kampala suburb
the maximum duration of annularity the time the moon is in front of the sun
was minutes eight seconds at gmt making it the longest annular
eclipse of the rd millennium according to nasa
only on december will this record be beaten
in china capital beijing partial eclipse made crescent of the setting
orange sun before the lunar shadow expired over the shandong peninsula at
gmt
it cool the weather conditions are pretty good it really rather
magnificent said one male beijing high school student one of about
observing the eclipse from coal hill overlooking the forbidden city
pro democracy activists to go on trial in vietnam
hanoi jan afp
group of pro democracy activists are due to go on trial in vietnam next week
charged with activities aimed at overthrowing the communist government
among them are internet activist nguyen tien trung an it engineer trained in
france and le cong dinh known for his defence of human rights lawyers
their families say they are up in court wednesday and thursday in southern ho
chi minh city with fellow activists le thang long and tran huynh duy thuc and
could face the death penalty if convicted
all four were arrested last year along with tran anh kim and are accused of
links to banned political organisation the democratic party of vietnam
the democratic party which has its roots in the now ruling vietnamese communist
party was dissolved in the but revived in by hoang minh chinh the
late former communist official turned dissident
the defendants were originally arrested for propaganda against the regime
charge punishable only by prison
court in december sentenced kim long serving military officer turned pro
democracy campaigner to five and half years in jail for attempting subversion
against the government
kim former lieutenant colonel was convicted after half day trial
separately from monday appeal hearings begin in hanoi and the northern port of
haiphong of nine activists sentenced in october to between two and six years for
propaganda against the government according to their families and lawyers
the defendants including writer nguyen xuan nghia were convicted of displaying
democracy banners distributing leaflets and campaigning on the internet
western governments and rights groups have voiced concern about the various
arrests and trials as sign of tougher crackdown on opponents ahead of the
communist party congress in
foreign diplomat said friday think that many diplomats share the view that
there is hardening of the situation that the human rights situation hasn
improved on the contrary it has deteriorated
the upcoming party congress might be one of the reasons but there are probably
other reasons that we don know
german nuclear storage site declared unsafe reports
berlin jan afp
german radiation protection officials want barrels of nuclear waste
removed from an unsafe old salt mine in what would be huge unprecedented and
hazardous operation reports said friday
the asse mine in central germany used to store waste between and in
depths of up to metres feet has been known for some time to be
leaking and in danger of partial collapse
the federal office for radiation protection bfs has now recommended to the
government that all the barrels be removed and placed in schacht konrad
former iron ore mine the local daily koelner stadt anzeiger said
in view of the precarious state of asse with experts saying it will only be
secure until at the latest the bfs recommended beginning the expensive and
tricky removal operation as soon as possible the paper said
the office also considered moving the waste deeper underground at asse or
filling the mine with water and sealing it but removing it was the only safe
option the paper cited the bfs page report as saying
schacht konrad near salzgitter would then become germany first permanent
storage site for nuclear waste which scientists say can take thousands of years
to decay
the bfs was due to give news conference later on friday
just extracting all the barrels is expected to take around years and press
reports say it could cost as much as four billion euros six billion dollars
there is no full record of what the mine and its shafts contain last august
it emerged that it included kilos pounds of highly toxic plutonium
at first the barrels were stacked in an orderly manner but later they were
simply dumped in and covered with the salt grit with the result that many are
now corroded and dented according to press reports
nuclear power is highly unpopular in germany and opponents have jumped on the
parlous state of asse and the lack of permanent storage site in germany as
reason to abandon it entirely
germany decided in to mothball its reactors by but chancellor
angela merkel government wants to look at extending the life of some plants
which produce around percent of german power
urgent wfp says port au prince warehouses looted
geneva jan afp
the world food programme said friday that its warehouses in haitian capital
port au prince have been looted and that it would have to restock in order to
feed survivors of the devastating earthquake
afp graphics advisory
paris jan afp
we shall move the following graphics
available now
haiti quake international aid
updated graphic on international aid pledged after the quake
text slug haiti quake
mm
also available on haiti
search and rescue methods mm
un mission in haiti mm
quake map mm
port au prince map mm
tectonic plates caribbean map mm
haiti factfile mm
japan afghanistan refuelling mission
graphic on japan indian ocean support mission for the us led war in
afghanistan which ended on friday
text slug japan afghanistan us military
mm
uss independence warship factfile
