david walgren argued proceedings against polanski could only be concluded once
the director returned to the united states
polanski is under house arrest in switzerland where he has been held since
his detention in september on an arrest warrant
the film maker fled the united states years ago before being sentenced on
charges of having sex with year old girl
the defendant is fugitive walgren wrote of polanski the defendant should
not indeed must not be allowed to dictate to this court or any other court
under what terms these proceedings should proceed
los angeles superior court judge peter espinoza has scheduled january
hearing to consider polanski request to be sentenced in absentia
california appeals court last month rejected bid by the director legal
team to have the case dismissed on the grounds of judicial misconduct during the
initial proceedings
despite rejecting the polanski appeal the court called for an urgent
exploration of the misconduct abuses alleged by the director lawyers
in court papers filed friday walgren stated prosecutors had nothing to fear
from an investigation and have sincere and well established interest in
preserving the fair and equitable operation of our judicial system
however the operation of fair and equitable judicial system mandates that
criminals even those with celebrity status and wealthy means abide by lawful
court orders the deputy district attorney wrote
if this basic tenet of our great system is allowed to perish for this one
defendant it will set horrible precedent
polanski is alleged to have given his victim champagne and drugs during
photo shoot at the hollywood hills home of actor friend jack nicholson before
having sex with her despite her protests
the director was initially charged with six felony counts including rape and
sodomy the charge was later reduced to unlawful sexual intercourse after plea
deal agreed in part to spare his victim the ordeal of trial
polanski later served days at secure unit undergoing psychiatric evaluation
but fled the united states on the eve of his sentencing hearing amid fears that
the trial judge planned to go back on previously agreed plea deal
un considers moving troops to port au prince
mexico city jan afp
the united nations is considering redeploying some peacekeepers soldiers
and police officers from across haiti to the capital port au prince un
official in mexico said friday
the united nations is thinking about ordering personnel who are not in
port au prince to move to the capital and reinforce their colleagues said
united nations system coordinator magdy martinez during press conference in
mexico city
un peacekeepers often known as blue berets are currently deployed throughout
earthquake stricken haiti but the capital is the main source of concern over
the issue of public order martinez said
he added that development assistance the united nations had planned to send to
haiti could be converted for the most part for use in accelerated
reconstruction
the aid will go towards schools hospitals communication systems and
telecommunication infrastructure martinez added
the united nations has some personnel in haiti including blue berets and
civilian representatives he said
the international organization suffered unprecedented losses in tuesday
earthquake which brought down the headquarters of its haiti peacekeeping force
minustah
at least un staffers were killed in the disaster and some remain
unaccounted for spokesman at un headquarters in new york city said friday
afghan town evicts addicts in desperate attempt to clean up
ghazni afghanistan jan afp
tired of watching their young people descend into drug addiction village elders
in remote afghan region are taking action to get them to kick the habit or
get kicked out of town
heroin addicts in corner of eastern ghazni province are being set deadlines to
quit after tribal elders decided the only way to deal with the worsening problem
was to cajole threaten punish and finally evict them
first comes warning then fine if they ignore that they face having their
houses burned down
if the addicts and those supplying them with the heroin that has eaten into
the fabric of traditional life across the country still fail to comply they
are forced to leave said elder mohammad razaq
heroin addiction among our young people was destroying us he said
this destruction was getting worse and worse every day and we felt that we had
no choice but to deal with it in this way
since the elders made the decision we have evicted more than addicts from
villages in this district they have all been told that until they give up their
addiction they are not welcome back
afghanistan is the world biggest producer of opium the raw material of
heroin most of it grown in the southern provinces of kandahar and helmand
where it helps fund an increasingly vicious taliban insurgency
the illicit industry has an estimated value of around three billion dollars
year making it far and away the country biggest export earner
experts say the relationship between drugs and insurgency is becoming
inextricably entwined as smugglers pay the taliban to protect shipment routes
taking opium and heroin to pakistan and iran bringing back guns and fighters
the un office on drugs and crime unodc said last month the potential
gross export value of opium from afghanistan was billion dollars or about
quarter of gross domestic product
lower cultivation output and falling opium prices have seen its export value
drop percent it said adding market forces are moving against the afghan
drugs trade
others however point to rising stockpiles and say the kingpins of the trade
are hoarding their product to push prices up
in country with few reliable statistics where even the population is
rough estimate of million it is impossible to know how many drug
addicts there are
un report on usage rates among afghans is due in march but in the meantime
unodc says simply conflict displacement economic hardship and overflowing
