disputed nuclear programme saying next month would be critical time for the
world community to decide on sanctions
britain iraq military politics inquiry
london britain invasion of iraq in was illegal the former chief legal
advisor to the foreign ministry told public inquiry into the war three days
before ex prime minister tony blair appears
us attacks guantanamo detainee switzerland
geneva former uzbek detainee released from the controversial us military
detention centre for terror suspects at guantanamo bay has arrived in
switzerland as free man swiss authorities said
auschwitz poland holocaust jews israel
warsaw israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu honoured holocaust victims at
war memorial in the polish capital on the eve of the th anniversary of the
auschwitz death camp liberation
britain attacks arrest
london police in britain were searching the home of man arrested under
terrorism laws days after the government raised its threat level to severe
suggesting an attack was highly likely
spain basques eta arrest
madrid five people were arrested in spain northern basque region in
connection with number of attacks blamed on the eta separatist group police
and regional authorities said
greece britain us jews racism
hania greece greek authorities put year old briton into pre trial custody
on crete over arson attacks on synagogue that destroyed hundreds of rare
books
britain nireland politics
belfast british prime minister gordon brown and his irish counterpart brian
cowen scrambled to save northern ireland fragile power sharing administration
as emergency talks entered second day
germany weather cold homeless
berlin at least homeless people have died of exposure to frigid temperatures
in germany since the start of the winter the worst toll in years an
advocacy group said
search for victims answers in lebanon plane crash
beirut jan afp
officials on tuesday sought to determine why an ethiopian airliner veered off
course on takeoff from beirut before crashing at sea as rescuers searched for
the black boxes and additional victims
transport minister ghazi aridi told afp the pilot of the ill fated plane had
initially acknowledged control tower instructions before the jet suddenly went
off in different direction
he rogered instructions to go in one direction but then the plane deviated and
when the control tower tried to reach him they lost contact he said
aridi said the search on tuesday was concentrated in square kilometre
square mile area off the coast just south of beirut airport
there are no answers until we find the black boxes he said
ethiopian airlines flight tumbled in ball of fire into the mediterranean
early monday just minutes after takeoff in stormy weather
the boeing bound for addis ababa had passengers and crew on board
all are presumed dead
lebanese officials have ruled out foul play and said the bad weather was likely
to blame
experts have said extreme turbulence or wind shear may have caused the pilot to
lose control of the plane which apparently exploded before crashing
captain habib karam the former head of the pilots union for lebanon national
carrier middle east airlines said the pilot probably flew straight into
cumulonimbus thunder clouds which would cause him to lose control of the plane
if pilot flies into this type of cloud it over he said
ethiopian airlines said its pilot had years of experience and was familiar
with the aircraft
health minister mohamed jawad khalifeh said bodies and some body parts had
been recovered so far by an international task force including ships from the
united nations interim force in lebanon unifil us navy destroyer as well as
aircraft from france and britain
the army said debris from the plane including part of the left wing had washed
up on shore
we are sparing no efforts in our search an army spokesman told afp adding
crews would continue working through the night
senior lebanese security official said authorities were relying on the uss
ramage which has specialised sonar equipment to locate the flight recorders
and pieces of the plane
we also have divers and we are using specialised equipment that can go down as
deep as to metres he said speaking on condition of anonymity
washington and france have also sent experts to assist the lebanese government
in its probe
officials said there was virtually no hope of finding any survivors given the
time that had elapsed and were pinning their hope on the black boxes to provide
answers to the tragedy
witnesses reported seeing ball of fire as the plane plunged into the
mediterranean at am gmt just south of the airport
the passengers comprised lebanese nationals ethiopians one french
one british one iraqi one syrian one turkish and another of as yet
undetermined nationality there were seven ethiopian crew members
the french passenger was identified as marla sanchez pietton wife of france
ambassador to lebanon
khalifeh said authorities in addis ababa were sending dna samples from families
of the ethiopian passengers to assist in identifying the victims
ethiopia foreign minister seyoun misfin was also expected in beirut late
tuesday
lebanon cabinet was holding meeting tuesday evening with the crash topping
the agenda
ethiopian airlines which was established in and operates an all boeing
fleet is considered one of africa best carriers
the airline had not been involved in major accident since when
nairobi bound jet was hijacked by three ethiopians seeking political asylum
the aircraft crashed into the indian ocean off the comoros when it ran out of
fuel killing of the people on board
british irish leaders scramble to save ireland executive
belfast jan afp
british prime minister gordon brown and irish counterpart brian cowen scrambled
tuesday to save northern ireland fragile power sharing administration as
emergency talks dragged into second day
first minister peter robinson admitted he was unsure if there would be deal
amid unresolved issues with ex bitter rivals turned coalition partners sinn
