the brother of jordanian man identified as jihadist killed in us drone
attack in pakistan waziristan region confirmed on tuesday the militant
death
man called me on sunday and said my brother died in the us attack he spoke
bad arabic and said he escaped the attack think he is pakistani omar
mahdi zeidan told afp
jihadist websites monitored by us based site intelligence said on monday that
man who moved to afghanistan in and stayed on to fight us led forces was
killed in us drone attack in pakistan waziristan region
the forums al fallujah and shamukh al islam announced the martyrdom on january
of mahmud mahdi zeidan whose nom de guerre was mansur al shami site
reported
my brother called us week before his death and asked us to pray to god to
make him martyr he used to call us from time to time zeidan said he was the
bodyguard of al qaeda field leader mustapha abulyazid
site did not specify which drone strike in which the jordanian was killed
pakistani officials said last week that islamist militants including four
foreigners were killed in two us drone strikes in waziristan
zeidan appeared on january in recording by as sahab website frequently
used by al qaeda giving sermon for the muslim holiday of eid al adha site
intelligence said
he also recorded an audio message released by as sahab last august giving advice
to mujahedeen fighters
born in zeidan who is of palestinian origin obtained his ba in sharia
islamic law from yarmuk university in the northern jordanian city of irbid in
he was married and had four children
my brother worked for taliban radio in and then he joined the mujahedeen
zeidan said adding that their father is leader of jordan muslim brotherhood
movement
we are accepting condolences now over his death and the authorities did not
prevent us from doing so in irbid palestinian refugee camp the brother
added
humam khalil abu mulal al balawi the man believed to have killed seven cia
agents and his jordanian handler in suicide attack in eastern afghanistan last
month was also of jordanian origin
incoming eu trade chief sees wto deal by
brussels jan afp
would be new european trade chief karel de gucht expressed confidence on tuesday
that deal to free up international commerce is attainable by next year
am personally confident that we are going to conclude the doha round de
gucht told european parliament lawmakers during question and answer
confirmation hearing in brussels
don know if it will be in or but am quite confident
the doha round began in with focus on dismantling obstacles to trade for
poor nations by striking an accord that will cut agriculture subsidies and
tariffs on industrial goods
deadlines to conclude the talks have been repeatedly missed
discussions have been dogged by disagreements on issues including how much the
us and the eu should reduce aid to their farmers and the extent to which
developing countries such as india china and south africa should cut tariffs
we have to do that deal de gucht added refusing to concede that the terms of
the talks had to change to take account of the aftermath of the global economic
crisis
compared with other international organisations the wto is the most advanced
model of global governance that exists and we must continue to invest political
capital in it he also said in his opening remarks
the belgian who is switching from development to the trade portfolio provided
the parliament does not block the new european commission nominees warned that
there are still some basic differences of opininion on some topics most
notably agriculture
but he said the oft stalled discussions had been conceived as development
round and would also have development outcome although he ruled out calls
for the agenda to be widened to tackle broader climate change issues
the trade components can be discussed by the wto he said but it is also
important that the talks stay focused
wto chief pascal lamy has admitted that deal is uncertain amid pressure for
protectionist actions ahead of crunch time meeting in the first three
months of this year
britain bans islamist group after row over planned march
london jan afp
britain announced ban tuesday on radical islamic group which triggered
outrage by planning an anti war march through town where processions are held
for soldiers killed in afghanistan
islam uk will be banned from thursday making it criminal offence punishable
by up to years in jail to be member of the group which also uses other
names said home secretary alan johnson
have today laid an order which will proscribe al muhajiroun islam uk and
number of the other names the organisation goes by it is already proscribed
under two other names al ghurabaa and the saved sect he said
proscription is tough but necessary power to tackle terrorism and is not
course we take lightly we are clear that an organisation should not be able to
circumvent proscription by simply changing its name he added
prime minister gordon brown said last week that he was appalled by islam uk
plans to commemorate the muslim civilians killed in the conflict with march
through wootton bassett in southwest england
hundreds of people regularly gather in the town which is close to the raf
lyneham airbase where the bodies of british soldiers are returned from
afghanistan to pay their respects
islam uk leader anjem choudary condemned the banning order
the word terrorism has been defined in the dictionary as the use of violence
against community or section of the community he told bbc radio denying
that any of his group members were involved in violence
have been campaigning to say that that is precisely what the british
government is doing in iraq and afghanistan and even domestically he added
oddly we are now being targeted as an extremist or terrorist organisation and
even banned for merely expressing that feel this is failure of the concept
of democracy and freedom
total of british service personnel died in afghanistan last year the
