the network is so complex
it bit like making pile of stones you put more on the pile and it gets
steeper and steeper and sooner or later the thing is going to collapse but you
never which stone is going to do it and just where it going to start to fail
israel formally apologises to turkey over envoy treatment
jerusalem jan afp
israel on wednesday offered turkey an official apology over the treatment of its
envoy expressing the hope it would end the latest spat between the two allies
the premier office said
deputy foreign minister danny ayalon apologised before 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
prime minister benjamin netanyahu together with foreign minister avigdor
lieberman coordinated the apology letter sent by deputy foreign minister ayalon
to the turkish ambassador and hopes this would end the affair the premier
office said in statement
netanyahu again expressed his concern over the cooling of the ties between
israel and turkey and instructed officials to find ways to prevent this
trend it added
corrected killer quake struck just below the surface
paris jan afp
the quake that struck haiti on tuesday erupted just below the surface on
notorious fault where two plates of the earth crust jostle and grind
scientists said on wednesday
it was very shallow earthquake occurring at depth of around kilometers
miles seismologist yann klinger of the institute of the physics of the
globe ipg in paris told afp
because the shock was so big and occurred at such shallow depth just below
the city of port au prince the haitian capital the damage is bound to be
very extensive he said
the us geological survey usgs said on its website that the quake which
measured very powerful magnitude occurred at gmt on tuesday kms
miles southwest of port au prince at depth of around kms
miles
the movement was horizontal occurring on the northern rim of the caribbean
plate where it rubs with the north american plate the usgs and klinger said
this fault is well known it had been mapped and researchers have been
following it said klinger
he added that the death toll in haiti the poorest nation in the western
hemisphere would most probably be amplified by shoddy buildings and poorly
equipped emergency services
the buildings are likely to be very flimsy and not necessary of very high
quality in addition first responders may not be as effective as they are in
western europe for instance he said
many of haiti oldest buildings including the presidential palace were
destroyed in the quake amid fears that hundreds of people may have been killed
sources in port au prince said early wednesday
sarkozy tells lawmakers to prepare burqa bill
paris jan afp
french president nicolas sarkozy told lawmakers wednesday that parliament should
pass bill banning the full islamic veil but said the measure must be handled
carefully so as not to stigmatise muslims
sarkozy called on members of the national assembly to first adopt resolution
that would unequivocally condemn the wearing of the head to toe burqa as an
affront to women rights
parliament will then have to debate draft bill that is adapted to the
situation he said at the meeting with lawmakers at the elysee presidential
palace
re stating that the full veil is not welcome in france sarkozy cautioned that
any new legislation must be able to stand up to legal challenges in court
we must be careful and not offer an opportunity to the opponents of democracy
dignity and gender equality to score victory which would place our society in
very difficult situation he said
it is essential that no one feels stigmatised by the new law sarkozy said
parliamentary commission that has been holding hearings on whether to ban the
full veil known as the niqab or burqa is due to present its much awaited
report on january
the panel of lawmakers is expected to recommend that new legislation be
enacted to bar muslim women from wearing the burqa but the measure is likely to
invoke security concerns to prohibit the masking of faces
many politicians from the left and right have cautioned that draconian law
banning the veil would be difficult to enforce and probably face challenge in
the european rights court
home to europe biggest muslim minority france has been debating whether to
ban the burqa that is worn by small group of women about according
to the interior ministry
pakistan warns against massive indian arms build up
islamabad jan afp
pakistan voiced concern wednesday over massive arms build up by rival india
warning that it could destabilise the regional balance
the national command authority nca which oversees the country nuclear
assets at meeting took note of developments detrimental to the objectives
of strategic stability in the region an official statement said
india continues to pursue an ambitious militarisation programme and offensive
military doctrines the meeting chaired by prime minister yousuf raza gilani
said
massive inductions of advanced weapon systems including installation of abms
anti ballistic missiles build up of nuclear arsenal and delivery systems
tend to destabilise the regional balance it said
this relentless pursuit of military preponderance will have severe consequences
for peace and security in south asia as well as for the indian ocean region
pakistan cannot be oblivious to these developments
pakistan conducted nuclear weapons tests in may in tit for tat response
to similar detonations by india
the two countries have fought three wars since their independence in two
of them over kashmir which is divided between the south asian neighbours and
claimed in full by both
tension between the two flared in the wake of the mumbai attacks in november
which india blamed on pakistan based militants
renault to end clio production in spain slovenia
paris jan afp
