it was years ago that is long time my memory isn that good now said
german born blatt who now lives in california but that he remembered being
faced with death every second
can remember my mother face any more or my father
demjanjuk whose family says he is gravely ill and who again appeared in court
on stretcher tuesday denies the charges but has so far declined to address
the court
the trial likely to be the last major case dealing with war crimes during the
nazi regime is due to last until at least may
un gives million dollars in humanitarian aid to congo
kinshasa jan afp
the united nations on tuesday said it would give million dollars in aid to
the democratic republic of congo for humanitarian programmes in the country
ravaged by years of war
the funding managed by the un central emergency response fund cerf would
be allocated to specific priority projects run by the un and its partners
said humanitarian action coordinator abdou dieng in statement
since at least million dollars have been released for congo through
cerf
thanks to this continued support millions of children women and men have had
access to drinkable water food shelter basic household items medical help
and access to education dieng added
last month the un put the number of displaced persons in congo at over two
million mainly in the east due to recurrent violence caused by armed groups
which regularly attack civilians
banned iraq vote candidates had saddam links official
baghdad jan afp
all candidates banned from running in iraq general election had links to
ousted dictator saddam hussein political and military infrastructure
parliamentary official told mps on tuesday
the names of blacklisted contenders have been handed over to their respective
parties who have three days to appeal the decision which has alarmed washington
and the united nations ahead of the country march vote
anyone who has an objection can go to the appeals committee within the next
hours falah hassan shanshal head of parliament accountability and justice
committee who had been asked to investigate the list told lawmakers
the independent high electoral commission ihec iraq election organiser
last week announced about people had been banned from taking part in the
ballot the second such vote since the us led ouster of saddam
the list was compiled by separate integrity and accountability committee
headed by shiite politician and former post invasion deputy prime minister ahmed
chalabi whose job is to vet applicants and purge unsuitable contenders
it has not been published however and the exclusion of such high number of
election hopefuls could spark sectarian tension and jeopardise the war torn
nation fragile national reconciliation process analysts say
the lack of transparency over the process has also alarmed washington and us
diplomats in baghdad
us vice president joe biden had spoken about the issue by telephone with iraqi
prime minister nuri al maliki as well as president jalal talabani government
spokesman told afp
defence minister abdel qader jassem al obeidi and prominent sunni lawmaker saleh
al mutlak persistent critic of the shiite dominated government are among
those who have been barred from taking part in the election
shanshal gave parliament detailed breakdown of the blacklisted candidates
he said including mid ranking members were in the baath party and
further belonged to saddam fedayeen men of sacrifice feared
military unit and mukhabarat the executed dictator intelligence service
the committee also eliminated officers from military associations
including divisional commanders with the rank of major general or brigadier
general who had been decorated by the baath party shanshal said
five candidates who participated in putting down the shia uprising against
saddam in southern iraq following the first gulf war in were also
eliminated as well as three other individuals who had spread baathist ideas
government spokesman ali al dabbagh confirmed biden discussed the matter with
maliki and talabani but baghdad view was it is not good to politicise the
issue
we do understand that they are worried about measures that might complicate the
election process said dabbagh normally biden is giving advice they want
to see the process going the right way
moscow to send envoy to kiev after freeze in ties medvedev
moscow russia jan afp
russian president dmitry medvedev said tuesday he would send an ambassador to
kiev after five month freeze news agencies reported following the election
defeat of ukraine pro western president
think you should begin your duties as ambassador to ukraine and try to do the
most to strengthen the friendly character of our countries relations medvedev
told ambassador appointee mikhail zurabov quoted by russian news agencies
medvedev appointed zurabov ambassador to ukraine last year but announced in
august that he would not be sending him to kiev to protest the anti russian
policies of ukrainian president viktor yushchenko
on sunday yushchenko re election bid failed miserably in presidential polls
as voters gave him humiliating fifth place finish
two candidates viewed as friendly to moscow pro russia politician viktor
yanukovich and prime minister yulia tymoshenko took the largest share of votes
on sunday and are now set to compete in february run off
events in haiti since the devastating earthquake
port au prince jan afp
here are the main events since the devastating earthquake hit haiti week ago
january
powerful earthquake measuring shakes port au prince the capital of
haiti at pm gmt tsunami alert is issued by the us geological
survey
public buildings including the presidential palace the cathedral the
parliament and the united nations peacekeeping headquarters are all destroyed
january
the international federation of the red cross says there are between
