plastic packaging maker daibochi rose percent to ringgit
bangkok dropped percent or points to
banpu was unchanged at baht and ptt plc fell baht to
voting ends in sri lanka presidential election
colombo jan afp
voting ended tuesday in sri lanka tense and bitterly contested presidential
election pitting incumbent mahinda rajapakse against his former army general
sarath fonseka
the first results are due to emerge late tuesday after polls shut at pm
gmt with final outcome expected around midday on wednesday
merkel announces more german troops for afghanistan
berlin jan afp
germany plans to send more troops to afghanistan chancellor angela merkel
said tuesday two days before london conference on the international mission
future
merkel said the troop hike was part of completely new approach to
cooperating with the afghan government which aimed to see kabul take
responsibility for the security of the country as soon as possible
we are not going to name withdrawal date but we support the afghans in this
aim merkel told reporters
the chancellor said berlin would also provide million euros million
dollars to million dollar international fund to bring insurgents into the
mainstream and roughly double development aid to million euros
german troops currently form the third largest contingent in the strong
international force behind the united states and britain with the upper limit
capped by parliament at soldiers
berlin currently has around troops in the strife ravaged country the bulk
of them in the north
with the addition of extra reservists who could be deployed for limited
period of time the upper limit would rise to around troops
asked how germany new commitments would be received by the us administration
which is pressing its allies to back its surge of more us soldiers
merkel said she was comfortable with the new offer
it was not the case that the americans asked us what we wanted to do but rather
we determined ourselves what we intend to do he said
think that if germany plans to train at least one third of the police forces
in afghanistan if it doubles what it is doing in terms of civil reconstruction
and we make our entire approach more effective and harmonise it with the
international community plus adds troops and flexible reserve of
troops then we have nothing to be ashamed of
her comments came ahead of two day visit to berlin by afghan president hamid
karzai starting on tuesday on his way to the london conference
karzai under pressure from his western backers to tackle rampant corruption
hopes for western support at the conference for his strategy of wooing taliban
fighters with the lure of jobs and money
red cross warns of mounting civilian toll in afghan conflict
geneva jan afp
the red cross on tuesday expressed concern at the mounting civilian casualties
in afghanistan ahead ahead of major conference on the war riven country
the intensification of the conflict urgently demands enhanced precautions by
all parties the afghan national security forces the international military
forces and the armed opposition said jacques de maio the international
committee of the red cross head of operations for south asia
more must be done to minimize the war impact on civilians not only in combat
zones where fighters and civilians must be distinguished at all times but also
far from the battlefield
even there respect and security for medical and health workers must be
restored he added
the london conference called after corruption tainted elections which returned
president hamid karzai to office last year is expected to focus on the degree
of international military and civilian involvement in afghanistan
di maio said first aid posts were caught up in the fighting and even targeted
occasionally while ambulances were blocked and sometimes came under fire
some to war related operations are being carried out at mirwais hospital
in the southern city of kandahar where admissions of war wounded increased by
more than quarter in the icrc said
earlier the icrc director of operations pierre kraehenbuehl said ihn tokyo
that the suffering of afghans has reached unbearable levels
football algeria hero bouazza relishing another crack at egypt
benguela angola jan afp
playing defending champions egypt thursday in an africa cup of nations semi
final here is dream come true for algeria hero hameur bouazza
the year old wide midfielder from english second tier club blackpool headed
the extra time winner that toppled title favourites ivory coast last sunday and
he has been itching for another shot at the pharaohs
although the desert foxes defeated egypt at home and in sudan play off to
snatch an unexpected place at the world cup in south africa they are still
battling to win over domestic media sceptics
it is great playing egypt again as it offers us chance to prove we beat them
fairly and not through luck bouazza said as the countdown began to the gmt
clash of bitter regional rivals at the seat ombaka stadium
we won through hard work and because we have lot of talented players he
said referring to the play off victory courtesy of late first half goal
from defender antar yahia
the three world cup clashes between the countries were enveloped in controversy
with egypt claiming their food was poisoned in blida while the algerian bus was
stoned en route to its cairo hotel from the airport
hundreds of rival supporters were reportedly injured in khartoum egyptian
citizens and property was attacked in algiers and war of words erupted
between high level government officials
bouazza preferred to concentrate on football stressing that while the foxes
may lack individual stars like cap egypt midfielder and skipper ahmed
hassan they possess abundant character and team spirit
that was clear in the oil rich cabinda enclave against the ivorians as they
recovered from conceding an th minute goal to level two minutes into stoppage
time via the head of glasgow rangers defender madjid bougherra
