gitmo north by transferring prisoners to us facilities to be illegally held
without due process
this practice was wrong in cuba and would remain so here reducing the closure
of guantanamo to symbolic gesture
alert
dow stock index plunges more than points for second straight day
britain raises terror threat level minister
london jan afp
britain raised its terror threat level from substantial to severe on friday
suggesting that an attack is highly likely home secretary alan johnson said
the joint terrorism analysis centre has today raised the threat to the uk from
international terrorism from substantial to severe johnson said
this means that terrorist attack is highly likely but should stress that
there is no intelligence to suggest than an attack is imminent
in television statement shortly afterwards johnson refused to say whether the
change in the threat level which takes it to the fourth highest level out of
five was linked to the failed detroit plane bombing on december
we never say what the intelligence is and it would be pretty daft of us to do
that he said adding it shouldn be thought to be linked to detroit or
anywhere else for that matter
he said the appraisal centre looks at all factors and no one should draw any
assumptions from this
the increased threat level meant that britain would put more resources in we
heighten the state of vigilance he added
in statement issued by his office johnson insisted the threat level which
has been made public on the website of the domestic security agency mi since
august was kept under constant review
the terrorism analysis centre makes its judgments based on broad range of
factors including the intent and capabilities of international terrorist groups
in the uk and overseas he added
johnson said britain continues to face real and serious threat from
international terrorism and urged the public to remain vigilant and report any
suspicious activities to the authorities
the threat level was last at severe on july when it was downgraded to
substantial which means the threat of attack is strong possibility
olympics winter athletes garner usoc honors
colorado springs colorado jan afp
with the winter olympics fast approaching alpine skier lindsey vonn and
noric combined skier todd lodwick were named the us olympic committee
sportswoman and sportsman of the year
it only fitting that the biggest stars over the past year will now help
lead team usa into competition in vancouver beginning three weeks from today
said mike english usoc chief of sport performance
these award recipients stood apart from distinguished list of nominees both
on and off the field of play and their accomplishments provide inspiration and
excitement for all americans
vonn dominated in en route to becoming one of the most successful female
skiers in american history she was crowned overall champion of the
world cup season including titles in the downhill and super
vonn notched us record nine world cup wins in single season and capped her
year with gold medals in the downhill and super at the alpine world
championships
lodwick is heading toward his fifth olympics after returning from two year
retirement in to win two gold medals at the nordic combined world
championships last february
his strong showing coincides with rise in america global fortunes in the
sport that saw the united states win four medals in its most successful world
championships ever lodwick is the first nordic combined skier to win the usoc
sportsman of the year award
judge nixes two bush era domestic spying cases
san francisco jan afp
federal judge has tossed out pair of lawsuits accusing government officials
during former president george bush era of dragnet spying on people
internet and telephone communications
us district court judge vaughn walker said in written decision late thursday
that the named plaintiffs did not show they were victims of spying and therefore
lacked standing to champion the class action suits
citizen may not gain standing by claiming right to have the government
follow the law walker wrote
the essence of standing is the party direct personal stake in the outcome as
opposed to the issues the party seeks to have adjudicated in the litigation
walker did not rule on the charges that the national security agency nsa
illegally intercepted email text messages telephone calls and other electronic
communications of countless us citizens to unmask terrorists
one of the lawsuits had been filed in san francisco and the other in new york
city
the suits were consolidated before walker along with several dozen cases
against telecommunications firms accused of helping the nsa with blanket
surveillance of internet and telephone exchanges during the bush
administration
walker last year dismissed the suits against telecom firms based on freshly
passed law granting the companies immunity
appeal of the dismissals of the telecom cases is pending in court according to
electronic frontier foundation eff senior staff attorney kevin bankston
bankson vowed on friday that the eff will ask the ninth circuit court of appeals
to overturn walker decision in the two class action suits
the alarming upshot of the court decision is that so long as the government
spies on all americans the courts have no power to review or halt such mass
surveillance even when it is flatly illegal and unconstitutional said
bankston
with new revelations of illegal spying being reported practically every other
week the need for judicial oversight when it comes to government surveillance
has never been clearer
eff lawyers argued that the nsa illegally snooped on electronic communications
by at amp customers in secret room at one of the us telecom giant
facilities in san francisco
the attorneys contended that the nsa conducted dragnet surveillance of millions
of ordinary americans without the required legal authorization
justice department lawyers countered that the lawsuit and similar cases bundled
