as an agency we have found consolation in the strength and heroism of our
fallen colleagues and their families panetta wrote in an op ed piece in the
washington post
we have found no consolation however in public commentary suggesting that
those who gave their lives somehow brought it upon themselves because of poor
tradecraft
he said the criticism was akin to suggesting that us marines who die in
firefight had brought it upon themselves because they have poor war fighting
skills
this was not question of trusting potential intelligence asset even one
who had provided information that we could verify independently panetta went
on to say
it is never that simple and no one ignored the hazards the individual was
about to be searched by our security officers distance away from other
intelligence personnel when he set off his explosives
jordanian doctor said to have been triple agent blew himself up at us
military base in khost near the pakistani border on december the deadliest
attack against the cia since
the al qaeda network hailed the suicide bombing that killed seven cia agents in
afghanistan as revenge for the deaths of top militants in us drone strikes in
pakistan
germany braces for blizzard as freezing europe shivers
london jan afp
europe faced weekend of weather chaos as germany braced for blizzard and
authorities warned people to stock up on food and drinking water while britain
and france struggled to cope with heavy snow
germans were urged to buy enough food and medicines to last for up to four days
with centimetres eight inches of snowfall forecast to fall overnight
friday
the government said all non essential travel should be avoided
by friday evening the island of ruegen off the northeast coast was covered in
centimetres of snow while the capital berlin was carpeted with snow and ice
what is being forecast for the weekend could lead to chaotic traffic conditions
and potentially leave large parts of germany completely paralysed the autoclub
europa warned
britain suffering its worst winter for three decades was forced to curb
industrial gas usage to save dwindling supplies
the country prepared for further freezing conditions as forecasters warned that
temperatures would drop below minus degrees celsius minus four degrees
fahrenheit overnight
two men died after falling into frozen lake in leicester central england
hundreds of flights were scrapped leaving more passengers stranded and the
beleaguered eurostar link between britain france and belgium axed half its
services friday and said the disruption would continue into the weekend
it going to be similarly restrictive timetable for saturday with two
thirds of trains in all directions eurostar spokesman told afp
twenty seven major companies in britain were ordered to halt using gas friday in
order to maintain overall supplies amid unprecedented levels of demand
ninety seven major companies had their gas turned off thursday in the first
such move since although the government said there was no immediate danger
for households of supplies running out
we ve got plenty of supplies the gas storage is about percent full
environment secretary hilary benn told gmtv television
eurostar cancelled half of its trains between london and paris friday and said
only about two thirds of services between london and the continent would operate
over the weekend
low cost airline easyjet cancelled flights largely to and from london
gatwick and liverpool airports british airways cancelled around departures
from london heathrow while around incoming flights were scrapped
on the roads the aa motor vehicle breakdown service said it had dealt with
breakdowns since december
thousands of schools remained closed while several of the weekend english
premier league football matches were called off including showdown between
heavyweights liverpool and tottenham in northwest england
in france significant snowfalls caused major delays to train services and
southern areas experienced electricity cuts
with more snow forecast authorities asked airlines to cut quarter of flights
on saturday at paris main charles de gaulle airport
meteo france posted weather warnings for of metropolitan france
departments on saturday warning snow and ice may cause major transportation
difficulties and severely disrupt activities
in the southern city of arles some people were left without electricity
after power lines collapsed under the weight of snow around centimetres fell
in some parts of the southeast
in norway temperatures hit minus degrees celsius in the central village of
folldal
in poland nine people died in hour period bringing the total weather
related deaths to since the start of november police spokesman said most
of the victims were homeless people
meanwhile switzerland kilometre mile gotthard tunnel part of
strategic trans european motorway that runs from germany to italy was due to
reopen to trucks following heavy snowfall
chavez alleges incursion by us war plane
caracas jan afp
president hugo chavez said us military aircraft had entered venezuelan
airspace on friday insisting that the governments of the united states and the
netherlands were behind what he described as provocative action
the united states has denied the charge
chavez said he ordered two jets to intercept orion anti
submarine surveillance aircraft that entered venezuelan airspace from the nearby
netherlands antilles
the us plane according to the venezuelan president returned to the dutch
caribbean island of curacao after it twice entered venezuelan airspace where it
spent total of about half an hour and was escorted out by the
we re not inventing anything when we say the government of holland must assume
their responsibilities the firebrand leftist leader said
we are here ready to defend venezuela sovereignty we accuse the
governments of the united states and holland of launching provocative actions
against venezuela to find an excuse to attack venezuela
but the us southern command which is in charge of us military activities in the
