within china that appeared aimed at obtaining information on rights activists
worldwide as well as rising web censorship in the country
the ruling communist party tightly controls the nation mass media outlets and
blocks web content that it deems politically objectionable in vast internet
censorship system dubbed the great firewall of china
it was not immediately clear what effect the cabinet announcement would have in
pushing forward the high tech integration proposal
state media have reported that the plan has been held up by turf war among
government ministries over who should have control over its development
guinea junta chief convalescing in burkina faso
ouagadougou jan afp
guinea junta chief moussa dadis camara who barely survived an assassination
attempt in december has been flown from morocco to burkina faso to continue
his convalescence the burkinabe foreign ministry said wednesday
after month of treatment in morocco and considering the evolving state of
his health moussa dadis camara arrived in ouagadougou where he will continue
his convalescence said foreign ministry statement
however his surprise arrival in ouagadougou raised new questions about the
future of negotiations between the military leadership and the opposition in
guinea
president blaise compaore who met camara shortly after his arrival here late
tuesday has been mediating between stand in junta leader general sekouba konate
and the opposition in guinea
konate who is defence minister recently asked guinea forces vives coalition
of opposition parties trade unions and civil society to share power in
transition government and has called for democracy in the country
konate was due to fly to ouagadougou on wednesday to meet the junta chief
camara walked with difficulty from the plane supported by two aides local
reporter said
he is lucid he is speaking source in compaore office told afp
the junta leader had not appeared in public since being evacuated to rabat for
medical treatment after being shot in the head by his aide de camp on december
during dispute allegedly over bloody crackdown on an opposition rally
it was not immediately clear if camara intended to stay in burkina faso return
to guinea or travel to another country
don know yet because we haven spoken since his arrival in ouagadougou but
president dadis will go back when it is decided top junta official moussa
keita told afp by phone
nothing is preventing him from going home keita said
but his unannounced departure from morocco left host of unanswered questions
wednesday
did the junta chief leave volunarily or was he expelled by rabat did he choose
to go to burkina faso rather than directly to guinea is he in fit state to
return to power given his apparently serious wounds
the united states expressed concern about the possible return of camara
any effort by dadis to return to guinea would concern us said us state
department official who requested anonymity
french foreign minister bernard kouchner said in an address to parliament in
december that it would be better for camara to stay in bed in morocco because
his return alone is capable of setting off civil war that we don need
the bauxite rich west african country has been under military rule since
december military coup launched by camara following the death of longtime
leader lansana conte tensions peaked last september when troops massacred at
least people at an opposition rally
recent un report on the stadium massacre in guinea capital conakry named
camara as suspect as it accused the army of crimes against humanity during
the crackdown on the rally
alert
major relief effort will be required in quake hit haiti un chief
alert
hundreds of people feared dead in haiti quake un chief
world bank to lend million euros to croatia
zagreb jan afp
croatia will receive new million euro million dollar loan from the
world bank to help the country recover from the global financial crisis the
bank said on wednesday
the world bank granted million euro loan to croatia last year to help the
eastern european nation preserve exports and jobs the bank said
the new loan aims to assist the authorities in maintaining macroeconomic
stability and an appropriate fiscal framework assisting the most vulnerable
groups in society to cope with the economic hardship and further strengthening
the financial sector world bank country manager for croatia andras horvai
said
croatia economy has taken huge hit during the global credit crunch
contracting percent in the third quarter of compared to the same period
in
the number of job seekers rose by percent last year unemployment stood at
percent in november
the authorities have taken some very difficult decisions to preserve
macroeconomic stability horvai said
we hope that this year will provide further opportunities for reform enabling
the restoration of economic growth and further convergence with the european
union he said
the world bank is prepared to help the country move along the path to economic
recovery
alert
haiti quake had devastating impact on port au prince un chief
alert
un mission chief deputy missing in devastating haiti quake ban ki moon
jal shares dive percent on bankruptcy fears
tokyo jan afp
japan airlines shares dived percent wednesday 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
jal asia biggest airline is believed to be on the verge of seeking court
protection from creditors and delisting its shares from the tokyo stock exchange
to make it easier to restructure its debt and slash costs
the airline market value now stands at just million dollars having
plummeted by about billion dollars in just two days
while the government has pledged to do its utmost to ensure the airline keeps
flying during restructuring equity investors are expected to lose most or all
of their money if the company files for bankruptcy
