strauss amla steyn
cook lbw morkel
trott lbw morkel
pietersen parnell morkel
collingwood duminy mclaren
bell steyn
prior boucher steyn
broad morkel kallis
swann boucher steyn
sidebottom boucher steyn
anderson not out
extras lb
total overs
fall of wickets strauss trott pietersen cook
collingwood cook prior broad
sidebottom
bowling steyn morkel mclaren
parnell kallis
south africa first innings
smith not out
prince not out
extras lb nb
total wkts overs
to bat amla kallis de villiers duminy boucher mclaren
steyn morkel parnell
bowling anderson nb sidebottom
match position south africa trail by runs with wickets remaining in the
first innings
toss england
umpires steve davis aus tony hill nzl
tv umpire daryl harper aus
match referee roshan mahanama sri
britain ireland eye progress in ireland crisis
london jan afp
british and irish leaders gordon brown and brian cowen voiced confidence
thursday that northern ireland can overcome crisis threatening the power
sharing government in belfast
they insisted that despite turbulent scandal surrounding first minister
peter robinson an agreement on the devolution of police and justice powers from
london to belfast was both realistic and achievable
the issue threatened the future of the power sharing administration in once
troubled northern ireland even before recent scandal linked to robinson
wife affair with year old
brown and cowen comments came in joint statement following talks at downing
street two days after robinson stepped aside temporarily to clear his name
he is facing questions over whether he knew his wife iris obtained pounds
euros dollars from two developers to help toyboy lover kirk
mccambley to set up cafe in belfast he denies it
iris robinson who is currently said to be receiving psychiatric treatment in
belfast formally quit as lawmaker for the couple democratic unionist party
dup wednesday
think the momentum for the talks is something that very positive brown
told reporters after the talks believe that an early devolution of policing
and justice to northern ireland is not only achievable but desirable
he insisted that intensive work was continuing on the issue adding that he
and cowen stood ready to do whatever is needed to secure this
don contemplate failure in any discussions involved in he said
cowen added that full devolution was the best and most effective way to answer
the murderous few who want to wreck the peace and stability that northern
ireland now enjoys
catholic policeman had leg amputated this week after car bomb attack
blamed on dissident republicans the latest in worrying rise in violence
including the killings of two soldiers and policeman last year
in belfast party leaders continue with negotiations on when policing and
justice powers should be transferred from london to belfast the final piece in
the devolution jigsaw
meanwhile sinn fein the catholic republican party which shares power with
robinson pro british protestant dup postponed major party meeting
pending further progress on the issue
the meeting was delayed until the negotiating team is able to make more
definitive report about the current discussions about date for the transfer of
powers on policing and justice its president gerry adams said
failure by the former foes the dup and sinn fein to resolve the sensitive issue
raised questions about whether their administration could survive even before
the robinson scandal
the british and irish governments which helped broker the good friday
agreement which largely ended northern ireland years of civil unrest
argue the recent crisis could focus minds on resolving it
it is thought that the issue of how to deal with parades by the strongly
protestant orange order frequent flashpoint in the past is key sticking
point
despite standing aside to attend to his family issues robinson has pledged to
remain in charge of dup negotiations on policing
urgent bomb explodes by israeli diplomatic cars in jordan radio
jerusalem jan afp
bomb blew up on thursday next to convoy of israeli diplomatic cars near the
jordanian capital amman causing no casualties israeli media reported
deutsche bahn no plans to raid french rail market
paris jan afp
german rail operator deutsche bahn has no plans to compete directly with french
rival sncf in france even though competition on international routes opened up
in europe last month company official said thursday
too many restrictions exist in france to make it profitable for the german
rail company to enter the french market despite the new european union
regulations said deutsche bahn european affairs director joachim fried
we see almost no chance to launch international links in competition with
sncf chances are almost zero owing to the economic data fried told reporters
in paris
the main constraint he cited is limit set on transporting passengers between
two cities in france during trip linking germany and france the sales and
passenger totals in the domestic portion of the trip must represent less than
half the international route
the rise in toll fees rail companies must pay to use high speed rail lines and
the costly material needed to make trains capable of using tracks in both
countries also make such routes expensive he said
cooperation with sncf is the only way to serve these routes fried said
deutsche bahn and sncf are partners in the thalys and alleo train services for
routes between france and germany
eu leaders to manage growth strategy spanish presidency
la granja spain jan afp
the european union strategy of reform and revived economic growth will be
managed at the highest levels of the bloc the spanish eu presidency said
thursday
there is consensus among member countries that the plan be managed at the
highest level by the european council in close collaboration with the
