resign as row over the legacy of the country economic bust deepens
words gmt
africa
sudan unrest south rdlead wrap
juba sudan
the united nations reports at least people killed in remote region of
south sudan as aid agencies warn of new civil war on the eve of the
anniversary of fragile peace deal between north and south
words moved by peter martell graphic file picture
asia
australia japan whaling nzealand adygil
sydney
anti whaling activists work through the night to save the wrecked ady gil
superboat whose fate remains in the balance after dramatic collision with
japanese ship
words moved by amy coopes file picture
science fraud journal urges china to show integrity
paris jan afp
leading medical journal the lancet on friday urged china to tighten measures
against scientific fraud after dozens of papers written by two teams of chinese
chemists were found to be faked
for president hu jintao goal of china becoming research superpower by
to be credible china must assume stronger leadership in scientific
integrity the british weekly warned
china government needs to take this episode as cue to reinvigorate
standards for teaching research ethics and for the conduct of the research
itself as well as establishing robust and transparent procedures for handling
allegations of scientific misconduct to prevent further instances of fraud
the call came after specialist journal called acta crystallographica section
uncovered extensive fraud in chinese authored papers that were published in
the studies purported to announce the invention of at least structures in
crystallography or the study of the arrangement of atoms in solids
crystallography is key tool in materials science
in an article dated december on its website acta crystollographica section
said the falsification entailed taking bona fide structures that had already
been invented and changing one or two atoms to make the compound seem new
the con had been belatedly spotted thanks to computer programme that compares
molecular structures its editors said
two groups one led by hua zhong and the other by tao liu both of jinggangshan
university jian in the eastern province of jiangsu are incriminated it said
zhong group has retracted papers and liu group according to the
journal which says the tally of frauds is likely to rise further
the publication is open access meaning it is available for free on the
internet the journal charges authors dollars to print their papers fee
that it says helps meet the costs of journal production and detailed and
exhaustive peer review
peer review assessment of data by independent scientists of high standing
is the traditional cornerstone of excellence in science publishing
but string of scandals over the last half dozen years has caused the system to
be closely questioned
in the most notorious case south korean researcher hwang woo suk hoodwinked the
prestigious us journal science in and with claims that he had created
the world first stem cell line from cloned human embryo and developed
patient specific embryonic stem cell lines
the claims raised hopes of new treatments for diseases such as cancer diabetes
and parkinson
disgraced when the fraud was unmasked hwang was sentenced last october to
two year suspended prison term for embezzlement of research funds and ethical
breaches
chinese scientists have become prolific publishers accounting for percent
of the papers that graced science journals in according to
monitoring organisations
acta crystallographica section is published by the international union of
crystallography headquartered in the northern english town of chester
embattled argentine bank chief stands firm against sacking
buenos aires jan afp
argentina central bank chief on thursday again rejected government pressure
for him to resign as row over the legacy of the country economic bust
deepened
martin redrado brushed aside demands from president cristina kirchner for him to
step down vowing for second day he would not leave until his mandate ends in
september
the clash began when redrado refused to hand over billion dollars from
argentina foreign currency reserves to pay off national debt after the
president ordered him to do so
kirchner called for the money to guarantee debt payments part of an effort to
end argentina isolation from global credit markets in the wake of its
default she demanded his resignation on wednesday
redrado on thursday vowed to stay in his post to guarantee as we have done in
the last five years monetary and financial stability
the spat has unsettled markets and prompted sales of the argentine peso and
credit
according to the bank charter the government would have to turn to congress
to decide to remove sitting central bank president
sao tome president pardons coup plotter
sao tome jan afp
the president of sao tome and principe on thursday pardoned opposition leader
arlecio costa after he was jailed following an attempted coup etat national
television said
further people were also pardoned the largest number ever to benefit from
president fradique de menezes traditional end of year amnesty according to
presidential decree read on television
all were to be pardoned and have their prison sentences cancelled it added
costa and other members of his party were arrested in february on suspicion
of planning coup etat his lawyer said he would be freed on thursday
among the to benefit from the amnesty were around ten people jailed
misappropriating foreign aid in scandal which made headlines between and
were also pardoned
costa the head of the christian democratic front fdc was last november
sentenced to five years in prison for possessing illegal weapons and acts
amounting to rebellion following month long trial
the authorities accused costa and his men of plotting to attack the president on
february and seize power
costa former mercenary was involved in an earlier coup attempt in the
