detroit michigan jan afp
ford motor is working to regain its investment grade debt rating after sinking
to junk status when it mortgaged the company to finance massive restructuring
program chief executive office alan mulally said tuesday
we re moving back to investment grade mulally said noting that ford paid
back billion dollars of its billion dollar loan last year despite the
economic crisis and collapse in global auto sales
while servicing the loan has been costly it saved ford from joining general
motors and chrysler in seeking billions in emergency government loans
mulally expressed relief that ford was able to stand on its own even though gm
and chrysler were able to shed debt under bankruptcy protection
it just incredible the fact that we re here we re alive this is positive
thing mulally said
clearly we re paying little more interest but with the strength of our
product line we ll be able to pay down the debt quickly he told the
conference
obama cabinet at biden matriarch funeral
wilmington delaware jan afp
us president barack obama led high level delegation tuesday to the funeral of
vice president joe biden beloved mother who died last week at age
catherine eugenia jean finnegan biden passed away at the family home in the
small eastern state of delaware on friday surrounded by her family
joining obama on the short flight on air force one from andrews air force base
were first lady michelle obama and members of the cabinet plus house of
representatives speaker nancy pelosi
reflecting biden years in washington and the grounding role in his political
life played by his mother the funeral guest list also included former president
bill clinton and string of lawmakers
in poignant eulogy biden who lost his first wife and month old daughter
in car crash in said his mother had injected her whole family with
emotional steel
she taught us that failure was inevitable at some point in life but giving up
was unforgivable she taught us to be respectful to everyone but deferential to
no one
he said his mother creed was you must be person of your word for without
your word you have no honor and without honor you can be biden
the vice president frequently sprinkles his speeches with wisdom and wit he
attributes to his mother and late father who died in often focusing on
lessons he learned as young boy
when got knocked down by guys bigger than me she sent me back out and
demanded that bloody their nose so could walk down that street the next
day former senator biden said in his democratic national convention speech in
my mother creed is the american creed no one is better than you you are
everyone equal and everyone is equal to you
football late arrival essien uncertain for ivory coast
cabinda angola jan afp
if ghana are to topple pre tournament favourites ivory coast in the africa cup
of nations on friday they will probably have to do so without key midfielder
michael essien
the chelsea star and ghana captain arrival in angola has been delayed due to
the big freeze in britain and he is not due to join up the black stars now until
wednesday
another pivotal member of the world cup qualifiers squad rosenborg midfielder
anthony annan is definitely unavailable having picked up left knee injury
annan won be ready for friday and essien doesn join us until tomorrow
morning ghana serb coach milovan rajevac said on tuesday in cabinda
he added we want to win this competition but this first game is going to be
interesting pitting our very young team against one of the best and most
experienced sides in africa
rennes striker asamoah gyan said they would miss the pair for the game against
didier drogba ivory coast who were surprisingly held to goalless draw by
group minnows burkina faso in their opening game on monday
we knew it though and we re ready before our strength was in midfield now
we re going to have to see
essien absence would be huge blow for four time africa cup of nations
winners ghana who have had to contend with string of injuries to key players
with central defenders john pantsil and john mensah and midfielders stephen
appiah and laryea kingston all ruled out
this is ghana first run out in angola after their first match was abandoned
following togo exit from the competition in the wake of last friday deadly
gun attack on the team bus by separitist rebels in this troubled northern
province
the gmt news advisory
paris jan afp
we shall move the following additional story
europe weather
paris
the french capital hunkers down for mid winter storm banning lorries from
paris motorways and warning of massive cancellations at airports as icy
conditions make for more treacherous travel around northern europe
words gmt
football africa cup of nations benin mozambique
benguela angola jan afp
full result of africa cup of nations group match between benin and mozambique
on tuesday
benin omotoyossi pen khan own goal mozambique lobo fumo
teams
benin
yoann djidonou khaled adenon damien chrysostome capt mickael pote ramouald
boco jocelyn ahoueya djiman koukou muri ogounbiyi nouhoum kobena
felicien singbo emmanuel imorou seidath tchomogo stephane sessegnon
razak omotoyossi
coach michel dussuyer fra
mozambique
joao rafael samuel chapanga eugenio bila momed hagi almiro lobo
marthinho mucuana dario khan edson sitoe simao elias pelembe manuel bucuane
capt carlos parraque goncalves fumo helder pelembe
coach mart nooij ned
referee khalid abdel rahman sud
yellow cards rafael lobo bucuane sitoe adenon
drug cartels spurring drug use in west africa un
united nations jan afp
drug traffickers are trying to produce drugs in west africa and encourage local
