it had hit an intraday peak of dollars monday its highest since october
brent north sea crude for february was down cents at
hong kong gold closed higher at us dollars an ounce up from
monday dollars
in other markets
singapore finished percent or points lower at
the overall outlook for the index is positive and we believe it is currently
matter of waiting for good timing to enter the market said phillip
securities analyst phua ming weii
seoul closed up percent or points at
taipei lost percent or points to close at
investors moved to take profits on previous gains
kuala lumpur was percent or points lower at
lower liners dominated the actives today but despite some profit taking the
index stayed pretty much within tight range dealer said
leading investment holdings company tanjong gained percent to ringgit
while retail corporate group aeon was down percent to ringgit
bangkok lost percent or points to close at
energy giant ptt plc lost baht to baht while coal producer banpu
plunged baht to baht
wellington fell percent or points to
indonesia rose percent or points to
think the main index could test the important level of later this week
if foreign funds continue buying trader at lautandhana securities said
bank central asia jumped percent to rupiah and bank mandiri advanced
percent to rupiah
manila added percent or points to
top traded philippine long distance telephone co rose percent to
pesos
sweden to abolish affirmative action at universities
stockholm jan afp
the swedish government said tuesday it would abolish affirmative action at
universities since the practice has resulted in male students being given
admissions priority for several popular programmes
the education system should open doors not slam them in the face of
motivated young women higher education minister tobias krantz wrote in an
article in sweden leading daily dagens nyheter
the government has allowed universities to practice affirmative action since
in order to encourage an equal number of men and women at the country
universities
criticism has raged in sweden recently after male students have been given
priority to popular programmes where men are under represented in particular
the medicine psychology veterinary and dentistry faculties
for those programmes in particular there are more women applicants with top
grades than men yet the men are admitted because of the affirmative action
rule
women represent about percent of university students in sweden pioneer in
gender equality
the current regulations yield totally unfair result last year it was almost
only women percent who had worked hard to get into their dream programme
but who did not get in because of their gender krantz wrote
swedish appeals court recently ruled in favour of women who were not
admitted to veterinary programme because of their gender awarding them
damages of kronor dollars euros each
in another class action lawsuit currently in the courts women have sued lund
university in southern sweden for discrimination for giving male students
admissions priority to the psychology programme in
football boyd out with groin injury
glasgow jan afp
in form rangers striker kris boyd is facing lengthy lay off after sustaining
groin injury in the cup match against hamilton manager walter smith said
the year old boyd is to see specialist and could under go hernia
operation that would keep him out for up to six weeks
smith told the scottish daily express boyd will undergo an operation as soon
as possible
he will be out for up to six weeks and we will just have to cope accordingly
the striker who has been in top goal scoring form of late now faces race to
be fit for the old firm clash against celtic at ibrox on february
asia top carrier jal hits turbulence
tokyo jan afp
asia largest carrier japan airlines has hit major turbulence in recent years
as the mammoth company repeatedly miscalculated tougher business climates
flying to airports in countries and regions the flag carrier of the
world second largest economy is saddled with huge debt and set to file for
bankruptcy as early as next week in court led rehabilitation process
jal history has mirrored the bumpy path of the nation miracle economic
recovery after world war ii and its subsequent stagnation which started with the
so called lost decade of the
the airline was established in half controlled by the government it made
its international debut in connecting tokyo honolulu and san francisco
with the trademark crane logo on its wings jal rapidly widened its operations
at home and overseas at one stage becoming the world largest carrier in terms
of regular flights
disaster struck in when jal boeing jumbo jet crashed into mountainside
in central japan killing all people aboard in the worst single airplane
accident in aviation history
as it battled to overcome the tragedy the carrier was fully privatised in
and expanded its fleet in the early move which soon turned out to be
financial burden as the speculative bubble economy burst
the carrier now has aircraft including leased planes most of them
boeing jets it transported about million passengers last fiscal year
million of them on domestic routes
as the global aviation industry was battered by the fall out from the september
attacks as well as the sars and bird flu scares jal plunged into huge
losses and sought massive credit lines from the government
in bid to survive the tougher business environment jal and domestic carrier
