analysts suggested sunday talks would focus on fiscal policy with the fdp
demanding the government uphold pledge for deep tax breaks from next year
according to the bild am sonntag paper westerwelle has told merkel this is
absolutely the core priority for the fdp
however leading christian democrats as well as several state and local leaders
say tax giveaway now would be disastrous given the tattered state of germany
public finances
the recession in germany the worst since world war ii has blown huge
hole in the budget with the government estimating it will have to take on
record billion euros billion dollars of new debt in
ahead of the meeting fdp economic policy expert hermann otto solms had said
postponement of the tax cuts until year before the next legislative
election would be acceptable
if the relief comes into force in that would correspond with the original
demands of the fdp solms told the tagesspiegel am sonntag
one thing however is non negotiable for the fdp the tax reform of billion
euros in this legislative period must be implemented in full he added
survey for bild am sonntag showed that percent of voters expected the
coalition to push through their tax cutting plans despite the parlous state of
the public coffers
the new partners are also at loggerheads over the country mission in
afghanistan turkey eu accession and new museum about the fate of ethnic
germans expelled from eastern europe after
the squabbling has taken its toll in the opinion polls
recent forsa institute survey showed that opposition parties enjoyed more
public support than the ruling coalition for the first time since the election
support softened especially for the fdp which lost two points
backing for the usually popular merkel the most powerful woman in the world for
four consecutive years according to forbes magazine has also dropped sharply
amid sniping from within her own ranks
dimap survey on january showed satisfaction with merkel performance had
slumped to percent drop of points compared to december
and the forschungsgruppe wahlen survey indicated that percent of voters
thought merkel was doing little to set the course for the government compared
to percent who approved of her management of the coalition
israel turkey pledge cooperation but chill persists
ankara jan afp
israel defence minister held fence mending talks in turkey on sunday securing
commitment to military cooperation but failing to cajole ankara into curbing
its criticism of israeli policies officials said
ehud barak travelled to turkey in the wake of severe diplomatic row that had
threatened to plunge the already estranged allies into serious crisis
speaking after talks with turkish counterpart vecdi gonul barak said he was
more confident that certain ups and downs in our relationship could and should
be corrected and we can continue to follow the tradition of good and friendly
cooperation and understanding
gonul said turkey and israel remained allies but made it clear the partnership
should not be taken for granted
we are allies strategic allies as long as our interests force us to do so
he said
barak received no firm commitment that turkey would tone down its criticism of
israel an official from the israeli delegation said on condition of anonymity
time will tell how ties will develop he added
barak met also with foreign minister ahmet davutoglu but prime minister recep
tayyip erdogan central figure in bilateral tensions and president abdullah
gul were not available to meet him citing programmes outside ankara
it was the highest level bilateral visit since israel offensive on the gaza
strip last year prompted an unprecedented barrage of criticism from erdogan
islamist rooted government marking sharp downturn in relations
barak whose labour party is in favour of keeping close ties with turkey
insisted on the visit amid row that brought ankara to the verge of recalling
its ambassador from tel aviv
turkey is very important country pillar in the region and dialogue and
cooperation with it are very important barak said
gonul voiced hope that cooperation in arms projects which has been at the heart
of the once flourishing ties would continue
the long delayed delivery of unmanned aircraft manufactured in israel for the
turkish army is expected to be completed by june he said
the latest diplomatic storm between the two countries broke monday when danny
ayalon the deputy of israel ultra nationalist foreign minister avigdor
lieberman gave turkey ambassador public dressing down in meeting called
to protest turkish television series for showing israel in bad light
addressing reporters in hebrew ayalon told them to pay attention that the envoy
was made to sit on low couch and that the turkish flag was removed from their
table
bowing to pressure from furious ankara ayalon apologised wednesday
bilateral ties have been already poisoned amid frequent turkish outbursts over
israel war on gaza and its persisting blockade of the impoverished palestinian
enclave
erdogan stormed out of debate at the world economic forum last year accusing
israel of barbarian acts and telling its president shimon peres sitting next
to him that you know well how to kill people
ankara has said relations will continue to suffer unless israel ends the
humanitarian tragedy in gaza and revives peace talks with the palestinians
in october it excluded israel from traditional joint air exercises in central
turkey angering tel aviv and prompting rebuke from washington
turkey blooming ties with syria and close contacts with iran have made its
