ships the uss nassau the uss mesa verde and the uss ashland
the marines will bring all of their capability as marine air ground task
force including an infantry battalion of nearly personnel the
statement said
the marine unit and the navy deployment were due to sail across the atlantic but
were diverted to assist us aid efforts in haiti which was devastated by
january earthquake that killed at least people
our marines are standing by for further tasking and are prepared to support any
mission they re given said colonel pete petronzio the unit commanding
officer in statement
we are well trained for humanitarian assistance have robust capability and
we re ready to help wherever we can
us military personnel are playing frontline role in aid efforts in the
caribbean nation taking control of port au prince airport shortly after the
quake to manage the flow of relief supplies flying in and anchoring hospital
ships offshore to treat injured haitians
total of us military personnel are due to be in haiti or on ships
offshore by sunday
haitians line up as private banks reopen
port au prince jan afp
haitians lined up outside private banks in the capital saturday as they awaited
the reopening of branches closed since an earthquake devastated the city days
ago
after haiti central bank reopened on thursday private banks have been asked
to respond to the needs of thousands of clients who want to withdraw money
which they have been unable to access since the january disaster
haiti association of private banks said that each customer would be allowed to
withdraw the equivalent of up to dollars it also called for security
forces to be on hand for the reopening
statement from new york based citi said that it had reopened operations for
its haitian corporate clients in relocated offices
no institution or individual in haiti escaped unscathed by the tragic events of
january th said gladys coupet citi haiti corporate officer
we at citi were no exception having lost five of our dear employees an
unwarranted tragedy that has deeply saddened all of us our thoughts and prayers
are with their families their friends and their acquaintances
residents in port au prince also descended on money transfer shops that reopened
on friday desperate to receive money from their relatives abroad especially in
the united states
haiti minister for diaspora affairs edwin paraison said his ministry was
working to ensure aid and money from haitians living abroad could reach
relatives in the quake stricken country many of whom survive on remittances
we have made available telephone numbers and internet addresses so that
haitians can get the latest news about their families and we are coordinating
aid coming from the diaspora he said
according to the world bank remittances are usually estimated to account for
around third of gdp in haiti the western hemisphere poorest nation
signs of normal life have been slowly returning to the country capital since
the magnitude quake which killed more than people and left at least
homeless
markets and street vendors have been returning to business causing long traffic
jams in some streets
it incredible haitians have started their normal lives again very quickly
said foreigner in port au prince surprised to see some streets completely
jammed with people
in other parts of the capital fruit and vegetables produced in part of the
suburb of petionville were being sold in richer streets that had started to run
out of food
we are out of food at home we have almost nothing to eat said woman who
was getting out of her car to buy fruit bread sugar and water
we have not been able to stock up but we should be able to hold on for few
more weeks said the syrian manager of supermarket in petionville
wholesalers meanwhile are wary of making any purchases in case they are looted
as has already happened in some areas even as some products spoil in
refrigerators because of lack of electricity
some disaster victims have refused to line up to receive rations or water
distributed by international aid organizations despite the difficult conditions
they face
we are hoping to last out for longer with our own supplies it survival
situation said one young man
golf mickelson headlines feeble farmers field
san diego california jan afp
phil mickelson begins his us pga tour season next week at the san diego area
torrey pines golf course
the million dollar event will be the american first tournament after
week break
mickelson is from the san diego area and he has won the event three times since
the tournament earlier this week found title sponsor and is now calling itself
the farmers insurance open
mickelson will headline weak field as he is the lone player ranked in the top
in the world competing aussie robert allenby and south africa ernie els
make it just three out of the world top
tiger woods is skipping the event for the second consecutive year the world
number one is taking an indefinite break from the sport while he tries to save
his marriage after admitting to numerous affairs with other women
style setter dior revisits man silhouette
paris jan afp
dior long style setter on the male sartorial scene on saturday revisited
man silhouette with floating fluttering suits and coats far removed from the
french house skinny look of last decade
unveiled in the marcel cerdan boxing hall named after the late world
middleweight champion who was edith piaf lover the autumn winter line
featured robe inspired hooded trenches ample coats and wide cut jackets
