tehran
iranian president mahmoud ahmadinjad says zionist methods were used in the
bombing of leading nuclear scientist as angry mourners chanting anti american
and anti israeli slogans bury the slain professor in tehran
words gmt by siavosh ghazi picture
mideast turkey israel eu analysis
ankara
the recent diplomatic spat between israel and turkey threatens to further poison
the already troubled ties between the estranged allies and raises fresh
questions on whether ankara is drifting away from the west towards the east and
the arab world
words gmt by michel sailhan
asia
afghanistan unrest wrap
kandahar afghanistan
twenty civilians are killed in bomb blast in crowded market in southern
afghanistan police say
words gmt
us china it internet google lead wrap
beijing
china declares its internet open but defends the censorship that prompted web
giant google to threaten to pull out of the country adding potential new
irritant in china us relations
words gmt by dan martin picture graphic video
africa
nigeria political president ndlead
abuja
lawyers petition nigeria high court to install president umaru yar adua
deputy as acting president until the ailing leader is well enough to return from
hospital in saudi arabia
words gmt by ola awoniyi
mozambique summit zimbabwe madagascar lead wrap
maputo
key southern african leaders gather in the mozambican capital maputo for
special summit on the political crisis in madagascar and the strained unity
government in zimbabwe
words gmt by joshua howat berger
americas
us finance economy banks obama rdlead
washington
president barack obama is to unveil fee on top financial firms which each
hold at least billion dollars in assets to recoup billions of taxpayer
dollars used to bail out the industry
words gmt by stephen collinson
mozambique millionaire president swears in for new term
maputo jan afp
mozambican president armando guebuza was sworn in for second five year term
thursday after he and the ruling party frelimo won landslide election victory
last year
speaking in the capital maputo to crowd that included heads of state from
around southern africa millionaire businessman guebuza promised to answer
voters calls to fight poverty in mozambique one of the poorest countries in
the world
the electoral results show that in our mozambique the will to fight poverty
goes beyond party lines said guebuza
with this wealth of confidence and legitimacy we want to bring to the
attention of the mozambican nation that the time has come to set aside political
differences which characterised the competition for votes and to devote
ourselves with all our strength to the fight against poverty
guebuza took record percent of the vote in mozambique october
election easily fending off long time opposition leader afonso dhlakama of the
renamo party and the founder of an opposition breakaway party daviz simango
guebuza said his first term had brought better schools more health centres
potable water computers electricity and jobs to mozambique improvements he
pledged to continue during his second term
ukraine must join eu in five years tymoshenko
kiev jan afp
ukrainian prime minister and presidential candidate yulia tymoshenko made an
impassioned vow thursday to bring ukraine into the eu within five years if she
wins this weekend elections
tymoshenko highlighted in keynote address in kiev the policy differences
between herself and her main rival viktor yanukovich who is leading the polls
and seen as pro russian figure
ukraine must become member of the european union and for me that is
priority will do everything so that during my presidency ukraine becomes
member of the eu tymoshenko said
she said an association agreement should be signed with the european union this
year as well as an accord on the creation of free trade zone
opinion polls show yanukovich with lead of around percent ahead of sunday
elections
however with candidates standing february run off is almost certain and
analysts believe the prime minister still has chance of making up ground by
then
tymoshenko has traditionally been seen as pro eu figure although the warmth of
her relationship with russian prime minister vladimir putin has led analysts to
conclude she has drawn closer to moscow
her former ally in the orange revolution that ousted the old elite in
president viktor yushchenko had also vowed to bring ukraine into the eu but his
plan fell apart amid chronic political instability and economic problems
ukraine presidential mandate is for five years
obama to unveil bank fee to cover bailout losses official
washington jan afp
president barack obama will thursday unveil fee on top financial firms
which each hold at least billion dollars in assets to recoup billions of
taxpayer dollars used to bail out the industry
the proposal to be included in obama next budget will be unveiled as many of
the firms rescued by public funds gear up to announce huge bonus payouts to top
executives at time of economic misery and high unemployment
the scheme is designed to raise billion dollars over years for the public
finances senior us official said on condition of anonymity
obama is determined to prevent wall street firms going back to business as usual
and resuming high risk lending practices and huge bets on mortgages and other
instruments he blames for igniting the financial crisis
the title of the initiative the financial crisis responsibility fee makes it
clear the administration is placing blame for the worst economic meltdown since
the great depression
it is in many ways offensive for those at our major financial institutions to
suggest they can today afford excessive often outlandish bonuses for their top
executives but cannot repay taxpayers senior us official said
we feel this is workable fee we feel it supports the goal of putting greater
burderns and less incentives to excessive size and excessive leverage