archipelago off west africa in july
with population of sao tome and principe used to be extremely poor
relying mainly on fishing and subsistence farming until it became the gulf of
guinea latest potentially oil rich nation
white house to release first terror probe
washington jan afp
the white house later thursday releases first probe into intelligence failures
surrounding an al qaeda attack on us jet and warns americans will find the
unclassified findings shocking reading
president barack obama who has lashed out at disastrous intelligence screw
up over the thwarted bombing will make another statement on how he plans to
fix the failings in the us homeland security system
his national security advisor james jones told usa today that americans would
feel certain shock when they read the preliminary investigation into missed
red flags that could have prevented the christmas day attack
president obama is legitimately and correctly alarmed that things that were
available bits of information that were available patterns of behavior that
were available were not acted on jones said
noting the failed bid to destroy the airliner carrying people and the
shooting rampage at fort hood texas in november by muslim army psychiatrist
jones said clues about extremist attacks had now been missed twice
that two strikes jones said adding that the president certainly doesn
want that third strike and neither does anybody else
furious obama ordered swift government reviews into the attack on northwest
flight from amsterdam to detroit on the existing terrorist watch list system
and on airline security and screening
on tuesday obama said that the review into the terrorist watch listing had
revealed human and systemic failures
he said it showed that us intelligence agencies missed series of red flags
related to umar farouk abdulmutallab who is accused of trying to bring down
the jet outside detroit with explosives sewn into his underwear
abdulmutallab had known extremist links but was still able to get on the jet
obama said us intelligence also knew that al qaeda in the arabian peninsula
wanted to strike not only us targets in yemen but in the united states itself
over the holiday season
this was not failure to collect intelligence it was failure to integrate
and understand the intelligence that we already had the president said on
tuesday
the los angeles times reported on thursday that border security agents
discovered abdulmutallab name on customs database while he was on the flight
to detroit and were ready to question him on arrival
the paper said had the information been discovered sooner he could have been
interrogated before the flight
but white house official dismissed the notion that abdulmutallab could have
been stopped based on that data
there was no new information that emerged when the plane was in the air the
official said adding that agents followed normal checks as they prepared for
arriving passengers and were going to ask him questions based on his record
officials wouldn have pulled him out for secondary screening or prevented him
from flying in amsterdam because as has been widely reported
abdulmutallab was not on the selectee no fly or even the terror watch list
and that is of course one of the failures the president has so strongly
criticized
abdulmutallab was indicted wednesday by grand jury for attempted murder and
trying to use weapon of mass destruction aboard us plane and could face life
imprisonment
in highly unusual public rebuke of the us spy community on tuesday obama said
errors by intelligence agencies before the attack were not acceptable
in private he was even more vociferous telling spy chiefs in meeting in the
white house situation room this was screw up that could have been
disastrous an official said on condition of anonymity
nigeria offers us images of bomber at lagos airport minister
abuja jan afp
nigeria thursday offered to provide us investigators images of the suspected us
plane bomber going through security checks at lagos airport on december
justice minister michael aondoaaka told reporters that the images would prove
that security staff had done their job
we have visual information that shows our security agents did what they
were supposed to do the minister said
nigeria government has demanded it be removed from us terror watchlist of
countries including iran iraq syria and afghanistan introduced this week
after security review ordered by president barack obama
we have nothing to hide aondoaaka said the young man came in he was
screened and it is there on the visual information he said pledging abuja
full cooperation with us investigators
he removed his shoes he first came he walked to the right tried to go to the
right screening machine then suddenly changed his mind and turned to the left
removed his shoes and entered it is there the minister said
aondoaaka said that security staff did all that was required under the law to
ensure that nigeria complies with international standards
have assured my colleague the attorney general of the us that we will give
full cooperation and all requests made related to the investigations will be
granted he said
the suspect umar farouk abdulmutallab was in transit at lagos having arrived
from accra in ghana before boarding flight to amsterdam and on to detroit
he was arrested after trying to set off bomb hidden in his underwear on us
northwest airlines flight as it approached detroit the following day
indian authorities file new charges in satyam scandal
new delhi jan afp
indian police filed fresh charges on thursday against former top executives of
disgraced outsourcing giant satyam the firm behind the country biggest every
corporate fraud
the new charges relate to criminal conspiracy cheating forgery and
falsification of accounts the central bureau of investigation cbi said in
statement
the accused company founder and former chairman ramalinga raju as well as
