Phoenix rejects utility regulator’s gas price plans
February 6, 2012
Phoenix Natural Gas has rejected proposed controls by the utility regulator which would have slashed the price of gas for big business in Northern Ireland. It means regulator Shane Lynch is likely to refer the matter to the Competition Commission. The proposals would slash how much money Phoenix is allowed to invest and spend on running its network. The savings…
Giants, Manning win ‘wild game’ in Super Bowl
February 6, 2012
INDIANAPOLIS — Despite winning a second Super Bowl in five seasons, the New York Giants should not be recognized as one of the greatest champions in NFL history. Sunday’s 21-17 victory over New England at Lucas Oil Stadium made the Giants the first 9-7 team in NFL history to win a Super Bowl. The Giants are the first champion to be outscored in the regular season, the first to surrender at least 400 points and the first to survive a four-game losing streak. So how will history judge the Super Bowl XLVI champions? History will show the Giants as the perfect example of a team that…
Protesters continue to battle police in Egypt
February 6, 2012
Clashes have continued in Egypt with police firing tear gas at demonstrators hurling rocks and broken tiles, as the protesters demanded swift presidential election and an early handover of power by the ruling military. Thousands of people protested outside the interior ministry in Cairo, the capital, accusing the ruling Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) of failing to prevent the deaths of 72 people during last week’s football violence. At least 12 people have been killed in clashes in Cairo and Suez since the match in the Mediterranean city of Port Said. “The demand is that the army step down politically and announce the start of nominations for the…
Sauli Niinisto wins Finnish Presidential Elections
February 6, 2012
Helsinki: A former finance minister won Finland’s Presidential Election on Sunday and will become the country’s first conservative head of state in five decades. Sauli Niinisto took 63 percent of the votes, compared to 37 percent for his rival, Greens candidate Pekka Haavisto, official results showed with 100 percent of ballots counted. The 63-year-old Niinisto will be the first president from the conservative National Coalition Party since 1956, and the first in 30 years from a party other than the centre-left Social Democrats. He will replace Tarja Halonen, Finland’s only female head of state and one of its most popular leaders, who has served the maximum two six-year terms. “The…
Priyanka Gandhi: Rahul Gandhi ‘not focussed’ on PM job
February 6, 2012
Priyanka Gandhi, Congress party’s star campaigner in Uttar Pradesh state assembly elections, says brother Rahul is not focussed on becoming PM. He is working to “bring in positive change in the state and not for his reputation”, she told reporters. The country had an “extremely good prime minister” and the…
Syrian army ‘steps up Homs offensive’
February 5, 2012
The Syrian army has stepped up its attacks on opposition fighters in Homs, activists and witnesses have said, a day after a UN Security Council resolution aimed at ending the bloodshed in Syria was blocked by Russia and China. Video received by Al Jazeera from opposition activists on Sunday showed the apparent devastation caused by a military offensive in the Bab Amr neighbourhood of Homs. Activists and witnesses said the army has been shelling the neighbourhood “indiscriminately” since Sunday moring. The video images appear to show people who have been shot and hit by shrapnel, including heavily injured young children. Speaking to Al Jazeera, Danny Abdul Dayem, a…
China defends Syria veto in People’s Daily article
February 5, 2012
State paper denies giving ‘free rein’ to Bashar al-Assad’s crackdown and points to UN mandate ‘abused’ in Libya by Nato Chinese UN ambassador Li Baodong vetoes the security council resolution calling for Bashar al-Assad to resign as president of Syria. Photograph: Xinhua China’s top Communist party newspaper has defended Beijing’s rejection of a UN resolution calling for Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad to resign. The People’s Daily said western campaigns in Libya, Afghanistan and Iraq showed the error of forced regime change….
Australian floods force thousands from their homes
February 5, 2012
* One dead in flooding, thousands evacuated * Coal industry largely unaffected by floods * Flooding causes damage to agriculture, property By Rebekah Kebede PERTH, Feb 6 (Reuters) – Thousands of Australians were forced from their homes on Monday because of floods that have risen to record levels in some areas and killed one person, and authorities issued warnings for more than a dozen rivers in Queensland and New South Wales states. Australia’s coal industry, which is concentrated in Queensland and New South Wales, was largely unaffected, easing concern about a repeat of last year’s disastrous floods that sent global coal prices soaring. But heavy rain is expected to take a toll on the…
New York Giants win Super Bowl over New England Patriots
February 5, 2012
FOR the second time in five seasons, Eli Manning led the New York Giants to Super Bowl success over the New England Patriots, nabbing a second MVP award in the process. Manning directed a nine-play, 88-yard drive that set up running back Ahmad Bradshaw for the game-winning touchdown with a minute to go, as the Giants triumphed 21-17 in Super Bowl XLVI. In strange scenes, New England, who led 17-15 at the time, seemingly allowed Bradshaw to rush untouched for a six-yard score. It left 1:04 on the clock, which the Patriots thought would be long enough to produce a game-winning play, rather than allowing the Giants to run down the clock and win the game for…
It’s risky to attack Iran: Obama
February 5, 2012
Washington: US President Barack Obama said on Sunday there were important risks to consider before any military strike against Iran and made clear he does not want to see more conflict in the oil-producing Gulf region. In a television interview, Obama also said he did not believe Tehran had the “intentions or capabilities” to attack the United States, playing down the threats from Tehran and saying he wanted a diplomatic end to the nuclear standoff. “Any kind of additional military activity inside the Gulf is disruptive and has a big effect on us. It could have a big effect on oil prices. We’ve still got troops in Afghanistan, which borders Iran. And so our preferred solution here is…
