spinter tyrimai pollsters for the baltic news portal delfi
the poll was conducted january on random sample of people
it found that kubilius approval rating had fallen by six percent over two
months november poll put the popularity of his government in office
since december at percent
with the government forced to slash spending on salaries and pensions to limit
the deficit as output was projected to shrink by percent in economic
hardship had taken toll said political analyst jurate novagrockiene
drastic and unpopular decisions are being made the government doesn
communicate with the people enough though even this wouldn help lot the
situation isn improving at all novagrockiene said
lithuania country of million people broke from the crumbling soviet bloc
in and joined the european union in
danish pm condemns far right anti muslim remarks
copenhagen jan afp
danish prime minister lars loekke rasmussen on tuesday condemned anti muslim
remarks made by far right member of parliament saying the stupid comments
risked inciting religious hatred
veteran lawmaker jesper langballe caused widespread anger when he wrote in
weekend newspaper article about these muslims who kill their daughters and who
shut their eyes when their daughters are raped by their uncles
but in bid to distance himself from the latest anti muslim controversy to rock
denmark rasmussen on tuesday told reporters he distanced himself from stupid
remarks like these that generalise incite hatred and contribute to polarising
society
while he said foreigners who want to live in denmark must respect fundamental
values such as gender equality and free speech rasmussen also said his
government was opposed to the stigmatisation of groups in society
danish society is open to people of foreign descent who are welcome and it
needs everyone he stressed
denmark has had tense relations with its muslim minority following the
publishing in of cartoons depicting the prophet mohammed that were
considered blasphemous and insulting by much of the islamic world
langballe said tuesday he had expressed himself ineptly and sarcastically in
the column for the berlingske tidende daily but defended his opinion on the
subject of honour crimes that do exist among muslim families
the danish people party deputy article was condemned by politicians across
the board
abroad people cannot understand that this kind of crazy statement would come
from party that supports the government said the head of the opposition
socialist people party villy soevndal
the danish people party is denmark third biggest party and has since
provided informal support to the minority liberal conservative coalition in
power
islam is denmark second biggest religion behind the evangelical lutheran
church with more than muslims in the scandinavian country representing
about percent of the population of million
rights court condemns turkey over media sanctions
strasbourg jan afp
europe top rights court on tuesday ruled turkey violated free speech laws when
it suspended five newspapers and sentenced magazine editor to prison over an
article criticising prison brutality
judges at the european court of human rights echr said the closure of the five
newspapers for three months by turkish court amounted to censorship
the strasbourg court awarded total of more than euros dollars
to the journalists who brought two cases against turkey
in the first case an istanbul court halted publication of five newspapers under
anti terrorism laws saying they were promoting propaganda from the banned
kurdistan workers party pkk
some journalists complained this violated their right to freedom of
expression under the european convention on human rights
the second case involved magazine which ran an article criticising security
operation in turkish prisons that left inmates dead along with graphic
cover picture showing prisoners who had been burned or beaten
in the wake of the article turkish authorities seized all copies of the
magazine featuring it and sentenced the owner and editor in chief aziz ozer to
six months imprisonment for impugning the moral authority of the state
the sentence was later commuted to fine
the echr ruled unanimously that turkey had violated the right to free speech in
both cases and said the practice of banning the future publication of entire
periodicals went beyond any necessary restraint and amounted to censorship
deficit numbers put fresh squeeze on obama
washington jan afp
new data on the gaping us budget deficit tuesday cranked up pressure on
president barack obama over the economy as he gears up to unveil partial
spending freeze in his state of the union address
obama will seek to use speech on wednesday to revive his hold on the voters who
sent him to washington in with mandate for change but many of whom now
appear disaffected after first year in office marked by economic blight
the president was tuesday rehearsing and tinkering with the prime time address
his best chance to reach over the heads of the media and online filter and talk
directly to the american people
late monday aides disclosed obama would propose three year freeze on
discretionary expenditures in bid to cut the deficit from move
critics say is inconsistent with the need to spend to kick start the economy
the congressional budget office added fuel to the turbulent political debate on
tuesday saying that the government budget deficit would come in at
trillion dollars in
obama curb on discretionary spending covers only non security projects and is
intended to save billion dollars over years senior administration
officials said
the fiscal straitjacket will lead to painful decisions on some government
programs beloved of democratic leaders and lawmakers in congress and will crimp
the spending plans of some of the members of obama own cabinet
it may also force obama to scale back the size of his ambitious reform agenda
just one year into his four year term of office
you can afford to do everything you might have always wanted to do said one
