criticism of president mahmoud ahmadinejad human rights record including its
use of force to disperse opposition protesters
iran says its controversial nuclear drive is aimed at peaceful use of energy but
western powers are skeptical believing it is trying to build nuclear bomb
cycling cas rejects schumacher appeal against ban
geneva jan afp
world sport top court cas on monday rejected an appeal by disgraced german
cyclist stefan schumacher against two year ban for doping related to offences
at the tour de france
schumacher tested positive for the banned blood booster epo cera both at the
tour de france and olympic games in he was appealing against ban handed
down after offences at the tour de france
his claims that the testing procedures were not water tight however were
refuted by the court of arbitration for sport cas
the court of arbitration for sport has dismissed the appeal filed by german
cyclist stefan schumacher against the decision of the international cycling
union to recognise the two year suspension imposed by the french anti doping
agency and to extend it worldwide said the court in statement
the cas brought forward the suspension to august when the athlete
effectively stopped racing since he could no longer get licence instead of
january the date fixed by the international cycling union uci
schumacher was one of six athletes who either during or after the tour de
france where he won two stages tested positive for the banned blood
booster erythropoietin epo cera
before his offence was even known schumacher competed at the beijing olympic
games in august where he was also caught using cera
he then fell victim to decision by france national anti doping agency afld
to retest samples from the tour in october he was told he had tested
positive for cera twice on the race
it was not until february that cycling ruling body the uci handed the
german two year ban from the sport
two months later schumacher was informed by the international olympic committee
ioc in april that he had also tested positive for cera in beijing
the german denies ever being doped and on april took his case to the cas in
lausanne
speaking from germany monday an angry schumacher said he would ultimately have
to accept the decision
angry you always have to prepare for the worst but find this hard to
believe he said
fighter but will just have to accept this decision
france seeks tougher eu sanctions against iran
brussels jan afp
france european affairs minister pierre lellouche urged his eu partners monday
to prepare new sanctions against iran saying they were needed because of
tehran intransigence over its nuclear programme
we hope europeans will work together on preparing the sanctions which are
required because of iran refusal of all offers of solution lellouche told
reporters after meeting with his eu counterparts in brussels
we have been in talks for six years he said
however all the west proposals have been rejected and now if we listen to
the iranian spokesman they are reaching percent enrichment of uranium in
iran he said adding this was the threshold to militarisation
three sets of united nations security council sanctions have already been
imposed on iran over its refusal to suspend uranium enrichment which lies at
the heart of international fears about the nature of its nuclear programme
world powers made up of the five permanent members of the un security council
plus germany met in new york this month but failed to reach an agreement about
new sanctions
europe and the west are concerned about tehran rejection of un brokered deal
under which most of iran low enriched uranium leu stockpile would be shipped
abroad to be further enriched into reactor fuel
tehran ignored us set december deadline to accept the offer drawn up by
the un international atomic energy agency and countered with its own proposal
of simultaneous and staged swap of leu with reactor fuel
europe and washington fear that iran is secretly developing fissile material for
nuclear weapons under the cover of its uranium enrichment programme
but iran insists its nuclear programme is peaceful and solely geared toward
generating electricity for its civilian population
iraq hangs chemical ali saddam cousin and henchman
baghdad jan afp
saddam hussein notorious cousin and henchman chemical ali was executed on
monday iraq government said eight days after he was sentenced to death for
the gassing of thousands of kurds
ali hassan al majid was better known by his macabre nickname and as the king of
spades in the pack of cards of most wanted iraqis issued by the us military in
and will forever be associated with mass killings
he was executed by hanging until death government spokesman ali al dabbagh
said the execution happened without any violations shouting or cries of joy
in sharp contrast to saddam death on the gallows he added
the news which was welcomed by kurdish victims came as three massive car bombs
targeting hotels rocked central baghdad killing at least people and wounding
in an apparently co ordinated but as yet unclaimed attack
majid was sentenced to death on january for ordering the gassing of kurds in
the northeastern town of halabja which killed an estimated people and was
one of the worst crimes of saddam iron fisted regime
was happy to see the news of the execution on television said kamal
abdelkadir who lost his parents five sisters and brother in the atrocity
and who continues to require medical treatment for his injuries
fadhel rifat who now lives in sulaimaniyah the eponymous kurdish province
in which halabja is situated was also just young boy at the time of the
attack
my father and many relatives died because of chemical ali he said am
happy that he is dead
three quarters of the victims at halabja were women and children in what is
thought to be the deadliest ever gas attack carried out against civilians
the conviction for the gas attack that came as the iran iraq war drew to close
was the fourth time that majid had received death sentence
