ragunath kesavan president of the malaysian bar council said nazri comments
illustrated the lack of uniform laws in malaysia
it will be difficult to implement what nazri proposes don think the church
wants that position think he is trying to accommodate certain parties and
find middle path to resolve the issue he told afp
the attacks on the churches which have been pelted with molotov cocktails
paint and stones have escalated ethnic tensions in malaysia where majority
muslim malays live alongside ethnic chinese and indian minorities
urgent france to give million euros emergency aid to haiti fm
paris jan afp
france will release million euros million dollars in emergency funds for
quake struck haiti in response to united nations appeal foreign minister
bernard kouchner said monday
hong kong shares percent lower
hong kong jan afp
hong kong shares closed lower on monday as dealers followed wall street worst
showing so far this year while there was continued concern over possible further
monetary tightening moves from beijing
the benchmark hang seng index fell percent or points to
turnover was billion hong kong dollars billion us
after china surprise reserve requirement ratio hike last week the market
focus will be on the economic data release thursday in order to judge whether
more tightening measures are required to keep the chinese economy from
overheating ernie hon strategist at icbc international securities told dow
jones newswires
beijing will release fourth quarter gross domestic product data thursday along
with inflation and fixed asset investment figures analysts expect china to say
gdp grew percent year on year in the october december period
the hang seng tumble followed percent loss on wall street its worst
drop so far in
financials led the declines locally following percent plunge in jpmorgan
in new york after its revenue came in below estimates and it posted losses in
some sectors including card services
hsbc slid percent to hong kong dollars contributing points to
the index decline bank of east asia dropped percent to
henderson land fell percent to and sun hung kai properties dropped
percent to
however chinese shares rose percent with airlines leading the way after
china eastern airlines said it expected to turn profit for dealers said
the shanghai composite index which covers both and shares was up
points at on turnover of billion yuan billion dollars
but investors remained cautious ahead of the release of key economic indicators
for later in the week traders said
investors are on the sidelines as they are waiting for further monetary policy
signals which will have an impact on sectors such as banks guoyuan securities
analyst simon wang said
china eastern airlines climbed percent to yuan and air china rose
percent to yuan
but steelmakers were dragged down after baoshan iron and steel said in
preliminary earnings report that its net profit fell percent from
year earlier
panzhihua new steel and vanadium was down percent to yuan anshan iron
and steel shed percent to yuan
and on its first day of trading the csi cross straits index which covers
firms listed in the mainland hong kong and taiwan ended down percent
at according to the company website
oil prices fall on us economy concerns
london jan afp
oil prices dropped monday on doubts over the strength of economic recovery in
the united states the world biggest energy consumer analysts said
new york main contract light sweet crude for february delivery dipped
cents to dollars barrel
brent north sea crude for delivery in march shed cents to dollars
barrel
oil is under pressure primarily from economic considerations said purvin and
gertz energy analyst victor shum
some of the economic data out of the us were not really robust and so these
data raised doubts about the health of the us consumer and the strength of the
us economy
figures released friday showed us consumer prices barely rose in december and
were interpreted by economists as sign of lingering weakness in the economy
where consumer spending is major driver of economic activity
the us is still in the grip of intense disinflationary forces despite the
basis effect lifting the headline year on year rate deflation risk is real
said ian shepherdson chief us economist at high frequency economics
meanwhile the international energy agency on friday said oil demand in
would be sluggish in the developed world with emerging markets accounting for
any increases
the agency left unchanged prior forecast of percent rise in global
demand this year to million barrels per day
afp world news agenda
paris jan afp
what coming up around the world
feverish search for haiti quake survivors
taliban attacks on kabul leave five dead
ukraine braces for second presidential vote
port au prince rescue crews from around the world dig frantically in search of
survivors six days after powerful earthquake leveled much of the haitian
capital haiti quake
the un security council meets to discuss the dire situation in haiti haiti
quake un
kabul the taliban launch wave of gun and bomb attacks on kabul with five
people killed and others wounded in fighting with security forces
afghanistan unrest
kiev ukraine braces for run off between viktor yanukovich and prime minister
yulia tymoshenko after discredited orange revolution hero president viktor
yushchenko was eliminated in the first round of presidential polls ukraine
vote
ankara the turkish man mehmet ali agca who attempted to assassinate pope john
paul ii in is released after years in prison italy pope
