was shocked at the financial revelations made in last night spotlight
programme he said
have sought an urgent meeting with the first minister to discuss the
implications for the office of the first minister and deputy first minister he
added
protestant conservative unionists the dup and catholic socialist republicans
sinn fein have shared power since but concern over return to violence
was fuelled by the death of two british soldiers and policeman in attacks by
dissident republicans last year
the good friday agreement ended most of the violence which had plagued
northern ireland for decades killing at least people and paved the way
for the establishment of devolved self rule in
greenpeace good green grades for apple nokia
las vegas nevada jan afp
environmental group greenpeace is handing out grades to consumer electronics
makers for phasing out the use of hazardous substances and apple sony ericsson
and nokia are top of the class
greenpeace released an update thursday to its guide to greener electronics at
the international consumer electronics show ces an annual event bringing
together leading manufacturers from around the world
at press conference casey harrell greenpeace spokesman said that overall
it time for little less conversation and lot more action on removing
toxic chemicals
we don want companies to put out couple of cadillac green products we want
the change to be across the range of their products harrell said
the spokesman said companies need to support legislative bans to phase out the
use of pvc plastic and brominated flame retardants bfrs across all electronic
products
greenpeace noted that sony ericsson and apple have called on european union
institutions to support such ban but other big companies including hewlett
packard dell and acer have not done so
in the updated greener electronics guide apple sony ericsson and nokia
ranked high for product ranges free of the worst hazardous substances
greenpeace said samsung dell lenovo and lg electronics picked up penalty
points however for failing to follow through on promised phase out of toxic
chemicals in their products
number of companies are attempting to tout their green credentials at the
trade show here
among the products unveiled thursday was mini notebook computer from sony the
vaio series with chassis made of plastic consisting of about percent
recycled compact disks and reusable carrying case made from recycled plastic
bottles
philippine diver dies raising wreck bodies coastguard
manila jan afp
philippine coastguard diver died on friday retrieving bodies from ship that
sank in deep water in manila bay last month the coastguard service said
the death the cause of which was not immediately clear was grim footnote in
catalogue of shipping disasters to have hit the philippines in recent years
petty officer armand bonifacio lost consciousness while diving to the wreck of
the catalyn small wooden ferry that sank on december after hitting
steel hulled fishing boat local coastguard chief commodore luis tuason said
although he regained consciousness after being pulled from the water and placed
in decompression chamber bonifacio died few minutes later as he was being
rushed to hospital
hours earlier he had retrieved the body of woman from the sunken ship said
tuason
while the cause of death was not confirmed the coastguard admitted they were
taking risk as the wreck was located in metres feet of water more
than the feet that is the divers normal limit
in an interview carried by the philippine star newspaper coastguard deputy
chief lieutenant commander marcos gines said the divers were using improvised
equipment
we knew that it would be risky dive but we thought of the families of the
passengers he said
officials said there were confirmed dead from the sinking of the catalyn
and still missing their bodies believed trapped in the ship
just days after the catalyn went down another ferry mv baleno sank with
six dead and missing
british producer prices jump in december official data
london jan afp
the price of goods leaving factories in recession mired britain hit an month
high in december owing to rising costs for scrap metals transport and food
official data showed on friday
producer prices leapt by percent last december compared with the same month
in the strongest year on year increase since january the office
for national statistics ons said in statement
they also rose by percent last month compared with the level in november
which was the tenth monthly gain and the largest since may
month on month the output prices measure for all manufactured products rose
percent in december mainly reflecting price rises in other manufactured
products transport equipment food and electrical products the ons said
economists polled by dow jones newswires had forecast prices to rise by
percent on the month and percent on the year
jal shares drop as bankruptcy looms larger
tokyo jan afp
japan airlines jal took another dive on the tokyo stock market friday
following news reports that the government is finalising bankruptcy option for
the debt ridden carrier
shares in asia biggest airline sank percent to close at yen
the japanese government is now finalising plan to have jal file for bankruptcy
with guarantee of public support so it can continue operations jiji press and
kyodo news said
