monday attacks differed from recent high profile bombings that have become
increasingly common in baghdad in that they targeted hotels rather than
government buildings
the most recent deadly bombings in august october and december last year
occurred at government buildings including the ministries of finance foreign
affairs and justice those attacks killed nearly people
us and iraqi politicians have warned that the election could be focus for
violence
the latest attacks also occurred less than two weeks after security forces
sealed off baghdad after being tipped off that bomb laden cars had been parked
in the city
insurgents weakened in the past year have in the past six months changed
tactics and mounted successful attacks on hard targets such as government
buildings rather than so called soft targets in civilian areas
there are widespread fears in the wake of the bloody attacks to hit baghdad in
the second half of that political violence will rise in the weeks leading
up to the march vote
the election is seen as crucial step towards consolidating iraq democracy
and securing complete us military exit by the end of as planned
alert
killed wounded in baghdad attacks interior ministry
russian envoy arrives in kiev in sign of warming ties
kiev jan afp
russia new ambassador to ukraine arrived in kiev on monday sign of thawing
relations between the two countries after moscow delayed sending him there for
five months
it great honour and great responsibility for me to represent the
president and the russian people in ukraine mikhail zurabov said in both
russian and ukrainian at the airport the interfax news agency reported
he later presented his credentials to ukrainian foreign minister petro
poroshenko
russian president dmitry medvedev nominated zurabov as moscow ambassador to
kiev last summer but in august he refused to let him take up the post to protest
the anti russian policies of ukrainian president viktor yushchenko
last week medvedev agreed to send the ambassador shortly after ukraine held
presidential election which saw the pro western yushchenko eliminated in the
first round coming in fifth with only percent of votes
russia relations with ukraine deteriorated spectacularly after yushchenko who
has pushed for ukraine to join nato was elected on wave of popular support in
the orange revolution in
the second round of the presidential election on february will see stand off
between former prime minister viktor yanukovych and current prime minister yulia
tymoshenko both candidates are seen as friendly to moscow
urgent haiti emergency aid conference opens in montreal
montreal jan afp
top world officials gathered in montreal monday for an emergency conference to
hash out plans to rebuild haiti nearly two weeks after devastating
earthquake
chemical ali saddam notorious henchman
baghdad jan afp
ali hassan al majid hanged on monday after being convicted of the brutal
halabja chemical attack that killed around kurds was executed dictator
saddam hussein most notorious henchman
the execution of the man better known by the macabre nickname chemical ali
came just week after he was sentenced to death on january over the halabja
massacres the fourth death sentence against him handed down by iraqi courts
majid had been found guilty of the attack in the northeastern kurdish town of
halabja as the iran iraq war drew to close in
close cousin of saddam 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 condemned to hang for genocide over the kurdish offensives
when he received second death sentence in december for war crimes
committed during the ill fated shiite uprising in southern iraq
and in march last year the iraqi high tribunal handed down third death
sentence over the the murders of dozens of shiites in the sadr city
district of baghdad and in the central shrine city of najaf
majid had also been accused of displacing and killing about clansmen of
kurdish regional president massud barzani
like saddam majid hailed from the northern town of tikrit where he was born in
according to court documents although he told tribunal last year that
he was born in
majid was the king of spades in the pack of cards of most wanted iraqis
issued by the us military at the time of the invasion that culminated in
saddam ouster majid was arrested in august that year
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 crush rebellion
the henchman was most infamous for his role in northern iraq 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 was drawing to close fighters from the
rebel patriotic union of kurdistan with backing from tehran took over the
farming community of halabja near the border
in march iraqi swooped over halabja and for five hours they sprayed it
with deadly cocktail of mustard gas and the nerve agents tabun sarin and vx
an estimated percent of those killed were women and children in what is now
believed to have been the worst gas attack ever carried out against civilians
new york based human rights watch has said majid was responsible for the deaths
or disappearances of around non combatant kurds when he put down the
revolt across the kurdish region
but majid said he ordered the attacks against the kurds who had sided with iran
in the war for the sake of iraqi security he refused to express remorse for
the killings
majid was condemned in june to hang for genocide crimes against humanity
and war crimes over the so called anfal campaign against kurds
after iraqi troops swept into kuwait in august majid was named governor of
the occupied emirate which the regime considered iraq th province as in
the north he swiftly and viciously annihilated resistance
tens of thousands of people died when saddam forces driven out of kuwait by
us led coalition after their invasion put down the shiite uprising in
bloodbath that saw heavy shelling of southern iraqi towns
in the case majid was convicted of crimes against humanity after troops
were ordered into shiite areas to stop protests after the assassination of
revered shiite cleric mohammed sadeq al sadr after whom sadr city is now named
amid gathering war clouds in january ali left the country for the first
time since visiting syria and lebanon in bid to whip up regional support
for iraq
