instantly said gregg oelofse of cape town environmental services
the city on wednesday banned swimming at closed beaches in the area after the
country second deadly shark attack in less than month
eight sharks were sighted near fish hoek on friday and saturday by the city
shark spotters programme which has recorded sightings over six years
last year south africa had six shark attacks four of them fatal said mike
anderson reade of the kwazulu natal sharks board
the possible reasons for the recent spate of incidents could be attributed to
the summer months when sharks are known to be more active close inshore more
bathers using the ocean and generally more turbid water visibility due to
increased rainfall he told afp
urgent brazilian peacekeepers killed in haiti quake military
brasilia jan afp
at least brazilian peacekeepers were killed in the devastating quake in
haiti brazil military said wednesday revising upward an initial toll of four
dead
football mokoena hailed as pompey hero
portsmouth england jan afp
aaron mokoena has been hailed as model professional after the south africa
captain late winner sent portsmouth into the fourth round of the fa cup
mokoena extra time strike sealed extra time win for the struggling
premier league club at coventry on tuesday evening and manager avram grant said
the goal was the perfect riposte to the criticism the midfielder has received
from some of the club supporters recently
think mokoena was great said grant firstly he was playing in position
that was not his familiar one but we needed him
think he played very well throughout and also scored the goal so what more
can you ask of him
asked whether the recent criticism from fans has affected him grant replied
mokoena is one of the most professional players have ever met
he is very good professional very competitive he concentrates on what he
needs to do he always give percent and sometimes it is going well and
sometimes it isn
alert
tens of thousands of casualties in haiti ambassador to oas
alert
at least brazilian peacekeepers killed in haiti quake military
italy calls state of emergency on overcrowded prisons
rome jan afp
italy prison system is in state of emergency ministers said wednesday as
they outlined plans to counter the swollen jail population in the country by
building new prisons and increasing staff
in press conference after cabinet meeting prime minister silvio berlusconi
described as completely unacceptable situation where italy has
detainees in system with available places
we have called state of emergency for the penal system to last until
december and we have allocated million euros million dollars
for the construction of new prisons justice minister angelino alfano said
civil state takes away the liberty from those who have committed an offence
and have been judged guilty in court berlusconi said but it does not take
away dignity and it does not harm the health of its prisoners
the italian government aims to increase the number of prison places to
according to media and bring in an extra guards
the emergency plan also contains measures to reduce the number of detainees
with home detention for those with only one year left to serve and probation
for those accused of offences carrying maximum of three years
this probation would mean offenders would not have to go through the trial
process but could do socially useful work the justice minister said
urgent first us rescue teams in haiti within hours obama
washington jan afp
us president barack obama said us search and rescue teams are racing to haiti
and will arrive later wednesday and overnight following the devastating
earthquake
slovenia croatia ready to clear way for zagreb eu talks
kranjska gora slovenia jan afp
slovenian prime minister borut pahor and his croatian counterpart jadranka kosor
said wednesday they were ready to clear the way for zagreb eu membership talks
next month
my wish is that by the next eu croatia accession conference in february we
can solve at least two of the three open issues pahor said in joint
statement issued after meeting with kosor at the ski resort of kranjska gora
pahor did not specify the still open issues but at the last eu accession
conference with croatia in december slovenia had been blocking three chapters
on environment fisheries and foreign and defence policy
croatia which hopes to conclude eu accession talks this year has so far closed
and opened another out of the negotiating chapters it needs to
successfully close before being able to join the nation bloc
believe important steps will be made by the conference on february we
will work hard for that and convinced we will achieve results kosor told
journalists
slovenia was the first former yugoslav state to join the eu in for almost
year slovenia blocked croatia eu accession over border dispute
but the two sides agreed in november to resolve the issue via an international
arbitration committee
pahor said wednesday that other issues remain open and we have agreed here to
create an inter governmental commission to study and seek solution for them
the two prime ministers also agreed to organise conference for other western
balkan countries wishing to join the eu
