learning curve in my career which has only just begun
and as my mother says when one door closes gate opens up
ferrara is in his first head coaching job having previously been the youth team
coach at juventus and having helped marcello lippi in the italy set up
he took over from the sacked claudio ranieri two games before the end of last
season and began life at the juventus helm with six straight league wins
however things have steadily gone sour since then and juve are now looking over
their shoulders at teams such as napoli and as roma coached by ranieri as
they bid to hold onto top four spot
the word in italy is that ferrara days are numbered but it is well known that
juve are hard up given that they are in the process of building new stadium
the choice of ferrara when ranieri was fired was considered to be partly an
economic one given that he was already on the payroll
and with rumours from russia suggesting that guus hiddink has been told he can
leave the national team job if he wants ferrara openly admits that he could
soon be sacked although he says the uncertainty is not unsettling him
that difficult question the club is making its analyses but it never
good idea to rush things he added
players with strong characters don worry about their coach position
think they re sure that their coach knows what he doing and and that we can
get out of this situation
ferrara pre match press conference in which he spoke little about napoli or
the match was delayed by two hours due to meeting held by directors jean
claude blanc roberto bettega and alessio secco with the squad for just that
length of time
but ferrara passed that off as nothing more than confidence exercise
it was demonstration by the club that they want to understand and stay close
to the team and the coach he explained
however former juve general manager luciano moggi said ferrara has little chance
of holding onto his job
and he criticised the team for not signing world class forward
ve always said big team should do everything to sign number either
sign someone like maradona who can decide games on his own or you ll have big
problems tactically especially in midfield and attack
bank regulators eye deposit fee hike for risky schemes
washington jan afp
us regulators floated the idea tuesday of boosting deposit insurance fees for
banks that offer pay schemes that encourage excessive risk taking
the federal deposit insurance corporation fdic said it had begun taking
comments on the proposal which would provide additional funds to deal with bank
failures
broad consensus of academic studies agrees that poorly designed compensation
structures can misalign incentives and induce risk taking share those
concerns fdic chairman sheila bair said in statement
the recent crisis has shown that compensation practices that encourage
excessive risk can create significant losses in the financial system and the
deposit insurance fund
the initiative was the latest effort to clamp down on hefty executive pay and
bonus arrangements that some say pushed banks and other financial institutions
into risky positions that led to the global financial crisis
the fdic effort seeks comments on possible rule that would force the banks
with riskier pay programs to pay higher fees than those with better risk
management
the fdic is seeking to identify criteria upon which to base adjustments to the
risk based assessment system in order to correctly price and assess the risks
presented by certain compensation programs the agency said in its rulemaking
notice
this effort would not cap pay or bonuses but would focus on whether an
employee compensation system is likely to be successful in aligning employee
performance with the long term interests of the firm and its stakeholders
including the fdic the document said
the news came as major us banks are gearing up to announce annual bonuses for
top executives while bracing for political firestorm over compensation
practices that critics say fueled the global financial crisis
saudi forces oust yemen rebels from border village state tv
riyadh jan afp
saudi forces have retaken small border village occupied by yemeni shiite
rebels since fighting broke out between them in november the saudi deputy
defence minister said on tuesday
the infiltrators have been eliminated from al jabiri and the whole district
has been taken under control state owned al ekhbariya television quoted prince
khaled bin sultan as saying
prince khaled had said on december that the bulk of operations against the
yemeni rebels was over although al jabiri in the southern province of jizan
remained under rebel control
at the time he gave the rebels hours to surrender or face destruction but
the rebels mocked him saying they would withdraw in exchange for an end to
cross border attacks by the saudi military
saudi forces have achieved all their targets prince khaled said in visit to
the border area on tuesday
he said the rebels tried to advance from al jabiri during the past hours
but they were all annihilated
they have to go back to reason and realise that their capabilities remain
modest compared to saudi arabia he said
