higher gasoline prices push up canadian inflation
ottawa jan afp
canadian consumer prices rose percent in the months to december amid
higher gasoline prices government agency announced on wednesday
economists had expected higher inflation for the month following percent
rise in november
statistics canada said the december increase was the largest in almost year
and was due primarily to gasoline prices which were up percent year on
year
this follows an extended period in which they were the main contributors to
year over year declines in overall consumer prices it said
strong quake hits haiti us geologists
port au prince jan afp
strong earthquake measuring on the moment magnitude scale hit port au
prince wednesday sending residents running to the streets eight days after the
city was razed by quake
the quake struck kilometers miles west of the capital port au prince
according to the us geological survey
it followed the much more powerful quake on january that is thought to have
killed to people
residents reported low vibration followed by brief but more powerful
rumbling shake at am gmt
afp reporters in the city said there was no immediate sign of damage or
casualties but crashing sound could be heard suggested an already damaged
building may have collapsed
in nearby petionville afp staff said the quake was felt for around ten seconds
residents could be seen running to the streets in panic shortly after the quake
it the almighty it the almighty one person could be seen saying close to
petionville hotel kinam
the us geological survey initially measured wednesday quake at
it struck at depth of kilometers miles at am gmt
bank of america posts loss on aid repayment
new york jan afp
bank of america said wednesday it posted loss of million dollars in the
forth quarter of on repayments to the us government resulting in loss
for shareholders of billion dollars
for all of the largest us bank by assets had profit of billion
dollars but for shareholders the results were loss of billion following
payments to the us treasury stemming from bailout aid
the results were affected by charge of billion dollars to repay the us
government for its capital aid under the troubled asset relief program
massive effort to stabilize the banking system bank of america said
while it disappointing to report loss for the fourth quarter there were
number of important accomplishments worth noting said chief executive brian
moynihan
first we repaid the american taxpayer with interest for the tarp investment
second we have taken steps to strengthen our balance sheet through successful
securities offerings and third all of our non credit businesses recorded
positive contributions to our results
moynihan added as we look at we are encouraged by signs the economy is
improving as we have seen in the stabilization of our credit costs
particularly in the consumer businesses
that said economic conditions remain fragile and we expect high unemployment
levels to continue creating an ongoing drag on consumer spending and growth
new quake jolts haiti celebration for miracle survivors
port au prince jan afp
big 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
the new magnitude quake hit haiti at about am gmt the us
geological survey said
the epicentre was kilometers miles west of port au prince which was
razed by the devastating quake on january that is feared to have killed
between and people
residents reported low vibration followed by brief but more powerful
rumbling afp reporters said there was no immediate sign of significant damage
there have been series of big aftershocks over the past week but rescuers have
kept up their search and have been elated by their success in finding survivors
who have defied the quake deadly odds
hoteline losana was found in the wreckage of supermarket late tuesday
only hours after anna zizi who is about started singing as she was carried
away from 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 the get through to her france inter station said
which said 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 neighboring 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
asiad women boxing added to asian games programme
beijing jan afp
women boxing will make its debut at the asian games later this year ahead of
its inclusion as an olympic sport at london in officials said wednesday
li xiaofeng senior official at the guangzhou asian games organising
committee said in statement that the decision was made in conjunction with
the olympic council of asia
international olympic committee president jacques rogge is strong advocate of
women boxing and he pushed through the decision to make it an olympic sport
last year
women boxing which first came to prominence in england in appeared as
demonstration sport at the olympics but did not reappear on the radar until
vain attempt to have it introduced into the games failed in
the asian games and the olympics will have three categories flyweight
lightweight and middleweight
the asian games the second largest sports event in the world after the summer
olympics will be held in the southern chinese city of guangzhou from november
