side he said nothing but cried quietly
doctors at the clinic were hopeful but treating the little girl carefully
her kidneys are functioning we are hydrating her slowly with salt water and
gradually with more substantive food giving her richer food straight away would
be dangerous for her dominique jean the french doctor
in the field hospital the little girl has become symbol of victory over
death of the triumph of hope amid despair and medical workers file by her bed
to glimpse the little miracle
day earlier the hospital welcomed another survivor fedora year old
woman who survived seven days underneath rubble and is recovering quickly
nurses said
us envoy in israel in bid to relaunch peace process
jerusalem jan afp
us middle east envoy george mitchell on thursday started day of talks with top
israeli officials in his latest bid to restart the stalled middle east peace
process
mitchell and defence minister ehud barak talked of the measures that are needed
to move forward the political process with the palestinians the ministry said
in statement
the us envoy was scheduled to hold talks with prime minister benjamin netanyahu
and foreign minister avigdor lieberman later in the day and with palestinian
president mahmud abbas on friday
already slow moving negotiations between the israelis and the palestinians came
to complete standstill over year ago
abbas has repeatedly said he would not return to the negotiating table until
israel imposes complete halt to settlement construction in the occupied west
bank but recently appeared open to freeze for fixed period of time
netanyahu claim on wednesday that israel would maintain security presence
along the eastern border of future palestinian state cast further shadow on
us led efforts to move the peace process forward
in his first public comment since coming to power last year on the issue of
borders of future palestinian state netanyahu said such presence along
what would be the palestinian state border with jordan was crucial to prevent
weapons smuggling
the palestinians categorically rejected the suggestion
we will not accept anything less than completely sovereign palestinian state
on all the territories with its own borders resources and airspace and we will
not accept any israeli presence either military or civilian on our land
abbas spokesman nabil abu rudeina told afp
netanyahu remarks place more obstacles in the way of restarting
negotiations these remarks reveal the solution that netanyahu wants and the
kind of state he would be satisfied with rudeina said
before travelling to israel mitchell held talks in lebanon and syria where he
stressed that both countries had key role to play in comprehensive middle
east peace
finnish fighter jet crashes in forest pilots injured rescuers
helsinki jan afp
finnish fighter jet crashed in forest on the edge of field in finland on
thursday but the two pilots were able to eject and were being treated for
injuries rescue officials said
the pilots jumped out with parachutes rescue chief seppo maennikkoe told afp
adding that they were somewhat injured and being treated by medical staff at
the site
the plane was us made hornet it went down in juupajoki some
kilometres miles north of the capital helsinki
the cause of the accident was not immediately known
yemen halts giving entry visas at airports over qaeda threat
sanaa jan afp
yemen stopped granting entry visas at its airports thursday to prevent militants
from entering the country widening its dragnet against an al qaeda cell
believed behind spate of global attacks
the measure comes amid military crackdown on al qaeda in the arabian peninsula
aqap which is entrenched in mountain redoubts east of the capital and claimed
responsibility for the botched christmas day bid to down us airliner over
detroit
yemen has stopped granting visas at the airport to halt terrorist
infiltration state news agency saba announced
military official said that in light of this decision granting visas to
foreigners will take place only through the embassies of yemen and after
consulting security authorities to verify the identities of travellers
this is to prevent the infiltration of any suspected terrorist elements he
was quoted by the defence ministry newspaper september as saying
six yemeni airports receive international flights and up till now only
travellers from few countries having been required to obtain visas before
flying
earlier this week the us senate foreign relations committee released report
warning that aqap might be training as many as three dozen americans who
converted to islam in prison
these people travelled to yemen upon their release ostensibly to study arabic
but possibly for al qaeda training the report said
under previous regulations these people would have been allowed to enter the
country without being previously vetted
us officials are on heightened alert because of the potential threat from
extremists carrying american passports and the related challenges involved in
detecting and stopping homegrown operatives the report added
sanaa has been under intense international pressure to eradicate aqap which has
claimed it was behind attacks against saudi korean yemeni and us targets
since it was founded year ago
in late december yemen launched new military campaign against the group
claiming to have killed or arrested dozens of jihadists and their leaders
as recently as wednesday yemeni jets bombed site that was believed to be
hideout for prominent al qaeda members in maarib province
sanaa official on thursday praised citizens for their help in the fight
against the extremists saying they had provided useful information that has
strengthened the government efforts in pursuing al qaeda members
also thursday an official said one soldier was killed and three were wounded in
maarib province by unknown gunmen who might belong to al qaeda
the most high profile yemeni american in the country is fugitive radical imam