and when long cross from the left drifted to the far post two minutes into
extra time unmarked bouazza calmly nodded the ball into the corner of the net
and closed the scoring in nations cup epic
this team has got real character and team spirit is probably our greatest
strength matches are won by happy players and that is the case with us he
said reiterating pre tournament comments
bouazza senses algeria back in the last four for the first time since they
hosted and won the tournament for their sole africa title can confound the
critics further defeat egypt and win the january luanda climax
am convinced we can do something special in angola the coach encourages us
all the time and that is what we need he said heaping praise on five time
algeria boss rabah saadane
the foxes had to recover from drubbing by minnows malawi to reach the
knockout phase via win over mali and dour draw against angola amid
media allegations the result was fixed so both teams would advance
us investigators to assist lebanon with plane crash probe
beirut jan afp
the united states is sending experts to assist the lebanese government in its
probe of the crash into the sea of an ethiopian airlines plane with
passengers on board the us embassy said on tuesday
the national transportation safety board is sending team to assist the
lebanese government in its investigation an embassy spokesman told afp
he said the team expected to arrive in beirut on tuesday or wednesday will be
headed by dennis jones senior ntsb investigator
jones will be assisted by three technical advisors from the federal aviation
administration and boeing
ethiopia airlines flight tumbled in ball of fire into the mediterranean
early monday just minutes after takeoff from beirut airport in stormy weather
the boeing bound for addis ababa had passengers on board all are
presumed dead
lebanese officials have ruled out foul play and said the bad weather was likely
to blame
thai military gains new powers ahead of protests
bangkok jan afp
thailand cabinet granted approval tuesday for the military to assist police in
dealing with upcoming mass protests by supporters of ousted former premier
thaksin shinawatra
rallies by anti government red shirts are expected to intensify in bangkok in
the coming weeks ahead of court ruling next month on the frozen fortune of
thaksin who was deposed in coup in
but the cabinet decision tuesday came without invoking the harsh internal
security act isa as the government has done ahead of previous protests which
allows the army to deploy troops ban gatherings and impose curfews
it measure ahead of invoking the isa government spokesman panitan
wattanayagorn said but if the situation deteriorates the government will
declare isa he said
as of today the military will act as helpers of police officers and will
respond immediately upon police request
the red shirts have held several rallies over the past year in support of
thaksin who is living in exile to escape two year jail term for corruption
they culminated in april with the disruption of major asian summit and riots
in bangkok that left two people dead
thailand supreme court is set to rule on february whether authorities can
continue to hold thaksin assets worth billion baht billion dollars
which were frozen in the months following the coup
the cabinet was briefed by security agencies that red shirt protests will
intensify and become more frequent this month and next so the government must
have measures to deal with this panitan said
panitan said the government expected fresh protests to begin this week
spreading to several locations in the capital and thai authorities will guard
all sensitive locations such as the houses of judges and prominent politicians
earlier this month the cabinet approved million dollar budget for the army
to buy new riot equipment
korea declares no sail zone off west coast ministry
seoul jan afp
north korea has announced two month ban on shipping near its disputed sea
border with south korea seoul defence ministry said tuesday in move set to
heighten tensions after naval clash in november
yonhap news agency said south korea military was checking whether the
announcement was part of preparations for more short range missile launches
ministry spokeswoman said the no sail zone had been imposed in waters near
south korea baengnyeong island off the west coast from january to march
she said the exact location would be announced wednesday
yonhap said the zone extended north of the island and along the disputed border
and also stretched east of the island where november firefight erupted
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
seoul said november clash broke out when north korean patrol boat crossed
the line and refused to turn back despite warnings
the brief but intense battle left the north boat retreating in flames and one
south korean craft with bullet holes in its hull there was no information on
any north korean casualties while the south crewmen were unhurt
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 the 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
in addition to its ballistic missile launches pyongyang has many times in
recent years test fired short range missiles at sea
efforts to restart six nation nuclear negotiations are currently stalled over
the north demand for early talks with the united states on pact to formally
end the korean war
analysts have said the communist state could try to fuel tensions to strengthen
its case that peace deal is urgently needed the united states and south korea
say the north must return to nuclear talks before any discussions on peace
pact
on sunday the north military lashed out at south korea vow to launch
preemptive strike to thwart any nuclear attack calling it an open declaration
of war
the threat was sparked by comments last week from the south defence minister
who said seoul would have to launch such strike if an atomic attack from its
