killed
the alleged gunmen all muslims raked pedestrians with gunfire along stretch
of road that houses two churches and many shops in an attack that sparked
sectarian clashes in neighbouring villages
on saturday police also announced the arrest of muslims and christians in
the neighbouring town of bahgura where christian houses and shops had been set
on fire the day before
wednesday attack in nagaa hammadi was the deadliest since copts were killed
in sectarian clashes in also in southern egypt
copts who account for up to percent of egypt population of million
complain or routine harassment and systematic discrimination
in the capital on saturday around people demonstrated against the sectarian
clashes in the south brandishing placards denouncing the shocking silence of
the authorities and demanding security for all egyptians
judicial source said group of copts muslims and opposition kefaya members
had also filed an official complaint against the security services accusing
them of failing to protect religious buildings
algerian engineer freed by armed group employer
algiers jan afp
an algerian engineer working for canadian firm snc lavalin was freed after being
held for some five days by an armed group his employer said saturday
leslie quinton spokesman in montreal for snc lavalin said in an email to afp
that the unidentified employee was released unharmed late thursday adding we
are very relieved
quinton said he had no more details as the matter was in the hands of the
algerian authorities
the kidnap which was not claimed by any group took place sunday morning in
djebahia near bouira kilometres miles from the capital algiers
earlier reports said
snc lavalin one of the world leading engineering and construction groups is
building water distribution and recycling plant in the bouira region
settlements major obstacle to mideast talks saudi
riyadh jan afp
saudi arabia said on saturday that israel settlements policy remained major
obstacle to middle east peace efforts and freeze on settlement growth was an
internationally agreed requirement
the illegal settlements constitute major obstacle to peace talks foreign
minister prince saud al faisal said in joint news conference with germany
foreign minister guido westerwelle
freeze on settlements is one of the main commitments of the peace process it
is not palestinian condition to resuming negotiations as israel is trying to
promote he said
his comments came day after us secretary of state hillary clinton urged
israelis and palestinians to resume peace talks without preconditions
mentioning specifically arab demands that israel stop building and expanding
jewish settlements in the occupied west bank and east jerusalem
westerwelle said settlement freeze was part of the roadmap set out for
peace by the west
the roadmap conditions constitute an important building block for reviving the
peace process he told reporters this also includes freezing of settlement
activities
this is not only the view and the position of the german government it is also
the position expressed by the european union as whole
the two diplomats said that they agreed in their talks on saturday that
resolving afghanistan problems required more money and work to help the
country develop
we agreed that the london conference on afghanistan must have broad
political approach said westerwelle
we are convinced that political solution must be the focus of international
talks because we agree that the lives of people in afghanistan must be
improved said westerwelle whose country has contributed troops to the
coalition force supporting the kabul government
westerwelle who was in saudi arabia for one day as part of regional tour
held talks in riyadh on regional political and commercial issues
he and prince saud also said their talks addressed iran nuclear programme and
yemen where domestic political strife and the growing influence of al qaeda
have weakened the government
we support all international efforts to stabilise the country we are open to
discussing the issue in london at the afghanistan conference in the british
capital on january westerwelle said
what is decisive is to strengthen state institutions in such way so that they
can ensure security he said
stability in yemen is priority for us added prince saud whose country
armed forces have since november joined the yemeni military in battling shiite
huthi rebels in rugged northwest yemen
football ferrara looking for stubborness
rome jan afp
juventus coach ciro ferrara said he wants his team to be stubborn when they face
ac milan at turin stadio olimpico on sunday in win at all costs clash
juve trail champions and serie leaders inter milan by nine points having ended
with five defeats from their last six matches in all competitions
including home defeat to then rock bottom catania
and despite beginning with stuttering win at parma defeat at home to
milan would almost certainly signal the end of their interest in the scudetto
race
worse still milan are in fine run of form despite home blip against palermo
at the end of last year defeat they came into that match on the back
of five game winning run in the league and started the new year with
thrashing of porous genoa
we need to be stubborn in this type of match and we must restrict milan
technical ability while also showing our qualities said ferrara on saturday
before shying away from describing the match as final
not talking about final because every time use that term it brings bad
luck
