al qaeda and its affiliate organizations as well as individual suicide
terrorists have observed our defenses and are designing future attacks to
circumvent them
these attacks will be even harder to uncover interpret and stop
in between recreational activities with his family and friends on friday obama
consulted top national security advisors to discuss two reviews of the thwarted
bid to bomb the jet
he spoke to national security council chief of staff denis mcdonough and his top
anti terror advisor john brennan white house official said on condition of
anonymity
angered by how narrowly tragedy was averted in country still scarred by the
september attacks obama was to spend the weekend poring over the
preliminary reports of two probes he demanded into the christmas day attack
the president plans to meet heads of intelligence agencies and relevant
government departments tuesday in washington to discuss the findings
obama has ordered one assessment of the no fly list system and separate probe
into how abdulmutallab sneaked an explosive device past security at amsterdam
airport onto plane bound for the united states
as the focus of the west is trained on alleged terror havens in yemen british
prime minister gordon brown called an international meeting friday on combating
extremism in the country
brown office said the meeting would take place in london on january
running in parallel with conference on afghanistan which is expected to be
attended by senior ministers or leaders from about nations
sri lankan presidential contender woos tamil voters
colombo jan afp
sri lanka former military chief sarath fonseka took his presidential campaign
saturday to the ethnic heartland of the tamil tiger rebellion he helped crush
last year
the retired four star general who is seen as the main challenger to president
mahinda rajapakse in polls slated for january visited the northern region of
jaffna where he toured historic hindu temple and addressed rally
fonseka was also due to meet the influential roman catholic bishop of
jaffna thomas savundranayagam spokesman for his office said
the defence ministry effectively blocked independent journalists travelling to
jaffna even though the authorities had announced last month that travel
restrictions had been withdrawn
officials said president rajapakse was expected to visit jaffna later this
month to woo minority tamil voters who could play crucial role in the
presidential election if the majority sinhalese community is divided
both fonseka and rajapakse appeal largely to the sinhalese and both claim credit
for the final defeat of the tiger rebels in may which ended decades old
ethnic conflict
rajapakse called snap poll hoping to capitalise on victory over the separatist
liberation tigers of tamil eelam ltte who had launched their campaign for
tamil homeland from jaffna in
fonseka and rajapakse have been at loggerheads since the end of the conflict
fonseka quit after accusing the government of sidelining him and falsely
suspecting him of trying to stage coup
search for survivors on after mudslides kill in rio hotel
rio de janeiro jan afp
brazilian rescue teams searched for survivors saturday after mudslide struck
small luxury hotel filled with new year revelers on an island southwest of rio
de janeiro killing at least people and leaving many others missing
mudslides and flooding unleashed by days of torrential rains have claimed the
lives of people since wednesday across the state of rio de janeiro
authorities said
the heavy rains caused hillside to give way on ilha grande in rio state
friday bringing an avalanche of mud boulders and trees down on part of the
hotel sankay and three houses on the island
it is vision of horror rio deputy governor luiz fernando pezao told cbn
radio describing mountain of rocks and trees covering various homes
fire chief said the death toll at the site could rise to
authorities said the hotel was full to capacity with about guests bringing in
the new year at the idyllic seaside getaway perched on jungle covered
hillside overlooking the water
nearby houses had also been rented out to vacationers for the holiday period
the nationalities of the victims were not immediately known
officials said many people were still missing and believed buried by the
landslide
based on our conversations with neighbors the number of victims could reach
colonel pedro machado fire chief told cbn
about rescue workers and firefighters wrestled to remove the mud and
vegetation in the slim hope of finding survivors
machado earlier said the chances of finding survivors are very slender
because the houses and the hotel are under tons of mud the rescue work is more
difficult we cannot use heavy equipment because of the risk of setting off new
landslides he said
authorities said most of the bodies recovered earlier were found on land but at
least three had been pulled from the sea
the hotel sankay which opened in catered to brazilian and foreign
