voiced report
nsv vid
broadcast ready vid
web mmv
kabul on high alert after brazen taliban strikes
kabul
the afghan capital was on high alert on tuesday day after taliban gunmen and
suicide bombers struck the heart of kabul launching wave of attacks and
triggering battles with security forces that left five people dead and sent
terrified residents fleeing images of department store on fire taliban
militant shot dead and afghan security forces in gunfight
news
images
raw vid
web mmv
once proud jal victim of japan economic decline
tokyo
japan airlines former state owned flag carrier that was once source of
national pride has become one of the highest profile victims of the country
long economic malaise
economy
images and soundbites
raw vid
web mmv
anti doping lab gears up for winter games
montreal canada
olympic chief jacques rogge warned this week that doping cheats will be rooted
out at next month the winter games in vancouver promising that doping
problems would not spoil the sporting occasion afptv visited the team of
technicians who will be processing thousands of samples during the games on the
lookout for banned substances
sport
voiced report
nsv vid
broadcast ready vid
web mmv
the middle east conflict plays out in tiny village
ghajar israel lebanon
ghajar is divided village in the united nations marked the southern
part of the village as an israeli territory and the northern part as lebanese
but since the war israel has taken over the northern area as well the un
calls the occupation illegal and local residents are protesting the israeli
presence
special report
voiced report
nsv vid
broadcast ready vid
web mmv
as part of our african nations cup coverage we have filed the following
face off between benin and egypt
cotonou
as benin and egypt prepare to battle it out on the field wednesday look at
the big hopes the people of benin have for their football team
sport
voiced report
nsv vid
broadcast ready vid
web mmv
contact
warwick wise
gabrielle chatelain moor
afptv
place de la bourse
paris france
tel
fax
beshir says sudan would recognise south independence
khartoum jan afp
sudan will recognise the south independence if it chooses to secede in the
january referendum and the north will be good neighbour president
omar al beshir said on tuesday
the ruling national congress party favours unity beshir said in speech to
mark the fifth anniversary of the end of sudan north south civil war
but if the result of the referendum is separation then we in the ncp will be
the first to take note of this decision and to support it we will be good
neighbours sudan president said
the speech delivered at the stadium in yambio capital of western equatoria
state was broadcast on national television
the mostly muslim north and largely christian south signed comprehensive peace
agreement on january to end year civil war that was fuelled by
religious political and economic differences and cost two million lives
the cpa provides for general election due in april and referendum on
independence for the oil rich south
khartoum will be the first capital to recognise the new state and to support
it said the president who is due to stand for re election in april
the sudanese parliament ratified key law in december setting up the planned
referendum on southern independence after northern and southern leaders
overcame dispute that had threatened to derail the peace deal
parliament also passed law for referendum in the disputed oil rich region of
abyei on the border between north and south sudan to let residents decide
if they want to remain part of the north or join the south
salva kiir south sudan president who has previously expressed personal
support for southern independence stressed the need for peace whatever the
referendum outcome
we call on the sudanese people to continue their resolve for peace and to say
no to war kiir said at the same gathering in yambio adding deal must also
be made to end conflict in the troubled western region of darfur
addressing southerners he said whatever the decision you take in the
referendum would like to remind you that we share things in common as
sudanese and these are the things that will hold us together
the north and south will continue to be economically and politically connected
whatever the choice of the people of southern sudan in their referendum in
the southern leader also noted that if the south does secede the oil that
forms as much as percent of juba income would continue to be pumped through
the only two pipelines running north to the khartoum refinery and the export
terminal in port sudan until the south can construct its own facilities
oil revenues also account for around percent of khartoum total earnings
the oil produced in the south of sudan will continue to flow from the south to
the north for processing and export kiir said
sudan has estimated oil reserves of over six billion barrels or the fifth
largest in africa most of which is located in the south with some big fields
lying close to the border
the demarcation of the north south border and the sharing of oil revenues have
proved to be two of the thorniest issues in the peace agreement the north is
insisting on reaching an agreement on the border demarcation before the
referendum
death sentence to be reconsidered for ex black panther
washington jan afp
the us supreme court ordered tuesday lower court to reconsider its decision
not to execute ex black panther mumia abu jamal for murdering philadelphia
police officer in
the judgment is vacated and the case is remanded to the united states court of