bloodiest for the british military since the falklands war total of
have been killed since operations began in
american airlines ups ante in jal bidding war
tokyo jan afp
american airlines on tuesday raised the stakes in bidding war with rival delta
for slice of japan airlines but the ailing company shares still crashed on
fears that bankruptcy is imminent
japan government said it would do everything possible to ensure that asia
biggest carrier keeps flying during its restructuring which is expected to
include drastic route reductions and thousands of job cuts
american airlines its oneworld alliance partners and private equity company tpg
lifted their proposed investment in jal to billion dollars from previous
offer of billion dollars
the us carrier is competing with delta air lines which has offered jal one
billion dollar financial package as the two airlines seek to increase their
share of the lucrative asian market
american vice president thomas horton said the offer brings stability and
certainty to japan airlines at time when it is most needed as it faces
turbulent times over the coming weeks and months
american said that by sticking with oneworld jal stood to gain two billion
dollars over the next three years from its links with alliance members which
also include british airways qantas and cathay pacific
we believe we have far superior proposal than the competing proposal said
horton we ve had long standing relationship with japan airlines
american which is eager to stop jal defecting to delta skyteam alliance did
not say what size of equity stake it would expect in return for the proposed
investment
investors dumped jal shares on reports that the debt ridden airline is likely to
be delisted from the tokyo stock exchange and is preparing for court backed
bankruptcy filing possibly next week
the government has pledged to avoid total collapse of the former state owned
carrier but has refused to rule out bankruptcy proceedings which could aid
jal restructuring but would likely leave investors out of pocket
it is important that we do our utmost to rehabilitate jal while continuing its
flights transport minister seiji maehara told news conference
jal share price plunged by the daily limit of yen or almost percent to
hit record low of yen tuesday amid glut of sell orders the shares have
tumbled percent over the past three months
jal which lost about billion dollars in the six months to september is
seeking public aid in the face of mounting debts
according to japanese media jal is set to receive an injection of government
funds worth several hundred billion yen several billion dollars under
restructuring package that would see it file for bankruptcy
at the same time jal creditor banks are expected to be asked to forgive loans
worth several hundred billion yen
jal is too big to fail but the japanese government may irk voters if it throws
cash at the ailing carrier said peter harbison executive chairman of the
centre for asia pacific aviation sydney based consulting firm
the airline needs to take some tough restructuring decisions that have been
skirted for too long he said
the airline is reportedly set to slash more than jobs over three years to
stem massive losses
jal is hobbled by heavy costs stretching back to its days as state owned flag
carrier as well as route network that includes flights to small domestic
airports that are often unprofitable to service
but in major boost to its recovery efforts more than two thirds of jal
employees and retirees have agreed to cuts to their pension allowances
jal is not the only asian airline that is suffering harbison noted
there aren that many airlines in the region that are all that healthy right
now governments are digging fairly deep to keep these sometimes geriatric flag
carriers in the air he said
saudi cleric labels joining qaeda un islamic report
riyadh jan afp
senior saudi cleric said that joining al qaeda is forbidden by islam
newspaper reported on tuesday as concerns grow about the strength of jihadist
group in neighbouring yemen
affiliation with the so called al qaeda group is haram or banned under
islamic teachings sheikh abdul mohsen al obeikan top religious scholar and
an advisor in the court of king abdullah told okaz newspaper
obeikan reiterated the official saudi view that qaeda ideology was one of
forbidden takfirism which accuses others of apostasy to justify murdering
them
anyone who joins al qaeda belongs to group that has adopted takfir thinking
he said
the statement came as riyadh steps up efforts to dissuade saudis from joining
the yemen based al qaeda of the arabian peninsula aqap led by yemeni and saudi
radical islamists
aqap is believed to be behind the attempted christmas day bombing of us
airliner
it has also attempted several plots against the saudi government including
botched assassination bid last august on the country top internal security
official deputy interior minister prince mohammed bin nayef
the government plans conference of religious scholars on takfir ideology as
it seeks to define takfirism as extremist and un islamic
german continental wraps up billion euro capital increase
frankfurt jan afp
the german auto parts maker continental said tuesday that it has wrapped up
billion euro billion dollar capital increase that will be used to pay
down debt
the money raised will help to reimburse billion euro tranche of credit
that comes due in august continental said in statement
the group has been heavily indebted since it bought the vdo electronic
components company from siemens in mid
its capital increase includes placement of million new shares via
consortium of banks led by deutsche bank goldman sachs and morgan
statement said
continental shareholders have until january to exercise subscription rights
and the group new shareholder structure is to be unveiled at the end of the
month
