newspaper in expect coverage gmt attacks india us pakistan court
park city utah following the sundance film festival expect coverage
entertainment us film festival sundance
manpower vehicles needed for haiti aid effort un
washington jan afp
the new un chief of mission in haiti called sunday for more manpower and
vehicles to help earthquake relief efforts and said that clearing rubble and
counting victims could take years
need manpower need soldiers edmond mulet whose predecessor was killed
when the un headquarters in port au prince collapsed in the january quake
said on cnn amanpour on sunday
the influx of us troops whose number is set to reach on sunday was
vital for getting the food and assistance that had already reached the country
out to survivors of the disaster mulet said
this is why think the presence of the american troops on the ground is going
to be very important and canadian troops also because they re the ones who will
be distributing this assistance he said
and what we need is cars and trucks and vehicles to reach the people
the guatemalan un official said former us president bill clinton the un special
envoy for haiti had promised to get him extra vehicles by calling us
automakers and then transporting them via the us military
mulet was appointed after tunisian hedi annabi the head of the un stabilization
mission in impoverished haiti died in the quake
the final death toll might never be known he warned
all these concrete slabs these houses these buildings are down there it
going to take years to pick up all that and many bodies are underneath
mulet said
the government is saying now around official toll but we will really
never know exactly he added
separately the us ambassador to haiti kenneth merten defended the relief
effort against criticisms that it had started chaotically and was moving too
slowly
think the relief effort is going quite well considering the logistical and
other challenges can we ve had to deal with would actually take issue with
the fact that it started off so slowly nobody is prepared for these things he
said
but ahead of an emergency donors meeting in montreal on monday merten warned
that rebuilding haiti was going to be massive task
they re haitians going to need just about everything starting from zero he
said
the government and the haitian people have been shattered think something
like out of ministries the physical buildings have simply been vaporized
so the needs are great
manpower vehicles needed for haiti aid effort un
washington jan afp
the new un chief of mission in haiti called sunday for more manpower and
vehicles to help earthquake relief efforts and said that clearing rubble and
counting victims could take years
need manpower need soldiers edmond mulet whose predecessor was killed
when the un headquarters in port au prince collapsed in the january quake
said on cnn amanpour on sunday
the influx of us troops whose number is set to reach on sunday was
vital for getting the food and assistance that had already reached the country
out to survivors of the disaster mulet said
this is why think the presence of the american troops on the ground is going
to be very important and canadian troops also because they re the ones who will
be distributing this assistance he said
and what we need is cars and trucks and vehicles to reach the people
the guatemalan un official said us secretary of state hillary clinton had
promised to get him extra vehicles by calling us automakers and then
transporting them via the us military
mulet was appointed after tunisian hedi annabi the head of the un stabilization
mission in impoverished haiti died in the quake
the final death toll might never be known he warned
all these concrete slabs these houses these buildings are down there it
going to take years to pick up all that and many bodies are underneath
mulet said
the government is saying now around official toll but we will really
never know exactly he added
separately the us ambassador to haiti kenneth merten defended the relief
effort against criticisms that it had started chaotically and was moving too
slowly
think the relief effort is going quite well considering the logistical and
other challenges can we ve had to deal with would actually take issue with
the fact that it started off so slowly nobody is prepared for these things he
said
but ahead of an emergency donors meeting in montreal on monday merten warned
that rebuilding haiti was going to be massive task
they re haitians going to need just about everything starting from zero he
said
the government and the haitian people have been shattered think something
like out of ministries the physical buildings have simply been vaporized
so the needs are great
football vieira rates world cup chances as percent
paris jan afp
new manchester city recruit patrick vieira says he has percent chance of
playing for france at next summer world cup finals despite having not
represented his country since june
as an optimist going to say percent he said in response to
question about his chances of playing in south africa on the canal football club
television show on sunday evening
the desire is there it my goal in my head don see myself missing the
world cup
vieira who has yet to play for his new club admitted that he had received no
guarantees from france coach raymond domenech who he met shortly before
christmas and conceded that the situation is not as simple as that
but he said that as soon as playing there no reason why shouldn be
selected said vieira whose last france appearance saw him captain les bleus
