people
in the longterm the villages are to shelter up to one million people larsen
said
two sites have been selected said the minister one closer to port au prince
and the other near the town croix de bouquets about miles kilometers
east of the capital
we will set up other villages larsen said adding that the government was
seeking other sites for them
larsen said earlier that around million people were left homeless by the
earthquake and that the government expected the final death toll to reach around
people
at the health ministry we ve counted more than bodies he said
including those counted by the united nations mission in haiti minustah
haiti pm urges donors to help colossal rebuilding
montreal jan afp
haitian prime minister jean max bellerive urged donors monday to swing behind
his nation massive reconstruction as aid groups called for haiti billion
dollar foreign debt to be wiped clean
just want to say that the people of haiti will need to be helped to face this
colossal work of reconstruction bellerive told international officials as
closed door talks in montreal began
the government of haiti wants to assure the entire world that it will remember
and be worthy of the exceptional sympathy that it receives he added
the talks are aimed at defining key strategies to rebuild the country from the
ground up in the wake of the magnitude quake which struck the caribbean
nation on january
among those attending were canadian prime minister stephen harper us secretary
of state hillary clinton and french foreign minister bernard kouchner along
with officials from dozen other nations
haiti was victim once again of natural catastrophe beyond measure
bellerive said
my country witnessed not only buildings and infrastructure collapse but it was
viscerally affected by the loss of hundreds of thousands of human lives he
said adding the police and government offices were decimated
the january earthquake left dead million homeless and hundreds of
thousands hungry and injured
even now in the midst of inconceivable devastation we must begin to plan to
give hope where there is despair by joining with the people of haiti to develop
common vision and plan for better life and future canadian foreign
minister lawrence cannon said
it is here that shared commitment is not enough clear vision coordination and
adherence to key principles of aid effectiveness will be essential to accelerate
our efforts and avoid duplication cannon added
an umbrella group of canadian and haitian aid organizations called on donors
here to cancel more than one billion us dollars in foreign debt
we hope that you use the weight of your governments to convince international
financial institutions to cancel haiti entire foreign debt said eric
faustin director of rocahd the coalition of canadian haitian development
organizations
ministers and officials from the united nations also discussed how to streamline
delivery of food water drugs and medical supplies to the swelling number of
people living in makeshift camps around the shattered capital of port au prince
washington has taken frontline role in the disaster relief effort sending in
tens of thousands of troops and rescue teams and anchoring hospital ship
offshore to treat injured haitians
television and internet images of the destitute and dying as the able bodied
searched amid the tangled steel and concrete rubble of the capital triggered
worldwide outpouring of donations
donor countries are seeking to use the groundswell of support for haiti as an
opportunity to transform country that has historically faced grinding poverty
political corruption and bloodshed
diplomats have raised the possibility of kind of marshall plan for the island
nation similar to the us led postwar reconstruction of europe which would take
decades and require colossal commitment of resources and money
experts have warned that hundreds of thousands of haitians will be living off
foreign aid and in temporary housing for years to come during the slow
reconstruction process thousands have been left disabled
foreign ministers and other officials from brazil chile peru uruguay mexico
costa rica the dominican republic japan and spain were also present in
montreal
they were joined by officials from the european union the organization of
american states the inter american development bank the world bank and the
international monetary fund
japan said it would pledge million dollars in aid to haiti and deploy as many
as peacekeepers to the un mission there
the montreal talks were expected to lay the groundwork for full fledged donors
conference on haiti in the coming weeks
amp assigns dubai holding negative outlook
dubai jan afp
credit rating agency standard and poor has assigned state owned dubai holding
negative outlook and withdrawn its rating for the group because of lack of
information it said on monday
amp said in statement that it had assigned dubai holding negative
outlook and removed it from creditwatch with negative implications where it
had been placed on april
the agency said it had initially lowered the long term corporate credit rating
of the group to from bb
we subsequently withdrew the rating due to what we consider to be inadequate
timeliness of information and insufficient documentation provided by dubai
holding commercial operations group dhcog to maintain our surveillance it
said
dubai holding responded to amp announcement by declaring that it has
itself dropped amp as rating agency due to its lack of understanding of
dhcog business its operations and relationship with the government of dubai
although dhcog has been engaging with amp and sharing adequate information
frequently and in transparent manner amp has nevertheless issued
inaccurate statements coupled with factual errors that are misleading it said
in statement received by afp
therefore dhcog discredits and disagrees with the content of the latest
