Turkey hosts trilateral summit with Afghanistan and Pakistan

Istanbul - Turkey hosts a trilateral summit in Istanbul with the leaders of Afghanistan and Pakistan Monday, ahead of the bigger international conference later in the week in London. Hosted by Turkish President Abdullah Gul, the meeting is the fourth such summit. Afghani President Hamid Karzai and his Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari are attending, along with government, military and intelligence officials from both countries.

"What we are trying to do is make sure the international community's efforts be translated to local activity and that the neighbors of Afghanistan are committed to its well being," Burak Ozugergin, the Turkish ministry of foreign affairs' spokesman, told the German Press Agency dpa.

Predominantly-Muslim Turkey, a NATO member, currently has some 1,700 troops in Afghanistan as part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) operating in the country. They are mostly involved in training and reconstruction efforts.

Ankara has tried to take a lead in addressing non-security issues in Afghanistan, for example recently hosting a meeting between the Afghani and Pakistani education ministers.

"You need to get the bureaucracy doing, and we are doing that. We are a country well suited for doing that because we have a cultural affinity with Afghanistan," Ozugergin said.

"What we are trying to do is address softer issues, if I may call it that, just as much as security issues. Security by itself is not enough."

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/305590,turkey-hosts-trilateral-summit-with-afghanistan-and-pakistan.html.

Indonesian president releases new pop album

Jakarta - Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono launched another pop album containing of romantic songs, media reports said Monday. The album, entitled "Ku Yakin Sampai Disana" or "I'm Certain I'll Get There," was released Sunday at Jakarta's Taman Ismail Marzuki arts complex ceremony attended by popular singers and musicians.

Yudhoyono, who did not attend the launch, said in an introduction to the album that through the songs he hoped could communicate his state of mind to the public.

"In my spare time from running the people's mandate as president, I like to express my feelings into works of art," the state-run Antara quoted Yudhoyono as saying.

"Through the works of art, I hope to communicate my thoughts to the public, the children of Indonesia."

He said the album contains songs from various musical genres and that the common thread of the lyrics reflected his commitment and determination to lead the country to prosperity. Two of the nine songs are in English and all were written by the president.

Yudhoyono launched his first album, "Rinduku Padamu (I Miss You) in 2007, followed up by "Evolusi" (Evolution) in 2009.

The release came as Yudhoyono completed the first 100 days of his second term, as surveys showed his popularity declining over a controversial bail-out of a minor bank last year and the alleged framing of two senior anti-corruption officials.

A survey released by pollster Indobarometer showed public satisfaction with his performance declined to 75 per cent from a rating of 90 per cent in August.

Yudhoyono's new administration has been plagued by corruption scandals including a damaging investigation of the bank bail-out.

A coalition of non-governmental organizations planned to protest across the country on Thursday to mark Yudhoyono's first 100 days in office.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/305600,indonesian-president-releases-new-pop-album.html.

South Korea proposes talks on North Korean tourism programs

Seoul - South Korea on Monday proposed talks on suspended joint tourism programs to be held in North Korea next month, officials said. The offer comes at a time of increased tensions between the two Koreas, with Pyongyang threatening the South with "holy war."

Working-level talks could be held on February 8 at Mount Kumgang and in the North Korean border town of Kaesong, the South Korean Unification Ministry said.

Pyongyang made a similar offer earlier to hold the talks. The tours, organized by South Korea's Hyundai conglomerate, have been suspended since July 2008, when a North Korean soldier shot a Southern tourist who had strayed into a restricted military zone.

North Korea warned Sunday that it regarded South Korea's threat of a military "first strike" as an "open declaration of war," the state-controlled Korean Central News Agency reported.

The warning was a reaction to comments from South Korean Defense Minister Kim Tae Young that Seoul could take preemptive action if it believed its communist northern neighbor was about to launch a nuclear strike.

Last week, the Stalinist state threatened to withdraw from all talks and wage a "holy war" against the South, following reports that Seoul updated its contingency plans for a collapse of North Korea's regime.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/305603,south-korea-proposes-talks-on-north-korean-tourism-programmes.html.

Iranian parliament urges revision of diplomatic ties with Britain

Tehran - An Iranian parliamentary commission has urged the government to revise diplomatic ties with Britain, the Fars news agency reported Monday. A spokesman of the parliament's foreign policy commission told Fars that a meeting was held on Sunday with representatives of the Foreign Ministry, chamber of commerce and the new ambassador to London to discussing future relations with Britain.

Mohammad Karami-Rad said some commission members favored cutting diplomatic relations with London, while others called for downgrading ties.

The parliament started earlier this month discussing a draft bill to sever diplomatic ties with Britain, but decided that the bill would first be evaluated in the foreign policy commission.

Tehran accuses Britain of opposing its civil nuclear programs and interfering in internal affairs by being involved with recent protests against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Unlike the parliament, the Foreign Ministry prefers a downgrade of parts of commercial cooperation, officials said.

Karami-Rad said the decision should be made by the National Security Council or directly by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on all state affairs.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/305602,iranian-parliament-urges-revision-of-diplomatic-ties-with-britain.html.

Wails of grief at Beirut airport as relatives gather - Feature

Khaldeh, Lebanon- The cries of weeping Lebanese fathers and wailing mothers filled the VIP lounge at Beirut International Airport Monday - as they learned that the chances of finding any survivors from the Ethiopian plane that crashed off the Lebanese coast are "slim.""I have my son and my nephews on board," said Um Ali Jaber, as Prime Minister Saad Hariri tried to comfort her at the airport.

"My heart is with you and we are doing all we can to find survivors," Hariri told the weeping lady.

A government official said there were several children on board the plane.

According to an airport official, the Ethiopian plane crashed into the sea "90 seconds" after take off from Beirut airport.

Witnesses near the airport said they saw a fireball plunging into the sea.

"There was heavy rain and wind ,then we saw the whole sky lit by an orange ball," a gas station clerk near the airport said.

A source in the rescue team said the plane had likely sunk to a depth of more than 500 meters.

So far fifteen bodies were recovered from the crash site - most still in their seats, with their seatbelt on.

Lebanese army patrol boats were seen scouring the waters around the crash site.

Helicopters hovered over the scene and Italian and German boats in the UN Martime Task Force were alongside the Lebanese army in the rescue operation.

An investigation into the cause of the crash has been launched.

Airport officials declined to say whether the bad weather conditions which was hitting Lebanon was the main cause of the crash.

