on their land report said saturday
aboriginal legal rights movement spokesman neil gillespie said cherie blair had
been engaged by group from emu field in australia red desert centre who
are seeking compensation over atomic tests by britain
five cases had been lodged in the british courts over illnesses allegedly linked
to the fallout from two nuclear weapons exploded in the great victoria desert in
october
she has been recruited not because of her old man but because she one of the
leading silks in the uk gillespie told the australian newspaper
we re so pleased she an incredible individual sharp as samurai sword
the firm hickman and rose was acting for the group in london he said more
than australian army veterans or their widows have already joined class
action by british soldiers for radiation exposure during the desert tests which
took place between and
the local nomadic maralinga tjarutja tribes were rounded up and expelled from
the area in trains and trucks ahead of the testing programme but some continued
to wander across and camp on contaminated land
security at the sites was lax and warning signs were in english and
unintelligible to the aborigines
some individuals were compensated following australian government inquiry
which heard that tribespeople had to walk barefoot across radiation poisoned
land because boots issued to them by authorities did not fit
the government in paid million dollars million us in
compensation to the local people for damage to their land and the final testing
sites were last month handed back to the tribes after years of remediation work
about australian soldiers took part in the british nuclear programme and
wore little more than hat shorts and boots during tests they were never
warned about the risks and three quarters of them have since died
britain in gave australia an ex gratia payment of million pounds
million us dollars to settle future claims by veterans on the grounds
canberra not london pay out following any successful case
basketball nba results and standings
washington jan afp
results and standings after friday national basketball association games
friday january nd results
orlando sacramento
philadelphia dallas
toronto milwaukee
miami washington
atlanta charlotte
boston portland ot
indiana detroit
memphis oklahoma city
new orleans minnesota
la lakers new york
houston san antonio
golden state new jersey
chicago phoenix
eastern conference
atlantic div pct gb
boston
toronto
new york
philadelphia
new jersey
central div pct gb
cleveland
chicago
milwaukee
detroit
indiana
southeast div pct gb
atlanta
orlando
miami
charlotte
washington
western conference
northwest div pct gb
denver
portland
utah
oklahoma city
minnesota
pacific div pct gb
la lakers
phoenix
la clippers
sacramento
golden state
southwest div pct gb
dallas
san antonio
houston
memphis
new orleans
saturday january rd schedule
orlando at charlotte pm
philadelphia at indiana pm
oklahoma city at cleveland pm
portland at detroit pm
sacramento at miami pm
chicago at houston pm
minnesota at milwaukee pm
new orleans at denver pm
golden state at phoenix pm
new jersey at utah pm
all times are eastern
afp
haiti government ends quake search and rescue phase un
geneva switzerland jan afp
haiti government has ended the search and rescue phase of the quake relief
effort after at least people were pulled out alive from under the rubble
the united nations said saturday
the government has declared the search and rescue phase over the un
organisation for the coordination of humanitarian affairs said in its latest
situation report on the relief effort
there were live rescued by international search and rescue teams it
added
an year old woman and year old man were pulled out of the rubble in
haiti capital port au prince on friday about ten days after the magnitude
quake
the united nations said the haitian government declared the rescue effort over
at pm local time gmt on friday
up to search and rescue teams with staff and dogs combed the ruins
of port au prince and towns and villages in south haiti in the search for signs
or life under collapsed homes and buildings
aid workers have already said that record number of people for such disaster
were pulled out
as deliveries of food water shelter and medical care to hundreds of thousands
of people scaled up in port au prince and the worst affected towns of jacmel and
leogane the focus of the relief effort was shifting to the homeless
huge wave of displacement was underway partly with official blessing as tens
of thousands of people moved out to parts of the country that were not affected
by the earthquake the worst to hit the americas in recent history
the number of people leaving port au prince is increasing daily the un said
as more than people took advantage of the government offer of free
transport to other cities
the total number of people leaving port au prince by private means remains
undetermined it added
the un food and agriculture organisation fao estimated that the number of
people fleeing to impoverished rural areas could reach as high as one million
adding to the strain on local resources ocha said
aid agencies already stationed around the country prior to the quake reported
people arriving in the central area of st marc anse galets and gonave
island in the west many of them with injuries
bernanke fate in doubt as us senate opposition swells
washington jan afp
president barack obama administration is scrambling to save the nomination of
federal reserve chairman ben bernanke as more opposition emerges from members of
the president own party
two senate democrats announced they would vote against bernanke bid for
second term on friday underscoring major populist shift in the political
landscape after republican stunning massachusetts victory ended the
democratic supermajority in the senate
the embattled chief fate spilled over into wall street contributing in part
to three day slump of nearly five percent spurred by renewed fears over the