such an initiative will be in the strategic interest of slovenia as member
as well as croatia which will shortly become member plus all the states in
the region waiting to start accession talks pahor said
currently another former yugoslav state macedonia is also an eu candidate
while albania and another two states that emerged from the former yugoslav
federation montenegro and serbia have submitted their applications
bosnia herzegovina and kosovo have yet to take such step
brazil child rights promoter dead in haiti quake ministry
brasilia jan afp
an award winning champion of child rights in brazil zilda arns was killed in
the massive earthquake which devastated haiti the brazilian foreign ministry
said wednesday
the year old founder of the group children pastoral had traveled to haiti
to attend conference and she was walking down the street accompanied by
soldier when the earthquake struck tuesday hitting her with debris her nephew
flavio arns cabinet spokesman told afp
she died instantly nothing could have been done arns said
brazilian president luiz inacio lula da silva said he was shocked to learn of
the death of the promoter of social causes whom he had known for years
according to foreign minister celso amorim
pediatrician born in southern brazil zilda arns over her career had been
recognized with numerous awards and honors for her work
no way greece will leave euro or seek imf aid pm
athens jan afp
greek prime minister george papandreou on wednesday said there was no way his
debt stricken country would drop the euro or seek aid from the international
monetary fund
there is no way we will leave the euro or seek recourse to the imf we do not
need to papandreou told nationally televised news conference to mark his
administration first days in power
just hours earlier wednesday team of imf experts began week long mission at
athens invitation to mentor the greek government on how to plug multi
billion euro hole in its public finances
recession mired greece had public or budget deficit equal to percent of
total economic output last year far above the percent limit for countries
sharing the euro currency
total accumulated debt is put at percent of gross domestic product gdp
way about the eu percent limit and expected to go even higher
the sight we faced after the elections is beyond all imagination with debt
and deficit whose size is unprecedented said papandreou whose socialists
came to power in october after defeating conservative administration which had
ruled since
unless we plug these gaping wounds we will be constantly looking for money
papandreou said it now or never it first rate opportunity to change
everything to turn the crisis into an opportunity
the government which must present its crisis plans to the european commission
by late january has said it will cut the public deficit to percent in
by slashing spending and fighting tax fraud
it aims to bring the deficit to below percent in
across the continent there is concern that serious fiscal problems in greece
and elsewhere threaten the credibility of the eurozone and could be precursor
to similar debt crises in other european economies
the european union incoming economic chief on monday warned about potential
spillover effect for the entire euro area from greece debt crisis but said
there should be no imf type of financial assistance
the nation eurozone first recession has exacerbated fiscal problems among
its members presenting the european central bank with the challenge of dealing
with weaker economies such as greece ireland portugal and spain
european officials have criticised athens for the failure to control its
finances and the three main credit rating agencies all downgraded the country
sovereign debt standing last year
in report wednesday about threats to european sovereign ratings this year
moody warned that the greek and portuguese economies face slow death if
they do not stem the loss of economic potential and tax raising capacity
the european commission on tuesday published damning report on greece
unreliable economic figures increasing the chances of the eu executive
launching infringement proceedings against athens
commentator john authers writing in the financial times on wednesday said that
the eu report was broadside that raised fears once more that greece could
default without being bailed out by fellow eurozone members
the european union new president herman van rompuy was more confident during
visit to athens on tuesday noting that the government is already taking the
necessary further steps to address the situation
the athens stock exchange lost percent on tuesday after the european
commission report but losses were limited to percent shortly before the
close on wednesday
report by the european central bank in december said there was little chance
of eurozone member leaving or being forced out but the fact the ecb produced
such document at all raised eyebrows in nervous financial markets
despite the downgrade blows greece has found plenty of demand for fresh bond
issues to meet borrowing target in excess of billion euros this year
an auction of six month and one year treasury bills on tuesday was over
