europe main stock markets traded mixed on friday as investors braced for more
key us earnings and after tokyo hit month high and wall street rose
overnight
london benchmark ftse index of leading shares gained percent to
points in late morning european trade
the paris cac edged up percent to and frankfurt dax lost
percent to points nearing the half way mark
the dj euro stoxx index of top eurozone shares was flat at points
analysts said european investors were closely tracking events across the
atlantic
investors continued to buy into equities on friday after intel announced
consensus beating numbers said city index market strategist joshua raymond
however much or the news had been somewhat priced in after yesterday gains
and investors have quickly refocused their attention towards banking giant jp
morgan results
intel posted sharply higher net profit on thursday as surge in personal
computer sales boosted the fourth quarter earnings of the world biggest
computer chipmaker
the santa clara california based technology bellwether said net profit soared
nearly nine fold by percent to billion dollars in the three months
which ended on december
fourth quarter revenue rose by percent to billion dollars better than
the billion dollars expected by wall street analysts
intel reported its earnings after the closing bell on wall street which on
thursday looked past disappointing data on us retail sales to close with modest
gains
the dow jones industrial average rose percent to end at points
reversing weak opening and hitting its best close since october
japanese share prices closed up percent on friday at month high
tracking gains on wall street following positive us corporate earnings news
the tokyo stock exchange benchmark nikkei index finished at
points posting the best finish since early october
technology stocks were in demand after us bellwether intel posted its profit
surge
the nikkei has risen at good pace so far in so this may be time to
take profits shinichiro matsushita market analyst at daiwa securities told
dow jones newswires
football angola defender marques keeps tabs on leeds
luanda jan afp
there aren many people in this world who would contemplate for even second
swopping three week stay in sun drenched luanda for freezing leeds in january
but rui marques is one of them
the luanda born player is competing for his country angola this month in the
africa cup of nations and while fully committed to the national cause he is
nevertheless keeping close tabs on events back home at his club leeds
he told afp exchanging messages with some of my club teammmates
always aware of what happening back in leeds and really happy we ve been
doing so well
the defender who moved to portugal as youngster is leeds longest serving
player having joined the club from portugal outift cs maritimo in after
trial at ipswich
he has gone on to make appearances for leeds emerging as first choice back
earlier this season only to subsequently drop down the pecking order for
starting place following his achilles heel injury sustained on international
duty in september
the year old has followed with interest and pride his division two club
sensational fa cup third round win over manchester united at old trafford on
january and is eagerly awaiting the fourth round date with tottenham albeit
as distant observer
watched the game against man it was fantastic believe and hope we can
produce another good performance when we play tottenham marques who played
for angola at the world cup said after helping his country beat malawi
here on thursday
leeds are doing really well there lot of confidence in the side but
tottenham going to be tough game
given leeds current form marques understandably has mixed emotions about his
nations cup participation but he feels he made the right decision to answer
his country call up
enjoying myself here pushed to come said the defender who was the
victim of bizarre hoax in that said he had been kidnapped in kazakhstan
he added it was little difficult though as had won regular starting
place at leeds and then lost it when got injured
the africa cup of nations is big tournament and as wasn playing for my
club was happy to come here this is big window for me want to help
angola go as far as we can
marques and the rest of the black antelopes gave their chances of qualifying for
the quarter finals major boost on thursday by beating malawi to move on to
four points at the top of group after their opening draw with mali
he started in both games
angola remaining first round game is against world cup qualifiers algeria in
luanda on monday
reflecting on thursday three points marques commented we tried to win the
game from the word go but it was hard as malawi defended well
but once we scored our first goal in the th minute we settled little bit
and chased the ball and began to control the game
we have another tough match against algeria but believe if we do our best we
can win it
haitians claw for life after quake apocalypse
port au prince jan afp
despairing haitians clawed by hand to seek survivors entombed in rubble friday
and looters raided un food warehouses after quake the red cross said may have
killed people
stench of death hung over the capital port au prince with rotting bodies
littering the streets where residents spent third night in the open
despite the launch of massive global aid operation there was no sign of heavy
lifting equipment among the ruins as tons of material and badly needed supplies
clogged up the international airport
adding to the logistical nightmare were reports of looting and gunshots in the
scramble for help forcing some rescuers to stop work at nightfall
the world food programme said its port au prince warehouses had been looted and
it was having to find fresh supplies
spokeswoman emilia casella said the un agency was planning urgent food aid for
two million people affected by tuesday earthquake
