savings as well as provide the much needed clarity on alcon future
this is the right time to simplify alcon ownership to eliminate uncertainties
for employees and shareholders said vasella
it will also allow us to strengthen innovation power by combining amp
efforts and grow our global market presence thanks to our complementary product
portfolios he added
the group acknowledged that job cuts would be made following the acquisition
although it said that the strong growth outlook in eye care is anticipated to
compensate for integration related workforce reductions
minority shareholders of alcon could however put up some resistance as its
independent committee has pointed out that the offer proposed by novartis was
percent less than the dollars share paid to nestle
vontobel bank andrew weiss said he expected novartis to improve its offer
meanwhile nestle which had acquired alcon shares in for million
dollars has received some billion dollars in cash from the sale
this divestment of our interest in alcon will enable our management to
concentrate on accelerating the development of nestle position as the
world leading nutrition health and wellness company said paul bulcke chief
executive of nestle
for aurel bank analyst jean marie lhome this puts nestle in very comfortable
position to make possible acquisitions
at noon nestle shares were trading up percent at francs while novartis
was down percent at francs the overall swiss market index was up
percent
abbas says peace talks conditional on end of settlements
cairo jan afp
palestinian president mahmud abbas said on monday he was open to peace
negotiations with israel but that as agreed with egypt talks could only resume
when jewish settlement activity ends
there is no objection to returning to the negotiating table or holding any
meetings in principle abbas told reporters in the red sea resort of sharm el
sheikh after talks with egyptian president hosni mubarak
we have said and we will continue to say that when there is halt of
settlement activity and recognised terms of reference we are ready to resume
negotiations abbas said
he said egypt agreed with his views contradicting reports in israel maariv
newspaper which said mubarak was to press abbas to accept us peace plan to
restart the talks immediately
president mubarak has stressed that the status of jerusalem be included in
the negotiations that settlement activity must end and there must be clear
terms of reference abbas said
abbas arrived on sunday and met with egypt intelligence chief omar suleiman
before heading to sharm el sheikh he will later travel to qatar kuwait and
turkey
his visit to egypt comes almost week after israeli prime minister benjamin
netanyahu met mubarak in cairo about the stalled peace process and as diplomats
said washington was drafting letters of guarantee for the peace talks
meanwhile jordan king abdullah ii also arrived monday in sharm el sheikh where
he held talks with mubarak the egyptian news agency mena said
according to statement from the royal palace in amman the discussions will
centre on efforts to start serious and effective peace talks between the
israelis and palestinians
earlier the israeli paper maariv said washington is pushing plan to restart
israeli palestinian peace talks that foresees reaching final deal in two
years
under the plan the israelis and palestinians will immediately start final
status talks that were suspended during the gaza war year ago and mubarak
would press abbas to agree to the deal maariv said
us president barack obama has repeatedly called on the two sides to resume peace
talks but the palestinians have demanded israel first freeze all settlement
activity and commit to framework for the talks to include that the borders of
future palestinian state encompass all of their land israel occupied in
the palestinians have insisted that mostly arab east jerusalem occupied by
israel in and later annexed in move not recognised by the international
community be the capital of their future state
abbas suspended peace talks with israel after it entered day war with
hamas the islamist rulers of gaza that killed more than palestinians and
left swathes of gaza devastated thirteen israelis were killed
hamas takeover of gaza in which shrank abbas powerbase to the west
bank left deep rift between palestinians that have also hampered peace talks
with israel
egyptian foreign minister ahmed abul gheit and suleiman are meanwhile planning
to visit washington on january for talks with officials there
germany westerwelle to tour turkey gulf
berlin jan afp
german foreign minister guido westerwelle will tour turkey and three gulf states
this week to promote bilateral ties and relaunch of the middle east peace
process spokesman said monday
westerwelle will embark on the trip wednesday with stops in ankara and istanbul
for talks with his turkish counterpart ahmet davutoglu and european affairs
minister egemen bagis ministry spokesman andreas peschke said
the issues will include the items on the extensive bilateral and international