to defeat against nigeria in saint etienne last june
you have to play which is the important thing for me have five months
vieira was member of the france team that won the world cup and the
european championship and has caps
he joined city from reigning italian champions inter milan on january
oxfam urges haiti debt cancellation at canada talks
london jan afp
charity oxfam urged monday countries at an emergency meeting to help quake hit
haiti to cancel the devastated nation million dollars of international
debt
the appeal came as the united states canada france brazil and other donors
with interests in haiti met in montreal to map out plans to rebuild the
caribbean nation and improve aid efforts for millions of people
expecting haiti to repay millions of dollars as the country struggles to
overcome one of the worst natural disasters in recent memory would be both cruel
and unnecessary said jeremy hobbs international executive director of the
london based aid agency
cancellation of the million dollar million pound million euro
burden should be accompanied by action at the canada meeting to deliver on
pledge to turn huge loan into grant said oxfam
the international monetary fund has vowed to change million dollar
emergency loan to haiti into grant but needs permission from countries that
give the body funds to do so according to oxfam
the charity said removing haiti debt burden was one of their five priorities
for the reconstruction of the hard hit nation
others were support for haitian farmers and small business to ensure poor
areas benefit from grants intended for them to support civil society and to
rebuild what the quake destroyed better than before the devastation
steps must also be taken to boost food production for up to three million
haitians affected by the disaster the aid agency added
immediate cancellation of foreign debt must be accompanied by urgent action to
support farmers and prevent man made food crisis exacerbating the hardship
faced by the people of haiti said hobbs
haiti prime minister jean max bellerive is expected at the closed door talks
along with us secretary of state hillary clinton french foreign minister
bernard kouchner and other officials
it will also bring together argentina brazil chile costa rica the dominican
republic japan mexico peru spain and uruguay along with officials from the
united nations and the organisation of american states
the european union the inter american development bank the world bank the imf
and several non governmental organisations will also be represented
the magnitude earthquake which hit haiti on january has killed at least
people and is the worst recorded disaster ever to hit the americas
israel bars belgian minister from gaza report
brussels jan afp
israel has barred the belgian development minister from going to gaza saying
his visit would give legitimacy to the islamist hamas movement running the
territory belgian television reported sunday
belgian cooperation and development minister charles michel protested that
israel action was unacceptable and said he would take the matter to the
european union the private rtl tvi television station said
israeli deputy foreign minister daniel ayalon had told michel that to allow
minister to enter gaza would give form of legitimacy to hamas the television
said
hamas which is pledged to israel destruction seized control of gaza in
june after week of bloody street battles with forces loyal to the
western backed palestinian president mahmud abbas
belgium has pledged funds for un agencies to help palestinian refugees to build
schools in gaza but construction has not begun because of israel obstruction
amnesty international last week accused israel of collectively punishing the
population of gaza with border closures tightened after the hamas takeover
football algeria ivory coast at half time
cabinda angola jan afp
algeria and title favourites ivory coast were drawing at half time on sunday
in an africa cup of nations quarter final
chelsea striker salomon kalou gave the ivorians fourth minute lead after
goalmouth scramble and germany based karim matmour levelled on minutes with
shot that flew in off post
rugby union european challenge cup tables
paris jan afp
european challenge cup tables after final round of pool matches on sunday
played won drawn lost points for against bonus points points
pool
bourgoin qualified
leeds
parma
bucharest
pool
connacht qualified
montpellier
worcester
madrid
pool
toulon qualified
saracens
castres
rovigo
pool
wasps qualified
bayonne
racing metro
roma
pool
newcastle qualified
montauban
albi
padova
five pool winners plus third fourth and fifth best runners up in european cup
pools qualify for quarter finals
obama regroups after bruising week
washington jan afp
president barack obama is regrouping after bruising week top white house
aides said sunday outlining his plan to reinvigorate his stalled domestic
agenda and revitalize demoralized democratic party
obama senior advisor david axelrod said that the president mid course
correction will start by focusing on the soaring percent unemployment rate
the issue most on the minds of us voters
middle class people are getting killed in the economy they are working harder
and harder for less axelrod told cnn state of the union program
many have lost their jobs there is sense of economic insecurity out there
he said adding that the white house plans to do everything that we can in the
short run to stir job creation and to see the economy grow
to help re craft his flagging image and hone his message obama has called in
