Three Korean doctors slain in north Nigeria: police

KANO, Nigeria: Men armed with knives slit the throats of three South Korean doctors in a pre-dawn attack Sunday in a volatile town in northeastern Nigeria in the latest in a spate of killings of foreigners in recent months, police said.

The attack in Potiskum also came just two days after gunmen killed at least 10 people in horrifying attacks on two Nigerian polio clinics in a new blow to the campaign to wipe out disease, but it was not clear if the incidents were related.

Yobe State police commissioner Sanusi Rufa'i would not say if the Islamist group Boko Haram, which has been active in Potiskum, was responsible for Sunday's killings, but that the attack was being investigated.

He said unknown attackers scaled the fence of an apartment housing the three doctors at around 1:00 am and slit their throats, initially describing the victims as Chinese.

"Further investigations have shown that the victims were Korean nationals and not Chinese as earlier stated. They were doctors from South Korea," Rufa'i told AFP, in comments confirmed by a senior military official in the state.

Residents said the Koreans, whose bodies were found by neighbours, were employees of the state ministry of health and had been living in the city for one year.

In Seoul, the foreign ministry said it was checking the reports, but noted that few Koreans live in the town.

"The chance that the slain would be Koreans is not high," a foreign ministry official told Yonhap news agency. "But we are checking further related situations via diverse channels."

A local resident said the bodies of the Koreans were found in their room by neighbours who alerted security agents,

"People became worried when the doctors did not open their door in the morning," one resident who did not want to be named told AFP.

He said the victims had their throats slit, but it was not immediately clear if the assailants also came with guns.

"It is still premature to point any accusing fingers but we have commenced an investigation to unravel the killings," said Rufa'i, adding: "No arrest has been made."

Sunday's attack was the latest in a spate of killings of foreigners, especially Chinese nationals, in the country's restive northeast.

In November, gunmen shot dead two Chinese construction workers in nearby Borno State, the stronghold of the Boko Haram extremists.

Three other Chinese nationals have also been killed in separate attacks in the region.

Although no group claimed responsibility for the attacks, they were similar to previous strikes against foreigners by Boko Haram.

Violence linked to Boko Haram is believed to have left some 3,000 people dead since 2009, including killings by the security forces.

The killings in Potiskum, which lies about 100 kilometres (60 miles) from the state capital Damaturu, followed attacks on other health workers in the northern city of Kano on Friday.

Nine women and a man were shot dead in two separate attacks in Kano after a local cleric denounced polio vaccination campaigns and some local radio stations aired conspiracy theories about the vaccine being a Western plot to harm Muslims.

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan condemned Friday's killings, describing them as "dastardly terrorist attacks" and vowed to track down the perpetrators.

Boko Haram has claimed to be fighting for the creation of an Islamic state, but its demands have shifted repeatedly and it is believed to include various factions. Criminal gangs and imitators are also suspected of carrying out violence under the guise of the group.

Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation and largest oil producer, is divided between a mainly Muslim north and predominantly Christian south.

- AFP/ck

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Horsemeat 'contamination' could date back to August: Findus

LONDON: French frozen food supplier Comigel told the Findus brand that "the contamination" of processed beef products with horsemeat could date back to August 2012, Findus said in a statement Saturday.

"Findus want to be absolutely explicit that they were not aware of any issue of contamination with horsemeat last year," it said in a statement.

"They were only made aware of a possible August 2012 date through a letter dated 2 February 2013 from the supplier Comigel.

"By then Findus was already conducting a full supply chain traceability review and had pro-actively initiated DNA testing."

The opposition Labour lawmaker Tom Watson earlier claimed he had been shown by a retailer a copy of a letter that Findus sent to them on Monday.

He published an extract on his website.

"Investigations have led one of our suppliers based in France to inform us in writing on 2nd February 2013 that the raw materials delivered since 1st August 2012 are likely to be non-conform and consequently the labelling on finished products is incorrect," it said.

Britain's Food Standards Agency regulator announced Thursday that 11 of 18 samples of Findus beef lasagne were found to contain between 60 and 100 per cent horsemeat.

Asked by AFP to comment on Britain's food minister fearing a criminal conspiracy, a Findus spokesman said: "That's part of our investigations. We need to understand how the meat got into the supply chain. That's something we are working on with Comigel, as the supplier."

He did not know how long the investigation would take.

The spokesman said it was "still uncertain... where the meat exactly came from".

"The supplier has asked us to withdraw the raw material batches."

Findus said it was not taking part in the emergency food industry meeting taking place Saturday at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

"Findus did not receive an invitation to this summit. However they are aware that the Food and Drink Federation, of which they are a member, will be attending."

Sweden-based Findus has withdrawn various frozen meals from the market in France and Sweden.

- AFP/ck

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Probe launched over email hacking of Bush family

WASHINGTON: A criminal inquiry was launched Friday into how a hacker appeared to breach email accounts belonging to former presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, as well as other members of their family.

"There's a criminal investigation under way," Jim McGrath, a spokesman for the elder ex-president Bush, who is now aged 88 and was recently hospitalized, told AFP, following reports that private communications had been accessed.

"I can't get into the specifics," McGrath added.

