headley and rana were arrested in october on terror charges related to the plot
to attack jyllands posten and kill an editor and the cartoonist
headley was charged last month with spending two years casing mumbai even
taking boat tours around the city harbor to scope out landing sites for the
attackers
rana pakistani born canadian citizen who owns the chicago based first world
immigration services that headley allegedly used as cover insists that he is
pacifist who was duped by his friend
wall street rebounds as bernanke prospects brighten
new york jan afp
us stocks swung higher monday rebounding from last week heavy selloff as
prospects improved for the confirmation of federal reserve chairman ben bernanke
for second term
the dow jones industrial average climbed points percent to
at gmt coming off the market worst week since last march
the nasdaq composite rose points percent to and the broad
market standard amp poor index advanced points percent to
analysts said the markets had calmed down after several days of nervous trade
during which president barack obama launched series of initiatives to restrict
the banking sector and senators raised doubts about bernanke confirmation
comments over the weekend suggested that support was building for bernanke
confirmation before his term expires january
political support for federal reserve chairman ben bernanke reappointment
helped us stock futures rebound overnight after friday deep slump in equity
markets said mekael teshome at moody economy com
fred dickson market strategist at da davidson amp co said many were
surprised by the sharp pullback last week in which the broad market lost around
four percent
the magnitude of the current stock market pullback over the last days has
caught us by surprise he said
we had previously written that while we expect the upward primary stock market
trend to remain in place for at least the first half of we expected to see
more frequent three percent to five percent pullbacks especially after the huge
advance seen in the stock market since last march
dickson said the market will be keying on the central bank federal open market
committe two day meeting opening tuesday along with the outlook for bernanke
confirmation
with his term technically expiring at the end of the month the question of who
will lead the fed becomes quiet issue overhanging this fomc meeting he said
although political forecasting is not our forte it appears that the senate
will confirm dr bernanke appointment by slim margin we would expect
positive market reaction when that becomes apparent
some of the gains faded after news that sales of us existing homes fell more
than expected in december by nearly percent following three month surge
driven by government tax credit
the collapse in sales simply reflects the bringing forward of transactions to
beat the originally planned expiration of the first time buyer tax credit said
ian shepherdson at high frequency economics
the price outlook is unclear though much depends on how many sellers try to
take advantage of firmer spring demand
the market was also bracing for series of important earnings reports
apple due to release its results at the close monday rose percent to
dollars
boeing scheduled to announce its quarterly earnings wednesday advanced
percent to dollars
oil services firm halliburton fell percent to dollars after it
reported sharp drop in earnings to million dollars in the fourth quarter
as revenues fell percent
exxonmobil rose percent as the oil giant announced it had signed an
agreement with the iraq ministry of oil to redevelop and expand the west qurna
field in southern iraq
bonds fell the yield on the year us treasury bond rose to percent from
percent friday while that on the year bond rose to percent from
percent bond yields and prices move in opposite directions
chicago man pleads not guilty to plotting mumbai attacks
chicago jan afp
chicago businessman pleaded not guilty monday to helping an old friend from
military school in pakistan plot the deadly mumbai attacks that killed
people
tahawwur hussain rana has been held in jail since his october arrest on
charges of helping plot an attack on the danish newspaper that published
incendiary cartoons of the prophet mohammed in
prosecutors allege that rana helped his friend david coleman headley key
suspect in the mumbai attacks by allowing him to use his immigration company as
cover for surveillance trips to india and denmark
rana was charged last week with three separate counts of providing material
support for terrorism in the mumbai attacks the denmark terror plot and to the
banned pakistani militant group lashkar taiba
also indicted on conspiracy charges related to the denmark plot were ilyas
kashmiri an alleged terror kingpin in pakistan who prosecutors accuse of being
in regular contact with al qaeda leaders and abdur rehman hashim syed
retired major in the pakistani military neither man is in us custody
headley has pleaded not guilty to terrorism related charges and remains
in custody where he is cooperating with prosecutors
the washington born son of former pakistani diplomat and american mother
headley reportedly befriended bollywood stars and even dated an actress during
