amaral of egyptian giants al ahly received dollars each for their goals
midfielder jose mabina alberto and portugal based goalkeeper carlos fernandes
were given dollars each and other members of the strong squad split
dollars
accepting the cheques in the absence of coach manuel jose who flew to portugal
following the death of his father angola captain carlos kali alonso said on
the pitch it not about the money but now we re being compensated for our
efforts
china sentences four more to death in xinjiang
beijing jan afp
court in china xinjiang region sentenced four people to death over deadly
riots in july bringing to the number of those condemned to die for the
unrest government official said tuesday
the verdicts were handed down on monday by court in the regional capital
urumqi scene of the violence that pitted mainly muslim uighurs against china
han ethnic majority leaving nearly dead and over injured
they were sentenced yesterday by the urumqi intermediate court spokesman at
the xinjiang government who gave only his surname li told afp
four people were sentenced to death one was sentenced to death with two year
reprieve and eight others got prison terms of up to life
death sentence with reprieve is normally commuted to life in prison
monday sentences brought to the number of people who have been reported
executed or condemned to die over their roles in the unrest some of the worst
ethnic violence in china in decades
the xinjiang daily newspaper said monday verdicts came in five separate cases
with the defendants charged with the violent crimes of attacking smashing
looting and burning chinese term that means violent rioting
the defendants names provided by the xinjiang daily appeared to be uighur the
turkish speaking muslim minority group that has long complained of chinese
repression
during the initial eruption of violence on july uighurs attacked han chinese
but in subsequent days mobs of han roamed the streets seeking revenge
uighurs say the violence was sparked when police cracked down harshly on
peaceful demonstrations in urumqi that were held to protest the beating deaths
of two uighur migrant workers at factory in southern china
china says it faces serious separatist threat in xinjiang and has vowed harsh
retribution for those found guilty of wrongdoing in the unrest
state media said earlier this month that funding for public security in xinjiang
would nearly double in
budget proposal placed before xinjiang legislature called for billion
yuan million dollars to be spent on public security up from billion
yuan in the official china daily reported
but exiled uighurs say beijing exaggerates the separatist threat to justify
harsh controls in the strategic western region which is rich in energy reserves
and borders on several central asian countries
earlier this year authorities also issued orders to step up identity checks and
monitor religious activities in xinjiang in renewed bid to quash terrorism
separatism and extremism state media reported
yachting america cup yachts stuck in port for third day
madrid jan afp
the two yachts that are do battle for the america cup remained stranded in
port for third day tuesday due to bad weather less than two weeks before the
controversial event is due to start in eastern spain
the massive trimaran of us challenger oracle featuring metre fixed wing
sail is scheduled to face swiss defender alinghi huge catamaran in the
spanish mediterranean port of valencia over three legs from february to
decide the rd edition of yachting most prestigious event
concerns had already been raised about holding the event in mid winter in the
mediterranean when it risks being disrupted or delayed by rough weather
the crews began training off valencia more than week ago but the weather
conditions have forced them to remain in port since sunday
winds of more than knots and waves of more than three metres were forecast
off valencia for tuesday
we are trying to get out as soon as possible maybe thursday said
spokeswoman for us challenger oracle
the bad weather is unfortunate but expected at this time of the year
alinghi weather specialist john bilger said on its website it an
interesting place to have an america cup in february
local newspaper las provincias said the start of the event could be delayed
until february if the region is hit by further storms this week
continuing legal procedures in new york have added to the uncertainty over the
event
the supreme court of the state of new york is expected to rule on thursday on an
oracle suit against alinghi that accused the swiss defender of infringing
nationality rules by allegedly using us made sails for its catamaran
oracle and alinghi owned respectively by us software billionaire larry ellison
and swiss biotech billionaire ernesto bertarelli have been arguing over the
rules of the america cup since alinghi won the nd edition of the oldest
competition in international sport in valencia in july
the new york court ruled in april that the cup should be settled by one on one
multihull duel between the two sides in february instead of the traditional
fully fledged regatta involving several teams
greece hails success of bond sale
athens jan afp
the greek government on tuesday hailed the success of its recent bond sale
which attracted five times the amount sought but acknowledged that it had to
pay hefty price to attract investors
monday sale raised billion euros billion dollars and reflects the
country capacity to carry out its borrowing plans for greek finance
