campaigner for children rights zilda arns the deputy un representative in
haiti luiz carlos da costa and another unidentified brazilian
another four brazilian soldiers were missing though jobim said that term was
really euphemism suggesting he believed they were also dead
the brazilian army said of its soldiers were injured in the quake the globo
news website said of them arrived in brazil on friday for medical treatment
one of them corporal carlos pimentel de almeida told televised media
conference that when the quake struck he thought his military post was under
attack
thought it was an attack that bomb exploded he said
he showed head wound he sustained from falling debris and recounted that
several of his comrades died when the building collapsed
he added that once recovered he wanted to return to haiti because the
population needs help
brazil has sent at least six flights full of aid for haiti quake survivors and
its troops including water food medical supplies and rescue personnel more
were due to leave friday
nigerian kidnappers demand ransom for foreign workers police
lagos jan afp
nigerian gunmen have demanded ransom of million naira million
dollars million euros for the release of three britons and colombian
abducted this week the police said friday
the kidnappers have asked for payment of million naira before the men can
be released rivers state police spokeswoman rita abbey told afp
she said that the kidnappers made the demand through phone call to relation
of one of the kidnapped foreigners
the police in the state have promised reward of two million naira
dollars for any information that can lead to the release of the hostages she
added
the rivers state police command has promised reward of two million naira to
anybody who can provide any information that can lead to the release of these
foreigners abbey said
the four contract workers for the anglo dutch oil giant shell were
abducted on tuesday between the oil city of port harcourt and nearby aba in abia
state
the gunmen shot dead the foreigners police escort and wounded their driver
during the attack
police spokesman in abia state ali okechukwu also told afp that the police
command in the state has not yet established contacts with either the abductors
or the foreigners
we have no contacts yet with either the kidnappers or the foreigners the state
police commissioner jonathan johnson has made passionate appeal to the
abductors to release the foreigners unharmed in order not to jeopardise
relations between their countries and nigeria he told afp
he appealed to them to free these hostages to save nigeria from international
condemnation added okechukwu
anglo dutch oil giant shell in nigeria said that the four worked for netco
diestman maintenance engineering firm specialising in operations and
maintenance of oil and gas production plants
the company has its nigerian offices in abuja and port harcourt
they were on their way to afam power plant located in the region
the incident was the first major kidnapping in southern nigeria since last july
and follows lull in the wake of government amnesty which saw thousands of
militants in the oil rich niger delta lay down their arms
don judge my wife says scandal hit ireland leader
london jan afp
northern ireland first minister peter robinson urged people not to judge his
wife over her affair with teenager friday saying she would have been treated
better had she been serial killer
robinson also spoke of his own pain over the scandal saying your instinct is
just to get into bed turn out the light pull yourself into foetal position
and not come out again
there are fears for the future of power sharing in northern ireland after
robinson stepped aside temporarily to address questions over whether he knew his
wife iris obtained pounds euros dollars from two
developers to help lover kirk mccambley set up cafe he denies the allegation
the scandal comes at an already sensitive time as northern ireland power
sharing government scrambles to agree on when policing powers should be devolved
from london to belfast the final stage of devolution
in highly personal interview with the belfast telegraph newspaper robinson
urged people not to judge someone who is not in fit state to be judged
he added honestly believe she would have been treated better had she been
serial killer
his wife who holds strong religious views and once described homosexuality as
an abomination has resigned as british and northern irish lawmaker and is
receiving psychiatric treatment she attempted suicide last year
elsewhere in the interview robinson urged journalists claiming his wife had
other affairs to prove it after he learned of the affair with mccambley she
told him there were no secrets between us any more he said
am asking these journalists on the basis of common humanity to give me their
evidence he said
have seen these accusations so saying to these journalists show me your
proof tell me what you know if you know anything at all because have
decisions to make about my life too
despite stepping aside for six weeks as first minister robinson is still
representing his democratic unionist party dup in negotiations with ex foes
and current power sharing partners sinn fein on policing and justice powers
the dup is protestant pro british and founded on religious principles while
sinn fein whose martin mcguinness is robinson deputy is catholic and wants
northern ireland to become part of the republic of ireland
at least people were killed in three decades of unrest in northern ireland
