the latest allegations by venezuela that curacao and aruba are being used by
the united states to prepare an attack against that country are unfair baseless
and fantastical dutch foreign minister maxime verhagen said
the netherlands does not permit the use of its territory for aggression and
aspires to good relations with venezuela the minister said in statement
verhagen wanted the venezuelan ambassador to explain the allegations it said
at the meeting the netherlands would restate that civilian airports on the
netherlands antilles are put at the service of the united states to enable them
to fight against drugs trafficking using non armed planes it said
washington also says that the us soldiers deployed on aruba and curacao are only
on counternarcotics mission
venezuela foreign ministry on thursday called on the international community
to condemn alleged incursions into its airspace by us military drones launched
from aruba and the netherlands antilles
the subsequent violation of venezuelan airspace on the part of the us military
aircraft allows us to conclude that the warmongering us government in league
with the government of the kingdom of the netherlands is preparing an
aggression against the territory and people of the bolivarian republic of
venezuela it said
the ministry did not give details of the alleged incursions
venezuela president hugo chavez also charged this month that the us military
was using the dutch islands off his country caribbean coast as staging area
for possible attack
he accused the united states of launching spy plane from colombia that he said
violated his country airspace and vowed to shoot down any future such
aircraft
caracas suspended diplomatic relations with colombia in july in response to
military bases deal between washington and bogota calling it military threat
to the sovereignty of latin american countries and saying it paved the way for
possible attack on venezuela
french journalists abducted in afghanistan alive source
kabul jan afp
two french journalists kidnapped in eastern afghanistan this week are thought to
be alive and in good health source involved in efforts to free them said
friday
but the condition of three afghan assistants abducted with the journalists from
france public television broadcaster on wednesday was unclear the source told
afp from kabul
the two french journalists appear to be alive in good health and being well
treated said the source
suspected taliban militants snatched the journalists in the war torn country
around kilometres miles from the afghan capital according to french
journalist working with them
the kidnappers were yet to issue any claim of responsibility late friday more
than hours after the journalists disappeared
criminal groups and taliban insurgents have kidnapped several dozen foreigners
many of them journalists since the us led invasion ousted the taliban
regime in kabul sparking nine year insurgency
the journalists accompanied by their afghan translator and the translator
brother and cousin were kidnapped on the road between surobi and tagab their
french colleague told afp
she blamed the kidnapping on the taliban saying they had laid an ambush on the
road for the group in kapisa province
spokesman for local authorities in the province confirmed the kidnapping and
said french soldiers and afghan security forces had launched hunt
the journalists employer public broadcaster france television confirmed late
friday the pair had been abducted
we have heard that they are alive and in good health said director of news
paul nahon without giving further details
on assignment for channel france the team arrived wednesday morning in the
town of sarobi to meet contact who agreed for them to continue north on the
road to tagab
rugbyu celtic league standings
london jan afp
celtic league standings after friday match played won drawn lost points
for points against bonus points total points
ospreys
glasgow
leinster
munster
edinburgh
newport gwent dragons
ulster
cardiff blues
scarlets
connacht
rugbyu celtic league result
london jan afp
celtic league result on friday
ospreys cardiff blues
thursday
newport gwent dragons scarlets
saturday
connacht leinster edinburgh glasgow ulster munster
iraq death toll drops to lowest level since invasion
baghdad jan afp
violence in iraq dropped dramatically in to its lowest level since the
invasion figures showed on friday but monitoring group warned that security
gains were levelling off
data compiled by the government and an independent monitoring group showed
civilian deaths as result of unrest here fell to their lowest level since the
us led invasion to oust saddam hussein
according to an afp tally of figures released by the defence interior and
health ministries total of civilians were killed by violence last year
less than half of toll of
the toll was markedly lower however than one compiled by iraq body count
ibc an independent britain based group which put the number of civilians
dead in at
despite the disparity ibc toll was also dramatically lower than its
figures it said in its annual report
general david petraeus the current us regional military commander and former
top general in iraq said on friday that since left in september have
noted progress each time returned
that is not to say there have not been considerable challenges there have not
