gadhia added our approach to banking is founded on developing sustainable
savings based business we see the acquisition of church house trust as strong
and sensible first step in delivering virgin money banking ambition
kevin mountford head of banking at price comparison website
moneysupermarket com said it was great to see serious player making move
to challenge the big banks
we have already seen virgin money play an aggressive role in the credit card
market and we can expect them to do likewise across broader set of banking
products
mountford said he expected the group to focus on attracting savers money and
build funds to launch home loans
before you can get into lending products you have to get savers money expect
it to ramp up its savings activity and follow that with mortgages he said
church house trust chairman david batten said virgin was set to benefit from the
bank conservative business model
church house has about private customers and million pounds in deposits
double its million pounds loan book
virgin money has more than million customers and offers credit cards as
well as savings investment and insurance products
virgin deal comes after finance minister alistair darling last year called for
greater competition across britain troubled retail banking sector
britain biggest retailer supermarket giant tesco has made its own recent
moves into the business aimed at attracting more customers away from traditional
lenders
last october tesco relaunched its financial services division as tesco bank
across britain there has been widespread public anger over the global financial
crisis and subsequent recession with the established banks widely blamed
the country begins as the only top economy officially in recession after
the eurozone france germany japan and the united states last year each
emerged from the most severe downturn since the
official data due later this month is expected to show that britain returned to
growth in the fourth quarter of last year
briton jailed for pretending to be policeman
london jan afp
british man was jailed friday for pretending to be police officer over
several years even duping his wife police said
stuart howatson told guests at his wedding in that the chief of
london metropolitan police was due to join them and even set him dinner
place howatson explained his absence in his speech blaming security issues
the following year he gave an educational talk in full uniform at nursery
school where family friend worked telling the children about police work and
showing them police batons
howatson was arrested after tip off in october and police found uniforms
in his home which he later claimed to have bought on online auction site ebay
statement from the met said
he pleaded guilty at worcester crown court in western england to possessing
articles of police uniform and an offensive weapon false accounting and fraud
by false representation
he also admitted possessing and making indecent images of children
describing him as common trickster and conman the judge sentenced
howatson to months in prison
his behaviour has not only deeply affected his family and friends but risked
undermining the integrity and professionalism of genuine police officers
everywhere added the met detective inspector claire moxon
cricket bangladesh sri lanka one day scoreboard
dhaka jan afp
complete scoreboard of the triangular one day series match between bangladesh
and sri lanka here on friday
bangladesh
tamim iqbal lbw randiv
imrul kayes lbw perera
mohammad ashraful run out
raqibul hasan randiv perera
shakib al hasan tharanga thushara
mushfiqur rahim bandara randiv
mohammad mahmudullah not out
naeem islam kulasekara
abdur razzak run out
rubel hossain sangakkara kulasekara
syed rasel not out
extras
total for nine wickets overs
fall of wickets iqbal ashraful kayes raqibul
shakib rahim naeem razzak hossain
bowling kulasekara thushara randiv
perera bandara samaraweera
sri lanka
tharanga not out
jayawardene rahim naeem
sangakkara not out
extras lb
total for one wicket overs
fall of wicket jayawardene
bowling rasel hossain naeem shakib
mahmudullah razzak ashraful
tamim
result sri lanka win by nine wickets
toss sri lanka
umpires simon taufel aus and shahid saikat ban
tv umpire enamul haque ban
match referee andy pycroft zim
next match india sri lanka sunday
britain grants licences for huge offshore wind farm expansion
london jan afp
britain granted licences friday for huge expansion of offshore wind farms
based around nine sites which together could provide enough electricity for
almost all homes in the country officials said
foreign firms including germany eon and rwe norway statoil portugal edp
and sweden vattenfall won bids to develop the coastal sites which have the
potential for additional turbines generating gigawatts
this would be enough to supply nearly all the homes in the uk officials said
while the project known as round is hoped to deliver quarter of the
country total electricity needs by
our policies in support of offshore wind energy have already put us ahead of
every other country in the world said prime minister gordon brown
this new round of licences provides substantial new platform for investing in
uk industrial capacity
