emerge from the worst catastrophe to befall the poor caribbean nation
un chief ban ki moon requested extra troops and police to boost his
battered mission in haiti as the world body death toll from the disaster rose
to with hundreds of staff still unaccounted for
speaking to reporters after briefing the security council on his six hour visit
to the devastated haitian capital sunday ban said he had requested that the un
mission known as minustah be considerably beefed up
vital aid and surge in us military personnel to haiti brought monday drip of
hope to despairing survivors still seeking basic supplies and security nearly
week after the killer quake
approximately us troops were already on the ground as part of the
humanitarian response and in bid to provide desperately needed security to
back up those efforts
and food rations provided by the united nations and humanitarian organizations
slowly began to trickle out to haiti desperate recipients
at challe camp for displaced haitians supplies began to come to those
in need but one desperate father said the aid was not nearly enough to feed so
many hungry people
meanwhile more than marines arrived aboard the amphibious ship uss
bataan boosting overall us troop numbers to either in haiti or offshore
and lieutenant general ken keen us commander of the joint task force in haiti
said there would be us troops in the area in coming weeks
they need as many troops on the ground as possible keen said
boxing haitian boxer berto pulls out of fight
las vegas nevada jan afp
andre berto pulled out of next week world boxing council welterweight title
fight with shane mosley saying the pain of dealing with the horrific earthquake
has taken too big toll on him emotionally
berto whose parents are haitian and represented haiti in the athens olympics
said even though this was the biggest fight of his career he cannot continue to
train
as result of this disaster am mentally and physically exhausted and
therefore have no choice but to withdraw from my bout berto said
the undefeated berto was to defend his title against mosley at the luxury
mandalay bay resort in las vegas on january
mosley who has held titles in three different weight classes was to be his
biggest test
berto who has many relatives in haiti had been in training in florida and was
scheduled to arrive in las vegas on wednesday
but he said he could not go forward despite the fight being an opportunity he
has dreamt of since he was boy
lost several family members to the earthquake and after two days without
word was relieved to learn that my sister naomi and her daughter jessica
survived but were left homeless said berto who has straight wins and no
losses
have seen the pain in my parents eyes as they attempt to understand what has
happened to our homeland and recognize place they once called home
berto was born in miami but boxed for haiti in the olympics he had been
involved in charity and relief efforts in haiti even before the killer
earthquake hit
berto decision could open the door for mosley to fight someone like floyd
mayweather who lost out on chance recently to fight manny pacquiao
mosley hasn fought since stopping disgraced boxer antonio margarito year
ago
for thousands haiti healing pivots on an amputation
port au prince jan afp
jacques lorblanches has lost count of the number of amputations he has performed
in the past hours in haiti but he will never forget the ghastly conditions
under which he carried them out
have never seen anything like this infected wounds full of larvae said
the experienced french doctor recounting scene reminiscent of field
hospital on bloody th century battlefield
did my first amputation with three forceps five scissors and scalpel
without water and just flashlight to illuminate the injury said the
surgeon who is part of team sent by the humanitarian organization doctors of
the world
such are the nightmares brought to horrifying life across port au prince after
last week cataclysmic earthquake plunged the haitian capital into ruin
killing feared people and injuring countless more
for many of the injured lucky enough to be rescued new horror begins with the
drastic amputation of one or more limbs and after eventual recovery the
prospects of life of grinding poverty
since saturday out of operations performed by the french team at the general
hospital in port au prince ended in amputation
and even as some of the world most advanced mobile medical facilities are just
short helicopter flight away aboard us aircraft carrier and other ships in
the waters off haiti the story is the same
of the operations performed over two days almost all were amputations
said doctor amit assa at another field hospital set up by an israeli team on
the outskirts of the capital
the wounded are brought in wheelbarrows or on stretchers fashioned out of doors
by pleading relatives or mute strangers
arriving with gangrenous limbs crushed days ago by concrete walls or metal
beams doctors explained that it was inevitable that many many surgeries would
end in amputation
like city gripped by war port au prince will be home to thousands of fresh
amputees when all is said and done exacerbating an acute crisis in the western
hemisphere most wretchedly poor nation according to the surgeons
an emotional lorblanches recalled the case of girl injured when wall
collapsed and crushed her hands both of which were amputated by his team on
sunday
we cut to save lives he said our work is small drop in this tragedy
but the cut has become the norm after the operation there is only time for
brief cigarette break before starting anew on haitian man whose left leg had
been crushed
the desperate conditions force the doctors to do rapid triage more familiar on
war front lines than in quake hit capital
doubt can mean death observed anesthetist igor auriant
