milan jan afp
italy ferrero has lined up billion euros from two leading banks to help
finance its joint takeover offer with hershey for british confectioner cadbury
il sole ore reported tuesday
mediobanca will provide billion euros billion dollars and unicredit
billion the financial daily said
hershey plans to borrow another billion dollars billion euros for the
operation il sole said
ferrero advisory banks mediobanca and rothschild appear to have put
together the loan needed for the operation to ward off hostile takeover by us
giant kraft the report said
the credit lines may be syndicated among several financial establishments and
natixis of france and germany commerzbank have signalled their interest in
this set up the daily said
unicredit and mediobanca both declined comment when contacted by afp
kraft offer in cash and shares would be worth billion pounds
billion euros billion dollars an offer which cadbury dismissed again
tuesday as derisory
ferrero and hershey are still negotiating terms of joint bid il sole said
definitive negotiations have been under way since monday to decide whether to
launch bid or scrap the project the report said
sources close to the dossier last week told dow jones newswires that the two
groups might announce bid by january
the us investment fund blackstone which held talks recently with ferrero is no
longer involved il sole said
in london on tuesday cadbury told its shareholders that had been
outstanding and that the company was targeting revenue growth within our
percent goal range this year
kraft is the world second biggest snacks group after nestle cadbury is the
second largest confectionery company behind mars
un sports envoy condemns abhorrent togo attack
johannesburg jan afp
senior un official has condemned last week ambush of togo football team in
angola that killed two people while calling on the sports world to defy
despicable acts of violence
this abhorrent deed is not only violent act against innocent civilians it is
also an attack against the values of sport said wilfried lemke sports advisor
to un chief ban ki moon in statement received tuesday
lemke called on the sports world to defy these despicable acts after friday
ambush of togo which followed suicide bombing in crowd of volleyball
spectators in pakistan last week and the attack on the sri lankan cricket
team
it seems by attacking players and fans the perpetrators also try to sabotage
peaceful sport encounters and the hospitality of the hosts of international or
local events and spread message of despair and fear
urgent yemen negotiating hostages located in saada fm
sanaa jan afp
foreign minister abu bakr al qurbi said on tuesday that yemen has opened talks
for the release of five german hostages and briton who have been located in
saada scene of clashes with shiite revels
alert
iran foreign ministry accuses united states israel in bomb attack
russian inflation at percent in official
moscow jan afp
russia registered inflation of percent in one of its lowest levels
since the fall of the soviet union in data from the official rosstat
agency released on tuesday showed
consumer price increases began slowing in april and stabilised in august
september and october they began picking up again in november
the inflation rate in was percent
the slowdown in inflation has allowed the russian central bank to cut its
benchmark interest rate to percent record low
urgent three britons one colombian kidnapped in nigeria
lagos jan afp
gunmen kidnapped three british expatriate workers and their colombian colleague
on tuesday along road near nigeria southern oil hub of port harcourt
security sources said
urgent iraq invasion was illegitimate dutch probe
the hague jan afp
the us led invasion of iraq lacked legitimacy under international law an
independent commission probing dutch political support for the action said
tuesday
mpa mlr mjs
ex british pm spin doctor appears at iraq probe
london jan afp
tony blair controversial former chief spin doctor alastair campbell gave
evidence to britain public inquiry into the iraq war tuesday days before his
one time boss takes the stand
campbell one of the ex prime minister closest allies is the first big name
witness to appear before the chilcot inquiry to face questions about the
intelligence britain used to make the case for war
after arriving amid scrum of press photographers campbell three hour
evidence session started with him launching typically feisty defence of his
very close relationship with blair
if he asked me to jump off building wouldn have done it if he asked me
to do anything silly or stupid wouldn have done it but he never did
campbell said
he also said current prime minister gordon brown who was then finance minister
would absolutely have been one of the key ministers blair discussed
decisions on iraq with
blair is due to appear in late january or early february while brown will not
be called until after this year general election which is expected to be held
in may
campbell downing street former director of communications and strategy
resigned in august the month after ministry of defence weapons expert dr
david kelly was found dead near his home with slashed wrists
earlier that year he fiercely denied bbc report that he sexed up dossier
claiming iraq could launch chemical or biological attack within minutes to
help justify the war
kelly believed he may have been the source of the bbc story and officials
confirmed his name as such to some reporters
campbell insisted he had decided to resign to spend more time with his family
