under the new system the president will be chosen by the winning party in
parliamentary elections which suggests that angolans will not vote again until
when the current legislative session comes to an end
the new system strengthens the powers of dos santos in office for years
allowing him to choose his own vice president who would operate as prime
minister with hands on role in the government the post of prime minister has
been removed
parliament can call for the president to be removed but it must be referred to
the supreme court whose members are appointed by the president
the charter clarifies currently ambiguous land rights in angola stating that
all land is owned by the state which decides who can use it
sudan rebels say sunday peace talks unlikely
doha jan afp
the main rebel group in sudan darfur has said peace talks in qatar with the
khartoum government were unlikely to resume as hoped sunday but instead there
may be consultations to choose another date
as far as the january date is concerned we cannot say that there will be
negotiations this depends on our discussions with the mediators justice and
equality movement jem spokesman ahmed hussein adam said late wednesday
there could be consultations on january to choose another date for
negotiations as there are many pending issues that we want to settle before
going to direct talks he told reporters in qatar
jem delegation had arrived in doha for talks with qatari and other mediators
djibril bassole the un and african union mediator said earlier this month that
talks to settle the festering conflict in darfur region would resume in doha
before the end of the month with january set as date for direct talks
bassole said he expected the exiled leader of the rebel sudan liberation army
abdel wahid mohammed nur to join the talks
the sla is one of the main rebel groups in darfur along with the jem and nur
has previously refused to take part in the doha talks
but adam said the jem rejected the participation of other rebel parties
claiming that such groups do not exist on the ground
the jem movement is the only one which is currently fighting and has real
presence in darfur others who claim to be rebel movements should not be
included only to satisfy them or their supporting foreign countries he said in
an apparent reference to the sla
the jem in may agreed to resume talks with khartoum which it broke off after the
international criminal court in march issued an arrest warrant for sudanese
president omar al beshir for alleged war crimes in darfur
since then attempts to make progress have foundered despite efforts by us
special envoy scott gration who managed to bring together representatives of
rebel factions for talks to fine tune common stance
french foreign minister bernard kouchner had said following meeting with
bassole that he was confident that sla leader nur will attend the doha talks
the conflict that erupted in initially pitted two separatist rebel groups
against the khartoum government aided by local arab militias but it has since
proliferated
the united nations says up to people have died and million fled
their homes since the ethnic minority rebels first rose up against the arab
dominated government in khartoum in february
sudan government says people have been killed
early release for indian prisoners who do yoga
new delhi jan afp
prisoners in an indian state who attend yoga classes will be freed early because
the lessons improve self control and lessen aggression authorities there said
thursday
for every three months spent doing sun salutations deep breathing exercises and
balance postures prisoner will get days off their sentence madhya pradesh
state inspector general of prisons told afp
yoga is good for maintaining fitness calming the behaviour controlling anger
and reducing stress sanjay mane said
when prisoner attends yoga sessions and fulfils some other conditions he
will be considered for remission if his jail superintendent recommends his
case
attending literacy classes and earning college degrees would also bolster
prisoner case for early release mane said
about prisoners have signed up for the pilot programme at gwalior city jail
british public deficit rises official data
london jan afp
the public deficit in recession hit britain rose to billion pounds
billion euros billion dollars in december official data showed on
thursday
the deficit or public sector net cash requirement for december compared
with deficit of billion pounds during the same month in the office
for national statistics said in statement
it added that the public sector net borrowing requirement the government
preferred measure of public finances grew to billion pounds in december
that compared with deficit of billion pounds in the same month one year
earlier
britain longest recession on record has sapped taxation revenues and ramped up
government spending on unemployment benefits and economic stimulus measures
goldman sachs results due after banks disappoint
washington jan afp
goldman sachs was set to post closely watched results thursday after losses
reported by two big banks dampened the mood for sector struggling to get out
from bailouts and the financial crisis
bank of america reported worse than expected results while wells fargo topped
expectations for profits although analysts said the overall banking sector
appeared to be still hampered by difficult economic conditions
after the mixed results investment giant goldman sachs was set to report its
earnings for the fourth quarter and full year early thursday amid speculation
it may post record profits
the goldman results will be highly scrutinized as barometer for the financial
sector as whole said beth gaston moon at options news network
in the past goldman sachs has been regarded as silver lining surrounding its
cloudy and troubled peers
bank of america the largest us bank by assets posted loss of million
dollars in the fourth quarter of but repayments of government aid boosted
