un says staffers confirmed dead in haiti quake
united nations jan afp
fourteen un staffers are confirmed dead and another injured in the earthquake
that flattened the un mission main headquarters in port au prince top un
official said wednesday
citing preliminary figures susana malcorra head of the un department of field
support said the world body could confirm fatalities among personnel of the
un mission in haiti minustah and others injured
paris court to rule on iranian extradition on february
paris jan afp
paris court will decide next month on us application to extradite an iranian
engineer accused of breaking the us trade embargo on iran his lawyer said
wednesday
according to the us authorities majid kakavand sent electrical components
and measuring devices bought in the us to iran via company in malaysia
the equipment had both civilian and military uses the us says and so
permission was needed to export it to iran
but expert called by kakavand legal team said the equipment was not of
high enough standard to be used in the defence or space industries
kakavand was arrested at charles de gaulle airport in paris in march after
holidaying in france and the appeal court in the french capital will rule on
the extradition application on february
the engineer has been mentioned in the case of clotilde reiss the french
academic on trial in iran accused of taking part in anti government protests
though the iranian ambassador in paris has denied wanting to swap the pair
world bank plans million dollars in crisis aid to haiti
washington jan afp
the world bank said wednesday it planned to extend an additional million
dollars in emergency aid to haiti to help recovery and reconstruction from
devastating earthquake
the grant money would help the impoverished caribbean nation recover from
massive magnitude quake tuesday that caused extensive damage and casualties
the bank said in statement
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 multilateral 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 funding is subject to approval by the institution board of directors said
the nation bank headquartered in washington the statement did not provide
date for the board decision
the world bank noted that its international development association had extended
million dollars in interest free loans to haiti since
the bank currently has main projects there including disaster risk
management
zoellick said the bank would use its existing projects in haiti including those
that focus on education and community driven development to provide assistance
quickly and effectively
the 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 washington based
bank said
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
us evangelist says quake hit haiti made devil pact
washington jan afp
us evangelical preacher pat robertson levied blame wednesday for the devastating
earthquake in haiti on haitians themselves saying that the country swore
pact to the devil at its creation
something happened long time ago in haiti and people might not want to talk
about it robertson said on his christian broadcasting network show the
club
haitians were originally under the heel of the french you know napoleon the
third or whatever and they got together and swore pact to the devil said
the year old former presidential candidate
they said we will serve you if you will get us free from the french true
story and so the devil said okay it deal the televangelist said
ever since they have been cursed by one thing after the other
over people were feared dead wednesday after massive earthquake
razed homes hotels and hospitals in the capital port au prince bodies of the
dead were laid out on city streets as residents dug through rubble for
survivors
robertson contrasted haiti with its neighbor dominican republic which shares
the island of hispanola
the dominican republic is prosperous healthy full of resorts etc haiti is
in desperate poverty same island they need to have and we need to pray for
them great turning to god and out of this tragedy optimistic something
good may come he said
right now robertson said the suffering is unimaginable
ruled for centuries by the spanish and then the french haiti gained
independence in through slave led revolution creating the first country
governed by african descendents in the americas
the fire and brimstone christian conservative preacher is seen by critics to
espouse an anti gay anti liberal agenda but he describes his ministry as pro
life and pro family
founder and chairman of the christian broadcasting network robertson in
beating out sitting vice president george bush sr in the iowa republican
caucuses but ultimately failed in his presidential bid
perhaps most famously robertson in stirred outrage after calling on the us
government to assassinate venezuelan president hugo chavez
robertson who often makes predictions of upcoming disasters and horrific
attacks came under fire in after suggesting the stroke then israeli prime
minister ariel sharon suffered was divine retribution for ceding land to the
palestinians
urgent fourteen un staffers confirmed dead in haiti quake un
united nations jan afp
