barely half an hour against reading at anfield on wednesday while liverpool
captain gerrard went off at half time with hamstring strain
to make matters worse benayoun one of liverpool better players in what has
been lacklustre season so far for the merseysiders sustained fractured rib
in the extra time loss to the championship club
torres is set to undergo an operation but england midfielder gerrard may not
need surgery
steven gerrard and fernando torres both underwent scans earlier today
thursday after coming off in the fa cup tie against reading liverpool
spokesman said
steven has hamstring strain and will be out for fortnight while fernando
has torn cartilage in his right knee the injury will require surgery and he
is expected to be sidelined for six weeks
yossi benayoun also suffered fractured rib in the game and will be
unavailable for between three and four weeks
the trio will miss this weekend match against stoke and the subsequent premier
league encounters with tottenham and wolves but the reds will hope to have
gerrard back in time to face bolton on january
meanwhile the extent of torres injury means he is set to miss next month
merseyside derby against everton and february league match with arsenal as
well as the fixture with high flyers manchester city
this triple setback comes at time when beleaguered liverpool manager rafael
benitez is under mounting pressure having guaranteed his side who some had
tipped to end their year long english title drought this season would finish
fourth in the premier league this term
before wednesday match the five times european champions had already crashed
out of the champions league at the group stage as well as exiting the league
cup while their faltering premier league campaign has left them points
behind leaders chelsea and in seventh place
now their only chance of salvaging major trophy this season rests with the
europa league the second string european tournament that is the successor to
the uefa cup
urgent fifteen killed wounded in najaf attacks official
najaf iraq jan afp
fifteen people were killed and wounded in three bomb attacks in the shiite
muslim shrine city of najaf on thursday an iraqi interior ministry official
told afp
osce chair kazakhstan vows to aid regional world security
vienna jan afp
kazakhstan vowed thursday to help promote regional and world security during its
chairmanship of the organization for security and cooperation in europe osce
kazakhstan took over the leadership of the osce on january the first former
soviet republic to chair the nation transatlantic security body after making
promises of democratic reforms
addressing the body member permanent council on thursday kazakh foreign
minister kanat saudabayev said his country supported the willingness expressed
by number of countries at the osce summit in athens to discuss the different
ideas on strengthening the indivisible security from vancouver to vladivostok
kazakhstan is taking over the osce reins from greece for year and as one of
its first acts as chairman saudabayev is to travel to the south caucausus in
mid february where russia and georgia fought in over the rebel region of
south ossetia
assisting in the resolution of protracted conflicts remains priority for
any chairmanship at the same time our organisation must try to find way of
preventing the emergence of similar conflicts saudabayev said
ahead of the foreign minister speech kazakh president nursultan nazarbayev
in videotaped message said his country osce chairmanship would be
particularly difficult test given the current global challenges
he said kazakhstan was on track on reforms
building democratic society has been conscious choice of our people and we
will pursue further political liberalisation of our people and country and seek
to improve the quality of life of the people of kazakhstan he said
saudabayev said one of focal points during the presidency would be afghanistan
helping the afghan people to transform their war torn country into peaceful
productive and self sustained society based on democratic principles and values
is an important task for the osce and the whole international community
kazakhstan has come under fire over its human rights record
it was criticised in recent months for sentencing yevgeny zhovtis prominent
rights activist to four years in prison over his role in fatal car accident
and for raids on well known independent newspaper
in november human rights watch called on osce members to put more pressure on
the country to do more to protect the freedom of the press and improve human
rights
kazakhstan ranked out of countries on media watchdog reporters without
borders annual worldwide press freedom index last year
last month also saw the murder of kyrgyz opposition journalist in the kazakh
financial capital of almaty gennady pavlyuk was apparently thrown from the
sixth floor window of an apartment with his hands and feet bound
outside the osce headquarters in vienna on thursday small group of protestors
called for the release of journalists imprisoned in kazakhstan
asked about the criticism of his country saudabayev replied we have moved
away from totalitarian state and now we have the honour to serve the presidency
of this organisation
democracy was process he said and no other country can say that they
already achieved it completely
alert
fifteen killed wounded in najaf attacks interior ministry
china leads start of aid lift into haiti
port au prince jan afp
planeload of chinese soldiers led the start of flow of aid into the
