country to begin to move towards democracy to overcome its economic and
political crises
today our country has economic problems the country is boycotted by the
international monetary fund world bank following the example of other
african countries would like that we move towards democracy general sekouba
konate said in an address broadcast on state media
we need democracy like that advocated by the international community we need
to renew ties with the international community so the young generation may live
better he said at alpha yaya diallo military camp
in speech last week konate invited the opposition to choose the next prime
minister ahead of the formation of transition government and called on
opposition leaders who fled to return saying he would guarantee their safety
konate who also serves as defence minister took charge of the country after
junta leader captain moussa dadis camara was shot in the head and seriously
wounded on december by his aide de camp during an altercation
camara was evacuated to morocco for medical treatment but in surprise move
traveled tuesday to burkina faso which has been trying to mediate between the
military junta and the opposition
it was not immediately clear if camara who was reported to be lucid and talking
but walking with difficulty intended to stay in burkina faso return to guinea
or travel to another country
konate delivered his speech before camara left morocco
aide to ex british pm denies sexing up iraq dossier
london jan afp
tony blair former chief spin doctor alastair campbell has fiercely denied
sexing up dossier which claimed iraq could launch chemical or biological
weapons within minutes ahead of the war
in defiant appearance tuesday at public inquiry on the conflict campbell
said that while the controversial document could have been clearer he still
defended every single word of it and the invasion itself
think britain as country should feel incredibly proud of the role it played
in taking on one of the most brutal barbarous regimes in history said
campbell one of the former prime minister closest allies
the first big name to appear before the chilcot inquiry he appeared days before
blair gives evidence later this month or early next
current prime minister gordon brown who campbell said was one of the key
ministers blair consulted in the run up to war will appear after this year
general election expected in may
aside from his staunch defence of the infamous dossier campbell told the
inquiry that while britain pressed the united states to seek diplomatic
solution blair wrote notes in to then president george bush saying he
would support military action if this did not work
if that cannot be done diplomatically and it is to be done militarily britain
will be there that would be the tenor of the communication to the president
he said
large part of campbell evidence focused on september dossier which
the british government issued to explain its growing concerns over iraq six
months before britain joined the invasion
the bbc subsequently reported that campbell had sexed up the report which
claimed iraq could launch chemical or biological attack within minutes
sparking an angry row with the prime minister office in downing street
on tuesday campbell again insisted he had never tried to beef up anything
written by the dossier author john scarlett then chairman of high level
committee advising the government on intelligence
at no point did anybody from the prime minister down say to anybody within the
intelligence services you have got to tailor it to fit this judgment or that
judgment campbell said
the whole way through it could not have been made clearer to everybody that
nothing would override the intelligence judgments and that john scarlett was the
person who if you like had the single pen
campbell downing street former director of communications and strategy
resigned in august the month after ministry of defence weapons expert dr
david kelly was found dead near his home with slashed wrists
kelly believed he may have been the source of the bbc sexing up story and
officials confirmed his name as such to some reporters
at the time campbell insisted he wanted to resign to spend more time with his
family well before kelly death and previous official inquiry exonerated him
over the affair the chilcot inquiry is not covering kelly death
its committee members have faced criticism over alleged soft questioning of
witnesses but the ex bbc journalist who made the original sexing up claim was
among those to praise their hard line with campbell tuesday
campbell inevitably ran classic no surrender defence andrew gilligan
wrote on his blog for the daily telegraph
but he praised chilcot committee saying they asked often exactly the right
questions
elsewhere in his evidence campbell insisted blair was determined to deal with
saddam hussein regime peacefully right up to crucial vote on the iraq war in
the house of commons on march
us led forces began their invasion of iraq two days after that vote despite the
lack of explicit backing from the un security council britain was the second
biggest troop contributor its deployment peaking at
campbell evidence came as an independent commission in the netherlands found
that the iraq war lacked legitimacy under international law
british newspapers devoted large amounts of space to campbell appearance
wednesday with the guardian saying it reminded voters that it was the iraq war
that broke the bond of trust between his government and the nation
the telegraph said the important lesson of the inquiry was highlighted by the
appearance labour pathological obsession with spin and manipulation to
mould public opinion is not sound basis on which to invade another country
un peacekeeping hq in haiti leveled by quake staff
port au prince jan afp