prince khaled told reporters the death toll of saudi soldiers has reached
with missing
on december he put the toll at with wounded and missing
saudi arabia announced operations against the yemeni rebels after accusing them
of killing saudi border guard and occupying two border villages on november
saudi jets began bombing rebel positions the following day
the saudi military undertook its largest mobilisation since the gulf war
following the minor border incursion by the huthis deploying fighter bombers
heavy artillery special forces and naval vessels against the rebels
we know very well that these are naive people who have been misled to revolt
against the legitimate authority in their country under different pretexts and
then were deceived again to point their guns at our territory prince khaled
said addressing the troops according to spa state news agency
the northern rebels were already locked in fierce confrontations with the yemeni
army since the government launched its operation scorched earth on august in
bid to snuff out five year uprising
the rebels are based mainly in the yemeni border region of saada
they have repeatedly accused saudi air forces of targeting their villages and
killing civilians but riyadh has insisted that its military operations were
confined to saudi territory
meanwhile the yemeni government has accused the zaidi rebels of being backed by
shiite iran charge they have always denied and for which no evidence has been
presented
in november the agency estimated that total of persons were displaced
as result of the conflict compared to in august
obama cabinet at biden matriarch funeral
wilmington delaware jan afp
us president barack obama led high powered cabinet delegation tuesday to the
funeral of vice president joe biden beloved mother who died last week at age
catherine eugenia jean finnegan biden passed away at the family home in the
small eastern state of delaware on friday surrounded by her family
joining obama on the short flight on air force one from andrews air force base
were first lady michelle obama and members of the cabinet plus house of
representatives speaker nancy pelosi
also reflecting biden years in washington and the grounding role in his
political life played by his mother the funeral guest list also included former
president bill clinton and string of lawmakers the white house said
after she died last week biden said his mother strength was immeasurable
at she was the center of our family and taught all of her children that
family is to be treasured loyalty is paramount and faith will guide you through
the tough times biden noted
she believed in us and because of that we believed in ourselves
the vice president frequently sprinkles his speeches with wisdom and wit he
attributes to his mother and late father who died in often focusing on
lessons he learned as young boy
when got knocked down by guys bigger than me she sent me back out and
demanded that bloody their nose so could walk down that street the next
day former senator biden said in his democratic national convention speech in
my mother creed is the american creed no one is better than you you are
everyone equal and everyone is equal to you
vatican backs citizenship for immigrants
vatican city jan afp
immigrants who integrate into their host country society should have the right
to earn citizenship the vatican said on tuesday
antonio maria veglio the head of the pope council on migration said
governments should not put obstacles in the way of immigrants who come to work
hard and try to blend in
the roman catholic church has always been on the side of immigrants he said
and wealthy countries should do more to welcome those in need
see no reason to put obstacles in the way of immigrants legitimate right
to citizenship veglio said in an interview with the italian monthly jesus
as for when and how it is clearly matter for each state to legislate on he
said
an immigrant with regular job who pays taxes respects the laws and
traditions of the country that has welcomed him learns the language and wants
to integrate into society has fulfilled all the conditions to aspire for
political and administrative life in the country that is his new homeland said
veglio who also supports giving immigrants the vote
he said he regretted the fact that many rich countries shut themselves off in
their comfortable fortresses which they defend at all costs and do not pay
enough attention to the needs of those outside the walls completely forgetting
the idea of solidarity
veglio said the church had always sought to defend the dignity of immigrants
particularly the weak and the feeble around the world
he was speaking ahead of the th world day of migrants to be celebrated
sunday
the event will come just week after more than immigrant workers fled the
southern italian town of rosarno following two nights of violence against
african farm workers
the italian bishops conference urged people to create more welcome climate
for immigrants and shun xenophobic leanings in the wake of the violence
bruno schettino an immigration expert with the conference said the unrest in
