representatives unanimously adopted the measure by voice vote
the bill modeled after similar measure that bolstered giving after the
indian ocean tsunami would allow cash contributions made through march
to count against taxes
the measure also allows those who answered red cross appeal for donations via
text message to use their telephone bill as proof of donation
last week haiti and the world was reminded mother nature knows no deadlines
said senate finance committee chairman max baucus democrat and key author of
the legislation
americans give generously to disaster relief and hope this extension will
encourage them to give even more said senator charles grassley the panel
top republican
in pakistan gates seeks to bolster uneasy alliance
islamabad jan afp
us defense secretary robert gates has struck conciliatory tone on visit to
pakistan praising islamabad campaign against taliban militants in the midst
of tensions between the uneasy allies
gates who was to wrap up his two day visit friday stressed washington would
not impose demands or deadline on pakistan as it battles the threat of
islamist extremists along its western border with afghanistan
having them set pace as to what they think the political situation can bear
is almost certainly the right thing to do gates told reporters on thursday
in his first visit to the country in three years and first under us president
barack obama gates tried to reassure public and leadership wary of
washington plan to tackle militancy and turn around the war in afghanistan
describing day of productive meetings on thursday with pakistani leaders
gates press secretary geoff morrell said the pentagon chief was not
prescribing any timeline for the country campaign against militants
while pakistan has launched number of assaults on taliban strongholds in
recent months washington has long been anxious for islamabad to target the
afghan taliban and al qaeda linked militants within its borders as well
gates said he would ask pakistani leaders about plans to expand the campaign to
north waziristan bastion of al qaeda and the haqqani network known for
attacking us and nato troops fighting the taliban in afghanistan
but pakistan military spokesman major general athar abbas told reporters it
would take between six months to year to completely stabilise south
waziristan the focus of current army operations
with troops now in south waziristan the region would need to be secured
before any new assaults were launched he added
the defense secretary visit comes at time of diplomatic tension as bombing
campaign by us drones against militants in the northwest has fuelled anti
american sentiment and drawn public condemnation from the government
us officials who see pakistan as crucial to the fight against al qaeda and its
taliban allies portrayed the visit as an attempt to address misconceptions
about washington policies in country where scepticism of the americans runs
deep
gates on friday was due to address military audience crucial constituency
for washington
his speech comes day after talks with pakistani army chief general ashfaq
kayani defence minister ahmed mukhtar intelligence chief lieutenant general
ahmed shuja pasha and president asif ali zardari
the former cia director said his core message to pakistanis was that we are
in this for the long haul and intend to continue to be partner of theirs for
far into the future
in interviews with pakistani media and commentary published in local
newspaper gates promised washington would be reliable ally and would not
repeat mistakes made in the
he expressed regret that washington lost interest in the region after the
soviets withdrew from afghanistan and lost the trust of pakistani armed forces
with us ban on military aid prompted by islamabad nuclear programme in the
along with promoting partnership gates also issued stern warning that taliban
sanctuaries must be tackled or both nations would suffer more lethal and more
brazen attacks
in commentary published thursday gates wrote that making distinctions between
the different extremist groups as pakistan is often accused of doing was
counter productive
it is important to remember that the pakistani taliban operates in collusion
with both the taliban in afghanistan and al qaeda so it is impossible to
separate those groups gates wrote
mass relocation for haiti homeless
port au prince jan afp
haitian officials launched huge operation thursday to move hundreds of
thousands of homeless outside their ruined capital as medics worked feverishly
to treat the countless injured
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 quake
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
and 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 hundreds of
haitians still throng the quays waiting for boats out of the city
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
nine days after the quake rescue teams from around the world still combed the
debris for survivors in and around port au prince after two children were
miraculously found alive on wednesday
those pulled from the rubble still faced desperate fight for life
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 and gangrene has
already begun to eat its way through many wounds in the tropical heat
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 capital main port was due to start some operations on friday when navy
and army divers were to start rebuilding its heavily damaged pier
