while allowing the economy to get back to recovery he said
the test of whether obama can thread that needle will come on wednesday
urgent korea declares no sail zone off west coast military
seoul jan afp
north korea has announced shipping exclusion zone off part of its west coast
seoul military official said tuesday
merchants risk their lives in post quake haiti
port au prince jan afp
merchants in the haitian capital lost relatives and goods in the devastating
january quake that ripped through their city now they risk their lives
trying to protect what little they have left
one of them was maria del carmen gonzalez who directed team of sweat drenched
men monday as they frantically loaded rickety truck with air conditioning
units from her quake damaged store
the people that broke into my store yesterday are the same ones helping me load
this truck today the diminutive gonzalez told afp
hey you where are you going with that an angry gonzalez cries out in
spanish to one of the volunteers
gonzalez native of the nearby spanish speaking dominican republic has little
choice as the days go on after the powerful earthquake downtown port au
prince becomes ever more dangerous
gonzalez said she will pay the workers when the job is done she is also paying
four police officers on patrol dollars for protection
her merchandise was never percent insured we never thought anything like
this would happen she said
haitians have survived hurricanes civil wars and high crime rates but the last
quake to strike the country was in
we had no earthquake insurance said hardware store owner jean claude lamothe
earthquake insurance was available during the dictatorship of jean claude
duvalier in the and but then we stopped paying it he said
starting in the political instability increased and so did the rates for
multi risk insurance he said trying to explain why he had none
haiti last insurance company nadal instead went into the more lucrative
import export business lamothe said
was born here my brothers and sisters went to the united states and europe
but want to live in my country he said
lamothe has no merchandise to load into any truck he lost it all along with
some relatives his store today is pile of concrete and twisted metal
down the street laundromat owner gazes at his property the building is still
standing and his machines are safe but enormous cracks in the walls are enough
to scare off anyone thinking of entering
think insured just don know if the policy covers earthquakes said
the owner max gener
as the sun set more looters appeared
shots rang out in the distance as shadowy figures flee clutching bolts of
fabric soda bottles pants anything they can get hold of
along the jj dessalines boulevard the city main commercial avenue merchants
loaded four more trucks with goods
wissam harbour haitian of palestinian origin and gonzalez husband was
supervising team of workers loading television sets and refrigerators onto
truck he was closing down the second store he owns
my wife she almost got killed he told afp
when her truck was loaded and gonzalez got behind the steering wheel some of
the volunteers who helped load the vehicle jumped up and tried to pull her
aside
they grabbed her by the neck harbour said and almost pulled her out the
window but gonzalez managed to start the truck and drive off to safety
right now the merchants are storing their goods at home putting it wherever it
fits harbour said
we don know what the future holds for haiti he said
sri lanka votes in tense post war election
colombo jan afp
sri lankans voted under tight security in their first post war presidential poll
tuesday which opened with series of pre dawn bomb attacks after tense and
bitter campaign
the blasts in the northern tamil heartland of jaffna were violent start to the
contest between president mahinda rajapakse and his former army chief sarath
fonseka that threatens new instability in the island nation
spokesman for the centre for monitoring election violence said two of the
bombs were thrown at the home of an organiser for rajapakse sri lanka freedom
party
it was not immediately clear who carried out the attack which damaged the
activist residence but did not cause any injuries no other major violent
incidents had been reported by midday
last may rajapakse and fonseka wiped out sri lanka tamil tiger rebels who
had fought for tamil homeland since in military campaign since dogged
by allegations of war crimes
but from close allies on the battlefield they have turned into irreconcilable
enemies after fonseka year old political novice decided to challenge his
former boss at the ballot box on an anti corruption platform
there are no reliable opinion polls in the country and political observers say
the election is too close to call between the men who are the only contenders
in field of with any realistic chance of winning
we will have great victory rajapakse told reporters after voting in
his southern home constituency of mulkirigala
we must be ready to face the challenges of reaching new heights after this
vote added the one time film actor who entered parliament aged just
in the acrimonious run up to the election the opposition and government have
made claim and counter claim about each other malevolent intentions raising