rosarno was born not of opposition to immigrants but of an explosion of social
problems
pope benedict xvi spoke out against the violence on sunday saying immigrants
had rights and should be respected
rio swelters in scorching summer sun
rio de janeiro jan afp
as much of europe and the united states shivers under one of the coldest winters
on record rio is basking in southern summer heatwave with brazilians flocking
to the beaches to cool off
temperatures have soared in the city to more than degrees celsius
fahrenheit although with the added humidity meteorologists said it felt more
like degrees fahrenheit on the streets
record high was recorded on sunday at pm in the praca maua area of
central rio de janeiro when the mercury soared to degrees the national
weather institute said
by monday the temperature was still at the highest across the latin
american country and the heatwave is set to continue until the arrival of
cold front accompanied by heavy rains at the end of the week
high pressure front and lack of winds were blanketing the eastern coastal
city preventing the heat which builds up during the day from escaping
explained meteorologist marcelo pinheiro
with many rio residents already on holiday the beaches including the famous
copacabana and ipanema have been packed transformed by sea of colorful
parasols others headed for the waterfalls of the tropical forests of tijuca
doctors have meanwhile warned the heat could lead to fall in blood pressure
and cause fainting spells
it as if you are in sauna to compensate for the heat the body sweats
that causes loss of sodium and potassium the best thing is to drink coconut
milk and isotonic drinks said hospital director carlos moraes
football mandaric charged with tax evasion
london jan afp
milan mandaric the former chairman of portsmouth was on tuesday charged with
two counts of tax evasion relating to his time in charge of the premier league
club
england crown prosecution service cps announced that mandaric now chairman
of leicester had been ordered to appear before city of westminster magistrates
court on february in connection with payment of dollars to another
person via bank account in monaco
mandaric was first informed of the impending charges last month at which point
his solicitors confirmed that they related to monies paid to former portsmouth
manager harry redknapp
mandaric and redknapp both deny any wrong doing mandaric solicitors have
indicated that they will call in tax experts to dispute the authorities
position that the payment was liable for tax and national insurance
the cps said in statement that there sufficient evidence that tax and
national insurance had been avoided and that it was in the public interest to
charge mr mandaric with two counts of cheating the public revenue
redknapp now the manager of tottenham was also informed last month that he
would face charges in relation to the payments and is awaiting date for
preliminary court hearing
peter storrie the chief executive of portsmouth is due back in court on
january to answer charges of tax evasion in connection with signing on fee
allegedly paid to midfielder amdy faye when he joined from french club auxerre
storrie continues to be employed by the club grappling with financial crisis
which has resulted in players and other staff having the payment of their
salaries delayed repeatedly this season
other clubs owed money for transfers by portsmouth have also complained of
payments being delayed and the premier league was on tuesday considering
transferring television revenues due to be paid to the club directly to the
creditors
as well as pursuing mandaric redknapp and storrie individually the uk tax
authorities are seeking to have portsmouth wound up because it does not believe
it will be able to recover tax national insurance and value added tax payments
they say they are owed by the club
petition for move that would effectively result in the club being declared
bankrupt was issued last month and court hearing on the issue is due in
february
us denies absurd claim of role in iran bombing
washington jan afp
the united states tuesday rejected as absurd an allegation by tehran that
washington had hand in bomb attack that killed an iranian nuclear scientist
charges of us involvement are absurd state department spokesman mark toner
said after iran foreign ministry accused us and israeli mercenaries of
being behind the bomb plot
white house deputy spokesman bill burton amplified us denials
those accusations are absurd saw that what the state department put out
today and it about right he said on air force one
massoud ali mohammadi particle physics professor at prestigious tehran
university died when bomb strapped to parked motorcycle was triggered by
remote control outside his home in northern tehran state media said
tehran foreign ministry spokesman ramin mehmanparast was quoted in iranian
media as seeing signs of evilness by the triangle of the zionist regime
america and their mercenaries in iran in this terrorist incident
he vowed iran would not be deterred from its nuclear efforts however
such terrorist acts and the physical elimination of the country nuclear
