percent from to or by trillion dollars trillion euros
and in would total billion dollars the increase was equivalent to
times the marshall plan to rebuild europe after world war ii
these concerns highlight an accumulation of past annual budget deficits
together forming national debts which have risen sharply with the costs of
rescuing economies during the financial crisis
fitch estimated that of the countries in the european union and
switzerland would have to borrow the equivalent of percent of their annual
national production this year to finance budget overspending and roll over
existing debt
the warnings came amid concern about cohesion of the eurozone owing to debt
crisis in greece and strains in other eurozone countries notably portugal and
ireland that analysts say have contributed to recent fall of the euro
there is also concern about sharp worsening of public finances in britain
member of the eu but not of the eurozone
however fitch said that in absolute terms the country with the biggest problem
was france followed by italy and germany the biggest eurozone economy with
britain some way behind
fitch estimated that the european countries surveyed would have to borrow
trillion euros or the equivalent of percent of their annual economic
production this year to cover deficits and extend existing debt
this was marginal increase from the figure which fitch estimates to have
been close to trillion euros percent of gdp itself the largest
borrowing requirement seen in decades
fitch said that in looking at eu countries and switzerland it found that
gross borrowing in absolute terms is projected to be largest in france
billion euros italy billion euros germany billion euros and the
uk billion euros
but as percentage of gross domestic product the ratio was biggest in italy
belgium france and ireland all at about percent
however its differing credit ratings for these countries were currently stable
these ratings are critical for governments when they issue bonds carrying
fixed interest or yield to borrow on international capital markets
rating ranks perceived risk if it falls the country bonds tend to fall
pushing up the yield relative to the new price signalling that the borrowing
country must offer higher return on its next bond issue
fitch said that european governments had increased their overall debt in by
percent from the level in
referring to risk aversion at the height of the crisis it said that conditions
had been favourable because of heavy demand for such debt and low interest
rates
this year concern over national budgets and inflation and recovery in risk
appetite meant that government bond yields are likely to rise potentially
quite sharply
however big countries with strong ratings were unlikely to experience problems
in raising money albeit at more expensive rates but widening of the
differences in national yields would persist fitch forecast
dow jones newswires contributed to this report
bill gates says climate cash may hit health aid
new delhi jan afp
rich nations cash pledges to combat climate change must not come at the cost of
healthcare spending microsoft co founder bill gates warned in an interview
published tuesday
the entrepreneur turned philanthropist told the times of india that money
promised at last month copenhagen summit to enable developing countries to
tackle climate change could cut into healthcare aid budgets
am concerned that some of this money will come from reducing other categories
of foreign aid especially health gates told the newspaper
with an additional pledge for global warming the budget of rich countries will
be out of balance and they will look to cut down on expenditure
total of billion dollars was pledged at copenhagen for to help
poor countries in the frontline of climate change and wealthy nations sketched
target of providing billion dollars annually by
gates charity the bill and melinda gates foundation has committed nearly one
billion dollars to health and development projects in india especially
targeting aids and polio
what donor nations must understand is that health has direct impact on
climate change gates said pointing to health education encouraging families
to have fewer children
he also urged india to increase spending on healthcare which stands at about
two percent of government expenditure
more adopted haitian children arrive in france
paris jan afp
fresh planeload of haitian children landed in paris on tuesday to join
their adoptive parents in france after the earthquake that devastated their
country an airport official said
the children were met at orly airport south of the capital by their adoptive
parents and nadine morano junior minister for families
this brought to about the number of adopted children to arrive in france
since the earthquake on friday other haitian children landed in paris and
further seven arrived on sunday
in the chaos of the rescue effort after the quake adoptive parents had accused
the government of acting too slowly to repatriate their children for whom the
adoption procedures had already been completed before the disaster
france adopts more children from haiti its former colony than any other
country the foreign ministry said that in total adoptions of haitian
children by french parents were pending
airport officials also said the bodies of two french policemen were landed at
orly on tuesday they had been working with the un peacekeeping mission in haiti
and were found dead in the wreckage after the january earthquake
european stocks drop as britain limps back to growth
london jan afp
europe main stock markets fell on tuesday as official data showed that britain
only just escaped recession in the fourth quarter of and amid fresh
worries about china economy analysts said
london benchmark ftse index of leading shares slid percent to
points in late morning trade
frankfurt dax shed percent to points and in paris the cac
lost percent to nearing the half way mark
