cheema said police requested the five be remanded into custody while khalid
farooq the pakistani father of one of the suspects be freed because he had
tried to dissuade the young men from trying to join the insurgents
both requests were granted on monday
the court released khalid farooq and sent the others on judicial remand rokri
told afp the next hearing will be on january
sargodha police chief usman anwar confirmed that farooq had been freed from
custody and sent home
we will try to complete and file the charges of the remaining suspects as soon
as possible in the court he said adding that they hoped to have their report
finished in time for the next hearing
farooq later told afp he had been kept apart from the five us suspects and
hoped his son would be given fair trial see the light at the end of the
tunnel so far the proceedings have been fair
police have said investigations into the men activities are complete with the
court requested to file charges under the anti terrorism act
it has now been established that the five men had contacts with militants some
of them foreigners in south waziristan and they had come to pakistan to carry
out acts of terror senior police official tahir gujjar said saturday
pakistan has been fighting against the taliban in south waziristan part of the
northwest tribal belt on the afghan border that us officials call al qaeda
chief sanctuary and the most dangerous place on the planet
the area is also known as training ground and haven for militants plotting
attacks against western targets and the united states is pressuring islamabad to
do more to eliminate the extremist threat
the suspects who are all us citizens including two pakistani americans have
also been questioned by the fbi
there has been concern in the united states that extremists within pakistan
might try to take control of nuclear assets or attack atomic facilities despite
insistence from western officials that the facilities are safe
pakistani court last month ordered that the five suspects cannot be deported
without its permission
india reliance raises million dollars via share sale
mumbai jan afp
india reliance industries on monday said it raised nearly million dollars
through share sale as it prepares possible attempt to buy troubled dutch
firm lyondellbasell industries
reliance the country largest private sector firm said in statement it had
sold million shares at an average price of rupees each raising nearly
billion rupees
the company has shown interest in buying the bankrupt rotterdam based
petrochemicals giant lyondellbasell which analysts say could be worth up to
billion dollars
the share sale was the second by reliance in nearly four months as the company
moves to build war chest of cash to finance global acquisitions
the money raised is likely for acquisition purposes and could include
financing ril bid for lyondellbasell deepak pareek an analyst at mumbai
based brokerage angel broking told dow jones newswires
the petroleum trust part of the reliance group had raised million dollars
in september through selling shares
lyondellbasell late last year filed plan to reorganise operations with the
united states bankruptcy court
on monday reliance shares closed down rupees or percent to
slipping from daily high of on profit taking
football nigerian footballer arrested in amsterdam
the hague jan afp
victor agali nigerian born footballer for greek club levadiakos has been
arrested at schiphol airport near amsterdam for carrying two fake passports
dutch military police said on monday
at passport control on december he agali was found to be in possession
of fake passport said gendarmerie spokesman robert van kapel
upon further investigation the year old striker in transit at schiphol on
voyage from lagos to athens turned out to have two sets of fake travel
documents said van kapel
in the one the page with his personal particulars has been modified in the
other it was the visa he said
judge will decide on monday whether to extend the footballer provisional
detention for further investigation
agali has played for french teams like marseille toulon and
nice as well as germany schalke
on christmas day year old nigerian was arrested in the united states for
the botched bombing of northwest airlines plane bound for detroit from
schiphol
iraq has filed case against blackwater pm
najaf iraq jan afp
iraq has filed lawsuit against private security firm blackwater in us court
and will file another in iraq prime minister nuri al maliki said on monday
amid fury over an american court dropping charges against five blackwater
guards
the us justice department has protested against this decision maliki said
referring to the ruling last week to dismiss criminal charges against the
guards who were accused of killing iraqi civilians in an unprovoked attack
in september
for our part we have formed committee and filed case against blackwater in
the united states and will file one here in iraq he told reporters in the holy
shiite shrine city of najaf in southern iraq
maliki did not give any further details about the case
government spokesman ali al dabbagh said on friday without elaborating that iraq
had started to take the necessary measures to bring blackwater to justice
the guards who had been part of convoy of armoured vehicles had been charged
with killing unarmed iraqi civilians and wounding others during an
unprovoked attack at busy baghdad roundabout using guns and grenades
iraq says people were killed
us federal judge ricardo urbina dismissed the charges against the five saying
prosecutors violated their rights by using incriminating statements they had
made under immunity during us state department probe
the case was among the most sensational that sought to hold blackwater employees
accountable for what was seen as culture of lawlessness and lack of
accountability in the company iraqi operations
