the accord was signed by camara interim junta chief general sekouba konate and
burkina faso president blaise compaore who is mediating between the ruling junta
and the opposition
the pact provides for national council of transition and unity government
before polls are held in six months
statement said camara who was shot in the head by an aide de camp in december
following an alleged dispute over bloody crackdown on an opposition rally in
which more than people were shot dead will remain available to help the
players in the transition adding he should be in convalescence
it said the proposed unity government would be led by prime minister and
composed of cabinet from the forces vives coalition of opposition parties
trade unions and civil society
the agreement also called for civil and military observers from the regional
economic community of west african states bloc to be deployed
the names of two men opposition figure jean marie dore and unionist rabiatou
serah diallo were proposed by the forces vives coalition mamadou bah baadiko
the head of the union of democratic forces told afp
we could not agree to sole candidate and so we proposed two names he said
dore hailed the pact but stressed that interim leader general sekouba konate
should be given the space to manouevre to institute reforms and achieve
peaceful transition
hours before the agreement was signed the ruling junta pledged peace and
security to civilians and especially political leaders
we wish to reassure national and international opinion that peace in the
country and the security of the civilian population and of their property
particularly political leaders will be guaranteed across the whole territory
the minister for presidential security claude pivi said in broadcast
the process of democratisation begun for calm transition towards happy end
to the crisis rests and remains the main preoccupation of the cndd the
national council for democracy and development pivi added in his broadcast
message
we commit ourselves to making democratisation reality in guinea to succeed
we ask for the contribution and the willing cooperation of all citizens
concluded pivi who is close to junta leader camara
several guinean politicians and france and the united states have expressed
fears that if camara returns to guinea the west african country could plunge
into civil war
guinea one of the world top bauxite producers has been mired in political
crisis sparked by military coup led by camara on december
unrest worsened when troops massacred more than people at an opposition
rally in september last year according to un figures hundreds more were
wounded and women and young girls were publicly raped
recent un report on the massacre in guinea capital conakry named camara as
suspect and accused the army of crimes against humanity
the international criminal court said friday visit by its deputy prosecutor
fatou bensouda to investigate the stadium incident planned for next week would
be postponed for logistical reasons
us troops spark anger at haiti airport
port au prince jan afp
troopers from the us army nd airborne division fanned out across haiti
main airport friday sparking angry scenes as they struggled to control crowds
desperate to leave the country
back up back up not trying to be rude but you ve got to back up
soldier shouted as french official tried to lead group of french nationals
into the airport terminal
passeport americain seulement passeport americain seulement frustrated
state department official shouted as haitian refugees began to crowd around an
ad hoc holding area for us citizens clutching their precious blue passports
the us troops were the first of an estimated due to pour into the country
over the course of the day
the united states is deploying as many as troops to haiti over the next
few days although many will remain on an armada of naval vessels gathering
offshore led by the aircraft carrier uss vinson the pentagon said
the us detachment is the largest so far committed to the aid effort three days
after massive earthquake devastated port au prince killing thousands and
destroying all semblance of governance in this poverty stricken country
the nd airborne troops set up base at the airport securing the entrance to
the terminal where they began filtering us passport holders out of the crowd of
hundreds of frustrated would be refugees demanding flights
measure of order was restored but there were confused and sometimes angry
scenes as non american diplomats tried to extract their own nationals from the
crowd to usher them to rescue planes waiting on the tarmac
french diplomats trying to get of their fellow nationals to the first of
three planes due to extract them were initially turned back by us troops and
state department officials
the misunderstandings were cleared up however and within hour both french
and us nationals were gathered on the tarmac in lines waiting for place on one
of the dozens of planes shuttling in and out
we re just setting up control points said sergeant kelab barrieau
the toussaint louverture international airport the hub of ballooning
international relief effort is brimming with air force transports from dozen
nations unloading humanitarian and military supplies on the tarmac
we re going to be branching out around the city to help the united nations and
other forces who need it provide whatever assistance is required barrieau
said as heavy lift helicopters arrived to join the operation
troops were scheduled to continue arriving throughout the day until the
contingent grows to brigade strength of several thousand personnel with units
arriving overnight in and cargo planes from fort bragg north
carolina
we re prepared to stay for whatever amount of time is necessary most likely
days but if more time is needed we will be there to help out barrieau told
afp
as order was gradually restored and foreign nationals trapped by the disaster
began to leave aid workers and journalists continued to flow in the opposite
direction into the impoverished caribbean nation
