revenues in the period rose to billion dollars from billion dollars
year earlier for the banking group one of the strongest to emerge from the
global financial crisis
for the profit was billion dollars on billion in revenues up
from earnings of billion dollars in on revenues of billion
the results come with banks in focus for hefty executive pay schemes which
some blame for encouraging risky practices that led to the global crisis
the earnings report for jpmorgan chase did not include specific bonus amounts
but reports have indicated that many banks are set to pay record bonuses
wall street journal analysis found wall street banks and securities firms were
on track to pay employees billion dollars for record amount
president barack obama on thursday proposed tax or fee to be assessed on major
banks that would recoup the government bailout for the sector
jpmorgan the second largest bank by assets said its investment banking arm
posted profit of billion dollars for the quarter rebounding from loss
year earlier another big profit driver was corporate and private equity with
billion dollars
but its retail banking including home lending lost million dollars and
credit card operatiosn lost million
commercial banking operations resulted in profit of million dollars while
treasury and securities operations earned million
despite dimon comments some analysts said the banking giant was hitting its
stride
the bank blew through expectations said douglas mcintyre at wall street
that leaves lot for bank of america and citigroup to live up to
last year jpmorgan chase repaid the us treasury for an injection of billion
dollars in capital under program to stabilize the financial system
the repayments which included dividends freed the banks from government
imposed compensation restrictions
still public anger has been boiling over at pay scheme that are blamed for
fueling the crisis
obama unveiled his fee thursday saying the new fee on risky assets of big
financial institutions was way to recoup the cost of massive bailout of the
sector than began in
the plan which requires congressional approval would raise billion dollars
over years and could be kept for years to offset the full billion
dollar shortfall now estimated for the troubled asset relief program tarp
we want our money back and we are going to get it obama said adding that his
determination is only heightened when see reports of massive profits and
obscene bonuses at some of the very firms who owe their continued existence to
the american people
olympics british olympic chief calls for increased drug search powers
london jan afp
british olympic association chairman lord moynihan wants police to be given
extra powers to search the rooms of athletes competing at the london games
for performance enhancing drugs
the tory former sports minister on friday called on the britsh government to
introduce new laws that would allow police to help stamp out the threat of drug
cheats tarnishing the games reputation
lord moynihan said that under current law no enforcement officer could obtain
search warrant to enter the athletes village for such purpose
during the second reading debate of the powers of entry bill in the house of
lords he urged ministers to bolster police powers so they could look not just
for illegal substances such as heroin but also performance enhancing drugs
he told peers english law as it stands and is applied to the olympic games
does not offer solution which would allow anti doping authorities to obtain
warrant to enter and search room in the olympic village where breach of the
wider code is reasonably suspected or just as if not more important premises
nearby or elsewhere in england where it is suspected that blood doping activity
is taking place
in my opinion search warrant should only be issued by police for the purpose
of investigating suspected criminal offence which the cps crown prosecution
service would have to be willing to prosecute and not for the purposes of
investigating breach of sports rules which govern athletes
being able to obtain warrant to enter and search the relevant premises is the
only way to successfully detect and investigate potential doping violation and
prevent cheats from reaching the starting line
today no law exists in the country to provide confidence that any such warrant
will be issued
lord moynihan also said he would attempt to amend the powers of entry bill
during committee stage to include his proposals
earlier this month the british athletes commission warned that random drugs
searches during the games would be utterly disastrous
but lord moynihan insisted that absolutely no proposal exists to allow police
to undertake random searches
haiti quake us aid lead
washington jan afp
attention editors this story has been delayed and will now move at gmt
many foreigners missing in haiti quake
paris jan afp
foreign countries friday continued to try to obtain news of their nationals
reported missing in haiti devastating earthquake
following is breakdown of foreigners feared or known to be casualties of
tuesday disaster which is thought to have killed some people
australia the foreign ministry says small number of australians remain
unaccounted for but that there is no evidence of australian deaths
austria year old austrian woman working for german aid development
organisation died in hospital fromm injuries suffered when wall collapsed the
foreign ministry said
brazil at least brazilian peacekeepers were killed in the haiti earthquake
according to the country military
britain british aid worker with the united nations is among the missing the
foreign office said on friday diplomatic source named her as ann barnes
canada one canadian un staffer found dead another missing police in ottawa
say
china government said four of its peacekeepers were buried in the rubble and
another four chinese nationals were still missing
france six french nationals were killed by the earthquake the french foreign
ministry says
mauritius the foreign ministry said it had no news of two mauritian citizens
