since june
the move would work to fight inflation by requiring banks to hold on to more of
their funds and lend less
china consumer price index key gauge of inflation rose in november after
an almost year long bout of deflation stoking fears that beijing could start
tightening monetary policy in the coming months
however the citi economists said they expected interest rates to stay on hold
until later this year noting that inflation is still relatively low
israel media splashes hazing of turkish envoy
jerusalem jan afp
israeli newspapers on tuesday played up what they called the hazing of
turkey ambassador by israel in an incident likely to ratchet up already high
tensions between the two allies
the media highlighted the fact that deputy foreign minister danny ayalon made
ambassador ahmet celikkol sit on low couch while the israelis sat on high
chairs as he reprimanded the envoy over turkish television thriller which
portrays israeli mossad agents as baby snatchers
the incident mirrored the deterioration in ties since israel devastating
offensive in gaza one year ago which stirred blunt criticism from turkey with
prime minister recep tayyip erdogan again lashing out at israel on monday
but it also came ahead of planned visit to turkey by israeli defence minister
ehud barak on sunday
haaretz newspaper said that barak was keen to mend relations with turkey but
that ultra nationalist foreign minister avigdor lieberman sought to torpedo
those attempts
rather than summoning celikkol to the ministry as is the norm ayalon saw him in
his parliamentary office after making him wait in the corridor and telling staff
to remove the turkish flag and refreshments that were on the table
the important thing is that people see that he sitting low down and we re
high and that there is one flag israeli television aired ayalon as telling
invited photographers and camera crews
israeli dailies all splashed the story on the front page with maariv
headlining the ambassador gets hazing above picture showing the turkish
envoy sitting much lower than ayalon and looking uncomfortable
israel had already issued protest in october when another turkish series
showed israeli soldiers shooting young palestinian children in cold blood
on monday the foreign ministry objected to the broadcasting of the tv show
valley of the wolves which it said showed israel and jews as baby snatchers
and war criminals
the reaction of pana the makers of the turkish series did little to ease the
tension
why does the israeli administration which does not hesitate to bomb children
seeking refuge under the un flag feel so uneasy about the real facts related in
valley of the wolves
maariv said the israeli response was way overdue
the hazing that the deputy foreign minister carried out yesterday was the right
thing but not at the right time we should have done this few months ago
turkey has been israel main regional ally since when the secular muslim
country and the jewish state signed military cooperation deal
relations took sharp turn for the worse when turkey responded angrily to
israel devastating gaza offensive
in memorable outburst erdogan stormed out of debate at the world economic
forum accusing israel of barbarian acts and telling its president shimon
peres sitting next to him that you know well how to kill people
in october turkey excluded israel from joint military drills and said that
bilateral ties would continue to suffer unless israel ends the humanitarian
tragedy in gaza
but in december peres and his turkish counterpart abdullah gul met in bid to
heal the rift
china plans world highest airport in tibet
beijing jan afp
china plans to build the world highest airport in its himalayan region of
tibet at an elevation of nearly metres state media said tuesday
construction of the airport on the so called roof of the world is projected to
start next year at cost of billion yuan about million dollars the
xinhua news agency said quoting local planning official
the airport will be built in the nagqu prefecture at an elevation of
metres feet metres higher than tibet bamda facility which
since has been regarded as the world highest xinhua said
nagqu tibet biggest prefecture sits near the middle of the tibet qinghai
plateau and is home to mostly ethnic tibetan population of about the
report said
with the airport nagqu which is also on the qinghai tibet railway line is
expected to become the centre of an economic hub in the plateau region xinhua
quoted prefecture commissioner tan yongshou as saying
the airport to be located about kilometres miles north of the
regional capital lhasa will be the sixth in the remote region which has been
ruled by china for almost six decades
critics of china rule say new infrastructure such as the recently completed
railway and new airports are allowing its ethnic han majority to flood tibet
exploit its resources and consolidate political control
but beijing has insisted that such projects will raise the standard of living in
the remote region
xinhua quoted nagqu economic planner xu jian as saying at parliamentary
session in lhasa that construction would take three years
the civil aviation network in tibet has taken shape the objective for the next
stage of development is to open direct air routes from tibet to south asian
countries he added
china has ruled tibet since sending in troops in to liberate the region
tibet spiritual leader the dalai lama fled to india in as an uprising
failed and established his government in exile in dharamshala
singapore wants to pull out as sea games host official
singapore jan afp
