armed opposition
the chadian rebels don have the proper means to launch an offensive the
sudanese can easily control them they are the big losers in this agreement
said roland marchal of the paris based centre etudes et de recherches
internationales ceri
one of the main darfur rebel groups the justice and equality movement jem is
more autonomous in relation to chadian authorities than chadian rebels are to
khartoum marchal said
the jem is well established in darfur while the chadian rebellion is confined
to the darfuri town of mellit some kilometres miles from the chadian
border
would be worried if we were inside sudan said adoum yacoub who heads the
fprn faction of the ufr but which is based inside chad
in may ufr troops launched massive offensive against chad but they were
beaten back by chadian forces in decisive military victory
the military setback was quite tough there had been several victories but in
general it was defeat yacoub said
we were not in position to draw conclusions from the experience we just
fell into an organisational lethargy he told afp
according to several sources the leadership of ufr chief timan erdimi was also
undermined
we mut not wait for the problems to be resolved in order to act this would
give the chadian government free hand yacoub said
he also stressed that his faction was adopted new strategy aimed to take
the war further west and into chadian territory
but we are not in rush it not race he said
even if the intention to normalise relations which is crucial to resolving
the darfur crisis is serious it is nonetheless fragile
this is year of respite but will it hold till said the diplomat
basically nothing is resolved chimed in marchal
bolivia anti us president sworn in for new term
la paz jan afp
bolivian president evo morales was sworn in for second five year term on
friday in ceremony attended by fellow latin american leftist leaders including
his role model venezuelan president hugo chavez
morales was taking up the new mandate with almost unlimited power after
last year changing bolivia constitution to get rid of one term presidential
limit
on december he easily won re election against conservative former governor
manfred reyes villa who has since fled to the united states fearing morales
threats to jail him for alleged tax evasion
since coming to power in january as bolivia first indigenous head of
state morales former coca farmer and union leader has steadily increased
his control over his country
following in chavez footsteps and backed by bolivia indigenous majority he
has nationalized key industries and rolled out what he calls socialist
revolution
along the way he has sidelined fractured conservative opposition in bolivia
lowland east which had unsuccessfully sought to block his control of natural gas
reserves there and stall land reforms giving greater autonomy to indigenous
communities
like chavez he has also wielded fierce anti us rhetoric and has kicked out the
us ambassador and us anti narcotics officials
his investiture friday in bolvia legislative assembly was attended by
presidents rafael correa of ecuador fernando lugo of paraguay and michele
bachelet of chile
visiting senior us state department official in charge of international
affairs maria otero also observed
with his left hand held up and his right on his heart morales swore to rule
for the country and the people before receiving the symbolic presidential
medal and sash
chavez who flew into foggy la paz early friday for the ceremony said morales
re election is an example of latin america people waking up from what
president rafael correa called the long neo liberal night
morales was officially to assume his new term at midnight gmt saturday
on thursday he underwent mystical indigenous ceremony to also become the
spiritual leader of bolivia amerindians
haiti search teams start to go home un spokeswoman
geneva jan afp
un led teams in haiti are switching their focus from searching for people
trapped in debris to providing relief for survivors and some exhausted teams
are starting to go home spokeswoman said friday
the rescue teams are concentrating more and more on humanitarian aid for those
who need it said elisabeth byrs spokeswoman for the un office for the
coordination of humanitarian affairs ocha
some teams which are exhausted are starting to go home she told afp while
others equipped with heavy equipment were continuing to pull out corpses
international search and rescue teams coordinated by the united nations had
managed to find people alive under the rubble by earlier this week record
number in such disaster according to ocha
the haitian government estimates that some people have been injured and
one million are displaced following the quake on january
two million need food assistance according to the un
an estimated to people are displaced in the capital port au
prince the un said
haiti government is encouraging people with relatives in other parts of the
country to leave the capital said byrs
the government has also hired buses to take the homeless to villages set up in
the countryside to hold people each
the un world food programme said it had supplied the equivalent of about
million meals in rations to some people
in the coming days we re aiming to deliver five day rations to people
day said wfp spokeswoman emilia casella
most of the un agencies and red cross reported substantial acceleration in
assistance to quake survivors on the ground as food water and other supplies
multiplied fuelled by flights day to port au prince and truckloads from
the neighbouring dominican republic
however physical obstacles still stood in the way of the relief effort with at
least roads still blocked said byrs
the international red cross said haiti was one of its largest emergency relief
operations ever mobilising response staff to back up aid workers already
present
the international federation of red cross and red crescent societies said it had
