to be environmentally conscious tavares said there could be significant
market among people looking for an economical commuter car
as second or third car it going to be extremely convenient tavares said
tavares said the compact four seater leaf which has maximum range of about
miles kilometers per charge is also the harbinger of the future of
the automobile hybrid competitors he insisted are merely stepping stone
we believe zero emissions is the ultimate goal he said
will it happen in the next three years or five years don know but think
it safe statement to say consumers will not consider non zero emission
vehicle in the future
yemen renews qaeda talks offer
sanaa jan afp
yemen foreign minister renewed on tuesday an offer to talk to al qaeda
loyalists in osama bin laden ancestral homeland as well as shiite rebels in
the north provided they lay down their arms
dialogue is the best way to resolve differences even with the shiite rebel
huthis and the al qaeda organisation if they lay down their arms and abandon
violence and terrorism abu bakr al kurbi told reporters
but he warned that the government would hunt down al qaeda militants if they do
not give up violence
if they continue committing acts of violence and terrorism we will do our best
to pursue them because they pose threat not only to yemen but also to
international peace and security especially al qaeda he said
president ali abdullah saleh already said on sunday that he was open to dialogue
with al qaeda militants if they abandon violence
if al qaeda militants lay down their arms renounce violence and terrorism
and return to wisdom we are prepared to deal with them saleh said
the al qaeda branch in the impoverished country claimed responsibility for the
botched christmas day attack on us airliner with the united states accusing
the group of training the alleged perpetrator umar farouk abdulmutallab
yemen insists it can win the war against the militants without us military
intervention but analysts fear it cannot tackle the jihadists on its own
on tuesday security forces arrested four al qaeda suspects in the eastern
province of shabwa after two of them were wounded in firefight provincial
governor ali hassan al ahmadi told afp
he said security forces were still besieging the house of the suspected chief of
terrorist group named abdullah mehbar
meanwhile suspects in the same area managed to escape police raid and fled
to neighbouring mountain said tribal source requesting anonymity
kurbi argued that military confrontation is not the only way to combat al
qaeda adding that the international community has to rethink its approach
in yemen we should always avoid repeating the same mistakes that have taken
place in other countries he said
it our duty to learn from that it our responsibility to be sure that in
fighting terrorism and al qaeda we will maintain also the integrity and safety
of yemen he added
yemen is under pressure to rein in al qaeda militants with the united states
and britain announcing plans to fund the country counter terrorism unit
but us president barack obama said he has no intention of sending american
troops to yemen or neighbouring somalia
the arab world poorest country yemen is also fighting fierce war with zaidi
shiite rebels in the northern mountains in bid to end their five year uprising
and faces separatist movement in the south
the government pins lot of hopes on forthcoming international conference in
london
this conference will provide strategic approach to help in development and in
combating terrorism kurbi said
he hoped the january meeting would help yemen address the issues of
development which are considered as probably the roots of many of the political
problems that yemen faces
he named health education infrastructure creating jobs and combatting
poverty as the acute real problems that yemen hoped would be addressed
but he said yemen will not accept anything that could harm its sovereignty
radical yemeni cleric abdulmajeed al zendani branded by the united states as
global terrorist warned on monday that any us military intervention in yemen
to fight al qaeda would be considered an occupation
british prime minister gordon brown called for the international conference to
address the fight against violent militancy in yemen the meeting will be held
in parallel with conference on afghanistan expected to be attended by leaders
and senior ministers from about nations
italy backs army police training in mauritania
bamako jan afp
italy foreign minister franco frattini on tuesday held talks with the
mauritanian and malian presidents to seek help freeing six europeans including
two italians being held by al qaeda
frattini who first stopped over in mauritania told president mohamed ould abdel
aziz rome would renew police and army training assistance for the west african
nation to help fight the threat of al qaeda
we will renew our cooperation for police and military training and the
policing of borders and customs in the struggle against terrorism frattini
said after talks
sergio cicala and his burkina faso born wife philomene kabore were
kidnapped in southeast mauritania and their minibus was found empty and riddled
with bullets according to security officials
they are now believed held in neighbouring mali by al qaeda in the islamic