tensions across the country and the prospect of contested result
fonseka alleged the government intended to unleash violence to intimidate voters
and was preparing coup if it lost he was accused in turn of working with
militia of army deserters who could disrupt the vote
in jaffna residents reported hearing four explosions before dawn tuesday but
the monitors could only immediately account for two of them
at least four political activists were killed and nearly poll related
violent incidents were reported to police before the election the house of
key opposition fundraiser was bombed on friday in colombo
the opposition has said it will not accept the result if the police and
soldiers on duty fail to prevent violence or if there is evidence of
vote rigging
the english language daily mirror newspaper urged both sides to accept the will
of the people
already the respective campaigns have done lot of damage to national unity
the paper said in an editorial
any attempt to force the people to carry forward the campaign burden beyond
january should be strongly resisted and condemned people are sick and tired
of confrontations
in vavuniya northern tamil area voters made their way to polling booths
after they opened at am gmt though turnout was low early on
many we spoke to had heard about the morning blasts in jaffna said bhupendra
prasad poudyat from nepal one of international monitors in sri lanka
they were concerned that violence will flare here maybe turnout was low in the
morning because of the news
the first results are expected to emerge late tuesday after polls shut at
pm with final outcome anticipated around midday on wednesday which has been
declared public holiday
fonseka has hardened his rhetoric in recent days pointing to alleged troop
movements plans to disrupt the media and instructions to the police as evidence
that the government will use the army to stay in power if necessary
rajapakse like fonseka nationalist from the majority sinhalese ethnic group
has vowed to ensure the poll goes off peacefully and had called on voters to
give him second mandate to develop the country post war
his supporters are drawn by the year old charisma and populist approach and
see him as the man who liberated the country from fight with the tigers that
cost lives according to the un
aids victims not forgotten in haiti quake chaos
port au prince jan afp
even in the chaos left by the january earthquake resena and her one year old
baby made their monthly visit to port au prince ghiesko clinic for aids
treatment preserving an unbroken lifeline that has sustained them for two
years
located in the center of the city ghiesko haitian group for studies in
karposi sarcoma and opportunistic infections is one of the first aids clinics
in the world to be set up after the disease broke out in
amid the surrounding rubble and cries of desperation and chaos it continues
dispensing aids treatement to the thousands of people whose lives depend on it
it real pleasure for us health workers to see our patients come here
despite what has befallen them said nurse naomi jean charles as she renewed
prescriptions and handed out pills to dozens of nervous people waiting in line
surprised they re still coming but one learns to work in situations of
poverty caused by hurricanes and political unrest said william pape the
clinic founder who has moved the clinics operations to wing of the building
that survived the january earthquake intact
supplied with medications by the global fund to fight aids the us president
emergency fund for aids relief pepfar and the merieux institute the clinic
has never suffered an interruption in its stocks of antiretroviral drugs
the patients visit us each month and as precaution we always give them
month half treatment so they won run short said pape who also teaches
at cornell university
what worries me more is not our usual patients but this horrible emergency
situation offering care to people who come in from all over with horrible
injuries he said
hundreds of injured haitians have converged on the clinic in the nearly two
weeks since the earthquake along with some homeless people who have taken
refuge on land next to it
military hospital with surgical unit has set up shop in rear courtyard of
the clinic with the help from the us health department and american volunteer
surgeons
the ghiesko centers in haiti care for half of all haitians receiving anti
retroviral treatment or about patients about of them in the
capital about people including doctors work in the center in port au
prince
after the earthquake the center broadcast reminders by radio to aids patients
that their treatments were waiting for them in the capital or in the provinces
and it organized car pools to bring them from their neighborhoods
the war against aids we are going to win it the prevalence of hiv continues
to fall in haiti pape said
it has fallen from percent of the population in urban areas in the to
percent in with fewer than people infected
the treatments are working said jean charles the nurse who said children
born with hiv and who today are years old come in regularly for their
medications it is an achievement she said with smile
china urges dalai lama to cherish new talks
beijing jan afp
china urged the dalai lama on tuesday to cherish the opportunity of fresh