it reminded me of vampires and twilight said one young enthusiast
referring to the box office hit vampire romance sequel new moon
on hand among hundreds of guests were couturier karl lagerfeld french actor
lambert wilson and us rapper cum fashion addict kanye west seen at many of
the four day paris menswear shows that close sunday evening
lagerfeld warmly applauded the collection from dior year old star belgian
designer kris van assche who last season began putting paid to the house look
of the noughties cigarette slim pants and narrow suits that started world
crush on boyish often gender bending silhouettes
breaking just little with dior taste for black van assche added charcoal
and oatmeal to the colour palette and threw touches of silver on ties and
lapels
shoulder loops high collars and structure gave military touch to the models
who marched briskly with clothes flowing to the sound of temple of love by
rock band sisters of mercy
top us senators say fed chief will win second term
washington jan afp
top ranking members of the us senate banking committee voiced confidence
saturday that embattled federal reserve chief ben bernanke would be confirmed
for second term
democrat chris dodd and republican judd gregg acknowledged media speculation in
recent days over bernanke confirmation but said he had done an excellent job
responding to one of the most significant financial crises our country has ever
encountered
the pair said that based on discussions with fellow senators we are very
confident that chairman bernanke will win confirmation by the senate for
second term
they said they support bernanke nomination because he is the right leader
to guide the federal reserve in this recovering economy
football cannavaro dropped for roma clash
rome jan afp
former world player of the year fabio cannavaro was dropped by coach ciro
ferrara on saturday for the serie clash at home to as roma
juve come into the match in dire form with seven defeats in their last
matches and the italy captain has paid the price for some dodgy recent
performances in defence that has looked anything but secure
nicola legrottaglie replaces the year old who rejoined juve in the summer
following three years at real madrid
ferrara went for an attacking line up with alessandro del piero partnering
amauri in attack and playmaker diego in the hole behind them
diego was the star when the teams met in rome earlier in the season scoring
brace in victory
urgent top us senators say fed chief will win second term
washington jan afp
top ranking members of the us senate banking committee voiced confidence
saturday that embattled federal reserve chief ben bernanke would be confirmed
for second term
germany to step up afghan security training merkel
berlin jan afp
germany is to speed up the training of afghan security forces making this its
primary task in the country chancellor angela merkel said saturday ahead of an
international conference on afghanistan
we are going to focus our military mission principally on training security
forces merkel said in her weekly internet blog
germany is chiefly engaged in northern afghanistan and that is where we will
fulfil our training commitment in speedier and more concentrated manner than
hitherto she said
merkel said she would meet afghan president hamid karzai in berlin on tuesday
and wednesday to discuss how best to coordinate afghan and international
efforts
the chancellor was to address parliament on wednesday on the government policy
on afghanistan
berlin participation in the strong international force fighting the
taliban insurgency in afghanistan the third largest behind the united states
and britain is deeply unpopular among germans
merkel made no mention saturday of sending more german troops to afghanistan
having previously said that she would take no decision on this score before the
london conference on thursday
but defence minister karl theodor zu guttenberg told the frankfurter allgemeine
zeitung newspaper that he would present before london concrete figure for an
eventual increase of the participation of german troops
the increase would however depend on the outcome of the london meeting he said
in an interview to appear monday
foreign minister guido westerwelle who would represent berlin at the
conference also did not rule out boosting germany strong force in
remarks to be published sunday
ve never said that we would send no extra troops for example to train afghan
forces he told the bild am sonntag weekly but not giving blank
cheque
westerwelle also called for using the current contingent in the best way
outgoing afghan foreign minister rangin dadfar spanta told the daily
tagesspiegel that the training of troops and police must be strengthened
haven come to europe to ask for more soldiers he added we aim to take
full responsibility in every province in so that our allies serving in
afghanistan can go home
the aim was to have an army of well trained troops and police
he said
us envoy in afghanistan and pakistan richard holbrooke was quoted as saying by
the weekly der spiegel on saturday that the strategy for afghanistan is
settled and the london conference would be to implement it
football italian serie results
rome jan afp
italian serie results on saturday
catania mascara martinez morimoto parma
playing later
juventus as roma
sunday
bologna bari genoa atalanta inter milan ac milan lazio chievo
livorno napoli palermo fiorentina siena cagliari udinese sampdoria
football german league table
berlin jan afp