fourteen un staffers are confirmed dead and another injured in the earthquake
that flattened the un mission main headquarters in port au prince top un
official said wednesday
urgent four us troops french soldier killed in afghanistan nato
kabul jan afp
four us troops and french soldier were killed in separate incidents in eastern
and southern afghanistan on wednesday nato said
football french league table
paris jan afp
french league table after wednesday matches played won drawn lost goals
for goals against points
bordeaux
lille
montpellier
marseille
auxerre
lyon
monaco
psg
lorient
rennes
valenciennes
nancy
sochaux
lens
toulouse
nice
le mans
saint etienne
boulogne
grenoble
israel issues apology after turkey ultimatum
jerusalem jan afp
israel on wednesday issued second apology to turkey over its envoy
treatment bowing to ankara ultimatum in bid to defuse the latest spat over
tv show that marred ties between the two allies
turkish prime minister recep tayyip erdogan said in response that ankara had
received the apology it wanted and expected
deputy foreign minister danny ayalon apologised to turkish ambassador oguz
celikkol for giving him an angry dressing down in front of cameras to protest
turkish television series portraying mossad agents as baby snatchers
statement from ayalon office said that out of respect for request by
president shimon peres the deputy minister sent the envoy an apology
wish to express my personal respect for you and the turkish people and assure
you that although we have our differences of opinion on several issues they
should be discussed and solved only through open reciprocal and respectful
diplomatic channels between our two governments
had no intention to humiliate you personally and apologize for the way the
demarche was handled and perceived ayalon wrote in the letter
ankara key muslim ally to israel was infuriated and demanded an explanation
and apology after ayalon on monday made celikkol sit on low couch and had the
turkish flag removed from the table at their meeting
ayalon issued initial apology late on tuesday as prime minister benjamin
netanyahu said the protest to the turkish ambassador was just in its essence
but should have been conveyed in an acceptable diplomatic manner
but turkish president abdullah gul on wednesday threatened to recall the
ambassador if there was no formal apology
following the second formal apology netanyahu hoped the two allies would now
put the crisis behind them
the premier also expressed his concern over the cooling of the ties between
israel and turkey and instructed officials to find ways to prevent this
trend netanyahu office said in statement
the turkish premier who has repeatedly slammed israel over its policies towards
palestinians in the wake of last year devastating war in gaza said the
response was what we wanted and expected in diplomatic terms
turkish diplomat told afp that celikkol would now not be recalled
the treatment of the turkish ambassador dubbed as hazing by israeli media
also revealed differences between netanyahu and his ultra nationalist foreign
minister
speaking during visit to cyprus on wednesday lieberman said israel had no
desire to fall out with turkey but urged ankara to show reciprocal respect
you know regarding turkey maybe it time to clarify our position we are not
interested in confronting or arguing with turkey he said
we have had good relations with turkey for many years and we respect the
turkish state and people but that is exactly what we expect in return from them
to treat us with dignity and respect
the series that sparked the row showed turkish secret agent storming an
israeli diplomatic mission to rescue turkish boy kidnapped by mossad agents
an episode israel slammed for portraying israel and jews as baby snatchers and
war criminals
relations had already been poisoned by ankara severe criticism of israel
deadly offensive on gaza last year and the jewish state persistent blockade of
the impoverished palestinian enclave
in memorable outburst erdogan stormed out of debate at the world economic
forum accusing israel of barbarian acts and telling peres sitting next to
him that you know well how to kill people
the latest row has overshadowed planned fence mending visit by israeli defence
minister ehud barak who insisted on tuesday that he would travel to turkey next
sunday despite the tensions
turkey has been israel main regional ally since the two signed military
cooperation pact in
football french league table
paris jan afp
french league table after wednesday matches played won drawn lost goals
for goals against points
bordeaux
lille
montpellier
marseille
auxerre
lyon
monaco
psg
lorient
rennes
valenciennes
nancy
sochaux
lens
toulouse
nice
le mans
saint etienne
boulogne
grenoble
alert
un staffers confirmed dead in haiti quake top official
afp world news agenda
hong kong jan afp
what coming up around the world
hunt for survivors of haiti quake
obama expected to announce new bank levies
funeral of murdered iranian nuclear scientist
port au prince rescuers continue their search for survivors of massive
earthquake that devastated the haitian capital port au prince haiti quake
washington president obama expected to give details of new tax on banks
