entertainment skorea us universal film resort ndlead
seoul
us film giant universal studios signs deal with south korean partners to build
its largest theme park in asia at cost of billion dollars
words moved picture
lebanon economy bank governor interview
beirut
lebanon bank deposits have risen by more than percent and foreign currency
reserves are at record levels thanks to relatively stable political situation
in the last two years central bank governor riad salameh tells afp in an
interview
words gmt by rana moussaoui picture video
afp gmt news advisory
hong kong jan afp
duty editor smith
tel
troops struggle to control haiti looters
new christian muslim clashes in nigerian city
japan airlines goes bankrupt
haiti quake lead wrap
port au prince
troops struggle to control looters in the ruined haiti capital while rescuers
pull babies and women from the rubble and still hope to find more week after
the devastating earthquake
words gmt by dave clark graphic picture video
nigeria unrest religion thlead
kano nigeria
fresh christian muslim clashes erupt in nigeria flashpoint city of jos and
authorities impose hour curfew in bid to end violence which has left at
least people dead and hundreds injured since the weekend
words gmt
japan airline company distress jal thlead
tokyo
japan airlines goes bankrupt with billion dollars of debt in one of the
country biggest ever corporate failures beginning painful overhaul
involving more than job cuts
words gmt by daniel rook picture graphic video
haiti quake
haiti quake rescue un hope rdlead
geneva
the un believes that survivors can still be found from the debris of haiti
devastating earthquake week after the disaster pointing out that over
people have already been pulled out alive by international rescuers
words gmt
haiti quake un ban thlead
united nations
the security council meets to consider request for extra un troops and
police to be deployed to haiti amid scenes of lawlessness on the streets of the
stricken capital port au prince
words gmt by gerard aziakou
europe
britain us food company takeover cadbury kraft deal rdlead wrap
london
british confectioner cadbury agrees an billion pound takeover by us giant
kraft in giant deal which will create world food and confectionery leader
words gmt by roland jackson pictures
eu parliament commission bulgaria rdlead
strasbourg
bulgaria under fire eu commission nominee withdraws her bid and resigns as her
country foreign minister amid controversy over her financial dealings
words gmt
britain iraq military politics inquiry
london
the first former cabinet minister to give evidence to the iraq war inquiry
defends britain role in the conflict insisting it always wanted diplomatic
solution ahead of tony blair appearance next week
words gmt by guy jackson picture
americas
us politics senate vote ndlead focus
boston massachusetts
senate election in massachusetts on tuesday could decide the fate of president
barack obama ambitious reform agenda
words gmt
africa
somalia piracy shipping unrest lead
mogadishu
at least six people are killed in intense fighting between rival somali pirates
arguing over record ransom paid for greek supertanker
words gmt by mustafa haji abdinur
guinea politics lead
coup wracked guinea names opposition figure jean marie dore as interim prime
minister under deal aimed at leading the west african country out of
political crisis
words gmt
asia
australia nzealand royals william rdlead
sydney
britain prince william is welcomed to australia by an aboriginal elder daubed
in body paint and bearing smouldering gum leaves on his first visit since he
came here as baby years ago
words moved by madeleine coorey picture
moody maintains negative outlook on greece
paris jan afp
international rating agency moody said on tuesday it was maintaining its
negative outlook on greece despite greek government plan to shore up public
finances
given the lack of certainty surrounding the the greek government ability to
implement the programme moody negative outlook remains unchanged the agency
said
football league result
sydney jan afp
result of australian league match played on tuesday
adelaide united pantelis dodd perth glory burns mcbreen
urgent moody maintains negative outlook on greece
paris jan afp
international rating agency moody on tuesday said it was maintaining its
negative outlook on greece despite greek government plan to shore up public
finances
football brazilian great zico fired at olympiakos
pireaus greece jan afp
brazilian legend zico was fired tuesday as the coach of greek champions
olympiakos as the team fell seven points behind arch rivala panathinaikos in the
domestic table
olympiakos announced that the caretaker coach will be the team bosnian serb
scouter bozidar bandovic
zico joined olympiakos last september signing two year contract after
last coaching at cska moscow but failed to lead the team to first place in the
league
after the weekend scoreless draw at kavala olympiakos finds itself in second
place seven points behind leader panathinaikos
the team continues to play in the champions league with last round tie
against french side bordeaux coming up next month
zico has also coached the japanese national team with whom he won
the asian cup as well as kashima antlers fenerbachce
and bunyodkor
boeing reports orders for
paris jan afp
us aircraft manufacturer boeing has received orders for its long range