consumption the un special envoy to the area warned tuesday
there are indications that they are trying to establish themselves in the
region to produce drugs in the sub region and also to encourage the consumption
of drugs said djinnit told reporters after briefing the un security council on
the activities of the un office for west africa which he heads
he noted that while there has been reduction in terms of drug seizures the
problem of drug trafficking and organized crime is very serious in the west
african region
it needs renewed commitment of the region to face this challenge he
added
in recent years west africa has emerged as an important transit point for south
american cocaine being smuggled to the european markets
djinnnit said he was still waiting for the outcome of the investigation
conducted by bamako authorities after the november crash in insurgency hit
northern mali of boeing plane used to transport cocaine from venezuela to west
africa
the information so far available gives us the impression that drug trafficking
networks are trying to adjust the ways they are conducting their business they
keep changing their modus operandi he noted
last month antonio maria costa head of the vienna based un office on drugs and
crime unodc told the security council that two streams of illicit drugs
heroin in east africa and cocaine in west africa were now meeting in the
sahara creating new trafficking routes across chad niger and mali
and he said the november crash of the drug laden boeing in mali was new
example of the links between drugs crime and terrorism
also last month three alleged al qaeda members faced charges in new york of
trying to set up drug trafficking ring in africa to help finance terror
operations according to us officials
the men arrested in ghana were accused of contacting undercover informants in
that country who were posing as members of the revolutionary armed forces of
colombia farc latin america longest standing guerilla outfit
the men said al qaeda could provide protection for the transportation of
hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from west africa through north africa and
ultimately into spain
urgent 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
alpine skiing schild wins flachau slalom
flachau austria jan afp
marlies schild of austria won tuesday women slalom on home snow at flachau
to pocket her nd world cup career victory seeing off germany maria riesch
and austria kathrin zettel
schild made it wins in the discipline and two for the season to date as she
saw off riesch by sec and zettel by sec
somali pirate suspect charged with two more attacks
new york jan afp
somali man held in new york on piracy charges was accused tuesday in two more
attacks against ships in the indian ocean
abduwali abdukhadir muse was brought to the united states last year after being
captured at the scene of dramatic clash between the us navy and somali pirates
holding hostage us merchant captain
in new indictment prosecutors say muse was not only responsible for the
attack on the maersk alabama but for earlier raids on two other ships
muse pleaded not guilty in may to piracy hijacking and kidnapping he has not
yet entered plea for the new charges and he is awaiting trial in federal
court
if found guilty of piracy he faces mandatory life in prison
muse and others hijacked two ships before the maersk alabama the second of
which is still being held hostage the office of us attorney preet bharara said
in statement
according to prosecutors muse and others first boarded vessel identified as
ship and seized control taking the crew hostage muse allegedly threatened
to set off an explosive device next to hostage if any rescue attempt was made
later muse and his group forced ship to rendezvous with another vessel
ship
the two ships were tied together and the captains were held prisoner on ship
prosecutors allege at the present time the captain and the crew of ship
continue to be held hostage on board ship
it was only after that the pirates allegedly attacked the maersk alabama which
they boarded after firing shots
during the maersk alabama incident muse conducted himself as the leader of the
pirates the indictment says
that alleged raid proved to be muse last
the pirates attempted to flee in lifeboat with the ship captain richard
phillips but found themselves stranded without motor
us naval ship the uss bainbridge arrived at the scene and sharpshooters
killed three of the pirates on the lifeboat saving phillips muse who had
boarded the uss bainbridge apparently to negotiate was arrested
he now faces charges four of which carry sentences of mandatory life in
prison
there was confusion soon after his arrival in the united states over muse age
he claimed he was minor but judge ruled that there was sufficient evidence
he was over
piracy on the high seas is threat against the community of nations bharara
said modern day pirates who wreak havoc off faraway coasts will be met with
modern day justice in the united states
alert
argentine central bank reserves frozen in us minister
urgent clinton urges japan to move on solution for futenma
honolulu hawaii jan afp
us secretary of state hillary clinton said she told her japanese counterpart
katsuya okada here tuesday of the need to move on solution for the us air
base in japan
alpine skiing schild wins flachau slalom
flachau austria jan afp
marlies schild of austria won tuesday women slalom on home snow at flachau
to pocket her nd world cup career victory seeing off germany maria riesch
and austria kathrin zettel
football epl consider new information from pompey
london jan afp
