Your business:
Mobile
AFP Mobile provides live news and rich media content adapted to all mobile usage. Our offer includes reliable and mobile-ready feeds, a mobile publishing platform, embedded applications and technical solutions.
Rich and mobile-ready content, a mobile publishing platform, embedded applications (Java, iPhone) and technical solutions.
Quick access to all the latest news
Outrage as Russia, China veto UN move on Syria
02/05 | 20:05 GMT
©AFP/LCC SYRIA
A picture from Local Coordination Committees in Syria shows protesters burning tires in the Damascus suburb of Daraya on February 4. Outrage grew on Sunday after Russia and China blocked a UN Security Council resolution condemning Syria for its crackdown on protests, with the opposition saying it handed the regime a "licence to kill."
©AFP/LCC SYRIA
A picture from Local Coordination Committees in Syria shows protesters burning tires in a Damascus suburb
DAMASCUS (AFP) - Outrage grew on Sunday after Russia and China blocked a UN Security Council resolution condemning Syria for its crackdown on protests, with the opposition saying it handed the regime a "licence to kill."
The rare double veto drew international condemnation, with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton calling it a "travesty" and vowing to push for new sanctions on Syria.
And France said Europe will strengthen sanctions on Damascus.
"Europe will again harden sanctions imposed on the Syrian regime. We will try to increase this international pressure," French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said.
He also said France would "help the Syrian opposition to structure and organise itself."
©AFP / Bulent Kilic
A man holds a pre-Baath Syrian flag during a demonstration in Istanbul Saturday
Russia defended its veto on Saturday, saying Western powers had refused to reach a consensus.
"The authors of the draft Syria resolution, unfortunately, did not want to undertake an extra effort and come to a consensus," Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov wrote on Twitter.
The veto came hours after the opposition Syrian National Council (SNC) reported a "massacre" overnight Friday in the central flashpoint city of Homs where more than 230 civilians were killed during an assault by regime forces.
On Sunday, activists reported more shelling in the city said 56 people were killed across Syria, half of them civilians, with most of the dead in Homs province.
The death toll rose to at least 104 people reported killed over the weekend -- one of the bloodiest since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad's regime erupted almost 11 months ago.
Opposition groups say at least 6,000 people have now been killed in Syria.
©AFPTV
Syria protesters defy crackdown to mark massacre. Duration: 0:39
The second UN double veto in four months fuelled angry reactions from Washington and fears among Syrian activists of a new surge of violence that would once again target Homs.
"We have to increase diplomatic pressure on the Assad regime and work to convince those people around President Assad that he must go and that there has to be a recognition of that and a new start," Clinton said.
"We will work to seek regional and national sanctions against Syria and strengthen the ones we have," she said, stressing the need "to dry up the sources of funding and the arms shipments that are keeping the regime's war machine going."
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Foreign Intelligence Service chief Mikhail Fradkov are preparing to visit Damascus on Tuesday, as reports said the mission could try to push Assad to quit.
"Russia strongly intends to achieve a rapid stabilisation of the situation in Syria through the rapid implementation of much-needed democratic reforms," the Russian foreign ministry said.
©AFP/Graphics
Activists and residents reported more than 200 civilian deaths in an assault by regime forces in Homs Friday
The state RIA Novosti news agency ran an analysis quoting Russian experts as saying Lavrov's visit would be aimed at persuading Assad to step down.
The SNC voiced dismay over the UN veto.
"The SNC holds Russia and China accountable for the escalation of killings and genocide, and considers this irresponsible step a licence for the Syrian regime to kill," it said in a statement.
In Libya, crowds of Syrians chanting anti-Russian slogans entered Moscow's Tripoli embassy and replaced the Russian flag with the new Syrian flag in protest while hundreds protested outside the Russian embassy in Beirut.
And Turkish police fired tear gas to disperse protesters seeking to storm the Syrian consulate in Istanbul.
