passing time having fun explained alexandre freed mechanic
the men speak in groups travel from one business to another call out to each
other in ruckus that almost makes them forget the tens of thousands of dead
the piles of metal and concrete frozen in place the camps where survivors fight
once again to survive
it feels good to be together we meet up with friends who didn die we greet
each other you re alive how your family said cabinetmaker emmanuel
herland they also recall the horror that sealed january in their minds
we want to talk about it it helps get rid of stress added herland
there are no longer any clients the time to rebuild has yet to come
work to try to forget but it not working it engraved in my memory said
charly jean louis
am very shocked by what saw many dead people lost friends and images
are going through my head all the time jean louis added
series of aftershocks has rattled the caribbean nation including
magnitude tremor thursday grim reminder that danger was still lurking
just around the corner
we can forget because there are aftershocks all the time daniel said
all of sudden the men stopped talking the earth was shaking again
haiti donors to meet in montreal on monday
montreal jan afp
the united states france brazil and other friends of haiti will hold
emergency talks here monday to coordinate aid for the quake hit caribbean nation
and prepare later summit on reconstruction
coordinating international response to the devastating magnitude quake that
killed at least people injured and left half million homeless
is crucial after haiti government offices roads and communications
infrastructure were destroyed or badly damaged
the meeting whose dignitaries will include us secretary of state hillary
clinton and french foreign minister bernard kouchner is expected to affirm the
central role of the united states in post quake haiti already illustrated by
its massive military presence and relief efforts there
tensions emerged last week between washington and paris over the us control and
handling of air traffic at the port au prince airport the country small
albeit main port of entry but france quickly tamped down the row
the anti american leaders of venezuela nicaragua and bolivia decried the
presence of us troops in haiti with the number of us military personnel
operating on land and offshore to assist aid operations expected to swell to
by sunday
the three south american countries were not invited to the montreal talks that
will bring together argentina brazil chile peru uruguay mexico costa rica
and spain
canada and the united states are expected to firm coordinated response to the
disaster during canadian foreign minister lawrence cannon talks with clinton
on friday in washington
hosted by cannon monday meeting will be held at the headquarters of the
international civil aviation organization in montreal city affectionately
described as haiti second capital with haitian diaspora of more than
that shares the french language with quebecers
large number of artists and scholars from haiti live in canada and canadian
governor general michaelle jean was born in haiti
hundreds of canadians are still missing nine days after the quake that killed at
least canadians in the immediate aftermath of the temblor canada rushed aid
and troops to help recovery efforts in port au prince
the federal government contribution to international aid efforts has reached
million canadian dollars million us so far on top of nearly
million dollars raised through individual donations
ottawa also sent two navy frigates and established regular military transport
flights carrying humanitarian aid and medical supplies shortly after the killer
quake struck
it has agreed to fast track haitian immigration claims in bid to unite
families but refused to drop its complex immigration criteria altogether and
open its borders to large scale immigration
quebec which has partial jurisdiction on this matter however has agreed to
expand the number of haitians who could rejoin family members living in canada
hong kong shares open percent lower
hong kong jan afp
hong kong shares were percent lower in the first few minutes of trade
friday with the benchmark hang seng index down points at
karzai plans to pay taliban to lay down their guns
london jan afp
afghan president hamid karzai said on friday he plans to offer money and jobs to
insurgents to draw them back to civilian life and away from their taliban
masters
karzai told the bbc the major powers including the united states would fund
the scheme to tempt taliban fighters to lay their weapons aside and head home to
their communities
those that we approach to return will be provided with the abilities to work
to find jobs to have protection to resettle in their own communities he
said
we know as the afghan people we must have peace at any cost he added
hardline taliban supporters who were members of al qaeda or other terrorist
groups would not be accepted the president stressed
the taliban gives its volunteers higher salaries than the afghan government can
afford to pay its forces and the president said his project would have
international backing to provide the necessary funds
the united states and britain would announce at major conference on
afghanistan in london next week that they had decided to back his plan the
