island nation leaving tens of thousands dead and turning the capital and large
parts of western haiti into disaster zone
over aftershocks have shaken the devastated nation since then sparking panic
among residents living in and around the ruins and rubble strewn streets of the
city
rallying despres takes dakar bikes title for third time
buenos aires jan afp
frenchman cyril despres won his third dakar rally motorcycling title on saturday
after the th and final stage which was won by portuguese rider ruben faria
despres who will turn on january finished over five minutes behind his
ktm team mate
norwegian pal ullevalseter finished second overall over an hour behind despres
after finishing second on his ktm in the stage min sec behind faria
chilean francisco chaleco lopez riding an aprilia was third overall less than
five minutes behind the runner up
all victories are nice but this one is particularly beautiful said despres
after the final stage km special from santa rosa
it is victory for hard work of expertise and of an incredible team of
course there is lot of emotion we have had three tough years three years of
injuries training hard times
despres was also the champion in and when the race was still staged in
africa
we can only be moved by this third victory have been riding this bike for
days and am exhausted but the little strength had left just went in tears
one thing is clear was not afraid of losing just wanted to win and this
will to win was stronger than the fear of losing it was tough dakar
beautiful dakar and am so glad won
ullevalseter was happy with his second place
it more than expected on this dakar only had good times no problems
no crashes the bike worked well may not be the fastest rider but am
experienced it is my eighth dakar know the technique and am much more
relaxed as well said the norwegian
spanish rider marc coma dakar rally ended on suitably low note
having been regarded as despres most dangerous rival all hope of winning were
dashed last weekend when he was penalised six hours for illegally changing
wheel and on saturday he was again penalised
this time it was just min sec for the two time dakar winner for speeding and
non authorised tyre change
iran air plane leaves runway at swedish airport
stockholm jan afp
an iran air plane about to leave for tehran slid off the runway at stockholm
arlanda airport saturday but none of the people onboard were hurt an
airport spokesman told afp
some meters out on the runway the plane made very slow turn and
got stuck in the snow on the side of the runway arlanda spokesman jan
lindqvist said explaining no one was hurt because the plane was moving slowly
it did not cause any delays at arlanda as the airport two other runways were
kept open
haiti quake survivors flee capital as aid trickles in
port au prince jan afp
fearful haitians fled their putrid quake hit capital in droves as vast
international aid drive struggled saturday to relieve tensions threatening to
boil over into riots
president barack obama speaking alongside former presidents george bush and
bill clinton at the white house said the united states was doing its utmost to
help haitian officials however complained that no one was coordinating the
effort
at this moment we re moving forward with one of the largest relief efforts in
our history to save lives and to deliver relief that averts an even larger
catastrophe obama said
four days after the magnitude earthquake hit hopes of finding new survivors
faded fast while us troops desperately tried to unblock the aid logjam and
secretary of state hillary clinton headed to the disaster zone
despite complaints over coordination vital supplies and medicines were
trickling into the poor caribbean nation after the quake that devastated the
capital port au prince and much of western haiti
hampered by lack of infrastructure and haiti government that admits it is no
longer able to function properly the relief effort has been slow to get into
gear while the fate of whole towns and villages remains unclear
in sign of growing unease barricades of burning tires rubble and human
corpses blocked the main road out of the haitian capital to nearby carrefour on
saturday as residents called for piles of decomposing bodies to be removed
they already took some bodies away but there are more many more said
bystander charles weber year old voodoo priest in the crowd of at least
three dozen protesters surrounding the smoldering roadblock
vanguard of the us troops being deployed to haiti has taken control of
the airport clogged with tons of relief supplies and has begun the first
distribution of aid to quell the threat of violence
but senior haitian aid official michel chancy complained of major coordination
problems at the airport and said that when the planes land there is no one
in charge
tim callaghan regional adviser with the us agency for international
development defended the massive aid effort and said search and rescue
efforts would continue through at least sunday
aid is also being distributed from the uss carl vinson nuclear powered
aircraft carrier where fleet of helicopters has carried out limited aid
drops
many survivors aware that the already tense situation could quickly deteriorate
in nation prone to violent unrest refused to wait around for relief and
decided to escape the unbearable stench of rotting corpses
the streets smell of death said talulum saint fils who sold her jewelry for
one way bus tickets for her husband and their four children out of port au
prince
go to any place but away from this city she told afp there is no
assistance of any kind and our children simply cannot live like animals
