helped the index finish off intraday lows near three percent
we had weak lead from wall street on the potential moves from china to slow
things down and mr obama is going forward on bank regulation burrell
stockbroking director richard herring said
we had good run over the christmas period so maybe there just little
unwinding of some christmas excess
despite the markets woes tiger airways made its debut in singapore becoming
the first asian carrier to list in five years
the budget airline one of the most actively bought stocks closed at
singapore dollars us apiece up eight cents or percent from its
initial public offering price of dollars
in tokyo bankrupt japan airlines added one yen one us cent to end the day at
three yen
japanese stocks were also hit by stronger yen which led to new fears for
exporters
the dollar dropped to yen in tokyo afternoon trade from in new york
late thursday the euro gained to dollars from but dropped to
yen from
oil was also lower with new york main contract light sweet crude for march
delivery down cents to us dollars barrel while brent north sea crude
was off cents at dollars
hong kong gold finished at us dollars an ounce down from
thursday close of dollars
in other markets
jakarta lost percent or points to
car distributor astra international shed percent to rupiah while
coal miner bumi resources lost percent to rupiah
bank mandiri declined percent to rupiah
in malaysia the kuala lumpur composite index lost points or
percent to close at
decliners included banking group cimb which lost percent at ringgit
while integrated infrastructure conglomerate ytl added percent at
wellington fell percent or points to
fletcher building lost cents to dollars and contact energy dropped
cents to
manila fell percent or points to
philippine long distance telephone fell percent to pesos
bangkok lost percent or points to close at
coal producer banpu fell baht to close at and energy firm ptt plc
ended baht lower at baht
indian shares fell percent with the share benchmark sensex down
points at
reliance industries ended down rupees or percent at after the
company announced its first profit rise in over year on friday
reliance said net profit rose percent to billion rupees million
dollars in the fiscal third quarter to december from year earlier
icici bank fell percent or rupees to while state run state bank
of india fell percent or rupees to
alpine skiing vonn snaps up cortina super
cortina ampezzo italy jan afp
favourite lindsey vonn raced home in friday super race at cortina ampezzo
as she pocketed her th world cup win
vonn and streaking towards third consecutive overall world cup title won
in min sec to see off swiss fabienne suter and swede anja paerson by
and sec and make it eight wins this season
the double speed events who will be out to flatten the competition at next
month winter games in vancouver moved back to the head of the overall world
cup standings ahead of maria riesch whom she left trailing friday
the german could only manage th fully sec behind her rival
vonn tally for the season now stands at five downhills two super successes
and super combined last week she joined select band of racers who have won
three races in weekend in bagging two downhills and super at haus im
ennstal austria
asia markets tumble on obama crackdown on banks
hong kong jan afp
us president barack obama vow to crack down on wall street reckless big
banks sent shockwaves through asian stock markets on friday with the region
financial centres suffering
investors followed the lead of the dow jones index which suffered its worst
fall of the year after obama said he wanted to put limits on banks to avoid
repeat of the financial crisis that tore into the world economies
tokyo nikkei dived percent or points to while sydney
gave up percent or points to its biggest daily drop since
november
however bargain hunting later in the day pulled some markets off their intra
day lows
hong kong finished percent or points off at the hang
seng had fallen as much as percent by the break
singapore was percent or points down at
obama thursday unveiled plans to limit excessive risk taking and protect us
taxpayers by preventing banks or financial institutions from owning investing
in or sponsoring hedge fund or private equity funds
never again will the american taxpayer be held hostage by bank that is too
big to fail vowed obama
blaming the banks for causing the economic crisis he said my resolve to
reform the system is only strengthened when see return to old practices at
some of the very firms fighting reform
he said he was also galvanised to act when see record profits at some of the
very firms claiming that they cannot lend more to small business cannot keep
credit card rates low and cannot refund taxpayers for the bailout
he vowed if these folks want fight it fight ready to have
his words sent wall street diving percent
president obama proposal to limit us banks risk taking increased
uncertainties leading investors to quickly move to safer assets jung seung
jae an analyst at mirae asset securities told dow jones newswires
