obilale who was flown to south africa for surgery
the togolese team withdrew from the tournament following the attack and left
angola on sunday evening to return home
splinter group of the independence movement flec front for the liberation of
the enclave of angola has claimed responsibility for the attack
cabinda has been the scene of long running independence struggle peace deal
was signed in but low level insurgency continues in more remote areas of
the province
calls to scrap the cup matches scheduled to be held in cabinda one of four host
locations for the three week competition have been dismissed by the angolan
government despite claims by flec that they may strike again
togo had been due to play ghana in cabinda on monday evening but that match has
now been cancelled
however the match between burkina faso and tournament favourites ivory coast
the first of the tournament in cabinda is due to kick off at gmt monday
spain says does not plan sanctions to back eu policy
madrid jan afp
spain eu presidency monday clarified plans for new year growth strategy
in the face of criticism from germany insisting it does not envisage
sanctions against recalcitrant members
spain wants the eu to agree on replacement for the bloc long term growth
plan known as the lisbon agenda which was supposed to make it the world most
competitive economy by but never achieved its aims as governments were
under no obligation to conform
on thursday spanish prime minister jose luis rodriguez zapatero called for
new strategy that would put more pressure on governments by imposing
corrective measures on those who fail to meet binding targets
but german economy minister rainer bruederle dismissed the idea
do not think the idea of imposing sanctions on member states for not
fulfilling fixed targets is sensible bruederle said in statement on
saturday
up to now the lisbon strategy has been based on partnership approach without
sanctions and we ought to continue that
spanish foreign minister miguel angel moratinos said monday that sanctions
were never part of the plan
the spanish presidency said that the way in which the lisbon agenda is applied
must be changed which does not mean imposing sanctions he told news
conference
for the moment there is no formal proposal and no decision on the subject
added the minister whose country took over the six month rotating presidency of
the eu on january
there are many ways that member states receive the recommendations of the
european commission and the european institutions and many ways they meet
these stated objectives to improve the economy he said
we are at the start of phase in which it is clear that things will have to
change but with the consensus and approval of all
on friday zapatero herman van rompuy the eu new permanent president and
european commission president manuel barroso called for greater economic
coordination among members to revive growth following the global crisis
mozambique approves riversdale coal mine
maputo jan afp
the mozambican government has given the green light to an australian mining
firm plans to build million dollar coal mine in the country northwest
the company said on monday
the mining company riversdale plans to produce million tonnes year from the
coking and thermal coal project and will also build megawatt day power
plant
riversdale is pleased to announce that following completion of an environmental
impact study in mid the mozambican environment ministry has granted
approval for the project to proceed the company said in statement
riversdale has predicted the benga project will produce some of the lowest cost
coking coal in the world
the company estimates the mine initial reserves at million tonnes
million tonnes of proved reserves and million tonnes of probable reserves
riversdale holds percent stake in the mine and indian firm tata steel
percent
the two companies plan to develop the project in three stages beginning
production at million tonnes per year and ramping up to million tonnes as
mozambique transportation infrastructure improves
riversdale said mozambican environmental authorities had approved all three
stages of the project
it actually covers the project to full capacity million tonnes run of
mine riversdale spokesman bill kemmery told afp
mining companies say the northwest mozambican province of tete is one of the
world last great unexploited coal reserves
mozambique has seen boom in its mining sector as multinational companies move
to tap coal beds that sat idle during the country year civil war which
ended in
brazilian mining firm vale broke ground last year on billion dollar mine
in moatize
the government has awarded more than mining licenses in all
business faces more asset damage survey
paris jan afp
business in general and the banks real estate and auto sectors in particular
likely face more damage to their underlying assets amid doubts about the global
recovery survey showed on monday
international accounting firm ernst and young said survey of some
financial specialists from several countries found that percent believed
asset impairments identified over the past two years were lower than expected
on that basis companies especially in the three sectors named would likely
have to take more impairments especially since the recovery looked so
uncertain ernst and young said
more than half of the respondents were unconvinced that the global recovery is
under way it said interestingly lenders were notably more pessimistic about
the state of recovery than other stakeholders
some percent of those surveyed said they felt the global recovery was
underway but percent did not and percent were uncertain it said
most believe that the level of impairments to date are below expectations and
that the real estate banking and capital markets and automotive sectors are
the most likely to experience further impairments it added
ernst and young called on management to be open about impairment costs so as to
ensure shareholder confidence in their company
