think karzai will run out of time if he doesn quickly start using the time
he has haroun mir director of afghanistan centre for research and policy
studies told afp
the first milestone is an international conference scheduled in london on
january to discuss security and development in afghanistan
while the conference is british initiative announced unilaterally and
according to western diplomat in kabul without consulting the afghan
government karzai needs to present credible plan of action
that means having government in place and mps have said they expect to be
presented with new list of nominees by the end of this week
of the names karzai put forward last month for cabinet portfolios only seven
won approval in secret ballot of of the lawmakers
the rejections effectively leave afghanistan without fully functioning
government dragging out political vacuum that has prevailed since an august
presidential election
karzai on monday issued the decree under article of the afghan constitution
in bid to complete as soon as possible the cabinet and prevent obstruction
of government work statement from his office said
mps had been due to start their six week winter holiday on tuesday
any further delays in establishing government could also harm karzai
reputation at home where afghans are jaded by corruption and inaction after
eight years of dependency on international aid analysts said
to show that he is turning the situation around he has until june when the
us mid term election season begins and questions start being asked about
engagement in afghanistan said another western diplomat
without that international support will fall off he said speaking on
condition of anonymity
if karzai fails to show adequate progress the british will focus on the
security dimension rather than development and the us will start to bypass
him focus on key parts of the country cleaning up the insurgency and then
scarper the diplomat added
by ordering parliament to deal with the cabinet issue immediately karzai has
at least bought himself another six weeks mir said
you ve got the london conference where karzai will meet with donors who want to
help his government and with no government there would be no point in going
he said
it also allows him to remove one problem from his long list mir said
karzai could then focus on parliamentary elections scheduled for may which the
international community including the united nations has said it will not
bankroll without evidence of serious reform
un spokesman in afghanistan aleem siddique told reporters that no request had
yet come from the afghan government to provide funds for the polls
we will judge any request for financial contributions according to the
commitment demonstrated in reforming the key electoral institutions in this
country so we can see cleaner fairer parliamentary poll he said
with taliban insurgency threatening his government and set to boost to
the number of us and nato troops karzai cannot afford to extend the political
crisis that has stymied progress for almost six months mir said
there is already speculation about whether the parliamentary elections should
take place on time or not that will obviously lead to new political crisis
should they not go ahead on time and karzai cannot and would not be able to
deal with two crises at once the cabinet and the elections he said
korea to return korean fishermen
seoul jan afp
south korea offered tuesday to send back two north korean fishermen who were
rescued this week after their boat drifted into southern waters officials said
south korea coastguard rescued the two on sunday near chain of tiny islands
in the sea of japan east sea known as dokdo in korea and takeshima in japan
seoul told pyongyang in cross border message tuesday that it would repatriate
the fishermen as early as possible the unification ministry said
they have expressed their desire to return home during questioning by our
authorities spokesman chun hae sung told reporters adding there was no
immediate response from pyongyang
south korea has sent back north koreans who accidentally cross the border but
choose to be repatriated
on october group of north koreans defected to the south after crossing
the border in small fishing boat seoul rejected pyongyang demands to send
them back
but seven north korean fishermen whose boat accidentally drifted into south
korean waters were returned home last month across the closely guarded land
border
spanish jobless soars percent in government
madrid jan afp
spanish jobless claims soared percent in to million as europe
fifth biggest economy remained mired in its worst recession for decades the
government said on tuesday
the rise of in the number of unemployed over the year however was less
than in when the total leapt by almost one million the labour ministry
said
spain provides only quarterly data on the unemployment rate but according to the
european union statistics agency eurostat it stood at percent in october
the second highest rate in the bloc behind latvia
the unemployment rate across the nations that use the euro single currency
stood at percent in october according to eurostat
spain economy has proved especially vulnerable to the global credit crunch
because growth relied heavily on credit fuelled domestic demand and property
boom boosted by easy access to loans that has collapsed leaving around one
million new homes unsold
spain gross domestic product contracted percent in the third quarter its
fifth straight quarterly decline even as the entire eurozone officially joined
