on good day port au prince is major public health concern commented
caroline hotham of oxfam who worked as the charity humanitarian coordinator
in haiti until last may
haiti slender medical means were further diminished by the magnitude quake
that struck port au prince the haitian capital on tuesday
at least eight hospitals and health facilities in and around port au prince
have been damaged or destroyed said paul garwood of world health
organisation who unit health action in crises
roads are blocked by rubble so cars vehicles ambulances can reach those in
need who staff for example are going by foot to the central drugs store to
get essential medicines and take them to health facilities
resolving major logistical headaches in power water telecommunications and
food supplies will determine the fate of many survivors in the coming weeks
these sources said
dysentery measles mosquito borne diseases dengue tuberculosis influenza and
other respiratory infections already lurk in haiti and have ample means to
spread among those who are weak or in poor health living in the street or in
cramped rooms
there is whole range of communicable diseases that will almost invariably
rise over the coming days and weeks said aloudat there is very high
likelihood of outbreaks of diarrhoeal diseases that is major concern
hotham added there is always cholera concern port au prince is already
high risk area for dengue under normal circumstances
brigitte vasset physician with the french first response charity medecins
sans frontieres msf doctors without borders emphasised the need to address
longer term basics after the rush to extricate survivors
the sooner there is shelter water and food the less disease there will be
she said
aloudat pointed out that some health dilemmas were less visible they included
poor people on life supporting drugs such as anti hiv medication who were unable
to get the treatment because the supply line had been disrupted
obama to unveil bank fee to cover bailout losses official
washington jan afp
president barack obama will unveil thursday fee on top financial firms that
each hold at least billion dollars in assets to recoup billions of taxpayer
dollars used to bail out the industry
the proposal to be included in obama next budget will be unveiled as many of
the firms rescued by public funds gear up to announce huge bonus payouts to top
executives at time of economic misery and high unemployment
the scheme is designed to raise billion dollars over years for the public
finances senior us official said on condition of anonymity
obama is determined to prevent wall street firms going back to business as usual
and resuming high risk lending practices and huge bets on mortgages and other
instruments he blames for igniting the financial crisis
the title of the initiative the financial crisis responsibility fee makes it
clear the administration is placing blame for the worst economic meltdown since
the great depression
yet valerie jarrett senior adviser to the president insisted that we re not
trying to pick fight with banks
it very solid solution to make sure taxpayers are made whole she told
msnbc television
the obama administration has repeatedly said it will try to recoup the full cost
of the billion dollar troubled asset relief program tarp which was also
used to bail out crippled automakers
senior us official said the program which has seen some money already paid
back would now effectively leave the government around billion dollars out
of pocket
it is in many ways offensive for those at our major financial institutions to
suggest they can today afford excessive often outlandish bonuses for their top
executives but cannot repay taxpayers the official said
we feel this is workable fee we feel it supports the goal of putting greater
burdens and less incentives to excessive size and excessive leverage
the administration proposal which requires congressional approval will apply
only to firms with over billion dollars in assets according to the official
it will cover around firms including that are us based and to which
are us subsidies of foreign companies it will last years or as long as
necessary to recoup losses under tarp the official said
no small or community banks will be covered by the plan the official said
adding that the scheme was being put together in such way as to prevent the
firms passing on the costs to consumers
even though auto firms general motors and chrysler also got money from the tarp
fund they will not have to pay the fee the official added warning financial
firms not to make an issue of that omission
in addition not all the firms that will be targeted by the fee actually
received tarp funds
don think that it would be wise for them to try to suggest that living up
to the letter of the law is somehow an unfair burden on them the official
said
the cost of the fee levied on the financial firms will be assessed according to
formula looking at their liabilities total assets and equity and tier one
capital
bank fee may help the white house channel public anger over big bonus payments
on wall street as americans face the reality of percent unemployment and
slow economic recovery
according to treasury report to congress published on monday the government
had committed billion dollars of tarp funds as of january
of that figure billion dollars have been disbursed banks have already
repaid billion dollars of those funds leaving billion dollars
outstanding
with the bonus issue likely to explode into political controversy the us
government made clear on monday it had no intention of imposing one off
tax on individual bankers bonuses
