and weigh pounds kilos
federal officials have warned that asian carp which have no natural predators
could have devastating effect on the great lakes ecosystem and
significant economic impact on the seven billion dollar sport and commercial
fishing industry
from what we have seen in other parts of the country asian carp could out
compete our native sport and commercial fish in southern lake michigan
charlie wooley deputy regional director of the us fish and wildlife service
fws said in statement
we call them an aquatic vacuum cleaner because they filter important food
resources out of the water and turn it into carp biomass
it possible that the dna discovered in two different samples could come from
decomposed carp which was carried through the electric barriers officials said
or it could come from eggs that were transported on the belly of bird another
possibility is that flooding may have allowed the carp may to swim around the
barriers
the short answer is we just don know said fws spokeswoman ashley spratt
we have not actually seen live carp above the barrier she told afp the
information we currently have does not suggest they re there in sustainable
populations
teams will set out on boats as soon as weather allows to search the lake for
signs of live carp and the regional coordinating committee will accelerate its
efforts to block their spread she said
officials are considering number of options including another mass kill
through poisoning sterilizing males to slow breeding building new electrical
barriers and researching other biological controls
the test results were released hours after the fight to block the carp was dealt
blow by the us supreme court which refused to force the closure of the
chicago shipping canal system as an emergency measure to stop the invasion
the motion of michigan for preliminary injunction is denied the supreme court
wrote in single line ruling
michigan attorney general mike cox called upon president barack obama to use his
executive powers to close the locks and said he hoped the supreme court would
consider the issue more carefully in another pending case
am extremely disappointed the supreme court did not push the pause button on
this crisis until an effective plan is in place cox said in statement
while the injunction would have been an extraordinary step by the court
michigan and the other great lakes states are facing an extraordinary crisis
that could forever alter the lakes permanently killing thousands of jobs at
time when families can least afford it
asian carp were originally imported to the southern united states in the
to help keep retention ponds clean at fish farms and waste water treatment
plants
heavy flooding helped them escape into the mississippi in the and they
have since migrated into the missouri and illinois rivers
should they make it into lake michigan in large numbers it would be extremely
difficult to stop their spread throughout the five interconnected great lakes
and up into the st lawrence seaway
nba stackhouse set for return with bucks
milwaukee wisconsin jan afp
jerry stackhouse who has not played regular role for an nba club for
months due to injuries is set to return wednesday for the milwaukee bucks and
discover what he can contribute
stackhouse played only games last season for the dallas mavericks because of
foot injury and was traded to the memphis grizzlies who bought out his
contract the free agent forward finally found an nba job monday for the bucks
don know where am honestly stackhouse said not playing in over
year your guess is about as good as mine
the thing about it is just happy to be back not trying to force the
issue knew still had some gas in the tank and wanted to try to get to
place to utilize my talent
stackhouse will start his th nba season when the bucks play host to
toronto
the bucks are two games out of the last playoff spot in the eastern
conference and seeking their first playoff berth since
stackhouse who has career average of points game is former teammate
of bucks coach scott skiles on the philadelphia ers
it low risk move for us that we hope pays off skiles said one thing
that stack has always had is level of toughness he out there to compete
un to send extra troops police to haiti
united nations jan afp
the security council voted tuesday to send extra security personnel to
quake hit haiti to help maintain order and protect aid convoys as the world body
mourned its dead exactly one week after the powerful temblor
the member council recognizing the dire circumstances and urgent need for
response unanimously backed request to beef up the un forces in the
caribbean nation made by un chief ban ki moon on monday
am grateful to the security council for its swift action ban told
reporters after it agreed in its vote that the un mission in haiti minustah
now will consist of military component of up to troops of all ranks and
of police component of up to
we must do all we can to get these extra forces on the ground as soon as
possible so that they can help maintain order and deliver humanitarian
assistance ban added
the un boss later led poignant ceremony to honor the un quake victims at
pm gmt in the general assembly exactly one week after the quake struck
and moment was observed throughout the united nations at that time
somber looking ban then bowed deeply as he faced the un flag that had been
flying atop the headquarters of the un mission in haiti minustah which was
flattened by the quake
after the wreath laying ceremony hundreds of un staff including many haitians
diplomats and journalists held candlelight vigil at an outdoor plaza
the january magnitude quake struck the impoverished nation of nine
million people killing at least according to the haitian government
the capital port au prince has been left largely in ruins by the quake which
also destroyed the minustah headquarters
