for it said the grey haired woman holding small plastic bag
there were more terrifying moments for haitians friday when pair of brief but
relatively strong aftershocks rocked the devastated capital
some residents ran in panic from concrete buildings fearing repeat of the
collapses that last week killed at least people and left more than
million homeless living in streets parks and makeshift tented encampments
others are now accustomed to the tremors which still strike every day
not really used to it yet but starting to be less scared said
year old student naomi renouard ran like usually do think that it
god punishing us for our sins to show us better way
tens of thousands meanwhile lined up to receive the first major hand outs of
food and water in the city the security situation in port au prince is calm
un relief spokesman pugliese said
the sea port of port au prince is now partially operational but can only
receive humanitarian aid thirty percent of gas stations are operational and
there is no fuel shortage at the moment
figure skating european championship results collated
tallinn jan afp
results from the fourth day of the european figure skating championships here on
friday
ice dancing
final results
oksana domnina maxim shabalin rus federica faiella massimo scali
ita jana khokhlova sergei novitski rus nathalie
pechalat fabian bourzat fra sinead kerr john kerr gbr
anna cappellini luca lanotte ita alexandra zaretsky roman zaretsky
isr anna zadorozhniuk sergei verbillo ukr ekaterina
bobrova dmitri soloviev rus nora hoffmann maxim zavozin hun
alla beknazarova vladimir zuev ukr pernelle carron lloyd jones
fra caitlin mallory kristjan rand est zoe blanc
pierre loup bouquet fra christina beier william beier ger
penny coomes nicholas buckland gbr
free dance standings
federica faiella massimo scali ita oksana domnina maxim shabalin
rus jana khokhlova sergei novitski rus nathalie
pechalat fabian bourzat fra sinead kerr john kerr gbr
anna cappellini luca lanotte ita alexandra zaretsky roman zaretsky
isr anna zadorozhniuk sergei verbillo ukr ekaterina
bobrova dmitri soloviev rus nora hoffmann maxim zavozin hun
pernelle carron lloyd jones fra alla beknazarova vladimir zuev
ukr caitlin mallory kristjan rand est zoe blanc
pierre loup bouquet fra penny coomes nicholas buckland gbr
christina beier william beier ger
women
short programme
carolina kostner ita kiira korpi fin laura lepisto
fin elene gedevanishvili geo alena leonova rus
julia sebestyen hun valentina marchei ita
sarah meier sui ksenia makarova rus tugba karademir
tur
jenna mccorkell gbr viktoria helgesson swe elena
glebova est oksana gozeva rus ivana reitmayerova svk
sarah hecken ger sonia lafuente esp susanna
poykio fin teodora postic slo natalia popova ukr
tamar katz isr katsiarina pakhamovich blr karly
robertson gbr shira willner ger miriam ziegler aut
mirna libric cro martina bocek cze manouk
gijsman ned erle harstad nor birce atabey tur
katherine hadford hun karina johnson den isabelle
pieman bel fleur maxwell lux beatrice rozinskaite
ltu clara peters irl sabina paquier rom
marina seeh srb zanna pugaca lat sonia radeva bul
maria papasotiriou gre
withdraw joelle forte aze
british pm to appear at iraq probe before election
london jan afp
prime minister gordon brown will appear at britain iraq war inquiry before
this year elections its chairman said friday forcing the divisive conflict
right up the campaign agenda
brown was initially told by the chilcot inquiry he could not give evidence
before voting takes place in the general election expected to be on may
that changed after brown faced intense pressure from political rivals for full
disclosure on the invasion when he was tony blair finance minister and
about which he has previously said relatively little
now his inquiry appearance plus that of former prime minister blair next
friday risks reviving memories of controversial war which britain was led
into by their labour administration
brown spokesman insisted he had nothing to hide at all and was keen to take
up the opportunity to state the case why britain was right to take the action it
did
earlier inquiry chairman john chilcot said he had invited brown to appear ahead
of the election after receiving letter from the premier
in note to brown published by the inquiry he also voiced concern about the
mounting risk of his probe being hijacked for political ends
with labour around points behind the main opposition conservatives in opinion
polls brown opponents are likely to scrutinise his evidence for lines of
attack
although the conservatives also backed the conflict brown could be vulnerable
to criticism over the funding of britain war effort
ex defence secretary geoff hoon accused brown during his evidence tuesday of
depriving the armed forces of funds in the run up to the invasion when brown
was finance minister
the premier could also face questions about whether he tried to talk blair out
of the war which he supported in crucial house of commons vote
blair former communications chief alastair campbell told the probe last week
that brown was one of the key ministers his boss consulted at the time
brown could be questioned in late february or early march just weeks before the
election the poll must be held by june and although no date has officially been
confirmed all indications point to may
conservative leader david cameron said brown had made the right decision by
appearing before the election
he was chancellor of the exchequer finance minister at the time he said
he got some important questions to answer and glad they are going to be
asked and hope answered before the general election
commentators said the appearance could prove tricky for brown and labour in the
run up to the poll
on the one hand this could damage brown reminding voters that this was
labour war said commentary in the centre left new statesman magazine
