planes were forced to circle over port au prince waiting for an opportunity to
land on the lone runway
planes eventually made it down with craft on the ground at the same time at
one point according to us military official helping run the toussaint
ouverture airport
the us air force said it had flown five air missions so far delivering
tonnes of supplies carrying out seven evacuations and transporting rescue
and aid workers
the relief effort faced serious challenges with many roads around the capital
impassable communications rudimentary and aftershocks still shaking the area
and its distraught citizens
part of the us effort was aimed at helping the estimated americans in
haiti some of whom were injured in the disaster
over us citizens were evacuated thursday and more were to be rescued
later in the day the state department said
group of wounded including spain ambassador to haiti and some staff from
the us embassy were taken to the nearby us naval base at guantanamo bay cuba
home of the controversial prison camp for terror suspects for medical
treatment
us officials were also acutely aware of the need to contain possible mass panic
or attempts to flee haiti by sea to the united states
over the years hundreds have made the perilous kilometer mile
journey in leaky boats and many have perished on the way
us consumer prices edge up percent in december
washington jan afp
us consumer prices rose percent in december pushing the inflation rate up
percent in from year ago official data showed friday signaling
sluggish recovery from recession
the small rise in the consumer price index cpi was matched by percent
increase in the so called core cpi which excludes food and energy prices the
labor department reported in seasonally adjusted data
the headline cpi increase was weaker than the average analyst forecast of
percent rise while the core reading was expected
the us is still in the grip of intense disinflationary forces despite the
basis effect lifting the headline year on year rate deflation risk is real
said ian shepherdson chief us economist at high frequency economics
energy prices pulled the inflation rate to percent marking sharp
increase over percent inflation in the first full year of the downturn
since the great depression
in december the annual inflation rate stood at percent as the world
largest economy officially entered recession
the labor department said energy prices surged percent in the
sharpest rise since
gasoline prices leapt percent an all time record gain in the data series
that began in
food prices fell percent over the year the steepest decline since
core annual inflation was percent within the federal reserve comfort zone
on monetary policy
the fed said wednesday in its beige book report on the economy that because of
the high level of unemployment wage pressures were subdued and overall
inflationary pressures modest
the us economy expanded at percent pace in the third quarter of
after four quarters of contraction the government is set to release its initial
estimate of fourth quarter gross domestic product on january
the fed and most economists expect data to show continued growth in the fourth
quarter and into but worry that high unemployment will curb consumer
confidence and spending
the jobless rate held at percent in december while jobs were cut
highlighting the sluggish pace of recovery from the deepest recession in
decades
us retail sales fell unexpectedly by percent in december capping the
worst year on record the commerce department reported thursday
pakistani taliban release audio of leader denying his death
peshawar pakistan jan afp
the pakistani taliban released an audio recording allegedly made friday in which
the group leader hakimullah mehsud says he is alive after reports he was
killed in us missile strike
the message comes after missiles from unmanned us aircraft pounded the northwest
tribal belt on thursday killing at least militants with some security
officials saying mehsud was among the dead
the recording was sent to media outlets by unnamed taliban militants reporters
familiar with mehsud said the voice appeared to be his but there was no mention
of dates or the specific strike alleged to have killed him
sometimes they the government launch propaganda about my martyrdom through
media and sometimes they say that the operation has been completed in south
waziristan this can never happen mehsud said
he was referring to military operations against taliban strongholds launched
last year in the lawless tribal district of south waziristan
want to caution the pakistani nation that the drone attacks in tribal areas
are danger to pakistan security and sovereignty he said
from now onwards any dangerous step that the taliban will take in pakistan
the responsibility will be on the government
mehsud assumed leadership of the group blamed for the deaths of thousands of
people in attacks in pakistan after his predecessor baitullah mehsud was
killed in us drone strike in august last year
rumours also surfaced in october last year that hakimullah mehsud was killed
prompting the militant chief to put out number of statements denying his
demise there was no way to independently confirm whether the message released
friday was recorded before or after thursday strike
beijing police cancel china first gay pageant
beijing jan afp
beijing police blocked china first gay pageant friday shortly before it was to
start organisers said stopping an event billed as heralding new chinese
openness about homosexuality
organisers said police arrived at the upscale restaurant and club where the mr
gay china contest was to be held and told them they did not have the proper
licence
the sudden cancellation came despite considerable pre event media coverage this
