but in the short run think we have to look at what humanitarian
accessibility might be made available for short term stays and under what
circumstances said democratic house majority leader steny hoyer
hoyer later underlined that there were no specific proposals at this point in
time to do so and cautioned don want to prejudge what action we will
take
my thought is my gut tells me that if we re talking short term that is
something where we can move but you need to figure out how many numbers we re
talking about he told reporters
it was not clear what steps the us congress facing november mid term elections
would take in light of double digit unemployment in sputtering economy
machu picchu mudslides kill five strand tourists
lima jan afp
flooding and mudslides near peru historic ruins of machu picchu have killed at
least five people and stranded tourists emergency services said tuesday
an operation to airlift the foreigners out of the southeastern disaster zone hit
was suspended because of heavy rain after just were flown out by helicopter
two men drowned in swollen river another died in landslide and mother
and her child were killed in the town of cusco when heavy rainfall made their
home collapse emergency officials said all were believed to be local
peruvians
local media also reported year old argentine tourist and his year old
peruvian mountain guide died as they were trekking the inca trail famous
andean pathway that leads to machu picchu
police told afp they were trying to verify those two deaths and had sent
patrol along the trail
peru presidential chief of staff javier velasquez traveled to cusco with
emergency level ministers and officials to evaluate the situation and coordinate
rescues
the country civil defense service said it estimated the homes of people
in poor rural areas many of them riverside dwellings made of clay and straw
had been destroyed another people were affected to lesser degree
losing possessions or suffering property damage
in cusco where day state of emergency has been declared two bridges
collapsed and houses were destroyed
machu picchu is one of the most popular destinations for tourists in latin
america attracting more than visitors year
the th century inca ruins are located on high mountain ridge kilometers
miles from cusco railway that transports tourists to the site was
covered by mudslide
oil prices fall on china concerns
london jan afp
oil prices weakened tuesday on concerns that major energy consumer china will
make further moves to tighten credit so as to slow its booming economy analysts
said
new york main futures contract light sweet crude for delivery in march slid
cents to dollars barrel
london brent north sea crude for march was down cents to dollars in
late afternoon deals
prices were driven lower on concerns that china might further restrict bank
lending said victor shum an analyst at energy consultants purvin and gertz
that what driving the market he added
policymakers in china have taken steps to tighten credit in bid to slow down
its roaring economy which grew by sizzling percent in the fourth quarter
of last year
china is the world second biggest oil consuming nation after the united
states
oil prices had begun the week higher closing up almost one dollar on monday as
wall street recovered traders said
crude saw small rebound on monday bouncing off friday lows said vtb
capital commodities analyst andrey kryuchenkov
the market was reversing some losses after heavy sell off at the end of last
week however gains were still capped as little changed fundamentally
regarding supply and demand overall oil was still trading in line with the
broader market he added in note to clients
prices slumped last week on the growing concerns about chinese policy and after
us president barack obama unveiled plans to crack down on the us financial
sector hitting overall investor confidence
gasoline or petrol reserves in the united states the world biggest energy
user increased by larger than expected million barrels in the week ending
january striking two year high official data showed
us refineries operated at percent of capacity their lowest rate in at
least two decades apart from the immediate aftermath of hurricane
world oil demand meanwhile grew between october and december after sliding
during the previous five quarters the centre for global energy studies said in
monthly report published on tuesday
global oil demand has finally turned the corner with oil use in the fourth
quarter of up on the fourth quarter of after five consecutive quarters
of year on year decline the london based cges said
the recovery in oil use remains fragile though and concentrated in developing
countries
the cges also cautioned that supply and demand conditions would not warrant
higher prices this year
despite rising demand market fundamentals are not expected to support upward
pressure on oil prices in it said noting that only temporary factors
had boosted the market in recent months
the recent surge in oil demand has been boosted by temporary seasonal factors
driven by extremely cold weather across much of the northern hemisphere which is
unlikely to last beyond the end of the first quarter
cold weather claims more lives in europe
bucharest jan afp
deep freeze gripping europe claimed more lives tuesday as record low
temperatures combined with snow and ice to disrupt travel close schools and
trigger emergency measures
ten people died of cold in poland police spokeswoman said tuesday after
on sunday raising the death toll since november to mainly homeless men
while around homes in the south were without electricity
in romania one of the worst hit nations people have died in six days with
fatalities in the last hours the ministry of health said
with temperatures plunging as low as minus celsius minus fahrenheit in
the centre authorities triggered an emergency measure that allows them to cut
gas supplies to companies in favour of households in case of shortage
in neighbouring bulgaria many schools remained closed for second day and