The investigative website The Smoking Gun reported that hackers had accessed several e-mail accounts and then published personal photos and private correspondence belonging to the former US leaders and their loved ones.

Separate email accounts used by prominent figures including CBS sportscaster Jim Nantz, a longtime Bush family friend, and others were also breached.

The hacker apparently intercepted photos that former president George W. Bush e-mailed to his sister showing paintings that he was working on, including self-portraits of him showering and in a bathtub, the report said.

Another picture showed the elder Bush in a hospital bed, a snapshot purportedly taken by his daughter, Dorothy Bush Koch, whose AOL account was among those that was apparently hacked.

According to The Smoking Gun, six separate e-mail accounts were compromised.

- AFP/al

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'Light' sodas may hike diabetes risk: study

PARIS: Artificially sweetened sodas have been linked to a higher risk of Type 2 diabetes for women than sodas sweetened with ordinary sugar, a French study unveiled on Thursday found.

"Contrary to conventional thinking, the risk of diabetes is higher with 'light' beverages compared with 'regular' sweetened drinks," the National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm) said.

The evidence comes from a wide-scale, long-term study, it said in a press release.

More than 66,000 French women volunteers were quizzed about their dietary habits and their health was then monitored over 14 years from 1993 to 2007.

The women were middle-aged or older when they joined the study - born between 1925 and 1950.

Sugar-sweetened sodas have previously been linked to an increased risk of diabetes, but less is known about their artificially sweetened counterparts - often promoted as a healthier substitute.

Researchers led by Inserm's Francoise Clavel-Chapelon and Guy Fagherazzi dug into the data mine to look at the prevalence of diabetes among women who drank either type of soda, and those who drank only unsweetened fruit juice.

Compared with juice-drinkers, women who drank both types of soda had a higher incidence of diabetes.

The increased risk was about a third for those who drank up to 359 millilitres (12 US ounces) of soda per week, and more than double among those who drank up to 603 ml (20 ounces) per week.

Drinkers of light sodas had an even higher risk of diabetes compared to those who drank regular ones: 15 percent higher for consumption of 500 ml (16.9 ounces) per week, and 59 percent higher for consumption of 1.5 litres (50 ounces) per week, Inserm said.

The study found no increase in diabetes among women who drank only 100-percent fruit juice, compared with non-consumers.

The authors noted that women who drank "light" sodas tended to drink more of it - 2.8 glasses a week on average compared to 1.6 glasses among women on "regular" sodas.

The findings are published in the latest issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Its authors admitted the study had limitations.

"Information on beverage consumption was not updated during the follow-up, and dietary habits may have changed over time," the paper said.

"We cannot rule out that factors other than ASB (artificially sweetened beverages)... are responsible for the association with diabetes."

The study took account of the women's age and corpulence, but did not keep close track of their eating habits during the study period.

The authors also pointed out that obese people were more likely than thin ones to drink artificially sweetened drinks in the first place.

Fagherazzi told journalists on Thursday the evidence was not sufficient "to advise people to stop consumption of one or the other type of drink" - urging further trials to prove a causal link.

The paper noted previous research which had showed that aspartame - for long the most used artificial sweetener - has a similar effect on blood glucose and insulin levels as the sucrose used in regular sweeteners.

According to the World Health Organisation, 347 million people worldwide have diabetes, a chronic disease which occurs when the pancreas does not produce enough glucose-controlling insulin, or when the body cannot efficiently use it.

Type 2 diabetes, other than Type 1 which starts in childhood and requires insulin treatment, often results from excess body weight and physical inactivity.

Over time, the disease can damage the heart, blood vessels, eyes, kidneys, and nerves - increasing the risk of heart disease, kidney failure, stroke and blindness.

- AFP/de

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Royal Bank of Scotland fined US$612m to settle Libor probe

LONDON : State-rescued Royal Bank of Scotland will pay fines totalling US$612 million (453 million euros) to US and British regulators to settle allegations of Libor interest rate rigging, it announced on Wednesday.

RBS is the third bank to admit its part in the Libor affair after British rival Barclays and Swiss lender UBS.

The investigations uncovered "wrongdoing" by 21 employees, predominantly in relation to the setting of the bank's yen and Swiss franc Libor submissions between October 2006 to November 2010, the bank said.

RBS added it had been fined US$325 million by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission, US$150 million by the US Department of Justice (DoJ) and US$137 million by Britain's Financial Services Authority.

The bank has also entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the DoJ, in relation to one count of wire fraud relating to Swiss franc Libor and one count for an antitrust violation relating to yen Libor.

RBS Securities Japan Limited has agreed to enter a plea of guilty to one count of wire fraud relating to Yen Libor, it added in the statement.

British finance minister George Osborne condemned the "totally unacceptable" behaviour at the bailed-out bank and insisted the taxpayer would not pick up the bill.

"Those responsible will face the full force of the law," Osborne told reporters.

The Edinburgh-based lender was rescued with taxpayers' cash at the height of the global financial crisis.

John Hourican, chief executive of the bank's Markets and International Banking division, is meanwhile to leave RBS and will forfeit his 2012 bonus and long-term incentive shares.

"This is a sad day for RBS, but also an important one in continuing to put right the mistakes of the past," Royal Bank of Scotland chairman Philip Hampton said in the statement.

