the rising temperatures around the nation us will also temper heating demand
which and will also weigh on oil prices he said
wall street shakes off earnings jitters swings higher
new york jan afp
us stocks swung higher wednesday as investor optimism about corporate earnings
revived following disappointing start of the results season
the dow jones industrial average rose points percent to
at the bell as the market rebounded from selloff tuesday prompted by weak
financial report from aluminum giant alcoa earlier this week
the technology rich nasdaq composite index gained points percent to
and the broad market standard amp poor index advanced
points percent to preliminary close of
analysts said the market was able to shake off the alcoa disappointment and
focus on what many expect will be positive season for the corporate sector
earnings estimates for the fourth quarter might be little high which could
lead to some disappointment but overall when the final tally is in we think
good earnings progress will be evident said gregory drahuschak at janney
montgomery scott
former un spokeswoman accounted for in haiti spokesman
united nations jan afp
michele montas former spokeswoman for un chief ban ki moon who was visiting
her family in haiti when the powerful earthquake struck port au prince has been
accounted for un spokesman said wednesday
farhan haq said the world body learnt from the family that montas former
award winning haitian journalist has been accounted for
the secretary general is very relieved to hear that montas who retired in
early december after distinguished un career is safe haq said
more than people were feared dead including dozens of un staffers in
the impoverished caribbean island after the quake razed homes hotels and
hospitals tuesday leaving the capital port au prince in ruins and bodies strewn
in the streets
athletics controversial semenya set for track return
london jan afp
south africa women metres world champion caster semenya looks set to
return to the track in february despite her still being in the middle of
gender investigation
semenya coach michael seme told the bbc that the year old has kept
training but needs to race against local opposition before return to
international events
semenya dominated the event in the world championships last august in
berlin sauntering home to take the title seconds quicker than kenya
defending champion janeth jepkosgei who finished second despite coming into the
event virtual unknown
the sports governing body the international association of athletics
federations iaaf have always maintained diplomatic silence after an accord
brokered with semenya lawyers and the south african government that said all
had reached total agreement on her title won at the berlin championships in
august
the parties also agreed that scientific tests into the gender of the first year
sports science student who grew up in rural village in northern south africa
will remain confidential
semenya rapid speed gains last year prompted questions about the gender of the
runner who has deep voice and muscular physique
leaked test results said semenya was hermaphrodite sparking anger from the
south african public and government who rallied behind the athlete
athletics south africa has also confirmed her comeback but is refusing to
discuss dates saying they want to keep her out of the media spotlight
un says cannot confirm envoy death in haiti quake
united nations jan afp
the united nations said wednesday it could not confirm an assertion by haiti
president that the civilian head of its mission in the country was killed in the
devastating earthquake
president rene preval said hedi annabi who has been unaccounted for along with
dozens of his staff in the un stabilization mission in haiti minustah in port
au prince was killed when the main un headquarters there collapsed following
tuesday quake
we have seen the comment by the haitian president our rescue team on the
ground is unable to confirm this un spokesman martin nesirky told afp
he said the world body was urgently contacting haitian authorities to try to
ascertain the source of preval informaiton
the haitian president earlier said he sent his condolences to the united nations
and all the quake victims
more than people were feared dead by the quake which razed homes
hotels and hospitals leaving the capital port au prince in ruins and bodies
strewn in the streets
urgent world bank plans million dollars in crisis aid to haiti
washington jan afp
the world bank said wednesday it planned to extend an additional million
dollars in emergency aid to haiti to help recovery and reconstruction from
devastating earthquake
immigration officials halt deportations to quake ravaged haiti
washington jan afp
us immigration authorities announced wednesday that they have temporarily halted
deportations to haiti following tuesday devastating earthquake that leveled
the impoverished caribbean country
department of homeland security secretary janet napolitano and us immigration
and customs enforcement ice assistant secretary john morton today halted all
removals to haiti for the time being in response to the devastation caused by
yesterday earthquake us government statement said
more than people were feared dead in haiti after tuesday massive
earthquake that razed homes hotels and hospitals leaving the capital in ruins
and bodies strewn in the streets
poor construction led to haiti quake devastation us experts
washington jan afp
us engineers wednesday blamed lax building standards for the devastation in
haiti where powerful earthquake brought buildings crumbling to the ground
trapping thousands beneath rubble
the quality of construction in haiti even in buildings that are supposedly
engineered construction is not good at all said farzad naeim president of
the board of directors of the earthquake engineering research institute eeri
