the number of un staffers confirmed dead in the devastating haiti quake has
risen from to with nearly others mostly haitians unaccounted for
un spokesman said thursday
gates warns of dangers in pakistan militant havens
islamabad jan afp
us defense secretary robert gates warned thursday that taliban safe havens along
the pakistan afghanistan border must be tackled or both nations would suffer
more lethal and more brazen attacks
the pentagon chief in islamabad until friday said he would ask pakistan about
plans to broaden military operation against islamist insurgents but the army
made it clear that no new offensives were looming
it was his first visit to pakistan under the administration of us president
barack obama as washington struggles to win over public and leadership wary
of its plan to tackle militancy and turn around the war in afghanistan
while pakistan has launched number of assaults on taliban strongholds in
recent months washington is anxious for islamabad to target the afghan taliban
and al qaeda linked militants within its borders as well
gates said he would ask pakistani leaders about plans to expand their campaign
to north waziristan bastion of al qaeda and the haqqani network known for
attacking us and nato troops fighting the taliban in afghanistan
think the way will approach it is to simply ask them what their plans are
for north waziristan he told reporters
reacting to gates comments pakistan military spokesman major general athar
abbas said it will take between six months to year to completely stabilise
south waziristan the focus of current army operations
with troops now in south waziristan the region would need to be secured
before any new assaults were launched he added
he dismissed criticism that pakistan had been slow to move against the haqqani
network saying the cia had failed to provide actionable intelligence
in an editorial in english language daily the news published thursday gates
wrote that making distinctions between the different extremist groups as
pakistan is often accused of doing was counterproductive
it is important to remember that the pakistani taliban operates in collusion
with both the taliban in afghanistan and al qaeda so it is impossible to
separate those groups gates wrote
if history is any indication safe havens for either taliban on either side of
the border will in the long run lead to more lethal and more brazen attacks in
both nations he added in the editorial
only by pressuring all of these groups on both sides of the border will
afghanistan and pakistan be able to rid themselves of this scourge for good
gates met pakistan army chief general ashfaq kayani defence minister ahmed
mukhtar intelligence chief lieutenant general ahmed shuja pasha and is also due
to hold talks with president asif ali zardari
the pentagon chief visit comes at time of diplomatic tension as volley of
us drone missile strikes hit militants in the northwest fuelling anti american
sentiment and drawing public condemnation from the government
officials said gates hoped to reassure wary pakistan public and leadership
that the united states was not going to turn its back on them as in the past
gates has lamented that washington lost interest in the region after the soviets
withdrew from afghanistan and lost the trust of pakistani armed forces after
us ban on military aid over islamabad nuclear programme in the
speaking to pakistan media he sought to play down what he called conspiracy
theories saying the us had no plans to seize control of the country nuclear
weapons or occupy pakistan
he also acknowledged pakistan concerns about security along its eastern border
with arch rival india but said the taliban and militants in the west
represented more immediate threat
the visit was part of broader effort to overcome what officials on both sides
call the trust deficit between the two countries with the united states
receiving dismal ratings in polls of pakistanis
in new delhi wednesday gates warned that south asian militant groups were
seeking to destabilise the entire region and could trigger war between
nuclear armed pakistan and india
five dead four missing in sao paulo storm
sao paulo jan afp
violent storm hit latin america biggest city of sao paulo overnight leaving
five people dead and four others missing and adding to summer toll that now
stands at dead according to reports thursday
at least four of those killed thursday including three children died in
landslides in the brazilian city the news website globo reported
the heavy rain flooded several roads and tunnels snarling traffic
sao paulo mayor gilberto kassab partly blamed uncontrolled growth in the
city for the flooding saying shanty towns had made the ground less stable when
it rained
sodden summer has brought frequent flooding and landslides to sao paulo
population million since the beginning of december people have died
globo said
weather forecasters predicted more rain would lash the city on friday
sectarian strife threatening egyptian unity mubarak
cairo jan afp
egyptian president hosni mubarak said on thursday that sectarian strife is
threatening egypt unity in his strongest comments yet on deadly christmas
eve attack on coptic christians
the criminal act in nagaa hammadi has bled the hearts of egyptians mubarak
said in comments carried by the official news agency mena
he was referring to an attack by gunmen on january the eve of the coptic
orthodox christmas in the southern town of nagaa hamadi in which six copts and
muslim policeman were killed
three muslim men have been charged over shooting
copts and human rights groups have criticised what they say is the government
insistence that the attack was criminal rather than sectarian
mubarak however alluded in his comments to sectarian tensions in country where
copts make up about percent of the country muslim majority population of
million
hasten to affirm that the reasonable people of this nation and its religious