few paces away marie francoise howls in anguish in the aftermath of the loss
of her left arm
her parents perished in the family home when it collapsed in the temblor and
while marie francoise spent hours trapped under the rubble she was eventually
rescued by neighbors
feel happy because alive but do not think about my future lost
everything and can not work she said between sobs
the scene is repeated in badly damaged hospitals and makeshift medical centers
in the city slum carrefour dozens of wounded and dying have lain for hours
even days under sweltering sun waiting to be treated inside tent
amputations are performed one lot after another
there is gangrene everywhere and you amputate on the go said hans van dillen
for years the head of doctors without borders msf mission here that is now
conducting surgeries per day under shocking conditions
on day six you conduct radical surgery there nothing more you can do
and with the number of casualties needing immediate treatment skyrocketing
skull fractures severe burns open wounds we are completely overwhelmed
he said
medical equipment has been late in arriving and the wounded are sorted like
casualties of war forget the hopeless cases postpone care for the less serious
ones and focus on the critically injured who can be saved
boxing haitian boxer berto pulls out of fight
las vegas nevada jan afp
andre berto pulled out of next week world boxing council welterweight title
fight with shane mosley saying the pain of dealing with the horrific earthquake
has taken too big toll on him emotionally
berto whose parents are haitian and represented haiti in the athens olympics
said even though this was the biggest fight of his career he cannot continue to
train
as result of this disaster am mentally and physically exhausted and
therefore have no choice but to withdraw from my bout berto said
the undefeated berto was to defend his title against mosley at the luxury
mandalay bay resort in las vegas on january
mosley who has held titles in three different weight classes was to be his
biggest test
berto who has many relatives in haiti had been in training in florida and was
scheduled to arrive in las vegas on wednesday
but he said he could not go forward despite the fight being an opportunity he
has dreamt of since he was boy
lost several family members to the earthquake and after two days without
word was relieved to learn that my sister naomi and her daughter jessica
survived but were left homeless said berto who has straight wins and no
losses
have seen the pain in my parents eyes as they attempt to understand what has
happened to our homeland and recognize place they once called home
berto was born in miami but boxed for haiti in the olympics he had been
involved in charity and relief efforts in haiti even before the killer
earthquake hit
prince william charms sick children at end of nz visit
wellington jan afp
britain prince william charmed sick children in new zealand capital tuesday
at the end of his first official visit representing his grandmother queen
elizabeth ii
the year old second in line to the throne flew out of wellington tuesday
morning bound for sydney for three day unofficial visit to australia
prince william first visited the children wards at wellington hospital saying
afterwards he had enjoyed the experience
seeing kids smile means lot to me he told reporters
twelve year old ethan fagaloafa time in hospital with heart condition said
the prince was good company
thought he be bit up himself he said he added that the prince accent
was pretty funny and sounded posh
the prince proved popular royal envoy on his visit to new zealand meeting all
blacks rugby players and sailing an america cup yacht in auckland harbour
after arriving on sunday
after william opened new supreme court building in wellington on monday on
behalf of the queen new zealand head of state he went on walkabout
shaking hands and chatting with some of up to people gathered to see him
man working for radio station breached security monday night to sneak into
barbecue for william at prime minister john key official residence in
wellington police said
the year old man who said he climbed over fence into the residence as
prank was stopped by police and questioned about half an hour before the prince
arrived at the barbecue
obama first state of the union address set for january
washington jan afp
us president barack obama will deliver his first state of the union address on
january the white house announced monday
the president will deliver the state of the union address to joint
session of congress on wednesday january th at pm est the white
house spokesman said
the address will be broadcast live on national television and will be streamed
live on www whitehouse gov http www whitehouse gov he added
during brutal first year in the white house obama has rarely recreated the
passion of his euphoric campaign but emerged as calm disciplined and
sometimes reserved figure dealing with america severe problems
obama has seen his stratospheric approval ratings of year ago decline to the
perilous sub percent range and is getting low marks in polls on his economic
management with unemployment at percent
supporters argue obama inherited terrible economic and political legacy from
his predecessor george bush but republicans brand him job killing
president who made bad situation worse
many experts believe obama prospects will only recover when the us economy
does
un chief seeks reinforcements for un mission in haiti
united nations jan afp
un chief ban ki moon requested monday extra troops and police to boost his
battered mission in quake hit haiti amid scenes of lawlessness on the streets of
the stricken capital
speaking to reporters after briefing the security council on his six hour visit
