rome
pope benedict xvi heads for rome main synagogue for much anticipated visit
his third to jewish place of worship after angering many jews by moving his
wartime predecessor pius xii further on the road to sainthood
words gmt picture video
ukraine vote scene
kiev
disenchanted ukrainians brave icy temperatures as well as the chill of political
cynicism after the disappointments of the orange revulution to turn out at
polling stations across the country in presidential polls
words gmt by anya tsukanova picture
we have also moved ukraine vote yanukovich profile
ukraine vote tymoshenko profile
ukraine vote yushchenko profile
germany politics economy merkel
berlin
german chancellor angela merkel prepares to hold what is being billed as
crisis meeting of her key coalition allies in bid to quell internal
squabbling that has seen her own popularity slide and leadership questioned
words gmt by richard carter
mideast turkey israel diplomacy
ankara
israel defence minister ehud barak arrives in turkey in the wake of severe
diplomatic row between the two countries eager to mend fences with muslim
ally sliding away
words gmt picture
eu parliament commission politics
brussels
eu commission chief jose manuel barroso proposed new team has come under some
wounding fire during tough questioning at job interviews at the european
parliament which are set to end tuesday
words gmt by paul harrington picture
eu eurozone juncker
brussels
it clearly consolation prize after failed bid to secure the european
union first full time presidency but europe longest serving leader will
almost certainly win new mandate to lead the eurogroup on monday
words gmt
middle east
lebanon syria druze jumblatt politics interview
el mokhtara lebanon
lebanese druze leader walid jumblatt tells afp in an exclusive interview that he
is close to sealing reconciliation pact with former arch foe syria and
dismisses criticism of his latest political about turn
words gmt by jocelyne zablit picture
iraq vote unity analysis
baghdad
the decision to ban iraqi election candidates accused of links with the baath
party of executed dictator saddam hussein could exclude sunnis from the
political arena and usher in new sectarian tensions
words gmt by arthur macmillan picture
americas
chile vote lead
santiago
chileans go to the polls to choose whether flamboyant billionaire or
lackluster ex president will be their country next leader with surveys
showing neither candidate with clear majority
words gmt by paulina abramovich picture graphic
us politics senate vote focus
new york
president barack obama flies to boston to try to avert defeat for the democrats
in senate by election that threatens to end up killing his biggest domestic
initiative
words gmt by sebastian smith picture
asia
nzealand australia britain royals william lead
auckland
britain prince william arrives in auckland on his first official overseas trip
on behalf of his grandmother queen elizabeth ii saying he wants to maintain her
high standards on tour
words gmt
we have also moved australia britain royals native william focus
nkorea skorea relations military kim ndlead
seoul
north korean leader kim jong il watched an armed forces joint drill state media
said in the first such disclosure since he took command of the military almost
two decades ago
words gmt
cliffhanger runoff presidential vote in chile
santiago jan afp
chileans choose sunday whether flamboyant billionaire or lackluster ex
president will be their country next leader with polls ahead of the vote
showing neither candidate with clear majority
voter intention surveys put sebastian pinera media magnate and big
stakeholder in chile flagship lan airline and eduardo frei an uncharismatic
politician who was head of state from to in technical dead heat
pinera and frei are the only candidates left standing after december first
round vote knocked out other presidential hopefuls
if pinera wins it would end the rule of the leftist four party concertacion
coalition that has been in power since the end of general augusto pinochet
dictatorship in
frei is member of the christian democratic party his father eduardo frei
montalva was president of chile between and
wednesday survey showed pinera with percent of intended ballots while
frei is projected to pick up percent that slender difference is much less
than the survey margin of error meaning the outcome of sunday poll is
impossible to call
pinera early confidence was backed by the percent of the vote he received
in the first round of voting far more than the percent picked up by frei
that score led pundits to predict that pinera was on track to end the grip
on power enjoyed by the concertacion ruling coalition
but redoubling of efforts by outgoing president michelle bachelet
constitutionally barred from standing for another term to pass on some of her
skyhigh popularity to the hapless frei appears to have paid dividends
an endorsement in frei favor by an independent leftist defeated in the first
round former film director marco enriquez ominami also looks to have helped
turn the tide
it abusive what the government has done to use and abuse public money
public institutions and even public employees the interfering campaign it