week even in china state run press that had touted the pageant as coming
out for chinese gays
its disaster full of disappointment thought the government was
becoming more and more tolerant said jiang bo contestant from sichuan
province in southwestern china
they were making big step the whole world was thinking china was doing
very good thing but now think everybody will be disappointed
contestants in the pageant which was to have included an underwear segment
were to vie for the right to represent china at the worldwide mr gay pageant in
norway next month
police said we didn have the proper licence said ryan dutcher one of the
organisers who said they were still trying to negotiate with police late on
friday to let the event proceed
very disappointed but can say very surprised
police came here just before the event we didn have any advance warning
he added
participants and organisers had hoped the contest would help underline what many
have said are growing signs of acceptance of gay men and women in china where
homosexuality has long been viewed with shame
homosexuality was crime in china until and it was officially considered
mental illness until since then however an increasing number of visible
gay and lesbian events has taken place
the cancellation left about attendees large portion of whom were media
covering the event milling about in confusion around deserted stage with
runway as organisers dismantled sound systems and other equipment
man in plainclothes who said he worked for the government circulated among the
crowd asking people to provide their identification he declined to further
identify himself or to comment when asked why the event was halted
but wei xiaogang gay man who was to have acted as one of the judges told
afp in my opinion it had something to do with the issue of homosexuality
feel very sad almost cried
dennis sebastian asia representative for the worldwide mr gay pageant and
philippine citizen who flew in for the china competition said that even bad
publicity is still publicity
china might not be able to send representative this year but still think
they ll find way you can keep this underground for long time he said
although many gay people say the situation in china has improved over the past
few years especially in big cities they typically say it remains difficult to
come out to their friends and family
one problem for china gay community lies in the nation one child policy
which makes parents rely on their only child to marry and produce grandchildren
according to chinese experts cited in press reports there are an estimated
million homosexuals in china two thirds of them men
still there had been recent hopeful signs for the gay community
last june china first gay pride festival was held in shanghai albeit
discreetly and with some events cancelled at the last minute by authorities
last month china first government backed gay bar opened in the tourist town
of dali in southwestern yunnan province after three week delay sparked by
intense media attention in bid to boost hiv aids prevention efforts
and on wednesday the state run english language china daily ran front page
story on what it called china first publicly married gay couple that
included photo of the two men arm in arm at the ceremony
football boss committed to mental ward in israel media
jerusalem jan afp
energy billionaire and football club sponsor guma aguiar has been committed to
mental ward after he claimed he went to gaza to free captive israeli soldier
gilad shalit local media reported friday
the brazilian american energy industrialist best known in israel as jewish
philanthropist and co owner of the beitar jerusalem football club had been
behaving in an increasingly outlandish manner until his wife jamie asked court
to order him hospitalised near tel aviv reports said
aguiar who splits his time between israel and the united states recently
went around saying he had gone to the hamas run gaza strip on one man attempt
to free shalit who has been held by hamas and other armed groups for over three
years
israeli media reported that aguiar co founder of the texas based leor energy
natural gas exploration company also told anyone who would listen that he
planned to build the third temple in jerusalem to replace the one the romans
destroyed in ad
beitar jerusalem management issued statement wishing aguiar swift
recovery
aguiar pumped funds into the team in june after its previous owner russian
israeli arkady gaydamak fled the country to escape an indictment for money
laundering
beitar has also had repeated run ins with israeli football authorities because
of the behaviour of its ultra nationalist fans known for their anti arab
slogans
us red cross phone campaign nets million dollars for haiti
washington jan afp
mobile phone campaign set up by the us red cross to raise money for victims of
the cataclysmic earthquake in haiti has raised more than eight million dollars
officials said friday
the white house said that by early friday morning american donors had responded
to the haiti crisis by donating more than eight million dollars dollars at
time by texting the word haiti to special cellphone number set up by
the american red cross with help from the state department
spokeswoman for the us red cross abi weaver said the mobile giving campaign
passed the seven million dollar mark at pm on thursday two days after the
powerful quake struck the impoverished caribbean island state
as far as we know this has broken all global mobile marketing campaigns in
history the money is coming in at rate of dollars an hour weaver
told afp
two jailed for bomb attack on nevsky express
saint petersburg jan afp