blackwater pulled out of iraq in may after the us state department refused to
renew its contracts the company changed its name to xe services last year
karzai orders afghan parliament to delay recess for cabinet
kabul jan afp
afghan president hamid karzai ordered parliament monday to postpone its winter
recess so lawmakers can consider his new choices for cabinet posts his office
said
afghanistan parliament rejected more than two thirds of karzai proposals for
cabinet posts on saturday delivering major blow to his authority
karzai issued decree as head of state that the legislature should delay its
day recess until he has proposed new ministers in place of those who were
rejected in secret ballot the statement said
hamid karzai in decree ordered the national assembly to postpone leave
until the members of the cabinet are approved the statement said
parliament had been due to go on recess tuesday
of the people karzai put forward for the cabinet only seven won approval on
saturday in secret ballot of more than lawmakers
the rejections effectively leave afghanistan without fully functioning
government dragging out political vacuum that has prevailed since an august
presidential election
ahead of an international conference scheduled to take place in london on
january to deliberate the war torn country future kabul ministries are
being run by junior bureaucrats who have little power and no coherent plan
the decree was issued under article of the afghan constitution in bid to
complete as soon as possible the cabinet and prevent obstruction of government
work karzai statement said
the list of new nominees for the cabinet is due to be sent to the parliament
for approval in few days
western diplomats including the un special representative kai eide have said
that the parliamentary rejection of karzai cabinet choices is an obstacle on
afghanistan road to democratic governance
but they concede it has shown parliament to be functioning institution that
refused to be cowed by vested interests which dominate afghan politics
alpine skiing schonfelder to make zagreb return
vienna jan afp
austrian skier rainer schonfelder announced monday he will return from knee
injury during the midweek world cup slalom race in zagreb
schoenfelder double bronze medallist from the turin olympics injured
his knee month ago but wants to assure his qualification for the vancouver
games from february
still have chance said the year old
the world top alpine skiing nation austria will send four skiiers in each
discipline to vancouver
bosch to invest million dollars in india
new delhi jan afp
the indian arm of german engineering giant bosch said monday it would invest
more than million dollars over two years to expand in the country fast
growing diesel engine market
india is witnessing strong increase in demand for diesel engines the
company major maker of diesel injection systems said in statement
the diesel engine consumes percent less fuel than the gasoline engine while
common rail technology reduces the pollutant emissions of diesel engines thus
making it possible to meet strict emission standards
bosch introduced common rail fuel injection systems in india in the
statement said adding nearly quarter of the new investment would be earmarked
for research
india is asia third largest car market after china and japan where japanese
owned maruti suzuki holds commanding lead indian car sales are expected to
cross two million units next year
bosch automotive group chairman bernd bohr told press conference that sales in
india grew by five percent to billion rupees billion dollars in
india which currently accounts for about five percent of the company global
auto business is likely to account for seven to nine percent of its total auto
business by he said
india is very important market for us and it has been profitable as well
bohr added
dow jones newswire contributed to this story
hamas approves million dollar budget for gaza
gaza city jan afp
the hamas run government in the gaza strip on monday announced million
dollar million euro budget for with just million dollars coming
from taxes and other local sources of revenue
mp jamal nassar the head of the palestinian parliament budget committee
declined to say how the islamist group would make up the million dollar
shortfall saying only that it would be covered by aid and assistance
israel and egypt have sealed gaza off from all but vital goods since the
islamist movement seized power in june but hamas which is backed by iran
and syria is believed to smuggle cash and weapons through tunnels from egypt
despite the blockade the hamas run government has regularly paid civil
servants including thousands of security forces since it drove out forces
loyal to the western backed palestinian president mahmud abbas
the budget includes million dollars to aid jerusalem and the steadfastness
of its people but it was not clear how the money would reach the city which
is under complete israeli control
iran has been staunch supporter of hamas since the movement won palestinian
legislative elections in although tehran says its aid does not extend to
military arms and training as israel has alleged
tennis giant killer soderling eyes aussie open redemption
chennai india jan afp
world number eight robin soderling said on monday he looked forward to an
improved showing at the australian open after making heady start in the new
season
the lanky swede who ended rafael nadal reign at the french open in
enhanced his reputation as giant killer by beating roger federer in the semi
final of an exhibition event in abu dhabi last week
soderling lost to nadal in the final on saturday but said the tournament put
him in the right frame of mind for the season ahead
abu dhabi was the best possible preparation could have had he told
reporters ahead of his maiden appearance in india for the dollar chennai