amp report dated january it added
the dubai group said it would continue to work with other rating agencies and
directly with investors in full transparency
amp credit analyst pierre george had said the rating actions reflect our
base case scenario based on the information we currently have which notably
incorporates materially weaker than anticipated cash flow generation by dhcog
the agency said it expected lower sales and lower selling prices of real estate
units and still high cash outflows related to new investments
amp announcement is the latest upset for the debt ridden emirate which
rocked global markets in november when it requested six month freeze on debt
payments by dubai world dubai largest conglomerate in order to restructure
it
state firms in dubai have since fallen from grace with the government also
saying it would not guarantee its corporates debts
in its statement on dubai holding on monday amp said the lack of
information from dhcog has reduced certainty about ongoing support from the
dubai government which it previously factored into the rating as key credit
strength
we now do not factor any ongoing government support into our rating because of
this lack of information
we also see the lack of market transparency and reliable market data and the
level of available financial information which we consider low as other
negative factors
amp said the group ability to meet its debt maturities could
ultimately be weakened
we believe that dhcog exposure to the severe downturn in the dubai real
estate market also constrains its credit quality we understand that free cash
flows are likely to be negative for and
dubai holding has several subsidiaries including three real estate firms dubai
properties tatweer and sama dubai that were supposed to merge with the giant
property developer emaar before the latter pulled out in december describing
the link up as unfeasible
dubai world is currently negotiating with its creditors to restructure some
million dollars of debt owed by its troubled subsidiaries
these include nakheel the real estate giant that was set to default on the
repayment of islamic bonds worth billion dollars last month when the dubai
government stepped in to cover the debt after receiving billion dollar
bailout from its oil rich neighbour abu dhabi
african coalition urges eu to block new ivory sales
brussels jan afp
african nations on monday urged european governments to resist calls for new
round of legal ivory sales and protect the world elephant population
representatives of the country coalition for the african elephant came to
brussels seeking support after tanzania and zambia each requested fresh
authorisations from international regulators
we are asking the european union to take clear stance in support of nine
year moratorium adopted in by the convention on international trade in
endangered species cites kenyan forest and fauna minister noah wekesa told
journalists
experts say some african elephants are killed each year for their tusks
out of total numbers of perhaps half million
with black market sales on the rise again some nations that consider their
elephant populations to be out of danger are arguing stocks of the precious
ivory should be sold legally
tanzania wants to be able to sell tonnes of ivory and zambia tonnes but
both need permission from the cites international body when it next meets in
doha qatar from march to
ban on ivory sales measure destined to protect the african elephant
and rhino was relaxed in june under compromise that prolonged the
moratorium but allowed botswana namibia south africa and zimbabwe to make
one off sale of tonnes to buyers in china and japan
the eu plays major role within cites wekesa insisted if it abstains
during this vote it will contribute towards worsening an already critical
situation
the last elephants in sierra leone have been slaughtered by poachers only in
the last few months he warned
the eu common position has yet to be worked out said liberal dutch lawmaker
gerben jan gerbrandy
britain france the netherlands and spain don yet know what they will do
although they are inclined towards backing tanzania call he said
if the member states cannot agree they abstain which will be the
equivalent of green light to the poachers gerbrandy warned
negotiator told afp on monday that member states were working to find
consensus to ensure african elephants are protected
whitacre confirmed gm chief vows to repay govt by june
detroit jan afp
ed whitacre said monday he agreed to be permanent chief executive and chairman
at struggling us auto giant general motors and vowed to repay government loans
by june
whitacre had stepped in as the temporary ceo after fritz henderson quit the
position last december as the number one american auto company reeled from
financial crisis
the board of directors asked if would be willing to stay on at gm and help
continue the company road back to success he told press conference at gm
headquarters in detroit
having spent the past few months learning the business meeting with our
employees customers and dealers and working with the gm leadership team was
both honored and pleased to accept this role he said
this is great company with an even greater future and want to be part of
it he said
gm entered into bankruptcy protection on june last year with liabilities of
billion dollars and billion in debt
whitacre expressed the gm board commitment that the company would pay back in
full the us treasury and the canadian and ontario government loans by june
we ve made significant progress in the past couple of months so much so that
can confirm with certainty that we will pay back in full the us treasury and
canadian and ontario government loans by june whitacre said
this represents significant milestone in our journey back to being
profitable and viable company
