end of the season we are fighting for european spot
in other matches the bottom of the table clash between xerez and real zaragoza
ended in draw that does little for either side
xerez interim manager antonio poyatos taking charge after the sacking of jose
angel ziganda could not inspire the troubled club who are nine points from
safety
zaragoza stay second from bottom three points from safety with coach jose
aurelio gay yet to win any of his four league games in charge
malaga moved out of the relegation zone with win over getafe thanks to an
th minute goal from nabil baha
that result saw tenerife replace malaga in the final relegation place after
draw with fellow strugglers almeria on sunday
islanders tenerife have yet to win on the road and this was only their second
point away from home
elsewhere racing santander saw three match winning streak come to an end with
draw against valladolid
highly rated teenager sergio canales scored his third goal in two games
with cool finish to equalise for racing and keep himself in the spotlight with
spain national coach vicente del bosque admitting that canales was not too young
to be called up for the world cup
third placed valencia host villarreal later on sunday in an intriguing derby
game between two sides that suffered cup heartache in midweek
belgian luxembourg rescue teams return from haiti
brussels jan afp
members of belgian and luxembourg rescue teams arrived in brussels late sunday
from quake ravaged haiti believing they have done all they could to help find
survivors the foreign ministry said
the teams landed at around gmt in an airbus plane with some other
people aboard including belgians and foreign nationals who sought to flee by
any means possible images from broadcaster rtbf showed
the belgian fast search and rescue team was among the first from abroad to
arrive on the scene following tuesday quake which is thought to have killed
more than people and injured quarter of million others
while fast medical teams remain in haiti the member search and rescue team
withdrew believing that it could do no more to save people trapped in buildings
destroyed by the earthquake
team of search and rescue specialists from luxembourg was also aboard
the opinion of the united nations as well as the teams themselves was that at
this time notably given the climatic conditions their chances of success
became too slim belgium foreign ministry said in statement
the fast field hospital is fully operational but security around this
hospital is not yet optimal the statement said adding that un protection was
being sought for the medical staff
the belgian search and rescue team had to spend its last night at the airport in
the haitian capital port au prince due to security concerns belgian officials
said
the foreign ministry said that belgians were still to be accounted for in
haiti three were officially listed as missing
bill clinton headed to quake devastated haiti
washington jan afp
former us president bill clinton the un special envoy to haiti said he will
travel to the quake devastated country monday to deliver relief supplies and
meet with leaders and survivors
as un special envoy for haiti feel deep obligation to the haitian people
to visit the country and meet with president rene preval to ensure our
response continues to be coordinated and effective clinton said
urgent bill clinton headed to quake devastated haiti
washington jan afp
former us president bill clinton the un special envoy to haiti will travel to
the quake devastated country on monday to deliver relief supplies and meet with
leaders and survivors his foundation said
prayers among the rubble for haiti faithful
port au prince haiti jan afp
church bells were eerily silent sunday over the ruined haitian capital but the
faithful still came in droves praying for solace in the darkest hour of this
deeply religious nation
want to send message of hope because god is still with us even in the
depths of this tragedy and life is not over said father henry marie landasse
as he prepared to give mass outside the ruins of the main cathedral
only the facade of the once proud building now stands over the rubble of the
city ravaged by the powerful magnitude quake which struck on tuesday
few houses of worship in port au prince and neighboring areas escaped the wave
of destruction but clusters of haitians managed to hold improvised worship
services in the streets of the rubble strewn capital
we re giving praise to god because he saved us and has spared so may of our
lives said descollines francisco outside the ruins of baptist church in
petionville where scores of faithful attended brief prayer service among
blood and body strewn city
we ve lost leaders of the church as well as members of our choir sister gerta
is dead said church leader who led the service in the absence of the regular
pastor who remained unaccounted for
some religious leaders meanwhile said the disaster was foretold in scripture
and marked the beginning of the last days
we re not at all surprised by these events everything is written said
fito devout man of about
edgard metelus jehovah witness took part in prayer service in
petionville with some faithful most of whom managed somehow to find
presentable sunday clothes amid the chaos
we continue to pray for haiti and to thank the heavens because without prayer
there would have been even more victims he said as the group raised their
voices in praise to god
meanwhile frustration and anger mounted among many of the millions left
destitute by the earthquake although badly needed aid is beginning to trickle
into the capital city of port au prince and the regions beyond
glancing over at his ruined church where one of the priests still lies buried
and is believed to be dead landasse raised his hands to the heavens and said
