to outside countries so think that in itself will be substantial progress in
protecting bluefin tuna stocks le maire said
ecology minister jean louis borloo on tuesday also cited president nicolas
sarkozy position stated last year that france should back ban on trading
in bluefin tuna
sarkozy has not reaffirmed his stance on the issue since then however and
environmentalists fear he may have backed down
the french government had been due to give decision on monday on whether it
supported adding atlantic and mediterranean bluefin tuna to list of protected
species but discussions have dragged on without agreement
aides to borloo said sarkozy was likely next week to announce france decision
which will weigh heavily in the final position adopted by the european union
french world sailor isabelle autissier who heads the environmental group wwf
france urged sarkozy at the weekend to support the ban
over the past decades there has been intensive fishing of bluefin tuna based
on short term profit in response to the high demand from the japanese market
wrote autissier in the newspaper le journal du dimanche
world gears up to help quake stricken haiti
washington jan afp
world governments and aid agencies readied emergency rescue teams and supplies
for haiti wednesday in massive relief effort mobilized after earthquake
that may have killed thousands
the european union activated its crisis management system and the red cross and
united nations unlocked emergency funds and supplies as the destitute caribbean
nation battled to assess the scale of the death the destruction
the priority is to find survivors said elisabeth byrs spokeswoman for the
un office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs
we are working against the clock she told journalists in geneva as the united
nations mobilized some search and rescue teams from global network
regional countries were among the first to offer help with venezuela to send in
member team with food and medical supplies and the dominican republic
readying plane to pick up victims and sniffer dogs to search the rubble
the united states stood ready to assist said president barack obama who was
due later wednesday to announce an aggressive coordinated effort from his
government according to us official
the us coast guard in miami quickly mobilized cutters and aircraft to
positions close to haiti and the government usaid agency said it would
dispatch disaster and search and rescue teams of about staff and six dogs
host of european nations also prepared plane loads of medical and rescue staff
as the european union said its had activated all crisis and aid management
mechanisms
the european commission released three million euros in emergency assistance
the maximum for an emergency procedure spokesman said adding the sum could
be hiked upwards in the coming days
in britain four member government assessment team was despatched while
strong group of rescuers with sniffer dogs and equipment assembled at
london gatwick airport as prime minister gordon brown said he was ready to
provide whatever humanitarian assistance is required
france said it was sending in two planes one from the nearby french caribbean
island of martinique with police rescuers and hospital staff
spain said it had tonnes of humanitarian aid ready and offered the eu the
use of its humanitarian base in panama to ferry in help
italy prepared military transport plane to carry in field hospital and
emergency medical team while the netherlands immediately released two million
euros million dollars said it was looking into sending rescue teams
the gravity of the situation seems to be like that in southeast asia after the
tsunami in cooperation and development minister bert koenders said
germany released million euros in aid while belgium sweden and luxembourg
offered water purification equipment tents medical help and search and rescue
experts
the international federation of red cross and red crescent societies said it was
gearing up to help maximum of three million people based on the numbers who
live in the affected area
it was drawing on emergency stocks in haiti which is often hit by severe floods
and hurricanes allowing help for families for three to four days
but we ll have to swiftly bring relief supplies from our regional disaster
response centre based in panama federation spokesman jean luc martinage said
the most urgent needs at this time are search and rescue field hospitals
emergency health water purification emergency shelter logistics and
telecommunications he said
the un world food programme said it could respond swiftly with some
tonnes of food supplies in haiti we have already launched an emergency
operation said wfp official charles vincent
the french humanitarian group medecins sans frontieres msf said it was
treating around people in its centres in port au prince would send in
bed inflatable field hospital
taiwan whose ambassador to haiti was hurt in the quake pledged dollars
in humanitarian aid while other nations including australia canada and japan
said they were looking into how they could help
pope benedict xvi urged generous response to the tragic situation
appeal to the generosity of all to ensure our concrete solidarity and the
effective support of the international community for these brothers and sisters
who are living time of need and suffering he said
facebook fugitive recaptured by british police
london jan afp
criminal who taunted police via facebook while on the run from prison in
britain has been recaptured four months after his break out police said
wednesday
craig lazie lynch became cult figure thanks to his defiant status
updates on the internet social networking site
dubbed the facebook fugitive by media lynch whose profile picture showed
him raising his middle finger to the camera notched up tens of thousands of
friends from around the world
there was also separate facebook page where is craig lazie lynch
calling for information which could lead to his capture