jal share price dived by the daily limit of yen for second straight day
falling percent to hit record low of seven yen eight us cents after
percent drop on tuesday
the selling is unstoppable said hideaki higashi market strategist at smbc
friend securities
the market is driving the company to go under he said adding that the share
price could fall to just one yen
in fresh blow to jal credit rating agencies scrambled to downgrade the
carrier putting it deeper into junk bond territory
moody cut jal long term debt to ca from caa while standard amp poor
lowered its rating to cc from ccc meaning the airline is seen as highly
vulnerable to default
if the company files legal proceedings it will show greater likelihood of
defaulting on its bonds in addition to securing debt forgiveness from its
relational banks moody warned in statement
jal stock has plunged percent over the past three months its highest share
price since it began merging operations with small domestic carrier japan air
systems was yen seen in
the government tapped kazuo inamori the year old founder and honorary
chairman of high tech maker kyocera corp to become chief executive of jal
during the restructuring process
after meeting with prime minister yukio hatoyama who asked him to take the job
inamori told reporters that he will work for free
jal turnaround is possible if the revival plan can be implemented as
drafted by the government backed corporate turnaround body managing jal
restructuring inamori said
the carrier current president and chief executive haruka nishimatsu is
expected to step down after the carrier files for bankruptcy proceedings
jal which lost about billion dollars in the six months to september is
seeking public aid in the face of mounting debts
according to japanese media the company is set to receive an injection of
government funds worth several hundred billion yen several billion dollars
under restructuring package that would see it file for bankruptcy
at the same time jal creditor banks are expected to be asked to forgive loans
worth several hundred billion yen
the airline is reportedly set to slash more than jobs and sell non core
assets such as hotels to stem massive losses
us carriers american airlines and delta air lines are in bidding war for
slice of the airline
american airlines its oneworld alliance partners and private equity company tpg
on tuesday lifted their proposed investment in jal to billion dollars from
previous offer of billion dollars
delta has offered jal one billion dollar financial package including
million dollar equity injection as the two airlines seek to increase their
share of the lucrative asian market
the japanese carrier is understood to favour tie up with delta because it has
stronger trans pacific flight network than american airlines
suicide truck bomber kills seven people west of baghdad
baghdad jan afp
suicide truck bomber on wednesday killed seven people five of them iraqi
policemen and wounded six others including young child west of baghdad
security officials said
the blast occurred at around am gmt at police station being built
in saqlawiyah town north of fallujah in anbar province once stronghold of
the sunni insurgency against us and iraqi security forces
interior and defence ministry officials gave the toll four policemen as well
as the young girl were among the six people wounded in the attack
anbar west of baghdad was the theatre of brutal war after the us led
invasion of mainly in fallujah and the provincial capital ramadi several
towns along the euphrates river valley became al qaeda strongholds and later
safe havens for insurgents
greek portuguese economies risk slow death moody
london jan afp
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 on wednesday
the risk of sudden death balance of payments crisis is negligible but
the likelihood of slow death is high unless economic potential
competitiveness and tax raising capacity are improved the agency said
referring to the overall problem of government debt in europe moody said that
key factor in preventing complete economic and financial meltdown has been
the collapse of interest rates
but it added that highly indebted countries could find their ratings tested if
investors were to switch their concern about weak economic activity to fears of
inflation and market rates were to rise
referring specifically to greece and portugal moody said that the
competitivity gap would result in countries bleeding economic potential and
therefore tax revenue if it were not reversed
moody said it was estimated that three million greeks equivalent to more than
quarter of greeks in greece lived abroad and the equivalent figure for
portugal was one third
greece has significantly less time to address this issue largely because the
deterioration of public finances has been much more dramatic
the crisis in greece has raised debate about cohesion of the eurozone and of the
european union
the view of moody is particularly critical because it was the most lenient of
the three top rating agencies in downgrading greek debt at the end of last year
if it downgrades further there could eventually be grave consequences for the
ability of greek banks to use greek government bonds as collateral to borrow
regular funds at the lowest rates from the european central bank
similar line on europe was taken by roubini global economics in the united
states which warned unless advanced economies begin to put their fiscal houses
in order investors and rating agencies will likely turn from friends to foe
it said the uk spain greece and ireland will face sovereign risk pressures
especially if their fiscal imbalances are not addressed immediately
anthony thomas senior risk analyst at moody said in summary expectations
