officials seek to determine why an ethiopian airliner veered off course on
takeoff from beirut before crashing at sea as rescuers search for the plane
black boxes and additional victims
words gmt by jocelyne zablit picture video graphic
iraq unrest newseries wrap
baghdad
suicide attacker blows up his car while racing it at iraq forensics
headquarters in central baghdad killing people wounding others and
destroying the building officials say
words gmt by mehdi lebouachera picture
iraq execution chemicalali kurds ndlead reax
halabja iraq
hundreds of kurds take to the streets of the iraqi town of halabja to celebrate
the execution of chemical ali hanged for the gassing of some of its
residents in
words gmt
asia
afghanistan unrest kabul thlead wrap
kabul
suicide bomber struck near us military base in kabul injuring at least nine
afghans police and the nato force say just days ahead of global summit on
tackling taliban led insurgency
words gmt by waheedullah massoud picture
china tibet dalai diplomacy talks lead
beijing
china urges the dalai lama to cherish the opportunity of fresh talks with
beijing on the political status of tibet as the spiritual leader envoys arrive
for the discussions
words moved by marianne barriaux
americas
us politics economy obama
washington
us president barack obama puts the finishing touches on wednesday state of the
union address which seeks to ease the economic pain of the middle classes but is
already stirring backlash from the democratic left
words gmt by stephen collinson
africa
nigeria unrest religion telecom internet
lagos
text messages that instructed people how to kill and then burn the bodies of
their victims helped stoke inter religious tensions in nigeria that erupted into
deadly clashes killing hundreds of people last week police and rights activists
say
words gmt by susan njanji
lawmakers weigh argentine central bank crisis
buenos aires jan afp
argentina congress on tuesday weighed into nasty battle between president
cristina kirchner and the head of the central bank that is threatening to become
full blown institutional crisis
lawmakers were deciding whether to back kirchner efforts to sack central bank
chief martin redrado for refusing her orders to allocate bank reserves to
guarantee the nation debt repayments
federal court blocked redrado january dismissal because kirchner did not
first obtain the necessary congressional authorization
but the president on the weekend ordered police to stop redrado entering the
central bank premises
we are going to find solution by acting with the prudence worthy of
democracy such as ours said alfonso prat gay one of the deputies on the
congressional committee examining the case he was once governor of the central
bank
kirchner is struggling to turn around argentina pariah status in world
financial markets following her country default
as part of that campaign she is seeking to set aside billion dollars in
central bank foreign currency reserves to pay government bonds maturing this
year
redrado had refused to accede to the demand fearing it could open the way to
creditors still suing over the default laying claim to the reserves
he has received support from counterparts around the world including european
central bank president jean claude trichet
olympics skiing zettel rests up ahead of olympic gold bid
vienna jan afp
austrian medal hope kathrin zettel has hung up her skis at least provisionally
in bid to kickstart her olympic bid feeling refreshed and raring to go
austrian ski bosses said tuesday
zettel will be one of three austrian women looking for share of the alpine ski
medals at the february games but she admits the prospect has forced her to
reconsider her approach
need break going to slow things down bit so can hit the olympics
in as fresh state as possible said zettel currently third in the world cup
overall standings behind american lindsey vonn and german maria riesch
zettel the reigning world champion in combined will thus miss the combined
downhill and super races scheduled for saint moritz switzerland this weekend
the year old has been one of austria most consistent performers this
seasons achieving nine podiums in races although it took her until january
to claim her first win of the season giant slalom in maribor
the next day zettel won the slalom but in her next two races super and
giant slalom she finished th and crashed out respectively
five races will be held for the men and women at whistler just outside
vancouver the downhill super super combined slalom and giant slalom
austria won of the alpine ski medals at turin in
zettel competing at her second olympics finished fourth in the combined won by
janica kostelic ahead of austrian marlies schild and sweden anja paerson
corrected summit in finland to save baltic sea
helsinki jan afp
heads of state and government from countries bordering the baltic sea are
expected to meet in finland next month to commit to saving what organisers say
is the world most polluted sea
we would like them to come here with clear commitment about what they will
do what their governments will do finland baltic sea ambassador jari luoto
told reporters ahead of the baltic sea action summit scheduled in helsinki for
february
finnish president tarja halonen and prime minister matti vanhanen will host the
summit together with the baltic sea action group bsag foundation aimed at
coordinating action to save the polluted body of water
ten nations with baltic sea coast or which are located in its vicinity
norway sweden denmark germany poland russia estonia latvia lithuania and
finland have confirmed high level attendance luoto said adding the names
