haitian officials have warned the death toll could top
tuesday powerful magnitude quake caused massive damage in what was already
the poorest country in the western hemisphere battered by four successive
hurricanes in and decades of political turmoil
haiti airport saturated aid flights halted us
washington jan afp
with its airport full haiti asked temporarily halted flights to port au prince
thursday slowing the arrival of desperately needed aid to the devastated
capital us authorities said
the haitian government told us they are not currently accepting any flights
in the haitian airspace because the ramp area at the port au prince airport is
saturated said laura brown spokeswoman for the us federal aviation
administration
she said military aircraft and civilian planes were circling the airport
waiting for other flights to leave so they could get in
so we don want to send any other flights into the air until we get the word
from the haitian government that they are accepting flights again because they
will just be in holding pattern for hours said brown
the announcement came as international governments agencies and aid groups
mobilized to pour aid into the impoverished caribbean island nation in race
against time to rescue an untold number of victims still buried under the
rubble
haitian officials have warned the death toll could top
tuesday powerful magnitude quake caused massive damage in what was already
the poorest country in the western hemisphere battered by four successive
hurricanes in and decades of political turmoil
britain ireland eye progress in ireland crisis
london jan afp
british and irish leaders gordon brown and brian cowen voiced confidence
thursday that northern ireland can overcome crisis threatening the power
sharing government in belfast
they insisted that despite turbulent scandal surrounding first minister
peter robinson an agreement on the devolution of police and justice powers from
london to belfast was both realistic and achievable
the issue threatened the future of the power sharing administration in once
troubled northern ireland even before recent scandal linked to robinson
wife affair with year old
brown and cowen comments came in joint statement following talks at downing
street two days after robinson stepped aside temporarily to clear his name
he is facing questions over whether he knew his wife iris obtained pounds
euros dollars from two developers to help toyboy lover kirk
mccambley to set up cafe in belfast he denies it
iris robinson who is currently said to be receiving psychiatric treatment in
belfast formally quit as lawmaker for the couple democratic unionist party
dup wednesday
think the momentum for the talks is something that very positive brown
told reporters after the talks believe that an early devolution of policing
and justice to northern ireland is not only achievable but desirable
he insisted that intensive work was continuing on the issue adding that he
and cowen stood ready to do whatever is needed to secure this
don contemplate failure in any discussions involved in he said
cowen added that full devolution was the best and most effective way to answer
the murderous few who want to wreck the peace and stability that northern
ireland now enjoys
catholic policeman had leg amputated this week after car bomb attack
blamed on dissident republicans the latest in worrying rise in violence
including the killings of two soldiers and policeman last year
in belfast peter robinson made his first public appearance since announcing
monday he was temporarily stepping arriving at the northern irish assembly as
efforts intensified to defuse the growing political crisis
it is hoped fresh talks between robinson pro british protestant dup and
their power sharing partners sinn fein catholic republican party can
break the impasse on justice and policing the final piece in the devolution
jigsaw
ahead of the talks sinn fein president gerry adams said his party was prepared
for lengthy negotiations in the coming days
we are here to do business he said adding talks were serious focused and
at sensitive point
failure by the former foes the dup and sinn fein to resolve the sensitive issue
raised questions about whether their administration could survive even before
the robinson scandal
the british and irish governments which helped broker the good friday
agreement which largely ended northern ireland years of civil unrest
argue the recent crisis could focus minds on resolving it
it is thought that the issue of how to deal with parades by the strongly
protestant orange order frequent flashpoint in the past is key sticking
point
despite standing aside to attend to his family issues robinson has pledged to
remain in charge of dup negotiations on policing
rallying sainz sights dakar triumph after th stage win
san rafael argentina jan afp
former world rally champion carlos sainz took another huge step towards the
dakar title on thursday when he captured the th stage
the spaniard has now opened up min sec gap over his volkswagen teammate
nasser al attiyah following the gruelling km run of which km was timed
special between san juan and san rafael
al attiyah was second on the day sec behind but time is running out for the
qatari driver with the race due to finish in buenos aires on saturday
america mark miller another volkswagen driver was third on the day and
remains third overall after finishing min sec behind sainz on the stage and
is now min sec behind overall
france stephane peterhansel in bmw is fourth ahead of america robby
gordon in hummer
everything fine said sainz it was bit quick not dangerous but
tricky didn have any problems
al attiyah who was disqualified from the race in admitted thursday
stage the longest of the race had been challenging
sometimes the car was on four wheels sometimes on three sometimes even two
he said
in some places the track was steeper than have ever seen almost vertical