reinforcements in the form of david plouffe the architect of his successful
insurgent presidential campaign
the white house makeover comes after week in which democrats saw their
supermajority in congress evaporate doubly painful blow because the us
senate seat lost to republican rising star scott brown had been held for over
four decades by democratic party icon ted kennedy
kennedy had been one of obama key mentors and champion of the health reform
pushed by the president
and in setback of historic proportions during what was arguably the toughest
week of obama year old presidency the supreme court decreed that corporations
could dip freely into their general funds to finance political campaign ads
the ruling in week marking the one year anniversary of obama inauguration
comes as huge victory for republicans who are seen as more likely to get
funding from deep pocketed corporations and lobby groups
combative obama last week pledged he would never stop fighting as he forged
ahead on his health care overhaul and ramped up his efforts to reconnect with
his neglected liberal base
his spokesman robert gibbs told the fox news sunday television program that the
president will lay out his revamped program with its job centered focus in
televised national speech on wednesday
what the president will outline in the state of the union are several things
including continuing to take the steps that are necessary to provide an
environment where the private sector once again can start hiring people he
said
meanwhile senator robert menendez who is tasked with helping keep his party
control of the senate in the midterm elections said plouffe political acumen
is much needed during these dark times for embattled democrats
we welcome the white house beefing up their political operation in volatile
political atmosphere menendez chairman of the democratic senatorial campaign
committee told cnn
there is enormous economic angst in the country and that economic angst
came out in last week massachusetts election he said
for his part plouffe acknowledged in an opinion piece sunday in the washington
post that democratic candidates face white knuckled ride in the mid term
legislative elections
but that is no reason to back off the president reform agenda including
health care reform
politically speaking if we do not pass it republicans will continue
attacking the plan as if we did anyway and voters will have no ability to
measure its up side he said
he added that to ensure economic growth democrats must create strong
foundation for long term growth by addressing health care energy and education
reform
plouffe also advised the white house to do better job trumpeting its successes
starting with the achievement of reversing what could have been
catastrophic economic downturn
and he admonished democrats who sometimes have been labeled as lacking
fortitude when it comes to taking tough decisions to stiffen their spines for
the political battles ahead
no bed wetting the democratic strategist wrote
instead of fearing what may happen let prove that we have more than just the
brains to govern that we have the guts to govern he said
iraq pm orders probe into british bomb detector
baghdad jan afp
iraqi prime minister nuri al maliki on sunday ordered an investigation into
device used to detect bombs at checkpoints despite ban on their export by
britain
maliki ordered the formation of commission of inquiry into this issue
government spokesman ali al dabbagh told the state run al iraqiya television
channel
everyone will be affected by this inquiry not only the interior department
but all authorities who contracted or advised the use of such devices dabbagh
said
how can you have contract with someone who has no address or registered
office in britain he asked in reference to the atsc company that manufactures
and sold the devices to iraq
atsc director jim mccormick was arrested by british police on suspicion of
fraud by misrepresentation he was bailed pending further investigation
last week britain banned the export of the ade device after tests showed it
was not suitable for bomb detection
the ade is hand held pistol shaped piece of equipment which uses series
of interchangeable credit card size paper cards said to be able to detect
explosives such as and tnt as well as weapons
it was reputedly sold for between and dollars per unit and has
become ubiquitous in iraq having been bought in large numbers by local security
forces
an iraqi parliamentary committee said earlier it would investigate the
continuing use of the device
we will start to gather evidence to find out how this piece of equipment was
sold to iraq hadi al ameri chair of the parliament defence and security
committee told afp
if the british company was responsible we will seek compensation via the
ministry of foreign affairs
ammar touma an mp who sits on the defence and security committee echoed
ameri concerns and said an investigation was imminent
the inquiry will start very soon and be led by government authorities like the
ministry of the interior he said also want to know if corruption was
involved
the ade was being used on sunday in baghdad the restive northern city of
mosul and the sprawling southern city of basra afp correspondents said
the defence and security committee investigation must be approved by parliament
before it is formally allowed to come into force
italian mozzarella scandal may lead to resignation
rome jan afp
the head of an italian buffalo mozzarella makers consortium put under watch
after inspectors discovered traces of cow milk in samples of the product said