nearly towns registered record low temperatures for the day
rescue services continued to fight their way through snow drifted roads to
villages that have been cut off but two highways east from the capital to the
black sea coast were finally reopened
in russia schools were closed in the orel region south of moscow nearly
people were without power in mountainous chechnya and the agency ria novosti
said some automatic money dispensers froze in moscow
the regnum news agency reported people had died of cold in part of the volga
region since january
the director of russia meteorological agency gydromedtsentr was quoted by ria
novosti news agency as saying temperatures this month had not risen above zero
anywhere in the european part of russia
in russia far east the thermometer plunged to minus celsius in parts of
siberia and minus in irkutsk
authorities in the czech republic said at least six people had died of the cold
over the weekend and several accidents caused by snow disrupted traffic on two
key highways
german homeless charity said the death toll there of was the highest for
more than decade and more snow and freezing wind is expected
forecasters said more transport problems were expected because of the cold
although monday disruption at frankfurt airport europe third biggest air
hub has eased
the cold snap has not spared western europe either thin coating of snow lay
over madrid and parts of central spain while much of the southeast was on alert
for snow and strong winds
the two yachts that are to battle for yachting prestigious america cup
remained stranded in port for third day scuppering training less than two
weeks before the race
senate debate on nigerian leader health inconclusive
abuja jan afp
nigerian senators marathon closed door debate on president umaru yar adua
health was inconclusive on tuesday the lawmakers spokesman said
the parliamentarians expected to wind up the discussion on wednesday
we have been behind closed doors for the past five hours trying to look at the
issues before us especially regarding the health of mr president and all
other developments surrounding the matter ayogu eze told reporters
we are going to conclude and come out with position at the end of tomorrow
he said
the powerful secretary to the federal government yayale ahmed last week
briefed the senate on the president state of health no details of the meeting
were known
the year old president has been treated for heart condition in saudi arabia
since november
federal high court on friday gave the cabinet two week deadline to decide if
yar adua was fit to stay in office
the cabinet holds its weekly cabinet meeting on wednesday
the yar adua appointed cabinet has so far resisted opposition demands that it
take action over the president absence insisting in previous statement that
he is in full possession of his faculties
yar adua mentor former president olusegun obasanjo last week suggested
yar adua step aside because of his failing health
in ivory coast protest at state tv
abidjan jan afp
more than people held peaceful march thursday in abidjan to protest at
what they regarded as pro presidential line taken by ivory coast state
television
in calm and orderly fashion channelled by police the demonstrators marched
for an hour from the headquarters of the former sole ruling party the
democratic party of ivory coast pdci to ivorian radio and television rti
premises in the chic cocody district an afp correspondent saw
during sit in protest they shouted slogans like don pay my licence fee
to look at president laurent gbagbo and the rti is undermining social
peace
the march authorised by the government was organised by the youth wing of the
rally of houphouetists for democracy and peace rhdp four party opposition
coalition that draws inspiration from late founding president felix houphouet
boigny
the leaders of the youth movements gave the director general of public
television pierre amessan brou motion of protest against the petty bullying
creeping into state media by the clan of presidential candidate laurent
gbagbo
brou whose resignation was demanded replied that the rti had accomplished its
mission even handedly and with much professionalism and planned to contribute
to the return of peace in the west african country which has been split in two
since foiled coup against gbagbo in
after the meeting at the rti headquarters the demonstrators dispersed without
incident during the afternoon
the rhdp notably unites the pdci of former president henri konan bedie and the
rally of republicans rdr of former prime minister alassane ouattara
the two men are gbagbo veteran rivals in the next presidential election which
has been postponed since and is officially due to be held at the end of
february or the beginning of march according to latest agreement among
politicians and ex rebels
peace accord reached in between gbagbo side and the new forces former
rebels who hold the northern half of the country brought about drop in tension
throughout the country
however news of the march on the rti headquarters caused concern in some
quarters over the past few days and some politicians and representatives of
civil society urged the rhdp to call it off
on march crackdown on banned opposition demonstration in abidjan
led to deaths according to the united nations and human rights
organisations and according to the authorities
football organisers relaxed over egypt algeria security
benguela angola jan afp
africa cup of nations organisers insisted tuesday they do not expect repeat
of the violent clashes sparked by november world cup play off between egypt
and algeria when the bitter rivals face off again in thursday semi final
unconfirmed reports suggest algeria will have upwards of fans in benguela
while egypt are expecting around but the high costs of travel to angola as
well as stringent entry visa requirements may lead to far fewer fans turning up
those numbers are but fraction of the crowds that attended november play off
in kartoum and the final world cup qualifier before that in cairo which both