didn lose much time so it been good day feel good about tomorrow
even great
chile francisco lopez won the motorcycling stage
the aprilia rider finished ahead of france david fretigne on yamaha who was
seconds off the pace with norway pal ullevalseter on ktm min sec
behind the winner
overall leader cyril despres of france on ktm stayed in charge of the
overall standings an hour ahead of the chilean despite losing more than
minutes on the stage
it was wonderful stage and very hot at the end technical and tough
special handled the bike well said lopez
it was route that suited my machine but it was difficult for one of the
last few stages of the dakar it was one of the toughest
ruined haitian hospital now doubles as morgue
port au prince jan afp
hundreds of bodies lay rotting outside haiti devastated central hospital
thursday transforming place of healing into an improvised morgue for the
dead
without protective gloves but armed with alcohol dipped rags to dampen the
stench of putrefying bodies waves of distraught haitians moved from corpse to
corpse in search of loved ones who have gone missing in the disaster
growing army of bodies have been laid out in the garden of the facility
some mutilated and half clothed caked in dirt and surrounded by flies
each body is examined by succession of frantic survivors hoping to recover
missing brother daughter or mother for dignified burial
finally found my cousin said jean lionel valentin pointing to body
covered by simple white sheet
but now nobody wants to help me carry her taxis are trying to charge me
fortune and going to have to again leave her here he said
tuesday magnitude quake left much of haiti in ruins but was especially
destructive in the capital port au prince claiming massive but still unknown
number dead believed to be in the tens of thousands
agony is evident on the faces and in the voices of those who survived and those
who mourn loved ones who did not
what is man that you are mindful of him said one distraught woman
florentine mechanically reciting passage of scripture from the book of
psalms
god must be furious with us because he has struck us with such force she
moaned barely managing to suppress nausea as she went from corpse to corpse in
search of her missing sister
the bodies of entire families are laid out here in the hospital patio which has
been transformed into an open air morgue while the building itself was so badly
damaged that most of it is no longer usable
please call for help ask anyone from anywhere in the world to come and
rescue us desperate survivors outside the facility pleaded to any foreigner
they see
every half hour local police van pulls up and adds more cadavers to the ever
growing mass of bodies
didn lose anyone in the earthquake but crying for those who did and
for my country said alius luc an electrical engineer who accompanied
friend to the hospital
how will we ever emerge from this he said in despair
nurse surveying the scene expressed concern meanwhile about the risk of
disease and infection from the rotting mound of bodies
we have to bury the dead to prevent the city from turning into huge focal
point of infection
what little medical treatment is being afforded the sick and injured is provided
by two overtaxed physicians who valiantly have treated scores of patients
some lying on the bare ground others on mattresses recovered from the hospital
doctor doctor the injured patients murmured each time one of the overtaxed
physicians comes near
some of the injured end up dying in the arms of horrified loved ones from loss
of blood result of their untreated wounds
we give them tranquilizers and hydrate them with solution to stem
dehydration said doctor givenson foite who said he has been completely
overwhelmed without sufficient supplies or staff to attend to staggering
number of injured who have arrived seeking medical treatment
he added that members of the haiti medical profession have not been spared in
the calamity
some doctors were killed and the nursing school collapsed he said
the doctors patch up the patients as best they can injecting some of the
wounded with anesthetics and tranquilizers rescued from the hospital pharmacy
we suture some of the injured but we don have the means for the moment to
treat those with more serious injuries another doctor on the scene lamented
haven even seen another doctor much less foreign one said the other
doctor surgeon at the scene
we have nothing to perform operations with and nothing works he said there
are lot of people in dire need of amputations to save their lives the
exhausted physician said
they keep telling me that humanitarian aid is coming he said it clear
that it hasn gotten here yet
amp cuts some of jamaica debt ratings to default
washington jan afp
international credit rating agency standard amp poor slashed some of
jamaica sovereign debt ratings to default thursday after the ailing country
launched debt exchange program with creditors
amp said it had downgraded the credit ratings after the jamaican government
launched domestic debt exchange program thursday
we consider this exchange to constitute default so we have revised the
foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings on jamaica to sd from
ccc the rating agency said in statement
the rating sd stands for selective default which indicates default on some
obligations
amp also said that it revised its ratings on the rated bonds that are
included in the proposed domestic debt exchange to default
iran frees mournful mothers opposition figures website
tehran jan afp
iran has released so called mournful mothers who were arrested for
protesting the death or disappearance of their children in post election unrest
an opposition website reported on thursday
the authorities also freed an aide to former reformist president mohammad
khatami as well as brother in law of opposition leader mir hossein mousavi
according to kaleme org
