ve decided to make comeback and have another fight this year probably
round about the summertime he said
there been no opponent that has been confirmed yet there been no date
confirmed yet but the point is have made my mind up am going to have one
more fight
port au prince airport open aid to start flowing un
united nations jan afp
the airport of the quake hit haitian capital port au prince is operational and
relief aid will started arriving soon the head of un peacekeeping operations
said wednesday
the airport is operational and aid will start flowing soon alain leroy told
reporters
urgent port au prince airport operational un
united nations jan afp
the airport of the quake hit haitian capital port au prince is operational and
relief aid will started arriving soon the head of un peacekeeping operations
said wednesday
alert
no way greece will leave euro or seek imf aid pm
chinese student kills secretary in french stabbing spree
perpignan france jan afp
chinese student stabbed to death year old secretary and wounded three
teachers in an attack at university in southern france on wednesday
prosecutor said
the year old sociology student killed the woman and wounded three other
people one of them seriously at the university in the southern town of
perpignan public prosecutor jean pierre dreno said
the chinese student who had previously been treated for behavioural problems
was taken into police custody he added
he attacked them at gmt in the university sociology department
with butcher knife of to centimetres up to inches dreno said
the three people wounded were university professors and supply teachers he
said one of them was seriously wounded by knife blows to the face arms and
legs
president nicolas sarkozy offered condolences to the secretary family and
praised the courage of bystanders who came to the aid of the secretary and
managed to subdue the attacker
in statement issued by his office he expressed support for the whole
university community and hopes that investigations will shed light on these
events as soon as possible
higher education minister valerie pecresse announced she would travel
immediately to perpignan to show support for university employees following the
attack
pecresse said in statement that student and professor had shown particular
courage when they intervened between the aggressor and his victim
the head of the conference of university rectors lionel collet described the
incident as one of the worst on campus in recent years while the leader of
the snesup professors union stephane tassel said staff were in shock
court blocks vivendi move against shareholders
paris jan afp
french court on wednesday dismissed case brought by media company vivendi to
block two of its shareholders from suing it in the united states for alleged
fraud
vivendi shareholders are seeking billions of dollars in damages in class
action suit accusing the company of making false statements about its finances
between and
vivendi launched counter action to prevent two of the shareholders olivier
gerard and gerard morel along with an association representing minority
shareholders from taking part in the class action
it argued that their involvement in the suit in new york was inadmissible since
they had bought their shares in french company on the paris stock exchange
the paris court dismissed vivendi case as ill founded in its judgement on
wednesday
the american judge has declared himself competent to rule on demand for
compensation that includes vivendi french shareholders the judgement read
about percent of vivendi shareholders at the time of the alleged fraud were
french
in the court hearings in new york vivendi has denied that it hid risks from
investors
obama to make haiti statement get new briefing
washington jan afp
president barack obama will make remarks wednesday on what he has promised will
be an aggressive coordinated us relief effort to haiti after getting updates
on the disastrous earthquake
obama received two memorandums on the us effort from his national security
staff and the department of homeland security wednesday and was expected to
speak on camera at am gmt an official said
the president told staff he expects an aggressive coordinated effort by the us
government an official said
deputy national security advisor tom donilon on tuesday held late night
meeting with top representatives of the us military coast guard and the us
agency for international development usaid the official said
another official said that the us coast guard had deployed cutters and aircraft
close to haiti to offer humanitarian assistance as massive international
relief effort gears up
obama said in written statement on tuesday that the united states stood ready
to assist haiti after powerful quake rocked the impoverished caribbean
nation
my thoughts and prayers go out to those who have been affected by this
earthquake we are closely monitoring the situation and we stand ready to assist
the people of haiti he said
alert
port au prince airport operational un officials
imf pledges swift aid to quake ravaged haiti
washington jan afp
the international monetary fund is mustering an all out aid effort to help
quake ravaged haiti as soon as possible imf chief dominique strauss kahn said
wednesday
am very saddened by the events unfolding in haiti following what is yet
another major natural disaster strauss kahn said in statement
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 he
said
