working to clear roadways
we want to put people back to work so they can find the resources to get the
economy back up and running explained kristie van de wetering chf
communications manager in haiti
in the delmas neighborhood eight trucks donated by local firm load piece by
piece slabs of reinforced concrete tangled with scraps of metal curtains and
clothes it is slow and painful process to pull destroyed city out of the
rubble
there is solidarity najjar said noting his group had loaded trucks
measuring cubic meters cubic feet on saturday the following day and
on monday
when the equipment inevitably reveals rotting bodies and the horrible stench of
death the cleanup stops momentarily and teams contact local authorities
have seen bodies in garbage trucks we are trying to avoid doing that
explained najjar
but coordinating with local services themselves left hobbling after the january
disaster remains major headache
the mayors lost their offices they have no money no gas no communication
the aid worker lamented
dump sites have been designated for each neighborhood each time truck
unloads locals rush to the scene frantically tugging at the rubble with their
bare hands to recuperate any precious scraps of metal to resell them for
couple dollars
in some areas workers guide backhoes to dig out flat zone on part of
destroyed property
we try to clear space when it not dangerous so that the home owners can
come back to their own plot of land set up tent or other shelter and look for
their personal belongings explained wilde
hundreds of thousands of traumatized haitians have been left homeless by the
quake many crowding in unsafe and unsanitary conditions in the open air
karzai to seek removal of taliban from un blacklist
istanbul jan afp
afghan president hamid karzai said monday he would press for taliban names to be
removed from un blacklist as he sought support for his country in talks with
the leaders of pakistan and turkey
karzai said he would ask for the names to be scratched at major conference in
london thursday at which he hoped to win western support for plan to offer
money and jobs to cajole taliban fighters into laying down arms
will be making statement at the conference in london to the effect of
removing taliban names from the un sanctions list karzai told reporters in
istanbul
the idea had previously met resistance but as we are talking today there is
more willingness that this can be reconsidered he said
the move is seen as step towards persuading militants to accept peace talks
karzai wants to bring low and mid level fighters into mainstream society to end
the gruelling insurgency but the leadership of islamist insurgent groups active
in the battered country is hostile to negotiations
the nato military commander in afghanistan has also voiced support for
negotiated peace
as soldier my personal feeling is that there been enough fighting us
general stanley mcchrystal said in an interview with britain financial times
published monday
believe that political solution to all conflicts is the inevitable outcome
and it the right outcome
karzai was in istanbul for talks with pakistani president asif ali zardari on
monday to be following by meeting with leaders of his country neighbours on
tuesday
it was the fourth round of turkish sponsored fence mending talks between the
presidents of afghanistan and pakistan since with ankara pushing the two
neighbours to enhance cooperation against islamist insurgents
monday meeting was also attended by pakistan and afghan military and
intelligence chiefs and in joint declaration afterwards both parties stressed
cooperation between their security forces and intelligence agencies
turkish president abdullah gul said ankara would be ready to contribute to
efforts to persuade the taliban to lay down arms
relations between kabul and islamabad became strained as extremists who fled the
us led ouster of afghanistan taliban regime in late found safe haven in
pakistan northwestern tribal regions
afghanistan claims much of its insurgent violence including attacks on us and
nato soldiers is planned in pakistan and has accused its neighbour of not doing
enough to curb the militants
afghan and us officials suspect pakistan powerful military is sponsoring the
taliban preparing for when us troops leave so islamabad can influence taliban
government and offset regional superpower india
under plan announced by us president barack obama in december us
troops will go to afghanistan this year on top of more than already
there before they begin withdrawing in july
turkey the sole muslim country in nato is using its traditionally close ties
with both countries to mediate between them it has about soldiers in
afghanistan and takes part in reconstruction and training afghan police
tuesday meeting to be hosted by gul will gather karzai and zardari and
senior officials from iran china tajikistan and turkmenistan turkish
official said
countries and organisations will send observers among them british foreign
secretary david miliband who said monday he would raise karzai decision to
name controversial militia leader abdul rashid dostum his chief of army staff
karzai will fly on to berlin and then london where the conference will focus on
corruption security good governance and reconciliation with the taliban
euro firmer ahead of fed obama
london jan afp
the euro was slightly firmer against the dollar in subdued trade on monday as
the markets waited for federal reserve policy meeting and key speech this
week by us president barack obama dealers said
they said investors want to hear what obama has to say after he hit sentiment