caribbean nation of haiti early thursday two days after it was devastated by
powerful earthquake
chinese military unloaded tonnes of relief supplies from an air china flight
under the watch of un chinese soldiers
some chinese rescue personnel and three sniffer dogs left in minibuses
emblazoned with the un logo heading into scenes of devastation and despair
amid mounting fears for thousands still trapped under the ruins particularly in
the capital of port au prince an international aid operation was swinging into
gear in desperate race against time
the tarmac at the capital international airport was welcoming the first
trickle of aid which was set to soon start pouring into haiti in the coming
hours
the un has been coordinating since this morning all of the international aid
arriving at the airport and will also distribute the help by nationality across
the different site commander samuel bernes told afp
he was with two french units of firefighters who arrived thursday just behind
the chinese equipped with six sniffer dogs
the military unit mission is to first relieve guadeloupean volunteer firemen
who have already been working for several hours while looking for other sites
to deploy the remainder of national security units
there are fears that the death following tuesday quake could stretch into
the tens of thousands
an urban search and rescue team from fairfax virginia was already out at first
light combing the rubble with sniffer dogs for survivors
the staff including paramedics and six dogs brought with them tonnes of
rescue equipment and supplies
meanwhile in desperate bid to leave civilians crowded port au prince
airport which was functioning although its control tower was down
romanian car marker dacia reports percent rise in sales
bucharest jan afp
romanian car maker dacia division of french group renault on thursday said
its sales rose by percent to more than vehicles in
this was the fifth straight year when dacia sales recorded two digit growth
rate the group said in press release
total of cars were sold of them in germany and in
france exports surged by percent
but sales were halved in romania to units as the market shrank by
percent
in we expect stabilisation of the local market with very tough first
semester followed by rebound marketing director fabrice cambolive said
the plant based in pitesti kilometers miles north of bucharest was
bought in by renault
imf to provide million dollars in aid to haiti
washington jan afp
the international monetary fund will quickly provide million dollars in aid
to earthquake devastated haiti imf head dominique strauss kahn said thursday
strauss kahn speaking at news conference at imf headquarters in washington
said the million dollars would come from an extension of an existing loan to
haiti which is reeling from massive quake that struck tuesday nearly
flattening the capital city port au prince
to date the imf has disbursed about million dollars of loan approved in
for the poorest country in the western hemisphere
on tuesday the world bank the imf sibling institution had pledged the same
amount in aid to haiti
first us troops heading to haiti army
washington jan afp
the first contingent of us troops will begin arriving in haiti on thursday the
us army said as the military swung into action to provide help after
devastating earthquake
company of about soldiers from us army brigade were expected some time
this evening in haiti spokesman gary tallman told afp
they will provide humanitarian assistance and relief and security as required
he said
the deployed soldiers were coming from the nd airborne division at fort bragg
north carolina and more forces from the strong nd brigade would be
heading out on friday
things are in motion tallman added we re getting folks there as fast as we
can to provide humanitarian assistance
it was still unclear if the entire brigade would be deployed he said
the military had ordered the uss carl vinson aircraft carrier to haiti along
with hospital ship destroyers several coast guard cutters and transport
planes as part of major operation to bolster relief efforts after tuesday
massive quake
the head of southern command general douglas fraser told reporters on
wednesday there were plans to possibly send large amphibious ship with about
marines as well
president barack obama said thursday that the first wave of civilian relief
teams had landed and more were on the way
officials said second us search and rescue team arrived in haiti early on
thursday the unit from los angeles comprises people for reconnaissance
search and rescue operations and includes dogs and medical specialists
dab ddl oh
up to two million kids at risk in haiti charity warns
washington jan afp
up to two million children may be at risk after the devastating haiti quake
british based charity warned thursday fearing many traumatized injured
youngsters were coping alone in the tragedy
this is an unbelievably traumatic experience for children in haiti said
gareth owen director of emergencies for the london based global charity save
the children
we believe up to two million could be affected and the emotional damage of
what they re going through could last their entire lives
the charity said it was particularly concerned at reports that children were
sleeping among dead bodies and that many had been separated from their families
as the quake hit tuesday afternoon while they were at school
children are petrified and in danger many will have been orphaned or be badly