massive earthquake in haiti has leveled the headquarters of the united nations
mission in the country local employee of the un force told afp
the headquarters of the united nations stabilization mission in haiti has been
destroyed in large part there are numerous people underneath the rubble both
dead and injured local employee of the force said
in new york un spokesman martin nesirky confirmed that the un compound in port
au prince has sustained serious damage
he said alain leroy the head of the un department of peacekeeping operations
which oversees the world body various missions around the world would make
statement on the disaster later tuesday
and un chief ban ki moon issued statement saying my heart goes out to the
people of haiti after this devastating earthquake
at this time of tragedy am very concerned for the people of haiti and also
for the many united nations staff who serve there
the brazilian led stabilization mission in haiti known as minustah comprises
troops and police
it has been deployed in the caribbean island nation of eight million people
since mid
hong kong shares open percent lower
hong kong jan afp
hong kong shares opened down percent on wednesday with the benchmark hang
seng index falling points in early trading to
asian carmakers scope deeper inroads in us market
detroit michigan jan afp
asian carmakers which have left us rivals in the dust on their home turf
signaled at this week detroit auto show they have set their sights on still
bigger shares of the massive market
the overall market share tells me where the consumer is voting don esmond
head of toyota us auto sales said tuesday at an industry round table
discussion
more bluntly carlos tavares the nissan executive vice president in charge of
the americas said in an interview with afp we still expect and hope to grow
our us market share steadily
with their smaller cheaper and less fuel thirsty vehicles asian auto
manufacturers have scored customers amid the worst us recession in decades and
spikes in gasoline prices
the hard times and government cash for clunkers incentive program have
helped wean some american consumers away from their beloved but gas guzzling
sport utility vehicles suvs and pickup trucks
in sales of asian vehicles particularly those produced by japanese
companies surpassed their us rivals in the united states toyota edged out
ford while honda topped chrysler trailed shortly behind by nissan
in the troubled us auto market last year where sales plunged percent some
automakers like south korea hyundai have not only grown their us share but
have seen sales leap
korean carmakers like hyundai or kia improved the quality without raising
prices said jessica caldwell an analyst at edmunds com
in addition the disappearance of certain us brands like saturn and pontiac
shut down by general motors offers an opportunity for everybody that
fact nissan tavares said on the sidelines of the north american auto show in
detroit home of the big three us automakers
john mendel the vice president of honda motor usa agreed he added however
that sometimes it is difficult to garner the market shares left abandoned by the
demise of rival brands
it going to matter how these people are approached mendel told afp on
tuesday
those people are probably in reality more domestically oriented may or may
not consider honda or toyota or some other brand
mendel mentioned that the federal government popular clunkers program had
captured lot of first time honda buyers
still us automakers are gearing up for the turf war
ford is serious contender said edmunds com caldwell
they have solid car strategy which they didn have in the past they
mostly sold trucks and suvs she added
general motors the largest us automaker which along with chrysler last year
emerged from government backed bankruptcy declared it was back in the game
putting carmakers worldwide on alert and in particular the asian companies
present at the show bob lutz gm vice chairman said sunday when competitor
is restructured but retains its former capabilities that is much more
dangerous competitor than ever before
lutz pointed out that his company restructuring had pared its cost structure
particularly payrolls wiped away most of its debt and disposed of four brands
and he said the foreign currency exchange rate has tipped in gm favor from
where it was few years ago with the dollar today weaker against the yen and
the euro
when japanese automakers complain about the yen strength against the dollar
my eyes remain dry said lutz
forget wanted ads employers recruiting with online videos
montreal jan afp
patients dance with intravenous drips doctor sings and child plays with
stethoscope in canadian hospital latest recruitment video
the video part of novel and whimsical recruiting effort follows young
woman who goes to drop off her resume at sacre coeur hospital there she ends
up singing and dancing with staff in its hallways
one day one day when you come we ll show you great places one day one day
when you come for you we ll stop time they sing to popular quebec tune
first popularized during montreal expo in
the video has been viewed more than times since its online release in
mid september and the hospital received some resumes within the first few
weeks after its release
the number of applications we received was equal to all of the resumes received
over period of six months last year which was record year for us said
michel lariviere the hospital director general
we recruited about people much more than in previous years added
daniel dube the hospital human resources director
in producing the video the hospital hoped to target younger jobseekers fresh
out of college and university demographic more likely to watch videos
online
some hospital employees volunteered to act in the clip to try to convince