opium production have generated widespread drug abuse in afghanistan
ghazni is hardly black spot on afghanistan drug map but it has not escaped
the addiction problems that plague most of the country
dr ismail ibrahimzai head of the ghazni provincial hospital estimated the
province has around addicts percent of them men percent women and
seven percent children
he sees no merit in trying to cut addiction by force
the health ministry has set up treatment centres for addicts and mobile groups
are working hard to cut the number of addicts he said adding that an
estimated percent of ghazni addicts have registered for treatment
it is not possible to cure addiction by force we have to encourage addicts to
come to the treatment centres when they are ready
if there is no support network for them and no health care suddenly being
forced to stop the drugs can be life threatening he said
the villagers of qarabagh however could see no alternative
the number of addicts increased in recent years and most of them were people
who had come back from foreign countries such as iran qarabagh resident
mohammad nabi said referring to the millions who fled war and then the
taliban regime into iran and pakistan
the government has done nothing to prevent addiction or get rid of producers
and sellers so we had no choice if we wanted to stop our children from
destroying themselves he said
the first step in the campaign said elder razaq was to identify producers
traffickers and sellers and tell them that if they don stop they will be
fined afghani dollars
and if they still continue after being fined the community gets together and
burns down their houses he said
addicts he said are given deadline to quit if they don stop taking the
drugs by the deadline then we force them out of the village he said
ghazni police chief khialbaz sherzai welcomed the unilateral action of the
villagers telling afp if this plan was implemented across the country without
doubt the result will be very positive in cutting the number of addicts and
eliminating sellers production centres and trafficking
the treatment centre in ghazni has no mass accommodation and says that we
introduce the addicts to kabul and bagram for treatment
ghulam jan is another who worries about the effects of forcing addicts off the
drugs after his brother was evicted as winter set in and disappeared
the decision to do something about the problem is good but they have take the
life of the addicts into account he said
they can work so how can they live my brother is an addict but he is
member of my family and we love him
india poor scramble for protection from winter chill
new delhi jan afp
barefoot and carrying thin pillow and two soiled rugs kunj bihari ushers his
wife and three children inside night shelter where new delhi homeless seek
protection from the winter weather
but authorities refuse to let them stay saying there is no room inside the
makeshift plastic tents hastily erected by the government near crematorium
this happens every night we have to search for hours to find warm place to
sleep said bihari who sells balloons and pens during the day
life for india poorest is grim struggle for survival but the unusually cold
winter this year has made sleeping on the streets potentially deadly ordeal
in the last two weeks more than people have died of cold in north india
government officials say as hundreds of thousands sleep in the open with
nothing more than thin blankets to keep them warm
many huddle over small fires burning scrap wood tyres and rubbish to generate
little heat
charity workers in the indian capital have accused authorities of worsening the
suffering by shutting down dozens of night shelters at time when the city
homeless most need protection from the elements
some of the closures are part of comprehensive redevelopment plans under way
ahead of the commonwealth games in october though the government says it is
arranging substitute facilities
poor people die in the cold snap the government has still not woken up to save
them said miloon kothari of charity urban rights forum for the homeless
the homeless urban poor in this country are marginalised labelled as
encroachers and often accused of making the city appearance ugly
an acute shortage of state run night shelters has forced more than
people in delhi alone to shiver through the night on pavements below flyovers
and around religious sites
it is shame at one end we spend millions of rupees to beautify the city
make fancy accommodation for ministers while at the other end we have nothing
for the poor kothari said
there seems to be no balance and no dignity
majority of the homeless are manual labourers who have migrated to urban
centres from their villages in search of employment after day at work earning
as little as rupees three dollars they bed down wherever they can avoid
the attention of the police or criminal gangs
the poor are beaten by the police if they sleep on the road there are no night
shelters made for them should they vanish into thin air asked uma nath an
aid worker who provides temporary shelter for the urban poor
activists said the number of temporary night shelters in delhi fell from to
in the last year despite an increase in the number of homeless
winter temperatures in the city are hardly extreme rarely dropping below four
degrees celsius degrees fahrenheit but still lives have been lost
who cares for us we might as well die in the cold said year old ramnek
dhua labourer while sitting outside tent
dhua wife and children were not allowed to sleep in the men night shelter as
authorities feared for her safety
but can be raped more easily when sleep out on the road said dhua wife
janatika covering her arms with threadbare old clothes
the family woes were accentuated in december when delhi municipal rulers
tore down one large night shelter where people could sleep as part of
park renovation scheme ahead of the commonwealth games