brown said britain offshore wind industry could be worth billion pounds
billion dollars billion euros and support up to jobs by
he said the new wind farms would also make significant and practical
contribution to reducing our carbon dioxide emissions which help cause global
warming
the government has pledged to obtain percent of all britain energy from
renewables such as wind and wave power by
our island has one of the best wind energy resources in europe and today
news shows we creating the right conditions for the energy industry to
invest in harnessing it energy and climate change secretary ed miliband said
this is one of the strongest signals yet that the uk is locked irreversibly
into low carbon energy secure prosperous future
the exclusive rights to develop the offshore wind farms were granted by crown
estate which owns britain coastal seabeds the projects will now go through
the planning system
the value of the deals was not disclosed although spanish business paper
eleconomista said the bid won jointly by vattenfall and spanish energy group
iberdrola renovables could be worth about billion euros billion
dollars
iberdrola renovables made the bid through its affiliate scottishpower renewables
for wind farm in the north sea which has capacity of megawatts it said
portgual mps approve gay marriage
lisbon jan afp
portugal parliament approved bill to legalise same sex marriages on friday
less than years after the country revoked its ban on homosexuality
lawmakers rejected proposals to allow gay couples to adopt but otherwise the
bill passed with little public controversy in what has traditionally been one of
europe most socially conservative countries
in contrast to spain where the run up to the legalisation of gay marriage in
brought hundreds of thousands of demonstrators onto the streets the bill
in portugal provoked only muted opposition even from the political right
after less than three hours debate friday parliamentary vote went mainly
along party lines with the left wing majority backing the measure proposed by
prime minister jose socrates and the right wing opposition voting against
it will now be reviewed in committee before coming back for final vote in
parliament and could gain final approval before visit by pope benedict xvi
due in portugal in may
gay rights campaigners outside parliament greeted the result with cries of joy
and celebrated with champagne and wedding cake
socrates said the aim of the legislation was to remedy decades of injustice
towards gays recalling that as recently as homosexuality was crime in
portugal
parliament also defeated demand backed by the right for referendum following
petition which collected more than signatures
while normally vocal on the role of marriage and the family in society the
catholic church refused to mobilise on the issue which lisbon cardinal
patriarch jose policarpo said was parliament responsibility
audi denies behind tasteless suicide internet ad
berlin jan afp
automaker audi denied on friday being behind what it called tasteless fake
advert circulating on the internet showing man trying and failing to commit
suicide in one of the german firm cars
the professional looking clip features man in deserted car park fitting
hosepipe leading from the exhaust on his audi through the window and turning on
the engine in an apparent attempt to kill himself
instead of dying he wakes up when the fuel tank is empty with slogan
implying that audi exhaust fumes are so clean they are not harmful clean
diesel technology good for the environment good for you
it not ours we think the clip is tasteless it not really topic that
lends itself to this kind of advertising an audi spokesman told afp we don
make ads with this music and this font
we are trying to get it removed from the internet as soon as possible
daimler auto sales down percent in
frankfurt jan afp
german luxury car maker daimler posted on friday percent drop in
sales despite an improvement in the second half of the year
the daimler group sold almost million mercedes benz smart city cars and
other autos last year statement said
smart sales were percent lower than in
in december alone however the group saw percent increase from the same
month year earlier while fourth quarter sales gained percent
we were able to successively improve our sales in the second half following
first half marked by sharp decline daimler boss dieter zetsche said in the
statement
emerging markets china in particular were largely responsible for the second
half increase as demand for larger class and class autos got stronger
chinese sales posted the biggest single market increase last year gaining
percent to vehicles
european sales slumped percent however to while us sales were down
percent at
daimler auto sales down percent in
frankfurt jan afp
german luxury car maker daimler posted on friday percent drop in
sales despite an improvement in the second half of the year
the daimler group sold almost million mercedes benz smart city cars and
other autos last year statement said
smart sales were percent lower than in
in december alone however the group saw percent increase from the same
month year earlier while fourth quarter sales gained percent
