in germany investor sentiment fell for fourth month running in january as
europe biggest economy braced for burdensome and long recovery the zew
economic research institute said
the zew indicator of german economic sentiment fell more steeply than forecast
to an indexed points its lowest level since july
the dollar also got boost after top regulator said china would rein in
credit after explosive growth last year to prevent the economy overheating
this year we will continue to control the pace of the credit supply banking
regulator liu minkang told the asian financial forum in hong kong
in london on wednesday the euro was changing hands at dollars against
dollars late on tuesday 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 eased to dollars an
ounce from dollars on tuesday
afp world news agenda
hong kong jan afp
what coming up around the world
haiti struggles after huge quake
british minister speaks in us senate on afghanistan
port au prince desperate battle to survive in haiti as focus turns to helping
the living haiti quake
washington british foreign secretary david miliband testifies to the senate
foreign affairs committee along with us envoy to afghanistan and pakistan
richard holbrooke gmt afghanistan unrest us britain
beijing release of economic data by national statistics bureau expected
to bolster case for maintaining stimulus gmt china economy finance
jerusalem us middle east envoy george mitchell meets israeli leaders on
regional trip to further efforts to restart the peace process mideast us
diplomacy
johannesburg argentine coach diego maradona and world cup chief danny jordaan
visit soccer city in johannesburg venue for the opening match and final of this
summer international football competition gmt fbl wc rsa arg
london former foreign secretary jack straw testifies before iraq war inquiry
gmt britain iraq military politics inquiry
sydney britain prince william visits communities devastated by last year
deadly bushfires at the close of three day visit to australia australia
britain royals william
toledo spain us homeland security secretary janet napolitano meets european
counterparts to discuss airport security in the eu including use of full body
scanners news conference gmt us eu aviation
washington us secretary of state hillary clinton gives speech about the
internet at the moment of polemic around google presence in china gmt
us internet censorship it
eu foreign affairs chief catherine ashton meets us secretary of state hillary
clinton us eu diplomacy
afp
football asian cup qualifying standings
sanaa jan afp
asian cup qualifying standings after wednesday match played won drawn
lost goals for goals against points
group
japan qualified
bahrain qualified
yemen
hong kong
group
kuwait
australia
oman
indonesia
group
uzbekistan qualified
uae
malaysia
group
syria
china
vietnam
lebanon
group
iran
thailand
singapore
jordan
note top two in each group qualify for the finals in qatar
hosts qatar as well as iraq saudi arabia and south korea the top three in the
tournament qualify automatically as do india the afc challenge cup
winners the afc challenge cup winners will also make it through
football asian cup result yemen bahrain
sanaa jan afp
result in qualifying match for the asian cup on wednesday
group
yemen al nono al abidi bahrain
afp americas news agenda for january
washington jan afp
duty editor jim mannion
tel
what happening in the americas on thursday
haiti struggles after huge quake
us lawmakers quiz british fm
eu foreign affairs chief to meet clinton
port au prince desperate battle to survive in haiti as focus turns to helping
the living expect coverage haiti quake picture video graphic
washington british foreign secretary david miliband is to testify to the senate
foreign affairs committee along with us envoy to afghanistan and pakistan
richard holbrooke gmt expect coverage afghanistan unrest us britain
washington eu foreign affairs chief catherine ashton meets us secretary of
state hillary clinton expect coverage us eu diplomacy
new york goldman sachs whose million dollar bonus payments shocked americans
announces earnings expect coverage us banking earnings company
united nations un security council meeting coverage on merit
washington commander of us forces in iraq and afghanistan general david
petraeus takes part in conference expect coverage afghanistan unrest us
nobel economics prize winner joseph stiglitz gives speech at the council of
foreign relations on the world economy gmt expect coverage us economy
stiglitz
us secretary of state hillary clinton gives speech about the internet at
the moment of polemic around google presence in china gmt expect
coverage us internet censorship it
energy commission hears testimony from energy secretary steven chu to talks
about climate change gmt expect coverage climate warming us politics
us president barack obama meets delegation of american mayors to talk about
the economy coverage on merit
us lawmakers debate security in the air force coverage on merit
malawi president to wed ex tourism minister
blantyre jan afp
malawian president bingu wa mutharika on wednesday announced that he would marry
former tourism minister on may two years after his first wife died of
cancer
the president of the republic of malawi is pleased to announce his engagement
to marry miss callista chapola chimombo former minister of tourism and
wildlife statement from state house in the administrative capital lilongwe
said