subscribed and netted billion euros three billion dollars
the imf team on wednesday began its week long mission by discussing with greek
finance minister george papaconstantinou the prospect of the imf providing
assistance on matters of tax policy tax management budget drafting systems
and public spending evaluation and monitoring systems the ministry said in
statement
thousands feared dead in haiti president
miami florida jan afp
thousands are feared to have been killed in massive earthquake in haiti
president rene preval told us daily wednesday as he issued plea for
international help
in his first interview since tuesday quake preval told the miami herald
that his caribbean nation was destroyed and he believed thousands were dead but
he was unable to provide an exact number
we have to do an evaluation preval said saying the scene was unimaginable
parliament has collapsed the tax office has collapsed schools have collapsed
hospitals have collapsed he said there are lot of schools that have lot
of dead people in them
first lady elisabeth preval told the daily this is catastrophe
stepping over dead bodies lot of people are buried under buildings the
general hospital has collapsed we need support we need help we need
engineers
afp gmt economics news advisory
paris jan afp
duty editor nathaniel harrison
telephone
greece imf eurozone economy finance rdlead
athens
prime minister george papandreou rules out the prospect of debt laden greece
leaving the euro or seeking bailout from the international monetary fund as an
imf team begins an emergency mission to athens
words gmt by john hadoulis
russia turkey diplomacy energy ndlead
moscow
turkish prime minister recep tayyip erdogan and his russian counterpart vladimir
putin promise to step up cooperation on energy transit plans as rivalry between
competing pipeline projects heats up
words gmt by olga rotenberg picture
stocks europe lead wrap
london
europe main stock markets struggle after china moves to curb its credit boom
and the us earnings season gets off to weak start but the frankfurt exchange
rises on news that the german growth contraction last year was held to
percent
words gmt
forex europe lead wrap
london
the euro gains on the dollar as investors shed concerns about the pace of
economic growth and seek out currencies seen as riskier than the greenback
words gmt
commodities energy oil price ndlead wrap
london
world oil prices fall dropping under dollars in new york as traders await
the traditional weekly snapshot of energy inventories in the united states
words gmt
alert
first us search and rescue teams to arrive in haiti within hours obama
yemeni forces kill al qaeda kingpin governor
sanaa jan afp
yemeni security forces have killed an al qaeda kingpin in an eastern province in
operations against the group held responsible for the botched bombing of us
airliner an official said on wednesday
abdullah mehdar was killed last night tuesday by security forces which had
besieged the house he hid in shabwa provincial governor ali hassan al ahmadi
told reporters
mehdar was the leader of an al qaeda cell in the al houta district of shabwa
province kilometres miles east of the capital sanaa security forces
were hunting for the remaining members of the cell ahmadi said
the al qaeda branch in yemen claimed responsibility for the failed christmas day
attack on us airliner with the united states accusing the group of training
the alleged perpetrator umar farouk abdulmutallab
yemen national security chief ali anisi said mehdar was an important member
of the network and boasted of successful attacks on al qaeda militants even
before the failed plane bombing
we are on the offensive and the terrorists are terrified and in hiding he
told afp
yemen is not afghanistan nor pakistan where terrorists constantly launch
attacks while the authorities try to respond here we anticipate the threat
yemen is not hideout for the terrorists and will never be he added
ahmadi told afp on tuesday that security forces had arrested four al qaeda
suspects two of them wounded in firefight
tribal source said suspects in the same area managed to escape police
raid and fled to neighbouring mountain
the yemeni government has sent troop reinforcements to some eastern provinces in
recent weeks as it has intensified its fight against al qaeda militants
separately two policemen were killed and four wounded in an ambush by unknown
gunmen in al nuqbah area of shabwa province ahmadi said
the governor announced on sunday that dozens of al qaeda fighters including
saudis and egyptians who have fled afghanistan were hiding in shabwa
among them are the yemeni leader of al qaeda in the arabian peninsula aqap
nasser al wahishi his saudi number two saeed ali al shehri and radical us
yemeni cleric anwar al awlaqi he added
on tuesday foreign minister abu bakr al kurbi renewed an offer to talk to al
qaeda loyalists provided they lay down their arms but warned that the government
would hunt them down if they spurn the offer
but foreign ministry official said on wednesday that dialogue with militants
would only take place through the government programme to rehabilitate
penitent rebels
yemen insists it can win the war against the militants without us military