sunday he was planning to resign
luigi chianese said he would wait until the end of the three month watch period
before leaving as cooperation was the only way to eliminate doubts over an
affair totally distorted by the media
the consortium mozzarella is sold in italy and around the world under the
european union protected designation of origin pdo label meaning product
must be produced in given geographical area using recognised procedures
however analysis of buffalo mozzarella under the pdo label detected the
presence of traces of cow milk in about samples out of the purchased at
points of sale throughout italy
agriculture minister luca zaia passed decree last week placing the consortium
under watch
the investigation will involve inspections at all members of the consortium
of whom around have already been identified as breaking the rules
including chianese
committee of inspectors from the agriculture ministry and scientists will
carry out tests of the products and the producers under investigation will be
allowed to present counter evidence
it is only at the end of these evaluations that will be able to resign
serenely said chianese in statement
he also questioned the real reasons motivating the investigation of the
consortium
minister zaia is candidate for the majority centre right in regional elections
scheduled at the end of march
mozzarella was at the centre of health scare in when samples of the
cheese were found to have raised levels of dioxin which increases the
likelihood of cancer
more than buffalo mozzarella farms were quarantined and several countries
temporarily banned imports of the popular cheese which is often used for pizzas
zaia said the investigation this time was not prompted by health concerns but to
protect the made in italy label
football french cup round of draw
paris jan afp
draw for the french cup round of made here on sunday
boulogne sur mer or colmar guingamp
auxerre or sedan nancy or plabennec
quevilly rennes
lens or marseille toulouse or brest
vesoul paris saint germain
villefranche sur saone or saint etienne vannes or grenoble
beauvais sochaux or le mans
bordeaux monaco or lyon
matches to be played february
football psg down evian to reach french cup last
paris jan afp
paris saint germain saw off the challenge of third division evian on sunday to
qualify for the last of the french cup with workmanlike victory
turkish international striker mevlut erding headed the hosts into th minute
lead at the parc des princes and doubled psg advantage with another header on
the hour mark
kevin berigaud hauled the underdogs back into contention seven minutes later
when he converted half volley but guillaume hoarau starting his first game
since october after period on the sidelines put the game beyond the visitors
when he scored in the fourth minute of injury time
it good for the confidence said erding guillaume scored scored evian
were great team but we were focused right to the end and the victory was
deserved
lyon currently fifth in the french championship standings will look to make it
five wins from five games in when they visit monaco in the tie of the round
later on sunday
earlier reigning cup holders guingamp of the second division who came from
behind to stun rennes in last season final won at fourth division
mulhouse to take their place in the last
elsewhere on sunday top tier saint etienne and nancy both secured places in the
round of by winning their delayed last ties
les verts are involved in relegation scrap but they blew away eighth placed
lorient with emmanuel riviere dimitri payet twice and bakary sako all on
target in victory
pleased with our qualification with having scored some goals with the
spirit in the team and with the match said saint etienne coach christophe
galtier
lorient are quality side we prepared for this match like league game by
lining up our best available team
nancy were given far sterner examination at fifth division thiers however
and eventually prevailed on penalties after the game finished
french champions and current league leaders bordeaux booked their place in the
last with thrashing of second division ajaccio on saturday when lower
league beauvais quevilly and vesoul also made it through to the round of
lille currently third in the french top flight crashed to defeat on
penalties against fourth tier colmar who will now meet boulogne sur mer in the
round of
china says not involved in cyberattacks on google
beijing jan afp
china on monday denied any state involvement in cyberattacks on google and
defended internet censorship as necessary as row with washington over the us
firm threat to leave the country rumbled on
the statements from beijing carried in twin interviews on the state news agency
xinhua came after the white house said us president barack obama was troubled
by google claims that it had been attacked by china based hackers
the us internet giant has threatened to abandon its chinese search engine and
perhaps end all operations in the country over the cyberattacks it has also
said it is no longer willing to bow to chinese government censors
the accusation that the chinese government participated in any cyberattack
either in an explicit or inexplicit way is groundless and aims to denigrate
china an unnamed spokesman for the ministry of industry and information
technology told xinhua
we are firmly opposed to that the spokesman said
china policy on internet safety is transparent and consistent he added
reiterating that the country was itself the biggest victim of hacking
