attempt was scheduled to meet tuesday with us intelligence chiefs on findings
of two reviews into nigerian man bid to bring down us bound jet
an administration official told afp the president would unveil an initial
series of reforms following the meeting
the talks will focus on reviews of the botched attack on northwest flight as
it approached detroit as well as improved intelligence sharing
there already been rescrubbing of all the different lists white house
spokesman bill burton told reporters referring to watchlists of those with
suspected terrorist ties and the narrower list of those barred from boarding us
bound flights
probably thousands upon thousands upon thousands of names were scrubbed and
probably dozens were moved to different lists
obama has directly linked the al qaeda network responsible for the september
attacks on the united states to the bid to blow up the northwest jet
carrying people
nigerian umar farouk abdulmutallab allegedly tried to detonate explosives
as the plane was approaching detroit from amsterdam but the explosives failed
to detonate properly and he was overpowered by passengers
the administration has ordered tightened security measures for incoming
passengers
travelers flying to the united states from or via countries including iran
nigeria and yemen will undergo mandatory enhanced screening the new measures
drew protests from some of the countries singled out
it is unfair to discriminate against over million people because of the
behavior of one person said nigeria information minister dora akunyili
cuba official communist party daily granma blasted the measures as anti
terrorist paranoia
cuba is among four countries along with iran sudan and syria currently deemed
by the state department to be state sponsors of terrorism all are subject to
the rules as are the other countries of concern
prominent us muslim rights group criticized the move as ethnic profiling
while singling out travelers based on religion and national origin may make
some people feel safer it only serves to alienate and stigmatize muslims and
does nothing to improve airline security said nihad awad executive director
of the council on american islamic relations
obama received review into the incident from the cia monday and met with his
top counterterrorism advisor john brennan
brennan has defended the nation security agencies saying there had been
no smoking gun that could have helped unmask the plot earlier despite warnings
from abdulmutallab father wealthy nigerian banker
fbi agents in ghana have also probed abdulmutallab stay there amid
allegations he bought his ticket for detroit in that country
obama says abdulmutallab spent time in yemen during the summer where he was
allegedly in contact with al qaeda in the arabian peninsula which has claimed
responsibility for the thwarted attack
secretary of state hillary clinton meanwhile called instability in yemen
global threat the us embassy in yemen reopened on tuesday after having shut on
sunday due to al qaeda threats
on the eve of obama security meeting at the white house the us intelligence
community received harsh jolt from one of its own
in scathing report obama military intelligence chief in afghanistan major
general michael flynn blasted intelligence gathering there as an ignorant
flawed operation with us officers ignorant of local economics and landowners
hazy about who the powerbrokers are and how they might be influenced and
disengaged from the people in the best position to find answers
siege of banned yemen daily ends after deadly clashes
sanaa jan afp
yemeni police lifted the siege of banned local newspaper in aden on tuesday
after two days of fighting that left policeman and an armed guard dead and
seven injured
thirty activists and more than guards of the daily al ayyam who had been
holed up in its offices surrendered after negotiations between the two sides and
the police lifted the siege local official said
police had attempted to storm the offices of the newspaper accused by the
authorities of sympathising with yemen separatists to arrest guards who had
killed policeman and wounded another on monday during efforts by the security
forces to disperse demonstration protesting the continued ban of the
newspaper witnesses told afp
on tuesday renewed fighting killed one of the guards and wounded six including
three guards and three police
among those sought by the police is the daily owner and editor hisham
bashraheel who is wanted by prosecutors in sanaa to stand trial for his
alleged role in the murder of man in front of the paper offices in
the owner himself was not among those taken by the police on tuesday
among those who gave themselves up was his son mohammad hisham bashreel and ali
munassar member of the yemen socialist party in aden according to the local
source
the newspaper was closed by the authorities in may
al ayyam one of the largest dailies in the south was one of eight closed at
the time over allegations of inciting separatism in the region amid wave of
deadly unrest there
netherlands extremely disappointed by icesave decision
the hague jan afp
the dutch government said tuesday it was extremely disappointed at the refusal
of iceland president to sign bill to compensate the netherlands and britain
over the failure of icesave bank
we are extremely disappointed finance ministry spokesman ruud slotboom told
afp
the netherlands maintains that iceland is compelled to pay back the money
iceland president olafur ragnar grimsson announced earlier that he would not
sign controversial bill to reimburse the british and dutch governments for
compensating more than savers in their countries who lost money in the
collapse of icesave bank
grimsson said he would refer the issue to referendum instead
