analysts reckon activity was weak in the fourth quarter of and klein
concluded that in general the loss in economic activity is so large that
return to the gdp level of first quarter is unlikely before end or
even
urgent four brazilian un peacekeepers die in haiti quake military
brasilia jan afp
four brazilian members of the un peacekeeping force in haiti were killed in the
massive earthquake which struck the impoverished nation military official
said wednesday
urgent turkish president threatens to recall israel envoy tv
ankara jan afp
turkey will recall its ambassador from israel if row over the envoy
treatment is not resolved by wednesday evening president abdullah gul was
quoted as saying by the ntv news channel
european stocks stable after steep losses in asia
london jan afp
european stocks held steady on wednesday with investors pausing after steep
falls in asia as china moved to curb its credit boom and the us earnings season
began on weak note
market sentiment was also hit by profit warning from french bank societe
generale
in late morning trade london benchmark ftse index of leading shares lost
percent to points
the paris cac dropped percent to while frankfurt dax
added percent to points
all three markets had fallen tuesday as results from us aluminium giant alcoa
fell short of forecasts casting doubt on the strength of the economic recovery
and the substantial stock gains made in recent months
across in asia sentiment was hit by china announcement and growing fears that
the global economic recovery may have run out of steam
markets continue to be influenced by news flow from the far east and asia and
again this morning weakness in asian markets is affecting european indices
said capital spreads analyst simon denham
the rally that equities have been enjoying since march was always going to be
tested at some point in
combination of downbeat results and the threat of higher interest rates was
dampening markets according to denham
markets were knocked by beijing move to raise the amount of money banks must
hold in reserve by basis points
the news sent hong kong shares tumbling percent and shanghai percent
the heaviest falls so far this year for both bourses
and tokyo dived percent as shares in stricken japan airlines tumbled
percent to just seven yen eight us cents on flood of sell orders due to
fears the carrier which faces bankruptcy will be delisted
the selling is unstoppable said hideaki higashi strategist at smbc friend
securities
beijing decision followed move to raise the yield on one year chinese
government bills for the first time in five months after last week similar
move on another benchmark sale
all hell broke loose today francis lun general manager at fulbright
securities told dow jones newswires the bottom just fell out of the banks and
properties because confidence is so brittle following the central bank
announcement
in earlier trade on wednesday european stocks fell as societe generale issued
profits warning
socgen warned that fourth quarter results would be weaker than investors had
expected owing to risks linked to the us housing market
the bank said it would only make slight profit in the last quarter of
because of charge of billion euros billion dollars for assets
considered at risk
european markets traded lower to unchanged mid morning on wednesday recovering
from falls on the open after societe generale announced profit warning said
city index analyst nick serff
the french bank traded down over five percent after saying it was taking hit
of billion euros from risky asset write downs
this news from socgen has once again highlighted to investors the risk from
toxic assets still held on banks balance sheets
alert
four brazilian un peacekeepers killed in haiti military
no news of un peacekeeper chief since haiti quake french fm
paris jan afp
there has been no news of the tunisian head of the un peacekeepers in haiti
since their headquarters was badly damaged by the huge earthquake there
france foreign minister said wednesday
hedi annabi the head of the united nations stabilisation mission in haiti
minustah was in the building in the capital port au prince when the deadly
quake struck on tuesday bernard kouchner told reporters
we have no news of the people who lived there including numerous french people
and the head of mission our friend annabi he said
kouchner also confirmed that haiti president rene preval had survived the
quake and had phoned the french ambassador in port au prince
rescuers have retrieved several bodies as well as injured survivors from the
rubble of the un headquarters in haiti filipino diplomat told television
station in his home country
bodies littered the streets of haiti devastated capital after the earthquake
that may have killed thousands from shantytowns to luxury hotels and even the
presidential palace
senior un official said in new york late tuesday that large number of un
staffers were unaccounted for
alert
turkish president says envoy to be recalled from israel if row unresolved tv
facebook teams with mcafee to tighten security
san francisco jan afp
facebook has announced an alliance with internet security specialty firm mcafee
to get members of the world leading online social network to better defend
their computers
facebook users whose accounts are breached by malicious software or other
cyberattacks will need to have their computers cleansed by mcafee before
returning to life in the online community
facebook members are also being offered free six month subscriptions to mcafee
security software and then discounted prices for continued service
if we get people machines this protection it is better for them for
facebook and the internet as whole facebook director of communications and
public policy barry schnitt said tuesday
previously facebook simply reset passwords of members whose accounts were vexed
by hacking phishing or other cyber mischief and advised members to have