dreamliner plane from airlines the head of boeing france said on tuesday
describing the tally as historic
yves galland told press conference the order total took account of
cancellations of which were received last year
but he said the order total was historic for the launch of an aircraft
the first of the planes will be delivered to the japanese carrier ana in the
last quarter of
because of composite materials used in its construction the which has made
test flights but is two years behind schedule can cut fuel consumption by
percent according to galland
we are very aware of the problems that we have encountered but we are very
confident about the future he added
alert
moody maintains negative outlook on greece
bulgaria proposes world bank figure for eu job
brussels jan afp
bulgaria has proposed top world bank official kristalina georgieva as its eu
commissioner following the withdrawal of the under fire rumiana jeleva
commission chief jose manuel barroso said tuesday
barroso took note of jeleva withdrawal which came amid allegations of
incompetence and opacity over her financial affairs
bulgarian prime minister boyko borisov has in the meantime informed president
barroso of his intention to suggest ms kristalina georgieva currently vice
president of the world bank as member of the european commission brussels
said in statement
barroso welcomes the swift reaction of the bulgarian government to this
situation the statement said adding that the process of putting together his
new member policy commission should now continue and be concluded at the
earliest opportunity
british inflation hits percent official
london jan afp
annual inflation in recession hit britain surged to percent in december
partly owing to changes in taxation levels official data showed on tuesday
cpi annual inflation the government target measure was percent in
december up from percent in november the office for national statistics
ons said in statement
the increase in the cpi annual rate of percentage point between november
and december is the largest ever increase in the annual rate between two
months
consumer prices index cpi inflation increased by percent in december from
november the ons added
market expectations had been for an annual gain of percent and month on
month increase of percent according to analysts polled by dow jones
newswires
this record annual increase is due to number of exceptional events that
took place in december said the ons
the figures were skewed by lower inflation last year after the government had
cut taxation on goods and services in december to help revive the economy
as britain struggled with recession
that month inflation was also lower because of falling oil prices and seasonal
sales
the british government had slashed vat or value added tax to percent in
bid to boost consumer spending
however vat reverted back to its pre recession level of percent on january
the rise in headline cpi inflation was primarily driven by the anniversary
of the cut in vat said capital economics analyst jonathan loynes on tuesday
the renewed rise to percent will have further upward effect in january
he warned
the bank of england tasked by britain government with keeping annual
inflation close to percent has forecast that the rate will fall back
towards percent later this year
binding climate change deal reachable this year pachauri
abu dhabi jan afp
countries could reach binding agreement on climate change in mexico city this
year after failing to do so in copenhagen the chairman of the intergovernmental
panel on climate change said tuesday
think we have very short period of time in which the world has to get its
act together and if that happens then certainly mexico could produce binding
agreement rajendra pachauri told news conference at the third world future
energy summit in abu dhabi
it daunting but certainly doable prospect he said referring to the
next summit planned for later this year in the mexican capital
climate talks in copenhagen last month ended with non binding agreement to
reduce rises in global temperatures result that has been criticised as
insufficient
but if countries are to reach binding agreement in mexico city there are
few critical factors which would need superhuman effort pachauri said
one of them is commitment from the us he said
countries would also need to take steps such as agreeing on an institutional
framework by which funding for developing nations to address climate change
could be effectively utilised he said
norwegian foreign minister jonas gahr store too said binding agreement in
mexico city is within reach
agree with pachauri it doable but would add it hard and we have
to build on every positive experience with copenhagen and we have to do
everything to limit the negative experiences from copenhagen store told afp on
the sidelines of the summit
he added that the challenges posed by climate change would not be resolved soon
we who are policymakers will deal with climate change every day for the rest of
our political lives he said we have to stop thinking that this is something
we solve at the next conference it part of an ongoing process
wd al bpz
asian shares mixed as jal files for bankruptcy
hong kong jan afp
japan airlines filed for bankruptcy protection on tuesday as it battles to
overcome crippling debts while uncertainty over us bank earnings led to mixed
