coach stephen keshi ngr
referee ssegonga muhmed ugu
fifteen killed as bombs hit shiite holy city in iraq
najaf iraq jan afp
fifteen people were killed and wounded in three bomb attacks in the shiite
muslim shrine city of najaf on thursday an iraqi interior ministry official
told afp
car bomb exploded near mosque and two other bombs blew up in retail market
in the city kilometres miles south of baghdad according to security
official
najaf is home to the mausoleum of imam ali the son in law and cousin of the
prophet mohammed and attracts shiites from around the world especially
neighbouring iran
an afp correspondent in the city said iraqi security forces deployed in large
numbers following the attacks with routes into the city sealed off
while attacks in iraq remain common especially in baghdad and the northern
cities of mosul and kirkuk violence in najaf has become rare
the last major attack in najaf occurred in february when suicide car
bomber attacked an iraqi police checkpoint killing people and wounding
dozens more
urgent china sending lower level rep to six power meet on iran us
washington jan afp
china will send lower level representative to meeting saturday of six world
powers in iran nuclear program state department spokesman said thursday
haitian ex pm warns of post quake epidemic
brussels jan afp
former haitian premier claudette werleigh on thursday welcomed the international
response to the devastating earthquake in her country while warning that
medical epidemic could follow
think people in other countries are responding she said citing help from
the united states france and canada as well as china and russia
the former prime minister who has lived in europe for the last decade said
clearance sniffer dogs and medical aid were priority to find survivors as
well as victims and deal with the injured
she added that more far reaching help was required for the poorest country in
the americas which had anyway been suffering under weak government
werleigh who is now secretary general of the pax christi catholic organisation
in brussels said she knew her husband had survived the quake but with
communication near impossible had no word on her sister and other relatives
in haiti officials warned that the overall death toll may top following
tuesday massive earthquake which had its epicentre near the capital port au
prince
werleigh warned that the initial search and rescue phase could be followed by an
epidemic given the awful conditions on the ground
because of the number of people injured and the number of people dead there
might be some epidemic coming people should know that in advance so they are
ready to provide antibiotics clean water and certainly food also she added
however she warned against aid efforts taking on political aspect
even if the government is weak it is important that first there is coordination
among the international aid efforts but second that nothing is done without the
people of the country without the government because that the only way for
people with the government to learn to be able to respond to any future
crises she added
werleigh who served as her country first woman prime minister in
said she had no immediate plans to fly to haiti but was likely to do so in the
summer
alert
six powers chinese representative to meet saturday on iran us
malaysian catholics lawyers offices hit in allah row
kuala lumpur jan afp
malaysia catholic church said thursday its lawyers offices had been burgled
and ransacked in the latest of spate of attacks triggered by row over the
use of the word allah
police said church in southern johor state was also attacked bringing to
the number of churches fire bombed or vandalised in the past week
trouble broke out after the high court decided on december to lift
government ban on non muslims using allah as translation for god
our lawyers offices were broken into and burgled sometime between wednesday
evening and thursday morning and the office was ransacked said father lawrence
andrew editor of the catholic church newspaper the herald
we believe the break in is linked to the ongoing situation over the use of the
word allah and we are very concerned he told afp
the law firm does not have any money or many valuables so we believe this is
purely aimed at intimidation
church lawyer derek fernandez said laptop was stolen in the attack on his
firm offices in southwest kuala lumpur and he was checking whether any
documents had been taken
this was very professional job as there were very strong grilles protecting
the office that were cut and the locks were carefully replaced after the
break in he told afp
however police denied the incident was linked to the allah row
police investigations so far indicate that this is purely housebreaking and
theft case and is in no way related to the allah issue federal criminal
investigation chief bakri zinin said in statement
police said meanwhile the saint elizabeth catholic church in johor had been
splashed with paint early thursday
the church was splashed with red paint sometime early this morning deputy
national police chief ismail omar told afp we are still investigating the
matter
malaysia bar council condemned the attack on the law offices saying lawyers
must be free to represent their clients without fear or favour
criticism and dissent are legitimate forms of expression but threats
coercion intimidation or violence are unacceptable president ragunath kesavan
said
the high court ruling in favour of the herald which argued for the right to
use allah in its malay language section was suspended last week pending an
appeal after the government argued the decision could cause racial conflict
since the ruling churches have been hit with molotov cocktails splashed with
paint and had windows smashed with stones triggering tighter security at places
of worship nationwide
about nine percent of malaysia million people are christian including
catholics the majority community of malays are muslim
the row is one of string of religious disputes in recent years that have