un officials confirmed the deaths of at least staffers including
brazilians with more than still unaccounted for in the worst tragedy ever
to strike to world body
they also released more names among those fatalities
during his six hour visit to port au prince sunday ban saw first hand the
extensive devastation and expressed solidarity with quake victims and shell
shocked un staff
our chief priority is to get the relief distribution in port au prince fully
operational so that we may more efficiently distribute supplies food water
medicines tents the un boss said
ban call came amid fears that desperation at the slow pace of aid could spill
over into widespread violence in country that has long running security
troubles
thousands of homeless haitians were prey to roving bands of looters swarming
through the ruins of port au prince with only sporadic presence of police and
military officials tasked with protecting the vulnerable populace
but in videoconference from port au prince un spokesman david wimhurst
dismissed reports of widespread looting and chaos as wildly exaggerated
edmond mulet the acting minustah chief said there was some security concern
particularly with the escape of inmates from the city main prison
including some gang leaders
but he noted that generally the security situation is under control
china un ambassador zhang yesui the council chair this month said meanwhile
the extra troops and police would be deployed for six months
head of un peacekeeping operations alain le roy said monday the reinforcements
would be used to protect humanitarian convoys and build aid corridors linking
port au prince with neighboring dominican republic and northern haitian port
the haitian capital main port was heavily damaged in the quake and will
require weeks if not months of repairs
the extra un troops would also serve as reserve force in case the security
situation deteriorates leroy said
le roy said the dominican republic had agreed to dispatch battalion of
troops for arrival as early as this week and that other countries notably from
latin america and the european union were considering offers
mulet meanwhile said memorandum of understanding had been reached with both
the united states and canada under which the un remains in charge of
coordinating the relief distribution
but forces from the two countries would be used to protect aid convoys in their
separate areas of responsibility
us forces would operate mainly in the port au prince area while the canadians
would deploy in southern haiti including the city of jacmel he said
the un mission in haiti currently has roughly troops police and
about civilian personnel
it has been deployed since mid to help stabilize the impoverished nation
already the poorest in the americas
bank of england governor calls for imf to join forces
london jan afp
the governor of the bank of england called tuesday for radical overhaul of the
system of global financial governance in bid to prevent repeat of the
firestorm that tore the world economy apart
mervyn king proposed the group of industrialised nations should join forces
with the international monetary fund to stop imbalances developing in the world
economy
such system of oversight was needed to cope with the entry into the system of
fast emerging economies such as china and india he said
the legitimacy and leadership of the would be enhanced if it were seen as
representing views of other countries too king said in speech at the
university of exeter southwest england
that could be achieved if the were to metamorphose into governing council
for the imf and at the same time acquire procedure for voting on decisions
new system must seek to ensure countries coordinate economic policy so
unsustainable imbalances do not emerge king said
these imbalances saw emerging giants such as china storing up huge savings in
the form of currency reserves while developed countries such as the us became
consumers often of asian exports and dug themselves into huge debt
the pattern of poor countries saving lot and rich countries borrowing was not
sustainable king said
he highlighted that china was currently holding reserves of more than two
trillion dollars trillion pounds trillion euros and japan one
trillion dollars
the creation of new system to deal with the issue was urgent king said
warning that having narrowed somewhat at the height of the crisis the
imbalances are now widening again
the governor further said the credibility could be damaged if it came to
be viewed as mere talking shop
so far the only specific agreement is to talk to each other he said
concrete steps to reduce the scale of global imbalances have to date been
notable by their absence
smiling family photographs marking the attendance at international gatherings
are no substitute for specific actions
king also warned of long period of healing ahead for the global economy in
britain living standards would be hit as inflation rose he said
there is little scope for growth in real take home pay which may remain weak
as output recovers he said
his comments came on the same day it emerged inflation in britain had risen at
record rate to hit percent in december
costa rica seeks detention for us woman in murder case
san jose jan afp
costa rica prosecutor general called tuesday for an american woman accused of
killing her multimillionaire husband to be given four months of preventative
detention
the woman is accused of murdering john bender an american who had lived in
costa rica for years and whose death was initially described as suicide
bender wife who has not been named was admitted to clinic suffering from
anxiety but remains under police surveillance
bender former biologist whose fortune was estimated at some million
dollars was discovered with gunshot wound to the head on january
authorities revised their initial ruling of suicide after noting that the bullet
