lynge is the president in greenland of the inuit circumpolar conference icc
non governmental organisation representing some inuit from alaska
canada greenland and russia
the eu states in july adopted ban on seal products ruling the goods
could not be marketed from
exceptions were made for products not sold for profit and products coming from
inuit hunts
lynge argued the inuit exemption was flawed saying the market had suffered
greatly since the eu legislation was announced last year
it is important for inuit across the davis straight to unite and fight this
legislation he said noting inuit were already affected by climate change and
now had to fight extremists who fundamentally do not respect the inuit way of
life
duane smith the president of icc canada said in statement the eu left inuit
with no alternative but to sue to try to get the unclear flawed and unfair
regulation invalidated
canada and greenland account for more than percent of the seals slain
in the world each year other seal hunting countries include norway namibia
iceland russia and the united states
britain says sorry in pregnancy drug scandal
london jan afp
britain issued long awaited expression of regret thursday over the thalidomide
drug scandal which left hundreds of babies deformed years ago and confirmed
million dollars in support
the announcement including the million pound million euro package was
welcomed by many victims although some questioned why it had taken so long and
others claimed the wording did not amount to full apology
total of survivors of the drug which caused children to be born with
physical deformities after their mothers took thalidomide for morning sickness
during pregnancy are eligible for support
know many thalidomiders have waited long time for this health minister
mike brien told the house of commons using the term for victims of the drug
at the end of the
the government wishes to express its sincere regret and deep sympathy for the
injury and suffering endured by all those affected when expectant mothers took
the drug thalidomide between and he said
we acknowledge both the physical hardship and the emotional difficulties that
have faced both the children affected and their families as result of this
drug and the challenges that many continue to endure often on daily basis
thalidomide was banned in britain in after its effects including stunted
limbs brain damage and other problems were highlighted notably by media
campaigners
thalidomide campaigner guy tweedy described the government apology as
absolutely wonderful
highly delighted and so glad that it actually came years too late but
never mind it an apology not just to thalidomide victims but to the parents
and parents who lost their children in the early days he said
but freddie astbury head of campaign group thalidomide uk dismissed the
minister words
as the song says sorry seems to be the hardest word he said adding it
wasn really an apology it was wave of regret they didn say they were
sorry
the million pound funding package was announced last month but tweedy said
the formal apology means as much in some ways as the money adding it
big day
survivor mikey argy said it was such relief to hear the government
finally admit they made mistake and that they re wishing to make wrong
right
the maker of the drug in britain distillers biochemicals paid some million
pounds in compensation in the after legal battle by the families of
victims
there are an estimated thalidomide survivors worldwide according to
thalidomide uk the first thalidomide victim was born in germany it said
last year brazil federal court ordered the government there to compensate
children of mothers who took thalidomide
brien said he could not explain why previous british governments had not
decided to voice regret saying that enoch powell health minister at the
time could not explain himself from beyond the grave
think it will be important to the many families and the thalidomiders
themselves who have for the past years been looking for words like that to be
said he told bbc television
prime minister gordon brown government is struggling to avoid predicted defeat
in elections due by june this year after years in power
man screams from under haiti rubble colleagues scramble
port au prince jan afp
from under the rubble of the tax office in the center of port au prince man
moaned he shook his head with pain his legs were stuck
his colleagues chiseled away frantically at the slab of reinforced concrete that
threatened to bury him forever
on top of mountain of cement blocs cables and office remains one of the
man fellow workers placed wooden plank on his face protecting it from the
rocks that fly with each blow to crack the concrete just stone throw from
the crumbled presidential palace
under punishing sun the men took turns to deliver sledgehammer blows that
slammed into what may have once been floor wall or perhaps ceiling one
used his bare hands to remove the rocks piling up on the body of the survivor
who wore leopard print headscarf
five tax bureau employees then seized an enormous pair of clippers to cut the
steel frame of the concrete slab on top of their colleague but then another
setback huge cement beam surfaced they would probably need several more
hours and tools to finally free him
two days after haiti worst earthquake in more than years nearly leveled
the center of port au prince devastated haitians were still fighting lonely
battle to rescue friends family and total strangers
no professional rescuer no equipment appeared to clear the rubble
the men looked up wearily to the sky as so many planes flew into the capital
international airport that it had to temporarily shut down for lack of space
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 said the tax
