football foxe earns short term deal with sydney
sydney jan afp
former english premier league defender hayden foxe has signed short term
contract with australian league club sydney fc the club said on thursday
the one time australian international passed series of fitness and medical
tests and will play for sydney against perth on sunday officials said
foxe played for aston villa portsmouth and leeds united in the english
premier league and represented australia at the atlanta and sydney
olympic games
jal to get bln dollars in public funds reports
tokyo jan afp
japan airlines is likely to get about billion dollars of new public money
from state backed body overseeing the rehabilitation of the struggling
carrier reports said thursday
the enterprise turnaround initiative corp of japan etic is readying
billion yen investment if the company goes through the courts and declares
bankruptcy japanese newspapers the asahi mainichi nikkei and others reported
without citing sources
the etic intends to ask jal creditors including the state owned development
bank of japan to waive further billion yen in loans to the airline
according to draft rescue plan presented to lenders the reports said
further debt waivers and deal reached with workers to cut back on pension
obligations would mean total billion yen boost to the ailing company
coffers
the japanese government at the weekend announced it was doubling jal state
backed loan to billion yen
an asset review etic has carried out estimates jal liabilities have exceeded
its assets by about billion yen the nikkei said other reports put the
figure at around billion yen
the plan is likely to be finalised later this month the reports said
jal private lenders favour out of court restructuring fearing legal
bankruptcy would damage the airline reputation and make it harder for them to
recoup their investment
the company shares have swung wildly in recent sessions as investors watched
the management efforts to drag the once mighty airline out of dire economic
straits by slashing international flights and tying up with foreign carrier
jal asia largest operator has been offered financial assistance by both
american airlines and delta air lines which are competing to take stake in
the japanese company and increase their share of the lucrative asian market
the yomiuri shimbun reported this week that jal had decided to forge capital
tie up with delta air lines and join the skyteam global alliance leaving the
oneworld group which includes american airlines
jal denied the report saying it was still in negotiations with the two us
carriers
golf oneasia tour adds event in seoul
seoul jan afp
the fledgling oneasia tour rival to the established asian tour on thursday
added the gs caltex maekyung open to its schedule for with events now
confirmed
the tournament will be played at the namseoul country club in seoul from may
the gs caltex maekyung open has been an amazing event in korea for many many
years and we are delighted to welcome the event to oneasia said oneasia chief
executive ben sellenger
we applaud the organisers vision and commitment to transform this tournament
and elite asian tournament golf into globally significant property
late last year oneasia announced it would hold events this year up from the
five played during its inaugural season in and nine of them were confirmed
at the time
all will have at least one million dollars in prizemoney
in contrast the asian tour will feature at least tournaments this year
the oneasia schedule kicks off with the luxehills championship in chengdu from
april the first of four events in china
there are now three events in south korea two in australia and one in thailand
but breaking into other markets in asia where the asian tour has
stranglehold has proven difficult
the asian tour season tees off with the asian tour international in bangkok from
february
football australians fume over kuwaiti lasers reports
sydney jan afp
australian footballers have claimed kuwaiti fans shone lasers into their eyes
during their asian cup qualifier in kuwait city reports said on thursday
goalkeeper eugene galekovic and midfielder dario vidosic complained that they
were targeted by fans armed with laser pointer during the game which ended in
draw on wednesday
galekovic claimed light was shone into his eyes while vidosic told team
officials he was distracted by laser beam while attempting to take corner
kicks australian associated press reported
australian coach pim verbeek said he had mentioned the incidents to match
officials pitchside during the first half
it was the goalkeeper and also at the corner kicks dario vidosic was
taking the corner kicks and they were pushing laser on his face verbeek told
fox sports television after the game
mentioned it to the officials but that okay things like this happen
verbeek was also highly critical of the state of the al kuwait sports club
stadium pitch
the dutchman declared the bumpy playing surface was one of the worst pitches he
had encountered in international football and said he had complained to the
match commissioner about its condition on the eve of the game
reports said it was likely the asian football confederation afc would
investigate the australian team complaints
australia need at least one point from their remaining home game against
indonesia in brisbane in march to qualify for next january asian cup finals in
qatar
europe shivers in winter chill britain expects more snow
london jan afp
europe was set to shiver through bitterly cold temperatures on thursday as
britain braced for more snow that has already caused chaos amid its most brutal
winter in decades
millions of britons were set for another day of blizzard conditions and crippled
transport links that have already kept many away from work and knocked britain
recession hit economy hard
london and the densely populated southeast will receive more heavy snowfalls
the met office forecast as many businesses wait anxiously to see if their staff