"That is why those responsible have left the organisation or been subject to disciplinary action."

RBS said its derivative traders sought to influence the bank's yen and Swiss franc Libor setters over the four-year period.

"Two RBS traders based in London colluded with other banks and brokers in making and receiving requests for higher and lower" rates, it said.

The total fines handed down to RBS are more than those handed last year to Barclays for attempted Libor rate-rigging, but less than the amount paid by UBS for similar offences.

Libor, or London Interbank Offered Rate, is a flagship instrument used all over the world, affecting what banks, businesses and individuals pay to borrow money. Euribor is the eurozone equivalent.

Libor is calculated daily, using estimates from banks of their own interbank rates, and affects the pricing of more than $300-trillion of contracts across the world, according to British regulator, the Financial Services Authority.

But the system has been found to be open to abuse, with some traders lying about borrowing costs to boost trading positions or make their bank seem more secure -- seriously damaging the reputation of the 'City of London' financial centre.

At Swiss bank UBS, two former employees were charged in December when the group's Securities Japan unit settled similar allegations with US and British authorities for US$1.5 billion, the biggest amount to date.

The British government owns most of RBS after a massive bailout of the bank and there is considerable pressure for senior bank executives to take responsibility for the Libor crisis.

Barclays bank in June agreed to pay about US$450 million in connection with the affair, which led to the resignations of three Barclays senior board members, including chief executive Bob Diamond.

More than a dozen other institutions remain under investigation, while last October the British government announced plans to make it a criminal offence to manipulate Libor.

- AFP/ch

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Afghanistan's Karzai confirms to leave power in 2014

OSLO: Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai confirmed Tuesday in Oslo that he plans to step down next year when his mandate expires.

"The question of me staying as the president beyond 2014 is out of the question," Karzai said when reporters asked about recent speculation that he was keen to stay on.

"Neither am I seeking a third term, nor does the constitution allow it. There will be an election and a new president will come," he said.

Karzai was elected in 2004, and re-elected in 2009 in a vote marred by accusations of fraud.

Afghanistan's next presidential election is scheduled for April 2014, just a few months before the end of NATO's mission.

Karzai has previously said he would not stay in power beyond 2014, including at a meeting with US President Barack Obama last month, amid some concern that he could try to cling to power.

During his visit to Oslo, Norway said it would continue to help the country until 2017, with annual aid of 750 million kroner (101 million euros, $137 million). Afghanistan is one of the poorest countries in the world, and one of the most corrupt.

Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said the aid agreement -- which formalises previously-made pledges -- would depend on Afghan authorities' commitment to "good governance, the rule of law, human rights, transparency and democracy."

"We have zero tolerance for corruption," he stressed, noting that Oslo had suspended development aid in the past when funds had been misappropriated.

Afghanistan, the second-biggest recipient of Norwegian aid, is ranked as one of the most corruption-riddled countries in the world alongside North Korea and Somalia, according to graft watchdog Transparency International.

-AFP/ac

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Aliwal Arts Centre to be launched in March 2013

SINGAPORE : The Aliwal Arts Centre will be launched in March 2013 as the next arts housing development under the Framework for Arts Spaces.

The framework comes under the National Arts Council's (NAC) plan to create a stronger link between infrastructure support and the different needs of artists.

The Goodman Arts Centre was rolled out in 2011 as a pilot project under the framework.

Since its opening, the centre has launched more than 200 programmes.

NAC has been working with government agencies and commercial developers to facilitate co-location of artists and arts groups in commercial developments.

One such project involves Very Special Arts taking up a space at Changi City Point Mall in 2011.

Another project involves the Singapore Dance Theatre moving into Bugis+ mall from early 2013.

NAC is discussing with partners like the People's Association on co-locating artists and arts groups in community spaces.

- CNA/ms

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Etch A Sketch creator dies

PARIS: Andre Cassagnes, the French inventor of the Etch A Sketch, a toy beloved of children around the world, has died at the age of 86.

His death in France in mid-January was announced by the Ohio Art Company which has been making the Etch a Sketch since 1960, according to media reports.

The Etch A Sketch, a grey screen with bold red frame, allows children to draw a picture using a stylus and then erase it with the turn of two buttons.

It has sold more than 100 million copies around the world.

- AFP/ck

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Colonial flags fly in Hong Kong as anger grows

HONG KONG: Sixteen years after Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule, public discontent with Beijing is swelling and protesters have been rallying around an unexpected symbol - the British colonial flag.

Tens of thousands have taken to the streets in recent months in marches against Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, who took over from Donald Tsang last July after being elected by a 1,200-strong pro-Beijing committee.

On several occasions the old blue flag, which incorporates the Union Flag, has been flown by protesters on the streets of what is becoming an increasingly divided Hong Kong, both embarrassing and infuriating Beijing.

While Leung's supporters say he is tackling pressing social issues such as affordable housing and the strain on public services, his critics see him as a stooge for Beijing and are angry over a widening poverty gap.

In September, he backed down from a plan to introduce Chinese patriotism classes in schools, which had incited mass protests and was viewed as an attempt to brainwash children into accepting doctrines taught on the mainland.

