it is manufactured by british based company atsc was reputedly sold for between
and dollars unit and has become ubiquitous in iraq having been
bought in large numbers by local security forces
however british police last week arrested atsc director jim mccormick on
suspicion of fraud by misrepresentation he was bailed pending further
investigation
britain banned export of the device after tests showed it was not suitable for
bomb detection substances as diverse as perfume and metal tooth coatings have
previously been shown to falsely alert its antenna
afp reporters on sunday saw the ade being used in baghdad the restive
northern city of mosul and the sprawling southern city of basra
at checkpoints in the capital several army officers refused to talk about the
device capabilities referring all enquiries to their commanders
an iraqi policeman however defended its use
it works very well said rayad mehdi who works at busy checkpoint in
salhiyah central baghdad district only few hundred metres yards from the
justice ministry and the headquarters of baghdad provincial council that were
ripped apart by twin suicide vehicle bombs on october last year
the attacks killed people and wounded more than and were the deadliest
in more than two years
mehdi who has been using the ade for more than year remained adamant it
works when search the cars it detects everything even hydraulic oil and
cds
faisal ghazi security guard who uses the ade at the entrance of
nearby hotel had not heard about the british export ban but insisted it was
good equipment
it works very well if you have received proper training ghazi said of the
device which does not need batteries but instead relies on the user static
electricity according to atsc promotional material
major general jihad al jabiri chief of iraq interior ministry directorate for
combating explosives was forced to defend the ade last november after his us
counterpart said he had no confidence that these work
whether it magic or scientific what care about is it detects bombs
jabiri said at the time
the british ban is limited to iraq and afghanistan because the ade is not
classed as military technology the new restrictions were based on the risk that
sale of such goods could cause harm to uk and other friendly forces
the british embassy in baghdad has also raised london concerns about the
ade with iraqi authorities
the government in baghdad has made no official statement
members of the parliament defence and security committee however plan an
investigation
we will start to gather evidence to find out how this piece of equipment was
sold to iraq hadi al ameri chair of the committee told afp
if the british company was responsible we will seek compensation via the
ministry of foreign affairs
ammar touma member of the committee said the inquiry would start very soon
and he wanted to know if corruption was involved
football angola ghana teams
luanda jan afp
teams for an africa cup of nations quarter final game here on sunday
angola
carlos fernandes jose mabina alberto rui marques stelvio cruz carlos
kali alonso capt fernando chara costa felisberto gilberto amaral
zuela santos djalma campos flavio amado mateus manucho alberto
coach manuel jose por
ghana
richard kingson capt samuel inkoom isaac vorsah hans adu sarpei lee addy
emmanuel badu andre ayew kwadwo asamoah opoku agyemang asamoah gyan haminu
draman
coach milovan rajevac srb
referee mohamed benouza alg
us envoy in peace shuttle between israelis palestinians
amman jan afp
us middle east envoy george mitchell on sunday shuttled between jerusalem and
amman in his second attempt this week to persuade israeli and palestinian
leaders to relaunch peace talks
mitchell met israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu in jerusalem before
heading to amman to see palestinian president mahmud abbas as part of tour
aimed at reviving talks suspended during the gaza war more than year ago
president barack obama secretary of state hillary clinton and the united
states are fully committed to comprehensive peace in the middle east
mitchell said after meeting abbas in joint remarks to reporters with chief
palestinian negotiator saeb erakat
the two state solution to the israeli palestinian conflict which includes the
creation of an independent and viable palestinian state we believe it the
only realistic solution to the conflict
he said that such solution also includes agreements between israel and syria
israel and lebanon and full normalisation of relations among all countries in
the region
mitchell said washington would pursue our efforts until that objective is
achieved
erakat said the palestinians have not set preconditions for resumption of
talks
we don have any conditions to resume negotiations it time for israel to
drop its conditions he said if israel thinks that by finger pointing at us
and blaming us the conflict can be solved it won be solved
what really obstructs the efforts by senator mitchell and president obama is
israel and its settlements incursions and assassinations when we say israel
should stop building settlements it not palestinian condition it an
israeli commitment that should be respected erakat said
