the lead security responsibility to afghan forces
he also underlined strong need for an improved coordination among our
provincial reconstruction teams prts in afghanistan
according to isaf internet site civilian military prts operate throughout
afghanistan many led by the united states but almost dozen run by other
nations to encourage reconstruction and project building
senior us official said the new appointee would play key role
all of us who have prts in the country need to have better opportunity to
learn from each other to learn what works and what doesn work and to adapt
our practices he told reporters
afghan government officials have complained that nations in charge of the prts
generally report back to their capitals rather than to kabul or some
centralised point
they also claim that money spent by the teams is difficult to account for with
some development projects being carried out at great expense and at cross
purposes with the needs of the government
sedwill urged kabul to increase its efforts
looking to the afghan government itself to develop more initiative and more
capability across the range of the government and the development agenda he
said alongside rasmussen
security is only really the first step he added we have to help those
authorities develop capability to deliver real governance strong and fair
justice jobs and other economic development out there on the ground
british foreign secretary david miliband congratulated sedwill on his
appointment and said coordination is an essential component to delivering
comprehensive strategy and ensuring success in afghanistan
us budget deficit to hit trillion dollars in cbo
washington jan afp
the us government budget deficit is expected to fall slightly to
trillion dollars in but accumulating deficits could double public debt to
trillion dollars in decade estimates by congress showed tuesday
the deficit for the fiscal year ended september was trillion
dollars the largest since the end of world war ii
the congressional budget office cbo warned tuesday that if legislation were
enacted in the next several months that either boosted spending or reduced
revenues the deficit could equal or exceed last year shortfall
it said that at percent of gross domestic product the estimated
deficit would be slightly smaller than the shortfall of percent of gdp
trillion dollars posted in
last year deficit was the largest as share of gdp the basic measure of
country overall economic output
the cbo cautioned that the federal fiscal outlook beyond this year was
daunting citing projected deficits averaging about billion dollars per
year over the period even as they were expected to fall
the accumulating deficits could double federal debt held by the public to
trillion dollars or percent of gdp it said
at the end of debt held by the public was trillion dollars or
percent of gdp
by the end of debt is projected to climb to trillion dollars it said
with such large increase in debt plus an expected increase in interest rates
as the economic recovery strengthens interest payments on the debt are poised
to skyrocket the cbo said
the us government closed its fiscal year with record trillion
dollar budget deficit and the white house forecasts an even bigger gap of
trillion dollars in fiscal
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 president barack obama economic
management
obama on wednesday will call for three year partial freeze on spending that
would save billion dollars over decade in bid to show he is serious
about cutting the huge deficit officials said
obama will unveil the plan to cap discretionary non security government spending
in his state of the union address showpiece event shaping up as chance to
recast his presidency amid fierce political storm
opel unions issue strike warning over factory closure
antwerp belgium jan afp
unions at general motors unit opel on tuesday warned widespread strike action is
possibility as they refused to accept planned belgian plant closure at the
troubled carmaker
strike is the last resort but management has to realise that we will
undertake all manner of industrial action and that can include strikes
said peter scherrer of the european metalworkers federation emf
there will be neither sacrifice nor concession by the unions by the workers at
other plants if the decision is not overturned scherrer said in antwerp after
meeting also assembling austrian british german hungarian polish and
spanish unions
the company announced last week its intention to close down an auto factory in
antwerp probably by the summer with the loss of jobs
that decision was accompanied by switch in production for line of sports
utility vehicles suvs to south korea against which unions have embarked on
legal action
scherrer said workers at other gm europe plants had agreed not to fill in for
antwerp workers during any stoppage
we make the gm management aware of long history of european solidarity in
common action read joint declaration by labour movements representing
workers at opel and vauxhall this will be exercised if necessary
the statement was signed by the european employee forum eef the emf and the
european unions and works councils represented at gm europe
opel unions issue strike warning over factory closure
antwerp belgium jan afp
unions at general motors unit opel on tuesday warned widespread strike action is
possibility as they refused to accept planned belgian plant closure at the
troubled carmaker
strike is the last resort but management has to realise that we will
undertake all manner of industrial action and that can include strikes
said peter scherrer of the european metalworkers federation emf
there will be neither sacrifice nor concession by the unions by the workers at
other plants if the decision is not overturned scherrer said in antwerp after
meeting also assembling austrian british german hungarian polish and
spanish unions
the company announced last week its intention to close down an auto factory in