last week with his plan to crack down on the us banking sector while the fed
statement due wednesday will be closely read for any clue on interest rate
policy
at the same time series of data is due including us and british growth
figures while the fate of fed chief ben bernanke has been called into question
just as the economic recovery seems to be running into headwinds they said
with lot of important economic data out this week with uk and us gross
domestic product as well as the fed and the vote on bernanke
reappointment it seems the market is adopting wait and see approach before
determining its next move said michael hewson of cmc markets
in late london trade on monday the euro was firmer at dollars up from
late in new york late friday
the dollar was higher at yen after yen on friday
dealers said investors were cautious ahead of the fed two day monetary policy
meeting starting tuesday followed day later by obama state of the union
speech which comes amid concern about his tough banking reform plan
any traders taking positive view of the dollar prospects will be looking for
signs in obama speech that the us government is serious about cutting the
burgeoning budget deficit calyon analysts wrote in note
the market was also grappling with doubts about bernanke future after key
democratic senators said last week they would oppose the central bank chief
reappointment after his first term ends on january
top ranking members of the us senate banking committee however voiced
confidence saturday that the fed chief would be confirmed for second term
the december us home sales figures were down sharply on the month but had only
limited impact as the market waited for the fed obama and the growth data due
later in the week
dealers said the pound rose on the eve of data widely expected to reveal an end
to britain longest recession on record
return to growth between october and december last year after six quarters of
negative figures will see britain following all other major economies out of
recession economists predict growth of percent in the fourth quarter
in london on monday the euro was changing hands at dollars against
dollars late on friday at yen pounds
and swiss francs
the dollar stood at yen and swiss francs
the pound was at dollars
on the london bullion market the price of gold rose to dollars an
ounce from dollars on friday
afp special graphics advisory
paris jan afp
we shall move the following graphics ahead of the winter olympics which
take place in vancouver from february
text slug oly can
winter olympics vancouver
graphic map of vancouver and whistler locating the main venues for the winter
sports events including drawings of the main stadiums
mm
available by gmt
winter olympics medal winners
graphic list of the top medal winners at olympic winter games competitions since
mm
available by gmt
olympic timetable
graphic timetable of events at vancouver
mm
available by gmt
winter olympics venues
graphic map showing the cities that have hosted the winter games since
mm
available by gmt
winter olympics turin
graphic medals table showing the final standings at the close of the winter
games in turin italy
mm
available by gmt
we shall also move in the coming days fact files on all the winter sports
alpine skiing mm
biathlon mm
bobsleigh mm
ice hockey mm
nordic combined mm
curling mm
luge mm
figure skating mm
speed skating mm
ski jumping mm
skeleton mm
freestyle skiing mm
cross country skiing mm
snowboard mm
short track mm
please consult the daily graphics advisory for details
paris hong kong
tel
figure skating kerrigan father dies brother faces charges
stoneham massachusetts jan afp
former us figure skating champion nancy kerrigan brother mark faces assault
charges upon their father who died last weekend according to police report
monday
kerrigan the us champion captured the attention of the world in when
she was struck in the knee by assailants who were later tied to rival us skater
tonya harding leading to drama at the lillehammer winter olympics
she 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 the
police report which described him as belligerent and combative when police
questioned him
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
police eventually arrested kerrigan after subduing him with pepper spray
rebuilding haiti to take years canadian pm
montreal jan afp
rebuilding haiti after massive earthquake will take at least years
canadian prime minister stephen harper told international donors on monday
it was not an exaggeration to say that at least years of hard work awaits
the world in haiti harper told an emergency meeting of donors called to
address the long term needs to rebuild the caribbean nation hit by devastating
quake nearly two weeks ago
we must work to ensure that every resource committed every relief worker
every vehicle every dollar is used as effectively as possible said harper
he was flanked us secretary of state hillary clinton and haitian prime minister
jean max bellerive
we must hold ourselves and each other accountable for the commitments we make
would like to see emerge from this meeting the beginning of plan that will
guide reconstruction in haiti in way that is effective coordinated and
strategic for the decade to come harper added
football pulis still believes stoke can sign james
stoke england jan afp
stoke city manager tony pulis hasn given up hope of signing portsmouth
goalkeeper david james during the january transfer window
after stoke knocked arsenal out of the fa cup on sunday they were drawn against
manchester city one of james former clubs in the fifth round
after their win over premier league leaders arsenal pulis said of the plan