fact file and illustration on the uss independence trimaran warship designed
for the us navy due to be commissioned on saturday
stand alone graphic
mm
red billed warbler factfile
graphic on the large billed reed warbler dubbed in the world least
known bird which has been discovered to be breeding in remote region of
afghanistan according to british journal birding asia
stand alone graphic
mm
doomsday clock
graphic on the doomsday clock symbolic indicator to show how close the world
is from nuclear annihilation sponsored by the bulletin of atomic scientists
text slug us nuclear climate science
mm
solar eclipse factfile
resending fact file and illustration on the solar eclipse in africa and east
asia on friday
text slug astronomy eclipse
mm
solar eclipse asia
resending graphic focussing on the asian section of friday eclipse showing
major cities in its path
text slug astronomy eclipse
mm
jal shares
chart showing daily closing values for japan airlines for the past month
text slug japan airline company distress jal
mm
asia pacific markets
closings for key asia pacific markets
text slug stocks
mm
moved earlier
pakistan waziristan map mm
afghanistan death toll mm
chile factfile mm
ukraine factfile mm
asia internet audience mm
google income mm
paris hong kong
tel
french us rescuers pull compatriots from haiti hotel ruins
port au prince jan afp
from the twisted debris of collapsed haitian hotel french rescuers saved
seven americans and us team returned the favor pulling from the rubble
french woman who promptly asked for glass of wine
amid the untold death and destruction that has marked haiti worst natural
disaster on record rays of hope like this one have poked through the despair
hope has energized global aid operation facing the grievous task of extracting
thousands of victims most of them lifeless from the ruins
perched in the hills above port au prince the large hotel montana saw crews
from chile france the united states and venezuela converge on thursday in
desperate effort to rescue some haitians and foreigners believed to have
been inside when the five story structure collapsed during tuesday cataclysmic
earthquake
spent hours trapped inside hours cried relieved washingtonian
richard santos after french emergency services workers freed him shortly
before midnight thursday
santos emerged largely uninjured and was immediately checked and treated by
french responders before being formally handed over to team of dozen
appreciative american rescuers
other survivors wearing helmets and goggles provided by the rescuers were
brought out on stretchers from under huge slab that lay atop mountain of
broken concrete metal and stone
many had survived in an air pocket in what used to be the reception area of the
montana hotel popular with un staff and aid workers and haitian elite
one hotel survivor carla shawn thanked the french government and the
firefighters as she was being given high energy biscuits according to samuel
bernes chief of the french emergency services team
five other americans and one haitian woman were pulled out alive by the
strong french crew and their four trained dogs
as of late thursday five bodies had been recovered although far more were
believed to be in the rubble and people were rescued alive including
french survivor found by us team from virginia
as if to prove her nationality said rebecca gustafson of the us agency for
international development the french woman good naturedly asked her rescuers
for glass of wine
they did not oblige her gustafson added
for people who have spent hours in the rubble they are in very good
health bernes said they are physically and emotionally relieved to be out of
this rat hole
yet the successful rescues were merely brief highlights in an otherwise grim
scene at the hotel one that is playing out with heart wrenching regularity at
countless destroyed buildings across the ruined city of port au prince
the international red cross says that between and people were
killed in the earthquake which rippled across wretchedly poor haiti
haitian officials have expressed fear the death toll may exceed
alert
wfp says port au prince warehouses looted
afptv advisory
paris jan afp
we will file the following videos
anger mounts as haitians gasp for aid
port au prince
anger and despair are mounting in quake hit haiti as survivors call for
international aid and experts warn public health disaster is looming as
thousands of bodies pile up on the streets of port au prince see items below
for detailed coverage offer
news
images of helicopter dropping aid and people scrambling to reach it already
transmitted
raw vid
web mmv
images of bodies under rubble in collasped school and on streets already
raw vid
web mmv
interviews with survivors at open air camp and wrecked headquarters of haiti
football federation already transmitted
raw vid
web mmv
voiced news report already transmitted
nsv vid
broadcast ready vid
web mmv
updated voiced news report transmitted by gmt
nsv vid
broadcast ready vid
web mmv
further news coverage details to follow on updated advisory
former haitian president aristide ready to return
johannesburg
former haitian president jean bertrand aristide exiled in south africa since
his ouster in said on friday that he was ready to leave today tomorrow
at any time for haiti in order to help rebuild the country in the wake of the
devastating earthquake
news
images and soundbites already transmitted
raw vid
web mmv
obama unveils million dollars of haiti aid
washington
president barack obama promised haitians thursday they would not be forgotten
offering million dollars in immediate earthquake aid and every element of us
power to help them
news
images and soundbites already transmitted