which could help curb risky wall street practices and recoup taxpayers dollars
spent in multi billion dollar bailout of the financial sector us economy
obama
tehran funeral of iranian nuclear scientist massoud ali mohammadi killed in
bomb attack in tehran that the government has accused the united states and
israel of orchestrating gmt iran unrest nuclear
beijing reporting after google said it would cease cooperating with chinese
censors and possibly pull out of china citing cyber spy attacks and growing web
censorship us china it company internet spy google
frankfurt the european central bank governing council mulls interest rates
amid growing eurozone crisis sparked by debt fears in greece portugal and
spain rate decision at gmt followed by presser at gmt ecb eurozone
bank rate forex money
london dublin belfast irish prime minister brian cowen due to hold talks with
britain gordon brown on the political crisis in northern ireland due to sex
and cash scandal nireland britain ireland politics
tokyo following share prices and developments related to japan airlines as the
debt ridden carrier is expected to file for bankruptcy protection japan
airline distress jal
bodies line port au prince streets as dusk falls
port au prince jan afp
piles of bloodied twisted bodies lay abandoned in the haitian capital wednesday
as the moans of thousands believed trapped after massive quake rang out
plaintively from the city ruins
with dusk setting in traumatized and grief stricken residents of port au prince
prepared for second night in the open after tuesday powerful quake amid
fears the death toll could reach
despite the launch of massive aid operation foreign rescue workers had yet to
arrive leaving the grim search for survivors to the battered and bruised
haitians already distraught at scenes of carnage and devastation
lacking heavy equipment in the poorest nation in the americas they frantically
dug with their bare hands in race against time to reach the victims in the
city which bore the worst of the quake
the downtown area was mostly destroyed said afp correspondent clarens renois
adding tour of the area had left him completely overwhelmed and shocked my
legs knocked out from under me my heart ripped to shreds
hospitals many of them either collapsed or damaged were struggling to cope
with flow of wounded many soaked in blood from their injuries as basic
services such as power and water as well as medical supplies dwindled
everywhere we go there massive demand from people to help them with
trapped family members or people suffering from major injuries the toronto
based spokesman for medicines sans frontiers paul mcphun said
so you re on the streets and you re getting mobbed with people needing medical
care he told telephone press conference
teams are basically managing what comes to them they are already getting
overwhelmed he said adding all of our health structures are either
condemned or collapsed so we can use them
hours after the quake wrecked even the capital most sturdy buildings the dust
and debris covered city was hit by dozens more powerful aftershocks forcing
survivors to take shelter on streets
two million people live in the densely populated capital of the impoverished
caribbean nation many of them crammed into flimsy shantytowns thrown up around
the coastal town and perched on its hillsides
prime minister jean max bellerive who toured the slum areas on tuesday and
again wednesday told the us television channel cnn that the final death toll
could be well over
hope that is not true because hope the people had the time to get out
because we have so much people on the streets right now we don know exactly
where they were living
as television images showed people being stretchered out of the ruins president
rene preval said he feared the death toll would be in the thousands
parliament has collapsed the tax office has collapsed schools have collapsed
hospitals have collapsed he told the miami herald there are lot of schools
that have lot of dead people in them
first lady elisabeth preval told the daily stepping over dead bodies
lot of people are buried under buildings the general hospital has collapsed we
need support we need help we need engineers
the normally gleaming white presidential palace on the central champs de mars
square was seen in ruins its central cupola now collapsed symbol of nation
upended
hospitals hotels schools and government ministries were also leveled many
government officials were missing believed buried in the ruins of their offices
the headquarters of the united nations mission in the country was destroyed and
scores were still missing un officials said preval said the un envoy hedi
annabi had been killed but this was not immediately confirmed
twitter message said to be from us musician richard morse based in haiti
reported there was little help available in the carrefour feuilles area on the
edge of downtown
no police presence there is no un presence in the carrefour feuilles
area people are trying to take care of themselves he wrote on the
microblogging internet social networking
people are buried in the st gerard school by st gerard church we heard voices
