recommendations at the time from health authorities
the authorities later revised the recommendation to single dose
norway has received around million of the vaccinations ordered according to
the agency ntb and some percent of the population has been vaccinated
total of people have died in greece for reasons linked to swine flu and in
norway people have died from virus
pirates get record ransom for greek supertanker
mogadishu jan afp
somali pirates on monday freed the greek supertanker maran centaurus its owners
said after plane dropped ransom of seven million dollars in cash on deck
pirates said two of their gang were killed in clash over the share out of the
spoils delaying the release of the tanker and its crew of hijacked in the
indian ocean on november
residents of the pirate lair of harardhere on the somalia coast said there
were bodies in the streets after fierce infighting
maran tankers management inc report that the vessel was released by those
holding her at local time today gmt the operators and managers of
the greek juggernaut said in statement
the european union anti piracy naval mission said the fs salamis warship had
sent helicopter to provide medical assistance and added that the metre
foot vessel was headed for durban in south africa
ecoterra international an environmental group that monitors illegal maritime
activity in the region said the last pirates left the year old supertanker
early monday
the tanker owners did not comment on ransom payment but ecoterra said at
least seven million dollars are believed to have been dropped from small plane
onto the deck of the oil laden giant and another two million dollars paid in
cash transfer
it said the pirates reportedly bragged about generously giving dollars to
each crew member filipinos nine greeks two ukrainians and romanian
for good cooperation
it said the ransom stash is reportedly now held in heavily guarded house in
harardhere
residents of the coastal village said there were exchanges of machine gun fire
after two clans had started fighting over the cash
the pirates are exchanging heavy machinegun fire inside the town and there are
dead bodies in the streets said husein warsame
the total of around nine million dollars exceeds the eight million believed to
have been paid for the release year ago of the sirius star saudi owned
supertanker of roughly the same size
the hijacking of the sirius star in sent shockwaves through the shipping
world as it demonstrated the ease with which pirates were able to operate in one
of the world busiest maritime trade routes
foreign naval missions have largely secured the gulf of aden but are powerless
to effectively patrol the wider indian ocean and shipowners are increasingly
turning to private security to fend off the pirates
the maran centaurus which had no private guards to secure its two million
barrels of crude oil was headed from saudi arabia to the united states
the tonne deadweight supertanker was easy prey for pirates equipped
with fast skiffs and grapnels as it moves slowly could not outmanoeuvre its
attackers and fully laden has low freeboard
supertankers such as these with less than crew on ship third of
kilometre long cruise on auto pilot most of the time and would rarely have
anybody keeping watch on deck at night
since foreign navies deployed to protect the crucial maritime choking point of
the gulf of aden somalia pirates have ventured deeper into the indian ocean
seizing ships as far east as the seychelles and beyond
always paid in cash to avoid modern transaction monitoring large ransoms have
often been parachuted from small planes directly onto the deck of the hijacked
ship
the pirates still hold at least ships and around seamen hostage
unofficial figures show that was the most prolific year yet for somali
pirates with more than attacks including successful hijackings and
total of ransoms believed to comfortably exceed the million dollars raked
in during the previous year
the us navy bahrain based fifth fleet said on monday that jamaican flagged
ship managed to deter piracy attack off the coast of yemen on sunday
jal shares sink on eve of expected bankruptcy filing
tokyo jan afp
japan airlines shares plunged to an all time low of just five us cents monday on
the eve of an expected bankruptcy filing by the carrier that could be one of the
biggest in japan in recent decades
jal shares slid two yen or percent to end at five yen five us cents as
investors bailed out ahead of an announcement tuesday on state backed
restructuring package for the troubled airline
the market value of the once venerable carrier now stands at just million
dollars less than the cost of new jumbo jet
with debts estimated at about two trillion yen billion dollars jal
bankruptcy would be the biggest failure among japanese non financial firms since
world war ii according to tokyo shoko research an advisory firm
jal which lost about billion dollars in the six months to september has
already received an emergency loan from state backed bank and is seeking more
public aid in the face of mounting debts
according to japanese media jal is set to receive an injection of public funds
worth several hundred billion yen under turnaround plan that would see it file
for bankruptcy but continue flying jal creditor banks are expected to be
asked to forgive loans worth several hundred billion yen
dutch carrier klm said that talks involving air france klm and america delta
air lines on japan airlines future were going well after the yomiuri shimbun
newspaper reported that jal had agreed tie up with delta and switch to the
skyteam alliance