the google row which erupted less than two weeks ago has threatened to rattle
sino us ties which are already dogged over series of trade and currency
issues us arms sales to taiwan and climate change
last week beijing lashed out at washington after speech by us secretary of
state hillary clinton on internet freedom saying the address had been harmful
to bilateral relations
we urge the united states to respect facts and stop using the so called
internet freedom issue to criticize china unreasonably said foreign ministry
spokesman ma zhaoxu
in the second interview carried by xinhua early monday spokesman for china
state council or cabinet said beijing efforts to regulate the internet were
legitimate and should be free from unjustifiable interferences
china has full justification to regulate what it deems to be harmful internet
content the unnamed cabinet spokesman said noting that such policy had
nothing to do with claims of restrictions on internet freedom
in her speech clinton lamented what she said was beijing increasing efforts
to control what its million web users can see system known as the
great firewall of china by which google said it can no longer abide
the chinese cabinet spokesman said different countries have different
conditions and realities which called for different internet regulations
but the official added while beijing was willing to discuss internet use with
other countries it was opposed to any defiance of chinese laws or
intervention in its affairs under the pretext of internet management
google has not yet stopped censoring search results on google cn but google
chief executive eric schmidt said thursday it will happen soon
we continue to follow their laws we continue to offer censored results but in
reasonably short time from now we will be making some changes there schmidt
said
the state department said friday that us and chinese diplomats had held several
meetings to discuss the attacks on google which the firm said appeared aimed at
cracking the email accounts of chinese human rights activists
we are having high level meetings and we will continue to have meetings and we
will continue to press this issue aggressively state department spokesman
philip crowley said we will continue to seek an explanation from china
blanket denial that nothing happened we don think is particularly helpful
crowley added
miracle survival stories from haiti earthquake
port au prince jan afp
hopes faded of finding further survivors beneath the rubble of haiti
earthquake sunday day after rescuers dug out young man who survived days
trapped in the debris
total of people are known to have been saved from the wreckage following
the january quake in which more than people were killed here are
some notable cases
jan an month old girl is rescued by australian television crews from
near the bodies of her parents she did not cry she looked astonished almost
as if she was seeing the world for the first time reporter for the nine
network said
jan girl aged seven man of and woman aged are pulled from
the ruins of supermarket in port au prince by us and turkish rescuers maria
lamy and arielle all with minor injuries were able to survive thanks to food
stuck beneath the rubble with them
jan the german co owner of the capital hotel montana nadine cardoso
riedl is saved thanks to cellphone sms that she managed to send she is
dehydrated but unhurt
jan haitian year old anna zizi sings as mexican firemen pull her from
the ruins of port au prince cathedral her rescuers had been able to feed her
water through tube
jan elisabeth day old baby is rescued from the ruins of house in
the devastated town of jacmel in southern haiti after spending seven days
trapped with nothing to eat or drink her condition is satisfactory rescuers
say
jan the same day neighbours dig an year old girl mendji bahina
sanon from the ruins of her house in port au prince mama is not in the hole
don leave me mama she said in hospital afterwards as her mother tried to
calm her nightmares
jan an year old woman maria carida roman is saved by friends and
family who heard her faint cries from the ruins of her house in the capital she
is badly dehydrated her chest is crushed and she has maggots on her body
doctors say and is transferred to us hospital ship anchored off the haitian
coast
jan hours later emmanuel buso is rescued from ruins near the
presidential palace by team of israeli military rescuers he survived by
drinking his own urine
jan wismond exantus is saved from the wreckage of the shop where he
worked in port au prince after surviving days by drinking coca cola and
eating snacks french us and greek teams rescue him
football getafe triumph over atletico in derby duel
madrid jan afp
getafe came out on top in the local derby with atletico madrid defeating their
man neighbours on sunday to move four points off the champions league
spots
since winning promotion in getafe had never beaten local rivals atletico
in the league at their coliseum alfonso perez home but manu del moral th
minute goal ended that sequence
for atletico who had midfielder paulo assuncao sent off it brought an end to
run of three successive league victories and they are now ten points off the top
six
del moral scored the winner on minutes arriving at the back post to side foot
home fine pedro leon cross
atletico pressed for an equaliser but brazilian assuncao collected second
booking on minutes to give the visitors too much to do
both atletico and getafe who narrowly survived relegation last season are in
kings cup action on thursday as they bid to reach the semi finals of the