appeals the highest court in the united states said in its ruling
nearly die in fresh nigeria religious clashes
kano nigeria jan afp
nearly people have been killed in fresh religious clashes between christians
and muslims in the nigerian city of jos senior muslim cleric and paramedic
said tuesday
state authorities placed the city under hour curfew and terrified residents
reported hearing gunshots and seeing smoke billowing from parts of the city the
capital of plateau state in central nigeria
the bodies of the most of the dead were being brought in to the city central
mosque according to its head balarabe dawud
we received dead bodies this morning and another this afternoon in
total we have dead bodies dawud said
he said at least people had been wounded in the clashes of whom had been
evacuated to military hospitals with serious injuries
fighting had spread to bukuru town on the outskirts of jos by late afternoon
killing at least three people paramedic maryam mohammed said at clinic there
so far we have three dead and injured he said
dawud the imam said the jos central mosque was attending to those with minor
injuries but had run out of medical supplies
even neighbourhood private clinics are full with the injured normally these
are the places we would have gone to for supplies but they are also in need of
them he said
an employee of the mosque mohammed shittu told afp earlier that the mosque is
full with the injured and the dead adding that bodies had been taken to
the mosque on tuesday morning
authorities said curfew put in place at the weekend had been extended
the government has placed hour curfew on jos and bukuru following the
resumption of violence in parts of the city the state information
commissioner gregory yenlong told afp
all residents are hereby directed to stay indoors as security agents work
towards restoring peace said yenlong
all flights to the city were suspended tuesday airport and airline sources
said
david maiyaki christian resident of dutse uku area of jos where the latest
fighting erupted overnight said the curfew did not yet seem to have taken
effect and fighting is continuing unabated
we woke up to new fighting this morning as am talking to you we are indoors
but there is burning and gunshots all around us david maiyaki told afp by
phone
ibrahim mudi resident of sabon fegi suburb said from here can hear
gunshots and see burning buildings from neighbourhood in the northern part of
the city
it seems that jos north is completely on fire added mudi who spoke by phone
from his veranda
mohammed ahmad from the unguwarrogo area said the city is enveloped in smoke
and gunshots have filled the air
it quite terrifying we are indoors but we don feel safe it like any
moment something is going to happen to us said ahmad
sunday fighting had been confined to the predominantly christian nassarawa
gwon area but has since spread to other parts of the city the army said
it is not concentrated it is not limited to one area it is scattered army
spokesman colonel galadima shekari told afp
fighting first erupted when christian youths protested the building of mosque
in christian majority area of nigeria th largest city houses and vehicles
were set ablaze
sunday clashes killed at least people according to muslim leaders the red
cross said more than people were seriously injured in that fighting and that
it was struggling to cope with around displaced people
state authorities said on monday that calm had returned and urged people to go
about their daily activities as normal after hundreds of troops and police had
been drafted in to impose order and hour dusk to dawn curfew
the curfew was extended following the latest clashes
jos situated between the muslim dominated north and the christian south has in
recent years been hotbed of religious violence in nigeria whose million
people are divided almost equally between followers of the two faiths
in november hundreds of people were killed in two days of fighting in the
city triggered by rumour that the mainly muslim all nigerian peoples party had
lost local election to the christian dominated people democratic party
at least people were killed in borno state last july when security forces
put down an insurrection by muslim fundamentalist sect in december around
were killed in clashes between security forces and members of another radical
sect in bauchi state
seat workers in spain strike over planned job cuts
madrid jan afp
workers at seat plant in barcelona were on strike on tuesday for second
consecutive day over plans by the subsidiary of german auto giant volkswagen to
slash jobs in spain due to the recession
if the strike continues work at another seat plant at martorell near barcelona
will likely have to stop due to lack of parts spokesman for the company
said
last week seat announced that it plans to cut non production jobs at its
three plants in spain due to downturn in demand
the job cuts represent about six percent of the jobs at the company which
are not directly involved in the production of vehicles
in total seat employs around people in spain aside from the plant at the
free zone of the port of barcelona and at martorell the company also has
plant at el prat also in the northeastern zone of catalonia
seat sold vehicles in an percent drop over the previous year
mostly due to weakness in its domestic market spain
figure skating world champions lead ice dance at euros
tallinn jan afp
world champions oksana domnina and maxim shabalin showed that they are ready to
challenge for olympic gold as they returned from injury to lead russian in
