it said immigrants employed as farm labourers earned low wages of around euro
dollars day
the union also accused the mafia of controlling the sector and criticised
maroni statement saying immigrants were paid miserable salaries and have
terrible hours similar to slavery
spain presents new internet anti piracy law
madrid jan afp
the spanish government presented on friday proposed new internet anti piracy
law which will allow judges to shut down websites offering illegal downloads of
music movies and other entertainment
judge order will always be needed to take this decision through quick
procedure which is taken within four days at the latest after the judge has
heard all sides justice minister francisco caamano told news conference
the initial version of the law unveiled in november allowed for sites to be
blocked or closed by new regulatory body without judge order
it sparked an outcry from bloggers and other internet users who argued that it
could be used by the government to censor websites
manifesto against the draft law was signed by tens of thousands of people in
spain which has one of the highest rates of illegal downloads
last month prime minister jose luis rodriguez zapatero said his socialist
government would introduce new version of the draft law which addressed these
concerns
if the draft law needs to be clarified it will be but the government feels
that country which wants to have intellectual property must protect it he
said
the new draft law still must be approved by parliament before it it comes into
effect
the entertainment industry has been pushing the government to take action
against illegal internet downloads of copyright protected material arguing it
cost them millions of euros dollars each year
rallying al attiyah wins seventh stage
antofagasta chile jan afp
nasser al attiyah of volkswagen won the seventh stage of the dakar rally cars
section on friday km special from iquique to antofagasta
al attiyah saw off early race pace setter stephane peterhansel of bmw by min
sec and finished min sec ahead of spanish teammate carlos sainz who still
leads the overall standings
alert
angolan minister calls togo squad shooting terrorist act
troubled angolan area brings violent start to african cup
luanda jan afp
the oil rich angolan region of cabinda where the togolese team bus was shot at
on friday is hotbed of rebel activity which had worried authorities in the
lead up to the african nations cup
heavy security was to be deployed for the group matches in the continent top
football event to be held in the regional capital cabinda involving ivory
coast togo ghana and burkina faso and featuring host of european based
soccer stars including michael essien and didier drogba
cabinda cut off from the rest of angola by the democratic republic of congo
has been embroiled in long running independence struggle but was to host seven
matches in the month long tournament
the conflict officially ended in deal with the front for the liberation
of the enclave of cabinda flec
flec however has made several claims in recent months about attacks on the
military and foreign construction and oil workers based in the province where
us oil giant chevron maintains large staff base
according to agostinho chicaia of mapablanda cabinda only human rights
organisation tensions have worsened since the deal
cabinda continues to be unstable there is no peace he told afp saying
fighting had eased but human rights abuses and arrests on security charges were
increasing
the agreement has done nothing for justice so now there is only heightened
tension
mapablanda and human rights watch hrw 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 before being
acquitted
cabinda is still living in state of war today lelo 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
bento bembe however declined to comment on friday shooting in which bus
driver was killed and nine other people wounded
earlier the one time rebel fighter had dismissed concerns that cabinda was not
good location for the nations cup
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 arrests in december of french and an angolan journalist doing story
about the tournament have also fuelled concerns
according to us based hrw the pair were detained because one took photograph
of the new capacity chinese built football stadium
they were taken to military and police garrisons where they were questioned and
then released without charge five hours later it said
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 nations cup is seen as key build up event to the world cup in south africa
in june the first time international football biggest competition has ever
been held in africa
blackberry presents powerpoint for road warriors
las vegas nevada jan afp
research in motion rim has rolled out blackberry presenter that business
road warriors can use to give powerpoint presentations from the canadian
company popular smartphones
if you do powerpoint presentations you can leave the laptop behind rim
director of public relations shelly sofer said after pulling presenter from
jacket pocket
we see the use of this for the road warrior and it can be left in
corporation board room so anyone can go in and do presentation without having
