incompetence or connivance against the security forces
tuesday lockdown caused gridlock with cars buses and lorries backed up as
bridges and routes into the city were closed forcing people to travel on foot
as military helicopters circled overhead
bridges across the tigris river that lead into the heart of baghdad were
temporarily closed following the early morning alert but reopened at around
am gmt
government spokesman ali al dabbagh told reporters that the car bombs were
intended to strike sensitive government sites but would not give specific
details
the rare decision to close off much of the city and the increased military
presence prompted claims of coup by callers to popular iraqi radio phone in
shows leading to an official denial
such rumours were risible and without foundation defence ministry spokesman
major general mohammed al askari told reporters
insurgents weakened in the past year have in recent months changed tactics and
mounted successful high profile attacks on hard targets such as government
buildings rather than so called soft targets in civilian areas
tuesday heightened security comes ahead of the conflict wracked country
general election on march
there is widespread concern in the wake of the bloody attacks conducted in
baghdad in the second half of that political violence will rise in the
weeks leading up to the vote
the election the second since saddam hussein was toppled in us led invasion
in is seen as crucial to consolidating iraqi democracy and securing
complete us military exit by the end of as planned
however politicians and parties linked to executed dictator saddam
outlawed baath party have been barred from taking part in the poll move seen
as blow towards efforts at national reconciliation
the us military meanwhile said joint security operation conducted with iraqi
forces in baghdad on january led to the arrest of an al qaeda in iraq aqi
terrorist suspected of building large scale vehicle bombs
according to recent intelligence reports aqi fighters operating in baghdad
continue planning attacks in an attempt to disrupt the political progress in
iraq the us army said
austrian airlines passenger numbers down in
vienna jan afp
austrian airlines aua recently taken over by german flag carrier lufthansa
said tuesday it sustained percent drop in passenger numbers last year
aua said in statement it transported total million passengers in
decline of percent from the year earlier figure
nevertheless passenger numbers were down only percent at million in the
fourth quarter alone thanks to an increase of percent to in
december the airline said
the so called passenger load factor which measures the proportion of seats
filled on flight slipped by percentage point to percent in the
whole of
but in the fourth quarter alone it rose by two percentage points to
percent
aua cut the number of flights on offer by percent last year in bid to
boost margins and cut debt
lufthansa which bought the loss making austrian carrier from the state in
september said it would allow aua to continue operating under its own brand
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
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
aide to ex british pm denies sexing up iraq dossier
london jan afp
tony blair former chief spin doctor alastair campbell fiercely denied tuesday
sexing up dossier which claimed iraq could launch chemical or biological
weapons within minutes ahead of the war
in defiant appearance before public inquiry on the conflict campbell
admitted that while the highly controversial document could have been clearer
he still defended every single word of it
campbell one of the former prime minister closest allies also insisted blair
was determined to deal with saddam hussein regime peacefully right up to
crucial vote on the iraq war in the house of commons on march
he said that he had never tried to beef up any of the judgements made by the
september dossier author john scarlett the then chairman of key
intelligence committee which advised blair government
campbell also denied being involved in sexing up game
at no point did anybody from the prime minister down say to anybody within the
intelligence services you have got to tailor it to fit this judgment or that
judgment campbell said
the whole way through it could not have been made clearer to everybody that
nothing would override the intelligence judgments and that john scarlett was the
person who if you like had the single pen
campbell is the first big name witness to appear before the chilcot inquiry
which is probing all aspects of britain involvement in the iraq war to which
it was the second biggest contributor of troops after the united states
his evidence came as an independent commission in the netherlands found that the
iraq war lacked legitimacy under international law
the former spin doctor also told how current prime minister gordon brown then
finance minister would absolutely have been one of the key ministers blair
discussed decisions on iraq with
blair is due to appear before the committee in late january or early february
while brown will not be called until after this year general election which
is expected to be held in may
campbell downing street former director of communications and strategy
resigned in august the month after ministry of defence weapons expert dr
david kelly was found dead near his home with slashed wrists
earlier that year he fiercely denied bbc report that he sexed up dossier
claiming iraq could launch chemical or biological attack within minutes to
help justify the war
kelly believed he may have been the source of the bbc story and officials
confirmed his name as such to some reporters
