faraya lebanon jan afp
while much of the united states and europe is fighting subzero temperatures
lebanon is praying for snow as unusually warm weather puts dampener on the
country lucrative ski season
so many clients cancelled their reservations for the month of january said
walid kanaan who runs the luxurious intercontinental mountain resort and spa at
mzaar nestled in the mountain town of faraya northeast of beirut
the lack of snow has forced clients to postpone their bookings until february
or march and truth be told understand their disappointment kanaan told
afp
skiing snowboarding mountain climbing and snowmobiling are fashionable in the
winter months in faraya which is located metres feet above sea
level
but the only activities in the town so far this year have been the roasting of
chestnuts and corn by street vendors hiding from the sun under umbrellas as
they wait in vain for customers
have lost tens of thousands of dollars and altogether shops in the area must
have lost some million dollars said the owner of faraya ski rental shop
who asked not to be named
thirty years of experience have taught us that half our seasonal sales happen
between december th and january th so that percent of our season gone
up in smoke he added
for two years now charbel salameh has charged dollars euros per hour
teaching amateur skiers in lebanon snow
foreigners used to come to lebanon in the winter just to take ski lessons and
they would book their lessons online in advance he told afp this year they
haven come yet
temperatures over the holiday season usually lucrative for lebanon ski
resorts have run as high as degrees celsius fahrenheit in the capital
beirut
there have been conflicting local weather reports about possible snowstorm
later in january while experts are divided on whether global warming is to
blame for the seemingly endless summer
temperature highs in lebanon have remained constant for the past years but
the lows have risen degrees celsius fahrenheit said nadim farjallah
author of report on temperatures at the american university of beirut
the short winter season could also negatively impact agriculture this summer as
groundwater levels are dropping making irrigation difficult farjallah said
others however are more optimistic citing past years in which lebanon snow
was late in coming
in the past three years there has been change in weather rain and snow used
to start in october or november but today they do not come until january or
february said mark whaybi head of beirut airport weather centre
but let not forget that lebanon has seen temperatures this high in past
decades in and temperatures in beirut hit and celsius in
january he pointed out
china hong kong lead asian market rally
hong kong jan afp
shanghai and hong kong led regional stocks rally on monday as investors
welcomed beijing green light for new futures market as well as short
selling experiment in china
the markets were also given lift by data released the day before that showed
mainland exports surged percent in december to snap month falling
streak
the week across the region started on high despite disappointing jobs figures
out of the eurozone and the united states on friday which dampened recent
optimism for the global economic recovery
shanghai closed up percent or points at as securities
firms and banks rallied on beijing approval friday of stock index futures
market and trial for short selling and margin trading dealers said
however the index was off earlier highs on profit taking
hong kong benchmark hang seng index ended up percent or points
at
the approval raises expectations that brokerages may gain lot from the
diversification of investment tools huatai securities analyst zhou lin told
dow jones newswires
margin trading allows investors to borrow money from financial institutions to
buy shares or other securities that they expect to rise
if the price goes up they can pay back the borrowed money if the price goes
down investors must still pay back the full amount
short selling is similar operation in which investors sell borrowed shares
expecting the price to decline if the price does fall they can buy the shares
at the lower price and return them to the lender
there were also gains in sydney which ended percent or points
higher at on the back of the china export figures
seoul closed flat down points to as auto and tech exporters lost
ground on concerns over the strength of the korean won singapore was
percent higher in afternoon trade
tokyo was closed monday for public holiday
the us labor department reported the economy lost jobs in december while
the unemployment rate held at percent
and in the european union the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for the
euro countries hit percent in november the highest since the currency was
launched decade ago and up from percent in october
in japan report said troubled japan airlines jal is expected to slash
jobs or about percent of its workforce in three years as part of
rehabilitation plan to keep it flying
the layoffs coupled with cuts in benefits and wages will be carried out with
the sale of jal subsidiaries including jal hotels co kyodo news reported
the dollar which rallied last week on the back of comments from japan new
finance minister that he preferred weaker yen fell on the jobs news
the dollar stood at yen in mid afternoon trade down from yen in new
york trading late friday
the euro also climbed to dollars from and fetched yen from
crude was up in asian trade as the cold snap in the northern hemisphere boosted
demand for heating fuel
new york main futures contract light sweet crude for february delivery
jumped cents to dollars barrel
brent north sea crude for february delivery rose cents to dollars
gold closed higher in hong kong at us dollars an ounce up
