thiruvananthapuram india solar eclipse that reduced the sun to blazing
ring surrounding sombre disk plunges parts of africa and asia into semi
darkness the lunar umbra or shadow was set to expire in the shandong peninsula
in china at gmt astronomy eclipse
tokyo japan navy officially ends its refuelling mission in the indian ocean
that has since supported us led military efforts in afghanistan order
comes into force at gmt japan us military afganistan
mr gay contenders on parade in first for china
beijing jan afp
eight chinese men will strut their stuff in front of hundreds of people friday
at china first gay pageant in sign of new openness about homosexuality in
nation where it remains largely taboo
the contestants are taking part in the mr gay china competition which
organisers say will include an underwear show vying to represent the asian
giant at the worldwide mr gay pageant in norway next month
if the winner is some guy who is masculine caring and responsible person
this image will help society jiang bo one of the contestants from
southwestern sichuan province told afp
lots of people have misunderstandings about gay people they think gay people
are sissies and feminine but it not true some of them are very straight
acting they re totally responsible just like straight men
jiang member of the tujia ethnic minority says he entered the contest as
personal challenge but there could be higher stakes
he has not yet come out to his family and said he hopes they won find out
because of the pageant which is being staged at beijing club and is being
covered mostly by foreign media according to organisers
it would be so embarrassing to the whole family they would lose face because
their son is gay he said
jiang comments echo the feeling of other homosexuals in china who find it
difficult to come out to their friends and family although many say the
situation has improved over the past few years especially in big cities
one problem 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
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
last june china first gay pride festival was held shanghai albeit in very
discreet fashion and with some events cancelled at the last minute by the
authorities
although participation in these events is limited the news spreads widely in
chinese cyberspace and through print media said patrick bao phd student at
the university of sydney who is researching gay culture in china
those events have had huge impact on gay people in china they seem to be
quite inspired and encouraged by them said bao himself chinese gay man
in recent weeks signs have emerged that homosexuality in china is gradually
becoming more accepted
the official english language china daily newspaper splashed photo of the
nation first publicly married gay couple on wednesday same sex marriages or
civil unions however have no legal basis
and last month china first government backed gay bar opened in the tourist
town of dali in the southwestern province of yunnan in bid to boost hiv aids
prevention efforts
according to bao china has one advantage in that it does not have religious
barriers to homosexuality like some western countries but sexual taboos remain
problem
many people especially the older generation still consider talking about sex
and not abiding by social and sexual norms to be shameful and this shame
culture is as insidious as the religious reasons he said
and whereas gay bars and clubs are tolerated in big cities government
authorities are sometimes still jittery
according to the china daily for example more than gay men in the southern
city of guangzhou protested in august against attempts by police to push them
out of park over allegations of petty crime
ben zhang the organiser of mr gay china initially expressed apprehension about
possible government intervention ahead of the pageant but the event received
coverage in state media outlets indicating it would likely go ahead
zhang said he hoped the contest would help raise awareness about the country
gay community
expect the pageant will encourage those who are in their shell to be more
comfortable with their sexuality he said
jiang however said he would not come out to his parents even if he won
but if they find out will not deny it he said let destiny lead me
lingerie falls foul of hardline indian hindus
bhopal india jan afp
right wing hindu group in central indian city has given shopkeepers an
ultimatum to remove raunchy lingerie advertisements and mannequins that display
underwear in public
activists of the sanskriti bachao manch save the culture forum hardline
hindu organisation in madhya pradesh capital city bhopal have threatened to
seize and burn any visible knickers or bras on monday
three days from now if undergarments are still hanging outside we will light
bonfire of the lingerie the forum leader chandra shekhar tiwar told afp on
friday
no hanging of underwear in public he added
the group said in its first warning to shopkeepers on wednesday that they should
keep lingerie in boxes and only show this to customers when they asked
on thursday members of the group tore down posters advertising coffee flavoured
condoms and sexual dysfunction therapy centres as part of their campaign to
protect traditional indian values
they also asked cinema owners not to put up posters of film stars in offensive
clothes and postures
on monday the state chief minister shivraj singh chouhan from the hindu bjp
party also ordered municipal authorities across the state to remove the
advertising hoardings of spa massage centre
police case was registered against the spa owner for displaying what the chief
minister called obscene advertising displaying woman bare back
reacting to sanskriti bachao manch ultimatum guddan lingerie shop owner in
bhopal said the advertising that fell foul of the hardliners was provided by
