china media it internet telecom
beijing china government called for the acceleration of proposal to
integrate the nation internet telecommunications and broadcast media
finance economy germany growth recession
wiesbaden germany post war germany suffered its worst ever recession last
year when europe biggest economy contracted by five percent in the global
slump official figures showed
greece imf eurozone economy finance politics
athens greek prime minister george papandreou on said there was no way the
debt struck country would drop the euro or seek aid from the international
monetary fund
greece imf eurozone economy finance
athens team of international monetary fund experts began week long mission
to mentor the greek government on how to plug multi billion hole in its public
finances the finance ministry said
eu finance economy bonds stocks ratings
london strains and uncertainty hang over european government debt markets this
year with the greek and portuguese economies risking slow death moody
credit rating agency warned
us finance banks obama
washington president barack obama will unveil fee on top finance firms to
recoup billions of taxpayers dollars used rescuing the sector during the
economic crisis senior official said
iceland britain netherlands politics banking poll
reykjavik majority of icelanders would vote no in referendum on bill to
compensate britain and the netherlands over the failure of icesave bank poll
published by public broadcaster ruv showed
india economy inflation food
new delhi india announced series of measures to ease mounting pressure over
spiralling food prices including the release of millions of tonnes of rice and
wheat reserves
japan airline company distress jal
tokyo japan airlines shares dived percent to just eight us cents as
investors rushed for the exit ahead of an expected bankruptcy filing by the
once mighty carrier crippled by huge debts
britain economy industry manufacturing output
london british manufacturing output stalled in november for second successive
month dampening hopes for swift economic recovery in the fourth quarter of
official data showed
hongkong us china economy imf
hong kong the head of the international monetary fund said the us dollar will
remain the de facto world currency despite predictions that the euro or chinese
yuan will soon overtake it
russia belarus oil energy
moscow russia may cut oil supplies to belarussian refineries after contract
talks failed but crude transit to europe would be assured russian pipeline
firm transneft said
us india china auto company byd tata
detroit michigan china and india could reshape the global auto industry and
pose significant competitive threat in coming years executives from the
world top carmakers said at the detroit auto show
us faces grim future without action to curb debt study
washington jan afp
the us economy is heading down path of lower living standards and diminished
confidence without action to stem the massive budget deficit group of
prominent researchers said wednesday
national research council panel said the country faces difficult choices on
tax increases and spending cuts to achieve more sustainable fiscal balance
the federal government is currently spending far more than it collects in
revenues and if current policies are continued will do so for the foreseeable
future the report said
no reasonably foreseeable rate of economic growth would overcome this
structural deficit thus any efforts to rein in future deficits must entail
either large increases in taxes to support these programs or major restraints on
their growth or some combination of the two
the us government closed its fiscal year with record trillion
dollar budget deficit and the white house forecasts an even bigger gap of
trillion dollars in fiscal said the committee from the national research
council and the national academy of public administration
our committee members have varying political backgrounds and views but we all
agree that future economic prosperity is at grave risk if our nation does not
change its fiscal course said john palmer dean emeritus of the syracuse
university maxwell school and co chair of the panel
delaying action for even five or years will make addressing the problem more
painful and costly the report notes delay also raises the risk that the
nation creditors especially foreign governments will conclude that the us
has no plan to restore fiscal stability and will demand higher interest rates
to keep buying us debt
the report noted that the us government debt now totals more than trillion
dollars of which trillion is publicly held about half of this by
investors abroad
if policies do not change large and increasing debt will expand the portion
of the budget required to pay interest on the debt especially if interest rates
rise and thereby reduce the resources available for all other government
activities the report said
increasing debt also may contribute to loss of international and domestic
investor confidence in the nation economy which would in turn lead to
even higher interest rates lower domestic investment and falling dollar
iran criticises saudi over yemen conflict
tehran nov afp
iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad on wednesday criticised saudi arabia
military involvement in yemen conflict calling on riyadh to play mediator
role rather than to bomb fellow muslims
tell saudi arabian officials that it was expected of them to mediate in the
domestic dispute and make peace not to get themselves involved in the
war and use bombs and machine guns against muslims he said
if part of saudi arabia weapons had been used in favour of gaza people and
against the zionists israel today there would no trace of the zionist
regime ahmadinejad added in speech broadcast live on state television
officials in predominantly shiite iran have repeatedly condemned the saudi
