former dictator he was member of the decision making revolutionary command
council and was regularly called upon to crush rebellion
rugby union borthwick retains england captaincy
london jan afp
steve borthwick will retain the england captaincy for the upcoming six nations
championship opener against wales the rugby football union announced monday
earlier this month england manager martin johnson named his squad for the six
nations but refused to say if saracens lock borthwick would continue as captain
raising the possibility of new second row combination taking the field against
wales at twickenham next month
but an rfu statement monday said england team manager martin johnson has
confirmed steve borthwick saracens will captain the team
borthwick has captained england in every test that johnson himself former
lock has been in charge of since the world cup winning captain became manager
in
however their record as manager and captain of six wins from tests with
eight defeats has led to questions being asked of both men suitability for
their respective roles
many observers have also repeatedly queried whether borthwick is worth place
in the side purely as lock but monday announcement means that barring
injury the year old is set to retain the captaincy for the whole of the six
nations
when johnson announced his initial six nations squad he was asked why he had
not also named captain he replied steve done great job but everyone is
competing for places that the way it has to be and the way steve would want
it
leicester back row lewis moody england outstanding player during lacklustre
november home series and fit again harlequins no nick easter were both touted
as alternative captains
but the longstanding criticism of borthwick has often perplexed those who ve
worked with him at close quarters particularly johnson and saracens boss
brendan venter
under his captaincy saracens have become contenders for the premiership title
this season and former springbok centre venter said we are good rugby side
because of steve borthwick
if we are going to end up having great season and competing at the highest
level it is because of steve borthwick steve is everything want in
captain
johnson decision was announced after england arrived monday in portugal for
pre tournament training camp
meanwhile props matt mullen worcester and dan cole leicester were called
into the six nations squad as cover for injured front rows andrew sheridan and
julian white
also promoted as injury cover were wasps no dan ward smith harlequins flanker
chris robshaw and leicester scrum half ben youngs
england face wales at twickenham on february
huts committees and jobs in haiti refugee camp
port au prince jan afp
at the champ de mars refugee camp in central port au prince earthquake
survivors are slowly piecing their lives back together but the one thing they
can organize is enough food
people left homeless by the january disaster which also killed at least
have built shacks launched neighborhood committees and even found work
in this sprawling makeshift settlement
whatever looters could drag from the smoking wreckage of the earthquake
whether sheets wood iron bars blocks of stone mattresses or chairs has
been recycled to make these frail huts
finding anything to eat or drink is an even more daunting task as huge us
and un led international aid effort still struggles to get supplies to around
one million people left homeless by the disaster
our aim is to clean these places get tents and find food and water said
michel emile computer technician but we don yet understand where the
food and water distribution points are located
lucky few in the camp withdrew money from the bank or borrowed from family
members others shared eating every other day
throughout the day survivors go looking for something anything to fill their
stomachs and those of their loved ones
we don find something every day said djilly pierre year old
accountant
still the refugees do what they can they have set up areas for eating washing
and sleeping as well as outside basins where people wash naked or half clothed
with no privacy or dignity
vendors of clothes underwear alcohol and cosmetics have set up shop in the
alleys around the camp small stalls sell rice fried goods and sweets as well
as ketchup pasta haircare products and lipstick
not selling lot though said fenelon louis
there is work for those with an entrepreneurial flair women cook meat with an
enticing odor man loans out his generator for charging mobile phones
wooden sign reads we sell manicures while another offers haircuts
committees are starting up too like the committee for the haiti of tomorrow
in tent village set up by french soldiers
they are trying to coordinate with the mayor to distribute other tents we are
asking them to clear the trash and to liaise with the police french soldier
explained
further off young people try to help they carry out night patrols to provide
some form of security and collect the garbage
but in the camp some traditional roles have been reversed with men starting to
do the washing and cooking some have gone back to their jobs in town but most
are idle the catastrophe depriving them of their role as head and provider of
the family
it hard not used to doing nothing ve got job it annoying said
pierre claudel year old potter as other young men hung around in groups
in the shade or ambled around
ve made friends we talk about the situation about everything and nothing
before all this liked to chat up girls but here not in the mood
it is mainly the women who busy themselves looking after the stove tidying up
taking care of the children
we get up we cook we wash the dishes and clean the clothes we go to church
we read the bible basically we distract ourselves and we wait said student
saradjine saint jean
between the shelters and laughing children playing hide and seek little girls
skipped rope the boys made toy cars with bottles and bottlecaps for wheels