we will coordinate with other international agencies and mobilize our
assistance as quickly as possible
the imf managing director said he was confident that the international
community would mobilize quickly to offer support to help haiti the poorest
nation in the western hemisphere after tuesday magnitude quake
led zeppelin page aerosmith to play free china concert
beijing jan afp
legendary led zeppelin guitarist jimmy page aerosmith and the black eyed peas
will headline free april concert on beijing olympic green promoters said
wednesday
the show of peace is scheduled for april to mark earth day which is
celebrated each year to promote awareness of environmental issues promoter rick
garson said
he called it the first ever global peace and environment concert in china
featuring world famous celebrities and musicians
tickets are free you can charge for peace and green it is going to be for
everybody it like china gift to the world and the people garson told
reporters
what we are going to do is raise money obviously from sponsorship
international distribution merchandising internet ringtones dvds cds
that how we are doing it it is being self funded as we speak
organisers were also talking with other artists about performing such as pearl
jam lady gaga green day and cent while numerous chinese musicians were
being brought in too he said
organisers hope the concert will be beamed live around the world via television
and the internet to mark this year th anniversary of earth day
my belief in music as universal language is the reason returned to beijing
to voice my support for the show of peace said page who performed the led
zeppelin classic whole lotta love at the closing ceremony of the beijing
olympics last year
this concert is tribute to the power of music and its positive effect
music has been one of the most powerful languages that speaks to the heart of
the people around the world
sponsors include the chinese people association for friendship with foreign
countries the china based non profit joint us china collaboration on clean
energy the united nations ngo pathways to peace and ted turner captain
planet foundation
the olympic green is the park encompassing key venues built for the
olympics including the bird nest olympic stadium
discussions were under way on the numbers of concert goers who will be allowed
to attend which organisers hoped would number up to garson said
sai dma elw
urgent three us rescue teams head to haiti
washington jan afp
the three first us rescue teams will depart wednesday to haiti to help cope with
devastating earthquake state department spokesman said
kosovo expels serbian minister
pristina jan afp
kosovo police on wednesday expelled serbia minister for kosovo goran
bogdanovic who was visiting southern area without the government
permission police official said
he entered kosovo without permission it was discovered when he was stopped and
asked for it in strpce southern kosovo police spokesman brahim sadriu told
afp
he and his escort are now being followed towards the border with serbia
bogdanovic who is in charge of kosovo in the serbian government was visiting
the southern strpce municipality inhabited by serb majority
the dispute over the right of serbian officials to visit kosovo erupted in may
when bogdanovic and presidential adviser mladan djordjevic were banned from
entering the newly declared state
the kosovo government said then that serbian officials would have to ask for
permission if they wanted to make official visits
kosovo ethnic albanian dominated parliament unilaterally declared independence
from serbia on february
belgrade opposes the move and still considers kosovo as its southern province
they encourage the serb minority to boycott the government in pristina
so far countries including the united states and most european union
members have recognized the newly proclaimed state
yemen on offensive against qaeda security chief
sanaa jan afp
yemen government has gone on the offensive against al qaeda sending the
network into hiding the country national security director ali anisi said on
wednesday
anisi who also heads president ali abdullah saleh office was speaking after
authorities announced the killing of abdullah mehdar an al qaeda chief in
eastern yemen
this operation percent yemeni has allowed the elimination of an important
member of the network he told afp
after two air strike operations in december we have also dismantled cells in
sanaa and its suburbs we are on the offensive and the terrorists are terrified
and in hiding he said
according to sanaa the air raids on december and killed more than
suspected members of the al qaeda franchise in yemen the group which claimed
responsibility for the christmas day botched attack on us airliner
yemen is not afghanistan nor pakistan where terrorists constantly launch
attacks while the authorities try to respond here we anticipate the threat
yemen is not hideout for the terrorists and will never be he added
anisi said number of interesting documents had been found in the house where
mehdar was killed on tuesday in houta in shabwa province this will give us
more information about the network
he said the december air strike on what he termed an al qaeda base in the
southeastern province of abyan had caused the destruction of main site of al
qaeda in yemen
this was the only place which they could have called training camp anisi
said
it also kept al qaeda militants isolated from local tribes they the tribes