more than athletes trainers and coaches from countries and regions
will compete in sports
golf westwood unwilling to show mercy to rivals
abu dhabi jan afp
on day when his fellow tour members honoured lee westwood by naming him the
players player of the year on the european tour the englishman did not give
them much comfort by saying his minimum goal for would be to win the race
to dubai honours again
on the eve of the abu dhabi golf championship which is officially the fifth
tournament of the european tour new season but the first with all the big
stars participating the englishman said the only way he could improve upon his
stellar season was by winning at least one major
it was fantastic year but you have to at some point stick it in box and
move on but still feed off the confidence especially from the end of the year
and the last tournament said the world no the highest ranked player in the
million euro championship
it was nice to have break after long run of tournaments at the end of the
year needed to sort of put my feet up and relax and enjoy what happened but
it nice to get back out and have the freshness and the enthusiasm starting
again
abu dhabi is obviously spot that suits me ve only played once and finished
second and being pretty successful on desert course the last time it
great place to start this year
talking about his expectations in the year old said he was mustard keen
to at last win major having several times come agonisingly close and rid
himself of the tag of the best golfer not to have won one label which
europe ryder cup captain colin montgomerie bore before him and never succeeded
in landing one
to contend in the majors again and hopefully win one of those obviously
feel like should have won the open championship last year but did not and
learnt few lessons from that
guess it would be bit disappointing if don win the race to dubai again
think all players want to improve but after winning the money list there
not many places to go on from there other than suppose winning it by more
but the majors are where can improve the most because haven won one and
that everybody goal would guess it the yardstick by which all top
professionals are measured
westwood attempt to go one better than his second place finish last year at
the abu dhabi golf club national course will face stiff resistance from
defending champion and world no paul casey aussie geoff ogilvy winner of us
pga tour season opening sbs championship and world no and the young world
no rory mcilroy of northern ireland
along with westwood the three are among eight of the top players in the
world who will tee up for what is definitely the strongest line up in the short
history of the tournament
also in the field are reigning players champion and world no henrik stenson of
sweden and the pga tour regulars anthony kim of the us and camilo villegas of
colombia
meanwhile mcilroy who continued to impress everyone with his phenomenal skills
and meteoric rise up the world rankings has set himself new goal for the
season to break into the top five
mcilroy who posted his maiden win last year in the neighbouring emirates of
dubai finished second in the race to dubai after his total of under wasn
enough to stop rampaging westwood in the season ending dubai world
championship
nigeria religious clashes spread
kano nigeria jan afp
fighting between gangs wielding machetes and guns and stoked by religious
zealots spread beyond the flashpoint nigerian city of jos wednesday after three
days of clashes left more than dead
the death toll continued to rise despite authorities imposing hour curfew
and extra troop deployments ordered by vice president goodluck jonathan
the unrest erupted on sunday over plans to build mosque in mainly christian
district of the city which straddles nigeria muslim dominated north and
christian south
residents said the fighting spread during the night to areas on the fringes of
jos capital of plateau state
idris sarki who fled into jos from the nearby town of kuru karama said
attacks are still going on in areas in the southern parts of the city including
kuru karama bisiji sabongidan and kanar
the area came from has been sacked all residents like me who are fortunate
have left but many many have been killed he told afp
many people were killed as mobs went from house to house hacking and shooting
those inside defying the curfew witnesses said many buildings have been set
ablaze and smoke rose over several parts of the city
locals said the gangs were able to move freely on tuesday because there security
forces were lacking to patrol the streets and enforce the curfew however some
residents reported wednesday they had seen the troop reinforcements deploying
muslim and christian leaders and paramedic gave tolls of nearly dead but
there was no official confirmation about bodies had been taken to the
central mosque in jos muslim leaders said
several hundred people have been reported wounded and casualties have filled
hospitals some clinics were reportedly running out of medical supplies
the red cross said more than terrified residents have been displaced and
were squatting in makeshift camps set up at police and army barracks
