macclesfield northampton
rochdale port vale
looters prey upon quake ravaged haitian capital
port au prince jan afp
roving bands of looters on monday overran port au prince while police and
military officials tasked with protecting the quake stricken haitian capital
were nowhere to be found
world leaders have promised to dispatch additional police troops marines and
un peacekeepers to the haitian capital which has spiraled into chaos and despair
after being leveled by massive earthquake nearly week ago
but for now the commercial heart of haiti shattered capital remains firmly in
the hands of the thieves and vandals who make off with whatever they can carry
that has not been damaged beyond use
looters roamed from shop to shop some clearly survivors scavenging for food and
water as the unrest across the region was stoked by delay in supplies reaching
hundreds of thousands of people desperate for aid
but others on the rampage in port au prince shopping zone appeared to be
simply marauders availing themselves of whatever items they might be able to use
or sell at later time
the pillagers in downtown port au prince targeted fabric store in relatively
good condition and whose wares had not yet been despoiled
band of about masked men managed to scale the rubble to gain access to the
building interior where they made off with large bolts of fabric hoisted on
their shoulders
widespread looting on sunday led haitian police to open fire on crowd in the
capital killing at least one man who was shot in the head as others ransacked
supermarket
incidents of violence and looting are on the rise as the desperation grows
warned the international committee of the red cross icrc
roaming gangs of looters steal anything they can find sneakers fabric music
stereos everything is up for grabs
international officials overseeing relief operations on monday said they were
painfully aware of the need for additional troops and police to get vital aid to
the quake survivors and to restore semblance of order as haiti struggles to
emerge from the worst catastrophe to befall the poor caribbean nation
un chief ban ki moon requested monday extra troops and police to boost his
battered mission in quake hit haiti as the world body death toll from the
disaster rose to with hundreds still unaccounted for
speaking to reporters after briefing the security council on his six hour visit
to the devastated haitian capital sunday ban said he had requested that the un
mission known as minustah be considerably beefed up
vital aid and surge in us military personnel to haiti brought monday drip of
hope to despairing survivors still seeking basic supplies and security nearly
week after the killer quake
approximately troops were already on the ground as part of the
humanitarian response and in bid to provide desperately needed security to
back up those efforts
and food rations provided by the united nations and humanitarian organizations
slowly began to trickle out to haiti desperate recipients
at challe camp for displaced haitian people supplies began to come to
those in need but one desperate father said the aid was not nearly enough to
feed so many hungry people
meanwhile more than marines were to arrive monday aboard the amphibious
ship uss bataan tanya bradsher spokeswoman from us southern command told
afp boosting troop numbers to either in haiti or offshore
and lieutenant general ken keen us commander of the joint task force in haiti
told reporters monday that there would be us troops in the area in the
next few weeks providing hope that peace may be restored to port au prince in
the foreseeable future
they need as many troops on the ground as possible keen said
nfl jets ellis to play with broken hand
new york jan afp
new york jets player shaun ellis says he will play against indianapolis in the
afc championship game despite broken left hand that requires surgery
the defensive end was hurt on new york first defensive play in their
playoff win at san diego on sunday
ellis who says he immediately knew the hand was broken had cast put on it
and continued to play against the chargers the team doctor confirmed the
injury
he will have surgery to insert pins and screws after the indianapolis game and
will have to wear special cast next sunday
brazil toll in haiti quake rises to call for concrete aid
brasilia jan afp
brazil on monday called for the world outpouring of sympathy for haiti to
become concrete reconstruction aid as it updated its national death toll in
the quake to at least
the entire world is aware now that awareness has to be transformed into
concrete aid in money so that haiti can be rebuilt brazilian president luiz
inacio lula da silva said in his weekly radio program
this is the moment to put your hand in your pocket and help he said
we think there are other countries that can do more he said adding that
coordination was needed to determine how best to use the money for
reconstruction
brazil lula said was pledging million dollars
the european union on monday pledged million dollars in emergency and long
term aid to haiti while the united states last week said it would provide
million dollars
lula stressed that brazil had an important role to play in haiti being in
military command of the strong un peacekeeping force stationed there since
it was looking at doubling its current contingent of soldiers in haiti
the head of the army general enzo martins peri told news conference
his statement came after un chief ban ki moon asked for extra un
peacekeepers in haiti
the current brazilian deployment had completed their six month tour of duty and
would be replaced with fresh troops in coming days martins peri said
the peacekeepers have returned to their original monitoring duties with the
arrival of specialized rescue teams and us troops charged with policing the
capital port au prince he added
the bodies of two more brazilian peacekeepers were identified on the weekend
