henry claude the oldest brother in the family was trapped beneath the mountain
of concrete stones and wires that used to be the once majestic cathedral
someone spoke to him yesterday he screamed out his name and said he was
surrounded by people but this morning he didn answer us eglide said
softly
his sister marie edithe saint juste was among the first to seek shelter in his
home she left her husband buried in the rubble of their own home
felt the tremor and reacted quickly left my house with my son and ran
my husband was inside but know he died walked miles to get home to my
family it was terrible scene she recalled
as countless bodies lay piled on the streets or buried in mass graves the
stench of death hung over the city growing more unbearable by the hour
when the first foreign contingents of humanitarian aid finally reached their
neighborhood on friday the family despair lifted slightly after three days of
total abandonment
no electricity is less serious than hunger thirst and lack of drugs
especially antibiotics we are surrounded by the dead eglide explained
desperately they have been searching for food and water particularly fearful of
contracting deadly water borne diseases like cholera and dysentery from unclean
supplies
have this bag of water for the day have to ration it for my three year old
son said victor cousin norberta noiset showing her precious asset
we had many needs in the past but now we have even more it unimaginable
today don know what we will eat yesterday we had only coffee and bread
we are many people to feed marie edithe said
when night fell the family began gathering in their yard to sleep they said
they felt safer inside the house but the walls could crush them at moment
notice
our life is in god hands said eglide leave port au prince no never
swimming phelps sees as crucial to london gold quest
long beach california jan afp
the london games are more than two years away but swimming superstar
michael phelps latest olympic campaign is already building steam
phelps whose unprecedented eight gold medals at the beijing olympics took
his tally of games gold to said will be pivotal year despite
dearth of major international championships
this year is the big year to prepare yourself for the next two years phelps
said friday as he prepared for usa swimming southern california grand prix at
long beach
those are the two most important years that are coming up for me being able to
have good world championships next year to set up hopefully good olympics
phelps schedule will include us grand prix meetings in missouri and charlotte
meeting near his training base in baltimore and trip to the paris open in
june
the us national championships and the pan pacific championships for pacific rim
countries in august will determine the us team for the world championships
in shanghai
while phelps said he has personal goals that always want to achieve one of
the key goals for is getting through this year and seeing where we end
this year and seeing things we need to change between now and the world
championships
phelps is slated to swim five events in long beach which is contested in short
course yards format rarely swum outside the united states
phelps and coach bob bowman said that what they hope to see at this point in the
season is simply steady progress
he has been training better than he did before our meet in december which was
better than before the meet in november bowman said just want to see
another step
phelps admitted that getting into the swing of training in late was hard
so his recent stint of altitude training in colorado was welcome chance to
narrow his focus
for me being able to go out there eating swimming sleeping that it
there no time for anything else there no distractions so it easy for me
to get back in routine get back in rhythm phelps said
and with his focus firmly on the future phelps admitted he was glad to have the
swimsuit furore that gripped the sport behind him
high tech polyurethane suits that turned swimming record book upside down have
been banned with governing body fina finally mandating return to textile
suits and ban on body suits
phelps said he was happy to return to competing in waist to knee suits
excited can say it enough he said it going to be good it
going to be lot harder you re going to have to be in better shape that for
sure
haitians already in us granted asylum
washington jan afp
the us government on friday said it had granted temporary asylum to haitians
already in the united states before this week devastating earthquake
homeland security secretary janet napolitano said haitians would be granted
temporary protected status
this designation will allow eligible haitian nationals in the united states to
continue living and working in our country for the next months she said
providing temporary refuge for haitian nationals whose personal safety
would be endangered by returning to haiti is part of this administration
continuing efforts to support haiti recovery she said
some illegal immigrants from haiti live in the united states and
further legally reside in the country two thirds of them adults of
working age according to the non profit migration policy institute
but the announcement comes amid fears that the earthquake may prompt fresh
wave of haitian migrants to the united states
hundreds of haitians attempt the perilous mile kilometer journey to
the florida coast each year some in rafts others smuggled by traffickers
rugbyu ulster cling onto european cup quarter final hopes
paris jan afp
former champions ulster kept their hopes of european cup quarter final place
alive on friday with victory over edinburgh in windswept belfast
ulster champions in moved into second spot in pool alongside stade
francais on points but the french side will be favourites to restore their
advantage when they meet already eliminated bath on saturday
issac boss and darren cave scored tries and ian humphreys kicked eight points