one serving with the united nations and the other in the tourist sector
netherlands the fate of dutch nationals adults and five children
believed to have been in haiti at the time remained unknown friday
new zealand according to new zealand family members two new zealand born
children and their french haitian father were believed killed in collapsed
port au prince hotel third child was injured and taken to the dominican
republic by their uninjured new zealand mother
philippines six filipinos are missing including three soldiers serving with
the un stabilisation mission in haiti the foreign ministry in manila said the
others are filipino staff member at the un office in port au prince and two
women believed trapped in the ruins of the caribbean supermarket
poland one student missing according to foreign ministry spokesman
portugal two citizens are so far uncontactable according to the department for
portuguese communities
senegal two policemen serving with the un mission are missing the senegalese
gendarmerie said
spain spanish worker with the european commission delegation in haiti is
missing spokesman said haitian born spaniard and his wife who were on
trip to haiti for family reasons were killed in the quake diplomat said
thailand the foreign ministry said one thai missionary is missing
united nations some un staffers are still missing after the quake which
killed at least un spokesman said
united states diplomat was the first us citizen confirmed killed in the
earthquake the state department said there are an estimated americans
in the country
alpine skiing american miller dominates wengen super combined
wengen switzerland jan afp
american bode miller fired out warning ahead of the winter olympics by
dominating the world cup super combined event here on friday
the year old miller who missed the testing bormio downhill at the end of
december and also passed on this month zagreb slalom because of an ankle
injury clocked combined total over downhill and slalom race of min
sec to finish sec ahead of swiss star carlo janka
janka compatriot silvan zurbriggen was in third further sec adrift with
austrian veteran benjamin raich in fourth american ted ligety in fifth and
croatian ivica kostelic in sixth
the victory was miller nd on the world cup circuit and his first since
winning the downhill in kvitjfell norway in march
the two time overall world cup winner in and set up his victory with
no holds barred downhill posting ahead of janka winner of this
event here last season
he then posted the field th fastest slalom time in sec to secure
comprehensive victory and first world cup podium place of the season just four
weeks away from the winter olympics in vancouver
the world cup continues here with racers competing in downhill on saturday and
slalom on sunday
alert
six qaeda suspects killed in north yemen air raid ministry
opposition says ethiopia violating jailed leader rights
addis ababa jan afp
an ethiopian opposition official accused the government on friday of violating
the rights of his party jailed leader who is serving life imprisonment
birtukan mideksa head of the unity for democracy and justice udj party was
initially sentenced to life on treason charges in after her party accused
the regime of vote rigging in that year elections but was pardoned two years
later
the sentence was reinstated in december however after authorities claimed
the year old had obstructed the terms of her pardon by denying that she had
expressed remorse in political rallies held in europe
the authorities are still violating her constitutional rights despite court
order nobody is allowed to visit her apart from her mother and daughter
gizachew shiferaw senior party official told afp
we had brought the issue of visitation rights to court which ruled in favour of
us but they are reneging on their obligations he said
gizachew added that birtukan spent days in solitary confinement
several rallies in the united states and europe were held earlier this month to
pressure for her release while small scale demonstration took place in addis
ababa to mark one year since her imprisonment
prime minister meles zenawi said last month there was zero chance that she
would be released in time for polls on may the first since when
disputed results sparked violence that claimed around lives
the united states staunch ethiopian ally and the country top aid
contributor has expressed concern over the year old re arrest and called
for more political freedom in the horn of africa nation
five other opposition leaders were sentenced to death and other people to
life imprisonment in december for plotting to overthrow the government
authorities claimed group called ginbot led by birtukan former ally
berhanu nega had plotted to kill government officials and sabotage
infrastructure
rights groups have accused meles regime of instilling climate of fear ahead
of the polls
india conveys absolute displeasure over australian attacks
new delhi jan afp
india junior foreign minister said friday new delhi has expressed its
absolute displeasure to australia over attacks there on indian students
we are doing our utmost to register our absolute displeasure and concern about
what is happening to our citizens in australia the press trust of india news
agency quoted praneet kaur as saying in new delhi
think almost on daily basis the situation is being monitored the junior
foreign minister added
the comments came less than week after australian foreign minister stephen
smith telephoned his indian counterpart krishna to try and cool tensions
over the attacks in australian cities
information minister ambika soni said new delhi was seeking assurances indians
would be safe in australia
certain clarity or certain reassurance from australia should be forthcoming
so that the sense of insecurity and fear which is there in the indian students
there and their families especially in india can be assuaged she said
foreign minister krishna during his talks with smith conveyed his deep concern
over the incidents which included an attempt by group of men to set fire to