The founder of a group mobilising Hong Kongers to fly colonial flags said it did so because the city was worse off after 16 years of "encroachment" by Beijing, stressing it was not because of any desire to see Britain rule again.

"Our freedom and everything else has gone downhill since (the handover)" said 26-year-old Danny Chan from the "We're Hong Kongese, not Chinese" Facebook group, which has been "liked" by nearly 30,000 people.

Hong Kong's semi-autonomous status enshrines civil liberties not seen on the mainland, including the right to protest, until 2047 under the "One country, two systems" handover agreement.

Chan cited housing prices that stubbornly remained among the world's highest and the widening income gap between the rich and the poor as factors driving the increasingly frequent protests in the city.

Many Hong Kongers blame increased immigration from the mainland for high house prices and overcrowding in local hospitals.

Chan said that the flags symbolised anger and the perceived erosion of the rule of law in Hong Kong since 1997.

"Hong Kong's core values and the rule of law have been gradually destroyed until there is almost nothing left," argued the computer engineer, who waved the flag at a mass rally on January 1 to demand Leung step down.

Dixon Sing, political analyst at Hong Kong's University of Science and Technology, said the protesters "believe the Chinese Communist Party has been undermining those core values and reneging on the promise of giving Hong Kong 'two systems'".

The increased visibility of the old emblem has sparked tensions, at a time when China is ushering in a new batch of leaders who yearn for order and stability in the Asian financial hub.

The British Council, which promotes cultural and educational ties overseas, unwittingly became embroiled in the controversy recently when advertisements for an education fair bearing the Union Jack became the centre of attention.

Comments such as "Great Britain built Great Hong Kong!" were posted on the British consulate's Facebook page and linked to the posters.

The advertisements were hastily removed due to the possibility of "misinterpretation", a British Council spokeswoman said.

The waving of the old flag has drawn criticism from Chen Zuoer, the former No.2 mainland Chinese official in Hong Kong, who reportedly said last year that it "should be sent to history museums".

Other critics, including those from the city's pro-democracy political camp, said any "good old days" notion is largely misguided, as corruption and malpractice were once widespread before a major clean-up in the 1970s.

"During colonial times, there was no freedom and our rights were denied but in the late 1980s, the government won people's trust and it was seen as clean," said Avery Ng from maverick lawmaker "Long Hair" Leung Kwok-hung's League of Social Democrats party.

The party has called for full democracy in Hong Kong to replace the current system.

"I understand the current sentiment but this is very sad for Hong Kong that people would rather look back at colonial times."

- AFP/de

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Motor Racing: Ferrari's Alonso predicts tighter 2013 F1 race

MILAN, Italy: Fernando Alonso said on Friday the battle for Formula One supremacy could be a lot tighter this year ahead of his bid to improve on two runner-up places behind Sebastian Vettel with a maiden title for Ferrari.

Last season's world championship was remarkable for the fact there were seven race-winners in the first seven races before Alonso went toe-to-toe with Red Bull ace Vettel in a decisive, thrilling finale at Interlagos.

Vettel, the sport's youngest-ever three-time world champion (2010, 2011, 2012), finished sixth at the legendary Brazilian circuit, where Alonso was second, to beat his Spanish rival to the title by only three points.

Alonso, speaking at the launch of Ferrari's new F138 car for the upcoming season, indicated that their anticipated duel in 2013 could leave rivals trailing in their wake from the season-opening Australian GP in March.

"I think the likelihood of seeing seven different race winners in the first seven races, like last year, will be impossible," he said.

"There will be a maximum of two or three teams" battling for the title, he added, "and one of those will definitely be Ferrari."

Alonso, a two-time world champion with Renault in 2005 and 2006, joined Ferrari for the 2010 season and finished runner-up to Vettel.

He finished a disappointing fourth in 2011 but in 2012 won three times and secured a total of 13 podium places before being pipped by Vettel at the finish.

Afterwards, he said: "Next year, we will try and improve the car, trying to start further up the grid, thus avoiding accidents. Let's hope we also have a bit more luck."

The F138 - whose name represents the current year and the car's V8 engine, which will be used for the last time this season - was unveiled at Ferrari's Maranello headquarters in northern Italy on Friday.

Ferrari described it as "an evolution of last year's race-winning car, although every single part has been revised in order to maximise performance while maintaining the characteristics which were the basis of the F2012's superb reliability".

"The rear of the car is much narrower and more tapered than before," said Ferrari, although "significant modifications will be made to the car's aero package" before the Australian Grand Prix on March 17.

One major change Ferrari has made, one year ahead of schedule, is in the electronics domain with the early introduction of the single control unit that will be used in 2014.

Alonso is set to get his first taste of the F138 at a pre-season testing session in Barcelona from February 19. It means Brazilian Felipe Massa will be at the wheel for the first pre-season test at Jerez in Spain next week.

Massa, who finished seventh overall last season, believes the car is equipped sufficiently to allow Ferrari to aim for both the drivers' and constructors' titles.

"I hope it will bring the two titles to Ferrari. It's the only thing we want," he said.

Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo said last year he wants to see three-times champion Vettel race for the Italian team in the future.

But on Friday Di Montezemolo ruled out the possibility of seeing Alonso and Vettel in the same team. "Absolutely not," replied Di Montezemolo.