but some confusion remained
the dutch ambassador to the dominican republic rita dulci rahman who is also
responsible for haiti was in the airport carpark with single aide and had
to borrow an afp reporter phone to find her driver
she said the netherlands will fly in plane carrying rescue equipment as well
as rescue and medical workers in the course of the day
as of friday countries were participating in the relief operations with more
than thousand people on the ground and sniffer dogs said nicholas reader
spokesman for the united nations office for the coordination of humanitarian
affairs ocha
the word we are getting back is that they don need any more search and rescue
teams he told afp on the tarmac
instead aid shipments will now concentrate on the humanitarian needs
principally medical supplies and food and water for the survivors still
living among the ruins left by quake that left thousands dead he said
we really need to focus on the living and what we can do for them reader
said
football cup shambles leaves mali out in the cold
luanda jan afp
farcical mix up by africa cup of nations organisers in angola left mali
fuming when they were locked out of scheduled training session because the
algeria team had beaten them into the stadium
algeria turned up at the escoqueirus stadium in luanda and gained immediate
access on friday afternoon but waiting reporters were astonished when
quarter of an hour later the mali team bus rounded corner and parked outside
the stadium
mali players including real madrid midfielder and national team captain
mahamadou diarra and african footballer of the year frederic kanoute were
made to wait in the coach for over half an hour before being told they could
enter the ground
but the situation took bizarre turn when the stadium security officers
refused to let them in as algeria continued preparing for their final first
round match against angola on monday in blissful ignorance inside
utter confusion then reigned as diarra and some of his fellow team mates
attempted to gain access by clambering through an open window
over by the securely locked main gate kanoute and mali nigerian coach stephen
keshi attempted to talk their way in but to no avail
after over an hour and as dusk fell furious keshi led his charges back to
the team bus to return to their hotel having missed vital chance to prepare
for their last group match against malawi in cabinda on monday
keshi who won the africa cup of nations as player in the told afp
fed up how could this happen to get the boys in bus and travel to
ground and be told you can train don know whose fault it is
barcelona midfielder seydou keita was also furious at the shambles saying
defiantly they can do what they like but we re still going to qualify for
the quarter finals
diarra was so annoyed he refused to make any comment as he joined his team mates
for the hour long journey back to the hotel to get ready for the flight to
cabinda on saturday
the local africa cup of nations organising committee told afp it was
investigating the incident
mali on one point in group after draw with the hosts and loss to
algeria face game against malawi that they must win if they are to have any
hope of making it into the last eight
they are making their sixth appearance in the competition with their highest
placing coming in when they finished runners up
this is not the first time competing team at the nations cup has fallen
foul of an organising blunder
malawi coach kinnah phiri was left fuming when his side were unable to train for
two days before thursday game against hosts angola which they lost
three times we went onto pitch but we found that there were others there
they were asked to leave but they refused we have not trained for two days
he said he had written letter of protest to the competition organisers
tame inflation falling wages signal weak us recovery
washington jan afp
us consumer prices barely rose in december amid sluggish recovery from
recession official data showed friday as falling wages pinched spending that
drives most of the world largest economy
the consumer price index rose less than expected in december by percent
from november the labor department reported in seasonally adjusted data
most analysts had forecast stronger cpi rise of percent
the so called core cpi which excludes food and energy prices and is used by
the federal reserve to forecast future inflation rose percent as expected
inflation was broad based with the indexes for food energy and all items
less food and energy all posting modest increases the labor department said
the year ended with the inflation rate at percent from year ago sharp
increase over percent inflation in the first full year of the worst
downturn since the great depression
inflation stood at percent in december as the economy officially
entered recession
core inflation was percent within the fed comfort zone on monetary
policy
the us is still in the grip of intense disinflationary forces despite the
basis effect lifting the headline year on year rate deflation risk is real
said ian shepherdson chief us economist at high frequency economics
there is no indication that inflation is even remote danger and the fed
aggressive credit expansion and low interest rate policy have not had the
inflationary effects that some critics feared said andres carbacho burgos at
moody economy com
brian wesbury at first trust economic disagreed saying consumer prices rose
percent annual rate in the final three months of the year
investors and the fed need to stop worrying so much about economic growth and
start to show more concern about inflation he said
the labor department said energy prices surged percent in the
sharpest rise since gasoline prices leapt percent an all time record
gain in the data series that began in
the hefty increases came in comparison with rock bottom levels in december
food prices fell percent over the year the steepest decline since
the only place where pressures are building greatly is in energy while demand
remains weak the price of oil has been rising fairly sharply said joel naroff