malware purged from their computers
we found that they wouldn fix the problems and got infected again schnitt
said
now we ve integrated solution where they actually have to get machines
scanned and cleaned
mcafee and facebook have collaborated on free tool for cleaning up infected
computers and facebook said it will not share in any revenue that mcafee makes
from security software or services
the common goal is to help protect users of the internet globally said mcafee
vice president of marketing brent remai we are pretty excited about this
partnership
facebook selected mcafee after competitive review process
mcafee internet security suite software is available to facebook users in
australia britain italy germany the netherlands and the united states it
will be spread to more countries in coming months
facebook and mcafee cited research indicating that percent of computer users
do not have updated virus and spyware protections on machines
by partnering with the market leader mcafee we are taking an unprecedented
step towards making the entire internet more secure and reducing the possibility
of threats being brought onto our service by unsuspecting users said facebook
vice president of global communications elliot schrage
keeping the internet secure requires that users security vendors and internet
companies all work together
israel fm calls on turkey to show respect
nicosia jan afp
foreign minister avigdor lieberman said on wednesday that israel had no desire
to fall out with traditional ally turkey but called on ankara to show reciprocal
dignity and respect
you know regarding turkey maybe it time to clarify our position we are not
interested in confronting or arguing with turkey lieberman told reporters
we have had good relations with turkey for many years and we respect the
turkish state and people
but that is exactly what we expect in return from them to treat us with
dignity and respect
any issues or questions that they may have can be raised with direct dialogue
even if we don see eye to eye on some issues
israel and turkey have been bound by defence agreement for more than decade
but an escalating row over television series that the lieberman office said
depicted israel and jews as baby snatchers and war criminals has brought
relations to new low
we will not tolerate any anti semitic remarks and incitement against the jews
of the state of israel lieberman said
we prefer to keep close dialogue and to clarify our position in direct
meetings to resolve any declarations and to resolve any statements he added
think this is the best way and hope we can come back to the normal
relations between the two countries
lieberman was speaking on visit to the mediterranean island of cyprus which
is the sole european union nation to have no diplomatic ties with turkey
on tuesday lieberman deputy danny ayalon infuriated ankara by giving the
turkish ambassador an angry dressing down in which he made the envoy sit on
low couch and removed the turkish flag from the table in meeting called to
convey israeli protests over the television series
after the turkish government demanded an apology israeli prime minister
benjamin netanyahu issued statement earlier on wednesday regretting the manner
in which his government protest had been delivered
the television series that sparked the row was broadcast on the private star tv
channel and showed turkish secret agent storming an israeli diplomatic mission
to rescue turkish boy supposedly kidnapped by israel mossad overseas
intelligence service
four seamen convicted over fatal hk collision
hong kong jan afp
hong kong court on wednesday convicted four seamen over the deaths of
ukrainian sailors after two vessels collided in waters just off the city
the four were found guilty of endangering the life of others at sea after the
court concluded that there had been ample time to avoid the collision in march
but yuriy kulemesin captain of ukrainian tugboat neftegaz and the three
mariners navigating the chinese cargo ship yaohai did not act until the minute
before the two boats collided head on the court said
the dire situation which arose should never have happened the boats had
ample time to pass clear from each other district court judge susana almada
remedios said in her verdict
kulemesin and the other three defendants yaohai captain liu bo and pilots
tang dock wah and bruce chun had pleaded not guilty
the tonne tugboat was carrying ukrainian crew and one chinese sailor
when it sank after hitting the tonne yaohai in foggy conditions
only six ukrainians and the chinese sailor could be saved
the court heard that kulemesin stayed in the middle of the sea channel despite
seeing the mainland carrier approaching the year old testified that he did
not hear the warning whistle blasts issued by yaohai
marine police officer in charge of the case said that their records indicated
that it was the first fatal shipping collision case in hong kong
it is also the city largest shipping collision case he told afp
rescuers only managed to recover all bodies after using asia largest
floating derrick to pull the sunken tug out of the sea
all four will be sentenced on friday
police march up list of gay friendly british employers
london jan afp
five police forces were named wednesday among the top gay friendly employers
in britain conducted by homosexual rights charity stonewall
it marks turnaround for british constabularies after not one made it into the
top when the annual index was first published six years ago
while us computer giant ibm was named the most gay friendly employer in britain
for the second year running hampshire constabulary in southern england came
second
the kent merseyside west midlands and metropolitan london forces made the
top while further six were in the top
we have seen very significant change in roles of police services as employers