the family owned german group schaeffler which owns percent of the shares
in continental and controls total of percent of its capital with
partners will not participate in the rights subscription
both companies carry heavy debt and plan to merge in the medium term working
together in the meantime on joint projects
continental debt amounted to billion euros as of september while
schaeffler had debt of around billion in early april
schaeffler announced financing deal valid up to six years with banks in august
worth roughly billion euros
israel barak to turkey amid new tensions
jerusalem jan afp
israeli defence minister ehud barak will head to ankara at the weekend for talks
with turkish leaders his office said on tuesday as tensions between the
longstanding allies again spike
barak is planned to hold talks on sunday with president abdullah gul foreign
minister ahmet davutoglu defence minister vecdi gonul and senior military
officials an official in barak office told afp
the official said that the visit would take place despite the latest tensions
which erupted on monday after israel complained to ankara over the broadcasting
of television series portraying mossad agents as babysnatchers
we give this visit much importance the ties between the two countries are
important and they must be maintained even if there are ups and downs an
official said
mainly muslim non arab turkey has been israel chief regional ally since the
two signed military cooperation deal in
but ties took sharp downturn in january when turkey launched an unprecedented
barrage of criticism against israel over its military assault on the gaza strip
airbus beats boeing but turnover drops airbus
seville spain jan afp
european aircraft maker airbus on tuesday said it had outperformed us rival
boeing in with plane deliveries and orders but its parent company
said turnover had dropped
airbus chief executive tom enders told reporters at press conference in
seville in southern spain that airbus still had successful year because
airlines had managed to secure financing for planes despite the credit crunch
boeing registered deliveries and orders over the year
enders however voiced disappointment that airbus had only managed to deliver
of its super jumbo in compared to in he said he hoped to
deliver at least of the giant jets in
airbus parent company eads european aeronautic defence and space company also
on tuesday announced that its turnover in would be nearly percent lower
than in due to the global economic crisis
turnover reached billion euros billion dollars in compared to
billion euros in according to preliminary figures
japan shrugs off jal tumble as asian shares are mixed
hong kong jan afp
asian markets were mixed tuesday with tokyo clawing its way into the black after
shrugging off wave of selling orders that engulfed crisis hit japan airlines
shares in asia biggest airline plummeted percent as reports pointed to
looming bankruptcy and delisting that would destroy investors stakes under
court ordered restructuring
delisting now looks almost certain so selling won stop smbc friend
research center analyst mitsuru miyazaki told dow jones newswires as jal dived
by the daily limit of yen to yen
despite the wave of selling tokyo nikkei closed up percent or
points to its highest since october analysts said overall
upbeat market sentiment outmuscled the impact of jal troubles
investors were also boosted by american airlines and its partners increasing
their investment offer to jal to billion dollars as it seeks tie up with
the japanese carrier in bid to get foot in the asian market
the new offer up from previous billion dollars sees american raise the
stakes in its battle with rival delta air lines for jal
with speculation over the japan carrier reaching fever pitch transport minister
seiji maehara reportedly met the heads of the airline creditor banks tuesday
sydney ended down percent or points at and hong kong ended
percent or points lower at
in sydney minerals firm alumina lost percent to dollars us
after us firm alcoa the first blue chip to report quarterly earnings on wall
street posted lower than forecast profit monday alumina and alcoa are
joint venture partners
the big news of the day came from the us in terms of alcoa fourth quarter
earnings report cmc markets analyst david taylor said
despite strong revenues earnings fell short of expectations and the resources
sector took bit of hit
however bargain hunting in banks and property firms as well as strong interest
in telecoms helped shanghai surge percent or points to end at
the dollar was stable in late asian trade as investors eyed upcoming corporate
earnings reports following disappointment over weak us jobs data on friday
the greenback was at yen in tokyo afternoon trade against in new
york late on monday when japanese markets were closed the euro was little
changed at dollars after and to yen from
oil fell in asia on forecasts the severe cold snap in the united states will
ease and quell demand for heating fuel analysts said
new york main futures contract light sweet crude for february delivery stood
at dollars in the afternoon down cents from new york close
it had hit an intraday peak of dollars monday its highest since october
brent north sea crude for february was down cents at
hong kong gold closed higher at us dollars an ounce up from
monday dollars
in other markets
singapore finished percent or points lower at
the overall outlook for the index is positive and we believe it is currently
matter of waiting for good timing to enter the market said phillip
securities analyst phua ming weii
seoul closed up percent or points at
taipei lost percent or points to close at
investors moved to take profits on previous gains
kuala lumpur was percent or points lower at
lower liners dominated the actives today but despite some profit taking the
index stayed pretty much within tight range dealer said
wellington fell percent or points to
