the fia appeal options have been exhausted
until then the world motor sport council decision continues to apply the
fia said
in addition the fia intends to consider appropriate actions to ensure that no
persons who would engage or who have engaged in such dangerous activities or
acts of intentional cheating will be allowed to participate in formula one in
the future
the fia ability to exclude those who intentionally put others lives at risk
has never before been put into doubt and the fia is carefully considering its
appeal options on this point
the scandal centred on driver piquet junior claims that the team had ordered
him to crash deliberately at singapore to enable teammate fernando alonso to go
on and win
meanwhile briatore told the milan daily la gazzetta dello sport wednesday that
he was considering legal action against nelson piquet jr and the driver
father over claims they made about his involvement in the crashgate scandal
asked whether he intended to take legal action briatore said very probably
the damage that was done to me isn forgotten in day
briatore also hit out at former fia president max mosley who always managed
the fia and the world council like his private property
australia says some attacks on indian students race based
new delhi jan afp
australia high commissioner to india said wednesday that race may have played
role in some of violent attacks against indian students that have threatened
ties between the two countries
the admission came after india advised thousands of its citizens studying in
australia to take basic precautions against possible assault following the
murder of year old indian national in melbourne last week
high commissioner peter varghese told reporters in new delhi that his country
had never denied that there has never been racial element to any of these
attacks in australia
he labelled the majority of assaults involving indian nationals opportunistic
urban crime but added there have been some cases where the motivation would
appear on the face of it to be racial particularly where the attackers have
been engaged in hurling racial abuse
the murder of nitin garg followed string of attacks against indians that
triggered street protests in sydney and melbourne last june
indian students account for percent of total international enrolments in
australia taking places in the months to october
on tuesday australia acting foreign minister simon crean said there was no
evidence that garg murder was racially motivated
australian officials have also downplayed any racial aspect to the attacks
saying jobs that indian students do to support their education meant they were
often in dangerous areas or on public transport late at night
but the killing has prompted wide press coverage in india where one newspaper
described the death as proof of racist attacks on the indian community
varghese said garg murder had distressed australians and he warned against
jumping to conclusions
we must let police and the criminal justice system do their work he said
let not assume that every time an indian is involved in an incident it
matter of racism
kuwait parliament approves debt relief law
kuwait city jan afp
the kuwaiti parliament on wednesday passed an unprecedented law that requires
the government of the oil rich gulf state to buy up some billion dollars of
citizens private debt
thirty five mps voted for the law against while one lawmaker abstained in
the second and final round of voting
the legislation also requires the government of opec fourth largest producer
to reschedule the repayment of the principal in interest free installments over
years and forgive the interest currently owed which is estimated at more
than billion dollars
the government immediately said it will reject the law
finance minister mustafa al shamali told reporters after the vote the government
will not accept the law because of technical constitutional and procedural
violations he said the law is almost impossible to apply
under kuwaiti law the government can reject legislation passed by mps but it
must then go back to parliament which can override the veto if it can muster
two thirds majority in new vote
in total the seat parliament has elected members one of whom is also
minister the other ministers hold their seats ex officio
kuwait central bank has said that the number of kuwaitis who have taken personal
or consumer loans until the end of last year topped of the native
population of million
shamali said on december the debt relief scheme breached the constitution and
could cost up to billion dollars in public funds in addition to encouraging
citizens to spend lavishly
the minister said the government is currently helping citizen debtors who are
unable to repay through billion dollar defaulters fund set up year ago
mps backing the plan however blamed the government for causing debt problem by
failing to apply strict monitoring on local banks which they said lured
citizens into taking out loans beyond their ability to repay
they said that more than citizens are facing legal action over debt
arrears
the legislation requires the government to use returns on some billion
dollars of state deposits at local banks to cover the cost of the scheme
kuwait says it sits on percent of global oil reserves and pumps around
million barrels per day
the emirate holds assets estimated at billion dollars mostly invested
abroad amassed during the past decade on the back of high oil prices
more than percent of the citizen workforce is employed by the government and
their average monthly salary is dollars per capita income in was
about dollars
football ronaldo most popular sports star with facebook fans
madrid jan afp
real madrid portuguese international striker cristiano ronaldo is the most
popular sports star on facebook the sports daily marca reported on wednesday
the flamboyant footballer could count million fans on his social network
site on wednesday putting him ahead of swiss tennis star roger federer with
