pakistan which have inflamed anti american sentiment
we saw vehicle engulfed in flames after the missile strike local
tribesman in the area told afp by phone on condition of anonymity
it was difficult to go close to the vehicle as it was surrounded by militants
who later removed dead bodies from the wreckage
it was not clear which group was targeted north waziristan is rife with taliban
militants al qaeda fighters and members of the powerful haqqani network which
is known for staging attacks on foreign troops in afghanistan
the bombing comes the morning after us drone attack killed four militants in
machikhel village about kilometres east of miranshah after which officials
suggested some of the dead were al qaeda operatives
seven us missile strikes in the same area of north waziristan have killed
people in the past month although the identities of those killed are hard to
verify as the deaths are deep in taliban controlled territory
the region saw rise in us strikes last year after president barack obama took
office and established pakistan as front line in the war on al qaeda
the attacks on pakistani territory fuel anti americanism in the nuclear armed
muslim nation and the government in islamabad publicly condemns the strikes
analysts say however the strikes have islamabad tacit approval
more than us drone missile strikes have killed at least people in
pakistan since august the united states does not confirm drone attacks
but its military is the only force that deploys drones in the region
north waziristan neighbours south waziristan where pakistan has been focusing
its most ambitious military offensive yet against homegrown taliban militants
it sent about troops into the region on october
obama administration is pressuring islamabad to crack down on not only the
pakistani taliban but also al qaeda fighters and militants who cross the border
and attack us and nato forces stationed in afghanistan
he has put pakistan at the heart of his new strategy for winning the eight year
war against the taliban in neighbouring afghanistan saying success depends on
dismantling militant sanctuaries along the porous frontier
tribal elder four others killed in nw pakistan bomb blast
khar pakistan jan afp
roadside bomb on friday killed five people including an anti taliban tribal
leader in pakistan bajaur district the focus of military operation to quash
insurgents officials said
the incident took place near salarzai village eight kilometres five miles
west of khar the main town of bajaur part of the semi autonomous northwest
tribal area along the border with afghanistan
pro government tribal elder gulshali khan and four others were killed when
remote controlled bomb exploded near their vehicle in salarzai top local
administration official zakir hussain afridi told afp
another local official naseeb shah confirmed the incident and deaths
it is the latest in string of killings of respected tribal elders who have
allied with the government against the islamist extremists
last weekend the beheaded body of tribal leader turned up in bajaur while on
wednesday another corpse was found in the region in killings blamed by local
officials on taliban rebels trying to intimidate the local population
pakistan military has launched wave of ground and air assaults on taliban
bastions across the northwest this year moving into bajaur in august
pakistan lawless tribal areas have been infiltrated by hundreds of extremists
who carved out safe havens after the us led invasion ousted the hardline
taliban regime in afghanistan
us officials call the region along the rugged afghan border the most dangerous
place on earth and are increasing pressure on islamabad to crack down further on
the taliban and other islamist extremist groups
iran mousavi ready to die for opposition cause
tehran jan afp
iranian opposition leader mir hossein mousavi said on friday that he was ready
to sacrifice his life in his campaign to have the disputed june re election of
president mahmoud ahmadinejad overturned
am not unwilling to become martyr like those who made that sacrifice after
the election for their rightful national and religious demands mousavi said in
his first statement on his kaleme org website since deadly clashes on sunday
my blood is no redder than theirs he added
mousavi nephew ali was among at least eight people who died during sunday
opposition protests during shiite muslim rituals for ashura
he called on ahmadinejad government to halt its crackdown against his
supporters which saw hundreds of people arrested during the demonstrations
he urged the government take responsibility for the problems it has created in
the country release political prisoners and recognise people right to
lawful assembly
say openly that until there is an acknowledgement of the existence of
serious crisis in the country there will be no possibility of resolving the
problems and issues he said
the former prime minister rejected demands from hardliners for him to renounce
his accusations of fraud in the june election in which he was ahmadinejad main
challenger
clearly and explicitly say that the order to execute kill or jail former
parliament speaker and pro reform presidential candidate mehdi karroubi
mousavi and people like us will not solve anything
supposedly you calmed things down through your arrests violence threats and
closure of newspapers and other media what appreciation does that show for the
change in public opinion about the islamic republic
mousavi rejected charges by ahmadinejad and other officials that he and his
supporters were lackeys of iran western foes
we are neither americans nor britons we have sent no congratulations cards to
the leaders of major powers he said in mocking allusion to card the iranian
president sent to barack obama on his election as us president in