it will be match of the highest quality highly anticipated intense and it
will be great for those who play
juve are only one point behind second placed milan although the rossonero have
played game less
however the old lady of turin crashed out of the champions league following
successive defeats to bordeaux and bayern munich and ferrara knows he is under
pressure
recent results have influenced opinions there an important difference
though we missed out on qualification for the champions league but in the
league we started off well and now that we re going through difficult spell
opinions are changing he said
our start was clearly better than milan although over time they found their
own convicition and started getting results
but we have almost the same number of points hence we ve taken different
routes to obtain the same goal in the first half of the season
the simple fact though is that juve won their first four games of the season
and since then their form has been no better than the teams in mid table six
wins three draws and five defeats
but while ferrara has tried to play down the importance of this one match milan
coach leonardo has no intention of doing so and has been building it up as much
as he can
heading into this match against juventus we have made great progress not just
in terms of results but also in terms of our play and we re second with game
in hand he told reporters
these type of games are what mark your league campaign
tomorrow clash will be great opportunity for both clubs to make jump in
the standings not just because of the three points on offer but also for the
stimulus victory would give
and leonardo who should keep faith with former england captain david beckham on
the right of his three pronged forward line insists he is not treating juve
lightly
not under estimating tomorrow opponents right now juve are being
criticised due to their champions league elimination but they are right behind
us in the league he said
they re not dead as some have suggested recently because if you look at how
they play their players are trying hard
they ve had lot of injuries but think ferrara has transmitted his serenity
to the team he has the club backing
jordan bomber said cia attack was revenge video
dubai jan afp
jordanian who blew himself up in afghanistan killing seven cia agents and his
jordanian handler said in video broadcast on saturday the act he was planning
was for revenge
we tell our emir baitullah mehsud we will never forget his blood it is up to
us to avenge him in and outside america humam khalil abu mulal al balawi said
about taliban leader killed in us attack in august
this is message to the enemies of the muslim nation the cia and
jordanian intelligence services said the bearded man in military uniform
identified by al jazeera television as balawi
the father of balawi later confirmed in jordan that the man shown in the video
was indeed his son and said he had been manipulated by several intelligence
services which he did not identify
my son killed some of those manipulated him khalil al balawi told afp in
amman he was sucked into the whirlpool of the intelligence services
my son was doctor who saved lives but he was lured by the intelligence
apparatus who changed him enormously he said of balawi jordanian of
palestinian origin
in the video balawi is shown holding weapon and sitting alongside another
individual wearing an afghan headscarf with black banner bearing koranic
verse in the background
according to the us monitoring group intelcenter the man sitting next to balawi
is hakimullah mehsud who succeeded baitullah mehsud as head of the pakistan
taliban
balawi blew himself up at us military base in khost near the pakistani border
on december killing seven cia agents and his jordanian handler top
intelligence officer and member of the royal family
jihadist websites have identified balawi as double agent who duped western
intelligence services for months before turning on his handlers
but senior jordanian official told afp on wednesday that jordan has benefited
since year ago from anti terrorist information provided by humam khalil al
balawi and shared them with other intelligence services as part of the fight
against terrorism
balawi apparently referring to his claimed role as double agent said god
combatant never exposes his religion to blackmail and never renounces it even
if he is offered the sun in one hand and the moon in the other
we will never forget that he mehsud said sheikh osama bin laden was not on
our soil pakistan but that if he should come we would protect him the man
said
he kept his promise and paid for it with his life he added about mehsud the
pakistan taliban chief killed in us drone attacks last august
al jazeera reported that the video shows balawi training at shooting range
but did not broadcast that part of the footage
on thursday islamist websites quoted the head of al qaeda in afghanistan
mustafa abu al yazid as saying the bomber left will saying the khost attack
was revenge for our righteous martyrs and named several top militants killed
in drone attacks in pakistan
yazid described balawi mission as an epic breakthrough in penetrating both
american and jordanian intelligence said islamist websites
the slain militant masterminds named in the will included mehsud who was blamed
for wave of deadly attacks notably the december killing of pakistan
former prime minister benazir bhutto
also 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
he was killed in drone strike near the afghan border last month