the compulsory dance section at the european figure skating championships here
on tuesday
less than month ahead of the winter olympics domnina and shabalin lead
reigning european champions jana khokhlova and sergei novitski by points
going into thursday original dance section with the free dance final set for
friday
the couple were unable to defend their european title last year after shabalin
injured his knee during the compulsory dance and they missed this year grand
prix season because of the recurring problem
but dancing to the tango romantica domnina and shabalin dominated their rivals
to achieve points with khokhlova and novitski achieving
their compatriots are however determined to hold on to their european title
which they won last year
the europeans is like final test before the olympic games and we ll debut our
new free dance here we hope to repeat last year success said khokhlova
italy federica faiella and massimo scali are sitting third with with
britain brother and sister team sineda kerr and john kerr fourth after scoring
seat workers in spain strike over planned job cuts
madrid jan afp
workers at seat plant in barcelona were on strike on tuesday for second
consecutive day over plans by the subsidiary of german auto giant volkswagen to
slash jobs in spain due to the recession
if the strike continues work at another seat plant at martorell near barcelona
will likely have to stop due to lack of parts spokesman for the company
said
last week seat announced that it plans to cut non production jobs at its
three plants in spain due to downturn in demand
the job cuts represent about six percent of the jobs at the company which
are not directly involved in the production of vehicles
in total seat employs around people in spain aside from the plant at the
free zone of the port of barcelona and at martorell the company also has
plant at el prat also in the northeastern zone of catalonia
seat sold vehicles in an percent drop over the previous year
mostly due to weakness in its domestic market spain
wall street rides higher on corporate political news
new york jan afp
new york share prices swung higher tuesday as the market digested news of
takeover in the chocolate business and big loss from citigroup while eyeing
key us senate election
the dow jones industrial average rose points percent to
at gmt as wall street reopened after the martin luther king holiday monday
the nasdaq composite rose points percent to and the
standard amp poor index added points percent to
the market opened after news that british chocolate bar maker cadbury agreed to
sweetened takeover bid from us giant kraft foods in multibillion dollar deal
to create leader in food and confectionery
also in focus battered financial giant citigroup said it suffered net loss of
billion dollars in the fourth quarter of resulting in full year loss
of billion dollars which executives said indicated progress is reviving the
banking firm
andy fitzpatrick at hinsdale associates said the market is still unsure if the
current earnings season key indicator of the health of the corporate sector
and the overall economy will live up to high expectations
all eyes will again be on earnings reports as companies like ibm google bank
of america starbucks and goldman sachs announce their fourth quarter results
he said
expect another week of stops and starts as the market tries to figure out if
this recovery is in fact advancing or rather retreating wall street will also
be listening closely to company outlooks as gauge of what to expect in
and could place more weight on that than recent earnings
al goldman at wells fargo advisors said the market is also on edge ahead of the
results of senate race in massachusetts as it has important political
implications no matter who wins
he said win by the republican challenger would probably be well received by
the market as investors favor congressional gridlock
john wilson at morgan keegan added that wall street sees republican victory as
way to slow or modify massive health care reform measure being considered in
congress which has raised fears among some in the business community
healthcare stocks seem to be rallying on hopes that the massachusetts election
will change the equation in their favor he said
among stocks in focus in the insurance and health sectors aetna rallied
percent to dollars cigna added percent to dollars merck
climbed percent to dollars and pfizer advanced percent to
dollars
cadbury us listed shares rallied percent to dollars after agreeing
to takeover worth billion pounds billion dollars after long
battle with kraft down percent at dollars
bonds fell the yield on the year us treasury bond increased to percent
from percent friday and that on the year bond rose to percent
against percent bond yields and prices move in opposite directions
oil prices drop as opec predicts modest demand growth
london jan afp
oil prices slid on tuesday as opec forecast modest growth in world crude demand
this year and warned that prices would likely remain volatile over the coming
months
brent north sea crude for delivery in march shed cents to dollars
barrel in late london trading
new york main contract light sweet crude for february delivery fell cents
to dollars barrel
the opec oil producers cartel on tuesday left unchanged its forecast for annual
oil demand growth
world oil demand in is forecast to grow by million barrels per day
bpd to average million bpd representing no major change from last
month the organization of petroleum exporting countries said in its january
report
nevertheless prices are likely to be particularly vulnerable to economic