antwerp probably by the summer with the loss of jobs
that decision was accompanied by switch in production for line of sports
utility vehicles suvs to south korea against which unions have embarked on
legal action
scherrer said workers at other gm europe plants had agreed not to fill in for
antwerp workers during any stoppage
we make the gm management aware of long history of european solidarity in
common action read joint declaration by labour movements representing
workers at opel and vauxhall this will be exercised if necessary
the statement was signed by the european employee forum eef the emf and the
european unions and works councils represented at gm europe
fed chief vote may be thursday or friday us senator
washington jan afp
the us senate may vote thursday or friday on confirming embattled federal
reserve chief ben bernanke to second term as the us central banker the
chamber top democratic lawmaker said tuesday
had conversation with the republican leader yesterday and it our goal to
finish the legislation on the debt limit quickly hopefully we can do that and
maybe even the bernanke nomination by thursday for friday said democratic
majority leader harry reid
ethiopia fears for vital airline after deadly crash
addis ababa jan afp
the crash of an ethiopian airlines jet in which people are feared dead
comes as blow to company considered the jewel of ethiopia industry and
tipped for exponential growth
the airline has launched an investigation and rescuers are sounding the
mediterranean into which the plane crashed on monday to find the boeing
black boxes and determine the cause of the accident
so far officials in lebanon and ethiopia have said that bad weather was the most
likely cause of the crash the ethiopian national carrier worst disaster in
almost years of existence
it is one unfortunate accident but we think and hope it will not have
negative impact on the good image of the company our flights are still fully
booked government spokesman bereket simon told afp
it is only one accident in long and successful lifespan that should not
hamper the reputation of the company the best in africa that has received many
awards he added
ethiopian airlines suffered two other deadly accidents over the past years
but one was hijacking which ended in crash when the plane ran out of fuel
while the other was caused by birds entering the engines upon takeoff
founded in by emperor haile selassie ethiopian airlines is seen as the
country flagship company one of its most recognisable brands
the largest african airline by number of passengers it serves international
destinations with fleet of aircraft it hopes to double with its latest
orders
in global industry still reeling from high fuel costs and the financial
crisis ethiopian airlines was hoping to cash in on africa growing air
transport market and competing with egyptair and kenya airways to prevail in the
region
you can really blame bird strike or terrorist attack on the airline the
pilot or the aircraft said industry expert aram gesar editorial director for
airguideonline
if you take the general public when they think of an african airline they
think of shabby old planes but in that context they are definitely one of the
better airlines he told afp
gesar predicted that ethiopian good reputation would suffer from the accident
regardless of the results of an investigation that could take months
the public perception will be affected whether it the airline fault or
not he said enumerating number of airlines that ran into financial
difficulties shortly after major crashes
but he pointed out that airline was well equipped to survive the accident
in ethiopian case they re in good situation to survive the crash as
company whatever the outcome of the investigation he said
ethiopian airlines does have good financial situation and the government is
behind it they have strong domestic and regional market he said adding
that the company had also developed lucrative cargo activity
on its website the company whose slogan is the new spirit of africa says
that it hopes to increase revenue to one billion dollars and to boost the number
of international destinations it serves to in
iraq projects reduced deficit despite higher spending
baghdad jan afp
iraq parliament adopted budget on tuesday that foresees percent
rise in spending to billion dollars but still projects reduced deficit
deputy speaker sheikh khaled al attiya said
investment expenditure amounts to billion dollars while the rest will be
taken up by running costs attiya told afp
the budget projects income at billion dollars leaving deficit of
billion dollars or percent of total expenditure compared with
percent last year
the deficit would be covered by the transfer of funds not used in by the
issuing of bonds by loans from the world bank and the international monetary
fund and by rise in oil prices attiya said
iraqi lawmakers also decided to slash by percent the salaries of the
country three presidents as well as those of the parliamentary speaker
ministers and mps
the money saved will be spent on healthcare programme and the treatment in
particular of those suffering from cancer
in budget spending was revised down three times to billion dollars
due to the fall in the price of oil which accounts for percent of government
revenues
last year budget was based on an oil price assumption of dollars per barrel
and an expected oil export rate of two million barrels per day
benchmark oil prices in london and new york are currently trading at between
and dollars per barrel
africa seeks to allay crime fears ahead of world cup
johannesburg jan afp
south african police minister nathi mthethwa on tuesday sought to allay fears
about crime in the country during the football world cup with the kick off less
than five months away
there is nothing friendly between us and the criminals he told news
conference we are not friends we are out to get them we will make them run