million and us swimmer michael phelps million
ronaldo arrived in real madrid from manchester united last summer in
world record million euro deal
he is also the most profitable player ever in club which had such stars as
zinedine zidane and david beckham generating million euros in advertising
revenues per year
yemen captures key al qaeda chief as foreign missions reopen
sanaa jan afp
yemeni security forces wednesday captured key al qaeda leader and two other
militants believed behind threats against western interests in sanaa which
prompted embassies to bolt their doors police said
the arrest of mohammed al hanq and the two other suspected extremists at
hospital in raydah north of capital came as yemen authorities said al qaeda
jihadists were being choked countrywide and forced into holes
hanq had evaded arrest on monday during security force raid in arhab
kilometres miles north of sanaa in which two of his relatives were killed
and three other people wounded
security official told afp security forces had wednesday morning swooped on
hospital in raydah kilometres miles north of sanaa in amran province
where the suspects were receiving treatment
mohammed al hanq and two others who were wounded were captured in hospital in
amran the official said
four men who had transported the wounded to the hospital and hid them from
police were also taken into custody the defence ministry linked news website
sep net said
two other al qaeda suspects meanwhile turned themselves in to the authorities in
the region of marib east of sanaa on wednesday and third surrendered in
arhab security official said
the interior ministry said wednesday its security forces were repeatedly raiding
hideouts of terrorist elements in several provinces and had turned their
fight against terrorism into daily confrontation
security operations are not leaving the terrorist elements the chance to take
breath or reorganise their lines the ministry said in statement on its
website
al qaeda elements are no longer the ones taking the initiative in deciding the
time and place of confrontations it said adding that painful and recurring
strikes have forced al qaeda to retreat to the holes
the us embassy closed on sunday over security concerns prompted by fears of an
al qaeda threat against foreign interests just days after failed attack on
us airliner claimed by the al qaeda franchise in yemen
some countries including britain and france followed suit while others
curtailed consular operations as security was tightened around their missions
the us embassy reopened for business on tuesday saying that yemeni security
forces had addressed specific area of concern the previous day
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 in statement which is widely believed to be reference to
the threat posed by the cell headed by hanq
the british and french embassies have also resumed operations although the
british mission consular services remained shut on wednesday
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
focus when nigerian man allegedly trained in yemen was charged with trying to
blow up us bound jet
the botched christmas day attack was claimed by al qaeda in the arabian
peninsula aqap which also urged attacks on western interests in yemen
the would be bomber 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
explosives allegedly sewn into the man underwear failed to detonate and
passengers jumped on him
in the wake of the failed attack general david petraeus the us regional
military commander jetted into sanaa for talks with yemeni president ali
abdullah saleh
at the same time yemen sent army reinforcements to the eastern provinces of
abyan bayada and shawba where al qaeda militants have hideouts and raised the
alert level in those regions
the situation in yemen where aside from al qaeda setting up lairs in remote
mountainous regions the government is battling shiite rebellion in the north
and facing down secessionists in the south prompted us president barack obama
on tuesday to suspend transfers of freed guantanamo bay inmates to the country
football ronaldo most popular sports star with facebook fans
madrid jan afp
real madrid portuguese international striker cristiano ronaldo is the most
popular sports star on facebook the sports daily marca reported on wednesday
the flamboyant footballer could count million fans on his social network
site on wednesday putting him ahead of swiss tennis star roger federer with
million and us swimmer michael phelps million
ronaldo arrived in real madrid from manchester united last summer in
world record million euro deal
he is also the most profitable player ever in club which had such stars as
zinedine zidane and david beckham generating million euros in advertising
revenues per year
catholic portugal set to legalise gay marriage
lisbon jan afp
catholic portugal traditionally one of europe most socially conservative
countries is expected to approve the legalisation of gay marriage on friday
with minimum of fuss
with the governing socialists and other left wing parties enjoying strong
majority the new law is likely to sail through the first reading debate and
gain final approval before visit by pope benedict xvi due in portugal in may
in contrast to spain where the lead up to the legalisation of gay marriage in
brought hundreds of thousands of demonstrators onto the streets the bill
in portugal has provoked only muted opposition even from the right
while normally vocal on the role of marriage and the family in society the
catholic church has refused to mobilise on subject which according to
lisbon cardinal patriarch jose policarpo is parliament responsibility
think the portuguese people have learnt one of the fundamental tenets of
democracy respect for the rights of the individual miguel vale de almeida
portugal first openly gay lawmaker who was elected in september told afp
vale de almeida who is the socialists pointman on the legislation said there
is now political majority in favour of gay marriage and that it is too