developments during the upcoming low demand second quarter the report said
the persisting stock overhang low seasonal demand and start of refining
maintenance point to the need for continued caution over the coming months as
market volatility is expected to remain
opec member the united arab emirates on monday said it was comfortable with
current price levels
uae energy minister mohammad bin dhaen al hamli said world oil prices were very
reasonable at the moment
asked if he preferred prices to be in excess of dollars barrel he told
reporters on the sidelines of four day alternative energy forum in the uae
capital don like over and don like
oil prices jumped by around percent in as traders were heartened by
evidence that the battered global economy was on the mend with the eurozone
japan and the united states escaping fierce recession
however crude futures have struggled to make much headway in early as
economic data disappoints
investors are buying on this weakness in oil prices we ve seen in the last
few days national australia bank energy analyst ben westmore said on tuesday
investors are perceiving that the base levels are reasonably low given the
outlook for the global economy and the oil markets
at its last meeting in december the opec cartel warned of lingering weakness in
the world economy as it decided to keep crude output quotas unchanged
the international energy agency said last week that oil demand in would be
sluggish in the developed world with emerging markets accounting for any
increases
the agency left unchanged prior forecast of percent rise in global
demand this year to million barrels per day
canada central bank holds pct key lending rate
ottawa jan afp
canada central bank maintained its key lending rate at percent on
tuesday saying it plans to hold it at this historically low level until
mid to shore up economic recovery
the global economic recovery is under way supported by continued improvements
in financial conditions and stronger domestic demand growth in many emerging
market economies the bank of canada said in statement
the central bank outlook for global growth over the next two years is
somewhat stronger than it had projected in october
however the economic turnaround that started in the third quarter of
continues to depend on exceptional monetary and fiscal stimuli it said
canadian inflation turned positive in the fourth quarter and has been slightly
higher than expected in recent months
nevertheless considerable excess supply remains and the economy has been
operating at about percent below capacity the central bank said
as the turnaround firms the central bank projects the economy will grow by
percent in and percent in after contracting by percent in
it said
the figures were previously forecast at percent percent and
percent respectively
increased confidence improving financial conditions global growth and higher
terms of trade continue to shape the recovery it noted
the persistent strength of the canadian dollar and low us demand for goods
however continue to act as significant drags on the canadian economy
going forward the private sector is expected to become the sole driver of
domestic demand growth in it said as exports fall
snowstorms wreak havoc in bulgaria
sofia jan afp
snowstorms wreaked havoc in northeastern bulgaria tuesday prompting authorities
to call state of emergency in at least six small municipalities the civil
defence service said
all roads in the area around dobrich were closed by snowdrifts road maintenance
officials said
the black sea port of varna and the airports in varna and burgas further south
were also shut
schools were closed and households were left with no electricity in number of
towns in the regions of dobrich and varna where such heavy snowfall is rare
strong winds and snowdrifts also disrupted train services in eastern bulgaria
while many cars were stranded on country roads
canada central bank maintains pct key lending rate
ottawa jan afp
canada central bank maintained its key lending rate at percent on
tuesday and said it plans to hold it at this historically low level until
mid so as not to dash an economic recovery
the global economic recovery is under way supported by continued improvements
in financial conditions and stronger domestic demand growth in many emerging
market economies the bank of canada said in statement
the central bank outlook for global growth over the next two years is
somewhat stronger than it had projected in october but the economic
turnaround continues to depend on exceptional monetary and fiscal stimuli it
said
canadian inflation turned positive in the fourth quarter and has been slightly
higher than expected in recent months
nevertheless considerable excess supply remains and the economy has been
operating at about percent below capacity the central bank said
as the turnaround firms the central bank projects that the economy will grow by
percent in and percent in after contracting by percent in
it said
the figures were previously forecast at percent percent and
percent respectively
increased confidence improving financial conditions global growth and higher
terms of trade continue to shape the recovery it noted
the persistent strength of the canadian dollar and low us demand for goods
however continue to act as significant drags on the canadian economy
going forward the private sector is expected to become the sole driver of
domestic demand growth in it said as exports fall
europe acts to police data as debt levels spiral
brussels jan afp
europe wants to police spiralling debt levels in member states officials said
