help with international aid efforts
on thursday aircraft carrying griffon helicopter and military
personnel will also be sent to haiti to help in the disaster relief and evacuate
canadians if necessary
international cooperation minister bev oda said five million canadian dollars
million us would be provided to haiti for emergency shelter medical
services food water and sanitation services as well as protection
we want to ensure that the immediate basic needs of the haitian people are met
quickly and effectively said oda
haiti is already the second largest recipient of canadian development aid after
afghanistan
and canada is home to one of the world largest haitian expatriate communities
topping based in montreal
in the morning harper met with haitian head of mission in canada nathalie
gissel menos telling her the people of haiti could count on our solidarity
in transcript of their conversation seen by afp harper said canada would
deploy all necessary assistance to the people of haiti during this time of
need
harper was to speak with us president barack obama in the afternoon to try to
coordinate canadian and us aid missions said his spokesman
some canadians are believed to be in haiti at the moment there have been
no reports of canadian deaths but two of canadian policemen assigned to un
mission are missing said cannon
one canadian trapped in the rubble of building reached out for help in text
message sent to ottawa as well staff and other canadians found refuge at
the canadian embassy in port au prince
in montreal local radio aired haitian canadian reactions to the disaster and
urged canadians to open their wallets to help
like the haitian diaspora to be able to return to haiti to rebuild port au
prince give back to people who lost their homes new place to live said asma
ertelou radio host at cpam montreal top haitian radio station
know that today we are all haitian commented luck mervil quebec singer
born in haiti
alert
house panel subpoenas documents on aig from new york fed geithner
clinton to shorten asia trip over haiti quake
honolulu jan afp
us secretary of state hillary clinton said here wednesday she will shorten
trip to asia because of the horrific situation in haiti following the
earthquake
clinton who earlier spoke by telephone with president barack obama told
reporters she still planned to visit papua new guinea new zealand and australia
but would try to come back to washington earlier
it is biblical the tragedy that continues to stalk haiti and the haitian
people said tired looking clinton who has been on the phone with obama
defense secretary robert gates usaid director rajiv shah and others
clinton who honeymooned with bill clinton there said good international plan
had been devised for haiti to help rebuild the country after recent devastating
hurricanes
we had donors lined up she said adding there was also investment plans as
well
there was so much hope about haiti future hope that had not been present for
years and along comes mother nature and just flattens it she said
she said she the whole obama administration and the american people were
prepared to do everything necessary to help haiti even though there was still
not enough information available yet amid the chaos to draw up roadmap
and we re going to give the people of haiti the support they need the chief
us diplomat said the situation is horrific she said
clinton told reporters that obama agreed that should go on with the trip but
we should try to figure out how we can appropriately shorten it
she arrived at the us pacific command which has better communication facilities
than at the hotel where she was staying in honolulu delaying her departure
wednesday for papua new guinea
she is due then to travel to new zealand the same evening or thursday on the
other side of the international dateline before heading to australia on sunday
in canberra clinton and us defense secretary robert gates will hold the th
australia united states ministerial consultations with their counterparts
foreign minister stephen smith and defense minister john faulkner
she indicated she still hoped to attend those talks we feel an obligation to
the meeting in canberra she said
the meetings are scheduled for monday with visit to melbourne planned for
tuesday it appeared that melbourne might be dropped but she did not say so
clinton was originally supposed to return washington early on january
world scrambles to help quake hit haiti
washington jan afp
planeloads of rescuers and relief supplies headed to haiti wednesday as
governments and aid agencies launched massive relief operation after
powerful earthquake feared to have killed thousands
president barack obama ordered an immediate us rescue effort while the european
union activated its crisis systems and the red cross and united nations unlocked
emergency funds and supplies for the destitute nation
much of the capital port au prince was reduced to rubble by the strong quake
but the airport was operational opening the way for for international relief
