Ronaldo says Kaka improving, not yet 100%

Real Madrid's Brazilian midfielder Kaka (pictured, R) is improving after knee surgery but is not yet 100 percent fit, striker Cristiano Ronaldo (L) said in an interview published Wednesday.

AFP - Real Madrid's Brazilian midfielder Kaka is improving after knee surgery but is not yet 100 percent fit, striker Cristiano Ronaldo said in an interview published Wednesday.

"Kaka is getting better. He is still not 100 percent, he has to carry on improving, gradually playing more," Ronaldo said in an interview with sports daily Marca.

"He will get back to the competitive level he had before, with a bit more difficulty, the same as anyone who has had an operation and a serious injury," he said.

Kaka, 28, underwent surgery on his left knee on August 5 and only returned to training last month.

Ronaldo said Kaka was working hard to get back.

"I am sure he will triumph," he added.

"If he does not have any more injuries he will be very important for us because he is still a star."

Ronaldo rejected as unfair criticism that French striker Karim Benzema had failed to take advantage of the absence of his injured Argentine teammate Gonzalo Higuain, who could be out for four months.

"My sincere opinion is that Benzema does not deserve the things they are saying about him. If you analyse his last games you can see that he is making an effort, he is fighting. Sometimes things don't work out, just like goals, but Karim has enormous footballing value."

Ronaldo also urged Real Madrid chairman Florentino Perez to stump up more money to renew Portuguese international Pepe's contract.

"If I were Florentino it would already be renewed. Today. I would call him up: 'Hi, Pepe, come on over, let's renew now," he said.

"I think he is a phenomenal player who has to be with Real Madrid, not just because he is my friend but because he is a world class player," he added. "It is a question of paying a bit more money and signing, that's it."

Asked whether Pepe was asking for a considerable increase to renew his contract, which runs out in 2012, Ronaldo said: "No, that is what you think. He is asking for what he deserves."

On his own ambition, Ronaldo was asked if he still wanted to become the best footballer in history.

"I am still working to be that, and at the end of my career is when people will be able to make a judgement," he said.

"In my head I believe I might or might not achieve it, but I try to think positively and always play the best I can so that when I retire people can value me and I can have a solid career. Otherwise, I would not be doing anything in football."

Messi dismisses Ballon d'Or critics: report

Barcelona striker Lionel Messi has dismissed media criticism of his second successive World Player of the Year award, in an interview published Wednesday.

AFP - Barcelona striker Lionel Messi dismissed media criticism of his second successive World Player of the Year award, in an interview published Wednesday.

Messi, who won the Ballon d'Or on January 10 for the second straight year, had been expected to lose out to one of Spanish World Cup stars Andres Iniesta or Xavi after he endured a modest World Cup for Argentina.

"The truth is I don't care what the media say. What matters to me is what my teammates say, the people who are with me. I thank them for their support," the Argentine said in an interview with sports news site goal.com.

Two days after winning the Ballon d'Or, Messi hit a hat-trick in Barcelona's 5-0 rout of Real Betis.

Asked if the performance vindicated his award, he said: "I don't have to vindicate myself to anyone. I did the same thing I have been doing up to now; I will try to carry on playing good matches and will try to help my team as much as I can."

Seventh Algerian sets herself on fire

A picture released in December by the Tunisian government shows ousted Tunisian president Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali during a visit to Mohamed Al Bouazizi, a Tunisian who set himself alight last month during a protest against unemployment. Bouazizi's death two weeks ago sparked an uprising that led to Ben Ali fleeing the country after 23 years in power.

AFP - Two people in Algeria set themselves on fire on Wednesday, bringing the country's total number of attempted public suicides to seven in a week, in replica of a protest that sparked a popular revolution in neighboring Tunisia.

A woman in her fifties soaked herself with a flammable product and tried to set herself on fire when a local official convinced her to stop, the El Watan daily said, adding that she wounded only her hand as a result.

She was protesting in front of the townhall in Sidi Ali Benyoub, southwest of Algiers, after being denied housing aid, the newspaper added.

A 35-year old man was also in critical condition after setting himself alight near the townhall of Dellys, outside of Algiers, the report said.

"He was admitted (Tuesday) night in critical condition. Ninety-five percent of his body is covered with third-degree burns," a hospital official told AFP.

Local officials told AFP that the man was mentally ill and that it was an isolated case unrelated to the recent spate of suicide attempts in Algeria.

However, he brought to seven the number of self-immolation acts in the country where mounting public grievances over unemployment and rising costs sparked protests earlier this month which left five people dead and over 800 injured.

An unemployed father-of-six demanding a job and housing was also hospitalised Tuesday after torching himself. Four other Algerians have set themselves alight since January 12.

They were all following the example set by 26-year-old Mohamed Bouazizi who died after setting himself ablaze at a protest in Tunisia in mid-December. His death sparked an uprising and led Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to flee the country after 23 years in power.

