morin is hoping for cost sharing agreement before the end of january and ahead
of nato defence ministers meeting in istanbul on february and
germany has shown little appetite to shell out more money
we are striving to find solution in accordance with the signed contract and
we will not be rushed german government spokesman ulrich wilhelm told press
conference on wednesday
germany and france are the project biggest customers with and orders
respectively which means berlin position will be crucial
key to the moving forward from here is germany not britain said
howard wheeldon senior strategist at brokerage firm bgc partners
overall still expect deal on price and quantity to emerge over the
next days or so he added
alert
security situation in haiti remains ok gates
montenegro and kosovo establish diplomatic tie
podgorica jan afp
the montenegrin government announced friday that it had established diplomatic
relations with kosovo in move that prompted strong protest from neighbouring
serbia
montenegro and kosovo today friday established diplomatic relations by
exchange of letters of respective foreign ministers milan rocen and skender
hyseni government statement received by afp said
the formal establishment of diplomatic relations angered serbia which has
rejected kosovo unilaterally proclaimed independence and still considers the
breakaway territory its southern province
hours after the news from podgorica belgrade announced it had withdrawn its
ambassador to montenegro for emergency talks and sent firm official note to
the representative of the montenegrin government
the establishment of diplomatic relations of the government of montenegro with
pristina jeopardizes regional stability and makes the establishment of the best
possible relations among neighbours which is the serbian government priority
more difficult foreign ministry statement said
pristina and podgorica said that despite the establishment of diplomatic ties
the exchange of ambassadors was delayed until an agreement about the status of
the montenegrin minority in kosovo
podgorica wants the several thousand montenegrins living in kosovo to have
formal minority status giving them the right to be represented in parliament
and guaranteeing certain educational and cultural rights
however hyseni told reporters in pristina their status was not condition for
improvement of the relations between the two countries
assure you that there have never been conditions from the side of
montenegro he said
within the scope of our efforts to build multi ethnic kosovo certainly
kosovo will also pay special attention to citizens of montenegrin
nationality
serbia has challenged the legality of kosovo independence before the
international court of justice and urged other states to postpone recognition
or establishing diplomatic relations until ruling by the un highest court
in montenegro recognition of pristina prompted belgrade to expel
podgorica ambassador in return things were patched up with new ambassador
arriving in serbia last november
following the break up of communist yugoslavia in early serbia and
montenegro were allied in loose union until podgorica peacefully separated in
kosovo ethnic albanian majority proclaimed independence from serbia in
february the move has been recognised by countries so far including
the united states and most of the european union members
football wenger believes campbell could win england recall
london jan afp
arsene wenger believes sol campbell is capable of winning place in england
squad for the world cup in south africa after completing his surprise return to
arsenal
campbell has signed contract with the gunners until the end of the season
after walking out on notts county last year just one match into his spell with
the ambitious league two club
wenger agreed to let campbell who spent five years with the north london club
before joining portsmouth in train with arsenal to keep fit while he
looked for another club
but he performed well enough in training to persuade wenger to sign him up and
now the gunners boss is convinced he could even break into fabio capello
england plans
it england is not the immediate target but you should not rule anything out
wenger said on friday
that is not my worry and my job but if you were in his position what would you
want to do you would want to give your best and you never know it is unlikely
maybe but if you are in his shoes you would say let give as much as can
and you never know
campbell is not in the arsenal squad which travels to bolton on sunday but
captain cesc fabregas is back following his hamstring injury and left back gael
clichy has recovered from back problem
wenger does expect campbell to feature in busy month ahead which includes
crucial games against manchester united chelsea and liverpool as well as
tricky fa cup tie at stoke
have seen him in training and he is very sharp his attitude is good his
talent is good but it is the game which decides wenger added
campbell who played minutes in the reserves against west ham earlier this
week was key part of both the arsenal double winning side of and the
invincibles who went through an entire season undefeated two years later
when asked whether he regretted allowing campbell to leave in wenger said
life is life he wanted to go abroad did not make him leave he wanted to
go we live in world where everybody is free to do what he wants with his
life
it gives us the opportunity to have one more centre back sol will give us
experience good advice and physically he has worked very hard
it is an opportunity for him to relaunch his career and for us it is good
help for the rest of the season he is dedicated motivated and looks happy to
be back
wenger insisted however that william gallas and thomas vermaelen were his
first choice centre backs and admitted that out of favour philippe senderos