the suicide attack at us military base near the pakistani border on december
was the deadliest attack against the central intelligence agency since
jordanian foreign minister nasser judeh said on friday in washington that jordan
has counter terrorism role in afghanistan and will enhance its operations
there in the future
ski jumping world cup results
tauplitz austria jan afp
world cup ski jumping results here on saturday
robert kranjec slo points
simon ammann sui
martin koch aut
antonin hajek cze
gregor schlierenzauer aut
andreas kofler aut
adam malysz pol
wolfgang loitzl aut
janne ahonen fin
johan remen evensen nor
overall world cup standings after of events
simon ammann sui points
gregor schlierenzauer aut
andreas kofler aut
thomas morgenstern aut
wolfgang loitzl aut
janne ahonen fin
bomb kills nato soldier in afghanistan alliance
kabul jan afp
nato soldier was killed by an improvised explosive device in southern
afghanistan on saturday the alliance announced
the nato led international security assistance force did not identify the
victim nationality or the location of the attack
nine foreign soldiers have died so far this year in the war in afghanistan
over foreign soldiers were killed in the country last year the deadliest
since the us led ouster of the taliban regime
most such deaths are caused by improvised explosive devices home made bombs
used by the taliban and other islamist insurgents who are said to have little
other capability to fight the well armed nato and afghan forces
there are more than international troops under both us and nato command
deployed in afghanistan to curb an increasingly deadly insurgency
troop numbers are due to increase to about this year in bid to turn
around the costly and unpopular war
croatians vote for president to lead eu entry
zagreb jan afp
croatia moved into election gear saturday ahead of sunday presidential run off
vote pitting leftwing professor against the populist zagreb mayor with the
winner expected to lead the former yugoslav republic into the european union
campaigning is traditionally banned on the last day before the vote but on
friday final poll showed solid lead of almost percent for ivo josipovic
of the opposition social democrats sdp against his rival zagreb mayor milan
bandic running as an independent
josipovic won the december first round with percent of the vote more
than double the support for bandic
the year old law expert and classical music composer vowed to lead firm
and uncompromised fight against corruption key criteria for zagreb eu bid
croatia hopes to become the bloc th member by
bandic veteran sdp member expelled from the party when he announced his
candidacy for the presidency last november called the electorate vote for
man and not for party
say yes for croatia of work unity dignity and pride the year old
said at the end of debate
during the campaign the two contenders pledged similar agenda croatia eu
entry during their mandate the fight against corruption and reviving of economy
in the recession hit country
croatia where unemployment is running at around percent is forecasting an
up to percent contraction in its economy for its external debt last
september reached billion euros billion dollars or almost percent
of gross domestic product gdp official figures show
despite the candidates wide ranging pledges croatian president has limited
powers curtailed by the incumbent stipe mesic who steps down on february
after serving the maximum two terms
voter milena panic librarian told afp she backed josipovic explaining that
she saw him as decent and civilised man another voter marko zeljeznak
however said josipovic was distant while his choice bandic understood us
ordinary people
the president of the former yugoslav republic that proclaimed independence in
is the supreme commander of the army helps shape foreign policy and takes
part in the nomination of secret service chiefs
despite similar platform bandic and josipovic have opposite images and view
points which analysts say led to polarisation between civil left or
nationalism playing with rightwing sentiments modern or conservative
croatia
according to analysts josipovic has reputation as competent mister clean
untarnished by corruption scandals that have engulfed croatian politics but the
bookish professor has trouble stirring up the popular vote they warn
by contrast the energetic and outspoken bandic has styled himself fighter for
the common man and tried to lure rightwing voters to try and bridge the gap with
josipovic
bandic is counting on the votes of supporters of the ruling conservative
croatian democratic union hdz whose candidate did not make it into the run
off
the devoutly religious mayor who said spends more time reading prayer books
than the constitution also enjoys the backing of croatia powerful roman
catholic church
during debates bandic made several gaffes about foreign policy and independent
observers point to allegations about suspected links with corruption in the
capital all of which could work against him
total of million croatians are entitled to vote the polling stations open
at am gmt and close hours later exit polls are to be released
shortly after polls close with the first official results expected by midnight
togo football attack isolated nations cup security guaranteed angolan pm
luanda jan afp
angola prime minister paulo kassoma on saturday called the deadly attack on
togo football squad an isolated act as he guaranteed the security of teams
at the african nations cup
