of yardeni research
we are expecting particularly strong results from technology companies
palin hired by fox news as commentator host
new york jan afp
former alaska governor and republican vice presidential candidate sarah palin on
monday struck multi year deal with fox news to serve as political
commentator and part time host the television channel said
governor palin has captivated everyone on both sides of the political spectrum
and we are excited to add her dynamic voice to the fox news lineup executive
vice president of programming bill shine said announcing the contract
palin will provide political commentary and analysis for fox news
political and business news programs and will host periodic episodes of fnc
real american stories series exploring inspirational real life tales
company statement said
the series is to debut later this year it added
palin joins stable of conservative pundits at the channel which has often
been fiercely critical of barack obama presidency
am thrilled to be joining the great talent and management team at fox news
it wonderful to be part of place that so values fair and balanced news
palin said in the fox news statement
the statement made no mention of palin salary
mother of five palin ran for vice president last year on john mccain losing
ticket and is seen as potential republican presidential contender
her memoir going rogue shot to the top of the us bestseller list in its
first week after publication in november and is currently number one new york
times bestseller
polarizing figure who generates media frenzy with her every interview palin
enjoys fervent support among republican activists
in mid november she dropped hint that she might seek to run for the white
house in as champion of america republican right
rugby union barcella in doubt for gloucester clash
biarritz france jan afp
biarritz injury worries ahead of saturday european cup group two clash with
gloucester deepened on monday as doubts emerged over french international prop
fabien barcella who is struggling with knee problem
biarritz who are runaway leaders of group two on points with gloucester
second and only two matches remaining have already lost experienced french
international duo centre damien traille and scrum half and first choice kicker
dimitri yachvili who like barcella were injured in the top defeat by stade
francais on saturday
all three will undergo further tests on tuesday with france coach marc
lievremont anxiously awaiting the final outcome as traille and barcella are
considered by him to be key to his team for the forthcoming six nations
france begin their campaign away to scotland in edinburgh on february
wall street cautious as corporate earnings season begins
new york jan afp
wall street stocks traded mixed monday at the as investors paused at start of
the fourth quarter earnings period that will offer clues on the health of
corporate america
the dow jones industrial average rose points percent to
in final trades hitting fresh month highs
the technology heavy nasdaq composite fell points percent to
and the broad market standard amp poor index added points
percent to provisional close of
all three key stock indexes opened on positive note after weekend data
revealed that china had overtaken germany as the world biggest exporter but
turned mixed in choppy trading later as investors turned cautious ahead of the
earnings reporting season
top aluminum producer alcoa will be the first blue chip company to report its
earning result after the market close monday
traders appear to be playing their cards close to their vests ahead of the
fourth quarter earnings season analysts at charles schwab amp co said
expectations are that there would be plenty of upside surprises especially
from companies that are doing more business abroad said ed yardeni president
of yardeni research
we are expecting particularly strong results from technology companies
jordanian killed in us drone attack in pakistan websites
dubai jan afp
jordanian who moved to afghanistan in and stayed on to fight us led
forces was killed in us drone attack in pakistan waziristan region jihadist
websites monitored by us based site intelligence said on monday
the al fallujah and shamukh al islam forums announced the martyrdom on january
of mahmud mahdi zeidan whose nome de guerre was mansur al shami site
reported
the martyrdom is confirmed of the mujahed sheikh mahmud mahdi zeidan on the
soil of pakistan the land of the diligent and of the mujahedeen
site did not specify which drone strike the jordanian was killed in
pakistani officials said last week that islamist militants were killed in two
us drone strikes in waziristan of whom four were foreign
zeidan had most recently appeared on january in recording by as sahab
website frequently used by al qaeda giving sermon for the muslim holiday of
eid al adha the us monitoring group said