mutharika is widower and callista is widow and both of them are devout
catholics said the statement without disclosing the age of the bride
although she is believed to be in her fifties
traditional engagement customs will be held on february and the wedding
bells will chime on may the statement added
chimombo senior member of mutharika governing democratic progressive party
is former legislator and was appointed as tourism minister in the first
cabinet of the president in
she has of late been seen sitting next to mutharika at public functions
fuelling speculation about possible love affair
chimombo denied to local newspaper about being in love with mutharika saying
there is nothing between me and the president
mutharika first wife ethel who hailed from zimbabwe died in after
battle with cancer
fm boc
football spanish cup results
madrid jan afp
spanish cup results on wednesday
quarter finals
st leg
real mallorca castro getafe del moral miku
playing later
deportivo la coruna fc sevilla
thursday
racing santander osasuna atletico madrid celta vigo
un agency for palestinian refugees gets new boss
united nations jan afp
un chief ban ki moon on wednesday appointed filippo grandi of italy to lead the
un agency for palestinian refugees unrwa succeeding karen abuzayd of the
united states with immediate effect
grandi abuzayd deputy since september is strong advocate for the
rights and dignity of palestine refugees and an excellent manager and has been
instrumental in the success of unrwa comprehensive and far reaching
management reforms un statement said
prior to joining unrwa grandi born in served in variety of un
headquarters and field functions ranging from refugee assistance protection
emergency management to donor relations and humanitarian and political affairs
the statement also said ban was deeply grateful to abuzayd for her tireless and
dedicated service to the palestinian people and excellent leadership of unrwa at
an important juncture
unrwa cares for some million palestinian refugees in the middle east
including around million in jordan
urgent figure skating kavaguti and smirnov win european pairs title
tallinn jan afp
russia yuko kavaguti and alexander smirnov claimed gold for the first time in
the pairs event at the european figure skating championships here on wednesday
they beat three time defending champions aliona savchenko and robin szolkowy of
germany who had to settle for silver with russians maria mukhortova and maxim
trankov taking bronze after the free skating final
alert
figure skating yuko kavaguti and alexander smirnov win european pairs gold
football real madrid plunged into albanian darkness
tirana jan afp
real madrid who were reportedly paid million euros to play an albanian oil
magnate team were plunged into darkness after an embarrassing power cut at
half time on wednesday
the second half of the game between the spanish giants and gramozi erseke
started minutes late after blackout forced both sides back into the
dressing room
an emergency generator was quickly installed reported local media before the
albanian football federation announced that the stadium director had been sacked
for failing to guarantee the match passed off smoothly
the opposition albanian socialist party condemned the incident
albania has been made laughing stock said party statement
proceeds from the match which real won were to be donated to the victims
of flooding in the north of the country
crude oil prices dip on china concerns
new york jan afp
oil prices weakened wednesday amid market concerns that credit squeeze in
china and swelling us stockpiles could dampen demand for the key commodity
new york main contract light sweet crude for february delivery shed
dollars to dollars barrel
london brent north sea crude for delivery in march eased dollars to
dollars barrel
oil investors reacted to statement by top beijing regulator that china would
rein in credit after explosive growth last year as the world most populous
nation moved to cool its red hot economy
some analysts see oil prices falling further to the dollar levels as concerns
over the chinese economy and excess supply dog the market
the big story is with china trying to slow down its lending and its overheating
economy that would mean lower demand for oil products that was expected in
the future said andy lipow president of lipow oil associates
we could easily go to dollars in the near term and should inventories
especially gasoline and distillates continue to rise then think oil prices
could go to dollars he said
liu mingkang chairman of the china banking regulatory commission said
wednesday that new bank loans in china this year would fall to about
trillion yuan trillion us dollars from about trillion yuan in
this year we will continue to control the pace of the credit supply liu told
the asian financial forum in hong kong
but the watchdog chief denied report that it had asked several banks to stop
extending new loans for the rest of this month
chinese state media had reported that major banks received verbal orders from
authorities to stop lending for the rest of january
his comments come after china central bank moved earlier this month to hike
the minimum amount of money that banks must keep in reserve
analysts have said the policy was likely response to concerns about asset
bubbles bad loans and an overheating economy
adding to the market concerns was excess oil stockpiles in the united states
the world largest energy consumer
