involved and would absolutely condemn the making of comment like that said
deputy prime minister julia gillard
the murder of year old accounting graduate garg has ignited tensions between
india and australia that have been simmering for the last months following
series of attacks in victoria state against indians
indian media have accused australian police of not doing enough to protect
foreign students who have fuelled lucrative overseas education industry and
of failing to acknowledge the racist motives of the attackers
the editor of the mail today popular tabloid that is partly owned by the
publisher of britain right wing daily mail defended the decision to publish
the cartoon
we perceive the melbourne police to be racist organisation simply because it
seems it is not acting fast enough or seriously enough on the attacks on
indian students editor bharat bhushan said in statement emailed to afp
the cartoon reflects the widespread feeling in india he added
but australian authorities have insisted there are no indications as yet that
garg who was stabbed in the abdomen as he walked to work at hamburger
restaurant late on january was the victim of race hate crime
the cartoon in which the hooded police figure is saying we are yet to
ascertain the nature of the crime was also condemned by victoria police
minister bob cameron
victoria police is very tolerant organisation and victoria is very tolerant
state and to suggest that victoria police is racist is just plain wrong
cameron said
the police union representing the state officers said the drawing was based on
nothing but slow news day in delhi
cartoons in australia are normally done by people who are either clever or
witty and this one neither the secretary of victoria police association
greg davies told reporters
davies said it was incredibly offensive and wrong to suggest police were not
investigating the murder and that it was too early to categorise garg death as
race hate crime
the indian cartoonist prasad said there was sense of injustice in india
and that the attitude of australian authorities amounted to acceptance of
racism or authorising similar future crimes as mere opportunistic violence
the cloak of the ku klux klan is globally known and recognised cultural
signifier that represents racism it also symbolises violence in the name of
race or colour he added in an emailed statement
garg killing has prompted india to issue travel warning to its students in
australia and threatens to damage diplomatic ties as well as australia
billion us dollar education export industry
the federation of indian students in australia said it was too early to rule in
or rule out any cause for the death of mr nitin garg
but spokesman gautam gupta urged police to provide statistics on the number of
crimes committed by and against indians and whether criminals have been caught
and trialled in previous cases of assaults against indians
the editor of the mail today claimed that australian police statistics showed
one in attacks in melbourne was against an indian student despite them
representing just one in every people in the city
silence on the facts and figures are not going to help the situation gupta
said adding that there was rising level of cynicism amongst the indian
diaspora
in june police said that people of indian origin were victims of crime
against the person such as robberies and assaults in victoria between june
and july an increase from the previous year
gupta said the australian government response to the latest murder was seen as
merely diplomatic and an exercise in public relations and image damage
control
indian students number in australia and make up percent of foreign
enrolments in universities and colleges which actively target the country
growing middle class
car bomb injures policeman in tense ireland
belfast jan afp
car bomb seriously injured northern ireland policeman friday in the latest
upsurge of violence in the province as looming political crisis threatened
the already strained government here
the police officer reportedly catholic was on his way to work when the
suspected device went off in randalstown northwest of belfast
serving police officer has been seriously injured following the explosion of
device under his car said spokeswoman for the police service of northern
ireland
the incident happened short distance from the british army massereene
barracks where two soldiers were shot dead on march last year the first such
killings in more than decade
it is the latest in string of attempted car bombings since then further
underscoring the threat posed by dissident groups to northern ireland fragile
peace
am outraged that very small number of people still believe that using
violence will achieve anything they are seeking to drag us backwards into the
dark days said local lawmaker david ford
the attack came two days after landmark announcement that northern ireland
largest loyalist paramilitary group the ulster defence association had
completely disarmed
the uda is the last loyalist paramilitary group to disarm after the good
friday agreement which largely ended three decades of violence between pro
british protestants and catholic opponents of british rule
police declined to name the officer hurt friday but lawmaker william mccrea
said he believed he was catholic and ireland rte broadcaster said he was
leading irish speaker and member of the gaelic athletic association
political tensions meanwhile rose friday as first minister peter robinson
rebuffed innuendo about him after television probe reported details of
financial dealings linked to his wife affair with teenage lover
the story erupted this week in an emotionally charged admission of the affair by
robinson and his wife iris who also tried to commit suicide last year while
suffering from depression
but it is threatening to develop into political crisis after bbc programme