talks with beijing on the political status of tibet as the spiritual leader
envoys arrived for the discussions
representatives of china government and the exiled tibetan buddhist leader
prepared to meet for their ninth round of talks over the remote himalayan region
after hiatus of more than year
at the request of the dalai lama the relevant agencies of the central
government arranged for the private representatives of the dalai lama to visit
china and have consultations foreign ministry spokesman ma zhaoxu said
we hope the dalai lama will cherish this opportunity and respond positively to
the requests of the central government he added declining to answer further
questions on the matter
the talks will be the first since november when the tibetans handed over
memorandum insisting their demands for autonomy in the mountainous buddhist
enclave were in line with china constitution
beijing said at the time it would not compromise on its position that tibet is
an integral part of china but said it would keep open the door for future
discussions despite serious divergences between the two sides
china has released no other information on the talks including their location
they are typically held in great secrecy
the us government expressed its strong backing for the on off negotiations
the united states strongly supports dialogue between china and the dalai lama
representatives to address longstanding differences state department spokesman
philip crowley said in statement
the administration hopes this meeting will produce positive results and provide
foundation for future discussions to resolve outstanding issues
the dalai lama spokesman tenzin taklha said monday that the talks to be
attended by envoys lodi gyari and kelsang gyaltsen were part of an important
process of trying to find mutually agreed solution
taklha said the envoys would return to dharamshala the indian hill town where
the dalai lama has lived for five decades and where many tibetan exiles are
based in early february
china had said last year it would consider reviving the dialogue which began in
but has often repeated demands that the tibetan leader renounce
separatist activities which he denies supporting
the dalai lama has sought meaningful autonomy for tibet since he fled his
homeland following failed uprising in against chinese rule nine years
after chinese troops invaded the region
china says the dalai lama actually wants full independence
earlier this month china named as its new tibet governor military veteran who
vowed to ensure stability in the region where deadly anti china violence
erupted nearly two years ago prompting major security clampdown by beijing
then last week president hu jintao said leapfrog development and lasting
regional stability were key to ensuring the development of china as whole
promising to bring tibet per capita income closer to the national level
on monday britain welcomed the resumption of the talks
urge both sides to enter these talks in good faith and to make progress
towards meaningful autonomy for tibet said junior foreign minister ivan lewis
who in september made the first trip to tibet by british minister
afp gmt news advisory
paris jan afp
duty editor charles whelan
tel
top stories
afghan chief pushes taliban peace deal
collapse of divided nireland feared
sri lanka in first post war presidential polls
afghanistan unrest wrap
istanbul
afghan president hamid karzai pushes strategy of cajoling islamist insurgents
into laying down their arms to stabilise the war ravaged country
words gmt by nicolas cheviron picture
britain nireland politics newseries
belfast
the british and irish prime ministers battle to bring northern ireland divided
leaders to an agreement on policing and avert the collapse of the once troubled
province fragile administration
words gmt
srilanka vote rdlead wrap
colombo
sri lankans vote under tight security in their first post war presidential
election which opens with series of pre dawn bomb blasts after an acrimonious
campaign that risks fomenting new divisions
words by adam plowright
europe
britain economy finance growth recession newseries
london
britain is set to discover that its longest recession on record officially ended
in the fourth quarter of but the country huge debt pile is set to stunt
recovery beyond general election due by june
words gmt data due at gmt
auschwitz poland holocaust jews israel
warsaw
israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu is in warsaw for talks with leaders
and visit to the nazi era ghetto day before marking the international
holocaust memorial day at the auschwitz death camp
words gmt by ron bousso picture graphic
france politics religion islam women rights newseries
paris
french parliament report calls for ban on the full islamic veil in schools
hospitals public transport and government offices to protect france from what
it sees as brand of dangerous fundamentalism
words gmt picture
yemen attacks britain diplomacy advancer
london
world powers gather in london to discuss tackling violent extremism in yemen
called in the wake of an alleged bid to blow up us airliner by nigerian
linked to al qaeda there
words gmt by katherine haddon
davos finance economy bankers
davos switzerland