well before kelly death
an official inquiry one of several probes to which he has already given
evidence over the iraq war subsequently exonerated him over the affair
campbell has kept relatively low profile since leaving downing street
publishing his memoirs and novel about psychiatrist
he is also advising brown ruling labour party informally ahead of this year
general election and co founded an internet campaign to drum up grassroots
labour support
some labour figures are reportedly worried that his evidence could revive
memories of the unpopular iraq war and cause labour problems on the campaign
trail for the election which must be held by june
the former premier faced major backlash in britain over the decision to stand
shoulder to shoulder with then us president george bush over the war he
resigned in despite having led his labour party to three election wins
blair insisted last month he would have supported the war which did not gain
explicit united nations approval even if he had known iraq did not have weapons
of mass destruction
the iraq inquiry led by retired top civil servant john chilcot has faced
claims from some critics that it is not questioning witnesses rigorously enough
but chilcot hit back last month insisting it was not here to provide public
sport or entertainment but to get to the facts
the daily mail newspaper said in an editorial tuesday that campbell who worked
for blair for nine years must face the toughest possible grilling over how
britain became involved in the iraq war
only when we have all the facts can we begin to ensure it never happens again
it added
boxing uganda to host holyfield botha bout in february
kampala jan afp
former world heavyweight champion evander holyfield will fight south africa
francois botha here on february promoters told afp tuesday
we have been in contact with holyfield people for months and while the fight
was scheduled to take place in january we had some delays because of the
festive season eddie bazira of uganda baltic pro box promotions group said
but the date is february th everything has come into place he said adding
that the showdown would be an official title bout for the wbf heavyweight crown
bazira said his group learned that holyfield was interested in fighting in
africa and made proposal to his representatives year ago
he hungry for title so we convinced him along that line he said
holyfield who is outspoken about his evangelical christian faith will likely
be fighting in front of sympathetic crowd as uganda is home to rapidly
expanding evangelical community
the church is going to be huge force in promoting this fight said jackson
mugisha baltic country manager
kampala mandela national stadium can hold up to people depending on
how the ring is configured and bazira said he anticipates sellout
holyfield had been slated to fight ethiopian born sammy retta in addis ababa
last year but the bout was postponed several times
alert
yemen negotiating for release of german british hostages fm
sick nigeria leader breaks silence power void lingers
abuja jan afp
ailing nigerian president umaru yar adua has broken seven week silence to tell
the bbc he hopes to leave saudi hospital and resume his duties as thousands
rallied tuesday to demand he step down
the year old president condition has been the source of widespread
speculation in nigeria and on monday some online publications reported he had
died the previous day
thousands of nigerian opposition supporters staged protest rally in the
capital abuja early tuesday to demand he relinquish power to his deputy
but speaking to the bbc by telephone yar adua said he was recovering
at the moment am undergoing treatment and getting better from the
treatment hope that very soon there will be tremendous progress which will
allow me to get back home the bbc quoted him as saying
as soon as my doctors discharge me will return to nigeria to resume my
duties
but the critics says his being alive but absent change little to the power
vacuum in the country yar adua did not delegate executive powers to his vice
president goodluck jonathan when he left 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
he has contempt for the local media and no respect for many nigerians many of
whom have no access to the bbc he said
thousands of opposition and rights activists led by nobel laureate wole
soyinka gathered tuesday for the start of protests in the administrative
capital abuja as lawmakers were to meet for the first time to discuss the
political vacuum created by yar adua absence
sporting white vests emblazoned with the words enough is enough the
protestors brandished placards demanding yar adua speak to us and what
happening to yar adua we want to know
on what impact the telephone interview would have on concerns over power
vacuum in africa most populous country and second largest oil exporter
mohamed said it changes very little
the fact that he is alive does not say anything about his state of health
said mohamed
yar adua voice sounded weak in the interview the bbc said
the president had not been seen or heard from since he was flown to hospital in
saudi arabia on november to be treated for acute pericarditis an
inflammation of the membrane around the heart
critics complain that his long absence has stalled government business and there
have been growing calls for the president to step down
the rally to be addressed by soyinka and former biafra warlord chukwuemeka
odumegwu ojukwu is being organised to demand an end to the stasis vacillation