asked if the united states was planning to follow moves unveiled this week by
britain and france for community taxes on bankers bonuses treasury
spokeswoman meg reilly said in an email not at this time
thai police charge plane crew over weapons haul
bangkok jan afp
thai police said thursday they brought charges against five alleged arms
traffickers over sanctions busting planeload of weapons seized last month en
route from north korea
the belarussian pilot and four kazakh crew were charged with possessing illegal
weapons and ammunition smuggling weapons and other banned products and for
failing to report their cache police colonel supisarn pakdinaruenart told
reporters
the five men were arrested last month after their ilyushin plane was
impounded in bangkok with tonne cargo of weaponry including missiles and
rocket propelled grenades
the police have questioned witnesses and it is now for the attorney general
office to decide if the case will go to court supisarn said
the suspects have been held since they were arrested at bangkok domestic don
mueang airport on december after the haul was discovered
permission to detain the men must be renewed every days and the third
extension on their incarceration lasts until january
the russian made plane requested to land at don mueang airport where the
suspects claimed they were carrying oil drilling equipment bound for ukraine
but flight plan obtained by researchers showed the plane was bound for iran
while us intelligence chief dennis blair said last month that it was headed for
an unspecified middle east destination
the united nations banned all north korean arms exports in tougher resolution
passed in june following its latest missile and nuclear tests
the bangkok case is believed to be the first airborne arms cargo from pyongyang
to have been seized since then
bulgaria backs controversial commissioner despite row
sofia jan afp
bulgarian prime minister boyko borisov on thursday stuck by his controversial
choice for eu humanitarian aid commissioner rumiana jeleva downplaying
accusations of financial impropriety and her husband alleged mafia links
speaking to state television borisov said he would wait for ruling by the
european parliament juridical service on possible conflict of interest in
jeleva case before making any decision the parliament ruling was expected
monday
asked whether he was wrong in nominating jeleva borisov said did not make
mistake
he nevertheless confirmed he had number of other options for commissioner if
jeleva is rejected
bulgaria current foreign minister and one of ten vice presidents of the
european people party sparked row at the european parliament this week by
being accused of alleged conflict of interests during her term as mep between
and
lawmakers grilled jeleva for failing to mention in her declaration of financial
interests the fact that she was manager and owner of the private consultation
company global consult from up until april
they also enquired about reports in the bulgarian press which claimed to expose
her husband alleged links to powerful yet rather controversial business
group in the black sea city of burgas
jeleva played down the accusations
but analysts said she failed to defend her case and also said she was poorly
prepared in her answers to questions related to her future portfolio of
humanitarian aid commissisoner
eurozone crisis brews as ecb holds rates
frankfurt jan afp
the eurozone faced its worst crisis as european central bank governors met here
thursday with financial woes in greece and other countries eclipsing move to
leave interest rates unchanged
with the bank main rate stable at record low of percent the focus of
analysts attention was fixed on how ecb president jean claude trichet would
field questions on the greek debt crisis during his monthly press conference
ecb chief economist juergen stark warned athens last week not to count on
rescue by european union partners but analysts from italian lender unicredit
said the central bank president comments would probably be more nuanced
the ecb will never openly support bailout but trichet will probably sound
less explicit than stark they wrote
calyon bank analyst daragh maher said that although greek prime minister george
papandreou has excluded outside help many will wonder quite where the ecb
stands were the pm to be proven wrong
it is hard to imagine any clear cut stance being offered by the ecb more
likely trichet will try to side step it by using language such as we trust the
greek government will take the necessary steps maher commented
direct assistance by eurozone members to greece would violate rules that
underpin the single currency but observers widely expect some kind of solution
to be found
analysts said the question then becomes what about the zone other members
where trouble has been laid bare by the international financial crisis
the credit rating agency moody has warned portugal economy is also at risk
of slow death unless it becomes more competitive and efficient
moody said its assumptions about those countries that will be able to restore
their economic and fiscal health and those that will not be able to will be
tested this year
greece sovereign debt was downgraded last month after its public deficit rose
to percent of total output in far above the percent ceiling
permitted to countries that share the single currency
greek debt was estimated at percent of output meanwhile and will likely
climb to more than double the european union limit of percent
although the nation eurozone has emerged from recession it is still
patchwork quilt that is fraying at the seams as the financial crisis exacerbated
fiscal disparities among its members