day for asian markets
asia biggest carrier will receive billions of dollars in public aid to keep it
flying as it undergoes painful revamp that will see it cut about jobs
about third of its staff
management at japan airlines jal formally began proceedings tuesday afternoon
making it one of the highest profile victims yet of japan economic woes
soon after its filing the tokyo stock exchange said the company would be
delisted from the bourse on february
the firm has estimated debts of about trillion yen billion dollars
and as well as cutting jobs will also look to slash routes and sell assets
dealers expected the decision which came after the stock market closed and jal
shares hit an all time low of three yen three us cents cutting its market
value to about million dollars far less than the cost of new jumbo jet it
finished flat at five yen
the nikkei ended down percent or points at
investors are expected to be left out of pocket if jal goes bust although tokyo
says it will stay in the skies during the restructuring which is expected to be
similar to the process used for us auto giant general motors
the government has prepared various support measures transport minister seiji
maehara told reporters we want to help jal to recover while operating
safely he added
with wall street closed for public holiday on monday markets elsewhere in the
region were given little direction and dealers were looking ahead to us banks
fourth quarter reports
jp morgan chase last week announced fourth quarter net earnings quadrupled and
profits doubled for the full year but the news came in below many analysts
expectations weighing on the stock on friday
while investor sentiment started with flourish mixed dose of us
corporate earnings has seen risk appetite fade little danica hampton
forex strategist at bank of new zealand told dow jones newswires
citigroup is set to announce its results later tuesday with bank of america
morgan stanley and wells fargo to follow later in the week
sydney fell percent or points to
financials ended percent lower while the materials sector including miners
rio tinto and bhp billiton dropped percent
the market opened the session slightly higher but by mid morning the
financials had begun to lead the sell off said ig markets analyst ben potter
seoul closed flat with the index edging down points to
but shanghai and hong kong rose helped by banks and property developers due to
easing concerns over monetary tightening in china dealers said
hong kong rose percent or points to
and the shanghai composite index which covers both and shares was up
percent or points to
oil majors were also helped by slight upturn in crude prices
china banking regulator said overnight it had always required banks to base
lending on real economic demand and properly manage the pace and quality of
lending signalling an attempt to defuse concerns over new loan guidelines
oil was mixed tuesday after suffering big losses at the end of last week and on
monday
new york main contract light sweet crude for february delivery was cents
higher at dollars barrel while brent north sea crude for february
delivery eased cents to dollars
the dollar slipped to yen in tokyo afternoon trade from late monday
in europe while the euro edged up to dollars from but declined to
yen from
in hong kong gold closed higher at us dollars an ounce from
monday close of dollars
in other markets
singapore closed flat edging up points to
the index seems somewhat undecided at this point in time however the range
in which the index is trading in is shrinking said phillip securities
analyst phua ming weii
singapore airlines was up cents to dollars and singapore telecom eased
three cents to
taipei closed down percent or points at
formosa plastics fell percent to taiwan dollars and asustek was down
percent at
wellington fell percent or points to
auckland international airport fell one cent to dollars declining total
of percent since news on monday last week it would buy quarter share in
north queensland airports
kuala lumpur gained percent or points to
food company nestle rose percent to ringgit as public bank climbed
percent to ringgit
manila shed or points to
telecom giant philippine long distance telephone co dropped percent to
pesos
jakarta gained percent or points to
coal miner bumi resources jumped percent to while bank rakyat
indonesia climbed percent to rupiah
bangkok lost points or percent to close at points
coal producer banpu fell to close at baht and energy firm ptt plc
closed baht lower to baht
analysts said the market was negatively affected by news of protests to be held
some time next week by anti government protesters who support ousted former
premier thaksin shinawatra at the country main airport in bangkok
indian shares fell percent with the share benchmark sensex down
points at in choppy trade on profit taking in software and auto
stocks dealers said
amid fears that stronger rupee would hit foreign currency earnings of india
software outsourcing giants software exporter wipro fell percent or
rupees to ahead of its third quarter earnings on wednesday
india largest software exporter tcs fell percent or rupees to on
profit taking after gaining smartly last week
football struggling hanover sack bergmann
berlin jan afp
hanover coach andreas bergmann on tuesday became the sixth bundesliga coach
