clinton said she would address the issue the official added speaking on
condition of anonymity
yerevan has also accused turkey of trying to set new conditions on the deal by
linking it with armenia conflict with turkish ally azerbaijan over the
disputed nagorny karabakh region
nalbandian said he did not expect breakthrough in talks on karabakh in the
near future
it is difficult to say what will happen in if the azerbaijani side shows
more constructive approach then there may be changes but cannot say that in
the near future we can expect breakthrough he said
turkey and armenia signed two protocols in october to establish diplomatic ties
and reopen their shared border in deal hailed as historic step towards
ending decades of hostility stemming from world war era massacres of armenians
under ottoman turkish rule
armenia constitutional court on january upheld the legality of the
agreement but also said the two protocols cannot be interpreted to contradict
paragraph in armenia declaration of independence that refers to the
genocide in ottoman turkey and western armenia
turkey rejects armenian claims of genocide and says the number of those killed
during civil strife is inflated it also objects to reference to western
armenia seeing it as territorial claim on its eastern regions
neither country parliament has yet ratified the two protocols
turkish officials have repeatedly said the agreements will not be ratified
without progress in the dispute over nagorny karabakh
backed by yerevan ethnic armenian separatists seized control of karabakh and
seven surrounding districts from azerbaijan during war in the early that
claimed an estimated lives
turkey closed its border with armenia in in show of solidarity with
azerbaijan with which it has strong ethnic trade and energy links against
yerevan support for the enclave separatists
storms raise sao paulo overall death toll to
sao paulo jan afp
storms lashing latin america biggest city of sao paulo this week have raised
to the total number of people killed in the region since the beginning of
december emergency officials told afp friday
nine people died over the past two days in different parts of the brazilian city
and its surrounding area mainly from landslides in poor neighborhoods bringing
down poorly constructed homes on their occupants
the persistent bad weather has also killed more than people in rio de janeiro
state bringing the total number of recent storm related deaths in southern
brazil to more than
flooding remained problem in sao paulo population million snarling
traffic and flooding major roads and tunnels
ex pentagon official sentenced to years in china spy case
washington jan afp
the united states friday sentenced former pentagon official who had top
secret security clearance to three years in prison on charges of spying for
china the justice department said
the month sentence for retired air force lieutenant colonel james wilbur
fondren will be followed by two years of supervised release the department
said
fondren who had been deputy director of the us pacific command
washington liaison office was arrested in mid may and charged with conspiracy
to pass classified information to an agent of china
in september fondren was convicted of unlawful communication of classified
information by government employee and two counts of making false statements
bernanke fate in doubt as us senate opposition swells
washington jan afp
president barack obama voiced fresh support friday for ben bernanke embattled
confirmation to second term as us federal reserve chief as doubts grew over
senate support for the nomination
obama has confidence in bernanke and believes the senate will confirm his
reappointment white house spokesman told reporters traveling with the
president to ohio
the president has great deal of confidence in what chairman bernanke did to
bring our economy back from the brink deputy white house spokesman bill burton
said
the comments came as two more democratic senators joined the ranks of those
saying they will vote against bernanke whose term is up january over sharp
criticism of his role in the global financial meltdown
under the watch of ben bernanke the federal reserve permitted grossly
irresponsible financial activities that led to the worst financial crisis since
the great depression democratic senator russ feingold said in statement
democratic senator barbara boxer said she had lot of respect for bernanke
crediting him with taking steps in late to prevent what many economists
believe could have been an even greater economic catastrophe
but bernanke supported proposals from former president george bush that led
to the current economic crisis and our next federal reserve chairman must
represent clean break from the failed policies of the past she said
senate democratic majority harry reid had been expected early this week to start
the process of ending debate on the nomination and holding final vote but
postponed the move
senior senate democratic aide said reid was gauging the depth of opposition to
bernanke before holding confirmation vote the aide who declined to be named
said it was not yet clear bernanke would get the votes needed to ensure
confirmation
reid met with bernanke on thursday and said in statement he had pressed the
central bank chief on applying more pressure to banks to lend to small
businesses and to aid homeowners facing foreclosure
the american people expect our economic leaders to keep wall street honest and
level the playing field for middle class families and will continue to hold
their feet to the fire to ensure this happens said reid
as the senate prepares to take up chairman bernanke nomination look
forward to hearing more from him about how he intends to address these issues
the senator said
about democrats have indicated to their colleagues that they oppose the
nomination and others have indicated that they have yet to make up their minds