- AFP/de

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Scoot airlines to increase fleet, expand routes

SINGAPORE: Scoot, the low cost long haul subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, has flown about 600,000 passengers after seven months of operation.

This means carrying about 85,000 travellers per month.

The carrier also has a passenger load factor of about 81 per cent and currently flies to eight destinations, including Tianjin, Shenyang and the Gold Coast.

Speaking at the "world's low cost airlines" conference on Thursday, CEO of Scoot Airlines Campbell Wilson was asked if the airline will be increasing its fleet and expanding its routes to cope with the ever growing demand for low cost travel in Southeast Asia.

Mr Wilson said: "We're taking a fifth aircraft this year end of May, early June, and we'll use that to add two or three more routes to the network. In terms of partnership, currently we work most closely with Tiger Airways, they have affiliates in other countries that we would look to expand our routes to. And furthermore there are airlines outside of Singapore and indeed outside of Southeast Asia that are quite interested to work with us. But its too premature to reveal who."

Scoot has introduced ScooTV, streaming inflight entertainment for passengers, and was the first to introduce iPads for rent.

Mr Wilson said it does not add to their costs at all.

"We only introduce these where there is a business benefit to us. We target to get over 20 per cent of our revenue from ancillary products of which entertainment is one. But as well as earning us money, it also helps the passenger. It's a win-win all round," he said.

Mr Wilson also commented on Boeing's Dreamliner despite the latest safety hiccups.

"The next aircraft we take this year is a 777-200 and the ones after that are 787s. Boeing is keeping us fully informed of what's happening with the 787 investigations and rectification and we are confident in their ability to resolve the issue under the purview of the regulators, and we look forward to taking the aircraft on schedule in November 2014. We have commitment for 20 Dreamliners," he said.

Several Scoot flights were recently hit by a series of passenger complaints stemming from flight delays and alleged technical faults.

Mr Wilson said: "The challenges are real. When you have a small fleet flying high utilisation. Anything whether its a weather delay, whether its a typhoon, fog in Tianjin today or storms in Gold Coast on Monday, they do affect aircraft schedules and sometimes have consequential effects. There's no avoiding that with a small fleet, but the high utilisation of aircraft is what allows us to offer low fares, so it's a bit of a quid pro quo.

"We're very clear to people what it is that we offer, we also make no secret what it is that we give in terms of compensation. The compensation is not just S$50, it can be more ranging to a full refund depending on the circumstances.

"Clearly, unit costs is unavoidable for operating an airline, unit revenue and engagement. You can't operate a business if you don't have low cost, you can't cover those cost if you don't have decent revenue and you don't have revenue if people don't like you."

- CNA/de

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BlackBerry 10 unveiled, with company name change

NEW YORK: BlackBerry launched its comeback effort Wednesday with a revamped platform and a pair of sleek new handsets, along with a company name change as part of a move to reinvent the smartphone maker.

Canadian-based Research in Motion said it had changed its name to BlackBerry as it launched the BlackBerry 10, the new platform aimed at helping the firm regain traction in a market now dominated by rivals.

"From this point forward RIM becomes BlackBerry," chief executive Thorsten Heins told a glitzy unveiling in New York, one of six global events for the product launch. "It is one brand, it is one promise."

The company unveiled two new devices for its new platform, one with a physical keyboard called the Q10, and a touchscreen handset dubbed Z10.

The new BlackBerry "will transform mobile communications into true mobile computing," Heins said.

"Today is a brand new day in the history of BlackBerry."

The launch is seen as critical to BlackBerry, which had been the dominant smartphone maker before Apple launched its iPhone and others began using the Google Android operating system.

RIM says the all-new system will break new ground by allowing customers to flip between applications seamlessly and without first passing through a home page, to boost efficiency and multitasking.

Another key asset of BlackBerry 10 is what RIM dubbed the "BlackBerry balance," a system that allows users to separate professional communications and applications from music, photographs and other personal items.

Such an option means that if a user changes job, his or her former company can disable the device's corporate side without affecting personal data.

RIM's recent performance on Wall Street suggests the market is open to the BlackBerry 10. Shares have risen more than 30 per cent since the start of the year, although they dropped back over the last two sessions.

Carolina Milanesi, an analyst for Gartner who specialises in consumer devices, said the aim of the launch "is to reinstill faith in the BlackBerry brand and capture both consumer and enterprises at the same time."

Milanesi said a successful launch will at least give them a shot to get into the game" but that BlackBerry has little room for error, after a launch delayed several months.

"They will not be forgiven for any mistakes," she said.

BlackBerry shares fell 4.4 per cent after the launch to US$14.98.

According to research firm IDC, BlackBerry's share of the global smartphone market slipped to 4.7 per cent in 2012, to 68 per cent for Android and 18.8 per cent for Apple's iOS.

- AFP/jc

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US Senate committee approves Kerry nomination

 

WASHINGTON: Senator John Kerry easily cleared the first hurdle of his confirmation as the next secretary of state Tuesday with a unanimous vote of approval by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Kerry, President Barack Obama's pick to replace Hillary Clinton as the nation's top diplomat, must still be confirmed by a vote of the full Senate later in the day, but that was expected to be a shoo in.