the obama administration has repeatedly said it will try to recoup the full cost
of the billion dollar troubled asset relief program tarp which was also
used to bail out crippled automakers
the official said that the program which has seen some money already paid back
would now effectively leave the government around billion dollars out of
pocket
the administration proposal which will need to be approved by congress will
apply only to firms with over billion dollars in assets the official said
it will cover around firms including that are us based and to which
are the us subsidies of foreign companies it will last years or as long as
is needed to recoup losses under tarp the official said
no small or community banks will be covered by the plan the official said
adding that the scheme was being put together in such way as to prevent the
firms passing on the costs to consumers
asean indonesia says china trade deal on track
danang vietnam jan afp
new regional trade pact with china is on track the asean secretary general
and jakarta foreign minister said thursday despite concerns from some
indonesian businesses
the agreement between china and southeast asia took full effect on january
liberalising billions of dollars in trade and investments in market of
billion consumers
association of southeast asian nations asean chief surin pitsuwan said
indonesia trade ministry had sent asean letter expressing some
difficulties
but he said there had been no appeal for any change or any renegotiation of
the pact to establish the world largest free trade area by population
indonesia foreign minister marty natalegawa told reporters the country is
committed to respect and abide by any international agreements that we have
reached including the asean china fta
on the sidelines of an asean meeting he said indonesia trade ministry had
passed to the bloc secretariat some business sectors concerns to see how they
could be addressed within the existing free trade agreement
we want to know how much difficulty our member states are in but so far
think it manageable and the most important thing is to keep the momentum on
course surin told afp at the asean foreign ministers meeting
indonesia has sent mixed messages over its position on the pact amid mounting
opposition from local industry groups who say hundreds of thousands of jobs
could be lost in flood of cheap chinese imports
indonesian trade ministry official gusmardi bustami said letter requesting
negotiations to delay full liberalisation on tariff lines for another two
years had been sent to asean in jakarta on december
but trade minister mari pangestu has refused to confirm that formal request
for further protection had been sent saying only that she had informally
discussed the sensitive tariff items with asean
surin said the trade ministry letter gave some details of the situation that
they are facing with the private sector but made no direct appeal for action
he said he did not expect the matter to be discussed during thursday asean
meeting trade ministers may be exchanging views but not in order to
renegotiate or open up the issues again surin said
under the pact china and the six founding asean countries brunei indonesia
malaysia philippines singapore and thailand are to eliminate barriers to
investment and tariffs on percent of products
members that joined asean later including vietnam and cambodia have until
to follow
urgent over un staff still missing after haiti quake un spokeswoman
geneva jan afp
more than un staff members are still unaccounted for two days after deadly
earthquake flattened much of haiti capital united nations spokeswoman said
thursday
irish retail prices drop pct in december
dublin jan afp
irish consumer prices slumped by percent in december over months as
the recession hit economy continues to be plagued by deflation official data
showed on thursday
consumer prices also decreased by percent in december compared with november
the central statistic office cso said in statement
as result prices on average as measured by the cpi consumer price index
were percent lower in december compared with december the cso added
service prices fell percent in the year to december while the prices of
goods fell by percent
ireland is suffering from deflation or sustained period of falling prices
which is danger in contracting economy because it encourages people to
defer purchases in the hope of enjoying even cheaper prices later on
ireland was the first eurozone country to enter recession as result of the
global financial crisis it enjoyed double digit growth during the
earning it the moniker celtic tiger
us missile strike targets pakistan taliban chief officials
peshawar pakistan jan afp
us drone missile strike thursday targeted pakistani taliban leader hakimullah
mehsud officials said but the militia denied reports that he was among
killed in the lawless northwest
at least four missiles from unmanned drones pounded militant training camp in
the morning along the remote and mountainous border area between taliban
strongholds north and south waziristan officials said
both districts border afghanistan and us officials say pakistan tribal belt
is the most dangerous region in the world and have been hammering it with
missile strikes to try to eliminate top al qaeda and taliban leaders
security officials said they were looking into reports that hakimullah mehsud
was present at the time of the attack but spokesman for the tehreek taliban
pakistan ttp group he leads said he had escaped
hakimullah mehsud was present at the same place in shaktoi where the drone
attack took place the spokesman azam tariq told afp by telephone
but he had left the area already when the drone attack took place he is alive
and completely safe
tariq did not say when mehsud left the area which pakistan security officials
described as very remote and under militant control making it difficult for
