presidents bill clinton and george bush house have been named as special
coordinators of aid to haiti by president barack obama
the pair established their haiti fund to respond to needs in the country and
improve the quality of life for victims of the devastating earthquake
salute leonardo dicaprio for his extraordinary generosity president george
bush said this donation sends clear message to the people of haiti that
america commitment to helping rebuild their country is strong
thank leo for setting wonderful example for all americans of helping
neighbor in need
several celebrities have made large donations to haiti following last week
magnitude earthquake killed at least people according to haitian
government officials
dicaprio supermodel ex girlfriend gisele bundchen has donated million
dollars to the relief effort while power couple brad pitt and angelina jolie
donated one million dollars to medecins sans frontieres msf doctors without
borders for the organization operations in haiti
actress sandra bullock also gave one million dollar donation according to
data from the un office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs
mass relocation for haiti homeless
port au prince jan afp
haitian officials launched huge operation thursday to move hundreds of
thousands of homeless outside the ruined capital as hopes dimmed of finding any
more survivors beneath the rubble
medics treated the countless injured in makeshift hospitals as gangrene began to
set in and fresh looting broke out in devastated port au prince even as small
signs of normal life returned nine days after the quake
it is difficult to work as before but we re on course to regain control
president rene preval told reporters countering charges that the government has
been largely absent since the january disaster
alongside the haitian plan french and us rescue workers have begun to clear
debris and human waste from around the city ceremonial square the champ de
mars which has become giant ad hoc refugee camp
we want to stop living like animals said carole deslouis who finally
received the promise of food and shelter in the square thursday after days of
washing her children with filthy water and begging for rice
us forces are also repairing the main port hoping to slowly re open it from
friday and bring in enough aid to feed people across the country and brought in
temporary control tower for the country overburdened main airport
the government said it would try to relocate an estimated left destitute
by the magnitude quake moving them out of squalid stinking bivouacs into
temporary accommodation outside port au prince
the government has made available to people free transportation large
operation is taking place we re in the process of relocating homeless people
said interior minister paul antoine bien aime
the government will hire some buses to take quake victims to the south and
north of the caribbean nation to hastily set up villages designed to hold
people each and work with local mayors to identify sites
rescue teams from around the world still combed the debris for survivors in and
around port au prince after two children were miraculously rescued alive on
wednesday but thursday brought no new signs of life from beneath the silent
debris
those pulled from the rubble still faced desperate fight for survival
around two dozen orphans adopted by french families were due to be flown out
of the city later thursday despite concerns from children aid groups that
fast track procedures could lead to families being broken up forever
tens of thousands of haitians remain seriously wounded in makeshift field
hospitals set up in tents on the ruins of the ravaged capital
international doctors working in miserable conditions lacking supplies and
modern equipment have carried out scores of amputations to save victims with
serious crush wounds or repair internal injuries
bed capacity us naval hospital ship is moored off haiti with about
medical personnel and has begun taking the worst of the injured
the international organization for migration estimated thursday that at least
half million people are now living outdoors in improvised camps and warned
the number was climbing as people flood in from damaged villages
thousands of us troops have poured into haiti with total of expected on
the ground or offshore by sunday other nations have pledged security forces to
help distribute aid provide medical treatment and keep the streets secure from
looters
the world bank said it would waive haiti debt payments for the next five years
due to the devastation and study efforts to cancel the nation remaining debt
of about million dollars
street in the capital was shut down thursday to allow hundreds of haitians to
make deposits and withdraw money from an impromptu teller set up by the central
bank of haiti brh
don have any more cash and can borrow money from my friends because
they are in the same situation said renee lafortune nurse
prices have soared on the streets amid general shortages anyone who managed to
stash extra food petrol or cigarettes can now get rich quick
had several cans of gasoline at home for factory on my property and have
been selling them little by little said ludovic it haitian gourdes no
haggling he said pricing can at twice what it fetched before the quake
meanwhile meeting of government ministers was interrupted by magnitude
aftershock the latest in series of tremors in recent days that have tested
the shattered nerves of survivors
world powers will discuss plans to rebuild the country at major donor
conference on monday in montreal
us transfers two guantanamo detainees to algeria
washington jan afp
the united states has transferred two algerian detainees from guantanamo bay to
their native country the us justice department announced thursday
two algerian detainees hasan zemiri and adil hadi al jazairi bin hamlili have
been transferred from the detention facility at guantanamo bay to the custody
