slug auto moto rally dakar
alpine skiing
women world cup downhill at haus im enstal austria which replaces the race
postponed at val isere in mid december
slug ski world women
six killed in blast in pakistan karachi police
karachi jan afp
six people were killed friday when an explosion flattened house being used by
militants in pakistan economic hub karachi police said adding that the blast
appeared to have been accidental
gun grenades and suicide vests were recovered from the house in western
karachi neighbourhood and police said they were working to determine the exact
cause of the blast and the circumstances surrounding it
there was blast in house in baldia town in which six people were killed
the house collapsed said senior police official abdul majeed dasti
he said hand grenades kalashnikov rifle and suicide vests were also found at
the scene while city police chief waseem ahmad told afp that the explosives
appeared to have been detonated unintentionally
it seems that explosives which were stored in the house caused the explosion in
which six people were killed he said
it seems that the house was being used by terrorists we are taking utmost care
in removing the rubble bomb disposal officials have arrived at the scene to
determine the exact nature of the explosion
police could not immediately say whether all six people killed were in the house
at the time or were passers by
forty three people were killed in karachi pakistan largest city in
bombing blamed on militants during religions procession last month
suicide bombings and attacks by the taliban and other islamist militant groups
have intensified in recent months as the military pursues an aggressive
offensive to quash insurgent strongholds along the afghan border
nearly people have been killed in attacks in pakistan since the militant
violence intensified in july with the taliban increasingly hitting big
cities and civilian targets
karachi cosmopolitan port city far away from the troubled northwest had
largely been spared the bloodshed but there are fears that militants are using
the cover of city of about million people to regroup and plan attacks
gold medal bodybuilder bribed officials court told
hong kong jan afp
gold medal winning bodybuilder at the doha asian games bribed his way into the
event after being suspended from competition for failing drugs test hong
kong court heard friday
chan yun to is accused of conspiring to offer us dollars in bribes
to paul chua secretary general of the asian bodybuilding and fitness
federation to enter the games in he later won the men kilogram
class chua has not been charged in the case
prosecutor maggie yang told the district court that chan and two other hong kong
athletes were suspended from competition in for two years after failing
doping tests at south korean event
but oliver davies lawyer for chan said there was no evidence to prove that
chan had taken performance enhancing drugs in the south korean competition
the two other athletes who are also suspended have been granted immunity to
testify against chan in the trial the prosecutor said
chan did not enter plea and was released on bail
japan korea mull joint security declaration tokyo
tokyo jan afp
japanese prime minister yukio hatoyama said friday that tokyo was considering
boosting its security cooperation with south korea in the face of the threat of
possible north korean attack
asked about reports that tokyo and seoul may issue joint security declaration
this year hatoyama told reporters this is being discussed as the momentum for
greater cooperation between japan and south korea is increasing
japan yomiuri shimbun daily reported friday that the two countries plan
joint declaration in response to north korea nuclear and missile development
as well as increasing global concerns such as terrorism and piracy
an agreement could come when south korean president lee myung bak visits japan
later this year according to japan top selling daily
the countries have not previously signed security accord due to strained
relations in part over japan past colonisation of korea
this year marks the th anniversary of japan occupation of the korean
peninsula up until
lee has pledged more forward looking relationship with tokyo while centre left
hatoyama has sought to ease tensions by pledging not to visit tokyo war shrine
at the centre of past rows between the asian nations
hong kong shares percent lower by midday
hong kong jan afp
hong kong shares edged down percent by the break friday as dealers took
profits from earlier gains
the benchmark hang seng index dipped points to turnover was
billion hong kong dollars billion us
gates to remain as us defense chief for another year
washington jan afp
us defense secretary robert gates plans to stay in his post for at least another
year his press secretary said on thursday
in meeting before christmas gates promised president barack obama to remain
on the job through pentagon press secretary geoff morrell said in
statement
gates former cia director has forged an influential role in obama
administration and helped shape the president decision to surge troops
into afghanistan
republican who served in the same post under george bush presidency
gates had shown no sign he was preparing to leave
but when he was first named to obama cabinet officials had suggested he might
serve for short time to ensure smooth transition in wartime
they agreed to revisit this issue again later this year but for all intents
and purposes their original agreement still stands he serves at the pleasure of
the president indefinitely morrell said
but gates certainly looks forward to one day retiring to his family home in the
pacific northwest
gates started as cia analyst in the and rose up through the ranks
to become director of the central intelligence agency he also served as
senior adviser to presidents ronald reagan and george bush as the soviet
empire crumbled
as deputy director of national intelligence at the spy agency in the