handing down the ruling judge abud mustapha al hamani branded majid offences
as deliberate murder crime against humanity when the verdict was delivered
amid muffled applause in the courtroom
al hamdulillah al hamdulillah praise be to god said stone faced majid
in hearing broadcast on television
majid execution had previously been held up by legal wrangling the first
execution was due to have been carried out by october but delayed so as not
to coincide with the muslim holy month of ramadan
saddam his close cousin was himself hanged in december for the killing of
shiite villagers after an attempt on his life in in contrast with
majid hanging however footage of that execution posted on the internet
showed shouts of applause and barracking of the dictator as he died
majid earned his moniker for ordering poisonous gas attacks in brutal
scorched earth campaign of bombings and mass deportations that killed an
estimated kurds in the
he had already been sentenced to hang for genocide over the kurdish offensives
when in december he received second death sentence for war crimes
committed during the ill fated shiite uprising in southern iraq
last march the iraqi high tribunal handed down third death sentence over the
murders of dozens of shiites in the sadr city district of baghdad and in
the central shrine city of najaf
majid was arrested in august
he orchestrated the halabja attack when in march iraqi jets swooped over
the small town and for five hours sprayed it with deadly cocktail of mustard
gas and the nerve agents tabun sarin and vx
considered saddam right hand man and bearing strong resemblance to the
former dictator he was member of the decision making revolutionary command
council and regularly called upon to wipe out rebellion
in march the ruling baath party put him in charge of state agencies in the
kurdish area including the police army and militias
as iraq eight year war with iran came to an end the next year fighters from
the rebel patriotic union of kurdistan with backing from tehran took over the
farming community of halabja near the border
as saddam enforcer he ordered the gas attack to crush the uprising majid
said he took action against the kurds who had sided with iraq enemy in the
war for the sake of iraqi security and has refused to express remorse
fiat forecasts return to profit in
milan jan afp
italian automaker fiat on monday reported larger than expected net loss for
but forecast return to profit this year as long as european governments
continue incentives to buy eco friendly vehicles
the automaker announced net loss of million euros billion dollars in
compared with profit of billion euros the previous year
analysts had predicted net loss of some million euros according to
consensus compiled by dow jones newswires
the annual loss is the first for the italian icon since its return to profit in
under its dynamic new boss sergio marchionne credited with turning the
company around after four straight years in the red
fiat said in statement that it would propose to shareholders dividend
totalling million euros in after paying no dividends last year
the group forecast net profit of between million and million euros in
subject to continued availability of eco incentives in the european
automotive market it said
schemes such as cash for clunkers bonuses for swapping in petrol guzzling cars
for more fuel efficient models will help fiat achieve sales of between
billion and billion euros the statement said
without such programmes turnover would be some billion euros less it said
after particularly difficult with uneven trading conditions across the
group international scope of operations is positioning itself as
year of transition and stabilisation it said
it has been by far the most difficult year that anybody could have possibly
expected marchionne told conference call later monday adding our
assessment of remains cautious
fiat expects the european auto market to contract by percent this year and by
percent if the eco incentives are dropped he said
italy the group largest market has announced that it will maintain the eco
incentives while germany said it will abandon its programme
fiat sales including the fiat lancia and alfa romeo brands remained stable in
at million units
the italian group put the loss down to restructuring costs and write downs
related to the strategic realignment with chrysler last year when it took
percent stake in the ailing us automaker in exchange for access to fiat
technology
the stake will rise to percent and eventually to majority as long as
targets mandated by the deal are achieved and taxpayer funds are repaid
fiat posted fourth quarter loss of million euros compared with net
profit of million euros year earlier
fiat industrial debt figure closely watched by the market shrank from
billion euros in to billion euros in
scotiabank predicted in global auto industry overview last month that new car
sales would gain momentum this year likely setting the stage for record sales
in
global car sales will continue to be buoyed by the ongoing massive and
synchronized monetary and fiscal stimulus said carlos gomes senior economist
of scotia economics the bank research arm in its global auto report
the report said better access to credit and the return to three percent growth
in the world economy would enable car sales to recover half the ground lost
over the past two years
hundreds of arrests follow nigeria clashes
lagos jan afp
police in nigeria central plateau state on monday said they have arrested more
than people suspected of participating in last week inter religious
violence that killed nearly
we have people arrested state police spokesman mohammed lerama told afp
he did not immediately give details of the charges they faced
officials said more arrests were likely in the aftermath of the violence in and
around the plateau state capital jos
some of those arrested over the last few days hav been moved to the federal
capital abuja police and government sources said leading to fears that as in
