earlier tuesday the central bank sold billion yuan worth of one year bills at
yield of rise of eight basis points and the first hike since august
the explosion in bank lending this month was larger than the combined
billion yuan in new loans given out in october and november and has set off
alarms in beijing the economic information daily reported monday
china adopted what it called moderately loose monetary policy over the past
year to keep the economy growing amid the global downturn and early last year
even urged banks to pump up lending
but after the amount of new loans subsequently surged the government in recent
months reversed course and called for reasonable lending as inflation fears
rose
the consumer price index key gauge of inflation rose in november after an
almost year long bout of deflation
research note by citigroup economists on tuesday said however that they
expected interest rates to stay on hold until later this year noting that
inflation is still relatively low
airbus beats boeing for world number one airbus
seville spain jan afp
european aircraft maker airbus on tuesday said it had outperformed us rival
boeing in as the top producer in the world with plane deliveries and
orders
but its parent company said turnover dropped because of the economic crisis
airbus chief executive tom enders told reporters at press conference in
seville in southern spain that airbus had successful year overall because
airlines had managed to secure financing for planes despite the credit crunch
boeing registered deliveries and orders over the year
enders however voiced disappointment that airbus had only managed to deliver
of its super jumbo in compared to in he said he hoped to
deliver at least of the giant jets in
airbus parent european aeronautic defence and space company eads said
revenues fell nearly percent to billion euros billion dollars
from billion euros in according to preliminary figures
eads chief executive louis gallois said was not an easy year with weak
dollar and we experienced some difficulties but eads demonstrated its
resilience
who would have believed that at the beginning of the year he added
the company said its medium haul series accounted for of its
deliveries while net orders after cancellations came to with catalogue
value of some billion dollars
for orders should be between and airbus commercial director
john leahy said while enders added that production this year should be stable
overall
enders said it was very disappointing that deliveries fell short
adding that the company had taken practical steps to modify the situation
we have no time to lose our target is clearly to develop this
year he added
airbus chief operating officer fabrice breguier said production could be
doubled to four month but gave no timetable noting the technical challenges
involved in building such an advanced and huge aircraft
original delivery of the was delayed for two years are serious problems
arose and recent technical glitches have forced number of the planes in
service to be grounded for repair
despite these setbacks enders said the was success
on the positive side our customers our passengers love this plane for some
years to come it will generate revenue he said
china moves to rein in lending amid overheating fears
beijing jan afp
china pulled pair of fiscal levers on tuesday as authorities sought to rein in
surge of aggressive lending by banks that has raised fears of inflation and
looming asset bubble
after issuing series of recent calls for banks to moderate their lending
activity the central bank took action tuesday hiking the minimum amount of
money that banks must keep in reserve for the first time in more than year
earlier in the day it raised the interest rate on its one year treasury bills
and last week raised the rate on its three month bills increasing borrowing
costs
the widely expected fiscal tightening moves came day after state media
reported banks had extended massive billion yuan billion dollars in
loans in the first week of january
the people bank of china did not give reason for its moves but analysts said
they showed the government intended to rein in credit expansion that has led
to concerns over inflation economic overheating and rash of bad loans
this series of moves by the central bank provides clear sign that policy
makers are following through on their pledge to guide credit in order to pre
empt rising inflation and avoid asset price bubbles jing ulrich an economist
with morgan said in research note
the central bank said in one line notice on its website that the deposit
reserve ratio for commercial banks would be hiked by basis points
the ratio is the minimum amount of money that banks must keep in reserves and is
considered way to limit the amount of money available for lending
state run xinhua news agency said it was the first time the ratio had been
adjusted since late and the first increase in the requirement since june
the increase will take effect monday the central bank said
it did not say what the current requirement was but state media reports said it
was minimum percent for large banks which would rise next week to
percent
the increase would not apply to small and medium sized banks whose requirements
were currently at percent according to media reports
earlier tuesday the central bank sold billion yuan worth of one year bills at
yield of rise of eight basis points and the first hike since august
the explosion in bank lending this month was larger than the combined
billion yuan in new loans given out in october and november and has set off
alarms in beijing the economic information daily reported monday
china adopted what it called moderately loose monetary policy over the past
year to keep the economy growing amid the global downturn and early last year
even urged banks to pump up lending