transport minister seiji maehara and newly appointed finance minister naoto kan
held closed door meeting friday morning with the state backed enterprise
turnaround initiative corp which is overseeing jal restructuring
japan government has pledged to avoid collapse of the former state owned
carrier but has refused to rule out bankruptcy proceedings which could aid
jal restructuring but would likely leave investors out of pocket
asked if the government is ready to provide support in case jal filed
bankruptcy kan told reporters the government was fully considering such
situation
maehara separately said our stance is that we would like the enterprise
turnaround initiative corp to rebuild jal with public funds
the body will decide on the carrier rescue plan on january likely using
prepackaged bankruptcy the asahi shimbun reported on friday
earlier reports said the turnaround body is preparing billion yen
billion dollars investment if the airline files for bankruptcy while intending
to ask jal creditors to waive further billion yen in loans to the
airline
the carrier is seeking its fourth government bailout since to enable it to
keep flying in the face of mounting debts
the airline which lost about billion dollars in the six months to
september has said it plans thousands of job cuts and drastic reduction in
routes as part of its efforts to return to profitability
jal may slash more than jobs and book massive restructuring charge of
trillion yen in the financial year ending march the nikkei business
daily reported thursday without naming its sources
jal has been offered financial assistance by both american airlines and delta
air lines which are competing to take stake in the japanese company and
increase their share of the lucrative asian market
media reports suggest jal is leaning towards forging capital tie up with delta
and join the skyteam global alliance leaving the oneworld group which includes
american airlines
but the wall street journal reported this week that american airlines had
increased its investment offer by million dollars to billion dollars
raising the stakes in the bidding war
malaysian churches attacked in row over use of allah
kuala lumpur jan afp
three malaysian churches have been targeted with firebombs leaving one badly
damaged in an escalating dispute over the use of the word allah by non
muslims
muslim groups held protests outside mosques across the nation friday enraged
by court ruling last week that gave permission for allah to be used as
translation for the christian god
police deployed officers to patrol churches and mosques after church in
suburban kuala lumpur was set ablaze in midnight attack that gutted its ground
floor
molotov cocktails were thrown into the compounds of two other churches in pre
dawn raids but did not cause serious damage
prime minister najib razak condemned the attacks which he said could destroy
racial harmony in malaysia muslim majority country with ethnic chinese and
indian minorities which has seen racial conflict in the past
as multiracial community we must practice respect for one another it
cannot come under threat from anybody he told state media pledging action to
prevent any further incidents
police chief musa hassan quashed reports of further attacks on churches and cars
displaying christian symbols saying they were false and that action would be
taken against rumour mongers
the situation is under control please do not politicise sensitive issue
you are playing with people emotions he said
in the capital few dozen demonstrators gathered outside the national mosque
and another in the malay enclave of kampung baru chanting god is great and
we will defend the dignity and rights of muslims
we have lived in peace with all religions but we want other religions to
respect us and the use of the word allah which is exclusive to muslims said
organiser arman azha abu hanifah
police said that as well as the kuala lumpur demonstrations there had been
gatherings at mosques in three other states but that they had been brief and
dispersed quickly
tensions were heightened last week when the high court ruled in favour of the
catholic herald newspaper which has used allah in its malay language
section
in long running legal battle the government has argued the word should be
used only by muslims
the ruling was suspended on wednesday pending an appeal after the government
argued the decision could cause racial conflict
the first of the firebombing assaults struck the three storey metro tabernacle
church part of the assemblies of god movement leaving its ground floor
charred and twisted wreck
witnesses saw four people smash the glass and throw incendiaries into the
church building they came on two motorcycles church leader peter yeow told
afp warning other churches to double their guard against any attacks
several hours later the catholic church of the assumption in kuala lumpur
southwest was targeted parish priest philip muthu said
was awoken by men riding on motorcycles who threw kerosene bomb into the
church compound he told afp adding that the fire damaged part of the grounds
molotov cocktail was also thrown into the front porch of the nearby protestant
life chapel church
the bomb damaged the wall and plants in the area but thankfully no one was
injured said church elder wong sai wong
