corps
he said the insurgents were likely killed during fighting with rival islamist
militants but did not name the groups were involved
in northwest swat pakistani officials have previously found about
unexplained corpses some beheaded or strung up raising fears of extra
judicial killings two more bodies were discovered friday
we have found two dead bodies which were dumped by the roadside both of these
were militants said swat police chief qazi ghulam farooq
swat slipped out of government control in july after radical cleric maulana
fazlullah mounted violent campaign to enforce sharia law although the army
says last year offensive has largely ousted taliban fighters
also friday in khyber district near the afghan border taliban fighters killed
prominent tribal elder who had raised militia against them
malik ibrahim car was ambushed by taliban militants in wazir dhand village of
jamrud he was killed on the spot said local administrative official rehan gul
khatok
nearly people have died in pakistan in attacks blamed on the taliban and
other militants since july and the army last year launched multiple
offensives across the northwest to try and dismantle insurgent strongholds
skoda auto scores record global sales in
prague jan afp
czech based automaker skoda auto unit of germany volkswagen scored record
sales in mainly thanks to markets in china and europe despite the global
crisis company officials said friday
global skoda sales jumped by percent in over the previous year from
in to skoda auto spokesman jaroslav cerny said
in china skoda sold cars in up percent from he said
in western europe the german market was the strongest he told reporters at
the company headquarters in the central czech city of mlada boleslav
cerny said new skoda cars were registered in germany in under
cash for clunkers government subsidy scheme
skoda saw its share of the german auto market grow to percent last year from
percent in he said
skoda auto sales also grew by percent in france percent in austria
percent in switzerland and percent in poland
at home in the czech republic the automaker reported percent decline in
sales last year the czech republic did not introduce cash for clunkers
subsidy scheme
after banner year skoda auto director of sales reinhard fleger said
would be difficult test for the automaker
czech car makers bucked low demand caused by the global economic crisis
boosting their output to new record in according to final output data
released by trade association on wednesday
producers skoda auto peugeot citroen and toyota joint venture tpca and south
korea hyundai raised output by percent from to record cars
last year the data showed
iran arrests dissident cleric warns against protest calls
tehran jan afp
iran has stepped up pressure on the opposition arresting dissident cleric and
warning against using sms and email messages to organise anti government
protests reports said on friday
mid ranking cleric mohammad taghi khalaji who was close to late dissident grand
ayatollah hossein ali montazeri was arrested at his home in the city of qom on
tuesday reformist website norooznews said
the reason for his arrest is not known yet but he had on several occasions
backed protests against election results which saw president mahmoud
ahmadinejad returned for second term amid allegations of massive fraud the
report said
iranian authorities have launched new wave of arrests following bloody
protests during shiite mourning rituals of ashura on december when eight
people were killed
the detained cleric son mehdi khalaji is senior research fellow at the
washington institute for near east policy and two members of the us house of
representatives condemned the arrest
the regime intimidation and imprisonment of clerics critical of the current
government must cease at once ileana ros lehtinen and howard berman said in
joint statement
we are deeply concerned by reports that the iranian regime has arrested
ayatollah khalaji and confiscated both his and his family personal
possessions and passports thereby preventing them from leaving iran they
added
norooznews did not say whether passports and possession had been seized
iranian clerics backing the opposition have faced mounting pressure by
hardliners since the death of montazeri whose december funeral was attended by
thousands of opposition supporters
an outspoken critic of the islamic regime he helped create montazeri joined the
opposition by calling for protests and branding ahmadinejad government as
illegitimate
the disputed june election triggered mass street protests for week which
were met by heavy crackdown
since then opposition supporters have taken to the streets on every possible
occasion to stage anti government rallies especially alongside state sponsored
events
iran police chief meanwhile has warned opposition supporters against using
text and email messages to organise rallies amid reports new demonstrations are
being planned isna news agency said friday
these people should know where they are sending the sms and email as these
systems are under control they should not think using proxies will prevent
their identification esmail ahmadi moghaddam said
if these people continue their data records will be examined and those who
organise or issue appeals have committed worse crime than those who come to
the streets he warned
iran cyber savvy young opposition supporters have used the internet
effectively since unrest erupted after the disputed election to organise
demonstrations and spread news and pictures
reports are now circulating that the opposition plans to take to the streets
again on the anniversary of the islamic revolution on february
the authorities have taken to blocking text messaging and slowing down internet
speeds on protest days and vowed to show no tolerance towards any new protests
as hardliners demand severe action against demonstrators and opposition leaders
some senior hardline clerics have gone as far as declaring them as mohareb