done is not fair and is not clean pinera complained in radio interview on
friday
pinera was especially nettled by comment made by bachelet on thursday that she
would vote for frei because he was honest
the message bachelet was pushing was clear that pinera multiple business
interests made him less than ideal candidate to run chile vibrant economy
we are seeing very content frei and an insecure pinera who for the first
time is realizing that he can lose the presidential vote runoff political
scientist bernardo navarrete at the university of santiago told afp
pinera still has the best chance of winning but clearly frei could win added
mauricio morales an analyst at the diego portales university
some analysts though believed pinera tycoon status could work as much for
him as against him
for many people this factor is not handicap but rather an advantage if
pinera is able to create wealth for himself many think he can also do so for
everybody one political observer marta lagos said
pinera ability to distance himself from the pinochet regime notably for
having voted against continuation of the dictatorship in also seemed to
play well with the electorate
frei in comparison has gone forth in technocrat fashion focusing his campaign
on promising voters that social development programs established by bachelet
would be maintained
each vote counts each vote in each polling station will make the difference in
this election he said friday urging vigilance by ballot box observers
polls open at am gmt and close nine hours later some million
chileans are eligible to vote officials expect to have first official results
by gmt
us drone strike kills in nw pakistan officials
miranshah pakistan jan afp
us drone attack sunday killed at least militants in restive pakistani
tribal area bordering afghanistan pakistani officials said
the attack took place in shaktoi area kilometres miles southeast of
miranshah the main town in the rugged tribal region of north waziristan
senior military official told afp
the target was militant compound he said adding that at least militants
were killed
the toll may go up another official said
the drones are apparently tracking and targeting pakistani taliban chief
hakimullah mehsud whose presence is frequently reported in the area one
official said
the pakistani taliban released an audio recording allegedly made friday of
mehsud denying he had been killed in us bombing raid on thursday
sunday attack was the tenth missile strike by an unmanned us spy plane so far
this year as the administration of us president barack obama puts pakistan at
the heart of its fight against al qaeda and islamist extremists
the latest attack also brought to the number of militants reported to have
been killed in three attacks since thursday
missiles fired from an unmanned us aircraft killed at least islamist
insurgents at training camp in the lawless northwest tribal belt on thursday
and security officials said mehsud may have been among the dead
the us drones kept up their bombardment friday with at least militants
killed in two separate attacks in the same region
the pakistan government and the army say they cannot confirm mehsud death
while the tehreek taliban pakistan ttp group he commands say he is alive and
well and sent the recording to media friday to back up their claims
israeli vice pm to host pope at rome synagogue
jerusalem jan afp
israeli vice prime minister silvan shalom was to welcome pope benedict xvi to
rome great synagogue on sunday the first visit by pontiff to the site in
years
will welcome the pope today when he comes to the great synagogue shalom
told israeli public radio by telephone from rome
benedict xvi was in israel less than year ago and visited yad vashem the
holocaust memorial in jerusalem and his visit today is an historic event that
draws great emotion he added
the last papal visit to the site was by pope john paul ii in
it is religious event not political one and it should symbolise the
reconciliation between jews and catholics shalom said
the vatican relations with jews have been strained in recent years as it has
advanced the possible beatification of pope pius xii who many historians argue
did not do enough to save jews during the nazi holocaust
but the catholic church has long argued that pius xii who was pope from to
saved many jews who were hidden away in religious institutions and that
his silence was aimed at protecting them
in december benedict declared pius venerable in move that advances him one
step closer to sainthood drawing fire from international jewish groups
shalom said he would ask the pope to delay the process of beatification during
the visit
shalom visit to rome is also aimed at paving the way for italian prime
minister silvio berlusconi trip to israel next month
cycling tour down under prelude results
adelaide australia jan afp
results on sunday from the cancer council helpline classic prelude to next
week tour down under
greg henderson nzl team sky hr mins secs chris sutton aus team
sky andre greipel ger htc columbia robbie mcewen aus katusha
baden cooke aus saxo bank graeme brown aus rabobank allan davis
aus katusha jose rojas esp caisse epargne anthony ravard fra
ag la mondiale manuel cardoso ita footon servetto fuji all same time