in the last five years said stonewall chief executive ben summerskill
according to the times newspaper
the challenge that still confronts them is to embed the same approach in the
way they deliver policing
alex marshall chief constable of the hampshire constabulary last year marched
at the front of the annual gay pride parade in brighton on the southern english
coast
my team of police officers staff and volunteers does brilliant job to ensure
we treat everyone fairly and equally regardless of sexual orientation he
said
stonewall makes site visits and surveys more than gay employees to compile
its index
football league result
sydney jan afp
result of an australian league match played on wednesday
gold coast united culina brown newcastle jets
world gears up to help quake stricken haiti
washington jan afp
world governments and aid agencies mobilized emergency rescue teams and supplies
for haiti wednesday after massive earthquake that flattened buildings with
hundreds feared dead
president barack obama said the united states stood ready to assist the
impoverished caribbean nation and us authorities had begun assessing
requirements
we are closely monitoring the situation and we stand ready to assist the people
of haiti obama said
in miami the us coast guard said it had mobilized cutters and aircraft to
positions in close proximity to haiti to render humanitarian assistance as
needed
usaid the government aid agency said it was dispatching disaster assistance
response team along with search and rescue team of at least personnel and
six rescue dogs
in britain government humanitarian assessment team geared up to fly out to
the island state as prime minister gordon brown said he was ready to provide
whatever humanitarian assistance is required
department for international development dfid spokesman said they were
deeply concerned with the haitian government and humanitarian agencies still
unable to give clear picture of their needs
it appears to have been severe causing considerable damage and harm he said
overnight we have mobilized dfid humanitarian assessment team to fly to haiti
today
aid agency oxfam said it had emergency response teams in the region poised to
respond
at this stage it is too early to tell the severity of the earthquake in haiti
but the early signs are not good with communications down across the country
said jane cocking the charity humanitarian director
oxfam has its emergency response team for latin america based in haiti so we
are well prepared with public health water and sanitation team in port au
prince ready to respond
the international red cross said in geneva it had it had unlocked emergency
funds and was mobilizing relief supplies
emergency stocks are prepositioned in haiti and will allow us to bring aid to
families for three to four days international federation of the red
cross and red crescent societies spokesman jean luc martinage said
but we ll have to swiftly bring relief supplies from our regional disaster
response centre based in panama he told afp
the most urgent needs were search and rescue teams field hospitals emergency
health and shelter water and logistics and telecommunications he said
the un world food programme said it would send planes with emergency food
aid from el salvador and panama
food is of vital importance especially after the second or third days wfp
spokesman for latin america and the caribbean alejandro lopez chicheri told
spanish public radio from panama
france said it would dispatch within hours plane loads of rescue staff and
humanitarian aid from its territories of martinique and guadaloupe as well as
from the south of france
around french emergency staff should arrive in the capital port au prince
within hours the interior ministry said
italy also prepared transport plane to carry in field hospital and emergency
medical team
the netherlands immediately released two million euros million dollars in
aid and said it was looking into the possibility of sending rescue teams
the gravity of the situation seems to be like that in southeast asia after the
tsunami in cooperation and development minister bert koenders said
germany offered one million euros in immediate humanitarian aid and said it was
also looking into other ways that it could help
canada said it was identifying the humanitarian needs and japan said it was
gathering information to prepare for an intervention
host of other countries including australia colombia venezuela and mexico
said they were also prepared to despatch help
as the massive relief efforts mobilized pope benedict xvi urged generous
response to the tragic situation
appeal to the generosity of all to ensure our concrete solidarity and the
effective support of the international community for these brothers and sisters
who are living time of need and suffering he said at general audience
national hockey league results
washington jan afp
national hockey league results and standings after tuesday games
tuesday january th results
carolina toronto
ny islanders detroit
new jersey ny rangers so
philadelphia dallas
atlanta ottawa
tampa bay washington
st louis columbus
nashville edmonton
san jose phoenix
eastern conference
atlantic division
new jersey
pittsburgh
ny rangers
philadelphia
ny islanders
northeast division
buffalo
boston
montreal
ottawa
toronto
southeast division
washington
atlanta
tampa bay
florida
carolina
western conference
central division
chicago
nashville
detroit
st louis
columbus
northwest division
calgary
colorado
vancouver
minnesota
edmonton
pacific division
san jose
phoenix
los angeles
dallas
anaheim
note overtime losses ot are worth one point in the standings and are not
included in the loss column
wednesday january th schedule
vancouver at minnesota pm
boston at anaheim pm
pittsburgh at calgary pm
washington at florida pm
all times are eastern
afp
add to gmt advisory
paris jan afp
we will also move the following