bringing the total number of dead brazilian soldiers with the un mission to
according to the army
brazil national death total in haiti was therefore at least including the
deaths of the deputy civilian head of the un mission luiz carlos da costa and
high profile children rights campaigner zilda arns
two other brazilian peacekeepers are missing presumed dead
the south american nation has sent several military flights laden with food
water and medicine to haiti it has also set up field hospital in the
peacekeeper main base next to the airport in port au prince
euro mps doubt competence of bulgarian eu pick
strasbourg jan afp
majority of eu deputies has serious doubts about the competence of bulgaria
eu commission nominee rumiana jeleva with only the centre right group
supporting her parliamentary sources said monday
that is bad news for eu commission chief jose manuel barroso who is seeking to
put together cabinet of policy commissioners nominated by the european
capitals
at meeting of representatives of the main political groups in strasbourg only
jeleva political family the centre right european people party epp
defended her one of the meps present said
while the epp is the biggest group in the strasbourg chamber it does not itself
command majority and needs support if the current bulgarian foreign minister
is to be confirmed by the parliament as the eu humanitarian aid commissioner
the parliament development committee is set to meet behind closed doors on
tuesday to decide its formal opinion on jeleva
they will then give their opinion to eu parliament president jerzy buzek
jeleva came under fire during questioning by meps last week both over her
preparedness for the post and also allegations that there were gaps in her
declaration of financial interests
hardly any of the euro mps on monday voiced doubts on her probity focussing on
her competence for the job following last week unimpressive performance from
the woman who hopes in couple of week time to take charge of portfolio
which will include aid for the haitian earthquake victims
if the meps advice is unfavourable barroso could be forced to let her go or
face his whole team being blocked thereby provoking major crisis as the
commission is due to begin functioning next month
several european deputies criticise jeleva for giving vague answers or worse to
questions on her area of competence during the original parliamentary hearing on
january
one euro deputy suggested that jeleva would do well to withdraw her name adding
that no one wants to see her humiliated
report by the parliament legal experts did not reveal any problems with her
most recent financial declaration though it did suggest problems with earlier
version she lodged while member of the european parliament from
in legal terms these earlier statements are not directly relevant the legal
service said in letter seen by afp
welcome the finding by the european parliament legal services that the
declarations of interest by rumiana jeleva conform fully to the code of conduct
for members of the european commission declared epp vice chairman jozsef
szajer
european commission chief jose manuel barroso and bulgarian prime minister boyko
borisov have voiced relatively guarded support for jeleva
if she accepted to become european commissioner it was her duty to get her
papers in order if this was not the case she will not have my support
borisov said on friday
he has also said that he has plan up his sleeve if required
barroso is well aware that there is precedent from his first attempt to set up
commission team
in as nominees were being vetted the parliament forced the withdrawal of
italian candidate rocco buttiglione over his views on gay rights
the political battle lines were drawn last week when epp vice chairman jozsef
szajer sniffed witch hunt denouncing unfounded allegations against
jeleva
the centre right meps began targeting slovak commission candidate maros
sefcovic over controversial comments on the roma people in tit for tat
response
yachting oracle alinghi battle continues as deal spurned
madrid jan afp
the seemingly endless legal battle over the rd america cup looked set to
continue on monday after alinghi refused to sign deal it negotiated with
challenger oracle in singapore last week
oracle had offered to drop its latest legal action against alinghi if the swiss
defender signed the deal by gmt on monday but alinghi refused
it isn possible to negotiate under the threat of lawsuit an alinghi
spokeswoman said in statement after the deadline has based
oracle last week asked the supreme court of the state of new york to rule on
whether alinghi had infringed nationality rules by allegedly using us made sails
for its yacht which is to face the us challenger in duel to decide the
america cup in spain next month
alinghi has said the sails are made in switzerland
oracle legal action came as the two sides reached tentative deal on the
dispute in singapore which it said would have settled all the remaining issues
over the cup and postponed the event by one month until march
but it alleged alinghi refused to sign
in letter released on monday oracle which is representing the golden gate
yacht club ggyc of san francisco said it would drop all legal action against
alinghi if the swiss syndicate signs the singapore deal by gmt on monday
alinghi on sunday charged that oracle representatives clearly bear the
substantial responsibility for the failure of the negotiations in singapore
while alinghi representatives were acting in good faith in singapore ggyc
lawyers filed factually and legally baseless motion with the new york court
on topic that was subject of the negotiations it said in letter to the
ggyc
the two bitter rivals are due to face off in best of three event from february
in the spanish port of valencia to decide the rd edition of yachting most
prestigious event
under the deed of gift the th century rules that govern the oldest
competition in international sport the participating vessels must be