tuesday as the finance minister in crisis stricken greece issued desperate
plea for faith from the markets
the drive for new powers to snoop in national accounts came as european
ministers rounded on athens over dodgy data that covered up the staggering scale
of greece national debt triggering panic among its neighbours
but greek finance minister george papaconstantinou said he should not be blamed
for the previous government failures and announced reforms intended to give
the heavily discredited greek statistics service greater independence
the eu executive arm will propose next month that the bloc data office
eurostat be allowed to carry out audits on information provided by national
governments economic and monetary affairs commissioner joaquin almunia said
brussels failed with similar request in but almunia insisted that the
recent greek experience proved that it not enough to have notification from
national budgetary authorities
we need to get these new competencies he said
ministers are concerned that ireland portugal and spain are having difficulties
in dealing with heavy deficits and debts
swedish finance minister anders borg earlier condemned greek economic mis
reporting to brussels as fraudulent and cost for the whole of europe
greece which is mired in recession has public spending deficit that rose to
percent of output last year far above the percent ceiling permitted to
countries sharing the euro
it is also saddled with ballooning debt constituting percent of gross
domestic product gdp
damning commission report endorsed by finance ministers on tuesday highlighted
two widely differing sets of figures on greece excessive deficit sent by
athens to brussels on october and october
in the second set of estimates the greek authorities revised the country
planned deficit ratio for from percent of gdp to percent which
the commission termed deliberate misreporting
papaconstantinou said the latest change in what is now point plan to fix
the greek economy would mean the ministry of finance will not be able to
appoint or fire the head of the service
he said legislation would be passed within month to render the statistics
produced statistics that everyone can have faith in
the report identifies institutional and systemic problems and issues of
political interference he said
we are in broad agreement with all the report conclusions and have taken
measures to ensure the problem does not occur again
claiming serious dedicated ambitious and fully realistic response to the
credibility crisis he acknowledged that its success would depend on how markets
react
unfortunately given our large borrowing requirements the markets react on
daily basis he said hours after credit rating agency moody said it was
maintaining negative outlook on greece amid doubts over its chances
the greek government has been in tailspin since suffering credit downgrade
from all three leading ratings agencies last month
despite fears of social unrest over the austerity programme papaconstantinou
insisted that the greek people realise the seriousness of the matter
the socialist government which came to power in october last week unveiled
front loaded three year crisis blueprint to cut back public deficit of over
billion euros billion dollars and rein in government debt estimated to
exceed billion euros this year
the plan aims to save more than billion euros in with improved tax
collection cost cuts and reduced arms spending to bring the public deficit to
percent of output by
us donations to haiti track asian tsunami katrina
washington jan afp
us donations to haiti relief have reached million dollars level similar
to the outpouring of aid after the asian tsunami and hurricane katrina in
according to foundation tracking charitable contributions
the giving usa foundation said data collected through the center on philanthropy
at indiana university indicated the total amount of aid collected through sunday
is similar to that after other disasters in the same period
the groups said this puts us contributions on track to match the disaster relief
contributions in when americans gave more than seven billion dollars for
relief for the tsunami us hurricanes and an earthquake in pakistan
the news coming out daily just reinforces the need for america to help its
island neighbor said nancy raybin chair of the giving institute which
advises charities
of course just like with past disasters once the earthquake news is replaced
by other headlines the need will continue to exist so we encourage americans
to give thoughtfully and often
the aid for haiti has been funneled through at least organizations according
to the foundation based on the pattern from roughly percent of the
donations are likely to come from individuals and percent from corporate
donations
rugbyu voice of rugby mclaren dead at
london jan afp
legendary rugby union television commentator bill mclaren has died at the age of
the bbc announced on tuesday
the bbc said mclaren had died at gmt on tuesday in the community hospital in
his hometown of hawick in the scottish borders
mclaren became known as the voice of rugby to generations of british fans
during career spanning nearly years
he retired in having first broadcast on bbc radio in when still
reporter on the hawick express newspaper
such was the global standing of the bbc during his career that mclaren voice
also became well known to rugby followers around the world
renowned for his distinctive voice and impartiality mclaren combined his work
as broadcaster with that of physical education teacher up until and