hemisphere said that it was able to confirm that no us military aircraft had
entered venezuelan airspace on friday
as matter of policy we do not fly over nation air space without prior
consent and coordination the command said in statement we operate with the
utmost respect for the sovereignty of the nations in our hemisphere
in addition senior barack obama administration official who spoke on
condition of anonymity said the administration was unaware of any incidents
involving us government aircraft in venezuelan airspace on friday
us military officials are unaware of any us government plane within plus
nautical miles of venezuelan airspace today the official pointed out
last month chavez accused the united states of launching spy plane from
colombia that violated his country airspace and vowed to shoot down any such
aircraft in the future
ordered these little planes to be shot down chavez added on his weekly
television and radio program we cannot permit this
also last month venezuela foreign ministry called on the international
community to condemn alleged incursions into its airspace by us military drones
launched from aruba and the netherlands antilles
it said the intrusions by us military aircraft were an indication that the
warmongering us government was preparing an aggression against the territory
and people of the bolivarian republic of venezuela
the netherlands has rejected the allegations with dutch foreign minister maxime
verhagen calling the accusation unfair baseless and fantastical
venezuela suspended diplomatic relations with colombia in july in response to
us colombian military base deal denouncing it as military threat to the
sovereignty of latin american countries and saying it paved the way for
possible attack against venezuela
in december chavez said the us military was using dutch islands off venezuela
caribbean coast aruba bonaire and curacao as staging area for
possible attack the netherlands has denied the claims
tight security as nigerian bomb suspect pleads not guilty
detroit michigan jan afp
hobbled by leg irons young nigerian accused of trying to blow up us plane
on christmas day pleaded not guilty during his first court appearance amid
heightened security
umar farouk abdulmutallab spoke softly from the dock friday to confirm his
name how it was spelt and his age his expression flat his eyes averted from
the gathered crowd he said he understood the six charges against him
his court appointed lawyer miriam siefer entered the plea of not guilty to all
six charges including attempted murder of people on board the plane and
trying to use weapon of mass destruction he faces life imprisonment if
convicted
at this time our client would like to enter plea of not guilty siefer said
but added we have with our client consent consented to detention
abdulmutallab son of prominent nigerian banker was arrested after the
botched al qaeda plot in which explosives allegedly stitched into his underwear
failed to detonate aboard northwest flight from amsterdam to detroit
he was badly burned when the device sparked fire asked if he had taken any
medication in the past hours he said yes painkillers holding his left
hip
it was not us intelligence that thwarted the attack but passengers and crew
who tackled and restrained abdulmutallab before he was escorted off the plane
the foiled bombing triggered global alarm leading the united states to adopt
stringent new screening and security measures at airports around the world
dozens of names have also been added to no fly lists
president barack obama on thursday ordered sweeping overhaul of flawed
intelligence services which he has blamed for missing red flags that could have
detected the plot
obama said spy agencies did not properly connect and understand disparate data
that could have detected the plot during its planning stages by an al qaeda
affiliate in yemen
probes revealed that us analysts knew abdulmutallab was an extremist and that
al qaeda in the arabian peninsula was plotting an attack but did not connect
the dots
however legal experts believe this case is going to take months to come to
conclusion
there are so many agencies with initials you know and initials you don
involved in case that transcends territorial boundaries said attorney james
thomas who represented one of four north african immigrants in terror
trial in detroit
he noted that evidence for this trial was being gathered in yemen nigeria the
netherlands and elsewhere and it will take months to digest declassify and
share it with the defense team
ahead of the arraignment us marshals helped local police secure the area around
the ornate marble floored theodore levin courthouse
metal barricades blocked off the street along the austere building inside two
bomb sniffing dogs and their handlers had earlier checked every room and as is
now standard for us courtrooms every visitor to the depression era courthouse
passed through metal detector
man who said he represented the nigerian embassy but would not give his name
told reporters that abdulmutallab family had not attended the hearing
citing british intelligence officials cbs television reported the former
university college london student boasted during his interrogation that some
others were being trained to carry out similar attacks
us officials have said abdulmutallab has provided useful leads during
interrogations with fbi and other us agents who are leading the investigation
the head of national intelligence meanwhile named former cia director john
mclaughlin to lead probe into us intelligence failures exposed by the
christmas day attack and us soldier november shooting rampage at texas
army base
both abdulmutallab and major nidal hasan the army psychiatrist who trained his
guns on fellow servicemembers killing soldiers and one civilian are believed
to be inspired by radical us born islamic cleric now in yemen anwar al
awlaqi
in continued sign of the heightened vigilance the fbi arrested two alleged