on the other hand brown strategists believe this could be chance for
brown to level with the british people
current foreign secretary david miliband and international development secretary
douglas alexander are also being given the chance to appear before the election
and have indicated they would be willing to
the chilcot inquiry was announced by brown in june honouring pledge to
examine the conflict once british troops withdrew from iraq he initially said
it would be held in private but was forced to backtrack after public uproar
blair faced intense public hostility after backing then us president george
bush in the war during which british soldiers died
his popularity plummeted and he stepped down in after ten years in office
handing the premiership to brown
major demonstrations are expected in london when blair appears before the probe
figure skating russians win european ice dancing gold
tallinn jan afp
russia oksana domnina and maxim shabalin won their second ice dancing gold at
the european figure skating championships here on friday
the champions took the title ahead of italy federica faiella and massimo
scali with defending champions jana khokhlova and sergei novitski of russia
winning bronze after the free skating final
they gave russia their third gold of the championships after yevgeny plushenko
claimed his sixth men title and yuko kavaguti and alexander smirnov won the
pairs earlier in the week
corrected woman rescued from haiti rubble family medics
port au prince jan afp
friends rescued year old marie carida roman alive from the rubble of her
port au prince home friday days after she was buried by haiti devastating
earthquake her son and doctors told afp at her hospital bedside
trying to find out how can help her survive she has crushed chest and
lots of maggots said ernest benjamin an emergency volunteer from mount sinai
medical center in new york city
it worth everything to try to save her benjamin added
urgent figure skating russians win european ice dancing gold
tallinn jan afp
russia oksana domnina and maxim shabalin won their second ice dancing gold at
the european figure skating championships here on friday
the champions took the title ahead of italy federica faiella and massimo
scali with defending champions jana khokhlova and sergei novitski of russia
winning bronze after the free skating final
alert
figure skating russia domnina and shabalin win european ice dancing gold
football angolan police deny ghana intimidation
luanda jan afp
angolan police dismissed out of hand an accusation of intimidation made by the
ghana team ahead of sunday africa cup of nations quarter final with hosts
angola
ghana complained on friday of disgraceful intimidatory tactics deployed by
angolan security forces designed they claimed to destabilise them ahead of the
last eight face off with angola
the declaration by the ghana football association gfa followed what was
described as brutal attack on ghana journalist at the team hotel in
luanda
gfa spokesman randy abbey condemned the attack and another reported assault on
fan last tuesday as well as other incidents which have injected distinct note
of bad blood ahead of sunday match
abbey confirmed an official complaint had been delivered to organisers caf
citing the harassment and intimidation tactics that the angolans are
deploying
we compiled all these and lodged formal complaint with caf then this
issue the attack on the journalist took place he told press conference at
the team hotel in luanda on friday morning
football has come of age these incidents shouldn occur in perhaps
in the it would be understandable
this is disgraceful we just hoping that things will improve
but if it because they angola are dreading the possibility of
elimination then they better come again because we intend to defeat them and
they can assault us however much they like
angolan police later rejected ghana claims
the ghana team like all the other teams competing in the africa cup of nations
are welcome in angola
there is no question of any intimidatory tactics being used an incredulous
jorge bengue spokesman for the angolan police told afp late on friday
ghana made their claims after ghana reporter fiifi tackie working for private
radio station radio gold was apparently set upon by police and security
officials after being refused access to press conference
one witness ghana journalist franck abdai told afp the reporter was denied
permission to attend the press conference and was surrounded by security
officers and police and beaten up
he was arrested but later released
ghana radio station peace fm reported on its website the journalist was
brutally attacked
this account was however challenged by bengue who said this morning at
ghana team hotel ghana journalist tried to get into the press conference
without accreditation
security were on hand and after around five or ten minutes he was allowed to go
in there was no major incident
before this altercation the gfa had already written to organisers caf to
complain after fan was attacked by police at tuesday game against burkina
faso
abbey listed other examples of what the gfa claimed were heavy handed police
tactics since their arrival in the angolan cappital
we have issues with the angolan police they set up hour
surveillance unit transmitting live from our hotel with the use of an ob
outside broadcast van
when we protested they presented different story and even went to the extent
of accusing us of assaulting their policemen
we find that very unfortunate
the other issue has to do with obour the ghana suppporter
he was beaten up and his private organ allegedly pulled as speak to you
now his medical bill is about dollars
there have been couple of occasions where security personnel detailed to
provide us protection at training grounds are found to be either asleep or