open which started on monday
played well against some of the best players in the world there and that made
me feel good about the season especially the australian open
soderling who was beaten by marcos baghdatis in the second round of last year
australian open was eyeing longer stint when the season first grand slam
starts in melbourne on january
don know why have not done well at the aussie open because actually
like australia lot the french open finalist said
there is no reason really enjoy playing on all surfaces and think have
good chance of doing well there like any other player
lot will also depend on the draw because there are some tough players out
there
but know if play well can go deep into the tournament
soderling who flew into chennai on sunday said he was excited about playing in
india for the first time
india is lot different from where come from certainly it much hotter
here the swede said but have heard lot of good things about this
tournament and am happy to be here
soderling said he had opted for chennai over bigger tournaments in doha and
brisbane that are being played this week because he was looking for change
have played before in doha and have played in brisbane so wanted to do
something different he said
there are lot of good players here and the competition will be tough it is
also the start of the season so anything can happen
soderling the top seed here ahead of defending champion marin cilic of croatia
opens his campaign against american robby ginepri on tuesday
football grayson determined to reach top flight with leeds
london jan afp
simon grayson the mastermind of manchester united shock fa cup exit insists
he wants to reach the premier league with leeds rather than hoping he will be
poached by top flight club
bolton are currently in the market for new manager and with burnley owen
coyle their top target grayson name is being linked with both lancashire
clubs
but grayson has ruled out leaving elland road at the start of what he hopes
will be journey back to the top of english football
my commitment to leeds united has never been in question he said left
blackpool year ago to join the football club supported
leeds is fantastic football club and am not interested in going anywhere
else
leeds look certain to return to the second tier championship next season and
sunday defeat of manchester united at old trafford will have encouraged
their fans to believe they can achieve consecutive promotions and be back in the
premier league in
it is that kind of stage players want to perform on added grayson and
certainly want to go back there in the next few years managing leeds united in
the premier league
bolton meanwhile were reportedly preparing an official approach to burnley in an
attempt to secure coyle as successor to gary megson who was dismissed last
week after just over two years in charge
coyle was short listed for the bolton job when megson was first appointed and
played for the club between and
according to media reports coyle has already held informal talks with bolton
chairman phil gartside and has indicated he would welcome the opportunity to
move to club with greater resources than he enjoys at burnley
yemen security kills two qaeda suspects tribal source
dubai jan afp
yemen security forces killed two suspected al qaeda members and wounded three
others monday in clash north of the capital tribal source said
the clash comes as yemeni authorities intensify operations against osama bin
laden terror network in the impoverished country which is believed by the
united states to be haven for the extremists
security forces hunting suspected al qaeda member mohammed al hanq clashed with
his bodyguards near arhab kilometres miles north of sanaa between al
hanq and beit boussan villages the source told afp requesting anonymity
two of hanq group his son and his nephew were killed and three were wounded
while he managed to escape the source added
us president barack obama has accused the yemen based al qaeda in the arabian
peninsula aqap of arming and training nigerian accused of trying to blow up
detroit bound northwest airlines jet on christmas day
aqap claimed responsibility for the failed attack and called for strikes on
embassies in yemen which were under tighter security on monday with the
missions of the united states britain and france closing their doors
computer flaws in british military chopper crash report
london jan afp
computer problems rather than pilot error may have caused the crash of
british military helicopter which killed top intelligence experts the bbc
reported monday citing official documents
an official inquiry by the british air force concluded in april the chinook
was airworthy and found the pilots guilty of gross negligence over the crash in
the mull of kintyre southwest scotland
but three subsequent inquiries were inconclusive and campaigners have insisted
that flaws in the aircraft were behind the crash the worst helicopter accident
for the royal air force in peacetime according to the bbc
an internal ministry of defence document obtained by the broadcaster and written
nine months before the crash said software used to control the engine in the
mark helicopter was positively dangerous
twenty one category and category anomalies have been revealed one of
these is considered to be positively dangerous according to the document which
bbc radio said was written by senior engineering officer
pilots control of the engines through the computer system fadec cannot be
assured the document said
the chinook crashed on the mull of kintyre in thick fog on june killing
all people on board
those killed included senior members of northern ireland intelligence
community in heavy blow to british efforts to combat terrorism
the ministry of defence said the document was not new evidence and did not
