dozens of al qaeda militants coming from afghanistan have found refuge in the
rugged kour mountain in southern shabwa province according to provincial
governor ali hasan al ahmadi
obama said the message his administration sends to muslim communities around the
world was extraordinarily important
we can return to sort of garrison state notion that we re just going to
hunker down and this is only an issue of firepower and boots on the ground he
added
thinly stretched us military has deployed large troop contingents in iraq and
afghanistan
the number of us troops in afghanistan where obama has vowed to focus his war
against al qaeda militants who have also sought refuge in neighboring pakistan
is set to triple under his watch from levels reaching some
later this year
somalia is also the focus of us counterterrorism efforts where an embattled
transitional government faces relentless attacks from extremist shebab militants
and their hezb al islam allies
german foreign minister to tour china japan
berlin jan afp
german foreign minister guido westerwelle will tour china and japan this week
ministry spokesman said on monday
westerwelle will meet his japanese counterpart katsuya okada on thursday in
tokyo before travelling to beijing where he will hold talks on friday and
saturday with officials including premier wen jiabao
he will be accompanied by delegation from the german parliament and
representatives from the german business community the spokesman stefan
bredohl told regular briefing here
westerwelle was on monday the first european minister to visit yemen since the
yemeni branch of al qaeda last month claimed responsibility for botched
attempt to bomb us airliner on christmas day
the minister is on five day tour of turkey and the gulf
two dead arrested after philippine gun ban police
manila jan afp
police shot dead two robbers and arrested other people as they enforced
firearms ban across the philippines ahead of national elections in may
authorities said monday
police deputy director general jefferson soriano said tens of thousands of
officers had been deployed to man checkpoints set up across the country
and enforce the ban on the unauthorised carrying of weapons
we want to show to the public that we are dead serious about implementing the
nationwide gun ban soriano said on the abs cbn television network
the ban is imposed ahead of every philippine election but has taken on more
significance in recent months following massacre of people and the separate
killings of at least five others in violence linked to the polls
soriano said five policemen and three soldiers were among people arrested on
sunday when the ban began the policemen and soldiers were carrying weapons
while off duty he said
national police spokesman chief superintendent leonardo espina said that police
manning gun ban checkpoint stopped two armed robbers just outside manila on
monday resulting in gun battle that left the criminals dead
he said two pistols were recovered from the robbers who had held up and
murdered corn trader
the philippines is well known for its gun culture and violence plagued political
system
the authorities say there are more than one million unlicensed firearms in the
philippines and dozens of people are killed each election season when
politicians seek to eliminate rivals or critics
fuelling the violence are the private armies controlled by so called political
warlords
one such militia allegedly carried out the november massacre of people in
the southern province of maguindanao
about gunmen controlled by local mayor andal ampatuan jnr allegedly
abducted relatives of rival politician plus group of journalists travelling
with them to an election office then murdered them
the massacre alleged aim was to stop the rival from running against ampatuan
for provincial governor in the elections
since then at least five candidates in the elections at which positions
ranging from president to local councillor are up for grabs have been shot
dead
under the terms of the ban which will last until june civilians with permits
to carry guns are also forbidden from taking them out of their homes
in addition politicians are not allowed to have armed bodyguards common
practice normally
elections commissioner lucenito tagle said there had already been more than
requests for exemptions to the ban mostly from officials who say they
need security
we are actually trying to discourage it as much as possible less guns is what
we want he told reporters
those caught illegally carrying weapons can be jailed for up to six years
although not everyone arrested each time the ban is introduced goes to prison
spain santander launches british bank brand
london jan afp
spanish banking giant santander on monday began renaming branches of abbey and
bradford amp bingley two british lenders which it now owns it announced in
statement
all abbey and amp branches will be renamed santander by the end of january
the spanish group announced in statement santander plans to rename alliance
amp leicester third british bank which it owns later in
the name of abbey national plc has today changed to santander uk plc the
banking group said in statement released to the london stock exchange
from today the bank has started the rebrand of its abbey and bradford amp
bingley branches with branches in the south east of england to be renamed
today with another across the uk to be completed by the end of january it
said
alliance amp leicester branches will be rebranded later in the year the
banking group added
santander founded in is europe second biggest bank by stock market
capitalization after number one hsbc it had acquired british mortgage lender
abbey in for billion pounds
last year santander expanded further into the british banking market which was
ravaged by the international credit crunch and global financial crisis
the spanish bank scooped up alliance amp leicester in july in deal
worth billion pounds
and it bought part of the assets of troubled lender bradford amp bingley for
