percent and business investment plunged by percent the destatis
national data service said in statement
this was the worst figure since the great depression when german output
contracted by more than seven percent in it added
unicredit economist andreas rees summed up as the annus horribilis for the
german economy
destatis president roderich egeler told journalists in wiesbaden western
germany that the economic slump occured essentially during the winter period
of late and early
economic activity expanded percent in destatis said and the
government has estimated some say conservatively that it should grow again
by percent this year
berlin posted better than expected public or budget deficit of billion
euros billion dollars meanwhile around percent of total output after
balancing its accounts in the data showed
that was the second best eurozone deficit behind luxembourg commerzbank chief
economist joerg kraemer noted
the european union holds member states to public deficits of no more than
percent of gross domestic product gdp and it was the first time in four years
that berlin exceeded the limit destatis said
germany releases fourth quarter and final gdp figures on february
this year the finance ministry expects the deficit to exceed percent as the
government spurs the economy with more stimulus measures in an effort to get it
back on track
government spending jumped percent in while household consumption
gained slight percent in part owing to car scrapping premium that
boosted auto sales
german authorities have approved stimulus package worth up to billion euros
in including billion euros in tax relief for families
the country export oriented economy was slammed by the global slowdown but
should benefit from fresh emerging market demand for capital goods such as
machine tools and motor vehicles needed for their own output
imports also fell last year and the global collapse in trade cut percentage
points from german gdp overall
the economy ministry was upbeat wednesday despite the historic slump saying the
worst was over
it is particularly welcome that the labour market has remained surprisingly
resistent economy minister rainer bruederle said in statement
unemployment has been limited by germany short time schemes under which the
state subsidises shorter hours for workers to avoid widespread layoffs
the number of jobless is still likely to reach more than million this year
after averaging million or percent of the workforce in
economists say the economy has to be rebalanced from its dependence on exports
towards more domestic driven growth after estimating that activity weakened in
the fourth quarter of
ihs global insight timo klein concluded that in general the loss in economic
activity is so large that return to the gdp level of first quarter is
unlikely before end or even
israeli islamist leader gets nine months for assault
jerusalem jan afp
court on wednesday sentenced hardline israeli islamist leader raed salah to
nine months in prison for assaulting police officer spokesman for his
movement said
the court sentenced sheikh raed to nine months in prison and gave him six
month suspended sentence for rioting and attacking policeman islamic
movement spokesman zahi njedat told afp
salah has until february to appeal the decision his lawyer khaled zabarka
said adding that his client had not yet decided whether to do so
the alleged assault took place during demonstrations that erupted in and around
jerusalem old city in february when israel embarked on construction
project near the flashpoint al aqsa mosque compound
muslim demonstrators said the repair work near the dung gate threatened the
foundations of the nearby compound which is the third holiest site for muslims
who refer to it as al haram al sharif the noble sanctuary
the compound is the holiest site for jews who refer to it as the temple mount
and has been the scene of several outbreaks of violence over the course of the
decades old israeli arab conflict
in august salah was indicted for inciting racism and violence for
calling for third intifada or uprising to defend the mosque
he was detained in october during similar clashes at al aqsa sparked by rumours
that jewish extremists were attempting to pray inside the compound which is
closed to non muslim worshippers
israel has since banned him from the area fearing further disturbances
israel arab community numbers million accounting for percent of the
population it includes the descendants of the palestinians who remained
in israel after the war and establishment of the jewish state
taiwan defends us missile deal
taipei jan afp
taiwan wednesday defended its latest procurement of us weapons saying the
missiles would give the island more confidence in pushing for rapprochement
talks with china
the mainland affairs council the island decision making body on its policy
with china also called on beijing to dismantle the more than missiles
aimed at the island
the arms build up is necessary for our national defence the council said in
statement furthermore it would make taiwan have more confidence in pursuing
negotiations and exchanges with the chinese mainland
the council was reacting to remarks earlier in the day by taiwan affairs
official in beijing who in press conference reiterated china opposition to
any arms sales to the island
after their split years ago at the end of civil war beijing regards taiwan
as part of its territory awaiting reunification by force if necessary
the us defence department announced last week that it had approved the sale of
patriot missile equipment to taiwan as part of package approved by congress
more than year ago
the deal sparked strong protests from beijing which warned it would violate its
security and undermine trust between the us and chinese militaries
both sides should respect each other the council statement said
it must make sure that neither one should feel it has been threatened by force
from the other side or it would harm the peace and stability of the taiwan
strait
