oppose his reappointment after his first term ends on january
top ranking members of the us senate banking committee however voiced
confidence saturday that he would be confirmed for second term
the dollar edged higher to yen in tokyo afternoon trade from in new
york late friday
the euro rose to dollars after and to yen from
oil was higher new york main futures contract light sweet crude for delivery
in march rose cents to dollars barrel in afternoon trade while
brent north sea crude gained cents to dollars
hong kong gold closed at us dollars an ounce up from friday
close of dollars
in other markets
singapore closed or eight points lower at
local investors may well follow the lead from wall street players who are for
the time being ignoring good news on the earnings front said amfraser retail
research head najeeb jarhom
banking group dbs was down cents at and singapore airlines dipped
cents to
taiwan closed down points or percent at
wall street will continue to dictate the local trading amid weak sentiment
towards financial firms grand cathay securities analyst mars hsu said
taiwan semiconductor manufacturing co closed down percent at while
hon hai precision industry closed up percent at
jakarta lost points or percent to
the downward move came despite fitch ratings upgrade of indonesia sovereign
credit rating to one notch below investment grade reflecting the country
resilience to the global financial crisis
foreign funds continued to sell dealers said bank danamon lost percent to
rupiah and car distributor astra fell percent to
kuala lumpur lost points or percent to
medical gloves manufacturer supermax rose percent ringgit dollars
but nestle fell percent to
bangkok lost points or percent to close at
coal producer banpu plunged baht to close at and energy firm ptt
plc fell baht to
new zealand was flat with the nzx index down points at
construction company fletcher building rose five cents to dollars
manila closed percent lower the composite index fell points to
philippine long distance telephone co fell percent to pesos
dollars while energy development corp dropped four percent to pesos
eta prisoners launch hunger strike
madrid jan afp
jailed members of the armed basque separatist group eta announced monday they
have launched hunger strike to demand they be granted political status
an association representing eta prisoners eppk said it took the move to to
demand the political status that is our right in letter released to the pro
independence basque newspaper gara
the association which has some eta members detained in spain and france
announced on january it planned series of protests throughout in
response to what it called the two countries cruel prison policy
that statement also called for an end to solitary confinement and reiterated
demand for eta prisoners to be held together in jails in the basque region
which straddles southwestern france and northern spain
gara said that the eppk gave no further details on the hunger strike
eta considered terrorist organisation by both the european union and the
united states is held responsible for deaths in its campaign for basque
independence
spain supreme court recently upheld ruling that blocked financial support
for eta prisoners families provided by the former regional government which
was led by the non violent basque nationalist pnv party
germany issues arrest warrant for ex argentine dictator
berlin jan afp
german justice authorities said monday they have ordered an international arrest
warrant for ex argentine military dictator jorge rafael videla over the killing
of german citizen while he was in power
spokesman for the prosecutor office in the southern city of nuremberg told
afp that the warrant pertained to the murder of german student rolf stawowiok in
the
the prosecutor office applied for an arrest warrant at the end of december
and it has come through in the meantime he said
videla now is currently serving life term at an argentine barracks on
multiple charges of human rights violations while he was at the helm of the
country military junta from to
the nuremberg prosecutor office opened probe into the junta former leaders
including videla at the end of the over the killing and disappearance of
germans during the so called dirty war
but it dropped the cases after argentine authorities rejected an extradition
request
german authorities reopened the case last year when stawowiok remains were
discovered in argentina showing that he had been shot several times
during the years of junta rule some people vanished and are still
unaccounted for
videla was sentenced to life in prison for his crimes in but was pardoned
and released in under former president carlos menem only to be arrested
again in for kidnapping children and other charges not included in his
pardons
at least three die as siberian cold grips bulgaria
sofia jan afp
siberian cold front bringing temperatures as low as minus degrees celsius
fahrenheit gripped bulgaria on monday as authorities reported at least
three deaths over the weekend
two homeless men had been found dead in the capital sofia and the northeastern
town of shumen since friday while an elderly man had frozen to death in
snowstorm in the eastern town of valchi dol
the small municipalities of valchi dol byala and vetren to the east remained
in state of emergency monday after many villages in the region were
completely cut off by snowdrifts
the temperature meanwhile dropped to minus degrees celsius fahrenheit
on monday morning in the northern town of glavinitza
it failed however to beat the all time record of minus degrees celsius
fahrenheit in the western town of trun in
the whole country saw temperatures well below freezing in what weather services
already said would be the coldest day this winter the snowfall was set to stop
on monday however
northeastern bulgaria was still reeling from severe snowstorms over the weekend
that closed the two major highways east of the capital
schools remained closed in many towns to the east while rescue services fought
their way through four metre high snowdrifts to supply bread and other
necessities to cut off villages and clean countryside roads
toyota mulls european recall over accelerator problem