from friday close of dollars
in other markets
the singapore straits timex index closed up percent or points at
container shipping firm neptune orient lines closed at singapore dollars
us up cents on improving global trade singapore airlines fell eight
cents to
taipei closed up points or percent at
after strong showing in shares largely appear expensive that why not
many investors are willing to chase prices at the moment mega securities
analyst alex huang said
the steel sector remained attractive on rising product prices with tung ho steel
up percent at dollars
in malaysia the kuala lumpur composite index rose points or
percent to close at
jakarta gained percent or points to end at
manila rose percent or points to
the index finished at five week high as dealers looked to the strong overseas
market ayala corp rose percent to pesos while philippine long distance
telephone co gained percent to pesos
wellington fell percent or points to
auckland international airport led the falls losing six cents to dollars
after saying it was buying quarter stake in north queensland airports
heineken to buy mexican brewery worth billion euros
the hague jan afp
dutch beer maker heineken said monday it would acquire mexico fomento
economico mexicano femsa brewery valued at billion euros billion
dollars through an all share transaction
heineken will create major new platform for growth by acquiring the beer
operations of femsa via an all share transaction the dutch company said in
statement
heineken will acquire femsa cerveza comprising percent of femsa mexican
beer operations and the remaining percent of femsa brazilian beer business
that heineken does not currently own
british minister niece on trial for murder in france
versailles france jan afp
the niece of british government minister went on trial monday in versailles
accused of murdering young frenchman by slitting his throat after she picked
him up in bar
jessica davies contacted police in the early hours of sunday in november
to say she had stabbed the year old man at her apartment in the chic saint
germain en laye suburb west of paris judicial officials said
police found the now year old niece of britain multi millionaire junior
defence minister quentin davies so drunk that she could not be brought before
judge until the evening sources said at the time
davies who is being held in versailles women prison claimed to remember
nothing of the stabbing only that she had met olivier mugnier in an irish pub
near her flat few hours before his death according to one source
the trial by jury in court in versailles is expected to last two days with
verdict on tuesday davies faces maximum sentence of years in prison if
convicted of voluntary homicide without premeditation
london stocks hit month peak above points
london jan afp
london main stock market index on monday hit its highest level since september
when the collapse of us investment bank lehman brothers signalled the
start of global economic crisis
london benchmark ftse index reached points the highest level
for months in the wake of robust chinese economic data analysts said
thaksin supporters rally at thai royal aide house
bangkok jan afp
thousands of supporters of fugitive former thai premier thaksin shinawatra
rallied monday outside the house of royal adviser to protest against alleged
judicial double standards
the demonstrators allege that the home of privy councillor and ex prime minister
surayud chulanont in the khao yai tieng forest kilometres miles
northeast of bangkok is built illegally in national park
the protest is the first by thaksin so called red shirts in and is
apparently aimed at building support for big new anti government rallies
promised by the movement later this month in the capital
police said around protesters had rallied opposite the entrance to the
house and were expected to stay until the evening when there would be
telephone speech from thaksin
surayud house is encroaching on the forest core red shirt leader jatuporn
prompan told reporters adding that forestry department officials had failed in
their duty by allowing surayud to build there
another red shirt leader suporn attawong said that people who trespassed in
the forest normally faced legal action but surayud had escaped censure because
he was part of thailand powerful establishment
around police officers were providing security
surayud headed the military administration that ran the country from after the
coup that toppled thaksin until elections in december that were won by
thaksin allies
support for thaksin is strongest in thailand impoverished rural northeast
where the forest is located while the billionaire tycoon remains loathed by the
bangkok based cliques in the palace military and bureaucracy
twice elected thaksin is living abroad to avoid two year jail term for
corruption imposed in sentence that thaksin says was politically
motivated
the red shirts are pressing for the resignation of current prime minister
abhisit vejjajiva who took power in december following the collapse of the
previous pro thaksin government
they have held series of protests which turned violent last april when red
shirts derailed major asian summit hosted by thailand and then rioted in
bangkok leaving two people dead and injured
monday rally comes day after abhisit embattled coalition government faced
fresh pressure when the deputy public health minister resigned after being
implicated in corruption scandal
manit nopamornbodee was the second minister to quit over the case which
involves billion dollar healthcare scheme
public health minister witthaya kaewparadai quit on december over the case
after he was among group named in report that found prices for equipment to
be purchased by the ministry had been dramatically inflated