the prime minister considers the incident in cabinda as an isolated act and
repeated that the security of togo team and the other squads is guaranteed
and that the victims received the best medical care his office said
gunmen fired on the team buses in northern angola on friday killing at least
two members of the togo delegation ahead of sunday opening match
afp gmt news advisory
paris jan afp
duty editor gunther kern
tel
top stories
at least two killed in attack on togo football squad
europeans urged to stock up as cold wave intensifies
palestinians inists on israeli settlement freeze
violence angola togo fbl afr rdlead wrap
luanda
two members of togo football squad die after machine gun attack on the
team convoy in troubled angolan province as the government seeks to
reassure the safety of african nations cup teams on the eve of kick off
words gmt by nick reeves graphic picture
we have also moved violence angola togo fbl afr luanda scene
europe weather rdlead wrap
berlin
europe faces weather chaos as german authorities warn people to stock up on food
and drinking water while heavy snow affects road rail and air links in many
parts of the continent
words gmt
mideast diplomacy us palestinian thlead reax
ramallah west bank
the palestinians insist on full israeli settlement freeze before renewing
peace efforts putting damper on us call to revive talks with no
preconditions
words gmt by nasser abu bakr
filing plans by region
europe
croatia vote ndlead
zagreb
croatia moves into election gear ahead of sunday presidential run off vote
pitting leftwing professor against the populist zagreb mayor with the winner
expected to lead the former yugoslav republic into the european union
words by lajla veselica
mideast
us afghanistan pakistan unrest cia jordan bomber thlead
dubai
jordanian who blew himself up in afghanistan killing seven cia agents and his
jordanian handler says in video broadcast the act he was planning was for
revenge
words gmt by taieb mahjoub picture
egypt religion unrest lead scene
bahgura egypt
residents of southern egypt village vent their fury after houses and shops
owned by coptic christians are burnt as sectarian tensions flare in the wake of
deadly drive by shooting
words gmt by jailan zayan picture
americas
health us obama politics lead
washington
us president barack obama promises that americans will see the effects of health
reform this year saying congress is on the verge of approving the overhaul
the nation health care system
words gmt
africa
violence angola togo fbl afr focus
luanda
the african nations cup was meant to banish the ghosts of angola civil war
but instead the tournament plunges into tragedy with gun attack on the togo
team prompting calls for its cancellation
words moved graphic file picture
asia
australia india crime ndlead
sydney
man of indian descent is recovering in hospital after group of men set him
on fire in the australian city of melbourne the latest in string of similar
attacks
words moved by talek harris
eu anti terror chief favours airport body scanners
brussels jan afp
the eu anti terror coordinator gilles de kerchove backs the use of full body
scanners at airports saying they would be very effective as long as privacy
concerns can be overcome
am in favour of the body scanners as long as there are rules in place to
assure passengers over the images displayed he told afp on friday
the spanish eu presidency called thursday for common european stance on the
use of body scanners at airports as member states bicker over the issue which
has been highlighted by failed plot to blow up us airplane
the controversial scanners are capable of peering through clothes to create
three dimensional images of passengers to reveal any concealed weapons or
explosives
the latest generation of scanners can for example prevent the naked image
being identified according to de kerchove
clearly there also needs to be rules so that the image is not conserved and
that it is immediately destroyed he added
it useful very useful even for detecting cases such as the detroit case
where someone hid explosives around his private parts which are not searched by
hand
several countries led by the united states have announced additional security
measures at airports after nigerian umar farouk abdulmutallab was charged with
trying to blow up us bound jet on christmas day
abdulmutallab reportedly confessed to being trained by an al qaeda bomb
maker in yemen for the suicide mission on the northwest airlines flight from
amsterdam to detroit
it was foiled when explosives sewn into the man underwear failed to detonate
and passengers jumped on him
the debate is ongoing within the eu britain and the netherlands have already
decided to install the scanners at airports after the attempt on the us bound
passenger jet from amsterdam on christmas day
body scanners will also be introduced for experimentation in some french
airports france civil aviation authority said wednesday
other countries such as spain are less enthusiastic
de kerchove whose post was created after the madrid train bombings in in
which people died said it was up to border agencies to decide whether the
expensive scanners should be introduced in all european airports saying the
major air hubs should be the first to get the new technology
he agreed with the spanish that it would be paradox if the european union
nations all took unilateral decisions on the use of body scanners urging the
european commission to swiftly draw up proposition on the issue
