war possibly nuclear one with dramatic consequences for the global economy
when you think about how much the world has benefited from the inclusion of
south asia in the global economy the stakes are enormously high both geo
strategically and economically he said
his comments echoed those of us defense secretary robert gates who warned in new
delhi wednesday that south asian militant groups were seeking to destabilize the
entire region and could trigger war between nuclear armed pakistan and india
benjamin said he suspected that let may be changing tack because it views the
united states as part of western conspiracy against islam
and taking into account let members original aim to strike india they
probably see us as having become much more pro india he warned
death rates dropping in wartime in most countries study
vancouver canada jan afp
the national mortality rate of people living in poor war torn countries has
fallen since the end of the cold war researchers reported wednesday
reasons for the surprising decline in death rates include public health and
humanitarian relief in war torn regions that reduce mortality rates more quickly
than wars can kill people while warfare itself has changed andrew mack
director of the human security report project told afp
claims that national mortality rates in poor countries mostly decline during
periods of warfare are deeply counterintuitive noted the report and nobody
argues that war is good said mack
but the reality is that the death toll in most of today wars is too small to
reverse the decline in peacetime mortality that developing countries have been
experiencing for more than thirty years
mack released the report the shrinking costs of war on wednesday at the united
nations in new york the project based at simon fraser university in vancouver
is funded by britain norway sweden and switzerland
one time professor and former security director to un secretary general kofi
annan mack admitted that precise data about indirect and direct mortality in
wartime does not exist especially in poor countries
it incredibly difficult to determine whether people who die from disease and
malnutrition wouldn have died anyway he told afp
but the researchers found that in nearly percent of countries reviewed in an
analysis of under five mortality rates in sub saharan africa death tolls were
lower at the end of the war than at the beginning
the report also cited world bank study showing that globally median
adult and infant mortality rates declined during wartime
the report said that with some exceptions most wars are now fought with smaller
weapons are localized even within countries and that there has been
percent decline in major conflicts
at the same time it said more than years of highly effective health
interventions in poor countries in peacetime have cut death tolls from
disease during wartime while there has been dramatic increase in the level
and effectiveness of humanitarian assistance to people in war zones
most deaths in today conflicts are caused by war exacerbated disease and
malnutrition not war inflicted injuries said the report
there are still wars and instances of mass violence against civilians so deadly
that they do in fact reverse the long term decline in mortality rates it
noted citing the rwandan genocide as an example
meanwhile there is academic disagreement about how to measure war death tolls in
iraq darfur and the democratic republic of the congo and wide discrepancy in
reported numbers
it an unfortunate fact that in countries with the greatest public health
problems there is the least amount of data on which to base decision making
harvard medical school physician ziad obermeyer told afp last month during
disagreement with mack over study obermeyer co authored in the british medical
journal
that report concluded war causes more deaths than previously estimated and
there is no evidence to support recent decline
and this month mack and researchers with the international rescue committee
publicly disagreed over the estimate of war deaths in the democratic republic of
the congo
in an email to afp the irc stood by its much cited number of million while
the human security report argued that congo mortality rate is much lower
at stake said mack is continued funding by governments and non government
organizations that demand measurable results as well as political support for
peacekeeping and humanitarian measures
crude oil prices dip
london jan afp
world oil prices weakened on wednesday as the easing cold snap in the northern
hemisphere was expected to dampen demand for heating fuel traders said
brent north sea crude for delivery in march dropped cents to dollars
barrel in afternoon london trading
new york main contract light sweet crude for february delivery shed
dollars to dollars barrel
crude futures had recovered tuesday after five session losing streak as oil
cartel opec had forecast modest growth in world crude demand this year
oil is pulling back and it part of the volatility said victor shum an
analyst with energy consultancy purvin and gertz in singapore
the cold weather is ending in the northern hemisphere he said
he added that an upcoming government report on us energy stockpiles was expected
to show an increase which would indicate weaker demand
the inventories report is due for release on thursday one day later than normal
owing to us bank holiday on monday
the us inventory data is likely to show that the demand for oil and oil
products in the world largest oil consuming country continues to be weak
added commerzbank analyst carsten fritsch in note
strengthening greenback also weighed on prices because it makes the dollar
priced commodity more expensive to buyers who hold weaker currencies
the euro tumbled under dollars on wednesday as worries mounted over the
outlook for the european economy in light of weak german data and greece