to the devastated haitian capital sunday ban said he had requested that the un
mission known as minustah be considerably beefed up
recommended that the security council boost the number of troops by
nearly percent increase for six months and that the number of un police
officers should rise by or percent he said
diplomats said the member council would meet tuesday morning to adopt draft
resolution to that effect proposed by the united states
copy of the text obtained by afp endorsed ban reinforcement request and
said minustah will consist of military component of up to troops of
all ranks and of police component of up to
araud said the security council would also have to examine minustah mandate in
the near future to see what is necessary to adjust it to the new situation
he noted that paris had proposed an international conference on rebuilding the
haitian economy and said the talks should ideally be held in march after
preparatory meeting in montreal scheduled for next monday
alain leroy head of un peacekeeping operations said the extra troops would be
used to build humanitarian corridors to link port au prince with the neighboring
dominican republic and northern haitian port
the haitian capital main port was heavily damaged in tuesday quake and
will require weeks if not months of repairs
the extra minustah troops would also serve as reserve force in case the
security situation deteriorates leroy said
extra police would include forensic experts and prison officers including more
than to deal with detainees who escaped leroy said their mission
would generally be to back up the haitian police
leroy said the dominican republic had agreed to dispatch battalion of
troops for arrival as early as this week and that other countries notably from
latin america and the european union were considering offers
he also addressed the sensitive issue of coordination between minustah and the
some troops being deployed by the united states
leroy said there was clear division of labor with minustah in charge of
general security in haiti and the us troops there to secure their huge
humanitarian operation
susana malcorra head of the un department of field support logistics
stressed the need to open up alternative aid routes to the badly damaged and
overrun port au prince airport the main entry point for international aid
the un mission in haiti has roughly troops police and about
civilian personnel
it has been deployed since mid to help stabilize the impoverished caribbean
island nation of nine million people where officials fear the final death toll
for haitians could soar above
quarter of million more were injured and million left homeless in the
wake of tuesday magnitude quake
the disaster was also the worst ever in terms of fatalities for the un and ban
spokesman martin nesirky said un personnel were now confirmed dead and more
than missing or unaccounted for
the heartbreaking things saw yesterday compel us to act swiftly and
generously ban said
the un chief said he got clear message from his encounter with haitians who
told him we need the united nations we need jobs we need food and water
he said the priority was to improve the coordination of the massive
international relief effort and unclog the bottlenecks to make sure that the aid
was reaching the people who needed it most
ban late sunday flew back from port au prince with the remains of his special
envoy to haiti hedi annabi and his brazilian deputy luiz carlos da costa both
killed in the quake
the un boss made the morale boosting visit to the haitian capital to show
solidarity with haitian quake victims and shell shocked local un staff
he visited the flattened minustah headquarters to praise the work of some
rescue workers battling to save as many lives as possible and to offer comfort
to the staff
obama first state of the union address set for january
washington jan afp
us president barack obama will deliver his first state of the union address on
january the white house announced monday
the president will deliver the state of the union address to joint
session of congress on wednesday january th at pm est the white
house spokesman said
the address will be broadcast live on national television and will be streamed
live on www whitehouse gov http www whitehouse gov he added
urgent obama first state of the union address set for january
washington jan afp
us president barack obama will deliver his first state of the union address on
january the white house announced monday
us text aid for haiti nets over million dollars
washington jan afp
more than million dollars for haiti earthquake survivors has been collected
by text messaging red cross appeal in the united states the state department
said monday
thank you to the two million plus who have raised million dollars by
texting haiti to please consider joining them the department said
in tweet on its twitter account
the american red cross on friday set record for the single largest mobile
donation for haiti with million dollars in three days from one million
people
kraft and cadbury poised to agree tie up report
london jan afp
us food giant kraft foods is to raise its bid for cadbury to level the british
confectioner will accept and deal will probably be announced tuesday the bbc
reported
kraft may hike its offer to between and pence share at pence
cadbury would be valued at billion pounds billion euros billion
dollars the bbc said late monday
kraft launched its hostile bid for cadbury late last year triggering high
profile and acrimonious battle that has seen the british confectioner repeatedly
reject the us firm cash and shares offer
but the latest efforts to sweeten the bid should bring an end to the takeover
war said the bbc
the two firms were highly likely to agree deal that would probably be
