war ii era pope pius xii closer to sainthood
possibly adding fuel to the fire the pontiff on friday urged vatican doctrinal
experts to speed rapprochement with catholic fraternity that includes
holocaust denying bishop richard williamson
the president of italy assembly of rabbis giuseppe laras has already
announced that he will shun the synagogue visit on sunday
afraid it will not have positive effect on jewish catholic dialogue
said the former chief rabbi of milan
three days after the pope sparked anger among jewish groups by bestowing the
title venerable on the wartime pope necessary step towards beatification
and eventual sainthood the vatican said the honour concerned pius xii piety
and not his historical role
laras said he felt the explanation came up short and failed to show an
understanding of the feelings of the jewish community
however rome grand rabbi riccardo di segni sought to calm the waters saying
the visit was sign that benedict wants to continue the dialogue
cardinal walter kasper head of the pontifical council for the promotion of
christian unity was also conciliatory saying have full understanding for
the sensitivity of the survivors of the holocaust and we must respect this
sensitivity
he said the year old pope synagogue visit would be aimed at seeking common
ground adding we have new atmosphere with judaism even if there are
difficulties
renzo gattegna who heads the union of communities of italian jews agreed that
the visit should go forward despite the protests and criticism
but he added still it cannot be denied that some decisions taken by the
current pope in led to moments of tension and concern on the jewish side
gattegna listed the pius xii and williamson affairs as well as benedict
decision to rehabilitate the latin version of the catholic church good friday
mass which contains prayer for the conversion of the jews
ordinary jews were also divided on the visit my father in law died in
concentration camp on sunday going to the club to watch the game angelo
sermoneta told the daily la repubblica
nothing ever changes between the catholic church and the jews with us they
make one step forward and three steps back he added
but luca zevi another resident of rome ghetto formerly walled off
district where jews were segregated for two and half centuries said he
would attend the event even if the issue of pius xii is disturbing the
visit is positive thing all the same
on friday benedict urged the vatican doctrinal watchdog to overcome
doctrinal problems that prevent full communion between the church and the pius
society
the swiss based fraternity rejected the vatican ii declaration absolving
jews of blame for jesus death and their leader archbishop marcel lefebvre
ordained four bishops without vatican blessing
benedict predecessor john paul ii ex communicated the four who include
williamson of britain
williamson has claimed that only between and jews died before
and during world war ii
year ago benedict unleashed an outcry among jews when he lifted williamson
ex communication as he began reaching out to the lefebvrists
catholic jewish relations have improved with series of fence mending
statements and gestures by the vatican and the pontiff notably benedict trip
to israel in may last year during which he prayed at jerusalem western wall
also known as the wailing wall
urgent gates defends pace of us response to haiti quake
washington jan afp
pentagon chief robert gates on friday defended the pace of us relief efforts in
haiti saying the american military and government agencies had moved as quickly
as possible
jpmorgan reports big jump in profits
washington jan afp
jpmorgan chase reported friday big jump in profits to billion dollars in
the fourth quarter highlighting renewed health in the banking sector under
intense scrutiny for hefty executive pay
the new york based financial giant quadrupled its net earnings from the fourth
quarter of and doubled its profits for the full year to billion
dollars
wall street however was unimpressed by the earnings pushing down the jpmorgan
chase stock by percent to dollars in early trading friday amid
concerns of loss in its retail bank an increase in provisions for credit
losses and revenues that trailed most analysts estimate
still the results highlight new vigor 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
jamie dimon chairman and chief executive of jpmorgan chase the second largest
bank by assets said he was gratified by the results but lamented that 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
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 jpmorgan chase earnings report 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 chase 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 schemes 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
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
urgent thousands waiting in haiti hospitals for surgery aid worker
geneva jan afp
thousands of people were on friday waiting in haiti hospitals for surgical
treatment following the earthquake the head of the charity doctors without
borders msf in haiti said friday
rugbyu van heerden to leave saracens
london jan afp
south african flanker wikus van heerden has confirmed he will leave english
premiership club saracens at the end of this season
van heerden wants to leave for family reasons and saracens have agreed to his
request
the year old has captained saracens on several occasions and been major
force in their impressive form this season
