the afp news calendar
monday january
abu dhabi world future energy summit to
ankara mehmet ali agca turk who tried to kill pope john paul ii in set
to be freed from prison
augsburg germany arms merchant karlheinz schreiber goes on trial for fraud and
corruption
beijing austrian president heinz fischer visits china to
beirut austrian foreign minister michael spindelegger visits
berlin meeting between the israeli and german cabinets postponed from november
brussels eu agriculture ministers meet and
eurogroup meeting
geneva world health organisation executive meets to
kinshasa belgian foreign minister steven vanackere visits to
kuwait new hearing in trial of six kuwaitis accused of plotting to attack us
military base
madrid world tourism organisation issues report for prospects for
milan trial resumes in case against prime minister silvio berlusconi concerning
television rights for his broadcasting group mediaset
sargodha pakistan court resumes the hearing of five us suspected militants
facing terror charges for allegedly plotting attacks in pakistan
toronto sentencing of two canadians who admitted belonging to islamist group
planning bomb attacks in
vilnius arms smuggling trial resumes of michael campbell alleged member of the
hardline real ira
tuesday january
athens un high commissioner for refugees antonio guterres visits
brussels eu economy ministers meet
geneva press conference on upcoming davos forum
kathmandu indian army chief deepak kapoor visits
london former british defence secretary geoff hoon testifies at inquiry into
iraq invasion
paris trial of alleged eta deputy military chief harriet aguirre and two other
members of the basque separatist organisation arrested in
strasbourg spanish prime minister jose luis rodriguez zapatero presents
madrid programme as rotating president of the eu to the european parliament
the hague appeal hearing for former bosnian army commander rasim delic against
his conviction and three year sentence for his troops cruel wartime treatment
of serb detainees
sydney britain prince william visits australia until january
tokyo th anniversary of signing of japan us security treaty
wednesday january
athens trial begins of policeman who allegedly shot dead student alexis
grigoropoulos in december triggering riots across greece
beirut belgian minister of cooperation and development charles michel visits
to
geneva meeting on biodiversity with regard to the fashion and cosmetics
industries organised by the un conference for trade and development and
ho chi minh city four democracy activists including prominent lawyer le cong
dinh and it engineer nguyen tien trung go on trial for subversive activities
and
jerusalem prime minister benjamin netanyahu holds news conference for foreign
media
madrid international tourism fair to
quito venezuelan president hugo chavez visits
tallinn georgian president mikhail saakashvili visits and
toledo spain european justice and interior ministers meet to
washington socialites tareq salahi and wife michaele quizzed by congress after
gatecrashing white house state dinner
us president barack obama marks first year in office
thursday january
abuja nigerian high court rules on bid by opposition lawyers to force ailing
president umaru yar adua to install his deputy as acting president
amman trial resumes of jordan muslim brotherhood leader hammam said and
other members of the movement on corruption related charges
london former british foreign secretary jack straw testifies at inquiry into
iraq invasion
luanda parliament votes on new constitution
paris lebanese prime minister saad hariri begins two day visit to france
prague polish president lech kaczynski visits
friday january
abuja nigeria high court to deliver judgement in case brought by former
lawmaker challenging president umaru yar adua fitness to rule the country
belgrade serbian orthodox church synod meets to elect new patriarch
saturday january
caracas students plan demonstration against government economic measures
colombo sri lanka holds presidential election
riyadh fourth international competitiveness forum speakers include ex british
prime minister tony blair and former world bank president james wolfensohn to
sunday january
cannes france midem international music industry fair opens to
doha peace talks resume between khartoum and darfur rebels
tripoli delayed appeal hearing of swiss businessman rashid hamdani sentenced
in november to months in jail for overstaying his libyan visa
monday january
brussels eu european affairs ministers meet
kathmandu opposition maoist party launches general strike
kuala lumpur malaysian opposition leader anwar ibrahim trial on sodomy
charges scheduled to begin to feb
tuesday january
beijing argentinian president cristina kirchner visits
brussels eu foreign ministers meet
european parliament votes whether to approve new eu commission
colombo sri lanka presidential elections
cotonou carla bruni sarkozy the wife of the president of france who is also an
ambassador for the global fund to fight aids tuberculosis and malaria visits
benin along with us philanthropist melinda gates and
warsaw eu president herman van rompuy visits
wednesday january
brussels eu employment labour health and consumer affairs ministers meet to
davos switzerland world economic forum to
madrid trial opens of basque separatist leader arnaldo otegi
milan italy verdict expected after trial of four google executives for an
internet video showing the bullying of teenager with down syndrome
oswiecim poland ceremonies marking th anniversary of the liberation of the
auschwitz nazi death camp
tegucigalpa honduran president porfirio lobo sworn in
thursday january
geneva new session of talks between russia and georgia