which is part of the united kingdom this was largely ended by the good
friday agreement
gates defends pace of us response to haiti quake
washington jan afp
pentagon chief robert gates on friday defended the pace of us relief efforts in
haiti saying the military and government agencies had moved as quickly as
possible
don know how this government could have responded faster or more
comprehensively than it has the defense secretary told reporters
there were constraints on how fast aid teams and supplies could be ferried in
said gates citing badly damaged roads and the small size of the country
airport in port au prince
gates said the collapse of the infrastructure in haiti the small size of the
airport the time it takes ship to get from point to point those are all
just facts of life
asked why the military had not used air drops to deliver aid gates said such an
operation could lead to riots without any structure on the ground in terms of
distribution
he also said us officials and commanders had to work with the haitian leadership
and could not take unilateral action
we are dealing with sovereign country the haitians are still in charge of
air traffic control at this point he said
loud explosion in central kabul witnesses
kabul jan afp
loud explosion was heard in central kabul on friday evening witnesses said
an afp photographer on the scene said rocket landed near the german embassy at
about pm gmt
spokesman at the kabul criminal police department said that initial
information indicated rocket attack
an official with nato international security assistance force isaf said the
incident was being investigated
we just had rocket attack it went overhead and we re looking into it the
official said speaking on condition of anonymity
police rushed to the scene which is close to isaf headquarters and the heavily
fortified diplomatic district
police officer on the scene told an afp photographer that rocket had fallen
on private house
as fridays are national holiday in afghanistan there were was little traffic
and few pedestrians in the area
rocket attacks are not unusual in kabul according to residents and diplomats
urgent obama reaches haitian president on phone
washington jan afp
president barack obama finally reached haiti president rene preval by
telephone friday and offered full support in earthquake relief aid and long
term rebuilding the white house said
football bayern rummenigge keen to keep ribery
berlin jan afp
bayern munich chairman karl heinz rummenigge said friday he will do everything
he can to keep french international franck ribery at the german giants
the year old has recently been linked to some of the most successful sides in
europe such as real madrid barcelona and manchester united but has contract
in munich until june and bayern are keen to extend it
our goal is to prolong franck contract will do as much as can to keep
him in bayern rummenigge told munich daily newspapers az and tz
ribery has been out since the start of october with persistent knee injury and
he is not expected to play until bayern bundesliga match at bremen on january
while the knee injury has now healed in growing toe nails on both feet have
restricted ribery training so far this year
bayern are keeping faith in the french star with their champions league last
clash against fiorentina set to take place next month
louis van gaal bayern coach has said he is convinced of ribery talent and
his importance for bayern said rummenigge
franck is without question the best player in the bundesliga
swine flu toll reaches who
geneva jan afp
the death toll in the swine flu pandemic has risen to at least up
from week ago the world health organisation said friday
according to the latest data posted by the un health agency the americas region
recorded the biggest number of fatalities with at least deaths since
april
europe reported that at least people died from the virus
us sending troops to haiti top military chief
washington jan afp
up to us troops would be in quake hit haiti or stationed off shore by
monday the top military chief said friday
chairman of the joint chiefs of staff admiral mike mullen stressed that not all
those troops would be on the ground in haiti as many of them would be on board
some six navy vessels arriving over the coming days
it looks like between and with the arrival of the marines and the
three ships that are associated with that he told reporters
mullen said it was too early to say whether more ground troops would be needed
beyond the nd airborne brigade and the strong nd marine expeditionary
unit already ordered to haiti
west african body presents road map for niger
niamey jan afp
the economic community of west african states ecowas has presented rival sides
in niger political crisis with road map to resolve the conflict the
authorities and the opposition said friday
the mediator nigerian former president abdulsalami abubakar on thursday
presented parties with plan that provides for president mamadou tandja to
retain power and for transitional period run by government of national
reconciliation an opposition member told afp
abubakar had drawn up plan based on synthesis of the way out of the crisis
in nine points based on submissions from both sides the opposition member
said asking not to be named
government representative nouhou arzika said that abubakar had made his
suggestions and asked us to make written proposals by january
arzika added that abubakar envisaged face to face talks between tandja side
and the opposition on february and hoped to wrap up discussions by february
