rescue
the united nations estimates that over people have been pulled out of the
wreckage so far another were found sunday rescuers told afp
the red cross has spoken of to dead but lieutenant general ken
keen the us general running the relief effort said the international community
should be prepared for the worst and the toll could be as high as
buck elton commander of us forces directing flights at the airport said that
the smallest planes now take off and land on the grass due to the lack of
second runway and that the traffic flow gets better every day
afp world news agenda
hong kong jan afp
what coming up around the world
feverish search for haiti quake survivors
ukraine braces for second presidential vote
berlusconi tax fraud trial resumes
port au prince rescue crews from around the world dig frantically in search of
survivors six days after powerful earthquake leveled much of the haitian
capital haiti quake
the un security council meets to discuss the dire situation in haiti haiti
quake un
kiev ukraine braces for run off between viktor yanukovich and prime minister
yulia tymoshenko after discredited orange revolution hero president viktor
yushchenko was eliminated in the first round of presidential polls ukraine
vote
milan the trial resumes for italian prime minister silvio berlusconi on charges
of tax fraud involving his media empire mediaset italy politics berlusconi
media trial
ankara the turkish man mehmet ali agca who attempted to assassinate pope john
paul ii in is released after years in prison italy pope
berlin israeli and german cabinets hold joint session with the two leaders
prime minister benjamin netanyahu and chancellor angela merkel set to hold
joint press conference germany israel diplomacy
santiago the official results of sunday presidential election for successor
to chilean president michelle bachelet chile vote
afp
haitians pray to god amid race to find survivors
port au prince jan afp
haitians sought comfort in their faith sunday flocking to pray in church ruins
as rescue teams raced against time to pull out any final survivors five days
after devastating earthquake
un chief ban ki moon flew in to assess what he called the most serious
humanitarian disaster in decades while security degenerated in the capital
with police killing man as they fired on looters ransacking market
the leading us general on the ground warned that might be reasonable
start point for the eventual toll but said it was still too early to predict
figure that might never be accurately known
clearly this is disaster of epic proportions and we ve got lot of work
ahead of us said lieutenant general ken keen who is running the vast us
military relief operation in the stricken caribbean nation
haitian officials and the red cross have said around people perished in
the quake but this figure could be conservative as tens of thousands of rotting
bodies have already been buried many in mass graves
after hours of painstaking digging through the ruins team from florida
unearthed seven year old girl man aged and year old woman in the
ruins of supermarket as dawn broke in the capital port au prince
dane was later pulled alive from the rubble of the un mission headquarters
without scratch on him but rescuers knew the likelihood of finding more
survivors was waning with every passing hour
hundreds of rioters ransacked hyppolite market in the heart of the devastated
capital as survivors besieged hospitals and make shift field clinics some
carrying the injured on their backs or on carts
police reinforcements descended on the market armed with shotguns and assault
rifles and one rioter man in his was fatally shot in the head an afp
photographer said
the church bells lay eerily silent sunday over the ruined capital but the
faithful still gathered in great numbers to pray for solace in the darkest hour
of this deeply religious nation
want to send message of hope because god is still with us even in the
depths of this tragedy and life is not over said father henry marie landasse
as he held mass in the ruins of the main cathedral
but with vital supplies of water and food still struggling to reach some of
those most in need many haitians were close to despair
life is really hard we have nothing said year old jean osee camped out
with his entire family in front of the presidential palace
don have much strength to feed him can look after him properly his
daughter louisoguine said cradling her curly haired baby
lieutenant general keen vowed to redouble efforts after bottles of water
and food rations were distributed on saturday while president barack
obama signed an order mobilizing military reserves particularly medical staff
to work on hospital ships
water purification units that can process liters gallons of
clean water per day were being rushed to the scene as the us worked to open
badly damaged ports needed to deliver vital fuel and supplies
the us military has been relying mainly on helicopters deployed from the uss
carl vinson aircraft carrier
the medecins sans frontiers doctors without borders aid group said that when
it opened an emergency hospital at carrefour poor district near leogane on
saturday crowds arrived almost immediately
patients arrived on handcarts or on men backs said msf emergency
coordinator hans van dillen
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
msf said their doctors and surgeons had been working around the clock
amputating limbs and performing caesarian sections on pregnant women
the united nations has estimated that three million people were affected and
left homeless some tent cities have sprung up in port au prince
according to the red cross
un office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs spokeswoman elisabeth
byrs said people had been pulled out alive from the debris on saturday
taking the total to more than since the teams started working afp knew of
just the four on sunday