the united states and japan in emerging from recession during the same period
the labour ministry said on tuesday that the number of people seeking jobless
benefits rose by in december from november or by percent
it was the fifth monthly increase in row
jobless claims rose on monthly basis by percent in november percent
in october percent in september and percent in august after three
months of declines
somali pirates free pakistan ship
nairobi jan afp
somali pirates have freed pakistan flagged vessel and its crew of after
using it to hijack uk owned car carrier in the indian ocean maritime
watchdog reported tuesday
the shazaib alternatively known as shahbaig and its crew of pakistanis were
released by the pirates on january some nautical miles north of the
seychelles andrew mwangura of the seafarers assistance programme said
all crew are well except one who broke his leg he said
the injured crew member has received medical attention onboard the fs surcouf
french frigate from the european union anti piracy mission atalanta said
ecoterra international an environmental ngo monitoring maritime activity in the
region
the shazaib fishing vessel was seized on december
on january the pirates used it as mother ship from which to launch their
small and faster skiffs and captured the more valuable vc asian glory
the uk flagged uk owned car carrier and its crew of eight bulgarians
ukrainians five indians two romanians were en route from singapore to saudi
arabia with vehicles from korean manufacturers kia and hyundai
the latest release brings to at least the number of foreign vessels held by
somalia sea bandits together with close to seamen
undeterred by an armada of foreign naval missions ransom hunting pirates
launched more than attacks in and hijacked total of vessels
mainly in the indian ocean
in recent weeks however they have carried out two successful attacks in the
heavily patrolled gulf of aden one of the world busiest and most strategic
maritime routes
national hockey league results
washington jan afp
national hockey league results and standings after monday games
monday january th results
ny rangers boston
los angeles san jose
eastern conference
atlantic division
new jersey
pittsburgh
ny rangers
ny islanders
philadelphia
northeast division
buffalo
boston
ottawa
montreal
toronto
southeast division
washington
atlanta
tampa bay
florida
carolina
western conference
central division
chicago
nashville
detroit
st louis
columbus
northwest division
colorado
calgary
vancouver
minnesota
edmonton
pacific division
san jose
phoenix
los angeles
dallas
anaheim
note overtime losses ot are worth one point in the standings and are
not included in the loss column
tuesday january th schedule
detroit at anaheim pm
minnesota at chicago pm
phoenix at edmonton pm
calgary at nashville pm
dallas at new jersey pm
florida at toronto pm
columbus at vancouver pm
montreal at washington pm
boston at ottawa pm
atlanta at pittsburgh pm
all times are eastern
afp
nestle buys kraft pizzas says not interested in cadbury
zurich jan afp
food giant nestle took big step up in the frozen pizza sector on tuesday
saying it had bought kraft foods pizza units in the united states and canada
for billion dollars billion euros
kraft said it would use the entire proceeds to improve its bid for british
confectionary group cadbury while nestle said it was not interested in buying up
the chocolate bar maker
the statement by nestle was seen as quashing rumours that the group which said
day ago that it would bank billion dollars for selling its stakes in
eyecare giant alcon to novartis would use its treasure chest to bid for
cadbury
bank vontobel analyst claudia lenz pointed out that having renounced bid on
cadbury nestle would have enough firepower to do further acquisitions
buying kraft frozen pizza business would boost meanwhile boost the group
frozen food business in north america said lenz making point also raised by
nestle chief paul bulcke
this frozen pizza business greatly enhances nestle frozen food activities in
north america bringing together selection of great us and canadian brands
industry leading amp and excellent route to market capabilities which
complement our existing ice cream direct store delivery said bulcke
with total sales of around billion swiss francs nestle will become the
world leader in the attractive fast growing frozen pizza category he added
the united states is the biggest pizza market in the world with consumer sales
of about billion dollars said nestle in statement
with estimated sales of billion dollars in kraft foods was the leader
in the frozen pizza category and had enjoyed double digit growth in the us and
canada over the last four years it added
brands owned by kraft include digiorno tombstone and california pizza kitchen
analysts from bank wegelin viewed the purchase as positive move
this pizza deal would not kill investors appetite as the frozen food sector
is taking on an immensely important role in today society it said
for kraft chief executive officer irene rosenfeld the sale would help the
company better focus our resources on priority global brands and categories
nestle is well positioned to continue building these powerhouse pizza brands
given its strength in frozen foods rosenfeld said
in morning trade nestle shares dipped percent to francs while the
overall swiss market index was down percent
chinese fm heads to africa
beijing jan afp
chinese foreign minister yang jiechi on tuesday launched major tour of africa