and high above the chaos small kites made of plastic bags fluttered in the
breeze
yachting america cup to be shown live on internet
madrid jan afp
the rd edition of the america cup which is set to take place in spain next
month will be shown live and for free over the internet for the first time
organisers announced monday
the event is to be three leg multihull duel between the catamaran of swiss
defender alinghi and us challenger oracle massive trimaran in the spanish
mediterranean port of valencia from february
but legal procedures in new york mean the event remains in doubt just two weeks
before the start
the local organisers consortio valencia said in statement that for
the first time the races will be broadcast live and for free on the site
www americascup com in order to allow as many people as soon possible to watch
them
the two teams have been training for the past week off valencia but have been
stuck in port since sunday due to bad weather
concerns had already been raised about holding the event in mid winter in the
mediterranean when it risks being disrupted or delayed by rough weather
the last america cup won by alinghi in valencia in july took place over
two months and included an elimination round
the next edition will be more compact and also more exciting said michel
hodara an official of the organising team
but access for spectators will be more difficult as the boats will be racing
over an area that is up to six times larger that that used in the nd
edition the consortio said
alingi and oracle have been arguing over the rules of the america cup for two
and half years
the new york court ruled in april that the cup should be settled by one on one
multihull duel between the two sides in february instead of the traditional
fully fledged regatta involving several teams
but oracle earlier this month asked the supreme court of the state of new york
to rule on whether alinghi had infringed nationality rules by allegedly using
us made sails for its catamaran and decision in that case is still pending
belgium lokeren sack coach mathijssen
brussels jan afp
struggling belgian first division club lokeren on monday sacked coach jacky
mathijssen after just three months in the post the belga news agency reported
mathijssen took over the reins of lokeren from serb aleksandar jankovic in
october but has not managed to lift the team currently languishing in last
place in the strong league with just points from games played
mathijssen had been under contract until the end of june the name of his
successor has not been revealed
us official downplays glory seeker bin laden
washington jan afp
us official on monday played down osama bin laden tape hailing the botched
bombing of us airliner saying the al qaeda chief often took credit for
incidents around the world
daniel benjamin the state department coordinator for counterterrorism said
that careful reading of the tape did not indicate that bin laden was claiming
to be behind the christmas day plot
bin laden has been trying to put his fingerprints on just about everything
that happened for years benjamin told reporters
he doing what for bin laden is sort of the tried and true strategy of
associating himself with it and in that way sort of trying to get some of the
reflected glory of the moment if you can call it that he said
bin laden in an audio message broadcast sunday by al jazeera television
praised as hero nigerian national umar farouk abdulmutallab who allegedly
tried to detonate explosives on northwest airlines plane approaching detroit
the fugitive al qaeda chief vowed more attacks warning us president barack
obama that the foiled aircraft plot was meant as similar message to the
devastating september strikes
whitacre confirmed gm chief vows to repay loans by june
detroit michigan jan afp
general motors interim chief executive and chairman ed whitacre said monday he
agreed to be permanent ceo at the struggling us auto giant and vowed to repay
government loans by june
whitacre had stepped in as the temporary ceo after fritz henderson quit the
position last december as the number one american auto company reeled from
financial crisis
he said he agreed to be permanent ceo after the gm board asked if he would be
willing to stay on and help continue the company road back to success
having spent the past few months learning the business meeting with our
employees customers and dealers and working with the gm leadership team was
both honored and pleased to accept this role he told press conference at
gm headquarters in detroit
this is great company with an even greater future and want to be part of
it he said
gm entered into bankruptcy protection on june last year with liabilities of
billion dollars and billion in debt
whitacre expressed the gm board commitment that the company would pay back in
full the us treasury and the canadian and ontario government loans by june
we ve made significant progress in the past couple of months so much so that
can confirm with certainty that we will pay back in full the us treasury and
canadian and ontario government loans by june whitacre said
this represents significant milestone in our journey back to being
profitable and viable company
the treasury department said separately monday that it had received commitment
from gm to repay its government debt in full in june well ahead of the
original repayment schedule
gm and the treasury amended their loan agreement to require gm to repay the
full billion investment made under the troubled asset relief program tarp
along with billion dollars in repayments to the canadian and ontario
governments by june statement said
the tarp was part of billion dollar government bailout approved in october
to prevent the financial system especially banks from collapse following
crisis arising from home mortgage meltdown
the treasury said it estimated total tarp repayments and proceeds from sales of