to pull out cables or mess with resolution
presenter device about the size of an altoids mints container is plugged
into projector and then controlled wirelessly by blackberry
slides graphs or other information assembled using microsoft powerpoint
program are routed to projector and displayed in high resolution
the presentation streams securely over bluetooth softer said you can walk
around while doing your presentation read notes on the handset and freeze or
jump around the slides
blackberry presenter devices have enough memory to hold data from about
slides so information can be left behind after the smartphone wielder departs
alert
driver dead nine hurt in togo football bus shooting togo federation
us clears virgin america as domestic carrier
washington jan afp
virgin america has maintained its status as domestic us carrier after agreeing
to series of changes in its ownership and management structure officials said
friday
the department of transportation dot said its review concluded that the
carrier loosely tied to richard branson british based virgin group remains
us citizen and remains under the actual control of us citizens
virgin america was certified as domestic carrier in but that came into
doubt later after it notified us authorities of change in its shareholder
makeup
the low cost airline has licensed the virgin brand from virgin group and
maintains it is independent from the companies headed by branson who founded
virgin atlantic airlines and host of other virgin branded firms
dot said virgin america agreed to make number of changes to ensure that the
air carrier would remain under the ownership and actual control of us citizens
dot said the group agreed to raise new capital from entities other than the
virgin group which holds percent stake in virgin america
virgin america also will add an additional us citizen to its board resulting
in seven us citizen investor designees as voting members on the nine member
board the dot said in statement
dot said it dismissed petitions by alaska airlines and the aircraft mechanics
fraternal association for public inquiry into virgin america qualifications
to be domestic carrier
today is great day for airline competition for our traveling guests and for
our teammates said virgin america president and chief executive david cush
we re extremely pleased with the department of transportation announcement
with this behind us we intend to focus on what we do best injecting new
competition into markets as we grow creating new jobs and delivering an
unrivaled guest experience
the carrier said percent of its shares are held by the us based vai partners
llc and percent held by virgin group however the us investors comprising
vai partners will change with the largest share held by cyrus aviation investor
llc which is related to the investment group cyrus capital
tight security as nigerian bomb suspect pleads not guilty
detroit michigan jan afp
young nigerian accused of trying to blow up us plane on christmas day
pleaded not guilty friday in his first court appearance amid heightened
security
umar farouk abdulmutallab walked slowly up to the dock in the detroit
courthouse and spoke softly to confirm his name how it was spelt and his age
he also said he understood the charges against him
but lawyer entered the plea of not guilty to all six charges including
attempted murder of people on board the plane and trying to use weapon of
mass destruction he faces life imprisonment if convicted
abdulmutallab son of prominent nigerian banker was arrested following the
botched al qaeda plot in which device allegedly stitched into his underwear
failed to detonate on board northwest flight from amsterdam
the thwarted bombing has triggered us and global alarm leading the united
states to adopt stringent new screening and security measures at airports around
the world dozens of names have also been added to no fly lists
us president barack obama on thursday ordered sweeping overhaul of flawed
intelligence services but said ultimately the buck stops with me
he unveiled measures including strengthening us watchlists and boosting airport
screening as part of broad orders to close us security gaps
releasing two reports on the plane plot obama said spy agencies did not
properly connect and understand disparate data that could have detected the
plot earlier as it was planned by an al qaeda affiliate in yemen
he said the probes revealed that us analysts knew abdulmutallab was an extremist
and knew al qaeda in yemen was plotting an attack but could not connect the
two strands of intelligence
ahead of abdulmutallab arraignment us marshals were helping local police
secure the area
our security measures have been ramped up to the highest level we don
anticipate any problem but we are taking this very seriously kevin pettit
spokesman for the us marshals service in detroit told afp
police blocked off the street in front of the majestic depression era theodore
levin courthouse as light dusting of snow covered the streets and stiff
wind chilled the news crews gathered outside
inside two bomb sniffing dogs were paced from room to room and as is now
standard for courtrooms every visitor to the building passed through metal
detector