are low no one is under any illusions about the scale of the task facing
european economies and policymakers which is no bad thing
moody said that divergence in country performance rather than convergence
is more likely as crisis exit strategies take effect
central banks would have to walk tightrope in withdrawing easy money to
support economies while not choking recovery
and it warned it is increasingly looking as if the next stage of this crisis
the exit phase may be even more difficult than the crisis itself
team from the international monetary fund was in greece on wednesday to
provide advice on correcting public finances
last week missions from the european union and european central bank were in
athens scrutinising crisis programme which must be submitted to the eu by the
end of the month
moody said ultimately the governments themselves are responsible for their
own fates whether they are members of the eu or the eurozone have imf or eu
support or any combination of those factors
afp launches iphone app
paris jan afp
global news agency afp has launched mobile news application for the apple
iphone
the application which also works on the ipod touch offers users the agency
global news coverage
it gives access to the global news agency multimedia content in english
spanish portuguese and german including breaking world news from wars and
conflicts to politics sport and entertainment as well as the latest major
developments in health science and technology afp said in statement
the agency said the application also lets clients integrate and distribute their
own content on the iphone under their own brand
the application is part of strategy to cover all mobile news needs and to
enable clients to send news across multiple devices and platforms afp said
we believe that it is our mission to offer our clients mobile ready content and
technological solutions so they can expand their visibility and reach new
audiences afp sales and marketing director erik monjalous said
hk legislators reject call for dissident release
hong kong jan afp
hong kong legislators on wednesday voted down motion calling for the release
of prominent jailed chinese dissident liu xiaobo an official said
pro beijing legislators who effectively control the city member
legislative council quashed the motion put forward by pro democracy
politicians said democratic lawmaker albert ho
it was expected he said
the motion was bound to be blocked by the other side
before the vote democratic lawmakers wore masks with pictures of liu who was
last month sentenced to years in prison in china on subversion charges
his trial and subsequent jailing were condemned by the united states the
european union and other western governments
on tuesday about people held candlelight vigil for liu outside hong
kong legislative building
thousands of people took to the streets on new year day to call for universal
suffrage and liu release sparking criticism from beijing top official in
hong kong
the former british colony was handed back to china in but maintains
separate legal and political system from the mainland
rugby union kiwi hape in england six nations squad
london jan afp
former new zealand rugby league international shontayne hape was named wednesday
in england squad for the six nations rugby union tournament
the year old hape uncapped in union was joined in the man squad selected
by england manager martin johnson by another former rugby league player who has
yet to make his england debut in northampton in form wing chris ashton
but backs danny cipriani and shane geraghty missed out on selection for the
senior squad and were included instead in the second string saxons party
nick easter delon armitage riki flutey and toby flood who all missed
england disappointing november campaign through injury were though included
in the senior squad
england who managed just one try in three tests in november during win over
argentina that fell between defeats by australia and new zealand begin their
six nations campaign at home to wales on february
england squad
backs
delon armitage chris ashton matt banahan danny care mark cueto harry ellis
toby flood ben foden riki flutey shontayne hape dan hipkiss paul hodgson
ugo monye mathew tait jonny wilkinson
forwards
steffon armitage steve borthwick jordan crane tom croft louis deacon nick
easter dylan hartley james haskell courtney lawes lee mears lewis moody
tim payne simon shaw andrew sheridan steve thompson julian white david
wilson
football italian player tests for cocaine again
rome jan afp
brescia francesco flachi playing career looks to be over after he tested
positive for cocaine for the second time
the year old only returned from two year doping ban last year after testing
positive for the same substance in when playing for sampdoria
but now the striker who began his career at home town club fiorentina has
tested positive again for cocaine derivative following match against modena
on december
rugby union kiwi hape in england six nations squad
london jan afp
former new zealand rugby league international shontayne hape was named wednesday
in england squad for the six nations rugby union tournament
the year old hape uncapped in union was joined in the man squad selected
by england manager martin johnson by another former rugby league player who has
yet to make his england debut in northampton in form wing chris ashton
but backs danny cipriani and shane geraghty missed out on selection for the
senior squad and were included instead in the second string saxons party
nick easter delon armitage riki flutey and toby flood who all missed
england disappointing november campaign through injury were though included
in the senior squad
england who managed just one try in three tests in november during win over
argentina that fell between defeats by australia and new zealand begin their