his lengthy surveillance trips to mumbai
urgent chicago man pleads not guilty to plotting mumbai attacks
chicago jan afp
chicago businessman pleaded not guilty thursday to helping an old friend from
military school in pakistan plot the deadly mumbai attacks that killed
people
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 its investigation would
proceed as matter of high priority
the iron ore industry has become soiled in recent times by multi billion dollar
increasingly dirty 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 global economic turmoil after
brussels opened probe into market fixing suspicions then
the iron ore joint venture deal 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 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 eu insists that the 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
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 last year amid stalled annual iron ore contract talks
with beijing
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 which soured diplomatic
relations with australia the allegations were subsequently switched to bribery
chinese prosecutors will decide shortly whether to bring the case to trial
alert
chicago man pleads not guilty to plotting mumbai attacks
corrected football legend cantona plays in paris stage debut
paris jan afp
manchester united legend eric cantona in the latest twist in an artistic post
football career makes his theatre debut this week as dying man trapped in the
rubble of collapsed supermarket
the charismatic frenchman who thrilled crowds of tens of thousands during his
stint at man utd will act before an audience of just in move the
local press says may become the theatrical event of the year
the year old will play man called max in new two hander play directed by
his actress wife rachida brakni at the illustrious theatre marigny just off the
champs elysees
cantona has had roles in several cinema and television movies making the jump
from green pitch to silver screen as effortlessly as his infamous leap over
the crowd barrier to deliver kung fu kick to heckling fan
the pinnacle of his film career came last year when he played himself in ken
loach critically acclaimed comedy looking for eric appearing like vision
to mentor manchester postman whose life is spiralling out of control
but he has never performed live to theatre audience so tuesday premiere of
face au paradis faced with paradise by nathalie saugeon is gamble
it is risk he is taking with typical cantona panache
my aim as kid was to play my part in front of people and did it he
told le monde newspaper last week so seat theatre if you don put
yourself in danger you don know yourself
cantona has never shied away from putting himself in critical danger he ignored
the snobbery that initially surrounded his move into acting after he hung up his
boots in at the height of his soccer career
paris critics at first looked down on the provincial with strong marseille
accent he is the son of spanish and italian immigrants who had the gall to
think he could excel both on the sports field and in front of camera
he was also derided for his love of obscure aphorisms such as when the
seagulls follow the trawler it because they think sardines will be thrown
into the sea
but he has won over many critics particularly in the last couple of years with
his portrayal of maverick detective in pair of movies for french television
the former france striker best known film internationally before looking
for eric was his role alongside cate blanchett in the historical film
elizabeth
he is even sometimes touted as renaissance man he is also painter
lover of literature and last month published book of photographs he took of
homeless people
cantona also likes to speak his mind on political matters
in december he stuck his boot into the highly charged debate on national
identity instigated by the rightwing president nicolas sarkozy deriding what he
called the stupid nationalist approaches to the issue
the producers of face au paradis hope its three month run will draw in the
crowds and boost the parisian theatrical scene after disappointing crisis hit
cantona stage premiere will be matched next month by audrey tautou the star
of the global hit amelie who will make her first theatre performance in
ibsen the doll house
the french press has been speculating that tuesday premiere will be cantona
biggest artistic challenge to date pointing out that the demanding contemporary
play is all dialogue and no action
he said he had sleepless night last week after poor rehearsal but that his
performance had since improved dramatically to the point where he told
newspaper am finding again what used to feel in the stadium
he sees it as just the first step in theatrical career which he hopes will one
day see him playing shakespeare king lear
but still little young for that cantona told le journal du dimanche
paper
three guantanamo prisoners arrive in slovakia police
bratislava jan afp
three prisoners from the us war on terror jail at guantanamo bay arrived in
slovakia on monday police told afp as washington aims to empty and close the
controversial facility
three prisoners from guantanamo were escorted to slovakia in the early hours on
