the company producing the sights which are also used to train afghan and iraqi
soldiers under contracts with the us army and the marine corps said it has
inscribed references to the new testament on the metal casings for over two
decades
the british ministry of defense meanwhile announced it had placed an order for
of the gunsights with trijicon but added it had not been aware of the
significance of the inscriptions in decision criticized by the opposition
liberal democrat party
the muslim public affairs council mpac called on us defense secretary robert
gates to immediately withdraw from combat use equipment found to have
inscriptions of biblical references after it emerged that trijicon has contracts
to supply over of the sights to the us military
the pentagon sought to defuse the brewing controversy saying it was disturbed
by the reports
if determined to be true this is clearly inappropriate and we are looking into
possible remedies commander darryn james pentagon spokesman told afp
the codes were used as part of our faith and our belief in service to our
country trijicon said
as long as we have men and women in danger we will continue to do everything
we can to provide them with both state of the art technology and the never
ending support and prayers of grateful nation company spokesman said on
condition of anonymity
the move appeared to be direct violation of us central command general order
issued after the us led invasion of iraq that strictly prohibits
proselytizing of any religion faith or practice
whistleblower group that first alerted abc news to the issue this week warned
the practice was putting troops in harm way by raising fears of christian
proselytizing in muslim majority nations home to militants resentful of us
military presence
this is the worst type of emboldenment of the enemy that you can imagine
military religious freedom foundation founder and president michael mikey
weinstein said in an interview
weinstein former white house legal counsel in ronald reagan administration
said his group would submit filing in us federal court in kansas city
missouri by february in related case
having biblical references on military equipment violates the basic ideals and
values our country was founded upon mpac washington director haris tarin said
in statement
worse still it provides propaganda ammo to extremists who claim there is
crusader war against islam by the united states he added
the shocking revelation raises fresh fears of christian fundamentalism seeping
through the us military ranks
it got to stop it wrong on million levels said weinstein this is
massively endangering the lives and well being of our members of the military
his foundation he added represents nearly troops the bulk of them
christians
muslim american soldier who declined to be named due to fears of persecution
said he was ashamed and horrified by the writings on the gunsights of
weapons he used during deployments in iraq and afghanistan
there are many other soldiers who feel as do many are protestant and
catholic and they fear reprisal just as much as do for trying to stand up to
the christian bullies in uniform who outrank us he said in letter dated
january and addressed to weinstein and his foundation
the secular coalition for america demanded the us military end its contracts
with trijicon
trijicon knew that the scopes they were producing were for the use of the us
military and their decision to keep these engravings shows flagrant disregard
by private contractor of the laws that govern our land said the group
director sean faircloth
according to photographs seen by afp the coded inscriptions include jn an
apparent reference to john then spake jesus again unto them saying am
the light of the world he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness but
shall have the light of life
trijicon defense contractor founded by devout christian glyn bindon vows on
its website to follow biblical standards it says make america great
olympics japanese skiers count on the power of love
tokyo jan afp
japanese alpine skier kentaro minagawa will go to the vancouver olympics buoyed
by hopes that his recent marriage to world freestyle mogul skiing champion aiko
uemura will help them both
and my wife have supported and inspired each other to qualify for the
olympics said minagawa who was selected for japan olympic skiing team on
wednesday and finished fourth in the turin games
by turning our bond as husband and wife into power we will work hard as
individual athletes in the remaining days focusing solely on making our best
runs at the olympics the year old said in press release
the couple were married in june after two years of courting with uemura saying
wedlock would help her go to the olympics with peace of mind they plan to
have their wedding ceremony and reception after the olympics
uemura whose best result in three previous olympics was fifth in turin won the
women single and dual mogul titles at the world championships in japan in
march she booked ticket to vancouver earlier
we will do our best uemura said about minagawa qualification as she
prepared for the seventh world cup event at lake placid new york
she has yet to win world cup race this season and finished runner up twice
really have to improve myself that is all am thinking about she told
japanese reporters at the us resort
minagawa and uemura are the third japanese couple to take part in the same
winter olympics at the innsbruck games fumio and hatsue nagakubo competed
in speed skating kyoji and hiromi suga took part in the biathlon at salt lake
city in
china says google case not linked to sino us ties
beijing jan afp
google threat to leave china should not be overinterpreted or linked with
sino us ties state media quoted vice foreign minister he yafei as saying
thursday
