commodities companies gained further as crude continued its run amid severe
winter in the northern hemisphere
japanese stocks gained in the first trading session since news broke that
year old finance minister hirohisa fujii had offered to resign on health
grounds
the market was awaiting developments as prime minister yukio hatoyama has
reiterated his desire for his minister to remain in his post
the market is very calm about this said masamichi adachi senior economist
at jpmorgan chase
we don expect major changes from this the budget proposal for the next
fiscal year is already finished it is unlikely that it will be changed
overnight new york main futures contract light sweet crude for delivery in
february gained cents to close at dollars barrel
brent north sea crude for february delivery added cents to settle at
dollars in london trading
and in wall street trade the dollar fell to yen from yen on monday
while the euro dropped to dollars from dollars
in hong kong gold opened lower at us dollars an ounce
down from tuesday close of dollars
dow jones newswires contributed to this story
farc rebels claim kidnap murder of colombian governor
washington jan afp
colombia leftist farc rebel group tuesday claimed responsibility for
kidnapping and murdering governor last month but blamed his death on
president alvaro uribe shoot on sight orders to rescue him
the aim of the abduction was neither to execute him or exact ransom but to put
him on political trial for corruption the farc south bloc unit said in
statement released by the anncol news agency it often uses for such
announcements
southern caqueta governor luis francisco cuellar year old cattle rancher
was the first governor to be kidnapped since uribe took office in
promising safe democracy and hardline crackdown on armed rebel groups
his body was found with his throat slit one day after he was abducted in his
pajamas december from his home in the southern city of florencia
uribe said the rebels likely killed cuellar to flee from military troops who
were in hot pursuit and closing in on them
the revolutionary armed forces of colombia said in their statement dated
december that the tragic outcome of the kidnapping was the direct result of
uribe order to the military to rescue cuellar with blood and fire
cuellar kidnapping was seen as farc retaliation for uribe crackdown on
their operations which it is estimated has halved their force to about
fighters
uribe has rejected political dialogue with farc which has battled the
government in bogota for years and is seeking to swap its highest profile
prisoners for some guerrillas in government jails
japan pm says wants ailing finance minister to stay on
tokyo jan afp
japanese prime minister yukio hatoyama said wednesday he still hoped his finance
minister would stay in his job following media reports the year old wants to
step down due to poor health
as hirohisa fujii was behind the birth of the government budget plan
strongly wish that he will help it grow hatoyama told reporters
it is matter of health we must take into consideration the doctor
judgement hatoyama added
fujii illness is fresh test for hatoyama who has been embroiled in
political funding scandal and has seen sharp drop in his public approval
ratings since he swept to power in september
the veteran politician was admitted to hospital on december suffering from
high blood pressure and fatigue saying he was exhausted after weeks of work on
the national budget for the next financial year
he reportedly told hatoyama on tuesday he wanted to resign but the prime
minister asked him to remain in the key post some japanese media however
reported late tuesday that the government had accepted fujii resignation
fujii was picked by hatoyama in september to steer asia biggest economy out of
its worst recession in decades returning to post he held briefly in the early
one of the few members of the current cabinet with previous government
experience fujii had planned to retire from politics but was persuaded by
hatoyama to stay on to pursue an agenda of slashing public sector waste
deputy prime minister naoto kan yoshito sengoku state minister in charge of
administrative reform and senior vice finance minister yoshihiko noda have been
named by local media as possible successors to fujii
tokyo stocks rose percent in morning trade on wednesday as investors took
the view that even if fujii steps down it is unlikely to have major impact on
economic policy
the market is very calm about this said masamichi adachi senior economist
at jpmorgan chase
we don expect major changes from this the budget proposal for the next
fiscal year is already finished it is unlikely that it will be changed
obama senate ally to retire
washington jan afp
democratic senator byron dorgan announced tuesday he would not seek reelection
in november shock blow to efforts by president barack obama allies to
retain their critical vote majority
over this holiday season have come to the conclusion with the support of my
family that will not be seeking another term he said citing desire to
pursue other priorities after years in public life
democrats when joined by two independents currently hold exactly the senate
seats needed to overrun republican procedural roadblocks and several other
obama allies face tough campaigns as well
dorgan denied his decision was tied to glum political prospects saying he would
have won reelection if he had run but republicans pounced on his retirement
as symptom of democratic pessimism about the coming election
for nearly year congressional democrats have been turning deaf ear to the
concerns of the american people and as the elections of approach many of
these same democrats are deciding to simply leave office instead of risking
certain defeat said republican national committee chairman michael steele
republicans will have to defend six open seats
democratic senators appointed to fill vacancies in illinois and delaware
