haiti first free elections in he was overthrown in military coup eight
months later in he returned to haiti with us military help before turning
over power in to his elected successor rene preval aristide was re
elected in
faced with an armed insurrection and street protests aristide bowed to pressure
from the united states france and canada and fled haiti on february
preval regained power in elections in
the country has remained rocked by violence including bloody feuds between drug
trafficking gangs despite the presence of un stabilization force numbering
just over troops and police
armed forces haiti army was dissolved in the united states lifted an
arms embargo in
google threatens to quit china over activist attacks
san francisco jan afp
google on tuesday vowed to defy chinese internet censors and risk banishment
from the lucrative market in outrage at highly sophisticated cyberattacks
aimed at chinese human rights activists
china based cyber spies struck the internet giant and at least other
unidentified firms in an apparent bid to hack into the email accounts of
activists around the world according to google
the online espionage has google reconsidering its business operations in china
and it said it will no longer filter internet search engine results in that
country
these attacks and the surveillance they have uncovered combined with the
attempts over the past year to further limit free speech on the web have led
us to conclude that we should review the feasibility of our business operations
in china google chief legal officer david drummond said in blog post
we are no longer willing to continue censoring our results on google cn and so
over the next few weeks we will be discussing with the chinese government the
basis on which we could operate an unfiltered search engine within the law if
at all he said
drummond said google realizes that defying chinese government demands regarding
filtering internet search engine results may mean having to shut down its
operations in china
human rights activists hailed google voicing hope it would lead western
companies to reconsider their compromises in doing business in china
through international pressure finally big business in the west has come to
realize its own conscience prominent chinese dissident wei jingsheng who
spent years in prison before entering exile in the united states told afp
kumar the washington based advocacy director of amnesty international urged
other internet companies to follow google lead
we re glad that at last international internet companies are waking up to the
reality that they cannot go along with oppressive nations like china kumar
said
leslie harris president of us based nonprofit advocacy group center for
democracy amp technology said google had taken bold and difficult step for
internet freedom in support of fundamental human rights
google said it detected in mid december highly sophisticated and targeted
attack on our corporate infrastructure originating from china that resulted in
the theft of intellectual property from google
the company said it was notifying at least other large companies of similar
attacks including finance internet media technology and chemical firms
google said its investigation revealed that accounts of china human rights
activists who use gmail in europe china or the united states have been
routinely accessed using malware sneaked onto their computers
google believes the attack was mostly blocked and that only minor information
like creation dates and subject lines was stolen from two accounts
we have taken the unusual step of sharing information about these attacks with
broad audience not just because of the security and human rights implications
of what we have unearthed but also because this information goes to the heart
of much bigger global debate about freedom of speech drummond said
the decision to review our business operations in china has been incredibly
hard and we know that it will have potentially far reaching consequences he
added
google was careful to stress that the decision was made by the california
company executives in the united states and not by workers within easy reach
of authorities in china
google was in no win situation silicon valley analyst rob enderle told afp
the choices they ve got are all bad but this one allows them to claim the high
ground at home by standing up to evil china
internet firms interested in access to china booming market have been
pressured to acquiesce to onerous government rules regarding online
censorship according to the analyst
china is hard market to walk away from enderle said it took lot of
guts capitulating wasn working so taking harder stance might work better
google said it has used information gained from studying the attack to improve
the internet titan security
we have been working hard to secure our systems confirm the facts and notify
the relevant authorities said google spokesman gabriel stricker
we ve gone public with this as quickly as we sensibly could
hundreds feared dead in haiti quake local doctor
port au prince jan afp
hundreds of people are feared dead after massive earthquake struck the haitian
capital port au prince on tuesday local doctor told an afp reporter in the
city
when we get an idea of the toll it will be measured in the hundreds the
doctor said
major quakes and tsunamis around the world
port au prince jan afp
powerful magnitude quake rocked the impoverished caribbean nation of haiti
tuesday toppling buildings and causing widespread damage and panic
here is chronology of some of the major quakes and tsunamis around the world
in recent years
september magnitude earthquake strikes the indonesian island
of sumatra killing more than people
september massive tsunami sparked by an magnitude earthquake
flattens villages and resorts in samoa and the neighbouring pacific islands of
american samoa and northern tonga killing people
september magnitude quake rocks indonesia main island of