the brief report from xinhua news agency came as us secretary of state hillary
clinton was preparing to give major policy speech on internet freedom in
washington
last week google said it may abandon its chinese search engine and possibly
leave the country altogether over what it called highly sophisticated attack
by china based hackers and state censorship
hong kong shares dive almost two percent
hong kong jan afp
hong kong shares dropped percent thursday on growing concern that china
will tighten credit after it posted soaring fourth quarter economic growth and
inflation data
the benchmark hang seng index gave up points to finish at
turnover was billion hong kong dollars billion us
however chinese shares rose percent with financial companies leading the
gains on expectations interest rates will rise to curb inflation
the shanghai composite index which covers both and shares was up
points at on turnover of billion yuan billion dollars
dutch retail group ahold reports higher sales in
the hague jan afp
dutch retail giant ahold announced on thursday that its net sales rose to
billion euros billion dollars in an percent hike from the
previous year
the company which owns supermarkets in the united states and europe reported
sales of billion euros in the fourth quarter which ended on january
percent rise from the same period in
ahold beat the forecast by analysts polled by dow jones newswires of billion
euros in fourth quarter sales
the retail group said the increase in the full year and fourth quarter figures
were fueled by an additional week of sales at the end of
ahold delivered strong volume growth in all markets in the fourth quarter
sales were impacted by deflation and trading down by customers while increased
promotional activity continued the company said in statement
at constant exchange rates ahold sales rose by percent in the fourth
quarter and six percent for the year
the retail group supermarkets include the stop amp shop and giant chains in
the united states and albert heijn albert and ica in europe
european stocks rebound at open london up percent
london jan afp
europe main stock markets recovered slightly at the start of trading on
thursday after sliding day earlier
london benchmark ftse index rose percent to points
frankfurt dax climbed percent to points and in paris the cac
won percent in value to reach
european indices had plunged on wednesday with paris and frankfurt losing
percent in value as jitters spread through markets after disappointing company
results credit tightening in china and fears over the fledgling economic
recovery traders said
wall street stocks suffered their biggest drop for the year on wednesday
following credit tightening moves by global economic growth driver china and
mixed earnings from key american banks
however the tokyo stock exchange benchmark nikkei index closed up
percent on thursday shrugging off the negative lead from wall street as foreign
investors bought heavyweight companies such as toyota and sony
football china league officials under questioning report
beijing jan afp
the head of china scandal rocked football association and two other top
officials have been taken in for questioning amid police probe into corruption
in the sport state media said thursday
nan yong named to head the beleaguered chinese football association year ago
was taken in for interrogation by police in the northeastern city of liaoning
xinhua news agency said quoting the ministry of public of security
also taken in were cfa vice heads yang yimin and zhang jianqiang it said
the soccer daily reported the men were taken away on friday
the xinhua report quoted the ministry saying the men were being questioned as
part of efforts to stamp out match fixing and other corruption in the sport but
made no mention of whether the three were suspected of wrongdoing
officials at the cfa and the sports ministry refused comment on the whereabouts
of the three officials when contacted by afp thursday
following widespread allegations of organised gambling crooked referees and
match fixing earlier this decade the cfa announced in late that it had set
up joint task force with police to root out corruption in the sport
the arrests of at least football and club officials have been announced since
november with police interrogating more than suspects according to press
reports
besides the three cfa officials taken away by police two other top association
officials have also been told not to leave beijing the soccer daily said
corruption on field fights and other misbehaviour by players have plagued
chinese football for years leading to dwindling attendance and frustration
among fans and sponsors
dismal play by the national team which failed to advance out of the early
stages of qualifying for the world cup in south africa has also led to
widespread criticism of how the sport is managed in china
us approves taiwan military plane transit
taipei jan afp
the united states allowed taiwan military plane to transit its territory for
the first time in years giving the go ahead without first consulting china
officials and media said thursday
the cargo plane made stop inside us territory while carrying relief supplies
to quake ravaged haiti according to the american institute in taiwan the de
facto us embassy
the united states approved taiwan request for cargo plane to land and
refuel in us territory in order to reach haiti as soon as possible christopher
kavanagh an official at the institute told afp
when asked if washington had discussed the sensitive issue with beijing prior to
giving the green light kavanagh told afp there is no need as the approval was
granted on humanitarian grounds
in reaction to the plane transit chinese foreign ministry spokesman ma zhaoxu
said we oppose any government including the united states from having any