if international aid doesn come the situation will deteriorate quickly we
need water and food urgently said one survivor lucille
every street has its row of corpses and crowds of wandering refugees
under the pancaked wreck of dress store one woman cried out faintly for help
they re going to die they re going to die spat jean rald rocher as he and
other volunteers clawed vainly at the concrete and twisted metal crushing her
and at least one other woman showing signs of life
at nursing training school some nurses had had time to huddle together before
their building collapsed one continued to cry under the rubble for day
witnesses told afp
none survived
un assessment by helicopter found some areas of the capital suffered
percent destruction estimating people had been left homeless
the un said search and rescue remained the top priority while food clean water
and sanitation were also critical
at port au prince flights jostled for space on the small airport tarmac and
single runway as aid poured in from around the world but the big problem was
getting it to where it was needed most
the united states has assumed air traffic control but flights were delayed as
staff struggled to unload supplies
little aid had trickled down to the streets an afp video showed scuffles
breaking out as helicopter dropped food over one part of the city
some dead had already been buried by thursday peru prime minister
velasquez quesquen said from port au prince after haitian officials earlier
warned the overall toll may exceed
the international committee of the red cross said the quake the largest to hit
the caribbean country in more than years had killed to
people
in the agonising wait for help some residents erected makeshift shelters with
sheets and covers others trekked with their meager belongings looking for
refuge outside the city
doctors struggled to treat the vast numbers of sick and injured
hundreds of corpses some mutilated and half clothed lay rotting outside the
flattened central hospital waves of distraught haitians moving from body to
body in search of loved ones
haitian born rap star wyclef jean called it the apocalypse
we spent the day picking up dead bodies all day that what we did he told
fox news
there so much bodies in the streets that the morgues are filled up the
cemeteries are filled up
dozens of people were rescued as sniffer dogs began to comb the ruins but
moments of joy were few
the international commmunity has so far pledged some million dollars
million euros in aid according to the un
governments promised money experts and equipment donations rolled in by text
message and internet and hollywood idols lent their star power to appeals for
funds
the aid coming in includes field hospitals doctors medicines search and
rescue teams with sniffer dogs water and water purification equipment food
tents blankets heavy lifting equipment as well as soldiers and experts
us president barack obama said to the people of haiti we say clearly and with
conviction you will not be forsaken you will not be forgotten
secretary of state hillary clinton and defense secretary robert gates were
coordinating the us effort including million dollars in immediate aid and
more than us troops plus three ships and several coast guard cutters
the uss carl vinson giant nuclear powered aircraft carrier was due to drop
anchor off the stricken nation later friday
its cavernous space normally reserved for fighter jets is filled with
helicopters to dispatch water medicine and other aid
obama and french president nicolas sarkozy along with brazil canada and
others plan conference on haiti reconstruction
the united nations which has been assuming security in the impoverished
nation since said staffers had been killed in the quake the worst
disaster in the global body history while were missing
tennis dementieva defends sydney title serena injury fears
sydney jan afp
elena dementieva successfully defended her sydney international title on friday
leaving serena williams with injury concerns just days out from the australian
open
the russian fifth seed was always in control of the final winning in
just minutes but the american world number one appeared inconvenienced by
troublesome left knee she had strapped for the match
williams who is going into next week opening grand slam as defending
champion favoured the knee and she was unusually subdued during the final
was struggling little bit but she definitely deserves all the credit for
what she did williams said
it definitely not knee ligament problems it just little pain but the
strapping usually helps the pain go away sometimes
williams played down concerns about playing in next week australian open
had long match the other day it was good for me to have that long match
against france aravane rezai and jump back and play today she said
haven played for two months on competitive level so think it good
for my body to go through this now especially since in doubles as well as
singles in melbourne now we re ready to go
the match ended in an anti climax with dementieva holding three match points on
serena serve and thumping return winner for the championship
it was dementieva th career title and she became the first player to win
back to back titles here since martina hingis in
for sure such big win gives you lot of confidence dementieva said
when it comes to the grand slam it going to be new challenge and have to
be ready and recover from this week and be ready from the first round
was expecting tough match and even though the score was it didn
show how tense it was out on the court
the russian has now won six of her last seven finals and it was her fifth
victory against williams in encounters she beat williams in the semi finals
of last year event
dementieva broke williams serve five times and dominated the points
the top seed committed unforced errors in the games