over electoral reform widespread corruption as well as nigeria being put on
us terror watchlist
washington established the watchlist after the failed attempt by year old
nigerian umar farouk abdulmutallab to blow up us airliner on chrismas day
the interview with the bbc was published hours after the president spokesman
olusegun adeniyi moved to dismiss mounting rumours over his state of health
yar adua expressed his gratitude for his nation prayers for his recovery
wish at this stage to thank all nigerians for their prayers for my good
health and for their prayers for the nation
influential regional governors from nigeria states met for several hours
late monday to early tuesday but made no statement on yar adua
british official trade deficit narrows to billion pounds
london jan afp
britain trade in goods deficit improved to billion pounds billion
euros billion dollars in november official data showed on tuesday
the figure compared with revised deficit of billion pounds in october the
office for national statistics said in statement
october trade in goods deficit had originally been given as billion
pounds
alert
three britons one colombian kidnapped in nigeria security sources
tennis hobart international results collated
hobart australia jan afp
results from the third day of the hobart international women tennis tournament
here tuesday denotes seed
second round
gisela dulko arg bt tamira paszek aut
alona bondarenko ukr by alize cornet fra
zheng jie chn bt peng shuai chn
anabel medina garrigues esp bt alla kudryavtseva rus
angola knew cabinda matches were risky world cup chief
johannesburg jan afp
angola knew for years that staging africa premier football tournament in the
restive enclave of cabinda posed security risk south africa world cup
organising chief said tuesday
how long is it known that there is separatist group in angola for many many
years what are the possibilities of terror attack it was known danny
jordaan told afp
it is responsibility of the host nation to deal with those issues said
jordaan who led technical team to angola in to assess its readiness for
the tournament on behalf of the confederation of african football caf
all the concerns about the tournament were included in report that was handed
over to caf he said
jordaan again brushed off worries that the attack in cabinda could affect the
world cup which kicks off in south africa in june
what happened in angola has nothing to with south africa please judge us
fairly jordaan told news conference
we must be judged on reality not on perception we hosted major
international events since and we didn have any incidents he said
south africa has invested billion rands million us dollars million
euro on security he said
saudi posing as pilot held at manila airport
manila jan afp
year old saudi arabian man dressed as pilot was arrested tuesday after he
illegally entered restricted area in the main airport in the philippines an
airport official said
he was able to elude our security by misrepresenting himself as pilot of
saudia said airport general manager alfonso cusi referring to the saudi
arabian flag carrier
the incident at manila airport comes after officials in the philippines said
they would boost security after the botched attempt to blow up us bound
airliner on christmas day
alert
iraq invasion was illegitimate dutch probe
car bomb threat prompts baghdad security lockdown
baghdad jan afp
iraqi security forces sealed off baghdad on tuesday after tip off that
insurgents planned multiple car bombings in the city highlighting concerns
about violence in the run up to general elections
qassim atta spokesman for the city military command told afp that police and
the army took preventative security measures as part of search operation
across most districts of the iraqi capital
terrorist groups intended to detonate car bombs in baghdad on tuesday morning
he later said in an official statement
the security measures were imposed to protect civilians which included
shutting off many roads and taking steps to find the suspected cars the
statement said
coordinated vehicle bombings in baghdad in august october and december killed
nearly people in all and wounded more than others
tuesday lockdown caused gridlock with cars buses and lorries backed up as
bridges and routes into the city were closed forcing people to travel on foot
as military helicopters circled overhead
defence ministry official said information had been received that bomb laden
vehicles had been placed across the capital
bridges across the tigris river that lead into the heart of baghdad were
temporarily closed following the early morning alert but re opened at around
am gmt
government spokesman ali al dabbagh told reporters that the car bombs were
intended to strike sensitive government sites but would not give specific
details
insurgents weakened in the past year have in recent months changed tactics and
mounted successful high profile attacks on hard targets such as government
buildings rather than so called soft targets in civilian areas
tuesday heightened security comes ahead of the conflict wracked country
general election on march
there is widespread concern in the wake of the bloody attacks conducted in
baghdad in the second half of that political violence will rise in the
weeks leading up to the vote
the election the second since saddam hussein was toppled in us led invasion
in is seen as crucial to consolidating iraq democracy and securing
complete us military exit by the end of as planned
however politicians and parties linked to executed dictator saddam