selected
alejandro valverde esp caisse epargne at secs
lance armstrong usa team radioshack
cadel evans aus bmc at
sympathy for haiti at kobe memorial for deadly quake
tokyo jan afp
the western japanese city of kobe marked the th anniversary of massive
earthquake on sunday just days after devastating tremor killed tens of
thousands in haiti
prime minister yukio hatoyama crown prince naruhito and crown princess masako
attended ceremony in kobe where magnitude quake hit at am on
january killing people
hatoyama promised that the government would do its best to prepare for natural
disasters
pledge that we will give our all to implement comprehensive disaster policies
so that japanese people can live in safety he told the gathering
before dawn thousands gathered in parks and at public memorials to remember the
victims at the hour the quake hit
many offered flowers and lit candles as they wept and held their hands clasped
in prayer
crown prince naruhito in his address at the main public ceremony said that
lessons from the kobe quake have resulted in new disaster policies and
mitigation technologies
however he said he also remembered the suffering of kobe residents
hope that the knowledge and wisdom learned will be passed on to future
generations regardless of national borders he said
naruhito also referred to the deadly disaster in haiti where magnitude
earthquake in the impoverished caribbean nation on tuesday killed at least
express my sincere condolences to those who perished and my sympathy to their
bereaved families and those who suffered damage he said
hope for swift progress on reconstruction and recovery from the disaster
naruhito added
ski jumping ammann wins supporo ski jump
sapporo japan jan afp
salt lake city dual gold medallist simon ammann of switzerland posted his fourth
win of the season at the world cup ski jumping here in sapporo on sunday
the year old swiss scored points from two jumps of and
metres beating japan veteran noriaki kasai in second place on points
it was ammann th world cup win since his first victory at oslo in
martin koch of austria finished third with points
think on the right way towards the olympics needed to make good jumps
to gain confidence it gives me lot of confidence that was able to do it
said ammann
ammann the world champion in sapporo also stretched his lead in the
overall standings with total of points
torino olympic champion thomas morgenstern of austria the winner in sapporo on
saturday was second with points and his compatriot andreas kofler third
with points
it was the th leg of the round world cup series with the next round moving
to zakopane in poland on friday
iraq chemical ali sentenced to death for halabja attack
baghdad jan afp
ali hassan al majid better known as saddam hussein enforcer chemical ali
was on sunday sentenced to death for ordering the gassing of kurds in the iraqi
village of halabja state television said
the al iraqiya channel said majid would be killed by hanging having been found
guilty of the notorious attack in in the northeast of the country as the
iran iraq war drew to close
the ruling is the fourth time he has received death sentence
an estimated people were killed at halabja three quarters of them women
and children in what is now thought to have been the deadliest gas attack ever
carried out against civilians
close cousin of saddam majid earned his macabre nickname for ordering
poisonous gas attacks in brutal scorched earth campaign of bombings and mass
deportations that left an estimated kurds dead in the
he had previously been sentenced to hang for genocide over the kurdish
offensives when he received second death sentence in december for war
crimes committed during the ill fated shiite uprising in southern iraq
and in march last year the iraqi high tribunal handed down third death
sentence over the the murders of dozens of shiites in the sadr city
district of baghdad and in the central shrine city of najaf
however he is probably best known for the halabja attack when in march
iraqi jets swooped over the village and for five hours sprayed it with deadly
cocktail of mustard gas and the nerve agents tabun sarin and vx
speed skating world sprint speed skating championships
obihiro japan jan afp
results from the isu world sprint speed skating championships here on sunday
men
lee kang seok kor sec
lee kyou hyuk kor
keiichiro nagashima jpn
mika poutala fin
yu fengtong chn
zhang zhongqi chn
ronald mulder ned
dmitry lobkov rus
tadashi obara jpn
ryohei haga jpn
lee kyou hyuk kor
beorn jijenhuis ned
samuel schwarz ger
dmitry lobkov rus
ronald mulder ned
christoffer fagerli rukke nor
lars elgersma ned
lee kang seok kor
keiichiro nagashima jpn
ryohei haga jpn
overall standings after four races
lee kyou hyuk kor pnts lee kang seok kor
keiichiro nagashima jpn ronald mulder ned dmitry
lobkov rus mika poutala fin beorn nijenhuis ned
lars elgersma ned tadashi obata jpn
ryohei haga jpn
women
jenny wolf ger
lee sang hwa kor
zhang shuang chn
yuliya nemaya rus
tomomi okazaki jpn
sayuri yoshii jpn
jin peiyu chn
nao kodaira jpn
olga fatkulina rus
yu jing chn
sayuri yoshii jpn
yekaterina malysheva rus
nao kodaira jpn
olga fatkulina rus
lotte van beek ned