could be on his way out of the club soon
the arsenal boss also believes any team with points or more can still win the
title this season which includes tottenham on and manchester city on as
well as arsenal manchester united and leaders chelsea who have
all the teams who have over can still hope said wenger there has been
general lift in the level of the teams in january no team is completely out of
anything
there are teams who play for the title and the champions league and teams who
play not to go down usually you have six or seven teams not concerned at either
end this year that is not the case there is life in every game
vatican pope jews rome
paris jan afp
this story scheduled for gmt has been delayed new filing time will be
announced on the upcoming advisory
fidel castro haiti poverty an embarrassment for our times
havana jan afp
cuban leader fidel castro on friday said quake ravaged haiti extreme poverty
was an embarrassment for our times and called for real solutions now
haiti is an embarrassment for our times in world in which most people still
are victims of exploitation and abuse castro wrote in an editorial in
official media
the cuban revolutionary leader president for almost five decades stepped aside
in health crisis in and but still is head of the cuban communist party
haiti is the perfect product of colonialism and imperialism of military
intervention and having its natural resources looted castro argued saying
that it is time for real and true solutions for this brother nation just to
cuba east
both cuba and haiti have been occupied by the united states
the united states said friday it had been granted rare permission to use cuban
airspace for aid and evacuation flights in the wake of haiti devastating
earthquake
corrected serbia pulls ambassador from montenegro foreign ministry
belgrade jan afp
serbia on friday protested montenegro decision to establish diplomatic
relations with kosovo and withdrew its ambassador from podgorica the foreign
ministry said in statement
hours after the news from podgorica belgrade said it had sent firm official
note to the representative of the montenegrin government
the minister of foreign affairs vuk jeremic also ordered an emergency
withdrawal of serbia ambassador in podgorica for consultations in belgrade
the statement said
the establishment of diplomatic relations of the government of montenegro with
pristina jeopardizes regional stability and makes the establishment of the best
possible relations among neighbours which is the serbian government priority
more difficult it added
serbia rejects kosovo unilaterally proclaimed independence and still considers
the breakaway territory its southern province
diesel names new artistic director
milan italy jan afp
italian casual clothing brand diesel has named french journalist bruno collin
founder of the fashion magazine wad as its new artistic director the company
said friday
collin will be tasked with building creative team from within and outside the
company diesel said in statement
today more than ever want diesel to express its own dna in way that more
modern and innovative said president and founder renzo rosso in the statement
noting that the fashion world has changed radically in the last few years rosso
added believe in the idea of combining diverse talents and having them work
together stylists graphic designers photographers and artists
for his part collin said he viewed his new role as that of an alchemist an
orchestra conductor
the dynamism of this brand only needs some new channels of inspiration and
expression collin said
dutchman wilbert das the previous creative director left diesel at the end of
last year after some years with the company
algerian islamic activists kill two army officers
algiers jan afp
armed muslim fundamentalists have killed the military commander of algeria
bejaia district and an army colonel during clash in the north of the country
press reports said friday
the two officers were killed on wednesday night at allaghane kilometres
miles southwest of bejaia which lies kilometres east of the capital
the military men apparently encountered survivors from terror group that was
ambushed by police in the same region on tuesday night the el watan and el
khabar dailies said
the reports were not officially confirmed
on tuesday night police killed at least two islamic extremists in an ambush on
their car at boudjelil kilometres southwest of bejaia
two people escaped according to press reports
wall street slips unimpressed by earnings
new york jan afp
wall street shares slumped friday with investors showing little enthusiasm for
fourth quarter profits chalked up by top chip maker intel and banking giant
jpmorgan chase
the dow jones industrial average shed points percent to
in opening trades day after posting its best close since october
the nasdaq composite slipped points percent to while the
broad market standard amp poor index dropped points percent
to
stocks opened lower as investors digested the fourth quarter earnings declared
by intel after market closed on thursday as well as the results of jpmorgan
early friday
there was lack of enthusiasm over better than expected earnings from both
intel and jpmorgan said analysts at briefing com in note to clients
intel the world biggest computer chip maker said net profit soared nearly
nine fold to billion dollars in the last three months of on the back of
percent jump in revenue to billion dollars
jpmorgan also posted big jump in net profit to billion dollars with
revenues rising to billion dollars
the lack of buying interest following the reports underscores how the market
bar of expectations has risen along with stock prices which have climbed by
about percent since march said patrick hare of briefing com
egypt police bar activists from town after copt deaths
cairo jan afp