maghreb
frattini then went to mali for short visit where he discussed the hostages
with president amadou toumani toure
italy sought help from mali and mali told its guest it would do everything in
its power to secure the release of all the european hostages an official in
the malian presidency said
six europeans three spaniards french national and two italians were
kidnapped in november and december in mauritania and mali
mauritania is frattini first stop of week long african tour which will take
him on to ethiopia kenya uganda egypt and tunisia
british minister niece jailed for french sex murder
versailles france jan afp
british government minister niece was convicted of murder tuesday and
sentenced to years in jail for drunkenly stabbing frenchman she picked up
in bar
the court convicted jessica davies of killing year old olivier mugnier
in november in her apartment in the chic paris suburb of saint germain en
laye
the niece of the multi millionaire junior defence minister quentin davies
admitted killing her victim but said she had blackout and only remembered
coming round to find him bleeding to death on her bed
us port shut as highly explosive containers punctured
raleigh north carolina jan afp
major us port was closed tuesday after nine containers of highly explosive
material were accidentally punctured officials said recommending that part of
the city be evacuated
the incident took place early tuesday at the east coast port of morehead city in
north carolina police said urging residents to stay away from windows and
doors
morehead city police chief wes lail told local television station that the
chemical involved was pentaerythritol tetranitrate known as petn which can be
used in detonators and grenades
it is the same material that was used in the botched christmas day bombing of
northwest airliner en route from amsterdam to detroit
authorities recommended that the downtown part of morehead city which has
population of some people be evacuated as precaution
morehead city mayor jerry jones told cnn that everything is contained adding
they were trying to prevent people from getting any closer
the port is one of the deepest on the us east coast and according to its
website is major exporter of phosphates
there were no immediate details on how the nine containers were punctured but
police and fire departments said it had been mishap
rallying dakar rally results
santiago jan afp
results from dakar rally following tuesday th stage kilometres
special from la serena
cars
stage
carlos sainz esp volkswagen hr min sec stephane peterhansel
fra bmw at sec mark miller usa volkswagen min sec nasser al
attiyah qat volkswagen guerlain chicherit fra bmw orlando
terranova fra stradale miguel barbosa fra stradale
guilherme spinelli bra stradale robby gordon usa hummer
carlos sousa por mitsubishi
overall
carlos sainz esp volkswagen hr min sec nasser al attiyah
qat volkswagen at min sec mark miller usa volkswagen
stephane peterhansel fra bmw hr guerlain chicherit fra bmw hr
carlos sousa por stradale hr giniel de villiers
rsa volkswagen hr guilherme spinelli bra stradale hr
orlando terranova fra stradale hr robby gordon usa hummer hr
motorcycling
stage
marc coma esp ktm hr min sec david fretigne fra yamaha at min
sec helder rodrigues por yamaha ruben faria por ktm
francisco lopez chi aprilia cyril despres fra ktm olivier
pain fra yamaha pal ullevalseter nor ktm jonah street
usa ktm alain duclos fra ktm
overall
cyril despres fra ktm hr min sec pal ullevalseter nor ktm at
hr min sec francisco lopez chi aprilia hr helder rodrigues
por yamaha hr alain duclos fra ktm hr david fretigne
fra yamaha hr jonah street usa ktm hr olivier pain
fra yamaha hr jakub przygonski pol ktm hr juan
pedrero garcia esp ktm hr
selected
marc coma esp ktm hr
afptv updated advisory
paris jan afp
we will file the following videos
iran nuclear scientist killed in bomb attack
tehran
iranian nuclear scientist massoud ali mohammadi was killed tuesday in rare
bomb attack in tehran blamed by state media on counter revolutionaries and
foreign powers mohammadi lecturer at tehran university died when bomb
strapped to motorcycle was triggered by remote control outside his home
images of the bombsite and bodybag still photo of mohammadi and images of the
motorbike
news
images of bomb site and bodybag already transmitted
raw vid
web mmv
images of motorbike mohammadi
raw vid
voiced report transmitted by gmt
nsv vid
broadcast ready vid
web mmv
detroit auto show goes green
detroit michigan
this year detroit auto show is showcasing every kind of electric car
imaginable from sports cars to suvs and the industry is working hard to
promote its newest models
news economy environment amp nature
voiced report transmitted by gmt wednesday
nsv vid
broadcast ready vid
web mmv
british minister niece faces jail for drunken sex murder
versailles france
prosecutors are seeking year jail term for british government minister
niece who has admitted drunkenly stabbing to death man she picked up in pub
outside paris the jury in versailles court is expected to deliver its verdict
later on tuesday for year old jessica davies who plunged knife into the
naked body of year old olivier mugnier in november but says she can not
remember the fatal blow davies who has french mother and british father