its common stock in banks should exceed billion dollars by the end of
general motors received billion dollars in government aid amid its
spectacular collapse
much of that aid was converted into stock in the new company which emerged from
bankruptcy protection in july
the us government obtained percent stake the canadian government received
an percent stake united auto workers union retiree trust fund received
percent stake and bondholders received percent stake
whitacre former chairman and ceo of telecom giant at amp was installed as
chairman in new company board controlled in large part by the us government
under gm bankruptcy plan
some analysts say whitacre has proven to be effective head
his biggest challenge will be to break gm silo thinking and he is off to
good start commented jeremy anwyl chief executive of automotive web site
edmunds com
as he reviews the business he grilling people on why they do things that
they do the way they do as only an outsider can anwyl said the last thing
gm needs right now is its fourth ceo in less than year
whitacre was described in recent wall street journal report as hard charging
texan with penchant for killing rattlesnakes for sport
he is known for taking over companies and imposing his will on its employees
starting at the top the report said
henderson took the helm at gm in late march last year as the auto giant was
headed toward bankruptcy
he replaced rick wagoner who was forced out of the job by the administration of
president barack obama
bur pp rl
presumed dead as ethiopian plane crashes off lebanon
beirut jan afp
rescuers found bodies but no survivors on monday in massive search operation
launched after an ethiopian airliner with people on board plunged flaming
into the sea off lebanon
ethiopian airlines flight lost contact with beirut airport shortly after
takeoff at am gmt and crashed into the mediterranean nautical
miles off the coastal town of naameh south of the airport in stormy weather
the control tower was assisting the pilot of the plane on takeoff and suddenly
lost contact for no known reason transport minister ghazi aridi told
reporters
by late afternoon at least bodies of the people on board had been
recovered including that of three year old
red cross volunteers transported bodies and some body parts to the state
hospital
one rescue official told afp that some of the victims had been dismembered
the bodies found were apparently of passengers who did not have their seat
belts on and who floated to the surface he said on condition of anonymity
divers are working to recover the bodies of those who had their seat belts and
sank to the bottom of the sea
at the hospital where anguished family members awaited news of relatives grim
faced officials played down hopes of anyone being found alive
we do hope but it unlikely health minister mohammed jawad khalifeh told
reporters he said the ministry had set up crisis unit to identify victims
through dna tests or personal belongings
luggage and debris from the boeing which had been bound for addis ababa
washed up south of the capital during the day
empty seats gift wrapped children toys and even coffee machine from the
plane were found near the airport an afp correspondent said adding that
soldiers were dragging metal pieces of debris along the shoreline
defence minister elias murr said it appeared the storm was to blame
bad weather was apparently the cause of the crash he told reporters and
added we have ruled out foul play so far echoing similar comments by
president michel sleiman
witnesses reported seeing flames as the plane plunged into the sea in huge
ball of fire
relatives of passengers some weeping uncontrollably huddled at beirut
airport vip lounge and at the state hospital to await news
sleiman hariri parliament speaker nabih berri and ministers and deputies
rushed to comfort them
we are working with all the power we have to try and find missing people from
this tragedy hariri said from the airport we are working to find the black
box that will tell us what really happened on the plane
later he chaired an emergency meeting with officials including murr khalifeh
army commander jean kahwaji and police chief ashraf rifi
the lebanese army navy the united nations interim force in lebanon unifil
and aircraft from france britain cyprus and the united states were all
assisting in rescue efforts officials said
an american destroyer the uss ramage which specialises in rescue operations
arrived on site at pm gmt with advanced equipment on board us
embassy spokesman said
the ethiopian news agency in addis ababa said ethiopian airlines sent team to
beirut to investigate the crash
officials said passengers and seven crew members were aboard the doomed
flight
the passengers included lebanese ethiopians one french woman one
briton one iraqi one syrian one turk and another whose nationality has yet to
be determined
the french passenger was identified as marla sanchez pietton wife of france
ambassador to lebanon denis pietton the french embassy told afp
three lebanese passengers had dual nationality from britain canada and russia
thousands of ethiopians are employed as domestic workers in lebanon and
ethiopian airlines operates regular flight between addis ababa and beirut
the boeing entered into commercial service in and is one of the
latest versions of the world most widely used short to medium haul airliners
capable of carrying passengers
ethiopian airlines established in and operating an all boeing fleet is
considered one of africa best carriers
however it has had two major crashes since in november flight
was hijacked between addis ababa and nairobi by three ethiopians seeking
political asylum
it crashed into the indian ocean off the comoros when it ran out of fuel
killing of the people on board
us existing home sales dive in december
washington jan afp
us existing home sales plunged in december following buyers rush to snap up
