paris jan afp
the french capital hunkered down tuesday for snow and sleet storm banning
lorries from motorways and warning of massive flight cancellations as icy
conditions made for treacherous travel around north europe
french road authorities issued ban against heavy commercial road traffic
starting after midnight wednesday until noon on motorways in eight departments
around paris due to new winter storm brewing tuesday night
conditions were expected to be especially hazardous because of icy sleet some
departments in northern and central france have been placed under an orange
alert by meteo france
at paris main airport aviation authorities warned that the storm may force
airlines to cancel up to half of their flights with disruption compounded by
strike
the state civil aviation safety authority dgac has asked airlines to cancel
from tomorrow morning at least percent of their flights from roissy charles
de gaulle airport which could rise to percent if necessary it said in
statement on tuesday
at orly airport the other main paris international air hub traffic will be
reduced by percent it said final decisions on cancellations will depend on
conditions on wednesday morning
the dgac said that two day airport strike in several cities against reforms of
the air transport sector was likely to disrupt air traffic even further
another strike in france could literally affect the weather
some workers of meteo france went off the job tuesday to protest proposed
reorganisation plans forcing the closing of several departmental centres in the
west of the country union sources said
in germany falling temperatures created dangerous icy roadways causing
numerous accidents some fatal and motorway closures and delays around the
country
an elderly woman and her passenger died after their car skidded into the path of
oncoming vehicles on an ice covered bridge in the black forest in southeast
germany one person in another vehicle died
year old man died in the west of the country after his car spun out of
control on ice reportedly smashing into tractor trailer
the german automobile association adac warned motorists to expect long delays
and to be extremely careful
roads can turn into ice rinks in seconds or in minutes it said
countries trying to make ice and snow covered roads passable cannot count on
switzerland for the much needed salt to clear the way
switzerland main publicly owned salt works said tuesday that it had turned
down new orders from the snowbound netherlands and germany in order to cater for
booming domestic needs in the cold snap
the situation is so fragile that were can take the risk of delivering
abroad said armin roos sales manager at schweizer rheinsalinen monopoly
owned by swiss regional governments we re running round the clock
over the past days alone the salt works have distributed about tonnes
of salt and have about tonnes left in storage
the alpine nation normally consumes about tonnes of salt over whole
year to clear public highways according to the firm website
further south in spain temperatures rose several degrees tuesday improving
road rail and air traffic conditions disrupted by heavy snowfall
however much of the country remained on alert with strong winds of up to
kilometres per hour and heavy rains forecast in many areas notably in northern
regions and around madrid
the national electricity grid reported its highest power surge of the winter due
to the freezing temperatures late on monday
heavy rains in portugal have raised the water of the alqueva dam which forms
the largest artificial lake in europe to its maximum capacity for the first
time since it was inaugurated in
flooding from heavy rains in the balkan states tuesday drove not only man but
also beast from home
in montenegro hippo was found wandering in village of plavnica on lake skadar
after flooding at private zoo led him to escape from his pen
he sometimes escapes his habitat when the water levels rise and this is not
unusual nikola pejovic one of the owners of the complex told afp
pejovic said that the hippo named nikica weighing about two tonnes usually
walks along already known path about one kilometer miles long towards
neighbouring houses
but not to worry nikica is their regular guest and locals are completely used
to him pejovic added
chile apologizes for past treatment of indigenous people
santiago jan afp
chile president michelle bachelet on tuesday made formal apology over the
treatment of five indigenous chileans who were shipped off to europe in to
be put on exhibit as human curiosities
she spoke at ceremony in the capital at which she welcomed the repatriated
remains of the five kawesqar indian people
the government of chile wants to take the opportunity on welcoming them back
to publicly apologize for the complicity of authorities in these inhuman
expeditions she said
at the very least she added the government was guilty of neglect in the face
of such abuses
the five kawesqar indians from the country southernmost region were put on
display in cities like paris berlin and zurich in what amounted to freak shows
as we near the bicentennial of our independence in we have to confront
both the brightest points and the darkest moments of our history bachelet
said
the mistreatment of chile indian people was due to racist attitudes towards
our indigenous forefathers whose human dignity was trampled upon an atrocity
we never want to see repeated in our history
the repatriated remains are to be buried in solemn ceremony wednesday on
tiny island in the straits of magellan the icy sea route below the tip of the
south american mainland in the same region where they were abducted
all told indigenous people were taken from chile six of whom ultimately
were allowed to return to chile with one dying during the voyage home
five others four adults and one child died within year of their arrival
in europe and their remains were returned to chile on tuesday