global bankers return to the international spotlight at the davos forum on
wednesday to battle increased regulation while still fighting off anger over
bonuses
words gmt
davos climate warming auto
davos switzerland
the political and business elite heading for the davos forum this week have been
told to leave their polluting limousines behind but environmentalists consider
the move just public relations gimmick
words gmt by hui min neo
france politics trial advancer
paris
french court hands down verdict thursday in the trial of ex prime minister
dominique de villepin setting the stage for possible comeback by one of
president nicolas sarkozy fiercest foes
words gmt by carole landry file picture sketch
afghanistan
afghanistan unrest britain conference us advancer
washington
two months after ordering more troops into afghanistan the united states is
hoping this week conference in london will also deliver international support
for long term civilian campaign for the war torn nation
words gmt by christophe schmidt
afghanistan unrest nato diplomacy advancer
brussels
nato will seek international endorsement thursday for plans to boost the size of
afghanistan army and police so they can more rapidly assume responsibility for
national security
words gmt by lorne cook
asia
hongkong politics democracy china lead
hong kong
five pro democracy lawmakers in hong kong resign their seats vowing to turn the
resulting elections into populist campaign for universal suffrage in defiance
of warnings from china
words gmt by polly hui
china tibet dalai diplomacy talks lead
beijing
envoys of tibet exiled spiritual leader the dalai lama arrive in china after
lengthy hiatus to resume talks on the political status of the troubled himalayan
region
words gmt
haiti
haiti quake thlead wrap
port au prince
haiti premier begs foreign donors to back the reconstruction of his quake hit
country as fresh looting and chaotic food hand outs underscored the grim
conditions facing survivors
words gmt by dave clark picture graphic video
haiti quake business scene
port au prince
merchants in the haitian capital lost relatives and goods in the devastating
january quake that ripped through their city now they risk their lives
trying to protect what little they have left
words gmt by jordi zamora picture
haiti quake aids scene
port au prince
resena and her one year old baby go to port au prince ghiesko clinic for their
monthly aids treatment lifeline of two years that continues unbroken even in
the chaos of the january earthquake
words gmt by virginie montet picture
haiti quake hospital focus
leogane haiti
in humble office transformed into rough operating theater doctor was
amputating the toes from one year old outside the sound of moans filled the
corridor
words by daphne benoit picture
americas
us politics obama address deficit focus
washington
president barack obama is to address us debt woes in his first state of the
union address wednesday with experts warning that the country superpower
status depends on his actions
words gmt by andrew beatty
entertainment us film sundance paparazzi
park city utah
he was punched by marlon brando sued by jacqueline kennedy onassis and beaten
up by richard burton bodyguards and now this renowned paparazzi journalist
is the subect of mesmerizing documentary at the sundance film festival
words gmt by romain raynaldy
finance economy us company aig public aid politics
washington
us treasury secretary timothy geithner appears before lawmakers angry over his
role in the bailout of insurance giant aig with concerns mounting over his role
as the us administration top economic official
words gmt by hugues honore
middle east
lebanon plane crash ndlead wrap
beirut
rescuers scour the coast of lebanon for victims and flight recorders of an
ethiopian airlines plane that plunged flaming into the sea with officials
saying there is little hope of finding any survivors
words gmt by jocelyne zablit picture video graphic
urgent five killed forensics building destroyed in baghdad bomb
baghdad jan afp
car bomb exploded in central baghdad on tuesday killing five people and
destroying the government forensics headquarters an interior ministry
official said
alert
north korea declares no sail zone off west coast seoul military official
alert
forensics building destroyed in baghdad blast interior ministry
cricket bangladesh india second test scoreboard
dhaka jan afp
scoreboard at tea on the third day of the second and final test between
bangladesh and india on tuesday
bangladesh st innings mahmudullah not out sharma
india st innings overnight
gambhir rahim shafiul
sehwag rahim shahadat
dravid retd hurt
tendulkar kayes shakib
vijay mahmudullah shakib
ms dhoni st rahim raqibul
harbhajan singh rahim shafiul
zaheer khan shahadat shafiul
sharma rahim ashraful
ojha not out
extras lb nb
total for eight wickets decl overs
fall of wickets sehwag gambhir tendulkar
vijay harbhajan zaheer sharma dhoni
bowling shafiul shahadat nb rubel
nb shakib ashraful mahmudullah siddique
raqibul
bangladesh nd innings
tamim iqbal not out
imrul kayes sub karthik zaheer
junaid siddique not out
extras lb
total for one wicket overs
fall of wicket kayes
bowling zaheer sharma harbhajan ojha
toss bangladesh
umpires billy bowden nzl and marais erasmus rsa
