web mmv
google to unveil hotly awaited smartphone
mountain view california
google is expected to unveil its own nexus one smartphone on tuesday seizing
the spotlight in tech heavy week with direct challenge to apple
heavyweight iphone handsets the internet giant has invited journalists to what
it has cryptically dubbed an android press event at its california
headquarters leaving even industry insiders speculating on what will be on
show
news science amp technology
images to be transmitted by gmt
raw vid
web mmv
house of cards in colombian jungle
quibdo colombia
dedicated environmentalists or eccentric architects nearly decade ago the
jimenez family moved from the colombian city of cali to humble home in the
jungle made entirely out of paper
offbeat
voiced report transmitted by gmt
nsv vid
broadcast ready vid
web mmv
we have already transmitted the following
counting all the animals at london zoo new offer
london
counting penguins checking meerkats and trying to spot where giant tortoise
has got to it that time of year again when keepers at london zoo spend the
day counting all the animals the annual stock take is legal requirement and
ensures every animal is accounted for and that they don have any new
additions
environment amp nature offbeat
voiced report
nsv vid
broadcast ready vid
web mmv
small cars on stage at india auto show new offer
new delhi
global car manufacturers eyeing the explosive growth of the indian market
unveiled new compact models at the delhi auto show on tuesday in bid to break
the dominance of entrenched local producers japanese groups toyota and honda
germany volkswagen and us giant general motors are showing new models designed
especially for the growing car buying middle classes and the country
notoriously bad roads
economy amp finance
images
raw vid
web mmv
beijing in dazzling white
beijing
beijing is still covered in white following the city heaviest daily snowfall
in nearly six decades last sunday tourists posed for photos on tuesday on
tiananmen square and in front of the forbidden city as workers continued to
clear the streets of snow
news
images
raw vid
web mmv
delayed gaza relief convoy arrives in egypt
el arish egypt
relief convoy led by british mp arrived in the egyptian mediterranean town
of el arish on monday after dispute with cairo on the route to be taken for
its gaza bound aid around activists arrived at el arish airport day after
ferry brought their almost relief laden trucks to the town port some
kilometres miles from egypt rafah border crossing with the gaza strip
news
images and soundbites
raw vid
web mmv
spain takes reins of revamped eu
brussels
spain has assumed the rotating presidency of the european union the first under
new leadership structure for the bloc which includes its first full time
president and new foreign policy supremo to mark the occasion it is
unveiling its cultural programme and new artwork that will hang in the
european council hall for the next six months
news
images
raw vid
web mmv
astrophysicist warns on biodiversity
paris
canadian astrophysicist hubert reeves world famous defender of environmental
causes says the threat to biodiversity is threat to humanity itself in an
interview with afptv reeves calls the copenhagen summit on climate change
partial success but adds that he still very worried about what our world
will look like in three decades
environment amp nature
images and soundbites
raw vid
web mmv
designer aims for air travel revolution with zero carbon aerolabe
le mans france
finding an alternative to heavily polluting air transport is dream for many
researchers now one magnificent man and his flying machine say they could have
the answer solar powered balloon which uses wings to help it fly it may
sound and look unusual but the french designer and his backers have high
hopes for the aerolabe
science amp technology
voiced report
nsv vid
broadcast ready vid
web mmv
magic way out of poverty for south africa teens
khayelitsha south africa
from crime ridden south african township to the bright lights of las vegas
stage nkombuzo nkonyana is forging an innovative way to make his problems
vanish into thin air as he carves out career as an aspiring magician the
year old sees magic as his best chance to get out of khayelitsha township one
of the poorest areas near cape town and the world cup might just give him his
big break adaptation of previously offered report
special report
voiced report
nsv vid
broadcast ready vid
web mmv
gypsies seen as outcasts in new ultra conservative iraq
al zuwayr iraq
gypsies or rom have lived in the middle east for centuries and until the fall
of saddam hussein played an important if marginal role in the local culture
in iraq many were professional singers and musicians but since the war in
and the subsequent rise of religious extremism they have been pushed even
further into poverty and exclusion refile of previously offered report
special report
voiced report
nsv vid
broadcast ready vid
web mmv
fitch downgrades iceland rating after icesave decision
reykjavik jan afp
fitch ratings on tuesday downgraded iceland long term debt rating from bbb to
bb citing renewed wave of domestic political economic and financial
uncertainty for the country
the downgrade came after iceland president olafur ragnar grimsson said he
