coach michel dussuyer fra
referee khalid abdel rahman sud
visit to rome synagogue will open new phase in ties pope
vatican city jan afp
pope benedict xvi said tuesday his planned weekend visit to rome main
synagogue would open new phase in relations between catholics and jews
the visit sunday will be new phase along the irrevocable path of agreement
and friendship between the two faiths vatican secretary of state tarcisio
bertone said in telegramme to rome chief rabbi riccardo di segni
the pope hopes that the visit to this community will highlight and further the
brotherhood between jews and catholics said the telegramme sent in response
to new year greetings from di segni according to the italian news agency
ansa
benedict is struggling to mend frayed ties with the jewish community angered
over plans to make world war ii era pope pius xii saint
the long planned visit appeared at risk of being cancelled after the pope last
month approved the title venerable for pius xii putting the controversial
pope one step away from beatification en route to sainthood
pius who headed the roman catholic church from to his death in has
been accused of inaction while germany nazi regime was exterminating millions
of jews in europe concentration camps
sunday visit marks day of judeo christian reflection established by
benedict predecessor john paul ii
it commemorates an anti semitic attack against rome jewish ghetto in
day that has become symbol of jews survival in the face of anti semitism and
persecutions
last year the day came during low point in relations and italian rabbis
decided to boycott observances
sunday visit will be benedict third to jewish place of worship and comes
nearly years after john paul ii became the first pope to do so also in
rome in april
the conservative german born pope has had number of diplomatic rows with
the jewish community since his election in
many jews were upset by benedict decision to rehabilitate the latin version of
the catholic church good friday mass which contains prayer for the
conversion of the jews
strains deepened further later in january when he lifted the ex
communication of holocaust denying bishop
relations have since improved with series of fence mending statements and
gestures by the vatican and the pope notably benedict trip to israel in may
last year during which he prayed at jerusalem western wall also known as the
wailing wall
chile apologizes for past treatment of indigenous people
santiago jan afp
chile president michelle bachelet on tuesday made formal apology for the
treatment of five indigenous chileans who were shipped off to europe in to
be put on exhibit as human curiosities
she spoke at ceremony in the capital at which she welcomed back the
repatriated remains of the five kawesqar people
the government of chile wants to take the opportunity on welcoming them back
to publicly apologize for the complicity of authorities at that time with these
inhuman expeditions or at least their neglect in the face of such abuses she
said
the indigenous chileans from an area near the country southernmost tip were
put on display in cities like paris berlin and zurich in what amounted to freak
shows
as we near the bicentennial of our independence in we have to confront
both the brightest points and the darkest moments of our history bachelet
said this was due to racism against our indigenous forefathers whose human
dignity was trampled upon an atrocity we never want to see repeated in our
history
ukraine president says democracy at risk in election
kiev jan afp
ukraine president viktor yushchenko on tuesday said the country risked
abandoning democracy if voters fail to back him in weekend elections with polls
showing the pro western leader deeply unpopular
if you do not support yushchenko you will be supporting kremlin plan in
which viktor yanukovich becomes president and yulia tymoshenko prime minister
said the president hailed five years ago as the hero of the orange revolution
yushchenko called the election national referendum on confidence in pro
european policies or return to the quagmire of the past
we are facing crucial choice either we say goodbye to democracy or we win
he said
polls show yushchenko ratings in single digits ahead of sunday election
veteran politician yanukovich dour ex mechanic who favours closer ties with
russia and the more pro eu prime minister tymoshenko are on course to reap the
most votes according to polls
yushchenko came to power five years ago in pro western popular uprising known
as the orange revolution which swept out the old post soviet order and inspired
hopes of new era
but the country is far from realizing its potential and was worse hit by the
economic crisis than any other major european economy
tymoshenko was the president ally five years ago but the two have since
fallen out yushchenko on tuesday accused her of preparing to carry out
electoral fraud
yanukovich was declared the winner of the last election in late only to
see the result annulled after ukrainians took to the streets en masse alleging
rampant electoral fraud in the orange revolution
wto set for june first ruling on eu boeing complaint
geneva jan afp
the world trade organisation should deliver an interim ruling on the european
union complaint over multi billion dollar us state aid to aircraft maker
boeing in june the wto confirmed tuesday
the wto dispute settlement panel dealing with the case expects to issue its
interim report to the parties in june according to document made
available on the wto online public database
that should mark the next stage in the tit for tat disputes between the united
states and europe over subsidies or state aid to their respective aircraft
giants boeing and airbus the biggest ever dealt with by the wto
in september the wto panel dealing with the parallel us complaint against
airbus issued its interim ruling on the acrimonious dispute confidentially to
both sides in the dispute