nurses secretaries occupational therapists and support workers to apply
the making of the off the wall video even helped boost existing staff morale
it all well and good to recruit new staff but if we lose as much personnel
as we hire we have to start over every year said yannick manuri of public
relations firm espresso interactif which helped develop the campaign
to trumpet its recruiting drive the hospital also turned to viral marketing
hoping that word of mouth on social networking sites would attract more eyes and
ears to its cause
of course not everyone was immediately convinced the plan would work not
of this generation and was bit perplexed said dube
was very surprised to see how well it worked he said we were flooded with
calls for more information
us rushes rescue teams to quake hit haiti
washington jan afp
us authorities on tuesday rushed search and rescue teams to earthquake hit haiti
as president barack obama offered his sympathy to the impoverished caribbean
nation
the us agency for international development usaid said it was sending disaster
response teams made up of personnel six search and rescue dogs and up to
tons of rescue equipment
this is tragic situation and we will work alongside the haitian government to
provide immediate assistance in the rescue effort said usaid administrator
rajiv shah who has been in office less than week
the white house said obama was notified about the quake at pm gmt
and asked staff to find out if embassy personnel were safe
my thoughts and prayers go out to those who have been affected by this
earthquake we are closely monitoring the situation and we stand ready to assist
the people of haiti obama said in statement
in hawaii us secretary of state hillary clinton said government agencies were
still gathering information about this catastrophic earthquake
the united states is offering our full assistance to haiti and to others in the
region we will be providing both civilian and military disaster relief and
humanitarian assistance
former president bill clinton now un special envoy for haiti said his
office and the rest of the un system are monitoring the situation and we are
committed to do whatever we can to assist the people of haiti in their relief
rebuilding and recovery efforts
afp sports schedule for wednesday january
paris jan afp
afp sports schedule for wednesday january
football
in the africa cup of nations cameroon meet gabon having edged the latter out
of the world cup while tunisia meet zambia also in group
see separate advisory
masterslug fbl afr
french league cup last matches italian cup matches see juventus out to claim
place in the last eight english fa cup third round replays see liverpool seek
to finish the job against reading while newcastle host plymouth in the scottish
premier league hamilton host dundee utd
slugs fbl fra lcup fbl ita cup fbl eng facup fbl sco pr
tennis
world number one serena williams headlining crack women field featuring
nine of the world top at the sydney international faces russian vera
dushevina the men draw sees home favourite lleyton hewitt meet italian
andreas seppi coverage by robert smith
also atp at auckland and wta at hobart
slugs tennis atp wta aus tennis atp nzl tennis wta aus
rallying
day of the dakar rally sees the competitors head back into argentina from
chile in the imposing shadow of the cerro aconcagua the highest mountain
in the americas carlos sainz leads fellow volkswagen man nasser al attiyah in
the cars and cyril despres has solid lead in the motorcycles section coverage
by joris fioriti
slug auto moto rally dakar
snooker
john higgins meets mark allen and ryan day takes on joe perry in st round
action at the masters
slug snooker gbr masters
hundreds feared dead in haiti quake local doctor
port au prince jan afp
hundreds of people are feared dead after massive earthquake struck the haitian
capital port au prince on tuesday local doctor told an afp reporter in the
city
when we get an idea of the toll it will be measured in the hundreds said the
doctor who was covered in blood and nursing an injured left arm
numerous buildings had been flattened in the quake which was followed by
three strong aftershocks
police and un vehicles could be seen transporting the injured for medical
attention
in washington the state department said it feared serious loss of life
spokesman pj crowley said us embassy staff reported scenes of destruction in and
around the capital
they reported lot of walls down they did see number of bodies in the
street and on the sidewalk that had been hit by debris he said
cricket south africa look to save face in final test
johannesburg jan afp
south africa reputation as one of the leading test nations will be at stake
when they try to stop england from clinching series win in the fourth and
final test starting at the wanderers stadium on thursday
after away series wins against both australia and england in south africa
briefly topped the international cricket council test rankings
but they suffered home series defeat against australia last year and trail the
current series to face the prospect of another failure on home soil
england won the second test in durban by an innings and runs although in
both the first and third tests the tourists had narrow escapes hanging on with
nine wickets down in the final innings
south african all rounder jacques kallis said it had been frustrating because
his side felt they were the better team although the england players might
disagree but said south africa had only themselves to blame for being in
must win situation
they haven given up kallis said of england
they ve been in tough situations in two games where they ve been able to get
their way out of it
that shows lot of fight and character unfortunately in durban we were in
england situation and we crumbled as much as we say we were unlucky we were