lynch was serving seven year term for aggravated burglary when he escaped
prison in suffolk eastern england in september
but he could now have his spell behind bars extended after being charged with
escaping from lawful custody
dozens of facebook users expressed glee at his recapture on the where is craig
lazie lynch page
know where he is locked up now wrote one while another added ha ha
ha he not laughing now is he at the police
lynch was recaptured in the county of kent southeast of london on tuesday
night
in court wednesday he was remanded in custody ahead of another appearance at
high security woolwich crown court in southeast london on january
spokesman for london metropolitan police confirmed lynch had been recaptured
but could not say whether information posted on facebook had helped officers
locate him
us envoy tries to calm tensions with pakistan
islamabad jan afp
visiting us envoy richard holbrooke tried to calm tensions with pakistan on
wednesday with islamabad bristling at increased us drone strikes in the
northwest and new air passenger screening measures
washington has put pakistan at the heart of its fight against islamist
extremists and us officials say success in the war against the taliban in
neighbouring afghanistan cannot succeed without islamabad support
but the us drone missile programme in pakistan lawless northwest tribal belt
along the afghan border fuels anti american sentiment in the muslim nation with
six such strikes hitting the area so far this year
people are worried that we see pakistan only in regional context let me
assure all our listeners here that that is simply not the case holbrooke the
top us troubleshooter for pakistan and afghanistan told reporters
relations between the united states and pakistan are better today than they
were year ago on the other hand there are some obvious and very public issues
between the two countries that natural friends can disagree
speaking at the same press conference pakistan foreign minister again raised
concerns about the drone strikes which have killed nearly people in
pakistan since august and which islamabad publicly condemns
pakistan feels it will undermine our relations if there are drone attacks
shah mehmood qureshi said also querying new us air travel procedures launched
after failed bomb plot on christmas day
the us has introduced extra security screening for citizens travelling to the us
from nations including pakistan after nigerian tried to bring down
northwest airlines flight by detonating explosives hidden in his underwear
the people of pakistan feel that innocent people are treated like terrorists
qureshi said
holbrooke did not address the issue of the drone strikes but tried to reassure
pakistan over the us passenger screening measures saying they were necessary and
not discriminatory against the people of pakistan
pakistan military has in the past year launched multiple offensives to quash
northwest sanctuaries of the taliban blamed for most of the attacks in pakistan
which have killed more than people since july
but washington is pressuring islamabad to also go after al qaeda linked groups
and militants who primarily use pakistan mountainous border zones to plot and
launch attacks on foreign troops in afghanistan
despite worsening militant violence both in pakistan and afghanistan holbrooke
said he did not think insurgent groups were gaining support
do not think that the movement is growing think that these actions while
terrible do not indicate growing strength they indicate willingness to use
extreme measures he said
hundreds feared dead in haiti quake un chief
united nations jan afp
hundreds are feared dead in the devastating earthquake that leveled the un
headquarters in the haitian capital and major relief effort will be required
un chief ban ki moon said wednesday
among those still unaccounted for in haiti worst quake in over century are
the civilian head of the un mission in haiti minustah hedi annabi of tunisia
and his deputy he added
information on the full extent of the damage is still scanty the secretary
general we are facing major emergency and major relief effort will be
required
basic services such as water electricity have collapsed almost entirely we
have yet to establish number of dead or injured which we feel may well be in
the hundreds ban added
he said he was sending edmond mulet the deputy head of the un department of
peacekeeping operations dpko and annabi predecessor to haiti
and he added that he was committed to visiting the impoverished caribbean island
himself as soon as practically possible
dpko head alain leroy said five people were confirmed dead in the collapsed
minustah headquarters five story concrete building known as the christopher
hotel and located on the road to petionville
more than people have been extracted from the building some dead some
alive he added
john holmes the head of the un office for the coordination of humanitarian
affairs said his office would soon launch major flash appeal for funds and
had already released ten million dollars in emergency aid
brazilian troops ringing the minustah building in port au prince were trying to
extract as many people as possible from the building un officials said
minustah has another headquarters building located near the airport and which
serves as logistical base they added
that one too was damaged but not seriously mulet added he said an
argentinian hospital also escaped without severe damage and was operating and
receiving casualties
minustah which comprises troops and police has been deployed in
the impoverished caribbean island nation of eight million people since mid
un says aide workers missing in haiti quake
geneva jan afp
the united nations said wednesday it was trying to locate staff missing
following the haiti earthquake that levelled parts of the capital port au
prince
fourteen un cultural agency unesco staff were unaccounted for after the
powerful quake unesco director irina bokova said in geneva
am anxiously awaiting news from the unesco team based in port au prince she