tv umpire sharfuddoula shahid ban
match referee andy pycroft zim
iran hails mauritania decision to cut ties with israel
tehran jan afp
president mahmoud ahmadinejad hailed mauritania move to cut ties with iran
arch foe israel as he held talks with his visiting counterpart from the arab
nation his office has said
the action taken by mauritania to cut ties with the zionist regime is very
valuable and should be considered as role model for other islamic countries
ahmadinejad told mauritania president mohamed ould abdel aziz on monday
the zionists are angry over these actions as they want to project that they
have normal relations with the islamic world the iranian hardliner was quoted
as saying in remarks posted on his office website late monday
israel shut down its embassy in nouakchott following mauritania decision in
january to suspend diplomatic ties with the jewish state decade after
they were launched
mauritania was one of only three arab nations that had formal diplomatic ties
with israel apart from egypt and jordan
ahmadinejad has earned the wrath of israel and western powers for repeatedly
refusing to acknowledge the scale of the holocaust and to claim that the jewish
state was doomed to be wiped off the map
during his talks with ahmadinejad ould abdel aziz meanwhile said that his
country was fully ready to cooperate with tehran on regional and international
levels
five killed as car bomb rocks central baghdad
baghdad iraq jan afp
car bomb exploded in central baghdad on tuesday killing five people and
injuring an interior ministry official said day after three huge minibus
bombs targeting hotels killed dozens
the blast occurred in karrada neighbourhood near government office which deals
with criminal investigations the official said speaking on condition of
anonymity
on monday three huge and apparently co ordinated minibus bombs targeted hotels
in baghdad killing at least people and wounding
iraqi politicians and us forces have warned of rising violence ahead of the
march vote the second parliamentary ballot since the us led invasion
ousted saddam hussein but ushered in deadly and long lasting insurgency
the hotel bombings came on the same day the government announced that saddam
notorious cousin and henchman chemical ali hassan al majid symbol of the
fallen regime had been executed
china says talks still possible on iran nuclear issue
beijing jan afp
china said tuesday there was still time to reach diplomatic resolution to the
standoff over iran nuclear programme after france urged its european partners
to ready new sanctions against tehran
negotiations and dialogue are the best way to resolve the iranian nuclear
issue chinese foreign ministry spokesman ma zhaoxu told reporters
at present relevant parties are still engaged in diplomatic efforts and there
is still room for diplomatic efforts
france european affairs minister pierre lellouche on monday urged european
union nations to prepare new sanctions against tehran saying they were needed
because of iran refusal of all offers of solution made by the west
washington and its western allies fear iran is secretly developing fissile
material for nuclear weapons under the cover of its uranium enrichment programme
charge denied by tehran
china close ally of iran and permanent member of the un security council
has always favoured diplomacy over sanctions
the current priority is that all parties concerned should proceed from the
larger interest step up diplomatic efforts and adopt more flexibility and
pragmatism to push forward the negotiations ma said
tennis henin dream run continues as cilic upsets roddick
melbourne jan afp
justine henin dream run gathered pace tuesday as she powered into the
australian open semi finals where she will face china zheng jie while big
hitting croat marin cilic upset andy roddick
the year old belgian decided to return to tennis after seeing fellow belgian
kim clijsters win the us open last year and she has more than justified the
faith of organisers here who handed her wildcard
the draw opened up for her nicely when clijsters was knocked out in the third
round and henin has seized the opportunity using her vast experience to down
determined russian th seed nadia petrova
she now faces the dangerous zheng who destroyed unseeded russian maria
kirilenko for berth in her th grand slam final
fourteenth seeded cilic made his first grand slam semi by outlasting seventh
seed roddick with the american once again failing to live up to expectations
cilic claimed an epic five setter and will play
either defending champion rafael nadal or british hope andy murray
it wasn easy in the last set was just trying to hold my serve and he was
putting lot of pressure on said cilic the first croat ever to reach the
last four in melbourne
won the first game easily and that helped and then when broke him it got
bit easier
can go one more five setter why not
it was marathon man cilic third five set match of the tournament
henin whose win made her just the third women wildcard to reach the semi
final of any grand slam after zheng at wimbledon in and clijsters at last
year us open said she was now daring to dream
here again in the last four it just much more than what could expect
and the dream continues said henin who called it quits in may after