and casualties while the un estimates are homeless
looters raid the world food programme warehouses in port au prince
january
the un says the quake is the worst disaster ever confronted by the
organisation with whole areas obliterated and local services non existent
january
haiti decrees state of emergency until the end of january as minister
says bodies have been buried in mass graves while the us general running
the military relief effort says the final death toll could be as high as
aid to haiti totalling million dollars million euros is pledged by
un members
january
the united states sends between and soldiers to haiti
january
troops struggle to control bands of looters roaming the streets of port au
prince and the un calls for more international peacekeepers to help
protect relief supplies
russian deficit better than expected report
moscow jan afp
russia public deficit came to percent of gross domestic product last year
sharp improvement from what had been initially forecast the news agency
interfax reported citing preliminary finance ministry figures
the russian government had at first predicted shortfall in public finances
equivalent to percent of output in response to the global economic crisis
and fall in oil prices
but as prices strengthened the government improved its forecast with finance
minister alexei kudrin speaking in late december of deficit between and
percent
dubai debt could be as much as billion dollars report
dubai jan afp
the total debt of cash strapped dubai could be as much as billion dollars
much higher than earlier reported according to report by efg hermes regional
investment bank
the total debt held by dubai inc could well be in the range of billion
dollars the bank said in its uae yearbook copy of which was received
by afp on tuesday
dubai inc is term used to refer to the dubai government and its government
related entities
dubai shook world markets in november when it said it wanted to request freeze
on debt repayments by its largest and most indebted conglomerate dubai world
at the time dubai total debt including that of its state firms was
reportedly billion dollars with dubai world owing billion dollars
efg hermes said it estimated dubai inc capital market debt including bonds
and syndicated loans to have risen to billion dollars in including
funds raised by the government to meet debt obligations
but it pointed to upside risks which could take the total debt to billion
dollars highlighting lack of data on bilateral loans between dubai inc and
banks
bilateral lending is bigger concern to us since the scale of lending
could be very large and data are practically non existent the bank said
it estimated that the local emirates nbd bank alone has roughly billion
dollars in bilateral loans to dubai inc
it also warned that there could be some capital market debt that is unaccounted
for
meanwhile efg hermes said voluntary restructurings of dubai inc debt are
likely as around percent of dubai inc debt which falls due in
is from syndicated loans
the creditors involved are limited number of banks which will most likely
take relationship based long term view of these liabilities therefore we
expect high degree of voluntary restructuring it said
last month international fears loomed over dubai ability to repay maturing
islamic bonds worth billion dollar owed by dubai world property arm
nakheel when they were due on december
but the payment was made thanks to last minute financial aid extended by oil
rich abu dhabi
dubai world has already started negotiations with its creditors to restructure
the debt of its troubled subsidiaries amounting to billion dollars
abu dhabi has so far pledged billion dollars to help fellow emirate dubai
sort out the debt problems of its firms in addition to billion dollars made
available by the abu dhabi based central bank of the united arab emirates
italy energy chief vows to develop pro nuclear culture
rome jan afp
the head of italian energy giant enel vowed tuesday to develop pro nuclear
culture nearly quarter century after atomic energy was banned in italy
we have to work on public opinion to defeat the nimby not in my backyard
syndrome enel chief executive fulvio conti told reporters after meeting with
some companies interested in taking part in the reintroduction of nuclear
power to italy
emma marcegaglia head of italy business lobby confindustria who co hosted
the meeting with conti warned against being seized by fear and by demagoguery
always influenced by the mind frame of elections regional or otherwise
italy will hold regional elections in late march
this project needs to unite everyone who has an interest in it which means
every citizen conti said
nuclear power was banned in italy after referendum held in just months
after the chernobyl nuclear disaster
early tuesday activists from environmental pressure group greenpeace
unrolled huge banner reading stop nuclear madness from the palazzo della
civilta italiana near the venue in rome suburb near where conti spoke
italian prime minister silvio berlusconi announced shortly after taking power in
may that italy would begin building nuclear power stations to reduce the
country dependence on foreign oil and gas supplies
enel along with france electricity company electricite de france in august
created the joint venture sviluppo nucleare italia to build four european
pressurised reactors eprs in italy
their construction will represent an investment that conti estimated at between
billion and billion euros billion dollars
italy development minister in november played down concerns over the epr
control system
italy first nuclear plants since the ban are scheduled to be operational by
and the government has set target of producing one quarter of its power
needs through nuclear energy by
corrected cadbury melts into kraft with multi billion dollar takeover
