wanted them brought home and percent were undecided
monday survey questioned people from january and was published in
the newspaper jyllands posten
some danish troops are taking part in nato international security
assistance force isaf in afghanistan most of them under british command in
the restive helmand province in the south
with soldiers killed since deploying there in late the scandinavian
country of million people has suffered more deaths than any other country
proportionally to the number of troops it has in isaf
the poll also showed that divided by gender women appear to want withdrawal
with percent in favour of the troops leaving the country compared to
percent who want them to stay
among men percent said they wanted the troops called home and percent
wanted them to stay
monday poll confirmed another survey from the catinet research institute in
november which showed that only percent supported the danish presence in
afghanistan
bodies pile up as haiti begs for aid
port au prince jan afp
earthmovers clawed piles of rotting corpses from haiti ruined capital as
donors met monday to draw up recovery plan from an earthquake now known to
have killed at least people
with strong aftershocks bringing new terror to the streets of port au prince
haitian authorities struggled to control fresh outbreaks of looting in city
where hundreds of thousands are homeless hungry and injured
in bid to prevent the security situation degenerating further european
nations agreed to send around police to help keep order
with the search for survivors officially over mechanical diggers demolished
damaged buildings and cleared downtown rubble in the tropical heat scooping up
bodies which had been entombed since tragedy struck on january
one rescue team hopes of finding another body alive days after the quake
were cruelly dashed when signs of life which had been picked up by radar turned
out to be false alarm
we came across body full of worms which perhaps accounts for the movement
that was detected said samuel bernes the head of french rescue team
communications minister marie lawrence jocelyn lassegue said she had been told
by the national recovery commission to expect figure of dead by
monday referring to the number of bodies found and officially counted
it very difficult to estimate how many more people might be dead but the
prime minister has spoken of she added
previously haitian health officials had quoted figure of just over
dead
with the focus now shifting from rescue to recovery donors were to meet in
montreal canada to discuss how to streamline the delivery of food water
drugs and medical supplies to the swelling number of people living in makeshift
camps
us secretary of state hillary clinton haitian prime minister jean max
bellerive canadian prime minister stephen harper and officials from the united
nations were among those due to attend monday talks
bellerive urged haitians living abroad to actively participate in rebuilding the
country
there is no other solution today but the haitian diaspora integration in the
reconstruction effort he said
the world council of churches called for the immediate and unconditional
cancellation of the country foreign debt by international creditors
it would be morally untenable to do otherwise at this time of extraordinary
hardship and destruction said olav fykse tveit its general secretary
european union nations also met to approve setting up police mission to help
ease aid distribution despite opposition from britain which argued that the
united states already has thousands of soldiers in haiti
all the countries which form part of the european police force are willing to
participate france italy spain the netherlands portugal and romania are
ready to offer personnel each according to its capabilities said spanish
foreign minister miguel angel moratinos whose country holds the eu presidency
the un said that more than haitians have taken advantage of free
transport to flee the quake struck port au prince area where as many as
are thought to have gathered in makeshift camps
meanwhile mass exodus from the capital was putting huge burden on small
towns like saint marc where refugees were lodging with friends
strangers or in churches
buses passed incessantly through the town some kilometers miles north of
port au prince loaded with earthquake victims hoping to find food and shelter
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
experts warn that hundreds of thousands of haitians will be living off foreign
aid and in temporary housing for years to come as rebuilding the nation may take
at least decade thousands have been left disabled
one killed and wounded in yemen separatist violence
sanaa jan afp
policeman was crushed to death in south yemen on monday amid strike and
protests by secessionists in which policemen and three schoolchildren were
also wounded by gunfire witnesses said
the latest unrest followed weekend of deaths and other violence in the
formerly socialist south yemen amid growing moves for independence from the
traditionalist north
in monday violence police patrol car ran over policeman and other law
officers were wounded during shootout with protesters in the city of daleh
around kilometres miles south of sanaa witnesses said
they said that three schoolchildren were also wounded in daleh when an armed
protester angry that secondary school stayed open during strike called by
separatists opened fire inside the school
businesses and shops were shuttered in daleh and the southern city of zanjibar
for general strike called by the secessionist peaceful movement for the
liberation of the south
the strike was called to spotlight the separatists demands ahead of an
international donors conference on yemen that opens in london on wednesday
shops and businesses also remained closed in jabiline and al houta in lahaj