the vice president vowed the government was determined to find permanent
solution to the jos crisis
this is one crisis too many and the federal government finds it most
unacceptable retrogressive and capable of further sundering the bonds of unity
in our country jonathan said in statement released by his office
the human rights watch hrw lobby group urged authorities to act with care in
their efforts to enforce the curfew
nigeria should ensure that its security forces use restraint and comply with
international standards on the use of force in responding to the latest deadly
outbreak of inter communal violence said hrw
hrw said more than people have died in religious or ethnic clashes since
the end of military rule in in the west african country
this is not the first outbreak of deadly violence in jos but the government
has shockingly failed to hold anyone accountable said hrw researcher corinne
dufka
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
awwalu mohammed the head of the local red cross said the city was faced with
serious humanitarian situation as the curfew was affecting water supply
taps are dry throughout the city because water plants have been shut down
said mohammed
mark lipdo of local aid agency stefanus foundation said the displaced needed
food water and medicines
jos resident hashim tijani told afp everybody is now inside with no food and
water the taps are not running
jonathan ordered nigerian security chiefs to put in place comprehensive
security strategies to ensure that these constant eruptions do not happen
again
jos has in recent years been hotbed of religious violence in nigeria whose
million people are divided almost equally 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
deadly earthquakes notable survivals
paris jan afp
rescuers kept up the search on wednesday for survivors who defied the deadly
odds after the january earthquake which devastated haiti as the un said
people had so far been saved
more survivors were pulled out of the wreckage on tuesday week after the
quake which left at least dead and injured
cases of survival and rescue several days after earthquakes are not uncommon
here are several cases where people were rescued from the wreckage more than
five days after an earthquake took place
september mexico two infants are found alive in the rubble in their
cots nine days after an earthquake which killed
july philippines three people are found alive in the ruins of
hotel destroyed two weeks earlier in an earthquake in which more than
died at baguio kilometres miles to the north of the capital they
were able to survive thanks to the seepage of water
august turkey team of rescue workers pulls three year old child
from the ruins six days after quake which hit the north west of the country
killing at least
september taiwan after quake which killed almost people
two brothers are plucked from the ruins in which they had spent more than five
days surviving by eating rotten apples and drinking their urine
february india two victims of quake in the western state of
gujarat are found alive in the ruins of their house ten days after the
catastrophe which killed rescue workers also found several survivors
five or six days after the quake including year old woman and month
old baby
january iran year old man is pulled alive from the ruins
days after quake which killed at bam in the south east of the country
he dies several days later four days earlier year old woman had also been
rescued
january indonesia year old man survives for days on the
island of sumatra having been stuck in the ruins of his house which had been
destroyed by the tsunami which killed more than in south east asia
december pakistan year old woman is pulled alive from the
wreckage of her house in kashmir two months after quake which ravaged the
region killing she survived by eating rotten food and drinking drops of
rain water
may china woman is found trapped in tunnel under water power
plant nine days after quake which ravaged in south western region of sichuan
killing almost
alert
yemeni jets again hit suspected al qaeda hideout witnesses
million to ride china rails during holiday
beijing jan afp
more than million passengers are expected to crowd china railways during
the upcoming chinese new year as officials scramble to accommodate the record
surge rail official said wednesday
during the spring festival travel period we expect up to million
more passengers than last year an increase of percent gao xiaobing told
journalists
although china rail capacity increased rapidly both in length and speed it
is still not enough to meet the demands of the spring festival travel peak
chinese traditionally return to their hometowns and villages for family reunions
with this year travel period stretching from january to march the lunar
new year falls on february
during peak travel days that fall on both sides of the lunar new year up to
million passengers could crowd china railways each day gao said
freezing weather which has engulfed north and western china for much of this
year would complicate the travel surge that includes tens of millions of
migrant workers flocking home and an increasing number of tourist travellers he