the automaker had said it would make its first payment of billion dollars
last month on billion debt to the us treasury
gm also said then it would begin to repay billion canadian dollar loan and
intends to pay off that loan quickly
the automaker has already repaid million euro bridge loan to the opel
trust
general motors received billion dollars in government aid amid its
spectacular collapse
much of that aid was converted into stock in the new company which emerged from
bankruptcy protection in july
the us government obtained percent stake the canadian government received
an percent stake united auto workers union retiree trust fund received
percent stake and bondholders received percent stake
whitacre was installed as chairman when the auto giant emerged from bankruptcy
last year with us government support
former chairman and ceo of telecom giant at amp whitacre was first
installed to the posts in new company board controlled in large part by the us
government under gm bankruptcy plan
whitacre was described in recent wall street journal report as hard charging
texan with penchant for killing rattlesnakes for sport
he is known for taking over companies and imposing his will on its employees
starting at the top the report said
henderson took the helm at gm in late march last year as the auto giant was
headed toward bankruptcy and living off massive aid from the us government
he replaced rick wagoner who was forced out of the job by the administration of
president barack obama
gm has been undergoing massive restructuring since the government gave it the
kiss of life
in the latest move gm europe announced last week it was to close an entire car
production plant in belgium making workers redundant and ramping up an
already tense climate of industrial unrest
it is the second major factory closure announced by carmakers in europe this
month after italy fiat acted to shut plant in sicily
europe wide restructuring at gm opel unit is expected to shed jobs from
total of almost half of which are located in germany
us existing home sales plunge in december
washington jan afp
us existing home sales plunged in december following buyers rush to take
advantage of tax credits industry data showed monday signaling murky outlook
for the troubled sector
the national association of realtors nar said sales fell percent to
seasonally adjusted annual rate of million units while prices rose
percent year on year
though decline had been widely anticipated it was much sharper than the
million units expected by most analysts and was the steepest monthly drop since
nar began tracking the data series in
nar said the drop had been expected after sales surged from september through
november as first time buyers rushed to take advantage of federal tax credits
originally due to expire on november
congress passed and president barack obama signed an extension of the first time
tax credit that expands it to include other home purchases made prior to april
it was unclear whether the second tax credit would jump start sales overall or
just bring them forward said patrick newport us economist at ihs global
insight
so far the second credit appears to be having minimal effect he said
adding that mortgage applications to purchase homes on four week moving
average were near their lowest level since despite historically low
mortgage interest rate levels
the december existing home sales number was percent above the year ago
level the industry group said
it significant that home sales remain above year ago levels but the market
is going through period of swings driven by the tax credit said lawrence
yun nar chief economist
we likely have another surge in the spring as home buyers take advantage
of the extended and expanded tax credit
first time home buyers represented percent of the market in december
compared with percent the prior month
the industry group noted that sales had risen every month since april apart
from slight dip in august and had often topped expectations
for all of million existing homes were sold up pecent from
and the first annual sales gain since
the national median sales price was dollars in december an increase of
percent from year earlier it was the first year over year gain since
august
the best development for the future of housing is to see prices rise said
robert brusca at fao economics nothing will bring people back to housing like
the notion that prices are firming up
yun highlighted that elevated unemployment poses key challenge to recovery in
the troubled us housing sector where defaults on subprime mortgages more than
two years ago triggered the global financial crisis
the job market remains concern and could dampen the housing recovery job
creation is key to continued recovery in the second half of the year the nar
economist said
the unemployment rate held steady at percent in december while the economy
shed jobs according to official data
job growth low rates and better access to liquidity will be all needed to
keep the housing market recovering said andrew busch at bmo capital markets
total inventory of existing homes for sale at the end of december fell
percent to million representing month supply at the current sales
pace up from month supply in november
on an annual basis inventory at the end of december was percent below the
december level it was at the lowest level since march when the
housing price bubble began to collapse and percent below the july
record overhang
median prices fell weighed down by sales of distressed homes which accounted
for percent of total sales last year
for all of the median price was dollars down percent from
dollars in
ethiopian airlines an expanding african carrier
nairobi jan afp
ethiopian airlines whose jet crashed on monday after takeoff from beirut is
one of africa fastest growing airlines and has had good safety record for
