that for sure
china confirms eight nationals dead in haiti quake report
beijing jan afp
china said sunday the bodies of eight nationals buried in haiti devastating
earthquake had been found state media reported
quoting the nation ministry of public security the official xinhua news
agency said the victims were all members of china peacekeeping team in the
quake hit country
urgent un security council to discuss haiti crisis mexico
mexico city jan afp
the un security council will meet monday to discuss the coordination of the huge
aid operation for quake hit haiti mexico foreign ministry said saturday
urgent china confirms eight nationals dead in haiti quake report
beijing jan afp
china said sunday the bodies of eight nationals buried in haiti devastating
earthquake had been found state media reported
alert
china confirms death of eight nationals in haiti quake state media
alert
un security council to meet monday on haiti crisis mexico
nfl saints rout cardinals to reach brink of super bowl
new orleans louisiana jan afp
drew brees threw three touchdown passes saturday and the new orleans saints
moved one victory from their first super bowl with national football
league rout of arizona
the saints who won their first games of the season before losing the last
three will play host to either the dallas cowboys or minnesota vikings on
january for berth in next month super bowl at miami
new orleans which enjoyed first round playoff bye eliminated the cardinals
last year super bowl losers to continue title quest that has inspired
city still struggling to recover from hurricane katrina
these fans they deserve championship we re going to try to give it to
them said brees who completed of passes for yards
reggie bush scored on yard run and an yasrd punt return to help spark
the saints into only their second national conference final in the club
year history the first to be played in new orleans
he guy who can change game he did today overall just great effort
saints coach sean payton said
no club in nfl history has ever reached the super bowl after losing the final
three regular season games but with the nfl most prolific offense the saints
have become formidable gridiron force
it was aggressiveness that concerned payton the most so much so that he had
black wooden baseball bats made for players as souvenirs of the game
emphasizing their need to bring the wood against the cardinals
we knew this had to be physical game it was important we came out early
being physical payton said we played with lot of energy
only for special games do we do that bring the wood brees added this was
obviously special game
brees tossed his touchdown passes in the highest scoring first half in nfl
playoff history to give the saints half time lead new orleans setting
club record for most points in playoff game with half the contest to come
arizona seized the lead on tim hightower yard touchdown run just seconds
into the game but the saints answered on lynell hamilton one yard touchdown
run and brees flipped yard touchdown pass to jeremy shockey to give the
saints the lead for good
bush boosted the saints lead to with his touchdown run but the cardinals
responded with beanie wells capping touchdown march on four yard run
just later the saints faked run and brees took lateral and flipped
yard touchdown pass to devery henderson to give new orleans edge
brees found marques colston on two yard touchdown pass seconds before half
time
bush added his punt return touchdown and garrett hartley kicked yard field
goal in the third quarter boosting the saints lead to and the new
orleans defense shut down the cardinals from there
reggie really played well showed lot of dimensions brees said
arizona quarterback kurt warner was injured in the second quarter after being
slammed to the turf following an interception
will smith picked off pass and saints defensive end bobby mccray blocked
warner to the ground where the dazed year old veteran remained for several
moments before rising
afp sports schedule for sunday january
paris jan afp
afp sports schedule for sunday january
football
in the africa cup of nations gabon face tunisia while cameroon take on zambia
coverage by nick reeves david legge and samm addu
see separate advisory
masterslug fbl afr
action in england germany france italy and spain
slugs fbl eng pr fbl fra fbl ger fbl ita fbl esp
cricket
england are for three still runs short of avoiding an innings defeat on
the fourth day of the final test against south africa at the wanderers
coverage by colin bryden
in chittagong bangladesh and india meet in the first test
coverage by shafiq alam
slugs cricket rsa eng cricket ban ind
tennis
build up to the australian open which begins in melbourne on monday
coverage by martin parry and robert smith
master slug tennis open aus
rugby union
european cup fifth round of group games
slug rugbyu eur cup
alpine skiing
world cup men slalom at wengen switzerland women world cup slalom in
maribor slovenia
slugs ski world men ski world women
american football
nfl divisional playoffs with dallas at minnesota and the new york jets
travelling to san diego
slug amfoot nfl
swimming
michael phelps is the star attraction at the usa swimming southern california
grand prix at long beach
slug swim usa phelps
ski jumping
world cup at sapporo japan
slug ski jump
golf
epga at joburg open uspga at honolulu hawaii and asian tour qualifying school
at hua hin thailand
slugs golf epga rsa golf uspga golf asia
snooker
the masters final at wembley
slug snooker gbr masters
figure skating
us national championships in spokane which is also qualifier for next month