the loss for shareholders to billion dollars
for all of the bank listed profit of billion dollars but for
shareholders the results were loss of billion dollars
bank of america results were affected by charge of billion dollars to
repay the us government for its capital aid under the troubled asset relief
program tarp massive effort to stabilize the banking system
while it disappointing to report loss for the fourth quarter there were
number of important accomplishments worth noting said bank of america chief
executive brian moynihan
first we repaid the american taxpayer with interest for the tarp investment
second we have taken steps to strengthen our balance sheet through successful
securities offerings and third all of our non credit businesses recorded
positive contributions to our results
moynihan added that the bank was encouraged by signs the economy is improving
but noted that conditions remain fragile and we expect high unemployment levels
to continue creating an ongoing drag on consumer spending and growth
analysts at deutsche bank called the bank of america results lumpy and cited
disappointments in areas such as fee income
morgan stanley meanwhile reported profit of million dollars in the fourth
quarter but little was left for shareholders of the investment giant that was
rescued by an infusion from japan mitsubishi ufj financial group
the profit applicable to common shareholders was million dollars in the
quarter
for all of the posted profit was billion dollars but shareholders
suffered loss of million dollars
morgan stanley chief executive and president james gorman said he was
confident that the bank would improve its position further as the economy
recovered from the worst recession in decades
gorman along with chairman john mack agreed to forgo bonuses for due to
the sector woes
joe weisenthal analyst at the financial website clusterstock said the results
followed pattern set by jpmorgan chase and citigroup which reported losses
for their lending operations offset by gains in other areas such as trading and
investment banking
another major bank wells fargo posted net income of billion dollars in
the fourth quarter on record revenue of billion dollars
for the full year wells fargo said it had net profit of billion dollars on
record revenue of billion dollars
the results partly reflected the california based bank takeover of wachovia in
december making wells fargo the fourth largest us bank by assets the bank
said it had trillion dollars in assets at the end of
most major banks have repaid the government tarp injections although
citigroup has converted some of that to common stock leaving the treasury with
major stake
according to treasury officials about billion dollars was pumped into
banks under the rescue plans
asia markets give mixed reaction to china economic data
hong kong jan afp
news of china blistering economic growth was tempered by looming inflationary
risks and fears of further tightening by beijing as asian shares put in mixed
performance thursday
chinese data out earlier in the day showed gross domestic product in the asian
powerhouse returned to double digit growth in the fourth quarter of at
percent while the full year figure of percent beat expectations
but china biggest rise in inflation for months underlined the broader
challenges of breakneck growth amid warnings from the world bank and
international monetary fund that the country could face an economic bubble
china consumer price index the main gauge of inflation rose percent
year on year in december prompting some risk aversion among investors focusing
on the possibility that beijing will again move to put the reins on lending
hong kong shares dropped percent with the hang seng index down
points at led lower by banking stocks
icbc fell percent to hong kong dollars us dollars bank of china
dropped percent to and citic bank dropped percent to
policymakers will need to move soon to stop the economy from overheating said
brian jackson hong kong based strategist at royal bank of canada
shanghai saw volatile trade but closed up percent or points at
in contrast to hong kong financials led the gains on expectations interest
rates will rise to curb inflation with potentially higher rates boosting their
income
shenzhen development bank surged percent to yuan us dollars
china merchants bank was up percent at yuan
on wednesday beijing top regulator said that china will rein in credit this
year
comments from liu mingkang chairman of the china banking regulatory commission
followed the central bank earlier move to hike the minimum amount of money
banks must keep in reserve and increase borrowing costs
further policy tightening measures over and beyond what have already been
implemented are needed in order to control inflation in the coming months yu
song an economist at goldman sachs told dow jones newswires
the euro fell to five month low against the dollar in asia thursday as worries
that china monetary policy fears reduced demand for risk sensitive currencies
the european unit dropped to dollars at one point the weakest since
august in late tokyo trade it stood at down from late
wednesday in new york
the dollar gained to yen from the euro rose to yen from
local markets followed the biggest drop of the year on wall street which dived
percent on mixed earnings from key american banks
bank of america and morgan stanley missed analysts expectations while wells
fargo posted an unexpected profit goldman sachs was due to report thursday
japanese stocks nevertheless shrugged off new york disappointment with the
nikkei closing up percent at
shares in japan airlines were flat at two yen day after sinking to record
low following the carrier bankruptcy filing and announcement it would delist
its shares next month
sydney closed down percent or points to after hitting
three week low intraday materials and energy stocks led the fall