scientists will certainly not stop the scientific and technological process but
will speed it up he said
iran chief prosecutor also implicated us and israeli intelligence services in
the bombing that killed nuclear scientist massoud ali mohammadi
given the fact that massoud ali mohammadi was nuclear scientist the cia and
mossad services and agents most likely have had hand in it abbas jafari
dolatabadi told state media tuesday
us in position to win in afghanistan senator
washington jan afp
us led forces in afghanistan are in good position to win despite
worries that neighboring pakistan is not fully wed to battling islamist fighters
coming over its border us senators said tuesday
there feeling among our troops from top commander general stanley
mcchrystal to rank and file soldiers that we re in good position to win
said republican senator roger wicker
his comments came upon returning from trip to afghanistan and pakistan as part
of us congressional delegation led by republican senate minority leader mitch
mcconnell
the lawmakers met in pakistan with prime minister yousuf raza gilani and army
chief of staff ashfaq kayani and emerged from the talks unconvinced that the us
ally would take on afghan taliban fighters who had fled to its soil
the pakistan government is very much concerned about portion of the taliban
who are causing trouble in pakistan said republican senator mike crapo who
praised islamabad strong action against those fighters
but they are not yet don believe convinced that they should take action
across the board against all taliban particularly those afghan taliban who have
moved across for sanctuary said crapo
pakistan faces its own taliban insurgents and militants who have killed more
than people since july
but the afghan taliban who have moved across the border into pakistan have
as of this point not posed serious threat to pakistan they are minding their
manners if you will in pakistan and using it as sanctuary said crapo
the senator said the meetings with top pakistan officials had left open whether
they will and if so when they will and to what extent they will begin taking
action against the afghan taliban
teen lover in ireland crisis keeps head down
belfast jan afp
the young man whose affair with the first minister wife sparked political
storm in northern ireland is keeping his head down as if in the vain hope that
it will all just go away
kirk mccambley admitted last week to having an affair with year old iris
robinson when he was just causing scandal that forced her husband first
minister peter robinson to step aside monday for six weeks
since then however mccambley now has kept quiet and steered clear of
the riverside cafe in south belfast which was bankrolled by loans from two
developers secured by iris robinson on his behalf
her failure to declare to the authorities her role in the loans totalling
pounds euros dollars which mccambley has now largely repaid
has threatened her career as politican as well as her husband
peter robinson denied he knew of her financial dealings but stood aside to clear
his name and to try to contain the crisis which is exacerbating ongoing
tensions over the devolution of policing powers from london to belfast
despite the political ramifications the affair has caused mirth across the
province and many have taken up mccambley as something of hero
gay rights activists who abhorred iris robinson for her homophobic views
including condemning homosexuality as an abomination are now hailing the
young man who revealed her sinner side
matthew todd the editor of attitude britain best selling gay magazine said
he would love to see mccambley on the cover telling afp lot of gay people
are feeling grateful to him for exposing her
meanwhile radio stations across northern ireland have been inundated by
requests to play mrs robinson by folk duo simon and garfunkel and there is
an online campaign to get it to number one in the charts
the song was written for the film the graduate which is about
university graduate played by dustin hoffman being seduced by the much older
mrs robinson
more than people have also signed up to mccambley appreciation society
on social networking site facebook where members were planning mass trip to
the cafe he set up using iris robinson loans
there was no sign of the man himself at the lockkeeper inn by the river lagan
in south belfast tuesday and the staff refused to say where he was
located down by the water in picturesque setting popular with walkers the
cafe was bustling with customers including one couple who admitted they had
come to see the scene of the crime
it is unclear how long mccambley will keep his silence amid steady stream of
revelations the latest tuesday suggesting that he had been unnerved by iris
robinson attentions and faked serious illness to end their relationship
speaking to the bbc programme that broke the story of the loans last week
mccambley said he had known the politician from an early age as friend of
his father billy who ran butcher shop in east belfast
when his father died in early she made sure was ok obviously anyone
who has ever lost parent knows that it an incredibly hard time and she was
