words gmt by sibel utku bila
attacks yemen qaeda politics thlead wrap
sanaa
yemeni security forces kill an al qaeda kingpin in shabwa province in intensive
operations against the group believed to be behind the botched bombing of us
airliner
words gmt by hammoud mounassar
asia
afghanistan unrest nato protest rdlead
kandahar afghanistan
seven people are killed during protests in southern afghanistan sparked by
rumours that foreign troops had desecrated koran an official says blaming
taliban for inciting the violence
words gmt by nasrat shoib
we will also move afghanistan unrest ndlead wrap
americas
health us politics
washington
president barack obama summons top congressional allies to the white house for
talks aimed at overcoming obstacles to remaking us health care his top domestic
priority
words gmt
africa
guinea unrest morocco burkinafaso wrap
ouagadougou
guinea junta chief moussa dadis camara who barely survived an assassination
attempt in december recuperates in burkina faso after his surprise departure
from hospital in morocco
words moved
iran criticises saudi over yemen conflict
tehran nov afp
iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad on wednesday criticised saudi arabia
military involvement in yemen conflict calling on riyadh to play mediator
role rather than to bomb fellow muslims
tell saudi arabian officials that it was expected of them to mediate in the
domestic dispute and make peace not to get themselves involved in the
war and use bombs and machine guns against muslims he said
if part of saudi arabia weapons had been used in favour of gaza people and
against the zionists israel today there would no trace of the zionist
regime ahmadinejad added in speech broadcast live on state television
in riyadh foreign minister prince saud al faisal swiftly shot back at
ahmadinejad accusing the iranians of interfering in yemen domestic affairs
this accusing saudi arabia of making war on the huthis don know where this
comes from saud said calling the charge dubious
this is interfering in the internal affairs of yemen he said
officials in predominantly shiite iran have repeatedly condemned the saudi
involvement in yemeni military operation launched on august against the
huthi insurgents members of the zaidi shiite minority in northern yemen
in mid november ali larijani iran parliament speaker accused tehran arch
foe washington of masterminding the saudi bombing of the rebels across the
border in yemen
the saudi military undertook its largest mobilisation since the kuwait war
following huthi border incursion in early november deploying fighter bombers
heavy artillery special forces and naval vessels against the rebels
ahmadinejad charge came one day after the saudi military said of its
soldiers had been killed and were missing in weeks of fighting huthi
militants along the two countries border
the saudis say they have killed or captured several hundred huthi fighters
prince saud did not elaborate on his charge of iranian interference but sanaa
has accused elements in tehran of giving military support to the huthis in the
mainly sunni country charge denied by iran
fiat workers strike against factory closure in italy
milan jan afp
hundreds of fiat workers in southern italy went on strike wednesday in protest
at the company decision to shut down factory the italian ansa news agency
said
production stopped at the termini imerese factory in sicily which employs
approximately staff while around workers from fiat and
subcontracted companies protested in palermo the island administrative
centre workers also took industrial action in december over the decision
fiat chief executive sergio marchionne who announced the closure last june to
cut costs has asked workers to continue production we are open to talks but
no one should ignore reality he said on tuesday
guglielmo epifani leader of italy main cgil trade union said the company
statements were throwing oil on the fire
previous strike took place at the end of december in sicily which has high
unemployment month earlier two hundred fiat workers occupied the town hall in
termini imerese
in december fiat announced it planned to increase its automobile production to
one million in italy by the end of compared to the cars it
assembles today
alert
obama vows swift coordinated and aggressive effort in haiti
france sends aid planes to haiti
paris jan afp
president nicolas sarkozy expressed his deep emotion wednesday after huge
quake rocked haiti as france said it was sending planes with rescuers and
humanitarian aid to the stricken state
the president expressed his solidarity with the people of haiti and with the un
personnel who were seriously affected by the earthquake in statement
released by his office
civil safety authorities on wednesday said total of french rescuers
doctors and nurses plus trained rescue dogs were due to reach haiti within
day with tonnes of aid and rescue material
france sent plane from the nearby french caribbean island of martinique with
police and rescuers and hospital staff authorities said and two other
military planes were due to make the trip later
another aid plane was due to take off from paris in the afternoon to haiti
where around french nationals live officials said
aides of cooperation minister alain joyandet told afp that the minister who is
responsible for foreign aid himself planned to visit haiti on saturday
the french humanitarian group medecins sans frontieres msf said it was
treating around people in its centres in port au prince and that it would on
wednesday send bed inflatable field hospital
the group employs expatriates and more than locals in haiti
medecins du monde another french aid group that operates in haiti said it was