can make it in to work
the forecasters said the cold spell was the worst since and warned of more
to come bitterly cold and wintry weather is forecast to continue for the next
couple of weeks with further snowfall expected at times
much of the rest of europe was also hit by the winter blast wednesday with
freezing temperatures causing treacherous conditions and travel mayhem across
the continent
norway was among the coldest countries with temperatures in the central town of
roeros dropping to minus degrees celsius about minus fahrenheit
in the netherlands the ice was thick enough for the year first skating event
on natural ice with up to people expected to make the two kilometre
mile circuit on the henschoter lake in utrecht
in france two young people died in road accident in orne in the northwest and
spanish bus driver died in crash in the western region of charente
dublin airport in ireland closed heavy snow at amsterdam schiphol airport
caused delays and cancellations and there was chaos at london gatwick as more
than flights were cancelled when snow closed the runway
meanwhile torrential rain hit parts of italy and officials feared the swollen
tiber river could threaten rome in coming days
in britain transport links across densely populated southern and central parts
of england were snarled up by the cold weather
eurostar cancelled four trains between london paris and brussels as
precaution just weeks after freezing temperatures caused three day service
shutdown in the run up to christmas
hundreds of schools were also closed and football matches were called off
including wednesday night league cup semi final between manchester united and
manchester city
the disruption also turned the spotlight on britain infrastructure services
as power companies said heavy snow on power lines had left about homes
without electricity in southern england on wednesday evening
the snow also brought out the nasty side in some police in essex southern
england said they had received scores of complaints about anti social
snowballing
one positive impact of the white out was enjoyed by police in manchester
northern england who said they had caught fugitive prisoner by following his
footprints in the freshly fallen snow
field hockey australia to play south korea in home series
sydney jan afp
australia will play south korea in three test series later this month as part
of their preparations for next month world cup in new delhi hockey australia
said on thursday
the australians who beat germany in the final of last month champions trophy
in melbourne take on the koreans in hobart on january ha said
during the champions trophy several of the younger team members really stood
up against some quality opposition coach ric charlesworth said in statement
we looking to further the experience of both the national squad and
development squad with our lead in series to the world cup
south korea and australia are in alternate pools for the world cup which gets
under way on february
british pm faces call for leadership ballot
london jan afp
british prime minister gordon brown on thursday faced down leadership coup by
two former ministers highlighting his vulnerability just months before
general election
the ex ministers called wednesday for ballot of lawmakers from the ruling
labour party on whether brown should remain leader in deeply embarrassing
blow to his authority ahead of the election due by june
brown lagging behind the main opposition conservatives in the polls has faced
repeated rumours of threat to his struggling leadership since taking over from
tony blair in but has held on
british newspapers said thursday brown appeared to have fought off the latest
attempt to unseat him despite receiving only lukewarm public backing from
some of his key cabinet ministers
peter mandelson business secretary and brown effective deputy said labour
lawmakers were refusing to back the ex ministers and insisted brown was the
best man for the job
at the end of the day the thing has blown through the corridors of westminster
parliament and out of the window mandelson told bbc newsnight programme
late wednesday
they lawmakers want gordon brown to lead the party as prime minister into the
general election whenever it takes place this year and they don want to open
the question of the leadership he said
but mandelson who reportedly fell out with the premier in recent weeks
conceded the call for ballot was monumental distraction for labour gearing
up for bruising election battle
in letter to all labour lawmakers geoff hoon defence secretary when
britain joined the iraq war in and former health secretary patricia
hewitt said the party was deeply divided over whether brown should be leader
many colleagues have expressed their frustration at the way in which this
question is affecting our political performance they wrote
we have therefore come to the conclusion that the only way to resolve this
issue would be to allow every member to express their view in secret ballot
if there was no secret ballot this grumbling could continue into the election
campaign diverting attention from our real message said hoon and hewitt
seen as blair allies
the letter gained early support from handful of persistent brown critics who
say that with labour around points behind the conservatives led by david
cameron it is time for change
its timing is awkward british political parties effectively started election
campaigning this week after the christmas break brown has not yet called the
election but it looks likely to come in may
it seems improbable that any vote which could come as early as monday would go
against him not least because there is no obvious candidate to replace him
but if it did it could allow figures like foreign secretary david miliband
who reportedly considered standing against brown in way to challenge
for the leadership without having wielded the knife
in brief statement hours after the letter was released miliband said he