in the same situation and we failed
kallis said the conditions at the wanderers could favour south africa although
he said the pitch might not be as lively as some pundits expected
ve had look at it and it not as green as have seen here before he
said
don think it going to be as bad as people think although it going to
do bit and you will need skill to get through it
our guys are used to playing on wickets with bit of bounce and where it goes
around bit probably bit more than england are hopefully that plays in our
favour
it has been disappointing series for the host nation whose bowlers have not
fired collectively in the first three matches
south africa are gambling on likely new cap wayne parnell providing penetrative
support to dale steyn and morne morkel on pitch that should favour seam
bowling
the left armed parnell has shown rich promise in taking wickets at an
average of in nine one day internationals and in eight twenty
internationals at
but his first class record is mediocre with wickets in matches at
although he has taken five wickets in an innings twice in one day internationals
he has yet to achieve the feat in first class game
steyn and morkel both produced fiery spells during the third test in cape town
but south africa were bowler short because of an injury to friedel de wet
which has ruled him out for the rest of the season
england took two days off at luxury resort after their cape town escape but
paul collingwood who played crucial rearguard innings in both draws as well
as making to help set up the durban win said england were determined to
produce one more big performance
the last two days in training we ve shown lot of energy said collingwood
this week means lot of us it was nice to have couple of days break but we
have to come out and play we can sit back and rely on this position it
huge week for us we want to go away winning the series
collingwood said the tourists would be buoyed by the spirit they had shown in
the two drawn tests
to have this kind of resilience when you re under the pump is great strength
to have in team
you need your flair your bits of genius but we ve shown in the last six
months we ve got it in the locker if we need it
the weather could play role in what has been an unusually wet summer in
johannesburg with possibility of showers or thunderstorms on all five days
teams likely
south africa graeme smith capt ashwell prince hashim amla jacques kallis
ab de villiers jp duminy mark boucher wkt dale steyn morne morkel paul
harris wayne parnell
england andrew strauss capt alastair cook jonathan trott kevin pietersen
paul collingwood ian bell matt prior wkt stuart broad graeme swann james
anderson graham onions
umpires steve davis aus tony hill nzl
tv umpire daryl harper aus
match referee roshan mahanama sri
palin combative in fox tv commentator debut
new york jan afp
republican former vice presidential candidate sarah palin came out swinging
and swearing in her debut as commentator for fox news television on
tuesday
the conservative former alaskan governor and potential white house
candidate played up her tough homespun image in an interview with her new
colleague fox bill reilly
showing that wounds from her failed white house bid alongside presidential
candidate john mccain last year remain fresh she angrily defended her
performance during the campaign
she said reports that she had been poorly prepared and was unable for example
to tell the difference between south and north korea was bunch of from
schmidt and some of those
steve schmidt was top mccain advisor during the campaign and has since been
scathingly critical of palin
and renewing her war against much of the us media she accused political
establishment reporters of trying to gin up controversy and spin up gossip
the rest of america doesn care about that kind of crap
in taste of the political analysis she will bring to fox palin told viewers
of the reilly factor that president barack obama declining poll numbers
would only get worse
of course they re sinking it was just matter of time before more of that
reflection of the people uncomfortableness that they feel towards this
administration is manifesting in these poll numbers she said
there is an obvious disconnect between president obama and the white house
what they are doing to our economy and what they are doing in terms of not
allowing americans to feel as safe as we had felt
palin struck her deal with fox on monday to serve as political commentator and
part time host the television channel said
palin will provide political commentary and analysis for fox news
political and business news programs and will host periodic episodes of fnc
real american stories series exploring inspirational real life tales
company statement said
the series is to debut later this year
palin joins stable of conservative pundits at the channel which has often
been fiercely critical of obama presidency
mother of five palin is seen as possible republican candidate at the end of
democrat obama first term
her memoir going rogue shot to the top of the us bestseller list in its
first week after publication in november and remains top new york times
bestseller
polarizing figure who generates media frenzy with her every interview palin
enjoys fervent support among republican activists
un peacekeeping hq in haiti destroyed by quake staff
port au prince jan afp
massive earthquake in haiti has destroyed the headquarters of the united
nations peacekeeping mission in the country local employee of the un force
told afp
the headquarters of the united nations stabilization mission in haiti has been
destroyed in large part there are numerous people underneath the rubble both
dead and injured local employee of the force said
in new york un chief ban ki moon issued statement saying my heart goes out