urgent heineken to buy mexican brewery worth billion euros
the hague jan afp
dutch beer maker heineken said monday it would acquire mexico fomento
economico mexicano femsa brewery valued at billion euros billion
dollars through an all share transaction
china rewards student for porn surfing
beijing jan afp
college student in china who said his studies suffered after he discovered
internet porn has been awarded yuan dollars for helping the
government crack down on sexual content online
the unidentified student at an unnamed college in northern shanxi province
reported websites that contained pornography winning nationwide contest
that has encouraged web surfers to hunt down porn state media said monday
in the past when was in middle school used to get grades that were good
enough to enter really good university the beijing news quoted the young man
as saying
it is because of the influence of pornography on the internet that was only
able to go to junior college said the student
the nation maintains strict censorship of the internet to curb what the
government deems to be unhealthy content including porn and violence system
known as the great firewall of china
officials have offered rewards to internet users who report pornographic
websites
in the first month of the effort nearly websites were reported the
paper said an indication that hefty number of web users were on the lookout
for porn
the winning student porn spotting ability had also won him monetary awards
from local internet censors in the cities of beijing and tianjin as well as
hebei and hainan provinces it added
chinese authorities arrested more than people in crackdown on internet
pornography in officials said earlier this year
internet use has expanded at dizzying pace in china which now has the world
largest online population with at least million users
urgent london stocks hit month peak
london jan afp
london main stock market index on monday hit its highest level since september
when the collapse of us investment bank lehman brothers signalled the
start of global economic crisis
korea seeks us peace pact before scrapping nuclear weapons
seoul jan afp
north korea called monday for talks on treaty to formally end the korean war
saying it wants better ties with the united states and an end to sanctions
before pushing ahead with nuclear disarmament
the foreign ministry statement was the first time the north has publicly stated
its position on the disarmament negotiations since us envoy stephen bosworth
visited pyongyang last month
bosworth was trying to persuade the communist state to return to the six nation
talks it abandoned last april month before staging second nuclear test no
firm agreement was reached
monday statement said repeated frustrations and failures in the talks
which began in and group the two koreas the united states china russia
and japan showed the need to build confidence among parties concerned
if confidence is to be built between the dprk north korea and the us it is
essential to conclude peace treaty for terminating the state of war root
cause of the hostile relations to begin with said the statement carried by
official media
the north has long called for treaty to officially end the conflict
which terminated only with an armistice leaving the parties technically at war
us led united nations force fought for the south and china backed the
communist north
six party agreements in and envisage talks on peace treaty but only
in return for full denuclearisation the north said the peace pact should come
first
the conclusion of the peace treaty will help terminate the hostile relations
between the dprk and the us and positively promote the denuclearisation of the
korean peninsula at rapid tempo it said
the foreign ministry said talks on peace pact could be held either at
separate forum or in the framework of the six party talks
the removal of the barrier of such discrimination and distrust as sanctions may
soon lead to the opening of the six party talks it said
the united nations tightened weapons related sanctions after the north nuclear
test and missile launches last year
monday statement mentioned only peace pact with the united states and kim
yong hyun professor at seoul dongguk university described it as
unrealistic
believe the us will not accept it as north korea has long tried to exclude
south korea in such talks he told afp
the proposal is aimed at taking the upper hand in future negotiations and
securing more concessions when talks resume with the us or south korea
however kim said pyongyang might return to the six party talks even though its
statement carried preconditions
the north reiterated that it would not have needed to develop nuclear bombs
without what it sees as us hostility
in new year editorial message it called for an end to hostile relations with
the united states and vowed to work towards nuclear free peninsula
south korea has been sceptical of calls for early talks on peace pact
foreign minister yu myung hwan has said the north may try to bring the issue
into the six party dialogue in an attempt to stall negotiations on scrapping its
nuclear programme
on monday robert king the obama administration new envoy on human rights in
north korea said relations could only improve once pyongyang improved its
appalling rights record
baek seung joo of seoul korea institute for defense analyses said the
statement indicated the north was heading back towards the six party talks
there exists discrepancy between north korea and the others notably south
korea in sequencing the tasks of denuclearisation and striking peace treaty
on the korean peninsula he said
alert
heineken says to acquire mexican brewery for billion euros
tennis wozniacki crashes out in sydney
sydney jan afp