or enemies of god who deserve execution
hundreds were arrested during the ashura protests and isna friday reported that
the iranian judiciary has indicated it will soon put on trial of those
rounded up with one among them accused of being mohareb
the judiciary did not identify the defendants and said that the other were
charged with gathering and conspiring against security and propaganda against
the system
oil prices slide under dollars
london jan afp
oil prices fell further on friday on weak energy demand and news the us
commodity and options regulator was looking to tighten controls in the energy
futures market analysts said
in report the international energy agency also said oil demand in will
be sluggish in the developed world with emerging markets accounting for any
increases and top producers switching supplies to eastern growth markets
brent north sea crude for march delivery dropped cents to dollars
barrel in london deals
new york main futures contract light sweet crude for delivery in february
slid cents to dollars barrel
oil prices slipped on thursday as traders weighed weak energy demand in the
united states that raised concern about the strength of fragile recovery in
the world largest economy
the us department of energy doe on wednesday reported an unexpected increase
in us petroleum reserves
in roller coaster week new york crude hit month high of dollars on
monday after robust chinese data but subsequently tumbled on news that beijing
was tightening money supply to tame economic growth
think this was much needed correction because oil had run up to almost
dollars said tony nunan risk manager with mitsubishi corp
lot of this optimism and euphoria was driven by chinese demand
china is major oil consumer like the united states
nunan said the increase in us energy stockpiles was reality check because
people realised that the inventories were still high so there lot of
fear and uncertainty in the market now
the doe said crude reserves soared million barrels in the week ending
january far more than the consensus forecast for million barrel gain
distillates including heating fuel and diesel rose million barrels
the doe said confounding forecasts for million barrel drop
distillates are currently in focus amid an ongoing cold snap in the united
states but forecasters have predicted milder weather for the weeks ahead
prices were also impacted by the commodity futures trading commission proposal
thursday to regulate the energy futures market
there strong feeling that it could impose conditions on energy contracts
so think that was one of the bearish catalysts for oil prices nunan said
meanwhile the iea warned of possible downside risks to economic recovery for
members of the organisation for economic cooperation and development oecd
which groups the world richest economies
oil demand recovery in the oecd will likely remain sluggish the paris based
iea said in its monthly oil market report
demand growth in derives entirely from outside the oecd it added
the iea left unchanged an earlier forecast of percent rise in demand in
to million barrels per day mbd
the report explained that much of that increase would come from asian markets
alongside latin america and the former soviet union
urgent jp morgan reports billion dollar net profit in th quarter
washington jan afp
banking giant jp morgan chase on friday posted net profit of dollars in
the fourth quarter of topping market expectations
british aid worker missing in haiti
london jan afp
british aid worker with the united nations is among people missing following
the devastating earthquake in haiti the foreign office said on friday
there are so far no confirmed british casualties following tuesday quake but
diplomats have been rushed to port au prince and are checking on britons
reportedly there
we are aware of reports that british national is missing and we are aware
that the united nations is reporting number of casualties at its headquarters
in port au prince said foreign office spokeswoman
the foreign office declined to name the woman aid worker but diplomatic
source identified her as ann barnes authorities are in contact with her family
said the source
prime minister gordon brown office said diplomats have checked on more than
britons in haiti to ensure they were safe
britain non resident ambassador based in the neighbouring dominican republic
has travelled to port au prince to work with consular officials spokesman
said
we are beginning to repatriate the first british nationals in coordination
with us canadian and other european union countries said the foreign office
spokeswoman adding that to date one briton has been evacuated from haiti
alert
jp morgan reports billion dollar net profit in fourth quarter
urgent cuba allows us to use its airspace for aid flights to haiti
washington jan afp
the united states said friday it had been granted rare permission to use cuban
airspace for aid flights to quake hit haiti
berlusconi lawyers ask for corruption trial restart
milan jan afp
corruption trial against italian prime minister silvio berlusconi resumed on
friday with his lawyers asking for earlier hearings to be invalidated and
proceedings started again from scratch
the billionaire politician is accused of buying the silence of his british
former tax lawyer david mills for dollars euros in two court
cases in the mid
berlusconi also faces tax fraud trial set to resume monday involving
his sprawling media empire
decision to restart the bribery case from the beginning would effectively
cancel the trial as the statute of limitations is set to apply on april
according to the italian news agency ansa
the defence believes the past actions of the court are no longer usable one
of berlusconi lawyers piero longo told reporters before the hearing
the case against berlusconi was suspended in october under law he
initiated shortly after winning elections with comfortable majority that
