Africa
France to deploy more troops to Mali
French President Francois Holland says more troops are to be sent to Mali to support the 750 already in the country fighting an Islamist insurgency. Mr Holland said the latest overnight air strikes had “achieved their goal”. One target was the town of Diabaly, which rebels captured yesterday. West African military chiefs will meet in Mali today to discuss how an alliance with the French will work. The UN Security Council unanimously backed the French intervention in a meeting late yesterday.
Nineteen dead in Cairo train derailment
A military train carrying army recruits has derailed south of Egypt’s capital, Cairo, killing 19 people and injuring more than 100, officials say. The train was bound for an army camp in Cairo when a carriage became detached and crashed into a goods train in the Badrashin area of Giza. Egypt’s prime minister visited the scene, but was led away after being abused by angry bystanders. Egypt’s roads and railways have a notoriously poor safety record.
Asia
Pakistan Supreme Court orders arrest of Prime Minister
Pakistan’s Supreme Court has ordered the arrest of Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf and 15 others over corruption allegations. Mr Ashraf denies accepting bribes when approving power generation projects as a minister in 2010, and has further riled critics by allegedly trying to postpone elections due by May. Analysts say the move is unlikely to lead to his immediate removal. It comes as populist cleric Tahirul Qadri led thousands of protesters in Islamabad, demanding the resignation of the government. The protest became heated as demonstrators threw stones at security forces outside parliament, prompting police to retaliate with tear gas and by firing warning shots in the air.
China to survey disputed East China Sea islands
China says it will conduct a survey of disputed islands in the East China Sea amid a bitter diplomatic row with Japan, which also claims the islands. Chinese state news agency Xinhua said the survey was the second part of a programme to map China’s territorial islands and reefs, the first part of which being completed in 2009. It said the programme was intended “to safeguard its maritime rights and interests”. It did not reveal how or when the survey work would take place. The islands are currently controlled by Japan since the Japanese government bought them from a private owner, igniting the current phase of the long-running dispute. They are also claimed by Taiwan.
Middle East
Hundreds of prisoners released in Iraq
Iraqi authorities have freed 175 prisoners in an apparent concession to Sunni protesters demonstrating against the Shia-led government. Deputy Prime Minister Hussein Shahristani said a total of 335 prisoners had been released in the last week. He apologised “on behalf of the Iraqi state” to those who had suffered prolonged detention. Tens of thousands of Sunni Muslims have been complaining of alleged discrimination across the country.
Europe
British Airways employee wins right to wear cross to work
An employee of British Airways suffered discrimination at work over her Christian beliefs, the European Court of Human Rights has ruled. The employee, Nadia Eweida, took her case to the ECHR after British Airways told her to stop wearing a cross visibly. Prime Minister David Cameron has said he was “delighted” that the “principle of wearing religious symbols at work has been upheld”.
HMV to appoint administrator
British music and DVD chain HMV is to appoint an administrator, making it the latest casualty on the High Street and putting about 4,350 jobs at risk. Deloitte will keep HMV’s 239 shops in the UK and the Republic of Ireland open while it assesses the prospects for the business and seeks potential buyers. Trading in HMV on the London Stock Exchange has been suspended. HMV, which was founded in 1921, has struggled against online retailing. Its troubles highlight the general pressures on the High Street.
North America
Obama sets out position on debt ceiling
US President Barack Obama has asked Republican politicians to unconditionally approve a rise in the country’s debt ceiling, saying America is “not a deadbeat nation”. At a White House news conference yesterday, he said it would be “absurd” to use the borrowing limit as a bargaining chip. But Republican House Speaker John Boehner said spending cuts should accompany a rise of the federal debt ceiling. The US is expected to hit its $16.4tn borrowing limit by February unless lawmakers act. Yesterday’s press conference comes a week before the inauguration ceremony in Washington DC that will formally begin President Obama’s second term in office.
US regulators tell JP Morgan to tighten risk controls
JP Morgan Chase, which lost billions of dollars in trades by an employee known as the London Whale, must revamp its risk management, regulators have said. The US Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of Currency stopped short of apportioning blame or fines for the trading errors, but told the bank to examine how it pays top executives, and how they are rewarded for taking on risk. JP Morgan and its board agreed to submit a plan within 60 days.
Latin America
Farc ceasefire to end as promised as peace talks resume in Cuba
Colombia’s Farc rebels have said their ceasefire will be suspended on 20 January, as initially planned. The announcement came as peace talks between the rebels and the Colombian government resumed in the Cuban capital, Havana. Both parties have hinted at speeding up the pace ahead of the ceasefire deadline. The talks aim to end five decades of an armed conflict that has killed an estimated 600,000 people in Colombia. Some fear fresh Farc attacks may hamper the negotiations, but the rebels’ chief negotiator has ruled out an extension of the ceasefire. The Colombian government has not suspended its own operations against the Farc at any point during the negotiations.
Guatemalan mayor shot dead
Carlos Castillo Medrano, the mayor of the eastern Guatemalan town of Jutiapa, has been shot dead as he waited to have his hair cut at a barber’s. Witnesses say Mr Castillo Medrano, 39, was killed by two unidentified men who shot at him six times before escaping on a motorbike. His death came as President Otto Perez Molina addressed the nation to hail an “historic decline in violence” in the year since he took office, with murders down by some 10%. Guatemala’s per capita murder rates have, in recent years, been among the highest in the world according to the United Nations, due in large part to violence generated by drug smuggling gangs.
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