berlin israeli and german cabinets hold joint session with the two leaders
prime minister benjamin netanyahu and chancellor angela merkel set to hold
joint press conference germany israel diplomacy
gaza city first anniversary of the end of israel day war on hamas in the
gaza strip during which some palestinians and israelis were killed
mideast conflict gaza anniversary
milan the trial resumes for italian prime minister silvio berlusconi on charges
of tax fraud involving his media empire mediaset italy politics berlusconi
media trial
sanaa yemen warns it will strike al qaeda extremists for as long as they pose
threat as the islamist group denies government claims of having killed six of
its leaders attacks yemen qaeda
santiago the official results of presidential election for successor to
chilean president michelle bachelet chile vote
afp
us militant suspects allege torture in pakistan
sargodha pakistan jan afp
five americans facing charges for allegedly plotting attacks against pakistan
and its allies alleged they were tortured in custody as pakistani court on
monday extended their detention
the five young men were arrested in december on suspicion of trying to contact
al qaeda linked groups with police officials accusing them of trying to travel
to afghanistan to fight with the taliban against us and nato troops
we are being tortured we are being tortured several of the men shouted in
english from prison van as it left court in sargodha town in eastern
pakistan after their hearing which took place under tight security
jehangir sarwar senior lawyer present in the courtroom quoted one of the
five men as complaining of police excesses
sarwar who was in the court as an observer and was not representing anyone did
not say which of the five men made the remark while police officials denied
that mistreatment was raised during the brief hearing
none of the five men said anything of the sort in the court as far as know
one of these men had stomach problem said aamir abbas local police
official who worked on the case
he said that the court extended judicial remand of the five men until february
when they will be produced again before the court
abbas added that police had also presented list of charges spreading over
pages for the court consideration
he said the list contained new charges against the five men to attempt to
commit an act of terror against allies of pakistan and countries which are not
at war with us although it did not name the countries
the five men are already facing charges for allegedly plotting attacks in
pakistan which could see them jailed for life
at their last hearing on january then men denied links to al qaeda and told
the court that they wanted to help muslims in war torn afghanistan
pakistan has been fighting against the taliban in northwest areas bordering
afghanistan
the area is known as training ground and haven for militants plotting attacks
against foreign troops based in afghanistan and the united states is pressuring
islamabad to do more to monitor the porous frontier
the suspects who are all us citizens including two pakistani americans have
also been questioned by the fbi
urgent security restored in afghan capital president karzai
kabul jan afp
security had been restored to kabul after militant siege that lasted more than
three hours and left five people dead afghanistan president hamid karzai said
monday
alert
france to give million euros emergency aid to haiti fm
five dead wounded in kabul violence ministry
kabul jan afp
five people were killed and others wounded on monday in fighting between
taliban militants and security forces the public health ministry said
the death toll did not include four militants who were also killed during the
attacks which lasted more than three hours
we have five martyred and wounded sayed kabir amiri head of hospitals at
the ministry of public health told afp
these figures have been reported from all hospitals in the city the dead
include civilians and security personal the wounded are mostly civilians
officials in kabul have said they were clearing buildings that were taken over
by taliban militants though an interior ministry spokesman said there was still
some resistance
taiwan artist carves world tiniest tiger
taipei jan afp
taiwanese artist said monday that he had completed the world smallest tiger
sculpture tiny enough to pass through the eye of needle
chen forng shean carved the animal made of artificial resin and measuring just
millimetre inches in height to mark the year of the tiger which
begins on february
the toughest part was painting the tiger tongue red the amateur artist who
works for the central bank told afp
chen who has devoted himself to miniature sculpture for the past years said
it took him four hours day for three months to finish the work
dominican border hospitals filled with haiti quake victims un
geneva jan afp
hospitals on the dominican republic border with haiti are overwhelmed with
quake victims while crucial fuel supplies in haiti are reaching critically low
levels the united nations said monday
hospitals in the border region are overwhelmed and have begun to refer patients
to other cities the un office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs
said in its latest situation report on haiti citing its official in the
dominican republic
there is shortage of specialised medical supplies equipment and physicians
at these hospitals and no clear inventory of what is needed ocha warned
meanwhile the fuel situation in haiti is becoming more and more critical
