yellow cards matmour laifaoui
football angola and algeria draw
luanda jan afp
hosts angola drew with algeria in their africa cup of nations group match
here on monday
football angola algeria into nations cup quarters
luanda jan afp
angola and algeria became the latest teams to qualify for the africa cup of
nations quarter finals after draw here on monday
the split result suited both teams perfectly with angola going through as group
winners on five points and algeria as runners up on four points
mali who beat malawi in the simultaneous game up in cabinda were also on
four points but missed out on the head to head performance with algeria
angola now progress to face the runners up of group either ivory coast
ghana or burkina faso in their luanda fortress on sunday with algeria taking
on the group winners in cabinda the same day
traffic snarl up outside meant the game started with the november stadium
only half full the crowd including the algerian supporters all ten of them
and angola number one fan president jose eduardo dos santos
angola coach manuel jose made two changes from the xi that saw off malawi
with jamuana starting for suspended stelvio and zekalanga coming in for injured
star striker flavio scorer of three of angola six goals up to monday
algeria had only one alteration from the side that beat mali with blackpool
attacker hamer bouazza taking the place of strasbourg midfielder yassine
bezzazz
the world cup qualifiers were at the hosts heels from kick off desperate to
avoid the ignominy of first round exit with south africa looming
after an open first quarter angola were looking dangerous on the attack with
mabina for one testing desert foxes keeper faouzi chaouchi in the th minute
down at the other end nadir belhadj floated in freekick from the right but
rangers defender madjid bougherra failed to make proper contact and keeper
carlos fernandes dealt comfortably with the threat
on the half hour chaouchi could only punch away manucho centred shot as the
evenly balanced first half continued at breathless pace
angola had their best chance two minutes from the break when zekalanga slid the
ball over to djalma waiting in the box only for his close range shot to lack the
necessary ooomph to cause chaouchi much concern
minutes after the restart zuela was stretchered off after suffering an injury in
his successful bid to stop karim matmour connecting with potentially damaging
cross from the left
defender dias caires entered the fray in his place
on the hour algeria coach rabah saadane had his head in his hands when bouzza
split open the angola defence charging into the right of the box but his angled
shot went the wrong side of the far post
jose then sent on the hugely popular job for zekelanga and saadane introduced
lazio striker mourad meghni for bouazza
the by now capacity crowd was desperate for goal from their men in red
and black but the punch had gone out of the game with the draw suiting them and
the champions from north africa just fine
urgent football angola algeria reach africa cup of nations quarter
finals
cabinda angola jan afp
angola and algeria qualified for the africa cup of nations quarter finals after
finishing first and second respectively in group on monday
football africa cup of nations angola algeria
luanda jan afp
result of an africa cup of nations group match at november stadium here on
monday
angola algeria
alert
football angola algeria reach africa cup of nations quarter finals
syria names woman at economy ministry
damascus jan afp
syrian president bashar al assad on monday named woman to head the economy and
trade ministry the state run sana news agency reported
lamia assi will replace amer hosni lotfi who was appointed head of the state
planning authority the agency said
assi is the latest woman to join the government after kawkab al sabah dayeh who
became environment minister in shake up in april third woman diala
haj aref heads the social affairs and labour ministry
sana gave no reason for the latest reshuffle the seventh of its kind since
prime minister naji otri first formed his cabinet in september
the new economy and trade minister is mother of three who had been syria
ambassador to malaysia from until the time of her nomination
assi was also deputy finance minister from until
swedish aid to haiti amounts to million euros ministry
stockholm jan afp
sweden total financial aid to quake hit haiti amounts to million swedish
kronor million euros million dollars the foreign ministry said
monday
sweden support for the emergency situation in haiti now amounts to
million swedish kronor in addition sweden will disburse its entire annual
contribution of million swedish kronor to the un central emergency response
fund cerf the ministry said in statement
the un said friday that it was launching an appeal for million dollars from
donors following tuesday magnitude quake which devastated the poverty
stricken caribbean nation of nine million and was the strongest in more than
century
approximately million of the million swedish kronor is new money that
is up front the rest of the sum is money that we had made available in the un
system before the crisis spokesman for international development cooperation
minister gunilla carlsson peter larsson told afp
at least bodies have been buried in mass graves and officials fear the
final death toll could top while people were injured and up to
million were left homeless
haiti fears grows despite surge in relief effort
port au prince jan afp
haiti relief efforts stepped up gear monday with the arrival of thousands more
us marines while doctors and aid workers struggled to save lives and stave off
disease six days after the quake
despite the massive international effort spearheaded by the united states
security fears grew as television pictures showed troops in combat gear firing
off rounds and hauling looters to the ground in the capital port au prince
the red cross warned that violence by desperate haitians was growing although