that killed bender was fired from the right side of his head even though he was
left handed
us plans more talks with china on google row diplomat
washington jan afp
the us and chinese governments have had multiple meetings about row between
google and china over internet freedom and plan to have more in the next few
days senior us diplomat said tuesday
kurt campbell us secretary of state hillary clinton top diplomat for east
asia gave few details about the talks except to say they had taken place
on the google china issue think it would be fair to say that the us
government has had multiple meetings with chinese authorities on this matter and
will have more in the coming days campbell told reporters
it is also the case that we take this matter very seriously he said
now it is also clear that china has denied the allegations made by google but
we also think that the chinese are in the best position to explain this and we
are asking them for an explanation
campbell would not say whether washington had made formal request to beijing
for an explanation as the state department promised would be the case last
week
but senior state department official speaking to reporters on condition of
anonymity replied not yet when asked to confirm whether washington had
delivered the demarche
when asked why it was taking so long the official replied we are managing
relationship and we are discussing this with the chinese
we want to see transparent investigation of this to some extent we are still
trying to figure out what exactly happened the official said adding that he
did not know if clinton herself had raised the issue with the chinese
in statement last week clinton informally asked for an explanation from china
for what google said was wave of highly sophisticated cyberattacks aimed at
chinese human rights activists
the white house last thursday backed google decision to no longer submit to
china internet censorship in row the search giant warned could lead it to
pull out of the country
the row has threatened to rattle ties between washington and beijing already
frayed over number of issues from the copenhagen climate change debacle to
the value of the chinese yuan and number of other trade disputes
clinton will meanwhile deliver remarks on internet freedom on thursday laying
out president barack obama administration strategy for protecting freedom
in the networked age of the st century the state department said
several fatalities in virginia shooting police
washington jan afp
shooting in virginia on tuesday caused several fatalities and law
enforcement officials were still searching for the gunman state police said
sergeant thomas molnar spokesman for the virginia state police told afp there
had been several fatalities that relate to shooting that was in the area
there is just one male suspect he added
the incident unfolded around noon gmt when deputy from the appomattox
sheriff office responded to call about man lying down beside road
when the deputy arrived on scene the deputy heard several gun shots and he in
turn contacted his dispatch center and they dispatched several more of their
deputies to the scene along with contacting the virginia state police for
assistance molnar said
six hours later officers from the appomattox sheriff office the virginia
state police and several other local county police departments were searching
for the suspect within cordoned off perimeter
the perimeter has been established and we believe the suspect is within the
quarantined area molnar said
there were no immediate details on the casualties or indication about the
gunman motive
boxing pacquiao looks to clobber clottey after blood feud
dallas texas jan afp
filipino superstar manny pacquiao began promoting his march welterweight
fight against ghana joshua clottey on tuesday moving past failed talks with
floyd mayweather and looking ahead
pacquiao with two drawn and knockouts will defend his world boxing
organization title against clottey with knockouts on the same date he
was expected to face unbeaten us star mayweather before negotiations broke off
it going to be good fight pacquiao said clottey he is good fighter
top fighter and he is bigger than me have to prepare hard for this fight
and train hard and focus
mayweather request for unprecedented random blood testing was rejected by
pacquiao camp to deny boxing fans long awaited showdown between the sport
pound for pound kings that could have been million dollar payday for each
but clottey served notice that he intends to be more than simply fill in
fighter destined to fall to the philippines powerhouse
this is going to be hell of fight clottey said love manny pacquiao
if you throw punches at him he will throw back at you know what going
to face
the matchup will headline the first fight card at billion dollar cowboys
stadium home of the famed american football squad from dallas each fighter
sported cowboys jersey as cheerleaders screamed beneath huge video screen
it building for great competitions it bodes well for us to get manny
pacquiao into the ring said cowboys owner jerry jones whose guarantee of
million dollars was not enough to bring pacquiao mayweather fight together
freddie roach pacquiao trainer made it clear after the news conference that
hard feelings remain over the failue to make pacquiao mayweather happen after
compromise of no blood test within two weeks of the fight
pacquiao is disappointed the fight is not here roach told espn life goes on
without mayweather he wouldn agree to limit of days before the fight
we did our best to appease him but he wouldn go along with it
mayweather people agreed to it but mayweather wouldn go along with it
don think he wants to fight manny it was smoke screen for him to say no
want to beat this guy ass believe me but he won give us the
opportunity we will fight him any day of the week but he doesn make the
rules