he was thought to have been killed by coalition bombing of his villa in the
southern city of basra in but us officials were later forced to admit that
he was still alive
new us initiative to restart peace talks palestinians
ramallah west bank jan afp
the united states has proposed new initiative to nudge palestinians back into
peace talks with israel palestinian official told afp on monday
the new plan calls on israel to loosen its hold on some palestinian controlled
areas release number of prisoners and ease virtual blockade of the gaza
strip the official said
the initiative was aimed at creating an atmosphere for the relaunching of
peace talks suspended over year ago the official said on condition of
anonymity
he said it was presented by us middle east envoy george mitchell who met with
palestinian and israeli leaders last week
mitchell plan calls on israel to cease military operations in the so called
area of the occupied west bank which is under full palestinian control and
pull back from some parts of area which is under palestinian civil control
the official said
it would also allow palestinian security forces to enter area which is under
complete israeli military control and would free number of palestinian
prisoners the official added
he said that according to the plan israel would ease sanctions on the hamas
ruled gaza strip allowing rebuilding of the territory which was devastated
during massive israeli offensive in december and january
israel also would be bound to transfer customs duties it collects on behalf of
the palestinians to the palestinian authority on monthly basis the official
said
he said that israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu had requested meeting
with palestinian president mahmud abbas to discuss the initiative ahead of
formal announcement
but abbas insisted that israel implement the ideas first before any talks
considering that these are israeli obligations we will consider them goodwill
gestures the official said
abbas has not dropped his demand that israel halt all settlement growth in the
occupied west bank and mostly arab east jerusalem ahead of any talks or his
insistance on framework of guidelines for the negotiations
mitchell suggested indirect talks with us mediation to thrash out the main
points of the latest initiative and the two palestinian demands the official
said
he was speaking day after mitchell held second round of meetings with
netanyahu in jerusalem and with abbas in amman
netanyahu said after the meeting that mitchell had presented new ideas but did
not elaborate on them
commissions negotiate guinea government
conakry jan afp
guinea junta and the opposition have each set up commissions to negotiate the
membership of transitional government source close to incoming prime
minister jean marie dore said monday
talks were under way between the interim president general sekouba konate and
the prime minister in order to form government team that could run the west
african country for six months and organise elections the source said
two commissions have been set up one by the forum of active forces
coalition of opposition parties trade unions and civil society organisations
and the other by the junta in order to come up with consensual governmental
structure added the source close to dore who asked not to be named
guinea has been under military rule since december and crisis
erupted last september when troops massacred more than people during an
opposition rally in conakry stadium hundreds of others were injured and many
women and young girls were raped according to united nations investigation
and human rights groups
the un has blamed junta leader captain moussa dadis camara among others for
the killing but camara has been sidelined in guinea politics after being shot
and seriously wounded by his aide de camp in an apparent assassination bid on
december he is currently convalescing in burkina faso
in the past few weeks president blaise compaore of burkina faso has been
mediating way out of the crisis and military rule and the rival parties have
agreed to share power in transitional government that will hold elections
within six months
fierce storm apparent cause of lebanon plane crash minister
beirut jan afp
fierce storm appears to have caused the crash of an ethiopian airline jet that
plunged in ball of fire into the sea with people on board lebanese defence
minister elias murr said on monday
bad weather was apparently the cause of the crash murr told reporters
we have ruled out foul play so far he added
the fact that soldiers combing the lebanese shoreline had recovered pieces of
the plane supported the belief that the crash was caused by the storm rather
than an explosion murr said
when there is an explosion on board an airplane nothing is usually left
ethiopian airline flight went down in flames off lebanon coast shortly
after takeoff from beirut airport at am gmt there were no reports
of survivors
we will continue search operations in the hope of finding survivors murr
said adding that no deadline had been set
we are seeking to recover the black box and the recording between the control
tower and the pilot to determine what happened
he added that prime minister saad hariri would chair an emergency ministerial
meeting later monday to assess the situation
murr said that us naval ship that specialises in rescue operations was
expected to arrive at the site of the crash by pm gmt with advanced
equipment and divers on board
this should help speed up the search efforts during the night the minister
said
as you know within minutes night will fall and the rescue operation will
become more difficult
hope that during the night we will have recovered all the passengers
whether dead or alive
alert
haiti emergency aid conference opens in montreal
urgent whitacre to be confirmed as gm chief
washington jan afp
general motors interim chief executive ed whitacre is to be named permanent ceo
and chairman the cnbc business news network said monday
iraq chemical ali executed government spokesman
baghdad jan afp
saddam hussein notorious henchman chemical ali was executed on monday an
iraqi government spokesman said sentence carried out around week after he
received fourth death sentence
