refocused business strategy and overhauled risk management that cut costs by
over billion dollars annually
as we enter we are strongly capitalized significantly more efficient
and are executing on clear strategy that is focused on clients said pandit
two tumultous years at the helm
pandit said that in the near term the company would continue to focus on
sustainable profitability and growth and supporting the global economic
recovery
john gerspach citigroup chief financial officer said although the company
remained cautious and continued to monitor the future impacts of its loss
mitigation efforts there were indications that credit may be stabilizing or
improving particularly in asia and latin america
citigroup shares rose percent to dollars as at gmt recovering
from early losses
citigroup loss was in line with expectations but the overall report was
rather underwhelming and caused setback for financials in the early going
analysts at briefing com said in note to clients
last week jpmorgan chase opened the us earnings season for banks quadrupling
its fourth quarter net earnings to billion dollars and doubling its profits
for the full year to billion dollars
its chief executive jamie dimon said he was gratified by the results but
lamented consumer credit costs remained high
nfl bills hire gailey as coach in bid to end year jinx
buffalo new york jan afp
chan gailey who has not guided national football league team in years was
hired tuesday as coach of the buffalo bills team that has missed the nfl
playoffs for years in row
the bills who lost four super bowls in row from through went
this season and fired dick jauron in november gailey is the fifth coach of the
bills since hall of fame coach marv levy retired after the season
understand the challenge ahead of us to get the buffalo bills back to being
winning franchise on consistent basis gailey said
have through the years come to know what it takes to build winning
organization it going to take lot of hard work
gailey was given second chance to be an nfl head coach after going
with the dallas cowboys in
believe in toughness and discipline gailey said this is tough game for
tough people but you can just run around out there being tough and out of
control you have to talk about those two things in the same breath
gailey years of gridiron coaching include in the nfl the past two as
kansas city offensive coordinator before being fired last august two weeks
before the season began
the bills spoke with former pittsburgh coach bill cowher now television
commentator and former denver coach mike shanahan hired to coach washington
and were snubbed when they sought to speak with new york jets offensive
coordinator brian schottenheimer
we got the right guy bills general manager buddy nix said we got the best
qualified guy ve got full confidence in him
football ghana breathe easier mali protest togo keeper stable
luanda jan afp
ghana avoided the ignominy of becoming the first world cup qualifiers not to
make it past the africa cup of nations first round thanks to little help from
legend son
missing michael essien and score of first choice players the four time
champions still managed to book their place in the quarter finals with win
over man burkina faso here on tuesday
the only goal came from french based andre ayew son of one of africa most
decorated players abedi pele ayew three time africa footballer of the year
and member of marseille champions league winning side
ghana reward was last eight date with hosts angola at luanda november
stadium on sunday
algeria the group runners up face group winners ivory coast with burkina
faso down and out
the main news off the pitch on day of the competition came from cabinda where
mali despatched letter of protest at monday goalless draw between angola and
algeria
the shared point put those two sides through from group at the expense of
mali who cried foul
that attitude incensed the mali team who wrote to organisers the confederation
of african football caf to make an official complaint
we are lodging vehement protest against the behaviour of the algeria and
angola teams the mali football federation president boubacar thiam wrote in
the letter copy of which has been seen by afp
in fact the second half of the game was total non match the two sides
systematically refusing to play in order to maintain the score at which was
sufficient for qualification
he continued this anti sporting behaviour is contrary to the ethics and the
fair play policy put forward by fifa and caf must condemn it with the utmost
vigour
it does disservice to african football and to the game in general we hope
that caf will take the necessary disciplinary measures
thiam cited as precedent for his protest similar incident at the africa cup
of nations youth championships in match against cameroon and egypt who
received no points as punishment after scoreless draw
there was encouraging news meanwhile from south africa concerning the state of
health of kodjovi obilale the goalkeeper injured in the deadly gun attack on
the togo team bus on january
his condition is stable and he is responding well to treatment said erin
smylie spokeswoman for milpark hospital private facility where the year
old is being treated
obilale was shot in the back and abdomen on january when separatist guerillas
in the angolan enclave of cabinda opened fire on togo convoy as they entered
the country to compete in the tournament
the team assistant coach and its squad media officer were killed in the
shooting which prompted togo to withdraw from the competition
wednesday action comes from benguela where world cup qualifiers nigeria go
into their crucial game with mozambique distracted by reports that
presidential directive has ordered the sacking of underfire coach shuaibu amodu
amodu is still in charge of the team and he took the team training in lubango
yesterday monday he will lead the team against mozambique on wednesday
nigeria football federation official taiwo ogunjobi told afp