agenda that we have with turkey peschke told regular government news
conference
germany has the largest population of turkish origin outside turkey comprising
nearly three million people
chancellor angela merkel centre right government is sceptical about ankara
bid to join the european union and would prefer it to be granted privileged
partnership with the bloc
westerwelle the leader of the pro business free democrats who became foreign
minister and vice chancellor in november will also likely meet president
abdullah gul and prime minister recep tayyip erdogan peschke said
he will go on to riyadh for talks with saudi foreign minister prince saud al
faisal and other members of the government followed by meetings in doha with
his qatari counterpart sheikh hamad bin jassim bin jabor al thani and the
emir sheikh hamad bin khalifa al thani
the five day trip will wind up in the united arab emirates for talks with
president sheikh khalifa bin zayed al nahayan and foreign minister sheikh
abdullah bin zayed al nahayan
in the arabian peninsula the issues will also include the situation in middle
east the state of the peace process and how we can manage together with our
partners in the region to bring about new start in the middle east peace
process peschke said
german resistance fighter dead at report
new york jan afp
freya von moltke prominent member of the german resistance during world war
ii alongside her husband has died at the age of in the united states the
valley news reported
one sentence announcement in the newspaper said she died late friday but did
not give details german born moltke was resident of the vermont town of
norwich
her husband helmuth james graf von moltke was german jurist and founding
member of resistance group against adolf hitler
in january he was arrested by the gestapo tried for treason sentenced to
death and executed in berlin in late january
after the war moltke became symbol of moral opposition to the nazi regime and
was referred by german chancellor angela merkel as symbol of european
courage
us militant suspects wanted to help in afghanistan
sargodha pakistan jan afp
five americans facing terror charges for allegedly plotting attacks in pakistan
appeared in court monday telling judge they wanted to help muslims in war
torn afghanistan lawyers said
the five young men were arrested in december on suspicion of trying to contact
al qaeda linked groups and are facing terror charges for allegedly plotting
attacks in pakistan which could see them jailed for life
the men appeared briefly in the courtroom in sargodha town in eastern pakistan
handcuffed and casually dressed two unarmed police guards were present in the
courtroom as elite police commandos guarded the premises
questioned by judge anwer nazeer two of the men denied links to al qaeda but
said they were trying to travel to afghanistan where us nato and afghan forces
are fighting worsening eight year taliban insurgency
one of the suspects said that they were going to afghanistan to help the
muslims said public prosecutor nadeem akram cheema
when the judge addressed them and said so you admit that you were going to
afghanistan another suspect said yes we were going to afghanistan to help
muslims cheema said without naming the suspects who spoke
defence lawyer amir abdullah rokri told afp that his clients denied sending an
email to an al qaeda linked figure named saifullah
they told the judge that they have neither committed any crime in pakistan nor
had they any intention to do so they were going to afghanistan to help injured
and homeless people rokri said
cheema said police requested the five be remanded into custody while khalid
farooq the pakistani father of one of the suspects be freed
police requested the court to discharge khalid farooq as there is no evidence
against him and he had been convincing and trying to stop his sons from going
for jihad cheema said
both requests were granted on monday
the court released khalid farooq and sent the others on judicial remand rokri
told afp the next hearing will be on january
sargodha police chief usman anwar confirmed that farooq had been freed from
custody and sent home
we will try to complete and file the charges of the remaining suspects as soon
as possible in the court he told afp adding that they hoped to have their
report finished in time for the next hearing
police have said investigations into the men activities are complete with the
court requested to file charges under the anti terrorism act
it has now been established that the five men had contacts with militants some
of them foreigners in south waziristan and they had come to pakistan to carry
out acts of terror senior police official tahir gujjar said saturday
pakistan has been fighting against the taliban in south waziristan part of the
northwest tribal belt on the afghan border that us officials call al qaeda
chief sanctuary and the most dangerous place on the planet
the area is also known as training ground and haven for militants plotting
attacks against foreign troops based in afghanistan and the united states is