religion and language are sensitive issues in multiracial malaysia which
experienced deadly race riots in
the row over the use of allah is among string of religious disputes that
have erupted in recent years straining relations between malays and ethnic
chinese and indians who fear the country is being islamised
about percent of malaysians are christians including some catholics
more than half of those catholics are from indigenous groups most of whom live
in the borneo island states and who mainly speak malay
japan finance chief talks down yen
hong kong jan afp
japan outspoken new finance minister drove the yen lower friday boosting
japanese exporters as asian stocks in general benefited from wall street best
finish since october
day after rattling markets with call for weaker currency naoto kan cooled
his rhetoric friday saying that markets should determine foreign exchange rates
but added tokyo would intervene over strong yen if needed
basically the market determines foreign exchange rates kan said at news
conference as finance minister however it was his duty to take action on
foreign exchange when necessary he added
the dollar rose to yen in tokyo afternoon trade up from in new york
late on thursday when the japanese currency had fallen sharply in response to
kan remarks
the euro was little changed at dollars after and at against
stock markets in tokyo and sydney hit highs not seen for more than year in
tokyo the nikkei closed up percent or points to the
best finish since october
sydney closed up percent or points with the amp asx at
after peaking at its highest level for months intraday
chinese shares rebounded late to close up points or percent at
in choppy trade which saw selloff in metal companies on lower
commodity prices as beijing reportedly warned state run companies about
investment risk
sentiment was also hit by the central bank surprise hike of the auction yield
on three month bills shifting the balance of fears from monetary policy being
too loose to it being too tight ing tim condon said
hong kong closed up points or percent at on bargain
hunting following earlier falls
wall street had earlier prompted strong start in the region after the dow
jones industrial average closed up percent to its highest level since
october on better than expected sales results from retailers
however gains were capped by caution ahead of friday key unemployment data
seen as barometer of any us recovery
kan remarks thursday in which he said he wanted to see weaker yen prompted
thinly veiled rebuke from japan prime minister yukio hatoyama who warned him
not to comment publicly on currency levels
it nevertheless signalled that tokyo was toughening its stance against the
unit strength which is bad for exporters
the market confirmed the new finance minister stance of favouring weaker
yen so the dollar is staying higher said hideaki inoue chief foreign
exchange manager at mitsubishi ufj trust and banking
in november the dollar fell to around yen its lowest level since the mid
raising fears for the country export led economy
exporters such as toyota and sony were boosted by the weaker yen but japan
airlines plunged percent as fears grew that it will be forced to file for
bankruptcy
there is no point in holding jal shares any longer trader at japanese
brokerage firm told dow jones newswires
seoul was percent higher at due to bargain hunting after day of
sell offs brought about by the central bank holding interest rates steady for
the th consecutive month
crude oil prices were lower in asian trade after overnight falls following
recent rally new york main futures contract light sweet crude for february
delivery shed cents to dollars barrel
brent north sea crude for february dropped cents to dollars
hong kong gold closed lower at us dollars an ounce down from
thursday finish of dollars
in other markets
taipei stocks closed up percent the weighted index added points
to buying focused on select old economy sectors in particular steel
firms on continued recovery in product prices dealers said
singapore straits times index closed up points or percent
higher at
malaysian shares finished percent or points higher at
earlier gains were pared back by profit taking dealers said
profit taking reversed earlier gains dealers said
bangkok ended percent or points higher at
coal producer banpu shed baht to baht but ptt plc added baht to
baht
in jakarta indonesian shares gained points or percent to
coal miner bumi resources climbed percent to while rival adaro energy
rose percent to
in manila the composite index closed flat down points to as
investors took profits after three day rally
new zealand closed up percent the nzx index rose points to
close at
mumbai fell percent or points to
investors unwound positions ahead of the weekend taking profit with prices at
near month highs dealers said
india largest private sector firm reliance industries fell percent or
rupees to and infosys technologies the country second largest
software exporter fell percent or rupees to
eu presidency warns iceland over banking row
madrid jan afp
the spanish eu presidency warned iceland on friday that the row over the icesave
bank collapse could hurt its bid of join the bloc
it could slow the negotiation process bit spanish foreign minister miguel
angel moratinos said but we hope that it will go alright