leaders and thinkers bear the greater responsibility to contain discord and
ignorance and blind fanaticism and to confront the despicable sectarian strife
that threatens the unity of our society he said
the attack carried out on street in nagaa hamadi bustling with copts came as
shock to the minority who often complain of discrimination
copts are considered equal to muslims under the egyptian constitution but must
gain presidential permission to build churches and clearance from governor to
renovate them
they have two ministers in government and several members of parliament
mubarak said he hoped for an advanced society and modern state of citizens
that precludes deviant thought that mixes religion with politics and politics
with religion and that does not distinguish between muslims and copts
the attack was the deadliest since copts were killed in sectarian clashes in
also in the south
the gunmen alleged to have carried out the shooting were arrested the next day
and are standing trial in an emergency state security court which is normally
used for terrorism and national security cases
alert
haiti relocating thousands of homeless quake victims minister
alert
un death toll in haiti quake jumps to spokesman
goldman sachs profits soar in fourth quarter full year
new york jan afp
us banking giant goldman sachs blasted past wall street forecasts thursday
posting fourth quarter and full year profits well above expectations
despite slip in revenues
goldman sachs one of the leading wall street investment banks said it had net
profit of billion dollars in the fourth quarter
earnings per share in the fourth quarter were dollars topping analysts
average forecast of dollars
net revenues in the quarter were billion dollars slightly below the
billion dollars expected
the hefty quarterly profit compared with year earlier loss of billion
dollars amid the financial sector meltdown following the lehman brothers
collapse
that period in ended on november in the bank previous reporting
calendar
for all of goldman posted net profit of billion dollars sixfold
increase from billion dollars in
lloyd blankfein goldman chairman and chief executive said the bank performed
well throughout the year particularly during the most difficult conditions
despite significant headwinds we are seeing signs of growth he said
goldman powerful earnings came after it repaid billion dollar bailout
under the troubled asset relief program tarp the federal initiative launched
to stabilize the financial sector after the lehman brothers collapse
goldman changed its charter in late to become commercial bank to get
easier access to federal reserve lending facilities to help weather the
financial crisis
it repaid the tarp bailout in full in june
firefighter injures colleagues in rome rampage
rome jan afp
firefighter armed with knife went on rampage at barracks in rome early
thursday injuring nine colleagues and sparking panic attack in another
authorities said
there was blood and panic livio de angelis the head of rome emergency
response service told afp it was scene out of kabul there was blood
everywhere and all the other workers were terrified
gabriele mancini an engineer at the barracks attacked six colleagues with
the knife before leaving the scene in car hitting three others with the
vehicle de angelis said
this person moved around the barracks and stabbed anyone crossing him he
said adding that another woman suffered panic attack
all were hospitalised three men and woman suffered serious knife injuries
while the others suffered cuts and bruises
mancini is under psychiatric and medical observation at military police
station the ansa news agency reported
mancini was an instructor at the barracks firefighter training centre in
capannelle on the southern outskirts of rome
siemens unveils chinese train contract
berlin jan afp
german industrial giant siemens said thursday it had won multi million euro
contract to supply equipment for regional trains in china
the deal worth around million euros million dollars is to deliver
components to the nanjing sr puzhen rail transport company for trains that will
run on kilometre mile track in the pearl river delta
the network is due to be completed by and the first component deliveries
will take place in and siemens said
india lifts pre paid phone ban in kashmir
srinagar india jan afp
india revoked on thursday ban on pre paid mobile telephones in kashmir imposed
because authorities accused muslim militants of using them to co ordinate
attacks and trigger bombs
mobile phones were launched in kashmir only in when security agencies gave
the go ahead but separatist militants were soon suspected of relying on pre
paid versions that are harder to trace
the ban on pre paid phones in jammu and kashmir has been withdrawn india
state owned television doordarshan announced
militants in the muslim majority region of kashmir have waged violent uprising
against rule from new delhi for two decades
the pre paid mobile ban was unpopular among young people in kashmir who said
the phones were lifeline for courting couples wanting to avoid detection by
disapproving parents or prying elders
kashmir chief minister omar abdullah welcomed the indian government
decision
the decision of lifting the ban has come as relief to tens of thousands of
subscribers and also thousands of young people who are engaged with this
activity he said in statement
the ban had affected million users in kashmir
the spokesman for state owned bharat sanchar nigam limited bsnl
telecommunications company said the ban was lifted because all the service
providers now had reliable and stringent system to verify all customers
major political and business groups also welcomed the announcement
abdullah urged the service providers to stick to the fresh guidelines issued for
the verification of pre paid mobile phone customers
