brussels jan afp
the european commission said wednesday it would sue nations which are refusing
to foot the bill for an inflation busting pay rise for eu workers
commission president jose manuel barroso secured unanimous agreement at
meeting of his commissioners to take the case to the european court of
justice in luxembourg commission spokeswoman pia ahrenkilde hansen told
journalists
brussels has indeed confirmed its decision to take action before the court
hansen said now it for the court to decide
eu nations put themselves on collision course with the bloc executive after
deciding to slash in half percent salary increase drawn up under formula
previously agreed by national leaders
the salary dispute has proved an embarrassment at time when european leaders
are trying to re brand the bloc on the world stage with new leadership figures
under its reforming lisbon treaty
the legal battle could even become complicated by the fact that judges set to
hear the case themselves would benefit from the higher pay raise
some eu employees and contract staff at the european commission
parliament council and court will only receive percent rise despite
having taken strike and other industrial action backed by unions
some member states have cut civil servants salaries domestically in bid to
reduce swelling national deficits sometimes under orders from brussels where
the commission also acts as budget watchdog
the commission argues that its original figure of percent pay rise was
calculated through legally binding mechanism averaging pay rises in brussels
and eight eu countries
court judgment in near identical case backed the commission stance
twenty eu nations supported decision last month to invoke an unusual written
procedure to cut the raise seven others abstained but all face the same court
complaint which targets the collective entity for the the european council
the commission said it had asked for speedy decision by the european court for
case which could otherwise trundle on for over year
the row could nonetheless disrupt eu parliament confirmation hearings beginning
on monday for barroso new team
the two key figures there are the eu new foreign affairs supremo britain
catherine ashton and top financial services overlord france michel barnier
both of whom face grillings from opponents in the european parliament
basic gross monthly salaries for eu commission staff range from euros
dollars for secretary to around euros for department head
the commissioners themselves get even more plus housing and other perks
the new european union president herman van rompuy of belgium is to earn more
than us president barack obama
chinese juice maker to pay up over hedging lawsuit
hong kong jan afp
hong kong listed china haisheng juice holdings co is paying wall street bank
morgan stanley seven million dollars to settle lawsuits in the uk and china over
hedging contracts report said
in an announcement to the hong kong stock exchange dated monday the beverage
company said it will pay the counterparty the amount and proceedings in the
uk and china will be dismissed
people familiar with the deal had said earlier the counterparty was investment
bank morgan stanley dow jones newswires reported
morgan stanley was suing haisheng which is percent owned by goldman sachs
group inc in london for million dollars over the juice maker refusal to
put up collateral for hedging contract dow jones said
morgan stanley lodged its suit against haisheng in may
the chinese firm in turn was countersuing the us bank in china for allegedly
misselling it the contracts
the derivatives sold to haisheng involved straightforward currency swap
transaction between the us dollar and the chinese yuan and were not loss
making the report cited source as saying
it said the case was unrelated to the disclosure in september by china state
owned assets supervision and administration commission that it would support
state owned companies that take legal action over losses on commodity related
derivative contracts
in december china accused several foreign investment banks of maliciously
selling derivative products to dozens of state owned companies which then
booked billions of yuan in losses on the deals
the state owned assets supervision and administration commission singled out
goldman sachs merrill lynch morgan stanley and citigroup in an article
published by state media
pakistan court refuses to acquit mumbai suspects
islamabad jan afp
pakistani anti terror court on wednesday threw out requests to acquit seven
suspects accused by rival india of helping to carry out the mumbai attacks
defence lawyer said
pakistan is holding seven suspects over the november siege on india
financial capital including the alleged mastermind of the operation zakiur
rehman lakhvi and alleged lashkar taiba let operative zarar shah
the court in the garrison town of rawalpindi indicted the men on the eve of the
first anniversary of india worst militant attacks which killed at least
people and ruptured fragile peace process with pakistan
the court dismissed the acquittal plea by the seven men and adjourned the
hearing until january lawyer shahbaz rajput told afp by telephone
all seven put forward their applications disputing the veracity of evidence
from the prosecution
the anti terror court met in special room set up in the high security adiala
jail and journalists have been barred from all hearings
the seven people had requested the court that the prosecution evidence had no
validity in the eyes of law rajput said