bhp billiton fell percent to australian dollars and rio tinto shed
percent to
south korean shares closed percent higher with the kospi gaining
points to
oil rose ahead of key us inventory report later in the day new york main
contract light sweet crude for march delivery was up cents to dollars
barrel reversing earlier losses
brent north sea crude advanced cents to dollars
hong kong gold closed at us dollars an ounce down from
wednesday finish of dollars
in other markets
singapore closed down percent or points at
taipei dropped points or percent to after overnight
declines on wall street
the market was also weighed by the government decision to sell shares that
state funds purchased last year to stabilise the market dealers said
kuala lumpur rose points or percent to
concerns over global economic growth and regional weakness affected sentiment
giving some players the excuse to take profit but we still think the market
will rise further in the mid term dealer said
gainers included glove manufacturer top glove which added percent at
vehicle manufacturer proton rose percent at
jakarta lost points or percent to
wellington closed flat as lower local currency and stronger than expected
retail sales figures offset falls in overseas markets
the nzx fell points to
the market is holding up quite well considering what happened in overseas
markets overnight hamilton hindin greene broker grant williamson said
manila was flat after weak opening the composite index added points
to
philippine long distance telephone dropped percent to pesos
turkey rounds up over links to kurdish rebels
diyarbakir turkey jan afp
turkish police detained some people in operations in four provinces targeting
kurdish separatist rebels local official said
police raided the homes and offices of suspects in istanbul the southeastern
provinces of batman and diyarbakir as well as the eastern province of van the
governor office in batman said in statement
accusations against the suspects include being members of the outlawed kurdistan
workers party pkk aiding and abetting pkk rebels and encouraging people to
join the organization and participate in its armed campaign the statement said
police seized several arms and explosives during the raids
the pkk listed as terrorist group by turkey and much of the international
community took up arms against the government in sparking conflict that
has claimed about lives
in august the government announced plans to expand kurdish freedoms in bid to
erode popular support for the pkk and end the insurgency
but the initiative suffered serious blow last month when seven soldiers were
killed in pkk ambush and the constitutional court outlawed turkey main
kurdish party for links to the rebels sparking deadly kurdish protests and
street violence
china says google case not linked to sino us ties
beijing jan afp
china on thursday insisted google threat to quit the country over censorship
and cyberattacks should not be linked to sino us ties seeking to play down
simmering row over internet freedom
the statement from vice foreign minister he yafei came as us secretary of state
hillary clinton was preparing to give major internet policy speech in
washington
last week google said it may shut down its chinese search engine and possibly
leave the country altogether over what it called highly sophisticated attack
by china based hackers and over state censorship
washington has asked beijing for an explanation of the attack which google said
had hit its corporate infrastructure and was likely aimed at gaining access to
the gmail accounts of chinese human rights activists
if google has any problems in its business in china these must be resolved
according to chinese law and the chinese government is willing to help resolve
these problems the vice foreign minister was quoted as saying by state media
the google case should not be linked with relations between the two governments
and countries otherwise it an over interpretation he said
china had already said the incident would not affect sino us trade ties but has
vehemently defended its right to filter information available on the web and
repeatedly told foreign firms they must obey its laws
google is not an exception foreign ministry spokesman ma zhaoxu said on
tuesday
the us internet giant has taken hit in the state press in recent days with
the english language global times run by the ruling communist party
mouthpiece the people daily lashing it in several commentaries
the world top search engine put itself in an embarrassing spot by threatening
to pull out of china the paper said thursday noting google could have avoided
difficulties had it really understood china and the chinese
the authorities in the world most populous nation which also has the
biggest online community of million users regularly block content and
websites they deem politically objectionable
the inability to build cultural bridges and failure to adapt to the culture in
which the market operates can lead to conflict and clashes it said
it urged the nearly western companies operating in china to adapt to
the market and to the diversities of chinese society adding china cannot be
colony of western values
the paper was even more strident in its criticism of google on wednesday
hitting out at the revolving door between big corporations and washington
suggesting google had bought influence with the obama administration
given washington high pitched support for google in its dispute with china
the internet giant close ties to the obama administration has caught public
attention and aroused more suspicion the global times wrote
the price of the us government using google for its politics can be very high
for the number one search engine the sooner google realises that the farther
it will go in china
kurt campbell clinton top diplomat for east asia said tuesday that the us
and chinese governments had had multiple meetings about google and china and
planned to have more in the coming days