winter olympics canadian championships in london
slugs fskate oly usa fskate oly can
winter olympics
second part of advancer package filed ahead of the winter olympics in
vancouver
see separate advisory
master slug oly
cuba offers rare cooperation with us for haiti aid effort
havana jan afp
cuba issued saturday rare offer of cooperation with the united states
allowing aid missions for the haiti quake to pass through its airspace and
opening up its hospitals for victims
cuba is ready to cooperate with all the nations on the ground including the
united states to help the haitian people and save more lives said josefina
vidal director of the foreign ministry north america department
as part of the cooperation vidal said cuba had immediately responded to us
request to fly aid missions through cuban airspace to reach haiti
the deal allowed medical evacuation flights to cut minutes off trips from the
us naval base at guantanamo bay on cuba southern tip to miami
the only other time in the last decade that us flights have been permitted
through cuban airspace was after the september attacks
vidal said cuba was cooperating with number of other countries on the ground
in quake stricken haiti and offered use of cuban medical infrastructure to treat
the thousands wounded in the disaster
team of cuban doctors paramedics and other health workers had been
dispatched to port au prince vidal added
ice hockey czech olympian elias ok after hard hit
denver colorado jan afp
new jersey devils left wing patrik elias was carried off on stretcher saturday
after hard hit in national hockey league game but tests showed no injury for
the czech olympian
elias was checked high by colorado defenseman ryan wilson just seconds into
the second period of the avalanche victory over new jersey with no
penalty being called on the play
after staying on the ice for about five minutes elias was carried off on
stretcher waving to the crowd as he departed
neither rays nor ct scan could find any injury relief for czech olympic
hockey fans and the devils
we had rays here for his neck and everything was fine devils general
manager lou lamoriello said we went to the hospital just for precautionary
reasons for ct scan and everything is fine
desperation in haiti as scale of disaster grows
port au prince jan afp
desperate haiti quake survivors pleaded saturday for vital supplies amid anger
over the chaotic aid effort while the true extent of the disaster beyond the
capital began to emerge
four days after magnitude earthquake brought death and misery on an
unprecedented scale to the impoverished and dysfunctional caribbean nation aid
was trickling in but failing to reach many of those most in need
us helicopters crews flew in and unloaded boxes of vital supplies as massive
queues formed at distribution points where the un world food programme wfp
handed out high energy biscuits
an afp journalist witnessed one us helicopter dropping half dozen small
cartons into stadium of starving haitians some brandishing machetes as they
fought for such manna from heaven
as the fate of whole towns and villages around the capital in western haiti
remained unclear the united nations said it had never before faced such
humanitarian catastrophe
we have never been confronted with such disaster in the un memory it is like
no other elisabeth byrs spokeswoman of the un office for the coordination of
humanitarian affairs told afp in geneva
the destruction found saturday in the town of leogane just kilometers
miles west of port au prince was staggering street after street of homes
and businesses torn apart
it the very epicenter of the earthquake and many many thousands are dead
said wfp spokesman david orr nearly every house was destroyed here the
military are talking about to dead
the latest overall toll from the haitian government is at least people
dead and million homeless but those figures could soar once the full extent
of the tragedy is known early estimates had spoken of dead
the un said increasing numbers of haitians were trying to cross the border into
neighboring dominican republic to the east and reported surge of quake
survivors fleeing the disaster zone to northern cities
crammed onto overflowing buses or on foot thousands fled the flattened capital
where the stench of decomposing bodies hung in the air and fears grew of angry
riots in the tense aftermath of the quake
the streets smell of death said talulum saint fils who sold her jewelry for
one way bus tickets for her husband and their four children out of port au
prince
go to any place but away from this city she told afp there is no
assistance of any kind and our children simply cannot live like animals
there were complaints of major coordination problems at the us controlled
airport in port au prince the main destination for aid flights
french secretary of state for cooperation alain joyandet said he had lodged an
official complaint with the us after french plane carrying field hospital
was turned away this was later denied by his own foreign ministry
secretary of state hillary clinton became the highest ranking us official to
visit haiti since the quake warmly embracing haitian president rene preval
after highlighting the urgent need to clear the logistical hurdles
as president barack obama has said we will be here today tomorrow and for
the time ahead she told haitians
you have been severely tested but believe that haiti can come back even
stronger and better in the future
despite obvious organizational failures significant amount of aid was getting
through either through the swamped airport at port au prince by road from the