the ongoing discussions between delta air france klm and jal are going well
said klm spokeswoman without going into detail
in painful bid to return to profitability jal is reportedly set to slash more
than jobs roughly third of its workforce and sell non core assets
such as hotels to stem massive losses
experts said radical downsizing was long overdue at jal which has been hobbled
by high costs since its days as state owned flag carrier and is overexposed to
unprofitable domestic and overseas routes
until now jal has never been able to carry out fundamental restructuring
said katsuyuki nakai an analyst at ratings agency standard and poor
the key is whether they can quickly implement truly effective policies
jal has been hit hard by the industry turbulence unleashed by the september
terrorist attacks in the united states the iraq war and the global
financial crisis as well as the sars bird flu and influenza health scares
the formerly state owned carrier the recipient of series of government
bailouts has faced political pressure to service unprofitable routes to small
domestic airports built in an effort to revive the ailing economy
jal was also slower than rival all nippon airways to slash flights on
underperforming routes following the september attacks making it
particularly vulnerable when the global economic crisis hit in
but eyeing its lucrative asian landing slots us carriers american airlines and
delta air lines are in bidding war for slice of the airline
while the government has pledged to do its utmost to ensure the airline keeps
flying during restructuring jal bankruptcy would probably leave investors out
of pocket and impact the aviation and related industries
tokyo shoko research estimated that some companies worked with the jal
group as their major customers those companies collectively conducted business
with more than other firms it said
one of the biggest worries is whether those business relationships would be
maintained said an official from the research firm
alert
nigerian kidnappers release three britons columbian police
football algeria coach angola captain rail at fix claim
luanda jan afp
algeria coach rabah saadane and angola captain kali railed at suggestion
that monday goalless draw which put both teams into the africa cup of nations
quarter finals was rigged
the assertion was made by mali journalist at the post match press conference
after the draw which suited both teams with angola going through as group
winners and algeria on their coat tails as runners up
the shared spoils knocked out mali winners over malawi up in cabinda which
lifted them up to four points with algeria but missing out on their head to head
with the desert foxes
saadane rejected the notion of any skulduggery out of hand
don come out with that sort of question don accept at all that this was
fixed match and that we had some sort of agreement with the angolan team to
play for draw
the coach was algeria assistant at the world cup when algeria were victims
of the infamous draw between austria and the then west germany which saw those
two neighbours progress to the second round at the expense of the algerians
saadane added it part of soccer you have to manage match and look for
ways of avoiding defeat
getting little hot under the collar he repeated no way was it fixed we were
trying to get good result in the first half then in the second half to
defend
asked my players at half time to do everything possible to avoid making
costly mistake
another journalist asked kali if he had had any contact with his opposite
number algeria captain yazid mansouri to as he put it arrange draw
kali shook his head dismissively replying it wrong to insinuate that met
the algerian captain to talk about fixing this game journalists in angola
insinuate lot of things and bring up lot of negative points it wrong
had no contact with the algerian captain
the defender who is clubless added in our first match the draw with
malawi the coach accused us of being angels and inexperienced
so in our next two matches we ve showed something different
now we remain in luanda for the quarter final that was our objective
saadane said algeria were on the right path after disastrous opening loss
to malawi
we started very badly and then got three points from our next game win
over mali and this draw against the hosts
bearing in mind the conditions it was very hot with lot of humidity which
wasn favourable to us we did our best
we did the essential now we go to cabinda to play our quarter final we don
have any players suspended and we ll hopefully get back rafik saifi from
injury
opposite number jose may not be taking angola to the world cup but he is
relishing guiding angola to their best ever showing in the africa cup of
nations
angola have done the best qualifying ever we re into the quarter finals and
anything can happen we could be knocked out or reach the final and win the
title said the former al ahly boss
bill clinton in haiti defends pace of aid
port au prince jan afp
visiting un special envoy to haiti bill clinton on monday defended the pace of
incoming foreign aid to the quake devastated country even as concern mounted
that supplies and help were slow in coming
clinton tapped along with fellow former us president george bush to lead
campaign to raise funds for haiti was whisked to the general hospital in port
au prince and given first hand look at the ruined capital and adversity facing
survivors and those treating them after last week cataclysmic quake
despite the deplorable conditions at the hospital that was lacking basic medical
supplies clinton stressed that aid into the wretchedly poor nation was flowing
