simply the gulf
it would have been the second time the games were held after first tournament
was held in the saudi red sea city of jeddah in
corrected us concerned at arrest of coptic supporters in in egypt
washington jan afp
washington said it is deeply concerned over the arrests saturday of militant
supporters of coptic christians in egypt
the militants had been protesting deadly violence last month against copts
during religious celebrations last month when they were arrested saturday
the united states is deeply concerned by today arrests of individuals
traveling to the egyptian town of naga hammadi to express support for those
tragically killed and injured during the celebrations said mark toner acting
state department spokesman in statement issued saturday
according to publicly available evidence those arrested included bloggers
democracy and religious freedom advocates he added
we call on the government of egypt to uphold the rights of all to peacefully
express their political views and desires for universal freedoms and to ensure
due process for those detained toner said
egypt state prosecutor said earlier that three muslims accused of gunning down
six egyptian christians on the coptic christmas eve will stand trial before an
emergency security court
abdel magid mahmud said in statement the three men were charged with
premeditated murder aimed at harming national interests
the suspects were arrested day after the six copts and muslim policeman were
shot dead along stretch of road with churches and shopping centre in the
southern village of nagaa hammadi
the drive by shooting took place after worshippers emerged from midnight mass
before christmas marked by copts and other orthodox communities across the
world on january
the killings which were condemned by pope benedict xvi sparked outrage among
the country copts who make up nearly percent of egypt million people
and led to clashes with police
alert
moment of silence for haiti as pope visits rome synagogue
pope honours deported jews ahead of rome synagogue visit
rome jan afp
pope benedict xvi on sunday paid homage to more than roman jews deported
to nazi death camps as he started landmark visit to rome main synagogue
the year old pope began the much anticipated visit under cloud after
angering many jews by moving his wartime predecessor pius xii accused of
inaction during the holocaust further on the road to sainthood
israeli navy detains seven gaza fishermen
gaza city jan afp
the israeli navy has arrested seven palestinian fishermen when warships stopped
three boats off the coast of the gaza strip the territory hamas run
government said on sunday
israeli warships on saturday night abducted seven fishermen from the waters of
the rafah governorate in southern gaza the agriculture ministry said in
statement
the israeli military confirmed it had stopped three fishing boats and arrested
those on board but did not specify how many people were arrested
last night an idf israeli military naval force arrested three fishing boats
that had illegally crossed from the permitted gaza fishing zone towards egyptian
waters military spokesman said without providing further details
israel and egypt sealed gaza off from all but limited humanitarian aid in
and tightened the closures when the islamist hamas movement seized power in june
under the blockade israel prevents fishermen from venturing more than five
kilometres three miles offshore even though agreement between israel
and the palestinian authority set the boundary at kilometres miles
before the embargo some fishermen plied their trade off gaza
kilometre mile mediterranean coastline with around people
relying on the fishing industry
obama steps in to save struggling democratic candidate
new york jan afp
us president barack obama campaigns sunday in boston in last ditch attempt to
save his democrats from the humiliating and costly loss of senate safe seat in
special election next week
obama decision to fly to massachusetts and campaign on behalf of martha
coakley reflects desperation among democrats over the threat posed by republican
candidate scott brown
massachusetts is one of the most liberal states in the country and the seat
being filled in tuesday vote was held for half century by the late
democratic party grandee edward kennedy and his brother john kennedy before
that
latest polls show brown ahead or neck and neck electrifying what had long been
seen as formality for coakley as she eased into what democrats called ted
kennedy seat even after his death in august
at issue is not only possibly stunning upset in massachusetts but the
possibility that the democrats could be stripped of their th vote in the
senate thereby losing the power to override republican delaying tactics on
obama controversial health care reforms
obama was to spend two hours in boston with campaign appearance at
northeastern university and few analysts agree whether that will be enough to
turn the tide
beset by national political struggles over health care and attempts to pull the
country out of recession obama has lost some of the political magic he used
just year ago to win the white house and lead his party to massive victory in
the general elections
now brown run in massachusetts is being seen as sign that the republicans
could inflict heavy revenge when nationwide mid term elections to congress are
held this november
the fact that much of brown success appears to be based on the support of
independent voters is an ominous sign for democratic strategists