the condemned ali hassan al majid has been executed by hanging until death
today said spokesman ali al dabbagh in statement
extra troops to be announced at afghan meeting britain
london jan afp
conference on afghanistan in london this week will announce an expansion of
the afghan army and police forces british prime minister gordon brown said
monday
brown who will host the conference on thursday added that other countries are
expected to pledge more forces but did not specify whether this would happen at
the talks
we will be announcing new numbers that will raise the size of the afghan army
and police when we come to the london conference said brown noting that
afghanistan this year expects to have soldiers and some police
referring to recent pledges of international forces including more us
troops and extra british forces he said quite number of countries have
already announced that they will give additional forces
believe that both for international trainers for afghan forces and for
forces generally there are still some announcements to be made he told
reporters
the london conference called after corruption tainted afghan elections which
returned president hamid karzai to office last year is expected to focus on how
nato led troops can hand over to local forces
foreign ministers including us secretary of state hillary clinton are expected
to press karzai to do more to tackle corruption in return for continued western
support against taliban insurgents
brown said taliban insurgents who renounce violence could also be welcomed into
the political process but declined to comment on reports that insurgents were
being offered cash bribes to lay down their arms
believe that there are many people who could be brought over but they have
to renounce violence they have to say that they will be part of the democratic
process he said
he also welcomed the participation of countries in the region like india at the
london talks
the neighbours of afghanistan both near and related countries should come
together to see what they can do to help sustain the infant democracy of
afghanistan
believe india has big role to play there he said
corrected afptv advisory
paris jan afp
we will file the following videos
ethiopia jet goes down off lebanon with aboard
beirut
an ethiopian airliner carrying people plunged into the sea off lebanon after
exploding in ball of flames just after takeoff in stormy weather early monday
defence ministry official said the boeing exploded into four pieces before
crashing shortly after takeoff at am gmt comment from lebanese
transport minister ghazi aridi and images from beirut airport images of search
operations in the mediterranean and of prime minister saad hariri meeting the
families of passengers
news
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images of search operation hariri already transmitted
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haiti coverage
top world diplomats meet to coordinate haiti aid
montreal
us secretary of state hillary clinton and foreign ministers from host of
countries convene in montreal monday to hash out plans for the reconstruction of
haiti nearly two weeks after killer earthquake haitian prime minister jean
max bellerive canadian prime minister stephen harper and officials from the
united nations will attend the emergency talks which are expected to reaffirm
washington frontline role in coordinating the emergency response to the
january disaster which left more than dead comment from bellerive
and french foreign minister bernard kouchner at dinner late sunday attended by
conference attendees further news coverage on monday
news
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french warship offloads haiti aid and machinery
port au prince
french amphibious assault craft arrived off the coast of haiti today to begin
offloading tonnes of aid and reconstruction equipment the tonne
warship will spend four days offloading its cargo although the port at haiti
capital is still so damaged that the ship will have to stay some kilometres
offshore where it will use its medical facilities to operate as floating
hospital
news
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exodus seeking quake survivors face long wait at haiti port
port au prince
thousands of haitians sit by the sea on earthquake cracked mud surrounded by
bags and babies they re waiting for ferries to travel to countryside spared in
the recent devastating earthquake but damage to the port and lack of fuel
means the wait could be long
news special report
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mothers fight earthquake trauma to care for surviving babies
port au prince
as attention in haiti turns to caring for the survivors new mothers and babies
are among the most vulnerable stress and trauma means that many mothers can
produce milk to feed their children and malnutrition is major concern now
group of swiss doctors has set up makeshift childcare unit in the capital
devastated general hospital to help care for haiti youngest victims
special report
voiced report already transmitted
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in advance of the th anniversary wednesday of the liberation of auschwitz
birkenau death camp we will file the following reports
auschwitz survivors keep holocaust memory alive
warsaw
former auschwitz inmates kazimierz albin and marian turski are living
testament to what the world cannot forget the horrors of the holocaust and
the indomitable human will to survive their message about survival at the death
camp is call to younger generations never to forget
special report
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nsv
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soviet soldier recalls liberation of auschwitz
moscow
on january the soviet red army marched into auschwitz to free the
death camp inmates as they lay on the brink of starvation ivan martynushkin was
one of the soldiers he shares his story with afptv
special report
voiced report transmitted by gmt
nsv vid
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french authorites release kurdish refugees
marseille
scores of kurdish refugees discovered on the mediterranean island of corsica
last week have been freed from detention centres while their request for asylum
