burnley portsmouth birmingham stoke city liverpool gmt tottenham
hull wolves wigan
sunday
aston villa west ham gmt blackburn fulham bolton arsenal
gmt
yassir arman candidate of south sudan ex rebels in presidentials
juba sudan jan afp
the ex rebels of southern sudan have chosen yassir arman secular muslim from
north sudan to contest omar el bashir in the april presidential election the
first multi party ballot since in sudan
the political bureau have unanimously picked comrade yassir said arman as splm
presidential candidate for the republic of sudan pagan amum the sudan
people liberation movement splm secretary general told afp in the early
hours of friday morning following marathon talks that began thursday afternoon
more than haiti dead have been buried peru pm
lima jan afp
some people killed in the haiti quake have already been buried peruvian
prime minister velasquez quesquen said thursday from port au prince where he is
supervising peru relief efforts
over the past few hours they ve buried some haitians and haiti
government is asking for earth moving equipment to clear rubble quesquen told
the cable channel after meeting with haitian president rene preval
quesquen said that on arriving in haiti he had been met with scenes of chaos
authorities are just beginning to get organized while the united nations have
taken command of the humanitarian relief effort
peru he added has sent two planes with aid to haiti but only one loaded with
medical supplies managed to land at the port au prince after the capital
quake damaged airport struggled to cope with all the arrivals
we ve turned the medical supplies over the haiti president quesquen said
adding the other plane landed in the dominican republic with food supplies
which were given to the united nations
us demands china explain cyberattacks in face to face talks
washington jan afp
the united states on thursday said it held talks with chinese officials calling
for an explanation of cyberattacks against internet giant google and dozens of
other firms
we have had discussion today here in washington with officials from the
embassy we raised the issue said state department spokesman philip crowley
we ve asked them for an explanation
google announced on tuesday that it would stop bowing to chinese internet
censors and could pull out of the world largest online market of million
users after series of highly sophisticated cyberattacks aimed at chinese
human rights activists
the incident raises questions about both internet freedom and the security of
the internet in china crowley said
china has declared its internet open but defended censorship the chinese
government administers the internet according to law and we have explicit
stipulations over what information and content can be spread over the internet
foreign ministry spokeswoman jiang yu said
over thirty firms are though to have been the target of attacks with google
reporting efforts to hack the gmail accounts of activists that has put the
beijing government firmly in the spotlight
officials in washington have been reluctant to state what impact the targeting
of us companies could have on sino american relations but the fallout has been
felt in the war of words between the two capitals
if this was part of deliberate strategy on behalf of china it has
implications said an official who asked not to be named
international aid floods into tiny haiti airport
port au prince jan afp
us personnel took over air traffic control at port au prince airport thursday
as aid groups and world governments tried to fly planeloads of aid into the
limited haitian airfield
think we have taken over you know air traffic control responsibility we ve
got lot of personnel who are assisting in the process of on loading and off
loading said us state department spokesman philip crowley
the good news is it now operating at hour seven day week capability
he said but the bad news is it is very limited airport with one runway and
limited ramp space
the airport became staging ground for an enormous international relief effort
to the stricken caribbean nation which is struggling to cope with massive
earthquake that flattened much of the capital and may have killed up to
people
the first wave of aid flights quickly overwhelmed the single runway at toussaint
ouverture airport with military and civilian aid flights forced to circle for
hours awaiting landing spot
military transport from brazil canada the dominican republic france peru and
the united states jostled for space on the tarmac as helicopters from several
air forces buzzed overhead
us lieutenant colonel brett nelson deployed to haiti to assist in the relief
efforts said flights were continuing though there were delays
we have established air field control conducting hour operations at port
au prince airport he said in phone briefing from haiti
although we have experienced significant slowdown primarily due to the support
capacities in port au prince added nelson commander of the rd special
tactics squadron
we are working with the faa to establish some kind of priorities so that we get
the most urgent capabilities and supplies into the port au prince airport he
said
nelson told reporters that at one point on thursday there were aircraft on
the ground off loading aid and picking up evacuees
an afp reporter on the ground saw planes unloading advance teams and rescue
crews but there was no sign of the heavy lifting gear that will be needed to
free victims from the wreckage of collapsed multi story buildings
nelson said his team was working to maximize the number of airplanes they can
put on the ground at any one time adding his unit had brought portable
lighting systems to ensure night landings were possible if the airport main
lights fails
it was kind of mess when we started and we continue to clean that up and
improve our processes nelson said adding that the airport had been
functioning without air controllers for the hours from the quake tuesday
evening until us personnel took over wednesday