we expect of the government of iceland to give us an explanation in the short
term of the situation now created and the steps to be taken said slotboom
the lack of solution for icesave is unacceptable
asked what steps the netherlands could take against iceland he said it is too
early to say anything about that now we will have to discuss it with the united
kingdom with whom we have jointly taken up this issue
the icesave bill narrowly approved by the icelandic parliament on december
calls for the payout of billion euros billion dollars to the british
and dutch governments
but the payout has stirred up resentment among many ordinary icelanders hard hit
by their country financial meltdown in october
some people about quarter of the country electorate have signed
petition protesting against the bill and calling for the issue to be put to
referendum
britain says expects iceland to meet icesave obligations
london jan afp
britain treasury said tuesday that it expected iceland to meet its
obligations to compensate the government over the failure of icesave bank
the uk government expects iceland to live up to its obligations treasury
spokesperson said after iceland president refused to sign bill to repay
britain for reimbursing icesave investors
the treasury will consult with colleagues in iceland to understand why this
bill has not been passed and will work with them the netherlands and within the
eu to resolve this issue as soon as possible the spokesperson added
iceland president olafur ragnar grimsson said tuesday he would not sign
controversial bill to compensate the british and dutch governments instead
referring the issue to referendum
the icesave bill narrowly approved by the icelandic parliament on december
calls for the payout of billion euros billion dollars to the british
and dutch governments for having compensated more than british and dutch
savers who lost money in the collapse of the icelandic bank
icesave an online subsidiary of the landsbanki bank which had to be rescued
in october attracted foreign savers because of its high interest rates
but they lost their savings when accounts were frozen during the devastating
credit crunch
the british and dutch savers were partially compensated by their own
governments which then turned to reykjavik looking for the money paid out
tata eyes us for world cheapest car
new delhi jan afp
the maker of the nano the world cheapest car said tuesday it was developing
version of the vehicle for the us market with larger engine and higher
safety standards
we also recognise there is market not only in developing countries but
possibly for low cost car in developed markets the chairman of nano
manufacturer tata motors ratan tata told reporters at the delhi auto show
for the us we need car that will have larger engine which needs
additional crash tests modifications and we re in the process of doing this
the basic nano stripped back four door vehicle launched at the delhi show two
years ago costs about dollars while the top end model with additions
such as air conditioning and rear wiper costs dollars
tata received bookings for the car when it began accepting reservations
in april last year but waiting lists are long because of difficulties in
setting up production plant
the nano has sparked race to create other ultra low cost cars for the indian
and other emerging markets
french automaker renault and its japanese partner nissan plan to launch car to
rival the nano in that will be built in partnership with scooter and three
wheel specialist bajaj auto
dow jones newswires contributed to this report
britain iraq inquiry restarts ahead of blair evidence
london jan afp
britain public inquiry into the iraq war resumed tuesday after the christmas
break as questions grew about the looming appearance by tony blair who led the
country into the controversial conflict
blair is expected to give evidence to the inquiry in the second half of january
or early february while his former communications chief and close ally alastair
campbell will appear next week on january
labour figures are reportedly worried blair appearance could cause problems
for the ruling party as struggling prime minister gordon brown starts
campaigning in earnest for britain general election to be held by june
meanwhile an internet campaign has been launched for blair to face tough
questions about why he took britain into the unpopular war amid criticisms the
probe led by retired top civil servant has gone too easy on some witnesses
when it comes to tony blair we can let this happen said activist group
degrees which is inviting people to submit questions they want the inquiry to
put to the ex premier
blair made the decision to commit us to war in iraq we deserve to know the
real reasons he went ahead
blair stood shoulder to shoulder with then us president george bush over the
invasion but faced major backlash in britain over the decision he
resigned in despite having led his labour party to three election wins
britain justified the invasion at the time by arguing that iraq had weapons of
mass destruction wmds but these were never found
blair insisted last month he would have supported the war which did not gain
explicit united nations approval even if he had known there were no iraqi wmds
he said saddam was threat to the region who used chemical weapons on his
own people
the appearance of campbell could also cause headache for labour which is
battling to claw back the main opposition conservatives double digit opinion
poll lead before the election
in he strongly denied bbc report that he sexed up dossier claiming
iraq had wmds and could launch chemical or biological strike within
minutes an official inquiry also exonerated him
in july that year ministry of defence mod weapons expert dr david kelly was
found dead near his home with slashed wrists