java killing people and triggering landslides
april quake with magnitude of on the richter scale kills
almost people in the italian town of aquila and its vicinity
october magnitude quake strikes southwest pakistan killing up
to people and leaving tens of thousands homeless
may magnitude quake hits china southwest province of
sichuan leaving more than people dead or missing
february quake with magnitude of on the richter scale
strikes eastern congo and western rwanda killing people and leaving
thousands homeless
april an magnitude quake in the western solomon islands triggers
tsunami that kills more than people and displaces thousands
march magnitude quake hits the indonesian island of sumatra
flattening buildings and killing at least people
july magnitude undersea quake strikes off indonesia java
island unleashing tsunami killing at least injuring more than and
displacing around
may magnitude quake in indonesia yogyakarta region kills
and leaves million homeless
october an magnitude quake kills more than people most
of them in pakistan north west frontier province and the pakistani
administered zone of kashmir state some million are displaced
march an magnitude quake on indonesia nias island off sumatra
leaves at least dead
december magnitude undersea quake off the coast of sumatra
island triggers tsunami that kills people in countries around the
indian ocean including in indonesia
december magnitude quake hits the iranian city of bam
killing at least people and injuring
january massive quake hits the western indian state of gujarat
killing people and injuring
un peacekeeping hq in haiti destroyed by quake staff
port au prince jan afp
massive earthquake in haiti has destroyed the headquarters of the united
nations peacekeeping mission on the island local employee of the un force
told afp
the headquarters of the united nations stabilization mission in haiti has been
destroyed in large part there are numerous people underneath the rubble both
dead and injured local employee of the force said
china under fresh criticism over currency
washington jan afp
china which has emerged as the world biggest exporter is coming under fresh
criticism in the us and europe for using an undervalued currency to shore up
its economic and trade competitiveness
beijing policy of keeping the yuan weak has helped china become the first key
economy to recover strongly from the world financial crisis but at the expense
of its key trading partners still nursing the wounds of recession some analysts
contend
such policy that makes chinese exports more competitive and allows beijing to
further amass foreign exchange reserves now more than two trillion dollars
could result in protectionism and even spark trade war they warn
think china is more vulnerable to criticism on its exchange rate policy now
than it has been in the recent past said nicholas lardy china expert in the
washington based peterson institute for international economics
he said concerns over china currency policy are real and that one can now
make stronger case that its recovery has been based at least in part on
imposing cost on others through allowing its exchange rate to depreciate
beijing was allowing its currency to depreciate very dramatically on trade
weighted basis that is looking against all the currencies of its major trading
partners lardy said
after having allowed the yuan to appreciate gradually against the dollar since
mid china re established hard peg against the greenback in
ensuring that the yuan followed the dollar as the american currency fell against
the euro and the yen
china overtook germany as the world top exporter trade figures from the
german national statistics office showed last week it also surged past the
united states as the world biggest car market industry data showed monday
the us congress has been uncharacteristically quiet but patience is wearing
thin in washington and everywhere the new york times said in scathing
editorial tuesday
if china sticks to its cheap renminbi guns it was bound to draw
protectionist response the newspaper warned noting that president barack
obama administration already has caved in to political demands and slapped
exceptional tariffs on chinese tires and antidumping duties on chinese steel
pipes
some democratic and republican lawmakers have sent letter to the government
calling for an investigation into china currency manipulation viewed as
potential first step to us imposed tariffs on imports from china
the times raised the prospect of trade war with china saying it would be
disastrous and bound to escalate around the world
restraint is needed but we fear no one is going to feel restrained if china
doesn change its strategy
europe also is increasingly concerned about the yuan devaluation
the european union incoming trade commissioner lashed out tuesday at what he
said was china deliberate policy of keeping its currency undervalued
warning that china foreign exchange stance posed major problem for global
economic recovery belgium karel de gucht highlighted growing eu unease on the
issue
it is clear to me that this is deliberate policy and we should address this
on all possible occasions bilaterally and also multilaterally
no immediate changes to china currency policy are expected
chinese prime minister wen jiabao has vowed not to yield to international
pressure to allow the chinese yuan to appreciate
the pressure on the yuan to appreciate is bigger and bigger we have been
getting this and that kind of pressure to appreciate but we refuse to yield
wen said in an interview with xinhua news agency on december
told foreign friends said you are asking for us to allow the yuan to
appreciate while at the same time adopting all kinds of trade protectionism
actually you are trying to restrain china development
small cars make it big at detroit auto show
detroit michigan jan afp
small hybrid and electric cars took center stage at the detroit auto show as