minister george papaconstantinou said in statement
greece struggling with huge debt and public deficit and credit rating
downgrades hopes to raise billion euros this year to meet its obligations
papaconstantinou said the sale showed that government measures are moving in
the right direction
the country socialist administration has drafted plan to slash the public
deficit from percent of gross domestic product in to percent this
year and to shrink the government debt from an estimated percent of output
this year
papaconstantinou noted that the yield on the bond sold monday paid by the
government to investors came to around percent which he said meant that
the cost of borrowing was steep and that greece had to restore its credibility
and strengthen its public finances
by way of comparison the benchmark year german bund carried yield on
monday of percent
commenting on the sale the newspaper eleftherotypia said that while investors
agreed to lend to us they emptied our pockets
greece financial plight has unnerved its fellow eurozone members and has drawn
worrisome attention on other members of the bloc notably portugal spain and
ireland that are facing similar pressures
the situation has prompted talk of possible eurozone bailout for athens
move that was firmly rejected tuesday by the head of the german central bank
axel weber said such aid would be counterproductive and impossible to justify
politically
weber is among the most influential members of the european central bank ecb
board and one of the favourites to take over the presidency of the bank next
year
politically it would not be possible to tell voters that one country is being
helped out so that it can avoid the painful savings that other countries have
made he told the boersen zeitung financial paper
such bailout is not provided for and as general rule think such aid
whether it is conditional or even worse unconditional is
counterproductive weber added
karzai lobbies neighbours ahead of london conference
istanbul jan afp
afghan president hamid karzai tried tuesday to shore up international backing
for efforts to cajole islamist insurgents to lay down their arms as germany
offered more troops and cash for the ravaged nation
karzai was meeting regional leaders in istanbul for talks also attended by
british foreign secretary david miliband
they form part of the build up to conference in london on thursday where
karzai hopes for western support for his strategy of wooing taliban fighters
with the lure of jobs and money
that strategy appears to have won the support of germany whose chancellor
angela merkel announced tuesday that her government would ask parliament for
another troops for afghanistan
merkel said the hike was part of completely new approach to cooperating with
the afghan government aimed at enabling kabul to take responsibility for
security as soon as possible
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 merkel government
wants to increase that by as well as offering reservists who could be
deployed for limited period
the talks in istanbul which are hosted by turkish president abdullah gul
include pakistani president asif ali zardari top officials from iran china
tajikistan and turkmenistan and observers from the united states russia and
international organisations
turkey nato sole muslim majority member is keen to drum up regional support
for karzai and efforts to bolster afghanistan social and economic development
tuesday gathering follows turkish sponsored talks monday between karzai and
zardari aimed at pushing the fractious neighbours to enhance cooperation against
islamist extremists
afterwards karzai said he would appeal at thursday 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
the list targeting taliban and al qaeda individuals and entities contains some
names including linked to the hardline militia toppled by us led forces
in late
karzai wants to bring low and mid level fighters into mainstream society but
the taliban leadership has so far remained hostile to negotiations
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 did not comment in detail on karzai plan
but he 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
that think what people expect under the notion of reconciliation
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
the intensified peace efforts come as the united states and allies aim for an
eventual withdrawal from afghanistan after eight years of battling brutal
islamist insurgency
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
washington also intends to step up non military assistance with civilian
strategy to stabilise afghanistan and pakistan which includes improving the
farm sector and governance in the two nations
asian banking systems stable moody
singapore jan afp
the outlook for asia banking systems has stabilised amid improving economic
conditions and better access to the global debt and money markets moody
investors service said tuesday
the credit ratings firm revised its outlook for the banking systems of
australia china hong kong indonesia india south korea malaysia new
zealand the philippines singapore taiwan and thailand to stable from
negative
however it maintained its negative outlook for cambodia japan mongolia and
vietnam
moody outlook covers the next months
deborah schuler senior vice president at moody said improving local
economic prospects and stabilising local conditions as well as better access to
international debt and money markets underpinned the firm revised outlook