involvement in yemeni military operation launched on august against shiite
zaidi insurgents also known as huthis in northern yemen
in mid november ali larijani iran parliament speaker accused tehran arch
foe washington of masterminding the saudi bombing of the rebels across the
border in yemen
the saudi military has undertaken its largest mobilisation since the kuwait
war following huthi border incursion in november deploying fighter bombers
heavy artillery special forces and naval vessels against the rebels
three us rescue teams head to haiti
washington jan afp
the first three us rescue teams will depart wednesday for haiti to help the
caribbean nation cope with devastating earthquake state department
spokesman said
the teams were to converge on the stricken haitian capital from costa rica
washington and los angeles arriving at intervals over the course of the
afternoon state department spokesman philip crowley said
us coast guard planes overflew the island nation wednesday morning to try to
assess the situation crowley said adding that the tarmac at the international
airport was in good shape and the control tower was functioning
crowley said several ships also were heading toward haiti and coast guard
helicopter was due to arrive in the morning to evacuate the injured
most members of the us embassy staff had been contacted he said
we re greatly concerned for our haitian colleagues at the embassy they have
lost family members he said
between and us citizens live in haiti but it was not yet clear
how they had fared
right now we have no confirmed deaths we know of dozen injured that we are
helping at the embassy clearly that number is going to go up during the course
of the day he said
corrected eu to discuss immigration at june summit van rompuy
valletta jan afp
the european union will discuss illegal immigration at its summit in june the
eu new president herman van rompuy said wednesday
van rompuy visiting malta as part of his tour of european capitals made the
announcement at joint press conference with maltese prime minister lawrence
gonzi
the european council late last year discussed the issue of immigration which
is concern not only for malta but for all eu van rompuy said
we plan european council meeting to discuss this theme in june he added
in brussels van rompuy spokesman dirk de backer clarified that the regular
june eu council will also talk about immigration alongside the economic
topics it was previously set to focus on
van rompuy noted that malta situation was unique given the disproportionate
number of migrants arriving at the tiny densely populated mediterranean island
no way greece will leave euro or seek imf aid pm
athens jan afp
greek prime minister george papandreou on wednesday said there was no way the
debt struck country would leave the euro or seek aid from the international
monetary fund
there is no way we will leave the euro or seek recourse to the imf we do not
need to papandreou told nationally televised news conference to mark his
administration first days in power
hours earlier team of imf experts had begun week long mission at athens
invitation to mentor the greek government on how to plug multi billion euro
hole in its public finances
recession mired greece has public spending deficit that rose to percent
of output last year far above the percent ceiling permitted to countries
sharing the euro currency
it is also burdened by debt constituting percent of gross domestic product
gdp
the sight we faced after the elections is beyond all imagination with debt
and deficit whose size is unprecedented said papandreou whose socialists
came to power in october after defeating conservative administration which had
ruled since
port au prince archbishop among haiti quake dead report
rome jan afp
the archbishop of port au prince is among those killed in the huge earthquake
that devastated the city the missionary international service news agency
misna reported in rome on wednesday
the body of monsignor serge miot was pulled from the rubble of his offices
in port au prince misna said quoting missionaries from the saint jacques
society
misna also reported that the vicar general benoit seguiranno is missing
following tuesday magnitude quake in mainly catholic haiti
un secretary general ban ki moon has called for massive relief effort with
buildings ruined and hundreds feared dead in the disaster
ransom demand for yemen hostages report
berlin jan afp
yemeni hostage takers holding family of five germans and briton since june
are demanding ransom of two million dollars for their release german magazine
spiegel reported on wednesday
the report on spiegel website came day after yemeni foreign minister abu
bakr al kurbi had said that the hostages had been located in saada in northern
yemen and that his government had begun talks on securing their freedom
the family of five germans including three children and the briton were
abducted together with two german bible students and south korean all women
who were shot dead soon afterwards
german foreign minister guido westerwelle who visited yemen this week thanked
president ali abdullah saleh and the yemeni authorities for doing everything in
their power to return the hostages home safely
spiegel said that huthi rebel was acting as go between and that the
hostage takers were also demanding immunity free passage and guarantee that
they will not be handed over to neighbouring saudi arabia
saudi arabia announced operations against the huthi rebels after accusing them
of killing saudi border guard and occupying two border villages on november
saudi jets began bombing rebel positions the following day
it was saudi arabia largest mobilisation since the gulf war deploying
fighter bombers heavy artillery special forces and naval vessels against the
insurgents
more than foreign citizens have been kidnapped in the last years in
yemen the vast majority have been freed unharmed