we have to work on synthesis by the mediator of propositions made by the
different parties opposition spokesman bazoum mohamed said
ecowas has been mediating in the large and desperately poor country on the
southern edge of the sahara since december
the opposition wants transition period to draft new constitution and
organise democratic elections
privately owned newspapers close to tandja side reported that he has proposed
keeping new constitution he forced through last august but was ready to bring
the opposition into the running of the state
after almost years in power tandja won highly controversial extension of
his mandate for at least another three years by way of the constitutional
referendum which was vigorously opposed and then boycotted by his foes
the president went on to call parliamentary elections last october which were
also boycotted by the opposition and led to niger suspension from ecowas and
the suspension of development aid by the european union
the united states has also imposed sanctions on tandja regime
alert
obama reaches haitian president on phone offers full support
football hart stands down at qpr
london jan afp
paul hart has stood down as manager of london championship side queens park
rangers after just five games in charge the club announced on friday
he is the sixth boss to have held the post at loftus road in the two and half
years that former renault formula one chief flavio briatore has been the club
owner
the year old who was sacked by premier league side portsmouth late last
year had been expected to stay in the job until the end of the season but now
leaves the club after less than month
some reports suggested the decision came after hart fell out with the rangers
board over transfers while an argument with on loan midfielder adel taarabt has
also been reported
qpr statement read the club can confirm that manager paul hart has decided
to leave queens park rangers football club with immediate effect
assistant manager mick harford will take charge for saturday trip to blackpool
in his second spell as qpr caretaker boss
after being caretaker in he was overlooked for the permanent job in favour
of italian luigi de canio
harford admitted he was shocked by hart walk out but is keen to take the job
on permanent basis
got phone call last night asking me to take charge it something have
had to prepare quickly for because the main focus right now is getting the
players ready for blackpool harford told qpr website
it sad occasion with the manager leaving his post but that happens in
football have been given what consider an opportunity to stake my claim for
the job
spoke with paul last night as well as this morning he enjoyed his brief time
here and had good rapport with the players and the staff
it one of those unfortunate situations we find ourselves in going to try
to get the team back to winning ways
the team have won only once in their last ten and that something we need to
look at
hart final game in charge was tuesday night cup defeat by sheffield
united watched by briatore and fellow co owner formula one magnate bernie
ecclestone
crowd of only watched rangers fall behind and booed hart when he
brought off midfielder alejandro faurlin to replace him with taarabt
the hoops are currently th in the championship ahead of tomorrow trip to
blackpool who are managed by their former boss ian holloway
under briatore permanent managers john gregory de canio iain dowie paulo
sousa jim magilton and hart have departed while harford gareth ainsworth
twice and youth coaches steve gallen and marc bircham have had spells in
caretaker charge
former charlton and west ham manager alan curbishley has already been linked
with the role
former haiti president aristide ready to return
johannesburg jan afp
former haitian president jean bertrand aristide exiled in south africa since
said friday he was ready to return to help rebuild the country in the
wake of the devastating earthquake
as far as we are concerned we are ready to leave today tomorrow at any time
to join the people of haiti to share in their suffering help rebuild the
country he told reporters
friends from around the world have confirmed their willingness to organise an
airplane carrying medical supplies emergency needs and ourselves he said
standing alongside his wife
the year old former priest was haiti first democratically elected leader
but was forced to flee popular revolt in following two stints as
president
as we all know many people remain buried under tonnes of rubble and debris
waiting to be rescued when we think of the suffering we feel deeply and
profoundly that we should be there in haiti with them trying our best to
prevent death
aristide has long maintained that he was forced to step down under pressure from
the united states and france
as parish priest working in an impoverished and embattled district of port
au prince he became the spokesman for popular movement against the series of
military regimes that ruled haiti after the collapse in of the duvalier
dictatorship
he swept to power in only to be overthrown in coup eight months later
with backing from the united states he returned to power in but fell out
of favour with washington amid claims of vote rigging in the elections and
political violence
faced with an armed insurrection and large street protests aristide bowed to
pressure from the united states france and canada
in recent years he has lived in exile in south africa with his wife and two
daughters
in aristide said that he hoped to return to his country and devote himself