in the rubble saw bodies no official vehicles in area
haitian born music star wyclef jean led an army of celebrities in an urgent
appeal for aid as the state department and red cross appealed for donations to
funds which can be made by texting from mobile phones
jean said on his website and on twitter that the earthquake had been natural
disaster of unprecedented proportion and that millions in port au prince were
in peril
cannot stress enough what human disaster this is and idle hands will only
make this tragedy worse jean said the over two million people in port au
prince tonight face catastrophe alone we must act now
afp world news agenda
hong kong jan afp
what coming up around the world
hunt for survivors of haiti quake
obama expected to announce new bank levies
funeral of murdered iranian nuclear scientist
port au prince rescuers continue their search for survivors of massive
earthquake that devastated the haitian capital port au prince haiti quake
washington president obama expected to give details of new tax on banks
which could help curb risky wall street practices and recoup taxpayers dollars
spent in multi billion dollar bailout of the financial sector us economy
obama
tehran funeral of iranian nuclear scientist massoud ali mohammadi killed in
bomb attack in tehran that the government has accused the united states and
israel of orchestrating gmt iran unrest nuclear
beijing reporting after google said it would cease cooperating with chinese
censors and possibly pull out of china citing cyber spy attacks and growing web
censorship us china it company internet spy google
frankfurt the european central bank governing council mulls interest rates
amid growing eurozone crisis sparked by debt fears in greece portugal and
spain rate decision at gmt followed by presser at gmt ecb eurozone
bank rate forex money
london dublin belfast irish prime minister brian cowen due to hold talks with
britain gordon brown on the political crisis in northern ireland due to sex
and cash scandal nireland britain ireland politics
tokyo following share prices and developments related to japan airlines as the
debt ridden carrier is expected to file for bankruptcy protection japan
airline distress jal
us launches major operation to aid haiti
washington jan afp
the united states launched massive military and civilian operation on
wednesday to aid haiti as president barack obama vowed swift and aggressive
effort to save lives in the devastated capital port au prince
teams of civilian and military experts began landing in haiti as us aircraft
searched for survivors and tried to assess the damage from the massive
magnitude quake
as wealthy neighbor with the world most powerful military the united states
appeared well placed to lead relief efforts for the impoverished caribbean
nation mobilizing an array of specialists ships planes and helicopters
have directed my administration to respond with swift coordinated and
aggressive effort to save lives obama said at the white house
search and rescue teams from florida virginia and california will arrive
throughout today and tomorrow
at daylight us navy maritime patrol aircraft usually used to track drug
trafficking in the region flew over the site of the earthquake in port au
prince while coast guard cutter with helicopter flight deck arrived off the
coast
the uss carl vinson aircraft carrier was en route and set to arrive thursday
while destroyers and more coast guard ships were on the way general douglas
fraser head of the us southern command told reporters
more than people were feared dead after the earthquake razed homes
hotels and hospitals leaving the capital in ruins and bodies strewn in the
streets
officials said planes were landing at the port au prince international airport
but that communications had been knocked out at the airport tower and the
passenger terminal was damaged
team of us air force experts was due to arrive later on wednesday to help
restore air traffic control and communications at the airport fraser said
we have group going in to can make sure we can gain and secure the air field
and operate from it as it was needed as hub for relief efforts the general
said
about military personnel were on the ground and about military engineers
medical specialists and other experts were due to arrive on wednesday aboard
hercules plane to assist us and international officials organize emergency
aid fraser said
state department spokesman said that three us relief and rescue teams would
depart wednesday for haiti from costa rica washington and los angeles arriving
at intervals during the day
while the full extent of the devastation remained unclear obama said the us
defense and state departments along with the us agency for international
development would lead relief efforts after the heart wrenching tragedy
the people of haiti will have the full support of the united states in the
urgent effort to rescue those trapped beneath the rubble and to deliver the
humanitarian relief food water and medicine that haitians will need he said
fraser said the military was considering sending in an amphibious ship with
contingent of marines to help with medical and other aid operations and an army