seats held by obama and vice president joe biden respectively have said they
will leave office when their terms expire in january
but dorgan is the first elected democratic senator to do so
senator dorgan should be very proud of his more than years of devoted
service in the united states congress obama said in statement
from fighting for our energy future to standing with north dakota families
through difficult economic times senator dorgan has been trusted leader for
the people of his state said the president
dorgan decision announced in statement released by his office came after
public opinion poll found him trailing north dakota republican governor john
hoeven who has yet to enter the race by double digits
among the other white house allies in trouble democratic senate majority leader
harry reid senate banking committee chairman christopher dodd and arkansas
senator blanche lincoln
mid term us elections typically see the party that holds the white house lose
congressional seats and republicans hope rising anti incumbent tide fed by
double digit unemployment will further boost their fortunes
but the party faces an internal insurrection from core supporters whose
uncomprising demands for bedrock conservatives has already cost republicans one
high profile house race
public opinion surveys show the public trusts democrats more than republicans on
key issues but by much narrower margin than when obama took office one year
ago
in his statement dorgan cited an interest in work on energy policy in the
private sector teaching and noted he had an invitation from publisher to
write two more books
johnson and johnson heiress found dead in la
new york jan afp
casey johnson the hard living year old heiress to the johnson and johnson
company empire has been found dead in los angeles family spokesman said
tuesday
the johnson family is mourning its tragic loss and asks for privacy during this
very difficult time the spokesman jesse derris told afp
johnson whose drinking binges and rows with her lesbian lovers made her
regular in the tabloid pages was found dead monday tmz and other celebrity
news sites said no cause of death has been declared
tmz quoted law enforcement source saying that she may have been dead for
several days before her body was discovered
johnson was part of the family behind the huge johnson and johnson hygiene
products and pharmaceutical business her father woody johnson owns the new
york jets football team and had just been celebrating progression on sunday into
the nfl playoffs tournament
derris said casey johnson body would be flown back east to her final resting
place there will be private funeral service later this week for the immediate
family
johnson reportedly had troubled relationship with her father and suffered from
diabetes her love life frequently involved public disputes with girlfriends
including courtenay semel daughter of former yahoo ceo terry semel according
to the new york post
her most recent relationship was with fellow tv reality show star tila tequila
the post reported that tequila sent tweet reading everyone please pray my
wifey casey johnson she has passed away
the family called for donations in her memory to the casey johnson memorial at
the juvenile diabetes research foundation international
casey struggled throughout her life fighting this disease and she would want
to see all of us continue that fight on her behalf derris said on behalf of
the family
hong kong shares open percent higher
hong kong jan afp
hong kong shares rose percent in the first few minutes of trading on
wednesday with the benchmark hang seng index up points to stand at
japanese shares up percent at break
tokyo jan afp
tokyo stocks rose percent in morning trade on wednesday as investors
reacted calmly to media reports that japan elderly finance minister is likely
to step down for health reasons
the tokyo stock exchange benchmark nikkei index climbed points to
by the lunch break the broader topix index of all first section
shares added points or percent to
investors were waiting for further developments over the health of finance
minister hirohisa fujii who reportedly wants to resign after being
hospitalised last week with exhaustion after weeks of working on the budget
prime minister yukio hatoyama reiterated wednesday that he wanted fujii to stay
on if his health allows despite reports in some japanese media that the
government had accepted his resignation
even if fujii steps down it is unlikely to have major impact on the
government economic policy analysts said
the market is very calm about this said masamichi adachi senior economist
at jpmorgan chase
we don expect major changes from this the budget proposal for the next
fiscal year is already finished it is unlikely that it will be changed
obama slams intelligence failings in us plane plot
washington jan afp
us intelligence missed red flags in the arabian peninsula that could have
disrupted plot to blow up us bound plane us president barack obama said
tuesday vowing to stop future lapses
it is increasingly clear that intelligence was not fully analyzed or fully
leveraged obama said in terse televised statement that not acceptable
and will not tolerate it
he was speaking after meeting us spy chiefs and top national security aides at
the white house to discuss two probes into the attempt to blow up northwest
airliner as it approached detroit on december
the bottom line is this the us government had sufficient information to have
uncovered this plot and potentially disrupt the christmas day attack but our
intelligence community failed to connect those dots obama said
when suspected terrorist is able to board plane with explosives on
christmas day the system has failed in potentially disastrous way he said
it my responsibility to find out why and to correct that failure so that we
can prevent such attacks in the future
us intelligence missed other red flags that al qaeda in the arabian peninsula