consider it necessary to stress that we and the green movement have an
islamic and national identity and are against the domination of foreigners he
said of his election campaign colour that has become the opposition signature
we are loyal to the constitution he added dismissing accusations by
hardliners that the opposition protests against ahmadinejad re election have
turned into campaign to topple the islamic regime
iran mousavi calls for end to crackdown
tehran jan afp
iranian opposition leader mir hossein mousavi urged the government of president
mahmoud ahmadinejad to halt its crackdown on his supporters to enable way out
of the crisis his website reported on friday
in his first statement posted on his kaleme org website since deadly clashes
last week mousavi demanded that the government take responsibility for the
problems it has created in the country release political prisoners and
recognise people right to lawful assembly
say openly that until there is an acknowledgement of the existence of
serious crisis in the country there will be no possibility of resolving the
problems and issues he said
mousavi rejected demands from hardliners for him to renounce his accusations of
fraud in controversial june presidential election that gave hardline incumbent
ahmadinejad new term or face the consequences
clearly and explicitly say that the order to execute kill or jail mehdi
karroubi mousavi and people like us will not solve anything
supposedly you calmed things down through your arrests violence threats and
closure of newspapers and other media what appreciation does that show for the
change in public opinion about the islamic republic
dubai to open world tallest building
dubai jan afp
once bustling dubai will open the world tallest skyscraper on monday boasting
new limits in design and construction hopeful of polishing an image tarnished
by the debt woes afflicting the gulf emirate
emaar the giant property firm part owned by the government and which developed
the needle shaped concrete steel and glass structure has declined to reveal
burj dubai exact height
apparently wanting to maintain the suspense the company will say only that the
tower exceeds metres feet putting it far higher than taiwan
taipei tower metres
bill baker structural and civil engineer and partner in chicago based
skidmore owings and merrill som which designed the tower said burj dubai
has set new benchmark
we thought that it would be slightly taller than the existing tallest tower of
taipei emaar kept on asking us to go higher but we didn know how high
we could go he said
we were able to tune the building like we tune music instrument as we went
higher and higher and higher we discovered that by doing that process we
were able to reach heights much higher than we ever thought we could
we learned quite bit from burj dubai would think we could easily do one
kilometre tower we are optimistic about the ability to go even higher
the floor tower containing cubic metres million cubic feet
of concrete and tonnes of steel can be seen from as far as kilometres
miles away
burj dubai contains lifts which will whisk people to apartments and
floors of office space as well as hotel bearing the giorgio armani logo
spiralling shaped design by som architect adrian smith was used to support
the structural core of the tower which narrows as it ascends higher up it
becomes steel structure topped with huge spire
to reach the final stages concrete was propelled to height of metres
feet world record
george efstathiou managing partner of som and the main project manager said
the tripod shape provides stable base
we took that basic plan and used references to islamic geometries and
pointed arches as we go vertical with that shape we stepped it back in order
to mitigate the wind issue he told afp
the building is very quiet there are many storms that you wouldn notice at
all this building is lot quieter than lot of the other supertalls that came
before even if they are shorter buildings
construction which began in is estimated to have cost one billion dollars
million euros
it was carried out by south korea samsung engineering amp construction
belgium besix group and the united arab emirates arabtec
the skyscraper is the centrepiece of billion dollar new shopping district
downtown burj dubai which includes apartments and the dubai mall which
says its space for shops makes it the world largest indoor shopping
centre
ahead of monday grand opening estate agents said there has been
considerable rise in demand for the tower residential units which were sold
by the developer several years ago
property prices in dubai have plunged more than percent over the past year
but brokers told afp that the drop in the tower prices has been less
precipitous
bought one bedroom apartment on the th floor for three million dollars in
with the slide in prices my loss will be huge at least theoretically
one palestinian businessman told afp
one square foot in the commercial area of the tower fetched to
dollars at the height of the property boom in before the global recession
hit
some believe burj dubai will be the last of the giant projects that have brought
global fame to dubai such as the three kilometre two mile long palm
jumeirah artificial island developed by the troubled nakheel company
other towers that have been announced but now look doubtful include the
metre nakheel tower kuwait silk city tower slated to be more than
metres tall and the metre jeddah tower by saudi billionaire prince
alwaleed bin talal
efstathiou says he believes it will be years before burj dubai record is
broken
when burj dubai was conceived it was totally different time and the biggest
driving force for these tall towers are the economics he said
if you can tell me when the economy is going to turn around would have
better idea about when the next building will occur but we know that if