intervention but analysts doubt it can tackle the jihadists on its own
the arabian peninsula country is under pressure to rein in the extremists with
the united states and britain announcing plans to fund the country counter
terrorism unit
but us president barack obama has said he has no intention of sending american
troops to yemen or to somalia in the horn of africa just across the bab al
mandab strait
radical yemeni cleric abdulmajeed al zendani branded global terrorist by
the united states warned on monday that any us military intervention in yemen
to fight al qaeda would be considered an occupation
yemen insists it is winning the war against the jihadists pointing to two
separate air raids in december that killed more than suspected al qaeda
militants
week ago officials announced the capture of key al qaeda leader mohammed al
hanq and two other militants believed to be behind threats against western
interests in sanaa that caused embassies to close for several days
anisi said an air raid on december on what he termed an al qaeda base in the
southeastern province of abyan had caused the destruction of main site of al
qaeda in yemen
this was the only place which they could have called training camp anisi
said
afp graphics advisory
paris jan afp
wednesday graphics
haiti quake
text slug haiti quake
country map map locating the epicentre of the magnitude quake that hit
haiti
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available now
port au prince map detailed map of the haiti capital port au prince
locating key buildings damaged or destroyed by the earthquake
mm wide
available by gmt
haiti factfile
fact file on haiti
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available now
tectonic plates caribbean map map of the caribbean showing the region
tectonic plates includes data on the haitian earthquake
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available by gmt
german gdp
bar chart showing changes in germany annual gdp since
text slug finance economy germany growth recession
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avaialble by gmt
available now
afghanistan garmsir map
map of afghanistan locating garmsir district where at least nine people were
killed in shooting during large protest on tuesday
text slug afghanistan unrest nato us protest
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somalia map
map of somalia where au peacekeeping forces are battling islamist militants in
the capital and thousands have fled fighting in the centre of the country
text slug somalia unrest
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ireland political chrono
chronology of key political events since in northern ireland where the
temporary resignation of the first minister threatens to undermine the peace
process includes map photos and details of key protagonists
text slug britain nireland ireland politics robinsons
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png factfile
factfile on papua new guinea where us secretary of state hillary clinton was
due on thursday to discuss climate change and economic development
text slug us diplomacy asia
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solar eclipse asia
two graphics illustrating the path of the solar eclipse in asia on january
two stand alone graphics
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philippines massacre factfile
factfile on the philippine political massacre suspect andal ampatuan jnr who
appeared in court on wednesday
text slug philippines politics massacre
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japan us bases map
map of japan okinawa province locating the futenma us air base the focus of
an ongoing row in japan on the relocation of us military facilities
text slug us diplomacy asia
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japan airlines
chart showing daily closing values for japan airlines for the past month
text slug japan airline company distress jal
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tennis australia open
text slug tennis open aus
venue graphic showing the venue of the australian open in melbourne on
january
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previous female winners graphic showing previous winners of the australian
open women singles titles
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previous male winners graphic showing previous winners of the australian
open men singles titles
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hawkeye factfile graphic on the hawkeye technology used at major tennis
tournaments
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moved earlier
clinton pacific tour map mm
nigeria port harcourt map mm
ukraine factfile mm
afghanistan opinion poll mm
arctic tern migration mm
angola cabinda factfile mm
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malaysia church attacks map mm
india haridwar rishikesh map mm
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football africa cup of nations presentation mm
paris hong kong
tel
obama vows swift aggressive effort to save lives in haiti
washington jan afp
us president barack obama on wednesday vowed swift and aggressive effort to