been periodic horrific attacks and that there have not been innumerable
obstacles he told reporters in baghdad
but there has been sustained progress and that progress has been maintained
even after us forces moved out of the cities and progress continues even as us
forces have drawn down
ibc noted that while there had been significant improvements in security in
such violence still afflicts iraq population more than any other
and the second half of saw around the same number of civilian deaths as the
first which ibc said may indicate that the situation is no longer improving
prime minister nuri al maliki has promoted himself as having improved security
across iraq and is aiming to retain his post after parliamentary elections due
on march
but national security advisor safa hussein warned in an interview with afp
earlier this week that al qaeda is threat in the run up to the vote
their intention continues in this direction he said when asked if he expected
further waves of massive coordinated bombings think during the election
period it will continue this way
ibc added that large scale bombings have increased in their severity of
impact noting that people were killed in eight major attacks last year
baghdad in particular was struck by three major coordinated vehicle bombings in
august october and december that killed around people these attacks were
blamed on al qaeda working with diehard elements of saddam baath party
the us army meanwhile said it suffered no combat related deaths in december
the first month without battle fatalities since the invasion
last year was also the least violent for us forces in iraq with soldiers
having died compared to in and in
in total american soldiers have died since the invasion according to
tally compiled by afp based on the independent website www icasualties org
the ibc report also said the restive northern city of mosul has become more
violent than the capital on per capita basis with recorded civilian
deaths in out of an estimated population of million people
baghdad which has population of around million people saw deaths
the group added that mosul experienced nearly twice as many violent incidents as
baghdad
according to ibc an emerging trend in terms of types of violence in was
the increasingly prevalent use of magnetic sticky bombs secretly affixed to
cars the number of people killed as result of such attacks rose to in
from in
football ferguson backs leeds for big time return
manchester england jan afp
manchester united boss sir alex ferguson confidently expects fa cup opponents
leeds united to be back in the premier league and reignite one of english
football most bitter rivalries
leeds former english champions and one time champions league semi finalists
have endured spectacular fall from grace but are currently topping league two
the third tier of english football
on sunday they will play at old trafford for the first time since and will
have an opportunity to see how they measure up against the english champions
they will not be too far away from the premier league in the next couple of
years said ferguson
when you look at the position they are in at the moment in league one they
look certain to be in the championship next year
ferguson has endured roller coaster relationship with leeds united from where
he bought rio ferdinand alan smith and eric cantona
used to enjoy the rivalry added the united boss it makes you perform
we had some great games at leeds the atmosphere was always electric and our
record was pretty good
we don need to spell out what sunday game means to the manchester united
fans admitted ferguson
there have been some fantastically feisty occasions over the years and there
was always tinge of hostility
we always told the players to make sure they behaved properly on the pitch
because we didn need to add to the problems off it
leeds are bringing fans so it will be busy day for the police
but it will be an absolutely brilliant atmosphere and should be good cup tie
as well
rugbyu english premiership table
london jan afp
english premiership table after friday match played won drawn lost points
for points against bonus points total points
saracens
london irish
northampton
leicester
wasps
harlequins
sale
newcastle
gloucester
worcester
bath
leeds carnegie
killed in suicide bomb attack in pakistan police
peshawar pakistan jan afp
at least people were killed and more than wounded friday when suicide
car bomber blew himself up as people gathered to watch volleyball tournament
in northwest pakistan police said
at least people have died in the suicide bombing and the toll is likely to
rise district police chief mohammad ayub khan told afp
security forces had cordoned off the village he added
khan said that more than houses on both sides of the open ground where the
match was being played had collapsed
four paramilitary soldiers are also among the dead he added
khan said that the tournament was organised by the local peace committee who had
supported government operation to expel militants from the area
rugbyu english premiership result
london jan afp
english premiership result on friday
sale harlequins
urgent killed in suicide bomb at pakistan volleyball game police
peshawar pakistan jan afp