the remains were found in zurich switzerland in february and stored in
university anatomy department
they came to light following eight years of research by historian cristian baez
the skeletons arrived in chile perfect condition at the end of long
journey he said
documentary film maker hans muechli also played role in the return of the
remains he is currently working on film to be released next year about the
traveling human exhibits
in th and th century europe it was not uncommon for visitors to fairs and
sideshows to pay admission to see indigenous people who were presented as
rare and strange anthropological specimens from the ends of the earth said
nelson aguilera regional director of the national corporation for indigenous
development conadi
they were exhibited in places that negatively simulated the living conditions
of these indians they were made to live with other species animals in
conditions that were not dignified he said
some of the indians he added appeared to have contracted tuberculosis or
syphilis suggesting they also may have been subjected to sexual abuse
nigerians protest as leader breaks silence
abuja jan afp
nigerian lawmakers voted tuesday to send delegation to saudi arabia to discuss
issues of national importance with ailing president umaru yar adua as protests
mounted for him to stand down
the year old president earlier broke seven week silence to insist he is
getting better and plans to return to work but opposition protesters marched
regardless through abuja to demand he resign
the house of representatives or lower house of parliament adopted motion to
send delegation to meet yar adua at his hospital bedside and report back its
impressions no date was set for its departure
the senate which had tabled similar motion decided instead to invite the
secretary to the government yayale ahmed to explain the president state of
health
the lawmakers move came as the clamour to remove yar adua reached fever pitch
in africa second biggest oil exporter
around opposition supporters rallied in the capital demanding he hand over
power to vice president goodluck jonathan to speed up electoral and
constitutional reforms that have stalled since november when yar adua was
flown to jeddah for treatment for mystery heart ailment
it has since emerged he is being treated for acute pericarditis an inflammation
of the membrane around the heart but little detail has been released by the
government
wearing white shirts emblazoned with the words enough is enough the
protestors brandished placards demanding yar adua speak to us and what
happening to yar adua
the issues are not simply about yar adua being in the country or outside the
country the issues are numerous nobel laureate wole soyinka told the rally
we challenge him on the continuing corrupt company that we see plotting around
and controlling affairs from aso rock presidential villa said soyinka who
slammed the insolence with which the legislators have treated this nation
yar adua condition has been the source of widespread speculation in nigeria
and on monday some online publications reported he had died the previous day
at the moment am undergoing treatment and getting better from the
treatment the bbc quoted him as saying from his hospital bed in jeddah saudi
arabia
hope that very soon there will be tremendous progress which will allow me to
get back home
as soon as my doctors discharge me will return to nigeria to resume my
duties
but critics say his being alive but absent makes little difference to what
they say is dangerous power vacuum in africa most populous country split
between muslim dominated north and christian south and grappling with periodic
outbreaks of religious violence
yar adua who is muslim did not delegate executive powers to his christian
deputy jonathan when he flew to saudi arabia the law demands he does so in
writing
the main opposition action congress said while happy to hear that the head of
state is alive it was disappointed that he chose foreign media outlet to
speak to his country which has been on edge for weeks
while we are happy that he is alive that he spoke we are disappointed that he
chose the bbc to break his silence it quite shameful and very big
disrespect to nigerians ac spokesman lai mohamed told afp
the fact that he is alive does not say anything about his state of health
yar adua voice sounded weak in the interview
his absence has concided with nigeria being placed on us terror watchlist
after the failed attempt by year old nigerian umar farouk abdulmutallab
to blow up us airliner on chrismas day
alcoa disappointment on earnings hurts wall street
new york jan afp
wall street shares skidded tuesday after disappointing quarterly results from
alcoa to kick off the corporate earnings season injected some caution in the
market
the dow jones industrial average dropped points percent to
at the closing bell as blue chips pulled back from month closing
high monday
the tech heavy nasdaq composite shed hefty points percent to
and the broad standard amp poor index retreated points
percent to preliminary close of
many global markets were trading lower in response to alcoa results seen as
harbinger of the earnings season and the health of the corporate sector
the aluminum giant the first of the blue chip companies to release financial
results reported quarterly loss of million dollars excluding one time
items the company posted profit of one cent per share well below market
expectations
patrick hare at briefing com said alcoa failed to generate confidence either
with its top line revenues or bottom line profits
it was an inglorious start to the fourth quarter earnings reporting season as
dow component alcoa fell short of analysts consensus earnings estimate he
said
alcoa top line weakness speaks to the reality that the economic recovery
isn as strong as the stock market might lead one to think it is
new york sues nigeria over millions in unpaid taxes
new york jan afp