india and washington blamed the mumbai siege on pakistan banned militant group
let the attacks stalled fragile four year peace process between the two
nuclear armed south asian rivals
new delhi has been pressuring islamabad to speed up probe of pakistani
militants blamed for the hour siege that saw heavily armed gunmen target
luxury hotels mumbai main railway station restaurant and jewish centre
india and pakistan have fought three wars since gaining independence from
british rule and splitting in
french rogue trader kerviel on trial in june
paris jan afp
french banker jerome kerviel will stand trial in june over the huge rogue
trading scandal that embarrassed major bank societe generale court source
said on wednesday
kerviel will appear in court in paris from june to the source said
one of france three biggest banks societe generale shocked the financial
world when it unveiled losses of billion euros about seven billion dollars
in january
the losses were incurred when the bank was forced to unwind more than billion
euros of unauthorised deals kerviel is said to have made
he faces charges of breach of trust falsifying and using fake documents and
tampering with computer information according to sources close to the case
he faces possible sentence of five years in prison and euro fine if
convicted
militant attack in indian kashmir summer capital police
srinagar india jan afp
suspected muslim militants on wednesday opened fire in the main market area of
indian kashmir summer capital srinagar killing one police officer and sending
residents running for cover
police said one or two gunmen had taken up positions in city centre hotel
which was quickly surrounded by heavily armed members of the security forces
we can launch an offensive until we are sure all the civilians are out of the
building where militants are holed up said farooq ahmed senior officer
five policemen and three civilians were reported to have been injured in the
fighting
local resident joginder singh said the gunmen appeared to be directing their
fire at paramilitary camp near the hotel in srinagar busy lal chowk
district
pro pakistan militant group jamiat ul mujahedin said it was behind the
assault
three of our men have launched fidayeen suicide attack in lal chowk the
group spokesman jameel ahmed told afp by telephone from an undisclosed
location
the last such attack in the city was staged by militants in october when
two gunmen who stormed paramilitary camp in srinagar were killed and three
soldiers wounded
in the mid part of lal chowk was destroyed in fire that erupted during
gunbattle between rebels and security forces
incidents of unrest in kashmir wracked by muslim separatist insurgency for
two decades were down by about percent last year police say india last
year responded by pulling out some troops from the himalayan region
wednesday assault came as indian kashmir chief minister marked his first
year in office by pledging to slash the security force presence in the muslim
majority region if violence continued to decline
kashmir is divided into indian and pakistani controlled zones and has been the
trigger for two wars between the south asian rivals since their independence
from britain in
earlier wednesday suicide bomber killed three pakistani soldiers near the
demarcation line with india in kashmir the latest in spike of attacks in the
pakistani administered zone
the bombing occurred one day after pakistani president asif ali zardari visited
the area fault line that has distracted pakistani attention from an
expanding taliban menace along the afghan border
the attacker detonated his explosives outside barracks in tarar khal
southeast of muzaffarabad the capital of pakistani administered kashmir
the separatist insurgency in indian kashmir has left more than people
dead since
space age powerboat sliced in two by japanese whalers
sydney jan afp
space age powerboat sent to harass japanese whalers was rammed and sliced in
two in its very first clash on wednesday activists said dramatically
escalating hostilities in icy antarctic seas
the futuristic ady gil trimaran which holds the round the world speed record
for powered vessel and was enlisted by activists from the sea shepherd
conservation society for this whaling season received catastrophic damage and
was sinking they said
all six crew who earlier hurled stink bombs at the whalers to disrupt their
annual hunt were rescued unharmed by sea shepherd bob barker ship
activists described the collision as unprovoked but japan lashed out at the the
group accusing them of extremely dangerous behaviour
the shonan maru no suddenly started up and deliberately rammed the ady gil
ripping eight feet metres of the bow of the vessel completely off sea
shepherd statement said
the ady gil is believed to be sinking and chances of salvage are very grim it
added
but the japanese fisheries agency said the ady gil came abnormally close to the
shonan maru no and suddenly slowed down while crossing in front of it
these acts of sabotage that threaten our country whaling ships and crew were
extremely dangerous it said in statement it is totally unforgivable
videos released by both the japanese and the activists show the sleek black
powerboat and the shonan maru no colliding as the whaling ship targets it with
water cannons
there was no major damage to the japanese ship and no japanese crew members were
injured in the collision the fisheries agency said
the whalers accused the ady gil five new zealand and one dutch crew of trying
