ferrara team has lost seven of its last matches during which time they
crashed out of the champions league group stages and have fallen from second to
fifth in the serie table
the team is also hamstrung by important absentees such as strikers vincenzo
iaquinta and david trezeguet as well as midfielders felipe melo christian
poulsen and mauro camoranesi
so ferrara admitted he was relieved to have mohamed sissoko back from african
nations cup duty with mali and fit again having been injured before he went to
angola
momo is ready to play the important thing is that he not got any problems
the problems he had before are behind him and he ready
he important because of his great strength and because of the intensity he
brings to training that stimulates the whole group
afp advisory
washington jan afp
our us politics economy obama lead ex elyria ohio has been delayed we will
announce new time on our upcoming gmt advisory
us envoy meets abbas amid pessimism over mideast peace
ramallah west bank jan afp
us envoy george mitchell met palestinian president mahmud abbas on friday to
push middle east peace efforts despite president barack obama admission that
his drive for deal may have been overambitious
chief palestinian negotiator saeb erakat said the two had in depth talks and
that mitchell conveyed obama continuing commitment to resolving the decades
old conflict during the three hour meeting
but expectations of any breakthrough were low as israel and the palestinians
sparred anew blaming each other for the stalemate
erakat blamed israel for the lack of progress and acknowledged there were
differences between the palestinians and the us administration about restarting
peace talks
the american side wants to resume negotiations now without complete halt to
settlements erakat told reporters
we want to resume negotiations on the basis of defining the borders of the
palestinian state on all palestinian lands occupied since including east
jerusalem and complete halt to all settlement activities erakat said
later statement from prime minister benjamin netanyahu office blamed the
palestinians for putting obstacles to the resumption of peace talks
israel is not making any conditions for the resumption of negotiations the
palestinians are undermining this resumption by making conditions which they had
never made before it said
mitchell did not make any statement after the meeting with abbas which came
day after talks with israeli government officials and visits to syria and
lebanon two countries the envoy said should play key role in achieving
comprehensive middle east peace deal
obama has meanwhile acknowledged the scale of the difficulties
this is as intractable problem as you get the us president said in an
interview published in time magazine latest issue
both the israelis and the palestinians have found that the political
environment the nature of their coalitions or the divisions within their
societies were such that it was very hard for them to start engaging in
meaningful conversation obama said
think it is absolutely true that we didn produce the kind of
breakthrough that we wanted he said adding that if his administration had
anticipated the political problems on both sides we might not have raised
expectations as high
washington had pressed hard for israel to freeze settlement construction which
abbas has demanded ahead of any resumption of talks suspended during israel
war on hamas in the gaza strip last winter
the hawkish israeli prime minister announced in november month moratorium
on construction permits for israeli homes in the west bank outside annexed arab
east jerusalem but the palestinians said this fell far short of their demands
netanyahu on wednesday further complicated the task facing mitchell by laying
down new condition for any peace deal
netanyahu insisted that israel would keep permanent presence in the jordan
valley on the eastern border of the palestinians promised state
the palestinians categorically rejected the suggestion
israel haaretz newspaper on friday quoted senior minister it did not name as
saying the chances for resumption of peace talks were slim
on thursday un chief ban ki moon stressed the need for both sides to resume
negotiations if we do not move forward on the political process soon we risk
sliding backwards
ban also noted with concern that despite israel decision to restrain some
construction in the west bank activity and financial support for expansion are
continuing there and in east jerusalem
settlement construction violates international law and contravenes the roadmap
under which israel is obliged to freeze all settlement activity he said
olympics reigning snowboardcross champion frieden out of games
geneva jan afp
reigning olympic snowboard gold medallist tanja frieden will not be able to
defend her title in vancouver next month the swiss ski federation swiss ski
announced on friday
the year old was flown back to switzerland on thursday for treatment after
being injured during qualifying for canadian world cup race but subsequent
scans revealed the damage was too serious for her to be able to compete
the torn achilles tendon is so serious that the champion frieden will
not be able to compete at the vancouver olympic games february
announced swiss ski
frieden who is also suffering from dislocated shoulder will undergo an
operation on saturday
cannot find the words to describe how feel said frieden
it is heavy blow that has befallen me just two weeks before my main target
the olympic games
haiti port reopens as vital aid link
port au prince jan afp
the ruined haitian capital damaged port reopened friday days after
devastating earthquake as international rescuers scrambled to secure routes for
the supply of lifesaving aid
strong team of us coast guards landed amid the rusting and partly collapsed
cranes and jetties to provide basic security as shipments resumed
we are here for humanitarian efforts for the haitian people said petty