in addition to greece the sovereign debt of ireland portugal and spain has
also been downgraded by ratings agencies in recent months
red lights would really start to flash if major economy like italy which also
has debt that exceeds percent of gross domestic product gdp called for
help after others were thrown financial lifelines
the situation is such that deutsche bank economist mark wall expected trichet to
be asked whether and under what conditions greece could be put under pressure
to voluntarily choose to exit the eurozone
an ecb paper published last month concluded there was little chance of member
leaving or being forced out but the fact the bank produced such document at
all raised eyebrows in financial markets
greece is to present on friday blueprint for resolving its crisis officials
said on thursday
finance minister george papaconstantinou described the plan as roadmap to
overcome great obstacles and reverse the huge credibility gap that greece is
facing in the financial markets
capital economics analyst ben may said details provided thursday by athens on
how it planned to tackle the crisis are unlikely to reassure the markets much
court battle over nigerian president adjourned
abuja jan afp
nigerian court deferred judgement thursday in case brought by opposition
lawyers to force president umaru yar adua to install his deputy as acting
president until the ailing leader is well enough to return from hospital in
saudi arabia
the federal high court court ruled on wednesday that vice president goodluck
jonathan could carry out the president functions in his absence but could not
become acting president
lawyers are persisting with three separate legal challenges in the same court to
force the year old yar adua to swear in jonathan as acting president with
full powers without delay
they say yar adua is incapacitated and his continuing absence from the helm is
causing dangerous power vacuum which is threatening democracy in africa
second largest oil exporter decade after the end of military rule
the government is fighting the case insisting that yar adua is in full
possession of his faculties saying the fact that he signed emergency budget
legislation while in hospital was proof of his lucidity
however the opposition has alleged government cover up suggesting that his
signature on the supplementary budget was forged and the lower house of
parliament has voted to send delegation of mps to saudi arabia to check the
veracity of the health claims
the government has remained silent on the president state of health since he
was hospitalised in jeddah for heart condition on november he broke
seven week silence on tuesday telling the bbc in an interview from his sick bed
that the was getting better
ruling people democratic party chairman vincent ogbulafor described the
attempts to force yar adua aside as unnecessary and shameful and said they
were aimed at destabilising the country
thursday court hearing in abuja was adjourned after quickly becoming bogged
down in legal argument the earliest ruling is expected on january
three separate suits have been brought by the nigerian bar association nba
human rights lawyer femi falana and former lawmaker farouk adamu aliyu
the nba case was deferred to thursday next week because the lawyers need time to
prepare response to arguments presented by the attorney general
falana who dismissed wednesday court ruling as meaningless demanded that
judge dan abutu who made that ruling recuse himself from the current case and
the file has been given to another judge no date has been fixed to hear
falana case
there was judgement delivered in this case yesterday in which the chief
justice made very profound definitive pronuncement on the reliefs am seeking
in court falana told reporters outside the courtroom therefore felt that
needed to have another judicial opinion
the ruling has not addressed the vacuum on the ground falana said
wednesday court ruling focused on section of the constitution which states
that executive powers are vested in the president and may be exercised directly
by him or through the vice president or ministers
justice minister michael aondoaaka who is also nigeria attorney general said
the ruling had exonerated the government position that there is no power
vacuum in the african giant
but thursday cases seek to bring separate clause of the constitution to bear
on yar adua leadership which lawyers say requires the president to officially
hand over powers to jonathan as acting head of state
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
and 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 period of one 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 video taped message said his country osce chairmanship would be
particularly difficult test given the current global challenges such as the
fight against terrorism increasing security nuclear non proliferation the
environment and the economic crisis
nevertheless he said the osce countries had expressed their confidence in
kazakhstan as the body new chairman
building democratic society has been concious 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
kazakhstan chairmanship would be guided by the four of trust
tradition transparency and tolerance he said
on afghanistan saudayev said work to help rebuild the country would continue
we view the development of the situation in that country from the point of view
of global security and the fight against terrorism religious extremism and drug
trafficking he said
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 there was small group of
protestors calling for the release of journalists imprisoned in kazakhstan