anwar al awlaqi native of new mexico who is now in hiding presumably in
part of eastern yemen where his family tribe holds sway
white house aide has directly accused awlaqi of links with the man suspected
of shooting dead people at texas military base in november major nidal
hasan
us homeland security and counterterrorism adviser john brennan has also said he
might have had contact with the man who allegedly attempted to blow up the us
airliner on december umar farouk abdulmutallab
officials are also worried about non yemeni americans blonde haired
blue eyed types who travelled to yemen converted to islam became
fundamentalists married yemeni women and fit the profile of americans that al
qaeda has sought to recruit
aqap meanwhile has issued statement celebrating the first anniversary of its
founding according to site intelligence group which monitors jihadist
websites
the tuesday statement claimed the botched strike on the detroit bound airliner
and failed attempt to assassinate saudi arabia deputy interior minister
it claimed aqap was an inspiration to muslims the world over and nightmare
from which the zionist crusaders and the arab apostates cannot seem to awaken
fhockey former pakistan players demand world cup boycott
karachi jan afp
former pakistan sports captains thursday demanded boycott of the hockey world
cup in india next month to protest at pakistani cricketers being snubbed by the
indian premier league
none of pakistan players included in the ipl auction in mumbai on tuesday
were sold despite their national team being the reigning world twenty
champions ending hopes of pakistani cricketers featuring in the third edition
pakistani cricketers were treated badly by india so to keep our national pride
we must not send our hockey team to the world cup said former pakistan hockey
captain and coach islahuddin siddiqui
the international hockey federation event is due to be played in new delhi from
february to march arch rivals india and pakistan will face off on the
opening day of the nation tournament
pakistan national assembly also cancelled parliamentary delegation trip to
india as protest against the ipl move while the pakistan hockey federation
phf said it will follow the government advice
we have to follow government policy and will seek the government permission
to send the national team to india said phf spokesman
former cricket captain zaheer abbas also called for boycott
we should adopt clear policy on sports with india and if they have not
allowed our players in the ipl then we must not send our hockey team to the
world cup abbas told private television channel
india stalled bilateral cricket with pakistan after blaming attacks in november
on its commercial hub mumbai on pakistan based militant group
but they still contest other sports
an indian boxing team participated in an international event in karachi earlier
this month while pakistan has sent its snooker tennis wrestling and badminton
teams to india in the last two years
euro slumps to five month low after chinese data
london jan afp
the euro slumped to five month low point against the dollar on thursday as
worries that china will cool its booming economy curbed demand for risk
sensitive currencies analysts said
the european single currency hit dollars the lowest point since july
it later stood at which compared with late in new york on
wednesday
against the japanese unit the dollar rose to yen from yen on
wednesday
the euro the common currency for nations was troubled by worries about the
eurozone outlook fiscal crises in greece and portugal and the prospect that
beijing will take more steps to prevent an overheating economy dealers said
the european unit is seen as more vulnerable than the safe haven dollar to any
disappointment over the pace of the global economic recovery
china economy expanded by percent in but inflation surged towards the
end of the year according to government data released on thursday and which
laid bare the risks of overheating
faster than expected chinese growth has heightened fears that the people bank
of china may hike interest rates this quarter said analyst jane foley at
online trading site forex com
this may not yet be consensus view but the rise in tightening fears was
sufficient to push most asian stock indices lower which led to flurry of
dollar buying
gross domestic product by china the world third biggest economy which
analysts say is on track to overtake number two economy japan returned to
double digit growth in the fourth quarter of at percent
the china data were strong so people are now even more anxious over when the
authorities might again try to apply the brakes on the economy yasuo nakayama
manager at shinkin central bank told dow jones newswires
the growth figures put even more downward pressure on the euro nakayama
added
meanwhile the international monetary fund on wednesday had warned portugal of
the critical importance of getting its public finances in order amid spreading
fears over rising debt levels in the eurozone
fiscal consolidation is critical to prevent further deterioration and preserve
hard won credibility the imf said in report on the portuguese economy
urging portugal to rein in public sector salaries and social spending
the greek government which last month suffered credit downgrade from all
three leading ratings agencies is meanwhile struggling to overcome huge debt
and public deficit
as soon as markets had digested the situation in greece it now portugal
turn said commerzbank analyst antje praefcke
the euro came under additional pressure last night when the international
monetary fund made critical comments about the budgetary position and the
economic competitiveness in portugal in statement
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 dipped to dollars an
ounce from dollars on wednesday
china fears rock world markets
london jan afp
global stocks mostly recovered from sharp setback on thursday but the euro and