simplistic to link catholicism and conservatism
according to poll conducted late last year by the eurosondagem institute while
strong majority percent of portuguese are opposed to adoptions by same
sex couples they are more evenly divided when it comes to gay marriage with
percent against with percent in favour
on tuesday campaigners handed petition with more than signatures to
demand referendum on the subject into parliament
but having had its fingers burnt by two referendums which preceeded the
legalisation of abortion in the government has ruled out consulting with
the public as the measure was part of its manifesto in last year election
prime minister jose socrates socialists may have lost their majority in the
september election but still command the support of other left wing parties
in parliament who should guarantee that the gay marriage bill is passed
while opposed to the concept of same sex marriages the centre right
opposition social democrat party says it is favour of civil partnership that
would give gays and lesbians the same rights as heterosexual couples minus
adoptions
deputies are also expected on friday to vote two other bills submitted by the
green party the left bloc and others which would grant gay and lesbian couples
the right to adopt children
if the gay marriage proposals do pass through parliament they will the have to
go through parliamentary commission before coming back for the final approval
according to media reports both the government and the catholic church wants
the gay marriage issue to be resolved before the visit of the pope scheduled
for may
eu takes icesave into account on iceland membership
brussels jan afp
iceland handling of the icesave bank failure will be taken into account in its
quest for european union membership the eu executive arm warned on wednesday
as britain threatens to withdraw its backing
the european commission is preparing an opinion for the eu member states on
how long the small island nation where the economy was ravaged by the economic
crisis might need to join
the opinion will of course take into account all relevant considerations for
fulfilling the criteria for membership commission spokesman told reporters
in brussels
in this context economic questions like the case of icesave will be
analysed very closely in light of iceland fulfilling its obligations in the
european economic area he said
iceland president olafur ragnar grimsson said on tuesday that he would not
sign controversial bill to compensate the british and dutch governments for
reimbursing icesave investors triggering anger in london and the hague
grimsson said he would put the bill to referendum instead
earlier wednesday britain financial services minister paul myners said
controversy over the billion euro billion dollar compensation deal
could impact on britain support for iceland eu bid
the collapse hit more than british and dutch investors
iceland parliament voted last july to join the eu in the hope that membership
would help stabilise the economy following the collapse of its once booming
financial sector
iceland already applies about two thirds of eu legislation
the european commission manages the enlargement process on behalf of eu nations
but new candidates must be accepted unanimously by the nations effectively
giving britain or the netherlands veto over iceland entry
the commission hopes that an acceptable solution for all the parties concerned
will be found the spokesman in brussels said
but he underlined the icesave agreement is mainly bilateral issue
between iceland the uk and the netherlands as it concerns compensation for uk
and dutch depositors in icesave accounts
football ribery the french patient keeps bayern fans guessing
berlin jan afp
french international franck ribery has hinted he could make amends to fans and
chiefs at bayern munich left frustrated by his string of injuries by seeking
contract extension with the club
why not ribery told the media when asked if he would consider extending his
contract past when it expires
ribery who is in dubai on team training camp said however he wants his case
settled before the start of the world cup in south africa this june
it me who will decide we ll sit around the table and come up with solution
but whatever it is it has to be settled before the world cup
fans of the german giants however may not be getting their hopes up
the highly valued midfielder has been target of top clubs since producing some
scintillating performances for bayern last season notably real madrid who
failed to sign him last summer
bayern bosses have recently denied rumours they will cash in on ribery next
summer by selling him to the spanish giants
according to bayern sporting director christoph nerlinger talks will begin
in the coming weeks
we want to keep franck but we have to come to an arrangement that is win win
situation for both parties he said
what matters most is that he gets back to playing regularly
ribery has been out of action since october due to injury fact that bild
newspaper was keen to highlight wednesday with full page detailing ribery
injury setbacks entitled the french patient episode
after suffering blisters on his foot in the summer he was then sidelined with
knee tendinitis he was due to return in mid december but then suffered an ankle
injury in training
bayern return to bundesliga action against hoffenheim on january but ribery
who has played only six of league matches all season is still uncertain
oil prices ease before us inventory data
london jan afp
oil prices fell slightly on wednesday ahead of data on us energy stockpiles and
amid expectations that spike in heating fuel demand caused by cold weather
across the northern hemisphere will tail off
new york main futures contract light sweet crude for delivery in february
dipped two cents to dollars barrel
brent north sea crude for february delivery shed cents to dollars in
london trading
