experts warning it will have major impact on the river that has nurtured
civilisations for millennia rising water levels are expected to submerge entire
villages within half century while farmers are already complaining that
increasingly salinity is wasting their crops voiced report
as part of our african nations cup coverage we plan to file the following
london chelsea may well be top of the english premier league but they re
currently coping with serious disadvantage four of their best players have
left the club for the whole month to play in the africa cup of nations so how
are the west londoners coping without the likes of didier drogba voiced report
monday january
port au prince the latest news coverage out of quake hit haiti where millions
are struggling to survive
kiev ukrainians react to the results of sunday presidential election
second round will take place on february th images and soundbites
washington one year ago on january barack obama was sworn in as the
first african american president in us history afptv looks back at the key
moments of his first year in office voiced report
milan italy italian prime minister silvio berlusconi is expected to appear in
court on monday in trial involving tax fraud charges against his mediaset
television empire this comes after friday hearing in separate trial where
the prime minister is accused of paying his tax lawyer david mills of britain
dollar euro bribe to provide false evidence during two
trials in the mid images and soundbites
ankara the turkish gunman mehmet ali agca who tried to kill former pope john
paul ii in will be freed on monday after serving nearly years in jail
images and soundbites
sri ram patti village nepal climate change and erratic weather conditions are
causing havoc in the himalayan nation of nepal while the world is becoming
increasingly alarmed by the rapidly melting glaciers farmers in the
impoverished country are battling devastating drought their crops are failing
at record rates with more than two million people facing food shortages voiced
report
stockholm beating the winter blues is challenge in northern europe where the
lack of light causes widespread depression for many light therapy is the
answer we visit stockholm first light cafe where tired swedes recharge the
batteries while sipping latte voiced report
kiev on the th orthodox christianity celebrates epiphany as every year
hundreds of pilgrims across ukraine will be bathing in rivers and glacial lakes
symbol christ baptism in the river jordan only far colder voiced report
as part of our african nations cup coverage we plan to file the following
abidjan the ivory coast will face off togo on tuesday afptv visits football
school in abidjan
baghdad getting around the iraqi capital can be herculean challenge between
the numerous checkpoints and crippling traffic iraqis patience is pushed to
the limit almost every day millions of litres of petrol go up in fumes as the
cars pile up in baghdad gridlock voiced report
tuesday january
port au prince the latest news coverage out of quake hit haiti where millions
are struggling to survive
aubervilliers france president nicolas sarkozy government is staging major
public consultation on france national identity move some have attacked
as pandering to the far right afptv goes to meet men and women from the
multiracial paris suburbs to see how they feel about the debate and what it
means to them to be french voiced report
montreal canada olympic chief jacques rogge warned this week that doping
cheats will be rooted out at next month winter games in vancouver
promising that doping problems would not spoil the sporting occasion afptv
visited the team of technicians who will be processing thousands of samples
during the games on the lookout for banned substances voiced report
mexico city mexican law enforcement has been leading relentless campaign
against drug lords as they ve rounded up suspects in their homes they have
come across an eye popping display of wealth villas full of the latest
luxuries including swimming pools and private zoos voiced report
ghajar israel lebanon ghajar is divided village in the united nations
marked the southern part of the village as an israeli territory and the northern
part as lebanese but since the war israel has taken over the northern
area as well the un calls the occupation illegal and local residents are
protesting the israeli presence
paris when they need opulent embroidery haute couture designers go to lesage
visit to the embroidery giant workshops ahead of haute couture week voiced
report
wednesday january
port au prince the latest news coverage out of quake hit haiti where millions
are struggling to survive
yangon myanmar has budding music scene that belies the country image as
tightly controlled military state but every song must pass strict censors who
strike out any remotely political or controversial material this makes life
difficult for bands even when they would rather rock than change society
voiced report
durango colorado support for legalising marijuana is growing in the united
states in colorado the number of medical marijuana dispensaries has increased
exponentially ever since local laws loosened up and president barack obama said
the federal government would no longer pursue sellers and users who are obey
state laws fourteen states currently permit the medicinal distribution of
marijuana and several others could be heading in that direction voiced report
harare zimbabwe after president robert mugabe controversial land reforms
production stopped completely in many areas can new investment from
international donors help get the farming industry back on its feet
thursday january
port au prince the latest news coverage out of quake hit haiti where millions
are struggling to survive
rio de janeiro people die on the road in brazil the government has
launched campaign which allows drivers to have no alcohol in their system when
driving there are frequent checkpoints with victims of car accidents on
prominent display voiced report
beirut the world of fashion is at their feet lebanese designers have become