officer third class william arocho who arrived overnight from miami to make
sure there is no looting or things like that
we are going to be standing by the port we are going to set up our camp here
he said adding that if ships need to unload supplies for the beleaguered city
we will help to do it
the coast guard deployment is part of much larger us military operation that
has seen paratroopers from the nd airborne division secure the airport and
part of downtown port au prince and marines deploy to coastal towns
they will work alongside smaller but longer established united nations
peacekeeping force and coalition on un agencies and aid agencies responding to
the chaos left behind by quake that left at least dead
the port already run down before the quake is key part in this plan being
the only facility capable of bringing in large scale food and water shipments
aside from the already overstretched airport
the port is open today for business said us colonel charles heatherly
spokesman for the military joint task force haiti
according to another american official containers have already been
offloaded at the port in the past two days
pair of aid ships from france and the netherlands have unloaded supplies on
the unsteady pier while around more are anchored offshore
but gaping cracks still slice through the pier where ships dock and it wobbled
during each of the terrifying aftershocks that on thursday and friday succeeded
the original catastrophic tremor
us military divers were due to start repairing the pier friday work that was
expected to last at least several weeks while us coast guard and haitian
officials will ensure it is not overused
many observers have warned of rush by desperate survivors to reach the united
states by boat but those at the port say there are heading for the town of
jeremie where their families live in the far west of the island
belgian beer blockade lifted
brussels jan afp
blockade that threatened to strangle supplies of top belgian beers to home and
neighbouring european markets ended on friday after management and unions said
compromise was reached
two weeks after workers first barricaded stella artois jupiler and hoegaarden
breweries in protest at owners anheuser busch inbev plans to cut percent
of its european workforce drinkers can breathe easier
after the blockade is lifted the unions and management will start from scratch
with meetings of the works council that will deal with problems site by site
union representative tangui cornu told afp
the protest action began after the group announced on january that it planned
to cut around jobs in western europe in belgium of the jobs at
ab inbev the world biggest brewer were slated to go
the action achieved its initial goals leading to shortages in large
supermarkets and spike in guerrilla sales tactics from rival brewers
france luxembourg and the netherlands were also threatened by critically low
levels of stocks for bars tied through distribution deals
ab inbev produces around percent of the beer consumed in belgium bars and
cafes according to the national hoteliers and restaurants federation
macedonia bars eateries close to protest smoking ban
skopje jan afp
hundreds of cafes bars and restaurants across macedonia shut their doors to
customers on friday in hour protest against new smoking ban that they
claim has sent profits plummeting
even on the capital main pedestrian avenue makedonija people battled to find
an early morning coffee as establishments refused to open up in show of anger
about the ban introduced on january
the anti smoking law is considered one of the harshest in europe with smoking
banned in all public places including offices and hospitals and even outside
locations serving food or drinks
it has been hard going for many in the former yugoslav republic where it is
estimated that half of the two million citizens are smokers
this is nightmare the law is too strict so it has become torture for
smokers year old lawyer bojan ivanov told afp outside his office cigarette
in hand
however he did see some benefits now smoke only one cigarette per hour as it
is freezing before it was five per hour he said
the owners of cafes bars and restaurants say income has dropped by between
and percent since january and they want state authorities to reconsider
law they fear could lead to important job losses in the industry
macedonia already has nearly percent unemployment rate with the catering
industry providng around percent of jobs
our profession fell to its knees in the past days and we will probably not
be able to survive the first month tourism chamber of macedonia spokesman
darko danilov told afp
soon we will see the closing of bars and restaurants and mass firing of
employees danilov said
politicians have also proposed amendments to the law to enable smoking outside
eateries for example on balconies or in gardens but this has yet to be
debated
the owner of the kapka cafe in skopje said he had suffered percent drop in
income and lost most of the early morning customers who had previously stopped
by for coffee before heading to work
every morning had clientele coming for coffee before work ile sotirov told
afp now we open our doors at noon instead of am
bar and restaurant owners face fines of between and euros and
dollars for violating the regulations
anyone caught with cigarettes in areas where smoking is banned will have to pay
between and euros to dollars
even macedonia non smokers told afp the new law might be too harsh
thank god don feel like walking ashtray when leave restaurant
year old physics teacher suzana venovska said but it really might be too
strong that smoking is banned everywhere she said
commodities slide on china concerns
london jan afp
most commodity markets fell this week as traders fretted over possible moves by
beijing to rein in the booming chinese economy which is major consumer of raw
materials
