international affairs official at seoul yonsei university hospital we also
need effective guidelines to solve legal problems
park the head of the korea global healthcare association was optimistic about
the pace of change
our short term goal is to become leader in asia medical tourism industry
he said predicting south korea and china would eventually lead asia
healthcare market we ve just made start
french photographer izis captures poetic paris
paris jan afp
chagall painting the ceiling of the paris opera young lovers kissing by the
seine grimy faced children at play in the streets french photographer izis
captured the poetry of paris in the
izis was part of the french humanist movement that focused on scenes of everyday
parisian life but he never achieved the fame of his contemporaries robert
doisneau henri cartier bresson willy ronis and brassai
first retrospective of his work opening this week in paris pays tribute to
izis as one of france great photographers versatile artist who excelled at
portraits news photography and creative shots of street life
born izraelis bidermanas in lithuania under tsarist russia izis fled his
country at the age of arriving in paris penniless and enormously grateful
for the refuge afforded to him
he wrapped his arms around paris said izis son manuel bidermanas former
director of the sygma photo agency and co curator of the exhibition opening at
paris city hall on wednesday
melancolic at times brooding artist izis injected some of that sadness into
his work his photographs of working class paris children in the street men
eating in cafes laundry hanging from clotheslines show hardship but also
dignity
would say his work had form of poetic sadness said bidermanas he
believed that we were all deep down quite fragile
izis poetic sadness was rooted in personal tragedy
during the war izis his wife and manuel then only three years old were
forced to flee paris when it came under german occupation the family was taken
in by farmers in village near limoges
izis parents and brother who had stayed behind in lithuania were killed during
the mass extermination of jews
in he joined the french resistance and put his talent at the service of
the cause snapping shots of resistance fighters those portraits of young men
established him as name in photography
returning to paris izis opened small studio and in went to work for
paris match magazine where he stayed for years
some of his famous works include photo of albert camus looking out from
paris apartment balcony with knitted brow and choreographer roland petit
his fingers outstretched to show dance movement
he published several books of photographs and in was invited to display his
work alongside doisneau cartier bresson ronis and brassai at new york moma
izis scored major scoop in when he was allowed to photograph marc chagall
painting the ceiling of the paris garnier opera house at time when the choice
of the artist stirred controversy
paris match ran page spread on the chagall photos showing the belarus born
artist then staring up at his masterpiece paint brush in hand
series of photographs he did at the coronation of queen elizabeth gave
him international exposure and he also made an emotional journey to israel in
this is my paris that have always photographed he wrote in the it
is not modern paris neither is it old paris
izis died at his paris home in may at the age of
gaza flowers in europe again as israel eases closures
gaza city jan afp
this time last year adham hijazi was feeding his world class carnations to
animals but now he hopes they will reach european markets thanks to an easing
of israeli closures on the gaza strip
for the first time since the islamist hamas movement seized power in the
territory in june gaza flower and strawberry farmers may be able to
export most of their produce to europe with help from the netherlands
there are promises that the crossings will remain open for exports the
year old farmer says as workers clip carnations and pack them into crates in
sprawling greenhouse near the southern gaza town of rafah
last year our losses were huge alone lost dollars euros
he says we harvested the flowers and then we fed them to the sheep and cows
israel allowed only limited exports of flowers and strawberries gaza main
cash crops during the season following the bloody hamas takeover in june
before halting all exports in january according to the palestine trade
centre paltrade which works with the world bank
exports only resumed after israel devastating day war on hamas in december
and january when truckloads of carnations were allowed out of
gaza according to paltrade
the difficulty was that the peak of the season was far gone and another issue
was that many farmers had stopped by then said dutch official involved in
the export projects who spoke on condition of anonymity
this season israel began allowing exports in december and since then more than
million flowers mostly roses and carnations have been exported to the
netherlands where many are then sent on to markets in russia and europe
so far it has been working well there is regular export taking place the
official says adding that roughly three shipments of flowers were
passing through the crossings each week
farmers near rafah have planted some hectares acres of flowers with
assistance from the netherlands according to said al rai the palestinian
coordinator of the project
the produce is distinguished by its high quality and deep rooted reputation in
european markets he says adding that they expect to export million flowers
this season mainly roses and carnations
gaza strawberry growers have also resumed exports after nearly two years
under similar programme with agrexco an israeli firm that has marketed and
distributed gaza produce to europe since the under its coral brand
