nireland britain ireland politics ndlead
belfast
britain and ireland scramble to defuse political crisis in northern ireland
triggered by sex and cash scandal saying it may even be an opportunity to
unblock stalled talks
words gmt by eamonn mallie picture
we will also move nireland britain ireland foster profile
france britain crime
versailles france
french court is set to hand down verdict in the murder trial of british
minister niece accused of drunkenly plunging kitchen knife into the naked
body of frenchman she picked up in pub
words gmt by rory mulholland picture video
asia
indonesia prison corruption lead
jakarta
the indonesian government which has promised to stamp out corruption is
embarrassed by revelations that rich and powerful prisoners are living in luxury
behind bars
words gmt by alvin darlanika soedarjo picture
hongkong us crime trial rdlead
hong kong
an american woman dubbed the milkshake murderer for the killing of her high
flying banker husband in one of hong kong most sensational crime cases
launches her final appeal
words gmt by polly hui picture
mideast
mideast israel turkey diplomacy wrap
jerusalem
israeli newspapers play up what they called the hazing of turkey ambassador
by israel in an incident likely to ratchet up already high tensions between the
two regional allies
words gmt by patrick moser picture
yemen germany britain kidnap rdlead
sanaa
foreign minister abu bakr al qurbi says that 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
words gmt
africa
violence angola togo fbl afr lead wrap
johannesburg
the chief organiser of the world cup says angola must take responsibility for
the gun attack at africa premier football tournament saying it was well aware
of the dangers of staging games in the restive enclave of cabinda
words gmt by cecile de comarmond picture graphic
americas
us diplomacy asia thlead
honolulu hawaii
us secretary of state hillary clinton seeks to defuse dispute over us air
base in japan as she arrives in hawaii for talks with her japanese counterpart
katsuya okada
words moved by lachlan carmichael picture
football atletico sign argentine teen striker reports
madrid jan afp
atletico madrid looking to recover from dismal first half of the season have
signed year old striker eduardo salvio from argentine side lanus for million
euros spanish media said tuesday
have fulfilled the dream of my life because it is dream to play alongside
players like fellow argentine sergio aguero or diego forlan salvio told
the sports newspaper marca
atletico is one of the greats of europe and am joining with the hope of
battling for major things
lanus chairman nicolas russo confirmed the transfer lamenting that this
fantastic player was irreplacable
the spanish club have been looking for striker to replace frenchman florent
sinama pongolle who left for sporting lisbon earlier this month
atletico last week signed portuguese international midfielder tiago from
juventus and he was presented to the fans on tuesday
want to repay the trust that the club has placed in me the year old
said
with tiago and salvio atletico is closing its reinforcement programme club
chairman enrique cerezo said on monday
atletico who finished fourth in the league last season have been in poor form
this season crashing out of the european champions league while struggling in
the league
however wins in their last two league games against sevilla and valladolid
have given cause for optimism
three britons one colombian kidnapped in nigeria
lagos jan afp
gunmen kidnapped three british expatriate workers and colombian while also
killing police escort on tuesday near nigeria southern oil hub of port
harcourt police and security sources said
the four were seized around am gmt along road leading from port
harcourt to afam gas plant operated by shell gas
they were ambushed by gunmen rita abbey police spokeswoman for rivers state
told afp
iran accuses united states israel in bomb attack
tehran jan afp
iran foreign ministry on tuesday accused archfoes the united states and israel
and their mercenaries of carrying out bomb attack which killed nuclear
scientist state media reported
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
such terrorist acts and the physical elimination of the country nuclear
scientists will certainly not stop the scientific and technological process but
will speed it up he added
tehran chief prosecutor implicated us and israeli intelligence services
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
china central bank moves to rein in lending
beijing jan afp
china central bank on tuesday raised the interest rate on its one year
treasury bills which analysts said was an attempt to rein in continued
aggressive lending by the nation banks
it was the second time in week that the people bank of china has increased
its own borrowing costs and came day after state media reported banks extended
billion yuan billion dollars in loans in the first week of
citigroup economists said in research note that the move suggests that
authorities may be nervous about continued aggressive lending
as result further liquidity drains are likely and may come with targeted
mandatory bills and hikes in the reserve requirement it said
the central bank on tuesday sold billion yuan worth of one year bills at
yield of rise of eight basis points and the first hike since august
last thursday it raised the interest rate on its three month treasury bills
but chen xingdong beijing based economist with bnp paribas said the central