is the niece of britain multi millionaire junior defence minister quentin
davies news coverage
news
images and soundbites transmitted by gmt
raw vid
web mmv
last orders for new york storied tavern on the green
new york
the tavern on the green opened in in central park at the height of the
great depression closed january due to bankruptcy but fans of the tavern
where john lennon used to drop by and play the piano won be entirely starved
the over the top interior is being stripped out and put on the auction block
january
news culture amp lifestyle economy
images and soundbites transmitted by gmt
raw vid
web mmv
we have already filed the following
western hostages located in war zone yemeni fm
sanaa
yemen has opened talks for the release of five german hostages and briton who
have been located in saada scene of clashes with shiite rebels foreign
minister abu bakr al kurbi said on tuesday day after visit from his germany
counterpart the family of five germans including three children and the
briton were abducted in northern yemen last june along with two german bible
students and south korean all women who were shot dead soon afterwards
sanaa has repeatedly blamed the huthi rebels for the kidnappings charge they
deny excerpts from news conference
news
images and soundbites
raw vid
web mmv
world cup organisers seek to ease fears after togo attack
johannesburg
south africa top world cup organiser danny jordaan said there was no reason to
fear attacks similar the ambush on togo team at the african cup of nations
which left two dead on friday jordaan said south africa had much more
experience of organising international sporting events and promised safe world
cup which will be hosted in june for the first time ever on african soil
images and soundbites of jordaan press conference
news sport
images and soundbites
raw vid
web mmv
detroit automakers all smiles for industry show
detroit michigan
detroit automakers are putting on their best faces for the hometown car show
this week as the industry seeks recovery from one of the worst years on record
news coverage
news economy
voiced report
nsv vid
broadcast ready vid
web mmv
french filmmaker eric rohmer dead aged
paris
eric rohmer the french director of numerous critically acclaimed films
including my night at maud died on monday at the age of his highly
personal films which made him pivotal figure in the new wave movement won
wide following abroad still images of rohmer and excerpt from trailer of most
recent film romance of astree and celadon from
news culture amp lifestyle
file images and trailer
raw vid
web mmv
roy bennett treason trial resumes in zimbabwe
johannesburg
the treason trial of top aide to zimbabwe prime minister resumed tuesday
with key witness for the prosecution contradicting much of the state case
roy bennett the treasurer of premier morgan tsvangirai party is accused of
plotting to assassinate president robert mugabe in in conspiracy already
dismissed by the courts in an earlier case archive footage of bennett
news
images
raw vid
as part of afptv special coverage ahead of the vancouver games beginning next
month we have filed the following report
vancouver olympics the greenest games ever
vancouver canada
vancouver is set to host the most environmentally friendly olympics in history
but not everyone is focused on green certified buildings and energy efficient
technologies in west vancouver residents say that protecting nature was not
priority when planners designed the new highway to whistler an infrastructure
project that was integral to winning the olympic bid
sport environment amp nature
voiced report
nsv vid
broadcast ready vid
web mmv
contact
michelle hoffman
warwick wise
human rights face losing battle in report
washington jan afp
human rights faced tough challenges around the world in for the fourth year
running the us based rights group freedom house said in its annual report
released tuesday
almost countries in africa latin america the middle east and the former
soviet union lost ground on political rights and civil liberties the group
said
the decline is global arch puddington freedom house research director
warned in the report
it affects countries with military and economic power affects countries that
had previously shown signs of reform potential and is accompanied by enhanced
persecution of political dissidents and independent journalists
referring to russia and china puddington wrote that to make matters worse the
most powerful authoritarian regimes have become more repressive more
influential in the international arena and more uncompromising
freedom house classes countries as free grouping percent of the world
population another countries were partly free the report said covering
another percent of the global population
but countries percent of the world population half of whom are in
china are not free according to the group report
the number of representative democracies slumped to the lowest level since
among the worst countries in terms of human rights in were myanmar
equatorial guinea eritrea libya north korea somalia sudan tibet which
freedom house classes separately from china turkmenistan and uzbekistan
though there were five african nations on the list of the global worst of the
worst the middle east remained the most repressive region in the world the
