on wednesday yemeni officials announced the capture of key qaeda leader
mohammed al hanq and two other militants believed behind threats against western
interests in sanaa that caused embassies to close for several days
meanwhile top us lawmakers have urged president barack obama to boost aid to
yemen military saying they had lost trust in sanaa ability to be strong
partner against terrorism
britain and the united states have already announced plans to fund counter
extremism police in yemen and washington is sharply increasing military and
economic aid to the impoverished nation officials have said
us development and security assistance to yemen is due to rise in to
million dollars from total of million dollars in the fiscal year
state department spokesman darby holladay said in december
yemen is the poorest country on the oil rich arabian peninsula its cia
estimated per capita gross domestic product of dollars euros
comparing with qatar the wealthiest at dollars
china would never accept checks at copenhagen official
beijing jan afp
china was never going to accept outside reviews in copenhagen of its efforts to
slow greenhouse gas emissions top official said saturday after critics
accused beijing of blocking the talks
xie zhenhua deputy head of the powerful national development and reform
commission told forum that beijing achieved its goal at the climate talks by
ensuring aid for developing nations was not linked to external checks
developing countries especially china would surely never accept this
request xie said according to transcript of his speech
britain climate change minister ed miliband has said china vetoed attempts to
give legal force to the accord at last month un climate change conference and
also blocked an agreement on reductions in global emissions
finger pointing and sharp recriminations followed the united nations summit
final agreement which has been widely panned for failing to oblige countries to
carry out concrete greenhouse gas emissions cuts
xie told the forum at beijing university that developing countries voluntary
pledges should not be subject to inspections
beijing went to copenhagen offering to increase its carbon efficiency by
reducing emissions per unit of gross domestic product by to percent by
based on levels
china the world biggest carbon polluter has always said rich countries
should take the lead in committing to substantial emission reduction targets and
provide finance to developing countries battling climate change
xie welcomed the copenhagen accord set goal of jointly mobilising
billion dollars for developing nations by calling it step forward for
future negotiations
indian set on fire in latest australia attack
sydney jan afp
man of indian descent was recovering in hospital on saturday after group of
men set him on fire in the australian city of melbourne police said the latest
in string of similar attacks
police stressed there was no evidence of racial motive after four men poured
an unidentified fluid on the year old and set him alight in suburb of the
city leaving him with percent burns
it follows the stabbing murder of another indian in the city last weekend which
prompted new delhi newspaper to run cartoon likening australian police to
the ku klux klan and in turn an angry reaction by australian officials
in the latest incident the victim was parking his car in side street after
dinner with friends when he was attacked in the early hours of saturday his
condition was described as stable
believe there no reason at this stage to consider this in any way racially
motivated detective sergeant neil smyth told reporters
the circumstances of parking car randomly on side street and just some
people approaching him are bit strange and it highly unlikely therefore to
be targeted attack on any individual
police have only vague description of the attackers which is really just
unspecific just four males smyth said it is an unusual event
deputy prime minister julia gillard said the government condemns all acts of
violence in the strongest possible way this matter remains under
investigation by the victorian police
in new delhi the indian government said it was in touch with australian
authorities but urged the media to exercise utmost restraint while reporting
the incident
the indian high commissioner in canberra and consul general in melbourne are
following up this matter vigorously with the australian authorities foreign
ministry spokesman vishnu prakash said
under the circumstances the media is advised to exercise utmost restraint in
reporting on these sensitive issues as it could aggravate the situation and
could have bearing on our bilateral relations with australia
the murder on january of nitin garg brought sharp condemnation from the indian
government and allegations of australian racism in the indian media
india mail today defended its cartoon which showed an australian police
officer in ku klux klan hood insisting the melbourne force was racist
organisation
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
series of attacks on indian nationals and students in australia sparked street
protests and diplomatic row in the middle of last year
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
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 that 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 as balawi
the video whose authenticity could not immediately be confirmed was broadcast
on al jazeera television
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
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 the
man said in reference to his claimed role as double agent
in the video the man is shown sitting alongside another individual wearing an
afghan headscarf with banner bearing koranic verse in the background