distributed some litres of water with mobile water supply capacity
set to double soon to reach people day
the world health organisation is expanding surveillance for infectious disease
some ten days after the quake to guard against major outbreaks among displaced
people
at the moment we have seen no communicable disease outbreaks said wh
spokesman paul garwood noting the south haiti current clement weather had
helped
russian industrial output down percent in
moscow jan afp
russian industrial production plunged percent in compared to but
rose percent in december on month comparison the official data agency
rosstat said on friday
in industrial production had gone up percent
russian industry has been severely hit by the global economic crisis with car
production plummeting percent rosstat said
industrial production picked up again in november rising percent on
monthly basis and percent on yearly basis
international ratings agency fitch on friday raised its outlook on the russian
economy to stable from negative saying it had greater confidence in
russia financial and economic prospects
afp graphics advisory
paris jan afp
we shall move the following graphics
haiti quake toll map
updated graphic on the devastation caused by the haiti earthquake
text slug haiti quake
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available now
sri lanka factfile
factfile on sri lanka set for presidential elections on tuesday
text slug srilanka vote violence
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us military japan guam map
map locating guam where around us military personnel and their families
are set to relocate from southern japan
text slug guam us japan defence
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biblical weaponry graphic
graphic on the controversial biblical messages inscribed on us manufactured
combat weapons that have been bought by british new zealand and australian
military units
text slug us military religion weapons
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corsica map
map locating bonifacio in corsica where illegal immigrants landed on the
beach on friday
text slug france immigration
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africa cup of nations table
table showing quarter finalists and matches played in the africa cup of nations
text slug afri
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japan stocks
chart showing changes in japan benchmark nikkei index
text slug stocks japan
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hong kong stocks
chart showing changes in hong kong hang seng index
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asia pacific markets
closings for key asia pacific markets
text slug stocks
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haiti quake graphics
usns comfort hospital ship mm
un mission factfile mm
identification using dna mm
search and rescue methods mm
tectonic plates caribbean map mm
earthquakes world mm
country factfile mm
china economic data released thursday
gdp mm
industrial output mm
consumer prices mm
urban fixed asset investment mm
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afghanistan uruzgan map mm
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full body scanner factfile mm
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tasmanian devil factfile mm
paris hong kong
tel
top nato official calls on balkan countries to join the alliance
podgorica jan afp
visiting nato military committee chairman admiral giampaolo di paola on friday
called on more balkan states to move towards membership in the alliance
many balkan countries have already completed their journey to europe and the
alliance others are coming in different speed di paola told reporters after
talks with montenegrin defence minister boro vucinic
di paola said that it is quite clear that the overall future of the balkans is
to be part of the euro atlantic community
since the fall of communism in the balkans and decade of conflict during the
most former communist republics have moved towards membership in nato and
the european union
while croatia and albania have already joined the alliance montenegro in
december was granted its request to join the membership action plan map
eu hopeful macedonia was blocked from further progress because of the name row
with greece while bosnia was advised to achieve the necessary process in
reforms in order to join the map
only serbia although member of nato partnership for peace programme seems to
be reluctant to pursue the process of integration
officials in belgrade say the membership process is still far away rejecting
calls by several nationalists groups to organize referendum on the issue
immediately
str an sb
toll of canadian dead in haiti rises to
ottawa jan afp
canada on friday raised the number of canadians confirmed killed in last week
earthquake in haiti to and lowered the number of its missing nationals to
canada foreign affairs minister lawrence cannon told press conference that
canadians survived the quake and have been located
of these have been repatriated aboard military aircraft returning from
delivering food and medical supplies to haiti he said
he raised the confirmed canadian death toll by three from
in speech to his caucus prime minister stephen harper described the january
quake as the greatest natural disaster in contemporary history in the
americas
the tragedy has touched us all greatly he said
for canadians the challenge in the coming days and weeks as part of the
multinational relief effort amounts to nothing less than the rescue of
shattered society
and the even bigger task in the months and years to follow is to rebuild
haiti to transform its unimaginable grief into sustained home for the
future
afp gmt economics news advisory
paris jan afp
duty editor dario thuburn
telephone
stocks world economy ndlead wrap
london
world stock markets drop in confusion at us president barack obama vow to
crack down on reckless big banks and on jitters over china economy and