we want credible peace and we will continue to do our best and cooperate with
the united states but israel should respect its commitments
earlier in jerusalem netanyahu said after meeting mitchell that the envoy had
presented new ideas about how to relaunch the peace process without
elaborating
expressed my hope that these new ideas will lead to the renewal of the peace
process if the palestinians themselves show similar interest he added
the united states has been trying for months to convince both sides to return to
the negotiating table but the palestinians have refused to do so unless israel
halts all settlement growth in the west bank and east jerusalem territories it
occupied in
washington initially backed that demand but has more recently pressed both sides
to return to the talks immediately and praised limited month settlement
slowdown enacted by netanyahu in november
the palestinians have rejected the moratorium on building starts because it
excludes mostly arab east jerusalem which they demand as their capital as
well as public buildings and projects already under way
after meeting mitchell netanyahu attended symbolic tree planting ceremony at
gush etzion major west bank settlement bloc that israel plans to keep in any
future peace deal
our message is clear we are planting trees here we will remain here we will
build here this place will remain part of israel for ever there is national
consensus on this issue his office quoted him as saying
israel has insisted it will not give any more ground and has blamed the
palestinians for the impasse
vice prime minister silvan shalom said on sunday it was time to say clearly and
unequivocally that there will be no further concessions from israel for the
launching of negotiations
the method of the palestinians is to refuse to resume negotiations to force the
united states to exert pressure on israel he told public radio the ball is
in the palestinian court
mitchell held first round of talks with netanyahu on thursday and met abbas on
friday last week he also visited lebanon and syria
he also met jordan king abdullah before seeing abbas
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paris hong kong
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afp gmt news advisory
paris jan afp
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tel
top stories
bin laden claims christmas bombing warns more attacks
afghanistan postpones parliamentary polls
emotional sunday prayers in haiti
attacks us nigeria binladen thlead wrap
dubai
al qaeda chief osama bin laden in brief audio message claims responsibility
for the botched christmas day bombing of us airliner proclaiming the alleged
perpetrator hero and vows further strikes on us targets
words gmt video
afghanistan unrest politics vote thlead
kabul
afghanistan postpones parliamentary polls for four months days ahead of crunch
international talks on the war torn nation in london saying it was not safe to
go ahead amid spiralling taliban insurgency
words gmt by sharif khoram
haiti quake ndlead wrap
port au prince
thousands of haitian voices are raised in songs and prayer with this devoutly
catholic nation celebrating mass in the ruins of churches and cathedrals laid
low by devastating earthquake as an international aid effort continues
words gmt charles onians graphic picture video
haiti
haiti quake us military aid lead scene
leogane haiti
surrounded by sugar cane plantation and herds of emaciated cows about
hundred us marines secure the perimeter of new heliport set up just in the
middle of haitian plane
words moved by daphne benoit picture
haiti quake religion carnival lead scene
port au prince
there will be no carnival celebration this year in the quake ravaged haitian
capital and perhaps never again for people like hored stanley who lost
fellow musicians the day the earthquake struck
words moved by jordi zamora picture
we have also moved haiti quake houses focus
americas
us politics obama reset
washington
president barack obama hits the reset button on his stymied domestic agenda
after bruising week which saw his democratic supermajority in congress
evaporate and his cherished health care reform agenda stall indefinitely
words gmt by stephanie griffith
us politics obama newseries
washington
barack obama will seek to corral panicked democrats and win back disaffected
voters this week in the debut state of the union address of presidency dragged
down by crushing economic gloom
words gmt by stephen collinson
venezuela politics media thlead
caracas
the opposition rctv cannel and five other cable tv stations are forced off the
air in venezuela after cable company operators complying with government
order refuse to continue to carry them
words moved
europe
britain attacks security afghanistan yemen meet lead
london
the bid to blow up us plane marks new phase in al qaeda campaign against
the west british foreign secretary david miliband says ahead of this week
london talks on afghanistan and yemen
words moved by katherine haddon
germany afghanistan politics military
berlin
chancellor angela merkel of germany the third biggest provider of foreign
troops in afghanistan prepares to sell sceptical voters on bolstering the