province north of aden the former capital of the south and its largest city
in weekend of violence three people were killed by police gunfire on sunday
in daleh thirty people were arrested on saturday following clashes between
police and protesters in al houta
south yemen became an independent state following the end of british rule in
it was reunited with the north in when yemen became the arabian
peninsula only republic
southerners seceded again in sparking short lived civil war that ended
with the region overrun by northern troops
southerners who complain of discrimination and lack of financial aid stage
frequent demonstrations demanding either increased autonomy or independence from
the north
yemen is the poorest country in the arabian peninsula
mou mh wd ak afq srm
dutch maritime groups plan merger
the hague jan afp
dutch port maintenance and construction group boskalis westminister and the
maritime hauler smit also of the netherlands said monday they had agreed to
merge
the deal would create company with combined annual turnover of billion
euros billion dollars and employees
the groups said in statement they had signed merger protocol for full
merger of the two companies
the business combiniation will create world class maritime service provider
offering strong platform for further growth the statement said
under terms of the protocol boskalis would offer euros per smit share along
with dividend payment to smit shareholders of euros per share
smit management board and majority of its supervisory board have decided to
recommend the transaction to shareholders the statement said
boskalis which employs people in countries operates fleet of
vessels and specialises in dredging port development and land reclamation
smit which has its origins in hauling and towing business established in
raised the russian submarine kursk which sank in the barents sea in
with the loss of lives
boskalis said it would submit the merger proposal to the netherlands authority
for the financial markets by february and expected to launch the offer in the
second half of that month
cricket tendulkar and dravid tons put india in command
dhaka jan afp
sachin tendulkar cracked his th test century and rahul dravid his th hundred
as india tightened the screws on bangladesh in the second and final test on
monday
tendulkar made and dravid before retiring hurt to help india post
massive in their first innings at stumps on the second day in reply to
bangladesh modest total of
the visitors were runs ahead with five wickets in hand
dravid was struck on the helmet while avoiding bouncer from paceman shahadat
hossain bowling with the second new ball he hit fours in his ball
knock
india batting might was on view throughout the day as they scored after
resuming at for no loss with all of their top order batsmen making sizeable
contributions
gautam gambhir and virender sehwag put on for the opening wicket
before tendulkar and dravid consolidated their team position with run
stand for the third wicket
gambhir also equalled west indian viv richards world record of scoring half
century in successive tests
don believe in counting centuries believe in playing and scoring
said tendulkar
runs don come easy am of the opinion that no attack can be underestimated
always apply myself whatever the opposition think we have been able to get
into very good position
tendulkar who scored century in the last test was caught by imrul kayes at
mid wicket off left arm spinner shakib al hasan his ball knock included one
six and fours
shakib took his second wicket when he had murali vijay caught by mohammad
mahmudullah at mid on but india had already gained big lead at that stage
it was disappointing day for bangladesh who not only struggled to take
wickets but also failed to make the most of the chances that came their way
missing catches is part of the game it was tough for the bowlers as the wicket
favoured batsmen but our pacers bowled well said shahadat
it was our plan to test them with bouncers the wicket did not have much turn
and that why our spinners like shakib did not get more wickets the wicket has
become uneven
tendulkar was let off on by raqibul hasan at gully off seamer rubel hossain
before reaching his half century with firmly driven four off shahadat
he offered difficult chance immediately after completing his half century when
he tried to upper cut shahadat but raqibul failed to latch on to the ball at
point
dravid was on when he edged short pitched delivery from rubel into the
slips where junaid siddique took superb catch but it was ruled no ball
bangladesh removed both the openers in the first session with short pitched
deliveries but had to wait for more than session for the next success as
tendulkar and dravid batted with determination
gambhir aiming to equal australian don bradman world record of scoring
century in six successive tests was caught behind while fending off rising
delivery from paceman shafiul islam
sehwag fell soon after reaching his st test half century when he gloved
rising ball from shahadat to wicket keeper mushfiqur rahim
india lead the series after their run win in the opening test in
chittagong
alert
second loud blast heard in baghdad afp
rescuers give up hope of finding new survivor
port au prince jan afp
french rescue workers who detected movement under collapsed building in port
au prince abandoned their search after hours of digging when they came across
dead body team leader said monday
we have called off the work the radar is not detecting anything now samuel
bernes told afp
we found body full of worms which perhaps accounts for the movement that was
detected bernes said
score of french firefighters dug for some ten hours in narrow street in the
downtown district of delmas behind cordon protected by armed french
gendarmes