monday police spokesman martin korch told afp
the police won be commenting on any other details concerning these people
he said
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 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
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
the news 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 atrocities of saddam iron fisted regime
three quarters of the victims at halabja were women and children in what is
thought to be the deadliest ever gas attack carried out against civilians
the conviction for the gas attack that came as the iran iraq war drew to close
was the fourth time that majid 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
al hamdulillah al hamdulillah praise be to god said stone faced majid
in hearing broadcast on television
majid execution had previously been held up by legal wrangling the first
execution was due to have been carried out by october but 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 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 was arrested in august
however he is probably best known for 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 regularly called upon to wipe out rebellion
in march the ruling baath party put him in charge of state agencies in the
kurdish area including the police army and militias
as iraq eight year war with iran drew to close the following year 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 he ordered the gas attack to crush the uprising majid
said he took action against the kurds who had sided with iraq enemy in the
war for the sake of iraqi security and has refused to express remorse
korea president offers to help india build nuclear plants
new delhi jan afp
south korea president offered monday to help energy hungry india build more
nuclear plants as the two asian powerhouses set goal of doubling bilateral
trade by
president lee myung bak touted what he said was his nation expertise in
building nuclear power stations as he expressed hope that south korean companies
would help india to construct new atomic power plants
lee said south korea which recently won billion dollar deal to design
build and operate four nuclear power plants in the united arab emirates has
displayed its competitiveness in the nuclear field
this is very productive area to collaborate for mutual benefit he told
business leaders in the national capital
india now gets less than three percent of its energy needs from nuclear power
but the country aims to increase that amount to as much as percent by
according to india atomic energy commission
south korea was key supporter of new delhi in its recent successful bid to
have more than three decade embargo on the export and sale of nuclear
technology to india lifted
lee who is on four day visit added that far reaching trade pact which came
into effect at the start of the year would put relations on to new trajectory
the comprehensive economic partnership agreement between south korea and india
which scraps or reduces most trade tariffs heralds great new era for the two
countries said lee
in joint statement the two countries declared goal of increasing bilateral
trade to billion dollars by trade has already increased more than five
fold to billion dollars from three billion in
the president who was accompanied by high powered political and business
delegation was slated to be chief guest at india republic day national
celebrations tuesday
indian trade minister anand sharma said new delhi was hoping for greater asian
economic integration to make the st century asia century and the trade
deal with south korea would help to reach that goal
he said south korea could also play big role in improving india dilapidated
infrastructure noting the country aimed to spend trillion dollars on
improving its ports highways and other facilities in the coming years
despite the upbeat tone of the visit the most high profile south korean
investment in india remains mired in controversy
steel giant posco plan to start work on billion dollar plant in eastern
india is still three years behind schedule
the plant represents one of the largest planned foreign investments in india and
is part of posco strategy to source cheaper raw materials
the plant has been delayed by poor farmers who say their land is being gobbled
up unfairly in row that has cast cloud over india efforts to woo foreign
investors and spur economic growth
the south korean president pressed the indian government to clear the way for
the plant construction
indian steel minister virbhadra singh pledged to try to speed up the process
efforts are on to see the entire matter is signed and delivered in the next
four to five months singh told reporters
he made the commitment after receiving delegation from posco headed by the
company chairman joon yang chung
singh said once clearances were given production could start in two years
it was very fruitful meeting the posco chairman said
peres begins german trip to commemorate holocaust
berlin jan afp
israeli president shimon peres arrived in germany monday at the start of visit
set to culminate in historic speech in parliament to mark the holocaust