economic outlook tougher white house stand on banks and financial market
regulation and worries over china overheating economy
but obama is confident the senate will confirm bernanke white house spokesman
told reporters traveling with the president en route to ohio
the president has great deal of confidence in what chairman bernanke did to
bring our economy back from the brink deputy white house spokesman bill burton
said
the comments came as senators barbara boxer of california and russell feingold
of wisconsin joined the growing ranks of lawmakers saying they will vote against
bernanke whose term is up january over sharp criticism of his role in the
global financial meltdown
under the watch of ben bernanke the federal reserve permitted grossly
irresponsible financial activities that led to the worst financial crisis since
the great depression feingold said in statement
boxer criticized bernanke for supporting policies of former president george
bush that led to the current economic crisis and insisted that the next fed
chief must represent clean break from the failed policies of the past
as many as democrats are thought to oppose bernanke along with several
republicans
yet by late friday senate democratic majority leader harry reid issued
statement supporting bernanke hinting that democrats may still manage to secure
the votes necessary to block any republican parliamentary delaying tactics
conventional wisdom rarely credits those who averted disaster but that
precisely what chairman bernanke did reid said noting his support is not
unconditional and that he would hold bernanke to his pledge of transparency
and accountability
independent senator bernie sanders one of bernanke chief critics said
getting rid of him would be an opportunity to rewrite rules for the financial
system
new obama appointee could transform the fed into an instrument for the middle
class of this country rather than high rolling wall street executives sanders
said
no vote has yet been scheduled in the senate but administration officials said
treasury secretary timothy geithner and obama chief of staff rahm emanuel were
working to secure enough votes for the nomination
the opposition highlighted deep national worries about the economy as dominant
theme ahead of november mid term elections bernanke most vocal critics charge
he has coddled wall street and turned deaf ear to main street
analysts said tossing out bernanke could trigger new turmoil in financial
markets
think what is going on now is that politicians feel that fed bashing and bank
bashing is the way to get back into favor with the american voters said
nariman behravesh chief economist at ihs global insight
if he is not reappointed think the markets would have fit this is time
when there is still fair amount of uncertainty but one area of certainty is
that there is steady hand on the helm at the federal reserve
time magazine named bernanke its person of the year in december
crediting him with helping guide the united states through financial turmoil
although many economists agree that his efforts eased the impact of the worst
crisis in decades and likely averted new great depression number of
lawmakers blame bernanke for failing to stop the housing and credit bubble that
led to the crisis
national hockey league results
washington jan afp
national hockey league results and standings after friday games
friday january nd results
montreal new jersey
colorado nashville
dallas edmonton
eastern conference
atlantic division
new jersey
pittsburgh
ny rangers
ny islanders
philadelphia
northeast division
buffalo
ottawa
boston
montreal
toronto
southeast division
washington
atlanta
florida
tampa bay
carolina
western conference
central division
chicago
nashville
detroit
st louis
columbus
northwest division
colorado
vancouver
calgary
minnesota
edmonton
pacific division
san jose
phoenix
los angeles
dallas
anaheim
note overtime losses ot are worth one point in the standings and are not
included in the loss column
saturday january rd schedule
ottawa at boston pm
carolina at philadelphia pm
los angeles at detroit pm
toronto at florida pm
ny rangers at montreal pm
new jersey at ny islanders pm
anaheim at st louis pm
chicago at vancouver pm
phoenix at washington pm
buffalo at san jose pm
atlanta at tampa bay pm
columbus at minnesota pm
afp
malaysian police arrest four over muslim prayer hall attacks
kuala lumpur jan afp
malaysian police said saturday they had arrested four men in connection with
arson attacks on two muslim prayer halls amid spate of assaults on places of
worship that have escalated ethnic tensions
the arrests follow the detention of others for attacks on churches triggered
by court ruling that overturned government ban on non muslims using the word
allah as translation for god
deputy police chief ismail omar told state news agency bernama the four aged
between and were believed to be involved in the attacks thursday on two
muslim prayer halls
the prayer halls both in muar in the southern state of johor suffered minor
fire damage
investigations are still ongoing and we don know what was their real motive
ismail told bernama
we are still in the process of compiling solid case against them so they can
be brought to court he added senior aide to ismail confirmed the report but
declined further comment
eleven churches and two muslim prayer halls across the mainly muslim nation have
been pelted with molotov cocktails stones and paint in recent weeks
police on friday arrested seven more people over january church attacks in
the northern state of perak with eight others detained earlier in the week over
the first of the attacks on church in kuala lumpur
religion and language are sensitive issues in multi racial malaysia which
experienced deadly race riots in
the row over the use of allah is among string of religious disputes that
have erupted in recent years straining relations between malays and minority
ethnic chinese and indians who fear the country is being islamised