without faith such things are difficult to understand
wearing masks over their faces to ward off the stench from bodies still lying in
the street the faithful gathered many clutching rosaries to sing hymns and
give thanks despite the lack of food water and basic supplies
some were overcome with emotion after witnessing so much pain and suffering and
tears flowed
we ve lost lot some have lost everything but god is still with us said
one survivor aida paul
in this deeply religious country where christianity is at times mixed with
pagan beliefs tuesday quake has been accepted by many with weary
resignation as sign from god
as dusk has fallen every night people have sought comfort in songs and prayers
the tuneful sounds rising up from the dark from the thousands now living on the
streets
have not lost hope or my faith because thanks to god am alive said an
elderly woman ismela francois who lives opposite the cathedral
and have come to give thanks because the hand of god saved my family
the priest bright white robes stood in stark contrast to the destruction all
around him and his voice is at times drowned out by the aid helicopters flying
over the city ferrying in aid and supplies
thanks be to god for our salvation and grant mercy to the victims he said at
the solemn start to the mass
between the prayers the crowd quietly swapped the latest news on who has died
or who has been reunited with their families as well as where humanitarian aid
is being distributed
everyone has story to tell everyone has lost friends everything they had
said pauline mother wearing mask and frightened that having survived the
quake she and her children could fall prey to disease
we have been living in the streets since tuesday we are desperate and came
to beg jesus christ to return for we have not forsaken him said computer
technician jean andre noel
but as the helicopters whirred overhead there was anger at the slow aid
operation
they say the airport is full of doctors food and water but we have not seen
any of it why is no aid coming to the city asked survivor simeon toussaint
angrily
somali pirates tussle over greek oil tanker ransom
mogadishu jan afp
rival somali pirate gangs tussled sunday over multi million dollar ransom for
the greek oil tanker maran centaurus seized in november with crew members
pirates and maritime official said
it was however unclear the exact amount paid for the vessel with the pirates
saying they had received million dollars while andrew mwangura of the east
africa seafarers assistance programme said seven million had been dropped by
chopper
the ransom was brought in this afternoon and it is million us dollars
said ahmed ganey member of the gang that hijacked the ship
the argument intensified when the ransom money was brought some of the pirates
are on board the ship while others are on shore and refusing anybody to get down
or to go on board said ganey who was on shore
gang from somalia northern pirate lair of harardhere demanded the lion
share of the spoil move disputed by those from somalia breakaway region of
puntland members from both groups are holding the ship
ecoterra international green ngo that also monitors illegal maritime
activities in the region said ransom had been paid but did not specify the
amount
the problem is now that the pirates on the vessel will not be able to return to
the shore because of the infighting it said in statement
at present there is stand off and nobody can predict how the release will
develop
the maran centaurus was captured on november near the indian ocean
archipelago of the seychelles while sailing from kuwait to the gulf of mexico
the tanker has crew of filipinos nine greeks two ukrainians and one
romanian and is carrying around two million barrels of crude oil
the maran centaurus is the second oil tanker captured by the rampaging somali
pirates following the hijacking of the sirius star in november with
cargo estimated to be worth around million dollars
the sirius star was released in january
alert
bill clinton headed to quake devastated haiti monday
israel collectively punishing gaza amnesty
jerusalem jan afp
amnesty international on monday accused israel of collectively punishing the
population of the gaza strip with border closures tightened after the islamist
hamas movement bloody takeover
the british based rights group said the firing of rockets by palestinian
militants which the israeli military says has dropped by about percent
since its offensive in gaza last year did not justify the sanctions
the blockade does not target armed groups but rather punishes gaza entire
population by restricting the entry of food medical supplies educational
equipment and building materials said malcolm smart the group middle east
and north africa director in statement
the blockade constitutes collective punishment under international law and must
be lifted immediately
amnesty said egypt was partly to blame because it only occasionally opens its
rafah crossing with gaza the only terminal bypassing israel
it also faulted cairo for starting work on an underground border wall in bid
to halt the smuggling tunnels that have become an economic lifeline to the
territory but are also used by hamas to smuggle in weapons and money
however as the occupying power it is israel that bears the foremost
responsibility for ensuring the welfare of the inhabitants of gaza amnesty
said
monday is the one year anniversary of the mutual ceasefires that ended the
day gaza war which killed some palestinians and flattened entire
neighbourhoods thirteen israelis were killed during the fighting
israel imposed strict sanctions on gaza in following the capture of an
israeli soldier by hamas and other militants in deadly cross border raid
it tightened the blockade when hamas which is pledged to israel destruction