inspector standing atop of his office remains shortly after identifying new
survivor elie the engineer
and so the only rescuers on this day resorted to any means within their reach
blue latex gloves saw sledgehammers and steam shovel so big it was quickly
thrown aside
conflicting orders flew from every direction the men screamed at each other
under the resigned look of elders sitting at distance
memos from the tax office management bore the trace of tax collection
operations that quake victims were working on when the quake struck on tuesday
government official drew up the grim list of dozens of his colleagues who
perished in the disaster
nearby in the area surrounding the destroyed presidential palace the same
scenario repeated itself atop the debris of the judiciary palace men bustled
about to rescue survivor next to the rubble of the finance ministry students
freed body
thousands of haitians spent the night lying outside the presidential palace
we have nothing to eat except for snacks nothing to drink and my house is
destroyed said jean rene guillaume father of three completely destitute
children
mexican billionaire aims to create telecoms giant
mexico city jan afp
mexican billionaire carlos slim has announced plans to merge three of his
telecommunications companies to form regional giant with million
customers in countries
slim america movil latin america top cell phone provider is seeking to buy
the mexican telephone companies telmex and telmex internacional company
statement said late wednesday
with this consolidation the company will be able to offer better integrated
communication services in the region the statement said
if successful in its offer america movil would indirectly acquire percent
of telmex shares and percent of those of telmex internacional it
added
the offer represents some billion dollars according to unconfirmed media
reports
america movil has some million cell phone clients and million fixed line
clients in countries of the americas and the caribbean including the united
states
slim built up the telephone monopoly telmex after acquiring it from the
government in
the integration of fixed and mobile telephones is the correct structure in the
long term france telecom deutsche telekom and telecom italia have made
similar mergers mexican bank banamex said in an analysis thursday
us evangelist haiti comment utterly stupid white house
washington jan afp
the white house on thursday dismissed comment by evangelical preacher pat
robertson that haiti earthquake was retribution for the country swearing
pact to the devil as utterly stupid
robertson weighed in on haiti history on his christian broadcasting network
show the club on wednesday
haitians were originally under the heel of the french you know napoleon the
third or whatever and they got together and swore pact to the devil said
the year old former presidential candidate
they said we will serve you if you will get us free from the french true
story and so the devil said okay it deal the televangelist said
ever since they have been cursed by one thing after the other
white house spokesman robert gibbs rejected those comments at his daily press
briefing hours after obama told haitians that they would not be forsaken or
forgotten
it never ceases to amaze that in times of amazing human suffering somebody
says something that could be so utterly stupid gibbs said but it like
clockwork happens with some regularity
robertson contrasted haiti with its neighbor dominican republic which shares
the island of hispanola
the dominican republic is prosperous healthy full of resorts etc haiti is
in desperate poverty same island they need to have and we need to pray for
them great turning to god and out of this tragedy optimistic something
good may come he said
right now robertson said the suffering is unimaginable
ruled for centuries by the spanish and then the french haiti gained
independence in through slave led revolution creating the first country
governed by african descendents in the americas
the fire and brimstone christian conservative preacher is seen by critics to
espouse an anti gay anti liberal agenda but he describes his ministry as pro
life and pro family
founder and chairman of the christian broadcasting network robertson in
beating out then vice president george bush sr in the iowa republican caucuses
but ultimately failed in his presidential bid
perhaps most famously robertson in stirred outrage after calling on the us
government to assassinate venezuelan president hugo chavez
robertson who often makes predictions of upcoming disasters and horrific
attacks came under fire in after suggesting the stroke then israeli prime
minister ariel sharon suffered was divine retribution for ceding land to the
palestinians
tunisian president reshuffles cabinet
tunis jan afp
the tunisian president zine el abidine ben ali reshuffled his cabinet on
thursday with change of guard in ministries including foreign affairs and
defence
the reorganisation announced by prime minister mohamed ghannouchi is ben ali
first since his re election in october
kamel morjane the defence minister takes over foreign affairs replacing
abdelwaheb abdallah according to the new list of ministers published by the tap
news agency
defence is taken by ben ali loyalist ridha grira while the finance ministry
goes to government newcomer mohamed ridha chalghoum
other portfolios to change hands include social affairs justice and human
rights higher education and tourism
the year old ben ali has held power in tunisia for years and was re
elected for fifth term in office with just under percent of the vote
formula one schumacher ready for comeback after testing
madrid jan afp
seven time world champion michael schumacher thursday said he was ready for his
formula one comeback after successful three days of testing in southern