asian banks have suffered only limited damage during the past months of
financial crisis she said
the four banking systems rated with negative outlook have shown some signs of
stability but remain vulnerable to shocks schuler added
however non performing loans those that are in default or close to defaulting
will remain above normal in most of the region over the next months
she said
football hartson confident of winning battle with cancer
london jan afp
former celtic arsenal and wales striker john hartson believes he is already
over the worst in his battle against cancer which spread from testicle to his
lungs and brain
six months after being left in critical condition following surgery to remove
pressure on his brain hartson has resumed work as football pundit and has
established the john hartson foundation to promote awareness of the symptoms of
testicular cancer and encourage other young men to seek early checks
it tough but like to think already over the worst hartson said in an
interview with the guardian newspaper in it he revealed that he had undergone
sessions of chemotherapy in the space of three months losing five stones
pounds kg in the process
ve had some wonderful news about the cancer he said it came at what
thought might be horrendous meeting with my oncologist you just don know
what he going to tell you
but when we went in he was smiling he told us that the cancer is all but gone
and that the chemo had shrunk the tumours when we heard that the missus and
were crying and hugging each other in his office
hartson father of three young children with fourth due in early march
recently married his long standing girlfriend sarah
he is due to undergo further surgery on his lungs and brain over the next few
months but he is upbeat about the future
he said was with the kids in the pool the other day and thought this is
what want want to live
hartson is also hoping he can ensure that other men do not make the same mistake
as he did in failing to see doctor for four years after he first found lump
on testicle
it was just me being stupid and boyish and not mature enough to face it he
recalled hoped it would just disappear but the lump got larger
pound tumbles as britain scrapes out of recession
london jan afp
the british pound slumped on tuesday against the dollar on news that britain
only just escaped recession in the final quarter of last year dealers said
in late morning trading in london sterling fell to dollars
elsewhere the euro declined to dollars and the us currency dipped to
yen
britain narrowly exited record recession in the fourth quarter of with
weaker than expected growth of just percent official data showed tuesday
the office for national statistics revealed that the economy grew during the
three months to december compared with the previous three months after its
longest ever recession lasting six quarters
however the figure disappointed market watchers who had expected return to
growth of percent in the final three months of
the pound suffered from sharp pull back post release and is likely to remain
under pressure going forward said calyon economist slavena nazarova
the news means that spain is the only major western power still trapped in
deep recession following the aftermath of the global financial crisis and the
subsequent worldwide downturn
the ons added that the british economy shrank by percent over the course of
compared with the previous year the biggest annual contraction on
record
elsewhere german business confidence rose for record th month in row the
ifo index showed tuesday raising hopes that germany economy europe
largest could lead the continent from its slump
the closely watched survey of around firms in the key manufacturing
construction wholesaling and retail sectors climbed to in january from
in the previous month hitting its highest level since july
this positive reading from the german business survey will raise hopes that the
recovery may be gathering renewed momentum in the first quarter of said
daiwa economist colin ellis
the result was better than analysts surveyed by dow jones newswires had
expected
the yen meanwhile won support on tuesday as worries deepened that chinese moves
to curb lending could derail still fragile global economic recovery dealers
said
investors dumped risky assets including growth sensitive currencies such as the
euro and headed for the relative safety of the yen in response to media reports
saying that several banks in china had suspended new loans
the reports fanned concerns that beijing may tighten its monetary policy soon as
part of efforts to prevent its economy overheating
eyes were also on the us federal reserve which was to open monetary policy
meeting later in the day
investors gave muted reaction after the bank of japan kept its key interest
rate unchanged at percent
in london on tuesday the euro was changing hands at dollars against
dollars late on monday at 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 an ounce late on monday
cricket iqbal defies indian attack with explosive ton
dhaka jan afp
bangladeshi opener tamim iqbal put india attack to the sword with blistering
on the third day of the second and final test in dhaka on tuesday
the left hander dominated record run stand for the second wicket with
junaid siddique as bangladesh reached in their second innings at
stumps
but the hosts still face stiff task to save the match as they need more
runs with seven wickets in hand to make india bat again after conceding