but alec ross top advisor to clinton on wednesday insisted that the state
department was not the foreign policy arm of google
clinton is due on thursday to deliver speech on internet freedom at
journalism museum in washington
ross said she would lay out series of initiatives but denied the address
would solely focus on china
even though china is very much grabbing the headlines today think one of the
things we need to recognise is the global perspective of this he said
tomorrow speech is not speech about china
in beijing foreign ministry spokesman ma said he would have no comment on
clinton speech until it was delivered
afp world news agenda
paris jan afp
what coming up around the world
top stories
haiti rescuers work against the clock
troops deployed to end nigeria clashes
eu urged to overcome airport scanner concerns
ex british fm goes before iraq inquiry
port au prince rescuers buoyed by the survival of some quake victims for eight
days scour devastated buildings in the hope of finding any last remaining
survivors graphic picture video haiti quake
jos nigeria thousands of troops pour onto the streets of the nigerian city of
jos to end fighting between religious zealots which has left hundreds dead and
tens of thousands displaced graphic nigeria unrest religion
toledo spain us homeland security secretary janet napolitano meets european
counterparts to discuss airport security in eu countries including the use of
full body scanners press conference gmt picture attacks aviation
security us eu
london former foreign secretary jack straw testifies before britain iraq war
inquiry gmt britain iraq military politics inquiry
other agenda items
beijing china releases economic data showing that gdp grew percent in
china economy
jerusalem us middle east envoy george mitchell meets israeli leaders on
regional trip to further efforts to restart the peace process that has already
taken him to lebanon and syria picture mideast us diplomacy
johannesburg argentine football coach diego maradona and world cup chief danny
jordaan visit soccer city in johannesburg venue for the world cup opening match
and final event starts gmt picture fbl wc rsa arg
sanaa yemen announces it will stop granting entry visas to travellers at the
country international airports widening its dragnet against al qaeda in the
arabian peninsula attacks yemen qaeda
sydney britain prince william meets survivors of bushfires that killed
people last year as he wraps up three day visit to australia picture
australia britain royals william
washington british foreign secretary david miliband testifies to the senate
foreign affairs committee along with us envoy to afghanistan and pakistan
richard holbrooke gmt afghanistan unrest us britain
us secretary of state hillary clinton gives speech about the internet at
the moment of polemic around google presence in china gmt us internet
censorship it
eu foreign affairs chief catherine ashton meets us secretary of state hillary
clinton us eu diplomacy
thai pm warns of more attacks after army hq blast
bangkok jan afp
prime minister abhisit vejjajiva thursday confirmed that thailand army
headquarters had been attacked last week and warned that more attacks could be
expected on government buildings
abhisit said officers were investigating the incident that took place in central
bangkok on january although he did not confirm the specific target or the
type of weapon used
the thai press has widely reported that an grenade was fired at the office
of powerful army chief general anupong paojinda in the attack
have discussed the incident with anupong abhisit told reporters adding
that it seemed designed to grab media attention
given the timing and place of the attack it was not aimed at killing anyone
he said
the army has to look at their security precautions and have every agency
concerned on alert have already told them that this kind of incident would be
more frequent from now on in order to stir up unrest he said
analysts expect street violence in thailand to intensify ahead of court ruling
next month on the assets of former prime minister thaksin shinawatra which were
seized after he was deposed in coup in
leaders of the thaksin loyalist red shirts named after the colour of their
tops say they expect up to one million protesters to join demonstration in
bangkok ahead of the court verdict in late february
thaksin continues to stir up political unrest in thailand despite living abroad
to avoid jail term for graft both his opponents and supporters staged
numerous mass rallies over the past year that have sometimes turned violent
avatar tops china box office as film faces axe
beijing jan afp
avatar has become china all time box office champion new figures showed
thursday as beijing plans to controversially yank the version of the
hollywood blockbuster from cinemas
the futuristic adventure which was released in both and versions on
january has grossed million yuan million dollars xinhua news agency
reported
that puts it ahead of the disaster epic which raked in million yuan
until its nationwide release ended last month xinhua said quoting tong gang
top official with the state administration of radio film and television the
nation film regulator
but friday will be the last day that chinese movie goers can catch screening
of the version of avatar the global times newspaper said quoting an
official with china film group which controls movie distribution
reports that the hugely popular movie would be pulled ahead of schedule have
sparked furore amid charges the government had shunted it aside to make way
for the patriotic biopic confucius
some movie goers have also claimed that the government is nervous about avatar
over its portrayal of tribe fight against humans chasing them from their
land on far off planet
some people have drawn parallels to rash of forced land evictions in china
which sparked violent clashes and last year saw one woman kill herself by
setting herself on fire in protest
