leader of the congressional black caucus adding that reid had phoned her over
the weekend
there are too many issues like the economy job creation and energy for these
regrettable comments to distract us from the work that must be done on behalf of
the american people the veteran california lawmaker said noting reid has
history of helping poor and minority communities
during an appearance in nevada unveiling new energy project the leading
senate democrat repeated his weekend apology
ve apologized to everyone in the sound of my voice that could have used
better choice of words he told reporters and ll continue to do my work for
the african american community
obama was also eager to move on with the congress yet to pass bill
overhauling the us health care system his top domestic priority reid is
playing critical role in negotiations between both chambers of congress to
craft compromise legislation to send to the president desk
the fact that we spend days on this instead of talking about the unemployment
rate or talking about how we deal with critical issues like energy and health
care is an indication of why think people don understand what is happening
in washington he said
guarantee you the average person white or black right now is less
concerned about what harry reid said in quote in book couple of years ago
than they are about how we are going to move the country forward that where
we need to direct our attention
prominent african american activist al sharpton who also received phone call
from reid told fox news television that while he was offended by the term
negro dialect it was not anywhere near comparable to offensive or
insensitive racial remarks conservative leaders have made over the years
on sunday republican leaders demanded that reid step down over the flap while
democrats described the comments as an unfortunate choice of words brushing
aside calls from their political foes
china says successfully tests missile defence system
beijing jan afp
china has successfully intercepted missile in mid flight state media said
tuesday in test of its advanced air defence capabilities amid tensions over
us arms sales to taiwan
china conducted test on ground based midcourse missile interception
technology within its territory the test has achieved the expected objective
xinhua news agency said of the test on monday
the test is defensive in nature and is not targeted at any country it added
the news comes shortly after us official in taipei said the pentagon had
approved the sale of patriot missile equipment to taiwan as part of package
passed by congress more than year ago
beijing which considers taiwan part of its territory and has vowed to take
the island back by force if necessary has repeatedly voiced its protest over
the sales and urged washington to cancel the deal
afp sports schedule for tuesday january
paris jan afp
afp sports schedule for tuesday january
football
two time defending champions egypt take on fellow group heavyweights nigeria
in benguela while benin and mozambique clash as both seek their first ever win
in the competition
see separate advisory
masterslug fbl afr
two french league cup last matches with the highlight champions bordeaux away
at fellow first division side le mans italian cup match with as roma at home to
second division triestina in last clash english fa cup third round
matches replays and those that were postponed originally scottish premier
league match with st mirren hosting aberdeen
slugs fbl fra lcup fbl ita cup fbl eng facup fbl sco pr
tennis
world number one serena williams headlines crack women field featuring nine
of the world top at the sydney international the men draw sees czech
tomas berdych last weekend chennai finalist swiss stanislas wawrinka and
australia lleyton hewitt heading the field coverage by robert smith
also atp at auckland and wta at hobart
slugs tennis atp wta aus tennis atp nzl tennis wta aus
rallying
day ten of the dakar rally sees the kilometres special stage from la serena
to santiago with spain two time world rally champion carlos sainz leading
qatari team mate nasser al attiyah by wafer thin lead frenchman cyril despres
leads in the motorcycling section coverage by joris fioriti
slug auto moto rally dakar
alpine skiing
women slalom at flachau austria
slug ski world women
snooker
masters tournament continues with the sport biggest drawcard ronnie rocket
sullivan taking on talented australian neil robertson in first round match
while wales former world champion mark williams plays england allister
carter
slug snooker gbr masters
bmw looks to china to help overall sales growth
detroit michigan jan afp
german automaker bmw expects return to global sales growth in helped by
emerging markets like china after difficult period last year its head of
sales said monday
we see markets starting to recover ian robertson head of sales and
marketing told reporters at the detroit auto show
we believe there will be still number of challenges around in but we
are cautiously optimistic the industry will start to return to some growth
adding that bmw is aiming for single digit growth
despite the industry woes last year bmw was able to expand its market share in
the premium segment once again he said and maintain its position as the
world leading supplier of premium vehicles
robertson comments came after the automaker which owns the bmw rolls royce
and mini brands reported percent drop in global sales for for
total of million vehicles
faced with the overall economic crisis we are quite satisfied with these
figures he said we had to absorb somewhat larger decreases in volumes in the
first half of as all other manufacturers did however in the second
half we reversed that trend
the weak performance was offset in part by growth in emerging markets with
sales in china up percent while those in brazil were up percent and