commission and the presidency of the council spain secretary of state for
european affairs diego lopez garrido said
the strategy is aimed at replacing 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
the new plan is to be discussed at february eu summit in brussels
the lisbon agenda lacked any follow up mechanism and leadership at european
level said lopez garrido
eu member countries have also agreed to put in place stimulus measures so that
the aims of the plan are fulfilled he told reporters following an
informal meeting of european affairs ministers in la granja outside madrid
spanish prime minister jose luis rodriguez zapatero last week suggested the
plan include corrective measures for those who fail to meet binding targets
drawing swift criticism from germany and rollback from madrid
lopez garrido thursday reiterated that spain hoped the plan would have
positive stimuli so that europe can emerge from the crisis with sustainable
growth and quality employment
he said the aims of the strategy have not yet been defined but they should be
simple intelligible realistic and attainable with sufficient flexibility to
adapt to different countries
the ministers in la granja also agreed on road map for the adoption of
this strategy by the middle of the year the minister said
obama unveils bank tax rails at obscene bonuses
washington jan afp
president barack obama on thursday proposed new fee on major banking firms to
recover every single dime taxpayers shelled out to rescue wall street from the
economic crisis
the plan if approved by congress would raise billion dollars from big
financial institutions including foreign banks operating in the united states
under an effort to recoup money from massive bailout of the banking sector
obama said the move is aimed at preventing wall street firms from going back to
business as usual and resuming high risk lending practices and huge bets on
mortgages and other instruments he blames for igniting the financial crisis
my determination to achieve this goal is only heightened when see reports of
massive profits and obscene bonuses at the very firms who owe their continued
existence to the american people obama said
the new plan already attracting opposition from the finance industry was
rolled out as the sector gears up to announce huge bonuses for top executives
which has inflamed the public as americans face percent unemployment and deep
economic misery
the title of the initiative the financial crisis responsibility fee makes it
clear the administration is placing blame on the financial industry for the
worst economic meltdown since the great depression
yet valerie jarrett senior adviser to the president insisted that we re not
trying to pick fight with banks
it very solid solution to make sure taxpayers are made whole she told
msnbc television
the obama administration has repeatedly said it would try to recoup the full
cost of the billion dollar troubled asset relief program tarp which was
used to bail out banks and also tapped to aid crippled automakers
senior us official said the program which has seen some money already paid
back would now effectively leave the government around billion dollars out
of pocket
it is in many ways offensive for those at our major financial institutions to
suggest they can today afford excessive often outlandish bonuses for their top
executives but cannot repay taxpayers the official said
but the financial services roundtable which represents top financial
services firms said the fee was strictly political
two thirds of the tarp investment from banks has already been repaid with
large profit to the taxpayer said the roundtable president and chief
executive steve bartlett
this proposed tax will do nothing more than stifle economic recovery and
encumber more pressing concerns such as covering new regulatory costs
the administration proposal which requires congressional approval will apply
only to firms with over billion dollars in assets applying fee of
percent of liabilities of the companies
it will cover around firms including that are us based and to which
are us subsidies of foreign companies it will last years or as long as
necessary to recoup losses under tarp
no small or community banks would be covered by the plan
even though auto firms general motors and chrysler also got money from the tarp
fund they will not have to pay the fee officials said
according to treasury report to congress published on monday the government
had committed billion dollars of tarp funds as of january
of that figure billion dollars have been disbursed banks have already
repaid billion dollars of those funds leaving billion dollars
outstanding
bombs kill in shiite holy city in iraq
najaf iraq jan afp
fifteen people were killed and wounded on thursday when three bombs exploded
simultaneously in the shiite muslim shrine city of najaf the worst attack to
hit iraq this year officials said
car bomb exploded near mosque and two other bombs blew up in retail market
in the city kilometres miles south of baghdad according to security
official
at pm gmt three bombs exploded at the same time close to large
market at jumla targeting the innocent passers by and traders local
government official said the victims are being transported to hospital
an interior ministry official in the capital gave the casualty toll of dead
and wounded
najaf is home to the mausoleum of imam ali the son in law and cousin of the
prophet mohammed and attracts shiites from around the world especially
neighbouring iran
an afp correspondent in the city said iraqi security forces deployed in large
numbers following the bombings with routes into the city sealed off
while attacks in iraq remain common especially in baghdad and the northern