added in statement
as they mobilised an international relief effort following the massive tremor
un secretary ban ki moon said that at least five people had been confirmed dead
in the collapse of the headquarters of the un peacekeeping mission in the
capital
several other united nations buildings and well as haitian public buildings were
seriously damaged according to the un geneva office of the coordination of
humanitarian affairs
the un had initially reported that it feared for unicef un children fund and
world food programme wfp headquarters nearby but wfp official later said
that the building housing the un food relief and development agencies was
standing
the wfp building is standing the others are damaged charles vincent head of
the wfp office in geneva told journalists while most of its staff were
found and immediately launched an emergency food deliveries
haiti one of the world poorest countries has repeatedly been struck by
disastrous floods and hurricanes in recent years and is hive of international
aid activity
german organic food sector stagnates in
berlin jan afp
germany organic food market far and away europe largest was stagnant in
after years of stellar growth but still outperformed the wider food market
trade organisation said wednesday
estimated turnover in the sector amounted to around billion euros
billion dollars roughly the same or even slightly less than last year the
federation for organic foodstuffs boelw said in press release
the reason is that discount supermarkets are cutting their prices and reducing
their range of products said hans christoph behr from the agricultural
information company ami
nevertheless as comparison the total food market shrank by percent as
germany europe largest economy suffered its worst recession since world war
ii
according to boelw figures the market for organic foods in germany was
comfortably the largest in europe worth more than twice its closest rival
britain
the sector enjoyed prolific decade from as interest in environmental
issues and healthier eating boomed with double digit growth in every year apart
from where turnover grew by three percent
venezuela rushes aid to quake hit haiti
caracas jan afp
venezuela dispatched its first aid mission to earthquake hit haiti on wednesday
sending doctors firefighters and civil protection staff to help amid ongoing
rescue efforts
the first wave of help to our brother country haiti is leaving today interior
minister tareck el aissami said at international airport from which the mission
set out
the man mission includes physicians firefighter experts in search and
rescue missions civilian damage evaluation experts and four mrmbers of the
military who will outline what additional missions should be sent
magnitude quake left much of the haitian capital in ruins toppling
buildings and leaving hundreds of people missing and feared dead
rugbyu kiwi hape in england six nations squad
london jan afp
former new zealand rugby league international shontayne hape was named on
wednesday in england squad for the six nations rugby union tournament
the year old hape uncapped in union was joined in the man squad selected
by england manager martin johnson by another former rugby league player who has
yet to make his england debut in northampton in form wing chris ashton
hape centre who won caps for the kiwis in the man code joined riki
flutey and dylan hartley as the third new zealand born player in the england
squad
the back has been monitored by the england management since moving to bath from
bradford bulls rugby league club in
hape qualified for england on residency grounds and has been selected ahead of
shane geraghty and ayoola erinle who both played in england november series
to replace gloucester injured world cup winner mike tindall
if hape features during the six nations he will become the third former new
zealand rugby league international to play for england after henry paul and
lesley vainikolo
it gives us some good competition and depth in that area johnson explaining
hape selection told reporters at twickenham news conference here on
wednesday
johnson england world cup winning captain insisted the presence of
several new zealand born players was not an issue as far as he was concerned
it what they do when they are in there that matters he said you could
never doubt south africa born mike catt commitment to england
hape has been brought in to bolster the attacking options of an england side
that managed just one try in three tests in november during win over
argentina that fell between defeats by australia and new zealand
ashton who under the terms of england complicated agreement with the
country premiership clubs has been drafted in to replace injured prop and
former captain phil vickery has been in fine form this season
the year old wing has scored tries in matches in all competitions so
far this term and has formed productive partnership in the saints back three
with ben foden also called up into the england squad on wednesday
but as well as the new boys there was place in the squad for world cup
winning fly half jonny wilkinson
however wasps playmaker danny cipriani missed out on selection and was chosen
instead for the second string saxons squad
nick easter delon armitage flutey and toby flood who all missed the november
campaign through injury were included in the senior squad
england last season runners up to grand slam champions ireland begin their
six nations campaign at home to wales on february
england squad
backs
delon armitage chris ashton matt banahan danny care mark cueto harry ellis
toby flood ben foden riki flutey shontayne hape dan hipkiss paul hodgson
ugo monye mathew tait jonny wilkinson
forwards
steffon armitage steve borthwick jordan crane tom croft louis deacon nick
easter dylan hartley james haskell courtney lawes lee mears lewis moody
tim payne simon shaw andrew sheridan steve thompson julian white david
wilson
india takes steps to curb soaring food prices
new delhi jan afp
