portillo abused the trust of his nation people said us attorney preet
bharara in new york no matter who you are if you use our financial system to
launder your dirty cash we will follow the money trail to your door
haiti reconstruction may take decade donors say
montreal jan afp
rebuilding haiti out of the ruins left by massive earthquake could take at
least decade canadian prime minister stephen harper warned emergency talks
held by donors here monday
it was not an exaggeration to say that at least years of hard work awaits
the world in haiti harper said as international leaders gathered to set an
agenda for the long term needs to rebuild the devastated caribbean nation
we must work to ensure that every resource committed every relief worker
every vehicle every dollar is used as effectively as possible
he urged donors to start drawing up the beginning of plan that will guide
reconstruction in haiti in way that is effective coordinated and strategic
for the decade to come
haitian prime minister jean max bellerive earlier said his nation needed help in
what he called this colossal work of reconstruction
the talks are aimed at defining key strategies to rebuild the country from the
ground up in the wake of the magnitude quake which struck on january
killing people and leaving one million homeless
among those attending were also us secretary of state hillary clinton and french
foreign minister bernard kouchner along with officials from dozen other
nations
haiti was victim once again of natural catastrophe beyond measure
bellerive said
my country witnessed not only buildings and infrastructure collapse but it was
viscerally affected by the loss of hundreds of thousands of human lives he
said adding the police and government offices were decimated
donor countries are seeking to use the groundswell of support for haiti as an
opportunity to transform country that has historically faced grinding poverty
political corruption and bloodshed
diplomats have raised the possibility of kind of marshall plan for the island
nation similar to the us led postwar reconstruction of europe which would take
decades and require huge commitment of resources and money
canadian foreign minister lawrence cannon said donor nations must begin to plan
to give hope where there is despair by joining with the people of haiti to
develop common vision and plan for better life and future
clear vision coordination and adherence to key principles of aid effectiveness
will be essential to accelerate our efforts and avoid duplication cannon
added
an umbrella group of canadian and haitian aid organizations meanwhile called on
donors to cancel haiti foreign debt
we hope that you use the weight of your governments to convince international
financial institutions to cancel haiti entire foreign debt said eric
faustin director of rocahd the coalition of canadian haitian development
organizations
ministers and officials from the united nations also discussed how to streamline
delivery of food water drugs and medical supplies to the swelling number of
people living in makeshift camps around the shattered capital of port au prince
television and internet images of the destitute and dying as the able bodied
searched amid the tangled steel and concrete rubble of the capital triggered
worldwide outpouring of donations
washington has taken frontline role in the disaster relief effort sending in
tens of thousands of troops and rescue teams and anchoring hospital ship
offshore to treat injured haitians
foreign ministers and other officials from brazil chile peru uruguay mexico
costa rica the dominican republic japan and spain were also present in
montreal for the talks
they were joined by officials from the european union the organization of
american states the inter american development bank the world bank and the
international monetary fund
japan said it would pledge million dollars in aid to haiti and deploy as many
as peacekeepers to the un mission there
the montreal talks were expected to lay the groundwork for full fledged donors
conference on haiti in the coming weeks
haiti aid efforts working well eu commissioner
brussels jan afp
eu humanitarian aid commissioner karel de gucht back from visit to quake hit
haiti said the aid efforts were working very well with no one hungry or
thirsty
the priority now he told reporters in brussels is for large scale camps to
house internally displaced persons
he also announced that team of european experts would head for haiti within
days to assess the reconstruction and recovery needs
it always very important to get in there and have an idea on the spot of what
is happening de gucht said of his own visit to the devastated port au prince
following the quake on january which has claimed some victims with
the toll expected to swell
it working well the distribution of water is working as is the distribution
of food which is getting off the ground nobody hungry nobody thirsty
he said after meeting of eu foreign ministers in brussels where the haiti
issue was discussed
the urgent problem now is finding temporary housing for those currently
sleeping out in the open
the weather in haiti is excellent now but the rainy season is just six weeks
away he stressed
hence the pressing need to build up around camps with at least people
in each the eu commissioner underlined
the eu has pledged over million euros million dollars in emergency and
longer term aid to haiti and the assembled eu ministers agreed monday to send at
least police officers to help on the ground
no more french combat troops for afghanistan sarkozy
paris jan afp
french president nicolas sarkozy said france will send no more combat troops
to afghanistan in an interview on monday three days before an international
conference on stabilising the country
france may still send extra non combat military personnel to train the afghan
security forces sarkozy added in rare televised interview
france has soldiers helping fight the taliban on the ground in