in continued sign of the heightened vigilance two alleged associates of an
afghan immigrant accused of planning attacks in new york were arrested by the
fbi on friday
they are associates of najibullah zazi who is accused of links to al qaeda in
pakistan and of plotting bombing spree in new york last year around the
anniversary of the attacks law enforcement source said asking not to be
named
obama has repeatedly singled out the zazi investigation as proof that us
intelligence is in fact doing good job against an increasingly multi headed
foe
dismissing criticism that his administration has been too soft on terror the us
president said thursday the united states was at war with al qaeda
but he vowed americans would not be forced into adopting siege mentality
in detroit around demonstrators stood shivering outside the courthouse
holding american flags and signs declaring not in the name of islam and islam
is against terrorism
majed moughni who moved to the detroit area from lebanon said he was worried
that there would be backlash against muslims in the wake of the botched al
qaeda plot
we are here to let the world know we re going to stand in the cold against
terrorism and we hope americans don leave us out in the cold moughni said
we re trying to unite as muslims and we re going to eradicate all terrorism
from our homes and our mosques and we re going to send terrorists back to the
caves of afghanistan
obama said failure to spot the christmas plot was not the fault of single
individual or organization but rather systemic failure across organizations
and agencies
but he added am less interested in passing out blame than am in learning
from and correcting these mistakes to make us safer
ultimately the buck stops with me as president have solemn responsibility
to protect our nation and our people and when the system fails it is my
responsibility
alleged us airline bomber pleads not guilty
detroit jan afp
lawyers for young nigerian accused of trying to blow up us plane on
christmas day pleaded not guilty friday as he faced life imprisonment on six
charges
wearing white shirt and beige trousers year old umar farouk
abdulmutallab spoke to confirm his name age and that he had read copy of the
indictment against him as lawyer entered not guilty plea on his behalf
abdulmutallab also confirmed he had taken medication to treat injuries but said
it did not affect his ability to understand the charges against him
oil tops china nigeria talks agenda
abuja jan afp
china foreign minister yang jiechi held talks with nigerian officials friday
on oil exports to energy hungry beijing
china was looking for imports but negotiations with nigeria had only started
said yang who is on tour of africa
of course in china we do need to import oil from other countries including
nigeria but at the moment think we have just made beginning he told
reporters at the end of closed door meeting
yang said the two countries enjoyed good cooperation in energy matters and it
is mutually beneficial relationship and progress has been made
he gave no details of the talks which were also attended by former opec
secretary general and nigeria oil minister rilwanu lukman
china state oil giant cnooc last year made an offer to buy six billion barrels
of oil from nigeria but the bid was turned down the amount is equivalent to
one in every six barrels of the proven reserves in nigeria
the bid pitches china into competition with western oil giants operating in
nigeria including shell chevron total and exxonmobil
nigeria was for years africa largest oil exporter but it has been caught up
recently by angola
china has aggressively stepped up trade and economic ties with the resource rich
africa in recent years prompting critics to accuse it of taking neo
colonialist attitude
yang said nigeria exports to china shot up about percent in we are
going to import even more from nigeria he said
in november at meeting of china africa leaders in egypt beijing pledged
billion dollars in concessional loans to african countries
the friday talks also discussed boosting communication technology and the
development of nigeria delapidated railway infrastructure officials said
million dollar chinese built satellite launched into space less than two
years ago for nigeria communications revolution failed last year and could
not be recovered
on the political front the west african giant struggling to regain the
international clout built during former president olusegun obasanjo era is
also seeking chinese government backing for its for un security council seat
we believe that african countries deserve bigger say within the framework of
the un security council said yang pledging to work closely with nigeria in
attempts at reforming the un security council
immigration security extradition issues were also lined up for discussion
said the ministry of foreign affairs adding that nigerians had built up
reputation for violence drug trafficking and over staying their visas which is
an embarrassment to the image of the country
yang has already been to kenya and is due to continue on saturday to sierra
leone algeria and morocco
gunmen wound four in attack on african football stars
luanda jan afp
gunmen shot at bus carrying togo football team to the african nations cup in