raw vid
web mmv
expat haitians mobilise in florida
orlando florida
haitians in the united states are trying to find ways to offer assistance to the
family back home afptv reports from the largest haitian expatriate community
in orlando florida on how people are responding to the crisis
news
voiced report already transmitted
nsv vid
broadcast ready vid
web mmv
mexico preps aid mission to haiti
mexico city
latin american nations many with experience of devastating earthquakes and un
peacekeepers in haiti are scrambling to send aid to the earthquake hit nation
search and rescue workers prepared to leave mexico airport on thursday with
three planes and hospital boat due to carry metric tonnes of public and
private aid around doctors as well as engineers an aid workers images
news
images already transmitted
raw vid
web mmv
jordan mourns three peacekeepers killed in haiti
amman
three jordanian soldiers in the un peacekeeping mission in haiti have been
killed and others injured in the country massive earthquake jordan had
soldiers in the un mission minustah which counted troops and
police overall interviews with family of one of the victims and jordanian
army officer
news
images and soundbites transmitted by gmt
raw vid
web mmv
crisis centre set up for france haiti expats
paris
the red cross and french medical services have set up crisis centre outside
paris to provide psychological support to haitians traumatised by the quake
disaster and their inability to reach loved ones afptv visited with health
workers and haitians visiting the centre
news
images and soundbites transmitted by gmt
raw vid
web mmv
first arrivals from haiti land in paris
paris
traumatised survivors of haiti earthquake began arriving on friday morning in
france after the first flights were allowed to take off from port au prince
again news coverage
images and soundbites transmitted by gmt
raw vid
web mmv
blazing ring eclipse races across africa asia
beirut hong kong beijing
solar eclipse that reduced the sun to blazing ring surrounding sombre disk
plunged parts of the world into an eerie semi darkness on friday the spectacle
visible in roughly kilometre band running kilometres across the
globe set record for the longest annular eclipse at one point that will
remain unbeaten for more than thousand years images of eclipse from lebanon
and asia
news environment amp nature
images ex beirut transmitted by gmt
raw vid
web mmv
images ex hong kong and beijing transmitted by gmt
raw vid
web mmv
ukraine struggles as presidential vote looms
mariupol ukraine
this sunday ukrainians will head to the polls to elect new president whoever
emerges victorious will have to deal with one of the biggest economic crises the
country has seen afptv paid visit to mariupol city with half million
inhabitants where unemployment is high and prospects almost non existent
news economy
voiced report already transmitted
nsv vid
broadcast ready vid
web mmv
french finance minister outlook for
paris
french finance minister christine lagarde is expected to give her view on the
country economic prospects for as she presents her new year message to
the press alongside industry minister christian estrosi and junior ministers
laurent wauquiez herv novelli and anne marie idrac news coverage
news economy
images and soundbites transmitted by gmt
raw vid
web mmv
as part of our african nations cup coverage we will file the following
ousted from world cup tunisia bets all on nations cup
tunis
after maiden match against zambia tunisia will be seeking victory from gabon
with goal of making it past the nations cup first round to fans at home it
may brunt the disappointment of not having made the cut for the world cup finals
later this year
sport
voiced report transmitted by gmt
nsv vid
broadcast ready vid
web mmv
omigod california chihuahuas take refuge in new york
new york
new york is like totally awesome especially if you re chihuahua abandoned
in california fifteen of these goggle eyed living toys best known for
inhabiting the handbags of paris hilton and other hollywood listers became
new yorkers wednesday after being rescued from the west coast
culture amp lifestyle offbeat
voiced report already transmitted
nsv vid
broadcast ready vid
web mmv
contact
michelle hoffman
warwick wise
opposition says sri lanka lied to un over heavy weapons
colombo jan afp
sri lanka opposition friday accused the government of misleading the un over
the use of heavy weapons during the final stages of fighting against tamil
rebels last year
sri lanka is under pressure from the united nations and western nations to
submit to war crimes investigation after host of allegations about the
killing of prisoners and the use of weapons
top aide to president mahinda rajapakse disclosed on thursday that colombo
ordered halt to the use of heavy weapons only in april two months after un
envoy was promised that such armaments would not be used
former foreign minister and key opposition leader mangala samaraweera seized on
the disclosure by the aide lalith weeratunga who said the use of heavy weapons
was eventually stopped as part of political deal with the indian government
the statement indicates that despite claims to the contrary both to the public
of this country and to the un in february in fact the government had
sanctioned the use of heavy weapons until april when the indian general
election was in full swing samaraweera said in statement
weeratunga said neighbouring india had asked for complete halt in the
offensive because it affected tamil votes in southern india during national
elections last year
the un estimates that at least civilians were killed in the first four