authorities to confirm if the warlord was indeed dead
the target of this drone strike was hakimullah an intelligence official in
north waziristan main city of miranshah told afp
he was present at this place for quite some time we are not sure whether he
was killed or survived we are investigating it
other security and intelligence officials in the area confirmed he was the
target but asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the strikes
we are receiving reports about his death but we are not percent sure
senior security official said
hakimullah mehsud assumed leadership of the group blamed for the deaths of
thousands of people in attacks in pakistan after his predecessor baitullah
mehsud was killed in us drone strike in early august last year
the ttp denied baitullah mehsud death for weeks apparently amid fierce
infighting over his succession hakimullah mehsud himself had to counter rumours
of his own demise at the hands of rival militant in october
he appeared in video clip vowing severe new attacks to avenge baitullah
mehsud death and since then there has been surge in deadly bomb blasts
targeting civilian gathering places and government installations
then on january the ttp chief appeared in video clip alongside jordanian
who blew himself up on us military base in afghanistan last month killing
seven cia agents and his jordanian handler
the bomber also claimed the attack was to avenge the death of baitullah mehsud
and sources close to intelligence services said us efforts to track hakimullah
mehsud had been stepped up since the cia bombing
drone missile strikes by unmanned us aircraft have also soared recently as us
president barack obama puts pakistan at the heart of his administration fight
against al qaeda and islamist extremists
thursday assault was the seventh strike this month
it was us drone strike at least people mostly militants have been
killed said local intelligence official the targeted site was militant
training camp
the strikes fuel anti american sentiment in the muslim nation and draw public
condemnation from the government but us officials defend them as necessary to
protect around us and nato troops in afghanistan
while washington is pressing islamabad to tackle militants who use its soil to
launch attacks in afghanistan pakistan armed forces last year launched
multiple assaults on ttp strongholds across the tribal belt
in late october the army said it had captured hakimullah mehsud hometown of
kotkai in south waziristan and the military offensive there is believed to have
made dent in taliban ranks and dismantled some strongholds
ex gitmo yemeni warns of inmates return to extremism
sanaa jan afp
yemeni ex inmates of the us military detention centre at guantanamo bay who have
returned home could slip back into violence if they are not helped to
reintegrate into society one of them says
if the former detainees of guantanamo who were released after being unjustly
imprisoned for long time and tortured do not receive help to quickly
reintegrate into their society they could be tempted by extremism and
violence saleh mohammed ali zuba told afp in an interview
if an innocent man who has been tortured does not get support from the
authorities in his country in order to reintegrate he could become
extremist explode himself as suicide bomber and kill innocents he added
married to two women and the father of zuba has been unemployed since he was
released and returned to yemen more than two years ago
he complains that the government has done nothing to look after him or help him
find stable source of income
sporting red dyed beard the year old describes himself as pacific
islamist who wants to apply islamic law sharia but not according to the
model of those who launch attacks or kill innocents in the name of islam
he says he was nabbed by chance in the afghan region of tora bora shortly after
the september attacks on the united states he said he was captured by
afghans who sold him for dollars to the americans
his suffering from heart condition was the root of his misfortune
he said he went to pakistan for treatment because he was told it was cheap and
then ended up in kandahar afghanistan after being advised by some arabs that he
could receive medical treatment there
he then found himself in an al qaeda camp near kandahar and then at tora bora
where he saw osama bin laden getting out of minibus accompanied by gunmen
following an air raid on the area
they did not try to recruit me due to my age and frail health he said
after his capture he was taken from tora bora to kandahar and passed through
kabul and bagram before ending up in guantanamo bay in cuba in mid
at the beginning the americans did not treat me for the heart problems had
but after medical exams they operated on me and hospitalised me for four
months he said
after that physical torture stopped only to give way to psychological
torture he added
zuba did not describe how he was tortured
my memory has suffered but shall never forget how much suffered at
guantanamo where at the end of six years was told that my detention was
unjustified and that my presence was mistake he said
although have never been to school learned lot during this journey much
more than could have learned at university he said
at guantanamo learned lot about al qaeda and radical groups stuff that
had never known
zuba who stressed that he did not know of any former yemeni detainees who had
returned to extremism remembers remarks made by us investigator to prisoners
as they were being released you are not members of al qaeda but from now on
you are well placed to become so
close to half of the detainees left at guantanamo bay are from yemen
seven yemeni detainees have already been sent home by the obama administration
including six in december several others were repatriated during george