senior obama administration official
that the decision making process the president and the economic team went
through it the very same process american families have gone through for the
past several years
but prominent liberal members of obama core democratic base appeared dismayed
at news of the spending freeze
don think it makes much sense former president bill clinton labor
secretary robert reich told cnn adding that the government had to act as the
purchaser of last resort to kick start economic growth
obama also got lashing on monday night on msnbc from liberal commentator
rachel maddow who said on her show that obama was adopting the style
policies of former president herbert hoover that made the depression great
steny hoyer the top democrat in the house of representatives said that obama
move would force tough choices on congress
in the short term we need to build jobs and in the long term we need to
balance our budgets
the freeze will certainly give the congress the challenge to make choice on
priorities within those freeze numbers and think we will do that
the size of the deficit is one factor along with high unemployment and the
sluggish economic recovery from the worst financial crisis in decades that is
helping to drag down public perceptions of obama economic management
republicans have hammered obama for big spending programs including
billion dollar economic stimulus plan and dismiss administration claims that
the program saved or created two million jobs
they downplayed obama freeze saying it would not do enough to reign in wasted
spending by lawmakers and also pointed out in his campaign the president
had argued that such curbs never worked
americans aren happy with the administration approach said the top
senate republican mitch mcconnell
they tired of the spending debt and government takeovers they want
step by step approach to our problems not grand government experiments and
schemes
fierce republican assaults on obama agenda including his ambitious health
reform plan were one factor in the republican victory in massachusetts seat
last week that stripped away the democratic supermajority in the senate
on saturday obama offered support for bi partisan attempt in congress to
create fiscal task force intended to tackle the burgeoning deficit
the president has also made populist assaults on wall street and last week
traveled to an economic blackspot in ohio to show everyday americans that he
cares about their plight amid percent unemployment
asian economies seeing growth accelerate imf
washington jan afp
asia developing economies are seeing acceleration in led by an expected
percent growth rate by china the imf forecast tuesday as the region recovers
swiftly from global downturn
the international monetary fund allayed markets concerns about immediate risks
to china growth as beijing moved to tighten liquidity amid soaring inflation
and record high bank lending
in its world economic outlook update released tuesday the washington based fund
said asian developing economies were set to grow at an average percent this
year as well as in compared with percent in
china the traditional global growth driver was likely to post percent
growth this year the imf said raising by one percentage point its percent
forecast made in october
but the fund said growth in the world most populous nation could slow to
percent next year china economy expanded percent in
chinese gross domestic product broad measure of nation goods and services
output returned to double digit growth in the fourth quarter of at
percent chinese authorities said last week
that pace surpassed the government target of eight percent level that is
seen as crucial to foster job creation and stave off social unrest in china
urbanizing population of billion people
but rising inflation along with government clampdown on bank lending and hike
in borrowing costs has kept markets on edge in recent weeks amid fears that
chinese economic slowdown could dampen global recovery
jorg decressin head of the imf world economic studies division ruled out
immediate risks in china in media briefing after the report release
there is no serious market bubble risk he said
the fund said key emerging economies in asia are leading the global recovery
as the region became the first to rebound from global downturn stemming from
the worst financial crisis in decades
india is expected to join china in providing impetus to growth in asia this year
and in the imf said
india should post percent growth in it said revising upward by
percentage points its earlier forecast
in december indian finance minister pranab mukherjee gave his most bullish
outlook yet for the indian economy saying growth would be nearly percent in
the fiscal year to march
the world second most populous nation is also expected to grow percent
next year after managing percent last year according to imf projections
japan is poised to emerge with growth of percent in unchanged from
the last forecast after sharp percent contraction last year the imf
said adding that asia richest economy could accelerate to percent next
year
the fund also said that the southeast asian economies of indonesia malaysia
the philippines singapore and thailand were forecast to grow at slightly
better average of percent in from percent last year
asia growth forecast is above that for the world emerging and developing
economies of about six percent in following modest two percent last year
the imf sees more rapid output in for the world developing economies
stronger economic frameworks and swift policy responses have helped many
emerging economies to cushion the impact of the unprecedented external shock and
quickly re attract capital flow it said
asian economies seeing growth accelerate imf
washington jan afp
asia developing economies are seeing acceleration in led by an expected
percent growth rate by china the imf forecast tuesday as the region recovers
swiftly from global downturn