all the time that why we are always tightening the screws
we are preparing the country for any eventuality whether it is petty crime
whether it is big criminal activities he said we will be looking everywhere
under the stones everywhere in the air on the sea
with additional police recruited for the competition south africa has
one of the world largest police forces relative to its population national
police chief bheki cele said
in the uk policemen for about million people in france for
million and here for million cele said
mthethwa said strong police visibility during the world cup will deter criminals
from targetting the more than visitors expected during the month long
tournament
through our own experience where there is police visibility there is high
level of crime prevention we don have to engage in operations to combat
crime we just prevent it he said
south africa suffers an average of killings day making it one of the most
violent countries in the world world cup organisers have offered repeated
assurances about safety saying more than billion rand million dollars
has been spent on security but worries remain
urgent fed chief vote may be thursday or friday us senator
washington jan afp
the us senate may vote thursday or friday on confirming embattled federal
reserve chief ben bernanke to second term as the us central banker the
chamber top democratic lawmaker said tuesday
alert
top us senator vote on fed chief may come thursday or friday
football united swoop for smalling
manchester england jan afp
manchester united have agreed to sign central defender chris smalling from
premier league rivals fulham the english champions announced tuesday
premier league leaders united said the year old smalling would join up at old
trafford from the start of the season meaning he spend the rest of
the current campaign with london club fulham
manchester united has agreed terms for the transfer of chris smalling from
fulham club spokesman told united official website on tuesday
chris has agreed personal terms with the club and will join for the beginning
of the campaign he will remain at fulham until the end of the current
season
smalling had reportedly been the subject of interest from united title rivals
arsenal
ford to invest million dollars in us suv plant
washington jan afp
ford motor co said tuesday it was investing nearly million dollars to build
new version of its explorer sport utility vehicle at chicago facility
ford chief executive alan mulally made the announcement at the washington auto
show as the company simultaneously unveiled the plans in chicago for the next
generation explorer
the company plans to add some jobs and second production shift at its at
chicago assembly plant and increase production at the nearby chicago stamping
plant
the new explorer will redefine the suv for the modern era retaining the
capability customers want while delivering superb fuel efficiency comfort and
convenience said mark fields ford president of the americas
the new explorer will have at least percent better fuel economy than the
current model with car platform lighter materials and new six speed
transmission ford said
our chicago assembly plant with its excellent work force lean and flexible
manufacturing processes and proud history of making great ford vehicles is the
ideal choice for building the new explorer said jim tetreault ford vice
president for north america manufacturing
football organisers relaxed over egypt algeria security
benguela angola jan afp
africa cup of nations organisers insisted tuesday they do not expect repeat
of the violent clashes sparked by november world cup play off between egypt
and algeria when the bitter rivals face off again in thursday semi final
unconfirmed reports suggest algeria will have upwards of fans in benguela
while egypt are expecting around but the high costs of travel to angola as
well as stringent entry visa requirements may lead to far fewer fans turning up
those numbers are but fraction of the crowds that attended november play off
in kartoum and the final world cup qualifier before that in cairo
fifa security officer in charge of the benguela match venue abel mbengue
refused to volunteer any information as regards to any special measures being
put in place to ensure trouble free nations cup semi final between the fierce
north african rivals
it against protocol to publicly discuss the security for this match he told
afp at the terminus hotel in lobito
confederation of african football caf official who wished to remain
anonymous said they do not expect any problems on thursday and that adequate
arrangements had been put in place to prevent any injuries at the headline game
we do not envisage any problems as has been the case since the competition
started at our centre
there was security meeting on tuesday morning and if need be we would
tighten security but there is nothing to suggest that right now he said
benguela have hosted six first round matches as well as monday quarter final
between champions egypt and cameroon and for each of these games over
security personnel were deployed
the brand new ombaka stadium was filled to its capacity on the opening
day of action in group which featured egypt nigeria benin and mozambique
but attendance has slipped for subsequent matches
there have not be any major security breaches here bar the arrests of some
people who sneak in unauthorised cameras into the arena added the caf
official
we will of course separate both sets of fans inside the stadium to guard
against any problems
egypt international striker mohamed zidan has already stoked the fire of this
perennial rivalry between his country and algeria describing the game as war
and saying the pharaohs had to win it to confirm they deserve to be at the world
cup and not algeria
it will be matter of life and death in that game for both sides it will be
like war said the borussia dortmund star