us coast guards are overseeing efforts to ensure it will not be over used during
the repairs which port officials said could take several months
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 as many as expected
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 and the un has unveiled program to provide
some jobs for haitians mainly in rubble clearing and reconstruction
google to stop censoring china web results shortly schmidt
san francisco jan afp
google chief executive eric schmidt said thursday that the internet giant is
still censoring web search results in china but that will change in
reasonably short time from now
we re in conversation with the chinese government schmidt told financial
analysts in conference call after releasing google fourth quarter results
our business in china is today unchanged said schmidt speaking little over
week after google revealed it had come under attack from cyber spies based in
china
we continue to follow their laws we continue to offer censored results
schmidt said but in reasonably short time from now we will be making some
changes there
schmidt did not provide any further details google said last week that it would
no longer censor web search results in china even if that meant it had to leave
the country
schmidt said google would like to remain in china we made strong statement
that we wish to remain in china he said we like the chinese people we like
our chinese employees
we like the business opportunities there but we like to do that on somewhat
different terms than we have schimdt said
british pm to appear at iraq inquiry before election reports
london jan afp
british prime minister gordon brown appearance before the iraq war inquiry
will be brought forward to before the election media reported thursday
brown had been due to give evidence after britain general election which must
be called by june but the bbc reported inquiry chairman john chilcot will call
him to give evidence ahead of the poll
the daily mirror newspaper cited senior government sources who said an official
announcement would be made friday
google quarterly net profit up five fold
san francisco jan afp
google on thursday posted five fold rise in quarterly net profit to
billion dollars and said annual net profit rose percent to billion
dollars
fourth quarter revenue rose percent to billion dollars the internet
giant said in statement
given that the global economy is still in the early days of recovery this was
an extraordinary end to the year google chief executive eric schmidt said
schmidt credited google management team innovative talent and business model
as building blocks for the stellar final months of
as we enter we remain hugely optimistic about the internet and are
continuing to invest heavily in technological innovation for the benefit not
only of our users and customers but also the wider web schmidt said
in what could be good news for the economy and bode well for other internet
companies google saw percent increase in paid clicks on ads posted at
its online properties
while google has tightly managed its budget through the economic crisis it
feels the time is ripe to acquire promising new companies or technologies
according to executives
the pace of deals in shows that we re at least on path of one per month
and we should expect that to continue some big more small than big probably
schmidt said during an earnings conference call
google reported that it finished with billion dollars in cash cash
equivalents and short term marketable securities
about percent of google revenue for the quarter came from outside the
united states in what could shine an even harsher spotlight on the internet
giant threat to pull out of china over online censorship
google style capitalism with conscience is butting heads with china brand of
communism
google has vowed to stop bowing to chinese online censorship that came as
legal condition when the california technology firm tailored search engine for
that country in
the impetus for the stand was china spawned cyber espionage that recently
targeted google and other firms
analysts wonder what google shutting down its search engine in china will mean
to the firm bottom line as well as the future there of the company other
offerings such as mobile telephones with android operating systems
google earnings for the quarter bested analyst expectations but the company
stock price slid more than four percent to dollars per share in trading
that followed release of the report
nba struggling nets face more woes without win
oakland california jan afp
the new jersey nets on pace to finish as the worst team in nba history face
another bit of dubious history if they should lose friday at golden state
at after the first half of the nba season the nets could break the all
time worst full season showing in league history the showing of the
philadelphia ers
that ers squad also started off but won the next game to launch
relatively strong second half of the season
nets loss would give them the worst game start in league history and
stretch their current losing skid to games
new jersey loser in of starts since december began that skid with
home loss to golden state
at points game the nets are the lowest scoring club in the nba
nfl manhattan renamed revis island ahead of jets game
new york jan afp
new york jets star darrelle revis nicknames his man to man coverage of opposing
