power generation
critics of the deal however say electricity ratepayers will end up subsidizing
the consortium with billions of dollars in government incentives paid for green
energy generation
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
rallying monte carlo rally results
mointe carlo jan afp
monte carlo rally results after thursday second day
mikko hirvonen fin ford fiesta hr min sec juho hanninen fin skoda
fabia at bastien ogier fra peugeot nicolas
vouilloz fra skoda fabia st phane sarrazin fra peugeot
franz wittmann aut peugeot guy wilks gbr skoda
fabia bruno magalhaes por peugeot jan kopecky
cze skoda fabia toni gardemeister fin abarth grande punto
stage winners ogier ss ss ss ss ss hirvonen ss ss ss
vouilloz ss hanninen ss
retirements robert kubica pol renault clio kris meeke gbr peugeot
extra us forces expected in haiti saturday official
washington jan afp
an extra us military contingent of more than troops is expected to reach
haiti saturday to boost the still struggling aid effort in the aftermath of
killer quake spokeswoman said
they are expected to arrive on january rd chief lisa clark of us fleet
forces command told afp
the nassau amphibious ready group left north carolina late wednesday after
onloading the th marine expeditionary unit
but their arrival in america devastated southern neighbor depends on weather
and mechanical conditions clark stressed
the amphibious group was ordered tuesday to deploy to haiti with the marines
scrapping scheduled deployment to europe and the middle east
the move will take the total number of us troops assisting relief efforts in
haiti to more than as survivors still scramble for food water and even
the most basic of medical supplies nine days after the earthquake struck
three amphibious ships the uss nassau the uss mesa verde and the uss ashland
will support the latest deployment along with helicopter squadron
tiltrotor squadron and medical personnel and facilities
they will bring the total number of us navy and military sealift command vessels
participating in the relief effort to
the nassau has one of the largest ship borne hospitals after the usns mercy and
usns comfort hospital ships
alert
cameroon zambia qualify for africa cup of nations quarter finals
golf madrid candidate to host ryder cup
madrid jan afp
the city of madrid on thursday declared iteself candidate to host the ryder
cup tournament between the united states and europe in
it would be the only second time that the tournament has been staged in mainland
europe after valderrama spain hosted the event
aside from spain five other countries are hoping to host the tournament in
france germany portugal the netherlands and sweden
the deadline for the submission of bids has been set for april with the
hosts to be named in early
the ryder cup will be the nd edition of the biennial tournament between
europe and the united states
the next edition of the event will be played in newport wales in october next
year with the event to take place in medinah illinois the
competition in gleneagles scotland and the tournament in chaska
minnesota
the us are the current holders of the prestigious trophy after paul azinger
team defeated europe at the tournament at valhalla golf club in
louisville kentucky
european broadcasters channel media aid for vital haiti radio
geneva jan afp
the european broadcasting union has set up website to help channel media aid
for haiti where radio is playing vital role in helping survivors after the
devastating quake the ebu said thursday
the wiki or collaborative website is aimed at coordinating assistance
between broadcasters and aid agencies and allowing journalists to pool
resources or help each other out in bringing local radio stations back on air
the ebu said in statement that before the earthquake radio was haiti most
popular medium
radio is playing vital role in haiti following the devastating earthquake of
eight days ago said the ebu which groups major tv and radio broadcasters
ebu members have been helping local broadcasters to get back on air in order to
strengthen the sense of community and to provide haitians with the comforting
sound of familiar voices
they are helping families to locate missing relatives as well as providing
crucial information about emergency healthcare food and water aid it added
about half of the population cannot read newspapers while many households did
not have televisions according to the ebu
one week after the magnitude earthquake struck south haiti even the united
nations radio station in port au prince minustah fm has benefitted from such
aid after the mission headquarters were destroyed
it started broadcasting again this week thanks to the help of french radio
team and more than half tonne of equipment the un said
urgent french president to visit rwanda next month kigali
kigali jan afp
french president nicolas sarkozy will visit rwanda next month after the two
countries resumed diplomatic ties marred by mutual recriminations over the
genocide rwanda foreign ministry said
haitians nurse injuries in border town cut off from family
jimani dominican republic jan afp
the injured spilled into the corridors and out the entrance to the general
melenciano hospital more than week after the world came tumbling down across
the border in haiti
marguerite jeantel one of the survivors of haiti january earthquake
crowding hospitals in the dominican republic lay moaning on mattress her
left leg amputated
her husband joseph brought her from port au prince after finding her at the
entrance to their house pinned under car that had rolled over on her during
the earthquake crushing her leg
came here because could not find functioning hospital he explained
they have treated her well the dominicans treat us well he said speaking in
mix of french his native creole and spanish
jeantel two children stayed behind alive but homeless they live in the