president said adding japan would also offer financial backing
despite initial reluctance to back the project karzai said the united states
had now come round to the idea and would offer support
asked about american support for the scheme he said we have been talking
about this issue of reconciliation for long time now they actually are
backing it
he has faced severe criticism from western powers over august fraud tainted
elections and his weak leadership but said his position could be strengthened
by increased resources
my presidency is weak in regard to the means of power which means money which
means equipment which means manpower which means capacity said karzai
the president defended his administration however as one of the most
legitimate that had ruled afghanistan for some years
where legitimacy is concerned for the past eight years afghanistan has had
perhaps the most legitimate of its governments ever seen karzai said
he also sounded an optimistic note about the war ravaged country future
predicting that in five years afghanistan could be in control of its own
security and the fight against corruption and drugs
and karzai still sounded angry about stinging criticism from the united states
and britain about the way the presidential election was run which he insisted
was an effort by the west to undermine him
unfortunately our election was very seriously mistreated by our western
allies he said
but despite this bitter note the president said he trusted the western powers
because we are in relationship together
the afghanistan conference in london on january will see the international
community try to thrash out conditions and set broad timeline for transfering
power to afghan forces
tiger airways makes debut on singapore stock exchange
singapore jan afp
tiger airways made its debut friday on the singapore exchange becoming the
first asian carrier to be listed in five years
shares in the budget carrier opened at its initial public offering price ipo
of singapore dollars us they rose to dollars before dropping
back
singapore based tiger airways said funds raised from the ipo would go mainly
towards financing the carrier expansion plans in asia which is expected to
become the world biggest travel market by
tiger airways raised million dollars in gross proceeds from the ipo and
planned to set aside million dollars to buy new jets
the carrier wants to expand its current fleet of airbus to by
december as it moves to increase the number of destinations it serves
it is also looking to establish new operating bases and airlines when the
opportunities arise as well as repay short term loans
tiger which began its first commercial flights in september flies from
singapore to destinations across asia including popular holiday spots such as
penang in malaysia and bangkok and phuket in thailand
it has also expanded into australia where it offers domestic flights between key
cities and towns across the continent
the carrier is percent owned by flag carrier singapore airlines
hong kong gold opens lower
hong kong jan afp
hong kong gold opened lower friday at us dollars an ounce
down from thursday close of us dollars
haiti quake victims find solidarity in chaos
port au prince jan afp
her husband and two of her children died in haiti earthquake but mariane
dorleis is not alone neighbors have shared food with her and local men have
formed armed gangs for protection
solidarity has grown out of misery in carrefour chaotic seaside shantytown on
the outskirts of port au prince that has received none of the international aid
beginning to reach parts of the capital
out at sea giant us aircraft carrier and hospital ship is anchored while us
military helicopters regularly thunder overhead cruel reminders of this
shattered community lack of help from the outside world
live day to day said dorleis
she was doing laundry when the earthquake struck while her husband
fisherman and two of her children slept inside their house
neighbors helped her to drag the three bodies from the rubble to bury them
between two roads to build shelter out of cloth and logs
she used to sell the fish her husband caught and now has no means of survival
so neighbors also feed her and her two surviving young ones
there is gentleman who helps me my neighbors can help me all the time but
would not know what to do to survive this morning had nothing to give to
the children she said
the man helping her has five of his own offspring to support his house was
flattened in the quake his fishing boat shattered leaving him nothing but his
net which dorleis was repairing in exchange for his help
make every effort possible but we don have much we haven received any
aid and have big family to feed said jean michel nazaire
he wanted to search for aid and work but feared venturing out into the street
where there was only looting chaos and the lingering stench of death
antoine nadal year old chauffeur was one of the few who has left the
shantytown since the massive magnitude earthquake struck nine days ago
claiming at least lives
it left over half million homeless and flattened large swath of the country
if there had been any aid in carrefour then would have found it can tell
you need it he said
he went to the airport to offer his services as driver but everything was in
turmoil there too and he came back empty handed
