eu foreign policy chief catherine ashton was also in no hurry
we just have to wait and see what comes out of the discussions of the security
council she told press conference after presiding over the eu ministerial
talks in brussels
rugbyu stevens to join saracens after doping ban
london jan afp
matt stevens currently in the middle of two years drugs ban from rugby union
is to join saracens in january when his suspension expires the english
premiership side announced monday
england prop stevens was banned last year from all rugby after testing positive
for cocaine while player with sarries premiership rivals bath
statement issued monday by saracens said the year old would join the club
on january upon completion of his two year period of ineligibility
it added he will not train with the saracens squad or be integrated within the
club in any way until his ban has expired
brendan venter saracens director of rugby said this is massively
significant signing for the club it demonstrates the scale of our ambition
and it also shows that top players recognise saracens as well run club with
bright future
matt is world class prop with his best rugby ahead of him and sure he
will flourish in our environment
stevens capped times by england since and member of the british
and irish lions squad added am looking forward to launching the next phase
of my rugby career at saracens in january next year
have many great memories and friends in bath but there is something special
happening at saracens and am very eager to be part of it
iraq hangs chemical ali saddam cousin and henchman
baghdad jan afp
saddam hussein notorious cousin and henchman chemical ali was executed on
monday iraq government said eight days after he was sentenced to death for
the gassing of thousands of kurds
ali hassan al majid was better known by his macabre nickname and as the king of
spades in the pack of cards of most wanted iraqis issued by the us military in
and will forever be associated with mass killings
he was executed by hanging until death government spokesman ali al dabbagh
said the execution happened without any violations shouting or cries of joy
in sharp contrast to saddam death on the gallows he added
state television later aired two still photographs of majid in which he was
wearing an orange red jumpsuit and the first of which clearly displayed his
face
the second picture showed him on platform with black hood over his head and
with two men wearing balaclavas standing on either side
the execution which was welcomed by kurdish victims came as three massive car
bombs targeting hotels rocked central baghdad killing at least people and
wounding in an apparently co ordinated but as yet unclaimed attack
majid was sentenced to death on january for ordering the gassing of kurds in
the northeastern town of halabja which killed an estimated people and was
one of the worst crimes of saddam iron fisted regime
was happy to see the news of the execution on television said kamal
abdelkadir who lost his parents five sisters and brother in the atrocity
and who continues to require medical treatment for his injuries
fadhel rifat who now lives in sulaimaniyah the eponymous kurdish province
in which halabja is situated was also just young boy at the time of the
attack
my father and many relatives died because of chemical ali he said am
happy that he is dead
three quarters of the victims at halabja were women and children in what is
thought to be the deadliest ever gas attack against civilians
the conviction for the gas attack that came as the iran iraq war drew to
close was the fourth time that majid who was arrested in august had
received death sentence
handing down the ruling judge abud mustapha al hamani branded majid offences
as deliberate murder crime against humanity when the verdict was delivered
amid muffled applause in the courtroom
majid execution had previously been held up by legal wrangling it had first
been due to be carried out by october but was delayed so as not to coincide
with the muslim holy month of ramadan
saddam his close cousin was himself hanged in december for the killing of
shiite villagers after an attempt on his life in
in contrast with majid hanging however footage of that execution posted on
the internet showed shouts of applause and barracking of the dictator before and
as he died
majid earned his moniker for ordering poisonous gas attacks in brutal
scorched earth campaign of bombings and mass deportations that killed an
estimated kurds in the
he had already been sentenced to hang for genocide over the kurdish offensives
when in december he received second death sentence for war crimes
committed during the ill fated shiite uprising in southern iraq
last march the iraqi high tribunal handed down third death sentence over the
murders of dozens of shiites in the sadr city district of baghdad and in
the central shrine city of najaf
majid orchestrated the halabja attack when in march iraqi jets swooped
over the small town and for five hours sprayed it with deadly cocktail of
mustard gas and the nerve agents tabun sarin and vx
considered saddam right hand man and bearing strong resemblance to the
former dictator he was member of the decision making revolutionary command
council and was regularly called upon to crush rebellion
as iraq eight year war with iran came to an end in fighters from the
rebel patriotic union of kurdistan with backing from tehran took over the
farming community of halabja near the border
as saddam enforcer majid ordered the gas attack to crush the uprising he
said he took action against the kurds who had sided with iraq enemy in the
war for the sake of iraqi security he refused to express remorse
eu investigates mining giants rio bhp
brussels jan afp
european regulators announced probe on monday into anglo australian mining
giants rio tinto and bhp billiton adding to pressure on the pair from the
world biggest importer china