he also recorded an audio message released by as sahab in august last year
giving advice to mujahedeen
humam khalil abu mulal al balawi the man believed to have killed seven cia
agents and his jordanian handler in suicide attack in eastern afghanistan last
month was also of jordanian origin
rallying dakar rally results
la serena chile jan afp
results from the dakar rally following monday ninth stage kilometres
special stage from copiapo
cars
stage
nasser al attiyah qat volkswagen hr min sec carlos sainz
esp volkswagen at min sec giniel de villiers rsa volkswagen
guerlain chicherit fra bmw mark miller usa volkswagen
stephane peterhansel fra bmw nicolas misslin fra stradale
leonid novitskiy rus bmw carlos sousa por mitsubishi
orlando terranova fra stradale
overall
carlos sainz esp volkswagen hr min sec nasser al attiyah
qat volkswagen at min sec mark miller usa volkswagen
stephane peterhansel fra bmw hr min sec guerlain chicherit fra bmw
hr carlos sousa por stradale hr giniel de villiers
rsa volkswagen hr guilherme spinelli bra stradale hr
leonid novitskiy rus bmw hr robby gordon usa hummer hr
motorcycling
stage
marc coma esp ktm hr min sec cyril despres fra ktm at sec
francisco lopez chi aprilia min sec pal ullevalseter nor ktm
david fretigne fra yamaha alain duclos fra ktm helder
rodrigues por yamaha olivier pain fra yamaha jakub
przygonski pol ktm ruben faria por ktm
overall
cyril despres fra ktm hr min sec pal ullevalseter nor ktm at
hr min sec francisco lopez chi aprilia hr helder rodrigues
por yamaha hr alain duclos fra ktm hr david fretigne
fra yamaha hr jonah street usa ktm hr olivier pain
fra yamaha hr thomas berglund swe ktm hr juan pedrero
garcia esp ktm hr
selected
marc coma esp ktm hr
snow hits southern spain as big freeze sweeps europe
madrid jan afp
snow fell in parts of spain for the first time in half century monday as
wave of arctic cold that has killed scores of people and caused billions of
euros in damage to europe economy swept southwards
as villages in parts of north east germany remained cut off from the outside
world by giant snowdrifts authorities sounded the alert in regions across
central and northern spain in anticipation of further snow and icy temperatures
more than flights were cancelled at madrid barajas airport while
neighbouring portugal also struggled to cope with snowfall which caused the
closure of around main roads scores spent the night stuck in their vehicles
the southern spanish city of seville which normally enjoys temperatures in
january of around degrees celsius degrees fahrenheit shivered under its
first snowfall in half century
so many people called friends and family to alert them to the rare snowfall that
the mobile phone network in the region briefly collapsed local media reported
classes were cancelled for more than children across spain because of
the ice and snow
northern europe enjoyed something of respite but forecasters warned that
temperatures were set to plummet below minus celsius fahrenheit
overnight in parts of germany with heavy snow showers and strong winds expected
again on the baltic coast
conditions are expected to get calmer as the week progresses but what might
cause problems is the move to milder weather as that will bring rain and
freezing rain meteorologist alexander hildebrand said
we can give the all clear yet in the whole of germany drivers have to expect
ice and snow maxi hartung from the german automobile association adac said
at frankfurt airport europe third busiest where some flights were
cancelled at the weekend more were scrapped on monday and authorities warned
of further problems as air traffic slowly gets back to normal
police in the northern regional capital of schwerin meanwhile said giant
swastika measuring five metres feet across had been carved in the snow on
frozen lake
in southern poland more than homes were without power for second day
while heavy snow and freezing rain hit rail traffic between warsaw and the
south
prague has had its heaviest snowfalls in years and hundreds of homes across
the czech republic were without electricity
in britain icy roads and snow showers hampered efforts to get the country
moving again
eurostar said train services from london to mainland europe would be reduced to
around percent of normal capacity on tuesday and the company website
warned passengers of delays and cancellations
the death toll in britain from weather related incidents rose to at least
over the weekend reports said with the latest victim man who fell through
ice on the river tees in the north of the country as he tried to rescue his two
dogs
scores of deaths in similar accidents mountain avalanches or homeless people
killed by the cold have been reported across europe over the past two weeks
in france there were lengthy delays on tgv high speed rail links while more
than flights have been cancelled at nice airport the country third