warrant reopening an investigation
ministers have repeatedly stated that they would reopen the board of inquiry if
any new evidence is raised said statement from the ministry
this latest information is from an raf document it was available to the
inquiry team and is not new evidence it added
cricket ashraful props up bangladesh with
dhaka jan afp
mohammad ashraful hit an impressive half century to help bangladesh post
against sri lanka in the opening match of triangular one day series here on
monday
bangladesh were struggling at after being put in to bat in the day night
match when ashraful added for the fifth wicket with mushfiqur rahim
and for the next with mohammad mahmudullah
ashraful reached his th half century in one day internationals with an
aggressive shot pulling paceman suranga lakmal for four he hit six
boundaries in his ball knock before being run out in the penultimate over
bangladesh scored in the last overs with naeem islam not out
smashing in the closing over bowled by lakmal
the hosts made an impressive run start through tamim iqbal and imrul
kayes before losing four wickets in the space of nine runs with lakmal
taking two
iqbal struck on the helmet off paceman chanaka welegedara smashed the bowler
for four boundaries in the same over he offered hard chance on seven but
nuwan kulasekara failed to hold firmly struck shot off his bowling
lakmal put bangladesh under pressure when he dismissed raqibul hasan for nought
and skipper shakib al hasan for one in successive overs to reduce the hosts to
rahim and ashraful then steadied the innings before sri lanka hit back off
spinner suraj randiv removed well set rahim who was trapped leg before while
attempting to sweep
ashraful also received valuable support from mahmudullah who hit one six and
three fours in his ball knock before being trapped leg before by randiv
india are the other team in the tournament each side will play four league
matches before the top two qualify for the final on january
alpine skiing schonfelder to make zagreb return
vienna jan afp
austrian skier rainer schonfelder announced monday he will return from knee
injury during the midweek world cup slalom race here
schoenfelder double bronze medallist from the turin olympics injured
his knee month ago but wants to assure his qualification for the vancouver
games from february
still have chance said the year old
the world top alpine skiing nation austria will send four skiiers in each
discipline to vancouver
dockers strike disrupts french ports
marseille france jan afp
strike by french dockers on monday paralysed freight traffic at france two
busiest ports marseille and le havre port authorities said
the one day nationwide strike was called by the cgt union to protest the
government port reforms and press demands for compensation for workers exposed
to asbestos
the work stoppage brought container and freight traffic to halt at le havre
and in marseille but the oil terminals and ferry services were not affected
port officials said
about ships were prevented from docking at fos sur mer and marseille
according to marseille port officials
the cgt union said all freight workers in le havre france largest
container port and most of the employees of the port authority had
walked off the job
under law adopted in july france seven major ports are turning to
private companies to run many of their services to make them more competitive
the cgt has also called another nationwide strike for january
karzai orders afghan parliament to delay recess for cabinet
kabul jan afp
afghan president hamid karzai ordered parliament monday to postpone its winter
recess so lawmakers can consider his new choices for cabinet posts his office
said
afghanistan parliament rejected more than two thirds of karzai proposals for
cabinet posts on saturday delivering major blow to his authority
karzai issued decree as head of state that the legislature should delay its
day recess until he has proposed new ministers in place of those who were
rejected in secret ballot the statement said
hamid karzai in decree ordered the national assembly to postpone leave
until the members of the cabinet are approved the statement said
parliament had been due to go on recess tuesday
new year freeze kills in poland police
warsaw jan afp
thirteen people died of cold in poland over the new year long weekend as
temperatures plunged to minus degrees celsius minus fahrenheit taking
this winter toll to police said monday
the majority of the victims were homeless men aged to who died of
hypothermia while drunk police said
police and municipal officials have urged poles to help the homeless by pointing
them out to authorities who have laid on special winter hostels for them
since the start of november people have died from cold in poland not an
unusual toll for country that faces severe winter conditions
the to winter season saw deaths from hypothermia up to january
poland highest winter toll in recent years was in to when died
urgent karzai asks parliament to postpone recess for cabinet
kabul jan afp
afghan president hamid karzai asked parliament monday to postpone its winter
recess so lawmakers can consider his new choices for cabinet posts his office
said
tennis roddick overpowers luczak in brisbane
brisbane australia jan afp
top seeded american andy roddick used his booming serve to overpower brave
peter luczak of australia in the first round of the brisbane
international on monday
world number seven roddick was forced to dig deep against an inspired luczak
who matched the american shot for shot throughout the first set
luczak then had mini break in the first set tie break but was unable to
convert and roddick fought back with his huge serve to claim the opening set
roddick then lifted his play notch to break his opponent twice in the second
set and ease his way into the second round
