Haiti Quake Updates

Haiti quake toll tops 110,00.

January 23 2010 : Haitian officials have confirmed that the death toll from the January 12 earthquake now stands at over 110,000, with 193,000 more people wounded and another 609,000 forced into temporary shelters.

Following the toll revision, the US Geographical Survey said on Saturday that the 7.0 magnitude quake that devastated the Caribbean nation was possibly the most destructive on record in the region.

"It's probably accurate [to say] that this is the most deadly quake to occur in this part of the world," Dale Grant, a geophysicist at the Geographic Survey told the AFP news agency.

"I don't think we've seen anything like it in this area."

Survivors found

Meanwhile, search and resuce teams continued to look for survivors under the rubble of collapsed buildings in Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital, pulling out two barely alive survivors 10 days after they were buried.

An Israeli rescue team freed a 22-year-old man from the rubble, who even managed to limp away despite suffering from dehydration. An 84-year old woman was the second survivor pulled alive.

"They pulled her out early this morning. She was barely responding, she had wounds all over her body, and maggots," Vladimir Larouche, a Haitian-American doctor from New York who treated her, said.

"I treated her and made her stable. The (US) Army evacuated her to a boat."

But thousands of other survivors across Port-au-Prince were continuing to wait for food, water and medicines. Though international aid efforts have gathered momentum after the intial chaos and bottlenecks, many victims are yet to be reached.

Thousands of them are fleeing the capital, fearful of aftershocks and concerned at the bleak prospects for work and normal life.

Tony Birtley, Al Jazeera's correspondent reporting from a port near the Haitian capital, said that the initial trickle of refugees has "become a flood".

"The Haitian government is providing free buses for people to leave Port-au-Prince, others use any means of transportation they can", Birtley said.

"And the harbour is operating at full capacity, up to seven thousand people a day are leaving by sea."

'Trying to survive'

Vinnie Filibert, a refugee, explained why so many are choosing to leave.

“Everyone is trying to survive but I know tomorrow there is going to be another stage it’s going to be the reality.

They are going to have to face the reality of no job, no house, no prospects and they are going to have to fight to stay honest.”

Haiti's government is attempting to move 400,000 homeless people to new temporary villages being built outside Port-au-Prince.

Paul Antoine Bien-Aime, Haiti's interior minister, said that in the first phase the government would move 100,000 refugees to tent villages of 10,000 each near the town of Croix Des Bouquets, north of Port-au-Prince.

Indians attacked in Australia

Two more Indians assaulted in Australia

January 22 2010 : Despite assurances by Australian leadership, attacks on Indians continued with two more youths, including a cabbie, being brutally assaulted and robbed in separate overnight incidents in Brisbane.

The Indian community in Brisbane says it fears two bashings last night were copycat crimes triggered by a spate of attacks on students in Melbourne and Sydney.

Two Indian men were bashed on the city's south side in separate incidents, but police say there is no evidence to suggest they were racially targeted. One Indian man was attacked at a phone box near Macgregor State High School, police said.

They say he was making a phone call to his home in India when he was punched twice in the head. His cigarettes and his wallet were then stolen. Police say the other incident involved an Indian taxi driver with two drunk passengers, who punched him repeatedly in the head over a fare dispute.

"Generally the clearest indicator [of the motivation for an attack] are comments made by the offenders to the individuals," Acting Commissioner Kathy Rynders said.

"Both complainants in these matters have said there were no comments in relation to their ethnicity by the offenders during last night's attack." But the taxi driver who was attacked last night, Sandeep Goyam, is now considering returning to India.

"I don't think I will be much longer in this country," he said. Police have already charged two men over the attack on Mr Goyam, but the assaults have shaken the Indian community in Brisbane.

The Queensland president of the Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin, Umesh Chandra, says locals fear the assaults in Brisbane were triggered by the spate of attacks on Indians in Melbourne and Sydney.

"I firmly do believe that it is part of the chain reaction and it is a copycat because what's happened there, people have been talking about something like that possibly happening here," he said.

"And here it is right on our doorstep. It's happened last night. And there is a fear that this could escalate." Mr Umesh says the Indian community would like police to make details of the crimes and arrests public so they can see something is being done.

He says a tough approach by authorities would also help repair Australia's international reputation. Mr Umesh has just returned from India and he says people there are very aware of the attacks on their countrymen.

"They are very, very aware. They are very worried," he said. Even though police are playing down any racial motivation for last night's attacks, they have extra security planned for Australia Day.

"We certainly have a big operation planned for Australia Day," Queensland's Acting Police Commissioner Rynders said. "Across the state we've got extra police deployed. We will be deploying them according to the intelligence.