bush administration
last year us president barack obama set january as the date to close
the detention camp in southeast cuba but he has suspended transfers of freed
guantanamo bay inmates to yemen following the botched christmas day attack on
us airliner claimed by the yemeni branch of al qaeda
lawyers challenge nigerian president fitness to rule
abuja jan afp
lawyers petitioned nigeria federal high court on thursday to install president
umaru yar adua deputy as acting president until the ailing leader is well
enough to return from hospital in saudi arabia
the same court ruled on wednesday that vice president goodluck jonathan could
take full executive powers pending yar adua recovery
the court said jonathan cannot become the acting president but can only carry
out the functions of the president in his absence which he has been doing and
should continue to do so
but lawyers are persisting with three separate legal challenges in the abuja
court to force the year old president to swear in johathan as acting
president with full powers until he recovers
the nigerian bar association human rights lawyer femi falana and former
lawmaker farouk adamu aliyu filed separate suits last week on the grounds that
yar adua is incapacitated
falana dismissed wednesday court ruling as meaningless because no functions
have been formally and directly delegated to jonathan by yar adua
the ruling has not addressed the vacuum on the ground falana said
yar adua absence since november has caused political and legal furore in
africa second biggest oil exporter
the opposition says that government business has been stalled and that democracy
in africa most populous nation is facing its most serious threat in the decade
since the end of military rule
wednesday court ruling focused on section of the constitution which states
that executive powers are vested in the president and may be exercised directly
by him or through the vice president or ministers
justice minister michael aondoaaka who is also nigeria attorney general
hailed wednesday ruling saying it had exonerated the government position
that there is no power vacuum in the african giant
but thursday cases are seeking to bring separate clause of the constitution
to bear on yar adua leadership which lawyers say requires the president to
officially hand over powers to jonathan as acting head of state
yar adua broke day silence on tuesday telling the bbc in telephone
interview that he was getting better and intended to return to work
but the interview failed to calm the opposition clamour for him to step aside
ruling people democratic party chairman vincent ogbulafor described the
attempts to force yar adua aside as unnecessary and shameful and said they
were aimed at destabilising the country
crew of stricken yacht rescued off indonesia race organisers
london jan afp
five british and eight irish crew members were rescued after their yacht hit
rocks off the coast of indonesia organisers of round the world race said
thursday
the cork clipper was holed after hitting rocks near the island of gosong
mampango in the java sea miles km northeast of jakarta on wednesday
said statement on the clipper round the world race website
the alarm was raised by british coastguards who contacted international rescue
services late wednesday after being contacted by another yacht in the race which
came to the irish and british sailors rescue
clearly our priority has been the safety of the crew and we have confirmation
that all on board have evacuated and are now safe said robin knox johnston
chairman of the race organisers
their welfare is our prime concern at this time
the mile km race started in britain in september
china says indians detained over diamond smuggling
beijing jan afp
china said thursday that indian nationals were among about people detained
in the south of the country near the hong kong border for allegedly smuggling
diamonds
think this is the case foreign ministry spokeswoman jiang yu said when
asked to confirm state media reports
jiang provided no other details on the case but said indian consular officials
had been allowed to meet with their detained nationals
this case is still under investigation believe the legitimate rights and
interests of those involved will be guaranteed according to law she said
total of foreigners were among those detained after authorities in the
southern boomtown of shenzhen busted the smuggling ring last friday the reports
said
police and customs officials in shenzhen were quoted as saying the ring had
smuggled the diamonds into china from hong kong
the reports have not given the nationalities of the other foreigners held
officials at the indian embassy in beijing were not immediately available for
comment
police and customs officials in shenzhen also declined comment when contacted by
afp
foreign countries regularly voice concern when their nationals are detained in
china amid perceptions that the country legal system lacks transparency
last month britain expressed fury over what it called china unacceptable
execution of its national akmal shaikh for drugs smuggling the man family
said he suffered from bipolar disorder and delusions
alert
over un staff still missing after haiti quake un spokeswoman
iran frees mournful mothers opposition figures website
tehran jan afp
iran has released so called mournful mothers who were arrested for
protesting the death or disappearance of their children in post election unrest
an opposition website reported thursday
the authorities also released an aide to former reformist president mohammad
khatami as well as brother in law of opposition leader mir hossein mousavi
according to kaleme org
all of the mournful mothers were released from detention on tuesday they
were kept in evin prison or in police station for hours the website
reported it gave no further details