associates of an afghan immigrant accused of planning bombings in new york
around the anniversary of the september attacks
one of the men taxi driver zarein ahmedzay pleaded not guilty after new york
judged charged him with making false statements to the fbi
in detroit around demonstrators stood shivering outside the courthouse
holding american flags and signs declaring not in the name of islam and islam
is against terrorism
majed moughni who moved to the detroit area from lebanon said he was worried
there would be backlash against muslims
we re trying to unite as muslims and we re going to eradicate all terrorism
from our homes and our mosques and we re going to send terrorists back to the
caves of afghanistan he said
malaysian premier condemns arson attacks on churches
kuala lumpur jan afp
malaysia premier has vowed to crack down on race crime after series of
firebomb attacks on churches which have heightened ethnic tensions
church in suburban kuala lumpur was set ablaze in midnight attack on friday
while molotov cocktails were thrown into the compounds of two other churches in
an escalating row over the use of the word allah by non muslims
prime minister najib razak vowed the government would not tolerate any threat to
racial harmony in the multicultural nation dominated by muslim malays but home
to large number of ethnic chinese and indian minorities
an investigation into this matter has already been launched and those
responsible will be brought to justice he said on his website late friday
muslim groups have staged protests over the use of allah as translation for
the christian god after court ruled last week that catholic newspaper had
the right to use the word in long running dispute with the government
malaysia is multi racial and multi religious country with history of
peaceful coexistence between muslims christians buddhists hindus and others
many malaysians practise christianity and have done so freely najib added
national police chief musa hassan said tough security laws could be invoked
against people spreading false information by text message about further attacks
on churches
no arrests have been made so far and we don know whether it was committed by
muslims or otherwise we only know there are at least two motorcyclists we
don know their nationality he told afp
the arson attacks have drawn criticism from government and opposition
politicians while the council of churches of malaysia condemned the attacks as
an irresponsible act
we call on the government to do everything possible to ensure the safety of
christians to worship freely and firm action should be taken to apprehend these
extremists hermen shastri the council secretary general told afp
tensions were heightened last week when the high court ruled in favour of the
catholic herald newspaper which has used allah as translation for god in
its malay language section
the government has argued the word should be used only by muslims the ruling
was suspended on wednesday pending an appeal after the government argued the
decision could cause racial conflict
religion and language are sensitive issues in malaysia which experienced deadly
race riots in
the row over the use of allah is among string of religious disputes that
have erupted in recent years straining relations between malays and ethnic
chinese and indians who fear the country is being islamised
about percent of malaysians are christians including some catholics
more than half of those catholics are from indigenous groups most of whom live
in the borneo island states and who mainly speak malay
hong kong police arrest six in million dollar tokyo heist
hong kong jan afp
hong kong police have arrested six people in connection with three million us
dollar luxury watch heist in tokyo report said saturday
three men and three women all chinese are suspected of involvement in the
theft of luxury watches last week at store in the upmarket ginza shopping
district of the japanese capital radio television hong kong reported
thieves bored through the shop walls to get at the watches tokyo police said
previously
rthk said number of the stolen watches had been recovered in the southern
chinese city
jal set to file for bankruptcy on january reports
tokyo jan afp
japan airlines jal is set to file for bankruptcy on january the first step
in court led rehabilitation process for the debt ridden japanese carrier news
reports said saturday
the decision came as its creditor banks dropped their earlier proposal for an
out of court reorganisation of the troubled airline after ensuring public
support the nikkei business daily and other media reported
the state backed enterprise turnaround initiative corp now overseeing jal
restructuring will provide billion yen billion dollars investment so
that it can continue operations the news reports said
the government body will also ask jal creditors to waive further billion
yen in loans to the airline while speeding up its restructuring including
massive trimming of its international routes they said
we have made an effort to minimise troubles with jal operations and will
continue to do so in the future prime minister yukio hatoyama said late friday
after meeting transport minister seiji maehara
the government will issue statement to countries where jal has operations
guaranteeing public support in bid to help avoid possible credit squeeze on
the company overseas the yomiuri shimbun said
shares in asia biggest airline sank percent to close at yen on friday
the carrier is seeking its fourth government bailout since to enable it to
keep flying in the face of mounting debts
the airline which lost about billion dollars in the six months to
september has said it plans thousands of job cuts and drastic reduction in
routes as part of its efforts to return to profitability
jal has been offered financial assistance by both american airlines and delta
air lines which are competing to take stake in the japanese company and
increase their share of the lucrative asian market