pressuring islamabad to do more to monitor the porous frontier
the suspects who are all us citizens including two pakistani americans have
also been questioned by the fbi
there has been concern in the united states that extremists within pakistan
might try to take control of nuclear assets or attack atomic facilities despite
insistence from western officials that the facilities are safe
pakistani court last month ordered that the five suspects cannot be deported
without its permission
electioneering starts in britain as blair waits in wings
london jan afp
britain political parties started campaigning in earnest monday for elections
due by june staking out the troubled economy as the main battleground as the
poll race revs up after the christmas break
david cameron leader of the main opposition conservatives released part of his
party draft manifesto while finance minister alistair darling tried to
discredit tory plans to cut public spending and firm up britain finances
prime minister gordon brown has not yet set date for the election although it
must be held by june and experts say may is the most likely date
but both parties are jostling to gain an early advantage battered by record
recession and scandal over lawmakers expense claims britons now face the
prospect of five months of electioneering
cameron is tipped by opinion polls to oust prime minister gordon brown who
risks becoming one of britain shortest serving premiers of recent times he
only took over from tony blair in june
meanwhile blair who resigned amid declining popularity after he strongly
supported the iraq war is set to return to haunt labour
he is likely to give evidence to the public inquiry into the war in the second
half of january or early february spokesman for the probe said monday
and senior labour figures are reportedly uneasy that his evidence could cause
the party problems on the campaign trail
with britain still in recession the last major world economy to emerge from
the credit crunch and state borrowing at record levels the early focus in
campaigning is on the economy
the conservatives want early cuts to bring public spending under control while
labour favours waiting until the economic outlook is clearer
cahncellor of the exchequer darling accused the tories of failing to cost their
proposed savings properly
the tories have made over billion pounds billion euros billion
dollars of promises but can barely explain how they can pay for quarter of
this this leaves them with credibility gap of billion pounds he said
monday
you can fight an election on nod and wink sometimes claiming you are
committed to these promises and when challenged claiming you are not
meanwhile cameron tried to counter what he says are labour class war
tactics which claim the tory leader educated at elite school eton and oxford
university is too privileged to understand the problems of ordinary britons
while stressing that they would make cuts in public services to help the
economy cameron promised the tories would spend more money on improving the
state run national health service nhs in the poorest areas
we will cut the deficit not the nhs because the nhs is bedrock of fairer
society cameron said unveiling part of his party draft manifesto on health
we cannot go on like this let us make this year of change
cameron centre right conservatives have consistently been ahead of brown
centre left labour in opinion polls for months although the gap has narrowed
recently
new yougov survey for saturday daily telegraph newspaper put the
conservatives on percent labour on percent and the third party centre
left liberal democrats on percent
corrected us militant suspects wanted to help in afghanistan
sargodha pakistan jan afp
five us militant suspects were remanded back into custody by pakistani court
monday after telling judges they wanted to help muslims in war torn
afghanistan lawyers said
the five young men were arrested in december on suspicion of trying to contact
al qaeda linked groups and are facing terror charges for allegedly plotting
attacks in pakistan which could see them jailed for life
the men appeared briefly in the courtroom in sargodha town in eastern pakistan
handcuffed and dressed in jeans and scarves two unarmed police guards were
present in the courtroom as elite police commandos guarded the premises
questioned by judge anwer nazeer two of the men denied links to al qaeda but
said they were trying to travel to afghanistan where us nato and afghan forces
are fighting virulent taliban insurgency
one of the suspects said that they were going to afghanistan to help the
muslims said public prosecutor nadeem akram cheema
when the judge addressed them and said so you admit that you were going to
afghanistan another suspect said yes we were going to afghanistan to help
muslims cheema said without naming the suspects who spoke
defence lawyer amir abdullah rokri told afp that his clients denied sending an
email to an al qaeda linked figure named saifullah
they told the judge that they have neither committed any crime in pakistan nor
had they any intention to do so they were going to afghanistan to help injured