german league table after saturday late match played won drawn lost goals
for goals against points
bayern munich
bayer leverkusen
schalke
borussia dortmund
hamburg
werder bremen
eintracht frankfurt
mainz
hoffenheim
vfl wolfsburg
vfb stuttgart
borussia gladbach
vfl bochum
cologne
freiburg
hanover
nuremberg
hertha berlin
football birthday boy robben sends bayern top
berlin jan afp
dutch star arjen robben hit second half wonder goal on saturday as bayern
munich came from behind to win at werder bremen as the german giants went
top of the league
robben stunning direct free kick gave louis van gaal coached bayern their
sixth straight league win while the holland star hit his fifth league goal of
the season on his th birthday
am very happy coach beamed van gaal
werder bremen took few risks and we exploited them this time
liked that we played with so much aggression but we didn take all the
chances we created
flying dutch winger robben who signed for million euros million us
dollars from real madrid last summer hit curling free kick which gave
bremen germany goalkeeper tim wiese no chance of saving on minutes
van gaal slipped over on the sidelines in his joy at the winning goal just
before his compatriot robben leapt on top of him to celebrate taking first place
in the league
it must have looked bit bizarre the way we celebrated but we were both
pretty happy grinned robben
we created something like ten chances but we could not convert them
that is the way it goes sometimes the ball just won always go in
the win is important it shows we are on the right path we are playing good
football
it was bitter blow for the home side who had opened the scoring after
midfielder aaron hunt slotted home from close range after minutes
bayern hit back when rising star thomas mueller scored after good work by
germany midfielder bastian schweinsteiger on minutes before croatia striker
ivica olic netted from philipp lahm cross ten minutes later
it left bayern up at the break as they welcomed back french midfielder
franck ribery who came on for olic in the second half to make his first
appearance for munich since suffering knee injury on october
bremen equalised when portugal striker hugo almeida slotted home top class
goal on minutes before robben stunning winner
an injury time goal from bochum slovakia striker stanislav sestak robbed
schalke of the chance to go top as the royal blues were held
schalke took the lead when uruguay striker vicente sanchez converted pass from
jefferson farfan in the fifth minute before ex germany striker kevin kuranyi
made it to the hosts just before the half time whistle
the result left felix magath coached schalke third in the table but second
placed leverkusen have the chance to regain the lead on sunday providing they
win at hoffenheim as defending champions wolfsburg host struggling cologne
borussia dortmund are up to fourth in the table after their win at home to
hamburg on saturday evening
having picked up only their second win of the season last weekend bottom side
hertha berlin were held at home by borussia moenchengladbach
hertha czech republic goalkeeper jaroslav drobny kept his side in the game
when he saved first half penalty from gladbach venezuelan midfielder juan
arango while nuremberg drew at eintracht frankfurt
having taken over from andreas bergmann as coach last week new hanover boss
mirko slomka got off to losing start when his side were beaten at mid
table mainz their eighth game without win which leaves them th
football german league results
berlin jan afp
german league results on saturday
vfl bochum hashemian sestak schalke sanchez kuranyi
hertha berlin borussia moenchengladbach
werder bremen hunt almeida bayern munich mueller olic
robben
mainz schuerrle hanover
nuremberg eigler eintracht frankfurt koehler
borussia dortmund valdez hamburg
playing sunday
vfl wolfsburg cologne
hoffenheim bayer leverkusen
played friday
freiburg vfb stuttgart marica
football beckford the hero again for last gasp leeds
london jan afp
stoppage time penalty from jermaine beckford earned league one leeds united
draw at premier league tottenham hotspur and an elland road replay
roman pavlyuchenko thought he had won it for the home side with rare goal with
minutes remaining
but leeds who had famously won at manchester united in the third round through
beckford goal were not to be denied
peter crouch had given tottenham first half lead but that did not last long
into the second period
beckford took advantage of goal mouth scramble to enhance his burgeoning
reputation and set the tie up for an enthralling finish
tottenham made all the early running and leeds had goalkeeper caspar ankergren
to thank that they did not concede
the dane tipped jermain defoe lob over before making fine parry to deny niko
kranjcar the croat
ankergren then made penalty save to deny defoe in the eighth minute after ex
leeds man danny rose making his full debut for the home side was tripped by
michael doyle
the goalkeeper dived to his left to palm the ball round for corner
ankergren made subsequent saves to deny sebastien bassong gareth bale and
kranjcar again with leeds defender patrick kisnorbo making vital block to
stop defoe pouncing on rebound
decision went leeds way when referee alan wiley who was long way behind
play ruled that last man jason crowe had not fouled defoe as the striker raced
into the box
the league one side weathered that storm and began to cause the premier league
side problems
robert snodgrass forced diving save from heurelho gomes the home side