with fuel restrictions now in place ocha said warning that shortage could
have serious impact on the massive international relief effort
the national telecommunications system has been partly restored but without
access to fuel the mobile network will be cut off within days which will have
serious implications for the humanitarian operation it added
some gallons of fuel was due to be ferried in by truck from the dominican
republic which shares the caribbean island of hispaniola with haiti
however the road from an international aid hub in the dominican capital of
santo domingo to the haitian capital port au prince was congested pushing the
journey time up to hours ocha said
alert
security restored in afghan capital president karzai
wall street sell off hits asian shares
hong kong jan afp
wall street worst performance so far in weighed on asia stocks monday
amid fresh fears over the pace of recovery while japan airlines sank to new
low ahead of its expected bankruptcy
dive in oil prices also hit sentiment as crude tumbled after the
international energy agency iea last week predicted sluggish demand this
year in the developed world with emerging markets accounting for increases
however bargain hunting mixed with sentiment boosting local factors in some
markets to help other shares into the black
doubts about the strength of recovery in the united states the world biggest
energy user were raised last week when it reported that crude reserves had
increased despite severe cold snap across much of the country
new york main light sweet crude contract has slid from month high of
dollars early last week in singapore monday new york crude for february
delivery fell cents to dollars barrel
brent north sea crude for february delivery was down cents at dollars
oil is under pressure primarily from economic considerations said victor
shum singapore based analyst with energy consultancy purvin and gertz
some of the economic data out of the us were not really robust and so these
data raised doubts about the health of the us consumer and the strength of the
us economy
dealers in the region were also absorbing percent fall on the dow jones
industrial average friday the biggest drop this year amid lack of enthusiasm
over earnings results reported so far this year
tokyo was off percent or points at
jal plunged percent to an all time low of five yen five cents day
before it is expected to file for bankruptcy as it struggles under enormous
debts it is also widely thought jal will delist its stock
the carrier market value is now just million dollars less than the cost
of one new jumbo jet
while tokyo has said it will try to ensure its survival during restructuring
investors are expected to lose most or all of their money if it files for
bankruptcy
in the meantime many short term speculators are trading the shares to try to
make quick profit dealers said
this has become pure money game said masatoshi sato strategist at mizuho
investors securities there is really no meaning to the level of the shares
the firm stock has plunged percent over the past three months its highest
share price since it began merging operations with small domestic carrier japan
air systems was yen seen in
hong kong was percent or points down at
however shanghai closed up percent or points at
the index morning falls were erased by airline stocks which were boosted by
china eastern airlines reporting that it expected to turn profit for
the carrier climbed percent to yuan and air china rose percent to
yuan
sydney ended percent or points higher at on gains in the
financial sector which offset falls among the big miners
bhp billiton dropped percent to australian dollars us dollars
and rio tinto shed percent to
seoul added percent or points to finish at
chinese and hong kong banks and property plays were held by growing concerns
beijing will further tighten monetary policy to keep lid on the nation
soaring economic growth
investors are on the sidelines as they are waiting for further monetary policy
signals which will have an impact on sectors such as banks guoyuan securities
analyst simon wang told dow jones newswires
meanwhile china launched the csi cross straits index monday in bid to
boost financial cooperation in the greater china region
but on its first day the index which covers firms listed in the mainland
hong kong and taiwan ended down percent at according to the
company website
the euro slid to dollars in tokyo afternoon trade from in new york
late friday it rose to yen from the dollar gained to yen
from
and in hong kong gold closed flat at us dollars an ounce
unchanged from friday
in other markets
singapore was percent or points higher at
dmg technical analyst james lim said further gains for sti from would likely be
limited with no major moves this week
we note that the immediate trend is looking much more muted we thus believe
that consolidation would be forthcoming for the sti he said
taipei lost percent or points to
the drop was despite three memoranda of understanding with china going into
effect saturday
lead cause of the fall was because financial authorities said they would allow
total of million us dollars worth chinese institutional investments in the
local market lower than the previously expected one billion dollars
kuala lumpur was flat shedding points to close at
manila dropped percent or points to
there nothing in the local front to move the market joseph roxas of eagle
equities said adding that investors were likely to look for overseas cues
jakarta lost percent or points to
wellington fell percent or points to close at