french carmaker renault is planning to shut down production of its clio model in
spain and slovenia but the car will still be made in france company executive
said wednesday
we plan to stop production of the clio in spain and slovenia patrick pelata
renault chief operating officer told reporters after meeting with industry
minister christian estrosi
renault has come under heavy pressure from the french government to keep jobs at
home following press reports about planned shift of clio production from
france to turkey
pelata said no decision has been made on beefing up renault assembly lines in
turkey
no decision has been taken because it is not yet time to make decisions he
said in any case the clio will be produced in flins near paris regardless
of what happens and that is very clear
government measures taken last year to support the auto sector in the economic
downturn included generous loans to car makers on condition that they keep
production and jobs in france
we re not giving all that money to support the auto sector so that all our
factories can leave to go abroad president nicolas sarkozy told members of
parliament at an elysee meeting on wednesday
strongly contest the idea that these big companies just because they are
global no longer have nationality
government spokesman luc chatel said sarkozy would meet renault chief executive
carlos ghosn very soon on the turkey issue
france number two car maker renault also makes the clio at its plant in
flins in the western paris suburbs and bursa in turkey
some clios rolled off the assembly lines of the valladolid plant in spain
from january to june last year destined mostly for the spanish and portuguese
markets
about clio ii models were also manufactured in the novo mesto factory of
slovenia in the first six months of last year according to renault
over the past decades france which prides itself as an industrial powerhouse
has seen many of its plants move to asia and elsewhere where production costs
in particular labour and taxes are much lower
strong quake hits indonesia papua province seismologists
jakarta jan afp
strong magnitude earthquake struck indonesia papua province early
thursday but there were no reports of casualties and no tsunami warning was
issued indonesian seismologists said
the quake struck at am jakarta time gmt wednesday kilometres
miles northwest of the west papua provincial capital of manokwari at
depth of kilometres the geophysics and meteorological agency said
the us geological survey put the magnitude at and the depth at
kilometres
an afp reporter in manokwari said the tremors lasted less than seconds and
there was no panic or damage from the quake
indonesia sits on the pacific ring of fire where the meeting of continental
plates causes high volcanic and seismic activity
magnitude quake that struck sumatra island on september last year
killed more than people
corrected haiti quake is devastating blow to un
united nations jan afp
the powerful earthquake that hit haiti dealt devastating blow to the united
nations which may have lost dozens of staff in impoverished country it was
trying to stabilize un officials said wednesday
un chief ban ki moon said tuesday magnitude quake which raised fears that
as many as people may have been killed was tragedy for haiti and
for the united nations
haitian prime minister jean max bellerive told cnn that the death toll could be
well over although he added hope that is not true
the un mission in haiti minustah was hit particularly hard with its main
headquarters building in port au prince flattened and dozens of staff missing
including the civilian head of the mission hedi annabi of tunisia and his
deputy
ban said annabi was in the building along with to members of his staff
when the quake haiti worst in more than years struck tuesday
the respected tunisian official who served as deputy head of un peacekeeping
operations from to was having talks with visiting chinese
delegation he added
in paris french foreign minister bernard kouchner said annabi personal
friend and all those around him were believed dead
john holmes the head of the un office for the coordination of humanitarian
affairs ocha later told press briefing that there was no reliable figures
on the death toll
we are extremely concerned about the humanitarian impact in the city of
million people where the national palace the main prison hotels hospitals
and schools sustained extensive damage
he said to people were believed to be under the rubble of minustah
main building five story concrete building known as the christopher hotel and
located on the road to petionville
basic services such as water electricity have collapsed almost entirely ban
said
holmes added that total of other un staffers were thought to be buried
under the debris of two offices of the un development program undp in the
haitian capital
the tragedy is the worst disaster to hit the world body since the august
suicide attack on un offices in baghdad in which people including un
special envoy sergio vieira de mello were killed
in december two suicide blasts targeting un offices in algiers killed at
least people including un staffers three of them foreign nationals
ban said he was sending edmond mulet the deputy head of the un department of
peacekeeping operations dpko and annabi predecessor to haiti to run the un
mission
and the un boss added that he was committed to visiting the impoverished
caribbean island himself as soon as practically possible
ban said the un system was mobilizing an emergency response team to coordinate
relief aid which was expected to arrive in port au prince soon
holmes said chinese search and rescue team arrived in port au prince where the
airport was operating despite damage sustained by the control tower
two us teams were due to arrive later in the day followed by others he added