six nations campaign at home to wales on february
england squad
backs
delon armitage chris ashton matt banahan danny care mark cueto harry ellis
toby flood ben foden riki flutey shontayne hape dan hipkiss paul hodgson
ugo monye mathew tait jonny wilkinson
forwards
steffon armitage steve borthwick jordan crane tom croft louis deacon nick
easter dylan hartley james haskell courtney lawes lee mears lewis moody
tim payne simon shaw andrew sheridan steve thompson julian white david
wilson
relief agencies mobilise massive emergency aid for haiti
geneva jan afp
the red cross and united nations on wednesday unlocked emergency funds and
mobilised supplies for massive aid operation in haiti amid fears of huge
devastation following the earthquake there
the international federation of red cross and red crescent societies said it was
gearing up to help maximum of three million people based on the number of
people who live in the affected area
federation spokesman jean luc martinage said massive international aid
operation was needed as aid agencies reported that access was hampered by
rubble while electricity water and phone services were down
elisabeth byrs spokeswoman for the un office for the coordination of
humanitarian affairs said the priority was to find survivors
we are working against the clock she told journalists as some search and
rescue teams from global network were mobilised by the united nations
un maps placed the epicentre barely kilometres miles from the capital
port au prince and indicated that some people lived in areas exposed to
the most intense tremor with violent or extreme shaking
the red cross said the area most affected by the magnitude quake was port
au prince and its population of some four million and the west province with
population of million
aid officials reported that the worst damage was to poorly built homes and
shantytowns but insisted it was too early to give more precise estimates of
large number of casualties
amid the crying and wailing people are spending the night outside the
international committee of the red cross icrc chief in haiti ricardo conti
said in statement
people are trying to comfort each other what you are hearing in the streets
are the prayers of thanks of those who survived he added
it is extremely difficult to move around the city to assess needs what is
certain is that the quake has had massive impact on population already
reeling from other recent disasters
the red cross said the most urgent needs at this time are search and rescue
field hospitals emergency health water purification emergency shelter
logistics and telecommunications
it said it was drawing on emergency stocks in haiti which is often hit by sever
floods and hurricanes allowing help for families for three to four days
but we ll have to swiftly bring relief supplies from our regional disaster
response centre based in panama martinage added
un aid was also being prepared at regional base in panama ready to be flown
in through the airport at port au prince or the neighbouring dominican republic
the un world food programme said it could respond swiftly with some
tonnes of food supplies in haiti
we have already launched an emergency operation said wfp official charles
vincent
six icrc relief experts and un team were due to fly into haiti on wednesday to
support local aid workers and help coordinate international relief
red cross team would also be leading crucial assessment of the damage in
haiti along with european union experts that will allow relief agencies to gauge
aid needs
the icrc said medical needs and clean water supplies would be considerable in
the short term
everything that infrastructure isn working said icrc spokesman simon
schorno
ocha indicated that areas immediately to the west of the capital suffered the
full force of the quake late tuesday
rugby union kiwi hape in england six nations squad
london jan afp
former new zealand rugby league international shontayne hape was named wednesday
in england squad for the six nations rugby union tournament
hape was one of several uncapped players selected by england manager martin
johnson in his man squad including in form northampton backs ben foden and
chris ashton
england squad
delon armitage chris ashton matt banahan danny care mark cueto harry ellis
toby flood ben foden riki flutey shontayne hape dan hipkiss paul hodgson
ugo monye mathew tait jonny wilkinson
forwards
steffon armitage steve borthwick jordan crane tom croft louis deacon nick
easter dylan hartley james haskell courtney lawes lee mears lewis moody
tim payne simon shaw andrew sheridan steve thompson julian white david
wilson
eu activates crisis management system to aid quake hit haiti
la granja spain jan afp
the eu on wednesday activated its emergency crisis management system to help
quake hit haiti french secretary of state for european affairs pierre lellouche
said
we have put in place at the european level all crisis and aid management
mechanisms we have put in place the entire european crisis management system
he told afp on the sidelines on an informal meeting of european affairs
ministers in la granja in central spain
on the part of france we have organised the dispatch of two planes with police
and medicine but there exists at the european union level crisis management
mechanism all this has been activated by the spanish presidency of the eu and
the european commission
spain which took over the rotating six month presidency of the european union
from sweden on january said it would make its logistics base in panama
available for the bloc aid effort
spain has offered the use of its humanitarian base in panama for the eu the
commission and all member states to help get humanitarian aid to the people of
haiti spanish foreign minister miguel angel moratinos said