two men from the russian caucasus region of ingushetia were jailed friday for
supplying explosives in bomb attack on the nevsky express train in
salambek dzakhkiev and maksharip khidriyev were sentenced respectively to
and four years in prison colony for trafficking explosives court spokesman
in the russian city of veliky novgorod told afp
the charge of terrorism wasn upheld he added
the bombing on august caused the nevsky express luxury passenger
train running between moscow and saint petersburg to derail with people
on board about people were injured in the attack
the blast was triggered by home made explosive device placed under the rail
tracks near veliky novgorod around kilometres miles south east of
saint petersburg
according to the regional prosecutor office the blast was carried out by
militant islamic movement led by the chechen rebel doku umarov
last year the nevsky express was again targeted in similar but far more
deadly bombing that killed people and injured about on november
the so called caucasus emirate an umbrella group uniting various militant
islamist factions again claimed responsibility for the attack
french music stars mobilise for haiti
paris jan afp
dozens of french rappers and pop stars are joining renowned singers charles
aznavour and youssou dour to record music video friday to raise funds for
quake stricken haiti
gesture for dear haiti un geste pour haiti cherie will be widely
distributed to french television stations appealing to viewers to make
donation for quake relief
hip hop duo neg marrons wrote the music and each of the odd artists would
contribute line to the lyrics of the song that would be recorded in paris
studio said spokesman for trace tv music channel
slam poet grand corps malade rappers passi and stomy bugsy were among the big
names taking part along with year old aznavour who is french armenian and
dour of senegalese origin
haitian born standup comic anthony kavanagh who lives in canada separately
called on french artists to organise fundraising telethon for haiti where
tens of thousands are feared dead from tuesday quake
we have to do something we have to send money there is nothing left there
but abysmal misery said kavanagh
rapper kery james whose parents are of haitian origin will be giving charity
concert while leading french playwright robert hossein said all proceeds from
theatre performance next week will go toward medical relief
quake frees port au prince prison inmates icrc
geneva jan afp
nearly all inmates at the main prison in haiti capital are on the loose
after the building was shattered by tuesday huge earthquake the international
red cross said friday
international committee of the red cross staff who regularly visited inmates in
port au prince to check on conditions there found the ruins of the prison empty
spokesman marcal izard said
all the inmates have left there were few dead but most of these
people have left he told journalists
several official buildings including the presidential palace and parliament
were destroyed in the magnitude quake which ravaged city where poor
construction standards were the widespread according to the united nations
nigerian kidnappers demand ransom for foreign workers police
lagos jan afp
nigerian gunmen have demanded ransom of million naira million
dollars million euros for the release of three britons and colombian
abducted this week the police said friday
the kidnappers have asked for payment of million naira before the men can
be released rivers state police spokeswoman rita abbey told afp
she gave no further details
the four contract workers for the anglo dutch oil giant shell were
abducted on tuesday between oil city of port harcourt and nearby aba in abia
state
the gunmen shot dead the foreigners police escort and wounded their driver
during the attack
the incident was the first major kidnapping in southern nigeria since last july
following lull in the wake of government amnesty which saw thousands of
militants lay down their arms
bank of italy raises growth forecast to percent
milan jan afp
italy central bank on friday forecast weak recovery in the next two years
because of flagging domestic demand but raised its economic growth prediction
for to percent
for and still weak recovery looks likely the bank of italy said
the central bank nevertheless raised its gross domestic product growth
prediction to percent for this year because of general pickup in world
trade it said
afp middle east news summary
nicosia jan afp
top middle east stories on friday
attacks yemen qaeda toll
sanaa an air strike on an al qaeda position in the north of yemen killed six
people including the group military boss qassem al rimi and three other
leaders senior yemeni official said
attacks yemen zendani
sanaa powerful yemeni cleric sheikh abdulmajeed al zendani said it would be
religious duty dictated by god to defend yemen through jihad or holy war if
it is occupied by foreign power
iran politics opposition
tehran iran has stepped up pressure on the opposition arresting dissident
cleric and warning against using sms and email messages to organise anti
government protests reports said
turkey israel aerospace defence
ankara turkey and israel appear to be on track to finalise long delayed
multi million dollar deal for the delivery of drone aircraft for the turkish
air force turkish official said
mideast conflict architecture religion
jerusalem leading us architect frank gehri has announced he is withdrawing
from the museum of tolerance project in jerusalem which detractors say is being
built over an ancient muslim graveyard the haaretz newspaper said
mideast conflict gaza blast
gaza city member of the armed wing of the islamist movement hamas was killed
while handling explosives in the gaza strip overnight palestinian medic said