the european commission has opened formal antitrust investigation under
european union rules on restrictive business practices said statement from
brussels on plans to jointly extract western australian iron ore reserves
iron ore mining lies at the root of steel production and therefore the world
automotive and construction industries and exports by the two companies already
account for more than one third of total global supply
commission spokesman jonathan todd told reporters the eu investigation would
proceed as matter of high priority
the iron ore industry has been roiled in recent times by multi billion dollar
and increasingly tough battles for control stretching from beijing to brazil
the home of the leading global producer vale
brussels competition watchdogs fear that the latest plans to carve up assets
between the world second and third biggest iron ore producers threaten to skew
the market even further
the joint venture scheme updates an original hostile takeover bid for rio by bhp
which was dropped in november amid the global economic turmoil after
brussels opened probe into market fixing suspicions then
the two companies iron ore agreement signed last month is expected to result
in billion dollars in savings
the commission will in particular examine the effects of the proposed joint
venture on the worldwide market for iron ore transported by sea
the eu said its decision to investigate does not imply conclusive evidence of
an infringement to competition law and stressed that there is no binding
deadline for the probe outcome
the companies said at the time of signing the proposed tie up that submissions
had been made to both the australian competition and consumer commission and the
european authorities regarding the deal
china steel industry meanwhile sent delegation to brazil in december
according to one report to discuss ways to lobby brussels together with vale
as part of its opposition to the arrangement
the world biggest producer of steel china imported around percent of its
iron ore needs or million tonnes in
beijing also said earlier this month that it had discovered five billion tonnes
of its own iron ore deposits last year in what was interpreted as shot across
the bows of vale rio and bhp
the three firms have collectively sidelined beijing from annual talks to set
benchmark contract price awaiting the conclusion of negotiations with japanese
buyers first
bhp billiton last week posted record iron ore production for the second half of
amid rising commodity prices driven largely by chinese demand
also this month rio tinto beat annual forecasts with record breaking fourth
quarter of iron ore production
billion dollar billion euros bid for rio by chinese state owned
firm chinalco collapsed in during similarly acrimonious negotiations
amid the fallout from that push an executive of rio tinto australian passport
holder stern hu was arrested in july in china alongside three chinese
colleagues
initially accused of stealing chinese state secrets charge that soured
diplomatic relations with australia the allegations were subsequently switched
to bribery
chinese prosecutors will decide shortly whether to bring that case to trial
haiti pm begs for earthquake aid
port au prince jan afp
haiti prime minister begged donors monday to back the rebuilding of his quake
hit country and boost international aid as hundreds of thousands of people
fought for survival in the rubble
nearly two weeks after the worst recorded disaster in the americas killed at
least people conference of foreign creditors in montreal heard that
it would take at least years to rebuild the stricken caribbean nation
as bulldozers cleared more corpse filled buildings in the center of the
flattened capital port au prince haitians expressed both hope and skepticism
about the emergency meeting of donor countries in montreal
the country is ravaged ask myself how it can be rebuilt after this
catastrophe the haitian government is very corrupt said gesnel faustin
living in tent outside the destroyed presidential palace
but if the united states france and canada get together for reconstruction it
will work
in montreal haitian prime minister jean max bellerive said the top priority was
to satisfy the vital needs of victims like food and water shelter and health
care but that longer term needs were huge
just want to say that the people of haiti will need to be helped to face this
colossal work of reconstruction bellerive told officials including his
canadian counterpart stephen harper and us secretary of state hillary clinton
harper said rebuilding haiti would take at least years of hard work
following the magnitude quake which struck on january
oxfam and the world council of churches called for the cancellation of haiti
million dollars of foreign debt
the united nations said monday that it has so far received pledges of more than
million dollars in emergency relief funding for haiti representing nearly
half of its target
in ravaged port au prince health minister alex larsen said bodies had
already been counted and the final toll was expected to be around with
around one million homeless
but the country communications minister said bodies had already been
collected the differing figures underscoring the disorder gripping the
haitian government
with the search for buried survivors officially over one rescue team hopes of
success days after the quake were dashed when signs of life picked up by
radar turned out to be false alarm caused by worm filled body
rescuers have saved people from the debris including man who survived for
days on cola and snacks
looters continued to plague haiti wrecked commercial areas but in less
affected districts residents tried to return to some kind of normality monday
with people going to work and shops reopening
the un said more than haitians have taken advantage of free buses to