campbell insisted he had decided to resign to spend more time with his family
well before kelly death
an official inquiry one of number of probes to which he has already given
evidence over the iraq war subsequently exonerated him over the affair
campbell also said that while britain shared the us assessment of the threat
posed by iraq it for long time proposed different solution than regime
change
he blair not doing this because george bush wants him to do it this was
his genuine belief that iraq had to be confronted over its continued defiance of
the un said campbell
that his position and that policy that he pursued the whole way through
right to the house of commons vote right to that point the prime minister
was hopeful this thing could be resolved peacefully
he added think the prime minister was all the way through trying to get it
resolved without single shot being fired
us led forces strongly supported by britain began their invasion of iraq two
days after the house of commons vote despite the lack of explicit backing from
the un security council
blair faced major backlash in britain over the decision to stand shoulder to
shoulder with then us president george bush over the war he resigned in
despite having led his labour party to three election wins
three britons one colombian kidnapped in nigeria
lagos jan afp
gunmen kidnapped three britons and colombian working for anglo dutch oil giant
shell tuesday shooting dead their police escort police and security sources
said
the four were seized around am gmt on road leading from the
southern oil city of port harcourt to the shell operated afam power plant
police said
they were ambushed by gunmen rita abbey police spokeswoman for rivers state
told afp
they are shell contractors who were going to aba in abia state she said
adding police had launched search in and around the town situated northeast of
port harcourt
the gunmen shot dead the police officer escorting the group and wounded their
driver
the incident was the first major kidnapping in southern nigeria for months
following lull in the wake of government amnesty which saw thousands of
militants lay down their arms
no group has as yet claimed responsibility for the abduction of the four
armed groups claiming to seek fairer share of oil revenue for local
communities have since staged attacks on oil installations in the niger
delta playing havoc with crude output and international oil prices
in october the main rebel group in the restive region the movement for the
emancipation of the niger delta 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 in the niger delta with
militants reportedly unhappy at the slow progress of the process to re train
them and integrate them back into their communities
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 including contractors were kidnapped
between and
afp world economic news summary
paris jan afp
the top world economic stories on tuesday
china economy bank loans
beijing china pulled pair of fiscal levers as authorities sought to rein in
surge of aggressive lending by banks that has raised fears of inflation and
looming asset bubble
eu trade economy china forex
brussels europe incoming trade commissioner lashed out at what he said was
deliberate policy in china of maintaining an undervalued currency in remarks
likely to spark furore
us economy trade
washington the us trade deficit widened in november to month high on the
back of surging imports the government said as the growth in trade signaled
that global economic recovery was on track
britain finance economy banking bonus company rbs
london the boss of britain state controlled royal bank of scotland vowed to
minimise bankers bonuses amid public anger over potential payouts that could be
deemed reward for failure
france finance banking tax
paris france expects to raise million euros million dollars from its
one off tax on bank bonuses that will apply to some traders finance
minister christine lagarde said
eu aerospace company airbus
seville spain european aircraft maker airbus pressed governments to open their
wallets to save the troubled military plane project warning that the
company viability depended on it
france spain aerospace sales earnings company airbus eads
seville spain european aircraft maker airbus said it had outperformed us rival
boeing in as the top producer in the world with plane deliveries and
orders
commodities energy oil price kuwait
kuwait city kuwait oil minister sheikh ahmad abdullah al sabah said that the
price of crude oil was fantastic as it stayed above dollars barrel
spurred by freezing temperatures
britain economy finance growth recession bcc
london britain which is forecast to have exited recession during the final
quarter of last year faces serious risk of renewed negative growth the
british chamber of commerce warned
britain retail food company earnings tesco
london britain biggest retailer supermarket group tesco said that it
enjoyed record sales during the recent christmas and new year festive period
india it company infosys earnings
bangalore india india second largest software exporter infosys posted
smaller than expected fall in net profit due to fresh overseas business and
predicted strong future growth
finland timber paper cuts company upm
helsinki finnish forest industry group upm kymmene will cut around jobs at
its timber and plywood mills in finland and close four units in the first half
of this year it said
us sweden auto demo company saab gm liquidation
stockholm several thousand people gathered for demonstration in sweden on to
call for iconic swedish carmaker saab to be rescued from its owner gm plan to
shut it down union official said