brazilian goalkeeper before beckford twice came close
he should have done better with the first firing across goal and wide following
an error from michael dawson
but his next effort was on target and gomes did well to save
indeed leeds were on top when crouch broke the deadlock three minutes before
half time
kranjcar fired in another shot that ankergren blocked and the england striker
found himself perfectly placed to despatch the rebound first time
jermaine jenas could have made it before the break but having carved out
chance with quick feet in the box blazed over
beckford made the home side regret that miss with nd minute equaliser
the home side failed to deal with snodgrass corner and the ball broke to the
striker right in front of goal and although his connection was not the best
gomes was nonetheless beaten
the lower league side sensed an upset was on the cards but were denied after
tottenham made double substitution with minutes remaining
on came former leeds man robbie keane and pavlyuchenko for crouch and kranjcar
and it was the russian who put tottenham ahead in the th minute
defoe was the man who created the opportunity with well placed pass and the
substitute slipped the ball past ankergren calmly for rare goal
leeds did not give up and beckford thrashed the ball past gomes from the penalty
spot in stoppage time after michael dawson had brought him down
alert
top us senators say fed chief bernanke will win second term
football leeds fight on as wigan survive county scare
london jan afp
leeds united thrilling fa cup adventure goes on after penalty equaliser in
the sixth minute of injury time ensured simon grayson side took tottenham to
fourth round replay
jermaine beckford leeds match winner in their third round victory over
manchester united was the hero again coolly converting the spot kick to earn
the league one third division side draw and second chance of reaching
the last
notts county also lived to fight another day after coming within seven minutes
of classic giant killing act before being forced to settle for draw with
premier league club wigan
holders chelsea eased into the fifth round at the expense of preston while
reading followed up their elimination of liverpool in the last round by
accounting for another premier league side burnley
but there was no doubt that the biggest drama of the day came at white hart
lane where leeds looked dead and buried until michael dawson was adjudged to
have brought down beckford deep into injury time
the striker had cancelled out peter crouch opener for spurs early in the
second half but leeds had appeared to be on their way out after roman
pavlyuchenko came off the bench to restore the hosts lead quarter of an hour
from the end
in the end though spurs were left to rue their failure to capitalise on their
dominance in an opening spell in which jermain defoe failed to convert penalty
of his own
notts county who are threatened with bankruptcy because of an unpaid tax bill
were on track for famous win over wigan after opening up two goal first half
lead through former west brom striker lee hughes and ben davies
but the league two fourth division side allowed wigan back into the contest
through jason scotland and ben watson rd minute equaliser sent the tie to
replay
county caretaker manager dave kevan said thought the lads were
fantastic but when we look at it again in the cold light of day we ll have
mixed feelings they know they ve had great opportunity to cause an upset and
sadly that hasn quite developed
county league two counterparts accrington stanley the lowest ranked club left
in the tournament went down to defeat by fulham after having darran
kempson sent off just before half time
at that stage the tiny lancashire club were matching their premier league
guests with michael symes having cancelled out erik nevland opener for fulham
but the home side tired after the break and damien duff and zoltan gera sent the
londoners through
they made life very difficult for us fulham boss roy hodgson admitted but
in the second half we showed them more of our qualities and ended up winning the
game relatively comfortably
nicolas anelka and daniel sturridge struck either side of half time as chelsea
advanced to the last with win over struggling championship side preston
north end
reading ensured they joined them in sunday fifth round draw when icelandic
midfielder gylfi sigurdsson scored an th minute winner against burnley
birmingham extended their unbeaten run to matches with win at everton
christian benitez and barry ferguson gave alex mcleish on form side first
half lead and despite pulling goal back through leon osman everton were
unable to conjure up an equaliser
portsmouth gained some relief from their on and off the field woes by coming
from behind to beat sunderland
darren bent had given sunderland the lead and the match was briefly interrupted
by protesting fans running on to the pitch
but double from nigerian striker john utaka ensured the pompey supporters
departed fratton park in better spirits
aston villa followed up their advance to the league cup final with defeat
of gus poyet brighton nathan delfouneso ashley young and fabian delph were
on the scoresheet for martin neill men
bolton registered their first win under owen coyle by beating sheffield united
at the reebok
but wolves must replay with crystal palace after being held to draw at home
to the on form championship side
west brom beat championship promotion rivals newcastle in an entertaining