automakers adapt to the changing demands of market ravaged by recession and
soaring fuel costs
clutch of manufacturers also displayed fuel efficient cars with designs
inspired by europe in stark contrast to the traditional gas guzzling behemoths
favored by american motorists in bygone era of cheap gasoline prices
chevrolet unveiled its aveo subcompact and spark cars while ford revealed the
much anticipated update to the fiesta fiat which took over chrysler last year
has presented both the standard and hybrid version of its due to arrive in
the us market by the end of
hyundai usa vice president david zuchowskisaid the trend of smaller cars in
detroit reflected the changing face of the marketplace as tighter federal fuel
efficiency standards loomed ever closer
the composition of our market is going to change quickly because of the federal
mandate zuchowski told afp
our industry is going to become more like the european industry in the next
couple of years with more smaller cars but that doesn necessarily mean they
have to compromise on performance
ian robertson vice president of bmw added that the market in small cars was
expanding worldwide noting the success of the rebooted mini whose biggest
market remains the united states an electric mini is on show in detroit
but christian klingler executive vice president of sales and marketing at
volkswagen said he doubted that tomorrow everyone in the united states is
going to be driving small cars
ford meanwhile urged visitors to its detroit stand to drive green showcasing
its hybrid fusion crowned north american car of the year ford also announced
more than million dollars of investment in green vehicles in the united
states
several automakers used detroit as shop window for their new hybrid models
notably honda cr coupe or prototypes such as toyota ft ch volkswagen
ncc compact coupe or hyundai rechargeable blue will hybrid
despite the drive towards smaller hybrid and electric cars the unit sales
will still be modest said jeremy anwyl analyst with edmunds com
consumers will be influenced by environmental issues and also by the cost
anwyl said pricing will be the key
electric cars meanwhile were available for test drive at tree lined basement
track and were parked on the detroit auto show electric avenue where pint
sized vehicles from firms such as korean company ct amp and commuter cars are
on display
commuter cars tiny electric car the tango is slimline two seater where the
passenger rides behind the driver
toyota is showing off its tiny urban electric ft tv future toyota electric
vehicle while us carmaker tesla trumpeted the success range and reliability
of its roadster electric sports car by driving the vehicle cross country some
miles from los angeles to detroit
nissan meanwhile displayed its four seater all electric leaf which has
maximum range of about miles kilometers per charge
urgent hundreds feared dead in haiti quake local doctor
port au prince jan afp
hundreds of people are feared dead after the massive earthquake struck the
haitian capital port au prince on tuesday local doctor told an afp in the
city
urgent un peacekeeping hq in haiti destroyed by quake staff
port au prince jan afp
massive earthquake in haiti has destroyed the headquarters of the united
nations peacekeeping mission on the island local employee of the un force
told afp
france braces for ice storm amid severe travel warnings
paris jan afp
the french capital braced for snow and sleet storm wednesday banning lorries
from motorways and warning of massive flight cancellations as icy conditions
made for treacherous travel around northern europe
french road authorities issued ban against heavy commercial road traffic
starting at midnight until noon on wednesday on motorways in eight departments
around paris due to new winter storm brewing
conditions were expected to be especially hazardous because of icy sleet some
departments in northern and central france have been placed under an orange
alert by meteo france
at paris main airport aviation authorities warned that the storm may force
airlines to cancel up to half of their flights with disruption compounded by
strike
the state civil aviation safety authority dgac has asked airlines to cancel
from tomorrow morning at least percent of their flights from roissy charles
de gaulle airport which could rise to percent if necessary it said in
statement on tuesday
at orly airport the other main paris international air hub traffic will be
reduced by percent it said final decisions on cancellations will depend on
conditions on wednesday morning
the dgac said that two day airport strike in several cities against reforms of
the air transport sector was likely to disrupt air traffic even further
another strike in france could literally affect the weather
some workers of meteo france went off the job tuesday to protest proposed
reorganisation plans forcing the closing of several departmental centres in the
west of the country union sources said
in germany falling temperatures created dangerous icy roadways on tuesday
causing numerous accidents some fatal and motorway closures and delays around
the country
the german automobile association adac warned motorists to expect long delays
and to be extremely careful
roads can turn into ice rinks in seconds or in minutes it said
in england which has been suffering its most severe winter for three decades
motorists were trapped in their cars late tuesday amid fierce blizzards in the
southwest of the country
heavy snowfalls also caused whiteout conditions in parts of wales leading to
the cancellation of bus services and disrupting rail travel
countries trying to make ice and snow covered roads passable cannot count on
switzerland for the much needed salt to clear the way
switzerland main publicly owned salt works said tuesday that it had turned
down new orders from the snowbound netherlands and germany in order to cater for