fein over devolving police and justice powers from london to belfast
the issue is the final step to full devolution but if it is not resolved it
could trigger snap election to the northern ireland assembly
brown discussed the situation in phone call with us secretary of state hillary
clinton who is in london for talks on yemen and afghanistan wednesday and
thursday downing street said
they discussed and took stock of the progress that been made and the need to
make an agreement spokeswoman added
the british irish and northern irish politicians were back around the
negotiating table tuesday after few hours sleep following monday late night
session
the already sensitive negotiations are complicated further by the recent scandal
over dup leader robinson wife affair with year old plus allegations of
financial impropriety which he temporarily stood aside to fight
robinson admitted there were still unresolved issues but he said his party
was up for it and hope that others are too before going in for talks at
hillsborough castle in belfast
can say whether there going to be deal what can say is we re going
to sit at the table ready to talk to others until we do get deal said
robinson leading the dup delegation despite his temporary withdrawal from
frontline politics
earlier downing street spokesman said the talks had been hard going but
parties have engaged in good faith and there was frank discussion across range
of issues
the prime minister and cowen remain determined that progress can be made
irish foreign minister micheal martin said in an interview with ireland rte
radio the talks had been difficult and challenging though added he was
hopeful we can bridge the gap today
the british and irish leaders have reportedly cleared their diaries for the next
few days to allow them to focus on negotiations meeting of brown cabinet in
london due tuesday was postponed
sinn fein which is catholic and wants northern ireland to be part of united
ireland has warned it could pull out of power sharing unless progress is made
this would force an election
but the dup protestant and in favour of northern ireland remaining part of
the united kingdom wants concessions on how protestant parades are managed
these have been flashpoints for sectarian violence
this month the bbc reported that robinson year old wife iris fellow dup
politician secured pounds dollars euros from two
developers to enable her then year old lover to set up cafe in belfast
police are investigating while iris robinson has stepped down as dup lawmaker
in belfast and london and is receiving psychiatric treatment
her husband has strongly denied knowledge of her financial affairs he should
have reported to officials if he knew of them
britain and ireland helped to broker the good friday agreement which
largely ended three decades of violence that killed at least people and
led to the creation of power sharing executive devolved from london
but northern ireland is still dogged by sporadic violence most recently
policeman lost leg in car bomb attack this month two men aged and
were arrested monday in connection with the incident
fiat calls two week production halt in italy
milan jan afp
italian automaker fiat on tuesday called two week production halt in italy
from february temporarily laying off some workers because of fall
off in orders
we announced today that all factories will stop from february to march
fiat spokesman told afp
the temporary layoff announced today should be seen in relation to this
month orders trend fiat said in statement
after positive period at the end of orders taken in italy in january
have shrunk drastically to level that is even lower than that recorded in
january last year when the market was in serious crisis it said
anticipating that this negative trend will continue it is necessary to adjust
production levels to demand
the announcement came the day after fiat reported larger than expected net
loss for but forecast return to profit this year as long as european
governments continued incentives to buy eco friendly vehicles
the automaker suffered net loss of million euros billion dollars in
compared with profit of billion euros the previous year
analysts had predicted net loss of some million euros according to
consensus compiled by dow jones newswires
the annual loss was the first for the italian icon since its return to profit in
under its dynamic new boss sergio marchionne credited with turning the
company around after four straight years in the red
schemes such as cash for clunkers bonuses for trading in petrol guzzling cars
for more fuel efficient models will help fiat achieve sales of between
billion and billion euros it said
without such programmes however sales would be some billion euros less
after particularly difficult with uneven trading conditions across the
group international scope of operations is positioning itself as
year of transition and stabilisation it said on monday
fiat imposed number of temporary layoffs during the height of the global
financial downturn in and
montenegro eyes trade boost with chinese ships deal
podgorica jan afp
chinese state owned exim bank on tuesday approved loan allowing montenegro to
buy two ships worth million dollars million euros to help the tiny
adriatic state boost its trade links
the export import bank of china will finance million dollars and the
montenegrin shipping company will pay the remaining millions for the ships
from china poly group officials said after signing deal on the loan
the montenegrin government provided guarantees for the agreement on the year
loan which has five year grace period and percent interest rate the
ministry of transport said
the purchase is extremely important of the economy of montenegro and it brings
back hope into revitalisation of maritime trade the minister of transport
andrija lompar told reporters
in its heyday in the the montenegrin shipping company had fleet of