clash at the hawthorns while cardiff city beat leicester by the same scoreline
derby edged doncaster and roy keane ipswich went down to defeat at
league one southampton
arsenal face potentially awkward fourth round tie at stoke on sunday which
also sees manchester city travel to scunthorpe
ski jump schlierenzauer at the double in poland
zakopane poland jan afp
austrian prodigy gregor schlierenzauer secured his second victory in two days by
winning the ski jump world cup event here on saturday
the year old claimed his st win on the world circuit after jumps of and
metres gave him total of points
two victories on one weekend are perfect result said the star who as he
had on friday saw off switzerland simon ammann with schlierenzauer
countryman thomas morgenstern taking the remaining podium place
it was great fight with simon very proud that was able to do
telemark and could win because of that said schlierenzauer
ammann the overall world cup leader set new polish record with jump of
to finish with points while morgenstern efforts of and
saw him muster points
it was schlierenzauer seventh victory of the season and the st of his
career he is now in fifth place in the list of all time world cup victories
which is led by finland matti nykaenen on
the back to back victories enabled schlierenzauer the defending world cup
champion to trim ammann lead at the top of the overall standings by points
to
football three star catania boost survival hopes
rome jan afp
catania cruised to crucial victory at home to parma on saturday to improve
their chances of beating the drop this season
giuseppe mascara opened the scoring for the sicilian hosts on the quarter hour
but then missed penalty eight minutes later following foul by christian
panucci
top scorer jorge martinez sealed the points on minutes with his seventh of
the season as catania dominated
and substitute japan forward takayuki morimoto rounded off the scoring
minutes from time
catania moved up to th and are now only point below the three teams directly
above them
the defeat left parma in th but still only two points off europa league
finish
the day late game sees in form as roma travel to crisis club juventus with
third place the prize to the winner
roma are currently third with juve fifth only two points behind them but coming
into the game off the back of run of seven defeats in the last matches
football zanetti out for three weeks following knee op
rome jan afp
fiorentina midfielder cristiano zanetti will miss the next three weeks according
to his club after undergoing knee surgery
zanetti has not played since mid december in champions league game against
hungarians debrecen when he suffered blow to his knee
france probes migrants mass landing in corsica
bonifacio france jan afp
france launched probe saturday and called for european summit to combat
illegal immigration day after self proclaimed kurds landed in corsica
immigration minister eric besson underscored that the french mediterranean
island could not be allowed to become an entry point for illegal immigrants and
mooted european conference as an investigation began into who the traffickers
were
the migrants who claimed they were kurds from syria were dropped off near the
southern town of bonifacio on friday by boat which then departed officials
said
it was the biggest known mass scale landing on the island of migrants who
usually try to enter europe by sea through italy sicily malta greece and
spain canary islands
the men women five of them pregnant and children were initially
lodged in gymnasium in bonifacio but on saturday they were flown to mainland
france to be housed in detention centres in cities such as marseille and lyon
each case will be individually assessed the immigration ministry said adding
that the migrants will get an interpreter medical check up information on
aid in case of voluntary return and legal help
besson earlier said some of the migrants identified themselves as kurds from
syria and others said they were from north africa
some of the immigrants resisted being shifted out from the gynasium but were
forced into buses many had refused meal late friday in protest against plans
to relocate them
several rights groups slammed the government response the league of human
rights ldh said their transfer to detention centres went against the tenets of
the french republic
they are not illegals living underground in france but refugees who after
having arrived on french territory have the absolute right to seek asylum
it said
and ava basta that enough local organisation espousing racial equality
denounced their transfer saying it would have preferred them to benefit from
hospitality and solidarity that corsicans have displayed in the past
but corsica prefect stephane bouillon said the immigrants could demand
asylum and added that they were being moved from the gymnasium to ensure better
security and more salubrious surroundings
bouillon the regional governor said an investigation had been launched since
they were clearly brought in by traffickers whom we are now seeking actively
to dismantle such networks
about adults were grilled by police before being sent to the detention
centres they said they had left syria on trucks for tunisia where they boarded
cargo vessel bound for corsica
they also told police they had wanted to go to scandinavia ajaccio state
prosecutor thomas pison said
the immigrants were all devoid of identity papers but appeared in good health
and were suitably dressed for european winter weather corsica governor
bouillon said