portsmouth were left waiting to discover tuesday if their transfer embargo would
be lifted by the english premier league after presenting officials with new
information
portsmouth who lifted the fa cup in but have seen most of that squad
leave since are four points adrift at the bottom of the premier league
but manager avram grant has been unable to purchase new players thus far during
the january transfer window after being placed under an embargo by league chiefs
regarding unpaid fees to other clubs from previous deals
now there is suggestion that the seven million pounds in television revenue
portsmouth were due to receive from the premier league will now be distributed
direct to other clubs
premier league spokesman said after tuesday meeting portsmouth have
provided the premier league board with new information regarding their
outstanding debt to other football clubs
the premier league board will now consider this new information and make
decision in due course
portsmouth face legal action from british tax authorities over alleged unpaid
bills in move that hasd the potential to force the club out of business while
chief executive peter storrie former manager harry redknapp and former chairman
milan mandaric are all being pursued separately over allegations of unpaid tax
before the campaign started portsmouth were hampered by the protracted takeover
of the club by the uae based sulaiman al fahim from former owner alexandre
gaydamak
fans who were led to believe that al fahim would invest heavily in the club were
stunned when in matter of weeks he relinquished control to al faraj
however he has struggled to raise the funds to cope with portsmouth mounting
debts with gaydamak alone saying he is still owed nearly million pounds by
the club
football africa cup of nations group standings st update
benguela angola jan afp
africa cup of nations group standings after late match on tuesday played
won drawn lost goals for against points
egypt
benin
mozambique
nigeria
fixtures
benguela unless noted times gmt
jan
benin nigeria
egypt mozambique
jan
benin egypt
at lubango
mozambique nigeria
note group winners and runners up qualify for quarter finals
urgent football benin mozambique draw
benguela angola jan afp
mozambique came from two goals behind to draw with benin on tuesday in an
africa cup of nations group match
football africa cup of nations benin mozambique
benguela angola jan afp
result of an africa cup of nations group match between benin and mozambique on
tuesday
benin omotoyossi pen khan own goal mozambique lobo fumo
urgent football benin mozambique draw
benguela angola jan afp
mozambique came from two goals behind to draw with benin on tuesday in an
africa cup of nations group match
three britons one colombian kidnapped in nigeria
lagos jan afp
gunmen on tuesday seized three britons and colombian shooting dead their
police escort in the first major kidnapping for six months in southern nigeria
niger delta
the four contract workers for the anglo dutch oil giant shell were
abducted as they travelled to work from the southern oil city of port harcourt
to the shell operated afam power plant police said
they were ambushed by gunmen around the small town of obehi said rivers
state police spokeswoman rita abbey adding that police were concentrating their
search in and around that town
the town is about halfway between port harcourt and aba the workers intended
destination situated kilometres miles northeast of port harcourt
the gunmen shot dead the police officer escorting the group and wounded their
driver
shell spokesman in nigeria said we are concerned for the safety of the
contractor staff and our thoughts are with them and their families at this
difficult time
spokesman for the foreign office in britain said we are aware of the reports
that three british nationals have been kidnapped in nigeria and are urgently
investigating these claims
the incident was the first major kidnapping in southern nigeria since july last
year following lull in the wake of government amnesty which saw thousands
of militants lay down their arms
armed groups claiming to seek fairer share of oil revenue for locals have
since staged attacks on oil installations in the niger delta playing havoc
with crude output and international oil prices
the main rebel group in the restive region the movement for the emancipation of
the niger delta mend said it had no hand in the abduction of the workers
no known ransom demands have been made
in october mend declared an open ended ceasefire to give dialogue with
authorities chance
but at the weekend mend said it was reviewing its indefinite ceasefire
announced on sunday october and will announce its position on or before
january
the absence of president umaru yar adua for nearly two months for medical
reasons has not helped efforts to end the violence with militants reportedly
unhappy at the slow progress of the process to re integrate them into their
communities
the president absence has certainly jeopardised the entire peace process
because there is no structure mend spokesman told afp
hundreds of foreign and local oil workers have been kidnapped in the niger delta
since many have been released unharmed others after ransom payments
last year shell said of its workers and contractors had been kidnapped
between and
militants have also attacked pipelines and offshore facilities and even lagos
harbour at the weekend militants targeted chevron pipelines in second such
attack since the government unconditional pardon came into effect in august
last year
at the peak of the violence in the delta production dipped by up to third of