and homeless people rokri said
cheema said police requested the five be remanded into custody while khalid
farooq the pakistani father of two of the suspects be freed
police requested the court to discharge khalid farooq as there is no evidence
against him and he had been convincing and trying to stop his sons from going
for jihad cheema said
both requests were granted on monday
the court released khalid farooq and sent the others on judicial remand rokri
told afp the next hearing will be on january
police have said investigations into the men activities are complete with the
court requested to file charges under the anti terrorism act
it has now been established that the five men had contacts with militants some
of them foreigners in south waziristan and they had come to pakistan to carry
out acts of terror senior police official tahir gujjar said saturday
pakistan has been fighting against the taliban in south waziristan part of the
northwest tribal belt on the afghan border that us officials call al qaeda
chief sanctuary and the most dangerous place on the planet
the area is also known as training ground and haven for militants plotting
attacks against foreign troops based in afghanistan and the united states is
pressuring islamabad to do more to monitor the porous frontier
the suspects who are all us citizens with dual nationality including two
pakistani americans have also been questioned by the fbi
there has been concern in the united states that extremists within pakistan
might try to take control of nuclear assets or attack atomic facilities despite
insistence from western officials that the facilities are safe
pakistani court last month ordered that the five suspects cannot be deported
without its permission
sixteen yemenis killed in saudi air raids rebels
sanaa jan afp
saudi arabia has carried out series of lethal air raids across the border with
yemen killing civilians and wounding others yemen shiite rebels said
on monday
in one of raids launched on monday six civilians were killed and six others
were injured women and children among them according to statement issued by
the rebels who riyadh has been battling since early november
ten other civilians were killed in market hit by one of the air raids carried
out on sunday the rebels said in separate statement posted on their website
the shiite rebels also known as zaidis have said they would withdraw from
saudi territory if riyadh halts attacks on their fighters launched on november
after the kingdom accused them of killing border guard and occupying two
saudi villages
the rebels first rose up in the yemeni government launched major
offensive in august to try to end the uprising aid groups say more than
people have been driven from their homes
nfl redskins sack coach zorn
washington jan afp
the washington redskins have sacked head coach jim zorn after ending the season
with losing record the washington post reported monday on its website
the year old zorn whose last game in charge was sunday loss to the
san diego chargers in their final game of the nfl regular season had been in
charge for two years and had year of his contract to run
it was the redskins worst record in years
zorn sacking which had been widely expected comes days after major
back office shakeup that saw bruce allen the son of famed former coach take
over as general manager in place of vinny cerrato
former denver and oakland coach mike shanahan who won two super bowls with the
broncos has already been installed as the favourite to take over from zorn
iraq names new north oil chief sparking communal concern
kirkuk iraq jan afp
iraq on monday named new chief for the state run north oil company angering
employees and sparking concerns of sectarian tensions in the firm ethnically
mixed headquarters town of kirkuk
hamid al saadi appointment was announced alongside the promotion of three
other senior oil sector officials to key posts and comes as iraq seeks to ramp
up its oil output five fold in the coming seven years
saadi shiite muslim replaces manaa al obaydi sunni who is retiring
prompting concerns among employees in sunni majority kirkuk potential
flashpoint because of its competing ethnic groups
hamid al saadi is considered one of the foremost experts in the oil sector
after having spent more than years with the north oil company noc oil
ministry spokesman assem jihad told afp
jihad added that the directors of the oil ministry exploration arm its
technical office and its bidding and contracts division had all also retired and
been replaced
saadi appointment however spurred several employees at the noc
headquarters to threaten protest
we reject his appointment said transportation chief sabah abdel ali
the situation in kirkuk is complicated and dangerous the city is part of the
contested zone we need consensus here and not additional problems he said
we will protest in the face of these changes
kirkuk is at the centre of territorial dispute between iraq central
government in baghdad and the autonomous kurdish region both of which claim it
