it also includes the full normalisation of the relations between israel and the
arab states he said after arriving in damascus from talks with lebanese
president michel sleiman in beirut where he pressed home the same message
syria certainly has an important role to play in all these efforts he told
reporters on his third visit to the country since being appointed obama
special envoy to the middle east
assad renewed syria commitment to just and comprehensive peace in the
middle east the state news agency sana said to establish peace occupation
must be ended and rights restored
the syrian leader in his talks with mitchell also underlined the important role
of turkey in the peace process
in may turkey mediated indirect talks between israel and syria mainly
over syria claims to the golan heights which was seized and later annexed by
the jewish state after the middle east war
but the talks broke down at the end of over israel offensive in the gaza
strip
mitchell is also due to meet israeli and palestinian leaders on his trip as
washington strives to revive long stalled peace talks stymied when israel
launched the offensive against the hamas rulers of gaza
this is my third meeting with the president and look forward to build on the
positive relationship we have to make tangible progress on our efforts to peace
and on bilateral relationship between us and syria he said
since obama came to office exactly one year ago official visits to syria by us
officials have multiplied as washington believes damascus can also help with
issued relating to iraq and lebanon
mitchell latest tour comes less than week after obama national security
adviser james jones met palestinian and israeli leaders aimed at advancing us
led peace efforts
the palestinians say they will not resume talks until israel halts all
settlement building in the occupied west bank
israel deports us journalist palestinian media
jerusalem jan afp
israel on wednesday deported us journalist working for palestinian news agency
maan the agency reported but the jewish state denied he was being expelled
maan said its english language editor jared malsin who had been held at tel
aviv ben gurion airport for the past week called to say he was being placed
on flight to new york
he sounded shaken and confused said george hale journalist with maan
israel interior ministry confirmed that malsin had been put on flight
saying it was done once he withdrew an appeal to the order barring his entry
into the country
malsin was not expelled but was refused entry into israel after he refused to
cooperate with security officials at the airport said ministry spokesman sabin
hadad
every country has the right to deny entry to those who won cooperate with
border security she told afp
malsin had apparently dropped the challenge on tuesday without the knowledge of
his lawyer maan said in statement
maan is deeply concerned that there was no lawyer present when malsin
apparently filed this independent motion the private news agency said
without jumping to conclusions maan wants to be sure these events did not take
place under duress it said adding that malsin lawyer and relatives had been
unable to reach him in the hours before the deportation
malsin was detained on january upon returning from vacation in prague and
told he would be deported on security grounds hale said
bur gr bpz
us wholesale prices post small rise in december
washington jan afp
us wholesale prices rose marginally in december for percent increase for
the whole of government data showed wednesday
the producer price index for finished goods moved up percent in december
from november on seasonally adjusted basis due largely to inflation among
food products the labor department said
the rise followed percent advance in november and percent increase
in october
excluding food and energy products core prices for finished goods were
unchanged in december and were up percent on the year the data showed
new quake jolts haiti celebration for miracle survivors
port au prince jan afp
powerful new earthquake shook haiti on wednesday jolting celebrations for
miracle survivors ranging from three week old baby to an elderly woman who
were hauled out after seven days under the rubble
residents poured onto the streets fearing repeat of the january quake said
to have killed between and people the us geological survey
estimated the new tremor at magnitude
the epicentre was west of port au prince which was razed by last week
devastating quake witnesses reported low vibration and then thunderous
rumbling but there was no immediate sign of significant new damage
there have been series of big aftershocks since january but rescuers have
kept up their search and have been elated by their success in finding survivors
who defied the quake deadly odds
hoteline losana was found in the wreckage of supermarket late tuesday
only hours after anna zizi who is about sang as she was carried out of the
ruins of port au prince cathedral three week old baby girl was dug out of
rubble in the city of jacmel
losana was said to be conscious and in good form by thiery cerdan of the
french group rescuers without borders which carried out the nine hour operation
with haitian firemen and american experts
she had been in an apartment over supermarket when the quake struck on january
rescuers said she had no food or water could barely move and owed her
survival to the position in which she was stuck
we pulled someone out seven days after an earthquake that is quite
extraordinary said bruno besson another member of the french team
hours earlier mexican firefighters rescued zizi from under the ruins of the
roman catholic cathedral
it seems rescuers were communicating with her and managing to get water to her
through tube she was singing when she emerged said sarah wilson of british
charity christian aid
some of the rescuers were so overcome that they started crying