an indian man in melbourne last week
the string of attacks which included the murder of student this month in
melbourne has prompted strong reaction in the indian press with one
newspaper likening australian police to the ku klux klan
couple and child killed in burundi grenade attack
bujumbura jan afp
an attacker in northern burundi hurled grenade into home killing man his
wife and one of their children in the explosion local official said friday
last night in busiga village on ruvumu hill somebody hurled grenade into
louis nyabenda home local council official aloys nyabenda told afp by phone
the grenade killed the head of the household his wife and one of their
children aged he said adding that two smaller children of the same family
were seriously wounded in the blast
he said it was not immediately clear whether the attack was motivated by land
dispute or by accusations that the victims practised witchcraft
several suspects were detained and being questioned he added
grenades can be found easily for as little as one dollar in the central african
nation they are often used to settle land disputes and family feuds and killed
more than people in
varying estimates put the number of weapons owned illegally at between
and in nation struggling to emerge from years of civil conflict
the government claims that recent campaign enabled the recovery of percent
of those weapons but rights groups contest the figure
cricket smith century puts south africa on top
johannesburg jan afp
graeme smith hit pugnacious century as south africa took control before heavy
rain stopped play on the second day of the fourth and final test against england
at the wanderers stadium on friday
smith was out for shortly before thunderstorm flooded the ground an hour
before the scheduled tea break south africa were for two at the stoppage
lead of runs after england were bowled out for on the first day
smith and hashim amla not out put on for the second wicket
the batsmen had to negotiate some hostile bowling at the start of an extended
morning play with the ball swinging and moving off the pitch but gradually
got on top of the bowlers
smith followed up his in the second innings of the drawn third test in cape
town with his th test century and his sixth against england
he had to work hard on thursday evening and again on friday morning and it took
him balls to reach his fifty but with amla providing reliable support he
picked up his scoring rate as he moved to century off balls when he cut
ryan sidebottom for his th boundary
but he got good ball from sidebottom five balls later edging seaming ball
from the left armer to andrew strauss at first slip
two overs later rain started to fall and within minutes there were large pools
of water on the ground halting south africa push for win which they need to
square the series
smith survived confident appeal for catch behind the wicket when he was on
in the fourth over of the day
he chased wide delivery from sidebottom and the slips cordon went up in unison
as wicketkeeper matt prior caught the ball but the south african captain was
given not out by umpire tony hill
england asked for review and although sound could be heard on television
replays third umpire daryl harper could not find reason to overturn hill
decision the snicko and hot spot technology is not being used in the
series
ashwell prince was out in the next over caught at second slip by graeme swann
off stuart broad but england could not make another breakthrough
both smith and amla played some streaky shots early on but the scoring rate was
reasonably brisk with england setting attacking fields
but smith and amla started to bat confidently as they notched fifty
partnership off balls and made the stand worth after balls when
smith was out they had put on off balls
new eu farming chief offers militant subsidies defence
brussels jan afp
europe incoming farming commissioner vowed on friday to militate in defence
of high subsidies and the retention of agriculture dominant place in the
european union budget
reforming the common agricultural policy cap does not mean lessening
financial support romania dacian ciolos seen as friend to france by
far the bloc biggest beneficiary of farming support funds told lawmakers
during confirmation hearing
will militate for major provision for the cap he said adding that you
cannot build worthy policy without corresponding budget
he underlined that direct subsidies play an essential role in ensuring the
stability of farmers incomes but said simpler fairer system of
allocating aid placing less emphasis on historical output should be looked
into
he also pronounced himself in favour of producing new tools intended to ensure
certain stability of prices
the european commission is seeking to shrink the agriculture payouts as share
of the bloc budget when the cap is renegotiated in
europe faces pressure in world trade negotiations to reduce its subsidies for
the sake of poor farmers in the developing world
france last month rallied fellow eu states including romania to their cause
excluding britain and four other noted sceptics of the costly agricultural
policy
france farmers small but politically very vocal fraction of the population
are by far the biggest beneficiaries of brussels annual billion euro
billion dollar agriculture budget
as the bloc biggest farm producer the home of champagne and camembert
received billion euros in subsidies last year
jpmorgan reports big jump in profits
washington jan afp
banking giant jp morgan chase reported on friday big jump in net profit to
billion dollars in the fourth quarter of highlighting renewed health
in the troubled sector
the new york based financial giant doubled its profits for the full year to
billion dollars and quadrupled the numbers put up in the fourth quarter of
the results highlight return to health in the banking sector after more than
year of crisis but were expected to fuel public resentment over hefty profits
and compensation of firms bailed out by the government and at time when much