tourists looking for hard to reach beachside hideaway
the island whose bananal beach can only be reached by water is the largest in
bay studded with pristine tropical islands
at least seven other people were reported killed by landslide in the center of
angra dos reis seaside town on the mainland overlooking ilha grande bay
although the rains stopped on friday authorities put rio de janeiro on alert
because of fears of potentially devastating mudslides in its densely populated
hillside favelas or shanty towns
about people were reported killed on thursday because of subsidence and house
collapses mainly in and around the city
in baixada fuminense northern rio three rivers burst their banks forcing
around people to flee from their homes
similar mudslides caused by torrential rains hit the state of rio de janeiro
year ago forcing more than people to leave their homes
africa islamist groups still disparate ever more radical
nairobi jan afp
al qaeda in the islamic maghreb aqim shebab fighting for the control of
somalia or nigeria home grown sects radical islam is taking hold in sub
saharan africa albeit in many varied forms
the groups in question all claim to be inspired by the taliban or al qaeda
which carried out its first major operations on african soil the
simultaneous truck bomb attacks on the us embassies in kenya and tanzania in
which several hundred people died
aqim commanded from algeria operates in the vast sahel region where it has
staged multiple kidnappings and in some cases killings of westerners over the
last three years
somalia shebab are trying to impose their brand of sharia law on war torn
somalia in recent months they have multiplied suicide attacks aimed at toppling
the un backed transitional government
nigeria where northern states reintroduced islamic law in is in the
spotlight after the son of one of the country prominent bankers was charged
with trying on december to blow up passenger jet over detroit
in july boko haram taliban inspired sect whose name means western education
is sin and which seeks to unite muslims under caliphate carried out
simultaneous attacks in four northern states
some islamist groups in sub saharan africa have recently become more
radicalized particularly in terms of inflammatory rhetoric and few recruits
for armed jihad fawaz gerges professor of middle eastern politics and
international relations at the london school of economics lse told afp
there are also some signs of cross fertilisation between different groups
according to isselmou ould moustapha mauritanian journalist who follows
terrorism questions for the tahalil hebdo weekly in aqim training camps in
the sahara elements from somalia shebab and nigerians from boko haram rub
shoulders with north africans and with recruits from niger and mali
also present at the camps are fighters back from iraq and afghanistan he added
since the north and east of mali near the algeria border has served as
refuge for armed islamists who have kidnapped westerners six europeans abducted
in mauritania since november are thought to be held there
kidnappings of foreigners are on the increase but there is another source of
worry for the past few years aqim has been recruiting black african
militants so that they can operate more easily in africa moustapha said
the nigerian would be suicide bomber year old umar farouk abdulmutallab had
visited yemen where government forces are battling al qaeda suspects
the lse gerges notes alarming signs of increasing interaction and
fertilization between somalia shebab and yemeni local jihadist groups
the shebab said friday they are ready to cross to yemen and help jihadist groups
there fight the enemies of allah
notwithstanding this recent radicalization product of declining social
conditions and failing institutions and ideological mobilization islamism in
sub saharan africa is much more politicized than militarized and less volatile
than islamism in the arab world and pakistan afghanistan gerges said
one factor worrying intelligence services in the us and elsewhere is the
popularity radical islamist movements enjoy in diasporas
there is strong evidence that the majority of the suicide bombers in somalia
were from the somali diaspora that al shebab benefits from vivid popularity
in eastleigh said roland marchal french expert on the horn of africa
referring to somali neighbourhood of nairobi
this is not only somali dynamic over the last three years western states
have repeatedly expressed concerns on the radicalization of diasporas that
create new wave of recruitment for radical organizations either in the west or
in war zones such as iraq afghanistan and somalia he added
nigeria on defensive over terror breeding ground
lagos jan afp
nigeria country long synonymous with graft and coups now has to defend
itself over claims that it is breeding ground for islamist fundamentalists
after last week bid to blow up us airliner
while umar farouk abdulmutallab remains in detroit prison cell accused of