the dj euro stoxx index of top eurozone shares declined by percent to
reach points
britain narrowly exited its longest recession on record in the fourth quarter of
with growth of just percent official data showed on tuesday while
massive state debt is likely to stunt recovery beyond general election due by
june
whilst we may cheer the headline that we are out of recession the growth
figures are not all sweetness and light said odl securities analyst owen
ireland
market bulls were hoping for strong growth in the fourth quarter the
percent growth figure may increase traders nervousness
frankfurt share prices meanwhile weakened despite data showing german business
confidence rose for record th month in row during january
the closely watched ifo index survey of around firms in the key
manufacturing construction wholesaling and retail sectors climbed to
from december hitting its highest level since july
elsewhere on tuesday lingering concerns that beijing will move to tighten
liquidity weighed on asian stock markets as investors overlooked positive
overnight result on wall street
markets have been on edge in recent days over fears of an overheated chinese
economy after beijing last week said its economy expanded at better than
expected pace in while inflation was soaring and bank lending was at
record high
equities have been on downward slope also since us president barack obama on
thursday launched series of initiatives to restrict what he called the
excessive bank risk taking that led to the global downturn
china strong figures have meanwhile led to speculation that authorities will
move to rein in the red hot economy by staunching lending or raising interest
rates
the shanghai stock market closed down percent and tokyo shed percent
on tuesday
us indices meanwhile closed with modest gains on monday rebounding from last
week heavy selloff as prospects improved for the confirmation of federal
reserve chairman ben bernanke for second term
the dow jones industrial average rose percent to end at points
coming off the market worst weekly losses since last march
sri lanka fonseka unable to vote in election
colombo jan afp
sri lanka main opposition candidate sarath fonseka said he was unable to vote
in tuesday presidential election because his name was not on the electoral
register
despite the embarrassment he received full backing from the independent
elections commissioner who said he was still eligible for the presidency
my name is not on the register and therefore cannot vote at this
election fonseka told afp the government is trying to use this to mislead
the public at the last minute
the former army chief said he had sent in his voter registration papers
ruling party lawmakers had appeared on state television and urged voters not to
cast their ballots for fonseka saying he would be disqualified if he was
elected
but the independent elections commissioner dayananda dissanayake said in
statement that fonseka faced no legal obstacle to contest tuesday vote nor
would he be disqualified if he was duly elected
not having one name on the electoral list is not disqualification
dissanayake said
dissanayake had overruled objections to fonseka candidature when he filed his
nomination papers in december
pro government politician had wanted him thrown out of the contest when he
filed his nomination because he wrongly claimed fonseka was us citizen
fonseka holds us green card which gives him right to residency in the united
states
another candidate vickremabahu karunaratne was turned away at the polling
booth because he did not have an identity card but was later allowed to cast
his ballot with special permission from dissanayake an election official said
germany wants afghan withdrawal from foreign minister
berlin jan afp
germany wants to start bringing its soldiers home from afghanistan in
foreign minister guido westerwelle said on tuesday ahead of an international
conference in london
hong kong lawmakers resign in democracy push
hong kong jan afp
five pro democracy lawmakers in hong kong resigned their seats tuesday vowing
to turn the resulting elections into populist referendum for universal
suffrage in defiance of warnings from china
about onlookers with similar number of press in attendance applauded
under leaden skies as the lawmakers staged the most high profile challenge yet
to communist china stewardship of the glitzy financial hub
three members of the league of social democrats and two from the civic party
tendered their resignations at the legislative council toothless body in
british colonial times that critics say remains rubber stamp under beijing
we are giving the opportunity back to the people to vote for real democracy
civic party leader audrey eu said after her two colleagues quit
so we call on the people if you truly believe in democracy there is no reason
to fear
two days before their resignations take effect on friday the lawmakers plan to
outline their goals at what promises to be stormy legislative council session
on wednesday as they face off against pro beijing forces
chief executive donald tsang said the government deeply regrets the lawmakers
resignations and that their so called referendum had no legal basis but he said
the government was under statutory duty to organise by elections
as the chief executive did not wish to see the situation we have arrived at
today but we have the responsibility to hold the by election in accordance with
the election ordinance he said in statement
civic party spokesman kenneth chan said the law allows the government to hold
by elections any time it wants but the party hoped they would be held by the
end of may before lawmakers break for summer
only half of hong kong seat legislature is directly elected from five
geographical constituencies the remaining functional constituency seats are
largely selected by pro china business elites
an member election committee picked by beijing chooses the city chief
executive job that replaced the post of governor when britain handed hong