cities of mosul and kirkuk violence in najaf has become rare
the last major attack in najaf dates back to february when suicide car
bomber struck an iraqi police checkpoint killing people and wounding dozens
more
violence in iraq dropped dramatically in to its lowest level since the us
led invasion of figures showed on january but monitoring group warned
that security gains were levelling off
according to an afp tally of statistics released by the defence interior and
health ministries total of civilians were killed by violence last year
less than half of toll of
the toll was markedly lower however than one compiled by iraq body count
ibc an independent britain based group which put the number of civilians
dead in at
despite the disparity ibc toll was also dramatically lower than its
figures it said in its annual report
ibc noted that while there had been significant improvements in security in
such violence still afflicts iraq population more than any other
and the second half of saw around the same number of civilian deaths as the
first which ibc warned may indicate that the situation is no longer
improving
prime minister nuri al maliki has promoted himself as having improved security
across iraq and aims to retain his post after general election due on march
us missile strike targets pakistan taliban chief officials
peshawar pakistan jan afp
us drone missile strike thursday targeted pakistani taliban leader hakimullah
mehsud officials said but the militia denied reports that he was among
killed in the lawless northwest
at least four missiles from unmanned drones pounded militant training camp in
the morning along the remote and mountainous border area between taliban
strongholds north and south waziristan officials said
both districts border afghanistan and us officials say pakistan tribal belt
is the most dangerous region in the world the us has been hammering it with
missile strikes to try to eliminate top al qaeda and taliban leaders
security officials said they were looking into reports that hakimullah mehsud
was present at the time of the attack but spokesman for the tehreek taliban
pakistan ttp group he leads said he had escaped
hakimullah mehsud was present at the same place in shaktoi where the drone
attack took place the spokesman azam tariq told afp by telephone
but he had left the area already when the drone attack took place he is alive
and completely safe
tariq did not say when mehsud left the area which pakistan security officials
described as very remote and under militant control making it difficult for
authorities to confirm if the warlord was dead
the target of this drone strike was hakimullah an intelligence official in
north waziristan main city of miranshah told afp
he was present at this place for quite some time we are not sure whether he
was killed or survived we are investigating it
other security and intelligence officials in the area confirmed he was the
target but asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the strikes
we are receiving reports about his death but we are not percent sure
senior security official said
hakimullah mehsud assumed leadership of the group blamed for the deaths of
thousands of people in attacks in pakistan after his predecessor baitullah
mehsud was killed in us drone strike in early august last year
the ttp denied baitullah mehsud death for weeks apparently amid fierce
infighting over his succession hakimullah mehsud himself had to counter rumours
of his own demise at the hands of rival militant in october
then on january the ttp chief appeared in video clip alongside jordanian
who blew himself up on us military base in afghanistan last month killing
seven cia agents and his jordanian handler
the us envoy for pakistan and afghanistan richard holbrooke said thursday he
could not comment on reports of hakimullah mehsud death
he very bad person he either is or was very bad person and either way
he as bad person as there has been in this region for long time
holbrooke told reporters during an official visit to pakistan
thursday drone strike was the seventh in pakistan this month
fifteen militants were killed in the us drone strike six to eight were also
wounded said security official in northwest capital peshawar
local intelligence official added the targeted site was militant training
camp
drone missile strikes by unmanned us aircraft have soared recently as us
president barack obama puts pakistan at the heart of his administration fight
against al qaeda and islamist extremists
the strikes fuel anti american sentiment in the muslim nation and draw public
condemnation from the government but us officials defend them as necessary to
protect around us and nato troops in afghanistan
prime minister yousuf raza gilani reiterated thursday his criticism of the drone
attacks drone attacks have become counter productive it is harming our fight
against terrorism he told parliament
our strategy is to isolate militants from local tribesmen but the drone attacks
unite local tribesmen and the militants
he said pakistan had told the united states that if you have any credible and
actionable information you should share it with us this is our country and we
will conduct the attacks ourselves
while washington is pressing islamabad to tackle militants who use its soil to
launch attacks in afghanistan pakistan armed forces last year launched
multiple assaults on ttp strongholds across the tribal belt
alert
bomb explodes next to israeli diplomatic convoy in jordan radio
rb pfm srm
imf to provide million dollars in aid to haiti
washington jan afp
the international monetary fund will quickly provide million dollars in aid
to earthquake devastated haiti imf head dominique strauss kahn said thursday