with niall connor adding penalty for the irishmen
edinburgh replied with jim thompson try and eight points from the boot of
chris paterson
in friday other game glasgow edged newport gwent dragons but neither
side can qualify for the last eight from pool dominated by biarritz who have
perfect record of four wins in four games and points
on saturday ospreys face french league leaders clermont boasting four point
lead over their hosts as well as english giants leicester who sit in third place
in pool
we are at crunch time now and you can fail to be excited about it said
ospreys and wales back row forward ryan jones
we ve worked hard to put ourselves in good position after four rounds of the
tournament but this is where the hard work really starts
losing bonus point at clermont and home win over leicester next weekend
would be enough for ospreys who welcome back welsh internationals lee byrne
prop adam jones and lock ian evans into team complemented by ex all black
enforcer jerry collins and compatriot marty holah at open side flanker
the nail biting nature of european cup action sees only the six pool winners and
two best placed runners up qualify for the quarter finals
three time champions toulouse play harlequins at home on sunday with pool
second placed sale travelling to cardiff blues for what is must win game for
the welsh outfit
jean baptiste elissalde comes in for the injured toulouse playmaker david
skrela
reigning champions leinster currently second in pool behind london irish
host french club brive with the exiles playing away at scarlets
northampton must beat perpignan in pool at home on sunday and then conjure up
win away in limerick against munster if they are to reach the knock out stages
for only the second time
un launches million dollar appeal for quake hit haiti
united nations jan afp
the united nations on friday appealed for million dollars from the world
community to assist victims of the earthquake that devastated haiti and is
thought to have killed more than people
un humanitarian chief john holmes formally launched the flash appeal for
emergency funds for period of six months at meeting with member states
he said the appeal was based on the assumption that three million people are
badly affected enough to need immediate aid and to need aid for period of six
months
holmes head of the un office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs
ocha said the biggest chunk of the request million dollars would go
for food aid
an estimated two million people in haiti the western hemisphere poorest
country need immediate food aid and initial assessments show there are no food
supplies at present and normal distribution mechanisms are paralyzed un
officials said
some million dollars are to be earmarked for badly needed water and
sanitation holmes noted with the rest to be allocated for health and medical
supplies tents and blankets logistics and education
more than people were killed and injured by tuesday quake
which also left nearly million homeless haitian public health minister alex
larsen
and an estimated people have been left homeless with one in homes in
the capital destroyed according to un officials
un chief ban ki moon said major humanitarian effort was now under way with
the un system mobilizing all its resources as fast as we possibly can
myself will go to haiti very soon both to show solidarity with the people of
haiti and our un staff and to assess the situation for myself the un secretary
general told reporters
un spokesman martin nesirky said the confirmed death toll among the un
local and expatriate employees operating in haiti now stood at while
were unaccounted for
ban said the un has set up an operations center at port au prince airport that
despite damage to the control tower coordinates the search and rescue
efforts of teams arriving from countries around the world
he said priority was still being given to search and rescue with an urgent need
for heavy lifting equipment
preliminary estimates from our un emergency teams show widespread damage to
infrastructure in port au prince and other affected areas with as many as
percent of buildings in the worst hit areas damaged or destroyed the un boss
said
he said high proportion of the haitian capital three million people were
without access to food water shelter and electricity
un officials said the world food program was now feeding around people
several times day and hopes to feed roughly one million people within days
and two million people within month
edmond mulet top un peacekeeping official sent to haiti to take charge of the
decapitated un mission in haiti minustah in an interim capacity met with
haitian president rene preval and his prime minister thursday
ban said he was sending another senior un official tony banbury to serve as
mulet main deputy
and nesirky said there was still no news about the fate of un special envoy to
haiti hedi annabi whose death was announced by preval wednesday
annabi tunisian and his brazilian deputy luiz carlos da costa are listed as
missing buried under the rubble of minustah main headquarters which was
flattened by tuesday quake
bomb explodes outside greek ministry no injuries
athens jan afp
bomb exploded outside greek ministry in athens late on friday causing
material damage but no injuries police source said
the bomb went off outside the greek secretariat for information shortly before
midnight after private television stations alter and antenna had received
anonymous warnings by telephone that an explosion was imminent
police were given about minutes to clear the area the source told afp
the blast smashed windows at the ministry state television net said
the incident is the second targeting greek state building in week
last saturday an explosive device went off in rubbish bin outside the greek
parliament without injuring anyone
the parliament attack was claimed by far left organisation calling itself