Iran, however, welcomed the veto on the resolution condemning its ally Syria and accused the Security Council of attempting to interfere in the country's internal affairs
©AFP / Leon Neal
A protestor at an anti-Assad rally outside the Syrian embassy in London on Saturday
"The Security Council has become a tool for the West's bullying ... of other nations, and this time Russia and China stood up against it," said Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi.
Assad's troops shelled Homs overnight Friday, killing at least 260 civilians, the SNC said, while the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said about 100 women and children were among its toll of 237 dead.
The tolls could not be independently confirmed. Damascus denied responsibility, blaming the deaths on rebels seeking to swing the UN vote.
The UN resolution -- approved by 13 of the 15-member Security Council -- was proposed by European and Arab nations to give strong backing to an Arab League plan to end the crackdown.
On Sunday, League chief Nabil al-Arabi said the bloc would press on with mediation efforts to find a political solution and avoid foreign intervention in Syria.
Syrian government mouthpiece Tishrin called the veto "a catalyst" and said it would help accelerate reforms in the country.
Tunisia urged other Arab nations to follow its lead after it said on Saturday it was expelling Syria's ambassador and withdrawing its recognition of the Assad government.
The Syrian Observatory said at least 56 civilians, including five children, and 28 regular army troops were killed on Sunday, a day after 48 people were reported dead.
Volume
Stories, images, videos and graphics
Languages
English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Arabic
A range of products and services covering all mobile usage
Services and technical solutions:
- A mobile publishing platform: Design your mobile site according to your needs, get AFP mobile rich content and integrate your own feeds, customize your mobile site to your “look & feel” and optimize the display for all devices. This platform has been developed in partnership with MoMac
- AFP mobile applications for iPhone, Java, BlackBerry and Android, developed in-house and with our partners Webwag and Handmark, are available as white label products.
Content in text, photos, videos and graphics
- AFP Direct Pocket, AFP news wires in real time available 24/7.
- SMS / MMS, breaking world news headlines selected and edited by AFP editorial teams.
- Internet Journal, AFP’s key multimedia product covering more than ten topics : complete stories, photos and videos.
- Mobile Journal, a rich media product designed for mobile – shorter illustrated stories going straight to the point.
- Video galleries, AFP’s worldwide video coverage adapted to mobile
- Photo galleries, the best of AFP’s photo service adapted to mobile.
Some examples of our mobile products
United stage stunning fightback to draw at Chelsea
02/05 | 18:36 GMT
©AFP / Ian Kington
Manchester United's Javier Hernandez (L) scores a goal during their English Premier League football match against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in London. The match ended in 3-3.
©AFP / Ian Kington
Manchester United's Javier Hernandez (L) scores a goal
LONDON (AFP) - Manchester United staged a stunning fightback from three goals down as Javier Hernandez's late equaliser rescued a dramatic 3-3 draw against Chelsea in one of the games of the season at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
Sir Alex Ferguson's team seemed to be heading for a heavy defeat as an own goal from United defender Jonny Evans gave Chelsea the lead late in the first half before Juan Mata and David Luiz added further goals for the Blues soon after the interval.
But Wayne Rooney finally sparked United into life with two penalties midway through the second half and the champions' frenzied pressure was rewarded when Mexican striker Hernandez headed home from a Ryan Giggs cross with six minutes left.
The draw leaves second-placed United two points behind leaders Manchester City, but the manner of their remarkable revival should provide a massive confidence boost as they try to overhaul their local rivals.
"It was a terrible start after half-time and it's not easy to come back from three down. It was a massive effort from our players," Ferguson said.
"Once we got over the goals after half-time we played really well. I was pleased with the players. We were by far the better team.
"For the neutral it was a great game but I thought it was two points dropped because we played so well."
Chelsea boss Villas-Boas added: "Of course it feels like a defeat. It isn't easy to take. It's a massive recovery from United.
It's a disappointment for us. We had it in our hands and let it slip.