snubs even harder for israel to swallow and raised questions on whether key
muslim majority nato member is sliding away from the west
turkey became israel main regional ally when the two signed military
cooperation accord in
the pact eased israel isolation in hostile arab neighbourhood while turkey
gained an ally against syria then an arch foe for sheltering kurdish rebel
leader abdullah ocalan and access to israel advanced military technology
wounded guinea junta chief backs new interim leader
ouagadougou jan afp
guinea wounded junta chief captain moussa dadis camara offered his support
sunday to the west african nation new interim leader after deal aimed at
paving the way for democratic elections
ask you to give general sekouba konate the necessary support for the cause
of democracy which we call for with all our wishes he said in an address to
the nation from the capital of burkina faso where he is in convalescence
following december bid to kill him
camara speaking in weak and hesitant voice called for calm in guinea
know many people have stormed conakry airport and some streets in the capital
calling for my return to the country
understand you ask you to return home and go back to work in peace he
said adding will be with you soon
declare to you that my health is much improved and that my life is out of
danger to consolidate this need rest he added
on friday guinea political rivals signed deal providing for elections in six
months and for camara to remain outside the country
the interim president and will continue to cooperate to ensure successful
transition which will result in the election of president democratically
chosen by guineans camara said
camara arrived in burkina faso on tuesday after spending over month in
hospital in morocco
he was shot in the head by an aide de camp in december after what some said was
dispute over bloody crackdown on an opposition rally in september in which
more than people were shot dead
friday pact said the proposed unity government would be led by prime
minister and composed of cabinet from the forces vives coalition of opposition
parties trade unions and civil society
the agreement also called for civil and military observers from the regional
economic community of west african states bloc to be deployed for electoral
lists to be revised and revamp of the country security forces
it pledged to ensure press freedom and freedom of expression as well
guinea one of the world top bauxite producers has been mired in political
crisis sparked by military coup led by camara on december
unrest worsened when troops massacred more than people at an opposition
rally in september last year according to un figures hundreds more were
wounded and women and young girls were publicly raped
recent un report on the massacre in guinea capital conakry named camara as
suspect and accused the army of crimes against humanity
football fabregas inspires arsenal victory
bolton england jan afp
arsenal captain cesc fabregas scored his th goal of the season as the gunners
beat bolton wanderers here on sunday and then said his tally owed as much to
luck as anything else
but there was nothing fortuitous about the way in which the spain midfielder
returning from three games out with hamstring problem opened the scoring in
the th minute with quick footed finish
fabregas then set up compatriot fran merida for the gunners second minutes
from time at the reebok stadium as owen coyle first match as bolton manager
ended in defeat
victory saw arsenal close to within three points of premier league leaders
chelsea and they will go top of the table on goal difference if they beat
bolton at the emirates stadium on wednesday
maybe scoring more goals is just luck because when was younger had so many
opportunities and they weren going in said fabregas who is still only
year old
but this year they are and it important that they keep coming have been
training for few years in front of goal and feel stronger and that helps in
the last yards
it is always difficult to come to bolton and we are proud to win
they are difficult team to play against and we respect every team it is
important to win again on wednesday for the title race
arsenal manager arsene wenger was full of praise for fabregas
when speak about players with more personality on the pitch have to talk
about him he has an authority he scored again and was very influential
wenger said
arsenal after taking the lead had to survive spell of concerted bolton
pressure but they did not buckle
we have matured some players have much more personality on the pitch and that
helps us get results wenger said
looking to next week match re arranged after being postponed because of the
recent cold weather that hit britain the frenchman added it is unusual to
play the same side twice in three days and they put lot of effort in today and
we will face the same problems on wednesday
coyle who controversially quit lancashire top flight rivals burnley to manage
wanderers joined wenger in saluting fabregas display
cesc could play for anybody in world football he is an outstanding player
said the former bolton and republic of ireland striker
defeat left bolton in the relegation zone but coyle insisted his side had been
unfortunate not to come out of the match with at least point
that was very harsh on us with what we offered to the game on another day we
could have had positive result we had numerous chances and the ball didn
break for us on occasions he said
if we play at that level we will pick up points in this league and we can make