loitering about whiles the team is on bus waiting for them sometimes for
more than mins
haiti woman pulled from quake rubble after days
port au prince jan afp
an elderly woman was rescued from the rubble in haiti friday even as the un
said aid workers were giving up hope and turning their focus to helping
survivors days after the devastating quake
the miracle rescue came as thousands of desperate haitians braved fresh
aftershocks to queue for the first major food handouts in port au prince since
the january disaster
others scrambled to secure place on free buses out of the squalid capital
residents in the center of the city had started burning bodies in the streets
because no one had collected them since the magnitude earthquake which
killed at least people and left homeless
un spokesman elisabeth byrs said early friday that some exhausted international
rescue teams were heading home and that others were concentrating more and more
on humanitarian aid for those who need it
but hours later friends dug frail year old marie carida roman out of the
rubble of her port au prince home her son and doctors told afp at her hospital
bedside
trying to find out how can help her survive she has crushed chest and
lots of maggots said ernest benjamin an emergency volunteer from the united
states
she was believed to be the first person to be rescued from the debris since two
children were found alive on wednesday
the international aid effort gathered pace elsewhere with thousands of people
queuing calmly for hours around the destroyed presidential palace as brazilian
un peacekeepers handed out tonnes of ration packs and litres of water
but some went away empty handed
we are hungry said year old jean felix louis there is not enough aid and
it has not come quickly enough
elsewhere the un world food program said it staged massive aid distributions at
football stadium and in the downtown delmas district designed to feed
people
two brief but relatively strong aftershocks rocked the city as the handouts took
place sending some residents running in panic the us geological survey warned
of high risk of potentially damaging tremors for the next month
un relief spokesman vincenzo pugliese said the situation in the devastated
capital was improving with security largely calm supermarkets set to reopen
next week and nearly third of all gas stations open with no fuel shortages
but in downtown port au prince at least three charred skeletons were
identifiable on pile of garbage in the street and three others could be seen
in the nearby ruins of building an afp reporter said
we decided to burn them yesterday nobody came to get them they smelled very
badly said local resident hored stanley
tens of thousands of seriously injured haitians also remain in primitive
conditions in makeshift field hospitals
the haitian government pushed ahead with plans to move around people out
of the filthy conditions in port au prince to hastily set up villages in the
south and north of the country designed to hold people each
families gathered in downtown port au prince to catch the initial buses
leaving the city on friday
the chaos has left the youngest victims of the quake vulnerable with the un
children fund unicef saying that it believed around children had gone
missing from hospitals raising fears of trafficking for adoption abroad
aid agencies have also raised concerns about rushed though adoptions of haitian
orphans by families in the united states and france
us forces meanwhile said haiti main port had officially reopened friday with
army engineers and navy divers set to start rebuilding the heavily damaged pier
officials said containers had been offloaded in the past two days
the united states friday rejected accusations from venezuela bolivia and
nicaragua that its massive military deployment to haiti troops by
sunday amounted to an occupation
the leading medical journal the lancet meanwhile accused major aid organizations
of corporate preening that had contributed to bedlam in the effort to help
haiti
televised benefit hosted by george clooney and featuring performances from
wyclef jean bruce springsteen madonna and others was set to raise money for
haiti quake victims later friday
the two hour hope for haiti now telethon sponsored by mtv networks late friday
is to be shown on all of the major us television networks and streamed on
youtube myspace and other websites
us senator dropping bernanke would boost wall street reform
washington jan afp
president barack obama should seize golden opportunity to rewrite the rules
on wall street by replacing ben bernanke at the head of the federal reserve
us senator said friday
independent senator bernie sanders one of bernanke chief critics said new
obama appointee could transform the fed into an instrument for the middle class
of this country rather than high rolling wall street executives
the defeat of ben bernanke would give president obama golden opportunity to
nominate someone who will move the fed in new direction and put an end to the
fed relationship with big banks and wall street he said in statement
sanders appeal came amid growing doubts that the us senate would confirm
bernanke to second term as the us central banker amid mounting opposition in
an election year dominated by worries about the economy
democrats and sanders one of their reliable allies charge bernanke helped
craft policies that led to the global financial meltdown and coddled wall
street while ignoring the pain on main street
bernanke first nominated by obama predecessor george bush has presided over
financial system that has not been as unsafe unsound and unstable since the
great depression sanders said
bernanke republican critics accuse him of overseeing excessive us government
involvement in the economy citing the late wall street bailout and other
interventions
abortion doctor killer goes on trial in kansas