india sales grew percent
china will be strong market for us in said robertson
in germany where sales fell percent last year robertson said he sees
significant downturn due to the end of scrappage incentives in the country
robertson who unveiled the all terrain mini beachcomber concept car said the
company will continue to expand in the small car segment which is growing
he said bmw would expand is output of mini in the united states citing its
success with american consumers the bmw brand will launch its new series
vehicles in march
we have been investing one billion us dollars in the growth and expansion of
our business here robertson said
we announced last fall that we will invest further billion us dollars in
our plants in germany up to the end of and around million us dollars in
china for the expansion of our shenyang production facilities
gay marriage goes on trial in california
san francisco jan afp
landmark federal court case on same sex marriage got underway in california
monday with attorneys arguing that outlawing weddings between gays and lesbians
violates the us constitution
in the latest twist in case that could ultimately lead to showdown at the us
supreme court gay rights activists are seeking to overturn ban on same sex
marriage passed by california voters at the election
the ban was upheld by california top state court last year prompting
activists to take their case to the federal court system for the first time
analysts say the decision to fight the case in federal courts represents high
stakes risk because it could result in us supreme court ruling which would
settle the issue with no possibility of appeal
monday hearing in san francisco began with around supporters and opponents
of same sex marriage protesting outside the court house
the no jury trial was supposed to be streamed live via youtube but the us
supreme court on monday issued stay blocking live streaming of the proceedings
beyond the courthouse proper while it considers the matter
supporters of california same sex marriage ban known as proposition insist
the federal case should never have been allowed to proceed and criticized judge
vaughn walker decision to hear it
this lawsuit is an attempt by judge walker to put the voters of california on
trial and it wrong walker has not dealt with this properly he doesn care
about the law brian brown director of the national organization for marriage
which opposes gay marriage told afp
think our founding fathers would be rolling over in their graves if they
heard that the constitution guarantees the right to redefine marriage this is
absurd he said
those who support gay marriage believe the court case is an opportunity to
enlighten the public
discrimination hurts us and doesn help anyone the trial will offer chance
for the public to listen to the expert witnesses on both sides and hear the
cross examinations of those witnesses said jennifer pizer director of lambda
legal national marriage project
she added people have so many misconceptions and misunderstandings about gay
people and what sexual orientation is all about
the opening day of the trial monday heard testimony from two plaintiffs in the
case kristin perry and sandra stier who tied the knot in california only
to have their wedding later declared invalid
perry recalled the letter sent to her by the government informing her that her
marriage had been annulled
we re sorry to inform you that your marriage is not valid we like to return
your marriage fees to you perry told the court don have word to
describe my relationship she added
stier said being allowed to wed her partner would provide me with sense of
inclusion in the social fabric of the society live in
want our children to feel proud of us don want them to worry about us
she told the court
the plaintiffs in the case are being represented by attorneys theodore olson and
david boies who are teaming up after being fierce opponents in the supreme
court fight for the presidency between george bush and al gore
the stakes are huge for both supporters and opponents of gay marriage
no one in america thinks that this trial is going to end at this level brown
said eventually it will go to supreme court
supreme court ruling would seal the fate of gay unions across the united
states without possibility for appeal by one side or the other
the california court case follows several setbacks for gay marriage proponents
on thursday new jersey lawmakers rejected bill authorizing gay marriages as
did lawmakers in new york state few weeks ago
only five us states today permit gay unions iowa connecticut massachusetts
vermont and new hampshire
four killed in chile plane crash
santiago jan afp
four crew members died monday when small plane crashed near city in northern
chile the country air force said
the aircraft single engine mooney model was missing for several hours until
it was found near la serena about kilometers miles north of santiago
the aircraft was found in la cachimba valley kilometers miles inland
from la serena unfortunately the four people are dead said rodrigo ceballos
coordinator of the air force search and rescue service
the plane had been scheduled to land at tobalaba airport in santiago an
investigation is underway to determine how it crashed in the area where access
is difficult
tokyo stocks open lower
tokyo jan afp
japanese share prices opened lower tuesday with the benchmark nikkei index
losing points or percent to in the first minute of
trading
baseball baseball star mcgwire admits steroid use
los angeles jan afp
disgraced ex baseball star mark mcgwire said on monday he used steroids during
his record breaking home run season dealing another blow to the drug tainted
image of america national past time
the year old former oakland athletics and st louis cardinals star expressed
regret and confirmed long held suspicions that he used performance enhancing