injured themselves and in urgent need of medical help owen said
thousands more will have lost all contact with their families and friends and
are now struggling to survive alone in the rubble
he said save the children emergency teams on the ground were trying to prepare
safe spaces for children where they will be protected given space to play and
get counselling
no generation of haitian children in hundred years has experienced this scale
of disaster before and we have to act fast to minimise both the physical and
psychological damage to them owen said
our safe spaces will allow children to start talking about the trauma of what
they have seen to spend time with other children and try to regain some sense
of security and calm
the charity said it was also concerned that children could start scrambling
through the ruins mimicking adults searching for survivors and putting
themselves in danger of being injured or killed
save the children has launched three million pound emergency appeal for basic
supplies and was already working to distribute food water and medical supplies
in haiti
as well as getting basic supplies in it crucial that children struggling on
their own are protected from being crushed by more debris and are kept safe from
abuse on the streets owen said
this is not safe place for children we know that the prison has collapsed
and lone children are incredibly vulnerable
greece unveils debt crisis plan
athens jan afp
greece unveiled crisis plans on thursday to put its fiscal house in order and to
restore international credibility especially among its eurozone partners in
the management of its struggling economy
we will attain our goals by any means possible finance minister george
papaconstantinou told news conference on the measures which will be presented
to the european commission on friday
the socialist government aims to raise some billion euros billion
dollars extra this year through improved tax collection and cut costs so as to
reduce the public deficit to percent of gross domestic product by
under the european union percent limit
this is slightly higher than what is necessary but we want to have room for
manoeuvre the minister said
the deficit reached percent of gdp last year
the programme also seeks to stabilise greece total debt burden one of the
highest in the eurozone and reduce it to percent of gdp by from
this year the eu limit is percent
it forecasts an economic contraction of percent in and return to
growth of percent in and percent in
as greece tackled crisis that has shaken eurozone confidence european central
bank president jean claude trichet said talk of athens being expelled from the
nation bloc because of its problems was an absurd hypothesis
in berlin meanwhile german chancellor angela merkel warned that europe
single currency faced very difficult phase and that greece plight had
raised grave questions
the greece example is putting us under great great pressures questions are
being asked that are anything but trivial merkel said according to the
transcript of comments made at an event on wednesday
as result the euro is in very difficult phase for the coming years
addressing the cabinet on thursday prime minister george papandreou said the
three year crisis plan would be decisive for greece future
we want to turn the page as fast as possible papandreou said
we have defied predictions in the past we will do it again today am sure
that our european partners will appreciate our efforts not only from
government but from an entire population
his government will boost revenue by overhauling the tax system cut spending by
percent freeze civil service hiring and put salary limits on higher paid
public sector workers
the government also pledged to restore the credibility of official figures
having caused an uproar in brussels in october by announcing that the previous
conservative administration had under reported the deficit
for years and thanks to the euro greece notched up strong growth on the
back of easy access to loans but also ran large public and current account
deficits in the absence of fiscal discipline the finance ministry said
across europe there is concern that serious fiscal problems in greece could
threaten the credibility of the eurozone and could be precursor to similar
debt crises in other weaker european economies
in the recent past we ourselves gave reason for mistrust and it is up to us
to restore our country reputation again papandreou told news conference on
wednesday
greek officials concede that athens still has mountain to climb to regain
credibility and analysts are sceptical that its plans will work
the further details provided by the greek government today on how it plans to
tackle the fiscal crisis are unlikely to reassure the markets much capital
economics european economist ben may said in note
its fairly optimistic forecasts for the economy suggest that it is relying
on cyclical upturn to do much of the work he said
israel arrests man suspected of enslaving women children
jerusalem jan afp
israeli police on thursday arrested sect leader suspected of enslaving and
sexually abusing women and the children he had with them
goel ratzon is accused of keeping at least women and children in cramped
apartments in several locations in the tel aviv area police spokesman micky
rosenfeld said
in one case police raided three bedroom apartment where women and
children were found in terrible state living in horrible conditions he
said
