Evening Edition

Evening Edition is an Open Thread

From Yahoo News Top Stories

1 Interpol issues arrest alert for Tunisia’s ex-ruler

by Kaouther Larbi and Mohamed Hasni, AFP

1 hr 58 mins ago

TUNIS (AFP) – Interpol issued an alert for the arrest of Tunisian ex-president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali on Wednesday on a request from Tunis, after an uprising forced the veteran ruler to flee to Saudi Arabia.

“Interpol can confirm that its National Central Bureau (NCB) in Tunis has issued a global alert via Interpol’s international network to seek the location and arrest” of Ben Ali and six members of his family, it said in a statement.

The cross-border police agency said that Interpol member states, which include Saudi Arabia, were asked to “search, locate and provisionally arrest Mr Ali and his relatives,” pending a formal extradition request from Tunisia.

2 Tunisia issues warrant for ousted president

by Kaouther Larbi and Mohamed Hasni, AFP

Wed Jan 26, 1:12 pm ET

TUNIS (AFP) – Tunisia issued an international arrest warrant for ousted president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, as protesters clashed with police on Wednesday and US President Barack Obama hailed the “will of the people”.

Ben Ali, his wife Leila Trabelsi and other members of his once all-powerful family are accused of illegally acquiring assets and transferring funds abroad during the leader’s 23-year rule, Justice Minister Lazhar Karoui Chebbi said.

“No one will be above the law,” Chebbi said. Ben Ali has fled to Saudi Arabia and 33 members of his extended family have been arrested in Tunisia.

3 Haiti ruling party pulls candidate from run-off

by Clarens Renois, AFP

1 hr 59 mins ago

PORT-AU-PRINCE (AFP) – Haiti’s ruling party bowed to weeks of US-led pressure Wednesday and pulled its candidate out of the presidential run-off after he was found to have benefited from widespread fraud.

“Even though we are certain Jude Celestin received the necessary number of votes and was therefore through to the second round, INITE (Unity) has agreed to withdraw his candidacy for the presidency,” a party statement said.

There was no immediate confirmation from Celestin himself, and one source said he was refusing to sign the necessary documentation and threatening to hold a press conference to deny the move.

4 Two die in Egypt protests as US urges concessions

by Jailan Zayan, AFP

53 mins ago

CAIRO (AFP) – Anti-government demonstrations in Egypt turned increasingly ugly on Wednesday, with two people killed in Cairo and protesters setting fire to municipal offices and 70 hurt elsewhere, as Washington called on President Hosni Mubarak to make concessions to his angry people.

In the second day of the biggest protests since Mubarak came to power 30 years ago, Egyptians continued to demand the president’s ouster, as shockwaves from the revolution in Tunisia increasingly worried Arab leaders.

A policeman and a protester died in Cairo in a shower of rock-throwing between the two sides, bringing the death toll to six in two days.

5 Egypt protests escalate as US urges concessions

by Samer al-Atrush, AFP

1 hr 43 mins ago

CAIRO (AFP) – Anti-government demonstrations in Egypt turned increasingly nasty on Wednesday, with protesters setting fire to municipal offices and 70 hurt in the port city of Suez, as Washington called on President Hosni Mubarak to make concessions to his angry people.

In a second day of the biggest protests since Mubarak came to power 30 years ago, Egyptians demanded the president’s ouster, as shockwaves from the revolution in Tunisia increasingly worried Arab leaders.

Protesters in Suez threw Molotov cocktails at a government building, setting parts of it on fire, witnesses said.

6 Egypt opposition calls for second day of protests

by Jailan Zayan, AFP

Wed Jan 26, 5:44 am ET

CAIRO (AFP) – Egyptian activists called for a second day of street action on Wednesday as authorities vowed to prevent further protests following huge anti-government rallies in which four people died.

The pro-democracy youth group April 6 Movement, the driving force behind Tuesday’s protests — the largest and most significant in Egypt since bread riots in 1977 — urged people to head back to Cairo’s main square Wednesday.

“Everyone needs to head down to Tahrir Square to take over the square once again,” the group said on its Facebook page — which along with Twitter had helped to organise Tuesday’s protests.

7 Obama vows US to fight for first place

by Tangi Quemener, AFP

2 hrs 27 mins ago

MANITOWOC, Wisconsin (AFP) – President Barack Obama on Wednesday landed in the US electoral battleground to sell his State of the Union message, even as Republicans plotted to undermine it with spending cuts.

Hours after declaring America needed to reinvent itself in a blizzard of economic innovation to match rising Asian powers, Obama trekked to Wisconsin, a rust belt state trying to transform its declining manufacturing base.

The state, won by Obama in his 2008 election, will play an important role in the electoral map the president is beginning to piece together as he seeks reelection in 2012.