gates was deeply involved in the us effort to funnel arms to afghan mujahideen
who eventually forced soviet forces to withdraw from afghanistan
now some of those same afghan fighters are aligned against us forces overseen by
gates
he is widely portrayed as seasoned pragmatist but at the close of the cold
war he was accused of taking hawkish view and missing signs of the soviet
union imminent collapse
when the elder bush nominated him to lead the cia in he faced tough
questioning at congressional hearings over his role in the iran contra scandal
during the reagan administration
after leaving government and eventually serving as president of texas amp
university gates was asked by george bush in to take over the defense
department after the tumultuous leadership of donald rumsfeld
gates oversaw the surge of additional us troops into iraq in which has
been credited in washington with helping to reduce violence in the country and
pave the way for gradual us withdrawal
malaysian church fire bombed ahead of muslim protests
kuala lumpur jan afp
two malaysian churches have been attacked leaving one badly damaged in an
escalating dispute over the use of the word allah by non muslims
as muslim groups prepared to hold protests friday police stepped up security
around churches nationwide after one in suburban kuala lumpur was fire bombed in
midnight attack that gutted its ground floor and another had its grounds set
ablaze
we are investigating the matter thoroughly and those responsible will be
brought to book police chief musa hassan told reporters
police will deploy patrol cars to patrol churches in the country we will
investigate the matter thoroughly
fire department official said all stations were on alert for more blazes at
religious buildings amid conflict over the use of allah as translation for
god by christians
pribumi perkasa one of the groups organising the demonstrations to be held
after friday prayers condemned the attacks but warned that muslim malays who
dominate the population were deeply concerned
we will continue to voice our feelings in protests today because you cannot
stop the outflow of feelings on this issue the group president ibrahim ali
told afp
think it may have been because of restricting muslims from voicing their
anger and fears that the church attacks took place you must understand that if
muslims are unhappy sure there will be no peace in this country
the high court last week ruled in favour of the catholic herald newspaper
which has used allah as translation for god in its malay language section
the government has said the word should be used only by muslims
the ruling was suspended on wednesday pending an appeal after the government
argued the decision could cause racial conflict in malaysia where malays make
up percent of the population
the ground floor of the three storey metro tabernacle church part of the
assemblies of god movement was destroyed in the attack
witnesses saw four people smash the glass and throw incendiaries into the
church building they came on two motorcycles church leader peter yeow told
afp warning other churches to double their guard against any attacks
there were no casualties in the attack on the church which occupies the corner
lot of row of shop houses and which yeow said draws some people weekly
several hours later the catholic church of the assumption in kuala lumpur
southwest was targeted parish priest philip muthu said
was awoken by men riding on motorcycles who threw kerosene bomb into the
church compound he told afp
the bomb lit fire and damaged part of the compound but it did not burn down
the church building muthu added don know why they are doing this but
this is worrying
authorities at the nearby saint francis xavier church said they were taking
security precautions after receiving warnings that protest would be staged
outside the building
anuar harun who headed the fire department operation at the metro tabernacle
said that forensic experts were working with the police and canine unit to
probe the blaze
we have asked all our fire stations to be on alert for such fires on religious
premises he told afp
religion and language are sensitive issues in multiracial malaysia which
experienced deadly race riots in
the row over the use of allah is among string of religious disputes that
have erupted in recent years straining relations between malays and minority
ethnic chinese and indians who fear the country is being islamised
more than half of malaysia catholics are from indigenous groups most of whom
live in the borneo island states and who mainly speak malay
global slump hits singapore container traffic
singapore jan afp
singapore one of the world busiest ports said it handled percent less
container traffic in from the previous year as the global downturn squeezed
world trade
the maritime and port authority of singapore said in statement released late
thursday the city state handled million standard six metre foot
container units last year down from million in
total cargo tonnage fell percent to million tonnes the port authority
said
we had to contend with global economic uncertainties falling freight rates and
tightening liquidity transport minister raymond lim said in speech late
thursday
singapore cargo and container throughputs dipped alongside that of the
other major ports
singapore is regional trading port with shippers using the city state as
transit point for transporting goods
six killed in blast in pakistan karachi police
karachi jan afp
six people were killed friday when blast caused house to collapse in
pakistan economic hub karachi police said although the exact cause of the
explosion was not immediately clear
there was blast in house in karachi baldia town in which six people
were killed the house collapsed we are trying to ascertain the exact nature of
the blast said senior police official abdul majeed dasti
he said hand grenades and kalashnikov rifle were also found at the scene