according to an aide to senator who opposes bernanke confirmation
time magazine named bernanke its person of the year in december
crediting him with helping guide the united states through financial turmoil
although many economists agree that bernanke efforts eased the impact of the
worst crisis in decades and likely averted new great depression number of
lawmakers blame bernanke for failing to stop the housing and credit bubble that
led to the crisis
group of senators from across the us political spectrum have expressed
opposition to bernanke and some have proposed legislation that would enhance
the us congress abilities to audit the fed
urgent vice president joe biden in iraq us official
baghdad jan afp
us vice president joe biden arrived in baghdad on friday us official said on
mission aimed at defusing political crisis after hundreds of candidates were
barred from march elections
urgent ex pentagon official sentenced to years in china spy case
washington jan afp
the united states friday sentenced former pentagon official who had top
secret security clearance to three years in prison on charges of spying for
china the justice department said
urgent israel pays million dollars to un for gaza war
united nations jan afp
israel has paid the united nations some million dollars in damages
following its assault on the gaza strip last year un officials said friday
au chief urges madagascar leader to accept interim gov
antananarivo jan afp
the head of the african union friday urged madagascar leader andry rajoelina
to accept unity government to resolve dragging political crisis day after
he snubbed the offer
we have made proposals for the accords maputo and addis ababa to go into
effect jean ping said during short visit to the indian ocean island
rajoelina who seized power in march with military backing on thursday
rejected au proposals to implement an august power sharing deal with his rivals
the proposals finetuned in the mozambican and ethiopian capitals maputo and
addis ababa also provide for the establishment of presidential council and
the posts of two co presidents both of whom will come from rajoelina rival
camps
rajoelina former disc jockey and mayor of the capital anananarivo described
the proposals as impossible
in view of the evolving situation any power sharing has become impossible
because it has already become source for new crisis and the cause for
serious troubles in our country recently statement from the presidency said
the experience of power sharing for the brief period when we tried it has
amply proven that this proposal cannot be solution to the political crisis
disagreements between the island nation four main political groups have
scuttled repeated efforts to end the impasse there with de facto leader
rajoelina trampling on previous deals to form unity government
rajoelina last month fired consensus prime minister and named new one to
replace him
discord over sharing government posts and drawing up an election timetable by
the four political parties have also hobbled efforts to end the crisis
alert
vice president joe biden in iraq us officials
alert
ex pentagon official sentenced to years in china spy case
rugby union thion signs final contract with biarritz
biarritz france jan afp
veteran french lock jerome thion will end his career with top side biarritz
after he told afp on friday that he had signed three year contract with the
basque club
the year old who won the last of his caps in the victory over italy
in their six nations match last march has been at biarritz since after
joining from perpignan
am very happy to be able to continue and to finish at biarritz because this
is my final contract in professional rugby said thion nicknamed by biarritz
fans as the machine
am going to focus on the three years that remain to me in rugby after that
new life will begin
thion who started his career with clermont ferrand where he stayed for two
seasons faces tough task to return to the french side as he is competing with
former captain lionel nallet sebastien chabal and romain millo chluski
thion is regarded along with injured trio prop fabien barcella scrum half
dimitri yachvili and centre damien traille regarded as one of the pillars of the
biarritz side which has struggled in the top side this season but has booked
its ticket into the european cup quarter finals
he has been virtual ever present this season playing in of their top
matches and all five european cup clashes
alert
israel has given un million dollars in damages for gaza war
che guevara hid in czechoslovakia in report
prague jan afp
che guevara one of the leaders of the cuban revolution hid under false
identity in communist czechoslovakia for five months in prague newspaper
reported on friday
czechoslovak intelligence housed guevara while he recovered from bout of
asthma he suffered following trip to congo the dnes daily reported following
archive research
with his beard shaved off and hair cut short guevara lived in the village of
ladvi kilometres miles southeast of prague between march and july
along with his german girlfriend tamara bunke and several friends dnes
said
the local people remember the cubans jiri cesal deputy mayor of the
neighbouring village of kamenice told dnes
everything is dull here grey and lifeless this is not socialism it is its
failure guevara said at the time according to one of his friends ulies
estrada quoted by dnes
guevara who was originally from argentina left czechoslovakia on july
using uruguayan passport in the name of ramon benitez returning to havana via
moscow according to the newspaper
he then led rebellion in bolivia during which he was killed in october
there are clues and accounts of guevara stay in czechoslovakia but there
is no conclusive document of it the historian prokop tomek of prague
institute of military history told afp
wall street extends losses on banking china concerns
new york jan afp
wall street stocks extended losses friday on continued concerns over china