lieutenant general ken keen the top us officer on the ground insisted the
level of violence we see now is below pre earthquake levels
government minister said bodies had already been collected and
officials have expressed fears the death toll may top
un agencies said field hospitals and food distribution had multiplied in and
around the capital where the magnitude quake wrought huge destruction
leaving tens of thousands dead and countless homeless and injured
prices for food and transport have skyrocketed since last tuesday and incidents
of violence and looting are on the rise as the desperation grows the
international committee of the red cross said in statement
many residents of port au prince felt they were in catastrophic situation
it added
us paratroopers deployed out of the main haitian airport in waves of navy
seahawk helicopters to set up bases from which to begin humanitarian operations
while marines rushed to the disaster zone
we have seen dramatic improvement in the efficiency and coordination of the
flow of goods coming in world food programme executive director josette
sheeran told reporters in rome
but on the ground there were only scenes of further desperation as hopes faded
of finding survivors buried in the rubble and conditions barely improved for the
hundreds of thousands sleeping rough in the streets
homeless injured and traumatized people still trawl the streets desperate for
food water and medicine all around is the stench of rotting bodies
international aid is trickling in but supplies remain scarce amid the enormity
of crisis the united nations estimates affected three million people and left
homeless
former us president bill clinton special un envoy arrived in port au prince
with relief supplies and to meet with haitian leaders and survivors to get
first hand account of conditions
as un special envoy for haiti feel deep obligation to the haitian people
to visit the country and meet with president rene preval to ensure our
response continues to be coordinated and effective clinton said before his
departure
us president barack obama has mobilized military reserves and the overall
deployment on the island or in ships off haiti is due to swell over in
the coming weeks
time is still of the essence we re getting better but there is still lot of
misery in haiti said rear admiral ted branch who commands the us aircraft
carrier carl vinson strike group
amidst the death and desperation were life affirming tales of survival against
all the odds but the rescue teams in haiti fear these may be among the last
text message to the united nations set in motion relief operation that led
to the rescue two days later of maria ariel and lamy after being buried for
more than hours under collapsed supermarket
seven ariel shouted to rescuers seeking signs of life adding that she
was stuck next to dead man but covered with supermarket food
survivors besieged hospitals and makeshift clinics some carrying the injured on
their backs or on carts
the un humanitarian relief body said hospitals on the dominican republic
border with haiti were overwhelmed with quake victims and running short of
medicines equipment and doctors
it also said the fuel shortage in haiti was becoming more and more critical
emergency workers were expanding to battered communities outside of port au
prince including gressier petit goave and leogane which were all flattened by
the quake
the medecins sans frontiers doctors without borders aid group said their
doctors and surgeons had been working around the clock amputating limbs and
performing caesarian sections on pregnant women
patients arrived on handcarts or on men backs said msf emergency
coordinator hans van dillen
despite haitian frustration over the lack of supplies the pace of the relief
operation has gotten faster each day and un secretary general ban ki moon
promised more improvement after visit on sunday
european union nations on monday promised more than million euros
million dollars in emergency aid and reconstruction funds for haiti
in the package britain trebled its humanitarian aid to million dollars
while france will release million euros for un emergency appeal the eu may
provide police and engineers for haiti
canada said donor nations would meet on january in montreal to discuss
reconstruction
luxembourg juncker wins another term as eurogroup head
brussels jan afp
europe longest serving leader jean claude juncker was given new mandate on
monday to guide the eurozone countries out of debilitating debt crisis his
spokesman guy schuller told afp
luxembourg prime minister juncker was re elected unopposed for fresh month
term at the head of the eurogroup by eurozone finance ministers at evening talks
in brussels otherwise dominated by the greek economic crisis
the job is consolation prize for the year old juncker after french
president nicolas sarkozy opposed his bid to land the post of first full time
president of the european union job warded to belgium herman van rompuy
mauritania begins dialogue with salafist prisoners
nouakchott jan afp
the mauritanian government on monday began spiritual dialogue with salafist
prisoners first in country that has been the victim of several attacks
attributed to al qaeda
the opening ceremony took place at nouakchott central prison where prisoners
from the radical islamist movement are being held and tried for terrorist
actions including the killings of four french tourists in december
we are here today to discuss ways and means to get out of crisis that
threatens civil peace in nation known for its spirit of tolerance magnanimity
and openness said minister of islamic affairs ahmed ould nini
he called on the prisoners to benefit from the dialogue which will be led by
score of muslim ulemas or scholars and imams
the salafist prisoners are divided although majority is favourable to the
dialogue and ready to repent since of them recently issued an appeal for
talks with the authorities