Similar protests have been recorded in other parts of the Arab world, including in Egypt where one person died of his injuries on Tuesday.

Ben Ali barred from politics while in Saudi

Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal attends the opening of the second Arab Economic Summit in Sharm El-Sheikh on January 17, 2011. Ousted Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali has been barred from any political activity relating to his country while he shelters in Saudi Arabia, Faisal said Wednesday.

AFP - Ousted Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali has been barred from any political activity relating to his country while he shelters in Saudi Arabia, Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal said Wednesday.

"This act (of sheltering Ben Ali) should not lead to any kind of activity in Tunisia from the kingdom... There are conditions, and no act in this regard will be allowed," Faisal told Saudi television.

Saudi Arabia has kept a total blackout on Ben Ali's activities since he who landed early on Saturday in the Red Sea city of Jeddah with six members of his family.

In a palace statement, Saudi Arabia said Saturday the move was "out of concern for the exceptional circumstances facing the brotherly Tunisian people and in support of the security and stability of their country."

Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia in disgrace after 23 years of iron-fisted rule following a wave of protests in which dozens of people were killed.

Lawsuit for Japan Airlines a year after bankruptcy

Japan Airlines (JAL) chairman Kazuo Inamori, left, and president Masaru Onishi display the company's new logo at their Tokyo headquarters. One year after its spectacular bankruptcy filing, JAL faces a lawsuit from 146 former pilots and cabin attendants calling for their jobs back after being made redundant.

Chronology of major events in the history of Japan Airlines. One year after its spectacular bankruptcy filing, JAL faces a lawsuit from 146 former pilots and cabin attendants calling for their jobs back after being made redundant.

Former Japan Airlines (JAL) employees march before a lawsuit is filed by 146 former pilots and cabin attendants calling for their jobs back after being made redundant, in front of the Tokyo district court. Since JAL's spectacular bankruptcy in January 2010, the company has shed about 16,000 jobs.

AFP - One year after its spectacular bankruptcy filing, Japan Airlines on Wednesday faced a lawsuit from 146 former pilots and cabin attendants calling for their jobs back after being made redundant.

The case, filed with the Tokyo District Court, claims JAL management did not do enough to avoid the layoffs. The company's court-approved rehabilitation plan calls for cutting about 16,000 jobs.

The plaintiffs and their supporters marched to the court carrying a banner saying: "Japan Airlines must withdraw dismissals for the purposes of reorganization."

"The company has discarded people, especially those who have long ensured the safety of its flight operations," plaintiffs told local media, according to Kyodo News.

"Through court hearings, we want to question the company, which belittles operational safety and lacks concerns for the good of society."

The lawsuit is believed to be one of the largest of its kind, according to the plaintiffs' lawyer.

"I feel extremely sorry" for the people made redundant, Chairman Kazuo Inamori told a news conference. "JAL made the heartbreaking decision since it is not possible to pull back the rehabilitation plan that has been approved by creditors and the court."

He added: "It would not be positive for the company's future revival to break the promise with creditors."

The airline dismissed a total of 165 pilots and cabin attendants at the end of last year.

JAL declared bankruptcy in January 2010, owing $26 billion in one of Japan's biggest-ever corporate failures, but has continued flying while it goes through a rehabilitation process under court protection.

Since then, it has delisted from the Tokyo Stock Exchange and submitted to the Tokyo court its rehabilitation plan, including a debt waiver worth more than $6.3 billion and the loss of about 16,000 jobs.

The lawsuit is only the latest challenge to confront the fallen flagship carrier, as the charismatic government-appointed chairman cuts costs and presses remaining staff to reboot the company.

Inamori, the highly respected founder of technology firm Kyocera, said in interviews published Wednesday that JAL's reform was only a "fourth or fifth of the way to completion".

Despite having no experience in the aviation business he was asked by the government to help JAL's reform and once lamented the lack of business sense among the airline's executives, complaining they were unfit to run even a grocery store.

To mark the anniversary of the bankruptcy filing, Inamori visited JAL maintenance workers at Tokyo's Haneda airport and noted staff continued to work hard despite concerns for morale amid the redundancies.

He hinted at delaying JAL's plan to list its shares again on stock markets in December this year, while giving a cautious stance on whether it would join its competitor All Nippon Airways in launching a low-cost service.

"JAL intends to emphasise the quality (of its services)," Inamori said. "It will compete with its quality rather than flight fares."

In April-November 2010, JAL posted a group operating profit of 146 billion yen ($1.7 billion), according to President Masaru Onishi.

The airline also announced on Wednesday that it would revert to its old corporate "red-crown crane" logo, first adopted in 1959, to symbolise its efforts to make a fresh start.

Goldman Sachs posts steep drop in quarterly profit

Workers sit in the Goldman Sachs booth on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. The US investment bank has said fourth-quarter profit dropped 52 percent, dragging down full-year 2010 earnings by 38 percent from a year ago.