of the us economy continues to struggle and unemployment remains high
chairman and chief executive jamie dimon said he was gratified by the results
but said they fell short of both an adequate return on capital and the firm
earnings potential
while we are seeing some stability in delinquencies consumer credit costs
remain high and weak employment and home prices persist accordingly we remain
cautious he said in statement
the profit for the quarter amounted to cents shares better than the
cents expected by analysts
revenues in the period rose to billion dollars from billion dollars
year earlier for the banking group one of the strongest to emerge from the
global financial crisis
the results come with banks in focus for hefty executive pay schemes which
some blame for encouraging risky practices that led to the global crisis
the earnings report for jpmorgan chase did not include specific bonus amounts
but reports have indicated that many banks are set to pay record bonuses
wall street journal analysis found wall street banks and securities firms were
on track to pay employees billion dollars for record amount
president barack obama on thursday proposed tax or fee to be assessed on major
banks that would recoup the government bailout for the sector
jpmorgan the second largest bank by assets said its investment banking arm
posted profit of billion dollars for the quarter rebounding from loss
year earlier another big profit driver was corporate and private equity with
billion dollars
but its retail banking including home lending lost million dollars and
credit card operatiosn lost million
commercial banking operations resulted in profit of million dollars while
treasury and securities operations earned million
despite dimon comments some analysts said the banking giant was hitting its
stride
the bank blew through expectations said douglas mcintyre at wall street
that leaves lot for bank of america and citigroup to live up to
france stands up for ex slave colony haiti
paris jan afp
france on friday bid for leading role in rebuilding haiti after the
earthquake reflecting its special ties with the impoverished former colony
where sugar and slaves once lined its pockets
as its rescuers joined others scrambling to reach people trapped by rubble after
tuesday earthquake france led calls for an international conference on
rebuilding the country and urged creditor countries to cancel its debt
of all the foreign countries sending aid france has the strongest cultural ties
with haiti whose inhabitants speak the heavily french influenced creole
language
some haitians live in france and many have relatives there affected by
the disaster foreign ministry information line for haiti reported calls
in the two days following the quake
we have lot of family there my grandmother and my brother who is on holiday
in port au prince said camita guelce who runs hairdressing salon in the
paris suburb of saint denis home to more than haitians
the hardest thing is not knowing anything whether they are alive or dead
whether they are suffering she added
the french adoption agency afa estimated that between and french
families were in the process of adopting child from haiti and asked them to to
contact french authorities to see if the children survived the quake
the links go back centuries to the earliest days of european colonisation after
christopher columbus landed in on the island later named hispaniola now
shared by haiti and its eastern neighbour the dominican republic
france later shipped in slaves from africa to haiti and eventually seized
official control of it in growing rich on its sugar plantations until
bloody slave uprising against french forces led to independence in
ties have since become more cordial but haiti fortunes have not improved in
the post colonial era it is one of the poorest countries in the world stricken
by aids hurricanes and political instability
france has played role in some of haiti more recent political upheavals
with numerous haitian political and intellectual figures living in exile there
former dictator jean claude duvalier fled into exile on the cote azur after
coup in and french and us pressure led former president jean bertrand
aristide to flee amid an armed uprising in
french president nicolas sarkozy said he planned to travel to haiti in the
coming weeks for talks with aristide successor rene preval on how we can
very quickly after this catastrophe rebuild this battered country
economy minister christine lagarde meanwhile called on the rich creditor
countries of the so called paris club to cancel all haiti outstanding debt to
its members
foreign minister bernard kouchner said the reconstruction conference plan
launched jointly by france and the united states could take place in march
to give hope to the haitians we have to show them that we will not abandon
them he told rtl radio
central african opposition quits electoral process
bangui jan afp
opposition parties in the central african republic on friday announced that they
were quitting the electoral process and demanded the resignation of the head of
the independent electoral commission
the opposition suspends its participation in the commission and demands the
immediate resignation of the head of the cei jean jacques demafouth the head
of former rebel movement told afp
the commission chief joseph binguimale was accused of breaching his oath
total absence of independence scheming with the aim of promoting massive fraud
dubious morality and notorious incompetence demafouth said
nicolas tiangaye the chairman of the republican convention for social progress
crps said that binguimale is far from bringing together all the qualities
necessary to carry out the electoral process in peace and national harmony he
openly displays his allegiance to president francois bozize
tiangaye accused binguimale of trampling on the electoral code by setting up
local committees in the name of kwa na nwa knn the presidential party at the
expense of other parties which took part at the end of in forum for peace
