wilfried siegele
prosecutors in innsbruck would now decide whether to proceed with the case
the experiment was actually called off after only few hours last friday for
fear of public protests
nevertheless of the pigs died
animal rights groups condemned it as bizarre and macabre and activists had
gathered in tyrol oetz valley where the research was being conducted by the
medical faculty of innsbruck university and the emergency medicine centre at
bolzano italy
the scientists who had wanted to study the effect of air pockets that form
under snow during avalanches on victims survival chances argued that the pigs
were sedated and that the authorities had given their approval
one in five people hit by an avalanche found themselves with an air pocket and
the pig experiment could allow the development of new life saving rescue
techniques scientists said
kuwait journalists blast state plan for tougher media laws
kuwait city jan afp
kuwaiti journalists on monday blasted state plan for tougher punishment of
press offences and urged parliament to reject amendments to existing laws
newspaper and television editors met and agreed to boycott lawmakers who back
the amendments said statement from the kuwait journalists association
we urged mps to reject the government plan to amend the press law the
statement said
faisal al quenae who heads the association said the government move was an
attempt to curb media freedoms
information minister sheikh ahmad abdullah al sabah told newspaper editors late
sunday of plans to amend the press and publications law and the so called
audio visual law that controls private television stations
sheikh ahmad who is also oil minister said the amendments would stipulate
penalties between one and two years for offenders who insult god
publishing without an official licence would be punishable with fine of up to
dollars instead of the dollars under the existing law
he said that broadcasting without television licence would be punishable by
two year jail term instead of fines stipulated under current laws
the amendments must be approved by the cabinet before they go to parliament for
debate
kuwaiti officials have in the past few weeks accused some local media of fueling
political and social tensions and called for tougher penalties to curb
violators
media in the gulf state enjoy considerable freedoms and have been aggressive in
criticising top government officials including the prime minister but any
criticism of the ruler sheikh sabah al ahmad al sabah is strictly forbidden by
law
under the current law no journalist can be jailed or newspaper closed without
final court verdict
football zaki set for hull loan move
hull england jan afp
egypt amr zaki is set to return to the english premier league in loan spell
with hull until the end of the season subject to receiving work permit the
top flight strugglers said monday
zaki who scored premier league goals for wigan during loan spell last
term will be joining from egyptian club zamalek if the deal is approved
hull manager phil brown will hope zaki latest stint in england is as
productive as his last as the tigers look to climb out of the relegation zone
we are pleased to confirm the loan signing of amr zaki from zamalek fc
statement on hull official website www hullcityafc net said monday
the player yesterday sunday signed loan agreement until the end of the
season to join hull city afc
as is the case with all non eu european union transfers there are work
permit and other red tape issues still to be confirmed but we are expecting the
player to return to england and join hull city on friday this week
the playing contracts are signed and confirmed however the final details must
be undertaken before the loan can commence
zaki said he was looking forward to playing in the premier league again
happy to be back in the premier league through hull city he told his
official website www amrzaky com on sunday
tigers are good side and looking forward to do my best for the team
want to thank both phil brown and chairman adam pearson for the faith they
showed in me and my target is to repay this faith on the field by helping my
team mates to do the best for the club and for the fans
ll travel back to cairo on tuesday to finish some stuff then back to join my
team on thursday
hull leading scorer in the league this season is republic of ireland
midfielder stephen hunt with five
iran bans reformist daily over wrongdoings report
tehran jan afp
iran hardline press watchdog cancelled the licence of the reformist newspaper
farhang ashti on monday over repeated wrongdoings isna news agency reported
the licence of the newspaper whose name means culture of reconciliation has
been suspended several times in the past
two other reformist dailies the prominent etemad confidence and aftab yazd
sun of yazd escaped bans but were issued with warnings the report added
etemad was warned for publishing an article in which it implicated the
islamic republic government as the root of sedition mohammad ali ramin
watchdog official was quoted as saying
ramin said serious warning would be handed out to aftab yazd for materials
such as encouraging to participate in illegal gatherings that lead to riots
ramin the deputy culture minister for media affairs has hit out at dailies in
breach of the watchdog rules comparing them to corrupt or contaminated
elements
last week iran judiciary banned the weekly hemmat for publishing false
information and disturbing public opinion
the authorities have cracked down on the media and arrested scores of
journalists since anti government protests erupted after the re election of
president mahmoud ahmadinejad
ahmadinejad disputed june poll win has bitterly divided iran political
elite amid persistent allegations it was massively rigged in his favour
his government has cracked down on critical media mostly belonging to the rival
reformist camp but conservative media have also been hit by number of
closures
eu earmarks over million euros for haiti
brussels jan afp