baby elisabeth was found alive in house in jacmel in southern haiti again
after surviving for week without food french radio reported on wednesday
french rescuers found the day old girl in hollow beneath the ruins after
spending five hours trying to get through to her france inter station said
adding she was mainly unhurt and had been taken to an american field hospital
the united nations said that people had now been rescued by international
teams in the past week and that there were still hopes of finding more
but major general daniel allyn deputy commander of the military operation in
haiti said us forces would soon switch the focus of the operation to recovering
bodies rather than looking for survivors
the haitian government gave latest toll of dead with another
injured and more than million left homeless
us troops fanned out across the ruined capital where the pace of the relief
operation has heightened street tensions
camped out under makeshift tents among the rubble survivors faced desperate
hunt for food and water for many looting is the only way
look when you are hungry and poor nobody helps you have to steal defiant
young man named vincent said as people plunged into the ruins of flattened
supermarket
on tuesday us paratroopers secured the ruined presidential palace which is now
surrounded by squalid refugee camp about marched to port au prince
general hospital which is swamped with injured
us marines also landed southwest of port au prince to link up with un
peacekeepers before more troops and equipment arrives
state department spokesman gordon duguid said there were troops in or
around haiti with about marines and sailors also expected to take part in
the relief operation
the un security council voted unanimously to send extra un troops and
police to haiti to help maintain order and protect aid convoys
relatives told afp that haitian police killed year old girl fabienne
cherisma while firing warning shots over looters in the capital
some witnesses in the angry crowd including the girl father said policeman
aimed deliberately at the girl while others spoke of warning shot that went
astray
the us deputy military commander allyn said there were now around daily
flights into the capital damaged airport and that two airstrips in the
coastal city of jacmel and in san isidro in neighbouring dominican republic
would be in use by thursday
in huge global effort more than billion dollars has been pledged in aid
funding for haiti according to un data
international efforts are also focusing on rebuilding the country with major
donor conference set for monday in montreal
saudi sorcerer who raped sentenced to death reports
riyadh jan afp
saudi man reported to have raped more than women after posing as spell
caster to lure them into his clutches has been sentenced to death saudi media
reported on wednesday
the qatif sorcerer was originally sentenced to years in prison and
lashes but after more victims came forth the sentence was changed to execution
al riyadh newspaper reported
the man whose name was not given terrified women around the eastern city of
qatif for several years
he first drew them in by saying he could cast love spells but then
surreptitiously filmed their meeting and used his work for extortion and to rape
them according to arab news
authorities found hidden cameras and some videotapes and computer disks
with footage of his victims in his home arab news said
he may have tricked as many as women according to al riyadh
he was ultimately caught when man related to woman he had unsuccessfully
targeted reported the case to the commission for the promotion of virtue and
prevention of vice the saudi religious police
in sting woman contacted him seeking to put spell on her husband and
tape recorded his demand that she give him nude picture of herself and
riyals dollars arab news said
al riyadh said the rapes had left many women feeling destroyed and led to at
least three divorces
in conservative saudi society rape victims themselves are often the recipients
of scorn and sometimes themselves blamed
have nothing to lose what happened to me destroyed my life one victim
said according to the paper
imf chief calls for marshall plan for devastated haiti
washington jan afp
imf chief dominique strauss kahn on wednesday called for multilateral aid plan
for earthquake devastated haiti on the scale of the us marshall plan that
rebuilt europe after world war ii
my belief is that haiti which has been incredibly hit by different things
the food and fuel prices crisis then the hurricane then the earthquake
needs something that is big the managing director of the washington based
international monetary fund said
not only piecemeal approach but something which is much bigger to deal with
the reconstruction of the country some kind of marshall plan that we need
now to implement for haiti he said in statement
strauss kahn remarks came in cnn interview in hong kong where he had met
with officials and delivered speech to the asia financial forum gathering
of financial and business leaders
eu set to launch electric car project zapatero
strasbourg jan afp
the european union will launch new project to support and harmonise the
development of electric cars spanish prime minister jose luis rodriguez
zapatero announced wednesday
the other day met together with group of companies and it was considered
fundamental that there should be cooperation and integration of efforts in
developing the electric vehicle said zapatero whose country holds the eu
rotating presidency
the eu presidency is organising meeting of eu industry ministers in san
sebastian on february to launch plan for an electric vehicle for the
european union he told reporters in strasbourg after talks with eu officials
it is fundamental that we should cooperate and integrate our efforts in
developing the electric vehicle among all eu countries with the commission