group said
common blood pressure drug also combats dementia
paris jan afp
widely prescribed drug to tackle high blood pressure and heart disease also
appears to reduce the risk of alzheimer and other forms of dementia according
to large us study published on wednesday
us military veterans who took angiotensin receptor blockers arbs were between
and percent less likely to develop dementia over four year period
compared with counterparts who took other drugs it said
among patients who were diagnosed with alzheimer at the start of the four
years those who took arbs were nearly half as likely to be needing admission to
nursing home by the end according to the research published online by the
british medical journal bmj
arbs block angiotensin molecule that causes the muscles in blood vessels to
contract as result of the drug action the vessels dilate easing blood
pressure
previous studies have already suggested that arbs are more effective at
protecting against diabetes and possibly stroke when compared with other drugs
but say the investigators this is the first demonstration of them as
bulwark against dementia
doctors led by benjamin wolozin professor at boston university school of
medicine looked at incidence of dementia among people aged or more
with cardiovascular disease most of them men from and the data was
provided by the us veteran affairs agency
the patients were assessed according to whether they took arbs cardiovascular
drug called lisinopril and other comparative drugs for treating heart disease
arb apparent protection against dementia was found to be especially pronounced
among men who used that drug in conjunction with another treatment for high
blood pressure called angiotensin converting enzyme ace inhibitors
in commentary also published by the bmj colleen maxwell and david hogan of
the university of calgary canada said the study had its limitations
it did not factor in family history of dementia was rather short in duration
and did not look at dementia among women
further work was needed to confirm the findings they said
given that around million people worldwide have form of dementia such as
alzheimer disease tally that could double over the next years the
benefits of preventing this disease are immense they said
age genetic inheritance and heart disease are established factors in dementia
to which diabetes and high blood pressure in mid life have been tentatively
added
urgent french court jails british minister niece for years
versailles france jan afp
british government minister niece was convicted of murder tuesday and
sentenced to years in jail for drunkenly stabbing frenchman she picked up
in bar
iran accuses us israel of murdering nuclear scientist
tehran jan afp
leading iranian nuclear scientist was murdered in tehran on tuesday in rare
bomb attack that the government quickly blamed on mercenaries in the pay of
archfoes the united states and israel
the daylight killing came amid an increasingly bitter standoff between iran and
world powers over tehran controversial nuclear drive which the west suspects
is masking an atomic weapons programme
massoud ali mohammadi particle physics professor at prestigious tehran
university died when bomb strapped to motorcycle was triggered by remote
control as he was getting into his car outside his home in northern tehran
state media said and senior official said
one can see in preliminary investigations signs of evil by the triangle of the
zionist regime america and their mercenaries in iran in this terrorist
incident foreign ministry spokesman ramin mehmanparast said
the united states dismissed the allegations out of hand
charges of us involvement are absurd state department spokesman mark toner
said in washington
tehran chief prosecutor also implicated the united states and israel saying
their respective intelligence services were likely behind the attack
given the fact that massoud ali mohammadi was nuclear scientist the cia and
mossad services and agents most likely have had hand in it abbas jafari
dolatabadi told the state broadcaster news service
last month iran accused the united states of seizing an iranian scientist while
he was on pilgrimage in saudi arabia claim washington refused to comment on
and that riyadh denied and an iranian statement drew parallels
on the one hand us government spy agents kidnap iranians in third countries
and transfer them to america and on the other hand their sellout agents in iran
assassinate scholarly citizen
intelligence and security bodies will try to identify and arrest the
perpetrators of this crime and expose their foreign backers added the
statement carried by the fars news agency
tehran university basij or voluntary islamist student militia said
mohammadi named had been included on an international blacklist linked to
iran atomic drive
dr massoud ali mohammadi whose name was on the list of sanctioned individuals
was one of the outstanding professors of tehran university physics
faculty the statement said as cited by the official irna news agency without
elaborating
the students were referring to sanctions imposed by the united nations united
states and european countries on individuals and institutions linked to iran
nuclear programme
the basij militia organisation also condemned the assassination calling
