bosworth said the two sides had reached common understanding on the need to
resume the six party talks
he said the six party grouping was the forum that would decide when and how to
tackle the array of topics involved in the negotiations based on the joint
statement
yu dismissed the north persistent call for peace treaty with the united
states as stalling tactic
north korea demand that peace system should be discussed first runs against
the joint statement in reality it is impossible this is tactic aimed
at avoiding denuclearization or delaying it yu said
in the statement north korea promised to dismantle its nuclear programmes
in return for economic aid and diplomatic relations
however no date has been fixed
bosworth reiterated washington position that the united states would not
discuss peace treaty or any of the other issues before six party negotiations
resume
peace treaty would replace an armistice currently in force to formally end the
korean war in which communist north korea backed by chinese troops
fought south korea supported by us led un troops
taiwan firm put on watch list after sales to iran
taipei jan afp
taiwan has placed local company on watch list after the firm sold
specialised equipment to iran an official said on wednesday
the company is on an observation list which means it must obtain prior export
permits after it imported pressure sensors from europe and sold them to
iran in march said an official at the bureau of foreign trade
pressure sensors can measure altitudes and are therefore used in aircraft and
rockets
the official who declined to identify the company stressed that the device is
neither high tech nor restricted rejecting media reports that it could be used
to make nuclear weapons
britain daily telegraph newspaper reported last month that iran had tried
unsuccessfully to buy the device for more than year from european and american
firms before turning to taiwanese company
un officials are investigating whether the european companies conducted proper
checks of end user certificates for the equipment the paper said
the international community has warned iran to stop construction of its second
uranium enrichment plant wary that it is trying to develop nuclear bomb
iran rejects the charges and says it wants to build up civil energy programme
french embassy in yemen reopens diplomat
sanaa jan afp
the french embassy in sanaa reopened wednesday after being closed for two days
due to the threat of terrorist attack diplomat at the mission said
the british embassy in the yemeni capital also reopened but its consular
services remained closed according to statement on its website
the us embassy had reopened tuesday after two day closure prompted by al qaeda
threats saying on its website that yemeni security forces had addressed
specific area of concern in the north of the capital sanaa on monday
warnings of possible al qaeda attack had led washington to close its embassy
in sanaa the day before the british and french authorities followed suit while
japan suspended consular services at its embassy
china growth projected at percent official
beijing jan afp
china economy likely grew percent in despite the global downturn but
the country still faces challenges this year including the difficult task of
driving demand senior official has said
growth is set to exceed the government eight percent target as beijing
massive stimulus package quickly turned around the slowdown momentum said
zhang xiaoqiang vice chairman of china top economic planning agency
the chinese government has for years set the annual growth target at eight
percent the rate seen as the minimum necessary to create enough jobs to
prevent social unrest in the vast country of billion
growth accelerated on the back of improving company profits soaring investment
and booming domestic consumption zhang said in speech posted tuesday on the
website of the national development and reform commission
but the chinese economy however still faces many challenges to maintain steady
and fast expansion in due to constraints in boosting demand overcapacity
in some industries and fiercer international competition he said
the trade environment outlook is no cause for optimism as foreign demand in the
next year is unlikely to recover to the pre crisis level given rife trade
protectionism zhang said
china will face rising international competition and friction in trade and the
acquisition of energy and resources capital and technology in the post crisis
times
china economic development will be more vulnerable to global economic and
financial turmoil he said
zhang added that domestic demand growth would taper off as the effects of
stimulus measures reached their limit
china economy grew by percent in the third quarter of the fastest
pace in year after expanding by percent in the second quarter and
percent in the first the slowest pace in more than decade
official full year growth figures are normally released in late january
british embassy in yemen reopens statement
sanaa jan afp
the british embassy in sanaa reopened wednesday after being closed for three
days due to the threat of an attack by al qaeda the mission announced in
statement
the british embassy has reopened but public services remain closed visa and
consular services said the statement posted on its website
the situation is being assessed on daily basis
the us embassy in yemen reopened tuesday after two day closure prompted by al
qaeda threats as us secretary of state hillary clinton warned unrest in the arab
country is threat to global stability
the us embassy said on its website that yemeni security forces had addressed