haiti quake aid israel
jerusalem the israeli army sent off two aircraft carrying strong medical
team and crammed with supplies to quake devastated haiti spokesman said
nigerian kidnappers demand ransom for foreign workers police
lagos jan afp
nigerian gunmen have demanded ransom of million naira million
dollars million euros for the release of three britons and colombian
abducted this week the police said friday
the kidnappers have asked for payment of million naira before the men can
be released rivers state police spokeswoman rita abbey told afp she gave no
further details
german nuclear storage site deemed unsafe
berlin jan afp
german radiation protection officials said friday that all barrels of
nuclear waste stored since the in an unstable and leaking former salt
mine would have to be removed as soon as possible
this is the best option for dealing with the radioactive waste stored there
said wolfram koenig head of the federal office for radiation protection bfs
which made the recommendation
the asse ii mine in central germany used to store waste from to
between and metres and feet underground has been known
for some time to be leaking and in danger of partial collapse
there is no full record of what the mine and its shafts dubbed ticking
time bomb by pressure group greenpeace could contain last august it emerged
that it included kilos pounds of highly toxic plutonium
at first the barrels were stacked in an orderly manner but in the they
were simply dumped in and covered with the salt grit with the result that many
are now corroded and dented according to press reports
extracting the waste is therefore expected to be laborious hazardous and
expensive operation with press reports saying it could take years and cost
as much as four billion euros billion dollars
koenig said the operation would be great scientific and technical challenge
with the bfs planning to present soon concept on how best to proceed
the office also considered moving the waste to metres underground at asse
or filling the mine with water and sealing it but removing it was seen as the
safest option for the long term
since the long term safety and the safety of future generations is of the
utmost importance and because this can only be assured through removal this
was seen as the best option the bfs said
it is also preparing emergency measures in case of an enormous increase of
flooding and if it is determined that some of the containers are dangerously
corroded then removing them will be reconsidered it added
the german section of friends of the earth bund said it was unclear where the
waste which takes thousands of years to become safe will go once extracted
from asse
press reports said that it would be stored in an old iron ore mine called konrad
shaft near salzgitter which would then become germany first permanent storage
site for nuclear waste
nuclear power is highly unpopular in germany and opponents have jumped on the
parlous state of asse and the lack of permanent storage site in germany as
reason to abandon it entirely
germany decided in to mothball its reactors by but chancellor
angela merkel government wants to look at extending the life of some plants
which produce around percent of german power
urgent nigerian kidnappers demand ransom for foreign workers police
lagos jan afp
nigerian gunmen have demanded ransom of million naira million
dollars million euros for the release of three britons and colombian
abducted this week the police said friday
alert
nigerian kidnappers demand ransom for foreign workers police
joa nb
georgia launches regional russian language tv channel
tbilisi jan afp
georgia on friday launched satellite broadcasts of new russian language
television channel aimed at challenging moscow influence in the strategic
caucasus region
the channel first caucasus would provide news bulletins and information
programmes focusing on events in georgia armenia and azerbaijan as well as in
russia north caucasus region said gia chanturia the head of georgian public
television
our objective is to tell the truth something which there isn enough of in
the region chanturia told afp
the channel launch comes amid deep tensions between georgia and russia who
fought brief war in over the russian backed breakaway georgian region of
south ossetia
its availability in the north caucasus was likely to infuriate moscow which has
fought two wars against chechen separatists and is facing an islamic insurgency
in the region russia has repeatedly accused georgia of backing extremists in
the north caucasus
chanturia insisted the channel was not georgian propaganda arm
we are not an anti russian channel and this is not propaganda he said we
simply want to tell the truth we think that in terms of free media in the
former soviet union georgia has higher standard than its neighbours
the channel began limited broadcasts by satellite friday and is expected to be
widely available as of february chanturia said
number of high profile figures have signed on to host programmes including
alla dudayeva the widow of dzhokhar dudayev chechen rebel leader killed in
russian rocket attack in dudayeva will host regional cultural programme
caucasian portrait
georgia and russia have waged an international media war over their tensions
with both sides employing western public relations firms to promote their views
urgent qaeda military boss killed in air strike yemen official
sanaa jan afp
an air strike friday on an al qaeda position in the north of yemen killed six
people including the group military boss qassem al rimi and three other
leaders senior yemeni official said
suu kyi meets myanmar junta liaison official
yangon jan afp