several other senior officials and two private auditors have inflated the
revenue of the company by infusing false and fictitious sales invoices the cbi
said
it said satyam had used the firm overseas branches to claim false income while
filing tax returns in india
the accused concealed fraudulent and dishonest deeds of inflating income on
account of fictitious sales and interest on non existent fixed deposits
leading satyam to lose an estimated million dollars according to the cbi
raju shocked india financial world in january when he declared he had
overstated profits for years and jacked up the company balance sheet by more
than one billion dollars
the suspects had allegedly used various methods to swindle money including
forging board resolutions to illegally obtain loans using fake invoices to get
money and falsifying other accounts
in april satyam was taken over by the mid sized indian computer outsourcer tech
mahindra part of leading indian vehicle maker mahindra and mahindra for nearly
million dollars
nordic skiing northug still in tour de ski driving seat
toblach italy jan afp
sweden daniel richardsson won the fifth stage of the tour de ski thursday as
overall world cup leader petter northug of norway reinforced his lead in the
event
richardsson claimed his first world cup podium when he dominated lukas bauer in
the men km classic the czech finishing behind with northug in third at
northug has already won three stages of the tour de ski which finishes this
sunday and currently leads sweden marcus hellner by sec in the event
standings
inspired by the four hills ski jumping tournament and the tour de france bike
race the tour de ski comprises prologue and seven stages over days
linking germany and italy via the czech republic
stage winners add points to their overall world cup tally as opposed to the
points offered for traditional world cup wins the winner of the tour de ski
adds points to his overall world cup tally
the event ends this sunday in val di fiemme italy
boeing deliveries hit for
washington jan afp
boeing said thursday it delivered commercial aircraft in in line with
its forecast despite difficult economic conditions
the figure was in line with the company guidance of airplane
deliveries for the year but was down from in
the commercial airplane backlog was airplanes down slightly from year
ago
overall net orders including cancellations fell to due to severe
economic challenges of carriers boeing said in statement
the boeing remained the biggest seller with deliveries for the year
boeing also said it had delivered of its aircraft and of its
along with eight jumbo jets
the company reiterated that it expects its first deliveries of its long delayed
dreamliner in the fourth quarter of
the year was not without its challenges but it also was year of exciting
achievements for our company and our industry said jim albaugh boeing
commercial airplanes president and chief executive
with signs of economic recovery emerging in we look forward to better
days ahead
boeing said it expects to provide commercial airplane delivery guidance
when the company releases year end earnings january
bur rl vs
south sudan bloodshed as aid groups warn of new war
juba sudan jan afp
at least people were killed in remote region of south sudan un official
said on thursday as aid agencies warned of new civil war on the eve of the
anniversary of fragile peace deal between north and south
concern is mounting over stability in sudan because africa largest nation
which is blessed by huge oil resources faces crucial political test this year
its first general election in years
ninety people were also wounded in the violence in wunchuei region of the
southern warrap state over the past week but the united nations found out about
the clashes only two days ago when security team visited the area
this matter for deep concern said lise grande the un deputy resident and
humanitarian coordinator adding that in addition to the casualties
head of cattle were stolen
un peacekeepers were on their way to the area to investigate she said
the dead were from the dinka people and local sources suggested they were
killed by rival nuer group but this claim could not be immediately confirmed
the violence reinforced concerns expressed by aid agencies which warned in
report that sudan could plunge into fresh turmoil if the world community fails
to salvage the north south comprehensive peace agreement cpa
the cpa which ended devastating year war between majority muslim north
sudan and the mainly christian and animist south enters its sixth year on
saturday
it is meant to pave the way in april for sudan first multi party elections in
years with parliamentary and regional ballots held alongside presidential
vote ahead of referendum on southern independence in
the report co authored by oxfam maya mailer said lethal combination of
rising violence crippling poverty and political tensions has left the peace
deal close to collapse
last year saw surge in violence in southern sudan this could escalate even
further and become one of the biggest emergencies in africa in mailer
said
it is not yet too late to avert disaster but the next months are
crossroads for africa largest country
in some people were killed and fled their homes higher
death toll than in war torn darfur over the same period
the aid groups urged the un security council to ensure that civilian protection
becomes priority of the united nations missions in sudan unmis peacekeepers
warning that growing frustration over the lack of development was undermining
peace
us special representative to sudan scott gration and prominent analyst alex de
waal echoed these concerns
the country enters the final year of the cpa interim period it may in fact be
entering its final year as the nation that we have known de waal said on his
blog on www ssrc org