of naroff economic advisors
amid double digit unemployment and the loss of more than seven million jobs
since the recession began us workers saw their paychecks shrink last year
real average weekly earnings were unchanged in december from november the labor
department reported separately
but on month basis weekly earnings fell percent the worst pullback
since after rising percent in
the inflation and wages readings came day after the commerce department
reported retail sales fell unexpectedly by percent in december capping
the worst year on record for the spending that drives two thirds of the
country economy
for all of retail sales plunged percent from year ago the steepest
annual plunge since the data series began in
the fed in its beige book report on the economy wednesday said that because of
the high level of unemployment wage pressures were subdued and overall
inflationary pressures modest
the us economy expanded percent in the third quarter of after four
quarters of contraction the government is set to release its initial estimate
of fourth quarter gross domestic product on january
the fed and most economists expect data to show continued growth in the fourth
quarter and into but worry that high unemployment at percent in
december will curb consumer confidence and spending
alert
haiti has counted to dead french minister
pakistani taliban release audio of leader denying his death
peshawar pakistan jan afp
the pakistani taliban released an audio recording allegedly made friday of
leader hakimullah mehsud denying he had been killed in us bombing raid as the
military investigated the reports
missiles fired from an unmanned us aircraft killed at least islamist
insurgents at training camp in pakistan lawless northwest tribal belt
thursday and security officials said mehsud may have been among the dead
the us drones kept up their bombardment friday with at least militants
killed in two separate attacks in the same region
the government and the army say they cannot confirm mehsud death while the
tehreek taliban pakistan ttp group he commands say he is alive and well and
sent the recording to media friday to back up their claims
reporters familiar with mehsud said the voice appeared to be his but there was
no mention of dates or the bombing alleged to have killed him making it
impossible to confirm if it was recorded before or after thursday strike
sometimes they the government launch propaganda about my martyrdom through
media and sometimes they say that the operation has been completed in south
waziristan this can never happen mehsud said
he was referring to military operations against taliban strongholds launched
last year in the tribal district of south waziristan
hakimullah mehsud assumed leadership of the group blamed for the deaths of
thousands of people in attacks across pakistan after his predecessor baitullah
mehsud was killed in us drone strike in august last year
the ttp denied baitullah mehsud death for weeks apparently amid fierce
infighting over his successor
hakimullah mehsud himself had to counter rumours of his own demise at the hands
of rival militant in october prompting the militant chief to make number of
audio and video statements denying he had been killed
conflicting reports emerged from intelligence agents and security officials in
the northwest on friday with some saying mehsud was injured while others said
the ttp chief and some of his top commanders were likely killed
the us strike hit in remote and mountainous area between the districts of
north and south waziristan and the military spokesman said access to the
taliban controlled area was one hurdle in obtaining information
so far we do not have confirmation of him either getting killed or getting
injured it will take little more time to confirm this or otherwise military
spokesman major general athar abbas told afp
intelligence agencies are at their work they are trying to probe and find out
from their sources
the ttp has already issued number of statements denying mehsud death and on
friday militant spokesman azam tariq said his boss had left the shaktoi area
pounded by the missiles to minutes before the strike
hakimullah is alive and safe met with him last night there was not even
scratch on him tariq told afp by telephone
amid continuing drone strikes friday at least five militants were killed at
pm gmt in zanini village near the town of mir ali about
kilometres miles east of miranshah the main town of restive north
waziristan tribal district
us drones fired four missiles at militant compound and at least five
militants were killed senior security official told afp on condition of
anonymity
less than two hours later second drone strike at bichi village killed another
six militants according to senior security official
more than people have been killed in around us drone strikes since august
with surge in under us president barack obama nine drone strikes
have hit the tribal northwest this month alone
the bombings fuel anti american sentiment in muslim pakistan and the ttp
repeatedly vow to avenge the raids
with washington pressing islamabad to tackle militants who use its soil to
launch attacks in neighbouring afghanistan pakistan armed forces last year
carried out multiple assaults on ttp strongholds across the tribal belt
despite the offensives attacks blamed on the ttp show no sign of abating with
bombings increasingly hitting civilians on january about people were
killed in suicide bombing at volleyball game in northwest town
yachting alinghi yacht sails off spain amid doubt over cup
valencia spain jan afp
alinghi giant catamaran took to the water for the first time off eastern spain
on friday prior to the swiss team planned america cup face off with us rival
oracle next month
alinghi sailed for about two hours off the port of valencia steered by the
syndicate owner ernesto bertarelli
the formal training programme for the crew is to begin on saturday
the swiss biotech billionaire also used the event to launch new attack on
