regulations and no malfunction was noted the dutch anti terrorism
coordinator said
the flight carrying passengers and crew was cleared for take off by us
authorities after the passenger list was communicated by northwest airlines in
line with standard security procedures nctb said
as the plane descended toward detroit abdulmutallab allegedly ignited hidden
device sparking flames before being overpowered by passengers and dragged to
the front of the plane by cabin crew
after his arrest abdulmutallab told us authorities he had syringe filled with
chemicals to mix with powder taped to his leg according to senior officials
quoted anonymously by us media
abdulmutallab is accused of attempting to blow up the jet with device
containing high explosive petn or pentaerythritol tetranitrate
officials charge disaster was only averted because the makeshift detonator
failed
us services sector swings to growth but just barely
washington jan afp
the us services sector returned to growth in december according to survey
wednesday showing still sluggish pace of activity with jobs still being lost
the institute of supply management said its non manufacturing or purchasing
managers index increased to percent in december from surprisingly weak
percent in november
any number over indicates growth so the survey shows the sector that
accounts for the bulk of us activity just barely in expansion mode
among the sub indexes the ism survey showed the business activity index at
percent up points from november while the new orders index fell to
percent
employment however remained weak the index rose points to percent
indicating jobs are still being cut but at slower pace than in prior months
the ism said seven sectors showed growth while nine contracted
analysts had expected the headline index to be somewhat stronger at
percent
tennis qatar open tennis results
doha jan afp
results from the third day of the qatar open here on wednesday denotes
seeding
nd rd
steve darcis bel bt younes el aynaoui mar
lukasz kubot pol bt sergiy stakhovsky ukr
roger federer sui bt evgeny korolev rus
viktor troicki srb bt olivier rochus bel
amnesty calls for release of jailed gay couple in malawi
johannesburg jan afp
human rights watchdog amnesty international wednesday called for the release of
malawian gay couple jailed last week after holding traditional wedding
ceremony
the arrest of the two men solely for their real or perceived sexual orientation
amounts to discrimination and it is in violation of their rights to freedom of
conscience expression and privacy the group said in statement
amnesty international considers individuals imprisoned solely for their
consensual sexual relationship in private as prisoners of conscience and calls
for their immediate and unconditional release it added
steven monjeza and tiwonge chimbalanga were arrested on december in
malawi commercial capital blantyre for holding the country first public
same sex wedding an act that landed them with three charges of indecent
practices
the couple has pleaded not guilty and has been denied bail if convicted they
face up to years in prison
the organisation also accused the malawian authorities of trying to force the
couple to undergo medical examination to establish if they had had sex to so
they could be charged with sodomy as well
however the examination did not happen as officials could not find an expert
to conduct the exam
amnesty also warned that the arrest risked driving underground men who have sex
with men in malawi which will make it more difficult for them to access to
information on hiv prevention and health services
monjeza and chimbalanga five month love affair has shocked the conservative
nation where homosexuality is banned and where sex topics are still largely
taboo
the couple had not applied for legal recognition of their relationship
despite the government laws against homosexuality authorities do recognise
the existence of gays in malawi and often call on them to come out in order to
help fight aids in country where percent of adults have hiv
tennis hopman cup standings
perth australia jan afp
standings from the hopman cup tennis tournament at perth burswood dome after
wednesday ties
group
played ties won ties lost matches won matches lost
great britain
russia
kazakhstan
germany
tennis cilic fights his way into chennai quarter finals
chennai india jan afp
defending champion marin cilic survived scare from marcel granollers before
advancing to the quarter finals of the dollar atp chennai open on
wednesday
the world number eight fought back from set down to beat the valiant st
ranked spaniard after two hours and minutes of intense
tennis
it was croatian cilic fourth successive win over granollers including semi
final victory in the same tournament last year
both players held their serve in the first set to force the tie breaker which