for us it is chance to show the world that we deserve to go to the world cup
and if we beat them we will be able to watch the world cup with pride
egyptian officials though have tried to downplay the animosity between the two
teams inisting that this is only sport and nothing more
their algerian counterparts on the other hand flew into benguela tuesday
afternoon on chartered flight but refused to discuss the match with reporters
and preferred instead to head straight to their hotel in lobito about
kilometres outside benguela
algeria coach rabah saadane has sought to play down fears of any repetition of
the stormy and violent scenes that were triggered by their last three encounters
against egypt
in our three games against egypt everything passed off smoothly on the pitch
you have to stop talking about that the animosity between the two countries
he insisted
us senate may act on iran sanctions in weeks
washington jan afp
the us senate may take up legislation to slap sanctions on iran in the next few
weeks to pile pressure on tehran over its suspect nuclear program the
chamber top democrat said tuesday
senate democratic majority leader harry reid said that he and his republican
counterpart senator mitch mcconnell were committed to finding time to do
this and that lawmakers could act in the next few weeks
reid said the measure which would impose new unilateral us sanctions aimed at
choking off iran imports of gasoline will create new pressure on the iranian
regime and help stop iran from acquiring nuclear weapon
iran has rejected global calls to limit its nuclear program notably by freezing
uranium enrichment and denies western charges that what it calls civilian
energy drive masks push to acquire nuclear weapons
while iran is major producer of crude oil it lacks the capacity to refine the
product forcing it to import percent of its gasoline
if the senate approves the measure it would need to craft compromise version
with the house of representatives which approved its own version on december
the legislation which includes sanctions that can be slapped on foreign
companies with more than million dollars of investments in iran energy
sector was approved by the banking committee at end of october
iran top suppliers of refined petroleum are swiss companies vitol and
glencore dutch swiss trafigura france total britain british petroleum
and indian company reliance
austria sends troops to guard davos
vienna jan afp
the austrian army said tuesday it would send troops and aircraft as
part of the security measures for the th world economic forum starting in
davos switzerland this week
as in previous years austrian soldiers fighter jets and helicopters will help
guard the airspace above the provinces of tyrol and vorarlberg which are close
to the swiss ski resort
the estimated cost of the operation running from january until february
would be around euros dollars the army said in statement
switzerland is deploying about soldiers for the forum which is to be
attended by around people including heads of state and more than
ministers
using mobile radar stations the austrian team will detect any aircraft trying
to enter the airspace without permission intercept them and escort them back
out
in there were around such incidents at the forum whereas last year the
number was reduced to just four the army said
haiti mental hospital faces psychiatric aftershock
port au prince jan afp
the disturbed man shuffled as the metal door swung open his eyes wild with
fear he quickly patted the lump under his filthy brown blanket to make sure
whatever it was he held precious was safe
nearby another mental patient banged angrily on the steel gate of his tiny
cell dark closet barely wide enough to lie down in and daubed with scrawled
messages to jesus this month earthquake has deepened haiti mental scars
the haitian government mars and kline psychiatric centre was founded in
which might just be when its wards received their last coat of paint and was in
desperate situation even before the january catastrophe
now many of its patients have gone off to fend for themselves and its courtyard
has become makeshift refugee camp for local families left homeless by the
quake and for handful of wandering mental patients
none of the international aid that has begun to flow into port au prince had yet
made it to the hospital tuesday and staff fear new flow of traumatized people
seeking care after seeing their lives turned upside down
after the quake lot of people came to see us said clinic coordinator
vincent jean wihelde as he showed reporter around the decripit facility
he and his colleagues expect surge in cases of mental illness following the
traumatic quake which leveled much of the surrounding downtown district and may
have killed more than people in the capital alone
it was like waves on the ocean he recalled houses were collapsing around
us everyone was terrified cars were smashed it was catastrophic
looking around the hospital it is hard to believe people will find much comfort
here the halls are gloomy there is no electricity in port au prince and
the unpainted concrete floor is scattered with dust and debris
someone has voided their bowels on the floor of the eerily silent women wing
and in the treatment room few sachets of red pills lie scattered amid
paperwork and empty dispensing cups
nearby rusting metal chair is bolted to the floor
the remaining nine male patients live around an open courtyard in series of
small shared rooms some of their metal bunks have blankets but that is the
only concession to comfort
one man lies crumpled against bare wall sleeping so deeply that his inert
form recalls the corpses that until recently dotted the streets outside
another the man on the blanket is naked under his shirt taking more care to
protect whatever treasure lies under his bedding than he does his dignity
three of the patients are deemed aggressive and are detained in tiny black
walled cells someone has scrawled high on the wall in mixture of french and