he said incoming planes were being urged to land with enough fuel to take off
again to minimize their refueling time and free up space for more arriving aid
the port au prince airport has been closed to commercial flights since tuesday
quake hit the caribbean nation which is the poorest in the western hemisphere
to killed in haiti quake red cross
panama city jan afp
between and people were killed in the haiti quake the
international red cross said thursday
the main figures have been given by the haiti government and they are talking
about to people having been killed said xavier castellanos head
of the americas zone of the international federation of red cross and red
crescent societies
the scale of this event means the toll will be high and the figure given by the
government is likely the right one he said
he added that at least three million people had been directly affected that
to say third of the population
football us el salvador book february friendly
chicago jan afp
united states will face el salvador in friendly between south africa
world cup rivals on february in key match to decide final rosters the us
soccer federation announced thursday
the americans will meet the salvadorans their north american regional rivals
at tampa florida which was among cities included in the us bid for the
or world cups
the match will be the penultimate match for the americans before naming their
roster for the world cup the last being march meeting with the dutch at
amsterdam the us world cup roster will be set in early may
el salvador proved to be strong team in the final round of qualifying and
will pose good test for this group us coach bob bradley said
this game will be an important part of our preparations providing us with one
of the last opportunities to evaluate the players being considered for the world
cup roster
the americans are with five drawn in all time meetings with the
salvadorans the only loss coming in friendly at san salvador
the us squad beat el salvador last september in qualifier in their most
recent meeting el salvador edged costa rica for the last north american world
cup slot
google donates million dollars to haiti relief efforts
san francisco jan afp
google said thursday it is donating one million dollars and internet resources
to relief organizations on the ground in earthquake shattered haiti
the internet giant said the money is intended to help with rescues as well as
food water shelter and medical support for victims of deadly magnitude
temblor that devastated the poor caribbean nation on tuesday
google also created web page devoted to linking people with charitable groups
including direct relief yele haiti the red cross and doctors without borders
google is also making online mapping and satellite imagery tools available to
relief workers so they can better evaluate damage and coordinate responses
we ve also reached out to the youtube community for help jacquelline fuller
and prem ramaswami of the google crisis response team said in blog post
oxfam and red cross videos are spotlighted on the youtube home page along with
links for donating to haiti relief efforts
anger mounts as haiti sees little sign of aid
port au prince jan afp
anger and despair mounted in quake hit haiti thursday with scores facing third
night trapped beneath the ruins food and water running out and little sign of
international aid
the stench of death from decomposing bodies strewn in the streets hung over the
capital of port au prince as residents hunkered down for another night in the
open traumatized by aftershocks triggered by tuesday earthquake
despite massive aid operation there was no sign of heavy lifting equipment
among the rubble even as tons of material and badly needed supplies deluged the
international airport
haitian officials have warned the overall death toll may top and say
three million people could have been affected by the powerful quake that ripped
across the poorest nation in the americas
the quake has killed between to people according to figures
provided by the international red cross
if international aid doesn come the situation will deteriorate quickly we
need water and food urgently said haitian survivor lucille still dazed by the
scenes of devastation and carnage on the caribbean island nation
sporadic gunshots were heard and witnesses said there had already been some
looting in city that has seen bloodshed and violence over the past decades
more doctors fewer journalists one man yelled out angrily shaking his fists
at foreign media crew
eight search and rescue teams comprising some people were on the ground and
countries had pledged or already sent help us state department spokesman
crowley said adding they were already pulling survivors from the ruins
china france iceland the united states and venezuela were among those with
teams on the ground with washington sending ships helicopters planes rescue
teams floating hospital and more than troops
not only is the united states commitment to haiti growing but also the
international commitment as well said crowley
the united states had also taken over air traffic control at the swamped airport
which was now operating round the clock he said flights were delayed though as
staff struggled to unload supplies
and little aid had trickled down onto the streets an afp video showed scuffles
breaking out as helicopter dropped food over part of the city
haitians were also angered they had had no word from any of their leaders
one group trying to free man trapped in the rubble of the tax office looked up
wearily at the planes flying overhead
we hear on the radio that rescue teams are coming from the outside but nothing
is coming we only have our fingers to look for survivors said jean baptiste
lafontin wilfried
more than hours after the quake haitians were still digging by hand through
mountains of concrete and rubble while the screams and moans of those buried
below rang out
dozens of people were rescued thanks to frantic efforts and as sniffer dogs
