can be built only with presidential permission
bishop kirilos told afp that copts are in continuous state of fear
iceland to honour bank crisis obligations president
reykjavik jan afp
iceland president insisted on thursday the country would honour its
compensation obligations to foreign governments over the icesave bank collapse
and said understanding was growing abroad for his position
as storm clouds swirled over reyjkavik after his decision not to sign the
icesave legislation and instead put it to referendum olafur ragnar grimsson
argued it was vital that iceland people back the measure
his move on tuesday sparked the ire of the british and dutch governments amid
fears they would lose the billion euros billion dollars compensation
provided by the bill
but grimsson told reporters in iceland on thursday that as the dust began to
settle international understanding was growing that reykjavik did indeed intend
to meet its commitments
feel as yesterday progressed and especially today that there was ever more
understanding and support for the cause of iceland he said adding we now
feel much broader understanding of iceland cause
both the british and dutch governments reacted angrily to grimsson decision to
submit the bill to vote warning it could impact their support for iceland
ambitions to join the european union
in an interview with the bbc grimsson said the view being put forward that we
will not honour our obligations is completely wrong
iceland fully recognises its obligations and responsibilities to pay and
what will be put to referendum is simply in what way and in what forms and
in what terms he added in an interview to swedish radio
and speaking to the financial times grimsson said hope that the people of
these two countries and their political leaders will in keeping with the
longstanding democratic traditions of britain and the netherlands acknowledge
that referendum is democratic way of making decision
strongly believe that for the future progress in iceland it is important
that the electorate is convinced that it has itself been partner in this
resolution
on thursday icelandic foreign minister oessur skarphedinsson told afp he had
received assurances from his british counterpart david miliband in telephone
call that london still supported iceland eu bid despite the row
in miliband replies it was clear that iceland continues to have the full
support of the uk regarding our eu application skarphedinsson said
the icesave payout has stirred up resentment among many ordinary icelanders
about people have signed petition against the bill which they fear will
doom them to decades of poverty all because of the mistakes of handful of
bankers and financial regulators that brought their financial sector tumbling
down in october
the icelandic parliament is expected to discuss friday whether to hold the
referendum on february
poll published late on wednesday by capacent gallup showed that percent of
icelanders would approve the bill in the referendum that contrasts with another
survey day earlier which suggested that percent were opposed to it
grimsson veto prompted numerous credit ratings agencies to either downgrade
iceland debt or change their outlooks to negative as fears rose that drawn
out debate would complicate the country economic recovery
the international monetary fund has insisted the icesave affair will not affect
billion dollar rescue package it agreed with reykjavik in november
but icelanders remain concerned that foreign loans and investments could take
hit
iceland neighbours denmark sweden finland and norway which have signed
loan agreements of billion euros with payouts dependent on the country
economic progress have said they will follow the icesave situation closely
before making any decisions on future instalments
on thursday iceland finance minister steingrimur sigfusson spoke with his
swedish counterpart anders borg by telephone to brief him of the situation and
then flew to oslo for talks with his norwegian counterpart on friday his office
said
sigfusson was also due in copenhagen later friday for talks with his danish
colleague
football arsenal to pay bolton fans travel costs report
london jan afp
arsenal are to pay the travel costs incurred by bolton fans who made the journey
south to london for wednesday postponed premier league match britain press
association reported on thursday
although the emirates stadium pitch was playable the game was called off with
less than five hours before kick off after local police said approach roads
many of them covered in snow had made conditions dangerous for fans
bolton supporters who come down from the north west wondered why given that
bad weather had affected the south of england since the start of wednesday the
match was not called off sooner
arsenal insisted they did all they could but have agreed to pay the travel costs
of bolton fans as goodwill gesture
white house defends counter terror chief
washington jan afp
the white house on thursday defended the head of key anti terrorism agency
following reports he did not cut short ski vacation in the aftermath of
christmas attack on us airliner
michael leiter director of the national counterterrorism center nctc was the
subject of new york daily news report which appeared to form part of
whispering campaign suggesting his job may be at risk
but the white house vigorously defended leiter in move possibly aimed at
quelling speculation he could be fired over intelligence errors exposed during