granollers won after cilic appeared to lose his composure following two disputed
line calls
granollers and cilic traded two breaks each in the second set before the croat
broke again in the eighth game and easily held his own serve in the ninth to
draw level
cilic went break up in the seventh game of the third set ending granollers
resistance on the show court of the nungambakkam tennis stadium
cilic quarter final opponent will be th ranked santiago giraldo of
colombia who beat czeck jan hajek in minutes
thiemo de bakker of the netherlands also advanced to the quarter finals with
demolition of compatriot robin hasse
he will play the winner of tuesday last match between fourth seed janko
tipsarevic and last year runner up somdev devvarman of india for place in
the semi finals
elephant kills us woman and her child in kenya
nairobi jan afp
an american woman and her one year old daughter were trampled to death by an
elephant while walking in mount kenya national reserve police said wednesday
they said the year old woman and her daughter died instantly her husband and
three other people on the outing monday managed to escape
the woman was with the rest of her family walking in forest near the hotel
where they were staying when an elephant attacked them the woman and her
daughter died on the spot but the others escaped unhurt because they were able
to run for their safety senior police officer said
the incident happened in mount kenya forest on the slopes of africa second
highest mountain in central kenya
us embassy official in nairobi said the woman and her husband were both
employed by the international school of kenya isk and that only the school
could comment isk phones were not being answered
police identified the mother only as brown
the family checked into castle forest lodge in mount kenya national reserve
january and the fatal accident happened the following day
the lodge was built in by the then colonial government as retreat for
members of the british royal family wildlife officials said
we are really saddened by the deaths of tourists to the country it sad
incident kenya wildlife service spokesman paul udoto told afp
he said representatives of kws and the kenya tourist board had joined the
woman family at nairobi funeral home on wednesday to express their
condolences
afp gmt economics news advisory
paris jan afp
duty editor bryan mcmanus
tel
iceland britain netherlands politics banking lead
reykjavik
iceland is swept up in political and economic storm with clouds building over
its credit rating economic recovery and eu membership bid after the president
vetoes compensation deal to cover the icesave bank collapse
words gmt by svanborg sigmarsdottir picture
france aerospace defence contract company airbus ndlead
paris
france insists the building of high tech airbus military transport planes
must not be abandoned but germany appears unwilling to plough more money into
the much delayed project
words gmt picture
argentina economy bank politics debt lead
buenos aires
argentina president demands the resignation of the central bank chief in
dispute over repaying billions of dollars in national debt move that could
spark political crisis in the central american nation
words gmt
japan politics economy ndlead wrap
tokyo
japan prime minister faces fresh test of his troubled leadership as he is
forced to replace his elderly finance minister one of the few experienced hands
in his cabinet
words moved by hiroshi hiyama
ecb bank greece eu economy budget deficit pact lead
athens
greece threatened by massive overspending must not expect an eu bailout the
european central bank warned as an eu mission to athens prepared to scrutinise
crisis budget
words moved
commodities energy oil price ndlead wrap
london
oil prices fall slightly ahead of data on us energy stockpiles amid expectations
that spike in heating fuel demand caused by cold weather across the northern
hemisphere will tail off
words gmt
stocks europe lead wrap
london
europe main stock markets are little changed as traders wait for crunch us
jobs data and other figures to give them fresh lead on the economic outlook
words gmt
forex europe lead wrap
london
the dollar and euro hold in narrow ranges ahead of series of key us economic
data
words gmt
border shootout kills egyptian policeman wounds two gazans
rafah gaza strip jan afp
cross border gunfire killed an egyptian policeman and wounded five palestinians
on wednesday after youths hurled rocks over the border fence during protest in
southern gaza officials said
the year old officer succumbed to his wounds in hospital in the divided
border town of rafah an egyptian security official said
witnesses in gaza said shots were fired from both sides of the border and medics
said five palestinians suffered serious gunshot wounds
witnesses said the egyptians opened fire after about young palestinians