leading stocks were the main losers with fletcher building falling cents to
dollars and contact energy down eight cents at
germany lanxess brings forward singapore project
singapore jan afp
german chemicals giant lanxess said monday it has brought forward the building
of million us dollar rubber plant in singapore to meet demand for tyres as
car sales in the region soar
company officials told news conference that construction of the plant that
will manufacture butyl rubber chemical used to make tyres would begin in
june this year instead of mid
production is expected to start in the first quarter of earlier than its
slated launch
lanxess one of germany largest listed chemicals groups had announced last
year it would put back the start of production from the facility to because
of the global economic crisis
however the pick up in demand has prompted the change
the market has driven us to make this decision ron commander the head of
lanxess butyl rubber business unit told reporters
as of the third quarter of we saw much more stability in the market
and lot of growth in asia predominantly in china
lanxess said global tyre sales are expected to return to pre economic crisis
levels in
the firm will also move the global headquarters for its butyl rubber business to
singapore from fribourg switzerland this year to meet rising demand for tyres
in asia powered by the region burgeoning middle class
auto sales in the region have been growing for some time as the region
economies grow and last year china overtook the united states as the world
biggest car market
the china association of automobile manufacturers said more than million
units were sold last year in the country an increase of percent from the
million units sold in according to earlier reports
in the us sales fell percent to million vehicles in according
to autodata figures released this month
we will be focussing our attention especially on asia this year said lanxess
chairman axel heitmann
the tonne per annum plant in singapore will be the hub of lanxess asian
operations it will be located in jurong island petrochemicals base that has
attracted billions in foreign investments
lanxess customers include tyre brands bridgestone michelin hankook and
yokohama
israeli settlers arrested for mosque attack radio
jerusalem jan afp
five israeli settlers have been arrested in connection with an arson attack on
palestinian mosque in the west bank in december army radio reported on monday
the five were arrested during raid by israeli police and the shin bet domestic
security agency in yitzhar bastion of hardline settlers in the northern west
bank
five other people wanted by police were also detained in sunday night raid
police had previously arrested year old from another west bank settlement
in connection with the mosque attack but he has since been released
on december assailants vandalised west bank mosque torching muslim holy
books and spraying hate messages in hebrew in an attack blamed on hardline jews
angered by plans to curb settlement building
hardline settlers have adopted what they call price tag policy under which
they attack palestinians their fields or villages whenever the israeli
government takes measures to curb settlement projects
urgent five dead wounded in kabul violence ministry
kabul jan afp
five people were killed and others wounded on monday in fighting between
taliban militants and security forces the public health ministry said
alert
five dead wounded in kabul violence ministry
yemen will strike qaeda as long as it poses threat minister
sanaa jan afp
yemeni forces will strike al qaeda extremists for as long as they pose threat
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 state news agency saba
the minister speaking at sunday conference on security said al qaeda in the
arabian peninsula aqap had recently suffered heavy losses including the
death of number of its leaders
the interior ministry said on saturday that the aqap military boss qassem al
rimi was among six leaders of the group killed in an air strike by yemeni
forces the previous day in the eastern part of saada province
al qaeda has denied any of its members were killed in the strike according to
us monitoring group site intelligence group on monday
none of the mujahedeen 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 and their allies in the london conference claiming
that it has the capability to eliminate the mujahedeen in the arabian
peninsula site quoted the aqap statement as saying
brown is to host an international meeting on fighting extremism in yemen on
january
the meeting was called days after the failed attempt on christmas day by
nigerian national to blow up us airliner 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
there was no immediate official reaction to the purported al qaeda denial
there had initially been conflicting reports about the identities of those
killed in friday strike in which yemeni warplane targeted three vehicle
convoy in the northern saada province
so far the interior ministry has put up on its website the photos of four of
the six said to have been killed but 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
he said it was probable that the victims of the air strike had probably been
evacuated whether dead or alive
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 noting 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 in the impoverished state is keen to show the world it can crush the
militants on its own
late last year it launched new offensive against aqap and claimed to have