the december plot to blow up northwest jet
director leiter was throughout the events of december indeed at the
national counterterrorism center in mclean virginia said denis mcdonough
chief of staff of the national security council in statement
leiter was intimately involved in all aspects of responding to the attack
including coordinating intelligence briefing lawmakers and examining watch list
information mcdonough said
only after explicit consultations with both the white house and the director of
national intelligence and considering the current threat environment did
director leiter take six days of annual leave after the event mcdonough said
he added that the vacation did not in any way impact leiter ability to remain
engaged with all elements of the united states government
the nctc was set up after the september attacks in and was designed to
collate information about terrorism threats and organize us government counter
terrorism efforts
some critics have suggested it did not perform properly in the run up to the
alleged attempt by nigerian umar farouk abdulmutallab to destroy the jet
with explosives sewn into his underwear
yemen warns us military intervention could strengthen qaeda
sanaa jan afp
us military intervention in yemen to help fight al qaeda militants could
backfire and strengthen the jihadists believed behind the botched attack on us
airliner top yemeni official said on thursday
any intervention or direct military action by the united states could
strengthen the al qaeda network and not weaken it deputy prime minister for
defence and security affairs rashed al aleemi told press conference
our position is clear we will fight and chase the al qaeda group depending on
yemeni forces and security agencies alone he said
however aleemi also said yemen needs us help to train yemeni counter terrorism
units
since al qaeda is global organisation that threatens international stability
all countries in the world headed by the united states must cooperate to
confront them he said
all we need from the united states is training and providing weapons and
equipment to counter terrorism units and they are capable of liquidating al
qaeda and all terror elements
that stance was supported by the pentagon
spokesman bryan whitman said the current us military presence in yemen was
limited and focused on training missions
would describe it as relatively modest but not going to get into the
specifics of it he said
washington efforts included sharing intelligence with yemen and providing
training and funding to assist them in building up their counter terrorism
capabilities he said
aleemi echoed that saying security cooperation with washington is based on the
exchange of information
long standing concerns that yemen has become haven for islamic extremism 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
aleemi said the alleged assailant umar farouk abdulmutallab had met radical
us yemeni cleric anwar al awlaqi while in yemen
the nigerian hid in shabwa area in wadi rafadh east of sanaa where he met
awlaqi and mohammad omair who was killed in the air raid on wadi rafadh he
said
on december yemeni warplanes struck wadi rafadh in shabwa province about
kilometres miles east of sanaa officials said suspected al qaeda
militants were killed
washington has accused awlaqi of terrorist links and said that nidal hasan the
army psychiatrist accused of shooting dead people at the army fort hood in
november had also been in contact with him
abdulmutallab disappeared in yemen between september and december and
authorities are investigating how he managed to leave the country after
overstaying his visa
aleemi added that based on investigations abdulmutallab was recruited by al
qaeda before going to yemen possibly in london where he studied mechanical
engineering from
when he went to britain it seems that he was recruited by islamist militant
groups aleemi said he arrived in yemen after he had been recruited by al
qaeda
in london spokesman said they had nothing to add to tuesday statement by
home secretary alan johnson
in that statement johnson acknowledged concern about the possibility that
abdulmutallab radicalisation may have begun or been fuelled during his time
studying at university college london but said the nigerian family believe
he turned to violent extremism after leaving the uk
on wednesday abdulmutallab was indicted on six counts arising out of the
thwarted plot to blow up northwest airliner packed with passengers and
crew as it approached detroit michigan
after the failed attack general david petraeus the us regional military
commander went to sanaa for talks with yemeni president ali abdullah saleh
petraeus according to the saba news agency reaffirmed washington support for
yemeni efforts to fight terrorism and delivered message from president barack
obama related in particular to cooperation in the fight against terrorism and
piracy
also on wednesday group of top us lawmakers urged obama to boost aid to
yemen military saying they had lost trust in sanaa ability to be strong
partner against terrorism
we no longer have confidence that the yemeni government has the capacity to
assist the united states in providing for our nation security the senior
republicans on five key committees urged obama in letter
yemeni security forces insist they are winning the war against the jihadists
pointing to two separate air raids in december which killed more than
suspected al qaeda members
on wednesday yemeni officials announced the capture of key al qaeda leader