us open finalist caroline wozniacki crashed out in the first round of the sydney
international monday to china li na while japan kimiko date krumm continued
her renaissance
li upset fourth seed wozniacki while date krumm battled to
victory over world number nadia petrova of russia
li who lost to wozniacki in their only previous meeting dug deep after
dropping the first set to prevail in almost two hours against the tiring dane
didn play my best game today said wozniacki it was tough out there it
was my first real match this season
didn really feel as comfortable as thought would and she played well
just better than me today for sure
wozniacki lost to belgian comeback queen kim clijsters in last year us open
final
li the world number will now play italian flavia pennetta who swept past
leading australian samantha stosur
date krumm reached the world number four spot in before retiring year
later after finding the pressure of life on tour too much she married german
racing driver michael krumm in
last september date krumm chalked up her first tournament victory in years
which made her the oldest winner of wta event since billie jean king in
meanwhile former world number one jelena jankovic is scrambling for extra
practice ahead of next week australian open after being dumped out in the
first round
the us open finalist paid dearly for lack of preparation when she
succumbed to match hardened hungarian qualifier agnes szavay
jankovic ring rusty game fell apart after taking the opening set and her serve
was broken times as the th ranked szavay coming off two matches at last
week brisbane international and qualifying here finished strongly in just
over two and half hours in warm conditions
it was my first match of the season and was little bit nervous especially
not playing for two months jankovic said
trained in florida but it wasn hot it was unusual and it was quite cold
so when arrived here it was big change
just want to stay positive and hope that will be ready for melbourne
jankovic who was top seed at last year australian open said she was now
preparing for week of practice ahead of the first grand slam of the season
it no problem have week to train and to do something she said
szavay who lost to china peng shuai in the second round at brisbane will now
take on aravana rezai of france who accounted for german qualifier anna lena
groenefeld
eighth seed vera zvonareva also had setback ahead of the australian open when
she retired with right ankle injury during the first set of her first round
match with fellow russian elena vesnina
elsewhere spanish hopman cup star maria jose martinez sanchez eliminated
american varvara lepchenko
martinez sanchez reward is second round encounter with world number one
serena williams
alert
london stock market climbs above points for first time in months
football algeria loom for miracle workers mali
luanda jan afp
world cup qualifiers algeria loom next for miracle workers mali who stunned
hosts angola to fight back for an improbable draw in sunday africa cup of
nations curtain raiser in luanda
star studded mali looked down and out after angola cruised to lead with
minutes on the clock
but substitute seydou keita and frederic kanoute put them back in business in
normal time with keita again and mustapha yattabare grabbing the point in injury
time
barcelona midfielder keita warned his teammates not to get carried away by their
stunning late rally after first half performance that angered coach stephen
keshi
keita said just couldn imagine we could fight back like that
we were bad in the first half mentally we weren really at the races
it good for us mentally our confidence but we have to be careful to not
make too many mistakes there is lot to correct before the next match
he added this is miracle to be able to comeback to after angola led
this is rare in high level football but we should stay with our feet on the
ground and remember all the mistakes we made
believe that we showed our qualities and weaknesses here
keshi who lifted the title with nigeria as player in the didn know
whether to laugh or cry
it was little difficult to believe we might come back ve got mixed
feelings happy with draw but upset with my team
mali skipper mahamadou diarra reflected on an extraordinary game that left mali
with every chance of making it into the second round
we started very good got the first chance then angola took control
but as professionals we didn lower our heads and we kept fighting
we hoped to score one goal to give us confidence then do what we can
it took lot of effort to fight back now we must rest and concentrate on
algeria
angola meanwhile must pick themselves up and ensure they get result against
malawi also on thursday to keep their cup campaign alive
angola coach manuel jose said this draw tasted like defeat to me this is
one of the most bitter pills ve ever had to swallow in all the matches of my
long career
football in africa is learning on the road we have the skills but we were
little naive
it makes the next match little more complicated the public deserved win
angola skipper kali added we have to raise our heads so sad and sorry
there no explanation for letting go of such big lead
but we ve got to give good response in our next match
china malaysia to pump billions into borneo power project
kuala lumpur jan afp
china leading power grid operator sgcc and malaysian government development
fund mdb said monday they will jointly establish energy projects worth
billion dollars in malaysian borneo
prime minister najib razak unveiled the venture between government development
and investment firm malaysia development berhad mdb and sgcc state grid
corporation of china
in short period of time mdb and sgcc which is china leading power and
