the fourth dynasty bc eygpt head of antiquities zahi hawass said
the discovery proved that free labourers built the pyramids not slave workers
news culture amp lifestyle
images and soundbites
raw vid
web mmv
jordan bomber said cia attack was revenge video
dubai
jordanian who blew himself up in afghanistan killing seven cia agents and his
jordanian handler said in video that the act he was planning was for revenge
we tell our emir baitullah mehsud we will never forget his blood it is up to
us to avenge him in and outside america humam khalil abu mulal al balawi said
about taliban leader killed in us attack in august refiling with full
transcript of video
news
images and soundbites
raw vid
web mmv
caste system traps nepal hereditary prostitutes
bankhet nepal
born into prostitution the women of the badi minority in nepal have been
condemned to work in the sex trade for generations stigma and rigid caste
system have prevented them from leaving the illegal trade but advocates say
things are slowly changing
special report
voiced report
nsv vid
broadcast ready vid
web mmv
in tough times french take english immersion classes at home
taule france
rural french village might not be the first place student would think of
visiting to improve their english language skills but with no money to go to
britain year old mathilde berthelot is doing just that
culture amp lifestyle
voiced report
nsv vid
broadcast ready vid
web mmv
driving down pollution the next generation electric car
warsaw
it the latest breakthrough in eco friendly transport designed in switzerland
and made in poland the re volt is three wheeled electric car which does
kilometres miles on full battery part of the new generation of green
vehicles it could be rolling out across europe roads soon provided of
course there compatible recharge station near you
science amp technology environment amp nature
voiced report
nsv vid
broadcast ready vid
web mmv
contact
jacqueline pietsch
gabrielle chatelain moor
hello lujah british church holds blessing for mobile phones
london jan afp
british church held an unusual ceremony monday when vicar blessed the mobile
phones of workers in the city of london financial district
the special service at the st lawrence jewry church which dates back to
was attended by around people who held their phones and other gadgets in the
air while vicar david parrott blessed them
the idea came from historic tradition where workers would bring the tools of
their trade such as ploughs to be blessed on the first monday after people
return to work following christmas
we decided to have the service with modern twist prayed for the people
who support the technology who use it parrott said
as prayed for god blessing on the technology they were holding their
phones in the air
worshippers were even allowed to keep their phones switched on during the
service given the nature of the blessing parrott said
on this occasion specifically invited people to keep their mobile phones on
but put them on to silent he added
armenia should tighten moneylaundering laws rights report
strasbourg jan afp
armenia should tighten its laws in the fight against money laundering and the
financing of terrorism council of europe rights report said monday
experts for the committee on the evaluation of anti money laundering measures
and the financing of terrorism known as moneyval found that although
there are some convictions it has not yet been ascertained through court
judgment that money laundering can be prosecuted as an autonomous offense
moneyval also regretted that legal persons were not subject to criminal
liability under armenian law though considered the country criminal
provisions for money laundering to be basically sound
the criminal provisions relating to terrorism financing are broadly in line
with the international standards but further amendments are necessary to cover
the financing of individual terrorists and terrorist organisations
the committee also deplored that for some offences it is not always possible
to confiscate assets and encouraged armenia to develop its supervision of
businesses and non financial professions
the legal framework for mutual legal assistance and extradition is sound the
report said and the provisions of mutual legal assistance are not subject to
any unreasonable or unduly restrictive conditions in armenia
oil prices bounces above dollars
london jan afp
the price of oil briefly struck month high close to dollars on monday in
the wake of positive chinese energy data and as cold snap raised demand for
heating fuel analysts said
new york main futures contract light sweet crude for february delivery hit
an intra day peak of dollars barrel
that was the highest point since october date that preceded collapse
in prices caused by the global financial crisis
after its multi month high new york crude for february delivery settled back to
dollars barrel down six cents compared with friday close
elsewhere brent north sea crude for february delivery slid cents to
dollars in late afternoon london deals
crude oil prices rose higher to hit month high following news from china
that showed record levels of imports for most commodity products for the end of
said analyst myrto sokou at sucden financial research in london
china reported on sunday an increase of near percent in crude oil imports
for december compared to the previous month
furthermore strong increase of percent year on year in exports boosted
investors confidence for china economic outlook
crude futures meanwhile won support monday also from freezing weather across the
northern hemisphere
prolonged cold snap is going to chew up some of those very high inventories
of heating oil said argus media oil analyst jason feer