it is dementieva first tournament of and this time last year she had won
her opening two tournaments going on to win her first matches of the season
the defeat continued williams run of outs at the sydney international it was
her first final here after three previous losing semi final appearances at the
tournament
both players are projected to retain their respective rankings over the next two
weeks of the australian open with williams to remain the number one for
weeks and dementieva staying at five
williams is likely to have her opening match at the australian open against
poland urszula radwanska on tuesday
dementieva who could face former world number one but now unseeded justine
henin in the second round plays fellow russian vera dushevina first up
biafran leader detained ahead of governorship poll
lagos jan afp
nigerian police have arrested the leader of an banned biafran separatist group
ahead of governorship poll in the southeastern state of anambra next month
the group spokesman said friday
chief ralph uwazuruike leader of the movement for the actualisation of the
sovereign state for biafra massob has been in police custody in owerri since
tuesday madu uchenna told afp
police spokesman said uwazuruike was being held following petition by an
individual pascal okorie who accusing the massob leader of kidnapping him
uchenna said okorie was using the name of massob to disrupt the february
governorship election in anambra state and uwazuruike tried to stop him by
keeping him in his house
he said massob was founded in to revive the idea of an independent igbo
homeland and to carry out non violent campaign for self determination the
movement was neutral in the february poll he added
we did not want to be involved in the election and therefore decided to prevent
any individual or group from tarnishing the good name of massob he said
uchenna said uwazuruike would soon be released following useful discussions
with the police
the massob leader was acquitted of treason charge in after spending three
years in jail for leading the group which was outlawed
massob accuses the federal government of marginalising and neglecting igbos and
of excluding their leaders from national institutions
the igbo are one of the three largest ethnic groups in nigeria
igbo separatists seceded in forming mini state of biafra move that
plunged the nation into month long civil war which claimed more than one
million lives mostly due to disease and starvation
the war ended in january with the surrender of the biafra forces
opel names nick reilly as new ceo company
frankfurt jan afp
german automaker opel said friday that gm executive nick reilly has been named
new chief executive responsible for opel and its sister brand vauxhall as part
of broad restructuring
opel supervisory board named reilly already head of general motors europe to
the post making him responsible for all opel vauxhall activities worldwide
statement said
reilly has already begun drawing up deep restructuring plan for opel that
includes job cuts and could cost european governments up to billion
euros billion dollars in state aid
he replaces hans demand who gave up the ceo post to become gm vice president
in charge of global intellectual property rights the statement added
the us parent group gm began in december to replace directors at opel after
deciding not to sell the european division and had already named financial
director walter borst as head of opel supervisory board
five hurt as kenya police teargas muslim protesters
nairobi jan afp
kenyan police fired shots and tear gas as they fought running battles in
downtown nairobi friday with muslim demonstrators demanding the release of
radical jamaican cleric
at least one policeman and four demonstrators were injured in the violence in
the central business district which erupted as police tried to disperse crowds
gathered after friday prayers according to afp reporters on the scene
some protestors hurled stones at the police shouting allahu akbar god is
greatest and waving banners that release al faisal he is innocent
abdullah al faisal who is on global terror watchlist and served four years in
british jail for inciting racial hatred has been in kenyan custody since last
week after the authorities tried and failed to deport him
faisal lawyers and rights groups have complained that the cleric is being held
without charge
police and immigration officials said at the time they arrested the imam for
violating immigration regulations by preaching
faisal was arrested in britain in after spending years urging his
audiences to kill jews hindus and westerners
radical yemen cleric zendani renews call for jihad
sanaa jan afp
powerful yemeni cleric sheikh abdulmajeed al zendani said friday it would be
religious duty dictated by god to defend yemen through jihad or holy war if
it is occupied by foreign power
from the moment the enemy invite itself onto our territory and occupies us our
religion imposes the obligation of jihad on us zendani said during friday
prayer sermon in the yemeni capital
it is religious duty dictated by god he said adding in firm voice this
order of god cannot be annulled by anyone not king not president not
an ulema committee of muslim scholars
football guti wants out of real madrid
madrid jan afp
real madrid out of favour midfielder guti says he wants to leave the spanish
giants and would welcome move to inter milan with open arms
it is true that have experienced very beautiful stage at real madrid that
madrid is city where have wanted to live my entire life but now want to
leave he said in the interview with canal television which will air on
january
it is contradiction but want to leave madrid to be in another country in
another city to enjoy other things according to excerpts published friday in
sports daily as
guti product of real youth system and one of the longest serving
members of the squad has been linked to move to bolton wanderers and inter