police on friday barred activists from tense town in southern egypt where
muslim gunmen killed six coptic christians earlier this month senior security
official said
the group which included bloggers and political activists planned to meet and
express solidarity with victims families said the official who did not want
to be identified
the activists were put on the next train back to cairo he said adding that
local authorities feared their presence could inflame public opinion and calls
for protests
on january the eve of the coptic orthodox christmas three gunmen raked
worshippers emerging from mass in nagaa hammadi with bullets the deadliest
attack since when copts were killed in sectarian clashes
three people were arrested and charged with premeditated murder after the latest
attack in which one muslim policeman also died
copts who account for nearly percent of egypt mainly muslim population of
million are the middle east largest christian community but complain of
routine harassment and systematic discrimination and marginalisation
visiting us assistant secretary for human rights michael posner said on thursday
that the killings of christians revealed an atmosphere of intolerance in
egypt key middle east ally of washington
cardinal hurt in attack on pope leaves hospital
rome jan afp
the cardinal hurt when young woman attacked pope benedict xvi at the start of
christmas eve mass has been released from hospital statement said on friday
as planned he will continue rehabilitation treatment at home said
statement from gemelli hospital in rome where cardinal roger etchegaray had
been treated after fracturing his hip in the incident
the hospital reported etchegaray to be in good state of health at the
time of his discharge he had earlier undergone surgery
the incident occurred when young woman charged at the pope in st peter
basilica on december the pope was knocked to the floor but not hurt
susanna maiolo apologised for the attack in brief meeting with benedict
on wednesday the vatican said
director polanski wins damages from french paper
paris jan afp
film maker roman polanski won damages on friday from french newspaper that
photographed him at his swiss home where he is confined pending extradition
proceedings on rape charges
paris court convicted french daily aujourd hui en france with its paris
edition le parisien of breaching polanski privacy and the right to the use of
his image rights strictly protected by french law
it ordered the newspaper to pay euros dollars to him and his wife
the french actress emmanuelle seigner
the newspaper had photographed polanski and his wife and son at his chalet near
gstaad switzerland
the film maker is under house arrest there while swiss authorities consider
demand by the united states to deport him to face charges of having unlawful sex
with year old girl in california in
polanski and seigner had demanded total of euros in damages and
interest from aujourd hui en france and are seeking further euros in
cases against three other french publications
yemen al qaeda chiefs killed in air attack senior official
sanaa jan afp
an air strike friday on an al qaeda in the arabian peninsula aqap position in
north yemen killed six suspected leaders of the group including its military
boss senior yemeni official said
the military chief qassem al rimi was among people who made daring escape
from state security prison in sanaa in february that left the government
red faced
six al qaeda leaders including the network military chief qassem al rimi
were killed on friday the official said on condition of anonymity
ammar al waili ayedh al shabwani and saleh al tais were also killed in the
raid at al ajashir desert region in the eastern part of saada province he
said
the two other leaders were not named while two other men fled the scene
the friday morning raid targeted two vehicles carrying eight members of al
qaeda six of whom were killed and two managed to escape another official
said earlier
aqap has claimed responsibility for botched attack carried out by nigerian
national on us airliner on christmas day
the news came on the day britain said it would host an international meeting on
fighting extremism in yemen on january in london
foreign office spokesman said in london meeting on yemen called for january
by prime minister gordon brown following the failed airliner attack will now
take place the day before
he could not yet confirm which countries were likely to attend
in friday sermon meanwhile powerful cleric sheikh abdulmajeed al zendani
said it would be religious duty dictated by god to defend yemen through
jihad or holy war if it is occupied by foreign power
he was responding in part to comments on wednesday by carl levin chairman of
the us senate armed services committee who urged washington to consider
targeting al qaeda in yemen with armed drones air strikes or covert operations
but not invade the country
from the moment the enemy invites itself onto our territory and occupies us
our religion imposes the obligation of jihad on us said zendani who has
been labelled global terrorist by the us administration
it is religious duty dictated by god he said during his sermon in sanaa
this order of god cannot be annulled by anyone not king not president
not ulema muslim scholars zendani added
yemen council of clerics which includes zendani had made similar call for
jihad on thursday if foreign forces join the war on al qaeda in the impoverished
arabian peninsula state
if any party insists on aggression or invades the country then according to
islam jihad becomes obligatory said statement signed by clerics read
out at news conference
the clerics also stressed strong rejection of any foreign intervention in
yemeni affairs whether political or military
they also rejected any security or military agreement or cooperation between