busiest
freezing conditions have also led to hike of between and percent in the
price of some vegetables in france as farmers struggle to harvest their crops
according to an export official at the kerleguer wholesale company
the cold snap has meanwhile caused severe disruptions to natural gas exports
from the world second biggest gas exporter norway pipeline operator gassco
said
experts in germany which is emerging from its worst recession since world war
ii warned that the blanket of snow covering the whole country would hit the
economy freezing construction activity and disrupting supplies
the cold weather could really make for difficult start to what is meant to be
year of growth in volker treier from the dihk economics institute told
the bild daily
if there is no improvement soon the german economy could lose around two
billion euros three billion dollars in lost activity or percent of gross
domestic product gdp in the first quarter he said
britain which is still in recession is on course to take hit of billion
pounds billion euros billion dollars from the harshest winter in
decades according to the centre for economics and business research
but economists believe the impact will be mitigated by britons working at home
to beat the freeze benefiting utilities and internet retailers as they turn up
the heating and shop online and that the economy will bounce back
meanwhile albania has been contending with different type of extreme weather
as disastrous floods engulfed more than hectares acres of
farmland
afp world news agenda
hong kong jan afp
what coming up around the world
togo attack suspects quizzed african cup plays on
clinton meets japanese fm at start of asian tour
tony blair former press chief faces iraq inquiry
luanda cabinda reporting on the africa cup of nations tournament in angola
after two people were arrested over deadly gun attack on the togo football
squad violence angola togo fbl afr
honolulu hawaii us secretary of state hillary clinton is to meet her japanese
counterpart katsuya okada to discuss the thorny issue of the us base in okinawa
as well as tokyo support for nato operations in afghanistan us diplomacy
asia
london tony blair former communications chief and ally alastair campbell
gives evidence to britain public inquiry into the iraq war from gmt
britain iraq military politics inquiry
abu dhabi delegations from nations meet in abu dhabi to discuss the problems
faced by troubled afghanistan and pakistan with the foreign ministers of
afghanistan pakistan jordan qatar and the united arab emirates among those
attending afghanistan pakistan
brussels european parliamentarians vet the eu new commissioners including
karel de gucht as trade commissioner stefan fuele enlargement viviane reding
justice and joaquin almunia competition from gmt eu politics parliament
commission
harare treason trial of roy bennett an ally of zimbabwe prime minister is
set to resume with key state witness testifying gmt zimbabwe politics
court
johannesburg south africa top world cup organiser danny jordaan briefs media
on his trip to angola and on world cup preparations gmt safrica fbl
wc
kiev press conference by president viktor yushchenko five days before the
first round of the presidential election gmt ukraine politics
madrid berlin london paris brussels more snow is forecast for spain as arctic
weather continues to cause transport problems in europe europe weather
san francisco opponents and defenders of homosexual marriage in california go
toe to toe in potentially epic court showdown that could wind up in us supreme
court us society gays marriage court
versailles france verdict due in trial of jessica davies the niece of
british minister who has admitted the drunken killing of french lover
france britain crime
profit taking pulls down oil prices
new york jan afp
oil prices closed lower monday as traders locked in profits after brief bounce
on the back of robust chinese economic data that pushed the barrel to month
high near dollars
new york main futures contract light sweet crude for february delivery ended
at dollars barrel down cents from its close friday
in london brent north sea crude for february delivery dropped cents to
settle at dollars
the new york market began the session on an upbeat note lifted by news sunday
that china the world second largest energy consumer saw exports surge
percent in december after months of declines
the jump in exports renewed market hopes that sustainable global recovery is
underway led by china huge economy
amrita sen barclays capital analyst noted that chinese oil imports rose to
record five million barrels day in december percent jump from year
ago
we expect chinese oil demand to continue to grow robustly and to remain the
single largest contributor to global oil demand growth in sen said
the new york contract hit an intraday peak of dollars barrel its