european union nations earmarked on monday sums approaching half billion euros
in emergency aid and reconstruction funds to help rebuild quake ravaged haiti
at emergency talks in brussels eu development ministers decided that the
european commission and eu nations will donate million euros in emergency
humanitarian aid senior officials told reporters
the eu executive arm will also provide just over million euros in
rehabilitation aid and further million euros in medium to long term
reconstruction money for total of million euros million dollars
we recognise that more aid and support is needed and more has been agreed eu
foreign affairs chief catherine ashton told reporters after the talks
we are coordinating under the strategic umbrella of the united nations working
closely with the united states and with others she underscored
international aid workers are struggling to cope with the scale of the disaster
in the caribbean island nation where officials fear the final death toll could
top
quarter of million more were injured and million left homeless in the
wake of tuesday magnitude quake
we ve also begun to think about the needs in the medium to long term in
bringing together conference to be able to express how we re going to be able
to turn our desires into practical contributions ashton said
britain itself trebled its humanitarian aid to million dollars international
development secretary douglas alexander announced
it is now clear that the international community is dealing with an almost
unprecedented level of devastation he said in statement
the impact of this earthquake is magnified because it has hit country that
was already desperately poor and historically volatile
france will release million euros in emergency funds in response to un
appeal foreign minister bernard kouchner said in paris
according to an initial eu assessment more than physical structures were
destroyed or damaged in the haitian capital port au prince
but aid has been difficult to get into haiti given the number of planes and
ships descending on the country to help while people in need have no way of
knowing where to go to find the food and water they so badly need
on the ground some us troops were at work with another stationed
on vessels offshore while around were due to arrive later monday the
military said
spanish foreign minister miguel angel moratinos said the un had asked the eu for
logistical support for ships laden with emergency supplies and helicopters to
help unload aid and that request on security personnel was expected
we expressed our desire to be able to contribute to this request from the
united nations and that this could be done through the european gendarmerie the
request would in principle involve to personnel he said
we want to act quickly because there is an urgent need to provide security to
help facilitate the arrival of international aid he told reporters after the
two and half hour meeting
britain development aid secretary michael foster at the meeting said his
understanding is that the us has some troops on the ground in haiti and
that should be more than enough as security mission
ashton who travels to new york on wednesday for meetings with us and un
officials said there was no question of swamping the system stressing the
big logistical questions
you can just walk in and dump aid you have to plan to do it properly to
make sure it reaches everyone she said
in statement the ministers also called for in due course and after post
emergency needs have been fully assessed an international conference to help
kick start the enormous process of rebuilding
five dead as taliban militants strike across kabul
kabul jan afp
taliban gunmen and suicide bombers attacked buildings across the heart of kabul
on monday triggering fierce gun battles with security forces and killing at
least five people including child
fires raged after two shopping centres cinema and the only five star hotel in
the afghan capital were targeted by heavily armed militants who set off wave
of explosions apparently targeting nearby government buildings
five people were killed and wounded interior minister mohammad hanif atmar
said in the most dramatic strike on kabul since taliban militants laid siege to
government buildings in february killing at least people
atmar said child and security forces personnel were among the dead while
seven militants were also killed
they were killed either by detonating themselves or they were shot by security
forces he told reporters of the militants adding total of seven
terrorists were killed in today attack
president hamid karzai said the situation was under control after more than
three hours of fighting and explosions which came as he was swearing in new
cabinet ministers inside the presidential palace
the enemies of the afghan people conducted series of attacks today causing
fear and terror among the population karzai said in statement the
president condemns these terrorist attacks
the attacks began at the peak of morning rush hour when suicide bombers stormed
buildings around pashtunistan square setting off explosions that sent clouds of
black smoke into the sky and people fleeing in terror
atmar said suicide bomber was challenged by security agent in front of the
central bank at am gmt and immediately blew himself up
by am security forces had moved into key positions defence minister abdul
rahim wardak told the same press conference
at am suicide bomber driving an ambulance was stopped by afghan
security forces and detonated himself he said
the taliban waging an increasingly deadly insurgency against the western backed
kabul government and foreign troops in afghanistan claimed responsibility
twenty of our suicide bombers have entered the area and fighting is ongoing
man calling himself zabihullah mujahid who said he was taliban spokesman
told afp
he said the presidential palace and ministries around pashtunistan square were
the targets but it appeared that government buildings had not been breached and