pacquiao dislikes having blood drawn so near fight saying it weakens him
roach said he could not afford blood test to distract pac man so near
fight and dismissed the idea his fighter had anything to hide
there are always doubters out there but manny pacquiao is clean roach said
he has passed every drug test in the world
international death toll from haiti quake rises
paris jan afp
the tens of thousands of people dead and missing after haiti devastating
earthquake week ago includes nationals from more than countries according
to compilation of various figures
following is breakdown of foreign nationals confirmed killed or reported
missing after the january disaster
news of people from brazil canada the democratic republic of congo india
ireland niger and guatemala were all confirmed on tuesday and haitian officials
said the overall death toll had risen above
argentina policeman serving with the united nations was killed
australia an australian british un worker was confirmed dead but the
government has accounted for all australians in the country
austria year old austrian woman working for german aid development
organization died in hospital from injuries suffered when wall collapsed the
foreign ministry in vienna said
belgium the foreign ministry has said that belgians were unaccounted for in
haiti three were officially listed as missing
brazil total of brazilians have been confirmed as killed soldiers
with the un peacekeeping mission in haiti and two civilians the deputy head
of the un mission luiz carlos da costa and high profile children rights
campaigner zilda arns
britain london confirmed the first british fatality as year old un worker
and said another briton is missing
burkina faso ouagadougou said burkinabe nationals are missing but no figures
or details are available
canada the foreign ministry said that canadians were confirmed killed in the
quake and are still missing
chile year old chilean woman working for the un was confirmed killed and
another chilean national was missing the government said
china beijing said eight nationals four peacekeepers and four others who were
part of chinese public security team were killed
democratic republic of congo congolese audit assistant for the un was among
those who died at the
france total of french citizens have been confirmed killed and remain
unaccounted for
germany one german citizen was killed and eight others are missing in haiti
according to the foreign ministry
guatemala the body of guatemalan national working for the un was pulled out
of the debris of the world body mission headquarters on tuesday his family
said
india an it technician from india was confirmed to be among the un dead on
tuesday
ireland un official with dual irish and us citizenship was killed according
to the foreign ministry in dublin
italy authorities had no news of nationals including two un workers
another italian is believed dead
jordan at least three soldiers with the un peacekeeping contingent were killed
mauritius the foreign ministry said it had not heard from two mauritian
citizens one serving with the un and the other in the tourist sector
mexico total of mexicans were unaccounted for according to the foreign
ministry one mexican resident of port au prince died when hospital where she
was patient collapsed
the netherlands the dutch foreign ministry said dutch nationals in haiti at
the time of the quake including two couples and their three adoptive children
were still missing
new zealand according to new zealand family members two new zealand born
children and their french haitian father were believed killed in collapsed
port au prince hotel
niger security officer from niger was listed by the un among the dead on
tuesday
philippines manila confirmed the deaths of two filipinos one male civilian
un staff member and one female soldier serving with the un peacekeepers
two other filipino peacekeepers are missing and believed trapped in the rubble
of the christopher hotel according to the philippine armed forces
peru year old peruvian working with the un was crushed by falling wall
relative told lima radio station
poland one student is missing according to the foreign ministry
portugal two citizens could not be contacted according to the department for
portuguese communities
senegal two policemen serving with the un mission were missing the senegalese
police said
spain three spaniards are reported killed in the quake haitian born
spaniard and his wife and woman police officer working for the un mission
according to spanish media
syria syrian man and his wife were killed their bodies found under the
rubble of their shop and three other syrians injured according to the
country embassy in haiti
thailand the foreign ministry said one thai missionary was missing
tunisia the tunisian civilian head of the un mission to haiti hedi annabi was
killed
united nations forty seven un personnel have been confirmed killed and more
than are missing or unaccounted for un spokesman martin nesirky said
united states the united states confirmed tuesday that of its citizens were
killed including one working for the government there were an estimated
americans in haiti
several fatalities in virginia shooting police
washington jan afp
shooting in virginia on tuesday caused several fatalities and law
enforcement officials were still searching for the gunman state police said
sergeant thomas molnar spokesman for the virginia state police told afp
there had been several fatalities that relate to shooting that was in the
area
police have established perimeter around the area in appamattox virginia and
were searching for the lone gunman molnar said
avatar rules box office eyes titanic record
los angeles jan afp
science fiction epic avatar surged past the million dollar mark at the
north american box office this weekend maintaining its push towards an all time
record final figures showed tuesday