london international conferences on afghanistan and yemen
manta ecuador defence ministers of union of south american nations unasur
meet
sunday january
herzliya israel annual international conference on security and policy with
italian prime minister silvio berlusconi among the keynote speakers to feb
sanaa conference on national dialogue sponsored by yemen president ali
abdullah saleh
monday february
oslo deadline for nominations for the nobel peace prize
seville spain eu central america summit and
tehran st anniversary of ayatollah ruhollah khomeini return to iran from
exile in paris beginning day commemorations of the islamic revolution
warsaw meeting of foreign ministers of weimar triangle group france germany
poland
tuesday february
pontoise france trial opens to determine culpability for the fatal crash of
supersonic concorde airliner after take off from charles de gaulle airport on
july killing people
singapore asia largest aerospace and defence exhibition singapore airshow
starts to
wednesday february
jerusalem italian prime minister silvio berlusconi to address israel
parliament
riga baltic countries summit on energy and infrastructure and
friday february
islamabad rallies in pakistan to demonstrate solidarity day with kashmiris
munich germany international defence and security conference to
tehran nationwide ceremonies to mark the shiite mourning day of arbaeen
days after ashura
saturday february
awka nigeria gubernatorial election in nigeria anambra state in vote seen
as precursor to the general elections in the country
sunday february
kiev second round of ukrainian presidential elections
san jose legislative and presidential elections in costa rica
monday february
geneva un human rights council begins new session with countries on the
agenda including iran to
tuesday february
manila presidential election campaign starts
wednesday february
helsinki baltic sea action summit brings together heads of state and
government business leaders and civil society representatives to make
commitments to action to save the baltic sea one of the most polluted in the
world
the hague civil court starts hearing case against anglo dutch oil giant
shell and its nigerian subsidiary for pollution in the niger delta caused by oil
leaks
thursday february
berlin film festival begins to
cape town south african president jacob zuma gives state of the nation address
tehran iran celebrates st anniversary of the islamic revolution triumph
friday february
vancouver canada winter olympics open to
saturday february
harare national union government marks first year in office
jeddah saudi arabia jeddah economic forum to
japan ends refuelling mission for afghanistan war
tokyo jan afp
japan on friday ended naval refuelling mission that has supported the us led
military effort in afghanistan since as the centre left government flexes
its muscle in its ties with washington
the move fulfils pledge by prime minister yukio hatoyama government which
ousted the long ruling conservatives four months ago pledging less subservient
relationship with the united states
it comes days before washington and tokyo mark the th anniversary of signing
their security alliance which has been strained by row over the relocation of
us military base on the southern island of okinawa
defence minister toshimi kitazawa ordered the two naval ships and their
personnel to return home after eight years of helping supply oil and water to
vessels used by international forces that are engaged in afghanistan
the defence minister issued an order today to the fleet commander to end
refuelling activity in the indian ocean at gmt on january
and to send the troops home ministry statement said
with the end of the refuelling mission hatoyama has pledged that japan would
instead step up humanitarian aid to afghanistan tokyo has offered five billion
dollars over the next five years to help rebuild the war torn nation
hatoyama whose coalition includes the strongly pacifist social democrats has
stressed japan would not deploy troops to afghanistan
under its post war pacifist constitution japan is barred from sending armed
forces overseas for combat although tokyo has deployed soldiers abroad for
peacekeeping and military support missions in iraq and elsewhere
japan ties with the united states its closest security ally have been
strained by the row over the base in okinawa an island where more than half of
the us troops in japan are stationed
both countries agreed in that the locally unpopular futenma marine corps
air station would be moved from crowded urban area to quieter coastal region
by but hatoyama government is now reviewing the deal
many local residents on the island which was the scene of some of the bloodiest
battles of world war ii have opposed the heavy us troops presence and
complained of aircraft noise pollution and crimes committed by us troops
hatoyama has said his government would decide by may where to relocate the base
as it is considering alternative sites with various options including moving it
off okinawa altogether to washington chagrin
this week us secretary of state hillary clinton pressed her japanese counterpart
katsuya okada to stick by the original deal on moving the base but got no
commitment from tokyo during the hawaii meeting
she reiterated the us view that the base deal known as the realignment road
map is the way forward for the long time allies
the us japan security treaty signed on january has been the bedrock
of the post war alliance under which pacifist japan relies on massive us
military presence to guarantee its security
anger mounts as haiti sees little sign of aid
port au prince jan afp