would not sign an unpopular bill to compensate britain and the netherlands over
the failure of icesave bank
instead the bill now goes to referendum
today decision by iceland president to refer the icesave agreement to
referendum creates renewed wave of domestic political economic and financial
uncertainty fitch said
it also represents significant setback to iceland efforts to restore normal
financial relations with the rest of the world said paul rawkins senior
director in fitch sovereign ratings team in london
tennis qatar open tennis results st update
doha jan afp
results from the nd day of the qatar open here on tuesday denotes seeding
st round
andreas seppi ita bt oscar hernandez esp
steve darcis bel bt guillermo garcia lopez esp
rafael nadal esp bt simone bolelli ita
lukasz kubot pol bt karim maamoun egy
benjamin becker ger bt daniel koellerer aut retired
roger federer sui bt christophe rochus bel
fear of militarized iran as guard gains primacy study
washington jan afp
the revolutionary guard corps has gained primacy in iran since the
presidential election fueling fears there that the country is becoming
militarized pentagon sponsored study said tuesday
the study by the rand corporation also urged us policymakers to take great
care in their statements regarding iran in order not to give the leadership
pretext to divert attention from domestic troubles like the economy
the disputed election was watershed event in the islamic republic history
that has altered elite relationships and solidified the position of the
islamist right and the revolutionary guards in iranian politics it said
in the decade after the revolution the clerics had the most power but in
the new patronage networks not accountable to the state dominated the
economy even if the clerics kept considerable political influence it said
during the past decade however the islamic revolutionary guard corps has
gained primacy using the increased iranian emphasis on security issues as
political and economic lever according to rand think tank
the election further empowered the revolutionary guards and has fueled
reformist and even conservative fears of creeping militarization of iranian
politics and society said alireza nader study co author
it urged policymakers to watch the following trends whether the revolutionary
guard will continue to grow in power or decline the relationship between those
who overthrew the shah and the post revolutionary leaders and political
jockeying to find out will become the next supreme leader
it said those three trends have all been affected by the election which gave
hardline president mahmoud ahmadinejad another term in power
the study urged us policymakers to take great care to couch their
communications with and about iran in ways that are nuanced and take into
consideration how their statements might be perceived in tehran and by whom
focus on us or foreign policy is often convenient way for the regime to
draw attention from bread and butter domestic issues that are problematic in
iran such as the economy the study said
speaking to reporters on monday us secretary of state hillary clinton had her
mind on the revolutionary guard
we have begun discussions with our partners and like minded nations about
pressure and sanctions said clinton
our goal is to pressure the iranian government particularly the revolutionary
guard elements without contributing to the suffering of ordinary iranians who
deserve better than what they are currently receiving she said
us negotiators along with their european russian and chinese counterparts are
trying to halt iran uranium enrichment program which the west fears masks
drive to build nuclear bomb iran denies the charge
nigerian fm protests to us envoy over tighter air security
abuja jan afp
nigerian foreign minister ojo maduekwe on tuesday protested to the us ambassador
to the west african country over washington introduction of tighter screening
for passengers from nigeria
made it clear through the us ambassador to the us government that this is
unacceptable to nigeria maduekwe told journalists after meeting in his abuja
office with ambassador robin sanders
roma people to give madonna gold plaque
bucarest jan afp
the self proclaimed king of the roma said tuesday he wants to give madonna
gold plaque to thank the singer for criticising discrimination against his
people
madonna performed in bucharest in august as part of her sticky and sweet tour
and at the concert said she was very sad because of the discrimination
against romas and gypsies in general in eastern europe
self declared king florin cioaba said the roma wanted to show their appreciation
for the us star gesture
madonna deserves great credit she drew the whole world attention to
discrimination against the roma cioaba told journalists in the central
romanian town of sibiu
the plaque has been ordered from jeweller in italy and will be made from
carat gold the romanian news agency mediafax reported
romania has one of europe largest communities of roma an ethnic minority
believed to originate from the indian subcontinent often referred to as gypsies
discrimination against the group in romania continues survey last september
found that seven out of romanians would not want roma to be part of their
family and madonna was jeered by the crowd when she made her remarks at the