the high court last month ruled in favour of the catholic herald newspaper which
has used allah as translation for god in its malay language section the
ruling was suspended pending an appeal
malaysia population is percent muslim malay but also includes indigenous
tribes as well as the large ethnic chinese and indian communities practising
buddhism christianity and hinduism among others
tennis djokovic sets pulses racing in melbourne
melbourne jan afp
serbian third seed novak djokovic set pulses racing with his best tennis of the
tournament as he marched into the fourth round of the australian open saturday
the third seeded serb was an impressive winner over denis istomin
following patchy performances in his first two outings here
he lifted his game to higher level to dominate the rd ranked uzbek in the
one hour and minutes contest
istomin had won both his previous matches in straight sets but found the world
number three much tougher challenge and was on the defensive from the outset
djokovic had few problems on his serve with seven double faults and only
three aces but compensated by hitting winners
he also showcased his improved net game under new coach todd martin venturing
to the net times to win points
the year old said it was an all round better performance and he was pleased
to be off court quickly
probably was my best out of three matches but don think my opponent played
at the level that he could he said
he was helping me out with lot of unforced errors and basically we didn
have lot of long rallies
just needed to be consistent and try to maintain the focus and get it over
with as soon as possible and that what did
think at some stage in the tournament you want to have straight sets win
an easy win so you can get fast off the court and try to save all the energy as
much as you can for the upcoming challenges
so it was good to have the match like this
djokovic who won his only grand slam title here in but last year retired
in the quarter finals due to heat exhaustion will play unseeded pole lukasz
kubot in the next round
kubot was handed passage into the fourth round when th seeded russian mikhail
youzhny withdrew from the tournament with right wrist injury
the year old is competing in just his third grand slam but does boast win
over andy roddick last year and met djokovic in the final in belgrade in may
with the serb winning
we talked about it in the locker room djokovic said
he good player singles and doubles as well think he playing the best
tennis of his life in the last year or so
for him going to the fourth round even though he got walkover today it
still great result
going dto everything to prepare well
qaeda threat compounds woes of yemen somali refugees
sanaa jan afp
hundreds of thousands of somali refugees are now eyed with suspicion in yemen
over threat by islamists in somalia to bolster al qaeda making bad conditions
even worse for an already destitute community
at the beginning of january senior official of somalia shebab militia that
swears allegiance to al qaeda compounded yemen multiple security woes by
pledging to our muslim brothers in yemen that we will cross the water between
us and reach your place to help you fight the enemy of allah
hundreds of newly trained fighters responded to his speech with chants of
allahu akbar or god is greater
the sanaa government is grappling with shiite rebellion in the north
secessionist movement in the south and the continuing threat of attacks by the
extremist al qaeda in the arabian peninsula aqap
the group has been the target of sustained crackdown by the country military
after it claimed responsibility for botched bid to bomb us airliner on
approach to detroit on christmas day
yemen responded to the shebab threat by boosting surveillance and restricting
the movement of somalis who have already braved the gulf of aden migration
crossing described by the united nations as the busiest and deadliest in the
world
sanaa director of national security ali al anisi told afp we take the
threat seriously
yemen is the only country to have welcomed somali fugitives today there are
more than of them here but they have created economic and social
problems and now security concerns
the real number of somalis currently in yemen is disputed with the united
nations last june giving an official figure of
according to one local expert on jihadists in yemen the perceived threat from
shebab is exaggerated
this idea of sending reinforcements from somalia is mainly just rhetoric
journalist abdelilah shaea said
first in the ideology of jihad one should help one brothers wherever in the
world they are threatened
secondly under islamist mythology yemen is special country they believe
that one day the army that will liberate palestine and the great mosque in
jerusalem will set out from here
sanaa which for years operated an open door policy towards somalis fleeing
their violence ridden homeland has now given them two months to register in
bid to better monitor and control community that scrapes living from mostly
menial work
somalis are automatically accorded refugee status upon reaching yemen unlike
other nationalities such as ethiopians whose numbers are also growing
but they are banned from relocating inside the country and police road blocks
have been set up around some refugee camps as somalis are increasingly eyed with
suspicion
today every yemeni will be wary of the somali washing his car the country
head of counter terrorism general yahya saleh told afp and that will just
make their lives more difficult but al qaeda doesn give damn
for said al jemhi yemeni expert and author of book on the local al qaeda
affiliate there is no doubt the shebab has already established presence in
yemen
they aren filling boats with weapons and crossing the bab al mandab strait at
the risk of being intercepted he said
they already have huge numbers of potential volunteers in the camps and the
more difficult their lives are here the easier it is to radicalise them