india on wednesday announced slew of measures to ease mounting pressure over
spiralling food prices including the release of millions of tonnes of rice and
wheat reserves
after special meeting chaired by prime minister manmohan singh agriculture
minister sharad pawar said between two and three million tonnes of wheat and
rice will be put on the open market over the next two months
he also told reporters that duty on imports of refined sugar would be reduced to
zero percent for the whole of step already implemented in the case of
raw sugar
the impact of these decisions will be seen in seven to days pawar
predicted
weak monsoon pushed up food prices by percent in putting household
budgets under strain it also hit sugar output before flooding in key growing
areas did further damage
as result sugar prices have almost doubled in india the world biggest
consumer of the commodity since january last year
prices of another staple potato rose percent in january year on year
followed by pulses crucial source of protein for low income indians
which jumped percent
finance minister pranab mukherjee at separate meeting with state finance
ministers in new delhi voiced concern over the price rises but added that india
had enough food stocks to tide it over difficult times
the finance minister highlighted the need to address the problem of
distribution to arrest the price rise government statement said
he said that there is need to properly monitor not only the release of food
stocks but also the sale of such food stocks in open markets the statement
added
pawar blamed state governments for not effectively distributing food stocks
already released to them
in the last two months sizeable quantity of food and rice was allotted to
states but the take up was not enough pawar said urging local administrations
to play more active role in containing prices
meanwhile oil minister murli deora fended off speculation of an impending fuel
price hike with non committal can say anything
british pm insists nothing to hide on iraq war
london jan afp
british prime minister gordon brown insisted he had nothing to hide over the
iraq war wednesday after public inquiry heard of his key role in
planning it
speaking day after tony blair former communications chief gave evidence to
the inquiry brown also said he stood by decisions taken by the british
government in the run up to the conflict
the british leader faced angry calls in the house of commons to give his
evidence to the iraq probe before this year general election expected in may
even though its officials say he will not be called until afterwards
have nothing to hide on this matter happy to give evidence brown told
lawmakers adding that he would testify to the chilcot inquiry when it wanted
him to
asked if he was sorry for the war brown who was blair finance minister at
the time said stand by the decisions we made
but he admitted that mistakes were made in the aftermath of the invasion led by
the united states but to which britain was the second biggest contributor of
troops
ve already said that the reconstruction that was done after the war effort in
iraq was insufficient he said
the exchanges came the day after alastair campbell former chief spin doctor to
brown predecessor blair told the chilcot inquiry brown was one of the key
ministers his boss consulted in the run up to war
that comment could embarrass brown amid reports that senior labour figures are
anxious the inquiry into the unpopular iraq war could revive uncomfortable
memories for the government on the campaign trail
brown was facing questions from the second opposition party the liberal
democrats whose leader nick clegg labelled the iraq war this government most
disastrous decision
when the decisions were taken to launch this illegal war he wasn only in the
room he was the one who signed the cheques he should insist on going to the
inquiry now clegg said
dutch council of state approves work to benefit belgian port
the hague jan afp
the dutch government top advisory body gave the green light wednesday for the
dredging of an estuary shared with belgium effectively lifting freeze on work
to boost access to the port of antwerp
the enlargement and deepening of the western scheldt estuary may continue the
council of state also the country highest administrative court said in
statement
it declared objections to the dredging unfounded including from the owner of
hectare acre piece of farmland reclaimed from the sea the hedwige
polder which will now be flooded to allow the project to go ahead
the netherlands signed deal with belgium in to enlarge the western
scheldt estuary key entry point in dutch territory for ship traffic heading
upriver to belgium port of antwerp europe second largest
the dredging would allow bigger ships to reach antwerp
the hedwige polder was reclaimed from the sea in and is protected against
the water by levees or dykes in the southwestern province of zeeland
flooding the polder would create nature reserve to compensate for
environmental damage envisaged by dredging the estuary
but public outrage led the dutch government last april to suggest keeping the
polder which in turn prompted environmental lobby groups to refer the matter to
the council of state
the council in july ordered suspension of dredging work on the dutch side of the
estuary while it considers the matter much to the anger of belgium flanders
region which threatened to sue
the dutch government made an about turn in october and said the polder would be
flooded after all which caused the environmentalists to withdraw their
complaint
the president of flanders in northern belgium welcomed wednesday decision as
good news for the future of the harbour at antwerp
enlargement of the western scheldt estuary is essential for the harbour to
remain competitive kris peeters said in statement
dredging work on the belgian side had already started in december
seven killed in violence incited by taliban afghan official
kabul jan afp
seven people were killed during protests in southern afghanistan sparked by