afghanistan
britain is to host the meeting on thursday which is expected to focus on how
nato led troops can hand over to local forces
white house stands firm on bernanke
washington jan afp
the white house stood firm on the renomination of ben bernanke monday saying
second term for the federal reserve chief was vital to demonstrating stability
in the us financial system
chairman bernanke helped the president and the economic team steer through some
very turbulent times and rough waters white house spokesman robert gibbs said
believe that it sends signal to greater and overall stability to have his
nomination approved without political games and that what we expect will
happen later this week
bernanke nomination which is yet to be put to senate vote appeared in deep
trouble on friday after several democratic senators withdrew support for his
nomination amid public fury over his role in the financial crisis
but the white house launched an emergency bid to shore up the nomination and
senate majority leader harry reid and other influential senators threw their
support behind bernanke
former republican presidential candidate senator john mccain however came out
against bernanke on monday voicing the argument of opponents to the nomination
that the federal reserve chief did not do more to prevent the economic meltdown
our country is still facing an economic crisis and while appreciate the
service that chairman bernanke has performed as federal reserve chairman
believe that he must be held accountable for many of the decisions that
contributed to our financial meltdown mccain said in statement
therefore plan to oppose chairman ben bernanke confirmation for new
term as federal reserve chairman
french judges order release of kurdish migrants
lyon france jan afp
judges have ordered the french state to release more than kurdish migrants
who were rounded up after rare mass landing in corsica and faced possible
deportation officials said monday
the adults and children most of whom say they are ethnic kurds from syria
were found on beach on the mediterranean island after being landed by
traffickers who have not been caught
they told french authorities they were brought by truck from syria to tunisia
for up to euros dollars each and put on cargo vessel which
dropped them near southern corsica on friday
the migrants were transferred to processing centres on the french mainland but
judges in southern marseille nimes and northwestern rennes ordered to be
freed on sunday ruling that the state had no legal grounds to detain them
in eastern lyon judge freed further on monday and others were also
released in the southern city of toulouse
migrants told the court in lyon they fled syria because as kurds their rights
were abused there and that they planned to file for asylum
in syria was not considered human year old jumsid ali told the court
risked my life to come to france and am sure that if return to syria will
risk death
at least of the adults in the group have already filed for asylum the
immigration ministry said and the others were expected to follow suit
the interior ministry told afp that as soon as the migrants filed for asylum
applications any local procedure to deport them was overruled the asylum
process can take months
it was corsica biggest known mass scale landing of migrants who tend to try
to enter europe by sea via italy malta greece or spain canary islands
migrants from africa have sometimes landed hungry and dehydrated after days at
sea on dangerous flimsy vessels and many have died in the attempt
however officials who questioned friday arrivals in corsica said the migrants
were in good health and spirits the men were clean shaven and some of the women
were even wearing make up
immigration minister eric besson said it was still not certain exactly how they
had made their way from syria to corsica
one source close to the investigation said they may have sailed not from tunisia
but from nearby sardinia an italian island
several rights groups slammed the handling of the migrants and their transfer to
detention centres from where they faced possible deportation
the un high commissioner for refugees unhcr urged france to ensure each of the
kurds be allowed to seek asylum
besson meanwhile announced plans to boost patrols to stop illegal migrants
reaching the european union and to target traffickers
after meeting with maritime and immigration authorities he said he had
ordered them to develop coordinated strategy to fight illegal immigration by
sea
he also called in statement for new measures at national european and
international level
president nicolas sarkozy right wing government has taken hard line on
immigration in september it closed down major camp for afghan migrants in the
channel port of calais
man hurls shoe at sudan president beshir but misses
khartoum jan afp
sudanese man hurled his shoe at president omar al beshir on monday but missed
him witnesses said adding the assailant was promptly arrested
the man who was in his threw the footwear at beshir in hallway of the
friendship hall where the president hosts guests witnesses said on condition
of anonymity
security men quickly detained the shoe thrower
he was later identified as adil mohammed fath al rahman mahjub man who once
held position in government and suffers from psychiatric disorders the
official news agency suna said without elaborating
he wanted to deliver letter to the president but was intercepted by guards
of the president who told him the time and place were not appropriate he then
took off his shoe and threw it the agency said
the man was otherwise unarmed suna said adding the shoe thrower was treated at
psychiatric hospital before being released to his family
beshir has ruled sudan since seizing power in military coup in and he is
standing for re election in april when sudan holds its first general election
in years
the president who is wanted by the international criminal court for alleged war