officials said as energy hungry beijing seeks to reinforce ties with the
resource rich continent
yang who headed on tuesday to the maldives was also due to make stops in
kenya nigeria sierra leone algeria and morocco foreign ministry spokeswoman
jiang yu told reporters
the minister who traditionally begins the year with trip to africa was
to visit saudi arabia before heading home to china on january she said
china has built up trade and economic ties with africa in recent years
prompting critics to accuse it of taking neo colonialist attitude
in november at meeting of china africa leaders in egypt beijing pledged
billion dollars in concessional loans to african countries
commerce minister chen deming said china was committed to going all out to
assist african countries in improving their agricultural production and
infrastructure
chinese fm heads to africa
beijing jan afp
chinese foreign minister yang jiechi on tuesday launched major tour of africa
officials said as energy hungry beijing seeks to reinforce ties with the
resource rich continent
yang who headed on tuesday to the maldives was also due to make stops in
kenya nigeria sierra leone algeria and morocco foreign ministry spokeswoman
jiang yu told reporters
the minister who traditionally begins the year with trip to africa was
to visit saudi arabia before heading home to china on january she said
china has built up trade and economic ties with africa in recent years
prompting critics to accuse it of taking neo colonialist attitude
in november at meeting of china africa leaders in egypt beijing pledged
billion dollars in concessional loans to african countries
commerce minister chen deming said china was committed to going all out to
assist african countries in improving their agricultural production and
infrastructure
german official unemployment at percent in
frankfurt jan afp
german unemployment averaged percent of the workforce last year with total
of unemployed the federal labour agency said on tuesday
in december unemployment in the biggest european economy rose to percent
from percent the previous month the agency said
the raw number of jobless the headline figure in europe biggest economy rose
in december by to million the agency added
philippine massacre suspect pleads not guilty
manila jan afp
the prime suspect in the massacre of people in the volatile southern
philippines last year pleaded not guilty on tuesday to multiple counts of
murder
the case against andal ampatuan jnr local mayor and leader of powerful
clan has thrown the spotlight on the nation corruption plagued political and
justice systems
more than heavily armed police escorts took ampatuan to special court
inside the national police headquarters for his arraignment and bail hearing
the first steps in judicial proceedings that many fear could drag on for years
not guilty ampatuan jnr lawyer sigfrid fortun told the court when asked to
enter plea as his client stood beside him
the judge adjourned the hearing until january after the prosecution asked to
present more than dozen witnesses to block ampatuan application for bail
security was tight at the hearing with reporters banned from bringing in cameras
and any electronic devices
instead the supreme court had courtroom sketch artist produce drawings of the
hearing common procedure in the united states but rare in this country
ampatuan jnr allegedly led of his men in murdering supporters of political
rival and journalists in the southern province of maguindanao on november
those killed in the worst political murders in the philippines included pregnant
women and about journalists
ampatuan jr pleaded not guilty to counts of murder on tuesday but is
expected to be charged with counts when final death certificates are
processed
his father andal ampatuan snr and several other clan members were arrested
after martial law was imposed in manguindanao and charged with rebellion no
date for their court appearance has been set
ramon casiple an analyst with the institute for political and economic reform
said the public must monitor the trial every step of the way
what we are facing here is very strong clan with very strong political
connections and the capability to intimidate or even kill witnesses he told
afp
this puts the justice system to test because past cases with heavy political
overtones have never been satisfactorily concluded
casiple cited the trial of former president joseph estrada who was deposed in
military backed popular revolt in for massive corruption
after marathon six year trial he was convicted and sentenced to life
imprisonment only to be pardoned and set free by his successor gloria arroyo
at the end of the day it still politics talking and these warlords will not
go down quietly casiple said
one judge had already backed out from the explosive case saying he feared for
his life there have also been calls from prosecutors for the justice department
to ensure the safety of witnesses
relatives of the victims said they hoped for swift trial but were also
prepared for drawn out legal battle
believe we will get speedy trial said myrna reblando whose husband
alejandro was among the journalists slain those of us who are left behind
however are prepared to fight for justice however long it may take
today proceedings proved that it will not be easy to get justice for the
victims it is long process tedious process said human rights lawyer
harry roque
ampatuan snr had controlled maguindanao province for most of the past decade and
was grooming his son to take his place as governor in national elections in may