tokyo jan afp
toyota said monday massive recall due to an accelerator problem may spread to
europe where two million vehicles are reportedly set to be affected in fresh
blow to its reputation for safety
toyota motor said last week it was recalling million vehicles in the united
states because of problem with sticking accelerator pedals the latest in
series of recalls by the world largest automaker
the company is considering whether to recall vehicles in europe due to similar
defects with the accelerators that we encountered in the united states
toyota spokeswoman told afp
japan top selling yomiuri daily reported monday that toyota was expected to
recall two million vehicles in europe
if confirmed the number of vehicles affected in the two regions would be the
equivalent of more than half of toyota annual sales
the japanese giant on monday reported percent drop in its global sales in
to million vehicles reducing its lead over germany volkswagen
which enjoyed record year
toyota which has long prided itself on rigorous safety controls has been
blighted by string of recalls overseas
the latest us move was separate to an ongoing recall of about million toyota
and lexus vehicles that began last year due to risk of loose floor mats
jamming the pedals
the earlier recall toyota largest yet came after california highway patrol
officer and three members of his family were killed in fiery crash when the
accelerator pedal of their lexus became entrapped in the floor mat
in the latest us recall toyota said there was risk that accelerator pedals on
some models might become worn and get lodged in partially depressed position
while some analysts warned that toyota image could be tarnished by the series
of recalls others said the damage should be limited
the massive recall appears to be preventative measure said ryoichi saito
an auto analyst at mizuho investors securities
don think it will necessarily lead to drastic change in consumer opinion
towards toyota he added
toyota the maker of the corolla lexus and prius vehicles was battered by
the global economic crisis and fell into the red for the first time in the year
to march
it has slashed thousands of jobs exited formula one racing and ended joint
venture with gm as part of efforts to return to profitability
philippine vice president to plead for maid life in kuwait
manila jan afp
philippine vice president noli de castro will go to kuwait to plead for clemency
for filipina maid sentenced to death in the gulf state the government said
de castro will ask that the death penalty be commuted for jakatia pawa who was
convicted in for stabbing to death her employer daughter the previous
year the foreign affairs department said
the vice president will carry letter from president gloria arroyo addressed
to the emir of kuwait interceding for the life of ms pawa the department said
in statement released on sunday
negotiations are also under way with the family of the victim to accept the
payment of blood money in exchange for lifting the death sentence the
statement said
it added that arroyo office had already approved the government release of
this unspecified payment
it has not yet been determined when de castro who acts as special envoy on
behalf of the nine million filipinos working overseas will depart for kuwait
the foreign department statement said
an official at de castro office on monday confirmed the vice president would
visit kuwait but said no date for his trip had been set
filipina nanny who was convicted of murdering her employer seven year old
son was last year granted full pardon by kuwait ruler after heavy lobbying
from the philippine government
government figures last year showed there were about filipinos
of them women employed mostly as maids earning less than dollars month
in oil rich kuwait
human rights watch released report on sunday criticising kuwait for abuses
against foreign female domestic workers
the remittances of the millions of its nationals working overseas are major
pillar of the philippine economy and the fate of these workers has often become
heated political issue
the hanging of filipina maid flor contemplacion in singapore in for two
murder convictions triggered massive protests here and strained relations
between manila and singapore
china denies state role in google cyberattacks
beijing jan afp
china on monday denied any state involvement in cyberattacks on google and
accused the united states of double standards as row with washington over
internet freedom intensified
beijing fired off its latest salvo after the white house said president barack
obama was troubled by google statements it had been attacked by china based
hackers and demanded official answers
the us internet giant has threatened to abandon its chinese search engine and
perhaps end all operations in the country over the cyberattacks it has also
said it is no longer willing to bow to chinese government censors
but china said the hacking charges were without foundation
the accusation that the chinese government participated in any cyberattack
either in an explicit or inexplicit way is groundless and aims to denigrate
china an unnamed spokesman for the ministry of industry and information
technology told state news agency xinhua
we are firmly opposed to that the spokesman said
china policy on internet safety is transparent and consistent he added
saying the country with the world largest online community was itself the
biggest victim of hacking
the global times an english language newspaper run by the people daily the
ruling communist party mouthpiece went further saying the united states
itself was major source of hack attacks
the us is the first country to launch cyber warfare it said in an editorial
it said washington had cyber army of people equipped with over
computer viruses citing us defence expert joel harker
do unto others as you would have them do unto you the golden rule should
apply even online the paper said point made by xinhua in an editorial
calling the us hypocritical for criticising others on hacking
the global times also hit out at what it called washington continuous resort
to double standards and said western criticism of china internet policies