we don give up hope to find more survivors stressed byrs the morale of
the rescue team is very high despite the hardship
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
russia gains as ukraine awakes from orange dream
kiev jan afp
whoever becomes ukraine next president russia has strengthened its influence
and the orange revolution dreams of creating different model for post soviet
states have suffered rude awakening
the revolution was the worst defeat of russian strongman vladimir putin
decade in power after he congratulated the winning pro kremlin candidate before
an uprising and court order annulled the rigged vote
but in stunning turnaround viktor yanukovich the same moscow leaning
candidate accused of rigging the elections in is ahead in exit polls for
the first round of presidential elections and will be favourite in the run off
yanukovich likely second round opponent prime minister yulia tymoshenko may
be an orange veteran but she has struck pragmatic tone on kremlin ties and
above all built up strong relationship with the ever important putin
the political career of defeated orange revolution figurehead president viktor
yushchenko who dreamed of turning ukraine away from russia towards eu and nato
membership appears to have sustained terminal blow
the new president will remove the conflicts with russia linked with yushchenko
both sides will look for new balance between the countries said volodymyr
fesenko director of the penta centre for political studies in kiev
while both tymoshenko and yanukovich have set joining the eu as policy goal
neither shares yushchenko enthusiasm for bringing ukraine into nato move
some analysts warned risked causing military conflict with russia
there are not too many differences between yanukovich and tymoshenko on
foreign policy said nico lange director of the ukraine programme at the konrad
adenauer foundation in kiev
russia can live with both of them very well
ksenia lyapina an mp close to yushchenko grimly acknowledged moscow has won
they can be congratulated the politics that tried to resist imperial pressures
has lost
as well as his aim of permanently extracting ukraine from russia orbit also
in tatters is yushchenko programme of pushing the country to eu membership
with an ambitious programme of domestic reform
many of the thousands from all over the country who in poured into kiev
independence square universally known as the maidan to support the
yushchenko cause have been left feeling painfully betrayed
despite their promises the orange leaders failed to end corruption reform
ukraine creaking justice system or crack down on the oligarchs instead they
became embroiled in damaging internal struggles
do not like the way the orange leaders squabbled and yushchenko betrayed the
maidan said maria petriv an accountant from the western city of lviv
what happened to his steps for the people what happened to putting the
bandits in jail
yet for all the election day despondency the orange revolution led to changes
in ukraine that are almost unique in the former soviet union
it now boasts vibrant media of websites news magazines and political talk
shows unafraid of touching on the most delicate of issues in contrast to the
turgid scene that existed before
for all the cynicism on election day there were no claims of violations from
either side of the magnitude of those that wrecked the vote
the country also has major opportunity in hosting the european football
championships jointly with poland unique chance for ukraine to showcase its
identity and cities to the world
there are achievements that are irreversible said lange of the adenauer
foundation
but it an evolutionary process and not revolutionary the problem with the
orange revolution was that the expectations inside and outside ukraine were far
too high he said
nfl favre vikings rout cowboys to reach super bowl brink
minneapolis minnesota jan afp
minnesota brett favre threw four touchdown passes three of them to sidney
rice and the vikings moved one victory from their first super bowl since
routing dallas on sunday
the vikings winless in four super bowl appearances will visit the new orleans
saints who have never reached the nfl championship spectacle next sunday to
decide which team will play in super bowl at miami on february
to win the way we did doesn mean anything for next week but it was
convincing to say the least favre said
the way we played today we will have to play that way again to win it
indianapolis will play host next sunday to the winner of later national
football league playoff game between the new york jets and san diego chargers to
determine the other super bowl berth
favre returned from retirement for second time to join the vikings this
season with goal of winning super bowl title as he did in with green bay in
during career that has made him the all time nfl passing leader
it has been wonderful favre said just to be in this position after all the
stuff that took place it wonderful moment it everything wanted it to
be and we re not done yet
favre completed of passes for yards and set career playoff high in
touchdown tosses turning back the clock one more time as the vikings improved
to this season at their domed home stadium
rice caught two first half touchdown passes from favre as the vikings took
half time lead
favre found rice again for yard clinching touchdown pass with
remaining in the fourth quarter and delivered final slap in the face with an
yard touchdown toss to visanthe shiancoe with to play
favre connected on yard touchdown pass to rice just into the game for
the first points of the day and found rice on yard touchdown toss midway
into the second quarter to give minnesota lead
dallas quarterback tony romo who had not fumbled in eight games gave up three
in the first half as minnesota all star defensive end jared allen with
sacks each of the past two seasons kept the pressure on the cowboys star
