ended without any of the pakistani cricketers snapped up for the teams
players and officials have alleged that the snub of world class cricketers such
as shahid afridi and umar gul was politically motivated and number of former
hockey players have said the team should boycott the hockey world cup
pakistan hockey federation secretary asif bajwa said he has sought clearance
from the foreign office and interior ministry for the february to march
tournament in new delhi
the latest situation demands full security assurances for our players and
that why have sought clearance from the government bajwa told afp we
fear security problems in india
pakistan sports minister ijaz jakhrani has rejected calls for world cup
boycott saying it was global event and the national team will compete
bajwa said the international hockey federation has assured them of full security
for the event but government guarantees were also needed
have heard that australia and england are bringing their own security
personnel so it would be better if we too take some security staff with us
because we want peaceful event said bajwa former olympian
pakistan are in group of the team competition along with australia
england india south africa and spain
the four time world and three time olympic champions have not won major title
since their world cup win in australia in they finished eighth the
worst result in their history at the beijing olympics
gm to invest million dollars in electric motors
washington jan afp
general motors announced plans tuesday to invest million dollars to design
and manufacture electric motors saying the first were scheduled to debut in
in next generation rear wheel drive hybrid vehicle
the company percent owned by the us government since being saved from
collapse last year said the motors would be manufactured in the united states
at an unidentified facility
in the future electric motors might become as important to gm as engines are
now gm vice president tom stephens said in statement
by designing and manufacturing electric motors in house we can more
efficiently use energy from batteries as they evolve potentially reducing cost
and weight two significant challenges facing batteries today
gm put the amount to be invested at million dollars including million
dollar grant awarded last year by the department of energy
the first electric motors designed and built by gm are scheduled to debut in
in next generation rear wheel drive two mode hybrid technology the
company said in statement
gm said the move would make it the first major us automaker to design and build
its own electric motors core component both of electric cars and hybrids that
use combination of electric and conventional internal combustion engines
gm plans to launch its first electric car the chevy volt later this year in
california taking aim at toyota whose popular prius hybrid was first
introduced in the united states in and is now in its fourth generation
stephens said gm would purchase and co design electric motors with suppliers as
well produce its own in house
we are partnering with suppliers to create innovations faster than ever before
our goal is simply to establish gm as leader in automotive electric motors
he said
world powers mull yemen after foiled us jet attack
london jan afp
world powers gather in london wednesday to discuss tackling violent extremism in
yemen after an alleged bid to blow up us airliner by nigerian linked to al
qaeda there
ministers and officials from countries chaired by british foreign secretary
david miliband will discuss security plus wider economic and political problems
facing yemen the poorest arab state
experts warn that unless yemen is stabilised it could become failed state
like its lawless neighbour somalia
but the shortness of the london meeting it will only last for two hours on
the eve of bigger conference on afghanistan has already provoked derision
from some british lawmakers who have labelled it gimmick
miliband said sunday that yemen has been rising on our radar for the last
months to two years but its troubles only made headlines in december when
umar farouk abdulmutallab allegedly tried to detonate explosives in his
underwear on plane approaching the us city of detroit
president barack obama has accused al qaeda in the arabian peninsula of
training equipping and directing the suspect while al qaeda chief osama bin
laden claimed responsibility for the plot on sunday and vowed further
strikes
the london meeting called by prime minister gordon brown will focus on how to
assist the yemen government to improve security root out al qaeda and promote
economic and social development foreign office spokeswoman said
yemen many problems including corruption water shortages and dwindling
oil industry providing three quarters of government revenues should be viewed
in the round according to academics
it essential that the international community comes together with
collective approach and embeds any counter terrorist measures within whole of
government approach said ginny hill an associate fellow at foreign affairs
think tank chatham house in london
any solution for yemen requires regional response which includes yemen
relationships with somalia
western countries have been providing support for yemen for some time
britain initiatives include supporting counter terrorism police unit with
the united states but some say the yemeni government needs to do more
us secretary of state hillary clinton who is expected to attend the meeting
last week urged it go further on development saying washington wanted to see
results on the ground
we re seeing results in the counter terrorism efforts and we want to see
similar results when it comes to development she said
miliband noted sunday that the attempted bombing of the plane heading from
amsterdam to detroit marks new phase in the approach of al qaeda arabian
branch as it was the first time it had struck in the west rather than the middle
east
yemen is strongly opposed to western intervention in its efforts to combat al
qaeda
it stepped up the fight this month with military crackdown against al qaeda