concert
last year amnesty international criticised the romanian authorities lack of
action to tackle discrimination against roma problem it said was widespread
and deeply ingrained in people minds
sarkozy to give opening speech at davos office
paris jan afp
french president nicolas sarkozy will give the inaugural speech later this month
at the annual forum of the world political and business leaders in the swiss
resort davos his office said tuesday
sarkozy who will be the first french president to attend the gathering will
make the speech on january and will focus on the post crisis world and on
how to regulate global finance the elysee said in statement
the elite meetings at the swiss mountain top resort started nearly four decades
ago and aim to bring leaders together to discuss the most pressing issues facing
the world
urgent nigerian fm protests to us envoy over tighter air security
abuja jan afp
nigerian foreign minister ojo maduekwe on tuesday protested to the us ambassador
to the west african country over washington introduction of tighter screening
for passengers from nigeria
pm brown salutes dubai over british port pledge
stanford le hope england jan afp
prime minister gordon brown on tuesday saluted decision by heavily indebted
dubai world to stand by plans to build giant deep sea port in britain
the billion pound billion dollar billion euro london gateway port
project was put under review by dp world the ports subsidiary of state owned
investment group dubai world during the gulf emirate recent financial woes
but dp world said monday the project to build europe largest combined deep sea
port and logistics park would go ahead at stanford le hope east of london
the london gateway is significant foreign investment brown said tuesday as
he toured the site on the north bank of the river thames estuary
it is massive vote of confidence in the uk economic recovery
am delighted with the decision to locate this world class project here in the
uk
it will help bring the largest deep sea vessels here and improve the efficiency
of the uk freight distribution creating thousands of jobs future growth and
economic prosperity added brown
there were fears for the future of dp world flagship project in britain as the
group took stock amid steep downturn in global trade and dubai economic
troubles
but dp world said monday it had reviewed its options in light of the market
downturn and was pleased to announce it has decided to proceed with
construction of essential infrastructure that lays the foundation of the
facility
dp world will continue to review the development of the port and park
operations in line with market demand it added
london gateway the first new deep sea container port in britain for more than
years is intended to create jobs including in the short term
in construction and logistics
the port is planned as hub with containers being sent via smaller ships to
other british ports
business secretary peter mandelson said this project sends message to
companies worldwide that the uk is the number one place in europe to invest
britons get extra holiday to mark queen year reign
london jan afp
britons will get an extra public holiday in to toast years of queen
elizabeth ii reign minister said on tuesday
know the entire country will want to pay their tributes to her majesty and to
look back with pride and great affection at the many things she has achieved
during her reign said business minister peter mandelson
the extra holiday is on tuesday june and gives britons the chance to join in
what will be spectacular celebrations marking six decades since the queen
accession to the throne in landmark known as the diamond jubilee
the queen who will turn in would be only the second british monarch to
celebrate diamond jubilee the first was queen victoria in
an existing public holiday will also be moved to monday june giving britons
four day break to celebrate the queen years on the throne
the diamond jubilee of queen elizabeth ii will be truly historic occasion
said mandelson as he made the announcement in the upper house of britain
parliament
host of events are expected to bring the country to standstill in the
queen honour just weeks before the start of the london olympics parade and
rock concert are believed to be among events that will be staged
but republic group which campaigns for the monarchy to be abolished was
swift to criticise the plans for taxpayer funded celebrations and warned it
would use the opportunity to make the case for an elected head of state
spending taxpayers money on celebrating lack of democracy is utterly
absurd spokesman graham smith said
what britain needs is celebration of democracy starting with major reform
that puts power in the hands of the people
urgent fitch downgrades iceland long term debt rating from bbb to bb
reykjavik jan afp
fitch ratings on tuesday downgraded iceland long term debt rating from bbb to
bb citing renewed wave of domestic political economic and financial
uncertainty for the country
alert
nigerian fm protests to us envoy over tighter screening of passengers
alert
fitch downgrades iceland long term debt rating from bbb to bb
internet witches and warlocks help nab us drug dealer
washington jan afp
popular online game featuring witches and warlocks has helped us law
