Finnish new treatment reduces breast cancer deaths by one third

HELSINKI, Jan. 28 -- Finnish cancer researchers have had an important breakthrough in the treatment of breast cancer, according to Finnish media reports on Thursday.

The new treatment developed in Finland reduces the renewal risk of aggressive breast cancer and the consequent deaths by as much as a third.

In the treatment the Finnish researchers targeted a protein called HER2. HER2 is a growth factor protein, which transmits growth signals to breast cancer cells. The protein is the cause of the so-called HER-positive breast cancer. This cancer type is often difficult and aggressive and it has a strong tendency to send metastases to other parts of the body. About 15 percent of all the breast cancer patients suffer from this aggressive type.

If the renewal risk of the cancer is significant, cytostatic treatment is commenced after the operation. This lowers the risk of renewal of the cancer by 40 percent among patients under the age of 50. The risk of dying of the illness is cut down by 30 percent. For the HER-positive breast cancer patients, the Finnish researchers also gave trastuzumab in connection with their cytostatic treatment. Trastuzumab blocks the effects of the growth factor protein HER2 by binding to it.

Previously similar treatments have been experimented with elsewhere in regimens that have lasted for a year and a half. What is distinctive to the Finnish regimen is its shortness. The treatment only lasts for nine weeks.

"The new treatment form, trastuzumab, is one of the greatest advances in the past 15-20 years in the field of breast cancer research," said Petri Bono, chief physician at the Department of Medical Oncology, Helsinki University Hospital.

The Finnish study's results were astoundingly good. Five years after contracting the illness, 92.5 percent of the patients were still alive without the re-emergence of the cancer. The risks of renewal of the cancer or deaths caused by it were reduced by a third.

Encouraged by the results, a large-scale international follow- up research program has been launched.

Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer among women. Around 1.3 million women around the globe contract the illness each year. Around 4,100 Finnish women will contract breast cancer each year.

Apartment collapse kills 9 in Belgium

An aerial view shows the area where a house collapsed in Liege Jan. 28, 2010. The death toll from a collapsed apartment block in eastern Belgium rose to nine on Thursday and was expected to increase when the stalled search resumes later in the day.

Rescue teams intervene at the scene of a collapsed house in downtown Liege Jan. 28, 2010. The death toll from a collapsed apartment block in eastern Belgium rose to nine on Thursday and was expected to increase when the stalled search resumes later in the day.
(Reuters)

"Catcher" author Salinger dies at 91

"The Catcher in the Rye" author J.D. Salinger died of natural cause aged 91 at his home in New Hampshire, U.S. media reported Friday.

A copy of J.D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye" IS seen at a bookstore in Washington, DC., January. 28, 2010. Salinger has died at 91, his agent said Thursday, raising tantalizing questions over whether the legendary writer might have left behind a hoard of unpublished works.

The American post-war literary classic "The Catcher in the Ray," published in 1951, featuring the teenage hero Holden Caulfield, resonated with adolescent and young adult readers.

Generations of young people read the novel and embraced Caulfield, the phony-hating personification of teenage angst, as a proxy for their own experiences.

"Catcher" has been translated into the world's major languages and sold more than 65 million copies. It is routinely listed among the best novels of the 20th century.

Besides "Catcher," the U.S. author published only a few books and collections of short stories, including "9 Stories," "Franny and Zooey," "Raise High the Roofbeam, Carpenters" and "Seymour: - An Introduction."

Copies of "The Catcher in the Rye" by author J.D. Salinger are seen at a bookstore in Washington, DC., January. 28, 2010.
(AFP)

Stars shine at Sundance Film Festival

Actresses Naomi Watts (R) and Kerry Washington (L) arrive with Samuel L. Jackson for the premiere of the film "Mother And Child" during the 2010 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah January 25, 2010.

Cast member Kevin Kline arrives for the premiere of the film "The Extra Man" at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah January 25, 2010.

Actress and cast member Katie Holmes arrives for the premiere of the film "The Extra Man" at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah January 25, 2010.

Director Rodrigo Garcia (R) arrives with the cast for the premiere of the film "Mother And Child" during the 2010 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah January 25, 2010.