supported the re election campaign for labour government
am working closely with the prime minister on foreign policy issues and
support the re election campaign for labour government that he is leading
british news media suggested miliband and other cabinet colleagues had issued
only lukewarm statements of support for brown
the times described miliband statement as less than wholehearted while the
guardian said it was both later and less full throated than anything offered by
fellow cabinet members
the bbc reported six cabinet ministers were prepared to support coup
in june last year brown fended off nascent leadership plot after several
cabinet ministers quit in quick succession and one james purnell urged him to
step down
india acts to end illegal temple building on public land
new delhi jan afp
pradeep fuloriya points at the track marks showing where five years ago
bulldozer nearly succeeded in flattening the hindu shrine that he cares for
beside leafy road in the heart of new delhi
it could move no farther the year old priest boasts as he recalls how
crowds of devotees forced the machine to retreat from the shiv shakti mochan
temple
the illegally built shrine constructed in around banyan tree was meant
to be demolished on official orders but after the protests it was allowed to
remain as long as it did not encroach on any more public space
the temple is expanding along with the tree growth we can help that
fuloriya says at the temple dedicated to lord shiva the hindu god of
destruction
municipal bulldozers returned in july after canopy was used to extend the
temple in what the authorities saw as another defiant act of encroachment
once again devotees braved police water cannon to send the wreckers packing
it god wish that the temple is safe and sound fuloriya says
the row over the temple exemplifies many disputes in india over the use of
public land for religious sites
parks streets railway stations and schools are dotted with illegal shrines
and now the government is pushing laws through the courts to end further
encroachment
in september the supreme court slapped blanket ban on fresh construction of
places of worship on state property after strong pressure from the national
government
criminals the land mafia and anti social elements exploit religious sentiments
of the people to grab public land through the construction of such places of
worship the government said in petition to the court
large chunk of land thus remains under illegal occupation
the court ordered india states to send monthly reports on fresh
encroachment but most regional administrations said the request was impossible
to fulfil
another problematic temple in delhi is dilapidated site to an unknown hindu
deity that is affecting construction of the city new metro system
the structure in new ashok nagar district has been abandoned for years but if
we try to demolish it hundreds will turn up and clamour for damages an
official from the delhi metro company said on condition he was not named
kolkata city main airport handles more than flights day but its plan to
expand runway has hit trouble because of year old islamic shrine
six people died in hindu muslim riots in that erupted in the western city
of baroda after municipal engineers there demolished the wall of muslim
mausoleum
there are hundreds of thousands of religious sites across india built on public
land and delhi municipal spokesman deep mathur conceded that demolition of
illegal structures is tricky challenge
given the sensitivity of the issue these structures cannot be just pulled down
and so the delhi administration has special committee on religious affairs
which decides which can be demolished or re located mathur said
the delhi urban arts commission set up in to preserve the capital
aesthetic quality and urban environmental design has hailed the supreme court
recent efforts to prevent further encroachments
it is already disaster but bigger disaster can be prevented if we intervene
now commission secretary navneet kumar told afp
kumar blamed the shrine building spree on sectarian rivalries between india
various religious denominations including the majority hindus
land grabbing is one aspect but the problem comes because hindus muslims
sikhs christians and others all say we are equally important and we should
have equal rights kumar added
and so it goes on said kumar who recently helped block plans of delhi
hindu nationalist municipal councillors to install foot metre statue
of lord krishna in an overcrowded working class district of the city
prominent landscape architect from delhi policy making panel who declined
to be identified because of his minority religious status said the shrine
building binge must end
putting up two stones or occupying piece of land in the name of religion is
blatant crime and it must halt because such land belongs to all citizens and
not just some groups and sects he said
football nations cup throws spotlight on cabinda troubled past
luanda jan afp
the angolan enclave of cabinda is expected to deploy heavy security at its
chiazi stadium when the country hosts the edition of the african nations
cup starting sunday
chelsea teammates michael essien and didier drogba will play the group stages
there one of four cup venues in the country but not all the security will be
for the premier league stars
oil rich cabinda separated from the rest of angola by the democratic republic
of congo has been embroiled in long running independence struggle but will
host the seven nations cup matches this month
the conflict officially ended in deal with the front for the liberation
of the enclave of cabinda flec
flec however has made several media claims in recent months about attacks on the
military and foreign construction and oil workers based in the province
according to agostinho chicaia of mapablanda cabinda only human rights
organisation things have only gotten worse since the deal