the underwear makers who asked shopowners to display it
he said he would have to comply with the demands however
have no option but to follow the moral police force as we are here to do
business he said
advertising of underwear contraception and sexually charged bollywoood films is
commonplace in major indian cities but attitudes to sex remain conservative by
western standards particularly in rural and provincial areas
blazing ring eclipse races across africa asia
thiruvananthapuram india jan afp
solar eclipse that reduced the sun to blazing ring surrounding sombre disk
plunged parts of africa and asia into an eerie semi darkness on friday
the spectacle visible in roughly kilometre mile band running
kms miles across the globe set record for the longest annular eclipse
at one point that will remain unbeaten for more than thousand years
an annular eclipse occurs when the moon passes directly in front of the sun but
does not completely obscure it thus leaving ring an annulus of sunlight
flaring around the lunar disk
the moon shadow first struck the southwestern tip of chad and western central
african republic at gmt and then reached uganda kenya and somalia before
racing across bangladesh india myanmar and china
local media in the affected areas issued warnings about the dangers of looking
directly at the sun but fascinated onlookers thronged streets to witness the
celestial phenomenon
it getting interesting birds are singing it actually getting cold here
it looks like night now said john saitega year old father of six in olte
tefi kilometres miles south of nairobi
in the southern indian state of kerala astronomers from across the world
gathered to watch the eclipse which at its height was expected to last for
three and half minutes
veteran eclipse chaser daniel fischer from german astronomy magazine
interstellarum picked vantage spot on cliff in varkala kilometres
miles north of the keralan city of thiruvananthapuram
thrilled my first eclipse was indonesia in can afford to
miss the event said fischer who has witnessed eclipses
the indian space research organisation isro launched three small rockets on
thursday and will fire further five on friday to study the effects of the
event on the atmosphere
we will compare the data obtained on normal days with data during and
immediately after the eclipse to study the difference project director
ratnakar rao told afp from thiruvananthapuram
the eclipse which was followed live on indian cable television also
temporarily put halt on the world biggest religious gathering in northern
india
temples in haridwar site of the kumbh mela which sees millions of hindus bathe
in the holy river ganges were closed for the duration of the eclipse because
the phenomenon is considered inauspicious an organiser told afp
in the ugandan capital kampala motorcycle taxi drivers stopped on street corners
to share dark glasses and gaze up at the sky
some residents were afraid of the intensity of the light
can it burn someone you can even look direct because fearing for my
eyes fearing it can burn me said angela namukwaya shopkeeper in
kampala suburb
the duration of annularity the time the moon is in front of the sun was
minutes eight seconds at gmt making it the longest annular eclipse of
the rd millennium according to nasa
only on december will this record be beaten
the lunar umbra or shadow was set to expire in the shandong peninsula in china
at gmt
burs adp aad
haiti aid conference possible in march france
paris jan afp
an international conference for rebuilding haiti after its devastating
earthquake could take place by march the foreign minister of france its former
colonial ruler said on friday
in march maybe the minister bernard kouchner told rtl radio when asked
about the date of the aid conference announced by the french presidency on
thursday he did not indicate where it might take place
to give hope to the haitians we have to show them that we will not abandon
them he added we are already thinking about rebuilding their houses
the red cross said up to people may have died in the quake in the
caribbean nation where bodies were piling up in the street and many residents
still lay trapped under their collapsed homes
at least french nationals out of some living in haiti were still
missing kouchner said and two little french girls had been pulled alive from
the rubble in the capital port au prince on thursday
despite the launch of massive foreign aid operation there was no sign of
heavy lifting equipment among the ruins of port au prince as tons of material
and badly needed supplies clogged up the international airport
there is lot of help but there must not be too much kouchner warned
the flood of kind compassionate volunteer rescuers must not complicate the
haitian administration which has been shattered by the earthquake
injured chinese man evacuated from antarctica
sydney jan afp
chinese national seriously injured in an accident on an antarctic base was
flown to australia authorities said friday following risky rescue mission
and surgery
the man aged in his was believed to have suffered abdominal injuries after
being crushed by machinery at china zhongshan station on tuesday australian
media reported
chinese chap at the chinese station was injured in an accident and he
underwent some operations with the help of an australian doctor from
australia davis station spokeswoman from the australian antarctic
division aad told afp
he was assessed beyond that and it was thought better that he come out to
hospital facility in australia so the chinese asked us for assistance
the badly injured man was taken to hobart on regular weekly airbus service
back to australia the spokeswoman said adding that it was lucky that the
stars lined up and he could get on the flight
aad operations manager robb clifton said the evacuation was risky mission over
