and the capacity to launch nuclear capable cruise missiles
we attach great importance to our ties with germany because of their economic
and political impact and mainly because of israel security netanyahu told
reporters ahead of his trip
germany is playing leading role in efforts to broker prisoner exchange
between israel and the islamist hamas movement for an israeli soldier held by
palestinian militants in the gaza strip since
the joint cabinet meeting was initially planned for november but was postponed
because netanyahu came down with viral infection
merkel and several of her ministers made similar visit to jerusalem in march
in which the chancellor addressed the israeli parliament and expressed her
shame for the nazis systematic slaughter of six million jews
germany is israel third biggest trade partner after the united states and
china and is widely considered its strongest ally in europe
urgent eu earmarks over million euros for haiti officials
brussels jan afp
european union nations have earmarked more than million euros in various
forms of aid to quake ravaged haiti senior officials announced monday
italian police arrest two suspected militants
rome jan afp
italian police monday arrested two men suspected of belonging to an armed group
inspired by the far left red brigades organisation italian media reported
the members of the group calling itself for communism red brigades face
charges of terrorist and subversive association and membership of an armed gang
the reports said
among those arrested monday is year old manolo morlacchi the son of pierino
morlacchi one of the founders of the red brigades active during the so called
years of lead in italy when they carried out some attacks claiming
more than lives
another son ernesto was arrested last june along with five other alleged
members of the group on suspicion of planning an attack on the group of eight
summit held in italy in july
on monday police found manual on encrypting computer messages and code of
conduct for revolutionary militants as they made the new arrests
the suspects are accused of trying to reconstitute an organisation similar to
the red brigades inspired by marxism leninism to carry out armed acts police
said
anti terrorist police said in june that the gang did not have precise attack
plan but were discussing how to get close to strategic points at the summit
the red brigades whose stated aim in the was to get italy to withdraw
from nato are accused of the murder of italian former prime minister aldo
moro
new red brigades linked to group of communist militants killed two
government labour rights consultants in and
about people were arrested in milan in february on suspicion of
belonging to group associated with the red brigades
yemen vows to strike qaeda as long as it poses threat
sanaa jan afp
yemen will hit back at al qaeda for as long as it poses threat to the state
the interior minister warned as the islamist group denied government claims of
having killed six of its leaders
these strikes will not be the last as long as terrorist elements target state
security and stability and institutions said major general mutahar rashad al
masri quoted on monday by the state news agency saba
the minister speaking at weekend conference on security said al qaeda in the
arabian peninsula aqap had suffered heavy losses including the death of
number of its leaders
the interior ministry said on saturday that aqap military boss qassem al rimi
was among six leaders of the group killed in yemeni air strike the previous
day in the eastern part of saada province
but al qaeda has denied any of its members were killed in the raid according to
us monitoring group site intelligence group
none of the mujahedeen fighters were killed in that unjust and insidious
raid rather some brothers were slightly wounded aqap said in statement on
jihadist forums according to site
the agent yemeni government seeks through these pretences to prove false
victory which it presents as gifts to us president barack obama and british
prime minister gordon brown it said
the aqap statement quoted by site mocked an international conference which the
british leader is due to host in london on january on fighting extremism in
yemen
the meeting was called days after the failed attempt on christmas day by young
nigerian national to blow up us passenger plane
the alleged perpetrator umar farouk abdulmutallab is thought to have been
trained in yemen the ancestral homeland of fugitive al qaeda chief osama bin
laden
the interior ministry has so far put up on its website the photos of four of the
six people said to have been killed but it has provided no proof of their
deaths
local tribal leader said gunmen presumed to be from aqap had cordoned off the
area firing at any vehicle that tried to approach victims of the air strike
had probably been evacuated whether dead or alive he said
according to the site report aqap called on muslims to declare jihad against
the infidels and their agent helpers not only on the ground but in the sea and
air as well
it noted the presence of foreign warships in the gulf of aden the arabian sea
and the red sea
as they declared it to be an open war on the people of islam we must declare
an open war against the crusaders and their traitor helpers al qaeda said
yemen is under us pressure to clamp down on al qaeda and analysts say the
government of the impoverished state is keen to show the world it can crush the
militants on its own
in december it claimed to have killed more than aqap militants in two
separate air strikes
yemen on saturday also announced the arrest of another three suspected al qaeda
members near the saudi border
that followed the capture earlier this month of three militants believed to be
behind threats against western interests in sanaa that caused embassies to close
for several days
the government wants to avoid foreign military intervention targeting al
