france britain crime ndlead
versailles france
prosecutors demand year jail term for british government minister niece
who admitted drunkenly stabbing to death frenchman she picked up in pub as
the verdict looms
words gmt by rory mulholland picture video
mideast
mideast israel turkey diplomacy lead wrap
jerusalem
turkey summons israel ambassador for dressing down in further escalation
of row over television drama which has soured the atmosphere ahead of
visit by israel defence minister
words gmt by patrick moser
saudi yemen unrest lead
riyadh
saudi forces have regained control of small border village occupied by yemeni
shiite rebels since fighting broke out in november the saudi deputy defence
minister says
words gmt
africa
violence angola togo fbl afr ndlead wrap
johannesburg
angola knew the dangers of staging games in the restive cabinda enclave and must
take responsibility for the deadly gun attack at africa premier football
event the world cup chief organiser says
words gmt by tabelo timse picture graphic
nigeria oil unrest britain colombia thlead wrap
lagos
gunmen seize three britons and colombian working for anglo dutch oil giant
shell shooting dead their police escort in the first major kidnapping incident
in many months nigeria oil hub of the niger delta
words gmt
americas
us auto show luxury
detroit
the global economy is just emerging from recession but one wouldn know that
ambling through the north american international auto show where surprising
number of big ticket luxury cars and high performance are on display
words gmt by veronique dupont picture
asia
china military missile test thlead
beijing
china says it has successfully tested missile intercept system in what
analysts describe as show of its advanced air defence capabilities amid
tensions over us arms sales to taiwan
words moved by robert saiget picture
one dead in afghan protest over alleged koran insult nato
kandahar afghanistan jan afp
suspected insurgent sniper was killed during demonstration in southern
afghanistan on tuesday over the alleged desecration of the koran by foreign
troops nato said
more than afghan villagers had gathered in garmsir district in the
southern province of helmand to protest the alleged burning of the muslim holy
book during nato operation on monday local residents and police said
nato international security assistance force isaf denied any wrongdoing by
their forces vowing an investigation and acknowledged fatal shooting by
their troops during the protest in the taliban stronghold
during today tuesday protest an insurgent sniper shot an afghan official
who was within fob forward operating base delhi in garmsir district the
coalition force said in statement
isaf service members identified the insurgent sniper shot and killed him
there were no other injuries or shots fired it said
it did not say whether the afghan official died of his injuries
senior provincial police official who requested anonymity said that afghan
security forces had also fired on the crowd killing and wounding number of
civilians but there was no official confirmation of the deaths
an isaf spokesman told afp we categorically deny any involvement isaf shot
and killed one insurgent sniper who was threat to afghan people
there are about foreign forces in afghanistan fighting worsening
taliban led insurgency launched after the ouster of the islamist militia
regime
many afghans resent the foreign presence in their country with anti american
protests sporadically breaking out mostly over civilian casualties at the hands
of international forces
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 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
hoogland joins german midfielder alexander baumjohann who signed from bayern
munich having played just three times for the german giants since joining six
months ago and brazilian striker edu from korean side suwon blue wings
schalke are second in the table one point behind leaders bayer leverkusen with
the campaign set to resume in late january
romanian magistrate choice criticized over secret police links
bucharest jan afp
the union of romanian judges on tuesday criticized the election at the head of
the supreme magistrates council of judge accused of links with the former
communist secret police
the image of romanian justice is now represented by person whose past is
marked by collaboration with the securitate the union said in press release
with the election of florica bejinariu the country justice has suffered the
most severe blow since the year when the communist regime collapsed it
added
bejinariu was elected on monday at the head of the csm which acts as an
arbiter for magistrates despite her shady past
the judge had previously admitted she had links with the securitate in the
when she was working as legal counsel in factory but said her reports
were harmless
body studying the archives of the securitate also confirmed her collaboration
with the former secret police
but court has since cleared the judge of all charges
the judges union called on the csm members to resign stressing the need for
dignified and clean judiciary system
several nongovernmental organizations also said bejinariu should not have run
for this post given her past
this controversial election coincided with the start of visit to bucharest by
european union experts who are to draw up report on the reform of the
judiciary
romania has been under tight surveillance from brussels since it joined the
european union in january and lack of progress in the fight against
corruption could entail sanctions
iraq invasion was illegitimate dutch probe
the hague jan afp