peres who was accompanied by survivors of nazi death camps will also hold
talks with chancellor angela merkel and his german counterpart horst koehler
his spokesman said in statement
the president emerged from his plane wearing long dark coat against the
freezing berlin weather and was received with full military pomp and ceremony
including guard of honour and gun salute
the trip marks the completion of personal circle for the president whose own
grandparents and uncle were burned alive in the vishneva synagogue his
spokeswoman ayelet frish said referring to town in modern day belarus
the president speech on january the international holocaust remembrance
day will mourn the six million jewish lives that perished in the holocaust
including those of his grandparents and his uncle frish said
the speech in hebrew will conclude with his vision and hope for the future of
israel germany and the middle east
in what is likely to be an emotional visit peres will also hold memorial
service at platform of the grunewald train station from where berlin jews
were expelled to nazi labour and death camps
peres trip comes exactly one week after prime minister benjamin netanyahu
visited berlin for meeting between the german and israeli cabinets dominated
by the middle east peace process and the iranian nuclear programme
netanyahu was also due to attend wednesday anniversary ceremony marking the
liberation of auschwitz by soviet troops
on thursday peres is due ot leave germany for davos in switzerland where he
will join world leaders and top officials at the world economic forum
us top court drops noriega extradition appeal
washington jan afp
the us supreme court monday refused to take up an appeal from panamanian former
dictator manuel noriega asking it to block his extradition to france where he is
wanted on money laundering charges
in july noriega filed petition with the us supreme court to block his
extradition to france where he has been sentenced in his absence to years in
jail
the former army general held sway in panama from until he surrendered on
january to us troops who had invaded the country three weeks earlier
noriega completed year us prison term on drug charges in but has
remained in us custody pending the appeal against extradition
federal judges have given the green light for noriega to be extradited to
france and have refused his request to return to panama an appeals court
subsequently upheld the extradition order
football wolfsburg sack veh after dismal run
berlin jan afp
defending bundesliga champions vfl wolfsburg on monday sacked coach armin veh in
the wake of sunday home defeat at the hands of strugglers cologne
the defeat was wolfsburg ninth consecutive game in all competitions without
win
veh took over last summer from current schalke boss felix magath under whom
wolves won the title last season
wolfsburg are th in the bundesliga with just points so far this season
having conceded goals the second worst defensive record in the league
while successor is found for veh lorenz guenther koestner who trains
wolfsburg second team will take over as caretaker coach
at least un staffers killed in haiti quake spokesman
united nations jan afp
at least un staffers have been killed in haiti devastating earthquake and
are still unaccounted for days after the disaster un spokesman said
monday
the death toll is now at and are still unaccounted for farhan haq told
afp
the january temblor which leveled the main headquarters of the un mission in
haiti minustah marks the deadliest disaster in the world body history
among those killed most of whom worked in the collapsed minustah headquarters
are civilians troops and police
international rescuers have pulled at least people alive from the ruins
since the disaster the un said
the magnitude quake killed at least people in the poorest country in
the americas and left million homeless
the un office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs ocha in geneva
said friday that rescue teams in haiti were switching their focus away from
searching for people trapped in collapsed buildings and starting to go home
urgent three guantanamo prisoners arrive in slovakia police
bratislava jan afp
three prisoners from the us war on terror jail at guantanamo bay arrived in
slovakia on monday police told afp as washington aims to empty and close the
controversial facility
aid groups at montreal talks call on govts to cancel haiti debt
montr al jan afp
an umbrella group of canadian and haitian aid organizations called on foreign
ministers meeting in montreal monday to cancel haiti near billion dollars in
foreign debt in the wake of this month crippling earthquake
we hope that you use the weight of your governments to convince international
financial institutions to cancel haiti entire foreign debt eric faustin
director of the rocahd the coalition of canadian haitian development
organizations
faustin was flanked by haitian prime minister jean max bellerive and canada
foreign minister lawrence cannon at an emergency meeting attended by foreign
ministers including us secretary of state hillary clinton aimed at rebuilding
haiti and coordinating disaster relief in haiti nearly two weeks after the
killer quake struck
alert