flee the filthy conditions in port au prince for more hygienic camps outside the
capital
larsen said tents were being readied for quake victims at mini villages
outside the capital that will initially hold people and in the long term
accommodate around one million
but the mass exodus is putting huge burden on small towns like saint marc
some kilometers miles from the capital where refugees were
lodging with friends strangers or in churches
my house was destroyed we slept on the pavement near the wounded we had to
leave said magalie esteverle year old dressmaker with three children
staying with distant cousin of her husband
the situation has prompted european nations to agree to send some police
officers to help keep order and ease aid distribution
the international aid effort came under fire from italy public safety chief
sent to haiti last week who criticized lack of leadership in the response to
the quake
guido bertolaso who led the response to the aquila earthquake in april
told italian television it was terrible situation that could have been
managed much better and said the us force had too many officers to find
capable leader
the united states has taken frontline role in the disaster relief effort
sending in troops and anchoring hospital ship offshore while the
united nations is also heavily involved
football cameroon egypt go to extra time after draw
benguela angola jan afp
defending champions egypt and cameroon were drawing after minutes taking
the africa cup of nations quarter final to extra time on monday
moldova ex leader tells probe april riots were coup bid
chisinau jan afp
moldova former president vladimir voronin on monday spoke to investigators
probing the riots which rocked the ex soviet republic last year saying he was
convinced the violence was coup bid
am certain that it was coup attempt voronin told reporters as he left the
prosecutors office in chisinau after more than three hours of testimony the
investigation will tell us who was behind it
protesters rioted in the moldovan capital chisinau last april following
disputed legislative election in anger at allegations that the ruling
communists had rigged the vote
voronin who resigned in november after his communist party lost control of
parliament agreed last week to testify over his handling of the riots
the former president and his camp have repeatedly blamed the violence on
interference from moldova neighbor romania with which it shares common
language and close cultural ties
voronin also stressed that he ordered police not to intervene during the
violence in which the parliament building was sacked dozens were injured and
at least one person was killed in order to avoid bloodbath
prosecutor igor popa told reporters voronin questioning would resume on
tuesday
two senior moldovan officials former interior minister gheorghe papuc and
chisinau ex police commissioner vladimir botnari are under investigation
for abusing their power during the chaotic post election events
eight months on from the april riots moldova is still in the grip of drawn
out political crisis
coalition of four pro european liberal parties won slim majority when the
parliamentary elections were held again in july ending eight years of communist
rule and ultimately leading to voronin resignation
but in moldova where the president is chosen by parliament the liberal
coalition has not been able to win over enough communist votes to raise the
three fifths majority needed to elect new head of state
un chief slams deadly bomb attacks in baghdad
united nations jan afp
un chief ban ki moon on monday slammed the bomb attacks that killed dozens of
people in the iraqi capital baghdad and urged the iraqi people to remain
comnitted to reconciliation
the secretary general strongly condemns the bomb attacks in baghdad today that
have killed dozens of people and injured scores more un statement said no
cause can justify these attacks on civilian targets
ban appealed to iraqis to remain committed to path of reconciliation despite
such attacks including through the ongoing election preparations
three huge and apparently coordinated minibus bombs targeted hotels in baghdad
on monday killing at least people and wounding less than six weeks before
general election
iraqi politicians and us forces have warned of rising violence ahead of the
march vote the second parliamentary ballot since the us led invasion
ousted saddam hussein but ushered in deadly and long lasting insurgency
judge slashes monstrous fine in music piracy case
washington jan afp
condemning two million dollar fine meted out to minnesota woman for
illegally downloading music over the internet as monstrous and shocking
judge has slashed the penalty to dollars
us district court michael davis said the fine imposed by jury on jammie
thomas rasset single mother of four from the town of brainerd veered into
the realm of gross injustice
in high profile music piracy case thomas rasset was found liable in june of
violating music copyrights for using the kazaa peer to peer file sharing network
to download songs
jury ordered her to pay million dollars or dollars per song
to six record companies capitol records sony bmg music arista records
interscope records warner bros records and umg recordings
davis slashed the fine to dollars or dollars per recording and
complained in his ruling on friday copy of which was obtained by afp on
monday that he was constrained from reducing it even further
this reduced award is significant and harsh davis said but it is no longer
monstrous and shocking
the need for deterrence cannot justify two million verdict for stealing and
illegally distributing songs for the sole purpose of obtaining free music
davis said
the recording companies which brought the suit have until friday to accept the
award or request new trial
thomas rasset had been convicted previously in october and ordered to pay
dollars in damages but the judge who presided over that trial threw out