wichita kansas jan afp
tight security enveloped kansas court friday as the trial of man who admits
to killing prominent abortion doctor got underway with sometimes graphic
testimony
but in her opening statement sedgwick county district attorney nola foulston
never mentioned abortion the reason that defendant scott roeder said he was
driven to kill george tiller
roeder is charged with first degree murder in the shooting death of
tiller one of handful of doctors in the united states to perform late term
abortions into the third trimester which is legal under kansas state law
the doctor had been lightning rod for anti abortion foes who nicknamed him
tiller the baby killer
but sedgwick county district judge warren wilbert has said he will not allow
roeder trial to be turned into forum on the issue of abortion deeply
divisive issue in the united states
prosecutors have tried to keep roeder attorneys from suggesting that he is
guilty of the lesser offense of voluntary manslaughter
under kansas law voluntary manslaughter can apply if defendant acts on an
unreasonable but honest belief that he is preventing harm to himself or
others
roeder has admitted killing tiller in the foyer of tiller church saying he
did so to protect unborn children but so far the judge has not ruled on what
evidence roeder may introduce in his defense
witness kathy wegner who attended the same church as tiller testified she was
in the foyer when the doctor was shot
saw out of my right vision flash and heard popping wegner said her
voice breaking then saw dr tiller just fall flat on his back
saw an assailant with his hand out and he still had the gun in his hand
as the next witness wichita patrolman erik landon testified photograph of
tiller blood spattered body was shown to jurors on big screen tv while his
widow jeanne seated in the courtroom gallery lowered her head
landon said he saw what appeared to be single gunshot wound to tiller head
and believed it was contact wound because of the way the flesh was peeling
away from it
as bomb sniffing dog and about six sheriff deputies patrolled the
courthouse prosecutors detailed the preparations made by roeder in the days and
hours before he shot tiller to death on may
district attorney foulston said that two weeks before the killing roeder bought
handgun from pawnshop in lawrence kansas but had to wait week to pick
it up under state law
he then bought ammunition and was seen in tiller church the sunday before the
killing when tiller was out of town and absent from services
the day before tiller death roeder took target practice with the handgun at
his brother kansas property foulston said
he also took the gun to gunshop where he learned it had been jamming because
he was using the wrong caliber ammunition the night before tiller death
roeder checked into hotel about two miles kilometer from the church
the trial got underway on the th anniversary of the landmark us supreme court
decision in roe wade that legalized abortion in the united states
nigeria announces five million dollars for haiti aid
united nations jan afp
nigeria foreign minister on friday announced total of five million dollars
in aid for haiti earthquake victims
this afternoon presented check an initial donation of million us
dollars to be followed with collection of medicine and relief material for
another million us dollars foreign minister ojo maduekwe said at the
united nations
maduekwe who met with un secretary general ban ki moon said nigeria would send
doctors and engineers to haiti where an earthquake on january killed
tens of thousands of people and devastated the capital
he also said that oil rich nigeria will take part in still unscheduled
international donors conference for haiti
calling haiti such humanitarian catastrophe maduekwe said the caribbean
nation former colony of france had big place in nigerian hearts
it the first black republic and the heroic history of haiti has been
something that many nigerians have identified with over the years he said
but fixing haiti should be wake up call for us to confront global poverty
because it poverty that makes this kind of situation lot more unbearable
he added
bernanke fate in doubt as us senate opposition swells
washington jan afp
federal reserve chairman ben bernanke renomination was thrown into doubt
friday as key democrats voiced opposition prompting renewed expression of
support from the white house
two members of president barack obama party announced they would vote against
bernanke underscoring shift in the political landscape after the loss of
seat in massachusetts that ended the senate supermajority for the party
obama believes the senate will confirm bernanke white house spokesman told
reporters traveling with the president en route to ohio
the president has great deal of confidence in what chairman bernanke did to
bring our economy back from the brink deputy white house spokesman bill burton
said
the comments came as two more democratic senators joined the ranks of those
saying they will vote against bernanke whose term is up january over sharp
criticism of his role in the global financial meltdown
under the watch of ben bernanke the federal reserve permitted grossly
irresponsible financial activities that led to the worst financial crisis since
the great depression democratic senator russ feingold said in statement
senator barbara boxer california democrat also came out against bernanke
saying he supported policies of former president george bush that led to the
current economic crisis and our next federal reserve chairman must represent
clean break from the failed policies of the past
senate majority leader harry reid had been expected early this week to start the
process of ending debate on obama nominee and holding final vote but
postponed the move
senior senate democratic aide said reid was gauging the depth of opposition to