angola friday wounding two players and two other people and prompting calls
for the tournament to be called off
one player said he believed the driver of bus in the team convoy was shot dead
when bullets were sprayed at the vehicles as they crossed into the troubled
angolan province of cabinda from congo brazzaville
many dived under the seats on the bus when the gunfire started squad member
thomas dossevi said the squad had been fired on like dogs
two players goalkeeper kodjovi obilale and defender serge akakpo were among the
wounded dossevi told afp
one of them akakpo took bullet in the back and the other obilale was hit
in the kidneys dossevi said the assailants were hooded and armed to the
teeth we stayed under the seats for minutes it was horrible
obilale plays at french fifth division side gsi pontivy while akakpo plays with
romanian outfit vaslui
the other two wounded were the team goalkeeping coach and doctor
all were being treated in hospital in the provincial capital cabinda
another team member richmond forson said he believed the driver one of the
buses in the togo convoy had been killed but that none of the players lives were
in danger
the gunfire broke out as they were pulling away from the border crossing
players said
forson who plays with french fourth division side thouars told the french
sports channel infosport that bus carrying the team baggage took the worst
of the gunfire
it was the baggage bus which went in front of us which took the bullets because
they thought we were in there forson said
they shot the driver of this bus and think he did not come through the
windscreen was smashed the player added
organisers of the tournament were to meet in luanda after the shooting and
alaixys romao who plays for the french top flight side grenoble said the team
was in shock and did not want to take part in the tournament which is due to
begin on sunday
we ve got players wounded members of staff and we re all just waiting for
news the togo player told infosport
if it is possible there should be boycott of the tournament why not cancel
all the matches we just want to go back home
henri stambouli who coached the togo side in told infosport he also
believed the event should be called off noting the seriousness of the
situation believe it should not go ahead said the frenchman
former cameroon and ghana coach claude leroy told radio monte carlo he feared
the event might have to be cancelled that question we have to ask this
is very serious the african confederation will definitely be meeting to take
decision
they must take stance on this crazy murderous business he insisted
togo one of africa top sides and who appeared in the last world cup in
germany were scheduled to start their campaign against ghana on monday in
cabinda
they are captained by english based striker emmanuel adebayor whose club
manchester city said in statement that he had not been injured
the other teams in their group are burkina faso and the star studded ivory coast
whose squad includes chelsea striker didier drogba and barcelona midfielder yaya
toure
contacted by afp earlier tournament organisers said the team bus had simply
burst tyre causing panic among the players
oil rich cabinda 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
angola as whole is only just emerging from year civil war which erupted
shortly after it received independence from portugal and finally ended in
urgent alleged us airline bomber pleads not guilty
detroit jan afp
lawyers for young nigerian accused of trying to blow up us plane on
christmas day pleaded not guilty friday as he faced life imprisonment on six
charges
afp gmt news advisory
washington jan afp
duty editor alex ogle
tel
top stories
nigerian plane bomb suspect pleads not guilty
us loses more jobs in december
europe grapples with bitter winter
four hurt as gunmen fire on togo soccer team bus
attacks us nigeria newseries wrap
detroit michigan
young nigerian accused of trying to blow up us plane on christmas day pleads
not guilty as he appears in court for the first time amid tight security around
detroit courthouse
words gmt by mira oberman picture graphic
we will also move attacks us nigeria court ndlead scene
us economy unemployment thlead
washington
fresh data shows the us economy lost jobs in december while the
unemployment rate held at percent highlighting slow and painful recovery
from recession
words gmt by rob lever graphic file picture
europe weather thlead wrap
london
europe grapples with grounded flights and yet more eurostar cancellations as
bitter winter weather bears down on the continent and forces britain to curb
industrial gas usage to save supplies
words gmt by guy jackson picture video
togo angola violence fbl afr rdlead
luanda
gunmen open fire at bus carrying togo football squad to the african nations
cup in angola wounding at least two players and two other people and prompting
call for the tournament to be called off
words gmt by nick reeves file picture
we will also move togo angola violence fbl afr cabinda
filing plans around the regions
americas
us attacks justice arrest thlead
new york
two associates of an afghan immigrant charged in an al qaeda linked plot to
attack new york around last year anniversary of the september attacks are