new york city announced tuesday lawsuit against nigeria to recover millions of
dollars allegedly owed in unpaid taxes and other fees on manhattan tower
block
the nigerian government has failed to pay real estate taxes interest and other
charges for commercial offices and other non tax exempt spaces in the story
building the mayor office said
between million and million dollars are owed the statement said the
precise amount owed is not known because of the refusal of the nigerian
government supply documentation
especially in these tough economic times we will go after every dollar that is
owed to city taxpayers said mayor michael bloomberg
new york the site of the united nations headquarters does not charge tax on
foreign un missions consulates and residences for top diplomats
but the city accuses nigeria of using the property for commercial purposes
including formerly housing nigeria airways office in the building lobby
foreign governments do not qualify for tax exemption on property used for
commercial purposes bloomberg said for non diplomatic uses we expect
foreign governments to pay their fair share of property taxes just like all new
yorkers do
us declares progress in afghanistan but is it too soon
washington jan afp
us commanders say their forces are already turning the tide against insurgents
in afghanistan but some experts are more cautious about declaring progress so
soon
am curious to know what measurements they re using to define this progress
malou innocent an analyst at the cato institute told afp
only months after warning of dire situation in afghanistan the head of us and
nato forces in afghanistan general stanley mcchrystal said in an interview
aired monday that us led forces were shifting the momentum against the taliban
other top generals also struck similarly upbeat tone this week less than two
months since president barack obama ordered surge of troops to seize
the initiative against growing insurgency
they ve taken on the taliban the insurgency right in the heartland and
they ve defeated them said major general richard mills in an interview with
usa today referring to marine offensives in the country south
delegation of lawmakers who recently visited afghanistan said they too were
encouraged with senator roger wicker saying us forces were poised to win
innocent said the generals comments appeared to be an orchestrated effort by
the administration amid public anxiety about the war
it all points out to coordinated media campaign although we re only few
months into month strategy she said
the optimism comes despite the us military own internal reports that describe
afghan security forces as plagued by corruption and nepotism she said
but supporters of the latest troop buildup said there were signs us forces were
having an effect against the insurgency
we seem to be doing well where we can put down adequate forces and stay
while said michael hanlon of the brookings institution
say that we haven actually gained the momentum yet ourselves just
stopped them insurgents from continuing to gain it he said
other military analysts have credited obama with taking more focused approach
to afghanistan than his predecessor but tend to describe the outcome of the war
effort as an open question
according to the military reporting on violent attacks and the reach of the
insurgents over the past eight months the taliban and its allies have pushed
the war to the crisis stage anthony cordesman prominent military analyst
wrote tuesday
the administration had made an important step in committing more troops and
resources to long neglected mission but the odds of victory are probably now
little better than even cordesman wrote on the wesbite of the center for
strategic and international studies csis
in his interview with abc telvision mcchrystal recounted recent meeting in
the helmand river valley former taliban stronghold as promising
example of progress
when sit in an area that the taliban controlled only seven months ago and now
you meet with shura of elders and they describe with considerable optimism the
future you sense the tide is turning he said
mcchrystal comments coincided with the deadliest day since october for nato
led forces with six soldiers killed on monday
the general has warned that an increase in us and nato forces would lead to more
combat with insurgents and more casualties
although most of the additional troops ordered by obama have yet to
arrive in afghanistan about reinforcements were deployed shortly after
the president entered the white house year ago
obama attempt to counter the taliban and its al qaeda allies in afghanistan is
hampered by years of neglect under the previous administration and may take
years to show results said bruce riedel former cia officer
this policy by its very definition is not going to produce results
overnight riedel said in video posted by the brookings institution
you cannot turn the disaster he inherited into something better in year or
two years or maybe even four but at least we re focused on the problem now in
way we haven been for the last decade
spyker has funds to buy saab and gm is considering offer ceo
detroit michigan jan afp
spkyer has the money to buy saab and gm is considering its offer the head of
the dutch sports car maker said tuesday
gm has begun the orderly wind down of saab and the fate of swedish car maker
seemed sealed last week when gm chief ed whitacre said the us auto giant had
done everything it could to find buyer but so far nobody had come up with the
money
but victor muller founder and chief executive of spyker cars said the death
knell had not yet rung
we have shown mr whitacre the money victor muller founder and chief
executive of spyker cars said
we are absolutely definitely negotiating in good faith with gm to buy saab
muller told conference hosted by automotive news
they are considering offers very very seriously
mso arb
argentine central bank reserves frozen in us minister
buenos aires jan afp