bernanke before holding confirmation vote the aide who declined to be named
said it was not yet clear bernanke would get the votes needed for
confirmation
the opposition highlighted deep national worries about the economy as dominant
theme ahead of november mid term elections bernanke most vocal critics charge
he has coddled wall street and turned deaf ear to main street
reid met with bernanke on thursday and said in statement he had pressed the
central bank chief to apply more pressure on banks to lend to small businesses
and to aid homeowners facing foreclosure
the american people expect our economic leaders to keep wall street honest and
level the playing field for middle class families and will continue to hold
their feet to the fire to ensure this happens said reid
as the senate prepares to take up chairman bernanke nomination look
forward to hearing more from him about how he intends to address these issues
the senator said
analysts said tossing out bernanke could trigger new turmoil in financial
markets
the bulk of the investment community feels he has done good job as chairman
and the impact on credit markets would be adverse said cary leahey senior
economist at the research firm decision economics
for new fed chief leahey said you could pick some capable people but there
would always be startup costs
time magazine named bernanke its person of the year in december
crediting him with helping guide the united states through financial turmoil
although many economists agree that bernanke efforts eased the impact of the
worst crisis in decades and likely averted new great depression number of
lawmakers blame bernanke for failing to stop the housing and credit bubble that
led to the crisis
group of senators from across the us political spectrum have expressed
opposition to bernanke and some have proposed legislation that would enhance
the us congress abilities to audit the fed
populist obama vows never to quit the fight
elyria ohio jan afp
president barack obama friday vowed he would never stop fighting for
struggling americans in fiery political counter attack meant to mend
democratic morale and his frayed bond with voters
obama sought to recapture the passion of his campaign after wake up call
from voters in liberal massachusetts who sent republican to the senate and
with his health care plan and wider agenda under assault in congress
ll never stop fighting to give every american fair shake obama said at
town hall style meeting in the rust belt state of ohio vital bellwether in
mid term elections in november shaping up as another hit for democrats
in highly populist speech obama said he would fight wall street to restore
home values for his embattled health reform plan to stop credit card companies
cheating customers and to cut exploding deficits
five days before his showpiece state of the union speech obama also vowed to
redouble the fight to pass historic health reform which has tumbled into limbo
in the us congress
got to admit we hit bit of buzz saw obama said of the year long effort
to pass the reform despite opposition from republicans and the health insurance
industry
had no illusions when took on health care it was always going to be hard
obama said
and going to keep up the fight for real meaningful health insurance
reforms
and the president posing as the champion of regular people added can
promise you there will be more fights in the days ahead
obama critics some of them democrats have faulted him for not being passionate
enough in fighting economic blight of siding too much with wall street and of
appearing aloof while everyday americans struggle
but with his soaring approval ratings of just year ago wilting the under fire
president told crowd in ohio you know what win when you win
so long as have the privilege of serving as your president ll never stop
fighting for you ll take my lumps too
his day of rubbing shoulders with ohians in colleges factories and small town
bar were designed to enhance the president regular guy credentials and to
convince people he knows how tough things are
the truth is being president is also little confining obama said
explaining how he came to neglect his connection with americans as he faced
multiple crises in his first year in office
can just walk around and visit people like used to can just go to
the barber shop or sit at diner
obama noted the political tumult following the loss by democrats of seat in
massachusetts which deprived his party of the senate supermajority it needed
to pass major legislation unchallenged by republicans
while lashing out against the financial industry obama also justified his
highly unpopular decision to stick with the previous administration bank
bailout plans
had he not acted he said the country would have fallen into second great
depression which would have taken terrible future toll on ordinary americans
or main street
obama made surprise stop at bar and restaurant in the depressed town of
elyria known as smitty where friends meet in an apparent bid to burnish
his image as man of the people
he bumped into one man year old charles raynor who was just about to tuck
into plate of french fries
am just pleased to see charlie is still eating fries at obama said as he
posed for picture
another man sitting at the bar shawn hatcher was celebrating his nd
birthday
nothing wrong with am the president said adding am going to buy
this guy lunch
republicans boosted by the victory of insurgent candidate scott brown in liberal
massachusetts are cranking up their own populist rhetoric
for the past year ohioans have watched anxiously as washington democrats
with the approval of president obama have pushed job killing agenda that
includes timulus that isn working said john boehner the top
democrat in the house of representatives who represents an ohio district