overheating economy and us president barack obama bold attempt revamp the key
banking sector
the dow jones industrial average drifted lower by points percent to
at gmt day after blue chip shares posted their worst one day
decline this year
the nasdaq composite dipped points percent to and the
standard amp poor index dropped points percent to
obama unveiled plans thursday to limit the size and scope of us banks and
finance firms in new offensive against wall street excesses
the measures would effectively force financial firms to choose between lucrative
proprietary activities trading in stocks and sometimes risky financial
instruments for their own benefit and traditional activities like making
loans and collecting deposits
the initiative must be approved by congress
the president might be on the right warpath to soothe the american public yet
the market is telling him to be careful about using regulatory weapons of mass
destruction said patrick hare of briefing com
what we see in front of us is market that doesn like the idea of excessive
regulation since excessive regulation curtails earnings potential he said
beijing moves to clamp down on lending to cool an overheating chinese economy
also dragged down the market amid concerns over possible easing of the the
global economic recovery from recession
frankly we see china tightening as the biggest factor at work this week its
actions are highlighting for market participants that the easy money that fueled
the rebound is going to be less easy to get in hare said
naturally this has to take some wind out of risk trades
the massive selloff this week on the back of losses for the third straight day
could be the beginning of the end of moderate correction or the end of the
beginning of larger correction wells fargo advisors chief market strategist
al goldman said
we now advise investors to get back on the buy side as we will drop our
cautious advice if momentum improves soon as we believe it will he said
bob dickey technical analyst at rbc wealth management said there was support
for the dow index at the level
this level may hold or the market may need to drop below in order to
get the bearish sentiment levels back up to levels that will support another
good uptrend he said
we are confident that this is dip within an ongoing bull trend and it will
be sharp but short as is often the case we expect trading low sometime in
the next few weeks followed by renewed uptrend into the summer months
banking stocks extended their falls bank of america fell percent to
dollars morgan stanley by percent to dollars jpmorgan chase by
percent to dollars and goldman sachs by percent to dollars
general electric rose percent to dollars after notching stronger
than expected net profit of billion dollars in the fourth quarter down
percent from year earlier
fast food chain mcdonald rose percent to dollars after its net
profit jumped percent in the fourth quarter to billion dollars
the bond market was mixed the yield on the year treasury bond fell to
percent from percent thursday and that on the year bond rose to
percent from percent
moderate is new patriarch for serbia orthodox church
belgrade jan afp
the serbian orthodox church top body the holy synod on friday elected
moderate bishop favouring closer ties with the vatican as its new leader
plucking his name from hat
bells tolling from the patriarchy saborna church announced the election of
irinej from three candidates previously chosen at the session of the synod
grouping bishops
the new patriarch who will be enthroned on saturday told the serbian media
that his election to this honourable and difficult duty was god will and
the will of the holy synod
irinej is considered moderate and has signalled his openness to improving
relations with the roman catholic church that have been strained for years in
recent interview he said pope benedict xvi would be welcome to visit something
that would once have been unthinkable in serbia
this choice is good news for the church its believers and society in serbia
in general sociologist and religious expert mirko djordjevic said adding that
irinej was moderate person with strong personality and tolerant one
he has chance to take step that we have lacked so far towards catholics
djordjevic told television
irinej name was picked from special hat which also contained the names of
two other candidates both considered to be hardline
moderate man has won open to other religions who is realist and who is
although years old in good health religious expert zivica tucic told afp
the bishop has long maintained links with the catholic church taking part in
both official and unofficial meetings
he has suggested that serbia might welcome visit by the pope in during
ceremonies to mark the th anniversary of the edict of milan when roman
emperor constantine established religious tolerance for christianity in the
roman empire
constantine was born in the serbian town of nis where irinej is also bishop
that would be step forward in contacts between the orthodox and western
churches and no harm can come of it only benefits irinej told tanjug news
agency at the time
the new patriarch is also known to support church reform including ending the
use of the outdated julian calendar which now means serbian orthodox christmas
is celebrated two weeks after other denominations mark the birth of jesus
christ
we serbs are neither the only orthodox believers nor the only christians we
have to turn towards modern times analyst djordjevic said adding that irinej
has the inclination for that
irinej succeeds patriarch pavle who died in november after long illness
pavle was immensely popular and his funeral was attended by tens of thousands of
people
under pavle rule the influence of the church on society steadily grew after
the fall of communism in the in religion was reinstated on the
curriculum of schools after more than years of state enforced atheism
