uses words that underline the importance of agriculture in the country november
is listopad literally the falling of leaves
the contrasts are hardly surprising the lviv region spent over two centuries
under the rule of the austro hungarian monarchy which showed degree of
tolerance towards the ukrainian language
the east of modern ukraine then known as malorossia little russia was part
of the empire of the russian tsars who suppressed the use of ukrainian
contributing to the linguistic divide seen in the country today
there will always be regional differences in ukraine this is peculiarity of
the country which has both its negative and positive sides said ilko kucheriv
director of ukraine democratic initiatives foundation
what now is one of the main tasks for ukraine is to formulate our national
identity to formulate our interests as nation and what the ukrainian dream
is
polls repeatedly show up the glaring regional differences within ukraine
trend set to be repeated in the support for candidates in the presidential
election
poll in october last year by the kiev based razumkov centre found that
percent of people in the east believed the anniversary of the october
revolution should be holiday compared with just percent in the west
in eastern ukraine percent of the electorate will vote for viktor
yanukovich the champion of the cause of russian speakers in the region
according to the latest poll by the kiev international institute of sociology
kiis
only percent will support his main challenger yulia tymoshenko usually seen
as more pro eu figure similar trend is repeated in the southern regions of
odessa and crimea again dominated by russian speakers
but in the west the situation is partially reversed tymoshenko will obtain
percent of the vote compared percent for yanukovich the poll found
tense relations with egypt threaten hamas gaza lifeline
gaza city jan afp
the construction of new underground wall and recent border clashes have frayed
relations between hamas and egypt and could threaten the islamist movement
main lifeline in gaza analysts say
since hamas seized power in gaza in it has relied on smuggling tunnels
under the border with egypt to defy israeli sanctions and its leaders have used
frequent trips to cairo to escape international isolation
but the group refusal to sign reconciliation agreement with its secular
fatah rivals or agree to prisoner swap with israel through egyptian mediation
now appear to be endangering relations
after years of largely ignoring the tunnel smuggling which primarily brings
in much needed household goods but is also used by hamas to import weapons and
money egypt has begun building massive underground wall
egypt decided to build the steel wall in order to punish hamas which irritated
cairo by refusing to sign the reconciliation agreement says emad gad of
cairo al ahram centre for political and strategic studies
from now on hamas is in tight spot it is under full blockade the tunnels
used to smuggle funding from iran will be shut down and the population will only
have the bare minimum needed to survive he adds
until now egypt has been hamas primary diplomatic intermediary and key to its
plan to one day permanently reopen the rafah border crossing the only gaza
terminal not controlled by israel
hamas realises the pivotal role egypt plays and it wants more than just an
opening of the crossing says naji sharrab professor at gaza al azhar
university
it wants things related to direct recognition and relations and then the
opening of the crossing in an official way between the hamas government and
egypt
egypt has said rafah can only be reopened after hamas is reconciled with the
western backed president mahmud abbas fatah movement and has demanded it sign
reconciliation agreement already signed by the secular group
we want palestinian reconciliation because without stopping the internal
fighting there will never be palestinian state says mohammed bassiouni
former egyptian ambassador to israel who is close to cairo talks with hamas
and with israel
while we are taking security measures to protect our border with the gaza strip
and prevent arms trafficking and terrorist infiltration we are at the same time
continuing our efforts to end the blockade he says
the diplomat warns however that egypt is not willing to renegotiate the unity
deal proposed last autumn the ball is in hamas court
if the new wall succeeds in closing off the tunnels it could pave the way for
the easing of the closures and increased trade above ground
however in the short term the construction of the barrier could backfire by
spurring protests against egypt in gaza and the wider arab world
last week an egyptian soldier was shot dead when gunfire erupted along the
border after protest against the wall in which some palestinians hurled
stones hamas described the incident regrettable despite having called for
the protest
sharrab doubts whether egypt will completely shut down the tunnels and says
cairo fear of instability in gaza will prevent it from escalating tensions
with hamas
egypt knows it cannot close the rafah crossing and the border completely
despite this so called wall he says think the two sides are determined to
avoid tensions
the israeli closures have largely failed to undermine hamas because the anger
they have fueled has been mainly directed at the jewish state
walid mudallal professor at gaza islamic university believes something
similar may happen to egypt if it is seen helping to tighten the siege
don think hamas will be affected by the wall because it has the financing
and the organisation to face these limitations he says