kong back to china in
democrats are calling for universal suffrage in but the chinese government
has said hong kong chief executive can only be directly elected at the
earliest by and the legislature by
two weeks ago beijing issued statement expressing grave concern over the
dissident lawmakers referendum plan and saying they were flouting hong kong
legal system which is different to mainland china
constitutional reform can only take place with the approval of two thirds of
hong kong legislature meaning the democrats who hold seats are unlikely
to be able to force their agenda on policymakers
and the democrats latest campaign faces potential setback after the liberal
party major pro beijing faction announced last week it would not take part
in any by elections
another pro beijing party the democratic alliance for the betterment and
progress of hong kong indicated that it would follow the liberals lead
political observers say china is leaning on the pro beijing parties to shun the
by elections
by pressuring those political parties to boycott the by election beijing hopes
to trivialise the event and discourage people from casting their vote said
ivan choy political analyst at chinese university of hong kong
an opinion poll conducted by the university of hong kong on january said
that just percent of the respondents supported universal suffrage
compared to percent who said they were against
but thousands of people took to the streets on new year day to call for full
democracy in hong kong as well as human rights in china
pro democrats were outraged last week by news that zhou yongjun leader of the
tiananmen square protests in beijing had been jailed for nine years for
fraud after authorities in hong kong handed him over to china
urgent british envoy named nato civil rep for afghanistan diplomats
brussels jan afp
britain ambassador in kabul mark sedwill will be nato new civilian
representative in afghanistan alliance diplomats confirmed tuesday ahead of
major international conference on the country
football mad briton bids for keepy uppy record
london jan afp
british man is trying to set new world record by playing keepy uppy with
football for miles across london visiting every premier league stadium in
the capital tuesday
dan magness task involves keeping the ball off the ground and under control at
all times by tapping it up into the air using all parts of his body except his
hands
the year old will be attempting to set the record for the longest keepy
uppy journey travelling from fulham ground in west london to tottenham
hotspur white hart lane home in the east
magness who describes himself as football freestyler already holds the
world record for the longest continuous keepy uppy stint he kept ball in
the air for hours in may last year
alert
germany wants to start afghan withdrawal from foreign minister
alert
british envoy sedwill named nato civilian rep for afghanistan diplomat
haitians seek food roof and long term change
port au prince jan afp
food and roof are what quake battered haitians are seeking now but beyond
that they are urging the international community to help their long suffering
country make more fundamental changes
the most urgent needs of the million people uprooted by the january
earthquake is to be able to drink eat and shelter themselves with dignity
they must begin by helping those who have lost their houses said suze jean
francois year old gardener living in makeshift camp in the center of
port au prince
he leaves every day to scrounge for food sometimes with no luck
many survivors of the earthquake feel they have seen little of the aid that has
poured into haiti since the temblor struck nearly two weeks ago flattening
large areas of the capital
in the flimsy patchwork of camps that have sprung up in the capital everyone
who is asked says they are hungry nobody seems to know where distribution
points for food and water are located not single big tented camp has been
erected
outside the city where hundreds of thousands of people have sought refuge
families have to fend for themselves
haitians know that aid will eventually get through but they are concerned about
how it will be handled in country with reputation for corruption
at monday meeting of donor countries in montreal haitian prime minister jean
max bellerive asked for international backing for the colossal work of
reconstruction that lies ahead
but many haitians like barbara year old banker do not trust the
government and president rene preval whose performance in the crisis has been
sharply criticized
would rather that the aid pass through the hands of foreigners and ngos do
not have great confidence in the leaders of this country this isn the first
time that there have been donations and it is always handled badly she said
asking that her last name not be used
while expressing impatience haitians say they are touched by the outporing of
support from the international community but they want more than just emergency
aid for what is one of the world poorest countries
the west has come to help us it is extraordinary but it will not last rather
than give us fish teach us to catch fish said the evangelical pastor andre
muscadin
they hope the quake will have shock effect on their leaders and that the
assistance of foreign governments will lead to complete change in the
country governing structure
they denounce the lack of transparency and coordination on the part of the
authorities excessive centralization failing educational and social systems
and anarchic urban growth which has proved deadly during the quake
sonel louis year old accountant said foreign governments need to take
haiti government in hand and train it
haiti needed to be rebuilt before this catastrophe there was need to
transform this society perhaps this is the right time to think about new
haiti he said echoing commonly held view here
one of the biggest challenges for those providing international aid will be to