tax credits industry data showed monday signaling murky outlook for the
ailing sector
the national association of realtors nar said sales fell record percent
to seasonally adjusted annual rate of million units
though decline had been widely anticipated it was much sharper than the
million units expected by most analysts and was the steepest monthly drop since
nar began tracking the data series in
nar said the falloff had been expected after sales surged from september through
november as first time buyers rushed to take advantage of federal tax credits
originally due to expire on november
congress passed and president barack obama signed an extension of the first time
tax credit and expanded it to include other home purchases made prior to april
in an effort to spur rebound in the housing market and support the
economy fragile recovery from recession
it was unclear whether the second tax credit would jump start sales overall or
just bring them forward said patrick newport us economist at ihs global
insight
so far the second credit appears to be having minimal effect he said
adding that mortgage applications to purchase homes on four week moving
average were near their lowest level since despite historically low
mortgage interest rate levels
first time home buyers represented percent of the market in december
compared with percent the prior month
sales were percent above the december level the industry group said
it significant that home sales remain above year ago levels but the market
is going through period of swings driven by the tax credit said lawrence
yun nar chief economist
sales rose every month since april apart from slight dip in august bringing
sales to million up percent from the prior year and the first
annual sales gain since
the national median sales price rose percent from year earlier to
dollars it was the first year over year gain since august
the best development for the future of housing is to see prices rise said
robert brusca at fao economics nothing will bring people back to housing like
the notion that prices are firming up
yun highlighted that elevated unemployment poses key challenge to recovery in
the housing sector where defaults on subprime mortgages more than two years ago
triggered the global financial crisis
the job market remains concern and could dampen the housing recovery job
creation is key to continued recovery in the second half of the year the nar
economist said
the home sales report came as obama unveiled series of tax breaks and other
measures to ease pressures on the embattled middle class
creating good sustainable jobs is the single most important thing we can do to
rebuild the middle class and won rest until we re doing just that said the
president ahead of his state of the union address to americans wednesday
most economists expect the unemployment rate which held steady at
percent in december will remain high amid sluggish economic recovery
job growth low rates and better access to liquidity will be all needed to
keep the housing market recovering said andrew busch at bmo capital markets
inventory of existing homes for sale at the end of december fell percent to
million units month supply at the current sales pace up from
month supply in november
on an annual basis inventory at the end of december was percent below the
december level it was at the lowest level since march when the
housing price bubble began to collapse and percent below the july
record overhang
median prices fell under the weight of distressed home sales which accounted
for percent of total sales last year
for all of the median price was dollars down percent from
year earlier
merck reps banned from us aids clinics over drug costs
washington jan afp
the largest us hiv aids health care provider on monday accused merck
pharmaceuticals of price gouging its aids treatment isentress and banned the
drug giant sales reps from its clinics in protest
we ve banned representatives from merck pharmaceuticals from calling on our
physicians in our clinics which is common marketing strategy we are
instituting this ban largely because of the egregious pricing policies for their
key aids drug isentress ged kinslea communications director for the aids
healthcare foundation ahf told afp
the drug is good drug it has fewer side effects but it is the single most
expensive first line anti retroviral treatment for aids available in the united
states and the developing world said kinslea
an annual course of isentress costs in the region of dollars in the
united states according to ahf
in africa the continent the worst hit by the global aids pandemic isentress
costs about us dollars per patient per year and that about times
more than other aids drugs in africa said kinslea
isentress was brought to market in the united states in as so called
salvage therapy drug treatment for patients for whom other aids therapies
have not worked or who only sought treatment in the late stages of illness ahf
said
last year the us food and drug administration approved isentress as first
line treatment for aids but the pricing remains at the expensive salvage
therapy price said kinslea
in the united states salvage therapy patients account for between and
of the million people thought to be hiv positive
because the market for salvage therapy is just fraction of the overall aids
treatment market pharmaceutical companies sell their last chance drugs for
higher price than so called first line treatments
when merck was contacted about the price gouging accusations media
representative referred afp to statement issued by the company two weeks ago
in the statement merck said ahf accusations were false and insisted it had
priced isentress responsibly after consultation with respected leaders in
the hiv community
africa detains tunisian on terrorism suspicions
johannesburg jan afp
south african police said monday they had detained tunisian national named on
an interpol notice for terror linked offences in his home country
