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taiwan group vows referendum to further block us beef
taipei jan afp
leading taiwanese advocacy group on thursday vowed to press ahead with
preparations for referendum aimed at extending ban on us beef imports over
fears of mad cow disease
taiwan parliament on tuesday re imposed ban on certain us beef imports but
the consumers foundation said the referendum will call for taipei to re
negotiate the issue with washington to make the ban stricter still
there are health risks associated with us beef products and we urge the public
to boycott them before safety controls can be enhanced said the foundation
chairman hsieh
the foundation which was given the green light by the authorities on thursday
for the campaign needs to collect at least signatures within six months
in order to force referendum on the issue he said
tuesday decision to re impose ban on certain us beef imports triggered an
angry response from washington and fears the move could damage ties with the
island most important ally
lawmakers unanimously passed an amendment of the food sanitation act to ban
imports of cow organs minced beef and other items seen as high risk such as
spines and eyes
the move largely overturned protocol taiwan government reached with
washington late last year allowing such imports but local activists were not
happy as lawmakers did not include beef on the bone on the list of banned items
taiwan banned all us beef imports in december over concerns about mad cow
disease in taipei relaxed the rules to permit imports of boneless beef
some scientists believe that consumption of the brains and spinal cords of
animals infected with mad cow disease can lead to the potentially fatal
creutzfeldt jakob disease in humans
iceland referendum right move latvia
riga jan afp
latvia defended ally iceland on thursday over planned referendum on
controversial compensation deal for britain and the netherlands for the icesave
bank collapse
latvia foreign minister maris riekstins rejected the storm of criticism
sparked by icelandic president olafur ragnar grimsson decision to call
plebiscite
has such response been prompted by the fact that iceland is small country it
is hard to imagine that one would hear similar comments should the move have
been made by the president of france for example riekstins was quoted as
saying by the baltic news service
riekstins said it was tantamount to questioning democratic country right to
respect its own constitution
latvia baltic state of million people split from the crumbling soviet
union in iceland an atlantic island nation of was the first
country to recognise latvian independence that year and they have had close
ties ever since
riekstins spokeswoman noted the minister was not commenting on the politics
behind the referendum but simply underscoring the right to call one
grimsson announced on tuesday that he would call vote after refusing to sign
bill on compensation for the british and dutch governments widely opposed by
icelanders
oil prices drop after spike
london jan afp
oil prices fell on thursday on profit taking after freezing winter across the
northern hemisphere helped push them to month high points overnight analysts
said
new york main futures contract light sweet crude for february delivery shed
cents to dollars barrel and was on course to end lower for the first
time in ten sessions
the us benchmark oil rose to an intraday peak of dollars on wednesday its
highest price since october
brent north sea crude for february delivery fell cents to dollars in
london trading early on thursday
the cold spell sweeping across the northern hemisphere has helped the surge in
crude prices but investors on thursday were evaluating signs of weakening energy
demand in the us the world biggest oil user analysts said
weekly report by the us department of energy doe published on wednesday
showed that crude oil reserves rose by million barrels in the week ending
january instead of the expected drop of some barrels
stockpiles of distillates including heating fuel and diesel fell by
barrels in the week sharply below the average analyst forecast of
drop of million barrels amid cold weather across sections of the us
the inventory statistics were very bearish said mitsubishi corp analyst tony
nunan
much bigger draw was expected but it got lot colder after that report so
we could see much bigger draws in inventories next week
nunan added that geopolitical factors including terrorism concerns in yemen
following the attempted christmas day bombing of northwest airlines flight and
tensions between us and iran could send prices higher
think that lot of people realise that there is still big threat in yemen
which is right next to saudi arabia so that could be big geopolitical risk
issue
the nigerian who has been charged over botched christmas day bomb attack
onboard us airliner had met with radical us yemeni cleric anwar al awlaqi
top yemeni official said on thursday
oil prices began with bang on monday soaring by more than two dollars as
freezing temperatures spread
reports that russia had cut supplies to belarus also helped push prices higher
dealers said officials in belarus denied the reports however
yen drops on japanese finance minister comments
london jan afp