trying to kill the passengers and crew of northwest airlines flight
officials in his homeland insist the episode does not point to wider malaise
but terrorism experts say the christmas day plot foiled when the chemical
explosives stitched in abdulmutallab underpants failed to explode properly
will inevitably lead to closer surveillance of africa most populous nation
although abdulmutallab hails from the capital abuja much of the focus is on the
mainly muslim north where states operate sharia law and which has been the
scene of number of anti government uprisings by hardline islamists
geoff porter an africa expert for the new york based eurasia thinktank said
mass clashes last july between the nigerian security forces and group known as
boko haram had raised active concerns about jihadi sympathizers in the north
among western intelligence which were bound to be heightened now
the nigerian angle to the detroit plot will undoubtedly increase us
counterterrorism efforts in sub saharan africa porter said in new report
porter said that while intelligence operations in the region had been slowly
gathering steam they had so far lacked sufficient clout
the detroit attack will give it widespread political support throughout
washington that it has thus far lacked he said
the official line from the nigerian government is that for all its problems it
does not deserve to be associated with terrorism
one thing that can tell you that we are not known for as nigerians is
terrorism said information minister dora akunyili
we are not into terrorism we may have several issues but definitely not
terrorism our country abhors it
ever since independence in nigeria has been blighted by bloody clashes
between ethnic and religious groups sunni muslims against shiites christians
against muslims
christian senior government official who asked not to be named insisted the
concept of martyrdom was alien to nigerians and said that abdulmutallab had been
radicalised during time spent in countries such as yemen
we are survivalists we do not have this kamikaze spirit of god fools
said the official
this young man all that he has learnt and has launched him into extremism were
picked up from abroad he added
others however say the government is in denial
there are terrorists in nigeria and we have told the nigerian government about
it the secretary general of the christian association of nigeria can in
northern states reverend saidu dogo told afp
the west african nation of million is almost evenly divided between muslims
and christians
the majority of muslims live in the north where often grinding poverty has
proved fertile ground for radical islamists
boko haram whose name means western education is sin attracted thousands
of followers who staged series of attacks in the north last july which were
eventually put down by the authorities after hundreds of deaths
the nigeria democratic liberty forum said the government should never have
allowed such an environment to fester saying the country reputation was at
new low after already being tarnished by shameful deeds like fraud and
corruption
one can imagine the danger posed by millions of neglected unemployed
impressionable nigerians that the nigerian system has failed and could be target
for terrorism recruits the pro democracy pressure group wrote in the lagos
based guardian daily calling abdulmutallab arrest wake up call
afp gmt news advisory
paris jan afp
duty editor sarah shard
tel
top stories
man shot trying to enter danish mohammed cartoonist home
obama blames al qaeda affiliate in yemen for airliner attack
scores killed in blast at volleyball match in pakistan
denmark attacks media islam police newseries
copenhagen
danish police say they shot and arrested an axe wielding somali man who tried to
kill cartoonist whose depictions of the prophet mohammed infuriated muslims
words gmt picture
us attacks nigeria obama lead
honolulu hawaii
us president barack obama for the first time accuses an al qaeda affiliate of
arming and training young nigerian man for thwarted suicide mission to blow
up us airliner
words gmt by stephen collinson
pakistan unrest ndlead wrap
peshawar pakistan
investigators sift through rubble after suicide car bomber detonated his
explosives filled vehicle in crowd watching volleyball game in northwest
pakistan killing at least
words gmt by lehaz ali graphic
americas
brazil floods newseries
rio de janeiro
brazilian rescue teams search for survivors after mudslide struck small
luxury hotel filled with new year revelers on an island southwest of rio de
janeiro killing at least people and leaving many others missing
words gmt picture
africa
us attacks nigeria islam religion focus
lagos
nigeria country long synonymous with graft and coups now has to defend
itself over claims that it is breeding ground for islamist fundamentalists
after last week bid to blow up us airliner
words gmt by jacques lhuillery
us attacks africa islam religion focus