football stars join un benefit match for haiti
geneva jan afp
forty past and present footballing greats including kaka and zinedine zidane
have enrolled for benefit match next monday for the victims of the devastating
earthquake in haiti the un said
two haitian players playing in the portuguese league jean sony and joseph
peterson will join the line up for the match against poverty in lisbon
organised by the un development programme
the annual charity match normally raises funds to tackle global poverty but the
focus has switched to haiti the undp said in statement on thursday
this year in the wake of the massive devastation that struck haiti the
organisers and players decided that all proceeds will go toward relief and
reconstruction efforts there it added
more top international names were expected to confirm they would join pavel
nedved michael laudrup fabien barthez edgar davids patrick kluivert luis
figo pauleta gheorghe hagi and nuno gomes in the match between benfica all
star team and ronaldo zidane amp friends
the match backed by world and european governing bodies fifa and uefa will be
refereed by pierluigi collina
ronaldo one of the organisers will be unable to join the game because his club
corinthians play their first match in the brazilian season on sunday
court to decide on battle over nigerian president
abuja jan afp
nigeria top lawyers on thursday asked court to effectively extend the vice
president powers to encompass those of acting head of state in the continued
absence of ailing president umaru yar adua
the nigerian bar association nba told federal high court that yar adua
breached the constitution when he left the country two months ago without
writing to inform parliament of his absence
nigeria opposition has claimed yar adua continued absence though illness and
lack of information on his condition has stalled government business and
threatens power vacuum in africa most populous nation
we are saying the court should declare that even when there is an omission to
write the letter the vice president is entitled to assume under the doctrine
of necessity the functions of the president as acting president said nba
lawyer akin olujimi
they have petitioned the high court in abuja to have vice president goodluck
jonathan sworn in with full powers
the same court ruled last week in separate case that jonathan can carry out
presidential duties in yar adua absence without formal transfer of power
however justice minister michale aondoaaka said the lawyers have no power to
ask the court to declare an acting president
such powers were vested in the national assembly which can only do so on the
strength of letter from the president he added
and that is discretional to the president
thursday hearing was one of three legal cases taken up by the opposition to
force year old yar adua northern muslim to hand over full powers to
jonathan southern christian
the court is to hand down its ruling on january
eu puts off reply to us request for airport body scanners
toledo spain jan afp
eu interior ministers thursday put off reply to us request that europe
install body scanners at its airports until studies into their possible harmful
effects on health and privacy are completed
spanish interior minister alfredo perez rubalcaba whose country holds the
rotating presidency of the eu said the european commission was carrying out
studies into the devices effectiveness and possible impacts on health and
privacy
once we have these studies on the table we will make decision he told
news conference with us homeland security secretary janet napolitano following
talks with interior ministers from across the nation bloc in toledo
tourism income plunges in croatia
zagreb jan afp
croatia was hit by percent plunge in tourism income over the first nine
months of compared to the same period in the croatian central bank
hnb said on thursday
tourism revenue was at billion euros billion dollars over the same
period around one billion euros less than in the first nine months of
tourist arrivals were broadly unchanged in that time indicating that foreign
tourists are still coming to the country but are spending less
croatia economy is highly dependent on income from tourism
us new jobless claims post biggest jump in two months
washington jan afp
new claims for jobless insurance benefits in the united states posted their
biggest jump in about two months government data showed thursday underscoring
unemployment concerns even amid economic recovery
the seasonally adjusted initial claims in the week ending january rose for
the third consecutive week to an increase of from the previous
week revised figure of the labor department said
it was the third straight week of increase most economists had forecast that
claims would be around as the world largest economy emerged from its
worst recession in decades
the four week moving average less volatile indicator than the week to week
figures was an increase of from the previous week revised
average of
the latest data however showed fall in the total number of americans
receiving unemployment benefits
the number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending
january was million decrease of from the preceding week
revised level of million
government data in early january showed us employers had cut jobs in
december while the unemployment rate held at percent
more than seven million americans lost their jobs in the recession and nearly
million americans are unemployed or underemployed because they could not find
full time work or have given up looking for work latest data showed
the us economy grew at percent pace in the third quarter of
reversing four quarters of contraction latest governmet figures showed
british court ruling alarms north cyprus property owners
nicosia jan afp
foreign property owners in northern cyprus have expressed alarm over british
court ruling that ordered couple to tear down villa built on disputed land