announced at am gmt tuesday said the broadcaster business editor
robert peston
tie up would bring together leading kraft brands like dairylea cheese kenco
coffee and toblerone with the british group dairy milk chocolate creme eggs
and trident chewing gum
there is still the possibility that us chocolate maker hershey could enter the
fray however with counter offer for cadbury that could trigger an
international chocolate bidding war
the wall street journal has reported that hershey plans to bid at least
billion dollars this week for cadbury after concluding it can top kraft offer
glimmers of normal life in port au prince suburb
port au prince jan afp
small glimmers of normal life returned monday to the least badly affected areas
of the haitian capital with street vendors plying their wares and taxis honking
their horns in traffic
six days after earthquake killed tens of thousands it the first real
day of activity for people they are going out to refuel and stock up on
supplies said resident in petionville
the upscale district and others like it sustained less damage in the quake than
the lower lying poorer neighborhoods of the haitian capital
gasoline stations in petionville have reopened attracting long lines of
vehicles and people on foot holding containers under the hot sun everybody is
calm and uncomplaining as the fuel was in plentiful supply
taxis were back in business clogging the streets with sounds of horns and bob
marley music
street vendors sold anything from corn flakes to batteries toys fruit and
dollar bags of spaghetti although locals said the price of basic foodstuffs had
gone up sharply as high as twice pre quake levels
top selling items included propane gas canisters to cook with and charcoal
despite government warnings pre quake that it sale was denuding haiti of its
forests
at crossroads young people congregated at makeshift camp to hear guitar
playing they were friendly to foreigners because as one of them said we need
help
street barbers attended clients and preachers trained megaphones on passersby
urging them to repent
but outside collapsed supermarket year old armel deyi provided grim
reminder of the catastrophe to have befallen the city holding up photo of her
daughter have you seen her
alert
obama to give state of the union address january white house
football grieving lovenkrands stars as newcastle extend lead
london jan afp
newcastle went three points clear at the top of english football second
division championship with draw at home to fellow promotion candidates
west bromwich albion at st james park on monday
the magpies twice had to come from behind against west brom with striker peter
lovenkrands who had flown back from denmark after compassionate leave following
the death of his father scoring newcastle second goal
it was bit surreal lovenkrands told sky sports there still bit of
emotion now when think about it was just so pleased to get goal for my
dad it means lot
asked if it had been difficult decision for him to play the former rangers
forward replied it was very but my dad was very big football fan and he
would have wanted me to do this didn want to let him down
both newcastle and west brom are looking to get back into the lucrative premier
league and the draw saw the third placed baggies move six points in front of
swansea who are fourth
however only the top two teams at the end of the season are guaranteed
promotion to english football top flight with the next four heading into the
playoffs to determine the third and final side to go up
no visiting side have enjoyed victory at st james park this season but the
baggies made their intentions clear when jonas olsson fired them into th
minute lead
newcastle responded minutes later with danny guthrie free kick only for
roman bednar to put west brom back in front seconds after the beginning of the
second half
however lovenkrands who scored hat trick in their fa cup victory over
plymouth last wednesday drew newcastle level for the second time in the match
with th minute header
ishmael miller could have won the game for west brom late on but somehow with
the goal at his mercy hit the post from few yards out
newcastle though also had chances to take all three points with baggies keeper
former england international scott carson saving well from ryan taylor free
kick
apple to hold january event tablet computer expected
washington jan afp
apple announced monday it would unveil its latest creation in san francisco on
january an event expected to feature the unveiling of long awaited tablet
computer
please join apple on january for special event said typically cryptic
email invitation to journalists from the company behind the macintosh computer
the ipod and the iphone
come see our latest creation said the invitation which featured colorful
blobs of paint surrounding the apple logo
the cupertino california based company did not supply any further details about
the invitation only event to be held at am pacific time gmt at the
yerba buena center for the arts theater in san francisco
apple used the same venue in september for an ipod event featuring the first
public appearance by steve jobs after nearly six months of medical leave during
which the apple chief executive underwent liver transplant
silicon valley has been buzzing for months with rumors that apple plans to
release touchscreen tablet computer that resembles an oversized ipod touch
according to the wall street journal the color multimedia device will allow
users to browse the web watch movies or television shows and also serve as an
electronic book and newspaper reader
apple routinely refuses to comment on products ahead of their release and
true to form the company has ignored the rumors sweeping technology blogs
letting anticipation and speculation build
the specter of an apple itablet however hovered over the international