at least people were killed and more than wounded friday when suicide
car bomber blew himself up as people gathered to watch volleyball game in
northwest pakistan police said
at least people have died in the suicide bombing district police chief
mohammad ayub khan told afp
security forces had cordoned off the village he added
iran mousavi ready to die for opposition cause
tehran jan afp
iranian opposition leader mir hossein mousavi said on friday that he was ready
to sacrifice his life in his campaign for reform after the disputed june re
election of president mahmoud ahmadinejad
am not unwilling to become martyr like those who made that sacrifice after
the election for their rightful national and religious demands mousavi said in
his first statement on his kaleme org website since deadly clashes on sunday
my blood is no redder than theirs he added
mousavi nephew ali was among at least eight people who died during sunday
opposition protests during shiite muslim rituals for ashura
the opposition head website carried call from political prisoners in
tehran evin jail for the public to hold memorial on sunday to mourn those
who died during the protests
he called on ahmadinejad government to halt its crackdown against his
supporters which saw hundreds of people arrested during last sunday
demonstrations
the former prime minister urged the government to take responsibility for the
problems it has created in the country release political prisoners and
recognise people right to lawful assembly
he rejected demands from hardliners for him to renounce his accusations of fraud
in the june election in which he was ahmadinejad main challenger
clearly and explicitly say that the order to execute kill or jail former
parliament speaker and pro reform presidential candidate mehdi karroubi
mousavi and people like us will not solve anything
supposedly you calmed things down through your arrests violence threats and
closure of newspapers and other media what appreciation does that show for the
change in public opinion about the islamic republic
mousavi rejected charges by ahmadinejad and other officials that he and his
supporters were lackeys of iran western foes
we are neither americans nor britons we have sent no congratulations cards to
the leaders of major powers he said in mocking allusion to card the iranian
president sent to barack obama on his election as us president in
we are loyal to the constitution he added dismissing accusations by
hardliners that the opposition protests against ahmadinejad re election have
turned into campaign to topple the islamic regime
we want an honest and compassionate government that considers diversity of
opinion and the popular vote to be opportunities not threats
we consider invasion of people privacy interrogations ransackings
newspaper closures and restrictions on what is published to be violations of the
constitution
mousavi proposed that to resolve the crisis the government announce it will be
directly accountable before the nation parliament and the judiciary and not
demand unconditional support regardless of its shortcomings or weaknesses
earlier this week senior cleric ayatollah ahmad alamolhoda told opposition
leaders to repent or be declared enemies of god which carries the death
sentence if there is conviction
the fourth candidate in the june election former revolutionary guards chief
mohsen rezai hailed mousavi comments as basis for compromise between
the opposition and regime hardliners he wrote to supreme leader ayatollah ali
khamenei asking him to intervene to broker solution
mr mir hossein retreat from rejection of mr ahmadinejad government and his
constructive proposal that parliament and the judiciary act based on their legal
duty to make the government accountable was late but can be new start to
unite the protesters with the rest the isna news agency quoted rezai as saying
in the letter
message from you or advice through speech can strengthen the new
movement which has started for unity and forgiveness rezai said
but hardline cleric ahmad khatami slammed mousavi statement as new
provocation
there is no crisis in the country and you are creating crisis stop it the
isna news agency quoted him as saying
hardline cleric ahmad janati criticised the pace at which opposition supporters
detained during sunday protests were being put on trial
the judiciary must allocate more judges to this revolutionary judges not
weak ones he said
but tehran prosecutor abbas jafari dolatabadi said the first trials would open
soon
investigations are rapidly being carried out regarding defendants who committed
offences on this day and soon some of these cases will be sent to court with
their indictments the official irna news agency quoted him as saying
iraq takes steps to bring blackwater to justice
baghdad jan afp
iraq said on friday it had begun taking steps to bring blackwater to justice
over the deaths of civilians in one of the bloodiest incidents
involving private security firm in the country
us court decision on thursday to drop charges against five blackwater security
guards accused of the deaths has unleashed anger in baghdad
human rights minister wejdan mikhail told afp she was astonished by the
decision to dismiss the criminal charges against the guards
there was so much work done to prosecute these people and to take this case