pre levels in the world eighth largest oil exporter
oil is the economic mainstay of nigeria raking in some percent of the
country earnings and contributing about percent of budget requirements for
the opec member country
nigeria plans to offer inhabitants of the nine oil producing states an extra
percent of oil and gas revenues in addition to the percent they already get
in bid to end violence
in the wake of the niger delta kidnappings the chief executive officer of
shell peter voser said tuesday it no longer looks to nigeria to support
corporate growth
nigeria is still heartland for shell he said on shell website
but we no longer depend on it for our growth aspirations this gives us more
flexibility in deciding when and how to develop oil and gas resources in
nigeria
mexico captures top tijuana drug trafficker el teo
tijuana mexico jan afp
teodoro el teo garcia simental one of mexico most wanted and brutal drug
traffickers was detained tuesday in the second major victory for the
government in less than month
security forces captured garcia in an early morning raid on smart residential
area in the seaside city of la paz on the northwestern baja california
peninsula officials said
later tuesday authorities presented garcia to journalists in mexico city
garcia was one of the most sought after criminals by the governments of
mexico and the united states said ramon pequeno an official with the federal
police
garcia is on list of mexico most wanted drug lords with reward of up
to million dollars offered for his capture
he is also blamed for spike in particularly gruesome violence in the border
city of tijuana
another person who was not identified was also detained in the raid early
tuesday officials said
the roar of several helicopters woke us up and we found the area surrounded by
soldiers local resident mario zamora told afp
the arrest is second major victory for president felipe calderon
controversial clampdown on organized crime after top drug lord arturo beltran
leyva was killed in shootout with marines in raid south of mexico city on
december
garcia is officially part of the arellano felix or tijuana cartel but is now
suspected of fighting them for control of the border city across from san diego
in the united states
baja california authorities say garcia broke off an alliance with the arellano
felix cartel in january after bloody gunfight and now backs joaquin
shorty guzman head of the rival sinaloa cartel and mexico most wanted
man
he is suspected to be one of the country most violent drug traffickers and
blamed for wave of attacks in tijuana in recent years
hitman called the soup maker last year confessed to dissolving hundreds of
bodies in acid for garcia
more than people have died in spiraling drug violence in the past three
years across mexico particularly in northern border areas on lucrative
trafficking routes into the united states
tijuana with around violent deaths in is the country second most
violent city after the notorious border city of ciudad juarez
baja california sur home to the tourist resorts of los cabos as well as la paz
has much lower levels of violence than the northern area of baja california
where tijuana lies
calderon has staked his presidency on his clampdown on spiraling drug violence
including the deployment of some troops across the country
police also arrested carlos beltran leyva on december in the drug plagued
northwestern state of sinaloa just two weeks after the slaying of his more
notorious and powerful brother arturo
alert
football benin and mozambique drew on tuesday in africa cup of nations
ireland parties hopeful of deal as crisis focuses minds
belfast jan afp
political parties in northern ireland expressed renewed hope tuesday of reaching
deal over policing powers despite scandal which has engulfed the province
leading politician
day after first minister peter robinson took six week break in the wake of
allegations about his wife affair with year old lover the parties struck
positive note after emergency talks on the policing and justice issue
robinson decision to stand aside has prompted concerns the once troubled
province already strained administration could collapse altogether
but both robinson democratic unionist party dup and their power sharing
partners sinn fein said they were determined to find solution to the vexed
issue of transferring policing powers from london to belfast
sinn fein president gerry adams refused to be drawn on the details of the
discussions but hinted that progress had been made on what is key piece of
the province devolution jigsaw
we believe that with political will these difficulties can be resolved adams
said
these discussions and it has to involve all of the parties but particularly
between ourselves and the dup are hugely important
the issues pre date the controversies of recent times
meanwhile finance minister sammy wilson of the dup expressed optimism that
deal could be done although he stressed many hurdles still remained
we are not going to minimise the difficulties that have to be faced but we will
seek to do this job do it as quickly as possibly and do it only once we are
sure we have secure foundation to have this important function
britain northern ireland minister shaun woodward was to discuss the situation
with irish counterpart micheal martin late tuesday
woodward said he believed the crisis could focus minds and help make progress on
the stalled talks on policing and justice powers
my sense is that there are many politicians particularly over the last
hours who have actually faced over the precipice seen the consequences of not