he said this is purely personal decision from rugby point of view have
never been happier at any stage of my career
saracens is now fantastically well run club with very bright future and
wish was able to stay and be part of that future
for the next five months am percent focused on ensuring we finish this
special season with at least one trophy
saracens rugby director brendan venter added wikus wishes to return to south
africa for the sake of his family and we accept his wishes
he is formidable loose forward who has represented the club with distinction
over the past couple of seasons
alert
gates defends pace of us response to haiti quake
football lucky ancelotti hopes to exploit slips from title rivals
london jan afp
chelsea manager carlo ancelotti has told his stars they must take advantage of
their good fortune and exploit the recent slips from title rivals manchester
united and arsenal
ancelotti side could have surrendered pole position in the premier league last
weekend after their match at hull was postponed but united could only draw at
birmingham and arsenal were held at home by everton
those results left the blues one point clear at the top with game in hand on
second placed united going into saturday clash with sunderland at stamford
bridge
ancelotti admits he felt like lucky man when he saw that united and arsenal
had stumbled and he hopes chelsea continue to get the rub of the green
am lucky man maybe for coach it better to be lucky than good
manager ancelotti said on friday
think manchester united and arsenal drew difficult games and we maintained
our position at the top of the table with game in hand on manchester united
this is good but now we have to play and win we can improve our position in
the next few months sunderland will not be an easy game but we can improve our
position we want to do that
every team is dangerous for the title arsenal are very close to us but if
it possible we have to arrive in the game against arsenal next month with
more points than them then we hope to beat them at home
man city are doing very well and are very dangerous team with lot of
quality lot of players with strong quality we have to pay attention to them
don know if it too early for them if they do good job they can win the
title that normal
sunderland are good team with good coach we did fantastic match when we
played them away against them
think that after that game they improved and it ll be more difficult
tomorrow because they are more compact as team
they put lot of strong pressure in midfield and we ll have to play fast
because we want to avoid this pressure on our midfielders but we hope to do the
best to win for us it important that we win
ancelotti also revealed that england midfielder joe cole contract negotiations
are still on going despite reports that the talks were in danger of collapsing
cole current deal expires at the end of the season but ancelotti expects him
to stay
it the same situation as last week he said they are talking with the
club think that joe is very quiet very calm and is training very well
he is improving his confidence and think he ll do the second half of the
season very well it important he signs he an important player not only
this year but in the future as well
chelsea will again be without didier drogba salomon kalou michael essien and
john mikel obi against sunderland
all four are away on international duty in the african nations cup but ancelotti
says each player will return as soon as their respective countries are out of
the tournament
think that drogba will come back in good condition when he returns
ancelotti added
didier and salomon will come back when their job is finished in the african
nations cup the day after they finish there they are due back here
french algerian actress attacked over feminist play
paris jan afp
french police believe theatre actress who was doused with petrol in an attack
in paris this week was targeted for starring in feminist play she wrote on
algerian women judicial official said friday
the year old born in algeria who goes by the name of rayhana said two men
approached her while she was walking to the theatre on tuesday grabbed her from
behind slapped her across the face and poured petrol on her
could smell the petrol flame brushed my hat and then ran she said
rayhana has since been placed under police protection and the investigation into
the attack being led by the anti terrorism unit of the crime brigade which has
tackled many cases involving muslim extremists
rayhana is starring alongside eight other women in at my age still hide to
have smoke play she wrote about group of women who chat about their
lives during visit to an algiers hamman spa
the play which is sell out features some unflattering views about muslim men
in the weeks leading up to tuesday attack the actress said she had received
threats and had filed complaint with police on january
investigators strongly suspect that there is link between the attack and the
play subject matter said judicial source
theatre director philippe mourrat said the play gave voice to modern algerian
women and that this could annoy some muslim men
talk about women that know well about culture that know well the play
talks about women in general rayhana told afp this week
the actress said she would continue performing to show that not afraid of
them and that france is country where there is freedom of expression
culture minister frederic mitterrand has expressed support for rayhana and
praised her courage for returning to the stage after the attack