and control of the government of algeria the department said in statement
the announcement came on the eve of what was once president barack obama
target date to close the notorious detention facility located on the us naval
base in guantanamo bay cuba
california on flood mudslide alert as storms hit
los angeles jan afp
torrential rain and strong winds pummeled california for fourth consecutive
day thursday as officials warned of tornados flash floods and mudslides in
areas ravaged by last year wildfires
around homes in hilly suburbs surrounding the los angeles area have been
issued evacuation orders as the fourth storm to hit the region this week
arrived causing power outages and transport chaos
the national weather service said the storm could produce from one to two inches
of rain in coastal and valley areas and two to four inches in the foothills and
mountains
scattered thunderstorms will occur and may become severe this afternoon
possibly generating waterspouts small tornadoes and mile per hour winds
according to an nws advisory
later thursday the nws issued tornado warning for parts of southern california
and arizona
around homes in los angeles were left without power after electricity was
knocked out late wednesday the department of water and power said
flash flood warning would remain in effect until late thursday officials in
los angeles county said
residents of some homes near hillsides denuded of vegetation in massive
wildfires last year had been told to evacuate although around percent of
those had refused to leave
the los angeles county fire department is anticipating that significant mud
flow and debris flow is likely today los angeles county fire department chief
deputy john tripp told morning briefing
meanwhile southwest airlines suspended flights in and out of los angeles
airports citing unfavorable wind conditions
on wednesday two southwest jets were hit by lightning as they arrived at burbank
airport before touching down safely
the storm caused huge waves at southern california beaches where several piers
were closed
san diego famous seaworld marine mammal park was closed because of torrential
rain
nba celtics davis fined for swearing at fan
new york jan afp
boston celtics forward glen big baby davis was fined dollars by the nba
on thursday for directing inappropriate language at fan during game at
detroit on wednesday
nba executive vice president of operations stu jackson announced the fine for
language davis used toward fan in the second quarter of boston loss to
the pistons
jeering fan called davis fat boy and told him to lose some weight davis
responded with an expletive
we know what happened and that unacceptable celtics coach doc rivers said
after the game it tough when the fans are yelling that stuff at you but you
have to be stronger than that
davis was the second celtics player to be fined in as many days boston forward
rasheed wallace was fined dollars on wednesday for criticizing officials
urgent us transfers two guantanamo detainees to algeria
washington jan afp
the united states has transferred two algerian detainees from guantanamo bay to
their native country the us department of justice announced thursday
alert
us transfers two guantanamo detainees to algeria
us to supply shadow drones to pakistan officials
islamabad jan afp
the united states plans to provide pakistan with dozen unarmed drone aircraft
that will help bolster its military as it takes on taliban militants us defence
officials said
details of the drones emerged late thursday during visit to pakistan by
defense secretary robert gates who was asked in an interview with pakistani
television if washington would supply islamabad with the unmanned aircraft
there are some tactical uavs unmanned aerial vehicles that we are
considering yes gates said
defence officials in his delegation afterward confirmed funds had been set aside
to secure shadow aerial drones for pakistan
the shadow drones smaller than the armed predator and reaper aircraft are
about feet three metres long and have wing span of feet with sensors
and cameras feeding video images back to operators on the ground
the pakistani military already had some less sophisticated drones for
surveillance but would need to heavily invest in training specialists to be able
to take advantage of the new hardware said us officials who spoke on condition
of anonymity
the us employs armed drones for missile strikes against al qaeda and taliban
figures in pakistan fuelling anti american sentiment and drawing public
condemnation from the government in islamabad
pakistani officials have previously called for washington to provide its
military with armed drones
british pm to testify at iraq inquiry before poll reports
london jan afp
british prime minister gordon brown appearance at the iraq war inquiry will be
brought forward to before elections amid growing pressure for him to give
evidence reports said thursday
the probe into the conflict which started in with the us led british
backed invasion had previously said it would not call brown ahead of general
election due by june
but the prime minister has faced growing calls from his political opponents to
testify which intensified this week with accusations brown finance minister
during the conflict had starved the military of vital funds
the bbc and daily mirror newspaper both reported brown would appear before the
elections
an inquiry spokesman confirmed its chairman john chilcot had written to the
prime minister thursday saying the panel would be happy to offer him the
opportunity to appear before the election
government spokesman gave no official confirmation but said the prime
minister has always offered to give full evidence to the iraq inquiry and is
happy to do so at any time
brown has publicly insisted he has nothing to hide and wednesday told
lawmakers he had to written to the investigation to stress he was willing to
give evidence
am happy to give evidence about all the issues that john chilcot puts