bank should introduce tougher measures to curb credit growth
the tightening should be even more intense not as light as this chen told
afp
liquidity has never been so excessive as it was last year think china
policy was looser than necessary
chen said policy makers should send clear message to the market that they
believed liquidity was excessive rather than repeating its oft stated
moderately loose monetary policy position
the explosion in bank lending this month was larger than the combined
billion yuan in new loans given out in october and november and has set off
alarms in beijing the economic information daily reported monday
the central bank is expected to possibly implement rise in the reserve
requirement ratio the amount banks must set aside in reserves soon after
the chinese new year in mid february to rein in credit it said
that would be the first hike for commercial banks since june
the move would fight inflation by requiring banks to hold on to more of their
funds and lend less
china consumer price index key gauge of inflation rose in november after
an almost year long bout of deflation stoking fears that beijing could start
tightening monetary policy in the coming months
however the citi economists said they expected interest rates to stay on hold
until later this year noting that inflation is still relatively low
second french soldier dies in afghan attack
paris jan afp
french soldier died tuesday day after he was seriously wounded in an attack
on convoy in afghanistan that killed another soldier the defence ministry
said
the attack on monday morning struck french and afghan forces patrolling the
alasay valley northeast of kabul the french presidency said
fabrice roullier year old captain who was in charge of training afghan
troops suffered severe wounds in the attack and died on tuesday
defence minister herve morin offered condolences to roullier family and
expressed gratitude to this officer who gave his life to allow afghanistan to
return to peace
the latest death brought to the number of french soldiers who have died in
afghanistan since the war began in france has troops in afghanistan
year old medic mathieu toinette also died in the attack he had arrived
in afghanistan in september and had been assigned to join nato team training
afghan soldiers
two us soldiers and british bomb disposal expert were also killed on monday in
afghanistan marking the heaviest one day death toll for the nato force since
the new year began
there are about foreign troops under us and nato command based in
afghanistan with about more due to be deployed this year to try to turn
around the costly war against the resurgent taliban
yemen negotiating hostages located in saada fm
sanaa jan afp
foreign minister abu bakr al qurbi said on tuesday that yemen is holding talks
for the release of five german hostages and briton who have been located in
saada scene of clashes with shiite rebels
their whereabouts have been determined they are in saada northern yemen
where the army has been waging fierce battle against zaidi shiite rebels
qurbi told press conference
negotiations are ongoing to secure their release said qurbi
yemen negotiating hostages located in saada fm
sanaa jan afp
foreign minister abu bakr al qurbi said on tuesday that yemen is holding talks
for the release of five german hostages and briton who have been located in
saada scene of clashes with shiite rebels
their whereabouts have been determined they are in saada northern yemen
where the army has been waging fierce battle against zaidi shiite rebels
qurbi told press conference
negotiations are ongoing to secure their release said qurbi
japan shrugs off jal tumble as asian shares are mixed
hong kong jan afp
asian markets were mixed tuesday with tokyo clawing its way into the black after
shrugging off wave of selling orders that engulfed crisis hit japan airlines
shares in asia biggest airline plummeted percent as reports pointed to
looming bankruptcy and delisting that would destroy investors stakes under
court ordered restructuring
delisting now looks almost certain so selling won stop smbc friend
research center analyst mitsuru miyazaki told dow jones newswires as jal dived
by the daily limit of yen to yen
despite the wave of selling tokyo nikkei closed up percent or
points to its highest since october analysts said overall
upbeat market sentiment outmuscled the impact of jal troubles
investors were also boosted by american airlines and its partners upping their
investment offer to jal to billion dollars as it seeks tie up with the
japanese carrier to increase its share of the lucrative asian market
the new offer up from previous billion dollars sees american raise the
stakes in its battle with rival delta air lines for jal
the government has pledged to avoid total collapse of the former state owned
carrier but has refused to rule out bankruptcy proceedings which could aid
jal restructuring but would likely leave investors out of pocket
it is important that we do our utmost to rehabilitate jal while continuing its
flights transport minister seiji maehara told news conference
sydney ended down percent or points at and hong kong ended
percent or points lower at
in sydney minerals firm alumina lost percent to dollars us
after us firm alcoa the first blue chip to report quarterly earnings on wall
street posted lower than forecast profit monday alumina and alcoa are
joint venture partners
the big news of the day came from the us in terms of alcoa fourth quarter