fiscal woes dealers said
the european single currency plunged as low as dollars which was the
lowest point since august
elsewhere this week on thursday market participants will digest economic
growth data in china which is the world second biggest energy consuming
nation after the united states
we continue to see the market consolidating above dollars ahead of the us
inventory numbers tomorrow and some macro releases towards the end of the week
said vtb capital commodities analyst andrey kryuchenkov
the market is still looking for bottom while overall sentiment turned slightly
negative with the cold snap easing in the northern hemisphere he added
the opec oil producers cartel said tuesday in its january report that world oil
demand in was forecast to grow by million barrels per day bpd to
average million bpd
the organization of petroleum exporting countries which is headquartered in
vienna pumps around percent of the world oil supplies
russian car market to recover by study
moscow jan afp
after plummeting due the world economic crisis the russian car market will
perform weakly in but may recover to pre crisis levels by report by
an industry expert said wednesday
in five years time the market should return to the level of sales of new cars
in the report author stanley root partner at
pricewaterhousecoopers said at news conference to present the study
growth is likely to be modest in the study found saying that the
industry faces an uncertain year due to fluctuating exchange and interest rates
and questions over consumer confidence
at worst the market could fall by five percent in said root who
specializes in the car industry at pwc moscow office he gave an optimistic
scenario that sales could increase by percent to million vehicles
car sales in plunged by percent on last year to million vehicles and
the market value fell by percent to billion dollars billion
euros the report said
the market sector of foreign brands that are assembled in russia suffered less
than the others with sales falling by percent to vehicles while
russian makers saw their sales fall by percent to vehicles
avtovaz which makes ladas saw its sales fall by percent while gaz group
which makes volga cars saw its sales fall by percent
imported cars were the worst affected sector with new car sales falling by
percent and sales of used cars plunging by percent chiefly due to the
introduction of higher customs duty on january
before the economic crisis hit in late the russian car market was one of
the fastest growing in europe and foreign carmakers flocked to set up production
lines and retail networks in the country
but the economic slowdown triggered an unprecedented crisis in the russian auto
industry as consumers tightened their belts and sales dived
worst hit has been avtovaz russia biggest carmaker and employer of
people which officials admit has been pushed to the brink of bankruptcy by the
crisis
the government has resorted to an array of schemes to boost car consumption in
recent months including an incentive for people to trade in their old cars akin
to the so called cash for clunkers programme in the united states
french israeli film wins serbian festival
belgrade jan afp
the french israeli short film lost paradise won the top prize at film
festival hosted by serbian director emir kusturica in drvengrad western serbia
organisers said wednesday
the ten minute long feature directed by mihal brezis and oded binnum is
modern day interpretation of the classic adam and eve theme
it was awarded the golden egg prize by an international jury chaired by french
iranian comic book author and director marjane satrapi who judged short
films entries
the second prize the silver egg went to baba by czech director zuzana
kirchnerova spidlova her film won accolades at last years cannes film festival
for its touching treatement of the farewell between young woman and her dying
grandmother
the bronze egg was awarded to lithuanian film lernavan directed by the
armenian director marat sargsyan who also won the film critics award
this year marked the third time kusturica organised his kuestendorf
international film and music festival in the mountain village of drvengrad
built in as set for kusturica film life is miracle
among the guests this year were hollywood star johnny depp and russian director
pavel lungin
the festival is aimed at providing film students with an alternative perspective
on the hollywood dominated industry
bosnian born kusturica has won two golden palm awards at the cannes film
festival for underground and when father was away on business
kusturica recently announced he would make film about mexico th century
bandit turned revolutionary pancho villa to be played by depp
football campbell action adds to pompey problems
london jan afp
cash strapped portsmouth found themselves under attack from one of their former
players on wednesday when they confirmed they were being sued for over one
million pounds by sol campbell
the former england defender now at arsenal has alleged he is owed million
pounds million dollars in unpaid image rights and bonuses by the club he
captained to fa cup glory in
portsmouth spokesman said on wednesday the matter is being dealt with by our
lawyers
confirmation of campbell move came just day after premier league basement
club portsmouth bid to have winding up petition from british tax authorities
struck out was rejected by judge
portsmouth had argued the value added tax portion of its huge tax bill was too
high by as much as million pounds million dollars
but judge guy newey found against portsmouth at london high court and ruled
tax collectors her majesty revenue and customs hmrc could proceed with their
legal action
meanwhile portsmouth chief executive peter storrie appeared in court on
wednesday over fraud allegation
storrie has been accused of cheating the public revenue between july
