the euro also climbed to dollars from and fetched yen from
crude was up in asian trade as the cold snap in the northern hemisphere boosted
demand for heating fuel
new york main futures contract light sweet crude for february delivery
jumped cents to dollars barrel
brent north sea crude for february delivery rose cents to dollars
gold closed higher in hong kong at us dollars an ounce up
from friday close of dollars
in other markets
the singapore straits timex index closed up percent or points at
container shipping firm neptune orient lines closed at singapore dollars
us up cents on improving global trade singapore airlines fell eight
cents to
taipei closed up points or percent at
after strong showing in shares largely appear expensive that why not
many investors are willing to chase prices at the moment mega securities
analyst alex huang said
the steel sector remained attractive on rising product prices with tung ho steel
up percent at dollars
in malaysia the kuala lumpur composite index rose points or
percent to close at
players are back in the market today with lower liners and speculative stocks
attracting the most attention dealer said
glove maker latexx jumped percent to ringgit as property management
company hartalega climbed percent to ringgit
jakarta gained percent or points to end at
cigarette maker gudang garam rose percent to rupiah while bellwether
telkom added percent to
expect foreign buying to continue tuesday so that the main index can break
above the immediate resistance level of an analyst at foreign
securities firm said
manila rose percent or points to
the index finished at five week high as dealers looked to the strong overseas
market ayala corp rose percent to pesos while philippine long distance
telephone co gained percent to pesos
bangkok rose percent or points to close at
ptt plc added baht to baht while its subsidiary ptt exploration and
production gained baht to
wellington fell percent or points to
auckland international airport led the falls losing six cents to dollars
after saying it was buying quarter stake in north queensland airports
london stocks hit month peak above points
london jan afp
london main stock market index on monday hit its highest level since september
when the collapse of us investment bank lehman brothers signalled the
start of the global economic crisis
london benchmark ftse index reached points in morning trading
the highest level for months in the wake of robust chinese economic data
analysts said
after its brief jump above the ftse settled back to stand at
points rise of percent compared with friday closing level
global markets on monday digested weekend data revealing that china had
overtaken germany as the world biggest exporter
the numbers from china showed huge boost both in exports and imports and the
immediate effect has been to push virtually every index to new highs said
simon denham head of capital spreads trading group
china exports surged percent in december to snap month falling
streak the government said on sunday cementing the asian power new status as
the world biggest exporter
exports hit billion dollars during the month as global trade perked up
bringing china full year export figure to trillion dollars according to
figures from the general administration of customs
data out of germany last week showed that china overtook europe biggest
economy in november to become the world top exporting nation
excitement out of the far east as china economic numbers give rise to hopes
that the us effect which has dominated the last years might be
replaced augmented by the dominance of the asiatic regions said denham
for most of my working life the phrase that when america sneezes the rest of
the world catches cold has been truism in relation to growth prospects
while china has many years to go before gaining such hegemony over the world
economy it is actually comforting to know that there is another powerhouse
waiting in the wings to join the us in driving global wealth forward added the
analyst
the london stock market meanwhile extended rally stretching back since march
when the ftse struck six year low at around the points mark
the index has jumped by percent since the march lows and rose by percent
in as whole
arifa sheikh usmani an equity trader at spreadex said share prices were
winning support on monday also from rally on wall street last friday despite
weak us jobs data
with no other significant data out today the market may well be expected to
hold these levels by monday close she added
israeli settler leader quits over growing extremism
jerusalem jan afp
long time leader of the main israeli settler organisation in the occupied west
bank resigned on monday citing the group failure to distance itself from
jewish hardliners
in his resignation letter as secretary general of the yesha council pinchas
wallerstein condemned the organisation failure to speak out against the
price tag policy under which ultra right wingers attack palestinian villages
when the government takes action against jewish settlements
our silence will turn against us wallerstein wrote
he also criticised yesha for failing to categorically reject protests by
soldiers who vow not to carry out government orders to evacuate wildcat
settlements
it is our duty to ensure that the idf military is not involved in the
political activities of evacuations and demolitions but we must not allow
soldiers in uniform to carry out actions that may violate the idf sacredness
several israeli soldiers caused stir last october when they staged
demonstration against the evacuation of settlements during military swearing
in ceremony at jerusalem wailing wall
the israeli government has long vowed to raze settlement outposts built without
authorisation
in october the government of hawkish prime minister benjamin netanyahu