reported that iris robinson had secured funding from wealthy developers for
her year old lover so that he could open restaurant
iris robinson who is also politician but announced her resignation last month
on health grounds faces charges she failed to declare her financial interest
since she sat on the council which approved the business project
the bbc television investigation made number of other allegations leaving the
first minister saying he was going to consult his lawyers
completely reject bbc spotlight attempt to implicate me by insinuation and
innuendo said peter robinson adding will be resolutely defending attacks
on my character and contesting any allegations of wrongdoing
the new revelations come amid already heightened strains between robinson pro
british democratic unionists dup and its partners in the power sharing
government in belfast sinn fein who want united ireland
robinson sinn fein deputy martin mcguinness said he wanted urgent
clarification
was shocked at the financial revelations made in last night spotlight
programme he said
have sought an urgent meeting with the first minister to discuss the
implications for the office of the first minister and deputy first minister
martinique guiana vote on more autonomy from france
paris jan afp
martinique and french guiana hold referendums sunday on greater autonomy year
after french overseas departments were convulsed by strikes and rioting over low
wages and high prices
voters in the territories the remains of france once global empire will
not be able to plump for independence from paris but can vote to have more say
in how they run their own affairs and how they spend government money
president nicolas sarkozy announced the vote in june when he travelled to
martinique as part of drive to heal ties with overseas departments where
general strike degenerated into weeks of rioting at the start of
voters in the caribbean island of guadeloupe will not be taking part in the
consultation as their local leaders decided that the tense social climate was
not conducive to holding referendum
martinique which has around residents and guiana vast territory on
the south american continent with some residents will be asked to
approve or reject change in status for their departments
the wording of the question is technical but in essence it asks voters if they
want to change the status to make it more like that governing more autonomous
french territories such as new caledonia in the pacific
if majority say yes then law will be drawn up and later voted upon to
decide how responsibilities are divided up between local authorities and paris
sixty years after first being granted the status of department which makes
them legally as french as normandy or provence these tropical territories
overseas face recurrent social problems despite massive financial support from
the state
martinique major rum and banana producer and tourist destination for
mainland french seeking winter sunshine has an unemployment rate topping
percent more than twice that of metropolitan france
guiana perhaps best known as the launch site for europe ariane space rockets
faces similarly high joblessness
wages in both departments are significantly lower than on the french mainland
campaigners for yes vote on sunday say the new status would remove obstacles
that have kept development in check
no campaigners warn the french state might be seeking to disengage from its
overseas departments and reduce their people social benefits which are
largely the same as in france
an opinion poll published thursday in martinique said percent of voters on
the island would say no
if the proposed change is rejected second referendum will be held on january
in which voters will be asked to give their opinion only on whether they want
administrative simplifications to be carried out
first direct flight between russia and georgia since war
tbilisi jan afp
russia and georgia on friday re opened air links with the first direct flight
from the georgian capital since the two countries war in august an afp
journalist witnessed
the georgian airways boeing charter flight took off from tbilisi at
gmt landing in moscow at gmt officials said the airliner is scheduled
for return flight later in the afternoon
three charter flights will shuttle between tbilisi and moscow from friday to
sunday but moscow has not so far approved the georgian airline request for
the resumption of regular flights
georgian and russian aviation authorities will hold negotiations and hope the
regular flights will be resumed soon georgian airways chief executive tamaz
gaiashvili told afp
passengers in the tbilisi airport said they hoped flights would be given the go
ahead soon
charter flights are good beginning but what people really need is regular
flights to be resumed passenger elene matureli told afp just before boarding
the first charter flight to moscow
hope the russian authorities will act according to the needs of the ordinary
people
direct flights have been suspended since the two countries went to war over the
russian backed separatist georgian region of south ossetia
last month under swiss mediation georgia and russia also agreed to open the
land crossing at upper lars the only road that does not pass through either
south ossetia or georgia other rebel region of abkhazia
the flights signalled an easing of tensions between russia and its former soviet
satellite with russian president dmitry medvedev saying last year he saw no
obstacles to re opening the border crossing and resuming flights
but observers said the move also coincided with bitterly aggressive rhetoric
from both sides
fighting erupted in august when russian forces poured into georgia to
repel georgian military attempt to retake south ossetia
russian forces later mostly withdrew to within south ossetia and abkhazia both
of which moscow recognised as independent states move so far followed by only