corrected seven children killed in somalia shelling
mogadishu jan afp
seven children were among ten people killed in shelling by somali government
forces in mogadishu wednesday as the troops backed by african union peacekeepers
fired mortars into districts held by islamist insurgents
the seven children were struck by shells while playing football in the capital
southern wardhigley neighbourhood witnesses and medical officials said
saw the bodies of seven children killed after mortar shell struck
playground near primary school said mohamed abdulle witness
two other civilians died of their wounds in the city medina hospital where
people were taken for treatment the hospital director mohamed yusuf hasan
told afp while another civilian was killed by stray bullet
the shelling was in retaliation for an attack by the hardline islamists who had
fired shells at the bases of the au and government forces said mohamed ali
somali government security official
the al qaeda inspired shebab militants and their hezb al islam allies vowed to
topple the internationally backed government of president sharif sheikh ahmed
when they launched deadly onslaught last may
they have since waged regular attacks against the government reducing its
control of war wracked mogadishu to few streets where it is protected by the
understrength au forces
but in recent days the shebab have faced fierce offensive from government
allied group opposed to brand of strict islam they have imposed in the parts
of central and southern somalia under their control
three us rescue teams head to haiti
washington jan afp
the first three us rescue teams will depart wednesday for haiti to help the
caribbean nation cope with devastating earthquake state department
spokesman said
the teams were to converge on the stricken haitian capital from costa rica
washington and los angeles arriving at intervals over the course of the
afternoon state department spokesman philip crowley said
us coast guard planes overflew the island nation wednesday morning to try to
assess the situation crowley said adding that the tarmac at the international
airport was in good shape and the control tower was functioning
crowley said several ships also were heading toward haiti and coast guard
helicopter was due to arrive in the morning to evacuate the injured
most members of the us embassy staff had been contacted he said
we re greatly concerned for our haitian colleagues at the embassy they have
lost family members he said
between and us citizens live in haiti but it was not yet clear
how they had fared
right now we have no confirmed deaths we know of dozen injured that we are
helping at the embassy clearly that number is going to go up during the course
of the day he said
canada to send plane with medical aid for quake hit haiti
montreal jan afp
canada said it was sending plane to quake stricken haiti on wednesday with
medical equipment and relief and rescue force
the first elements of canada emergency assistance to haiti are being deployed
this morning the dart disaster assistance response team reconnaissance team
will further assess the needs on the ground and will provide additional
recommendations to the government of canada with number of options foreign
affairs minister lawrence cannon said
the aircraft with medical equipment and helicopters for search and
rescue would be followed by more assistance once needs are assessed he added
football wigan capture celtic star caldwell
london jan afp
wigan have signed scotland defender gary caldwell from celtic on four
and half year deal the premier league club announced on wednesday
caldwell had been expected to be reunited with former celtic manager gordon
strachan at championship second division club middlesbrough after falling out
with the glasgow club over the terms of new contract
but he has opted instead for wigan offer of premier league football and
long term contract that will reportedly double the salary he was on at the
scottish giants
caldwell who can also operate as defensive midfielder is wigan manager
roberto martinez third signing this month following the capture of former
ivory coast international steven gohouri and serbian goalkeeper vladimir
stojkovic
gary is leader and exactly the right character we need at the club said
martinez he is winner and will become huge asset for wigan he is
commanding defender who will lead by example on and off the pitch
caldwell who has caps for scotland won two league titles in his three and
half year spell at celtic and was named as the scottish premier league player
of the year for
he had insisted that he wanted to stay at celtic but became increasingly
disillusioned over the club reluctance to offer him new contract that would
have put him on par with the best paid players at parkhead
it massive wrench for me to leave club like celtic but want to thank
the club and all the fans for the support they ve given me in my time there
caldwell said
but wigan player now and can wait to get started in the premier
league
the manager made it quite clear what his ambitions are for this club and how
much he wanted to bring me here
to play in the premier league has always been an ambition of mine but know
how tough it going to be to get in the side and need to focus on winning
place and doing the best can for my new club
gohouri has signed until the end of the season after being released by
borussia moenchengladbach last month and is hoping that playing in england will
help him regain his place in his national squad in time for the world cup in
june and july
it big challenge for me overall coming to the premier league but as
footballer ve always wanted to play in this country gohouri said
all the strikers in the league are big players and every week will be new
test and looking forward to that there are big differences between the
premier league and the bundesliga notably the intensity