civilian gathering places bore the brunt of the violence
smoke billowed from the qari sami shopping mall on the square five storey
building that used to be the bamiyan hotel and one of the buildings in the
serena hotel the city only five star hotel
saw four people wrapped up in patus blankets coming and the guard went
forward and asked them what are you doing said local grocer ismail who was
in his shop in one of the malls when militants stormed in
one of them opened his patu and showed the guard suicide vest packed with
explosives and said to him get out of my way or you ll die
militants blockaded themselves inside the nearby ariana cinema and shot at
security forces who struggled to secure the building
the head of afghanistan national directorate for security nds amrullah
saleh said militants had taken children hostage
the attackers who took position in building near the ariana cinema had two
children as hostages he said
there was negotiation and they the children were freed
the united states condemned the attacks as ruthless act by the taliban
whose rebellion to topple the government and oust foreign troops has been
gaining strength since us led invasion in removed them from power
the attacks came day after the government said karzai was to announce new
plan aimed at forging peace with the islamist taliban although the militants
have repeatedly rebuffed any efforts at negotiation
the last major attack on the capital was on december when suicide car
bomber blew up his vehicle outside the homes of former senior government
officials killing eight people and wounding more than
canadians dead missing in haiti
ottawa jan afp
eleven canadians died and are missing in haiti following magnitude
quake last week canada foreign affairs minister lawrence cannon said monday
the updated number of missing persons was less than previously announced on
sunday canada was still searching for people who had not been heard from
since the devastating quake
cannon also said canadians had been found alive and of them have
returned to canada aboard military aircraft used to transport aid to haiti some
more were expected to arrive in canada in the day
quake near argentine town no casualties reported
buenos aires jan afp
moderate magnitude quake rattled town in argentina western andes on
monday but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage the
national seismic prevention institute said
the temblor hit at am gmt some kilometers miles northwest of
the town of san juan at depth of kilometers the institute said the
information was confirmed by the us geological survey usgs
san juan residents felt the earth move but it was far from the level causing
damage an expert at the argentine institute alejandro giulano said
the quake came one day after stronger magnitude temblor in the atlantic
ocean off argentina coast on sunday that did not cause any damage on land
the andes run north south along south america along fault line that frequently
causes earthquakes
san juan has been hit several times in the past the worst being in when
people were killed by magnitude upheaval according to the usgs
palestinian group says refuses to disarm in lebanon
beirut jan afp
the head of syrian backed palestinian militia said on monday his group will
not disarm in lebanon but is willing to discuss where in the country it holds
its arms
palestinian arms inside or outside the camps are part of our resistance against
the zionist enemy said fatah al intifada chief said mussa who is also known
as abu mussa
the presence of these arms in southern lebanon does not affect lebanese
security the state run national news agency quoted him as saying during
visit to lebanon
but we are ready to talk to lebanese officials about the positioning of our
arms he added
lebanese newspapers on monday reported that abu mussa had openly refused the
disarmament of palestinian militias in lebanon
we reject the disarmament of palestinians outside refugee camps in lebanon
our arms outside the camps serve the purpose of resisting israel in case it
attacks southern lebanon again abu mussa said in reference to war
between israel and lebanese shiite militant group hezbollah
this is solely palestinian decision and not in the hands of any other power
he added
abu mussa who is based in syria made the statements less than month after
prime minister saad hariri landmark visit to syria after which hariri said he
and syrian president bashar al assad had discussed the arms of palestinian
groups outside camps in lebanon
ramez mustafa of the syria based popular front for the liberation of palestine
general command pflp gc reiterated to afp the view that palestinian arms
outside camps in lebanon were indispensable to the fight against israel
mustafa said both hariri and lebanese president michel sleiman had discussed the
arms during their respective damascus visits but no lebanese officials
contacted us
the presence of palestinian arms is part of the resistance against israeli
threats said mustafa the pflp gc lebanon representative
the arms are not to be used in lebanese affairs he added saying the groups
were willing to discuss the issue with lebanese leaders face to face
fatah al intifada and the pflp gc led by ahmad jibril were founded with syrian
backing during the lebanese civil war and both have bases in east
lebanon bekaa valley near the syrian border
the pflp gc also has base in nehmeh south of the capital beirut
in feuding lebanese leaders agreed on the disarmament of palestinians
outside camps at national dialogue session
un security council resolution adopted in calls on lebanon to assert
sovereignty on the whole of its territory and disarm all militias including
armed palestinian factions
by long standing convention however the lebanese army does not enter lebanon
palestinian refugee camps leaving security inside in the hands of
palestinians
along with armed lebanese factions palestinian guerrilla groups played major
part in lebanon civil war