save lives in haiti and dispatched search and rescue teams after cruel and
heartwrenching earthquake
spain posts percent drop in foreign tourists in
madrid jan afp
spain suffered drop in foreign tourists of percent last year due to the
global economic slowdown the government said wednesday its second straight
year of falling visitor numbers
the country received million visitors in the industry ministry said
down from million in the previous year when spain lost its ranking as the
world second most visited country to the united states
the government had expected the number of visitors to drop this year by
percent but secretary of state for tourism joan mesquida said the decline in
arrivals eased towards the end of the year
it was complicated year he told news conference adding that he was
moderately optimistic for because of the improvement in the economy in
britain and germany the two main sources of visitors to spain
in the number of visitors to spain fell by percent over the previous
year its first reversal in visitor numbers in over decade
apart from the recession spain is feeling the pinch from the drop in the pound
to near parity with the euro which has made it more expensive for british
holidaymakers to spend time at the resorts that dot its extensive coastline
britain is spain main source of foreign tourists accounting for about one
fourth of all visitors
spain has also suffered from increased competition in recent years from cheaper
sunshine destinations in the eastern mediterranean like turkey and egypt
the appeal of the package sun and sand holidays that spain pioneered is also
beginning to wane as the popularity of independent travel booked over the
internet increases
but while tourist arrivals declined last year the average amount spent per
visitor rose percent over to euros dollars total tourism
revenues fell percent to billion euros
in response to the the declining visitor numbers the spanish government has
increased the amount it will spent to promote the country abroad as tourism
destination by percent in the industry ministry said
the tourism sector employed people last year or percent of all
workers in the country according to the industry ministry
obama vows swift aggressive effort to save lives in haiti
washington jan afp
us president barack obama on wednesday vowed swift and aggressive effort to
save lives in haiti and dispatched search and rescue teams after cruel and
heartwrenching earthquake
afp gmt news advisory
paris jan afp
duty editor chris otton
tel
top stories
thousands feared dead after massive haiti quake
debt stricken greece will not quit eurozone pm
iran speaker accuses obama of state terrorism
haiti quake newseries wrap
port au prince
rescuers dig for survivors in the rubble of the haitian capital after huge
earthquake devastates the city of two million people leaving trail of
destruction and fears that thousands have been killed
words gmt by clarens renois picture graphic video
greece imf eurozone economy finance rdlead
athens
prime minister george papandreou rules out the prospect of debt laden greece
leaving the euro or seeking bailout from the international monetary fund as an
imf team begins an emergency mission to athens
gmt words
iran unrest nuclear thlead wrap
tehran
parliament speaker ali larijani iran former chief nuclear negotiator accuses
us president barack obama of state terrorism over the killing in tehran of
leading atomic scientist
words gmt by aresu eqbali file picture
we will also move iran unrest nuclear politics scientist focus
haiti quake
haiti quake world aid thlead reax
united nations
plane loads of rescuers and relief supplies head to haiti in massive
international relief effort mobilized by governments and aid agencies after
earthquake that may have killed thousands
words gmt pictures video graphics
we will also move haiti quake un ban ndlead
haiti quake aid canada ndlead
haiti quake horror newseries scene
port au prince
the streets of the haitian capital port au prince are lined with the bloodied
bodies of the dead injured and those seeking shelter after massive earthquake
ripped apart the city
words gmt by clarens renois picture graphic video
haiti quake internet twitter lead
washington
with communications in haiti ravaged by powerful earthquake tech savvy
residents of the island turn to twitter to send pictures and news of the
devastation
words gmt by chris lefkow pictures
europe
europe weather thlead wrap
london
fresh snowfalls heap further misery on parts of europe closing airports and
schools and disrupting transport links and delaying the dispatch of british
rescuers heading to quake hit haiti
words gmt picture
russia turkey diplomacy energy ndlead
moscow
turkish prime minister recep tayyip erdogan and his russian counterpart vladimir
putin promise to step up cooperation on energy transit plans as rivalry between
competing pipeline projects heats up
words gmt by olga rotenberg picture
middle east
mideast israel turkey diplomacy ndlead wrap
ankara
turkey threatens to recall its ambassador from israel if row over the envoy
treatment is not resolved within hours dismissing israeli statements aimed at
appeasing ankara