an upcoming us government report on energy stockpiles was expected to show an
increase which would indicate weaker demand
the inventories report is due for release on thursday one day later than normal
owing to us bank holiday on monday
participants expect more additions to burgeoning stockpiles tomorrow when
weekly inventory data are released in the us said mike fitzpatrick vice
president of mf global
skepticism seems to be gaining as to the pace and sustainability of recovery
he said
crude futures had recovered tuesday after five session losing streak as oil
cartel opec had forecast modest growth in world crude demand this year
strengthening greenback also weighed on prices because it makes the dollar
priced commodity more expensive to buyers who hold weaker currencies
the euro tumbled under dollars on wednesday as worries mounted over the
outlook for the european economy in light of weak german data and greece
fiscal woes dealers said
the european single currency plunged as low as dollars which was the
lowest point since august
gates warns of militant threat to india pakistan ties
new delhi jan afp
us defense secretary robert gates warned wednesday that south asian militant
groups were seeking to destabilise the entire region and could trigger war
between nuclear armed pakistan and india
reflecting anxiety in the region about new delhi reaction if it were attacked
by militant group with roots in pakistan gates said restraint by india could
not be counted on
gates said rebels in al qaeda syndicate which includes the taliban in
pakistan and afghanistan as well as pakistan based islamist group
lashkar taiba posed danger to the region as whole
they are trying to destabilise not just afghanistan not just pakistan but
potentially the whole region by provoking conflict perhaps between india and
pakistan through some provocative act gates said on visit to new delhi
it important to recognise the magnitude of the threat that the entire region
faces he added following talks with his indian counterpart antony
india and pakistan have fought three wars since independence in and tension
spiked again in when militants that new delhi identified as belonging to
lashkar taiba attacked the city of mumbai killing people
india did not mobilise forces unlike in when it massed troops on the
border with pakistan after an attack on its parliament
this drew praise from gates but he said such restraint might not be repeated
next time
think it not unreasonable to assume india patience would be limited were
there to be further attacks gates warned
new delhi suspects the pakistani intelligence service of supporting terror
groups that target india and has consistently called on islamabad to crack down
on militants operating on its soil
gates described india as vital partner in the struggle against extremist
threats and said that he had discussed how to bolster us india military
cooperation
he also lauded india extraordinary financial aid to afghanistan but
acknowledged the tension this created as both islamabad and new delhi vie for
influence in kabul
there are real suspicions both in india and pakistan about what the other is
doing in afghanistan he said
so think each country focusing its efforts on development on humanitarian
assistance perhaps in some limited areas of training but with full
transparency for each other would help allay these suspicions and frankly
create opportunities he said
on his two day trip to india gates has assured leaders that washington will not
abandon afghanistan despite timeline for withdrawing us troops
meeting prime minister manmohan singh and foreign minister krishna he
discussed regional security and offered assurances over the target date of july
for starting drawdown of american forces us defence official said
mindful of india concerns about an early us exit gates pledged the united
states would remain committed to kabul with major economic and diplomatic
support even as its military presence is gradually scaled back
in washington on wednesday concern about lashkar taiba was voiced by the
state department counter terrorism coordinator daniel benjamin who said the
group could become threat to the west like al qaeda
should it decide that it wants to either compete with al qaeda or supplant al
qaeda it would present itself as an extremely formidable terrorist opponent
benjamin said
it has target set that al qaeda would find perfectly fitting it has an
enormous number of men under arms running into the thousands
us officials said gates visit to india reflected blossoming relationship that
has dramatically transformed since the mutual unease of the cold war he heads
to pakistan on thursday
gates warns of militant threat to india pakistan ties
new delhi jan afp
us defense secretary robert gates warned wednesday that south asian militant
groups were seeking to destabilise the entire region and could trigger war
between nuclear armed pakistan and india
reflecting anxiety in the region about new delhi reaction if it were attacked
by militant group with roots in pakistan gates said restraint by india could
not be counted on
gates said rebels in al qaeda syndicate which includes the taliban in
pakistan and afghanistan as well as pakistan based islamist group
lashkar taiba posed danger to the region as whole
they are trying to destabilise not just afghanistan not just pakistan but
potentially the whole region by provoking conflict perhaps between india and