presence in the country with sharper focus on reconstruction and
reconciliation
words moved by deborah cole
middle east
iran nuclear politics thlead
tehran
president mahmoud ahmadinejad hints that tehran would itself pursue uranium
enrichment to higher levels if the west spurns its offer of phased fuel swap
promising iranians sweet news in the coming days
words gmt by jay deshmukh
britain iraq afghanistan unrest weapons trade ndlead scene
baghdad
bomb detection device newly banned from export in britain and labelled useless
by us forces is still being used at checkpoints in baghdad to mixture of
confidence and disbelief
words gmt by arthur macmillan picture
mideast diplomacy us thlead
amman
us middle east envoy george mitchell shuttles between jerusalem and amman as he
tries for the second time this week to persuade israeli and palestinian leaders
to relaunch peace talks
words gmt by ahmad khatib picture
un climate warming saudi lead
riyadh
saudi arabia
saudi official says oil exporters were unfairly targetted in global climate
treaty talks defending riyadh stance against the tough emissions control
targets that were blocked in december copenhagen climate negotiations
words gmt by paul handley
africa
nigeria unrest religion lead
jos nigeria
frightened residents flooded military checkpoint to flee the nigerian city of
jos on sunday after muslim christian clashes that killed some people and
left scores of buildings burnt
words gmt by aminu abubakar picture
asia
nkorea nuclear weapons skorea military thlead
seoul
north korea lashes out at south korea plan to launch pre emptive strike to
thwart any nuclear attack from pyongyang as an open declaration of war
words moved by jun kwanwoo
japan politics us military diplomacy vote rdlead
tokyo
japanese voters in city on okinawa island elect mayor opposed to plans for
controversial new us air base complicating row with washington over
relocating troops
words gmt by kyoko hasegawa file picture
karroubi party calls for free iran election website
tehran jan afp
the political party of iranian opposition leader mehdi karroubi called on sunday
for the holding of free election and permission to stage demonstrations its
website said
the etemad melli party also insisted the reformist cleric who charges that
president mahmoud ahmadinejad disputed re election in june last year was the
result of fraud had the evidence to back up his accusations
hold free election or allow free gathering by providing security to
supporters of karroubi or mir hossein mousavi which will show how people can
wake you up to realities sahamnews org website said referring to the two main
opposition leaders
it is necessary for you to know that mr karroubi is standing firm and tall and
has evidence for all his comments it added in an address to the country
regime
hardliners have called for karroubi and mousavi to be prosecuted over their
backing for anti government protests that erupted after the presidential
election
karroubi has been particularly outspoken about mistreatment of detained
protesters even alleging several protesters were raped in jails charge
denied by iranian officials
despite ban on protests and harsh crackdown by security forces opposition
supporters have repeatedly used government backed public events to take to the
streets
eight people were killed and hundreds of opposition supporters arrested at the
most recent demonstration on december when thousands of opposition
supporters staged one such rally
golf kaymer wins abu dhabi golf championship
abu dhabi jan afp
germany martin kaymer won the million euro abu dhabi golf championship for
the second time in three years sunday when he prevailed over ian poulter by one
shot
kaymer who started the day one ahead of poulter and rory mcilroy shot six
under par to finish with four day tally of under par
poulter matched him with of his own but kaymer edged ahead with birdie
on the final hole
mcilroy who had slow start and was only one under at the turn made four
birdies on the back nine of the abu dhabi golf club to finish at under par
for sole third place
it was kaymer fifth win on the european tour and he is expected to go up to
sixth place when the new world rankings are released tomorrow
such has been his dominance in abu dhabi since that his worst finish was
second place last year
in all he has won euros in his last three appearances here and is
combined under par for his last rounds in his winning total was
under par
it was an exhilarating performance from the leading trio who made birdies
between them for solitary bogey by mcilroy
it was one of the nicest rounds have ever played on the european tour in
fact they were four fantastic days hit the ball great and my putting was
very good too and as group all three of us played so good it was very
solid and all about birdies there was no letting up said kaymer
it was lot different from the last time won here it was my first win and
even though had six shot lead going into sunday played very defensive
golf but today was certainly different hope this win helps me in the ryder
cup rankings which is my main goal this year
poulter got off to fast start with three straight birdies while kaymer could