began to comb the ruins they included estonian police officer tarmo joveer
pulled virtually unharmed from the rubble of the un headquarters by
specialized us rescue team from virginia
but the moments of joy were few compared to the death and destruction stalking
the city
it small miracle un chief ban ki moon said at the united nations in new
york as he revealed that un staffers had been killed in the worst disaster
in the global body history another were still missing
us president barack obama sought to lift up despairing people facing acute
shortages of food water and shelter offering million dollars in immediate
assistance
to the people of haiti we say clearly and with conviction you will not be
forsaken you will not be forgotten he said
obama and french president nicolas sarkozy along with brazil and canada and
other concerned nations are planning to hold an international conference on
haiti reconstruction the french presidency said
people throughout the world want to help said ban
one of our biggest challenges will be to help them to help haiti to the
utmost he warned as communications remained poor and moving around was
hampered by destroyed roads and lack of gasoline
first contingent of us troops was headed to haiti and the uss carl vinson
aircraft carrier was to arrive later in the day with destroyers and more coast
guard ships en route and troops on stand by
but lacking heavy lifting equipment harrowing scenes were being repeated across
the city as frustrated workers dug with hands and simple tools to reach the
trapped
some people set up temporary shelters with sheets and covers in public square
while others were trekking out carrying meagre belongings searching for safer
places outside the city
spanish pm to speak at prayer breakfast in washington reports
madrid jan afp
spanish prime minister jose luis rodriguez zapatero will visit washington next
month to speak at the national prayer breakfast event at the invitation of us
president barack obama spanish media said thursday
it said zapatero whose country holds the six month rotating presidency of the
european union has been keen to meet with obama prior to eu us summit
scheduled for may in madrid the media said quoting sources at the prime
minister office
the national prayer breakfast is an annual event held on the first thursday of
every february since on behalf of the fellowship foundation conservative
christian organisation as forum for world political social and business
leaders
zapatero attendance at the february event will mark his second visit to the
united states since taking office in after meeting with obama there on
october
asked about it during press conference in bratislava with his slovak
counterpart robert fico he said america democratic greatness meant that
people of different persuasions have been invited to the forum
previous speakers have included former british prime minister tony blair mother
teresa of calcutta king abdullah of jordan the late pakistani prime minister
benazir bhutto and the singer and social activist bono
relations turned sour between the two countries in when zapatero angered
obama predecessor george bush by carrying out an election promise to pull
spanish troops out of iraq
spanish foreign minister miguel angel moratinos said on monday that may summit
in madrid would be chance to forge new eu us relationship of trust
complicity complementarity on the themes of security economy trade transport
and development cooperation
urgent to killed in haiti quake red cross
panama city jan afp
between to people were killed in the haiti quake the
international red cross said thursday
alert
haiti quake killed to people red cross
dominican leader first to visit quake hit haiti
santo domingo jan afp
the dominican president flew in to the rubble of port au prince on thursday and
met with his haitian counterpart putting aside long running differences with
his quake hit neighbor
president leonel fernandez whose dominican republic makes up the richer two
thirds of the island of hispaniola of which haiti is also part was the
first foreign head of state to visit the devastated haitian capital
his bid to show solidarity with haiti rene preval following the disaster came
as dominican authorities stepped up immigration controls fearing an influx of
migrants and convicts escaping from the wreckage of port au prince prison
despite the new measures more than injured haitians had been allowed to
cross the border to receive medical treatment in the dominican republic
officials in the capital santo domingo said
we met president preval at the airport in haiti where he is based and
assessing the situation and prioritizing tasks said fernandez speaking after
his return to the dominican republic
haiti takes up the western third of hispaniola an island it shares with the
dominican republic where unease between the neighbors has frequently spilled
over into bloodshed
on thursday though fernandez expressed consternation that damaged
infrastructure was preventing his haitian counterpart from directing relief
efforts
communications in haiti should be re established as soon as possible president
preval needs to be in contact with his ministers to take measures
he added that flight over the affected areas of port au prince revealed city
virtually destroyed in its entirety
in the aftermath of the quake desperate haitians sought refuge and medical
attention in the dominican republic as fernandez ordered hospitals to open
their doors to the injured
buses had taken the injured from earthquake struck port au prince to the general
meleciano hospital kilometers miles west of santo domingo dominican
officials said
tata brings nano minicar to detroit
detroit michigan jan afp
india tata brought its nano minicar to detroit thursday to show the motor city
what the world cheapest car looks like
the nano was unveiled for the first time in the united states at the detroit
science center just few miles away from where tata rivals were be
displaying their latest wares at the detroit auto show