thought to be hiding in mountains east of sanaa and has also stopped granting
entry visas on arrival at airports to stop militants coming in
chatham house analyst hill though warned that yemen is confronting the
prospect of state failure with potentially serious implications for the whole
region
future instability in yemen could expand lawless zone stretching from
northern kenya through somalia and the gulf of aden to saudi arabia she
added warning of possible increase in piracy and violent jihad
some opposition lawmakers in britain have questioned how much the meeting can
do given its short timetable but miliband insists it can be useful
contribution to what is dangerous situation
development key to pakistan fight against militants fm
dubai jan afp
development programmes in violence plagued areas of pakistan are an essential
part of the country fight against militants foreign minister shah mehmood
qureshi said in dubai on tuesday
holding and building violence affected areas is fundamental to achieving
decisive victory against terrorism qureshi told the friends of democratic
pakistan conference
all our efforts against terrorism and extremism will come to naught should we
fail to address their root causes he said
qureshi stressed that economic deprivation is among these root causes
poverty and socio economic deprivation are being exploited by the terrorist
outfits to recruit young people into militant organisations he said
qureshi said that failure to address economic problems may sap pakistani public
support for further operations
if we fail in looking after the local population and their lives do not change
for the better the public support for operations in the fata federally
administered tribal areas region may not hold qureshi said
pakistan three year plan for reconstruction and rehabilitation in swat
malakand and other areas affected by violence will cost million dollars he
said while the country five year development plan for the same areas carries
billion dollar price tag
united arab emirates foreign minister sheikh abdullah bin zayed al nahayan and
turkish deputy prime minister bulent arinc also emphasized that stability in
pakistan is important for the middle east
stability in pakistan will contribute to stability in the gulf and the region
and the world sheikh abdullah told the conference
and arinc said that turkey considers pakistan cornerstone of safety and
stability in the region
mentally disabled forced to work at china brick kiln report
beijing jan afp
staff at chinese brick kiln used the mentally disabled as slave labour
controlling them with electric batons and killing one in case concealed for
more than year state media said tuesday
one person was sentenced to life in prison last september by court in the city
of wuhan in central hubei province over the activities at the illegal kiln
which were uncovered in mid the changjiang daily reported
the report did not explain why the case was only coming to light now
however revelations of huge brick kiln slave labour scandal in in the
northern provinces of shanxi and henan shocked the nation and were accompanied
by widespread accusations that corrupt officials involved in the practice had
been shielded from prosecution
the changjiang daily said one of the mentally disabled forced labourers in hubei
was beaten with sticks and shocked with electric batons after he refused to calm
down one day in july
the unidentified victim subsequently died of cardiac and respiratory failure
the report said
police and court officials in huangpi the district of wuhan where the kiln was
located refused comment when contacted by afp on tuesday
more than mentally disabled people or juvenile beggars were lured to the kiln
with promises of work but then were assaulted when they demanded their pay or
tried to leave the newspaper report said
at least one forced labourer was as young as it said
one kiln supervisor lin jinguan was sentenced to life in prison in september
while six others received prison sentences of between two and years it
added
authorities have announced that hundreds of slave labourers were rescued from
kilns during the scandal which deeply embarrassed china as it sought to
project modern image for the august beijing olympics
many of those forced into labour were children at least one person was reported
sentenced to death and dozens jailed over that scandal
gm to invest million dollars in electric motors
washington jan afp
general motors announced plans tuesday to invest million dollars to design
and manufacture electric motors saying the first were scheduled to debut in
in next generation rear wheel drive hybrid vehicle
the company percent owned by the us government since being saved from
collapse last year said the motors would be manufactured in the united states
at an unidentified facility
in the future electric motors might become as important to gm as engines are
now gm vice president tom stephens said in statement
by designing and manufacturing electric motors in house we can more
efficiently use energy from batteries as they evolve potentially reducing cost
and weight two significant challenges facing batteries today
gm put the amount to be invested at million dollars including million
dollar grant awarded last year by the department of energy
the first electric motors designed and built by gm are scheduled to debut in
in next generation rear wheel drive two mode hybrid technology the
company said in statement
gm said the move would make it the first major us automaker to design and build
its own electric motors core component both of electric cars and hybrids that
use combination of electric and conventional internal combustion engines
gm plans to launch its first electric car the chevy volt later this year in
california taking aim at toyota whose popular prius hybrid was first
introduced in the united states in and is now in its fourth generation
stephens said gm would purchase and co design electric motors with suppliers as
well produce its own in house
we are partnering with suppliers to create innovations faster than ever before