we were able to successively improve our sales in the second half following
first half marked by sharp decline daimler boss dieter zetsche said in the
statement
emerging markets china in particular were largely responsible for the second
half increase as demand for larger class and class autos got stronger
chinese sales posted the biggest single market increase last year gaining
percent to vehicles
european sales slumped percent however to while us sales were down
percent at
football ancelotti makes anelka his main man for january
london jan afp
nicolas anelka has been told he will carry the responsibility of keeping the
goals flying in for chelsea in the absence of didier drogba
ivory coast star drogba is away at the african nations cup along with salomon
kalou michael essien and john mikel obi but blues boss carlo ancelotti
believes anelka has the ability to ensure that the club leading striker is not
too badly missed
anelka has recovered from hamstring injury which kept him out of chelsea
last four matches and is set to return to action at hull on saturday
anelka is very important player for us ancelotti said friday he has shown
he can play with didier in attack and without him
he played the first three games in the champions league without didier and he
did very well for us and that was important
it is very important for us to have him not only for tomorrow but throughout
this period
ancelotti denied reports that the club sporting director frank arnesen was in
italy this week checking on sampdoria striker giampaolo pazzini and insisted
there were no plans to bolster chelsea playing staff
we stay with the same squad have said that lot of times the italian
said we have good squad and have very good striker in daniel sturridge we
don need to have another new player pazzini is not player who is of
interest to us
ancelotti squad travel to hull with two point advantage over champions
manchester united and their coach is keen to avoid any slip up having taken
notice of arsenal recent revival and the impact of his compatriot roberto
mancini on manchester city
this game will be the first one without the african players and it will be
difficult game he said
we have to pay attention to hull and be aware we must concentrate on doing our
best because we want to win and maintain our position at the top of the list
ancelotti added it is roberto mancini dream to win the title he has started
his job very well but it is important that we stay at the top
arsenal have done very well in this recent period they have had some fabulous
results but we must maintain our position
zanzibar blackout to last six more weeks minister
stone town tanzania jan afp
zanzibar energy minister said friday that month long power blackout would
last six more weeks amid mounting criticism of the government over crippling
electricity crisis
we expect that we shall have power on the island on february mansour
yussuf himid said at press conference in the semi autonomous tanzanian
island capital stone town
the archipelago main island unguja has been without power since december
due to breakdown affecting the year old undersea cable providing
electricity from the mainland
the minister assured zanzibaris that the government was working around the clock
to fix the problem and said that tanzania development partners were to hold an
emergency meeting next week
opposition parties in zanzibar where elections are to be held later this year
have accused the authorities of mismanaging the crisis and called for the
ministers in charge to resign
the chama cha demokrasia na maendeleo party had planned mass protest in stone
town for sunday but the police turned down the request arguing the
demonstration would interfere with independence celebrations
amani karume zanzibar president on thursday brushed criticism aside and
insisted the blackout was the result of an accident
at difficult times like now media and well wishers should sympathise with us
and console us instead of pointing an accusing finger he said at bank
inauguration
officials have already reported drop in revenue collection due to the blackout
and warned that the peak tourism season was also being affected
egypt copts reject quick fix approach to sectarian tensions
nagaa hammadi egypt jan afp
fast food solutions to muslim christian tensions won work said rami of the
arrest on friday of suspects in the shooting deaths of six coptic christians in
southern egypt
residents of nagaa hammadi where three gunmen sprayed christian passers by with
bullets as they emerged from christmas eve mass on wednesday were furious at
what they called government attempts to hush up egypt sectarian problem
the interior ministry said the three suspects including town resident
mohammed el kamuni whom the interior ministry earlier identified as el kawmi
surrendered on friday morning after being surrounded on nearby farm
police say the attack was related to the alleged rape of muslim girl by
coptic man in the nearby village of farshut last november
the town copts reject the theory however
it too easy to say that now the authorities can say they have their motive
they have their suspects problem solved one source at the town church told
afp