mohammadi basiji professor
bomb attacks are rare in iran although several security officials and members of
the elite revolutionary guards have been killed in bombings by rebels in the
restive eastern province of sistan baluchestan
witness told afp tuesday explosion was strong blast breaking windows in
neighbouring houses and cars
iran state run arabic language television al alam identified mohammadi as
hezbollahi teacher term used for staunch supporters of the iranian
regime
this assassination may have been carried out by the hypocrites iran exiled
people mujahedeen opposition or planned by the zionist regime al alam said
the opposition group denied any involvement in the attack
the ncri has no connection with this murder spokesman for the national
council of resistance of iran which includes the people mujahideen told afp
in paris
iranian authorities have consistently accused archfoes the united states and
israel of seeking to foment unrest in iran and the two countries have never
ruled out military strike to thwart iran controversial nuclear drive
none of the reports said whether ali mohammadi was connected to iran nuclear
enrichment programme and colleague described him as non political
he was prominent full professor but he was not political figure he had no
political activity ali maghari who heads the faculty of sciences at tehran
university told mehr news agency
however ali mohammadi name appeared on list of academics backing iranian
opposition leader mir hossein mousavi for the disputed june presidential
election which gave president mahmoud ahmadinejad second term
the opposition claims the vote was massively rigged in ahmadinejad favour for
the past six months it has been staging anti government protests at every
opportunity many of which have been broken up by police who have arrested
hundreds of demonstrators
iran has been under international pressure to halt its sensitive uranium
enrichment programme which is at the centre of fears about iran ambitions as
the process which makes nuclear fuel can also be used to make atom bombs
despite three rounds of un security council sanctions iran has continued to
expand its nuclear programme which it insists is for peaceful purposes only
the us russia china britain france and germany will meet late this week to
discuss further round of sanctions against iran us secretary of state hillary
clinton said last week
football real higuain sidelined with leg muscle injury
madrid jan afp
real madrid argentine international striker gonzalo higuain has suffered
tear in his left calf muscle and will be sidelined for three weeks the club
said on tuesday
the injury was detected after the year old underwent medical tests at
madrid hospital on tuesday it said in statement
we were all very surprised because nobody thought that he had such an injury
but this happens during such long season with so many matches said real
keeper iker casillas
higuain has been regular for real this season scoring times in the league
and two in the champions league despite the arrival of portugal cristiano
ronaldo brazil kaka and france karim benzema
benzema the top scorer in the french league the season who has
struggled to impress since he joined real from french side lyon in july is
likely to take higuain place
real are currently in second place in la liga two points behind barcelona
alert
french court jails british minister niece for years for murder
alert
french court jails british minister niece for years for murder
two britons sentenced for paedophilia in albania
tirana jan afp
court in albania on tuesday sentenced two englishmen to lenghty prison terms
for sexually molesting and abusing children at an orphanage in albania
dino christodoulou and robin arnold received prison sentences of
and years and six months respectively for sexually abusing children aged six
to nine in the orphanage
the two who were extradited from britain to albania two years ago were also
declared personae non gratae and will be deported on completing their jail
terms
in court sentenced their scottish charity work partner john david brown
to years in prison on the same charges
the three britons came to albania in during the war in neighbouring kosovo
they set up charity organisation his children in housing orphans and
abandoned children found on the streets of the capital tirana
but the orphanage was shut down in on brown arrest
christodoulou and arnold were arrested in london in september and were
later extradited to albania
judge shefkie demiraj mentioned six cases of sexual abuse for christodoulou and
one for arnold court officials said
the defendants were planning to appeal the verdicts as they said during the
trial they were innocent of the charges
football schalke make hoogland third signing of winter break
mainz germany jan afp
german title contenders schalke made their third signing of the winter break
on tuesday recruiting german defender tim hoogland on four year contract from
mainz
the year old transfer fee was not disclosed as he returns to the club for
whom he played up to the summer of
had other proposals from other clubs which did nothing for me as still
believed that mainz was the best club for me said hoogland
but schalke is where my heart belongs simply could not refuse an
opportunity such as this