announced month moratorium on new housing projects in the west bank
infuriating both the settlers who resent any such restrictions and the
palestinians who demand total freeze on settlement construction
considered illegal by the international community the settlements are seen as
major hurdle in israeli palestinian peace efforts
about half million israeli settlers live in the west bank including east
jerusalem
yemeni authorities know where hostages are held german fm
sanaa jan afp
german foreign minister guido westerwelle said during surprise visit to sanaa
he was told by yemeni authorities that they know where five germans and briton
kidnapped in june are being held
yemen president ali abdullah saleh had told him during their talks monday
morning that he had information little than two hours ago that they know
where the german hostages are being held westerwelle told reporters
the german minister said he had thanked the yemeni government for their efforts
to see our hostages released
iberdrola sells us assets worth million euros
madrid jan afp
spanish energy group iberdrola announced the sale of million dollar
million euro stake in its us affiliate new york state electric and gas
corporation to inergy midstream
the assets include two gas pipelines in new york state and natural gas storage
the company said in statement to spain stock market regulator late on
sunday
the operation is part of iberdrola plan to sell non strategic
assets the company said in statement
nireland tense as leader urged to quit over wife affair
belfast jan afp
northern ireland first minister peter robinson faced intense pressure monday to
quit over his wife affair with teenager amid fears the power sharing
executive could collapse
his wife iris also top politician last week admitted having an affair with
year old and securing pounds euros dollars from two
wealthy developers to help him set up cafe
peter robinson has denied any knowledge of the deal which in his position as
first minister he would have had to report to parliamentary authorities
after several prominent figures called for him to quit over the weekend
robinson leader of the democratic unionist party dup will face fresh
pressure as the northern ireland assembly returns monday after the christmas
break
the dup power sharing partners sinn fein have tabled an emergency motion
calling for robinson to explain himself before the assembly
meanwhile his year old wife who is expected to quit her seats in the
northern ireland assembly and britain house of commons imminently is
receiving acute psychiatric treatment in belfast she previously admitted
attempting suicide and suffering severe depression
the scandal is playing out against an already tense backdrop in northern
ireland
power sharing between ex foes the dup and sinn fein was under strain due to
failure to agree on the transfer of policing powers from london to belfast the
last stage of the devolution process
the brutal fact is that we were heading for dangerous political crisis in
northern ireland even before the robinson revelations irish political expert
paul bew wrote in the times monday
it is now very difficult indeed to see how it might be avoided added bew
member of britain house of lords we could now face very hard landing
indeed
robinson has vowed to clear his name but one of his illustrious predecessors as
leader of the semi autonomous british run province said sunday his position was
becoming untenable
david trimble who jointly won the nobel peace prize in for his efforts to
bring stability to northern ireland predicted in bbc interview that robinson
would quit in the next few days
close friend of robinson predecessor and mentor ian paisley david mcilveen
also said robinson should consider standing aside temporarily
robinson dup which is protestant and wants the province to remain part of
britain has shared devolved powers from london in an administration with sinn
fein which is catholic and wants united ireland since
their failure to agree when control of the sensitive issue of policing should be
handed back to belfast has fuelled concerns that power sharing could break down
there are also fears of return to sustained violence in northern ireland
where three decades of civil unrest known as the troubles killed at least
people but was largely ended by the good friday agreement
last year two british soldiers and policeman were shot dead in attacks
claimed by dissident republicans
in the latest incident friday catholic police officer was seriously injured
after bomb exploded under his car as he drove to work
fake euro seizures rise by eight percent ecb
frankfurt jan afp
the number of fake euro banknotes seized in the second half of rose by
eight percent from the first half of the year the european central bank said on
monday continuing steady increase since late
in the second half of total of counterfeit euro banknotes were
withdrawn from circulation an ecb statement said
the rise was nonetheless slower than in the first half of when the central
bank reported percent jump in the number of seized counterfeit notes
the proportion of counterfeits is still very low the statement said when
compared with roughly billion genuine banknotes in circulation
fake notes of mid level value were again the most often seized with euro
dollar bills representing percent of the total
almost all of those found percent comprised of and euro
banknotes
spanish police nonetheless said on august that they had recovered almost nine
million euros worth of fake euro bills european union record for notes of
this denomination
tennis nalbandian pulls out of heineken open
auckland jan afp
former world number three david nalbandian pulled out of the heineken open
monday throwing his australian open plans into serious doubt
on the comeback trail after hip surgery in may the argentinian suffered an