japan air system merged to form jal group changing the logo to the current arc
of the sun resembling the national flag
the integration however led to further losses and slowdown in restructuring
efforts while its late coming rival all nippon airways ana moved into high
gear
despite the privatisation jal has often come under political pressure to
maintain regular flights to more than half of domestic airports even though many
are unprofitable said makoto murayama analyst at nomura securities
murayama added that jal also miscalculated international demand
ana predicted the decline in demand for international flights would not recover
after the terrorist attacks in the united states which proved to be
right in later years he said jal thought demand would recover
more recently the global economic downturn following the collapse of wall
street investment bank lehman brothers as well as the swine flu outbreak dealt
another serious blow jal lost about billion dollars in the six months to
september
jal which has about employees has also been saddled by huge pension
pay outs to retirees who have now agreed to reduced payments
despite the airline current woes japan government said it would do
everything possible to ensure that jal keeps flying during restructuring that
is expected to include drastic route reductions and thousands of job cuts
its operations across asia also remain coveted with us carriers american
airlines and delta air lines locked in bidding war for slice of jal as they
look to increase their share of the region lucrative market
oil price drops under dollars
london jan afp
the price of crude oil dropped under dollars tuesday on expectations of
easing heating fuel demand as warmer temperatures reach parts of the united
states recently hit by cold snap traders said
new york main futures contract light sweet crude for delivery in february
fell cents to dollars barrel
the new york contract had hit month peak of dollars barrel on
monday before traders decided to bank profits
elsewhere on tuesday brent north sea crude for february was down cents at
dollars in early london trading
weaker oil prices are the result of weather forecasts in the united states that
the temperatures would be moderating this week said purvin and gertz energy
consultancy analyst victor shum
it looks like in the us the cold snap is coming to an end
oil prices closed lower on monday as traders locked in profits after brief
bounce on the back of robust chinese economic data that pushed the barrel to
month high near dollars
china the world second largest energy consumer behind the united states saw
exports surge percent in december after months of declines the country
announced on sunday
the jump in exports renewed market hopes that sustainable global recovery is
underway led by china huge economy
chinese oil imports rose to record five million barrels day in december
percent jump compared with the same month in
kuwait says oil prices fantastic
kuwait city jan afp
kuwait oil minister sheikh ahmad abdullah al sabah said on tuesday that the
price of crude oil was fantastic as it stayed above dollars barrel
spurred by freezing temperatures
oil prices are fantastic because of what is happening with the weather in
europe and as demand is picking up the minister told reporters outside
parliament
the minister said kuwait does not want any change to production quotas when the
organisation of petroleum exporting countries meets in march
he also expected demand to pick up in the second quarter of as the global
economy is expected to continue its recovery and as crude inventories decline
oil fell in asian trade on tuesday but remained above dollars barrel
new york main futures contract light sweet crude for february delivery was
trading at dollars barrel in the afternoon down cents from the new
york close on monday
the new york contract hit an intra day peak of dollars barrel on monday
its highest level since october before slipping as investors locked in
profits for the rest of the day
brent north sea crude for february however was down cents at dollars
tennis heineken open men singles st round
auckland jan afp
results from the second day of the heineken open here on tuesday denotes
seeding
st round
juan monaco arg bt horacio zeballos arg
albert montanes esp bt james lemke aus
john isner usa bt guillermo garcia lopez esp
simon greul ger bt paolo lorenzi ita
michael lammer sui bt daniel evans gbr
philipp kohlschreiber ger bt inigo cervantes huegun esp
marc gicquel fra bt olivier rochus bel
sebastien grosjean fra bt florian mayer ger
arnaud clement fra bt jeremy chardy fra
woman who saved anne frank diary dead at
the hague jan afp
miep gies the woman who hid the dutch youngster anne frank diary from the
nazis to become one of the world most read books has died after brief
illness at the age of
the anne frank museum said that gies the last surviving helper of anne and the
people who shared her hiding place in an amsterdam canalside house died in the
town of hoorn on january
it was gies who guarded anne memoirs and presented it to the girl father
otto when he returned from the auschwitz concentration camp at the end of world
war ii the only one of his family to survive
in her diary anne frank chronicled the details of her teenage life hiding from
the nazis in amsterdam from to when the nazi secret police discovered
her and her family hiding place
anne and her sister later died at the bergen belsen concentration camp