opponents of the dialogue are led by al khadim ould semman in prison since
notably in connection with the murder of the french tourists
speak in the name of those who bear arms to fight the miscreants and their
acolytes among the leaders in the muslim countries ould semman said
brandishing banner in the name of al qaeda
he is the spokesman of minority group among those who have hands stained
with blood and who therefore don expect to be freed member of the
official delegation told afp
the dialogue is due to last for three days but could be prolonged if necessary
according to the authorities
al qaeda in the islamic maghreb aqim has in the past two years claimed
responsibility for several attacks in mauritania including the murder of the
french tourists at aleg in the south in and that of an american in the
capital last june
three spanish humanitarian aid workers were kidnapped in mauritania on november
and two italian tourists were abducted last month
football henry escapes punishment over handball incident
zurich jan afp
french captain thierry henry escaped being punished for his infamous handball in
the world cup finals play off against ireland fifa announced on monday
france were losing to ireland at the stade de france on november having
won the first leg when henry teed up william gallas in extra time for what
proved to be the decisive goal after illegally controlling the ball with his
hand
fifa disciplinary committee said however that they were powerless to punish
the world cup winning striker because their rules forbade them to do so if
the original misdemeanour had not been seen by the match officials
on december the fifa executive committee asked the fifa disciplinary
committee to analyse the handling offence committed by thierry henry during the
france republic of ireland match on november and to consider the
possible disciplinary consequences read the statement from the committee
at its meeting on january the disciplinary committee reached the
conclusion that there was no legal foundation for the committee to consider the
case because handling the ball cannot be regarded as serious infringement as
stipulated in article of the fifa disciplinary code
there is no other legal text that would allow the committee to impose sanctions
for any incidents missed by match officials
bernard escalettes president of the french football federation fff said he
hoped this finally drew line under the episode
thierry henry not being punished is not astonishing it is logical escalettes
told afp
there is nothing in the fifa rules permitting punishment and fifa are bound
by their rules
hope that this is the end of the story hope so with all my heart
the meeting of the man disciplinary panel an independent body chaired by the
swiss marcel mathier was announced by fifa president sepp blatter in cape town
on december following an extraordinary executive committee meeting
had phone conversation with thierry henry said blatter at the time
we didn talk about guilty or not guilty it was conversation between
sportsmen didn say that he would be punished said he be the subject of
an investigation
blatter diplomacy can be explained by the lack of precedent regarding
retrospective punishments meted out to players
any punishment meted out would have been purely symbolic one as fifa rules
do not explicitly address incidents of such nature and heavy punishment
would have created an unwelcome precedent for world football governing body
blatter meanwhile has raised the possibilty of awarding moral compensation
to the irish team
that could be special trophy or prize we ll have to see he said
senate election pushes obama agenda to cliff edge
new york jan afp
voters in massachusetts decide on new senator tuesday and possibly the fate
of president barack obama ambitious reform agenda
the special election to fill the seat of the late democratic veteran edward
kennedy could see republican scott brown score stunning upset against democrat
martha coakley in what was believed to be one of her party safest seats
polls put brown even or ahead the latest public policy polling survey conducted
over the weekend gives brown percent to coakley percent
the stakes are huge not so much for who will represent the northeastern state
but because win by brown would demolish the fragile supermajority democrats
use in the senate to override opposition to health care reform and the rest of
obama agenda
with senate votes democrats are able to prevent republican filibusters and
push through legislation with only democrats would need republican support
and that in today increasingly rancorous partisan divide looks unlikely to
happen
the president showed his alarm sunday when he took time off from the haiti
earthquake crisis and other pressing issues to campaign in boston
he told noisy crowd of coakley supporters that the big initiatives of his
presidency the health care plan clean energy initiatives and attempts to
repair the damage from last year financial meltdown are on the line
lot of these measures are going to rest on one vote in the united states
senate obama said that why the opponents of change and progress have been
pouring money in
obama faces this perilous situation exactly year after his january
inauguration and his lofty promise to bring in new climate of political
cooperation
republicans who took drubbing during the presidential and general
election now believe they are poised for comeback while democrats are
scared
most damaging of all to the democrats would be collapse of their bogged down
health care reform plan the bill is said by the party to be almost ready for
passing but if that th senate vote is not there obama landmark initiative
could die
democrats are racing to draw up contingency plans for rapid passing of health
care in the event of losing the massachusetts seat but that would likely
provoke firestorm of republican complaints
republicans could start legal battle over the legitimacy politico website