there no question that the lack of quality control and not using engineering
knowledge that is widely available had something to do with the massive
devastation we re seeing said naeim who edited the seismic design handbook
and is vice president of structural engineering firm in california
from photographs he has seen of the devastation in haiti naeim said many of the
larger buildings were built using nonductile concrete described in report
presented at the world conference on earthquake engineering in beijing in
as arguably the greatest seismic life safety hazard in many urban centers
worldwide because of the collapse potential
construction codes in the united states today require that buildings have
ductility property that allows them to distort like coat hanger without
breaking according to eeri but many buildings were built with nonductile
concrete including in the united states up to the mid
many of the buildings that collapsed in haiti have been there for ages and
generally older buildings are not up to the task and the money is not there to
bring them up to the task
ron hamburger of the national council of structural engineers associations said
the wreckage in port au prince was worsened by the fact that the powerful quake
had its epicenter just few miles outside the haitian capital
magnitude seven earthquake located miles from the city is very very
serious event hamburger said
surviving an earthquake like that takes very rigorous design rules and building
code and enforcement that things are actually constructed in accordance with the
code
have heard that haiti does not have strict building code enforcement and so
it likely even the things that people believed to be reinforced were not
constructed or designed to an adequate standard he said
haitian prime minister jean max bellerive said more than people were
feared dead in his country after tuesday magnitude quake
alert
world bank to provide million dollars in emergency aid to haiti
woman dies from exposure on dutch park bench
the hague jan afp
dutch police passerby on wednesday found the body of year old woman who
died of exposure on park bench in town north of amsterdam after severe
cold snap
it seems that the woman became ill and lost consciousness in purmerend
police statement said
investigations revealed that she died from hypothermia
police also reported that the body of year old woman who died of exposure
was found in park in groningen in the north of the country on monday
she had been reported missing from hospice on sunday
new atmosphere ahead of pope visit to rome synagogue cardinal
vatican city jan afp
pope benedict xvi weekend visit to the rome synagogue will take place in
new atmosphere in relations between catholics and jews top vatican cardinal
said wednesday
we have new atmosphere with judaism even if there are difficulties cardinal
walter kasper said in reference to tensions over the pope decision to bestow
the title venerable on pius xii moving the wartime pope step closer to
sainthood
the landmark visit on sunday will be aimed at seeking common ground said
kasper who heads the pontifical council for the promotion of christian unity
in our more or less secularised society we share many concerns the protection
of life the family social justice he told news conference
catholics and jews want to work together on today societal problems such as
aids kasper said
the long planned visit appeared at risk of being cancelled after the pope last
month put the controversial pius xii one step away from beatification en route
to sainthood
the pope from to has been accused of inaction while germany nazi
regime was exterminating millions of jews in europe concentration camps
have full understanding for the sensitivity of the survivors of the
holocaust and we must respect this sensitivity kasper said
on the other side we have to tell them also what pius xii did in favour of the
jews during world war ii and this is not known enough he added
many thousands of jews were saved here in rome and elsewhere in the world he
said
polish bishops told the wartime pope not to speak too much because it would be
counterproductive the cardinal said
pius xii did what he could do in practical sense to help many jews he was
not able to save all of them that clear but he saved lot so we must do
justice to him kasper said
sunday will mark the second papal visit to the rome synagogue nearly quarter
century after john paul ii became the first pope to enter jewish place of
worship in april
it will be benedict third visit to synagogue as pope having visited
cologne main synagogue shortly after his election in and new york park
east synagogue in
white house backs free internet in google china dispute
washington jan afp
the white house said wednesday that it backs the right to free internet and
confirmed it has held talks with google which has threatened to quit china over
web censorship demands
white house spokesman robert gibbs said he would not go into details about the
discussions with google which announced on tuesday it would no longer filter
search results from china on its web search engine
we have had conversations and discussions with them about what they have talked
about yesterday gibbs told reporters here don want to get much further
afield than that
the president and this administration have beliefs about the freedom of the
internet gibbs added noting that president barack obama had expressed them in
china last year
the right of free internet is what many of you heard the president talk about
in china gibbs said
during visit to china in november obama pushed for an unshackled internet
saying he was strong supporter of open internet use and big supporter of
non censorship
gibbs also recalled that secretary of state hillary clinton had asked for an
explanation from china on tuesday for what google said was wave of highly