nigeria need draw to qualify while champions egypt can assure top spot in the
group if they come away from their meeting with benin with point
football england promise new centre won be white elephant
london jan afp
the man charged with delivering england new national football centre nfc has
insisted the million pound project won prove to be costly white
elephant
plans to build state of the art training centre in burton central england
were first unveiled in but the scheme has since been dogged by delays while
money was diverted to the rebuilding of london wembley stadium
meanwhile rows ensued between the football association which has always been in
favour of the nfc and the premier league and football league clubs who either
questioned the need for central training facility or suggested it ought to be
nearer london
national training centres are common sight in mainland europe with france
longstanding base at clairefontaine near paris widely credited with helping
develop the players who helped win the world cup on home soil in
and england hope their centre will one day produce top class players as well as
managers capable of coaching national side currently under the control of
italian fabio capello
the site has been renamed st george park after england patron saint but nfc
chairman david sheepshanks is well aware that patriotic sentiment alone won
assure the site success
he is aware that the site due to be completed in must in the difficult
post credit crunch financial environment pay its way or risk accusations of
being vanity project
however he insisted plans to build hotel and office complex on the site as
well as private housing scheme would help resolving the funding issues
associated with the nfc although he added there would still be manageable
gap
sheepshanks said the funding process is at an advanced stage but we have to
wait until the tendering of the hotel we are down to shortlist of four
hoteliers any one of which we would be happy to work with
we are left with manageable gap and we have number of initiatives in play
this cannot be white elephant it must be sustainable financially and there is
robust business plan that makes this viable and sustainable
sheepshanks added one of the long term aims is to see english coaches being
educated at the centre and going on to manage our top clubs and national sides
england under manager stuart pearce added most of the serious nations in
europe have national football centres either they have all got it drastically
wrong or we have
we have to have an environment when we have no excuses about our preparations
we have to have british based coaches who can match the cv of people like fabio
capello
the fa has already spent million pounds on the project since and the
plans feature pitches including one synthetic and indoor plus sports
medicine and sports science facilities two hotels and conference centre
tablet computer market to boom deloitte
san francisco jan afp
industry tracker deloitte predicts the tablet computer market will boom this
year with tens of millions of people deciding the notepad sized devices are
just right for their needs
this goldilocks of devices not too big not too small is expected to
offer an appealing balance of form and function going forward the market
analysis firm said referring to the well known children story
tablet computers may turn out to be just right for many users in
deloitte said
the forecast bodes well for iphone ipod and macintosh computer maker apple
which is hosting january event here to unveil its latest creation which
is hotly rumored to be tablet computer resembling an oversized ipod touch
the cupertino california based company did not supply any further details about
the invitation only event to be held at am pacific time gmt at the
yerba buena center for the arts theater in san francisco
according to various reports apple is poised to launch color multimedia
device that allows users to browse the web listen to music watch movies or
television shows and also serve as an electronic book and newspaper reader
publishing powerhouse harpercollins was reported to be in talks with apple
regarding providing digital literature for reading on tablet device
apple tablet is expected to have to inch to centimeter
screen slightly larger than typical devices on the market
with new form factor and significant processing capacity connected portable
devices will likely be purchased by tens of millions of people in
deloitte predicted
called net tablets or nettabs these devices have an advantage over
smartphones which are small for watching videos or web browsing and
notebooks netbooks and ultra thin pcs which are too heavy or expensive
improvements in graphics processing power and wireless broadband internet
availability are making tablets more attractive according to analysts
trend toward applications offered online as services such as web based email
video sharing or spreadsheets add to the appeal of lightweight devices that
serve as gateways to computing power hosted on the internet
is likely to see proliferation of nettabs deloitte said which noted
that the devices will likely be threat to tablets limited to single functions
such as reading digital books
clinton working on haiti marshall plan with donors firm
paris jan afp
haiti biggest foreign investor said tuesday he he was working alongside former
us president bill clinton on marshall plan to rebuild haiti after the deadly
earthquake there
obviously we need foreign direct investment but on wider front we need
marshall plan said irish telecom billionaire denis brien referring to the
us initiative launched in to rebuild western europe after world war ii
that what we ve been discussing here this morning with president clinton
how do you put together composite plan for the rebuilding of haiti right now
he said by telephone from florida
brien whose digicel mobile phone company is also one of haiti biggest
private employers was talking during break in meeting of clinton global
initiative charity that gathered business leaders and aid agencies