with the political winds at the back of republican scott brown pollsters
tracking the massachusetts senate race are skeptical that president obama
boston rally on sunday will be enough to put democrat martha coakley over the
top the politico website said
it really is just remarkable said columbia university political science
professor robert shapiro it reflects the demobilizing almost demoralizing
state of democratic voters
obama sounded the alarm last week in robocall to voters saying the stakes
are so high
he said that everything from health care to wall street regulation and clean
energy initiatives was at issue they probably rest on one vote in the united
states senate
obama advisor david axelrod denies that there is any panic obama is going
because he was asked
don think that the president makes decisions out of fear he makes
decisions based on what he thinks is right he thinks that martha coakley would
be much better representative for everyday people in massachusetts axelrod
said friday
that an important election in massachusetts it obviously competitive
one
the race is far from over one poll put coakley well ahead but suffolk
university poll released late thursday had brown ahead with
leading pollster scott rasmussen called brown victory long shot low
turnout scenario adding that the dynamics of the race still make it likely
that massachusetts voters on january will send another democrat to
washington
obama also referred to the turnout issue saying in his taped message lot of
people don even realize there is an election on tuesday to fill the unexpired
term of ted kennedy so please come out and vote
coakley is widely seen as having run lackluster campaign and shown little sign
of urgency
meanwhile brown state legislator has become republican pin up
an advocate of waterboarding terrorist suspects practice banned by the
obama white house as form of torture brown has also garnered fame as
winner of cosmopolitan magazine sexiest man competition
brown then student posed naked in the glossy magazine centerfold with
only carefully placed hand protecting his modesty
rugbyu two try mccusker leads stunning scarlets comeback
paris jan afp
two tries in four minutes from flanker rob mccusker allowed welsh side scarlets
to stage stunning comeback on sunday and beat pool six rivals london irish
in the european cup
the result did little however for either side hopes of reaching the last
eight as reigning champions leinster who travel to twickenham to play london
irish next weekend lead the table by five points with one match remaining
london irish coach toby booth said that his side had not really played well all
through the match
thought when we led that it was bit flattering said booth whose
side experienced only their second defeat in their last european pool matches
both defeats coming at the hands of the scarlets
we made the same mistakes early on as we did later in the match
it is simple game but we didn treat it like that and we neither found
penetration nor were we able to get it out wide we are bitterly disappointed
with this performance
irish had looked to be cruising when they led in the second half but
mccusker showed electric pace in the rd minute to touch down in the corner
after visiting fly half ryan lamb had made poor clearance
few minutes later mccusker was on hand again taking the ball and despite
desperate tackle by former england scrum half peter richards he turned and
twisted his way over the line for try which was confirmed by the video
referee
the english side had few chances to get back into the lead and the one time they
did replacement australian fly half chris malone wasted it with pass behind
his team mates backs when they had an overlap
scarlets rubbed it in when impressive young centre jonathan davies went over for
his second try of the match to give the welsh side deserved if surprising
bonus point and left irish requiring the minor miracle of bonus point victory
over leinster if they are to progress as pool winners
however booth believes that such challenges always bring the best out of his
side
the good thing about this team is that it likes challenges and being
threatened he said
in later matches on sunday french side toulouse can reach the last eight if
they beat english outfit harlequins at home and take bonus point in their pool
five clash
and should reigning french champions perpignan who are out of the running beat
english team northampton in england then two time title winners munster will be
assured of topping pool one
biarritz are the only team definitely through to the last eight despite losing
to pool two rivals gloucester on saturday
celebrities support haiti relief efforts
geneva jan afp
celebrities have joined in an international outpouring of support for survivors
of haiti devastating earthquake with brazilian supermodel gisele bundchen
actress sandra bullock and singer madonna all digging deep for the cause
according to data from the un office for the coordination of humanitarian
affairs on sunday bundchen has offered million dollars while bullock has
given one million dollars to relief efforts
the brad pitt and angelina jolie foundation has pledged million dollars
madonna has donated dollars and actress alyssa milano has given
dollars
cyclist lance armstrong foundation has also committed dollars
un data showed that at least million dollars have been pledged by
individuals countries companies and international organisations to date