the region was dragged lower after wall street fall with taipei closing down
percent or points to and seoul falling percent or
points to
financial groups were heavily hit in taipei cathay financial was down
percent and fubon financial percent lower
and in sydney anz banking group fell percent while the national australia
bank lost percent
seoul kospi saw kb financial group fall percent shinhan financial group
decline percent daewoo securities slide percent
dbs bank in singapore fell cents to united overseas bank declined
cents to and oversea chinese banking corp closed nine cents lower at
in tokyo nomura holdings shed percent
the news capped tough week for asia markets which have been struggling due
to fears beijing is set to tighten credit as it tries to rein in its scorching
economy
those worries were stoked thursday after china said its economy expanded
percent in the december quarter while inflation reached month high
shanghai was percent or points lower at bargain hunting
helped the index finish off intraday lows near three percent
we had weak lead from wall street on the potential moves from china to slow
things down and mr obama is going forward on bank regulation burrell
stockbroking director richard herring said
we had good run over the christmas period so maybe there just little
unwinding of some christmas excess
despite the markets woes tiger airways made its debut in singapore becoming
the first asian carrier to list in five years
the budget airline one of the most actively bought stocks closed at
singapore dollars us apiece up eight cents or percent from its
initial public offering price of dollars
in tokyo bankrupt japan airlines added one yen one us cent to end the day at
three yen
japanese stocks were also hit by stronger yen which led to new fears for
exporters
the dollar dropped to yen in tokyo afternoon trade from in new york
late thursday the euro gained to dollars from but dropped to
yen from
oil was also lower with new york main contract light sweet crude for march
delivery down cents to us dollars barrel while brent north sea crude
was off cents at dollars
hong kong gold finished at us dollars an ounce down from
thursday close of dollars
in other markets
jakarta lost percent or points to
car distributor astra international shed percent to rupiah while
coal miner bumi resources lost percent to rupiah
bank mandiri declined percent to rupiah
in malaysia the kuala lumpur composite index lost points or
percent to close at
decliners included banking group cimb which lost percent at ringgit
while integrated infrastructure conglomerate ytl added percent at
wellington fell percent or points to
fletcher building lost cents to dollars and contact energy dropped
cents to
manila fell percent or points to
philippine long distance telephone fell percent to pesos
bangkok lost percent or points to close at
coal producer banpu fell baht to close at and energy firm ptt plc
ended baht lower at baht
indian shares fell percent with the share benchmark sensex down
points at
reliance industries ended down rupees or percent at after the
company announced its first profit rise in over year on friday
reliance said net profit rose percent to billion rupees million
dollars in the fiscal third quarter to december from year earlier
icici bank fell percent or rupees to while state run state bank
of india fell percent or rupees to
cricket snub ignites india pakistan row
new delhi jan afp
perceived snub to pakistani players by the glitzy indian premier league has
sparked diplomatic spat between the great rivals for whom cricket is more
than just game
no pakistani player was bought by the eight indian clubs during an auction on
tuesday for the third edition of the league despite the pakistan team being the
reigning world champions in the twenty format of the tournament
the omission has triggered widespread protests in pakistan with effigies of ipl
chief lalit modi being burnt on the streets of lahore amid condemnation from
politicians and threats of boycotts from other pakistani sports teams
indian foreign minister krishna was drawn into the maelstrom thursday
denying that his government was behind the move following suggestions from ipl
franchises that pakistani players may have been refused indian visas
the government has nothing to do with ipl on selection of players and various
exercises that are connected with it he said
in pakistan retaliatory steps saw parliamentary delegation cancel their trip
to india and scheduled visit by the pakistani kabaddi traditional tag
wrestling team was called off
agree this is private event but pakistani players being excluded without
any reason and without looking at the background is unfair the chairman of the
pakistan cricket board ijaz butt told afp
foreign office spokesman abdul basit told the newspaper dawn it is clear from
what we heard from the indian high commission that the decision to not include
pakistani players was influenced by variables extraneous to sports
india and pakistan have fought three wars since their independence in and