aid to be ferried in by air as well as by sea
have directed my administration to respond with swift coordinated and
aggressive effort to save lives obama said search and rescue teams from
florida virginia and california will arrive throughout today wednesday and
tomorrow
us coast guard cutter arrived off the coast of haiti to evacuate some of the
injured
the priority is to find survivors elisabeth byrs spokeswoman for the un
office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs said in geneva
we are working against the clock she told journalists as the united nations
mobilised some search and rescue teams from global network
pope benedict xvi meanwhile urged generous response to the tragic situation
appeal to the generosity of all to ensure our concrete solidarity and the
effective support of the international community for these brothers and sisters
who are living time of need and suffering he said
the international federation of red cross and red crescent societies said it was
gearing up to help maximum of three million people based on the numbers who
live in the affected area
it was drawing on emergency stocks in haiti which is often hit by severe floods
and hurricanes allowing help for families for three to four days
but we ll have to swiftly bring relief supplies from our regional disaster
response centre based in panama red cross spokesman jean luc martinage said
the un world food programme said it could respond swiftly with some
tonnes of food supplies in haiti we have already launched an emergency
operation said wfp official charles vincent
the world health organisation deployed specialists to help handle mass
casualties and corpses warning the control of communicable diseases such as
diarrhoea was major concern in the coming days
brazil said it was flying out tonnes of food including sugar powdered milk and
sardines and had also despatched its defense minister nelson jobim after at
least brazilian peacekeepers were killed
canadian authorities reacted quickly dispatching reconnaissance mission to
haiti to evaluate the needs of survivors to be followed by sizeable relief
and rescue force
cuba which also felt the quake and evacuated some people following
brief tsunami alert sent doctors according to cuban media
some cuban medical staff already in haiti were largely unharmed and two
cuban field hospitals in port au prince had dealt with almost wounded by
early wednesday according to foreign minister bruno rodriguez
an argentine un built hospital was caring for some people mainly women and
children and was in critical situation due to the number of dead and
wounded said its director daniel desimone on todo noticias argentine news
channel
britain sent off four person emergency assessment team while strong team
of rescuers with sniffer dogs and equipment assembled at london gatwick
airport said international development minister douglas alexander
the european commission released three million euros in emergency assistance as
the european union said it had activated all crisis and aid management
mechanisms
president of the european union herman van rompuy said the eu stands ready to
offer its assistance in any possible way
france flew planes full of rescuers plus humanitarian aid and doctors to treat
the masses of victims
civil safety authorities said total of french rescuers doctors and nurses
as well as trained rescue dogs were due to reach haiti within day with
tonnes of aid and rescue material
president nicolas sarkozy expressed his deep emotion and solidarity with the
people of haiti and with the un personnel who were seriously affected by the
earthquake in statement released by his office
foreign minister bernard kouchner former humanitarian aid worker said that
france was sending four planes from the nearby french caribbean island of
martinique with police and rescuers and hospital staff
spain said it had tonnes of humanitarian aid ready while italy prepared
military transport plane to carry in field hospital
italy foreign minister said it would also send one million euros in emergency
aid to the international organisations working in haiti including euros
to be allocated to the world food programme
feel deeply close to the haitian people so badly affected by this terrible
disaster franco frattini said
the netherlands immediately released two million euros million dollars and
sent search and rescue team of specially trained individuals with sniffer
dogs
the gravity of the situation seems to be like that in southeast asia after the
tsunami in cooperation and development minister bert koenders said
germany released million euros in aid while belgium sweden and luxembourg
offered water purification equipment tents medical help and search and rescue
experts
german chancellor angela merkel expressed her solidarity with the haitian
people and dismay at the possible extent of the damage
denmark would provide million danish kroner million euros million
dollars worth of emergency aid to haiti international cooperation minister
ulla toernaes announced