human rights activists protested against the demolition and accused the
government of putting cosmetic improvements above human life
the government hates their presence the poor contribute nothing to the
economy and people say they dent the city international image by displaying
grim poverty on every road said nath
but city authorities challenged allegations made by activists and said they were
doling out firewood and blankets and putting relief measures in place as the
cold snap was forecast to continue
we will soon make shelters and provide blankets and television in all these
centres to make the poor comfortable said deep mathur spokesman for the delhi
municipal corporation
right now we are setting up tents to help people in the short term
afp features
paris jan afp
we will shortly move the following stories
highlights
afghan town evicts addicts in desperate attempt to clean up
india poor scramble for protection from winter chill
afghanistan unrest drugs feature
ghazni afghanistan
tired of watching their young people descend into drug addiction village elders
in remote afghan region are taking action to get them to kick the habit or
get kicked out of town
words by mohammad yaqob file picture
india weather poverty housing feature
new delhi
barefoot and carrying thin pillow and two soiled rugs kunj bihari ushers his
wife and three children inside night shelter where new delhi homeless seek
protection from the winter weather
words by rupam jain nair picture
for questions email nancy shields afp com or call
baseball cy young winner lincecum in line for raise
new york jan afp
pitcher tim lincecum is earmarked for huge raise as the two time national
league cy young award winner headlined list of players who filed for
salary arbitration friday
the san francisco giants ace lincecum who makes dollars year which is
low by major league baseball salary standards is the nl first repeat cy young
winner since randy johnson from
friday was the deadline for players to file for arbitration
lincecum is eligible for the first time and could earn as much as million
dollars or more this year after compiling record over the past two
seasons
other notable players eligible for the first time include tampa bay pitcher matt
garza texas outfielder josh hamilton and tampa bay outfielder upton
also due for pay hikes are chicago closer bobby jenks boston closer jonathan
papelbon and philadelphia outfielder shane victorino
tennis frenchman simon pulls out of australian open
melbourne jan afp
french world number gilles simon pulled out of the australian open on
saturday with knee injury that has hampered him since roland garros last year
simon travelled to melbourne but after an exhibition match in adelaide
decided he was not fit enough to play
not so disappointed because knew it would be difficult to play he said
simply not ready playing would do more harm than good
simon has won six career titles and was quarter finalist here last year
he joins david nalbandian on the sidelines of the opening grand slam of the
season which gets under way on monday
the argentinian withdrew last week with an abdominal tear
many foreigners missing in haiti quake
paris jan afp
foreign countries on saturday battled to obtain news of hundreds of their
nationals reported missing in haiti devastating earthquake
following is breakdown of foreigners feared or known to be casualties of
tuesday disaster which killed more than people
argentina policeman serving with the united nations was killed
australia the foreign ministry said small number of australians remained
unaccounted for but that there was no evidence of australian deaths
austria year old austrian woman working for german aid development
organisation died in hospital from injuries suffered when wall collapsed the
foreign ministry said
brazil at least brazilian peacekeepers were killed according to the
country military civilian award winning champion of child rights zilda
arns was killed by falling debris as she walked down street in port au
prince to attend conference
britain british aid worker with the united nations was among the missing the
foreign office said diplomatic source named her as ann barnes
burkina faso government says burkinabe nationals missing but no figures or
details available
canada some canadians were missing in haiti and four had been confirmed
dead foreign minister lawrence cannon said
china the official xinhua news agency said at least eight of its peacekeepers
were buried in rubble but rescuers had located them and were trying to get to
them
france six french nationals were killed by the earthquake the french foreign
ministry said
italy authorities tracked down italians after the quake but no news of
others including one considered dead two un workers missing and one person
buried under the rubble of supermarket in the capital
jordan at least three soldiers with the un peacekeeping contingent died in the
quake
mauritius the foreign ministry said it had no news of two mauritian citizens
one serving with the united nations and the other in the tourist sector
mexico total of mexicans were unaccounted for according to the foreign
ministry one mexican resident of port au prince died when hospital where she
was patient collapsed
netherlands the fate of dutch nationals adults and five children
believed to have been in haiti at the time remained unknown
new zealand according to new zealand family members two new zealand born
children and their french haitian father were believed killed in collapsed
port au prince hotel third child was injured and taken to the dominican
republic by their uninjured new zealand mother
philippines six filipinos are missing including three soldiers serving with
the un stabilisation mission in haiti the foreign ministry in manila said the
others are filipino staff member at the un office in port au prince and two
women believed trapped in the ruins of the caribbean supermarket