britain nireland ireland politics robinsons focus
belfast
northern ireland leader peter robinson and his wife iris had the lavish
lifestyle and high morals befitting politics first couple rendering their
fall from grace this week all the more spectacular
words gmt by alice ritchie file picture
saint petersburg bans muslim sheep slaughter governor
saint petersburg jan afp
the authorities in russia second city saint petersburg wednesday banned the
slaughter of sheep in its historic centre after sacrifice last year for
muslim holiday shocked locals
saint petersburg governor valentina matviyenko proclaimed illegal the sacrifice
of animals for the festival of kurban bayram statement from the municipality
said
the governor acknowledged the right of muslims who have one million strong
population in saint petersburg and its region to sacrifice animals for the
festival
but she said public places in the historic centre could not be used for the
practice
half dozen sheep were sacrificed on november at the th century apraksin
dvor shopping arcade in the historic centre which is right next to saint
petersburg famed main avenue nevsky prospekt
the sacrifice marked the end of the festival known in turkic languages as kurban
bayram and eid al adha in arabic many migrant muslim workers from former soviet
republics work at stalls in the arcade
the annual festival marks the willingness of abraham to sacrifice his son to
god
over million muslims live in russia while saint petersburg has one of the
biggest mosques in europe which can accommodate almost people at any one
time
football martins departs angola for injury treatment
benguela angola jan afp
wolfsburg striker obafemi martins has left the nigerian squad to see his
specialist in europe after he complained of persistent pain on his recently
operated shin
eagles media officer peterside idah confirmed the departure of the striker
wednesday morning
martins has gone back to europe to see his specialist as regards the
problem with his shin he said
he has complained of pains on his right shin which the experts said should not
be the case after he underwent surgery recently
martins did not take part in wednesday morning shake up in at the training
ground in benguela which is walking distance from the eagles hotel praia
morena
the official insisted that martins would be back in time for saturday
crucial group match against benin in benguela
in other team news fulham midfielder dickson etuhu did not take part in the
training as he had an ice pack around his left knee
idah confirmed that locomotiv moscow striker osaze odemwingie has also
resumed full training with the team after an infection
the nigerians were stunned by egypt in their cup opener on tuesday losing
after opening the scoring
sam ak
basketball nba results and standings
washington jan afp
results and standings after tuesday national basketball association games
tuesday january th results
charlotte houston
detroit washington
memphis la clippers
san antonio la lakers
orlando sacramento
eastern conference
atlantic div pct gb
boston
toronto
new york
philadelphia
new jersey
central div pct gb
cleveland
chicago
milwaukee
detroit
indiana
southeast div pct gb
orlando
atlanta
miami
charlotte
washington
western conference
northwest div pct gb
denver
portland
oklahoma city
utah
minnesota
pacific div pct gb
la lakers
phoenix
la clippers
sacramento
golden state
southwest div pct gb
dallas
san antonio
houston
new orleans
memphis
wednesday january th schedule
washington at atlanta pm
phoenix at indiana pm
new york at philadelphia pm
boston at new jersey pm
la clippers at new orleans pm
san antonio at oklahoma city pm
la lakers at dallas pm
minnesota at houston pm
orlando at denver pm
milwaukee at portland pm
miami at golden state pm
all times are eastern
afp
lithuania invites medvedev to mark soviet split
vilnius jan afp
lithuania wednesday said it had asked russian president dmitry medvedev to
attend commemoration of its watershed march split from the soviet union
its first ever invitation to the kremlin
can confirm that he has been invited to the march commemoration linas
balsys spokesman for lithuanian president dalia grybauskaite told afp
earlier wednesday grybauskaite had said she was inviting all the presidents of
european and neighbouring countries without detailing the list
by this step want to know if lithuania is important to our neighbours and
if the th anniversary of our independence is equally important to them
grybauskaite told reporters
officials confirmed that it was the first time russian head of state had been
invited to the anniversary of lithuania declaration of independence which
sounded the death knell of the soviet union
vilnius relations with moscow have long been rocky notably since lithuania
joined the european union and nato in
lithuania was the first soviet republic to break with moscow launching wave
that ended in december with the formal demise of the entire bloc
its independence was hard won however
moscow imposed an economic blockade in and launched military crackdown in
january that left lithuanians dead and hundreds injured but failed to
stem the freedom drive
moscow only recognised lithuanian independence after the failure of coup by
communist hardliners in the soviet capital in august
bodies found in rubble of un building in haiti philippines
manila jan afp
rescuers have retrieved several bodies as well as injured survivors from the
rubble of the un headquarters in haiti which was hit by massive earthquake
filipino diplomat said wednesday
elmer cato spokesman for the philippine mission to the united nations told
local television that the embassy was in touch with un authorities about the
rescue efforts in port au prince after tuesday magnitude quake
we were informed also that there have been several bodies recovered but also
several victims are still alive and subject to recovery efforts cato added