crimes in the restive darfur region is the latest leader targeted by shoe
thrower
in the best known incident iraqi journalist muntazer al zaidi threw his shoe at
then us president george bush on december during his farewell visit
to baghdad
zaidi said at the time it was farewell kiss for bush he was jailed for nine
months but flown out of the country after being released for his own security
the assault caused massive embarrassment to bush and his host iraqi prime
minister nuri al maliki particularly since throwing shoe at someone is
considered especially insulting and humiliating in arab culture
other officials who have had shoes thrown at them include chinese premier wen
jiabao while on visit to britain and israel ambassador to sweden
nba wizards crittenton faces gun charges
washington jan afp
washington wizards guard javaris crittenton was charged with two misdemeanor gun
violations monday in what appears to be the start of plea deal with
prosecutors over locker room weapons incident
the charges in district of columbia superior court come days after nba
teammate gilbert arenas pleaded guilty to felony gun charge in plea deal
arenas was indefinitely suspended by the nba and will be sentenced march
prosecutors agreed not to seek more than six months in jail for arenas in
exchange for his guilty plea
crittenton was charged with possessing an unregistered firearm and attempting to
carry pistol without license both were filed in manner indicating plea
deal had been made although that was not confirmed
each charge carries maximum of one year in jail
but crittenton year old reserve apparently will plead guilty to one
misdemeanor count in plea bargain agreement noted in statement by peter
white crittenton lawyer
mr crittenton who was years old at the time of this incident has never
before been arrested or charged with any crime and with today misdemeanor
plea to possession of an unregistered firearm accepts responsibility for his
conduct white said
he looks forward to explaining his actions to the nba and returning to the
basketball court as soon as possible
charges stem from december locker room incident involving arenas that was
rooted in dispute over gambling debts during an airplane flight two days
earlier in which crittenton anmd arenas joked about how they would attack each
other
two days later arenas brought four guns into team the locker room and put
them on chair near crittenton locker with note saying pick one in what
he later called joke
prosecutors said crittenton told arenas he did not need any of his guns and then
brandished one of his own
mr crittenton brought lawfully owned unloaded handgun into washington only
because he legitimately feared for his life white said in his statement
the government proffer of facts acknowledges that his handgun was not loaded
and that he never threatened anyone with it
the gun was legally purchased but bringing it into the district even for self
defense violated the city strict gun control laws
police searched crittenton home earlier this month but did not find gun or
seize any evidence
crittenton who has not played this season because of injuries is set to become
free agent after the season
football ferguson junior turns to father for welbeck loan
preston england jan afp
preston manager darren ferguson followed the example of many british students
monday in getting loan from his father only in his case it was player
rather than money that was on offer
ferguson first signing as preston boss saw him go to manchester united where
his father sir alex is the manager to bring danny welbeck to deepdale on loan
for the rest of the season
the year old forward has gone straight into preston squad for tuesday
second division championship match against bottom of the table peterborough
darren ferguson former club on tuesday
manchester born welbeck has scored five goals in appearances for united
football egypt down cameroon to set up algeria rematch
benguela angola jan afp
aided by brace from skipper ahmed hassan egypt defeated man cameroon
after extra time in an africa cup of nations quarter final match here on monday
egypt prize is mouth watering last four showdown on thursday against bitter
rivals algeria who pipped the egyptians to world cup ticket in dramatic
circumstances in november
the pharaohs thus improved to matches their unbeaten run in the tournament
and also extended their five year superiority over the indomitable lions
egypt assistant coach shawki gharib saluted cameroon for pushing his team all
the way while defending the performance of south african referee jerome damon
cameroon are great team and they pushed us very hard said gharib we
on our own part played very well and knew what we needed to do to win this
match
however match is all about minutes and there are no games without
mistakes but overall the referee was fair to both teams
cameroon skipper samuel eto disagreed saying the referee supported egypt
bit because they did not deserve to win this game
but won blame the referee because this is africa and we still have lot to
learn eto said adding that coach paul le guen had angrily walked out on the
post match press conference
cameroon who saw defender aurelien chedjou red carded in the th minute for
professional foul on mohamed nagy opened the scoring in the th minute
courtesy of an own goal by hassan winning an african record th cap
hassan got the slightest touch with his head on an achille emana corner at the
near post as it sailed into the net
hassan turned from villain to hero in the th minute when he caught goalkeeper
carlos kameni napping with dipping shot from over yards which bounced in
front of the cameroon goalkeeper before resting at the back of the net to draw
the champions level
faulty back pass two minutes into extra time by geremi njitap found super sub
mohamed gedo nagy who slotted home between kameni legs to give egypt the
lead in this pulsating encounter