came either out of ignorance of the facts or cold war mentality
in another interview on xinhua spokesman for china state council or
cabinet said beijing efforts to remove harmful content from the internet were
legitimate and should be free from unjustifiable interference
the google row which erupted almost two weeks ago has threatened to damage
sino us ties which are already dogged by series of trade and currency issues
us arms sales to taiwan and climate change
white house deputy spokesman bill burton said friday that obama continues to be
troubled by the cybersecurity breach that google attributes to china adding
all we are looking for from china are some answers
some us groups are also calling on washington to challenge china so called
great firewall of web censorship at the world trade organisation
last week beijing lashed out at washington after speech by us secretary of
state hillary clinton on internet freedom saying the address was harmful to
relations
we urge the united states to respect facts and stop using the so called
internet freedom issue to criticise china unreasonably said foreign ministry
spokesman ma zhaoxu
in her speech clinton lamented what she said were beijing increasing efforts
to control what its million web users can see
google has not yet stopped censoring search results on google cn but google
chief executive eric schmidt said last week it would happen soon
google vice president for the asia pacific daniel alegre said in an interview
with japan public broadcaster nhk that the company viewed china as very
important very strategic market
so we hope to be able to remain committed and grow within the market he said
the us state department said friday that us and chinese diplomats had held
several meetings to discuss the attacks on google which the firm said appeared
aimed at cracking the email accounts of chinese human rights activists
state department spokesman philip crowley said washington will continue to
press this issue aggressively
susan stevenson spokeswoman for the us embassy in beijing told afp some of the
meetings had taken place in the chinese capital but declined to give further
details
football angolans urged to support nations cup despite defeat
luanda jan afp
angola sports minister monday urged the country not to lose interest in the
africa cup of nations as the hosts licked their wounds after being knocked out
in the quarter finals
am making an appeal to the people of angola the youth to continue going to
the games we want full stadiums goncalves muandumba told national radio
we are all sad but this is sport somebody had to be in this position and
unfortunately it was us he added
the party goes on this sporting spectacular goes on ok with other teams not
with our team but the competition is still taking place in our country
angola palancas negras black antelopes were beaten by ghana black
stars plunging the country into quiet despair after weeks of excited partying
the country only daily newspaper the state owned jornal de angola on monday
bore the headline the palancas fought until the end and an editorial praised
the team for its bravery saying they had left the competition with their
heads held high
the party of the cup of nations continues from here the editorial read
sport in angola is the main winner of the nations cup regardless of who goes
to the final or who lifts the cup
the country capital woke up to rain as if to reinforce the mood and people
began ceremoniously removing the red black and gold flags from their cars and
balconies
it day of sadness one newspaper vendor in luanda told afp but life goes
on it always does and there is always the next nations cup in
britain not keen on plan for eu police mission to haiti
brussels jan afp
the british government on monday expressed scepticism about scheme to send an
armed police mission to quake hit haiti where the us has already deployed
troops
not sure that that is necessarily the right way to go britain minister
for europe chris bryant told reporters as he arrived for meeting of eu foreign
ministers in brussels
london is not planning to participate in the mission which is aimed at improving
the distribution of international aid to the devastated country
britain says it sees no point in sending few hundred police officers when
there are already us soldiers doing the job
nonetheless the assembled european foreign ministers are expected to give the
green light in principle for such police mission in haiti with around
officers involved according to diplomatic sources at the request of the united
nations
so far six european nations already members of the european gendarmerie force
have said they are prepared to contribute
all the countries which form part of the european police force are willing to
participate france italy spain the netherlands portugal and romania are
ready to offer personnel each according to its capabilities said spanish
foreign minister miguel angel moratinos whose country holds the rotating eu
presidency
together we will represent the eu in this role of guaranteeing the security and
above all the arrival of the emergency aid which the haitians need he added
his french counterpart pierre lellouche confirmed that his country was ready to
contribute more than hundred police officers
the death toll from the january quake is expected to top
national hockey league results
washington jan afp
national hockey league results and standings after sunday games
sunday january th results
pittsburgh philadelphia
carolina boston
colorado dallas
eastern conference
atlantic division
new jersey
pittsburgh
philadelphia
ny rangers
ny islanders
northeast division
buffalo
ottawa
montreal
boston
toronto
southeast division
washington
florida
atlanta
tampa bay
carolina
western conference
central division
chicago
nashville
detroit
st louis
columbus
northwest division
colorado
vancouver
calgary
minnesota
edmonton
pacific division
san jose
phoenix
los angeles
anaheim
dallas
note overtime losses ot are worth one point in the standings and are not
included in the loss column
monday january th schedule
pittsburgh at ny rangers pm
buffalo at vancouver pm
st louis at calgary pm
all times are eastern
afp