to tangle the nisshin maru rudder and propeller with rope and aiming green
laser device at its sailors as well as launching stink bombs
the sea shepherd extremism is becoming more violent their actions are
nothing but felonious behaviour japan institute of cetacean research said in
statement
sea shepherd activists have harassed the japanese fleet over the past six
hunting seasons and claim to have saved the lives of hundreds of whales
paul watson captain of sea shepherd steve irwin ship and spokesman for the
group said the annual pursuit had now turned into real whale war
the japanese whalers have now escalated this conflict very violently he said
if they think that our remaining two ships will retreat from the southern ocean
whale sanctuary in the face of their extremism they will be mistaken
we now have real whale war on our hands and we have no intention of
retreating
australia said it had no plans to send vessel to monitor the escalating
situation some nautical miles south of the tasmanian capital hobart as it
urged both sides to show restraint
it critical for safety at sea to be the highest priority and for absolute and
utmost restraint to be exercised by all parties in this very remote and
inhospitable region environment minister peter garrett said
the wave piercing carbon and kevlar ady gil bankrolled by hollywood
businessman was one of the world most celebrated vessels in under its
former name earthrace it smashed the world circumnavigation record by two
weeks
this is substantial loss for our organisation said watson the ady gil
the former earthrace represents loss of almost two million dollars
however the loss of single whale is of more importance to us and we will not
lose the ady gil in vain this blow simply strengthens our resolve it does not
weaken our spirit
watson also accused the japanese of using surveillance flights to pinpoint the
anti whaling vessels and send pursuing ships setting back their campaign by
weeks
the activists who set off from australia month ago finally caught up with
the whalers before dawn near antarctica commonwealth bay
the sea shepherd conservation society is small but militant environmentalist
group which specialises in direct action to halt marine environmental
destruction
when people call us pirates don really have problem with that we re
pirates of compassion in pursuit of pirates of profit watson told afp in
an international moratorium on commercial whaling was imposed in but japan
kills hundreds each year using loophole that allows lethal research on the
animals
japan makes no secret of the fact that whale meat ends up on dinner tables and
accuses western nations of not respecting its culture
space age powerboat sliced in two by japanese whalers
sydney jan afp
space age powerboat sent to harass japanese whalers was rammed and sliced in
two in its very first clash on wednesday activists said dramatically
escalating hostilities in icy antarctic seas
the futuristic ady gil trimaran which holds the round the world speed record
for powered vessel and was enlisted by activists from the sea shepherd
conservation society for this whaling season received catastrophic damage and
was sinking they said
all six crew who earlier hurled stink bombs at the whalers to disrupt their
annual hunt were rescued unharmed by sea shepherd bob barker ship
activists described the collision as unprovoked but japan lashed out at the the
group accusing them of extremely dangerous behaviour
the shonan maru no suddenly started up and deliberately rammed the ady gil
ripping eight feet metres of the bow of the vessel completely off sea
shepherd statement said
the ady gil is believed to be sinking and chances of salvage are very grim it
added
but the japanese fisheries agency said the ady gil came abnormally close to the
shonan maru no and suddenly slowed down while crossing in front of it
these acts of sabotage that threaten our country whaling ships and crew were
extremely dangerous it said in statement it is totally unforgivable
videos released by both the japanese and the activists show the sleek black
powerboat and the shonan maru no colliding as the whaling ship targets it with
water cannons
there was no major damage to the japanese ship and no japanese crew members were
injured in the collision the fisheries agency said
the whalers accused the ady gil five new zealand and one dutch crew of trying
to tangle the nisshin maru rudder and propeller with rope and aiming green
laser device at its sailors as well as launching stink bombs
the sea shepherd extremism is becoming more violent their actions are
nothing but felonious behaviour japan institute of cetacean research said in
statement
sea shepherd activists have harassed the japanese fleet over the past six
hunting seasons and claim to have saved the lives of hundreds of whales
paul watson captain of sea shepherd steve irwin ship and spokesman for the
group said the annual pursuit had now turned into real whale war
the japanese whalers have now escalated this conflict very violently he said
if they think that our remaining two ships will retreat from the southern ocean
whale sanctuary in the face of their extremism they will be mistaken
we now have real whale war on our hands and we have no intention of
retreating
australia said it had no plans to send vessel to monitor the escalating
situation some nautical miles south of the tasmanian capital hobart as it
urged both sides to show restraint