into court and don understand why the judge took this decision she said
government spokesman ali al dabbagh said the iraqi government has started to
take the necessary measures to bring blackwater to justice for the killing of
iraqi citizens
he also called in his statement for the us justice department to appeal the
decision
asked later by state funded broadcaster al iraqiya what specific measures were
being taken he replied we will use all possible means and our relations with
the united states to prosecute the criminals from this company because real
crime has been committed
the iraqi government has put all of its institutions to work we will not
forget the victims blood
earlier dabbagh said an iraqi investigation had shown that the guards were
responsible for the deaths of the civilians
us federal judge ricardo urbina dismissed the charges against the five saying
prosecutors violated their rights by using incriminating statements they had
made under immunity during state department probe
the case was among the most sensational that sought to hold blackwater employees
accountable for what was seen as culture of lawlessness and lack of
accountability as the company operated in iraq
the guards who had been part of convoy of armoured vehicles had been charged
with killing unarmed iraqi civilians and wounding others during an
unprovoked attack at busy baghdad roundabout using guns and grenades
iraq says people were killed
one of them has said what happened in nisur square how they killed innocent
iraqi people that were just in their cars without any weapons mikhail said
am very astonished and am waiting for the us embassy to give me the judge
decision in full
what happened was very bad because so many innocent iraqi people young
students were shot by someone who liked to shoot unarmed people
mikhail said she requested meeting with us embassy officials in baghdad the
embassy did not immediately confirm that the meeting would take place or if it
did who it would involve
the judge ruling was welcomed by blackwater chief executive joseph yorio who
said the company supports the judge decision to dismiss the charges
from the beginning xe blackwater has stood behind the hundreds of brave men
who put themselves in harm way to protect american diplomats working in
baghdad and other combat zones in iraq
the firm renamed itself xe after the iraqi government banned it last january
over the killings
foreign security teams in iraq long operated in legal grey area but under
military accord signed with washington in november baghdad won
concession to lift the immunity to prosecution previously extended to us
security contractors
ordinary iraqis expressed anger at urbina ruling
dropping the charges against those guards disrespects the lives of the
innocents who were killed said abu uday university professor who did not
want to give his first name
blackwater ended its operations in iraq in may after the us state department
refused to renew annual its contracts
the company first came under scrutiny on march when four of its
employees were killed by an angry mob in fallujah then sunni arab insurgent
stronghold
headquartered in north carolina blackwater was one of the largest security
firms operating in iraq with about staff and had been employed to protect
us government personnel since the invasion
wave of attacks in pakistan
islamabad jan afp
pakistan has been hit by wave of deadly attacks blamed on islamist extremists
as the military presses on with major offensive against taliban fighters in
their strongholds on the afghan border
the following is list of major attacks since march
jan suicide bomber blows up car packed with explosives in the
middle of crowd gathered for volleyball game in northwest village killing
at least people
dec suicide bomber targets pakistan largest procession of shiite
muslims on their holiest day killing people and wounding dozens more in the
financial capital karachi sparking riots there
dec suicide bomber wearing vest packed with steel pellets attacks
peshawar killing five people
dec teenage suicide bomber attacks journalists club in peshawar
killing three people in an unprecedented assault on the media in the country
dec suicide bomber rams car into mosque during friday prayers
killing people in lower dir district
dec suicide car bombing in busy market in central pakistan kills at
least people
dec suicide attackers launch gun and bomb assault near an office of
pakistan main spy agency in the eastern city of multan leaving nine people
dead
dec two powerful bombs tear through market in the eastern city of lahore
killing people and wounding another ten people are killed by suicide
bomber in the northwestern capital peshawar
dec suicide bombers storm mosque frequented by army officers in the
garrison city rawalpindi killing people in an onslaught of gunfire grenades
and explosions
nov suicide bomber blows himself up at court in peshawar killing
nov bombing at police checkpoint in peshawar kills
nov massive bomb blast outside the local headquarters of pakistan
domestic intelligence agency in peshawar kills
nov suicide car bomb tears through crowded shopping street in the
northwestern town of charsadda killing people
oct massive car bomb destroys peshawar market crowded with women and
children killing people