europeans struggled to get to work on monday after weekend of treacherous
winter weather left thousands of homes without power and caused mayhem on roads
railways and at airports
villages in parts of northeast germany which was almost completely paralysed
over the weekend were still cut off from the outside world as snowdrifts
whipped up by gale force winds made roads and railways unpassable
spain and portugal meanwhile were the latest to feel the full force of what
experts said was an unusually harsh winter with the southern spanish city of
seville under snow on sunday for the first time in half century
oil prices had closed mixed on friday with the new york futures contract lifted
by weaker dollar after news that the us economy lost more jobs than expected
last month
the world biggest economy lost jobs in december while the unemployment
rate held unchanged at percent the us labor department said friday in
report highlighting slow and painful recovery from recession
the report on nonfarm payrolls was disappointment to those hoping for growth
in jobs which is critical to recovery from recession
imf mission heads to debt stricken greece
washington jan afp
the international monetary fund said monday it is sending mission to athens
this week for talks on helping debt stricken greece overcome its financial
crisis
the mission at the request of the greek authorities would begin tuesday and
last for about week to explore possibilities for technical assistance from
the imf in the coming months on pension reform tax policy tax administration
and budget management the fund said in statement
the mission is within the context of the regular surveillance that the imf
provides to its membership the brief statement said
greek finance ministry official said there would be no talk of loan
we have invited them to help us with their technical know how notably for the
reform that we have launched to draft the budget the official told afp on
condition of anonymity
loan is not being discussed the official said
the imf delegation will begin discussions with greek officials from various
ministries on wednesday the source said greece has turned to imf experts
several times before for advice including on measures to fight tax fraud
the imf mission comes after experts from the european commission and the
european central bank met with greek officials during three day visit last
week to examine the country public finances
both the ecb and spanish presidency of the european union have warned that
greece should not expect bailout from the bloc
greece which has acknowledged that it has credibility problem with the
financial markets has come under pressure from the european union to clamp down
on its ballooning public deficit
greece whose public spending deficit rose to percent of output last year
and debt climbed to percent of gross domestic product gdp must present
its crisis program to the eu by the end of the month
the socialist government has said it will get the deficit down to percent in
by cutting government spending and fighting tax fraud it aims to bring it
to below percent of gdp the limit imposed by the eurozone in
the government on friday announced percent increase in tobacco and alcohol
taxes and higher inheritance tax as it fended off eu pressure for drastic
action to tackle its debt mountain
finance minister georges papaconstantinou announced the tax hikes as he
reaffirmed the need for the country to establish financial credibility in europe
where greece troubles have raised concerns about the eurozone stability
the eu and the imf already have acted jointly to help two eu members to cope
with sharp downturns amid the global economic crisis hungary in november
and latvia the following month
papaconstantinou told the italian newspaper il sole recently that we will
solve our fiscal problems alone
we have not asked for and do not expect any help from the european central
bank or member state from the european union he said
palestinians find ancient coin hoard in gaza
gaza city jan afp
the hamas run ministry of tourism and antiquities in gaza on monday announced
the discovery of ancient artifacts near the egyptian border town of rafah
the most important of the findings are antique silver coins both large
and small said mohammed al agha tourism and antiquities minister in the
islamist run government
he said archaeologists had also uncovered black basalt grinder coin with
cross etched on it and the remains of walls and arches believed to have been
built in bc
they also discovered mysterious underground compartment with blocked
entrance that appeared to be tomb agha said
the palestinian authority has been carrying out archaeological excavations since
the but this was the first major find to be announced by the hamas run
government
the islamist movement seized control of the impoverished coastal territory in
june when it drove out forces loyal to the western backed palestinian
president mahmud abbas
the archaeological dig still under way is close to where vast network of
smuggling tunnels provides vital economic lifeline amid strict israeli and
egyptian closures imposed after the takeover
european stocks close little changed
london jan afp
european stock markets closed little changed on monday giving up gains made
after china reported dramatic return to export growth to bolster hopes the
emerging giant is leading global recovery
dealers said news that china saw its december exports soar percent to snap
month falling streak cemented the country new status as the world
biggest exporter and the best hope for return to economic normality
the fact that its imports also jumped sharply in the same month meant that on
both counts china was now leading the way out of the worst slump since the