sending extra staff and was chartering plane to transport tonnes of
equipment and medical supplies to the stricken country
aid group action contre la faim and the french red cross also said they were
mobilised
the strongest earthquake to hit haiti in more than century rocked the
impoverished caribbean nation tuesday toppling buildings and triggering fears
that thousands have been killed in widespread destruction
french foreign minister bernard kouchner former humanitarian aid worker said
in paris that the centre of the capital port de prince was completely
destroyed with the french embassy among the buildings ruined and hundreds of
french residents unaccounted for
lithuania remembers deadly soviet era crackdown
vilnius jan afp
lithuanians paid solemn tribute wednesday to the victims of an abortive soviet
crackdown on the baltic state independence drive nearly two decades ago
windows in homes and public buildings across the nation of million people
displayed candles in memory of the civilians who died in the january
assault by soviet forces
at ceremony in vilnius president dalia grybauskaite remembered those who
stood up to the soviets in non violent freedom movement
brute force was defeated by hope and the rallying round of lithuanians who will
never be forgotten she said
they inspire us to this day she added
lithuania declared independence in march after almost five decades of
soviet rule
it was the first soviet republic to break with moscow launching chain
reaction that ended in december with the demise of the entire bloc
after economic blockade failed to tame lithuania moscow set its forces
on the independence movement
at least civilians died and hundreds were injured in the january attack on
the vilnius television tower the state controlled media had swung behind
sajudis the freedom movement founded in
soviet forces called off an attack on parliament however when tens of
thousands of civilians built barricades and formed human shield around it
at least seven people died in similar crackdown on january in neighbouring
latvia
lithuanian officials faced repeated attacks over the ensuing months with six
customs officers and policemen dying at border post in july
after the failed kremlin coup by soviet hardliners that august moscow
recognised the independence of lithuania latvia and their fellow baltic state
estonia
six lithuanian soviet era officials were convicted and jailed in the for
their role in the crackdown
but lithuania has been unable to try the period red army garrison commander
general vladimir uskhopchik
he went on to become deputy defence minister of neighbouring ex soviet belarus
which last week reaffirmed its refusal to extradite him
vilnius relations with russia have also remained rocky notably since lithuania
joined the european union and nato in
on wednesday however grybauskaite office announced that it had asked russian
president dmitry medvedev to attend ceremony on march for the th
anniversary of its split from the soviet union the first ever such invitation
to the kremlin
urgent thousands feared dead in haiti president
miami florida jan afp
thousands are feared to have died in the huge quake that hit haiti president
rene preval told us daily wednesday as he issued plea for international
help
corrected port au prince archbishop among haiti quake dead report
rome jan afp
the archbishop of port au prince is among those killed in the huge earthquake
that devastated the city the missionary international service news agency
misna reported in rome on wednesday
the body of monsignor serge miot was pulled from the rubble of his offices
in port au prince misna said quoting missionaries from the saint jacques
society
misna also reported that the vicar general charles benoit is missing following
tuesday magnitude quake in mainly catholic haiti
un secretary general ban ki moon has called for massive relief effort with
buildings ruined and hundreds feared dead in the disaster
in first astronomers snatch distant planet fingerprint
paris jan afp
astronomers on wednesday said they had made the first direct capture of
spectrum of light from planet outside the solar system in what was landmark
in the search for extra terrestrial life
the light was snared from giant planet that orbits bright young star called
hr about light years from earth the nation european southern
observatory eso said in press release
hr has mass about one and half times that of the sun and hosts
planetary system that resembles scaled up model of our own solar system it
said
the target was the middle of three planets initially spotted in that
are between seven and times the mass of jupiter
the finding is important because light spectrum is like fingerprint eso
said hidden within it are telltales of the chemical elements in the planet
atmosphere
the result represents milestone in the search for life elsewhere in the
universe said eso
until now astronomers have been able to get only an indirect light sample from
an exoplanet as worlds beyond our solar system are called
they do this by measuring the spectrum of star twice while an orbiting
exoplanet passes in front of it and again while the planet is directly behind
it
the planet spectrum is thus calculated by subtracting one light sample from
another
but the method can only be used if the orientation of the exoplanet orbit is
exactly right and only tiny fraction of exoplanetary systems fall into this
category
hr is thousands of times brighter than the planet which means that sifting
out the spectrum was technical exploit
it like trying to see what candle is made of by observing it from
distance of two kilometers miles when it next to blindingly bright
watt lamp said markus janson who led team who uncovered the spectrum