soaring debts
words gmt
us banking regulate europe stocks
london
european analysts hit back in scathing terms at tough proposals by us president
barack obama to crimp us banks warning they could damage us finance and global
investment
words gmt
ebrd eeurope russia economy growth forecast emerge rdlead
london
the ex soviet bloc economy will grow by better than expected percent in
as the area recovers from sharp downturn the european bank for
reconstruction and development predicts
words gmt by roland jackson
us politics economy obama lead
elyria ohio
president barack obama heads for the decaying ohio rust belt seeking to show
empathy with the heartland economic woes after republican election win sent
shockwaves through us politics
words gmt by stephen collinson
us industry company earnings ge thlead
new york
us conglomerate general electric gets stronger than expected profits as results
from energy and manufacturing offset weakness at its finance and media units
words gmt
forex europe lead wrap
london
the euro claws back against the dollar after industrial orders in the eurozone
bounced back amid volatility in currency markets over us president barack
obama bank reform plans
words gmt
commodities energy oil price ndlead wrap
london
oil prices rise slightly with gains capped by weak energy demand in the united
states and worries over the strength of china economy traders say
words gmt
commodities price weekly wrap
london
commodity markets were rocked this week as traders tracked newsflow from china
and the united states two major consumers of raw materials
words gmt by delphine dechaux and roland jackson
us envoy meets abbas amid pessimism over mideast peace
ramallah west bank jan afp
us envoy george mitchell met palestinian president mahmud abbas on friday to
push middle east peace efforts despite president barack obama admission that
his drive for deal may have been overambitious
chief palestinian negotiator saeb erakat said the two had in depth talks and
that mitchell conveyed obama continuing commitment to resolving the decades
old conflict
erakat blamed israel for the lack of progress and acknowledged there were
differences between the palestinians and the us administration about restarting
peace talks
the american side wants to resume negotiations now without complete halt to
settlements erakat told reporters after the three hour meeting
we want to resume negotiations on the basis of defining the borders of the
palestinian state on all palestinian lands occupied since including east
jerusalem and complete halt to all settlement activities erakat said
mitchell did not make any statement after the talks which came day after
meetings with the israeli government and talks in syria and lebanon two
countries the envoy said should play key role in achieving comprehensive
middle east peace deal
expectations of any breakthrough were low however as israel and the
palestinians sparred anew ahead of the visit and the us president acknowledged
the scale of the difficulties
this is as intractable problem as you get obama said in an interview
published in time magazine latest issue
both the israelis and the palestinians have found that the political
environment the nature of their coalitions or the divisions within their
societies were such that it was very hard for them to start engaging in
meaningful conversation obama said
think it is absolutely true that we didn produce the kind of
breakthrough that we wanted he said adding that if his administration had
anticipated the political problems on both sides we might not have raised
expectations as high
washington had pressed hard for israel to freeze settlement construction which
abbas has demanded ahead of any resumption of talks suspended during israel
war on hamas in the gaza strip last winter
hawkish israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu announced in november
month moratorium on issuing construction permits for israeli homes in the
west bank outside annexed arab east jerusalem but the palestinians said this
fell far short of their demands
on thursday un chief ban ki moon noted with concern that despite israel
decision to restrain some construction in the west bank activity and financial
support for expansion are continuing there and in east jerusalem
settlement construction violates international law and contravenes the roadmap
under which israel is obliged to freeze all settlement activity he said
he also stressed the need for both sides to resume negotiations if we do not
move forward on the political process soon we risk sliding backwards
the israeli premier on wednesday further complicated the task facing mitchell by
laying down new condition for any peace deal
netanyahu insisted that israel would keep permanent presence in the jordan
valley on the eastern border of the palestinians promised state
the palestinians categorically rejected the suggestion
israel haaretz newspaper on friday quoted senior minister it did not name as
saying the chances for resumption of peace talks were slim
alpine skiing austria schoenfelder ends season through injury
vienna jan afp
austrian skier rainer schoenfelder has decided to end his season owing to knee
injury which had wrecked his chances of competing at next month winter games
in vancouver the austrian ski federation said friday
schoenfelder came back this month after month out and the bronze medallist
from the turin games in slalom and the combined had hoped to make the olympic
team
but he failed to make the second leg of slaloms at zagreb adelboden and wengen
and the year old will now seek to get properly fit for next year world ski
championships at garmisch partenkirchen
afp gmt news advisory
paris jan afp
duty editor denis barnett
tel
top stories
stock markets slump on obama vow to take on banks
more aftershocks hammer haitian capital
historic armenia turkey talks at risk
stocks world economy ndlead wrap
london