to education but south african authorities said they would not send him back
without first securing agreement from the current president of the caribbean
country
aristide drew parallel with former south african president nelson mandela who
still commands respect as statesman despite having left office in
when look at madiba president mandela it compelling to see what he can do
for his country and for the world without being the president of the country
aristide said
am confident can serve my country without being involved as president of
the country
haiti president rene preval said at the time that aristide was welcome to return
as he was still citizen of the country
while washington did not oppose aristide return it moved quickly to shore up
preval while dismissing aristide as man of the past paris meanwhile warned
that his return might cause political instability
five killed in us missile strike in nw pakistan officials
miranshah pakistan jan afp
us drone missile attack killed five militants in pakistan tribal belt on the
afghan border friday destroying their compound pakistani officials said
the attack took place in zanini village near the town of mir ali about
kilometres miles east of miranshah the main town of restive north
waziristan tribal district
us drones fired four missiles at militant compound and according to initial
information at least five militants were killed senior security official
told afp on condition of anonymity
two intelligence officials in the area and local administrative official also
confirmed the attack and the toll
the officials said that five us drones flew over at low altitude above the area
and two of the drones descended further and fired four missile at the militants
compound destroying it completely
it was the eighth missile strike by an unmanned us spy plane so far this year
as the administration of us president barack obama puts pakistan at the heart of
its fight against al qaeda and islamist extremists
the pakistani taliban released an audio recording allegedly made friday in which
the group leader hakimullah mehsud says he is alive after reports he was
killed in us missile strike
the message comes after missiles from unmanned us aircraft pounded the northwest
tribal belt on thursday killing at least militants with some security
officials saying mehsud was among the dead
loud explosion in central kabul witnesses
kabul jan afp
loud explosion was heard in central kabul on friday witnesses said
an afp photographer on the scene said rocket landed near the german embassy at
about pm gmt
spokesman at the kabul criminal police department said that initial
information indicated rocket attack
lod wm bsk
skeleton world cup results
st moritz switzerland jan afp
results here on friday in the seventh event in the skeleton world cup
men one leg only
eric bernotas usa
kristan bromley gbr at
martins dukurs lat
michael douglas can
jon montgomery can
overall world cup standings after seven out of eight races
martins dukurs lat points
sandro stielicke ger
frank rommel ger
jon montgomery can
tomass dukurs lat
women two legs
shelley rudman gbr
mellisa hollingsworth can at
kerstin szymkowiak ger
amy williams gbr
carla pavan can
overall world cup standings after seven out of eight races
mellisa hollingsworth can pts
shelley rudman gbr
kerstin szymkowiak ger
marion trott ger
amy williams gbr
bank of italy raises growth forecast to percent
milan jan afp
italy central bank on friday forecast weak recovery in the next two years
because of flagging domestic demand but raised its economic growth outlook for
to percent from zero
for and still weak recovery looks likely the bank of italy said
adding that any upturn will be slowed by the weakness of domestic demand
the unemployment rate in november reached five year high of percent and
purchasing power fell in context of weakening of support measures put in
place to face the global financial crisis it said
despite steady improvement in confidence businesses are still hesitating to
increase production the central bank said in an economic bulletin
it nevertheless raised its gross domestic product growth prediction to
percent for this year because of general pickup in world trade
in its previous estimates made in july the central bank had predicted
zero growth for this year
the government budget plan in september targetted percent growth in
but economic minister giulio tremonti in late november was more optimistic
saying growth might exceed percent
for the bank of italy forecasts percent growth while the government
sees percent
the central bank said it expects final figures to show percent contraction
in gdp in
the official figures will be issued on february
the bank of italy also echoed the government public deficit forecast of
percent of gdp and public debt of of gdp this year
european union rules put the ceiling for state welfare and local authority
deficits at percent of gdp and say that in times of growth countries should
move into surplus total debt meanwhile is supposed to be kept below
percent of gdp
hit by the worst global slump since the many european union member states
have spent massively to ease the crisis and in doing so have gone way over the
eu limits
italy formally emerged from recession in the third quarter of recording
growth of percent over the previous quarter shift mainly attributed to
revived industrial production
household consumption fell percent in the first nine months of and
disposable income shrank percent in the same period