seized power in june after week of bloody street battles with forces
loyal to the western backed palestinian president mahmud abbas
football forgotten man nakamura stretching espanyol patience
madrid jan afp
japanese international midfielder shunsuke nakamura whose switch from celtic to
espanyol has turned into nightmare still has future at the club the
spanish side insisted on sunday
he hasn adapted as we would have wished but we will do all we can for him to
be at percent said espanyol sporting director german de la cruz
we are not planning to loan him out or sell him and we hope that he will return
to his best form
the year old nakamura left celtic last summer after winning three scottish
premier league titles but has played just six times for espanyol and is yet to
score
he has won two asian cups with japan captured caps and scored goals
espanyol are struggling in the spanish league where they sit just three points
off the relegation places
votes being counted in tight chilean presidential poll
santiago jan afp
polls closed sunday in close fought presidential election in chile that pit
billionaire conservative sebastian pinera against former president eduardo frei
polls gave slight edge to pinera in the race to succeed outgoing leftist
president michelle bachelet but by margin too small to be meaningful
if he does clinch victory it would spell an end to the year rule by chile
center left concertacion coalition which took power after general augusto
pinochet dictatorship
counting was underway with initial official results expected around pm
gmt
bachelet who was barred from seeking reelection under chile constitution
threw her full weight behind frei bid turning his fortunes around to pinera
chagrin
in the first round of the election on december pinera emerged with huge
lead over frei but surveys since saw that margin shrink to just percentage
points less than the polls margin of error
some million people were eligible to vote in chile one of latin america
most prosperous nations
pinera media magnate and major stakeholder in chile flagship lan airline
had been confident of beating frei an uncharismatic politician who was head of
state from to until bachelet managed to turn the tide
bachelet enjoys skyhigh popularity ratings after rolling out well received
social welfare program and successfully guiding chile recovery through last
year global financial crisis
she leveraged that support for frei member of the christian democratic party
whose father eduardo frei montalva was also president of chile between
and
the fruit of her efforts was seen in survey wednesday that suggested pinera
would pocket percent of the ballots with percent going to frei
pinera was bitter at his reduced prospects especially nettled by comment made
by bachelet on thursday that she would vote for frei because he was honest
the message bachelet was pushing was clear that pinera multiple business
interests made him less than ideal candidate to run chile vibrant economy
but on sunday she promised to fulfill her duties whoever won
at the appropriate time will call the president elect and tomorrow all the
powers of the state will salute the president she said
pinera urged voters to accept the change he was offering
it like opening the window to let fresh air in he said as he voted change
is good after years we are going to do things much better
frei hit back as he voted in the town of la union far south of santiago
we ve heard lot about change but change for what he asked noting that the
right wing parties backing pinera also supported pinochet and were part of his
dictatorship for years
we are seeing very content frei and an insecure pinera who for the first
time is realizing that he can lose the presidential vote runoff bernardo
navarrete of the university of santiago told afp
danish un worker pulled alive from haiti rubble
port au prince jan afp
danish un worker was pulled alive from the ruins of the un mission
headquarters in haiti sunday rescue teams said
they just pulled him out without scratch said member of the un forces in
haiti asking to remain anonymous but he named the lucky survivor as jen
kristensen
adoptive families fear for haitian children
paris jan afp
us and dutch authorities sped up moves sunday to fly adopted children away from
the quake wreckage of haiti while in france the biggest adopter anxious
families urged the government to act quicker
some members of adoptive families protested at the french foreign ministry in
paris placing empty plastic bottles at its gate to represent the haitian
children desperately in need of water and food
they have to act quickly before these children die said corinne jusserand
who was all set to welcome her adoptive son three year old jean from haiti
to her home near paris before the quake struck
the directors of the creche have told us there isn much food left for the
children she said outside the ministry adding she was annoyed at the delay in
france while other countries appeared to be speeding up the process
he is three but he weighs the same as two year old she told afp looking
at photo of her and jean taken when she visited him in november afraid
he won survive he so weak already
orphanages are among the many buildings wrecked by tuesday huge quake leaving
babies and toddlers without shelter adequate water or nourishment
the dutch justice ministry said in statement that six haitian children adopted
by dutch families arrived in the netherlands on sunday and it was speeding up
the adoption process and paperwork for about hundred others
in the united states secretary of state hillary clinton told cnn news she was
personally directing that we do everything we can to try to find and identify
those children who are already adoptable and to try to expedite all the
paperwork to get them to their new home