thousands of miles
it involved half hour helicopter flight from the chinese russian station to
davis and then five hour ski plane transfer across to casey to our runway at
wilkins he told state radio
the man then had four and half hour flight from wilkins to hobart city on
the southernmost island state of tasmania said clifton where he remains in
intensive care
medical evacuations from the frozen continent were rare the aad spokeswoman
said but the nations in antarctica frequently shared resources and offered
assistance when needed
turkish jobless rate at percent official data
ankara jan afp
turkey estimated jobless rate rose to percent in the three months to the
end of november up nearly two percentage points from the level in the same
period last year official data showed friday
survey based on interviews with about people showed the number of
jobless to have increased by to million people the state statistics
institution said
youth unemployment meanwhile rose to percent from percent year
ago it said
the global crisis has plunged turkey once booming economy into recession
causing gdp to contract by percent in the first nine months of and
further compounding the country chronic unemployment problem
in september the government announced that it expected the jobless rate to hit
an average of percent before falling to percent in
turkey jobless rate is determined through household surveys across the country
that are then used to make nationwide three month projection
the figures provide the only jobless data in turkey but experts say they fail
to reflect the overall picture because of widespread undeclared or hidden
unemployment or the employment of educated qualified people in jobs demanding
few qualifications
bargain hunting lifts stocks as intel boosts tech firms
hong kong jan afp
investor concerns that china will move to further rein in lending were brushed
aside in asia on friday as bargain hunters moved in following losses in the
morning
technology plays were big gainers after us bellwether intel the world biggest
chipmaker posted profit surge of almost percent
chinese shares fell early on but ended percent higher as investors picked
up cheap property and banking stocks
the two sectors have been the main losers on fears that beijing was likely to
impose more stringent rules to stop soaring house prices and cap lending
the shanghai composite index which covers both and shares was up
points at
it is just technical rebound and the upside is likely limited as concerns
over monetary tightening are still lingering guoyuan securities analyst simon
wang told dow jones newswires
and huatai securities analyst dai shuang said there are expectations that the
government may take fresh administrative measures to rein in rapid bank lending
growth near term
in bid to ease runaway economic growth the government this week increased the
amount of money banks must hold in reserve and raised the yield on one year
bills for the first time in five months
despite the chinese rebound hong kong fell percent or points to
japan nikkei rose percent or points to its best since
october
shares in cosmetics maker shiseido soared percent to yen on news it
will spend billion dollars to buy bare escentuals of the united states
and troubled japan airlines which has lost around percent this week over
fears it is about to apply for bankruptcy fell one yen to yen
sydney closed flat after spending much of the day in the red
the amp asx was up points at thanks to late rally after
commonwealth bank of australia said it expected big rise in first half cash
profit
regional stocks had been weighed by disappointing data from the united states
that showed retail sales fell unexpectedly by percent in december
analysts had expected gain of percent in sales the key driver of us
economic activity
but technology stocks were boosted after intel said net profit soared nearly
nine fold by percent to billion dollars in the three months to
december
intel also said it expects revenue of between billion dollars and
billion dollars this quarter better than the billion dollars forecast by
analysts
the dollar dropped to yen in tokyo afternoon trade from in new york
late thursday as the impact of the retail data set in while the euro slid to
dollars from and holding steady at yen
in asian oil trade concerns over demand in the united states sent new york
main contract light sweet crude for february delivery cents lower to
dollars barrel
brent north sea crude for march delivery dropped cents to dollars
gold was at us dollars an ounce in hong kong in the afternoon down
from thursday close of dollars
in other markets
seoul was percent or points up at
bellwether samsung electronics gained percent to won hitting
record price and hynix semiconductor climbed percent to fresh
week high
taipei rose percent or points to its best level since
june
au optronics added percent to taiwan dollars and innolux rose
percent to both boosted by the intel data
manila lost percent or points to on profit taking
wellington fell percent or points to
european stocks mostly rise at open
london jan afp
europe main stock markets mainly advanced at the start of trading on friday
while london benchmark ftse index was flat at points
frankfurt dax added percent to points and in paris the cac
won percent to stand at
israel sends medics supplies to haiti
jerusalem jan afp
the israeli army on friday sent off two aircraft carrying strong medical
team and crammed with supplies to quake devastated haiti spokesman said
the israeli team comprises people who will establish field hospital the
army spokesman said
the team comprises doctors nurses as well as technical personnel one
third of the team is made up of army reservists
one israeli sharona elsaieh the daughter of outspoken peace activist nathan