Transportation Minister Ghazi Aridi said 90 passengers were board of whom 54 were Lebanese.

"The control tower was assisting the pilot of the plane on takeoff and suddenly lost contact for no known reason," Aridi told reporters.

"Fifteen of the Lebanese were the southern market-town of Nabatiyeh, (a shiite town 54 kilometers south of Beirut)," said a Mohammed Jaber, a cousin of one of the passengers.

Also among the passengers is thought to be the wife of the French ambassador to Lebanon Marla Sanchez Pietton and 54 Lebanese nationals.

An official from the Ethiopian airliner at Beirut airport told the German press agency dpa, "no reports of survivors from the plane crash yet."

A Lebanese security source denied conflicting reports from the Lebanese media indicating that seven survivors were found.

Earlier Lebanese media and Arab channels said seven survivors were found.

Lebanese premier Saad Hariri announced Monday a day of mourning on the victims of the crashed plane.

On his part, Lebanon's president Michel Suleiman described the incident as "painful" and called on Lebanese hospitals to be on alert.

Meanwhile, the Ethiopian Airlines has sent a team to Beirut to investigate Monday's crash , the Ethiopian News Agency said.

"A team is already working on gathering all pertinent information," the statement said.

"An investigative team has already been dispatched to the scene and we will release further information as further updates are received," it added.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/305605,wails-of-grief-at-beirut-airport-as-relatives-gather--feature.html.

Sudan sets two-month deadline for deal with rebels

DOHA (Malaysian Mirror) - Negotiations between the Sudanese government and Darfur rebel groups must be completed within two months, ahead of Sudan's presidential and legislative elections, a senior official has said.

"Some groups are demanding more time. We have told mediators that time is running out and that negotiations must not exceed the third week of March," Sudan's Minister of Culture Amin Hassan Omar said in Doha late Sunday.

"Talks do not require a month or two as outstanding issues are simple. If parties have the political resolve it won't take more than two weeks as we have discussed everything and what remains is to take decisions," he said.

Sudanese government officials and rebel groups present in Doha have not been yet involved in direct talks, Omar told reporters in the Qatari capital.

Instead consultations are being held with mediators from the United Nations, African Union and the host nation, he added.

Omar, a member of the official government delegation, said Sudan is prepared to talk with any of the four rebel groups that is ready for negotiations.

Representatives from the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), the main rebel group, on Saturday held consultations with mediators to resolve "questions of procedure" before direct negotiations.

Darfur rebels had two rounds of talks with Khartoum government officials in Qatar -- in February and May 2009.

But other factions have refused to join the talks in Doha and the JEM later said there is no point in taking part if there is no unity among the rebels.

Rebels and government officials were also due to meet in November, but the talks failed to materialize.

The United Nations says up to 300,000 people have died and 2.7 million fled their homes since the ethnic minority rebels in Darfur first rose up against the Arab-dominated Sudan government in February 2003.

Khartoum says 10,000 people have been killed.

Sudan is due to hold a presidential and parliamentary election in April, the first polls in 24 years.

"Avatar" replaces "Titanic" in record books

"Titanic" just hit an iceberg named "Avatar."

James Cameron's sci-fi spectacular replaced his maritime melodrama as the biggest international release of all time during the weekend and is on the verge of claiming its worldwide crown, which also includes North American receipts, distributor 20th Century Fox said Sunday.

The News Corp-owned studio said "Avatar" has sold $1.841 billion worth of tickets worldwide during its unbroken six-week reign, and was a day or so away from surpassing the seemingly insurmountable $1.843 billion racked up by "Titanic" in 1997-1998.

The international portion stands at $1.288 billion, eclipsing the $1.242 billion haul of "Titanic."

In North America, "Avatar" may have to wait up to two weeks to sink the $601 million total of "Titanic," Fox said. Moviegoers in the United States and Canada have chipped in $552.8 million, enough to replace 2008's "The Dark Knight" ($533 million) as the second-biggest movie of all time.

Data are not adjusted for inflation, and "Avatar" ticket sales got an additional boost from premium pricing for 3-D screenings. Imax Corp said its big-screen engagements have sold a record $134 million worth of tickets worldwide.

The biggest movie of all time in North America -- adjusted for inflation -- is 1939's "Gone with the Wind," with sales of almost $1.5 billion, according to tracking firm Box Office Mojo. "Avatar" ranks No. 26 by that measure.

"AVATAR" RULES IN FRANCE, CHINA

During the latest weekend, "Avatar" earned $36 million in North America and $107 million from 111 international markets, far outpacing other offerings.

It led the field in at least 29 foreign markets, including France ($123 million to date), China ($102 million), Germany ($96 million), Russia ($95 million) and Britain ($93 million).

In North America, "Avatar" was trailed by the new supernatural action thriller "Legion" at No. 2 with $18.2 million, while the Denzel Washington drama "The Book of Eli" slipped to No. 3 with $17 million in its second weekend.

"Legion," released by Sony Corp's Screen Gems budget label, cost about $25 million to make, and played primarily to men, the studio said. Paul Bettany, Lucas Black and Tyrese Gibson star in the tale of an of-the-way diner that becomes the unlikely battleground for the survival of the human race.

"Eli," a similarly themed apocalyptic drama released by Time Warner Inc's Warner Bros. Pictures on behalf of independent producer Alcon Entertainment, has earned $62 million after 10 days.

Two other films opened in the top-10: Fox's Dwayne Johnson family film "The Tooth Fairy" at No. 4 with a promising $14.5 million, and the Harrison Ford medical drama "Extraordinary Measures" at No. 7 with a disappointing $7 million.

"Extraordinary Measures" is the debut release of CBS Corp's CBS Films, which said its fact-based storyline about a father trying to save the lives of his children made it a tough sell. Older audiences in the Midwest and mountain areas were the primary demographic, the studio said.

Fox said "Tooth Fairy" played well across the board, despite or because of its depiction of former wrestler Johnson, a.k.a. "The Rock" in a tutu and wings.

"It's a very sweet, wonderful message movie," said Chris Aronson, Fox's senior vice-president of domestic distribution.

Source: People's Daily.
Link: http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90782/90875/6877262.html.

Rich nations asked to hand over climate money to the poor

Brazil, China, India and South Africa called Sunday for developed countries to quickly begin handing over the $10 billion pledged in Copenhagen to poor countries to help them deal with the effects of climate change.

