in december the goods producing sector shed jobs including in
manufacturing and in construction
the services sector lost modest jobs with loss of in retail
offset by gains in education health care and professional services
government sector employment fell by in the month
average hours worked sometimes seen as proxy for economic activity was
unchanged in december average hourly earnings meanwhile rose percent
the civilian labor force fell by in the month suggesting that more
people are stopping their search for employment
the unchanged unemployment rate of percent understates labor market slack
since labor force participation fell sharply said sophia koropeckyj at moody
economy com
accordingly the broader measure of unemployment increased to percent
she said
somalia islamists detain dozens of beardless men
mogadishu jan afp
religious police from somalia al qaeda inspired shebab group arrested and
jailed dozens of men in the southern city of kismayo for shaving their beards
officials said friday
the clean shaven men mostly students in their twenties were picked up during
raid on thursday evening for violating decree made by the shebab
administration in december ordering all men to grow beard
our units in charge of enforcing good religious practice arrested dozens of
residents for shaving their beards which is banned by the regional islamic
state local police commander sheikh abu hureyra abdurahman told reporters
they will remain in jail for three days as punishment for violating islamic
culture they will be released after that the police chief said
kismayo is somalia main southern harbour since it has been under the
control of the shebab group whose leader last year proclaimed his allegiance
to osama bin laden
everybody in town is growing beard nowadays if you don you go to jail for
shaving muktar daneyste kismayo resident told afp
one of my friends is among six people arrested in teashop yesterday some had
trimmed beards and others were clean shaven he said
the shebab administration in kismayo and other parts of southern and central
somalia has imposed very strict form of sharia islamic law banning foreign
culture and imposing dress code on both men and women
urgent argentine judge blocks government debt plan
buenos aires jan afp
an argentine judge on friday upended government plans to use central bank
reserves to pay down the national debt proposal that has sparked showdown
between the bank boss and the president
christians must stick together vatican tells copts after shooting
vatican city jan afp
christians must stick together against oppression senior vatican official
told the head of the coptic church friday following the murder of six copts in
egypt
all christians must remain united in the face of oppression and seek together
the peace that only christ can give cardinal walter kasper said in letter to
patriarch shenuda iii released by the vatican
kasper head of the pontifical council for promoting christian unity also said
he had been saddened to learn of the shootings after christmas midnight mass in
the southern town of nagaa hamadi
each time christians suffer unjustly it is wound in the body of christ which
all believers share he said adding together we share this sadness and
together we pray for healing peace and justice
three gunmen sprayed christian passersby with bullets as they emerged from the
mass late wednesday on the eve of coptic christmas
muslim policeman was also killed in the attack
the interior ministry said friday that three suspects had surrendered to police
after they were surrounded on farm close to the town
police believe the attack was related to the alleged rape of muslim girl by
coptic man in the nearby village of farshut in november which had already
sparked attacks on coptic owned stores
coptic mourners clashed with police on thursday as they buried their dead
copts who account for up to percent of egypt population of million are
the middle east largest christian community but complain of routine
discrimination and harassment
travellers stranded as europe freezes
london jan afp
europe was blasted by more snow and ice friday as britons endured their coldest
night of the winter forcing the cancellation of dozens of eurostar trains
linking london and paris due to the freezing conditions
in the grip of its worst winter in decades britain saw overnight temperatures
plunge to minus degrees celsius at altnaharra in the scottish highlands
hundreds of flights were also scrapped leaving more passengers stranded
the conditions sparked concern for energy supplies in britain as major
companies which were not named were ordered to turn off their gas friday in
bid to avert crisis
britain gas network was forced to issue its second alert in three days as the
plummeting temperatures saw demand surge
we ve got plenty of supplies the gas storage is about percent full
environment secretary hilary benn told gmtv television
there absolutely no need for any domestic customers to worry he added
some major firms had their gas turned off thursday in bid to see the
position ease from critical it was the first such move since
the beleaguered eurostar train service linking britain with france and belgium
cancelled half of its train services from london to paris due to the low
temperatures
because of the current severe weather conditions eurostar will continue to run
restricted service up to and including sunday the rail operator said
air passengers across europe waited anxiously to see if flights could depart
pan european low cost airline easyjet cancelled flights largely to and from
britain london gatwick and liverpool airports
british airways cancelled around departures from london heathrow while
around incoming flights were scrapped
we are making number of cancellations today and are experiencing continuing
delays due to the knock on effects of snow and the current icy conditions ba