His colleagues on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which Kerry chairs, gave him a unanimous vote of approval, with Republicans joining Democrats.

Kerry, who did not vote, said he was "humbled" and gratified.

"They've been wonderful, they've been really superb," he said of his colleagues on the committee, adding, "I'm very wistful about it, it's not easy" leaving.

- AFP/fa

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Iran sends monkey into space

TEHRAN: Iran on Monday successfully sent a monkey into orbit, paving the way for a manned space flight, Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi told state television.

Arabic-language channel Al-Alam and other Iranian news agencies said the monkey returned alive after travelling in a capsule to an altitude of 120 kilometres (75 miles) for a sub-orbital flight.

"This success is the first step towards man conquering the space and it paves the way for other moves," General Vahidi said, but added that the process of putting a human into space would be a lengthy one.

"Today's successful launch follows previous successes we had in launching (space) probes with other living creatures (on board)," he added.

"The monkey which was sent in this launch landed safely and alive and this is a big step for our experts and scientists."

Iranian state television showed still pictures of the capsule and of a monkey being fitted with a vest and then placed in a device similar to a child's car-seat.

A previous attempt in 2011 by the Islamic republic to put a monkey into space failed. No official explanation was ever given.

A defence ministry statement quoted by Iranian media said earlier Iran had "successfully launched a capsule, codenamed Pishgam (Pioneer), containing a monkey and recovered the shipment on the ground intact".

Iran announced in mid-January its intention to launch a monkey into orbit as part of "preparations for sending a man into space," which is scheduled for 2020.

Iran's space programme deeply unsettles Western nations, which fear it could be used to develop ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads they suspect are being developed in secret.

The same technology used in space launch rockets can also be used in ballistic missiles.

The Security Council has imposed on Iran an almost total embargo on nuclear and space technologies since 2007.

Tehran has repeatedly denied that its nuclear and scientific programmes mask military ambitions.

Iran's previous satellite launches were met by condemnation from the West who accused Tehran of "provocation."

The Islamic republic has previously sent a rat, turtles and worms into space. It has also successfully launched three satellites -- Omid in February 2009, Rassad in June 2011 and Navid in February 2012.

In mid-May last year, Tehran announced plans to launch an experimental observation satellite Fajr (Dawn) within a week but it did not happen and Iran gave no explanation for the delay.

The Fajr satellite was presented by Iranian officials as "an observation and measurement" satellite weighing 50 kilos (110 pounds), built by Sa-Iran, a company affiliated to the defence ministry.

- AFP/ir

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Iraq inks oil exploration deal with Kuwait Energy

BAGHDAD: Iraqi energy officials on Sunday signed an oil exploration deal with a Kuwait-led group, finalising a deal that was altered to expel a Turkish firm amid worsening ties with Ankara.

A contract was inked with Kuwait Energy and Dragon Oil of the United Arab Emirates to explore a 900-square-kilometre (350-square-mile) block thought to contain oil in south Iraq, near the country's border with Iran.

The contract was signed by Abdul Mehdi al-Amidi, the Iraqi oil ministry's head of contracts and licensing, a representative of the state-owned South Oil Company, Hussein al-Mosawy of Kuwait Energy and Mark Sawyer of Dragon Oil, according to an AFP journalist present.

Kuwait Energy has a 70 percent stake in the project, with Dragon Oil holding the remainder. The companies have agreed to be paid a service fee of $6.24 per barrel of oil equivalent eventually extracted.

It is one of several agreements between Baghdad and foreign energy firms to boost oil output and explore for new deposits of energy as Iraq looks to cement its role as a key global supplier.

The original consortium that won the contract had included Turkey's TPAO, but officials announced in November that the Turkish firm would be expelled due to "non-technical issues", one of several signs of worsening ties between Baghdad and Ankara.

The two countries have been at odds over the Syrian conflict and Iraq has publicly urged Turkey to hand over fugitive Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi, who has been sentenced to death in Baghdad on charges of running a death squad.

Iraq has proven reserves of 143.1 billion barrels of oil and 3.2 trillion cubic metres (111.9 trillion cubic feet) of gas, both of which are among the largest in the world.

- AFP/de

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At least 55 dead in Venezuela prison riot: hospital

CARACAS: At least 55 people were killed and 90 others wounded in clashes between prison gangs and security guards at a facility in northwest Venezuela, a hospital director said Saturday.

Television images had earlier shown National Guard troops surrounding the Uribana prison in Lara state as inmates in bloody clothes were taken out of the building.

Behind the barriers, relatives of the prisoners -- most of them women -- waited for news of their loved ones, many of them in tears.

"There are 55 dead already in the morgue," hospital director Ruy Medina said Saturday.

Around 30 people were still being treated, he said, adding that the patients are "progressing satisfactorily," and that more would likely be released during the day.

Medina had earlier said that most of those injured had suffered gunshot wounds, and that 14 people had injuries severe enough to require surgery.

He had called the initial death toll of 50 "alarming," saying it was based solely on bodies brought to the hospital.

Prison authorities have not yet released an official figure for the toll of those killed and wounded in the riot, but a press conference is expected later Saturday from Iris Varela, the minister responsible for Venezuela's prisons.