yemen and any foreign party if it violates islamic sharia law and the
setting up any military bases in yemen or in its territorial waters
in his friday sermon zendani repeated that we reject any interference in
yemeni affairs adding that the right of self defence is duty
he called on his fellow yemenis to promote the fatwa religious decree in the
media and on the internet and urged arab and muslim countries to support yemen
before catastrophe occurs
the islamic nation will not stand by with its arms crossed in the face of these
crusades he added
to defend ourselves and defend our country and our territory we only fear
god and we are confident in victory he told worshippers to cries of allahu
akbar god is greater
washington has accused aqap of training the man who allegedly carried out the
christmas day failed attack nigerian umar farouk abdulmutallab
sanaa has intensified its operations against the militants insisting it can
tackle them on its own without the need for foreign military intervention
on thursday the defence ministry vowed to do clear yemen of al qaeda jihadists
and warned that intensive operations will continue against osama bin laden
extremists
us president barack obama has said he has no intention of sending troops to
yemen or to somalia in the horn of africa just across the bab al mandab
strait
serbia pulls ambassador from montenegro foreign ministry
belgrade jan afp
serbia on friday protested montenegro decision to establish diplomatic
relations with kosovo and withdrew its ambassador from podgorica the foreign
ministry said in statement
hours after the news from podgorica belgrade said it had sent firm official
note to the representative of the montenegrin government
the minister of foreign affairs vuk jeremic also ordered an emergency
withdrawal of serbia ambassador in podgorica for consultations in belgrade
the statement said
the establishment of diplomatic relations of the government of montenegro with
pristina jeopardizes regional stability and makes the establishment of the best
possible relations among neighbours which is the serbian government priority
more difficult it added
serbia rejects kosovo unilaterally proclaimed independence and still considers
the breakaway territory its southern province
montenegro is the last of the former republics of serbian dominated yugoslavia
to recognise kosovo independence proclaimed in february
china germany pledge to nurture ties but friction shows
beijing jan afp
china and germany called friday for better relations but berlin visiting
foreign minister said he pointedly raised sensitive topics such as tibet and
human rights in talks with chinese leaders
wanted to come to china quickly after taking office to show that we want to
develop this relationship german foreign minister guido westerwelle said in
comments provided to afp by his delegation
we want to develop this relationship not only in terms of economic ties but
also political ties and we agreed to have more frequent direct contact said
westerwelle who took office in october
westerwelle is on two day visit that ends saturday
premier wen jiabao was quoted by state run xinhua news agency as telling
westerwelle the two sides should strengthen relations
china and germany should take long term view enhance mutual trust and deepen
cooperation to bring the bilateral relationship to new high wen said
he also welcomed german investment in china xinhua said
the two nations have struggled to keep their bilateral relationship on track in
recent years amid occasional disputes over human rights tibet the rule of law
in china and other issues
westerwelle said he brought some of those up in his talks here
on the issue of tibet and the dalai lama actions we exchanged our differing
points of view said westerwelle
we of course discussed our trade relations and once again clearly stated
that investors need sure legal framework and transparency and we know that
from our point of view more efforts are needed to get to that point
we also spoke about our differences of opinion which we do not wish to keep
quiet my counterpart knows that human rights the protection of minorities as
well as freedom of the press opinion and religion are important components of
the values that guide our foreign policy
on this front during our discussions cordially left no doubt
westerwelle added that he asked for an explanation of china internet policy
and stance toward google
the internet giant said this week it would no longer bow to china demands that
it censor its chinese search engine of content the government dislikes and may
pull out of the country entirely
in the most recent sign of bilateral discord german chancellor angela merkel
hit out at china after beijing court jailed chinese dissident and human rights
campaigner liu xiaobo for years
regret that the chinese government still heavily restricts freedom of
expression and the press despite great progress in other areas merkel said
merkel has previously upset beijing by meeting with the dalai lama
china views the exiled tibetan spiritual leader as separatist seeking
independence for his himalayan homeland which he denies and protests
loudly when foreign leaders meet him
us army paratroopers begin to secure haiti airport
port au prince jan afp
paratroopers from the us army nd airborne division set up base at the
airport in haiti quake devastated capital port au prince on friday and began
shipping in heavy equipment
we re just setting up control points said sergeant kelab barrieau as airforce
transports from dozen nations unloaded humanitarian and military supplies on
the tarmac at toussaint louverture international airport
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 he said as
heavy lift helicopters arrived to join the operation
troops were to continue arriving throughout the day until the detachment grows
