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The US and British defence chiefs say the hostage crisis in Algeria have ended with more deaths.
French President Francois Hollande says the hostage event in Algeria provides additional justification for French intervention in Mali.
Inauguration events marking the end of U.S. President Barack Obama's first term and the start of his second get underway in Washington.
And a senior statistics official calls for immediate action to narrow China's alarming wealth gap as the country's Gini Coefficient remains well above the UN warning level.
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US, UK Say They Have No Plans to Send Troops to North Africa
The US and British defence chiefs said that the hostage crisis in Algeria had ended with more deaths, but they have no plans to send soldiers to North Africa following the crisis.
They blamed the militants who seized the natural gas complex in the Sahara, and not Algeria's government for its rescue operation.
British Defence Secretary Philip Hammond.
"The loss of life as a result of these attacks is appalling and unacceptable. We must be clear that it is the terrorists that bear sole responsibility for it. Their actions can never be justified and we remain determined to defeat terrorism and to stand with the Algerian government."
Algerian officials say seven hostages were killed by their captors during a final raid by Algerian troops - at least 23 hostages and 32 hostage-takers died in the four-day stand-off.
US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta said the US will continue close consultation on this issue but won't send millitary to Morth Africa.
"We're not planning troops on the ground in that area. We do know that there were Americans there and we do know that they were held hostage. As to what has happened that is something frankly we just need to get better information on."
The crisis began on Wednesday when militants attacked two buses carrying foreign workers working for a remote gas field. A Briton and an Algerian reportedly died in the incident.
The militants had been involved in a stand-off since Thursday after trying to occupy the remote site.
Hollande: Hostage-taking in Algeria Provides Additional Justification for French Intervention in Mali
French President Francois Hollande says that the hostage taking at a gas plant in Algeria provides additional justification for French intervention in Mali.
French forces are fighting Islamist rebles in the former French colony and have moved around a key northern town Diabaly to cut off supplies to the Islamist extremists.
French President Francois Hollande:
"If there was any need to justify our action against terrorism, we would have here, again, an additional argument. France is now committed to military action in Mali. It is already eight days since I took this decision. Terrorism threatens all West Africa but also the entire world. The hostage taking in Algeria is a tragic illustration of it."
Hollande confirmed that a French national has been killed during the crisis.
French Defence Ministry: Hard to Launch Attacks on a Key Malian Town
A French defence ministry official says French troops fighting Islamist rebels in Mali find it hard to launch attacks on Diabaly, a town held by the rebels in northern Mali.
French troops have encircled Diabaly to stop radical Islamists from striking closer to the Malian capital Bamako.
Thierry Burkhard, a spokesman for France's Ministry of Defence, says "terrorist groups" are limiting the potential for French strikes in the town.
"Terrorist groups are interlocked with the local population in the town of Diabaly. That is the way to limit our strikes. Because, as I said, if there is any risk for the population, it is a restrictive situation for us, so we don't hit."
The move to surround Diabaly came as French and Malian authorities claimed they had retaken Konna, the central city whose fall to rebels prompted the French military intervention last week.
France has encountered fierce resistance from the extremist rebels, whose tentacles extend over a territory the size of Afghanistan in Mali.
The United Nations has warned that some 700-thousand civilians could be displaced by the fighting in the West African country.
UK Foreign Secretary: Several British Nationals Unaccounted for After End of Algerian Hostage Crisis
British Foreign Secretary William Hague says the British government is still trying to know what happened to six Britons after the end of a hostage crisis in Algeria.
"Obviously our absolute priority now is to work our exactly what has happened to every British national who might have been caught up in this terrible situation. We believe that there are five British nationals and one UK resident who are either deceased or unaccounted for, in addition to the one fatality that we had already confirmed. Now obviously we're working hard to get definitive information about each individual."
Hague refused to make any criticism of the Algerian handling of the situation, saying that "there will be a lot to be learnt yet about this operation".
The Algerian government said on Saturday that 32 militants and 23 captives were killed during the three-day hostage crisis.
The provisional death toll was issued after a special forces operation crushed the last holdout of the militants at a gas refinery to end the crisis.
The Algerian government said a total of 685 Algerian and 107 foreign workers were freed over the course of the standoff, which began on Wednesday.
Alegerian military said that the militants involved consisted of 32 men of various nationalities, including three Algerians.
Norway PM Meets Families whose Relatives Unaccounted for in Algeria Hostage Crisis
The Prime Minister of Norway Jens Stoltenberg has met with the families of Norwegians still unaccounted for in the Algeria hostage crisis.
Stoltenberg arrived at a hotel in the west coast city of Bergen on Saturday, where Norwegian oil company Statoil has set up a centre for workers' families while they wait for news of their relatives.
After a meeting that lasted more than an hour, Stoltenberg says his government is offering what is necessary to help the Norwegians caught up in the hostage crisis.