said in statement
gatwick spokeswoman said tonnes of snow had been cleared from britain
second busiest airport since tuesday
thousands of british schools remained closed
temperatures will struggle to rise above freezing across most of the country by
day with severe and penetrating frosts at night said chief forecaster richard
young at the met office national weather service
in norway temperatures hit minus degrees celsius in the central village of
folldal the plunging temperatures forced rise in electricity demand sending
prices up too
in poland nine people died in the past two days bringing the total to
since the start of november police spokesman told afp the victims are mainly
homeless drunks
overnight temperatures dipped to minus degrees celsius and forecasters
predicted more snow and freezing temperatures over the next seven days
germany braced for up to centimetres inches of fresh snow later friday
accompanied by gale force winds
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
in france people left without electricity in and around the southern
city of arles after power lines collapsed under the weight of snow
some departments districts were put on orange alert with heavy snowfall
expected around centimetres fell in some parts of the southeast
the amount of snow expected is significant exceptional even meteo france
warned
the main highway linking southwestern france with northeastern spain and
barcelona reopened to cars on friday but the pyrenean mountain route remained
shut to trucks
around trucks waited on the roadside in france for the green light to use
the route
most of mainland spain was put on alert for fresh snowfalls strong winds and
low temperatures while heavy rain caused several floods in the southern
andalusia region
switzerland gotthard tunnel the main pass south towards italy was due to
reopen later to trucks following heavy snowfall in the italian speaking area
alert
argentine judge stops government from using reserves to pay debt
afp middle east news summary
nicosia jan afp
top middle east stories on friday
egypt religion unrest
nagaa hammadi egypt egyptian police announced they had arrested three suspects
in the christmas eve shooting of six coptic christians but the southern town
where the gunmen struck remained tense
mideast conflict gaza egypt britain
cairo egypt told british mp george galloway he was persona non grata after
activists who joined him to send an aid convoy to the gaza strip clashed with
police
attacks yemen qaeda arrest
sanaa yemeni security forces have arrested three suspected al qaeda militants
including two leading members in the province of maarib the interior ministry
said
iraq vote politics sunni
baghdad fourteen iraqi politicians and parties linked to saddam hussein baath
party have been barred from taking part in march elections in blow for
efforts towards national reconciliation
iran politics unrest opposition
tehran the armoured car of one of iran opposition leaders mehdi karroubi
was hit by gunfire in the northern town of qazvin his party website reported
but only the windows were damaged
mideast conflict gaza
gaza city israeli air strikes hit seven targets in the hamas run gaza strip
killing three men and wounding another palestinian medics said
mideast diplomacy us
washington the obama administration began flurry of high level talks aimed at
reviving israeli palestinian peace negotiations after its middle east
diplomatic debut fell flat last year
mideast conflict gaza prisoner shalit
jerusalem israel will not make any more concessions to hamas in negotiations
for the exchange of hundreds of palestinian prisoners for israeli soldier gilad
shalit captured by gaza militants in reports said
mideast conflict rights
jerusalem human rights group amnesty international urged israel to release or
fairly try three palestinians jailed for protesting against the west bank
separation barrier
lebanon arrest islamist
beirut lebanese authorities have arrested man suspected of being key
operative in an al qaeda inspired militant group an army spokesman said
football vieira completes city move
manchester england jan afp
inter milan midfielder patrick vieira on friday completed his move to manchester
city
france international vieira who becomes new blues boss roberto mancini first
signing has signed six month deal with an option for further year
the year old deal at inter was due to expire in the summer and the former
ac milan and arsenal is desperate to secure first team football as he bids for
place in france world cup squad
mancini who worked with vieira at the san siro told the club website
www mcfc co uk patrick is world class midfielder with winner mentality
and will fit into this group very well
he knows me and my staff well and importantly he also knows what the premier
league is all about he will not need much time to settle in
patrick is one of the great players of his era with every almost every honour
in the game against his name am sure city fans will welcome him warmly and
appreciate the contribution he will make
vieira joined arsenal from ac milan in and went on to become pivotal
figure as the gunners landed three premier league titles and four fa cups
he moved to juventus in spending one season there during which time the
club claimed the scudetto before being stripped of the crown due to the match
fixing scandal and consequently relegated to serie
vieira then joined inter where he won three serie crowns and two italian cup
titles
he has won caps with france helping them to their world cup and
european championship successes
blast kills eight insurgents at pakistan militant safe house
karachi jan afp
eight suspected insurgents were killed friday when explosives intended for
bomb attack accidentally blew up destroying militant safe house in pakistan
financial capital karachi police said