run lead
the tourists lead in the short series following their run win in the
opening match in chittagong last week
iqbal completed his second hundred off just balls the fastest by
bangladeshi in tests his stand with siddique was also bangladesh highest for
any wicket in test cricket
bangladesh previous best was between mohammad ashraful and mushfiqur rahim
for the sixth wicket against sri lanka in colombo in
iqbal delighted the crowd with bold strokeplay smashing three sixes and
fours in his career best knock he spared neither seamers nor spinners as he
kept playing attacking shots on both sides of the wicket
indian seamer zaheer khan struck in the third over when he had bangladeshi
opener imrul kayes five caught by substitute dinesh karthik who dived forward
to hold on to the ball at short cover
the visitors then had to wait for more than overs for the next success as
iqbal and siddique bolstered the innings with their contrasting knocks
zaheer broke the partnership when he had siddique caught behind the bangladeshi
batsman who relied more on singles and twos hit only five fours in his
ball knock for his fifth test half century
the indian seamer then got big wicket in the day penultimate over when he
had iqbal caught behind for his third victim
india earlier declared their first innings closed at their lunch total of
in reply to the hosts with skipper mahendra singh dhoni making solid
the visitors added to their overnight total of with dhoni alone
contributing
the indian captain on overnight completed his th test half century when
he lofted seamer rubel hossain over mid off for boundary
he looked set for his fourth test hundred when he was stumped by rahim off part
time spinner raqibul hasan on the stroke of lunch he cracked two sixes and nine
fours in his ball knock
india lost their first wicket early in the morning when zaheer was caught
hooking by shahadat hossain at fine leg off seamer shafiul islam for no score
part time spinner ashraful was the other wicket taker when he had ishant sharma
caught behind
shafiul finished with and left arm spinner shakib al hasan
cycling tour de france to start in the vendee
les herbiers france jan afp
the tour de france will start in the atlantic coast department of the
vendee race director christian prudhomme announced here on tuesday
the first stage will get underway on saturday july close to the approaches to
the island of noirmoutier and will end at the mont des alouettes next to the
town of les herbiers
the following day will see kilometres team time trial around the town of
essarts with the thirdf stage leaving from the vendee coastal town of olonne
sur mer
it will be the fourth time in the last years that world greatest cycle race
has started in the vendee after and
china taiwan hold talks on trade pact
beijing jan afp
experts from china and taiwan on tuesday launched the first round of talks aimed
at paving the way for major trade pact between the one time rivals both sides
said
the one day meeting comes amid improving ties nearly two years after taiwan
president ma ying jeou took office on pledge to step up trade relations as
way to boost the island stalled economy
the talks expected to centre on procedural issues will set the stage for
higher level negotiations before the end of june the state xinhua news agency
reported
we hope today meeting can end in common understandings on basic principles
and procedures for the negotiation of the pact the head of the chinese
delegation zheng lizhong was quoted by xinhua as saying
zheng vice president of the association for relations across the taiwan strait
arats said the pact would help push forward normal systematic and free
economic relations between the mainland and taiwan the report said
through the planned deal the two sides aim to open markets to each other and
give more favourable treatment to each other in areas including commodities
and services trade and realise mutual benefits zheng said
the government in taipei is eager to conclude the deal with beijing known as
the economic cooperation framework agreement ecfa which it says could boost
growth and employment on the self ruled island
but the opposition democratic progressive party which favours independence from
china fears it would increase taiwan reliance on beijing resulting in the
loss of million jobs and imperil the island de facto separate status
taipei wants to maintain restrictions over some agricultural imports from the
mainland and the arrival of labourers from china in order to ease opposition
fears over the pact
farmers are concerned about the import of agricultural products and there
are also worries about the competition for old economy industries said the
head of the taiwanese delegation kao koong lian
we hope the mainland side can understand said kao deputy chairman of the
quasi official straits exchange foundation sef
arats and the sef have been authorised by their governments to handle
negotiations between taiwan and china in the absence of official contacts
taiwan and china have been governed separately since the end of civil war in
but beijing considers the island part of its territory and has vowed to
get it back by force if necessary
relations were particularly strained under former president chen shui bian who
angered beijing with his pro independence rhetoric during his eight years in
power from
but since ma took office in may cross strait economic agreements have
been signed
three agreements on supervisory cooperation in the fields of banking