hot item on fashion runways voiced report
aquila italy the quake which hit this italian town last april th ravaged
numerous works of art hundreds of paintings and statues have regained their
past glory thanks to the devotion of experts from around italy who have come
here to restore the pieces voiced report
paris when western designers need jeans they think japanese with their unique
combination of modern american and ancient japanese traditions japanese jeans
makers have captured the high end of the denim market voiced report
friday january
port au prince the latest news coverage out of quake hit haiti where millions
are struggling to survive
khao yai thailand thailand biggest national park teems with exotic wildlife
and lush forests but both are under threat from poachers who say their illegal
activity is necessary for their families survival new project aims to help
everyone by turning the poachers into mushroom farmers voiced report
cairo every minute three couples divorce in egypt number that has risen by
nine percent in just the past two years alone but conservative egyptian society
still frowns upon divorced women one woman is trying to change that image and
has created radio station dedicated to divorcees voiced report
suse italy works have begun on the new high speed rail line connecting lyon in
france with turin in italy but the project is facing fierce opposition from
italian environmental groups who have held up progress voiced report
lagos for several weeks nigeria has been facing shortage of petrol strange
situation for country which is one of the world top oil suppliers but
nigeria has no processing industry to speak of and has to import nearly all its
petro needs the situation is leaving drivers frustrated voiced report
paris dutch designer josephus thimister returns to the paris haute couture
catwalk after eight years of absence during which he led fashion houses genny
and charles jourdan he awaited as perhaps the hottest show of the upcoming
haute couture week profile voiced report
saturday january
dubai the united arab emirates have become the latest country to impose anti
smoking laws but what future for dubai famous shisha cafe voiced report
paris once renowned for its lively and exciting night scene where the most
famous night owls used to sip cocktails until the wee hours of the morning it
seems that paris has suddenly gone to bed early now ranked behind london
berlin or barcelona in the list of european party capitals club owners say the
face an array of obstacles poor night time transportation smoking ban and
over zealous police officers nearly bar and club owners have signed
petition pointing out the problems ahead of general meeting with the
authorities
sunday january
madrid maria was beaten by her husband for years today she has an emergency
phone just in case her ex gets too close just one of raft of measures taken
by the spanish government in its pioneering struggle against domestic violence
voiced report
guinea rivals sign deal to end crisis
ouagadougou jan afp
guinea political rivals friday agreed to set up an interim government and hold
elections in six months in deal to end political crisis exaccerbated by the
ruling junta brutal crackdown on opponents
the pact said ailing junta chief captain moussa dadis camara should remain in
convalescence after december assassination attempt following which he was
hospitalised in morocco camara is now in burkina faso
the accord was signed by camara interim junta chief general sekouba konate and
burkina faso president blaise compaore who is mediating between the ruling junta
and the opposition
the pact provides for national council of transition and unity government
before polls are held in six months
statement said camara who was shot in the head by an aide de camp in december
following an alleged dispute over bloody crackdown on an opposition rally in
which more than people were shot dead will remain available to help the
players in the transition
it said the proposed unity government would be led by prime minister and
composed of cabinet from the forces vives coalition of opposition parties
trade unions and civil society
hours before the agreement was signed the ruling junta pledged peace and
security to civilians and especially political leaders
we wish to reassure national and international opinion that peace in the
country and the security of the civilian population and of their property
particularly political leaders will be guaranteed across the whole territory
the minister for presidential security claude pivi said in broadcast
the process of democratisation begun for calm transition towards happy end
to the crisis rests and remains the main preoccupation of the cndd the
national council for democracy and development pivi added in his broadcast
message
we commit ourselves to making democratisation reality in guinea to succeed
we ask for the contribution and the willing cooperation of all citizens
concluded pivi who is close to junta leader camara
several guinean politicians and france and the united states have expressed
fears that if camara returns to guinea the west african country could plunge
into civil war
guinea one of the world top bauxite producers has been mired in political
crisis sparked by military coup led by camara on december
unrest worsened when troops massacred more than people at an opposition
rally in september last year according to un figures hundreds more were
wounded and women and young girls were publicly raped
recent un report on the massacre in guinea capital conakry named camara as
suspect and accused the army of crimes against humanity
the international criminal court said friday visit by its deputy prosecutor
fatou bensouda to investigate the stadium incident planned for next week would
be postponed for logistical reasons
biathlon swedes enjoy olympics boost
ruhpolding germany jan afp
sweden led by world number one helena jonsson on friday won the last world
cup biathlon relay event to be staged before next month winter olympics