was plotting to attack us targets both in yemen and the united states itself he
said
and he said it had information that it was working with umar farouk
abdulmutallab the year old nigerian who boarded northwest airlines flight
in amsterdam with valid us visa and allegedly tried to bring down the plane
down
sanaa has been under increasing pressure in recent days to deal with an al qaeda
cell in the country which has claimed to be behind the plot to blow up the plane
mid air
al qaeda in the arabian peninsula aqap has also urged attacks on western
interests in yemen
the us embassy in yemen reopened tuesday after two day closure prompted by
fears of an attack as us secretary of state hillary clinton warned unrest in the
arab country was threat to global stability
the us embassy said on its website that yemeni security forces had addressed
specific area of concern in the north of the capital sanaa on monday paving
the way for the reopening
but full services at the british french and japanese embassies have yet to
resume
investigations spanning from west africa to europe to the middle east have been
trying to piece together the would be bomber whereabouts and actions leading
up to the christmas day attack foiled when the explosives failed to detonate
properly
dutch prosecutors said tuesday abdulmutallab had probably obtained the
explosives which were stitched into his underwear before he arrived at
amsterdam schiphol airport where he boarded the us bound flight
the white house said earlier he had been providing useful leads during his
interrogations by the federal bureau of investigation as he awaits his
arraignment on friday in detroit
abdulmutallab spent number of hours with fbi investigators in which we
gleaned usable actionable intelligence white house spokesman robert gibbs
said
the united states has unleashed barrage of measures to stop would be attackers
riding planes into the country overhauling its terror watchlists and adding
dozens more suspects to no fly lists
further boosting security measures all travelers coming from or via terror
linked countries will have to undergo compulsory enhanced screening
us officials also revealed that additional visas had been revoked since the
christmas day attempt but gave no details of how many or which countries the
applicants were from
additional visas have been revoked for people that we believe have suspected
ties to terrorism us state department spokesman pj crowley told reporters
nigeria one of the countries on the security list on tuesday protested the
new rules made it clear through the us ambassador to the us government
that this is unacceptable to nigeria foreign minister ojo maduekwe told
journalists
eu security experts will meet in brussels on thursday to discuss the us
emergency travel measures amid privacy and health concerns over broader use of
full body scanners
obama said meanwhile it had been decided not to transfer any more guantanamo
bay prisoners to yemen for now due to the unsettled situation there
but make no mistake we will close guantanamo prison which has damaged our
national security interests and become tremendous recruiting tool for al
qaeda obama said
the obama administration has been under intense pressure from domestic critics
and some friendly lawmakers not to send any more inmates back to yemen because
of fears they will slip into extremism
but human rights groups called the decision to stop the transfers unwise and
unjust
us software firm sues china for billion dollars
los angeles jan afp
california firm filed billion dollar lawsuit against china on tuesday
accusing beijing of stealing its technology to bar internet access to political
and religious sites in china
santa barbara based cybersitter is suing the chinese government two chinese
companies and seven pc manufacturers for misappropriation of trade secrets
unfair competition copyright infringement and conspiracy in connection with the
distribution of green dam youth escort
cybersitter was created to help parents filter content seen by children
however the suit alleges that the chinese makers of green dam illegally copied
more than lines of code from the filtering software and conspired with
china rulers and computer manufacturers to distribute more than million
copies of the pirated software throughout china
the suit filed in federal court in los angeles alleges the computer
manufacturers continued to distribute millions of copies of green dam even after
becoming aware that the program content filters were stolen
the lawsuit also alleges the chinese software makers broke united states laws
governing economic espionage and trade secrets
this lawsuit aims to strike blow against the all too common practices of
foreign software manufacturers and distributors who believe that they can
violate the intellectual property rights of small american companies with
impunity without being brought to justice in us courts cybersitter attorney
greg fayer said
american innovation is the lifeblood of the software industry and it is vital
that the fruits of those labors be protected at home and abroad he said
green dam made headlines when the chinese government ordered all computer
manufacturers to bundle the software with any computer sold in china after july
human rights groups protested the ruling arguing green dam filters would
allow the chinese government to block access to web sites it deemed politically
undesirable
cybersitter billed as the first commercially available internet content
filter software has won pc magazine editor choice award five times
according to the company
aamir khan idiots becomes bollywood biggest grosser
mumbai jan afp
aamir khan latest film idiots has become the highest grossing bollywood
movie of all time with strong showings at home and abroad raising hopes for
further cross over hits for indian films
the leading actor producer director wrote on his blog that box office takings