xinhua quoted zhang hongsen deputy director of the state regulator film
bureau as saying the film run was being ended for commercial not political
reasons because the box office returns of the version had been low
officials at the film regulator and china film group declined to comment when
contacted by afp
the release of confucius comes as his teachings on peace social harmony and
respect for authority have enjoyed renaissance in china backed by the ruling
communist party after being suppressed during the radical mao years
report on the website of the beijing news said the box office take for
avatar was nearing million yuan quoting theatre figures but giving no
other details
xinhua report said the version had accounted for only one third of its
total revenue in china despite the fact that china only counts around
screens just percent of the nationwide total of
however the global times noted that tickets for the version cost yuan
half that of tickets while tickets on large imax style screens cost
yuan
the film bureau has said the version would continue to be screened in china
until february as previously planned
woman who answered the phone at china film stellar theatre chain which
operates theatres told afp it had not received word from the government to
stop screening avatar and she did not know if the movie would be pulled
however the woman who refused to identify herself added all of our member
theatres need to provide space for new films
the united states has complained repeatedly about chinese restrictions on the
screening of foreign films rules seen as aimed in part at giving boost to
domestically produced films
china currently allows only foreign films to be shown in its movie theatres
each year
charming prince gives monarchy boost down under
sydney jan afp
bearing an easy charm and striking resemblance to his much loved late mother
prince william has given the monarchy profile timely boost in australia
the year old met with poor inner city aborigines and drug addicted youth
fired rounds with returned soldiers and played cricket with children in the
ashes of towns devastated by deadly wildfires
casually dressed and ready with smile and joke william ditched ceremony and
protocol to pose for photos shake hands and even kiss few onlookers on the
cheek in an unofficial three day visit down under
the second in line to the british throne told local journalists he was surprised
by the enthusiastic welcome with crowds of thousands mobbing him wherever he
went
it had been the most warm welcome ever william told crowds gathered for
waterfront lunch in his honour on wednesday where premier kristina keneally
praised his likeness to his mother the late princess diana
you have exhibited all the inherited qualities that have endeared you to so
many australians poise warmth dignity and if may say so quite remarkable
charm keneally said
the australian public voted against becoming republic in and local press
said the young tall and handsome prince may have delivered the cause heavy
blow
prince william in his two day charm offensive in sydney may have done more to
set back the republican cause than anything since the referendum the
sydney morning herald wrote
royal watcher judy wade said the visit was going down blinder with the uk
press and there been great response in australia
he young and glamorous and people like that people like to see it think
he done the royal family big favour said wade royal correspondent for
magazine woman day
britain daily mail said he had succeeded in winning hearts and minds like no
royal since diana and given the monarchy significant boost
arthur edwards seasoned royal photographer with britain sun newspaper said
the purpose of william visit was to try and make the royal family more
popular
there lot of talk that maybe australia when the queen dies it ll become
republic edwards told australian state radio
well don bet your life on it because you ve got this lad coming along
republican movement spokesman john warhurst agreed william had particular
ability to connect with young people who were mostly undecided about whether
australia should split from the monarchy in the future
for all the attention he got think it basically good for the republican
movement to have these sorts of issues raised think in the long run it
doesn do the republican movement any harm warhurst political science
professor told afp
you might lose few but you re more likely to gain more than you lose from
this sort of public debate
warhurst said he believed the reception to william had been mixed and his
rockstar reception had only generated superficial debate
prince william certainly puts modern face to the monarchy happy to admit
that but think in the end would rather have these opportunities to discuss
the issues to get young people engaged he said
poll for british television network itv news this week revealed percent of
australians would prefer prince william to be their next king compared with
percent for his father prince charles
on the question of monarchy percent voted in favour of the queen remaining
australia head of state and percent against
woman killed hurt in nw pakistan blast official
khar pakistan jan afp
roadside bomb apparently targeting anti taliban elders killed one woman and
injured others on thursday in pakistan northwest tribal belt bordering
afghanistan officials said
the explosion hit their bus in salarzai district in the tribal region of bajaur
day after similar bomb planted in the road injured provincial
parliamentarian in the northwest capital peshawar
it was an improvised explosive device which exploded as the bus headed to the
region main town of khar local government official mazhar ali said one
woman was killed while other passengers were wounded
sayed badshah doctor at local hospital said four of the wounded were in
critical condition
the vehicle was carrying some tribal elders who had formed militia to fight