mohammed ali harrath was held sunday as he arrived at johannesburg airport on
flight from britain said south african police spokesman musa zondi
he has not been arrested he has been detained because there is an interpol red
notice he added saying harrath would be held in custody while awaiting
further instructions from tunisia or interpol
an interpol red notice which is not an international arrest warrant is
aimed at helping national or international jurisdictions to identify or locate
suspects
according to interpol website the year old harrath is accused in tunisia
of one of broad list of crimes that include counterfeiting forgery crimes
involving the use of weapons explosives terrorism
south african public television sabc reported that harrath had been sought by
the tunisian authorities since after helping to set up an islamist movement
called the tunisian islamic front
according to sabc he lives in britain where he holds political refugee status
and is currently head of the london based television network the islam channel
which notably broadcasts across africa
the channel was not immediately available for confirmation or comment
figure skating kerrigan brother denies assault charge
stoneham massachusetts jan afp
two time olympic figure skating medalist nancy kerrigan brother mark pleaded
not guilty monday to an assault charge upon their father who died last weekend
kerrigan won silver medal at the lillehammer winter olympics after
sordid scandal involving us rival tonya harding and took bronze at the
albertville winter olympics kerrigan also won the us crown
in kerrigan was clubbed in the right knee by an attacker after practice
session harding was found to have known about the attack plan and banned from
the sport for life but not before she skated at lillehammer
kerrigan suffered more heartache this weekend after her year old father
daniel was discovered unconscious on the floor of the family home by police
responding to an emergency call
he was pronounced dead early sunday at nearby hospital
mark kerrigan was found in the basement of the house according to police
report that described him as belligerent and combative when police tried to
question him eventually needing pepper spray to be subdued
kerrigan appeared intoxicated but appeared coherent in understanding questions
and answering them the report said
police said mark kerrigan said he struggled with his father and put his hands
around his father neck after not being allowed to use the telephone kerrigan
said his father fell to the floor but that he felt his dad was faking it
according to the report
blood was found on the floor as well as other signs of scuffle police said
kerrigan was ordered held on dollars bail after hearing in woburn
district court in which mark never spoke but once broke into tears
not guilty plea was entered for mark kerrigan on charge of assault and
bettery on person over resulting in injury
he and his father had violent argument and struggle at the home and daniel
kerrigan either fell or collapsed on the kitchen floor middlesex county
assistant district attorney elizabeth healey said
she described mark kerrigan as an unemployed plumber living at his parents home
and having lengthy criminal record
he is extremely distraught over the death of his father and denies any
responsibility said denise moore mark kerrigan attorney
she described her client as us army veteran that had served overseas and was
seeing psychiatrist as well as taking medication for post traumatic stress
syndrome
the boston herald reported that brenda kerrigan said her husband had died of
heart attack and there was nothing suspicious about his death
corrected us accuses former guatemalan president of money laundering
new york jan afp
us prosecutors on monday charged guatemala fugitive former president alfonso
portillo with laundering millions of dollars he embezzled while in office
portillo who was president from embezzled tens of million of
dollars worth of public funds portion of which he then laundered through bank
accounts located among other places in the united states and europe the
grand jury indictment reads
the grand jury indicted portillo in new york
the united states has requested portillo extradition guatemalan police said
sunday they had searched his two homes in guatemala city and his birthplace in
eastern zacapa but failed to find him
the page indictment charges portillo with using two national banks that he
oversaw to make fraudulent transactions an embezzle money from the government
to enrich himself and his co conspirators
he then allegedly laundered this money through various international bank
accounts including accounts located in the united states through at least in
or about
prosecutors said they were seeking forfeiture of the allegedly laundered money
if found guilty portillo could be sentenced to maximum of years in prison
and fine of of dollars or double the value of funds in the money
laundering transactions
portillo embezzled almost four million dollars from the ministry of defense and
also stole donations from taiwan to program known as bibliotecas para la paz
or libraries for peace according to the indictment
taiwan issued three checks of half million dollars each in to purchase
books none of the checks issued by the government of taiwan was applied to the
libraries for peace program instead this money was diverted the
indictment said
between portillo also allegedly misappropriated funds from the
publicly financed reserves of one of the banks he oversaw credito hipotecario
nacional chn
to launder money portillo moved funds around the world including in florida
lichtenstein london luxembourg paris and switzerland the charges allege
portillo fled to mexico in after he lost his immunity from prosecution for
alleged corruption during his administration in october he was
extradited from mexico to guatemala where he has been awaiting trial on
embezzlement charges