kelly faced intense pressure after claims he was the source of the bbc story
about the sexed up dossier officials had confirmed kelly name to some
reporters during the furore
campbell resigned from his job in august insisting he wanted to quit the
previous year
the inquiry has fought back against claims blair and others might not face
rigorous questioning
chairman john chilcot said last month that it was not here to provide public
sport or entertainment but to get to the facts
spokesman insisted blair will be appearing very much in public despite
fears some of his evidence could be heard privately for national security
reasons
the first witness to give evidence to the resumed probe tuesday was william
patey britain ambassador to baghdad between and
he said he had received almost daily telephone calls from downing street
acknowledging that politicians may have set over ambitious targets for what
could be delivered
there was tension between the desire for instant results and the realities on
the ground said patey now ambassador to saudi arabia
what you could achieve in the sort of timescales that london needed for
political reasons there was disconnect
netherlands extremely disappointed by icesave decision
the hague jan afp
the dutch government said tuesday it was extremely disappointed at the refusal
of iceland president to sign bill to compensate the netherlands and britain
over the failure of icesave bank
we are extremely disappointed finance ministry spokesman ruud slotboom told
afp
the netherlands maintains that iceland is compelled to pay back the money
foreign car makers think small to crack indian market
new delhi jan afp
global car manufacturers eyeing the explosive growth of the indian market
unveiled new compact models at the delhi auto show tuesday as they seek to break
the dominance of entrenched local producers
japanese groups toyota and honda germany volkswagen and us giant general
motors gm put new vehicles on show designed for the growing car buying middle
classes with modest budgets and for the country notoriously bad roads
all models face challenge in market growing at more than percent year
due to the dominance of local indo japanese producer maruti suzuki which has
percent market share and indian groups tata motors and mahindra
in terms of total volume of sales we are not big player but this will change
it volkswagen india marketing manager lutz kothe told afp after presenting the
group new india made polo
the compact hatchback from vw which wants percent market share by
will hit the roads in march at an as yet undisclosed price
this year delhi auto show is the th but it first caught the world
attention in when indian manufacturer tata motors unveiled its nano the
world cheapest car
the rupee dollar nano added impetus to the race to produce
cheap small vehicles which account for percent of all car sales in india
recent months have seen foreign giants ford hyundai and renault join stampede
to india where each has promised small cheap model designed for what ford
boss alan mulally termed the sweet spot of the market
rising incomes mean indians are following the familiar pattern of upgrading
their transport from push bikes to motorbikes then to cars but the vast
majority of vehicle sales are still two wheelers
this is set to change says gm india chief karl slym who cites figures showing
cars per people in india per in china and more than per
in developed countries such as germany or the us
car ownership is rising fast and maruti will see its market share cut back in
the face of pressure from foreign and domestic competition slym says
think everybody used to wake up and say going to buy maruti but
times are changing the gm india boss told afp people are now looking for the
best value proposition on the market
india market has gone from largely closed one two decades ago when consumers
had only couple of locally made alternatives to one offering plethora of
choices amid fierce competition
total car sales are forecast to reach two million this year and triple in the
next decade according to industry estimates
autoexpo which runs in new delhi until january features global
releases of vehicles designed for india new consumer generation
japan toyota took the wraps off its first compact model designed for india
which has adapted suspension for the rough roads plenty of storage space for
large families and an engine made with city driving in mind
the etios will probably be launched later this year the company said at
price so far undisclosed that will attract young professionals and
families
toyota plan is to export it from india which though lacking in important
infrastructure such as cutting edge ports is fast developing as small car
production hub
it not copy of japanese or european model said kazuo okamoto vice
chairman of toyota at the presentation etios is newly developed for customers
in india
honda unveiled its first small car concept model that it aims to start selling
next year while gm put on show its new dollar beat model and new mini
electric vehicle called the spark
maruti suzuki majority owned by japan suzuki in which volkswagen intends to
buy nearly percent stake said it was aware of the pressure on its market
share
we are trying to expand our portfolio and refresh our products to offer
customers new cars said rao senior director at the group when asked
about the competition
un cuts somalia food relief over islamist threat
nairobi jan afp
the un food agency said tuesday it had been forced to suspend food aid to
million hungry people in southern somalia after months of attacks and extortion
by al qaeda linked rebels
rising threats and attacks on humanitarian operations as well as the
imposition of string of unacceptable demands from armed groups have made it