there was someone who came to talk to tell us that they heard noises from that
house there bernes said earlier
we came to see and indeed our radar and audio soundings picked up scratching
and cries he said
the haitian government called off the international search and rescue mission on
friday as it is extremely rare to find anyone alive and trapped more than
days after an earthquake
but on saturday french us and greek crews found year old man who had been
trapped in the ruins of grocer shop and had managed to survive for days
by drinking coca cola and eating small amount of snack food
french rescuers have said that while they will soon halt generalized searches
with ground penetrating radar they will remain on stand by in port au prince
until mid february in case more survivors are found
more than international specialist teams converged on haiti in the wake of
the catastrophic january earthquake and between them they have so far
managed to pull survivors from the wreckage
eu hits iron ore giants with new probe
brussels jan afp
european regulators announced new probe on monday into controversial anglo
australian iron ore giants rio tinto and bhp billiton fresh from chinese
allegations of bribery
iron ore mining essential for steel production and therefore the world
automotive and construction industries has become soiled in recent times by
multi billion dollar battles for control stretching from china to brazil
brussels competition watchdogs now have concerns over the latest plans by the
world second and third biggest producers to share lucrative iron ore assets
in remote western australia
their joint venture follows hostile takeover bid for rio by bhp which was
dropped in november amid global economic turmoil and after brussels opened
an investigation into market fixing suspicions then
before the new plans were drawn up billion dollar billion euros
bid for rio by chinese state owned firm chinalco collapsed amid tense annual
iron ore contract talks
just weeks after that australian passport holder stern hu an executive of rio
tinto was arrested in july in china alongside three chinese colleagues
they were initially accused of stealing state secrets although the allegations
were subsequently switched to bribery and prosecutors in shanghai will decide
shortly whether and when to bring the case to trial
hu arrest soured diplomatic relations with australia and raised questions
about business deals with rapidly industrialising china the world biggest
iron ore consumer
the european commission has opened formal antitrust investigation under
the eu rules on restrictive business practices said statement from brussels
spokesman jonathan todd told reporters the case would proceed as matter of
high priority
the agreement signed on december leaves only the marketing activities
of the companies separate
the commission will in particular examine the effects of the proposed joint
venture on the worldwide market for iron ore transported by sea
china steel industry sent delegation to brazil in december according to one
report to discuss ways to lobby brussels with vale the world top iron
producer as part of its opposition to the tie up
brussels insists that the decision to investigate does not imply conclusive
evidence of an infringement and stressed that there is no binding deadline
for the probe outcome
bhp billiton last week posted record iron ore production figures 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
urgent massive blast near baghdad palestine hotel afp
baghdad jan afp
massive blast was heard near the palestine hotel in baghdad on monday which
sent plumes of smoke rising hundreds of metres yards into the sky an afp
correspondent in the iraqi capital said
huge iceberg threatens siberian dam report
moscow jan afp
siberian dam where people were killed in disaster last year is now
threatened by huge iceberg that has formed due to its stalled turbines and
winter conditions russian daily said monday
the ice mass which weighs tonnes and is metres feet thick in
some points could lead to new catastrophe at the sayano shushenskaya
hydroelectric power plant two scientists told the gazeta daily
however the company which operates the plant state owned rushydro denied there
was any risk to the dam straddling the powerful yenisei river in the khakassia
region of southern siberia
gazeta which ran photograph of the ice mass along the bottom of the dam said
it had formed because rushydro was allowing water to flow out of the reservoir
via spillway which had never before been used in winter
the august accident damaged the turbines through which the water
normally passes forcing the dam operator to use the spillway to ease pressure
on the gigantic dam
large cloud of mist thrown up from the spillway has been freezing and turning
into ice flakes that fall on the roofs of various structures at the bottom of
the dam building up into thick mass gazeta said
the situation is getting close to critical sergei pashchenko researcher in
the physics and mathematics department of novosibirisk state university told
the newspaper
the ice could cause parts of the power plant to collapse said pashchenko and
another scientist quoted by gazeta alexander prokopchuk researcher at the
nuclear physics institute of moscow state university
the critical point will be when the ice reaches height of metres or
twice the current size if the freezing temperatures continue the iceberg could
reach this size in two or three weeks prokopchuk said
rushydro said it was monitoring the situation and dismissed the possibility of
another disaster at the dam
the situation is definitely not routine theoretically ice can be dangerous for
any hydroelectric power plant but in this case there is no risk of
catastrophe rushydro managing director rasim khaziakhmetov told gazeta