our goal is simply to establish gm as leader in automotive electric motors
he said
six killed forensics hq wrecked in baghdad car bomb
baghdad jan afp
suicide car bomber in baghdad killed six people and destroyed iraq forensics
headquarters on tuesday officials said day after three huge minibus bombs
targeting hotels killed dozens
the explosion in the central neighbourhood of karrada also injured at least
people with the toll expected to rise as many people were believed to be in the
building at the time the official said
the building collapsed soon after the explosion dozens of people usually work
in the forensics institute he added speaking on condition of anonymity
doctor at the ibn nafis hospital told afp that six bodies had been received
and that injured people had been admitted
the attack was confirmed by iraqi military spokesman in baghdad major general
qassim atta
at am suicide bomber raced his vehicle towards the institute and blew
it up said atta
he said the forensics institute had twice before been the target of bomb
attacks
the blast came day after three huge and apparently co ordinated minibus bombs
targeted hotels in baghdad killing at least people and wounding
iraqi politicians and us forces have warned of rising violence ahead of the
march vote the second parliamentary ballot since the us led invasion
ousted saddam hussein but ushered in deadly and long lasting insurgency
the hotel bombings came on the same day the government announced that saddam
notorious cousin and henchman chemical ali hassan al majid symbol of the
fallen regime had been executed
monday attacks differed from recent high profile bombings in baghdad in that
they targeted hotels one of the capital few remaining symbols of tourism
rather than government buildings
nearly people were killed and more than were wounded last year in co
ordinated vehicle bombings at government buildings including the ministries of
finance foreign affairs and justice in august october and december
insurgents weakened in the past year have in the past six months changed
tactics and mounted successful attacks on hard targets such as government
offices rather than so called soft targets in civilian areas
there are widespread fears in the wake of the bloody attacks to hit baghdad in
the second half of that political violence will rise in the weeks leading
up to the march vote
the election is seen as crucial step towards consolidating iraq democracy
and securing complete us military exit by the end of as planned
however bitter row has broken out in recent weeks after hundreds of candidates
were banned from taking part because of their alleged links with saddam which
could see sunni arabs marginalised from the political process
the dispute has alarmed the united states and the latest bombings will add to
washington concerns
us secretary of state hillary clinton said extremists were trying to upend
progress toward democracy while un chief ban ki moon urged iraqis to remain on
path to reconciliation despite persistent unrest that plagues the country
us vice president joe biden made hour visit to baghdad at the weekend after
which he said he was confident iraq leaders would find just solution to
the exclusions issue
korea declares no sail zone off west coast military
seoul jan afp
north korea has announced shipping exclusion zone off part of its west coast
south korean military official said tuesday move which in the past has
sometimes preceded missile test launches
the official confirmed to afp that the north had banned shipping from an area in
the yellow sea but gave no details yonhap news agency said seoul was watching
to see if there were any preparations for missile launch
the agency quoting an unidentified seoul military official said the communist
state declared no sail zone south of the disputed sea border between the two
countries
the border known as the northern limit line which the north refuses to
recognise has been persistent flashpoint there were deadly naval clashes in
the area in and
brief but intense firefight last november left north korean patrol boat in
flames
last month the north warned south korean ships to avoid the border area saying
its coastal artillery would target it in firing exercises
its naval command said at the time its move came in response to reckless
military provocations from the south
naval tensions have remained despite recent efforts by the sanctions hit north
to upgrade or restart joint business projects with the south
king of paparazzi in focus at sundance
park city utah jan afp
he was punched by marlon brando sued by jacqueline kennedy onassis and beaten
up by richard burton bodyguards
to some he national treasure whose work has been deservedly exhibited in
some of the world most prestigious art galleries
to others he an obscene pseudo photojournalist responsible for helping
create the ravenous monster known as modern day celebrity culture
the colorful life and times of ron galella the godfather of paparazzi style
photography are the subject of mesmerizing documentary being screened at
the sundance film festival smash his camera
the movie is the latest offering from leon gast the us director famous for his
oscar winning documentary when we were kings about muhammad ali
heavyweight contest with george foreman in zaire
galella self styled paparazzi superstar said he chose to pursue career
in photography because it is the art of today
we are all born with talent galella told afp everybody and it up to each
individual to find what he is good at early in his life
chose photography because it is the art of today don think painting and
sculpture are great any more but the medium of today is photography
galella is delighted with the sympathetic portrait of him which emerges
through gast entertaining film earned it it shows my work my
achievement my energy workaholic said galella camera slung around
his neck
it is hard to dislike galella after watching the film which reveals man with
wicked sense of humor and over sized ego who fills the garden of his new jersey
home with artificial plants and rabbits who keep him company