the popular anger will be directed against egypt and don think egypt can
accept being placed among the enemies
ecb rates on hold as bank wrestles with greek debt crisis
frankfurt jan afp
the european central bank will keep its key interest rate at record low of
percent on thursday analysts say as ecb president jean claude trichet wrestles
with questions on the greek debt crisis
the market focus at the january press conference will likely be on what ecb
president trichet says about greece deutsche bank analysts wrote
rate hikes will not be an issue until the second half of the year ing senior
economist carsten brzeski added
the international monetary fund is to send mission to athens this week for
talks on helping greece overcome its financial crisis as concern grows that
fiscal trouble there and elsewhere threaten the eurozone credibility
the greek public deficit rose to percent of output last year far above the
percent ceiling permitted to countries that share the single currency
greek debt was estimated at percent of gross domestic product gdp and will
likely climb this year to more than double the european union limit of
percent
moral hazard considerations suggest that the ecb will never openly support
bailout but we doubt that greece will be left on its own if the situation were
to become critical unicredit analysts said
they referred to the danger that rescue could reinforce ill considered fiscal
practices that have caused serious problems for greece and others
the eu new president herman van rompuy told reporters tuesday in athens the
country is now taking steps to meet the substantial challenge posed by its
huge debt and public deficit
but the eu commission blasted greece for falsifying data about its finances and
letting political pressures hinder the collection of reliable data
deutsche bank analyst mark wall expected trichet to be asked thursday whether
and under what conditions greece could be put under pressure to voluntarily
choose to exit the nation eurozone
working paper published by the ecb in december concluded there was little
chance of member leaving or being forced out but the fact the bank produced
such document at all raised eyebrows in financial markets
the bloc first recession has exacerbated fiscal disparities among its members
presenting the ecb with widely contrasting situations
germany should hammer its finances back into shape fairly soon but peripheral
members like greece ireland portugal and spain must step up budget
consolidation far more than the core countries commerzbank chief economist
joerg kraemer warned
not all eurozone economic news is gloomy meanwhile
the composite purchasing manager index pmi has risen since march
inflation is tame percent and consumer sentiment is at its highest level
since us investment bank lehman brothers collapsed in september
but unemployment hit percent in november its highest rate since the euro
was launched years ago and brzeski noted that even with positive short
term outlook it could take until the end of before the economy is back at
its pre crisis level
the ecb will probably thus fix its main rate at percent for most if not all
of to support growth and slowly unwind exceptional measures like unlimited
supplies of cash as banks get back on their feet
speed the key for rescuers in haiti japan quake experts
tokyo jan afp
rescuers in quake hit haiti must act quickly to save people from the rubble as
their chances of survival drop off rapidly after the first day experts in
disaster prone japan warned wednesday
emergency relief efforts will be complicated because haiti is the poorest nation
in the americas and infrastructure and communications have been badly damaged by
the quake that struck the caribbean nation they said
the nature of aid changes depending on every hour that passes said masanori
hamada professor of earthquake engineering at tokyo waseda university and
chairman of the japan society of civil engineers
in the first stage rescuers and locals must free victims trapped in the rubble
whose survival rates diminish sharply after the first day due to injuries and
problems with breathing the experts said
in japan kobe quake the survival chances of someone trapped under rubble
fell to percent after the first day said atsushi nakano disaster
prevention expert at non profit organisation japan bousaisi
it fell to less than percent by the fourth day meaning speedy response in
the first hours is crucial he added
of those in kobe who were trapped and survived more than two thirds were
rescued by local residents not emergency personnel he said more than
people died in the quake that struck years ago next sunday
as part of the initial response rescuers need to quickly meet basic needs such
as medical aid water food and tents while they must guard against threats
such as gas explosions and building collapses in aftershocks
they must also be on guard against social unrest looting has already been
reported in the poorest nation of the western hemisphere where some percent
of the population live on less than two dollars day
haiti which shares an island with the dominican republic is the base for
thousands of united nations peacekeeping troops on mission to maintain order
and stability in nation rocked for decades by violence
japan international cooperation agency jica official kanzo nakai said it is
possible there could be unrest in the quake aftermath in nation that is
already social and political pressure cooker
at the same time it may become rallying force to push the government to take
decisive action to rebuild the country he said unfortunately at the moment
we cannot say which way the wind will blow