to sign james on loan from top flight basement club portsmouth we are still
working on it it has taken longer than expected
one way for cash strapped portsmouth who are facing winding up order from
british tax authorities over alleged unpaid bills to reduce their debts is to
have other clubs pay their players wages as would happen if england
international james went on loan to stoke
but if james were to move to the britannia stadium it would place question
mark against the stoke future of current first choice goalkeeper thomas
sorensen
the dane who has been linked with move to bayern munich has made some high
profile errors in recent games and pulis said monday ve had good chat with
him and he understands the situation
the important thing is that we bring in competition to push everyone thomas
included
neither james nor denmark sorensen will be happy to sit on the bench in the
build up to the world cup with both their respective nations having qualified
for this year finals in south africa
but pulis said he wanted both players at the club believe we are one of the
few premier league clubs with only two goalkeepers in their first team squad
and we need cover with three keepers
thomas would be first to hold his hands up and say everybody needs competition
thomas has made couple of mistakes which get highlighted more as goalkeeper
but he been fantastic signing for us
european stocks fall after us property report
london jan afp
european stock markets fell on monday after new data showed higher than
expected fall in us home sales in december and as investors remained jittery
over planned overhaul of the us banking system
sales of us existing homes fell percent to seasonally adjusted annual
rate of million units in december the national association of realtors
nar said
the decline was worse than an average analyst forecast of million units and
was the steepest monthly drop since nar began tracking the data in
confidence in recovery in the world biggest economy sagged as result
london benchmark ftse index slipped percent to close at
points after the announcement the cac in paris fell percent to
points and the frankfurt dax was down percent at points
elsewhere in europe the main stock market index in madrid dropped percent
zurich slid percent and brussels inched down percent
some of the big losers in london were mining stocks after the european
commission opened an inquiry into deal between sector giants rio tinto and bhp
billiton to join their iron ore activities in western australia
shares in rio tinto fell percent to pence after the report
stocks in london however are set to win support from data due out on tuesday
expected to reveal that britain exited recession in the fourth quarter of
analysts also pointed to continued worries over us president barack obama
pledge last week to come down hard on banks in the wake of the economic crisis
the repercussions from obama proposed banking reforms are rumbling on the
uncertainty surrounding the detail of the reforms is making the markets
extremely nervous said robert pike from financial betting firm spreadex
banking stocks rose in london after britain finance minister alistair darling
made it clear that it would not copy obama proposals
shares in royal bank of scotland rose percent to pence barclays
climbed percent to pence and hsbc gained percent to pence
wall street appeared slightly more upbeat on monday as prospects improved for
federal reserve chairman ben bernanke confirmation for second term
the dow jones industrial average was up percent in afternoon trade while
the tech heavy nasdaq index slipped percent
political support for federal reserve chairman ben bernanke reappointment
helped us stock futures rebound overnight after friday deep slump in equity
markets said mekael teshome at moody research site economy com
analysts at trading company currencies direct said in research note the re
appointment of the dovish ben bernanke is seen as vital for the continuation of
growth in the us economy going forward
uncertainty over obama bank revamp plans and fears of policy tightening by
beijing meanwhile continued to spook risk averse investors in asian trade on
monday as financial stocks in the region extended their slide
confidence in the region was also brittle due to concerns about further
credit tightening measures in china francis lun general manager at
fulbright securities told dow jones newswires
shanghai closed down percent hong kong shares fell percent and in
tokyo the nikkei index was down percent
rebuilding haiti to take years canadian pm
montreal jan afp
rebuilding haiti after massive earthquake will take at least years
canadian prime minister stephen harper told international donors on monday
it was not an exaggeration to say that at least years of hard work awaits
the world in haiti harper told an emergency meeting of donors called to
address the long term needs to rebuild the caribbean nation hit by devastating
quake nearly two weeks ago
we must work to ensure that every resource committed every relief worker
every vehicle every dollar is used as effectively as possible said harper
he was flanked us secretary of state hillary clinton and haitian prime minister
jean max bellerive
jlr bur via jkb
families of ethiopian crash victims await news at home
addis ababa jan afp
the relatives of the ethiopian nationals who were on board the ethiopian
airlines plane that crashed monday shortly after leaving beirut were awaiting
news of their loved ones at home
airline officials said they were still holding up hope that survivors could be
found but the government declared national day of mourning