singapore sports minister confirmed tuesday the city state wants to pull out
of hosting the southeast asian games because of delays in the construction
of new sports hub
vivian balakrishnan the minister of community development youth and sports
told parliament that singapore had informed the sea games federation it would
be ideal to host the biennial event in when the facility is ready
the sea games is significant event in singapore sporting calendar he
said adding that singapore would like the games to be the first international
event held in the sports hub
therefore informed the president of the sea games federation that it would be
ideal for singapore to host the sea games instead of he informed me
that there are several other countries that are keen to host the games he
said
singapore decision to pull out of hosting the biennial event follows repeated
delays to billion singapore dollar billion us sports hub
originally scheduled to be completed this year
the facility including seater national stadium with retractable
roof would have staged major sports such as swimming athletics and football
balakrishnan said the project delays were due to high construction costs and
the global economic downturn
laos hosted the sea games in december
armenia court begins hearing into turkey deal
yerevan jan afp
armenia constitutional court began tuesday considering the legality of
landmark deal that would re establish ties with arch foe turkey amid growing
fears the accord could collapse
judges attended minute session of the inquiry into whether the deal is in
line with the armenian constitution before the president of the court gagik
harutunian announced they would retire for further discussions
turkey and armenia signed two protocols in october to establish diplomatic ties
and reopen their shared border in deal hailed as historic step towards
ending decades of hostility stemming from world war era massacres
but armenia in recent weeks has expressed growing frustration over the turkish
parliament failure to ratify the protocols the armenian parliament has also
yet to ratify the accord
armenian president serzh sarkisian who ordered the court inquiry earlier
this month threatening to walk away from the deal if ankara drags out the
process
turkish officials have repeatedly said the agreements will not be ratified
without progress in armenia dispute with azerbaijan over nagorny karabakh
backed by yerevan ethnic armenian separatists seized control of karabakh and
seven surrounding districts from azerbaijan during war in the early that
claimed an estimated lives
turkey closed its border with armenia in in show of solidarity with
azerbaijan with which it has strong ethnic trade and energy links against
yerevan support for the enclave separatists
nivea maker profits down percent
frankfurt jan afp
beiersdorf the german maker of nivea face cream posted on tuesday
provisional net profit of million euros million dollars drop
of percent from the previous year
the firm net profits were boosted by asset sales however
sales across the group fell by percent to billion euros
the firm cosmetics division was relatively resilient recording sales of
around five billion percent fall from
but sales at beiersdorf adhesives business much more dependent on the
economic climate were down percent on the previous year to million
euros
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 counter
revolutionaries and foreign powers
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
iran state broadcaster said mohammadi was assassinated in terrorist act by
counter revolutionaries and agents of the arrogance without naming any
sources
iranian officials usually refer to the united states and some other western
powers as the global arrogance
tehran prosecutor abbas jafari dolatabadi told the isna news agency that
mohammadi was lecturer in nuclear energy and said the booby trapped bike was
parked outside his house and 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 eastern iran
witness told afp that tuesday explosion was strong blast breaking window
glasses in neighbouring houses and cars
iran state run arabic language tv 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
hardliners have also accused the people mujahedeen of infiltrating anti
government protests and carrying out attacks
none of the reports said whether mohammadi was connected to iran controversial
nuclear programme which the west suspects is masking an atomic weapons
programme
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
china defends handling of rio tinto case
beijing jan afp
china confirmed on tuesday that an espionage probe into an australian executive
with mining giant rio tinto was complete and defended its handling of the case
which has strained ties with canberra
shanghai police have completed their investigation into the rio tinto case and
the case has been turned over to shanghai prosecutors said foreign ministry
spokeswoman jiang yu
however jiang declined to comment on whether australian passport holder stern
hu and three chinese colleagues would eventually face trial
the four were arrested in july and initially accused of stealing state secrets
the allegations were later watered down to industrial espionage centring on
alleged bribery during talks over iron ore contracts
the case has all along been handled according to relevant chinese laws legal
processes and china australia consular agreements believe this case will
result in lawful and just outcome jiang added
the spokeswoman said it was up to prosecutors in shanghai to decide whether and