leg injury caused dallas left tackle flozell adams to leave in the second
quarter removing the top blocker in allen path to romo
the vikings sacked romo six times three of them by ray edwards as minnesota
defenders who led the nfl in sacks this season frustrated the cowboys all day
one lost romo fumble silenced the first cowboys drive keeping the vikings the
only nfl team not to surrender an opening drive touchdown this season and
another led to yard field goal by minnesota ryan longwell
pickoff of romo pass set up yard longwell field goal seconds into
the fourth quarter and favre third scoring toss to rice sealed the cowboys
fate
alert
billionaire sebastian pinera close to winning chile runoff
chinese kidnapped as karzai mulls taliban strategy
kabul jan afp
the taliban said sunday they had kidnapped two chinese engineers in afghanistan
as president hamid karzai office said he was set to announce new plan for
forging peace with the islamist insurgents
the kidnapping the latest in series by the militia or criminals came as the
nato military force announced that us soldier had died in eastern afghanistan
after being wounded while fighting taliban led insurgents
the engineers who had been helping to build road were seized on saturday in
the northern province of faryab with four afghans said local government
spokesman who could not identify the kidnappers
unknown people kidnapped yesterday two chinese engineers along with their two
local drivers and two guards in qaysar district said jawaed bidar
the abduction was claimed by the taliban
our mujahedeen have taken two chinese engineers their two drivers and their
two guards spokesman yusuf ahmadi said taliban islamic court would decide
on their fate he said
several dozen foreigners including engineers and journalists have been
kidnapped in afghanistan since us led operation that toppled the taliban
government
some kidnappings are claimed by the insurgents and some by criminal gangs the
taliban have denied holding two french journalists snatched with three afghan
assistants on december
with the taliban led insurgency gaining pace since karzai office said
sunday the president was due to announce new plan to make peace with
insurgents including by offering them economic incentives to stop fighting
karzai intended to announce the plan before key conference with afghanistan
international backers in london on january his spokesman waheed omar told
reporters
it would include economic incentives as many men carrying guns for the taliban
did so for cash rather than to support their hardline religious ideology omar
said
we have done some things in the past but we have not done enough omar said
we have not been able to provide proper security for those who join the
government we may have not been very good at providing them with economic
opportunities jobs and anything else anybody would want after reintegration
karzai has long called for peace talks with the taliban even offering
government posts to its leaders but the militia has refused dialogue until
the withdrawal of international troops on which kabul relies for security
karzai discussed the reintegration of taliban fighters with washington special
representative to afghanistan and pakistan richard holbrooke in kabul on
saturday
holbrooke told reporters afterwards that any new plan couldn be worse than
past efforts
there is good plan they have learnt from experience he said
the united states and nato have troops in afghanistan fighting the
taliban led insurgency with another being deployed this year
nato international security assistance force isaf announced sunday the
latest death of foreign soldier in the long running conflict which is also
exacting an increasing toll on civilians
an isaf service member from the united states died of wounds yesterday as
result of an engagement with insurgents in eastern afghanistan it said
it gave no other details
later isaf statement said us soldier had died of apparent natural causes in
kabul
according to an afp tally based on one kept by the independent website
icasualties org foreign soldiers have died in afghanistan so far in
afghanistan defence ministry said bomb killed two afghan soldiers in the
southern province of helmand on saturday
and in herat province on the western border with iran district governor was
killed in taliban ambush sunday along with five other people police said
eu eyes over million euros in aid for haiti diplomat
brussels jan afp
european union nations are set to announce monday at least million euros
million dollars in reconstruction aid for quake ravaged haiti an eu
diplomat said late sunday
the amount in question is three figures that is more than million euros
the diplomat said adding that it was expected to be announced at an emergency
meeting of eu development ministers in brussels monday
obama mobilizes reserves to help haiti
washington jan afp
us president barack obama sunday mobilized military reserves to help quake hit
haiti particularly medical staff to work on hospital ships and coast guard
staff to secure the ports
in presidential order obama wrote it was necessary to augment the active
armed forces of the united states for the effective conduct of operational
missions including those involving humanitarian assistance related to relief
efforts in haiti
he said he was authorizing defense secretary robert gates and homeland security
secretary janet napolitano to order to active duty any units of the reserve as
needed
urgent obama mobilizes reserves to help haiti
washington jan afp
us president barack obama sunday signed an order mobilizing military reserves to
help quake hit haiti particularly medical staff to work on hospital ships and
coast guard staff to secure the ports
urgent eu eyes over million euros in aid for haiti diplomat
brussels jan afp
european union nations are set to announce monday at least million euros