killed more than militants in two separate air strikes in december
yemen on saturday also announced the arrest of another three suspected al qaeda
members near the border with saudi arabia 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 in sanaa 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
mehmet ali agca the man who tried to kill the pope
ankara jan afp
mehmet ali agca will go down in history for attempting to kill the leader of the
roman catholic church keeping his motive behind smokescreen of bizarre
revelations that have fed speculation on whether he is madman or sly
operator playing the fool
agca was released from prison monday after nearly three decades behind bars
in italy and in his native turkey but no coherent picture has emerged from
investigations into his attempt to assassinate john paul ii on may
what is known for sure is that agca then aged and on the run from turkish
justice facing murder charges was able to slip into italy and pump three
pistol slugs into the polish pope at saint peter square in the vatican
leaving him seriously wounded
among explanations given by agca militant of notorious turkish far right
group was that he carried out the attack for bulgaria secret service which
was acting for the soviet union
but that was never proved and agca went on to claim the attack was part of
divine plan and declared himself second messiah
in december john paul ii visited his assailant in jail and said he had
sincerely forgiven him but the pontiff never revealed whether agca confided
in him the reason for the shooting
later john paul ii wrote in his book memory and identity he was convinced the
assassination attempt was planned and commissioned and that agca was mere
puppet
agca has described john paul ii as his closest friend and often attached
memorable photo of the two shaking hands to his open letters from jail
in his rambling writings agca has said that he will write the perfect bible
and announce the apocalypse he has also said that he wants to team up with
best selling da vinci code writer dan brown for novel called the vatican
code and he has volunteered to go to afghanistan to kill al qaeda leader osama
bin laden
agca was born on january into poor family in hekimhan eastern
turkey in his youth he reportedly hung out with street gangs and later got
involved in smuggling across turkey border with bulgaria
he studied economics at istanbul university where he joined the ultra
nationalist grey wolves organisation
in the two years before he attacked the pope he was said to have received
training as an armed militant and travelled abroad frequently
in june agca was arrested for the murder four months earlier of abdi
ipekci the editor in chief of the liberal newspaper milliyet
however he escaped from his military jail in istanbul on november by
simply walking out wearing uniform
he later wrote letter to milliyet saying he escaped from jail to kill the
pope whom he described as crusader or anti islamic activist
when agca was overpowered in saint peter square police found garbled note
in his pocket saying killed the pope to protest against the imperialism of
the soviet union and the united states and against the genocides they are
perpetrating in el salvador and afghanistan
with the cold war in full swing the united states was at the time involved in
combating left wing guerrillas in central america while the soviet army was
fighting islamic rebels in afghanistan
agca served years in italy before he was pardoned in june and extradited
to turkey where he was convicted for ipekci murder two armed robberies and
escaping from prison
the turkish authorities had released agca in january amid legal mix up
but re arrested him after eight days when court ruled that reductions to his
jail term under amnesty laws and penal code amendments had been miscalculated
german us musical brings obama spirit to the stage
frankfurt jan afp
us president barack obama stage version thrilled frankfurt audience
sunday with song in musical that opened far from the trenches of washington
politics in land still charmed by his message of hope and change
fascinated by obama spectator cornelia hirschfeld told afp half way
through hope the obama musical story
obama underscored his trademark theme with chorus of yes we can and sang
lover duet with his wife michelle in show producers hope to take one day to
the united states
so proud to represent president barack obama proud to be an american
lead actor jimmie wilson said afterwards it an honor can say much more
than that
wilson told afp the qualities he admired most in obama were his eloquence
strength and vision adding that it was amazing how he moved world
actors playing obama republican opponants john mccain and sarah palin did
numbers of their own the latter singing ich bin ein pitbull pitbull
in musical that was uneven but which gained steam in the second act
set in chicago where obama worked as community organizer the plot portrays
how his message helps reconcile residents of multi cultural neighbourhood and
propels young black politician to the white house in
we showed lot of social movement and this is what the musical is about that
we have to keep positive spirit about the world said roberto emmanuele the
german italian producer and director
as for whether the white house had heard about this show emmanuele said
think so but haven had message yet from them think will get one after
today hope so
author and composer randall hutchins insisted the show was not politically