there to help he told the programme
iris robinson former political advisor selwyn black said his employer had
initially taken maternal role with mccambley however the relationship soon
developed into something more
it began completely innocently when gave support to someone following
family death regrettably the relationship later developed into brief
affair iris robinson admitted last week
four months after it ended in march she tried to take her own life
she blamed her behaviour on severe bouts of depression which altered my mood
and personality and quit politics for health reasons last month her husband
says she is now receiving acute psychiatric treatment in belfast
turkey demands apology from israel for envoy treatment
ankara jan afp
turkey summoned israel ambassador to ankara tuesday to demand an apology over
the treatment of its own envoy to tel aviv as row between the regional allies
over television drama series escalated
while israel media commended what it called the hazing of the turkish
ambassador on monday the deterioration in ties threatened to overshadow an
upcoming trip to ankara by defence minister ehud barak
israel ire had been sparked by last year broadcast of an episode of the
turkish espionage drama valley of the wolves which the foreign ministry said
depicted israel and jews as baby snatchers and war criminals
in the episode turkish secret agent storms an israeli diplomatic mission to
rescue turkish boy kidnapped by mossad and then brushes off accusations of war
crimes as hypocritical
israeli media highlighted the fact that israel deputy foreign minister danny
ayalon delivered his dressing down while seated in high chair while the
turkish ambassador ahmet celikkol was made to sit on low sofa
rather than summoning celikkol to the ministry as is the norm ayalon saw him in
his parliamentary office after making him wait in the corridor and telling staff
to remove the turkish flag and refreshments from the table
the important thing is that people see that he sitting low down and we re
high and that there is one flag israeli television aired ayalon telling
invited photographers and camera crews
in response turkey foreign ministry summoned the israeli ambassador to
ankara gabby levy for meeting to express its annoyance
the foreign ministry in ankara said it expected an explanation and apology for
the attitude towards our ambassador in tel aviv which fell foul of diplomacy
we invite the israeli foreign ministry to respect the rules of diplomatic
courtesy the statement said turkey expects steps to be taken to compensate
for the treatment of our ambassador
prime minister recep tayyip erdogan key actor in the bilateral tensions said
israeli attitudes offending turkey will always get response
the incident mirrored the deterioration in ties since israel devastating
offensive in gaza one year ago which triggered an outraged response from
erdogan at the time
barak who heads the centre left labour party is scheduled to hold talks with
his counterpart vecdi gonul president abdullah gul and foreign minister ahmet
davutoglu during visit which is due to begin on sunday
however israel liberal haaretz newspaper said that ultra nationalist foreign
minister avigdor lieberman sought to torpedo barak attempts to mend ties with
turkey which in the past has played key role in mediating israel indirect
talks with syria as well as with the hamas rulers of gaza
lieberman ministry said the drama series threatened jewish lives in turkey
and also rebuffed erdogan criticism of weekend air raid on gaza saying that
turkey is in no position to preach morality to israel
in an equally harsh response muslim majority turkey rejected the charges as
excessive statements made on domestic political concerns which we vehemently
condemn
suggestions that anti semitism is being fanned in turkey are completely
baseless foreign ministry statement said adding that erdogan criticism
is directed exclusively at israel unacceptable practices and policies in
gaza
the ministry recalled that jews fleeing the spanish inquisition in the th
century took refuge in the ottoman empire and said the long history of co
habitation between turks and jews is history of respect and tolerance
turkey has been israel main regional ally since when the two signed
military cooperation accord
us trade deficit widens on surging imports
washington jan afp
the us trade deficit widened in november to month high on surging imports
the government said tuesday as rising trade suggested the global economic
recovery was on track
the goods and services deficit for the penultimate month in jumped to
billion dollars from revised billion dollars in october as imports grew
faster than exports the commerce department said in report
the deficit surpassing the billion dollars forecast by most economists
reached its highest level since january
trade volume key indicator of economic growth has been on the rise since
late last spring with both exports and imports having returned to their levels
from the beginning of
in november us imports rose percent to billion dollars the highest