enforcement to track down and detain fugitive wanted for drug dealing news
reports said tuesday
police in kokomo town in the midwestern state of indiana about miles
kilometers southeast of chicago tried to serve warrant on alfred
hightower last year for drug dealing but were told he had fled the united states
and was believed to be in canada
put that information in my pocket and continued to gather evidence and one
day got information that this guy was regular player of an online gaming
system which was referred to as some wizards and warcraft game sheriff
deputy matt roberson told afp
knew from the description that he was playing world of warcraft knew
because used to play it roberson said
blizzard entertainment the company that developed and publishes world of
warcraft was subpoenaed and several months later sent the deputy package of
information on hightower including the fugitive ip address
popped it into an ip address search and was able to locate the guy in ottawa
canada roberson said
the us police contacted their canadian counterparts and hightower was arrested
and deported back to the united states he was due to arrive back in kokomo on
tuesday and was expected to appear in court by week end said roberson
if convicted he could face up to years in prison the deputy said
blizzard entertainment was not immediately available for comment about whether
hightower arrest was the first made with the help of the witches and warlocks
of world of warcraft or if the company had previously provided police with
details of users of their gaming systems including an ip address
month long power outage threatens zanzibar tourism
zanzibar tanzania jan afp
month long power blackout in tanzania semi autonomous zanzibar is
threatening the idyllic indian ocean island tourist industry officials said
tuesday
the archipelago main island unguja has been without power since december
due to breakdown affecting the undersea cable providing electricity from the
mainland
energy minister yussuf himid said the submarine cable was dilapidated and needs
to be replaced as it can no longer sustain increasing energy demand
businesses and homes are running on generators and tourism which accounts for
percent of the archipelago earnings has suffered
already we have drop in revenue collection and trade in zanzibar has
decreased due lack of electricity zanzibar president amani karume said as he
opened new shopping mall he did not give figures
it is now the tourism season there have been lot of bookings in hotels
since november last year but tourists cannot stay longer because of lack of
electricity zanzibar association for tourist investors chairman simai mohamed
told reporters
most hotels have standby generators which cannot operate hours and also
running generators for hours is quite expensive he added
tourism minister samia suluhu hassan said it is obvious that tourists are not
happy walking on streets in the night without lights on lack of power also
discourages investors
officials said two water bottling firms have shut down because of the cuts and
the island has been hit by water shortage
zanzibar whose other islands are pemba and mafia has suffered prolonged
blackouts in the past including four week blackout in
ford us auto sales up percent in december
chicago jan afp
ford motor co saw its us sales rise percent in december amid steady market
share gains the automaker said tuesday
ford estimated it has posted its first full year market share gain since as
december marked the th time in months that the second largest us automaker
increased its retail share
ford plan is working said ken czubay ford vice president for us marketing
sales and service
people increasingly are discovering that the ford difference is the strength of
our products particularly our leadership in quality fuel efficiency safety
smart technologies and value
december sales rose to vehicles from year earlier
total sales for were down percent to million vehicles amid broad
economic downturn
cricket samaraweera fires sri lanka to victory
dhaka jan afp
thilan samaraweera smashed career best not out to guide sri lanka to
five wicket win over india in triangular one day series match here on tuesday
the middle order batsman hit fours in his ball knock for his second one
day hundred as sri lanka surpassed india with balls to spare in the
day night match for their second successive victory
samaraweera who has played tests but only one dayers before this game
added for the third wicket with kumar sangakkara and for the
unfinished sixth with thissara perera who hit brisk ball not out
all credit to samaraweera and perera also played superbly said sangakkara
the skipper
chanaka welegedara earlier did well to bring us back into the match think
our fielding was much better the attitude of the players was brilliant and we
were out there to win
off spinner harbhajan singh kept up india hopes with three wickets including
that of sangakkara but samaraweera and perera held their nerve under pressure
to steer their team home
the spinner provided the crucial breakthrough when he had sangakkara caught by
suresh raina in the covers but there was no stopping samaraweera who continued
to dominate the indian attack with wide range of strokes
sangakkara also became the fifth sri lankan to complete one day runs