dominican republic or from us helicopter flights
red cross coordinator mauricio bustamante said the group had sent planeloads
of personnel and humanitarian aid while fleet of choppers on board the
giant aircraft carrier uss carl vinson made regular air drops
but after isolated reports friday of machete wielding gangs terrorizing
survivors overnight there were growing signs saturday of despondency and unease
in country with checkered past of rioting and unrest
barricades of burning tires rubble and human corpses blocked the main road out
of the haitian capital to nearby carrefour as residents called for piles of
putrid corpses to be removed
they already took some bodies away but there are more many more said
charles weber year old voodoo priest in the crowd surrounding smoldering
roadblock
un chief ban ki moon confirmed saturday the death of his mission chief in haiti
hedi annabi as the world body faced its biggest ever loss of life with dead
and close to still unaccounted for ban was to visit haiti sunday
nfl saints march over cardinals in playoff romp
new orleans louisiana jan afp
drew brees threw three touchdown passes saturday and the new orleans saints
moved one victory from their first super bowl with national football
league rout of arizona
the saints who won their first games of the season before losing the last
three will play host to either the dallas cowboys or minnesota vikings on
january for berth in next month super bowl at miami
new orleans which enjoyed first round playoff bye eliminated the cardinals
last year super bowl losers to continue title quest that has inspired
city still struggling to recover from hurricane katrina
no club in nfl history has ever reached the super bowl after losing the final
three regular season games but with the nfl most prolific offense the saints
have become formidable gridiron force
brees tossed his touchdown passes in the highest scoring first half in nfl
playoff history to give the saints half time lead new orleans setting
club record for most points in playoff game with half the contest to come
arizona seized the lead on tim hightower yard touchdown run just seconds
into the game but the saints answered on lynell hamilton one yard touchdown
run and brees flipped yard touchdown pass to jeremy shockey to give the
saints the lead for good
reggie bush boosted the saints lead to with yard touchdown run but
the cardinals responded with beanie wells capping touchdown march on four
yard run
just later the saints faked run and brees took lateral and flipped
yard touchdown pass to devery henderson to give new orleans edge
brees found marques colston on two yard touchdown pass seconds before half
time
bush added an yard punt return touchdown and garrett hartley kicked yard
field goal in the third quarter boosting the saints lead to and the new
orleans defense shut down the cardinals from there
arizona quarterback kurt warner was injured in the second quarter after being
slammed to the turf following an interception
will smith picked off pass and saints defensive end bobby mccray blocked
warner to the ground where the dazed year old veteran remained for several
moments before rising
horse racing unbeaten mare zenyatta un retires
los angeles jan afp
zenyatta the undefeated mare who two months ago became the first mare to win
the breeders cup classic will not retire and instead plans race season
her owners announced saturday
jerry and ann moss had planned to leave the six year old daughter of street cry
in the breeding ranks after she completed career with for showing
in capped by worst to first charge to victory in the classic
but jerry moss watched zenyatta work at hollywood park on saturday and after
consulting with ann and trainer john shirreffs decided his horse was running
too well to be put out to pasture
we saw her gallop today and talked to ann and then talked to john and she
looks too good moss said in statement it what she likes to do and that
what we decided to do so we re going to run her
zenyatta and rachel alexandra are favorites for monday horse of the year award
to be announced monday either could be the first female to win the honor since
azeri in
it had nothing to do on whether she is horse of the year or not said moss
if she horse of the year she ll run as horse of the year and if she not
she ll run as not horse of the year
rachel alexandra was for last year and became the first filly in years to
win the preakness over male rivals she did not race in the classic
poverty is world biggest problem bbc poll
london jan afp
poverty is the most serious problem facing the world according to major
worldwide poll out sunday which put the issue well ahead of climate change
terrorism and war
overall percent of people named extreme poverty as the biggest global issue
compared to percent who cited the environment or pollution and percent the
rising cost of food and energy
terrorism human rights and the spread of disease were singled out by
percent climate change and the state of the world economy by percent and war
by percent
even if the global recession has kept economic problems top of people minds
this year extreme poverty is clearly viewed as the world most serious global
problem said sam mountford research director for globescan which conducted
the poll for the bbc world service
but with many other global problems seen as very serious this represents
daunting agenda for institutions like the un and to address
results varied between nations people in india and pakistan rated terrorism as
their top concern and it was also in the top three in britain indonesia and
spain which have suffered major attacks in recent years