however sugar rocketed to year peak and cocoa forged year pinnacle as
both were pushed higher by keen demand and tightening supplies
china remains at centre stage said barclays capital analysts in research
note to clients
despite proving unfounded on numerous occasions in the past concerns that
china bubble is about to burst are never far away for many commodity market
participants
those concerns have been piqued by china measures to slow lending growth
they added
china red hot economy expanded by percent in well exceeding the
government target of percent new data showed thursday as authorities
intervened to avert the risk of overheating
gross domestic product in the world third largest economy which analysts say
is on track to overtake japan returned to double digit growth in the fourth
quarter the growth of percent was the fastest in two years
top beijing regulator lim mingkang on wednesday said that china would rein in
credit after explosive growth last year as the world most populous nation
moves to cool its red hot economy also major energy consumer
the chairman of the china banking regulatory commission said in hong kong
wednesday that new bank loans in the country this year would fall to about
trillion yuan trillion us dollars from about trillion yuan in
analysts have said the policy was likely response to concerns about asset
bubbles bad loans and an overheating economy
oil world oil prices slumped against background of weak global demand for
energy led by china and the united states which are the world two biggest
consumers of crude
oil had closed down almost dollars lower on wednesday amid market concerns
that credit squeeze in china and swelling us stockpiles could dampen demand
for the key commodity traders said
the market was also dampened as us president barack obama unveiled plans to
crack down on the us financial sector on thursday
obama stated that he will intensify his efforts to curtail speculation by
banks which weighed on oil prices said commerzbank analyst carsten fritsch
however the implementation of these proposals is subject to approval by
congress which is doubtful market uncertainty over an outcome should continue
to weigh on the oil price for the time being
meanwhile the us department of energy doe said thursday that gasoline
reserves in the world biggest economy increased by stronger than expected
million barrels in the week ending january striking two year high
it also said refineries operated at percent of capacity last week their
lowest rate in at least two decades apart from the immediate aftermath of
hurricane
but us crude stocks fell barrels according to the doe report
confounding expectations of large gain of million barrels
oil prices jumped by about 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
by late friday new york main futures contract light sweet crude for delivery
in march slid to dollars barrel compared with dollars for the
since expired february contract week earlier
london brent north sea crude for march delivery slumped to dollars from
dollars week earlier
precious metals prices sank on the back of china concerns and the stronger
dollar and amid fears about soaring greek public debt
the whole precious complex suffered amid rallying greenback while concerns
over greece debt and looming monetary tightening were still gripping investor
sentiment said vtb capital commodities analyst andrey kryuchenkov
at the same time physical buyers were still absent from the market he added
stronger greenback makes dollar priced commodities like gold and oil more
expensive for buyers holding weaker currencies and tends to dampen demand
on thursday the euro had stuck six month low against the dollar as worries
that china will cool its booming economy curbed demand for risk sensitive
currencies
by friday on the london bullion market gold slid to dollars an ounce
from dollars the previous week
silver dived to dollars an ounce from dollars
on the london platinum and palladium market platinum decreased to dollars
an ounce from dollars
palladium fell to dollars an ounce from dollars
base metals base metals mostly fell on concerns about asian powerhouse economy
china
by friday on the london metal exchange copper for delivery in three months
dived to dollars tonne from dollars the previous week
three month aluminium slid to dollars tonne from dollars
three month lead recoiled to dollars tonne from dollars
three month tin decreased to dollars tonne from dollars
three month zinc dipped to dollars tonne from dollars
three month nickel rose slightly to dollars tonne from dollars
sugar sugar prices hit their best level for years on both sides of the
atlantic
sugar prices hit another fresh year peak with prices underpinned by
supportive fundamentals of supply and demand barclays capital analysts said
in new york unrefined sugar reached us cents pound the highest point
since the london market struck similar peak at pounds per tonne
by friday on the new york board of trade nybot the price of unrefined sugar
for march rose to us cents pound from cents the previous week
on liffe london futures exchange the price of tonne of white sugar for
delivery in march gained to pounds from pounds
cocoa prices surged to their highest level for more than years on worries
about lower output from top producer ivory coast
in london cocoa prices struck pounds tonne which was last seen back
in
the main crop cocoa harvest in top world producer ivory coast got off to
good start in the season compared to the disastrous previous season
said macquarie commodities analyst kona haque
however there is increasing evidence that cocoa arrivals to the main ivorian
ports is tailing off suggesting that the main crop harvest may be coming to an
end
this is slightly earlier than usual and has important implications as the
global market needs large crop if demand is to be met
by friday on liffe the price of cocoa for delivery in march rose to