however israel only began allowing exports at the start of january causing the
growers to miss out on the first two months of the four month peak season
since then around tonnes of strawberries have been exported according to the
dutch official
the lush fields around the village of beit lahiya near the border with israel
boast some of the best strawberries in the region but they were damaged when
tanks and bulldozers rumbled through the area during the war
we struggled and we farmed in order to export in the period between november
and december but israel did not open the crossings in this period despite
the efforts by the netherlands says assad othman yassin the head of marketing
in the hamas run agricultural ministry
on january we exported tonnes but in the past we always began exporting
in the middle of october and continued until march in normal season we would
export tonnes or about tonnes day he adds
this year farmers around beit lahiya have planted hectares acres
compared with hectares acres in previous years according to the local
farming cooperative
the farmers have also complained about delays at israel kerem shalom crossing
where boxes of produce can sit in the desert sun for hours at time
relatively speaking it been good season so far the dutch official says
but he admits that kerem shalom is not an ideal crossing
each month israel allows hundreds of truckloads of basic goods into the
territory of million people but apart from the strawberries and flowers it
has allowed virtually no exports since hamas took power
bulldozers carve trail of looting lawlessness in haiti
port au prince jan afp
bulldozers churn up tonnes of earth dotted with human remains from beneath
flattened supermarket in haiti quake hit capital and people fearlessly plunge
in behind hoping to snatch food or something of value to sell
week after the magnitude earthquake flattened much of port au prince
looting has become survival strategy
and tensions between local police and many people desperate to find way to
survive are sky high
gangs of young people who know this once busy business district like the back of
their hands bide time waiting watching for bulldozers and backhoes to move
enough earth to let them get down to what was the street level or below to
where valuables might lie
will stop robbing when somebody feeds me says defiant strong young man
named vicent who hid his face with mask before venturing into the ruins of
bank hoping to turn up treasure
it has been week since vicent house came crumbling down around him and his
family in the quake he says he has received just some nutrition biscuits and
water from international relief agencies
look when you are hungry and poor nobody helps you have to steal vicent
says bluntly
nobody is helping us adds friend who did not want to give his name we
wait hours just to get liter of water or piece of chocolate from un
truck
police meanwhile face all but impossible odds in the face of such desperation
they help the bulldozer keep moving its rubble along or direct firefighters to
blaze lit by looters all the while trying to shoo off thieves
the streets are in utter chaos
one policeman his pistol cocked and ready cannot avoid his own moment of
desperation
we fire into the air to scare people away but there are lot of people who are
armed he says refusing to give his name we do stop the people we see
robbing but then we have to let them go after an hour or two there is no police
station to take them to there is no prison
few steps away clutch of women plunge into the rubble of collapsed store
forcing the bulldozer to grind to halt
the overwhelming stench of rotting flesh does nothing to slow them down
in matter of minutes dozens of women are picking over the rubble seemingly
unaware the ground beneath them also could give way
few minutes go by and like pirates at wreck the women extract and pass
around whiskey cigarettes and perfume
we are going to sell them on the streets so we can buy bus ticket out of
port au prince explains nadege hiding her face from cameras and scrambling
out of sight of the police
down the same street young people have turned up some booty that they hope will
help them survive lamps car radios beauty cream and used books
brazilian with the un mission looks on as the bulldozers continue their steady
march rumbling as they push the rubble of houses into flat plane
we are here to make sure the machines can do their work thieves are the
haitian police problem the peacekeeper says
afp features
paris jan afp
we will shortly move the following stories
highlights
gaza flowers in europe again as israel eases closures
french photographer izis captures poetic paris
mideast conflict gaza economy flowers feature
gaza city
this time last year adham hijazi was feeding his world class carnations to
animals but now he hopes they will reach european markets thanks to an easing
of israeli closures on the gaza strip
words by adel zaanoun picture
entertainment france art photography paris izis feature
paris
chagall painting the ceiling of the paris opera young lovers kissing by the
seine grimy faced children at play in the streets french photographer izis
captured the poetry of paris in the
words by carole landry picture
health medicine tourism skorea feature
seoul
it built its economy on ships steel and semiconductors but now south korea is
pushing new growth engine major share of the world booming medical
tourism market
words by lim chang won picture
health medicine tourism taiwan china feature
taipei
beijing entrepreneur li jinxun first trip to taiwan was life changing
experience but not because of the sightseeing the year old took advantage
of short trip to the island last month to undergo minor cosmetic surgery
words by amber wang picture
for questions email nancy shields afp com or call
republican wins massachusetts senate seat media