cabinda continues to be unstable there is no peace he told afp saying the
fighting has eased but human rights abuses and arrests on security charges were
increasing
the true peace is that which is born first in the hearts of people and in their
consciences and it peace based on justice he said
the agreement has done nothing for justice so now there is only heightened
tension
mapablanda as well as us based human rights watch have documented abuses
including the case of fernando lelo former voice of america journalist who
last year was sentenced to years in prison for national security offences
lelo spent two years behind bars but was later acquitted
cabinda is still living in state of war today he told afp the fact that
we present ourselves as defenders of human rights we ve been targeted for
arbitrary detentions and persecutions
antonio bento bembe the former flec leader who signed the peace deal that has
now made him government minister disputes the claims of abuses
what these people are saying is not true said bento bembe minister without
portfolio in charge of human rights these people are just using human rights
watch to get publicity
it would be good to recognise the efforts being made by the government not
only to speak critically
the one time rebel bush fighter has also dismissed concerns that cabinda was not
good location for the nations cup which runs to january with games also
taking place in the capital luanda benguela and luango provinces
cabinda is safe and security there is guaranteed he said the cup of nations
is an opportunity for cabinda to receive visitors and it will bring money and
investment to the province
the minister denied tensions in the enclave but the december arrests there of
french and an angolan journalist doing story about the tournament has re
stoked concerns
according to human rights watch the pair were detained because one took
photograph of the new chinese built football stadium and they were taken to
several military and police garrisons where they were questioned and then
released without charge five hours later
the africa cup of nations is an opportunity for angola to showcase its progress
after years of debilitating civil war said georgette gagnon africa director
at human rights watch
but by arbitrarily arresting and intimidating journalists angolan officials
draw attention to how far the country still has to go
the seat chiazi stadium will host group ghana ivory coast burkina
faso and togo in the tournament
the nations cup is seen as the starter to african football feast whose
main course comes in june with the world cup in south africa the first time
international football biggest competition has ever been held on the
continent
afp features
paris jan afp
we will shortly move the following stories
highlights
football nations cup throws spotlight on cabinda troubled past
india acts to end illegal temple building on public land
fbl afr ang cabinda focus
luanda
the angolan enclave of cabinda embroiled in long running independence
struggle is expected to deploy heavy security at its chiazi stadium when the
country hosts the edition of the african nations cup starting sunday but
not all will be for premier league stars
words by louise redvers graphic
india religion justice culture
new delhi
parks streets railway stations and schools in india are dotted with illegal
shrines and now the government is pushing laws through the courts to end
further encroachment
words by pratap chakravarty picture
for questions email nancy shields afp com or call
honduras military chiefs charged with abuse of power
tegucigalpa honduras jan afp
honduras attorney general charged the country top military chiefs wednesday
with abuse of power for coup that ousted president manuel zelaya supreme
court spokesman told afp
they are various commanders and the crimes are abuse of power said danilo
izaguirre adding that the court had three days to respond to the charges filed
by attorney general luis rubi
armed forces chief of staff general romeo vasquez velasquez air force chief
venancio cervantes and navy chief luis javier prince were among those accused
over the arrest and expulsion of zelaya to costa rica on june
an army spokesman told local radio america that vasquez had called on military
lawyers to take on the case
zelaya who has been holed up in the brazilian embassy since returning to
honduras in september immediately dismissed the charges as superficial and
accused the de facto regime of using new tricks
today using new stratagem the attorney general who has equal or more
responsibility as the soldiers is presenting accusations to achieve impunity
for the soldiers by accusing them of minor crimes zelaya said in statement
the supreme court as well as the congress and business leaders backed left
leaning zelaya expulsion during dispute over his plans to change the
constitution which critics saw as bid to prolong his mandate
rights groups had called on the country legal institutions to denounce the
military for their involvement in the coup and heavy handed clampdowns on
protests by zelaya supporters in its aftermath
wednesday announcement came as top us envoy left honduras without comment
after two day visit seeking an exit to the deep political crisis set off by
the coup
de facto foreign minister carlos lopez told news conference that the latest
visit by craig kelly the second highest us diplomat to latin america had been
very constructive and that he had met with de facto leader roberto micheletti
for almost three hours
the issue of possible resignation was not tackled lopez said
micheletti earlier said the united states had offered millions of dollars in
aid to honduras if he would step down in television interview cited by print
media here
the united states along with the european union and international
organizations froze millions of dollars of much needed aid to honduras after
the coup
kelly also met briefly with porfirio lobo who won controversial november
