president hugo chavez
we have just stopped broadcasting said gladys zapiain the communications
director for rctv there was no prior notification
venezuela will hold crucial legislative elections in september in which chavez
hopes to secure at least two thirds of seats to maintain his current legislative
majority
according to opinion polls the president popularity which approached
percent approval at the beginning of stands now at less than percent
chavez vocal critic of us influence in the region has held onto power since
cricket bangladesh india second test scoreboard
dhaka jan afp
scoreboard at lunch on the opening day of the second test between bangladesh and
india here on sunday
bangladesh st innings
tamim iqbal zaheer
imrul kayes dhoni sharma
junaid siddique dhoni zaheer
mohammad ashraful st dhoni ojha
raqibul hasan dravid sharma
shakib al hasan not out
mushfiqur rahim not out
extras lb
total for five wickets overs
fall of wickets kayes iqbal siddique raqibul
ashraful
bowling zaheer sharma ojha harbhajan
toss bangladesh
umpires billy bowden nzl and marais erasmus rsa
tv umpire sharfuddoula shahid ban
match referee andy pycroft zim
haitian man rescued from rubble after days
port au prince jan afp
rescuers pulled man alive from the rubble on saturday days after haiti
devastating earthquake raising hopes of finding more survivors even after the
government called off search efforts
wismond exantus said he survived his ordeal in the ruins of the grocer
shop where he worked by drinking coca cola and eating snacks rare tale of
hope from disaster that has claimed more than lives
his rescue came as thousands of survivors wept outside the capital shattered
cathedral for the funeral of the archbishop of port au prince in moving
ceremony that symbolized the deep mourning of the caribbean nation
feel good exantus told afp in creole from his hospital bed after french
american and greek search and rescue teams removed him from the debris on
stretcher
survived by drinking coca cola drank coca cola every day and ate some
little tiny things he said
exantus brother said he had been unable to approach the shop in dangerous
area plagued by looters because of the police his family eventually alerted
greek rescue team to his cries deep under the remains of the shop
we can say it really miracle and we can hope that it not the last said
french rescue team commander lieutenant colonel christophe renou
the united nations announced just hours earlier that haiti government had on
friday declared an end to search and rescue efforts so aid workers could focus
on getting supplies to the estimated people left homeless by the quake
but more than international rescue teams continued to search for signs of
life having already saved people across the razed city since the january
disaster
the most recent were an year old woman and year old man who were pulled
out on friday both are recovering in hospital
but the tragic aftermath of the quake was on display at the funeral mass for
popular archbishop joseph serge miot in front of the city destroyed roman
catholic cathedral
he died when his office adjoining the cathedral collapsed in the magnitude
quake
president rene preval led crowd of several thousand who wept and sang
the creator wants us to take part in the creation of new country new
haiti new world said joseph lafontant the auxiliary bishop who led the
service
several thousand people also took part in group prayers on the champ de mars
near the wrecked presidential palace led by energetic evangelists
all the bad spirits in the presidential palace must disappear shouted one
preacher participants prayed shouted and waved their hands toward the palace
the confirmed death toll had risen to by saturday an official
government tally said
aid workers increased the pace of deliveries to those living in squalid
conditions beneath tents or in makeshift camps across the capital
the un world food program said it had distributed two million meals on friday
and total of health facilities were now running across the city the world
health organization said
us marine unit had arrived off the coast of haiti saturday to bolster its aid
contingent the us military said total of us military personnel are
due to be in haiti or on ships offshore by sunday
normal life was also returning to parts of the capital with some shops and
street vendors back in business traffic flowing and people lining up to wait
for private banks to reopen
but elsewhere some pillaging continued in the main shopping street of port au
prince and un troops fired warning shots and sprayed tear gas on survivors after
food delivery spiraled out of control on saturday
meanwhile huge relocation of survivors out of the capital continued
more than people have taken advantage of the government offer of free
transport to other cities where it is setting up new tent camps the un said an
unknown number of other people had left the capital by private means
hollywood heartthrob george clooney meanwhile led galaxy of stars friday in
telethon fundraiser
broadcast across every major us television network the telethon raised more than
million dollars
world powers will discuss plans to rebuild the country at major donor
conference on monday in montreal
experts have warned that hundreds of thousands of haitians will be living off
foreign aid and in temporary housing for years to come as rebuilding the nation
may take at least decade
cricket results from under world cup
wellington jan afp
results on sunday from quarter finals of the icc under world cup being played
by countries in new zealand
at rangiora