who died last year aged is still missing in haiti following tuesday
earthquake
the international committee of the red cross said the quake the largest to hit
the caribbean country in more than years had killed between and
people
pope to visit rome synagogue amid tensions
vatican city jan afp
pope benedict xvi will visit rome main synagogue on sunday as he struggles to
mend frayed ties with the jewish community angered over moves to make world war
ii era pope pius xii saint
the long planned visit appeared at risk of being cancelled after the pope last
month put his controversial predecessor one step away from beatification en
route to sainthood with papal decree bestowing the title venerable
while the event will go forward jewish dissenters include the president of
italy assembly of rabbis giuseppe laras who has said he would stay away
while israel ambassador to the holy see said catholic anti judaism still
exists
to defend the new honour for pius xii the vatican said it concerned the wartime
pope piety and not his historical role
the catholic church has long argued that pius xii who was pope from to
saved many jews who were hidden away in religious institutions and that
his silence was born out of wish to avoid aggravating their situation
rabbi arthur schneier of new york who hosted benedict at the park east
synagogue during the pope visit to the united states in is in rome for
the event and hailed its symbolic value
crossing the bridge over the tiber coming to rome from the vatican is very
very meaningful and symbolic act schneier told afp particularly in this day
and age symbolism plays very important role in changing hearts and minds
asked about the timing of the new honour for pius xii just four weeks before the
synagogue visit schneier himself holocaust survivor said sure that it
raised eyebrows to put it lightly
the year old added we have come long way and we still have long way to
go together to establish firm foundation in terms of dialogue and
cooperation
rome grand rabbi riccardo di segni for his part said the upcoming visit was
sign that benedict wants to continue the dialogue
benedict predecessor john paul ii established january which commemorates
an anti semitic attack against rome jewish ghetto in as day of judeo
christian reflection
last year the day that jews view as symbol of their survival in the face of
persecution came at the height of an outcry over move to bring holocaust
denying bishop back into the fold of the catholic church
italian rabbis boycotted jewish catholic observances of the day en bloc
the conservative german pope now has had number of diplomatic rows with
the jewish community since his election in
many jews were upset by benedict decision to rehabilitate the latin version of
the catholic church good friday mass which contains prayer for the
conversion of the jews
cardinal walter kasper head of the pontifical council for the promotion of
christian unity has said that the pope landmark visit to the rome synagogue
would be aimed at seeking common ground
we have new atmosphere with judaism even if there are difficulties he said
wednesday adding have full understanding for the sensitivity of the
survivors of the holocaust and we must respect this sensitivity
on the other side we have to tell them also what pius xii did in favour of the
jews during world war ii and this is not known enough he added
many thousands of jews were saved here in rome and elsewhere in the world he
said
catholic jewish relations have improved with series of fence mending
statements and gestures by the vatican and the pontiff notably benedict trip
to israel in may last year during which he prayed at jerusalem western wall
also known as the wailing wall
before entering the rome synagogue benedict is to place wreath before
plaque recalling the deportation of italian jews by the german army in
insecurity hampers rescue efforts in haiti
port au prince jan afp
as rescue crews arrive in haiti besides dealing with the devastation of major
earthquake they face widespread insecurity that forces them to stop work at
nightfall since they lack weapons or armed guards
our biggest problem is insecurity yesterday they tried to hijack some of our
trucks today we were barely able to work in some places because of that said
delfin antonio rodriguez civil defense chief and rescue commander for the
dominican republic
there looting and people with guns out there because this country is very
poor and people are desperate he added
rescue crews from the dominican republic venezuela united states france and
bolivia were among the first to arrive to help haitians dig out from tuesday
earthquake that buried tens of thousands in port au prince
rodriguez said another major obstacle in assisting victims was the lack of
functioning hospitals many of which were destroyed by the temblor
he said large field hospital was needed to attend the countless injured but
that in the present circumstances it was impossible to build one
we can put it together at nightfall and by morning it would be gone he
added
the other big problem is the lack of coordination with local authorities said
colonel jose cavallo rodriguez deputy civil defense chief
the dominican team is well acquainted with natural catastrophes but even they
admit haiti is the biggest they ve seen
international assistance they said is being stymied
it coming in but its not going out probably because of insecurity we re
taking risks over here because we re neighbors the dominicans said haiti and
the dominican republic share the island of hispaniola
but the rules the rescue teams work under are very strict they said because
they carry no weapons
the main concern is to leave before nightfall even if they are in the middle of
rescue operations
on thursday the dominican team worked feverishly in the central part of the