to the people of haiti after this devastating earthquake
at this time of tragedy am very concerned for the people of haiti and also
for the many united nations staff who serve there
the brazilian led stabilization mission in haiti known as minustah comprises
troops and police
it has been deployed in the caribbean island nation of eight million people
since mid
japan airlines shares dive percent
tokyo jan afp
japan airlines shares plunged by percent to just seven yen eight us cents
on wednesday hit by flood of sell orders on fears the ailing carrier will be
delisted from the bourse
investors have been dumping the stock on reports that the debt ridden airline is
preparing for court backed bankruptcy filing possibly next week and that its
shares will be removed from the tokyo stock exchange
jal share price dived by the daily limit of yen for second straight day
to hit another record low of seven yen down percent from tuesday close
the selling is unstoppable said hideaki higashi strategist at smbc friend
securities
event driven market players are hammering down jal it money game the
market is driving the company to go under he said adding that the share price
could technically fall to one yen
the government has pledged to avoid total collapse of the former state owned
carrier but has signalled bankruptcy proceedings which could aid jal
restructuring while leaving investors out of pocket
us carriers american airlines and delta air lines are in bidding war for
slice of the airline the largest in asia
jal main japanese rival all nippon airways edged up by one yen or
percent to yen on wednesday morning
figure skating chan has plenty to prove at olympic trials
london canada jan afp
patrick chan heads into the nationals as one of the canada best hopes for
medal at the winter games but also surrounded by questions concerning the timing
of coaching change
chan who turned last month and coach don laws rocked the canadian figure
skating community by deciding friday to cut ties just five weeks prior to the
start of the vancouver games
world silver medallist chan and five time reigning national champion joannie
rochette will headline strong field that will battle for olympic spots at the
canadian championships which begins thursday at the john labatt centre arena
chan rochette and the dance duo of tessa virtue and scott moir are the
favourites to reach the top of the podium in this final tune up for the winter
games
athletes are not only competing for spots on the world and four continents
teams but also the olympic team said william thompson chief executive of skate
canada eight of these performances will be previews of what we will see at the
olympic winter games in vancouver
fans in london are in for special treat as they get to witness little bit
of history
canada will be sending two entries in each of the four disciplines to the
vancouver olympics and that is where things get interesting as host of olympic
contenders will be battling for those second place spots in london
for chan the competition will show if he has recovered physically from recent
calf injury and mentally from disappointing sixth place finish at skate canada
in november
laws and chan parted ways after chan decided to train full time in colorado
springs under american technical expert christy krall chan will keep his
choreographer lori nichol
laws began coaching the toronto native after chan first coach the legendary
osborne colson died in july
chan the reigning two time canadian champ is one of four national title
winners back to defend their crown
in women singles rochette will be seeking her sixth straight canadian
title and in pairs jessica dube and bryce davison are hoping to reach the top of
the podium after taking back the title in last year event ice dancers tessa
virtue and scott moir are aiming for third canadian title virtue is competing
in her home town
the senior nationals are being held in conjunction with the canadian junior
championships where year old nam nguyen will be trying to make history
nguyen captured the country national junior singles title at age and is
aiming for his fourth consecutive canadian crown
despite his success nguyen has yet to compete in junior worlds championship
because the minimum age is
hong kong gold opens lower
hong kong jan afp
hong kong gold opened lower on wednesday at us dollars an
ounce down from tuesday close of dollars
haiti at glance
port au prince jan afp
haiti rocked tuesday by massive earthquake measuring is the poorest
country in the western hemisphere and one of its most politically unstable
the following is fact sheet
geography haiti shares the caribbean island of hispaniola with the dominican
republic largely mountainous country with tropical climate it has land
mass of square kilometers square miles and lies less than
kilometers miles east of cuba
population over million percent of whom are black descendants of
african slaves literacy rate is percent and life expectancy is just
years seventy percent live on less than two dollars day
economy two thirds of haitians depend on agriculture and most of them are
subsistence farmers exports include coffee and textiles remittances from
haitians working abroad are the main source of foreign income gross national
income per capita was dollars in according to the world bank
capital port au prince
languages french and creole
religion mainly roman catholic many haitians also practice voodoo
history ruled for centuries by the spanish and then the french haiti gained
independence in it was occupied by the us marine corps between and
it gained notoriety for brutal dictatorships from the late until the
mid under francois papa doc duvalier and his son jean claude baby doc
duvalier
jean bertrand aristide former roman catholic priest swept to power in