as their own
the city has mixed population of arabs kurds and turkmen and long standing
kurdish demands for it to be incorporated into their region have fanned
tensions
but oil ministry spokesman jihad said there was no need for concern and
stressed that noc represents all of iraq not just one region
the north oil company is not simply kirkuk its area extends from the border of
maysan province south iraq up to the northern tip of the country
director can be from any part of iraq we have to adapt to the talent we
have regardless of where he came from
iraq is looking to increase its oil production from current levels of around
million barrels per day bpd to million bpd within seven years after having
reached agreement with foreign energy firms last year to extract crude from
oil fields
french car sales make biggest gain since trade data
paris jan afp
french car sales jumped percent in the biggest one year increase
since the french car manufacturers group ccfa said monday
number one carmaker psa peugeot citroen saw sales soar percent from last
year while the second biggest manufacturer renault posted percent
increase
the jump in car sales was spurred by the government aid programme for the auto
sector that included subsidy scheme to encourage buyers to trade in their old
cars for new more environmentally friendly models
renault sales director bernard cambier told bfm radio that the company sales
had hit nearly percent rise from
this means that we have virtually gained one percentage point in market share
in terms of cars for personal use he said
december was big month for car sales with percent rise from the same
month in it was also the eight month running of increased sales for the
french car industry
consumers decided to take advantage of euro dollar bonus for car
trade ins before it dropped to euros on january
crises to greet obama return to washington
honolulu hawaii jan afp
us president barack obama wrapped up his hawaiian vacation and headed back
monday to washington where he will have to grapple with resurgent fears of
terror attack and iran nuclear defiance
air force one left the islands with the us first family at about gmt
challenges facing the white house in including the worst economic
meltdown in years look likely to be trumped by the building crises
threatening to rage through
hyper partisan politics will get even more nasty with republicans targeting
gains in mid term elections in november which normally wound first term
presidents and democrats defending their grip on congress at all costs
the thwarted christmas day attack on us airliner reintroduced the terrifying
and polarizing specter of terrorism into american life just as wary normality
was easing memories of the september attacks in
criticism of obama handling of the attack is likely to complicate his task of
enacting an ambitious domestic program he will attempt to address what he says
are systemic us failures over the episode by meeting spy chiefs tuesday
obama plan to close the guantanamo bay camp already set to miss one year
deadline looks in deep peril nearly half of the remaining detainees are
from yemen where the christmas day attack was planned
yemen with its building al qaeda presence is widening front for us forces in
the global anti terror struggle along with pakistan and afghanistan
iran beset by its own political turmoil is meanwhile escalating the showdown
over its nuclear program with washington seeking tougher sanctions
tehran last year spurned obama engagement push leading the president foes
to brand him as naive
recent deaths of seven cia employees in afghanistan meanwhile underscored the
political risks and deep human cost of the president strong troop surge
into afghanistan
fresh global challenges come as obama faces percent unemployment which is
dampening hopes for economic recovery and his own political prospects
republicans are painting obama as big spending big government liberal and
will skewer him with huge joblessness and budget deficit of over trillion
dollars in
the country is in deep deep trouble minnesota governor tim pawlenty
possible republican presidential candidate told fox news last week
people are going to hold office holders and candidates to account
amid the gloom obama must try to rekindle the theme of change and hope which
powered his election win
while was difficult for many americans we must also look back with
the knowledge that brighter days are ahead of us he said in his new year
message
one political triumph health care reform task that has confounded
generations of democratic presidents may be in reach
final bill could emerge from congress within weeks setting up historic
signing ceremony to boost the president early in
after nearly year in power obama is grayer drained by washington acrimony
and no longer an untested source of hope for millions but commander in chief
who agonized then escalated the afghan war
his once soaring job approval ratings are now around the critical percent
threshold though he will be comforted that unlike many lawmakers he does not
face voters for three more years