hope that the icelanders see eu in their future he told journalists
iceland president olafur ragnar grimsson said on tuesday that he would not
sign controversial bill to compensate the british and dutch governments for
reimbursing icesave investors triggering anger in london and the hague
grimsson said he would put the bill to referendum instead
iceland parliament voted last july to join the eu in the hope that membership
would help stabilise the economy following the collapse of its once booming
financial sector
the european commission is preparing an opinion for the eu member states on
how long the small island nation where the economy was ravaged by the economic
crisis might need to join
spokesman for the eu executive arm warned on wednesday that economic
questions like the case of icesave will be analysed very closely in light of
iceland fulfilling its obligations in the european economic area
spain took over the six month rotating presidency of the eu on january
urgent brewing giant inbev says it will cut percent of european staff
brussels jan afp
the world biggest brewer anheuser busch inbev is planning to cut percent of
its strong workforce across europe spokeswoman for the company in
belgium said on friday
china approves margin trading short selling index futures
shanghai jan afp
china cabinet has agreed to allow margin trading and short selling of stocks
on trial basis and to launch stock index futures market the securities
regulator said friday
china securities regulatory commission spokeswoman told afp the trial had been
confirmed and said more details would be announced later
it has been nearly months since china securities watchdog last said it
would soon allow margin trading and short selling of securities on trial
basis
after the global financial crisis hit analysts had said china moves towards
allowing the practices would add liquidity to the bourse and help reduce
volatility
both practices magnify risks margin trading allows investors to borrow money
from financial institutions to buy shares or other securities that they expect
to rise
if the share price goes up they can easily pay back the borrowed money if the
price goes down investors must still pay back the full amount borrowed
short selling is similar operation in which investors sell borrowed shares
expecting the price to decline if the price does fall they can buy the shares
at the lower price and return them to the lender
both margin trading and short selling will be limited to about dozen
securities firms and only to stocks will be allowed to be traded in the
initial stage to control risks according to previous media reports
the stock index futures market will provide investors with opportunities to
profit when the market falls and help them hedge risks
alert
world biggest brewer inbev says it will cut percent of european staff
swiss to deploy up to soldiers to secure davos
geneva jan afp
switzerland is deploying up to soldiers to secure the davos mountain
resort for the world economic forum which begins on january the defence
ministry said friday
military personnel will control access into forum sites as well as protect key
transport electricity and water infrastructure
the air force is also working with neighbouring austria to guarantee
comprehensive view of the situation in the air space
the cost of the operation is estimated at million francs million euros
million dollars
the world economic forum will run from january to with politicians
including french president nicolas sarkozy south african president jacob zuma
and south korean president lee myung bak expected to attend
minister vows greece will solve financial crisis alone
milan jan afp
greece finance minister vowed his debt ridden country would solve its budget
problems alone and did not need assistance from the european union in an
interview published in daily newspaper here on friday
missions from the european commission and ecb were completing on friday three
day visit to athens to assess the socialist government crisis action plan to
rescue the economy amid deep scepticism in the financial markets
we have not asked for and do not expect any help from the european central
bank ecb or member state from the european union georges papaconstantinou
told il sole ore pledging we will solve our fiscal problems alone
on thursday the spanish eu presidency warned greece which is going through
what the greek finance ministry describes as the worst in the country modern
history that it should not expect bailout by the rest of the bloc
this was in line with view expressed repeatedly by the european central bank
overseer of monetary policy in the eurozone of which greece is member
in december the greek government launched dialogue with trade unions on
reducing the number of state pension funds and set april as the deadline for
presenting project of law to parliament
papaconstantinou recognises the major objective of the socialist government must
be to bring the public deficit to below three percent of gdp in the limit
imposed by the eurozone
last year greece deficit rose to percent
it is an ambitious target he says but it is supported by strong political
will
we know that it takes time to win back confidence that has been lost but the
following months will show we are on the right path the finance minister
promised