The first funds should go to the least developed countries, including small island states and African countries, said Xie Zhenhua, China's top climate change negotiator after a meeting of the representatives of the four nations in New Delhi.

The four developing countries also said they would submit their plans for combating climate change to the U.N. soon.

At Copenhagen conference, many developed countries had hoped the Kyoto Protocol would be replaced with an accord that also made demands on developing nations too. U.S. President Barack Obama and the major developing countries including China, Brazil, India and South Africa brokered a deal — the so-called Copenhagen Accord — requiring poor countries to propose voluntary actions by January 31.

"We have the obligation to be the first to submit the action plans," the Associated Press quoted South Africa's Environment Minister Buyelwa Sonjica as saying Sunday.

China has said it would cut its "carbon intensity" — a measure of carbon dioxide emissions per unit of production — by 40 percent to 45 percent by 2020, compared with levels in 2005.

India said by 2020 it would cut its carbon intensity by 20 percent to 25 percent. Neither country has accepted a legally binding emissions reduction target.

On Sunday, the group also called on Denmark, chairman of the climate conference, to convene a series of meetings this year to begin discussions on a legally binding climate deal ahead of a conference in Mexico in December.

Source: People's Daily.
Link: http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/6877421.html.

Premier visits blizzard-hit Xinjiang, promising relief measures

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has promised to take effective measures to help people through the worst snow in Xinjiang in six decades, said a statement from the State Council General Office Monday.

Wen visited Altay and Tacheng, two regions in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, on Saturday and Sunday, the statement said.

"The Spring Festival (China's Lunar New Year holiday) is drawing near. We must implement well relief measures and make sure that people in blizzard-hit regions will have a peaceful and happy festival," said the Premier at a meeting with Xinjiang officials on Saturday evening.

The central government would provide more support to affected regions, including funds and relief materials, he said.

"The focus of our work is to maintain people's livelihoods, agriculture and animal husbandry operations, supplies of commodities and transport services."

On Saturday afternoon, after five hours of flying, the Premier arrived at Altay in northern Xinjiang and then visited a Kazak village in the suburbs of Altay.

The temperature fell to 26 degrees below zero and snow was piled up more than one meter high along the village path when he reached the house of Kazak shepherd Zhumashi.

Zhumashi told the Premier that his fodder reserve would only last till March and the cattle would not move to the summer range until May.

Wen instructed the local officials to speed up transport of fodder from farming regions that were less affected by the weather.

The government would offer subsidies and provide discount loans for shepherds, and would continue assistance into the spring, he said.

"We are fully capable of overcoming the difficulties we face," he said.

The news of Wen's arrival quickly spread in the village and many villagers joined in the talks at Zhumashi's home.

"The government has offered a lot of help. We will also try our best," Shihake, another villager in his 70s, told Wen. "Since you have come, we are more confident."

The latest cold snap left at least 11 people dead and more than 600 injured in the region by Jan. 23.

Wen's next stop was a shepherd settlement in Tacheng, another seriously affected region.

The settlement is home to about 1,000 formerly nomadic shepherd families who have settled down in the neighborhood with a school, clinic and veterinary service.

Visiting a family in the settlement, Wen learnt that their cattle were kept indoors and survived the cold.

Through such settlement projects, shepherds would be more capable of coping with natural disasters and have more access to education and other services. The government would continue working on these projects, he said.

Wen also visited people evacuated from the blizzard-hit regions and farmers whose farms were damaged by the storms.

In Toli county of Tacheng, he suggested shepherds could change their nomadic lifestyles to a fixed habitat so as to improve their livelihoods and the local government should fully exploit rich resources of wind and solar power.

Source: People's Daily.
Link: http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90776/90785/6878097.html.

Ethiopian jet crash deaths rise as 34 bodies found

By ELIZABETH A. KENNEDY, Associated Press Writer

BEIRUT – An Ethiopian Airlines plane carrying 90 people caught fire and crashed into the sea minutes after taking off from Beirut early Monday, setting off a frantic search as passenger seats, baby sandals and other debris washed ashore.

No survivors had been found by nightfall, but emergency workers recovered at least 34 bodies — including two toddlers.

The cause of the crash was not immediately known. Lebanon has seen stormy weather since Sunday night, with crackling thunder, lightning and rain.

"We saw fire falling down from the sky into the sea," said Khaled Naser, a gas station attendant who saw the plane go down around 2:30 a.m., crashing into the frigid waters of the Mediterranean that had reached just 64 degrees (18 degrees Celsius) by Monday afternoon.

The Lebanese army said in a statement the plane was on fire shortly after takeoff.

Lebanese President Michel Suleiman said terrorism was not suspected in the crash of Flight 409, which was headed for the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

"Sabotage is ruled out as of now," he said.

Weeping relatives streamed into Beirut's airport to wait for news on their loved ones. One woman dropped to her knees in tears; another cried out, "Where is my son?"

Andree Qusayfi said his 35-year-old brother, Ziad, was traveling to Ethiopia for his job at a computer company, but was planning to return to Lebanon for good soon.

"We begged him to postpone his flight because of the storm," Qusayfi said, his eyes red from crying. "But he insisted on going because he had work appointments."

Zeinab Seklawi said her 24-year-old son Yasser called her as he was boarding.

"I told him, 'God be with you,' and I went to sleep," Seklawi said. "Please find my son. I know he's alive and wouldn't leave me."

At the Government Hospital in Beirut, Red Cross workers brought in bodies on stretchers covered with wool blankets as relatives gathered nearby. Many people were giving DNA samples to help identify the remains of their loved ones.

One man identified his 3-year-old nephew by the overalls the boy was wearing.

The Boeing 737-800 took off around 2:30 a.m. (7:30 p.m. EST) and went down 2 miles (3.5 kilometers) off the coast, said Ghazi Aridi, the public works and transportation minister.

"The weather undoubtedly was very bad," Aridi told reporters at the airport.

Pieces of the plane and debris were washing ashore in the hours after the crash, including passenger seats, a baby sandal, a fire extinguisher, suitcases and bottles of medicine.

The wife of Denis Pietton, the French ambassador to Lebanon, was on the plane, according to the French embassy.

Helicopters and naval ships were scrambled for a rescue effort as waves reaching 1.5 feet (a half-meter) slammed into the shore. Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri announced a day of mourning and closed schools and government offices.