corporations that have chipped in include us banks goldman sachs and bank of
america which have each promised one million dollars and citigroup which has
pledged two million dollars
rather than sending cash others are helping by sending supplies or experts
suriname has despatched military and police personnel to haiti as well as
blankets and rice
bolivia has sent blood for transfusions and food to feed survivors while
venezuela sent plane with experts and supplies
countries further afield like bangladesh and the philippines have also flown
in medical teams
aid agencies are meanwhile continuing to funnel supplies and experts into the
country
the international red cross said another batch of experts left geneva on sunday
for haiti where they are expected to provide forensics tracing nursing
communications and logistics support
un secretary general ban ki moon who is due to arrive later sunday in port au
prince has called the devastating quake in haiti the most serious humanitarian
crisis to face the world body in decades
football villa miss out after hammers draw
london jan afp
aston villa failed to make the most of slip ups by their champions league rivals
after goalless draw at home to strugglers west ham here on sunday
the point at villa park saw martin neill men stay sixth in the english
premier league table two places outside of the champions league spots after
saturday where fourth placed tottenham hotspur were held to goalless draw by
hull and manchester city fifth lost to everton and liverpool seventh drew
with stoke
villa have now not won and not scored in the league since beating stoke on
december
but the draw was good result for west ham lifting the london club out of the
relegation zone
in sunday other premier league matches third placed arsenal are away to
bolton where win for the gunners would leave them just three points behind
leaders chelsea while blackburn face fulham
afp graphics advisory
paris jan afp
sunday graphics
haiti quake key data
graphic showing key data concerning the haiti earthquake the world health
organisation has estimated that between to people have been killed
by the quake
haiti quake toll who
mm wide
available now
haiti earthquakes world
world map locating the most deadly earthquakes in recent history
text slug haiti quake
mm
available now
still available
quake damaged zones map mm
international aid mm
identification using dna mm
search and rescue methods mm
un mission in haiti mm
quake map mm
port au prince map mm
tectonic plates caribbean map mm
haiti factfile mm
other graphics
available now
chile factfile mm
ukraine factfile mm
japan afghanistan refuelling mission mm
uss independence warship factfile mm
red billed warbler factfile mm
doomsday clock mm
solar eclipse factfile mm
solar eclipse asia mm
kaliningrad map mm
us inflation mm
eurozone inflation mm
jal shares mm
paris hong kong
tel
urgent pope honours deported jews ahead of rome synagogue visit
rome jan afp
pope benedict xvi on sunday paid homage to more than roman jews deported
to nazi death camps as he started landmark visit to rome main synagogue
gd mjs
shell petronas group signs iraq oil contract
baghdad jan afp
consortium of anglo dutch oil giant shell and malaysia petronas signed
contract with iraq on sunday to operate the enormous majnoon oil field in the
war torn country south
the baghdad government had approved the agreement in early january as part of
four deals with foreign energy firms to dramatically ramp up iraq oil output
following an auction in december
shell and petronas will receive dollars per barrel of oil extracted from
majnoon which has known reserves of billion barrels they expect to
produce million barrels per day
the anglo dutch company has percent stake in the project while its
malaysian counterpart has the remaining percent
we look forward to fruitful cooperation with the two companies iraqi oil
minister hussein al shahristani said adding their operations were to begin on
monday
the government auctioned the fields in december massively increasing iraq
projected crude production to million bpd within seven years from current
output of around million
but security and dilapidated infrastructure remain key obstacles to achieving
that target
iraq has the world third largest oil reserves only behind saudi arabia and
iran with an estimated billion barrels
alert
pope honours deported jews ahead of rome synagogue visit
football english premier league result
london jan afp
early english premier league result on sunday
aston villa west ham
blackburn fulham gmt
bolton arsenal gmt
played saturday
chelsea anelka malouda cole lampard ballack
sunderland zenden bent
everton pienaar saha pen man city
man utd berbatov rooney diouf burnley
stoke huth liverpool kyrgiakos
tottenham hull
wolverhampton wigan mccarthy zogbia
postponed waterlogged pitch
portsmouth birmingham
football juve fans continue to bait balotelli
rome jan afp
juventus fans continued their campaign of abuse against inter milan striker
mario balotelli during sunday match away to chievo in verona
earlier this week juve were hit with partial stadium closure due to chants of
racial nature their fans directed at balotelli an italian of ghanaian origin
in previous matches
it was the third time this season that juve had been punished for racial chants
although previously they were hit only with fines
this time around their south stand from where the majority of the chants tend
to originate has been closed for their next serie home game against roma next