strauss kahn said the million dollars would come from an increase in an
existing loan to haiti which is reeling from massive quake that struck
tuesday nearly flattening the capital city port au prince
we re looking since yesterday to all possibilities to help haiti and we will
provide million dollars very quickly through our extended credit facility
he said at news conference at imf headquarters in washington
strauss kahn said the loan extension requires executive board approval but
emphasized it going to be done very rapidly of course in coordination with
other agencies
he said something bigger probably would need to be considered to help haiti
the poorest country in the western hemisphere
us president barack obama announced thursday immediate aid of million
dollars to support relief efforts and to buy life saving equipment food water
and medicine with the promise of further aid to support long term recovery
amid mounting desperation over shortages of medicine and food haitian officials
warned thursday that the death toll may top
on tuesday the world bank the imf sibling institution had pledged
million dollars in interest free emergency aid to haiti subject to board
approval
the imf said the emergency financing would be provided as an augmentation to the
existing arrangement with haiti under the extended credit facility under which
it has disbursed about million dollars to date
the loan approved in totaled million dollars but was increased by
million in to help haiti cope with soaring international food and oil
prices
second increase in imf financial assistance of million dollars was
approved in february to help the impoverished caribbean nation recover from
series of hurricanes in and weather the worst global economic downturn in
decades
the imf and the world bank classify haiti among heavily indebted poor
countries that are eligible for debt forgiveness haiti was granted billion
dollars in debt relief last june
us businesses offer cash other aid for haiti relief
washington jan afp
us businesses offered cash and other forms of aid as part of massive
outpouring of relief for earthquake ravaged haiti
investment bank morgan stanley said thursday it was contributing one million
dollars to relief efforts through the american red cross an amount matched by
bank of america home improvement retailer lowe and other firms
morgan stanley extends its deepest condolences to those in haiti affected by
this tragedy and to those family members residing abroad many of whom are here
in the us said james gorman chief executive of morgan stanley
our culture and history dictate that we as firm respond and we hope that
today donation will help provide measure of comfort in the wake of such
catastrophic event
delivery giant ups said it was contributing more than one million dollars in
cash and in kind support through its ups foundation this includes
dollars in cash and services for the shipment of needed supplies working with
charities including the american red cross care unicef and others
pharmaceutical group abbott and its philanthropic foundation pledged one million
dollars that will include cash and donations of medicines and nutritional
products
the recent earthquake has had devastating impact on haiti limited health
care system which was already facing significant challenges said catherine
babington president of the abbott fund
building on our existing partnerships with humanitarian organizations in haiti
we are providing funding and product donations to help address the immense and
immediate health needs
western union said it was offering dollars and waving fees on
remittances to haiti for seven days from the united states canada and france
another financial transfer firm moneygram international said it would cut its
charge to one dollar for transfers to haiti
this effort by moneygram and our agents will assist our customers in maximizing
the funds sent to loved ones during this difficult time said dan malley
moneygram vice president of the americas
the walt disney company pledged dollars through the red cross
international fund to support haiti relief efforts
at amp said its foundation is providing dollar donation to telecoms
sans frontieres to support their relief work in providing telecom services to
victims in haiti
it said at amp wireless customers of at amp can send donations to the red
cross international relief fund through text message which would allow the
funds to be provided through customer billing
american airlines and spirit airlines said they were helping airlift supplies
for the relief efforts
algerian oil firm chief in fraud probe reports
algiers jan afp
the head of algeria national oil corporation sonatrach has been suspended from
his job and ordered to appear before investigators probing corruption news
reports said thursday
officials at algeria biggest company were unavailable for comment but source
at the firm who asked not to be named said mohamed meziane had been replaced in
his job since wednesday by vice president abdelhafid feghouli
an examining magistrate has ordered meziane as well as another company vice
president and five executives to appear before him concerning allegations of
corruption in company tenders for consultancy and security contracts the el
watan and el khabar newspapers reported
two other sonatrach vice presidents the former president of bank and his son
as well as two children of meziane and private businessman have already been
detained as part of the probe el watan said
meziane was appointed in september to head algeria biggest firm which
employs people and made billion dollars billion euros profit
in for an annual turnover of billion dollars according to its last
financial report
the company accounts for percent of the north african country foreign