the international monetary fund allayed markets concerns about immediate risks
to china growth as beijing moved to tighten liquidity amid soaring inflation
and record high bank lending
in its world economic outlook update released tuesday the washington based fund
said asian developing economies were set to grow at an average percent this
year as well as in compared with percent in
china the traditional global growth driver was likely to post percent
growth this year the imf said raising by one percentage point its percent
forecast made in october
but the fund said growth in the world most populous nation could slow to
percent next year china economy expanded percent in
chinese gross domestic product broad measure of nation goods and services
output returned to double digit growth in the fourth quarter of at
percent chinese authorities said last week
that pace surpassed the government target of eight percent level that is
seen as crucial to foster job creation and stave off social unrest in china
urbanizing population of billion people
but rising inflation along with government clampdown on bank lending and hike
in borrowing costs has kept markets on edge in recent weeks amid fears that
chinese economic slowdown could dampen global recovery
jorg decressin head of the imf world economic studies division ruled out
immediate risks in china in media briefing after the report release
there is no serious market bubble risk he said
the fund said key emerging economies in asia are leading the global recovery
as the region became the first to rebound from global downturn stemming from
the worst financial crisis in decades
india is expected to join china in providing impetus to growth in asia this year
and in the imf said
india should post percent growth in it said revising upward by
percentage points its earlier forecast
in december indian finance minister pranab mukherjee gave his most bullish
outlook yet for the indian economy saying growth would be nearly percent in
the fiscal year to march
the world second most populous nation is also expected to grow percent
next year after managing percent last year according to imf projections
japan is poised to emerge with growth of percent in unchanged from
the last forecast after sharp percent contraction last year the imf
said adding that asia richest economy could accelerate to percent next
year
the fund also said that the southeast asian economies of indonesia malaysia
the philippines singapore and thailand were forecast to grow at slightly
better average of percent in from percent last year
asia growth forecast is above that for the world emerging and developing
economies of about six percent in following modest two percent last year
the imf sees more rapid output in for the world developing economies
stronger economic frameworks and swift policy responses have helped many
emerging economies to cushion the impact of the unprecedented external shock and
quickly re attract capital flow it said
nato and russia relaunch military cooperation
brussels jan afp
nato and russia relaunched military ties tuesday with senior officers meeting
for the first time since the high level talks were frozen over moscow war with
georgia in spokesman said
in first contact russian chief of staff nikolai makarov held talks with the
head of the alliance military committee admiral giampaolo di paola before
joining the full committee for so called nato russia council
the council is the highest level forum for relations between the two
the focus of the talks was cooperation on afghanistan di paola spokesman
said
nato and russia have already reached agreement on the transit of non lethal
supplies across russian territory by rail for the operation in afghanistan
where nato is struggling to hold off taliban led insurgency
the two are also discussing whether to broaden that accord to include other
kinds of equipment including weaponry and they are trying to finalise
separate air transit agreement
on december nato and russian foreign ministers announced their intention to
relaunch relations including military ties which have also been strained over
missile defence arms pacts and the recognition of kosovo
ahead of the nato russia council the member military alliance held talks
with ukraine whose outgoing government aspires to join nato but whose public is
opposed
despite not being member ukraine is major contributor to nato military
missions
technology blog techcrunch hacked
washington jan afp
techcrunch leading silicon valley technology blog was attacked by hackers
overnight it said tuesday
techcrunch in blog post said it was hacked around pm on monday
gmt on tuesday came back online around an hour later but went down once
again
it said the site was back up and stable around am gmt
techcrunch said the site was redirected by the hackers
according to web security firm sophos the technology blog was linked during the
attack to site containing links to adult and pirated material
swiss leader meets chinese amid uighur tension
geneva jan afp
the swiss president was to meet top chinese official for trade talks on
tuesday as beijing put pressure on bern to refuse asylum to two chinese uighurs
who had been detained in guantanamo bay
the agenda for the talks focuses on proposed chinese swiss free trade
agreement but the swiss president doris leuthard has not ruled out discussing
the uighurs case
swiss foreign minister micheline calmy rey will also take part in the meeting
with chinese deputy prime minister li keqiang officials said
beijing warned bern this month that relations could be affected if it takes in
the detainees whom it said it wanted back in china the uighurs are an ethnic
group predominantly found in china restive xinjiang province
suspected terrorists with chinese nationality should be repatriated to china
whatever their ethnicity beijing said
the united states is trying to close the controversial guantanamo prison camp in
cuba where it sent suspects in its war on terror and is seeking countries