meanwhile another opposition website rahesabz net reported that nobel peace
laureate shirin ebadi sister dr nooshin ebadi medical professor had on
wednesday likewise been set free
all of the mournful mothers were released from detention on tuesday they
were kept in evin prison or in police station for hours kaleme org said
without more details
on sunday kaleme org quoting witnesses said the women were rounded up on
saturday in tehran laleh park
there were around mothers in the park and the security chased them out
number of them escaped but around were arrested and were forcefully taken
into police vans one witness said
washington had called for the immediate release of the mournful mothers
group whose children have either gone missing or been killed in protests
unleashed following president mahmoud ahmadinejad re election
kaleme org is the website of key opposition leader and defeated presidential
candidate mousavi who charges that hardliner ahmadinejad re election in june
was fraudulent
it reported that khatami aide morteza haji former minister was also released
along with mousavi brother in law shahpur kazemi
all were detained in the aftermath of december anti government protests
during the shiite religious commemoration of ashura that left eight people dead
the post vote unrest now in its seventh month was triggered by ahmadinejad
re election in the june poll which the opposition charged was massively
rigged to keep him in power
hundreds of thousands of opposition supporters poured into the streets in week
long protests and have held sporadic demonstrations ever since mainly alongside
state sponsored events
world scrambles rescue teams aid to quake hit haiti
washington jan afp
rescue teams doctors and soldiers rushed by land sea and air thursday to help
drag survivors of haiti devastating earthquake from the rubble and bring its
people life saving food and medicines
us president barack obama promised haitians they would not be forgotten
offering million dollars to buy life saving equipment food water and
medicine and every element of us power to help them
this investment will grow over the coming year as we embark on the long term
recovery from this unimaginable tragedy he pledged
nations from all corners of the world also joined the vast relief operation as
hundreds of thousands of homeless injured and traumatized awaited help on the
corpse strewn streets and sidewalks of port au prince
planes began arriving at the capital airport bringing surgeons field
hospitals water and emergency medical supplies while search and rescue teams
with sniffer dogs readied to pick through the debris
but the deluge of airborne aid overwhelmed port au prince airport where
authorities asked for no more flights to be authorized as the facility was
saturated
governments and aid organizations unlocked millions of dollars and launched
appeals for more to help survivors and reconstruct ruined homes schools and
hospitals in one of the world poorest nations
haiti prime minister jean max bellerive said tuesday magnitude quake
which flattened much of port au prince may have killed more than
people
haiti ambassador to spain yolette azor charles said that it would take at
least eight days to count the dead from the disaster every day we discover
many she said
as wealthy neighbor with the world most powerful military the united states
was well placed to lead the effort with secretary of state hillary clinton
describing the disaster as beyond our comprehension
former us president bill clinton now un special envoy to haiti appealed for
funds for what he said was one of the great humanitarian emergencies in the
history of the americas
us army spokesman said the first members of brigade of us troops would
begin arriving in haiti thursday while the aircraft carrier carl vinson was
also set to arrive with destroyers and more coast guard ships
things are in motion army spokesman gary tallman said we re getting folks
there as fast as we can to provide humanitarian assistance
chinese aircraft bringing relief workers and tonnes of aid reached haiti
and was unloaded by un chinese soldiers
planeloads of rescue teams and relief supplies were also sent from countries
including belgium britain canada france germany italy the netherlands
poland portugal russia spain and switzerland
european development ministers will hold emergency talks in brussels on monday
to discuss how best to help haiti
the european commission has already pledged three million euros in aid with
other offers in cash or kind coming from individual member states
the red cross launched million dollar appeal for donations the world food
programme offered tonnes of food and the world bank pledged an extra
million dollars in aid the international monetary fund also offered million
dollars its head dominique strauss kahn announced
we are entering critical period there must be massive humanitarian aid
arriving this evening said olivier bernard president of the medical relief
organization medecins du monde
britain said it would donate close to million dollars as rescue team it
sent touched down to help the hunt for survivors prime minister gordon brown
described the disaster as tragedy beyond imagination
aid group medecins sans frontieres msf said it was sending an inflatable field
hospital including two operating theaters beds and medical staff to haiti
where it should be up and running by the weekend
the international red cross said that it was sending tonnes of medical
supplies while the international organization for migration called for tents
tents and more tents to shelter the homeless
neighboring cuba which felt the quake sent doctors to join staff already in
haiti brazil said it was providing million dollars in immediate aid while
chile colombia guatemala mexico peru and venezuela also promised help
the canadian government said it was ready to match its citizens donations for
haiti up to combined total of million canadian dollars million us