the united states france canada and several latin american countries have
already offered help after the quake hit on tuesday flattening buildings
cracking roads and raising fears that hundreds have died
washington said it would send disaster response teams made up of personnel
six search and rescue dogs and up to tons of rescue equipment
japan disaster and management agency official seiji amano said the government
was gathering information to prepare for an intervention tokyo sent scores of
rescue workers to indonesia quake hit sumatra region last year
hamada said japan which suffers about percent of the world most powerful
earthquakes is likely to send technical support teams two to three weeks after
the disaster to assess and repair damaged infrastructure
the reason why japan sends aid in this third stage is because we have so much
experience in dealing with the aftermath of quakes he said
hamada added that japan would likely send handful of engineers to assess
public buildings such as schools and hospitals checking them for damage such as
hairline cracks invisible to the naked eye
ecb rates on hold as bank wrestles with greek debt crisis
frankfurt jan afp
the european central bank will keep its key interest rate at record low of
percent on thursday analysts say as ecb president jean claude trichet wrestles
with questions on the greek debt crisis
the market focus at the january press conference will likely be on what ecb
president trichet says about greece deutsche bank analysts wrote
rate hikes will not be an issue until the second half of the year ing senior
economist carsten brzeski added
the international monetary fund is to send mission to athens this week for
talks on helping greece overcome its financial crisis as concern grows that
fiscal trouble there and elsewhere threaten the eurozone credibility
the greek public deficit rose to percent of output last year far above the
percent ceiling permitted to countries that share the single currency
greek debt was estimated at percent of gross domestic product gdp and will
likely climb this year to more than double the european union limit of
percent
moral hazard considerations suggest that the ecb will never openly support
bailout but we doubt that greece will be left on its own if the situation were
to become critical unicredit analysts said
they referred to the danger that rescue could reinforce ill considered fiscal
practices that have caused serious problems for greece and others
the eu new president herman van rompuy told reporters tuesday in athens the
country is now taking steps to meet the substantial challenge posed by its
huge debt and public deficit
but the eu commission blasted greece for falsifying data about its finances and
letting political pressures hinder the collection of reliable data
deutsche bank analyst mark wall expected trichet to be asked thursday whether
and under what conditions greece could be put under pressure to voluntarily
choose to exit the nation eurozone
working paper published by the ecb in december concluded there was little
chance of member leaving or being forced out but the fact the bank produced
such document at all raised eyebrows in financial markets
the bloc first recession has exacerbated fiscal disparities among its members
presenting the ecb with widely contrasting situations
germany should hammer its finances back into shape fairly soon but peripheral
members like greece ireland portugal and spain must step up budget
consolidation far more than the core countries commerzbank chief economist
joerg kraemer warned
not all eurozone economic news is gloomy meanwhile
the composite purchasing manager index pmi has risen since march
inflation is tame percent and consumer sentiment is at its highest level
since us investment bank lehman brothers collapsed in september
but unemployment hit percent in november its highest rate since the euro
was launched years ago and brzeski noted that even with positive short
term outlook it could take until the end of before the economy is back at
its pre crisis level
the ecb will probably thus fix its main rate at percent for most if not all
of to support growth and slowly unwind exceptional measures like unlimited
supplies of cash as banks get back on their feet
britain sending humanitarian team to haiti
london jan afp
britain said it was deeply concerned by the earthquake which rocked haiti and
had humanitarian assessment team ready to fly wednesday to the caribbean
country
we are deeply concerned at the reported scale of the earthquake which has
struck haiti said spokesman for the department for international development
dfid
it appears to have been severe causing considerable damage and harm
we do not yet have clear picture of needs from the haitian authorities or
from humanitarian agencies we are monitoring the situation closely
overnight we have mobilised dfid humanitarian assessment team to fly to haiti
today
we stand ready to provide whatever humanitarian assistance may be required
meanwhile aid agency oxfam said it had emergency response teams in the region
poised to respond
at this stage it is too early to tell the severity of the earthquake in haiti
but the early signs are not good with communications down across the country
said jane cocking the charity humanitarian director
oxfam has its emergency response team for latin america based in haiti so we
are well prepared with public health water and sanitation team in port au
prince ready to respond
we also have emergency supplies in panama which we can access should we need
to
red cross spokeswoman heron holloway said the charity was preparing to fly in