Col. Dave Lapan, a Pentagon spokesman, said the U.S. military has deployed a guided-missile destroyer, the USS-Ramage, as well as a P-3 surveillance aircraft to help with search and rescue efforts.

A statement from the defense ministry in Cyprus, which sent reinforcements to help in the search, said 34 bodies have been recovered so far.

Ethiopian Airlines' CEO Girma Wake told journalists in Addis Ababa that he had no information on the fate of those on board or about the cause of the crash. He said the aircraft had been serviced on Dec. 25 and passed inspection.

He also said the plane had been leased in September from New York-based CIT Aerospace. CIT spokesman declined to comment and referred questions to Ethiopian Airlines.

The plane was carrying 83 passengers and 7 crew, Lebanese officials said. Aridi, the transportation minister, identified the passengers as 54 Lebanese, 22 Ethiopians, one Iraqi, one Syrian, one Canadian of Lebanese origin, one Russian of Lebanese origin, a French woman and two Britons of Lebanese origin.

Ethiopian Airlines reported that there were 82 passengers and eight crew; the discrepancy could not immediately be explained.

The Boeing 737 is considered one of the safest planes in airline service. The jet was first introduced in the 1960s, and today is the workhorse on many short- and medium-range routes.

Still, over the past 15 years it was involved in a series of incidents and crashes linked to problems with a valve in the rudder assembly. The valve reportedly would malfunction and cause the rudder to turn independently of the pilot's commands.

The problem was considered resolved after operators of older Boeing 737s were ordered to carry out inspections and upgrades of the critical rudder control systems.

Sidney Dekker, a professor of flight safety at the School of Aviation at Lund University in Sweden, said the rudder problem has been corrected by the manufacturer and that he'd be "hugely surprised" if it had anything to do with the crash.

Dekker, himself a 737 pilot, said that if reports of an engine fire proved to be correct, the accident could have resulted from a loss of control at a relatively low altitude where it would have been difficult to recover.

He noted that the 737's engines were overpowered in order to fulfill performance requirements in the event of the loss of an engine at takeoff. This tended to produce a turning movement of the entire aircraft — known as yaw — toward the dead engine.

Poor visibility in low clouds combined with high winds may have contributed to the problem faced by the pilots trying to regain control, he said.

Aviation safety analyst Chris Yates said it was far too early to say what caused the crash, but he noted that modern aircraft are built to withstand all but the foulest weather conditions.

"One wouldn't have thought that a nasty squall in and of itself would be the prime cause of an accident like this," said Yates, an analyst based in Manchester, England. He said reports of fire could suggest "some cataclysmic failure of one of the engines" or that something had been sucked into the engine, such as a bird or debris.

The state-owned Ethiopian Airlines has long had a reputation for high-quality service compared to other African airlines, with two notable crashes in more than 20 years.

A hijacked Ethiopian Airlines jet crash-landed off the Comoros Islands in the Indian Ocean when it ran out of fuel in November 1996, killing 126 of the 175 people aboard. In September 1988, an Ethiopian Airlines jet crashed shortly after taking off when it ran into a flock of birds, killing 31 of the 104 people on board.

Ethiopian Airlines announced last week that it signed an agreement with Boeing to buy 10 more of the 737-800s at an estimated $767 million. The order will expand the airline's fleet from the 36 aircraft it has now — not including the 737-800 that crashed Monday.

Turkish trial in alcohol deaths of German students to open

Istanbul - A Turkish court will this week begin hearing a case involving three German students who died of alcohol poisoning while vacationing in a resort near the coastal city of Antalya. Thirteen people stand accused in the case, among them senior staff members of the hotel and owners of a company that dealt in black market liquors.

Prosecutors have charged them with attempted murder, manslaughter and with violating the laws regulating Turkey's alcohol trade.

The students, from the German city of Lubeck, came to Turkey on a class trip in March last year. Several students fell ill after drinking at their hotel what they believed to be vodka. A 21-year-old student died in Turkey from methanol poisoning, while another two fell into comas and died after being airlifted to Germany.

According to prosecutors, a local company had supplied the hotel where the students were staying with illegally-manufactured spirits.

It is not the first such case in Turkey.

In 2005, 22 people died in Istanbul, from a contaminated version of the Turkish national drink Raki, creating a panic and forcing manufacturers and government authorities to come up with new methods for authenticating bottles of the spirit.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/305607,turkish-trial-in-alcohol-deaths-of-german-students-to-open.html.

Sarkozy uses Facebook as campaign weapon

Paris - French President Nicolas Sarkozy began an intense media offensive Monday, with polls suggesting his ruling conservative coalition will suffer a bitter defeat in March regional elections. Ahead of a 90-minute appearance on national television on Monday evening, Sarkozy urged the French users of Facebook to tune in to the program, which will include a question-and-answer session with 10 French adults chosen by TF1, which is broadcasting the show.

"Do not hesitate to let me know your doubts and the issues that you think I should touch on," Sarkozy wrote on his Facebook page, which counts more than 203,000 fans.

An "Against Nicolas Sarkozy" Facebook page has a little more than 194,000 fans and a page seeking signatures for a "No Sarkozy Day," to be celebrated on March 27, has attracted more than 365,000 members.

The upcoming regional elections are widely seen as a major test for Sarkozy and his stuttering politics of reform.

In 2004, parties of the left won control of 20 of the 22 regions of mainland France. The results were seen as a major setback for Sarkozy's predecessor Jacques Chirac and his prime minister, Jean-Pierre Raffarin.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/305610,sarkozy-uses-facebook-as-campaign-weapon.html.

Ukraine gets new Russian ambassador after half-year absence

Kiev - Russia's new ambassador to Ukraine arrived in Kiev on Monday, ending the half-year absence of a senior Kremlin diplomat to the former Soviet republic. Mikhail Zubarov, a former high-level Russian government adviser for trade and economic policy, landed at Boryspil airport at 11 am (0900 GMT), the Interfax news agency reported.

"It is a great honor and responsibility to represent Russia in Ukraine. The Russian Federation is confident that Russo-Ukrainian relations have a great deal of potential," Zubarov said in a statement.

Russia's named Zubarov for the sensitive post in August, but Moscow delayed his posting, citing poor relations between Kiev and the Kremlin.

Russia's former prime minister Viktor Chernomyrdin had served as ambassador to Ukraine until June 2009, leaving Moscow without a senior diplomat in Kiev for seven months.