ratzon has been known for several years to head sect of women who were said to
adulate him have sex with him and father his children
police suspect that ratzon also raped and impregnated his own daughters
the grey bearded long haired man who was arrested on monday following
lengthy undercover investigation held the women under his strict control
enforcing draconian book of rules which specified behaviour and punishments
police said that ratzon had instructed the women and children to commit suicide
if anything happened to him
obama unveils million dollars of haiti aid
washington jan afp
president barack obama promised haitians thursday they would not be forgotten
offering million dollars in immediate earthquake aid and every element of us
power to help them
to the people of haiti we say clearly and with conviction you will not be
foresaken you will not be forgotten obama said
obama offered every element of our national capacity our diplomacy and
development assistance the power of our military and most importantly the
compassion of our country following the disaster
us retail sales drop unexpectedly in december
washington jan afp
us retail sales fell unexpectedly in december capping the worst year on record
government data showed thursday in disappointing report on crucial driver of
economic growth
the commerce department said adjusted retail sales were billion dollars
decline of percent from november instead of the consensus analyst forecast
of rise of percent
for all of retail sales key indicator of consumer spending that
drives two thirds of the country economic activity plunged percent from
year ago it was the steepest annual plunge since the data series began in
sales had slipped percent in the first full year of the worst
recession in decades
the surprise monthly decline in december followed sharp half point upward
revision to november sales increase to percent the department revised
the october sales figure up notch to percent
retail sales unexpectedly fell in december on broad based weakness suggesting
holiday spending did not live up to early reports said scott hoyt at moody
economy com
on month basis retail sales rose hefty percent from december
near the height of the global financial crisis
sales in the fourth quarter last year were up percent from the prior
quarter suggesting positive contribution by household spending to gross
domestic product gdp broad measure of goods and services output
the department is scheduled to release the initial estimate of fourth quarter
gdp on january
the world largest economy grew percent in the third quarter after year
of contraction
although the full year decline marked the steepest falloff in sales on record
data from the final three months of the year showed sales generally trended
upward though auto and gasoline sales were flat
kodak files patent suit against apple rim
washington jan afp
eastman kodak co announced thursday that it has filed lawsuits against apple
and blackberry maker research in motion alleging they infringed kodak digital
imaging technology
the photography company said it had filed complaint with the us international
trade commission claiming that camera enabled iphones and blackberrys infringe
kodak patent related to an image previewing method
kodak said it had separately filed two suits against apple in us district court
in new york claiming infringement of patents related to digital cameras and
certain computer processes
kodak has long history of digital imaging innovation and we have invested
hundreds of millions of dollars creating our industry leading patent portfolio
said the company chief intellectual property officer laura quatela
in the case of apple and rim we ve had discussions for years with both
companies in an attempt to resolve this issue amicably and we have not been
able to reach satisfactory agreement she added in statement
there basic issue of fairness that needs to be addressed those devices use
kodak technology and we are merely seeking compensation for the use of our
technology in their products
quatela said kodak decided to take the issue to the courts in order to protect
shareholder interest and licensees of the technology kodak said it has licensed
digital imaging technology to some companies including lg motorola nokia
samsung and sony ericsson
our primary interest is not to disrupt the availability of any product but to
obtain fair compensation for the use of our technology quatela said
first us troops heading to haiti army
washington jan afp
the first contingent of us troops will begin arriving in haiti on thursday the
us army said as the military swung into action to provide help after
devastating earthquake
company of about soldiers from us army brigade were expected some time
this evening in haiti spokesman gary tallman told afp
they will provide humanitarian assistance and relief and security as required
he said
the deployed soldiers were coming from the nd airborne division at fort bragg
north carolina and more forces from the strong nd brigade would be
heading out on friday he said
things are in motion he said we re getting folks there as fast as we can to
provide humanitarian assistance
it was still unclear if the entire brigade would be deployed tallman said
the military had also ordered an aircraft carrier the uss carl vinson to haiti
along with destroyers several coast guard cutters and transport planes as part
of major operation to bolster relief efforts after tuesday massive quake
the head of the us southern command general douglas fraser told reporters on