the year may be the last year of unified sudan he said of the
referendum
gration also said that will be critical year in securing peaceful
future for sudan
make no mistake failure to make progress and continuation of the
unacceptable status quo by any party will be met by credible pressures from the
united states and our partners in the international community he said
in december sudan parliament adopted law setting up the planned
referendum on southern independence as well as further legislation to govern
referendum in the disputed oil rich region of abyei
the law on abyei which lies on the north south border is aimed at allowing
residents to decide if they want to remain part of the north or join the south
sudan has oil reserves estimated at six billion barrels and most deposits are
on the border between north and south oil income accounts for percent of
revenue for the khartoum government and percent for the south
sudanese politicians hope for gentlemen agreement between the north and the
south in case the referendum paves the way for independence but the shadow of
fresh armed conflict looms large over the war wrecked country
romanian unemployment jumps in december data
bucharest jan afp
romania unemployment rate jumped to percent in december from percent
in november official figures showed on thursday
in december the jobless level was percent the national employment
agency said
it said the number of people out of work rose by in december taking the
total to the highest level since april
romania after nearly years of growth fell into deep recession in and
the government had to seek help from the international monetary fund and
european union
last month the imf said it expected the economy to have contracted percent
in worse than the percent it estimated previously returning to growth
of percent this year
employment minister mihai seitan has said the jobless rate should drop to
percent this year
it is not huge decrease but it is decrease which shows there will be
certain economic growth and certain stability in he said last month
eurostar disrupted after new breakdown in channel tunnel
london jan afp
eurostar passengers face further disruption after one of its high speed trains
got stuck in the channel tunnel again thursday the operator said weeks after
major breakdown due to the cold
the cause of the latest two hour blockage in the tunnel between britain and
france was not immediately clear but it came as northern europe shivered in
bitterly cold temperatures and snow that has caused transport chaos
at first they told us that it was an engine problem jonattan lurasin
from liege in belgium told afp at london saint pancras international station
where passengers from brussels arrived after their ordeal
they tried to restart two or three times but it didn work he added after
the stricken train was towed out of the tunnel to ashford southeast of london
and passengers transferred to another train to complete their journey
an announcement at the station where hundreds of people were left queuing said
there would be an extremely limited service during the afternoon and advised
people who did not need to travel to change their plans
on its website eurostar said there would also be restricted service over the
next few days and the last trains thursday would run earlier than usual adding
that passengers could get refund or change their tickets for free
the train operator is still unclear on what caused the breakdown
we have fixed the original problem in december we don know what the cause
is today we will do everything we can to get to the bottom of this as soon as
possible of course spokesman bram smets told afp in brussels
speaking shortly after the breakdown he said we are not allowing any train to
enter the tunnel at present they are waiting we don want any more trains
to be blocked in the tunnel if we don know what happened
an official at st pancras said two trains had left london since then but had to
turn back although this was not immediately confirmed by head office
spokesman insisted no suspension is expected the trains continue to run
several eurostar trains broke down in the tunnel the weekend before christmas
sparking three day suspension of service that left tens of thousands of
passengers stranded
around passengers in five trains were trapped for up to hours
the trains operators blamed that breakdown on snow they said was more powdery
than usual which had filtered into engine compartments and melted once the
trains entered the tunnel
at saint pancras nicole aerts from aalter in belgium said her journey had
been terrible although she and her friends who had only come to london for
the day had been well informed and given water and sandwiches
the pre christmas breakdown was publicity nightmare for eurostar with
passengers complaining of being left stranded for hours without information
sustenance or light
passengers on the train stuck in the tunnel thursday seemed relatively happy
with how the situation was managed
eurostar made us good offer they reimbursed our tickets and gave us new
tickets to come back said lurasin so it ok
us stocks dip in waiting mode for unemployment report
new york jan afp
us stocks dipped thursday as traders awaited the december unemployment and
nonfarm payrolls report to gauge the strength of the government backed recovery
from recession
the dow jones industrial average fell points percent to
after drifting slightly higher for two straight days
the technology heavy nasdaq composite dropped points percent to
and the broad market standard amp poor index lost points
percent at
the stock market appears to be marking time waiting for friday employment
report said fred dickson at da davidson amp co
it would not surprise us to see big market reaction if friday employment
report shows job growth in december accompanied by positive revisions in october
and november he added