for the coming of age comedy had already surpassed those for his hit
ghajini which was the previous record holder
in less than days has overtaken the entire business of ghajini india
overseas everywhere and is still going strong khan wrote monday
describing himself as fully overwhelmed and totally humbled
india business standard newspaper said tuesday that idiots had taken
billion rupees million dollars from the domestic and international market
since opening on december ghajini took billion rupees
meanwhile www hollywood com and deadline hollywood which both track box office
takings in the united states said idiots has so far made million
dollars after opening in nearly us theatres
no bollywood film has crossed the four million dollar threshold before
the film success has given bollywood boost after disappointing
marked by damaging producers boycott of multiplex cinemas in row over box
office takings swine flu fears and string of big budget flops
the business standard said idiots has so far made more money than
bollywood entire ticket receipts in november which included the hit ajab
prem ki gazab kahani an amazing story of strange love
indian box office takings are lower than in hollywood because of lower ticket
prices
film critics and industry analysts attributed the success of idiots not just
to khan star quality but also high production values sustained marketing
campaign and the story wide appeal
public row about how much the film was based on chetan bhagat best seller
five point someone and lack of other big name releases may also have
helped
it very well made film with message and with big star it brings back
memories of people experience of the education system in india taran adarsh
from bollywoodhungama com said of the film overseas success
if you still have family here think you identify with it all the more he
told afp
mayank shekhar national cultural editor at the hindustan times newspaper said
the same expatriate indian it crowd who bought five point someone appear to
have flocked to us cinemas boosting audiences
what equally important is that it not preachy film it by itself
complete comedy which is what most mainstream audiences go for he said
well constructed combination of leading star well placed song and dance
routines and message gave it all the elements of bollywood blockbuster he
added
us film studios have been eyeing india popular hindi language film industry
for several years hoping to tap in to an expanding billion dollar market
hopes are high that shahrukh khan upcoming film my name is khan will match
or even eclipse the success of idiots
fox searchlight which promoted the oscar winning film slumdog millionaire
and other fox units are handling distribution
adarsh said the overseas market is becoming increasingly important for
bollywood
the domestic market has traditionally been measured in rupees today it
dollars pounds dirham euros and various other currencies he said
it not just the indian diaspora it people in pakistan bangladesh the
middle east the success of idiots is just the tip of the iceberg
china book heroine role model for ambitious women
beijing jan afp
du lala is brash something chinese woman who successfully breaks the glass
ceiling in the macho corporate world
she is also the title character in novel that has been breakout literary hit
in china and an unofficial handbook for ambitious career women in the asian
nation now the world third largest economy
the story of du lala promotion was such success that the author herself
once young professional like her protagonist quickly churned out du lala
splendid days which was equally well received
she uses pseudonym li ke to maintain bit of privacy amid the excitement
over her books
bit of calm is better than celebrity any day many people who have done
extraordinary things are in fact looking for peace not celebrity the author
told afp in an email
novel is easier to read than manual li ke said describing her heroine as
normal person more beautiful than the norm but not more than that
fresh out of university du lala first foray into the chinese working world is
bitter one she is sexually harassed by her boss she then gets job at db
fictitious multinational corporation in the fortune
the first book describes in simple fashion du lala climb through the ranks at
db from sales assistant to director of human resources meteoric rise
peppered with accounts of jealousy and other quirks of office politics
young women say they are using the novel as handbook to improve their own
careers
it gave me guidance and ideas learned lot from this book about how to
communicate how to survive in an office how to ask for pay rise and also how
office love affairs are taboo said year old fan yan nan
don feel alone any more there are thousands of du lalas who try to make it
on their own and live better lives like me said yan who works for foreign
company in beijing
it very practical book for active young women
the book success is easy to explain readers can readily identify with the
heroine who is fighting for her economic and personal independence
in contrast to many young chinese women who look for rich man to marry du
lala works hard and counts on her own abilities to secure her future that
why like her said another reader year old rui menggui
yan says she likes du lala because she represents group of white collar
workers who are fighting in the jungle of the working world in some way am
like du lala even if don work for big multinational said yan
admire her because she is intelligent and hard working what she gets she
earns she is not taking advantage of her guanxi connections as is often
the case in china
rui says du lala conveys the image of young modern woman who is very real
strong and resourceful
li ke first book has already been adapted for the theatre and television
series is in the works for this year
the author was in ninth place on china list of best paid writers in