ethiopian airlines told afp it had driven back home dozens of relatives who had
been waiting for news of their relatives on flight et at addis ababa
international airport
the families received the support of religious leaders from ethiopia islamic
council and from the orthodox church the country two main faiths
lebanese officials and witnesses said the boeing crashed into the mediterranean
sea in huge ball of flames leaving little chance of survival for any of the
people on board
but tewodros abdisa refused to lose hope his year old cousin tigist shakur
spent year as maid in lebanon and had just decided to return to ethiopia
citing abuse by her employers
ethiopian airlines is telling us that nine people may have survived the crash
and that we should wait to find out whether our relatives are among them he
told afp
the ethiopian security forces quickly barred the press from accessing the main
arrivals terminal
lebanese and ethiopian officials swiftly launched an investigation into the
cause of the crash having both ruled out any foul play
sources at addis ababa airport said the plane pilot was seasoned captain who
had two decades of experience flying for ethiopian airlines
communications minister bereket simon appeared to have little hope that any of
the plane crew and passengers could be found alive and said national day of
mourning had been declared to honour the victims
day of mourning has been declared today by the government following the crash
of the ethiopian airlines flight in lebanon the day is today and for one
day he said
the ethiopian news agency reported that prime minister meles zenawi who was
attending ceremony for the country pastoralist communities expressed
sorrow over the crash
chicago man pleads not guilty to plotting mumbai attacks
chicago jan afp
chicago businessman pleaded not guilty monday to helping an old friend from
military school in pakistan plot the deadly mumbai attacks that killed
people
tahawwur hussain rana has been held in jail since his october arrest on
charges of helping plot an attack on the danish newspaper that published
incendiary cartoons of the prophet mohammed in
prosecutors allege that rana helped his friend david coleman headley key
suspect in the mumbai attacks by allowing him to use his immigration company as
cover for surveillance trips to india and denmark
rana was charged last week with three separate counts of providing material
support for terrorism in the mumbai attacks the denmark terror plot and to the
banned pakistani militant group lashkar taiba
we entered our plea of not guilty and we re looking forward to contesting those
charges defense attorney patrick blegen told reporters following the brief
court appearance
am optimistic that we can fight these charges and clear mr rana name
also indicted on conspiracy charges related to the denmark plot were ilyas
kashmiri an alleged terror kingpin in pakistan who prosecutors accuse of being
in regular contact with al qaeda leaders and abdur rehman hashim syed
retired major in the pakistani military neither man is in us custody
headley has pleaded not guilty to terrorism related charges and remains
in custody where he is cooperating with prosecutors
the washington born son of former pakistani diplomat and american mother
headley reportedly befriended bollywood stars and even dated an actress during
his lengthy surveillance trips to mumbai
the indictment alleges that rana acted as messenger while headley scoped out
the mumbai terror targets taking photos and video and entering their positions
on gps device
nearly year after the bloody hour siege which began november
headley was allegedly recorded discussing five future targets with rana
prosecutors said the targets included bollywood the indian temple somnath the
national defense college in delhi shiv sena political party in india with
roots in hindu nationalism and the danish newspaper
headley had already begun the planning for second indian attack during march
surveillance trip whose targets included the national defense college and
chabad houses in several cities in india the indictment alleges
he was also working on the danish newspaper plot weeks before the mumbai attack
was carried out the indictment alleges
headley is accused of once again using rana immigration business as cover in
order to arrange visit to the copenhagen and aarhus offices of jyllands
posten denmark highest circulating daily
during february meeting in pakistan kashmiri allegedly told headley that they
should use truck bomb to attack the newspaper and directed him to meet with
european contacts who could provide the money weapons and manpower for the
attack
headley and rana were arrested in october on terror charges related to the plot
to attack jyllands posten and kill an editor and the cartoonist
headley was charged last month with spending two years casing mumbai even
taking boat tours around the city harbor to scope out landing sites for the
attackers
rana pakistani born canadian citizen who owns the chicago based first world
immigration services that headley allegedly used as cover insists that he is
pacifist who was duped by his friend
his lawyers are appealing judge decision to have him held in jail pending
trial
this is not the kind of case where he could slip across the border blegen
told reporters adding that he thinks the evidence presented so far is not
particularly strong
everyone knows who he is he not going anywhere his desire is to fight the
charges and clear his name not to disappear and leave someone in his family
holding the bag
rana who appeared in court wearing bright orange prison jumpsuit and
shackled at the wrists and ankles is currently being held in special unit