granted him immunity from prosecution while in power
italy constitutional court quashed the immunity law in october allowing
the trial to resume
mills tried separately in the case was sentenced to four years in prison
under italian law berlusconi lawyers can seek the invalidation of all
proceedings leading up to the trial of mills who is separated from britain
olympics minister tessa jowell
berlusconi did not attend court on friday but another of his lawyers niccolo
ghedini said he would come when needed adding that two further procedural
hearings were expected in january
russian charged with murder at arctic weather station
moscow jan afp
meteorologist at remote weather station in the russian arctic has been
charged with murdering colleague and trying to cover it up as suicide
investigators said friday
the killing took place on september at station on vaigach island in the
arctic ocean around miles kilometres north of moscow russia
investigative committee said in statement
the station chief who was not named strangled his colleague as the result of
conflict afraid of being charged with the crime he shot the victim in the
head with flare pistol the committee said
afterwards the suspect told police that the victim had committed suicide but an
autopsy showed that the dead man was the victim of deliberate murder it
said
the station chief had been unhappy with the work of the victim the committee
said
the victim was mechanic the ria novosti news agency reported citing russian
weather centre official vladimir trukhin
the station chief had worked in the arctic for years the gazeta ru news
website reported citing pyotr boyarsky marine scientist familiar with the
work of the station
vaigach island is sacred place to the indigenous nenets people who inhabit
the region
during the the island housed prison camp where inmates extracted zinc
and lead ore the weather station was built in
the station closed in december after its heating system broke down and the
remaining staff were unable to fix it officials at russia state weather
service said thursday
its last five staff members left on december
iea downgrades oil demand forecast
paris jan afp
the international energy agency on friday revised down its forecast for world
oil demand in saying trade would be sluggish in rich nations and growth
would come only from emerging economies
the iea forecast that demand would be million barrels per day mbd this
year compared to its estimate made last month of mbd
the paris based agency also warned of possible downside risks to economic
recovery in the member nations of the organisation for economic cooperation and
development oecd grouping of of the world richest economies
oil demand recovery in the oecd will likely remain sluggish it said adding
demand growth in derives entirely from outside the oecd
the iea said demand would rise percent from to mbd
the report also explained that much of that increase would come from asian
markets and some of it from latin america and the former soviet union
in the united states the world biggest economy and largest oil consumer the
iea said demand continues to fall relative to very weak baseline
the us economy remains fragile the iea added
oil prices extended their losses after the publication of the report with new
york main futures contract light sweet crude for delivery in february
falling cents to dollars barrel in trading
the iea is still more optimistic than the us department of energy that
forecasts demand increase of mbd for and whose projection has also
been revised slightly downwards germany commerzbank said in note
in its report the iea said top producers such as russia and saudi arabia were
now increasingly switching their supplies to growth markets in asia away from
traditional big buyers in europe and the united states
saudi arabia has been increasingly diverting both grades arab heavy and arab
medium crude oil to meet growing domestic power generation and higher sales
into asian markets the report said
saudi exports of arab heavy to europe in the first nine months of were down
to just kbd crude oil measurement unit from kbd in and
kbd in while export volumes to asia have gone up it added
russia is following similar trend with the inauguration in december of new
pipeline and asian export terminal in eastern russia and rerouting of crude
oil from baltic and black sea ports to the east in the iea said
the iea study also reported surge in oil prices earlier this month because of
the arctic chill in europe and the united states with prices rising to month
highs but later easing to between and dollars per barrel
the weather related surge in prices that ushered in the new year may prove
fleeting because of backlog in supplies the iea said adding that the
market would look for signs of economically driven oil demand growth
political tensions in iran nigeria and russia have also helped boost prices in
recent weeks by raising the prospect of supply disruptions the iea said
pointing in particular to brewing russia belarus oil transit dispute
alert
cuba allows us to use its airspace for aid flights to haiti
radical yemen cleric zendani renews call for jihad
sanaa jan afp
powerful yemeni cleric sheikh abdulmajeed al zendani said on friday it would be
religious duty dictated by god to defend yemen through jihad or holy war
if it is occupied by foreign power
from the moment the enemy invite itself onto our territory and occupies us our
religion imposes the obligation of jihad on us said zendani who has been
labelled global terrorist by the us administration
it is religious duty dictated by god he said adding in firm voice this
order of god cannot be annulled by anyone not king not president not
ulema muslim scholars zendani said during friday prayer sermon in the
yemeni capital
yemen council of clerics which includes zendani called on thursday for jihad
if foreign troops join the war on al qaeda in the impoverished arabian peninsula
country