peru luis eduardo chanllio quispe civilian working with the united
nations was crushed by falling wall relative told lima radio station
poland one student missing according to foreign ministry spokesman
portugal two citizens were uncontactable according to the department for
portuguese communities
senegal two policemen serving with the un mission were missing the senegalese
gendarmerie said
spain spanish worker with the european commission delegation in haiti was
missing spokesman said haitian born spaniard and his wife who were on
trip to haiti for family reasons were killed in the quake diplomat said
thailand the foreign ministry said one thai missionary is missing
united nations some un staffers were still missing after the quake which
killed at least un spokesman said
united states diplomat was the first us citizen confirmed killed in the
earthquake the state department said there are an estimated americans
in the country
figure skating russian girls are coming says coach
tokyo jan afp
russian coach nikolai morozov believes asian women including his pupil japan
miki ando may dominate the vancouver olympics but the russians are coming up
fast behind them
he said asians especially the japanese have the body discipline and
traditions to do well in figure skating
think japanese skaters have very good body structure for skating said
morozov who coached japanese woman shizuka arakawa to win asia first ever
figure skating gold medal at the turin games
they have little bit lower centre of gravity so it much easier for them to
jump morozov said during events on friday to promote his new book kiss
and cry the first memoirs of his coaching career
they have little bit quicker muscles than white people
south korea reigning world champion kim yu na who won every competition she
entered last year is the favorite in vancouver with japan world champion
mao asada and winner ando on her trail
japanese have great discipline so when you tell them what to do they just
listen and do it said morozov who also coaches japan nobunari oda oda
finished second behind american evan lysacek at the grand prix final
americans or europeans years old won do this they want to go out
they want to go to the movies or talk to the plants
but he said each figure skating power has cyclical crop of great talent and
russia has three unbelievable young girls now in their early teens who are too
young to be eligible to compete in the olympics
they can land several triple triple combinations in programme he said adding
that russia figure skating federation was working hours day to
cultivate young talent ahead of the winter olympics in sochi
if you send them to the olympics they ll beat mao yu na and miki morozov
said without naming the russians
russia have been without major global title for women since irina slutskaya
won the world championship she took the olympic silver in salt lake city
in and the bronze in turin
alena leonova won the world junior title last year and finished sixth at
the senior grand prix final in december three russians polina shelepen
ksenia makarova and anna ovcharova placed second fourth and fifth
at the junior grand prix final won by japan kanako murakami
japan midori ito became the first asian to win world title in and
finished second behind japanese american kristi yamaguchi at the
albertville games to spark figure skating boom in her country morozov said
so many parents put kids in figure skating
then shizuka arakawa won again and everyone started figure skating again he
said adding that the sport popularity seems to come back every or years
in each country in the same way
morozov competed in ice dancing at the nagano olympics before becoming an
assistant to tatiana tarasova who now coaches asada and choreographer for
former olympic and world champion alexei yagudin
he helped ando come back from disastrous th spot in turin to win the
world title she has swept two grand prix events and placed second behind kim at
the final this season
understand that everyone is waiting for gold medal but it not easy in the
olympics he said it going to be very exciting competition and that for
sure
tennis hobart international results
hobart australia jan afp
results from the seventh and final day of the hobart international women
tennis tournament here saturday denotes seed
final
alona bondarenko ukr bt shahar peer isr
fear grips haiti as the state dissolves
port au prince jan afp
machete wielding thieves have begun roaming the streets of the haiti at night
residents said friday fearful that it was sign of brewing violence in
nation already scarred by bloodshed
men suddenly appeared with machetes to steal money said evelyne buino young
beautician describing long sleepless night in neighborhood not far from
the ruined city center this is just the beginning
the haitian capital insecure at the best of times is now devoid of
functioning police force bringing fears of dystopian war of all against all
in the wake of tuesday huge earthquake
buino immediate fear comes from nearby prison which contained the worst
gangsters in the city
when the earthquake unleashed its fury on port au prince two million
residents it also let loose upon them the convicts who escaped from the
city collapsed jail
the prison large blue iron gate remains closed but its cell block was among
the scores of buildings razed by the quake allowing surviving prisoners to run
free
all the bandits of the city are now on the streets local police man said
standing near the jail rifle at the ready they are robbing people it is
big problem
with president rene preval at the airport struggling to piece together the
remains of the state desperate citizens tried to fill the void
organize neighborhood committees to avoid chaos radio metropole implored
residents to prevent people looting shops and houses
the station also called for volunteers to protect company distributing badly
needed drinking water