million pounds in september
this is historic day for santander as its name is firmly established on the
uk high street santander chairman emilio botin said in the statement
when santander acquired abbey in there were some who doubted we could
make it success today there can be no doubts over the last five years we
have transformed our uk business into one of the most successful banks in the
country
the decision to become santander will put us in an even stronger position the
uk botin added
afp gmt economics news advisory
paris jan afp
duty editor dario thuburn
tel
mexico netherlands business drink takeover rdlead
the hague
dutch beer giant heineken says it will buy mexican brewer femsa in deal
valuing the owner of the well known dos equis and sol brands at billion
euros billion dollars
words gmt file pictures
stocks europe wrap
london
european stocks rise with london main index hitting its highest level since
september when the collapse of us investment bank lehman brothers signalled
the start of the global economic crisis
words gmt
china auto sales lead
beijing
china auto sales exceed million units in an industry association
is quoted by state media as saying confirming the nation status as the
world biggest car market
words gmt by allison jackson pictures
malaysia china investment lead
kuala lumpur
china leading power grid operator sgcc and malaysian government development
fund mdb say they will jointly establish energy projects worth billion
dollars in malaysian borneo
words gmt
forex europe wrap
london
the euro climbs above dollars after pre weekend us jobs report dashes
expectations for quick recovery from recession in the world biggest economy
analysts say
words gmt
commodities energy oil price wrap
london
oil prices jump above dollars as cold snap in the northern hemisphere
raises demand for heating fuel analysts say
words gmt
china overtakes us as world largest auto market in
beijing jan afp
china auto sales surged past those in the united states in to make the
asian nation the world biggest car market industry data showed monday but
analysts warned sales would slow this year
the china association of automobile manufacturers said more than million
units were sold last year marking an increase of percent from the
million units sold in xinhua news agency reported
auto output for increased percent to million units xinhua said
calls to caam to confirm the figures went unanswered
in the us auto sales fell percent to million vehicles in
according to autodata figures released last week
analysts welcomed the news but warned that china car sales could hit the brakes
this year
we are still optimistic about the outlook for this year but it will be quite
difficult to achieve the growth rates of john zeng shanghai based
analyst at ihs global insight told afp
this year will see high single digits growth rate of nine to percent
china car sales which outstripped those of the united states for the first
time in january last year making the nation the world biggest auto market
soared in due partly to government incentives
john bonnell director of power asia pacific forecasting in bangkok said
he expected sales to increase by seven percent in as the government
continued to support the sector through tax breaks and subsidies
think with such tremendous growth in china in lot of it unexpected
given the economic conditions you might expect slowdown or pullback
bonnell told afp
our thinking is that the government is going to continue to support and
continue to provide incentives to ensure that the industry continues to grow
sedans made up percent of total auto sales in with shanghai volkswagen
joint venture between volkswagen ag and china saic selling the most xinhua
said in separate brief dispatch without identifying its source
several foreign auto manufacturers last week reported massive increases in their
china sales in contrast with sharp falls in their home markets
us auto giant general motors said sales surged percent to million
vehicles in while ford motor company and its chinese partners said sales
rose percent to more than units
volkswagen the biggest european carmaker said its chinese sales soared
percent to record million vehicles
auto sales have surged in recent years due to rising incomes that have put
private car ownership once an unthinkable luxury within reach for
millions
in beijing alone the number of registered cars topped four million in december
meaning quarter of the capital million permanent residents have cars
government incentives included slashing taxes on cars with engines smaller than
litres and subsidising clean technology vehicles the government also
subsidised auto purchases for farmers
afp graphics advisory
paris jan afp
monday graphics
angola cabinda football unrest
graphic fact file of cabinda angola oil rich enclave where two people were
held following an attack on bus carrying the togo football team
text slug violence angola togo fbl afr
mm
available by gmt
also available
africa cabinda map mm
malaysia church attacks
map of malaysia locating states where attacks on nine churches have occurred
since friday
text slug malaysia religion catholic church attack
mm
available now
malaysia demographics
graphic on ethnicity and religion in malaysia
text slug malaysia religion catholic church attack
mm
available now
mali french hostage
map showing mali where the north african branch of al qaeda is holding
french hostage it plans to execute unless its demands are met according to us
monitoring groups monday also shows neighbouring mauritania where the same
group is holding three kidnapped spaniards
text slug mali france spain kidnap qaeda
mm
available now
croatia vote
graphic illustrating the results of the croatian presidential election
text slug croatia vote
mm
available now
uae torture case
fact file on the court case in the united arab emirates uae that led to an
acquittal sunday of uae president brother sheikh issa bin zayed al nahayan