three guantanamo prisoners arrive in slovakia police
football legend cantona plays in paris stage debut
paris jan afp
manchester united legend eric cantona in the latest twist in an artistic post
football career makes his theatre debut this week as dying man trapped in the
rubble of collapsed supermarket
the charismatic frenchman who thrilled crowds of tens of thousands during his
stint at man utd will act before an audience of just in move the
local press says may become the theatrical event of the year
the year old will play man called max in new two hander play directed by
his actress wife rachida brakni at the illustrious theatre marigny just off the
champs elysees
cantona has had roles in several cinema and television movies making the jump
from green pitch to silver screen as effortlessly as his infamous leap over
the crowd barrier to deliver kung fu kick to heckling fan
the pinnacle of his film career came last year when he played himself in ken
loach critically acclaimed comedy looking for eric appearing like vision
to mentor manchester postman whose life is spiralling out of control
but he has never performed live to theatre audience so tuesday premiere of
face au paradis faced with paradise by nathalie saugeon is gamble
it is risk he is taking with typical cantona panache
my aim as kid was to play my part in front of people and did it he
told le monde newspaper last week so so seat theatre if you don
put yourself in danger you don know yourself
cantona has never shied away from putting himself in critical danger he ignored
the snobbery that initially surrounded his move into acting after he hung up his
boots in at the height of his soccer career
paris critics at first looked down on the provincial with strong marseille
accent he is the son of spanish and italian immigrants who had the gall to
think he could excel both on the sports field and in front of camera
he was also derided for his love of obscure aphorisms such as when the
seagulls follow the trawler it because they think sardines will be thrown
into the sea
but he has won over many critics particularly in the last couple of years with
his portrayal of maverick detective in pair of movies for french television
the former france striker best known film internationally before looking
for eric was his role alongside cate blanchett in the historical film
elizabeth
he is even sometimes touted as renaissance man he is also painter
lover of literature and last month published book of photographs he took of
homeless people
cantona also likes to speak his mind on political matters
in december he stuck his boot into the highly charged debate on national
identity instigated by the rightwing president nicolas sarkozy deriding what he
called the stupid nationalist approaches to the issue
the producers of face au paradis hope its three month run will draw in the
crowds and boost the parisian theatrical scene after disappointing crisis hit
cantona stage premiere will be matched next month by audrey tautou the star
of the global hit amelie who will make her first theatre performance in
ibsen the doll house
the french press has been speculating that tuesday premiere will be cantona
biggest artistic challenge to date pointing out that the demanding contemporary
play is all dialogue and no action
he said he had sleepless night last week after poor rehearsal but that his
performance had since improved dramatically to the point where he told
newspaper am finding again what used to feel in the stadium
he sees it as just the first step in theatrical career which he hopes will one
day see him playing shakespeare king lear
but still little young for that cantona told le journal du dimanche
paper
irish german investment groups take eads to dutch court
the hague jan afp
two investment companies irish and german will ask dutch court thursday for
probe into the running of european aerospace giant eads the court said
monday
the companies tribunal in amsterdam will hear an application by irish life
investment managers ilim and deka investment for it to order an investigation
into the policies and affairs of the european aeronautic defence and space
company court statement said
the parties were also seeking certain immediate measures but the tribunal
refused to give further details
the financial times deutschland reported on monday that the two companies would
seek compensation for losses suffered when eads share values fell because of
delays in the construction of the airbus military transport and of the
super jumbo
lawyers for the companies would not comment
deka investment is frankfurt based privately owned investment manager with
savings banks insurance companies and pension funds as clients
ilim manages assets on behalf of multinational corporations charities and
domestic companies
an independent report on the airbus project laid blame last week for
delays and cost overruns with directors of parent company eads
the company has asked the seven countries that ordered the military transport
plane to cover billion euros billion dollars in unanticipated costs
in the programme was given budget of billion euros for
aircraft but development has run into problems and the plane needs an estimated