level since december compared with exports which were up percent to
billion dollars the highest since november
total us trade with the rest of the world showed an increase by percent
for the third consecutive month
the big news is continued and sustained growth in trade volume signaling
recovery both in the us and among major us trading partners said christopher
cornell an economist at moody economy com
but he cautioned that recovery was still in its early stages as exports would
have to grow another percent and imports another percent before they
return to their july peak
the united states posted its first growth percent in the third quarter
of last year after year of contractions stemming from financial crisis
fueled by an american home mortgage meltdown
in an indication that us consumers are slowing opening up their wallets the
november trade figures showed consumer goods imports were up for the third
consecutive month
the improvement in us consumption continues to influence the trade balance of
the country noted economist inna mufteeva from natixis
but some analysts said the rising imports were not sustainable especially as
consumer sentiment remained weak amid high unemployment despite growing
economy
core imports are still rebounding from their massively depressed post lehman
level and auto inventory building has helped too but they cannot keep rising
at this pace when domestic final demand is still so weak said ian shepherdson
chief us economist for high frequency economics
the collapse of top us investment bank lehman brothers in september was
part of peak of the us financial crisis that slammed the brakes on growth in
most of the world
according to the government trade figures the deficit widening was mostly
attributed to trade with european countries as well as with the opec oil cartel
members and africa
some two thirds of the deficit increase was due to the rise in oil prices
the politically sensitive goods deficit with china narrowed percent to
billion dollars in november from billion dollars in october
the deficit with canada the largest us trading partner narrowed percent
to billion dollars while the deficit with mexico the second largest export
destination widened percent to billion dollars
rugby union biarritz trio out of scotland six nations opener
biarritz france jan afp
france coach marc lievremont suffered triple injury blow ahead of the six
nations opener with scotland on tuesday as biarritz trio fabien barcella
dimitri yachvili and damien traille were ruled out
all three suffered left knee injuries during biarritz top defeat against
stade francais last saturday
barcella is set to be out for two months while traille considered key player
by lievremont and yachvili who is more of peripheral figure on the
international scene these days face six weeks on the sidelines
france who have tough home games against grand slam winners ireland and
england are away to scotland on february
incoming eu trade chief lashes out at china
brussels jan afp
europe incoming trade commissioner lashed out on tuesday at what he said was
deliberate policy by china of keeping its currency undervalued remarks likely
to spark furore with beijing
warning that china foreign exchange stance posed major problem for global
economic recovery belgium karel de gucht highlighted growing european union
unease on the issue
his criticism of china policy on the yuan and how it undercuts european
exporters came after confirmation hearing before lawmakers in brussels
de gucht has sparked controversy before with comments last month in which he
questioned the capacity of authorities in the democratic republic of congo
former belgian colony to make effective use of eu aid money
despite subsequent congolese ire he remained unrepentant during the three hour
european parliament session
it is obvious that the undervaluation of the chinese currency is major
problem de gucht said
it is clear to me that this is deliberate policy and we should address this
on all possible occasions bilaterally and also multilaterally
de gucht had already warned that china must show its responsibility and
address thorny questions such as currency misalignment
his comments come amid increasingly sour trade disputes with china over products
ranging from shoes to screws
chinese premier wen jiabao said last month that international pressure over
china currency policy was unfair with beijing insisting that it has done
more than its fair share to get the global economy back on its feet
the asian giant exports soared percent in december month to see it
overtake germany as the world biggest exporter showing how its economy has
got through the slump better than most
its trade partners especially the united states and eu have long complained
that weak currency gives china an unfair trade advantage at their expense
de gucht the current commissioner for development and humanitarian aid also
said primary focus would lie in breaking down us barriers behind the
border predominantly owing to differences in regulation
he dismissed french led calls to impose carbon tax at eu frontiers saying
such levy risked triggering an escalating trade war on global level