conspiracy of fire nuclei which has carried out string of arson strikes
against the homes and offices of politicians in recent months
the group also claimed bombing that caused extensive damage to the ground
floor of greece largest insurance company ethniki asfalistiki on december
we aim to cause material damage and we point out to the police that is should
evacuate areas in timely fashion text claiming the insurance building
attack on behalf of the outfit said at the time
greece has been rocked by attacks against economic interests and political
targets since youth was killed by police officer in december
another group revolutionary struggle ea has been active for the last six
years and is blacklisted by the european union as terrorist organisation
ea claimed an attack on the athens stock exchange in september which caused no
injuries in the group had fired rocket at the american embassy without
hurting anyone
top us businesses offer million dollars for haiti
washington jan afp
major us businesses have pooled at least million dollars in cash and in kind
aid to help victims of haiti devastating earthquake an association said
friday
the us chamber of commerce said the million dollars includes contributions
from at least companies with of them donating one million dollars or
more
the total includes us units of foreign companies such as nestle waters north
america which contributed one million dollars
it is amazing to see how many companies have responded to the urgency of this
tragedy said stephen jordan senior vice president and executive director of
the group business civil leadership center
we are encouraged by the early outpouring of support but we are well aware that
this is going to be marathon not sprint the business community stands
ready to work with the authorities as the recovery process gets under way
the business roundtable an association of chief executive officers of large us
companies said aid pledges from its members amounted to million dollars
including one million dollars each from pepsico and coca cola which were
offering bottled water and supplies in addition to cash
other firms donating cash or supplies included mckesson merck procter amp
gamble itt corporation and wal mart stores
business roundtable ceos and our member companies are deeply saddened by the
loss of life and infrastructure damage in haiti said michael dan head of the
business roundtable partnership for disaster response
scores of other us businesses have also donated cash or other forms of aid and
some have matched employee contributions
verizon wireless said it transmitted nearly three million dollars to the
american red cross from customers who had texted pledges to the relief effort
bur rl oh
corpses ignored as haitians scramble for loot
port au prince jan afp
police police police warned bystanders surrounding ruined pharmacy in
port au prince as dozens of teenage looters scrambled over the debris pillaging
whatever they could find
in the bustling marche en fer or iron market one of the haitian capital
poorest neighborhoods locals scuttled over the twisted concrete debris
ignoring piles of dead bodies in bid to unearth vital supplies
the screams of police rang out as looters emerged from the rubble carrying
boxes of soap shampoo and other cosmetics
two armed policeman strode up to the destroyed building in an attempt to save
what had been taken
officer hernsony orjeat caught one of the fleeing looters retrieved packet of
soap from him and threw it violently to the ground
is this what you re willing to risk your life for he shouted at the young
man
with little aid arriving people have begun desperately searching the debris
once vibrant neighborhood full of shops the area was almost entirely
destroyed in tuesday magnitude quake and desperate residents were
resorting to their own means to survive
while food items were most sought after many walked away with electric fans
some carrying suitcases on their head while others ran off with small stereo
systems
orjeat who lost his wife in the earthquake was one of only policeman trying
to impose order in the sprawling downtown area
the year old said he was acting solely to protect people lives noting that
many of the buildings were still extremely unstable and could collapse at any
aftershock
this risk didn dissuade residents mostly young men but also women from
climbing several stories of rubble to scavenge what they can
standing atop the market man found carton of cornflakes boxes immediately
he was surrounded by dozen people all ripping at the box to grab what they
could
as the sun and temperature rose emotions frayed and the fights for survival
heated up
when someone found new box of food others didn hesitate to grab them around
the neck to pull them away
local police dressed in florescent yellow vests patrolled the area carrying
rifles occasionally popping gunfire in the air to warn people away from
precariously collapsed buildings
at big crossroads group of four heavily armed officers wearing bullet proof
vests and helmets accosted group of pillagers
kneel down hands on your head they shouted at the youngsters carrying music
stereos and parasols
the policeman told afp they didn arrest people carrying food but those caught
with non edible goods were marched over the debris strewn streets to local
police station
lot of the time however they forced looters to simply drop their goods and
walk away
one policeman who asked not to be identified stood before small pile of
stolen goods such as radio cassettes and boxes of soap
it terrible we don stop people with food because they re just trying to
survive but we do stop thieves he said
the officers said they had thought or hoped that american soldiers would help
them take control of the neighborhood once they arrived
back at the pharmacy some of the youngsters broke open their looted packets of
soap in watery pot hole they lathered up covered in soap they told afp it