russian president dmitry medvedev ordered plane to take out field hospital
with doctors the official news agency itar tass reported
taiwan whose ambassador to haiti was hurt in the quake pledged dollars
in humanitarian aid while the international monetary fund said it was looking
into how it could help
celebrities appeal for haiti quake relief
los angeles jan afp
haitian born music star wyclef jean led an army of celebrities wednesday in an
urgent appeal for aid following the devastating earthquake which rocked the
star caribbean homeland
jean said in statements on his website and on micro blogging network twitter
that the earthquake had been natural disaster of unprecedented proportion
and that millions in port au prince were in peril
cannot stress enough what human disaster this is and idle hands will only
make this tragedy worse jean said the over two million people in port au
prince tonight face catastrophe alone we must act now
jean who is en route to his homeland called on the us military to spearhead
the relief effort and urged the wider international community to rise to the
occasion and help the haitian people in every way possible
the year old former fugees star urged people to donate to special fund set
up by his long runing yele haiti foundation wwww yele org
jean who was born in haiti but moved to the new york area as youngster is
roving ambassador for his native country and has worked with the united nations
world food program to help tackle food shortages in the country
jean foundation has received high powered support from other celebrities in
recent years most notably hollywood power couple and humanitarian campaigners
brad pitt and angelina jolie
pitt and jolie who have previously visited haiti to help jean foundation
said in statement wednesday they were devastated news of the earthquake and
pledged their support for relief efforts
we are devastated by the news from haiti the duo said
we will work closely with our good friend wyclef jean to support the
humanitarian efforts on the island and help those who have been injured and left
without homes and shelter
elsewhere bevy of celebrities from the entertainment world took to twitter to
call for support
people in haiti need our help and attention right now actor director ben
stiller wrote
husband and wife ashton kutcher and demi moore also tweeted vigorously on the
issue directing followers to unicef haiti relief effort website
former reality television star nicole richie followed suit writing in post
to donate to the ongoing emergency relief efforts in haiti amp caribbean
region please visit www unicefusa org haitiquake
singer adam lambert of american idol fame also directed fans to unicef
please everyone donate even the smallest of what you can he wrote we are
so fortunate let us give where truly needed
lindsay lohan urged followers to support the us state department relief
effort please help them know will as much as can she wrote
other celebrities issuing appeals included hiphop mogul sean diddy combs
rapper and actor ll cool defjam records founder russell simmons and actress
jessica alba
meanwhile the artists for peace and justice apj group whose members include
oscar winning director oliver stone south african born actress charlize theron
and actors james franco and josh brolin joined the appeal
apj has long connection with haiti through its project haiti fund which has
helped fund the construction of several key facilities including hospital
which was destroyed in the quake
homes lie destroyed people are stranded away from their family and many
affected haitians are in desperate need of medical attention the group said in
statement
nfl colts garcon faces playoffs with heavy heart after haiti quake
indianapolis indiana jan afp
indianapolis receiver pierre garcon walked tightrope this week balancing
concern over relatives in earthquake hit haiti with preparation for the colts
upcoming nfl playoff game
aunts uncles nieces nephews we still have not heard much from them and my
mom is still trying to call them said garcon who was born in the us to
parents who emigrated from haiti
keeping in contact with my mom it tough to get in touch with people down
there because of the phone lines
garcon went to haiti last year for his grandmother funeral and he had planned
to return in april for function with his charitable organization the pierre
garcon foundation
since the devastating earthquake struck tuesday garcon has used the social
networking site twitter to urge fans to help
that twitter is how we got the pictures out the word out that been really
helpful garcon said
with the colts due to host baltimore in second round playoff game on saturday
garcon said he intended to use his public profile as an nfl player to solicit
more assistance
colts quarterback peyton manning and receiver reggie wayne are both new orleans
natives who were in indianapolis when hurricane katrina hit
manning was active in relief efforts and wayne said his experience with katrina