anger and despair mounted in quake hit haiti thursday with rotting bodies
littering the streets and little sign of desperately needed international aid
for the hundreds of thousands of victims
the stench of death hung over the capital port au prince as residents still
clawing through rubble in the hunt for survivors faced another night in the
open traumatized by aftershocks triggered by tuesday earthquake
despite the launch of massive international aid operation there was no sign
of heavy lifting equipment among the rubble even as tons of material and badly
needed supplies deluged the international airport
haitian officials have warned the overall death toll may top and say
three million people could have been affected by the powerful quake that ripped
across the poorest nation in the americas
the international red cross said the quake the largest in the caribbean island
nation in more than years has killed between and people
if international aid doesn come the situation will deteriorate quickly we
need water and food urgently said haitian survivor lucille still dazed by the
scenes of devastation and carnage
sporadic gunshots were heard and witnesses said there had already been some
looting in city that has endured bloodshed and violence and natural disasters
over the past decades
more doctors fewer journalists one man yelled angrily shaking his fists at
foreign media crew
giant us aircraft carrier was expected to drop anchor off the stricken
caribbean island nation on friday and serve as landing pad for fleet of
helicopters to bring emergency teams and vital supplies to quake victims
but harrowing scenes were being repeated across the city as frustrated haitians
dug with their hands through mountains of concrete and rubble while the screams
and moans of those buried below rang out
some people set up temporary shelters with sheets and covers in public square
while others were trekking out carrying meagre belongings searching for safer
places outside the city
hundreds of bodies some mutilated and half clothed lay rotting outside the
devastated central hospital as waves of distraught haitians moved from corpse to
corpse in search of their loved ones
haitian native and hip hop star wyclef jean described conditions as the
apocalypse and said haiti needed to raise million dollars day to survive
we spent the day picking up dead bodies all day that what we did there so
much bodies in the streets that the morgues are filled up the cemeteries are
filled up he told fox news
doctors were struggling to treat the vast numbers of sick and injured with
medical charity medecins sans frontiers speaking of patients with severe
traumas head wounds crushed limbs and burns
communications remained poor and moving around was hampered by destroyed roads
and lack of fuel
us state department spokesman crowley said eight search and rescue teams
with total of people were on the ground and countries have pledged or
already sent help
china france iceland the united states and venezuela were among those with
teams in situ with washington sending ships helicopters planes rescue teams
floating hospital and more than troops
not only is the united states commitment to haiti growing but also the
international commitment as well said crowley
the united states had also taken over air traffic control at the swamped airport
which was now operating round the clock he said flights were delayed though as
staff struggled to unload supplies
and little aid had trickled down to the streets an afp video showed scuffles
breaking out as helicopter dropped food over one part of the city
haitians were also angered they had had no word from their leaders
one group trying to free man trapped in the rubble of the tax office looked up
wearily at the planes flying overhead
we hear on the radio that rescue teams are coming from the outside but nothing
is coming we only have our fingers to look for survivors said jean baptiste
lafontin wilfried
dozens of people were rescued thanks to frantic efforts and as sniffer dogs
began to comb the ruins but the moments of joy were few compared to the death
and destruction stalking the city
the united nations said of its staffers had been killed in the worst
disaster in the global body history another were still missing
us president barack obama sought to lift up despairing people facing acute
shortages of food water and shelter offering million dollars in immediate
assistance
to the people of haiti we say clearly and with conviction you will not be
forsaken you will not be forgotten he said
obama and french president nicolas sarkozy along with brazil and canada and
other concerned nations are planning to hold an international conference on
haiti reconstruction the french presidency said
people throughout the world want to help said un chief ban ki moon
one of our biggest challenges will be to help them to help haiti to the
utmost he warned
gritty teen drama breaks taboos in russia
moscow jan afp
after fight in the hallway the camera lingers on blood dripping from boy
mouth slouching teenager boasts of knocking up chick while his
classmates swig cans of beer at break time
that the brutal picture of school life in school hard hitting tv drama
that started this week on russia channel one television and has provoked
outrage from teachers and officials
the series directed by year old film maker valeria gai germanika has been
compared to the award winning british drama skins showing raw gritty
real life take on teenage pupils as they drink smoke and fight without shying
away from references to sex and internet pornography
shows like this shouldn be on television the head of the moscow education
department olga larionova told the city government after watching the first