us state department spokesman crowley said there were about adoptions
of haitian children by us families pending for this year but cited legal
problems in sending child from haiti part way through the process
we obviously want to be able to bring these children to safety but there are
issues there are complexities in terms of what their status is in haiti and
there legal process that we have to work through he said
but the french government said its priority was emergency aid and it did not
plan to bring to france immediately all the haitian children for whom the
process was pending
their number is estimated at between and more than for any other
country by the french adoption agency afa
isabel hebert chevalier from paris told afp by telephone that the
orphanage housing her adoptive son david had collapsed and the three year old
boy survived
since the quake they have been without water or food one little girl has
died she said the clock is ticking for these children
the french foreign ministry said that humanitarian aid is still the priority
in statement on sunday
adoptive families whose procedure in haiti has been completed and whose child
has haitian passport can rest assured that they will be brought to france as
soon as possible
christine bah standing by her husband haussman outside the ministry in paris
wanted more urgent action the couple waited year to adopt mickenson two
year old haitian boy whose passport was still being processed when the quake
struck
it question of life and death now she said
eurozone head seeks more oversight of national economies
brussels jan afp
the head of the euro group has called for tougher surveillance of national
economies seeking permission for the eu executive arm to warn those not up to
scratch in letter seen sunday by afp
eurogroup chairman jean claude juncker in letter to finance ministers on the
eve of meeting in brussels expected to return him as chairman also said he
wants to boost the nation area profile in international institutions
the eurogroup should pursue broader economic surveillance both to identify
individual priority issues for each of our member states and to establish
coherent framework for action to enhance the performance of the entire eurozone
economy wrote juncker who is also premier of luxembourg
the european commission should not hesitate to address warning to the
member state not respecting criteria and commitments he said
following the issuance of warning by the european commission the eurogroup
should have frank discussion with the member state concerned with view to
ensuring that effective action is taken
juncker europe longest serving leader is widely expected to win new
month mandate monday to lead the single currency bloc
but several countries among them france have said they want more from juncker
than in the past notably to promote better coordination of economic policy
among the members
french president nicolas sarkozy blamed juncker for not acting quickly enough
when the global financial crisis first hit home in as well as his
reluctance to change luxembourg banking secrecy laws
already in charge of the grouping in its semi informal guise since
years after juncker took power in luxembourg the eurogroup has acquired
formal recognition under the lisbon treaty that entered force in december
but it faces some of the most difficult economic and political challenges since
the euro came to be decade ago amid greek debt crisis and fears over wider
foreign exchange fluctuations driven by washington and beijing
the crisis has served to highlight some of the weak points that were masked by
the relatively benign economic environment of the last few years issues that
need to be addressed by each of us if we are to improve our economies
resilience and increase potential growth juncker wrote
we need candid discussion both about the overall goals of our economic
policy and about the individual needs and priorities of our member states he
said
apart from promoting peer pressure juncker said it was time to boost the
profile and influence of the single currency group
think it is essential at this juncture to ensure that the euro area
interests are fully reflected in international discussions he wrote to the
ministers
firmly believe that the euro area dimension should permeate all of the work
of the international financial institutions and conferences the eurogroup
will need to work hard to make sure that it does so
the economic atmosphere of course is anything but good with most of the euro
countries like their broader eu partners carrying large public deficits
well beyond proscribed limits
france and other european nations including spain also want to promote the
idea of stronger economic governance without anyone as yet being willing to
talk specifically about sanctions for fiscally wayward members
germany on the other hand is opposed to such policy direction fearing for
the independence of the european central bank in frankfurt
on the international front an idea being actively pursued by many including
incoming eu economic and monetary affairs commissioner olli rehn is for the
eurogroup to seek its own seat at and international monetary fund meetings
football greek league results
athens jan afp
greek league results on sunday
atromitos larissa
panionios levadiakos livadia
panathina kos panthrakikos
giannina aris salonika
kavala olympiakos
saturday
paok salonika asteras tripolis
iraklis aek athens
xanthi ergotelis
standings after matches
panathina kos pts olympiakos paok aris asteras
aek panionios kavala atromitos ergotelis
xanthi iraklis larissa giannina levadiakos
panthrakikos
urgent danish un worker pulled alive from haiti rubble
port au prince jan afp
danish un worker was pulled alive from the ruins of the un mission