japan was the only country to view climate change as the most serious issue
while china ranked it second and the united states ninth
more than people in countries were interviewed face to face online or
over the telephone for the poll which was conducted between june and october
last year
afp
afp world news service no unauthorized reproduction
haiti relief surge fails to bring security
port au prince jan afp
thousands of us marines joined the haiti relief effort on monday but lawlessness
pervaded on the streets with looters preying on the helpless and raiding the
flattened ruins
doctors hacked off limbs to save lives as rescuers picked through the debris to
locate unlikely survivors more than six days after the magnitude quake
struck reducing the haitian capital to rubble
eu nations promised more than million dollars in aid and reconstruction
funds but dominican president leonel fernandez estimated billion over five
years would be needed to put haiti back on the road to recovery
despite the arrival of more than us marines aboard the amphibious ship uss
bataan the massive international relief effort was still failing to bring
security and alleviate the despair of wretched populace
secretary general ban ki moon requested more troops and police for the
battered un mission that was trying to bring stability to the dysfunctional
caribbean state even before disaster struck
in the stinking capital port au prince where corpses lay abandoned under the
rubble and palace gardens were turned into putrid slums groups of survivors
roamed the streets to scrounge supplies
troops in combat gear fired off rounds and hauled some people to the ground to
try to stop the worst of the looting but the paltry security presence in this
desperately destitute city made that futile task
the red cross warned that violence by desperate haitians was growing though
lieutenant general ken keen the top us officer on the ground insisted the
level of violence we see now is below pre earthquake levels
un agencies said field hospitals and food distribution had multiplied in and
around the capital where the quake wrought huge destruction
prices for food and transport have skyrocketed since last tuesday and incidents
of violence and looting are on the rise as the desperation grows the
international committee of the red cross said in statement
many residents of port au prince felt they were in catastrophic situation
it added
officials have expressed fears the final death toll may top if it is
ever known at all while government minister said sunday that bodies
had already been buried
as the relief effort was stepped up us paratroopers deployed out of the main
haitian airport in waves of navy seahawk helicopters to set up bases from which
to launch humanitarian operations
we have seen dramatic improvement in the efficiency and coordination of the
flow of goods coming in world food programme executive director josette
sheeran told reporters in rome
but she was obviously far from the scenes of utter desperation in the capital
where conditions appeared to have barely improved for hundreds of thousands
many still sleeping rough in the streets
homeless injured and traumatized survivors trawled the streets desperate for
food water and medicine all around was the stench of rotting bodies
international aid trickled in but supplies remained scarce amid the enormity of
crisis the united nations estimates affected three million people and left
homeless
former us president bill clinton special un envoy to haiti defended the pace
of the relief effort as he visited port au prince to meet haitian leaders and
get first hand accounts from survivors
no don think they were slow coming in clinton told afp as he walked down
hospital hallways cluttered with injured survivors the infrastructure broke
down and that what we re building up
amid the death and desperation the life affirming tales of survival that had
provided glimmers of hope in preceding days were drying up although an
month old baby was found alive on monday
french doctor jacques lorblanches said he had lost count of the number of
amputations he had performed in the past hours but would never forget the
ghastly conditions under which he carried them out
have never seen anything like this infected wounds full of larvae he
told afp did my first amputation with three forceps five scissors and
scalpel without water and just flashlight to illuminate the injury
emergency workers expanded their operations to battered communities outside of
port au prince including gressier petit goave and leogane which were all
leveled by the quake
as he predicted haiti would need two billion dollars year until to
recover dominican president fernandez warned that what was most needed was
central authority in haiti able to channel all the aid that is arriving
alongside him at the meeting in santo domingo to prepare for an international
aid conference haitian president rene preval pledged to strengthen democratic
institutions
we need in haiti political economic stability we need to reinforce the
democratic institutions he said
cadbury poised to join kraft after sweetened offer
london jan afp
us giant kraft foods and british confectioner cadbury were poised to announce
tie up after the american firm agreed to raise its offer to as much as
billion pounds british media reported monday
kraft may hike its offer to between and pence share at pence
cadbury would be valued at around billion euros or billion dollars
said the bbc
this is significantly higher than the billion pounds previously offered
which cadbury had repeatedly rejected