us gunman kills one in office shooting report
chicago jan afp
gunman stormed power company office in st louis missouri on thursday
shooting at least three people police said with local media reporting at least
one presumed dead
officers were dispatched after reports of shooting spree at busy office in
the center of the city
we have reports of at least three people shot police spokeswoman said
adding that the shooter was still at large
police said the attack took place on semple avenue just north of the city
center where swiss swedish power firm abb has office
there is large business at this location with numerous employees inside of
the building the spokeswoman said
the shooter is thought to be at this location but he is currently unaccounted
for
local media reported that the gunman supposedly wielding an assault rifle
entered the offices of the power company forcing those inside to scatter in
panic
company supervisor reportedly told police the man was disgruntled worker who
may have recently been fired according to the st louis post dispatch
guinea opposition prudent at power sharing with army
conakry jan afp
opposition leaders in guinea expressed satisfaction thursday at an offer by the
junta to share power in transition government but most called for the regime
to prove its goodwill by action
interim ruler general sekouba konate late wednesday called on exiled leaders of
the opposition to return home and help form government of national unity in
the highly troubled west african country
in speech to members of the junta that seized power in bloodless coup in
december konate said guinea leadership must act to bring peace to the
country
the decision of appointing prime minister belonging to the opposition and
designated by it is ours said konate in his address which was broadcast by
national radio
he said the new prime minister would lead talks with all social and political
groups to form broad based government to prepare for elections at an
unspecified date
french foreign minister bernard kouchner who has been among foreign officials
putting pressure on the junta reacted swiftly to konate speech calling it
very good surprise
for rabiatou serah diallo labour leader in the forefront of domestic
challenges to the regime there was feeling of satisfaction about this
speech which was intended to be reassuring speech
but always wary of speeches she told afp thursday want to see
concrete acts at last to get this country out of the crisis
guinea new strongman who has run the country since an assassination bid on
december against junta chief captain moussa dadis camara sought to be
conciliatory in his speech and promised actions in the sense of appeasement
as speech it was well done but it was only speech said mouctar diallo
secretary general of the opposition new democratic forces nfd we are waiting
to see positive and concrete actions on the lines of what he said
it was an excellent speech made by respected officer said jean marie dore
the president of the union of progress for guinea upg and spokesman of the
forces vives active forces coalition of opposition parties trade unions and
civil society movements
am sure that he will manage the transition with much talent and competence
he will look after the transition by restructuring the army and by confining it
to military camps dore added
he will organise transparent elections and hand over power to an elected
civilian the international community must support him and encourage him to
reach that goal
for abdoul gadiri diallo an official with the guinean organisation of human
rights the speech was speech of appeasement but we have to see how it is
carried out we won give blank cheque to anybody because we are used to
false starts
western source close to negotiators said he understood that government
drawn from the forces vives will be established with national transition
council led by religious figure elections this source said would come as
soon as possible
little more than month after the bid to kill camara who is in hospital in
morocco political life in guinea the world leading producer of bauxite is
taking shape without him
konate gave his speech after visit to see camara whom he described as stable
while adding that it will take time patience and medical treatment for while
for him to recover completely
the african encounter for the defence of human rights raddho based in dakar
estimated thursday that the best person for the job would be man of integrity
from civil society above all suspicion to lead transition that doesn take
long said its secretary general alioune tine
this man will need everybody help tine added suggesting that the new
leader could be religious person that would be the ideal
french conservative stalwart seguin dies at
paris jan afp
former minister philippe seguin heavyweight of the french right best
remembered for his opposition to the maastricht treaty that led to the euro has
died at the age of officials said thursday
the burly former parliament speaker who served as president of france cour des
comptes the public audit office died at his paris home overnight of heart
attack police and politicians said
president nicolas sarkozy hailed seguin as one of the great figures and great
voices of our national life while his predecessor jacques chirac paid homage to
statesman of exceptional intelligence
brilliant orator with booming voice seguin shot to prominence in when
he led the campaign for no vote to the maastricht treaty facing off against
frail president francois mitterrand
the gaullist politician would repeatedly point out that it was in maastricht
that artagnan one of alexandre dumas three legendary musketeers had died
in the end the yes vote won by narrow margin of percent but seguin
reputation as formidable debater and brilliant strategist was made
year later in he was elected speaker of the national assembly