if any party insists on aggression or invades the country then according to
islam jihad becomes obligatory said statement signed by clerics read at
news conference
the clerics also stressed strong rejection of any foreign intervention in
yemeni affairs whether political or military
they also rejected any security or military agreement or cooperation between
yemen and any foreign party if it violates islamic sharia law and the
setting up any military bases in yemen or in its territorial waters
in his friday sermon zendani repeated that we reject any interference in
yemeni affairs adding that the right of self defence is duty
the chairman of the us senate armed services committee carl levin on wednesday
urged washington to consider targeting al qaeda militants in yemen with armed
drones air strikes or covert operations but not invade the country
most options ought to be on the table short of invasion by us forces the
michigan democrat said
al qaeda franchise in yemen al qaeda in the arabian peninsula claimed
responsibility for the botched christmas day attack on us airliner and
washington has accused the group of training the alleged assailant nigerian
umar farouk abdulmutallab
zendani had warned on monday that any us military intervention in yemen to fight
al qaeda would be considered an occupation
the yemeni government has intensified its operations against al qaeda insisting
that it can tackle the militants on its own without the need for foreign
military intervention
yemen is not afghanistan nor pakistan where terrorists constantly launch
attacks while the authorities try to respond here we anticipate the threat
yemen is not hideout for the terrorists and will never be yemen head of
national security ali anisi said this week
one of the members of the council of clerics sheikh saleh salabani was blunt
in predicting failure for the americans if they do get involved
us strikes he said would drive the populace into the arms of al qaeda
we might not love al qaeda he said but it is for our government to get rid
of them and not anyone else
and the country defence ministry vowed on thursday to do just that
it said it would clear yemen of al qaeda jihadists and warned that intensive
operations will continue against osama bin laden extremists
citizens have been warned not to hide any al qaeda members and have been urged
to cooperate with the security forces against the extremists the defence
ministry sep net website quoted security source as saying
so far us president barack obama has said he has no intention of sending
troops to yemen or to somalia in the horn of africa just across the bab al
mandab strait
the arabian peninsula country the poorest in the region is under pressure to
rein in the extremists and the united states and britain have announced plans
to fund the country police counter terrorism unit
sarkozy to decide on renault production abroad minister
paris jan afp
french president nicolas sarkozy will decide during crucial meeting saturday
with renault chief carlos ghosn whether the carmaker will be able to shift
production to turkey minister said
france number two carmaker renault has come under heavy pressure from the
government to keep jobs at home following press reports about planned shift in
production of its clio model from france to turkey
industry minister christian estrosi said renault production strategy was
political issue
this will be decided during meeting saturday between the president of the
republic and renault president carlos ghosn estrosi told reporters
the french state is renault biggest shareholder with percent stake
the minister met this week with renault chief operating officer patrick
pelata who said no decision had been made on stepping up production in turkey
for the new clio iv
no decision has been taken because it is not yet time to make decisions he
said but added that some of the new clio assembly will take place in france
in any case the clio will be produced in flins near paris regardless of
what happens and that is very clear said pelata
france minister for europe pierre lellouche rejected suggestions that the
pressure on renault to not move production abroad could violate the terms of the
french deal last year to support the car industry
eu competition commissioner neelie kroes said in brussels that there was an
apparent contradiction between the french government latest move and
promises it made last year that subsidised loans to national car producers would
not affect their freedom to move their operations
nothing in the agreed commitments forbids the state as shareholder from
discussing the company strategy with renault managers and expressing its
wish to have vehicle intended for the european market made in the eu
lellouche said in statement
french government measures taken last year to support the auto sector in the
economic downturn included generous loans to carmakers on condition that they
keep production and jobs in france
we re not giving all that money to support the auto sector so that all our
factories can leave to go abroad sarkozy told members of parliament at an
elysee meeting on wednesday
strongly contest the idea that these big companies just because they are
global no longer have nationality
budget minister eric woerth separately said that the state was not planning to
increase its stake in renault but if that what is needed then we will do
it
us embassy warns of terrorist attacks planned in borneo
kuala lumpur jan afp
the united states embassy in malaysia issued warning friday that criminal and
terrorist groups are planning attacks against foreigners in sabah state on
borneo island
the embassy said there was present concern over resorts in isolated areas in
eastern sabah including the diving island of sipadan where foreign hostages
were snatched in
there are indications that both criminal and terrorist groups are planning or
intend acts of violence against foreigners in eastern sabah the embassy said
in warden notice on its website