ampatuan snr influence and power grew because arroyo allowed him to maintain
strong heavily armed militia as part of government strategy to contain
muslim separatist insurgents in the south
in exchange ampatuan also helped deliver votes from the province to arroyo and
her candidates in the election allegedly through cheating
the shocking crime forced her to cut political ties with the clan but critics
say the ampatuans may still hold enough political power to avoid the penalties
many believe they deserve
fearing arrests israel delays officers trip to britain
jerusalem jan afp
israel has delayed visit by senior military officers to britain amid fears the
group could be arrested there on war crimes charges deputy foreign minister
danny ayalon said on tuesday
these officers were invited by great britain but they will stay in israel as
long as we do not have percent guarantee that they will not become objects
of criminal lawsuits in that country ayalon told public radio
in december tzipi livni the leader of israel main opposition party kadima
and foreign minister during the gaza war year ago cancelled visit to
britain after an arrest warrant was issued against her by british court
sparking diplomatic row
british prime minister gordon brown has insisted that livni is welcome and has
voiced his determination to change the law that allows british courts to issue
warrants for alleged war crimes suspects around the world
the hamas rulers of gaza considered terror organisation by israel and the
west have said they were providing information to european lawyers
investigating alleged war crimes by israel during the gaza war
ayalon said that he would discuss the matter on tuesday with britain attorney
general patrician janet scotland of asthal who is currently in israel on
private visit
this legislation is often misused ayalon said it initially targetted nazi
criminals but terrorist organisations like hamas are today using it to take
democracies hostage
we have to put an end to this absurdity which is harming the excellent
bilateral relations between israel and britain he said
un fact finding mission to gaza last year said both israel and palestinian
militant groups were guilty of war crimes and possible crimes against humanity
during the day war that ended on january with mutual ceasefires
the war which israel launched in late december in response to rocket fire
from the hamas run territory killed some palestinians and israelis
kenya floods kill at least
nairobi jan afp
heavy flooding across kenya has killed at least people police said tuesday
raising the previous death toll of
bodies of people swept away by the raging waters were recovered in region
recently devastated by severe drought said francis munyambu the police chief
of the rift valley province
there are more people who have been found dead in different areas after they
were washed away by the floods most rivers are swollen and people cannot
cross munyambu said
torrential rains have deluged several parts of the country since christmas
sweeping away houses destroying crops and livestock and displacing at least
people
we have been trying to help move people out of the affected areas but accessing
the areas is difficult most bridges have been cut off he added
us embassy in yemen reopens as clinton warns of instability
sanaa jan afp
the us embassy in yemen reopened tuesday after two day closure prompted by al
qaeda threats as us secretary of state hillary clinton warned unrest in the arab
country is threat to global instability
the embassy said on its website that yemeni security forces had addressed
specific area of concern in the north of the capital on monday paving the way
for tuesday reopening
warnings of possible al qaeda attack had led washington to close its embassy
in the yemeni capital on sunday the british and french authorities followed
suit while japan suspended consular services at its embassy
there was no sign on tuesday that the other missions had resumed normal
operations with all three saying they were reviewing the situation
successful counter terrorism operations conducted by the government of yemen
security forces january north of the capital have addressed specific area of
concern and have contributed to the embassy decision to resume operations
the embassy said
the statement appeared to refer to security operation conducted by yemeni
police monday in the area of arhab kilometres miles north of sanaa
where two suspected members of al qaeda were killed and three others wounded
the united states commends the government of yemen for its efforts to disrupt
al qaeda in the arabian peninsula aqap networks and reiterates its commitment
to continue to support these efforts it added
the statement was referring to al qaeda franchise in yemen which claimed
responsibility for the failed attack on us airliner on christmas day and
urged attacks on western interests in the country
the yemen interior ministry said tuesday that all foreign missions and interests
were safe pointing out that it has reinforced security measures around
embassies and residences of foreigners
the ministry also said that it arrested five terrorist elements over the past
two days near the capital but gave no details
long standing concerns that yemen country on the southern tip of the arabian
peninsula has become haven for islamic terror groups were thrown into sharp
relief when nigerian man allegedly trained in yemen was charged with trying to
blow up us bound jet on december