dpko head alain leroy earlier said at least five people were confirmed dead in
the collapsed minustah headquarters
at least brazilian soldiers three jordanian soldiers and one argentine
gendarme serving with minustah were killed military officials from the three
countries said
seven brazilian soldiers and another argentine gendarme were missing
eight chinese members of the peacekeeping mission were also buried in building
collapses according to china state council it did not say whether they were
believed to be alive or dead
brazil which is in charge of minustah military component and the biggest
contributor with soldiers sent its defense minister nelson jobim and army
chief general enzo martins peri to haiti to get first hand information
un troops and police were helping maintain order and assisting with rescue
operations according to un officials
and holmes said his office would launch major flash appeal for funds in the
next two to three days and had already released ten million dollars in emergency
aid
ban was due to meet with former us president bill clinton now un special
envoy for haiti here later wednesday
un officials meanwhile said other un facilities across port au prince had also
suffered damage
minustah which comprises troops and police has been deployed since
mid to help stabilize the impoverished caribbean island nation of eight
million people
nigeria mulls air marshals on us bound flights minister
abuja jan afp
nigeria plans to deploy air marshals on all flights to the united states after
the foiled attack on us jetliner by nigerian man the aviation minister said
on wednesday
believe very soon nigeria will be signing the agreement with the us to put
air marshals on our flights babatunde omotoba told reporters
they approached us to have an agreement to have air marshals on flights between
united states and nigeria said omotoba
the us has placed nigeria on security watchlist after christmas day attempt
by umar farouk abdulmutallab to bring down northwest airlines jet flying from
amsterdam to detroit using explosives sewn to his underpants
screening of passengers flying from or through nigeria has been tightened while
the country is buying full body scanners for its main international
airports
deployment of air marshals is something that has been practiced by the us for
very long time the minister said adding nigeria will also ask the us to train
its marshals
junior information minister ikra bilbis said the cabinet had on wednesday
approved the purchase of full body scanners from britain for three million
dollars
these will be installed at the international airports in lagos abuja port
harcourt and kano within weeks
corrected horror in haiti quake as up to feared dead
port au prince jan afp
haiti prime minister wednesday warned the death toll may top in
calamitous earthquake which left streets strewn with corpses and thousands
missing in scene of utter carnage
hospitals collapsed destroyed schools were full of dead and the cries of
trapped victims escaped from crushed buildings in the center of the capital
port au prince which an afp correspondent said was mostly destroyed
prime minister jean max bellerive told cnn the final death toll from the
quake could be well over as an international aid effort geared up in
race against time to pull survivors from the ruins
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 bellerive said
but so many so many buildings so many neighborhoods totally destroyed and
some neighborhoods we don even see people so don know where those people
are
president rene preval painted scene of complete destruction in his
impoverished caribbean nation after the quake struck on tuesday
parliament has collapsed the tax office has collapsed schools have collapsed
hospitals have collapsed he told the miami herald estimating the number of
dead in the thousands
there are lot of schools that have lot of dead people in them he said as
experts spoke of the worst quake to hit the disaster prone nation in more than
century
with hospitals also having crumbled in the fury of the quake medical services
were struggling to cope with the flow of wounded
there are tens of thousands of victims and considerable damage haiti
ambassador to the organization of american states duly brutus told afp without
specifying the number of dead
the most urgent need is to help the thousands of people who are still alive and
trapped in the ruins he added saying the last quake of such magnitude to
strike haiti was in
preval wife first lady elisabeth preval told the us daily she had seen
bodies in the streets of port au prince and had heard the cries of victims still
trapped in the rubble of the parliament building
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 she said
un chief ban ki moon said the capital with its population of two million people
had borne the brunt of the quake which struck at pm gmt saying vast
areas had been destroyed
while much of the rest of the impoverished caribbean nation appeared largely
unaffected ban gave grim assessment of the devastation in port au prince
saying the city few basic services had collapsed
there is no doubt that we are facing major humanitarian emergency and that
major relief effort will be required he told press conference in the united
nations as he prepared to visit haiti as soon as possible
the temblor toppled the cupola on the gleaming white presidential palace
major hotel where tourists were missing and the headquarters of the un
mission in haiti where up to personnel were unaccounted for
five people were confirmed dead in the un headquarters and the head of the
peacekeeping mission tunisian hedi annabi was among the missing
jordan reported that three of its peacekeepers were killed and wounded in the
quake brazil said of its peacekeepers were killed while eight chinese