the us led invasion of iraq lacked legitimacy under international law an
independent commission probing dutch political support for the still
controversial war said tuesday
there was insufficient legitimacy under international law for military
invasion of iraq for which the netherlands gave political but no military
support commission chairman willibrord davids told journalists in the hague
the commission report said the dutch government decision was based mainly on
international political considerations
and it said the netherlands had wrongly interpreted un security council
resolution which gave iraq final chance to disarm as authorising
individual member states to use military force against that country
the page report was presented to prime minister jan peter balkenende also
head of government in who said he would study it fully before reacting
the opposition meanwhile has demanded parliamentary inquiry
the hague has repeatedly justified its political backing for the invasion with
then iraqi leader saddam hussein repeated refusal to respect un security
council resolutions
the united states and britain which led the action cited hussein alleged
possession of weapons of mass destruction none were ever found
the commission said the dutch government position was inconsistent with the
majority view of the public and with its own policies which opposed enforced
regime change
the dutch government lent its political support to war whose purpose was not
consistent with dutch government policy it may therefore be said that the dutch
stance was to some extent disingenuous
the us benefited from the political backing since it increased support for the
invasion at the global level said the report
the commission which started its work in march last year was set up by the
government amid growing pressure from political parties and the public for
probe into claims that crucial data had been withheld from dutch decision makers
who opted to support the invasion backed by all but two political parties in
the dutch parliament at the time
the netherlands sent about troops to iraq in july to take part in
post invasion un mandated iraqi stabilisation force they left iraq in
the probe found that dutch policy on the issue had been defined by the foreign
ministry under then minister jaap de hoop scheffer who later became nato
secretary general
the prime minister took little or no lead in debates on the iraq question
the government ignored the reserved and nuanced findings of domestic
intelligence sources on iraq weapons of mass destruction and adopted those
facts that fit the pre determined political position said the report
the commission found no evidence to substantiate rumours that the netherlands
had made clandestine military contribution to the invasion
last month former un weapons inspector said former us president george
bush and british prime minister tony blair shared conviction that hussein was
threat blinding them to the lack of evidence justifying war and causing them
to allegedly mislead the public
an official inquiry has started in britain with blair set to testify in the
coming weeks on the intelligence used to make case for war his ex chief spin
doctor alastair campbell gave evidence tuesday
iran jails five for up to six years over post vote unrest
tehran nov afp
iran has handed five people jail sentences of between one and six years after
convicting them of involvement in june protests against the re election of
president mahmoud ahmadinejad the fars news agency reported on tuesday
the five were found guilty of public order offences propaganda against the
islamic republic plotting to damage power generators and spreading false
information the report cited statement from the tehran public and
revolutionary court as saying
hundreds of thousands of demonstrators poured onto the streets in week long
protests after ahmadinejad was re elected in vote which opposition groups
accused of being massively rigged
iranian authorities arrested around protesters journalists and reformist
politicans in massive crackdown on the june demonstrators at least have
been put on trial including some of the most prominent
five people have been sentenced to death others have received stiff jail terms
although some of those are on bail pending possible appeals
saudi forces oust yemen rebels from border village state tv
riyadh jan afp
saudi forces have regained control of small border village occupied by yemeni
shiite rebels since fighting broke out in november the saudi deputy defence
minister said on tuesday
the infiltrators have been eliminated from al jabiri and the whole district has
been taken under control state owmed al ekhbariya television quoted prince
khaled bin sultan as saying
prince khaled had said on december that the bulk of operations against the
yemeni rebels were over although al jabiri remained under rebel control
saudi arabia announced operations against the yemeni rebels after accusing them
of killing saudi border guard and occupying two border villages on november
saudi jets began bombing rebel positions the following day
us religion watchdog concerned on malaysia
washington jan afp
the us government watchdog on religious freedom voiced concern tuesday about
spate of church attacks in malaysia saying that leaders response would be
vital in shaping the nation future
we are very concerned with events in malaysia as the church bombings have
shaken malaysia delicate political and ethnic balance said leonard leo
chair of the us commission on international religious freedom
how malaysian leaders settle these matters will determine that country
political and economic future he said