nairobi
al qaeda in the islamic maghreb aqim shebab fighting for the control of
somalia or nigeria home grown sects radical islam is taking hold in sub
saharan africa albeit in many varied forms
words gmt by helen vesperini
asia
philippines volcano lead
legaspi philippines
tens of thousands of evacuees prepare to return home after philippine
volcanologists lower the alert level around the mayon volcano indicating that
dangerous eruption is less likely three weeks after it began spewing ash and
lava
words gmt by tony macasinag
dead after suicide car bomb at pakistan volleyball game
peshawar pakistan jan afp
investigators sifted through rubble saturday after suicide car bomber
detonated his explosives filled vehicle in crowd watching volleyball game in
northwest pakistan killing at least
friday bombing marked bloody start to for pakistan which has seen
surge in attacks blamed on the taliban in recent months as islamist fighters
avenge military operations aimed at crushing their northwest strongholds
the huge blast was pakistan deadliest in more than two months triggering the
collapse of more than houses some with families inside in village
bordering taliban stronghold officials said
the attack was condemned by britain and the united states with secretary of
state hillary clinton vowing the us would continue supporting pakistani people
in their efforts to chart their own future free from fear and intimidation
the bomber detonated his explosives packed vehicle as fans gathered at
volleyball court to watch two local sides face off in the village of shah hasan
khan in bannu district bordering taliban stronghold south waziristan
the villagers were watching the match between the two village teams when the
bomber drove his double cabin pick up vehicle into them and blew it up
district police chief mohammad ayub khan told afp
five more people died overnight in government main hospital in lakki marwat
town raising the death toll to
six children and five paramilitary soldiers were among the dead he added
the bomber appears to have used kilograms of explosives khan said adding
that three member team had been formed to investigate the attack
the tournament was organised by the local peace committee who had supported
government operation to expel militants from the area khan said
it was the highest death toll from suspected militant strike since massive
car bomb on october killed people in crowded market in the northwestern
provincial capital peshawar
ramzan bittani year old driver told afp by telephone from local
hospital that he had left the match to take call
as was listening saw huge blue and white flash followed by an ear
piercing blast when was able to figure out what had happened saw bodies
and smoke all around my hand was fractured he said
anwer khan student said that he had just stepped out of his house and he
saw black pick up speeding up towards the spectators
giant flame leaped towards the sky there was bright light everywhere just
like flash and then very huge blast shook everything two pellets hit my
forehead and blood started flowing khan said
district police chief khan blamed the bomb on islamist extremists who were the
target of military operation in bannu district last year
security has plummeted over the past two and half years in pakistan where
militant violence has killed more than people since july
the northwest has suffered the brunt of the militant campaign with suicide
bombings increasingly targeting civilians
the military is now locked in its most ambitious assault yet on taliban
strongholds in south waziristan sending troops into battle in the
district on the afghan border on october
washington however is urging pakistan to do more to also stamp out al qaeda
sanctuaries and dismantle havens of militants who cross the border and attack us
and nato troops stationed in afghanistan
officials friday confirmed that at least four militants were killed in us
missile strike on compound in machikhel village kilometres miles east
of miranshah the main town in north waziristan tribal region on the afghan
border
such us strikes in pakistan have killed at least people since august
and greatly inflame anti american sentiment in the muslim nation
yemen welcomes british call for extremism meeting
sanaa jan afp
yemen on saturday welcomed british prime minister gordon brown announcement of
an international meeting in london on january on combating extremism in the
arabian peninsula country
it step in the right direction that will mobilise international support for
yemeni development and its efforts to battle unemployment and the effects of
poverty the saba news agency quoted an official spokesman as saying
eradicating poverty and joblessness in developping countries is the best way to
fight extremism and ensure that no environment is created that would encourage
this phenomenon and attract young people to it he added
on friday brown office said the london meeting at the end of the month would