forward and am happy to satisfy the public of this country about our
government commitment to the security of this country he said
pressure has mounted on the prime minister to testify recently as figures
central to britain involvement in the war have given evidence to the inquiry
former defence secretary geoff hoon told the inquiry this week that as finance
minister brown failed to fund the forces properly in the years before the
conflict and then cut their budget following the invasion
and tony blair former communications chief alastair campbell said last week
that brown was part of an inner circle that the then prime minister took
advice from in private on iraq
leader of the opposition liberal democrats nick clegg said it was right that
the prime minister should explain his role in this disastrous foreign policy
failure
it is well known that the prime minister was key figure in britain decision
to invade iraq said clegg
the chilcot inquiry was announced by gordon brown in june honouring pledge
that the run up to and conduct of the us led and british backed conflict would
be examined once british troops pulled out
brown predecessor blair faced intense public hostility after backing then us
president george bush in the invasion and blair resulting unpopularity was
one of the main reasons which led to him stepping down in
blair is due to give evidence at the inquiry next week
tokyo stocks open sharply lower
tokyo jan afp
japanese share prices opened lower friday with the benchmark nikkei index
falling points or percent to in the first minute of
trading
high levels of vitamin cut risk of colon cancer study
paris jan afp
high levels of vitamin are linked with lower risk of colon cancer according
to comparison of more than half million europeans published online friday
by the british medical journal bmj
patients with the highest levels of vitamin in their blood had nearly
percent lower risk of colorectal cancer compared to those with the lowest
levels
vitamin derived mainly from sunlight but also found in foods plays key
role in bone strength by increasing levels of calcium in the blood
whether it affects incidence of cancer has been hotly debated and the evidence
is sketchy
the paper draws on very large study the european prospective investigation
into cancer epic project carried out in western european countries
the authors sound note of caution saying it is unclear whether vitamin
supplements are any more effective than balanced diet or getting regular
exposure to sunlight
further work is needed they add to show whether the statistical link in this
investigation is born out and whether there could be any side effects from
taking supplements or eating food fortified with vitamin
smoking obesity sedentary lifestyle alcohol and eating red and processed
meats have previously been established as factors in cancer of the colon and
rectum
psychiatric problems heavier burden for us combat troops study
paris jan afp
us troops withdrawn from the front line in iraq and afghanistan for medical
reasons from to were increasingly evacuated because of psychiatric
problems study released on friday reveals
only percent of troops taken out of combat operations on medical grounds
during this four year period were because of combat injury
the biggest single cause for pullout were musculo skeletal and joint problems
which accounted for percent of medical evacuations
in contrast psychiatric grounds accounted for five percent of evacuations in
iraq and six percent in afghanistan in these figures rose to percent
and percent respectively in
the analysis published by the lancet was led by steven cohen of johns hopkins
school of medicine in baltimore
it drew on data from more than us personnel who had been evacuated to the
main us military receiving hospital in landstuhl germany
the authors note that the increase in psychiatric cases occurred despite the
introduction of mental health teams devoted to treating combat stress
repeat missions and dwindling public support for the iraq war may partly account
for the rise they suggest
possible explanations are the cumulative psychological effect of repeated
deployments the increasing manpower burden borne by reserve and national guard
units decreased threshold for evacuation and shift in public opinion
regarding the war in iraq says the paper
other significant causes for medical evacuation were disorders of the nervous
system percent and spinal pain seven percent
the findings have implications for the pentagon seeking to prevent evacuations
that sap frontline strength and disrupt operations and for doctors and families
helping returning troops
as survival rates of combat injuries increase and the burden of non battle
related injuries and psychiatric disorders continues to soar society must be
prepared to deal with the aftermath of these injuries says the paper
high levels of vitamin cut risk of colon cancer study
paris jan afp
high levels of vitamin are linked with lower risk of colon cancer according
to comparison of more than half million europeans published online friday
by the british medical journal bmj
patients with the highest levels of vitamin in their blood had nearly
percent lower risk of colorectal cancer compared to those with the lowest
levels
vitamin derived mainly from sunlight but also found in foods plays key
role in bone strength by increasing levels of calcium in the blood
whether it affects incidence of cancer has been hotly debated and the evidence
is sketchy
the paper draws on very large study the european prospective investigation
into cancer epic project carried out in western european countries
the authors sound note of caution saying it is unclear whether vitamin
supplements are any more effective than balanced diet or getting regular
exposure to sunlight
further work is needed they add to show whether the statistical link in this
investigation is born out and whether there could be any side effects from