outlawed baath party have been barred from taking part in the poll move seen
as blow towards efforts at national reconciliation
the us military meanwhile said joint security operation conducted with iraqi
forces in baghdad on january led to the arrest of an al qaeda in iraq aqi
terrorist suspected of building large scale vehicle bombs
according to recent intelligence reports aqi fighters operating in baghdad
continue planning attacks in an attempt to disrupt the political progress in
iraq us army statement said
urgent angola knew cabinda matches were risky world cup chief
johannesburg jan afp
angola knew for years that staging africa premier football tournament in the
restive enclave of cabinda posed security risk south africa world cup
organising chief said tuesday
lufthansa plans flights to iraq from mid
berlin jan afp
german flag carrier lufthansa said tuesday it was looking into the possibility
of operating commercial flights to iraq from its hubs in frankfurt and munich
later this year
the airline said it hoped to offer flights to the capital baghdad and the city
of erbil in northern iraq kurdish region
lufthansa aims to launch the new services in the summer of once it has
obtained the necessary traffic rights the firm said in statement
the airline operated flights to baghdad from but stopped them in after
the first gulf war broke out
alert
angola knew risks of staging matches in cabinda world cup chief
hong kong shares end percent lower
hong kong jan afp
hong kong stocks closed percent lower tuesday as dealers moved to take
profits following recent gains
the benchmark hang seng index dropped points to with turnover
reaching billion hong kong dollars billion us
however chinese shares closed up percent as banks and property developers
rebounded on bargain hunting while telecom stocks gained amid expectations that
subscriptions will rise dealers said
the shanghai composite index which covers both and shares was up
points at on turnover of billion yuan billion dollars
chinese banks fell in hong kong tuesday on concerns beijing could rein in
excessive bank lending
china construction bank lost percent to hong kong dollars and
industrial amp commercial bank of china was down percent at
and china overseas land slid percent to while shimao property dropped
percent to
resource related firms also slid tuesday after aluminum giant alcoa posted
disappointing fourth quarter results in the united states
chalco fell percent to and zijin mining dropped percent to
despite the rise in shanghai investors remained cautious ahead of the upcoming
release of key december economic data including the consumer price index and
producer price index
we are waiting for china december macro data but there talk that
december inflation figure will be high triggering concerns an interest rate
hike could happen soon amy lin an analyst at capital securities said
telecom stocks led the gains with china united network communications rising
percent to yuan
oil companies also rallied with petrochina up percent to yuan while
sinopec ended up percent at yuan
china construction bank rose percent to yuan and industrial amp
commercial bank of china ended up percent at yuan
china vanke the country largest real estate developer by market value gained
percent to yuan poly real estate ended up percent at yuan
china to increase support to ethiopia minister
addis ababa jan afp
china pledged tuesday to increase its support for ethiopia infrastructure
trade agriculture and industrial development to enhance bilateral cooperation
china will boost ethiopia agriculture through technology transfers increased
preferential loans for infrastructure and the export of more electro mechanical
goods china trade minister chen deming said
it would also encourage chinese traders to buy ethiopian products he said
the goal is to double the size of bilateral trade by over the current
level to three billion dollars chen added
china also signed loan deal worth million dollars for customs equipment for
ethiopia
in bilateral trade between the two states stood at billion dollars
fold increase over last year the volume of china direct public
investment in ethiopia reached millions dollars officials said
britain ireland rally round crisis gripped ireland
belfast jan afp
britain and ireland scrambled tuesday to defuse political crisis in northern
ireland triggered by sex and cash scandal saying it may even be an
opportunity to unblock stalled talks
britain northern ireland minister shaun woodward was to discuss the crisis
with irish counterpart micheal martin day after the province leader peter
robinson stood down over scandal linked to his wife affair with teenager
robinson decision to stand aside for six weeks has prompted concerns the once
troubled province already strained power sharing administration could collapse
altogether
but woodward said he was optimistic that the crisis could help make progress on
stalled talks on transferring policing and justice powers from london to
belfast
there has been an extraordinary turn of events in the last week in northern
ireland that being said out of all this there is very real opportunity to
make very substantial progress he told the bbc
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
his irish counterpart echoed the views saying robinson decision to stand down
temporarily gives framework to facilitate an early agreement on the transfer
of policing and justice powers from london to belfast
mechanism has been developed which does allow for negotiations to take place