in england that level is much higher and there are many more one on one
incidents during the game so know it will be very hard but here now and
ll have to work hard and challenge for place in the team
martinez added he powerful defender with plenty of pace and we all hope
that he going to reach match fitness really soon because he not had that
recently
as player he going to give us different outlook and he ll be great
asset to have in the squad he got great experience international pedigree
and is desperate to get into the ivory coast squad for this summer world cup
football united nearly man ljajic to join fiorentina
belgrade jan afp
serbia promising midfielder adem ljajic currently playing for national
champions partizan belgrade is poised to sign for italian side fiorentina
reports said on wednesday
ljajic who came close to joining english champions manchester united could
sign the contract with fiorentina for million euros as early as friday
belgrade daily press reported quoting sources from his entourage
but ljajic agent mladen furtola refused to comment on the reports saying he
did not want to jinx the negotiations
partizan official darko grubor told afp that the talks with the tuscan outfit
have been under way and are close to the final phase
but nothing is over yet grubor said by phone adding that fiorentina offer
was within our expectations
after deal with manchester united fell through earlier this season ljajic
considered one of the most talented youngsters in serbian football refused
several offers from clubs in russia
president words fails to calm anxieties in nigeria
lagos jan afp
an interview from his sickbed given by president umaru yar adua has done little
to quell the opposition clamour for him to step down as leader of africa
second biggest oil exporter
commentators say the fact that the president is still absent and has not
delegated executive powers to his deputy poses threat to democracy in the
continent most populous state only decade after it returned from military
to civilian rule
the constitution does not provide for president ruling us from hospital
bed in an undisclosed hospital enough of the insult said human rights
lawyer and president of the west african bar association femi falana
nigeria has been blighted by power vacuum for nearly two months after the
year old yar adua was flown to hospital in saudi arabia for treatment for
heart condition on november
in bbc radio interview conducted by telephone yar adua announced tuesday
that he was getting better and intended to get back to work
this makes nigeria look worse than banana republic seriously said chidi
odinkalu of the open society initiative in west africa
odinkalu said yar adua refusal to step down trifles with the stability of the
gulf of guinea and the wider west africa
the lack of regular bulletins from authorities on the president state of
health has proved fertile ground for speculation about the president
condition
some nigerians even doubt the authenticity of the bbc interview
how do we know it was yar adua if someone can arrange telephone call why
has it been difficult to arrange current picture or video asked odinkalu
local daily newspaper next ran the story of yar adua interview under the
headline the phantom president man claiming to be yar adua speaks to the
bbc
the interview rather than dispel the speculation surrounding his long absence
from duty has deepened the confusion and anxiety in the country said the
nation newspaper in front page editorial
on tuesday the financial times had warned that yar adua prolonged absence
risks pitching africa most populous nation into its most serious political
crisis since the end of military rule in
around opposition supporters rallied in the capital abuja on tuesday and
on thursday the city high court will hear three court challenges to
yar adua leadership of the country
promised constitutional and electoral reforms are yet to materialise row over
the budget is brewing corruption is still endemic and the country now is now
placed on the us terror security watchlist
the peace ouvertures yar adua had started in the volatile oil producing niger
delta region are already showing signs of being derailed
the president absence has certainly jeopardised the entire peace process
because there is no structure spokesman for the main rebel group the
movement for the emancipation of the niger delta told afp in an email
taiwan defends us missile deal
taipei jan afp
taiwan wednesday defended its latest procurement of us weapons saying the
missiles would give the island more confidence in pushing for rapprochement
talks with china
the mainland affairs council the island decision making body on its policy
with china also called on beijing to dismantle the more than missiles
aimed at the island
the arms build up is necessary for our national defence the council said in
statement furthermore it would make taiwan have more confidence in pursuing
negotiations and exchanges with the chinese mainland
the council was reacting to remarks earlier in the day by taiwan affairs
official in beijing who in press conference reiterated china opposition to
any arms sales to the island
after they split years ago at the end of civil war beijing regards taiwan
as part of its territory awaiting reunification by force if necessary
the us defence department announced last week that it had approved the sale of
patriot missile equipment to taiwan as part of package approved by congress
more than year ago
the deal sparked strong protests from beijing which warned it would violate its
security and undermine trust between the us and chinese militaries
both sides should respect each other the council statement wednesday said
of taiwan china ties
it must make sure that neither one should feel it has been threatened by force
from the other side or it would harm the peace and stability of the taiwan
strait
ties between taipei and beijing have improved markedly since president ma ying