highest level since october before slipping into the red in morning
trade and remaining there for the rest of the session
people used those higher prices as point to take some profit said jason
schenker of prestige economics
what people have forgotten is that the price was below dollars less than
month ago the only reason it really gone up is because of large number of
consecutive inventories draws in the us he said
the us drawdowns in distillates which include heating oil is linked to the
bitter cold winter weather gripping the northern hemisphere from north america
to europe and asia
on the geopolitical front the market kept an eye on fresh rebel unrest in
nigeria over the weekend
the african country main rebel armed group in the restive oil producing niger
delta on saturday said it had hand in an attack on chevron crude oil
pipeline which forced shut in of barrels day
this attack was sanctioned by mend but did not involve our fighters the
leading militant group the movement for the emancipation of the niger delta
said in statement
the attack on friday took place at makaraba about kilometers miles
southwest of warri one of the main cities of delta state
this is the first successful sabotage since militant ceasefire last summer
there were reports of shots fired as early as this morning said phil flynn of
pfg best
baseball baseball star mcgwire admits steroid use
los angeles jan afp
baseball legend mark mcgwire said on monday he used steroids during his record
breaking home run season in dealing another blow to the drug tainted image
of america national past time
in statement which confirmed long held suspicions about mcgwire hitting
exploits the year old former oakland athletics and st louis cardinals star
said he had used performance enhancing products throughout the
wish had never touched steroids it was foolish and it was mistake
truly apologize looking back wish had never played during the steroid
era mcgwire said in statement on the cardinals website
mcgwire had consistently refused to comment on drug use in baseball and in
refused to testify after being ordered to appear before congressional hearing
on steroid use in the sport
the burly slugger captured the imagination of american sports fans in after
becoming involved in gripping head to head battle with the chicago cubs sammy
sosa to break roger maris coveted single season home run record
maris mark of had stood since the but was obliterated by mcgwire who
finished the campaign with home runs sosa finished with runs
however questions marks have swirled about the legitimacy of mcgwire record
breaking season for years which the shamed baseball star admitted on monday was
fueled by illegal drugs
mcgwire said he had decided to come clean after being appointed the cardinals
hitting coach
never knew when but always knew this day would come mcgwire said it
time for me to talk about the past and to confirm what people have suspected
used steroids during my playing career and apologize
remember trying steroids very briefly in the off season and then
after was injured in used steroids again used them on occasion
throughout the nineties including during the season
mcgwire said he had been drawn to steroids after becoming convinced they would
help him recover from series of injuries
during the mid went on the dl seven times and missed games over five
years
experienced lot of injuries including rib cage strain torn left heel
muscle stress fracture of the left heel and torn right heel muscle it
was definitely miserable bunch of years and told myself that steroids could
help me recover faster thought they would help me heal and prevent injuries
too he said
mcgwire acknowledged that his hitting feats would forever be questioned
following his admission of steroid use but insisted that he had enjoyed good
years when he had been clean
sure people will wonder if could have hit all those home runs had never
taken steroids he said
had good years when didn take any and had bad years when didn take
any had good years when took steroids and had bad years when took
steroids
but no matter what shouldn have done it and for that truly sorry
sudan beshir quits army to run again for presidency
khartoum jan afp
sudanese president omar al beshir announced on monday that he is stepping down
as head of the army in accordance with electoral law so that he can stand for
re election in april polls
president beshir has relinquished his functions as chief of the armed forces
he will also retire as an officer his spokesman emad said ahmed told afp
adding that the president had not yet named named successor as army chief
beshir has held the post since june after overthrowing the democratically
elected government of sadeq al mahdi in an islamist backed coup in
april elections will be sudan first multi party poll since the vote that
brought mahdi to power in