they used an infrared detector on eso very large telescope located in
paranal chile
total of exoplanets have now been spotted since the first pegasi
unofficially called bellerophon was detected in according to the website
the extrasolar planets encyclopaedia http exoplanet eu
formula one boss revises saab bid negotiator
stockholm jan afp
group comprised of formula one boss bernie ecclestone and luxembourg
investment firm genii capital submitted on wednesday revised bid for swedish
carmaker saab to general motors the group swedish frontman said
we have made new offer showing the financial strength of genii ecclestone and
our long term financial commitment to saab which means that we are capable of
supporting saab for long period of time and are committed to the automotive
industry swedish businessman lars carlstroem told afp
the offer was made an hour ago at gmt we expect feedback from gm within
this week and we expect the start of discussions with gm within week also he
added
he refused to disclose any details of the offer
general motors chief executive ed whitacre said earlier this week that his
company wanted million dollars for saab which has barely turned profit in
two decades under gm ownership
gm which announced plans to wind down the iconic swedish brand on december
last week put saab into liquidation despite several last ditch bids for the
company
the bidders include the small dutch sports car maker spyker the genii
ecclestone group and swedish group fronted by the former chief executive of
german truck manufacturer man and former politician
on monday source familiar with the talks said spyker is the only one with
an attractive offer
gm has said that it is continuing the wind down procedure for saab and at the
same time studying any offers that come in
spyker founder and chief executive victor muller said tuesday his company has
the money to buy saab and said gm was considering its offer very seriously
saab which employs people in sweden is one of four storied brands being
shed by gm as part of massive restructuring effort that began in and
accelerated last year when the largest us automaker went bankrupt
analysts have warned that some jobs could be lost with saab closure
boxing hatton to return to ring
london jan afp
former world light welterweight champion ricky hatton will return to boxing this
year the englishman announced on his website on wednesday
hatton has been mulling his future since being knocked out by manny
pacquiao in las vegas in may
his only other defeat in fight career was to floyd mayweather jr in
december but the severity of his second round defeat by pacquiao led many
of his closest acquaintances to urge him to retire
despite that advice hatton has been unable to resist the lure of return to
the ring
ve decided to make comeback and have another fight this year probably
round about the summertime he said
there been no opponent that has been confirmed yet there been no date
confirmed yet but the point is have made my mind up am going to have one
more fight
an all british superfight between hatton and amir khan has been touted as one
possibility for the former champion comeback although khan promotor frank
warren has dismissed the idea
don feel ricky hatton should fight any more warren said last month it
crazy you ve only got to look at the size of him maybe he could get himself
down to the weight but one thing for sure his reflexes and his legs are
gone
hatton weight has always ballooned between fights and he insisted that his
decision to return to the ring had not been taken lightly
ve had good break good time off good time to reflect and put that
last fight behind me and really get over it and get my mind straight he said
think after the mayweather defeat jumped straight into action straight
away and didn really perform my best
but this time ve had good rest recharged the batteries and had really
good think put that last fight really behind me and happy to get back at it
now
hatton was unsure whether his comeback will be one off affair or not
going to have one more fight maybe two more fights it all depends on the
performance of the first fight it always hard coming back from defeat he
said
it would be very foolish of me to say two more fights three more fights
you can see ve set the wheels in motion for retirement ve got my
promotional company now got my health and fitness got my clothing brand
not going to have too many more fights at the minute definitely just
going to have one more
british students probed over hitler drinking game
london jan afp
british university has launched an investigation after its students allegedly
started an internet craze for hitler drinking game it said wednesday
huddersfield university in northern england said it was extremely disturbed by
the claim students were behind page on facebook outlining the game mock
homage to the nazi leadeer
it involved players laying out pack of cards in swastika shape picking them
out and performing forfeits with names like polish invasion and heil hitler
game
the original page on the social networking site had nearly members but
has now been shut down although another similiar site has since been set up
professor peter slee the university deputy vice chancellor said inquiries
would be made into whether its students were involved
we are shocked to hear about this game and extremely disturbed at the
allegations that students at this university have been taking part in it he
said
this is highly unusual incident and the university prides itself on its
multi cultural cohesive campus
we will be investigating these allegations which we take very seriously and
will take appropriate action once these investigations are complete
yachting oracle alinghi go back to court as talks break down
madrid jan afp