the diary first published in became one of the most renowned accounts of
jews hiding from nazi persecution and has been translated into languages
until she suffered stroke decade ago gies travelled around the world
giving lectures about the consequences of intolerance and anti semitism
according to the anne frank museum
anne frank expressed great wish to live on after her death miep gies saw it
as her duty to help in making this happen it said in statement
born hermine miep santruschitz in vienna in gies moved to the
netherlands at age
in she began working for otto frank at his opekta trading company
at great risk to her own safety she and four other helpers brought food and
supplies to the frank family and other individuals hiding in secret annex of
opekta office building for more than two years
when she turned gies sought to play down her own role
not hero she said
it wasn something planned in advance simply did what could to help
she suffered stroke at the age of which seriously affected her speech and
writing and forced her to stop her activities
on her th birthday she bought house with garden in hoorn in the west of
the country where she lived out the last years of her life she celebrated her
th birthday on february last year
right until the end miep remained deeply involved with the remembrance of anne
frank and spreading the message of her story the museum statement said
everyday she received letters from all over the world with questions about her
relationship with anne frank and her role as helper
gies received numerous honours for her role including from the netherlands
germany and israel yad vashem holocaust memorial centre
of course it nice to be appreciated but only did my duty to my fellow man
helped people in need anyone can do that can they gies said
pro iran hackers hit china search engine baidu state media
shanghai jan afp
china top search engine baidu was hacked tuesday in what state media said was
an attack by pro iranian government group that replaced the usual home page
with an iranian flag
internet users trying to access the site found message saying this site has
been hacked by iranian cyber army the people daily reported on its website
below sentence in farsi read in reaction to the us authorities intervention
in iran internal affairs this is warning the report said posting an
image of the hacked page
baidu spokesman victor tseng said service was interrupted due to external
manipulation of its dns domain name server in the united states
baidu has been resolving this issue and the majority of services have been
restored the spokesman said in an email to afp
the state run china news service quoted an unnamed official at baidu as saying
the website domain name had been hijacked redirecting traffic to another
site but it is unclear whether those responsible were in fact iranian
the iranian cyber army was the name used by hackers who briefly shut down the
popular microblogging site twitter last month using method similar to that
seen in the baidu strike
iranian demonstrators protesting the results of june presidential elections used
twitter extensively both to organise marches and to release information about
their movement
their use of the microblogging site led some to dub the pro democracy action
against president mahmoud ahmadinejad twitter revolution
however the reason for the attack on the chinese internet giant was not
immediately clear
authorities in china blocked twitter and other internet social networking sites
after the protests in its far western xinjiang region last july fearing such
sites could be used to foment unrest as they had in iran analysts said
but baidu has always remained accessible
chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman jiang yu condemned any attempt to attack
chinese websites
if that was the case we resolutely oppose hacking and other internet crimes
jiang told reporters when asked about the baidu attack
baidu the nation biggest search engine had percent of china search
engine market as of the end of september followed by percent for google
china according to internet research firm analysys international
venezuela military shutters stores amid devaluation panic
caracas jan afp
the venezuelan military on monday shuttered firms including european
backed supermarket apparently fulfilling pledge to close businesses that
raise prices after massive currency devaluation
the government of leftist president hugo chavez asked the national guard to
close the stores for alleged irregularities state run news agency abn said
caracas branch of french backed supermarket exito was earlier closed for
hours for alleged price gouging
the news came as venezuelans rushed to empty supermarket shelves of televisions
refrigerators and other appliances in anticipation that prices would soar for
imported items
on friday chavez announced the bolivar would trade at to the dollar for
non essential goods double the present rate and rate of bolivars
against the dollar for basic goods
the firebrand leader warned sunday that any price speculation by shopkeepers
would trigger business seizures and called on the national guard to help people
fight price hikes
to those gentlemen let call them looters of the people if they want to
go ahead and do it but we ll take their business and hand it over to the
workers chavez said on his weekly radio and tv talk show alo presidente