and two other militants believed behind threats against western interests in
sanaa that caused embassies to close for several days
the interior ministry also said its security forces were repeatedly raiding
hideouts of terrorist elements in several provinces and had turned their
fight against terrorism into daily confrontation
bur al
male cleaner fishes bag the best part of meal
geneva jan afp
among some cleaner fish species it appears that it is the males who are more
devious than the females researcher at the university of neuchatel in
switzerland has found
by protecting their clients from being bitten by overzealous female cleaner
fishes the males bag for themselves some tasty dessert
the cleaner fish labroides dimidiatus which measures about centimetres four
inches feeds on parasites found on larger fishes
but the females can sometimes be too greedy and bite the flesh of the fish they
are cleaning in bid to get to the mucus which is more tasty than the
parasites on the surface researcher redouan bshary found
the male fishes which are bigger in size would then step in to chase the
females away
by protecting the fish they are cleaning from being bitten by the female
cleaners the male cleaners keep the client from leaving the cleaning station
fearful of incurring the wrath of the males again the females also no longer
dare to go near the mucus
after the cleaning is done on the surface the males can then move on to the
mucus for dessert without having to share it with the females
the male fish is therefore the main winner said the researcher whose
findings are published in the journal science
nigeria proposes life term for terrorists minister
abuja jan afp
acts of terrorism will be punished by life jail term in nigeria under
government sponsored anti terrorism bill before the country legislature
justice minister michael aondoaaka said on thursday
if you conspire to commit terrorist act anywhere in the world even if you
did not do it on nigerian soil but the conspiracy took place in nigeria or
aspect of the conspiracy took place in nigeria you go in for life
imprisonment he told reporters
the bill clearly defines and prohibits all acts of terrorism and its support
aondoaaka said
convicted terrorists will be prevented from entering or transiting nigeria
while their assets inside the west african country will be frozen
the bill also bans the supply or sales of weapons to terrorists or their groups
hostage taking is also listed as an act of terrorism in the bill which was sent
to parliament in october he stated
parliament is expected to begin debating the bill when it returns next week from
the year end recess
presidential aide taminu yakubu on wednesday said president umaru yar adua who
is ill and has been in hospital in saudi arabia for the past month and half
wants the justice minister to push for the speedy passage of the bill
he said he would like it to be the first bill he assents to on his return to
nigeria said yakubu to local media
us authorities have indicted year old nigerian umar farouk abdulmutallab
for attempting to blow up us jetliner on christmas day
abdulmutallab was in transit at lagos airport on december having arrived
from accra in ghana before boarding flight to amsterdam and on to detroit
he was arrested after trying to set off bomb hidden in his underwear on us
northwest airlines flight as it approached detroit the following day
heavy shelling kills in mogadishu
mogadishu jan afp
at least civilians were killed in mogadishu thursday when somali government
forces fired shells in retaliation for mortar attack by insurgents medical
sources and witnesses said
our medical team reported civilians killed the shelling was the heaviest
in recent weeks and most of the artillery fire hit houses said ali muse head
of mogadishu ambulance services
the shells hit mogadishu northern yaqshid district controlled by the islamist
insurgents who targetted the presidential palace at least civilians were
also wounded
think the number of injured could be higher because several people are still
in their houses due to the darkness muse added
witnesses also reported heavy shelling in their neighbourhood
more than people died in our neighbourhood today one of the artillery
shells hit young boys who were playing football it wounded of them some of
them are seriously said witness abdi ahmed
earlier thursday the country military chief escaped roadside bomb attack
which was claimed by the al qaeda inspired shebab rebels
shebab commander said the attack was in revenge for planned government
offensive against the insurgents
radical somali islamists who have vowed to oust the government have
relentlessly attacked its opponents since last may killing hundreds of
civilians and displacing thousands others
ohio executes second man with single drug
washington jan afp
ohio on thursday put to death year old abdullah sharif kaazim mahdi the
second person to be killed using single drug that was introduced to prevent
botched executions
born vernon smith the muslim convert was pronounced dead at am local time
gmt eight minutes after receiving dose of thiopental sodium rather
than the three drug cocktail previously used
he was sentenced to death for killing year old palestinian father and store
owner from toledo ohio
in december ohio executed convicted murderer kenneth biros with the same drug
ohio switched to the new method after disastrous attempt in september to
execute another inmate romell broom