umar farouk abdulmutallab reportedly confessed to being trained by an al
qaeda bombmaker in yemen for the suicide mission on the northwest flight from
amsterdam to detroit
it was foiled when explosives allegedly sewn into the man underwear failed to
detonate and passengers jumped on him
us president barack obama has revealed that abdulmutallab spent time in yemen
during the summer where he was allegedly in contact with aqap
obama was to hold talks tuesday with his intelligence and national security
chiefs on the botched bombing with an administration official telling afp that
obama would unveil an initial series of reforms following the meeting
his secretary of state meanwhile on monday warned that the unrest in yemen was
threat both to regional and even global stability
and certainly we know that this is difficult set of challenges but they
have to be addressed clinton told reporters in washington following talks with
qatari prime minister sheikh hamad bin jassem bin jabr al thani
the bombing attempt triggered an overhaul of us terrorist watchlists and added
dozens more suspects to no fly lists
probably thousands upon thousands upon thousands of names were scrubbed and
probably dozens were moved to different lists white house spokesman bill
burton told reporters monday referring to the broader watchlists of names of
persons with suspected terrorist ties as well as the narrower list of those
barred from boarding us bound flight
new rules at international airports also went into effect from early monday
meaning all passengers boarding us bound flights may now be subjected to random
pat downs and baggage searches
further boosting security measures all travellers coming from or via terror
linked countries will have to undergo compulsory enhanced screening
afghanistan cuba iran libya nigeria pakistan somalia sudan syria and
yemen are among the countries affected
un chief ban ki moon meanwhile voiced support for international talks on
strife torn yemen later this month proposed by british prime minister gordon
brown
britain has denied accusations that it failed to share information about
abdulmutallab graduate of university college london who was put on
watchlist barring him from future entry into britain last may
brown office said information gathered while he was student in london
between and had been passed to us authorities
federal bureau of investigation agents were also in ghana investigating
abdulmutallab stay where he allegedly bought his ticket for the bomb targeted
flight
france cancels half flu vaccine orders
paris jan afp
france cancelled purchases of million swine flu vaccines after ordering far
more than needed but was confident on tuesday that it would not have to
compensate the big companies that provide them
health minister roselyne bachelot said france was cancelling million of the
million doses ordered from companies including sanofi pasteur and
glaxosmithkline amid criticism of the government vaccine planning
france had expected to give most of its population of at least million two
doses each to protect against the virus but only five million have been
vaccinated and european health authorities have said one dose is enough
sanofi pasteur has told us that the order for nine million doses was simply
cancelled without any indemnity payments bachelot said on tuesday on radio
station rtl
she said the government would negotiate very firmly with the other companies
and expected to avoid fines for the rest of the cancelled orders
the british pharmaceutical giant glaxosmithkline said on monday it was willing
to re discuss its deal the rest of the cancelled doses were ordered from
swiss drug maker novartis
there was no cancellation clause but we have seen substantial change in the
nature of the product bachelot said since the doses were sold to us as two
injection vaccines
she valued france orders at million euros billion dollars and said
the cancellations saved it more than half that this was lower than an earlier
government figure of million euros due to variation in vat tax
opposition politicians are accusing the government of botching its vaccination
strategy driving bachelot and other ministers onto the defensive
what would people be saying if the pandemic had been serious said foreign
minister bernard kouchner medical doctor we are very happy this virus
turned out to be less virulent than we thought
qatar has bought doses from france and egypt is negotiating to buy two
million according to the health ministry france is also in discussions with
mexico and ukraine to sell some of its stock
socialist opposition spokesman benoit hamon said president nicolas sarkozy
government was trying to justify the fact that it paid one billion euros to
pharmaceutical companies who are the big winners in this entire affair
swine flu has killed at least people worldwide with the biggest share of
victims in the united states and canada though it is now declining in north
america according to the world health organisation
total of people including children under the age of have died
from the virus in france and its overseas departments according to health
authorities
tennis auckland classic results
auckland jan afp
results from the second day of the auckland classic women tennis tournament
here tuesday denotes seed
first round
francesca schiavone ita bt stephanie cohen aloro fra
shahar peer isr bt polona hercog slo
carla suarez navarro esp bt edina gallovits rou
alize cornet fra bt marina erakovic nzl
virginie razzano fra bt monica niculescu rou
sania mirza ind bt stefanie voegele sui