drugs for nearly decade including the campaign
wish had never touched steroids it was foolish and it was mistake
truly apologize looking back wish had never played during the steroid
era mcgwire said in statement on the cardinals website
mcgwire had consistently declined to comment on drug use in baseball and in
refused to answer questions after being ordered to appear before congressional
hearing on steroid use in the sport
commissioner bug selig on monday welcomed mcgwire admission and claimed
steroids have been almost wiped out of the big leagues
am pleased that mark mcgwire has confronted his use of performance enhancing
substances selig said this will make mark re entry into the game much
smoother
the use of steroids and amphetamines amongst today players has greatly
subsided and is virtually non existent as our testing results have shown
the so called steroid era is clearly thing of the past
the burly slugger captured the imagination of american sports fans in after
becoming involved in gripping head to head battle with the chicago cubs sammy
sosa to break roger maris coveted single season home run record
maris mark of had stood since but was obliterated by mcgwire who
finished the campaign with home runs sosa who has denied using
performance enhancing drugs finished with runs
however question marks have swirled about the legitimacy of mcgwire record
breaking season for years which the shamed baseball star admitted on monday was
fueled by illegal drugs
mcgwire said he had decided to come clean after being appointed the cardinals
new hitting coach two months ago
never knew when but always knew this day would come mcgwire said it
time for me to talk about the past and to confirm what people have suspected
used steroids during my playing career and apologize
remember trying steroids very briefly in the off season and then
after was injured in used steroids again used them on occasion
throughout the nineties including during the season
cardinals manager tony la russa told espn television on monday that his club
ran an honest programme but he also suspected something might be going on
outside of his organization
knew the programme we ran in st louis was percent legit la russa said
became aware of what was happening during the times everybody was trying to
get the competitive edge
mcgwire said he had been drawn to steroids after becoming convinced they would
help him recover from series of injuries
during the mid went on the dl disabled list seven times and missed
games over five years
it was definitely miserable bunch of years and told myself that steroids
could help me recover faster
mcgwire acknowledged that his hitting feats would forever be questioned
following his admission of steroid use but insisted that he had enjoyed good
years when he had been clean
sure people will wonder if could have hit all those home runs had never
taken steroids he said
but no matter what shouldn have done it and for that truly sorry
mcgwire did not hold news conference on monday but rather chose to make his
admission in an online statement and to select news organizations
the home run chase revitalized the baseball world but now mcgwire
admission has given the sport another black eye
his comments follow similar admission by new york yankees star alex rodriguez
months ago
major league baseball home run king barry bonds pitcher roger clemens and
slugger david ortiz have also come under suspicion for using performance
enhancing drugs but have denied knowingly doing so
bonds has been indicted on us federal charges he made false statements to
grand jury and obstructed justice
grand jury is probing clemens to determine if he lied to congressional
committee
in more than five percent of american baseball players tested positive for
performance enhancing drug use
the san francisco chronicle previously reported that bonds has admitted taking
steroids but says he did not know what they were
on march mcgwire and sosa were among several current and former
players who testified in front of the house government reform committee probing
drug use in baseball
afp
afp world news service no unauthorized reproduction
sixteen un personnel confirmed dead in haiti quake ban
united nations jan afp
un chief ban ki moon said late wednesday that total of un personnel were
confirmed dead in the devastating earthquake that flattened the un mission
main headquarters in the haitian capital
total of un staff are now confirmed dead he told reporters
he said among the dead were three police officers from jordan one from
argentina one from chad and brazilian peacekeepers
susana malcorra head of the un department of field support earlier in the day
put the figure at dead with injured she added that total number of un
personnel still unaccounted for is in the range of
like other un officials ban said he could not confirm claim by haitian
president rene preval that hedi annabi the civilian head of the un mission in
haiti minustah was killed in the quake
meanwhile haitian prime minister jean max bellerive said the death toll in
haiti worst quake in more than years could be well over
although he added hope that is not true
this is going to be one of the highest in terms of loss of life in recent
years as far as we can tell us secretary of state hillary clinton said as she
announced she was cutting short her trip to asia to head straight back to
washington
she gave no figure but compared the haiti quake to the indian ocean tsunami that
killed more than people five years ago
us begins evacuating citizens from haiti
washington jan afp
the united states has begun evacuating its citizens from haiti day after
massive earthquake rocked the caribbean nation us state department spokesman
said wednesday
we have been able this afternoon to begin to evacuate small number of