prompted violent incidents that sparked diplomatic row between the two
countries
egypt and algeria foreign ministers speaking by phone on tuesday agreed on
the importance for both sides of approaching the match in benguela wisely an
egyptian ministry spokesman said
the arab league also called for the two countries to overcome their differences
and prove that the friendship and historic ties between egypt and algeria are
too strong to be affected by temporary crisis
fifa security officer in charge of the benguela match venue abel mbengue
refused to volunteer any information as regards to any special measures being
put in place to ensure trouble free nations cup semi final between the fierce
north african rivals
it against protocol to publicly discuss the security for this match he told
afp at the terminus hotel in lobito
confederation of african football caf official who wished to remain
anonymous said they do not expect any problems on thursday and that adequate
arrangements had been put in place to prevent any injuries at the headline game
we do not envisage any problems as has been the case since the competition
started at our centre
there was security meeting on tuesday morning and if need be we would
tighten security but there is nothing to suggest that right now he said
benguela has hosted six first round matches as well as monday quarter final
between champions egypt and cameroon and for each of these games over
security personnel were deployed
the brand new ombaka stadium was filled to its capacity on the opening
day of action in group which featured egypt nigeria benin and mozambique
but attendance has slipped for subsequent matches
there have not be any major security breaches here bar the arrests of some
people who sneak in unauthorised cameras into the arena added the caf
official
we will of course separate both sets of fans inside the stadium to guard
against any problems
egypt international striker mohamed zidan has already stoked the fire of this
perennial rivalry between his country and algeria describing the game as war
and saying the pharaohs had to win it to confirm they deserve to be at the world
cup and not algeria
it will be matter of life and death in that game for both sides it will be
like war said the borussia dortmund star
for us it is chance to show the world that we deserve to go to the world cup
and if we beat them we will be able to watch the world cup with pride
egyptian officials though have tried to downplay the animosity between the two
teams inisting that this is only sport and nothing more
their algerian counterparts on the other hand flew into benguela tuesday
afternoon on chartered flight but refused to discuss the match with reporters
and preferred instead to head straight to their hotel in lobito about
kilometres outside benguela
algeria coach rabah saadane has sought to play down fears of any repetition of
the stormy and violent scenes that were triggered by their last three encounters
against egypt
in our three games against egypt everything passed off smoothly on the pitch
you have to stop talking about that the animosity between the two countries
he insisted
corporate chieftains fear over regulation survey
davos switzerland jan afp
corporate chiefs are more upbeat about the economy this year but they are also
more worried about over regulation according to survey published tuesday
twenty seven percent of chief executives are very concerned by the threat of
over regulation against percent year ago said the poll by
pricewaterhousecoopers at the world economic forum annual meeting in davos
more ceos are extremely concerned about over regulation than any other threat
to business growth said the corporate consultancy giant
bosses who are somewhat concerned now stand at percent from percent
year ago bringing the total percentage of ceos worried about over regulation to
percent
the annual survey was based on interviews with chief executives in
countries
regulators have been pushing for tighter oversight of financial institutions in
the aftermath of the global financial and economic crisis partly triggered by
excessive risk taking by banks
us president barack obama also took tough line last week announcing plans to
limit excessive risk by preventing banks or financial institutions from owning
investing in or sponsoring hedge fund or private equity funds
while these measures target the financial sector other sectors are fearful of
spillover effect pwc noted
we believe ceos also worry that regulatory approaches designed to deal with
perceived problems in the financial sector will wend their way through the
entire economy said pwc
its report quoted graham mackay chief executive of british brewer sabmiller as
saying certain regulatory reforms useful and necessary for financial companies
new approaches to risk remuneration or corporate governance would
clearly be intrusive if applied indiscriminately to business as whole
however the survey indicated that chief executives were also more optimistic
about future growth
four in five bosses are confident about business prospects in the next
months compared to percent year ago
industry leaders in emerging economies also displayed more confidence than
developed economies with almost all percent of ceos in india saying
they were confident and percent of those in latin america and china
by comparison in north america and western europe percent expressed
optimism
the positive trend is reflected in recruitment with close to percent of ceos
planning to increase their staff strength this year
those who are still planning job cuts have halved to percent from percent
year ago
life as star cook no piece of cake says robuchon
paris jan afp
top french cook joel robuchon onetime chef of the century who threw in his
apron to find happiness on tuesday approved decision by his colleague star
spanish chef ferran adria to temporarily close his kitchens
he repeatedly told me he stop work early in life robuchon told afp in
telephone interview he say you were right promise you ll stop