it critical for safety at sea to be the highest priority and for absolute and
utmost restraint to be exercised by all parties in this very remote and
inhospitable region environment minister peter garrett said
the wave piercing carbon and kevlar ady gil bankrolled by hollywood
businessman was one of the world most celebrated vessels in under its
former name earthrace it smashed the world circumnavigation record by two
weeks
this is substantial loss for our organisation said watson the ady gil
the former earthrace represents loss of almost two million dollars
however the loss of single whale is of more importance to us and we will not
lose the ady gil in vain this blow simply strengthens our resolve it does not
weaken our spirit
watson also accused the japanese of using surveillance flights to pinpoint the
anti whaling vessels and send pursuing ships setting back their campaign by
weeks
the activists who set off from australia month ago finally caught up with
the whalers before dawn near antarctica commonwealth bay
the sea shepherd conservation society is small but militant environmentalist
group which specialises in direct action to halt marine environmental
destruction
when people call us pirates don really have problem with that we re
pirates of compassion in pursuit of pirates of profit watson told afp in
an international moratorium on commercial whaling was imposed in but japan
kills hundreds each year using loophole that allows lethal research on the
animals
japan makes no secret of the fact that whale meat ends up on dinner tables and
accuses western nations of not respecting its culture
northern ireland loyalist group disarms
belfast jan afp
northern ireland largest loyalist pro london paramilitary group announced
wednesday that it had completed disarmament milestone in the troubled
province peace process
the political wing of the ulster defence association uda held responsible for
about murders during the civil strife in the british ruled province said it
had put the remainder of its arsenal beyond use
today the leadership of the uda can confirm that all weaponry under its control
has been put verifiably beyond use said ulster political research group uprg
leader frankie gallagher at press conference in belfast
the move which came ahead of february deadline to decommission was
facilitated by the independent international commission on decommissioning
iicd under the leadership of canadian general john de chastelain
the work in progress with general john de chastelain and his team has been
concluded the uprg added
it was verified by two independent witnesses the former church of ireland
primate lord robin eames and former top civil servant george quigley
the uda is the largest and last loyalist paramilitary group to hand over its
weapons following the good friday agreement which largely ended three
decades of violence in the province known as the troubles
loyalists are northern ireland protestants who want the province to remain part
of britain and are historic foes of catholic republicans who believe it should
become part of the republic of ireland
the other main loyalist groups ulster volunteer force uvf and red hand
commandos rhc announced last june that they were putting all of their weapons
beyond use move hailed by political leaders as an historic day
the iicd said in september that the uda and its breakaway faction pledged to
decommission by february when long running amnesty on giving up arms ends
the peace accord ended most of the violence which had plagued northern
ireland for decades killing at least people
devolved self rule is now in place after landmark accord in between the
protestant democratic unionists dup and catholic sinn fein
the irish republican army ira the main republican paramilitary group
finished destroying its arsenal four years ago overseen by the commission
loyalist groups began disarming in but the process was suspended after two
british soldiers and policeman in northern ireland were shot dead by dissident
republicans in march last year
the process restarted after reassurances from the british and irish governments
that those responsible for the attacks would be vigorously pursued
yemen captures key al qaeda chief as foreign missions reopen
sanaa jan afp
yemeni security forces under us pressure to rein in extremists wednesday
captured key al qaeda leader believed behind threats that saw foreign
embassies in sanaa hastily bolting their doors police said
the arrest of mohammed al hanq and two other suspected al qaeda militants at
hospital in raydah north of capital came as yemen authorities said al qaeda
militants 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
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 thought to
be reference to the crackdown on hanq group
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
on monday us secretary of state hillary clinton further upped the pressure on
yemen saying the lack of security in the impoverished country has international
ramifications
the instability in yemen is threat to regional stability and even global
stability clinton told reporters in washington
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
washington has also unleashed barrage of measures to stop would be attackers
riding planes into the country overhauling its terror watchlists and adding
dozens more suspects to no fly lists
further boosting security measures all travellers coming from or via terror
linked countries among them yemen will have to undergo compulsory enhanced