and pay compensation to the owner
it very bad news for everyone what can they do pack up and leave asked
marian stokes an irishwoman who lives in the northern port town of kyrenia
tuesday ruling by the court of appeal in london that the british couple must
demolish and abandon their holiday home in the breakaway turkish cypriot north
came as great shock said stokes
the foreigners have done nothing wrong added stokes founder of home
buyers property group that advises potential buyers in the north
they ve done everything by the rules they went to lawyer and got advice the
title deeds were stamped by the government
the landmark court ruling requires david and linda orams to hand the land they
bought in back to meletis apostolides the original greek cypriot owner
and pay him damages
apostolides family like thousands of others fled to the south of the island in
when turkish troops invaded the north in response to greek cypriot coup
aimed at uniting the island with greece
many of the abandoned properties were distributed among turkish cypriots who
fled their own homes in the south
apostolides launched court action in nicosia in which was followed by
string of subsequent legal hearings amid disagreements over the case
his lawyer said on thursday that the new precedent meant that any greek cypriot
who owned land in the breakaway north could now seek remedy through the cyprus
courts that would be enforceable throughout the european union
people who have land in the occupied north that is being trespassed upon by
foreigners can now take legal action at the courts of the republic of cyprus
constantis candounas told reporters
they can be certain that any judgment they are able to obtain will be enforced
throughout the european union
candounas said the case was not about the politics of the cyprus problem but
simply man who wanted to return home
he apostolides is refugee who wants to go home we all want to go home and
this is all it is about
property is one of the most complex and divisive issues of the cyprus problem
and the greek cypriot side is expected to use the british court ruling to
support its demands in un brokered talks aimed at reunifying the island
but the turkish cypriot manager of an estate agency in kyrenia who asked not to
be named stressed that her own community too had been dispossessed in and
retained title deeds to large numbers of properties in the south of the island
she said her own father had applied to greek cypriot court in to recover
his land in the island second city of limassol but had fallen foul of the
restrictions placed on turkish cypriot cases
his case was dismissed because he had to stay six months in the south before
applying she said
briton living in kyrenia who requested anonymity said it would not be easy
for the orams to knock their house down as ordered by the court because they
have to get demolition permit from the turkish cypriot government
around britons live in the north of the mediterranean island and it would
be ridiculous to bring cases to court said morton coles chairman of the
british residents in northern cyprus society
resolution of the property issue for both turkish and greek cypriots can
only come about as part of comprehensive settlement he added
as well as affecting the expatriate community the ruling could have worrying
consequences for turkish cypriots as according to greek cypriot statistics the
majority community owned as much as percent of the land before
apostolides lawyer said he had now taken on new case in which he planned to
serve writs to tourists for trespassing while staying at the dome hotel in
kyrenia on behalf of its displaced greek cypriot owner
he said the party was now over for illegal developers and trespassers
we do not reject the development of tourism in the north but not at the expense
of greek cypriots and greek cypriot property
eu parliament calls on china to release dissident liu xiaobo
strasbourg jan afp
the european parliament called on thursday for the immediate release of
prominent jailed chinese dissident liu xiaobo accusing beijing of judicial
harassment
the parliament expressed solidarity withe liu peaceful actions and called for
his immediate and unconditional release while condemning the judicial
harassment of which he was victim
liu was jailed for years on christmas day after he helped to write charter
bold manifesto calling for political change and democracy in china
the meps also took aim at eu policy on china accusing europe of putting money
before rights
the parliamentary resolution said that the massive two way trade and economic
relations involved have overshadowed the questions of democratic reforms
respect for human rights and the rule of law
the european union is china biggest trading partner and investor
liu incarceration has already been criticised by human rights groups and other
western powers
the eu presidency in december condemned the beijing court decision saying it
raised concerns about freedom of speech and the right to fair trial in china
the eu parliamentary resolution adopted thursday said beijing authorities had
increased their surveillance harassment and imprisonment of activists in order
to prevent them from raising human rights concerns in the run up to last
october th anniversary of communist china
china human rights record remains matter of serious concern the
lawmakers stressed
the eu deputies also suggested china poor human rights record might have wider
diplomatic ramifications
the eu china human rights dialogue established in has achieved negligible
results the elected parliament insisted saying that was the consequence of
an uncoordinated and ineffective eu common foreign policy on china
it called for liu xiaobo case to be raised at the next eu china summit
urgent eu puts off reply to us request for airport body scanners
toledo spain jan afp
eu interior ministers thursday put off reply to us request for body scanners