taking the lead the spanish pm added
if our markets don have regulatory framework to provide financial support
and we don have common standards on the technologies then it will be
difficult for europe to take leading role zapatero insisted
meanhwhile china and japan are fast developing electric vehicles with more
effective batteries he warned
nytimes to begin charging online readers in
washington jan afp
the new york times announced wednesday that it plans to begin charging online
readers of the newspaper at the beginning of next year
the new approach referred to as the metered model will offer users free
access to set number of articles per month and then charge users once they
exceed that number the new york times co said in statement
this will enable nytimes com to create second revenue stream and preserve its
robust advertising business the times co said adding that it will introduce
the paid model for the times website at the beginning of
like other us newspapers the new york times has been grappling with declining
print advertising revenue falling circulation and the migration of readers to
free news online
times co chairman arthur sulzberger said the new business model is designed to
provide additional support for the new york times extraordinary professional
journalism
our audiences are very loyal and we believe that our readers will pay for our
award winning digital content and services he said
the times co said print subscribers to the newspaper will continue to have free
online access to nytimes com once the metered model is in place
the new york times put in place paid model several years ago putting
columnists and other content behind pay wall but quickly abandoned the
experiment
the news corp owned wall street journal and newsday are currently the only
major us newspapers charging readers for full online access
corrected two jordanians jailed for raping british tourists
amman jan afp
two jordanian men were sentenced to years hard labour on wednesday for
raping two british women tourists who found themselves stranded in the desert
kingdom in court official said
amman criminal court jailed the two men aged and to years of hard
labour for raping the british women aged and he told afp without
elaborating
the men who worked at farm in the jordan valley were accused of attacking
the women after they failed to find transport to amman from the dead sea
according to the charge sheet
they offered to help the women find taxi but later threatened to kill them
and raped them it said
the two women were studying arabic in syria and had gone to the dead sea to
celebrate the holiday of eid al fitr the festival marking the end of the muslim
holy month of ramadan it added
canada opens up new air route for aid to haiti
ottawa jan afp
canada military is clearing debris from the jacmel airfield in haiti and
setting up air traffic controls on navy frigate to boost aid flights defense
minister peter mackay said wednesday
lighting and fueling stations will be added to the one kilometer foot
jacmel airstrip in southern haiti to make it operational hours per day
mackay said
the air field lacks radar equipment so hmcs halifax anchored offshore will
direct air traffic he said
once this airstrip has been cleared for use the canadian forces will be in
position to control manage the air space in the region of haiti to allow our
aircraft canadian forces aircraft to move in and out of haiti and avoid the
congestion that we ve seen at the port au prince airport since the mission
began mackay said
jamaica has agreed to allow canada to use its airport as relay point to ease
traffic into haiti he added
to date the canadian military has airlifted over half million pounds of aid
into haiti including relief goods equipment and supplies said mackay
we now have over canadian forces personnel on the ground taking part in
this unprecedented relief effort he noted
two more military helicopters were on the way to join five already in haiti
helping distribute aid canadian light infantry battalion also stands ready to
deploy said mackay
golf ogilvy urges woods to come out of his bunker and come clean
abu dhabi jan afp
geoff ogilvy considered one of the deepest thinkers in professional golf feels
sex scandal tainted world no tiger woods should come clean on public forum
before making his much anticipated return to the game
the year old aussie world no who successfully defended his title in the
season opening tournament on the us pga tour is making his debut at the abu
dhabi golf championship and spoke to the media on the eve of the championship
unlike several players who have preferred to be silent on the matter ogilvy
winner of the us open spoke at length on the issue without being
critical or judgemental about the american superstar
ogilvy said the best tournament for woods to make his return would be the
masters and advised public appearance before in order to make life easier for
his fellow players
think the least amount of circus he could face would be if he went to augusta
first
that would be the most controlled environment he could be in but if he truly
wants to win the masters he going to want to play before then
think he should actually come out in public before not at golf tournament
think he should come out away from the golf course one out of respect for
all of the other players and two to diffuse the circus part of it at least
before he actually gets to the golf tournament
don believe lot of tournaments want all the tabloid media floating
around
it would be nice if he came out away from tournament and when he came out to
golf tournament it would still be crazy but that tabloid edge might be
gone
ogilvy said that he believed the scandal surrounding woods would make his rivals
feel less intimidated by him on the course
perhaps maybe guys will be slightly less intimidated it hard to know
the first few weeks will be interesting if he goes out and wins the first or