argentina economy minister on tuesday confirmed at least million dollars
of central bank reserves held in the united states had been frozen by us
judge
at this moment some million dollars have been seized and in any case it
couldn be more than million dollars economy minister amado boudou told
press conference
he said new york judge thomas griesa had ordered the funds frozen at the request
of holders of argentine bonds who had refused to renegotiate the country debt
in june
oil price drop on weather china concerns
new york jan afp
oil prices slumped tuesday on prospects of easing heating fuel demand in the
united states due to milder weather and new moves by china to cool off its
economy
new york main futures contract light sweet crude for delivery in february
dropped dollars to dollars
the new york contract had hit month peak of dollars barrel on
monday before traders decided to bank profits
london brent north sea crude for february was down dollars to
dollars
the market reacted to expectations of easing heating fuel demand as forecasters
predicted milder weather for the weeks ahead in the united states the world
biggest energy consumer hit by cold snap recently
traders anticipated that the nasty cold had played big part in pumping up the
price of oil said phil flynn senior market analyst with fg best
this weekend was the weekend that was supposed to be the beginning of the new
ice age so some traders might have been shocked that temperatures could
actually go up he said
odl markets analyst marius paun said prices rallied on expectations of stronger
heating oil demand but the latest reports say that this may have been
overdone
temperatures in the united states asia and europe are expected to rise
lessening the demand from consumers
another factor that dampened markets was overheating concerns in the chinese
economy
authorities in china sought tuesday to rein in surge of aggressive lending by
banks that has raised fears of inflation and looming asset bubble
after issuing series of recent calls for banks to moderate their lending
activity the central bank hiked the minimum amount of money that banks must
keep in reserve for the first time in more than year
rising temperatures and chinese monetary policy have combined to temper heating
demand and the pace of lending by chinese banks said mike fitzpatrick vice
president of mf global
market participants are preparing for another decline in distillate stockpiles
still above multi year averages the current deep freeze notwithstanding he
said
while signs of economic recovery remain sketchy he said it would be difficult
to maintain oil prices near current levels
prices at dollars and above will only be sustainable when unemployment
starts shrinking and gdp starts growing fitzpatrick said
kuwait oil minister sheikh ahmad abdullah al sabah on tuesday said that at
around dollars the price of crude oil was fantastic
oil prices are fantastic because of what is happening with the cold
weather in europe and as demand is picking up he said
the minister said kuwait does not want any change to production quotas when the
organization of petroleum exporting countries meets in march
he also expected demand to pick up in the second quarter of as the global
economy is likely to continue its recovery and as crude inventories decline
elsewhere on tuesday the market was following developments in opec member
nigeria where gunmen kidnapped three britons and colombian working for anglo
dutch oil giant shell while shooting dead their police escort
it is the first major kidnapping in southern nigeria for months following
lull in the wake of government amnesty which saw thousands of militants lay
down their arms
spyker has funds to buy saab and gm is considering offer ceo
detroit michigan jan afp
spkyer has the money to buy saab and gm is considering its offer the head of
the dutch sports car maker said tuesday
alert
spyker has money to buy saab and gm is considering offer ceo
volvo has bright future under geely ford chief
detroit michigan jan afp
volvo will have bright future under the management of chinese automaker
geely once ford completes the sale of its swedish mark ford chief executive
officer alan mulally said tuesday
think volvo has very very bright future mulally said
they re great business people they love the product and they re going to be
great owner for volvo
mulally reiterated that ford is not considering any other bidders for volvo but
declined to say when the deal would close
we don give specific date out for it because these are very sophisticated
conversations we have because we have to make sure that we have all of our
support for volvo all lined up so we don have timeframe he told reporters
on the sidelines of conference hosted by automotive news
we re just making great progress
ford will continue to invest in volvo up until the day the deal closes and will
support volvo for as long as it takes he added
volvo is just fabulous brand it global brand mulally said
we are divesting these other brands not because we don like them they are
fabulous brands but our point of view going forward is we need to focus on
ford
clinton urges japan to end us base row
honolulu hawaii jan afp
us secretary of state hillary clinton tuesday urged japan to find solution to
row over us air base in japan and stick by deal struck by previous us
and japanese governments
have stressed again today that it is important to move on futenma
clinton told reporters at press conference with her japanese counterpart
katsuya okada after talks in hawaii
we remain of the opinion that the realignment road map is the way forward she
added referring to the deal
standing with her japanese counterpart katsuya okada clinton also stressed that
japan understands that their alliance which has underpinned security in asia
for years is fundamental to the future of both japan and the region
eu report blasts unreliable greek economy statistics
brussels jan afp