american citizens who have been injured said philip crowley
believe they ve been taken to guantanamo he added referring to the us
naval base situated on guantanamo bay in southern cuba
crowley said there were somewhere between and american citizens at the
airport in haiti capital port au prince
he added that two large planes were on the ground and within the hour
we ll begin substantial lift of american citizens out of port au prince as
well
there are between and americans in haiti according to estimates
from us diplomats
the state department is looking into reports that three people killed in the
massive quake tuesday afternoon may be american citizens crowley added
us military must tighten screening for islamists senators
washington jan afp
the us military must do better job of uncovering soldiers with violent
islamist leanings for fear they could attack fellow troops two key senators
urged the pentagon wednesday
us lawmakers have worried about missed signals leading up to the deadly november
shooting spree at the fort hood base in texas amid charges the alleged
killer us army psychiatrist nidal hasan had ties to islamists
independent senator joe lieberman chairman of the senate homeland security
committee and the panel top republican senator susan collins called for the
overhaul in letter to defense secretary robert gates
in the wake of the fort hood attack the us military should train soldiers from
enlisted personnel to commanders to recognize and report the warning signs of
violent islamist extremism they said
the letter did not spell out what such warning signs might be but committee
spokeswoman leslie phillips said they could include viewing jihadi websites or
reading jihadi literature
they could also include making statements that service member loyalty is to
fellow muslims first and to the united states second or that muslim american
soldiers have religious obligation not to fight in conflicts against muslims
and to disobey any related orders she said
hasan is being investigated for his contacts with radical cleric who blessed
the killing spree
twelve soldiers and one civilian were killed in the attack another people
were wounded
haiti loss of life to be highest toll in years clinton
honolulu hawaii jan afp
the toll from the haiti earthquake will be one of the highest losses of life in
recent years us secretary of state hillary clinton said wednesday comparing it
to the asian tsunami
this is going to be one of the highest in terms of loss of life in recent
years as far as we can tell clinton said as she announced she was cutting
short her trip to asia to head straight back to washington
haiti prime minister has said he fears the death toll from the quake which
struck tuesday could reach
clinton did not give figure but compared the tragedy to the indian ocean
tsunami that killed more than people five years ago
the indian ocean tsunami was such terrible tragedy and with such high loss of
life this will be very high loss of life as well she said
urgent haiti loss of life to be highest toll in years clinton
honolulu hawaii jan afp
the toll from the haiti earthquake will be one of the highest losses of life in
recent years us secretary of state hillary clinton said wednesday comparing it
to the asian tsunami
clinton cancels asia tour to deal with haiti crisis
honolulu hawaii jan afp
us secretary of state hillary clinton on wednesday said she was canceling the
remainder of trip to asia to deal with the crisis afflicting haiti
have decided to cancel the remainder of my trip and return to washington
she said
clinton had been scheduled to travel to papua new guinea new zealand and
australia
it is biblical the tragedy that continues to stalk haiti and the haitian
people tired looking clinton said earlier
clinton who honeymooned with former president bill clinton there said good
international plan had been devised for haiti to help rebuild the country after
recent devastating hurricanes
we had donors lined up she said adding there was also investment plans as
well
there was so much hope about haiti future hope that had not been present for
years and along comes mother nature and just flattens it she said
she said she the whole obama administration and the american people were
prepared to do everything necessary to help haiti even though there was still
not enough information available yet amid the chaos to draw up roadmap
and we re going to give the people of haiti the support they need the chief
us diplomat said the situation is horrific she said
she had been due to travel to new zealand after visiting papua new guinea
before heading to australia on sunday
in canberra clinton and us defense secretary robert gates had been due to hold
the th australia united states ministerial consultations with their
counterparts foreign minister stephen smith and defense minister john faulkner
alert
haiti death toll to be very high compares to asian tsunami clinton
sports us athletes with haiti ties worry and wait for word
indianapolis indiana jan afp
indianapolis receiver pierre garcon walked tightrope this week balancing
concern over relatives in earthquake hit haiti with preparation for the colts
upcoming nfl playoff game
aunts uncles nieces nephews we still have not heard much from them and my
mom is still trying to call them said garcon who was born in the us to
parents who emigrated from haiti
keeping in contact with my mom it tough to get in touch with people down
there because of the phone lines
garcon wasn the only us athlete with ties to haiti waiting anxiously for
information on family members in the wake of the devastating earthquake that
struck there on tuesday
andre berto the miami born world boxing council welterweight world champion
whose parents are from haiti said family members have perished while some
others remain unaccounted for