we live we share said nadal
neighbors clubbed together to share rice maize and oil and traveled to
nearby source for water but today there nothing was left to eat
since this morning haven been able to feed my children they are just six
ten and years old added nadal
like others in the ruined neighborhoods of port au prince local men here formed
groups to fight off looters
since the start they have come to steal the only things we were able to save
from the rubble sheets curtains even doors we chased them off with stones
and sticks said nazaire
at nightfall the men regrouped lit fires and kept watch
arriving little later year old christer desulmain asked for help to dig
out victims of the quake whose rotting bodies were giving off an unbearable
smell
we try to get organized we try to form communities but they also need to send
us help from outside he said
in central port au prince things are improving for survivors but slowly
carole deslouis has lived for almost nine days in champs du mars square in
front of the destroyed presidential palace washing her children with filthy
water and begging for rice
on thursday she finally received water and the promise of shelter under an
awning
we want to stop living like animals says deslouis who watched with
satisfaction as streetsweepers and excavators cleared the space where her family
would sleep
every morning when we get up we don know what we are going to eat or if we
will get any water we are scared by the nights added michel ange piquant who
is living with his family of six under blue plastic sheet
joint franco american plan starting thursday will provide baths food water
and tents for refugees living in this square
champs du mars is symbol of the life of this country where everybody came on
the night of the earthquake we have to give some dignity back to this plaza
said didier le bret the french ambassador in port au prince
haiti tradesmen ordered to empty their shattered shops
port au prince jan afp
human chains stretched out from the few shops left standing thursday in
central district of port au prince emptying goods into lorries before the
bulldozers moved in under police orders
the owners of the damaged shops received an ultimatum they were ordered to
empty their shops said maxime lundy member of the intervention and
maintenance of order department an elite unit of the haitian police
almost every other shop here in the traditional commercial area of main street
was destroyed in the magnitude earthquake that levelled haiti capital nine
days ago
now the rest were about to be knocked down
with gun in his hand the inspector watched as haitians lined up to move
cartons of paper out of mill nearby another chain of people emptied tool
shop while across the road it was matress shop which was being cleared
the frantic activity carried on despite the stench emitted by corpse lying
half buried in the debris of neighbouring shop one of at least
people killed by the quake
the police never used to have much of presence in this part of the normally
chaotic haitian capital since it was regarded as an intellectual area with
numerous second hand bookstores
the officer said the surviving shops must be emptied and destroyed because they
were too badly damaged to be used again
but the owners believed the real reason for the order is because the police have
had enough of trying to fight off looters day and night
on thursday the police took harsh action against six young thieves on tip off
from local residents
barefoot dirty and visibly hungry the boys aged between and were caught
while trying to steal from bric brac shop called catoustore
they were hit several times with sticks until they bled then lacking
handcuffs the police tied the looters to one another with their own shirts
before sending them on their way
policeman explained that the prisons were full adding that they wanted
nevertheless to convince them never to come back to this area
little further off an elderly man accused of looting was caught by crowd
thrown to the ground and beaten he left the area with nothing but blood and
tears
tennis jankovic bundled out of open
melbourne jan afp
eighth seed jelena jankovic was bundled out of the australian open on friday by
st seed alona bondarenko crashing in the third round
it was miserable end to the tournament for player who was world number one
this time last year
the serb struggled to live up to her potential in and her big match
credentials were again found wanting on friday when she was comprehensively
outplayed by the ukrainian who won the lead up hobart tournament
jankovic made unforced errors and served up four double faults as her game
deserted her under hot sun on hisense arena
the low key bondarenko who has lost all eight of her previous matches with
jankovic will now face either china zheng jie or french th seed marion
bartoli for place in the quarter finals
japanese shares slide percent in morning
tokyo jan afp
japanese stocks slumped percent in morning trade friday after us shares
tumbled in response to plan by president barack obama to limit the size and
scope of us banks and finance firms
the tokyo stock exchange benchmark nikkei index declined points to
by the lunch break the broader topix index of all first section
shares lost points or percent to
afp sports schedule for friday january
paris jan afp