neighbour was imminent
corrected libya pursuing big russian arms deal report
moscow jan afp
libya is seeking to buy more than two billion dollars worth of russian arms
including fighter planes the interfax news agency reported on tuesday
citing military diplomatic source
the report came as libya defence minister was due to visit russia in the
latest sign of renewed cooperation between moscow and the north african state
which enjoyed close ties during the cold war
libya is ready to buy around fighter planes at least two divisions of
pmu air defence systems and several dozen tanks from russia and
also to modernise more than tanks and other weapons the source said
the source told interfax that more than one billion dollars of the deal was for
combat aircraft such as su su and yak the news agency put the
total size of the deal at two billion dollars billion euros
earlier senior russian official had confirmed that moscow was counting on
signing arms deals with libya during tuesday visit by the country defence
minister general abu bakr yunis jaber
we expect his visit will not just be of political nature but will also allow
the signing of contracts on the delivery of arms and military hardware
vyacheslav dzirkaln deputy head of the federal service for military technical
cooperation told the ria novosti state news agency last week
dzirkaln whose service oversees arms exports said libya was interested in
russian fighter jets and air defence systems but did not elaborate
neither the service nor russia state run arms exporter rosoboronexport could
be reached for comment on tuesday
libya longtime pariah state that has moved to rejoin the international
community in recent years has reportedly been in talks with moscow about
revamping its military
much of the north african state arsenal was purchased from the soviet union in
the last years of the cold war
moscow and tripoli have stepped up their contacts in recent years in
libyan leader moamer kadhafi visited the russian capital in his first visit to
moscow since the
apple record profits set stage for latest creation
san francisco jan afp
surging iphone sales worldwide have earned apple record high profits for the
fourth quarter as it prepares for its first major product launch in three years
ago
doubling of iphone sales helped apple on monday post record high quarterly net
profit of billion dollars in the fiscal quarter ending december
we re thrilled to report our best quarter ever apple chief financial officer
peter oppenheimer said in conference call with analysts
apple said revenue in the first quarter rose to billion dollars from
billion in the corresponding quarter year ago
if you annualize our quarterly revenue it surprising that apple is now
billion dollar plus company said the iconic california firm chief executive
steve jobs
the new products we are planning to release this year are very strong starting
this week with major new product that we re really excited about jobs said
in statement
apple has maintained trademark secrecy regarding wednesday event at which it
is expected to debut tablet computer along the lines of an iphone on
steroids according to analysts
apple executives refused to comment on the event during the conference call
telling analysts to stay tuned
wouldn want to take away your joy of surprise when you see our latest
creation apple chief operating officer tim cook said on the call when pressed
for comment
the technology rumor mill is busy grinding speculation that the culture changing
firm has made notepad shaped tablet computer with color touchscreen that
lets people browse the web listen to music watch movies or television shows
and also read electronic books and newspapers
tablet would be apple first major product release since it came out with its
winning iphone three years ago
apple credited iphone sales with catapulting profit in the freshly ended quarter
to dollars per share beating apple previous record high by nearly
million dollars
apple said it sold million macintosh computers during the quarter
percent more than year ago and million iphones up percent from
year ago
however sales of ipods slid eight percent to million units in year over
year comparison
apple executives noted that while sales of traditional ipod models declined
those of top end ipod touch models rose percent resulting in slight
increase in revenue in that product category
apple said its share of the mp music player market remains at more than
percent and ipods are gaining ground internationally apple online itunes
store also logged record breaking quarter
apple has expanded iphone sales to countries including china
we have really just started to get going in china cook said like what
see so far
apple has activated more than iphones in china since it began selling
them in that country at the end of october according to cook
we would prefer to move slow because we are focused on building the brand for
the long term cook said we are very happy working with china unicom they
are an excellent partner for us
apple said percent of its revenue in the quarter came from outside the united
states
apple reported that revenues in taiwan hong kong and mainland china tripled
while sales also surged in western europe
it is clear our growth rates are much higher outside the us cook said
we realize we must do well in these markets to continue to grow
apple is pushing to get more iphones into businesses
oppenheimer said apple expects revenue in the current fiscal quarter to range
from to billion dollars and for diluted earnings to tally between
and dollars per share
apple stock price rose nearly two percent to dollars per share in trading
that followed release of the earnings results
french parliament report calls for burqa ban
paris jan afp
french parliament report called tuesday for ban on the full islamic veil in
all schools hospitals public transport and government offices saying the
burqa was an affront to french values