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
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 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
huge procession prays for disaster free philippines police
manila jan afp
hundreds of thousands of people prayed for relief from natural disasters
saturday in barefoot religious procession across the capital of the mainly
roman catholic philippines
the annual festival centres on black icon of cross bearing jesus christ
which many filipinos believe can perform miracles to cure the sick drive away
bad luck and bring prosperity
however the day turned into tragedy for two participants
year old man was crushed to death by the crowd staff at state run manila
hospital told afp while year old man died of heart attack while waiting
for the procession to pass manila police commander chief superintendent rodolfo
magtibay said
they look like giant waves senior inspector oscar holguera head of manila
mobile police division said of the sea of humanity swarming around the carriage
being pulled by bare foot devotees holding lengths of stout rope
the devotees wore scarlet shirts and hurled white handkerchiefs and towels at
an ebony hued wooden statue of the black nazarene with which volunteers
touched the figure cheeks before throwing back the cloths to the crowd
magtibay told local radio the parade was expected to reach its final
destination the quiapo church in central manila early evening
there are lot more participants today than last year holguera told afp
estimating the size of the crowd at several hundred thousand people
many people are turning to religion after year of disasters he added
tropical storms floods landslides and maritime disasters killed nearly
people across the philippines in year in which an election linked
massacre claimed lives and volcano also erupted
more than percent of filipinos are catholic and holguera estimated that at
least two million people in this city of more than million had joined or
watched the procession
the life sized sculpture of jesus bearing cross is said to have been carved in
mexico and brought to the philippines by augustinian missionaries in the early
th century during spain galleon trade
filipinos identify with the image because of the trials they undergo year after
year said manila parish priest aris sison
praying for good health and good luck said year old ricardo palacio
manila porter who said his wife left him and their four children several years
ago
he cured my illness and enabled me to walk again said year old grandmother
maria medalla who told afp she left her home near the erupting mayon volcano
southeast of manila last week so she could join this year procession
the local branch of the red cross said it had treated participants by mid
afternoon mostly for symptoms of high blood pressure and one with head
injury
the city government said it deployed more than thousand policemen to maintain
order and redirect traffic
cold snap triggers shortage in china coal heartland
beijing jan afp
china coal rich shanxi province faced its most severe power shortage in three
years as severe cold weather continued to drive up national electricity demand
state media reported saturday
the northern province was rationing electricity as two major coal fired
electricity plants in the capital taiyuan saw their coal reserves fall below the
seven day supply warning level the official xinhua news agency reported
shanxi is china coal heartland the biggest producer of fossil fuel that
provides percent of the asian nation fast growing energy needs and home to
many coal burning power plants
but the province now faces shortages because of falling production and having to
export large amounts of coal to other parts of china li jianwei an official
with the province electricity association was cited as saying
taiyuan has ordered rotating shutdowns for more than factories to ensure
residences have enough power the report said
spate of deadly mine accidents has forced officials in shanxi to close
thousands of small mines
coal production has fallen because of the closures and large scale state owned
plants have not been able to keep pace with demand li was quoted as saying
as power demand strains power grids several provinces and regions have begun
rationing electricity or imposed other restrictions state media reported
although few details of the measures were given
agriculture ministry officials said wednesday food prices were rising as
transportation problems crimped delivery and the cold weather damaged crops
china has endured an unusually early and cold winter reaching its height over
the past week with heavy snow across the north of the country and rare snowfalls
further south
beijing experienced its heaviest snowstorm in decades last weekend and
wednesday low of minus degrees celsius two degrees fahrenheit was the
lowest in the capital since
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 that 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
the video whose authenticity could not immediately be confirmed was broadcast
on al jazeera television
tennis roddick to face stepanek in brisbane final
brisbane australia jan afp
top seed andy roddick will play defending champion radek stepanek in the final
of the season opening brisbane international after both had contrasting semi
final wins on saturday
stepanek cruised past disappointing frenchman gael monfils in the first
semi final before roddick was forced to come from set down to overcome tomas
berdych of the czech republic
roddick had been in tremendous form leading into the semi final and had not had
his serve broken in the three previous rounds
however he was slightly off key in the first set and berdych attacked racing to
lead before taking the opening set in minutes