according to sudan law on political parties party members cannot also be
in the army judges or diplomats
football inamoto set for another move to seal world cup place
rennes france jan afp
japanese international midfielder junichi inamoto looks set to join his eighth
club since with move to league side kawasaki frontale from french first
division outfit rennes
the year old capped over times and an iconic figure when japan co hosted
the world cup finals has failed to make an impact at rennes despite being
reunited with frederic antonetti who coached him at league club gamba osaka
inamoto who only appeared in the league cup for arsenal after joining them in
before moving on to fulham and also saw service with turkish giants
galatasaray west brom cardiff and german team eintracht frankfurt is
desperate to make the japanese squad for this year world cup finals in south
africa
also set to leave rennes is former liverpool midfielder bruno cheyrou who has
dropped down the pecking order since yann ila sprang to prominence this
season
cheyrou who has also played for marseille and bordeaux is to join cypriot side
anorthosis for months according to rennes general manager pierre dreossi
israel turkey ties strain again over tv show
jerusalem jan afp
israel slammed turkey on monday for the broadcast of television series that
portrays israeli agents as baby snatchers further ratcheting up tensions
between the longtime allies
deputy foreign minister danny ayalon summoned the turkish ambassador to protest
the broadcast the foreign ministry said in statement it is the second time
israel has protested over turkish tv show
israel issued similar protest last october when another turkish series showed
israeli soldiers shooting young palestinian children in cold blood
we protest in the name of the israeli government against scenes from this
turkish television series showing israel and jews as baby snatchers and war
criminals the ministry statement said
it is unacceptable it threatens jewish lives in turkey and bilateral
relations he said
ayalon was referring to the valley of the wolves new series originally
aired on state television and rebroadcast on private channel which he said
showed agents of israel mossad foreign intelligence agency in bad light
turkish programme makers pana defended their series
valley of the wolves will continue to tell the truth and expose the guilty
parties the company said in statement carried by turkey anatolia news
agency
the jewish state has been repeatedly declared guilty of war crimes in un
resolutions or in the reports of international human rights organisations
why does the israeli administration which does not hesitate to bomb children
seeking refuge under the un flag feel so uneasy about the real facts related in
valley of the wolves
the production company was alluding to israel bombing of un run schools in
gaza during its devastating offensive year ago schools in which civilians
fleeing the bombardment had taken refuge
the latest israeli protest came as turkey prime minister recep tayyip erdogan
joined his lebanese counterpart on monday in lashing out at israel for its air
strikes on gaza during visit by saad hariri to ankara
they the israelis have disproportionate capabilities and power and they use
them they do not abide by un resolutions they say they will do what they
like erdogan said
israel response came shortly afterwards slamming erdogan unbridled attack
and accusing him of seeking to harm ties
israel is sensitive to turkey honour and seeks good bilateral ties but we
expect reciprocity the foreign ministry said in statement
erdogan declarations join the anti israel and anti semitic programme on
turkish television and other severe things said against israel for over year
turkey has been israel main regional ally since when the two signed
military cooperation deal
relations took sharp turn for the worse when turkey responded angrily to
israel devastating gaza offensive
in memorable outburst erdogan stormed out of debate at the world economic
forum accusing israel of barbarian acts and telling its president shimon
peres sitting next to him that you know well how to kill people
but in december peres and his turkish counterparty abdullah gul met in bid to
heal the rift
renault could make second electric car in spain minister
madrid jan afp
french carmaker renault could manufacture second model of electric vehicles at
its plants in valladolid in northern spain if there is sufficient demand
industry minister miguel sebastian said monday
the company which is expected to start production of new small electric car
model called the twizy at valladolid next year could also build new plant in
the city to build electric car batteries he added after holding talks with
renault chief operating officer patrick pelata
we discussed the possibility that if the electric vehicle has strong demand