the yen fell thursday after japan new finance minister said he wanted the unit
to weaken while the euro lost ground to the dollar on the eve of crucial us
jobs data analysts said
the british pound dipped against the greenback as traders awaited the latest
interest rate decision from the bank of england
in london morning deals the dollar rose to yen from yen in new york
late on wednesday
the european single currency increased to yen from yen on
wednesday but also fell to dollars from dollars
japan newly appointed finance minister naoto kan said thursday at his first
press conference since replacing hirohisa fujii that it would be preferable if
the yen recent decline continued
kan who has little experience in financial matters said he would work with
the japanese central bank to steer the yen to an appropriate level in break
from his predecessor tolerance of stronger currency
many business leaders have said that yen exchange rate in the mid to the
dollar would be appropriate kan added it is rare for japanese cabinet
ministers to comment on specific currency levels
he said he would work hard to bring the yen to the appropriate level
considering the impact that foreign exchange has on the japanese economy
japan has not intervened in the currency market since march allowing the
yen to find its own level against the dollar but finance minister comments
on currencies can have big impact on trading
at his first press conference today kan said it would be nice for the yen to
weaken and that he will make efforts to keep yen level appropriate working
together with the bank of japan said barclays capital analyst paul robinson
his comments may mark shift of japanese foreign exchange policy towards
weakening the yen in our view
he added japan clearer stance further raises the possibility of
intervention if the yen strengthens again
markets are meanwhile eagerly awaiting us non farm payrolls nfp data due on
friday
the dollar gains on wednesday were limited after the release of minutes from
last month meeting of the federal open market committee dampened expectations
for higher us interest rates
strong jobs report could bolster the dollar because it would increase
speculation that the fed might hike interest rates sooner than expected from
their current record lows dealers said
but it might also spur demand for higher yielding currencies seen as well placed
to benefit from global economic recovery they added
later on thursday at gmt the bank of england is expected to announce it
is holding its key interest rate at record low percent amid hopes that
britain will soon exit deep and long lasting recession
in london on thursday the euro was changing hands at dollars against
dollars late on wednesday yen pounds
and swiss francs
the dollar stood at yen and swiss francs
the pound was at dollars
on the london bullion market the price of gold firmed to dollars an
ounce from dollars on wednesday
ukraine pays off december gas bill gazprom
kiev jan afp
ukraine has paid off its december gas bill the russian energy company gazprom
said thursday confirming statement made by ukraine national energy company
naftogaz day earlier
naftogaz has paid for december gas spokesman for gazprom sergei
kupryanov told afp
ukraine national energy company naftogaz told afp wednesday that it had
settled its bill following concerns that it faced serious difficulties meeting
january deadline
the company has settled the december bill for imported gas in full and in
time company spokesman valentin zemlyanski announced
relations between russia and ukraine over gas are followed closely by europe
last year dispute between the two former soviet republics on natural gas
prices led to cutoff of russian gas supplies to western europe and severe
shortages in some countries amidst freezing winter weather
quarter of the gas consumed in the european union comes from russia
percent of which passes through ukraine
somalia army chief escapes bomb attack
mogadishu jan afp
somalia military chief escaped roadside bomb attack thursday which killed at
least one soldier in the war torn capital mogadishu officials and witnesses
said
the bomb exploded as newly appointed military chief mohamed gele kahiye was
riding in his vehicle in southern mogasihu
the roadside bomb was targeting the somali military commander but he escaped
the attack one of his security guards was killed police spokesman abdulahi
hasan barise told press conference
the attack was planned by the violent terrorists who were trying to assassinate
the commander
the al qaeda inspired shebab militants claimed responsibility
the attack was part of efforts to eliminate the apostate commanders said
shebab commander who did not want to be named
we got information indicating that the apostate government is planning an
offensive against the holy warriors but with the help of allah we will destroy
their intentions he added
witness abdi elmi said several people were injured in the blast adding that
the government forces opened fire in all directions after the explosion
the shebab and its hezb al islam allies have carried out scores of deadly
attacks against the internationally backed somali transitional government and
the african union peacekeepers protecting it
sarkozy warns of threat from weak dollar
paris jan afp
french president nicolas sarkozy urged an end to the dollar predominance on