asked them not to stay there because they know we would attack them and that
they risk being hurt anisi said
urgent canada sending plane with medical aid to haiti
montreal jan afp
canada said it was sending plane to quake stricken haiti on wednesday with
medical equipment and substantial relief and rescue force
urgent imf pledges aid to quake ravaged haiti
washington jan afp
the international monetary fund is mustering an all out aid effort to help
quake ravaged haiti as soon as possible imf chief dominique strauss kahn said
wednesday
alert
three us rescue teams leaving for haiti state department
alert
imf pledges aid to quake devastated haiti
alert
canada sending plane with medical equipment rescuers to haiti official
via chl jm
huge aid relief for haiti as hundreds feared dead
port au prince jan afp
bodies littered the haitian capital wednesday pummelled by huge earthquake
with hundreds feared dead including the head of un peacekeepers as the un chief
called for massive relief effort
it is now clear that the earthquake has had devastating impact on the
capital port au prince un chief ban ki moon said as geologists said it was
the worst quake to hit the caribbean nation in more than century
we have yet to establish number of dead or injured which we feel may well be
in the hundreds
as daylight rose on the city after terrifying night rescuers dug with bare
hands to help scores still believed trapped in the rubble of toppled shantytowns
and haitian landmarks witnesses said
cries from the victims still pinned under debris could be heard as powerful
aftershocks rattled the poorest country in the americas after tuesday
magnitude quake
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
injured residents of the crowded caribbean capital had tuesday poured into the
streets screaming in panic with each new tremor bodies were just left in the
streets or crushed under rubble collapsing buildings left port au prince choked
with cement dust for hours after the quake
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 four of its peacekeepers were killed while eight chinese
soldiers were buried in rubble and were missing state media said
major international relief operation was put underway with the united states
france britain and other countries sending or promising to send help
two hundred foreigners were missing at the hotel montana french secretary of
state for cooperation alain joyandet said
we know there were people inside the hotel when it collapsed only around
have got out which greatly concerns us he told french radio
hospital in the suburb of petionville collapsed as did ministries schools
homes in luxury districts and hillside shanties businesses and markets
police un and red cross vehicles tried to ferry the wounded to hospital but
progress was slow as roads had been torn asunder
the us geological survey usgs reported strong aftershocks hit the country
in the hours after the initial gmt quake
usgs geophysicist susan potter said the last earthquake of such magnitude to
strike haiti was in and possibly as far back as
an aid worker in port au prince described the city as looking like war zone
with eight story buildings collapsed into mounds of rubble
the scene was devastating people are in shock communications director
magalie boyer of aid agency world vision told reporters
the center of port au prince has been destroyed it catastrophe wailed
man named pierre so traumatized he could hardly speak as he surveyed the
disaster
haiti ambassador to the united states raymond alcide joseph described the
quake to cnn as catastrophe of major proportions
haiti ambassador to mexico robert manuel said haitian president rene preval
and his wife are alive and well but did not provide further information
nations around the world offered aid and the united states france canada and
governments across latin america geared to send help while the international
red cross mobilized relief supplies from panama
my thoughts and prayers go out to those who have been affected by this
earthquake said us president barack obama who was to make statement later
wednesday
pope benedict xvi urged generous response to the catastrophe the pope
lamented haiti tragic situation involving huge loss of human life great
number of homeless and missing and considerable material damage
former haitian president jean bertrand aristide exiled in south africa since
his ouster called it tragedy that defies expression
world vision said it would begin distributing first aid kits blankets and
potable water to survivors on wednesday
this is especially devastating in haiti where people are acutely vulnerable
because of poor infrastructure and extreme poverty edward brown world
vision us relief director said in statement
already the poorest nation in the americas haiti has been hit by series of
recent disasters
seventy percent of haiti population lives on less than two dollars per day
and half of its million people are unemployed
huge aid relief for haiti as hundreds feared dead
port au prince jan afp
bodies littered the haitian capital wednesday pummelled by huge earthquake
with hundreds feared dead including the head of un peacekeepers as the un chief
called for massive relief effort
it is now clear that the earthquake has had devastating impact on the
capital port au prince un chief ban ki moon said as geologists said it was
the worst quake to hit the caribbean nation in more than century
we have yet to establish number of dead or injured which we feel may well be