the defending champions increased their lead on minutes when curling
freekick by hassan was adjudged to have been palmed beyond the goalline by
kameni television replays showed that the ball did not cross the line
man of the hour hassan was unperturbed by the controversy
very happy because we won today he said we played very good match
and thrilled to score two goals and also with the record of
appearances
in the th minute nagy dashed free through the cameroon defence but kameni
made brave save the game appeared to slip away for the lions of cameroon when
chedjou was sent off moments later
cameroon fought to reduce the deficit in the second half of extra time but egypt
kept their shape to stay on course for an unprecedented seventh nations cup
title
from the kick off cameroon took the game to their opponents forcing five
corners in the first minutes while egypt first attack came only after six
minutes when ahmed fathi had shot
cameroon continued to dictate the pace of this contest and more than deserved
their lead when it came in the th minute
six minutes after their equaliser hosny abdrabou would have given egypt the
lead but he failed to direct his header on target when all alone inside the
yard box
cameroon response was immediate as emana fired pile driver from distance
minute later but essam el hadary was alert to push the ball out of harm way
from the restart egypt would have gone in front when chedjou mistimed long
ball into the cameroon area motaaeb got foot to the ball but somehow kameni
gathered the ball minutes later zidan with lot of space to spare shot inches
wide as the cameroon defence came under siege
chedjou again succumbed to pressure in the th minute when he was robbed of the
ball by zidan on the edge of the box but kameni made fine save
eu to send police to haiti despite british objections
brussels jan afp
european nations agreed on monday to send mission of more than police
officers to help ease aid coordination and distribution in quake hit haiti
european union foreign ministers meeting in brussels agreed on total
contribution of at least officers to help the un stabilisation mission
in haiti eu foreign policy supremo catherine ashton told reporters
france european affairs minister pierre lellouche whose country is one of the
biggest contributors with officers said the minustah mission could reach
people on the ground
italy will offer around officers following united nations call to boost
the figures
on sunday the mission head edmond mulet said there was an enormous need for
personnel fuel and vehicles
spain which holds the eu rotating presidency and the netherlands will also
contribute possibly alongside portuguese and romanian police meaning europe
will at least double the un request for officers
together we will represent the eu in this role of guaranteeing the security and
above all the arrival of the emergency aid which the haitians need said
spanish foreign minister miguel angel moratinos
britain has been cool on the plan insisting that the united states with some
troops in the area had more than enough personnel to provide for
security needs
not sure that that is necessarily the right way to go britain minister
for europe chris bryant told reporters as he arrived for the talks
british foreign secretary david miliband underlined the security presence that
has been established has been vital and think actually the united states has
done well on that
the eu is the biggest humanitarian aid donor in the world and has already
earmarked more than million euros million dollars in emergency and
reconstruction aid for haiti where at least people were thought
killed in the january quake
however the eu efforts have little visibility on the ground
the united states some kilometres miles from haiti and with troops in
the region has been able to mobilise vast quantities of aid and resources and
has led supply and search and rescue work in tandem with the un
the eu police mission is dwarfed by comparison but miliband insisted we back
up the american and un efforts because this is un enterprise
germany will not take part due to restrictions under its constitution
the eu has been struggling to find gendarmes to fill out its police mission
in afghanistan where experts needed to build national security force capable
of protecting its own people are in desperately short supply
the eu foreign ministers also agreed to create coordination cell in
brussels to avoid doubling up individual efforts by member states
the moves come after ashton was accused of not taking high profile role in the
aid efforts failing for instance to visit haiti since the devastating quake
what was certainly missing was eu visibility right away flag right away
said lellouche adding that the creation of european emergency aid force would
help
that idea has been rolling around eu corridors for several years without any
result
ashton defended herself by saying she had only been in her job for six weeks
she promised we will look at the lessons learned and come forward with
proposals in order to get aid out quicker in the case of future catastrophes
italian mayor resigns over embezzlement scandal
rome jan afp
the mayor of bologna in north central italy resigned monday after allegations
that he used public money to pay for trips with his former secretary and
partner
flavio delbono of the centre left opposition democratic party who was elected
mayor of the left leaning city in june said he would step down in the next
days
citing bologna long tradition of civic engagement he said its culture was
different from that of other italian cities
for me bologna comes ahead of anything else delbono said adding that he
would return to teaching economics
delbono taught economics at the bologna campus of the prestigious johns hopkins
school of advanced international studies based in baltimore maryland for more
than years
prosecutors recently began an investigation into trips delbono took with cinzia
cracchi who was his secretary and partner while he was vice president of