more than decade
the carrier started operations in year after it was founded and is
considered to be among trio of sub saharan aviation giants alongside south
african airways and kenya airways
it serves international destinations with weekly international departures
from its addis ababa hub and total of weekly international departures
worldwide
on its website the company says that it hopes to increase revenue to one billion
dollars and to boost the number of international destinations it serves to in
ethiopian airlines which says it employs more than people currently has
fleet of aircraft and more on order
last week boeing said it had ordered jets in deal valued at
million dollars
until flight lost contact with beirut airport control shortly after takeoff
early monday and crashed into the mediterranean ethiopian had better safety
record than any other african airline except for south african airways
plane crashes caused by pilot error or maintenance negligence do not exist in
ethiopian airlines history ethiopian airlines ceo girma wake told reporters
in addis ababa monday
apart from an emergency landing earlier this month that left no casualties two
incidents involving the company go back more than years
earlier this month one of the company made an emergency landing at
malta airport while on its way from addis ababa to rome
the pilot reported problem with one of the two engines the passengers
continued their journey via london heathrow while the plane and its crew
remained in malta
in november ethiopian airlines flight was hijacked between addis ababa
and nairobi by three ethiopians seeking political asylum
the aircraft crashed into the indian ocean off the comoros when it ran out of
fuel killing of the people on board
in september one of the airline boeing made crash landing at bahar
dar in ethiopia after birds entered both engines during takeoff thirty one of
the people on board were killed
monday crash may be the airline third but the other two could not be blamed
on the carrier industry expert and editorial director of airguideonline aram
gesar told afp
it the third deadly crash they ve had in their history but you can really
blame bird strike or terrorist attack on the airline the pilot or the
aircraft he said
us senator urges haiti debt relief
washington jan afp
the inter american development bank haiti leading single creditor should
agree to debt moratorium to help the quake ravaged country recover us
senator said monday
democratic senator kirsten gillibrand urged us treasury secretary timothy
geithner to press the idb for moratorium on the million dollars haiti owes
the bank so that the country may focus on disaster relief and recovery
in my view haiti limited resources should be directed at recovery not
repayment for the foreseeable future gillibrand told geithner in the letter
according to her office
as an influential member of the idb board the united states should take
leadership and propose an immediate moratorium on haiti debt service
payments to the idb during the moratorium it is also critical that interest
not accrue she said
aid organizations and some of haiti other creditors have called for payment
moratorium or outright cancellation of haiti debt in the wake of the january
earthquake that devastated the improverished country
over million pledged in un haiti appeal
geneva jan afp
the united nations said monday that it has so far received pledges of more than
million dollars in emergency relief funding for quake hit haiti
representing nearly half of its target
the un office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs said total of
million dollars million euros had now been promised days after
it launched its appeal for million dollars in emergency aid
the funds are meant to go towards food medication water and tents for three
million people affected by the devastating january earthquake which
according to the haitian government claimed around lives
final haiti quake toll expected to be dead minister
port au prince jan afp
the final nationwide toll from haiti devastating earthquake is expected to be
dead health minister alex larsen said on monday with bodies
already counted
we re expecting figure of around dead larsen told journalists in
port au prince of the nationwide toll
at the health ministry we ve counted more than bodies he said
including those counted by the united nations mission in haiti minustah
the number of homeless is around one million
but communications minister marie laurence jocelyn lassegue insisted that
bodies had already been counted since the january quake
we can talk today of dead we should know they re those that have been
collected that have been buried in the capital alone she told journalists at
different press conference
it the cne health commission with the public works ministry so we can
count the number of people buried she said then there those that have been
buried directly by their families and those that died in other towns
jocelyn lassegue said on sunday that it very difficult to say but around
dead may not yet have been counted their bodies still trapped under the
rubble
the magnitude quake leveled much of the haitian capital and caused even
more extensive damage to towns nearer the tremor epicenter in the americas
worst ever recorded disaster
final haiti quake toll expected to be dead minister
port au prince jan afp
the final nationwide toll from haiti devastating earthquake is expected to be
dead health minister alex larsen said on monday with bodies
already counted
we re expecting figure of around dead larsen told journalists in
port au prince of the nationwide toll
at the health ministry we ve counted more than bodies he said
including those counted by the united nations mission in haiti minustah
the number of homeless is around one million
but communications minister marie lawrence jocelyn lassegue insisted that