the american regrouped after that and his serve picked up while berdych was the
one put on the defensive
roddick broke once in each set to take the match and move into sunday decider
against stepanek repeat of the final in memphis last year won by roddick in
two close sets
stepanek destroyed an out of sorts monfils who struggled with niggling
shoulder injury and never looked capable of matching the defending champion
monfils was down on power with his serve and groundstrokes and stepanek took
full advantage wrapping up the semi final in only minutes
he said afterwards it was the best he had played all week and it gave him
enormous confidence heading into the final
was the more creative one and was more aggressive the way was finishing the
points at the net he said
had him under pressure right from the beginning and was happy was able to
hold my level for the whole two sets
stepanek has now gone nine matches unbeaten in brisbane after winning the first
tournament here last year and he said there was no reason why he couldn make
it from in the final
starting the year again here being in the final is great feeling winning
four matches straight away at the start of the season is great and have one
more to go tomorrow
monfils has had his shoulder strapped all week after pulling muscle during
training in adelaide last week
think my shoulder wasn so good so couldn serve very well and not very
hard as well he said
was bit tired and radek played well so he deserved to win
monfils admitted he had been looking further ahead than reaching sunday final
to be honest tried bit but then my shoulder was sore and before the match
decided not to kill my shoulder he said
have goal in one week time at the australian open
us warns of potential threat to uganda south sudan flights
khartoum jan afp
the us embassy in sudan has warned american travelers of potential threat to
commercial flights between uganda and south sudan
warden message published on friday on the 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 south
sudan
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 travelers 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 deparment 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
urgent jordan bomber said cia attack was revenge video
dubai jan afp
jordanian who blew himself up at us base in afghanistan killing seven cia
agents and his jordanian handler said he acted in vengeance in video
broadcast on al jazeera television on saturday
india accuses pakistan of cross border firing
amritsar india jan afp
indian frontier troops saturday accused their pakistani counterparts of firing
at least four rockets across the border into northern punjab but said there were
no casualties
the incident is the second since september when two rockets allegedly fired by
pakistani troops landed near the popular tourist attraction of wagah in indian
punjab
border security force bsf officials said two of the cross border rockets
exploded in farms on the indian side while the remaining two did not detonate
no casualty has been reported bsf official said speaking on condition of
anonymity
frontier commanders from both sides met to discuss the alleged shelling he said
in the sikh pilgrimage city of amritsar
there was no immediate comment available from islamabad but the bsf official
said pakistani commanders at the meeting denied firing the rockets
the indian army meanwhile claimed cross border firing at kashmir disputed
borders early saturday and said it occurred during an unsuccessful attempt by
alleged pakistani militants to sneak into indian territory
there was firing by the pakistanis before the militants tried to breach fencing
along our borders army major general surendra nath said in jammu indian
kashmir winter capital
nath said indian soldiers foiled the infiltration bid
the bsf in kashmir claimed rocket was also fired from pakistan into the indian
zone of the divided himalayan region
there were no casualties officials said adding that high security alert was
sounded following the failed infiltration attempt
tension between the two neighbours flared in the wake of the mumbai attacks in
november which india blamed on pakistan based militants and official
agencies of pakistan charge islamabad has denied
exchanges of fire were routine along the disputed border in kashmir until
ceasefire agreement between nuclear armed india and pakistan
since the mumbai attacks there have been sporadic small arms exchanges
india and pakistan have fought two of their three wars since independence in
over kashmir which is claimed by both
us warns of potential threat to uganda south sudan flights
khartoum jan afp
the us embassy in sudan has warned american travelers of potential threat to
commercial flights between uganda and south sudan
in warden message the 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 south sudan
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 travelers on any airline and route should maintain vigilance
at all times and should report any suspicious behavior to the proper
authorities
afghan president set to resubmit cabinet nominees official
kabul jan afp
afghan president hamid karzai new cabinet nominees were presented to
parliament saturday in his second attempt to form functioning government and
end drawn out political crisis television showed
karzai last week ordered parliament to cancel its winter recess to consider new
nominations for cabinet posts after it threw out most of his original choices
wish to express my thanks to parliament for postponing its vacation to do
this important job for our country said second vice president mohammad karim
khalili
as he presented nominees to the lower house of parliament the wolesi jirga
each came forward and bowed to the parliamentarians