virtually impossible for the world food programme wfp to continue reaching up
to one million people in need in southern somalia it said in statement
wfp humanitarian operations in southern somalia have been under escalating
attacks from armed groups leading to this virtual suspension of humanitarian
food distribution in much of southern somalia it said
mired in almost uninterrupted civil conflict since the ouster of president
mohamed siad barre and plagued by recurring natural disasters somalia is often
described as one of the world worst humanitarian crises
the radical islamist insurgent group shebab whose leader last year proclaimed
allegiance to al qaeda supremo osama bin laden has overrun and looted several
key un compounds in southern somalia in recent weeks
the latest to be attacked was in the southern town of buale forcing the wfp to
close it temporarily together with the agency offices in wajid beledweyn and
other major southern hubs
staff safety is key concern for wfp and recent attacks threats harassment
and demands for payments by armed groups have decimated the humanitarian food
lifeline it explained
in the areas they control the shebab have also imposed strict conditions on
foreign humanitarian organisations effectively stopping them from operating
somalia shebab fighters increasingly under the spell of al qaeda ideology
have been gradually weeding out the few foreign aid groups still operating in
the country central and southern regions
late last year the shebab administration in the south central regions of bay
and bakool handed aid groups list of rules to comply with including
registration fee of dollars payable twice year
drawing fresh comparisons with afghanistan under the taliban in the
shebab also imposed conditions complying with the strict brand of islamic law
they enforce in the regions under their control
aid organisations should distance themselves from anything that will affect
proper islamic culture like promoting adultery and establishing women
groups said document spelling out the rules obtained by afp
world women day is singled out along with christmas and world aids day as
proscribed celebrations while preaching democracy is also listed as value
interfering with islam that should be banned
wfp is deeply concerned about rising hunger and suffering among the most
vulnerable due to these unprecedented and inhumane attacks on purely
humanitarian operations the statement said
some estimates say that close to half of somalia million inhabitants are in
need of humanitarian assistance in many cases emergency food aid
even in good years somalia is only able to meet per cent of the food needs
of its population through internal production in the last five years local
production has averaged only about per cent of food needs wfp said
wfp is continuing to provide life saving food distributions in the rest of the
country including the capital mogadishu reaching more than two thirds of the
hungry it has been targeting or million people it said
backed by the international community but still under equipped and ill trained
the security forces of somalia federal transitional government have so far
failed to quash bruising shebab led nationwide insurgency
six arrested in indonesia for sexy dancing police
bandung indonesia jan afp
indonesian police arrested six people for the alleged performance of sexy
dance at cafe in the early hours of new year day police official said
tuesday
police arrested six people four female dancers the dance group leader and
the cafe owner local police chief detective arman achdiat told afp
we re charging them for preparing the dance and performing it in public which
is against morality he added
achdiat did not give any details about the dance but said the dancers who had
performed at live music cafe in bandung south of jakarta were in skimpy
clothing
it could be described as sexy dancing but more importantly they were wearing
minimal clothing and performing in public which can stir desires he said
under the country anti pornography law the dancers could face up to years
in jail if convicted he added
the controversial law passed in october last year criminalises all works and
bodily movements deemed obscene and capable of violating public morality
it has prompted protests across indonesia with critics saying it could threaten
traditional cultures from temple statues on hindu bali island to penis sheaths
on tribesmen in christian and animist papua province
the law has been championed by indonesia islamic parties and is being backed
by the government of president susilo bambang yudhoyono
muslims make up roughly percent of indonesia million population which
also contains sizeable christian hindu buddhist and confucian minorities
cricket india sri lanka one day scoreboard
dhaka jan afp
scoreboard after india innings against sri lanka in the triangular one day
series here on tuesday
india
gambhir welegedara
sehwag thirimanne welegedara
kohli sangakkara welegedara
yuvraj singh lakmal perera
ms dhoni sangakkara perera
raina welegedara
jadeja kandamby thushara
harbhajan singh perera thushara
zaheer khan welegedara
nehra not out
sreesanth not out
extras lb nb
total for nine wickets overs
fall of wickets gambhir kohli sehwag dhoni
yuvraj raina harbhajan zaheer
jadeja
bowling welegedara nb lakmal thushara
randiv kandamby samaraweera
perera
toss sri lanka
umpires nadir shah ban and simon taufel aus
tv umpire sharfuddoula shahid ban
match referee andy pycroft zim
football stuttgart sign juve molinaro on loan
stuttgart germany jan afp
juventus italian defender cristian molinaro has signed loan deal until the
end of the season with bundesliga outfit stuttgart
molinaro linked up with his new club champions but currently
languishing in th spot in spain where they are holding training camp after