raised fears among minorities that the country is being islamised and that
their rights are being eroded
in geneva the world council of churches said it was disturbed by the attacks
and called on the malaysian government to take immediate action
we hope that immediate measures will be taken to resolve the problem and that
all perpetrators of these acts of violence will be brought to justice the wcc
said in letter to malaysian churches
pointing out that christians living in neighbouring indonesia the world
biggest muslim majority country has been using the word allah for
centuries the wcc said it was very disturbing to hear about this new
controversy generated by small sector of muslims
the us government commission on international religious freedom tuesday voiced
concern over the violence and said the response of malaysian leaders would be
vital in shaping the nation future
the malaysian government has strongly criticised the attacks but has been
accused of stoking malay nationalism so as to protect its voter base after the
opposition made unprecedented gains in elections
after the latest attacks prime minister najib razak said thursday that probes
were under way to bring the perpetrators to justice and said several suspects
had been identified
these actions do not represent malaysia malaysia is tolerant country that
supports religious freedom for all he said in statement
peres to honour holocaust victims in berlin
berlin jan afp
israel president shimon peres will deliver speech in the german parliament
on january to commemorate the victims of the holocaust the parliament said
in statement thursday
german chancellor angela merkel germany president horst koehler and other
members of the german parliament are also set to attend the speech
on monday israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu travels to berlin with key
members of his government for talks with merkel and other german cabinet
members
imf to provide million dollars in aid to haiti
washington jan afp
the international monetary fund will quickly provide million dollars in aid
to earthquake devastated haiti imf head dominique strauss kahn said thursday
strauss kahn said the million dollars would come from an extension of an
existing loan to haiti which is reeling from massive quake that struck
tuesday nearly flattening the capital city port au prince
we re looking since yesterday to all possibilities to help haiti and we will
provide million dollars very quickly through our extended credit facility
he said at news conference at imf headquarters in washington
strauss kahn said the loan extension requires executive board approval but
emphasized it going to be done very rapidly of course in coordination with
other agencies
something bigger probably would need to be considered to help haiti he added
to date the imf has disbursed about million dollars of the loan approved in
for the poorest country in the western hemisphere
on tuesday the world bank the imf sibling institution had pledged
million dollars in interest free emergency aid to haiti subject to board
approval
man charged in ireland after transatlantic plane incident
dublin jan afp
year old man was charged under irish air transport laws thursday after
dutch transatlantic jet made an emergency landing in ireland due to an incident
on board police said
the man believed to be dutch was arrested wednesday at shannon airport he
faced court thursday charged under the air navigation and transport act which
can cover offences including unruly behaviour
the boeing aircraft with passengers on board was flying for charter
company arkefly from amsterdam to aruba in the dutch antilles when the pilot
sought permission to make an emergency landing at shannon
following the arrest an alternative aircraft was brought in to transport the
stranded passengers onwards after investigations the grounded aircraft was
released to return to amsterdam
aid agencies warn of major logistic challenge in haiti
geneva jan afp
un and aid agencies warned thursday that they faced major logistic challenge
in getting essential relief to survivors of haiti deadly earthquake
some aid is being handed out with world food programme spokesman charles
vincent saying people in some districts of the flattened haitian capital
port au prince should receive food later thursday
obviously it drop in bucket but it start he said adding that once
roads are cleared distribution would also start in other areas
most of the population have not had food for the whole day yesterday and today
as result certain insecurity is feared
the scale of devastation caused by tuesday magnitude quake means the wfp
has been unable to gain access to its warehouses and vincent said he was unsure
if they had been damaged or looted
elisabeth byrs who is spokeswoman of the un office for the coordination of
humanitarian affairs warned that relief agencies faced major logistic
challenge on the ground
while the airport at port au prince was functioning its control tower was still
down she said
un experts are trying to get the control tower operational by the end of the
day byrs added and others have been sent to reestablish communications which
have been cut off
communications is still the greatest handicap for everybody according to the
wfp vincent
hopefully over the next few days communications will be restored
the international telecommunications union said later thursday that it was
deploying basic satellite terminals and another terminals with broadband
facility to help reestablish communications in haiti
experts are also being despatched to help operate the satellite units added the
un telecommunications agency
pledging that the itu would do everything possible to provide assistance by
reestablishing telecommunications links the agency chief hamadoun toure also
called on telecommunications companies to pitch in
earlier the international organisation for migration appealed for tents to
shelter homeless survivors and said it was was gearing up to distribute vital