weekend
last season they were forced to play one match behind closed doors due to racist
chants against the same player during their home match against inter milan
the chants during sunday game were not racial in nature but the continued
targetting of balotelli who is black has ensured racism remains hot topic in
italian football circles
juve were previously punished when fans chanted there are no black italians
while sunday chorus consisted of if you jump up and down balotelli will
die
teenager balotelli is divisive figure in italian football largely due to his
occasionally impetuous on field behaviour
however the forward is also considered one of the country brightest young
talents and many commentators are clamouring for him to be included in italy
world cup for south africa in june
balotelli parents are ghanaian immigrants and he was born in palermo on the
island of sicily before being fostered to an italian family when he was three
his birth parents surname is barwuah but he uses the surname of his adoptive
parents
haiti tensions mount amid scramble for last survivors
port au prince jan afp
rescue teams clawed through rubble for the last earthquake survivors sunday as
tensions mounted in haiti with police opening fire on looters killing at least
one man
with un secretary general ban ki moon heading for haiti describing it as the
most serious humanitarian crisis in decades hundreds of rioters ransacked
market in the devastated capital port au prince
survivors besieged hospitals some carrying the injured on their backs or on
carts
one rioter man in his was killed by bullets to the head as the crowd
took over the hyppolite market in the capital
police reinforcements descended on the area armed with shotguns and assault
rifles as the clashes went on
rescue teams were still dragging survivors out of the haiti rubble but the true
scale of the disaster was slowly beginning to emerge
between and people died just in the town of leogane west of the
capital and the epicentre of the magnitude quake last tuesday according to
un officials the haitian government has estimated about dead so far
across the country
street after street of leogane was flattened
the medecins sans frontiers doctors without borders aid group opened an
emergency hospital at carrefour poor district near leogane on saturday msf
emergency coordinator hans van dillen said crowds arrived almost immediately
patients arrived on handcarts or on men backs there are other hospitals in
the area but they are already unable to cope with the number of injured and
have limited resources of personnel and medicines and equipment he said
msf said their doctors and surgeons had been working around the clock
amputating limbs and performing caesarian sections on pregnant women
another french aid group medecins du monde said it would have to amputate
hundreds of people whose limbs had been crushed in the earthquake and its
doctors had no electricity to work by
most bodies were being pushed into mass graves outside the capital to prevent
the spread of disease but intensive efforts were being pursued to find
survivors
un office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs spokeswoman elisabeth
byrs told afp that more people were pulled out alive from debris on saturday
taking the total to more than since the teams started working
we don give up hope to find more survivors stressed byrs the morale of
the rescue team is very high despite the hardship
some international teams comprising rescue workers and dogs have
already scoured percent of the worst affected areas hit by the quake about
american troops were being sent to assist and secure the stricken areas
byrs said the way buildings had collapsed left sufficient void spaces that
allow for trapped victims to remain alive
there is still hope the conditions are very favourable it exceptional and
thank god for that she said
but rami peltz rescuer with an israeli team said today is the last day
that think we will be able to find survivors mainly because of dehydration
and the united nations also warned over the scope of the work ahead we have
never been confronted with such disaster in the un memory it is like no
other byrs said on saturday the un chief said am going to haiti with
very heavy heart
us military helicopters crews unloaded boxes of vital supplies as massive queues
formed at distribution points where the un world food programme handed out high
energy food
an afp journalist saw one us helicopter dropping half dozen small cartons into
stadium of starving haitians some brandishing machetes as they fought over
the items
two dominicans were shot and seriously wounded as they handed out aid dominican
media reported carlos gatas and milton matos struggled back to the dominican
republic embassy with gunshot wounds after the apparent attack
the un said increasing numbers of haitians were trying to cross the border into
the dominican republic on the eastern side of hispaniola island and reported
surge of quake survivors fleeing to northern cities
after flying visit by us secretary of state hillary clinton former us
presidents bill clinton and george bush named by the white house as aid
special coordinators launched an appeal to raise tens of millions of dollars
for the stricken country
the president of senegal called on africa to give haitian quake victims land to
restart their lives on the continent where their ancestors were snatched as
slaves
it is our duty to recognise their right to come back to the land of their