sophisticated cyberattacks aimed at chinese human rights activists
as the secretary of state said we look forward to the response from the
chinese the white house spokesman said
china said wednesday it was seeking more information on google move
the state run xinhua news agency quoted an anonymous official at the press
office of the state council the nation cabinet as saying that internet
authorities were looking for clarification of google statement
it is still hard to say whether google will quit china or not nobody knows
the official was quoted as saying
google said china based cyber spies struck the internet giant and at least
other unidentified firms in an apparent bid to hack into the email accounts of
chinese human rights activists around the world
the mountain view california based company whose motto is don be evil
said the cyberattacks originating from china and web censorship demands were
forcing it to review its business operations in china
democratic house speaker nancy pelosi praised google on wednesday for
threatening to quit china and urged other high tech companies to resist beijing
the announcement that google will fully review its business operations in china
and will no longer tolerate censorship of its search engine should serve as an
example to businesses and governments pelosi said in statement
she said google is to be commended for defying chinese internet censors and
risking banishment from the lucrative market
the chinese government operates one of the most sophisticated operations in the
world to control the internet pelosi said it is essential that technology
companies not assist in efforts that violate human rights or prohibit the free
exchange of ideas
in statement paris based reporters without borders hailed google move
saying foreign it company has finally accepted its responsibilities towards
chinese users and is standing up to the chinese authorities
we call on other it companies to form common front and we urge the chinese
authorities to reconsider their position rsf said
there were indications in beijing that google may have already stopped filtering
its china search engine google cn
for example the iconic tank man photo taken during the tiananmen
crackdown on pro democracy demonstrators was available on google cn wednesday
china generally blocks websites with information on tiananmen chinese
dissidents the outlawed falun gong spiritual movement the dalai lama and the
tibetan government in exile
house subpoenas aig documents from ny fed geithner
washington jan afp
congressional panel wednesday subpoenaed documents on the us bailout of
insurance giant aig in including from timothy geithner the former new
york fed chief and current treasury secretary
representative edolphus towns said his house oversight and government reform
committee was seeking information on payments made to aig counterparties
major global banks including goldman sachs morgan stanley barclays bank of
america deutsche bank and societe generale
the panel seeks emails phone logs and meeting notes from the new york federal
reserve and geithner among others on the discussions held ahead of the bailout
decision
questions remain surrounding aig credit default swap counterparties and why
these companies received full compensation when the best they could have hoped
for in bankruptcy proceeding was perhaps or cents on the dollar the
panel said in statement
the subpoena specifically requests all documents surrounding the decision to
pay aig counterparties cents on the dollar
the statement said the subpoena also demands all documents pertaining to the
decision to not disclose to the public information about the counterparty
payments
it noted that internal aig emails obtained by the committee to date indicate
that the new york fed may have urged aig to keep secret the details of the
counterparty payments despite the fact that taxpayer dollars made the payments
possible
asked to react to the announcement the treasury said it had no comment on the
subpoena
the announcement came after news reports said that geithner while president at
the new york fed sought to limit disclosure of aig payments to counterparties
that had purchased credit default swaps or form of insurance for troubled
mortgage securities
fed officials later said they had no legal authority to impose haircut or
reduction on these payments because aig was not in bankruptcy
the fed provided loan of billion dollars to aig in september in what
would be the first portion of bailout worth some billion dollars
because aig used the funds to reimburse banks holding the distressed mortgage
securities some have called the move backdoor bailout of those firms
including goldman sachs and number of foreign banks
the details of the counterparty payments were initially kept secret but the
recipients were disclosed in march
the billion dollars payments were made to number of firms france
societe generale germany deutsche bank and new york based investment bank
goldman sachs were the top three recipients
nigerian court rules vp can act for ailing president
abuja jan afp
nigerian high court ruled wednesday that vice president goodluck jonathan can
take executive powers in the absence of ailing president umaru yar adua in
hospital in saudi arabia since november
hereby order the vice president goodluck jonathan to start exercising the
powers of president umaru yar adua pending his recovery and return to office
dan abutu the chief judge of the federal high court in abuja said
the vice president cannot become the acting president but can only carry out
the functions of the president in his absence which he has been doing and should
continue to do so he said in his ruling
he gave the ruling in case filed on monday by lawyer christopher onwuekwe
seeking the court interpretation of the constitution
the vice president can perform the executive functions of the president