presidential elections held under the coup regime after speaking to zelaya
inside the brazilian embassy on tuesday
micheletti said wednesday he would still step down on january when
conservative lobo is due to take office
many critics particularly in latin america slammed november polls as an
endorsement to the coup in region with painful history of dictatorships
they sought for zelaya to return to office to finish his term as possible
solution to the crisis
but the future of zelaya who is threatened with arrest remained uncertain
the honduran congress was meanwhile preparing to debate an amnesty for those
involved in the coup which could be approved next week
korea samsung sees billion dollar profit in
seoul jan afp
south korea electronics giant samsung electronics said thursday it expects to
post an estimated billion dollars profit for the fourth quarter to december
last year
the world largest memory chip and flat screen tv maker said its consolidated
operating profit is estimated at trillion won billion on sales of
trillion won during the september december period
the earnings guidance estimates came ahead of an official quarterly earnings
report due later this month the company said
samsung said it expects an operating profit of trillion won on record
revenue of trillion won for the full year
guinea junta chief life not in danger interim leader
conakry jan afp
the life of guinea junta chief wounded in an assassination bid last month
is not in danger but it will take time for him to recover completely
interim leader general sekouba konate said wednesday
konate said in televised speech that he had visited self proclaimed president
moussa dadis camara who remains in hospital in morocco following surgery for
gunshot wound to the head to wish him prompt recovery
his life is not in danger but it will take time patience and medical treatment
for while for him to recover completely konate said the day after his return
from week stay in morocco
camara was shot on december by his then aide de camp lieutenant aboubacar
sidiki diakite who is now in hiding
konate took charge of the west african country after camara was shot more than
two months after soldiers killed opposition protesters at stadium in
massacre described by un investigators as crime against humanity
human rights groups and the united nations put the death toll at more than
with hundreds injured including women who were raped by troops
camara came to power on december within hours of the death of hardline
ruler lansana conte former general who had ruled since
qaeda says cia attack revenge for drone killings site
kabul jan afp
al qaeda hailed the suicide bombing at cia base in afghanistan that killed
seven agents as revenge for the deaths of top militants in us drone strikes
the monitoring group site said thursday
jordanian identified as humam khalil abu mulal al balawi who was said to be
triple agent blew himself up at the base in khost near the pakistani border on
december in the deadliest attack against the cia since
the head of al qaeda in afghanistan mustafa abu al yazid said the bomber wrote
in his will that the attack was revenge for our righteous martyrs and named
several top militants killed in drone attacks in pakistan site reported
these included baitullah mehsud the leader of pakistan taliban blamed for
wave of deadly attacks including the killing of former prime minister benazir
bhutto in december
mehsud was killed when us missile slammed into his father in law house on
august last year
another militant named was abu saleh al somali described as part of al qaeda
core leadership and responsible for plotting attacks in europe and the united
states was killed in drone strike in the north waziristan area in december
last year
the khost base has been described by us media as key anti terror facility
that oversaw the drone strikes targeting al qaeda and taliban on the pakistan
border and centre for recruiting and debriefing informants
the al qaeda statement surfaced after another round of attacks by the remote
controlled aircraft that left militants dead near pakistan afghan border on
wednesday the first strikes since the cia bombing
the area is stronghold of hafiz gul bahadur who fought with the taliban when
us led troops invaded afghanistan and is reputed to control up to fighters
whom he sends across the border but who do not attack in pakistan
washington has put pakistan at the heart of new strategy for turning around
the eight year war against the taliban in afghanistan hinging success on
dismantling militant sanctuaries along the porous border
attacks by unmanned us spy planes have soared in the past year while the
extremists have vowed fierce retaliation
jihadist websites have said that balawi was triple agent who duped western
intelligence services for months before turning on his handlers
the jordanian intelligence services believing the bomber to be their double
agent took him to eastern afghanistan with the mission of finding al qaeda
number two ayman al zawahiri the websites and western intelligence agents cited
by us media said
he blew himself up at forward operating base chapman killing seven cia agents
and his jordanian handler top intelligence officer and member of the royal
family
intelligence experts said it was possible that the base let its guard down in
searching the bomber because he was coveted informant
it was the deadliest single incident for the cia since when eight agency
employees were believed to have been among the dead when islamic militants
bombed the us marine barracks in beirut killing americans and french
the attack came as the united states increasingly relies on the cia and other
covert forces to pursue strategic goals cia and special forces were at the
forefront of the us invasion of afghanistan after the september
attacks paving the way to overthrow the taliban extremist regime
japanese stocks inch up in morning
tokyo jan afp
japanese share prices edged higher in morning trade on thursday helped by