oracle which took alinghi to court on wednesday charging the swiss team had
infringed the competition nationality rules by allegedly using us made sails
our sails are rooted in swiss technology and they have been constructed in
villeneuve switzerland bertarelli said
should the american justice system outlaw their use it would be like asking
roger federer to defend his title without using his tennis racket oracle would
win the america cup in court as without our sails we cannot race
the americans have indicated that if the supreme court of the state of new york
rules in their favour they would give alinghi the time to make new sails
delaying the scheduled february start of their duel to decide the rd
america cup
alinghi and oracle have been arguing over the rules of the america cup in
court since alinghi won the last edition of the world most prestigious
yachting event in valencia in
the new york court ruled in april that the cup should be settled by one on one
multihull duel between the two sides next february instead of the traditional
fully fledged regatta involving several teams
it also ruled last month that the event must be held in valencia rejecting an
appeal by alinghi which favoured the gulf emirate of ras al khaimah
canada should consider slowing oil sands boom official
ottawa jan afp
canada should consider reining in development of its booming oil sands the
world second largest reserve behind saudi arabia alberta new energy
minister said in an interview published friday
believe we have an opportunity to sit down as cabinet and have that
discussion and say as this thing starts to crank up again are we going to
change our policy of come one come all into the development of the oil sands
alberta energy minister ron liepert told the daily globe and mail
that the discussion we need to have he said offering no details
environmentalists immediately praised the minister for at least talking about
the need to slow the pace and scale of the development often criticized for
polluting the environment and contributing to global warming
such move would have the potential to address some of the environmental and
social problems and the negative attention the oil sands are getting said
activist simon dyer of the pembina institute
liepert warned of reluctance to slow development by oil men who he said
epitomize the wild west and who believe the government has no role to play
in managing economic growth
during alberta boom years it would have been difficult to tell any firm
we ve got new policy in place you ve got to wait your turn three years to
develop patch of the oil sands he said
but the current lull in the oil sector could allow for reassessment of the
situation to calm what critics described as overheated growth in exploitation of
the oil sands he added
alberta oil sands output is currently expected by the alberta energy and
utilities board to triple over the coming decade making canada one of the
biggest energy producers in the world by then
at an estimated billion barrels the oil sands are the second largest oil
reserve in the world but they were neglected for years except by local
companies due to high extraction costs
since skyrocketing crude oil prices and improved extraction methods have
made exploitation more economical
at the same time oil companies faced increased protests for creating toxic
waste ponds so large they are visible from space and that seep into alberta
groundwater
environmentalists also criticized oil sands extraction for producing three to
five times more carbon emissions than conventional oil production
while conventional crude oil is pumped from the ground oil sands must be mined
and bitumen separated from the sand and water then upgraded and refined
american express completes deal for revolution money
washington jan afp
american express said friday it had completed its acquisition of revolution
money web payments firm started in by internet firm aol founder steve
case
with the million dollar acquisition amex is taking aim at the growing
market for online and alternative payments in challenge to recognized leader
paypal according to analysts
amex is believed to be interested in the so called peer to peer services of
revolution which enable low cost money transfers among individuals and
businesses
paypal unit of ebay has been able to dominate in this area but others such
as google checkout have struggled say analysts
revolution money issues cards without the use of names or account numbers with
transactions authorized using personal code it provides person to person
payment accounts that can be used on social and instant messaging networks as
well as prepaid cards
florida based revolution money sprung from the venture capital group led by
case with the mission to drive transformative change by shifting power to
consumers according to the group
corrected barroso letter backs under fire bulgarian commissioner designate
brussels jan afp
eu commission chief jose manuel barroso backed friday bulgaria controversial
nominee for commissioner saying she was qualified for the job and had provided
assurances over her financial declarations
in letter to european parliament president jerzy buzek barroso supported
bulgarian foreign minister rumiana jeleva who has come under attack from the
parliament over her competence for the post of eu aid commissioner and alleged
omissions from her declaration of financial interests
jeleva has the necessary general competence international experience and shows
the necessary levels of european commitment to exercise these functions
barroso said
on her financial declarations he relied on her assurances
ms jeleva has also confirmed once again that her declaration of interest
is fully accurate and complete he added attaching the statement in question
however barroso pointed out that the commission the eu executive arm did not
have any specific procedure of control for vetting such declarations
barroso member team of new commissioners are being quizzed by meps over
their aptness and competence
so far jeleva parliamentary grilling was by far the toughest with the