was the first time they ve been able to clean themselves since the quake
in another corner of the neighborhood bulldozer knocked down what remained of
collapsed building
residents knew there were many bodies inside but once the building came down
the dozens of people waiting took no notice of the corpses and headed straight
for cases of coca cola and cigarettes
afterwards looters washed off the dust and dirt from the coca cola bottles
nearby four twisted and bloated bodies lay ignored with only the flies taking
interest in them
as the situation got more desperate locals made axes out of blocks of wood
nailed together
orjeat who keeps having to chase looters through the streets threw his arms up
in frustration
we should all be pulling together to get through this terrible tragedy he
said there is no solidarity in this country
haitians already in us granted asylum official
washington jan afp
the us government on friday said it had granted temporary asylum to haitians
already in the united states before this week devastating earthquake
homeland security secretary janet napolitano said haitians would be granted
temporary protected status
this designation will allow eligible haitian nationals in the united states to
continue living and working in our country for the next months she said
guinea rivals sign deal to end crisis
ouagadougou jan afp
guinea political rivals on friday agreed to set up an interim government and
hold elections in six months in deal to end political crisis exacerbated by
the ruling junta brutal crackdown on opponents
the pact said ailing junta chief captain moussa dadis camara should effectively
remain in exile following december assassination attempt that led to him
being hospitalised in morocco camara is now in burkina faso
the accord was signed by camara interim junta chief general sekouba konate and
burkina faso president blaise compaore who is mediating between the ruling junta
and the opposition
the pact provides for national transition council and unity government
before polls are held in six months
statement said camara will remain available to help the players in the
transition adding he should be in convalescence
camara was shot in the head by an aide de camp in december following an alleged
dispute over bloody crackdown on an opposition rally in which more than
people were shot dead
in his first public appearance since the assassination attempt he appeared thin
and large scar was visible on the right side of his head he walked slowly
but without help
the pact said the proposed unity government would be led by prime minister and
composed of cabinet from the forces vives coalition of opposition parties
trade unions and civil society
the agreement also called for civil and military observers from the regional
economic community of west african states bloc to be deployed for electoral
lists to be revised and revamp of the country security forces
it also pledged to ensure press freedom and freedom of expression
the names of two men opposition figure jean marie dore and unionist rabiatou
serah diallo were proposed by the forces vives coalition mamadou bah baadiko
the head of the union of democratic forces told afp
we could not agree to sole candidate and so we proposed two names he said
dore hailed the pact but stressed that interim leader general sekouba konate
should be given the space to manoeuvre to institute reforms and achieve
peaceful transition
hours before the agreement was signed the ruling junta pledged peace and
security to civilians and especially political leaders
we wish to reassure national and international opinion that peace in the
country and the security of the civilian population and of their property
particularly political leaders will be guaranteed across the whole territory
the minister for presidential security claude pivi said in broadcast
we commit ourselves to making democratisation reality in guinea to succeed
we ask for the contribution and the willing cooperation of all citizens
concluded pivi who is close to junta leader camara
several guinean politicians in france and the united states have expressed fears
that if camara returns to guinea the west african country could plunge into
civil war
guinea one of the world top bauxite producers has been mired in political
crisis sparked by military coup led by camara on december
unrest worsened when troops massacred more than people at an opposition
rally in september last year according to un figures hundreds more were
wounded and women and young girls were publicly raped
recent un report on the massacre in guinea capital conakry named camara as
suspect and accused the army of crimes against humanity
the international criminal court said friday visit by its deputy prosecutor
fatou bensouda to investigate the stadium incident planned for next week would
be postponed for logistical reasons
urgent haitians already in us granted asylum official
washington jan afp
the us government on friday said it had granted temporary asylum to haitians
already in the united states before this week devastating earthquake
mobile relief americans text aid to haiti
washington jan afp
text haiti to or yele to americans are digging deep for haiti and
sending millions of dollars to relief organizations via innovative mobile phone
giving campaigns
donations to the american red cross came in dollars at time from us donors
who texted special number set up within hours of tuesday devastating quake
by friday afternoon the funds snowballed to more than nine million dollars
as far as we know this has broken all global mobile marketing campaigns in
history the money is coming in at rate of dollars an hour american
red cross spokeswoman abi weaver told afp
this means that people have taken the time to send us text message
said her colleague christi harlan
it amazing it gratifying and it very very needed
the mobile phone campaign using the number has brought in the lion