when to bring the case to trial
australia said on monday that it had been notified by china that the case had
been turned over to prosecutors
hu arrest soured diplomatic relations with australia and raised questions
about business deals with rapidly industrialising china the world biggest
iron ore consumer
it came just weeks after rio tinto snubbed massive cash injection from
chinese state firm and coincided with annual iron ore contract talks the tense
negotiations later collapsed
field hockey striking india stars face world cup ban
new delhi jan afp
india field hockey chiefs on tuesday refused to rule out sacking the entire
world cup squad if the players do not end their strike over pay row and return
to training
it suspension is an option hockey india ad hoc president ashok mattoo
told afp but am confident it won come to that we will talk to the players
and sort matters maybe they are being misled
the man squad for next month world cup in new delhi stopped training at
their camp in the western city of pune last week and refused to return to the
field until their demands were met
truce reached in new delhi on saturday after six players flew down for talks
with hockey india officials collapsed within hours as the squad hardened its
stand
mattoo and other hockey india officials arrived in pune on tuesday for further
meetings with the players amid speculation the squad had been given hour
deadline to end their strike
thought everything was sorted out on saturday said mattoo who heads hockey
india ad hoc committee after the elected body was sacked last year for alleged
financial irregularities
we do not have the sort of money the players are asking for and even if we
give in to their demands the decision could be overturned by the new office
bearers who take over next month
hockey india elections will be held on february barely three weeks ahead of
the nation world cup at the dhyan chand national stadium in new delhi from
february to march
the players are demanding what they said were outstanding dues of rupees
dollars each performance related bonuses and graded contracts with
monthly salaries
india once the masters of the game with eight olympic titles failed to qualify
for the beijing games last year and earned direct world cup berth only by
virtue of being the hosts
they won the sultan azlan shah invitation tournament in malaysia last year and
finished third behind new zealand and pakistan in the champions challenge event
in argentina
team india goalkeeper adrian souza told the hindu newspaper from pune on
tuesday the entire squad was united in its fight against the administration
feel this is the moment for us to do something towards better future for
youngsters wanting to play hockey souza said adding the protest before the
world cup was not unjustified
last year we were told about cash incentives for international victories the
announcements were made orally now we want the specifics in writing it is all
we are asking
before the team left for argentina letter from the players was handed over
but nothing happened when we returned we then set january deadline for an
official response and then stopped training
souza said the squad was ready for further discussions with hockey india
officials we are better prepared now to talk issues out he said
former india captain pargat singh said the players demands were justified but
castigated them for going on strike
the players have been asking for better facilities and payments for long
time said pargat but going on strike is not the way to do it our world cup
should not suffer
new zealand and fiji agree to improve relations nz minister
wellington jan afp
new zealand and fiji have agreed to improve relations which soured after
military coup in fiji three years ago new zealand foreign minister murray
mccully said on tuesday
but mccully said the move would not mean any change to sanctions imposed by new
zealand against the regime after military leader voreqe bainimarama overthrew
fiji elected government in the december coup
none of this signals change to new zealand substantive policy with regard
to the regime in fiji nor does it signal any change in the sanctions regime
currently in place mccully told reporters
but it does signal determination to improve the relationship and in
particular to be able to agree to disagree about some things
the decision follows unpublicised talks between mccully and his fijian
counterpart ratu inoke kubuabola in fiji tourist centre nadi on friday and
saturday
new zealand has been one of the most strident critics of the military regime and
both countries expelled each other diplomatic mission chief in november
mccully said the two governments have now agreed to appoint an additional
counsellor in their respective missions and decided in principle that new deputy
mission heads should be appointed
mccully said there had been ongoing communications with kubuabola in recent
months and that the pair had agreed to keep in close contact and to meet as
necessary in future
fiji expelled new zealand head of mission along with australia high
commissioner ambassador last november the third time since the coup that
wellington top representative in suva had been sent home
it was angered by the impact of australian and new zealand sanctions banning
people linked to the regime travelling to their countries
bainimarama has repeatedly accused both wellington and canberra of bullying his
country since the coup
australian foreign minister stephen smith said he supported new zealand move