constructed in the country where the sailing club which they represent is
located which in alinghi case is switzerland
alinghi owner swiss biotech billionaire ernesto bertarelli has said the
sails for alinghi catamaran were made in villeneuve switzerland
oracle alleged they were made in the us state of nevada and were therefore
illegal
oracle skipper russell coutts said the us team is prepared to give alinghi
several weeks to change the sails if the new york court rules in its favour on
the issue
if the court does not make decision before february oracle would take part
in the competition under protest and the result could be overturned the new
zealander told afp in telephone interview on sunday
oracle and alinghi have been arguing over the rules of the america cup in
court since the swiss syndicate won the last edition in valencia in
the new york court ruled in april that the cup should be settled by one on one
multihull duel between the two sides next february instead of the traditional
fully fledged regatta involving several teams
apple to hold january event tablet computer expected
washington jan afp
apple on monday invited journalists to attend special event in san francisco
on january expected to be the unveiling of long awaited tablet computer
come see our latest creation said the invitation from the company behind the
macintosh computer the ipod and the iphone
the cupertino california based apple did not supply any further details about
the invitation only event to be held at the yerba buena center in san francisco
silicon valley has been buzzing for months with rumors that apple plans to
release color touchscreen tablet computer that could browse the web display
video and also serve as an electronic book and newspaper reader
apple routinely refuses to comment on products ahead of their release and true
to form the company has ignored the rumors about an itablet letting
anticipation and speculation build
australians prefer prince william as next king poll
london jan afp
the majority of australians would prefer britain prince william to be their
next king instead of his father prince charles according to poll published
tuesday
the year old royal who arrives in sydney on tuesday after visiting new
zealand also proved popular with the country women
the survey for british television channel itv news found percent of those
interviewed thought william should be the next monarch compared with percent
who favoured charles william is second in line to the throne after his father
sixty three percent of australian women said they would like to see william
ascend to the throne after queen elizabeth ii with just percent preferring
charles
william who is on his first official trip overseas on behalf of his grandmother
the queen was praised for his performance in british newspapers monday with the
daily telegraph dubbing him prince charming
it marks significant milestone for the prince for he is representing his
year old grandmother overseas for the first time commented the paper in an
editorial
but some also chose to highlight painful incident during rugby event when
the british prince appeared to take ball to the groin
the daily express carried the headline william low blow down under and
showed picture of him doubling over
the survey also showed close result for the question of whether the queen
should remain australia head of state with percent voting in favour and
percent against
but when asked whether the queen should stand down and hand over to new
monarch percent agreed with the question and only percent thought she
should stay on the throne
newspoll carried out the survey for itv news and quizzed australian adults
over the weekend
haiti facts and figures after the quake
port au prince jan afp
aid is pouring into haiti nearly week after the devastating quake with
officials still trying to estimate the scale of the death and destruction amid
warnings of looting by desperate survivors
figures are constantly being modified and updated but here are some of the
latest provided by various organizations and officials
death and destruction
haitian government minister has said that bodies had been collected and
buried in mass graves while officials have expressed fears the death toll from
last tuesday earthquake may top
rescue teams were still pulling people from the rubble six days after the
disaster
quarter of million people were injured and million left homeless
according to the haitian government dozens of tent cities have sprung up
the international organization of migration has estimated that families
comprising up to one million people need immediate shelter and non food
assistance
some to percent of buildings in the town of leogane just west of the
capital port au prince near the epicenter of tuesday quake were destroyed
and to percent of buildings in jacmel to the southwest were leveled
an initial eu assessment found that more than physical structures were
destroyed or damaged in port au prince
nearly two dozen countries said they had nationals dead or missing with un
workers among those who had not made contact
rescues
some international search and rescue teams with rescue workers and
dogs were at work digging out people from the rubble of collapsed buildings
by sunday officials said
us teams pulled record people alive from the rubble of port au prince on
sunday the us government aid agency usaid said adding that of its
members were involved in rescue efforts
on the ground some us troops were at work with another stationed
on vessels offshore while around were due to arrive later monday the us
military said
aid
the united nations has appealed for million dollars from the world community
to help victims of the earthquake with host of other relief groups also
launching appeals
european union nations earmarked monday million euros million dollars
in emergency aid and reconstruction funds this was on top of millions of