director james cameron groundbreaking spectacular added to its haul over
the four day martin luther king holiday weekend with another million
dollars box office tracker exhibitor relations said
the movie has raked in more than billion dollars worldwide since its release
and is on course to overtake cameron oscar winner titanic which
remains the highest grossing film of all time with billion dollars
in north america avatar has earned million dollars in only days and
now stands third behind batman sequel the dark knight million
dollars and titanic million
the records are starting to look inevitable now cameron will end up sinking
his own ship quipped exhibitor relations chief analyst jeff bock in reference
to avatar pursuit of titanic
the box office numbers have moved beyond the usual demographics people who
would never normally go to see science fiction film or film in are going
to see avatar because they want to be part of the conversation
and it is also attracting repeat business people going to see it two three
four or five times that is extremely unusual for film released outside the
summer season
this weekend stellar performance came as avatar celebrated its best drama
and best director accolades at sunday golden globe awards in beverly hills
confirming the film status as an oscars front runner
the enduring appeal of avatar proved too much for denzel washington vehicle
book of eli an action movie set in post apocalyptic world which debuted
with respectable million dollars
in third place was lord of the rings director peter jackson latest film
the lovely bones an adaptation of alice sebold acclaimed novel about
murdered schoolgirl who helps her family catch the man who killed her from the
afterlife the film starring irish actress saoirse ronan and susan sarandon
picked up million dollars in its first weekend on wide release
in fourth was family film alvin and the chipmunks the squeakquel which added
another million dollars to its four week haul of million
hong kong film legend jackie chan weighed in at fifth place with his slapstick
comedy the spy next door which took million dollars
sixth place was occupied by sherlock holmes with million dollars
director guy ritchie high octane take on the adventures of sir arthur conan
doyle legendary london detective played by robert downey junior has taken
million dollars in four weeks
love triangle comedy it complicated starring meryl streep alec baldwin and
steve martin dropped to seventh taking million dollars
falling two spots to eighth was leap year romantic comedy starring amy
adams and adam scott which took million
ninth belonged to the blind side about white couple who give an illiterate
black teen home and new lease on life earning million dollars
up in the air starring george clooney in the acclaimed story of corporate
downsizer who questions his role in life rounded out the top with
million dollars
urgent several fatalities in virginia shooting state police
washington jan afp
shooting in virginia on tuesday caused several fatalities and law
enforcement officials were still searching for the gunman state police said
alert
several fatalities in virginia shooting state police
obese flyers to pay more with air france klm
the hague jan afp
obese people who are unable to squeeze into single plane seat will have to pay
nearly double to travel on fully booked air france klm flights in future the
company said tuesday
extra large flyers will have to pay percent of the cost of second seat the
full price excluding tax and surcharges on top of the full price for the first
spokeswoman monique matze told afp saying the decision was taken for safety
reasons
we have to make sure that the backrest can move freely up and down and that all
passengers are securely fastened with safety belt said matze
people who cannot fit into single seat are fastened by slotting the belt tip
of one seat into the plug of the next stretching over both seats
by paying for both the overweight passenger will be assured that two seats will
be available next to each other they will however get their money back on
flights that are not fully booked said matze
the new measure will apply for people who book their tickets from february for
all flights from april this year
the average plane seat is centimetres about inches wide
centimetres for long haul flights
tornado warning in california as storm hits
los angeles jan afp
rare tornado warning was issued for los angeles tuesday as storm slammed
into southern california dumping heavy rain and snow across the region and
leaving thousands of homes without power
national weather service meteorologists said strong storm moving in from the
pacific ocean and packing winds of around miles kilometers per hour had
triggered the alert which was cancelled at around pm gmt
the storm rolling into southern california on tuesday followed similar weather
front which deluged the region hours earlier
authorities placed hillside communities on alert for flash flooding and
mudslides major concern in regions affected by raging wildfires last year
tuesday storm was one of series of wet weather fronts forecast to hit
southern california this week which are expected to drop as much as inches
centimeters of rain in some areas
local power companies reported tuesday that engineers were working to restore
power to nearly customers suffering outages because of the weather
football scottish cup draw
glasgow jan afp
revised draw for the fifth round of the scottish cup after tuesday fourth
round matches
th rd draw
dunfermline celtic
st johnstone dundee united
hibernian montrose
livingston or dundee ayr united
raith rovers aberdeen
kilmarnock inverness ct
st mirren rangers
ross county albion rovers or stirling
ties to be played on the weekend of february
corrected two goal tevez back to haunt united
manchester england jan afp
carlos tevez whose move across manchester was the source of so much