earnings report cmc markets analyst david taylor said
despite strong revenues earnings fell short of expectations and the resources
sector took bit of hit
however bargain hunting in banks and property firms as well as strong interest
in telecoms helped shanghai surge percent or points to end at
the dollar was stable in late asian trade as investors eyed upcoming corporate
earnings reports following disappointment over weak us jobs data on friday
the greenback was at yen in tokyo afternoon trade against in new
york late on monday when japanese markets were closed the euro was little
changed at dollars after and to yen from
oil fell in asia on forecasts the severe cold snap in the united states will
ease and quell demand for heating fuel analysts said
new york main futures contract light sweet crude for february delivery stood
at dollars in the afternoon down cents from new york close
it had hit an intraday peak of dollars monday its highest since october
brent north sea crude for february was down cents at
hong kong gold closed higher at us dollars an ounce up from
monday dollars
in other markets
singapore finished down percent or points at
the overall outlook for the index is positive and we believe it is currently
matter of waiting for good timing to enter the market said phillip
securities analyst phua ming weii
seoul closed up percent or points at
taipei lost percent or points to close at
investors moved to take profits on previous gains
kuala lumpur was percent or points lower at
lower liners dominated the actives today but despite some profit taking the
index stayed pretty much within tight range dealer said
leading investment holdings company tanjong gained percent to ringgit
while retail corporate group aeon was down percent to ringgit
bangkok lost percent or points to close at
energy giant ptt plc lost baht to baht while coal producer banpu
plunged baht to baht
wellington fell percent or points to
indonesia rose percent or points to
think the main index could test the important level of later this week
if foreign funds continue buying trader at lautandhana securities said
bank central asia jumped percent to rupiah and bank mandiri advanced
percent to rupiah
manila added percent or points to
top traded philippine long distance telephone co rose percent to
pesos
in mumbai the share sensex closed down points or percent at
the market saw its fourth straight day of losses as investors sold on concerns
of hike in interest rates after industrial production grew at the fastest
pace in months dealers said
india second largest software exporter infosys technologies rose percent
or rupees to on smaller than expected fall in net profit
india biggest mobile phone firm bharti airtel fell percent or rupees
to on profit taking after the company announced it would acquire
percent stake in bangladesh based warid telecom
angola knew cabinda matches risky world cup chief
johannesburg jan afp
angola knew for years that staging africa premier football tournament in the
restive enclave of cabinda posed security risk south africa world cup
organising chief said tuesday
how long is it known that there is separatist group in angola for many many
years what are the possibilities of terror attack it was known danny
jordaan told afp
it is responsibility of the host nation to deal with those issues said
jordaan who led technical team to angola in to assess its readiness for
the tournament on behalf of the confederation of african football caf
all the concerns about the tournament were included in report that was handed
over to caf he said
jordaan again brushed off worries that the deadly attack on togo team as it
travelled through the oil rich enclave could affect the world cup which kicks
off in south africa in june
what happened in angola has nothing to with south africa please judge us
fairly jordaan told news conference earlier
we must be judged on reality not on perception we hosted major
international events since and we didn have any incidents he said
south africa has invested billion rands million us dollars million
euro on security he said
un secretary general ban ki moon special adviser of sports condemned the
attack saying the assault on players means attacking the very human values
that the sport embodies
this abhorrent deed is not only violent act against innocent civilians it is
also an attack against the values of sport wilfried lemke said in statement
meanwhile second separatist group on tuesday claimed it was behind last
week attack heightening security concerns at the africa cup of nations
two people have been arrested over the attack but angolan authorities have
revealed few details about the men captured after the gun attack on togo
convoy which killed the squad assistant coach and media spokesman
in the wake of the attack angolan security forces have clamped down on the
cabinda enclave tiny but economically crucial province that produces more
than half of the oil in africa top producer
soldiers have cordoned off the footballers village in cabinda along with tight
security at the seat chiazi stadium which hosted its first match in the
tournament without incident on monday
but the duelling statements tuesday from different separatist groups in cabinda
highlighted the difficulty in pinpointing exactly which of the province many
guerrilla forces was behind the attack
the attack was initially claimed by rodrigues mingas head of the forces for the