although washington has declined to make it public european and us sources have
said that the initial ruling had declared some aid from european governments to
airbus as illegal
that wto panel expects to compete its work on the us complaint in april
date for the full ruling on the eu counterclaim on boeing was not set
according to the document seen tuesday
with appeals possible the legal battles over boeing and airbus subsidies are
expected to rage for several years
obama strengthened america in first year white house
washington jan afp
the white house tuesday argued president barack obama steady diplomacy had
made america stronger and renewed its moral authority despite unprecedented
challenges in his first year in office
but the assessment posted on the white house website did not dwell on the lack
of success garnered by one of obama top priority foreign policy drives peace
moves in the middle east and reflected tougher tone on iran
year later america is stronger because of the president leadership said
ben rhodes deputy national security advisor for strategic communications in
white house blog post
the global economy has been pulled back from the brink of catastrophe we are
responsibly winding down the war in iraq and increasing our focus on
afghanistan and pakistan
rhodes argued obama that had quickly got to work refocusing the fight against
al qaeda restoring us alliances committing the united states to confronting
climate change and nuclear proliferation
he said obama strong troop surge in afghanistan proved the strategy and
resources were now in place that this urgent challenge demands and noted obama
was on track to get combat troops out of iraq by the end of august
by prohibiting torture and working to close the prison at guantanamo bay we
are denying al qaeda recruiting tool said rhodes who has played an
instrumental role in many of obama biggest foreign policy speeches
he said domestic terror plots had been disrupted and terrorists had been caught
but added in reference to the thwarted bid to blow up us airliner as we
learned over christmas more work has to be done
when he came to office in january obama offered hand of dialogue to iran
but has been rebuffed and now the administration is working with international
partners on toughened sanctions regime over nuclear showdown
after year of american engagement the international community is more united
than ever before in calling on iran to live up to its obligations while iran is
more isolated he said
it remains unclear however if permanent five un security council members russia
and china will sign up to tough sanctions being developed for tehran
rhodes drew an analogy between the iranian and north korean nuclear crises
president obama continues to present clear choice if nations abide by their
obligations the door is open to better relationship with the international
community if they don they will be isolated
the obama administration is currently trying to revive its efforts to open peace
talks between israel and the palestinians but so far has seen little success
factor on which rhodes did not chose to comment
but he said that obama decision to reset ties with russia had enabled the
two former cold war foes to work towards new nuclear arms reduction treaty
he also said that obama steady diplomacy with nations like china and india
had helped to convince nations to embrace their responsibilities to cut
greenhouse gas emissions at the copenhagen summit last month
the treaty however did not forge an agreement for binding deal with legal force
top tijuana drug lord el teo captured mexico police
tijuana usa jan afp
teodoro el teo garcia simental one of mexico most wanted drug lords was
captured early tuesday on the northwestern baja california peninsula federal
police official said
they detained teodoro garcia simental el teo it was in la paz baja
california sur they also detained one of his brothers known as el torito
added the official who declined to be named
garcia is on list of mexico most wanted drug traffickers with reward of
up to million dollars offered for his capture
hitman called the soup maker last year confessed to dissolving hundreds of
bodies in acid for garcia and his gang has been blamed for spiralling bloodshed
in the border city of tijuana
the arrest is the second major victory for president felipe calderon
controversial clampdown on organized crime in less than month
top drug lord arturo beltran leyva died in shootout with marines in raid
south of mexico city last december
more than people have died in spiraling drug violence in the past three
years in mexico
anti gay bill is also foreign policy issue ugandan leader
kampala jan afp
ugandan president yoweri museveni said tuesday an anti homosexuality bill which
has caused international condemnation was also foreign policy issue which
should be addressed
with observers arguing the bill could harm foreign support for uganda the
president distanced himself from senior cabinet members who insist that uganda
will not be swayed by foreign pressure
strongly advise you that we agree that the cabinet sit down with the bill
sponsor lawmaker david bahati and see how best to handle this issue museveni
said at the ruling national resistance movement party executive conference at
state house in entebbe
because it is foreign policy issue it is not just our internal politics and
we must handle it in way which does not compromise our principles but also
takes into account our foreign policy interests he said in speech broadcast
by the independent kfm radio station
so let be systematic among ourselves and then we dialogue with these
europeans and the americans and then we shall come up with final position he
added
the draft law has been harshly condemned by the united states and european union
but ugandan minister for ethics and integrity james nsaba buturo one of the
bill leading proponents insists that uganda will not be moved by foreign
criticism
nobody nobody nobody has the right to think for ugandans nobody has the