"We are staying in direct contact with the government of Algeria and we have also provided medical assistance, planes to try to help as many people as possible out of the area. So it has been an emotional meeting with people that are living through distress and challenges. It's hard for others to imagine how difficult it is."
Stoltenberg is expected to hold a news conference later on Saturday evening in Oslo to give more details.
Freed Algerian Hostages Describe Attack on Remote Gas Field
Freed Algerian hostages have given harrowing details about the attack by Islamic militants on a remote gas field installation in the Sahara.
One of the rescued hostages said when he told the attackers he was an Algerian Muslim, he was told not to be scared.
"They said 'Ok Ok don't be scared. We haven't come for you. We have come to exterminate the crusaders. We have come to reinforce Islam. To show the United States what Islam is.' Then he started to force people out of their rooms, just next to my room. They weren't far. He executed five people. We were saved. I remained in my room for 48 hours on my bed."
Another former hostage said the militants were looking for foreigners.
"Their goal was foreign hostages. They met a bus at the entrance of the base's living quarters, they released a few and killed the foreigners on the spot and the Algerian security officers and then they returned to the base's living quarters and took hostages."
According to the Algerian government, around 100 of the 135 foreign workers on the site had been freed and 18 of an estimated 30 kidnappers had been slain.
The government said 12 workers, both foreign and Algerian, were confirmed dead but the extremists have put the number at 35.
The Ain Amenas plant is jointly run by BP, Norway's Statoil and Algeria's state-owned oil company.
Obama does National Service at Local School while Tourists Prepare for his Inauguration
A weekend of inauguration events marking the end of U.S. President Barack Obama's first term and the start of his second are underway in Washington, as so are the final preparations for Monday's big event.
Hotels and government buildings along the parade route were adorned with red, white and blue bunting in the US capital.
Yet there is less energy surrounding Obama's second inauguration than there was in 2009.
That history-making event drew 1.8 million people for the swearing-in of the nation's first black president. This time around, only around 600,000 visitors are expected.
Jason Moody from southern Virginia is one of those who travelled to Washington for the inauguration with his wife and two children.
"It's one of those things that only happens every four years, so the opportunity to be in town during that kind of process is overwhelming. To think that, again, to be able to have the children see an event like this that very few people get to see live."
International visitors were on hand as well, sharing in the enthusiasm of the weekend.
Amit Sadhu from Toronto, Canada, said Obama's second inaugural is not just an American event but a world event.
"We all are proud of the fact that America is at a spot where it is electing a person who would have been, you know, technically, a few years ago, not eligible to stand for this office. So it's a great moment not just for America but for the entire world, I would say."
Meanwhile, Obama himself, along with his family, joined hundreds of volunteers at a local elementary school, one of many projects taking place across the country marking the National Day of Service.
Obama will officially be sworn in at noon on Sunday, Jan. 20 - the time the Constitution requires the new term to begin.
Falkland Islanders to Hold Referendum on Political Status in March
The Falkland Islands, also know as the Malvinas, are set to hold a referendum on the future of the archipelago in early March.
The vote comes amid heightened tension between Britain and Argentina, both of which claim sovereignty over the South Atlantic islands.
The 2,500 inhabitants of the islands will be asked to answer a simple yes or no question: "Do you wish the Falkland Islands to retain their current political status as an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom?"
Michael Summers, a member of the islands' Legislative Assembly, says the territory's authorities welcome open debate in the run-up to the referendum.
"We hope there'll be plenty of debate about that and what we really want from this referendum is a high turnout and make sure everybody's view is expressed. If anybody from Argentina or anywhere else wants to contribute to the debate they'd be very welcome to do so. This is a free and open society and we welcome open debate."
Britain asserted control of the south Atlantic islands by placing a naval garrison there in 1833.
Argentina and Britain fought a brief but deadly war over the islands in 1982 that killed hundreds on both sides.
Argentina claims that the islands are theirs, and have requested that the UK government enter into negotiations over the future direction of the islands' political status.
China Gini Coefficient Stands at 0.47 in 2012
An index reflecting the gap between the rich and poor reached 0.47 in China last year, higher than the warning level of 0.4 set by the United Nations.
The National Bureau of Statistics says the Gini coefficient index has been retreating gradually since hitting a peak of 0.49 in 2008.
Ma Jiantang, director of the statistics bureau, calls for immediate action to narrow China's alarming wealth gap despite the downward trend of the index.
"The curve indicates the urgency for China to accelerate its income distribution reform to narrow the rich-poor gap. After the financial crisis in 2008, China's Gini coefficient gradually dropped from the peak of 0.49 that year as the government took effective measures to bring benefits to its people."
Official figures show China's Gini coefficient has stayed at a high level of between 0.47 and 0.49 during the past decade.
Last year, the Chinese central leadership vowed to double the country's GDP and per capita income by 2020 based on the 2010 levels.
