villarreal celta vigo trashorras
celta vigo win on aggregate
urgent chicago businessman charged over mumbai attacks
chicago jan afp
chicago businessman has been charged with helping an old friend from military
school in pakistan plot the deadly mumbai attacks officials said thursday
urgent obama sarkozy to organise haiti conference elysee
paris jan afp
us president barack obama and french president nicolas sarkozy along with
brazil canada and other countries directly concerned will organise an
international conference on haiti reconstruction the elysee said thursday
clooney to host celebrity telethon for haiti
los angeles jan afp
george clooney will host telethon to raise funds for the haiti earthquake
relief effort as hollywood ramped up efforts to assist the shattered caribbean
nation reports said thursday
clooney became the latest celebrity to lend his weight to the fundraising effort
by agreeing to host an event on the mtv network on friday which will involve
bevy of stars several reports said
mtv was not immediately available to confirm the reports
but spokesperson told the hollyscoop website can confirm that george
clooney is working with mtv networks to plan haiti relief telethon for next
friday but those are the only details we can share at the moment
it all still coming together
news of clooney fundraising efforts came as power couple brad pitt and
angelina jolie donated one million dollars to doctors without borders for the
organization operations in haiti
it is incredibly horrible to see catastrophe of this size hit people who
have been suffering from extreme poverty violence and unrest for so many
decades jolie said in statement released to people com
three hospitals run by doctors without borders were damaged in tuesday
devastating earthquake
we understand the first response is critical to serve the immediate needs of
countless people who are now displaced from their homes are suffering trauma
and most require urgent care pitt said in the statement
pitt and jolie are among the most generous philanthropists in hollywood and in
donated two million dollars to help children affected by aids and
tuberculosis in ethiopia
the couple also reportedly donated million dollars received for exclusive
photos of their twin children born in to humanitarian cause
anger mounts as haiti sees little sign of aid
port au prince jan afp
anger and despair mounted in quake hit haiti thursday with scores facing third
night trapped beneath the ruins food and water running out and little sign of
international aid
the stench of death hung over the capital of port au prince as residents
hunkered down for another sleepless night in the open traumatized by the
aftershocks still rocking the nation after tuesday earthquake
despite massive aid operation there was no sign of heavy lifting equipment on
the streets of the city with tonnes of material and badly needed supplies
apparently jammed at the international airport
officials have warned the overall death toll may top and say three
million people could have been affected by the powerful quake that ripped across
the poorest nation in the americas
if international aid doesn come the situation will deteriorate quickly we
need water and food urgently said lucille still dazed by the scenes of
devastation and carnage on the caribbean island nation
sporadic gunshots were heard and witnesses said there had already been some
looting in city that has seen bloodshed and violence over the past decades
more doctors fewer journalists one man yelled out angrily shaking his fists
at foreign media crew
china france the united states and venezuela already have some aid teams on
the ground with washington sending ships helicopters planes rescue teams
floating hospital and more than troops
but little had yet been deployed and haitians were also angered that they had
had no word from any of their own leaders
one group trying to free man trapped in the rubble of the tax office looked up
wearily at the planes flying overhead
can understand what they are doing where they are going said jean
baptiste lafontin wilfried as us coast guard planes sliced through the skies
we hear on the radio that rescue teams are coming from the outside but nothing
is coming we only have our fingers to look for survivors he said
within just few hours the airport where the control tower was damaged was
forced to appeal for temporary halt in aid flights because the runway and ramp
area was clogged
it was blow to aid organizations in their race against time to reach the
thousands still believed to be trapped
more than hours after the quake haitians were still digging by hand through
mountains of concrete and rubble while the screams and moans of those buried
below rang out
dozens of people were rescued thanks to frantic efforts and as sniffer dogs
began to comb the ruins they included estonian police officer tarmo joveer
pulled virtually unharmed from the rubble of the un headquarters by
specialized us rescue team from virginia
but the moments of joy were few compared to the death and destruction stalking
the city
it small miracle un chief ban ki moon said at the united nations in new
york as he revealed that un staffers had been killed in the worst disaster
in the global body history
us president barack obama sought to lift up despairing people facing acute
shortages of food water and shelter offering million dollars in immediate
assistance
to the people of haiti we say clearly and with conviction you will not be
forsaken you will not be forgotten he said
planeload of chinese soldiers clad in orange jumpsuits had flown into the
airport at first light bringing with them three sniffer dogs swiftly followed
by two teams of french firefighters also backed by trained dogs
people throughout the world want to help said ban
one of our biggest challenges will be to help them to help haiti to the
utmost he said as communications remained poor and moving around was