figure skating french pair skip european championships
paris jan afp
world champion ice dancers isabelle delobel and olivier schoenfelder have pulled
out of the european championships in tallinn estonia the french federation of
ice sports ffsg announced on thursday
the three time european medallists completed fitness test last week to prove
their readiness for next month winter olympics in vancouver but the ffsg
revealed that they would miss the competition in tallinn which begins on
tuesday in order to keep their routine under wraps
for purely strategic reasons related entirely to the element of surprise
regarding their innovative new free programme the ffsg took the decision that
the couple will begin their competitive season at the olympic games in
vancouver read an ffsg statement
the world champions who will compete at their last olympic tournament from
february resumed training together in late october one month after the
birth of delobel first child
delobel had previously undergone surgery on shoulder injury in january last
year the lyon based pair have not participated in competitive action since
december
zoe blanc and pierre loup bouquet will take their place on the french team in
tallinn
dubai says fully prepared to host un headquarters
dubai jan afp
the gulf emirate of dubai said on thursday that it is fully prepared to host
the united nations headquarters an idea floated by us magazine forbes
dubai is fully prepared to host the un headquarters on its soil if un
officials decide to move the headquarters from new york the formerly booming
emirate said in an official statement
dubai said it was ready to open dialogue with un officials on the potential
benefits in terms of geographic location communications and infrastructure
that the emirate could provide
it has invested heavily in infrastructure including metro and several
highways but dubai has been badly hit by the global economic crisis
oil rich abu dhabi provided dubai with billion dollars in assistance on
december averting an imminent default by dubai owned company nakheel on
billion dollars in debt
estimates of the debts of dubai which earlier this month opened the world
tallest building and has invested heavily to become business new technology
and tourism hub range between and billion dollars
the whole wild enterprise known as dubai could signal potential opportunity
to the global community turning the place into the headquarters for that other
misguided ship the united nations forbes said this week
bringing the united nations to dubai makes sense it said
new york gets rid of one of its worst welfare cheats and dubai finds new
tenants to fill its vacant towners dubai has already built something that looks
the part of st century world capital
ecb keeps main interest rate steady at percent spokesman
frankfurt jan afp
the european central bank kept its main interest rate steady at record low of
percent thursday bank spokesman said as markets braced for comments by
ecb president jean claude trichet on eurozone debt fears
the ecb also kept two other benchmark rates the marginal lending rate and the
deposit rate unchanged at percent and percent
urgent ecb keeps main interest rate steady at percent spokesman
frankfurt jan afp
the european central bank kept its main interest rate steady at record low of
percent thursday bank spokesman said as markets braced for comments by
ecb president jean claude trichet on eurozone debt fears
yemen clerics urge jihad if foreign troops join qaeda chase
sanaa jan afp
yemen council of clerics called on thursday for jihad if foreign troops join
the war on al qaeda in the impoverished arabian peninsula country as the
government vowed to eradicate the extremists
if any party insists on aggression or invades the country then according to
islam jihad becomes obligatory said statement signed by clerics read at
news conference
the clerics also stressed strong rejection of any foreign intervention in
yemeni affairs whether political or military
the clerics include the radical sheikh abdulmajeed al zendani who is labelled
by the us administration as global terrorist
they also rejected any security or military agreement or cooperation between
yemen and any foreign party if it violates islamic sharia law and the
setting up any military bases in yemen or in its territorial waters
on wednesday the chairman of the us senate armed services committee carl
levin urged washington to consider targeting al qaeda militants in yemen with
armed drones air strikes or covert operations but not invade the country
most options ought to be on the table short of invasion by us forces the
michigan democrat said
al qaeda franchise in yemen al qaeda in the arabian peninsula claimed
responsibility for the botched christmas day attack on us airliner and
washington has accused the group of training the alleged assailant nigerian
umar farouk abdulmutallab
zendani monday warned that any us military intervention in yemen to fight al
qaeda would be considered an occupation
the yemeni government has intensified its operations against al qaeda insisting
that it can tackle the militants on its own without the need for foreign
military intervention
yemen is not afghanistan nor pakistan where terrorists constantly launch
attacks while the authorities try to respond here we anticipate the threat
yemen is not hideout for the terrorists and will never be yemen head of
national security ali anisi said on wednesday
one of the members of the council of clerics sheikh saleh salabani was blunt
in predicting failure for the americans if they do get involved
us strikes he says would drive the populace into the arms of al qaeda