willing to accept its inmates
swiss parliamentary commission opposed asylum for the pair who are brothers
two weeks ago
the brothers were among uighurs living in afghanistan when the us led
coalition bombing campaign began there in october
they fled to the mountains but were turned over to pakistani authorities who
then handed them to the united states
the men lawyer elizabeth gilson said they were not terrorists but poor men
detained in error
bahtiyar mahnut the younger of the pair went to afghanistan to find better
life gilson said and his brother arkin went to bring him home
hard labor for haiti amputee mothers
port au prince jan afp
when the screams of women giving birth die down you can hear the subdued cries
of those babies who made it alive into the chaotic post quake suffering of port
au prince general hospital
the women lie atop mattresses on gravel in the sweltering heat of tents erected
in the hospital courtyard some have limbs amputated others pelvic fractures
in haiti the joy of parenthood must wait sometimes forever
women give birth after being pulled from the rubble their legs or arms
amputated some have deep wounds dr jean herby lafrance cuban trained
haitian doctor who flew in with group of cuban medics last week tells afp
before the january quake thought to have killed people the
impoverished caribbean nation had the highest rate of maternal mortality in the
western hemisphere deaths per births
fifteen percent of births involved hemorrhaging or other complications
requiring operations according to the united nations population fund unfpa
with an estimated pregnant women among haiti affected population
so far lafrance has delivered babies including five caesareans and two
premature births brought on by stress from the earthquake
we ve had eight women miscarry some three or four months pregnant says the
year old who has two children of his own at home in santiago de cuba
we have problems with equipment particularly for cesareans says lafrance
the situation for operations is very critical we don have the material but
we operate anyway it very difficult
when he arrived he says there were no doctors in maternity today with
volunteers arrived from around the world he says there are enough doctors but
almost everything else is lacking
we have nothing to prepare the women no compresses sometimes no anesthetic
and the operating tables are incomplete we need material he says
conditions in hospitals beyond the capital can be much worse
around women are expected to give birth in affected areas over the next
month with another expected miscarriages the unfpa jemilah mahmood
told afp
the unfpa is trying to get hygiene kits to women to help them deliver in safer
conditions
lafrance says there no comparison between hospitals in aid dependent haiti
and in cuba where us sanctions have for half century prevented medicine and
medical supplies getting in
in cuba the hospitals are good and the people very well organized the
birthing rooms in cuba are air conditioned it not like that here we can
practice what we learn we just try to save people with what we have
we can disinfect women properly but amazingly so far we ve had no postpartum
infections
haiti once posh golf course now tent city
port au prince jan afp
petionville manicured golf course once favorite haunt of haiti elite is
now massive tent city where tens of thousands left homeless by devastating
earthquake have taken refuge
these gently rolling hills once playground to port au prince most
privileged is now home to its most desperate after american troops here set up
one of the largest camps for survivors from the january quake
the posh petionville district on the outskirts of the haitian capital sustained
less damage than lower lying poor neighborhoods and the expansive golf course
was relatively unscathed making it perfect place to shelter thousands of
ordinary haitians for whom in normal times it would be off limits
soldiers from the nd airborne unit have set up camp poolside overlooking
breath taking view over the bay of port au prince
an rifle rested on garden table and bullet proof vests littered the
terrace underscoring the dramatic change in the golf course clientele
nearly two weeks after earthquake killed some the impeccably
appointed clubhouse no longer serves up whiskey sours and martinis but has
become makeshift apothecary dispensing drugs and medical supplies for doctors
and volunteers who tend the wounded and sick
volunteer with the disaster medical assistance team dmat stephen brickman
is the quartermaster for the stockhouse of vital supplies
you can call it full field pharmacy he declared standing proudly before
carefully labeled supply of anesthetics antibiotics and other medications
another major difference at the golf course from pre quake days is the constant
noise from squealing babies to the rumble of motors from half dozen humvees
used by the us soldiers
in one corner of the camp doctor examined baby ears one of the multitude
of patients she sees over the course of day
we can do everything here except surgery and radiology said lea collins
french speaking us interpreter for the medical unit who said her labors can
range from delivering baby to tending festering head wound
on another part of the green soldiers wearing sand colored tee shirts removed
kilogram sacks of wheat soy and bulgar from the backs of trucks
thousand bags all together said private first class trevor brook from
the us army nd airborne unit
volunteers with the catholic relief services meanwhile have erected metal posts
tethered with white rope to try to maintain order the crowd is also kept in
check by commands in creole blasted over enormous loud speakers
but efforts at crowd management as often as not fail particularly when food
supplies are distributed to the desperate masses
the crowd grew restless as helicopter replenishing supplies landed heralding
the impending distribution of fresh provisions two men came to blows as they