indonesia rose percent or points to
manila added percent or points to
top traded philippine long distance telephone co rose percent to
pesos
renault told to keep jobs in france
paris jan afp
the french government on tuesday warned carmaker renault that shifting
production to turkey must not lead to job losses in france
employment minister laurent wauquiez said there was red line that renault
must not cross which is no plant closures and no layoffs
press reports that renault plans to beef up production in turkey of its popular
clio model prompted the right wing governing party to call on the government to
block the move
france number two carmaker renault currently divides production of the clio
between its plant in flins in the western paris suburbs and bursa in turkey
renault is not just any ordinary company the state holds percent and we
are not going to be spectactors because this is company that has received
lot of assistance during the crisis wauquiez told rtl radio
company that sells to french consumers must as much as possible produce in
france the minister said
renault spokesman last week did not confirm the report but said the new clio
would continue to be produced in france and turkey
the spokesman for president nicolas sarkozy ump party frederic lefebvre had
said complete shift to turkey would be unacceptable and called for the state
to intervene to block any such move
over the past decades france which prides itself as an industrial powerhouse
has seen many of its plants move to asia and elsewhere where production costs
in particular labour and taxes are much lower
wauquiez noted that france had recently scrapped the professional tax that
businesses pay to local governments so that the country can keep its industry
strong
car bomb threat prompts baghdad security lockdown
baghdad jan afp
iraqi security forces sealed off baghdad on tuesday after tip off that
insurgents were planning series of car bombings in the city raising fears of
unrest in the run up to general election
qassim atta spokesman for the city military command told afp that police and
the army took preventative security measures as part of search operation
across most districts of the iraqi capital
terrorist groups intended to detonate car bombs in baghdad on tuesday morning
he later said in an official statement
the security measures were imposed to protect civilians which included
shutting off many roads and taking steps to find the suspected cars the
statement said
the early morning lockdown caused gridlock with cars buses and lorries backed
up as bridges and routes into the city were closed forcing people to travel on
foot as military helicopters circled overhead
defence ministry official said information had been received that bomb laden
vehicles had been placed in the capital
bridges across the tigris river that lead into the heart of baghdad were
temporarily closed following the early morning alert but re opened at around
am gmt
insurgents weakened in the past year have in recent months changed tactics and
mounted successful high profile attacks on hard targets such as government
buildings rather than so called soft targets in civilian areas
coordinated vehicle bombings in baghdad in august october and december killed
nearly people in all and wounded more than others
the us military meanwhile said joint security operation conducted with iraqi
forces in baghdad on january led to the arrest of an al qaeda in iraq aqi
terrorist suspected of building large scale vehicle bombs
according to recent intelligence reports aqi fighters operating in baghdad
continue planning attacks in an attempt to disrupt the political progress in
iraq us army statement said
tuesday heightened security comes ahead of the conflict wracked country
general election on march
there are widespread fears in the wake of the bloody attacks conducted in
baghdad in the second half of that political violence will rise in the
weeks leading up to the vote
the election the second since saddam hussein was toppled in us led invasion
in is seen as crucial to consolidating iraq democracy and securing
complete us military exit by the end of as planned
however politicians and parties linked to executed dictator saddam
outlawed baath party have been barred from taking part in the poll move seen
as blow towards efforts at national reconciliation
iran state tv accuses us zionist agents of bomb attack
tehran jan afp
iran state television accused us and zionist agents of carrying out bomb
attack which killed nuclear scientist in tehran on tuesday
tehran university lecturer massoud ali mohammadi was killed by bomb which us
and zionist agents had already placed near his house the television said
without naming any sources
britain top retailer reports record christmas trade
london jan afp
britain biggest retailer supermarket group tesco said on tuesday that it
enjoyed record sales during the recent christmas and new year festive period
tesco the world fourth biggest retailer said group sales jumped percent
during the six weeks to january
tesco delivers record christmas sales the company said in trading update
richard hunter head of uk equities at hargreaves lansdown stockbrokers
described tesco sales growth as formidable
not only has the performance been underpinned by its staple products non food
items such as electricals and clothing and the overall international
contribution have impressed he said
tesco update comes ahead of official data due later this month that is widely
expected to reveal that britain exited deep and long lasting recession in the
fourth quarter of
afp world news agenda
paris jan afp
what coming up around the world
nigerian parliament debates yar adua absense
blair former press aide faces iraq inquiry
abuja nigeria parliament discusses president umaru yar adua long absence
from office due to illness as nobel laureate wole soyinka leads protest marches