in historic change to the post war world order
the china lead pushed asian markets higher but early european gains fell away
after an indifferent opening on wall street as investors waited to see if better
economic news is really feeding through into better corporate earnings
in london the ftse index of leading shares came off month highs to
finish up just percent to points
in paris the cac slipped percent to points and in frankfurt
the dax put on percent to points
dealers said the chinese data had major impact in asia and initially in
europe
the numbers from china showed huge boost both in exports and imports said
simon denham head of capital spreads trading group suggesting the us dominance
of the last years might be replaced augmented by asia
for most of my working life the phrase that when america sneezes the rest of
the world catches cold has been truism in relation to growth prospects
while china has many years to go before gaining such hegemony over the world
economy it is actually comforting to know that there is another powerhouse
waiting in the wings to join the us in driving global wealth forward denham
added
in new york the chinese figures had less of an impact as investors there
focused on upcoming corporate results to see if economic recovery is giving
earnings enough of boost to justify last year sharp rally in stocks
the blue chip dow jones industrial average was up percent at around
gmt while the tech heavy nasdaq composite fell percent
the main attraction in the reports is that china exports increased for the
first time in months offering hopeful sign about the building momentum of
global economic recovery noted patrick hare of briefing com
expectations are that there would be plenty of upside surprises especially
from companies that are doing more business abroad said ed yardeni president
of yardeni research
we are expecting particularly strong results from technology companies
company guidance for the year ahead will be very closely scrutinised dealers
said
with the beginning of the reporting season the market is going to become very
volatile and nervous said yves marcais of global equities
elsewhere in europe amsterdam was off percent brussels slipped
percent madrid lost percent and swiss stocks shed percent
earlier in asia hong kong rose percent and shanghai added percent
while sydney put on percent tokyo was closed for public holiday
black leaders accept us senator apology for race remark
washington jan afp
us black leaders said monday they had unreservedly forgiven senate majority
leader harry reid for racially insensitive comments adding it was time to focus
on pressing policy issues
reid created firestorm with remarks published in the just released book game
change saying that americans had warmed to the presidential candidacy of
barack obama because he was light skinned african american with no negro
dialect
representative barbara lee leader of the congressional black congress said
reid had phoned her over the weekend and she had accepted his apology without
qualms
he apologized for his unfortunate remarks concerning the president and he
understands the gravity of such remarks said lee who said it was time to move
past the controversy
there are too many issues like the economy job creation and energy for these
regrettable comments to distract us from the work that must be done on behalf of
the american people the veteran california lawmaker said adding that reid to
his credit has history of helping poor and minority communities
prominent african american activist al sharpton who also received phone call
from reid told fox news television that although he had been offended by the
reference of negro dialect it was not anywhere near comparable to
offensive or indiscreet racial remarks made by conservative leaders over the
years
on sunday republican leaders demanded that reid resign over the flap while
democrats described the comments as an unfortunate choice of words brushing
aside calls that reid step aside
after reid issued weekend statement apologizing for what he called my
improper comments obama issued statement of his own accepting the senate
democrat apology without question
white house chief of staff rahm emanuel on monday renewed the administration
endorsement offering reid percent support
french film maker rohmer dies at producer
paris jan afp
french film maker eric rohmer director of the critically acclaimed tales of
four seasons series died on monday at the age of his producer margaret
menegoz told afp
relatives said he had been hospitalised week ago but did not give further
details of his condition
rohmer films including the four part seasons series which was widely
distributed abroad explored relationships and love affairs with understated
performances and delicate attention to visual detail
vandals attack portuguese shrine of fatima
lisbon jan afp
vandals have attacked the roman catholic shrine of fatima in central portugal
spraying graffiti referring to islam officials said on monday
the words islam moon sun muslim and mosque were sprayed in
portuguese on statues in the square of the church of the most holy trinity on
sunday morning as well as on the church itself the shrine management said
police have begun an investigation and said they would study surveillance camera
footage
this is completely isolated incident which has nothing to do with any
organisation at all police commander duarte da graca said in comments
reported by the lusa news agency
the targeted statues are of the popes pius xii paul vi and john paul ii and
the bishop jose alves correia da silva
every year hundreds of millions of pilgrims from around the world visit the
shrine where the virgin mary is said to have appeared to three children in