only put red numbers on the first two holes but they made the turn at four
under for the round which meant the german had managed to protect his slim
lead
on the back nine poulter edged ahead with birdies on the th and th holes
but the birdies dried up for him thereafter he had footer birdie chance on
the final hole to enforce play off but could not make it
kaymer restored parity with birdie on the th and then made crucial
feet par putt on the par th
it was all over on the final hole when poulter had to lay up after hitting his
tee shot into the left rough while kaymer smoked it down the middle and
reached the par green in two with an equally sizzling three wood from
yards
poulter who is expected to move into the top said it nice start to
the season guess of course pretty frustrated that ve walked away
shooting that score and haven won
but am feeling very confident right now if you are going to hit the ball the
way have hit for these four days it makes me excited to go out there and play
golf
mcilroy said you play in the last group and you shoot five under most times
you are going to come out on top but martin and ian played very well
am bit disappointed but have got nothing but positives to take out of
this good start to the season last group and going down the last just one shot
behind and getting the juices flowing again hopefully this sets the tone for
the rest of the season
shane lowry the irish open champion posted his best finish on the tour since
turning professional securing fourth place at under south africa louis
oosthuizen who finished tied second with kaymer last year shot for sole
fifth place at under
shallow quake strikes solomon islands
honiara jan afp
shallow magnitude earthquake struck near the solomon islands in the
western pacific on monday seismologists said but there was no immediate
tsunami warning or reports of damage
the us geological survey said the quake was measured at depth of about
kilometres six miles and struck kilometres southeast of the town of gizo
at am gmt sunday
like much of the pacific the solomons regularly experience earthquakes
string of earthquakes rocked the western solomon islands earlier in the month
with the largest of causing tsunami estimated at eight feet nearly
metres
around people almost third of the population are believed to have
been left homeless on rendova island due to earthquake and tsunami damage
in april an magnitude earthquake in the western solomons triggered
tsunami that killed more than people and displaced thousands gizo harbour
lost most of its wharves and jetties in the quake and subsequent tsunami
in september last year devastating tsunami swept along coasts in the pacific
islands of samoa and tonga killing people and wiping out entire villages
villages and resorts in samoa american samoa and northern tonga were flattened
by the giant waves generated by the massive earthquake the strongest in
nearly century
thousands more tents needed in haiti iom
geneva jan afp
the international aid agency leading efforts to provide shelter for hundreds of
thousands of haitian quake victims on sunday appealed for thousands more tents
or shelter equipment
the international organisation for migration said in statement that it had
family sized tents in warehouse in the capital port au prince but that
estimated needs stand at to assist persons
many of them are due to be resettled by the haitian authorities temporarily
outside port au prince during reconstruction efforts
the temporary tent settlements will provide clean and safe environment for
the displaced but they are short term solution tent settlements are not
sustainable said vincent houver the iom chief in haiti
more solid and sustainable option is needed but we also need tents there
is shortage of tents he added
the agency was also receiving huge number of requests from other aid groups
and families who had lost their homes
haiti government estimates that some people are without shelter in the
port au prince area according to the iom
more than people have taken advantage of free transport to cities in the
north and southwest as quake survivors were also encouraged to seek temporary
refuge with relatives and friends
iom spokesman jean philippe chauzy told afp that supply sources for some more
tents had been identified
but tents he added would be ill suited to the rigours of haiti cyclone
season after may or june
corrugated iron or building materials would be big help as well he said
we are messing up nigerian top cleric says after deadly clashes
jos nigeria jan afp
the head of the roman catholic church in troubled nigerian city on sunday
condemned clashes between christians and muslims there which are said to have
claimed more than lives
we are potentially great country but we are messing up and we have to accept
that fact jos archbishop ignatius kaigama said in sermon before about
faithful
the cleric who is also chairman of the christian association of nigeria in
plateau state criticised both christians and muslims involved in the violence
and those who instigated it
our diversity is meant to create harmony and not disharmony but we are using
our differences to unleash destruction and cause problems for ourselves instead