abdominal strain while warming up and will miss what would have been his first
tournament in eight months
am very disappointed not to be able to make my comeback this week at the
heineken open was very much looking forward to playing in auckland once
again said nalbandian currently ranked
didn play much tennis for eight months so it is natural to suffer some
small injuries although am disappointed at the moment remain confident and
positive about making full time comeback to the tour soon he added
tournament director richard palmer said similar abdominal injuries take to
days to heal the australian open the season opening grand slam is due to
start on monday
only three first round matches were played monday with the rest of the round to
be completed on tuesday
austrian sixth seed jurgen melzer battled back from set down to beat italian
fabio fognini
earlier brazilian thomaz bellucci beat marco chiudinelli of switzerland
to progress to the second round
rubin statham defeated fellow new zealander dan king turner as the
higher ranked king turner had more difficulty in adjusting to the windy
conditions
king turner with world ranking of won the first two games of the match
but then failed to win another game in the first set
he served for the second set at but statham ranked came back to clinch
the match
the top four seeds spaniards tommy robredo juan carlos ferrero nicolas
almagro and david ferrer have been given byes for the first round
field hockey india pay row erupts after short truce
new delhi jan afp
indian hockey plunged into fresh crisis on monday as its leading players resumed
strike just weeks before the country hosts the world cup
truce reached over the weekend after marathon meeting between the players
and officials of governing body hockey india collapsed almost at once as the
team refused to end their boycott of training camp in pune
the tussle over pay and conditions has hit preparations for the world cup to be
held in new delhi from february to march
the amount being offered to us is peanuts indian captain rajpal singh was
quoted as saying by the times of india
we were given assurances at the meeting but nothing was put on paper we
discussed the matter with other team members and decided not to accept hockey
india offer
until this issue is resolved we will not resume training
hockey india reacted sharply to the latest boycott
it really shocking hockey india treasurer narinder batra told afp they
agreed to our offer on saturday and now they are back on strike they can hold
nation to ransom it is blatant blackmailing
they want graded system of payment better incentives and insurance cover but
these things cannot be put into place overnight we are not going to tolerate
such behaviour and we will take disciplinary action against them
at the world cup india and arch rivals pakistan have been drawn together in pool
alongside australia spain england and south africa in the nation
tournament
germany head pool which includes the netherlands south korea new zealand
canada and argentina
the dispute comes as india have been struggling to revive their fortunes after
failing to qualify for the beijing olympics
urgent yemeni authorities know where hostages are held german fm
sanaa jan afp
german foreign minister guido westerwelle said during surprise visit to sanaa
he was told by yemeni authorities that they know where five germans and briton
kidnapped in june are being held
football angola slump in opener dominates media
luanda jan afp
the disappointment felt by angolan fans who watched their football team throw
away lead to draw against mali in the opening game of the africa cup
of nations dominated angola media monday
the country only daily paper jornal de angola refers to inexplicable
defensive errors and said the draw was against all expectations showing
picture of stunned fans at the th november stadium in luanda trying to come
to terms with the dramatic fall from grace
but the state controlled paper also praised the vibrancy and colour of the
tournament opening ceremony and stressed that can is about more than
results
in an editorial the newspaper celebrated angola victory of peace since
the end of its year civil war in
whatever the results are in our stadiums the party is ours the party
continues the victory of the people of angola continues the commentary said
in an unusual move the newspaper also printed some online messages from readers
who expressed their upset and shock over the shooting of the togolese team but
who also said the country would not be defeated by acts of terror
am very sorry for what happened in cabinda some people want to destablise
our country but this is not going to happen rita de abreu wrote from paris
radio nacional de angola also state owned led its main morning bulletin with
the news of the draw but focused on president jose eduardo dos santos speech
at the opening ceremony calling for the cup to strengthen friendship between
african nations
they also played clip from dos santos condemning friday shameful attack
on the togolese team
catholic radio station radio ecclesia discussed the activities on the pitch and
lamented the result agreeing with others that the team lost its concentration
in the final minutes and gave away the win
but the station one of angola few independent media voices also discussed at
length the impact of the togo shooting claimed by separatist guerrillas
eu lawmakers vet new foreign policy chief commissioners
brussels jan afp
european deputies begin us style confirmation hearings monday to see whether the
eu new foreign affairs chief and would be commissioners at the bloc
executive arm are up to the job
in three hour sessions starting at gmt catherine ashton and the other
appointees to the new european commission the eu unelected executive body