During his eight-year stay in Kiev, Chernomyrdin refrained from speaking in public in Ukrainian - a decision angering some Ukrainian nationalists sensitive to Moscow's former control of the country.

Zubarov's statement was made in Ukrainian on Monday.

Russia and Ukraine have long been divided over a host of issues, including natural gas pricing and shipments, trade barriers, Ukraine's possible plans for accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and Russian military forces based in Ukraine's Crimea region.

The top two candidates in Ukraine's ongoing presidential contest, former prime minister Viktor Yanukovych and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, have both criticized President Viktor Yushchenko for worsening relations with Russia in recent years.

The incumbent Yushchenko, a frequent critic of the Kremlin and in office since 2004, failed to obtain sufficient support in an initial round of voting on January 17.

Yanukovych and Tymoshenko have called for less confrontation between Kiev and Moscow.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/305611,ukraine-gets-new-russian-ambassador-after-half-year-absence.html.

Israel's Peres to mark Holocaust day with speech to Bundestag

(WARNING): Article contains propaganda!

* * * * *

Jerusalem - Israeli President Shimon Peres flies to Berlin on Monday for a three-day visit to commemorate the Holocaust, during which he will give a landmark address to the German Parliament. Peres, 86, will be accompanied by a delegation of German-born Holocaust survivors marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27, the date on which in 1945 the Auschwitz death camp was liberated by Soviet soldiers.

In Berlin, Peres is also to meet a series of German officials, including President Horst Koehler and Chancellor Angela Merkel.

He will also hold a memorial ceremony at Platform 17 of the Grunewald Railway Station, where tens of thousands of Berlin Jews were deported to extermination camps during the Holocaust.

The service will be attended by several high-ranking German officials and military figures.

In his address to the parliament, or Bundestag, the Israeli president is to mourn the six million Jews killed in the Holocaust, among them his grandparents and uncle who were burned alive in the synagogue in Vishneva, Belarus.

Peres also planned to speak about the historical connection between Israel and the Holocaust, and the relationship between Israel and Germany following the war, his office said.

Peres, whose political career spans almost the whole history of the state of Israel, is to present his own vision and hope for the future of Israel, Germany and the Middle East.

Peres will be the first Israeli president to address the Bundestag in Berlin, where it relocated after German reunification in 1990.

He will precede the speech with a reception hosted by Merkel at the chancellery and a walk through the Brandenburg Gate.

The Israeli president is also to receive the Walther Rathenau Prize, awarded annually for outstanding lifetime achievement in foreign policy.

The award is named after a German-Jewish businessman who became Foreign Minister at the start of the Weimar Republic and was murdered in June 1922 by ultra-nationalist extremists.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/305612,israels-peres-to-mark-holocaust-day-with-speech-to-bundestag.html.

EU to send 300 military police to boost security in Haiti

Brussels - The European Union is to reinforce the United Nations mission in Haiti with around 300 military police, the bloc's foreign ministers were set to announce on Monday. Increasing the size of the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) is seen as crucial to bolster security and assist the massive relief operations launched in the wake of the January 12 earthquake that left over 112,000 dead.

Spanish foreign minister Miguel Angel Moratinos, who represents the EU's rotating presidency, stated that "the countries which make up the European Gendarmerie Force (Spain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and Romania) are disposed to participate," in the MINUSTAH.

Last week the UN Security Council unanimously voted to boost the mission's size to a total of 8,940 troops and 3,711 police, an increase of 3,500 personnel over the original strength.

Moratinos, who spoke as he entered a meeting with EU colleagues in Brussels, said that "Spain has already sent 23, Italy and France are sending quite substantial numbers."

"Together we will represent the EU in the task of guaranteeing security and above all guaranteeing the arrival of aid," the Spanish minister added.

According to diplomatic sources, France and Italy are set to contribute with over 100 military police each, the Netherlands with about 50 and Spain with close to 40 in total.

Smaller contributions could come from the other two members of the European Gendarmerie Force, Romania and Portugal.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/305613,eu-to-send-300-military-police-to-boost-security-in-haiti.html.

Algerian taxi driver strike begins Monday

2010-01-24

Some 120,000 Algerian taxi drivers plan to launch a national two-day strike on Monday (January 25th), Tout sur l'Algerie reported. Among the drivers' demands are new legislation to protect their interests and Transport Ministry approval for new taxi routes to service the country's wilayas. This is the reportedly the first time that Algeria's three taxi driver unions – the SNTT, UNACT and FNACT - have agreed to mount a unanimous strike.

Source: Magharebia.com.
Link: http://magharebia.com/en_GB/articles/awi/newsbriefs/general/2010/01/24/newsbrief-03.

Touareg rebel leader arrives in Algiers

2010-01-24

Former Touareg rebel leader Ibrahim Ag Bahanga arrived Saturday (January 23rd) in Algeria, El Watan reported. The head of Mali's Democratic Alliance for Change (ADC) will reportedly meet with senior government officials to express his personal commitment to reviving the 2006 peace agreement with Bamako mediated by Algerian Ambassador Abdelkrim Gheraib.

When more than 500 Touaregs surrendered their weapons last February in Kidal as part of the Algiers Accord, Ag Bahanga refused to participate. Ag Bahanga was also absent from the closed-door conference of Touareg leaders held earlier this month in Algiers.

Source: Magharebia.com.
Link: http://magharebia.com/en_GB/articles/awi/newsbriefs/general/2010/01/24/newsbrief-03.

Mauritania, Turkey discuss new diplomatic co-operation

2010-01-24

Turkey and Mauritania may soon open reciprocal embassies, Turkish President Abdullah Gul said after holding bilateral talks with visiting Mauritanian counterpart Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz in Ankara on Friday (January 22nd), Journal Tahalil reported. Abdel Aziz, the first Mauritanian president to visit Turkey, reportedly invited Turkish businessmen and companies to invest in Mauritania.

Source: Magharebia.com.
Link: http://magharebia.com/en_GB/articles/awi/newsbriefs/general/2010/01/24/newsbrief-04.

MCA widen gap at top of Algerian league table

Despite stiffening competition for second place, MCA remained comfortable at the top of Algeria's D1 table after round 19.

By Abdou Tajeddine for Magharebia in Algiers – 24/01/10

Round nineteen of the Algerian football premier league saw MC Algiers consolidating their lead, thanks to a 3-1 win Friday (January 22nd) in a rescheduled match on home turf against CA Bordj Bou Arreridj.