during his ball knock after sanath jayasuriya aravinda de silva marvan
atapattu and mahela jayawardene
the sri lankan skipper and man of the match samaraweera built on the efforts of
upul tharanga and debutant lahiru thirimanne who gave their side
healthy run start
left arm paceman welegedara earlier helped sri lanka restrict india despite
solid from yuvraj singh the sri lankan finished with his maiden five
wicket haul in six one day internationals
it was always going to be difficult to defend we knew we had to pick early
wickets but after the first overs there was nothing for the bowlers said
india captain mahendra singh dhoni
india put in to bat were struggling at following three wicket burst
from welegedara before yuvraj propped up the innings with run stand for the
fourth wicket with dhoni
welegedara removed gautam gambhir eight virat kohli nine and virender
sehwag in his first spell before accounting for raina and zaheer khan
two in the second
sehwag smashed nine fours in his impressive ball cameo before being caught at
mid off by thirimanne off leading edge
yuvraj was more aggressive than his captain and reached his half century in
style lofting part time spinner thilina kandamby over long on for six
he fell in bid to step up the run rate caught in the deep off paceman perera
after hitting two sixes and six fours
ravindra jadeja and raina then helped india set challenging target with
run stand for the sixth wicket
each team will play four league matches before the top two qualify for the final
on january
oil price holds above dollars
london jan afp
oil prices edged higher on tuesday with new york crude holding above dollars
on increased heating fuel demand spurred by freezing weather in the northern
hemisphere analysts said
new york main futures contract light sweet crude for delivery in february
gained four cents to dollars barrel
brent north sea crude for february delivery added cents to dollars in
late london trading
oil prices begun with bang on monday soaring by more than two dollars as
cold weather spread across europe and the united states
reports that russia had cut supplies to belarus also helped push prices higher
dealers said officials in belarus denied the reports however
cold weather across the northern hemisphere propelled crude prices two dollars
higher pvm analyst david hufton said on tuesday
help also came from russia oil dispute with belarus and universally positive
manufacturing data from china india korea the uk and us
on the weather front in the us heating oil demand is expected to be percent
higher than normal this week he added
there was news on monday of robust activity in the us manufacturing sector in
further sign that the us economy key engine for global growth is well on
its way to recovering from deep recession
the institute for supply management said its manufacturing index also known as
the purchasing managers index climbed to percent in december from
percent in november beating forecasts for rise to percent any number
above percent indicates growth
separately manufacturing in china continued to expand in december as new orders
received by factories rose for the ninth month in row on booming demand at
home and abroad
signs of improving conditions in us and chinese manufacturing helped spur
buyers into the oil markets said odl markets analyst marius paun noting that
prices have now rallied by around percent since mid december
would be bomber likely had explosives before amsterdam
the hague jan afp
the nigerian who tried to blow up an amsterdam detroit flight on christmas day
probably possessed the explosives before reaching amsterdam schiphol airport
dutch prosecutors said tuesday
at the moment it appears that he was already in possession of the explosives
before he reached schiphol the prosecutors office said in statment which
presented initial findings of an official inqiry
year old nigerian umar farouk abdulmutallab has been accused of trying to
blow up northwest airlines flight on december after flying from lagos to
the united states via amsterdam
formula one renault name boullier as team director
paris jan afp
renault named frenchman eric boullier on tuesday as their new team chief
despite the year old having no formula one experience the stable said on
their website
the trained engineer was previously director of team france in the gp
championship
he succeeds briton bob bell who was appointed in september and will remain
with the team in another capacity
renault are embarking on new era after last year crashgate row which
prompted flavio briatore departure as well as that of technical director pat
symonds
the pair were implicated in controversy which saw team officials order nelson
piquet junior to crash at the singapore grand prix
formula one governing body fia handed lifetime ban to briatore as result
but earlier tuesday paris court overturned the suspension citing
irregularities in the decision
ailing nigerian president faces legal challenges
abuja jan afp
lawyers on tuesday filed three separate legal challenges against nigerian
president umaru yar adua who has been receiving treatment in saudi arabian
hospital for more than month
the nigerian bar association nba prominent human rights lawyer femi falana
and former lawmaker farouk adamu aliyu filed separate suits in the federal
high court in abuja