ancestors president abdoulaye wade told france info radio while his aides
said land could be found for haitians who go to africa
us works to open critical port in quake hit haiti
washington jan afp
the united states is working to open critical port in quake devastated haiti
which is in dire need of fuel and other vital supplies top us commander said
sunday
lieutenant general pk keen deputy commander of us southern command said the us
military was looking at all of the ports and getting them open as soon as
possible or getting things moved in this direction in order to address that
tremendous challenge
in an interview with cnn from the haitian capital port au prince he pointed to
critical need to deliver fuel with one port designated to deliver those
supplies
the us military has been relying mainly on helicopters deployed from the uss
carl vinson aircraft carrier to deliver the supplies
as we move other equipment in here we ll be able to get more ground
transportation to increase our tentacles out into the countryside keen told
fox news sunday
with haitians fighting for survival the united states is also increasing its
delivery of much needed food water and medical supplies
on saturday paratroopers from the nd airborne division delivered over
bottles of water and food rations and we re going to be able to
increase that every day keen vowed
but clearly this is disaster of epic proportions and we ve got lot of
work ahead of us
some trained us search and rescue personnel were now fanned out across the
affected areas and have already rescued dozens of people trapped under the
rubble said us agency for international development chief rajiv shah adding
that more us teams were on standby
he said teams from around the world with some or more people each were
working around the clock in frenzied race against time
we have been doing everything that we can can to get as many assets on the
ground as possible and get them deployed quickly shah told cnn
water purification units that can process as much as liters
gallons of clean water per day were also being rushed to the scene us
officials said
with aid pouring in from all corners of the globe teams also face huge
logistical bottlenecks and miscommunication that hampered the delivery of aid to
survivors in the first days after the temblor that has killed tens of thousands
and reduced buildings to mountains of rubble
shah said the united states and the united nations had set up coordination
center
we will coordinate and synchronize all of the efforts to insure that we are
putting what we need where it needed as quickly as possible using all assets
available within the country said shah
the us military which will eventually have around troops on the ground
has taken charge of operating port au prince airport and tensions have risen as
poor coordination has delayed deliveries of desperately needed aid
it matter of balance between getting relief supplies on the ground and
getting the people on the ground keen said
iraq chemical ali sentenced to death for halabja attack
baghdad jan afp
saddam hussein notorious henchman chemical ali was on sunday sentenced to
death for ordering the gassing of kurds in the iraqi town of halabja brutal
attack that killed an estimated people
ali hassan al majid is to die by hanging having been found guilty of the
atrocity in the northeast of the country as the iran iraq war drew to close in
an iconic moment that symbolised the barbarity of saddam regime
the ruling shown on the state run al iraqiya television channel is the fourth
time that majid better known by his macabre nickname has received death
sentence it is not known when he will finally be executed
his execution has previously been held up by legal wrangling the first
conviction was due to have been carried out by october but delayed so as
not to coincide with the muslim holy month of ramadan
the hanging was also deferred because it needed approval from iraq three
member presidential council
judge abud mustapha al hamani branded majid offences as deliberate murder
crime against humanity when the verdict was delivered amid muffled applause in
the courtroom
al hamdulillah al hamdulillah praise be to god said majid who stood
stone faced in the dock in traditional black and gold coloured arab robe and
black and white keffiyeh headdress before the broadcast ended abruptly
three quarters of the victims at halabja were women and children in what is
thought to be the deadliest ever gas attack carried out against civilians
am so happy at this verdict and really would like to see him executed in
front of my own eyes said shurnam hassan who lost her husband and two
sons in the attack
dozens of people gathered at cemetery in halabja following the verdict where
they played music and cheered in celebration although their joy was not
unreserved
am happy at the decision but am sad also as the court did not consider his
crime to be genocide as we did said omeed hamaa ali halabja resident
who lost his mother three brothers and three sisters in the gassing
three other men were also convicted for their role in the halabja attacks
sultan hashem ahmed former defence minister and saber abdul aziz hussein al
duri an ex intelligence chief were sentenced to years in jail farhan
mutlak al juburi former iraqi army chief was ordered to serve years
close cousin of saddam majid earned his moniker for ordering poisonous gas
attacks in brutal scorched earth campaign of bombings and mass deportations