city to extricate government official trapped in rubble near rotting body
for two days
since we couldn bring all our equipment with us and there nothing in port
au prince everything takes longer and the building structures are extremely
fragile said cavallo
the dominican team works under the gaze of blue helmeted peacekeepers members
of the united nations stabilization mission in haiti whose headquarters in
port au prince was destroyed and at least of its staff killed in the quake
we protect foreign missions and some homes from looting and body snatchers but
we re not armed and sometimes it would be advisable said one peacekeeper near
group of angry haitians who were insulting the dominicans for not helping
further down the street
in hours the dominican team pulled survivors and dozens of corpses from
the rubble of the collapsed parliament building the bodies included
senators who were holding meeting when the quake struck
the voice went out that rescue crew was working downtown and soon the
dominicans were surrounded by cars bringing injured people while others told
them of collapsed buildings nearby where the wails of buried survivors could be
heard including school
we ll try getting there tomorrow but for now it dangerous answered
dominican firefighter
we can be there tomorrow at am in the meantime hydrate them give them
water
close by team of california firefighters the second rescue crew to arrive in
the country was digging out two women survivors from under the rubble of
home
few hours later there was no response from one of the women
if you know of any place where haitians hear the cry of buried people please
let us know said one of the firefighters
humanitarian aid and financial assistance was pouring in from around the world
to help haiti the poorest nation in the western hemisphere in its hour of
need
us president barack obama offered million dollars the international
monetary fund another million
haitian prime minister jean max bellerive said the earthquake may have killed
more than people while the red cross put the number at between
and
those injured or made homeless by the catastrophe number in the hundreds of
thousands
cries grow faint under haiti rubble
port au prince jan afp
almost hours after the shattered concrete ceiling of her cousin dress store
crashed down upon her maryse faltering cries galvanised crowd of rescuers
digging through the rubble
young men bystanders and volunteers began to scrabble ineffectually at the
twisted but still massive net of concrete chunks and steel reinforcement rods
trapping maryse and the corpses of her friends and neighbors
international aid flights had begun to arrive at port au prince airport but
on thursday two days after haiti most disastrous earthquake most citizens of
its devastated capital could rely on no one but themselves
signs of life from maryse and at least one more young woman spurred group of
volunteers to action in one city center street but without heavy lifting gear
and trained rescue teams they had little hope of success
they re going to die they re going to die spat year old accountancy
student jean rald rocher fiddling with the paper face mask that was his only
protective gear as he dug for rotting corpses under reinforced concrete
rocher cousin ruth esperance was killed in the quake and now he works with
the disorganized gangs of young men hunting through the rubble
he and others howled with impotent rage as four by four trucks with diplomats
and aid workers rode past without stopping neither to help free maryse nor to
gather up the rotting body of her friend line louis pierre
according to the owner of the house that plunged into the store year old
teacher domeck mathurin at least three more women and girls lay dead in the
wreckage and afp reporters at the scene heard faint cries
it the tragedy of one street in ruined city where every street has its own
row of fly blown corpses and crowds of wandering refugees seeking place to
lie down for the night with their few remaining possessions
the international red cross said the quake has killed between and
people while haitian officials have warned the overall death toll may top
as of late thursday about bodies had already been buried in mass graves
according to peruvian prime minister velasquez quesquen who is in port au
prince supervising peru relief effort and met with haitian president rene
preval
haiti is often cited as the western hemisphere poorest country but even amid
such misery there were pockets of relative wealth these neighborhoods with
their multi story concrete blocks were hit hard
nursing training school few blocks from international embassies now
resembles truncated pyramid of concrete slabs twisted steel rods and the
bloated bodies of at least dozen student nurses
some of them had time to huddle in each other arms for protection as the five
story block pancaked on top of them
most of their bodies now lie obscenely twisted and exposed but on the roadside
carefully manicured hand pokes out from under sheet flash of red nail
varnish amid the grey dust and blackened decaying flesh
one of the nurses continued to cry under the rubble for day after the
earthquake witnesses said but none survived and their bodies lay unclaimed
amid family photos and meticulously annotated lecture notes
perhaps the manicured hand belongs to floride beauchamp whose peasants birth
certificate lies nearby recording how she was brought into the world by her
mother suzela beauchamp farmer on march
dozens more certificates and diplomas litter the stinking debris
we ve lost our identity don exist raged antoine rene year old
accountant whose entire life and official documents were lost in his ruined
home and who was leading his wife away to seek shelter with relatives
many haitians are angry at their own government slow response we have no