world economy getting back to normal central bankers
basel switzerland jan afp
emerging economies are driving global economic recovery the head of the ecb
said monday after central bankers concluded that the world economy was moving
towards normalisation
at global level there is confirmation of the progressive normalisation
of the economy european central bank ecb president jean claude trichet said
on behalf of the central bank chiefs
during their first quarterly meeting of the year at the influential bank for
international settlements bis the central bankers confirmed that global
economic recovery was underway
we are in the recovery mode that is something that is very much due to the
emerging economies trichet said
those economies had demonstrated resilience and were very very clearly in
more dynamic mode now the ecb chief told journalists
however trichet warned that commercial banks must ensure that they clean up
their balance sheets in the wake of the financial crisis to ensure steady
recovery
we are telling our banks that they have to do themselves everything to
reinforce their balance sheet by all appropriate means he said
the central bankers met the heads of the several major commercial banks at the
bis over the weekend to underline the need for sound financial system to prop
up long term growth
they said afterwards that they hoped that new international standards aimed at
bolstering the banking industry ability to weather future financial crises
would be finalised by the end of this year
timely completion of the basel committee reform programme is critical to
achieving more resilient banking system that can support sound economic growth
over the long term trichet said in statement released by the bis
leading central bankers and national regulators in the basel committee on
banking supervision said last month that they were aiming to strengthen
financial requirements on banks by the end of once their proposals were
refined and tested this year
the reforms which have been in the offing for several months are part of the
international response to the crisis triggered by the collapse in financial
markets and several major banks over the past two years which plunged the world
into recession
the head of the financial stability board italian central bank chief mario
draghi on saturday warned that the financial system still remained very fragile
despite clear improvement
iran five year plan targets annual eight percent growth
tehran jan afp
iran aims for an annual growth rate of close to eight percent until under
five year plan which president mahmoud ahmadinejad presented to parliament
government newspaper said on monday
but iran daily said that ahmadinejad gave few figures to back up the
plan which he submitted on sunday based on an inflation rate of about
percent
annual growth has been running close to five percent over the past years but
fell to percent in according to official figures which indicate
inflation dropped to percent last year after skirting percent in
iran daily said the forecast was based on dollar barrel price for oil
which accounts for percent of iran exports however the country expects
drop of around percent in the oil sector share of total exports
tehran plans to invest billion dollars year up until to develop its
oil and gas capacity according to the paper which said foreign and private
investments would be invited to develop iran gas industry
the investment aims primarily to boost the country refining output sector
in which iran currently relies on imports for percent of consumption
according to the organisation of petroleum exporting countries
the target is self reliance by iran daily said
on the labour front the five year plan aims to bring down unemployment to seven
percent from the current official figure of percent by creating almost one
million new jobs year
british minister niece on trial for murder in france
versailles france jan afp
the niece of britain junior defence minister told police she was monster
after plunging knife into young frenchman she picked up in bar french
court heard on monday
just wanted to cut him little but the knife went in by itself jessica
davies told police who arrived after she called emergency services in the small
hours of november the court heard
the police found her kneeling naked on the bed of her apartment in the chic
paris suburb of saint germain en laye trying to stem the flow of blood from
the body of year old olivier mugnier
davies then told police did it can tell you why but did it am
monster the court heard as legal official read out the charge sheet in the
court in versailles west of paris on the first day of her two day trial
mugnier died in the flat at am an hour after police arrived he had been
stabbed twice in the upper chest the fatal blow penetrated his body and touched
his spine
davies the year old niece of britain multi millionaire junior defence
minister quentin davies had picked up mugnier in an irish pub and taken him to
her apartment
police said she was four times over the drink drive alcohol limit and could
barely stand or speak when they arrested her traces of anti depressant were
found in her blood
davies looked pale and drawn as she sat in the courtoom where her parents and
brother and the victim family were also present
dressed in jeans and grey cardigan her hair pulled back in ponytail she
showed little emotion as the charge sheet was read out before the three judges
and nine member jury
the first morning of the trial was taken up with statements from the accused and
her family members
davies did not speak about the events of the night of the crime but told the
court of her dysfunctional family and her troubled adolescence
it was marked by the acrimonious divorce of her parents when she was and by
her maternal grandmother repeated suicide attempts
she started drinking heavily as teenager and by the time she was in first year
at university was drunk six days out of seven she said adding that she had
also developed cocaine habit