lee sang hwa kor
sophie jijman ned
yu jing chn
jin peiyu chn
chiara simionato ita
yuliya nemaya rus
overall standings after four races
lee sang hwa kor sayuri yoshii jpn jenny wolf
ger nao kodaira jpn yekaterina malysheva rus
yu jing chn and jin peiyu chn olga fatkulina rus
tomomi okazaki jpn shihomi shinya jpn
internet facilitating illegal wildlife trade activist
singapore jan afp
illegal wildlife traders are turning to the internet to reach wider customer
base circumvent laws and evade authorities an animal rights activist told
conference on sunday
items such as rhinoceros horns leopard pelts and even live tiger cubs are being
hawked openly in online advertisements on public websites said grace ge asian
regional director of the international fund for animal welfare ifaw
the internet offers anonymity for the seller as well as fast and untraceable
sales while inadequate legislation governing online companies ensures relative
impunity she said at regional animal right conference held in singapore
the internet has facilitated the trading of wildlife which is having
devastating effect on animals and ecosystems worldwide she said
through the internet traders are able to circumvent rules regulations and
evade enforcement ge told delegates to the asia for animals conference
citing an ifaw study on the illegal online wildlife trade in ge said there
was huge volume of wildlife and their products traded online on daily
basis
the research was conducted over three month period in in countries
including the united states china australia and several european countries it
found online advertisements selling endangered species or products derived
from their slaughter
the united states was major culprit with percent of advertisements
coming out of that country followed by britain and china with percent and
percent respectively the study showed
estimates of the value of final sales on these websites totalled more than
dollars but the actual amount was likely to be higher as most sites did
not advertise their prices according to the study
sri lanka orders tighter security after campaign shootings
colombo jan afp
sri lanka president ordered police to step up security ahead of presidential
elections after second political activist was shot dead this month an
official said sunday
the ruling party supporter was killed on saturday in the north western puttalam
district where several others were injured when they clashed with opposition
activists police said
president mahindra rajapakse expressed his sadness over the second campaign
related death and urged police to ensure peaceful run up to the january
vote his spokesman chandrapala liyanage said
the president is deeply concerned about the violence and has already ordered
police to make sure that there is tighter security liyanage told afp he is
also appealing to all parties to ensure there is no violence
opposition activist kusuma kuruppuarachchi was the first to be killed in
the poll campaign when he was shot in the southern town of hungama last week
police also fired tear gas to disperse thousands of party workers in the eastern
town of polonnaruwa after mobs destroyed vehicles and buildings
opposition leader ranil wickremesinghe has accused rajapakse people alliance
of inciting violence and using intimidation to swing voters
the us embassy in colombo has said it was deeply concerned over the unrest
rajapakse is facing tough challenge from his former army chief sarath fonseka
who quit the army and entered politics in november
fonseka has said that rajapakse accused him of trying to seize power after
crushing the separatist tamil tiger rebels last year and ending decades of
ethnic war on the island
in previous election campaigns the tigers often used violence to stop voting
and also carried out suicide bomb attacks and assassinations
israel barak heads to turkey after diplomatic row
jerusalem jan afp
israel defence minister ehud barak travelled to turkey on sunday in the wake
of diplomatic row between the two military allies sparked by controversial
turkish tv series
barak was to meet his counterpart vecdi gonul and turkey foreign minister
ahmet davutoglu for talks that were to focus on arms deals israeli public radio
reported
muslim majority turkey has been close military ally of israel since but
relations between the two countries have been tense in the wake of israel
devastating war on gaza last year which turkey vehemently criticised
relations hit new low last week when israel deputy foreign minister danny
ayalon publicly dressed down turkish ambassador oguz celikkol over
controversial turkish tv series the government said presented israelis as baby
snatchers
both the government and ayalon himself later apologised for the incident in
which celikkol was forced to sit in low couch and the turkish flag was removed
after turkey threatened to withdraw its ambassador
turkish prime minister recep tayyip erdogan who has repeatedly slammed israel
over its policies towards the palestinians in the wake of the gaza war said the
response was what we wanted and expected in diplomatic terms
the series that sparked the row showed turkish secret agent storming an
israeli diplomatic mission to rescue turkish boy kidnapped by mossad agents