adria on tuesday announced two year closure of his el bulli restaurant
starting in citing fatigue and need to rethink the future
el bulli north of the northeast spanish city of barcelona has three michelin
stars and has repeatedly been crowned the world best restaurant
it very time consuming job specially when you re listed as top
establishment by the guides said robuchon you worry about every little
thing there enormous pressure
robuchon gave up his stars in at the age of saying life at the top was
too stressful he was the first of run of great french chefs to turn their
backs on gourmet stardom followed notably by alain senderens in and
olivier roellinger in
he has since opened new eateries that have earned him more michelin stars than
any other chef
free man now he said
karzai wins backing for strategy to woo taliban
istanbul jan afp
afghan president hamid karzai won regional support tuesday for his efforts to
cajole islamist insurgents to lay down their arms as germany offered more
troops and cash for the ravaged nation
the backing came ahead of major conference on afghanistan in london on
thursday but suicide attack near us military base in kabul that injured
nine underscored the difficulty in taming the insurgency
karzai also hit back at criticism from the us ambassador to kabul raising new
questions about ties between the two nations ahead of the conference
after talks with his turkish and pakistani peers as well as officials from
countries such as china iran and russia karzai said moderate taliban fighters
should be brought back into the fold
in joint statement after the meeting in istanbul the participants declared
that they support the afghan national process of reconciliation and
reintegration in way that is afghan led and driven
the turkish hosted talks form part of the build up to the conference in london
where karzai hopes to secure western support for his strategy of wooing taliban
fighters with jobs and money
that strategy already appears to have won the endorsement of germany whose
chancellor angela merkel announced tuesday that her government would ask
parliament for another troops for afghanistan
she said berlin would also provide million euros million dollars to
million dollar global fund to bring insurgents into the mainstream and
roughly double development aid to million euros
berlin currently has about troops in afghanistan on top of boosting that
force by merkel government wants to offer reservists who could be
deployed for limited period
karzai said the reintegration of taliban followers was essential to national
unity provided they were not followers of osama bin laden al qaeda network
those taliban who were not part of terrorist networks or al qaeda are the sons
of the afghan soil karzai said they are thousands and thousands and
thousands and they have to be reintegrated
on monday karzai said he would appeal at the conference in london for taliban
names to be removed from un blacklist
the idea had previously met resistance but as we are talking today there is
more willingness that this can be reconsidered he said
while there was no immediate reaction to the proposal taliban spokesman
zabihullah mujahid stated last week that the only political solution is that
the foreign forces and the afghan government surrender to us
white house spokesman robert gibbs noted that us generals david petraeus and
stanley mcchrystal had drawn parallels between afghanistan and reconciliation
schemes that had worked with factions in iraq
gibbs said washington was open to similar path to what happened in iraq
provided that whoever this is accepts the afghan constitution renounces
violence and publicly breaks with groups that advocate violence
richard holbrooke the special us envoy for afghanistan and pakistan also said
monday that the nations meeting in london would back kabul proposal to set
up reintegration fund to persuade fighters to lay down arms
but there were reminders on tuesday of tensions between the united states and
afghanistan more than eight years into the conflict
karzai hit back at criticism by us ambassador karl eikenberry dating back to
november after the new york times published diplomatic cables sent by the envoy
in which he warned karzai was not an adequate strategic partner
if partnership means submission to the american will then of course it not
going to be the case karzai told reporters
but if partnership means cooperation between two sovereign countries one of
course very poor and the other very rich then we are partners
under plan announced by president barack obama in december more us
troops are to be deployed to the battlefield this year and nato partners have
pledged about new troops
that would swell the foreign deployment in afghanistan to about to
tackle the insurgency and train afghan police and army to prepare for when us
troops begin to withdraw in mid
cricket mcc in the pink over abu dhabi opener
london jan afp
marylebone cricket club mcc named their team tuesday for their ground breaking
season opener against county champions durham in dubai in march
this will be the first time the match has been played away from mcc lord
headquarters in london and in another break with tradition the first class
fixture will be played under flodlights using pink cricket balls
gloucestershire captain alex gidman leads an mcc side featuring veteran former
england batsman mark ramprakash ex england wicketkeeper james foster and the
promising trio of james taylor dawid malan and paceman steven finn
the four day match between mcc and durham will be played at the sheikh zayed
stadium from march and could help pave the way for day night test cricket
long talked about as way to revive interest in test matches day nighters
feature of the one day international programme for over years have yet to
become part of the five day game because of concerns that different coloured
cricket balls would not be as durable as the traditional red ball that is
difficult to see under floodlights