streets or with neighbors he thinks
dear god thought had lost all hope he said his head down
jimani is kilometers miles from port au prince at least two hours away
by road but world away from the chaos and destruction just across the border
still the wounds of the quake are visible in the crush of injured that have
taxed this town of people and its modest medical facilities
we ve always had haitians here they come and go and it has never been
questioned but this time the surge of injured was overwhelming said francisco
muquete the hospital director
there was panic initially he said but help arrived almost immediately from
the dominican capital and from non governmental organizations from dozen
countries
we ve had our differences historically but the same problems unite us he
said referring to relations between dominicans and haitians
the earthquake that destroyed much of port au prince also shook jimani but no
houses collapsed unlike in fort parisien just kilometers away in haiti
thirteen year old heurimond gerlens arrived here with his mother from fort
parisien with gaping wounds on his head and jaw
his mother henriette recounted how they barely had time to escape their house
which like most others in haiti was permanently unfinished
bricks and glass fell on us she said but they got out alive so did three
other of her children but she didn know where they are now
they were alive when left them had to come because it was heurimond who
needed help she said her eyes welling with tears
his father had not appeared there was no way to talk to the family not even to
tell them that heurimond had survived
although the quake victims may be lucky to be alive they often have to bear
their burdens alone and with no phones and unable to travel they lack even
news from home
and many of the patients at general melenciano require long term
hospitalization doctors say
the pace has come down but we continue operating on patients day said
orthopedic surgeon jose gil
oil prices drop on weak us energy demand
london jan afp
world oil prices fell thursday as traders reacted to rising us gasoline
stockpiles and weak demand in the world biggest energy consuming nation
new york main contract light sweet crude for march delivery lost cents to
dollars barrel
brent north sea crude for delivery in march shed cents to dollars in
late afternoon london trading
the us government department of energy doe announced thursday that gasoline
or petrol reserves rallied by stonger than expected million barrels in the
week ending january striking two year high
rising inventory levels are widely regarded as an indication of weakening
demand
however us crude stocks fell by barrels last week according to the doe
energy report confounding expectations for large gain of million barrels
refineries meanwhile operated at percent of capacity last week their
lowest rate in at least two decades apart from the immediate aftermath of
hurricane the doe added
the report was published on thursday one day later than normal owing to us
public holiday on monday
refineries just don want to produce product as demand is lacklustre and the
money is not there said mike zarembski senior commodities analyst with us
group optionsxpress
the doe release is key event for the oil market because the united states is
the biggest energy consumer followed by number two china
prices had risen in earlier trade after sharp falls that were caused by concern
about the chinese economy
crude futures sank by almost dollars lower on wednesday amid market
concerns that credit squeeze in china and swelling us stockpiles could dampen
demand for the key commodity traders said
top beijing regulator lim mingkang on wednesday said that china would rein in
credit after explosive growth last year as the world most populous nation
moves to cool its red hot economy also major energy consumer
the chairman of the china banking regulatory commission told forum in hong
kong wednesday that new bank loans in the country this year would fall to about
trillion yuan trillion us dollars from about trillion yuan in
analysts have said the policy was likely response to concerns about asset
bubbles bad loans and an overheating economy
data released by china on thursday showed the economy grew percent in
well exceeding the government target of percent
dow jones newswires contributed to this report
libya tightens visa rules for europeans in hannibal fallout
tripoli jan afp
libya plans to tighten its visa rules for citizens of some european countries in
retaliation for its own citizens being denied european visas senior official
said on thursday
the move which he said would come into force in few days comes amid
continued fallout after libyan leader moamer kadhafi son and wife were
arrested in switzerland in
the official said the stricter rules would apply to citizens of european
countries that are part of the schengen pact which allows travellers to obtain
single visa that is good for travel to european states
tripoli will harden conditions for granting visas to businessmen the
executives of european companies operating in libya and citizens of certain
other nations the official told afp on condition of anonymity
he said the measures were being taken because most libyan applications for visas
to schengen area states are turned down
in november deputy foreign minister khaled kaim noted that most libyan
applications for schengen visas were rejected and threatened similar action
against citizens of some schengen states
the visa wars began after hannibal kadhafi and his pregnant wife aline were
arrested at luxury geneva hotel in july
they were detained after complaints from two servants moroccan and
tunisian who alleged they had been mistreated by the couple
the kadhafis were freed on bail after two days in custody and the complaint
against them was dropped after lawyer said the servants had received
compensation