an episode israel slammed for portraying israel and jews as war criminals
iraq chemical ali sentenced to death for halabja attack
baghdad jan afp
ali hassan al majid better known as saddam hussein enforcer chemical ali
was on sunday sentenced to death for ordering the gassing of kurds in the iraqi
village of halabja state television said
the al iraqiya channel said majid would be killed by hanging having been found
guilty of the notorious attack in in the northeast of the country as the
iran iraq war drew to close
an estimated people were killed three quarters of them women and
children in what is now thought to have been the deadliest gas attack ever
carried out against civilians
urgent iraq chemical ali sentenced to death for halabja attack
baghdad jan afp
ali hassan al majid better known as saddam hussein enforcer chemical ali
was on sunday sentenced to death for ordering the gassing of kurds in the iraqi
village of halabja state television said
us drone strike kills in nw pakistan officials
miranshah pakistan jan afp
us drone attack sunday killed at least militants in restive pakistani
tribal area bordering afghanistan pakistani officials said
the attack took place in shaktoi area kilometres miles southeast of
miranshah the main town in the rugged tribal region of north waziristan
senior military official told afp
the target was militant compound he said adding that at least militants
were killed
the toll may go up another official said
malaysia church attacks minor aberration pm
riyadh jan afp
malaysian prime minister najib razak said attacks on churches in his country
were minor aberration that did not reflect the feelings of most malaysian
muslims in an interview published on sunday
this is minor aberration national unity and mutual respect between various
racial and religious communities in malaysia has been cornerstone of malaysia
for long time he said in the interview with okaz newspaper and published in
its english language sister the saudi gazette
it should not be seen as widespread attempt by the larger muslim community to
attack churches in malaysia he said
several churches in predominantly muslim malaysia have been attacked after
court ruled on december that non muslims could use allah as translation
for god
nine churches were hit with molotov cocktails splashed with black paint and had
windows smashed with stones triggering tighter security at places of worship
nationwide
the offices of lawyers for malaysia roman catholic church were also burgled
and ransacked
najib downplayed the attacks
would like to clarify that only one church was burnt and only its
administrative portion was set ablaze he told the saudi newspaper
the others were minor incidents which do not really constitute burning at all
and in some cases various objects were reportedly thrown into the compounds of
some churches
najib also questioned us travel advisory for malaysia that warned of possible
attacks on foreigners
am quite surprised they came up with the travel advisory we have no credible
information regarding the perceived threat he said
on friday the us state department issued travel alert advising americans to
consider the risks associated with travel to eastern sabah in malaysia due to
the threat from both terrorist and criminal groups
najib was speaking while on short trip to saudi arabia where he met king
abdullah and other top officials and visited educational institutions
alert
iraq chemical ali sentenced to death for halabja gas attack state tv
tennis serena spearheads aussie open charge
melbourne jan afp
defending champion serena williams insists she is fit well and ready to defend
her australian open title from strong field led by the returning justine henin
and kim clijsters
williams appeared to be struggling with left knee problem in her sydney
international final loss to elena dementieva on friday but was moving freely
during charity doubles match for the haiti earthquake victims here on sunday
the knee is much better she said
definitely want to do the best can obviously but also want to pace
myself hopefully can play seven single rounds and six double rounds
dominant williams crushed dinara safina in the final last year and went on to
claim the wimbledon title improving her collection to majors as she ended
the season as world number one
opting to start her year in sydney the american insisted she didn feel any
extra pressure with the belgian pair coming out of retirement
it so good to see two such good players back for me my main goals are
always to stay healthy and that huge goal for any athlete
she starts her tournament against poland urszula radwanska on tuesday as she
guns for her fifth australian title
williams is one of only three players in the field to have lifted the trophy
maria sharapova and henin are the others
world number two safina is back to try and avenge her humiliating defeat to
williams in less than an hour last year but she has been hampered by back
injury
it forced her out of tennis in october but the russian said all is now well
if play my best let see what can happen she said
she leads strong russian challenge which also includes svetlana kuznetsova
dementieva and vera zvonareva all top players