thursday warning that its weakness poses an unacceptable threat to european
competitiveness
the monetary disorder has become unacceptable said sarkozy who later this
month is due to address the major world economic forum in davos
the world is multipolar the monetary system must become multi monetary he
said an apparent call for other currencies to be promoted over the greenback
the dollar has weakened considerably against the euro in the past year as
optimism for economic recovery has grown making euro priced exports more
expensive and putting eurozone producers at competitive disadvantage
sarkozy had said on wednesday that the dollar weakness posed considerable
problem for french businesses and should be at the centre of international
debate
on thursday he added we cannot fight in europe to improve the competitiveness
of our businesses and have dollar that is losing half of its value in
speech to paris conference on new approaches to capitalism
sarkozy office has said he is due on january to give the inaugural speech
at the annual forum of world political and business leaders in the swiss resort
of davos becoming the first french president to attend the gathering
he took harsh stance during the crisis against freewheeling capitalist
practices and pushed hard for stricter line on bank regulation and tax
evasion taking vocal role among leaders of the grouping
he has said he planned to work to transform the international monetary system
when france takes over the leadership of the in
on thursday the euro edged down to dollars from an earlier level of
german industrial orders weak in november official
frankfurt jan afp
german industrial orders gained just percent in november from the previous
month provisional data released on thursday showed as europe biggest economy
climbs with difficulty out of recession
economists polled by dow jones newswires had expected gain of percent
following decline in october that was revised to percent from an initial
figure of percent
on two month basis meant to smooth out exceptional spikes in the data
industrial orders fell by percent in october and november from the august
september period the economy ministry said
the recovery process has lost momentum at the moment it added
germany is working to pull out of its worst post war recession and the economy
is forecast to have contracted by around five percent in
european stocks fall on eve of key us jobs data
london jan afp
europe leading stock markets dropped on thursday the eve of major us jobs
figures and as british investors awaited the bank of england latest decision
on interest rates
london benchmark ftse index fell by percent to stand at
points in late morning deals
frankfurt dax shed percent to points and in paris the cac
lost percent to
the dj euro stoxx index of top eurozone shares decreased percent in
value to reach points
global equity markets have struggled to build on recent gains ahead of friday
crucial non farm payroll figures in the us said etx capital senior trader
manoj ladwa
poor jobs data caused overnight jitters and london traders that make it to
their desk through the snow and ice will be appropriately cautious he added
in reference to the cold weather gripping britain
wall street stocks ended little changed wednesday as the market digested
disappointing report on us private sector jobs and federal reserve minutes
showing concern about high unemployment
the dow jones industrial average gained just percent to close at
points barely ending in positive territory after weak opening
the market had batch of economic news to weigh beginning with payrolls firm
adp report before the opening bell that showed the nonfarm private sector shed
jobs in december the smallest drop since march
most analysts had expected job losses for the key private sector report
ahead of the labor department nonfarm jobs data release friday which includes
government workers
the labor department is expected to report nonfarm payrolls fell by
after shedding in november and the unemployment rate holding at
percent
meanwhile the weak showing by european stock markets on thursday came after
london had closed day earlier at the highest level for months amid hopes of
strong economic recovery following the worst downturn since the
british investors were gearing up for the bank of england latest monetary
policy decisions which is due at gmt
the boe is widely expected to hold its key interest rate at record low
percent following two day meeting analysts said amid hopes that britain will
soon exit deep and long lasting recession
the boe is also forecast to announce that it will continue to pump out new money
totalling up to billion pounds billion euros billion dollars as
it seeks to boost lending by commercial banks
britain is the last major economy officially in recession but data due later
this month is expected to show that the nation returned to growth in the fourth
quarter of
broken down eurostar train out of channel tunnel spokesman
london jan afp
broken down eurostar train was towed out of the channel tunnel on thursday
after it was stranded in the undersea link between britain and france for around
two hours eurostar spokesman said
the train is out of the tunnel the spokesman told afp adding that it was
being towed to ashford southeast of london where passengers would be