australia in overs mitchell marsh tim armstrong nic maddinson
alex keath
new zealand all out in overs craig cachopa doug bracewell josh
hazlewood jason floros alex keath
australia won by runs
at lincoln
sri lanka in overs banuka rajapaksa kithuruwan vithanage
rumesh buddika jerry nqolo
south africa all out in overs josh richards charith jayampathi
saranga rajaguru
sri lanka won by runs
saturday
west indies bt england by runs pakistan bt india by two wickets
tennis nadal blunts karlovic to reach open quarters
melbourne jan afp
defending champion and spanish second seed rafael nadal was too good for
towering croatian ivo karlovic in their fourth round clash at the australian
open on sunday winning
nadal will face scottish fifth seed andy murray in the quarter finals
injured as iran plane catches fire report
tehran jan afp
an iranian passenger plane caught fire on sunday as it was landing in the
northeastern city of mashhad injuring at least people on board the official
irna news agency reported
the report said the rear end of the plane belonging to taban airline caught fire
as the aircraft was landing at mashhad airport
so far injured people have been taken to hospitals said mohammad reza
motie director of emergency services for the province of khorasan razavi of
which mashhad is the capital
the english language state owned press tv said the plane travelling from abadan
located in southwest iran to mashhad had passengers on board
cycling greipel clinches emphatic tour down under win
adelaide australia jan afp
germany andre greipel clinched an emphatic second tour down under victory on
sunday just year after he spectacularly crashed out of the race
the big htc columbia rider ended the final stage fifth preserving his overall
lead of seconds behind chris sutton and greg henderson one two finish for
team sky
really happy and for the team as well greipel said the team did
really good job the last week just really happy
american cycling legend lance armstrong who is building towards this year
tour de france started the day seconds adrift and did not finish among the
leaders
greipel bombed out of last year race when as defending champion he
ploughed into parked police motorbike and spent four months out with shoulder
surgery
he has dominated this week claiming the first two stages with trademark sprint
finishes and then eclipsing an armstrong attack with another powerful dash on
day four
the six stage tour down under raced over kilometres miles of road
around adelaide has grown into one of australia biggest sporting events
attracting hundreds of thousands of fans
australia moving cancer hit tasmanian devils to new islands
sydney jan afp
australia is taking the bold step of moving tasmanian devils to new islands in
desperate bid to save the iconic species from being wiped out by hideous face
cancer
starting this year australia will ship healthy devils known for their
fearsome shrieks and wild temperament to islands off tasmania to create
back up group in case the general population fails
some percent of devils have already been lost to the infectious disease
which is spread by biting as the feisty creatures mate and fight over animal
carcasses
it percent fatal if you get it you die said mark williams
spokesman for sydney taronga zoo
the face bursts into lesions they can feed so they starve to death in agony
it terrible illness
experts have been gathering healthy devils and breeding them in zoos for the
past six years developing an insurance population of but the species was
declared endangered last may raising pressure for more drastic approach
save the tasmanian devil program manager andrew sharman said experts had weighed
up the risks of disturbing fragile island ecosystems with the animals
australia largest meat eating marsupial
he said the programme was studying maria island off tasmania as well as setting
up virtual islands by fencing off areas untouched by the disease
there any number of examples around the world about island introductions that
have gone wrong sharman said
we re being really careful considered and cautious about how we introduce
devils to islands we have to look at what impacts the introduction we have on
that island fauna
the islands project is due to take shape in the coming months marking major
step forward in the project to save the devils and appeasing critics who had
said the conservation campaign was moving too slowly
there always going to be some risk involved in putting devils on an island
but it case of the devils or the island said peter mcglone of the
tasmanian conservation trust
the devil is tasmania top predator meaning it plays key role on its native
island but could wreak havoc with different ecosystems
it vital that we save them not just because they re an iconic animal but
because they re top of the tree in tasmania they re the primary carnivore
said tony britt lewis senior keeper at taronga zoo
there might be foxes in tasmania and devils can play role in controlling fox
populations cleaning up the paddocks and sick animals or whatever they re the
lion of tasmania that why it so important that we save them
scientists recently cracked the cancer genetic code raising hopes of
diagnostic test and an eventual cure
it an iconic animal and it could go in our lifetime it could go in years
unless there breakthrough williams said
the devils first came to prominence when their unearthly shrieks and grunts
while devouring corpses of dead animals terrified western settlers arriving in
tasmania in the th century
these newcomers lying in their tents at night listened nervously to the