MCA, Algeria's oldest football club, also benefited from a 2-1 loss by their direct competitors JS Kabylie on Saturday; the gap between the two leaders grew to four points. JSK are now tied in second with their 19th round contenders, USM El Harrach with 31 points each.

After the match, MCA coach Francois Bracci said that his team restored balance and prestige after the loss sustained last week to USM Annaba.

"The win against CABBA enabled us to break away at the top of table," he said, praising his players who "regained the self-confidence to continue their march and win the premier league title for the first time in 11 years."

Competition stepped up considerably for second place in round 19; three teams were just one win away from vying for the top spot, but failed to see it through.

WA Tlemcen made off with just one point after a 2-2 draw at home against USM Algiers. JSM Bejaia also drew on their home pitch against guests CR Belouizdad, while USM Annaba lost 2-1 on the road against CA Batna.

These results left Tlemcen and Bejaia tied in fourth place with 30 points. Meanwhile, USM Algiers are in ninth, tied with CABBA, CRB and ES Setif, whose match against MC El Eulma was postponed.

ES Setif now have four matches in hand against MCEE, MCA, MC Oran and AS Khroub, who all have one match in hand.

The match between AS Khroub and USM Blida was exceptionally exciting. With guests USMB up 2-1 just three minutes from time, the local team managed to equalize and then score a third and winning goal from the spot in the 6th minute of injury time.

Blida coach Kamel Moussa strongly protested against the referee, saying after the match that "the referee is responsible for our loss to AS Khroub. He did a favor to our rivals, and added 7 minutes in injury time; something that had much effect on our players and made them lose balance, and consequently, the match itself."

USM Blida are now in 16th place with 18 points.

At the bottom of the table, capital team NA Hussein Dey lost 1-0 to ASO Chlef. With this loss, NAHD remain next-to-last with 11 points, just one ahead of MSP Batna.

Batna lost to MC Oran 2-0 on the latter's pitch; the home advantage helped Oran climb to 7th place with 29 points.

Meanwhile, ASO Chlef are tied with MCEE in 13th place, and AS Khroub are in 14th with 20 points.

Source: Magharebia.com
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/articles/2010/01/24/feature-06.

Iran's lawmakers urge gov't to severe ties with Britain

Members of the Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee drafted a bill on Sunday, urging the Foreign Ministry to cut relations with Britain, semi-official Fars news agency reported.

If approved by the parliament, the bill would bind the Iranian government to sever ties with Britain due to London's long record of direct and indirect interference in Iran's internal affairs, the report said.

Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Monday that Tehran is considering severance of relations with Britain, local satellite Press TV reported.

"There are 10 to 12 working fields between Iran and Britain. We are currently reviewing each area," said Mottaki, adding that the Islamic Republic would make a final decision about the issue.

Iranian authorities and lawmakers have constantly accused Britain of interfering in Iran's internal affairs and supporting the country's opposition groups, a charge rejected by London.

Source: People's Daily.
Link: http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90854/6877507.html.

AL chief urges Arab, U.S. Media to halt hatred campaigns

Arab League (AL) Secretary General Amr Moussa urged on Sunday both Arab and U.S. satellite channels to stop hatred campaigns.

Moussa told a news conference at the headquarters of the Cairo- based Arab League that some U.S. satellite channels incite hatred against Arabs, asking both sides to halt such campaigns using various media outlets.

Moussa's remarks followed a meeting of the Arab information ministers on a U.S. House of Representatives' decision calling for measures against Arab channels seen as anti-American.

The council of the Arab information ministers called on the Arab foreign ministers to take action to highlight the negative effects in case of a U.S. decision to penalize the operators of the Arab satellite channels.

The Arab ministers were referring to the U.S. Congress' draft resolution concerning Arab satellite companies dealing with some Arab channels accused of inciting violence and terrorism.

During the extraordinary meeting on Sunday, the ministers also underlined the importance of maintaining efforts exerted by Arab countries to combat violence and terrorism.

Source: People's Daily.
Link: http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90854/6877524.html.

Arab Information Ministers extraordinary meeting kicks off

Cairo -- The extraordinary meeting of the Arab Information Ministers got underway on Sunday to discuss proposals to forge a common media strategy to counter Israeli plans to Judaize Jerusalem and demolish Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound.

The Arab Information Ministers' Council will discuss setting up an Arab media commission and US Congress legislation that calls for punitive measures against satellite providers who contact entities accused of fueling terrorism and anti-American incitement.

The meeting will also discuss recommendations by the council's standing committee, including a proposal to form a panel of legal and media experts and media people to finalize a study by the Arab League Secretary General on setting up a new body, the Arab Media Commission.

The recommendations censured the US Congress legislation as meddling in the internal affairs of concerned sovereign nations, arguing that those countries should address their own media issues in accordance with their national legislations.

The proposals also underscored Arab states' determination to pursue the fight against extremism, violence, terror and incitement since they themselves are victims of terror and called for drawing a distinction between terrorism and the right to resisting occupation.

They also call for Arab diplomacy with the U.S administration to shed light on the negative impact of imposing a U.S embargo on Arab satellite channel providers and to coordinate such moves with the main satellite operators Arabsat, Nilesat and Noursat.

The recommendations also commit Arab satellite channels to refrain from broadcasts that incite violence and extremism and call for a pledge by European satellite channels not to air material sensitive to Arabs and Muslims.

Jordan's delegation to the meeting, which is being held at Arab League Headquarters in Cairo, is headed by the kingdom's Ambassador to Egypt Hani Mulqi, and Director-General of the Jordan News Agency, Petra Ramadan Rawashdeh.

© Jordan News Agency - Petra 2010

Source: Zawya.
Link: http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm/sidZAWYA20100124113250/Arab%20Information%20Ministers%20extraordinary%20meeting%20kicks%20off.

Ethiopian plane crashes off Lebanon, 90 on board

By ELIZABETH A. KENNEDY, Associated Press Writer

BEIRUT – An Ethiopian Airlines plane carrying 90 people crashed into the Mediterranean Sea in flames early Monday just minutes after takeoff from Beirut, authorities said. At least 12 bodies were recovered as rescuers searched the stormy waters.

The cause of the crash was not immediately known. Lebanon has been slammed by bad weather since Sunday night, with crackling thunder, lightning and pouring rain.

Lebanese President Michel Suleiman said terrorism was not suspected.

"Sabotage is ruled out as of now," he said.