figure out how to strengthen the central direction of the authorities to ensure
there is no chaos said diplomat
corrected china sentences four more to death in xinjiang
beijing jan afp
court in china xinjiang region sentenced four people to death over deadly
riots in july bringing to the number of those condemned to die for the
unrest government official said tuesday
the verdicts were handed down on monday by court in the regional capital
urumqi scene of the violence that pitted mainly muslim uighurs against china
han ethnic majority leaving nearly dead and over injured
they were sentenced yesterday by the urumqi intermediate court spokesman at
the xinjiang government who gave only his surname li told afp
four people were sentenced to death one was sentenced to death with two year
reprieve and eight others got prison terms of up to life
death sentence with reprieve is normally commuted to life in prison
monday sentences brought to the number of people who have been reported
executed or condemned to die over their roles in the unrest some of the worst
ethnic violence in china in decades
the xinjiang daily newspaper said monday verdicts came in five separate cases
with the defendants charged with the violent crimes of attacking smashing
looting and burning chinese term that means violent rioting
the defendants names provided by the xinjiang daily appeared to be uighur the
turkic speaking muslim minority group that has long complained of chinese
repression
during the initial eruption of violence on july uighurs attacked han chinese
but in subsequent days mobs of han roamed the streets seeking revenge
uighurs say the violence was sparked when police cracked down harshly on
peaceful demonstrations in urumqi that were held to protest the beating deaths
of two uighur migrant workers at factory in southern china
china says it faces serious separatist threat in xinjiang and has vowed harsh
retribution for those found guilty of wrongdoing in the unrest
state media said earlier this month that funding for public security in xinjiang
would nearly double in
budget proposal placed before xinjiang legislature called for billion
yuan million dollars to be spent on public security up from billion
yuan in the official china daily reported
but exiled uighurs say beijing exaggerates the separatist threat to justify
harsh controls in the strategic western region which is rich in energy reserves
and borders on several central asian countries
earlier this year authorities also issued orders to step up identity checks and
monitor religious activities in xinjiang in renewed bid to quash terrorism
separatism and extremism state media reported
urgent tennis murray into open semis as nadal retires
melbourne jan afp
british fifth seed andy murray moved into the australian open semi finals on
tuesday when defending champion rafael nadal retired when trailing
he will next meet croatia marin cilic
korea defectors describe life in prison camps
seoul jan afp
north korean defectors gave personal accounts tuesday of life in its political
prison camps saying inmates were subjected to torture dawn to dusk labour and
sometimes arbitrary execution
hunger was the most painful memory fixed in my mind jung gwang il who
arrived in seoul in through china told reporters
jung was sent to camp at yodok in south hamkyung province in on
espionage charges while working as trader based in china
was jailed for three years due to false report from one of my friends he
said adding that inmates were subject to unimaginably hard labour
its been five years since arrived in south korea but still dream of doing
hard labour cannot sleep without drinking alcohol because of nightmares
jung told press conference in seoul
it was the third time this month the spotlight has been turned on the communist
north rights record
the new us envoy on north korean human rights robert king said during visit
to seoul that pyongyang must improve its appalling record if it wants better
relations with washington
vitit muntarbhorn un special rapporteur on the same issue visited seoul at the
same time and said rights conditions remain dire in the north
south korea state human rights watchdog said last week that the north six
camps for political prisoners hold some inmates including refugees who
were repatriated by china
some inmates are executed without trial the national human rights commission
said in its first report on the topic
kim tae jin who defected to south korea in said tuesday that some inmates
do not know why they were imprisoned he was held in yodok for four years from
after being repatriated by china
kim said many prisoners were found guilty just because one of their family
members was implicated in political crimes
defector kim yong seung said torture beatings and executions are rampant
at the camps she was released in and arrived in seoul in
she said she was sent to yodok in only because she was high school
classmate of sung hae rim the mother of north korean leader kim jong il
eldest son
sung former actress died of heart disease in moscow in
was under close surveillance by security officers for years only because
was high school classmate of sung hae rim and knew well about kim jong il
private life she said
germany to send more troops to afghanistan
berlin jan afp
germany unveiled plans on tuesday for more troops for afghanistan plus
flexible reserve of soldiers two days before london conference on the
troubled international mission future
chancellor angela merkel said the hike was part of completely new approach
to cooperating with the afghan government to help kabul reach its stated goal of
assuming responsibility for the security of the country by
we have developed complete package for our future engagement in afghanistan
which takes it to new level namely new phase in handing responsibility
to the afghan government merkel told reporters in berlin ahead of the arrival
of afghan president hamid karzai