according to observers irinej will have tough job filling the shoes of pavle
who was regarded as the highest moral authority among serbs
large majority of serbia population of million people identify
themselves as orthodox christians
eu must stand united in security talks with us eu commissioner
toledo spain jan afp
europe must stand united when negotiating with the united states regarding
security issues if it wants to be credible outgoing eu justice commissioner
jacques barrot said friday
it is unreasonable and illusory to think of negotiating separately with the
united states he told afp on the sidelines of an informal meeting of eu
interior and justice ministers in toledo in central spain
us homeland security secretary janet napolitano took part in the gathering in
toledo and barrot said bilateral talks which she had with her european
counterparts demonstrated the need for common stand
when facing the americans europe must advance on the same line or else it is
damned the former french health minister added
this is especially the case with the use of new technologies like the airport
body scanners we must adopt common framework for the use of these scanners or
else do not see how this could work
the united states has accelerated the installation of the scanners at its
airports since the attempted attack on christmas day on jet bound for detroit
from amsterdam and britain and the netherlands have followed its example
but other european nations like germany have been more cautious
spain which holds the rotating presidency of the eu wants the nation bloc
to develop common policy on the use of the scanners which can see through
clothing to reveal concealed liquids explosives or weapons
spanish interior minister alfredo perez rubalcaba said thursday that the
european commission was carrying out the studies into the effectiveness of the
devices as well as their possible impacts on health and privacy
barrot also expressed concern over eu member states developing their own system
to develop collect personal data on air passengers as part of cooperation with
the united states in the fight against terrorism
if we want to be effective the system to collect and share this information
must be at the european level it is essential to avoid abuses and violations of
privacy he said
but most of all it will be easier to negotiate with the united states on more
equal footing he added
football siena sign malago on loan from chievo
rome jan afp
serie strugglers siena have signed marco malago on loan from chievo until the
end of the season
the year old full back had made only two appearances for the flying donkeys
this season
siena are bottom of the table eight points from safety and with the worst
defensive record in the league having conceded goals in games
us rejects latin american claim it is occupying haiti
washington jan afp
the united states rejected friday accusations from several leftwing ruled latin
american countries that its massive military deployment to quake hit haiti
amounted to an occupation
haiti is sovereign country everybody respects haiti sovereign country the
united states respects haiti sovereignty said arturo valenzuela the us
assistant secretary of state for western hemisphere affairs
we are there because the haitians invited us and we have moral
obligation he told reporters here
his comments came after venezuela bolivia and nicaragua all three led by
anti us governments claimed washington was using the international relief
operation in haiti as cover for military takeover
it is misguided criticism that perhaps ignores the reality on the ground
added valenzuela
earlier maria otero an official in charge of international affairs at the us
state department said in la paz that the us presence in haiti was in response to
request from haitian president rene preval
it also is based on the work of the united nations said the otero who was in
la paz to attend the inauguration friday of bolivian president evo morales to
second term
valenzuela said the number of us troops in haiti from sunday would rise to
working closely with the united nations stabilization mission in haiti
minustah while rescue and recovery plans are being run by the haitian
government
the united states has sent one of its biggest aircraft carriers to haiti along
with other navy and coast guard vessels
some us military personnel are deployed to the region and another
are due to arrive saturday us servicemen have also taken control of haiti
international airport
venezuelan president hugo chavez has charged however that the empire
meaning the united states is taking hold of haiti over the bodies and tears
of its people
he added they brazenly occupied haiti without consulting the un or the oas
organization of american states
bolivia morales said wednesday he would request an emergency un meeting to
repudiate and reject this military occupation of the united states in haiti
it not right that the united states should use this natural disaster to
invade and militarily occupy haiti he told press conference
if you have all these problems with the injured and the dead from the
earthquake you have to go there to save lives and you don do that from
military standpoint he added
world bank president makes leone first stop on africa tour
freetown jan afp
sierra leone is the first stop for world bank president robert zoellick three
nation african tour starting monday government officials said friday
zoellick will hold discussions with president ernest koroma cabinet ministers
and parliamentarians on the state of the country economy government
statement said
it said talks would touch on agriculture mining and other sectors as well as
the impact of the global financial crisis on the economy and the bank support
in improving the government effectiveness
world bank official in freetown told afp zoellick visit will assist the
government to focus on identifying development partners and private investors to