run in parallel with conference on afghanistan which is expected to be
attended by senior ministers or leaders from about nations
long standing concerns that yemen has become haven for islamic terror groups
were thrown into sharp relief when nigerian man allegedly trained in the
country was charged with trying to blow up us airliner on december
umar farouk abdulmutallab reportedly confessed to being trained by an al
qaeda bomb maker in yemen for his alleged mission to blow up the plane as it
came in to land in detroit sparking major international security scare
the united states revealed this week that it was sharply increasing its military
and economic aid to sanaa to fight growing threat from al qaeda and brown
said it was vital to mobilise international support
the international community must not deny yemen the support it needs to tackle
extremism he said
brown has invited key international partners to high level meeting in order
to discuss how best to counter radicalisation in yemen his office said in
statement
the aims of the meeting would include identifying what yemen government needs
to help it fight violent islamic extremism and coordinating assistance for areas
most at risk of becoming radical it said
japan pm starts tweeting launches blog
tokyo jan afp
japanese prime minister yukio hatoyama has launched blog and started using
twitter in new year bid to reach out to the public at time when his ratings
have tumbled
hatoyama began using the microblogging service twitter and launched fully
fledged blog both in japanese starting friday
happy new year everyone he said in his first tweet stressing that he had
written it himself my target is to send one tweet day for now until get
used to it
san francisco based twitter which has won tens of millions of users with the
service that allows people to pepper one another with character or less
messages launched its japanese service last april
in his blog titled hato cafe hatoyama said started this blog as first
step to burying the gap between people and politics as well as changing this
country together
he also uploaded to the blog picture of his office roof against backdrop of
blue winter sky explaining that he took the picture with the camera on his
mobile phone
the twitter account is http twitter com hatoyamayukio while his official blog
is at http hatocafe kantei go jp
support for hatoyama cabinet has dipped below percent for the first time
according to major opinion polls released last month voters criticised his lack
of leadership and funding scandal
in his blog he apologised for the political funding scandal that has embroiled
former aide saying gave lot of trouble to many people last year
listening to the people voice want to do my best to fulfil my duty
prosecutors indicted hatoyama former aide keiji katsuba in late december for
allegedly misreporting millions of dollars of donations but did not indict the
prime minister due to lack of evidence
the indictments came after difficult first days in office for the
political blue blood whose august election victory ended more than half
century of almost unbroken conservative rule in the world number two economy
obama blames al qaeda affiliate for airliner attack
honolulu hawaii jan afp
us president barack obama saturday for the first time accused an al qaeda
affiliate of arming and training young nigerian man for thwarted suicide
mission to blow up us airliner
obama in his weekly radio and video address promised to hold the group al
qaeda in the arabian peninsula to account for the attack declaring the united
states was at war with far reaching network of violence and hatred
the president vacation in his home state of hawaii has been interrupted by the
ramifications of the failed attack on northwest jet heading for detroit on
christmas day
obama has reviewed preliminary results of probes he has ordered into the attack
and said details were becoming clear about the year old nigerian suspect umar
farouk abdulmutallab
we know that he traveled to yemen country grappling with crushing poverty
and deadly insurgencies obama said in his address posted on the white house
website early saturday
it appears that he joined an affiliate of al qaeda and that this group al
qaeda in the arabian peninsula trained him equipped him with those explosives
and directed him to attack that plane headed for america
previously us officials have not said publicly that the northwest attack was
the work of al qaeda though had noted there was linkage with the terror
group
the arabian peninsula franchise of al qaeda had on monday claimed the failed
december bombing of jet in statement picked up by us monitors
abdulmutallab is accused of trying to blow up the plane as it approached detroit
on flight from amsterdam by setting off explosives stitched into his
underwear the attempt failed when he was stopped by passengers
obama said that because of past attacks by the al qaeda affiliate he had even