the commission which makes policy recommendations to the us government is
bipartisan body with members appointed by the the president and congress
assailants have fire bombed or vandalized nine churches in wave of violence
since malaysia high court on december lifted government ban on non
muslims using allah as translation for god
it was the latest incident to stir religious tensions in malaysia where the
muslim malay majority lives alongside ethnic chinese and indian communities
ubs imposes code banning tax evasion assistance
zurich jan afp
switzerland biggest bank ubs issued new code of business conduct and ethics
on tuesday that bans its employees from helping clients to evade taxes
ubs complies with all applicable laws and regulations regarding tax records and
tax reporting and does not provide assistance to clients in acts aimed at
breaching their fiscal obligations said the bank
we do not provide assistance to clients or colleagues in acts aimed at
deceiving tax authorities nor do we support transactions where the tax efficacy
relies on assumptions that are inconsistent with the commercial facts or on non
disclosure of material facts it added
the code of conduct was published after an embarrassing year for the bank during
which it admitted to abetting tax fraud in the united states paid some
million dollars and disclosed about names of us clients to settle the case
with us tax authorities
in separate out of court settlement later in ubs also agreed to disclose
up to another names of american clients to us tax authorities
in the preface of the new page guide the bank chairman kaspar villiger
and chief executive oswald gruebel required that all employees read understand
and comply with the code
ignorance of the code is not an acceptable justification for violation of the
principles set out in the code they warned
those who violate the new rules risk being disciplined including being
dismissed in serious cases
employees are to be tested in may on the contents of the code which has been
published in nine languages
osce slams ireland blasphemy law
vienna jan afp
the european security body osce on tuesday criticised an anti blasphemy law
introduced in ireland and called on dublin to repeal it as quickly as
possible
introducing renewed version of the antiquated crime of blasphemy is step
backward and sends the wrong signal to the international community the the
osce representative on freedom of the media miklos haraszti said in
statement
defamation of religion is concept that if criminalized restricts free
dialogue in society haraszti said
in the past ireland stance in the un human rights council had been to
consistently vote against motions that define defamation of religion as
crime he noted
the anti blasphemy law came into effect on january and makes cases punishable
with fines of up to euros dollars
nevertheless haraszti welcomed ireland amended defamation act which
decriminalized speech offences and makes ireland the second western european
country after britain to abolish criminal libel
welcome ireland initiative decriminalization reform should be adopted by
more countries which continue to treat journalistic mistakes as crimes exerting
chilling effect on critical journalism haraszti said
most european union member states have long stopped using their criminal
defamation or libel provisions heeding the jurisdiction of the european court
of human rights in strasbourg ireland made the logical and welcome next step by
dropping those crimes from the books
nigerian lawmakers to visit ailing president in saudi
abuja jan afp
nigerian lawmakers on tuesday voted to send delegation to saudi arabia to
visit ailing president umaru yar adua in hospital and discuss issues of
national importance
the motion was approved in vote by the house of representatives as protest
was being held in the capital abuja over yar adua lengthy absence from
africa most populous nation
the president who travelled to saudi on november has said he is on the road
to recovery after treatment for heart condition and hopes to resume his duties
after he is discharged
india bharti acquires control of bangladesh telecom firm
mumbai jan afp
india biggest mobile phone firm bharti airtel announced tuesday it will
acquire percent stake in bangladesh based warid telecom signalling the
company strong global ambitions
bharti would take management and board control of warid statement to the
mumbai stock exchange said
the landmark deal underlines our intent to further expand our operations to
international markets sunil mittal chairman of bharti said in the statement
bharti said the fresh investment of million dollars raising its total
investment to one billion dollars would be used for network expansion and
introducing new services
last week the bangladesh telecommunications regulatory commission cleared the
deal for bharti to buy the stake in warid fully owned subsidiary of the abu
dhabi based dhabi group
launched in warid is bangladesh fourth largest mobile phone firm with
nearly three million subscribers across the country
dhabi group will continue to hold the other percent stake in warid
bharti will purchase existing shares from dhabi group and also subscribe to
fresh shares issued by the bangladeshi firm
the move into bangladesh by bharti comes after its plan to ally with south
africa mtn to create an emerging market telecom giant collapsed in september
bharti shares on tuesday rose as much as percent to day high of
rupees before retracing on profit taking to down percent at close
on the mumbai stock exchange
warid will now gain from improved technology and the ability to execute
penetrations faster gaurang shah vice president with geojit bnp paribas