previous outbreaks of violence they will escape prosecution
we are querying that aspect we are worried about that and we need answers
said senior official of the plateau state government who asked not to be named
because he does not have authority to speak on behalf of the state authorities
each time there is violence here the suspects are taken to abuja their files
disappear and they are not prosecuted it looks like another way of evading
justice some people want to shield them from justice he added
vice president goodluck jonathan pledged last week that the ringleaders would be
brought to justice no matter how highly placed
and lerama in statement on sunday vowed that anybody arrested will be dealt
with firmly and decisively
plateau state governor jonah jang complained last week over the lack of
prosecutions following previous inter religious unrest
he said many people some of them from neighbouring chad and niger were
arrested in the wake of the november clashes that killed around people
in jos but they were taken to abuja and no details of their eventual fate
emerged
what is wrong with prosecuting them here he demanded
figures provided by medical and aid officials religious and community leaders
as well as global humanitarian watchdog human rights watch hrw put the death
toll in the clashes at
hrw quoting figures provided by muslim officials said that of the dead
were muslims
state officials have given no official death toll for the violence which broke
out in jos on january and spread to nearby towns and villages in the
following days
christian resistance to the building of mosque in predominantly christian
neighborhood sparked the violence
leaders of both faiths said the unrest owed more to the failure of political
leaders to address ethnic differences than any religious rivalries
the senate last week ordered an investigation into reports that at least five of
the people arrested were caught wearing military uniform and with army issue
weapons
villagers of kuru karama scene of some of the most brutal killings last
tuesday alleged their attackers were supported by local police
the state police chief has since been removed as the vice president ordered the
military to take over security of the affected areas
jos centrally located between the muslim north and christian majority south
has long been hotbed of religious violence in nigeria whose million
people are divided almost equally between followers of the two faiths
football everton move excites senderos
liverpool england jan afp
philippe senderos is confident he can revive his career after moving on loan to
everton from premier league rivals arsenal until the end of the season
the year old swiss defender has struggled to break into the top flight
leaders first team this season but believes he can nail down place in an
everton side now on an unbeaten seven match unbeaten league run
am delighted to be an everton player for the remainder of the season
senderos told his new club website on monday
can wait to get stuck in and play for everton hopefully can get some
first team football in during my time here
am here with high hopes and hopefully can fulfil them
senderos who spent last season on loan at ac milan for whom he made
appearances said he had been buoyed by conversation with everton manager
david moyes
have spoken to david moyes and he hopes to give me opportunities here
senderos explained
hopefully can grab that opportunity and stay in the team
everton form over the last few weeks has been better and they are getting
stronger
football wolfsburg sack veh after dismal run
berlin jan afp
defending bundesliga champions vfl wolfsburg on monday sacked coach armin veh in
the wake of sunday home defeat at the hands of strugglers cologne after
just seven months in charge
the defeat was wolfsburg ninth consecutive game in all competitions without
win
veh took over last summer from current schalke boss felix magath under whom
wolves won the title last season
having already been dumped out of the champions league wolfsburg are th in
the bundesliga with just points so far this season having conceded goals
the second worst defensive record in the league
the relationship between armin veh and the team was good but unfortunately
the results were missing said club manager dieter hoeness
we no longer had the conviction that we could change the situation together
with veh in the foreseeable future
the record of nine games without win and the high number of goals against
in the bundesliga speaks for itself
while successor is found for veh lorenz guenther koestner who trains
wolfsburg second team will take over as caretaker coach for friday
bundesliga game against hamburg
former real madrid and barcelona coach bernd schuster has already been linked to
the vacant job but ex hamburg boss huub stevens who is coaching red bull
salzburg has alread told german website sport de he is not interested
romania must stop forced evictions of roma amnesty
bucharest jan afp
amnesty international accused authorities in romania tuesday of evicting roma
families from their homes across the country and forcing families to move into
makeshift housing next to waste dumps
across the country roma families are being evicted from their homes against
their will when this happens they don just lose their homes they also lose
their possessions their social contacts their access to work and state
services the london based rights group said in report
this pattern of forced evictions without adequate consultation adequate
notice or adequate alternative housing perpetuates racial segregation and
violates romania international obligations it added
the group focused on the case of about roma people including young
children forcibly evicted in from building in miercurea ciuc an area
around kilometres miles north of bucharest
most were resettled by the authorities in metal cabins on the outskirts of the
town behind sewage treatment plant