malaysia religion catholic church attack
hong kong jan afp
attn eds this story has been delayed new filing time will be announced
later
us antiques dealer charged with selling false picasso
los angeles jan afp
los angeles antiques dealer has been accused of fraud after she allegedly sold
fake pablo picasso painting for two million dollars federal officials
announced friday
tatiana khan was informed of the charges friday by fbi agents who also seized
dollar willem de kooning painting that prosecutors allege was purchased
with proceeds derived from the sale of the bogus picasso
khan who owns gallery in west hollywood allegedly hired an artist to
fabricate the picasso drawing pastel called the woman in the blue
hat by giving the artist photo of the drawing
khan paid the artist dollars for the fake picasso in and soon sold
it for two million dollars the federal bureau of investigation said in
statement
the fbi began investigating the sale of the artwork in after the purchaser
contacted picasso expert who offered the opinion that the drawing was fake
if convicted khan faces maximum sentence of years in federal prison
golf woods isn bigger than the game says nicklaus
kapalua hawaii jan afp
not even tiger woods is bigger than the sport itself and golf will continue to
prosper with or without its marquee star says time major championship winner
jack nicklaus
it not all about one person nicklaus said friday the game is big game
nicklaus has said previously he expects woods to eventually break his major
championship record but even if it doesn happen the sport always have
strong world wide popularity
tiger always has been big influence on the game said nicklaus who is four
majors ahead of woods
but the game had bobby jones the game had walter hagen arnold palmer gary
player tom watson lee trevino nicklaus
the game always survived that the game will continue to go forward tiger is
big influence probably the largest one we ever had and certainly we hope he
comes back and plays
nicklaus said this year would be crucial to woods as three augusta pebble
beach st andrews of the four majors are on courses where the world no
woods has had great success in the past
if tiger is going to pass my record this is big year for him in that
regard said nicklaus who turns later this month
woods announced recently he is taking an indefinite break from golf to try and
rescue his family life after numerous allegations of affairs with different
women
since woods has competed in every us open and masters tournament
don know the answer what he going to do and what he going to play he
the only one who can answer that nicklaus said certainly this year with
where the majors are he basically owns all three places
if he doesn play this year the chore will be little tougher
tennis brisbane international results
brisbane australia jan afp
results from the seventh day of the brisbane international tennis tournament on
saturday denotes seed
semi finals
men
andy roddick usa bt tomas berdych cze
radek stepanek cze bt gael monfils fra
britain may pull back from parts of afghan region report
london jan afp
britain military may hand control of parts of afghanistan taliban invested
helmand province to their us counterparts the times reported saturday citing
unnamed military officials
the newspaper said that with the arrival of more us marines in afghanistan and
the implementation of new us counter insurgency strategy british troops might
pull out of the upper helmand valley and concentrate on the biggest population
centre around lashkar gah
it cited military officials as saying british commanders were ready to pull out
of musa qala and kajaki home to hydroelectric power station to which they
brought turbine in an operation in
handing over the two districts to us troops would free up roughly troops
to patrol the centre of helmand province which was the initial strategy when
british soldiers were first deployed there in said the times
however the newspaper said there is resistance to leaving sangin the district
that has claimed the highest number of british casualties
the newspaper said cabinet officials have been briefed about the helmand plans
and decision was expected within six weeks
depending on the availability of us troops the redeployment of british forces
could take place in the spring it added
britain has nearly troops in helmand province as part of the
international coalition battling taliban insurgents in afghanistan
total of british service personnel died in afghanistan last year the
bloodiest for the british military since the falklands war total of
have been killed since operations began in
finding hope and way off drugs for india street kids
mumbai jan afp
mohan was when he ran away from his village because he didn want to sit an
exam he ended up in mumbai fearing beatings or worse every time he slept on
the streets in shop doorways or bus stops
like many of his young friends he turned to drugs finding the highly addictive
chewing tobacco gutka glue sniffing and hashish helped him to cope
you feel free you don feel the stress of street life you need to forget
block it all out it an escape mohan now told afp
he found sanctuary six years ago at charity for street children beating his
drug habit through its detoxification programme and putting himself on the path
to recovery
now he earns rupees dollars month as an assistant chef at
restaurant in the southern city of chennai and is back in contact with his
family
want to become cook not an assistant cook then ll probably settle down
and marry he said on return visit to the charity to talk to children about
his experiences
mohan who asked for his real name not to be used is one of the success stories
at the society undertaking poor people onus for rehabilitation or support
for short
fifty young boys and girls aged five to are currently living at the
charity mumbai centres thirty youths aged and above are also being given
vocational training