love myself because an artist an actor sort of to get in the
picture too said galella speaking under the watchful eye of his wife betty
to whom he proposed only five minutes after their first meeting
director gast admitted he was surprised by galella kindness his generosity
having only been aware of the photographer horrible reputation when he first
set out to make the film
he was this guy with his camera who was intruding in the life of jacqueline
kennedy our beloved first lady gast said
but after my research found out that jackie wanted the pictures taken on her
terms she wanted to control her image you can take my picture when allow
you to take my picture and that not how ron operates
he an artist and he takes his picture when he wants to take it
galella relentless pursuit of the former first lady eventually led to court
he was ordered not to come within feet of onassis an injunction the
photographer accepted with humor quickly adding tape measure to his array of
camera bag equipment
in the same spirit galella took to wearing an american footballer helmet
whenever he was seeking out marlon brando the iconic actor left galella nursing
broken jaw and missing several teeth after attacking him outside new york
restaurant in
as well as the work of galella gast film evokes time when celebrity
photography was in its infancy when the relationship with stars was franker and
more direct galella laments the current state of affairs where swarms of
photographers hang around fashionable bars and clubs hoping for shot
today it become sad thing galella said there are too many
photographers too many people in the way bodyguards in the way fans
it against the conditions to take good pictures when shot all these
celebrities it was usually one on one
nonplussed by his legions of critics galella insists on viewing himself as an
artist position supported by gast who cites the photographer images of
onassis as evidence if you look at pictures that ron galella took of jackie
and the ones taken by everybody else he superior gast said
galella expresses particular fondness for photo of onassis taken in new
york dressed casually in jeans and sweater she turns to face the camera and
flashes an enigmatic smile
it my gioconda think she didn know it was me she wouldn have smiled
like that if she had galella laughed
sarkozy rival hears verdict in french smear trial
paris jan afp
french court hands down verdict thursday in the trial of ex prime minister
dominique de villepin setting the stage for possible comeback by one of
president nicolas sarkozy fiercest foes
villepin is accused of conspiring in to torpedo sarkozy presidential bid
with falsified documents at time when the two ambitious men were manoeuvring
to succeed president jacques chirac
the sensational trial opened four months ago in the courtroom where marie
antoinette was sentenced to the guillotine in with villepin accusing
sarkozy of pursuing personal vendetta against him
will come out of this free man and exonerated the silver haired
politician cum writer declared on the first day
dubbed france trial of the decade the month long case ended with prosecutors
calling for an month suspended sentence and euro dollar
fine for villepin
nicolas sarkozy had promised to hang me on butcher hook see that the
promise has been kept villepin said bitterly after prosecutors asked for the
sentence
the former prime minister who also served as foreign and interior minister under
chirac has pleaded innocent to charges of complicity to slander complicity to
use forgeries dealing in stolen property and breach of trust
known as the clearstream affair the complex case centres on fake list of
account holders from the clearstream financial clearing house who allegedly took
bribes from the sale of french warships to taiwan
sarkozy name was on the list and the french leader alleges the scandal was
fabricated to tarnish him ahead of his party nomination for the
presidential vote which he won
villepin who is best remembered for leading the charge against the us invasion
of iraq at the united nations is hoping for an acquittal that would allow him
to bounce back into politics ahead of the vote
in the week before the verdict the suave politician made high profile visit
to paris suburb declaring that he offered political alternative to
sarkozy and was ready to serve france and the french
if he is completely cleared he will come out of this stronger and be able to
relaunch his career and he will do it said political analyst dominique moisi
while most observers agree sarkozy has near stranglehold on his governing ump
party villepin has been able to draw small loyal group of supporters from the
party disenchanted centre right
the career diplomat who was chirac chosen heir has been one of the most
outspoken critics of sarkozy nearly three years at the elysee and the trial
has been portrayed as decisive showdown between the two men
the hatred between them is legendary in french political circles
villepin privately refers to sarkozy as the dwarf while the president is
equally dismissive of the year old ex minister for having served in
government without ever having run in elections
the verdict will come down on sarkozy th birthday and day after the
president takes the stage at the world economic forum in davos to offer his
views on the state of the global economy
sarkozy is one of civil plaintiffs in the case and he set off storm of
protest last year when he referred to villepin and the four other defendants as
the guilty parties
questioned on the case in televised interview on monday evening sarkozy
declined to comment saying only let justice do its work
sri lanka tamils trudge to polls in post war vote
vavuniya sri lanka jan afp
kandaswamy wellarayanam walked six kilometres to vote in sri lanka
election from state camp where displaced tamils were locked up after the
country war last year
now able to move freely he said he and his wife daughter and two grandchildren
were eager to take part even though buses that were meant to transport them
never turned up