fully engaging and are now really engaging with the issues he told the bbc
robinson is facing questions over whether he can come back after his wife iris
admitted securing pounds euros dollars from two wealthy
developers to help her former lover kirk mccambley set up cafe
her husband insists he was unaware of her financial dealings he has attacked as
unfounded and mischievous allegations that he did know of them yet failed to
report it to officials
iris robinson also senior politician is currently receiving acute
psychiatric treatment
arlene foster the year old enterprise minister filling in for robinson
insisted he had only stepped aside temporarily
peter hasn left the scene he is still the leader of the party very clearly
and he is still the first minister she said
commentators fear the revelations over the robinsons could even trigger fresh
elections which polls show could produce majority for sinn fein
the dup which is protestant and wants northern ireland to remain part of
britain has since shared devolved powers from london in an administration
with socialists sinn fein which is catholic and wants the province to join the
republic of ireland
also weighing on the political crisis are fears of return to more frequent
violence in province where three decades of civil unrest killed at least
people the fighting was largely ended by the good friday agreement
last year two british soldiers and policeman were gunned down in attacks
claimed by dissident republicans in the latest incident friday catholic
police officer was left seriously injured when bomb exploded under his car
ireland parties hopeful of deal as crisis focuses minds
belfast jan afp
political parties in northern ireland expressed renewed hope tuesday of reaching
deal over policing powers despite scandal which has engulfed the province
leading politician
day after first minister peter robinson took six week break in the wake of
allegations about his wife affair with year old lover the parties struck
positive note after emergency talks on the policing and justice issue
robinson decision to stand aside has prompted concerns the once troubled
province already strained administration could collapse altogether
but both robinson democratic unionist party dup and their power sharing
partners sinn fein said they were determined to find solution to the vexed
issue of transferring policing powers from london to belfast
sinn fein president gerry adams refused to be drawn on the details of the
discussions but hinted that progress had been made on what is key piece of
the province devolution jigsaw
we believe that with political will these difficulties can be resolved adams
said
these discussions and it has to involve all of the parties but particularly
between ourselves and the dup are hugely important
the issues pre date the controversies of recent times
meanwhile finance minister sammy wilson of the dup expressed optimism that
deal could be done although he stressed many hurdles still remained
we are not going to minimise the difficulties that have to be faced but we will
seek to do this job do it as quickly as possibly and do it only once we are
sure we have secure foundation to have this important function
britain northern ireland minister shaun woodward was to discuss the situation
with irish counterpart micheal martin late tuesday
woodward said he believed the crisis could focus minds and help make progress on
the stalled talks on policing and justice powers
my sense is that there are many politicians particularly over the last
hours who have actually faced over the precipice seen the consequences of not
fully engaging and are now really engaging with the issues he told the bbc
robinson is facing questions over whether he can come back after his wife iris
admitted securing pounds euros dollars from two wealthy
developers to help her former lover kirk mccambley set up cafe
her husband insists he was unaware of her financial dealings he has attacked as
unfounded and mischievous allegations that he did know of them yet failed to
report it to officials
iris robinson also senior politician is currently receiving acute
psychiatric treatment
arlene foster the year old enterprise minister filling in for robinson
insisted he had only stepped aside temporarily
peter hasn left the scene he is still the leader of the party very clearly
and he is still the first minister she said
commentators fear the revelations over the robinsons could even trigger fresh
elections which polls show could produce majority for sinn fein
the dup which is protestant and wants northern ireland to remain part of
britain has since shared devolved powers from london in an administration
with socialists sinn fein which is catholic and wants the province to join the
republic of ireland
also weighing on the political crisis are fears of return to more frequent
violence in province where three decades of civil unrest killed at least
people the fighting was largely ended by the good friday agreement
last year two british soldiers and policeman were gunned down in attacks
claimed by dissident republicans in the latest incident friday catholic
police officer was left seriously injured when bomb exploded under his car
alert
okada told japan needs to move on air base solution clinton
aide to ex british pm denies sexing up iraq dossier
london jan afp
tony blair former chief spin doctor alastair campbell fiercely denied tuesday
sexing up dossier which claimed iraq could launch chemical or biological
weapons within minutes ahead of the war
in defiant appearance before public inquiry on the conflict campbell said