ties between taipei and beijing have improved since president ma ying jeou of
the kuomintang was elected in march on platform to boost trade with the
mainland and to allow in more chinese tourists
even so taiwan remains wary of china objectives often citing the missiles
aimed the island
the united states is the leading arms supplier to self ruled taiwan even though
washington switched diplomatic recognition from taipei to beijing in
diverted plane grounded in irish security alert
dublin jan afp
dutch charter flight made an emergency landing at ireland shannon airport on
wednesday after passenger became unruly triggering security alert an
airport spokeswoman said
year old dutch citizen was arrested after the plane landed and was being
questioned at shannon police station officers ordered the plane to be parked in
remote area of the airport pending questioning she said
the boeing aircraft with passengers on board was flying for charter
company arkefly from amsterdam to aruba in the dutch antilles when the pilot
sought permission to make an emergency landing at shannon
police statement said they were investigating an incident which occurred on
the flight
year old dutch national has been arrested under the air navigation and
transport act and is currently detained under section of criminal justice act
at shannon garda station the statement said
malawi frees veteran ex postmaster after graft conviction
blantyre jan afp
malawi former postmaster mike makawa was on wednesday freed by magistrates
court despite being found guilty of graft this week with judge saying the
stigma of the conviction was punishment enough
the fact that he is convicted is enough punishment considering that it might
have dented his curriculum vitae magistrate innocent nebi said in his ruling
therefore discharge the convict unconditionally he is free now nebi said
makawa was found guilty of failure to declare interest in contracts at the
state funded malawi posts corporation awarded to his wife company
makawa one of several senior government officials charged with graft was
arrested in and accused of awarding five contracts worth dollars to
his wife to supply stationery to the postal service
the magistrate said the graft offence committed by makawa was quite
serious and carried maximum sentence of years jail but the judge said he
had considered mitigating factors to let makawa off the hook
makawa lawyer dengere katundu asked the court to be lenient with his client
because he was first time offender faithful civil servant for years was
years old and was an asthmatic with high blood pressure
makawa was arrested in january last year caught up in president bingu wa
mutharika anti graft drive
the sweep has also snared ex president bakili muluzi accused of embezzling
million dollars in aid during his decade in office
urgent
united nations jan afp
at least five people have been confirmed dead in the collapse of the un
headquarters building in port au prince caused by powerful earthquake
senior un official said wednesday
alert
un to launch major appeal for aid for haiti quake victims
urgent at least five killed in un building collapse in haiti
united nations jan afp
at least five people were killed when the un headquarters in the haitian capital
was toppled by powerful earthquake senior un official confirmed wednesday
brazil defense minister heads to haiti
brasilia jan afp
brazil defense minister and army chief left for quake devastated haiti on
wednesday to get first hand information about badly hit brazilian led un
peacekeeping mission there officials said
brazil also announced it was sending million dollars in immediate aid
according to reports
the agriculture ministry said it was flying out tons of food including
sugar powdered milk and sardines with another tons to be dispatched friday
minister nelson jobin and general enzo martins peri left from brasilia hoping to
land at the ravaged haitian capital port au prince military spokesman general
carlos alberto barcellos said
at least four brazilian soldiers with the un stabilization mission in haiti
minustah are confirmed dead following the massive earthquake that struck port
au prince late tuesday many others are missing
the bulk of the contingent is now working to help the victims of this tragedy
barcellos said
road access in the haitian capital was said to all but impossible because of the
extent of the destruction and many of the buildings left standing were in
imminent danger of collapse
fresh rotation of brazilian soldiers that was to fly into port au prince
on tuesday had to be diverted to northern brazil because of uncertainty over the
state of the tarmac at haiti main airport
brazil is in charge of the military component of the strong multi national
peacekeeping mission and the biggest contributor with soldiers
the chief of the civilian side of the peacekeeping mission tunisian diplomat
hedi annabi and other top officials were believed to have died when the
mission headquarters collapsed french foreign minister bernard kouchner said
the brazilian ambassador to haiti igor kipman told brazil globo news
television network that it possible there are brazilians under the rubble
but he added the information have doesn permit more complete picture
brazilian president luiz inacio lula da silva had deep concern over the
situation of the brazilians and the haitian people and was looking to see what
help brazil could send to haiti the foreign ministry said in statement
the head of the un department of peacekeeping operations alain leroy said on
tuesday that following the collapse of the un peacekeeping headquarters in port
au prince large number of personnel remain unaccounted for
general barcellos said the number of brazilian dead in haiti could rise
stressing that next of kin had to be notified before any other fatalities were
made public
the un peacekeeping mission in haiti counts total of around soldiers and
police
the military contingent is drawn from argentina bolivia brazil canada chile
ecuador france guatemala jordan nepal paraguay peru the philippines