"But we have no concerns at this point in time and there's no intelligence to indicate that any particular member of our communities are being targeted by any individuals."

Haiti charity single

Simon Cowell signs stars for Haiti charity single.

January 22 2010 : Rod Stewart, Leona Lewis, JLS and Michael Buble have all agreed to take part in the Haiti charity single, which has been organised by Simon Cowell.

The artists will record a cover of REM's ballad Everybody Hurts. The Sun newspaper, which has teamed up with Cowell, said Robbie Williams, Coldplay, Take That and Sir Paul McCartney have also been approached.

Meanwhile, Madonna and Beyonce will take part in a global telethon to raise cash for the earthquake-hit country.

Performances for the Hope for Haiti event will be screened on every major TV network in the US and streamed on websites around the world.

Other acts taking part in the telethon include U2's Bono and The Edge, Jay-Z and Rihanna, who will all be performing together in London.

Wyclef Jean, who is a Haitian-American, Bruce Springsteen, Jennifer Hudson, Mary J Blige, Shakira and Sting will perform in New York.

Hollywood actor George Clooney has organised the event. Speaking to MTV, he said: "It's a big world out there, and we all have a lot of responsibility to look out for people who can't look out for themselves.

"So what we can do is first and foremost, raise money. If I thought we could all pick up shovels and go in there and help without being in the way, I think a lot of people would do that."

The proceeds from the single, which is being organised by Cowell, will be split between the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) and the Sun's Helping Haiti campaign.

The Government has already agreed to waiver VAT on the record and REM, who own the rights to the song, have also waived royalties on the charity track.

"We are all working hard to make this single a success and to raise lots of money for Helping Haiti," Cowell said.

"We have a short time to do this and the people in Haiti need as much help as we can possibly give them as soon as possible.

"I'd like to make this record with as many different types of singer as we can and I hope everyone in the industry comes together to get involved. The response has been fantastic."


Will Young, X Factor winner Joe McElderry and hip-hop trio N-Dubz are also said to have expressed an interest in singing. Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who apparently requested Cowell organise the charity track, said he thought the single would make a big difference.

"The agony and anguish for the people that we are seeing on our television screens is something that British people want to respond to. "Simon Cowell can make a huge amount of money to help the people of Haiti."

Artists have also agreed to take part in a special eBay auction, which has been set up by Glastonbury organiser Emily Eavis.

Coldplay, Damon Albarn, the Arctic Monkeys, the Chemical Brothers, The Kooks, The Pet Shop Boys, Klaxons and Pearl Jam have all donated various pieces of rock memorabilia for the sale.

It goes live from 0900 GMT on Friday and will run for 10 days.

Coldplay's Chris Martin added: "I visited Haiti with Oxfam a few years ago. It's a country of extreme poverty and brutal living conditions. Most people in Port-au-Prince live in tin shacks.

"The earthquake that has struck Haiti will have turned the city into an unimaginable hell." An estimated 1.5 million people were left homeless by the 7.0-magnitude quake, which is believed to killed as many as 200,000.

At least 75,000 bodies have so far been buried in mass graves, the government has said. Many more remain uncollected in the streets.

U2 &Jay-Z to release charity for Haiti.

U2 and Jay-Z are to collaborate on a joint charity single to benefit Haiti, they announced Wednesday, the same day as Rihanna released a cover version of Bob Marley's Redemption Song with the proceeds going to Haiti aid organisations.

The announcement came as organisers released the list of performers who have pledged to appear on the "Hope for Haiti Now" telethon set to air Friday night on major US television stations. The performers include Wyclef Jean, Bruce Springsteen, Jennifer Hudson, Mary J. Blige, Shakira, and Sting in New York City.

Alicia Keys, Christina Aguilera, Dave Matthews, John Legend, Justin Timberlake, Stevie Wonder, Taylor Swift and a group performance by Keith Urban, Kid Rock, and Sheryl Crow will star in Los Angeles. Coldplay, and a group performance by Bono, The Edge, Jay-Z, and Rihanna will perform in London. More than 100 other stars will be speaking and answering phones.

Between performances, CNN anchor Anderson Cooper will report from the ground in Haiti, Wyclef Jean will host in New York, and organiser George Clooney will manage proceedings in Los Angeles.

Proceeds will be split evenly among the event's beneficiaries including: Partners in Health, Wyclef's Yele Haiti Foundation, the recently formed Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, Oxfam, the Red Cross, UNICEF and the United Nations World Food Programme.

Pakistan attacks militant hideout in N.Waziristan

Pakistan army attacks militant hideout in North Waziristan.