world oil prices dropped amid mounting worries over china economy traders
said
the euro sank to five month low against the dollar and oil prices extended
losses as investors also worried about the strength of global economic recovery
amid weak us corporate earnings and greece huge debt
doubts continue to weigh on chinese growth said joshua raymond london
based analyst at financial trading firm city index
in late morning european trade germany dax stocks index rose percent
the paris cac gained percent while london benchmark ftse fell
percent
european indices had plunged on wednesday with paris and frankfurt losing
percent in value as jitters spread through markets after credit tightening in
china and fears over the fledgling economic recovery traders said
wall street stocks suffered their biggest drop for the year on wednesday
following credit tightening moves by global economic growth driver china and
mixed earnings from key american banks
however the tokyo stock exchange benchmark nikkei index closed up
percent on thursday shrugging off the negative lead from wall street as foreign
investors bought heavyweight companies such as toyota and sony
elsewhere in asia china red hot economy expanded by percent in but
inflation surged towards the end of the year according to government data
released thursday that laid bare the risks of overheating
gross domestic product in the world third largest economy which analysts say
is on track to overtake number two economy japan returned to double digit
growth in the fourth quarter of at percent
but china biggest rise in inflation in months underlined the broader
challenges of breakneck growth and came as the world bank and international
monetary fund warned anew that the country could face an economic bubble
faster than expected chinese growth has heightened fears that the people bank
of china may hike interest rates this quarter said analyst jane foley at
online trading site forex com
this may not yet be consensus view but the rise in tightening fears was
sufficient to push most asian stock indices lower which led to flurry of
dollar buying
the euro dived as low as dollars at gmt its lowest point since july
it later stood at which compared with late in new york on
wednesday
oil prices also took hit with brent north sea crude for delivery in march
shedding cents to dollars barrel new york main contract light
sweet crude for march delivery fell six cents to dollars
china growth figures came one day after united nations report said the world
economy would grow by percent this year but could slump back into double
dip recession if governments withdraw stimulus spending too early
separately the world bank said the global economy would grow percent this
year after shrinking in in report highlighting risks to fragile
recovery
imf head dominique strauss kahn said asia may need to erect temporary capital
controls among other measures to guard against the risk of new economic bubbles
as speculative money floods into the region
strauss kahn on wednesday said the global economy looked on course to beat the
percent growth forecast currently expected by the international monetary
fund for as post crisis recovery accelerates
further ahead china could overtake the united states to become the world
largest economy as early as top business consultancy said on thursday
underlining the seismic change in global economic power
pricewaterhousecoopers pwc also said in its report that by the top
world economies could be china followed by the united states india japan
brazil russia germany mexico france and britain
angolan parliament approves constitution for stronger president
luanda jan afp
angola parliament thursday approved the nation first constitution cementing
the power of president jose eduardo dos santos who has ruled africa top oil
producer for years
the charter passed with votes in the seat parliament announced fernando
da piedade dias dos santos president of the national assembly drawing loud
applause and chants of angola angola in the chamber
today is day of victory and happiness for the people of angola long live the
angolan people he said
the session was boycotted by the main opposition unita party which claimed the
constitutional process was flawed and undermines democracy
the document still needs approval from the constitutional court and dos santos
both steps seen as formalities
the charter replaces an interim constitutional law in effect in the southern
african country since independence from portugal in
its articles set out how the country is to be governed and defines the
rights of citizens but notably strengthens of the powers of the president
under the new system the president will be chosen by the winning party in
parliamentary elections which suggests that angolans will not vote again until
when the current legislative session comes to an end
dos santos will choose his own vice president who would operate as prime
minister with hands on role in the government the post of prime minister has
been removed
parliament can call for the president to be removed from office but such
motion must be referred to the supreme court whose members are appointed by the
president
the charter also clarifies currently ambiguous land rights in angola stating
that all land is owned by the state which decides who can use it
bornito de sousa an mpla lawmaker who headed the constitutional commission
told parliament the charter was reflection of equality of good sense and
true representation of the electorate
but on wednesday the opposition national union for the total independence of
angola unita walked out of parliament and on thursday the party boycotted the
final vote
we walked out because we didn want to be part of this constitution which is
complete fraud unita parliamentarian raul danda told afp on wednesday
this is very sad day for democracy in angola and that why we are all