ships for international trade but the wars and sanctions saw trade
dwindle at the moment the company has no ships for international sea trade
the agreement is only first project of china to contribute renewal of the
oversees shiping and economy development of montenegro li ruogu of the exim
bank said
gm seals deal to sell saab to spyker report
new york jan afp
us automaker general motors has agreed to sell its saab brand to dutch luxury
sports car manufacturer spyker us television channel cnbc said tuesday
spyker spokesman refused to confirm the report to afp and gm officials were
not available to comment
but the dutch financial market regulator suspended trading in spyker shares on
the amsterdam stock exchange tuesday pending press release from the
sportscar maker bidding for sweden saab
trade was suspended at gmt until further notice the netherlands
authority for the financial markets afm said in statement
spyker shares gained percent tuesday to reach euros at suspension
having risen more than percent on monday
spyker spokesman sander van dijk confirmed that we will issue statement later
today but gave no further details
gm head ed whitacre said monday his struggling group was in advanced talks with
spyker to sell off the swedish brand but there was no firm deal yet
gm seals deal to sell saab to spyker report
new york jan afp
us automaker general motors has agreed to sell its saab brand to dutch luxury
sports car manufacturer spyker us television channel cnbc said tuesday
spyker spokesman refused to confirm the report to afp and gm officials were
not available to comment
but the dutch financial market regulator suspended trading in spyker shares on
the amsterdam stock exchange tuesday pending press release from the
sportscar maker bidding for sweden saab
trade was suspended at gmt until further notice the netherlands
authority for the financial markets afm said in statement
spyker shares gained percent tuesday to reach euros at suspension
having risen more than percent on monday
spyker spokesman sander van dijk confirmed that we will issue statement later
today but gave no further details
gm head ed whitacre said monday his struggling group was in advanced talks with
spyker to sell off the swedish brand but there was no firm deal yet
with bernanke fate in balance fed to hold steady
washington jan afp
the federal reserve opens two day monetary policy meeting tuesday overshadowed
by the suspense surrounding the confirmation of central bank chairman ben
bernanke to second term
analysts say the federal open market committee is likely to signal steady
policy course at its upcoming meeting in an effort to keep fragile economic
recovery on track
the federal open market committee is likely to keep the federal funds base rate
at range of zero to percent which has been in place for more than year
as part of plan to revive economic activity
bernanke fate hung in the balance as growing number of senators caught in
new political landscape came out publicly opposed to the fed chief for going too
easy on wall street banks and doing too little for main street
the senate top democratic lawmaker majority leader harry reid said tuesday
that bernanke confirmation vote for second term could come thursday or
friday his term expires sunday
with bernanke fate uncertain questions remain on the fed so called exit
strategy from its massive stimulus to help lift the us economy out of its worst
recession in decades
deutsche bank economist joseph lavorgna said he does not expect any surprise
from the fed that might roil fragile financial markets
policymakers will seek to avoid an outsized reaction from financial markets
which could perceive such move to be the beginning of rate hiking cycle he
said
other questions remain about the fed plans to wind down series of special
programs aimed at pumping more than one trillion dollars into the financial
system initiatives set to expire in the coming months
sung won sohn economist at california state university said he has concerns
about what will happen to the mortgage market and the overall economy if the fed
holds to its schedule of ending purchases of mortgage backed securities at the
end of march
without the support of the fed the mortgage market would essentially fall
apart sohn said
they said they would conclude their purchases by the end of march but think
there is good chance they would have to extend it for fear the mortgage market
would falter
others say the fed will end this program as test for the mortgage markets
while we expect the fed asset purchases to end on schedule in march the
committee is likely to keep the door open to extend or restart the program
should conditions warrant said jan hatzius economist at goldman sachs
ryan sweet economist at moody economy com said the key monetary policy
meeting has taken back seat to the political debate on extending bernanke
term
political tension combined with fragile recovery gives the fomc plenty of
reason to sit tight at this week meeting he said
sweet said he expected bernanke to ultimately be confirmed despite the noise
but if he is rejected sweet said the impact would be seen immediately in
financial markets investors will reassess expectations about when the central
bank will start to unwind its emergency monetary stimulus policies refusal
to give bernanke second term may be perceived as politicizing decisions on
monetary policy complicating matters for the central bank and damaging its
credibility as well as its independence
israel to shun un call for gaza probe minister
jerusalem jan afp
israel has told un chief ban ki moon it will reject un demand to carry out
probe into allegations the jewish state committed war crimes during the gaza
war minister said on tuesday
israel has no intention of creating verification commission information and
diaspora minister yuli edelstein told israel public radio from new york day
after meeting the un secretary general
edelstein who was to present israel rebuttal to the so called goldstone