will be cross examined by lawmakers over the next week
the european parliament the european union only popularly elected body wants
to establish whether they are competent to carry out their tasks but also
independent and pro european
ashton year old british labour peer will be the face and voice of the eu
abroad and is the first to be grilled facing the assembly foreign affairs
committee in brussels
others to be appraised monday are finland olli rehn who as nominee for the
commission economic and monetary affairs portfolio will help supervise policy
on the euro single currency and ensure that budgetary rules are applied
his hearing starts at gmt
the commission is in charge of drawing up legislation that impacts on the lives
of half billion europeans as well as policing the existing rules it had
budget of billion euros billion dollars in
however many members of the parliament bolstered by new powers from the lisbon
treaty of reforms which entered force last month are keen to flex their
political muscle in public
the assembly which holds the hearings in brussels until friday and in
strasbourg next monday and tuesday cannot reject any individual commissioner
but can vote down the entire team at its plenary session on january
should it do so commission president jose manuel barroso who has already been
confirmed for second five year term would be forced to seek new candidate
or candidates from the nations whose nominees are targeted
no obvious skeletons have been dragged from any closets this time but the
hearings could create some surprises
but the parliament has already imposed its will in the past
in the deputies rejected the candidature of italy rocco buttiglione who
had been in line to become the eu top justice official but was considered
inappropriate by them for his opposition to homosexuality
ashton the high representative of the union for foreign affairs and security
and also senior vice president of the commission has been criticised for
lacking diplomatic experience
other major hearings this week include belgium karel de gucht on tuesday
morning for trade commissioner and spain joaquin almunia for the powerful
competition portfolio
frenchman michel barnier controversial appointee as internal market and
financial services commissioner faces the lawmakers on wednesday
alert
yemeni authorities know where hostages are being held german fm
dlc oh bpz
german fm holds talks with yemen leaders
sanaa jan afp
german foreign minister guido westerwelle was in sanaa on an unscheduled visit
monday as pressure mounted on yemen to rein in al qaeda militants believed
behind botched attempt to bomb us airliner
westerwelle the first european minister to visit sanaa since the yemeni branch
of al qaeda claimed responsibility for the failed christmas day attack was to
hold talks with president ali abdullah saleh and other top officials
also likely to be on the agenda was the fate of five germans including three
children and british national who have been held by kidnappers in yemen since
june
westerwelle arrival in the yemeni capital on monday follows visits to saudi
arabia qatar and the united arab emirates where he held discussions with
officials on regional issues including the situation in yemen
based on his talks in the gulf westerwelle made the quick decision to go to
yemen to get the feeling of the situation on the ground member of his
delegation said
the foreign minister is concerned that further destabilisation in yemen could
have negative impact on the entire region and beyond the delegate said
westerwelle who informed key european partners and washington in advance of his
visit was expected to deliver message that european and arab partners seek
stable government in sanaa
impoverished yemen long standing scourge of extremism was thrown into the
spotlight after senior yemeni officials said umar farouk abdulmutallab the
nigerian man who allegedly tried to blow up us bound jet had spent time in
the country with al qaeda extremists
london and washington have announced plans to fund counter extremism police in
the country but us president barack obama said in comments published on sunday
that he has no intention of sending american troops to yemen
recent strikes on al qaeda positions in yemen including cruise missile attacks
were however reportedly led by the united states which has vowed to boost its
economic and military aid to sanaa
yemen has been hostile to any suggestion of us military intervention but
analysts fear bin laden ancestral homeland cannot tackle the militants on its
own
saleh said on sunday he is open to dialogue with al qaeda militants indicating
he may show measure of leniency to the jihadists whom analysts say he does
not view as the main threat to his shrinking power base
if al qaeda lay down their arms renounce violence and terrorism and return to
wisdom we are prepared to deal with them saleh told abu dhabi tv
with shiite rebellion in the north and movement for autonomy in the south
the central government asserts little control over the country which is also
reeling from an economic crisis aggravated by dwindling oil reserves and water
shortage
adding to saleh woes family of five germans and briton remain in the
hands of kidnappers six months after they were abducted in northern yemen and
despite intensive efforts by the government to secure their release
the six were abducted along with two german bible students and south korean
who were shot dead soon afterwards
yemen deputy prime minister for defence and security affairs rashad al
aleemi told press conference last week that the hostages are still alive
available information confirms that there is coordination between the northern
shiite rebels huthis and the al qaeda in this matter he said
at the time of the kidnapping germany said it had no evidence that al qaeda was
involved