us challenger oracle launched new legal case against swiss defender alinghi
wednesday just weeks before the planned start of their america cup duel
after negotiations between the two rivals broke down
oracle said it had asked the supreme court of the state of new york to verify if
alinghi had infringed the competition nationality rules by using us made sails
for its catamaran
the two sides held talks in singapore on tuesday and wednesday to try and reach
negotiated settlement on the issue but no mutual agreement was reached
oracle represented by the golden gate yacht club ggyc of california said in
statement
this is very disappointing and frustrating said oracle skipper russell
coutts
on three separate occasions during the two days of talks there was final
draft of an agreement ggyc was ready to sign alinghi negotiators were
prepared to sign but it seems they were not given permission
there was no immediate statement from alinghi which has in the past accused
oracle of trying to win the america cup in the courts rather than on the
water
under the deed of gift the th century rules that govern the competition the
participating vessels must be constructed in the country where the sailing club
which they represent is located in alinghi case in switzerland
but oracle charges alinghi sails were made in the united states
the new development came as oracle trimaran with its metre fixed wing
sail and alinghi giant catamaran were to begin training off valencia this
weekend for the rd america cup scheduled to start there on february
it was not immediately clear what effect the latest move would have on plans for
the event
alinghi and oracle have been arguing over the rules of the america cup in
court since alinghi won the last edition of the world most prestigious
yachting event in valencia in
the new york supreme court ruled in april that the cup should be settled by
one on one multihull duel between the two sides next february instead of the
traditional fully fledged regatta involving several teams
it also ruled last month that the event must be held in valencia rejecting an
appeal by alinghi which favoured the gulf emirate of ras al khaimah
alert
thousands feared dead in haiti president tells us daily
portugese govt opposition to discuss budget thursday
lisbon jan afp
portugal minority socialist government will begin talks with the opposition on
thurdsay to secure an agreement on the budget as it grapples with
ballooning debt and deficits officials said
the move comes as rating agency moody warned on wednesday that portugal and
greece risked slow death unless they stabilised their finances and then put
them on sounder footing
portuguese officials told afp that meetings between the government and
opposition parties would begin thursday afternoon and involve finance minister
fernando teixeira dos santos
last week the government said dialogue with the conservative opposition on the
budget was in the national interest as the country struggles to emerge from the
economic crisis
the budget has to be submitted to parliament no later than january
the public deficit is expected to have topped percent of total economic
output last year well above the european union limit of percent with total
debt to output at around percent above the eu percent limit
corrected one child killed by nw pakistan playground bomb police
peshawar pakistan jan afp
bomb mistaken for toy killed one child and wounded five others wednesday at
playground near northwest pakistan taliban stronghold of south waziristan
police said
the blast took place in the town of tank which sits about kilometres
miles east of the lawless tribal belt that runs along the afghan border and has
become sanctuary for taliban and al qaeda linked militants
some children were playing at playground and blast took place in nearby
garbage heap killing one child and wounding five others tank police chief
ejaz abid told afp
children found toy from the garbage heap and when they were playing with it
it exploded he added
sadaqat paracha told afp by telephone that he was playing cricket with his
friends and went to fetch the ball from the corner of the playground when he
found ball of steel on the pile of rubbish
threw the ball towards the other children and as soon as it hit the ground
an explosion occurred and received wounds on my foot forehead and shoulder
paracha said from hospital
sheeraz ahmed another child said that the bomb looked like steel football
as soon as the ball touched the ground it exploded
local police official mohammad ali khan confirmed the toll and said bomb
disposal experts were at the scene
the child who died in the blast is nine years old and the wounded are between
five and twelve years old ali said
pakistan has in recent months seen wave of deadly bombings blamed on taliban
insurgents avenging multiple military offensives against them across the
northwest including an ambitious assault into south waziristan
on january suicide bomber killed people when he rammed car packed
with explosives into crowd of men women and children watching volleyball
match at village in lakki marwat district also close to south waziristan
blasts caused by mines and other unexploded ordnance have also been reported in
the past in tank district which unlike the semi autonomous tribal areas is part
of the north west frontier province and under direct government control
suicide and bomb attacks blamed on the taliban and al qaeda linked militants
have killed more than people in pakistan since july
the northwest has suffered the brunt of the militant campaign with suicide
bombings increasingly targeting civilians at least people were killed in
car bomb in october at packed market in the provincial capital peshawar