people are hungry thirsty they are left on their own said leon meleste an
adventist sporting white new york baseball cap
it is increasingly dangerous the police doesn exist people are doing what
they want
patricia etique swiss citizen who divides her time between europe and haiti
explained the dire predicament now facing many haitians
people had reserves for few days but now they are dwindling they are afraid
to go downtown in search of food because it has become too dangerous
there is lot of tension in the center she said near the national palace
where thousands gathered to flee their devastated homes
kassana jean chilove young mechanic who lost her daughter in the earthquake
expressed fury at the government
the government is bluffing us she said there are millions of dollars
pouring into haiti but we see nothing
at the head of the country group of friends is divvying up the money we are
going to be in the shit for long time
before the earthquake we had bottled water or boiled it for ourselves said
nurse marie jose carneli whose son bryan michael began screaming from under the
rubble few hours ago but now we have no gas or coal and you can not
sterilize it
can not buy anything because my money is stuck in the rubble of my house
she said throwing plastic bottle angrily at an area were pigs were scavenging
for food
further down the street an old lady sold plates of pasta one portion costs
gourds around dollars times more than before the earthquake
for many facing the desolation there is only one option said carneli people
who have relatives in the provinces are fleeing the city
but for thousands of others there are no options left
in the bustling marche en fer or iron market one of the haitian capital
poorest neighborhoods teenage looters friday were scuttling over the twisted
concrete debris as crowds ignored piles of dead bodies on the street in their
desperate bid to unearth supplies
tennis australia to play taiwan in melbourne
sydney jan afp
australia will play taiwan in their asia oceania zone group one davis cup tie at
melbourne park home of the australian open tennis australia said on saturday
ta said it will be using the complex outdoor margaret court arena for the
first time to host the davis cup tie from march
australia won their only davis cup tie last year but remain in asia oceania zone
group one after withdrawing from the may tie in india because of security
concerns
one time power australia have won the davis cup times second only to the
united states with
jal delta reach deal over tie up report
tokyo jan afp
japan airlines has reached an agreement on tie up with delta air lines as the
troubled japanese carrier readies for court led rehabilitation newspaper
said saturday
the two companies are likely officially to sign the deal which will allow them
to run code share flights as soon as jal new management endorses it the
yomiuri shimbun said quoting company sources
the agreement means asia biggest airline will switch from the oneworld
alliance to the skyteam group to which delta belongs
jal and delta will ask us authorities for antitrust immunity by mid february
the paper said if the request is accepted the two firms will be able to run
combined flights over their pacific routes in what amounts to business
integration
the report came after american airlines and its partners lifted their proposed
investment in jal to billion dollars from previous offer of billion
dollars in bidding war with rival delta for stake in jal
on friday japan government said it would announce restructuring package for
jal on january when the troubled carrier is widely expected to file for
bankruptcy protection
jal is believed to be on the verge of seeking court protection from creditors
and delisting its shares from the tokyo stock exchange to make it easier to
restructure its debt and slash costs
jal which lost about billion dollars in the six months to september is
seeking public aid in the face of mounting debts jal is reportedly set to slash
more than jobs and sell non core assets such as hotels
miami doctor spearheads haiti life saving effort
miami jan afp
miami doctor is at the vanguard of the effort to save lives in quake hit haiti
after personal plea from president rene preval and has won the use of two
business jets to support his aid quest
at opalocka airport near miami year old jennifer green oversaw friday the
loading of one of the gulfstream jets with cases of water food and medical
supplies
green father doctor barth green neurosurgeon from miami who co founded
projectmedishare with doctor arthur fournier is busy saving lives in haiti and
has left his daughter behind to mastermind the relief mission
we have hangar full of donated water food and medical supplies that we will
be sending down twice day along with doctors and nurses jennifer green said
and we just got clearance from the dea drug enforcement administration to
deliver morphine and narcotics
she said that right now she was trying to get cargo company like ups or
fedex to carry in much needed generators but as of today they would only take
water and supplies
it just frustrating she said because as much as they need food and water
they can get things done without electricity
local philanthropist stuart miller ceo of lennar corp construction company has
donated tge unlimited use of two gulfstream jets to projectmedishare
doctors green and fournier founded the non profit group in in an effort to
rebuild the medical infrastructure of haiti by training haitian doctors and
nurses bringing in medical supplies and equipment and starting programs in
rural communities
projectmedishare office in port au prince was leveled by the quake and two
haitian american workers who were in the office at the time were killed
yesterday the team which has been in haiti since wednesday morning after preval
called green at home to plead for his assistance set up makeshift emergency
triage room outside the villa creole hotel