and november over the signing on fee for midfielder amdy faye from
french club auxerre to portsmouth
storrie is alleged to have arranged for the fee to faye to be paid via the bank
account of an agent willie mckay in order to conceal its true nature and
purpose thereby causing failure on the part of the club to operate paye
pay as you earn and account for income tax and national insurance
contributions in respect of that fee
storrie has said he will defend himself in the strongest possible terms
against the charge
pompey have been facing off field problems since before the start of the season
with the protracted sale of the club from alexandre gaydamak to sulaiman al
fahim hampering the south coast side ability to bring in new players
al fahim was only in charge for matter of weeks before selling on to saudi
businessman ali al faraj who has struggled to cope with the club debts
portsmouth have three times this season failed to pay their players on time and
last week saw the premier league divert seven million pounds in television
revenues to other clubs owed transfer fees by the south coast side
so concerned are the premier league they have placed portsmouth under transfer
embargo
but the club bit back on monday by threatening league chiefs with arbitration
proceedings saying they had agreed payment scheduled with other clubs
as well as storrie former pompey manager harry redknapp now at tottenham and
former chairman milan mandaric now at leicester all face individual charges
regarding unpaid tax resulting from their time at fratton park
portsmouth four points adrift at the foot of the table are at home to top
flight rivals sunderland in the fourth round of the fa cup on saturday
figure skating european championship results st update
tallinn jan afp
results from the second day of the european figure skating championships here on
wednesday
men short programme
yevgeny plushenko rus brian joubert fra yannick
ponsero fra michal brezina cze stephane lambiel sui
alban preaubert fra samuel contesti ita tomas
verner cze stefan lindemann ger kristoffer berntsson
swe
kevin van der perren bel adrian schultheiss swe
javier fernandez esp anton kovalevski ukr viktor
pfeifer aut paolo bacchini ita sergei voronov rus
zoltan kelemen rom jorik hendrickx bel
gregor urbas slo
maciej cieplucha pol ari pekka nurmenkari fin
karel zelenka ita peter reitmayer svk maxim shipov
isr boris martinec cro matthew parr gbr
damjan ostojic bsh viktor romanenkov est alexandr
kazakov blr
kutay eryoldas tur boyito mulder ned marton marko
hun saulius ambrulevictius ltu girts jekabsons lat
georgi kenchadze bul pierre balian arm
withdrew joffrey bourdon mne
us to deploy defensive missiles on russia doorstep
warsaw jan afp
the united states will deploy patriot type surface to air missiles in northern
poland some kilometres miles from russia kaliningrad territory
poland defence minister said wednesday
morag was chosen as the location long ago but we didn make it public
bogdan klich said quoted by poland pap news agency
he insisted the choice of the site close to kaliningrad had no political or
strategic meaning its good infrastructure is the only reason
home to polish military base morag could see the patriot missiles arrive as
soon as late march or early april klich said
on december poland and the united states signed prerequisite agreement on
the status of us troops in the ex communist eastern european nato and eu member
ahead of the planned patriot deployment
during an october visit to warsaw by us vice president joe biden polish
prime minister donald tusk said his country was ready to join new us anti
missile system in central europe
us defence secretary robert gates has said the united states wants to deploy
sm type missiles in poland and the neighbouring czech republic in
gates announcement came after president barack obama in september scrapped
plan agreed in to install controversial anti missile shield system in the
two countries
the system promoted by obama predecessor george bush had enraged russia
which considered it grave national security threat
british unemployment data sparks hopes of recession exit
london jan afp
british jobless claims fell in december at the fastest pace for two and half
years data showed wednesday fuelling hopes that the economy emerged from
record recession in the fourth quarter of
the number of people claiming benefits slid by to million which was
the sharpest monthly drop since april the office for national statistics
ons said in statement
and in another encouraging sign unemployment in britain according to the
international labor organization measure sank by to million people
in the three months to november that was the first drop since may
british prime minister gordon brown trailing the opposition conservatives in
polls before an election due by june hailed the news as evidence that
government action had helped stop soaring unemployment
in the recession unemployment kept rising for five years brown said
wednesday at his weekly question and answer session with lawmakers in the house
of commons
in this recession we have taken action so that we can see unemployment falling
and we can see the action that is helping young people into work
the ons added wednesday that britain unemployment rate stood at percent in
the three months to november
the latest set of labour market data were surprisingly strong said credit
suisse economist neville hill
the claimant count measure of unemployment fell for the second consecutive
month in december
this is compelling sign that the labour market has turned and the economy has
pulled out of recession
britain currently remains the last major world power mired in recession after
the eurozone france germany japan and the united states all emerged from
deep downturn that was sparked by the global financial crisis
however most experts expect that gross domestic product gdp data due next