jeou of the kuomintang was elected in march on platform to boost trade
with the mainland and to allow in more chinese tourists
even so taiwan remains wary of china objectives often citing the missiles
aimed at the island
the united states is required by law to provide taiwan with weapons of
defensive nature under the taiwan relations act
the united states is the leading arms supplier to self ruled taiwan even though
washington switched diplomatic recognition from taipei to beijing in
seven children killed in somalia shelling
mogadishu jan afp
seven children were among ten people killed in shelling by somali government
forces in mogadishu wednesday as the troops backed by african union peacekeepers
fired mortars into districts held by islamist insurgents
the seven children were struck by shells while playing football in the capital
southern wardhigley neighbourhood witnesses and medical officials said
saw the bodies of seven children killed after mortar shell struck
playground near primary school said mohamed abdulle witness
two other civilians died of their wounds in the city medina hospital where
people were taken for treatment the hospital director mohamed yusuf hasan
told afp while another civilian was killed by stray bullet
the shelling was in retaliation for an attack by the hardline islamists who had
fired shells at the bases of the au and government forces said mohamed ali
somali government security official
the al qaeda inspired shebab militants and their hezb al islam allies vowed to
topple the internationally backed government of president shariff sheikh ahmed
when they launched deadly onslaught last may
they have since waged regular attacks against the government reducing its
control of war wracked mogadishu to few streets where it is protected by the
understrength au forces
but in recent days the shebab have faced fierce offensive from government
allied group opposed to brand of strict islam they have imposed in the parts
of central and southern somalia under their control
us carriers suspend flights to quake hit haiti
new york jan afp
us carriers suspended commercial flights into haiti wednesday in the wake of
devastating earthquake with one offering to help relief efforts
delta air lines said its flight from new york to port au prince the haitian
capital would be halted and spirit airlines said its connection from fort
lauderdale florida was cancelled due to the devastation
spirit said it was reaching out to first responder organizations and other
early stage disaster relief resources agencies in order to assist with
transporting medical and other professionals as well as equipment to port au
prince as soon as we are able to operate flights to that airport
the florida based carrier said it would make an effort to assist as much as
possible until the us government and larger relief and humanitarian
organizations can gear up what is expected to be major relief effort
us stocks climb ahead of fed beige book
new york jan afp
us stocks climbed wednesday as investors awaited federal reserve report on
economic activity across the country that could hint at the direction of
monetary policy
the dow jones industrial average rose points percent to
in opening trades
the tech studded nasdaq composite index gained points percent to
and the broad market standard amp poor index advanced
points percent to
the fed releases its beige book around gmt report based on conditions in
the fed districts that central bank policymakers refert to in setting
interest rates the federal open market committee will open two day meeting on
january
wall street shares skidded tuesday after disappointing quarterly results from
alcoa kicked off the corporate earnings season the dow dropped percent
the nasdaq shed percent and the amp retreated percent
while we believe fourth quarter earnings season will deliver percent plus
positive earnings surprises we don expect to see another tidal wave of
positive earnings reports this month such as we witnessed three months ago
said fred dickson of da davidson amp co
areva seeks to raise capital ceo
paris jan afp
the head of french nuclear energy giant areva said wednesday the state
controlled company needed more capital and that discussions had begun with
strategic investors
areva chief executive anne lauvergeon told the french parliament committee on
sustainable development that the discussions on capitalisation had reached the
state level
we are in talks with certain number of strategic investors who are now
convinced about the company interest lauvergeon said
we need to reinforce our own funds in relation with the extraordinary
development that we are experiencing she said
areva became the world top uranium producer last year doubling its production
since the start of the decade lauvergeon said
we believe that there is today proven uranium reserve of years with the
fourth generation of nuclear reactors this will enable us to have years
of uranium reserves she said
the aim of future fourth generation reactors is to make more efficient use of
nuclear fuel
urgent no way greece will leave euro or seek imf aid pm
athens jan afp
greek prime minister george papandreou on wednesday said there was no way his
debt ridden country would abandon the euro or seek aid from the international
monetary fund as an imf team arrived to lend technical advice
boxing hatton to return to ring
london jan afp
former world light welterweight champion ricky hatton will return to boxing this
year the englishman announced on his website on wednesday
hatton has been mulling his future since being knocked out by manny
pacquiao in las vegas in may
his only other defeat in fight career was to floyd mayweather jr but the
severity of his second round defeat by pacquiao led many of his closest
acquaintances to urge him to retire
despite that advice hatton has decided to have at least one more fight