he like clinton on monday toured port au prince to see for himself the extent
of the devastation caused by last tuesday tremor that killed tens of thousands
and flattened most of the capital
he said foreign investment would be key to reviving haiti economy and urged
companies to follow his lead and dive in despite the problems of corruption
political instability and rampant crime that afflict the island
anybody thinking about setting up manufacturing facilities or any business in
haiti will give very strong recommendation they go ahead and do it he
said adding that digicel has made five million dollar donation for immediate
relief work
digicel which has more than two million customers in haiti has ploughed about
million dollars into building state of the art mobile network for the
country since it kicked off there in said brien
back then just four percent of the million strong population had access to
phone he noted
his firm storey headquarters in port au prince which was completed just
six months ago survived last week tremor because it was built to be quake
proof unlike most structures in the city he said
digicel said monday it had restored percent of its network coverage in
port au prince and intended to complete repairs by the end of the week
the company said it has also given each of its customers in haiti the equivalent
of five us dollars in free credit so they can keep in touch with relatives in
the wake of the quake
afp americas news agenda for january
washington jan afp
duty editor jim mannion
tel
what happening in the americas on wednesday
huge aid operation races against time in haiti
us lawmakers probe botched christmas day attack
white house gatecrashers to face lawmakers
port au prince teams continue to search for survivors after haiti devastating
quake but attention increasing turns to helping the living expect coverage
haiti quake picture video graphic
washington us homeland security secretary janet napolitano testifies before the
senate committee on commerce science and transportation about failed
christmas day attack on northwest flight gmt expect coverage
attacks us politics
washington couple who gatecrashed state dinner at the white house are due
to testify before lawmakers after being ordered to appear expect coverage us
india dinner diplomacy security
boston massachusetts monitoring results of tight election race to replace the
late ted kennedy in senate with president barack obama ambitious reform
agenda potentially at stake expect coverage us vote senate
united nations the un security council meets gmt coverage on merit
new york bank of america and wells fargo announce earnings gmt expect
coverage us banking earnings company
washington first anniversary of the inauguration of president barack obama
expect coverage us politics year
the senate foreign relations committee holds hearing on the presence of al
qaeda in yemen after the failed christmas day attack on us airliner
gmt expect coverage us yemen congress attacks
the house of representatives armed services committee hears testimony on
pentagon review of the fort hood shooting in texas in which an army
psychiatrist killed people gmt expect coverage us military crime
shooting congress
the senate judiciary committee hears testimony on improving anti terrorism
tools and interagency communication witnesses include fbi director robert
mueller gmt coverage on merit
six power talks on iran constructive us
washington jan afp
the latest talks by six world powers on the nuclear standoff with iran were
constructive us officials said tuesday
we are moving on both tracks said state department spokesman philip crowley
referring to diplomacy and the threat of further sanctions we believe we are
making progress
crowley however said iran response to the international community demands
for assurances about its nuclear program have been inadequate
the five permament members of the un security council the united states
france germany russia and china plus germany met saturday but reached no
decision on further sanctions against iran china in particular has resisted
sanctions
candidates banned from iraq vote had saddam links
baghdad jan afp
more than candidates banned from running in iraq march general election
were accused tuesday of being part of executed dictator saddam hussein once
deadly political and military nexus
all of them were members or sympathisers with saddam outlawed baath party
fedayeen militia and mukhabarat intelligence network or had received military
honours from the baathist movement parliamentary official told mps
the names of blacklisted candidates including that of prominent sunni
lawmaker have been given to their respective parties who have three days to
appeal the decision which has alarmed washington and the united nations
prime minister nuri al maliki shiite however denied that sunnis were being
targeted ahead of the election and defended the process comparing baathists to
nazis who should be excluded accordingly
the sunnis will be much more important partners this time than at the last
election maliki told the state run al iraqiya television channel noting that
only criminals and murderers would be adversely affected
yes there are lot of sunnis on the blacklist but there are maybe more
shiites he said pointing out that percent of the outlawed baath
membership was shiite
the iraqi constitution prevents the existence of this organisation just as
european countries prohibit nazis we have no intention of reconciling with
those who regard osama bin laden as muslim chief or saddam as martyr
the independent high electoral commission ihec iraq election organiser
last week announced about people had been banned from taking part in the
ballot the second such vote since us led invasion toppled saddam in
the list was compiled by an integrity and accountability committee headed by
shiite politician and former post invasion deputy prime minister ahmed chalabi
whose job is to vet applicants and purge unsuitable contenders