guns grenades and suicide vests were recovered from the house in poor karachi
neighbourhood which officials said was den for islamist insurgents involved
in the escalating campaign of violence in the nuclear armed nation
karachi police chief waseem ahmad said that early intelligence suggested the
militant cell had been planning to attack court in the city possibly when
interior minister rehman malik was due to appear
in separate incidents in pakistan northwest five militants were killed in
khyber district when suicide bomber from rival islamist militia blew himself
up and two people were killed in bomb in bajaur district
attacks have intensified as pakistan military with vocal support from
washington pushes into northwestern taliban strongholds
fayyaz khan senior police official in the southern port city of karachi said
eight bodies had been pulled from the rubble of the flattened house
so far evidence on the ground shows the occupants of this house were trying to
shift explosives and weapons when the blast occurred he said
ahmad told reporters that hand grenades three kalashnikov rifles ammunition
and two suicide jackets were recovered from the rubble
we have the information that these terrorists wanted to attack court and the
interior minister was also scheduled to appear in the court and it is possible
that these people were trying to attack that court he said
the terrorists themselves are the victims of their explosives
malik who appeared in karachi court over year old abuse of power case on
friday said he had been warned about possible threats to his security
today karachi was saved from large devastation malik told reporters
the people who failed in swat south waziristan and fata are now trying to
bring destruction in karachi he said referring to northwestern areas where
the military is engaged in operations to eliminate taliban strongholds
suicide bombings by the taliban and other islamist militants have intensified in
recent months as the military pursues its assaults
karachi had until recently been spared the worst of the bloodshed then on
december bomb ripped through procession of shiite muslim worshippers
killing people and turning their holy day of ashura into bloodbath
in khyber tribal district on friday five people were killed and wounded when
suicide bomber blew himself up at the offices of rival militant group local
administration chief shafeerullah khan told afp
in bajaur district in the north of the tribal belt meanwhile an anti taliban
leader and another man were killed by planted bomb local administration
official ghulam saidullah said
more than people have been killed in pakistan since july in attacks
by militants who oppose islamabad alliance with the united states in the
eight year war against the taliban in neighbouring afghanistan
although cosmopolitan karachi sees less violence there are fears militants are
using the cover of the city of about million people to regroup plan and
finance attacks
washington has praised pakistan action against the taliban but is urging the
country to also crack down on militants who hide out in the lawless northwest
and cross the border to attack nato and us troops in afghanistan
the two nations are also at odds over increasing missile strikes by unmanned us
aircraft targeting high level militants in pakistan northwest
speaking during visit to islamabad on friday us republican senator john
mccain defended the attacks
we will continue to try to find common ground with the pakistani government as
we have to do everything we can to protect americans from the attacks of
terrorists who may be based here and operate out of pakistan he said
two men arrested in ny bomb plot probe law enforcement
new york jan afp
two associates of an afghan immigrant charged in an al qaeda linked plot to
attack new york around last year anniversary of the september attacks were
arrested friday law enforcement officials said
the two men were arrested by federal bureau of investigation agents early
friday fbi spokesman richard kolko told afp
they are associates of najibullah zazi who is accused of links to al qaeda in
pakistan and plotting bombing spree in new york around the anniversary of the
attacks said law enforcement source who asked not to be identified
the arrests came as the us government and security services are reeling from
their failure to prevent an alleged attempt to blow up plane bound for detroit
on christmas day
president barack obama has repeatedly singled out the zazi probe as proof that
us intelligence is in fact doing good job against an increasingly multi headed
foe
officials named the two men detained friday as adis medunjanin and zarein
ahmedzay
they were arrested by the fbi joint terrorism task force in new york as the
result of an ongoing investigation kolko said
details of the charges against the two were not immediately announced they were
expected to be brought before judge in brooklyn later friday
the new york times quoted unnamed sources saying the pair had travelled to
pakistan with zazi in making them prime suspects in the unfolding bomb
plot probe
nbc television reported that the pair had been under surveillance since zazi was
arrested
medunjanin is bosnian immigrant and ahmedzay is taxi driver the nbc report
said they attended the same new york high school as zazi the times reported
zazi has been charged with conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction and is
being held without bail in brooklyn
he allegedly received training from group linked to al qaeda while he was in
pakistan
prosecutors say he then traveled to new york with bomb making instructions in
laptop they say he also shopped for large quantities of chemicals found in
beauty products that could have been the ingredients for explosives
his father and an imam living in queens have both been charged with lying to the
fbi