he added that the government expects to borrow less in billion euros
compared with the billion euros it borrowed in
un envoy to visit india to examine waste disposal problems
geneva jan afp
un special envoy said friday he would visit india to examine problems linked
to the management and disposal of hazardous products and wastes
okechukwu ibeanu said he would focus on how shipbreaking and the waste
industry which handles discarded electronic goods such as television sets
cellphones and computers affected those who lived close to or worked in the
industries
the business of breaking up old ships for scrap materials is significant
industry in india ibeanu said noting that it represents an important source
of raw material supply and provides jobs to thousands of persons
nevertheless continue to be concerned at the reportedly poor working
practices and environmental conditions prevailing in most shipbreaking yards in
south asia said the un special rapporteur of the un human rights council
ibeanu would look into the risks posed by the unsound management and disposal of
waste during the visit which will take him to the capital new delhi as well
as alang and mumbai
waste is one of the most hazardous waste streams worldwide electronics
contain over hazardous chemicals or heavy metals that can cause serious
health and environmental risks if not disposed in an environmentally safe
manner said the expert
during the ten day trip which starts on monday ibeanu will meet government
officials and representatives in un agencies civil society organisations
trade unions and the private sector
the expert would submit report on the visit to the un human rights council in
basketball nba results and standings
washington jan afp
results and standings after thursday national basketball association games
thursday january th results
new york charlotte
eastern conference
atlantic div pct gb
boston
toronto
new york
philadelphia
new jersey
central div pct gb
cleveland
milwaukee
chicago
detroit
indiana
southeast div pct gb
orlando
atlanta
miami
charlotte
washington
western conference
northwest div pct gb
denver
portland
oklahoma city
utah
minnesota
pacific div pct gb
la lakers
phoenix
la clippers
sacramento
golden state
southwest div pct gb
dallas
san antonio
houston
new orleans
memphis
friday january th schedule
toronto at philadelphia pm
orlando at washington pm
boston at atlanta pm
utah at memphis pm
indiana at minnesota pm
new jersey at new orleans pm
chicago at milwaukee pm
dallas at san antonio pm
miami at phoenix pm
la lakers at portland pm
cleveland at denver pm
sacramento at golden state pm
all times are eastern
afp
indian paper defends ku klux klan cartoon
new delhi jan afp
an indian paper that published cartoon likening australian police to the ku
klux klan defended its decision on friday saying the cartoon reflected the mood
in the country
we perceive the melbourne police to be racist organisation simply because it
seems it is not acting fast enough or seriously enough on the attacks on
indian students bharat bhushan editor of the mail today newspaper said in an
emailed statement
the cartoon appeared tuesday after year old indian student was stabbed to
death over the weekend the latest in series of attacks on indians in
australia that has strained relations between the two countries
melbourne police and australian authorities are investigating but have said
there is no evidence yet to suggest racial motive
why the melbourne police in denial mode refusing to accept the racist nature
of the attacks bhushan added
the cartoon reflects the widespread feeling in india
bhushan told afp that according to australian police statistics indian students
represented one in every people in melbourne yet were the target of one
in attacks
once racist attacks on indians stop nobody is going to call them australians
racist he said in telephone interview
the cartoonist prasad said he had drawn inspiration from the injustice
stemming from australia refusal to accept the weekend murder as race
attack
he said the attitude of australian authorities amounted to acceptance of racism
or authorising similar future crimes as mere opportunistic violence
how best to conceptualise this injustice than stamping the badge of authority
on the worst possible image of global racism he said
the cloak of the ku klux klan is globally known and recognised cultural
signifier that represents racism it also symbolises violence in the name of
race or colour
indian media have repeatedly accused the australian police of not doing enough
to protect foreign students who have fuelled lucrative overseas education
industry
canberra reaction friday was sharp with deputy prime minister julia gillard
condemning the apparent comparison with the ku klux klan as deeply deeply
offensive
the mail is popular tabloid set up via joint venture between britain daily
mail and the india today media group
french official trade deficit widens to billion euros
paris jan afp
france trade deficit widened to billion euros billion dollars in
november from billion the previous month the customs service announced
friday
the figure was fast approaching the record deficit attained in october and
november last year when it crossed the six billion euro mark
the french finance ministry attributed the wider deficit to increased imports