nicaragua venezuela and the pacific island state of nauru
moscow and tbilisi have not had diplomatic relations since then with the
kremlin insisting it will not deal directly with georgian president mikheil
saakashvili
russia cut air links with western leaning georgia during the war only four
months after they had resumed following an month embargo over spy row in
october
moscow has also banned key georgian imports including popular wines and
sparkling water since ties deteriorated in
iraq bars politicians parties from election
baghdad jan afp
fourteen iraqi politicians and parties accused of having links to saddam
hussein baath party have been barred from taking part in parliamentary
elections in march lawmakers said friday
the decision to bar them from the polls the second since saddam ouster after
us led invasion in might undermine efforts towards national
reconciliation in iraq which was ruled by sunni arabs for most of the th
century but whose government is now shiite led
among the most prominent politicians banned was saleh al mutlak secular sunni
who heads the national dialogue front
it is clear that this decision is against the law and the constitution mutlak
told press conference at his party headquarters in central baghdad
we will go to the iraqi courts and we will try to deal with this issue through
the appeals court if the courts are not exposed to political pressure we are
sure that we will win
he added we are fighters and we will continue to fight if the appeal
fails
any appeal would be heard by federal court and it was not immediately clear
how long it would take for ruling to be made
earlier falah shanshal an mp loyal to radical shiite cleric moqtada al sadr
and head of the parliamentary committee charged with de baathification told
afp the decision has been taken by the commission after the emergence of
evidence showing that mutlak promoted and glorified the forbidden baath party
mutlak said in parliament will vote in the name of the baath these words
themselves are propaganda for the baath party of saddam hussein and the
constitution prevents voting for the baath
shanshal confirmed that other individuals or parties had been barred but did
not give details
haidar al mullah spokesman for the national dialogue front accused iran of
being behind the decision to bar mutlak from contesting the polls just day
after iranian foreign minister manouchehr mottaki completed one day visit to
baghdad
there are regional influences particularly from iran taking such decisions
which aim to destabilise the iraqi political process he said
meanwhile hamdia al husseini senior election official told afp iraq
independent high electoral commission had not received any request to block any
names from participating in the election
on october the national dialogue front confirmed that it was joining forces
with iraq sunni vice president tareq al hashemi and the bloc headed by ex
prime minister iyad allawi secular shiite to contest the march election
skiing vonn wins world cup downhill
haus im ennstal austria jan afp
lindsay vonn of the united states made it three in row when she won the
women world cup downhill race here on friday
israeli village mashes up world largest hummus
abu ghosh israel jan afp
fifty chefs in the arab israeli village of abu ghosh on friday mashed up over
four tonnes of hummus beating the guinness world record set in lebanon just
months ago
this is new record said guinness adjudicator jack brookbank as the massive
dip dished out in six metre foot satellite dish provided by sponsors
weighed in at kilos pounds
that is about twice as much as the previous record set in october in
neighbouring lebanon israel political and culinary rival
ve heard lebanon is already planning to strike back brockbank told afp as
band struck up traditional arabic tune to words hailing the humble hummus
simple but tasty dish of chickpeas sesame paste olive oil lemon juice and
garlic hummus stirs passions and rivalries across much of the middle east
lebanon recently sought to have the european union register the dip as
lebanese specialty drawing hoots of derision from israeli afficionados who
claim that would be like claiming intellectual ownership of bread
hummus sometimes described as one of the oldest known prepared foods is
enjoyed in much of the middle east and has probably been around for centuries
most hummus pundits agree its historical origins are lost in the sands of time
with various theories mentioning several areas of the middle east rome greece
and the crusaders
for jawadat ibrahim who organised the event the roots of the popular dish are
irrelevant
it something we all share and enjoy said ibrahim who owns the abu ghosh
restaurant in the heart of the arab israeli village of the same name which every
weekends attracts hordes of hungry visitors many in search of the perfect
hummus
about chefs worked side by side to prepare the massive plate of hummus set up
on specially erected platform outside the restaurant located just short
drive from jerusalem
the guinness official was impressed
it really very good brockbank told afp
was little worried they might sacrifice quality for quantity but that was
not the case he said
ibrahim was beaming
abu ghosh is the town of the biggest hummus plate in history he shouted out
to cheers from crowd of several hundred
he acknowledged that lebanese hummus is very good but boasted that abu gosh
is the hummus capital of the world fighting words to rival fans
with lebanon apparently determined to one up abu ghosh brockbank is convinced
it going to be long battle
but nice one he added
cricket pakistan cricket chief hopes for brighter
karachi jan afp
pakistan cricket chief voiced hopes on friday for improved security so matches
could be played at home this year and said he was working to renew ties between
the national team and india
like every pakistani too hope that the security situation improves in this