according to us media reports the two new arrests took place at night some
hours after fbi agents entered medunjanin home with search warrant and
seized his passport
following the loss of his passport medunjanin was involved in car accident
the report said and the suspect who was being trailed then tried to flee on
foot but was apprehended
he was treated in queens hospital for minor injuries then questioned by
detectives
portugal mps approve gay marriage
lisbon jan afp
the portuguese parliament on friday approved at first reading bill to legalise
gay marriage but rejected proposals to allow same sex couples to adopt
the vote went mainly on party lines with the left wing majority backing the
measure proposed by prime minister jose socrates and the right wing opposition
voting against
it will now be reviewed in committee before coming back for final vote in
parliament
socrates said the aim was to remedy decades of injustice towards gays recalling
that as recently as homosexuality was crime in portugal
parliament also defeated demand backed by the right for referendum following
petition which collected more than signatures
formula one boss joins last ditch bids for saab
stockholm jan afp
formula one boss bernie ecclestone leapt into the race friday for gm loss
making unit saab joining several groups making last ditch bids as the us giant
prepared to wind down the iconic carmaker
ecclestone involvement was revealed by luxembourg investment firm genii
capital in statement issued just as the deadline for final bids expired
the firm announced its interest in making an offer for the acquisition of
majority stake in saab in partnership with mr bernard ecclestone adding that
it had been brought into the bidding process at late stage by advisors close
to the deal
it also said it would aggressively work towards successful closing of the
transaction with all the relevant stakeholders of the company
gm europe spokesman stefan weinmann confirmed his company had received
several proposals for saab adding the us auto giant was still going ahead with
the planned closure of the swedish brand while considering any new bids
essentially the two processes will continue in parallel which means we ll
continue with wind down and at the same time we will look at the proposals and
analyse them and see whether we can find good solution for everybody
weinmann told afp friday
he confirmed dutch sportscar maker spyker was among the groups that had
submitted new bid but would not name any other contenders
the dutch sportscar maker in talks with gm since the beginning of december or
even since november according to weinmann made an updated bid for saab shortly
before the deadline for final bids expired at gmt thursday
spyker cars today has made revised offer to general motors for the
acquisition of saab automobile spyker chief executive victor muller
said in statement
speaking to afp on thursday muller said it is the same offer we made during
the weekend of december last year but it is being completely refined
following discussions in recent weeks
weinmann left the door open for additional bids to come in saying if the
bids we have received don lead anywhere and then down the road somebody else
comes down with another proposal we would be open to that as well
it is also clear the longer it takes the more difficult it gets weinmann
added
swedish business daily dagens industri on friday reported swedish group was
also interested in acquiring saab
the iconic swedish brand put up for sale over year ago by its year owner
gm has been on the verge of extinction since gm said on december it would
wind down saab citing failed talks with spyker
but the dutch sportscar maker then made renewed offer for the brand sending
the future of saab employees into limbo
according to swedish media saab board met for several hours on friday in the
company hometown of trollhaettan unions werer slated to speak about the
meeting later in the day
saab is one of four storied brands being shed by gm as part of massive
restructuring effort that began in and accelerated last year when the
largest us automaker went bankrupt
analysts have warned that some jobs could be lost with saab closure
greece orders alcohol and tobacco tax hike to counter crisis
athens jan afp
the greek government on friday announced an immediate percent increase in
tobacco and alcohol taxes as it fended off eu pressure for drastic action to fix
the crippling budget deficit
experts from the european commission and european central bank demanded to know
in detail when and how the necessary measures would be taken during talks
with greek leaders before leaving on friday finance ministry official told
afp on condition of anonymity
finance minister georges papaconstantinou announced the tax increases as he
reaffirmed the need for the country to establish financial credibility in europe
where greece troubles have raised fears over the stability of the eurozone
greece whose public spending deficit rose to percent of output last year
and debt to percent of gross domestic output has to present its crisis
programme to the european union by the end of the month
the socialist government is aiming to bring the public deficit to below three
percent of gdp the limit imposed by the eurozone in
greece tobacco and alcohol taxes are among the lowest in europe
announcing the tax increses in an interview with mega television
papaconstantinou denied press reports that he plans to increase sales value
added tax on goods or to end the th month salary that most workers get
the minister acknowledged that the eu pressure was difficult for the government
to accept
none of us is overjoyed to see group of european officials going from
ministry to ministry and proposing various things said papaconstantinou
according to the finance ministry source the eu experts demanded that greece