wearing black because it like going to the graveyard to bury democracy
unita opposes the party list system for president and said that mpla was using
its percent majority in parliament to push through changes that undermine
democracy
dos santos has been accused of clinging to power the year old took over
following the death of angola first president agostinho neto in he faced
only one round in elections which were aborted after triggering new
phase of civil war
presidential elections were expected last year and analysts said the ruling
popular movement for the liberation of angola mpla appeared to have the most
to gain from the new electoral system
the delay would appear to favour the mpla but it could provide unita with an
opportunity to elect new leader who could mount serious challenge to dos
santos economist intelligence unit african specialist edward george told afp
gm europe to close belgian opel plant in jobs blow
brussels jan afp
general motors europe announced to unions on thursday that it is to close its
opel auto production plant in antwerp in blow that belgian industry said
would cost jobs all told
the site will be closed over the course of an opel statement said
union representative immediately announced blockade saying no finished cars
would be allowed out of the plant
they have announced to us their intention to proceed towards collective
redundancy and the closure of the business said walter cnop of the csc
union metalworkers branch
in germany opel directors said the factory directly employs just over
people previously it was thought that certain senior management figures on
site would be retained and re assigned
cnop said no production was planned on friday or monday anyway but that from
tuesday the factory will remain blocked until such time as we decide to let
finished cars out
he underlined we re not stopping anyone going in individual parts can get
in
workers began blocking access to the northern belgian factory on wednesday
fearing the axe would finally fall at the planned meeting
it an absolute catastrophe for belgian workers and manufacturing cnop
added slamming management arrogance and decision he said was based on
political considerations in no way assessed on economic grounds
we are seen as antiquated objects sighed joeri who has worked for opel for
years
an emergency meeting with the office of belgium devolved flemish government
leader kris peeters late on thursday afternoon will precede redundancy and
resettlement talks with the company over the coming weeks and months
belgian technological industry federation agoria said at least jobs in the
region could be lost amid the long term knock on effects of the closure
spokesman rene konings said sub contractors would be spared immediate hardship
through contracts with other plants within the group european division
the decision to announce this today was not taken lightly we must make this
announcement now so that we can secure viable future for the entire opel and
vauxhall operations said opel chief executive nick reilly
to ensure long term sustainability for the company opel needs to reduce
capacity by approximately percent the statement added
broad restructuring plan is expected to include the elimination of jobs
from total of almost in europe
opel needs billion euros billion dollars to finance its plan and
hopes to get billion euros from countries where opel and its british sister
brand vauxhall have operations
gm had initially decided to sell opel vauxhall but changed its mind after its
own rescue by the us government and has decided to turn the european unit
around itself
that decision provoked anger among german leaders and union officials who had
backed opel sale to the canadian parts company magna and its russian partner
the state owned sberbank
corrected haiti rescuers refuse to give up hope
port au prince jan afp
search teams in haiti on thursday refused to abandon hope of finding more
survivors of the massive magnitude quake after two children were pulled
alive from the rubble in hours
more than eight days after the devastating tremor which killed at least
and left million homeless rescuers said they could not rule out the
possibility of some victims still being alive under the debris
and they said the powerful aftershock that shook haiti on wednesday could
have dislodged masonry giving fresh opportunities to free any last remaining
survivors
the aftershock could have made the structures subside but it might have also
freed people trapped between two pieces of concrete said french firefighter
gilles perroux
as the focus of aid efforts turned to the vast task of providing food water
medicine and shelter to an increasingly desperate population rescuers said
chances of survival were slim but not impossible
on the eighth day is anyone alive we believe or else we would not be here
while we are in the country we will stay hopeful said another french rescuer
fabrice montagne
experts say victims can still pull through if they are not too badly wounded
have found an air pocket and have something to eat or drink
two children were pulled from the wreckage of collapsed buildings in port au
prince on wednesday
five year old boy was found in the wreckage of his home in port au prince
while neighbors dragged out an year old girl from under rubble in another
part of the city
it truly is miracle she came back to life bit by bit she is blessed by the
gods said dominique jan surgeon working at field hospital set up by
french aid groups
on tuesday three survivors were found including year old woman trapped in
supermarket and year old woman brought from the wreckage of port au
prince cathedral three week old baby was also rescued
un spokeswoman in geneva said earlier wednesday that international teams had
rescued people from the debris of collapsed buildings
meanwhile makeshift hospitals were still struggling to treat the tens of
thousands of people who were injured in the quake
