the us auto giant in the process of massive restructuring after bankruptcy
last year said the process for saab is expected to take several months and
will ensure that employees dealers and suppliers are adequately protected
gm also confirmed that it has received several proposals for saab and is
continuing to evaluate these proposals even as it begins liquidation of the
auto division
several groups including dutch sportscar maker spyker and group comprised of
formula one boss bernie ecclestone and genii capital luxembourg investment
firm have said they presented gm with last ditch bids to rescue saab
the head of sweden influential if metall union stefan loefven blasted gm for
moving to close the company at the same time as it is evaluating bids for the
loss making brand
it is irresponsible of gm as an owner to go in two directions both pursuing
the sale of saab and the winding up loefven said
in addition to the bids disclosed this week swedish media also reported friday
that another group headed by swedish businessmen was interested in acquiring
saab and scaling down its operations to build to cars year
in the last year for which figures are available saab sold cars
worldwide
gm europe spokesman stefan weinmann told afp that the company was going ahead
with the closure of saab but at the same time considering any new bids
essentially the two processes will continue in parallel we will look at the
proposals and analyze them and see whether we can find good solution for
everybody he said
gm actions regarding the saab sale which it put on the block year ago have
been repeatedly criticized by the swedish government and saab unions with
questions arising over whether the us giant really intended to sell the unit
we will see what we can do in order to if possible contribute to positive
sale of saab joeran haegglund swedish enterprise ministry state secretary
told swedish news agency tt
he will be heading swedish delegation traveling to detroit michigan on
saturday to hold talks early next week with officials from gm and ford which is
in the process of selling its swedish unit volvo to chinese carmaker geely
saab employs people in sweden and is among the brands being shed by gm as
part of massive restructuring effort that began in and accelerated last
year when the largest us automaker went bankrupt
analysts have warned that some jobs could be lost with saab closure
the swedish brand which has been owned by gm for two decades has been on the
verge of extinction since gm said on december it would wind down saab citing
failed talks with spyker
tennis atp chennai open results collated
chennai india jan afp
collated results from the fifth day of the dollar atp chennai open
tennis tournament on friday denotes seeding
quarter finals
stanislas wawrinka sui bt michael berrer ger
janko tipsarevic srb bt thiemo de bakker ned
dudi sela isr bt lukas lacko svk
marin cilic cro bt santiago giraldo col
semi final line up wawrinka sela tipsarevic cilic
football coyle appointed bolton manager
london jan afp
owen coyle has been appointed manager of english premier league side bolton the
club confirmed on friday
the former wanderers striker replaces gary megson taking immediate charge of
the team although with this weekend clash against sunderland postponed his
first match will be against arsenal week on sunday
coyle told the club website absolutely delighted to be back at bolton
wanderers look forward to the opportunity of bringing the good times back to
the club for everyone
bolton chairman phil gartside said owen was our number one target and we are
naturally delighted that he has returned to the football club as manager
he was an inspirational player who leads by example and great motivator and
on behalf of everyone at bolton wanderers would like to say welcome home
coyle has reportedly signed two and half year contract
the delay in confirming his appointment was largely due to bolton ongoing
negotiations in thrashing out compensation deal with coyle former club
burnley
caretaker boss chris evans had been preparing for saturday game before it was
abandoned
coyle led burnley into the top flight for the first time in years after
moving from st johnstone in november but believes bolton is better
option
burnley thanked coyle for his achievements after confirming that compensation
package had been agreed with bolton today
the officials of burnley football club would like to place on record their
thanks to owen for his services to the club and contribution to our success
read statement on the club website
afptv updated advisory
paris jan afp
we will file the following videos
we are unable to file the advertised report ex washington on nigerian alleged
airline bomber umar farouk abdulmutallab appearing in court we apologise for
the inconvenience
portugal mps approve gay marriage
lisbon
portugal parliament friday approved plans to legalise gay marriage less than
three decades after revoking the country ban on homosexuality but rejected
proposals to allow same sex couples to adopt the bill passed with limited
public controversy in what has traditionally been one of europe most socially
conservative countries