on realistic basis which can produce positive and successful result martin
told rte state radio
robinson is now facing questions over whether he can come back after his wife
iris also senior politician admitted securing pounds euros
dollars from two wealthy developers to help her former lover set up
cafe
robinson insists he was not aware of her financial dealings and attacked as
unfounded and mischievous monday an allegation by the bbc that he did if this
was the case he should have reported it to officials
iris robinson is currently receiving acute psychiatric treatment in belfast
according to her husband and is expected to quit her seats in the northern
ireland assembly and britain house of commons imminently
she previously admitted attempting suicide and suffering severe depression
even before the scandal northern ireland was already tense over the failure of
robinson democratic unionist party dup and power sharing partners sinn fein
to reach agreement on when policing powers should be handed from london to
belfast the final highly sensitive stage of devolution
but commentators fear the revelations over the personal lives of the robinsons
could deal fatal blow to the administration
peter robinson is in the throes of battle for his political life the
independent newspaper in london said in an editorial tuesday any fresh
revelations could be fatal
robinson conservative 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
there are fears of return to more frequent 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 brokered by the british
and irish governments
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
the ups and downs of japan airlines
tokyo jan afp
japan airlines shares nose dived tuesday as the spectre of bankruptcy loomed
large for asia biggest carrier following are milestones in the carrier
half century history
japan airlines jal is established
starts operation as quasi government flag carrier
flies first international route to san francisco via honolulu
expands international routes as economy booms and tokyo olympics
boost the number of foreign tourists
becomes the top international air cargo operator
becomes the top carrier for overall scheduled international operations
jal boeing domestic flight crashes in central japan killing
people the deadliest aviation accident involving one airplane
airline is fully privatised
admits ties with organised crime in massive scandal
asks for public assistance after air travel falls following the
terrorist attacks against the united states
asks for more public assistance amid sars and iraq war
completes merger with japan air system
government launches task force to rescue jal airline reports losses of
some billion dollars in the six months to september after the aviation
industry was hit by the financial crisis
the state backed enterprise turnaround initiative corp of japan considers
jal restructuring jal is expected to file for bankruptcy protection amid
court led rehabilitation process
japan shrugs off jal tumble as asian shares are mixed
hong kong jan afp
asian markets were mixed tuesday with tokyo clawing its way into the black after
shrugging off wave of selling orders that engulfed crisis hit japan airlines
shares in asia biggest airline plummeted percent as reports pointed to
looming bankruptcy and delisting that would destroy investors stakes under
court ordered restructuring
delisting now looks almost certain so selling won stop smbc friend
research center analyst mitsuru miyazaki told dow jones newswires as jal dived
by the daily limit of yen to yen
despite the wave of selling tokyo nikkei closed up percent or
points to its highest since october analysts said overall
upbeat market sentiment outmuscled the impact of jal troubles
investors were also boosted by american airlines and its partners increasing
their investment offer to jal to billion dollars as it seeks tie up with
the japanese carrier in bid to get foot in the asian market
the new offer up from previous billion dollars sees american raise the
stakes in its battle with rival delta air lines for jal
with speculation over the japan carrier reaching fever pitch transport minister
seiji maehara reportedly met the heads of the airline creditor banks tuesday
sydney ended down percent or points at and hong kong ended
percent or points lower at
in sydney minerals firm alumina lost percent to dollars us
after us firm alcoa the first blue chip to report quarterly earnings on wall
street posted lower than forecast profit monday alumina and alcoa are
joint venture partners
the big news of the day came from the us in terms of alcoa fourth quarter
earnings report cmc markets analyst david taylor said
despite strong revenues earnings fell short of expectations and the resources
sector took bit of hit
however bargain hunting in banks and property firms as well as strong interest
in telecoms helped shanghai surge percent or points to end at
the dollar was stable in late asian trade as investors eyed upcoming corporate
earnings reports following disappointment over weak us jobs data on friday
the greenback was at yen in tokyo afternoon trade against in new
york late on monday when japanese markets were closed the euro was little
changed at dollars after and to yen from
oil fell in asia on forecasts the severe cold snap in the united states will
ease and quell demand for heating fuel analysts said
new york main futures contract light sweet crude for february delivery stood
at dollars in the afternoon down cents from new york close