china firms found selling chemical tainted food report
beijing jan afp
melamine laced milk products have been found on sale in china state media said
monday more than year after the chemical was blamed for six deaths in huge
scandal over contaminated dairy goods
authorities in the southwestern province of guizhou found that products made by
three chinese food companies contained illegally high levels of the toxic
substance the china daily said
it quoted former dairy industry official as saying it was likely more tainted
goods remained in supermarkets despite major recall after the scandal
which highlighted china persistent product safety problems
the suspect products in guizhou have been pulled from stores the china daily
said adding that the firms involved blamed milk powder bought from suppliers
the report illustrated the apparent continued threat from tainted dairy goods
long after the discovery that the industrial chemical which can in large
quantities cause kidney failure and lead to death was being abused by food
producers
at that time melamine was found to have been added to milk to give the
appearance of higher protein content and was blamed for killing six infants
and making nearly others sick according to official figures
the scare led to products containing chinese dairy being taken off shelves
around the world total of people were reportedly convicted of wrongdoing
with two executed and others sentenced to jail terms
but other cases have since surfaced
the state press revealed earlier this month that shanghai panda dairy had been
shut down again over melamine tainted milk products the company had been
blacklisted and closed over the scandal but was allowed to reopen
three chinese executives with the company could face trial as early as next
month on charges of making and selling hazardous foods spokesman in the
shanghai prosecutors office has said
the china daily said the products found in guizhou were made in march and april
of months after the government declared an all clear
the three companies involved in separate locations across north and east
china were zibo lusaier dairy company tieling wuzhou food company and the
laoting kaida refrigeration plant it said
it said the goods included popsicles produced by two of the companies but gave
no other specifics
staff at the guizhou provincial health department denied the report when
contacted by afp
ling hu spokeswoman with the guizhou provincial government said officials
there were looking into the allegations but declined further comment
afp could not immediately reach officials at the three companies
the china daily quoted wang dingmian former chairman of the guangdong
provinical dairy association in southern china as suggesting leftover tainted
dairy goods were likely still circulating despite the earlier recall
the problems were not totally solved from this point it inevitable to see
new problems popping out he said
basketball nba results and standings
washington jan afp
results and standings after sunday national basketball association games
sunday january th results
dallas new york
la clippers washington
toronto la lakers
eastern conference
atlantic div pct gb
boston
toronto
new york
philadelphia
new jersey
central div pct gb
cleveland
chicago
milwaukee
detroit
indiana
southeast div pct gb
atlanta
orlando
miami
charlotte
washington
western conference
northwest div pct gb
denver
portland
utah
oklahoma city
minnesota
pacific div pct gb
la lakers
phoenix
la clippers
sacramento
golden state
southwest div pct gb
dallas
san antonio
houston
memphis
new orleans
monday january th schedule
indiana at philadelphia pm
la clippers at boston pm
cleveland at miami pm
orlando at memphis pm
atlanta at houston pm
chicago at san antonio pm
charlotte at denver pm
phoenix at utah pm
new orleans at portland pm
all times are eastern
afp
cambodian rehab centres torture drug users rights group
phnom penh jan afp
detainees at cambodian government run drug rehabilitation centres suffer
sadistic violence such as electric shocks forced labour and rape human
rights group said monday
human rights watch hrw called on cambodia to close at least centres around
the country where it said people are often sent without reasonable cause suffer
grave abuses and are denied access to lawyer
the government denied the allegations saying that the places are centres to
save people
hrw page report said many detainees are subjected to sadistic violence
including being shocked with electric batons and whipped with twisted electrical
wire
arduous physical exercises and labour are the mainstays of supposed drug
treatment
rights groups have made allegations about abuse at cambodia drug
rehabilitation centres and un health officials have questioned their treatment
methods in the past
individuals in these centres are not being treated or rehabilitated they are
being illegally detained and often tortured said joseph amon director of the
health and human rights division at hrw
these centres do not need to be revamped or modified they need to be shut
down
moek dara secretary general of cambodia national authority for combating
drugs told afp that there is no reason authorities would commit torture we
only help those people recover from drugs
hrw also alleged detainees were forced to have sex with staff and to donate
blood were fed rotten or insect ridden food and chained while standing in the
sun as punishment
the centres run by various branches of the cambodian state including police and
the ministry of social affairs detained nearly people in according
to the report
detainees were arrested for drug use and vagrancy but were also frequently
rounded up in police sweeps of people considered undesirable in advance of
national holidays or international meetings it added
government data showed that more than of the detainees were aged under
hrw said and one former year old detainee named noh described staff
members using electrical wire for whippings
staff member would use the cable to beat people on each whip the
person skin would come off and stick on the cable he said in the report
ericsson cuts more jobs profit plunges
stockholm jan afp
ericsson announced on monday an extra job cuts under restructuring which
