complete immunity against demonstrators
many lies have been told these days and many promises have been made but people
see those in charge of their affairs have not done much khatami said
so people realise that many of the protesters are not ill intentioned and their
protest is reasonable he said in comments carried by his baran organisation
website
president mahmoud ahmadinejad opponents have accused the hardliner of trying
to cover up his failures especially in managing the economy while the
opposition has rejected his june re election as massively rigged
khatami who was meeting with group of released post vote detainees condemned
new wave of arrests of government critics launched after bloody protests
during shiite mourning rituals of ashura on december
china urges flexibility on iran nuclear standoff
beijing jan afp
china on tuesday urged flexibility on the standoff over iran nuclear drive and
return to negotiations after world powers failed to reach decision on
whether to hit tehran with new sanctions
china has all along proposed the proper settlement of the iran nuclear issue
through dialogue and consultation foreign ministry spokesman ma zhaoxu told
reporters
we hope relevant parties can enhance consultations show flexibility and
promote the early peaceful solution of the relevant issue in proper manner
ma was speaking after representatives of six world powers who met in new york on
saturday failed to reach decision on whether to impose new sanctions on iran
over its long standing nuclear defiance
the meeting brought together senior officials from four of the five permanent un
security council members britain france russia and the united states as
well as germany
but the fifth member china signalling its reluctance to back tougher sanctions
pushed by the west sent lower level diplomat winning praise from tehran
washington and its western allies fear iran is secretly developing fissile
material for nuclear weapons under the cover of its uranium enrichment
programme charge denied by tehran
the six countries are concerned about tehran rejection of deal for iran
low enriched uranium stockpile to be shipped abroad to be further enriched into
reactor fuel
punitive measures they are said to be considering include tougher sanctions
targeting iran insurance financial and arms sectors
ma said china was aware of the proliferation concerns of the western nations
but insisted that iran had the right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy
tennis venus tracks serena into second round
melbourne jan afp
venus williams warmed up for another tilt at the elusive australian open title
tuesday with first round thrashing of czech lucie safarova
safarova was expected to provide tough opening challenge but the tall american
was in imperious form as she raced to an easy win in just minutes seconds
faster than sister serena took to beat urszula radwanska earlier
was playing really talented player everyone knows how well lucie can hit
the ball williams said
she definitely gets lot of pace and she left handed we ve had some tough
matches in the past
just wanted to stay focused and execute my game great way to start
williams whose best finish at the australian open was runner up to serena in
looked in great shape physically as she broke safarova twice in the first
set and three times in the second
the seven time grand slam champion returned brilliantly throughout putting
enormous pressure on safarova second serve which crumbled badly as result
and although williams first serve misfired badly with only percent success
rate safarova only had five break point chances in the match converting just
one of those
the sixth seed has kept low profile heading into the tournament with most
of the attention going to belgians kim clijsters and justine henin
but if that worries venus she wasn showing it
don think about the headlines she said
my whole life has been headline and ve never in my career aimed to get
headlines
aim to win matches that pretty much my aim here to win matches
against safarova she displayed the form that should see her make up for the
disappointment of when she lost in the second round to unseeded spaniard
carla suarez navarro
she said she was delighted to have been able to play as well as she did against
safarova in her first competitive match of the year
ve obviously been working hard in practice and executing in practice isn as
easy as doing it in match she said
but think definitely mean my years of experience playing on tour
definitely helps lot with knowing how to come back and try to hopefully play
well every time
afp animated graphics advisory
paris jan afp
we will move the following animated graphic
haiti quake
interactive graphic on haiti showing the extent of the effects of
last week devastating earthquake beyond the capital port au prince
format adobe flash cs player px haitiquakeen gmt
slug haiti quake
afp animated graphics
peter shard tel
bulgarian fm confirms resignation pulls out of race for eu job
sofia jan afp
bulgarian foreign minister rumiana jeleva has resigned and is pulling out of the
race for top eu job she confirmed tuesday in letter to prime minister boyko
borisov
in the letter copy of which was obtained by afp jeleva wrote please accept
my resignation from all the posts that currently hold and undertake the
necessary action to withdraw my candidature for eu commissioner
china denies its rescuers in haiti only looking for chinese
beijing jan afp
china angrily denied accusations tuesday that its rescue team in haiti was only
searching for chinese nationals missing after last week devastating