sweden clocked hr min sec with world and olympic champions russia in second
spot sec behind while norway were third sec off the pace
sweden russia germany and france are expected to be amongst the medals when
the olympics take place in vancouver from feb
urgent obama to meet clinton bush on haiti saturday
washington jan afp
president barack obama said he will hold meeting on saturday with ex
presidents bill clinton and george bush to discuss their role in spearheading
recovery and rebuilding efforts in haiti
urgent obama warns of difficult days ahead for haiti
washington jan afp
president barack obama warned on friday that difficult days lay ahead in the
haiti relief effort noting the nation main port was closed roads were
damaged and severe logistical problems loomed
top us lawmaker quake aid may give haiti new fresh start
washington jan afp
president barack obama top ally in the us congress said friday that she hoped
us aid to earthquake hit haiti would help the devastated country make new
fresh start and build boom economy
democratic house speaker nancy pelosi whose home state of california is no
stranger to earthquakes spoke as us lawmakers promised to pass legislation to
spur private sector donations to the ambitious relief effort for haiti
pelosi acknowledged this very sad time for the caribbean nation but said
from my own experience with earthquakes being from san francisco think that
this can be an opportunity for real boom economy in haiti
they can leapfrog over its past challenges economically politically and
demographically in term of the rich and poor and the rest there and have just
new fresh start she said after democrats held an annual policy meeting
pelosi praised former president bill clinton who briefed the democrats behind
closed doors saying that nobody is better suited to harness all of the
concern and compassion and enthusiasm to help the people of haiti
she spoke as the number three democrat in the house of representatives james
clyburn announced that the house could vote in the coming days on bill aimed
at boosting private sector charitable donations to haiti
clyburn said he and top republicans would soon introduce the measure which
would allow donors to count their donations against their taxes
yemen qaeda chiefs killed in air strike senior official
sanaa jan afp
an air strike against an al qaeda in the arabian peninsula aqap convoy in
north yemen on friday killed six suspected leaders of the group senior yemeni
official said
qassem al rimi was among people who made daring escape from state
security prison in sanaa in february that left the government red faced
six al qaeda leaders including the network military chief qassem al rimi
were killed on friday the official said on condition of anonymity
he added that the raid was targeting eight suspects
in addition to rimi ayedh al shabwani was also killed when warplane attacked
the vehicles with air to ground missiles the official said without identifying
the other four dead
however security official later told afp that an al qaeda ideologist
identified as egyptian abu ayman al masri had been among those killed along
with abdullah hedi al tais
two suspects ammar al waili and saleh al tais fled the scene earlier they
were said to have been killed in the strike on three vehicle convoy in al
ajashir desert region in eastern saada province
tribal leader told afp by telephone he saw warplane target three
vehicles and that the first missile missed
second missile threw up large plume of dust he said adding that he then
saw one of the three vehicles flee the scene
the tribal leader said the convoy had been en route from maarib province to
saada province where aqap was reported to have camp at wadi al abu jabara
rimi was the principal architect of most of al qaeda operations in yemen
the official said adding that the man had slipped through dragnet twice
before in and at the end of
friday air raid came as britain said it would host an international meeting on
battling extremism in yemen on january in london rather than on the th as
originally planned
in friday sermon meanwhile powerful cleric sheikh abdulmajeed al zendani
said it would be religious duty dictated by god to defend yemen through
jihad or holy war if it is occupied by foreign power
he was responding in part to comments on wednesday by carl levin chairman of
the us senate armed services committee who urged washington to consider
targeting al qaeda in yemen with drones air strikes or covert operations but
not invade the country
us president barack obama has said he has no intention of sending troops to
yemen aqap claimed responsibility for botched attack on us airliner on
christmas day
from the moment the enemy invites itself onto our territory and occupies us
our religion imposes the obligation of jihad on us said zendani whom the us
administration labels global terrorist
it is religious duty dictated by god he said during his sermon
this order of god cannot be annulled by anyone not king not president
not ulema muslim scholars zendani added
yemen council of clerics which includes zendani made similar call for
jihad on thursday if foreign forces join the fight against aqap
on friday zendani urged arab and muslim states to support yemen before
catastrophe occurs
the islamic nation will not stand by with its arms crossed in the face of these
crusades he added
to defend ourselves and defend our country and our territory we only fear
god and we are confident in victory he said to cries of allahu akbar god
is greater
washington has accused aqap of training the man who allegedly carried out the
failed christmas day attack nigerian umar farouk abdulmutallab
sanaa has intensified operations against the militants insisting it can tackle
them without foreign intervention
friday operation was the latest in series of blows since december when the
government launched its latest campaign against al qaeda
on tuesday security forces killed abdullah mehdar said to be the group
kingpin in shabwa province east of the capital
provincial governor ali hassan al ahmadi said dozens of fighters including