accused of torturing an afghan merchant in
text slug uae rights torture
mm
available now
israel air strike
map locating deir el balah in gaza where israeli warplanes killed three islamic
jihad gunmen in an air strike sunday
text slug mideast conflict gaza
mm
available now
us drones
fact file on the predator drone used by the us against suspected terrorists in
afghanistan and pakistan
text slug us afghanistan cia qaeda intelligence
mm
available now
football africa cup
updated graphic showing groupings and fixtures of the africa cup of nations
from january
text slug violence angola togo fbl afr
mm
available now
asia pacific markets
closings for key asia pacific markets
text slug stocks
mm
available by gmt
moved earlier
afghanistan journalist killed
map of afghanistan locating death of uk journalist in nawa helmand province
text slug britain afghanistan us military
mm
russia dagestan makhachkala map mm
yemen oil sector mm
afric presentation mm
tennis graphics
australia open venue mm
australia open women mm
australia open men mm
hawkeye factfile mm
paris hong kong
tel
pope slams gay marriage as attack on creation
vatican city jan afp
pope benedict xvi on monday called laws ignoring the difference between the
sexes an attack on creation just days after portugal moved to legalise gay
marriage
creatures including humans can be protected or endangered the pope
told the vatican diplomatic corps in traditional january address focussing
mainly on environmental issues
one such attack comes from laws or proposals which in the name of fighting
discrimination strike at the biological basis of the difference between the
sexes he said citing certain countries in europe or north and south
america
portugal parliament last friday approved plans to legalise gay marriage and
final vote could occur before visit by the pope in may
also last week two men became the first homosexual couple to legally marry in
latin america in the southern argentine province of ushuaia
freedom cannot be absolute the pontiff said for man the path to be taken
cannot be determined by caprice or willfulness but must rather correspond to
the structure willed by the creator he said
afp gmt news advisory
paris jan afp
duty editor chris otton
tel
top stories
two arrested over togo shooting attack
nireland tense as leader urged to quit
three jailed for failed georgia mutiny
violence angola togo fbl afr lead
luanda
police in angola grill two suspects over deadly shooting attack by separatist
rebels on the togolese team which completely overshadowed the start of africa
premier football tournament
words gmt by louise redvers pictures graphic
nireland britain politics lead
belfast
northern ireland first minister peter robinson faces intense pressure to quit
over his wife affair with teenager amid fears the once troubled province
power sharing executive could collapse
words gmt file picture
georgia trial military mutiny lead
tbilisi
georgian court sentences to jail terms of up to years three ringleaders of
mutiny last year aimed at overthrowing the government of president mikheil
saakashvili
words gmt by irakli metreveli
europe
europe weather ndlead wrap
berlin
europe battles to unclog frozen transport links after weekend of winter
weather mayhem as experts warn that the massive disruption is the last thing
the continent slowly thawing economy needs
words gmt by simon sturdee picture
eu politics parliament commission diplomacy lead
brussels
european deputies begin us style confirmation hearings to see whether the eu
new foreign affairs chief and would be commissioners at the bloc executive arm
are up to the job
words gmt picture
croatia vote lead
zagreb
leftwing law expert ivo josipovic who was elected croatia president with
wide margin after pledging firm crack down on corruption is expected to lead
the balkan nation into the european union
words gmt by lajla veselica picture
france britain crime lead
versailles france
the niece of britain junior defence minister told police she was monster
after confessing to the drunken murder of young frenchman in french
court hears
words gmt by rory mulholland picture
americas
attacks yemen somalia us politics military qaeda lead
washington
president barack obama says he has no intention of sending us troops to fight
militants in yemen and somalia despite growing concern over the presence of
militant cells there
words gmt by olivia hampton
mideast
yemen germany diplomacy rdlead wrap
sanaa
germany foreign minister guido westerwelle says during surprise visit to
sanaa that yemeni authorities have assured him they know the whereabouts of five
germans and briton held hostage since june
words gmt by deborah cole picture
africa
mali france spain kidnap qaeda thlead
bamako
the north african branch of al qaeda threatened to execute french hostage
unless four of its militants were freed from jail in mali in days two us
monitoring groups says
words gmt
asia
nkorea nuclear weapons us skorea thlead
seoul
north korea calls for talks on treaty to formally end the korean war saying
it wants better ties with the united states and an end to sanctions before
pushing ahead with nuclear disarmament
words moved by simon martin
we will also move nkorea us skorea diplomacy armistice facts
we have also moved nkorea us skorea rights relations
tennis hobart international results collated
hobart australia jan afp
results from the second day of the hobart international women tennis
tournament here monday denotes seed
first round
kirsten flipkens bel bt sophie ferguson aus
carla suarez navarro esp bt yaroslava shvedova kaz
gisela dulko arg bt melinda czink hun
sara errani ita bt melanie oudin usa
zheng jie chn bt kaia kanepi est
tamira paszek aut bt roberta vinci ita
jelena dokic aus bt elena baltacha gbr
alla kudryavtseva rus bt ekaterina makarova rus
shahar peer isr bt olivia rogowska aus
alicia molik aus bt sania mirza ind
heavy jail terms for georgia mutiny leaders
tbilisi jan afp
georgian court on monday sentenced to jail terms of up to years three