ottawa also readied two warships helicopters and planes with supplies as well
as large relief and rescue force
from the asia pacific region australia pledged nine million dollars while
japan well used to quakes pledged five million dollars and offered tents and
rescuers taiwan south korea and new zealand also offered aid
the world health organization is deploying specialists to help handle mass
casualties and corpses warning of the danger of communicable diseases
snooker downbeat sullivan defeats ebdon
london jan afp
reigning champion ronnie sullivan remained unimpressed after winning through
to the semi finals of the masters with victory over peter ebdon at the
wembley arena here on thursday
sullivan branded his long potting laughable having said he played better
as teenager after defeating australia neil robertson in the previous round
against fellow former world champion ebdon the rocket raced into lead
but said he could still have lost
peter could have won the game quite easily sullivan told the bbc would
rather be down and hit bit of momentum than be up and feel like
stalling when come to the table
most of the time missing lot of shots and it was difficult to find
confidence out there
the long game ve got at the moment is just laughable
breaks of and helped sullivan take control of the match ebdon
fought back but sullivan won with break of
us judge lifts block on argentine central bank account
buenos aires jan afp
us judge has temporarily lifted block on million dollars in an argentine
central bank account held by the us federal reserve argentina government said
thursday
the block was imposed on tuesday at the request of digruntled creditors burnt in
argentina default who are holding out for better terms than settlement
currently being offered by buenos aires
finance secretary hernan lorenzino said the us judge thomas griesa had agreed
to lift the block on the account for few days to give the creditors and the
argentine government time to seek an agreement
the development took place amid struggle between argentine president cristina
kirchner and central bank president martin redrado over kirchner plans to dig
into the bank reserves to guarantee payment of new sovereign debt
issue
redrado had refused to accede to the demand fearing that it could open the way
to the creditors laying claim to the bank reserves
kirchner tried to sack him as result despite the bank constitutional
autonomy but her order was overturned by argentina courts
although percent of creditors caught out by argentina default on
billion dollars worth of debt have accepted settlement for much less than
their investment small group of us creditors have been trying to win better
deal notably by going after argentine state assets
urgent amp slashes jamaica sovereign debt to default ratings
washington jan afp
international credit rating agency standard amp poor slashed jamaica
sovereign debt ratings to default thursday after the ailing country launched
debt exchange program with creditors
kenyan police find pwerful bomb in minibus
nairobi jan afp
kenyan police thursday found powerful bomb on minibus heading out of nairobi
during routine search
we usually conduct security searches on all matatus minibuses plying the
nairobi to nakuru highway all passengers were ordered to alight and before
the search could begin man sneaked away police official richard muguai
said
our officers were going through all the luggage when they found the device in
bag he added
the minibus was immediately detained and passengers screened further but no
other dangerous item was found
bomb disposal experts who examined the device and destroyed it said it was
dangerous mortar propelled bomb capable of bringing down building
tensions rise as haitians battle to survive
port au prince jan afp
shock began giving way to anger in quake hit haiti as thousands of traumatized
residents left without homes food or water thursday roamed the streets which
echoed with gunshots in some areas
despite massive aid operation that is swinging into place basic supplies were
dwindling in the capital of port au prince which has seen bloody riots in past
decades of political upheaval
haiti is already the poorest nation in the americas and un chief ban ki moon
said some un officers were patrolling the streets amid rising fears that
tensions could spill over into violence
if international aid doesn come the situation will deteriorate quickly we
need water and food urgently said lucille sitting at the door of her home
with her family dazed by the devastation wrought by tuesday quake
more doctors fewer journalists one man yelled out angrily shaking his fists
at one of the foreign media crews which are also arriving in the city
the smell of thousands of rotting corpses left lined up by roadsides or still
mangled in the ruins of the city filled the air occasional moans escaped from
the rubble of those still trapped
one group trying to free man trapped in the rubble of the tax office looked
up wearily at the planes flying overhead
can understand what they are doing where they are going said jean
baptiste lafontin wilfried as us coast guard planes sliced through the skies
we hear on the radio that rescue teams are coming from the outside but nothing
is coming we only have our fingers to look for survivors said the tax
inspector standing atop of the remains of his office
in harrowing scenes cnn showed rescue workers frantically trying to reach an
year old girl trapped under house along with several of her relatives
lacking the right equipment they were sawing through twisted concrete and metal
contemplating that they might have to amputate her leg as she screamed out for
her mother and father
shopkeepers in nation dependant on food aid were trying to protect what
little wares they had amid reports that some homes and businesses had been
looted overnight
we are hearing several gunshots without knowing where they are coming from