The Boeing 737-800 took off around 2:30 a.m. (7:30 p.m. EST) for the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, said Ghazi Aridi, the public works and transportation minister.

"The weather undoubtedly was very bad," Aridi told reporters at the airport. He added that the plane went down about 2 miles (3.5 kilometers) off the Lebanese coast.

The Lebanese army said in a statement the plane was "on fire shortly after takeoff."

The wife of Denis Pietton, the French ambassador to Lebanon, was on the plane, according to the French embassy.

Helicopters and naval ships were scrambled for a rescue effort as huge waves slammed into the shore and rain lashed the coast.

A police spokeswoman in Cyprus, which sent rescue crews to the area, said about 12 bodies have been recovered so far and airplane debris was found.

Ethiopian Airlines' CEO Girma Wake told journalists in Addis Ababa that he had no information on the fate of those on board or about the cause of the crash. He said the aircraft had been serviced on Dec. 25 and passed inspection.

He also said the plane had been leased in September from CIT Aerospace. Calls to CIT Aerospace were not immediately returned Monday.

Relatives of the passengers began arriving at the airport in Beirut early Monday, many of them crying and hugging. Officials led them into a VIP area. Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri announced a day of mourning and closed schools and government offices.

The plane was carrying 90 people, including 83 passengers and 7 crew. Aridi, the transportation minister, identified the passengers as 54 Lebanese, 22 Ethiopians, one Iraqi, one Syrian, one Canadian of Lebanese origin, one Russian of Lebanese origin, a French woman and two Britons of Lebanese origin.

Ethiopian Airlines reported that there were 82 passengers and eight crew; the discrepancy could not immediately be explained.

The Boeing 737 is considered one of the safest planes in airline service. The jet was first introduced in the 1960s, and today is the workhorse on many short- and medium-range routes.

Still, over the past 15 years it was involved in a series of incidents and crashes linked to a valve in the rudder assembly. This reportedly would malfunction and cause the rudder to turn independently of the pilot's commands.

The problem was considered resolved after operators of older Boeing 737s were ordered to carry out inspections and upgrades of the critical rudder control systems.

Ethiopian Airlines has long had a reputation for high-quality service compared to other African airlines, with two notable crashes in more than 20 years.

A hijacked Ethiopian Airlines jet crash-landed off the Comoros Islands in the Indian Ocean when it ran out of fuel in November 1996, killing 126 of the 175 people aboard. The plane had just left Addis Ababa when three hijackers stormed the cockpit and demanded to be taken to Australia.

In September 1988, an Ethiopian Airlines jet crashed shortly after taking off when it ran into a flock of birds, killing 31 of the 104 people on board.

Rare dinosaur skeleton turned over to researchers

GREAT FALLS, Mont. – A rare and nearly complete dinosaur skeleton stolen from private property in Montana and stored in an evidence locker for more than two years has been turned over to researchers.

Scientists at the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research in South Dakota say the 70-million-year-old turkey-sized predator could be a new species of raptor.

"It's a mean and nasty little dinosaur," said Peter Larson, president of the institute. "Even though it's not very big, you wouldn't want to meet it in a dark alleyway."

Researchers say it's unusual to find the skeleton of a meat-eating dinosaur, and especially one that's so small.

"So many things can happen to a small-bodied animal," Larson said.

The commercial fossil hunter who dug up the dinosaur removed it without the knowledge or permission of the property owners. Nathan Murphy was convicted last year in state court of felony theft for taking the raptor fossil from a ranch in northern Montana and sentenced to 60 days in jail.

In a separate federal case last year, Murphy was sentenced to four months in a halfway house and three years probation after pleading guilty to stealing fossils on federal land, and was ordered to pay $17,325.

After Murphy's conviction in state court, the raptor fossil was turned over to the owners of the property, Bruce and Barb Bruckner, and they in turn sent it to the institute in South Dakota.

Larson wasn't upset at the delay in getting the fossil.

"What's a few years here and there when you're talking about a dinosaur that's 70 million years old," he said. "The science could wait. It's more important to do things properly and make sure the proper owner was identified."

Institute officials say they hope to finish work on the skeleton by May. Two large museums are interested in buying it for display and study. Larson said he was unsure how much the fossil might be worth to the museums.

The institute will recover the hundreds of hours it spent restoring the fossil by selling replicas. Larson said the replicas will cost about $12,500 each.

He said one replica will be donated by the Bruckners and the institute to the new Great Plains Dinosaur Museum and Field Station in Malta.

Crews try to protect wildlife from Texas oil spill

By SCHUYLER DIXON, Associated Press Writer

DALLAS – Crews worked Sunday to protect two sensitive wildlife areas after a crude oil spill shut down parts of a major southeast Texas port, state Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson said.

Plastic walls known as booms and oil-sucking skimmer boats were used to safeguard a lake that is a crucial breeding ground and a wildlife management area that lost its protective gates when Hurricane Ike roared ashore a year and a half ago, Patterson said.

The U.S. Coast Guard said about 462,000 gallons — or 11,000 barrels — of oil spilled into the water Saturday when an 800-foot tanker headed for an Exxon Mobil Corp. refinery in Beaumont collided with a towing vessel pushing two barges near Port Arthur, about 90 miles east of Houston. It was the largest spill in Texas since 1994, but still well shy of one 20 years ago involving Norwegian tanker Mega Borg that leaked 4.3 million gallons of crude oil about 60 miles off Galveston.

The tide lifted the two ships and they separated shortly after midnight Sunday without more oil being spilled, Coast Guard Petty Officer Richard Brahm said.

The crew of the damaged tanker, the Eagle Atome, said the remaining 69,000 of the 80,000 barrels of oil in the ship were pumped out, according to the Coast Guard.

Chief Warrant Officer Lionel Bryant of the Coast Guard said about 45,800 feet of booms were deployed to contain the spill.

"Because of where it happened, we were able to get teams out there quickly to at least contain it for now," Bryant said. "But it's still a tremendously large spill."

None of the sensitive wildlife areas had been affected, Bryant said. That included Keith Lake, a breeding ground for shrimp and other small fish, and the Murphree Wildlife Management Area, where several endangered species have been spotted.

Bryant said his agency had one report of an oil-covered bird and encouraged residents to report any sightings of affected wildlife.

"It's too early to claim victory yet," Bryant said. "Right now, there's no impact in the marshes and no impact in Keith Lake."