of federal jail where he is under heavy guard and faces strict restrictions
urgent rebuilding haiti to take years canadian pm
montreal jan afp
rebuilding haiti after massive earthquake will take at least years
canadian prime minister stephen harper told international donors monday
ecclestone backers genii throw in saab towel
brussels jan afp
luxembourg investment firm genii capital which was backing formula one boss
bernie ecclestone bid to buy saab from general motors on monday said it was
dropping out of the race
genii capital concluded today that the timing of the bidding process for saab
is incompatible with implementing solid business platform for the future it
said in statement
the firm said it had engaged in period of intensive study and evaluation
having been brought into the year long bidding process for saab just three days
before the closing deadline
however it concluded that the next stage in an existing partial shutdown at
saab introduced during the negotiations was not compatible with closing the
transaction
the decision leaves dutch sportscar maker spyker as the only bidder for gm
loss making swedish unit
saab which employs people in sweden is one of four brands being shed by
gm as part of massive restructuring effort that began in and accelerated
last year when the largest us automaker went bankrupt
analysts have warned that some jobs could be lost with saab closure
alert
rebuilding haiti will take at least years canadian pm
alert
rebuilding haiti will take at least years canadian pm
italy says afghan meet should look at somalia
washington jan afp
italy foreign minister called monday for an upcoming afghanistan conference in
london to also tackle the threat of extremism from somalia and other countries
during visit to washington foreign minister franco frattini highlighted
italy commitment to fund the daily operations of ministries in somalia
former italian colony that has lacked an effective government for nearly two
decades
but italy cannot do so alone frattini told joint news conference with us
secretary of state hillary clinton
will raise the point in london while talking about terrorism we have to
take into consideration there is unfortunately dissemination of terrorist
cells not in yemen only but in the horn and in the north of africa he added
this is problem that concerns us all
clinton and other foreign ministers will take part in the talks wednesday and
thursday which are expected to look at ways to give afghans greater control of
security and provide incentives for fighters to leave the taliban
yemen has been growing source of concern in the united states since nigerian
who allegedly trained in the arabian peninsula poorest nation was charged with
trying to blow up northwest airlines jet bound for detroit
the united states has also worried that somalia already major source of
piracy could become haven for extremists akin to the lawless border area
between afghanistan and pakistan
in shift president barack obama administration has shipped weapons to
somalia to help president sharif sheikh ahmed embattled government fend off an
offensive by the al qaeda inspired shebab movement
the state department announced monday that senior official will travel this
week to kenya uganda and ethiopia
maria otero the under secretary for democracy and global affairs will start
tuesday with visit to somali refugee camps in kenya dadaab region where she
will take up issues including human rights human trafficking and the
environment the state department said
in uganda she will meet officials and human rights activists it said
in addis ababa she will lead the us delegation to the african union summit
other us officials to attend include johnnie carson the assistant secretary of
state for africa and scott gration the special envoy for sudan
britain to raise dostum appointment with afghan leader
brussels jan afp
british foreign secretary david miliband said he would raise with president
hamid karzai on tuesday the afghan leader decision to name militia leader
abdul rashid dostum his chief of army staff
dostum is one of the most ruthless warlords to emerge from decades of conflict
in afghanistan he was recently renamed to the post of chief of staff to the
military commander in chief karzai himself
ll be seeing president karzai tomorrow in istanbul miliband told reporters
at nato headquarters in brussels on monday in response to question about the
nomination of dostum an ethnic uzbek
will follow up the discussion had with him last weekend in kabul about the
composition of his government said miliband who will host major
international conference on afghanistan in london on thursday
the afghan people don want to go back to taliban misrule but they do expect
improvements in governance from all parts of the afghan state and that
something that needs to be prosecuted with real drive and determination by all
ministers in government he said
nato secretary general anders fogh rasmussen at the same press conference
added the afghan government has committed itself to better governance and
take it for granted that this includes full respect for human rights
tents ready for quake victims haiti minister
port au prince jan afp
the haitian government has tents to shelter victims of the devastating
earthquake which left some people dead health minister alex larsen
said on monday
the family sized tents are to hold between five and people each larsen said
at news conference here alongside two senior us health officials
the shelters would be set up at tent villages outside the capital leveled in
the magnitude quake on january that will initially house