screening
mauritius allows armed guards on ships
port louis jan afp
mauritius gave the go ahead wednesday for its ships to carry armed security
guards to deter attacks in the indian ocean pirate infested waters
looking at the size of mauritius exclusive economic zone around one million
square kilometres the risk that mauritian vessels might be attacked is high
foreign minister arvin boolell said
we had already taken number of measures but we also need to take exceptional
action because the circumstances are exceptional he said
the government had come under fire from the opposition over the lack of security
measures in place to protect shipping and cruise liners
while mauritian law did not previously prevent armed security aboard ships the
latest measures make it easier for shipowners to do so and the move has been
welcomed by shipping companies
we had previously made request to the government and we are satisfied that it
has now been answered positively thierry perrier marine manager at ireland
blyth limited told afp
although mauritius has not been directly affected by somali piracy the island
nation has feared for its maritime trade as well as the many luxury cruises that
feed its economy
japan pm names deputy kan as new finance minister
tokyo jan afp
japan prime minister named his deputy naoto kan as finance minister wednesday
replacing year old hirohisa fujii who is stepping down for health reasons in
blow to the three month old government
prime minister yukio hatoyama struggling to reverse slump in his popularity
said fujii resignation was unavoidable due to exhaustion after months of hard
work drawing up the national budget
the doctors medical certificate said it is difficult for him to execute his
official duty as minister have no choice but to take the doctors diagnosis
seriously hatoyama told reporters
believe deputy prime minister kan can fully handle the job he added
kan is co founder of the governing democratic party of japan dpj and
reputed for his tough legislative debating skills
he is best known for his work as health minister in the when he pushed
civil servants to disclose the ministry involvement in allowing the use of
imported blood products tainted with hiv
nicknamed irritable kan for his sometimes short temper he is one time
grassroots activist and former leader of the dpj which he co launched in
along with hatoyama he will also remain deputy prime minister
accepted the prime minister offer telling him that am still immature in
many aspects but that will do my best to fill the place left by minister
fujii kan told reporters
with everyone help resolutely take it upon myself to continue what
minister fujii had set out to do particularly with the budget
fujii who has railed against wasteful government spending was hospitalised on
december suffering from fatigue and high blood pressure after months of
wrangling over the national budget
the veteran politician was picked by hatoyama as finance minister less than four
months ago returning to post he held briefly in the early
he was one of the few cabinet members with previous government experience and
his departure is setback to hatoyama efforts to revive the world number two
economy reeling from its worst downturn in decades
hatoyama took office in mid september with vow to tackle wealth inequalities
curb the power of japan bureaucrats and pursue more equal relationship with
washington
but polls show that many voters fear he lacks leadership after he postponed
decision on where to move key us military base and backtracked on manifesto
pledge to scrap petrol tax
tokyo stocks closed up percent earlier wednesday as investors reacted
calmly to the possibility of fujii stepping down
do not expect any substantial impact on the japanese economy as whole
said yutaka harada chief economist at daiwa research institute
but the yen fell as traders speculated that fujii successor might not be so
tolerant of the currency recent strength
fujii has repeatedly said that in principle tokyo should refrain from market
intervention to weaken the yen and protect exporters
the market has taken fujii policies favourably said hideaki inoue chief
manager of forex trading at mitsubishi ufj and banking corp
eu staff pay fight goes to court
brussels jan afp
row over an inflation busting pay rise for tens of thousands of european union
civil service staff turned ugly wednesday when their bosses vowed to sue after
member states refused to foot the bill
jose manuel barroso the head of the european commission which proposes and
enforces eu laws secured unanimous agreement at morning meeting of his
executive team to take the case to the european court of justice in luxembourg
brussels has indeed confirmed its decision to take action before the court eu
commission spokeswoman pia ahrenkilde hansen told journalists
now it for the court to decide she said adding that the strong cabinet
one commissioner for each member state had agreed unanimously to launch
the proceedings
eu member states put themselves on potentially damaging collision course with
the bloc executive body in taking political decision to slash in half
percent salary increase drawn up under formula previously agreed by national
leaders
it triggers an unedifying spectacle amid attempts to re brand the bloc on the
world stage with new leadership figures under its reforming lisbon treaty
the legal battle could even become complicated by the fact that judges set to
hear the case themselves would benefit from the higher pay raise