supplies
what we need is tents tents and more tents we need large or individual tents
whatever is available and financial support quickly vincent houver the iom
chief of mission in haiti said in statement
the organisation said it would provide tarpaulins plastic sheeting jerry cans
and water containers from stocks already in the impoverished vountry to help
some families
aid agencies have also been despatching personnel to haiti including the red
cross which said ten teams are on their way to join in relief efforts
the teams which include about people from red cross societies around the
world should arrive thursday in port au prince said jean luc martinage
spokesman of the international federation of red cross and red crescent
societies
they include an evaluation team which would assess the shelter water
sanitation and communications needs on the ground he told afp
haiti prime minister has warned the death toll could top while
president rene preval said could have been killed
cricket struggling younus returns to pakistan odi squad
karachi jan afp
pakistan named struggling former captain younus khan in their man squad for
the five match one day series in australia despite his poor form
younus is big match player and his performance in the domestic matches are
not yardstick for his selection said chief of selectors iqbal qasim
the one day squad will be captained by mohammad yousuf
we wanted younus to play the domestic matches to bring back his focus and
keep his fitness qasim said
the year old younus pulled out of pakistan tour of new zealand and stepped
down as captain in november due to poor batting form and then made himself
unavailable for the test tour of australia
the break was supposed to give the elegant batsman time to regain his edge but
younus who plays for habib bank in pakistan has continued to struggle
he scored just seven and four in the final of the country premier first class
tournament last month
the first of the five one day matches in australia will be played at brisbane on
january while the only twenty match is scheduled for melbourne on february
after the one day series younus and yousuf will return home because they are
not part of the man twenty squad
squad one day mohammad yousuf capt salman butt imran farhat umer akmal
kamran akmal saeed ajmal mohammad asif umar gul shoaib malik mohammad
aamir sarfraz ahmed fawad alam younus khan shahid afridi vice captain rao
iftikhar khalid latif rana naved ul hasan
twenty shahid afridi capt imran farhat fawad alam umer akmal kamran
akmal saeed ajmal umar gul rao iftikhar shoaib malik khalid latif mohammad
aamir rana naved ul hasan sarfraz ahmed salman butt imran nazir mohammad
asif
latin american aid flows to devastated haitian capital
sao paulo jan afp
haiti desperate pleas for help were starting to be answered thursday by latin
american nations many of which were already part of un assistance mission in
the impoverished country
argentina brazil chile and peru all sent tons of aid including food water
and medical and rescue teams after receiving confirmation that the airport in
haiti capital port au prince though damaged could receive flights
the cargoes were just initial responses more assistance was already being
planned
brazil preoccupied with also supplying the more than troops it has
deployed to haiti as part of the un peacekeeping force it commands was looking
at flying in tons of powdered milk beans and rice in coming days
so far brazil has already delivered more than tons of food and water and
flown in rescue team with dogs to locate the hundreds of haitians and un
workers believed trapped in the rubble of houses hospitals hotels and offices
brazil and argentina were both on thursday sending field hospitals to tend the
multitudes of injured in port au prince
at least three haitian hospitals collapsed during the quake leaving an
argentine staffed facility as the main medical outpost in the city hopelessly
overflowing with casualties until more help arrives
argentine officials said they were also coordinating with the swiss based
international telecommunications union to send satellite telephone gear to haiti
to permit voice and data transmissions
the lack of land based and cellular telephone communications in port au prince
in the wake of the temblor has severely hampered rescue efforts and prevented
clear picture emerging of the scope and scale of the disaster
another tons of aid and rescue personnel were sent from chile early
thursday officials said
we hope these rescue teams will fulfill crucial task from what we have seen
in the media with haitian citizens searching for family members in the rubble
with their hands said juan gabriel valdes chilean diplomat who used to head
up un peacekeeping efforts
peru sent two military aircraft on thursday with another tons of aid mainly
medicine food and tarpaulins said prime minister javier velasquez who was to
personally hand over the shipment to haitian authorities
the planes were immediately to return to peru to pick up medical staff field
hospital and rescue team to also go to haiti he said
ecuador sent medicine food blood supplies and team of searchers with dogs on
military transport plane the country emergency response secretary maria
cornejo said
bolivia south america poorest country also announced its help saying it was
preparing to send rescue team and launching blood donation drive
major us aid operation heads to haiti
washington jan afp
president barack obama promised haitians thursday they would not be forgotten
offering million dollars in immediate earthquake aid and the backing of
every element of us power
sweeping us military and civilian operation to aid quake devastated haiti
kicked into high gear with washington sending ships helicopters planes
rescue teams floating hospital and more than troops
to the people of haiti we say clearly and with conviction you will not be
forsaken you will not be forgotten obama said
the president offered every element of our national capacity our diplomacy and