of the names karzai put forward last month for cabinet portfolios only seven
won approval in secret ballot of of the lawmakers televised live on
television last week
seventeen were rejected and an th the post of foreign minister was left
outstanding
the new list includes three women nominated for the women affairs public
health and disabled and martyrs portfolios the only woman on the original
list incumbent women affairs minister husn banu ghazanfar was rejected
two posts not nominated saturday the powerful water and power and
telecommunications positions would be presented in coming days khalili said
last week rejections have effectively left afghanistan without fully
functioning government dragging out political vacuum that has prevailed since
an august presidential election
karzai was declared the winner and pledged to tackle the endemic corruption that
infects his government and every aspect of afghan life
the president decreed last monday that parliament should delay its day recess
until he proposed new ministers in place of those rejected
parliament had been due to break last tuesday
after being presented to parliament nominees face questioning from mps before
secret ballot for approval
presidential spokesman feroz mohammand told afp the debate would take week
before ballot could be held
officials have said that karzai is eager to pull together cabinet ahead of
conference set to take place in london on january to discuss the future of
the impoverished and war weary country
currently kabul ministries are being run by junior bureaucrats who have little
power and no coherent plan
the president determination that the cabinet be finalised ahead of the london
conference appears to be recognition that time is of the essence if he is to
prove his stated commitment to eradicate corruption
the international community that keeps his fragile administration in power
with troops deployed under us and nato command to quash taliban led
insurgency has given him until mid to show progress
the seven ministerial nominees who did win approval included those who had been
approved by karzai supporters in the international community as competent and
clean technocrats
they represented the dominant ministries including interior defence
agriculture and education
the united states and nato are sending in an extra troops over the course
of this year even as public opinion in the west turns increasingly against
continued engagement following more than foreign troop deaths in
urgent us warns of potential threat to uganda south sudan flights
khartoum jan afp
the us embassy in sudan has warned american travelers of potential threat to
commercial flights between uganda and south sudan
alert
us warns of potential threat to uganda south sudan flights
seven police wounded by pakistan suicide bomber
peshawar pakistan jan afp
at least seven policemen were wounded on saturday when taliban militant
commander blew himself up in the pakistani city of peshawar police said
irfan ullah from the lawless town of darra adam khel struck when police raided
his hideout in matni an area in the outskirts of peshawar in country
northwest senior police official mohammad karim khan said
irfan ullah blew himself up when police stormed into hideout to arrest him
khan told afp
the police had raided several suspected hideouts of taliban militants in matni
on tip off when the suicide bombing took place he added
two of the wounded policemen were in critical condition khan said
pakistani troops launched an air and ground offensive against taliban militants
in darra adam khel two years ago after they occupied key tunnel linking
peshawar with northwestern town of kohat
more than people have been killed in pakistan since july in attacks
by militants who oppose islamabad alliance with the united states in the
eight year war against the taliban in neighbouring afghanistan
washington has praised pakistan action against the taliban but is urging the
country to also crack down on militants who hide out in the lawless northwest
and cross the border to attack nato and us troops in afghanistan
the two nations are also at odds over increasing missile strikes by unmanned us
aircraft targeting militants in pakistan northwest
alert
jordan bomber said he acted in vengeance website
football chiefs probe togo team shooting
luanda jan afp
togo football team would decide saturday whether to pull out of the african
nations cup after hooded gunmen ambushed their vehicle killing the driver and
leaving nine wounded the squad captain said
african football officials were also due in northern angola to review security
and probe the circumstances surrounding the deadly attack
emmanuel adebayor the togo team captain said that he would convene meeting
at which the squad would discuss whether or not to stay for the tournament
think lot of players want to leave he told bbc radio five live in
britain
they have seen one of their team mates have bullet in his body who is
crying who is losing consciousness and everything said adebayor who was
shown on angolan television looking dazed and in tears shortly after the attack
if the security is not sure then we will be leaving tomorrow don think
they will be ready to give their life
two players were among the injured when gunmen fired at the team vehicles
after they crossed into angola restive cabinda province from congo brazzaville
on friday according to togo official
organisers who have pledged that the tournament will go ahead said
delegation would be in cabinda on saturday morning while angola prime minister
paulo kassoma was set to meet the confederation of african football president
issa haytou
the meeting would take decisions to guarantee the smooth running of the
competition the body said friday
togo squad member thomas dossevi said the team one of the strongest in