we walked to vote because we felt it was important after the war he told afp
was keen to have say in who should be our next president we ve not had
free food and rations for two months and depend on odd jobs to survive
he like many other tamils that afp spoke to in the highly militarised tamil
dominated town of vavuniya kilometres miles north of the capital
colombo said he would vote for former army chief sarath fonseka
fonseka and president mahinda rajapakse who is seeking re election were the
architects of final assault on tamil tiger separatists last year that the un
says killed civilians in tamil areas
after the end of the conflict which has been mired in allegations of war
crimes an estimated displaced tamils were locked up until december in
camps that were closed to the media and humanitarian groups
an estimated remain the rest having been freed at the end of last year
under pressure from the united nations
voting started slowly in vavuniya but picked up during the day as locals filed
into the makeshift polling booths in schools
among the majority sinhalese population there was support for rajapakse the
scion of political family known for his energetic oratory and popular touch
voted for mahinda rajapakse to thank him for ending the war and allowing my
children to grow up without fear of bombs said sinhalese tradesman japgath
karuntilake
ratnasingham sittambaraja was in two minds as he entered the town tamil
national school to vote
heard lot of allegations about the president corruption still not
sure who to vote for he said
tamil politician dharmalingam sithadthan said there was enthusiastic polling in
tamil areas although many had failed to register as voters because they had been
driven from place to place by years of fighting
we saw slow start but voting is very peaceful sithadthan said
in the majority sinhalese capital colombo there was enthusiasm and turnout
appeared to be high according to voters and officials
have been voting at this booth for over years but never saw crowd like
this said mohamed sallel businessman casting his ballot in the city
borella commercial area
doctor nimalka perera turned up to vote on her way to the colombo national
hospital but ended up standing in line for an hour to vote at polling booth
inside school building
when first came here the queue was too long so went back and came two
hours later on my way to the hospital and found the line even longer perera
said
election officials checked her polling card and the national identity card
before giving her an inch centimetre long ballot paper with names
of candidates
officials apply indelible ink on the index finger of voter as means to
prevent them from impersonating others and voting more than once at the election
in which million people are eligible to cast their ballots
elsewhere police briefly detained key opposition lawmaker and of his
supporters who were driving through vavuniya heading to the northern peninsula
of jaffna where bomb attack was reported early tuesday
this is intimidation and clear attempt to block us from trying to prevent
irregularities in tamil areas vijitha herath told reporters
private election monitoring group the people action for free and fair
elections confirmed that voting began peacefully despite pre dawn bomb blasts
in the northern peninsula of jaffna there were no casualties
five killed forensics building destroyed in baghdad bomb
baghdad jan afp
suicide car bomber exploded his vehicle in central baghdad on tuesday killing
at least five people and destroying the government forensics headquarters an
interior ministry official said
the explosion also injured at least people with the toll expected to rise as
many people were believed to be in the building at the time the official said
the building collapsed soon after the explosion dozens of people usually work
in the forensics institute he added speaking on condition of anonymity
the blast in karrada neighbourhood came day after three huge and apparently
co ordinated minibus bombs targeted hotels in baghdad killing at least
people and wounding
iraqi politicians and us forces have warned of rising violence ahead of the
march vote the second parliamentary ballot since the us led invasion
ousted saddam hussein but ushered in deadly and long lasting insurgency
the hotel bombings came on the same day the government announced that saddam
notorious cousin and henchman chemical ali hassan al majid symbol of the
fallen regime had been executed
out of the chaos haitian town gets new hospital
leogane haiti jan afp
in humble office transformed into rough operating theater doctor was
amputating the toes from one year old outside the sound of moans filled the
corridor
but amid the misery wrought on leogane by the catacylsmic january earthquake
one good thing has happened the haitian town has acquired new hospital for
the first time in more than two years
leogane lying southwest of the capital port au prince was percent destroyed
in the magnitude quake
the nursing school has now been transformed into medical center where several
international aid teams have gathered in bid to help the stricken population
we ve already treated patients said american doctor josh white adding
that was without the morning patients
before the quake there was nothing other than the nursing school with
students now there are five mobile hospitals or clinics
his mobile unit comprising general surgeon five orthopedists and urologist
are planning to stay for the next six months as the town homeless struggle to
rebuild their lives
outside the building in the heart of what was once town made up of french
colonial architecture thousands have set up makeshift camp thrown up out of
sheets and bits of cardboard
japanese team is also on the ground they have set up field hospital next to
the school while further down the street canadian troops are running their own
medical operation
the town only hospital the holy cross closed two and half years ago due
to misuse of funds said hilda alcindor longtime member of the school
staff
white said his team is waiting for climate controlled mobile hospital with