it has not been published however and the exclusion of such high number of
election hopefuls could spark sectarian tension and jeopardise the war torn
nation fragile national reconciliation process analysts say
the lack of transparency over the process has also attracted the attention of
the white house and us diplomats in baghdad
us vice president joe biden has spoken about the issue by telephone with maliki
president jalal talabani kurd and vice president tareq al hashemi sunni
anyone who has an objection can go to the appeals committee within the next
hours falah hassan shanshal head of separate accountability and justice
committee asked by parliament to investigate the list told lawmakers
saleh al mutlak leading sunni mp and persistent critic of maliki shiite
dominated government is among those who have been barred
shanshal gave parliament detailed breakdown of blacklisted candidates
he said including mid ranking members were in the baath party and
further belonged to saddam fedayeen men of sacrifice and the
mukhabarat
the committee also eliminated officers from military associations
including divisional commanders with the rank of major general or brigadier
general who had been decorated by the baath party shanshal said
five candidates who participated in putting down the shia uprising against
saddam in southern iraq following the first gulf war in were also
eliminated as well as three other individuals who had spread baathist ideas
government spokesman ali al dabbagh confirmed biden has discussed the matter
with maliki talabani and hashemi in recent days but baghdad view was it is
not good to politicise the issue
statement issued separately by hashemi office said biden criticised the
blacklisting process and suggested that any exclusions procedure be deferred
until after the vote to avoid sunnis shunning the election in large numbers as
they did in
the election is seen as key to consolidating iraq fledgling democracy and
ensuring smooth exit of us combat troops from the country by august this year
ahead of complete american military withdrawal by the end of
six power talks on iran constructive us
washington jan afp
the latest talks by six world powers on the nuclear standoff with iran were
constructive us officials said tuesday
we are moving on both tracks said state department spokesman philip crowley
referring to diplomacy and the threat of further sanctions we believe we are
making progress
crowley however said iran response to the international community demands
for assurances about its nuclear program have been inadequate
the five permament members of the un security council the united states
france germany russia and china plus germany met saturday but reached no
decision on further sanctions against iran china in particular has resisted
sanctions
kraft wins bid for cadbury in mega takeover
new york jan afp
us food giant kraft sealed deal tuesday for cadbury as the famed british
chocolate maker accepted sweetened bid worth some billion dollars creating
world leader in confections
ending bruising hostile months long takeover battle cadbury board agreed to
an improved takeover offer valuing the british group at billion pounds
billion dollars or pence per share the companies announced in
statement
under the takeover agreement cadbury shareholders will also receive pence
per share via special dividend lifting kraft offer to billion pounds
billion dollars
the deal would make kraft the world second biggest food company one of the
biggest global players in chocolate and confections giving the us group the
brands of dairy milk and creme egg to go along with kraft toblerone milka
suchard and cote or among others
the research firm dealogic said the takeover was the seventh biggest cross
border merger of all time by value and sixth largest in the food sector
but the plan has left bitter taste in the mouths of britons over the loss of
the year old iconic brand with the potential for job losses as well
british prime minister gordon brown whose labour party is widely tipped to lose
an upcoming general election said the government was determined to help save
jobs at cadbury
britain biggest union unite warned that kraft would be saddled with huge
debts following the takeover putting at risk cadbury posts and
jobs at the company subcontractors
cadbury which began as small grocer shop in birmingham central england in
has grown into global operation spanning countries with
employees
london listed cadbury led by chief executive todd stitzer an american
repeatedly rejected kraft since an initial approach in september arguing that
its previous cash and shares offer worth billion pounds was derisory
cadbury chairman roger carr said the latest offer represented good value for
cadbury shareholders
the new firm will create global market leader with more than confectionery
brands each with annual sales of more than million dollars
once formally approved by regulators and cadbury shareholders the takeover will
see new company eclipse privately held us firm mars the world biggest
confectioner
investors welcomed tuesday news sending cadbury us listed shares up
percent to dollars kraft shares fell percent to dollars
douglas mcintyre at wall street said the extra cash kraft agreed to put in
to sweeten the pot ended the opposition from cadbury
that was all it took to close the deal rich offer made and accepted he
said
it was never about the strategic fit that cadbury board flaunted as reason
to stay independent it was never about cadbury rosy forecasts or kraft
less robust picture of the future
kraft chief executive irene rosenfeld said her company bid represents
compelling opportunity for cadbury shareholders providing both immediate value
certainty and upside potential in the combined company
kraft which traces its history to when jl kraft started selling cheese
from horse drawn wagon said the tie up provides the potential for meaningful
cost savings
markets were meanwhile waiting to see if us chocolate maker hershey would table