born in working class area of algiers rayhana studied and worked in her
native country before moving to france few years ago the paris play was her
first written in french
urgent security situation in haiti remains ok gates
washington jan afp
security conditions in quake hit haiti remain pretty good but water and food
needs to be delivered urgently defense secretary robert gates said on friday
afp graphics advisory
paris jan afp
friday graphics
haiti quake
text slug haiti quake
quake damaged zones map detailed map of port au prince and the surrounding
area showing destroyed buildings and the extent of damage in different areas
mm
available by gmt
international aid updated graphic on international aid pledged after
tuesday earthquake
mm
available now
identification using dna
factfile explaining how disaster victims can be identified using their dna
mm
available by gmt
also available on the haitian earthquake
search and rescue methods mm
un mission in haiti mm
quake map mm
port au prince map mm
tectonic plates caribbean map mm
haiti factfile mm
available now
japan afghanistan refuelling mission
graphic on japan indian ocean support mission for the us led war in
afghanistan which ended on friday
text slug japan afghanistan us military
mm
uss independence warship factfile
fact file and illustration on the uss independence trimaran warship designed
for the us navy due to be commissioned on saturday
stand alone graphic
mm
red billed warbler factfile
graphic on the large billed reed warbler dubbed in the world least
known bird which has been discovered to be breeding in remote region of
afghanistan according to british journal birding asia
stand alone graphic
mm
doomsday clock
graphic on the doomsday clock symbolic indicator to show how close the world
is from nuclear annihilation sponsored by the bulletin of atomic scientists
text slug us nuclear climate science
mm
solar eclipse factfile
resending fact file and illustration on the solar eclipse in africa and east
asia on friday
text slug astronomy eclipse
mm
solar eclipse asia
resending graphic focussing on the asian section of friday eclipse showing
major cities in its path
text slug astronomy eclipse
mm
kaliningrad map
map of the russian enclave of kaliningrad for afp economic feature moving on
saturday night
text slug russia kaliningrad
mm
us inflation
bar chart showing monthly inflation in the united states since december
text slug us economy inflation
mm
eurozone inflation
bar chart showing monthly inflation in the eurozone since december
text slug eu eurozone economy inflation
mm
jal shares
chart showing daily closing values for japan airlines for the past month
text slug japan airline company distress jal
mm
asia pacific markets
closings for key asia pacific markets
text slug stocks
mm
moved earlier
pakistan waziristan map mm
afghanistan death toll mm
chile factfile mm
ukraine factfile mm
asia internet audience mm
google income mm
paris hong kong
tel
afp gmt economics news advisory
paris jan afp
duty editor laurent thomet
tel
us economy inflation ndlead
washington
us consumer prices edged higher in december amid sluggish recovery from
recession official data shows with the steepest drop in salaries since
curbing spending that drives the bulk of the world largest economy
words gmt by veronica smith file picture graphic
us company banking earnings jpmorgan rdlead
washington
banking giant jp morgan chase reports big jump in net profit to billion
dollars in the fourth quarter of highlighting renewed health in the
troubled sector
words gmt by rob lever file picture
commodities energy oil price thlead
london
oil prices fall further on weak energy demand and news the us commodity and
options regulator was looking to tighten controls in the energy futures market
analysts say
words gmt
commodities price weekly wrap
london
in roller coaster week for commodities markets rose on encouraging economic
data from china but mainly fell after beijing tightened money supply to tame
economic growth
words gmt by delphine dechaux and roland jackson
italy economy growth forecast rdlead
milan
italy central bank forecasts weak recovery in the next two years because
of flagging domestic demand but sharply raises its economic growth outlook for
to percent from zero
words gmt
us china it internet google rdlead wrap
beijing
china says that google threat to stop operating in the country will not affect
sino us trade ties after washington pressed for an explanation of china based
cyberattacks on the internet giant
words moved by susan stumme picture graphic
alert
thousands waiting in haiti hospitals for surgery aid worker
afp gmt news advisory
paris jan afp
duty editor chris otton
tel
top stories
us troops bid to unblock haiti aid bottleneck
yeman says al qaeda head killed in air strike
police prevent inaugural gay pageant in china
haiti quake newseries wrap
port au prince
relief workers battle to reach desperate angry haitians three days after
massive quake as the first of thousands of us troops arrive aiming to unblock an
aid bottleneck and hopes fade for scores still trapped in the rubble
words gmt by dave clark picture video graphic
attacks yemen lead wrap
sanaa
yemen says the military chief of al qaeda in the arabian peninsula and five
other suspected aqap leaders are killed in an air strike
words gmt by hammoud mounassar file picture
lifestyle china homosexuality pageant thlead
beijing
beijing police block china first gay pageant shortly before it was to start