news culture amp lifestyle
images and soundbites of celebrations transmitted gmt
raw vid
web mmv
spain to inaugurate its eu presidency
madrid
spain officially inaugurates its six month presidency of the european union on
friday with meetings between prime minister jose luis rodriguez zapatero new
eu president herman van rompuy and european commission president jose manuel
durao barroso and formal ceremony coverage of joint press conference
coverage of inaugural ceremony
news
images and soundbites of press conference already transmitted
raw vid
web mmv
images and soundbites transmitted by gmt
raw vid
web mmv
already transmitted
buck stops with me over plane plots obama
washington
us president barack obama declared thursday the buck stops with me over huge
intelligence flaws exposed by an al qaeda attack on us jet and vowed sweeping
and costly new measures to fix them
news
images and soundbites
raw vid
web mmv
iraq bars politicians parties from election
baghdad
fourteen iraqi politicians and parties linked to saddam hussein baath party
have been barred from taking part in march elections in blow for efforts
towards national reconciliation
news
images and soundbites
raw vid
web mmv
sri lankan execution footage authentic un says
unknown location sri lanka
un envoy concluded on thursday that video footage appearing to show sri lankan
troops executing tamil tiger rebels last year was authentic and urged colombo to
accept an impartial probe the video handout provided by group called
journalists for democracy in sri lanka is authentic said philip alston the
un special rapporteur on extrajudicial summary or arbitrary executions sri
lanka accused the un of crusade to drag it before war crimes tribunals
saying the video had been altered images attention contains graphic images
news
images
raw vid
web mmv
european freeze hits transport as britain limits gas
paris
europe grappled with grounded planes and yet more eurostar cancellations friday
as bitter winter weather forced britain to curb industrial gas usage in order to
save supplies
news
images and soundbites from eurostar spokesman and stranded passengers
raw vid
web mmv
images of snow in lyon and arles in southeastern france new offer
raw vid
web mmv
china overtakes germany as top world exporter
shenzhen shanghai china
china and its population of billion has overtaken germany population
million as the world top exporter trade figures released on friday by the
german national statistics office show in the months from january to
november chinese exports were worth total of trillion dollars while
german data showed that exports from europe biggest economy amounted to
billion euros or trillion dollars file footage of shipping containers at
shenzhen harbour factories in southern china and general roll
news economy
images
raw vid
gadgets galore at high tech fair
las vegas nevada
consumer electronics manufacturers after suffering rare dip in sales last
year are hoping to bounce back in with newest gadgetry and technology
being rolled out at the annual consumer electronics show ces for four days
pioneers of high tech are unveiling their latest inventions voiced report
news science amp technology economy
voiced report
nsv vid
broadcast ready vid
web mmv
costa rican volcano simmers down alerts still in effect new offer
turrialba costa rica
the eruption of costa rica turrialba volcano has subsided but residents of
evacuated areas were kept away late thursday as gas swirled in the crater and
the peak continued to rumble
news
images
raw vid
web mmv
israeli village mashes up world largest hummus
abu ghosh israel
fifty chefs in the arab israeli village of abu ghosh set new record for the
world biggest hummus on friday after they mashed up over four tonnes of the
dip that is about twice as much as the previous record for hummus set in
october in neighbouring lebanon israel political and culinary rival
culture amp lifestyle offbeat
raw vid
web mmv
as part of our series of reports ahead of the african nations cup which kicks
off on sunday we filed the following reports
cameroon has high ambitions heading into football cup
paris
cameroon made it to the finals in but coach paul le guen says the squad
has its sights set on crowning glory in this year african nations cup afptv
met up with the frenchman ahead of his departure for kenya where the cameroon
team was preparing for the competition
sport
images and soundbites
raw vid
web mmv
the losers in luanda housing boom
luanda
african cup host luanda is booming with oil money and reconstruction projects
eight years after the end of angola civil war but across the city bulldozers
are razing shantytowns to make way for upmarket housing compounds leaving
thousands homeless
special report
voiced report
nsv vid
broadcast ready vid
web mmv
tourists wrestle with rights issues in myanmar
yangon bagan myanmar
should tourists travel to myanmar the military dictatorship has imprisoned
political dissidents used forced labour and seized foreign aid but there are
increasing calls for an end to isolation not least from many people living in
the reclusive country
special report
voiced report
nsv vid
broadcast ready vid