abn said food shops and other businesses were closed on monday for changing the
price of products and for speculation
yet consumers remained anxious
we have sold three times as much as normal said the owner of an appliance
shop in caracas as panicky buyers formed long lines outside stores
one shopper systems analyst who asked not to be named said the devaluation
prompted him to buy television he had been eyeing for months
pretty soon they are all going to cost twice as much but am not going to be
earning twice as much he said
the bolivar devaluation was the first since and was designed in part to
bolster public finances that have withered amid dwindling oil revenues and
rapidly contracting economy
critics said the move would allow chavez to boost public spending ahead of
elections in september but would severely damage the health of the economy
the measures will see the government net twice as much for each dollar of oil
revenue and will move the bolivar closer to its rate on the black market of
around six bolivars per dollar
overnight monday the government played up the devaluation as positive move for
domestic industry with planning minister jorge giordani insisting imports would
be slashed by up to percent
the private sector has golden opportunity to grow and to have stronger
domestic economy giordani told the official vtv television
international investors hailed the devaluation as long overdue but warned it
would do little to stem the decline of venezuela once booming economy unless
steps were made to boost investor confidence
the new devaluation will not correct the problem long term since the
government refuses to take steps to stimulate private investment continuing its
interventionist policy said moody ratings agency
fitch another ratings agency also voiced concerns
venezuelan businesses currently face variety of constraints in terms of
changing regulatory framework unstable macroeconomic environment price
controls and bottlenecks in the energy sectors which in turn have deterred
investment it said in statement
since coming to office chavez has sought to remake the venezuelan economy
vowing to create more equitable socialist system
he has initiated string of nationalizations of foreign firms and banks as
well as measures that have sent inflation soaring to percent the highest
in latin america
the largest oil producer in south america venezuela slipped into recession in
for the first time in six years due to drop in oil prices and production
iran nuclear scientist killed in bomb blast
tehran jan afp
iranian nuclear scientist massoud ali mohammadi was killed tuesday in rare
bomb attack in tehran which state media quickly blamed on iran archfoes the
united states and israel
mohammadi lecturer at tehran university died when bomb strapped to
motorcycle was triggered by remote control outside his home in the northern
tehran neighbourhood of qeytariyeh state media said
he was assassinated tuesday morning by bomb which us and zionist agents had
already placed near his house state television said without naming any
sources
tehran prosecutor abbas jafari dolatabadi told the isna news agency that
mohammadi was lecturer in nuclear energy and said booby trapped bike parked
outside his house exploded as he was getting into his car
the judiciary has launched an investigation no suspects have yet been
arrested he said
bomb attacks are rare in iran although several security officials and members of
the elite revolutionary guards have been killed in bombings by rebels in restive
sistan baluchestan province in the east of the country
witness told afp that tuesday explosion was strong blast breaking windows
in neighbouring houses and cars
iran state run arabic language television al alam identified mohammadi as
hezbollahi teacher term used for staunch supporters of the iranian
regime
this assassination may have been carried out by the hypocrites iran exiled
people mujahedeen opposition or planned by the zionist regime al alam said
iranian authorities have consistently accused archfoes the united states and
israel of seeking to foment unrest in iran
the two countries have never ruled out military strike to thwart iran
controversial nuclear drive which the west suspects is masking an atomic
weapons programme
none of the reports said whether mohammadi was connected to the controversial
nuclear drive and colleague described him as non political
he was prominent full professor but he was not political figure he had no
political activity ali maghari who heads the faculty of sciences at tehran
university told mehr news agency
however mohammadi name appeared on list of academics backing iranian
opposition leader mir hossein mousavi for the disputed june presidential
election which gave president mahmoud ahmadinejad second term
the opposition claims the vote was massively rigged in ahmadinejad favour and
has for the past six months been staging anti government protests at every
opportunity many of which have been broken up by police who have arrested
hundreds of demonstrators
hardliners have accused the people mujahedeen of infiltrating the anti
government protests and carrying out attacks on regime targets
iran has been under international pressure to halt its sensitive uranium
enrichment programme which is at the centre of fears about iran ambitions as
the process which makes nuclear fuel can also be used to make atom bombs
despite three rounds of un security council sanctions iran has continued to