which suggest that the house may have been used by militants
forty three people were killed in karachi pakistan largest city in
bombing blamed on militants during religions procession last month
central banker steps down vows taking kirchner to court
buenos aires jan afp
the head of argentina central bank resigned thursday but vowed to contest
presidential decree firing him in bitter showdown over payments on the
country national debt
martin redrado has agreed to step down but will not resign and will take his
case to court his spokesman said only hours after president cristina kirchner
issued decree sacking redrado for refusing to authorize payment toward the
national debt
the central bank spokesman who asked not to be identified said redrado plans
to file lawsuit between friday and monday
redrado and kirchner have now locked horns over who has the authority to remove
sitting central bank chief from office redrado maintains the bank charter
stipulates only the congress can order his dismissal
the president of the central bank dr hernan martin perez redrado has been
removed from office for misconduct and having failed in his official duties
stated kirchner decree
kirchner took the action after redrado rejected her demand wednesday that he
step down invoking the bank autonomy from the executive branch
kirchner control over congress has weakened since mid term elections last
year apparently prompting her to launch direct challenge that could end up
being decided by the courts
the decree signed by kirchner entire cabinet at an emergency meeting she
convened in her office said central bank vice president miguel pesce will
provisionally take over redrado functions as of friday
the confrontation stems from redrado refusal to hand over billion dollars
from argentina foreign currency reserves to pay off part of billion
dollar payment of the national debt due this year after the president ordered
him to do so
kirchner called for the money to guarantee debt payments part of an effort to
end argentina isolation from global credit markets in the wake of its
default
redrado had sought to investigate all the possible legal consequences of such
decision
the bank spokesman said redrado was meeting with lawyers in his central bank
office late thursday but will not show up at work tomorrow
while opposition lawmakers and economists have backed redrado bankers and
unions have urged him to step down
several constitutional experts defended the central bank autonomy and
criticized the kirchner decree dismissing redrado
the decree constitutional worthiness is questionable said gregorio badeni
adding that redredo could make strong case for himself in court of law
felix lon went further saying the central bank is being trampled this is an
extremely delicate issue from the institutional standpoint
evidently kirchner is letting herself in for political trial lon added
opposition lawmaker elisa carrio agreed we re dealing with an obvious power
conflict in which redrado should stand his ground and defend his office in
court
there whole lot of irrationality in all this she said
redrado became president of the central bank in under the government of
nestor kirchner the husband of the current president and his mandate was due
to expire in september this year
the government has offered his post to mario blejer who led the central bank
under the government of eduardo duhalde in during one of the country
worst economic crises
although argentina now has long running fiscal surplus it cannot borrow
freely in international capital markets due to lingering investor mistrust and
because it still has to settle with bondholders who boycotted previous debt
restructuring in
new debt swap offer that would reimburse percent of some billion
dollars held by us creditors is about to be presented in new york but major
debt holding group has already deemed it unacceptable
argentina faces maturing debt repayments totaling billion dollars in
while the central bank reserves hold more than billion dollars
argentina repaid billion dollars in but the rate of growth in
government income has slowed down due to the global economic crisis
korea freezes key interest rate for th month
seoul jan afp
south korea central bank on friday froze its key interest rate at record low
percent for the th consecutive month saying uncertainties remain in the
recovery of asia fourth largest economy
in monthly policy meeting the bank of korea bok left the benchmark seven
day repo rate unchanged it had cut the rate by total of percentage
points between october and february to bolster the economy
the bank said in statement that south korea export dominated economy was
likely to sustain growth but there still exists uncertainties along the way
exports continued growing in november along with facility investment
construction and production in the manufacturing sector it said
but retail sales saw decline mainly due to the outbreak of swine flu
however consumer prices are expected to be stable despite oil price hikes
while the country current account will retain its surplus trend it added
the government has said it will not withdraw from stimulus policy until the
economy recovers fully from the global downturn
south korea vice finance minister hur kyung wook took part in the central
bank policy meeting friday first since sparking allegations the
government intervened in the bank decision making
hur dismissed the allegations
exercised the legal rights to make speeches at the meeting as there is
need to strengthen communication among policy making authorities he told
journalists
good communication between us will help manage risks surrounding the korean
economy he said
analysts said hur attendance at the meeting was further evidence that the
government would not raise the key interest rate before june
the first rate hike could come only in summer korea investment and securities
economist jun min kyoo told dow jones newswires