mcc head of cricket john stephenson said tuesday this is traditional
fixture but there little else about this match that is traditional
it not just contest between mcc and the champion county but crucial step
in researching the pink ball and first class cricket under floodlights the
former england batsman added
we re very pleased to be fielding an extremely talented mcc team in what will
undoubtedly be tough test against the strongest county in england
from speaking to our players in recent weeks it clear there is passion to
play in this game not only so they can kick start their season but because they
feel they can contribute to our wider research for the good of the game we re
really looking forward to the match
meanwhile gidman said was delighted to be invited to play in this match
and to be asked to captain is huge privilege
my family have strong ties with mcc and both myself and my brother will spent
time as mcc young cricketers so cannot wait to lead out the mcc team in such
an historic fixture
using pink balls under lights in four day first class match promises to be
very interesting experiment and certainly something that every player will be
looking forward to being part of
top us lawmaker us trade with skorea not fair
washington jan afp
top us lawmaker poured cold water tuesday on hopes for enacting stalled free
trade pacts with colombia panama or south korea and doubted us autos had
fair shot in the asian ally markets
democratic house majority leader steny hoyer warned an extraordinary
discrepancy in two way automobile sales made the accord with seoul more
controversial in the us congress than the two other frozen agreements
like to see panama and colombia pass for passing those think south
korea is little more controversial but much more consequential as well
because the volume of trade hoyer told reporters
but hoyer expressed broad doubts of action on any of the three accords saying
they were very controversial in both major us parties because of worries about
losing us jobs in period of double digit unemployment
he noted official figures that show south korea shipped about cars to
the united states in while just moved in the opposite direction and
underlined that doesn seem like very fair relationship
whether there are trade barriers or cultural barriers or other barriers it
just doesn seem like very fair deal he said what we need to make sure
of is that we have fair trade
analysts in seoul say the figures exclude more than vehicles made by
general motors subsidiary in korea while including vehicles made by hyundai
plant in alabama
the deal signed in june still awaits ratification by congress amid us
demands for greater market access for its cattlemen and carmakers the delay is
potential irritant in otherwise close relations
south korea said in mid november it was ready for talks to ease us automakers
concerns about the accord
clinton endured more criticism than whole countries
washington jan afp
hillary clinton who has spent nearly two decades in the national spotlight
joked tuesday she has endured more criticism than some countries as she marked
one year as the top us diplomat
at town hall style meeting with state department employees clinton addressed
worker who took the microphone to complain about her supervisor and accuse her
superiors of spreading bad assessments of her
ve had more criticism in my life than probably whole countries have had
clinton said to laughter and applause in the state department auditorium
it doesn mean that always right or always wrong said clinton who
told the disgruntled employee to air her grievances through standard procedures
clinton took office as secretary of state year ago the latest step in
career in which she had been first lady us senator and presidential
candidate who narrowly lost her bid to be the first female us leader
at the forum clinton saluted employees of the state department and promised to
use her influence in president barack obama administration and with congress
to seek greater resources for diplomacy
she pointed in particular to efforts to save victims of haiti earthquake
calling it an example of her drive to combine diplomacy with development work
wherever go see results see lives saved conflicts averted
partnerships strengthened and the united states acting as force for progress
she said
noriega to appeal supreme court ruling lawyer
washington jan afp
panama former strongman manuel noriega plans to appeal us supreme court
decision allowing him to be extradited to france his lawyer told afp tuesday
frank rubino the former general long time attorney and confidant said he
spoke to his year old client after the supreme court on monday refused to
take up an appeal against his extradition to france on money laundering charges
he was of course disappointed rubino said from his offices in miami but he
is hopeful
we have days to file motion for reconsideration we are going to petition
the court he added
noriega will ask the nine supreme court justices to reconsider their decision
not to hear his case in his latest bid to return to his native panama after
years in us custody
noriega was overthrown and captured during the us invasion of the central
american nation in dubbed operation just cause
the former cia asset was later sentenced to years for drug trafficking
offenses term that was reduced for good behavior
he was due to be released on parole from florida jail in september
noriega faces year sentence in panama for his role in the beheading of
political foe hugo spadafora and for the killing of nine underlings who staged
an unsuccessful coup against him in but would likely serve that sentence
under house arrest because of his age
he still has some allies within the panama ruling elite sparking fears that
his return could destabilize the now prospering nation that was once haven for
drug traffickers and money laundering
but us law experts said noriega and rubino last gasp appeal to go home is
highly unlikely to succeed
reconsiderations are rarely if ever granted said tina drake zimmerman of