hampered by destroyed roads and lack of gasoline
first contingent of us troops was headed to haiti and the uss carl vinson
aircraft carrier was to arrive later in the day with destroyers and more coast
guard ships en route and troops on stand by
but lacking heavy lifting equipment harrowing scenes were being repeated across
the city as frustrated workers dug with hands and simple tools to reach the
trapped
some people had set up temporary shelters with sheets and covers in public
square while others were trekking out carrying meagre belongings searching for
safer places outside the city
casualty figures were impossible to calculate although haitian prime minister
jean max bellerive said the final death toll could be well over
us secretary of state hillary clinton who canceled an asia trip and returned to
washington said the death toll would reach tens of thousands
former us president bill clinton united nations special envoy to haiti
warned of an unprecedented humanitarian disaster
early estimates were that nearly three million people almost third of
haiti population may need aid making this one of the great humanitarian
emergencies in the history of the americas he said
injured un troops stable after surgery spokesman
santo domingo jan afp
five injured troops from the un peacekeeping force in haiti are in stable
condition after surgery in the dominican republic un spokesman here said
thursday
the injured soldiers from the un minustah troop contingent arrived here
wednesday after being injured in the devastating earthquake that has left the
haitian capital city port au prince in ruins
spokewoman with the cedimat medical center here said another minustah
troops with less serious injuries were also given medical treatment following
tuesday quake
since late wednesday more than injured haitians have received medical
treatment in the dominican republic near the two countries shared border
officials here said
the united nations said earlier thursday that at least of its staffers were
confirmed to have died in the quake the worst disaster in its history to strike
the global body
speaking by videolink from the haitian capital david wimhurst spokesman for
the mission known as minustah told reporters the dead included four police
officers military personnel and civilians
total of un staffers remain unaccounted for he said
snooker downbeat sullivan defeats ebdon
london jan afp
reigning champion ronnie sullivan remained unimpressed after winning through
to the semi finals of the masters with victory over peter ebdon at the
wembley arena here on thursday
sullivan branded his long potting laughable having said he played better
as teenager after defeating australia neil robertson in the previous round
against fellow former world champion ebdon the rocket raced into lead
but said he could still have lost
peter could have won the game quite easily sullivan told the bbc would
rather be down and hit bit of momentum than be up and feel like
stalling when come to the table
most of the time missing lot of shots and it was difficult to find
confidence out there
the long game ve got at the moment is just laughable
breaks of and helped sullivan take control of the match ebdon
fought back but sullivan won with break of
sullivan next meets wales mark williams who beat shaun murphy of england
jdg dj
snooker masters results collated
london jan afp
masters snooker tournament results at the wembley arena here on thursday
quarter finals best of frames
ronnie sullivan eng bt peter ebdon eng
mark williams wal bt shaun murphy eng
alert
chicago man charged in mumbai attacks us justice department
football chelsea told to pay city million for sturridge
london jan afp
premier league leaders chelsea must pay manchester city million pounds for
teenage striker daniel sturridge with the final bill possibly hitting seven
million depending on appearances
professional football compensation committee hearing on thursday ruled an
initial payment of million pounds was due with additional payments of
after each of and first team appearances
further payment of one million pounds will be due if sturridge makes full
international appearance
sturridge joined chelsea in july on four year deal after his contract
expired at city but the two clubs could not agree fee which was determined by
the tribunal
since joining chelsea the england under international has made eight
appearances finding the net for the first time with two goals in the fa cup
third round defeat of watford
alert
obama sarkozy to cooperate on international conference for haiti elysee
ivory coast electoral commission could face fraud inquiry
abidjan jan afp
ivory coast interior minister desire tagro said thursday he would ask
prosecutors to open an inquiry into possible case of voter list fraud by the
country electoral commission
tagro said on national television that he had taken the decision to refer the
matter to the public prosecutor office in order to open an inquiry as
quickly as possible
he said he was acting after information of extreme seriousness was published
in the local press on alleged fraud by the central commission of the
independent electoral commission
presidential election has been repeatedly postponed in the cocoa rich but
divided west african country since when president laurent gbagbo last
elected mandate ran out
under agreement by all parties including the opposition and the former new
forces rebels who hold the northern half of the country the presidential poll
is scheduled to take place in late february or early march
the presidential poll postponed six times since is aimed at ending
crisis that began with foiled coup in september against gbagbo by the new
forces which subsequently left the country split between the rebel held north
and government controlled south
parasitic wasps may hold pesticide genetic secrets
washington jan afp
they are almost too small to see but parasitic wasps possess powerful poison