AFP - US investment bank Goldman Sachs on Wednesday said fourth-quarter profit dropped 52 percent amid falling revenue, dragging down full-year 2010 earnings by 38 percent from a year ago.

Goldman posted fourth-quarter profit of $2.39 billion, a 52 percent decline from the same period a year earlier.

For all of 2010, the New York-based bank said profits fell 38 percent from 2009, to $8.35 billion.

Profits were slightly above market expectations. Earnings per common share were $3.79 in the fourth quarter and $13.18 for the year. Analysts had estimated $3.76 and $13.14, respectively.

But revenue results were worse than expected.

Goldman, one of Wall Street's most prestigious banks, said fourth-quarter revenue fell 10 percent from a year ago, to $8.6 billion, while for the full year revenue was down 13 percent, at $39.2 billion.

"Market and economic conditions for much of 2010 were difficult," Lloyd Blankfein, Goldman chairman and chief executive, said in a statement.

"Looking ahead, we are seeing signs of growth and more economic activity and we are well-positioned to help our clients expand their businesses, manage their risks and invest in the future."

Arab leaders meet on economy, poverty in the wake of Tunisian crisis

As the region feels the aftershocks of Tunisia's Jasmine Revolution, Arab world leaders gather in Egypt on Wednesday to discuss trade and development including a $2 billion fund to finance small and medium businesses.

By News Wires (text)

AP - Wary of the unrest in Tunisia, Arab leaders are expected Wednesday to commit to a proposed $2 billion program to boost faltering economies that have propelled crowds into the streets to protest high unemployment, rising prices and rampant corruption.

The pledge was made in a document obtained by The Associated Press that is to be adopted by the economic summit opening Wednesday in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

TUNISIA 'Tunisia will be a spark provoking similar revolts'

This is “a commitment to provide job opportunities for Arab young people in order to empower them to participate fully in their societies,” stated the document, labeled as the summit’s final statement.

The idea of the fund was first suggested by Kuwait during the economic summit in the Gulf emirate in 2009 but has been slow to get off the ground like many Arab League initiatives requiring members to pledge money.

Arab diplomats said oil-rich Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have promised to pay $500 million each and, after the economic-related unrest in Tunisia, additional pledges are pouring in.

Thamer al-Anni, an Arab League official, said some $298 million in additional pledges were made by 11 other member states Tuesday.

He said a special fund would be set up within weeks, after a two-year wait to operate as a bank that provides short- and medium-term loans to young Arabs who want to start their own small enterprises.

“This will be for businesses with a small capital around $20,000-$50,000,” he told AP.

He said priority will be given to the less developed countries such as Djibouti, Sudan and Yemen.

Weeks of protests over corruption and political repression forced Tunisia’s longtime President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to flee the country Friday to Saudi Arabia.

Protests renewed on Tuesday after Tunisia’s main trade unions and other opposition groups rejected a new government to replace Ben Ali’s appointed Cabinet.

Turmoil in Tunisia, triggered by political repression, rising unemployment and skyrocketing food prices has cast a shadow over the summit, which originally was meant to be a platform to discuss trade, business and investment.

“All these projects will increase employment and achieve stability in the Arab societies,” said Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit, responding to a question about the impact of the Tunisian situation on the region.

The unrest started after a 26-year-old unemployed man in Tunisia set himself on fire last month in protest. The incident sparked a tidal wave of protests that eventually toppled Ben Ali.

On Tuesday, a 25-year-old unemployed Egyptian man died after setting himself on fire on the roof of his home in the Egyptian port city of Alexandria hours. Hours earlier, two Egyptian men, also inspired by events in Tunisia, attempted to set themselves on fire in downtown Cairo. A day earlier, another man burned himself in front of parliament also in protest of the government.

On Monday, a Mauritanian man reportedly unhappy with the government torched himself in his car outside an official building in the capital, Nouakchott.

In Algeria, there have been seven cases of people attempting to set themselves on fire, including one man who died Saturday from his burns.

Thousands have demonstrated in Jordan, Egypt, Oman, Libya and Yemen recently over the economic situation, some explicitly in solidarity with the Tunisians.

In Sudan, police on Monday arrested Islamic leader Hassan Turabi after he spoke out against President Omar al-Bashir’s government and called for a popular revolt similar to the one in Tunisia that toppled Ben Ali.

Oil-rich nations in the Gulf that are ruled by autocratic families are taking precautions.

Kuwaiti ruler Sheik Sabah al-Ahmed al-Jaber al-Sabah decreed Monday that free food rations be given to all Kuwaitis at a cost of $818 million.

He also ordered the government to give every Kuwaiti citizen a grant of some $4,000.

Saudi King Abdullah also promised to increase government spending in the coming years. He told a Kuwaiti newspaper Monday that Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil supplier, plans to spend $68 billion next year on projects to reduce unemployment and spur growth.