wide receivers revis island
on thursday he got real island manhattan
new york mayor michael bloomberg symbolically renamed the heart of the city
revis island at rally sending the team off to their sunday showdown against
the indianapolis colts the last hurdle before reaching the super bowl
sunday game in indianapolis will be as tough as it gets but anyone who has
counted out these underdogs the last few weeks has regretted it bloomberg
said
starting today through the end of the playoffs manhattan island is hereby
renamed evis island it been more than years since the jets won
the super bowl but revis and the jets have new york city abuzz
indianapolis mayor gregory ballard and bloomberg announced culinary wager on
the hotly anticipated game
ballard will owe bloomberg shrimp cocktail from the saint elmo steakhouse if
his team loses should the jets crash then bloomberg will be delivering ballard
pizza from famed denino pizza place on staten island
rugbyu european challenge results
paris jan afp
european challenge result on thursday
pool
racing metro fra wasps eng
football sunderland sign blades defender kilgallon
london jan afp
sunderland on thursday signed sheffield united defender matthew kilgallon for an
undislcosed fee as the black cats looked to consolidate their premier league
mid table position
the year old has signed three and half year deal
matthew is very talented defender and has been coveted by number of top
flight clubs recently so very pleased to have brought him here sunderland
boss steve bruce told the club official website www safc com
clinton unveils civilian strategy for afghanistan pakistan
washington jan afp
us secretary of state hillary clinton on thursday unveiled long term non
military strategy to stabilize afghanistan and pakistan that calls for sending
more us civilian experts to the region
more than month after the obama administration announced military surge for
afghanistan the new civilian strategy outlines plans to rebuild its farm
sector improving afghan governance and reintegrating extremists into society
it also calls for boosting pakistan capabilities to fight growing islamist
insurgency and to enhance the us partnership with islamabad partly through
supporting political and economic reforms
while our military mission in afghanistan is not open ended we are committed
to building lasting partnerships with afghanistan and pakistan clinton said in
statement
believe this strategy offers the best prospect for stabilizing afghanistan
and pakistan the chief us diplomat said
look forward to working with congress to secure the non military resources
needed to achieve our mission and to signal our commitment to afghanistan and
pakistan she said adding the money would be well spent
however it was not immediately clear how much support there is in congress for
the strategy
in terms of concrete civilian deployments clinton called for increases of
experts in afghanistan beyond the nearly us civilian experts due to be
deployed within the next few weeks
we anticipate further increasing our civilian staffing in by another to
percent concentrating experts in the field and at key ministries that
deliver vital services to the afghan people the report said
the afghanistan and pakistan regional stabilization strategy was produced by the
office of the special representative for afghanistan and pakistan richard
holbrooke who began briefing senators on the strategy
in early december president barack obama called for deploying another us
troops to afghanistan to reverse the momentum of taliban insurgency
urgent british pm to appear at iraq inquiry before election reports
london jan afp
british prime minister gordon brown appearance before the iraq inquiry will be
brought forward to before the general election the bbc and daily mirror
newspaper reported thursday
toyota recalls million us vehicles for accelerator problem
washington jan afp
toyota motor has recalled around million vehicles in the united states to
fix problem with their accelerator pedals the company us division announced
thursday
the company said the recall was to correct accelerator pedals on specific toyota
models that could in rare instances mechanically stick in partially
depressed position or return slowly to the idle position
the action was separate to an ongoing recall of approximately million toyota
and lexus vehicles that was begun last year due to risk that loose driver side
floor mats could slip forward and jam the pedals it said
in recent months toyota has investigated isolated reports of sticking
accelerator pedal mechanisms in certain vehicles without the presence of floor
mats irv miller vice president of toyota motor sales usa said in
statement
our investigation indicates that there is possibility that certain
accelerator pedal mechanisms may in rare instances mechanically stick in
partially depressed position or return slowly to the idle position he added
consistent with our commitment to the safety of our cars and our customers we
have initiated this voluntary recall action
the models involved are the rav to model year corolla
matrix avalon camry highlander
tundra and sequoia
ten killed in haiti prisoner uprising uruguayan army
montevideo jan afp
ten prisoners were killed during an uprising at haitian prison and others
escaped the facility in les cayes southwest of port au prince the uruguayan
army told afp on thursday
the national battalion force managed to prevent massive escape attempt