report on thursday said he informed ban of his country intention during the
meeting late monday
but the respected newspaper haaretz said israel might agree to set up limited
inquiry to deflect some of the massive international criticism over the
offensive that killed palestinians and israelis in three weeks just
over one year ago
such committee would review the israeli army internal investigations and
examine whether there was any basis to one of the charges of un report that
said the war was planned as punitive action against gaza civilians the daily
said
senior israeli official told afp on condition of anonymity decision on
whether to set up any sort of commission had not yet been taken
discussions are under way on the creation of commission of verification but
nothing has been decided yet for tactical reasons he said
also tuesday eight leading israeli human rights groups sent and open letter to
prime minister benjamin netanyahu urging the government to establish without
delay an independent and impartial investigation mechanism to thoroughly
examine the allegations raised regarding violations of international law during
operation cast lead
since it was released in september israel has sought to discredit the goldstone
report that accused it and palestinian armed groups of having committed war
crimes in the day offensive that israel launched on december in
response to rocket fire from the hamas run enclave
in recent days israeli officials have sought to portray the page report as
anti semitic despite the fact it author south african judge and
international war crimes prosecutor richard goldstone is jewish
this type of report stirs up anti semitism and reinforces those who deny the
holocaust edelstein said on tuesday
the un report recommended its conclusions be referred to the international
criminal court prosecutor in the hague if israel and the hamas rulers of gaza
fail to carry out credible investigations within six months
in november the un general assembly endorsed the report and called on both sides
to carry out investigations that are independent credible and in conformity
with international standards by february
french report calls for burqa ban
paris jan afp
french parliament report called tuesday for ban on the full islamic veil in
many public places saying muslim women who wear the burqa were mounting an
unacceptable challenge to french values
after six months of hearings panel of lawmakers said the face covering
veil should be outlawed in schools hospitals public transport and government
offices the broadest move yet to restrict muslim dress in france
the wearing of the full veil is challenge to our republic this is
unacceptable the report said we must condemn this excess
the commission however stopped short of proposing broader legislation to outlaw
the burqa in the streets shopping centres and other public venues after raising
doubts about its constitutionality
tensions flared at the last minute when group of right wing mps pushed
unsuccessfully for tougher measure to ban the all encompassing veil in all
public venues
in the end the commission called on parliament to adopt resolution stating
that the burqa was contrary to the values of the republic and proclaiming that
all of france is saying no to the full veil
the national assembly resolution paves the way for legislation making it illegal
for anyone to appear with their face covered at state run institutions and in
public transport for reasons of security
the wearing of the full veil is the tip of the iceberg said communist
lawmaker andre gerin the chair of the commission who presented the report
there are scandalous practices hidden behind this veil said gerin who vowed
to fight the gurus he said were seeking to export radical brand of
fundamentalism to france
women who turn up at the post office or any government building wearing the full
veil should be denied services such as work visa residency papers or french
citizenship the report recommended
critics of the burqa debate have warned the measures risk stigmatising
france six million muslims who are already bristling at the government
launching of national identity debate that has exposed fears about islam
president nicolas sarkozy who has stated that the burqa is not welcome in
france on tuesday sought to ease tensions by visiting world war cemetery in
northern france to pay tribute to the sacrifices of north african soldiers
islam is today the religion of choice for many french citizens sarkozy said
pledging that france will not allow french muslim citizens to be stigmatised
the opposition socialists refused to endorse the final report to protest the
government identity debate and one of france best loved comics jamel
debbouze who is of moroccan descent called the initiative racist
really we are talking about marginal phenomenon said debbouze on french
radio the people who are engaged in this proposed ban are racist
despite large muslim presence the sight of fully veiled women is not common
in france only women wear the burqa according to the interior ministry
half of them live in the paris region and percent are under
home to europe biggest muslim minority france has come under scrutiny at
time of particular unease over islam three months after swiss voters approved
ban on minarets
the leader of sarkozy right wing party in parliament jean francois cope has
already drafted bill that would make it illegal for anyone to cover their
faces in public
in france passed law banning headscarves and any other conspicuous
religious symbols in state schools after long running debate on how far it was
willing to go to accommodate islam in its strictly secular society
french support for law banning the full veil is strong poll last week
showed percent are in favour
rugby union saracens sign wigglesworth
london jan afp
just day after saracens signed controversial prop matt stevens the
premiership high flyers announced wednesday they had signed another england