taking supplements or eating food fortified with vitamin
smoking obesity sedentary lifestyle alcohol and eating red and processed
meats have previously been established as factors in cancer of the colon and
rectum
lancet blasts aid industry in haiti chaos
paris jan afp
the leading medical journal the lancet on friday accused major aid organisations
of corporate preening and self interest that had contributed to bedlam in the
effort to help haiti
international organisations national governments and non governmental
organisations are rightly mobilising but also jostling for position each
claiming that they are doing the best for earthquake survivors it said in an
editorial
some agencies even claim that they are spearheading the relief effort in
fact as we only too clearly see the situation in haiti is chaotic
devastating and anything but coordinated
the lancet did not name names and gave credit to exceptional work in difficult
circumstances by aid workers
but the british journal said the aid sector is undoubtedly an industry in
its own right and unpalatable as it might seem scrutiny of motives and
performance was justified
large aid agencies and humanitarian organisations are often highly competitive
with each other the lancet said
polluted by the internal power politics and unsavoury characteristics seen in
many big corporations large aid agencies can be obsessed with raising money
through their own appeal efforts
media coverage as an end in itself is too often an aim of their activities
marketing and branding have too high profile
perhaps worse of all relief efforts in the field are sometimes competitive
with little collaboration between agencies including smaller grass roots
charities that may have better networks in affected countries and so are well
placed to immediately implement disaster relief
malnutrition higher among babies born to india child brides
paris jan afp
babies born to child brides in india run higher risk of malnourishment
compared to those born to older mothers says paper appearing on friday
anita raj professor at boston university school of public health led an
investigation into children born to women who had been married
between the ages of and
more than of the births occurred among child brides the term for girl
who marries before the age of
large majority percent of the child brides babies were malnourished
they were percent liklier to be stunted and percent likelier to be
underweight compared to the children of women aged over
there was no significant difference in birthweight or mortality between the
infants of both groups
the study published online by the british medical journal bmj speculates
that child brides get sidelined by husbands and their in laws and thus cannot
lobby for food for their children
the findings emphasise the value of delayed childbearing among adolescent
wives says raj
they also reveal the need for targeted intervention efforts to support children
born to mothers married as minors
india has the highest number of under five deaths in the world more than
percent of to year olds in india marry before they are and almost
quarter of the same age group have given birth by the time they reach
quitting smoking after lung cancer diagnosis helps survival
paris jan afp
smokers diagnosed with lung cancer should not assume they have been handed
death sentence as quitting tobacco even at this stage can greatly boost their
survival chances doctors said on friday
among those smokers who quit swiftly after diagnosis percent were still
alive after five years benchmark of survival in cancer research compared
with only percent among those who continued to smoke they said in an
online report published by the british medical journal bmj
the study carried out by scientists at birmingham university central england
entailed review of published studies into smoking and cancer survival
the authors speculate that tobacco smoke may accelerate progression of tumour
although further work is needed to confirm this
in any case they say the study says that it could be worthwhile for doctors to
encourage smokers to give up their habit when diagnosed with early stage lung
cancer
the link between lung cancer and smoking has been established for more than half
century lifelong smokers face fold risk of developing primary lung
tumour compared with non smokers according to study
afp
afp world news service no unauthorized reproduction
research sleuths succeed in tracking mrsa super bacteria
washington jan afp
scientists have succeeded in tracking the patient to patient transmission of the
multi drug resistant mrsa bacteria which they hope will allow for better
control and prevention of the dreaded superbug
for the first time researchers have determined how mrsa spreads from one person
to another particularly in hospitals the setting where the bacteria often
proliferates
the ability to track strains in this way will enable researchers to understand
how strains can spread so rapidly and should lead to novel infection control
strategies not only for mrsa but also for other emerging superbugs said
statement from the wellcome trust sanger institute in britain which conducted
the study in cooperation with the university of bath
scientists used sophisticated dna sequencing technologies to compare individual
mrsa samples from patients to precisely show how closely related they were
genetically
the study was able to identify incremental changes in the genetic code and to
identify differences between even the most closely related of mrsa specimens
the super bug resistance to treatment has created major health challenge
particularly in the hospital setting where it often proliferates
stephen bentley the senior author on the paper said the study allows
researchers and public health officials to determine how infections spread from
person to person from hospital to hospital from country to country
the study took one set of samples taken from people across the globe who