distribution company will be collaborating to identify and plan number of
multi billion dollar projects najib said in speech
understand this project will have total value of billion dollars he
said
najib did not give details of the projects but malaysian officials said the
investments will focus on the energy sector
the star newspaper has reported that mdb and sgcc will establish hydropower
plants and massive aluminium smelter in sarawak state on resource rich borneo
an island split between malaysia and indonesia
the entry of sgcc and its significant investment in score the sarawak corridor
of renewable energy will be an added boost to economic ties between china and
malaysia najib said
foreign investment in malaysia plummeted in as result of the global
financial crisis the newly created mdb is aimed at forming global partnerships
to drive long term economic development
last september mdb and saudi arabia said they would establish billion
dollar partnership to invest in oil and gas and real estate projects in malaysia
and abroad
martinique french guiana reject more autonomy
fort de france martinique jan afp
martinique and french guiana voted against more autonomy from paris in
referendum dominated by fears of losing french state support results showed
monday
the two french overseas departments held the votes on sunday to decide whether
they should have more of say in running their own affairs year after
rioting paralysed much of martinique and neighbouring guadeloupe
nearly percent of voters on the caribbean island of martinique said no and
almost percent did the same in guiana the south american territory wedged
between brazil and suriname
the choice was clear blunt and without ambiguity said fort de france mayor
serge letchimy who had campaigned for no vote
this is victory for people who have shown they are clear headed he said
turnout was about percent in guiana and percent in martinique according
to official results announced by the ministry for overseas affairs
the campaign was largely dominated by fears that increased autonomy for the
departments would lead to less state support from paris particularly in
martinique which has an aging population
no campaigners had warned the french state might be seeking to disengage from
its overseas departments and reduce their people social benefits which are
largely the same as in france
martinique senator claude lise who had backed yes vote said this was
vote of panic
martinique and guiana have missed major turn in their history and scuttled
proposed reform that could have helped them build their future said lise
president nicolas sarkozy proposed holding the referendums when he travelled to
martinique in june as part of drive to heal ties following the general strike
which degenerated into weeks of rioting at the start of
sixty years after being granted the status of department which makes them
legally as french as normandy or provence the territories face social
problems including high unemployment and low wages despite massive financial
support from the state
year ago the french overseas departments in the caribbean as well as the
indian ocean island of la reunion were convulsed by strikes and rioting over low
wages and high prices
france opposition socialists suggested that sarkozy warning that more
autonomy would come with less state support influenced the result
what could have weighed on the result is the president saying in february
that with the transfer of powers to overseas departments funding should be from
local resources socialist party chief for overseas departments axel urgin said
on rfo radio
but sarkozy said the result reflected strong ties to france
the choice is evidence of the attachment of guianians and martinicans to
status which is close to those of communities in metropolitan france and
reaffirms the close ties which unite them to the republic he said in
statement
the wording of the question was technical but in essence it asked voters if they
wanted to change the status to make it more like that governing more autonomous
french territories such as new caledonia in the pacific
martinique major rum and banana producer and tourist destination for
mainland french seeking winter sunshine has an unemployment rate topping
percent more than twice that of metropolitan france
guiana perhaps best known as the launch site for europe ariane space rockets
faces similarly high joblessness
mechanical fault forces to be grounded in korea
seoul jan afp
new airbus super jumbo has been grounded at south korean airport due to
mechanical fault the latest in series of glitches for the world largest
airliner officials said monday
the emirates plane was scheduled to take off late sunday for dubai but the
flight was cancelled due to technical defect said airport officials in
incheon west of seoul
it was the first such case since the dubai based carrier launched the
service to south korea last december the carrier has seven
technical problem has been detected in the plane fuel system an official
at the carrier local public relations agency told afp
the delay had forced some passengers to stay at hotel near the airport he
said adding that the passengers would leave on another plane sent by the
carrier overnight after hour delay
initial investigations on site could not resolve the issue and team of
engineers and spare parts were sent later lee sang jin manager of emirates
korea said in statement
all passengers were provided hotel accommodation and are scheduled to depart
seoul later this evening he said
air france new was grounded more than once last month due to technical
problems another owned by singapore airlines had to return to paris last month
for attention due to an electrical fault
week ago qantas operated bound for los angeles was grounded at