Vice President Nicolas Maduro, freshly back in the country after visiting recovering President Hugo Chavez in Cuba, called the riot "regrettable" and "tragic," and said an investigation had been launched.

Varela said the riot was sparked after inmates rebelled when prison authorities launched a sweep of the facility in search of illicit weapons.

Authorities had swept to "completely disarm" the prisoners after receiving a tip-off that prison gangs were readying to fight, she said.

Opposition parties immediately attacked the government, accusing it of exercising lax control over the prison system.

"Who will they blame for this massacre this time around?" opposition leader and former presidential candidate Henrique Capriles said on Twitter, calling the government "incapable and irresponsible."

Humberto Prado, head of the non-governmental Venezuelan Prison Monitoring Organisation, said the government "had failed to take responsibility for the events" and instead was "piling blame on the media."

The situation in Uribana prison has been monitored by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights since 2006, he added.

"The court told the Venezuelan government that no more inmates should be dying in this jail, but the government did not comply with this request, and now we have such a serious outburst of violence," he said.

Venezuela is notorious for the poor state of its prisons, which suffer from some of the highest levels of overcrowding in Latin America.

Originally built to house 14,000 inmates, the country's prisons now hold almost 50,000 people, often with low sanitary standards and high levels of violence.

In August 2012, at least 25 people were killed and 43 wounded during a clash between rival gangs in Yare I prison near Caracas. In June 2011, dozens died in a riot that erupted at El Rodeo prison.

- AFP/jc

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Keppel Corp's net profit falls 22% on-year in Q4

SINGAPORE: Falling margins from building oil rigs has hit the bottomline of Keppel Corp.

Net profit for the world's leading rig builder fell 22 per cent on-year to S$305 million in the fourth quarter last year.

Still, full year profit for the conglomerate came in 15 per cent to S$2.24 billion.

Despite lower net profit in the three months ended Dec 31, Keppel Corp still declared a final dividend of 27 cents per share.

As part of its 45th anniversary, Keppel Corp is handing out more goodies to its shareholders.

The company has proposed to distribute one Keppel REIT unit for every five Keppel Corp shares.

That is about 27.4 cents per share based on Keppel REIT's closing price of S$1.37 on Thursday.

Together with the interim dividend of 18 cents, total distribution for 2012 will be 72.4 cents per share.

Keppel Corp said the lower net profit was partly due to lower contributions from its offshore and marine unit.

Offshore and Marine's contribution was 12 per cent lower from a higher base in 2011 when margins were at record highs. It contributes to half of Keppel Corp's net profits.

"Keen rivalry from Chinese and Korean yards have suppressed prices and squeezed margins on newbuilds," said Choo Chiau Beng, chief executive officer at Keppel Corp. "In 2013, we will be completing a record of 22 newbuild units."

Analysts remained upbeat of Keppel's prospects going forward.

They say their financial results still outperformed market expectations.

Keppel Corp expects crude oil prices to stay above US$100 per barrel, supporting the need for more global exploration and production.

But global challenges like the slower US economy and the eurozone crisis from last year will continue to pose uncertainties for Keppel Corp's business.

Keppel Corp's property arm, led by the listed Keppel Land, boosted the group's earnings.

Net profit for the property division was 2.5 times higher than in 2011, offsetting the lower earnings from business in the offshore and marine, and infrastructure.

But Keppel Corp does not expect its property arm to perform better this year.

This is because recognition from sales of completed units at its development Reflections at Keppel Bay is expected to be lower this financial year.

- CNA/xq

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Japan presses Algeria for answers as toll hits nine

ALGIERS: A senior Japanese official met Algeria's prime minister on Wednesday to press for an explanation of the gas plant siege, as Tokyo confirmed the deaths of two more nationals, taking its toll to nine.

Senior Vice Foreign Minister Shunichi Suzuki arrived aboard a government jet that is to repatriate the bodies of those known to have been killed in the hostage crisis, along with the seven Japanese who survived.

Tokyo announced late Wednesday that it knew for sure that nine Japanese were killed after Islamist gunmen overran the desert facility. One Japanese citizen remains unaccounted for.

"Unfortunately, we have been able to confirm two more deaths," said Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga. "The Japanese government expresses sincere condolences to the families and people concerned."

"The use of violence cannot be tolerated for any reason. We firmly condemn acts of terror," he said adding the government would do its utmost to confirm the fate of the final missing person.

Seventeen Japanese were at the facility in In Amenas when jihadists struck last Wednesday at the start of a four-day siege that left dozens of foreigners dead. Seven of them made it to safety.

Suzuki carried a letter to Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika from Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Suga told reporters in Tokyo earlier.

As well as Prime Minister Abdelmalek Saleki, Suzuki also met Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci, Japan's Kyodo News reported, citing Tokyo's foreign ministry.

Japan has asked Algeria to fully investigate events at the gas plant and exactly how individuals died, Suga said in Tokyo.

"Algeria has promised to cooperate as much as possible," he said.

Algeria has said 37 foreigners of eight different nationalities and an Algerian were killed in the siege, which ended on Saturday.

Several people are still missing and the bodies of others are so badly charred that they have not been identified.