south korea the united states and uruguay
the peacekeeping mission was set up in haiti in june following an armed
insurrection that forced then president jean bertrand aristide to flee the
country
erratic guinean leader chosen by god
conakry jan afp
military leader moussa dadis camara who was flown from morocco to burkina faso
to continue his convalescence after barely surviving an assassination attempt
has frequently expressed the view that he was chosen by god to lead his poverty
stricken west african country
before he emerged as the top member of junta that seized power more than
year ago captain camara was unknown to most guineans camara was flown to
morocco for emergency treatment for head wound in early december after
murder bid by his aide lieutenant aboubacar sidiki diakite who has since gone
into hiding
camara arrived in ouagadougou from rabat late tuesday to continue his
convalescence burkina faso foreign ministry said
in his mid he is known to have joined the armed forces in and to have
served mainly in the army fuel supply department
in he was among army officers who took part in wave of unrest against the
regime of veteran president lansana conte aimed notably at gaining payment of
salary arrears he later stated that his role in the incidents and in similar
events the following year had been mainly to calm down his fellow soldiers
when conte died on december after long illness dadis camara was
among group of officers who immediately seized power and the following day he
emerged as the junta leader
although he initially asserted that he had no intention of running in the
elections that the junta promised to hold he soon began to show signs of
letting his power go to his head
the junta leader spent most of his days in the main military camp that served as
his headquarters near conakry where he had large numbers of pictures of himself
put on display
he asserted on several occasions that he had been chosen by god who confers
power on whoever he wishes
by april last year he had already forgotten his promise not to run in the
elections and was showing signs of being increasingly erratic
in his frequent appearances on national television which became known as the
dadis show he would rail against fellow officers who he accused of
systematic corruption and highlight his own modest origins in the nzerekore
region in the far southeast of the country
but it was the events of september last year that turned most guineans
against him
on that day his soldiers went on rampage of shooting and rape in conakry
sports stadium where large crowd of opposition supporters were attending
rally against camara as potential election candidate
although his regime later claimed that only people had been killed human
rights groups reported over deaths with some injured and large
numbers of women raped often with extreme brutality
after the event camara expressed little remorse stating that his army was
uncontrollable but that it also had feelings and respect for him
recent un report on the stadium massacre in guinea capital conakry named
camara as suspect as it accused the army of crimes against humanity during
the crackdown on the rally
the united states and other members of the international community have
expressed concern about the possible return of camara to his country
alert
five confirmed dead in un hq in quake hit port au prince un
tough vetting awaits new eu finance overlord
brussels jan afp
france michel barnier nominated as europe new financial services overlord
despite stiff opposition from london faces tricky confirmation hearing on
wednesday before european lawmakers
controversially declared the big winner of the european union top jobs merry
go round by president nicolas sarkozy barnier is already walking tightrope
between competing cross channel business regulatory philosophies
like other figures named by european commission chief jose manuel barroso to
run his cabinet portfolios the former french foreign and farm minister has to
run gauntlet of european parliament deputies starting at gmt
in statement of intent sent to the lawmakers barnier said he favours
dynamic european financial financial sector with intelligent regulation and
efficient surveillance but without creating excessive restrictions
even before the hearing he appears on the defensive as he seeks to balance
lawmakers demands that brussels learns the lessons of the economic crisis by
curbing trading excess while reassuring london he is not too anti free market
his predecessor irishman charlie mccreevy was often criticised for lax
response to the initial financial crisis signs of which first began to appear
in late amid push by many european mps for stricter market controls
mccreevy preference for self regulation is the choice of the city of london
home to percent of europe financial services industry at least until tax
rises that form part of british general election campaign kick in
even before sarkozy termed downing street the big losers barnier had to
accept an englishman jonathan faull previously running the commission
justice and home affairs department day to day as his right hand man
barnier has also to some extent been neutered from taking decisive early
action by barroso decision to ask former financial services chief italy
mario monti to produce an independent report into internal market renewal
home to half billion people and the world biggest trading bloc europe
single market is due for major modernisation over the new commission five year
term to tackle protectionism and the age of digital commerce
barnier has sought to distance himself from accusations he is driven by an
interventionist ideology but joint call to arms by sarkozy and britain
prime minister gordon brown to tax bankers bonuses further irritated the city
of london
the head of the european employers federation businesseurope has also warned
barnier against over regulation philippe de buck fearing that policing by
four new pan eu watchdogs becomes more problem than solution