headquarters in haiti sunday rescue teams said
football belgian league results
brussels jan afp
belgian league results on sunday
standard liege anderlecht
germinal beerschot cs bruges
saturday
st truiden lokeren
charleroi rc genk
roulers fc mechelen
friday
ghent fc courtrai
fc bruges westerlo postponed
standings played points
anderlecht fc bruges ghent germinal beerschot
st truiden zulte waregem standard liege
courtrai fc mechelen rc genk westerlo
cs bruges charleroi lokeren roulers
mouscron
note financially troubled mouscron have withdrawn from the championship for the
remainder of the season results involving mouscron have been annulled and
points won by clubs in matches against the club have been wiped off the totals
planned future matches against mouscron have been cancelled
alert
danish un worker pulled alive from haiti rubble rescuers
nadia call ksene haitian radio key link for survivors
port au prince jan afp
hello nadia chaduc if you re alive call ksene camartiniere at
squawked the haitian radio sunday one of many desperate calls into the station
as survivors search for loved ones
ever since the massive earthquake devastated the already impoverished nation
local radio stations have been providing key link for people desperate for
news of their families and friends
ladies and gentlemen good morning and welcome to radio caraibes it am
in port au prince and we will spend another day together the fm station
told haitians huddled around radio posts
the radio team has set up shop on sidewalk in front of the cracked office
building they had to abandon armed with headphones and microphones three
anchors sat around black table under the gaze of couple dozen passersby
including two wearing barack obama shirts
we will start with official orders said israel jacky cantave state of
emergency has been declared until the end of the month
and another order signed by haitian president rene preval from sunday to
february haiti will observe national mourning in honor of the tens of
thousands of victims the quake has claimed
but with many people still trapped beneath the crumbled buildings and massive
influx of aid slow to reach those in need the station primary aim now is to
broadcast personal messages giving glimmer of hope to devastated people
those who survived tuesday massive temblor have mostly been left homeless in
country where the already wobbly infrastructure was destroyed and they lack
access to any communications
tens of thousands have died and there is little hope of identifying the dead
for surviving grieving relatives many bodies still lie beneath the twisted
concrete slabs and metal others are rotting in the streets and thousands more
have been buried in unmarked mass graves
my name is jocelyne junie am indeed alive was treated at renaissance
hospital would like my parents to bring me food another announcement read
one father dictated his message to one of the radio station employees
my little girl got lost during the event from what was told she came by the
radio station but haven seen her am going to send message maybe
someone kept her with them said jean andre baptiste
an electrical generator and the radio big red antenna that still stands atop
the roof of the building are providing power for the french and creole
broadcasts
we are journalists first and foremost so we have to work people are waiting
for news about their loved ones our priority was to tell our listeners this was
an earthquake and not the end of the world as many believe cantave said
it not easy because we have to bring all the journalists together and they
are sleeping in the street
television post sitting atop the table was tuned to the french channel
television which broadcast reports from the scene of the wreckage
across the street from the makeshift radio station onlookers took advantage of
the generator and its power strips to charge up nearly hundred mobile phones
further away man walked down the street with his little black radio glued to
his ear now familiar scene in the leveled capital nearby woman cooked
spaghetti
two streets down radio melodie broadcast its programs on fm from its
studios among the few buildings left standing
we have humanitarian calling because the people feel abandoned it so bad
that it our audience who is bringing us gallons of fuel for the generator
am very proud of all this said station chief elsie etheat
alert
danish un worker pulled alive from haiti rubble rescuers
under fire merkel holds political crisis meeting
berlin jan afp
german chancellor angela merkel sunday held what was billed as crisis meeting
in bid to quell bickering within her ruling coalition which has overshadowed
the start of her second term in office
the conservative merkel hosted talks with guido westerwelle foreign
minister and head of the free democrats fdp her new coalition partners as
well as horst seehofer from her bavarian sister party the csu
the meeting lasted just under three hours but no statements were issued after
the meeting an fdp spokesman said the talks took place in the best
atmosphere
germany new look government formed after merkel convincing election win in
september has experienced torrid few months as the coalition has argued over
tax policy afghanistan and turkey european union aspirations
the disputes have been all the more gruelling as merkel who earlier ruled with
the social democrats fought the latest election on platform of wanting an
alliance with the pro business fdp
the new coalition has got off to very poor start especially in tax
questions gerd langguth professor of political science at bonn university and
merkel biographer told afp
ordinary germans appeared to agree with strong majority percent
saying the new coalition has had bad start according to recent poll by
independent opinion research institute forschungsgruppe wahlen