earthquake
concerning the comments that chinese rescuers only rescue chinese these
comments are false and are made out of ulterior motives foreign ministry
spokesman ma zhaoxu told reporters
the chinese rescue team departed china immediately after the quake they not
only found the bodies of the chinese peacekeepers they also found the bodies of
un officers in haiti and many others
the strong chinese medical team in haiti has already treated more than
locals and china has air lifted rescue supplies and aid to the devastated
country he said
these actions are not selfish and brook no accusations the accusers should be
accused ma said after media reports about china contribution to the
humanitarian operation in haiti
our rescue team and chinese peacekeepers have made great contribution to the
relief efforts we have won high appraisal from relevant parties including the
secretary general of the united nations
tens of thousands were killed in the magnitude quake that struck haiti on
january with an estimated quarter of million injured and million left
homeless
ma said china would consider un request for nations to help provide an
additional peacekeepers to help maintain order in haiti but made no firm
commitment
the bodies of eight chinese nationals killed in the quake were repatriated
tuesday with great pomp and circumstance including procession down the avenue
of heavenly peace the capital main thoroughfare past tiananmen square
they sacrificed their lives for the maintenance of peace here would like to
express deep condolences said ma of the eight security officers four of whom
were serving as peacekeepers in haiti
state funeral was to be held for the eight quake victims on wednesday at the
babaoshan revolutionary cemetery in western beijing
alert
bulgaria nominates world bank official as new eu commissioner barroso
more than arrested after demo photos iran police
tehran jan afp
more than people have been arrested on the basis of tip offs after police
circulated photographs of demonstrators at december rally which turned deadly
police website reported on tuesday
after the publication of pictures of ashura day rioters on the police website
and in the police special edition more than elements of sedition were
identified and arrested with the cooperation of noble iranians it said
the special edition of police publication ran photographs taken on december
when anti government rallies were held during the shiite religious
commemoration of ashura
the eight page publication came out on january and appealed for the general
public to come forward with information and documents regarding the
photographs
it ran close up shots of men and women on the capital streets with the faces
of wanted participants in the rally circled in red
iranian authorities say several hundred people were rounded up on the day
without giving precise figure small number of them have since gone on
trial according to newspaper reports
eight people were killed as clashes erupted between security forces and
opposition supporters who held the december rally
president mahmoud ahmadinejad whose disputed june re election has triggered
string of protests over the past seven months has accused iran archfoes the
united states and israel of organising the ashura demonstration
ancient greek temple to cat goddess found in alexandria
cairo jan afp
egyptian archaeologists have unearthed the remains of an ancient greek temple
dedicated to egyptian cat goddess bastet in the mediterranean city of
alexandria the antiquities department said tuesday
the mission led by mohamed abdel maqsoud head of antiquities of lower egypt
discovered the remains of temple of queen berenike the wife of king ptolemy
iii who ruled egypt between and bc in the kom al dikka area in
alexandria
the discovered remains are metres feet tall and metres feet in
width antiquities chief zahi hawass said in statement
he said the temple had been subjected to destruction during later eras when it
was used as quarry which led to the disappearance of many of its stone
blocks
cachette of ptolemaic statues were also unearthed during the routine
excavations including large collection of icons depicting bastet goddess of
protection and motherhood
the discovery in kom al dikka is the first ptolemaic temple discovered in
alexandria to be dedicated to the goddess bastet abdel maqsoud was quoted as
saying in the statement
it indicates that the worship of the goddess bastet continued in egypt after
the decline of the ancient egyptian era he said
the ptolemaic period marks the greek rule of egypt from bc until the roman
conquest in bc
alexandria became the capital city of ptolemaic egypt and thrived as the centre
of greek culture and trade
german investor sentiment falls again zew survey
frankfurt jan afp
german investor sentiment fell for the fourth month running as europe biggest
economy braced for burdensome and long recovery the zew economic research
institute said on tuesday
foreign exchange traders sold the euro on the news and the single currency fell
to dollars in london from late on monday
the zew indicator of german economic sentiment fell more steeply than forecast
to an indexed points the the lowest level since july
the assessment of the financial market experts suggests that we will see an
economic recovery in at best but not clear economic upswing
statement quoted zew president wolfgang franz as saying
the way out of the recession is burdensome and long he added
analysts polled by dow jones newswires had expected the german financial sector
barometer to just edge lower to points