over the power vacuum from gmt nigeria politics pictures
london tony blair former chief spin doctor alastair campbell gives evidence
to britain public inquiry into the iraq war picture from gmt britain
iraq military politics inquiry
abu dhabi delegations from nations meet in abu dhabi to discuss the problems
faced by afghanistan and pakistan with the foreign ministers of afghanistan
pakistan and the united arab emirates among those attending
bamako italian foreign minister franco frattini visits mali where al qaeda is
thought to be holding an italian couple after kidnapping them three weeks ago
mali italy kidnap qaeda diplomacy
brussels meeting between eu foreign policy supremo catherine ashton us middle
east envoy george mitchell french foreign minister bernard kouchner and
norwegian foreign minister jonas gahr stoere on economic aid for palestinians
gmt picture mideast palestinian aid
honolulu hawaii us secretary of state hillary clinton to meet her japanese
counterpart katsuya okada to discuss the thorny issue of the us base in okinawa
and tokyo support for nato operations in afghanistan us japan diplomacy
kiev press conference by president viktor yushchenko five days before the
first round of the presidential election gmt picture ukraine politics
lisbon trial opens at gmt between the parents of missing british girl
madeleine mccann who disappeared in may in portugal and the former police
inspector who led the investigation portugal britain crime missing
moscow turkish prime minister recep tayyip erdogan arrives for an official
visit russia turkey diplomacy
versailles france verdict due in trial of jessica davies the niece of
british minister who has admitted the drunken killing of french lover
picture video france britain crime
urgent iran state tv accuses us zionist agents of bomb attack
tehran jan afp
iran state television accused us and zionist agents of carrying out bomb
attack which killed nuclear scientist in tehran on tuesday
carbon tax wrong way to tackle climate eu trade chief to be
brussels jan afp
incoming european union trade chief karel de gucht on tuesday ruled out pursuing
french led calls to impose carbon tax at the eu borders warning that such
ideas risk triggering trade wars
in terms of border adjustments against it de gucht told lawmakers in
response to question during european parliamentary confirmation hearing in
brussels
don see that as the right approach it one that will lead to lots of
practical problems
we ve seen it in the past the big risk is that it will also lead to an
escalating trade war on global level
it is clear that we need to take account in our trade policy of what is
happening in terms of preserving our environment and climate
but think we have to take other approaches and find strong policies which
are in tune with market laws he stressed
france and germany in september called for the united nations to support
carbon tax on imports from countries who failed to back international efforts to
fight global warming
however un climate change conference held in copenhagen in december ended
with non binding agreement that did not address the issue and that brussels
said was chinese us stitch up which will do little to curtail global warming
the french government decided last week that new national carbon tax to fight
global warming will go into force in july week after the constitutional court
struck down previous version of the measure
indonesian govt red faced over prison perks
jakarta jan afp
the indonesian government which has promised to stamp out corruption was
embarrassed by revelations tuesday that rich and connected prisoners were living
in luxury behind bars
details of the perks for wealthy and influential inmates were front page news
after team established by president susilo bambang yudhoyono to probe judicial
corruption conducted snap inspection of women jail
businesswoman artalyta suryani convicted last year for bribing prosecutors was
reportedly interrupted in the middle of laser beauty treatment in her
square metre square foot apartment style cell
her perks included double bed air conditioning flat screen television
refrigerator private kitchen and bathroom and playpen for children
according to the jakarta globe newspaper
we deeply regret that several prisoners might have received special treatment
presidential spokesman julian aldrin pasha told afp
but the findings should be seen as positive and there will be more ahead he
added referring to the president promise to crush what he has called the
court mafia that runs the country dilapidated judicial system
president yudhoyono believes that all inmates should receive equal treatment
there shouldn be any privileges or special dispensations for prisoners he
said
yudhoyono won re election in july but his second five year term has been hit by
steady flow of scandals that have cast doubt on his oft repeated promises to
stamp out pervasive corruption
pasha said the fact that yudhoyono appointed team had been sent to inspect the
prisons was evidence of his sincerity although critics say the team lacks
authority and point to yudhoyono failure to take more decisive action
it not true that yudhoyono has gone soft on eradicating corruption the
spokesman said
all the problems related to the judicial mafia can be solved overnight
the president pledged to crack down on the court mafia late last year after
police and prosecutors were caught allegedly conspiring to frame two senior
anti graft investigators on behalf of corrupt businessman
one of the prosecutors has resigned but the chief detective at the centre of
the scandal remains on the force and no action has been taken against the so
called broker who acted on behalf of the fugitive businessman
alert
iran state tv accuses us zionist agents of killing nuclear scientist
national hockey league results
washington jan afp
national hockey league results and standings after monday games
monday january th results