consumer electronics show in las vegas earlier this month with manufacturers of
tablet computers jockeying for head start in the marketplace
computer giant hewlett packard was among the companies seeking to get jump on
apple and microsoft chief executive steve ballmer provided glimpse on stage of
an hp slate computer during an appearance at the annual gadget show
but few companies generate the buzz of apple and tablet computer would be the
company first major product release since it came out with the popular iphone
three years ago
the wall street journal reported earlier this month that the apple tablet
computer would have to inch to centimeter screen and may
begin to ship in march
citing people familiar with the situation the newspaper said apple ceo jobs
has primarily focused on the tablet since returning to work in june from medical
leave
analysts told the journal the apple device was likely to cost as much as
dollars
valleywag silicon valley gossip website recently triggered apple ire by
offering rewards for proof that the notoriously secretive company has made
tablet computer
valleywag com offered dollars for bona fide pictures of an apple
tablet dollars for video of one in action and dollars if steve
jobs was in the pictures or video
the reward would jump to dollars if you let us play with it for an
hour the website promised while announcing what it dubbed the apple tablet
scavenger hunt
valleywag declared apple the first winner of its contest after receiving
letter from the company lawyers
we believe you and your company have crossed the line by offering bounty for
the theft of apple trade secrets an apple lawyer said in copy of the
letter posted online by valleywag
us search teams save people from haiti ruins us agency
washington jan afp
search and rescue teams from the united states on sunday pulled record
people alive from the rubble of quake struck port au prince according to the us
agency for international development
according to rescue officials this is the largest number of rescues in
single day in decades of earthquake search and rescue efforts usaid said on
monday
the ten survivors were brought out of the rubble alive by three us teams from
los angeles and miami florida the agency said
fourth us team from fairfax virginia also is working in port au prince
usaid said that as of early monday people had been saved by more than us
rescuers on the ground in haiti while another were saved by international
rescue teams
usaid said its rescuers were looking for survivors at numerous locations
throughout port au prince and would continue in full rescue mode through
tuesday
we are hopeful we will find still more individuals said statement by
usaid senior regional adviser tim callaghan
officials said monday that international teams comprising rescue
workers and dogs have scoured percent of the worst affected areas hit by
the earthquake
lima mayor fujimori daughter ahead in peru presidential survey
lima jan afp
lima mayor luis castaneda leads in popularity survey ahead of peru
presidential election with disgraced ex president alberto fujimori daughter
running second poll released monday found
castaneda has percent support among voters followed by keiko fujimori
member of peru legislature with percent according to survey by the firm
ipsos apoyo
alberto fujimori was president as president he divorced his
then wife and his daughter keiko formally served as the country first lady
the ex president however was found guilty of series of crimes including human
rights abuses and abuse of power and is serving year prison sentence
third in the poll is nationalist ollanta humala who lost to current president
alan garcia in run off vote garcia is banned from running for re
election
the poll was carried out among people in cities and has percent
margin of error
the vote is to be held in the first quarter of
no plans for policing role for us troops in haiti gates
aboard us military aircraft jan afp
us troops in quake hit haiti will play supporting role for un peacekeeping
forces and will not take on broader policing mission defense secretary robert
gates said on monday
think we still see the un and minustah in the lead here gates said
referring to the united nations contingent in haiti
we are there in support of them and the government of haiti he told reporters
on his plane bound for india
the more than us ground troops deployed to haiti after last week
earthquake will help safeguard relief efforts but gates appeared to rule out
wider peacekeeping operation
haven heard of us playing policing role at any point he said
amid tensions and looting in the aftermath of the massive quake gates said
maintaining security was high priority
after all we can deliver the food and water if we don have reasonable
security situation he said
he added that american troops had the authority to use force to defend
themselves or others if necessary
think obviously anywhere we deploy our troops they have the authority and the
right to defend themselves and they also have the right to defend innocent
haitians and also members of the international community if they see something
happening
he said there was risk of violence erupting if emergency aid did not reach
earthquake survivors
until we can get ample supplies of food and water to people there is worry
that in their desperation some will turn to violence and we will work with the
un in trying to ensure the security situation remains good he said
president barack obama has mobilized major us military relief operation in
haiti including brigade from the us army nd airborne division and the
nd marine expeditionary unit along with an array of ships transport planes
and helicopters
the relief effort was hampered in part by having to deliver aid mostly by air as