the united nations reported increasing numbers trying to cross the border into
neighboring dominican republic as well as surge of quake survivors fleeing
into haiti northern cities
this is historic disaster we have never been confronted with such disaster
in the un memory it is like no other elisabeth byrs spokeswoman of the un
office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs told afp in geneva
she said un team had been to survey the damage in leogane west of the
capital and had found percent of buildings were damaged or destroyed
with local police estimating up to dead in the one town alone
president rene preval looking exhausted with dark pockets under his eyes told
afp in an interview late friday that the government has lost its capacity to
function properly but it has not collapsed
as international rescuers worked around the clock in tropical temperatures
battling lack of fuel and transport sense of despair set in among exhausted
survivors
there were also reports of violence and looting as thousands of criminals
escaped from the city collapsed prison
haitian officials said at least people had been killed and million
left homeless in the caribbean nation one of the poorest countries in the
world which has long witnessed violence and bloodshed
un chief ban ki moon is set to visit haiti on sunday after the world body
appealed for million dollars from donors the un mission in haiti minustah
was hit hard by the quake with of its employees confirmed dead and
some still unaccounted for
france sets up nuclear biological or chemical threat unit
paris jan afp
france on saturday created specialised unit to deal with the threat of
nuclear biological or chemical nbc terror attacks
the unit specialised in the fight against terrorist threats of nuclear
radiological biological or chemical nature according to prime ministerial
decree will come under the authority of the interior ministry
coordinating the work of other similar units within the french police forces it
will intervene whenever device might release nuclear energy or contain nbc
material or agents dangerous to people goods or the environment
the new unit chief will be named shortly the decree said
eu aid official bound for quake hit haiti
brussels jan afp
the european union top aid official will travel to quake ravaged haiti early
next week to assess first hand the needs of its people the european commission
said in statement
humanitarian aid commissioner karel de gucht will travel to the capital port au
prince soon after emergency talks monday between eu ministers responsible for
development issues and foreign policy chief catherine ashton
his visit will be an opportunity to assess the immediate life saving
humanitarian aid needs as well as the medium and long term requirements for
reconstruction and rehabilitation of the country the statement said
de gucht will also meet haitian officials and un aid representatives to discuss
how relief work is being coordinated and what the nation eu can do to
consolidate and strengthen the efforts
ashton will travel to new york on wednesday for meetings with us and un
officials on the destruction from tuesday earthquake which is thought to have
killed more than people
the spanish government which currently holds the rotating presidency of the eu
said saturday that deputy prime minister maria teresa fernandez de la vega would
represent the bloc in talks monday on haiti needs
called by leonel fernandez president of haiti neighbour the dominican
republic the talks will also include representatives of the united nations
united states and canada madrid said
the statement said that fernandez de la vega would first visit the haitian
capital for talks on sunday with haitian president rene preval before going on
to santo domingo
according to an initial eu damage assessment more than physical
structures were destroyed or damaged in port au prince by the magnitude
quake
as well as several million euros in aid eu nations have sent search and rescue
teams dogs and handlers hospital units tents food and water purification
supplies to haiti
football leverkusen fight back to regain first place
berlin jan afp
bayer leverkusen had to come from behind to beat mid table mainz on saturday
and reclaim the bundesliga top spot after bayern munich had temporarily taken
charge
bayern win over hoffenheim on friday night had given them one point
advantage but leverkusen hit back from conceding an early goal to mainz after
defender tim hoogland put the visitors into an eighth minute lead
leverkusen began the fightback when czech defender michal kadlec netted their
first after minutes before swiss international midfielder tranquillo barnetta
scored second just four minutes later to make it
rising star toni kroos then volleyed home the third from directly in front of
goal on minutes before mainz pulled back consolation goal through defender
niko bungert on minutes
but swiss striker eren derdiyok made sure leverkusen go back to the top with
their fourth goal on minutes
the result leaves leverkusen two points clear at the top of the table but
schalke have the chance to claim second from bayern if they can beat second
from bottom nuremberg on sunday
bottom side hertha berlin got their off to great start as they enjoyed
win at hanover in what was only their second win since the opening day of
the season when they also beat hanover at berlin olympic stadium
polish midfielder lukasz piszczek netted in the th minute to get the capital
club on the way before brazil raffael made it after minutes
greek striker theofanis gekas then slotted home third with minutes
remaining and it could so easily have been but berlin ramos had his late