Wednesday's visit came as it emerged that Britain, Japan, the United States and other countries whose nationals were caught up in the events at the In Amenas plant issued a joint demarche to Algeria last Friday.

A demarche is a formal diplomatic move in which a country's stance is conveyed in person -- rather than by note -- to another government.

In a conference telephone call, vice foreign minister Minoru Kiuchi told foreign minister Medelci that Tokyo wanted Algiers to do all it could to protect captives.

"Japan is strongly concerned about acts that put the lives of the hostages at risk, and it is regrettable that the Algerian government pressed military rescue operations," he said, according to the foreign ministry.

Japan was among the more forthright of nations as the hostage crisis unfolded, summoning Algiers' ambassador to demand answers and to push for military restraint as armed forces surrounded the plant.

The Japanese plane's arrival in Algiers came as Tokyo announced it was shutting its embassy in neighbouring Mali, evacuating staff and urging its nationals there to leave because of the deteriorating security situation.

The kidnappers claimed they launched their attack in protest at Algeria's complicity in a French military campaign against Islamists in Mali.

The Japanese death toll in Algeria -- the highest in a terror attack since Al-Qaeda crashed airliners into New York's Twin Towers when 24 Japanese died -- has shaken a country not accustomed to its citizens being made targets abroad.

There has been blanket media coverage of events half a world away and anguished demands for more to be done to protect Japanese working in trouble spots, including beefing up spy networks.

Kyodo on Wednesday said Suga indicated Tokyo's willingness to consider increasing the number of defence attaches at Japanese embassies to strengthen the country's ability to gather information.

"I am aware of the need. We need to think about the most effective (crisis-response) measures," Suga said.

-AFP/ac

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SGX's Q2 net profit rises 17% to S$76m

SINGAPORE : Rising interest in derivatives trading helped lift earnings for the Singapore Exchange (SGX) last quarter.

Asia's second-largest bourse operator reported a 17 per cent on-year rise in second-quarter net profit to S$76 million.

It also attracted a large number of new bond listings in the same quarter.

Derivatives trading has been the star performer in SGX.

Over the October to December quarter, derivatives daily average volume on SGX hit a record of 358,532 contracts, up 30 per cent on-year.

This was supported by rising trading interests in China A50 futures and Japan Nikkei 225 options.

Not to be undone, the securities market performed well too.

Its daily average volume rose 8 per cent for the quarter to hit a trading value of S$1.2 billion.

This translates to a revenue of S$58 million for the securities business segment.

SGX said the better performance was due to improvements in investor sentiment following stability over the Europe debt situation and improved US economy.

Magnus Bocker, chief executive officer of Singapore Exchange, said: "We should remember the enormous amount of liquidity in the market. Not so much in the equity market, but actually more in the fixed income and currency markets, and with chasing yields and lot of very successful and growing companies, I think we can all expect this sentiment to continue. I think we can expect more flows into securities."

Some analysts are bullish on SGX's prospects going forward.

The said the improved investment climate globally may benefit the exchange operator.

Ken Ang, investment analyst at Phillip Securities Research, said: "SGX is very well placed to benefit from this increasing attractiveness of the equity market and therefore resulting in increase in trading value."

SGX attracted eight new listings in its second quarter - raising S$798.9 million.

While the number seems small, it came amid declines in the global initial public offering (IPO) market.

In 2012, global IPO volumes fell 27 per cent, with the lowest level of funds raised since 2009.

Kenneth Ng, head of Singapore research at CIMB Research, said: "I think while that (derivative) is great and that diversified the revenue of SGX, SGX still has a rather pertinent problem of trying to increase the security turnover velocity and value by retail initiatives, attracting listings and so forth."

Apart from seeking more IPOs, SGX also attracted some 90 new bond listings, raising S$39.7 billion for the quarter.

- CNA/ms

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37 foreigners killed in Algeria hostage crisis: PM

ALGIERS: Thirty-seven foreigners of eight different nationalities were killed during the hostage crisis at an Algerian gas plant that was overrun by Islamist gunmen, Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal said on Monday.

"Thirty-seven foreigners of eight different nationalities," were killed during the four-day siege, Sellal told a news conference in Algiers, without specifying their nationalities.

One Algerian also lost his life, bringing the giving an overall toll of 38, while five foreigners were still missing, he added.

Among those that other official sources have already confirmed to have died in the siege were one Frenchman, one American, two Romanians, three Britons, six Filipinos and seven Japanese.

During the army's final assault on the plant, Sellal said the remaining gunmen executed several hostages by shooting them in the head.

The interior ministry had on Saturday given a preliminary toll of 23 foreign and Algerian hostages killed during the siege, which ended on Saturday with Algerian forces storming the remaining part of the complex still in militant hands.

The ministry said 685 Algerian and 107 foreign hostages were freed.

Sellal also said that the 32 militants who overran the In Amenas gas facility, taking hundreds of workers hostage, came from northern Mali. Twenty-nine of them were killed and three arrested.

He said the group's leader was Mohamed el-Amine Bencheneb, an Algerian militant known to the country's security services, and that he was killed during the army's assault.

As well as the three Algerians among them, the kidnappers had six foreign nationalities, namely Canadian, Egyptian, Tunisian, Malian, Nigerian and Mauritanian.

- AFP/xq

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