8 Obama says US must re-invent itself to survive

by Stephen Collinson, AFP

Wed Jan 26, 6:56 am ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) – A revitalized President Barack Obama bluntly told America to reinvent itself and unite to survive in a fast-changing global economy powered by rising giants like India and China.

Obama’s confident State of the Union address Tuesday mixed straight talk with a patriotic call to action, as he rode a tide of improbable political momentum less than three months after a Republican mid-term election rout.

The president spoke to a television audience of millions from the House of Representatives, seeking to unleash a torrent of innovation to transform the economy after the most brutal meltdown in generations.

9 Medvedev uses Davos meet as defiant show against terror

by Maria Antonova, AFP

2 hrs 6 mins ago

DAVOS, Switzerland (AFP) – Russian President Dmitry Medvedev made a defiant stand against terrorism Wednesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, saying bombs would not stop him representing Russia at the top table.

Medvedev called on the world — represented in this snowy Alpine resort by 2,500 senior economic powerbrokers — to stand unified, saying that this was the only guarantee of successfully combatting extremist violence.

Delivering the opening address to the meeting of the world’s business and political elite, Medvedev said he had maintained his trip to show his and Russia’s defiance of the “terrorists” who killed 35 people.

10 Gaultier does a cancan-punk haute-couture mash-up

by Gersende Rambourg and Sarah Shard, AFP

2 hrs 24 mins ago

PARIS (AFP) – Jean Paul Gaultier mashed up high-stepping French cancan with street-wise London punk and his signature horizontal stripes on Wednesday on the final day of the Paris summer haute couture shows.

Ditching the usual throbbing techno soundtrack, the ever-innovative French designer had the recorded voice of Catherine Deneuve soberly introduce each look by number and technical description.

It was the veteran film star herself — seated in the front row alongside Spanish director Pedro Almodovar — who came up with the idea, Gaultier explained.

11 Davos opens with power shift to South, East in focus

by Richard Carter, AFP

Wed Jan 26, 1:00 pm ET

DAVOS, Switzerland (AFP) – The annual meeting of world elites at the Swiss ski resort of Davos opened Wednesday with executives highlighting a power shift from the advanced world to emerging markets as recovery blooms.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev arrived as expected to address the forum, but was forced to cancel most of his Davos appointments after Monday’s deadly suicide bomb attack on a Moscow airport erupted into his programme.

Medvedev said in a newspaper interview he would participate in the forum because it was a very important global venue to present Russia’s position.

12 Russia ratifies US nuclear disarmament treaty

by Dmitry Zaks, AFP

Wed Jan 26, 7:02 am ET

MOSCOW (AFP) – Russia’s upper house of parliament ratified the new US nuclear disarmament treaty Wednesday, the final step in approving the first nuclear pact between the two former Cold War rivals in 20 years.

Senators at the Federation Council voted unanimously to approve the new START treaty, which US President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev signed in Prague on April 8, 2010.

The new Strategic Arms Reductions Treaty (START) reduces old warhead ceilings by 30 percent and limits each side to 700 deployed long-range missiles and heavy bombers.

13 Trott ton inspires England cricket win

AFP

Wed Jan 26, 8:11 am ET

ADELAIDE, Australia (AFP) – Inspired by a Jonathan Trott century, England secured a 21-run victory over Australia on Wednesday, keeping alive their hopes of winning the one-day series after trailing 3-0.

The tourists needed a win to claw their way back into the seven-match series and a fine century by man-of-the-match Trott helped them to 299-8, the first time they have lasted their full allotment of overs in the series.

Australia never looked comfortable in reply at the Adelaide Oval and their chances all but evaporated with the fall of opener Shane Watson for 64, caught behind of Ajmal Shahzad, to leave the hosts on 116-4.

14 Toyota to recall 1.7 million vehicles worldwide

by Shingo Ito, AFP

Wed Jan 26, 6:05 am ET

TOKYO (AFP) – Toyota Motor said Wednesday it will recall 1.7 million vehicles worldwide over concerns about possible fuel leakages, in the latest setback for the troubled Japanese auto giant.

The move will see the world’s largest automaker pull 1.28 million vehicles in Japan and 421,000 overseas, Toyota and the Japanese transport ministry said.

Analysts say the carmaker now faces further pressure in its battle to regain consumer trust overseas after a crisis involving millions of recalls, a wave of lawsuits and record fines. Its shares tumbled 1.87 percent in Tokyo Wednesday.

2 comments

  1. I’m not as ill as people may think I am, but I sure am tired and and I just crashed and it’s a horrible snowstorm so I think I’m going to shut down and nap before I deal with the carnage of my absence.

    Have fun while the cat’s away.

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