boston massachusetts jan afp
republicans won stunning upset in massachusetts senate election tuesday us
television networks reported dealing potentially fatal blow to president
barack obama health care reforms
republican scott brown pulled off the surprise victory in the historically
democratic state in rebuke of obama one year after he took office
with more than percent of precincts reporting brown was ahead by five
percentage points over his democratic rival martha coakley cnn and msnbc
reported
the lead meant it was impossible for coakley to make up in the remaining ballots
to be counted us media reported
republican wins massachusetts senate seat media
boston massachusetts jan afp
republicans won stunning upset in massachusetts senate election tuesday us
television networks reported dealing potentially fatal blow to president
barack obama health care reforms
republican scott brown pulled off the surprise victory in the historically
democratic state in rebuke of obama one year after he took office
with more than percent of precincts reporting brown was ahead by five
percentage points over his democratic rival martha coakley cnn and msnbc
reported
the lead meant it was impossible for coakley to make up in the remaining ballots
to be counted us media reported
msf says aid plane prevented from landing in haiti
paris jan afp
aid group medecins sans frontieres msf doctors without borders said one of
its planes carrying vital medical equipment to haiti quake victims has
repeatedly been prevented from landing at port au prince
the cargo plane carrying drugs surgical supplies and two dialysis machines
was turned away three times from port au prince airport since sunday night
despite repeated assurances of its ability to land there msf said in
statement
this ton cargo was part of the contents of an earlier plane carrying total
of tons of supplies that was blocked from landing on sunday morning the
statement from the french founded organisation said
since january msf has had five planes diverted from the original
destination of port au prince to the dominican republic these planes carried
total of tons of medical and relief supplies
the statement did not give any reason for the planes having been turned away or
say who had prevented them from landing however us forces control the airport
in port au prince
loris de filippi emergency coordinator for msf choscal hospital in cite
soleil said we have had five patients in martissant health centre die for
lack of the medical supplies that this plane was carrying
international military and aid personnel have struggled with haiti limited
airport capacity since the launch of massive relief effort last week after the
magnitude quake
tensions have flared between paris and washington after french development
minister alain joyandet called on the united nations to clarify the us role in
haiti saying the priority was helping haiti not occupying haiti
but french president nicolas sarkozy moved tuesday to ease strains with the
united states saying the two countries were fully cooperating to help the quake
hit country
would like to salute the exceptional mobilisation shown by president obama
and the us administration said sarkozy
more than msf staff are working to provide emergency medical care to
earthquake survivors in and around port au prince
mf bm hg
urgent republican wins massachusetts senate seat media
boston massachusetts jan afp
republicans won stunning upset in massachusetts senate election tuesday us
television networks reported dealing potentially fatal blow to president
barack obama health care reforms
alert
republican wins crucial senate seat in massachusetts election tv
tokyo shares up percent at break
tokyo jan afp
japanese stocks edged up percent in morning trade on wednesday as the
overall market shrugged off japan airlines bankruptcy filing tracking
overnight gains on wall street
the tokyo stock exchange benchmark nikkei index gained points to
by the lunch break the broader topix index of all first section
shares added points or percent to
investors dumped shares in jal which hit record low of two yen two us
cents down three yen or percent from tuesday close
asia top carrier went bankrupt tuesday with billion dollars of debt in one
of japan biggest ever corporate failures beginning painful overhaul
involving more than job cuts its shares are to be delisted
woman pulled alive from rubble of haiti cathedral
port au prince jan afp
everybody is calling it miracle an elderly woman on tuesday was pulled alive
and singing from the rubble of haiti roman catholic cathedral one full week
after killer quake tore the building to the ground
rescue workers wept and hugged each other as the woman caked in debris and
dust was placed on makeshift stretcher put on drip covered with heat
conserving wrap and driven by truck to hospital witnesses said
it was an amazing thing to witness no one could believe she was still alive
said sarah wilson of british charity christian aid
it seems rescuers were communicating with her and managing to get water to her
through tube she was singing when she emerged everyone clapped and cheered
she added
anna zizi was rescued by mexican firefighters at about pm local time two
hours short of full week after magnitude quake devastated the haitian
capital
her rescue gave hope to hundreds of rescue workers still digging for survivors
in the ruins of the capital where the stench of crushed and decomposing corpses
filled the air
haitian officials have put the death toll so far at but have warned that
may have perished
zizi son maxime janvier was interviewed by cnn in the united states shortly
after they rescued his mother whose age he said was or
never give up hope no we were praying lot for this to happen he said of
the days of anguish he passed after his sister told him their mother was at the