the abu sayyaf group based in the southern philippines has kidnapped
foreigners in eastern sabah in the past
the advisory identified the destinations of semporna mabul and sipadan and
called on citizens to please avoid or use extreme caution in connection with
any travel in these areas or locations
the us travel advisory on malaysia already warns of the threat of criminal and
terrorist attacks in sabah but friday information was more specific on the
areas targeted
in the abu sayyaf militant group took people hostage including
foreigners in sipadan and took them to their base on jolo island holding most
of them for several months
us embassy spokeswoman could not immediately give further details
deputy national police chief ismail omar said he was aware of the advisory
have alerted the sabah police chief to put our policemen all over sabah and
to be on highest surveillance we will monitor the situation and upgrade the
security he told afp
ismail could not confirm whether terrorist attack was imminent but said given
the advisory we would rather not take chances and put extra manpower on duty
wfp says port au prince warehouses looted
geneva jan afp
the wfp said friday that its warehouses in haiti capital port au prince have
been looted and that it would have to restock in order to provide urgent food
aid for million people affected by the deadly earthquake
our warehouses in port au prince have been looted we will have to restock
spokeswoman emilia casella said
in an emergency looting is something that is not unusual she added
casella said the agency estimates that some two million people would require
urgent food assistance in the coming month
the un food agency is examining the possibility of setting up kitchens in
the capital particularly in areas where many homeless people are concentrated
each kitchen is expected to feed about people day added casella
highlighting challenges faced by relief organisations on the ground casella
said the physical destruction is so great that physically getting from point
to point with the supplies is not an easy task she said
getting physically tonnes and tonnes of equipments of food and water is not as
instant as twitter or skype or hour satellite news she added
football mowbray denies rift with board over caldwell exit
glasgow jan afp
celtic manager tony mowbray insists he has not fallen out with the scottish
premier league club directors over the surprise sale of defender gary caldwell
to wigan this week
scotland centre back caldwell joined english premier league strugglers wigan on
thursday amid claims he was sold against the manager wishes
the year old left parkhead six months before his celtic deal was due to
expire after talks over an extension broke down
caldwell had hinted mowbray was happy to agree to his wage demands but was
vetoed by chief executive peter lawwell and majority shareholder dermot desmond
but mowbray said admire gary caldwell as guy and as football player
yet there was negotiation that went on and on and never came to conclusion
to the point that he was running out of contract club made bid and we
accepted that bid
don think we need look too deeply into those comments certain mischievous
avenues could try to create wedge that is not there
it wrong to say that there conflict of interest at this club with myself
and my board
first and foremost it should be said ve got very strong relationship
working relationship with the executives at the club and my chief executive
peter and with the major shareholder dermot
there no animosity and nothing going on behind the scenes that anybody should
try to read into
europe climate chief to be regrets eu disunity in copenhagen
brussels jan afp
incoming eu commissioner for climate action dane connie hedegaard on friday
criticised europe lack of united voice at the fraught international talks on
global warming in copenhagen
hedegaard made the comments during three hour grilling at the european
parliament over her suitability for the new post
the former danish climate and energy minister who chaired most of the
copenhagen talks before being replaced by her prime minister following criticism
of her methods said she was disappointed that the copenhagen talks last month
did not deliver binding targets on greenhouse gas emission reductions
while insisting that the eu played tremendously important role in paving the
way for change she decried the lack of unified european voice
those last hours in copenhagen china india japan russia the us each spoke
with one voice while europe spoke with many different voices
sometimes we spend so much time agreeing with one another that when finally the
eu comes to the international negotiations we are almost unable to negotiate
she complained
here we must improve in order to give europe stronger voice
eu nations had agreed prior to the december talks to cut carbon dioxide
emissions by percent in from levels with promise to go further
if the rest of the developed world did likewise
however the climate change conference held in the danish capital ended with
non binding agreement which the european union has blasted as sino us stitch
up which will do little to curtail global warming
leaders of some two dozen countries put together copenhagen accord that
strived to save the gruelling day un marathon from collapse
the deal set the aim of limiting warming to two degrees celsius degrees
fahrenheit but did not set binding targets to reduce the emissions of gases
that scientists say are heating up the world atmosphere to dangerous levels
the european parliament is quizzing this week and next all nominees for
portfolio in eu commission chief jose manuel barroso new team
while the meps cannot veto an individual commissioner designate they can oppose
the team as whole
from the reaction in the chamber on friday there appeared to be no major
misgivings over the experienced danish candidate
european stocks mixed before us results
london jan afp