transferred to another train to complete their journey
eu galileo satnav system to begin operations in
brussels jan afp
the eu much delayed satellite navigation network galileo will begin operations
in the european commission announced thursday as it awarded key contracts
to germany ohb system and france arianespace
ohb system beat out larger rival eads astrium to secure the contract to build
the first satellites for the system eu transport commissioner antonio tajani
announced in brussels with arianespace providing the launch services
this will allow the initial deployment and service provision of europe
satellite navigation system as of early tajani said
congo warlord defence case delayed for expert evidence
the hague jan afp
the defence of congolese warlord thomas lubanga charged with war crimes was
delayed in the international criminal court thursday for further expert
testimony on his alleged use of child troops
instead of starting to hear evidence in lubanga defence as the court had
announced would happen judge adrian fulford called radhika coomaraswamy
special representative of the un secretary general for children in armed
conflict
coomaraswamy told the court it was particularly abusive to use children as
soldiers because they had an under developed notion of death
the lack of the concept of death makes them fearless in battle often thinking
of it as game and rushing straight into the line of fire she said
for this reason it is particularly abusive to utilise children
lubanga went on trial year ago charged with war crimes for using children
under the age of to fight for his militia during the civil war in
the democratic republic of congo
he pleaded not guilty
prosecutors allege he was driven by desire to maintain and expand his control
over the congo eastern ituri region one of the world most lucrative gold
mining areas where rights groups say inter ethnic fighting has claimed
lives over the last decade
to this end lubanga militia allegedly abducted children as young as from
their homes schools and football fields and took them to military training
camps where they were beaten and drugged the girls among them were said to be
used as sex slaves
the child soldiers were allegedly deployed in combat between september and
august
the prosecution wound up its case on july after calling witnesses
including former child soldiers over days of hearings
after coomaraswamy evidence the court is set to hear from another expert and
three victims including two alleged former child soldiers before the start of
the defence case on an unannounced date
troops storm hotel end siege in indian kashmir
srinagar india jan afp
commandos stormed hotel in indian kashmir on thursday where two militants had
been holed up for nearly hours killing the gunmen and bringing an end to the
siege
the four storey hotel in srinagar the summer capital of the volatile himalayan
region was on fire before police announced both the pro pakistan extremists had
been killed in morning assault by security forces
the gunmen one pakistani and the other an indian kashmiri according to
police had taken refuge in the hotel on wednesday after throwing grenades and
opening fire in srinagar main market area
one police officer was killed in the attack and one bystander succumbed to his
injuries thursday
the operation as far as we are concerned is over kuldeep khuda the state
police chief told reporters at the scene
the indian administered section of muslim majority kashmir has been wracked by
separatist and anti india insurgency for two decades though violence has fallen
in recent years
divided into indian and pakistani controlled zones kashmir has been the trigger
for two wars between the south asian rivals since their independence from
britain in
pro pakistan militant group jamiat ul mujahedin claimed it was behind the
assault which left five police and four civilians injured police pointed the
finger at the pakistan based group lashkar toiba let
india blames let for the deadly attacks on mumbai in that claimed the lives
of people after highly organised rampage by islamist gunmen who
attacked two luxury hotels among other targets
overnight in srinagar police fired teargas to disperse scores of anti india and
pro militant youths who threw stones at security forces chanting kashmiri
mujahedeen we are with you and we want freedom
khuda said the police had cleared the building from the top floor before
encountering and killing the first militant early thursday
the other terrorist tried to set the building on fire and he tried to make
his escape but he was shot down he said
wednesday assault came as indian kashmir chief minister marked his first
year in office by pledging to slash the security force presence in the region if
violence continued to decline
incidents of unrest in kashmir were down by about percent last year
according to police figures and india responded by pulling out some
troops from the region
in the mid part of lal chowk the main city square that was under siege
was destroyed in fire that erupted during gunbattle between rebels and
security forces
the last such attack in the city was staged by two militants on paramilitary
camp in october the two gunmen were eventually killed while three soldiers
were wounded
joginder singh owner of another hotel in lal chowk said the latest assault