the verdict calling it wholly disproportionate and oppressive
the case was filed by the recording industry association of america riaa
which has brought suit against thousands of people for illegally downloading and
sharing music with most agreeing to settlements of between and
dollars
thomas rasset was the first among those being sued to refuse settlement
however and took the case to court her case is the only one among the
thousands filed to have actually gone to trial
in december the riaa said it will stop suing people who download music
illegally and focus instead on getting internet service providers to take
action
the move away from litigation represented major shift in strategy for the
music industry group which had filed lawsuits against some people for
online music piracy since
obama vows to alleviate assault on middle class
washington jan afp
president barack obama vowed monday to save us middle classes from an assault
from falling incomes and rising insecurity previewing highlights of this week
crucial state of the union address
obama unveiled series of tax breaks and other measures to spur retirement
saving and to ease pressure on working families as he seeks to calm public rage
over the economic meltdown and improve his own political prospects
creating good sustainable jobs is the single most important thing we can do to
rebuild the middle class and won rest until we re doing just that said
obama ahead of his primetime address to americans on wednesday
but we also need to reverse the overall erosion in middle class security so
that when this economy does come back working americans are free to pursue
their dreams again
the new white house plans will see the white house double child care and
dependent care tax credit for people earning less than dollars year and
provide an extra billion dollars for child care funding
students saddled with huge federal loans will only have to make payments equal
to percent of their income and tax credits will be expanded to protect
retirement savings
the administration will also create new system of workplace individual
retirement accounts requiring all companies to give employees the option of
saving for their futures
unfortunately the middle class has been under assault for long time obama
said
too many americans have known their own painful recessions long before any
economist declared that there was recession
but john boehner the top republican in the house of representatives dismissed
obama announcement saying it did not satisfy the primary concern of americans
jobs
americans are asking here are the jobs but none of the proposals
outlined by the white house today would in fact create jobs boehner said
the american people don need more photo ops they need new policies that
create jobs
the state of the union address beamed simultaneously on us television networks
and cable news stations offers president his best annual chance to bypass the
media and speak directly to americans
with quarter of his term expired obama will step up in the house of
representatives on wednesday night saddled by diminished approval ratings
averaging around percent and with his health reform plan on life support
with unemployment at percent obama bond with the us public is frayed and
he is losing his hold on crucial independent voters
that could be crucial in mid term congressional elections in november which
usually provide bloody nose for first term president and have democrats
locked in gloomy mood already
the republican victory in massachusetts seat last week which stripped
democrats of their seat supermajority in the senate sparked panic in obama
party and left his ambitious agenda in limbo
all seats in the house of representatives are up for grabs in november
along with third of the senate seats
mortar attack kills several at au mogadishu base
mogadishu jan afp
mortar shell smashed into an african union peacekeeping mission base in
mogadishu monday killing several people including soldier officials on the
base said
an mm mortar round struck secondary entrance to the amisom main mogadishu
base ripping through an area where dozens of somali civilians queue up every
day to receive treatment from the mission doctors an official said on
condition of anonymity
according to an official with amisom ugandan contingent one ugandan soldier
was killed in the attack
the force spokesman ba hoku barigye confirmed the incident but could not
give an accurate death toll
an explosion took place at one of the base entrances it appears several
somalis were killed he said
the hardline islamist insurgent group shebab an organisation whose leader
recently proclaimed allegiance to al qaeda supremo osama bin laden and their
allies from the more political hezb al islam movement routinely fire mortar
shells on the base
they launched fierce military offensive in may aimed at toppling
internationally backed president sharif sheikh ahmed whose embattled
administration has owed its survival largely to the protection of amisom
peacekeepers
the shebab accuse amisom ugandan and burundian soldiers of occupying their
country and being engaged in christian crusade against muslim somalia
earlier monday the au mission top civilian official and the un special envoy
somalia visited the base and reiterated their full support to sharif
transitional federal government
final haiti quake toll expected to be dead minister
port au prince jan afp
the final nationwide toll from haiti devastating earthquake is expected to be
dead health minister alex larsen said on monday with bodies
already counted
we re expecting figure of around dead larsen told journalists in
port au prince of the nationwide toll
at the health ministry we ve counted more than bodies he said
including those counted by the united nations mission in haiti minustah
the number of homeless is around one million
but communications minister marie laurence jocelyn lassegue insisted that