web mmv
separating the real and fake in dubai goods
dubai
with it grandiose malls dubai is shopaholic paradise but in the back
alleys there is sinister trade the gulf state has become hub for
counterfeit goods from china business that customs officers are trying to
rein in
economy culture amp lifestyle
voiced report
nsv vid
broadcast ready vid
web mmv
contact
michelle hoffman
jacqueline pietsch
gunmen wound four in attack on african football stars
luanda jan afp
gunmen shot at bus carrying togo football squad to the african nations cup
in angola on friday wounding at least two players and two others and prompting
call for the tournament to be called off
one player said he believed the driver of one of the buses in the team convoy
was shot dead when bullets were sprayed at the vehicles as they crossed into the
troubled angolan province of cabinda from congo brazzaville
many dived under the seats on the bus when the gunfire started they told
reporters
two players goalkeeper kodjovi obilale and defender serge akakpo were among the
wounded said another squad member thomas dossevi
one of them akakpo took bullet in the back and the other obilale was hit
in the kidneys dossevi told afp
obilale plays at french fifth division side gsi pontivy while akakpo plays with
romanian outfit vaslui
the other two wounded were the team goalkeeping coach and doctor
all were being treated in hospital in the provincial capital cabinda
another team member richmond forson said he believed the driver one of the
buses in the togo convoy had been killed but that none of the players lives were
in danger
the gunfire broke out as they were pulling away from the border crossing
players said
forson who plays with french fourth division side thouars told the french
sports channel infosport that bus carrying the team baggage took the worst
of the gunfire
it was the baggage bus which went in front of us which took the bullets because
they thought we were in there forson said
they shot the driver of this bus and think he did not come through the
windscreen was smashed the player added
alaixys romao who plays for the french top flight side grenoble said the team
was in shock and did not want to take part in the tournament which is due to
begin on sunday
we ve got players wounded members of staff and we re all just waiting for
news he told infosport
if it is possible there should be boycott of the tournament why not cancel
all the matches we just want to go back home
togo one of africa top sides and who appeared in the last world cup in
germany are scheduled to get their campaign underway against ghana on monday
they are captained by english based star striker emmanuel adebayor whose club
manchester city said in statement that he had not been injured
the other teams in their group include burkina faso and the star studded ivory
coast whose squad includes chelsea striker didier drogba and barcelona
midfielder yaya toure
contacted by afp in angola organisers of the event said the team bus had simply
burst tyre causing panic among those inside after second inquiry
organisers said they had no knowledge of the incident
oil rich cabinda has been embroiled in long running independence struggle but
will host the seven nations cup matches this month
the conflict officially ended in deal with the front for the liberation
of the enclave of cabinda flec
flec however has made several media claims in recent months about attacks on the
military and foreign construction and oil workers based in the province
angola as whole is only just emerging from year civil war which erupted
shortly after it received independence from portugal and finally ended in
india eyes military transport planes boeing
new york jan afp
the boeing company said friday that india has contacted the us government about
potential purchase of military transport aircraft
the us government has received letter of request from india ministry of
defence mod and the indian air force regarding the potential acquisition of
globemaster iii advanced airlifters the company said in statement
boeing is very pleased that the indian government has expressed interest in
acquiring the to modernize its airlift capabilities and we look forward to
working closely with them said vivek lall vice president and india country
head of boeing defense space amp security
lall said that the can fulfill india needs for military and humanitarian
airlift to help it meet its growing domestic and international
responsibilities
the globemaster iii advanced airlifter can carry large combat equipment and
troops or humanitarian aid across international distances to small airfields
anywhere in the world according to the chicago headquartered company
the indian air force wants to replace and augment its fleet of russian made
an and il airlifters it said
on wednesday boeing announced it had won contract from the united arab
emirates for six military aircraft making the uae the second middle east
nation to order the airlifter after qatar the financial details of the uae
order were not disclosed
there are currently in service around the world including owned
by the us air force boeing said the planes have international