eu industry pharma sector competition patent
brussels the european union competition regulator demanded to see selected
number of patent deals reached by pharmaceutical companies as part of sector
wide probe into generic medicines
afp
france to debate foreigners right to vote
paris jan afp
french socialists unveiled plans tuesday to push for bill allowing foreigners
to vote in local elections saying it would force president nicolas sarkozy to
deliver on campaign promise
the bill to be presented to the national assembly later tuesday was also
designed as response to the government sponsored debate on national identity
that has exposed french fears over immigration and islam
the president said he was in favour well then he should make sure it passes
said martine aubry leader of the opposition socialist party
this would send good message aubry argued following several terrible
months during which we were told that immigrants were the cause of all our
problems
the french opposition is formally boycotting the national identity debate and
accuses sarkozy right wing government of pandering to far right voters by
stoking anti immigrant sentiment
sarkozy had said during his campaign for the presidency that he personally
supported giving foreigners the right to vote in municipal polls although this
position was not formally part of his platform
currently eu citizens have the right to vote in municipal elections in any of
the countries of the european union where they reside
immigration minister eric besson who is organising the identity debate said he
believed non eu residents should be allowed to vote in local polls within the
next years
besson said it would be counter productive to hold the debate now while we
are in tense economic and social period
parliament speaker bernard accoyer said he believed french voters were not
politically mature enough to accept that foreigners could vote
allowing legal residents to vote for local politicians could be game changer
in some parts of france particularly in the high immigrant paris suburbs
iran accuses us israel of murdering nuclear scientist
tehran jan afp
leading iranian nuclear scientist was killed 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 killing in broad daylight comes 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 outside his home in northern tehran state media said
one can see in preliminary investigations signs of evilness 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 too implicated the us 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
dolatabadi had earlier told the isna news agency that ali mohammadi died when
booby trapped motorbike parked outside his house exploded as he was getting into
his car
tehran university basij or voluntary islamist student militia said ali
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
sanctions have been imposed variously by the united nations united states and
european countries on individuals and institutions linked to iran nuclear
programme but the students did not say on which list ali mohammadi name
appears
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 restive
sistan baluchestan province in the east of the country
witness told afp that 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 mujahideen 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 banned 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 and
has for the past six months 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
azerbaijan aliyev cements power in local vote
baku jan afp
azeri president ilham aliyev ruling party won by landslide in last month
local vote election officials said tuesday cementing his grip on power in the
oil rich ex soviet republic
aliyev ruling yeni azerbaijan party secured positions of the total of
up for grabs in municipalities the central elections commission
said in statement
voter turnout however was relatively low at percent it said
independent candidates won positions while candidates from other
political parties filled the remaining seats
supporters say aliyev and his party are genuinely popular for steering the
country through years of record growth and stability after the chaos of the
early when azerbaijan became independent with the collapse of the soviet
union
opposition parties however say authorities rigged the vote resorting to state
resources to support aliyev political allies persecuting opposition
supporters and controlling the media
aliyev overwhelmingly won second five year term in october having taken
over in from his father heydar top ranking former soviet official and
kgb member
in march azerbaijan voted to scrap two term limit on the presidency in move
critics said was aimed at extending aliyev hold on power
fed posts profit of billion dollars
washington jan afp
the us federal reserve said tuesday it earned record profit in of
billion dollars enabling transfer to the us treasury of billion dollars
the unprecedented results came as result of the central bank extraordinary
market operations during the financial crisis to purchase bonds and invest in
troubled companies and from earnings on loans to banks and securities firms
the results represent sharp rise from when the fed earned billion
dollars and returned billion dollars to the treasury
the profit included some billion dollars in earnings on securities acquired
through open market operations including us treasury bonds mortgage backed
securities and government agency debt
some billion dollars in net earnings came from investment in limited
liability companies hit by the financial crisis another billion dollars
came from loans to commercial banks and others
the fed also earned billion dollars from currency swap arrangements which