development assistance the power of our military and most importantly the
compassion of our country following the disaster
obama recalled two top deputies from foreign trips with secretary of state
hillary clinton returning to washington early thursday to help coordinate us
efforts after haiti worst earthquake in more than century
forward teams of civilian and military experts began landing in haiti wednesday
as us surveillance aircraft scanned for survivors and tried to assess the damage
from tuesday magnitude quake
as wealthy neighbor with the world most powerful military the united states
appeared well placed to lead aid efforts for the impoverished caribbean nation
mobilizing an array of specialists and high tech equipment
the us army ordered brigade of troops deployed to haiti to provide
humanitarian assistance and relief and security as required said army
spokesman gary tallman they would begin to arrive late thursday
the us military has deployed large amphibious ship with marine expeditionary
unit of about personnel clinton said
the extent of the planning that has to go into this to make sure we do the
maximum good possible is something that the united states is taking the lead
in she said while also praising the relief efforts by several other nations
defense secretary robert gates canceled plans for weekend trip to australia in
order to manage the pentagon response while clinton abandoned her trip to
asia flying back from hawaii and warning that the quake caused very high loss
of life
we know it going to be in the tens of thousands she told msnbc
early casualty figures were impossible to calculate with apparently no central
haitian authority taking control of disaster operations but prime minister
jean max bellerive told cnn the final death toll could top
president rene preval told the network could be dead
the uss carl vinson aircraft carrier was en route and set to arrive thursday
while destroyers and more coast guard ships were on the way general douglas
fraser head of the us southern command told reporters
part of the effort was aimed at providing assistance to many of the
americans clinton said were in haiti some of whom were injured in the disaster
the coast guard has been magnificent in helping to evacuate people she said
the usns comfort floating military hospital with operating rooms and team
of doctors and medical supplies was readying to sail to waters off haiti
clinton said
search and rescue teams from florida virginia and california were on the ground
thursday in port au prince as was group of us air force experts to restore
air traffic control and communications at the airport badly needed as hub for
international relief efforts
the united states is providing lot of the glue that is keeping people
communicating and working together as we try to assert authority reinstate the
government and begin to do what governments have to do to rebuild and
reconstruct this damaged country clinton told fox news
about us military personnel were on the ground and some military
engineers medical specialists and other experts were flying in aboard
transport plane to help organize emergency aid fraser said
on wednesday us navy maritime patrol aircraft usually used to track drug
trafficking flew over port au prince and the initial survey from the air
indicated the damage was mainly concentrated around the capital but the full
scale of the disaster was still unknown
we don have clear assessment right now of what the situation on the ground
is fraser said
us officials will also be acutely aware of the need to try to stem any mass
panic or attempts to flee haiti by sea to reach the united states
over the years hundreds have made the perilous kilometer mile
journey in leaky boats and many have perished on the way
obama said wednesday the defense and state departments along with the us agency
for international development would lead relief efforts after the heart
wrenching tragedy
clintons lead fundraising charge for haiti
washington jan afp
hillary and bill clinton on thursday spearheaded drive to raise money to help
earthquake ravaged haiti already drumming up three million dollars for red
cross relief efforts
secretary of state hillary clinton who canceled trip to asia to address the
humanitarian crisis made the rounds of six morning television news shows where
she urged americans to make dollar donations by cellular telephone
if you wish to help you can text haiti to she said on
nbc today show after flying back from visit to hawaii
we ve collected about three million dollars for the red cross and thank the
generosity of the people of our country she said
on cnn clinton said that the american red cross was in desperate need of
resources to buy the supplies that the people of haiti require
her husband former president bill clinton is the un special envoy for haiti
he appealed for dollar donations to be sent by text message to the united
nations or his own foundation
bill clinton writing in the washington post said the aid should go to build
better future for the western hemisphere poorest nation including better
buildings schools and health care
establishing this foundation for better haitian future will require
assistance from governments businesses and private citizens the people of
haiti deserve our support he said
the clintons have long running involvement with haiti where they spent their
honeymoon
the drive for private funds complements government pledges for haiti president
barack obama appearing with secretary clinton promised an immediate
million dollars in aid
the international monetary fund also said it would quickly provide million
dollars to haiti
mobile phones have become an increasingly popular medium to raise funds for
humanitarian causes
secretary clinton last year urged americans to make donations by telephone to
support hundreds of thousands of pakistanis who fled government offensive on
taliban strongholds
europe caspian states back eu southern corridor energy plan
batumi georgia jan afp