executives said it will likely be years before the nano hits us showrooms
no decision has been made yet on when to bring the car to the us said warren
harris president and chief operating officer of automotive engineering
consulting firm tata technologies
however decision is expected soon on starting the specific re engineering
needed to get the nano ready for the us market by the middle of the decade he
said
the car needs stiffer structure in the rear to meet us crash test standards
harris said
it will also need bigger engine as the top speed of the nano sold in india
only goes miles per hour and the us version would need to get up to or
miles per hour harris said
it also would need more features it would also need things like ipod
connectors cup holders and usb ports he said at least that was the reaction
we got from the students we showed the car to
tata technologies played an important role in the development of the nano which
debuted last year and is one of the most talked about vehicles launched in the
past decade because it costs only dollars
the nano has sparked race to create other ultra low cost cars for the indian
and other emerging markets
french automaker renault and its japanese partner nissan plan to launch car to
rival the nano in that will be built in partnership with scooter and three
wheel specialist bajaj auto
general motors launched new small car last week priced at about dollars
that will be released first in the indian market and eventually sold in
countries
chicago businessman charged over mumbai attacks
chicago jan afp
chicago businessman was charged thursday with helping an old friend from
military school in pakistan plot the deadly mumbai attacks that killed
people officials said
tahawwur hussain rana has been held in jail since his october arrest on
charges of helping plot an attack on the danish newspaper that published
incendiary cartoons of the prophet mohammed in
prosecutors allege that rana helped his friend david coleman headley key
suspect in the mumbai attacks by allowing him to use his immigration company as
cover for surveillance trips to india and denmark
rana was charged thursday with three separate counts of providing material
support for terrorism in the mumbai attacks the denmark terror plot and to the
banned pakistani militant group lashkar taiba
also indicted on conspiracy charges related to the denmark plot were ilyas
kashmiri an alleged terror kingpin in pakistan who prosecutors accuse of being
in regular contact with al qaeda leaders and abdur rehman hashim syed
retired major in the pakistani military neither man is in us custody
headley has pleaded not guilty to terrorism related charges and remains
in custody where he is cooperating with prosecutors
the washington born son of former pakistani diplomat and american mother
headley reportedly befriended bollywood stars and even dated an actress during
his lengthy surveillance trips to mumbai
the indictment alleges that rana acted as messenger while headley scoped out
the mumbai terror targets taking photos and video and entering their positions
on gps device
nearly year after the bloody hour siege which began november
headley was allegedly recorded discussing five future targets with rana
prosecutors said the targets included bollywood the indian temple somnath the
national defense college in delhi shiv sena political party in india with
roots in hindu nationalism and the danish newspaper
headley had already begun the planning for second indian attack during march
surveillance trip whose targets included the national defense college and
chabad houses in several cities in india the indictment alleges
he was also working on the danish newspaper plot weeks before the mumbai attack
was carried out the indictment alleges
headley is accused of once again using rana immigration business as cover in
order to arrange visit to the copenhagen and aarhus offices of jyllands
posten denmark highest circulating daily
during february meeting in pakistan kashmiri allegedly told headley that they
should use truck bomb to attack the newspaper and directed him to meet with
european contacts who could provide the money weapons and manpower for the
attack
headley and rana were arrested in october on terror charges related to the plot
to attack jyllands posten and kill an editor and the cartoonist
headley was charged last month with spending two years casing mumbai even
taking boat tours around the city harbor to scope out landing sites for the
attackers
rana pakistani born canadian citizen who owns the chicago based first world
immigration services that headley allegedly used as cover insists that he is
pacifist who was duped by his friend
date has not yet been set for rana arraignment on the new charges
web browser vulnerability used in google attacks microsoft
washington jan afp
microsoft said on thursday that vulnerability in its internet explorer web
browser was used to carry out cyberattacks which have prompted google to
threaten to leave china
internet explorer was one of the vectors used in targeted and sophisticated
attacks targeted against google and other corporate networks mike reavey the
director of microsoft security response center said in blog post
microsoft continues to work with google other industry partners and
authorities to actively investigate this issue reavey said
he stressed that to date microsoft has not seen widespread customer impact
rather only targeted and limited attacks exploiting ie internet explorer
reavey said that changing internet zone security settings to high would
protect users from the vulnerability
microsoft security advisory was issued shortly after web security firm mcafee
reported that the cyberattacks which google said originated in china exploited
previously unknown vulnerability in internet explorer
google said tuesday that china based cyber spies struck the internet giant in an
apparent bid to hack into the email accounts of human rights activists around
the world