but we want answers we want the authorities to address the root cause of the
sectarian problems
many people in the town believe that sectarian violence in the country is
politically motivated
it convenient for the politicians to have muslims and christians argue one
said
it because they hate us another christian offered as the reason for the
violence
while such theories may vary many copts believe that wednesday attack was
allowed to happen
nagaa hammadi bishop kirilos said that for the past week some of his
parishioners had received threatening phone calls and that he had warned the
authorities that something was about to happen
am in touch with the street hear things people talk he told afp
he said he had warned the authorities that he expected an attack either on new
year eve or during the coptic christmas on january but that this was not
heeded
kirilos said he had cut short the christmas eve mass because he knew something
was going to happen
we didn get the extra security we asked for in fact we had less security
than we do every year he said
witnesses to wednesday attack told afp that the car kamuni was allegedly
driving had been able to stop on the long mubarak road in downtown nagaa hammadi
three times during the shooting spree
it as if the security were saying go ahead do as you wish one witness
charged
angry and confused residents want answers
we all know hamam one christian resident of nagaa hammadi said referring to
kamuni nickname
he hired thug we want to know who is really behind the shooting he told
afp outside the church where young people had gathered fearing clashes with
worshippers from neighbouring mosque after friday prayers
know him personally bishop kirilos who witnessed wednesday shootings
said of the suspect
he has no political ambitions and no religious affiliations he told handful
of reporters inside the church
nagaa hammadi was practically deserted on friday the first day of the egyptian
weekend shops were closed and few people were out on the streets
the attack was the deadliest since copts were killed in sectarian clashes in
also in southern egypt
copts who account for nearly percent of egypt population of million
are the middle east largest christian community but complain of routine
harassment and systematic discrimination and marginalisation
biathlon women world cup biathlon results
oberhof germany jan afp
results from the women world cup biathlon sprint held over km friday
penalties in brackets
simone hauswald ger min sec helena jonsson swe at
ann kristin flatland nor kati wilhelm ger
svetlana sleptsova rus valj semerenko ukr marie
dorin fra wang chunli chn olga kudrashova blr
diana rasimoviciute ltu
world cup sprint standints after four of events
helena jonsson swe pts kati wilhelm ger svetlana
sleptsova rus anna carin olofsson zidek swe simone hauswald
ger
world cup overall standings after eight of races
helena jonsson swe pts anna carin olofsson zidek swe
svetlana sleptsova rus olga medvedtseva rus kati wilhelm
ger
football west ham faubert wants algerian passport report
madrid jan afp
west ham french midfielder julien faubert has applied for an algerian passport
in bid to achieve his dream of playing at the world cup in south africa
the player told as sports daily friday
faubert whose wife is algerian has played only one match for his native france
although that was friendly
algeria qualified for the world cup after dramatic two leg playoff with north
african giants egypt the desert foxes will play in group alongside england
the united states and slovenia
west ham loaned faubert to real madrid last season where the player had
bitter experience playing total of one hour in the last few months of the
season before returning to england
sea shepherd lodges piracy charge against japanese ship
the hague jan afp
environment lobby group sea shepherd lodged piracy complaint in the
netherlands friday against the captain and crew of japanese ship that collided
with one of its vessels lawyer said
we have lodged complaint of piracy with the dutch prosecuting authority
against the captain and crew of the japanese vessel sea shepherd legal
representative liesbeth zegveld told afp
this was close to murder it was such an extreme act that if no one takes
action now we may have an even more serious incident in future
the new zealand registered ady gil high tech protest boat of the sea shepherd
group sank friday after being badly damaged in collision with japanese
ship the shonan maru two days earlier
both parties blame each other for the crash
zegveld claimed the collision was an act of violence and said the damage was
close to one million dollars euros one of the crew suffered broken
ribs
piracy enjoyed universal jurisdiction the lawyer said and any state is
competent to deal with this case
the netherlands was chosen since one of the crew was dutch and the sea
shepherd main ship the steve irwin is registered in the netherlands
we want the crew of the shonan maru to go to jail zegveld said we will
bring civil suit later to recoup the financial losses
prosecution spokeswoman marieke van der molen confirmed that complaint had
been received
there will be an initial examination before we decide whether or not to open