cathedral when the quake struck
asked what he did when he was told his mother was alive janvier said called
my dad in miami to let him know and he is very happy
hong kong gold opens lower
hong kong jan afp
hong kong gold opened lower wednesday at us dollars an ounce
down from tuesday close of dollars
hong kong shares open percent lower
hong kong jan afp
hong kong shares were percent lower in the first few minutes of trade
wednesday with the benchmark hang seng index down points at
love story author erich segal dies aged family
london jan afp
love story author erich segal whose popular romantic drama coined the phrase
love means never having to say you re sorry has died of heart attack at the
age of his daughter said
segal who also wrote the screenplay for the beatles animated film yellow
submarine died at his home in london on sunday his daughter francesca segal
said
the author had been suffering from parkinson disease for many years she said
tuesday
the us born writer was classics professor at yale university when he wrote the
book love story which was made into hit film starting ryan neal and
ali macgraw
the movie which won an oscar and was nominated for six others tells the story
of wealthy young man oliver who becomes estranged from his father when he
marries jennifer woman from less privileged background
but the tale takes tragic twist when jennifer develops leukaemia and
eventually dies
oliver father has change of heart when he hears what has happened and races
to see him telling his son he is sorry to hear the sad news
this is when oliver replies loves means never having to say you are sorry
in article for granta magazine the author daughter said love story
inspired by true tale captured her father imagination and made him
world famous author
his agent begged him to put it aside convinced it would ruin his reputation as
writer of macho action screenplays
but it had poured from him in what felt like single sitting and although he
could not have known to what extent he knew it was worth fighting for
the two monoliths that dominated my father identity the peak and the trough
of his life were love story and parkinson disease she added
speaking at his funeral tuesday francesca segal paid tribute to her father
tenacity
that he fought to breathe fought to live every second of the last years of
illness with such mind blowing obduracy is testament to the core of who he
was she told mourners
erich segal was born in new york and was an honorary fellow of wolfson college
at oxford university
he is survived by his wife karen james and daughters francesca and
miranda
democrats brace for massive blow in senate election
boston massachusetts jan afp
democrats braced tuesday for potentially fatal blow to president barack
obama health care reforms as votes were counted in senate election that
could see stunning republican upset
polls closed in massachusetts where voters were selecting successor to
democratic party icon edward kennedy who died in august
the democratic candidate martha coakley had originally expected cakewalk in
historically left leaning state
but late surge by populist republican scott brown turned the race into
cliffhanger with final opinion polls pointing to brown upset
partial results based on about percent of ballots cast showed brown with
five percent lead cnn television reported there were no exit polls projecting
winner
if coakley loses democrats will be stripped of their th vote in the senate
and with that the end to the supermajority allowing them to override republican
blocking in the upper house of the obama agenda
the first victim analysts say would be obama huge health care reforms
package which is struggling to pass in congress even with the democrats hefty
overall majority
brown who would be the st republican in the senate if he won has promised to
vote against health care which would all but derail the bill
think you can make pretty good argument that health care might be dead
democratic congressman anthony weiner told msnbc television
obama who was sworn in to office after his historic election exactly year ago
wednesday rushed to massachusetts on sunday to campaign on behalf of coakley
the white house admitted obama was surprised and frustrated and not pleased
about the race but dismissed the idea that it showed he was out of touch with
the angry mood felt by americans
analysts point to lackluster campaign by coakley and the fiery insurgency
mounted by brown who fanned populist anger at obama program and the economic
crisis
both parties spent millions of advertising dollars when it became clear late
last week that the race was unexpectedly close and top democrats and party
workers from outside massachusetts have been flooding voters with calls
beyond health care brown triumph would have wider implications for obama
agenda and political prestige and complicate his bid to pass items like cap
and trade climate legislation and immigration reform
republican win would also likely scare some conservative democrats from
obama side as they face mid term congressional polls in november with the
president approval ratings slipping and the economy in the mire
the reality of it is that people of boston have very definite idea of what
they want and what they don want republican national committee chairman
michael steele told cbs
the white house has been arguing that the massachusetts vote is not referendum
on obama pointing out he still enjoys high approval in the state
they also reject the idea voters are out to thwart his bid to rein in health
insurance companies cut costs and grant health care to of the million
americans currently without coverage
obama will nevertheless call the winner of tuesday election his spokesman
robert gibbs said and views the race as more evidence of the popular upset and