pounds tonne from pounds the previous week
on the nybot the march cocoa contract eased to dollars tonne from
dollars
coffee coffee prices went off the boil falling as the us dollar strengthened
coffee prices came under pressure this week on the back of the stronger
dollar added haque
by friday on liffe robusta for delivery in march dipped to dollars
tonne from dollars the previous week
on the nybot arabica for march fell to us cents pound from
cents
grains and soya grains and soya prices dipped on news of robust supplies in key
producer the united states
by friday on the chicago board of trade maize for delivery in march fell to
dollars bushel from dollars the previous week
march dated soyabean meal used in animal feed sank to dollars from
dollars
wheat for march declined to dollars bushel from dollars
rubber prices edged higher due to strong demand from major consuming country
china amid tight supplies dealers said
on friday the malaysian rubber board benchmark smr climbed to us
cents kilo from cents the previous week
safrica steps up security after poachers kill rhinos
johannesburg jan afp
poachers have killed rhinos in south africa this year the national parks
authority said friday announcing military patrols in the world famous kruger
national park
these poachers are members of well resourced syndicates and are also involved
in chilling crimes like human trafficking arms smuggling prostitution and drug
trafficking said david mabunda chief of the south african national parks
sanparks in statement
they are dangerous criminals
rhino poaching has intensified in south africa with slaughtered seven in
kruger and seven in the north west province in the first two weeks of
january last year were killed nationwide
sanparks said plans were on for soldiers to patrol the borders of kruger and to
camp in specific areas kruger shares about kilometres miles of
international borders with zimbabwe and mozambique
the military will be primarily going to patrol that spokeswoman wanda
mukutshulwa told afp referring to the border areas with zimbabwe and
mozambique
patrols within the park which is half the size of the netherlands would be ad
hoc she added
rhinos are usually shot by poachers for their horn which is sold for medicinal
or ornamental use at huge profits
authorities have arrested people since with two arrests so far this year
in kruger where rhinos were killed last year
south africa is well known wildlife destination and home to africa big five
animals lion elephant rhino leopard and buffalo
euro rises as obama bank plan shock recedes
london jan afp
the euro clawed back against the dollar on friday after some upbeat data from
the eurozone and despite high market volatility after us president barack obama
outlined his bank reform plans
the european single currency was changing hands at dollars late in london
on friday compared to dollars late in new york on thursday
the euro was also up against the japanese currency rising to yen from
late on thursday while the dollar fell to yen from yen
the currency movements indicated that fears over obama plans to overhaul the
us banking system were receding with traders once again buying currencies seen
as more risky such as the euro as opposed to the safe haven yen
following the shock of yesterday banking proposals from president obama risk
aversion has started to relax said jane foley research director at online
currency trading company forex com
phil mchugh at currencies direct said that after obama announcement there had
been scramble to safer currency shores but the markets could not seem to work
out where to drop the anchor
mchugh said currency movements showed an explosion of volatility
the euro is certainly not out of the woods yet but the feeling is that greece
will be able to actively work on selling their debt and reducing their
exposure he added referring to the debt crisis in eurozone member greece
on the bond markets however greek yields spiked to record highs since the
country joined the eurozone in indicating low financial credibility
risk appetite has tended to recede since the end of last year because of
lacklustre economic data in the united states europe and japan as well as
recent signs china is moving to cool an overheating economy dealers said
hopes for sustainable global recovery declined further as stocks fell in
response to obama proposals unveiled on thursday to limit the size and scope
of us banks and finance firms
optimism for global economic recovery is receding prompting investors to
reduce their risky positions and favouring the yen as safe haven said
mitsubishi ufj trust and banking currency strategist toshihiko sakai
citi analyst michael hart also said that the obama proposals had sparked move
away from riskier currencies
following week during which risk aversion kept on rising sentiment reached
new trough after president obama yesterday outlined his plans to curtail
financial sector risk taking hart said
in london on friday the euro was changing hands at dollars against
dollars late on thursday yen pounds and
swiss francs
the dollar stood at yen and swiss francs
the pound was at dollars
on the london bullion market the price of gold dipped to dollars an ounce
from dollars on thursday
biden in iraq to defuse row over barred election candidates
baghdad jan afp
us vice president joe biden arrived in iraq on friday on mission aimed at
defusing political crisis after hundreds of candidates allegedly linked to
saddam hussein were barred from march elections
the visit by biden was not announced in advance for security reasons but it
comes amid the festering row on election candidates which has alarmed the white
house and united nations just weeks from polling day
white house statement said that biden president barack obama pointman on
the war torn country would meet with iraqi leaders receive updates from us
military and civilian leaders and visit us troops