©AFP / Ian Kington
Chelsea's Fernando Torres (L) fights for the ball with Manchester United's Michael Carrick
"There were some strange decisions against us. The second penalty was very unlucky. I don't know if Howard Webb was trying to compensate for something."
Chelsea forward Daniel Sturridge was the catalyst as his side took the lead in the 36th minute. His neat piece of skill took him past Patrice Evra on the left side of the United penalty area and he drove in a low cross that clipped David de Gea's foot before deflecting off Evans into the unguarded goal.
United, whose last league win at Stamford Bridge came 10 years ago, were further behind just 30 seconds after half-time when Fernando Torres whipped a cross to the far post for Spanish winger Mata to lash a sublime volley past de Gea.
Chelsea struck again five minutes later when Mata's teasing free-kick was met by Luiz and the Brazilian defender's header glanced in off Rio Ferdinand's shoulder.
Rooney gave United a lifeline when he drove home a penalty after Howard Webb ruled that Sturridge's 58th minute challenge on Evra was worthy of a spot-kick.
And England striker Rooney struck from the spot again 11 minutes later when Danny Welbeck tumbled over Branislav Ivanovic's out-stretched leg.
Suddenly United were rampant and Hernandez came off the bench to cap their comeback with a clinical close-range header from Giggs' cross in the 84th minute.
Earlier on Sunday, Senegal striker Papiss Demba Cisse enjoyed a dream debut for Newcastle as his second-half strike secured a 2-1 win against Aston Villa at St James' Park.
Alan Pardew's side took the lead through Cisse's compatriot Demba Ba, who marked his return from African Nations Cup duty with his 16th goal of the season in the 30th minute.
Robbie Keane, on loan from LA Galaxy, equalised for Villa deep into first half stoppage-time.
Cisse, who was only available due to Senegal's earlier than expected exit from the African Nations Cup, had come on as a first half replacement for the injured Leon Best.
©AFP
Aston Villa's Alan Hutton (L) clashes with Newcastle United's Papiss Cisse
He bagged the winner in his first appearance since his £10 million transfer from German club Freiburg with a powerful finish past Shay Given in the 71st minute.
The Magpies climbed above Arsenal into fifth place, one point behind fourth placed Chelsea, thanks to Cisse's heroics.
"I will remember this day because of the goal and I will work hard to get many more days like this," Cisse said.
"I didn't even think that it was a beautiful goal, I was just happy to see the ball cross the line."
Pardew added: "You need great players to turn games and it's a real bonus that Cisse got a goal on his debut.
"We've got dangerous strikers all over the place, we've got real firepower here."
Sports
United stage stunning fightback to draw at ...Egypt clashes rage into fourth day
02/05 | 17:25 GMT
©AFP
Protesters and police fought pitched battles at security headquarters in Cairo as deadly clashes raged into a fourth day and the interior minister leapt to the defence of his reviled forces. Duration: 00:51.
©AFP
Protesters and police fought pitched battles at security headquarters in Cairo as deadly clashes raged into a fourth day and the interior minister leapt to the defence of his reviled forces. Duration: 00:51.
Video Gallery
Egypt clashes rage into fourth ...Book shows Chinese laureate's struggles with West
02/05 | 18:07 GMT
©AFP/Scanpix/File / Heiko Junge
Empty chair with a diploma and medal that should have been awarded to this year's Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo, are seen at Oslo City Hall, in 2010. Liu has been hailed as a bold champion of democracy, but a new compilation of his writings shows him also to be deeply introspective and doubtful of the West's model.
©AFP/Scanpix/File / Heiko Junge
Liu Xiaobo has been in forced silence despite winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Chinese Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo has been hailed as a bold champion of democracy, but a new compilation of his writings shows him also to be deeply introspective and doubtful of the West's model.
Liu has been in forced silence despite winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010. Chinese authorities sentenced him the previous year for subversion for spearheading Charter 08, a major petition for political reform.