episode this week russian agencies reported
communist deputy vladislav yurchik told mps that the show was planned
sabotage against our children and young people and called for channel one
director to pull it off the air ria novosti reported
the film director argued wednesday that she had simply tried to show the truth
about school life
sincerely grieve for the people who are outraged by the show but as an
artist can film it differently gai germanika told afp saying that the
show reflects her own school years
post perestroika child and school was already like that she said
gai germanika is well known film maker who specializes in close to the bone
portrayals of teen life
she won special mention at cannes film festival in for her movie
everyone dies but me about teenage girls at school disco that becomes
traumatic rite of passage
the school series was the idea of channel one director konstantin ernst she
said he really likes me as director my approach and so he invited me to be
the author
the episode series has starry line up of writers involved in contemporary
russian drama including playwrights vyacheslav durnenkov and yury klavdiyev
understand that it very unfamiliar for national channel because they
usually show soap operas gai germanika said of the show
channel one gave school an early evening slot and openly promotes what it
calls its extreme documentary style as radical departure from standard
russian tv fare meaning formulaic cop series sentimental family sagas and
the like
no one has shown life at school like this before it boasted before the
premiere on monday
what do you know about us at all the show trailer asks
the show portrays the school as run by out of touch dinosaurs grey haired
teacher calls students monkeys and year old teacher complains that he
hasn encountered personality since the
as teacher and public figure against this series and
anatoly from yakutsk wrote on channel one web site
the channel defended the director in statement sent to afp saying that the
show aims to understand the problems of schools not to hide them
as for the concerns of the moscow education department we would like to point
out that the series is fictional not documentary and it doesn take place
in moscow the channel added
the show is filmed in real moscow school with some of the students appearing
on screen gai germanika said however
the headmistress of the school where the show is made insisted to ria novosti
news agency on wednesday that the show doesn reflect reality
just let one of my children try smoking on the school grounds said the school
head tatyana rybina
the show isn the first negative portrayal of the education system on
television popular sketch comedy show our russia features school
teacher who spends her time dreaming up new ways to extort money from her
pupils
while the under funded public school system is nominally free teachers are
notorious for demanding money to accept students and to pay for school books
the headmistress of moscow school was detained on suspicion of pocketing
bribe of rubles dollars for accepting pupil the investigative
committee said tuesday
china tightening weighs on stocks as intel boosts tech firms
hong kong jan afp
investor concerns that china will move to further rein in lending weighed on
shanghai and hong kong stocks friday as regional markets eased back after
strong run the previous day
however technology plays were higher after us bellwether intel the world
biggest chipmaker posted profit surge of almost percent
chinese stocks fell percent on expectations that beijing will try to curb
bank lending as it aims to tame soaring economic growth following the massive
stimulus measures put in place to beat the global slump
the government this week increased the amount of money banks must hold in
reserve after raising the yield on one year bills for the first time in five
months
the shanghai composite index which covers both and shares was down
points at
there are expectations that the government may take fresh administrative
measures to rein in rapid bank lending growth near term huatai securities
analyst dai shuang told dow jones newswires
and hong kong shares opened percent lower with the hang seng index down
points in early trading to
tokyo nikkei fell percent with troubled japan airlines which has fallen
around percent since monday unchanged at eight yen
but shiseido japan largest cosmetics company rose percent to yen
after it said it had agreed to buy bare escentuals of the united states for
billion dollars in friendly takeover
regional stocks were weighed by disappointing data from the united states that
showed retail sales fell unexpectedly by percent in december
analysts had expected gain of percent in sales the key driver of us
economic activity
sydney retreated percent by noon but singapore was percent higher
technology stocks rose after intel said net profit soared nearly nine fold by
percent to billion dollars in the three months to december
intel also said it expects revenue of between billion dollars and
billion dollars this quarter better than the billion dollars forecast by
analysts
in japan tokyo electron was up percent and elpida memory added percent
while in seoul hynix semiconductor rose percent and samsung electronics
gained percent
and in taipei asustek computer added percent while quanta computer was
percent higher
the dollar dropped to yen in tokyo morning trade from in new york
late thursday as the impact of the retail data set in while the euro slipped to
dollars from and to yen from
in asian oil trade concerns over demand in the united states sent new york
main contract light sweet crude for february delivery cents lower to