the wearing of the full veil is challenge to our republic this is
unacceptable the report by parliament commission said we must condemn this
excess
iran to unveil missiles during anniversary commander
tehran jan afp
top commander of iran revolutionary guards said on tuesday that the
country armed forces will unveil several missiles and weapons at the st
anniversary of the islamic revolution next month
mehr news agency quoted commander massud jazayeri as saying several missile
and weapons projects will be unveiled during the days of dawn february to
by armed forces
jazayeri announcement comes less than week after tehran said it will reveal
three new satellites in february
communications minister reza taghipour said the three home built communications
satellites were toloo dawn ya mahdi and mesbah he did not give specific
date for the launching
iran had launched its first home built satellite the omid hope last february
to coincide with the th anniversary of the islamic revolution
the launch sent alarm bells ringing in the international community which voiced
concern over iran development of technology that could be used for military
purposes
the west suspects iran of secretly trying to build an atomic bomb and fears the
technology used to launch space rockets could be diverted into developing long
range ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads
tehran denies having military goals for its space programme or its nuclear
drive
but it has aggressively pursued missile programme and repeatedly threatened to
target us bases in the region and to block the strategic gulf strait of hormuz
waterway for oil tankers if its nuclear sites are attacked
washington and its ally israel have not ruled out striking iran nuclear sites
in bid to stop its galloping atomic drive which they suspect is aimed at
making weapons
iran is under three sets of un sanctions for refusing to suspend uranium
enrichment and risks further round after rejecting un brokered deal to send
its low enriched uranium abroad to be further refined into fuel for research
reactor in tehran
sri lanka fonseka says unable to vote in election
colombo jan afp
sri lanka main opposition candidate sarath fonseka said he could not vote in
tuesday presidential election because of an administrative problem
the former army chief name was not on the voter register which was being
used by the elections commission for tuesday presidential election in which
he was challenging incumbent mahinda rajapakse
my name is not on the register and therefore cannot vote at this
election fonseka told afp the government is trying to use this to mislead
the public at the last minute
he said elections commissioner dayananda dissanayake had accepted his nomination
papers and there was no legal obstacle for him to take up the presidency if he
won tuesday vote contrary to reports in state run media
fonseka led the military campaign that saw government forces finally rout tamil
tiger separatist rebels last year after three decades of civil war he and
rajapakse then fell out over who deserved credit for the victory
another candidate vickremabahu karunaratne was turned away at the polling
booth because he did not have an identity card but was later allowed to vote
with special permission from the authorities an election official said
urgent french parliament report calls for burqa ban
paris jan afp
french parliament report called tuesday for ban on the full islamic veil in
all schools hospitals public transport and government offices saying the
burqa was an affront to french values
alert
french parliament report calls for burqa ban
britain squeezes free of recession
london jan afp
britain narrowly exited record recession in the fourth quarter of with
growth of just percent while massive state debt is likely to stunt recovery
beyond general election due by june
the office for national statistics revealed that the economy grew during the
three months to december compared with the previous three months after
record recession which lasted six quarters
the news means that spain is the only major western power still trapped in
deep recession following the aftermath of the global financial crisis and the
subsequent worldwide downturn
gross domestic product gdp increased percent in the fourth quarter of
compared with decrease of percent in the third quarter the office
for national statistics said in statement
the rise in output was due to growths in services and production the ons
added
however the figure disappointed market watchers who had expected return to
growth of percent in the final three months of
the pound slumped against rival currencies following the ons estimate while
london benchmark ftse stock market index remained about percent
lower
the ons added that the british economy shrank by percent over the course of
compared with the previous year the biggest annual contraction on
record
britain government had forecast contraction of percent in while the
country economy has shrunk by percent since the recession began in the
second quarter of
confirmation of britain departure from recession may not be enough for prime
minister gordon brown to keep his job following looming general election
government borrowing is predicted to strike record billion pounds
billion euros billion dollars in the financial year which ends in
april
however brown insisted monday that now was not the right time to cut state aid
despite the mountain of debt that was largely caused by the multi billion pound
bailouts of struggling british banks
if you withdraw the stimulus too quickly then you risk period when you put
the recovery at risk there is no doubt that that the view of the rest of the
world it is certainly my view brown told press conference
the state of britain troubled economy has become the key battleground ahead of
the general election that is likely to see brown labour party defeated by the
main opposition conservatives according to polls