but the incident sparked outrage from the kadhafi family it led to freeze on
swiss business the withdrawal of libyan assets from swiss banks and disruption
to oil deliveries
in turn bern adopted restrictive policy of schengen visas to libyan
officials
two swiss businessmen were also prevented from leaving libya currently holed up
at the swiss embassy they are accused of illegal business activities having
been caught up in the diplomatic row
last november the pair were also sentenced in absentia to month jail terms
for overstaying their libyan visas verdicts they have appealed
nba dream team forces induction shift by hoops hall
springfield massachusetts jan afp
the basketball hall of fame will shift its induction ceremony to august
in part because of the us olympic gold medal dream team likely induction
officials said thursday
the ceremony has typically been staged in mid september but would conflict with
the world championships in turkey this year and us nba players from that squad
would likely be among those on hand to honor the landmark lineup
after weighing many options we believe the second weekend of august is
better fit for everyone involved in the enshrinement ceremonies said jerry
colangelo chairman of the board of the hall of fame
this year finalists for the hall of fame will be announced on february two
days before this year nba all star game at dallas
the us olympic team was the first group of active nba stars to participate
in an olympics and their overwhelming run to gold at barcelona helped expand the
sport worldwide
michael jordan magic johnson larry bird charles barkley scottie pippen karl
malone and john stockton were among the nba stars on the dream team
among those eligible for consideration this year in addition to the original
dream team are two of its players pippen and malone and the late jim
valvano successful us college coach
last year inductees included nba legends jordan stockton and david robinson
football maradona happy with world cup security
johannesburg jan afp
argentina coach diego maradona on thursday said he had no fears over world cup
security despite south africa gruesome average of murders day
they can say what they want but we know we are coming to play the world cup in
safe country have seen that with my own eyes maradona said
this will be great world cup with no doubts of security will tell my
players that they only have to think of playing football when they come here and
worry about nothing else
world cup organisers have repeatedly stressed that south africa will host safe
tournament despite concerns about the high crime rates
maradona who inspected the soccer city stadium which will host the opening and
final matches said people should not be afraid
have spent week in south africa and everything is very good and the people
very friendly he said
he arrived in south africa on monday days after the end of his two month
suspension from all football activities for his sexually explicit rant at
journalists
dollar diminished role may be positve for us stiglitz
washington jan afp
the declining role of the dollar as global reserve currency may be good for
the us economy potentially boosting american competitiveness and jobs
economist joseph stiglitz said thursday
stiglitz nobel laureate who teaches at columbia university said the move
away from the dollar as global reserve currency is inevitable but may provide
more benefits than disadvantages
speaking at forum at the council of foreign relations stiglitz noted that
china and other nations have expressed fears about the reliance of the global
economy on the us currency
we will move out of the dollar system the real question is how fast and do
we do it in an orderly or disorderly way said stiglitz former world bank
chief economist and adviser to then president bill clinton
stiglitz said americans see the advantage of the dollar reserve system as being
able to borrow at low interest rates but that there is flip side as well
if people are buying us dollars what we are doing in effect is exporting
dollars instead of exporting goods he said
when you export treasury bills you don create jobs and therefore the
trade deficit contributes to the weak economy and to our problem with jobs
stiglitz said the dollar is likely to be replaced in some manner and added that
if we do it the right way it will increase aggregate global demand and be
benefit to the united states
amid soaring profits goldman sachs seeks to dampen pay row
new york jan afp
goldman sachs posted massive fourth quarter and full year profits thursday
that shattered forecasts as the us banking giant moved to deflect criticism
about jump in its compensation levels
goldman sachs one of the leading wall street investment banks said it had
net profit of billion dollars in the fourth quarter
the bank at the center of public outrage over lavish bonuses blamed for
excessive risk taking that led to the crisis said it had paid billion
dollars in compensation and benefits in the year percent more than the year
earlier amount
still chairman and chief executive lloyd blankfein said the outlay was our
lowest ever compensation to net revenues ratio
the ratio stood at percent down from percent year earlier and below
what the ceo had said in november conference call was ratio that averaged
percent between and
goldman sachs one of the most successful survivors of the financial crisis
announced in december it would pay bonuses to top executives in stock
instead of cash under policy adopted despite its full reimbursement of
taxpayer aid that eliminated government equity stake
the wall street giant also said fourth quarter compensation was reduced to fund
charitable contribution of million dollars to one of the firm
philanthropy programs aimed at stimulating us economic growth and job creation
earnings per share in the fourth quarter were dollars shattering the