specific area of concern in the north of the capital sanaa on monday paving
the way for tuesday reopening
warnings of possible al qaeda attack had led washington to close its embassy
in sanaa the day before the british and french authorities followed suit while
japan suspended consular services at its embassy
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 us embassy said in statement
it was apparently referring to security operation yemeni police conducted
monday in the area of arhab kilometres miles north of sanaa where two
suspected members of al qaeda were killed and three others wounded
bomb kills three outside pakistan kashmir army base
muzaffarabad pakistan jan afp
bomb attack killed three security personnel outside an army base in pakistani
administered kashmir close to the line separating it from indian territory on
wednesday police said
the attack came one day after pakistani president asif ali zardari visited the
area declaring that regional peace depended on resolving the dispute over
kashmir fault line that has sparked two wars between india and pakistan
the bomb exploded outside barracks in tarar khal kilometres miles
east of muzaffarabad the capital of pakistani administered kashmir
it was bomb blast it could be suicide blast but we are collecting the
evidence senior police official irfan masaood kishvi told afp by telephone
from the nearby town of pallandri
it was outside the army barracks three security personnel have been martyred
and three wounded the injured have been taken to the combined military
hospital kishvi added
kashmir was split into two in the bloody aftermath of independence from british
rule over the subcontinent in nuclear rivals india and pakistan each
control part of the mountainous land but both claim the region in full
tens of thousands of people have been killed in nearly year revolt in
indian kashmir where muslim militants have fought against new delhi rule but
bomb attacks are rare in the pakistani administered zone
raja farooq haider the elected leader of pakistani administered kashmir
confirmed bomb exploded in an army area of tara khal small village with
local population of around people
the bomb blast took place in an army area the authorities are on site we have
taken the injured to the nearby rawala kot hospital he told pakistan private
television channel geo
police and experts are investigating whether it was suicide blast or
planted bomb he added
militant attacks across pakistan have killed more than people since july
washington is putting pressure on pakistan to do more to fight taliban and al
qaeda linked militants along its western border with afghanistan but the
pakistani military establishment continues to eye india as the primary threat to
the country
the whole focus of the world is on pakistan regional peace is linked with the
resolution of the kashmir dispute and peace can only come if the issue is
resolved zardari said in kashmir on tuesday
india has accused pakistan of arming and funding militants waging the insurgency
in kashmir although islamabad denies the charges
on december suicide bombing outside shiite muslim mosque in muzaffarabad
killed seven people on the eve of ashura the holiest day in the shiite calendar
that commemorates the seventh century killing of imam hussein
two charged over malaysia stolen jet engines
kuala lumpur jan afp
malaysian air force sergeant and businessman were charged wednesday over the
theft of two us made fighter jet engines worth million dollars stolen from
malaysian military airbase
tharmendran nagarajah year old sergeant faces years in jail for
abetting the theft of the engines while year old aviation scrap parts dealer
rajendra prasad faces seven years for allegedly disposing of the equipment
two people were charged today one with abettment and one for disposing of the
two jet engines the engines have not been recovered said government
prosecutor raja rozela raja toran
raja rozela said she had no more instructions on whether other figures were to
be charged over the scandal which has triggered allegations of official
corruption
the two northrop jet engines were reportedly sold on the black market by
military officers to south american company after being taken from military
airbase apparently last year
police traced the engines to argentina but reports later said they were then
shipped to uruguay investigating officer wan zainulddin said outside the court
that police had travelled to uruguay to search for the missing equipment
the accused pair both pleaded not guilty tharmendran lawyer said that the
sergeant worked in different air force base to the one where the engines were
stolen from
who is responsible for moving the engines why should my client plead guilty
he was in no way responsible for the theft lawyer ravichandran told afp at
the petaling jaya sessions court outside the capital
he said that tharmendran only involvement in the case had been to respond to
query from friend of rajendra who wanted to know if there were any second hand
engines for sale
armed forces chief azizan ariffin has said the theft was only the tip of the
iceberg after newly completed audit revealed equipment worth millions of
ringgit was missing including other jet fighter parts
number of countries subject to us arms embargoes including iran sudan and
venezuela have fighters that use the antiquated engines
the jet first flew in and northrop ended production in
space age powerboat destroyed in japan whaling clash report
sydney jan afp
futuristic powerboat sent to harass japanese whalers has been sliced in two