whichever party wins power britain faces public spending cuts and taxation
hikes in the years ahead as it looks to reduce state borrowing economists say
the economy which is also struggling with high unemployment caused by the
financial crisis contracted for six quarters in row up until the final
quarter of its longest recession since records began
finance minister alistair darling had predicted last month that the british
economy would grow by percent in after admitting that the nation
recession was deeper than originally thought
to combat the downturn the bank of england cut interest rates to record low
level of percent where they have stood since march
the central bank also introduced radical policy of quantitative easing or
pumping new cash into the economy in bid to kick start lending
the future for the british and wider global economy is far from rosy with the
international monetary fund and the united nations recently warning of
possible renewed or double dip recession this year
those worries are mounting in europe where peripheral nations notably greece
and portugal are struggling with sky high public debt
afghan security forces arrest kabul attack suspect
kabul jan afp
afghan security forces have arrested five men over spate of recent militant
attacks with one man accused of aiding brazen gun and suicide attack on kabul
last week officials said tuesday
taliban militants some wearing suicide vests attacked buildings across the
heart of the capital on january triggering fierce gun battles with security
forces and killing five people and wounding nearly others
top intelligence agency the national directorate of security nds said tuesday
year old man named only as kamaludin had been arrested day after the
attacks
kamaludin had accommodated the seven suicide attackers at his house provided
them with suicide vests weapons and painted suicide car bomb as an
ambulance nds spokesman sayed ansari told reporters
video recording played to the media showed kamaludin alleged confession
during which he said he had dropped the suicide attackers off at shopping mall
and nearby hotel on the day of the attack
ansari said the attack was masterminded by the haqqani network taliban wing
known to be closely affiliated with al qaeda the afghan taliban had claimed
responsibility for the attack on the day it happened
four other people were also arrested accused of string of other attacks
including suicide bombing on september killing afghanistan deputy head of
intelligence and other people outside mosque in eastern laghman province
other attacks pinned on the four suspects included failed truck bombing
poisoning and killing afghan policemen and the attempted assassination in
november of afghan warlord abdul rab rasoul sayaf who is now lawmaker
the january attack on kabul was one of the most dramatic strikes on the
capital since the us led invasion ousted the taliban government sparking
an increasingly deadly insurgency by remnants of the regime
corruption watchdog slams indonesian president
jakarta jan afp
indonesian president susilo bambang yudhoyono has failed to honour election
promises to crack down on widespread graft after the first days of his new
government watchdog said tuesday
transparency international representative teten masduki said the ex general
pledges to turn the tide of corruption now appeared to be little more than
populist sloganeering designed to win last july election
we are disappointed with sby day programme the government attention to
the eradication of corruption is weakening riddled with controversy and
disorientated he told reporters using yudhoyono nickname
the issue of fighting corruption in indonesia is being exploited for populist
purposes rather than for finding steps to make concrete and measured changes
yudhoyono has won two elections since on the back of promises to root out
corruption which riddles every aspect of indonesian public life from the courts
to the customs office
but the corrupting forces are widely seen to include the powerful judiciary the
attorney general office ago the police and the military institutions which
the mild mannered yudhoyono seems unable to control
transparency international corruption perception index in gave indonesia
score of slight improvement on but not enough to lift it from the
ranks of most corrupt countries in the world the watchdog said
there have been no significant results in corruption eradication in fact sby
has allowed the weakening of anti corruption institutions that were already
effective masduki said
he referred to the corruption eradication commission an investigative watchdog
which has faced criminalisation from the police and the ago in the form of
allegedly bogus charges against top officials
yudhoyono had made no effort to defend the commission or to replace the
attorney general and police chief masduki said
thursday marks the end of the new government first days in office
the administration is expected to trumpet its purported achievements but
security forces have been put on guard against street protests driven partly by
rising anger over series of corruption scandals
two dead after thai ship sinks off taiwan rescuer
taipei jan afp
two sailors were killed and eight said to be missing after thai freighter sank
tuesday near an island off southern taiwan rescuer said
another nine crew members were airlifted to safety and hospitalised in central
taiwan said an official at taiwan rescue unit the national airborne service
corps adding the search for the missing was on going
the seamen aboard the tonne sea angel were from thailand india and
myanmar according to the coast guard
the cause of the accident was under investigation but according to the taipei
based united evening news bad weather was probably to blame
tennis marathon man cilic outlasts roddick
melbourne jan afp
marathon man marin cilic became the first croatian to reach the semi finals of