international in sale scrum half richard wigglesworth
the year old wigglesworth who has won five test caps will join saracens in
time for the start of next season
south africa born front row stevens is due arrive at saracens in january
when he completes two year drugs ban for taking cocaine while player with
bath that he is currently serving
wigglesworth has slipped down england list of scrum halves and he now finds
himself behind paul hodgson danny care and harry ellis
and he faces potential multi national competition for the no shirt at saracens
with south africa neil de kock new zealander justin marshall and fijian moses
rauluni already at the club
but saracens rugby director brendan venter the former springbok centre said
tuesday richard is top quality international in the prime of his career and
his eagerness to join saracens is further evidence this club is going places
his exit from north west side sale will be blow to the premiership club who
could also lose dwayne peel when the wales scrum half contract expires at the
end of the season
british and irish lion peel currently out of action with groin problem has
been linked with return to wales and there has been speculation that he too
could join the growing list of british players accepting lucrative offers to
play club rugby in france
wigglesworth who came through sale academy set up said have had nine
great years at sale but feel the time is right for change
everyone can see there is something special happening at saracens on and off
the field and want to be part of it
sale rugby director kingsley jones said richard has given sale sharks
excellent service
he is very popular member of the squad and my lasting memory of him will be
at twickenham in when we lifted the premiership title
it has been difficult for us in that we have two top class scrum halves at the
club both wanting to start every game
football brazilian carlinhos joins greek club iraklis
salonica greece jan afp
greek club iraklis salonica announced tuesday the signature of brazilian
defensive midfielder carlos cesar matheus known as carlinhos until the summer
of
no financial details of the deal were revealed by the team
carlinhos has played for figueirense guarani sao
paulo and america sp
am very pleased to come to greece and to play for iraklis will give my all
from the first minute to the last carlinhos said
mcdonald in pickle over cheese slice firing
the hague jan afp
dutch branch of mcdonald was wrong to fire worker for giving colleague
an extra piece of cheese on hamburger court ruled on tuesday
the dismissal was too severe measure the district court in leeuwarden in
the north of the netherlands said in written judgment
it is just slice of cheese
written warning would have been more appropriate punishment said the court
which ordered mcdonald to pay the worker the salary for the remaining five
months of her contract total of euros dollars
the company was also ordered to pay court costs
the worker was fired at mcdonald branch in the northern town of lemmer in
march last year for giving colleague on break more expensive cheese burger
instead of the hamburger she had paid for
mcdonald maintained she had broken the rules which prohibit any free gifts to
family friends or colleagues
us consumer confidence up in january
washington jan afp
us consumer confidence rose for the third straight month in january as
conditions improved amid an economic recovery key report showed tuesday
the conference board private research firm said its consumer confidence
index rose to in january from an upwardly revised in december
the january reading was higher than the expected by most economists
the consumer confidence survey is based on representative sample of us
households
consumer confidence rose for the third consecutive month primarily the result
of an improvement in present day conditions said lynn franco director of the
conference board consumer research center
but franco cautioned that consumers short term outlook while moderately more
positive does not suggest any significant pickup in activity in the coming
months
regarding their financial situation while consumers were less dire about their
income prospects than in december the number of pessimists continues to
outnumber the optimists
the us economy limped forward at percent in the third quarter of the
first growth rate in year as the country emerged from recession since december
according to revised official figures released in december
preliminary estimates for the fourth quarter are expected friday
private economists on average are expecting the gdp report to show an annual
growth pace of percent strong rise from the third quarter
but most forecasters say the figures will be skewed by bounce in inventory
rebuilding to make up for the drawdown during the recession and that the
underlying pace of activity is more modest two to three percent which is not
strong enough to have big impact on employment
imf sees stronger but still fragile global recovery
washington jan afp
the international monetary fund said tuesday the global economy is rebounding
better than anticipated after two years of crisis but warned the recovery
remains fragile and fraught with risks
the imf projected global growth of percent in bouncing back from
percent contraction in that marked the first downturn since world war ii
the growth forecast was solid percentage points higher than the
percent estimated four months ago as multispeed recovery showed sluggish
growth in advanced economies offset by relatively vigorous growth in emerging
and developing economies
the global recovery is off to stronger start than anticipated earlier but is
proceeding at different speeds in the various regions it said in an update of
its twice yearly world economic outlook report published on october
the recovery in gross domestic product gdp or goods and services output was
driven by public stimulus and other support measures