exchange earnings
numerous foreign companies operate in algeria in partnership with sonatrach
including total and gdf france repsol spain rosneft russia eni italy
bp britain statoil hydro norway anadarko us and cnpc china
multitude of service sector companies from all over the world have contracts
with the algerian group
the change of managing director will have no effect on contracts reached with
our company said an official from one western oil firm on condition of
anonymity
in march energy minister chakib khelil announced that sonatrach will
invest million dollars in the coming five years to expand its capacity in the
exporting of petrol and gas
alert
us russia on the verge of new nuclear arms treaty top us diplomat
eu slams serbia over kosovo parallel courts
pristina jan afp
the eu rule of law mission in kosovo eulex on thursday strongly criticised
serbia insistence on parallel judicial system in serb dominated parts of the
breakaway province
in no other places in europe do we have two judicial systems operating at the
same time and at the same place eulex head of mission yves de kermabon said in
statement
two jurisdictions would be no justice this will trigger conflicting decisions
which will go against the rights of the population there can be only one
judicial system in kosovo he insisted
kermabon made his comments during visit to the eastern serb majority
municipality of ranilug in reference to the serb parliament decision late
december to appoint judges to parallel serb courts controlled by belgrade
the political decision by belgrade to nominate judges for serb courts in kosovo
has to be dealt with urgently he warned
kosovo unilaterally split from serbia in february and its independence has
been recognised so far by countries including the us and the majority of eu
countries
serbia opposes kosovo independence and continues to consider the territory as
its southern province it backs and finances the region parallel
administrative educational and judicial system in areas with serb majority
the most ambitious civilian mission ever deployed by the eu eulex began
operations in december taking over from the un which administered kosovo
after the war
the some strong mission works to bring the justice system police and
customs up to european standards
eulex does not recognize neither assist the so called parallel structures in
kosovo kermabon said adding his mission mandate was clear
it says that we are here to assist the kosovo institutions judicial
authorities and law enforcement agencies
japanese satellite pics help haitian quake effort
paris jan afp
japanese satellite has taken pictures of the earthquake zone in haiti that
have been handed to the united nations to help in disaster relief the french
space agency said on thursday
the images with resolution of metres feet were taken by the
satellite alos the national centre for space studies cnes said
french satellite images with resolution of metres seven feet and us
satellite images with resolution of one metre will be made available on
friday it added
the pictures are useful for drawing up maps of badly damaged neighbourhoods and
infrastructure such as roads bridges and hospitals
under an october accord known as the international charter space agencies
can seek images and other data from fellow signatories to help in the aftermath
of major disaster the agreement currently has agencies
twenty two un staffers killed in haiti quake un chief
united nations jan afp
at least un staffers were killed in the haiti quake and some are still
missing un chief ban ki moon said thursday
ban said the dead were troops and police serving with the un mission in haiti
minustah in the haitian capital
the un boss delivered one piece of good news announcing that an estonian police
officer was pulled out of the rubble alive early thursday and transferred to an
argentinian hospital in port au prince
it small miracle ban said
he added that he still was not in position to confirm the death of his special
envoy to haiti hedi annabi which was announced by haitian president rene preval
wednesday
eu aid ministers to hold emergency talks on haiti
brussels jan afp
european development ministers will hold emergency talks in brussels on monday
to discuss how best to help quake stricken haiti eu foreign policy chief
catherine ashton announced
it meeting to be able to share information and to consider that and
putting the people in the room gives them sense of what we re able to do much
more effectively she told reporters thursday
in the next couple of days search and rescue is of course the most important
issue but beyond that we have to consider all of the questions about what we
do she said
ashton said that outgoing humanitarian aid commissioner karel de gucht and his
staff were studying what the eu executive arm could do to help
amid mounting desperation over shortages of medicine and food haitian officials
warned on thursday that the death toll may top after many people who
escaped with their lives spent second night on the streets
the european commission has already pledged three million euros in aid to haiti
with other offers in cash or kind coming from individual member states
the european union through its member states and common resources has already
acted we will continue to do so finding additional resources and delivering
them as quickly as possible said ashton
the priorities alongside the immediate search and rescue operations are
medicine water food and tents she said it not only about the immediate
help also medium and long term
she noted that large number of european union citizens including european
commission staffer were unaccounted for
the european commission has sent three million euros million dollars in