But Ma Jiantang says that only doubling the GDP and per capita income is not enough. He stresses that "the country should do a better job at income distribution and strive to make the incomes of low- and middle-income residents grow faster."
Tanzanians Eager to Learn Chinese Model in Developing Economy
Chinese language learning is becoming increasingly popular in Africa.
The University of Dodoma in Tanzania, the largest higher learning instution in east Africa, has recently set up a Confucius Institute to promote Chinese culture and introduce China's success experience in its economic development.
Zheng Xueyu is the Chinese director at the institute.
"Tanzanian people are very interested in Chinese tradition and culture, including Chinese festivals. They are eager to understand how China's economy remains so dynamic for the past decades."
Idris S. Kikula, vice chancellor of the University of Dodoma, echoes her view.
"If you look back a few years ago, China was not what it is now. And we feel it is the principles that the Chinese people uphold that has driven the Chinese economy to where it is, and that's why we want to learn."
Armstrong Turns Emotional Facing Oprah Winfrey
Former US professional cyclist Lance Armstrong has expressed desire to return to competitive sport after confession to doping during his interview with television anchor Oprah Winfrey.
The cyclist admitted using performance-enhancing drugs to win the Tour de France seven times in part one of the Winfrey interview.
After retiring from cycling in 2011, Armstrong returned to triathlons, where he began his professional career as a teenager, and he has told people he's desperate to get back.
"If you're asking me, 'do I want to compete again? The answer is 'Hell, yes'. I'm a competitor. It's what I've done my whole life. I love to train, I love to race, I love to toe the line. If I was ever, and I don't expect it to happen."
He said the most humbling moment in his doping scandal was being forced to cease involvement with the Livestrong charity he founded.
"To get that call, two parts. One, 'step down as chairman (of cancer charity 'Livestrong') but stay on the board. Stay involved.' That wasn't enough. It wasn't enough for the people, for our supporters. And then a couple of weeks later, the next call came. 'We need you to step aside.'"
Originally called the Lance Armstrong Foundation, the former cyclist created it the year after he was diagnosed with a form of testicular cancer that had spread to his brain and lungs.
California Police Conduct Anti-school Shooting Drill
Los Angeles police and firefighters carried out a drill against campus shooting at Scripps College in Claremont to address increasing gun violence in American schools.
Local authorities say they carried out the drill because gun violence has been increasing in schools.
Dave Thies is the chief of the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
"We train for fires; we train for shootings like this; we train for big wild land fires, high-rise building fires. So it's just unfortunately something else that we need to train for now because of the events that are happening with gun violence."
Police officers, a SWAT unit from the Los Angeles Police Department, Metropolitan Division, firefighters as well as college students participated in the drill.
The exercise simulated one gunman and one gunwoman attacking the college's Performing Arts Center.
Gun violence has recently become an issue of increasing concern in the United States since December last year when a school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary killed 26 people, including 20 children.
China Daily: Abe's Dangerous Doctrine
Japan's new Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took his first overseas trip since taking office to Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia.
An editorial in China Daily says that by visiting three members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Abe is showing the world his doctrine, which will escalate regional tensions rather than promote peace.
The paper cited Abe declaring his doctrine would maintain Japan's relations with countries that share basic values, such as democracy, a market economy and rule of law, in order to keep China in check.
The editorial points out that this means Abe is not hiding his role as a provocateur in these countries' relations with China.
Not only has he reached out to countries that encircle China geographically, the Abe administration's diplomatic campaign to counter China extends to Europe.
The editorial says the new Japanese leadership wants to rope NATO into its territorial dispute with China based on the fact that Abe has written a letter to NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh-Rasmussen addressing China's legitimate protection of its Diaoyu Islands as one of the security issues in East Asia.
Commenting on Abe's "no-room-for-negotiations" statement on Japan's territorial dispute with China, the China Daily editorial says this signals his government is not eager to mend China-Japan ties, and that such attitude will increase the likelihood of conflict between the two countries.
Global Times: Gun Control Difficulties in the US Show the Importance of Powerful Government
US President Barack Obama has unveiled a sweeping and expansive package of gun violence reduction proposals this past week.
The move came a month after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut, which killed 26 people including 20 children.
An editorial in China's Global Times says there is clearly an urgent need for gun control in the US, but it will obviously be impossible for the country to ban guns since guns are part of the US tradition, and hard to reform.
The newspaper contends that the difficulties in promoting gun control show that US society lacks authorities willing and able to push forward reform.
The Global Times points out that the US gun management is a mirror for China as the Asian nation is undergoing profound social and political transformation.
It says the US stalemate in gun control warns Beijing that China's social transition cannot be developed into a process of decreasing of authorities.
The Global Times editorial says there will be many dissenting voices in China during the process of social and political reforms.
The article admits that China has to constantly build its political democracy. But it stresses that at the same time China still needs to have powerful decision-making authorities to manage conflicting opinions and steer the nation's transformation. |