pakistan through some provocative act gates said on visit to new delhi
it important to recognise the magnitude of the threat that the entire region
faces he added following talks with his indian counterpart antony
india and pakistan have fought three wars since independence in and tension
spiked again in when militants that new delhi identified as belonging to
lashkar taiba attacked the city of mumbai killing people
india did not mobilise forces unlike in when it massed troops on the
border with pakistan after an attack on its parliament
this drew praise from gates but he said such restraint might not be repeated
next time
think it not unreasonable to assume india patience would be limited were
there to be further attacks gates warned
new delhi suspects the pakistani intelligence service of supporting terror
groups that target india and has consistently called on islamabad to crack down
on militants operating on its soil
gates described india as vital partner in the struggle against extremist
threats and said that he had discussed how to bolster us india military
cooperation
he also lauded india extraordinary financial aid to afghanistan but
acknowledged the tension this created as both islamabad and new delhi vie for
influence in kabul
there are real suspicions both in india and pakistan about what the other is
doing in afghanistan he said
so think each country focusing its efforts on development on humanitarian
assistance perhaps in some limited areas of training but with full
transparency for each other would help allay these suspicions and frankly
create opportunities he said
on his two day trip to india gates has assured leaders that washington will not
abandon afghanistan despite timeline for withdrawing us troops
meeting prime minister manmohan singh and foreign minister krishna he
discussed regional security and offered assurances over the target date of july
for starting drawdown of american forces us defence official said
mindful of india concerns about an early us exit gates pledged the united
states would remain committed to kabul with major economic and diplomatic
support even as its military presence is gradually scaled back
in washington on wednesday concern about lashkar taiba was voiced by the
state department counter terrorism coordinator daniel benjamin who said the
group could become threat to the west like al qaeda
should it decide that it wants to either compete with al qaeda or supplant al
qaeda it would present itself as an extremely formidable terrorist opponent
benjamin said
it has target set that al qaeda would find perfectly fitting it has an
enormous number of men under arms running into the thousands
us officials said gates visit to india reflected blossoming relationship that
has dramatically transformed since the mutual unease of the cold war he heads
to pakistan on thursday
un chief alarmed by inter communal clashes in nigeria
united nations jan afp
un chief ban ki moon is alarmed by the bloody inter communal clashes in the
central nigerian city of jos and urges peaceful solution to religious and
other differences his press office said wednesday
the secretary general has followed with deep concern reports of the outbreak of
inter religious violence in the central nigerian city of jos which resulted in
significant loss of life and destruction of property un statement said
nearly people have been killed in muslim christian clashes with authorities
imposing hour curfew on jos and bukuru small town on the fringes of jos
on tuesday
the curfew in jos was relaxed wednesday
ban appealed to all concerned to exercise maximum restraint and to seek
peaceful solutions to religious and other differences in the country
and he called on all political and religious leaders in nigeria to work together
to address the underlying causes of the recurring sectarian violence in the
country
fighting first erupted on sunday when christian youths protested the building of
mosque in christian majority area of jos nigeria th largest city which
has population of
houses churches mosques and vehicles were set ablaze in three days of
fighting
no sign of haitian exodus to us officials
miami jan afp
us immigration officials on wednesday said there were no signs as yet of mass
exodus of haitians fleeing their earthquake ravaged caribbean nation by boat or
raft for the united states
we are not seeing any indication that massive migration is underway said
matt chandler spokesman for the immigration and customs enforcement ice
us coast guard official had similar finding
the only vessel traffic observed is routine ferry traffic or other routine
transits we have no indications of maritime migration us coast guard
spokesman christopher neil told afp
the us government last week offered haitians without proper immigration
documents in the united states protection under program known as temporary
protected status tps
person with tps status is allowed to remain in the country for up to months
without fear of deportation and following review of their case may be
allowed to apply for temporary work permit
us immigration officials cautioned that only haitians living in the united
states before the earthquake struck are eligible
up to haitians living in the united states may be eligible to obtain
temporary asylum following the massive earthquake that devastated their country
last tuesday
our preliminary estimate is between and people said alejandro
mayorkas director of the us citizenship and immigration services uscis told