reported
equally alarming for obama is the potential for this special election to herald
defeat in the nationwide mid term congressional elections in november
especially alarming for democrats is brown popularity with independents
crucial factor in many elections across the country
registered democrats outnumber republicans three to one in massachusetts but
there are even more independents and public policy polling found that brown
leads to percent in that sector
also he is getting percent of the vote from people who backed obama in last
november presidential election while coakley is getting only four percent of
one time john mccain supporters
republican strategist bradley blakeman wrote on politico that if brown wins
then republicans will see the race as barometer of the storm that is coming
this fall for democrats throughout the country
democrats wrote blakeman will batten down the hatches and hunker down
incumbent democrats will run for the hills away from obama and their
congressional leaders
the analytical rothenberg report said the result as usual in special elections
could depend on turnout and therefore is harder to predict
however the combination of public and private survey research and anecdotal
information now strongly suggests that republican scott brown will defeat
democrat martha coakley
the white house still says that coakley can pull off victory and that
health care reform is safe
the plan to get health care passed is to continue to do what we re doing in
ironing out the differences between the house and senate spokesman robert
gibbs said sunday
said this on friday when was asked and ll say it on sunday on the ride
home we think martha coakley is going to win this race
un chief seeks reinforcements for un mission in haiti
united nations jan afp
un chief ban ki moon asked the security council monday to boost his battered
mission in quake hit haiti with extra troops and police as his spokesman
raised the confirmed un death toll in the disaster to
speaking to reporters after briefing the council on his six hour visit to the
devastated haitian capital sunday ban said he had recommended that the un
mission be beefed up with an extra and troops and police
recommend that the security council boost the number of troops by
nearly percent increase for six months and beef up the number of un police
officers in the mission by up percent
france un ambassador gerard araud said draft resolution to that effect
should be adopted in the coming hours
araud said the member council would also have to examine minustah mandate
to see what is necessary to adjust it to the new situation
we have to look at it in the coming days he added
araud also recalled that paris proposed an international conference on
rebuilding the haitian economy and said the parley should ideally be held in
march after scheduled preparatory meeting in montreal in february
the un mission in haiti known in minustah currently has roughly troops
police and about civilian personnel
it has been deployed since mid to help stabilize the impoverished caribbean
nation of nine million people
ban spokesman martin nesirky meanwhile said un personnel are now confirmed
dead in the haiti quake and more than are missing or unaccounted for
the death toll for the un as whole is nesirky told reporters adding
that more than are missing or unaccounted for
officials in haiti fear the final death toll for haitians could top
quarter of million more were injured and million left homeless in the
wake of tuesday magnitude quake
the heartbreaking things saw yesterday compel us to act swiftly and
generously ban ki moon said
ban said he got clear message from his encounter with haitians who told him
we need the united nations we need jobs we need food and water
he listed two key priorities for the huge humanitarian effort under way to
assist the quake victims unclog the bottleneck to make sure that help is
getting to the people who need it as quickly as possible and improving
coordination in the delivery of the vast amount of aid pouring in from around
the world
ban late sunday flew back from port au prince with the remains of his special
envoy to haiti hedi annabi and his brazilian deputy luiz carlos da costa both
killed in the quake
the un boss made the morale boosting visit to the haitian capital to show
solidarity with haitian quake victims and shell shocked local un staff
in day of high emotion he visited the flattened main headquarters of minustah
the un mission to haiti to praise the work of some rescue workers
battling to save as many lives as possible and to offer comfort to the staff
in what ban called small miracle danish un civil affairs official was
pulled out from the ruins of the minustah main building by us rescue workers
from virginia just after the un chief had toured the site
jens kristensen emerged from debris of the un six story building where the
walls have become sarcophagus for so many without scratch on him
ban said he had good meeting with preval focusing on the need to save as many
lives as possible bring in emergency relief aid in the form of food water
shelter and medical supplies and better coordinate aid delivery
for small country like haiti this is tsunami like disaster ban told
reporters
euro rises again despite greek debt fears
london jan afp
the euro clawed back lost ground against the dollar on currency markets on
monday despite worries of looming budget crisis in greece and its implications
for the eurozone as whole analysts said
the european single currency was changing hands at dollars late on monday
in london just below the dollars it was at late on friday
the euro fell to low of dollars earlier in the trading day
the euro was also down against the japanese currency slipping to yen
from late on friday the dollar fell to yen from yen before
the problems for the single currency are mounting rapidly said simon derrick
an analyst for us lender bny mellon
derrick pointed in particular to the greek debt crisis and concerns about rising