the november unemployment figure while grim was lower than the percent
jobless rate for the eurozone overall
the bank of italy said however that the actual number of italians out of work is
far higher than official statistics indicate
counting many workers subjected to temporary layoffs and those not on the
unemployment rolls the actual jobless rate was percent in the second
quarter of according to the central bank
the official figure for the period was percent
urgent us sending troops to haiti top military chief
washington jan afp
up to us troops would be in quake hit haiti or stationed off shore by
monday the top military chief said friday
at least two killed in kenya mosque riots
nairobi jan afp
at least two people were killed friday when kenyan police fired live rounds and
teargas to suppress protest by muslims demanding the release of radical
jamaican cleric hospital source said
medic in nairobi clinic said several people had been admitted for treatment
you can see one of them is dead and his body is lying there another has died
on the way to hospital he said
we have treated many people here you can even see those lying there are
bleeding and they have bullet wounds said the official who did not want to be
named
muslim rights group official said at least five people were killed but that
toll could not be immediately corroborated by police or medics
anti riot police battled scores of stone throwing protestors shouting allahu
akbar god is greatest and waving banners that read release al faisal he is
innocent
abdullah al faisal who is on global terror watchlist and served four years in
british jail for inciting racial hatred has been in kenyan custody since last
week after the authorities tried and failed to deport him
police charged at the rioters surrounded the jamiah mosque in central nairobi
and used water cannons to repel them as an ambulance picked up injured people
including some reporters
an afp photographer saw one demonstrator firing back at the police from inside
the mosque compound at least four members of kenya security forces were also
wounded in the battles that lasted several hours
war against muslims is intolerable read one placard while protestor waved
black flag with arabic inscription and another brandished osama bin laden
portrait
crowds of by standers also joined the chaos throwing rocks and calling the
muslims many of them of somali descent foreigners and chanting kenya yetu
swahili for kenya is ours or ua swahili for kill as the police charged
the riot highlighted longstanding grievances by kenya minority muslims of
being unfairly targeted by security forces and perceived neglect by previous
regimes in appointment to government posts
since the setting up of the anti terrorism police unit in muslim rights
groups have complained of repeated police harassment arbitrary arrests and
rendition of muslims suspected of terrorism
faisal lawyers and rights groups have complained that the cleric is being held
without charge
the december arrest of faisal who police and immigration officials said
violated immigration regulations by preaching is the latest in string of
protests by the muslims
faisal was arrested in britain in after spending years urging his
audiences to kill jews hindus and westerners
kenya attempts to deport the cleric first to tanzania and then to gambia have
failed due to the refusal by authorities and airlines to grant him entry
us industrial production up in december
washington jan afp
us industrial production rose percent in december on the back of higher
electricity and gas consumption amid cold snap the federal reserve said
tuesday
the sixth consecutive rise in output was in line with the expectations of most
economists and underscored the industrial sector lead in spurring recovery
from recession in the world largest economy
the december reading matched the percent increase in november which was
initially reported at percent
the december gain primarily resulted from an increase of percent in
electric and gas utilities due to unseasonably cold weather the fed said in
report
manufacturing production however edged down percent after percent
jump in november but economists were not too worried
although manufacturing production fell in december that should prove
temporary setback production needs to rise to stop inventories falling too
low said nigel gault chief us economist for ihs global insight
he also noted that while most manufacturing categories fell high tech
production rose percent led by communications equipment and semiconductors
the high tech increase helped overall business equipment production to rise
percent an encouraging sign of global improvement in business spending
gault said
for the final quarter as whole industrial production increased at an annual
rate of percent
the us economy grew percent in the third quarter after year of
contraction
urgent at least two killed in kenya mosque riot medic
nairobi jan afp
at least two people were killed friday when kenyan police fired live rounds and
teargas to suppress protest by muslims demanding the release of radical
jamaican cleric hospital source said
alert
up to us troops to be in haiti by monday top us military chief
alert
at least two killed in kenya mosque riot medic
loud explosion in central kabul witnesses
kabul jan afp
loud explosion was heard in central kabul on saturday witnesses said
an afp photographer on the scene said rocket landed near the german embassy at
about pm gmt
spokesman at the kabul criminal police department said that initial
information indicated rocket attack