bodies had already been counted since the january quake
we can talk today of dead we should know they re those that have been
collected that have been buried in the capital alone she told journalists at
different press conference
it the cne health commission with the public works ministry so we can
count the number of people buried she said then there those that have been
buried directly by their families and those that died in other towns
jocelyn lassegue said on sunday that it very difficult to say but around
dead may not yet have been counted their bodies still trapped under the
rubble
the magnitude quake leveled much of the haitian capital and caused even
more extensive damage to towns nearer the tremor epicenter in the americas
worst ever recorded disaster
saddam house of cards comes tumbling down
baghdad jan afp
ali hassan al majid known as chemical ali for his gassing of iraqi kurds is
the latest in growing line of saddam hussein henchmen to have been killed or
sent to the gallows
majid cousin of the executed former dictator was sentenced to death on
january for crimes against humanity after being found guilty of ordering the
gas attack on the northeastern town of halabja
the king of spades in the pack of cards of most wanted iraqis issued by the us
military in he had already been sentenced to hang for three other
convictions
these were for genocide over the kurdish offensives war crimes during an
ill fated shiite uprising in the south and murders of dozens of
shiites in baghdad sadr city and central city of najaf
two other saddam cohorts former defence minister sultan hashim al tai and ex
army deputy operations chief hussein rashid al tikriti were also ordered to
the gallows over the brutal offensives known as anfal in which an estimated
kurds were killed and villages wiped out
the government intended to hang the three at the same time
however its plans were hit by series of hitches including president jalal
talabani refusal to sign sultan hashim execution arguing he once provoked
the former regime official to revolt against saddam
both sultan hashim and tikriti have yet to face the gallows and remain in us
custody
nearly seven years after the us led invasion iraq judiciary has virtually
dismantled the inner circle of saddam ruthless regime mostly sunni arabs from
the tikrit region of northern iraq
saddam himself was hanged in december for crimes against humanity three
years after being dragged from hole in the ground near his hometown of tikrit
former vice president taha yassin ramadan like saddam convicted for crimes
against humanity over the killing of shiites in the was hanged in
march on the anniversary of the invasion
uday and qusay saddam two sons who were pillars of the regime were killed in
gunbattle with us troops in the northern city of mosul in july
barzan ibrahim hassan al tikriti half brother and former chief of the dreaded
mukhabarat intelligence service followed saddam to the gallows on january
his head was ripped from his body by the rope
awad ahmed al bandar the chief judge of saddam disbanded revolutionary court
also has been executed
izzat ibrahim al duri the king of diamonds in the us deck of cards is the most
wanted of saddam henchmen still at large he has million dollar bounty on
his head and is believed to be hiding in iraq or syria
he was saddam number two in the decision making revolutionary command council
having stood by his side since the coup that brought their baath party to
power
former deputy prime minister and foreign minister tareq aziz his master voice
on the international scene has been convicted for crimes against humanity
aziz suffered stroke in custody earlier this month and is reported to have
already had two heart attacks since turning himself in to us forces in april
just days after saddam was overthrown
his family has repeatedly called for his release on health grounds
saddam wife sajida khairallah tulfah hussein and eldest daughter raghad
among the women and children in saddam family who fled abroad before the us
occupation remain among those on us wanted list
italy seeks arab role on iran nuclear row
washington jan afp
italy foreign minister called monday for greater role for arab nations in
curbing iran disputed nuclear program saying it was an issue for more than
just western democracies
on visit to washington foreign minister franco frattini said that he agreed
with secretary of state hillary clinton to step up consultations with arab
nations on iran nuclear ambitions
we together have to prevent iran from going nuclear this is concern for all
of us for western democracies the united states and europe but for arab
states as well frattini told joint news conference
we are in perfect agreement in broadening the consultation of number of
states in the region that can be interested and are interested in talking about
what to do he said
of course those who want to go nuclear will be exploiting eventual divisions
we cannot allow them to do so he said
iran has historically had tense relations with many arab nations iran and iraq
fought brutal border war from to
since its islamic revolution iran has been an arch enemy of israel which
has been especially concerned at the prospect of iran developing nuclear
weapons
clinton said that she and her italian counterpart agreed that iran must fully
address international concerns about its nuclear program and end the repression
and abuse of its citizens
iran faces clear choice between continued isolation and living up to its
international obligations she said
president barack obama administration has offered dialogue with iran to end
three decades of mistrust but has voiced growing frustration as the islamic
republic balks at un backed offer to ease concerns about its nuclear program
while treading carefully the administration has in recent weeks stepped up its