afp on tuesday
meanwhile he said those who try to enter the country illegally will not
succeed and they will be repatriated
some million haitian immigrants currently live legally in the united states
the us coast guard last year intercepted some haitians attempts to land on
us shores by boat or raft officials said the largest number in five years
french vodka firm claims polish court win
warsaw jan afp
french distiller belvedere under bankruptcy protection since july on
wednesday said poland supreme court ruled against creditors who filed
bankruptcy procedures for belvedere polish units the belvedere group
board has announced that according to its january ruling the supreme
court found that the bank of new york mellon headquartered in new york had no
right to request bankruptcy procedures against vodka distiller polmos lancut
belvedere said in statement
the supreme court ruling applies to other bankruptcy procedures requested by
this amercian bank regarding five other polish units of the belvedere group it
said
in april belvedere group creditors represented by the bank of new york
mellon requested bankruptcy procedures against six of the company units
operating in poland
ranked the world seventh largest vodka manufacturer the belvedere group has
employees and owns the marie brizard distiller producer of manzanita and
curacao blue glen roger and william peel whiskey as well as the sobieski and
danska vodka brands
arcelormittal workers end strike in algeria
algiers jan afp
thousands of workers on strike for more than week at steel giant
arcelormittal plant in algeria will return to work on thursday after court
ordered the action suspended officials said
management also plans to renovate the facility coking plant key demand
from the workers who went on strike on january to prevent the coking
plant closure according to the officials
the strike had resulted in tonne daily reduction in the amount of steel
produced according to arcelormittal spokesman mohamed guedha
the company union will announce the lifting of the strike tomorrow morning
during an all workers assembly union head smain kouadria said wednesday
we also want to express our complete satisfaction following the board of
directors adoption of global investment plan for facilities in the complex
including the coking plant
court on wednesday ordered the suspension of the strike at the el hadjar
facility after management alleged the action was illegal
amar belkacemi head of state owned sider which has percent stake in the
facility confirmed that the board had approved renovating the coking plant
which was taken out of use in october because of its condition it had employed
some people
the investment programme will involve all facilities including the coking
plant said belkacemi according to the aps news agency
the head of arcelormittal el hadjar vincent le gouic said the agreement
reached should correspond to what was demanded by the union
management had previously planned to invest million dollars million
euros to renovate the site excluding the coking plant the cost of renovating
the coking plant had been estimated at million dollars
the facility subsidiary of the worldwide steel giant is former state
enterprise in which the indian ispat firm in the arcelormittal group bought
percent of shares in october
it produced tonnes of steel in according to management
us lifts bush era ban on two muslim scholars
washington jan afp
the us state department said wednesday it has lifted an effective bush era ban
on muslim scholars adam habib and tariq ramadan saying neither is deemed
security threat to the united states
state department spokesman philip crowley said secretary of state hillary
clinton signed documents allowing the south africa based habib and britain based
ramadan to apply for us visas like other prospective visitors
the secretary of state signed an exemption for tariq ramadan and adam habib
under the immigration and nationality act crowley told reporters
the next time professor ramadan or professor habib applies for visa he will
not be found inadmissible on the basis of the facts that led to denial when they
last applied crowley said
we do not think that either one of them represents threat to the united
states he said
however he said the pair will still be subject to the other standards that
apply to anyone seeking visa for the united states
consistent with president barack obama outreach to muslims around the
world we want to encourage global debate he said
we want to have the opportunity potentially to have islamic scholars copme to
the united states and have dialogue with other faith communities and people here
in our country he said
nba wallace fined for ripping referees
new york jan afp
boston celtics forward rasheed wallace was fined dollars for publicly
criticizing referees after loss to dallas the nba announced wednesday
wallace ripped the officials following the mavericks victory over the
celtics on monday
wallace who was guarding german star forward dirk nowitzki was whistled for
his fourth foul with remaining in the third quarter and went to the celtics
bench
with kevin garnett sidelined boston countered nowitzki with reserves glen davis
and brian scalabrine but were unable to handle nowitzki who finished with
points and had of after wallace received his fourth foul
wallace said nba referees don like no tough defense on nowitzki so of
course get whole lot of calls but that how the story goes ain