million dollars in reconstruction aid for quake ravaged haiti an eu
diplomat said late sunday
afp americas news agenda for january
washington jan afp
duty editor jim mannion
tel
what happening in the americas on monday
feverish sarch continues in haiti for remaining quake survivors
official results of sunday presidential election in chile
port au prince rescue crews from around the world dig frantically in search of
survivors six days after powerful earthquake leveled much of the haitian
capital
expect coverage haiti quake picture video graphic
santiago the official results of sundays presidential election for successor
to chilean president michelle bachelet expect coverage chile vote picture
united nations the un security council meets to discuss the dire situation in
haiti expect coverage haiti quake un
santo domingo the presidents of haiti rene preval and the dominican republic
leonel fernandez meet with fellow leaders of central america and international
organizations to better coordinate rescue operations in quake devastated hati
coverage on merit
los angeles science fiction epic avatar is on course to overhaul academy
awards best picture winner titanic as the highest grossing film of all time
expect coverage entertainment us film boxoffice
alert
obama mobilizes reserves to help haiti
alert
eu eyeing aid of over million euros for haiti diplomat
eu prepares reconstruction aid for haiti
brussels jan afp
european union nations are set to announce monday funds to rebuild quake struck
haiti on top of emergency aid and call for an international conference to back
the effort according to eu officials
ministers responsible for development issues will meet with eu foreign policy
chief catherine ashton from gmt monday for around two hours of talks on the
quake which is thought to have killed more than people
spanish foreign minister miguel angel moratinos will also take part as will
deputy prime minister maria teresa fernandez de la vega who was in haiti sunday
for her talks with haitian president rene preval
the whole of the world has to make commitment to haiti for the future and for
the long term part of the reason for the meeting tomorrow is beginning to put
the building blocks in place ashton told bbc television
earlier on the eve of the meeting she announced that an eu staffer had died in
the quake in which some people were hurt while million people have
been left without shelter
the ministers will examine the efforts by the nations to help provide aid
some million euros in initial funds have been sent from europe and
discuss the reconstruction process that will follow
according to an initial eu damage assessment more than physical
structures were destroyed or damaged in the haitian capital port au prince by
the magnitude earthquake that struck on tuesday
but aid is difficult to get in given the number of planes and ships descending
on haiti to help while people in need have no way of knowing where to go to
find the food and water they so badly need
the logistics there at the moment are very very difficult ashton said
we ve got people going in we ve arranged for example for ships that can land
without needing port to be able to take the aid in in different ways she
said
the emergency talks in brussels are expected to finalise first reconstruction
aid package for the longer term with funds from both the eu budget and the
member nations
the european commission is working to redirect some of the development funds
for haiti to fill the first tranche an eu official said
an eu diplomat said we hope that the european states will also provide their
first indication of how much they will be willing to give
the diplomat said the eu is likely to call for an international reconstruction
conference on haiti under the auspices of the united nations and the world bank
after the meeting eu humanitarian aid commissioner karel de gucht will travel
to the haitian capital port au prince to assess first hand the needs of the
authorities and the people
he will be to look at how we make sure the communications are working
effectively clearly big issue putting things on the ground so that people
can actually work from desks be able to coordinate ashton said
all of that needs to happen as quickly as possible
de gucht will also meet haitian officials and un aid representatives to discuss
how relief work is being coordinated and what the eu can do to consolidate and
strengthen the efforts
ashton travels to new york on wednesday for meetings with us and un officials on
the destruction from tuesday earthquake
british retailer offers post christmas divorce gift lists
london jan afp
chain of high street shops in britain on monday launched divorce gift list
service amid surge of married couples saying don after the festive
season
in twist on the popular wedding list through which newlyweds receive presents
to help them into married life retailer debenhams came up with new list to
help divorcees stock up after leaving their ex partner home
divorcing can be an expensive time and registering for divorce gift list
means that family and friends can help the newly separated begin their new
life said peter moore head of retail services at the chain
divorce means that one partner will be leaving the marital home and therefore
be left without any essentials in their new house he said
the list includes range of items from bed linen and towels to microwaves and
plasma screen televisions
debenhams which has outlets across britain said they took the decision at
time when congratulations on your divorce greeting cards and divorce parties
were growing in popularity
it is just the latest present for married couples heading towards festive
breakup in britain after law firm reportedly started offering divorce gift
vouchers in the run up to christmas
the vouchers offered half hour or hour long advice sessions with lawyer
according to the daily telegraph
senior partner from lloyd platt amp company in london which launched the