have been established with central banks
togo president to run for new term
lome jan afp
togo outgoing president faure gnassingbe was tuesday named the candidate of
the ruling togolese people rally for an election on february at
convention in lome
the national convention of the rpt decides to invest the militant member of the
political bureau faure gnassingbe bearer of the values of peace and prosperity
in togo as candidate of the rpt said motion read by party leader rene
kapou
gnassingbe was not present at the convention but accepted his nomination by way
of representative
the president is the son of gnassingbe eyadema who ruled the small poor west
african country for years until his death in february
at that time faure gnassingbe was catapulted to power by the military but had
to stand down under national and international pressure until an election could
be held in which he won five year mandate
at the opening of the rpt convention delegates at lome main congress hall
held minute silence in memory of the two people killed on friday in an
attack on the national football team in angola cabinda enclave
three days of mourning were declared in togo following the attack in which the
squad assistant coach and media spokesman were killed
responsibility has been claimed by two of cabinda fractious separatist
movements one of which said the intended target was the military escort not
members of the togolese team
britain backs plane but not at any cost
london jan afp
britain remains committed to the troubled military transport project
but not at any cost the ministry of defence said on tuesday as airbus pressed
governments to save the aircraft
the uk remains committed to but not at any cost we regard the ongoing
negotiations as the best means by which to determine more deliverable
programme ministry spokesman told afp
the will provide both tactical and strategic airlift capabilities to all
of our three services for use in peace crisis and war he added
european aircraft maker airbus on tuesday warned that the company viability
depended on the project
airbus chief executive tom enders said the company might be forced to scrap the
long delayed programme if its european backers fail to put up more money to
cover cost overruns by the end of the month
now it high time for decision enders told reporters in seville spain
adding that the viability of airbus as whole was at stake
airbus has employees with some working on the project
some now displaced by yemen conflict unhcr
geneva jan afp
some people are now displaced in yemen as thousands continue to flee
fighting between shiite rebels and government troops in northern saada province
the un refugee agency said tuesday
we now estimate that some people have been displaced by the conflict in
yemen since including those displaced by the latest escalation which
erupted in early august last year said unhcr spokesman andrej mahecic
in november the agency estimated that total of were displaced
compared to in august
the latest influx is straining already overstretched shelter capacity and
quickly depleting aid resources in the area mahecic told journalists
one camp at al mazrak in hajjah province now hosts people twice its
capacity while others locally and in amran province were filling up quickly
sometimes in dire conditions mahecic said
the number of idps internally displaced people outside the camps is also
growing rapidly he added
unhcr mission to the northern area of mandaba close to the border with saudi
arabia more than two weeks ago found more than displaced people who had
sought shelter in makeshift site since september
people arriving at unhcr assisted camps outside the sa ada combat zone reported
heavy fighting and civilian clashes in air strikes although the agency said it
was unable to confirm those reports
police arrest suspected mafiosi in italian riot town
rome jan afp
italian police tuesday arrested suspected members of the southern ndrangheta
mafia in rosarno the town where racial unrest last week was thought to be
linked to organised crime police said
acting on warrants police arrested people diego trotta head of the
regional anti mafia unit told afp
three including powerful clan leader carmine bellocco were already in prison
on other charges and another three remain at large trotta said
bellocco nephew davide who press reports said took part in the clashes with
migrant farm workers was among those arrested tuesday
our investigation is not directly linked to the clashes in rosarno but
obviously we are glad of the coincidence because it shows that the state is
present and that the rosarno area is not under mafia control trotta said
the ndrangheta heavily involved in drug trafficking is considered the most
dangerous of italy four organised crime syndicates
trotta said police seized millions of euros worth of property in the sweep
including two supermarkets
the unrest sparked several investigations into the possible involvement of the
ndrangheta
alberto cisterna national level anti mafia judge said it is certain that
ndrangheta men fired on immigrants to prove that they control the area
the shootings sparked rioting by the mainly african farm workers and groups of
residents responded by going on rampage friday against the migrants injuring
authorities helped more than migrants flee rosarno after the clashes in
which police officers and locals were also injured
un experts urge italian action against deep rooted racism
geneva jan afp
un human rights experts on tuesday urged italian authorities to tackle deep
rooted racism following wave of violence against migrant farm workers in the
southern town of rosarno last week