gave him an understanding of how hard it is to see such disaster strike loved
ones from afar
there no communication going on which is sort of the same situation had
with katrina wayne said we had no communication with family members
garcon said the toughest part is uncertainty over the future
it hard not knowing what going to happen the rebuilding process is going
to take forever he said
us senator scolds pakistan over drone criticisms
washington jan afp
top senate ally of president barack obama sharply scolded pakistan leaders
wednesday charging that their public criticism of us drone strikes did not jibe
with private acceptance of such attacks
us senate armed services committee chairman carl levin fresh from trip to
pakistan and afghanistan told reporters on conference call that he was very
unhappy with the vocal criticism from top officials in islamabad
what troubles me is the public attack on these drone attacks when in private
pakistani leaders not only understand and acquiesce but in many cases privately
support the drone attacks said levin
washington would prefer silence on their part rather than public attack on
us that creates real problems for us in terms of the pakistani public and helps
create some real animosity against the united states said the senator
just think it wrong for them ve told them that to their face said
levin who met in pakistan with pakistan prime minister yousuf raza gilani and
pakistan army chief of staff ashfaq kayani
unmanned aerial vehicle attacks have been extremely successful at knocking
off significant number of taliban leaders and al qaeda leaders levin said
from an airport in dubai as he headed back to washington
football sakho gaffe sends psg out of league cup
paris jan afp
comical own goal from paris saint germain defender mamadou sakho handed
second division guingamp victory and place in the quarter finals of the
french league cup on wednesday
the promising year old defender horribly sliced an attempted clearance over
his own goalkeeper apoula edel and into the net in the th minute after
brazilian forward gilmar had seen his attempted lob parried
guingamp had been made to weather stern pressure throughout the last tie at
their icy stade du roudourou home with psg veteran ludovic giuly seeing an
effort cleared off the line and driving blistering shot against the crossbar
the hosts victory was rendered all the more impressive by the fact that
midfielder moustapha diallo had been sent off barely four minutes before sakho
own goal for an ugly two footed lunge on jean eudes maurice
it huge disappointment because we have been knocked out said psg coach
antoine kombouare
there were lot of problems with our game both in attack and in defence when
you can score you are always vulnerable
second division metz were unable to repeat their victory over lyon at the
same stage of last season competition as they were well beaten at the
stade gerland
jeremy toulalan and late brace from argentine striker lisandro lopez assured
quarter final spot for lyon while metz finished with men after goalkeeper
christophe marichez was sent off for foul on lopez
marseille visit saint etienne in the late kick off with om coach didier
deschamps pledging to field full strength line up that could feature mamadou
niang and lucho gonzalez who are on the recovery trail after injury
holders bordeaux tie at le mans was postponed for the second time in two days
after local authorities deemed the home side snowbound pitch unplayable
the game initially due to be played on tuesday was postponed again on
wednesday and will now go ahead on date to be decided at meeting between the
french football federation and the professional football league on thursday
sedan became the first side to book place in the last eight when they beat
clermont on tuesday thanks to goal in the th minute from former monaco
trainee alexis allart
israel issues apology after turkey ultimatum
jerusalem jan afp
israel on wednesday issued second apology to turkey over its envoy
treatment bowing to ankara ultimatum in bid to defuse the latest spat over
tv show that marred ties between the two allies
turkish prime minister recep tayyip erdogan said in response that ankara had
received the apology it wanted and expected
deputy foreign minister danny ayalon apologised to turkish ambassador oguz
celikkol for giving him an angry dressing down in front of cameras to protest
turkish television series portraying mossad agents as baby snatchers
statement from ayalon office said that out of respect for request by
president shimon peres the deputy minister sent the envoy an apology
wish to express my personal respect for you and the turkish people and assure
you that although we have our differences of opinion on several issues they
should be discussed and solved only through open reciprocal and respectful
diplomatic channels between our two governments
had no intention to humiliate you personally and apologize for the way the
demarche was handled and perceived ayalon wrote in the letter