game of it on wednesday
football arsenal keep title bid on track
london jan afp
arsenal maintained their push for the english premier league title with
win away to bolton wanderers on sunday
goals from spanish midfielders cesc fabregas and fran merida helped leave the
third placed gunners just three points behind leaders chelsea after owen coyle
first match as bolton manager ended in defeat
the gunners victory saw the usual suspects at the top of the table with
second placed reigning champions manchester united in between london rivals
chelsea and arsenal
however arsenal will go into first place on goal difference if they beat
bolton at the emirates stadium on wednesday in match re arranged following the
recent cold snap in britain
arsenal took the lead at the reebok stadium in the th minute when fabregas
returning from three games out with hamstring injury played rapid one two
with eduardo on the edge of the box before shooting into the far corner
bolton who remain in the relegation zone had chances but their failure to
equalise was punished when merida following clever touch scored minutes
from time
it is always difficult to come to bolton and we are proud to win said
fabregas it is important to win again on wednesday for the title race
arsenal manager arsene wenger was full of praise for fabregas
when speak about players with more personality on the pitch have to talk
about him he has an authority he scored again and was very influential
wenger said
coyle who controversially quit as manager of top flight burnley to take charge
of lancashire rivals bolton said the result was harsh on his team
with what we offered to the game on another day we could have had positive
result former bolton striker coyle insisted
if we play at that level we will pick up points in this league and we can make
game of it on wednesday
earlier aston villa failed to make the most of slip ups by their champions
league rivals in goalless draw at home to strugglers west ham
the point saw martin neill men stay sixth two places outside the champions
league spots after saturday where fourth placed tottenham were held to
goalless draw by hull and manchester city lost to everton
when you drop points at home it can be considered missed opportunity said
neill but think this result and other ones this weekend involving teams
near us in the table highlight how difficult this league is
the draw was boost for west ham lifting the london club out of the relegation
zone
elsewhere blackburn rovers moved up two positions into th with win at
home to fulham both goals at ewood park scored by defenders from set pieces
chris samba opened the scoring in the th minute after benni mccarthy corner
to the near post had been cleared off the line by damien duff
south africa mccarthy was also involved in league cup semi finalists rovers
second goal after half time when new zealand defender and blackburn captain
ryan nelsen headed in his free kick
victory was rovers first in league games and manager sam allardyce said
the pressure is felt by all of us no one more than the players and staff they
were really pleasing three points
defeat for fulham still ninth was made worse by united states international
clint dempsey limping off with what manager roy hodgson feared was long term
knee injury to follow the expected two month layoff for striker bobby zamora
shoulder
clint will be scanned tomorrow monday but we feel it might be posterior
cruciate knee ligament which would be very bad for us and he would be out for
while hodgson said
bobsleigh us names olympic bobsled skeleton teams
lake placid new york jan afp
steven holcomb and john napier the world top ranked four man bobsled drivers
were among the olympic squad announced sunday by the united states bobsled and
skeleton federation
holcomb and his push team of justin olsen steve mesler and curt tomasevicz will
drive the usa sled at the vancouver winter olympics next month with napier
chuck berkeley chris fogt and steve langton in usa ii
mike kohn will pilot usa iii with jamie moriarty bill schuffenhauer and nick
cunningham as his push squad
two man lineups include holcomb and tomasevicz napier and langton with kohn
second yet to be decided
the women lineup features three pairs shauna rohbock and michelle rzepka
erin pac and elana meyers and bree schaaf and emily azevedo
we are very excited about this olympic team in all disciplines said
federation chief executive darrin steele we are thrilled to be sending our
best women team ever
in skeleton the americans will send eric bernotas zach lund and john daly in
the men event and noelle pikus pace and katie uhlaender in the women event
lund was not allowed to compete at the turin winter olympics after testing
positive for the then banned substance finasteride which he said was part of
medication he used to treat hair loss
football zambia lead cameroon at half time
lubango angola jan afp
jacob mulenga scored after eight minutes to give zambia half time lead
over cameroon on sunday in an africa cup of nations group match at tundavala
stadium
football injury rules nigeria yobo out of nations cup
benguela angola jan afp
nigeria defender joseph yobo was on sunday ruled out of the africa cup of
nations after suffering hamstring injury which will sideline him for at least
two weeks
according to the official website of the nigeria football federation nff the
everton player tore his hamstring while challenging benin striker razak
omotoyossi in the nd minute of their group win here on saturday