executioners spent two hours searching for vein to inject broom convicted
of the rape and murder of year old girl failing times to insert
needle before giving up
the new method replaces three drug cocktail used in executions in of the
other us states where capital punishment is practiced
rallying peterhansel bounces back to win car stage
iquique chile jan afp
french driver stephane peterhansel rebounded from losing over two hours in the
dakar rally midweek by taking thursday sixth stage
peterhansel who experienced serious mechanical problems on wednesday and lost
his place at the top of the standings came home seconds ahead of spain
former world rally champion carlos sainz who had replaced the frenchman in the
overall lead
spain two time winner marc coma had earlier won the motorcycling stage
coma eighth overall before the stage but who moved into fourth position
following his victory came in on his ktm motorbike at least minutes clear of
his rivals including france overall leader cyril despres who finished second
chile fifth stage victor francisco lopez finished fourth on the stage behind
portuguese rider helder rodrigues
the stage was marred by serious injury suffered by italian rider luca manca
following crash manca ninth overall going into the stage was flown by
helicopter to hospital
the year old ktm rider whose ambition for the race was to finish in the top
five and who rated the level of danger of the race seven out of ten crashed
just kilometres into the km special from antofagasta and after receiving
treatment had to be taken to local hospital by helicopter
however after an initial diagnosis indicated he had head injuries he was due to
be transferred to neurological unit at hospital in the capital santiago
chinese warren buffett flees canadian charges
ottawa jan afp
self proclaimed chinese warren buffett who is wanted in canada for running
pyramid scheme that bilked at least million us dollars from investors has
fled to china he told local newspaper
tang weizhan faces arrest in canada where he is banned from trading
securities after he failed to turn himself in to police on december to
answer fraud charges
in emails to the daily globe and mail published on thursday tang said he
traveled to china to make money in order to reimburse some clients of his
oversea chinese fund who lost their investments
have nothing to do with fraud and am not hiding from anybody tang told
the newspaper
told my lawyer will be back for my hearing in february and use the
break to make money since the osc ontario securities commission ban ned me
from trading
loftus cuddy tang lawyer told afp he advised me that he trading
successfully overseas but don know where he is exactly
when he to return in early february he would go directly to bail court
and then face an ontario securities commission trial in april he said
there misconception out there that he fugitive cuddy added he not
fugitive he left canada in november before warrant was issued for his
arrest so he faced no prohibitions when he left
know he plans to come back the lawyer said all of his roots are in
canada he has no intention of remaining fugitive
investors in tang hedge fund oversea chinese fund were said to be from canada
china and the united states where members of the chinese american community
were specifically targeted
tang previously admitted that the fund operated as ponzi scheme from
until at least according to the us securities and exchange commission
he also admitted to raising between million dollars and million dollars
from more than investors the sec said
the fund website continues to promise returns of one percent per week to
clients after an initial investment of around dollars but tang office
telephone has been disconnected
tang is already accused by us authorities of posting false profits on investors
account statements until february to hide substantial trading losses
tang further admitted that he used funds from new investors to return principal
and payout purported profits to other investors according to an sec complaint
adding he described himself as the chinese warren buffett after the
multibillionaire american investor and philanthropist
hoping the canadian police fraud squad will give him break and allow
him to return and surrender himself in civilized manner cuddy told afp
but guess they re looking for him wherever he is
constable wendy drummond of the toronto police service said interpol has been
informed of the warrant for tang arrest
however china and canada do not have an extradition treaty she noted so it
probably won help us get him back
afp gmt news advisory
washington jan afp
duty editor jim mannion
tel
us to unveil plane plot intel failures
british pm dismisses leadership threat
spain urges eu stand on airport scanners
top stories
attacks us nigeria lead wrap
washington
the white house warns americans to brace for certain shock when it releases
first probe into intelligence failures exposed by the christmas attack on us
airliner carrying people
words gmt by stephen collinson
britain politics rdlead
london
embattled british prime minister gordon brown dismisses as storm in teacup
new plot questioning his leadership few months before general election
words gmt by michael thurston picture
attacks aviation security eu lead
madrid
the spanish eu presidency calls for common european stance on the use of body
scanners at airports as member states bickered over the issue after failed
plot to blow up us airplane
words gmt
filing plans by region
americas