the european commission has published damning report on greece unreliable
economic figures increasing the chances of the eu executive launching
infringement proceedings against athens
the report on greek government deficit and debt statistics highlights the
general lack of quality of the greek fiscal statistics and failures of the
relevant greek institutions in broad sense
greece which is mired in recession has public spending deficit that rose to
percent of output last year far above the percent ceiling permitted to
countries sharing the euro
it is also saddled with debt constituting percent of gross domestic
product gdp
the report said the greek statistics office nssg had complained of political
interference in the financial figures sent to the eu executive last october
the commission highlighted two widely differing sets of figures on greece
excessive deficit sent by athens to brussels on october and october
in the second set of estimates the greek authorities revised the country
planned deficit ratio for from percent of gdp to percent
revisions of this magnitude in the estimated past government deficit ratios
have been extremely rare in other eu member states but have taken place for
greece on several occasions the report complained
it also cited substantial number of un answered questions in key areas
including social security funds hospital arrears and transactions between
government and public enterprises
the eu commission which drew up the report following request by eu finance
ministers in november spoke of deliberate misreporting of figures by the greek
authorities in
the eu nations have asked the commission to propose appropriate measures to be
taken to address the situation
this will happen within the next days or week commission official said
without giving date
the commission will put forward its proposals in the context of an eu treaty
rule under which athens could face sanctions such as the suspension of european
investment bank loans and ultimately fines
the eu new permanent president herman van rompuy visited athens tuesday and
said greece was now taking steps to meet the substantial challenge posed by
its huge debt and public deficit
am confident that the greek government is already taking the necessary
further steps to address the situation the eu chief said after meeting with
greek prime minister george papandreou
greek finance minister george papaconstantinou said in an interview with the
german newspaper handelsblatt to appear wednesday that his government had
carried out thorough re examination of its finances
there is no skeleton in the closet he told the paper
we have re calculated everything again taking into account hospital debt
higher costs and decline in receipts last year it solid basis for
reducing the deficit in the years to come
the recently elected socialist government which must present its crisis plans
to the eu executive commission by the end of the month has said it will get the
deficit down to percent in by cutting state spending and fighting tax
fraud
football mozambique deny benin first nations cup victory
benguela angola jan afp
mozambique held benin to draw here tuesday night to deny the west africans
their first ever victory at the africa cup of nations
angola is benin fourth nations cup appearance after they debuted in the
competition at the edition in tunisia and had they defended an early two
goal lead they would have been celebrating their inaugural victory in the
tournament
champions egypt who beat nigeria earlier lead group with three points with
benin and mozambique tied for second following this thrilling draw
nigeria beaten by the defending champions foot the table
in an open entertaining contest the squirrels of benin raced into two goal
lead after just minutes with penalty goal by razak omotoyossi and an own
goal by mozambique defender dario khan
the spot kick was awarded after the robust omotoyossi was brought down inside
the box by goalkeeper joao rafael on his way to goal
the metz striker dusted himself off to tuck the ball home from the penalty spot
in the th minute
the nigerian born striker was also involved in the second goal as he drove into
the mozambique area and in the confusion that ensued khan put the ball through
his own goal on minutes
however almiro lobo reduced the deficit in the th minute when he headed home
from inside the box after goalkeeper yoann djidonou failed to deal with corner
and left the benin defence in all sorts of bother
before all these goals the mambas of mozambique got chance as early as the
th minute to take the lead but their most experienced player and skipper
manuel bucuane aka tiko tiko failed to connect from inside the box
to the credit of mozambique they did not allow benin early advantage to
subdue their attacking instincts as they kept going at their opponents to the
delight of the packed capacity ombaka stadium as the locals threw their
support behind their fellow portuguese speaking country
right from the restart omotoyossi would have again got on the score sheet but
he lost his footing at the crucial moment inside the six yard box with
goalkeeper rafael again looking very shaky and unsure of himself
however it was mozambique who scored again in the th minute when goncalves
fumo netted the equaliser after quick counter attack caught the benin
goalkeeper out of position
benin fought back for winner with paris saint germain star stephane sessegnon
omotoyossi and guingamp midfielder muri ogounbiyi who was major injury doubt
for this encounter after he suffered thigh strain in training prompting their
attacks
in the th minute tiko tiko fired home pile drive which missed narrowly
but it was the fumbling goalkeeper rafael who would have gifted benin the match
winner in the th minute when he appeared to have saved off the feet of mickael
pote only to lose the ball in spectacular fashion moments later
ford working to regain investment grade debt rating