palestinian factions and lebanon shiite militant group hezbollah were the only
parties which did not give up their weapons after the war saying they were
needed to defend themselves against israel
but unlike most palestinian factions in lebanon which are located inside the
camps and remain loyal to gaza or the west bank the pflp gc and fatah al
intifada continue to be backed by syria
ukraine hospital blast leaves dead missing officials
lugansk ukraine jan afp
gas canisters exploded in ukrainian hospital on monday causing the collapse of
several floors of the building that killed three people and left missing
officials said
the blast left gaping hole in the wall of the hospital in the eastern city of
lugansk kilometres miles east of kiev rescuers heard voices coming
from the rubble
prime minister yulia tymoshenko blamed lax safety rules for the explosion of
oxygen bottles in the intensive care unit of lugansk hospital number seven
several floors of the hospital collapsed said statement released by
tymoshenko office adding that the prime minister who is in the midst of
heated presidential election battle was heading to the scene
three people were saved and three bodies were pulled from the rubble the
emergency situations ministry said in statement
the ministry said that patients and medical staff were in the hospital
at the time of the explosion and that people from undamaged parts of the
building had been evacuated
the fate of people remains unknown olexander efremov member of the
ukrainian parliament told reporters at the scene after attending an emergency
meeting on the rescue efforts
one can hear voices under the rubble so the search is continuing yefremov
said adding that the survivors could be trapped in room on the first floor
six search dogs were waiting for the site to be partly cleared before they could
start work an afp journalist witnessed
local internet newspaper vostochny variant said the third and fourth floors of
the building had collapsed onto the second
lax adherence to safety rules makes such disasters frequent in ukraine and the
former soviet union
in december people were killed after an oxygen canister explosion
partially destroyed an apartment block in the ukrainian black sea town of
yevpatoria
berlusconi reneges on vow to attend tax fraud trial
milan italy jan afp
italian prime minister silvio berlusconi reneged monday on vow to attend his
own fraud trial in milan as the media magnate lawyers said he had scheduling
conflict
the presiding judge read out statement from the defence team saying that the
prime minister was prevented from attending by significant changes to his
programme and that in any case monday hearing would concern only procedural
matters
berlusconi returned to public life last week after recovering from an
assault in the northern city in december that left him with broken nose and
two broken teeth
the prime minister and co defendants face charges of tax fraud and false
accounting involving berlusconi media group mediaset
prosecutors allege that berlusconi as mediaset majority shareholder siphoned
off total of million euros million dollars from the firm coffers
by using two offshore companies to purchase us television and movie rights and
then re sell them to mediaset at inflated prices
the alleged scam also allowed mediaset to avoid taxes prosecutors say
if convicted berlusconi faces prison term ranging from months to six
years
the prime minister has pledged to attend the trial one of two currently pending
against him that have resumed after the constitutional court threw out an
immunity law that he shepherded through parliament soon after his election in
april
one of the co defendants in the case is berlusconi former tax lawyer david
mills of britain who has been convicted separately of accepting bribe of
dollars to give false testimony on the premier behalf in two earlier
trials
mills is appealing his conviction and four and half year prison sentence in
that case
berlusconi who avoided the trial under the now defunct immunity provision
stayed away from its resumption last friday the next hearing in the case is on
february
the self made billionaire has faced multiple legal battles since he burst on to
the political scene in the mid but has never been definitively convicted
red cross fears haiti quake strife
port au prince jan afp
the red cross warned monday that violence by desperate haitians is growing
despite the mammoth international earthquake relief operation and the arrival of
thousands of american troops
while emergency teams have found more survivors in the rubble conditions have
barely improved for the hundreds of thousands sleeping rough in the streets
hundreds of people ransacked port au prince market on sunday and police shot
dead one rioter other incidents have also been reported
prices for food and transport have skyrocketed since last tuesday and incidents
of violence and looting are on the rise as the desperation grows the
international committee of the red cross said in statement
many residents of port au prince felt they were in catastrophic situation
it added
six days after the magnitude quake millions of homeless injured and
traumatized people are desperate for food water and medicine all around is the
stench of rotting bodies
government minister said bodies had already been collected and
officials have expressed fears the death toll may top
international aid is trickling in but supplies remain scarce amid the enormity
of crisis the united nations estimates affected three million people and left
homeless
us president barack obama has mobilized military reserves and another
troops were to join us forces already on the scene or in ships off haiti
time is still of the essence we re getting better but there is still lot of
misery in haiti said rear admiral ted branch who commands the us aircraft
carrier carl vinson strike group
amidst the death and desperation were life affirming tales of survival against
all the odds but the rescue teams in haiti fear these may be among the last