the central bank apparently wants to tighten money supply but the government
intention to prevent it is now clearer he said
us intelligence chief pledges to boost performance
washington jan afp
president barack obama top intelligence aide pledged thursday to work towards
clarity in the effort to gather pertinent information in the wake of the
thwarted christmas day plane attack
the director of national intelligence dennis blair said thursday in letter to
employees of us agencies tasked with gathering such information that he would
push for fresh and penetrating look at strengthening both human and technical
performance in the field
blair said he would oversee moves to assign clear lines of responsibility for
investigating all leads on high priority threats so they are pursued more
aggressively
in the letter to the united states intelligence community ic which gathers
agencies working on intelligence activities blair also called for more quickly
and widely distributing intelligence reports between agencies and enhancing
the criteria for adding individuals to the terrorist watchlist
blair praised the employees and said while the attempted attack exposed
improvement needs and flaws in coordination it did not expose weakness in the
concepts of intelligence reform or suggest that its progress should be
redirected
nigerian national umar farouk abdulmutallab has been charged with attempted
murder and trying to use weapon of mass destruction on board northwest plane
carrying people from amsterdam to detroit
obama earlier thursday unveiled measures to strengthen us watchlists as well as
new steps to boost airport screening and bomb detection after the botched
christmas day plane attack
ordering an immediate effort to strengthen the criteria used to add
individuals to our terrorist watch list especially the no fly list obama said
after reviewing probe into the thwarted bombing
urgent six killed in blast in pakistan karachi police
karachi jan afp
six people were killed friday when blast caused house to collapse in
pakistan economic hub karachi police said although the exact cause of the
explosion was not immediately clear
yen stable as tokyo toughens forex stance
tokyo jan afp
the yen was steady in asia friday after japan new finance minister said
markets should determine exchange rates while hinting at possible intervention
if the currency shoots higher again
basically the market determines foreign exchange rates naoto kan said at
news conference
as finance minister however it was his duty to take action on foreign
exchange when necessary he added
kan remarks came day after he rattled markets with call for weaker yen
prompting thinly veiled rebuke from prime minister yukio hatoyama who warned
him not to publicly comment on currency levels
the government basically should not discuss foreign exchange hatoyama told
reporters regarding foreign exchange stability is desirable
the dollar stood at yen in tokyo early afternoon trade against in
new york late on thursday when the japanese currency had fallen sharply
the euro was little changed at dollars after and at against
kan comment thursday that he wanted to see the yen weaken further was widely
seen as signal that tokyo was toughening its stance against the currency
strength which is bad for exporters
the market confirmed the new finance minister stance of favouring weaker
yen so the dollar is staying higher said hideaki inoue chief foreign
exchange manager at mitsubishi ufj trust and banking
at his first press conference thursday as finance minister kan said many
business leaders believed the yen should be in the mid level against the
dollar prompting investors to sell the japanese currency
it is rare for japanese ministers to comment on specific currency rates and his
remarks were in sharp contrast to his predecessor hirohisa fujii who was widely
seen as tolerant of the yen recent strength
the image of mr kan as weak yen person will probably stick said inoue
the test for the government will come if the yen rises sharply again the
market will become cautious about possible intervention
in november the dollar fell to around yen its lowest level since the mid
raising fears for the country export led economy
alert
six killed in an explosion at house in pakistan karachi police
formula one boss in last minute saab rescue bid reports
london jan afp
formula one boss bernie ecclestone has teamed up with luxembourg investment
firm to launch last minute rescue bid for swedish carmaker saab british media
reports said friday
luxembourg based genii capital announced it was interested in making an offer
with ecclestone just as the deadline for final bids for saab expired at
gmt thursday the bbc reported
the privately held firm said it would aggressively work towards successful
closing of the transaction with all the relevant stakeholders of the company
according to the bbc
it said it believes saab has tremendous brand value in number of key
automotive markets as well as an innovative image the reports said
genii already has links with ecclestone after it last month bought stake in
the renault formula one team allowing the team to remain in the sport
us carmaker general motors announced in december it would wind up saab which
employs people in sweden
however gm extended deadline to consider offers for saab after dutch sports
car maker spyker approached the us automaker with last ditch proposal
spyker chief executive officer victor muller said on thursday it would submit
definitive updated bid for saab
saab is one of four storied brands that gm is shedding as part of massive
restructuring effort that began in and accelerated last year when the
largest us automaker went bankrupt
analysts have warned that some jobs could be lost with saab closure
eu backs commissioner under fire from dr congo
brussels jan afp
the eu was set friday to step up pressure on the democratic republic of congo
after kinshasa declared the bloc top aid official persona non grata for