pope benedict xvi is due to visit fatima to lead the traditional ceremonies
marking the apparition on may
statement by ireland leader vowing to clear name
belfast jan afp
northern ireland leader peter robinson vowed monday to fight mischievous
allegations against him linked to his wife iris affair with teenage lover
as he stepped down temporarily to clear his name
here are key extracts from his statement
this has been difficult time however want to thank all those who have
sent messages of encouragement and support have literally received thousands
of messages from all sections of the community and beyond
iris is receiving acute psychiatric treatment through the belfast health and
social care trust as father and husband need to devote time to deal with
family matters
to take account of this have asked the minister for enterprise arlene
foster mla to carry out the functions of the office of first minister for
short period
appreciate the unanimous support from my assembly and parliamentary
colleagues this morning
continue to contend have acted ethically and it is particularly painful at
this time of great personal trauma that have to defend myself from an
unfounded and mischievous allegation
as you know have requested that an opinion be obtained from senior counsel in
relation to the ministerial code and related aspects
in addition the deputy first minister has received advices from the
departmental solicitors office which do not present any complications or
difficulties whatsoever
have asked for parliamentary and assembly inquiry to be undertaken into
these matters
throughout this period will continue to work on the outstanding issues
relating to policing and justice and some other matters
this allows particularly concentrated focus on these discussions and we will
work to try to build on the agreements we have already reached so that
successful resolution can be reached
this is the year to deliver at stormont for all the people of northern
ireland
moody predicts sluggish global recovery in
london jan afp
international ratings agency moody forecast monday that the world will
experience sluggish economic recovery this year but cautioned that there
were downside risks to the prediction
moody continues to believe that sluggish recovery is the most likely global
macro economic scenario the ratings agency said in report
in other words we believe that the global economy is not going to rebound
strongly in and but rather return to trend growth rates with
persistent unemployment and budget deficits
this is in line with the hook shaped recovery scenario which moody introduced
in may and which stipulated that the crisis will leave lasting scars with
many economies not returning to their previous output paths
the prediction of hook shaped global recovery comprises steep downturn
followed by painfully slow economic upturn
the agency added monday that the tentative recovery would not manifest itself in
smooth rebound across the world adding that lower levels of economic activity
would have an important impact on credit
in most advanced economies the recovery will be fragile because of numerous
headwinds especially those related to the expected challenges in sovereign
risk in added pierre cailleteau managing director of moody global
sovereign risk group in the report
the agency said the world central banks and governments had attempted to
secure financial stability with radical stimulus measures to fight the global
economic crisis
the world has more or less tacitly opted for financial stability at the expense
of economic vitality and this will make the absorption of large public debts
more challenging warned cailleteau
moody said it had identified three potential downside risks to its prediction
of hook shaped recovery
the first is that of governments and central banks exiting high stimulus
policies in disorderly fashion leading to an abrupt increase in long term
interest rates and or sharp currency realignments moody said
the second is that financial institutions are unable to rebuild capital buffers
at sufficient speed to withstand the remaining economic and financial threats
the third and least probable downside risk is that of an unexpected decline in
china growth dynamic
moody forecast that the chinese economy would grow by percent in both
and
it also predicted that britain economy would expand by between percent
this year and by percent in
the us economy was predicted to grow by percent this year and by
percent in the following year
israel slams turkish tv for unacceptable show
jerusalem jan afp
israel on monday summoned turkey ambassador over fictional series on turkish
television that portrays israeli agents as baby snatchers the foreign ministry
said
we protest in the name of the israeli government against scenes from this
turkish television series showing israel and jews as baby snatchers and war
criminals deputy foreign minister danny ayalon told the envoy ministry
statement said
it is unacceptable it threatens jewish lives in turkey and bilateral
relations he said
ayalon was referring to the valley of the wolves new series which he said
showed agents of israel mossad foreign intelligence agency in bad light
israel issued similar protest last october when another turkish series showed
israeli soldiers shooting young palestinian children in cold blood
the latest protest came as turkey prime minister recep tayyip erdogan joined
his lebanese counterpart on monday in lashing out at israel notably for its air
strikes on gaza during visit by saad hariri to ankara
they the israelis have disproportionate capabilities and power and they use
them they do not abide by un resolutions they say they will do what they