having earned million yuan dollars
more than one million official copies of the two books have been sold according
to industry data but that does not include the likely high number of pirated
copies in the hands of eager readers
namibia landmark quiver trees dying from climate change
windhoek jan afp
an old man gently touches the trunk of the huge quiver tree with worried look
on his wrinkled face as he points at several dead branches lying on namibia
rugged terrain
when was boy my grandfather made my first quiver from branch of this old
tree about seventy years ago but fear the tree is dying too many dead
branches things changed over the past few years and these trees just die he
tells afp
aaron kairabeb works on farm kilometres miles southeast of namibia
capital windhoek where tourists go on scenic hikes and also view cluster of
the giant aloe trees that can live for more than years
they grow in arid regions of namibia and south africa and are well adapted to
their environment through water storing succulent leaves and shallow root
systems the bushman or san people used to make quivers for their bows from the
trees dead branches
but over the past few years kairabeb who grew up in the area noticed that
large quiver trees protected in namibia and by the convention on
international trade in endangered species cites were drying out and
toppling over
scientists found this is most likely caused by drought with weather data
showing that average temperatures have increased over past decades across the
tree range
the quiver tree is now red listed in report released by the union for
conservation of nature and natural resources iucn during last month climate
summit in copenhagen
the report red listed animal and plant species including the beluga whale
emperor penguin and the quiver tree as being threatened by climate change
the quiver tree is noted for its drought tolerance and longevity but it may be
operating at the edge of its physiological tolerance said report co author
wendy foden of iucn die offs have been reported since in namibia and south
africa
namibia delegation to the climate summit returned disappointed at the non
binding accord to curb global temperature rises
copenhagen was disappointing and world leaders failed monumentally to reach
binding agreement prime minister nahas angula told reporters on his return
from denmark
during the summit angula lobbied for namibia recovery plan after two
devastating floods hit northern regions in and while other areas
suffered severe drought
namibia requires billion namibian dollars million us dollars
million euros for damages and losses suffered in these floods and another
billion namibian dollars for longer term needs such as constructing more
disaster resilient housing and infrastructure
government in early plans conference with donors to raise the funds
government report in found that temperatures have risen degrees
about two degrees in namibia over the last century making it the driest
country south of the sahara and the increases are expected to keep rising
climate change could also hurt the economy particularly farming and fishing
said environment and tourism minister netumbo nandi ndaitwah
climate change may reduce namibia fishing industry landings by up to
percent
crop and cereal production that currently contribute together percent of
gdp will decrease by percent to percent nandi ndaitwah said
traditional subsistence agriculture that contributes percent of gross
domestic product could decline by percent to percent the minister added
the former german colony has population of some two million with about
percent in rural areas dependent on subsistence agriculture
afp features
paris jan afp
we will shortly move the following stories
highlights
namibia landmark quiver trees dying from climate change
china book heroine role model for ambitious women
namibia climate warming feature
windhoek
an old man gently touches the trunk of the huge quiver tree with worried look
on his wrinkled face as he points at several dead branches lying on the rugged
namibian terrain where the trees are slowly dying out
words by brigitte weidlich pictures
lifestyle china literature society business feature
beijing
du lala brash something chinese woman who successfully breaks the glass
ceiling in the macho corporate world is the title character in novel that has
been breakout literary hit in china
words by francois bougon picture
for questions email nancy shields afp com or call
britain warns iceland of isolation over icesave
london jan afp
britain has warned iceland it risks international financial isolation if it
votes against bill to compensate britain and the netherlands over the failure
of icesave bank
financial services minister paul myners also said controversy over the
billion euro billion dollar compensation deal could impact on britain
support for iceland bid to join the european union
iceland president olafur ragnar grimsson said tuesday he would not sign
controversial bill to compensate the british and dutch governments for
reimbursing icesave investors triggering anger in london and the hague
grimsson said he would put the bill to referendum instead
the icelandic people if they were to reach that conclusion would effectively
be saying that iceland doesn want to be part of the international financial
system that iceland doesn want to have access to multinational national and
bilateral funding and doesn want to be regarded as safe country with whom to
do business myners told the bbc on tuesday
he also said this development would need to be factored into decision as
to whether we would be supportive of iceland application to join the eu
but that early days yet he added
the warning came after britain treasury said it expected iceland to meet its
obligations while the netherlands said it was unacceptable
the uk government expects iceland to live up to its obligations treasury