with it should be thrown out based on state secrets privilege protecting
intelligence information for the sake of national security
british soldier killed in afghanistan ministry
london jan afp
british soldier was killed in an explosion friday while on foot patrol in
southern afghanistan officials in london said
the soldier from company rifles who was serving as part of rifles
battlegroup died in the blast near sangin in central helmand province on friday
afternoon the ministry of defence said in statement
he was on foot patrol part of larger operation to provide security for the
local population in sangin when the explosion happened said lieutenant
colonel david wakefield spokesman for task force helmand
he is the fifth british soldier to die in afghanistan this year and brings to
the total killed since operations there began in
last year british service personnel died in afghanistan making it the
bloodiest for the military since the falklands war
britain raises terror threat level minister
london jan afp
britain raised its terror threat level from substantial to severe on friday
suggesting that an attack is highly likely home secretary alan johnson said
the joint terrorism analysis centre has today raised the threat to the uk from
international terrorism from substantial to severe johnson said
this means that terrorist attack is highly likely but should stress that
there is no intelligence to suggest than an attack is imminent
oil prices skid on demand jitters us banking crackdown
new york jan afp
crude oil prices fell friday amid market jitters about energy demand in the
united states and china and white house plan to crack down on banks in bid
to curb excessive risk taking
new york main contract light sweet crude for march delivery slid to
close at dollars barrel
earlier the key futures contract had hit dollars its lowest level since
december
in london brent north sea crude for delivery in march shed dollars to
settle at dollars barrel its intraday low was dollars
after oil prices began the year on bull run the market has turned south and
the bearish case is wide awake said phil flynn analyst at pfg best
we have weak demand ample us inventories rising opec and non opec
production and questions about the continued growth in china oil demand he
said
now throw in some proposed new banking regulations that could zap demand and
it the bull worst nightmare
in its weekly us energy report the us department of energy doe said thursday
that refineries operated at percent of capacity last week their lowest
rate in at least two decades apart from the immediate aftermath of hurricane
meanwhile moves by china to slow down its roaring economy also weighed on oil
prices
think people are very concerned about what the chinese government would do
next to curb the consumption demand growth said anz bank oil analyst serene
lim
china economy expanded percent in the december quarter and by percent
for the whole of
in oil prices had jumped by about percent as traders were heartened by
evidence that the battered global economy was on the mend with the eurozone
japan and the united states escaping fierce recession
however crude futures have struggled to make much headway in early as
economic data disappoints raising concerns about the strength and durability of
the recovery
jason schenker of prestige economics said that several factors were at work
undermining oil prices
the supply and demand and the inventory situation is the most fundamental
example added to what industry is seeing as some pretty scary regulatory
changes schenker said
us president barack obama shocked markets thursday by proposing strict new
limits on banks aimed at curbing excessive risk taking
the measures which require approval by congress would prohibit commercial
banks which engage in activities such as collecting deposits from customers
from so called proprietary trading or acting as brokerages on their own
behalf
there is risk that banking trading could be affected by what the president
wants to implement schenker said
us astronaut sends first tweet from space
washington jan afp
an american astronaut sent the first tweet from space on friday after getting
personal web connection on the international space station
timothy tj creamer nasa flight engineer sent the twitter message from his
astro tj account
hello twitterverse we now live tweeting from the international space station
the st live tweet from space more soon send your creamer wrote
nasa said creamer was the first astronaut to send an unassisted twitter
message from space
previous tweets from space were actually sent by astronauts by email to the
ground and support personnel posted them to their twitter account
the us space agency said creamer was able to use twitter directly because
software upgrade this week gave astronauts aboard the space station personal
access to the internet via what nasa called the ultimate wireless connection
the new communications system gives astronauts access to the web and will
provide them with direct private communications to enhance their quality of
life during long duration missions nasa said
two other astronauts aboard the space station commander jeff williams and
soichi noguchi of japan also have twitter account at nasa astronauts
figure skating domnina and shabalin dance to gold at europeans
tallinn jan afp
russia oksana domnina and maxim shabalin won their second ice dancing gold at
the european figure skating championships here on friday
they took the title ahead of italy federica faiella and massimo scali with
defending champions jana khokhlova and sergei novitski of russia winning bronze
after the free skating final
the world champions who created controversy this week by their aboriginal
original dance reclaimed the title they won in with dramatic free dance
to the double life of veronique by zbigniew preisner
as in the original dance they placed second behind the italians but sealed
victory as result of the comfortable margin they had built up in the opening