some decided to move to nearby waste dump both groups complained of the foul
stench and the cramped conditions
the romanian authorities must stop the forced eviction of roma families and
immediately relocate those living in hazardous conditions next to waste dumps
sewage treatment plants or industrial areas amnesty said
the ordeal of the roma families has continued for six years now is the time
for the local authorities to provide them with adequate housing close to
services and facilities in safe and healthy location the group added
amnesty said there are almost million roma in romania percent of whom
live in poverty as result of widespread discrimination
local roma groups have repeatedly criticized authorities over conditions for the
strong minority which suffers from poverty unemployment and illiteracy
rates up to three times higher than the national average
aol buys studionow for million dollars
washington jan afp
aol said monday it has paid million dollars for studionow tennessee
based firm that creates and distributes online video for companies
aol which recently regained its independence from media and entertainment giant
time warner after their disastrous merger said the stock and cash
acquisition of studionow closed last week
premium original video creation is fundamental part of aol strategy to
offer consumers world class stimulating content aol chairman and chief
executive tim armstrong said in statement
the integration of studionow into seed com will enable us to increase our video
content and offerings significantly armstrong said
seed com is aol newly launched content management system
studionow which is based in nashville tennessee and was founded in has
stable of more than freelance filmmakers editors and other talent
studionow creates content for commercial companies and syndicates it to online
video channels and portals
seed com will harness studionow technology platform and national network of
more than creative professionals to develop and produce quality
professional video at the request of aol editors in way that is rapid
efficient and scalable aol said
this new chapter for studionow presents tremendous opportunity for our
growing professional creative network said studionow co founder and ceo david
mason the number of projects coming from the numerous aol properties will
create surge in video assignments
aol citing emarketer said us online video advertising spending is projected to
increase from million dollars in to billion dollars by
the acquisition comes as aol carries out restructuring that will leave it with
some employees aol employed people in
the company is currently the number four gateway to the web after google
microsoft and yahoo while its dial up internet access business has been
gradually supplanted by high speed broadband services
time warner combined with america online in at the height of the dotcom
boom with aol using its inflated stock as currency for the transaction
time warner was forced in to massively write down the value of aol and the
aol name was removed from the group corporate title in
aol formerly known as america online became separate traded company on
december
amid haiti rubble us medics deliver babies sebelius
washington jan afp
medical staff sent to haiti by the us department of health and human services
have brought babies into the world in the two weeks since powerful quake
rocked the caribbean nation health secretary kathleen sebelius said monday
in the midst of all of the tragedy the sorrow and the destruction our staff
has helped to deliver babies sebelius said in the opening speech to
symposium on american homeless youth
there is resilience and life goes on among our neighbors and friends she
said urging the us and other governments which have mounted massive relief
effort for haiti to remain committed to the country over the long term
we re dealing with country where one out of two haitians is under it
very young country most of this tragedy has fallen on young people and their
situation is going to get even more challenging sebelius said
the more than participants in the symposium observed minute silence for
the victims of the magnitude quake that rocked haiti on january
much of the haitian capital port au prince was reduced to rubble by the
powerful temblor which haitian officials believe claimed around lives
and left around one million people homeless
washington has taken frontline role in the disaster relief effort sending in
tens of thousands of troops and rescue teams and anchoring hospital ship the
uss comfort offshore to treat injured haitians
the us department of health and human services has five medical teams number
of surgical teams and mortuary teams on the ground in haiti said sebelius
hospitals have been set up the uss comfort has arrived and they are operating
full steam ahead thousands of patients have been seen so far she said
french judges order release of kurdish migrants
lyon france jan afp
judges have ordered the french state to release more than kurdish migrants
who were rounded up after mass landing in corsica and faced possible
deportation officials said monday
the adults and children most of whom say they are ethnic kurds from syria
were found on beach on the mediterranean island after being landed by
traffickers who have not been caught
they told french authorities they were trafficked by truck from syria to tunisia
for up to euros dollars each and put on cargo vessel which
dropped them near southern corsica on friday
the migrants were transferred to processing centres on the french mainland but
judges in southern marseille nimes and northwestern rennes ordered to be
freed on sunday ruling that the state had no legal grounds to detain them
in eastern lyon judge freed further on monday while others were
expected to be released in southern toulouse refugees rights groups said
migrants told the court in lyon they fled syria because as kurds their rights
were abused there and that they planned to file for asylum