put the emphasis on balancing the budget by and making the economy more
competitive
the eu wants tighter timetable for making cuts in health spending and
clamping down on non payment of welfare taxes said secretary of state for
employment george koutroumanis
the government has said it will get the spending deficit down to percent in
by cutting government spending and campaign against tax fraud pension
reforms are to be proposed by april
but many newspapers predicted even greater eu pressure on the government which
was only elected in october
the controllers are demanding reduction in pensions the extension of the
retirement age more cuts in health spending and greater control of arms
expenses the pro government to vima newspaper said
the naftemboriki business daily said the eu demanded convincing answers the
european controllers expressed doubts
greece will have to endure monthly visits by eu officials from february as part
of the tighter surveillance ordered by the country european partners the
finance ministry said
the spanish eu presidency warned greece on thursday that it should not expect an
eu bailout
papaconstantinou told the italian newspaper il sole that we will solve our
fiscal problems alone
we have not asked for and do not expect any help from the european central
bank or member state from the european union papaconstantinou was quoted as
saying
us loses jobs in december
washington jan afp
the us economy lost jobs in december while the unemployment rate held at
percent the government said friday in report dashing hopes of
turnaround in the ailing labor market
the labor department report on nonfarm payrolls was disappointment to those
hoping for growth in jobs which is critical to recovery from recession
the figure was far worse than the consensus expectation for no change in overall
employment levels and came amid wide array of predictions ranging from steep
losses to modest gains
but in revising data for prior months the report showed net gain of
jobs in november instead of loss of previously reported
the agency also revised its october estimate to show loss of jobs in
october instead of
in december the goods producing sector shed jobs including in
manufacturing and in construction
the services sector lost modest jobs with loss of in retail
offset by gains in education health care and professional services
government sector employment fell by in the month
average hours worked sometimes seen as proxy for economic activity was
unchanged in december average hourly earnings meanwhile rose percent
the civilian labor force fell by in the month suggesting that more
people are stopping their search for employment
the unchanged unemployment rate of percent understates labor market slack
since labor force participation fell sharply said sophia koropeckyj at moody
economy com
accordingly the broader measure of unemployment increased to percent
she said
spanish police detain convicted eta collaborator
madrid jan afp
spanish police arrested man who was sentenced to two years in jail for
cooperating with the armed basque separatist group eta the government said
friday
pedro maria olano zabala was detained overnight in the basque town of lizartza
the interior ministry said in statement in the first detention of the year of
someone linked to the group
it said zabala is suspected of transporting explosives for eta
police also searched his home and that of his parents seizing documents
the spanish government warned last month that eta may be planning an attack or
kidnapping during spain six month presidency of the eu which began on january
madrid raised its terror level from one to two on scale of four indicating
probable risk of terrorist attack
spain top criminal court ruled in february last year that while zabala did not
belong to eta he contributed to its goals by threatening to kill the mayor of
lizartza regina otaola who was taken hard line against basque separatists
eta considered terrorist organisation by both the united states and the
european union is blamed for deaths in year campaign for independence
in the basque region of northern spain and southwestern france
tight security as nigerian bomb suspect due in us court
detroit michigan jan afp
young nigerian accused of trying to blow up us plane on christmas day
appears in court friday for the first time as police and air marshals locked
down security around detroit court
umar farouk abdulmutallab will make his first public appearance since his
arrest after the botched al qaeda plot when device allegedly stitched into
his underwear failed to detonate on board northwest flight from amsterdam to
detroit
the botched bombing has triggered us and 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
us president barack obama on thursday ordered sweeping overhaul of flawed
intelligence services but said ultimately the buck stops with me
he unveiled measures including strengthening us watchlists and boosting airport
screening as part of broad orders to close us security gaps
releasing two reports on the plane plot obama said spy agencies did not
properly connect and understand disparate data that could have detected the
plot as it was planned by an al qaeda affiliate in yemen
he said the probes revealed that us analysts knew abdulmutallab was an extremist
and knew al qaeda in yemen was plotting an attack but could not connect the
two strands of intelligence
abdulmutallab who spent time in yemen in faces six charges arising out of
the incident including attempted murder of the people on board the plane
and trying to use weapon of mass destruction
ahead of the pm gmt arraignment us marshals were helping local
police secure the area around the us district court in downtown detroit local
media reported
all efforts have been made to ensure that security will be at its highest
level during all matters involving abdulmutallab kevin pettit spokesman for