with the government the opposition rebels and civil society
demafouth demanded the dissolution of these local committees as well as an
audit of electoral commission finances
he also wanted the immediate implementation of decision taken during the
national dialogue namely to set up permanent framework for consultation to
prevent further political crises
police block china first gay pageant organisers
beijing jan afp
chinese police blocked the country first homosexual pageant on friday minutes
before its start organisers said stopping an event hailed as heralding new
openness about the gay community
this event has been cancelled wei xiaogang who was to have acted as one of
the judges in the mr gay china contest told afp
in my opinion believe it had something to do with the issue of
homosexuality he said
contestants in the competition at beijing restaurant and club which was to
have included an underwear segment were to vie for the right to represent
china at the worldwide mr gay pageant in norway next month
police said we didn have the proper licence said ryan dutcher one of the
organisers who said they were still trying to negotiate with police
very disappointed but can say very surprised
they came here just before the event we didn have any advance warning he
added
participants and observers had viewed the pageant as sign of softening
attitudes toward gay men and women in china where the subject has long been
taboo
homosexuality was crime in china until and it was officially considered
mental illness until since then however an increasing number of
visible gay and lesbian events has taken place
feel very sad almost cried said wei who is gay
the developments left about people in attendance large portion of whom
were media covering the event milling about in confusion around deserted
stage with runway
disappointed contestants lamented the police action as symbolic of chinese
society difficulty accepting the gay community into the mainstream
its disaster full of disappointment thought the government was
becoming more and more tolerant said jiang bo contestant from sichuan
province in southwestern china
they were making big step the whole world was thinking china was doing
very good thing but now think everybody will be disappointed
although many gay people say the situation has improved over the past few years
especially in big cities they typically say it remains difficult to come out to
their friends and family
one problem for china gay community lies in the nation one child policy
which makes parents rely on their only child to marry and produce grandchildren
according to chinese experts cited in press reports there are an estimated
million homosexuals in china two thirds of them men
last june china first gay pride festival was held shanghai albeit in very
discreet fashion and with some events cancelled at the last minute by the
authorities
up to french citizens feared dead in haiti quake
port au prince jan afp
up to french citizens are feared dead in the wake of this week devastating
earthquake in haiti france development minister said friday
there are at least to citizens who we believe should have come forward
and have not that leads us to believe the worst alain joyandet told afp
six french dead have been confirmed so far the french foreign ministry said in
paris
an estimated french citizens live in haiti the vast majority in the
capital port au prince around half have dual french haitian citizenship
world bank offers haiti reconstruction fund
berlin jan afp
the world bank along with donor countries aims to set up reconstruction fund
to provide long term assistance to earthquake hit haiti the bank president
robert zoellick said here friday
the fund might offer basis for discussions at an international conference on
rebuilding haiti which france and the united states want to organise zoellick
added at press conference in berlin
this provides an option for the conference that french president nicolas
sarkozy is calling and some countries might find it more efficient and
convenient to contribute through the trust fund he said
in addition to the fund the world bank has already announced an emergency
million dollar package for haiti germany meanwhile has pledged million
euros million dollars in relief aid
the reconstruction fund would aim to coordinate further support from both
bilateral and multilateral donors he added
the german minister for economic cooperation and development dirk niebel
following talks with zoellick stressed the need for very strong coordination
of long term aid to haiti to avoid repeating past mistakes
he referred to offers from around the world to help southeast asian countries in
the wake of the deadly tsunami in without much coordination
haiti the poorest country in the western hemisphere was struck tuesday by
powerful quake that virtually flattened the capital port au prince
lebanese muslim accuses christian teacher of veil snatching
tripoli lebanon jan afp
lebanese muslim man said friday he has filed complaint against christian
teacher for trying to snatch veil from his daughter head sensitive issue
in this multi confessional nation
after the year end holidays christian teacher tried to tear off the veil of
my year old daughter ghawa and banned her from entering the classroom
veiled ahmad al baarin told afp
the teacher made offensive remarks and tried to snatch the veil he even
made her fall over by pushing her when she tried to defend herself he told
afp
baarin said he has also filed complaint against the school director for
complicity after the principal expressed solidarity with the teacher
contacted by afp director yussef beshara insisted the student was not
mistreated or forced to remove her veil at the public school in the mixed
region of kura whose teachers are all christian and half its pupils muslim
but the father won support from the muslim community
this case is contrary to the law and the spirit of coexistence in the country
it undermines muslims said ihab nafeh president of the muslim students
association in northern lebanon