yobo who will undergo scan on the injury on monday could be allowed to
return to england for treatment
nigeria second in group with three points from two matches face mozambique
in lubango in their final group game
group leaders egypt with six points have already booked their place in the
last eight
little relief for haitian family in palace slum
port au prince jan afp
the gardens in front of haiti presidential palace no longer resemble their
famous namesake in paris as quake survivors set up camp amidst the piles of
rubbish and stench of urine
tens of thousands of desperate haitians have turned the tropical equivalent of
the champ de mars into makeshift slum five days after the massive
magnitude quake devastated the wretchedly poor caribbean nation
life is really hard we have nothing said year old jean osee camped out
with his entire family
the house started shaking and we all ran out said the father of six sitting
on dirty rug under sheet of plastic alongside his children wife brother
in law mother in law and one month old grandchild
clothes hung off trees to dry as mothers who had managed to find water scrubbed
their children in the gutter
we don have any water nor any soap we haven changed clothes since we got
here said jules jean wife
like thousands of others across the shattered city families just sit and wait
during the first few days after the quake when the ground was still shaking
strongly the osee family bought little food from street stalls that sprung up
in the rubble but that soon ran out
on saturday they gathered bottle of water and bottle of fruit juice from
helicopter aid drop
one daughter year old louisoguine said she was now struggling to breastfeed
her curly haired baby
don have much strength to feed him can look after him properly she
said pulling up his trouser legs to show rash on his legs with skin peeling
off
don know what will happen now have no idea she added
two streets away the small family house had disappeared under pile of rubble
crushed cars and buildings remained stuck in the positions they collapsed to in
one frightening minute on tuesday nearby pair of legs stuck out on top of
mattress from shell of hotel
before the quake jules worked as typist his machine survived the quake but
he no longer has any customers
the family said they hoped foreign donors would help because their government
was suffering from the same problems as they were
heavily armed un convoy appeared in front of the palace on sunday and the
parents ran across to join tightly packed but orderly queue to see what was on
offer
they returned with six small packets of water handed to them by bolivian
troops
two year old angelaine rushed to grab one spilling water down her cheeks in her
rush to swallow it
she been asking for water since the beginning her mother said
every morning and evening the family sings and prays for help
singing joined the whir of us army helicopters and loud chatter and shouting
from people living on the streets most afraid to return even if their houses
survived the quake
the osee family hunkers down each evening fearful of armed attackers reportedly
prowling the streets
in the highly religious country the year old grandmother lucienne guillemot
dressed in flowery blue dress said she was praying daily for help
god is the only one who can do something we get on our knees and speak to
him she said
afp gmt news advisory
washington jan afp
duty editor michael langan
tel
prayers among haiti ruins as un chief arrives
chemical ali sentenced to death
ukraine braces for elections
haiti quake newseries wrap
port au prince
desperate haitians seek comfort in faith flocking to pray in the ruins as un
chief ban ki moon flies in to assess the quake damage in what he calls the
worst humanitarian disaster in decades
words gmt beatriz lecumberri and deborah pasmantier picture video
graphic
iraq trial chemicalali kurds thlead
baghdad
saddam hussein notorious henchman chemical ali is sentenced to death for
ordering the gassing of kurds in the iraqi town of halabja brutal attack that
killed an estimated people
words moved by arthur macmillan picture video
we have also moved iraq justice chemicalali profile
ukraine vote thlead wrap
kiev
ukraine braces for nail biting run off between two old rivals in presidential
elections after first round vote eliminates discredited orange revolution hero
president viktor yushchenko
words gmt by stuart williams picture
haiti quake
haiti quake religion scene
port au prince haiti
church bells lie eerily silent over the ruined haitian capital but the faithful
still come in droves praying for solace in the darkest hour of this deeply
religious nation
words gmt by beatriz lecumberri and clarens renois picture video
we will also move haiti quake figures facts
haiti quake rescue
port au prince
amid the misery and despair small miracles are still happening as rescue
workers toil tirelessly to free those trapped in the ruins of haiti clutching at
any sign of life to dig down and pull out survivors
words gmt by deborah pasmantier
we have also moved haiti quake media scene
haiti quake aid list
haiti quake un ban ndlead
port au prince
un secretary general ban ki moon says haiti is the worst humanitarian crisis in
decades as he surveyes the devastated quake hit capital for himself
words gmt by gerard aziakou picture
haiti quake palace camp scene
port au prince
the gardens in front of haiti presidential palace no longer resemble their
famous namesake in paris as quake survivors set up camp amidst the piles of