aid from panama
the strongest earthquake to hit haiti in over century rocked the impoverished
caribbean nation tuesday toppling buildings and triggering fears that hundreds
have been killed in widespread destruction
german economy shrank by percent in official estimate
frankfurt jan afp
the german economy contracted by five percent last year its deepest recession
since world war ii provisional figures released on wednesday by the national
statistics service showed
europe biggest economy grew in by percent and the central bank
estimated last month that it should grow again by percent in
the government also posted public deficit of percent last year after
managing to balance its accounts in the destatis service said
for the bundesbank has forecast weaker growth of percent
the outlook for the german economy has gotten noticeably brighter in recent
months the central bank said on december
after slumping sharply in the first three months of economic activity
rebounded in the second quarter thanks in large part to government stimulus
measures
analysts at germany biggest private deutsche bank expect even stronger
growth of percent and percent respectively in and
the country export orientated economy took hit from the global economic
slowdown but is set to benefit from renewed emerging market demand for capital
goods such as machine tools and chemicals used to produce finished products
the german government has also approved fiscal stimulus package worth up to
billion euros billion dollars in including billion euros in tax
relief for private households that should underpin consumer spending
unemployment in germany has been limited meanwhile by the country short time
work scheme under which the state subsidises shorter hours for workers to avoid
widespread layoffs
various measures contained in the plan are due to run until mid at the
latest
the number of jobless is nonetheless expected to reach more than million
people this year and million in
it averaged million or percent of the workforce in
afp gmt news advisory
paris jan afp
duty editor sarah shard
tel
top stories
hundreds feared dead in haiti quake
google threatens to quit china
imf team begins mission in debt stricken greece
yemeni security forces kill al qaeda kingpin
haiti quake newseries wrap
port au prince
the worst earthquake to hit haiti in over century devastates the impoverished
caribbean nation toppling buildings and burying hundreds and perhaps thousands
under the rubble witnesses and officials say
words gmt by clarens renois graphic picture video
we have also moved haiti quake horror lead scene
us china it company internet spy google thlead
san francisco
google vows to defy chinese internet censors and risk banishment from the
lucrative market in outrage at highly sophisticated cyberattacks aimed at
chinese human rights activists
words gmt by glenn chapman
greece imf economy finance lead
athens
team of international monetary fund experts arrives in athens on week long
technical mission to help debt stricken greece overcome its financial crisis
words gmt
attacks yemen qaeda rdlead
sanaa
yemeni security forces kill an al qaeda kingpin in shabwa province in intensive
operations against the group believed behind the botched bombing of us
airliner an official says
words gmt by hammoud mounassar
europe
finance economy germany growth recession rdlead
frankfurt
the german economy contracted by five percent in its deepest post war
recession provisional data show but europe biggest economy is set for modest
growth this year the central bank says
words gmt
ecb eurozone bank rate forex money
frankfurt
the european central bank will keep its key interest rate at record low of
percent analysts say as ecb president jean claude trichet wrestles with
questions on the greek debt crisis
words by william ickes
russia turkey diplomacy energy
moscow
turkish prime minister recep tayyip erdogan whose country is involved in two
competing gas pipeline projects meets russian leader for talks on the
increasingly bitter rivalry between future energy supply routes
words gmt
europe weather ndlead
paris
snow storm forces french authorities to ban travel of lorries in paris and
threatens to cause massive flight cancellations adding to travel misery across
northern europe
words gmt
ukraine vote social history language focus
bilogorshcha ukraine
it is an unlikely location for major monument and debate over national
identity field next to quiet road outside ukraine western city of lviv
where only the crows disturb the peace
words gmt by stuart williams picture
we will also move ukraine vote factfile facts
middle east
iran unrest nuclear wrap
tehran
iran former chief nuclear negotiator ali larijani accuses us and israeli
intelligence agents of having hand in the tehran bombing which killed top
atomic scientist
words gmt by aresu eqbali
mideast conflict gaza egypt focus
gaza city
the construction of new underground wall and recent border clashes have frayed
relations between hamas and egypt and could threaten the islamist movement
main lifeline in gaza analysts say
words gmt by adel zaanoun file picture
americas
us diplomacy asia png
honolulu hawaii
us secretary of state hillary clinton heads to papua new guinea on new asia
tour touting the united states as stabilizing force against the rising powers
of china and india
words gmt by lachlan carmichael
africa
violence angola togo fbl afr cabinda analysis
johannesburg
cabinda once forgotten separatists won new notoriety with their deadly attack
on togo football team embarrassing angola government which has long tried
to quell the movement analysts say
words gmt by alexandra lesieur