penalty saved
berlin are still three points from nearest rivals nuremberg and eight points
from escaping the bottom three but the win will have boosted their confidence
hamburg are third after their win at home to freiburg as germany midfielder
marcell jansen and croatia striker mladen petric scored either side of half
time
werder bremen are sixth after their defeat at eintracht frankfurt their
fourth straight league defeat
on friday germany striker miroslav klose came off the bench to help bayern beat
hoffenheim after argentina centre back martin demichelis had opened the
scoring for munich in the first half
football german league table
berlin jan afp
german league table after saturday match played won drawn lost goals for
goals against points
bayer leverkusen
bayern munich
hamburg
schalke
borussia dortmund
werder bremen
eintracht frankfurt
hoffenheim
vfl wolfsburg
mainz
borussia gladbach
vfl bochum
cologne
freiburg
hanover
vfb stuttgart
nuremberg
hertha berlin
haitian official complains of airport chaos
port au prince jan afp
haitian government official on saturday complained of chaos at the country
main airport at port au prince where aid for quake victims is flooding in from
around the world
there are major coordination problems at the airport said michel chancy
haitian government official who heads committee in charge of coordinating
water and food distribution
haitian authorities were not being informed when planes arrive so that when
they land there is no one in charge he said
the united states has been officially in charge of airport operations since
friday in an agreement signed with the haitian government
the airport is operating at its maximum capacity of takeoffs or landings per
day the us state department said friday
on saturday haitian president rene preval said that french airplane
transporting field hospital was unable to land
however plane of the group action against hunger did land carrying tonnes
of emergency supplies
we believe that within the next few days we will have to daily food
rations said chancy noting that the un world food program wfp was setting
up food distribution network that can feed up to people
haiti neighbor on the island of hispaniola the dominican republic has sent
mobile kitchens that can prepare hot meals per day while haiti
education ministry can provide some meals chancy said
eu pushes for deeper carbon emissions cuts
seville spain jan afp
he eu remained firm saturday on its push to move to percent cut in carbon
dioxide emissions by despite the failure of last month un climate summit
to secure legally binding deal
several participants at an informal meeting of european environment ministers in
seville in southeastern spain said the proposal must remain on the table in the
wake of the failed copenhagen summit to keep the momentum in global climate
talks going
we definitely think we should maintain the percent offer we think it is
very very important it has always been conditional offer but it is very
important signal that it is maintained british energy and climate change
minister ed miliband told reporters
the nation european union had agreed ahead of the climate talks in denmark to
cut carbon dioxide emissions by percent over the next decade from levels
and to deepen those cuts to percent if other nations followed suit
but the offer failed to inspire other nations to raise their targets for
emissions cuts as had been hoped
the united states and canada have both proposed reducing their carbon emissions
by just percent over levels while australia plans percent cut
the climate summit ended with deal that set the aim of limiting warming to two
degrees celsius degrees fahrenheit but did not set legally binding targets
to reduce the emissions of gases that scientists say are heating up the world
atmosphere to dangerous levels
the roughly nations which signed on to the accord have until the end of the
month to declare their official carbon reduction commitments
italy and some other eu member states in eastern europe oppose raising the
bloc proposed emissions cuts due to concerns that this will put their
companies at competitive disadvantage
however france like britain backs keeping the possibility of deepening the
proposed cuts on the table
french environment minister jean louis borloo said nobody would accept raising
the emissions cuts target without knowing what other nations are proposing
but if possible we should go to percent without causing europe to explode
he said
belgian climate minister paul magnette said raising the eu target to
percent could give european firms first mover advantage in the change to
green economy which could lead their peers in india china and the united states
to follow their example
by staying with our percent target we might take the risk of losing the
opportunity for major industrial change he said
france and belgium have proposed slapping carbon tax on products imported from
nations that block the adoption of binding emissions reduction targets
britain and several other eu nations hope the copenhagen accord can still be
transformed into legally binding climate change deal at fresh summit in
mexico at the end of the year
central african bloc to restore brand image after bank scam
bangui jan afp
summit of regional bloc of six central african nations opened saturday with
call to shore up its image after the group common central bank admitted to
wide fraud and bad investments
francois bozize president of the central african republic and the current head
of the economic and monetary community of central african states cemac said
decisions had to be taken to restore the credibility and brand image of our