January 22 2010 : Pakistani forces backed by helicopter gunships attacked a militant hideout in a major al Qaeda and Taliban sanctuary on the Afghan border on Friday, killing two militants, officials said.

The attack in North Waziristan coincided with a visit by US Defence Secretary Robert Gates aimed at persuading Pakistan to expand its military campaign against Afghan militants in lawless ethnic Pashtun lands who cross the border to fight US troops.

"An intense exchange of fire is going on between militants and the security forces", said an intelligence official in the region who declined to be identified.

Residents said authorities had imposed a curfew as security forces attacked the militants on the outskirts of Miramshah, the main town in North Waziristan.

Two militants had been killed, another security official said.

Pakistan's army launched an offensive in neighbouring South Waziristan in October against al Qaeda-linked Pakistani Taliban attacking the state but has it resisted US pressure to expand its campaign to Afghan Taliban factions.

North Waziristan is a stronghold of Afghan Taliban and their al Qaeda allies.

Despite the US pressure to tackle the factions in North Waziristan and elsewhere, the military ruled out on Thursday any new offensive for up to a year, saying it had to consolidate its gains in South Waziristan.

But analysts say Pakistan may launch surgical strikes against militants in North Waziristan to deflect US pressure.

"There is a possibility that they will keep on carrying out operations on a limited scale", said Rahimullah Yusufzai, a newspaper editor and an expert on militant affairs, said.

Gates was also careful not to repeat the usual US call for Pakistan to “do more” in the fight against militants, a demand that has infuriated Pakistan which has lost about 2,000 soldiers fighting militants.

The United States wanted to end a “trust deficit” that he said had hampered cooperation against Islamist militancy, Gates told young army officers on Friday.

Telangana Issues Today

HC allows Telangana Vaidya Garjana with riders.

January 22 2010 : Justice Gopalakrishna Tamada of the AP High Court today issued conditional orders to the organisers of Telangana Vaidyas Garjana for the conduct of a public meeting in Osmania Medical College premises tomorrow afternoon.

The judge asked the Garjana organisers to ensure that only doctors, medicos and paramedics be allowed for the meeting after duly showing their ID cards to the police. The organisers also should ensure that the meeting should be held strictly from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. and no provocative speeches made. The organisers should give an undertaking to the City Police Commissioner two

hours before the public meeting that they would abide by the directives of the High Court in this regard. They were asked to take measures that no untoward incident should take place during the meeting. Justice Gopalakrishna also asked them not to hold rallies either prior to or after the public meeting.

B Srikanth and others yesterday approached the AP High Court when they were denied permission for the Garjana by the city police. The Court had asked the City Police to reconsider the application. When the police once again refused permission, Garjana organisers moved a lunch motion today.

In a related development, Justice Gopalakrishna permitted Telangana Advocates JAC to organise relay hunger strike in front of the AP High Court. However, the judge put a condition that speakers at the relay hunger strike camp should not make any provocative speeches and also should ensure that the general public is not put to inconvenience.

Former APHC Bar Association president Satyam Reddy assured the court that there would not be more than four advocates on the relay hunger strike camp in accordance with the prohibitive orders in force in the High Court area.

Telangana warriors invade T20 pitch

After giving a scare to IT and other business interests located in and around Hyderabad, the Telangana agitation is now threatening to knock off the city from hosting international cricket matches and other sporting events.

On a day when the entire region remained peaceful, Telangana activists from Osmania University invaded Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Uppal on Thursday and disrupted Deccan Twenty20 Cup cricket tournament tie between Hyderabad and Andhra Ranji teams.

Six teams - IPL-II defending champions Deccan Chargers, Orissa, Hyderabad and Andhra Ranji teams, Hyderabad Under-22 and Hyderabad Under-19 - are participating in the tournament which started on the second day of the bandh called by the Telangana JAC of political parties in protest against the police action on OU campus on Wednesday.

Barely four overs into Hyderabad and Andhra match, around 100 Telangana supporters barged on to the field from Gate IV shouting slogans in favour of a separate state and uprooted the stumps and halted play. They requested us to cancel the match and since it was the early stages of the tournament, we decided not to take any chances and called off the tie. a Hyderabad Cricket Association official said.

It was total confusion at the ground as all hell broke loose and the officials were caught completely off guard. It took Rapid Action Force about 10 minutes to arrive on the scene but by then, players had sauntered off the field.

The activists staged a sit-in between the pitch and the pavilion and shouted pro-Telangana slogans Jai Telangana and Go Back Andhra - before they were cleared off the field. Despite assurances from the police, the organisers, players and the captains agreed to call off the match with a point awarded to each team.