qaeda said adel al ahmadi yemeni specialist on the group
yemen is trying to say that it can accomplish the mission on its own and just
needs logistical assistance and political support to consolidate its regime
in the face of local adversaries
separately yemeni minister called on the united states to send home the
estimated remaining yemenis being held at guantanamo bay
on january the white house said it had decided to suspend transfers of
guantanamo bay prisoners to yemen following the plane bombing plot
we are ready to rehabilitate them in such way that they will return to good
path in life and not do anything that would hurt the security of yemen
religious affairs minister hammud al hattar told afp
alert
eu promises over million euros in aid to haiti statement
yemen teacher jailed for years for aiding rebels
sanaa jan afp
yemeni school teacher has been sentenced to years in prison for supplying
shiite rebels with information ranging from how to make rockets to getting
images from google earth said report posted monday on defence ministry
website
mohammed abdullah al bahari who taught chemistry and physics was convicted of
supplying the rebels with information on the fabrication of missiles and on
electric power the report on sep net said
bahari also helped the rebels who are sometimes referred to as huthis to use
google earth to get pictures of the hajjah district northeast of sanaa and
aided them in creating websites for communication it said
according to the report bahari took orders from man named abu amin who is
described as second after abdel malik al huthi the rebels leader
sporadic fighting between the huthis and the yemeni government has taken place
since the latest round broke out on august when the government
launched operation scorched earth an all out assault against the rebels
ransom payments the hole in somali pirates net
nairobi jan afp
whether delivered by speedboats or parachuted from small planes ransom payments
are the single moment when somalia pirates and their hostages are most
at risk
on monday the greek flagged vlcc maran centaurus was freed for what is believed
to be the largest ransom ever paid to somalia marauding sea bandits
according to ecoterra international an environmentalist ngo monitoring illegal
maritime activity in the region the pirates received up to nine million dollars
in at least two separate payments
upward of seven million dollars were dropped on the deck of the metre oil
laden juggernaut by small plane on sunday and the rest paid by cash transfer
one hijacker in the main pirate base of harardhere told afp sunday that at least
million dollars had been received no further confirmation of the ransom
amount was available from the pirates on monday
the ransom slightly exceeds the estimated eight million paid for the safe
release year ago of the vlcc sirius star saudi owned supertanker
its is dwarfed however by the value of the cargo around million dollars
and that of the ship itself believed to top million dollars
somali pirates raked in total of million dollars in ransom money in
less than half of christiano ronaldo transfer fee to real madrid but
substantial amount for somalia remote fishing communities
the delivery of the ransom on sunday ignited feud between pirates from the
saleban clan that resulted in two deaths according to local sources
the thought of firefight erupting on ship carrying two million barrels of
crude oil leaves observers dreading an incident that could cause slick of
unprecedented proportions
when the giant saudi tanker sirius star hijacked in by members of the
same group was released in january the crisis ended fatally for six pirates
who could not swim when their boat sank on the way back to shore
the small boat was overloaded and going too fast the survivors told us they
were afraid some foreign navies would attempt to catch them the leader of the
pirate group mohammed said told afp
according to coastal residents one of the bodies of the pirates washed up on
the beach with around dollars stuffed into his pockets
the ransom paid for the maran centaurus was large enough that pirates reportedly
gave each of the crew members small share to thank them for their good
cooperation accordiing to ecoterra
always paid in cash to avoid modern transaction monitoring ransoms can also be
delivered by agents generally through middlemen either in somalia or abroad
notably in nairobi djibouti or dubai
when the luxury french yacht le ponant was hijacked by pirates in an
estimated million dollars were delivered but several of the ransom
shareholders found out that much of the cash was counterfeit
in one bundle all the notes had the same serial number one businessman told
afp
the pirates then started bringing counting machines and counterfeit money
detectors on board hijacked ships and became more picky on the kind of notes
they should be paid with
they won take any dollar bills from and they also try to avoid the
very recent bills out of fear they can be traced more easily said one somali
source who was involved in several negotiations
the sum can be adjusted to cover the expenses incurred during the hijacking
notably in buying food supplies generator fuel khat mild narcotic leaf for
the pirates and cigarettes for the crew
much of the expenses can be covered by local businessmen who invest in group
of pirates holding ship
they will pay for the food and the cigarettes they will even pay the bills of
the pirates relatives hoping to get reward when the boys come back with
their ransom money he said
european firms sign gas deal with algeria
rome jan afp
leading energy groups from italy spain and france have signed contract with
the state owned algerian company sonatrach to search for gas in southeastern
algeria the italian group enel said monday
the consortium comprises enel repsol of spain and the french belgian group gdf