tension spiked in when militants killed people in an attack on mumbai
new delhi pointed the finger at pakistan based islamist group
india cancelled scheduled cricket tour of pakistan after the mumbai attacks
breaking sequence of bilateral test series held on each other soil every
year from to
in further setback the international cricket council withdrew pakistan
right to host matches in next year cricket world cup following the lahore
terrorist attack in march on the visiting sri lankan cricket team
pakistan matches were instead shared among co hosts india sri lanka and
bangladesh
the third season of the lucrative ipl which features the world top players in
eight teams owned by rich businessmen and bollywood stars will be held in march
and april this year
one franchise official who preferred to remain unnamed told afp that he was
not surprised that the pakistanis were excluded
we were not sure if they would get visas and we did not want players who won
be available he said besides there is also the security issue no one was
willing to take chance
indian cricket board secretary srinivasan who owns the chennai super kings
team in the ipl also said the franchisees should not be blamed
they the franchisees have the right to pick the players they want after all
it is their money srinivasan told the hindu newspaper on friday
how can you say if you do not buy player from particular country it is an
insult to that nation
how much team is prepared to spend on and on whom is the sole prerogative of
the franchisees
srinivasan stressed that even players like west indian batsman ramnaresh sarwan
australian wicket keeper brad haddin and england spinner graeme swann had been
ignored at the auction
such arguments are unlikely to placate critics across the border
think this is lesson to all the pakistani players to think about their
country only and don play only for the lust of money in the ipl basit ali
former pakistan player told afp
leading sports personalities had also called on pakistan to boycott next month
field hockey world cup in new delhi where the arch rivals are due to clash in
the opening match on february
but pakistan sports minister ijaz jakhrani said on friday the national team will
travel to new delhi to take part in the tournament
the world cup is an international event not an indian one so our team will
participate in it jakhrani told reporters in islamabad
singapore rejects repressive state tag by rights watchdog
singapore jan afp
singapore on friday rejected allegations by us based human rights group that
it is politically repressive state
singapore is democratic state with clean and transparent government whose
public officials are held responsible against the highest standards of probity
and integrity the ministry of law said in statement to afp
the ministry cited the latest world economic forum global competitiveness report
which rated singapore as first out of countries for public trust of
politicians and transparency of government policymaking
human rights watch in its annual report released thursday slammed singapore for
jailing critics of the ruling people action party pap and hitting them with
financially devastating libel suits
the new york based group also criticised the mandatory imposition of the death
penalty for certain crimes legislation that permit caning as well as laws that
ban street protests and allow detention without trial
singapore remains the textbook example of politically repressive state said
hrw deputy asia director phil robertson in press statement thursday
hrw global report had chapter on singapore wealthy city state known for
political stability low crime rate and conducive environment for global
businesses to operate but also criticised for its little tolerance against
dissent
individuals who want to criticise or challenge the ruling party hold on power
can expect to face life of harassment lawsuits and even prison robertson
said
the law ministry rejected the allegations and accused hrw of recycling
propaganda put out by opposition politician chee soon juan and other government
critics
chee is long time critic of the pap who has been jailed several times in his
struggle against the government
human rights watch approach seems to be that they can issue these
pronouncements and we should follow them the ministry of law said
and their approach seems to be that before they issue these pronouncements
they do not need an understanding of the facts or our viewpoints what we
think and why we have chosen specific governance model these appear to be
irrelevant to them
british pm to face iraq inquiry before election chairman
london jan afp
prime minister gordon brown has agreed to appear at britain iraq war inquiry
before general election due by june rather than after as previously expected
the probe chairman said friday
john chilcot had originally scheduled brown appearance after the election to
avoid it being used for party political purposes but said he had offered brown
the chance to appear ahead of national polls as matter of fairness