brigade at fort bragg north carolina was on alert for possible deployment
an initial survey of the earthquake aftermath from the air indicated the
damage was mainly concentrated around the capital but the number of casualties
and the scale of the disaster was still unknown the general said
we don have clear assessment right now of what the situation on the ground
is he said
secretary of state hillary clinton meanwhile announced she would shorten her
tour of asia because of the quake
it is biblical the tragedy that continues to stalk haiti and the haitian
people tired looking clinton said in hawaii after conferring with obama
defense secretary robert gates usaid director rajiv shah and other officials
coast guard helicopter earlier wednesday evacuated four critically injured
members of the american embassy staff in haiti to the us naval base in
guantanamo bay cuba
fraser did not rule out housing refugees at the base home to the controversial
us military prison for terror suspects
alert
four us soldier frenchman killed in afghanistan nato
football french league results
paris jan afp
french league results on wednesday
boulogne sochaux
monaco puygrenier haruna perez montpellier
football spanish cup results
madrid jan afp
results from the second legs of spanish cup last matches on wednesday
racing santander alcorcon
racing stander win on aggregate
deportivo la coruna filipe luis juan rodriguez valencia zigic
deportivo win on aggregate
osasuna masoud hercules alicante
osasuna win on away goals rule after tie ended on aggregate
playing later first leg result in brackets
getafe malaga
fc sevilla barcelona
played tuesday
villarreal celta vigo trashorras
celta vigo win on aggregate
playing thursday
real mallorca rayo vallecano
atletico madrid recreativo huelva
world bank plans million dollars in crisis aid to haiti
washington jan afp
the world bank said wednesday it planned to extend an additional million
dollars in emergency aid to haiti to help recovery and reconstruction from
devastating earthquake
the grant money would help the impoverished caribbean nation recover from
massive magnitude quake tuesday that caused extensive damage and casualties
the bank said in statement
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 multilateral 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 funding is subject to approval by the institution board of directors said
the nation bank headquartered in washington
rugbyu ex all black spencer agrees south africa switch
london jan afp
former all blacks fly half carlos spencer has agreed to leave english
premiership side gloucester to take up player coach role with south african
super club the lions
the year old joined gloucester from northampton last season but his chances
were limited by the signing of welsh international nicky robinson
gloucester head coach bryan redpath told the bbc carlos has been offered
player coach role and will be released for that
he available for us for the next two weeks and will be leaving after the
newport gwent dragons game
spencer was the all blacks first choice fly half at the world cup where
they were beaten in the semi finals by arch foe australia
oil prices tumble as us energy inventories climb
new york jan afp
oil prices plunged wednesday on rising us crude stockpiles which indicated weak
demand in the world biggest energy consuming nation where reprieve from
cold snap has been forecast
new york main futures contract light sweet crude for delivery in february
sank dollars to close at dollars per barrel after plumbing an
intraday low of
london brent north sea crude for february shed cents to settle at
dollars after touching dollars
the market reacted to us department of energy doe report wednesday that
crude oil reserves surged by million barrels in the week ending january
that was far more than expectations by most analysts for gain of million
barrels
distillates including heating fuel and diesel rose by million barrels
the doe said confounding forecasts of million barrel drop
distillates are under the market focus amid an ongoing cold snap in the united
states forecasters have predicted milder weather for the weeks ahead
the whole market is driven by the inventories report it was definitely
surprise to see distillate supplies build given all the cold weather said andy
lipow of lipow oil associates
ellis eckland an independent analyst said the market collapsed towards
dollars which is the next support following the us stockpiles report
new york crude had briefly surged on monday to month high near dollars
on the back of robust chinese economic data
oil prices had slumped tuesday on prospects of easing heating fuel demand in the
united states due to milder weather and new moves by china to cool off its
economy
the news stoked the oil markets because china is the world second biggest
crude consumer after the united states
beijing this week moved to raise the amount of money banks must hold in
reserves
this signals that the central bank is shifting from accommodation to tightening
and should take some of the momentum out of commodity demand growth for which
china has been largely responsible over the past year said mike fitzpatrick
vice president of mf global