organisers said stopping an event billed as heralding new chinese openness
about homosexuality
words gmt by marianne barriaux picture
haiti quake
haiti quake aid technology lead
washington
text haiti to americans dig deep for stricken haitians as millions of
dollars pour into aid funds thanks to ground breaking mobile phone text
messaging campaigns
words gmt
haiti quake un appeal
united nations
the united nations is set to launch an appeal for hundreds of millions dollars
from the world community to assist victims of the devastating earthquake which
may have killed at least people in haiti
words gmt
haiti quake safrica aristide
johannseburg
disgraced former haitian president jean bertrand aristide exiled in south
africa since says he is ready to return to help rebuild the country in the
wake of the devastating earthquake
words gmt by charlotte plantive pictures video
europe
ukraine vote ndlead wrap
kiev
ukraine presidential election candidates make final effort to appeal for the
support of voters deeply disillusioned with the orange revolution on the last
day of campaigning
words gmt by stuart williams picture graphic video
montenegro kosovo serbia diplomacy lead
podgorica
the montenegrin government announces that it has established diplomatic
relations with kosovo prompting furious protest from its former serbian
partners who recall their ambassador
words gmt
germany politics wrap
berlin
german chancellor angela merkel takes swipe at critics of her aloof leadership
style after shaky start to her second term saying she was the boss when it
comes to important decisions
words gmt by patrick rahir picture
vatican pope jews rome
rome
italy jewish community is divided over an impending visit by pope benedict xvi
to the city main synagogue after he angered many by moving his wartime
predecessor pius xii further on the road to sainthood
words gmt by gina doggett
asia
pakistan unrest taliban ndlead wrap
peshawar pakistan
the pakistani taliban release recording allegedly of their leader hakimullah
mehsud denying his death as the military probes reports that he was killed in
us missile strike
words gmt by khan
us china it internet google rdlead wrap
beijing
china says that google threat to stop operating in the country will not affect
sino us trade ties after washington pressed for an explanation of china based
cyberattacks on the internet giant
words moved by susan stumme picture graphic
americas
us economy inflation ndlead
washington
us consumer prices edged higher in december amid sluggish recovery from
recession official data shows with the steepest drop in salaries since
curbing spending that drives the bulk of the world largest economy
words gmt by veronica smith file picture graphic
africa
guinea unrest politics junta ndlead
dakar
the interim head of guinea ruling junta has threatened to resign over the
proposed return to the country of coup leader moussa dadis camara recovering
from an assassination attempt in burkina faso
words gmt
partners commited to project britain
london jan afp
the seven partner countries in the delay plagued military aircraft
programme have voiced their commitment to the project but not at any price
britain said friday
project partners are to invite airbus the plane manufacturer and its parent
group eads to meeting in the next few days to try and achieve an acceptable
settlement spokesman for britain defence ministry said
the seven nations belgium britain france germany luxembourg spain and
turkey met in london on thursday as doubts grew on the future of the multi
billion euro project
the heads of airbus and eads earlier turned up the heat on the seven nations to
pledge more money to the project by the end of january warning that the fate of
the european aerospace giant depended on it
all nations remain committed to the programme but not at any price british
defence ministry spokesman said friday
while the difficulties facing the programme are complex good progress has been
made on all fronts with the only outstanding issue surrounding any additional
funding he added
german military spokesman said the partners on thursday had come to an
agreement on common negotiating line and remain engaged in the project
in paris eads the european aeronautic defence and space company said it was
ready to negotiate an acceptable deal over the rising costs of the
we understand we will be invited to the next meeting of defence ministers and
eads will go to this meeting with willingness to negotiate an acceptable
solution an eads spokesman said
neither eads nor airbus attended the talks in london on thursday
airbus has warned it could scrap the project now three years behind schedule
and over budget unless it gets extra money
the seven client nations have ordered total of aircraft for about
billion euros billion dollars but the project has been plagued by setbacks
and is expected to cost up to an additional billion euros
france has vowed to do everything to save the transporter while turkey
has already refused to plough more money into the programme
airbus has employees around europe with about working on the
an aircraft that can carry troops armoured vehicles and helicopters
french defence minister herve morin told rfi radio on thursday that paris was
ready to share the burden of the extra costs
not bothered by the fact that we would have to pay part of the cost
overruns because believe this is magnificent programme morin said
we must still negotiate and these additional costs have to be shared between
the countries and the manufacturer he added