to be sacked this season after his side dropped into the german league bottom
three last weekend
it has been disastrous season for the north german club after their captain
and germany goalkeeper robert enke committed suicide on november and now the
team has slipped into the relegation zone
saturday home defeat by bottom side hertha berlin put hanover in the
bottom three after their first game back following the winter break and bergmann
has paid the price for his side run of seven games without win
we will try to present short term follow up solution said hanover
director of sport jorg schmadtke
after three consecutive defeats and run of now seven games without victory
the leaders of hanover no longer feel andreas bergmann can give the team the
necessary impetus to stay in the bundesliga
bergmann only took over in august after dieter hecking who now coaches
nuremberg was sacked after just two games but after bergmann matches in
charge hanover had won just four games
but the year old helped keep the team together after the hammer blow of
enke suicide
andreas bergmann put in some good work and guided the team through the
difficult phase after the dreadful tragedy of robert enke with feeling said
schmadtke
but unfortunately the necessary victories we need to make sure we stay in the
bundesliga have not come
both former schalke coach mirko slomka and holger stanislawski who is current
coach of second division saint pauli have been linked to the job
hecking michael oenning nuremberg marcel koller vfl bochum lucien favre
hertha berlin und markus babbel vfb stuttgart are the other five coaches who
have been sacked by bundesliga sides this season
bulgarian fm confirms resignation pulls out of race for eu job
sofia jan afp
bulgarian foreign minister rumiana jeleva has offered her resignation and is
pulling out of the race for top eu job she confirmed tuesday in letter to
prime minister boyko borisov
in the letter copy of which was obtained by afp jeleva wrote please accept
my resignation from all the posts that currently hold and undertake the
necessary action to withdraw my candidature for eu commissioner
jeleva who is also one of vice presidents of the european people party
asked borisov to nominate to european commission president jose manuel
barroso another candidate for commissioner from bulgaria
she faced fierce grilling at the european parliament development committee
last week over irregularities in her financial declarations and doubts about her
competence for the job of eu humanitarian aid commissioner
the controversy surrounding her nomination also threatened to jeopardise the
future of the whole barroso team
football sullivan plans olympic future after buying west ham
london jan afp
former birmingham owner david sullivan took control of west ham on tuesday and
immediately outlined ambitious plans to move the club into the new stadium being
built for the london olympics in
in statement west ham confirmed that sullivan would assume operational and
commercial control following his acquisition of percent stake which values
the troubled london club at million pounds million dollars
sullivan is hoping to attract other investors to join him at club which has
been financially crippled by the fallout from the credit crunch and its impact
on its former icelandic owners
don under estimate the huge task taking on at club with enormous
problems sullivan said before assuring supporters that gianfranco zola
position was safe and that the popular manager would be given funds to
strengthen squad fighting for survival in the premier league
sullivan also revealed that he would like to move west ham from their current
capacity home at upton park to the nearby olympic stadium as part of
plan to turn west ham into leading force in english football
we have seven year plan to get west ham into the champions league and turn
them into big club sullivan said
we plan to spend lot of money and we hope to persuade the government to let
us move to the new olympic stadium and believe the people of east london
would support that move
david gold sullivan long standing partner at birmingham will serve as joint
chairman while former birmingham managing director karren brady the most high
profile woman in english football has been appointed vice chair
sullivan acquired his controlling stake from cb holdings company headed by
icelandic bank straumur which took control of west ham in june on behalf of
creditors of the club former owner bjorgolfur gudmundsson
sullivan was brought up close to west ham upton park ground in east london
and he claimed supporters would be relieved to see the club back in the hands
of east enders
he added ve been interested in running west ham for years and can
wait to start work enjoyed running birmingham for and half years but
everyone there knew my first love was always west ham
sullivan concluded the deal to buy the club after tony fernandes the chief
executive of airasia and the boss of the lotus formula one team pulled out the
race
the malaysian businessman posted message on twitter which read deal lost on
west ham hopefully new owners protect what good we gave awesome deal and new
ideas to rejuvenate club and bring excitement
sullivan and gold have been working towards takeover of west ham since leaving
birmingham in november following the sale of their controlling interest in that