like many other haitian americans my family and are working to reach my
loved ones said berto who fought for haiti at the athens olympics from what
we have learned to this point some of my family members are still missing and
we have already been informed that members of my family have passed away in the
earthquake
samuel dalembert center with the nba philadelphia ers who grew up in
haiti told espn com he had been able to contact his father but was still
trying to get in touch with other relatives
can only imagine what people there are going through he said it
really killing me right now it unthinkable imagine all the people just
inside and the building just collapses
garcon has received support from colts teammates peyton manning and reggie
wayne both new orleans natives who were in indianapolis when hurricane katrina
hit
wayne said his experience with katrina gave him an understanding of how hard it
is to watch from afar when such disaster strikes loved ones
there no communication going on which is sort of the same situation had
with katrina wayne said we had no communication with family members
garcon said the toughest part is uncertainty over the future
it hard not knowing what going to happen the rebuilding process is going
to take forever he said
world bank eyes million dollars in aid to haiti
washington jan afp
the world bank said wednesday it planned to provide an additional million
dollars in emergency aid to haiti to help the impoverished country cope with
devastating earthquake
this is shocking event and it is crucial that the international community
supports the haitian people at this critical time robert zoellick president
of the nation development lender said in statement
the world bank is mobilizing significant financial assistance and sending
team to help assess damage and reconstruction needs our thoughts are with the
people of haiti our staff and our un colleagues
the world bank and other major multilateral financial institutions rallied to
lend desperately needed assistance to the poorest country in the western
hemisphere where powerful quake virtually flattened the capital port au
prince tuesday raising fears the death toll could reach
the inter american development bank another washington based institution
announced late tuesday dollars for emergency assistance for haiti which
can be used to provide food potable water medicines and temporary shelter
we are working with other donors to exchange information and coordinate
response activities idb president luis alberto moreno said
the world bank said its interest free funding is subject to approval by its
board of directors but did not provide date for the board decision
dominique strauss kahn the head of the international monetary fund the bank
sibling institution said wednesday the imf was gearing up support of haiti
the imf stands ready to do its part with appropriate support in our areas of
expertise have already asked staff to look into all the possibilities the
imf managing director said offering my deepest condolences and best wishes to
the victims of this tragedy
we will coordinate with other international agencies and mobilize our
assistance as quickly as possible he said
the world bank said it was sending experts to work with the haitian government
and its international partners to assess needs and losses and plan for recovery
and reconstruction
the global facility for disaster reduction and recovery multilateral support
system has allocated dollars for that assessment the bank added
zoellick said the development lender would use its existing projects in haiti
including those that focus on education and community driven development to
provide assistance quickly and effectively
the world bank noted that its international development association had extended
million dollars in interest free loans to haiti since and that all
current assistance to haiti was in grant form
the bank currently has main projects in the caribbean nation including
disaster risk management
going forward the world bank plans to provide seed resources to establish
multi donor trust fund the haiti reconstruction fund to mobilize international
support for recovery and reconstruction process the bank said
the imf and the world bank classify haiti among heavily indebted poor
countries that are eligible for debt forgiveness haiti was granted billion
dollars in debt relief last june
snooker world champion higgins crashes out of masters
london jan afp
world champion john higgins crashed out of the masters here on wednesday after
one of the most error strewn performances in the scot career
higgins was beaten by northern ireland mark allen who advances to
quarter final meeting with mark selby conqueror of chinese star ding junhui
higgins was bidding for hat trick of masters titles following his previous
triumphs in and but he never looked in contention at wembley
arguably the turning point in the match came in the fourth frame which higgins
who was experiencing his ninth first round defeat in the tournament looked
set to win before he touched red with his cue as he was lining up black
the uncharacteristic lapse enabled allen to open up two frame lead at the
interval and despite string of errors the world number was able to keep
the even more erratic world number one at bay to complete win
allen admitted he had not been at his best and recognised higgins had been very
off form
it wasn very good he said missed too many balls and it was an unusual
john higgins out there today everyone has their off days it just
unexpected
higgins who is the provisional world number one was gracious in defeat
never seem to play well here he admitted can only liken it to golfer
who doesn play well on certain courses
ve lost so many first round matches but its in the manner in which ve lost
them
take nothing away from mark if you look at the points total he had about