hurled stones at them an egyptian security official said nine policemen were
slightly wounded by the stone throwing
fifteen palestinians were wounded when hamas security officials used batons and
teargas and fired shots in the air to disperse the stone throwers
the incidents took place following demonstration called by the hamas rulers of
gaza to protest egypt construction of an underground barrier meant to stop
smuggling through cross border tunnels
egypt deployed hundreds of officers to reinforce the border as well as fire
trucks and ambulances amid concerns palestinians might try to breach the border
during the protest
hamas called the incident regrettable
we are not interested in raising tension at the border said sami abu zuhri
spokesman for hamas
but he said the protest was the result of the anger felt in gaza over the
egyptian decision to build the underground barrier
hundreds of demonstrators held up green hamas flags and chanted god is
greatest
one metre yard away from egypt we ask why the siege hamas mp mushir al
masri told the demonstrators
we came today to say no to the wall he said
israel and egypt have imposed blockade on the impoverished territory since
hamas seized control of the coastal strip in after ousting forces loyal to
western backed palestinian president mahmud abbas hundreds of tunnels have
since been used to smuggle consumer goods and weapons into the territory
masri said the protest also aimed at demonstrating solidarity with pro
palestinian activists who clashed with egyptian police at the nearby el arish
port on tuesday
about people were injured in the clashes
tuesday clashes started after some activists accompanying an aid convoy
for gaza broke down gate at the port to protest egypt decision to allow only
of the convoy vehicles to enter the gaza strip through the rafah
crossing
tennis hopman cup results
perth australia jan afp
results from hopman cup tennis tournament at perth burswood dome on wednesday
group
kazakhstan bt russia
women singles elena dementieva rus bt yaroslava shvedova kaz
men singles andrey golubev kaz bt igor andreev rus
mixed doubles yaroslava shvedova andrey golubev kaz bt elena dementieva igor
andreev rus
great britain bt germany
women singles sabine lisicki ger bt laura robson gbr
men singles andy murray gbr bt philipp kohlschreiber ger
mixed doubles laura robson andy murray gbr bt sabine lisicki philipp
kohlschreiber ger
anonymity of journalist sources not sacrosanct lawyer
strasbourg jan afp
journalists should not guarantee anonymity to sources as the wider interests of
society could mean they have to reveal them the netherlands argued wednesday at
the european court of human rights
roeland bocker on behalf of the dutch government said that the dutch journal
autoweek was wrong to promise total anonymity to the organisers of an illegal
street race
he said that the general interest which supposes the prevention of crime and
the maintenance of order can take precedence over the protection of
journalists sources
dutch police in february forced the weekly publication to hand over cd
rom showing participants of the race
in an initial ruling in march the court backed the government it will give
definitive decision in several weeks
football disgusted balotelli lets fly at racist chievo fans
rome jan afp
italian striker mario balotelli on wednesday hit out at supporters of chievo
after suffering yet another barrage of racist insults while playing for his
club inter milan
balotelli born in palermo but of ghanaian heritage scored the only goal of the
game in the th minute to send inter points clear of closest rivals ac milan
as serie resumed after short winter break
however his joy was tinged with racist chants and jeering that left the year
old striking sensation more and more disgusted with chievo who are based in
verona the setting for shakespeare romeo and juliet
his outburst was all the more poignant as the italian who is regularly
subjected to such behaviour usually refrains from hitting back
just want to say one thing every time come to verona realise that the
supporters disgust me more and more it completely unacceptable he told sky
sports
inter coach jose mourinho tried to play down the incident
verona is magnificent town the club is held in high esteem and if
something kicks off in the stands it doesn change all that said the
portuguese
let not get too carried away by it also heard few unsavoury things about
myself but just ignore it
two obama allies to retire from senate
washington jan afp
democratic senator christopher dodd head of the powerful senate banking
committee planned wednesday to announce he was not seeking re election in
november in blow to president barack obama agenda
dodd retirement confirmed by two democratic sources brought to three the