and is sinking after clash in antarctic waters report said on wednesday
all six crew on the ady gil trimaran which holds the round the world record
were rescued unharmed sea shepherd spokesman paul watson was quoted as saying
this seriously escalates the whole situation watson said according to the
age newspaper online edition
urgent space age powerboat destroyed in japan whaling clash report
sydney jan afp
futuristic powerboat sent to harass japanese whalers has been sliced in two
and is sinking after clash in antarctic waters media report said on
wednesday
urgent british embassy in yemen reopens statement
sanaa jan afp
the british embassy in sanaa reopened wednesday after being closed for three
days due to the threat of an attack by al qaeda the mission announced in
statement
alert
space age powerboat sliced in two in japan whaling clash report
alert
british embassy in yemen reopens wednesday statement
nba arenas scores points as wizards rally to beat ers
philadelphia jan afp
antawn jamison scored points and had rebounds nick young finished with
points as washington battled back from point deficit to post win
over the philadelphia on tuesday
gilbert arenas had points and assists and andray blatche scored for the
wizards who ended four game losing streak the assists was season high
for arenas and the points tied season high for jamison
andre iguodala scored points samuel dalembert had points and rebounds
for philadelphia who were coming off six game road trip
arenas was in the starting lineup for washington just one day after he met with
law enforcement officials to explain why he had guns in the wizards locker room
last month
tennis hopman cup standings
perth australia jan afp
standings from the hopman cup tennis tournament at perth burswood dome after
tuesday ties
group
played ties won ties lost matches won matches lost
spain
australia
romania
usa
afp sports schedule for wednesday january
paris jan afp
afp sports schedule for wednesday january
tennis
roger federer and rafael nadal continue their respective bids for the first
tournament victory of the season at the qatar open while kim clijsters is top
seed at the brisbane international as the build up to the australian open
continues
atp also at brisbane and chennai wta at auckland
hopman cup continues in perth
slugs tennis atp qat tennis atp wta aus tennis atp ind tennis wta nzl
tennis hopman aus
cricket
fourth day of the third test between south africa and england in cape town with
the hosts resuming on for two in their second innings an overall lead of
coverage by colin bryden
india sri lanka at dhaka in the second odi of three nation tournament which
also includes bangladesh
slugs cricket rsa eng cricket ind sri
football
asian cup qualifiers
slug fbl asia
rallying
fifth stage of the dakar rally is mammoth km special from copiapo to
antofagasta in chile
coverage by joris fioriti
slug auto moto rally dakar
bomb kills three outside pakistan kashmir army base police
muzaffarabad pakistan jan afp
bomb attack killed three security personnel outside an army barracks in
pakistani administered kashmir on wednesday police official said
the bomb exploded outside the barracks in tarar khal kilometres miles
east of muzaffarabad the capital of pakistani administered kashmir and near the
line of control with indian administered kashmir
it was bomb blast it could be suicide blast but we are collecting the
evidence senior police official irfan masaood kishvi told afp by telephone
from the nearby town of pallandri
three security personnel have been martyred and three wounded the injured have
been taken to the combined military hospital kishvi added
kashmir was split into two in the bloody aftermath of independence from british
rule over the subcontinent in nuclear rivals india and pakistan each
control part of the mountainous land but both claim the region in full
tens of thousands of people have been killed in nearly year revolt in
indian kashmir where muslim militants have fought against new delhi rule but
bomb attacks are rare in the pakistani administered zone
first vietnam refinery too small petrovietnam
hanoi jan afp
vietnam has learned lesson from its first oil refinery and will build future
facilities that are larger and more efficient the chairman of petrovietnam was
quoted as saying on wednesday
early last year the country first refinery opened at dung quat in central
vietnam with capacity of million tonnes million tons year or
barrels per day
investing in future refineries with such small capacity would be inefficient
the state vietnam news quoted dinh la thang chairman of petrovietnam as
saying
this is the lesson drawn from dung quat thang said adding that two planned
refineries would have annual capacities of million tonnes of oil
petrovietnam confirmed the comments to afp
until dung quat opened at cost of more than billion dollars fast
developing vietnam imported all of the refined petroleum products needed for
domestic use
petrovietnam the trading name of the vietnam national oil and gas group on
tuesday said its revenues last year amounted to percent of the country
economic output down from percent year earlier
the firm did not report annual profit figures
vietnam boasts rich offshore oil reserves located in the south china sea where
petrovietnam together with russian and other foreign partners exploits several
major fields
urgent bomb kills three outside pakistan army base in kashmir
muzaffarabad pakistan jan afp
bomb attack killed three security personnel outside an army barracks in
pakistani administered kashmir on wednesday police official said
ice hockey carlson scores ot winner as us upsets canada