would be published on february
finnish media have reported that russian prime minister vladimir putin and
german chancellor angela merkel are among the participants
in addition to national leaders invitees include european commission chief jose
manuel barroso business leaders and non governmental organizations ngos with
some people expected to attend
the shallow semi enclosed and brackish baltic sea is particularly vulnerable to
pollution and takes far longer than many other large bodies of water to flush
out toxic and other harmful substances
around million people live in countries either bordering the baltic sea or
with major tributaries
luoto said radical measures were needed to save it
the meeting is expected to yield around commitments to concrete action
luoto said including business innovations for recycling nutrients from waste
water and technology to enhance maritime communication between vessels and local
authorities to improve safety
safrica leaves interest rates unchanged
johannesburg jan afp
south africa central bank on tuesday left its benchmark interest rate
unchanged at percent two months after the the country pulled out of
recession
bank chief gill marcus said the risk posed by the possible electricity price
increases influenced the bank to keep the repurchase rate unchanged at
percent
marcus said electricity price increases remained the single biggest risk to the
inflation outlook as the state owned power generator eskom wants to increase
tarrifs by percent in each of the next three years
south africa moved out of its first recession in years in november but
continues to shed jobs with almost million posts lost over the last year
there are continued signs that the domestic economic recovery is underway
following the per cent annualised gdp growth rate measured in the third
quarter of marcus said
the bank forecasts that the gross domestic product will grow by an average
percent in and percent in
wall street down on china japan concerns
new york jan afp
us stocks drifted lower tuesday on fears global recovery could be dampened by
china lending squeeze and possible sovereign credit rating downgrade for
japan
the dow jones industrial average shed points percent to in
opening trades after modest rebound monday from the worst weekly losses in
months last week
the nasdaq composite lost points percent to and the broad
market standard amp poor index fell points percent to
after slightly rebounding yesterday from last week solid declines stocks
are back under some pressure as concerns about the impact of tighter lending in
china on the global economic recovery are resurfacing to pressure sentiment in
early trading analysts at charles schwab amp co said in clients note
additionally uneasiness regarding japan sovereign credit quality on the
heels of an outlook downgrade by standard amp poor and smaller than
expected increase in fourth quarter uk gdp are adding to the global economic
concerns they said
markets have been on edge since china announced last week that its economy
expanded at better than expected pace last year while inflation was soaring
and bank lending was at record high
beijing is keen to put the brakes on runaway lending that has led to fears of
asset bubbles and possible bad debt and recently raised the amount banks must
hold in reserve
the latest concern is sobering reminder that slowdown in china promises to
have ripple effects across trading markets considering its unchecked growth in
was the fuel for speculative trading activity said briefing com patrick
hare
the flight to safety is also being helped along by news that standard amp
poor has lowered its outlook on japan aa rating to negative from stable
due to concerns about the country deteriorating fiscal situation hare
said
fresh official data showing britain limping out of its longest ever recession in
the fourth quarter of also dampened the market
british gross domestic product gdp grew percent in the three months to
december but undershot expectations of percent expansion
centuries on rome to revive carnival
rome jan afp
the city of rome plans gala carnival celebrations next month reviving
tradition last observed in the italian capital in the eighth century an
organiser said tuesday
three dozen events from february to will include fireworks equestrian
shows and parade featuring floats and butteri italy original cowboys
long predating the american version on horseback fabiana magri told afp
the city carried out test run for few days last year that attracted
people magri told afp
this year the event which will cost one million euros million dollars
partly financed by sponsors will span the same period as the world famous
carnival in venice she said
to dispel any question of rivalry between the two cities the events will be
twinned with venetian artists taking part in rome festivities and venice
fenice opera house to perform the ouverture of rome opera season
rome carnival will also include performances by street artists exhibits
events for children and musical costume parties at the galleria sordi shopping
mall in the city centre
valentine day highlight will be parade with performers from several latin
american countries in piazza venezia on february
the vast piazza del popolo will also host cultural village and equestrian
shows as well as concert and fireworks for the grand finale on february
magri said
carnival also known as mardi gras or fat tuesday is traditional period of
revelry leading up to the christian fasting season of lent
top spanish chef to close el bulli for two years
madrid jan afp
el bulli the spanish restaurant repeatedly crowned the world best will