months of last year as sri lankan troops moved to finish off the tigers who had
fought for an independent tamil homeland since
sri lanka tamil community numbering percent of the population has close
cultural and religious links with india tamil nadu state which was once the
staging post for sri lankan tamil separatists
turkey israel on track to close drone deal official
ankara jan afp
turkey and israel appear to be on track to finalise long delayed multi
million dollar deal for the delivery of drone aircraft for the turkish air
force turkish official said friday
the project launched in was under threat of cancellation amid delays and
rising tensions between the two countries over israel devastating offensive in
the gaza strip last year
turkish experts are currently in israel to test the drones the defence
ministry official told afp on condition of anonymity
should the systems pass the tests six aircraft will be brought to turkey
southeastern province of batman on the border with iraq for further tests the
official added
if there are no problems we will take the drones we expect the delivery to
take place in the first six months of this year he said
the announcement came ahead of visit by israeli defence minister ehud barak to
turkey on sunday for talks on mending battered ties following the latest
diplomatic row
on wednesday israel was forced to apologise after ankara threataned to withdraw
its ambassador over israeli deputy foreign minister danny ayalon public
dressing down of the envoy
the drone project had been expected to be completed in the second half of
but it was delayed by technical problems forcing turkey to give the two
contractors israel aerospace industries and elbit deadline until early
and threaten to cancel the tender
last week defence minister vecdi said that negotations were under way
on the compensation the israeli companies would pay for the delay but refused
to give figure
media reports have suggested that the compensation could be somewhere around
million dollars million euros
the drone contract was part of an million dollar project that involved the
manufacture of aircraft surveillance equipment and ground control stations
with turkish firms providing sub systems and services
under military cooperation deal turkish israeli ties have flourished
greatly until last year when the two countries fell out about ankara almost
daily criticism of the jewish state over the gaza war
ba su boc
afp gmt news advisory
paris jan afp
duty editor chris otton
tel
top stories
despair in haiti over quake relief delay
china says google row won hit us trade
final push for votes in ukraine election
haiti quake thlead wrap
port au prince
despairing haitians claw for survivors in the rubble of their homes as
frustration grows at the trickle of aid after quake the red cross said may
have killed people
words gmt by stephane jourdain picture video
us china it internet google ndlead wrap
beijing
china says that google threat to stop operating in the country will not affect
sino us trade ties after washington pressed for an explanation of china based
cyberattacks on the internet giant
words gmt by susan stumme picture graphic
we have also moved us china it internet rights google analysis
ukraine vote lead
kiev
ukraine presidential election candidates make final effort to appeal to
voters deeply disillusioned with the orange revolution on the last day of
campaigning allowed ahead of the ballot
words gmt by stuart williams picture graphic video
haiti quake
haiti quake aid rescue lead
port au prince
as rescue crews arrive in haiti besides dealing with the devastation of major
earthquake they face widespread insecurity that forces them to stop work at
nightfall since they lack weapons or armed guards
words gmt by beatriz lecumberri picture
haiti quake aid victims newseries scene
port au prince
almost hours after the shattered concrete ceiling of her cousin dress store
crashed down upon her maryse faltering cries galvanise crowd of rescuers
digging through the rubble
words moved by dave clark picture video
haiti quake us aid lead
washington
nuclear powered us aircraft carrier speeds toward haiti to assist an
international relief effort as anger and despair mounted in the stricken
country
words gmt graphic picture
haiti france aid history focus
paris
france bids for leading role in rebuilding its impoverished former colony
haiti after the earthquake reflecting its special ties with the caribbean state
where sugar and slaves once lined its pockets
words gmt
europe
russia europe justice rights rdlead wrap
moscow
russia parliament votes to ratify long delayed protocol on reforming the
european court of human rights clearing the way for the reform to proceed after
years of resistance from moscow
words gmt by alexander osipovich picture
vatican pope jews rome
rome
rome jewish community is bitterly divided over an impending visit by pope
benedict xvi to the city main synagogue after he angered many by moving his
wartime predecessor pius xii further on the road to sainthood
words gmt by gina doggett
asia
astronomy eclipse science ndlead wrap
thiruvananthapuram india
solar eclipse that reduces the sun to blazing ring surrounding sombre disk
plunges millions of people in africa and asia into an eerie semi darkness
words gmt by jeemon jacob graphic pictures
lifestyle china homosexuality pageant ndlead
beijing
eight chinese men strut their stuff in front of hundreds of people at china
first gay pageant in sign of new openness about homosexuality in nation
where it remains largely taboo
words gmt by marianne barriaux picture
middle east
iran politics opposition wrap
tehran
iran steps up pressure on the opposition arresting dissident cleric and