we are not going to name withdrawal date but we support the afghans in this
aim she said after talks with parliamentary leaders
there can be no security without reconstruction but on the other hand there
can be no reconstruction without security
german troops currently form the third largest contingent in the strong
international force behind the united states and britain with the upper limit
capped by parliament at soldiers
there are currently troops on the ground in the strife ravaged country
the bulk of them in north where levels of violence are lower than in the south
and east but which recently has seen sharp rise in attacks
berlin would also provide million euros million dollars over five years
to million dollar international fund to woo insurgents to lay down their
guns with the lure of jobs and money merkel said
in addition germany is hiking development aid to million euros from the
million euros over with the aim of giving three quarters of people in
the north access to work compared with percent at present
we want to construct kilometres miles of roads and infrastructure to
make markets accessible we want percent of northerners to have access to
energy and drinking water compared with percent now merkel said
we want percent of children to have access to school at the end of the
legislative period in germany in up from percent
asked how germany new commitments would be received by the us administration
which is pressing its allies to back its surge of more us soldiers this
year merkel said she was comfortable with the new offer
it was not the case that the americans asked us what we wanted to do but rather
we determined ourselves what we intend to do she said
think that if germany plans to train at least one third of the police forces
in afghanistan if it doubles what it is doing in terms of civil reconstruction
and we make our entire approach more effective and harmonise it with the
international community plus adds troops and flexible reserve of
troops then we have nothing to be ashamed of
her comments came ahead of two day visit to berlin starting on tuesday by
karzai who is under pressure from his western backers to tackle rampant
corruption on his way to the london gathering
on tuesday karzai met in istanbul with turkish president abdullah gul pakistani
president asif ali zardari and senior officials from iran china tajikistan and
turkmenistan
hong kong exports rise percent in december
hong kong jan afp
hong kong exports rose for the second consecutive month in december but total
shipments in still recorded double digit tumble from the previous year
the government said tuesday
orders from around asia including india taiwan and indonesia helped push the
city overseas shipments up percent in december with value of
billion hong kong dollars billion us dollars the government said
the rise follows percent year on year uptick in november exports
december imports rose percent to billion hong kong dollars following
percent year on year increase in november according to the census and
statistics department
despite the uptick in recent months hong kong recorded percent annual
decline in exports driven by fall in orders for appliances and telecom
equipment the government said
imports fell percent in compared with the previous year
orders from the united states and european union remained weak government
spokesman said as the key markets begin slow recovery from the global
financial crisis
merchandise exports rebounded notably further in december last year supported
mainly by revival in intra regional trade the spokesman said in statement
sustainability of growth in the advanced economies is still concern
continuing to pose some risk to the external trading environment
siemens says it plans to restructure
berlin jan afp
german industrial giant siemens announced better than forcast earnings results
tuesday but said it was also about to carry out restructuring in the face of
an expected fall in full year profit
net profit rose to billion euros billion dollars between october and
december the first quarter of the company fiscal year from
billion euros year earlier siemens said in statement
analysts polled by dow jones newswires had forecast net profit of million
euros
earnings for the first quarter provide gratifying snap shot of the current
situation siemens chief executive peter loescher said in statement
the actions we took at very early stage are now cushioning us from the
ongoing repercussions of the global recession he said
we will continue to tackle all challenges decisively and in responsible
manner only such an approach can ensure siemens long term success
the company foreseeing challenging conditions in the manufacturing sector and
on financial markets said it expected fall in profit in its key sectors to
between and billion euros this year from billion in
finance director joe kaeser told press conference that in activities affected
by structural market changes and competition or by technological developments
adjustments are necessary
loescher added that the measures envisaged would affect specific activities and
sites no further details were provided
loescher said siemens trade unions would be informed of the plans on january
siemens shares rose percent at the frankfurt stock exchange to euros
on an overall weaker market after the company released its results
alert
murray into australian open semi finals as nadal retires
football angola cash in despite nations cup exit
luanda jan afp
angola africa cup of nations squad were awarded dollars by bank to
reward their efforts despite losing to ghana in the quarter finals state media
said tuesday
the bank presented the money to the palancas negras black antelopes at
branch in the capital luanda
striker flavio amado from the al shabad club in saudi arabia received
dollars for scoring three goals in the tournament two against mali and one
against malawi
manucho goncalves from spanish outfit real valladolid and felisberto gilberto