deficits in other part of the euro area
analysts were also worried that germany zew economic sentiment index due out
on tuesday would be down for fourth straight month in january
the indicator which surveys financial experts on their outlook for germany
europe main growth engine is expected to have fallen to this month from
in december according to analyst forecasts
admittedly investors were already keen to sell the single european currency
as concerns about the fallout from the greek debt crisis escalated nab capital
strategist john kyriakopoulos told clients
german chancellor angela merkel last week said greece fiscal crisis put the
euro in very difficult phase while european central bank governor jean
claude trichet warned of bumpy recovery in the fragile eurozone
investors were also waiting ahead of slew of us earnings reports later this
week after jpmorgan chase opened the earnings season for banks on strong note
last friday us markets are closed monday for public holiday
citigroup will release its fourth quarter earnings on tuesday followed by bank
of america morgan stanley and wells fargo on wednesday and goldman sachs on
thursday
dealers said market players will also be looking to china fourth quarter gdp
figure on thursday which is likely to show double digit growth as well as data
showing inflation ticking up
calyon analyst sebastien barbe said he expects that chinese borrowing costs via
market interest rates will increase in the first quarter of the year due to the
strong economic numbers and rising inflation
in london on monday the euro was changing hands at dollars against
dollars late on friday yen pounds and
swiss francs
the dollar stood at yen and swiss francs
the pound was at dollars
on the london bullion market the price of gold increased to dollars an
ounce from dollars on friday
un envoy bill clinton arrives in haiti
port au prince jan afp
un special envoy to haiti bill clinton arrived in port au prince monday to
deliver relief supplies and get first hand look at conditions in the quake
crippled country
clinton who is both the un special envoy to haiti and coordinator with fellow
former president george bush of us campaign to raise funds for haiti was
to meet with haitian leaders and survivors
as un special envoy for haiti feel deep obligation to the haitian people
to visit the country and meet with president rene preval to ensure our
response continues to be coordinated and effective clinton said before his
departure
the clinton foundation said the former president would deliver emergency relief
supplies including water food medical supplies solar flash lights portable
radios and generators
he will also meet with members of the haitian government and the international
community to discuss the way forward as well as visit with personnel and
volunteers on the ground
syria names woman at economy ministry
damascus jan afp
syrian president bashar al assad on monday named woman to head the economy and
trade ministry the state run sana news agency reported
lamia assi will replace amer hosni lotfi who was appointed head of the state
planning authority the agency said
assi is the latest woman to join the government after kawkab al sabah dayeh who
became environment minister in shake up in april third woman diala
haj aref heads the social affairs and labour ministry
sana gave no reason for the latest reshuffle the seventh of its kind since
prime minister naji otri first formed his cabinet in september
european stocks close higher ahead of cadbury update
london jan afp
europe main stock markets closed higher on monday as investors awaited fresh
developments in the cadbury takeover saga
london benchmark ftse index of leading shares jumped percent to close
at points and frankfurt dax also climbed percent to finish at
in paris the cac gained percent to points while milan ftse
mib closed percent higher at points and madrid ibex ended
percent higher at points
in london rebound in the shares of banking and mining companies helped to
fend off roller coaster day for british power plant operator international
power
british confectioner cadbury was also the focus of attention after weekend media
reports said us food giant kraft foods would this week sweeten its hostile
takeover bid for the maker of dairy milk chocolate
cadbury share price gained percent at pence
talk of kraft raising their bid for cadbury and takeover speculation on
british power plant group international power are helping push the ftse back
up towards said etx capital senior trader manoj ladwa
the sunday times which did not cite its source said kraft was putting the
finishing touches to an offer that would be greater than its current bid worth
billion pounds billion euros billions dollars
cadbury has repeatedly rejected kraft cash and shares offer which was
launched late last year and has denounced it as derisory
separate media report suggested that us chocolate maker hershey was about to
enter the fray
hershey plans to bid at least billion dollars this week for cadbury after
concluding it can top us food giant kraft offer the wall street journal
reported on friday
international power had led the pack in morning trading until it announced the
end of talks with french energy giant gdf suez regarding part merger but the
company shares finished percent lower at pence
reports at the weekend suggested that gdf suez had made takeover approach to
international power causing the latter share price to shoot higher on monday
morning
but the british firm said it held preliminary talks regarding potential
combination of international power and certain power assets of gdf suez adding
that no agreement was reached and talks are no longer ongoing
international power worth about billion pounds billion euros
billion dollars has interests in power stations around the world and owns
half dozen power plants in britain
meanwhile mining companies rebounded with enrc gaining percent at