spain
the year old who has come out of retirement to drive for mercedes in the
formula one world championship on three year million dollar deal again
drove gp car as testing is banned until february
the first two days of testing at the circuit in jerez were hampered by rain but
on thursday the german completed laps under largely clear skies and on dry
track
he set his best laptime of the day of in his last run
could really drive lot on this last day of testing and it worked out
perfectly he said
am very happy with the way testing went here we worked well times and
consistency were good we could do everything we had scheduled to do feel
fit felt comfortable immediately back in the car hey let go for it
rallying sainz sights dakar triumph after th stage win
san rafael argentina jan afp
former world champion carlos sainz took another huge step towards the dakar
rally title on thursday when he captured the th stage
the spaniard has opened up sec gap over his volkswagen teammate nasser al
attiyah following the gruelling km run of which km was timed special
between san juan and san rafael
al attiyah was second on the day but time is running out for the qatari driver
with the race due to finish in buenos aires on saturday
america mark miller another volkswagen driver was third on the day and
remains third overall after finishing min sec behind sainz
france stephane peterhansel in bmw is fourth overall ahead of america
robby gordon in hummer
chile francisco lopez won the motorcycling stage
the aprilia rider finished ahead of france david fretigne on yamaha who was
seconds off the pace with norway pal ullevalseter on ktm min sec
behind the winner
overall leader cyril despres of france on ktm stayed in charge of the
overall standings an hour ahead of the chilean despite losing more than
minutes on the stage
it was wonderful stage and very hot at the end technical and tough
special handled the bike well said lopez
it was route that suited my machine but it was difficult for one of the
last few stages of the dakar it was one of the toughest
snooker masters results
london jan afp
result from the masters snooker tournament at the wembley arena here on
thursday
quarter finals best of frames
ronnie sullivan eng bt peter ebdon eng
playing later
mark williams wal shaun murphy eng
convicted bomb plotter says sorry to canadians
ottawa jan afp
the convicted ring leader of the toronto group that plotted to bomb several
canadian targets in apologized to canadians for his actions in an open
letter on thursday
deserve nothing less than your complete contempt said zakaria amara
reading the letter at his sentencing hearing according to canadian media
he pleaded guilty to terror offenses in october and awaits sentencing next week
in his first public remarks the year old mastermind of an al qaeda inspired
plot to bomb the toronto stock exchange canada spy agency offices and
military base using fertilizer explosives packed in rented trucks said his
interpretation of islam was naive and gullible
but his outlook changed over the three and half years he spent in prison
awaiting trial with the help of fellow prisoners who challenged his hate filled
ideology he said in remarks cited by the globe and mail daily
amara sunni muslim said he had befriended jewish inmate and shia muslim
who helped turn him around as well as banker who once worked in the toronto
stock exchange building which was ironic since he had plotted to blow up the
building he told justice bruce durno
when someone shows me wrong he said willing to accept it
amara faces up to years in prison canada harshest ever terror sentence
one of his co conspirators is currently on trial three others have pleaded
guilty one youth was convicted charges against seven others were dropped and
five still face trial
bombs kill up to in shiite holy city in iraq
najaf iraq jan afp
as many as people were killed and dozens more were wounded on thursday when
three bombs exploded simultaneously in rare attack in the shiite muslim shrine
city of najaf officials said
car bomb was detonated near mosque and two other bombs blew up in retail
market as darkness fell in the city kilometres miles south of baghdad
according to security official
accounts of the number of casualties varied but an interior ministry official
in the capital said people were killed and wounded
local government official in najaf however told afp that three people were
killed and injured of whom were in serious condition
at pm gmt three bombs exploded at the same time close to large
market at jumla targeting the innocent passers by and traders local
government official said
najaf is home to the mausoleum of imam ali the son in law and cousin of the
prophet mohammed and attracts shiites from around the world especially
neighbouring iran
the explosions resulted in tens of victims medical official said
an afp correspondent in the city said iraqi security forces deployed in large
numbers after the bombings with routes into the city sealed off
the leader of najaf provincial council said third of those wounded he did
not give toll were members of the security forces and blamed the attacks
on baathists loyal to toppled dictator saddam hussein
we will take very severe measures against the baathists said fahad al
shammari urge them to leave the city tonight
while attacks in iraq remain common especially in baghdad and the northern
cities of mosul and kirkuk violence in najaf has become rare
the last major attack in najaf dates back to february when suicide car
bomber struck an iraqi police checkpoint killing people and wounding dozens
more
violence in iraq dropped dramatically in to its lowest level since the us
led invasion of figures showed on january but monitoring group warned
that security gains were levelling off