club to hong kong businessman carson yeung
the duo have promised that they will provide funds for zola to bolster his squad
in the current transfer window but sullivan also warned that they would seek to
address imbalance in the squad and the crazy wages the club has been paying
we will look to bring in new players where needed once we have met with the
manager sullivan added we realise as fans that the club needs few
additions
sullivan made it clear that the positions of zola and his assistant steve clarke
were safe despite west ham currently languishing in th place in the top
flight table with only goal difference keeping them out of the relegation zone
west ham united needs stability after all the recent upheaval sullivan added
we appointed four managers and parted company with two in years at
birmingham we believe in our managers and give them the time and support they
need
armenian opposition journalist jailed over unrest court
yerevan jan afp
an armenian court sentenced an opposition journalist to seven years in prison
tuesday for his involvement in mass post election protests that sparked deadly
unrest court spokeswoman said
nikol pashinian prominent opposition figure and editor of the haykakan
zhamanak newspaper was convicted on charges of organising mass unrest
yerevan district court spokeswoman alina engoian told afp
pashinian was key organiser of opposition protests following president serzh
sarkisian victory in february election
street battles broke out when riot police moved in to disperse thousands of
supporters of former armenian president levon ter petrosian who came second in
the vote
two police officers and eight civilians were killed in the clashes and dozens
more were injured many from gunshot wounds
pashinian went into hiding following the unrest but turned himself in to
authorities in july he ran unsuccessfully in parliamentary by election
earlier this month in an attempt to gain immunity from prosecution
spokesman for ter petrosian opposition armenian national congress said the
sentence flew in the face of armenian law and the country international
commitments
this is lawlessness this shows how the current regime flouts not only the law
but resolutions of the council of europe which has called for people who did
not carry out violent acts and who presented themselves before the law to be
acquitted said the spokesman levon zurabian
rights body the council of europe has repeatedly raised concerns about what it
calls artificial or politically motivated charges against opposition activists
related to the unrest
armenia mountainous country of about three million people wedged between
azerbaijan georgia iran and turkey has seen repeated political violence and
post election protests since gaining independence with the soviet union
collapse in
urgent bulgaria proposes world bank figure for eu commission barroso
brussels jan afp
bulgaria has proposed top world bank official kristalina georgieva as its eu
commissioner following the withdrawal of the under fire rumiana jeleva
commission chief jose manuel barroso said tuesday
rugbyu attoub banned for weeks for gouging
paris jan afp
stade francais prop david attoub has been banned from rugby for weeks for
gouging an opponent in the european cup match against ulster officials at the
paris club said on tuesday
the sanction was imposed by the european rugby cup the organising body of the
european cup who found the player guilty of the offence on friday
club president max guazzini said that attoub would appeal the sanction which
would be effective from last december until april
attoub was cited for gouging ulster lock stephen ferris during stormy european
cup clash in belfast on december
the initial hearing on december was adjourned until january to allow for
more evidence to be gathered after doubts were cast on the veracity of
photograph which showed the incident
the ban follows week ban given to attoub team mate and scrum half julien
dupuy for gouging the same player in the same tie
dupuy who started the year as starter in the french international lineup
appealed but his ban was only cut by week
guinea chooses interim prime minister
ouagadougou jan afp
coup wracked guinea has named opposition figure jean marie dore as interim prime
minister the junta announced tuesday under deal aimed at leading the country
out of political crisis
jean marie dore has been designated prime minister said idriss cherif
spokesman for transitional junta leader general sekouba konate
he said konate would sign decree formalising dore appointment on tuesday in
conakry
an agreement signed on friday paved the way for unity government led by
prime minister from the forces vives coalition of opposition parties trade
unions and civil society members
under friday accord in burkina faso capital ouagadougou elections are to be
held in the west african country within six months and junta chief captain
moussa dadis camara will remain in convalescence following december bid to
kill him
iran khatami lashes out at ahmadinejad defends protesters
tehran jan afp
reformist ex president mohammad khatami defended opposition protesters and
accused iran leadership of lying to the people his website reported on
tuesday
khatami key figure in the opposition camp which has infuriated hardliners
with its street protests also slammed those in power who commit violence with