davies told how she had once tried to set fire to her school and recounted her
own two suicide attempts in one of which she got into her bathtub and slashed
her wrists and legs with knife
she failed to develop career after finishing degree in literature and
worked only intermittently in bars and offices
her mother monique broke down in tears as she told how police called to
announce the catastrophe of the arrest of her daughter for murder
it emerged that there was history of psychological problems on both sides of
the family when her banker father richard davies said his younger brother
schizophrenic had once tried to kill their mother
davies faces maximum sentence of years in prison if convicted of voluntary
homicide without premeditation
born in london to british father and french mother she grew up mostly in
france
the court heard she was depressed after splitting up with her french boyfriend
with whom she had shared the one bedroom flat for four years
she had taken to going out on boozing sessions and picking up men neighbours
and locals said
on the saturday night before mugnier death she was seen drinking pints of beer
and shots of alcohol in sullivan irish pub in saint germain en laye
the british press had speculated after her arrest that mugnier death was the
result of sex game that turned to violence
british papers drew parallels with high profile murder in italy in sex
game that turned violent and led to its victim being stabbed in the neck just
few days earlier of year old british student meredith kercher
the papers said french police had probed whether davies was inspired by that
murder for which us student amanda knox was jailed for years last month and
her italian boyfriend years in jail
davies uncle quentin davies hit the headlines in when he defected from
britain opposition conservatives to the ruling labour party just before
gordon brown was named the new prime minister
he has since been appointed brown junior defence minister
indian border guard dies in kashmir shooting officials
srinagar india jan afp
pakistani troops shot dead an indian border guard monday during an exchange of
fire across the de facto border that splits kashmir between the two nuclear
armed rivals indian officials said
the incident took place in mountainous poonch district about kilometres
miles south of indian kashmir summer capital srinagar
the soldier died in firing from across the line of control indian border
security force spokesman said referring to the de facto border one of the
world most heavily militarised frontiers
he blamed pakistani troops for the shooting and termed it as yet another
ceasefire violation by pakistanis
indian troops returned fire but it was not immediately known if there were any
casualties on the pakistani side of the border
india and pakistan have fought two of their three wars over mainly muslim
kashmir which is held in part by each country but claimed in full by both
ceasefire was agreed along the line of control in and peace talks began
the following year since then there have been sporadic clashes with both sides
accusing each other of violating the deal
recent months have seen an upsurge in attempted infiltrations according to the
indian army
on saturday indian troops accused their pakistani counterparts of firing at
least four rockets across the border into northern punjab but said there were no
casualties
the incident was the second since september when two rockets allegedly fired by
pakistani troops landed near the popular tourist attraction of wagah in indian
punjab
north china braces for more icy weather
beijing jan afp
northern china braced for another blast of frigid air monday as coal shortages
neared alarming levels due to surging power use amid prolonged cold snap
the government and state media reported
the new cold front is expected to send temperatures plummeting to as low as
minus degrees celsius degrees fahrenheit in northern heilongjiang
province for much of the week the central weather bureau said
icy weather has gripped northern china since the start of the year with heavy
snows snarling air road and rail traffic last week and the diving mercury
causing spike in power use
the situation has crimped power supplies as weather related transport
bottlenecks have disrupted coal shipments to power stations
the national power dispatch and communication centre said that as of sunday coal
reserves at power plants had dwindled to the alarming seven day supply
level xinhua news agency reported
it said another major power plants had seen reserves fall to nine day
supplies
the situation has caused several provinces and regions to ration electricity or
take other power saving moves to reduce strain on electricity grids
xinhua said shanxi shandong henan and hubei provinces as well as the huge
southwestern municipality of chongqing were still rationing as of sunday
temperatures in beijing which hit its lowest point since last week
were forecast to drop to lows of minus celsius by tuesday before edging up to
highs of around zero degrees on friday the central weather bureau said
the government was rushing tents and other relief supplies to the northwestern
xinjiang region after heavy snow killed one person and forced the evacuation of
nearly others xinhua said at the weekend
snowstorms which raged until friday also flattened houses and damaged
nearly others it had said
the spike in energy demand has resulted in percent increase in coal prices
in north china compared with month ago the beijing news reported
production in china major coal region of shanxi has fallen due to the
widespread closure of mines under new safety reform plan further pushing
prices upwards the yangcheng evening news said
but due to the shortages and rising prices people were seeking cheaper coal
from small mines the paper said indicating that black market for the fossil
fuel was already developing and mines were opening illegally
meanwhile coal transport prices fluctuated wildly rising percent at the