without opening fire by surrounding the building and persuading the prisoners
said julio micak communications officer for uruguay army
some uruguayan soldiers participate in united nations peacekeeping force
in haiti which was hit last week by massive earthquake that devastated the
capital
though micak said forces did not open fire during the riot he said the uprising
at the prison of some detainees left dead and fugitives
he said search was underway for the escaped convicts
uruguayan soldiers intervened in support of the haitian police and the united
nations he added
uruguay is one of the biggest contributors to the united nations stabilization
mission in haiti known as minustah along with brazil which has some
soldiers deployed in the force
the main prison in port au prince far larger than the one in les cayes was
virtually destroyed by the magnitude quake on january and officials said
almost all of the estimated prisoners there escaped
alert
britain pm to give evidence to iraq inquiry before election reports
alert
britain pm to give evidence to iraq inquiry before election reports
china worries fuel rally in dollar yen
new york jan afp
the dollar rallied along with the yen thursday as growing fears that china will
cool its booming economy curbed demand for risk sensitive currencies
the euro was also hit by persistent investor fears over the debt situation in
some eurozone members while bond markets kept the spotlight on greece fiscal
woes
the euro was changing hands at dollars at gmt from dollars
late in new york on wednesday at one point the single currency hit its lowest
levels since july at dollars
the dollar meanwhile dropped to yen from yen before
the markets were unsettled by news from china that growth had accelerated along
with inflation which could lead to efforts that would cool off both china and
the rest of the global economy
the inflation rate was at its highest level in more than year said boris
schlossberg at global forex trading
the fears of potential tightening sent high beta currencies lower on risk
aversion flows
china economy expanded by percent in with the pace of growth hitting
percent in the fourth quarter new data out on thursday showed
but china biggest rise in inflation in months underlined the broader
challenges of breakneck growth and came as the world bank and international
monetary fund warned again that the country could face an economic bubble
david song at forex capital markets said that although the dollar was mainly
higher the yen took over as the main safe haven from market turmoil
the japanese yen continued to benefit from the rise in risk aversion and
remains the best performing currency against the greenback he said
global stock markets shuddered on the news from china and took another hit
after proposal by us president barack obama to limit the size and scope of
banks in an effort to curb risky activities in the financial sector
on the european front the woes were aggravated by worries over the outlook for
the nation eurozone and fiscal crises in greece and portugal
the price of greek bonds was up slightly with the result that the yield they
generate inched down to percent from on wednesday
but the yield remains high indicating lack of confidence in the markets of
the greek government ability to rein in mounting deficit
greece last week presented the european commission with plan for reducing its
deficit of some percent in to percent by but investors have
voiced caution over the ambitious cost cutting plan
there is also concern that fellow eurozone member portugal could also be dragged
into debt crisis after the international monetary fund warned the budget
situation in the country was critical
the european unit is seen as more vulnerable than the safe haven dollar to any
disappointment over the pace of the global economic recovery
in late new york trade the dollar stood at swiss francs from
the pound was at dollars after
us firm backs off jesus scopes
washington jan afp
us firm sought to quiet controversy over coded biblical references inscribed
on gunsights used by us troops in iraq and afghanistan thursday announcing it
was providing kits to remove them
muslim and religious freedom groups reacted angrily after it emerged this week
that trijicon has multi million dollar contracts to supply hundreds of thousands
of the gunsights to the us military
critics charged that the company was putting us troops in danger in muslim
majority nations where us military presence is already bitterly resented
general david petraeus chief of the us central command which oversees us
military operations from the gulf region to central asia called the
inscriptions disturbing adding that he only learned about them on wednesday
this is serious concern to me and the other commanders in iraq and
afghanistan because it indeed conveys perception that is absolutely contrary
to what we have sought to do he said at the center for strategic and
international studies in washington
the wixom michigan company said it has inscribed references to the new
testament on the metal casings of its gunsights for over two decades
but it announced it would supply the military with kits to remove the
references on already deployed products
major shawn turner pentagon spokesman said the department of defense
applauds trijicon voluntary action
we will work to determine how best to quickly and prudently implement the