suez and will exploit the south east illizi field
repsol will have percent stake in the operation enel percent and
gdf suez percent
the algerian company alnaft joined sonatrach is signing the contract
un climate body to review himalayan glacier forecast
new delhi jan afp
the head of the un top body on climate change said monday the panel would
investigate claims its doomsday prediction for the disappearance of himalayan
glaciers might be mistaken
in the intergovernmental panel on climate change ipcc warned that
glaciers in the himalayas were receding faster than in any other part of the
world and could disappear altogether by if not sooner
at the weekend britain sunday times newspaper reported that the claim
was taken from an interview given by an indian glaciologist to new scientist
magazine in
the claim which was of questionable scientific value and may not have been
backed up by research according to the paper was used by campaign group wwf
before making its way into the ipcc research in
we will take view of this ipcc chairman rajendra pachauri said in comments
broadcast on the cnn ibn network
we are studying the new evidence the hindustan times newspaper quoted
pachauri as saying on monday when asked to comment on the report
the sunday times said the ipcc was likely to retract the figure which would be
humiliation and further boost for climate sceptics after scandal last
month dubbed climategate
the role of the ipcc is to provide consensus of credible scientific evidence
on climate change that can be used as basis for international policymaking
emails from scientists at britain university of east anglia top centre for
climate research were leaked and seized on by sceptics last month as evidence
that experts twisted data in order to dramatise global warming
some of the thousands of messages expressed frustration at the scientists
inability to explain what they described as temporary slowdown in warming
in its fourth assessment in the ipcc warned that the rivers of the
gangetic basin which supply hundreds of millions in northern india could run
dry once glaciers high in the himalayas disappear
another expert graham cogley of trent university in canada has said the
forecast was an egregious error which may have originated in an older
document predicting massive melting of glaciers by
in december the bbc quoted cogley as saying that the authors of the ipcc report
misread as
indian scientists are split on how fast himalayan glaciers are receding and
whether or not climate change is responsible for this
environment minister jairam ramesh has repeatedly challenged the ipcc claims
saying there is no conclusive scientific evidence linking global warming to
the melting of glaciers
in november ramesh backed controversial study by indian scientists which
supported his view causing pachauri to label his support arrogant
two dead after worst flooding in egypt sinai for years
el tor egypt jan afp
two people died at least were hurt and dozens missing as heavy rains and
floods pounded egypt sinai while five ports were closed due to the bad
weather officials said on monday
the ras sidr area on the west coast of the peninsula saw the heaviest flooding
on sunday night and rescue services used rubber rafts to search for the injured
and those trapped in their homes an official said
woman died in abu sweira in the ras sidr area and man was killed in wadi
adani in central sinai and at least were hurt security official told afp
adding that dozens were reported missing
flooding blocked main roads in the resort town of sharm el sheikh and heavy
rains brought down the ceiling in part of the airport an afp correspondent
said
parts of sinai including taba nuweiba and sharm el sheikh experienced
electricity cuts as thousands of tourists in the popular diving resorts spent
the night by candle light in the worst flooding to hit sinai since january
five ports were closed due to bad weather on monday including sharm el sheikh
port and sokhna port on the mainland
afghan cabinet members sworn in as attacks raged official
kabul jan afp
cabinet ministers approved by afghanistan parliament were sworn in at the
presidential palace monday an official said while one of the worst attacks on
kabul raged outside the gates
at least five people were killed and almost wounded officials said when
taliban linked militants stormed the centre of kabul at the height of the
morning rush hour
four militants also died two of them shot by security forces the other two
by blowing themselves up officials of the defence and interior ministries said
as militants and security forces traded gun fire and the capital went into
lockdown cabinet ministers took their oath of office from president hamid
karzai
fourteen ministers who were approved by parliament were sworn in at ceremony
today at the palace said karzai spokesman waheed omar
the ceremony started at am gmt and it was ongoing when the attack was
taking place he told afp
after the ceremony the confirmed ministers met other officials appointed as
caretakers until the remaining posts are formally filled to discuss the
national budget omar said
afghanistan cabinet has not yet been completed after parliamentarians twice
rejected the majority of nominees put forward by karzai
parliament rose on sunday after mps decided to take foreshortened winter
recess and return at the end of february to consider the next batch of nominees
for the outstanding portfolios
the attacks began just before am as the streets of central kabul were clogged
with traffic and pedestrians
the taliban claimed responsibility with purported spokesman telling afp that
suicide bombers had been sent into the city targeting the presidential
palace central bank and the justice and other ministry buildings
the spokesman did not say if the attacks were linked to the swearing in of the
ministers
turkey should reform or abolish internet law osce