to be installed at european airports until studies into their effects on health
and privacy are completed
top officials charged in fatal china mine accident report
beijing jan afp
vice mayor and deputy police chief in northern china have been charged with
taking bribes in relation to an industrial accident that killed people
state press said thursday
three other top officials in linfen city shanxi province have been charged
with dereliction of duty and accepting bribes to turn blind eye to illegal
practices at the xinta mining company xinhua news agency said
the bribes helped cover up an illegal hillside waste pond run by the company
which burst in september triggering deadly landslide the report said
investigators are charging duan bo the former linfen deputy police chief with
taking million yuan million dollars in bribes from the boss of the
mining company
duan was also charged with taking million yuan in bribes from other people
it said without elaborating
zhou jie former linfen vice mayor in charge of work safety has been charged
with dereliction of duty and taking yuan in bribes from the mine it
said he also received million yuan in bribes from other people
all five officials have been kicked out of the communist party the report said
citing statement issued by the ruling party disciplinary committee
their cases have been handed over for criminal prosecution it said without
saying when trials would be held
china work safety record is notoriously bad with thousands of people dying
every year in mines factories and on construction sites according to official
tallies
afp middle east news summary
nicosia jan afp
top middle east stories on thursday
attacks yemen qaeda
sanaa yemen stopped granting entry visas at its airports to prevent militants
from entering the country widening its dragnet against an al qaeda cell
believed behind spate of global attacks
iran nuclear politics iaea
tehran iran has not rejected un brokered offer to exchange enriched nuclear
fuel but it wants staged swap rather than wholesale handover of most of its
stockpile foreign ministry officials said in published comments
iraq vote protest
karbala thousands of iraqis held rallies in the mainly shiite cities of basra
karbala and najaf in support of decision to bar election candidates linked to
executed dictator saddam hussein
iraq trial britain australia
baghdad the trial of british security guard accused of shooting dead two
colleagues in baghdad was adjourned to next month to allow psychiatric
evaluation of the defendant lawyer said
mideast diplomacy border palestinian
ramallah west bank the palestinians rejected the idea of an israeli presence
on the eastern border of their future state which was mooted by israel
hawkish prime minister
mideast diplomacy us
jerusalem us middle east envoy george mitchell started day of talks with top
israeli officials in his latest bid to restart the stalled middle east peace
process
mideast conflict jerusalem settler
jerusalem plans to raze illegally built houses in mainly arab east jerusalem
have been halted to avoid having to tear down building used by jewish
settlers israeli army radio said
saudi children marriage religion rights
riyadh saudi cleric said the prophet mohammed marriage to nine year old
girl some centuries ago cannot be used to justify child marriages today
saudi newspaper reported after year old girl married man years older
some living outdoors in haiti iom
geneva jan afp
at least half million people are living outdoors in improvised camps in
haiti capital port au prince the international organisation for migration
said thursday
spokeswoman for the iom which had accounted for people in improvised
settlements on wednesday said the count of those who were homeless or staying
outside their homes after last week earthquake was climbing
so far some improvised settlements comprising at least people have
been identified in this city alone out of which settlements have been
assessed by iom the haitian government and humanitarian partners the agency
said in statement
most had cobbled together makeshift shelters from sheeting blankets cardboard
or bits of debris while some had received tents from haitian authorities or the
us forces spokeswoman jemini pandya told afp
the number is growing and it doesn include the number of people outside port
au prince she added
the iom which is charge of shelter for the un led relief effort said it had
received more deliveries of tents on wednesday
transportation of the relief items from the airport to warehouses and then to
distribution points remains challenge with trucks and fuel still in limited
supply it added
rescue teams from around the world were combing debris in and around port au
prince for survivors nearly nine days after the magnitude tremor shattered
home and buildings in the region
asked when they might have to stop elisabeth byrs spokeswoman for the un
organisation for the coordination of humanitarian affairs ocha said in
principle in this kind of disaster the decision is up to the authorities in
cooperation with the international rescue teams
as long as there is hope rescue operations continue she told afp
no trace is neglected and rescuers worked as much on the eighth day as on the
first
two children were pulled from collapsed buildings on wednesday byrs said
rescuers continued to receive alerts about signs of other possible survivors
clinging onto life under slabs of concrete and rubble
top us military commander said tuesday that the united states expects to
transition very soon from searching for survivors of haiti killer earthquake
to recovering bodies
bskyb losses appeal on sale of itv stake
london jan afp
british pay tv giant bskyb on thursday lost an appeal over government order
that it reduce its percent stake in commercial television network itv
britain court of appeal said that ruling that bskyb cut its