russian government investigation concluded that the august disaster was caused
by technical fault in one of the plant turbines and blamed senior officials
including some at rushydro for failing to prevent the disaster
dalai lama envoys to re open talks with china tuesday
dharamshala india jan afp
representatives of tibet exiled spiritual leader the dalai lama will revive
stalled talks with china on tuesday over the thorny issue of the himalayan
region autonomy his office said
the last round of talks collapsed months ago with beijing saying no progress
had been made and insisting it would not compromise on the status of tibet as an
integral part of china
we are meeting the chinese and this is an important process of trying to find
mutually agreed solution the dalai lama spokesman tenzin taklha said on
monday
the agenda of his holiness the dalai lama is the same that the problem has to
be solved only through dialogue he said
taklha added that the exact venue for the meeting in china had not been
confirmed but said the envoys would return to india by the beginning of
february
after their last interaction in november china said the door would be kept
open for future discussions despite the serious divergences that remained
lodi gyari and kelsang gyaltsen will again lead what will be the ninth round
of talks said officials in dharamshala the indian hill town where the dalai
lama has lived for five decades and where many tibetan exiles are based
china said last year it would consider reviving the dialogue which began in
but has often repeated demands that the tibetan leader renounce
separatist activities which he denies supporting
the dalai lama has sought meaningful autonomy for tibet since he fled his
homeland following failed uprising in against chinese rule nine years
after chinese troops invaded the region
china says the dalai lama actually seeks full independence
tibet erupted in violence in march on the th anniversary of the failed
uprising and the remote region has since been tightly controlled
the dalai lama has attracted huge support for the tibetans cause over
decades of global campaigning and he is likely to meet us president barack
obama shortly an event sure to spark outrage from chinese leaders
obama faced intense criticism last year when he declined to meet the dalai lama
the first time in nearly two decades that the spiritual leader has not met the
president during visit to washington
critics of obama said he avoided an encounter so as not to upset beijing before
the president high stakes debut visit to china in november
however the dalai lama later praised the president for taking up the issue of
tibet during obama visit to beijing
he actually publicly as well as behind the scenes has really taken up the
issue of tibet with chinese leaders very seriously the dalai lama told
reporters in new delhi
china which earlier this month named as its new tibet governor military
veteran who vowed to ensure stability in region has yet to confirm the latest
round of talks
alert
massive blast near baghdad palestine hotel afp correspondent
oil prices rise after sharp falls
london jan afp
oil prices rose on monday as traders sought bargains following slump last week
against background of weak global demand for energy and concerns about the
strength of the wider economy
new york main futures contract light sweet crude for delivery in march
climbed cents to dollars barrel
brent north sea crude for march delivery gained jumped cents to dollars
about gmt
jason feer at energy analysts argus media said flurry of buying was made
possible owing to an oversold market
it hard to say whether it just short term trend higher that can be
sustained he added
energy futures retreated in recent days as traders fretted over possible moves
by beijing to rein in the booming chinese economy which is major consumer of
oil
china economy expanded percent in the december quarter and by percent
for the whole of
the market was also dampened last week as us president barack obama unveiled
plans to crack down on the us financial sector amid fragile economic recovery
the measures which require approval by congress would prohibit commercial
banks which engage in activities such as collecting deposits from customers
from so called proprietary trading or acting as brokerages on their behalf
oil prices declined last week in line with other commodity and equity markets
with risk aversion still dominating investor sentiment following president
obama proposal to reform the way banks conduct their business vtb capital
analyst andrey kryuchenkov said on monday
there was no relevant data out on friday as market participants were still
trying to make sense out of the latest set of inventory numbers which yet
again confirmed anaemic energy demand in the us
the us department of energy doe on thursday said that gasoline reserves in the
world biggest economy increased by stronger than expected million
barrels in the week ending january striking two year high
it also said refineries operated at percent of capacity during the second
week of january their lowest rate in at least two decades apart from the
immediate aftermath of hurricane
oil prices jumped by about percent in as traders were heartened by
evidence that the battered global economy was on the mend with the eurozone
japan and the united states escaping fierce recession
however crude futures have struggled to make much headway in early as
economic data disappoints
karroubi recognises ahmadinejad as iran president son
tehran jan afp
iran opposition leader mehdi karroubi who had refused to accept mahmoud
ahmadinejad re election revealed on monday in major position shift that he
now recognised the hardliner as president
karroubi son hossein told afp about his father new stance making him the
first opposition leader to explicitly accept ahmadinejad victory in the june