these real life equivalents of the children in the hit film slumdog
millionaire have all been referred to support after being found living on the
streets
charities working with street children say the scale and the complexity of the
problem is huge and becoming more acute as india population expands and
migration to cities increases
accurate figures are difficult to come by but india is estimated to have between
million and million street children according to charities and number
of research studies
the un has said that up to are thought to be living in mumbai although
hoshang irani support trustee and others believe that is gross under
estimation
we just can help everyone irani admitted
yet non governmental organisations do what they can with modest resources and
funding from business other charities individuals and local authority
subsidies
irani former banker described the causes of drug addicted street kids as
the usual oliver twist story children fleeing physical or sexual abuse
extreme poverty or abandonment
in mumbai some are attracted to the bright lights of bollywood
but when reality bites they can fall in to begging and petty theft to survive
loose change five rupees us cents buys single cigarette from
roadside stalls while addictive solvents such as glue or solution can be
bought for about rupees
vulnerable young girls can turn to or are more usually forced into sex work
risking violence and disease
at that age they quickly get into drugs and by aged eight to if they re on
the streets for year or two they re on cocktail of drugs said irani
one study quoted in the indian government latest child protection plan says
nearly two thirds of people who sought treatment for drug use first used
narcotics before aged but only tiny number of children are being helped
at support many children have to undergo detox and rehabilitation for addiction
to cigarettes or solvent abuse others have lockjaw from chewing up to
packets of gutka day or used hashish and heroin
when the boys come here they re very obsessive about drugs said vrinda
bhere who works in the charity tiny medical centre and co ordinates the
day detox programme they want to run away or go back on the streets
some of the young addicts especially those taking heroin are put on sedatives
substitutes like methadone are not used while others are given diversion
therapy like exercise or television to keep them occupied
it very difficult some of the bigger boys are very difficult to handle
said bhere who has worked at the charity for years
most interventions are successful although sometimes boys do have to be
referred to specialist clinics she added
many of the young boys and girls wear spectacles their poor eyesight the result
of malnutrition or drug use others are having psychological counselling or
treatment for tuberculosis and even leprosy
one young boy in neat school uniform sits cross legged with others in circle
during group discussion workshop
his mother died of hiv and tb his father was drunk the child doesn have
anybody he ll remain with us for about to years until he ready to meet
the world outside it very long time said irani
we create an identity for child we sometimes even give second name to the
child because he or she has forgotten
high prices wipe shine off old dhaka gold bazaar
dhaka jan afp
every morning before dhaka goldsmiths open their shops in the city historic
tanti bazaar shahabuddin climbs into the sewers under the alleyways to pan for
scraps of discarded gold
when bullion began its record breaking rally in the tiny specks of gold
that shahabuddin fished from the sludge earned him up to taka dollars
day fortune in bangladesh where the average wage is dollars month
initially everyone was happy with gold prices rising as it brought better
returns he said
but when gold hit record above dollars an ounce early last month
shahabuddin and the goldsmiths at the tanti bazaar saw the other
side of the commodities boom
because of sky high prices most people have stopped buying gold ornaments even
for weddings marriage season has begun but most goldsmiths are sitting idle
shahabuddin said
there are around gold shops and factories at the bazaar most of which have
been run by hindu goldsmiths since the market was founded in the th century
usually the bazaar narrow alleys swarm with customers as the artisans work
night and day during the winter wedding season and at major muslim festivals
such as eid al fitr
but this year the market is quieter
if the goldsmiths don have any work we don have anything to collect
shahabuddin said adding that he now finds only to taka of gold scraps
day and thinks searching through human excrement too foul for such meagre
rewards
gold prices have dropped slightly from their peak in december but at around
us dollars an ounce this week around dollars higher than year ago
they are still too high for many of bangladesh normal buyers
the middle class has simply stopped buying gold ornaments for weddings even
the rich no longer buys gold for gifts said ganga charan malakar owner of the
country biggest chain of gold shops venus jewellers
bangladeshi traditions require groom gives full set of gold ornaments to his
bride as wedding present the ornaments normally weigh between and
grams to seven ounces depending on how wealthy the groom and his family
are
malakar who started his career as goldsmith in tanti bazaar in the
said jewellery sales have fallen over percent in the last year forcing
hundreds of artisans to close their shops or run their business at loss
when bullion prices began to increase we were happy because we could sell our
stock with better returns but now there is no sign that prices are coming down
to an affordable level he said
look at my shop it is empty during this season in the past we used to hire
extra salesmen to handle clients ve never seen anything like this in my
life he said
malakar who is the president of the member bangladesh goldmiths
association said that over the last year the small jewellery factories at