anger at incumbent politicians which powered his own election race
that not surprise to us in this administration because in many ways
we re here because of that upset and anger gibbs said
tennis impressive wozniacki makes open second round
melbourne jan afp
fourth seed caroline wozniacki of denmark downed canada alexsandra wozniack
to get her australian open campaign off to winning start on
wednesday
wozniacki edged close first set against the canadian but overpowered her
opponent in the second to notch up convincing win
the two players with similar surnames both of polish extraction have met
seven times on the wta tour with wozniacki winning six of the encounters
she never looked in any danger on wednesday once she claimed tight first set
breaking the canadian three times in the second to book her passage to the next
round where she will meet germany julie goerges
world number four wozniacki enjoyed breakthrough year in winning three
titles and finishing runner up to kim clijsters at the us open
the year old from odense made it to the third round of the australian
open before losing to australia jelena dokic who was in the middle of an
emotion charged run to the quarter finals
microsoft icon bill gates starts tweeting
san francisco jan afp
microsoft co founder bill gates started tweeting on tuesday
gates bid the twitter community hello world around midday and then followed
that message with three more lauding efforts to raise aid funds for earthquake
devastated haiti
the recently retired microsoft legend twitter page bore blue check mark icon
used to verify identities of famous people using the wildly popular
microblogging service
as sundown neared in the pacific state of washington where gates lives he had
logged four tweets and signed on to follow messages at other twitter
accounts including those of microsoft and its new bing search engine
twitter users that gates was tracking ranged from queen rania al abdullah of
jordan and us president barack obama to actress ashley tisdale actor ashton
kutcher and cern european organization for nuclear research
gates was also following tweets from prestigious ted conferences known for mind
bending themes and humanitarian missions
like to welcome billgates to the twitterverse tweeted kutcher who had
followers at the microblogging services as of late tuesday
slightly more than people signed on to follow gates on his opening day
tweeting
the number of people following gates rose steadily as word of his arrival among
the twitterati ricocheted with increasing speed in retweets through the day
welcome to the club tweeted us television celebrity ryan seacrest of the
popular american idol program
twitter fueled by smartphones and online bursts of characters soared to
lofty heights over the past year and the number of users reportedly topped
million by the end of
twitter is said to have spurned takeover offers worth hundreds of millions of
dollars from google and facebook and its influence as communications and news
breaking tool has been validated in number of ways
in june the state department asked twitter to delay scheduled maintenance on
the service because it was being used by protestors angered by the results of
iran disputed presidential election
more recently google and microsoft began integrating twitter messages into
their respective search engines new feature described as real time search
ravaged haiti adds weight to burdened us military shoulders
port au prince jan afp
the massive us military mobilization helping provide relief in quake stricken
haiti is adding new stress to the already stretched us armed forces worn down
by multiple tours to two distant war zones
hundreds of personnel attached to the us marine expeditionary corps arrived
south west of haiti devastated capital port au prince tuesday to help
distribute international aid to the survivors of last week massive
earthquake
they are just part of the enormous international effort underway to assist the
haitians believed to have been injured in the disaster which also left
an estimated million people homeless
the us response has been immediate with president barack obama swiftly pledging
to use every element of us power to assist haiti
among the military personnel dispatched were marines who arrived in haiti
last week aboard the bataan an amphibious ship
in all approximately military personnel are currently supporting
task force operations within haiti and from us navy and coast guard vessels off
shore us southern command said on its website tuesday
military personnel are engaged in every aspect of the relief effort from
distributing food and evacuating people to treating the wounded and helping
operate port au prince small airport
but with soldiers already deployed in two conflict areas in
iraq and in afghanistan the pentagon is being called upon to show
flexibility to find the resources to contribute to the haiti aid effort
adding to the pressure is obama decision to send another troops to
afghanistan to battle resurgent taliban
providing relief in haiti could be the final straw
obama on sunday ordered the mobilization of reserve forces for the mission
which will allow medical staff to be deployed aboard the usns comfort as well as
coast guard personnel to secure haiti seaports
other military resources deployed include the uss carl vinson an aircraft
carrier scheduled to sail from the us east coast to san diego california around
the tip of south america before it was diverted to assist in haiti
the nuclear powered craft brought helicopters to help deliver supplies and
evacuate the wounded
am happy we can help but hope we can start sailing again once the bataan
is here said one young enlisted man aboard the vinson on monday
also assisting is brigade of the army nd airborne division some
soldiers being deployed as part of the global response force that washington