service in november told the newspaper there was always huge increase in
couples seeking advice in january
tennis hingis eyes exhibitions rules out comeback
berlin jan afp
swiss tennis legend martina hingis said on sunday that she would love to keep
playing exhibition tournaments but insisted that reports she was about to
launch second comeback were way off the mark
don want to train every day anymore but would like to play more
exhibitions have already had offers from the usa said the year old after
defeating fellow former world number one lindsay davenport here
the year old hingis tested positive for cocaine at wimbledon in
although she denied using the drug and later announced her retirement
but with her two year ban having expired in september the five time grand
slam winner admitted she missed the game
cannot imagine life without tennis she told the berlin hurier newspaper
earlier in the day it still so much fun for me like to play more
exhibition matches and see what happens past that just don know at the
moment
kim clijsters returned to the sport last year after prolonged absence and won
the us open while her fellow belgian justine henin has cut short her retirement
in time for the australian open which starts on monday
hingis said she was not surprised to see the veterans returning
think the women game is somewhat monotonous at the moment she said
the young girls all play the same way whereas justine and kim are successful
because they vary their game
davenport also said there is no hope of her returning full time to tennis
if play again it will only be at selected events and only then for fun said
the year old american
hingis won career titles in her career with five grand slam trophies
she retired for the first time in because of injury but returned to the
tour in winning three tournaments including the australian open mixed
doubles with india mahesh bhupathi
afp client advisory embargoed mideast conflict gaza rights amnesty
nicosia jan afp
the afp story slugged mideast conflict gaza rights amnesty has moved in error
the story is under embargo until gmt monday and should not be used in any
format until that time
eu parliament to clear new bulgarian commissioner sources
brussels jan afp
bulgaria controversial candidate for new eu aid commissioner is set to be
cleared monday by the european parliament of any doubts about her financial
background assembly sources said
members of the parliament assailed bulgarian foreign minister rumiana jeleva
last week over her financial interests and allegations about her husband
business dealings at hearing to see whether she is fit for the new post
the assembly is due to vote on january on whether to put the entire
commission team into office for five years and jeleva candidacy has appeared
most likely to bring the new executive body down
after giving assurances that her financial declaration last month was in order
european commission president jose manuel barroso wrote to the parliament to say
she was qualified as eu leaders had agreed
the meps had argued that her involvement in one company global consult had not
been declared
it appears that the declaration of financial interests that she made to become
commissioner conforms with reality one parliamentary source told afp late
sunday on condition of anonymity
she really did sell her shares in the company in question by the time she made
her declaration another source said
however many lawmakers including from the assembly second biggest grouping
the socialists as well as the liberals and greens are still not convinced
about her competence for the job
jeleva retains the backing of the biggest bloc the conservatives
the groups are set to meet monday evening in strasbourg and if majority
believe she is not up to scratch barroso could be forced to convince bulgaria
to come up with another candidate
it going to be very difficult for her to get out of this parliamentary
source said
canada braces for heavy losses in haiti quake
montreal jan afp
canada is bracing for heavy losses from haiti devastating earthquake with
over canadians reported missing on sunday five days after the temblor
struck one of the world poorest nations
we continue to do our utmost to ensure that we locate all canadians and that
these canadians are transported safely home to canada foreign minister
lawrence cannon said in statement as he confirmed that eight canadians have
died in tuesday massive temblor and another have yet to be located
time is running out to find survivors and hundreds of canadians now stand to
perish beneath the rubble left by the quake that leveled the haitian capital
port au prince and several neighboring cities and villages
six flights have ferried total of evacuees from haiti while canadians
remained holed up at the embassy in port au prince and others are assisted
elsewhere in the impoverished caribbean nation
in all canadians were in haiti when the disaster struck according to
consular estimates which also located canadians
some canadian troops will eventually be on the ground in haiti to assist
survivors as well as continue the desperate search and rescue effort nearly
half are already operating there
among the canadians still missing are former lawmaker and minister serge marcil
and businessman tran trieu quan who were both staying at the luxury montana
hotel during the quake
those whose deaths were confirmed included two workers for the canadian
international development agency two police officers missionary nurse
teacher and well known haitian canadian author georges anglade and his wife
canada and haiti share many strong ties at least canadians have haitian
roots including writers singers athletes and governor general michaelle jean
ottawa the second biggest donor to haiti has also long supported
reconstruction and development efforts there
ukraine vote heads for tense run off exit polls