expand its nuclear programme
world powers seeking to curb iran atomic drive are still awaiting response
from tehran to un brokered offer to ship most of iran low enriched uranium
abroad to be further refined into reactor fuel
iran has rejected the offer and has offered its own counter proposal of staged
swap
some western powers have dismissed the iranian proposal and insist the islamic
republic accept the un backed deal or face further sanctions
the united states russia china britain france and germany will meet late this
week to discuss sanctions against iran us secretary of state hillary clinton
said
top us general david petraeus said sunday that the united states has developed
contingency plans to address iran nuclear ambitions if negotiations falter
petraeus who heads us central command centcom that oversees the middle east
told cnn that iran nuclear facilities certainly can be bombed even though
they are reported to be heavily fortified
iran has dismissed the comments as thoughtless
afptv advisory
paris jan afp
we will file the following videos
iran nuclear scientist killed in bomb attack
tehran
iranian nuclear scientist massoud ali mohammadi was killed tuesday in rare
bomb attack in tehran blamed by state media on counter revolutionaries and
foreign powers mohammadi lecturer at tehran university died when bomb
strapped to motorcycle was triggered by remote control outside his home
images of the bombsite and bodybag
news
images transmitted by gmt
raw vid
web mmv
voiced report transmitted by gmt
nsv vid
broadcast ready vid
web mmv
world cup organisers seek to ease fears after togo attack
johannesburg
south africa top world cup organiser danny jordaan is briefing the media on
tuesday on his trip to angola and on preparations to host this year world cup
officials have sought to emphasise the difference between the ongoing cup of
african nations in angola where the togo football team was ambushed on friday
leaving two dead and the fifa tournament which will be hosted in june for the
first time ever on african soil news coverage of jordaan conference
news sport
images and soundbites transmitted by gmt
raw vid
web mmv
detroit automakers all smiles for industry show
detroit michigan
detroit automakers are putting on their best faces for the hometown car show
this week as the industry seeks recovery from one of the worst years on record
news coverage
news economy
voiced report transmitted by gmt
nsv
broadcast ready vid
web mmv
detroit auto show goes green
detroit michigan
this year detroit auto show is showcasing every kind of electric car
imaginable from sports cars to suvs and the industry is working hard to
promote its newest models
news economy environment amp nature
voiced report transmitted by gmt wednesday
nsv vid
broadcast ready vid
web mmv
french filmmaker eric rohmer dead aged
paris
eric rohmer the french director of numerous critically acclaimed films
including my night at maud died on monday at the age of his highly
personal films which made him pivotal figure in the new wave movement won
wide following abroad using an intimate touch and visual detail to explore
relationships and love affairs still images of rohmer and extract from trailer
of most recent film romance of astree and celadon from
news culture amp lifestyle
file images and trailer transmitted by gmt
raw vid
web mmv
verdict expected for british minister niece in sex murder trial
versailles france
french jury is on tuesday expected to hand its verdict down to jessica davies
the niece of british millionaire minister quentin davies who has admitted to
stabbing lover in the neck following drunken sexual encounter news
coverage
news
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roy bennett treason trial to resume in zimbabwe
johannesburg
the treason trial of roy bennett top aide to zimbabwe prime minister morgan
tsvangirai is due to resume in harare on tuesday bennett who is charged with
terrorism was first arrested in february on his return from south africa
to take up the post of deputy agriculture minister in the unity government
archive footage of bennett
news
images already transmitted
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last orders for new york storied tavern on the green
new york
the tavern on the green opened in in central park at the height of the
great depression closed january due to bankruptcy but fans of the tavern
where john lennon used to drop by and play the piano won be entirely starved
the over the top interior is being stripped out and put on the auction block
january
news culture amp lifestyle economy
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web mmv
as part of afptv special coverage ahead of the vancouver games beginning next
month we will file the following report
vancouver olympics the greenest games ever
vancouver canada
vancouver is set to host to most environmentally friendly olympics in history
but not everyone is focused on green certified buildings and energy efficient
technologies in west vancouver residents say that protecting nature was not
priority when planners designed the new highway to whistler an infrastructure
project that was integral to winning the olympic bid
environment amp nature
voiced report transmitted by gmt
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contact
michelle hoffman
warwick wise
jordanian confirms brother killed in us strike in pakistan
amman jan afp