pending the time he returns abutu said
the clause states that executive powers are vested in the president and may
subject to the provisions of any law made by the national assembly be
exercised by him either directly or through the vice president and
ministers or officers in the public service
justice minister michael aondoaaka who was in court told journalists after the
ruling no other person can question the vice president when he performs the
functions of the president except the president himself and with this ruling
he can continue to discharge such functions legally
yar adua absence since november has caused furore in africa second
biggest oil exporter
the opposition alleges that government business has been stalled and that the
nation democracy is facing its most serious threat in the years since the
end of military rule
the court in abuja is to hear three separate legal challenges to yar adua on
thursday amid calls for him to stand down on grounds of frail health he is
being treated for heart condition in jeddah
constitutional lawyer femi falana who has lodged one of the court challenges
dismissed wednesday ruling as meaningless
jonathan cannot act for yar adua because no functions have been formally and
directly delegated to him by yar adua he said
falana cited another section of the constitution which demands the president
informs both houses of parliament in writing if he is absent or incapacitated
when he does that and other processes as stipulated in the constitution have
been carried out then jonathan can act as president said falana
justice minister aondoaaka said last week that yar adua was not suffering from
an infirmity that would render him permanently incapable of discharging his
functions
the president broke day silence on tuesday telling the bbc in telephone
interview that he was getting better and intended to return to work he
sounded weak in the interview the bbc reported
meanwhile top nigerian opposition politicians and ex presidential candidates
wedenesday led campaign demanding probe into the president health asking
for member team to visit saudi arabia
former military head of state general muhammadu buhari and ex vice president
atiku abubakar made the demand in letter they presented to senate president
copy of which was made available to afp
but the country ruling party accused unnamed politicians of exaggerating
yar adua state of health
peoples democratic party pdp chairman vincent ogbulafor expressed the party
deep concern at these efforts which he said aimed at destabilising the
country
he used the words unnecessary and shameful
us launches major operation to aid haiti
washington jan afp
the united states launched massive military and civilian operation on
wednesday to aid haiti as president barack obama vowed swift and aggressive
effort to save lives in the devastated capital port au prince
teams of civilian and military experts began landing in haiti as us aircraft
searched for survivors and tried to assess the damage from the massive
magnitude quake
as wealthy neighbor with the world most powerful military the united states
appeared well placed to lead relief efforts for the impoverished caribbean
nation mobilizing an array of specialists ships helicopters planes and
helicopters
have directed my administration to respond with swift coordinated and
aggressive effort to save lives obama said at the white house
search and rescue teams from florida virginia and california will arrive
throughout today and tomorrow
at daylight us navy maritime patrol aircraft usually used to track drug
trafficking in the region flew over the site of the earthquake in port au
prince while coast guard cutter with helicopter flight deck arrived off the
coast
the uss carl vinson aircraft carrier was en route and set to arrive thursday
while destroyers and more coast guard ships were on the way general douglas
fraser head of the us southern command told reporters
amid fears the quake had left thousands dead officials said planes were landing
at the port au prince international airport but that communications had been
knocked out at the airport tower and the passenger terminal was damaged
team of us air force experts was due to arrive later on wednesday to help
restore air traffic control and communications at the airport fraser said
we have group going in to can make sure we can gain and secure the air field
and operate from it as it was needed as hub for relief efforts the general
said
about military personnel were on the ground and about military engineers
medical specialists and other experts were due to arrive on wednesday aboard
hercules plane to assist us and international officials organize emergency
aid fraser said
state department spokesman said that three us relief and rescue teams would
depart wednesday for haiti from costa rica washington and los angeles arriving
at intervals during the day
while the full extent of the devastation remained unclear obama said the us
defense and state departments along with the us agency for international
development would lead relief efforts after the heart wrenching tragedy
the people of haiti will have the full support of the united states in the
urgent effort to rescue those trapped beneath the rubble and to deliver the
humanitarian relief food water and medicine that haitians will need he said
fraser said the military was considering sending in an amphibious ship with
contingent of marines to help with medical and other aid operations and an army
brigade at fort bragg north carolina was on alert for possible deployment
an initial survey of the earthquake aftermath from the air indicated the
damage was mainly concentrated around the capital but the number of casualties
and the scale of the disaster was still unknown the general said
we don have clear assessment right now of what the situation on the ground
is he said