official contact with taiwan
china which sees taiwan as part of its territory awaiting reunification
usually reacts with anger at military and other official contacts between the
island and any country especially the united states
kavanagh declined to be specific about when or where the cargo plane had made
the stop
the taipei based united daily news identified the aircraft as transport
plane from the island air force and said the stop was for refuelling
it was the first us transit by taiwanese military plane since washington
switched diplomatic recognition from taipei to beijing in according to the
paper
taiwan defence and foreign ministries declined comment when contacted by afp
thursday
the approval came before taiwan president ma ying jeou leaves for the
inauguration of honduran president elect porfirio lobo sosa next week with
transit stop in san francisco
ma planned stopover has touched off anger in beijing which has warned the
united states against having any official contact with ma during his brief stay
in california
ma had made transit stops in the us on previous latin america tours but kept
them low profile in line with his china friendly policy
beijing opposes any overseas visits by officials from taiwan which has governed
itself since at the end of civil war
korea largest life insurer to go public
seoul jan afp
south korea largest life insurer has applied to launch an initial public
offering the stock exchange said thursday
samsung life insurance will get an answer from the korea exchange within two
months and if approved listing procedures will begin spokesman at the bourse
told afp
the share sale which is likely to be the largest ever in the country is
expected to be worth between four and five trillion won billion
dollars according to news reports
day earlier shareholders approved to one share split plan to pave the
way for the listing
goldman sachs morgan stanley bank of america merrill lynch korea investment
and securities and shinhan investment corp are managing the offering
tennis serena sends out ominous warning
melbourne jan afp
defending champion serena williams showed she was still the one to beat at this
year australian open when she crushed petra kvitova of the czech republic
in the second round on thursday
the year old kvitova matched it with williams for five games in the first set
before the world number one stepped up gear and blitzed her way through the
rest of the match winning lopsided encounter in only minutes
much of the talk at this year australian open has been about the return of
belgian pair kim clijsters and justine henin and how either of them could win
the opening grand slam of
but williams sent out clear message that anyone who wants to lift the trophy
including older sister venus will have to get past her to do so
kvitova started the second round match positively attacking her more
illustrious opponent whenever she could and hitting the ball with power and
precision
williams relished the challenge however and the young czech player soon found
the ball coming back at her just as powerfully with even more precision
she coped for while but inevitably cracked and from then on it was matter
of how long it would take for williams to close it out
williams now has chance to avenge sister venus second round loss at the last
year australian open when she faces tricky left handed spaniard carla suarez
navarro in the third round
urgent china says google case not linked to sino us ties
beijing jan afp
google threat to leave china should not be overinterpreted or linked with
sino us ties state media quoted vice foreign minister he yafei as saying
thursday
football afc extends australia asian cup deadline
kuala lumpur jan afp
the asian football confederation afc said thursday it has extended the
deadline for football federation australia bid to host the asian cup by
three months to june
afc had previously scheduled the announcement of the hosts for march but
with the extension of the timeline the confirmation of the host country is
likely to be after july it said in statement
the afc said australia was the only country to put in an intensive bid to host
the event and that it carried out formal inspection of prospective
stadiums and facilities in september
the revised date provides ffa further opportunity to continue discussions with
various levels of the australian government and other stakeholders to formalise
the relevant guarantees and facility agreements which are part of the bid
submission it said
australia is already struggling to persuade the rival football codes to unite
behind its bid for the and football world cups after damaging in
fighting with the powerful australian rules and rugby league bodies
the australian football league afl has refused to make available melbourne
second largest stadium while the national rugby league said it would expect
financial compensation for any losses
tennis australian open results day four th update
melbourne jan afp
results from day four of the australian open at melbourne park here thursday
denotes seeding
men singles
nd round
nikolay davydenko rus bt illya marchenko ukr
novak djokovic srb bt marco chiudinelli sui
nicolas almagro esp bt benjamin becker ger
denis istomin uzb bt michael berrer ger
juan monaco arg bt michael llodra fra
alejandro falla col bt marcel granollers esp
marcis baghdatis cyp bt david ferrer esp
mikhail youzhny rus bt jan hajek cze
lukasz kubot pol bt santiago giraldo col
lleyton hewitt aus bt donald young usa
stefan koubek aut bt ivan dodig cro
tommy haas ger bt janko tipsarevic srb
women singles
nd round
agnieszka radwanska pol bt alla kudryavtseva rus
gisela dulko arg bt ana ivanovic srb
carla suarez navarro esp bt andrea petkovic ger
victoria azarenka blr bt stefanie voegele sui
li na chn by agnes szavay hun
caroline wozniacki den bt julia goerges ger