In a bid to offer a fuller picture of his thought, a new book -- published in English as "No Enemies, No Hatred" by Harvard University Press -- collects not only Charter 08 but also years of essays and poetry by Liu.
In one defining experience, the now 56-year-old writer explained in 1989 of a visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and how he was "struck with how superficial my thinking was."
"I suddenly realized how insignificant the China issues I have been wrestling with are, if one measures them in terms of true spiritual creativity," Liu wrote in 1989, on the eve of Beijing's crackdown on pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square.
"My tendency to idealize Western civilization arises from my nationalistic desire to use the West in order to reform China," Liu wrote.
Liu was also critical of the West's views of China. While welcoming those who seek academic or spiritual pursuits in China, Liu said that most Westerners "still maintain deep-rooted feelings of superiority toward non-Western people."
©AFP/File / Mike Clarke
Liu Xiaobo's works are banned in China
Two decades before he won the Nobel Peace Prize, Liu dismissed Westerners who praised him as a "rebel."
"When I hear such praise, it makes me feel as if I am not really a visitor from China so much as a person who has been stuffed into a leather case and loaded onto an airplane to be displayed, as and where my hosts see fit, as a novel object from a distant land," he wrote.
Yet Liu struck a different tone after the 2008 election of President Barack Obama, saying that Americans' ability to vote into power a member of a historically disadvantaged minority group showed "the greatness of the American system."
In one of his most provocative essays, Liu wrote that China should follow the lessons of Obama's election and appoint the Dalai Lama -- Tibet's exiled spiritual leader who is constantly criticized by Beijing -- as China's president.
Thanks to the Dalai Lama's global prestige, his appointment could "do a huge amount to improve China's international image" and serve as a model for resolving other disputes such as Taiwan, Liu wrote.
"The dawn of true political reform in China can arrive as soon as Chinese authorities sit down at the negotiating table with the Dalai Lama," Liu wrote.
Perry Link, a scholar of Chinese literature and one of the book's editors, said that Liu was certainly aware that his proposal was far-fetched but that Liu employed the idea to draw attention to China's treatment of minorities.
But Link believed that Liu was writing from the heart and not using a literary device in other writings in which he expressed deep disappointment over his own role in the Tiananmen Square uprising.
Liu returned to China from New York during the protests and encouraged students to flee the military offensive that left hundreds if not thousands dead. Liu received his first prison sentence over his role in the protests.
In a poem in homage to a 17-year-old who died at Tiananmen, Liu wrote: "In the face of your death, living is a crime, and writing this poem for you is an even greater shame."
"I am not worthy to write poetry for you. Your 17 years are more precious than any work of words or hands," Liu wrote.
Liu's works are banned in China. Link, a professor at the University of California-Riverside, said that some Chinese readers who discover Liu's writing might see his approach as "wimpiness" as younger Chinese prefer triumphalism.
But Link said that other Chinese readers might be impressed by the modesty of the leading dissident.
Many Tiananmen Square leaders "have come in for criticism as being too posing and trying to be heroes too much," Link said. "He's doing the exact opposite."
People
Book shows Chinese laureate's struggles with ...Egypt clashes rage into fourth day
02/05 | 17:59 GMT
©AFP / Mahmud Hams
A protester throws back a teargas canister during clashes with riot police near the interior ministry in Cairo. Protesters and police fought pitched battles on Sunday at security headquarters in Cairo as deadly clashes raged into a fourth day and the interior minister leapt to the defence of his reviled forces.
©AFP / Mahmud Hams
A protester throws a teargas canister during clashes with riot police near the interior ministry in Cairo
CAIRO (AFP) - Protesters and police engaged in sporadic clashes on Sunday at security headquarters in Cairo as violence raged into a fourth day and the interior minister leapt to the defence of his reviled forces.
The fighting was sparked by the perceived failure of Egypt's military rulers and police to prevent football-linked violence following a match in the northern city of Port Said on Wednesday that left 74 people dead.