waited in line as the queue of thousands of homeless people grew
we haven been waiting too long said ruth jacce whose weary expression
belied her words
red cross volunteer punched her yellow ticket allowing her to exit the line
with her prize of half bag of wheat four portions of peas and cannister of
cooking oil
us stocks rebound on consumer confidence uptick
new york jan afp
us stocks rebounded tuesday erasing initial losses as investors welcomed
better than expected rise in consumer confidence as the economy struggles to
recover from recession
the dow jones industrial average rose points percent to
at gmt after modest rebound monday from the worst weekly losses in
months last week
the nasdaq composite climbed points percent to and the
broad market standard amp poor index advanced points percent
to
traders said that stocks recovered after private research firm the conference
board said its consumer confidence index rose to in january from an
upwardly revised in december
the january reading was higher than the expected by most economists and
marked the third consecutive monthly rise
wall street got off to downbeat start on fears global recovery could be
dampened by china lending squeeze and possible sovereign credit rating
downgrade for japan
after slightly rebounding yesterday from last week solid declines stocks
are back under some pressure as concerns about the impact of tighter lending in
china on the global economic recovery are resurfacing to pressure sentiment in
early trading analysts at charles schwab amp co said in clients note
additionally uneasiness regarding japan sovereign credit quality on the
heels of an outlook downgrade by standard amp poor and smaller than
expected increase in fourth quarter uk gdp are adding to the global economic
concerns they said
markets have been on edge since china announced last week that its economy
expanded at better than expected pace last year while inflation was soaring
and bank lending was at record high
beijing is keen to put the brakes on runaway lending that has led to fears of
asset bubbles and possible bad debt and recently raised the amount banks must
hold in reserve
the latest concern is sobering reminder that slowdown in china promises to
have ripple effects across trading markets considering its unchecked growth in
was the fuel for speculative trading activity said briefing com patrick
hare
the flight to safety is also being helped along by news that standard amp
poor has lowered its outlook on japan aa rating to negative from stable
due to concerns about the country deteriorating fiscal situation hare
said
the flood of corporate quarterly earnings reports continued with results
generally better than expected
in the tech space apple soared percent to dollars and texas
instruments edged up percent to dollars
chemicals giant dupont rose percent to dollars insurer travelers
leapt percent to dollars and consumer products firm johnson amp
johnson slipped percent to dollars
verizon tumbled percent to dollars the telecommunications group
posted loss due to costly restructuring
delta air lines skidded percent to dollars after reporting loss
bigger than the market expected
bonds traded mixed the yield on the year us treasury bond fell to
percent from percent monday while that on the year bond inched up to
percent from percent bond yields and prices move in opposite
directions
football greek club panionios fires coach ferrera
athens jan afp
greek first division club panionios athens announced tuesday that they had fired
belgian coach emilio ferrera after number of poor performances in the domestic
league
ferrera was hired by panionios in april and had contract until
the team announced that caretaker coach will be the club former general
manager akis mantzios
panionios lost over the weekend to asteras tripolis and are just six points away
from the relegation zone
us truck bus drivers banned from texting while driving
washington jan afp
the us government on tuesday banned truck and bus drivers from sending text
messages while at the wheel in further crackdown on distracted driving which
claims thousands of lives on us roads each year
directed the federal motor carrier safety administration fmcsa to use
its existing authority to prohibit commercial truck and bus drivers from texting
while driving using any handheld cellphone or other device that takes
driver attention off the road transportation secretary ray lahood said
today we sending strong message we don merely expect you to share
the road responsibly with other travelers we require you to do so he said
the ban takes effect immediately and affects inter state truck drivers and
commercial bus or van drivers who carry more than eight passengers
violating the ban could lead to civil or criminal penalties of up to
dollars euros the department of transportation dot said
drivers who send and receive text messages take their eyes off the road for an
average of seconds for every six seconds of texting according to the fmcsa
at miles per hour kilometers per hour this means that the driver is
traveling the length of football field including the end zones without
looking at the road the department of transportation said in statement
us football field including the end zones is around yards or
meters long
large truck traveling at miles per hour can take around yards
meters to stop
drivers who text while driving are more than times more likely to get in an
accident than non distracted drivers according to the dot
at the first ever summit on distracted driving held in washington last year
lahood said nearly people died in the united states in and more than
half million were injured because driver allowed their attention to stray
while at the wheel
many of the distracted drivers were using their mobile phones ipods or
blackberries he said
divers pull up antique vases from aegean seabed
athens jan afp
divers on marine digs in the aegean sea discovered cargo of antique ceramic