in syria was not considered human year old jumsid ali told the court
risked my life to come to france and am sure that if return to syria will
risk death
at least of the adults in the group have already filed for asylum the
immigration ministry said and the others were expected to follow suit
the interior ministry told afp that as soon as the migrants filed for asylum
applications the procedure overruled any local procedures to deport them
it was corsica biggest known mass scale landing of migrants who tend to try
to enter europe by sea via italy malta greece or spain canary islands
several rights groups slammed the handling of the migrants and their transfer to
detention centres
they are not illegals living underground in france but refugees who after
having arrived on french territory have the absolute right to seek asylum
said the league of human rights
the un high commissioner for refugees unhcr on saturday urged france to ensure
each of the kurds be allowed to seek asylum and to ensure complete and fair
examination of each case
immigration minister eric besson meanwhile announced fresh plans for patrols to
stop illegal migrants reaching the european union and to target traffickers
after meeting with immigration authorities
president nicolas sarkozy right wing government has taken hard line on
immigration in september it closed down major camp for afghan migrants in the
channel port of calais
afp europe news summary
paris jan afp
top european news stories on monday
britain iraq inquiry military politics
london british prime minister gordon brown admitted it had been mistake to
fail to prepare adequately for rebuilding iraq following the removal of
saddam hussein
britain nireland politics
belfast british and irish leaders said they would make an unscheduled dash to
northern ireland to help its power sharing executive resolve deadlock on
policing that threatens its future
afghanistan unrest britain india conference military
london british prime minister gordon brown said conference on afghanistan in
london this week will announce an expansion of the afghan army and police
forces
italy catholic poland holocaust jews
rome retired polish bishop accused jews of exploiting the holocaust for
propaganda purposes in remarks that appeared on rome based traditionalist
roman catholic website
ukraine russia diplomacy
kiev russia new ambassador to ukraine arrived in kiev sign of thawing
relations between the two countries after moscow delayed sending him there for
five months
eeurope weather cold
bucharest cold snap in eastern and southeast europe left more than people
dead as temperatures plunged to minus degrees celsius minus fahrenheit
germany israel mideast diplomacy
berlin israeli president shimon peres arrived in germany at the start of
visit set to culminate in historic speech in parliament to mark the holocaust
spain france attacks eta basques prisoners
madrid jailed members of the armed basque separatist group eta announced they
had launched hunger strikes to demand they be granted political status
slovakia us diplomacy attacks guantanamo
bratislava three prisoners freed from the us war on terror jail at guantanamo
bay in cuba arrived in slovakia police told afp as washington aims to empty
and close the controversial facility
greece farm protest economy
athens greek farmers who have blocked highways and frontier posts for week to
demand higher product prices took their protest to athens as the government
began fresh talks to break the deadlock
cyprus antiquities crime
nicosia cyprus authorities said they had uncovered the island largest
antiquities smuggling ring yet trying to sell stolen artefacts for million
euros million dollars
football cameroon egypt at half time
benguela angola jan afp
title holders egypt and four time champions cameroon were drawing at half
time in an africa cup of nations quarter final at ombaka stadium on monday
pharaohs captain ahmed hassan conceded th minute own goal on the day he
became the most capped african footballer with appearances but the
midfielder atoned minutes later by equalising
whitacre confirmed gm chief vows to repay govt by june
washington jan afp
general motors interim chief executive ed whitacre said monday he had agreed to
be permanent ceo and chairman at the struggling us auto giant and vowed to
repay government loans by june
whitacre had stepped in as the temporary ceo after fritz henderson quit the
position last december as the number one us auto company reeled from the
financial crisis
having spent the past few months learning the business meeting with our
employees customers and dealers and working with the gm leadership team was
both honored and pleased to accept this role he said
this is great company with an even greater future and want to be part of
it he said at the company headquarters in detroit statement said
whitacre also expressed the gm board commitment that the company would pay
back in full the us treasury and the canadian and ontario government loans by
june
we ve made significant progress in the past couple of months so much so that
can confirm with certainty that we will pay back in full the us treasury and
canadian and ontario government loans by june whitacre said
this represents significant milestone in our journey back to being
profitable and viable company
the automaker had said it would make its first payment of billion dollars
last month on billion debt to the us treasury
gm also said then it would begin to repay billion canadian dollar loan and
intends to pay off that loan quickly
the automaker has already repaid million euro bridge loan to the opel
trust
general motors received billion dollars in government aid amid its
spectacular collapse
much of that aid was converted into stock in the new company which emerged from
bankruptcy protection in july
the us government obtained percent stake the canadian government received
an percent stake united auto workers union retiree trust fund received
percent stake and bondholders received percent stake