its own offer for cadbury the wall street journal has reported that hershey
planned to bid at least billion dollars this week
medvedev names powerful new north caucasus envoy
moscow jan afp
russian president dmitry medvedev on tuesday appointed an ex economist as his
powerful new envoy to the north caucasus tasked with boosting development in
new federal district that groups together the country most violent regions
the shake up reorganises the kremlin management of its southern region
separating out seven mostly muslim regions including chechnya where moscow is
battling low level islamist insurgency from more stable parts
medvedev named alexander khloponin the current governor of the siberian region
of krasnoyarsk as his new envoy to north caucasus federal district post that
also comes with the rank of deputy prime minister of russia of which there are
several
document was signed by me today appointing you as the presidential envoy
to the north caucasus federal district medvedev told khloponin in
comments broadcast on state television
the new federal district includes chechnya dagestan ingushetia where
insurgency violence has picked up in recent months as well as the neighboring
territories of kabardino balkaria karachayevo cherkessia north ossetia and the
stavropol region
these mountainous regions were formerly part of wider area called southern
administrative district which will remain in reduced form while the new
district will become russia eight federal unit
khloponin former businessman and trained economist has no previous ties to
the region
he served on the board of directors of metals giant norilsk nickel from to
and was elected governor of krasnoyarsk region in and is member of
the ruling united russia party
us group sends audio bibles to haiti
los angeles jan afp
us based christian group is joining the haiti earthquake relief effort by
sending hundreds of solar powered audio bibles to the shattered caribbean
nation statement said tuesday
the faith comes by hearing organization said on its website it was donating
of its proclaimer devices to haiti which would allow victims to listen to
scriptures in haitian creole
we already have proclaimers on their way through our ministry partner
convoy of hope group spokesman jon wilke said these portable solar powered
audio bibles will be given to local pastors so people can hear god word in
their own language
wilke said the group was trying to arrange for another of the devices to
be sent to haiti
the proclaimer is small box like device resembling transistor radio which
can play for hours on single charge
faith comes by hearing says the device is capable of broadcasting digital
quality sermons to groups of up to people
corrected russia ends freeze in ties with ukraine after election
moscow jan afp
russian president dmitry medvedev said tuesday his country would end freeze in
ties with ukraine move that follows the election defeat of the ex soviet
republic pro western president
the announcement that russia would send an ambassador to the neighbouring
country after five month freeze came after two candidates viewed as friendly
to moscow finished on top in sunday vote
the election marked sharp turnaround for ukraine which had set out on
defiant course for european union and nato integration after the orange
revolution of
think you should begin your duties as ambassador to ukraine and try to do the
utmost to strengthen the friendly character of our countries relations
medvedev was quoted as saying by russian news agencies at meeting with
ambassador appointee mikhail zurabov
medvedev appointed zurabov ambassador to the ukraine last year but announced in
august that he would not send him to kiev in protest against the anti russian
policies of ukrainian president viktor yushchenko
yushchenko re election bid failed miserably in sunday presidential polls as
voters gave him humiliating fifth place finish final official results
released late tuesday gave him just percent of the votes
two candidates viewed as friendly to moscow pro russia politician viktor
yanukovich and prime minister yulia tymoshenko took percent and percent
respectively and are now set to compete in february run off
third place went to businessman sergiy tigipko with percent while former
foreign minister aresniy yatseniuk took seven percent ukraine central
election commission announced
medvedev said he hope the election would lead to capable effective
government oriented towards the development of constructive friendly and
multidimensional relations with russia
yushchenko came to power in the orange revolution pledging democratic reform and
membership in the european union
he angered moscow by seeking to bring ukraine into the nato military alliance
supporting russia foe georgia and campaigning for stalin era famine that
killed millions of ukrainians to be classified as genocide
and on sunday voters punished him for failing to bring about the promised
reforms and extracting ukraine from deep economic crisis
russian foreign minister sergei lavrov also indicated moscow pleasure at
yushchenko departure from power
regarding the prospects of russian ukrainian relations we have always been
against approaches that are politicised artificial and have nothing in common
with the interests of the ukrainian people lavrov said
we hope the new president whose name we will most likely find out on february
will fully understand the need to build relations in this manner and not hold
them hostage to his or her ambitions he told reporters
the dismal relations between moscow and kiev contributed to the gas crisis of
january where supplies of russian natural gas to the european union passing
through ukraine pipelines were cut off in the middle of winter
analysts said medvedev decision to send an ambassador to kiev immediately
after sunday election showed russia readiness to cooperate with either of
the possible winners of the run off
moscow has sent signal that either one candidate or the other would be
welcome said yevgeny volk head of moscow office of the washington based