the index remained well above its historical average of points but
according to the experts the automobile and consumption sector is likely to
develop downwards in the next half year the zew statement said
ing senior economist carsten brzeski said however that the latest reading showed
only that experts had clearer idea of the challenges facing germany as it
pulls out of its worst recession since the second world war
the initial enthusiasm after the end of the recession last year has made way
for more realism brzeski said the german economy is now entering calmer
waters
germany should post modest possibly uneven growth in though finance
ministry spokesman said monday that economic activity could expand by
percent this year an upward revision from the previous percent forecast
the government has cut it jobless forecast meanwhile to around million
from previous estimate of million the handelsblatt business daily said on
tuesday
in its measure of the current situation zew said an assessment by investors
improved in january by four points to minus points the eighth consecutive
rise and the highest level since november
jal potential saviour management guru and buddhist monk
tokyo jan afp
the man chosen to spearhead the daunting task of rebuilding japan airlines is
respected entrepreneur management guru and ordained buddhist monk who admits he
is novice in the airline business
kazuo inamori who turns this month is being parachuted into jal cockpit
by the government to replace haruka nishimatsu who stepped down as head of the
ailing carrier tuesday after it filed for bankruptcy protection
complete amateur about the transport industry inamori told reporters
last week after accepting the job adding would do my best
transport minister seiji maehara said tuesday that the management shake up would
infuse fresh blood from outside
inamori is one of japan most well respected business executives having
founded both electronics maker kyocera corp and company that later became
part of kddi corp now japan number two telecommunication company
he great entrepreneur and perhaps entrepreneurship is what jal badly
needs said geoffrey tudor principal analyst at japan aviation management
research and former jal employee
inamori is champion of deregulation and philanthropist who entered the
buddhist priesthood at temple in kyoto in after retirement
the kyocera founder created his own amoeba management theory whereby each unit
of company makes its own plans under the guidance of an amoeba leader
members of the unit pool their knowledge and effort to achieve business targets
giving all employees an active role
in one of his books respect the divine and love people inamori says his
management philosophy is based on the many obstacles he has overcome
in both my professional and personal life have struggled with many dead end
situations which caused me endless agony he wrote according to excerpts on
his website
in those difficult circumstances would always go back to the fundamentals
and ask myself what is the right thing to do as human being everything
do in my work is based upon this fundamental principle
after contracting tuberculosis at age when his home was also destroyed in
world war ii air raid inamori went on to study engineering and started small
ceramics company that he would transform into leading high tech maker
now he is japan th richest person with an estimated wealth of million
dollars according to forbes rich list
he seems to have charisma which is good thing said makoto murayama an
analyst at nomura securities
at the moment jal employees don really want to admit that they work for the
company if someone can restore their pride and lead them the chances of
recovery could increase
inamori faces major challenge turning around jal which is slashing about
jobs and receiving billion dollars of public funds along with fresh
state loans of billion dollars in an effort to turn around its fortunes
china victims of haiti quake mourned as heroes
beijing jan afp
china staged an elaborate hero homecoming tuesday for eight nationals killed
in the devastating earthquake in haiti parading their bodies through the centre
of beijing past tiananmen square
they sacrificed their lives for the maintenance of peace foreign ministry
spokesman ma zhaoxu told reporters
would like to express deep condolences
the eight bodies in flag draped coffins arrived aboard chartered plane at
beijing airport early in the day where they were saluted by top officials and
grieving relatives according to images broadcast on state television
the loss is regret and deep sorrow for the chinese people we stand here
heavy hearted xinhua news agency cited senior communist party leader zhou
yongkang as telling the relatives at the brief ceremony
china is peace loving country we have fulfilled our international
obligations and shouldered our responsibilities as major world power by
sending out peacekeeping police to other countries and regions
four of those killed were serving as united nations peacekeepers in haiti while
the others were members of public security ministry team dispatched to the
island just days before the quake for talks on the peacekeeping mission
the bodies of all eight were found in the debris of the un mission headquarters
in port au prince on saturday and sunday
the eight bodies were paraded in massive convoy through the streets of the
capital including drive by tiananmen square in the heart of beijing and by
the ministry of public security
they were posthumously declared revolutionary martyrs by the government