financial services told afp
investors are still jittery on earnings growth for india telecom firms which
have been under pressure on concerns of the impact of free falling tariffs and
intense competition
after soaring growth industry revenues are flattening as rivals slug it out in
price battle
analysts predict shake out in the next months
we see the local telecom industry consolidating in the next three quarters but
there is strong growth potential ahead shah said
despite pressure on subscriber revenues india telecom firms would gain as
third generation mobile phone products are introduced and rural demand
picks up he said
the cellular operators association of india forecasts the country mobile
phones will number one billion by up from around million currently
canada trade surplus turns to deficit in november
ottawa jan afp
canada trade surplus turned into million canadian dollar million
us deficit in november as canadians bought more foreign trucks and cars
government agency reported tuesday
exports increased percent in november on the strength of energy products
while imports rose percent due mostly to turnaround in automotive sales
said statistics canada
the figures disappointed analysts who had forecast million dollar
million us surplus as us demand for goods strengthened and resource prices
continued to make gains
going forward analysts now fear less encouraging second half of with
projected downshift in us growth and strong canadian dollar weighing heavily
on exports
in november canadian energy exports rose percent to billion dollars
billion us with crude petroleum exports rising for third consecutive
month and reaching their highest level since october
imports of automotive products increased percent to billion dollars
billion us led by pickup truck imports
imports of trucks grew percent in november and accounted for two thirds
of the gain in this sector said statistics canada
imports of passenger automobiles meanwhile rose percent and imports of
motor vehicle parts increased percent
somali unrest forces thousands more to flee unhcr
geneva jan afp
thousands have fled fighting in central somalia this month adding to the huge
wave of displacement and refugee movements from the strife torn east african
nation the un refugee agency said tuesday
the widening strife in somalia is having devastating effect on the civilian
population and sparking increased displacement unhcr spokesman andrej mahecic
said
aid agencies fear that the growing insecurity the drought and the suspension
of food aid in south central regions could deepen somalia humanitarian crisis
and trigger large scale influx into the neighbouring and nearby countries he
added
some people were displaced in clashes between the government allied ahlu
sunna wal jammaa and the al qaeda inspired shebab militias on january alone
although the full number could be higher mahecic said
more clashes have been reported since then in the area
mahecic said the number of somalis fleeing to other countries has also
increased
in ethiopia more somalis were registered as refugees last month and the
estimate of new arrivals has gone up from to day
the total number of somali refugees in nearby countries kenya yemen ethiopia
and djibouti has reached after more somalis fled their
homeland in the unhcr said
since last week pro government forces have battled with the hardline shebab
islamists who control large areas of south and central somalia killing dozens
mainly fighters
the radical islamists who have vowed to oust the government have carried out
relentless attacks since may killing hundreds of civilians and displacing
thousands of others
bosnian born war crimes suspect arrested in sweden
stockholm jan afp
bosnian born swede was arrested in northern sweden on tuesday suspected of
committing war crimes against serbs in during the bosnian war the swedish
prosecution authority said
the year old man whose name was not disclosed is suspected of war crimes
murder kidnapping and being an accessory to kidnapping between may and august
when he was prison guard at detention camp for bosnian serb civilians
the authority said in statement
the man was swedish citizen it added
the warcrimes suspicions concern gross violations of the geneva convention
among other things contributing to the illegal detention of civilians torture
and violence that caused severe suffering to the victims as well as inhumane
treatment in the form of threats and defamation it said
the prosecution authority said tuesday arrest was the result of lengthy
investigation during which people were questioned
numerous countries cooperated with sweden in the investigation as well as the
un war crimes tribunal for the former yugoslavia in the hague it said
swedish prosecutor was to decide by thursday whether to ask court to remand
the suspect in custody
urgent nigerian lawmakers to visit ailing president in saudi
abuja jan afp
nigerian lawmakers on tuesday voted to send delegation to saudi arabia to
visit ailing president umaru yar adua in hospital and discuss issues of
national importance
weak start to earnings season hits wall street
new york jan afp
wall street shares took drubbing at the opening tuesday after disappointing
quarterly results from alcoa to kick off the corporate earnings season injected
some caution in the market
the dow jones industrial average slipped points percent to
in the first exchanges as blue chips pulled back from month
closing high hit monday
the tech heavy nasdaq composite shed points percent to and
the broad standard amp poor index retreated points percent
to
many european markets were trading lower in response to alcoa results seen as