day compulsory dance in which faiella and scali placed third
it is the first international competition this season for the olympic favourites
who missed the grand prix series because of shabalin recurring knee problems
everything went according to plan said shabalin we re now looking forward
to the olympic games
their routine included innovative lifts and moves with domnina costume
including an acrobatic belt which allowed shabalin to swing his partner around
in their first rotational lift
but the judges preferred the italians more classical routine placing the
russians second in the free dance with for an overall score of
faiella and scali scored for their moving routine to nino rota the
emigrants giving them overall and their third straight silver at the
europeans
khokhlova and novitski in fourth after the original dance snatched bronze for
stravinski firebird after their podium rivals nathalie pechalat and fabian
bourzat of france made mistakes in their routine
the title is russia third of the championships after yevgeny plushenko claimed
his sixth men title and yuko kavaguti and alexander smirnov won the pairs
earlier in the week
the competition winds up on saturday with the women free skating final with
two time winner carolina kostner of italy in pole position ahead of finnish duo
kiira korpi and laura lepisto the defending champion
russia look set to finish off the podium for the fourth straight year with their
highest placed skater alena leonova in fifth
urgent britain raises terror threat level minister
london jan afp
britain raised its terror threat level from substantial to severe on friday
suggesting that an attack is highly likely home secretary alan johnson said
alert
britain raises terror threat level to severe minister
hamas chief hits out at israel over stalled prisoner swap
damascus jan afp
hamas leader khaled meshaal said friday that captured israeli soldier gilad
shalit will not be freed unless israel releases hundreds of palestinian
prisoners
shalit will not to home before the liberation of our prisoners meshaal told
thousands of people at ceremony in syria capital damascus where he lives in
exile
meshaal made the remarks during the gathering to mark the first anniversary of
the end of israel devastating day offensive on the gaza strip
he blamed israel for the failure to reach deal on freeing shalit who was
captured in june when gaza militant groups including hamas tunnelled out of
the territory and attacked an israeli army post killing two other soldiers
on january hardline israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu vowed not to
release several high profile palestinian prisoners in exchange for shalit
we will not agree to release terror masterminds and never agree to the
return of dangerous terrorists to the west bank netanyahu told members of his
likud party in parliament according to officials at the meeting
israel has been locked in arduous indirect negotiations with hamas for the
release of shalit having reportedly agreed to release about prisoners
sought by hamas but balked at several behind particularly bloody attacks
netanyahu was apparently referring to marwan barghuti the popular palestinian
leader who israel holds responsible for instigating the outbreak of the
second palestinian intifada or uprising
barghuti who was elected to the governing body of the secular fatah party of
western backed palestinian president mahmud abbas in august is currently
serving five life sentences for murder and his role in the intifada
meshaal said that netanyhu was responsible for the failure to clinch deal to
release shalit in exchange for palestinian prisoners
the hamas politburo chief also urged arab leaders to help break the israeli
blockade imposed on the gaza strip and said his group will never give up its
armed resistance against the jewish state
ask libyan leader moamer kadhafi to add to the agenda of the arab league
summit in tripoli march the issue of the reconstruction of gaza and the
end of the blockade meshaal said
arab countries should also forge an arab strategy based on diplomacy and
resistance in order to liberate arab land held by israel
hamas will never relinquish the option of armed resistance it will remain
our priority we will not give up our political responsibility toward our
people he said
israel offensive on the gaza strip ended on january with mutual
ceasefires by israel and the palestinian islamist movement
the deadly offensive killed some palestinians and israelis also died
during operation cast lead which devastated the impoverished coastal enclave
which hamas has ruled since driving out fatah forces in june
evacuation orders lifted as california weather eases
los angeles california jan afp
hundreds of people ordered to evacuate during week long storms that pummeled
california were given the green light to return home friday as weather
conditions eased officials said
around residents were issued with mandatory evacuation orders earlier this
week amid fears of mudslides and flooding after fierce storms packing gale force
winds and torrential rain lashed the state
los angeles mayor antonio villaraigosa told reporters friday that the evacuated
areas near steep hillsides stripped bare of vegetation during last year
wildfires had been declared safe
we have been very very fortunatate villaraigosa said since early this
morning teams of city engineers and geologists have been examining the affected
area and it is now safe for residents who have been evacuated to return
that is true for all but one resident everyone else can return home
governor arnold schwarzenegger who declared states of emergency in five areas
across california on thursday meanwhile said people across the state
continued to be affected by power outages
afp americas news agenda for january
washington jan afp
duty editor carlos hamann
tel
what happening in the americas on saturday
more us troops to arrive in haiti
results of haiti telethon