tuesday will show the economy escaped from recession in the three months to
december growing after six successive quarters of decline
today labour market statistics point towards strong economic growth in the
final quarter of said economists benjamin williamson at the centre for
economics and business research an independent consultancy
deutsche bank economist george buckley added that the data suggested that
unemployment had peaked in britain
this is strong report continuing the theme of relatively resilient job
market
it is looking increasingly possible that we have seen the peak in unemployment
and that employment will begin rising again over the coming months
however on downbeat note energy supplier eon uk announced wednesday that it
planned to axe up to jobs as the german owned group streamlines its customer
services operations in britain
us national security adviser meets yemeni foreign minister
washington jan afp
us national security adviser james jones met with yemen foreign minister
reaffirming us support for sanaa battle against al qaeda in the arabian
peninsula the white house said wednesday
jones meeting tuesday with yemeni foreign minister abu bakr al kurbi came as
yemen stepped up pressure on the group believed to be behind foiled christmas
day bombing of us bound jetliner allegedly by would be suicide attacker
on wednesday yemeni jets attacked the house of ayed al shabwani one of six al
qaeda leaders the government said were killed in an air strike last week the
tribal source said
jones retired marine corps general reiterated strong us support for yemeni
unity and sovereignty as well as for yemen determined efforts to combat the
terrorist threat posed by al qaeda in the arabian peninsula national security
council spokesman mike hammer said
general jones also highlighted the importance of addressing yemen economic
and development needs and said that the united states is looking forward to
participating in meeting in london later this month that will discuss
international efforts to support yemen
german museum puts price on snatched pirate head
hamburg germany jan afp
museum in germany wednesday offered reward of thousands of euros dollars
for nail pierced skull thought to be that of legendary pirate klaus
stoertebeker stolen earlier this month
we are launching an appeal for the head said the director of the hamburg
history museum lisa kosok without saying precisely how much was on offer
the cranium thought to be around years old was spirited away on january
in mysterious circumstances from its exhibition case in this northern port city
museum authorities said
it could be bad joke or the culprit could be collector with an interest in
pirates kosok said there are many possibilities we are following up on
number of leads
the skull impaled by large rusty nail was discovered in during
construction for warehouse district in an area where pirates used to be
beheaded and their heads displayed on spikes as grisly warning
the museum had long displayed the skull which was already missing jawbone as
belonging to stoertebeker who is believed to have been executed in with
henchmen outside the walls of the hanseatic league city
later forensic analysis determined that the skull may well belong to man
beheaded around although not necessarily stoertebeker
the museum tried in vain in to produce definitive link to stoertebeker
with dna analysis comparing genetic material from the cranium with that of
possible descendants
stoertebeker old german for tip up the mug earned his name for his fabled
carousing
after lengthy reign of terror on the north seas he was captured off the
helgoland archipelago and taken to hamburg to be executed
football mozambique nigeria teams
lubango angola jan afp
mozambique and nigeria teams for africa cup of nations group match at
tundavala stadium on wednesday
mozambique rafael bila simao mucuana pelembe bucuane capt monteiro
fanuel lobo khan chapanga
coach mart nooij ned
nigeria enyeama shittu obasi yakubu capt mikel odemwingie kaita yusuf
etuhu echiejile apam
referee komlan koulibaly mli
quake shakes mexico guatemala border nicaragua
washington jan afp
an earthquake measuring on the moment magnitude scale rattled the border of
guatemala and mexico according to us seismologists wednesday there were no
immediate reports of damage or injuries
the united states geological survey measured the quake at on the moment
magnitude scale
nicaragua institute of territorial studies earlier measured the quake at
on the richter scale and said the quake struck at about local time
gmt
the usgs located the temblor some kilometers miles northwest of tonala
in chiapas mexico
yemen air strikes pound qaeda leader home military
sanaa jan afp
yemeni jets pounded the home of suspected al qaeda leader wednesday an army
source said as the military stepped up pressure on the group believed behind
botched bid to down us airliner
british prime minister gordon brown meanwhile announced in london the
suspension of direct flights from yemen until further security measures are
agreed in the wake of the christmas day detroit bombing scare
yemeni tribal source confirmed the air strikes on erq al shabwan village in
maarib province and said number of people had been killed local forces
responded with anti aircraft fire
the wave of air strikes which began in the morning blasted the house of ayed
al shabwani one of six suspected al qaeda leaders the government said were
killed in an air strike last week the tribal source said
military official who would not be named said there had been three strikes
on the house and one on an orange grove near the village where the authorities
think shabwani had established safe haven for dozens of al qaeda members
during the afternoon witnesses said jets twice sent missiles smashing into the
orange grove and afterwards continued to fly in the area