liberation of the state of cabinda military position flec pm who lives in
exile in france
but larger group known as the front for the liberation of the enclave of
cabinda armed forces of cabinda flec fac on tuesday said they had opened fire
on togo convoy on friday killing two of the squad
while mingas on sunday threatened more attacks during africa premier football
tournament flec fac said their intended target was togo military escort and
vowed not stage any more attacks during the competition
we are not terrorists the attack did not target our togolese brothers said
jean claude zita top adviser to flec fac who lives in exile in switzerland
every time the armed forces of cabinda sees an angolan convoy they open fire
he said
we have nothing against our african brothers and we like football he said by
telephone dismissing mingas faction as opportunists
in statement his group said it has decided to take responsible stance
regarding the africa nations cup
the group said it would abstain from any act of violence in cabinda during the
tournament assuring the safety of defenseless civilians added the statement
from fac chief of staff miguel boma
mingas dismissed the claim telling afp we are the ones who commited the act
we regret that the poor togolese became victims it was an attack against the
angolan occupation forces
alex vines an analyst with the british think tank chatham house said the rival
claims were part of the exile politics of separatist leaders who live mainly
in europe and who all claim to represent various flec splinter groups
somebody did the attack linked to flec but who exactly is the problem he
said
some say there indiscipline within small flec units and they re not
controlled at all from the outside from their leadership he said
it very difficult for the angolans to deal with this he added
iran accuses united states israel in bomb attack
tehran jan afp
iran foreign ministry on tuesday accused archfoes the united states and israel
and their mercenaries of carrying out bomb attack which killed nuclear
scientist state media reported
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
saudi posing as pilot held at manila airport
manila jan afp
year old saudi arabian man dressed as pilot was arrested tuesday after he
illegally entered restricted area in the main airport in the philippines an
airport official said
he was able to elude our security by misrepresenting himself as pilot of
saudia said airport general manager alfonso cusi referring to the saudi
arabian flag carrier
the incident at manila airport comes after officials in the philippines and
around the world said they would boost security after the botched attempt to
blow up us bound airliner on christmas day
the detained saudi identified by the local authorities as hani abdulelah
bukhari told airport police he was there to meet his father retired saudia
pilot who later arrived on flight from saudi arabia
he was wearing pilot uniform from saudia airlines when airport security
personnel noticed him lining up at the immigration section of the passenger
terminal cusi told abs cbn television
the young man produced card identifying him as dependent of retired saudia
employee he said
there was failure on our part here said cusi conceding that bukhari should
not have been able to penetrate so far into the terminal
our fault here is we were not able to check properly his identification he
said adding definitely there will be changes in airport security
procedures
an airport report on the incident said bukhari was enrolled at local flying
school the school said however that he was not student although his two
brothers were
bukhari arrived in the philippines in november cusi said but his status is not
known
most of the hijackers who carried out the september attacks in the united
states in were saudi nationals
shipbuilder stx to cut jobs in finland
helsinki jan afp
south korea stx will cut some jobs at its turku shipyard in western
finland this year as it has not received new orders amid the global economic
crisis the shipbuilder said tuesday
stx announced the start of lay off talks at the turku shipyard in november
saying it could slash more than of the jobs there
the overall situation for shipbuilding has not improved during the
negotiations and we have not received new orders stx said in statement
adding it expected the employment situation in turku to continue to weaken
stx finland is part of south korean shipbuilder stx and the turku shipyard is
currently building the world biggest and most expensive cruise ship allure of
the seas the ship is the last in its current orderbook
second separatist group claims togo football team attack
luanda jan afp
second separatist group on tuesday claimed it was behind last week deadly
shooting on the togolese football team in angola oil rich enclave of cabinda
the attack was initially claimed by rodrigues mingas head of the forces for the
liberation of the state of cabinda military position flec pm who lives in
exile in france
but larger group known as the front for the liberation of the enclave of
cabinda armed forces of cabinda flec fac on tuesday said they had opened fire
on togo convoy on friday killing two of the squad
while mingas on sunday threatened more attacks during africa premier football
tournament flec fac said their intended target was togo military escort and
vowed not to stage any more attacks during the competition
we are not terrorists the attack did not target our togolese brothers said