beast alien shrieks and screams emanating from densely wooded mountains and
valleys wrote david owen and david pemberton in their book tasmanian devil
unique and threatened animal
some years later the devil is best known by the wild taz warner brothers
cartoon character that now fronts the conservation campaign but according to
experts the devils hardly deserve their formidable reputation
they re not really an overtly aggressive animal they re very shy and nervous
and they much rather hide in their den than come out and attack you said zoo
keeper britt lewis despite nursing bleeding thumb
can understand how they got that name from our early settlers years ago
but they really don deserve it they ve all got different personalities
they re great animal
they re not really crazy nasty animal like taz the cartoon character
tricksters of the cleavage bra makers push up and up
paris jan afp
bras top the list of fashion items that magically change the way women look ask
poupie cadolle whose company invented the bra and who has unparalleled
expertise in pushing squeezing and flattering breasts
or ask monica bellucci sophie marceau or sharon stone dressed by cadolle for
films or magazine covers to bring out the best of their torsos
fashion top cheat says the bright eyed blonde of the fifth
generation of women at the helm of family firm known for made to measure bras
at cool euros dollars piece
in pride of place by the company entrance is cadolle patented bra
ancestor of the artful cleavage unveiled at the same venue and at the same time
as paris eiffel tower
initially called well being then chest corset it was advertised as
providing support for the abdomen while leaving the stomach free
it didn sell very well cadolle said in an interview bras only really took
off years later
like other top french lingerie labels simone perele and chantelle cadolle
started off as specialist corset maker at time when many fashion brands
have been gobbled by conglomerates these three leading bra makers remain in
family hands
what we do is based on know how adeline desjonquieres who manages the
chantelle brand told afp corsetry is close to couture we have generations of
know how behind us
we magnify the body we perfect the silhouette we help to cheat she said of
push up and padded bras and the other tricks of corsetry
leaders of these french corsetry dynasties are true believers in the bra in
its virtues and its quality and cut as well as its beauty
people forget that the whole point of bra is to provide support said
cadolle it is there to stop the sagging that comes if breasts bounce about due
to poor straps or loose cups and material
concern over sagging bosoms is such that british label freya has extended its
cup sizes from the routine to right up to to give women more depth it
also now has special fitting expert who travels to lingerie boutiques across
europe to help saleswomen help clients choose the right bra
more and more young women need bigger sizes yet four out five women don even
know their bra size said freya marie laure vasquez the right size means
better posture and less strain on the back
freya which is also bent on producing attractive models in large sizes has
been named the top lingerie designer by paris salon international de la
lingerie taking place this month
underwear said organisers of the salon is poised to sell three percentage
points better than outer wear in despite the crisis and women aged to
have outstripped year olds as lingerie top buyers
they buy better labels and look for better made bras said cecile vivier
manager of the salon there is demand for know how and people are ready to pay
the price
bras are complicated things however made of total different components
from hooks to lace to elastic and to pieces of fabric
bras are very complicated and each woman is different said cadolle of her
rolls royce like models made of pieces of fabric
after panty hose in the almost destroyed the girdle and garter business
the bottom half of corsetry the feminist onslaught against the bra all but
razed the entire trade to the ground she said
women were supposed to go out and conquer the world without nice undies added
cadolle the bra was vilified it became well behaved and very very dull it
was no longer supposed to be pretty or lacey particularly in north america
more than half of france lingerie makers went bust at the time but cadolle
then run by her ageing mother continued to turn out sophisticated undies with
plenty of lace for faithful if shrinking clientele
to sell her custom made models poupie cadolle nowadays travels to dubai and new
york several times year measuring up customers returning for fittings and
finally sending the finished item through the post
they might be expensive but no two women are the same and if washed properly
good bra can provide the proper support for couple of years
today young russian women are replacing our american clientele of the
the era when well heeled american women sailed the atlantic to pour into paris
for the jazz the clubs the jewellery and the clothes
in those days cadolle had staff of who might spend hours
stitching together night dress for the wives of indian maharajas or members of
the dwindling ottoman court it also owned long stretch of the up market
street in the heart of paris where it now runs lone boutique
though times are hard france bra dynasties remain optimistic for the future
france still has reputation for refinery and elegance and we are surviving
says cadolle who hopes for return of the pointy bra the kind of breast
flaunted by brigitte bardot in the and