vera zvonareva rus by iveta benesova cze
shahar peer isr bt tsvetana pironkova bul
tathiana garbin ita bt yaroslava shvedova kaz
samantha stosur aus bt kristina barrois ger
francesca schiavone ita bt julie coin fra
daniela hantuchova svk bt sofia arvidsson swe
alberta brianti ita bt sabine lisicki ger
venus williams usa bt sybille bammer aut
serena williams usa petra kvitova cze
alert
china says google case should not be linked with sino us ties
new haiti quake triggers panic but miracle survivors emerge
port au prince jan afp
powerful aftershock rumbled across the ruins of haiti wednesday sending
thousands of traumatized quake survivors running through the streets in terror
but eight days on miraculous tales of survival were still emerging from the
rubble
amid the mass graves makeshift street clinics and desperate hunt for aid
rescuers have pulled tiny infant several children and other survivors from
ruins of the flattened caribbean nation
thousands of us troops were pouring in as other nations pledged to send in
hundreds more to help distribute aid provide medical treatment and try to keep
the streets secure as people scavenge to keep alive
the biggest aftershock yet struck as dawn broke on wednesday eight days after
the haitian capital was leveled by massive magnitude earthquake that
killed at least people and left million homeless
god wants to destroy all haitians because they are bad because they are
cursed eleude joseph shell shocked mother of two told afp at squalid
camp of survivors in the place saint pierre
there were no reports of anyone being killed or wounded by the aftershock
but some severely damaged buildings came tumbling down including the last
surviving wall of the main cathedral
despite the latest threat rescuers kept up their grim search elated by finding
survivors who had defied the odds including day old baby girl five
year old boy and an year old girl
the baby was found alive in the rubble of house in jacmel in southern haiti
tuesday after surviving for week without food french radio reported
the survival of the year old dug from the wreck of her family home by
neighbors truly is miracle said doctor at clinic run by french
charities adding that she came back to life bit by bit
the girl mother cleaning lady at the un mission in port au prince said one
of her five children five year old boy was killed in the quake
out of her daughter earshot she added haven told her yet that her
favorite little brother died she still very weak
other survivors dug out included woman found in the ruins of
supermarket and year old woman who sang as she left behind the wreckage of
the port au prince roman catholic cathedral
but rescue efforts are likely to start being pulled back as massive aid
operation swings into gear to help hundreds of thousands trying to survive with
little water in putrid makeshift camps where diarrhea was rife
international efforts are also focusing on rebuilding the country with major
donor conference set for monday in montreal
imf chief dominique strauss kahn called for multilateral aid plan on the scale
of the us marshall plan that rebuilt europe after world war ii
haiti ambassador to spain yolette azor charles said reconstruction could
take years and warned the death toll could top as help has yet to
reach many villages
the united states poured in more troops who had been due to deploy to the
middle east and europe while us general said the capital main port vital
to moving in tonnes of aid should be up and running again on friday
backed by three ships and squadron of helicopters the new troops should be in
place by the weekend as the total us force helping out in haiti swells above
in coming days
brazil was also looking to add troops to its peacekeeping contingent
boosting its force to at least while france and canada both said they
would send more police
we will be here as long as it takes because now we have even more reason to
stay said colonel joao batista bernardes the officer in charge of brazil
battalion leading the un stabilization force
bed capacity us naval hospital ship arrived off haiti with about
medical personnel and was ready to start taking on board the worst of the
injured
after marines dramatically dropped in from helicopters above the presidential
palace tuesday troops were out in force patrolling streets in the capital
business district
they ignored the looters picking through the debris for many scavenging from
the collapsed buildings was the only way to survive but ensured the situation
did not degenerate into riots
look when you are hungry and poor nobody helps you have to steal said one
defiant young man named vincent as looters plunged into the ruins of
flattened supermarket
aid was still in short supply for tens of thousands of survivors haunted by
despair and the fear of more aftershocks as they inhabited the squalor of the
rubble where countless bodies still lie buried
the catholic relief services aid group was forced to pull trucks full of flour
wheat sugar and beans out of leogane flattened town west of port au prince
on wednesday because of scuffles as they tried to hand it out
new hait quake triggers panic but miracle survivors emerge
port au prince jan afp
powerful aftershock rumbled across the ruins of haiti wednesday sending
thousands of traumatized quake survivors running through the streets in terror
but eight days on miraculous tales of survival were still emerging from the
rubble
amid the mass graves makeshift street clinics and desperate hunt for aid
rescuers have pulled tiny infant several children and other survivors from
ruins of the flattened caribbean nation
thousands of us troops were pouring in as other nations pledged to send in
hundreds more to help distribute aid provide medical treatment and try to keep