afp sports schedule for friday january
tennis
fifth day of the australian open in melbourne with third round action featuring
defending champion rafael nadal against germany philipp kohlschreiber while
andy murray meets florent serra
in the women draw justine henin takes on alisa kleybanova while kim clijsters
plays nadia petrova
coverage by martin parry robert smith andrew dent and scott coughlan
master slug tennis open aus
football
build up to the africa cup of nations quarter finals
coverage by nick reeves david legge and samm addu
previews filed of weekend action in england scotland spain italy germany and
france
slugs fbl afr fbl eng facup fbl eng pr fbl esp fbl sco pr fbl fra cup
fbl ger fbl ita
cycling
tour down under in australia continues with the fourth stage over km from
norwood to goolwa with germany andre greipel in front
coverage by talek harris
slug cycling aus tour
golf
epga at the abu dhabi championship uspga bob hope classic in la quinta
california
slugs golf epga uae golf uspga
figure skating
european championships in tallinn
coverage by emmeline moore
us championships in spokane
slugs fskate eur fskate oly usa
rallying
final day of the historic monte carlo rally now part of the intercontinental
rally challenge series with finland mikko hirvonen in the lead
slug auto rally irc mon
athletics
dubai marathon with haile gebrselassie eyeing new world record
slug athletics uae
alpine skiing
men world cup super at kitzbuhel and women world cup super at cortina in
italy
slugs ski world men ski world women
rugby union
european cup sixth round of group matches
slug rugbyu eur cup
ski jumping
world cup at zakopane poland
slug ski jump
winter olympics
seventh part of advancer package filed ahead of the winter olympics in
vancouver
see separate advisory
master slug oly
afp sports schedule for friday january
paris jan afp
afp sports schedule for friday january
tennis
fifth day of the australian open in melbourne with third round action featuring
defending champion rafael nadal against germany philipp kohlschreiber while
andy murray meets florent serra
in the women draw justine henin takes on alisa kleybanova while kim clijsters
plays nadia petrova
coverage by martin parry robert smith andrew dent and scott coughlan
master slug tennis open aus
football
build up to the africa cup of nations quarter finals
coverage by nick reeves david legge and samm addu
previews filed of weekend action in england scotland spain italy germany and
france
slugs fbl afr fbl eng facup fbl eng pr fbl esp fbl sco pr fbl fra cup
fbl ger fbl ita
cycling
tour down under in australia continues with the fourth stage over km from
norwood to goolwa with germany andre greipel in front
coverage by talek harris
slug cycling aus tour
golf
epga at the abu dhabi championship uspga bob hope classic in la quinta
california
slugs golf epga uae golf uspga
figure skating
european championships in tallinn
coverage by emmeline moore
slug fskate eur
rallying
final day of the historic monte carlo rally now part of the intercontinental
rally challenge series with finland mikko hirvonen in the lead
slug auto rally irc mon
athletics
dubai marathon with haile gebrselassie eyeing new world record
slug athletics uae
alpine skiing
men world cup super at kitzbuhel and women world cup super at cortina in
italy
slugs ski world men ski world women
rugby union
european cup sixth round of group matches
slug rugbyu eur cup
ski jumping
world cup at zakopane poland
slug ski jump
winter olympics
seventh part of advancer package filed ahead of the winter olympics in
vancouver
see separate advisory
master slug oly
olympics vancouver ones to watch shaun white
vancouver canada jan afp
penpix of stars to watch at the february winter olympics in vancouver
snowboard
shaun white
halfpipe champion shaun white is bidding for his second olympic gold and it
would take brave punter to bet against the flying tomato adding to his
stellar list of snowboarding prizes
white turned the olympic final in turin four years ago into procession after
being awarded an outstanding mark of points out of in the first leg
the us rider who fell in the first set of heats had the luxury of knowing he
was olympic champion before starting his second run in the final beating
compatriot daniel kass into second place
by the time he arrived at the games the californian had won several
snowboarding titles at the winter games as well as most of the major
competitions
the redhead four time gold medallist in superpipe and five times winner in
slopestyle at the winter games in became the first athlete to win gold
medal at both the summer and winter versions of the games
already veteran of the sport at white became at one of the youngest
athletes to sign up with major equipment supplier and turn professional he
even has his own videogame
his chances in vancouver have been boosted further by the absence of two
potential rivals and teammates kevin pearce and danny davis
pearce suffered serious head injury in training on december after striking
his head on the side of the halfpipe while attempting cab double cork
difficult twisting double back flip
pearce is among the few riders to have beaten white in head to head competition
in recent years
meanwhile us snowboarder danny davis suffered spinal fracture in quad bike