port au prince more us and chinese military forces are expected to arrive in
haiti to aid the survivors left destitute by the january quake expect
coverage haiti quake picture video graphic
washington the us television network links up for telethon for haiti hosted
by george clooney gmt expect coverage haiti quake us telethon
park city utah following the sundance film festival expect coverage
entertainment us film festival sundance
washington president barack obama gives his weekly internet and radio address
expect coverage us politics
woman rescued from haiti rubble family medics
port au prince jan afp
friends and family rescued year old marie carida roman alive from the rubble
of her port au prince home friday days after she was buried by haiti
killer earthquake her son and doctors told afp at her hospital bedside
trying to find out how can help her survive she has crushed chest and
lots of maggots all over her body said ernest benjamin an emergency volunteer
from mount sinai medical center in new york city
it worth everything to try to save her benjamin added
nearby the frail woman lay on her bed at port au prince crowded general
hospital hooked up to drip and her face covered with an oxygen mask
she is she been fighting for days and now have to give her hours
to say what chance she has said doctor vladimir laroche of coler goldwater
specialty hospital also in new york
when she was brought in here there was no movement now her jaw moves she was
completely dehydrated laroche said adding that the woman had multiple wounds
on her leg and lots of other injuries
carida roman son year old telephone technician who refused to give his
name said heard her calling yesterday at around or in the
morning friends in the neighborhood helped dig her out with our bare hands
we pulled her out at around this morning her son said
the miracle rescue of carida roman brings to at least the number of
survivors pulled from the wreckage of the catastrophic january earthquake
which left at least people dead and half million homeless
easyjet faces french fine threat
paris jan afp
french prosecutors on friday called for low cost airline easyjet to be fined
euros dollars for breaking french labour laws by unlawfully
employing workers on british contracts in paris
this is punishment that easyjet can easily cope with prosecutor bernard
thouvenot said on the first day of the trial pointing out that the popular
british airline had made profit of million euros in
the court is due to give its verdict on april
easyjet is in trouble for having allegedly employed some workers at its main
paris orly airport hub on british contracts instead of french ones between
and the company is said to have saved more than million euros
easyjet did not go and look for some exotic legislation easyjet is british
company that is based in britain said defence lawyer frederique baulieu
adding we have to stop this talk about social dumping
easyjet says it has now been applying french labour law since
haitian children arrive in france
paris jan afp
thirty three haitian children adopted by french families flew into paris friday
airport officials told afp leaving behind country shattered by the january
earthquake that killed thousands
the children aged between one and six years were met at the roissy charles de
gaulle airport by carla bruni sarkozy the wife of president nicolas sarkozy as
well as their new families and medical teams they said
they would join their adoptive families once their papers had been verified an
official said
they were also due to meet red cross and emergency medical assistance service
personnel to treat the emotional and psychological shock they have been
through he said
several of the children had lived in nursery that was severely damaged in last
week earthquake but not single child was injured and not single adoption
file was lost french consul in haiti jean pierre gueguan told afp
the children some orphans and others abandoned had on thursday left the
school where they had taken shelter after the destruction and headed to the
port au prince airport singing the little train
each had haitian passport with the family name of their adoptive family but
also their birth family surname
it very important that child knows where he came from one nurse said
in the days since the quake families around the world in the process of
adopting haitian children have pressured their governments to speed up the
adoption process
belgium and spain followed the united states and the netherlands in deciding to
fast track repatriation of adopted children with haiti suffering shortages of
water and food
france has been more cautious with foreign minister bernard kouchner saying the
government did not want to be accused by haitian authorities of kidnapping
however kouchner announced on wednesday that france would immediately take in
children who had already been matched with french parents for adoption
kouchner said there were french families adopting children from haiti and
the were in the final stages of the process
the magnitude earthquake killed at least people and left
homeless according to haitian authorities
the french embassy in port au prince said haitian children were adopted by
french families in and around in
rugby union european challenge cup results
paris jan afp
european challenge cup results on friday
pool
montauban fra albi fra
gates vows to build trust with pakistan after us mistake
aboard us military aircraft jan afp
us defense secretary robert gates on friday said washington had let down
pakistan in the past and vowed to restore trust with the vital ally in the fight
against al qaeda
gates used two day visit to islamabad to take on critics of washington role
in the region offering reassurance to pakistanis sceptical of the us led war in
afghanistan and its targeting of islamist militants
pakistan has seen security drastically deteriorate since joining washington
war on terror in and baulks at complaints from us lawmakers that it is