soldiers were buried in rubble and were missing state media said
an argentine staffed hospital was the only one left operating in the city and
was struggling to cope with huge numbers of injured its director told argentine
television
the situation is really critical because we cannot cope with this many dead and
injured daniel desimone told todo noticias
there are lot of dead people in the streets lot of injured he added
major international relief operation was put underway with the united states
france britain and canada all promising help
us president barack obama vowed swift and aggressive effort to save lives and
said search and rescue teams would arrive within hours after heartwrenching
earthquake
this tragedy seems especially cruel and incomprehensible he said
the us military on wednesday mobilized ships aircraft and expert teams due to
arrive within hours to help the relief effort an aircraft carrier the uss carl
vinson was on the way and due to arrive thursday
planeloads of rescue teams and relief supplies were quickly dispatched from
nations including britain canada russia spain france germany the
netherlands and russia
as well as virtually destroying port au prince the earthquake also caused
widespread destruction in the resort town of jacmel south of the capital
witness said wednesday saying he saw an entire mountain almost collapsed
it is complete devastation here personally am lucky to be alive said
emmet murphy local head of the us non governmental organization adci voca
was driving back to jacmel in the mountains when the entire mountain seemed
to fall down all around me
two hundred foreigners were missing at the hotel montana french secretary of
state for cooperation alain joyandet said
among the dead was the archbishop of port au prince monsignor serge miot the
missionary international service news agency misna reported in rome
pope benedict xvi urged generous response to the catastrophe lamenting
haiti tragic situation involving huge loss of human life great number of
homeless and missing and considerable material damage
urgent israel formally apologises to turkey over envoy treatment
jerusalem jan afp
israel on wednesday offered turkey an official apology over the treatment of its
envoy expressing the hope it would end the latest spat between the two allies
the premier office said
canadian trapped in haiti rubble texts for help
ottawa jan afp
canadian trapped in the rubble of building after devastating earthquake in
haiti reached out for help in text message sent to ottawa foreign minister
lawrence cannon said wednesday
the individual who was not identified sent the message to the foreign affairs
department ottawa operations centre tasked with coordinating canada aid
response to the magnitude quake that struck on tuesday
we did receive text message from canadian who was trapped in the rubble
and we know where that individual is exactly cannon said
the person was trapped in building and reached out for help he said
we ve asked our officials at the embassy to look into this and to bring
assistance if possible as soon as possible
twenty four canadian embassy staff and other canadians have found refuge in
the canadian embassy compound in port au prince and have been provided with
basic services said cannon
there have been no canadian casualties to report he added however two of
canadian policemen assigned to the un mission in haiti are still missing in the
quake aftermath he said
one canadian has suffered minor injuries cannon added
there are an estimated canadians in haiti
the death toll in the quake could top dead prime minister jean max
bellerive told cnn on wednesday
up to un foreign staff missing in haiti spokeswoman
geneva jan afp
up to un expatriate staff in haiti are still missing following the
earthquake that levelled the main un mission building in the capital port au
prince spokeswoman said wednesday
between and expatriate un personnel are unaccounted for said
elisabeth byrs spokeswoman for the un office for the coordination of
humanitarian affairs
we are also very worried about our local staff she told afp
the un assistance mission in haiti minustah was the hardest hit after its
main headquarters building in port au prince was flattened
the civilian head of the mission hedi annabi of tunisia and his deputy were
among those missing
un secretary general ban ki moon said annabi was in the building along with
to members of his staff when the quake haiti worst in more than
years struck shortly before pm on tuesday
the offices of other un agencies in the capital were also damaged in the quake
which caused widespread devastation in port au prince and the surrounding area
the un has heavy presence in the impoverished and aid dependent caribbean
nation
nigerian court rules vp can act for ailing president
abuja jan afp
nigerian high court ruled wednesday that vice president goodluck jonathan can
take executive powers in the absence of ailing president umaru yar adua in
hospital in saudi arabia since november
hereby order the vice president goodluck jonathan to start exercising the
powers of president umaru yar adua pending his recovery and return to office
dan abutu the chief judge of the federal high court in abuja said
the vice president cannot become the acting president but can only carry out
the functions of the president in his absence which he has been doing and should
continue to do so as enshrined in section subsection of the
constitution he said in his ruling
he gave the ruling in case filed on monday by lawyer christopher onwuekwe
seeking the court interpretation of the constitution
by virtue of section of the constitution the vice president can perform
the executive functions of the president pending the time he returns abutu
said