booming domestic needs in the cold snap
the situation is so fragile that were can take the risk of delivering
abroad said armin roos sales manager at schweizer rheinsalinen monopoly
owned by swiss regional governments we re running round the clock
over the past days alone the salt works have distributed about tonnes
of salt and have about tonnes left in storage
the alpine nation normally consumes about tonnes of salt over whole
year to clear public highways according to the firm website
further south in spain temperatures rose several degrees tuesday improving
road rail and air traffic conditions disrupted by heavy snowfall
however much of the country remained on alert with strong winds of up to
kilometres per hour and heavy rains forecast in many areas notably in northern
regions and around madrid
the national electricity grid reported its highest power surge of the winter due
to the freezing temperatures late on monday
heavy rains in portugal have raised the water of the alqueva dam which forms
the largest artificial lake in europe to its maximum capacity for the first
time since it was inaugurated in
flooding from heavy rains in the balkan states tuesday drove not only man but
also beast from home
in montenegro hippo was found wandering in village of plavnica on lake skadar
after flooding at private zoo led him to escape from his pen
he sometimes escapes his habitat when the water levels rise and this is not
unusual nikola pejovic one of the owners of the complex told afp
pejovic said that the hippo named nikica weighing about two tonnes usually
walks along already known path about one kilometer miles long towards
neighbouring houses
but not to worry nikica is their regular guest and locals are completely used
to him pejovic added
spyker insists that saab can still be saved
detroit michigan jan afp
the death knell has not yet rung for saab insists dutch sportscar maker spyker
which is pushing forward on last ditch bid to save the iconic swedish mark and
said tuesday it has the money to make deal
general motors is considering the offer very seriously and decision on the
bid can be expected in question of days not weeks said victor muller
founder and chief executive of spyker cars
the fate of the swedish car maker seemed sealed last week when gm chief ed
whitacre said the us auto giant had essentially given up on selling saab as
nobody had come up with the money to seal the deal
we have shown mr whitacre the money muller told an industry conference
hosted by automotive news in detroit
we are absolutely definitely negotiating in good faith with gm to buy saab
muller told conference hosted by automotive news in detroit
they are considering offers very very seriously
muller said he is not very concerned about all the steps that are being taken
with the wind down of saab because they are consistent with the plan gm set
forward after deal fell through with swedish sportscar maker koenigsegg
general motors announced on december that it would wind down saab while
considering several last ditch bids for the iconic brand which has barely
turned profit during two decades under gm ownership
the bidders include spyker group comprised of formula one boss bernie
ecclestone and luxembourg investment firm genii capital and swedish group
fronted by the former chief executive of german truck manufacturer man and
former politician
if the sale of saab doesn generate more than the wind down scenario costs
for them it clearly not attractive muller said
so it was my job our job at spyker to put forward proposal that is
attractive enough for them to reverse the position
muller declined to provide many details of the offer but he said the swedish
government has been very helpful so far
the entire project would be fully funded to be able to continue as going
concern on stand alone base he told reporters on the sidelines on the
conference
saab presents number of opportunities for spyker including access to global
dealer network and the ability to reduce the cost of supplies and research and
development muller said
we re not interested in just buying an iconic brand we re interested because
it as business should be viable he said
our business plan clearly shows that saab of course having sufficient sales
can be very very sustainable and profitable company
spyker is currently spending tens of millions of dollars on outsourced product
development and muller said those engineering and research costs could be kept
in house if the automaker had the economies of scale offered by saab
several thousand people gathered for demonstration in sweden on tuesday to
call for saab to be rescued
saab which employs people in sweden is one of four storied brands being
shed by gm as part of massive restructuring effort that began in and
accelerated last year when the largest us automaker went bankrupt
analysts have warned that some jobs could be lost with saab closure
muller said significant number of jobs could be created should spyker succeed
in its bid
we would be hiring rather than firing because the production capacity would
need to be improved rapidly he said
muller acknowledged that it would take few years to get saab back on its
feet by bringing the saab dna that engendered so much customer loyalty over
the years back to its product lineup
should the deal go through the new company saab spyker llc would be listed on
the dutch stock exchange
alert
hundreds feared dead in haiti quake local doctor
alert
un peacekeeping hq in haiti destroyed by quake staff
france preparing to send aid to haiti
paris jan afp
france is preparing to urgently dispatch aid to quake struck haiti foreign
minister bernard kouchner said wednesday
once news of the quake was received the ministry crisis centre was
immediately activated to mobilize and dispatch without delay urgent aid to
port au prince kouchner said in statement
no details on the aid or when it would depart were provided