saudis and egyptians who had fled afghanistan were hiding in shabwa
among them he said were current aqap chief nasser al wahaishi his saudi
number two saeed ali al shehri and radical us yemeni cleric anwar al awlaqi
week ago officials announced the capture of key leader mohammed al hanq and
two other militants believed behind threats against western interests in sanaa
that caused embassies to close for several days
friday attack also came day after the defence ministry vowed to do clear
yemen of al qaeda jihadists
football hull star altidore highlights haiti tragedy
hull england jan afp
hull city striker jozy altidore plans to use saturday premier league match
against tottenham to make an emotional gesture in support of the victims of the
devastating earthquake which rocked haiti
over people are believed to have died and around three million have been
affected by the disaster
altidore felt their pain more than most in england as his parents are from haiti
and several several family members still live on the caribbean island
his parents moved to america years ago but the striker has been unable to get
in touch with some of his other relatives since the earthquake
the year old us international on loan at hull from spanish club villarreal
had considered flying to haiti to look for them and help with the rescue
operations
but since that proved impossible he has used his twitter internet account to
urge people to donate to the red cross emergency aid fund and also revealed he
will wear wristbands in support of haiti in saturday game at white hart lane
the team has been very positive and helpful to me tomorrow is big game for
us going to wear both of my wrist bands in support of haiti he wrote on
his twitter account
writing soon after news of the earthquake broke altidore said my roots was
just hit by an earthquake please have the people of haiti in your heart
in the parents shoes who are worrying about their young ones please don sit
and just watch cnn get up and do something make donation
put yourself there and imagine how scared and torn you would be please do
anything you can to help them beg of you
cricket smith hits century as controversy dogs south africa england
johannesburg jan afp
graeme smith hit controversial pugnacious century as south africa took
control before heavy rain curtailed play on the second day of the fourth and
final test against england at the wanderers stadium on friday
smith who survived an umpiring review of what appeared to be catch behind the
wicket when he was on was out for shortly before huge thunderstorm
flooded the ground an hour before the scheduled tea break
after stoppage of three hours minutes the players returned but only another
balls were bowled before bad light ended play for the day
south africa finished on for two lead of runs after england were
bowled out for on the first day
with at least percent chance of further showers on each of the remaining
three days the weather is likely to be major factor in south africa bid to
square the series
thunderstorms will definitely be in my mind but lead of will be very
useful on this surface said smith
england coach andy flower said his team needed to take early wickets on
saturday if we can do that we can claw our way back into the game he said
smith and hashim amla not out dominated the play that was possible putting
on for the second wicket
the batsmen had to negotiate some hostile bowling at the start of an extended
morning play with the ball swinging and moving off the pitch but gradually
got on top of the bowlers
smith followed up his in the second innings of the drawn third test in cape
town with his th test century and his sixth against england
he had to work hard on thursday evening and again on friday morning and it took
him balls to reach his fifty
but with amla providing reliable support he picked up his scoring rate as he
moved to century off balls when he cut ryan sidebottom for his th
boundary
however but he got good ball from sidebottom five balls later edging
seaming delivery from the left armer to andrew strauss at first slip
two overs later rain started to fall and within minutes there were large pools
of water on the ground
after the lengthy delay amla and jacques kallis advanced the score by further
seven runs before the umpires took the players off the field
smith survived confident appeal for catch behind the wicket in the fourth
over of the day
he chased wide delivery from ryan sidebottom and the slips cordon went up in
unison as wicketkeeper matt prior caught the ball but the south african captain
was given not out by umpire tony hill
england asked for review and although sound could be heard on television
replays third umpire daryl harper could not find reason to overturn hill
decision
the snicko and hot spot technology is not being used in the series and
flower later claimed he had been told harper had failed to turn up the volume on
his audio feed
ashwell prince was out in the next over caught at second slip by graeme swann
off stuart broad but england could not make another breakthrough until smith
dismissal
both smith and amla played some streaky shots early on but the scoring rate was
reasonably brisk with england setting attacking fields
but smith and amla started to bat confidently as they notched fifty
partnership off balls and made the stand worth after balls when
smith was out they had put on off balls
although it was an unproductive day for the english bowlers they continued to
be helped by the conditions with kallis having to keep out yorker length
delivery from sidebottom which swung prodigiously immediately before play was
stopped
only overs of play was possible on the first two days shortfall of
overs allowing for two overs deducted for change of innings
six killed in second us drone strike in pakistan officials
miranshah pakistan jan afp
second us drone attack in the space of just few hours killed at least six
people in restive pakistani tribal area bordering afghanistan friday
pakistani officials said
at least six people believed to be militants were killed in us drone