ringleaders of mutiny last year aimed at overthrowing the government of
president mikheil saakashvili
the brief uprising which the defence ministry described as military coup
took place in tank battalion at the mukhrovani base outside tbilisi in may
it ended without violence after an hours long standoff
koba otanadze retired army colonel was sentenced to years in prison on
mutiny and coup charges as well as illegal possession of arms and disobedience
the tbilisi city court said in statement
levan amiridze who at the time was commander of military rangers
battalion was found guilty of mutiny to overthrow the government and
disobedience and sentenced to year prison term
shota gorgiashvili then commander of the tank battalion in mukhrovani was
found guilty of similar charges as amiridze and sentenced to year prison
term
however another protagonist retired general koba kobaladze was cleared of coup
charges
the defence lawyers of otanadze amiridze and gorgiashvili told georgian
television they would appeal the verdict to higher court as they disagreed
with the coup related charges
the judge ruling echoed the version of prosecutors that the mutiny had an
eventual goal to overthrow the government and was not just disobedience by
several military commanders
authorities initially blamed the mutiny on its main foe russia with which it
fought brief war with georgia in august but then backed away from the
claim
georgia opposition accused the government of staging the rebellion to distract
attention from protests that were then in progress against saakashvili
new president vows new era for croatia
zagreb jan afp
newly elected president ivo josipovic pledged monday to transform croatia into
shining star of europe by installing democratic values as media said eu
membership was his historic mission
the leftwing law professor took around percent of sunday votes according
to official results from percent of polling stations and is due to be sworn
into office on february
josipovic said he would lead croatia to prized membership of the european union
and towards values of democracy and human rights
want european croatia croatia that will be one of the shining stars in
the european sky the year old told crowd of his supporters soon after the
results were announced early monday
this would be not only through eu membership but by values that we stand for
democracy freedom human rights rule of law minority rights and religious
freedom he said
josipovic classical music composer with an untarnished political career ran
on ticket of rooting out corruption one of the conditions for entry into the
european union which croatia aims for by january
results released early monday gave him percent of the vote next to
percent for his main rival populist zagreb mayor milan bandic
monday papers hailed josipovic victory as new era for the former yugoslav
republic in which it would leave behind the balkan wars
the historic mission of ivo josipovic as the head of state has been already
determined to lead croatia after some years since independence into new
integration the eu the novi list independent daily said
the country born in war should eventually transform into peacetime
civilised european country it said referring to the war for
independence from the former yugoslavia
the influential jutarnji list daily said josipovic overwhelming victory showed
that citizens obviously wanted that the president becomes politician of new
type
with his appearance professional and social background and political
activities josipovic does not belong to the the paper said
while the symbolise corruption josipovic programme justice for
croatia should symbolise better times for the country columnist davor
butkovic said
croatian authorities have in recent months launched several investigations into
alleged graft at state run firms seen as rife with corruption with more than
dozen officials already detained
josipovic is croatia third president since independence and succeeds stipe
mesic who steps down on february after serving maximum two five year
terms
mesic helped transform croatia from an isolated autocracy the legacy
franjo tudjman who led the country with an iron fist throughout the
war until his death in into parliamentary democracy
josipovic has also promised to try to help improve the difficult economic
situation with unemployment running at around percent
croatia economy is expected to have contracted up to percent in while
the external debt is nearly percent of gross domestic product
observers say however that josipovic powers are limited with the day to day
running of croatia and its million inhabitants largely in the hands of
conservative government led by prime minister jadranka kosor
french lottery firm eyes camelot takeover ceo
paris jan afp
the head of french lottery group francaise des jeux said on monday that the
state controlled company is eyeing possible takeover of british firm camelot
which runs the national lottery
fdj chief executive christophe blanchard dignac told radio classique that the
group was looking at the possibility of acquiring or not acquiring camelot
decisions must be taken in the next few weeks blanchard dignac said adding
that calls for tenders must be made by the end of february
fdj must consult with its board before making any offer the french government
controls percent of fdj capital and the rest is held by military veterans
groups and staff
fdj reported on friday record turnover of nearly billion euros
billion dollars in making it the world second biggest lottery group
after italy lottomatica
camelot and fdj have been cooperating for years launching the euro millions
lottery together in the two companies are also working together on world
lottery project
the french lottery group is among six companies interested in takeover of
camelot according to sources close to the issue
france industrial output recovers in november
paris jan afp
french industrial production began to recover in november on monthly basis