the clause states that executive powers are vested in the president and may
subject to the provisions of any law made by the national assembly be
exercised by him either directly or through the vice president and
ministers or officers in the public service
justice minister michael aondoaaka who was in court told journalists after the
ruling no other person can question the vice president when he performs the
functions of the president except the president himself and with this ruling
he can continue to discharge such functions legally
yar adua absence since november has caused furore in africa second
biggest oil exporter
the opposition alleges that government business has been stalled and that the
nation democracy is facing its most serious threat in the years since the
end of military rule
the court in abuja is to hear three separate legal challenges to yar adua on
thursday amid calls for him to stand down on grounds of frail health he is
being treated for heart condition in jeddah
constitutional lawyer femi falana who has lodged one of the court challenges
dismissed wednesday ruling as meaningless
jonathan cannot act for yar adua because no functions have been formally and
directly delegated to him by yar adua he said
falana cited another section of the constitution which demands the president
informs both houses of parliament in writing if he is absent or incapacitated
when he does that and other processes as stipulated in the constitution have
been carried out then jonathan can act as president said falana
aondoaaka said last week that yar adua was not suffering from an infirmity that
would render him permanently incapable of discharging his functions
the president broke day silence on tuesday telling the bbc in telephone
interview that he was getting better and intended to return to work he
sounded weak in the interview the bbc reported
the nigerian bar association nba former lawmaker farouk adamu aliyu and
falana have filed separate suits in the federal high court in abuja
they want jonathan to be formally recognised as acting president given
yar adua continued absence
falana said the suit was aimed at ensuring there was no vacuum in the nigerian
presidency
alert
israel offers turkey formal apology over envoy treatment
inmates flee port au prince prison after quake collapse un
geneva jan afp
the united nations said wednesday that the main prison in haiti capital port
au prince collapsed during the devastating earthquake allowing some inmates to
escape
the main prison in the capital collapsed and some inmates fled said elisabeth
byrs spokeswoman for the un office for the coordination of humanitarian
affairs in geneva
several official buildings including the presidential palace and parliament
and un offices were destroyed in the magnitude quake on tuesday according
to haiti president rene preval
byrs said she had no further details on the jailbreak or possible casualties at
the prison after the information was passed on by the un assistance mission in
haiti minustah
haiti quake is devastating blow to un
united nations jan afp
the powerful earthquake that hit haiti dealt devastating blow to the united
nations which may have lost dozens of staff in impoverished country it was
trying to stabilize un officials said wednesday
un chief ban ki moon said tuesday magnitude quake which raised fears that
as many as people may have been killed was tragedy for haiti and
for the united nations
haitian prime minister jean max bellerive told cnn that the death toll could be
well over although he added hope that is not true
the un mission in haiti minustah was hit particularly hard with its main
headquarters building in port au prince flattened and dozens of staff missing
including the civilian head of the mission hedi annabi of tunisia and his
deputy
ban said annabi was in the building along with to members of his staff
when the quake haiti worst in more than years struck tuesday
the respected tunisian official who served as deputy head of un peacekeeping
operations from to was having talks with visiting chinese
delegation he added
in paris french foreign minister bernard kouchner said annabi personal
friend and all those around him were believed dead
john holmes the head of the un office for the coordination of humanitarian
affairs ocha later told press briefing that there was no reliable figures
on the death toll
we are extremely concerned about the humanitarian impact in the city of
million people where the national palace the main prison hotels hospitals
and schools sustained extensive damage
he said to people were believed to be under the rubble of minustah
main building five story concrete building known as the christopher hotel and
located on the road to petionville
basic services such as water electricity have collapsed almost entirely ban
said
holmes added that total of other un staffers were thought to be buried
under the debris of two offices of the un development program undp in the
haitian capital
the tragedy is the worst disaster to hit the world body since the august
suicide attack on un offices in baghdad in which people including un
special envoy sergio vieira de mello were killed
in december two suicide blasts targeting un offices in algiers killed at
least people including un staffers three of them foreign nationals
ban said he was sending edmond mulet the deputy head of the un department of
peacekeeping operations dpko and annabi predecessor to haiti to run the un
mission
and the un boss added that he was committed to visiting the impoverished
caribbean island himself as soon as practically possible
ban said the un system was mobilizing an emergency response team to coordinate
relief aid which was expected to arrive in port au prince soon
holmes said chinese search and rescue team arrived in port au prince where the