the un refugee agency said in december the number of migrants fleeing the
unstable horn of africa and arriving in yemen rose by percent in
reaching record high of
the desperate migrants entrust their lives to people smugglers in bid to
escape the deeply troubled region which is plagued with civil war political
instability poverty and famine
somalia has had no effective government since the early and thousands of
people have been killed in mogadishu in recent years as islamists battle for
control of the capital
now yemen the ancestral home of al qaeda leader osama bin laden and country
in which tribal loyalties also hold sway will be the topic of an international
meeting in london focusing on the extremist threat
populist obama vows never to quit the fight
elyria ohio jan afp
president barack obama has vowed to never stop fighting for struggling
americans in fiery counter attack aimed at mending democratic morale and his
frayed bond with voters
obama sought to recapture the passion of his campaign after wake up call
from voters in liberal massachusetts who sent republican to the senate and
with his health care plan and wider agenda under assault in congress
ll never stop fighting to give every american fair shake obama said at
town hall style meeting in the rust belt state of ohio vital bellwether in
mid term elections in november shaping up as another hit for democrats
striking populist notes obama said he would fight wall street to restore home
values for his embattled health plan to stop credit card companies cheating
customers and to cut exploding deficits
five days before his showpiece state of the union address obama also gave no
sign of backing down on reforming health care even as the historic bill looks
to be becalmed in congress
got to admit we hit bit of buzz saw obama said of the year long effort
to pass the reform which now looks doubtful after democrats lost their seat
senate supermajority needed to thwart republican blocking tactics
had no illusions when took on health care it was always going to be hard
obama said
and going to keep up the fight for real meaningful health insurance
reforms
posing as the champion of regular people obama added can promise you there
will be more fights in the days ahead
obama critics some of them democrats have faulted him for not being
sufficiently passionate in fighting economic blight for siding too much with
wall street and appearing aloof while everyday americans struggle
but with his soaring approval ratings of just year ago wilting the president
told crowd in ohio you know what win when you win
so long as have the privilege of serving as your president ll never stop
fighting for you ll take my lumps too
his day of rubbing shoulders with ohioans in colleges factories and small
town bar were designed to enhance the president regular guy credentials and
to convince people he knows how tough things are
the truth is being president is also little confining obama said
explaining how he came to neglect his connection with americans as he faced
multiple crises in his first year in office
can just walk around and visit people like used to can just go to
the barber shop or sit at diner
obama noted the political tumult following the loss by democrats of seat in
massachusetts which deprived his party of the votes needed to skirt republican
challenges to pass major legislation
the democratic party got resounding wake up call from the voters of
massachusetts david plouffe obama former campaign manager acknowledged in
an op ed to be published in the washington post on sunday
but it long been clear that would be challenging election year for our
party he added in the article accessible saturday on the post website
while lashing out against the financial industry obama also justified his
highly unpopular decision to stick with the previous administration bank
bailout plans
had he not acted he said the country would have fallen into second great
depression which would have taken terrible future toll on ordinary americans
or main street
in the depressed town of elyria obama made surprise stop at bar and
restaurant known as smitty where friends meet in an apparent bid to
burnish his image as man of the people
republicans boosted by this week victory of insurgent candidate scott brown in
massachusetts are cranking up their own populist rhetoric
for the past year ohioans have watched anxiously as washington democrats with
the approval of president obama have pushed job killing agenda that includes
stimulus that isn working said john boehner the top republican in the
house of representatives who represents an ohio district
unemployment in ohio is percent above the brutal national average of
percent
but the white house says obama billion dollar economic stimulus plan has
created jobs in the state
afp gmt news advisory
paris jan afp
duty editor sarah shard
tel
top stories
haiti government ends search and rescue effort
biden in iraq to defuse barred election candidates row
britain raises terror threat to severe
haiti quake newseries wrap
port au prince
haiti government says it is ending the search and rescue phase of the quake
relief effort after an elderly woman and young man who spent days buried
under rubble are pulled out alive and the death toll soars to more than
words gmt by charles onians picture graphic video
iraq vote wrap
baghdad
us vice president joe biden heads into talks with iraqi leaders aimed at
resolving simmering election row after hundreds of candidates linked to saddam
hussein were barred from standing in the march vote
words gmt by arthur macmillan picture
britain attacks security newseries
london
britain raises its terror threat assessment from substantial to severe
suggesting an attack on the country is highly likely ahead of international
meetings in london next week on yemen and afghanistan
words gmt by alice ritchie
haiti
haiti quake shelter scene
port au prince
finally suze will be able to rest wash and stop living in proximity with the