he said australia and new zealand shared the view that whilst we have strong
disagreement with the interim fiji government and want fiji to return to
democracy at some point in the cycle we do need to have dialogue with the
fiji government
fiji was suspended from the nation pacific islands forum in may last year and
from the commonwealth in september over bainimarama broken promises to hold
elections by march
international condemnation of bainimarama increased in april after his
government tore up the constitution sacked the judiciary and tightened media
censorship following court ruling that the regime was illegal
the regime announced it planned to hold elections by september after
rewriting the constitution and introducing new voting system
china scraps limits on foreign wind turbine parts
beijing jan afp
china has scrapped restrictions on the use of foreign parts in wind power
turbines state media reported as the nation seeks access to more advanced
technology to meet its clean energy targets
the decision by the national development and reform commission ndrc means wind
farms in china no longer have to source at least percent of turbine parts
from the domestic market the china business news said monday
the restrictions were scrapped late last year but were not announced publicly
the newspaper said
the move would help the development of the country wind power industry and
establish an open market of rational competition the report said citing
statement sent to local governments by the ndrc the country top economic
planning agency
if the limit was kept in place it would hold up china drive for more advanced
wind power technology it said
foreign companies had around percent of china wind turbine market before
the cap was introduced in the global times said tuesday that share stood
at percent in
china installed wind power capacity was forecast to reach gigawatts out
of total power capacity of gigawatts by the end of xinhua news
agency reported last month compared with gigawatts at the end of
that would lift china to surpass spain and become the world third biggest wind
power producer after the united states and germany the report said
china which relies on coal for more than percent of its energy is the
world largest emitter of the greenhouse gases blamed for global warming
but it has set target of generating percent of its energy from renewable
sources mainly wind and water by
french growth sped up in fourth quarter central bank
paris jan afp
france economy grew percent in the final quarter of the central bank
forecast on tuesday revising downward previous estimate but still showing the
pace of economic growth picking up
the central bank had previously estimated that the economy grew percent in
the last three months of after advancing percent in the july september
quarter as france gradually emerges from tough recession
the government estimates the economy shrank percent in as whole
france and germany were among the first european countries to exit recession
last summer ahead of britain and the united states
france to raise million euros from trader bonus tax
paris jan afp
france expects to raise million euros million dollars from its one off
tax on bank bonuses that will apply to some traders finance minister
christine lagarde said tuesday
the minister dismissed suggestion that banks will leave france in protest at the
measure and said france will turn up the pressure on the united states to rein
in bank bonuses during group of meeting in february
don believe that there will be an exodus of traders said lagarde in the
interview to the pro government le figaro newspaper
where would they go to london she asked noting that britain was also
applying the bonus tax
the percent tax will apply to bankers who have earned bonus of more than
euros and for the time being there are no plans to extend it beyond
she said
we are counting on an influx of million euros of which million will be
set aside to support the guarantee fund for depositors to strengthen the
security of account holders she said
the french government last month approved draft bill for the new tax that will
be contained in new legislation on financial regulation due to go before
parliament this month
french president nicolas sarkozy and british prime minister gordon brown agreed
during meeting in brussels in december to tax bankers bonuses as part of
drive to make banks more responsible
we wanted an exceptional tax to address exceptional circumstances lagarde
said that was the objective guiding us
leading french bank bnp paribas sparked public outrage here in august over its
plan to pay more than billion euros in bonuses to its staff
it argued it was acting within group of rules and warned that foreign banks
might poach its best staff if they were denied decent bonuses but that failed
to placate public opinion
the us administration has balked at such measures targeting banks but lagarde
said american public opinion was behind them
she suggested that president barack obama would now turn his attention to
financial regulation having completed health care reform
can imagine that we would allow such excess from american banks it would
politically unmanageable in courty where unemployment has reached percent
she said
the issue will be discussed at the meeting of finance ministers in canada in
early february she said
american airlines ups ante in jal bidding war
tokyo jan afp
american airlines on tuesday raised the stakes in bidding war with rival delta
for slice of ailing japan airlines whose shares crashed on fears that
bankruptcy is imminent