in the hundreds
as daylight rose on the city after terrifying night rescuers dug with bare
hands to help scores still believed trapped in the rubble of toppled shantytowns
and haitian landmarks witnesses said
cries from the victims still pinned under debris could be heard as powerful
aftershocks rattled the poorest country in the americas after tuesday
magnitude quake
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
injured residents of the crowded caribbean capital had tuesday poured into the
streets screaming in panic with each new tremor bodies were just left in the
streets or crushed under rubble collapsing buildings left port au prince choked
with cement dust for hours after the quake
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 four of its peacekeepers were killed while eight chinese
soldiers were buried in rubble and were missing state media said
major international relief operation was put underway with the united states
france britain and other countries sending or promising to send help
two hundred foreigners were missing at the hotel montana french secretary of
state for cooperation alain joyandet said
we know there were people inside the hotel when it collapsed only around
have got out which greatly concerns us he told french radio
hospital in the suburb of petionville collapsed as did ministries schools
homes in luxury districts and hillside shanties businesses and markets
police un and red cross vehicles tried to ferry the wounded to hospital but
progress was slow as roads had been torn asunder
the us geological survey usgs reported strong aftershocks hit the country
in the hours after the initial gmt quake
usgs geophysicist susan potter said the last earthquake of such magnitude to
strike haiti was in and possibly as far back as
an aid worker in port au prince described the city as looking like war zone
with eight story buildings collapsed into mounds of rubble
the scene was devastating people are in shock communications director
magalie boyer of aid agency world vision told reporters
the center of port au prince has been destroyed it catastrophe wailed
man named pierre so traumatized he could hardly speak as he surveyed the
disaster
haiti ambassador to the united states raymond alcide joseph described the
quake to cnn as catastrophe of major proportions
haiti ambassador to mexico robert manuel said haitian president rene preval
and his wife are alive and well but did not provide further information
nations around the world offered aid and the united states france canada and
governments across latin america geared to send help while the international
red cross mobilized relief supplies from panama
my thoughts and prayers go out to those who have been affected by this
earthquake said us president barack obama who was to make statement later
wednesday
pope benedict xvi urged generous response to the catastrophe the pope
lamented haiti tragic situation involving huge loss of human life great
number of homeless and missing and considerable material damage
former haitian president jean bertrand aristide exiled in south africa since
his ouster called it tragedy that defies expression
world vision said it would begin distributing first aid kits blankets and
potable water to survivors on wednesday
this is especially devastating in haiti where people are acutely vulnerable
because of poor infrastructure and extreme poverty edward brown world
vision us relief director said in statement
already the poorest nation in the americas haiti has been hit by series of
recent disasters
seventy percent of haiti population lives on less than two dollars per day
and half of its million people are unemployed
football last place xerez sack coach ziganda
madrid jan afp
xerez have fired their coach jose angel ziganda due to string of losses which
have left them at the bottom of the standings during their first season in the
spanish top flight
xerez announce that due to the sporting situation the first team squad is
going through they have decided to dismiss coach jose angel ziganda the club
said in statement released on wednesday
technical secretary antonio poyatos will take over on temporary basis until
replacement is found it added
xerez won promotion from the second division last season but have only managed
to win one of the la liga matches that they have played so far
that has left the club six points behind th placed real zaragoza and eight
points adrift of th placed tenerife who are one place above the relegation
zone
ziganda is the fifth la liga coach to lose his post this season following
coaching changes at atletico madrid almeria racing santander and real
zaragoza
three french soldiers killed in afghanistan this week
paris jan afp
french soldier was on wednesday killed in an attack on convoy in
afghanistan the third death this week among french troops serving in the
insurgency wracked country officials said
two other french soldiers were wounded in the explosives attack on their
armoured vehicle in the mahmud raqi region of eastern afghanistan the french
presidency said in statement
the convoy was travelling on road linking the nijrab and bagram military
bases it added
president nicolas sarkozy offered his condolences to the soldier family and
said today attack does not dampen france desire to pursue its mission in
afghanistan as part of the nato force the statement added
the latest death brought to the number of french soldiers who have died in