socialist camp leading the detractors and prompting the response from barroso
earlier friday bulgarian prime minister boyko borisov appeared to distance
himself from his foreign minister eu candidacy
speaking on national television he insisted on jeleva competence for the
commission post but added that he was not in position to judge the various
allegations against her
if she accepted to become european commissioner it was her duty to get her
papers in order if this was not the case she will not have my support
borisov said
the european parliament does not have the power to veto an individual commission
nominee but can reject the whole team if it is not happy
the parliamentary hearings continue next week with the assembly due to give its
overall endorsement in vote on january after they are completed
canadian parliament to raise haiti colors in support
ottawa jan afp
canada parliament will light up on friday evening and for days to come in the
red and blue colors of haiti flag to show solidarity with its people the
prime minister office said
to show solidarity with the people of haiti in small yet special way
starting tonight the parliament buildings will be illuminated in haitian
colors said dimitri soudas spokesman for prime minister stephen harper
some people are feared dead in haiti after magnitude quake struck
the impoverished caribbean island on tuesday
football ivory coast lead ghana at half time
cabinda angola jan afp
kouassi gervinho yao scored after mintues to give ivory coast lead
over ghana at half time in an africa cup of nations group match friday
jpmorgan kicks off bank earnings on strong note
washington jan afp
jpmorgan chase opened the earnings season for banks friday reporting hefty
jump in profits friday highlighting renewed health in sector under intense
scrutiny for its pay practices
the new york based financial giant quadrupled its fourth quarter net earnings to
billion dollars and doubled its profits for the full year to billion
dollars
the results reflected new vigor in the industry after more than year of
crisis but were expected to fuel public resentment over hefty profits and
compensation in sector bailed out by the government and at time when much of
the us economy continues to struggle and unemployment remains high
jamie dimon chairman and chief executive of jpmorgan chase the second largest
bank by assets said he was gratified by the results but lamented that they
fell short of both an adequate return on capital and the firm earnings
potential
while we are seeing some stability in delinquencies consumer credit costs
remain high and weak employment and home prices persist accordingly we remain
cautious he said in statement
the profit for the quarter amounted to cents shares better than the
cents expected by analysts
revenues in the period rose to billion dollars from billion dollars
year earlier for the banking group one of the strongest to emerge from the
global financial crisis
for the profit was billion dollars on billion in revenues up
from earnings of billion dollars in on revenues of billion
the results come with banks in focus for hefty executive pay schemes which
some blame for encouraging risky practices that led to the global crisis
the jpmorgan chase earnings report did not include specific bonus amounts but
reports have indicated that many banks are set to pay record bonuses
wall street journal analysis found wall street banks and securities firms were
on track to pay employees billion dollars for record amount
president barack obama on thursday proposed tax or fee to be assessed on major
banks that would recoup the government bailout for the sector
jpmorgan chase said its investment banking arm posted profit of billion
dollars for the quarter rebounding from loss year earlier another big
profit driver was corporate and private equity with billion dollars
but its retail banking including home lending lost million dollars and
credit card operations lost million
commercial banking operations resulted in profit of million dollars while
treasury and securities operations earned million
despite dimon comments some analysts said the banking giant was hitting its
stride
the bank blew through expectations said douglas mcintyre at wall street
that leaves lot for bank of america and citigroup to live up to citi was set
to report its results tuesday folllowed by bank of america on wednesday
but shares in jpmorgan fell percent to dollars at gmt
fred dickson at da davidson amp co said that although the bank profits were
strong its revenues fell slightly short of estimates
last year jpmorgan chase repaid the us treasury for an injection of billion
dollars in capital under program to stabilize the financial system
the repayments which included dividends freed the banks from government
imposed compensation restrictions
still public anger has been boiling over at pay schemes that are blamed for
fueling the crisis
obama unveiled his fee thursday saying the new fee on risky assets of big
financial institutions was way to recoup the cost of massive bailout of the
sector than began in
we want our money back and we are going to get it obama said adding that his
determination is only heightened when see reports of massive profits and
obscene bonuses at some of the very firms who owe their continued existence to
the american people
the gmt news advisory
washington jan afp
duty editor alex ogle
news desk
top stories
fears of violence as haiti aid bogs down
al qaeda leaders killed in yemen air strike
taliban denies chief dead in us raid
ukraine presidential hopefuls in last campaign bid
haiti quake ndlead wrap
port au prince
us troops begin pouring into quake hit haiti to unblock tons of aid amid growing
fears of violence with millions left destitute and scores still trapped in the
rubble
words gmt by dave clark picture video graphic
attacks yemen thlead wrap
sanaa
an air strike against an al qaeda in the arabian peninsula aqap convoy in
north yemen kills six suspected leaders of the group including its military