said
last year record million passenger trips were taken on the nation rail
system during the lunar new year travel period while another million took
holiday related flights state press reports said at the time
china bus system usually bears the brunt of the travel burden taking
travellers from rail and air hubs out to rural towns and villages across the
nation
gao did not give an estimate of how many people would be travelling during the
upcoming holiday but last year record billion passenger trips were made
on various modes of transport throughout the nation during the period
un climate panel regrets himalaya glacier data in report
geneva jan afp
the un panel of climate scientists said on wednesday that it regretted that
poorly substantiated estimates on the speed of disappearance of himalayan
glaciers were included in its last report
however the intergovernmental panel on climate change stood by its overall
conclusion on the accelerating melting of glaciers in major mountain ranges in
asia and latin america throughout the st century as well as its impact
the ipcc said in statement that paragraph in its page assessment in
of climate change impacts refers to poorly substantiated rates of recession and
date for the disappearance of himalayan glaciers
the chair vice chair and co chairs of the ipcc regret the poor application of
well established procedures in this instance it added
this episode demonstrates that the quality of the assessment depends on
absolute adherence to the ipcc standards including thorough review of the
quality and validity of each source before incorporating results from the source
in an ipcc report
the section of the report said the probability of glaciers in the himalayas
disappearing by the year and perhaps sooner is very high
the contents of ipcc reports which form the world most authoritative
assessment of climate change its causes and impact are peer reviewed by
scientists and then meant to be checked over by editors
russia wins property battle over nice cathedral
nice france jan afp
french court ruled wednesday that russian orthodox church built in nice on
the orders of tsar nicholas ii belongs to russia handing moscow victory in
its legal battle against parishioners
the onion domed cathedral of saint nicholas in the riviera city and its entire
contents including some precious icons are the property of the russian
state the tribunal in nice said
russia had laid claim to the cathedral built on land first acquired by tsar
alexander ii after year lease expired in
but the nice russian orthodox cultural association challenged the move arguing
that they were the legitimate heirs to the building and not the russian state
the nice court ruled that the parishioners did not have the right to buy the
property under the terms of the long term lease and that the cathedral the
largest russian orthodox church outside of russia should revert to moscow
the association immediately announced plans to appeal
cannot see how an association that has occupied the cathedral for years in
peaceful and continuous fashion cannot be considered its owner said the
group lawyer antoine chatain
russian embassy spokesman andrei kleymenov said moscow was satisfied with the
decision which he said recognised the russian state claim to the historic
building
it not the end of the proceedings the other side is going to appeal
kleymenov cautioned but he added we are satisfied that justice has been done
and that our claim has been recognised
saint nicholas cathedral was completed in under the orders of russia last
tsar nicholas ii who wanted to provide russian emigres and russian travelers
to the riviera place of worship
the large red stone functioning cathedral was built on land acquired by tsar
alexander ii who erected memorial for his eldest son and heir to the russian
throne nicholas after he died of meningitis in nice in
the cathedral had become major tourist draw with up to paying
visitors coming to the site every year
the local association had accused moscow of trying to get hold of the revenues
from the visits the russian orthodox parish in nice broke away from moscow
patriarch in and its members are followers of the constantinople church
the cathedral contains several rare icons dating back to the th and th
century donations from families of white russians who fled the bolshevik
revolution
during hearings in november the russian government had argued that the deed for
the land showed that alexander ii had acquired it on behalf of the state and
not for his family the romanovs
the defence had contended that the land was the tsar personal property and
that there were no grounds for moscow claim
imf mission starts visit to romania
bucharest jan afp
an imf mission started visit to romania on wednesday to discuss potential new
instalments of crucial aid package to the crisis hit country an imf
spokeswoman said
the visit comes after the romanian parliament last week adopted austerity
budget condition for receiving more credit from of billion euro
billion dollar rescue package agreed last year with the fond the european
union the world bank and the european bank for reconstruction and developpment