but after the amount of new loans subsequently surged the government in recent
months reversed course and called for reasonable lending as inflation fears
rose
the consumer price index key gauge of inflation rose in november after an
almost year long bout of deflation
research note by citigroup economists on tuesday said however that they
expected interest rates to stay on hold until later this year noting that
inflation is still relatively low
football kaka prefers technically richer spanish football
madrid jan afp
brazilian international striker kaka who joined real madrid from ac milan in
june said on tuesday he enjoys playing in spain more than in italy because the
football played here is technically richer
enjoy myself more here than in italy because here there is more open
football that is technically richer italian football is more tactical he
told news radio cadena ser
the fifa world player of the year who had been at ac milan since arriving
from sao paulo in said his priority is winning the champions league with
real and he feels totally recovered from hernia
prefer to win the champions league over la liga it is more important
tournament and it would be dream to win it at the bernabeu he said
referring to real stadium which will in may host the final of europe premier
club competition for the first time in years
ricardo izecson dos santos leite which is kaka full name won the
champions league with ac milan as well as the italian league title two
european super cups and the world club championship in
the year old returned to action during real win over real mallorca
after being sidelined with groin strain since his side loss to arch
rivals barcelona at the end of november
played for seven months with pain but thank god it no longer hurts me on
sunday was able to play for nearly minutes without pain know people
expected much more from me but the hernia limits me great deal he said
kaka also heaped praise on portuguese playmaker cristiano ronaldo who joined
the spanish side from manchester united one month after his own move to real
made headlines around the world
cristiano ronaldo is great player and very funny person we are friends and
talk about everything he phenomenon he said
real are currently in second place in la liga two points behind barcelona
nigerians protest as leader breaks silence
abuja jan afp
nigeria ailing president has broken seven week silence to insist he is
getting better and plans to return to work but thousands marched regardless
through abuja on tuesday to demand he step down
around opposition supporters took to the streets of the capital demanding
president umaru yar adua hand over power to his deputy to speed up electoral and
constitutional reforms that have stalled during his lengthy absence
wearing white shirts emblazoned with the words enough is enough the
protestors brandished placards demanding yar adua speak to us and what
happening to yar adua
but speaking to the bbc by telephone yar adua said he was recovering
at the moment am undergoing treatment and getting better from the
treatment the bbc quoted him as saying from his hospital bed in jeddah saudi
arabia
hope that very soon there will be tremendous progress which will allow me to
get back home
as soon as my doctors discharge me will return to nigeria to resume my
duties
the condition of year old leader has been the source of widespread
speculation in africa second largest oil exporter and on monday some online
publications reported he had died the previous day
but critics say his being alive but absent makes little difference to what
they say is dangerous power vacuum in africa most populous country split
between muslim dominated north and christian south and grappling with periodic
outbreaks of religious violence
the issues are not simply about yar adua being in the country or outside the
country the issues are numerous nobel laureate wole soyinka said as he
addressed the rally
we challenge him on the continuing corrupt company that we see plotting around
and controlling affairs from aso rock presidential villa said soyinka who
slammed the insolence with which the legislators have treated this nation
parliament reconvened on tuesday to discuss the political vacuum created by the
absence of yar adua northern muslim
local media reports said the president of the senate was considering dispatching
team of investigators to saudi arabia to summon the president personal
doctor before the senate to verify his condition
yar adua did not delegate executive powers to his vice president goodluck
jonathan when he flew to saudi arabia on november for hospital treatment the
law demands he does so in writing
he has not been seen or heard since he was flown to saudi arabia to be treated
for acute pericarditis an inflammation of the membrane around the heart and
little detail of his condition has emerged
the main opposition action congress said while happy to hear that the head of
state is alive it was disappointed that he chose foreign media outlet to
speak to his country which has been on edge for weeks
while we are happy that he is alive that he spoke we are disappointed that he
chose the bbc to break his silence it quite shameful and very big
disrespect to nigerians ac spokesman lai mohamed told afp
he has contempt for the local media and no respect for many nigerians many of
whom have no access to the bbc he said
on what impact the telephone interview would have on concerns over power
vacuum in africa most populous country and second largest oil exporter
mohamed said it changes very little
the fact that he is alive does not say anything about his state of health
said mohamed
yar adua voice sounded weak in the interview the bbc said
his absence has concided with nigeria being placed on us terror watchlist