to brigade strength of several thousand personnel with units arriving
overnight in and transports from fort bragg in north carolina
we re prepared to stay for whatever amount of time is neccessary most likely
days but if more time is needed we will be there to help out he told an
afp reporter at the scene
the us detachment is the largest so far committed to the aid effort three days
after tuesday massive earthquake devastated port au prince killed thousands
and destroyed all semblance of governance in this poverty stricken country
as the military flights arrived hundreds of haitians and foreign citizens were
clamoring at the doors of the airport seeking flights out to safety
yemen kills six qaeda leaders senior official
sanaa jan afp
an air strike on friday on an al qaeda in the arabian peninsula aqap position
in north yemen killed six suspected leaders of the group including its military
boss yemeni official said
six al qaeda leaders including the network military chief qassem al rimi
were killed on friday the senior official said speaking on condition of
anonymity
ammar al waili ayedh al shabwani and saleh al tais were also killed in the
raid at al ajashir desert region in the eastern part of saada province he
said
the names of the two other leaders were not given while another two men fled
the scene
the friday morning raid targeted two vehicles carrying eight members of al
qaeda six of whom were killed and two managed to escape an official said
earlier
the campaign to track down al qaeda terrorists will continue and the
government will use all means at its disposal to eradicate terrorism from yemeni
territory the official said
rimi was among people who made daring escape from state security prison
in sanaa in february that left the government red faced
only rimi and two others including current aqap chief nasser al wahaishi
remained at large while the others were either recaptured or killed by security
forces
aqap has claimed responsibility for botched attack carried out by nigerian
national on us airliner on christmas day
bill clinton appeals for small donations for haiti
washington jan afp
former us president bill clinton urged americans friday to make donations as
small as dollars urgently to help bring life saving food and water to
earthquake ravaged haiti
you ve got unprecedented numbers of the people roaming the streets at night
with no place to sleep they haven had any sleep in two days they don have
water they don have food clinton said on cnn television
so the most immediate thing now is for people even to give small amounts of
money but we need large numbers of people giving small amounts of money so we
can get food water medical supplies and shelter there he said
clinton said people were urged to rush donations through
clintonfoundation org haiti earthquake or to text haiti to to make
dollar donations
they can give ten bucks we ve got to do this that how we re going to avoid
having the city erupt more the former us president said
president barack obama enlisted both clinton who is the un special envoy for
haiti and former president george bush to lead private sector fund raising
for haiti
after the immediate emergency situation president bush and will do everything
we can to make america big part of this long term partnership and president
obama has tasked the secretary of state and the aid director to manage america
end of this blill clinton added
secretary of state hillary clinton who canceled trip to asia to address the
humanitarian crisis also made the rounds of six morning television news shows
where she too urged americans to make dollar donations by cellular telephone
bill clinton writing in the washington post said aid should go to building
better future for the western hemisphere poorest nation including better
buildings schools and health care
establishing this foundation for better haitian future will require
assistance from governments businesses and private citizens the people of
haiti deserve our support he said
the clintons have long running involvement with haiti where they spent their
honeymoon
haitians were grasped for fading signs of life meanwhile friday in the looters
raided un food stores in port au prince in sign of the desperate situation
facing its homeless scarred and traumatized residents after quake the red
cross said may have killed people
rallying lucky for ullevalseter in dakar bikes
santa rosa argentina jan afp
norwegian motorcyclist pal ullevalseter won the th moto stage of the dakar
rally on friday km race between san rafael and santa rosa in central
argentina
the victory took ullevalseter ktm into second place in the overall standings
leapfrogging the chilean francisco lopez who finished min sec behind the
norwegian in fourth place on his aprilia
france ktm rider cyril despres sec behind ullevalseter in second place
continues to enjoy healthy lead of hr min at the top of the motorbikes
general classification
corrected us consumer prices edge up percent in december
washington jan afp
us consumer prices rose percent in december pushing the inflation rate up
percent in from year ago official data showed friday signaling
sluggish recovery from recession
the small rise in the consumer price index cpi was matched by percent
increase in the so called core cpi which excludes food and energy prices the
labor department reported in seasonally adjusted data
the headline cpi increase was weaker than the average analyst forecast of
percent rise while the core reading was expected
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
energy prices pulled the inflation rate to percent marking sharp
increase over percent inflation in the first full year of the downturn
since the great depression
in december the annual inflation rate stood at percent as the world
largest economy officially entered recession