ankara key muslim ally to israel was infuriated and demanded an explanation
and apology after ayalon on monday made celikkol sit on low couch and had the
turkish flag removed from the table at their meeting
ayalon issued initial apology late on tuesday as prime minister benjamin
netanyahu said the protest to the turkish ambassador was just in its essence
but should have been conveyed in an acceptable diplomatic manner
but turkish president abdullah gul on wednesday threatened to recall the
ambassador if there was no formal apology
following the second formal apology netanyahu hoped the two allies would now
put the crisis behind them
the premier also expressed his concern over the cooling of the ties between
israel and turkey and instructed officials to find ways to prevent this
trend netanyahu office said in statement
the turkish premier who has repeatedly slammed israel over its policies towards
palestinians in the wake of last year devastating war in gaza said the
response was what we wanted and expected in diplomatic terms
turkish diplomat told afp that celikkol would now not be recalled
the treatment of the turkish ambassador dubbed as hazing by israeli media
also revealed differences between netanyahu and his ultra nationalist foreign
minister
speaking during visit to cyprus on wednesday lieberman said israel had no
desire to fall out with turkey but urged ankara to show reciprocal respect
you know regarding turkey maybe it time to clarify our position we are not
interested in confronting or arguing with turkey he said
we have had good relations with turkey for many years and we respect the
turkish state and people but that is exactly what we expect in return from them
to treat us with dignity and respect
the series that sparked the row showed turkish secret agent storming an
israeli diplomatic mission to rescue turkish boy kidnapped by mossad agents
an episode israel slammed for portraying israel and jews as baby snatchers and
war criminals
relations had already been poisoned by ankara severe criticism of israel
deadly offensive on gaza last year and the jewish state persistent blockade of
the impoverished palestinian enclave
in memorable outburst erdogan stormed out of debate at the world economic
forum accusing israel of barbarian acts and telling peres sitting next to
him that you know well how to kill people
the latest row has overshadowed planned fence mending visit by israeli defence
minister ehud barak who insisted on tuesday that he would travel to turkey next
sunday despite the tensions
turkey has been israel main regional ally since the two signed military
cooperation pact in
depp opens serbia film festival
mokra gora serbia jan afp
us actor johnny depp on wednesday officially opened film festival launched by
serbian director emir kusturica in western serbian mountain settlement
drvengrad
greeted by several hundred enthusiastic fans who defied cold weather depp
unveiled life sized bust of himself representing the actor leaned on street
light with his arms crossed
the unveling of the statue marked the opening of the third kustendorf
international film and music festival in drvengrad built in as setting
for kusturica film life is miracle
wearing wide brim hat and grey coat depp was accompanied by kusturica as he
greeted crowds lining the streets of drvengrad built in mountains of western
serbia close to the border with bosnia
at the festival which runs until january films from countries will be
shown and the best will be awarded with golden silver and bronze egg by
three member international jury chaired by french comic book author and
director iranian born marjane satrapi
the festival is aimed at providing film students with an alternative perspective
on the hollywood dominated industry
bosnian born kusturica has won two golden palm awards at the cannes film
festival for underground and when father was away on business
his latest movie promise me this flopped at the box office despite golden
palm nomination
kusturica recently announced he would make film about mexico th century
bandit turned revolutionary pancho villa to be played by depp
corrected regional summit this week on zimbabwe madagascar
maputo jan afp
key southern african leaders will hold special summit thursday in mozambique
capital maputo to discuss the crisis in madagascar and the power sharing
government in zimbabwe officials said
the security organ of the nation southern african development community
sadc known as the troika will meet from pm gmt on thursday
mozambican foreign ministry official told afp
the summit was announced just hours before it was scheduled to start but
many regional leaders were already planning to be in maputo on thursday to
attend the swearing in of mozambican president armando guebuza to his second
term in office
senior zimbabwe government official told afp that president robert mugabe had
already left harare to attend the meeting
president mugabe left this afternoon for maputo to attend an extra ordinary
summit of sadc which is expected to discuss the zimbabwe situation and