at an acceptable pace
no don think they were slow coming in clinton told afp as he walked down
the hospital hallways cluttered with injured survivors
the infrastructure broke down as result of the earthquake and that what
we re building up
the united states was leading the vital international humanitarian mission to
haiti but simmering unrest has been stoked by the delay in supplies reaching
hundreds of thousands of people who have been without steady source of food or
water since the quake struck
haiti collapsed government ruined port and roads an overcrowded airport and
mounting threat of lawlessness in port au prince have conspired to impede the
pace of relief efforts with the international red cross warning monday that
access to clean water food shelter and medical care remains extremely
limited
us troops would hamper al qaeda fight yemeni fm
ottawa jan afp
visiting yemeni foreign minister abu bakr al kurbi on monday warned that sending
western troops to his country to combat extremist threats would only fuel
terrorism
the fight against al qaeda should be undertaken by the yemeni counterterrorism
units and the yemeni armed forces he told joint press conference with his
canadian counterpart
the presence of external troops in yemen would actually hamper our efforts to
fight al qaeda what we need is logistic support training and technical
capabilities to fight al qaeda said al kurbi
as well al kurbi said yemen needs business investment and development aid to
stem poverty and unemployment that he claimed were fueling extremism in his
country
us president barack obama has said he has no intention of sending troops to
yemen
but critics lament yemen human rights record suggesting that western support
for its government is stoking extremists
yes there we have problems in yemen al kurbi acknowledged but
unfortunately they have been exaggerated he added
after the failed christmas day bombing of us jetliner by young nigerian with
yemeni ties islamic clerics warned that any landing of foreign troops in yemen
would be met by holy war
canadian foreign minister lawrence cannon said recent developments in yemen
and in north america in fact at our border with the united states have
attracted the attention of the international community on the growing threat of
extremist elements based in yemen
yemen is also facing other severe internal challenges in very difficult
regional context particularly the horn of africa
canada is concerned by these developments which threaten the stability of
yemen the region and the international community
in his statements cannon alluded to an attempt by young nigerian with yemeni
ties to set off bomb on northwest airlines flight from amsterdam to detroit
on december
canadian media also said british and us intelligence reports suggested that
yemeni trained terrorists were trying to get into canada in order to then
sneak into the united states
pinera celebrates chile presidency win stocks surge
santiago jan afp
chilean billionaire sebastian pinera was monday celebrating his presidential
election win as stocks surged on expectations the conservative tycoon would
usher in new business friendly policies
sunday victory by pinera spelled an end to the ruling leftwing concertacion
coalition that has governed chile ever since the end of general augusto
pinochet dictatorship years ago
the billionaire who owns television station football club and big stake
in flagship airline lan among many other interests has promised to open the
window and let in fresh air when his four year term starts march
the main ipsa index on santiago stock market jumped monday in reaction to the
election and was percent up at close to end of trading
pinera axxion holding company was one of the biggest gainers soaring
percent
lan went up percent pinera percent stake in the airline latin
america biggest accounts for more than half his billion dollar fortune
the share price movements are closely tied with the election results
report by the bci broking firm said
pinera was declared the winner of sunday runoff against concertacion
candidate former president eduardo frei after picking up percent of the
ballots to frei percent
outgoing president michelle bachelet who was constitutionally barred from
seeking re election dropped by pinera santiago mansion early monday to
congratulate him in traditional breakfast meeting meant to show the smoothness
of political transition
neither made any comment to reporters afterwards
during the run up to sunday poll bachelet had thrown her full weight behind
frei narrowing pinera lead to hair breadth but not by enough to
guarantee frei victory
her tactics notably raising conflict of interest questions about pinera many
investments nettled pinera who complained that bachelet interference was
not fair
he also bristled at critics comparisons with italy wealthy media tycoon and
prime minister silvio berlusconi
pinera has already set up blind trust to manage most of his wealth at
distance
he has also promised to divest his lan holding prompting much of the uptick in
the airline share price
late sunday in his victory speech pinera told supporters that he would
break down the walls dividing us and build new bridges to bring us together
he was expected however to maintain social welfare program established by
bachelet which has wide approval in the population
he was also unlikely to touch government policy that makes rainy day fund
out of part of the export revenues from chile all important copper mining
industry
those two initiatives are credited with helping chile come through last year