shanghai shipping trade centre last week when shipments were hampered by snow
before falling by more than percent this week the beijing times said
according to xinhua news agency the cold snap has resulted in the most severe
sea ice in north and eastern china in three decades with ice breakers
scampering to keep sea lanes free and navigable
large portion of the coal from north china is shipped to the south by sea
british minister niece on trial for murder in france
versailles france jan afp
the niece of britain junior defence minister told police she was monster
after she confessed to the drunken knife murder of young frenchman french
court heard on monday
just wanted to cut him little but the knife went in by itself jessica
davies told police who arrived after she had called emergency services in the
small hours of november the court heard
the police found her kneeling naked on the bed of her apartment in the chic
paris suburb of saint germain en laye trying to stem the flow of blood from
the body of year old olivier mugnier
davies then told police did it can tell you why but did it am
monster the court heard as legal official read out the charge sheet in the
court in versailles west of paris on the first day of her two day trial
mugnier died in the flat at am an hour after police arrived he had been
stabbed twice in the upper chest the fatal blow penetrated his body and touched
his spine
davies the year old niece of britain multi millionaire junior defence
minister quentin davies had picked up mugnier in an irish pub and taken him to
her apartment
police said she was four times over the drink drive alcohol limit and could
barely stand or speak when they arrested her
she looked pale and drawn as she sat in the courtoom where her parents and
brother and the victim family were also present
dressed in jeans and grey cardigan her hair pulled back in ponytail she
showed little emotion as the charge sheet was read out before the three judges
and nine member jury
the first morning of the trial was taken up with statements from the accused and
her family members
davies did not speak about the events of the night of the crime but told the
court of her disfunctional family and her troubled adolescence
it was marked by the acrimonious divorce of her parents when she was and by
her maternal grandmother repeated suicide attempts
she started drinking heavily as teenager and by the time she was in first year
at university was drunk six days out of seven she said adding that she had
also developed cocaine habit
davies told how she had once tried to set fire to her school and recounted her
two suicide attempts in one of which she got into her bathtub and slashed her
wrists and legs with knife
she failed to develop career after finishing degree in literature and
worked only intermittently in bars and offices
her mother monique broke down in tears as she told how police called to
announce the catastrophe of the arrest of her daughter for murder
it emerged that there was history of psychological problems on both sides of
the family when her banker father richard davies said his younger brother
schizophrenic had once tried to kill their mother
davies faces maximum sentence of years in prison if convicted of voluntary
homicide without premeditation
born in london to british father and french mother she grew up mostly in
france
the court heard that she was depressed after splitting up with her french
boyfriend with whom she had shared the one bedroom flat for four years
she had taken to going out on boozing sessions and picking up men neighbours
and locals said
on the saturday night before mugnier death she was seen drinking pints of beer
and shots of alcohol in sullivan irish pub in saint germain en laye
the british press had speculated after her arrest that mugnier death was the
result of sex game that turned to violence
british papers drew parallels with high profile murder in italy in sex
game that turned violent and led to its victim being stabbed in the neck just
few days earlier of year old british student meredith kercher
the papers said french police have probed whether davies was inspired by that
murder for which us student amanda knox was handed year prison term last
month and for which her italian boyfriend also got years in jail
davies uncle quentin davies caused scandal in when he defected from
britain opposition conservatives to the ruling labour party just before
gordon brown was named the new prime minister
he has since been appointed as brown junior defence minister
greek inflation rises in december official
athens jan afp
inflation in crisis hit greece rose to percent in december compared to the
same month in up from percent monthly rate in november official
data showed on monday
consumer prices rose by percent between november and december the esye
national statistics office said they were up by percent on an annual
average compared to percent in
using the harmonised index of consumer prices hicp the european union
inflation yardstick inflation went up by percent in december on
monthly basis compared to percent in november
this compares with eu official data released last week showing that inflation
rose by an average percent in december in the nation euro currency zone
of which greece is member
greece has come under pressure from the eu to reduce its huge public deficit
which rose to percent of output last year its debt amounted to percent
of gross domestic product
the socialist government is aiming to bring the deficit to below percent of
gdp the limit imposed by the eurozone in
during visit last week experts from the european commission and european
central bank demanded to know in detail when and how athens would take the
necessary measures to tackle its debt finance ministry official said
athens which is striving to restore its financial credibility in europe where
its debt troubles have raised fears over the eurozone stability announced on
friday percent increase in tobacco and alcohol taxes