according to an afp tally of statistics released by the defence interior and
health ministries total of civilians were killed by violence last year
less than half of toll of
the toll was markedly lower however than one compiled by iraq body count
ibc an independent britain based group which put the number of civilians
dead in at
despite the disparity ibc toll was also dramatically lower than its
figures it said in its annual report
ibc noted that while there had been significant improvements in security in
such violence still afflicts iraq population more than any other
and the second half of saw around the same number of civilian deaths as the
first which ibc warned may indicate that the situation is no longer
improving
prime minister nuri al maliki has promoted himself as having improved security
across iraq and aims to retain his post after general election due on march
zionist methods used to kill iran scientist ahmadinejad
tehran jan afp
iran president mahmoud ahmadinejad said on thursday zionist methods were
used in the bombing of top atomic scientist as angry mourners chanting anti
us and anti israeli slogans buried the slain professor
one can see the level of the enemy grudge in the way he was assassinated the
method of bombing was zionist one the mehr news agency quoted ahmadinejad as
saying it did not elaborate
massoud ali mohammadi particle physics professor at prestigious tehran
university died when bomb strapped to motorbike was triggered by remote
control as he was leaving his home on tuesday morning
he was hezbollahi and pious university professor serving his people
ahmadinejad said in speech in khuzestan province using term indicating
person dedication to the islamic republic regime
the enemies by killing the elite cannot take away the knowledge from the
iranian nation the president added
iranian officials have accused the cia and mossad the intelligence agencies
respectively of the united states and israel of having hand in the murder of
the atomic scientist
senior israeli official in jerusalem who asked not to be named declined to
respond to ahmadinejad accusation saying that israel consistently refuses to
comment on such issues
in tehran several thousand mourners joined funeral procession from ali
mohammadi home in an affluent northern neighbourhood to nearby shrine an
afp correspondent said
around policemen were deployed in the area during the procession and burial
relatives and members of the elite revolutionary guards placed the body of ali
mohammadi in an ambulance which then carried it for burial at the shrine
military marching band led the procession followed by hundreds of mourners
many of whom were chanting death to israel and death to america
mourners also chanted slogans against the so called hypocrites the islamic
republic term for the outlawed people mujahedeen which some have accused of
having had hand in the assassination despite its denials
some chanted that nuclear energy is our undeniable right in an allusion to
accusations by iranian officials that the killing was an attempt by western
powers to disrupt iran controversial nuclear programme
veto wielding un security council members britain china france russia and the
united states plus germany are to meet over the weekend in new york to consider
new sanctions against tehran over its nuclear programme
the media advisor to ahmadinejad meanwhile told afp that the united states
britain and israel were high on the list of suspects for the murder of ali
mohammadi
our security and intelligence apparatus are pursuing those behind the blast to
bring them to justice as soon as possible said ali akbar javanfekr
america britain and israel have the most animosity towards our scientific
progress especially the nuclear programme so when our scientists are targeted
they become high on the list of suspects he said
similar allegations by other iranian officials of us involvement in the attack
have been dismissed out of hand by washington
neither the iranian police nor the intelligence services have yet reported any
leads in their investigation on the murder
the political affiliation of the murdered scientist remains unclear
people close to him have stressed his close links with the elite revolutionary
guards where he seems to have worked for more than years until
official media and regime hardliners have referred to him as revolutionary
teacher who was martyred
but several opposition websites said ali mohammadi was among the academics whose
name appeared in june letter supporting mir hossein mousavi the defeated
presidential election candidate and current opposition leader
at distance from the funeral procession in tehran group of about people
tried to follow in silence but was dispersed by police without incident
alpine skiing swiss teen star gut out of winter olympics
paris jan afp
swiss teen alpine ski star lara gut double silver medallist at last year
world ski championships will not take part in the upcoming winter olympics her
father told afp on thursday
the year old underwent an operation on an injured hip three months ago in her
homeland but will not be back on the slopes until early next month
it now official said pauli gut lara father coach and manager
we knew it would be tough to make the games the time for preparation was too
tight lara who underwent tests last week will only put skis back on at the
start of february
gut team mate dominique gisin underwent an operation on ruptured cruciate
ligament on sunday and will also miss the february winter games
us military moves in troops ships to aid quake hit haiti
washington jan afp
the first contingent of thousands of us troops headed to haiti thursday as the
military mobilized an array of ships planes and helicopters to provide
emergency aid after massive earthquake
company of about soldiers from the nd airborne division were expected in