second week again he going to gain that whole aura back again he developed
it not through the way he behaves really but because he wins six times year
but one thing is for sure ogilvy added everyone wants him back
everyone wants him back said ogilvy
mean everyone golf tournaments are more enjoyable when he there it not
hollow victory when you win in his absence but it lot better when you win
when he is there
and when asked what question he would like to ask him most ogilvy said
just amazed how do you manage this how did nobody know tiger woods is
quite recognisable
urgent imf chief calls for marshall plan for devastated haiti
washington jan afp
imf chief dominique strauss kahn on wednesday called for multilateral aid plan
for earthquake devastated haiti on the scale of the us marshall plan that
rebuilt europe after world war ii
haiti port to be open again in week or two gates
new delhi jan afp
us defense secretary robert gates said wednesday that he had ordered port
clearance ships to deploy to haiti in bid to re open the country main port
as soon as possible
on visit to india gates said he had ordered port clearance ships with
cranes to deploy to port au prince which within week or two could get the
port back in operation
the us military also was looking at alternative routes for moving large amounts
of food and supplies into haiti he said
gates insisted the pentagon had moved quickly to respond to the disaster and
defended the pace of the us relief effort
it hard for me to see what more the united states could make available or how
we could make it available faster in trying to deal with the tragedy there he
told reporters
an initial report by the pentagon after tuesday magnitude quake had said
that the badly damaged port could take to days to be put back into
operation
ethiopian dam to wreck lives in kenya conservation group
nairobi jan afp
the livelihood of hundreds of thousands of kenyans around the world largest
desert lake will be wrecked by an ethiopian dam on the lake main tributary
conservationists said wednesday
the ethiopian dam project is going to bring nothing but tragedy and harm to
kenya warned renowned archeologist and environmentalist richard leakey
the gilgel gibe iii dam being built on the omo river which supplies percent
of the water in lake turkana on the kenya ethiopia border is one third
complete
during the two years it will take to fill the dam reservoir lake turkana will
recede increasing its salinity damaging the local economy degrading
biodiversity and increasing the risk of cross border conflicts the friends of
lake turkana conservationist organisation said
the group called for construction to be halted pending an assessment by kenya
which has said it will import power generated from ethiopia on the impact the
dam will have on the locals and the environment
what we are asking the kenya government is to reassess to rethink about what
they are doing before it too late said samia bwana top official of the
kenyan group
around fishermen and herders depend on lake turkana while hundreds of
thousands more mainly farmers rely on the omo annual flooding for river bank
cultivation and grazing of livestock
we are depending on country that is known for drought known for rainfall
failure to provide expensive power to kenya leakey told reporters
there is no future for hydroelectric schemes in arid parts of africa
ironically kenya plans to build africa biggest wind farm around lake turkana
which is expected to produce mw the omo dam is projected to have capacity
of mw when it is completed in
leakey said the feasibility study for the ethiopian dam was so badly done that
the dam may never even fill up because of cracks that are already known to
exist
if it never fills up they will never let the water out and if they never let
the water out lake turkana will not only drop some metres it will be wiped
out he added with gesture of despair
alert
imf chief calls for marshall plan for devastated haiti
us envoy stresses syria role in mideast peace
damascus jan afp
us envoy george mitchell on wednesday met president bashar al assad and said
syria had an important role to play in the search for peace in the middle east
mitchell reaffirmed president barack obama and secretary of state hillary
clinton commitment to comprehensive peace in the middle east that includes
peace between israel and palestinians israel and syria israel and lebanon
it also includes the full normalisation of the relations between israel and the
arab states he said after arriving in damascus from talks with lebanese
president michel sleiman in beirut where he pressed home the same message
syria certainly has an important role to play in all these efforts he told
reporters on his third visit to the country since being appointed obama
special envoy to the middle east
mitchell is also due to meet israeli and palestinian leaders on his trip as
washington strives to revive long stalled peace talks stymied when israel
launched an offensive on the islamist ruled gaza strip in december
this is my third meeting with the president and look forward to build on the
positive relationship we have to make tangible progress on our efforts to peace
and on bilateral relationship between us and syria he said
since obama came to office exactly one year ago official visits to syria by us
officials have multiplied as washington believes damascus can also help with
issued relating to iraq and lebanon
mitchell latest tour comes less than week after obama national security
adviser james jones met palestinian and israeli leaders aimed at furthering us
led peace efforts
the palestinians say they will not resume talks until israel halts all
settlement building in the occupied territories
urgent haiti port to be open again in week or two gates
new delhi jan afp
us defense secretary robert gates said wednesday that he had ordered port