new model that is not the twizy could be made and the idea of battery assembly
plant in valladolid the minister told reporters
in october renault announced that it would extend the life of its two plants in
valladolid located some kilometres miles northwest of madrid with the
production of small electric car in an ecological motor in and
traditional vehicle from
renault already produces megane hatchback megane estate modus and grand modus
models exclusively in spain
the company employs around people in spain europe third largest
automaker mostly at its four factories in the country
it has an assembly plant and motor factory in valladolid factory in the
nearby town of palencia and fourth factory in the southern city of seville
renault has predicted that by electric cars will make up more than
percent of the market
new eu foreign chief criticised for lack of specifics
brussels jan afp
europe new foreign affairs chief won tepid support monday at parliamentary
confirmation hearing after failing to impress number of deputies with what
they called vague answers to policy questions
at meeting of parties following three hour question and answer session
majority of groups in the assembly parties gave catherine ashton favourable
opinion one lawmaker said
she showed capacity for dialogue with the parliament even if there were some
shortfalls on certain questions said the deputy spain jose ignacio
salafranca whose conservative group is the largest in the assembly
his conservative colleague elmar brok was less enthusiastic about the
performance of the woman who has become the eu top diplomat
there no reason to be enthusiastic she has no vision for the post said
brok but still backed the year old english baroness who will also hold
senior vice president post in the european commission
ashton socialist allies the second largest formation gave their backing
austrian greens deputy ulrike lunacek lamented that ashton has shown herself to
be true diplomat rich on words poor on specifics her hearing has revealed
no clear sense of vision no initiatives and no plans of her own
but british conservative deputy charles tannock whose party is expected to take
power from ashton labour this year blamed the deputies for their questioning
as much as his countrywoman performance
the bar was set low at the hearing and she appeared to do enough to prevent the
european parliament from standing in her way he said
under its previous holder javier solana the post of top eu diplomat focused on
smoothing relations and boosting europe influence in such places as the middle
east iran and the balkans
but the job has greater powers under the new lisbon treaty of reforms even
though the eu nations remain well in charge over foreign and defence
policy with ashton set to be their mouthpiece
despite the pressure ashton appeared relaxed throughout confidently responding
to questions mainly focused on institutional concerns and how the former eu
trade commissioner saw the future of eu foreign policy
she gave answers that demonstrated an understanding of the issues but would not
be drawn into diplomatic minefields like her stance on sanctions against iran
and was cautious on middle east policy
more broadly she urged europe to play greater role on the world stage
am convinced there is clear call inside the eu and around the world for
greater european engagement to promote peace protect the vulnerable fight
poverty and address the many problems of our time she said
we have to answer this call
attacked by tannock over her role as an activist with the campaign for nuclear
disarmament organisation ashton replied the relevance of the is not the
relevance of
not member of cnd and have not been member of cnd for or years
she said adding not ashamed of who am or what ve been
the session was the first in series of us style confirmation hearings for the
new european commission which draws up legislation that impacts on the lives of
million europeans enforces existing rules and had budget of billion
euros billion dollars in
in monday other main hearing finnish commissioner olli rehn who takes the
key economic and monetary affairs portfolio insisted that greece was unlikely
to abandon the eurozone due to its ominous debt and deficit crisis
on tuesday belgium karel de gucht is scrutinised as trade commissioner with
france michel barnier controversial appointee as internal market and
financial services commissioner facing lawmakers wednesday
clinton starts asia tour amid concerns over japan ties
travis air base california jan afp
secretary of state hillary clinton said monday she will stress how the half
century long us japanese alliance is central for security in asia when she meets
her japanese counterpart katsuya okada in hawaii
speaking to reporters on refueling stop in california clinton suggested the
alliance would trump the current tension over the relocation of us airbase on