rumours that foreign troops had desecrated koran an official said wednesday
blaming taliban for inciting the violence
investigators sent to helmand province found no foreign soldiers had opened fire
tuesday at the protest and no desecration had taken place in military
operation the day earlier said daud ahmadi spokesman for the provincial
governor
all the responsibility lies with the taliban as it was the taliban who incited
the incident he said citing the report which was completed wednesday and
accused taliban of starting the rumours about the koran
neither international forces nor any american soldiers were involved in the
firing they arrived on the scene during the fray and protesters threw stones at
them there was no shooting at this stage he said
only intelligence officers opened fire
officers of afghanistan national directorate of security nds had fired on
demonstrators in self defence after one intelligence officer was shot dead in
gun fire that came from the protesters ahmadi said
total of six demonstrators were killed and around were wounded he said
anyone with gun was not demonstrator he was taliban militant
the investigation ordered by governor gulab mangal followed earlier reports
that nine people were killed and up to wounded in gunfire during the
demonstration on tuesday by hundreds of people in gamsir district
the demonstrators had descended on the local nds office after word spread that
foreign soldiers had desecrated koran during an operation against taliban
linked drug dealers on monday he said
the crowd attacked the building in an attempt to free the prisoners he said
adding that the shooting started during this melee
the investigators found that when foreign soldiers arrived on the scene they
were pelted with stones by the demonstrators but did not open fire he said
the protesters fired at intelligence officials killing one the intelligence
officials fired back in self defence he told afp citing the report
spain posts percent drop in foreign tourists in
madrid jan afp
spain suffered drop in foreign tourists of percent last year due to the
global economic slowdown the government said wednesday its second straight
year of falling visitor numbers
the country received million visitors in the industry ministry said
down from million in the previous year when spain lost its ranking as the
world second most visited country to the united states
the government had expected the number of visitors to drop this year by
percent but secretary of state for tourism joan mesquida said the the decline
in arrivals eased towards the end of the year
it was complicated year he told news conference adding that he was
moderately optimistic for because of the improvement in the economy in
britain and germany the two main sources of visitors to spain
in the number of visitors to spain fell by percent over the previous
year its first reversal in visitor numbers in over decade
apart from the recession spain is feeling the pinch from the drop in the pound
to near parity with the euro which has made it more expensive for british
holidaymakers to spend time at the resorts that dot its extensive coastline
the country has also suffered from increased competition in recent years from
cheaper sunshine destinations in the eastern mediterranean like turkey and
egypt
the appeal of the package sun and sand holidays that spain pioneered is also
beginning to wane as the popularity of independent travel booked over the
internet increases
the tourism sector employed people last year or percent of all
workers in the country according to the industry ministry
korea to admit more us visitors tour group
seoul jan afp
north korea is opening its doors wider to tourists from its traditional enemy
the united states beijing based travel group said wednesday
us tourists will now be allowed to visit the communist state year round instead
of only during the arirang festival from august to october koryo tours said
founder nick bonner said he had received an email wednesday from the state run
korea international travel company notifying him of the change but giving no
further immediate details
the secretive nation opened to western tourists in but excluded us
citizens couple of years after that
in it allowed americans to visit for arirang gymnastics and propaganda
festival involving tens of thousands of performers
bonner said his firm which specialises in tourism to north korea brought in
us citizens for arirang last year
the north was hit by tougher sanctions last year following its nuclear and
missile tests it is also losing tens of millions of dollars year after tour
programmes for south koreans shut down amid worsening relations
bonner told afp he saw the latest move as gradual opening of the tourism
industry rather than being motivated by desire to raise revenue
but don think it would have happened unless relations with the us had
calmed down in recent months tourism is often at the lead of diplomacy he
said
after months of tension pyongyang last summer began making peace gestures to
washington and seoul us envoy stephen bosworth visited the north last month to
try to persuade it to return to stalled nuclear disarmament talks
the united states has not had diplomatic relations with the north since the
war in which us forces fought for south korea
in new year message the north said it wanted better relations with the united
states but it has given no clear signal of readiness to return to the
disarmament talks
germany recession worst since
wiesbaden germany jan afp
post war germany suffered its worst ever recession last year when europe
biggest economy contracted by five percent in the global slump official figures
showed on wednesday
amid the gloom however employment held up much better than expected and the
public deficit was much less than feared despite additional government spending
to soften the blow from the sharpest global downturn since the
overall economic activity shrank for the first time in six years as exports fell