building started its designs today it wouldn be done before at least seven to
years
iran mousavi calls for end to crackdown
tehran iran jan afp
iranian opposition leader mir hossein mousavi urged the government of president
mahmoud ahmadinejad to halt its crackdown on his supporters to enable way out
of the crisis his website reported on friday
in his first statement posted on his kaleme org website since deadly clashes
last week mousavi demanded that the government take responsibilty for the
problems it has created in the country release political prisoners and
recognise people right to lawful assembly
say openly that until there is an acknowledgement of the existence of
serious crisis in the country there will be no possibility of resolving the
problems and issues
urgent iran mousavi calls for end to crackdown
tehran jan afp
iranian opposition leader mir hossein mousavi urged the government of president
mahmoud ahmadinejad to halt its crackdown on his supporters to enable way out
of the crisis his website reported on friday
pakistan india exchange nuclear site lists ministry
islamabad jan afp
pakistan and india on friday exchanged lists of their nuclear sites under an
annual accord after year of strained relations between the arch rivals
pakistan foreign ministry said
the new year day exchange is aimed at protecting the sites in case of war and
was established under agreement on the prohibition of attacks on each
other nuclear installations
the governments of pakistan and india today exchanged lists of their respective
nuclear installations and facilities ministry statement said
it added that the lists were handed over to officers of the pakistani and indian
high commissions in new delhi and islamabad
relations between the two nuclear armed rivals worsened dramatically after
attacks in india financial capital mumbai in november which new delhi
blamed on the banned pakistani militant group lashkar taiba let
under the agreement both nations are to refrain from attacking nuclear
facilities in the event of war the neighbours have also set up telephone
hotline to prevent accidental nuclear conflict
india and pakistan have fought three wars two of them over the himalayan region
of kashmir which is divided between them but claimed by both
the two countries came close to another war in after an attack on the
indian parliament that new delhi also blamed on let
but after deploying hundreds of thousands of troops to the border islamabad and
new delhi retreated following intense international mediation
in they launched peace process but that is now on hold following the
mumbai attacks with new delhi pressuring islamabad to do more to punish those
responsible for the carnage and to crack down on anti india groups
basketball nba results and standings
washington jan afp
results and standings after thursday national basketball association games
thursday december st results
chicago detroit
houston dallas
san antonio miami
oklahoma city utah
la clippers philadelphia
eastern conference
atlantic div pct gb
boston
toronto
new york
philadelphia
new jersey
central div pct gb
cleveland
chicago
milwaukee
detroit
indiana
southeast div pct gb
orlando
atlanta
miami
charlotte
washington
western conference
northwest div pct gb
denver
portland
oklahoma city
utah
minnesota
pacific div pct gb
la lakers
phoenix
sacramento
la clippers
golden state
southwest div pct gb
dallas
san antonio
houston
memphis
new orleans
friday january st schedule
new york at atlanta pm
orlando at minnesota pm
sacramento at la lakers pm
all times are eastern
afp
alert
iran mousavi demands end to crackdown website
national hockey league results
washington jan afp
national hockey league results and standings after thursday games
thursday december st results
montreal florida
ottawa ny islanders so
detroit colorado
nashville columbus ot
san jose phoenix so
ny rangers carolina
vancouver st louis ot
los angeles minnesota
dallas anaheim
chicago new jersey
calgary edmonton
eastern conference
atlantic division
new jersey
pittsburgh
ny rangers
philadelphia
ny islanders
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
friday january st schedule
philadelphia at boston pm
atlanta at buffalo pm
all times are eastern
afp
afp gmt news advisory
paris jan afp
duty editor gunther kern
tel
top stories
revellers ring in the new year
cia mourns loss of seven in afghanistan
korea says wants to improve relations with us
newyear world newseries
new york
new yorkers party without alcohol and under the watch of snipers in times
square joining millions of people in the world major cities who shrug off
security fears to usher in new decade with massive celebrations
words gmt picture video
afghanistan unrest newseries wrap
kabul
the central intelligence agency mourns the loss of seven employees in suicide
attack in afghanistan one of the deadliest blows for an agency increasingly on
the frontlines of us wars
words gmt
nkorea us diplomacy thlead
seoul
north korea calls for an end to hostile relations with the united states vowing
to work towards nuclear free peninsula seven months after its last atomic test
angered the world community
words moved by park chan kyong picture
europe
russia newyear politics people lead
moscow
president dmitry medvedev and prime minister vladimir putin sing and dance in
cartoon broadcast on state television that springs major new year surprise for
russians used to stern faced messages from their leaders
words gmt by stuart williams
finland crime shooting newseries
espoo finland
finland is in mourning after lone gunman shoots dead his former girlfriend and
then guns down four of her work colleagues in rampage at finnish shopping
mall before turning his weapon on himself
words gmt by rebecca liebermann picture graphic
year stocks economy finance roundup
paris