says desjonquieres by flattering woman body we help her express her
femininity
high end hotel boom sweeps beirut
beirut jan afp
beirut one time pearl of the orient is reclaiming its lustre wooing some of
the world top luxury hotels to set up shop after record year for tourism
and peace in city once synonymous with danger
le gray the newest of the ultra chic london based campbell gray boutique
hotels as well as old classics like the four seasons and grand hyatt are only
few of the posh establishments on the list
every major company is trying to come to beirut it is the destination where
everybody wants to be said general manager stefan simkovics of the four
seasons the group opened its million dollar million euro beirut
venture earlier this month with rooms and the highest rooftop swimming pool
in the city
before the war beirut was the gateway to the middle east he told afp
referring to lebanon devastating civil conflict
beirut was until the mid the paris of the middle east the pearl of the
orient and today the city is reclaiming its position as the place everyone
wants to be
lebanon does seems to have turned the page on its turbulent past at least for
the time being
after war with israel in battle between the army and an al qaeda
inspired group in and sectarian killings in calm has returned to the
small eastern mediterranean state of four million people
construction for some hotels started in but was halted in after the
assassination of former prime minister rafiq hariri said pierre ashkar who
heads lebanon hotel owners syndicate
today statue stands as reminder of the seafront car bombing that killed
hariri in the hotel district
just stone throw from the landmark holiday inn which remains abandoned and
bullet scarred in silent testimony to the civil war stands the ramada which
opened in
nearby beirut waterfront hilton awaits its own glitzy opening and the grand
hyatt the landmark and kempinski summerland are set to open between and
the arrival of record two million tourists in was an encouraging sign for
lebanon which the international media now hails as top travel destination
beirut headed the new york times list of top vacation destinations in january
and was put among the top cities for by the lonely planet travel
guides for what it called its charm and dynamism
earlier this month the guardian in london announced beirut is back and
it beautiful
the quality of life here the beauty the excitement it is the perfect
tourist destination in the region simkovics said
most visitors are lebanese expatriates and arab tourists from the oil rich gulf
but the country is also attracting european holiday makers
around percent of clients in lebanese hotels are gulf tourists according to
simkovics with lebanese expatriates accounting for much of the rest
clearly when the country is stable it is functional on all levels including
tourism said hector de galard general manager of le gray campbell gray
fourth hotel worldwide
this is just the beginning and international companies are increasingly
feeling encouraged to settle here said de galard whose room prices range from
to dollars night
de galard said le grey was fully booked during the christian and muslim holiday
seasons at the end of
and while not everyone can afford the luxury of places like le gray or the four
seasons beirut increasing capacity to accommodate wealthier visitors has been
welcomed by entrepreneurs
there are rooms in beirut right now said ashkar in the next three
years we expect an increase of rooms
de galard said the race was on to boost room numbers demand is on the rise
especially during the summer he said if beirut wants to host an
international conference of people the city must be prepared
although investors are aware of the risks they run in lebanon optimism runs
high for the moment
we always knew that lebanon was not an easy country said de galard but we
also know that if something happens tomorrow the country will bounce right
back
children of auschwitz recall liberation years on
warsaw jan afp
kazimiera wasiak is year old polish pensioner who will forever remain
child of auschwitz
when she was only wasiak spent six months in nazi germany largest and
most infamous world war ii death camp barely surviving on slop of water and
rye flour
severely malnourished she became gravely ill but believes this may have saved
her life
today as treasurer of an auschwitz birkenau survivors association in warsaw
she meets regularly with dwindling number of members many of whom shared her
fate like year old stanislaw przeradski
after living five years in warsaw under the nazis we were no longer children
when we came to auschwitz said przeradksi who was only at the time
we seen it all firing squads shooting innocents in the street brutality
air raids he told afp
all told around children were held prisoner in auschwitz including
jews roma poles and the rest from russia ukraine and
elsewhere according to auschwitz birkenau museum historians
part of nazi dictator adolf hitler plan of genocide against european jews
dubbed the final solution auschwitz birkenau operated in the occupied
southern polish town of oswiecim between june and january
of the more than million people imprisoned there some million mainly
european jews perished either asphyxiated in the gas chambers or claimed by
starvation exhaustion and disease
in all the nazis killed six million of pre war europe million jews
both wasiak and przeradski were shipped to auschwitz in august among
thousands of non jewish polish civilians the nazis drove out of warsaw after