temporarily close in and while its famed chef ferran adria takes
sabbatical he announced on tuesday
no meals will be served in el bulli in and he told news
conference at madrid fusion the annual international culinary conference
focussing on the cutting edge in haute cuisine
but el bulli is not closing down these are two years on sabbatical need
time to decide how is going to be know that when return it will not
be the same said the father of so called molecular gastronomy
el bulli on spain northeastern catalan coast was last year named the world
best for the third year in row by britain restaurant magazine other
publications have similarly raved about adria and his food
but adria said he found working hours day difficult
it like telling british designer john galliano to go work in factory he
said
adria and heston blumenthal in england have since the late rocked world
cuisine by using science to deconstruct and rebuild food
taste bud treats on the menu of adria three star restaurant have included
oyster meringue hot ice cream frothy truffle cappuccino and liquid ravioli
while vegetables are turned into lollipops or whipped foams
he has had to respond to critics who say the chemicals used in his molecular
gastronomy make it unhealthy
homemade ice creams those which are excellent must have stabilising
substance to avoid crystallisation sugar goes through chemical and physical
transformation chocolate contains lecithin agar is thick substance that has
been used in japan for centuries he said once in response to criticism from
another top spanish chef santi santamaria
the tomato also has chemical composition he said
ot wdb mjs
moody downgrades kuwait nig maintains negative outlook
kuwait city jan afp
moody investor service tuesday downgraded the corporate family and probability
of default ratings of kuwait national industries company holding and
maintained negative outlook
it also downgraded ratings on million dollar sukuk or islamic bonds issued
by nig the largest private industrial and investment groups in kuwait to
from ba the ratings agency said in statement
the downgrade to reflects the absence of tangible steps that moody had
expected to be taken during to improve financial flexibility and to
strengthen the debt capital structure last year it said
the negative outlook reflects the exposure to the rollover of some larger credit
facilities which fall due in the current quarter leaving nig highly reliant on
the continued support of its core banks moody said
nig is major holding company in the oil rich gulf emirate and has large
number of subsidiaries and affiliates all of which are affected by the
downgrading
rugby union saracens sign wigglesworth
london jan afp
just day after saracens signed controversial prop matt stevens the
premiership high flyers announced wednesday they had signed another england
international in sale scrum half richard wigglesworth
the year old wigglesworth who has won five test caps will join saracens in
time for the start of next season
south africa born front row stevens is due arrive at saracens in january
when he completes two year drugs ban for taking cocaine that he is currently
serving
sudan ousted pm vows to end totalitarianism
khartoum jan afp
sudan former prime minister sadiq al mahdi on tuesday vowed to put an end to
totalitarianism and resolve the conflict in darfur by taking power at
elections in april
mahdi who was ousted years ago in military coup that brought president
omar al beshir to power said victory for him in the presidential poll would be
return to normal
have not been fired by the people have been fired by the guns now it is
possible for the people to reinstate whom they believe represents their
interest represents aspirations he said in an english statement at news
conference
we think our programme is going to dismantle totalitarianism is going to
resolve all the problems of the peace agreements and create conditions for sudan
united on new principles or neighbourhood between two sisterly states he
added
the presidential legislative and regional elections due to take place in april
are key element of peace deal between beshir government in the mostly
muslim north and the sudan people liberation movement splm in the largely
christian south that brought an end to year civil war
under the agreement the south is to vote on an independence referendum in
mahdi heads the influential umma party and is spiritual leader of ansar
sufi brotherhood that venerates the famous mahdi who defeated british colonial
forces under general gordon in
descended from sudan legendary islamist ruler sadiq al mahdi has held the
premiership twice before in when he was just and again after his
party won sudan last multi party elections in
umma is the main opposition party in the north beshir heads the ruling national
congress party ncp
the splm is former southern rebel movement which has chosen as its
presidential candidate yasser arman secular muslim from north sudan who made
common cause with the grouping during the devastating civil war
the death toll from ethnic violence over the past year in parts of the south
surpassed that in the western region of darfur which has relatively stabilised
since ethnic rebels took up arms against khartoum in
three hundred thousand people were killed in that conflict according to un
estimates beshir is wanted by the international criminal court for war crimes
in the region
football portsmouth expect transfer ban to be lifted
portsmouth england jan afp
top flight strugglers portsmouth said tuesday they expected the transfer embargo