right to impose their values on sovereign state he said last month
the bill would impose the death penalty for aggravated homosexuality
applicable in cases of rape of minor by person of the same sex or where one
partner carries the aids virus
it would also criminalise public discussion of homosexuality and could penalise
an individual who knowingly rents property to homosexual
homosexuality is illegal in uganda punishable by life imprisonment in some
instances the penal code identifies carnal knowledge against the order of
nature as an offence
petn common powerful explosive
washington jan afp
petn the substance at the center of an accident at major us port tuesday is
potent explosive that can be set off either with detonator or extreme heat
nine containers of pentaerythritol tetranitrate or petn were discovered in
morehead city port north carolina leading to the facility being shut down
while the chemical is also used to treat heart conditions petn is best known as
military grade explosive
it was part of the device set off in the botched christmas day bombing of
northwest airliner flying to detroit it was also the explosive used in failed
attempt by briton richard reid to set off bomb hidden in his shoe while
flying from paris to miami
it is major ingredient of the plastic explosive semtex and tnt and is used in
large range of military weapons
detonators for semtex widely used explosive of czechoslovakian origin
consist of smaller petn explosion set off by an electric current
just few hundred grams of semtex were enough to bring down the panam boeing
over lockerbie scotland in killing people the material was also
used in the majority of bomb attacks by the ira militant group in britain
tom hanks julia roberts reunite for larry crowne
los angeles jan afp
oscar winning actors tom hanks and julia roberts are reuniting on the big screen
for new movie about middle aged man forced to find new career daily
variety reported tuesday
hanks winner of back to back best actor academy awards for forrest gump
and philadelphia will direct the film larry crowne from script he wrote
himself the report said
roberts best actress winner for erin brockovich starred alongside
hanks in the acclaimed film charlie wilson war
roberts last film was the romantic thriller duplicity while hanks last
appeared in the da vinci code follow up angels amp demons
us port shut as highly explosive containers punctured
raleigh north carolina jan afp
major us port was shut down tuesday after nine containers of highly explosive
material were accidentally punctured officials said urging that part of the
city be evacuated
the accident happened around am gmt when forklift punctured the
imported containers during offloading morehead city mayor jerry jones said
the chemical involved was pentaerythritol tetranitrate known as petn he said
adding it was highly explosive but not airborne
petn which can be used in detonators and grenades is the same material that
was used in the botched christmas day bombing of northwest airliner en route
from amsterdam to detroit
we have found highly explosive material in nine containers at morehead city
port amy thompson police official at the city port division told afp
earlier
the material was found in an accidental puncture when they punctured it they
realized that it was explosive material
authorities reported there were no injuries and no damage to the environment
but julie naegelen who works in downtown morehead city for the cataret county
chamber of commerce told afp she and her colleagues noticed an odor outside
early tuesday
we started to smell something that smelled like it was burning we really
don know if it was related in any way naegelen said
shortly after seeing homeland security vehicles drive down the street naegelen
and her colleagues decided to evacuate their offices
mayor jones said the voluntary evacuation area spread over half mile radius of
downtown morehead city which has population of some people police also
closed stretch of highway near the port
the port one of the deepest on the us east coast routinely handles dangerous
cargo the mayor said
we are an international port we get lot of hazardous materials coming
through morehead city he said
jones said cleaning up the site would pose special risks you got to have
nonfriction shovel something that will not create spark he said
petn is used as plastic explosive and also to treat heart conditions by itself
it is non explosive but can detonate easily if mixed with other materials
the port which lies just four miles seven kilometers from the atlantic ocean
is one of the deepest on the us east coast and according to its website is
major exporter of phosphates
it handles both breakbulk and bulk cargo and is the second largest importer in
the country for natural rubber
us officials have charged young nigerian umar farouk abdulmutallab with
trying to use petn as weapon of mass destruction onboard flight from
amsterdam on christmas day
the explosives failed to detonate correctly but caused an onboard fire as the
plane approached detroit burning abdulmutallab he has pleaded not guilty to
six charges arising out of the incident
richard reid the shoe bomber also tried to detonate petn device on an
american airlines jet to miami in and in man tried to assassinate
member of the saudi royal family by hiding petn based bomb inside his body
rugby union relegation threatened bayonne change coaches again
bayonne france jan afp
relegation threatened top side bayonne changed coaches for the second time
this season on tuesday when they sacked thierry mentieres and jean philippe
coyola
the duo had replaced former france international centre richard dourthe who
had guided them to place in the european challenge cup this term last
november
however neither mentieres who had been forwards coach since nor backs
coach coyola could revive the club fortunes and they presently lie second from