the eu is taking all necessary measures to mitigate the damage he added
meeting will be held on friday in brussels and once the extent of the damage
is known the eu will announce the amount of aid which it will send to haiti he
added
earlier wednesday the european commission released three million euros in
emergency aid for haiti where magnitude quake is feared to have killed
thousands of people
it the maximum we can go to in an emergency procedure of course we can add
on to that in coming days said commission spokesman on humanitarian aid
matters
sudan army rebels clash in darfur
khartoum jan afp
sudanese forces clashed with rebels on wednesday in key area of the troubled
western region of darfur rebels and peacekeepers said
we have taken gulu in jebel marra the fertile plateau in the heart of
darfur ibrahim al hillu spokesman for the sudan liberation army faction of
abdel wahid nur told afp
sudanese aircraft had earlier bombed rebel positions in the jebel moon and jebel
marra areas hillu said adding that clashes had left casualties among civilians
as well as rebels and government troops
today there were clashes between the army and sla abdel wahid an official
with the un african union peackeeping mission unamid told afp but did not
confirm if the rebels had taken control of gulu
some ngos are on the ground assissting the local population the official
added
sudanese warplanes have also bombarded positions of the justice and equality
movement jem in jebel moon over the past few days
the darfur conflict that erupted in initially pitted two rebel groups
against the khartoum government and its arab militia allies
but both the rebels and the pro government militias have since splintered into
an array of factions
the united nations says up to people have died from the combined effects
of war famine and disease and that another million have fled their homes
the government puts the darfur death toll at people
china says its peacekeepers missing in haiti quake
beijing jan afp
eight chinese peacekeepers were buried in building collapses caused by the
massive earthquake in haiti china said wednesday as it sent emergency workers
and supplies to help with the disaster
the state council announced the casualties in statement on its website after
the island strongest earthquake in more than century rocked the caribbean
nation on tuesday
the statement gave no further details on whether the peacekeepers were believed
to be alive or dead
the quake toppled buildings including the headquarters of the un mission which
has run peacekeeping operations in haiti since
an earlier report on the website of the state run china daily newspaper also
said at least peacekeepers were missing but it did not make clear whether
they included the eight who were trapped in rubble
chinese media reports said the country has peacekeepers deployed in haiti
the government said it would donate one million dollars in aid supplies and had
begun sending more than disaster relief personnel to help along with three
sniffer dogs
the chinese government expresses its deep concern and sympathy said
statement on the foreign ministry website
india to speed up arms purchase after scrapping plane deal
new delhi jan afp
india on wednesday vowed to speed up arms purchases days after scrapping
multi billion dollar tender for six airbus refueller planes on the grounds that
the price was too high
defence minister antony said existing defence procurement policies were
being re shaped to avoid delays and to judiciously hasten purchases of much
needed hardware such as artillery armour and military aircraft
the comments came as senior defence ministry officials confirmed to afp the
scrapping of the billion rupee billion dollar tender for the six
refueller planes which has upset the technology starved indian airforce
the european aircraft maker was chosen after two years of trials to supply six
multi role tanker aircraft but earlier this month the tender was withdrawn
after the finance ministry objected to the price tag
airbus was the only running candidate after the russian contenders were ruled
out of the race but the reason for the tender withdrawal two weeks ago was the
high pricing one official said on condition he is not named
fresh tenders will be now floated at an early date he added
avion media local consultants for airbus said the aeronautical giant did not
wish to comment
india air force chief naik complained on tuesday that the tender
cancellation upset his plans
we need more refuellers which will be delayed now because we will have to
restart the action naik told reporters
antony said india complex arms purchase policies were being changed to speed
up the modernisation of the million plus military which depends mainly on
soviet era east european hardware
our procurement policies are not revolutionary policy we have already
started the next amendments antony told reporters
india in scrapped million dollar deal for helicopters from
eurocopter unit of european aerospace giant eads on grounds it used local
go between despite local ban on the use of middlemen in defence deals
india plans to spend billion dollars on military contracts by the
project includes the purchase of fighter jets worth billion dollars
in addition it will spend billion dollars on homeland security before
but various overseas suppliers have complained about delays in negotiations
new snowfalls heap more misery on shivering europe
london jan afp
fresh snowfalls heaped further misery on parts of europe on wednesday closing
airports and schools and disrupting road and rail links notably in britain and
france
as overnight snow and plummetting temperatures brought recent thaw to halt
british business leaders said the worst winter in decades is costing the country
hundreds of millions of pounds day