is being considered one hundred twenty three migrants who claim to be ethnic
kurds from syria were dropped off near the southern corsican town of bonifacio
on friday by boat which then departed ninety four were released from
detention on sunday evening following orders by judges in marseille nimes and
rennes images of refugees being released on sunday evening plus soundbites
from rights groups
news
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as part of our ongoing coverage of the african nations cup we will file the
following report
african players seeking european league find home in turkey
istanbul
with high pay and low taxes turkey has attracted top foreign talent to its
football leagues including stars roberto carlos of brazil and ivory coast
kader keita some african players see turkey as stepping stone to the european
football scene but not all make their goal
sport
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roll of yangon in myanmar
yangon bagan mandalay myanmar
afptv is filing rare stockshots from myanmar depicting everyday life file
images of market sule pagoda shwe dagon pagoda chinese ships loaded at
yangon port river traffic ferry students learning english young monks
walking along side of road file images of bagan temples udein bridge
south of mandalay village life outside yangon children playing football on the
outskirts of yangon mandalay street scenes children flying kites in mandalay
stockshots
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contact
michelle hoffman
gabrielle chatelain moor
football mannone extends arsenal stay
london jan afp
vito mannone aims to become arsenal first choice goalkeeper after signing for
another four years with the premier league leaders on monday
the year old deputised for the injured manuel almunia earlier this season
making his debut in the champions league at standard liege and going on to make
eight appearances in all
mannone joined arsenal from atalanta in and has polish international lukasz
fabianski who played in sunday fa cup defeat by stoke ahead of him in
the gunners goalkeeping pecking order
however the italy under international who has had offers from clubs at
home had no qualms about staying with arsenal
it is great day for me great moment am really happy to be staying at
arsenal and will give everything to repay the club for the faith they have shown
in me mannone told the club official website www arsenal com
am delighted to be staying here because it was always my plan when was
really young to come to england and make it here at arsenal which is one of the
biggest clubs in the world
now want to try and become the number one goalkeeper here and help the team
win trophies
urgent iraq chemical ali executed government spokesman
baghdad jan afp
saddam hussein notorious henchman chemical ali was executed on monday an
iraqi government spokesman said sentence carried out around week after he
received fourth death sentence
football star cantona plays in paris stage debut
paris jan afp
manchester united legend eric cantona takes his artistic post football career in
new directions this week when he appears on the paris stage in what is touted as
one of france theatrical events of the year
cantona will play dying man half buried in the rubble of collapsed building
in new play directed by his actress wife rachida brakni at the theatre marigny
just off the champs elysees
the year old who thrilled crowds of tens of thousands during his stint in
the at manchester united will act before an audience of just in this
latest stage of his acting career
he has already had roles in several cinema and television movies making the
jump from green pitch to silver screen as effortlessly as his notorious
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 while he has produced couple of plays he has never performed live to
theatre audience so tuesday premiere of the two hander face au paradis
faced with paradise by nathalie saugeon is gamble for him
but 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 many critics over in particular over 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 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 sensitive 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 stage performance in ibsen
the doll house
the french press has been speculating that tuesday premiere will perhaps be
cantona biggest artistic challenge to date pointing out that the demanding
contemporary play is all dialogue and no action
but cantona 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 he told le journal du dimanche paper
alert
ed whitacre to be confirmed as gm chief executive cnbc
france heads for percent growth minister
paris jan afp
the french economy probably shrank by percent last year and is heading for
growth of percent this year economy minister christine lagarde said on
monday
her estimate of recession last year was slightly better picture than
previous government forecast of percent contraction
we are coming out of the negative period of in france she said during
visit to hem in the north of the country
we will probably have percent negative growth in in france
should do twice as well as the average in the eurozone
she said that european commission estimates put eurozone growth in at
percent
but she said that france will have percent and my personal forecast is that
we will have percent
however the real measure of recovery would be when the economy once again
created jobs she said
northern ireland leaders in crunch power sharing talks
belfast jan afp
northern ireland republican leader martin mcguinness expressed frustration
monday at his pro british partners as he entered crunch talks aimed at breaking
deadlock on policing that threatens their joint government
deputy first minister mcguinness insisted his sinn fein party had upheld
deal which paved the way for devolved power sharing with the democratic
unionists dup but said the dup had not
however he calmed fears the policing row would cause sinn fein to pull out of
the process saying that making devolution succeed had become my life work
because passionately believe in power sharing
mcguinness was speaking ahead of talks with dup leader peter robinson on the