jean claude zita top adviser to flec fac who lives in exile in switzerland
every time the armed forces of cabinda sees an angolan convoy they open fire
he said
we have nothing against our african brothers and we like football he said by
telephone dismissing mingas faction as opportunists
in statement his group said it has decided to take responsible stance
regarding the africa nations cup
the group said it would abstain from any act of violence in cabinda during the
tournament assuring the safety of defenseless civilians added the statement
from fac chief of staff miguel boma
mingas dismissed the claim telling afp we are the ones who committed the act
we regret that the poor togolese became victims it was an attack against the
angolan occupation forces
separatists have battled for cabinda independence since at the end of
portuguese colonialism
eu regulator demands patent papers in pharma probe
brussels jan afp
the european union competition regulator demanded tuesday to see number of
patent deals reached by pharmaceutical companies as part of sector wide probe
into generic medicines
the european commission said that on the basis of eu antitrust rules it
addressed requests for information to certain pharmaceutical companies asking
them to submit copies of their patent settlement agreements
brussels is seeking patent settlements reached between originator and generic
pharmaceutical firms from july to the end of notably those where an
originator company pays off generic competitor in return for delayed market
entry of generic drug
the commission which polices competition in the eu said its sector wide probe
had found that some settlements might deprive consumers of broader choice of
medicines and at lower prices
it did not identify the companies involved
thai court to rule on thaksin fortune next month
bangkok jan afp
thailand supreme court will next month decide whether authorities can seize
fugitive former prime minister thaksin shinawatra frozen assets worth
billion dollars officials said tuesday
prosecution and defence lawyers have days to submit their closing statements
after the court finished hearing evidence in the case said sekesan bangsomboon
director general of the department of special litigation
the court has set febuary as the day for the ruling he told afp
twice elected thaksin was ousted in military coup in and committee
appointed by the military junta that ruled thailand for the subsequent months
froze his billion baht fortune
the assets represent most of the profits his family earned when they sold his
shin corp telecoms empire in january to singapore state linked
investment firm temasek holdings
the sale sparked public uproar bringing tens of thousands of anti thaksin
protesters into the streets which led to the coup
prosecutors argue the shin corp shares belonged to thaksin and that he broke
the law by not paying tax on the sale
the court began hearing the case in july last year
thaksin is currently living abroad mostly in dubai after the same court in
sentenced him in absentia to two years in prison in conflict of interest
case that he says is politically motivated
he was found guilty of helping his wife pojaman from whom he is now divorced
to purchase prime bangkok real estate from the government at about one third the
land appraised value
thaksin has continued to stir up political unrest in thailand from abroad with
thousands of his so called red shirt supporters protesting monday at the house
of royal adviser accused of involvement in the coup
urgent iran accuses united states israel in bomb attack
tehran jan afp
iran foreign ministry on tuesday accused archfoes the united states and israel
and their mercenaries of carrying out bomb attack which killed nuclear
scientist state media reported
russia us disarmament talks to resume in january moscow
moscow jan afp
talks between russia and the united states to agree successor to an already
expired nuclear disarmament treaty will resume in the second half of january
the russian foreign minister said tuesday
the negotiations will resume after the christmas holidays we believe that this
will happen in the second half of january foreign minister sergei lavrov said
after talks with his spanish counterpart
negotiators from both sides have so far failed to agree successor to the
strategic arms reduction treaty start signed in just before the break up
of the soviet union and which expired on december
despite intense negotiations in geneva officials were not able to overcome
before the christmas holidays range of disagreements on issues such as the
numbers of carriers and inspections
some russian media have reported the talks have hit major trouble but officials
have insisted new treaty is on the verge of being agreed and the unresolved
issues are merely of technical nature
document of such volume and importance must be carefully looked at both from
legal and editorial point of view so that there are no divergences between the
english and russian texts said lavrov
corrected yemen negotiating hostages located in saada fm
sanaa jan afp
foreign minister abu bakr al qurbi said on tuesday that 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
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 action said
tuesday
there was insufficient legitimacy for the invasion for which the netherlands
gave political but no military backing commission chairman willibrord davids
told journalists in the hague
banks back ferrero for cadbury bid report