afghanistan since the war began in
on monday an attack on french and afghan forces patrolling the alasay valley
northeast of kabul left one dead second soldier died from his injuries day
later
france has troops in afghanistan serving in nato mission to fight the
taliban insurgency and train afghan troops
about foreign troops are serving in afghanistan under us and nato
command with about more due to be deployed this year to try to turn
around the costly war
eu summit on immigration set for june in malta
valletta jan afp
the european union will hold summit in malta in june to discuss the problem of
illegal immigration the eu new president herman van rompuy said wednesday
van rompuy visiting malta as part of his tour of european capitals made the
announcement at joint press conference with maltese prime minister lawrence
gonzi
the european council late last year discussed the issue of immigration which
is concern not only for malta but for all eu van rompuy said
we plan european council meeting to discuss this theme in june he added
gonzi said the summit would be the first of its kind and may become an annual
meeting
van rompuy noted that malta situation was unique given the disproportionate
number of migrants arriving at the tiny densely populated island
no movement in algeria arcelormittal strike
algiers jan afp
strike by workers on wednesday paralysed the arcelormittal steel factory
in eastern algeria for second day labour leader said
union secretary general smain kouadria said the el hadjar complex at annaba
kilometres miles east of algiers is still at standstill
he said sales and distribution points across the country as well as the port of
annaba had ground to halt over plans to shut down decades old coking
plant
experts have said the coking plant which employs people would cost
million dollars to renovate work at the plant was halted last october amid
plans to renovate it
the employees at el hadjar which produced tonnes of steel last
year have received the backing of the main algerian general workers union
ugta
the company has announced an investment plan of million dollars million
euros for the period which has been rejected by the union
football wigan capture celtic star caldwell
london jan afp
wigan have signed scotland defender gary caldwell from celtic on four
and half year deal the premier league club announced on wednesday
caldwell had been expected to be reunited with former celtic manager gordon
strachan at championship second division club middlesbrough after falling out
with the glasgow club over the terms of new contract
but he has opted instead for wigan offer of premier league football and
long term contract that will reportedly double the salary he was on at the
scottish giants
caldwell who can also operate as defensive midfielder is wigan manager
roberto martinez third signing this month following the capture of former
ivory coast international steven gohouri and serbian goalkeeper vladimir
stojkovic
gary is leader and exactly the right character we need at the club said
martinez he is winner and will become huge asset for wigan he is
commanding defender who will lead by example on and off the pitch
caldwell who has caps for scotland won two league titles in his three and
half year spell at celtic and was named as the scottish premier league player
of the year for
he had insisted that he wanted to stay at celtic but became increasingly
disillusioned over the club reluctance to offer him new contract that would
have put him on par with the best paid players at parkhead
gohouri has signed until the end of the season after being released by
borussia moenchengladbach last month and is hoping that playing in england will
help him regain his place in his national squad in time for the world cup in
june and july
it big challenge for me overall coming to the premier league but as
footballer ve always wanted to play in this country gohouri said
all the strikers in the league are big players and every week will be new
test and looking forward to that there are big differences between the
premier league and the bundesliga notably the intensity
in england that level is much higher and there are many more one on one
incidents during the game so know it will be very hard but here now and
ll have to work hard and challenge for place in the team
martinez added he powerful defender with plenty of pace and we all hope
that he going to reach match fitness really soon because he not had that
recently
as player he going to give us different outlook and he ll be great
asset to have in the squad he got great experience international pedigree
and is desperate to get into the ivory coast squad for this summer world cup
france unwilling to ban bluefin tuna fishing
paris jan afp
france fisheries minister on wednesday opposed plans to ban fishing of the
overexploited bluefin tuna but backed curbing the trade of it outside the eu
notably with the world biggest consumer japan
do indeed want us to take decisions on supervising the fisheries and banning
trade in bluefin tuna but not banning the fishing of it agriculture and
fisheries minister bruno le maire said on television
france has large bluefin fishing fleet and fishermen there have urged the
government to resist pressure from green groups when it decides whether to back
adding bluefin to list by cites the convention to protect threatened species
curbing just the trading will ban percent of exports from the european union