community
in september the governor of the bloc central bank philibert andzembe
admitted that it had lost billion cfa francs million euros in bad
investments and that an equal amount had been stolen by employees between
and
the cemac other members include the oil rich nations of chad congo gabon and
equatorial guinea as well as cameroon
the group will this year launch common passport for nationals of member states
and regional airline cemac official antoine ntsimi told the summit
snooker masters results
london jan afp
result from the masters snooker tournament at the wembley arena here on
saturday
semi finals best of frames
ronnie sullivan eng bt mark williams wal
playing later
stephen maguire sco mark selby eng
more cash pours in for haiti quake victims
paris jan afp
more cash poured in for quake stricken haiti saturday from countries and
individuals after officials said the hundreds of millions of dollars already
pledged in aid was still not enough
in britain the national disasters emergency committee coordinating donations to
organisations said individual contributions had leaped by ten million pounds
in hours to million million euros
this is almost twice the million pounds released so far by the british
government
queen elizabeth ii has also made donation though the amount has not been
revealed
in the netherlands the government said it was releasing four million euros
million dollars to match the amount already paid by dutch people into joint
account opened by humanitarian organisations
we are also giving one million euros to the united nations and million to the
red cross foreign ministry spokesman kees jaap ouwerkeek told afp
in turkey which has lost tens of thousands of people in earthquakes the
foreign ministry said ankara was sending one million dollars euros in
cash as well as rescuers and relief supplies
even mineral rich but conflict ridden democratic republic of congo said saturday
it was chipping in with million dollars in the wake of the un appeal for
more funds
at the other end of the scale the tiny principality of monaco said it had taken
euros from its emergency funds which would also be sent via the un and
the international federation of the red cross
the palace said more would be forthcoming in the next few days after prince
albert on friday met members of the government the local red cross and
humanitarian groups to launch collection of funds
the contributions add to the million dollars million euros already
pledged by score of countries along with organisations and companies already
pledged according to un data
in geneva the red cross said saturday that it has raised its funding appeal for
haiti by ten fold to million swiss francs million dollars million
euros to help survivors of the earthquake
the funds are expected to help the population over three years with an
immediate focus on cutting the risk of water related diseases said the
international federation of red cross and red crescent societies
the un said friday that it was launching an appeal for million dollars from
donors following tuesday magnitude quake that is thought to have killed an
estimated people
there were estimates that some three million people third of the population
had been affected and un officials on the ground pleaded for more medical
and food aid for survivors
in geneva saturday elisabeth byrs spokeswoman of the un office for the
coordination of humanitarian affairs told afp the quake was the worst disaster
ever faced by the united nations in its more than year history
this is historic disaster it is like no other she said explaining that
local government infrastructure and services had been largely wiped out
as part of the un appeal the world food programme called for million dollars
to feed two million people and provide logistical support for six month
emergency operation in haiti
major world powers and large emerging countries including the united states
britain brazil and china have all contributed substantially to the aid
effort
sports and entertainment stars have also donated and urged the world to help
us pop star madonna said she would give dollars while tennis world
number one roger federer has organised charity exhibition matches on sunday
ahead of the australian open to raise funds
obama bush clinton stand united for haiti
washington jan afp
president barack obama issued joint pledge saturday with bill clinton and
george bush that the us stands united with the haitian people following
this week devastating earthquake
by coming together in this way these two leaders send an unmistakable message
to the people of haiti and to the people of the world obama said in rose
garden announcement flanked by predecessors bush republican and clinton
democrat
in these difficult hours america stands united we stand united with the
people of haiti who have shown such incredible resilience and we will help them
to recover and to rebuild he said
the united states obama added was launching one of the largest relief efforts
in our history to bring aid to haiti following tuesday devastating
magnitude earthquake that struck the heart of the poorest nation in the
americas
the three presidents urged donations for the victims and the relief effort
nordic combined world cup results
chaux neuve france jan afp
result of the th nordic combined world cup event ski jump followed by
km cross country race here on saturday ski jump position in brackets
magnus moan nor min sec jason lamy chappuis fra at sec
todd lodwick usa pavel churavy cze johnny
spillane usa bill demong usa norihito kobayashi
jpn mikko kokslien nor johannes rydzek ger
ronny heer sui