global financial crisis in relatively good shape
although chile economy shrank two percent last year its first contraction
in decade it is forecast to bounce back with growth of between percent
and percent this year
copper prices have recovered after slide during the crisis and are predicted
to reach dollars per pound one of the highest points ever
chile earns more than billion dollars year from the metal and its state
company codelco is the biggest copper producer in the world
pinera has promised to take advantage of the returning boom to create one
million jobs over his mandate
one of his challenges though will be to pursue bachelet work in reducing
chile vast rich poor divide which is the largest in latin america after
brazil
observers predicted chile would take higher profile in the region now that it
was one of the few latin american countries with rightwing government
probably there will be stronger attitude criticizing cuba and president
hugo chavez venezuela said ricardo israel political science expert at
the university of chile
pinera ideological ally colombian president alvaro uribe said in his nod to
pinera win that he rejected the rightwing and leftwing tags
don agree that latin america can be divided into leftwing and rightwing
governments
this was valid in the past when european leftwing ideas were brought in to
combat latin american dictatorships but now it is qualification that
polarizes things
iraq mulls lodging blackwater complaint for citizens
baghdad jan afp
baghdad said monday it is considering lodging complaint against security
company in the us after judge dismissed charges the firm guards killed iraqi
civilians in an unprovoked attack
our efforts today are designed to support your complaint and if there are no
complaints iraq government will bring the case on your behalf before us
court government spokesman ali al dabbagh told the victims families
fadel mohammed jawad legal adviser of prime minister nuri al maliki said
iraq would seek compensation for the families following the us judge decision
to drop the charges on december
the us federal judge dismissed the way the evidence was presented but not the
trial on merit there hasn been decision on this matter he told the
families at meeting
the five guards part of convoy of armoured vehicles were accused of killing
iraqi civilians in september using guns and grenades in baghdad
central nisur square iraq says people were killed
in his ruling us federal judge ricardo urbina found prosecutors violated the
guards rights by using incriminating statements they had made under immunity
during us state department probe
but the admissibility of the iraqi government complaint is uncertain because all
of the families except one agreed damages from blackwater according to lawyer
injured in the incident
the lawyer hassan jabbar salman said the families of those killed were offered
dollars and those wounded received between and dollars
from blackwater which has since been renamed xe
manuscript account of newton apple made public
london jan afp
an th century manuscript telling the original story of how isaac newton
developed his theory of gravity after seeing an apple fall off tree was made
public monday for the first time
the account forms part of william stukeley biography of the scientist
which has been hidden away in the archives of britain royal society but has
now been published online
after dinner the weather being warm we went out into the garden and drank tea
under the shade of some apple trees only he and myself reads stukeley
account of an evening with newton in the scientist garden
amidst other discourse he told me he was just in the same situation as when
formerly the notion of gravitation came into his mind
why should that apple always descend perpendicularly to the ground thought he
to himself occasion by the fall of an apple as he sat in contemplative
mood
why should it not go sideways or upwards but constantly to the earth centre
assuredly the reason is that the earth draws it
the manuscript is one of number published online to mark the th anniversary
of the royal society britain national academy of science and can be accessed
at www royalsociety org turning the pages
preval pledges to strengthen haiti as it rebuilds
santo domingo jan afp
haiti president rene preval pledged monday to strengthen his country
democratic institutions as it rebuilds from the wreckage left by last week
cataclysmic earthquake
we need in haiti political economic stability we need to reinforce the
democratic institutions he said at meeting to prepare for conference on
international aid to the caribbean country
preval met with dominican president leonel fernandez oas secretary general jose
miguel insulza spanish vice president maria fernandez de la vega number of
caribbean heads of government and canada foreign minister peter kent
the inter american development bank meanwhile announced here that it would
forgive haiti million dollar debt with the regional lending organization
additionally the bank is prepared to grant haiti million dollars that can
be put to use immediately and establish fund to finance hati reconstruction
over the next six years said manuel labrado bank spokesman
the time has come for the international community to restore to haiti its
dignity fernandez the dominican president said
the spanish vice president said the leaders had discussed medium and long term
responses to the disaster aimed at strengthening haiti politically and
economically
insulza for his part said the organization of american states expects to raise
million dollars for haiti recovery