accident sunday and will not compete in vancouver davis upset white at
qualifying event earlier this month with an unprecedented three double corks
olympics vancouver ones to watch kristan bromley
vancouver canada jan afp
penpix of stars to watch at the february winter olympics in vancouver
skeleton
kristan bromley
female counterpart shelley rudman may be better known but britain are also
looking to doctor ice aka kristan bromley to prescribe their winter olympic
team golden tonic in the skeleton
former world champion bromley is veteran of two winter games but has yet
to reach the podium placing fifth in turin four years ago
his world championship title was britain first since and he also has
two world cup titles under his belt in and
fresh from world cup silver in st moritz last week bromley knows everything
there is to know about his madcap sport which sees competitors hurtle head
first down mile long piste at breakneck speed
in he earned his nickname by writing university thesis bearing the
undoubtledly cool title factors affecting the performance of skeleton
bobsleds
by then an old hand after starting out in the sport in he had long since
conquered the stomach churning fear experienced by novice boarding the
contraption in the first place
kristan knows if the technology fails he can only blame himself or his brother
richard
that because he and his sibling design his sleds for their own company
hi tech sports sponsorship initiative supports him providing specialised
expertise and fellow vancouver gold medal hope rudman is also beneficiary
bromley clearly likes to keep it in the family
as well as his work alongside his brother he is the life partner of rudman with
whom he had child ella marie in october
flush goldman sachs seeks to soothe bonus outrage
new york jan afp
goldman sachs posted huge forecast shattering profits thursday as the
banking giant moved to deflect criticism about lavish bonuses to be paid from
billion dollars reserved for compensation
the prime target for public outrage over big bonuses goldman sachs said it was
scaling back its money for employee compensation in the face of criticism that
it weathered the financial crisis thanks to government aid
the bank reported net profit of billion dollars in the fourth quarter for
all of net profit leapt to billion dollars sixfold increase from
billion dollars in
think the people of goldman sachs did great job this year finance chief
david viniar told reporters
the firm said it had allotted billion dollars in for compensation
including bonuses and benefits rise of percent from year earlier in
absolute terms
but chairman and chief executive lloyd blankfein said the pay and benefits
outlay had been reduced overall as recognition of the broader environment
resulting in our lowest ever compensation to net revenues ratio at
percent down from percent year earlier
the wall street giant said that fourth quarter compensation had been reduced to
fund charitable contribution of million dollars to one of the firm
philanthropy programs aimed at stimulating us economic growth and job creation
on average each of the bank employees would have received nearly
dollars in compensation and benefits in
viniar who said that the majority of the reductions would affect top
executives insisted we re not blind to the calls for restraint and we heard
them
goldman sachs one of the most successful survivors of the financial crisis had
announced in december it would pay bonuses to top executives in stock instead of
cash
in the fourth quarter at the height of the financial crisis goldman sachs
posted its first loss and received billion dollars in government aid that it
has since repaid
us government assistance authorized by president barack obama at that time has
been unpopular particularly as unemployment remained high and the white house
has promised to hold banking institutions accountable
never again will the american taxpayer be held hostage by bank that is too
big to fail obama said thursday in announcing new banking rules
the president blamed banks for sparking the worst economic crisis since the
great depression with huge reckless risks in pursuit of quick profits and
massive bonuses in binge of irresponsibility
viniar declined to comment on obama remarks but said trying to regulate by
pure size is very dangerous thing to do
blankfein said the bank performed well throughout the year particularly during
the most difficult conditions
earnings per share in the fourth quarter were dollars shattering the
average analyst forecast of dollars
net revenues were billion dollars slightly below the billion dollars
expected
the quarterly profit compared with year earlier loss of billion dollars
amid the financial sector meltdown following the lehman brothers collapse that
year ended on november in the bank previous reporting calendar
the bank whose principal activities are investment banking and trading said it
ranked first worldwide in global mergers and acquisitions in
net revenues in investment banking surged to billion dollars in the fourth
quarter up percent from the third quarter and percent higher than year
earlier
asked about report that the firm will slash bonuses for london staff because
of new british tax on the payments viniar said for the moment nothing is
percent
late last year the british government slapped percent tax rate on bank