the prime minister replied to me this morning to say that he will be happy to
agree dates from range we have proposed over the next two months he said
extracts of brown letter to chilcot were released by downing street
offered to give my evidence at any time the premier wrote
you have proposed range of dates in the next two months will be happy to
agree date that is to the convenience of the inquiry
explaining his initial decision not to call brown until after the election
which is expected to be held on may chilcot said he did not want the inquiry
to be used as platform for political advantage by any political party
from the outset we have made it clear that we wish to stay outside party
politics he added
chilcot said that david miliband and douglas alexander britain current
foreign secretary and international development secretary respectively would
also be called to give evidence before the election
the two were both government ministers at the time of the invasion but with
lower level responsibilities relating to domestic not foreign policy
brown predecessor tony blair who controversially backed us president george
bush in invading iraq in is due to appear before the british inquiry
next friday
african church suspends bishop helping zimbabwe migrants
johannesburg jan afp
the methodist church has suspended south african bishop who sheltered
thousands of zimbabweans fleeing their troubled nation amid claims of sexual
abuse against his church newspapers reported friday
bishop paul verryn of the central methodist church in downtown johannesburg had
in the past months clashed with city officials and the church leadership over
the living conditions of people housed in the church building
verryn former anti apartheid activist has been charged and would appear
before church disciplinary hearing on february church lawyer bongani khoza
told the star newspaper without detailing the accusations against the bishop
bishop verryn is not allowed to participate in activities of the methodist
church pending the outcome of the hearing khoza said
verryn was not immediately reachable for comment
throngs of destitute migrants went to the church in the wake of anti foreigner
attacks across south africa in the government has closed the camps for
victims of the attacks those unable to find alternative shelter sleep on the
church floors and pews with limited access to bathrooms
zimbabweans in particular turned to the church for shelter after fleeing the
economic meltdown in their country causing problems of overcrowding
the situation here is not ideal but have no choice can sleep on the
streets said james maphosa year old zimbabwean who has been living in
the church for six months
at least here we have roof over our head he told afp
some people spilled onto the pavements sleeping in the open spaces around the
church
local communities have accused the church of harbouring criminals and claims of
sexual abuse of minors by teachers and fellow migrants surfaced late last year
the church which currently accommodates up to people has been raided
several times over the past three years by police in anti crime swoops which
verryn has described as military like
scores of people were arrested in the raids
afptv advisory
paris jan afp
we plan to file the following videos
as part of our news coverage on quake hit haiti we are providing the following
videos
final farewell to haiti fallen
port au prince
ten days after haiti was devastated by quake survivors bury their dead while
many bodies still remain under debris communities and families celebrate the
fallen with prayers music and procession
news
voiced report by gmt
nsv vid
broadcast ready vid
web mmv
portrait for haitian orphan
port au prince
as group of haitian children who have been adopted by french families head
for france many other haitian orphans are still waiting for adoption afptv
meets up with two year old mickenson in the haitian capital and the couple in
paris who are anxiously awaiting the little boy the toddler adoption papers
have most likely been lost under the rubble of his haitian orphanage
news
voiced report by gmt
nsv vid
broadcast ready vid
web mmv
france new homeland for haitian orphans
port au prince
group of haitian children who have been adopted by french families are
expected to arrive in paris on friday evening they left the school where they
had sought shelter and are on their way to france
aged between one and six years old they will be met at the airport by their new
families
news
images and soundbites to be transmitted at time to be confirmed
raw vid
web mmv
gallery puts fakes and forgeries on display
london
the british police have department dedicated to cracking the sophisticated and
potentially lucrative art forgery market their methods along with many
seized works of art are now on display at london victoria and albert
museum
culture amp lifestyle
images and soundbites transmitted by gmt
raw vid
web mmv
oil oil everywhere but no petrol at nigeria pumps
lagos
for several weeks nigeria has been facing shortage of petrol strange