unfolding events in madagascar the official said in harare speaking on
condition of anonymity
guebuza currently heads the troika which also includes swaziland and zambia
among the presidents expected at the summit were zambia rupiah banda south
africa jacob zuma malawi bingu wa mutharika and the democratic republic of
congo joseph kabila
last week sadc foreign ministers met in maputo where they also discussed the
political crises in zimbabwe and madagascar
the regional bloc has been due to review progress in zimbabwe unity government
after special summit in november broke deadlock that threatened to sink the
deal
south african mediators have since held talks in harare among the rival zimbabwe
parties to settle slate of differences between mugabe and his partner in the
unity government prime minister morgan tsvangirai
tsvangirai spokesman james maridadi said that he did not know about the summit
and that the prime minister would not attend
the prime minister is currently on leave and he is not going to the summit we
are not aware of it maridadi said
it was not immediately clear if madagascar leaders would attend the meeting
disagreements between the island nation four main political groups have
scuttled repeated efforts to end the impasse with de facto leader andry
rajoelina trampling on previous deals with rivals to form unity government
the army backed rajoelina who seized power in coup in march last month
cancelled the appointment of prime minister agreed on in power sharing deal
with his rivals and named new one
discord over sharing government posts and drawing up an election timetable by
the four political parties led by rajoelina marc ravalomana the president he
ousted and two former leaders have also hobbled efforts to end the crisis
international mediators meeting at the african union headquarters in addis ababa
last week called for elections in madagascar to end the prolonged political
crisis none of the island political foes were represented at that meeting
afp americas news agenda for january
washington jan afp
duty editor jim mannion
tel
what happening in the americas on thursday
the hunt for survivors of
haiti earthquake continues
president obama expected to announce new bank levies
causes of financial crisis under spotlight
port au prince rescuers continue their search for survivors of massive
earthquake which devastated the haitian capital port au prince expect coverage
haiti quake
washington president obama is expected to give details of new tax on banks
which could help curb risky wall street practices and recoup taxpayers dollars
spent in multi billion dollar bailout of the financial sector expect
coverage
us economy obama
washington specially created senate committee starts its second day of
hearings into the causes of the financial crisis that brought the us and global
banking system to its knees coverage expected us finance banks congress
politics
united nations un security council members debate somalia expect coverage
un somalia
caracas monitoring after president hugo chavez devalues the national currency
the bolivar coverage on merit
buenos aires following political crisis in row over meeting argentina debt
repayments coverage on merit
football cousin gives gabon shock triumph over cameroon
lubango angola jan afp
hull city striker daniel cousin scored the only goal as gabon caused the biggest
upset so far in shock filled africa cup of nations by defeating cameroon
on wednesday
cousin scored early in the first half of the group clash and the gabonese
survived numerous goalmouth scares to record only their second victory during
four appearances at the biennial continental football showcase
cameroon four time champions and twice runners up entered the game as hot
favourites to secure maximum points having comfortably beaten gabon twice in
qualifers for the angola tournament
we are very pleased we got win in the first game our system worked well and
technically we were very good said gabon coach and former france star alain
giresse
even if we finish second in this group we will be happy what we want is to
qualify for the quarter finals he said of mini league completed by tunisia
and zambia
cameroon captain samuel eto displayed no signs of panic as the jinx affecting
world cup qualifiers at the nations cup continued with algeria and nigeria also
losing their opening game and ivory coast drawing
losing today is not big problem but we have to win our next game against
zambia on sunday we controlled the match but could not find the net lamented
the three time african footballer of the year
veteran cameroon central defender rigobert song created history by becoming the
first man to play in eight nations cup tournaments
the year old from turkish club trabzonspor overtook current egypt captain
ahmed hassan and two retired stars hossam hassan of egypt and ivorian alain
gouamene
cameroon started by taking the game to gabon and achille emana was unlucky after
eight minutes when his shot was pushed on to the post and away for corner by