london secured safeguards for all member states by allowing unpopular eu
regulatory decisions to be appealed all the way through to de facto veto
whenever heads of state and government gather in brussels at their regular
summits
yet barroso has since told european lawmakers that member states diluted bit
too much his body plans for the highly charged sector in clear signal of
where european parliamentarians and barnier are being asked to go
urgent hundreds feared dead in haiti quake un chief
united nations jan afp
hundreds are feared dead in the devastating earthquake that leveled the un
headquarters in the haitian capital and major relief effort will be required
un chief ban ki moon said wednesday
rugby league buderus on comeback trail after broken leg
london jan afp
danny buderus the former australia hooker will play his first match in nearly
six months when he features in leeds team mate matt diskin testimonial game
against bradford on sunday
the former newcastle knights star missed the second half of last year super
league season after breaking leg in match at wigan in july
diskin testimonial match at headingly will also see buderus compatriot brett
delaney make his first appearance for leeds the former gold coast titans centre
has signed three year deal with the super league champions
devastating haiti quake feared to have killed thousands
port au prince jan afp
bodies littered haiti capital wednesday after major earthquake feared to
have killed thousands of people including the head of un peacekeepers here
toppled shantytowns and even the presidential palace
victims were pinned under debris as powerful aftershocks rattled the poorest
country in the americas after the magnitude quake spared no part of the
capital port au prince which was close to the epicenter
injured residents of the crowded caribbean capital poured into streets screaming
in panic with each new tremor bodies were just left in the streets or crushed
under rubble collapsing buildings left port au prince choked with cement dust
for hours after the earthquake
the quake toppled the cupola on the gleaming white presidential palace major
hotel where tourists were missing and the headquarters of the un mission in
haiti where up to personnel were unaccounted for
the building of the un peace mission collapsed and it would appear that all
those who were in the building including my friend peacekeepers chief hedi
annabi and that all those who were with him and around him are dead french
foreign minister bernard kouchner told rtl radio
annabi is the head of the strong united nations stabilisation mission in
haiti minustah brazil is the biggest contributor to the mission with
personnel
jordan reported that three of its peacekeepers were killed and wounded in the
quake the most powerful to hit the country in more than century
brazil said four of its peacekeepers were killed while eight chinese soldiers
were buried in rubble and were missing state media said wji
estimates of the death toll ranged from hundreds to thousands but with every
hour passing it became clear that the destruction and loss of life was
catastrophic
major international relief operation was set underway with the united states
france britain and other countries sending or promising to send help
two hundred foreigners were missing at the hotel montana french secretary of
state for cooperation alain joyandet said
we know there were people inside the hotel when it collapsed only around
have got out which greatly concerns us he told french radio
hospital in the suburb of petionville collapsed as did ministries schools
homes in luxury districts and hillside shanties businesses and markets
police un and red cross vehicles tried to ferry the wounded to hospital but
progress was slow as roads were torn up by the powerful ripples from the quake
the us geological survey usgs reported strong aftershocks hit the country
in the hours after the initial gmt quake
usgs geophysicist susan potter said the last earthquake of such magnitude to
strike haiti was in and possibly as far back as
an aid worker in port au prince described the city as looking like war zone
with eight story buildings collapsed into mounds of rubble
the scene was devastating people are in shock communications director
magalie boyer of aid agency world vision told reporters on conference call
wednesday
the center of port au prince has been destroyed it catastrophe wailed
man named pierre so traumatized he could hardly speak as he surveyed the
disaster
haiti ambassador to the united states raymond alcide joseph described the
quake to cnn as catastrophe of major proportions
haiti ambassador to mexico robert manuel said haitian president rene preval
and his wife are alive and well but did not provide further information
the headquarters of the un mission in haiti minustah which has served as
peacekeeping mission since was destroyed there are numerous people
underneath the rubble both dead and injured local employee said
un chief ban ki moon met top advisors wednesday to decide how to respond to the
emergency
nations around the world offered aid and the united states france canada and
governments across latin america geared to send help while the international
red cross mobilized relief supplies from panama
my thoughts and prayers go out to those who have been affected by this
earthquake said us president barack obama who was to make an on camera
statement and get new briefing on what he has promised will be an aggressive
coordinated us effort following the disastrous earthquake
pope benedict xvi urged generous response to the catastrophe the pope
lamented haiti tragic situation involving huge loss of human life great
number of homeless and missing and considerable material damage
former haitian president jean bertrand aristide exiled in south africa since
his ouster called it tragedy that defies expression
world vision said it would begin distributing first aid kits blankets and
potable water to survivors on wednesday
this is especially devastating in haiti where people are acutely vulnerable