as our area borders south waziristan we cannot rule out the involvement of
taliban militants said abid but added that investigations were ongoing
rugbyu kiwi hape in england six nations squad
london jan afp
former new zealand rugby league international shontayne hape was named on
wednesday in england squad for the six nations rugby union tournament
the year old hape uncapped in union was joined in the man squad selected
by england manager martin johnson by another former rugby league player who has
yet to make his england debut in northampton in form wing chris ashton
hape who won caps for the kiwis in the man code joined fellow centre
riki flutey and hooker dylan hartley as the third new zealand born player in the
england squad
the back has been monitored by the england management since moving to bath from
bradford bulls rugby league club in
hape qualified for england on residency grounds and has been selected ahead of
shane geraghty and ayoola erinle who both played in england november series
to replace gloucester injured world cup winner mike tindall
if hape features during the six nations he will become the third former new
zealand rugby league international to play for england after henry paul and
lesley vainikolo
it gives us some good competition and depth in that area johnson explaining
hape selection told reporters at twickenham news conference here on
wednesday
his defence is outstanding he not an inexperienced guy he has the ability
to off load and make good decisions so it fantastic to have him in there
johnson england world cup winning captain insisted the presence of
several new zealand born players was not an issue as far as he was concerned
ve played with guys born overseas all my career johnson said it what
they do when they are in there that matters
you could never doubt south africa born mike catt commitment to england
hape has been brought in to bolster the attacking options of an england side
that managed just one try in three tests in november during win over
argentina that fell between defeats by australia and new zealand
ashton has scored tries in matches in all competitions so far this term
and the year old wing has formed productive partnership in the saints back
three with ben foden also called up into the england squad on wednesday
he not just year old he been around and it great chance for
him johnson said of ashton
but as well as the new boys there was place in the squad for world cup
winning fly half jonny wilkinson and flanker lewis moody england outstanding
performer in november
however wasps playmaker danny cipriani was chosen instead for the second string
saxons
but nick easter delon armitage flutey and toby flood who all missed the
november campaign through injury were though included in the senior squad
it good thing we have some of those core guys back in said johnson
and with england having finished runners up to grand slam champions ireland last
season johnson added we ve got good enough group of players to think about
winning any game in the six nations
england backs coach brian smith admitted recently he had been over
prescriptive in his november pre match planning and thus stifled some
potential attacking flair
we all recognised that said johnson who has lost eight of his tests in
charge since taking over in april and we had very frank discussion with
the players last week
former lock johnson refused to say whether second row steve borthwick england
captain in november would lead the side out for their six nations opener against
wales at twickenham on february
no captain will be named until before the first game that the way it
always been johnson said
wales well beaten by australia last time out in cardiff in november and
johnson said they ll be under pressure but so are we to degree that the
nature of the game
former presidents condemn murder of iran scientist
tehran jan afp
former iranian presidents akbar hashemi rafsanjani and mohammad khatami on
wednesday condemned the killing of top nuclear scientist media reported
the unfair assassination of this valuable physics scientist is an indication of
new plot against the islamic republic rafsanjani was quoted by state
television website as saying in message of condolence
rafsanjani an influential cleric heads the powerful arbitration body the
expediency council and also the assembly of experts which has the power to
supervise and replace supreme leader
khatami accused enemies of iran of being behind the murder of massoud ali
mohammadi particle physics professor at prestigious tehran university who was
killed by bomb on tuesday outside his home in the capital
the evil hand which committed this crime is undoubtedly the enemy of iran and
iranians and is seeking to create and spread crisis which is detrimental to
everyone khatami was quoted as saying in similar message carried by the
reformist mps website parlemannews ir
the two prominent politicians did not point finger at the us central
intelligence agency and israel mossad for the killing unlike iranian
officials
rafsanjani and khatami supported defeated opposition leader mir hossein mousavi
in the disputed june presidential election which saw hardline president mahmoud
ahmadinejad returned to office for another four years
hundreds of thousands of protesters poured onto the streets in show of support
for the opposition which charged that ahmadinejad re election was the result
of massive fraud
afp world economic news summary
paris jan afp
the top world economic stories on wednesday
us china it company internet spy google
san francisco google has vowed to defy chinese internet censors and risk
banishment from the lucrative market in outrage at highly sophisticated cyber
attacks aimed at chinese human rights activists
