against the corrupt ones and the rioters he said
however khamenei insisted that the rules be followed in confronting the
protestors
everything should take place within the law and everyone should refrain from
taking matters into their own hands he advised
on friday opposition leader mehdi karroubi armoured car was hit by gunfire in
the northern town of qazvin his party website reported butonly the windows
of the car were damaged
hundreds of people were arrested during the protests at least of whom are
still being held in tehran police say
tennis clijsters beats henin to win brisbane international
brisbane australia jan afp
belgium kim clijsters beat fellow countrywoman justine henin
to win drama charged final of the brisbane international tennis
tournament on saturday
us warns of potential threat to uganda south sudan flights
kampala jan afp
an air uganda flight to sudan was diverted back to kampala saturday after the us
embassy in khartoum warned american travellers of potential threat to
commercial flights between uganda and south sudan
the plane had taken off from entebbe airport and was on its way to juba the
capital of south sudan when it was ordered to return as precautionary step
ignie igunduura spokesman uganda civil aviation authority said the plane had
returned to entebbe
no captain would ignore warning of this nature igunduura said we have
heard this information before and we have been aware of this threat for some
time
but any time there is renewed information and this renewed information came
from the us but also others you don start taking chances
warden message published on friday on the us mission website said the
embassy has received information indicating desire by regional extremists to
conduct deadly attack onboard air uganda aircraft between kampala and juba
while the capacity of these extremists to carry out such an attack is unknown
the threat is of sufficient seriousness that all american air travelers should
be made aware
air travellers on any airline and route should maintain vigilance at all times
and should report any suspicious behavior to the proper authorities
the message gave no further details
it also said the state department continues to warn against all travel to
sudan particularly in the darfur area where violence involving government
forces rebel factions and various armed militias continues
american citizens who choose to travel to sudan despite the existing travel
warning and those currently in sudan should review their security posture and
take appropriate precautions
as is routine the message also encourages us citizens in sudan to register with
the embassy to make it easier for the embassy or consulate to contact them in
case of emergency
ugandan army spokesman lieutenant colonel felix kulayigye said the security
threat had existed for some time
we are surprised that the us embassy has issued this warning now when they
know very well that we have had this intelligence since early december he
said adding that the threat is most likely somali related
kulayige said the advisory was unnecessary adding that uganda military
intelligence unit has been working for weeks with air uganda to step up security
precautions on juba bound flights
tablets and slates take center stage at trade show
las vegas nevada jan afp
laptops notebooks netbooks smartbooks and now tablets and slates
just when you thought you were familiar with all of the various portable
computers on the market new ones appear
the consumer electronics show ces has been coming out party this year for
what are being described as tablet and slate computers successors to the low
cost netbooks which have been major hit over the past couple of years
experts differ on the precise definition of tablet and slate and
netbook and smartbook for that matter but tablet while touchscreen
tends to have some buttons slate is entirely touch controlled
much of the buzz at ces has surrounded device that is not even on the showroom
floor in las vegas tablet computer apple is expected to unveil at the end
of the month believed to resemble large screen ipod touch
shawn dubravac cea chief economist and its director of research said the new
devices are filling void between smartphones and devices with larger
screen
we now see battle for this five to inch to centimeter screen
category he said
the real sizzle is the host of devices that transcend the now common standard
said kevin dede an analyst at brokerage jesup and lamont blown away it
went way beyond my wildest imagination
samsung doesn have just one tablet but four he said
among the more interesting models is the hybrid ideapad from china lenovo
which looks like classic lightweight netbook when opened up
but the inch centimeter screen detaches from the keyboard and becomes an
independent slate computer for watching video reading or even writing with
virtual keyboard
microsoft brad brooks said the arrival of new models many of which run on the
software giant windows operating system shows the pc business is back in
big way
this is all stuff that is exploding again he said we are showing the
diversity of the devices that are starting to come out
microsoft chief executive steve ballmer unveiled prototype of slate computer
from hewlett packard in his opening keynote speech at ces along with two others
from other manufacturers
it beautiful little product ballmer said adding that it was perfect for
reading for surfing the web and for taking entertainment on the go
ballmer said the hp device which is not being displayed in las vegas and
others in what he called an emerging category of personal computers would be
available later this year
one of the other models on stage was from china pegatron slate which allows
users to surf the internet but also features classic windows programs such as
office
the other device was the archos which won praise from forrester analyst
gownder who said microsoft was unveiling the products even ahead of their
availability to get the jump on apple
they need to showcase lot of new ways that people can use it he said
while the slates have captured lot of attention many here are ready to be
surprised by whatever apple has up its sleeve