imposed upon the club by the english premier league to be lifted later in the
day
stumbling block to the south coast side bottom of the premier league signing
players during the january transfer window was over payments portsmouth owed to
italian side udinese for bringing sulley muntari who has since returned to
serie with inter milan to fratton park
however an agreement between the clubs is now understood to have been reached
and portsmouth believe this will be enough to persuade the league to lift the
embargo and give manager avram grant the chance to strengthen the squad in the
final days of the transfer window
pompey executive director mark jacob told tuesday edition of portsmouth daily
the news we have been working very very hard behind the scenes and are
delighted the embargo has now been lifted
it will now enable avram grant to strengthen the squad where necessary this is
another piece of the jigsaw we are trying to put back together
sincerely hope supporters can get fully behind the team tonight tuesday
against west ham for what is crucial match and generate that fratton fortress
atmosphere once again
portsmouth face winding up order from the british tax authorities regarding an
alleged unpaid bill of million pounds million dollars while their
former owner alexandre gaydamak has said the club still owe him million
pounds
pompey have been facing off field problems since before the start of the season
with the protracted sale of the club from gaydamak to sulaiman al fahim
hampering their ability to bring in new players
al fahim was only in charge for matter of weeks before selling on to saudi
businessman ali al faraj who has struggled to cope with the club debts
portsmouth the fa cup winners have three times this season failed to pay
their players on time and the premier league diverted seven million pounds in
television revenues to other clubs owed transfer fees by the club
meanwhile current portsmouth chief executive peter storrie former manager harry
redknapp now at tottenham and former chairman milan mandaric now at
leicester all face individual tax evasion charges resulting from their time at
fratton park
portsmouth four points adrift at the foot of the table go into tuesday match
buoyed by last weekend fa cup fourth round win over premier league rivals
sunderland
sri lanka fonseka ineligible to be president government
colombo jan afp
sri lanka government said tuesday that it would challenge the legitimacy of
leading opposition candidate sarath fonseka who contested the country first
post war presidential election
we are seeking court order on the suitability of this candidate because he is
not eligible to be declared as candidate foreign minister rohitha
bogollagama told reporters
new tension flares between us afghan leader
istanbul jan afp
afghan president hamid karzai hit back tuesday at stinging criticism by the us
ambassador raising new questions about ties between the two nations days ahead
of key conference in london
the new york times published diplomatic cables sent by president barack obama
envoy to kabul karl eikenberry in which he warned karzai was not an adequate
strategic partner
eikenberry voiced concern about plans to pour more us troops into afghanistan
warning it would only delay weaning karzai off washington and forcing him to
take more responsibility for the nation
but karzai hit back at the criticism at regional gathering in istanbul saying
afghanistan is on the frontline of the war on terror in struggle which has
cost massive casualties
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 he said
the friction came two days ahead of nation conference in london aimed at
finding ways to bring stability to war torn afghanistan and adjacent pakistan
karzai and us secretary of state hillary clinton are set to take part in the
conference in london which is seen as complementing obama military strategy
to defeat taliban and al qaeda extremists
while obama has made afghanistan top foreign policy priority his
administration has had rocky relationship with karzai with senior officials
barely concealing their concerns about alleged corruption and ineffectiveness
the year old us administration has sought more distance from karzai who was
close with previous president george bush
tensions came to the fore last year after karzai won presidential election
despite widespread allegations of ballot stuffing under us pressure karzai
agreed to run off vote which was cancelled when his main challenger baulked
the obama administration has since played down animosity with karzai
retired general james jones obama national security adviser on monday
pointed to pledges by karzai since the disputed election as key achievement in
afghanistan
we re encouraged by the steps president karzai has taken to improve the
effectiveness and the credibility of his government jones said at the center
for american progress washington think tank
we re committed to working in partnerships to reduce corruption which along
with the insurgency is perhaps the greatest threat to afghanistan jones said
eikenberry former us military commander in afghanistan wrote the cables in
november as part of his objections to boosting us troops as proposed by the
current commander general stanley mcchrystal
the message published by the new york times said karzai continues to shun
responsibility for any sovereign burden whether defence governance or
development he and much of his circle do not want the us to leave and are only
too happy to see us invest further
mcchrystal ultimately won the argument and obama approved the deployment of an
additional troops to afghanistan