after the failed attempt by year old nigerian umar farouk abdulmutallab
to blow up us airliner on chrismas day
yar adua expressed his gratitude for his nation prayers for his recovery
wish at this stage to thank all nigerians for their prayers for my good
health and for their prayers for the nation
influential regional governors from nigeria states met for several hours
late monday to early tuesday but made no statement on yar adua
france accepts google role in book scanning
paris jan afp
france agreed tuesday to work with google to digitally scan french library books
but insisted it would not surrender legal control of its cultural heritage to
the us internet giant
culture minister frederic mitterrand said he would approach google to discuss
their involvement while also pressing on with france own digitisation efforts
he approved an experts report published tuesday which proposed partnership
with google and its online library google books
we are going to propose to google an exchange of documents without
exclusivity in transparent way and with respect for the authors the
minister was quoted as saying by le monde newspaper
france has been searching in recent months for ways to bring its vast cultural
holdings into the digital age including through scanning books and museum
objects so they can be viewed online
last month president nicolas sarkozy announced million euro billion
dollar package of state funding for digitisation of the content of our
museums our libraries and our cinematographic heritage via public private
partnership
google the world leader in internet searches is an obvious candidate with the
expertise for mass digitisation project having already scanned vast numbers
of works for its online library google books
last month it began scanning antique books from the major public collection in
the southeastern french city of lyon under contract with the municipal library
that controversially gives google the rights to the works for years
but suspicion of the huge california based company runs deep and discussions
between google and france national library over similar project raised
concerns that french heritage could fall into private hands
paris court ruled separately last month that google had breached french
publishers copyright by scanning books for its online library
mitterrand said meanwhile france should push on with its own book scanning
project an online catalogue of national library documents called gallica but
acknowledged criticisms of it in the report
not sure we should keep that name he told le monde it bit
nationalistic and archaic
the report commissioned by mitterrand acknowledged google status as leading
player in digitisation but urged caution in negotiating the contracts with it to
keep commercial control and digital distribution rights
no public policy can ignore the advances made by this private operator at
world and european level it said but added that france must keep control
of the digitisation process and above all the distribution of the digital
content
mitterrand said he would visit google bosses at their us headquarters in march
will say to them again when visit them in california that respect for
authors rights must be strict condition of any strong and viable
partnership he said
football mandaric charged with tax evasion
london jan afp
milan mandaric the former chairman of portsmouth was on tuesday charged with
two counts of tax evasion relating to his time in charge of the premier league
club prosecutors said
england crown prosecution service cps announced that mandaric had been
ordered to appear before city of westminster magistrates court on february
in connection with payment of dollars to another person via bank
account in monaco
the cps said in statement that uk tax and national insurance contributions due
on the payment were avoided and that there was sufficient evidence and it was
in the public interest to charge mr mandaric with two counts of cheating the
public revenue
the charging of mandaric follows last month announcement by britain customs
and revenue department that it planned to take action against harry redknapp
who had two spells as portsmouth manager under mandaric
redknapp now the manager of tottenham has denied any wrongdoing
mandaric solicitors confirmed last month that the investigation into their
client concerned payment made to redknapp in and said tax experts had
assured him there was no liability relating to it
valley of wolves tv hit behind israel turkey spat
ankara jan afp
turkish television series at the centre of diplomatic row with israel the
valley of the wolves is long running ratings hit which has drawn criticism
for being too nationalistic and violent
in its latest episode the show star secret agent polat alemdar storms an
israeli diplomatic mission to rescue turkish boy kidnapped by mossad
one scene shows blood splaying over the star of david as alemdar shoots an
israeli agent dead when second israeli agent warns him that he is on foreign
soil and is commiting war crime alemdar responds is it only you who is
allowed to carry out war crimes
nationalist dialogue and victorious turkish operations are the trademark of the
series which became an instant ratings success after it was first broadcast in
the first series which made the protagonist into national hero detailed how
alemdar infiltrated the mafia and brought it down from the inside
but it was not long before calls came for the series to be removed from air on
the grounds that it was nationalistic racist and chauvinistic
opponents also argued that the series dominated by scenes of gunfight and
torture glamourised the life of mafiosi and encouraged youngsters towards
violence
believe the team behind the series is openly racist defends acting outside
the law promotes the mafia and portrays violent role models in manner that