the winter break and ahead of resumption of league business
the german club are thought to have paid one million euros for the leftback with
an option to buy at four million euros
spain to press eu cuba ties despite rejection of eurodeputy
madrid jan afp
spain said tuesday that havana decision to deny entry to spanish member of
the european parliament would not affect madrid push for new agreement on
eu cuba ties during its eu presidency
the cuban ambassador to spain alejandro gonzalez galiano was summoned to the
foreign ministry on tuesday to explain havana unjustified refusal to allow
eurodeputy luis yaneza to enter the communist island at the weekend
it not good news think the cubans were wrong spanish foreign minister
miguel angel moratinos said of the incident
yanez is not someone who is appreciated by the cuban regime towards which he
has had taken some critical positions but to go from that to expelling him
he told news conference
but the minister emphasised that the incident would not threaten spain
determination to convince its european partners to soften the eu position
toward cuba
chapter of dialogue has opened with cuba that it goes through highs and lows
is normal in period of transition moratinos said
isolation confrontation the embargo and the blockade on the cuban regime
has produced no result in years
madrid on friday launched its six month stint at the helm of the european union
seeking new bilateral agreement on eu cuba ties despite objections from its
two immediate predecessors sweden and the czech republic and cuban human
rights groups
it wants to see an end to the eu common position on cuba adopted in
which calls for progress on human rights and democracy before normalising
relations
what is important is that we can help this reform process in cuba move
forward said moratinos
if an agreement is possible very good if there is no european consensus
spain will continue to work in bilateral framework with havana
yanez is head of the european parliament committee on relations with the
south american trade bloc mercosur
source at spain ruling socialist party said he had traveled to cuba in
small plane on sunday accompanied by his wife spanish legislator carmen
hermosin who was given permission to enter the country both returned to spain
on monday
tennis monfils holds off big serving dent
brisbane australia jan afp
frenchman gael monfils outlasted the big serving american taylor dent to
narrowly avoid major upset in the first round of the brisbane international on
tuesday
after the first two sets went to tiebreaks the third seeded monfils seized his
chances in the third to defeat dent and set up
second round clash with countryman florent serra
serra was pushed even harder by german qualifier julian reister the frenchman
eventually winning in two hours minutes
monfils and dent gave the crowd an exhibition of power serving and booming
groundstrokes over the first two sets with neither able to force break
however monfils looked the more likely to find chink in the armour and he
pounced in the tiebreak
dent refused to concede and he served brilliantly throughout the second set to
keep monfils under pressure and this time it was the american who took control
of the tiebreaker
the third set seemed destined to go the same way as the first two until the
fifth game when dent served loose game and monfils took his chance to make the
vital break
he held his own serve broke again then served out comfortable game to take
the match in just under two and quarter hours
think taylor got bit tired in the third set and maybe gave me some
freebies he was going to the net slower and gave me more opportunities
monfils said
he was slower than in the first two sets and just tried to keep fighting
added monfils who said he knew it would be tough match
think it was great win for my first match
veteran american james blake continued his dominance over countryman sam
querrey winning
blake displaced last year by querrey as the number two american behind andy
roddick has now won six times in seven meetings between the two
crowd favourite marcos baghdatis also enjoyed good start to the tournament
ousting mardy fish of the us
baghdatis always attacts large following in australia and it was no exception
in brisbane as greek and cypriot fans loudly cheered on the former australian
open runner up
baghdatis will take on fourth seed tomas berdych in the second round after the
czech bounced australian qualifier nick lindahl out
australia great hope year old bernard tomic crashed out at the hands of
ukrainian qualifier oleksandr dolgopolov jr
tomic is embroiled in an unsavoury feud with lleyton hewitt but war of words
with the australian number one was the least of his troubles as the little known
dolgopolov jr breezed through
there was far better news for another australian qualifier matthew ebden who
looked very impressive in his win over sixth seeded austrian jurgen
melzer
britain says expects iceland to meet icesave obligations
london jan afp
britain treasury said tuesday that it expected iceland to meet its
obligations to compensate the government over the failure of icesave bank
the uk government expects iceland to live up to its obligations treasury
spokesperson said after iceland president refused to sign bill to repay
britain for reimbursing icesave investors
alert
dutch govt extremely disappointed by icesave decision
mlr mjs
oil holds above dollars
london jan afp
world oil prices rose on tuesday holding above dollars per barrel supported
by increased consumption of heating fuel because of cold weather in the northern
hemisphere analysts said
new york main futures contract light sweet crude for delivery in february
gained cents to dollars barrel
brent north sea crude for february delivery added cents to dollars in