customers including the british canadian and australian air forces
carmd gadget aims to keep mechanics honest
las vegas nevada jan afp
carmd gadget showed off at this week consumer electronics show in las vegas
is tapping into auto technology to help people keep mechanics honest
carmd plugs into ports that are standard in or newer model cars then
quickly analyzes data from the hundreds of sensors built into today
increasingly computerized vehicles
green light indicates all is as it should be while red or yellow lights warn
of car problems
the gadget is then plugged into an internet linked computer so it can go to
carmd website to fetch information about what is wrong and how much it should
cost for repairs
it is basically empowering you with information that your mechanic normally
would have kristin brocoff of carmd told afp while demonstrating the device
it is peace of mind people still don trust mechanics when it comes to
fixing your car we are giving you second opinion in your back pocket
carmd is priced just shy of us dollars and there are no subscription fees or
hidden costs according to brocoff
rallying despres wins motorcycling th stage
antofagasta chile jan afp
frenchman cyril despres won friday seventh motorcycling stage of the dakar
rally km ride from iquique to antofagasta
despres now leads the way overall after the longest special stage of the event
with sec lead over spanish ktm rival marc coma
eu chiefs urge stepped up economic coordination
madrid jan afp
the european union three chief representatives appealed friday for greater
economic coordination among member countries to revive growth in the bloc
following the global crisis
only by working together very closely together at all levels will we be able to
deliver on the main challenges facing us said the eu new permanent
president herman van rompuy
and this will indeed be challenging six months for us all we face huge
budget deficits in each of our countries due to the economic crisis
in order to limit the deficits we need reforms but we also need economic
growth structural reforms
he said that if nothing were done economic growth would not be higher than
percent
van rompuy was speaking at news conference with eu commission president manuel
barroso and spanish prime minister jose luis rodriguez zapatero whose country
assumed the eu six month rotating presidency on january
our main objective during this time is united policies especially on the
economy zapatero said
if we can move the european economy forward then prosperity will be on the
horizon for all of us that is the main objective we have for this period and it
is an objective that we all share
barroso echoed those opinions
it is only if we work jointly with ambitious aims that we can find answers to
the concerns of the citizens of europe he said our first priority has to be
economic recovery and the creation of jobs
zapatero on thursday proposed form of european government on economic
issues with the promise of rewards for members that meet binding targets and
the threat of sanctions for those that do not
spain hopes the eu can agree on replacement for the bloc long term growth
strategy known as the lisbon agenda
the plan was supposed to make the eu the world most competitive economy by
but never achieved its aims with governments under no obligation to
conform
spain plans to learn from that failure and launch new year growth
strategy that it intends to propose to an eu summit in brussels on february
that will focus on the economy
without explicitly referring to the plan van rompuy and barroso indicated they
shared the idea
we now have window of opportunity for good strategy said van rompuy
the spanish prime minister was very ambitious think he was right to be very
ambitious but we are all three of us full of ambitions because we feel that
in lot of countries the sense of urgency is more than it was few years ago
friday meeting was also an opportunity for the eu three chief
representatives to show they were clear on the division of their roles after
reforms under which van rompuy become the eu first permanent president
in other countries even in democracies it is not one man or woman who
decides said van rompuy the former belgian prime minister
the treaty is very clear on the division of roles it is together that we take
decision in crisis
zapatero added we are working together in very coordinated way
van rompuy said that in addition to the economy the february summit would
focus on climate change following the un summit in copenhagen
the eu must continue to be driving force in this field he said adding that
without the eu the outcome in copenhagen would have been much less
we as union would like to have gone further but there is no reason to be
downbeat there are enough elements to have positive and lasting results this
is complicated process and we are in for the long haul
tennis wawrinka tipsarevic into chennai open semi finals
chennai india jan afp
third seed stanislas wawrinka and fourth seeded janko tipsarevic shrugged off
lengthy rain delay to advance to the atp chennai open semi finals on friday