not doing enough to tackle militant groups
us drone strikes targeting islamist fighters in pakistan have also fuelled anger
in the muslim nation while many pakistanis express bitterness over washington
neglect of the region once the soviet union withdrew from afghanistan in
was in government in the early when russia left the region and the
united states largely abandoned afghanistan and cut off defence ties with
pakistan grave strategic mistake driven by some well intentioned but short
sighted us legislative and policy decisions gates said
speaking at the national defense university in islamabad he said us ban in
the on military contacts with pakistan due to its nuclear programme had
undermined bond between the armed forces and created trust deficit that
lingered
he promised the united states was prepared to invest whatever time and energy
it takes to forge and sustain genuine lasting partnership with pakistan
rebuilding relationships with generation of pakistani officers who have had
little contact with the us military will take years gates said
after his speech gates took some tough questions from the audience of senior
military officers in very candid session that was closed to the media his
press secretary geoff morrell told reporters
one pointed question suggested the us led war in afghanistan was to blame for
pakistan problem with violent extremists on its western border morrell said
the thrust of the question was we re in this mess because of you to which he
took great exception he said
gates told the officers that afghanistan had been unstable long before the us
military moved in and that it was unrealistic to assume pakistan could be spared
growing islamist militancy
another officer asked if the united states was with us or against us turning
around the phrase employed by then us president george bush after the
september attacks
throughout his two day visit gates argued that al qaeda taliban factions and
associated extremists in pakistan and afghanistan colluded with one another and
represented single over arching threat
he told the military officers that trying to draw distinctions between them was
dangerous
only by pressuring all of these groups on both sides of the border will
afghanistan and pakistan be able to rid themselves of this scourge he said
but pakistani military spokesman major general athar abbas on thursday rejected
gates description and said it was not so black and white
while pakistan has launched multiple assaults on taliban strongholds in recent
months washington is also anxious for islamabad to target the afghan taliban
and al qaeda linked militants within its borders
gates had said he would ask pakistan leaders about plans to expand its
campaign to north waziristan bastion of al qaeda and the haqqani network
known for attacking us and nato troops fighting the taliban in afghanistan
abbas told reporters no new operations would be launched until the current push
into south waziristan was complete which would take between six months to
year
gates held talks with pakistani security chiefs and president asif ali zardari
during his visit having earlier visited india
in an apparent show of force pakistani gunship helicopters pounded suspected
militant hideout at an old refugee camp in north waziristan capital miranshah
on friday security officials in the town said
after curfew was slapped on the area one person civilian was killed
and two wounded when troops opened fire on them for violating the order another
security official said requesting anonymity
rush for free buses to leave haiti devastation
port au prince jan afp
scores of haitians rushed to catch free buses to take them out of the
earthquake wrecked capital friday but some hopes were dashed by the limited
choice of routes
the hobbled government which saw its ministries reduced to rubble in the
january quake unveiled its bus plan thursday to respond to growing public
pressure to show its presence amid huge international aid effort
haitian officials said they would try to move around survivors from
squalid tent camps in port au prince to temporary accommodation outside the
devastated capital
families including small children and elderly people in wheelchairs gathered
at meeting point in downtown port au prince where several of first
promised free buses prepared to depart
over the din of loud horn honking year old ronald jean frite said he hoped
to join his family in central haiti after hearing about the free transport from
people in the street
of course it help for me frite said smiling as he sat at the front of
one of the white government buses where the atmosphere was light hearted with
passengers chatting and laughing
there nothing to do in the countryside where going but at least can
eat there nothing left in the capital
outside many others wandered around angrily as they said there were no buses to
their chosen destinations including cap haitien and port de paix in the north
of the island
my parents died when our house collapsed said year old josephe scarlie
sitting next to pink bag full of clothes
scarlie said she had been sleeping on the street far away from her destroyed
home since the earthquake
my friends gave me money to eat but not for the bus but now here there
no free bus scarlie said standing next to her teenage cousin and only
surviving relative in the capital
public buses painted with swirls of bright colors uplifting religious slogans
and romantic messages have transported hundreds of people over damaged roads
out of the devasted capital since the earthquake struck more than week ago
they also filled up their seats on friday and piled up bags and belongings on
their roofs but their presence next to the government funded buses added to
some people frustration
that bus goes to cap haitien and that where want to go said marise
villmar pointing to public bus preparing to depart
but don know how on earth can find the gourdes us dollars to pay