saskatoon canada jan afp
defenceman john carlson scored in overtime as the united states upset canada
in the final of the world junior hockey championships snapping the canucks
five year gold medal win streak
canada rallied from late two goal deficit to tie the game and send it into
extra time but they could hold off the speedy americans attack for long
carlson capped off three on one break with his decisive goal four minutes and
seconds into the extra frame in front of sold out crowd of at the
credit union centre
canada jordan eberle scored two goals in the final three minutes of the third
period to get his team back into it and force the overtime
eberle who leads canada with career goals at the world juniors notched the
tying goal with just seconds left in the third period
the game was similar to an earlier meeting between the teams in the round robin
when canada rallied to take win on new year eve
urgent bomb kills three outside pakistan army base in kashmir
muzaffarabad pakistan jan afp
bomb attack killed three security personnel outside an army barracks in
pakistani administered kashmir on wednesday police official said
us envoy meets honduras politicians amid stalemate
tegucigalpa jan afp
top us envoy met with ousted president manuel zelaya here tuesday in bid to
bury the political crisis set off by coup more than six months ago
hondurans voted in november for new president porfirio lobo to take over at
the end of january but zelaya remains holed up in the brazilian embassy under
threat of arrest while de facto leader roberto micheletti sits in the
presidential palace
us envoy craig kelly met with zelaya inside the brazilian mission but made no
comments to reporters waiting outside when he left witnesses said
the deposed president said the united states still does not recognize the
micheletti regime and that there is no law and order in honduras after the
coup
we need to find peaceful political solution to the crisis and micheletti
resignation is necessary step in that direction he added from inside the
embassy
kelly is expected to meet wednesday with micheletti and lobo
zelaya cowboy hatted rancher who initially drew support from across the globe
after his june ouster has remained at the mission since secretly returning
to the country more than three months ago he now faces an uncertain future
he has said he will stay there until january at the latest when lobo is due
to take over
kelly was to discuss collapsed us backed crisis deal which includes
national unity government and truth commission during his visit us state
department spokesman pj crowley said in washington
the united states historic economic and military partner to honduras
supported november electoral process while many in latin america rejected the
vote because zelaya was not restored to office beforehand
the real question is can that government be vehicle through which you begin
healing process crowley said referring to lobo administration
we do have some decisions to make in the future about the future nature of our
relationship
the military backed by the courts congress and business leaders ousted zelaya
during dispute over his plans to change the constitution which critics saw as
bid to extend his single four year term
lobo conservative who backed the coup won the november elections in
which less than half of million eligible voters turned out to cast ballots
cas fgf oh
alert
bomb kills three outside pakistan army barracks in kashmir police
japan pm faces fresh blow over finance chief health
tokyo jan afp
japan prime minister faced fresh test of his troubled leadership wednesday
as his elderly finance minister looked set to step down due to poor health after
just few months in the job
prime minister yukio hatoyama struggling to reverse slump in his popularity
reiterated that he hoped year old hirohisa fujii would stay at the helm of
the world number two economy
as fujii was behind the birth of the government budget plan strongly wish
that he will help it grow
but he added we must take into consideration the doctor judgement
some japanese media reported late tuesday that hatoyama had reluctantly accepted
resignation offer by fujii who was admitted to hospital on december
suffering from high blood pressure and fatigue
his illness is another setback for hatoyama who has been embroiled in
political funding scandal and has seen sharp drop in his public approval
ratings since he swept to power in september
if fujii were to resign criticism against mr hatoyama would grow for picking
year old minister said masamichi adachi senior economist at jpmorgan
chase
but he added don expect drastic policy changes
fujii was picked by hatoyama in september to steer asia biggest economy out of
its worst recession in decades returning to post he held briefly in the early
he is one of the few members of the current cabinet with previous government
experience and would be hard to replace
it preferable that people who know about budget drafting including minister
fujii take care of it said chief cabinet secretary hirofumi hirano the top
government spokesman
if doctors said he is up to it of course we would ask him to stay he said
but if they advise against it hatoyama will make final decision hirano
added
fujii successor would likely be an inexperienced person given the lack of
old hands in the ruling party said susumu kato chief economist for japan at
calyon credit agricole cib
hatoyama cabinet is expected to face some turmoil in the coming weeks but
his democratic party should still win the upper house election in july he
added
deputy prime minister naoto kan senior vice finance minister yoshihiko noda and