share of funds around percent earmarked to help victims of the temblor
weaver said
similar text message campaign run by yele haiti group founded by former
fugees singer wyclef jean who has haitian roots raised more than two million
dollars by friday
somewhere in the vicinity of dollars came in the first evening roughly
million dollars on the second day and another million on thursday said
albert angel head of give on the go the company running the group
fundraising effort
by texting yele to americans can donate five dollars to help desperate
quake survivors in haiti and the message can be resent up to six times
money can also be delivered to the clinton foundation text number the
international medical corps the international rescue committee
and the salvation army by simply texting haiti to their special phone
numbers
more aid groups are joining the mobile relief effort by the day save the
children unicef and world vision were poised to enlist friday and on monday
another group of very large charities will be added said jim manis head of
the mobile giving foundation
manis who has been credited with starting mobile giving and whose group
coordinates the us text to give campaign first tested the idea of texting for
cause after the asian tsunami in
that effort raised dollars sum long since exceeded by the haiti
quake mobile relief effort that experience launched what manis calls
grassroots philanthropy
these are emotional events and people want to reach out and help but sometimes
they can they don have credit card or they forget to write check or
go online to make donation he said
the immediate nature of mobile allows for that impulse action to occur that
what we re seeing with haiti and we re seeing it translate into new demographics
and new people who are supporting emergency relief efforts
in theory text messages only represent pledge and don become cash
donation until mobile phone customers pay their monthly bill
but mobile phone companies began stepping up to the plate friday and starting
with verizon wireless announced they had transferred nearly three million
dollars in funds to the american red cross
time is of the essence and it makes sense for us to toss aside our normal
financial processes to get money where it can do the most good in the fastest
way possible verizon president lowell mcadam said in statement
verizon noted that it can take between and days for charity to receive
donation from the time wireless user texts donation
the three million dollars represents text messages sent by verizon
customers to the red cross special phone number in just two days the company
said
the influx of text messages is showing no signs of slowing said manis
the yele foundation is getting contributors an hour he said
every time someone like wyclef jean or bill clinton appears and talks about
haiti there huge increase in giving and with the addition of new
charities my guess is you ll continue to see donations rise
alert
haitians already in us granted asylum official
nba contributes one million dollars to haiti relief effort
new york jan afp
national basketball association owners and players announced friday they have
made combined contribution of one million dollars to the unicef relief effort
for earthquake victims in haiti
philadelphia ers center samuel dalembert native of haiti videotaped
public service announcement for unicef encouraging nba supporters to contribute
to relief efforts in the disaster stricken caribbean nation
the messages will start playing immediately on all league telecasts
dalembert is making dollar donation and was set to match the amount of
donations collected for unicef haitian relief efforts at the ers friday home
game
nba players are deeply affected by this tragedy national basketball players
association president derek fisher said
we hope our contribution helps provide immediate relief to those suffering in
haiti
retired nba star alonzo mourning arrived in haiti on friday morning flight to
assist relief workers
mourning former club the miami heat has asked fans to contribute money and
goods for the relief effort in exchange for game ticket vouchers
also the indianapolis motor speedway began an on line auction friday to raise
money for the american red cross relief effort in haiti with autographed
indianapolis memorabilia and souvenirs on offer
strauss kahn says banks unlikely to get any new bailouts
washington jan afp
international monetary fund chief dominique strauss kahn said friday bailout
weary governments are unlikely to rescue banks if another financial crisis
develops
the former french finance minister said he could not imagine lawmakers in
developed countries agreeing to any fresh bank rescues
convinced that most parliaments the congress here in the united states
the national assembly in france westminster in the uk others will be very
reluctant to say the least to give money again to the financial sector the
imf chief said at news conference in washington organized by the french
american chamber of commerce
especially when they see how the financial sector behaves just in the aftermath
of the crisis he added referring to the continued payment of lavish bonuses
blamed for encouraging excessive risk taking that caused the global financial
crisis
strauss kahn stressed the need for new means to address the problems that had
spun the global economy into its worst downturn in decades
we have months or months to be able to set up something which would be
safer and which would be more likely to resist avoid the kind of problem we
just had he said
the imf estimates that the group of major developed and emerging economies
spent more than trillion dollars to support their financial systems between
and august amid the global crisis
two nato soldiers killed in afghanistan
kabul jan afp
bomb blast in afghanistan restive south killed two nato soldiers hours
after the death of an american trooper in separate attack statement said