wednesday there also were plans to possibly send large amphibious ship with
about marines to haiti
total refinery workers extend strike in northern france
dunkirk france jan afp
striking workers fearing shutdown at total refinery in northern france
decided thursday to keep up their protest until february union officials
said
the workers at the plant in flanders near dunkirk went on strike on
tuesday evening and employees from four other total refineries joined in the
protest action the following day
the plant works council is due to meet on february to discuss the future of
the refinery after total announced last month that it was considering shutting
it down among other scenarios
the personnel wants to continue the strike said union official patrice
leclaire who added that percent of workers had walked off the job
strikers set up picket at the entrance of the plant and on thursday burned
tyres in protest
total official said all shipments from the refinery had been halted but added
that the suspension would not have significant impact on supplies in the
region
cgt union official christian votte said he had been told by total that the
company did not plan to fully shut down the refinery or sell it
total france biggest company last year announced record profit for of
billion euros billion dollars
casualties as bombs hit shiite holy city in iraq
baghdad jan afp
car bomb exploded on thursday near mosque in najaf and two other bombs blew
up in market in the iraqi shiite holy city on thursday causing several
casualties security source said
the source could not immediately give breakdown of the casualties
najaf kilometres miles south of the capital 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
urgent imf to provide million dollars in aid to haiti
washington jan afp
the international monetary fund will quickly provide million dollars in aid
to earthquake devastated haiti imf head dominique strauss kahn said thursday
urgent obama unveils million dollars of haiti aid
washington jan afp
president barack obama promised haitians thursday they would not be forgotten
offering million dollars in earthquake aid and offering every element of us
power to help them
eu aid ministers to hold emergency talks on haiti
brussels jan afp
european development ministers will hold an emergency meeting on monday to
discuss how best to help quake stricken haiti eu foreign policy chief catherine
ashton announced on thursday
ve asked the spanish development minister to convene meeting of eu
development ministers on monday to take it forward she told reporters at
press conference in brussels
amid mounting desperation over shortages of medicine and food haitian officials
warned on thursday that the death toll may top after many people who
escaped with their lives spent second night on the streets
the european commission has already pledged three million euros in aid to haiti
with other offers in cash or kind coming from individual member states
the priority alongside the immediate search and rescue operations are
medicine water food and tents said ashton
it not only about the immediate help also medium and long term she
stressed
alert
imf to quickly provide million dollars to quake devastated haiti
alert
you will not be forsaken you will not be forgotten obama to haitians
britain gives million dollars to quake hit haiti
london jan afp
britain said it would donate more than six million pounds million dollars
million euros to quake hit haiti thursday as rescue team it sent
touched down to help the hunt for survivors
prime minister gordon brown described the disaster which may have killed up to
people as tragedy beyond imagination while queen elizabeth ii said
she was deeply saddened and sent her profound sympathy to victims
team of british rescue specialists with lifting gear and officials have now
arrived in port au prince and will get to work immediately brown said
the last hours have been truly horrific for the people of haiti it
catastrophe that still unravelling it tragedy beyond imagination said
brown
where men and women and children are suffering under the heaviest of burdens
that place must become the centre of the world attention
speaking after meeting with irish prime minister brian cowen in downing
street he confirmed britain was sending nearly million dollars of aid and
pledged the country would provide more where it was needed
ireland is also sending team of experts to haiti to help with both the
immediate aftermath of the earthquake and look at how the desperately poor
country can recover in the longer term
britain international development secretary douglas alexander said its aid
donation would help kick start humanitarian relief in haiti
it is already clear that we are facing major humanitarian crisis haiti needs
help and it needs it now said alexander
the most pressing need is for international search and rescue teams but at
the same time there is an overwhelming requirement for food water sanitation
shelter and medicine among the people who have been made homeless
the leader of the world anglicans archbishop of canterbury rowan williams
also said he was profoundly shocked to hear of the earthquake
we stand alongside all the people in haiti affected by this terrible disaster
in prayer thought and action as the situation unfolds he said in statement
released by his office
we pray for the rescue of those still trapped and look towards the rebuilding
of lives and communities
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