number of high profile democratic officeholders who have abandoned plans to seek
another term as anti incumbent anger threatened obama party
the connecticut senator was to announce his decision at noon gmt had
faced stiff uphill reelection fight and democrats hoped his departure in
state obama easily won in would help keep his seat
his decision came after democrat byron dorgan announced he was retiring as
senator from north dakota state where republican white house hopeful john
mccain defeated obama by eight points last year
dorgan move hurt democratic morale at the dawn of an election year but also
imperiled the party vote majority the bare minimum needed in the
seat senate to overrun any republican delaying tactics
over this holiday season have come to the conclusion with the support of my
family that will not be seeking another term dorgan said citing desire
to pursue other priorities after years in public life
dodd aides declined to comment on his decision but democratic officials who
confirmed he was retiring did not disclose details of his future plans
dorgan denied his decision was tied to glum political prospects saying he would
have won reelection if he had run but republicans pounced on his retirement as
symptom of democratic pessimism about the coming election
for nearly year congressional democrats have been turning deaf ear to the
concerns of the american people and as the elections of approach many of
these same democrats are deciding to simply leave office instead of risking
certain defeat said michael steele republican national committee chairman
the question will be can democrats recruit serious and viable candidates in
both of those states harold ford jr chairman of the centrist democratic
leadership council told msnbc on wednesday
the senate retirements came as democratic governor bill ritter of the once
solidly republican state of colorado one time rising star in the party
was also reportedly set to announce he would not seek reelection
meanwhile the new york times reported that ford former congressman from
tennessee is weighing bid to unseat new york senator kirsten gillibrand in
this fall democratic primary
since losing the tennessee senate race to republican bob corker he has
moved to new york where he works as an executive at merrill lynch and is said to
be raising funds for possible political run
dodd saw his political stock fall beginning in late with his failed bid for
the democratic presidential nomination which garnered meager public support
problems mounted when reports emerged later that year accused him of improperly
receiving discounts from troubled lender countrywide financial
as chairman of the senate banking committee dodd had been deeply involved in
the bitter debate about overhauling the us health care system as well as the
economic stimulus package adopted in early and efforts to revamp the us
financial system
dodd had been facing what by all accounts was to be tough re election fight
against wealthy businesswoman linda mcmahon
republicans will have to defend six open seats in november while democrats must
defend four
democratic senators appointed to fill vacancies in illinois and delaware
seats held by obama and vice president joe biden respectively have said they
will leave office when their terms expire in january
senator dorgan should be very proud of his more than years of devoted
service in the united states congress obama said in statement tuesday
describing him as trusted leader for the people of his state
dorgan decision came after public opinion poll found him trailing north
dakota republican governor john hoeven who has yet to enter the race by
double digits
among the other white house allies in trouble democratic senate majority leader
harry reid and senator blanche lincoln of arkansas
mid term us elections typically see the party that holds the white house lose
congressional seats and republicans hope rising anti incumbent tide fed by
double digit unemployment will further boost their fortunes
afp graphics advisory
paris jan afp
wednesday graphics
yemen qaeda arrest map
map of yemen locating raydah where yemeni security forces reportedly captured
key al qaeda leader
text slug attacks yemen
mm
pakistan kashmir attack map
map of pakistani administered kashmir locating bomb attack that killed three
security personnel
text slug pakistan unrest kashmir
mm
china hunan fire map
map of china locating fatal fire in coal mine in xiangtan hunan province
text slug china mining accident
mm
japan fujii profile
profile of japan finance minister hirohisa fujii who has offered his
resignation
text slug japan economy politics fujii
mm
us car sales
graphic showing car sales in the united states in compared to asian
manufacturers moved ahead of their us counterparts in terms of market share in
the month period
text slug us auto sales
mm
available by gmt