american airlines its oneworld alliance partners and private equity company tpg
lifted their proposed investment in asia biggest carrier to billion
dollars from previous offer of billion dollars
the us carrier is competing with delta air lines which has offered jal one
billion dollar financial package as the two airlines seek to increase their
share of the lucrative asian market
american offer brings stability and certainty to japan airlines at time
when it is most needed as it faces turbulent times over the coming weeks and
months the us carrier vice president thomas horton said
american said that by sticking with oneworld jal stood to gain two billion
dollars over the next three years from its links with other alliance members
including british airways qantas and cathay pacific
we believe we have far superior proposal than the competing proposal said
horton we ve had long standing relationship with japan airlines
investors dumped jal shares on reports that the debt ridden airline is likely to
be delisted from the tokyo stock exchange and is preparing for court backed
bankruptcy filing possibly next week
prime minister yukio hatoyama suggested tuesday that shareholders should share
the pain saying they had certain responsibilities
japan government has pledged to avoid collapse of the former state owned
carrier but has refused to rule out bankruptcy proceedings which could aid
jal restructuring but would likely leave investors out of pocket
jal share price plunged by the daily limit of yen or almost percent to
hit record low of yen tuesday amid glut of sell orders the shares have
tumbled percent over the past three months
jal which lost about billion dollars in the six months to september is
seeking its fourth government bailout since to enable it to keep flying in
the face of mounting debts
according to japanese media jal is set to receive an injection of public funds
worth several hundred billion yen several billion dollars under
restructuring package that would see it file for bankruptcy protection
at the same time jal creditor banks are expected to be asked to forgive loans
worth several hundred billion yen
jal is too big to fail but the japanese government may irk voters if it throws
cash at the ailing carrier said peter harbison executive chairman of the
centre for asia pacific aviation sydney based consulting firm
the airline needs to take some tough restructuring decisions that have been
skirted for too long he said
the airline is reportedly set to slash more than jobs over three years to
stem massive losses
jal is hobbled by heavy costs stretching back to its days as state owned flag
carrier as well as route network that includes flights to small domestic
airports that are often unprofitable to service
but jal is not the only asian airline that is suffering harbison noted
there aren that many airlines in the region that are all that healthy right
now governments are digging fairly deep to keep these sometimes geriatric flag
carriers in the air he said
the government and the turnaround body are said to be considering tapping kazuo
inamori the year old honorary chairman of electronics maker kyocera corp
to become chief executive of jal during the restructuring process
india bharti acquires control of bangladesh telecom firm
mumbai jan afp
india biggest mobile phone firm bharti airtel on tuesday announced it will
acquire percent stake in bangladesh based warid telecom signalling the
company strong global ambitions
bharti would take management and board control of warid statement to the
mumbai stock exchange said
the landmark deal underlines our intent to further expand our operations to
international markets sunil mittal chairman of bharti said in the statement
bharti said its fresh investment of million dollars raising its total
investment to one billion dollars would be used for network expansion and
introducing new services
last week the bangladesh telecommunications regulatory commission cleared the
deal for bharti to buy the stake in warid fully owned subsidiary of the abu
dhaibi based dhabi group
launched in warid is bangladesh fourth largest mobile phone firm with
nearly three million subscribers across the country
dhabi group will continue to hold the other percent stake in warid
bharti will purchase existing shares from the dhabi group and also subscribe to
fresh shares issued by the bangladesh firm
the move into bangladesh by bharti comes after its plan to ally with south
africa mtn to create an emerging market telecom giant collapsed in september
bharti shares on tuesday rose as much as percent to day high of
before retracing on profit taking to or percent higher in early
afternoon trade
four rwanda genocide survivors killed in attacks
kigali jan afp
four survivors of the genocide against rwanda tutsi community who have
testified in court were killed in grenade attacks in recent days the main
survivors organisation said tuesday
the killings were punishment for their testimony to local courts alleged
theodore simburudali chairman of the ibuka remember group
man and his wife were killed three days ago when grenade was thrown at them
in night time attack in the southern province of byimana he told afp
several people including the one who hurled the grenade were arrested he
said
grenade also killed two young brothers in muhura in eastern rwanda week ago
simburudali said
these assassinations still bear the hallmarks of the genocide ideology and are
punishment for victims who have testified in the gacaca popular tribunals he
said
at least people were killed in days during the genocide carried out