an agreement would end an acrimonious battle that has raged since kraft made
hostile takeover bid late last year and would also see the iconic british firm
stripped of its independence after almost two centuries
the two firms were highly likely to agree deal that would probably be
announced at am gmt tuesday said the bbc business editor robert
peston
bankers for both companies were working through the night to finalise an
agreement the times newspaper said
tuesday is the deadline for kraft the world second biggest snacks group after
nestle to make its final offer
tie up would bring together leading kraft brands like dairylea cheese kenco
coffee and toblerone with the british group dairy milk chocolate cadbury
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 reported friday that hershey plans to bid at least
billion dollars this week for cadbury after concluding it can top kraft offer
cadbury has previously sounded more positive about tie up with hershey with
the british firm chief executive todd stitzer saying cadbury values and
principles could continue at the us company
this is stark contrast to the hostility between cadbury and kraft since the
takeover battle began
cadbury has put up staunch defence against kraft telling shareholders
recently had been outstanding but this claim was dismissed by their
american suitor as underwhelming
they have said little that is new and have ducked the issue of their
profitability in kraft said last week
cadbury spokeswoman declined to comment late monday kraft could not be
contacted
nba france parker powers up as spurs sting hornets
new orleans jan afp
tony parker scored points as san antonio defeated new orleans monday
handing the hornets rare loss at home
tim duncan finished with points and rebounds while george hill scored
points and manu ginobili added as san antonio halted two game losing
streak
david west scored points for new orleans which lost for only the second time
in its last games at home chris paul had points and nine assists while
marcus thornton scored points for the hornets
hill started because richard jefferson had to skip the national basketball
league game with back injury
san antonio led by double digits for most of the game and at one point led by
whopping points in the third when duncan hit one of two free throws to make
it
new orleans battled back in the fourth but eventually fell short they trailed
by eight when parker driving scoop made it with just under five minutes
to go france parker turned up the heat in the final minutes by scoring seven
more points
san antonio outrebounded new orleans
looters prey upon quake ravaged haitian capital
port au prince jan afp
roving bands of hundreds of looters on monday swarmed across port au prince
while police and military officials tasked with protecting haiti quake
stricken capital were nowhere to be found
world leaders have promised to dispatch additional police troops marines and
un peacekeepers to the city which has spiraled into chaos and despair after
being leveled by massive earthquake nearly week ago
but for now the commercial heart of haiti shattered capital remains firmly in
the hands of the thieves and vandals who make off with whatever has not been
damaged beyond use
looters roamed from shop to shop some clearly survivors scavenging for food and
water as the unrest across the region was stoked by delay in supplies
reaching hundreds of thousands of people desperate for aid
but others on the rampage on port au prince lawless streets appeared to be
simply marauders availing themselves of whatever goods they might be able to use
or sell at later time
and not all of the city looting victims were merchants
wanted to get my possessions from my house but the looters prevented me from
doing so said one distraught elderly man near what remains of his rubble
strewn home
they ve already stolen almost everything own my rice my spaghetti my
milk the old man said disconsolately
going to do my best to salvage whatever can if possible
another haitian homeowner evoiel cormeille desperately clawed through mounds
of debris at his ruined house in hopes of recovering buried visa and passport
that would allow him to leave haiti while throngs of looters prowled nearby
young man and woman stopped to also dig in the rubble of the man leveled
home and make off with box of shampoo cosmetics and hair products
that for us that ours wailed cormeille as the couple ran away with his
possessions
meanwhile pillagers in downtown port au prince targeted fabric store in
relatively good condition and whose wares had not yet been despoiled
band of about masked men managed to scale the rubble and gain access to the
building interior where they made off with large bolts of fabric hoisted on
their shoulders
occasionally one or two isolated police officers fired shots into the air in an
effort to stop the looting in the city center but they were vastly outnumbered
by the masses of looters who scattered briefly if at all before returning to
their plundering
widespread looting on sunday led haitian police to open fire on crowd in the
capital killing at least one man who was shot in the head as others ransacked
supermarket
incidents of violence and looting are on the rise as the desperation grows
warned the international committee of the red cross icrc
roaming gangs of looters steal anything they can find sneakers fabric music
stereos everything is up for grabs
international officials overseeing relief operations on monday said they were
painfully aware of the need for additional troops and police to get vital aid to
quake survivors and to restore semblance of order as haiti struggles to