would not have been seen in hitler germany or mussolini italy the
prominent author and poet murathan mungan has said of the series
while the latest episode led to turkey ambassador in tel aviv being carpeted
by his israeli hosts the makers pana have been unapolegetic
why does the israeli administration which does not hesitate to bomb children
seeking refuge under the un flag feel so uneasy about the valley of the wolves
in relation to what it israel has done pana said in statement
the series proved so successful that saw spin off movie valley of the
wolves iraq based on true incident in when us soldiers arrested and
hooded turkish soldiers operating in northern iraq sparking an uproar in
turkey
in the film alemdar heads an elite intelligence unit that goes to iraq to
settle the score over the humiliation
the movie showed us troops carrying out atrocities against iraqis and engaging
in trade of organs extracted from prisoners under the guidance of jewish
doctor for rich buyers in new york london and tel aviv
the movie led to outcry both at home and abroad that it was anti semitic and
anti american
in april the current series began under the title valley of the wolves
ambush in which alemdar takes on four powerful business families who control
turkey economy
nigerians protest sick nigeria leader breaks silence power void lingers
abuja jan afp
nigeria ailing president has broken seven week silence to insist he is
getting better and plans to return to work but thousands marched regardless
through abuja on tuesday to demand he step down
around opposition supporters took to the streets of the capital demanding
president umaru yar adua hand over power to his deputy to speed up electoral and
constitutional reforms that have stalled during his lengthy absence
wearing white shirts emblazoned with the words enough is enough the
protestors brandished placards demanding yar adua speak to us and what
happening to yar adua
but speaking to the bbc by telephone yar adua said he was recovering
at the moment am undergoing treatment and getting better from the
treatment the bbc quoted him as saying from his hospital bed in jeddah saudi
arabia
hope that very soon there will be tremendous progress which will allow me to
get back home
as soon as my doctors discharge me will return to nigeria to resume my
duties
the condition of year old leader has been the source of widespread
speculation in africa second largest oil exporter and on monday some online
publications reported he had died the previous day
but critics say his being alive but absent makes little difference to what
they say is dangerous power vacuum in africa most populous country split
between muslim dominated north and christian south and grappling with periodic
outbreaks of religious violence
the issues are not simply about yar adua being in the country or outside the
country the issues are numerous nobel laureate wole soyinka said as he
addressed the rally
we challenge him on the continuing corrupt company that we see plotting around
and controlling affairs from aso rock presidential villa said soyinka who
slammed the insolence with which the legislators have treated this nation
parliament reconvened on tuesday to discuss the political vacuum created by the
absence of yar adua northern muslim
local media reports said the president of the senate was considering dispatching
team of investigators to saudi arabia to summon the president personal
doctor before the senate to verify his condition
yar adua did not delegate executive powers to his vice president goodluck
jonathan when he flew to saudi arabia on november for hospital treatment the
law demands he does so in writing
he has not been seen or heard since he was flown to saudi arabia to be treated
for acute pericarditis an inflammation of the membrane around the heart and
little detail of his condition has emerged
the main opposition action congress said while happy to hear that the head of
state is alive it was disappointed that he chose foreign media outlet to
speak to his country which has been on edge for weeks
while we are happy that he is alive that he spoke we are disappointed that he
chose the bbc to break his silence it quite shameful and very big
disrespect to nigerians ac spokesman lai mohamed told afp
he has contempt for the local media and no respect for many nigerians many of
whom have no access to the bbc he said
on what impact the telephone interview would have on concerns over power
vacuum in africa most populous country and second largest oil exporter
mohamed said it changes very little
the fact that he is alive does not say anything about his state of health
said mohamed
yar adua voice sounded weak in the interview the bbc said
his absence has concided with nigeria being placed on us terror watchlist
after the failed attempt by year old nigerian umar farouk abdulmutallab
to blow up us airliner on chrismas day
yar adua expressed his gratitude for his nation prayers for his recovery
wish at this stage to thank all nigerians for their prayers for my good
health and for their prayers for the nation
influential regional governors from nigeria states met for several hours
late monday to early tuesday but made no statement on yar adua
verdict on reiss after saturday hearing iran prosecutor
tehran jan afp
an iranian court will deliver final verdict on french academic clotilde reiss
charged in iran with taking part in anti regime protests after hearing on
saturday tehran prosecutor said
her trial session is due on saturday and the court will make final decision
tehran prosecutor abbas jafari dolatabadi told the official irna news agency on
tuesday
the hearing will be the third for the year old academic after she was
arrested on july and charged with acting against iran national security