Clashes have been fuelled by police action, including the use of tear gas and birdshot, against protesters, with the health ministry reporting at least 12 people killed in Cairo and Suez in the backlash since Thursday.
Hundreds of riot police on Sunday blocked roads leading to the interior ministry headquarters in the centre of the capital, facing down youths throwing rocks and petrol bombs.
Police erected several concrete block walls on the roads leading to the ministry, which has become the nerve centre of the skirmishes, while entrenching themselves behind coils of barbed wire.
"There is an insistance (by protesters) on storming the interior ministry and implementing a plot," said Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim, whose predecessor was sacked in a cabinet shuffle in November following similar clashes.
©AFP / Mahmud Hams
Clashes have been fuelled by police action, including the use of tear gas and birdshot, against protesters
Ibrahim said police did not want to harm any "revolutionaries" among the protesters, but were prepared to confront others "who want to ruin the country."
Police earlier moved on protester positions in the rock-strewn streets, firing birdshot and detained medics at a field hospital but later released them, a doctor, Mustafa Nabil, told AFP.
The protesters denied they intended to storm the ministry, several hundred metres (yards) from Tahrir Square, the epicentre of the uprising that overthrew president Hosni Mubarak a year ago but left the military in charge.
"My heart burned at what happened in Port Said, and we all know that the police are responsible," said protester Ahmed Farah.
"We don't want to storm the ministry. We are protesting here because this is the police headquarters."
The Port Said violence has been blamed by protesters and several commentators on ex-members of the Mubarak regime, including his sons Alaa and Gamal who are detained in Torah jail outside Cairo on corruption charges.
©AFPTV
Egypt clashes rage into fourth day. Duration: 00:51
The interior ministry said on Sunday that it was going to split the officials, who include former ministers and security chiefs, and place them in five different prisons "in response to demands by protesters."
A medical wing was also being set up in Torah to eventually receive Mubarak, who is now held in a military hospital and facing trial on charges of involvement in the killing of protesters during last year's revolt.
The latest clashes come amid a spike in tensions between activists and the ruling military, which blames the unrest on a foreign plot.
Judicial sources told AFP that 44 people including 19 Americans and other foreigners working for aid organisations have been referred to Cairo's criminal court over alleged illegal funding of their groups.
The suspects 44 are accused of "setting up branches of international organisations in Egypt without a licence from the Egyptian government" and of "receiving illegal foreign funding."
The ruling military receives more than one billion dollars in US aid annually, but it has blamed foreigners for directing activists against it.
On Friday, marchers nationwide demanded the generals cede power immediately, amid charges the military was deliberately sowing chaos to justify its status atop the political ladder.
Many of the dead in Port Said were thought to have been Ultras, supporters of Cairo's main football club Al-Ahly, set upon by partisans of the local Al-Masry side.
The Ultras played a prominent role in last year's uprising, and commentators have fed speculation pro-Mubarak forces were behind the massacre, or at least complicit in it.
Ibrahim denied that former interior minister Habib al-Adly, on trial with Mubarak for the killings of protesters, still had influence.
©AFP
Security forces detain a press photographer during clashes outside of interior ministry in Cairo
"Adly is in jail now and has no followers in the ministry," he said.
The military, headed by Mubarak's defence minister of two decades Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, has pledged to hand over full powers to civilian rule when a president is elected by the end of June.
Its opponents believe the military will hold on to power.
The military's increasingly unpopular rule has been challenged by several bloody protests, in which dozens of people were killed between October and December, amid an increase in lawlessness and an economic downturn.
Also Sunday, saboteurs blew up a pipeline in the Sinai Peninsula that supplies Israel with gas, the 12th such attack in a year.
The attack came the day after the death in prison of an Islamist leader suspected of leading a militant group responsible for previous attacks on the pipeline and on police stations across Sinai.
Interior ministry officials said Mohammed Eid al-Taihi died from a "drop in blood circulation" and forensic doctors detected no signs of torture.