Coast Guard officials have said the spill was mostly contained in a 2-mile stretch of the Sabine Neches Waterway, which runs along the city of Port Arthur. The area off-limits to ships was extended 18 miles to the Texas Gulf Coast in case of a breach or a wind shift that might complicate containment efforts, Bryant said.

The Sabine Neches Waterway is the second-largest in Texas, according to the online Handbook of Texas. Bryant said refineries generally are prepared for a 72-hour shutdown, which would extend into Tuesday. He said it wasn't known when the waterway would reopen.

The tanker is owned by AET Tankers, a Malaysian company with offices in Houston. Patterson said AET would pay for most of the cleanup. A spokesman said the company was working with the Coast Guard on cleanup and assessment and referred to Coast Guard officials for further comment.

Exxon Mobil spokesman Kevin Allexon said the company was monitoring the ship owner's response and was ready to provide help if necessary. The Irving, Texas-based company said it does not expect the accident to affect operations at its Beaumont refinery.

"Exxon Mobil is very concerned about this unfortunate incident. The vessels we charter to transport our products meet rigorous safety standards," the company said in a written statement.

The ship collided with a towing vessel pushing two barges, leaving a 15-foot-by-8-foot hole in the tanker. During the collision, the towing vessel also hit another tanker that was tied to a pier. Brahm said that tanker sustained some damage, but had no leaks.

A National Transportation Safety Board spokeswoman said the agency was supporting the Coast Guard investigation but had no further details Sunday.

Urgent need for tent cities for Haitian refugees

By VIVIAN SEQUERA and MIKE MELIA, Associated Press Writers

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – Grieving families are watching workers recover the bodies of loved ones as Haiti's death roll rises, while aid groups focusing on the living struggle to find tents and sites to erect them for all the people streaming out of Port-au-Prince.

It could take experts weeks to search out sites suitable for enough tent cities to hold earthquake refugees, the International Organization for Migration, an intergovernmental agency, said Sunday.

"We also need tents. There is a shortage of tents," said Vincent Houver, the Geneva-based agency's chief of mission in Haiti.

Houver said the agency's warehouse in Port-au-Prince holds 10,000 family-size tents, but he estimates 100,000 are needed. The organization has appealed for $30 million to pay for tents and other aid needs and has received two-thirds of that so far, he said.

Haiti's government wants the estimated 600,000 homeless huddled in open areas of Port-au-Prince, a city of 2 million, to look for better shelter with relatives or others elsewhere. Some 200,000 are believed to have fled already, most taking advantage of free government transport, and others formed a steady stream out of the city Sunday.

An estimated 50,000 to 100,000 have returned to the region around the coastal city of Gonaives in northern Haiti, a city abandoned by many after two devastating floods in six years.

"Living in Port-au-Prince is a problem. Going to Gonaives is another problem," said Maire Delphin Alceus. "Everywhere you go is a problem. If I could, I would have left this country and been somewhere else by now. But I have no way to do that."

Her daughter, Katya, was among the thousands killed in Gonaives and the surrounding Artibonite area by the floods of 2004's Tropical Storm Jeanne. The family moved to Port-au-Prince, where the earthquake killed her 26-year-old son and her half-sister, who provided for them by importing clothes and perfume from Miami for resale in Haiti.

What's left of the family is back in Gonaives, which is overlooked by mountains denuded by over-farming and rampant tree cutting for firewood that have cleared a path for destructive floods.

"I'm scared, but I'm living by the will of God," said Alceus, dressed in white after attending Sunday services at an evangelical church.

While more people left Port-au-Prince, the capital was shaken by yet another aftershock Sunday, one of more than 50 since the great quake Jan. 12 that has panicked survivors into running out into the street. Some just froze in fright Sunday. The U.S. Geological Survey said it registered 4.7 magnitude, but there were no reports of further damage.

More than 150,000 quake victims have been buried by the government, an official said Sunday, but she said that doesn't count the bodies still in wrecked buildings, buried or burned by relatives or dead in outlying quake areas.

"Nobody knows how many bodies are buried in the rubble," Communications Minister Marie-Laurence Jocelyn Lassegue said. Asked about the total number of victims, she said "200,000? 300,000? Who knows the overall death toll?"

Lassegue told The Associated Press that the government's figure of 150,000 buried from just the capital area was based on figures from CNE, a state company that is collecting corpses and burying them north of Port-au-Prince.

That number would tend to confirm an overall estimate of 200,000 dead reported last week by the European Commission, citing Haitian government sources. As of Sunday, the United Nations stuck with an earlier confirmed toll of at least 111,481 deaths, based on recovered bodies.

Reporters watched a team recover three bodies from the ruins of a downtown home Sunday, one of many sites where the sad work continued. Waiting relatives watched as all three were jammed into a single, roughly made coffin, all the family could afford. They paid a man with a pushcart to take the casket to a nearby cemetery for a burial without ceremony.

The final toll will clearly place the Haiti earthquake among the deadliest natural catastrophes of recent times. That list includes the 1970 Bangladesh cyclone, believed to have killed 300,000 people; the 1974 northeast China earthquake, which killed at least 242,000 people; and the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, with 226,000 dead.

Attending to the living, meanwhile, an army of international aid workers was getting more food into people's hands, but still falling short.

"We wish we could do more, quicker," said Josette Sheeran, the U.N. World Food Program chief who was visiting Port-au-Prince.

The WFP delivered about 2 million meals to the needy Friday, up from 1.2 million Thursday, Sheeran said. But she acknowledged much more was needed.

"This is the most complex operation WFP has ever launched," she said.

The scene Sunday in Cite Soleil, the capital's largest and most notorious slum, showed the need.

Thousands of men, women and children lined up and waited peacefully for their turn as U.S. and Brazilian troops handed out aid. The Americans gave ready-to-eat meals, high-energy biscuits and bottled water; the Brazilians passed out small bags holding uncooked beans, salt, sugar and sardines as well as water.

Lunie Marcelin, 57, welcomed the handouts, saying it would help her and six grown children. "But it is not enough," she said. "We need more."

Key officials from around the world planned to meet Monday in Montreal to discuss ways to better coordinate relief efforts in Haiti. Canada's government said U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive and foreign ministers from a host of nations would attend.

The world's nations have pledged some $1 billion in emergency aid to Haiti. Organizers of Friday night's "Hope for Haiti Now" international telethon reported the event raised $57 million, with more pledges from ordinary people still coming in.