myanmar detained pro democracy leader aung san suu kyi met the ruling junta
liaison officer friday officials and her party said in the latest sign of
dialogue between the two sides
myanmar official who spoke on condition of anonymity said labour minister aung
kyi the government liaison with suu kyi met her for minutes at state
run guesthouse in yangon
he gave no details of their discussions
it is the fourth meeting between the pair since the beginning of october and
comes after the country supreme court agreed last month to hear final appeal
against her house arrest
we do not know details about the meeting but we expect future talks there are
several things to discuss said khin maung swe spokesman for suu kyi
national league for democracy nld
he said the nld hoped the junta would allow members of the party central
executive committee to meet suu kyi at later date
nobel laureate suu kyi was ordered to spend another months in detention
in august after being convicted over an incident in which an american man swam
to her house lower court rejected an initial appeal in october
myanmar military rulers have kept suu kyi in detention for of the last
years having refused to recognise her political party landslide victory in
the country last democratic elections in
the extension of her house arrest after trial at yangon notorious insein
prison sparked international outrage as it effectively keeps her off the stage
at elections promised by the regime some time in
friday meeting was further sign of shifting relations between suu kyi and
the junta since she wrote in september to the military head senior general than
shwe offering to cooperate in getting western sanctions lifted
she wrote second time in november requesting meeting with than shwe
state media reported in december that she had been insincere and dishonest
in sending the letters accusing her of leaking them to foreign media and of
highly questionable change of tack after years of favouring sanctions
however recent developments have suggested slight relaxing of tensions
between the two sides
suu kyi met aung kyi twice in five days in october the first such talks since
january and met western diplomats in yangon
in november the regime allowed her to make rare appearance in front of the
media after she held talks with us assistant secretary of state kurt campbell
the highest level official from washington to visit myanmar for years
in recent months the united states followed by the european union has shifted
towards policy of greater engagement with the myanmar regime as economic
sanctions have failed to bear fruit
myanmar foreign minister has told southeast asian counterparts that this
year elections would be fair the asean secretary general said thursday
surin pitsuwan said the military ruled state foreign minister nyan win made
the comments at dinner wednesday in vietnam with his counterparts from the
association of southeast asian nations asean
that was done last night and it was assured that it will be this year and it
will be free fair and credible surin told reporters on the sidelines of an
asean foreign ministers meeting
no date has been set but everything is moving on course that what we were
told
alpine skiing wengen world cup super combined results
wengen switzerland jan afp
world cup super combined results here on friday
bode miller usa min sec
carlo janka sui
silvan zurbriggen sui
benjamin raich aut
ted ligety usa
ivica kostelic cro
ondrej bank cze
aksel lund svindal nor
didier defago sui
christof innerhofer ita
kjetil jansrud nor
beat feuz sui
adrien theaux fra
dominik paris ita
hans olsson swe
did not start slalom didier cuche sui manuel osborne paradis can mario
scheiber aut klaus kroell aut
did not finish slalom julien lizeroux fra
istanbul readies for european cultural capital
istanbul jan afp
istanbul will launch this weekend year of art events as it becomes one of the
three cultural capitals of europe for giving turkey an occasion to
reaffirm its european anchor
istanbul which once served as the capital of the roman byzantine and ottoman
empires was designated in by the european union to serve as cultural
capital along with the german city of essen and the hungarian city of pecs
the first turkish city to be given the title istanbul hopes to attract up to
million visitors with around cultural events more than the million
tourists that visited the city last year
the accolade also has political dimension for turkey whose eu accession
negotiations since are opposed by some member states notably bloc
heavyweights france and germany according to cengiz aktar an eu expert at
istanbul bahcesehir university
there is obviously link between the title of european culture capital and the
european process of turkey if only in the possibility to show turkey in europe
and europe in turkey said aktar one of the supporters of istanbul
candidacy
the official inauguration of the city year as cultural capital on saturday
will offer collection of concerts street shows and firework displays several
museums also plan to stay open until midnight
some guests have been invited to reception hosted by turkish president
abdullah gul and prime minister recep tayyip erdogan ministers from some
european countries are also expected to attend organisers said
founded by roman emporor constantine in under the name of constantinople
istanbul has grown into sprawling metropolis of some million people
spreading over dozens of kilometres on both sides of the bosphorus strait
separating europe and asia
the agency reponsible for the events istanbul selected about
projects two thirds of which are related to historical heritage and the
remaining to arts events the agency secretary general yilmaz kurt was quoted
as saying by the anatolia news agency