since joining un peacekeeping operations in china has dispatched more than
peacekeepers to nations and regions around the world zhou said
china will hold state funeral for the eight victims seven men and one woman
at the babaoshan revolutionary cemetery in western beijing on wednesday
under fire bulgarian eu commission nominee pulls out
strasbourg jan afp
bulgaria under fire eu commission nominee has withdrawn her bid and resigned
as her country foreign minister the head of the centre right group in the
european parliament announced tuesday
learnt this morning that mrs jeleva is withdrawing from her functions as
bulgarian foreign minister and as commissioner designate for the humanitarian
aid portfolio european people party head joseph daul said during press
conference in strasbourg
rumiana jeleva came under fire from members of the european parliament during
confirmation hearing last week over both her competence for the post and
allegations of gaps in her declaration of financial interests
rugbyu attoub banned for weeks for gouging
paris jan afp
stade francais prop david attoub has been banned from rugby for weeks for
gouging an opponent in the european cup match against ulster sources at the
paris club said on tuesday
the sanction was imposed by the european rugby cup the organising body of the
european cup
tennis australian open results day two th update
melbourne jan afp
results from day two of the australian open at melbourne park here tuesday
denotes seeding
men singles
st round
jarkko nieminen fin bt nick lindahl aus
tomas berdych cze bt robin haase ned
evgeny korolev kaz bt daniel brands ger
igor kunitysn rus bt jose acasuso arg
louk sorenson irl bt lu yen hsun tpe
marin cilic cro bt fabrice santoro fra
gael monfils fra bt matthew ebden aus
nikolay davydenko rus bt dieter kindlmann ger
fernando verdasco esp bt carsten ball aus
feliciano lopez esp bt pablo cuevas uru
stanislas wawrinka sui bt guillermo garica lopez esp
thomaz bellucci bra bt teimuraz gabashvilli rus
marsel ilhan tur bt sebastien grosjean fra
john isner usa bt andreas seppi ita
ivan sergeyev ukr bt dudi sela isr
viktor troicki srb bt nicolas lapentti ecu
rainer schuettler ger bt sam querrey usa
james blake usa bt arnaud clement fra
lukasz kubot pol bt mischa zverev ger
julien benneteau fra bt david guez fra
philipp kohlschreiber ger bt horacio zeballos arg
marc gicquel fra bt simone bolelli ita
santiago giraldo col bt tommy robredo esp
florent serra fra bt jurgen melzer aut
roger federer sui bt igor andreev rus
marcel granollers esp bt robin soderling swe
david ferrer esp bt frederico gil por retired
juan monaco arg bt ernests gulbis lat
jo wilfried tsonga fra bt sergiy stakhovsky ukr
illya marchenko ukr by carlos moya esp
marcos baghdatis cyp bt paolo lorenzi ita
tommy haas ger bt simon greul ger
antonio veic cro bt daniel koellerer aut
stefan koubek aut bt rajeev ram usa
alejandro falla col bt marcos daniel bra
taylor dent usa bt fabio fognini ita
janko tipsarevic srb bt ryan harrison usa
michael llodra fra bt martin vassallo arguello arg
albert montanes esp bt oscar hernandez esp retired
lleyton hewitt aus bt ricardo hocevar bra
ivan dodig cro bt juan carlos ferrero esp
jan hajek cze bt robby ginepri usa
women singles
st round
ana ivanovic srb bt shenay perry usa
sandra zahlavova cze bt coco vandeweghe usa
aravane rezai fra bt sania mirza ind
marion bartoli fra bt rossana de los rios par
ekaterina makarova rus bt virginie razzano fra
angelique kerber ger bt olga govortsova blr
nadia petrova rus bt edina gallovits rou
katie brien gbr bt patricia mayr aut
sara errani ita bt klara zakopalova cze
samantha stosur aus bt han xinyun chn
tamarine tanasugarn tha bt sesil karatantcheva kaz
polona hercog slo bt yuliana fedak ukr
barbora zahlavova strycova cze bt regina kulikova rus
serena williams usa bt urszula radwanska pol
vania king usa bt dominika cibulkova svk
casey dellacqua aus bt anastasiya yakimova blr
sorana cirstea rom bt olivia rogowska aus
kaia kanepi est bt chan yung jan tpe
carla suarez navarro esp bt ayumi morita jpn
alona bondarenko ukr bt kathrin woerle ger
kristina barrois ger bt akgul amanmuradova uzb
roberta vinci ita bt anna lena groenefeld ger
karolina sprem cro bt anabel medina garrigues esp
andrea petkovic ger bt renata voracova cze
agnieszka radwanska pol bt tatjana malek ger
jelena jankovic srb bt monica niculescu rom
venus williams usa bt lucie safarova cze
petra kvitova cze bt jill craybas usa
alla kudryavtseva rus bt melanie oudin usa
un says still hope to find survivors after haiti quake
geneva jan afp
the united nations said tuesday there was still hope of pulling more survivors
from the debris from haiti earthquake week after the disaster struck
hope persists there is still hope said elisabeth byrs spokeswoman of the un
office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs ocha
byrs earlier told afp that international search and rescue teams had pulled out
more than people from beneath collapsed buildings since the disaster struck
on january
they include more than people who had been freed from under collapsed
buildings by the teams by saturday according to the un this means that about
people were rescued five or six days after the earthquake struck
the climate is mild there are significant air pockets the way in which the
buildings collapsed has created big spaces that helped to increase chances of
survival said byrs
the problem is dehydration but for the moment there is still chance she
added
international rescue teams are now also combing the debris outside of the
haitian capital said the un spokeswoman