dollars barrel
brent north sea crude for march delivery dropped cents to dollars
gold opened at us dollars an ounce in hong kong up from
thursday close of dollars
britain prince william heads down under
wellington jan afp
britain prince william arrives in new zealand sunday for visit down under
during which he will be mixing with all black rugby players young aborigines
and bushfire victims
as well as carrying out some ceremonial duties on behalf of his grandmother
queen elizabeth ii in new zealand the second in line to the throne will travel
to australia on tuesday for more informal three day visit
tabloid coverage in britain of the year old son of prince charles has been
dominated by speculation about whether he is likely to propose to long term
girlfriend kate middleton
but officials say she is not expected to join him on this trip
many visits by britain royal family members to the former colonies tend to be
relatively low key affairs but the young prince has some of the allure that made
his late mother princess diana such popular figure
think what we have seen previously with royal visits here is there are those
people who get very excited about it and prince william is obviously someone
that certainly has that global pull new south wales tourism minister jodi
mckay told reporters on wednesday
think that we will see some prince mania but that good thing
the personal popularity of the prince is likely to ensure there will be little
focus on growing republican sentiments in both countries which recognise queen
elizabeth as their head of state
william will be making his third visit to new zealand the first was with his
parents as nine month old baby in
he returned in representing the queen at world war ii commemorations and
also taking time out to follow the fortunes of the touring british and irish
lions
am immensely looking forward to returning to new zealand following my
incredibly enjoyable visit in william said last month when details of the
visit were released
new zealand and new zealanders utterly captivated me on that visit and since
then new zealand has become very special place for me
william interest in rugby will take centre stage at the start of the visit
with visit sunday to eden park rugby stadium in auckland when he will meet
some all blacks and hear about plans for next year rugby world cup
he will later go sailing on auckland harbour in new zealand america cup
yacht and have traditional indigenous maori hangi meal cooked in pit in
the ground
the official centrepiece of the visit in the capital wellington the next day
will be the opening of the new supreme court building and public walkabout
after which prime minister john key will host barbecue
during two days in sydney his itinerary includes visits to an aboriginal
community centre and an australian army base
on the tour last day in melbourne on thursday the prince will be visiting
nearby rural areas devastated by fire in february last year in australia worst
natural disaster of modern times
on black saturday the raging bushfires killed people and destroyed more
than homes
taliban bombs sap pakistan party spirit
peshawar pakistan jan afp
when sara qaiser celebrated her wedding her dream day was attended by armed
guards and guests who had been frisked by pakistani soldiers
gripped by fear of bomb attacks her family whittled down guest numbers to avoid
the attention of militants and relocated the nuptials from picturesque park
that they worried was too insecure
as suicide attacks and bombings by the taliban and other islamist radicals
become more deadly pakistanis are reluctantly adapting their lives and scaling
down events to lessen the threat to loved ones
people marry once in life had lot of desires about how to celebrate my
marriage ceremony with pomp but was told the situation wasn suitable said
sara who requested that her real name not be used
all the plans had in mind were drowned in fears she added
all her father thought about was keeping his guests alive
the ceremony was changed from night to day and the venue from park to
walled secure wedding hall said qaiser khan government employee recalling
his daughter wedding in early december
there were many fears and worries fears of bomb blasts suicide blasts and
even direct attack so we had no other choice but to change the style of the
function he said from his home in peshawar upmarket hayatabad township
my wife started weeping tears in my daughters eyes were visible but there was
no other way it was not possible to take risk he told afp
hayatabad borders khyber tribal district where the taliban and another feared
militia lashkar islam army of islam are active pakistan sent troops into
the area last year and residents are on edge
bomb attacks in peshawar are rising they have killed over people in three
months as the taliban avenge army assaults on their northwestern strongholds
in one of the worst attacks in pakistan suicide car bomb killed at least
people at packed peshawar market on october
weddings have also been hit on october land mine killed wedding guests
in mohmand district just north of khyber and peshawar
another problem for sara was that her marriage procession or barat had to
pass through an area rife with militants and patrolled by the army
normally festive occasion with drummers music and gaily decorated cars the
procession moved solemnly through risky territory
passing through darra adam khel was difficult experience the army was
checking every vehicle and even body search was carried out said the groom
year old javed khan
after the wedding and as night fell the youngsters wanted some music but one
elderly man cautioned them you know they are targeting every place why are