because of poor infrastructure and extreme poverty edward brown world
vision us relief director said in statement
already the poorest nation in the americas haiti has been hit by series of
recent disasters
three hurricanes and tropical storm pounded haiti in killing several
hundred while the country was also gripped by political standoff that year
amid riots over skyrocketing food prices un troops are regular sight in the
country
seventy percent of haiti population lives on less than two dollars per day
and half of its million people are unemployed
alert
un chief plans visit to quake hit haiti as soon as possible
renault to shut down clio production in spain slovenia
paris jan afp
french carmaker renault is planning to shut down production of its clio model in
spain and slovenia but the car will still be made in france company executive
said wednesday
renault has come under heavy pressure from the french government to keep jobs at
home following press reports about planned shift of clio production from
france to turkey
we plan to stop production of the clio in spain and slovenia patrick pelata
renault chief operating officer told reporters after meeting with industry
minister christian estrosi
pelata said no decision has been made on beefing up renault assembly lines in
turkey
no decision has been taken because it is not yet time to make decisions he
said in any case the clio will be produced in flins regardless of what
happens and that is very clear
france number two car maker renault also makes the clio at its plant in
flins in the western paris suburbs and bursa in turkey
some clios rolled off the assembly lines of the valladolid plant in spain
from january to june last year destined mostly for the spanish and portuguese
markets
about clio ii models were also manufactured in the novo mesto factory of
slovenia in the first six months of last year according to renault
the french government on tuesday warned renault that shifting production to
turkey must not lead to job losses in france
employment minister laurent wauquiez said there was red line that renault
must not cross which is no plant closures and no layoffs
renault is not just any ordinary company the state holds percent and we
are not going to be spectators because this is company that has received lot
of assistance during the crisis wauquiez told rtl radio
the spokesman for president nicolas sarkozy ump party frederic lefebvre had
said complete shift to turkey would be unacceptable and called for the state
to intervene to block any such move
over the past decades france which prides itself as an industrial powerhouse
has seen many of its plants move to asia and elsewhere where production costs
in particular labour and taxes are much lower
sudan army rebels clash in darfur
khartoum jan afp
sudanese forces clashed with rebels on wednesday in key area of the troubled
western region of darfur rebels and peacekeepers said
we have taken gulu in jebel marra the fertile plateau in the heart of darfur
ibrahim al hillu spokesman for the sudan liberation army faction of abdel wahid
nur told afp
sudanese aircraft had earlier bombed rebel positions in the jebel moon and jebel
marra areas hillu said adding that clashes had caused casualties among
civilians as well as rebels and government troops
today there were clashes between the army and sla abdel wahid an official
with the un african union peacekeeping mission unamid told afp but did not
confirm if the rebels had taken control of gulu
some ngos are on the ground assisting the local population the official
added
sudanese warplanes have also bombarded positions of the justice and equality
movement jem in jebel moon over the past few days
the darfur conflict that erupted in initially pitted two rebel groups
against the khartoum government and its arab militia allies
but both the rebels and the pro government militias have since splintered into
an array of factions
the united nations says up to people have died from the combined effects
of war famine and disease in darfur and that another million have fled
their homes
the government puts the darfur death toll at people
peace talks between khartoum and rebels in darfur are due to resume next week in
doha qatar
the jem had signed confidence building agreement in february last year with
the aim of holding an eventual peace conference on darfur
libya and the united states have each managed to unite several small darfur
rebel groups in bid to facilitate resolution to the conflict
but sla leader abdel wahid nur who lives in exile in paris refuses to join the
peace process
china urges integration of web telecoms broadcast media
beijing jan afp
china government wednesday called for the acceleration of proposal to
integrate the nation internet telecommunications and broadcast media
the state council or cabinet decided at meeting that integration was needed
to meet the chinese public increasingly diverse information needs
statement summarising the meeting said
however it said the proposal should include strengthened efforts to ensure
information security and that planning for such project had entered
crucial period
the meeting was chaired by premier wen jiabao
china has the world largest telecoms and internet markets by number of users
the integration proposal was floated previously and has been described by state
run media as an effort to develop more seamless integration of voice video
data and multimedia content
the state council statement called for the basic architecture of the project to
be in place by
it gave few other details on the plan and did not indicate why it was advocating
renewed push now saying only that china technical capabilities were
increasingly sufficient for the task
however it came day after google announced it would no longer abide by the
chinese government requirements that it filter internet search engine results
in the country and may pull out of china altogether
the internet giant cited what it called recent cyber attacks on its systems from