Actresses Naomi Watts (R) and Kerry Washington arrive for the premiere of the film "Mother And Child" during the 2010 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah January 25, 2010.

Comedian Joan Rivers (C) arrives with co-directors Annie Sundberg (R) and Ricki Stern for the premiere of the documentary "Joan Rivers - A Piece Of Work" during the 2010 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah January 25, 2010.

Actress and cast member Katie Holmes talks during an interview as she arrives for the premiere of the film "The Extra Man" at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah January 25, 2010.
(Reuters)

NASA ends efforts to free rover from Martian sand

WASHINGTON, Jan. 26 -- NASA on Tuesday declared an end to Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's roving career after efforts during the past several months to free it from a sand trap have been unsuccessful.

The venerable robot's primary task in the next few weeks will be to position itself to combat the severe Martian winter, according to the U.S. space agency. If Spirit survives, it will continue conducting significant new science from its final location. The rover's mission could continue for several months to years.

"Spirit is not dead; it has just entered another phase of its long life," said Doug McCuistion, director of the Mars Exploration Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "We told the world last year that attempts to set the beloved robot free may not be successful. It looks like Spirit's current location on Mars will be its final resting place."

Ten months ago, as Spirit was driving south beside the western edge of a low plateau called Home Plate, its wheels broke through a crusty surface and churned into soft sand hidden underneath.

After Spirit became embedded, the rover team crafted plans for trying to get the six-wheeled vehicle free using its five functioning wheels -- the sixth wheel quit working in 2006, limiting Spirit's mobility. The planning included experiments with a test rover in a sandbox at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, plus analysis, modeling and reviews. In November, another wheel quit working, making a difficult situation even worse.

Recent drives have yielded the best results since Spirit became embedded. However, the coming winter mandates a change in strategy. It is mid-autumn at the solar-powered robot's home on Mars. Winter will begin in May. Solar energy is declining and expected to become insufficient to power further driving by mid-February. The rover team plans to use those remaining potential drives for improving the rover's tilt. Spirit currently tilts slightly toward the south. The winter sun stays in the northern sky, so decreasing the southward tilt would boost the amount of sunshine on the rover 's solar panels.

At its current angle, Spirit probably would not have enough power to keep communicating with Earth through the Martian winter. Even a few degrees of improvement in tilt might make enough difference to enable communication every few days.

However, even in a stationary state, Spirit continues scientific research, NASA said.

"There's a class of science we can do only with a stationary vehicle that we had put off during the years of driving," said Steve Squyres, a researcher at Cornell University and principal investigator for Spirit and Opportunity. "Degraded mobility does not mean the mission ends abruptly. Instead, it lets us transition to stationary science."

One stationary experiment Spirit has begun studies tiny wobbles in the rotation of Mars to gain insight about the planet's core. This requires months of radio-tracking the motion of a point on the surface of Mars to calculate long-term motion with an accuracy of a few inches.

Tools on Spirit's robotic arm can study variations in the composition of nearby soil, which has been affected by water. Stationary science also includes watching how wind moves soil particles and monitoring the Martian atmosphere.

Spirit and Opportunity landed on Mars in January 2004. They have been exploring for six years, far surpassing their original 90-day mission. Opportunity currently is driving toward a large crater called Endeavor and continues to make scientific discoveries. It has driven approximately 12 miles and returned more than 133,000 images.
(Xinhua)

18 killed, 80 injured in Baghdad suicide bombing

BAGHDAD, Jan. 26 -- At least 18 people were killed and some 80 others injured when a suicide minibus bomber struck the government forensics building in central Baghdad on Tuesday, an Interior Ministry source said.

U.S. soldiers secure the site of a bomb attack in central Baghdad January 26, 2010. A suicide blast killed at least 17 people at an Interior Ministry office in Baghdad on Tuesday.

"Our reports said that the toll rose to 18 killed, including five policemen, and some 80 others wounded by the suicide bombing carried out by a KIA minibus," the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

Earlier, the source put the toll at five killed and 20 injured.

The attack took place at about 10:45 a.m. (0745 GMT) when a suicide bomber drove an explosive-laden minibus into the building of the Interior Ministry's forensic department close to the Taharriyat Square in Karrada district, the source said.

The department's building collapsed soon after the powerful blast as dozens of the department's workers were inside, he said.