full investigation she said
sea shepherd claims to have saved hundreds of whales by chasing the japanese
whaling fleet
afp gmt economics news advisory
paris jan afp
duty editor bryan mcmanus
tel
us economy unemployment thlead
washington
the us economy lost jobs in december according to disappointing
government report that analysts said highlights slow and painful recovery from
recession
words gmt by rob lever
eu spain economy ndlead focus
madrid
spain plans to use its eu presidency to push for form of european government
on economic issues with the promise of rewards for members who meet binding
targets and the threat of sanctions for those that don
words gmt by yacine le forestier pictures
eu eurozone economy growth unemployment thlead
brussels
one out of every workers across the countries that use the euro is now
unemployed the eu says as the human cost of the economic crisis is laid bare
words gmt by roddy thomson
greece finance economy tax lead
athens
the greek government orders an immediate percent increase in tobacco and
alcohol taxes and an inheritance tax as it fends off eu pressure for drastic
action to tackle its debt mountain
words gmt by catherine boitard
argentina economy bank politics debt rdlead
buenos aires
an argentine judge thwarts government efforts to use central bank reserves to
pay down the national debt deepening political and institutional crisis
words gmt
sweden us netherlands auto takeover company saab gm lead wrap
stockholm
swedish carmaker saab is put into liquidation despite last ditch bids for
general motors loss making iconic brand from formula one boss bernie ecclestone
and dutch sportscar maker spyker among others
words gmt by rita devlin marier file picture
britain banking retail company takeover virgin rdlead wrap
london
virgin money part of richard branson virgin empire takes big strides towards
becoming major british retail bank
words gmt by ben perry
germany china economy trade thlead
frankfurt
china and its population of billion has overtaken germany population
million as the world top exporter trade figures released by the german
national statistics office show
words moved by william ickes file picture
stocks europe wrap
london
european stock markets turn lower giving up early gains after poor us
employment figures wrongfoot investors
words gmt
forex europe wrap
london
the dollar falls sharply against the euro after much weaker than expected us
employment reported dented hopes for recovery in the ailing labour market
words gmt
commodities energy oil price ndlead wrap
london
oil prices drop following news that the us economy lost more jobs than expected
last month dampening hopes of swift recovery in the world number one energy
consuming nation
words gmt
commodities price weekly wrap
london
commodity markets enjoy mixed fortunes as traders digest news that the united
states major consumer of raw materials shed more jobs than expected in
december
words gmt by delphine dechaux and roland jackson
au renews somali peace force mandate
addis ababa jan afp
the african union on friday extended the mandate of its somalia peacekeeping
mission by six months and called for more support for the country embattled
transitional government
during our discussions there was unanimous support for the renewal of the
african force in somalia the au peace and security commissioner ramtane
lamamra told press conference
the force whose first batch of troops from uganda arrived in early has
been the regular target of attacks by islamist insurgents which have killed
dozens of soldiers
the mission is nearly short of its intended target strength of
troops with uganda and burundi the only countries to so far provide manpower
the international community needs to put more means and ressources at the
disposal of the tfg lamamra added referring to somalia transitional federal
government also target of the extremist militia
au commission chief jean ping said djibouti was planning to send soldiers
and burundi was to dispatch an additional batallion of men
uganda is also to send another batallion by march with the support of the united
states he added
cricket sri lanka enter tri series final
dhaka jan afp
sri lanka defeated bangladesh by nine wickets to qualify for the triangular one
day series final here on friday
brief scores
bangladesh in overs sri lanka in overs
swedish carmaker saab put into liquidation union
stockholm jan afp
swedish carmaker saab whose us owner gm has received several bids for the loss
making brand was placed in liquidation on friday the head of sweden main
industrial union said
today saab automobile board has decided on the liquidation of the company
said stefan loefven the head of the if metall union which has representative
on saab board
gm is taking an additional step in the wind down of saab he added in
statement
the union criticised gm for beginning to wind up the company the same time that
it confirmed having received several bids for the iconic swedish 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
several groups including dutch sportscar maker spyker and group comprised of
formula one boss bernie ecclestone and luxembourg investment firm have said
they presented gm with last ditch bids to rescue saab