situation for country which is one of the world top oil suppliers but
nigeria has no processing industry to speak of and has to import nearly all its
petro needs the situation is leaving drivers frustrated
economy
voiced report to be transmitted by gmt
nsv vid
broacast ready vid
web mmv
locals bid to derail france italy rail link
suse italy
work has begun in italy on preparing the ground for new high speed rail link
through the alps aimed at slashing travel times from france but activists are
fighting the project tooth and nail and ganged up to block drilling work on the
future route
economy environment
voiced report to be transmitted by gmt
nsv vid
broadcast ready vid
web mmv
blood and beauty thimister returns to paris couture catwalk
paris
dutch designer josephus thimister returns to the paris haute couture catwalk
after eight years away during which he led fashion houses genny and charles
jourdan his provocative collection called bloodshed and opulence is
awaited as perhaps the hottest show of the upcoming haute couture week
lifestyle
voiced report to be transmitted by gmt
nsv vid
broadcast ready vid
web mmv
the complete metropolis homecoming of masterpiece
berlin
berlin is warming up for the triumphant return of one of the country best
known films metropolis following the spectacular discovery in argentina in
of half an hour of footage that was thought to have been lost for ever the
silent expressionist epic is being shown at the berlin film festival on february
in its original state for the first time since its inauspicious release
an exhibition also opened in berlin on thursday showing some of the
groundbreaking techniques used by director fritz lang that still inspire film
makers to this day
culture amp lifestyle
voiced report to be transmitted by gmt
nsv vid
broadcast ready vid
web mmv
fast forward to the future of cars in detroit
detroit united states
the detroit auto show wraps up this week end after rocky two years the car
industry hopes for smoother ride the luxury sector is particularly
optimistic introducing some eye catching models voiced report
economy
voiced story to be transmitted by gmt
nsv vid
broadcast ready vid
web mmv
lebanese prime minister meets with french president
paris
lebanese prime minister saad hariri meets with french president nicolas sarkozy
on friday for working lunch the lebanese leader is on his first official
visit to western nation since taking office with the mideast peace process
and bilateral ties topping the agenda
news
images and soundbites transmitted by gmt
raw vid
we have already filed the following videos
can mushrooms save thailand jungle from poachers
khao yai thailand
thailand exotic wildlife is under threat from poachers and loggers but new
project that turns the former criminals into mushroom farmers is aiming to help
everyone conservationists in the country northeast say that growing the
common fungi is proving surprisingly lucrative and they hope that as business
grows more animals and trees will be saved
environment
voiced report transmitted
nsv vid
broadcast ready vid
web mmd
asia markets slide on obama push to curb banks
hong kong
us president barack obama vow to crack down on wall street reckless big
banks sends shockwaves through asian stock markets with the region financial
centres suffering heavy losses hong kong shares dropped percent friday
images shot on of screens displaying share prices hong kong stock
exchange images
economy
images transmitted
raw vid
web mmv
dense fog wreaks havoc across north india
new delhi
dense fog disrupted road rail and air travel across northern india friday with
dozens of flights from the capital cancelled or delayed the main weather office
for northern india in new delhi predicted little respite in the next couple of
days adding that fog this winter season had been the most dense since
images shot in
news environment
images transmitted
raw vid
web vid
contact
saya oka
afptv
place de la bourse
paris france
tel
fax
afp
british retail sales disappoint in december official data
london jan afp
retail sales in britain rose by less than expected in december gaining just
percent compared with november despite the christmas shopping season official
data showed on friday
analysts consensus forecast had been for month on month climb of percent
in retail sales according to dow jones newswires
sales increased by percent last month compared with december the
office for national statistics added in statement however analysts had
forecast bigger rise of percent
life sentence for berlin parcel bomber
berlin jan afp
german man was sentenced to life behind bars on friday for placing bomb in
his sister letterbox which seriously injured his year old niece arm
crime that caused outrage across the country
court in berlin found year old peter john guilty of attempted murder john
also placed another explosive in his brother in law car but this second bomb
did not detonate
the crime in november sparked day search throughout the german capital
for the man dubbed the parcel bomber who was eventually seized at one of