new year and that we can resume hosting international teams on our home soil
pakistan cricket board pcb chairman ijaz butt told afp
we faced unique challenges in the past year and hope for better
an ongoing campaign of violence by taliban militants including gun attack on
the visiting sri lankan team last year have battered pakistan reputation as an
international venue
the march attacks which killed eight people and injured seven sri lankan
players and their assistant coach forced the international cricket council
icc to relocate all of pakistan world cup matches
even before that several foreign teams had refused to tour pakistan due to
security fears forcing the icc to also relocate the eight nation champions
trophy from pakistan to south africa
butt said his board had tried to limit the damage by staging international games
in neutral venues
the results that we have achieved such as regular cricket for the national team
on neutral venues will help to minimise the damage caused from the temporary
suspension of international tours he said
he said the pcb had also worked to restore ties with arch rivals india new
delhi cancelled tour to pakistan after an attack on mumbai in november
that was blamed on militants based in pakistan
we have made strong case for pakistan at all international forums said
butt whose board has only hosted sri lanka since he took charge in october
would especially mention our efforts to resume ties with india
we are in close liaison with our high commissioner in india on this matter he
has worked very hard and his efforts are very much appreciated we are confident
that our joint efforts will bear fruit in
activists protest against costly hong kong china railway
hong kong jan afp
hundreds of hong kong activists surrounded government offices friday to protest
against an billion dollar railway that would connect the city with
neighbouring guangzhou in mainland china
the protesters chanted no railway as lawmakers met transport officials to
decide whether to approve funding for the project
the rail would form part of china national high speed rail network and allow
people to travel from hong kong to guangzhou via shenzhen in minutes just
under half the current duration of the journey
the local government said the project would be important in fostering economic
ties between hong kong and major chinese cities and hoped construction could be
complete around
critics said the public has not been properly consulted and questioned why it
had to be so costly they said it would benefit only developers while forcing
villagers along the route to relocate
mirana szeto spokeswoman for the protesters said the public had very little
information about the project
what we see is lack of consensus on the issue and public ignorance we need
more information and more time to debate more democratic and transparent
processes for sustainable future she told afp
lawmaker alan leong said the administration had handled the matter in very
unprofessional very unfair and non engaging manner
leong asked why the project was so costly as alternatives that could save
taxpayers tens of billions of hong kong dollars had been offered by independent
think tanks
he was also concerned that some members of the council held vested interests in
the project
few of my colleagues in the council are non executive directors of listed
companies who have indicated interest in bidding for some works tended by the
government few own land along the proposed routing he said
media reports said the police had officers on standby as authorities
worried about repeat of scuffles that broke out in the democracy march
attended by thousands of people on the new year day last week
rugby union vickery to miss six nations
london jan afp
former england captain phil vickery is set to miss this year six nations after
being told it will be another eight weeks before he can resume training
following neck surgery last year
the year old lions prop forward is therefore unlikely to be named in the
england six nations squad due to be announced by team manager martin johnson on
wednesday
england are also set to be without andrew sheridan who is not due back until
late february following dislocated shoulder
england begin their six nations campaign against wales at twickenham on february
and conclude it against france in paris on march
alert
eurostar cancels percent of london to paris trains spokesman
european stocks rise before us jobs data
london jan afp
europe leading stock markets mostly rose on friday as investors awaited major
us unemployment figures at the end of week that has witnessed solid start to
for global equities
london benchmark ftse index was the only major loser dipping percent
to points in late morning deals
there is little change for the ftse in mid morning trading as markets digest
the producer price data and await the us jobs news said ig index chief market
strategist david jones
approaching the half way mark in european stock market trading on friday
frankfurt dax climbed by percent in value to stand at points
and in paris the cac gained percent to
the dj euro stoxx index of top eurozone shares increased by percent to
reach points
the uk producer price data came as something of surprise today increasing
more than expected and raising slight inflation concerns said jones
but this has proved so far to just be blip in the ongoing strength we have
seen for uk shares over recent weeks the real test for sentiment at the
moment will be the latest unemployment numbers due out of the usa this
afternoon
with the us non farm payrolls and unemployment report looming wide range of
forecasts is keeping the market guessing
estimates range from loss of jobs to gain of the consensus
estimate calls for loss of jobs
wall street had ended mostly higher on thursday as traders awaited friday jobs
data
the dow jones industrial average rose percent to close at points