text message to the united nations set in motion relief operation that led
to the rescue two days later of maria ariel and lamy after being buried for
more than hours under collapsed supermarket
seven ariel shouted to rescuers seeking signs of life adding that she
was stuck next to dead man but covered with supermarket food
it was electric when we saw the fruit of our labor when that little girl came
out said joseph fernandez of florida search and rescue team
the german co owner of leading port au prince hotel also sent text message
that led to her rescue after spending four days under the debris
two australian news crews dug by hand to rescue an month old baby lying
alongside her dead parents
she did not cry reporter robert penfold told the australian newspaper she
looked astonished almost as if she was seeing the world for the first time
at the un building in port au prince jen kristensen dane emerged from the
debris and there was fresh hope at pancaked commercial building where us
fire captain miguel garcia said one woman was talking to them
she indicates that there more but we can hear them he said we ve seen
hand but they can get out from where they re at
elsewhere residents abandoned the search for survivors and began torching the
squalid ruins to stop the spread of disease
survivors besieged hospitals and makeshift clinics some carrying the injured on
their backs or on carts
the un humanitarian relief body said hospitals on the dominican republic
border with haiti were overwhelmed with quake victims and running short of
medicines equipment and doctors
it also said the fuel shortage in haiti was becoming more and more critical
emergency workers are expanding to battered communities outside of port au
prince including gressier petit goave and leogane which were all flattened by
the quake
despite haitian frustration over the lack of supplies the relief operation gets
faster each day and un secretary general ban ki moon promised more improvement
after visit on sunday
clearly this is disaster of epic proportions and we ve got lot of work
ahead of us said lieutenant general ken keen in charge of the vast us
military operation
european union nations on monday promised more than million euros
million dollars in emergency aid and reconstruction funds for haiti
in the package britain trebled its humanitarian aid to million dollars
while france will release million euros for un emergency appeal the eu may
provide police and engineers for haiti
canada said donor nations would meet on january in montreal to discuss
reconstruction
world leaders make fresh call for clean energy commitments
abu dhabi jan afp
world leaders raised fresh alarm on global warming monday urging
international action to increase use of clean energy at four day forum that
opened in the oil rich emirate of abu dhabi
if we don act now our coral reefs and rainforests will die desert
countries will become unbearably hot and low lying countries like the maldives
will slip beneath the rising seas said the president of the maldives mohammed
nasheed
tackling climate change is not like dealing with other global issues such as
trade or disarmament we do not have the luxury of time to meet year after
year in endless negotiations the leader of the low lying indian ocean nation
told participants at the world future energy summit
nasheed was referring to the copenhagen climate talks last month which ended
with non binding agreement to reduce rises in global temperatures seen as
lukewarm commitment to save the planet
the copenhagen accord in its current form will not prevent catastrophic
climate change our challenge this year and next is therefore to strengthen
the accord so it becomes blueprint for planet saving action nasheed said
turkish prime minister recep tayyip erdogan echoed the warnings of global
warming stressing the gravity of the challenge
mitigating global carbon emission is one of the important hurdles ahead of us
he said addressing the opening session of the forum
he highlighted the measures taken by turkey to reduce dependency on fossil
energy saying that renewable sources represent percent of the country
generated power and that ankara aims to increase this share to percent by
he also said turkey wants to contribute to europe security of energy resources
through transporting gas which is cleaner source of energy than coal and oil
our country aims to contribute to europe energy security he said
pointing to the nabucco gas pipeline agreement signed in july between turkey
and four eu states which is aimed at reducing europe gas dependence on
russia
meanwhile qatar energy minister abdullah bin hamad al attiyah whose country
is the world largest exporter of liquefied natural gas protested against the
use of the term alternative when referring to renewable energy
not against renewables don like the word alternative we need mix
in energy sources but we don need to eliminate each other he told
participants
qatar reserves of natural gas amount to approximately trillion cubic feet
trillion cubic metres almost percent of total world reserves and the
world third largest behind russia and iran
greek president karolos papoulias malaysian prime minister najib razak and the
crown princes of spain and denmark also urged action to fight global warming
parallel to the summit runs an exhibition of the latest technologies of
renewable energy
abu dhabi was chosen last year to be the host of the newly established
international renewable energy agency irena in an apparent acknowledgement of
its commitment to harness clean energy
the emirate sits on more than percent of the proven oil reserves of the
united arab emirates the world fifth largest
it has established the masdar initiative to create zero carbon emissions city
that would be home to people masdar will host the headquarters of irena
as well as research institutes that would aim to build abu dhabi status as
leading party in renewable energy
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