bologna emilia romagna region
delbono who claimed the trips as business expenses faces charges of abuse of
office embezzlement and fraud
with regional elections coming up in late march the scandal hits the centre
left democrats at delicate time
the party candidate in regional primaries in the southern region of apulia
lost on sunday to incumbent left wing governor nichi vendola who will face off
against the candidate fielded by prime minister silvio berlusconi centre right
coalition
urgent no more french combat troops for afghanistan sarkozy
paris jan afp
french president nicolas sarkozy said france will send no more combat troops to
afghanistan in an interview on monday three days before an international
conference on stabilising the country
alert
no more french combat troops for afghanistan sarkozy
galliano gets the riding habit at dior
paris jan afp
the sound of whinnying horses and thundering hooves set the scene for christian
dior haute couture show for next summer on monday with its opening sequence
of riding habits personal favourite of monsieur dior
designer john galliano amazonians brandished riding crops and sported black
velvet top hats with fishnet veils over their tightly fitted jackets with stiff
peplums frothy white neckties and full riding skirts in scarlet charcoal grey
or traditional checked english tailoring fabrics
in his more than years tenure at dior galliano keeps returning to dior new
look and his bar jacket this time updating it with an asymmetric cut and
origami folds his models whitened faces only served to increase their
resemblance to geishas
in contrast to his horsewomen galliano cocktail outfits were ultra feminine
silk jackets bristled with faux stones and fluffy embroidery in soft pastel
shades of primrose peach and pistachio over skirts in layers of tulle or lace
bolder sculpted short satin halter neck dresses came in strong combinations
like peacock blue and purple or fuchsia and prune
his finale of grand entrance ballgowns had slender bodices emphasised by over
the elbow evening gloves and floor sweeping skirts and trains some models
needed two male assistants to help them navigate the stairs in the salons off
the champs elysees where the show was held
australian singer kylie minogue and hong kong actress maggie cheung were among
the invited guests applauding from the front row
the silhouettes are amazing and the colours are like the palette of painter
perhaps pierre bonnard cheung enthused
earlier monday christophe josse unveiled his romantic vision for next summer
full of fragile sensual confections
cream blouses and dresses in patchwork of guipure and lace with high collars
and ruffled fronts had high victorian feel
silhouettes were in soft focus like his gleaming mother of pearl sequin
trenchcoat
evening gowns concentrated on palette of misty grey and dusty pastels like old
rose
his assured touch came across in his deft use of micro pleating for tiny fan
shapes adorning an off the shoulder silk chiffon frock or in ruched bodices with
intricate arrangements of pleated ties knotted behind
lebanon george chakra found inspiration in gardens for his summer collection
not just in flowers but in the geometry of trellises
latticework tops and little evening coats were worked in rhinestones or sequins
mounted on tulle while an organza evening dress came in delicate blue and
white trellis print
chakra who enjoys experimenting with new materials this season used
silverised lace and tulle and cellophane treated so that it does not tear and
can even be over embroidered with sequins
dutch designer josephus thimister artistic director of balenciaga in the
returned to the french capital after more than decade to present the first
show on the official calendar on sunday night
his bloodshed and opulence collection inspired by the cataclysm of world
war in russia mingled men and women ready to wear with some couture
pieces
in his military parade he sent out mock blood spattered vests like jackson
pollack canvasses over scarlet satin breeches khaki greatcoats and jackets
lined with crimson fur ivory maxi cossack coats and snow white trenchcoats
but because of his minimalist and modernist approach it was far from evident to
distinguish his couture from ready to wear except for stand out pieces like
strapless dress constructed from silver ribbons under crumpled silver
camouflage coat
future bleak without innovation bill gates
san francisco jan afp
innovation can turn the world foreboding future bright microsoft co founder
bill gates said monday in an annual letter from charity foundation he runs
with his wife and father
if we project what the world will be like years from now without innovation
in health education energy or food the picture is quite bleak said gates
society under invests in innovation in general
important areas where such investment is lacking are innovations that benefit
poor people education and preventative health care according to gates who
retired from microsoft in
the world struggled with fierce financial crisis during his first year working
full time at the bill and melinda gates foundation he and his wife established
in
the neediest suffer most in downturn said gates who noted that he
consulted powerhouse billionaire investor warren buffet while assessing the
economic landscape
although the acute financial crisis is over the economy is still weak and the
world will spend lot of years undoing the damage
gates foundation has allocated billions of dollars in grant money for vaccine
research drought resistant corn low cost mobile bank accounts systems to
evaluate abilities of school teachers and more
we are backing innovations in education food and health as well as some
related areas like savings for the poor gates said
despite the tough economy am still very optimistic about the progress we can
make in the years ahead
without innovation health care and energy costs will spiral upward gates
predicted