clearance ships to deploy to haiti in bid to get the country main port open
again within week or two
alert
haiti port hoped to be operational in week or two gates
nigerian unrest has caused extensive damage police
kano nigeria jan afp
muslim christian violence in jos central nigeria has caused extensive
damage the country police chief said wednesday after tour of the ravaged
city
this crisis has done extensive damage to both human and material resources
ogbonnaya onovo told journalists at the end of his tour
the police chief gave no details of dead or injured but muslim leaders and
medics in the city say around people have been killed since sunday
residents have reported homes and vehicles being torched
onovo said the violence began in the poorer areas of the central city
after assessing the situation the crisis started from the poverty stricken
areas like anguwarogo bachit bukuru dutse uku districts he said
vice president goodluck jonathan had ordered security chiefs to the city on
tuesday to investigate the causes of the violence he called on them to ensure
the constant eruptions of violence did not happen again
jonathan said the government was determined to find permanent solution to the
jos crisis
jos has in recent years been hotbed of religious violence in nigeria whose
million people are almost evenly divided between christians and muslims
in november hundreds were killed in two days of fighting in jos triggered
by rumour that mainly muslim party had lost local election to christian
dominated party
police minister ibrahim yakubu lame blamed the clashes on some highly placed
individuals in the society who were exploiting the ignorance and poverty of the
people to cause mayhem in the name of religion and ethnicity however he did
not name those he believed responsible
pope summons irish bishops over child sex abuse scandal
vatican city jan afp
pope benedict xvi has summoned irish bishops to the vatican for meeting next
month over child sex abuse scandal that has shaken ireland spokesman said
wednesday
the february meeting comes in the context of the problems in the irish
church vatican spokesman federico lombardi told afp
the pope met on december with ireland two most senior roman catholic
churchmen primate of all ireland cardinal sean brady and dublin archbishop
diarmuid martin following shock government report on cover up of clerical
child sex abuse for decades in the dublin archdiocese ireland biggest
the pope said then he shared the outrage betrayal and shame felt by so many of
the faithful in ireland over these heinous crimes
four bishops have so far resigned following the report
meanwhile the irish bishops conference said in dublin that they would hold an
extraordinary meeting friday to continue debate over the revelations
the bishops will also be preparing for pope benedict xvi address by way of
pastoral letter to the faithful of ireland the bishops conference said in
statement
egypt police disperse flood victims with rubber bullets
el tor egypt jan afp
egyptian police used tear gas and rubber bullets on wednesday to disperse
residents of sinai town devastated by floods as they protested against lack of
government aid an afp correspondent said
two policemen were injured in the clashes medics said while residents of abu
sweira on sinai west coast spoke of at least one person being hit by rubber
bullet
nearly residents of the town used their trucks to block the main road to
the resort town of sharm el sheikh burning tyres and throwing stones at police
residents many of whom have been made homeless by the floods were angry at
government delays in providing assistance
what are we going to do with pounds dollars and cheap blanket
asked sheikh mohammed abu salama bedouin resident of the town
flash floods and heavy rains have since late sunday left dead in sinai and
southern egypt hundreds of homes were destroyed mainly in abu sweira the
northern sinai town of el arish and the city of aswan in southern egypt
key dates in obama first year as president
washington jan afp
here are the key events in the first year of the us presidency of barack obama
who was sworn into office on january
january obama orders the closure within one year of the guantanamo
bay prison in cuba in symbolic break with the policy of his predecessor
george bush faced with practical difficulties in closing the prison he
acknowledges on november the deadline will not be met
february obama signs his huge billion dollar stimulus bill into law
declaring the beginning of the end of the worst us economic crisis since the
in august he says that his administration has saved the us economy from
catastrophe
february he announces the withdrawal of most us soldiers from iraq by the
end of august with total withdrawal before the end of
march he launches his reform of health care system that burdens public
budgets and excludes millions of americans dossier on which many of his
predecessors in the white house failed
on september he pleads his cause in joint address to both chambers of
congress in which he declares the time for bickering is over
his personal commitment is rewarded with the plan narrow passage on november
in the house of representatives and on december in the senate the two
versions of the bill still has to be reconciled
march obama launches direct appeal to the iranian people urging an end
to decades of animosity and offering honest engagement with the islamic
republic in video message marking the iranian new year
april obama steps officially onto the international stage as us president
at the summit of the group of in london
april he pledges to lead quest for world purged of nuclear weapons
during summit with european union leaders in prague
june he says he wants new beginning with the world billion
muslims and calls for an end to cycle of suspicion and discord in speech
at cairo university
september he hosts leaders in pittsburgh at summit aimed at