london jan afp
british chocolate bar maker cadbury melted into the arms of us giant kraft on
tuesday in multi billion dollar deal to create world leader in food and
confectionery that sparked fears of job losses
cadbury management has agreed to an improved takeover worth pence per share
the companies announced in statement valuing the group at around billion
pounds billion euros billion dollars
the friendly takeover marks the end of prolonged and bitter battle for control
of cadbury which is steeped in history and nostalgia and whose products are
loved by millions of sweet toothed customers worldwide
cadbury which began life as small grocer shop in birmingham central
england in now spans countries with staff and top selling brands
including cadbury creme eggs dairy milk and roses chocolates
prior to tuesday cadbury had repeatedly rejected kraft arguing that its
previous cash and shares offer was derisory and had undervalued the london
listed firm
but kraft emerged victorious on tuesday despite opposition from senior
government ministers and trade unions over an attempt by huge us firm to take
over british company deemed monument to the chocolate bar
we believe the offer represents good value for cadbury shareholders and are
pleased with the commitment that kraft foods has made to our heritage values
and people throughout the world said chairman roger carr in the statement
we will now work with the kraft foods management to ensure the continued
success and growth of the business for the benefit of our customers consumers
and employees
the new firm will create global market leader with annual sales totalling more
than million dollars but worries about job losses deepened after the pair
admitted that they would make significant cost savings
if the deal is approved by regulators and shareholders the combined group will
remould the chocolate sector and eclipse us firm mars which is currently the
biggest confectionery company in the world
investors welcomed tuesday news sending cadbury share price percent
higher to pence in afternoon trade on london falling ftse index of
leading companies
under the deal kraft will pay pence in cash and new kraft foods
shares per cadbury share
cadbury shareholders will also receive pence per share in special dividend
if the takeover is successful including this dividend the improved kraft offer
is worth billion pounds
but the takeover will end more than years of history and independence for
the colourful maker of chocolate bar brands crunchie fudge flake and wisp as
well as halls throat sweets and trident chewing gum
kraft previous bid had valued the iconic british firm at about billion
pounds
kraft foods believes combination with cadbury will provide the potential for
meaningful cost savings and revenue synergies from which cadbury security
holders will benefit the statement added
kraft foods believes combination represents strong and complementary
strategic fit creating global confectionery leader with portfolio of more
than confectionery brands each with annual sales in excess of million
dollars
in reaction to the announcement british prime minister gordon brown said that
his government was determined to help save jobs at cadbury
we are determined that the levels of investment that take place in cadbury in
the united kingdom are maintained and we are determined that at time when
people are worried about their jobs that jobs in cadbury can be secure brown
said at press conference
cadbury employs around staff at eight factories in britain and ireland
there have been fears about british job losses with trade union unite warning
kraft would be saddled with huge debts leading them to axe posts at
cadbury and at the company sub contractors
markets were meanwhile waiting to see if us chocolate maker hershey would table
its own offer for cadbury the wall street journal last friday reported that
hershey planned to bid at least billion dollars this week
there has also been talk of possible joint bid for cadbury from hershey and
italian chocolate maker ferrero
cadbury dairy milk is the most popular chocolate bar in britain and the
company sells more than million bars every year in countries around the
world
kraft the world second biggest snacks group after nestle makes numerous
well known products including dairylea cheese milka and toblerone chocolate and
oreo cookies
this recommended offer represents compelling opportunity for cadbury
shareholders providing both immediate value certainty and upside potential in
the combined company said kraft boss irene rosenfeld
back in september kraft had embarked upon its quest to conquer cadbury
with billion pound offer
the us firm has improved the offer after boosting its financial fire power with
the recent sale of north american pizza division to swiss rival nestle for
billion dollars
football england fan loses portugal extradition fight
london jan afp
an england football fan lost court battle against extradition to portugal on
tuesday over his role in riot during the euro tournament there
but high court judge said garry mann was the victim of what appears to be
serious injustice and voiced hope that he would get further help from the
european court of human rights or british or portuguese authorities
mann claimed that he did not have fair trial in portugal over his alleged
role in football related violence in the algarve resort of albufeira in june
the briton was allowed to leave portugal in june despite the legal action
against him but european arrest warrant was issued against him in october
and he was arrested in britain in march
the high court in london agreed that mann had been deprived of proper legal
assistance but said it was powerless to act because it had no jurisdiction in
the case
in ruling it voiced hope that the european court or british or portuguese