and unusual genetic makeup that could give them outsized scientific importance
according to us researchers
group of scientists who sequenced the genomes of three parasitic wasp species
say their work has revealed that the tiny insects have features useful for both
pest control and medicine and could even improve understanding of genetics and
evolution
in study to be published in friday edition of science magazine lead
researchers john werren professor of biology at the university of rochester
in new york and stephen richards at the baylor college of medicine texas
described their tiny subjects
parasitic wasps attack and kill pest insects but many of them are smaller than
the head of pin so people don even notice them or know of their important
role in keeping pest numbers down werren said
there are over species of these amazing critters and we owe them
lot if it weren for parasitoids and other natural enemies we would be knee
deep in pest insects
the tiny insects lay their eggs inside often much larger hosts including
caterpillars when the eggs hatch they kill the unsuspecting host from the
inside out
but the wasps only target specific insects acting like smart bombs said
werren
therefore if we can harness their full potential they would be vastly
preferable to chemical pesticides which broadly kill or poison many organisms
in the environment including us
the wasps which all fall in the nasonia genus also offer promise for genetic
research
like the fruit fly common genetic research subject the wasps are small
easily grown in laboratory and reproduce quickly but the wasps have only one
set of chromosomes
single set of chromosomes which is more commonly found in lower single
celled organisms such as yeast is handy genetic tool particularly for
studying how genes interact with each other werren said
the scientists also uncovered to their surprise that the wasps have acquired
genes related to the human smallpox virus discovery that may have
applications for the study of evolutionary processes
emerging from these genome studies are lot of opportunities for exploiting
nasonia in topics ranging from pest control to medicine genetics and
evolution werren said
corrected canada considers fast tracking haitian immigration
ottawa jan afp
canada is to announce measures to possibly fast track immigration of haitians
after quake devastated the caribbean nation prime minister stephen harper
said thursday
opening up the immigration process will be something the government will be
addressing in the next couple of days harper said while stopping at red cross
offices to make donation to help haiti relief efforts
the minister of immigration has been discussing these matters with us and we
will have announcements in the not too distant future he added
earlier foreign affairs minister lawrence cannon commented that immigration
minister jason kenney was looking at allowing haitians who lost their homes in
the quake to be reunited with family living in canada
us businesses stump up for haiti relief
washington jan afp
us businesses are offering millions of dollars in cash and other aid as part of
massive international relief effort for america earthquake ravaged neighbor
haiti
investment bank morgan stanley said thursday it was contributing one million
dollars through the american red cross an amount matched by bank of america
mcdonald home improvement retailer lowe and other firms
morgan stanley extends its deepest condolences to those in haiti affected by
this tragedy and to those family members residing abroad many of whom are here
in the us said james gorman chief executive of the investment giant
our culture and history dictate that we as firm respond and we hope that
today donation will help provide measure of comfort in the wake of such
catastrophic event
delivery giant ups said it was contributing more than one million dollars in
cash and other support this includes dollars in cash and services for
the shipment of needed supplies working with charities including the american
red cross care unicef and others
pharmaceutical group abbott and its philanthropic foundation pledged one million
dollars that will include cash and donations of medicines and nutritional
products
the recent earthquake has had devastating impact on haiti limited health
care system which was already facing significant challenges said catherine
babington president of the abbott fund
building on our existing partnerships with humanitarian organizations in haiti
we are providing funding and product donations to help address the immense and
immediate health needs
mcdonald said it was donating dollars to me matched with donations
from arcos dorados the company that operates mcdonald restaurants in latin
america to provide total of at least one million dollars
mcdonald has long legacy of being dependable corporate neighbor in times
of need and helping the people of haiti during this crisis is absolutely the
right thing to do said jim skinner mcdonald chief executive
western union said it was offering dollars and waiving fees on
remittances to haiti for seven days from the united states canada and france
another financial transfer firm moneygram international said it would cut its
charge to one dollar for transfers to haiti
this effort by moneygram and our agents will assist our customers in maximizing
the funds sent to loved ones during this difficult time said dan malley
moneygram vice president of the americas
the walt disney company pledged dollars through the red cross
international fund to support haiti relief efforts
at amp said its foundation is providing dollar donation to telecoms
sans frontieres to support their relief work in providing telecom services to
victims in haiti
it said at amp wireless customers of at amp can send donations to the red
cross international relief fund through text message which would allow the
funds to be provided through customer billing