average analyst forecast of dollars
net revenues were billion dollars slightly below the billion dollars
expected
the quarterly profit compared with year earlier loss of billion dollars
amid the financial sector meltdown following the lehman brothers collapse
that period in ended on november in the bank previous reporting
calendar
for all of the influential wall street bank posted net profit of
billion dollars sixfold increase from billion dollars in
annual earnings per share were dollars far better than analysts
expectations of dollars
blankfein said the bank performed well throughout the year particularly during
the most difficult conditions
despite significant headwinds we are seeing signs of growth and remain focused
on supporting that growth by helping companies raise capital and manage their
risks by providing liequidity to markets and by investing for our clients he
said
goldman main activities remain investment banking and trading and it said it
ranked first worldwide in global mergers and acquisitions in
net revenues in investment banking surged to billion dollars in the fourth
quarter up percent from the third quarter and percent higher than year
earlier
shares in goldman sachs slid percent to dollars in late morning
trade in new york as the market posted triple digit losses after president
barack obama announced plan to curb the size and scope of the biggest us
banks
never again will the american taxpayer be held hostage by bank that is too
big to fail obama said vowing to enact the reforms in congress despite
lobbyists opposition
the president blamed banks for sparking the worst economic crisis since the
great depression with huge reckless risks in pursuit of quick profits and
massive bonuses in binge of irresponsibility
if enacted proposals of this kind would curtail big banks earnings power
which is not positive consideration for their investors said patrick hare
at briefing com
goldman sachs last june repaid billion dollar bailout under the troubled
asset relief program tarp the federal initiative launched to stabilize the
financial sector after the lehman brothers collapse in
goldman changed its charter after its rival collapse to become commercial
bank to get easier access to federal reserve lending facilities to help weather
the financial crisis
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
mass relocation for haiti homeless
port au prince jan afp
haitian officials thursday unveiled huge operation to move hundreds of
thousands of homeless outside the ruined capital as medics worked feverishly to
treat countless injured
in bid to move an estimated left destitute by the january quake
the haitian government said it was seeking to relocate them out of squalid
stinking tent cities into housing 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 was paying 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 was working with local mayors to identify sites
us troops were also moving to clear the main port in the devastated capital
hoping to re open it on friday and start massive distribution of aid across
the country four airports are also being used to ferry in supplies
nine days after the magnitude quake rescue teams from around the world are
still combing the debris for survivors in and around port au prince after two
children were miraculously found alive on wednesday
but those pulled from the rubble still face desperate fight for life
tens of thousands 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 countless amputations to save victims with
serious crush wounds or repair internal injuries
we carried out operations on tuesday in the previous six days we have cared
for more than haitians said french doctor thierry allafort duverger at
clinic in what used to be the posh suburb of petionville
and life also goes on it breech birth can do breech one aid
worker wailed on bbc television outside damaged hospital as staff rushed to
help haitian woman in agony as she went into labor
bed capacity us naval hospital ship is also off haiti with about
medical personnel and has begun taking on board 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 flooded in from damaged villages
the search for survivors was still going on buoyed after five year old boy
was found in the wreckage of his home wednesday while neighbors dragged out an
year old girl in another part of the city
mendji bahina sanon was taken to french run field hospital in the
capital clearly traumatized by her nightmarish ordeal crying out don leave
me mama
as long as there is hope rescue operations continue elisabeth byrs
spokeswoman for the un organization for the coordination of humanitarian affairs
ocha told afp
thousands of us troops have poured into haiti and as many as are
expected on the ground other nations have pledged security forces to help
distribute aid provide medical treatment and try to keep the streets secure
from looters and gangs
the world bank said thursday it was waiving haiti debt payments for the next
five years due to the devastation and was studying efforts to cancel the
nation remaining debt of about million dollars
prices are also soaring 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 around us dollars twice what it fetched
before
global efforts are also focusing on rebuilding the country with major donor
conference set for monday in montreal and the un has unveiled program to
provide some jobs for haitians mainly in rubble clearing and
reconstruction
international monetary fund chief dominique strauss kahn has called for
multilateral aid plan for haiti on the scale of the us marshall plan that
rebuilt europe after world war ii
countries around the world are also fast tracking adoption processes to allow
hundreds of haitian children to be settled abroad amid criticism that moving
too fast could split up haitian families for good
research sleuths succeed in tracking mrsa super bacteria