there was also place in the last four of the dollar event for israeli
fifth seed dudi sela who overcame promising lukas lacko of the slovak republic
some indian fans braved the damp weather to watch play begin at pm
gmt after light rain delayed the start by three hours
the organisers juggled the order of play to avoid very late finish scheduling
two quarter finals on the centre court and the remaining two on the outer
courts
wawrinka who opened the night proceedings on centre court survived tough
first set against seventh seed michael berrer of germany to win
in an hour and minutes
it really good first tournament of the year for me so far said the st
ranked wawrinka the number two swiss player behind roger federer
to win in straight sets in quarter final is great in fact to win three
matches in straight sets is ideal
on the tour we re used to waiting to play because of the rain it part of the
job pretty easy to handle they put me for the first match so it wasn
problem at all
wawrinka plays sela in saturday semi final
tipsarevic who struggled with his serves overcame thiemo de bakker of the
netherlands in hard fought match that lasted two hours and six
minutes
the dutchman playing in his maiden atp tour quarter final led in the first
set and in the second but failed to build on the early advantage against
the experienced serb
tipsarevic plays either second seed marin cilic of croatia or santiago giraldo
of colombia for place in the final
commodities make bright start to
london jan afp
commodities enjoyed bright start to with oil bouncing above dollars
and sugar striking year high as traders eyed recovery hopes despite poor us
jobs data
we have been highlighting for some time that there is still considerable upside
risk to commodity prices in early said barclays capital analyst kevin
norrish in research note to clients
it is our view that markets have underestimated the strength of the economic
growth rebound in the first quarter and that it is still little early to
exit the recovery trade
markets tailed off somewhat on friday as traders digested news that the united
states major consumer of raw materials shed more jobs than expected in
december
most commodities rallied in on keen demand and signs of global economic
recovery with oil soaring about percent and gold hitting record peaks
oil the market jumped in the first trading week of largely because of
cold snap across the northern hemisphere which boosted heating fuel demand but
players pared gains after downbeat us jobs report
new york crude topped dollars on wednesday for the first time for months
before closing lower on thursday for the first time in sessions as traders
banked profits
oil begun with bang on monday soaring by more than two dollars as
freezing temperatures spread
reports that russia had cut supplies to belarus also helped push prices higher
but officials in belarus later denied the reports
cold weather across the northern hemisphere propelled crude prices two dollars
higher said david hufton oil analyst at pvm brokers
help also came from russia oil dispute with belarus and universally positive
manufacturing data from china india korea the uk and us
gains for oil tailed off towards the end of the week in the wake of the latest
us energy inventory data and the downbeat us non farm payrolls report
us crude oil reserves rose by million barrels in the week ending january
instead of the expected drop of some barrels
stockpiles of distillates including heating fuel and diesel fell
barrels in the week sharply below forecasts for million barrel drop amid
the cold weather
prices fell again on friday after data showed that the us the world biggest
energy consuming nation shed jobs in december much more than
expected
oil jumped by around percent in as traders were heartened by evidence
that the battered global economy was on the mend with the eurozone japan and
the united states escaping fierce recession
by late friday new york main futures contract light sweet crude for delivery
in february rallied to dollars barrel from dollars on thursday of
the previous week
london brent north sea crude for february advanced to dollars from
dollars
precious metals platinum and palladium prices soared to equal recent highs
after the us launch of exchange traded funds etfs for both metals
platinum rallied as high as dollars per ounce the best level since august
while palladium hit dollars an ounce the best since july that year
the new etfs which allow traders to invest money more easily in the
commodities without trading on the futures market were launched in the
united states on friday
both platinum and palladium could gain serious traction should etf investment
demand prove strong said analyst james moore at the bulliondesk specialist
metals website
by friday on the london bullion market gold rose to dollars an ounce
from dollars the previous thursday before the new year holiday break
silver soared to dollars an ounce from dollars
on the london platinum and palladium market platinum soared to dollars an
ounce from dollars
palladium jumped to dollars an ounce from dollars
base metals base metals diverged but copper hit multi month highs on news of