oct gunmen with suicide vests and grenades attack police buildings in lahore
and bomb police station in the northwest killing people
oct suicide bomber blows himself up in shangla district neighbouring
the northwestern swat valley and the target of an anti taliban offensive about
people mainly civilians are killed
oct ten militants besiege army headquarters in rawalpindi with people
killed and hostages freed the dead included troops three hostages and
nine attackers
oct at least people die when suicide bomber blows up his car in
peshawar market
march gunmen storm police training compound near lahore unleashing
fierce battle with security forces that kills at least people
alert
suicide car bomb kills at least during pakistan volleyball match police
police reporter abducted in northwest mexico
mexico city jan afp
police reporter was abducted in the northwest mexico state of sinaloa in the
latest incident in one of the most dangerous countries for media workers the
journalist employers said
gang of attackers abducted jose luis romero in the city of los mochis on
wednesday linea directa radio station reported on its internet site late
thursday
romero had risky job in region at the heart of mexico drug production and
trafficking and his employers believed his abduction was connected to his work
if someone wants to hear that we re worried we are they said on the internet
site
they suggested that the killing of los mochis police investigator shortly
after romero disappearance was also linked to the crime
another crime reporter who disappeared in november in the western state of
michoacan is still missing after grim year for media workers in mexico
the international federation of journalists ifj on thursday called for more
action from governments and the united nations to protect media as it announced
journalists and media personnel killed during
the philippines mexico and somalia were the most dangerous countries for
journalists the ifj said
drug related violence has peaked in mexico leaving more than dead since
the launch of military crackdown on organized crime three years ago
afp gmt news advisory
washington jan afp
duty editor jim mannion
tel
suicide blast kills at pakistan volleyball match
iran opposition leader ready to die for reform
iraq vows justice after us judge clears blackwater guards
pakistan unrest thlead wrap
peshawar pakistan
suicide bomber blows up car packed with explosives in the middle of crowd
gathered for volleyball game in northwest pakistan village killing at least
people
words gmt by lehaz ali
we will also move pakistan unrest attacks chrono
iran politics unrest opposition thlead wrap
tehran
iranian opposition leader mir hossein mousavi says he is ready to sacrifice his
life in his campaign for reform after the disputed june re election of president
mahmoud ahmadinejad
words gmt file picture
iraq us justice security blackwater ndlead wrap
baghdad
iraq says it has begun taking steps to bring blackwater to justice over the
deaths of civilians in one of the bloodiest incidents involving
private security firm in the country
words gmt by mehdi lebouachera picture
newyear world ndlead wrap
vatican city
pope benedict xvi issues new year day call for tolerance after massive
celebrations worldwide ushered in fresh decade under heavy security and amid
warnings of more extremist plots
words moved
us attacks nigeria yemen britain rdlead
london
british prime minister gordon brown calls an international meeting on combating
extremism in yemen after an alleged attempt to blow up us airliner throws the
threat posed by militants there into sharp relief
words gmt
britain iraq hostage iran thlead
london
briton freed this week after being kidnapped in iraq in flies home for
reunion with his family officials say as controversy over his ordeal refuses
to die down
words gmt by katherine haddon picture
finland crime shooting ndlead
helsinki
finland is in mourning after jealous ex lover shot dead his former girlfriend
and four of her work colleagues in the latest armed rampage which has reignited
debate on the country gun controls
words moved by rebecca liebermann pictures
iraq unrest toll ndlead wrap
baghdad
violence in iraq dropped dramatically in to its lowest level since the
invasion figures show but monitoring group warns that security gains were
levelling off
words gmt by prashant rao picture
nkorea us diplomacy thlead
seoul
north korea calls for an end to hostile relations with the united states vowing
to work towards nuclear free peninsula seven months after its last atomic test
angered the world community
words moved by park chan kyong
afghanistan unrest ndlead wrap
kabul
afghan authorities distance themselves from investigations into the suicide bomb
attack that killed seven cia agents the us spy agency biggest single loss of
life in almost years
words moved by lynne donnell
we have also moved afghanistan unrest security focus
hongkong china politics democracy lead
hong kong
thousands of hong kong pro democracy campaigners take to the streets on the
first day of the new year to call for universal suffrage and the release of
jailed chinese dissident liu xiaobo
words moved by polly hui picture
drcongo un unrest offensive
kinshasa
democratic republic of congo forces are to mount new offensive against rwandan