milan but in his interview he showed preference for the italian side
would go to inter with open arms it is great club have great friends
there like samuel eto and wesley sneijder think it is team which can
aspire to everything it is one of my best options if it can become reality
he said
guti came on as late substitute during real win at home over mallorca
he had not played since the club embarrassing spanish cup defeat against
third division side alcorcon on october when he reportedly insulted real
coach manuel pellegrini when he was substituted at half time
the player whose full name jose maria gutierrez also made an obscene gesture
to alcorcon fans at the start of the second half when sitting on the real bench
after someone launched an insult directed at him
guti has been frequently late for morning training sessions this week and
appeared annoyed on wednesday when journalist asked him about the length of
time which it has taken for him to recover from several injuries
football van der sar and ferdinand give fergie fitness boost
manchester england jan afp
manchester united manager sir alex ferguson has been given twin defensive
boost with the imminent returns of dutch goalkeeper edwin van der sar and
england centre back rio ferdinand
ahead of saturday premier league match against burnley at old trafford
ferguson has revealed that two of his defensive pillars are on the verge of
getting back into his plans after recent absences
ferdinand has not played for united since the defeat to liverpool at anfield
on october after suffering recurrence of back complaint that has caused
shooting pains in his calf muscles while van der sar has been on compassionate
leave following his recovery from knee injury
the dutchman wife annemarie had brain haemorrhage before christmas that
required drastic and serious hospital treatment which prompted ferguson to grant
him indefinite compassionate leave but the year old is now ready to return
and in further good news for ferguson owen hargreaves is also edging his way
towards first united start in months as his recovery from severe tendonitis
appears to be progressing nicely
ferguson took his squad to qatar last week to escape the arctic conditions in
england and is confident that the warm weather training has aided his side
preparation for this weekend
we have some light at the end of the tunnel during the week with edwin van der
sar coming back to training ferguson said on friday
he done very well he obviously been out for few weeks with personal
situation but it great to see him back and that experience when he finally
does come in will be important to us
we took rio ferdinand and owen hargreaves with us on the training camp to
qatar and both took part in some of the work we were doing and there was good
light in the end of the tunnel there particularly with rio he is making good
progress now
ferguson injury concerns are not completely over though as he revealed that
united are still having to closely monitor the progress of striker dimitar
berbatov
the bulgarian has been struggling with knee injury for the last month which is
restricting his flexibility and movement on the field but he has told ferguson
he does not want to miss any of united season and will put off thorough
examination until the end of the year
he wants to play through it he doesn want an operation ferguson added
the advice was to have an exploratory operation but sometimes he feels it and
sometimes he doesn
he didn feel it in the warmer climate so he trained every day so it is
something you want to keep your eye on it difficult one
burnley appointed brian laws on wednesday to replace the bolton bound owen coyle
as their new manager
laws is set for daunting first game in charge against the premier league
champions away from home but although ferguson believes burnley are in for
tough second half of the season he thinks laws can help the clarets climb the
table
brian has experience he has been at and sheffield wednesday and experience is
what they need at the moment ferguson said
think they have to react quickly because they are at the stage of the season
when you are in that bottom half of the league the second half of the season
is never easy and they will be battling to avoid relegation obviously and that
is not easy for them
iran arrests dissident cleric warns against protest calls
tehran jan afp
iran has stepped up pressure on the opposition arresting dissident cleric and
warning against using sms and email messages to organise anti government
protests reports said on friday
mid ranking cleric mohammad taghi khalaji who was close to late dissident grand
ayatollah hossein ali montazeri was arrested at his home in the city of qom on
tuesday reformist website norooznews said
the reason for his arrest is not known yet but he had on several occasions
backed protests against election results which saw president mahmoud
ahmadinejad returned for second term amid allegations of massive fraud the
report said
iranian authorities have launched new wave of arrests following bloody
protests during shiite mourning rituals of ashura on december when eight
people were killed
the detained cleric son mehdi khalaji is senior research fellow at the
washington institute for near east policy and two members of the us house of
representatives condemned the arrest
the regime intimidation and imprisonment of clerics critical of the current
government must cease at once ileana ros lehtinen and howard berman said in
joint statement
we are deeply concerned by reports that the iranian regime has arrested
ayatollah khalaji and confiscated both his and his family personal
possessions and passports thereby preventing them from leaving iran they
added
norooznews did not say whether passports and possession had been seized
iranian clerics backing the opposition have faced mounting pressure by