exactly looting has started in the supermarkets which have partly fallen
down wrote valmir fachini spokesman for brazilian viva rio charity in an
email
the gunshots are constant and we have the impression that it families trying
to protect themselves from attackers he added
early thursday the busy streets filled with thousands searching for food and
water continued to be rattled by gunfire
with gasoline supplies scarce human tide carrying their meagre belongings
were trying to leave the city heading for less damaged areas or just find
place to sleep
some carried tiny radios desperate for news
there was anger too against the country leaders who despite making
statements to the international media have failed to address the nation in one
of its darkest hours amid fears the death toll could top
since the earthquake there has not been single word to the people by our
leaders granted they also have been affected by the disaster but they could
have said something said finance ministry official valentin
there were signs that foreign relief workers were beginning to fan out over the
city and the international airport had to be shut as the runways became clogged
leaving several planes carrying aid circling overhead
but in some of the devastated areas of the city no evidence of the gathering
huge aid effort could be seen
meanwhile the piles of bodies continued to grow many of them gathered and
dumped at the damaged main port au prince hospital where grieving relatives were
left to search through them for their loved ones
finally found my cousin said jean lionel valentin pointing to body
covered with white sheet
but now nobody wants to help me carry the body taxis are trying to charge me
fortune he said
growing army of bodies have been laid out in the garden of the facility
some mutilated and half clothed caked in dirt and surrounded by flies
for now the main concern is to get the bodies off the streets then we ll get
to the ones beneath the ruins said local policeman
alert
amp says jamaica defaulted on sovereign debt slashes ratings
israeli diplomats escape jordan convoy bombing
amman jan afp
roadside bomb exploded near an israeli embassy convoy headed to the jewish
state from the jordanian capital on thursday causing no casualties officials
from the two countries said
the israeli embassy convoy left amman and was headed for the hussein bridge
when the blast occurred nobody was hurt an israeli diplomat said referring
to the crossing between jordan and the israeli occupied west bank
israeli media said the bomb detonated near the convoy taking israeli ambassador
to jordan dani nevo to the bridge also known as the allenby kilometres
miles west of amman
but sources in jordan said it was former israeli ambassador yakov rosen in the
convoy not nevo while israel foreign ministry said it was unclear whether
nevo was in the convoy headed to israel via the west bank
israel ynet news said four embassy staff members and two security guards were
in the convoy while haaretz newspaper said on its website that two remotely
detonated bombs exploded causing one car to flip over
the embassy consular officer and her husband arrived back in israel the
country state run channel one tv reported
jordan information minister said were no casualties or damage
while cars including two israeli embassy cars were travelling near the town
of naur on the road between amman and the jordan valley bomb exploded without
causing casualties or damage nabil sharif told afp
the cars were not damaged by the blast sharif said adding that an
investigation was under way into the attack and to determine the type of
explosives used
source close to the investigation said the blast left crater
centimetres four inches deep and centimetres inches wide
an afp photographer said police blocked all roads leading to the scene of the
blast
israeli diplomats often travel home on thursdays the start of the muslim
weekend in jordan and return on sundays to jordan which in became only
the second arab state to sign peace treaty with israel after egypt
israeli diplomats in jordan usually use rental cars
there have been several attacks or attempted attacks against israelis in jordan
since the signing of the treaty but such incidents have been rare in recent
years
in jordanian driver crossed the southern border with israel and opened
fire at group of foreigners in the transit zone he was shot by israeli
soldiers
non israeli tourist was killed and five others were wounded
israeli analysts said there was excellent security coordination between jordan
and israel and that amman had foiled several attempts to attack israeli targets
in the past
sure this was surprise for the jordanians these people are probably
islamic or al qaeda that pose danger to the hashemite kingdom too ephraim
inbar the director of the begin sadat centre for strategic studies told afp
jordan muslim brotherhood said such incidents should be expected
as long as israel is in the region carrying out its non stop aggression
against the palestinian people we should expect these things to happen
brotherhood spokesman jamil abu baker told afp
israel is the source of violence in the middle east
the influential muslim brotherhood and its political arm the islamic action
front have repeatedly called for the scrapping of the peace treaty expulsion
of israel ambassador and cut in relations with the jewish state
inuit sue to overturn eu seal product ban law
copenhagen jan afp
inuit in greenland and canada have filed suit in the european general court to
overturn eu legislation banning the import of seal products an official from an
inuit ngo told afp thursday
we have decided along with inuit organisations and the greenlandic association
of fishermen and hunters to sue in order to stop this unfair and arbitrary
legislation aqqaluk lynge told afp
lynge said the eu decision effects were worse than brigitte bardot campaign
against the seal hunt in the