finnish nurse charged with serial murders
helsinki jan afp
finnish nurse was charged with five counts of murder six counts of attempted
murder and other crimes at the opening on tuesday of one of the nordic country
most unusual serial homicide trials
aino nykopp is suspected of poisoning patients with drugs they had not been
prescribed including sedatives and opiates at various hospitals care homes
and the homes of patients under her care during
my client has systematically denied the charges since her arrest defence
attorney heikki lampela told afp
nykopp has been in police custody since march
these have been elderly people who my client says have needed care and have
died natural deaths or who have accidentally or intentionally taken an
overdose but they have not died by her hand lampela said
according to the prosecution no clear motive for the suspected crimes had
been found but it suggested the nurse may have been motivated by theft
in some cases the defendant may have been interested in the patients
possessions leena metsaepelto one of the two prosecutors in the case told
afp
she said that if found guilty nykopp would face life sentence
in finland such sentence is reviewed by court of appeal after years of
imprisonment
lampela said the defence would request psychological evaluation for nykopp as
in the unlikely event that she is found guilty this could lead to lighter
sentence
this request is in no way stance on whether or not she is guilty he
added
metsaepelto said the case was extremely unusual in finland because of its number
of suspected homicides and the alleged involvement of healthcare worker
have certainly never come across anything like this before she said
last year finnish court sentenced nurse dubbed the angel of death to life
in prison for murdering patient and attempting to murder baby with insulin
sentence she has appealed
nykopp trial is expected to last weeks metsaepelto said with the final
hearing expected on march
urgent sri lanka fonseka ineligible to be president government
colombo jan afp
sri lanka government said tuesday that opposition candidate sarath fonseka
could not be named president even if he wins the country election because he
is not registered as voter
alert
sri lanka fonseka ineligible to be president government
somali born hip hop star to feature at world cup
cannes france jan afp
somali born hip hop artist naan who fled the war torn country for new life
in canada and turned to rap to learn english will be one of the stars of this
summer fifa world cup
the year old musician and political campaigner on african issues has signed
up to be the face for giant drinks company coca cola at june and july event in
south africa
emmanuel seuge of coca cola said at the annual midem music industry fest that
the company had set out to find an african born musician and chose naan
because of his background and musical journey
the match and shared values have to be very strong and the artist is critical
to what you want say through the campaign seuge said
naan career took off when in he performed spoken piece criticising
the united nations for failed aid missions to somalia
it caught the attention of senegalese star youssou dour who invited him to
contribute to an album
naan journey and music reflect the strong riches of africa seuge said
afp world economic news summary
paris jan afp
the top world economic stories on tuesday
imf economy growth forecast
washington the international monetary fund said the global economy was poised
to rebound from last year contraction and grow percent better than
previous forecasts of percent but warned of the risk to recovery posed by
government deficits
imf asia china growth
washington asia developing economies are seeing acceleration in led by
china percent growth rate the imf forecast as the region recovers swiftly
from global downturn
britain economy finance growth recession
london britain limped out of its longest ever recession in the fourth quarter
of official data showed but massive debt is set to stunt recovery beyond
looming general election
eu eurozone public debt bank ecb ratings bonds
london the fitch credit rating agency and the european central bank issued
strong warnings about the weight of european government debt threatening
financial markets and economic recovery this year
japan economy
tokyo standard amp poor lowered its outlook on japanese government debt to
negative from stable and warned it might cut the rating on japanese
sovereign bonds as official efforts to curb soaring public debt were faltering
germany economy business index ifo
berlin german business confidence rose for record th month in row the
ifo index showed raising hopes that germany economy europe largest could
lead the continent from its slump
us it company earnings internet apple
san francisco surging iphone sales worldwide have earned apple record high
profits for the fourth quarter as it prepares for its first major product launch
in three years
germany industry company earnings structure siemens
berlin german industrial giant siemens announced better than forecast quarterly
earnings results but said it was also about to carry out restructuring in the
face of an expected fall in full year profit
switzerland pharma company earnings executive novartis
basel switzerland swiss pharmaceutical group novartis reported an percent
jump in core net profit for on sales of swine flu vaccine which are likely
to weaken this year
stocks europe
london europe main stock markets fell as official data showed that britain
only just escaped recession in the fourth quarter of and amid fresh worries
about china economy
