ending march this year
wipro shares rose as much as percent or rupees to day high of
in early trade wednesday after earnings were announced prices retraced later
on profit taking to down percent or rupees
wipro it services business added new clients in the third quarter and
net addition of employees
in the quarter wipro entered into multi year outsourcing engagement with
leading global tobacco group
the company said its middle east operations also won deals wipro arabia secured
large order from new university in saudi arabia to set up their software and
telecom infrastructure
on acquisition plans girish paranjpe wipro joint chief executive for its
global it services business said the company was always on the lookout for
strategic deals without giving specifics
eu foreign affairs chief heads to us for haiti talks
brussels jan afp
eu foreign affairs chief catherine ashton who has taken flak for not rushing to
haiti headed to the united states wednesday for talks with secretary of state
hillary clinton and the un chief on the quake hit nation
the trip comes day after centre right and liberal deputies in the eu
parliament criticised her for not heading straight for haiti itself as clinton
and some european official have already done
the visit had been planned for several days well before the row erupted and
ashton has said she like other international officials heeded un advice not to
go to haiti immediately so as not to hinder rescue and aid work
had nothing to contribute on the ground other than to take up valuable
airspace ashton insisted tuesday am not doctor not firefighter
not everyone agreed
do you think it was good that clinton was there and the un world body but
europe was not present in haiti asked centre right mep joseph daul during
press conference in strasbourg
while ashton flies to washington her colleague karel de gucht the eu
humanitarian aid commissioner was to head for haiti wednesday to coordinate aid
and evaluate the immediate and longer term reconstruction needs of the
devastated country
ashton will meet clinton in washington on thursday before holding talks with un
secretary general ban ki moon the following day in new york her spokesman lutz
guellner said
she is also scheduled to meet other senior us officials in the administration
and in congress
channel tunnel traffic picks up after drop company
paris jan afp
traffic through the channel tunnel between france and england has picked up
sharply after freight and truck business slumped during the crisis for most of
the tunnel operator eurotunnel said on wednesday
the end of the year opens the way to improved activity spokesman told afp
sales for the year fell by percent from the figure for mainly because
of slump in the number of trucks carried and freight trains operated
however towards the end of the year and despite disruptions caused by bad
weather and the lagging effects of fire traffic picked up sharply the
company said
sales for the whole year fell to million euros million dollars but
in the last quarter sales rose by percent to value of million euros
the number of truck carrying trains operated in the whole of last year slumped
by percent but part of this setback was the result of fire that disrupted
traffic from september
traffic by freight trains was also hard hit by the economic crisis although it
began to recover in the second half of the year the number of these trains
operated in fell by percent
but the number of people carried on the eurostar passenger services rose by
percent in the year rising by eight percent in the last quarter
bereft of ally ukraine georgia goes it alone against moscow
tbilisi jan afp
ukraine expected turn towards russia under new president will leave pro
western georgia to go it alone in opposing moscow in the former soviet union
analysts said
with orange revolution leader viktor yushchenko inglorious ouster from office
georgia has lost key ally after nearly five years of joint efforts with
ukraine to transform the post soviet political landscape
hopes that both countries could be at the forefront of western efforts to
diminish russia influence in its former empire have dimmed analysts said and
georgia is looking increasingly isolated
ukraine and georgia were both playing the same role in terms of expanding
western influence in the former soviet union and that is going to change said
ana jelenkovic london based regional expert with the eurasia group research
firm
georgia is probably now going to be standing alone in opposing moscow she
said
sunday ukrainian election saw yushchenko trounced by moscow leaning candidate
viktor yanukovich who will be the favourite in run off next month with prime
minister yulia tymoshenko another veteran of the orange revolution who has
struck pragmatic note on kremlin ties
yushchenko had been major ally and close friend of georgian president mikheil
saakashvili who came to power in the rose revolution another peaceful
pro western uprising
yushchenko who is godfather to one of saakashvili sons made ukraine one of
georgia strongest supporters during its brief war with russia over the
breakaway south ossetia region
in comments day after the vote saakashvili insisted ties with ukraine would
remain strong despite yushchenko loss
the absolute majority of ukrainians and ukrainian politicians are georgia
friends regardless of which presidential candidate camps they represent
saakashvili said in remarks shown on rustavi television
whatever happens in the second round of these elections am sure these
relations will not change
analysts however said there is no way that ties will remain as close
especially if yanukovich emerges the victor
yanukovich position has been outright hostile to georgia especially during
the war said svante cornell the research director of the stockholm based
central asia caucasus institute
the loss of ukraine as an ally could deal serious blow to georgia efforts to
forge closer ties with the west and join the nato military alliance analysts
said
as tandem georgia and ukraine had much higher profile in western capitals
than georgia alone said lawrence sheets the tbilisi based caucasus project
director for the international crisis group
there no question that under yushchenko there was something of ukraine
georgia axis he said psychologically it made big difference for georgia to
have this very big and important country as partner in fighting moscow
the relationship could even turn confrontational if yanukovich is elected and
follows through on promise to recognise georgia rebel regions as independent
states
moscow recognised south ossetia and another rebel region abkhazia as
independent after the war move that has so far been followed by only
nicaragua venezuela and the pacific island state of nauru
shortly after the war yanukovich said in statement that ukraine should
accept the will of the people of south ossetia and abkhazia and recognise their
independence
jelenkovic said yanukovich could use recognition of their independence as
quick way of cementing ties with moscow
it could be way to start new presidency off with symbolic gesture towards
russia of where yanukovich presidency stands she said
that sheets said would deal huge psychological and diplomatic blow to
tbilisi and make it absolutely clear that georgia is the last place in the
neighbourhood fiercely opposing kremlin influence
corrected hong kong china shares tumble on liquidity fears
hong kong jan afp
hong kong shares fell percent wednesday amid renewed weakness in banks due
to continued uncertainties over beijing monetary policy dealers said
the benchmark hang seng index lost points to turnover was
billion hong kong dollars billion us
chinese banks led the hong kong decline after liu minkang chairman of the china
banking regulatory commission said beijing plans to control the pace of credit
growth this year
new yuan loans are expected to fall to trillion yuan this year from
trillion yuan in he said at forum in hong kong
citic bank tumbled percent to hong kong dollars bank of china lost
percent to china construction bank fell percent to and icbc was
down percent at
retailer esprit fell percent to leading the day blue chip decliners
after worse than expected economic data from germany the clothes maker single
biggest market
investors also eyed china scheduled report on fourth quarter gross domestic
product december and inflation data and other major economic indicators
thursday
liu comments also contributed to sharp decline in the shanghai composite
index where shares tumbled percent
the shanghai composite index which covers both and shares was down
points at on turnover of billion yuan billion dollars
industrial and commercial bank of china the nation biggest lender dropped
percent to yuan
expectations of slower loan growth also hit real estate developers which relied
on relatively high leverage ratios to achieve business growth
china vanke declined percent to yuan
tennis flawless murray into open third round
melbourne jan afp
scotland andy murray notched another impressive win at the australian open on
wednesday advancing to the third round with his second straight sets victory in