secretary of state hillary clinton meanwhile announced she would shorten her
tour of asia because of the quake
it is biblical the tragedy that continues to stalk haiti and the haitian
people tired looking clinton said in hawaii after conferring with obama
defense secretary robert gates usaid director rajiv shah and other officials
guinea junta chief convalescing in burkina faso
ouagadougou jan afp
guinea junta chief moussa dadis camara who survived an assassination bid in
december was recovering in burkina faso on wednesday where he was flown out
from morocco after hospitalisation
officials in burkina faso whose president blaise compaore is trying to mediate
an end to political crisis in guinea said morocco had virtually forced the
west african country to accept him charge denied by rabat
after month of treatment in morocco and considering the evolving state of
his health moussa dadis camara arrived in ouagadougou where he will continue
his convalescence said foreign ministry statement
burkinabe foreign minister alain bedouma yoda told afp that morocco had asked
burkina faso with urgency to receive camara once his treatment was over
morocco communications minister khalid naciri said the kingdom had fulfilled
its duty in hosting the guinean ruler
know that he left having been well treated in morocco naciri told afp our
country has fulfilled its duty
he denied that camara had been pressurised to leave
we have behaved in strictly humanitarian way to give treatment to head of
state with bullet wounds
meanwhile guinea interim leader general sekouba konate left conakry on
wednesday for burkina faso where he is due to meet camara and burkinabe
president campaore
the surprise arrival of camara in ouagadougou raised new questions about the
future of negotiations between the military leadership and the opposition in
guinea
interim leader konate who is defence minister recently asked guinea forces
vives coalition of opposition parties trade unions and civil society to share
power in transition government and has called for democracy in the country
camara walked with difficulty from the plane supported by two aides on
arrival local reporter said
the junta leader had not appeared in public since being evacuated to rabat for
medical treatment after being shot in the head by his aide de camp on december
during dispute allegedly over bloody crackdown on an opposition rally
he is lucid he is speaking source in compaore office told afp
it was not immediately clear if camara intended to stay in burkina faso return
to guinea or travel to another country
don know yet because we haven spoken since his arrival in ouagadougou but
president dadis will go back when it is decided top junta official moussa
keita told afp by phone
nothing is preventing him from going home keita said
but his unannounced departure from morocco left host of unanswered questions
wednesday
did the junta chief leave voluntarily or was he expelled by rabat did he choose
to go to burkina faso rather than directly to guinea is he in fit state to
return to power given his apparently serious wounds
the united states expressed concern about the possible return of camara
any effort by dadis to return to guinea would concern us said us state
department official who requested anonymity
french foreign minister bernard kouchner said in an address to parliament in
december that it would be better for camara to stay in bed in morocco because
his return alone is capable of setting off civil war that we don need
the bauxite rich west african country has been under military rule since
december military coup launched by camara following the death of longtime
leader lansana conte tensions peaked on september when troops massacred at
least people at an opposition rally
recent un report on the stadium massacre in guinea capital conakry named
camara as suspect as it accused the army of crimes against humanity during
the crackdown on the rally
dadis camara return under the present circumstances risks sparking civil
war in guinea said mamadi kaba an official from the guinean chapter of the
african assembly for human rights
guinean banker echoed him saying if the international community wants new
bloodbath in guinea it will authorise camara return
football french league cup results
paris jan afp
french league cup round of results on wednesday
guingamp sakho og paris saint germain
lyon toulalan lisandro metz
le mans bordeaux postponed due to heavy snow
lens eduardo pen lorient marchal amalfitano
toulouse macaluso og machado pen dupuis nancy
lille rami de melo hazard rennes pagis
playing later
saint etienne marseille
played tuesday
sedan allart clermont
football africa cup of nations tunisia zambia
lubango angola jan afp
full result of an africa cup of nations group match on wednesday
tunisia dhaouadhi zambia mulenga
teams
tunisia
aymen mathlouthi khaled souissi ammar jemal karim haggui capt yassin
mikari ousama darragi issam jemaa khaled korbi hocine ragued youssef
msakni mohamed ali nafkha zouhaier dhaouadhi amine chermiti chaouki
ben saada
coach faouzi benzarti
zambia
kennedy mweene chintu kampamba joseph musonda emmanuel mbola thomas
nyirenda rainford kalaba felix katongo stoppila sunzu james chamanga
emmanuel mayuka christopher katongo capt jacob mulenga
coach herve renard fra
referee koman coulibaly mli
yellow cards haggui korbi
football liverpool swoop for argentine ace maxi rodriguez
liverpool england jan afp
argentina international winger maxi rodriguez left atletico madrid for liverpool
on wednesday as the english premier league giants attempted to rescue their
faltering season
the year old rodriguez who has moved on free transfer signed three
and half year deal with rafael benitez side after spending four years in the
spanish capital
we were looking for players with character and good mentality said benitez
whose team are seventh in the premier league and five points off the champions