asia
us china it company internet spy google business lead analysis
beijing
google threat to pull out of china is evidence of the daunting difficulties
faced by foreign internet firms operating in the land of the great firewall
analysts say
words gmt by allison jackson picture
we have also moved
us china it internet spy google yahoo microsoft cisco reax
afghanistan unrest wrap
kabul
the number of civilians killed in the afghan war jumped last year to more than
making the deadliest year since the us led invasion the united
nations says as new bomb attack kill two us soldiers
words gmt by sardar ahmad
we have also moved afghanistan unrest nato protest lead
japan airline company distress jal lead wrap
tokyo
japan airlines shares dive percent to paltry eight us cents as investors
rush for the exit ahead of an expected bankruptcy filing by the once venerable
carrier crippled by massive debts
words gmt by miwa suzuki picture graphic
hong kong and china shares tumble
hong kong jan afp
shares in hong kong and china were hit wednesday after beijing said it was going
to raise the amount of money banks must have in reserve as it seeks to tighten
liquidity
hong kong benchmark hang seng index shed percent or points to
with turnover reaching billion hong kong dollars billion
us
and in shanghai shares dived percent with the composite index which
covers both and shares down points at on turnover of
billion yuan billion dollars
hong kong gold closes lower
hong kong jan afp
hong kong gold closed lower wednesday at us dollars an ounce
down from tuesday close of dollars
it opened at dollars
korea warns korea over cross border leaflets
seoul jan afp
north korea military told south korea wednesday to stop activists from
launching anti pyongyang leaflets across the heavily fortified border saying
they are fuelling distrust and confrontation
the latest warning came in message from the head of the north delegation to
inter korean military talks pyongyang official korean central news agency
said
south korean activists have numerous times launched balloons into north korea
carrying tens of thousands of leaflets these revile leader kim jong il and urge
north koreans to topple the hardline communist regime
the army of the dprk north korea will never tolerate even the slightest acts
of hurting the unchallenged prestige of the headquarters of the dprk and
defiling the dignity of its socialist homeland no matter how dear and urgent
the improvement of the inter korean relations is the message said
the leaflets slander the north and stoke distrust and confrontation between
fellow countrymen it said
ties have been strained since conservative government took office in and
linked major aid from the south to progress in the north nuclear disarmament
seoul government has urged activists to stop launching the leaflets but says
it has no laws to ban the practice
some groups attach banknotes to the bundles of flyers to encourage north koreans
to pick them up despite the risk of punishment
the latest launch was on tuesday by supporters of us christian missionary who
crossed into the communist state on one man human rights crusade on christmas
day he has been detained for investigation
the north statement said the scattering of leaflets amounted to openly
scrapping joint declarations in and for peace and reconciliation
it urged the south immediately to disband rightist groups which organised the
launches and severely punish those responsible
thai royal laws hurting freedom of speech amnesty
bangkok jan afp
thailand must halt backward slide on freedom of expression after sharp
rise in cases of people accused of insulting the revered monarchy leading
rights group said wednesday
amnesty international said it welcomed panel established by prime minister
abhisit vejjajiva in december to scrutinise the enforcement of thailand tough
lese majeste laws which carry jail term of up to years
but the london based group said the government should suspend the use of the law
until it has scrapped provisions allowing any citizen to report another for
alleged violations and urged thai authorities to stop censoring websites
amnesty international supports the prime minister new initiative and
encourages the royal thai government to amend the lese majeste law so that it
complies with international law and standards an amnesty statement said
the group highlighted two cases since april in which thai nationals
received heavy jail sentences for allegedly defaming the royals and said that
hundreds of other cases of alleged lese majeste remained active
it said many people charged under the law had also been charged under the
computer crimes act leading to big increase in monitoring of the internet for
any material that allegedly defames the royal family
amnesty said it was also concerned that the law had been characterised by the
government as matter of national security allowing cases to be held behind
closed doors
the group said it acknowledged the nation considerable progress under
year old king bhumibol adulyadej especially in human rights but said this
made the recent roll back in freedom of expression of even greater concern
matters surrounding king bhumibol the world longest reigning monarch are
sensitive topic in politically turbulent thailand as the king has been in
hospital since september
last year rights groups expressed outrage when thai police charged four people
with spreading false rumours about the health of the king after concerns over
his condition sent thailand stock market plunging
lebanon blast injures three
beirut jan afp
two children waiting for school bus were among three people injured in an