remedies they have proposed he added
the coded descriptions are not obvious appearing in raised lettering
immediately following the stock number on the metal casing of the gunsights the
scopes use tritium radioactive isotope of hydrogen to create light and help
shooters aim at their target
among the markings on the advanced combat optical gunsight were jn an
apparent reference to john then spake jesus again unto them saying am
the light of the world he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness but
shall have the light of life
the practice raised alarm because it broke us military rule that strictly
prohibits proselytizing of any religion faith or practice in iraq and
afghanistan both muslim nations
it is not the policy of the department of defense to put religious references
of any kind on its equipment army spokesman gary tallman told afp
the marine corps said it was making every effort to remove the markings and
would ensure all future scopes not carry the inscriptions
trijicon currently has multi year million dollar contract with the us
marine corps and other contracts with the us army to supply the rifle sights
just under of them are currently fielded by the marines and
around by the army pentagon officials said
the military contractor said it had taken the step in response to concerns
raised by the department of defense and to ensure the war time production
needs of the troops are met as quickly as possible
besides providing kits the company said it would remove the biblical references
on all us military products that have not yet been shipped and stop inscribing
them on gunsights in the future
it also offered other international military forces using its products which
include the british military and the new zealand defense forces the option to
remove the references
trijicon has proudly served the us military for more than two decades and our
decision to offer to voluntarily remove these references is both prudent and
appropriate president and ceo stephen bindon said in statement
the firm vows on its website to follow biblical standards it says make america
great
wall street slumps on obama bank limit plans
new york jan afp
wall street stocks tumbled thursday with the blue chip dow index down more than
two percent after us president barack obama unveiled plans to limit the size
and scope of us banks and finance firms
the dow jones industrial average slumped points percent to
posting its biggest drop for the year and extending losses after
big fall on wednesday
the nasdaq composite tumbled points percent to and the
standard amp poor index dropped points percent to
the market was dragged down mainly by concerns over obama new plans to limit
the size and scope of us banks and finance firms
they brought the bears out in force said schaeffer investment research
analyst elizabeth harrow
with traders anticipating return to glass steagall style regulation weakness
in major financial firms dragged the market to drastic losses she said citing
depression era law creating wall between investment and commercial banks
top obama economic aide austan goolsbee moved to reject the fears saying it
not returning to glass steagall repealed in
obama plans are to limit excessive risk taking and protect taxpayers
aimed at preventing banks or finance institutions from owning investing in or
sponsoring hedge fund or private equity funds
they will effectively force finance firms to choose between proprietary
activities trading in stocks and sometimes risky financial instruments and
commercial activities like making loans and collecting deposits
the initiative which must be approved by congress also proposed to place
broader limits on excessive growth of the market share of liabilities at the
largest financial firms
the obama administration proposal is inconsistent with achieving goals
such as promoting responsible lending increasing jobs and promoting stronger
economy said steve bartlett president for the financial services roundtable
group of top financial services firms
persistent worries over moves to clamp down lending in china the global
economic growth driver also troubled investors analysts said
concern also grew that china might hike interest rates to cool its economy
this followed report that gross domestic product in china grew last quarter at
the fastest pace since said wells fargo advisors chief market strategist
al goldman
banking stocks hammered down were bank of america down percent to
dollars and jpmorgan chase by percent to dollars
goldman sachs shed percent to dollars even after reporting net
profit of billion dollars in the fourth quarter of and full year
profit of billion dollars sixfold increase from
morgan stanley slipped percent to dollars
aluminum producer alcoa fell percent to dollars and construction
equipment making giant caterpillar was down percent to dollars
the bond market rose amid the investor caution the yield on the year
treasury bond fell to percent from percent wednesday while that on
the year bond slipped to percent from percent
brazilian fm to haiti on friday
rio de janeiro jan afp
brazilian foreign minister celso amorim is to travel to haiti on friday to
evaluate the military support and humanitarian aid his country was sending to
the quake hit caribbean state
amorim announced the trip thursday during memorial service in rio de janeiro
for the brazilian deputy chief of the un peacekeeping mission luis carlos da