dollars pledged by other countries including million dollars from the
united states
usaid and partners have some metric tons of emergency food aid already in
haiti estimated at million dollars the state department has said
the airport has received more than tons of supplies usaid said sunday with
military helicopters providing relief
us military aircraft had by noon sunday airlifted humanitarian daily
rations and more than bottles of water to port au prince while
water containers had arrived from miami it said
three water purification units were operational and could supply liters
nearly gallons per day it said
the un world food program wfp said one week food rations had been
distributed since the emergency relief operation began last week with
more due to be handed out on monday by aid workers and un peacekeeping troops
three more emergency field hospitals set up and four more in the pipeline
backing up the five local hospitals that withstood the tremor the united
nations said
two planeloads of medicine medical equipment and supplies from the united
states had arrived in haiti with third expected monday usaid said
the us hospital ship comfort was on the way and expected to arrive on
wednesday with medical personnel on board
concern worldwide save the children world vision and oxfam were among the ngos
distributing water clothing food hygiene supplies while the british red
cross was on sunday setting up bed field hospital
the international organization for migration said it was planning with haitian
authorities to resettle people possibly in an area about kilometres
eight miles northeast of port au prince
some emergency centers coordinated by the wfp were to be set up monday to
distribute aid and provide shelter haitian government source said
logistics
the port au prince airfield was open for operations and could accept
aircraft per day usaid said up from aircraft on saturday
the port at port au prince is likely to be out of operation for to days
the pentagon has said and damage to the fuel delivery pier means no fuel
supplies can be unloaded
with fuel supplies becoming critically short some gallons
litres of fuel were to be ferried in by truck daily on congested roads from the
dominican republic
the wfp is setting up shuttle service between port au prince and santo domingo
with flights for passengers three times day
preval pledges to strengthen haiti needs bln usd
santo domingo jan afp
haiti president rene preval pledged monday to strengthen democratic
institutions as his country rebuilds from last week cataclysmic earthquake
task estimated to cost billion dollars
we need in haiti political economic stability we need to reinforce the
democratic institutions he said at meeting to prepare for conference on
international aid to the devastated caribbean country
the meeting host dominican president leonel fernandez estimated that
billion dollars over five years would be needed to put haiti back on the road to
recovery
but he warned that what was most needed was central authority in haiti able
to channel all the aid that is arriving so that the humanitarian efforts achieve
their goal
we have seen that haiti perhaps will need two billion dollars year
fernandez said we would be talking about five year plan of about billion
dollars
also at the meeting with preval were oas secretary general jose miguel insulza
spanish vice president maria fernandez de la vega number of caribbean heads
of government and canada minister of state of foreign affairs americas peter
kent
the inter american development bank meanwhile announced here that it would
forgive haiti million dollar debt with the regional lending organization
additionally the bank is prepared to grant haiti million dollars that can
be put to use immediately and establish fund to finance hati reconstruction
over the next six years said manuel labrado bank spokesman
the spanish vice president said the leaders had discussed medium and long term
responses to the disaster aimed at strengthening haiti politically and
economically
insulza for his part said the organization of american states expects to raise
million dollars for haiti recovery
the meeting in santo domingo was in preparation for larger meeting of
international donors in montreal january to raise funds to rebuild haiti
meanwhile foreign ministers from the member association of caribbean states
were scheduled to meet thursday and friday in bogota to consider ways to support
haiti in its hour of crisis diplomatic source in bogota said
us teams save people from haiti ruins us agency
washington jan afp
search and rescue teams from the united states pulled record people alive
from the rubble of quake struck port au prince on sunday the us agency for
international aid said monday
according to rescue officials this is the largest number of rescues in
single day in decades of earthquake search and rescue efforts it said
the ten were brought out of the rubble alive by three us teams from los angeles
and miami florida the agency said fourth us team from fairfax virginia was
also working in port au prince
by monday morning the total number or people rescued by us teams since the
earthquake devastated the haitian capital on tuesday was said usaid senior
regional adviser tim callaghan
from all international search and rescue teams people have been rescued
he added
some international teams comprising rescue workers and dogs have
already scoured percent of the worst affected areas hit by the earthquake
guinea opposition divided over pm choice
conakry jan afp
guinea opposition groups were split on monday in talks to choose an interim
prime minister under deal aimed at leading the country out of its political
crisis
an agreement signed on friday paved the way for unity government led by
prime minister from the forces vives coalition of opposition parties trade
unions and civil society members
but discussions on someone for the role are deadlocked with political parties
backing jean marie dore the leader of the union for guinea progress party