bottom six points adrift of safety but with two games in hand
the much travelled christian gajan is expected to be unveiled as their
replacement on wednesday
the year old has coached rodez toulouse winning the national title in
and castres with whom he won the french cup and european challenge cup in
however he has also coached the czech republic national side italian duo
treviso and venice and japanese outfit fukuoka
his first task will be this weekend challenge cup clash with fellow french
side racing metro
vietnamese refugee to be canada first asian bishop
ottawa jan afp
vietnamese priest who found refuge here as boy after fleeing religious
oppression back home is to be named canada first asian catholic bishop on
wednesday
vincent nguyen knew as child that he wanted to enter the priesthood
inspired by his great great grandfather who became the first of his family to
convert to roman catholicism in the
his ancestor died when vietnam imperial rulers tied him to post in harbor
near saigon and left him to wait for the tide to come in he would be counted
among some vietnamese martyrs later recognized by the church
after the communist north victory and the closure of catholic schools in
vietnam nguyen decided he would leave to pursue his faith
he set out to sea in with his uncle family in wooden fishing boat
aiming for the coast of indonesia
they were picked up by japanese freighter seven days into their journey and
taken to refugee camp in japan where he spent one year before coming to
toronto to reunite with two older brothers
he has been priest now for only years but his rapid rise is welcomed by
canada immigrant communities who helped sustain the catholic church in this
country in recent decades as the total number of church goers fell nationwide
neil mccarthy spokesman for the toronto archdiocese said nguyen
appointment was not specifically linked to his heritage
he is to be appointed not because he is of asian origin but because he is
good priest and has the necessary qualifications and we need good bishop he
told afp
however the appointment is also important for the church because he will help
the church hierarchy to begin to represent the people we serve
the toronto diocese is one of the most ethnically diverse in north america
celebrating mass each week in languages
we don keep statistics on the faithful of asian origin but the chinese
community is huge followed by koreans and vietnamese mccarthy noted
one hundred years ago the church was receiving an influx of polish italian
and portuguese immigrants these last decades it is receiving mostly asians
for nguyen his ordination will also be the first time in years that nearly
his entire family eight brothers and sisters including six traveling from
vietnam will be reunited
he will be named an auxiliary bishop in the archdiocese of toronto
three britons one colombian kidnapped in nigeria
lagos jan afp
gunmen tuesday seized three britons and colombian shooting dead their police
escort in the first major kidnapping for six months in southern nigeria niger
delta
the four contract workers for the anglo dutch oil giant shell were
abducted as they travelled to work from the southern oil city of port harcourt
to the shell operated afam power plant police said
they were ambushed by gunmen near the small town of obehi said rivers state
police spokeswoman rita abbey adding that police were concentrating their
search in the area
obehi is about halfway between port harcourt and aba the workers intended
destination situated kilometres miles northeast of port harcourt
the gunmen shot dead the police officer escorting the group and wounded their
driver
shell spokesman in nigeria said we are concerned for the safety of the
contractor staff and our thoughts are with them and their families at this
difficult time
spokesman for the foreign office in britain said we are aware of the reports
that three british nationals have been kidnapped in nigeria and are urgently
investigating these claims
the incident was the first major kidnapping in southern nigeria since july last
year following lull after government amnesty which saw thousands of
militants lay down their arms
armed groups claiming to seek fairer share of oil revenue for locals have
since staged attacks on oil installations in the niger delta playing havoc
with crude output and international oil prices
the main rebel group in the restive region the movement for the emancipation of
the niger delta mend said it had no hand in the abduction of the workers
no known ransom demands have been made
in october mend declared an open ended ceasefire to give dialogue with
authorities chance
but at the weekend mend said it was reviewing its indefinite ceasefire
announced on sunday october and will announce its position on or before
january
the absence of president umaru yar adua for nearly two months for medical
reasons has not helped efforts to end the violence with militants reportedly
unhappy at the slow progress of the process to re integrate them into their
communities
the president absence has certainly jeopardised the entire peace process
because there is no structure mend spokesman told afp
hundreds of foreign and local oil workers have been kidnapped in the niger delta
since many have been released unharmed others after ransom payments
last year shell said of its workers and contractors had been kidnapped
between and
militants have also attacked pipelines and offshore facilities and even lagos
harbour at the weekend militants targeted chevron pipelines in second such
attack the government unconditional pardon came into effect in august last
year
at the peak of the violence in the delta production dipped by up to third of
pre levels in the world eighth largest oil exporter
oil is the economic mainstay of nigeria raking in some percent of the
country earnings and contributing about percent of budget requirements for
the opec member country
nigeria plans to offer inhabitants of the nine oil producing states an extra