every time they break into new category it usually with the help of
content said dede citing the success of the ipod music player and its ground
breaking itunes online music store
we suspect that content relationships will be critical agreed gownder
royal trophy fourball results
bangkok jan afp
results of the fourball matches in the royal trophy team competition between
asia and europe at amata spring country club on saturday
overall score
europe asia
fourball
colin montgomerie simon dyson sco eng bt jeev milkha singh gaganjeet bhullar
ind ind and
charlie wi liang wen chong kor chn bt peter hanson soren kjeldsen swe den
and
robert karlsson alexander noren swe swe bt ryo ishikawa koumei oda jpn jpn
and
henrik stenson pablo martin swe esp bt prayad marksaeng thongchai jaidee
tha tha and
friday foursomes
ryo ishikawa koumei oda jpn jpn bt colin montgomerie pablo martin sco esp
and
jeev milkha singh gaganjeet bhullar ind ind halved with peter hanson soren
kjeldsen swe den
robert karlsson alexander noren swe swe bt charlie wi liang wen chong
kor chn and
prayad marksaeng thongchai jaidee tha tha bt simon dyson henrik stenson
eng swe and
jordan bomber said cia attack was revenge video
dubai united arab emirates 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
relative later confirmed to afp in jordan that the man shown in the video was
indeed balawi jordanian of palestinian origin who moved with his family to
jordan after iraq invasion of kuwait
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 monitoring group intelcenter the man sitting next to balawi is
hakimullah mehsud who succeeded beitulah 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
combattant 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 former
pakistani 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 acknowledged that amman had counter
terrorism role in afghanistan during news conference in washington on friday
with us secretary of state hillary clinton
togo football attack wake up for nations cup host angola
luanda jan afp
the african nations cup was meant to banish the ghosts of angola civil war
but instead the tournament plunged into tragedy with gun attack on the togo
team prompting calls for its cancellation
angola has vowed tighter security after the terrorist act by separatist
guerrillas but the tournament has been overshadowed before kickoff by images of
shell shocked and tearful togolese team in the restive northern cabinda
enclave
the attack was serious and late wake up call for the government said
angolan journalist and human rights campaigner rafael marques
there was always fear something would happen during the can and that it was
risk to host games in cabinda marques told afp
the government said it would take security measures but it didn it not
about having large numbers of soldiers somewhere it about intelligence and
analysis of situation and that analysis clearly didn happen
separated from angola by strip of the democratic republic of congo cabinda
was chosen one of the four host cities in bid to demonstrate the province
stability promote its image abroad and attract investment
the oil rich province home to much of angola offshore petroleum activity and
large chevron base has suffered long running independence fight led by the
front for the liberation of the enclave of cabinda flec
angola broader civil war ended in peace deal in cabinda was signed in
but low level insurgency has continued flec have claimed responsibility
for this latest shooting
marques said the shooting showed the pact was sham and also condemned
government tardy public response
state media stayed silent for hours after the attack made international
headlines until late night official statement finally named flec as the
culprits
angolan television later released footage of bloodied people being carried off
the bus and manchester city striker emmanuel adebayor in tears of shock
the tournament organising committee initially denied the shooting telling
told afp blown tyre had caused panic among the players
the togo team is set to decide saturday whether to pull out of the tournament
while top football officials travel to cabinda
souleymane habuba spokesman for the confederation of african football said the
tournament would go ahead but questiond why togo had chosen to drive rather than
fly to cabinda
alex vines of london based think tank chatham house also believes some blame
may lie with the togolese team
the mistake is that the team travelled by road they had obviously done no
serious risk assessment of the area he told afp
this is the mayombe rainforest and where radical flec separatists have operated
for decades he said although their numbers are believed at only several
hundred
international companies in the zones have been targeted with abductions and
killings he added despite large military and security presence in cabinda
human rights watch which has documented torture and illegal arrests by security
forces in cabinda condemned the attack but said it was not an excuse for heavy
handed tactics
georgette gagnon africa director at human rights watch said angola was entitled
to step up security in response
but this does not justify illegal arrests or crackdowns on the media as it has
done in cabinda in the past she said
luge world cup results
winterberg germany jan afp
luge world cup results here on saturday
men pairs
christian oberstolz patrick gruber ita
gerhard plankensteiner oswald haselrieder ita at
patric leitner alexander resch ger
mark grimmette brian martin usa
tobias wendl tobias arlt ger
overall standings after six out of eight races
andre florschutz torsten wustlich ger points
christian oberstolz patrick gruber ita
patric leitner alexander resch ger
andreas et wolfgang linger aut
tobias wendl tobias arlt ger
palestinians snub us call demand full settlement freeze
ramallah west bank jan afp
the palestinians on saturday insisted on full israeli settlement freeze before
renewing peace efforts putting damper on us call to revive talks with no
preconditions
resumption of peace talks requires the complete halt of settlements in the
occupied west bank chief palestinian negotiator saeb erakat told afp