in these dramatic moments france expresses its complete solidarity with the
republic of haiti and solidarity and sympathy with the haitian people said
the minister
huge quake measuring rocked the impoverished caribbean nation tuesday near
the capital port au prince toppling buildings and causing widespread damage and
panic
philippine massacre suspect in court to seek bail
manila jan afp
the chief suspect in the massacre of people in the southern philippines was
taken to court in handcuffs on wednesday for hearing on his request for bail
andal ampatuan jnr local town mayor and scion of one of the most powerful
muslim political clans in the country was taken to special courtroom at the
national police headquarters under heavy security escort
prosecutors are to offer witnesses to show that the evidence against andal is
strong prosecution lawyer pete principe told dzbb radio adding that the
government is calling for the court to reject his bail bid
ampatuan pleaded not guilty last week to multiple counts of murder over the
killing of people in an ambush on convoy of supporters of political rival
in the southern province of maguindanao on november
among the dead in the worst political murders ever seen in the philippines were
about journalists and pregnant women
his father andal ampatuan snr and several other clan members were arrested
after martial law was imposed in maguindanao and charged with rebellion no date
for their court appearance has been set
kraft calls cadbury defence underwhelming report
london jan afp
us giant kraft foods dismissed on wednesday as underwhelming british
confectioner cadbury defence against the american firm multi billion dollar
hostile takeover bid newspaper reported
kraft shrugged off an attempt by the british company to step up its defence
against their bid cadbury struck an upbeat note on tuesday telling
shareholders had been outstanding
but in comments published in the guardian newspaper the us firm hit back
cadbury final defence document is underwhelming
they have said little that is new and have ducked the issue of their
profitability in
we continue to believe the certainty and upside potential provided by our offer
remains the best option for cadbury shareholders
in the comments tuesday the british firm repeated its claim kraft cash and
shares offer worth billion pounds billion euros billion
dollars was derisory and maintained its revenue targets for
our performance in was outstanding cadbury chief executive todd
stitzer said in statement outlining his company performance and outlook
group sales rose five percent last year cadbury said
we generated good revenue growth despite the weakest economic conditions in
years looking forward to we are targeting revenue growth within our
percent goal range
kraft is the world second biggest snacks group after nestle cadbury is the
second largest confectionery company behind mars
tie up between kraft and cadbury would merge leading kraft brands oreo
biscuits and maxwell house coffee with cadbury dairy milk chocolate and
trident chewing gum
china rights activists elated by google
washington jan afp
human rights activists rejoiced tuesday over google threat to pull out of
china hoping it would be wake up call for businesses that make compromises
to enter the giant market
blogging sites including twitter were swarmed with messages of elation after the
internet giant shock announcement that it would reconsider its china business
after attacks on human rights activists email accounts
through international pressure finally big business in the west has come to
realize its own conscience prominent chinese dissident wei jingsheng told afp
some western businesses thought that by making compromises with the chinese
communists regime they could do business as they wished however this is
impossible because the chinese government would not be satisfied said wei who
lives in exile in the united states after years in prison in china
international human rights group amnesty international hailed google and called
for other companies to follow suit
we welcome google stand and urge other internet companies to follow through
and not be party to china state sponsored internet censorship said kumar
amnesty international washington based advocacy director
we re glad that at last international internet companies are waking up to the
reality that they cannot go along with oppressive nations like china kumar
said
sharon hom executive director of new york based advocacy group human rights in
china said the step was particularly meaningful coming from google which was
long accused of compromising on human rights to profit in china
it extremely significant because google went in under cloud of criticism
she said
it really wake up call to the international community about the real risks
of doing business in china she said
mexico captures top tijuana drug trafficker el teo
tijuana mexico jan afp
teodoro el teo garcia simental one of mexico most brutal drug traffickers
was arrested tuesday in the second major victory for the government against the
narcotics trade in month
security forces captured garcia in an early morning raid on an upscale
residential area in the seaside city of la paz on the northwestern baja
california peninsula officials said
later tuesday authorities presented garcia to journalists in mexico city
garcia was one of the most wanted criminals by the governments of mexico and
the united states said ramon pequeno an official with the federal police
el teo is under indictment in mexico on five counts including drug
trafficking racketeering and homicide he also could face other charges in the
united states the us embassy to mexico said in statement praising the
cooperation between the two countries
garcia is on list of mexico most wanted drug traffickers with reward
of up to million dollars offered for his capture
he is also blamed for spike in particularly gruesome violence in the border
city of tijuana