authorities can strive to achieve some measure of justice for mr mann
justice of which he as been so signally deprived
the judge gave mann legal team two weeks to appeal to the european court or to
take further action in the english courts
mann lamented that the high court could not do more am bitterly disappointed
with today decision he said
my sovereign right to justice has been denied me basically as the judge said
because of the rigid framework and the statutory powers of the extradition act
which parliament implemented and has refused to review
it is nearly six years on six years of stress my family could have been
spared this is an unjust persecution that could have been resolved if could
have got my appeal in on time
french city accuses ryanair of blackmail
pau france jan afp
french city on tuesday accused ryanair of financial blackmail after the
irish low cost airline threatened to pull out of the local airport if public
subsidies were not quadrupled
ryanair wants the southwestern town of pau to hike its subsidies to million
euros two million dollars year for the next two years if it wants it to
maintain flights to britain belgium and paris city authorities said
that amounted to financial blackmail as it meant quadrupling of current
annual subsidies the airline gets from regional and city authorities they said
in statement
the airline was threatening to move its operations to the nearby airport of
tarbes if the subsidies were not increased the statement said
ryanair mostly flies to cheaper and less busy airports across europe where it
pays fraction of the fees at major hubs and where it can achieve faster
turnaround times for its planes
it often pressures regional authorities to provide financial aid in return for
its continued presence
bulgaria asks eu to intervene on greek farmers protests
sofia jan afp
bulgarian prime minister boyko borisov asked the european commission tuesday to
intervene to end protests by greek farmers that were blocking roads and border
checkpoints between the two countries
borisov press office said the premier had written to eu commission president
jose manuel barroso to complain that the blocking of an internal eu border was
unacceptable and breached basic rights and freedoms of other eu citizens as
well the principles of the common eu market
nevertheless borisov insisted he was not trying to infringe in any way on the
farmers fundamental right to strike
for the third straight day on tuesday angry greek farmers blocked the main
border crossings with bulgaria at kulata promahon and ilinden exohi stranding
dozens of lorries on either side
the eastern kapitan petko voyvoda ormenion and central zlatograd ksanti
checkpoints remained open but the mountainous terrain prevented trucks from
using the latter
the foreign ministry has already advised all bulgarians against travelling to
greece this week
in the meantime the government sought to speed up customs procedures at
checkpoints along the alternative route to greece via macedonia
greek farmers are protesting over drop in prices for products such as wheat
cotton milk and olive oil
border checkpoints remained shut for two weeks last year when greek farmers
staged similar protests
formula one de la rosa signs for bmw sauber
madrid jan afp
swiss formula one team bmw sauber has signed spain the experienced pedro de la
rosa as its second driver for the coming season the driver announced on
tuesday
always firmly believed would be given another chance as team driver
said the year old who was test driver at mclaren mercedes from to
really excited about the season with peter sauber team which has
been solid fixture in formula one ever since he said on his internet
site
pedro has spent many years working for top team at the highest technical
level sauber boss peter sauber said we as team stand to gain from his
experience
de la rosa who began his career at arrows in and has competed in races
with just the one podium placing in the hungarian grand prix will be the
second driver at bmw sauber joining japan kamui kobayashi
the formula one season gets underway on march with the bahrain grand
prix
fire hits ghana sole oil refinery
accra jan afp
fire swept through ghana only oil refinery on tuesday killing one person and
leaving another with serious burns according to the local joy fm radio
nine tankers that were loading fuel at the tema oil refinery all caught fire
said the radio adding that firefighters were able to put out the blaze within
an hour
the cause of the fire was not immediately known
ghana is gearing up for oil production later his year from its offshore jubilee
oilfield which was discovered in and believed to hold reserves of some
billion barrels
cadbury melts into kraft with multi billion dollar takeover
london jan afp
british chocolate bar maker cadbury melted into the arms of us giant kraft on
tuesday in multi billion dollar deal to create world leader in food and
confectionery that sparked fears of job losses
cadbury management has agreed to an improved takeover worth pence per share
the companies announced in statement valuing the group at around billion
dollars billion euros billion dollars
the friendly takeover marks the end of prolonged and bitter battle for control
of cadbury which is steeped in history and nostalgia and whose products are
loved by millions of sweet toothed customers worldwide
cadbury which began life as small grocer shop in birmingham central
england in now spans countries with staff and top selling brands
including cadbury creme eggs dairy milk and roses chocolates
prior to tuesday cadbury had repeatedly rejected kraft arguing that its
previous cash and shares offer was derisory and had undervalued the london
listed firm
but kraft emerged victorious on tuesday despite opposition from senior
government ministers and trade unions over an attempt by huge us firm to take