the streets secure as people scavenge to keep alive
the biggest aftershock yet struck as dawn broke on wednesday eight days after
the haitian capital was leveled by massive magnitude earthquake that
killed at least people and left million homeless
god wants to destroy all haitians because they are bad because they are
cursed eleude joseph shell shocked mother of two told afp at squalid
camp of survivors in the place saint pierre
there were no reports of anyone being killed or wounded by the aftershock
but some severely damaged buildings came tumbling down including the last
surviving wall of the main cathedral
despite the latest threat rescuers kept up their grim search elated by finding
survivors who had defied the odds including day old baby girl five
year old boy and an year old girl
the baby was found alive in the rubble of house in jacmel in southern haiti
tuesday after surviving for week without food french radio reported
the survival of the year old dug from the wreck of her family home by
neighbors truly is miracle said doctor at clinic run by french
charities adding that she came back to life bit by bit
the girl mother cleaning lady at the un mission in port au prince said one
of her five children five year old boy was killed in the quake
out of her daughter earshot she added haven told her yet that her
favorite little brother died she still very weak
other survivors dug out included woman found in the ruins of
supermarket and year old woman who sang as she left behind the wreckage of
the port au prince roman catholic cathedral
but rescue efforts are likely to start being pulled back as massive aid
operation swings into gear to help hundreds of thousands trying to survive with
little water in putrid makeshift camps where diarrhea was rife
international efforts are also focusing on rebuilding the country with major
donor conference set for monday in montreal
imf chief dominique strauss kahn called for multilateral aid plan on the scale
of the us marshall plan that rebuilt europe after world war ii
haiti ambassador to spain yolette azor charles said reconstruction could
take years and warned the death toll could top as help has yet to
reach many villages
the united states poured in more troops who had been due to deploy to the
middle east and europe while us general said the capital main port vital
to moving in tonnes of aid should be up and running again on friday
backed by three ships and squadron of helicopters the new troops should be in
place by the weekend as the total us force helping out in haiti swells above
in coming days
brazil was also looking to add troops to its peacekeeping contingent
boosting its force to at least while france and canada both said they
would send more police
we will be here as long as it takes because now we have even more reason to
stay said colonel joao batista bernardes the officer in charge of brazil
battalion leading the un stabilization force
bed capacity us naval hospital ship arrived off haiti with about
medical personnel and was ready to start taking on board the worst of the
injured
after marines dramatically dropped in from helicopters above the presidential
palace tuesday troops were out in force patrolling streets in the capital
business district
they ignored the looters picking through the debris for many scavenging from
the collapsed buildings was the only way to survive but ensured the situation
did not degenerate into riots
look when you are hungry and poor nobody helps you have to steal said one
defiant young man named vincent as looters plunged into the ruins of
flattened supermarket
aid was still in short supply for tens of thousands of survivors haunted by
despair and the fear of more aftershocks as they inhabited the squalor of the
rubble where countless bodies still lie buried
the catholic relief services aid group was forced to pull trucks full of flour
wheat sugar and beans out of leogane flattened town west of port au prince
on wednesday because of scuffles as they tried to hand it out
obama to propose size limits for banks
washington jan afp
president barack obama will on thursday propose new limits on the size of us
banks after spending billions of tax payer dollars to bail out too big to fail
firms senior official said
the measures would place sweeping new restrictions on sector seen as
responsible for sparking the largest recession since the great depression of the
couple of months ago the president began discussing with his economic team
the need to include in financial reform more specific and stronger provisions to
limit the size and scope of financial institutions the official told afp
the proposals aim to cut down on excessive risk taking among the largest
banks after crises at handful of the largest firms threatened to choke the
flow of cash to the us economy
on thursday the president will announce series of measures that address
size and scope of the institutions the official said
obama first year in office was dominated by efforts to rescue banks that were
exposed to massive loses on the sub prime mortgage market
the official who asked not to be named said the new measures would limit
banks ability to use their own cash to buy such financial instruments so
called proprietary trading
the proposal will include size and complexity limits specifically on
proprietary trading the source said
facing widespread voter anger over state take overs of the troubled firms obama
earlier this month proposed tax on big banks and warned the banking industry
not to block or water down his planned regulatory reforms
it is both in the country interests and ultimately in the financial
industry interest to have updated rules of the road to prevent abuse and
excess
the new measures will have to be approved by congress before becoming law
obama to propose size limits for banks
washington jan afp