us shooting crime thlead
st louis missouri
three people are shot dead and five wounded when gunman goes on an early
morning rampage at the missouri offices of swiss power company
words gmt by joe harris picture graphic
mideast diplomacy
washington
the united states announces flurry of high level talks aimed at restarting
palestinian israeli peace talks which top us envoy says should yield
settlement within two years
words gmt by lachlan carmichael
srilanka britain unrest media un thlead
united nations
un envoy concludes that video footage allegedly showing sri lankan troops
executing tamil tiger rebels last year is authentic and calls on the colombo
government to accept an impartial probe
words gmt by gerard aziakou
middle east
attacks yemen rdlead wrap
sanaa
us military intervention in yemen to help fight al qaeda militants could
backfire and strengthen the jihadists believed behind the botched attack on us
airliner top yemeni official says
words gmt by hammoud mounassar
egypt religion unrest rdlead wrap
cairo
clashes erupted as thousands of coptic christians in southern egyptian village
bury six of their number gunned down on coptic christmas eve by men believed to
be muslims security officials say
words gmt by mona salem graphic picture
we will also move egypt religion unrest christian focus
europe
britain airport security us attacks focus
manchester england
it was initially an idea to speed up passenger waiting times but manchester
airport now finds itself as the only one in britain using body scanners in the
wake of the detroit plane attack
words gmt by robert leslie picture video
europe weather rdlead wrap
london
eurostar passengers faced new winter misery with another high speed train
breaking down in the channel tunnel while heavy snow also left thousands in
britain with no electricity
words moved picture video
iceland economy finance bonds politics lead
reykjavik
iceland president insists the country will not dodge its compensation
obligations to foreign governments over the icesave bank collapse despite
putting the issue to referendum
words moved by svanborg sigmarsdottir picture
africa
attacks nigeria us airport security rdlead
abuja
nigeria offers to provide us investigators images of the suspected us plane
bomber going through security checks at lagos airport on december
words gmt
sudan unrest south rdlead wrap
juba sudan
at least people were killed in remote region of south sudan un official
saya as aid agencies warned of new civil war on the eve of the anniversary of
fragile peace deal between north and south
words moved by peter martell graphic file picture
asia
afghanistan unrest lead wrap
kabul
suicide bomber kills eight people and wounds others in an eastern afghan
town hours after provincial governor survived blast in nearby taliban
hotspot
words moved by sharif khoram picture
australia japan whaling nzealand adygil
sydney
anti whaling activists work through the night to save the wrecked ady gil
superboat whose fate remains in the balance after dramatic collision with
japanese ship
words moved by amy coopes file picture
chinese pianist opens chopin bicentenary
warsaw jan afp
chinese pianist lang lang gave gala concert in warsaw on thursday to
officially launch year of celebrations marking the th anniversary of the
birth of composer frederic chopin
lang performed some of the franco polish master most celebrated pieces in
concert at the warsaw philharmonic that was broadcast live on polish
television
one of the biggest classical music stars involved in the chopin bicentenary
lang has previously performed at the opening of the beijing olympics and at
us president barack obama nobel peace prize award ceremony
some chopin related events are planned for the coming year from concerts
and exhibitions to films and theatrical performances with of them
taking place in poland itself
the actual anniversary of his birth march will see live broadcast
performance by other virtuoso pianists in warsaw
chopin was born in in the town of zelazowa wola about kilometres
miles west of warsaw to french father and polish mother his birthplace has
been refurbished for the bicentennial
chopin left his motherland in november during period of upheaval across
europe just before failed polish revolt against the country then ruler
russia
he moved first to vienna and then paris where he died aged on october
his body was buried in france but his heart was brought back to poland where it
lies in crystal urn inside pillar in warsaw church
bicentenary organisers have listed the host of events on dedicated website
www chopin pl
briton becomes first quadriplegic to sail atlantic
london jan afp
disabled briton became the first quadriplegic man to sail across the atlantic
without sailing help thursday arriving in the caribbean after gruelling
day journey his spokeswoman said
geoff holt made the mile kilometre journey in specially
designed boat the impossible dream without help with sailing although he did
have cameraman and personal assistant on board
the arrival has been everything expected and more holt said as he sailed
into tortola in the british virgin islands
the welcoming committee has been amazing am surrounded by the flotilla of
boats and yachts that have all come out to meet me it emotional and have
tear in my eye as near the finish line
holt left the spanish island of lanzarote on december in foot metre
wheelchair accessible catamaran destined for tortola where in he suffered
spinal cord injury while diving in shallow water