vienna jan afp
turkey should reform or abolish its internet law which limits freedom of
expression and severely restricts people right to access information
the european security body osce said monday
in new report the organization for security and cooperation found that
internet sites were currently blocked in turkey including youtube geocities
and google sites
in its current form law commonly known as the internet law of turkey
not only limits freedom of expression but severely restricts the citizens
right to access information osce representative on freedom of the media miklo
haraszti said
while some content such as child pornography must indeed be sanctioned the
law is unfit to achieve this haraszti said
instead by blocking access to entire websites from turkey it paralyzes access
to numerous modern file sharing or social networks
blocking internet access inside turkey was an affront to the public right to
the entirety of the internet he added
additionally some of the official reasons to block the internet are arbitrary
and political and therefore incompatible with osce freedom of expression
commitments
haraszti said that when he was in turkey last week to present the report he was
not able to access the osce own youtube site
the results make the means unjustifiable he said
the osce official also complained that turkish laws failed to protect freedom of
expression and journalists risked imprisonment for carrying out their work
therefore reform or abolish the internet law is our main recommendation
hope that the turkish authorities will soon remove the blocking provisions that
prevent turkish citizens from being part of today global information society
haraszti said
iran rejects protest resignation of consul in oslo
tehran jan afp
foreign minister manouchehr mottaki on monday confirmed that iran consul
general in oslo has resigned but said tehran did not accept his resignation and
still considers him ministry employee
mr mohammed reza heydari has resigned but it has not been accepted and he
must continue his work either there or in the ministry and he has been informed
of this decision mottaki told reporters in tehran
on january heydari said he had quit his job in protest at tehran violent
suppression of opposition demonstrations on december adding that he would
not return to iran for fear of repercussions
if go back don know what will happen heydari told afp in telephone
interview
for me it not possible my friends have told me that will have problems if
go back he said adding that iranian authorities had asked him via the
embassy to return to tehran
the opposition protests on december coinciding with the shiite holy day of
ashura left at least eight people dead and hundreds of others either injured or
imprisoned
the diplomat married father of two whose family lives with him in norway has
been stationed in oslo for just over two years he was unsure when asked if he
planned to seek political asylum in norway
cricket indian pacemen rattle bangladesh
chittagong bangladesh jan afp
indian pacemen zaheer khan and ishant sharma did the early damage to put
bangladesh under pressure in the opening test here on monday
bangladesh were well placed at for no loss before slipping to at stumps
on the second day in reply to india first innings total of with zaheer
taking two wickets in successive overs and sharma one
raqibul hasan was unbeaten on one and mohammad ashraful had yet to open his
account when play was called off due to bad light only overs were bowled
because of poor weather on monday
sachin tendulkar earlier scored superb not out under pressure for his th
test century to boost india total he cracked two sixes and fours in his
ball knock
the loss of three wickets has obviously put damper on our fantastic bowling
performance said bangladesh coach jamie siddons
it is shaping up to be very good contest we still have lot of batting to
come and am hopeful we will put very good score and put them under pressure
hope the batsmen apply themselves
bangladesh got off to sound start with left handed openers tamim iqbal
and imrul kayes playing some attractive shots against the indian strike
bowlers
iqbal was initially more aggressive scoring in the opening four overs before
his partner opened his account
kayes outscored iqbal after lunch hitting left arm seamer zaheer for two
boundaries in an over and then driving shanthakumaran sreesanth for four
zaheer broke the partnership when he removed kayes who was trapped leg before
while playing across the line he then bowled iqbal in his next over with
delivery that kept low
sharma lone victim was shahriar nafees who was caught by venkatsai laxman at
second slip after contributing only four
india posted their lowest ever total against bangladesh despite tendulkar
century their previous lowest in completed innings was in dhaka in
india reeling at on sunday lost their remaining two wickets in less than
eight overs in the morning with left arm spinner shakib al hasan and paceman
shahadat hossain finishing with five wickets apiece
shakib grabbed for his sixth haul of five or more wickets in tests and
shahadat took for his third
tendulkar who had only tail enders sharma and sreesanth for company went for
shots early in the morning in pursuit of his century
resuming on his overnight score of he pulled shahadat for four in the
first over after play started minutes late due to fog and then hoisted
shakib over long on for six
tendulkar was on when last man sreesanth joined him and completed his century
with two successive fours off shahadat
world tourism to rebound from crisis in unwto
madrid jan afp
the global tourist industry should recover strongly in after the economic
crisis and the swine flu pandemic produced one of the most difficult years for
the sector the un world tourism organisation said monday
international tourist arrivals fell by an estimated percent in but