the state minister in charge of administrative reform yoshito sengoku have
been named by local media as possible successors to fujii
tokyo stocks rose percent in morning trade on wednesday as investors
reacted calmly to the possibility of fujii stepping down
expect capable individual will be appointed and continue the same policies
do not expect any substantial impact on the japanese economy as whole said
yutaka harada chief economist at daiwa research institute
it is the latest in series of setbacks for hatoyama who took office in mid
september with vow to tackle wealth inequalities curb the power of japan
bureaucrats and pursue more equal relationship with washington
the stanford trained engineering scholar is battling to reverse perception
that is lacks leadership after postponing decision on where to move key us
military base and backpedalled on key manifesto pledge to scrap petrol tax
corrected us envoy meets honduras politicians amid stalemate
tegucigalpa jan afp
top us envoy was in honduras tuesday in bid to bury the political crisis set
off by june coup
hondurans voted in november for new president porfirio lobo to take over at
the end of january but elected president manuel zelaya still remains in the
brazilian embassy under threat of arrest while de facto leader roberto
micheletti is in the presidential palace
us envoy craig kelly planned to meet with the three men during two day visit
according to us embassy spokesman michael stevens
kelly the second highest us diplomat for latin america would meet zelaya
inside the brazilian embassy where the ousted leader has been holed up since
secretly returning to the country more than three months ago
zelaya rancher who initially drew support from across the globe after his
ouster now faces an uncertain future
he has said that he will remain inside the embassy until january at the
latest when lobo is due to take over
kelly was to discuss collapsed us backed crisis deal which includes
national unity government and truth commission during his visit us state
department spokesman pj crowley said in washington
the united states historic economic and military partner to honduras
supported november electoral process while many in latin america rejected the
vote because zelaya was not restored to office beforehand
the real question is can that government be vehicle through which you begin
healing process crowley said referring to lobo administration
we do have some decisions to make in the future about the future nature of our
relationship
micheletti said he would meet with kelly on wednesday
the military backed by the courts congress and business leaders ousted zelaya
during dispute over his plans to change the constitution which critics saw as
bid to extend his single four year term
lobo conservative who backed the coup won the november elections in
which less than half of million eligible voters turned out to cast ballots
cas shn jm oh mlm
hong kong shares rise percent at break
hong kong jan afp
hong kong shares jumped percent on wednesday in line with most regional
markets
the benchmark hang seng index added points to turnover was
billion hong kong dollars billion us
korea to close major wholesale market welfare group
seoul jan afp
north korea has ordered the closure of major wholesale market in the latest of
series of measures to reassert government control over the faltering economy
seoul based welfare group said wednesday
the order issued on december followed drastic currency revaluation aimed
at weakening the role of free markets and strengthening the socialist system
said good friends which has extensive cross border contacts
north korea will close the soonam wholesale market in chongjin port city in
the northeastern province of north hamgyong by the end of march it said
the south unification ministry which deals with cross border relations said
it could not confirm the group report
soonam is one of the country two biggest wholesale markets which have played
significant role in distribution of commodities through free markets group
director lee seung yong told afp
the closure will have great impact on many traders and residents who rely on
free markets he said
the other major wholesale market in pyongsong north of the capital was shut
down in june last year he said
good friends said the order was in line with crackdown on the fledgling free
market economy in an attempt to tighten the regime grip
on november the north knocked two zeroes off its currency for one
revaluation and restricted the amount of old notes that could be changed for
new
the surprise currency reform was followed by ban on the use of foreign
currency from january
free markets sprang up after the state food distribution system collapsed during
famines in the
in the regime introduced limited wage and price reforms causing prices to
rise sharply the reforms were rolled back three years later and in recent years
officials have been clamping down on trading in street markets
in thousands of women staged rare street protest in chongjin
chronic food shortages and reduced official food rations have forced many north
korean women to work at free markets or act as breadwinners
tennis brisbane international results
brisbane australia jan afp
results from the fourth day of the brisbane international tennis tournament on
wednesday denotes seed
second round
men
james blake usa bt marc gicquel fra
women
daniela hantuchova svk bt agnes szavay hun
lucie safarova cze bt aleksandra wozniak can
anastasia pavlyuchenkova rus bt roberta vinci ita
snow hit britain braces for more transport woes
london jan afp