of focusing on technology science and development we are wasting precious time
and energy on mutual altercation he said
kaigama called on members of the two religious communities to return to god
because if we don come back to him we shall continue to go in cycles of
violence destruction and killings
jos has been hotbed of religious violence in nigeria whose million people
are divided almost equally between followers of the two faiths
an estimated people were killed in religious violence in the city in late
he said that the killings in and around jos capital of plateau state were
worse than the recent attempt by nigerian man to blow up us jetliner which
prompted washington to put nigeria on its terrorist watchlist
we made so much noise and protested when the united states placed nigeria on
terrorist watchlist following the failed bomb attack is what happened in jos in
the last few days not worse than that attack kaigama asked
umar farouk abdulmutallab allegedly tried to detonate explosives on
northwest airline plane as it was about to land in detroit on december but
his attempt was foiled by passengers
yemeni forces fire on southern demonstrators wound three
sanaa jan afp
yemeni security forces opened fire sunday on demonstrators in the southern city
of daleh wounding three people one critically witnesses said
clashes broke out between demonstrators mainly students demanding the release
of teacher believed to be an opposition activist who has been detained by
the authorities for two months the witnesses said
security forces opened fire and three people were wounded the sources said the
teacher two months and security forces who opened fire they told afp
on saturday clashes also broke out between protesters and security forces in the
city of al houta around kilometres miles south of sanaa witnesses
said
demonstrators set fire to tyres in the streets and also torched shops owned by
northerners witnesses said while the authorities announced that more than
people were arrested in connection with the protests
the latest unrest comes amid calls by the so called southern movement loose
coalition of opposition groups for protests to take place to underscore demands
for secession from the north in the run up to conference due to take place
wednesday in london on yemen
the movement has called for six hour general strike on monday morning and for
demonstrations to take place on tuesday as well
south yemen was an independent state from the time of britain withdrawal in
until the country was united in the south seceded in sparking
short lived civil war that ended with the region overrun by northern troops
southerners complaining of discrimination by the north and lack of financial
aid hold frequent demonstrations demanding either increased autonomy or
independence for the south
the london conference will discuss yemen anti terrorism drive and will be
attended by representatives from countries
it was called by british prime minister gordon brown days after it emerged
nigerian accused of trying to blow up us airliner on christmas day could have
been trained by the yemen based al qaeda in the arabian peninsula
thousands more tents needed in haiti iom
geneva jan afp
the international aid agency leading efforts to provide shelter for hundreds of
thousands of haitian quake victims on sunday appealed for thousands more tents
or shelter equipment
the international organisation for migration said in statement that it had
family sized tents in warehouse in the capital port au prince but that
estimated needs stand at to assist persons
many of them are due to be resettled by the haitian authorities temporarily
outside port au prince during reconstruction efforts
the temporary tent settlements will provide clean and safe environment for
the displaced but they are short term solution tent settlements are not
sustainable said vincent houver the iom chief in haiti
more solid and sustainable option is needed but we also need tents there
is shortage of tents he added
the agency was also receiving huge number of requests from other aid groups
and families who had lost their homes
haiti government estimated two days ago that some people were without
shelter in the port au prince area according to the iom
more than people have taken advantage of free transport to cities in the
north and southwest as quake survivors were also encouraged to seek temporary
refuge with relatives and friends
israeli commander says no escalation on lebanon border
jerusalem jan afp
top israeli military commander on sunday denied that there were rising
tensions with the armed hezbollah group along the lebanon border day after an
israeli minister warned of new war
reports of another imminent round of fighting represent virtual escalation
with no basis in reality major general gadi eizenkot of the northern command
told israeli media at conference in tel aviv
israel and hezbollah fought to bloody stalemate in the summer of with
lebanese most of them civilians and more than israelis mostly
soldiers killed in the war
hezbollah hasn executed an attack since the second lebanon war eizenkot
said but hezbollah is getting stronger and we are preparing for all options in