overall world cup standings after of rounds
jason lamy chappuis fra pts felix gottwald aut tino
edelmann ger eric frenzel ger johnny spillane usa
magnus moan nor
un says haiti quake worst disaster it has confronted
geneva jan afp
haiti quake is the worst disaster ever confronted by the united nations
spokeswoman said saturday with entire areas essentially obliterated and local
services non existent
this is historic disaster we have never been confronted with such disaster
in the un memory it is like no other elisabeth byrs spokeswoman of the un
office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs told afp
she noted that at least local government structures remained after the
tsunami hit indonesia aceh province but in the haiti town of leogane for
example all public services were lost in the earthquake
the earthquake has decapitated the city said byrs pointing out that this
made coordination of aid efforts all the more difficult
byrs had earlier said that un assessment team surveying towns to the west of
port au prince found that up to percent of the buildings in leogane had been
damaged or destroyed by tuesday magnitude quake
no local government infrastructure remains she said
according to the local police between to people have been killed
and most bodies are still in the collapsed buildings she said
the assessment team also surveyed carrefour with inhabitants and found
that percent of buildings in the worst affected areas in the town had been
destroyed
the situation was similar in gressier which counted inhabitants before
the earthquake buildings destroyed there included the police station
search and rescue teams are in these areas said byrs who stressed that there
was an urgent need for medical care
the situation in the three towns indicate the scale of the destruction beyond
the capital port au prince byrs said adding that the disaster was the worst
in terms of organisation and coordination of the emergency response
besides local government infrastructure buildings of international relief
agencies have not been spared by the massive earthquake
the headquarters building of the un assistance mission in haiti minustah was
flattened and many un staff are still unaccounted for
the national haitian red cross offices were near destroyed in the earthquake
said the international federation of the red cross and red crescent societies
as result relief agencies are having to set up temporary bases
the international red cross said two base camps would also act as temporary
headquarters for the local red cross while the world food programme said it was
looking at bringing in ship to be docked off the port to act as logistical
centre for the agency
meanwhile some international search and rescue teams comprising
workers and dogs were active in the disaster area and had already pulled out
total of survivors from the debris said byrs
they included who were rescued on friday three days after the earthquake
struck she added
the favourable climate and building structures have enhanced survivor chances
she noted
so search and rescue is still the priority the rescue phase will go on
longer
rescue efforts are however being hindered by three major constraints
transport communications and fuel
transport resources are very limited and hampered by the fact that the fuel
stocks are running low said byrs another constraint is the lack of
ambulances
football benitez bemoans penalty decisions
stoke on trent england jan afp
rafael benitez insisted liverpool were denied crucial win at stoke on saturday
by referee lee mason refusal to award two penalties in the draw
benitez was infuriated when mason booked lucas leiva for diving in the first
half even though replays showed stoke defender danny higginbotham had clearly
tripped the liverpool midfielder in the penalty area
the reds took the lead through greek defender sotirios kyrgiakos after the
break but robert huth last minute equaliser was followed by mason turning
down another liverpool penalty appeal to leave under pressure benitez frustrated
again
you can see the penalty incident again times and you ll have the same
opinion as everyone in the stadium he said
it difficult to take because for minutes we were winning and then after
stoke equaliser we could have had penalty that could have changed
everything we got one point when it could have been three so we ve lost two
points
but the main thing with some players out was to show character and react the
players were fantastic working very very hard the fans appreciated this and
supported the team
really pleased with the performance against difficult team in tough
game we did almost everything to win
liverpool forward dirk kuyt admitted his team mates felt like they had lost
after conceding the equaliser so late in the game
kuyt told sky sports yes of course it feels like defeat we aren playing
the best football at the moment but thought we fought really hard for this
result and to concede in the last minute and even miss great chance in the
last minute is unbelievable
had great chance to score another goal so it just really disappointing
we wanted to get the three points today and it didn happen
confidence isn very high at the moment as you could guess but we have to
keep going and work really really hard and come out of this as quickly as
possible
liverpool are enduring trying season having dropped off the pace in the
premier league been eliminated from the champions league and embarrassed by
second division reading in the fa cup in midweek
football german league results
berlin jan afp
german league results on saturday
hanover hertha berlin piszczek raffael gekas
eintracht frankfurt russ werder bremen