securities futures and insurance went into effect earlier this month
they provide for thresholds and preferential policies for both sides to enter
each other financial markets
other agreements have touched on food quarantine industrial standards and
fishing crews
since taipei eased an investment ban in the early local taiwanese
businesses have channelled about billion us dollars into china
china took billion us dollars of the island total exports in or
percent of the island overseas sales
at least homeless dead from cold in germany ngo
berlin jan afp
at least homeless people have died of exposure to frigid temperatures in
germany since the start of the winter the worst toll in years an advocacy
group said tuesday
as the mercury sank to minus degrees celsius degrees fahrenheit in the
northeast of the country overnight the bag aid organisation said it had not
seen such catastrophic winter since homeless died in
meanwhile snow and ice led to the cancellation of more than flights monday
at frankfurt international airport europe third busiest hub
and shipping on the elbe river between hamburg and the town of geesthacht to the
southeast has been closed due to ice since late monday authorities said
afp gmt economics news advisory
paris jan afp
duty editor laurent thomet
telephone
britain economy finance growth recession lead wrap
london
britain narrowly exits record recession with weaker than expected growth of
percent but massive state debt is likely to stunt recovery beyond general
election due by june
words gmt by roland jackson pictures
europe eurozone public debt bank ecb ratings bonds
london
the fitch credit rating agency and the european central bank issue strong
warnings about the weight of european government debt on financial markets and
economic recovery
words gmt
forex europe wrap
london
the british pound slumps against rival currencies on news that britain only just
escaped recession in the final quarter of last year
words gmt
stocks europe wrap
london
europe main stock markets fall after slide in tokyo and official data
revealing that britain only just escaped recession in the fourth quarter of
words gmt
commodities energy oil price wrap
london
oil prices drop on concerns major energy consumer china will make further moves
to tighten credit analysts say
words gmt
us politics economy obama
washington
president barack obama will call wednesday for three year partial freeze on
spending that would save billion dollars over decade in bid to show he
is serious about cutting the huge deficit
words moved by stephen collinson
japan economy wrap
tokyo
japan is threatened with possible sovereign credit rating downgrade as tokyo
ratchets up the pressure on the central bank to do more to revive the deflation
ridden economy
words moved by daniel rook
french report calls for burqa ban
paris jan afp
french parliament report called tuesday for ban on the full islamic veil
saying muslim women who wear the burqa were challenging french values in an
unacceptable manner
after six months of hearings panel of lawmakers recommended ban on the
face covering veil in all schools hospitals public transport and government
offices the broadest move yet to restrict muslim dress in france
the wearing of the full veil is challenge to our republic this is
unacceptable the report said we must condemn this excess
the commission called on parliament to adopt formal resolution stating that
the all encompassing veil was contrary to the values of the republic and
proclaiming that all of france is saying no to the full veil
the national assembly resolution would pave the way to legislation making it
illegal for anyone to appear with their face covered at state run institutions
and in public transport for reasons of security
women who turn up at government offices wearing the full veil would be denied
services such as work visa residency papers or french citizenship the report
said
the panel however stopped short of proposing broad legislation to outlaw the
burqa in the streets and all public venues such as shopping centres
lawmakers cautioned that such measure would first have to be reviewed by the
courts to establish its legality
the wearing of the full veil is the tip of the iceberg said communist
lawmaker andre gerin the chair of the commission after formally presenting the
report to the parliament speaker
there are scandalous practices hidden behind this veil said gerin who vowed
to fight the gurus seeking to export radical brand of fundamentalism and
sectarianism to france
tensions flared at the last minute when group of right wing mps pushed
unsuccessfully for tougher measure to ban the burqa in all public venues
during the last minute squabbling two of the initial recommendations were
dropped from the final report those proposals touched on setting up national
centre of islamic studies and conducting parliamentary study on islamophobia
the opposition socialists said they would not endorse the final report to
protest the government launching of debate on national identity which has
exposed french fears about islam
home to europe biggest muslim minority estimated at about six million france
is being closely watched at time of particular unease over islam three months
after swiss voters approved ban on minarets
president nicolas sarkozy set the tone for the debate in june when he declared
the burqa not welcome in france and described it as symbol of women
subservience that cannot be tolerated in country that considers itself