biden would also meet iraqi president jalal talabani prime minister nuri al
maliki parliament speaker iyad al samarrai and other political leaders the
statement said
he will also meet the un secretary general special representative for iraq
ad melkert to discuss us and international effort to support iraq with focus
on the national election scheduled for march
blacklist of more than election candidates said to have links with
executed dictator saddam hussein regime has stoked tensions between the shiite
majority now leading the government and the sunni arab former elite
foreign minister hoshyar zebari told afp the purpose of biden visit would be
to salvage the electoral process
if there are delays in publishing the final candidates list it will affect the
us withdrawal process also he said
we need to get the final list of candidates for the election from ihec and if
we don it will have an impact on the timing of the election zebari added of
the country independent high electoral commission
the election row sparked flurry of contacts in recent days by biden aimed at
brokering compromise notably through president talabani who is kurd
biden proposed that the disqualifications be deferred until after the election
and that those candidates who have been barred condemn and disavow the baath
party and undertake to act through democratic means talabani said
ihec chief faraj al haidari meanwhile told afp more candidates could be barred
from the march polls with the defence and interior ministries publishing
lists naming numerous candidates who have criminal records or false diplomas
during his last visit to iraq in september biden said he remained
confident iraq security situation was not heading for new bout of sectarian
violence and reiterated american forces would withdraw by the end of
baghdad has twice since seen devastating bomb attacks targeting government
buildings in which hundreds of people have been killed
he also said that america role was switching from deep military engagement to
one of diplomatic support ahead of the exit
however when he visited soon after the urban pullback baghdad warned washington
to back off in its attempts to resolve rows between the strife torn country
sects saying that such interference could cause fresh problems
biden has repeatedly voiced concern about lingering feuds between iraq shiite
sunni and kurdish communities causing obstacles to political progress
on friday iraq government said the disqualified candidates would have to
denounce saddam regime and its crimes in order to reintegrate into society
without specifically offering reinstatement on ballot papers
the baathists must declare their innocence and condemn the crimes and
failings of saddam hussein regime and the baath party government spokesman
ali al dabbagh said
haidari meanwhile said the list of barred ex baathists includes an equal
proportion of sunnis and shiites as well as kurds and all the components of
iraqi society
but he said the government has no authority to reintegrate the baathists
since only the supreme court has the power to declare that the candidates
disqualifications lacked legal basis and to reinstate their names
talabani called on thursday for just such referral to the supreme court
questioning the legality of the integrity and accountability committee which
drew up the blacklist
meanwhile the president of the autonomous kurdish north massud barzani left on
friday for washington where he is due to hold talks with obama and senior us
officials on the elections and other issues senior aide fuad hussein said
lancet blasts aid industry in haiti chaos
london jan afp
the leading medical journal the lancet on friday accused major aid organisations
of corporate preening and self interest that had contributed to bedlam in the
effort to help haiti
international organisations national governments and non governmental
organisations are rightly mobilising but also jostling for position each
claiming that they are doing the best for earthquake survivors it said in an
editorial
some agencies even claim that they are spearheading the relief effort in
fact as we only too clearly see the situation in haiti is chaotic
devastating and anything but coordinated
the lancet did not name names and gave credit to exceptional work in difficult
circumstances by aid workers
but the british journal said the aid sector is undoubtedly an industry in
its own right and unpalatable as it might seem scrutiny of motives and
performance was justified
large aid agencies and humanitarian organisations are often highly competitive
with each other the lancet said
polluted by the internal power politics and unsavoury characteristics seen in
many big corporations large aid agencies can be obsessed with raising money
through their own appeal efforts
media coverage as an end in itself is too often an aim of their activities
marketing and branding have too high profile
perhaps worse of all relief efforts in the field are sometimes competitive
with little collaboration between agencies including smaller grass roots
charities that may have better networks in affected countries and so are well
placed to immediately implement disaster relief
the lancet attack drew criticism from britain disasters emergency committee
dec which has raised million pounds million dollars million euros
from public donations for haiti victims since the quake
we do not recognise the picture of the aid response in haiti painted by the
lancet said dec chief executive brendan gormley
rather than jostling for position major uk aid agencies have come
together under our banner to launch the dec haiti earthquake appeal to ensure
coherent and united response in our uk fundraising and publicity
in addition the lancet article also fails to take into account the huge
logistical problems faced by aid agencies in dealing with this disaster added
dec statement
high aftershock risk for haiti in next days usgs
washington jan afp