erakat also demanded that israel comply with its commitment under the peace
roadmap which calls for halt to all settlement activity including natural
growth and jerusalem
erakat also said negotiations should be picked up from the point they were left
when they broke down in december
so far there has been no reaction from the israeli government
on friday us secretary of state hillary clinton urged israelis and palestinians
to resume the peace talks without preconditions in washington latest bid to
return the sides to the negotiations table
clinton backed the key palestinian aim of creating state along the borders
that existed before the israeli arab war but said the lines would be
modified through mutually agreed land swaps presumably to account for some
israeli settlements that would remain
the palestinians have insisted the borders of their promised state encompass all
of their land israel occupied in including mostly arab east jerusalem
which israel later annexed in move not recognised by the international
community as their capital
resolving borders resolves settlements resolving jerusalem resolves
settlements the chief us diplomat told reporters after meeting jordanian
foreign minister nasser judeh in washington
we are working with the israelis the palestinian authority and the arab
states to take the steps needed to relaunch the negotiations as soon as possible
and without preconditions clinton said
the parties can reach solution that reconciles the palestinian goal of an
independent and viable state based on the lines with agreed swaps and the
israeli goal of jewish state with secure and recognized borders she said
president barack obama administration efforts to revive the peace talks have
so far been frustrated despite heavy pressure on israel the palestinians and
arab states to make positive gestures
israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu announced in november partial
suspension of settlement activity in the west bank but not in occupied east
jerusalem as gesture ahead of the resumption of talks
the palestinians have nevertheless repeatedly insisted on full suspension of
settlement construction in all land occupied in
obama special middle east envoy george mitchell who said earlier this week
that peace talks should not last more than two years was expected to return to
the region later this month to push the latest us initiative
mitchell will hold consultations in europe next week with allies and more
members of the quartet made up of the united states the european union the
united nations and russia
chevron pipeline attacked in nigeria
lagos jan afp
crude oil pipeline operated by chevron was attacked by unknown gunmen in
nigeria restive southern oil producing niger delta region government and
security sources said saturday
the attack on friday took place some kilometres miles southwest of
warri one of the main cities of delta state
we are still trying to unravel why it happened and who was behind said one
government official who asked not to be named security source confirmed news
of the attack
chevron officials could not be immediately reached for comment
armed groups claiming to seek fairer share of oil revenue for local
communities had since staged attacks on oil installations in the niger
delta playing havoc with output and international oil prices
at the peak of the unrest nigeria the world eighth largest exporter of crude
saw its output slashed by third
but government amnesty deal declared mid has seen nigeria oil output
rise to slightly over two million barrels per day according to government
statistics
angola underestimated rebel threat at nations cup minister
luanda jan afp
angola may have underestimated the threat posed by separatist guerrillas who
staged deadly gun attack on togo football team ahead of the african nations
cup minister told afp on saturday
before joining the government antonio bento bembe led the separatist movement
in cabinda tiny enclave that produces more than half of the oil that has
fuelled angola recent economic boom
he insisted that the front for the liberation of the enclave of cabinda flec
no longer existed as cohesive force after he signed peace deal but
admitted that government may have underestimated the strength of the rebellion
remnants
perhaps angola security forces under estimated the flec ability to pose
nuisance he told afp
despite that you must note that our police forces responded immediately and
repelled the attackers
made war in cabinda speak with knowledge of the cause everyone is free to
say whether or not this was flec attack for me these are elements staging
terrorist attacks
claiming responsibility for friday shooting flec warned in statement that
more attacks would follow
the group has claimed series of recent attacks against the military and
foreign workers in cabinda where oil giant chevron maintains large staff
base
the enclave is separated from the rest of the country by strip of the
democratic republic of congo and separatists have battled for its independence
since the end of portuguese colonial rule in
bento bembe said he remained confident that security forces would ensure the
safety of the tournament and defended the decision to allow cabinda to host
seven of the matches this month
cabinda is province like any other in angola and the nations cup is positive
for angola it does not represent threat there is no reason not to organise
the nations cup in cabinda
have confidence in our security and defence forces this incident does not
negate the effectiveness of angola defence forces he said
angola sports ministry has vowed to beef up security for the tournament but
bento bembe declined to say what measures would be taken
these are questions of security and defence that cannot be discussed in the
press he said it must be known that there are safeguards in place but these
defences are secret
tight security as nigerian bomb suspect pleads not guilty
detroit michigan jan afp
hobbled by leg irons young nigerian accused of trying to blow up us plane
on christmas day pleaded not guilty during his first court appearance amid
heightened security
umar farouk abdulmutallab spoke softly from the dock friday to confirm his