became infected with mrsa between and
second set of samples came from single hospital in northeast thailand and
consists of probes from patients who had developed mrsa infection within
seven months of each other all possibly linked by person to person
transmission
the team sequenced the entire genomes of all the samples using cutting edge dna
sequencing technology which was able to reveal minute genetic changes and
showed that no two infections were caused by entirely identical bacteria
having identified the subtle genetic differences the researchers divided the
thai hospital samples into two groups and found five that were extremely
similar
this group of five related mrsa strains caused infections in patients who were
resident in intensive care units in adjacent blocks of the hospital explains
ed feil from the department of biology and biochemistry at the university of
bath and one of the main authors on the study published in the us journal
science
bacteria from patients housed in other parts of the hospital were much less
similar he said
to better understand better the evolution and spread of mrsa over several
decades and large geographic distances the team also looked at samples from
hospitals in north and south america europe australia and asia collected over
period of more than two decades
mrsa methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus is type of staph skin
infection that usually starts as an outbreak of small red bumps that can quickly
turn into deep painful abscesses requiring surgical draining
while the bacteria sometimes remains confined to the skin it can also penetrate
the body causing potentially life threatening infections in the bones joints
surgical wounds heart or lungs
mrsa shot to prominence in recent years as many people catch the bug while being
treated in hospitals leading to health officials to ban doctor from wearing
their traditional white coats in favor of plastic aprons in bid to reduce the
risks of transmission
in the united states mrsa is the cause of more than percent of all hospital
infections according to the centers for disease control and preventions mrsa
in infected people and killed in the united states
latam leftists to meet on new regional currency
caracas jan afp
venezuela and leftist allies will meet monday in caracas to fine tune new
regional currency to break the dependency on the us dollar president hugo
chavez said saturday
on monday we ll have very important meeting of economy ministers from alba
to further shape an extraordinary project on currency that will break the
dependency on the dollar its economic and financial colonialism chavez told
political rally
the new currency named the sucre after jose antonio de sucre who fought for
independence from spain alongside venezuelan hero simon bolivar in the early
th century is expected to be rolled out early this year in non paper form
the currency for regional trade was agreed to in an october meeting of alba
that move echoes the european union introduction of the euro precursor the
ecu an account unit designed to tie down stable exchange rates between member
states before the national currencies were scrapped
alba was founded in by venezuela and cuba as counterweight to the free
trade area of the americas that the united states and several latin american
nations were proposing at the time
alba member states are venezuela bolivia cuba ecuador nicaragua honduras
dominica saint vincent and antigua and barbuda
survived on coca cola man stuck days in haiti rubble
port au prince jan afp
year old haitian man rescued on saturday after spending days buried in
the ruins of grocer shop survived on snacks and coca cola he told afp in
hospital interview
feel good said year old wismond exantus after he became the latest
haitian victim of last week earthquake to be pulled from the rubble by
international search and rescue teams
survived by drinking coca cola drank coca cola every day and ate some
little tiny things he explained after having spent week and half stuck in
his place of work the napolitain grocery
felt the tremor and then lost consciousness and when woke up called
out gerald gerald he said referring to co worker
he found himself caught in small pocket in the rubble able to move slightly
to the left and right and to bang on objects to try to attract the attention
of passers by but unable to free himself
didn shout just prayed he said speaking in creole
exantus brother jean pierre jeaneli told afp that he had feared for him but
had been unable to approach the ruined shop which lies in an unruly
neighborhood plagued by looters because of the police
helped other people after the quake helped get them out of the rubble but
couldn get to the shop because the police blocked people from going there
he complained
earlier french firefighters who had eventually pulled exantus from the rubble
confirmed that they had not been able to give his neighborhood the attention
they wanted because of the security situation
leftist latin american leaders to meet on haiti sunday
caracas jan afp
foreign ministers from an alliance of left leaning latin american countries are
to meet here to discuss cooperating in aid efforts for haiti venezuela
president hugo chavez said saturday
tomorrow sunday we will have the foreign ministers here to discuss haiti and
solidarity cooperation for this people destroyed by capitalism and now by the
tragedy of the earthquake chavez said
the countries are part of the alba regional grouping leftist organization
started by chavez and cuba former president fidel castro
venezuela and bolivia have criticized the united states for its response to the
january quake that devastated haiti capital accusing us forces of
occupying the country rather than helping its people
the united states has strongly denied the charge
figure skating davis and white win us ice dance crown
spokane washington jan afp
meryl davis and charlie white won their second straight us ice dancing title