eastern european and caspian sea states vowed thursday to support the european
union southern corridor plan aimed at reducing the bloc dependence on
russian energy supplies
meeting for an energy conference in georgia black sea city of batumi top
officials from countries including georgia azerbaijan kazakhstan poland
and bulgaria promised to boost efforts to cooperate on shipping gas from the
caspian sea to european consumers while bypassing russia
but the conference was marred by the fact that national leaders did not attend
as planned
after announcing that numerous heads of state would attend and adopt charter
on energy cooperation georgian officials later said the meeting had been
downgraded and that no national leaders would be attending
officials said scheduling problems were to blame and that full summit will be
held later
in joint statement conference participants vowed to unite efforts towards
the strengthening of mutual energy cooperation and to promote mutual
confidence necessary for the successful implementation of the southern
corridor
the eu is hoping energy rich caspian sea states such as azerbaijan and
kazakhstan will provide supplies for the southern corridor plan key component
the ambitious nabucco pipeline
the billion euro billion dollar venture is aimed at feeding
billion cubic metres of natural gas each year from the caspian sea to europe
starting in
the pipeline is intended to reduce european reliance on russian gas supplied
through ukraine route that has seen chronic interruptions amid payment
disputes between moscow and kiev
russia is instead backing its own rival south stream project and on wednesday
moscow announced it had won ankara backing for building key section of the
pipeline in turkey portion of the black sea
ukraine pm seeks to trump rival with eu pledge
kiev jan afp
prime minister yulia tymoshenko pledged thursday to bring ukraine into the eu
within five years if she wins this weekend presidential polls as she moved to
play up differences with her main rival
in keynote address in kiev tymoshenko painted sunday vote as stark choice
between herself and her main opponent viktor yanukovich who is leading the
polls and is seen as pro russian figure
incumbent viktor yushchenko who led the orange revolution that swept the
old order from power had vowed to bring ukraine into the european union but his
plans fell apart amid political instability and bitter public disappointment
ukraine must become member of the european union and for me that is
priority will do everything so that during my presidency ukraine becomes
member of the eu tymoshenko said
ukraine presidential mandate is for five years
making her clearest commitment yet of the campaign to european integration
tymoshenko said an association agreement should be signed with the european
union this year as well as an accord on the creation of free trade zone
the elections are taking place amid severe economic crisis and disillusionment
with the results of the orange revolution which sparked hopes of new era of
reform in ukraine and was strongly supported by tymoshenko
opinion polls show yanukovich with lead of around percent ahead the
elections
however with candidates standing february run off is almost certain and
analysts believe the prime minister still has chance of making up ground by
then
tymoshenko has traditionally been seen as pro eu figure although the warmth of
her relationship with russian prime minister vladimir putin in the last months
has led analysts to conclude she has drawn closer to moscow
her former ally yushchenko is expected to be punished at the ballot box for the
failure of the orange revolution to bring about major economic and political
reform falling at the first hurdle with weak single digit showing
wearing her trademark golden hair braid and cream dress tymoshenko also
launched new attack on ukraine super rich oligarchs who own much of the
country industry and many of whom have close links to yanukovich
there are two paths strengthen the oligarchs personified by yanukovich or
the other path the creation of an independent state she said
she vowed to improve relations with russia that have collapsed under yushchenko
stating that kiev moscow ties should be peaceful constructive but very strict
and pragmatic
the prime minister her voice hoarse from weeks of campaigning took questions
after her speech on video link from supporters ranging from miners to folk
singers
day earlier tymoshenko had accused yanukovich of seeking to organise election
fraud from his powerbase in the east of the country but he hit back thursday
with bitter personal attack on his rival
this is her way of life this is how she lives we have got used to it he
said on campaign visit to the northeastern city of kharkiv quoted by the
website of his regions party
yanukovich said that with high turnout he even had chance of outright
victory in the first round
adding uncertainty to the situation new poll from russian research
organisation showed yanukovich well ahead but with lesser known candidate
pushing tymoshenko into third place
yanukovich will poll percent of the vote while former economy minister and
banking executive sergiy tigipko would win percent compared with for
tymoshenko the poll for the russian public opinion research centre showed
while tigipko may be benefiting from being relatively fresh face polls by
other ukraine based organisations published over the new year showed him posting
far weaker vote
football torres out in triple liverpool injury blow
liverpool england jan afp
liverpool will be without striker fernando torres for six weeks the club
announced on thursday as the fall out from their fa cup loss to reading hit
home
the reds will also be missing their other star player steven gerrard for at
least fortnight while israeli playmaker yossi benayoun could be sidelined for
up to month
spain international forward torres whose right knee injury will also be worry
for his compatriots ahead of this year world cup in south africa lasted