american airlines and spirit airlines said they were helping airlift supplies
for the relief efforts
cruise ship operator royal caribbean international said it was set to resume
port calls in haiti and was using its vessels to deliver supplies to the quake
devastated country
john weis associate vice president at the group said it loaded the first
relief supplies on the company ship independence of the seas
american express said it would waive transaction fees for donations made via its
credit card to haiti and announced contribution of dollars to relief
nba arenas faces felony gun possession charge
washington jan afp
suspended washington wizards star guard gilbert arenas faces felony charge of
unlawful gun possession after bringing four weapons into the locker room of the
nba club last month
arenas was charged thursday with carrying pistol without license outside
home or business felony that carries maximum five years in jail and fine
the charges were filed by the us attorney office for the district of columbia
and arenas is expected to appear in superior court on friday
lawyers for arenas had been in negotiations with prosecutors for plea deal
that might keep arenas out of jail according to the washington post and it was
not immediately known if the charge was part of any arrangement
in the charges prosecutors said that on december arenas did carry openly
and concealed on or about his person in place other than his dwelling place
place of business or on other land possessed by him pistol without license
issued pursuant to law
arenas and teammate javaris crittenton argued after card game last month and
crittenton said he should shoot arenas in his surgically repaired left knee
only to have arenas bring four guns to the locker room few days later and put
them on chair next to crittenton locker with note saying pick one
according to the post
grand jury was convened last week but the charges filed thursday came from
prosecutors and not from an indictment as result of the investigation
wizards coach flip saunders team president ernie grunfeld and eight wizards
players have been interviewed by the grand jury or spoken with authorities
police searched crittenton apartment early thursday morning
nba commissioner david stern suspended arenas indefinitely without pay on
january an nba investigation that could bring more suspensions and fines
could come in the next week
arenas missed most of the past two seasons with knee injuries and had hoped for
breakout comeback season instead the team has pulled his image from an arena
banner and pre game video and stopped displaying his no zero jersey
un deaths in haiti leap to its worst ever disaster
united nations jan afp
the united nations said thursday at least of its staffers were confirmed to
have died in the devastating haiti quake with the toll expected to climb in
the worst disaster to strike the world body
speaking by videolink from the haitian capital david wimhurst spokesman for
the mission known as minustah told reporters here that the dead included four
police officers military personnel and civilians
but total of un staffers are still unaccounted for he said
wimhurst said he was on the third floor of minustah main building when the
quake struck tuesday killing possibly more than people according to
haitian authorities and was able to escape through window
un statement said the four dead police officers were one from argentina one
from burkina faso and two from niger while others were missing
updating figures earlier provided by un chief ban ki moon wimhurst said total
of soldiers including brazilians were confirmed dead and injured
among un civilian personnel he reported deaths injured and missing
the brazilian military said thursday the brazilians were in their base
headquarters which collapsed tuesday when the magnitude temblor struck
port au prince
it added that brazilian soldiers who survived were badly injured and would be
repatriated to brazil for medical treatment
brazil is in charge of the military component of the strong un
stabilization mission in haiti minustah and the biggest contributor with
soldiers
minustah troops and police has been deployed since mid to
help stabilize the impoverished caribbean island nation of nine million people
ban did deliver one piece of good news announcing that an estonian police
officer was pulled out of the rubble alive early thursday and transferred to an
argentine hospital in port au prince sniffer dogs helped locate the officer who
was under four meters of debris
it small miracle ban said
nesirky identified the estonian as tarmo joveer bodyguard extracted from
minustah main building the christopher hotel which was flattened in
tuesday quake
seven other un workers have been pulled alive from the rubble
but ban said he still was not in position to confirm the death of his special
envoy to haiti hedi annabi which was announced by haitian president rene preval
wednesday
with both annabi tunisian and his brazilian deputy luiz carlos da costa
missing ban dispatched edmond mulet top un peacekeeping official to assume
full command of the decapitated minustah in an interim capacity
mulet guatemalan was annabi predecessor as un envoy to haiti
meanwhile some un peacekeepers were patrolling port au prince helping
maintain order and assisting in distributing humanitarian relief said ban
as un planners scrambled to coordinate massive relief effort the un boss said
he was gratified by the dimension of the international response
people throughout the world want to help one of our biggest challenges will be
to help them to help haiti to the utmost he said adding un members states
have responded with an outpouring of support and assistance
supplies are beginning to arrive by airlift three french cargo planes arrived
yesterday as well as one flight from venezuela ban noted
rescue teams from france china the united states and the dominican republic
were already on the ground he said