english ruelle death row
no therapies were under way as afp visited but in less difficult times patients
have been encouraged to draw childlike pictures of rabbits and cartoon
characters and these are stuck to the wall at head height in the corridors
this is completely exceptional situation said jean wihelde but our
problems began long before the earthquake
the house was designed for boys and women but people kept coming and we
had people he explained adding that at any one time outpatients would
also visit for consultations and medication
behavioral difficulties hallucinations cocaine addiction people with
psychological disorders things like that he said they were terrified in the
quake they are mentally unwell and this made it worse
almost all of those staying in the hospital have melted back into the crowds of
destitute living rough in the streets since the quake but staff expect more to
come as the shock works its way through the population
and aside from the disturbed ordinary families are now bivouaced on the
grounds sleeping on the grass and in the carpark cooking meagre meals
one woman nursed tiny baby of less than six months dressed oddly in small
bright red father christmas santa claus costume complete with fake fur trim
we need tents medicine matresses food and water said jean wihelde as he
spoke behind him two security guards handcuffed grinning woman to
bannister rail leaving her to giggle and dance alone
urgent fiat calls two week production halt in italy
milan jan afp
italian automaker fiat on tuesday called two week production halt in italy
from february temporarily laying off some workers because of drop
in orders
the times they are changin dylan at the white house
washington jan afp
bob dylan the legendary singer songwriter who angry lyrics formed
soundtrack for the protest era will headline white house celebration
next month of music from the civil rights movement
starring alongside dylan will be singers natalie cole jennifer hudson
john legend and smokey robinson morgan freeman and queen latifah will emcee the
evening which will include readings of famous civil rights speeches
the concert on wednesday february to be broadcast day later on us public
television is the latest in series of musical evenings hosted by president
barack obama and first lady michelle obama
obama who frequently says he owes his position as america first black
president to the sacrifices of the civil rights generation will make brief
remarks at the concert
previous soirees have focused on classical music country music latin music and
jazz
it will not be the first time that dylan who once raged senators congressmen
please heed the call in his protest anthem the times they are changin has
been feted by the white house establishment
in president bill clinton made dylan kennedy center honoree for his
contribution to us culture
in an east room reception clinton thanked dylan for lifetime of stirring the
conscience of the nation
sms role in nigeria slaughter rights groups
lagos jan afp
text messages that urged people to murder and then burn their victims bodies
helped stoke inter religious violence in central nigeria that killed hundreds of
people last week police and rights activists said tuesday
rights activists have identified at least texts that circulated on mobile
phones in the central city of jos the epicentre of four days of muslim
christian clashes that authorities said killed people
the messages helped escalate the violence in jos in that some of them
instructed people on how to kill dispose of and burn bodies said leading
rights activist shehu sani
the texts were aimed at spreading rumours and inflaming tensions said sani
who heads coalition of nigerian civil and human rights groups called the
civil rights congress
one of the messages seen by afp read war war war stand up and defend
yourselves kill before they kill you slaughter before they slaughter you dump
them in pit before they dump you
in kuru karama former mining village and muslim enclave in christian
district south of jos attackers who killed more than villagers disposed of
the bodies systematically
corpses were stuffed in water wells pits and sewer and irrigation canals
while others were burnt community leaders and health workers have put the death
toll at more than
dozens of cars houses churches and mosques were set ablaze during the
violence which was condemned by muslim and christian leaders
another text message warned of alleged plans to attack christians and churches
on sunday saying brother please act in any way you can alert other
brethren
another urged christians to shun food sold by muslim hawkers alleging it could
be poisoned while another claimed political leaders were planning to cut water
supplies with the intent to dehydrate and weaken members of one faith
to lesser extent chats on social networks such as facebook also helped users
embolden their beliefs
different facebookers have taken stands in defence of their religion said
sani
leaders of both faiths told their followers to ignore the messages
police are trying to pinpoint the source of the messages police spokesman
mohammed lerama said
however tracing the origins of the messages may prove an uphill task given that
nigeria is yet to start registering phone sim cards
the communication infrastructure has played part in all major cases of recent
atrocities in africa in transmitting vile messages said chidi odinkalu of
the open society initiative citing the post election violence in kenya and
most recently the riots in uganda capital kampala
mandatory sim registration is set to kick off in nigeria in march according to
the nigerian communications commission ncc
we think it is relevant at this time not only have the security agencies
reported some breaches we feel it will assist to track users said ncc
spokesman reuben muoka
nigeria has more than million cellphone line subscribers or about one line
per every two people