like erdogan said
israel relations with turkey its main regional ally took sharp downturn
one year ago when ankara launched an unprecedented barrage of criticism of the
jewish state over its devastating war on the gaza strip
snow hits southern spain as big freeze sweeps europe
madrid jan afp
snow fell in parts of spain for the first time in half century monday as
wave of arctic cold that has killed scores of people and caused billions of
euros in damage to europe economy swept southwards
as villages in parts of north east germany remained cut off from the outside
world by giant snowdrifts authorities sounded the alert in regions across
central and northern spain in anticipation of further snow and icy temperatures
more than flights were cancelled at madrid barajas airport while
neighbouring portugal also struggled to cope with snowfalls which caused about
main roads to closed scores spent the night stuck in their vehicles
the southern spanish city of seville which normally enjoys temperatures in
january of around degrees celsius degrees fahrenheit shivered under its
first snowfall in half century
northern europe enjoyed something of respite but forecasters warned that
temperatures were set to plummet to minus celsius fahrenheit overnight
in parts of germany with heavy snow showers and strong winds expected again on
the northern baltic coast
conditions are expected to get calmer as the week progresses but what might
cause problems is the move to milder weather as that will bring rain and
freezing rain meteorologist alexander hildebrand said
we can give the all clear yet in the whole of germany drivers have to expect
ice and snow maxi hartung from the german automobile association adac said
vandals meanwhile carved giant swastika measuring five metres feet across
in the snow on frozen lake in the northern city of schwerin police said
at frankfurt airport europe third busiest where some flights were
cancelled at the weekend more were scrapped on monday and authorities warned
of further problems as air traffic slowly gets back to normal
in southern poland more than homes were without power for second day
while heavy snow and freezing rain hit rail traffic between the capital warsaw
and the south
prague has had its heaviest snowfalls in years and hundreds of homes across
the czech republic were without electricity
in britain icy roads and snow showers hampered efforts to get the country
moving again with eurostar train services from london to paris and brussels
again restricted
the death toll in britain from weather related incidents rose to at least
over the weekend reports said with the latest victim man who fell through
ice on the river tees in the north of the country as he tried to rescue his two
dogs
scores of deaths in similar accidents mountain avalanches or homeless people
killed by the cold have been reported across europe over the past two weeks
in france there were lengthy delays on tgv high speed rail links
the cold snap has meanwhike caused severe disruptions to natural gas exports
from the world second biggest gas exporter norway pipeline operator gassco
said
experts in germany which is emerging from its worst recession since world war
ii warned that the blanket of snow covering the whole country would hit the
economy freezing construction activity and disrupting supplies
the cold weather could really make for difficult start to what is meant to be
year of growth in volker treier from the dihk economics institute told
the bild daily
if there is no improvement soon the german economy could lose around two
billion euros three billion dollars in lost activity or percent of gross
domestic product gdp in the first quarter he said
britain which is still in recession is on course to take hit of billion
pounds billion euros billion dollars from the harshest winter in
decades according to the centre for economics and business research
but economists believe the impact will be mitigated by britons working at home
to beat the freeze benefiting utilities and internet retailers as they turn up
the heating and shop online and that the economy will bounce back
finns lead world in battle of the bulge
paris jan afp
finns are the world biggest slimmers brazilians are the most figure conscious
and the french are likeliest to blame fast food for making them overweight
according to survey published on monday by the magazine reader digest
the country poll was carried out in september and october last year by the us
survey firm synovate
in finland percent of those surveyed said they had tried to lose weight at
least once in their life it found they were followed by the dutch with
percent at the other end of the scale only percent of indians said they had
tried to slim at some point
among brazilians percent said they believed their society placed too much
importance on slimness followed by india percent the united states
percent and britain and france percent each
in contrast only percent in hungary said their compatriots were too figure
fixated
seventy nine percent of french respondents blamed fast food for rising obesity
levels seventy percent of americans and percent of germans shared this
view
china topped the world for use of slimming pills thirty seven of chinese
respondents said they had used this method to try to lose weight
the poll covering more than people was carried out in australia
brazil britain canada china finland france germany hungary india
mexico the netherlands the philippines russia switzerland and the united
states
snow hits southern spain as big freeze sweeps europe
madrid jan afp
snow fell in parts of spain for the first time in half century monday as
wave of arctic cold that has killed scores of people and caused billions of