the un world food program wfp said it was preparing six month emergency
operation to assist as many as two million haitians affected by the quake for an
initial six months
we are mobilizing all available resources to provide urgently needed food
assistance as part of swift and coordinated recovery effort said wfp
executive director josette sheeran
the group of industrialized nations and largest emerging economies meeting in
ottawa on thursday pledged aid for haiti quake victims in response to un call
for help
for the world body the haiti tragedy recalled the august suicide
bombing on un offices in baghdad in which people including un special envoy
sergio vieira de mello were killed
american express waives fee on haiti donations
washington jan afp
american express on thursday offered to waive transaction fees for donations
made via its credit card to quake hit haiti amid criticism over profits by banks
and credit card firms on contributions
american express said it would rebate the merchant discount rate for charitable
contributions made on its credit card directly to any of the non profit
organizations in support of haiti relief
the organizations should be listed on the website of the us agency for
international development usaid company statement said
the rebate was effective retroactively from january through february
american express said
it announced dollar donation to assist several groups with their haiti
relief efforts including american red cross doctors without borders
international rescue committee and the united nations friends of the world food
program
it is not known whether other credit card companies would make similar rebates
there was no immediate response to afp queries from master card and visa
american banks and credit card companies make huge profits about million
dollars year from people charitable donations through transaction costs
an analysis by huffington post us news website and aggregated blog showed
those profits rise sharply after major disasters when humanitarian relief
organizations such as oxfam and operation usa take in more than percent of
their donations via credit card it said
the credit card providers with only few exceptions refuse to waive their
fees the report said
credit card companies have only been willing to waive their processing fee for
charity once for the tsunami disaster said richard walden the chief
executive of operation usa according to the report
peter larson of the washington humane society said it unfortunate that
portion of our individual contributions are eaten up by processing fees but
that the nature of business we have no choice but to use credit cards because
without them we would lose great deal of money in donations
nfl player gets good news as baseball joins haiti relief effort
new york jan afp
indianapolis colts receiver pierre garcon received good news about relatives in
haiti on thursday as major league baseball pledged one million dollars to the
earthquake damage relief effort
garcon whose team is preparing for national football league playoff game
saturday against baltimore received calls thursday from relatives saying they
had survived the disaster which struck the caribbean nation two days before
heard from some family got some good information garcon said we re still
looking for the rest of them we ve still got more people that need to be found
we re still hoping that everybody all right
focusing upon the gridiron playoffs is tougher task with such uncertainty
hanging over him garcon said
it hard but it something you ve got to do he said
garcon whose parents came to the united states from haiti has most of his
family on the caribbean island and was thankful for the help being sent
there lot of support he said really appreciate it we need lot
more
major league baseball comissioner bud selig said his organisation is
contributing one million dollars to unicef relief effort on behalf of the
league and its clubs
this generous donation from major league baseball will help save the lives of
haitian children unicef executive director ann veneman said
the people of haiti urgently need food fresh water shelter and medical
supplies and the first days are crucial
haiti shares the same island as the dominican republic one of the world top
producers of elite level baseball talent
major league baseball believes it is crucial to help the haitian community in
this time of need selig said it is difficult for us to imagine the
catastrophic toll this earthquake has taken on the people of haiti
we hope this contribution will help aid in the relief efforts and we encourage
our fans to make donation as well our heartfelt condolences go out to all who
have been affected by this unimaginable natural disaster
in addition yvenson bernard former canadian football league player of
haitian descent is raising money and supplies for earthquake victims and plans
to visit haiti to deliver the goods within two weeks
football milner puts villa in sight of league cup final
blackburn england jan afp
james milner goal gave aston villa victory at blackburn in their league
cup semi final first leg at ewood park here on thursday
england midfielder milner scored the only goal of the game half way through the
opening period finishing off quick breakaway as villa took step closer to
final date against either manchester city or manchester united
blackburn whose only victory in the last matches was on penalties in the
quarter finals against chelsea were poor throughout
and even though they managed to hit the post through nikola kalinic on two
occasions in the second half villa are now strong favourites to reach first
final in decade
rovers started on the front foot and david dunn had shot on the turn deflected
wide by richard dunne after just couple of minutes
but villa quickly got themselves on top and from stewart downing corner ryan
nelsen pulled off desperate block from james collins header