we might not love al qaeda he says but it is for our government to get rid
of them and not anyone else
and the country defence ministry vowed on thursday to do just that
it said it would clear yemen of al qaeda jihadists and warned that intensive
operations will continue against osama bin laden extremists
citizens have been warned not to hide any al qaeda members and have been urged
to cooperate with the security forces against the extremists the defence
ministry sep net website quoted security source as saying
so far us president barack obama has said he has no intention of sending
troops to yemen or to somalia in the horn of africa just across the bab al
mandab strait
the arabian peninsula country the poorest in the region is under pressure to
rein in the extremists and the united states and britain have announced plans
to fund the country police counter terrorism unit
yemen insists it is winning the war against the jihadists pointing to two
separate air raids in december that killed more than suspected al qaeda
militants
on wednesday yemeni officials announced the death in firefight of suspected
al qaeda kingpin in the eastern province of shabwa and the arrests of four
others
week ago officials announced the capture of key al qaeda leader mohammed al
hanq and two other militants believed to be behind threats against western
interests in sanaa that caused embassies to close for several days
over un staff still missing after haiti quake
geneva jan afp
more than expatriate un staff members are still missing two days after
deadly earthquake damaged much of haiti capital united nations spokeswoman
said thursday
over people are unaccounted for said elisabeth byrs spokeswoman of the
un office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs
she said the figure was for foreign staffers and she had no information at all
about national staff
the un was very anxious not just for international staff but also national
staff from whom we have no news she said
the un assistance mission in haiti minustah was the hardest hit in tuesday
magnitude earthquake with its main headquarters building in port au prince
flattened
citing preliminary figures un chief ban ki moon said late wednesday that un
personnel were confirmed dead in the haitian capital three police officers from
jordan one from argentina one from chad and brazilian peacekeepers
minustah civilian head hedi annabi of tunisia was also missing haitian
president rene preval has said that annabi who was in the building along with
dozens of his staff when the quake struck tuesday had been killed
on thursday the un spokeswoman corinne momal vanian like ban and other un
officials refused to confirm preval claim but she added that we think he is
under the debris
the offices of other un agencies in the capital were also damaged in the quake
which caused widespread devastation in port au prince and the surrounding area
the world food programme which earlier said its building was still standing
added on thursday that it had not been able to establish contact with of its
local staff
the united nations has strong presence in the impoverished and aid dependent
caribbean nation
alert
ecb keeps main interest rate steady at percent spokesman
south africa gold output falls percent
johannesburg jan afp
south africa gold output fell again in november official data showed
thursday after study confirmed this week that the nation had fallen to third
among the ranks of gold producing nations
gold output declined by percent in november on month comparison while
total mining production dropped to percent compared to the same month in the
previous year statistics south africa said
once the largest gold producer in the world south africa has fallen behind
china and australia after its gold production sank by five percent last year
london based research consultancy gfms said in report on wednesday
global gold production meanwhile increased by six percent to six year high
point last year
dave mohr chief economist at investment consultancy citadel said the drop in
production would slow south africa recovery from last year recession
this means our recovery for will be slower than expected mohr said
china bested south africa as the world top gold producer in over the
last year the united states or australia has held the second spot
gold is the country biggest foreign exchange earner
clinton haiti death toll will reach tens of thousands
washington jan afp
the death toll from haiti catastrophic earthquake will reach tens of
thousands of people us secretary of state hillary clinton said thursday as she
warned of an unimaginable disaster in the country
we know it going to be in the tens of thousands she told msnbc as she took
to the airwaves to outline us search and rescue operations there
haiti has been devastated by this earthquake the chief us diplomat said on
fox news it is beyond our comprehension
britain gives million dollars to quake hit haiti minister
london jan afp
britain will donate more than six million pounds million dollars
million euros to quake hit haiti international development secretary douglas
alexander said thursday
the donation will help kick start humanitarian relief in the country where
tens of thousands of people are feared killed in tuesday earthquake which
caused many buildings to collapse in the capital port au prince he said
guinea leaders meet in burkina faso
ouagadougou jan afp
the head of guinea junta moussa dadis camara and the country interim
leader general sekouba konate held talks thursday with burkina faso
president blaise compaore officials said
the three men are talking an official in the presidency said they were