weather event is dominating the oil headlines said pvm broker oil analyst
david hufton
cold weather in the united states and europe has increased demand for heating
fuel in turn driving oil prices higher earlier in the week
it cold all over the world which is definitively adding to oil demand but
the american weather looks it is going to ease up so it slightly bearish for
oil prices said independent analyst ellis eckland
markets were meanwhile awaiting the latest weekly snapshot of energy inventories
in the united states the world biggest consumer
amid cold weather stockpiles of distillates which include heating fuel
are expected to have fallen by million barrels last week according to
analyst consensus reported by dow jones newswires
phil flynn at pfg best said the market appeared to have won support from the
notion that government stimulus including ultra low interest rates from the
federal reserve will help keep the economic recovery on track
it is not so much the transitory issue that we are freezing that inspired the
big move in prices but growing sense that interest rates will be frozen for
longer time than the market anticipated he said
flynn added that the rally had been sparked by dovish comments over the weekend
from fed chairman ben bernanke who suggested no quick move away from near zero
rates even amid signs of strengthening economy
this rally was about more than just weather he said this was about the
changing attitudes of when the fed will raise rates
oil prices began with bang on monday soaring by more than two dollars as
freezing temperatures spread
reports that russia had cut supplies to belarus also helped push prices higher
dealers said officials in belarus denied the reports however
afghan blast kills four children wounds nine nato troops
jalalabad afghanistan jan afp
suspected roadside bomb killed four children and injured dozens including nine
foreign troops wednesday officials said as police officer who defected to
the taliban was captured
in day of violence that saw more than people including school children
injured across the country afghan officials and nato were at odds over the
cause of massive explosion in eastern nangahar
the blast happened at around am gmt in the rodat district of the
troubled province said ahmad zia abdulzai the provincial governor spokesman
adding that the cause was roadside bomb
one policeman was killed four children were killed and more than are
wounded he said
this was the action of the armed opposition he said referring to taliban led
militants who have significant presence in the region
an investigation was underway to determine the cause he told afp
nato international security assistance force isaf said however the blast was
caused by unexploded munitions
nine international security assistance force service members were wounded in an
explosion in the rodat district of nangarhar province this morning the isaf
statement said
the blast is believed to have been caused by the detonation of unexploded
ordnance it added without mention of child fatalities
isaf did not give the nationality of the wounded soldiers though us forces are
dominant in the region
the interior ministry said earlier that school children were among those
wounded when police vehicle drove over the bomb
more than foreign troops under us and nato command are battling
virulent taliban led insurgency as the war drags into its ninth year
roadside bombs have become the scourge of the afghan war with one senior
western military intelligence officer saying they are responsible for up to
percent of foreign troop deaths which last year surpassed
the bombs are cheap and easy to make usually with fertiliser and switches they
are planted on roads regularly used by military patrols and detonated by remote
control sometimes from up to two kilometres one mile away
in the violence prone province of farah afghan security forces captured
former police officer who defected to the taliban
the renegade officer mohammad qasim deserted his post as police chief of
restive district in southwestern farah early last year taking with him some
officers as well as uniforms weapons and vehicles
he and his men joined militants to fight afghan and western forces in bala blok
district farah deputy governor mohammad younus rasouli said
when he was captured on tuesday night qasim was wearing afghan police uniform
and using government weapons and police vehicles against the government
rasouli said
seven other men most of them former police were also arrested he said
under multi billion dollar internationally backed programme afghanistan is
rebuilding its security forces with numbers now around for the army and
police
the security forces have been fighting taliban led insurgency side by side
with foreign troops amid hopes they will be able to take on the fight
themselves within five years
despite strict vetting process some recruits have turned on their foreign
colleagues raising questions about the selection process and brief training
on november in the most recent incident an afghan policemen killed five
british soldiers in the southern province of helmand one of the most violent
regions of the country
as the insurgency escalates foreign troop numbers are set to rise to
over the course of this year with experts predicting more battles and higher
casualty rate on both sides
in other violence wednesday ten civilians were wounded in bombing in eastern
khost province an official there said while four police officers were killed
in roadside bomb in nangahar khogiani district
four militants were also killed in an operation by afghan and foreign forces in
the northern province of kunduz overnight an official said
iran arrests in renewed clampdown website
tehran jan afp
iran has arrested more than people in recent days including journalists
students and human rights campaigners following anti government protests late
last month banned opposition website said on wednesday
rahesabz named people rounded up including aides to opposition leader mir