after dismal world stockmarkets recorded spectacular rebound in
even though the economy was in crisis but confidence has not been completely
restored and there are fears for
words moved by luc olinga
middle east
uae dubai architecture tower advancer
dubai
once bustling dubai opens the world tallest skyscraper on monday boasting new
limits in design and construction and hopeful of polishing an image tarnished by
the debt woes afflicting the gulf emirate
words gmt by wissam keyrouz graphic picture
americas
iraq us justice security blackwater thlead
washington
in rebuke to government prosecutors federal judge dismisses criminal
charges against five blackwater security guards accused of fatally shooting
people in baghdad in september
words moved
asia
afghanistan unrest security focus
kabul
afghanistan war exited on sour note for an international community that
has committed thousands of troops and billions of dollars to transforming the
country into peaceful modern democracy
words moved by lynne donnell
pakistan us unrest missile thlead
miranshah pakistan
at least three militants are killed in the second us missile strike in as many
days targeting pakistan wild tribal region of north waziristan officials say
words gmt by hasbanullah khan graphic
china us india auto company gm saic interview
new delhi
for gm india chief karl slym the expansion of the us auto giant year
alliance with its chinese partner saic motor to tap india burgeoning vehicle
market is win win for both sides
words moved by penny macrae file picture
five dead injured in french apartment blaze police
montpellier france jan afp
fire in an apartment in the southern french city of nimes killed five people
on new year day and left others injured police said friday
the five dead had been living in the same apartment on the top floor of the six
storey building
several of the injured were living in neighbouring apartment and suffered from
smoke inhalation
details on the cause of the fire were not immediately available
football emperor cup result osaka nagoya
tokyo jan afp
result from game between gamba osaka and nagoya grampus in the emperor cup
final here on friday
gamba osaka lucas endo futagawa nagoya grampus nakamura
medvedev putin dance new year cartoon duet
moscow jan afp
russia president dmitry medvedev plays an accordion and turns pirouettes while
strongman prime minister vladimir putin performs traditional dances while
thwacking tambourine on his bottom
it may only have been cartoon but two and half minute segment broadcast
on state television friday gently mocking russia ruling tandem was major
surprise for russians used to stern faced messages from their leaders
the cartoon on channel one television was broadcast just after medvedev own
official new year address and showed cartoon figures of the ruling tandem
performing jovial duet commenting on the year
it shows the two standing on cartoon red square with the kremlin in the
background dressed in suits and dancing with their voices dubbed by eerily good
impersonators
the accordion playing medvedev started the skit with neat jump and shout of
hopa to which putin replied well done now your turn said medvedev
the cartoon putin gamely hit the tambourine against his backside great said
medvedev admiringly
using rhyming couplets and the elaborate wordplays beloved of russians the
sketch gently poked fun at the situation created by the sharing of power by
medvedev and his kremlin predecessor and mentor putin
for the second time congratulate the people on the new year declaimed
medvedev who took over from putin in may after meteoric ascendancy
know but someone here has congratulated them nine times pointed out the
cartoon putin yes remember conceded medvedev
putin became president on december when then president boris yeltsin
resigned despite ceding the kremlin to medvedev and becoming prime minister
putin is still believed to be russia de facto number one
television cartoons of russian leaders have been virtual taboo over the last
half decade
the wildly popular puppet show kukli dolls which wickedly satirized yeltsin
and then putin was taken off air in allegedly after official pressure
finally the medvedev and putin sing in unison we would sing more couplets for
you but alas we cannot forget our duties friends happy new year
at least die in bangladesh road accident
dhaka jan afp
at least people were killed and injured as bus skidded off road in
dense fog in southwestern bangladesh early friday police said
inspector israfil hawlader said the packed bus plunged into narrow ditch after
its driver appeared to have lost direction along fog shrouded highway at
kanaipur kilometres miles southwest of the capital dhaka
at least passengers have died and another were injured the injured were
rushed to local hospitals he told afp
early last month in another deadly accident near the town at least people
were killed and injured after two buses collided head on
road accidents are common in bangladesh and kill some people year
shoddy highways and aged vehicles are blamed for most of the accidents
sri lanka dismisses eu trade move
colombo jan afp
sri lanka president on friday dismissed the european union suspension of
preferential trade status to the island saying his government would resist
foreign strategic interference
we will not be held back by threatened economic sanctions or withdrawn trade
concessions by those who seek strategic interference in the national affairs of
sri lanka president mahinda rajapakse said in new year message
the statement was clear reference to the eu decision last month to suspend sri
lanka preferential trade status on the grounds that it had breached
commitments on human rights and good governance
during the final months of the war with tamil tiger rebels in early the
united states and the eu voiced alarm at sri lanka treatment of non combatants