however de kerchove said he recognised there is political as well as
security aspect involved
society which doesn like risk is society which will without doubt be less
free where data collection will multiply he said
in any case the fight against terrorism requires more than just airport
scanners he stressed calling for more work to be done on the exchange of
information with the united states
he said debate in the european parliament to define strategy and vision
would help avoid the impression of an orwellian society where we want to
collect everything in the world all the time
to facilitate this the commission the eu executive arm should seek mandate
to negotiate an accord with washington establishing the rules for data
protection
taser adds mobile phone monitoring tool to its arsenal
las vegas nevada jan afp
stun gun maker taser wants to help parents not with jolts of electricity but
with tool which allows parents to effectively take over child mobile phone
and manage its use
basically we re taking old fashioned parenting and bringing it into the mobile
world taser chairman and co founder tom smith said at the consumer electronics
show here where the arizona company unveiled the new product
because when you give your child his mobile phone you don know who they re
talking to what they re sending or texting all of those things smith told
afp
the phone application called mobile protector allows parent to screen
child incoming and outgoing calls and messages block particular numbers and
even listen in on conversation
dashboard on parent phone or personal computer shows the mobiles being
monitored and the permitted callers such as friends and family
you can start it out very restrictive and then as they get older you can relax
those restrictions as that trust factor gained smith said
an alert is triggered when an unknown number calls child phone
can click on this and it going to say here the person who calling
smith said
can either choose to block that call allow that call or even answer that
call and find out who it is before release it through to my child
if it grandma who forgot to add can just click always allow and ll
never see that alert again he said
smith said that when listening in on call it going to announce that to both
parties we re not doing spyware this is collaboration effort he said
smith said text messages emails photos and videos can be screened for
inappropriate language or pornographic content you can see the image and
decide whether you want to let it go through or not he said
mobile protector also allows parent to disable phone for specified period
see so many parents trying to wrestle with their kids to try to get them off
the phone during dinner he said you can punch this and say you know what
for the next hour your phone not going to work during dinner
or if they get in trouble you can say you know what you re grounded for
hours your phone doesn work he said
gps capability brings up map showing where child or at least their phone
is at any given time in college don need to know where you currently
are but for young kids want to see where they are he said
mobile protector also has an emergency feature that could help locate
missing child smith said
can call up records release and it going to take all of the data last
known location phone numbers texts everything and that going to go to the
local authorities he said
along with mobile protector taser is also releasing tool known as driver
protector designed to cut back on mobile phone use while behind the wheel it
requires special hardware in the vehicle and bluetooth connection
if it first time driver it going to disable the phone so they can text
while driving or use the phone smith said as they get older we can enable
it so they have hands free talking but still no texting while driving
maybe it will alert me when they go over miles an hour kilometers an
hour he said it really going to be up to the parent how much they want to
limit or not limit
smith said mobile protector and driver protector will be available this summer
and will be subscription service costing between and dollars month
depending on the selected options
smith noted that other companies have released similar tools but said nobody
put the whole thing together like taser
record freeze in florida as arctic front chills us
miami jan afp
sharp arctic front sweeping the united states brought unusual snow to many of
the deep southern states saturday and leaving normally balmy florida shivering
from record icy lows
at least nine deaths were blamed on the freezing snap that blanketed much of the
central part of the country this week cnn said
in sub tropical florida key west the southernmost point in the continental
united states saw it coldest day in years with low of degrees
fahrenheit degrees celsius
the cold air was expected to settle over the state through the weekend with
freezing temperatures set to remain until monday
the national weather service nws also issued severe wind chill alerts for the
midwest warning that even limited exposure to the cold could cause frost bite
or hypothermia
the arctic air mass across the central states was bringing wind chills below
minus degrees fahrenheit degrees celsius as officials said the
conditions could mean frostbite in less than minutes
those planning to venture outdoors would use common sense and dress warmly
the national weather service said urging people to make sure all exposed skin
is covered
florida citrus growers were on alert to protect crops in their key