poll which returned him to office for second term
am still of the same belief that the election was unhealthy and massively
rigged but since the supreme leader ayatollah ali khamenei endorsed
ahmadinejad victory believe that he is the head of the government
meaning he is the president hossein quoted his father as saying
hossein spoke to afp when asked to confirm an earlier report by fars news agency
quoting his father as acknowledging ahmadinejad to be the president
fars asked karroubi whether he now recognises ahmadinejad as president
the ex speaker of parliament who won the fewest number of votes in the june
election replied still maintain that there were problems in the poll but
with regard to your question should say that recognise the president
karroubi along with main opposition leader mir hossein mousavi had earned the
wrath of the islamic republic hardliners over the past eight months for
vociferously campaigning against ahmadinejad re election
he was heavily criticised for alleging that several protesters who had
demonstrated against ahmadinejad were raped while in prison
karroubi and mousavi led the opposition movement despite khamenei endorsing
ahmadinejad victory at key friday prayer sermon on june just week
after polling day
on july reacting to the confirmation of the election result by the guardians
council the body which rules on election results karroubi called ahmadinejad
victory illegitimate
do not consider the government coming from this election as legitimate and
will not participate in the endorsement ceremony he had said ahead of the
official ceremony to endorse ahmadinejad as president for second term
iranian political analyst mohammad saleh sedghian told afp on monday that
karroubi latest stance was an indication of moves towards reconciliation
between hardliners and reformists
we find that they opposition groups are leaning towards recognising the
ahmadinejad government but they keep objecting to the mechanism in which the
election was held sedghian said
the trend is towards reconciliation which the reformists and several moderates
have called for
the post election unrest against ahmadinejad led by karroubi and mousavi saw
hundreds of thousands of demonstrators take to the streets to protest against
the president and sometimes even khamenei
the demonstrations which erupted soon after the election shook the very
pillars of the islamic regime and split the nation clergy
protesters have taken every opportunity since to stage anti government
demonstrations the latest on december as the nation commemorated the shiite
ritual of ashura
dozens of iranians have been killed and wounded in such protests since june and
hundreds have also been put on trial accused of attempting to revolt against the
regime
american arrested over synagogue arson in greece
athens greece jan afp
police on the greek island of crete on monday arrested young american in
connection with arson attacks on local synagogue that destroyed hundreds of
rare books news reports said
the year old man described as an itinerant labourer will be arraigned
before prosecutor in the town of hania on thursday the semi state athens news
agency ana reported
two britons and greek have also been arrested over the attacks and will
testify on tuesday ana said
the year old greek confessed while the britons aged and have denied
any involvement according to costas liotsakis the island deputy police chief
the attacks on january and seriously damaged the hania synagogue in
northwestern crete
the britons have been living in crete for three months and all three suspects
work as touts for tourist spots in the town
they were due to appear before prosecutors on the island later on friday
the greek suspect said the year old briton from the northwestern city of
manchester had started the fire on january liotsakis said
the police are still seeking second american allegedly linked to the january
attack
police source said the group was motivated by hostility towards jews
the three arrested are suspected of entering the synagogue via an adjacent
building and starting fires destroying archives and equipment including
computers and cds
the director of the synagogue nikos hanaan stavroulakis said rare books
were destroyed and called on the authorities to take action against the anti
semitic and racist attacks
greek justice minister haris kastanidis publicly condemned the attacks and
human rights group called them the worst anti semitic incidents in greece in
recent years
tennis federer and djokovic rule supreme
melbourne jan afp
roger federer blazed into the australian open quarter finals and showdown with
nikolay davydenko monday while novak djokovic set up rematch of his final
with jo wilfried tsonga
the swiss top seed was at another level to tenacious australian nd seed and
long time rival lleyton hewitt demolishing him in dazzling in
their th meeting
the win sets up federer with contest against russian sixth seed davydenko who
has won their last two encounters in doha this year and the world tour finals in
london last november
davydenko was dragged into fifth set before quenching the challenge of
spaniard fernando verdasco to fight on in the tournament
the russian bungled fourth set tiebreaker and had to dig out
win over the ninth seeded verdasco in almost four hours
djokovic plays tsonga in the other quarter final in the top half of the men
draw
the serbian third seed was too good for unseeded pole lukasz kubot
while the th seeded tsonga held his nerve to take out thrilling five
setter against spaniard nicolas almagro
federer further underlined the gulf existing between him and hewitt with his
th straight victory but he will have different challenge to confront in
davydenko
davydenko one of the good return players in the game federer said he
moves extremely well and makes it hard