judged by massive expectations which greeted his election obama first year
looks unimpressive but history may give him more credit
despite the economic blight obama argues that he stopped traumatized economy
slipping into depression and if the us economy shows its historic resilience
he may reap political benefit
however the long fight over health care has delayed much of his domestic agenda
and wall street is battling to water down regulatory reform drive
obama hopes of passing cap and trade bill to fight global warming also look
increasingly doubtful and dreams of his devotees that he could cleanse
washington partisan swamp have proven fanciful
abroad the administration bid to confront israeli prime minister benjamin
netanyahu now looks clumsy and the middle east peace process is stalled
in iraq however things look better the white house hopes to get us troop
numbers down to by august
the administation also hopes to conclude landmark nuclear deal with russia in
early and will also seek to build on tortuous start in engaging china and
hopes to ease the north korea nuclear crisis
european stocks begin on positive note
london jan afp
european stock markets rose on monday after earlier gains in tokyo as dealers
returned to their desks in upbeat mood for the first trading day of
in morning trading london ftse index of leading shares added percent
to points the paris cac index increased percent to
points and frankfurt dax index won percent to
the dj euro stoxx index of top eurozone shares rose percent to
the ftse started the year on the front foot led by the heavyweight banks
and energy firms said analyst nicola poskitt at spread betting firm city
index
we have seen investors coming in this morning in positive moods and firmly
looking for equity markets to continue their moves higher after last year saw
the ftse rally percent
the sentiment is still on the recovery theme and considering the fact that
historically the first trading day of the year usually ends with gains this
morning rally is no surprise
all three main european markets which had closed early last week for the new
year holiday weekend each gained more than fifth last year amid growing
investor confidence over economic recovery
london and paris each gained more than percent in while frankfurt won
almost percent last year
in earlier asian trading on monday tokyo struck month high as investors
cheered weaker yen and the japanese government plan to expand credit line
to troubled japan airlines
today sees the markets on the up added capital spreads analyst simon denham
this is not exactly surprising as the first day of virtually every year seems
to be positive as funds look to place at least bit of their cash pot
the energy sector was lifted as world oil prices soared beyond dollars per
barrel
crude oil jumped higher on monday driven by expectations of higher demand in
the northern hemisphere winter and after russia cut crude supplies to belarus
stock markets were also boosted by encouraging economic data in the eurozone on
monday
manufacturing activity across the eurozone expanded in december but at slower
pace than initially detected and with the shadow of price pressures building
survey showed
the nation euro currency bloc purchasing managers index pmi for the
manufacturing sector published by data and research group markit rose to
points in december from points in november
it was the third month running in which the widely watched reading has been
above the crucial boom or bust line but the readings were uneven
meanwhile in asia on monday japan benchmark nikkei index jumped
percent to which was the best finish for the tokyo stock exchange
since early october
japan airlines jal shares soared by more than percent after the government
on sunday agreed to double state funded loan to the cash strapped carrier to
billion yen billion dollars
the tokyo stock exchange meanwhile introduced new faster trading system on
monday stepping up its efforts to stay ahead of rival asian bourses following
series of technical problems in recent years
asian markets begin on upbeat note
hong kong jan afp
asian markets began the new decade broadly higher monday with dealers in tokyo
lifted by news of extended credit to japan airlines and strong yen as well as
upbeat jobs data in the united states
and the new year saw the introduction of new trading system in tokyo as the
stock exchange tries to keep ahead of its regional rivals following series of
technical problems in recent years
tokyo ended the day percent higher at month high and
sydney added percent to
the mood on the first day of trading this year is good kenji shiomura market
analyst at daiwa securities told dow jones newswires
japan airlines jal shares soared percent to yen off high of
after the government sunday agreed to double state funded loan to the cash
strapped carrier to billion yen billion dollars
jal shares plunged percent on the last trading day of on fears asia
largest airline might file for bankruptcy
there was talk about the company operating funds drying up unless it secured