besides the capital the earthquake has wreaked massive damage on nearby cities
including jacmel to the south of the capital and carrefour gressier and
leogane to the west
ocha said the immediate priorities for relief agencies remained medical
assistance corpse management shelter water and food and sanitation
while food and tents are arriving in the country relief agencies said access to
fuel essential for the transport of relief items was becoming key issue
the world food programme is now planning to move gallons litres
of diesel fuel day from neighbouring dominican republic to help relieve the
situation said ocha in its latest situation report
fuel has become critical issue said emilia casella the un food agency
spokeswoman
kraft clinches cadbury takeover for billion pounds
london jan afp
us giant kraft won control of britain cadbury for billion pounds on
tuesday creating global leader in food and confectionery and ending bitter
war of words but sparking jobs uncertainty
the pair announced in statement that cadbury management had agreed to
takeover worth pence per share valuing the group at the equivalent of
billion euros or billion dollars
cadbury kraft will provide large cost savings and create global market leader
with annual sales totalling more than million dollars they added
the board of kraft foods is pleased to announce the detailed terms of
recommended final offer for cadbury and the board of cadbury unanimously
recommends cadbury security holders to accept the terms statement said
the takeover will end more than years of history for the colourful maker of
dairy milk chocolate bars and trident chewing gum
news of friendly takeover also marks the end of months of hostilities over the
control of cadbury which began life as small grocer shop in birmingham
central england in
kraft previous cash and shares offer had valued the iconic british firm at
about billion pounds
kraft foods believes combination with cadbury will provide the potential for
meaningful cost savings and revenue synergies from which cadbury security
holders will benefit the statement added
kraft foods believes combination represents strong and complementary
strategic fit creating global confectionery leader with portfolio of more
than confectionery brands each with annual sales in excess of million
dollars
in reaction to the announcement british prime minister gordon brown said that
his government was determined to help save jobs at cadbury
we are determined that the levels of investment that take place in cadbury in
the united kingdom are maintained and we are determined that at time when
people are worried about their jobs that jobs in cadbury can be secure brown
said at downing street press conference
cadbury employs staff worldwide including staff at eight factories
in britain and ireland
there have been fears about british job losses with trade union unite warning
kraft would be saddled with huge debts leading them to axe posts at
cadbury and at the company sub contractors
prior to tuesday cadbury had repeatedly rejected the previous offer from kraft
arguing that it was derisory and had undervalued the london listed firm
however the chocolate firm welcomed news of the improved takeover bid on
tuesday
we believe the offer represents good value for cadbury shareholders and are
pleased with the commitment that kraft foods has made to our heritage values
and people throughout the world said chairman roger carr
we will now work with the kraft foods management to ensure the continued
success and growth of the business for the benefit of our customers consumers
and employees
cadbury the world second biggest confectionery company behind mars also
produces chocolate bar brands crunchie fudge flake and wispa
dairy milk is the most popular chocolate bar in britain and the company sells
more than million bars every year in countries around the world
other top selling brands include cadbury creme eggs halls throat lozenges and
milk tray chocolate boxes
kraft the world second biggest snacks group after nestle makes numerous
well known products including dairylea cheese milka and toblerone chocolate and
oreo cookies
the us firm proposes to pay pence in cash and new kraft foods shares
per cadbury share cadbury shareholders will also receive pence per share in
special dividend if the takeover is successful
this recommended offer represents compelling opportunity for cadbury
shareholders providing both immediate value certainty and upside potential in
the combined company said kraft boss irene rosenfeld
for kraft foods shareholders it transforms the portfolio accelerates long term
growth and delivers highly attractive returns while maintaining financial
discipline
kraft had made billion pound offer for cadbury back in september
however cadbury led by american chief executive todd stitzer rejected the
bid saying that it fundamentally undervalued the group
but the us firm has subsequently improved the offer after selling its north
american pizza division to swiss rival nestle for billion dollars
the kraft tie up also faced opposition in britain with protest from senior
ministers over the attempt by huge american firm to take over homegrown
company
meanwhile us chocolate maker hershey had also been considering counter offer
for cadbury the wall street journal reported last week adding that it planned
to bid at least billion dollars
luxembourg warns eu wasting its time on tax fraud drive
brussels jan afp
luxembourg finance minister luc frieden warned on tuesday that european union
partners are wasting their time trying to bully him into an agreement on
fighting tax fraud