before the christmas day attempt stepped up us cooperation with insurgency
scarred yemen
training camps have been struck leaders eliminated plots disrupted he said
in the address
and all those involved in the attempted act of terrorism on christmas must
know you too will be held to account
obama also put the northwest attack in the context of the wider threat from
terrorism following complaints from some republicans that he has not adopted
the war on terrorism formulation of his predecessor george bush
he noted that it was almost year since he came to office and delivered his
inaugural address
on that day also made it very clear our nation is at war against far
reaching network of violence and hatred and that we will do whatever it takes
to defeat them and defend our country even as we uphold the values that have
always distinguished america among nations
on thursday the us director of national intelligence dennis blair warned his
staff that al qaeda attacks were sure to get more cunning
al qaeda and its affiliate organizations as well as individual suicide
terrorists have observed our defenses and are designing future attacks to
circumvent them
these attacks will be even harder to uncover interpret and stop
in between recreational activities with his family and friends on friday obama
consulted top national security advisors to discuss two reviews of the thwarted
bid to bomb the jet
he spoke to national security council chief of staff denis mcdonough and his top
anti terror advisor john brennan white house official said on condition of
anonymity
angered by how narrowly tragedy was averted in country still scarred by the
september attacks obama was to spend the weekend poring over the
preliminary reports of two probes he demanded into the christmas day attack
the president plans to meet heads of intelligence agencies and relevant
government departments tuesday in washington to discuss the findings
obama has ordered one assessment of the no fly list system and separate probe
into how abdulmutallab sneaked an explosive device past security at amsterdam
airport onto plane bound for the united states
obama blames al qaeda affiliate for airliner attack
honolulu hawaii jan afp
us president barack obama saturday for the first time accused an al qaeda
affiliate in yemen of arming and training young nigerian man for thwarted
suicide mission to blow up us airliner
obama in his weekly radio and video address posted on the white house website
promised to hold the group al qaeda in the arabian peninsula to account for
the attack declaring the united states was at war with far reaching network
of violence and hatred
we know that he traveled to yemen country grappling with crushing poverty
and deadly insurgencies obama said referring to the suspect umar farouk
abdulmutallab
it appears that he joined an affiliate of al qaeda and that this group al
qaeda in the arabian peninsula trained him equipped him with those explosives
and directed him to attack that plane headed for america
previously us officials have not said publicly that the northwest attack was
the work of al qaeda though had noted there was linkage with the terror
group
israeli warplanes hit gaza after rocket attack
gaza city jan afp
israeli aircraft attacked at least four targets in the hamas run gaza strip
early on saturday wounding two people in retaliation for rocket strike on
israel officials said
two explosions were heard in gaza city one north of the city and one in the
southern gaza strip town of khan yunis palestinian medics and witnesses said
all the missiles appeared to land in open fields
two people including child were lightly wounded medics said
an israeli military spokesman said warplanes had attacked two tunnels militants
were digging in the direction of israel apparently to infiltrate the country
and carry out attacks
israel routinely retaliates after rocket attacks from gaza and the latest air
strikes came after rocket hit the southern town of netivot on thursday without
causing casualties
we will not tolerate any attempt to disrupt the calm in israel southern
communities the spokesman said
it marked the latest violence along gaza border which has been mostly quiet
since war israel launched on the islamist hamas in gaza on december
in response to rocket fire ended with mutual ceasefires on january
the ceasefires have largely held despite violations by both sides
urgent obama blames al qaeda affiliate for airliner attack
honolulu hawaii jan afp
us president barack obama on saturday for the first time blamed an al qaeda
affiliate in yemen for arming and training the nigerian suspect in an attack on
us airliner on christmas day
alert
obama blames al qaeda affiliate in yemen for airliner attack
nba bryant buzzer beater caps lakers rally over kings
los angeles jan afp
kobe bryant buzzer beating three pointer capped rally that saw the los
angeles lakers erase point deficit to beat sacramento friday in