on sunday kaleme org quoting witnesses said the women were rounded up saturday
in tehran laleh park
there were around mothers in the park and the security chased them out
number of them escaped but around were arrested and were forcefully taken
into police vans one witness said
on tuesday washington called for the immediate release of mournful mothers
group of mothers whose children have gone either missing or killed in protests
unleashed following ahmadinejad re election
kaleme org is the website of key opposition leader and defeated presidential
candidate mousavi who charges that president mahmoud ahmadinejad re election
in june was fraudulent
it also reported that khatami aide morteza haji was also released along with
mousavi brother in law shahpur kazemi
both had been detained in the aftermath of the december anti government
protests during the shiite religious commemoration of ashura which left eight
people dead
the post vote unrest now in its seventh month was triggered by ahmadinejad
disputed re election in the june poll which the opposition charged was
massively rigged to keep the hardliner in power
hundreds of thousands of opposition supporters poured into streets in week long
protests and have held sporadic demonstrations ever since mainly alongside
state sponsored events
toll in afghan suicide attack on market rises to general
kandahar jan afp
twenty people were killed when suicide bomber blew himself up in crowded
market in restive area of southern afghanistan on thursday an afghan army
general told afp
this was suicide bomber on foot who detonated himself at the gate of money
exchange market said general abdul hameed the commander of the afghan
national army in uruzgan province
up to now civilians have been killed and wounded he said
urgent toll in afghan suicide attack on market rises to general
kandahar jan afp
twenty people were killed when suicide bomber blew himself up in crowded
market in restive area of southern afghanistan on thursday an afghan army
general told afp
cricket thorpe to coach lions batsmen on uae tour
london jan afp
former test batsman graham thorpe has been appointed as batting coach for the
england lions tour of the united arab emirates next month the england and wales
cricket board ecb announced on thursday
thorpe who has been batting coach for surrey since joins coaching team
which also includes david parsons ecb performance director and fast bowling
specialist kevin shine
the lions england development side will contest three matches against
pakistan matches against the uae and england and three over fixtures
against pakistan at the dsc stadium dubai
thorpe who averaged just under in tests for england said he was looking
forward to the tour
it great opportunity for me and grateful to surrey for giving me the
freedom to take it on he said over the course of my time with the team
hope that can offer them some good advice and be someone they learn lot
from
parsons added have no doubt that the squad of aspiring england players will
benefit from graham experiences both as hugely successful international
cricketer and now coach
we will face some tough opposition during our tour of the uae and the coaching
team will be working hard to ensure that we are well prepared
haitians await rescuers as quake toll may top
port au prince jan afp
desperate haitians awaited global effort thursday to find and treat survivors
from an earthquake that left streets strewn with corpses and death toll that
may top
hundreds of thousands of homeless injured and traumatized quake victims spent
second night on the streets and sidewalks transforming the capital port au
prince into gigantic and under equipped refugee camp as haitian officials and
others grieved for their ruined city
schools hospitals hotels ministries and the presidential palace lay in ruins
and people caked in blood and dust pleaded for help as they or their loved ones
lay trapped beneath mountains of concrete in mostly destroyed port au prince
an afp correspondent said
reflecting the mood of hopelessness pervading the city of two million which is
thoroughly unprepared to cope with tragedy of this magnitude preacher
warned in creole about the end of the world
jeanwell antoine held trapped baby arm and sought to comfort it as he clawed
through the rubble
it is not me who is pushing back this earth it is the hand of god who loves
life and is guiding me so can save this baby he said
with every hour crucial for those trapped global aid operation swung into
action with rescue teams bringing heavy lifting gear sniffer dogs and
desperately needed medicines food and water
the priority is to find survivors elisabeth byrs spokeswoman for the un
office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs said as the un mobilized
search and rescue teams
we are working against the clock she said
casualty figures were impossible to calculate but prime minister jean max
bellerive told cnn the final death toll from the quake could be well over
president rene preval told the network could be dead
us secretary of state hillary clinton who canceled an asia trip and returned to
washington early thursday compared the tragedy to the asian tsunami which
killed more than people five years ago
the indian ocean tsunami was such terrible tragedy and with such high loss of
life this will be very high loss of life as well she said
preval unsure of where he would sleep after his home and the presidential
palace were destroyed painted scene of utter devastation
parliament has collapsed the tax office has collapsed schools have collapsed
hospitals have collapsed he told the miami herald
in tokyo haiti charge affaires jean claude bordes mourned for city he
learned had been totally destroyed by the epic quake
the conversations had by phone were not too long just heard screams our
country is destroyed we have nothing left it god will we have to accept