hossein mousavi journalists working mostly for reformist media and members
of the outlawed bahai faith
another unnamed students have also been arrested mostly in the holy city of
mashhad the website said
on december eight people were killed after clashes erupted between security
forces and opposition supporters staging fresh protests during the shiite
mourning period of ashura
security forces arrested hundreds of people during the protests at least of
whom are still being held in tehran police say
and government supporters staged counter demonstrations calling for opposition
leaders to be punished
rahesabz was one of organisations iran banned citizens from having contact
with state media reported on monday the bbc human rights watch and us funded
broadcasters are some of the others
the opposition website said bahais have been arrested among them the former
secretary of nobel peace laureate shirin ebadi human rights group ebadi
sister was also detained shortly after the opposition sunday protest
dissidents from iran freedom movement an outlawed but tolerated group as
well as their relatives and dozens of human rights and student activists have
also been taken into custody according to wednesday report
president mahmoud ahmadinejad whose disputed june re election triggered the
unrest last month has accused iran archfoes the united states and israel of
staging the latest anti government protests
bob dylan to launch asian tour
taipei jan afp
legendary singer songwriter bob dylan will launch an asian tour in april with
stops in china taiwan hong kong and south korea organisers and reports said
wednesday
dylan the reluctant voice for disaffected youth in the is due to fly to
taipei for performance on april after completing his tour of japan taipei
headquartered entertainment company brokers brothers herald said
the liberty times said the year old folk rock icon would also appear in
beijing on april before heading to shanghai on april and hong kong on april
the dates of his seoul gig were not specified
brokers brothers herald would not confirm an apple daily report that dylan
performances in taipei beijing shanghai and hong kong and seoul would cost the
company million taiwan dollars around million us
dylan songs such as blowin in the wind and the times they are changin
became anthems for the civil rights and anti war movements
iceland is swept into storm after icesave veto
reykjavik jan afp
iceland was swept up in political and economic storm on wednesday with clouds
building over its credit rating economic recovery and eu membership bid after
the president vetoed compensation over the icesave bank collapse
iceland president olafur ragnar grimsson refused to sign on tuesday the so
called icesave bill on compensation to the british and dutch governments
referring instead the issue to referendum because of public opposition
the decision immediately sparked anger from london and the hague where
government officials urged reykjavik to meet its international obligations
on wednesday standard and poor put icelandic debt under negative credit
watch saying the veto could undermine the country loan agreement from the
international monetary fund although the imf has said there was no link
sandp said that as result we could lower our ratings on iceland by one to
two notches within month
that came just hours after the fitch credit rating agency downgraded iceland
long term debt rating from bbb to bb citing renewed wave of domestic
political economic and financial uncertainty
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
the payout has stirred up resentment among many ordinary icelanders hard hit by
their country financial collapse in october
about people or about quarter of the electorate have signed
petition protesting against the bill which they fear will doom them to decades
of poverty
the icelandic parliament is expected to reconvene on friday to discuss whether
to hold the referendum on february political advisor for prime minister
johanna sigurdardottir told afp
sigurdardottir has staked her political future on passage of the bill
suggesting her government could step down if it were blocked
poll conducted on tuesday among icelanders and published on wednesday by
the mmr polling institute indicated that percent would vote no to the icesave
bill in referendum and would support it
meanwhile britain warned iceland no vote could jeopardise its bid to join
the european union
financial services minister paul myners told the bbc this development would
need to be factored into decision as to whether we would be supportive of
iceland application to join the eu
baldur thorhallsson political science professor at the university of iceland
and eu specialist told afp he expected the icesave debate to play role in
iceland membership bid
yes believe that this will have an impact on the eu application because
when iceland handed in its application in july the uk and dutch did consider
stopping it until icesave was dealt with he said
decision is expected in march from the eu on whether to start the
negotiations and think the uk and netherlands will hesitate before agreeing to
the negotiations he added
but the eu implications were largely absent in icelandic editorials on
wednesday with more attention paid to the impact the icesave bill would have on
the country economic recovery
the resurrection of the country economy has been delayed because of
government which decided to put its pet interest eu application first but not
the interests of the households on the one hand and the interests of the nation
on the other daily morgunbladid wrote in an editorial
but despite everything we can now be in better position if we play the
situation well the nation could benefit from strong resistance against
excessive and unfair demands it said
another daily frettabladid noted however that icesave will not disappear
if the law is not adopted adding referendum will not close the issue in
any way
two obama allies to retire from senate