in second straight day of modest gains that brought the blue chip index to its
highest level since october
the technology heavy nasdaq composite dipped percent to points
while the broad market standard amp poor index advanced percent to
analysts said the market shook off weak start and moved higher on generally
better than expected sales results from us retailers but that gains were capped
by caution ahead of friday all important unemployment figures
italy unemployment rate rises to pct
milan italy jan afp
italy unemployment rate rose to percent in november against percent
the previous month the highest level since march according to revised
figures by the national statistics institute on friday
the number of jobseekers rose to million in november the istat said the
two million mark was breached for the first time in march
the unemployment figure increased by over the previous month and was
percent higher year on year
according to european commission forecasts the unemployment rate in italy will
rise to percent in and remain at that level the following year
brewing giant inbev says to cut percent of european staff
brussels jan afp
the world biggest brewer anheuser busch inbev is to cut percent of its
strong workforce across europe spokeswoman for the company in belgium
said on friday
because of generally declining trend in beer consumption across europe it is
planned especially in belgium germany britain the netherlands and
luxembourg that staff numbers will be broadly reduced by percent karen
couck said
the spokeswoman said the plans were communicated to staff represenatatives on
thursday
the decision triggered severe fall out among workers and hardliners at an
anheuser busch inbev brewery in eastern belgium took about of their bosses
hostage on thursday after the layoffs were announced internally
on friday morning union rep denis gobert told afp that the managers at the
jupiler plant were released at around am gmt
he said the plant was working again but nothing is going in or out of the
factory and warned of further symbolic action over coming days although he
ruled out pure and sustained strike movement
around lorries were also blocked from operating at another belgian plant
where stella artois beer is brewed with delivery lines halted leaving maximum
of hours production time available another union rep alex van cauwenberg
told local media
tennis roddick to take year off davis cup
brisbane australia jan afp
american andy roddick confirmed friday that he would not represent the united
states in the davis cup to avoid causing any further damage to his suspect
knee
roddick was speaking after he beat richard gasquet in the
quarter finals of the brisbane international
the world number seven injured his knee during the atp event in shanghai last
october forcing him to withdraw from the tournament
he said while the knee was not causing him any problems now he wanted to
protect it as much as possible throughout the coming year
want to switch surfaces as little as possible this year with my knee because
of the way last year finished he said
not going to be one of the guys who plays when it convenient when it
close to home and on good surface for him
in davis cup my view has always been you decide at the beginning of the year
whether to go to everything or not and at this point we just decided that it was
smarter as far as long term health is concerned to at least be consistent with
surfaces as much as possible
cold weather claims nine lives in poland
warsaw jan afp
freezing temperatures claimed nine lives in poland over the last two days
bringing to the death toll from exposure since november police
spokesperson said friday
nine people died of hypothermia on wednesday and thursday kamila szala told
afp
overnight temperatures had plunged to minus celsius fahrenheit in some
parts of poland
the victims were mainly homeless men aged to under the influence of
alcohol
by comparison police recorded weather related deaths between november
and january
total people died from exposure in poland during the winter of
the worst recorded in recent years
weather forecasters have predicted more snow and sub zero temperatures across
poland over the next seven days
ubs data transfer to us violated secrecy laws swiss court
zurich jan afp
swiss court ruled on friday that banking watchdog finma violated swiss laws by
authorising the transfer of data of ubs clients to us tax authorities
the federal administrative tribunal ruled that the decision of the finma on
february to order the transfer of banking data of ubs clients to
authorities of the united states of america violates the law it said
in bid to settle charges of tax fraud in the united states switzerland
banking flagship ubs agreed in february to pay us authorities million
dollars and hand over details of about clients
but the swiss court noted that even if finma is in critical situation due to
threats of penal proceeding against ubs from the us authorities it is not
authorised to allow the transmission of banking data concerning clients outside
of the ordinary international administrative assistance procedure
only the swiss government and the parliament are authorised to allow banking
secrecy rules to be lifted by evoking the law of constitutional necessity
banks in switzerland are not allowed to provide any data on their clients to
authorities unless there is clear evidence of fraud or money laundering
andreas rued the lawyer representing three us clients who had lodged the case
against finma told afp that friday ruling was important victory moral
victory
however the lawyer added that it was too early to evaluate the consequences of
the ruling
the swiss financial market supervisory authority finma said it would analyse the
ruling and decide if it would file an appeal at the supreme court
finma justified its decision saying that only this solution could prevent an