world stock markets drop in confusion at us president barack obama vow to
crack down on reckless big banks and on jitters over china economy and
soaring debts
words gmt
haiti quake rdlead wrap
port au prince
more aftershocks rock the haitian capital as un teams switch focus from search
and rescue to relief efforts days after catastrophic earthquake demolished
much of the city
words gmt by beatriz lecumberri graphic picture video
armenia turkey diplomacy thlead wrap
yerevan
historic efforts to establish ties between armenia and turkey may break down
the armenian foreign minister warns blaming ankara for obstructing the process
words gmt by mariam harutunian
haiti
haiti quake children trafficking adoption unicef rdlead
geneva
children have gone missing from hospitals in haiti since the devastating
earthquake struck raising fears of trafficking for adoption abroad the un
children fund unicef says
words gmt
europe
britain iraq military politics inquiry ndlead
london
prime minister gordon brown will appear at britain iraq war inquiry before
this year general election its chairman says forcing the divisive conflict
right up the campaign agenda
words gmt by katherine haddon file picture
us banking regulate europe stocks
london
european analysts hit back in scathing terms at tough proposals by us president
barack obama to crimp us banks warning they could damage us finance and global
investment
words gmt
attacks aviation security us napolitano lead
toledo spain
airports around the world must adopt different security measures or else it will
become easier for terrorists to exploit weaknesses to carry out attacks us
homeland security secretary janet napolitano said friday
words gmt picture
britain politics crime lead
london
two young brothers are jailed for at least five years for sadistic attack on
pair of fellow youngsters which shocked britain and has fuelled new row
about child protection policies
words gmt
serbia religion patriarch rdlead
belgrade
the serbian orthodox church elects moderate bishop irinej as its new leader
expected to try to revive the previously strained links between the orthodoxy
and the vatican
words gmt
americas
us politics economy obama lead
elyria ohio
president barack obama heads for the decaying ohio rust belt seeking to show
empathy with the heartland economic woes after republican election win sent
shockwaves through us politics
words gmt by stephen collinson
africa
sudan conflict darfur chad focus
khartoum
the thaw in relations between khartoum and djamena could tighten the net
around chadian rebels based in the western sudanese region of darfur analysts
say
words gmt by guillaume lavallee
nigeria politics president health thlead
abuja
nigeria high court issues day deadline for the cabinet to decide if
ailing president umaru yar adua hospitalised abroad for over two months is fit
to stay in office
words gmt by ola awoniyi
nigeria unrest religion ndlead
kuru karama nigeria
volunteers recover scores more bodies in nigeria troubled central plateau
state as the death toll from inter religious clashes rises and the army is
ordered to step up security
words gmt by aminu abubakar picture
middle east
mideast diplomacy us ndlead
ramallah west bank
us envoy george mitchell meets palestinian president mahmud abbas to push middle
east peace efforts despite president barack obama admission that his drive for
deal may have been overambitious
words gmt by nasser abu bakr picture
iraq vote ndlead
baghdad
iraq says that more than candidates disqualified from march general
election for alleged links to saddam hussein must denounce his ousted regime and
its crimes and that more candidates could be excluded
words gmt by mehdi lebouachera
yemen unrest rebels rdlead
dubai
the website of the shiite rebels in northern yemen posts video in which their
chief abdel malik al huthi denies having been killed as stated several times by
government officials
words gmt
asia
afghanistan unrest ndlead wrap
kabul
afghan president hamid karzai unveils an ambitious western funded plan to offer
money and jobs to tempt taliban fighters to lay down their arms in an effort to
quell crippling insurgency
words moved by waheed massoud
we have also moved afghanistan unrest hekmatyar
eu urged to fast track adoptions from haiti spanish presidency
madrid jan afp
the spanish presidency of the european union will next week urge the bloc to
forge common position on fast track adoptions from haiti madrid said friday
spanish foreign minister miguel angel moratinos will on monday propose to the
council of eu foreign ministers that there could be joint common response
spain vice president maria teresa fernandez de la vega said
she said the aims included speeding up procedures for adoption cases already
under way at the various missions and reinforcing aid and international
protection for isolated minors travelling alone or orphans in conjunction with
the un children agency and the red cross
the vice president also told cabinet meeting that the third objective was to
buttress action in haiti to ensure the protection of minors adding we
hope it will get the backing of the nations comprising the bloc
several countries are fast tracking adoption procedures already under way
including belgium canada france germany the netherlands spain and the
united states
the january earthquake in haiti killed at least people and left more
than million homeless living in streets parks and makeshift tented
encampments
fernandez de la vega said there had been several applications for adoptions from
haiti in spain since the quake
on friday the un children fund unicef said several children had gone
missing from hospitals in haiti since the quake struck raising fears of
trafficking for adoption abroad
we have documented let say around cases of children disappearing from
hospitals and not with their own family at the time said unicef adviser jean
luc legrand in geneva
unicef has been working in haiti for many years and we knew the problem with