percent of oil and gas revenues in addition to the percent they already get
in bid to end violence
formula one schumacher begins comeback preparations
madrid jan afp
seven time world champion michael schumacher tuesday began his preparations for
return to formula one by testing gp car in southern spain
the year old will take to the track again at the circuit in jerez on
wednesday and thursday when more rain is forecast organisers said
schumacher stunned formula one last year by coming out of retirement to sign
three year million dollar deal with mercedes decision expected to spark
surge of interest in the sport in
the german who retired in october last tested at jerez in december
when he was working for ferrari
he launched the three days of testing tuesday to help the gp technicians for
the season the organisers said
the gp cars are close in performance to those of formula one
top us business group slams china tech transfer limit
washington jan afp
china new international trade curb on technology transfer could spark an
ugly reaction around the world the head of the biggest us business
organization said tuesday
tom donohue president and chief executive of the us chamber of commerce vowed
to step up opposition to the chinese government procurement rule that high tech
products must contain chinese intellectual property
the controversial rule that took effect last month requires that sellers of
high tech goods have them accredited based on indigenous innovation meaning
they must contain chinese intellectual property
responding to reporter request at news conference in washington to comment
on the rule which has sparked accusations of protectionism from industry groups
around the world donohue called the curb weapon that would hurt world trade
and vowed his organization would mount stiff opposition
why is it dangerous you take one of what may be the second or third largest
economy in the world which has extraordinary talent going forward which built
this economy with lot of engagement and support and technology transfer from
around the world to slam the door now that they think they have the technology
and use it as weapon to force companies to agree to that kind of an
arrangement to have access to the market could get real ugly all around the
world he said
it not in china best economic or geopolitical interest and it certainly
not in the interest of american companies and we have only begun to raise hell
on this deal
the us chamber of commerce represents more than three million businesses and
organizations the world largest business federation
china which overtook germany in november as the world largest exporter
defends its new technology transfer limit as in line with world trade
organization rules
more than industry groups from the united states canada europe japan and
south korea in early december lodged protest with the chinese ministries
responsible for the measures claiming they were restrictive and
discriminatory
the rules impose onerous and discriminatory requirements on companies seeking
to sell into the chinese government procurement market and contravene multiple
commitments of china leadership to resist trade and investment protectionism
the groups said in letter dated december
chinese government procurement totaled billion yuan billion dollars
in up percent from the previous year according to official data
the dispute comes amid growing concerns about protectionism as the world
recovers from its worst economic crisis in decades
the us government reported tuesday that the us trade deficit widened in november
to month high of billion dollars on the back of surging imports
the politically sensitive goods deficit with china narrowed percent to
billion dollars in november from billion dollars in october after us
exports to china posted their sharpest increase on record to billion
dollars
honduras lawmakers debate amnesty for coup backers
tegucigalpa jan afp
lawmakers in honduras were set tuesday to start debating controversial plan
for political amnesty for those behind the coup that ousted president manuel
zelaya last june
congress leader jose saavedra called the session to discuss possible amnesty
measures which zelaya who has been holed up in the brazilian embassy since
returning to the country in september has rejected
the de facto regime wishes to emerge from the isolation imposed on it after the
june coup by pursuing national reconciliation and the amnesty along the lines
of proposed agreement to end the crisis that later collapsed
honduras supreme court on monday agreed to consider an abuse of power case
against six senior military officials which many observers have dismissed as
whitewash
the moves came as conservative porfirio lobo coup backer who won elections
last november prepared to take over the presidency on january
many in latin america slammed the polls held under the de facto regime which
were however recognized by the country main economic and military backer the
united states as well as by costa rica panama colombia and peru
the supreme court congress and many business leaders backed zelaya removal
from power by the military which expelled him to costa rica amid dispute over
his plans to change the constitution
cia suicide bomber may have claimed madrid attacks report
madrid jan afp
western intelligence services are investigating whether jordanian who blew
himself up in afghanistan killing seven cia agents had role in the deadly
madrid train bombings spanish news report said tuesday
western secret services are investigating whether this terrorist is the author
of the claim of responsibility that arrived at the spanish newspaper abc few
days after these attacks news radio cadena ser reported
in several letters posted on jihadist websites humam khalil abu mulal al
balawi writing under the pseudonym abu dujana al khorasani hailed the madrid
bombings as well as the september attacks in the united states and
those on july in london it said