and unions favouring rabiatou serah diallo general secretary of the national
confederation of guinean workers
the candidates came out neck and neck in vote following long discussions
between the two sides
union supporters on monday attacked political leaders for unorthodox
manoeuvres and accused them of being the cause of guinea woes
under friday deal presidential elections will be held in six months and junta
chief captain moussa dadis camara will remain in convalescence following
december bid to kill him
camara was shot in the head by an aide de camp after what some said was
dispute over bloody crackdown on an opposition rally in september in which
more than people were shot dead
the agreement also called for civil and military observers from the regional
economic community of west african states bloc to be deployed for electoral
lists to be revised and for revamp of the country security forces
afp world news agenda
hong kong jan afp
what coming up around the world
search continues for haiti quake survivors as aid seeps in
japan airlines expected to file for bankruptcy
port au prince amid dimming hopes rescuers search for quake survivors while
the international relief effort intensifies haiti quake
tokyo japan airlines widely expected to file for bankruptcy protection capping
spectacular fall from grace japan aviation company distress jal
boston massachussets voters cast ballots to fill senate seat left vacant by
the death of ted kennedy in special election with major implications for
president barack obama reform agenda us politics senate vote
cairo trial starts of coptic christian man accused of raping muslim girl in
the southern egyptian province of qena with religious tensions high after six
copts were killed this month egypt unrest religion copt
hanoi verdict expected in the appeal trial of three pro democracy activists
sentenced to between three and four years in jail for propaganda against the
communist state vietnam rights
london geoff hoon defence minister under prime minister tony blair at the
start of the iraq war in testifies before iraq war inquiry gmt
britain iraq military politics inquiry
the eu first president herman van rompuy meets british prime minister
gordon brown press conference gmt britain eu
najaf iraq hour deadline issued by local officials expires for supporters
of ex dictator saddam hussein to leave the shiite province of najaf or face an
iron fist iraq vote unrest politics najaf
new delhi us defense secretary robert gates meets prime minister manmohan singh
on visit to promote strategic partnership india us diplomacy
new york start of trial of aafia siddiqui pakistani accused of opening fire
on american officers while she was detained in afghanistan us pakistan
afghanistan trial qaeda
citigroup once the world largest bank and rescued from collapse with state
funds releases annual results us banking citigroup
sydney britain prince william begins first visit to australia since
australia britain royals william
tokyo japan supreme court rules on tomomitsu niimi former senior member of
the aum supreme truth sect who was sentenced to death by lower courts for
sarin nerve gas attack on tokyo subway among other crimes japan court sect
afp
looters lay waste to quake ravaged haitian capital
port au prince jan afp
roving bands of looters on monday overran port au prince while police and
military officials tasked with protecting the quake stricken haitian capital
were nowhere to be found
world leaders have promised to dispatch additional police troops marines and
un peacekeepers to the haitian capital which has spiraled into chaos and despair
after being leveled by massive earthquake nearly week ago
but for now the commercial heart of haiti shattered capital remains firmly in
the hands of the thieves and vandals who make off with whatever they can carry
that has not been damaged beyond use
looters roamed from shop to shop some clearly survivors scavenging for food and
water as the unrest across the region was stoked by delay in supplies reaching
hundreds of thousands of people desperate for aid
but others on the rampage in port au prince shopping zone appeared to be
simply marauders availing themselves of whatever items they might be able to use
or sell at later time
the pillagers in downtown port au prince targeted fabric store in relatively
good condition and whose wares had not yet been despoiled
band of about masked men managed to scale the rubble to gain access to the
building interior where they made off with large bolts of fabric hoisted on
their shoulders
widespread looting on sunday led haitian police to open fire on crowd in the
capital killing at least one man who was shot in the head as others ransacked
supermarket
incidents of violence and looting are on the rise as the desperation grows
warned the international committee of the red cross icrc
roaming gangs of looters steal anything they can find sneakers fabric music
stereos everything is up for grabs
international officials overseeing relief operations on monday said they were
painfully aware of the need for additional troops and police to get vital aid to
the quake survivors and to restore semblance of order as haiti struggles to
emerge from the worst catastrophe to befall the poor caribbean nation
un chief ban ki moon requested monday extra troops and police to boost his
battered mission in quake hit haiti as the world body death toll from the
disaster rose to with hundreds still unaccounted for
speaking to reporters after briefing the security council on his six hour visit
to the devastated haitian capital sunday ban said he had requested that the un
mission known as minustah be considerably beefed up
vital aid and surge in us military personnel to haiti brought monday drip of
hope to despairing survivors still seeking basic supplies and security nearly
week after the killer quake
approximately troops were already on the ground as part of the