subject to the completion of the reviews by the imf executive board both
the third disbursement and the fourth disbursement of the imf supported program
would become available the imf representative to romania and bulgaria tonny
lybek said
the two disbursements would total around billion euros
on tuesday the head of the imf mission to romania jeffrey franks told the
economic daily ziarul financiar that the money would go for the last time to
finance the public deficit
last year million euros half of the second imf instalment to romania were
used by the finance ministry to pay salaries and pensions in the public sector
franks explained that this constituted an exception as usually the imf money
should not be used for this purpose
after years of growth romania economy is set to shrink by around percent
in the imf and the government forecast percent growth in
urgent bank of america posts loss in quarter profit for full year
new york jan afp
bank of america said wednesday it posted loss of million dollars in the
forth quarter of on repayments to the us government resulting in loss
for shareholders of billion dollars
spanish pm urges eu to mobilise all our forces for haiti
strasbourg jan afp
spanish prime minister jose luis zapatero on wednesday urged the european union
to mobilise all our forces for quake stricken haiti where some one million
people have been left homeless
as europeans faced with the tragedy of haiti we have to concretely
demonstrate our engagement zapatero whose country currently holds the eu
rotating presidency told members of the european parliament in strasbourg
the international community has responded strongly and shown solidarity and
the european union has to be up to the mark he said
in the face of such tragedy our sole focus must be the haitian people they
are suffering he said so we have to mobilise all our forces make every
possible and imaginable effort so that haiti can return to normal
at emergency talks in brussels monday eu development ministers agreed to
release total of million euros million dollars in emergency and
longer term reconstruction aid for haiti
the haitian government said tuesday that the number of people killed in the
magnitude quake week ago had risen to while were injured
euro slumps against dollar
london jan afp
the euro tumbled under dollars on wednesday as worries mounted over the
outlook for the european economy in light of weak german data and greece
fiscal woes dealers said
at gmt the european single currency plunged as low as dollars
which was the lowest point since august it later stood at which
compared with late in new york on tuesday
against the japanese unit the dollar dropped to yen from yen on
tuesday
the euro has continued to fall after poor german economic sentiment data
yesterday as well as on concerns about how greece financial plight will weigh
on the european economy said cmc markets analyst michael hewson
the shared european unit until recently favoured as high yielding currency
is now being shunned in favour of the dollar despite persistent weakness in
the us economy said hachijuni bank strategist masatsugu miyata
due to the uncertain economic outlook in europe markets are in no mood to buy
the euro he said noting increasing worries over greece fiscal health and
german survey that showed drop in business confidence
although the united states has its own problems at least it is in control of
its fiscal policies relative to europe he added
international rating agency moody on tuesday said it was maintaining
negative outlook on greece because it was unclear whether the government could
implement plan to shore up public finances
the greek government which last month suffered credit downgrade from all
three leading ratings agencies is struggling to overcome huge debt and public
deficit that have sparked concern among its eurozone partners
in germany investor sentiment fell for fourth month running in january as
europe biggest economy braced for burdensome and long recovery the zew
economic research institute said
the zew indicator of german economic sentiment fell more steeply than forecast
to an indexed points its lowest level since july
investors were waiting for us economic data due out later in the day bracing
for expected drops in producer prices and housing starts
although recovery in the us housing sector remains on track the rebound
appears fragile said calyon analyst mitul kotecha
markets will also be focused on fourth quarter us earnings reports including
bank of america and wells fargo after citigroup on tuesday posted net losses of
billion dollars for the final quarter of
in london on wednesday the euro was changing hands at dollars against
dollars late on tuesday yen pounds and
swiss francs
the dollar stood at yen and swiss francs
the pound was at dollars
on the london bullion market the price of gold eased to dollars an ounce
from dollars on tuesday
bomb attack injures pakistani lawmaker
peshawar pakistan jan afp
roadside bomb on wednesday injured pakistani provincial lawmaker and four
others in the northwest city of peshawar frequent target of attacks by
taliban militants officials said