attack senior security official told afp
the attack took place at bichi village in restive north waziristan tribal
district after us drones destroyed compound in the same region about two hours
before killing five people
local intelligence official and local government officials confirmed the
second attack and toll
the latest attack targeted militant compound
two missiles were fired at militant compound in the area which borders with
south waziristan the security official said
israel experts check jordan embassy after bomb attack
amman jan afp
israeli security experts paid visit to jordan on friday to evaluate risks of
any attacks against the jewish state amman embassy day after bomb attack
on convoy from the mission
jordanian information minister nabil sharif told afp the delegation was
assessing israeli security measures of their embassy in the wake of the blast
that caused no casualties as the convoy headed for israel via the west bank
the minister said however that the delegation was in no way involved in the
ongoing investigation which is totally in the hands of the jordanian
authorities
sharif said that no arrest has occurred up until this time and no information
can blame particular group in the attack
following the attack on thursday sharif had said there 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 sharif said
source close to the investigation said the blast left crater centimetres
four inches deep and centimetres inches wide
statoil ordered to pay million euros to norwegian state
oslo jan afp
norwegian court friday ordered energy group statoil to pay million kroner
million euros million dollars to the state following dispute over
cost allocation for the expansion of gas treatment plant the parties involved
said
the complicated case goes back to when the norwegian state and three
companies involved in the development of the offshore aasgard gas field claimed
statoil made them bear too great share of the cost for the expansion of the
kaarstoe natural gas terminal to which aasgard is linked
statoil settled out of court with the three firms italian agip finnish
fortum and french oil giant total but not with the norwegian state which is
statoil main shareholder with percent stake
the state therefore sued statoil in the stavanger district court who on friday
ordered the oil company to pay million kroner in compensation and
million in interest much less than what the state had sued for
statoil will take closer look at the grounds for the court decision before
deciding whether to enter an appeal the company said in statement
in separate statement the norwegian state which was suing statoil for many
billions of kroner also indicated it was studying the option to appeal the
case
following the lawsuit by the norwegian state another partner company in the
aasgard gas field exxonmobil of the us also claimed compensation but settled
with statoil out of court
gisele bundchen donates million dollars to haiti
los angeles jan afp
gisele bundchen has donated million dollars to the haiti earthquake relief
effort reports said friday as the army of celebrities offering support to the
caribbean nation swelled its ranks
people magazine quoted source close to bundchen the highest paid model in
the world with annual earnings of around million dollars as saying she was
so moved she knew what she had to do to help
bundchen who is married to american football star tom brady wrote check
for million dollars on thursday to the red cross haitian relief fund people
reported
news of bundchen donation came as pop icon madonna pledged dollars to
partners in health which provides health services in the impoverished caribbean
island nation
my prayers are with the people of haiti can imagine the terrible pain and
suffering they are experiencing madonna said in statement
sadly the depths of the tragedy are just becoming known and the need for our
support grows more urgent with every passing moment she added
urge all of my friends and fans around the world to join me collectively to
match my contribution or give in any way you can we must act now
on thursday hollywood star george clooney confirmed he plans to host
televised fundraiser on january involving bevy of stars
news of clooney fundraising efforts came as power couple brad pitt and
angelina jolie donated one million dollars to medecins sans frontieres
msf doctors without borders for the organization operations in haiti
it is incredibly horrible to see catastrophe of this size hit people who
have been suffering from extreme poverty violence and unrest for so many
decades jolie said in statement
one of msf emergency care centers collapsed in the devastating earthquake and
two others were severely damaged and unusable
we understand the first response is critical to serve the immediate needs of
countless people who are now displaced from their homes are suffering trauma
and most require urgent care pitt said
pitt and jolie are among the most generous philanthropists in hollywood they
donated two million dollars in to help children affected by aids and
tuberculosis in ethiopia
the couple also reportedly donated to humanitarian cause million dollars
received for exclusive photos of their twin children born in
cricket flower fury as smith survives trial by tv
johannesburg jan afp
england coach andy flower attacked the test match review system after south
africa captain graeme smith survived appeals for catch behind before making
crucial fourth test century
flower claimed television umpire daryl harper had failed to turn up the volume
on his audio feed from the stump microphone after smith had been given not out
on early on the second day of the final test at the wanderers stadium
he went on to make and put south africa in strong position runs ahead
with eight first innings wickets remaining
flower said he had twice been to see match referee roshan mahanama about the
incident first to establish the procedure that had been used and again when it
appeared he had been given the wrong information on his first visit
smith survived an appeal for catch behind the wicket off ryan sidebottom