the strikes come just days after yemen said it killed six suspected leaders
including shabwani of al qaeda in the arabian peninsula in saada province
north of the capital
aqap denied that anyone was killed in the attack on three vehicles in
remote desert area saying instead that some of its members had been wounded
no one commented on whether the government now believed shabwani had in fact
survived that raid
yemen is under us pressure to clamp down on al qaeda which claimed
responsibility for the december bid to blow up flight from amsterdam as it
landed in detroit
british premier brown said in statement on counter terrorism to the house of
commons on wednesday that in the wake of the failed attack no more direct
flights from yemen would be allowed to land in britain
we have agreed with yemenia airlines pending enhanced security that they
suspend their direct flights to the uk from yemen with immediate effect he
said
the british ambassador to yemen tim torlot acknowledged wednesday that yemen
was working on improving aviation security
the yemeni government is looking very seriously at aviation security since the
christmas day attempt he told reporters in sanaa
yemen government insists it is winning the battle against the jihadists
pointing to two air strikes in december which it said killed in all more than
suspected al qaeda members
on saturday the authorities announced the arrests of three suspected militants
in the northern area of alb near the border with saudi arabia they said the
trio were wearing military fatigues and had guns and explosives
on january security forces killed abdullah mehdar said to be the group
kingpin in shabwa
provincial governor ali hassan al ahmadi said dozens of fighters including
saudis and egyptians who had fled afghanistan were holed up in shabwa
among them he said were current aqap chief nasir al wahishi his saudi number
two said al shihri and radical us yemeni cleric anwar al awlaqi
it was not immediately clear if the orange grove outside erq al shabwan was
their hideout
on wednesday yemeni journalist close to awlaqi abdullah shaea said the
cleric had told him he would not surrender and denied claims the government was
negotiating with him in hopes he would give himself up
the prospects of the married father of five being taken alive are scant given
shaea description of sentiment in shabwa after deadly december air raid
there by government forces that killed al qaeda suspects and number of
civilians
after that raid on an area controlled by the awlaqi tribe people were
furious throughout the region they all went over to the side of al qaeda and
prevent anyone from approaching shaea said
quake shakes mexico guatemala border nicaragua
washington jan afp
an earthquake measuring on the moment magnitude scale rattled the border of
guatemala and mexico according to us seismologists wednesday there were no
immediate reports of damage or injuries
the united states geological survey measured the quake at on the moment
magnitude scale
nicaragua institute of territorial studies earlier measured the quake at
on the richter scale and said the quake struck at about local time
gmt
the usgs located the temblor some kilometers miles northwest of tonala
in chiapas mexico
pope gunman says he will prove he is messiah
ankara jan afp
mehmet ali agca the turkish gunman who tried to kill pope john paul ii in
said he would prove he is the messiah through vatican documents in written
statement released through his lawyers
agca will prove in two years time that am the one and only eternal
messiah through historical documents from the vatican agca said in the
hand written statement
will prove through definitive documents that the entire world will be
destroyed in this century read the statement signed mehmet ali agca the
messiah
agca believed by many to be mentally disturbed was released from turkish
prison monday after serving nearly three decades behind bars
he was year old militant of the notorious far right grey wolves movement
on the run from turkish justice when he resurfaced in saint peter square on
may and fired on the pope seriously wounding him
the motive for the attack which landed agca in an italian prison remains
mystery
extradited to turkey in after italy pardoned him agca was convicted of the
murder of prominent journalist abdi ipekci two armed robberies and escaping
from prison crimes all dating back to the
his lawyers have said that agca has received several offers from abroad and at
home for books films and documentaries
he also plans to answer questions on the assassination attempt according to his
lawyers
coalition urges berlin to protect holocaust mass graves
berlin jan afp
international coalition of jewish leaders met in berlin wednesday to urge
germany to help ensure the preservation of thousands of mass graves of holocaust
victims in eastern europe
the rabbis jewish community activists and historical preservationists said they
were facing race against time to prevent the permanent destruction of the
final resting places of millions of victims of the nazis
the campaign focuses on those killed not in the concentration camps but in the
holocaust by bullets carried out by nazi ss paramilitary death squads and
their collaborators in countries including today belarus ukraine and russia
the director of the berlin office of the american jewish committee ajc deidre
berger said the fall of the berlin wall years ago created the opportunity to
complete this sacred work
we ve become aware of the fact that these killing fields have remained largely
untouched said berger who hosted the meeting
it is time to seal the graves it is time to protect the graves it is time to
commemorate the victims it is time to rescue where possible the histories and
memories of those whose lives were brutally extinguished
the us government special envoy for holocaust issues christian kennedy