we carried out operations on tuesday in the previous six days we have cared
for more than haitians said french doctor thierry allafort duverger in
clinic in the upscale suburb of petionville
the clinic normally carries out plastic surgery procedures for the well off
inhabitants of the district but is now one of special public hospitals set
up to care for earthquake victims
thousands of us troops were pouring in as other nations pledged to send in
hundreds more to help distribute aid provide medical treatment and try to keep
the streets secure as people scavenged to keep alive
the biggest aftershock yet struck as dawn broke on wednesday
god wants to destroy all haitians because they are bad because they are
cursed eleude joseph shell shocked mother of two told afp at squalid
camp of survivors in the place saint pierre
there were no reports of anyone being killed or wounded by the aftershock
but some severely damaged buildings came tumbling down including the last
surviving wall of the main cathedral
international efforts are also focusing on rebuilding the country with major
donor conference set for monday in montreal
imf chief dominique strauss kahn called for multilateral aid plan on the scale
of the us marshall plan that rebuilt europe after world war ii
haiti ambassador to spain yolette azor charles said reconstruction could
take years and warned the death toll could top as help has yet to
reach many villages
the united states poured in more troops who had been due to deploy to the
middle east and europe while us general said the capital main port vital
to moving in tonnes of aid should be up and running again on friday
backed by three ships and squadron of helicopters the new troops should be in
place by the weekend as the total us forces helping out in haiti swells above
in coming days
bed capacity us naval hospital ship also arrived off haiti with about
medical personnel and was ready to start taking on board the worst of the
injured
yemeni soldier killed three wounded in ambush military
sanaa jan afp
one yemeni soldier was killed and three wounded in an ambush in maarib province
east of sanaa by unknown gunmen who might have been from al qaeda military
official said on thursday
one soldier was killed and three wounded when unknown gunmen opened fire at
vehicle carrying food kilometres miles south of the city of maarib on
the road to the safar oil fields the official told afp on condition of
anonymity
the three wounded soldiers one of whom was in critical condition were taken to
hospital he added
maarib province has been the theatre of ongoing operations by yemeni forces
against al qaeda with government jets on wednesday blasting an orange grove
near the provincial capital where the extremists were believed to have
established hideout
military official told afp there had also been build up of government troops
at maarib the capital which bears the same name as the province
also on thursday an official praised the cooperation of citizens with
government efforts against al qaeda the official saba news agency reported
citizens have provided useful information that has strengthened the
government efforts in pursuing al qaeda members saba quoted the spokesman as
saying
yemen has been waging stepped up campaign against al qaeda since december
the poorest country in the arab world has come under increased us pressure to
clamp down on al qaeda in the arabian peninsula since it claimed responsibility
for the december bid to blow up an airliner as it prepared to land in
detroit
mou mh wd al bpz
six powers count on unity to check iran nuclear ambitions
washington jan afp
six international powers are counting on unity to check iran nuclear
ambitions according to european diplomat who expects china to drop its
opposition to new sanctions for fear of isolation
as iran balks at confidence building proposal the five permanent members of
the un security council the united states russia china france and britain
plus germany are increasingly weighing sanctions
the negotiating group known as the plus looks likely to head back to the
united nations
the unity of the plus is our major asset our major aim high ranking
european diplomat said on the condition of anonymity
not saying it easy but confident we ll get to the security council
according to the diplomat who is close to the talks on iran
the plus has been reaching out to iran in bid to force the regime to halt
its uranium enrichment
but iran has long equivocated in response to an offer from the vienna based un
international atomic energy agency iaea to ship abroad low grade nuclear fuel
so it can be further enriched and returned to refuel tehran medical research
reactor
in vienna diplomats said wednesday the islamic republic had effectively
rejected the deal because it refused to accept some of the conditions called for
by the west and insisted on simultaneous exchange of fuel
western countries have ruled out such an exchange as unacceptable
the proposal made by the iaea last october which was supported by france
russia and the united states continues to be on the table said iaea
spokeswoman gill tudor
the proposal is designed to buy breathing room as the big powers try to halt
iran uranium enrichment which the west fears masks drive to build
nuclear bomb
denying the charge iran says it seeks peaceful uses of nuclear energy
the diplomat said the europeans have never really believed that iran would
accept the iaea offer
however they were convinced that this stage of dialogue was necessary to
reinforce the threat of new sanctions something western powers increasingly
support
china which has economic links with hardline iranian president mahmoud
ahmadinejad favors continued dialogue but it also wants to avoid international
isolation the diplomat said
it difficult when you share statement and when everybody agrees on that
to remain isolated you just cannot stand this position for too long the
senior diplomat said