bodies had already been counted since the january quake
we can talk today of dead we should know they re those that have been
collected that have been buried in the capital alone she told journalists at
different press conference
it the cne health commission with the public works ministry so we can
count the number of people buried she said then there those that have been
buried directly by their families and those that died in other towns
jocelyn lassegue said on sunday that it very difficult to say but around
dead may not yet have been counted their bodies still trapped under the
rubble
the magnitude quake leveled much of the haitian capital and caused even
more extensive damage to towns nearer the tremor epicenter in the americas
worst ever recorded disaster
larsen also said tents were being readied for quake victims at mini
villages outside the capital that will initially hold people and in the
long term accommodate around one million
two sites have been selected said the minister one closer to port au prince
and the other near the town croix de bouquets about miles kilometers
east of the capital
we will set up other villages larsen said adding that the government was
seeking other sites for them
the international red cross has warned that poor sanitation at the crowded
refugee camps will likely spawn public health crisis that will be difficult to
contain adding to growing post quake death toll
overloaded buses full of quake refugees have been steadily streaming out of the
capital as residents seek to escape the rubble strewn city after haitian
authorities announced plans to step up evacuation of the three million strong
capital
an initial people have urged to leave the squalid conditions in port au
prince as dozens of free buses were made available to what the government
promised would be more hygienic tented camps outside the city thousands of
others were also fleeing the capital on private buses
the un world food programme has distributed tonnes of food in haiti but
officials and residents alike stress that the influx of aid is still not
sufficient to deal with growing post quake humanitarian disaster
nfl mcnabb replaces brees in pro bowl
philadelphia pennsylvania jan afp
philadelphia eagles quarterback donovan mcnabb was named to his sixth pro bowl
on monday as national conference replacement for super bowl bound drew brees
of new orleans
brees and the saints will face the indianapolis colts in super bowl on
february at suburban miami the same place where the national football league
all star showdown now featuring mcnabb will be staged next sunday
mcnabb sparked the eagles to an season and first round playoff loss to
dallas he threw for yards and touchdowns with interceptions over
games
also joining the nfc lineup for the annual meeting with the american conference
was eagles strong safety quintin mikell who replaced the saints roman harper
mikell first pro bowl trip gives the eagles nine players in the game
seven iraqis killed in stabbings and explosions in mosul
mosul iraq jan afp
two women were stabbed to death and five other iraqis were shot dead in separate
attacks in the kurdish city of mosul in northern iraq on monday police and
medics said
the two women were stabbed in the northern sukar district of the city
kilometres miles north of baghdad they said
they did not provide details of the stabbings but such crimes are usually
honour killings carried out by men against female relatives in deeply
traditional kurdish society
the five other victims were killed in separate gun attacks the sources said
without elaborating
attacks occur on regular basis in the oil rich mosul region which is among
the most violent areas of iraq
str mel cyj afq srm
football west ham davenport denies assaulting sister
london jan afp
west ham defender calum davenport denied monday assaulting his sister
davenport is accused of causing actual bodily harm to cara davenport
on august in an incident which later saw him stabbed in both legs
he pleaded not guilty to the offence monday at luton crown court north of
london
the premier league footballer is due to stand trial at the same court on august
and was released on bail on monday on condition he does not communicate with
his sister
cara davenport was pregnant at the time of the alleged incident and is due to
give birth at the end of march or beginning of april
her boyfriend worrell whitehurst pleaded guilty in november to causing
grievous bodily harm with intent to former england under international
davenport in the august incident
cleanup offers haitians glimmer of hope
port au prince jan afp
the overwhelming chaos left in the wake of haiti devastating earthquake two
week ago is also giving way to thousands of jobs for hungry and desperate
haitians
chf international is among handful of aid groups now employing survivors of
the killer quake to clear the mountains of rubble cluttering the decimated
capital port au prince
the group which has worked on infrastructure projects in the impoverished
caribbean nation since was distributing sledge hammers shovels and picks
to teams of paid haitian volunteers each
we are hoping to employ up to people within the next few months
throughout port au prince for the cleanup said alberto wilde haiti country
director for chf
sinan al najjar an iraqi program manager for the group said the volunteers
would be paid between six and seven dollars day for their work
the united nations meanwhile has begun paying up to haitian gourdes five
dollars per day for similar work
on monday we hired people in carrefour feuille people in grand
goave in petit goave within month and half we hope to hire up to
people united nations development program undp coordinator eliana
nicolini told afp
with four backhoes so far and about more to be delivered via military
aircraft teams of chf and us construction manufacturing giant caterpillar are