was nightmarish experience
for the whole night heavy fighting was on and and my staff were not able to
come out we thought we will die any moment said singh adding that one of his
employees was injured thursday morning by stray bullet
the police chief said there were intelligence reports that militants may
increase strikes in the state
there are inputs in that regard we are taking measures khuda said noting
that there was desperation among insurgents to launch attacks after last
year fall in violence
police estimate there are some militants active in the region down from
thousands in early when the uprising was at its peak
unrest in indian kashmir has left more than people dead since the
insurgency started two decades ago according to official figures
urgent at least killed in south sudan violence un
juba sudan jan afp
at least people have been killed and wounded in the remote troubled
wunchuei region of warrap state in southern sudan over the past week senior
un official said on thursday
football arsenal may swap fabregas for higuain report
madrid jan afp
arsenal may be ready to sell cesc fabregas to real madrid if they get
argentine star gonzalo higuain in return spanish sports newspaper said
thursday
arsenal coach arsene wenger is only willing to part with his captain if real
includes gonzalo higuain in the deal said marca which did not indicate its
sources
it said real would prefer to offer dutch midfielder rafael van der vaart to the
london club and would only release higuain for million euros million
less than they would pay the gunners for fabregas marca said
but competition for the year old spanish international from bitter rivals
barcelona may force their hand it said
in comments on the uefa website higuain said he would like to end his career at
real madrid the team and the city are my second home and it would be
fantastic
fabregas arsenal top scorer with goals is under contract with the gunners
until but his future has been the subject of much speculation this season
the player himself last month played down talk of move back to his native
spain saying that his future lies in the english premier league
fabregas began his career with barcelona but was signed by arsenal in september
the following month he became arsenal youngest ever player in any competition
when he appeared in league cup tie against rotherham aged just years and
days
alert
at least killed in south sudan tribal fighting un
football liverpool to sign atletico rodr guez report
madrid jan afp
liverpool are close to signing atletico madrid argentine striker maxi
rodriguez for million euros spanish sports newspaper said thursday
the player has already announced the news to his teammates said marca which
did not indicate its sources
it said the cash would help atletico to buy striker eduardo salvio from
argentine club lanus for eight million euros
atletico has been active in the mid season transfer window after poor start to
the season that has left it in th place in the primera liga points behind
leaders barcelona
spanish media has said the club is set to sign arsenal year old spanish
midfielder fran merida
it also close to buying portuguese midfielder tiago mendes from juventus
another sports newspaper as reported
afp gmt economics news advisory
paris jan afp
duty editor hugh dent
tel
stocks europe wrap
london
europe leading stock markets drop day before key us jobs data and as
british investors await the bank of england latest decision on interest rates
words gmt
britain economy bank rate forex money wrap
london
the bank of england is expected to hold its key interest rate at record low
percent amid hopes that britain will soon exit deep and long lasting
recession
words gmt decision due gmt
commodities energy oil price lead wrap
london
oil prices fall on profit taking after freezing winter across the northern
hemisphere helped push them to month high points overnight analysts say
words gmt
forex europe wrap
london
the yen comes under pressure after japan new finance minister says that he
wants the unit to weaken while the euro drops against the greenback on the eve
of crucial us jobs data
words gmt
japan politics economy ndlead
tokyo
japan new finance minister rattles financial markets with call for weaker
yen sending the currency sharply lower on speculation that he might order
official intervention
words gmt by hiroshi hiyama graphic picture
we have also moved japan politics economy kan profile
iceland economy finance bonds politics
reykjavik
iceland president says the country will not dodge its obligations over
compensation after the collapse of the icesave bank despite putting it to
referendum
words gmt
greece eu economy budget bonds
athens
european union officials scrutinise crisis action by greece to rescue its
economy from debt mountain as analysts warn that severe spending cuts must
come but could trigger deep recession
words gmt
germany economy banking it lead
berlin
german shoppers hit by year computer bug which has bitten million
bank cards fall back this week on popular and proven means of payment cash
words gmt by anne padieu picture
japan airline company distress jal lead
tokyo
japan airlines shares plunge again as fears mount that the debt ridden carrier
will file for bankruptcy despite reports it is set to get an injection of