hardliners since the death of montazeri whose december funeral was attended by
thousands of opposition supporters
an outspoken critic of the islamic regime he helped create montazeri joined the
opposition by calling for protests and branding ahmadinejad government as
illegitimate
the disputed june election triggered mass street protests for week which
were met by heavy crackdown
since then opposition supporters have taken to the streets on every possible
occasion to stage anti government rallies especially alongside state sponsored
events
iran police chief meanwhile has warned opposition supporters against using
text and email messages to organise rallies amid reports new demonstrations are
being planned isna news agency said friday
these people should know where they are sending the sms and email as these
systems are under control they should not think using proxies will prevent
their identification esmail ahmadi moghaddam said
if these people continue their data records will be examined and those who
organise or issue appeals have committed worse crime than those who come to
the streets he warned
iran cyber savvy young opposition supporters have used the internet
effectively since unrest erupted after the disputed election to organise
demonstrations and spread news and pictures
reports are now circulating that the opposition plans to take to the streets
again on the anniversary of the islamic revolution on february
the authorities have taken to blocking text messaging and slowing down internet
speeds on protest days and vowed to show no tolerance towards any new protests
as hardliners demand severe action against demonstrators and opposition leaders
some senior hardline clerics have gone as far as declaring them as mohareb
enemies of god who deserve execution
us embassy warns of terrorist attacks planned in borneo
kuala lumpur jan afp
the united states embassy in malaysia issued warning friday that criminal and
terrorist groups are planning attacks against foreigners in sabah state on
borneo island
the embassy said there was present concern over resorts in isolated areas in
eastern sabah including the diving island of sipadan where foreign hostages were
snatched in
there are indications that both criminal and terrorist groups are planning or
intend acts of violence against foreigners in eastern sabah the embassy said
in warden notice posted on its website
the abu sayyaf group based in the southern philippines has kidnapped
foreigners in eastern sabah in the past it said
the advisory identified the destinations of semporna mabul and sipadan and
called on citizens to please avoid or use extreme caution in connection with
any travel in these areas or locations
the us travel advisory on malaysia already warns of the threat of criminal and
terrorist attacks in sabah but the information in friday statement was more
specific on the areas being targeted
euro slips on stubborn greece concerns
london jan afp
the euro fell against the dollar on friday as investors remained concerned about
the greek debt crisis and its potential effects on the eurozone economy
analysts said
in london morning deals the euro slid to dollars from late in
new york on thursday after earlier falling as low as
against the japanese unit the dollar decreased to yen from yen late
on thursday
the euro was bogged down after european central bank governor jean claude
trichet warned thursday that an economic recovery in the common currency zone
was subject to uncertainty due to greece debt woes
the comments came after the bank kept its main refinance rate unchanged at
record low of percent
greece was once again the dominating subject on the markets in particular as
ecb president jean claude trichet had to answer numerous questions on the issue
during the ecb press conference said antje praefcke at commerzbank
he was able to do that in manner that avoided notable euro dollar losses
thus achieving the best possible outcome
trichet said thursday that suggestions that greece might resign or be expelled
from the nation eurozone because of its soaring deficit and debt reflected an
absurd hypothesis
he noted however that greece and several other eurozone members had lot of
hard work to do
greece unveiled crisis plans on thursday to put its fiscal house in order and to
restore international credibility especially among its eurozone partners in
the management of its struggling economy
praefcke added it will be decisive for euro dollar in the near future whether
eu members or institutions seriously consider bailout of greece
such bailout would constitute point of no return as it would go at least
against the spirit of the euro stability pact evoking the danger of fiscal
policy moral hazard
greece which is mired in recession has public spending deficit that rose to
percent of output last year far above the percent ceiling permitted to
countries sharing the euro
it is also saddled with debt constituting percent of gross domestic
product gdp
meanwhile lacklustre us economic data cooled speculation that the us federal
reserve might raise interest rates sooner than previously expected
traders scaled back their expectations of fed rate hikes following disappointing
retail sales and jobless claims data in the united states
in london on friday the euro was changing hands at dollars against
dollars late on thursday yen pounds and
swiss francs
the dollar stood at yen and swiss francs
the pound was at dollars
on the london bullion market the price of gold eased to dollars an
ounce from dollars on thursday
china says overseas investment up percent
beijing jan afp
china overseas investment in non financial sectors rose percent last year
from despite the economic downturn the government said friday as the
nation kept up its global hunt for resources
overseas investment in mining manufacturing and other non financial sectors
reached billion dollars last year commerce ministry spokesman yao jian