should rebound to grow by to percent in it said in its annual
world tourism barometer
it said growth in the sector returned in the last quarter of contributing
to better than expected full year results led by the asia pacific and middle
east regions
still is considered to be one of the most difficult years that tourism
has seen for long time unwto secretary general taleb rifai told news
conference
he said last year was probably one of the toughest in the last two decades
even more difficult that in many years where september and likes and other
economic downturns have occurred
he cited the global economic crisis aggravated by the uncertainty around the
pandemic
but he said the trend is bottoming out
the results of recent months suggest that recovery is underway and even
somewhat earlier and at stronger pace than initially expected although
will still be demanding year said rifai
many countries were quick in reacting to the crisis and actively implemented
measures to mitigate its impact and stimulate recovery
although we expect growth to return in premature withdrawal of these
stimulus measures and the temptation to impose extra taxes may jeopardise the
pace of rebound in tourism he said
the reports said tourism receipts were down percent in but noted that
this compares with percent slum in overall exports as result of the
global crisis
rifai noted significant growth in domestic tourism particularly in some large
countries such as china brazil and spain as result of the crisis
he said the tourist industry was not quite over the effects of the swine flu
pandemic
the international community was able to deal with the crisis in rather
successful manner but the possibility of re occurrence is always there
on regional basis he said europe and north america are lagging asia and
the middle east are pushing ahead
the asia pacific region where tourism was down percent showed an
extraordinary rebound that is expected to continue in the unwto report
said
while arrivals in that region declined by percent between january and june
the second half of saw percent growth reflecting regional economic
results and prospects
arrivals were down percent in the middle east but the region though still
far from the growth levels of previous years had positive second half
it said africa had bucked the trend with growth of percent
europe ended down percent after very complicated first half with
destinations in central eastern and northern europe particularly badly hit
the report said
in the americas where arrivals were down percent the caribbean returned to
growth in the last four months of
the performance was more sluggish in the other sub regions of the americas
with the influenza outbreak exacerbating the impact of the economic
crisis the report found
british airways faces fresh strike threat union
london jan afp
loss making british airways faces fresh threat of strike action as cabin crew
prepare to vote on whether to walk out in long running dispute over pay and
jobs union leaders announced on monday
britain biggest union unite said ba staff will next week begin voting
on whether to strike
ba said it was saddened but not surprised by unite decision to call fresh
ballot after the airline had successfully prevented planned day walkout by
cabin crew over the recent christmas and new year period
unite on monday said the latest strike threat comes after union bosses failed to
reach agreement with ba management over working conditions
we have been engaged in intensive discussions with the company over the last
few days but unfortunately we have not been able to secure an agreement yet
senior unite official len mccluskey said in statement
we therefore have to honour our commitment to give our members the voice they
were denied by the courts before christmas and hold fresh ballot for
industrial action
ba which thwarted the recent planned strike after winning court case said on
monday that it was in no position to back unite proposals as they would
actually result in large increase in costs
the airline added in an economic climate in which we are facing record losses
this approach is completely unrealistic
lovesick vietnam soldier in hostage drama report
hanoi jan afp
lovesick vietnamese soldier held teenage girl hostage in hotel room for
hours and opened fire with an assault rifle before security forces brought the
siege to an end report said monday
the schoolgirl was freed early sunday after police and military commandos fired
tear gas into the room of the small hotel where the man held her overnight the
thanh nien newspaper website said
tran thi thu trang the hostage was treated briefly at hospital for tear gas
exposure the report quoted bui duc phu director of hue central hospital as
saying
the army sergeant nguyen van minh was taken into custody it said
investigators said the soldier was upset after his girlfriend identified by
police only as rebuffed his proposal for marriage the newspaper said
after allegedly stealing an ak rifle and about bullets from his infantry
division in central quang tri province saturday minh travelled to home in
adjacent thua thien hue province the report said
after threatening to shoot police the gunman commandeered motorcycle taxi and
fled to the hotel where he saw the girl playing outside
he took her inside firing off rounds from his weapon to begin the all night
hostage drama the report said without indicating whether anybody was hit by
the bullets
local police declined to comment to afp and military officials could not be
reached
new mozambican pm takes office
maputo jan afp
mozambique recently re elected president swore in new cabinet monday
including new prime minister but making few other changes from his previous
government
president armando guebuza who took office for second five year term last
week named as his new prime minister aires ali trained teacher who spent