harbinger of the earnings season and the health of the corporate sector
the aluminum giant reported quarterly loss of million dollars excluding
one time items the company posted profit of one cent per share well below
market expectations
patrick hare at briefing com said alcoa failed to generate confidence either
with its top line revenues or bottom line profits
it was an inglorious start to the fourth quarter earnings reporting season as
dow component alcoa fell short of analysts consensus earnings estimate he
said
alcoa top line weakness speaks to the reality that the economic recovery
isn as strong as the stock market might lead one to think it is
alert
nigerian lawmakers to visit ailing president in saudi official
european court delays yukos case against russia
strasbourg jan afp
the european court of human rights said tuesday hearing expected this week in
the billion dollar complaint against russia brought by former oil giant yukos
had been delayed until march
the hearing which had been scheduled for thursday has been postponed until
march because the ad hoc russian judge and the representative for the
russian government are not available the court announced
yukos has brought its complaint against moscow because it contends that russian
tax authorities engineered the company bankruptcy by handing out
disproportionately high fines for financial irregularities
it said in its court filing there had been lack of proper legal basis for
doing so as well as selective and arbitrary prosecution of its business
russian judges found the company guilty of tax fraud on several occasions
between and with yukos handing over some billion euros in unpaid
taxes and six billion euros in penalty charges
former state operator yukos was privatised in the mid it declared
bankruptcy in before being wound up in
its founding chief executive mikhail khodorkovsky was convicted and sentenced
to eight years in prison in for major fraud and tax evasion
new york restaurants food industry pushed to cut back on salt
new york jan afp
new york city is pushing restaurants and food packagers to cut back on the use
of salt as part of national health campaign aimed at reducing premature deaths
from high blood pressure
the city health department on monday set goal of reducing salt consumption
by percent over five years which it estimated would cut salt intake
nationally by percent and prevent many premature deaths
americans consume twice the recommended daily limit of salt most of it in
packaged or prepared foods causing widespread high blood pressure and placing
millions at risk of heart attack and stroke the department said
an estimated people die year in new york city from heart attacks and
stroke and more than deaths nationwide it said
consumers can always add salt to food but they can take it out thomas
farley new york city health commissioner said
if we can reduce the sodium levels in packaged and restaurant foods we will
give consumers more choice about the amount of salt they eat and reduce their
risk of heart disease and stroke in the process he said
number of other cities states and health organizations have joined the city
national salt reduction initiative which spent the last year in consultations
with food industry leaders to develop salt targets for comprehensive set of
foods
similar initiative in britain has resulted in percent reduction in salt
in some food products the health department said
italian catholic church urges tolerance after racial unrest
rome jan afp
the italian catholic church on tuesday urged people to shun xenophobic
leanings after residents of southern town attacked african migrant farm
workers last week
xenophobia generates fear and despair bruno schettino an immigration expert
in the italian bishops conference told news conference urging greater and
better climate of welcome by shunning xenophobic leanings
the violence in the calabrian town of rosarno where authorities helped some
migrants to flee to safety highlighted the weakness of the system said
schettino
the two days of unrest in rosarno left people injured of them migrants
police officers and locals
schettino said the unrest was born not of opposition to immigrants but of an
explosion of social problems
pope benedict xvi spoke out against the violence on sunday saying we have to
go to the heart of the problem of the significance of the human being
an immigrant is human being different in where they came from in their
culture and tradition but person to respect who has rights and
responsibilities
arrests explosives seized as baghdad car bombs foiled
baghdad jan afp
iraqi security forces foiled series of car bombings in baghdad on tuesday
after massive security operation led to dozens of arrests and large quantity
of explosives being seized officials said
police and the army sealed off the capital early in the day after tip off that
insurgents planned multiple attacks in the city highlighting concerns about
violence in the run up to general election
an aide to major general qassim atta spokesman for baghdad military command
told afp that terrorists were captured in raids across the city
some kilograms pounds of category explosive the same amount of
tnt and kilos of ammonium nitrate were seized the aide added
terrorist groups intended to detonate car bombs in baghdad on tuesday morning
atta said in an official statement
the security measures were imposed to protect civilians which included
shutting off many roads and taking steps to find the suspected cars he added
coordinated vehicle bombings in baghdad in august october and december killed
nearly people in all and wounded more than others sparking charges of