ady gil powerboat factfile
fact file on the ady gil powerboat reportedly destroyed by japanese fishing
boat when it tried to disrupt whaling in antarctic waters
text slug australia japan whaling boat
mm
google phone factfile
fact file on the new google nexus one smartphone
text slug us it company telecom internet google
mm
google nexus vs apple iphone
graphic comparing the new google nexus one smartphone with the apple iphone
text slug us it company telecom internet google
mm
angola cabinda football
graphic map of the angolan enclave of cabinda where african football stars
michael essien and didier drogba will play the group stages of the african
nations cup
text slug fbl afr ang cabinda
mm
available by gmt
jetstar airasia factfile
fact file on budget airlines jetstar and airasia which have unveiled plans to
pool their resources
text slug australia malaysia aviation qantas jetstar airasia
mm
asia pacific markets
closings for key asia pacific markets
text slug stocks
mm
moved earlier
us attacks moussaoui chrono mm
china oil spill map mm
mexico violence cuidad juarez map mm
afghanistan cia attack khost map mm
philippines massacre ampatuan profile mm
brazil rains map mm
nasa kepler telescope factfile mm
airbus factfile mm
paris hong kong
tel
afp gmt news advisory
paris jan afp
duty editor chris otton
tel
us intel chief vows to fix flaws after jet plot
yemen captures local al qaeda chief in hospital
soldiers rescue drivers as freeze cloaks europe
attacks us nigeria lead
washington
bruised by stinging rebuke from president barack obama the top us
intelligence chief pledges to repair flaws in the security services to confront
an evolving threat from terror groups
words gmt picture
we will also move us attacks nigeria timeline chrono
attacks yemen thlead wrap
sanaa
yemeni security forces capture key al qaeda leader and two other militants
believed behind threats against western interests in sanaa that prompted
embassies to bolt their doors
words gmt by hammoud mounassar picture graphic
europe weather ndlead wrap
london
soldiers help rescue stranded drivers as britain most brutal winter in decades
caused chaos for travellers and bitterly cold temperatures cloak much of
europe
words gmt by alice ritchie picture video
we will also move europe weather britain scene
europe
britain politics ndlead
london
two former ministers call for ballot of labour lawmakers on whether prime
minister gordon brown should stay leader of the ruling party highlighting his
vulnerability months before general election
words gmt by katherine haddon picture
britain nireland unrest politics ndlead
belfast
northern ireland largest loyalist paramilitary group announces it has
completely disarmed positive milestone in the long troubled troubled province
after string of worrying security setbacks
words gmt by eamonn mallie picture
attacks aviation security police ireland slovakia lead
bratislava
red faced slovak police scramble to apologise for botched security test that
sent batch of explosives in the luggage of an unsuspecting air traveller to
ireland sparking vast security operation there
words gmt by tatiana bednarikova
iceland britain netherlands politics banking lead
reykjavik
iceland is swept up in political and economic storm with clouds building over
its credit rating economic recovery and eu membership bid after the president
vetoed compensation over the icesave bank collapse
words gmt by svanborg sigmarsdottir picture
eu employee pay rdlead
brussels
the european commission announces court action against the eu nations over
their refusal to allow an inflation busting pay rise for the bloc civil
servants
words gmt by roddy thomson
france politics education minorities
paris
france elite schools come under fierce attack for balking at government plan
that would force them to take in more students from low income and immigrant
backgrounds
words gmt
americas
us politics senate newseries
washington
two democratic us senators announce they will not seek reelection in what could
be damaging blow to president barack obama ability to enact legislation to
battle climate change or overhaul the us financial system
words gmt by olivier knox
mideast
mideast conflict gaza egypt rdlead wrap
rafah gaza strip
cross border gunfire kills an egyptian policeman and wounds five palestinians
after youths hurled rocks over the border fence during protest in southern
gaza officials say
words gmt by said khatib picture
asia
pakistan india unrest wrap
muzaffarabad pakistan
suicide bomber kills four pakistani soldiers near the demarcation line in
disputed kashmir as gunmen open fire in the main city in the indian
administered zone
words moved by sajjad qayyum graphic
cia attacker seen as best al qaeda informant in years report
washington jan afp
the jordanian informant suspected of detonating suicide bomb that killed seven