the meeting in santo domingo was in preparation for larger meeting of
internaional donors in montreal january to raise funds to rebuild haiti
meanwhile foreign ministers from the member association of caribbean states
were scheduled to meet thursday and friday in bogota to consider ways to support
haiti in its hour of crisis diplomatic source in bogota said
afp gmt news advisory
washington jan afp
duty editor michael langan
tel
haiti relief surge fails to bring security
taliban attacks rock afghan capital
pro russian rivals to face off in ukraine
haiti quake thlead wrap
port au prince
us marines surge in to help the haiti relief effort but lawlessness pervades as
looters raid shops in the capital and rescue workers struggle to save lives and
stave off disease six days after the quake
words gmt by sophie nicholson picture graphic video
afghanistan unrest thlead wrap
kabul
taliban gunmen and suicide bombers attack buildings in the heart of kabul in
major security breach that triggers fierce gun battles and kills at least five
people including child
words gmt by sardar ahmad graphic picture video
we have also moved afghanistan unrest politics conference lead
ukraine vote thlead wrap
kiev
voters in ukraine force two longtime rivals who both favour close ties with
russia into tense presidential election run off rejecting the pro western
leader of the orange revolution
words moved by stuart williams picture video graphic
we have already moved ukraine vote politics analysis lead
haiti quake violence scene lead
port au prince
roving bands of looters overrun the quake stricken commercial center of haiti
capital port au prince while police and military officials are nowhere to be
found
words gmt by stephane jourdain picture
haiti quake us clinton ndlead
port au prince
un special envoy to haiti bill clinton defends the pace of incoming foreign aid
and praises doctors for their efforts in shocking conditions as he tours the
devastation in the haitian capital port au prince
words gmt by sophie nicholson picture
haiti quake aid military focus lead
port au prince
vital aid and surge in us military personnel to haiti bring drip of hope to
despairing survivors still seeking basic supplies and security nearly week
after the killer earthquake
words gmt by dave clark picture
haiti quake relief aid un icrc ndlead wrap
geneva
aid agencies say huge international relief operation for survivors of haiti
devastating earthquake is gaining pace amid warnings that survivors are growing
increasingly desperate
words gmt by peter capella
haiti quake un ban ndlead
united nations
the security council is set to approve request by un chief ban ki moon for
extra troops and police to boost the strength of the battered un mission
in quake hit haiti
words gmt by gerard aziakou
us politics senate vote focus lead
new york
voters in massachusetts decide on new senator tuesday and possibly the fate
of president barack obama ambitious reform agenda
words gmt by sebastian smith file pictures
chile vote ndlead wrap
santiago
chilean billionaire sebastian pinera is celebrating his presidential election
win as stocks surge on expectations the conservative will usher in new
business friendly policies
words gmt by paulina abramovich picture video
britain iraq military politics inquiry thlead
london
former prime minister tony blair will give long awaited testimony to britain
iraq war inquiry next week officials say as one of his former aides robustly
defends his conduct
words gmt by alice ritchie picture
ukraine vote thlead wrap
kiev
voters in ukraine force two longtime rivals who both favour close ties with
russia into tense presidential election run off rejecting the pro western
leader of the orange revolution
words moved by stuart williams picture video graphic
we have already moved ukraine vote politics analysis lead
uae energy environment ndlead
abu dhabi
world leaders raise fresh alarm on climate change urging international action
to increase use of clean energy at four day forum that opened in the oil rich
emirate of abu dhabi
words moved by ali khalil picture
somalia piracy shipping greece thlead
mogadishu
somali pirates free the giant greek supertanker maran centaurus its owners say
after plane dropped ransom on seven million dollars in cash on deck
words gmt by mustafa haji abdinur file picture
japan airline company distress jal ndlead
tokyo
japan airlines shares plunge to an all time low of just five us cents on the eve
of an expected bankruptcy filing by the carrier that could be one of the biggest
in japan in recent decades
words gmt by hiroshi hiyama graphic
football turkish airlines becomes barcelona sponsor
madrid jan afp
turkish airlines has became an official sponsor of spanish and european
champions barcelona under three year deal signed monday the club said
spanish media said the airline will pay the club three million euros
million dollars over the term of the contract which lasts until
barca said on its website that turkish airlines will have the right to use the
club and its players in its marketing campaigns
the team will also use the carrier to travel to some of their international
games
through turkish airlines the image of barcelona will be more global
barcelona chairman joan laporta said at the signing ceremony
it is very important day in the history of turkish airlines which will give
the company access to the european union said turkish airlines ceo temel
kotil
barca has an annual budget of more than million euros and among its major
sponsors is us sporting goods manufacturer nike which pays it million euros
per year
canadian sentenced to years for terrorism
ottawa jan afp