rubbish and stench of urine turning them into makeshift slum
words gmt by sophie nicholson picture
haiti quake adoption lead
paris
us and dutch authorities speed up moves to fly adopted children away from the
quake wreckage of haiti while in france the biggest adopter anxious families
urge the government to act quicker
words gmt by roland lloyd parry picture
americas
us politics senate vote focus ndlead
boston massachusetts
us president barack obama campaigns in boston to rescue democrats from
humiliating loss in special senate election next week and to save his
health care reforms in the process
words gmt pictures
chile vote ndlead
santiago
conservative media magnate and an uncharismatic former leftist president are
locked in tight race for chile presidency in an election to succeed outgoing
head of state michelle bachelet
words gmt by jose luis varela
europe
ukraine vote analysis
kiev
whoever becomes ukraine next president russia has strengthened its hand in
the country and the dreams of creating different kind of post soviet state
have suffered rude awakening
words gmt by stuart williams
we have also moved ukraine vote scene
vatican pope jews rome rdlead
rome
the role of the roman catholic church during the holocaust hangs over landmark
visit by pope benedict xvi to rome main synagogue just weeks after he angered
jews by moving wartime pope pius xii further along the road to sainthood
words gmt by gina doggett picture video
mideast israel turkey diplomacy thlead
ankara
israel defense minister holds fence mending talks in turkey securing
commitment to military cooperation but failing to cajole ankara into curbing its
vehement criticism of israeli policies in the middle east officials say
words gmt by gavin rabinowitz picture
africa
nigeria unrest religion lead
kano nigeria
clashes erupt between muslims and christians in nigeria central city of jos
leaving several people dead and prompting the government to impose dusk to
dawn curfew resident and officials said
words gmt by aminu abubakar
asia
afghanistan unrest newseries wrap
kabul
the taliban say they have kidnapped two chinese engineers in afghanistan as
president hamid karzai office said he was set to announce new plan for
forging peace with the islamist insurgents
words moved picture
we have also moved afghanistan unrest reconciliation taliban lead
pakistan unrest northwest us missile thlead wrap
miranshah pakistan
us drone attack kills militants in an area of pakistan northwest tribal
belt where local taliban chief hakimullah mehsud reportedly escaped death days
ago officials say
words moved by hasbanullah khan
polls close in tight chilean presidential election
santiago jan afp
polls closed sunday in close fought presidential election in chile that pit
billionaire conservative sebastian pinera against former president eduardo
frei
pinera was seen by voter intention surveys with slight edge in the race to
succeed outgoing leftist president michelle bachelet but by margin too small
to predict whether he would ultimately triumph
if he does win it would spell an end to the year rule by chile center left
concertacion coalition which took power after general augusto pinochet
dictatorship
initial official results were expected around pm gmt
polls close in tight chilean presidential election
santiago jan afp
polls closed sunday in narrowly fought presidential election in chile that pit
billionaire conservative sebastian pinera against former president
eduardo frei
pinera was seen with slight edge in the race to succeed outgoing leftist
president michelle bachelet but by margin that was too close to predict
whether he would ultimately triumph
yachting alinghi sails illegal claims oracle skipper
madrid jan afp
the skipper of oracle claimed sunday that swiss defender alinghi is using
illegal sails on its catamaran that is to face the us challenger in next
month america cup duel
new zealander russell coutts said oracle is prepared to give alinghi several
weeks to change the sails if the supreme court of the state of new york rules
in its favour on the issue
oracle last week asked the court to rule on whether alinghi had infringed the
competition nationality rules by allegedly using us made sails for its yacht
alinghi has said the sails are made in switzerland
but coutts told afp in telephone interview that they were molded and
constructed in the us state of nevada
the two bitter rivals are due to face off in best of three event from february
in the spanish port of valencia to decide the rd edition of yachting
premier event
if the new york court does not make decision before then the americans said
they would take part in the competition under protest and the result could be
overturned coutts said
oracle and alinghi owned respectively by billionaires larry ellison and
ernesto bertarelli have been arguing over the rules of the america cup in
court since the swiss syndicate won the last america cup in valencia in
the new york supreme court ruled in april that the cup should be settled by
one on one multihull duel between the two sides next february instead of the
traditional fully fledged regatta involving several teams
under the deed of gift the th century rules that govern the oldest
competition in international sport the participating vessels must be
constructed in the country where the sailing club which they represent is
located which in alinghi case is switzerland
the two sides failed to reach an agreement on their latest dispute in talks in
singapore last week
coutts insisted it was the swiss team which refused to sign deal