meanwhile official data showed last week that greece industrial output
slumped by percent in november on month comparison
the country unemployment rate rose to percent in the third quarter of
from percent in the same period in the statistics office said last
month
india can be solar energy leader pm
new delhi jan afp
indian prime minister manmohan singh laid out ambitious plans to make his
country global leader in solar power on monday as he launched government
initiative to boost use of the technology
solar can help secure india energy independence and tackle climate change
singh said as well as offering new opportunities for industry in country with
crippling shortage of power
the national solar mission launched monday could establish india as global
leader in solar energy in the areas of power generation and technology
production singh told business leaders and government officials
the rapid spread of solar lighting systems solar water pumps and other solar
power based rural applications can change the face of our rural energy sector
he said
the solar mission has the goal of increasing solar energy capacity exponentially
to reach megawatts for the year reducing reliance on fossil fuels
that amount would provide enough power for million homes with each receiving
one kilowatt of power
government figures show approximately impoverished indian villages have
no access to grid electricity
india currently produces just under nine megawatts of solar power data from the
ministry of new and renewable energy mnre showed in october
the prime minister said india boasted some of the world greatest science and
techology minds and they had revolutionised atomic energy space and information
technology
am convinced that solar energy can be the next scientific and industrial
frontier in india he said
indian companies which could benefit from the push include tata bp solar which
is joint venture between tata power and bp solar and one of india leading
solar energy distributors
india produces more than megawatts of power from all renewable sources
according to the mnre with more than megawatts from wind power alone
world economy getting back to normal central bankers
basel switzerland jan afp
leading central bankers believe emerging economies are gradually dragging the
world economy back to normality after steep crisis the president of the
european central bank said monday
at global level there is confirmation of the progressive normalisation
of the economy said ecb chief jean claude trichet speaking on behalf of the
central bank chiefs
during their first quarterly meeting of the year at the bank for international
settlements bis they concluded that global economic recovery was underway
we are in the recovery mode that is something that is very much due to the
emerging economies trichet said
those economies had demonstrated resilience and were very very clearly in
more dynamic mode now the ecb chief told journalists
uae to host world talks on afghanistan pakistan
dubai jan afp
delegations from nations will meet in abu dhabi on tuesday to discuss the
problems faced by troubled afghanistan and pakistan an emirati official said on
monday
the gathering will also be attended by the foreign ministers of afghanistan
pakistan jordan qatar and the united arab emirates the official said
the issues that will be discussed include pakistan economic development plans
and humanitarian assistance as well as strengthening democratic institutions in
afghanistan dan feldman an adviser to us afghanistan envoy richard holbrooke
said in washington on thursday
tuesday meeting comes just weeks before major january conference in
london attended by afghan president hamid karzai and international leaders
france set to decide on bluefin tuna ban
paris jan afp
french fishermen are urging the government to resist pressure from green groups
when it decides on monday whether to join global ban on trade of the
overfished bluefin tuna
prime minister francois fillon is to announce whether france is in favour of
adding atlantic and mediterranean bluefin tuna to list drawn up by cites the
convention aimed at ensuring the survival of threatened species
the stance taken by france which has large bluefin tuna fishing fleet will
weigh heavily in the european union position to be announced on wednesday
the national fishermen committee said the government must not give in to
pressure from green groups and argued that scientists were divided as to
whether ban was necessary to save tuna stocks
showing too much haste to satisfy environmental fantasies risks destroying an
entire sector of french fishing wrote the committee
greenpeace and wwf estimate that tuna stocks have declined by more than two
thirds over the past years and are close to collapse
french world sailor isabelle autissier who heads the environmental group wwf
france urged president nicolas sarkozy at the weekend to support the ban
over the past decades there has been intensive fishing of bluefin tuna based
on short term profit in response to the high demand from the japanese market
wrote autissier in the newspaper le journal du dimanche
japan is the world largest consumer of bluefin tuna
sarkozy in july had expressed support for the ban but two months later france
rejected measure to halt tuna trade proposed by the european commission based
on an initiative from monaco
it is mistake to believe that the ocean is endless giant limitless food
cupboard wrote autissier
french fishermen had urged the government to await results of new assessment
of tuna stocks after report from the un food and agriculture organisation cast
doubt on whether overfishing had reached critical threshold
group of leading french chefs in november announced they were taking bluefin
tuna off their menus but with sushi bars flourishing in france the chefs
acknowledged they may be fighting losing battle
the european position will be decided ahead of an upcoming meeting in march of
the convention on international trade in endangered species cites in doha