germany is by far the biggest european contributor of development aid to yemen
with some million euros million dollars earmarked for the impoverished
country for
the german official said westerwelle in his talks with yemeni authorities would
also press for good governance and would raise the issue of widespread
corruption in yemen while also calling for national dialogue to resolve
internal strife as means to restore stability
the yemeni government has turned to the energy rich gulf cooperation council
gcc states and the international community for help but aid has been slow in
coming
hong kong china shares end higher
hong kong jan afp
hong kong and shanghai stocks both closed higher on monday as dealers welcomed
beijing green light to new futures market as well as short selling
experiment in china
hong kong benchmark hang seng index gained percent or points to
with turnover reaching billion hong kong dollars billion
us
and the shanghai composite index which covers both and shares was up
percent or points at on turnover of billion yuan
billion dollars
china securities regulator announced after trading friday that the cabinet had
approved the creation of the new market and the trial run for margin trading and
short selling no timetable was given
the key index opened up percent as brokerages and banks rose on hopes the
new investment tools will boost revenues
many investors turned cautious because concerns over monetary tightening still
persist and weigh on banks and real estate developers shanghai securities
analyst yu zuojie told dow jones newswires
most securities firms and banks gave up much of their gains
haitong securities rose percent to yuan after rising as much as
percent and china construction bank was up percent at yuan after rising
to as much as yuan
property developers bucked the trend following china pledge to crack down on
speculators
china vanke the country largest real estate developer by market value fell
percent to yuan and poly real estate was down percent at
yuan
in hong kong alvin cheung an associate director at prudential brokerage told
dow jones newswires the main beneficiaries of the new china trading rules
would be chinese insurers and large capitalisation dual listed stocks that have
high performance correlation with their share counterparts in shanghai
chalco the best performing blue chip jumped percent to hong kong
dollars boosted by news it raised spot alumina prices twice last week
oil company cnooc gained percent to supported by modest rebound in
crude prices
qaeda threatens to execute french hostage in mali
paris jan afp
the north african branch of al qaeda threatened to execute french hostage
unless four of its militants were freed from jail in mali in days two us
monitoring groups said on monday
al qaeda in the islamic maghreb aqim claimed last month it was holding
frenchman pierre camatte who was seized in mali in late november as well as
three spaniards kidnapped in neighbouring mauritania four days later
us groups site intelligence group and intelcenter which monitor islamist
websites said al qaeda issued its ultimatum in statement dated january
the mujahedeen have decided to inform the french and malian governments of
their only demand to release the french hostage pierre camatte the release of
our four prisoners apprehended by the state of mali many months ago
intelcenter quoted the ultimatum as saying
let france and mali be forewarned that we give days to fulfill our just
demand or the two governments shall be fully responsible for the life of the
french hostage it said in statement
we also call upon the french public opinion and the hostage family to
pressure french president nicolas sarkozy government to prevent the
repetition of british prime minister gordon brown folly against his british
citizen
aqim had claimed responsibility for the killing of british hostage edwin dyer
who was executed in june six months after being kidnapped in niger near the
mali border
security official in mali said the four militants that aqim wants freed were
picked up months ago in the north of the country
several months ago we arrested four elements of aqim in search operation in
the north the official told afp on condition of anonymity
amongst them there is one person from burkina faso two from mauritania and an
algerian he said without identifying them further
camatte was snatched from hotel in menaka in the sahel region of northern
mali more than kilometres miles from the capital bamako during
the night of november
malian and western security forces say he was regular visitor to mali where
he cultivates plant known for its anti malaria properties and was being held
by hardline faction within al qaeda north african branch
aqim claimed in video released by pan arab television station al jazeera in
december that it was holding the four europeans
the three spanish volunteers two men and women were travelling in mauritania
in convoy delivering humanitarian aid to west africa when they were kidnapped
on november
they have been identified as albert vilalta alicia gamez and roque
pascual working on behalf of spanish group barcelona accio solidaria
spain el mundo newspaper reported last month that aqim was demanding seven
million dollars and the release of several of its members in return for the
three spaniards
spanish foreign minister miguel angel moratinos on thursday ruled out paying any
ransom for the release of the three
mali security source said last month that the hostages were being held by
hardline faction of aqim led by man called abou zeid who was said to have
been behind the killing of the briton
aqim has also claimed responsibility for the abduction of two italians in
mauritania on december and posted pictures on the internet of the hostages
sergio cicala and philomene kabore
no business for snow business in sunny lebanon