earlier defending champion radek stepanek easily demolished australian wild card
john millman
millman who hails from brisbane kept pace with stepanek over the early stages
but once the world number found his range not even the raucous home crowd
could help the young australian
stepanek has not had much of break since he played in the davis cup final
against spain in early december but said he was feeling strong ahead of the
australian summer
haven had much time to rest or prepare because went straight back to
practice but am feeling great he said
have great season in the bag the best in my career so far and want to
continue what ve been doing and make it back to the top
richard gasquet put an emotional year behind him when he battled for two hours
to defeat finland jarkko nieminen in the first match on centre
court
gasquet who only learned in december that he had been cleared of doping
offence said he had enjoyed being able to play without the threat of
suspension
could have won could have lost but it was most important to play
relaxed he said
the only upset of the day came when colombia alejandro falla downed seventh
seeded frenchman jeremy chardy
brazil thomaz bellucci the eighth seed was too good for argentina juan
ignacio chela while israel harel levy thrashed frenchman michael
llodra
france cautious over kidnapped journalists
kabul jan afp
france warned monday it could take time to free two kidnapped french journalists
and three afghan assistants as their employer sent news executive to kabul to
lobby for their release
the group went missing six days ago just kilometres six miles from french
military base in eastern afghanistan and despite french commanders mobilising
hundreds of troops in manhunt they have still not been found
foreign minister bernard kouchner said france was trying to contact the
kidnappers but warned that efforts to release the men could be lengthy
we are trying to establish contact kouchner told rtl radio but am saying
very clearly we have none
for the time being there has been no claim of responsibility he added when
there will be negotiations and there are none they will probably be drawn
out
the mainstream taliban have denied involvement in abduction of the journalists
in the eastern province of kapisa on december
the journalists working for television channel france were snatched after
meeting contact in the restive district of surobi and while driving north in
order to film and meet afghans
criminal groups and taliban insurgents have kidnapped several dozen foreigners
many of them journalists since the us led invasion ousted the taliban
regime in kabul sparking the current insurgency
france believes the journalists are still alive based on french knowledge of
the region where they are believed to be held
the people who are holding them may decide as is usually the case to lay low
for week or two said kouchner
he suggested that local farmers may provide information to french troops
patrolling the sector
public broadcaster france televisions sent its top news executive to kabul in
bid to lobby for the men release receive briefing from the french embassy
and hold series of meetings with afghan officials
here to meet all the afghan authorities said paul nahon
on sunday self styled taliban spokesman zabihullah mujahid denied his militia
were involved in the abduction saying we ask our fighters to inform us if
they do anything but we have no information coming from this area
colleague of the abducted journalists in kabul veronique veber however
insisted the men who seized the group in the village of omarkheyl south of
tagab were taliban
the latest media abduction in afghanistan comes just weeks after two afghans and
an iraqi journalist working for british newspaper were kidnapped and then
freed following six day ordeal in remote region of afghanistan
alert
afghan president asks parliament to postpone recess to consider new cabinet
barcelona president sets sights on political career
madrid jan afp
the president of european football champions barcelona said monday he was
considering creating political party to seek independence for spain
catalonia region and running for office himself
am attracted by the idea of running with new party open to all other
parties or platforms that believe catalonia needs its own state joan laporta
told el mundo newspaper in an interview
catalonia whose main city is barcelona and which has long been home to an
independence movement will hold regional elections in the autumn
will decide before easter and will announce it when my mandate as head of
fc barcelona is finished this summer the year old lawyer said
what clear to me is that if run want to be president of the regional
government
he said he has had discussions with catalonia main nationalist parties
laporta club leadership has at times been controversial but he has
nonetheless presided over hugely successful era for barcelona one of the
world most famous teams
in barca won record six titles including the european champions league
spanish league and the world club championship
they currently lead the table unbeaten after the first games of the season
with two point lead over arch rivals real madrid
but the club success has brought high expectations laporta was almost ousted
in after barcelona failed to win any titles over the previous two seasons
barca goes beyond football he told el mundo we are participants in one of
history most moving epics the one that guides suppressed people toward
freedom
laporta said that before reaching decision on whether to begin political
career he wanted to know whether the some percent of catalonians who polls
show favour independence were ready to pursue the idea
don know if catalonia wants leader or martyr he said me don
want to be martyr but want to be leader and the national aspiration to
obtain freedom for my country seems wonderful to me