google said over other unidentified firms were also targeted in the highly
sophisticated attacks while other reports have put the number of companies
attacked at more than
google said it had decided to no longer censor its internet search engine in
china and that it was prepared to shut down its operations entirely if it was
unable to reach an agreement with the chinese authorities
nba arenas faces felony gun possession charge
washington jan afp
suspended washington wizards star guard gilbert arenas faces felony charge of
unlawful gun possession after bringing four weapons into the locker room of the
nba club last month
arenas was charged thursday with carrying pistol without license outside
home or business felony that carries maximum five years in jail and fine
the charges were filed by the us attorney office for the district of columbia
and arenas is expected to appear in superior court on friday
lawyers for arenas had been in negotiations with prosecutors for plea deal
that might keep arenas out of jail according to the washington post but it was
not immediately known if the charge was part of any arrangement
we are aware of the charge filed against gilbert arenas and will continue to
follow the ongoing legal process very carefully the wizards said in
statement
we will also continue to cooperate fully with the proper authorities and the
nba
in the charges prosecutors said that on december arenas did carry openly
and concealed on or about his person in place other than his dwelling place
place of business or on other land possessed by him pistol without license
issued pursuant to law
arenas and teammate javaris crittenton argued after card game last month and
crittenton said he should shoot arenas in his surgically repaired left knee
only to have arenas bring four guns to the locker room few days later and put
them on chair next to crittenton locker with note saying pick one
according to the post
grand jury was convened last week but the charges filed thursday came from
prosecutors and not from an indictment as result of the investigation
potential sign of plea deal
wizards coach flip saunders team president ernie grunfeld and eight wizards
players have been interviewed by the grand jury or spoken with authorities
police searched crittenton apartment early thursday morning
nba commissioner david stern suspended arenas indefinitely without pay on
january an nba investigation that could bring more suspensions and fines
could come in the next week
arenas missed most of the past two seasons with knee injuries and had hoped for
breakout comeback season instead the team has pulled his image from an arena
banner and pre game video and stopped displaying his no zero jersey
relief for nfl player as baseball nhl join haiti aid effort
new york jan afp
indianapolis colts receiver pierre garcon received good news about relatives in
haiti on thursday as us sports leagues donated million dollars to the
earthquake damage relief effort
garcon whose team is preparing for national football league playoff game
saturday against baltimore received calls thursday from relatives saying they
had survived the disaster which struck the caribbean nation two days before
heard from some family got some good information garcon said we re still
looking for the rest of them we ve still got more people that need to be found
we re still hoping that everybody all right
focusing upon the gridiron playoffs is tougher task with such uncertainty
hanging over him garcon said
it hard but it something you ve got to do he said
garcon whose parents came to the united states from haiti has most of his
family on the caribbean island and was thankful for the help being sent
there lot of support he said really appreciate it we need lot
more
major league baseball comissioner bud selig said his organisation is
contributing one million dollars to unicef relief effort on behalf of the
league and its clubs
this generous donation from major league baseball will help save the lives of
haitian children unicef executive director ann veneman said
the people of haiti urgently need food fresh water shelter and medical
supplies and the first days are crucial
haiti shares the same island as the dominican republic one of the world top
producers of elite level baseball talent
major league baseball believes it is crucial to help the haitian community in
this time of need selig said it is difficult for us to imagine the
catastrophic toll this earthquake has taken on the people of haiti
we hope this contribution will help aid in the relief efforts and we encourage
our fans to make donation as well our heartfelt condolences go out to all who
have been affected by this unimaginable natural disaster
the national hockey league donated dollars to unicef relief effort
the catastrophe in haiti requires an urgent response from the nhl family
league commissioner gary bettman said victims need food water temporary
housing and basic medical supplies the emergency effort by unicef is helping to
provide those critical commodities to communities in desperate need
in addition yvenson bernard former canadian football league player of
haitian descent is raising money and supplies for earthquake victims and plans
to visit haiti to deliver the goods within two weeks
special envoy mitchell off to middle east next week
washington jan afp
the us envoy for the middle east george mitchell will travel to israel and the
palestinian territories next week government official said thursday
he will be in the region next week for top level meetings said state
department official who requested anonymity
on january israel maariv newspaper said washington was pushing plan to
restart peace talks that foresees reaching final deal in two years and
agreeing on permanent borders in nine months
under the plan the israelis and palestinians will immediately start final
status talks that were suspended during the gaza war year ago maariv
reported citing unnamed sources
airbus aircraft partners hold crunch talks
london jan afp