quake hit haiti by the evening with the remainder of their strong brigade
due to arrive by sunday pentagon officials said
they will provide humanitarian assistance and relief and security as required
army spokesman gary tallman told afp
more than marines at camp lejeune north carolina were due to board three
large amphibious ships to reach haiti by sunday or monday defense department
spokesman bryan whitman said
as the military large scale operation got underway the uss carl vinson
aircraft carrier bearing helicopters and equipped with operating rooms was
expected to arrive off the haitian coast on friday he said
navy officers said the aircraft carrier will serve as floating airport for
fleet of helicopters ferrying emergency teams and aid to haiti where rescuers
raced against the clock to find survivors among thousands of corpses
officials have warned the death toll could top
the carrier and the amphibious ships were equipped to purify water and deliver
it by helicopter mission the navy has carried out in other natural disasters
guided missile cruiser the uss normandy and frigate the uss underwood
along with several coast guard cutters were also steaming toward haiti to
provide more helicopters and assistance
in baltimore large hospital ship the usns comfort was being loaded with
medical supplies and was due to reach haiti in about week whitman said
in the air transport planes ferried in aid teams and supplies after
specialists worked to restore communications at the airport in port au prince
smaller maritime aircraft assessed the extent of the damage from tuesday
magnitude quake
the pentagon rejected early criticism that it had been slow to deploy its
military might in the first hours of the disaster saying it moved in
assessment teams quickly and identified what resources were needed
think that the us military has been very forward leaning on this whitman
told reporters
president barack obama said thursday that the first wave of civilian relief
teams had landed in the impoverished caribbean island nation and promised more
were on the way
officials said second us search and rescue team arrived in haiti early on
thursday the unit from los angeles includes personnel for reconnaissance
search and rescue operations as well as dogs and medical specialists
football why have liverpool slumped this season
london jan afp
liverpool season went from bad to worse on thursday when club captain steven
gerrard star striker fernando alonso and playmaker yossi benayoun were all
ruled out through injury just day after the club fa cup defeat at home to
second tier reading
thus season liverpool had been tipped to win their first english title since
but now find themselves points behind leaders chelsea having already
exited the champions league at the group stage
so how has it come to this for the merseysiders below afp sport looks at few
factors that may have contributed to liverpool poor run
transfers
manager rafael benitez has spent some million pounds on signing players
since arriving at anfield in and while the likes of torres and benayoun
have been successes too many such as josemi and antonio nunez have failed to
make much of an impact
meanwhile striker robbie keane was sold back to tottenham just months after
arriving at anfield
and selling xabi alonso one of his best buys to real madrid in pre season
appears to have left hole in liverpool midfield that has yet to be filled
tactics
benitez has often been accused of excessive caution in the way he sets his teams
up for premier league matches with critics alleging this puts too much of
burden upon torres and gerrard to score goals they cite december defeat
away to bottom of the table portsmouth as case in point
boardroom rows
few clubs have managed to be successful on the field against backdrop of
boardroom strife the fractious relationship between american co owners george
gillett and tom hicks has destabilised club looking for finance and the duo
were unpopular with supporters before tom hicks junior foul mouthed mail
rant at supporter
football angola malawi at half time
luanda jan afp
hosts angola and malawi were drawing at half time in an africa cup of
nations group match thursday
olympics rio won games on quality insists ioc chief
lausanne jan afp
olympic chief jacques rogge said thursday that rio de janeiro was chosen to host
the games because of the quality of its bid not because it brought the
showpiece to new continent
rogge indicated that the international olympic committee was not ready to
sacrifice high standards for the world biggest sporting event
we were very happy to go to brazil but we didn choose brazil because south
america never got the games we chose it because of the quality he told
journalists
south american or african city has never hosted the olympics
the success of rio bid last year against outwardly wealthier rivals chicago
madrid and tokyo in an ioc vote was partly attributed to the symbolic
opportunity of bringing the event to south america for the first time
rogge said shortly afterwards that the vote showed that the games were not all
about money
he insisted thursday that the ioc was trying to keep costs in check through
measures such as limits on the size of the athletes village the number of
sports and by preventing the construction of over ambitious white elephant
venues that would have little future use
our aim is to make the games as lean as possible while maintaining the quality
of the games the ioc president added
the purpose of the olympic games is for the athletes not for public opinion
we want good games for the athletes
rogge suggested that rising costs were often due to the way host cities or
governments seized the opportunity to make peripheral investments citing new
airport in beijing or the athens metro