raising doubts about its use of aid money
at the european parliament last month development commissioner karel de gucht
had questioned whether aid provided to kinshasa by eu nations was being put to
good use as humanitarian crisis raged in parts of the country
eu foreign policy chief catherine ashton was set to call in dr congo
ambassador to express the bloc support for de gucht the commissioner said on
belgian television
what said at the european parliament that the point of view of the
european commission made in consultation with catherine ashton confirmed today
by the european commission president jose manuel barroso he said thursday
evening on vrt television
de gucht said the eu would make that known to congolese officials on friday and
ashton would call in the country ambassador next week
think that is an important signal for congo whatever the state of my
personal relationship with president joseph kabila he said adding he
hadn intended to block aid programmes which benefit the congolese
population
on thursday dr congo government spokesman lambert mende said we note that
here is character who is incapable of having normal dignified relations with
our country
any visit to dr congo would not be desirable he said
without wanting to damage our good relations with the eu we want nothing to do
with this character mende added
in strasbourg on december de gucht noted that tens of millions of euros are
being sent there but asked what is in the end the effectiveness of all this
if you don have proper counterpart in the political arena
the eu is major aid donor to dr congo sending some million euros
million dollars since including around million euros annually in
humanitarian assistance in and last year
de gucht announced in late november that he had planned to travel to goma and
would have used his visit to sign documents activating number of major aid
projects
ford rolls out tweets for the connected car
las vegas nevada jan afp
ford is going to let you listen to your tweets and internet music and news
stations while behind the wheel as the number two us automaker expands what it
calls in car connectivity
ford executives outlined number of the new features which are activated by
voice or touch commands to minimize driver distraction in keynote speech at
the annual consumer electronics show ces here on thursday
the new internet services which require mobile phone with bluetooth
connection are twitter application built by developer openbeak pandora music
radio and stitcher personalized newscast service
the us automaker also announced it was in active talks with google about
bringing unspecified devices and services from the internet giant to its cars
and had forged partnership with online mapping website mapquest
the new technologies being rolled out are systems known as sync developed with
us software giant microsoft which also gives traffic reports navigation
information and even provides health report on the state of the car
ford introduced sync two years ago and president and chief executive alan
mulally said the company now has more than one million sync equipped cars on the
road
mulally added that the new features will eventually have place in every ford
vehicle and not just our luxury models
addressing the obvious safety concerns derrick kuzak ford global product
development chief said making the sync interfaces simple and intuitive was
critical so drivers can keep their eyes on the road
that why our technology solution enables hands free voice controls kuzak
said they have to minimize driver distraction we even block things like
touchscreen destination entries when the vehicle is at speed
kuzak said ford solutions would help cut down on people fiddling with their
cellphones while driving contributing factor in many accidents
that the whole point of sync technology to minimize the distraction of in
car use of mobile devices you love by connecting and controlling them by voice
kuzak said
our vision for sync is that customers can connect to friends and family to
their favorite entertainment devices and to all of the data stored in the cloud
using voice commands touch controls and colorful lcd graphics he added
they can chat with their kids listen to their rss feeds scan their ipods and
make dinner reservations all while driving home from work he said and all
while keeping their eyes on the road and their hands on the wheel
jim buczkowski director of electrical and electronics systems engineering said
among the features that can be controlled by voice commands are the radio cd
player mp player climate control system navigation and phone
an eight inch lcd touchscreen between the driver and the front passenger allows
for touch commands new system called myford touch
ford said touch technology will be standard equipment on all future lincoln
models beginning this year and will appear in the new ford edge later this year
and the ford focus
doug vandagens head of ford connectivity group said myford technology will
allow internet cloud connectivity using built in wi fi
the sync internet browser can only be accessed when the car is in park but
think you agree that good thing vandagens said
sync product manager julius marchwicki said for twitter pandora or stitcher to
work in the car user needs to have the services as an application on their
mobile phone and bluetooth connection
they can be voice activated or through the car touchscreen users won be
able to tweet themselves yet but our customers who tweet will be able
to hear their timelines friends and direct messages he said
marchwicki also stressed they were designed with safety uppermost in mind in
bid to keep your phone in your pocket your hands on the wheel and your eyes on
the road
dead in china gas leak execs admit cover up state media
beijing jan afp
the death toll from gas leak at steel plant in north china has risen to
after executives admitted they had covered up the true scale of the accident