arrested law enforcement officials say
words gmt
argentina economy bank politics debt thlead
buenos aires
an argentine judge thwarts government efforts to use central bank reserves to
pay down the national debt deepening major political and institutional
crisis
words gmt
us sweden auto company saab gm liquidation lead wrap
detroit michigan
general motors begins an orderly wind down of its swedish unit saab but will
continue to review any late proposals to buy the brand in move drawing
protests from those affected in sweden
words gmt
we have also moved sweden us netherlands auto takeover company saab gm
canada media bankruptcy rdlead
ottawa
media titan canwest global files for bankruptcy protection for its canadian
publishing group as it tries to sell its websites dailies and community
newspapers
words gmt by michel comte
middle east
mideast diplomacy us ndlead
washington
us secretary of state hillary clinton urges palestinians and israelis to resume
peace talks without preconditions backing palestinian aims for state along
the boundaries but allowing for land swaps
words gmt by lachlan carmichael picture
mideast conflict gaza egypt britain lead
cairo
egypt declares british mp george galloway persona non grata after activists who
joined him to send an aid convoy to gaza clashed with police
words moved by samer al atrush picture
iraq vote politics sunni rdlead
baghdad
fourteen iraqi politicians and parties linked to saddam hussein baath party
are barred from taking part in march elections in blow for efforts towards
national reconciliation
words moved gmt by salam faraj picture video
europe
portugal society gay politics thlead
lisbon
portugal parliament approves plans to legalise gay marriage less than three
decades after revoking the country ban on homosexuality but rejected
proposals to allow same sex couples to adopt
words gmt
nireland britain politics attacks ndlead wrap
belfast
northern ireland policeman is critically ill in hospital after bomb explodes
under his car in the latest upsurge of violence to hit the province as it also
faces looming political crisis
words gmt by eamonn mallie picture
asia
pakistan unrest rdlead wrap
karachi
eight suspected insurgents are killed when explosives intended for bomb attack
accidentally blow up destroying militant safe house in pakistan financial
capital karachi police said
words moved by hasan mansoor picture
we have also moved pakistan unrest northwest missile ndlead
malaysia religion catholic church attack rdlead
kuala lumpur
three malaysian churches have been targeted with firebombs leaving one badly
damaged in an escalating dispute over the use of the word allah by non
muslims
words moved by romen bose graphic picture
alert
alleged us airline bomber pleads not guilty in detroit court
beware restaurant frozen meal calorie counts us study says
washington jan afp
weight watchers who swear by the calorie counts that many restaurants in the
united states display on their menus take heed the numbers don always tell
the truth
researchers at tufts university friedman school of nutrition science and
policy found that around half the dishes served in popular us restaurants
delivered more calories than stated on the menu with some packing double the
stated energy value
and the researchers found discrepancies in the portion sizes the restaurants
said they were serving and the actual size of the meal that showed up on the
diner plate the study published in the january edition of the journal of the
american dietetic association said
the researchers analyzed the calorie content of side dishes and main courses
from five popular sit down restaurant chains applebee denny olive
garden chang and ruby tuesday and sides and main courses from fast
food restaurants domino dunkin donuts mcdonald taco bell and wendy
ten frozen meals bought at supermarkets were also analyzed
on average restaurant foods were found to contain percent more calories than
what was stated on the menu and frozen meals averaged eight percent more
calories than stated on their packaging
but some of the restaurant items contained more than twice the calories listed
on the menu
frozen dinners fared somewhat better but even there three meals including
one each from weight watchers and lean cuisine delivered around quarter
more calories than stated on the packet
if people use published calorie contents for weight control discrepancies of
this magnitude could result in weight gain of many pounds year the study
lead author susan roberts said in statement
to illustrate the gravity of the problem imagine ordering portion of dry
toast at denny
the seemingly innocuous side dish is listed on the menu as weighing grams and
containing calories
but the denny dry toast analyzed by the tufts team weighed in at grams and
packed calories
gm will still consider offers for saab as liquidation begins
detroit michigan jan afp
general motors said friday it had begun an orderly wind down of its swedish
unit saab but would consider any late proposals for the brand in move
drawing protests from sweden
gm said it hired the consulting firm alixpartners to supervise the orderly
wind down of saab and has requested approval of the selection by the
appropriate authority in sweden