help push economic growth and reduce poverty
we see sierra leone as country which is doing well coming out of post
conflict situation the statement said adding that the sierra leone economy
has grown at very high level of percent since the civil war ended in
sierra leone is seen as success story rather than failure it added
zoellick will also visit the ivory coast and ethiopia
namibia court unblocks assets in china graft case
windhoek jan afp
namibian court unblocked friday the assets of chinese national and two
namibians accused of graft worth millions of dollars involving firm linked to
the son of china president hu jintao
the assets of the three including their bank accounts were frozen after their
arrest in july as part investigations into alleged bribery involving the firm
nuctech contracted to supply security scanners to the government
all property of the three defendants must be released including their
financial accounts judge collins parker ruled
the defence counsel said the order was with immediate effect but deputy
prosecutor general danie smal said the state had filed notice to appeal
smal said the defence could oppose the appeal but in the interim the assets of
the suspects could be frozen again until our appeal is heard in court
the three were arrested after namibia anti corruption commission discovered
that million dollar us down payment on scanners had been diverted to
firm called teko trading its assets were also frozen
all three were accused of drawing large sums from the teko account and spending
it with nuctech representative yang fan alleged to have taken million
namibia dollars
namibian nationals teckla lameck and jerobeam mokaxwa of teko trading were
released on bail but yang has remained in jail because he could not raise bail
of namibian dollars us euros
hu son hu haifeng was president of nuctech until when he was promoted
to communist party secretary of tsinghua holdings which controls nuctech and
more than other companies
nuctech has namibian government contract to supply security scanning equipment
in million dollar us deal paid for with chinese loan granted when hu
visited the country in
the corruption trial involving the three is expected to start later this year
bernanke fate in doubt as us senate opposition swells
washington jan afp
president barack obama voiced fresh support friday for ben bernanke
confirmation to second term as us federal reserve chief as doubts grew over
senate support for the nomination
obama has confidence in bernanke and believes the senate will confirm his
reappointment white house spokesman told reporters traveling with the
president to ohio
the president has great deal of confidence in what chairman bernanke did to
bring our economy back from the brink deputy white house spokesman bill burton
said
the comments came as democratic senator russ feingold joined the ranks of those
saying they will vote against bernanke whose term is up january over sharp
criticism over his role in the global financial meltdown
under the watch of ben bernanke the federal reserve permitted grossly
irresponsible financial activities that led to the worst financial crisis since
the great depression feingold said in statement
senate democratic majority harry reid had been expected early this week to start
the process of ending debate on the nomination and holding final vote but
postponed the move
senior senate democratic aide said reid was gauging the depth of opposition to
bernanke before holding confirmation vote the aide who declined to be named
said it was not yet clear bernanke would get the votes needed to ensure
confirmation
reid met with bernanke on thursday and said in statement he had pressed the
central bank chief on applying more pressure to banks to lend to small
businesses and to aid homeowners facing foreclosure
the american people expect our economic leaders to keep wall street honest and
level the playing field for middle class families and will continue to hold
their feet to the fire to ensure this happens said reid
as the senate prepares to take up chairman bernanke nomination look
forward to hearing more from him about how he intends to address these issues
the senator said
about democrats have indicated to their colleagues that they oppose the
nomination and others have indicated that they have yet to make up their minds
according to an aide to senator who opposes bernanke confirmation
time magazine named bernanke its person of the year in december
crediting him with helping guide the united states through financial turmoil
although many economists agree that bernanke efforts eased the impact of the
worst crisis in decades and likely averted new great depression number of
lawmakers blame bernanke for failing to stop the housing and credit bubble that
led to the crisis
group of senators from across the us political spectrum have expressed
opposition to bernanke and some have proposed legislation that would enhance
the us congress abilities to audit the fed
football ghana journalist attacked by angolan security forces
luanda jan afp
sports radio journalist from ghana covering the africa cup of nations was
beaten up by angolan security officers in what was described as brutal
attack here on friday
the reporter who was named as fiifi tackie working for private radio station
radio gold was set upon by police and security officials after being refused
access to press conference at the team hotel in the angolan capital
one witness ghana journalist franck abdai told afp the reporter was denied
permission to attend the press conference and was surroounded by security
officers and police and beaten up
he was arrested but later released
abdai said the ghana football federation had requested tighter security ahead of
sunday africa cup of nations quarter final showdown with hosts angola
ghana radio station peace fm reported on its website the journalist was
brutally attacked
us marines expand haiti quake effort
port au prince jan afp