over british company deemed monument to the chocolate bar
we believe the offer represents good value for cadbury shareholders and are
pleased with the commitment that kraft foods has made to our heritage values
and people throughout the world said chairman roger carr in the statement
we will now work with the kraft foods management to ensure the continued
success and growth of the business for the benefit of our customers consumers
and employees
the new firm will create global market leader with annual sales totalling more
than million dollars but worries about job losses deepened after the pair
admitted that they would make significant cost savings
if the deal is approved by regulators and shareholders the combined group will
remould the chocolate sector and eclipse us firm mars which is currently the
biggest confectionery company in the world
investors welcomed tuesday news sending cadbury share price percent
higher to pence in afternoon trade on london falling ftse index of
leading companies
under the deal kraft will pay pence in cash and new kraft foods
shares per cadbury share
cadbury shareholders will also receive pence per share in special dividend
if the takeover is successful including this dividend the improved kraft offer
is worth billion pounds
but the takeover will end more than years of history and independence for
the colourful maker of chocolate bar brands crunchie fudge flake and wisp as
well as halls throat sweets and trident chewing gum
kraft previous bid had valued the iconic british firm at about billion
pounds
kraft foods believes combination with cadbury will provide the potential for
meaningful cost savings and revenue synergies from which cadbury security
holders will benefit the statement added
kraft foods believes combination represents strong and complementary
strategic fit creating global confectionery leader with portfolio of more
than confectionery brands each with annual sales in excess of million
dollars
in reaction to the announcement british prime minister gordon brown said that
his government was determined to help save jobs at cadbury
we are determined that the levels of investment that take place in cadbury in
the united kingdom are maintained and we are determined that at time when
people are worried about their jobs that jobs in cadbury can be secure brown
said at press conference
cadbury employs around staff at eight factories in britain and ireland
there have been fears about british job losses with trade union unite warning
kraft would be saddled with huge debts leading them to axe posts at
cadbury and at the company sub contractors
markets were meanwhile waiting to see if us chocolate maker hershey would table
its own offer for cadbury the wall street journal last friday reported that
hershey planned to bid at least billion dollars this week
there has also been talk of possible joint bid for cadbury from hershey and
italian chocolate maker ferrero
cadbury dairy milk is the most popular chocolate bar in britain and the
company sells more than million bars every year in countries around the
world
kraft the world second biggest snacks group after nestle makes numerous
well known products including dairylea cheese milka and toblerone chocolate and
oreo cookies
this recommended offer represents compelling opportunity for cadbury
shareholders providing both immediate value certainty and upside potential in
the combined company said kraft boss irene rosenfeld
back in september kraft had embarked upon its quest to conquer cadbury
with billion pound offer
the us firm has improved the offer after boosting its financial fire power with
the recent sale of north american pizza division to swiss rival nestle for
billion dollars
afp middle east news summary
nicosia jan afp
top middle east stories on tuesday
iran nuclear politics military
tehran iran defence minister ahmad vahidi said that western warships
stationed in the gulf are best targets for the islamic republic if its nuclear
sites are attacked fars news agency reported
iran nuclear politics
tehran iran welcomed what it called the west newfound realism on tehran
controversial nuclear programme after world powers failed to decide on new
sanctions
iran politics opposition
tehran more than people have been arrested on the basis of tip offs after
police circulated photographs of demonstrators at december rally which turned
deadly police website reported
egypt archaeology discovery
cairo egyptian archaeologists have unearthed the remains of an ancient greek
temple dedicated to egyptian cat goddess bastet in the mediterranean city of
alexandria the antiquities department said
attacks yemen qaeda tribes chief
sanaa yemeni tribal leader sheikh arfaj hamad bin hadhban says he can field
fighters with just about everything but tanks and planes but that the
war on al qaeda is the central government business
yemen unrest media rights amnesty
dubai rights group amnesty international called on yemen to ensure that
newspaper editor and his two sons arrested earlier this month are protected from
torture and other ill treatment
mideast gaza flood
gaza city dozens of homes and farms south of gaza city were inundated by flood
waters overnight as heavy rains drenched parts of the middle east palestinian
officials and witnesses said
uae economy dubai finance banks
dubai cash strapped dubai said that the financial lifeline extended by abu
dhabi last month is only half of what was originally announced because it
included previously committed funding
lebanon economy bank governor
beirut lebanon bank deposits have risen percent and foreign currency
reserves have reached record levels thanks to growing confidence linked to the
relative political stability of the last two years central bank governor riad
salameh told afp in an interview