polish partisans launched the warsaw uprising bloody and doomed assault on
the city nazis occupiers
between half of the death camp estimated to non
jewish polish prisoners died behind its barbed wire thousands sent to other
nazi camps also perished according to the museum records
on january days before the soviet red army liberated the camp the
nazis forced some prisoners into the notorious death march to the
dozens of auschwitz sub camps
was too weak to go said wasiak she was one of some people left to
die
she remembers soviet reconnaissance unit entering the camp day or two before
january when the arrival of the red army front marked the camp liberation
they were very ragged very hungry she told afp at one of the regular
meetings of auschwitz survivors in drab communist era community centre in
warsaw working class wola district
the troops set up field kitchen in front of our children barrack they were
eating horse meat and we like dogs begged them to give us little and they
played with us throwing the bones into the snow we fetched them and chewed
them wasiak said choking back tears
freezing and starving she searched for discarded clothes near the infamous
crematoria and rummaged for food she was among children led out of the camp
by polish woman survivor
it was bitterly cold corpses were jutting out of the snow on the ground
people who fell behind on the death march were shot we tripped over their
corpses she said staring blankly
tall and thin with penetrating blue eyes jan kazimierz bokus at is the
association oldest surviving founding member
at the beginning in there were over of us and we are just
we have terribly high mortality he said
there are few survivors my age today most member are the children of
auschwitz babies who were still in their mother womb or born at the camp
sipping tea leokadia rowinska recalls how she spent her first wedding
anniversary at auschwitz
was three months pregnant said the year old also sent from warsaw in
august
five months later on january heavily pregnant she was among other expectant
mothers forced into the death march
her contractions came as the first rumblings of the advancing soviet front could
be heard from the east she was ordered to stay on german owned farm in
poreba town kilometres miles north of auschwitz as she cried out in
the pain of childbirth nazi guards told her to shut up or be shot
rowinska gave birth to boy on january she named him ireneusz but
starving the year old had no milk to suckle her infant and he lived only
eight days
it was so long ago but it painful she said overcome by emotion
by february soviet reconnaissance unit arrived in poreba they told us we
were free rowinska says dismissively
upon her return she found warsaw destroyed but her husband and mother alive
last august found my son resting place ll visit it soon he would have
been this month
afp features
paris jan afp
we will shortly move the following stories
highlights
children of auschwitz recall liberation years on
high end hotel boom sweeps beirut
auschwitz poland holocaust jews children feature
warsaw
kazimiera wasiak is year old polish pensioner who will forever remain
child of auschwitz when she was only wasiak spent six months in nazi
germany largest and most infamous world war ii death camp barely surviving
on slop of water and rye flour
words by mary sibierski graphic picture
lifestyle lebanon hotel tourism economy feature
beirut
beirut one time pearl of the orient is reclaiming its lustre wooing some of
the world top luxury hotels to set up shop after record year for tourism
and peace in city once synonymous with danger
words by rana moussaoui picture
lifestyle fashion lingerie women feature
paris
bras top the list of fashion items that magically change the way women look ask
poupie cadolle whose company invented the bra and who has unparalleled
expertise in pushing squeezing and flattering breasts
words by claire rosemberg picture video
australia environment animals devil feature
sydney
australia is taking the bold step of moving tasmanian devils to new islands in
desperate bid to save the iconic species from being wiped out by hideous face
cancer
words by talek harris graphic file picture
for questions email nancy shields afp com or call
injured as iran plane catches fire report
tehran jan afp
an iranian passenger plane caught fire on sunday as it was landing in the
northeastern city of mashhad injuring at least people on board the official
irna news agency reported
the report said the rear end of the plane belonging to taban airline caught fire
as the aircraft was landing at mashhad airport
so far injured people have been taken to hospitals said mohammad reza
motie director of emergency services for the province of khorasan razavi of
which mashhad is the capital
australia clamps down on national day drinking
sydney jan afp
australian police have urged pubs and stores to restrict the sale of strong
alcohol while councils have declared popular beaches and parks dry to deter
loutish behaviour on tuesday national day
thousands of police will be deployed in the most populous state of new south
wales to patrol areas with large numbers of drinking venues following tripling
of arrests last australia day
australia day does cause problems because many people start drinking early
without any other plan other than to keep drinking acting new south wales
police commissioner dave owens told the sunday telegraph
we learnt lot last year and we re planning to be able to deal with those
problems operation commander mark murdoch told the paper
in the west coast city of perth police plan to ensure people do not drink