she was bailed out in august and is currently staying at the french embassy
awaiting the outcome of her case
afghan war should stay out of pakistan fm
abu dhabi jan afp
the war against taliban militants in afghanistan must be fought inside the
country itself and not spill over into pakistan the pakistani foreign minister
said on tuesday
the afghan war has to be fought within afghanistan the challenges within
afghanistan cannot be resolved in pakistan shah mehmood qureshi told reporters
on the sidelines of meeting of special representatives for afghanistan and
pakistan held in abu dhabi
the challenge that we have in pakistan is being faced very bravely and very
courageously by the people of pakistan he said on our side of the border
pakistan is capable of looking after the problem
pakistan faces taliban insurgents and militants who have killed over
people since july
the insurgents are fighting to impose version of islamic sharia and also
oppose islamabad alliance with the united states in the eight year war against
the taliban in neighbouring afghanistan
in his address to the conference afghan foreign minister rangin dadfar spanta
said both diplomatic and military methods were needed to bring stability to his
country
we seek in addition to military means peaceful solutions to our security
challenge spanta said
afghanistan is fully committed to pave the way for return to normal life by
all afghans who are ready to surrender arms and abide by the afghan
constitution he said
on the sidelines of the forum spanta said the us troop surge in afghanistan
must be part of broader strategy including development and strengthening state
institutions if it is to succeed
political reconciliation reintegration of ex fighters capacity building of
civilian institutions improvement of governance and structures inside
afghanistan are very important for forward movement or for stability and peace
in afghanistan he said
egypt deputy foreign minister wafa baseem expressed similar sentiment
we do believe that military measures could be needed sometimes she said but
in the long run they are not the only solution or the solution to
conflict especially in afghanistan
however both pakistan and egypt expressed willingness to train afghan security
forces
we ve offered to train on fast track afghan soldiers and afghan policemen so
that the law enforcement operations within afghanistan improve qureshi said
and baseem said egypt already informed afghanistan in may that it was ready
to provide military training for afghan officers and soldiers
the one day conference brought together delegations from about countries
ahead of january conference on afghanistan in london to be attended by
afghan president hamid karzai and other international leaders
armenia court endorses turkey deal
yerevan jan afp
armenia constitutional court on tuesday acknowledged the legality of
landmark deal that would re establish ties with arch foe turkey amid growing
objections to the deal in the ex soviet state
the constitutional court of armenia established that the protocols on the
establishment of diplomatic relations and on the development of relations
between armenia and turkey are in conformity with the constitution of armenia
the court president gagik harutunian said
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
field hockey india stars face world cup ban as talks fail
new delhi jan afp
india world cup campaign was thrown into chaos on tuesday after talks between
striking hockey players and officials broke down over pay row
hockey india interim president ashok mattoo said the entire man squad will
be asked to leave the world cup camp in the western city of pune if it did not
start training within hours
the players have no business to be at the camp if they do not want to train
mattoo told reporters after admitting that emergency talks with the players in
pune had failed
we asked them to choose between money and playing for the country they chose
money which is unfortunate
mattoo said the players demanded rupees dollars each before
they would resume training an amount he said that hockey india was unable to
pay
we offered them rupees dollars which they refused hockey india
does not have the kind of money they are asking for he said
mattoo however insisted india will field team at the nation world cup in
new delhi from february to march
we will find players to play in the world cup he said
the squad went on strike last week and perceived truce reached in new delhi on
saturday collapsed within hours as the squad hardened its stand
international hockey federation fih vice president antonio von ondarza of
venezuela who attended the meeting at mattoo request said he was shocked at
the developments
it is unfortunate to be confronted with such situation ondarza told
reporters told the players that you don put pressure weeks before
tournament
you have to concentrate on playing but they said money was more important it
is very sad that money comes before playing for india
team goalkeeper adrian souza speaking on behalf of the players said they
only wanted what was due to them and added the entire squad was willing to play
the world cup at their own cost
their rupees appears like tip said souza we have only asked for
what is due to us it is not right for anyone to say we are blackmailing hockey
india
if they don have the money we are willing to play the world cup at our own
cost but we will not accept token amount
the players are demanding what they said were outstanding allowances
performance related bonuses and graded contracts with monthly salaries
mattoo is serving as interim president of hockey india until elections to the
body are held on february
india once the masters of the game with eight olympic titles failed to qualify
for the beijing games in and earned direct world cup berth only by virtue