name how it was spelt and his age his expression flat his eyes averted from
the gathered crowd he said he understood the six charges against him
his court appointed lawyer miriam siefer 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
at this time our client would like to enter plea of not guilty siefer said
but added we have with our client consent consented to detention
abdulmutallab son of prominent nigerian banker was arrested after the
botched al qaeda plot in which explosives allegedly stitched into his underwear
failed to detonate aboard northwest flight from amsterdam to detroit
he was badly burned when the device sparked fire asked if he had taken any
medication in the past hours he said yes painkillers holding his left
hip
it was not us intelligence that thwarted the attack but passengers and crew
who tackled and restrained abdulmutallab before he was escorted off the plane
the foiled bombing triggered 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
president barack obama on thursday ordered sweeping overhaul of flawed
intelligence services which he has blamed for missing red flags that could have
detected the plot
probes revealed that us analysts knew abdulmutallab was an extremist and that
al qaeda in the arabian peninsula was plotting an attack but did not connect
the dots
legal experts believe this case is going to take months to come to conclusion
there are so many agencies with initials you know and initials you don
involved in case that transcends territorial boundaries said attorney james
thomas who represented one of four north african immigrants in terror
trial in detroit
he noted that evidence for this trial was being gathered in yemen nigeria the
netherlands and elsewhere and it will take months to digest declassify and
share it with the defense team
ahead of the arraignment us marshals helped local police secure the area around
the ornate marble floored theodore levin courthouse
metal barricades blocked off the street along the austere building inside two
bomb sniffing dogs and their handlers had earlier checked every room and as is
now standard for us courtrooms every visitor to the depression era courthouse
passed through metal detector
man who said he represented the nigerian embassy but would not give his name
told reporters that abdulmutallab family had not attended the hearing
citing british intelligence officials cbs television reported the former
university college london student boasted during his interrogation that some
others were being trained to carry out similar attacks
us officials have said abdulmutallab has provided useful leads during
interrogations with fbi and other us agents who are leading the investigation
the head of national intelligence meanwhile named former cia director john
mclaughlin to lead probe into us intelligence failures exposed by the
christmas day attack and us soldier november shooting rampage at texas
army base
both abdulmutallab and major nidal hasan the army psychiatrist who trained his
guns on fellow servicemembers killing soldiers and one civilian are believed
to be inspired by radical us born islamic cleric now in yemen anwar al
awlaqi
in continued sign of the heightened vigilance the fbi arrested two alleged
associates of an afghan immigrant accused of planning bombings in new york
around the anniversary of the september attacks
one of the men taxi driver zarein ahmedzay pleaded not guilty after new york
judged charged him with making false statements to the fbi
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
muslims here to tell you go to hell read sign held by majed rizki of
nearby dearborn michigan
it was sin against humanity against civilization rizki said of the bombing
attempt
majed moughni who moved to the detroit area from lebanon said he was worried
there would be backlash against muslims
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 he said
afp gmt news advisory
paris jan afp
duty editor martin bennitt
tel
top stories
africa reviews security after deadly football attack
failed nigerian plane bomber denies terror charges
europeans urged to stock up as cold wave intensifies
violence angola togo fbl afr rdlead wrap
luanda
angola tries to reassure african football officials that players will be safe
during the continent premier tournament hoping to convince togo squad to
stay after deadly shooting attack on their vehicles
words gmt by nick reeves pictures graphic
we will also move violence angola togo fbl afr luanda scene
attacks us nigeria lead
detroit michigan
hobbled by leg irons young nigerian accused of trying to blow up us plane
on christmas day pleads not guilty during his first court appearance amid
heightened security
words gmt by mira oberman picture graphic
we have also moved attacks us nigeria court rdlead 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 and rail links in many parts of
the continent
words gmt
filing plans by region
europe
croatia vote lead
zagreb
croatia is calm with campaigning banned day ahead of presidential run off
pitting leftwing professor and the populist zagreb mayor with the winner
expected to lead the former yugoslav republic into the european union
words gmt by lajla veselica picture
mideast
mideast diplomacy us palestinian rdlead reax
ramallah west bank
the palestinians insist on full israeli settlement freeze before renewing
peace talk putting an immediate damper on us secretary of state hillary
clinton call for reviving negotiations without any preconditions
words gmt by nasser abu bakr
egypt religion unrest scene
bahgura egypt
tensions are running high in the southern egyptian village of bahgura where
houses and shops belonging to coptic christians were burnt just days after
christmas eve drive by shooting killed six copts as they left church
words gmt by jailan zayan pictures
iran nuclear politics ndlead
tehran
iran president mahmoud ahmadinejad says further un security council sanction
will not deter iran from pursing its nuclear programme and vows to press on with
the controversial atomic work
words gmt by hiedeh farmani
us afghanistan unrest cia jordan bomber rdlead
dubai united arab emirates
jordanian who blew himself up in afghanistan killing seven cia agents and his