A U.S. soldier stands guard near a crater made by a bomb attack in central Baghdad January 26, 2010. A suicide blast killed at least 18 people at an Interior Ministry office in Baghdad on Tuesday.

The blast also destroyed several nearby buildings and shops, along with many civilian cars.

Iraqi security forces cordoned off the scene and blocked several main streets leading to the site, while ambulances and civilian cars were transporting dozens of victims to Baghdad hospitals.

The blast came a day after the three suicide car bombings targeted major Baghdad hotels that killed at least 36 people and wounded some 70 others.

Sporadic attacks continue in Baghdad as part of recent security deterioration which shaped a setback to the efforts of the Iraqi government to restore normalcy in the country ahead of the country 's national polls slated on March 7.
(Reuters)

Man rescued from rubble 2 weeks after Haiti quake

Rico Dibrivell, 35, is attended by a U.S. military rescue team member after being freed from the rubble of a building in Port-au-Prince January 26, 2010.

Jan. 27 -- A man in his 30s was saved from a crumbled building in Port-au-Prince, the capital city of Haiti, Tuesday, two weeks after a devastating earthquake hit the Caribbean nation.

Rico Dibrivell, 35, is attended by a U.S. military rescue team member after being freed from the rubble of a building in Port-au-Prince January 26, 2010.

Ricot Duprevil was discovered and pulled out alive by the U.S. Army 82nd Airborne Division's Delta Company during a rubble-clearing mission in the center of the city.

Rico Dibrivell, 35, is attended by a U.S. military rescue team member after being freed from the rubble of a building in Port-au-Prince January 26, 2010.

He was in stable condition at a medical facility where he was being treated for a broken leg.

It is not yet clear if he became trapped in the initial quake or during one of the many aftershocks since then.

Rico Dibrivell, 35, is attended by a U.S. military rescue team member after being freed from the rubble of a building in Port-au-Prince January 26, 2010.

"We don't know if he was there from the beginning or in one of the aftershocks he may have gone under," said, Andrew Pourak, a U.S. Army specialist.

"He got sent to the hospital, he's going to make it," Pourak said.

Rico Dibrivell, 35, is attended by a U.S. military rescue team member after being freed from the rubble of a building in Port-au-Prince January 26, 2010.

Rico Dibrivell, 35, is attended by a U.S. military rescue team member after being freed from the rubble of a building in Port-au-Prince January 26, 2010.
(Reuters)

UCF professor's vaccine could be lethal weapon against malaria, cholera

Mankind may finally have a weapon to fight two of the world's deadliest diseases. A University of Central Florida biomedical researcher has developed what promises to be the first low-cost dual vaccine against malaria and cholera.

There is no FDA approved vaccine to prevent malaria, a mosquito-borne illness that kills more than 1 million people annually. Only one vaccine exists to fight cholera, a diarrheal illness that is common in developing countries and can be fatal. The lone vaccine is too expensive to prevent outbreaks in developing countries after floods, and children lose immunity within three years of getting the current vaccine.

"I'm very encouraged because our technique works well and provides an affordable way to get vaccines to people who need them most and can least afford them," said lead scientist Henry Daniell.

Daniell's team genetically engineered tobacco and lettuce plants to produce the vaccine. Researchers gave mice freeze-dried plant cells (orally or by injection) containing the vaccine. They then challenged the mice with either the cholera toxin or malarial parasite. The malaria parasite studies were completed in fellow UCF professor Debopam Chakrabarti's lab.

Untreated rodents contracted diseases quickly, but the mice who received the plant-grown vaccines showed long-lasting immunity for more than 300 days (equivalent to 50 human years).

Results from the National Institutes of Health-funded research are published in this month's Plant Biotechnology, the top-ranked journal in the field.

Clinical trials are needed, and Daniell is hopeful that the results with mice will translate to humans. It could be yet another example of plants delivering life-saving medicines.

The dual vaccine follows a string of other "green" vaccines developed in Daniell's lab. He's created vaccines against anthrax and black plague that generated a congratulatory call from the top U.S. homeland security official and was featured on the Discovery Channel. He's also successfully grown insulin in plants to find what could be a long-lasting cure for diabetes. Daniell's team continues to research these vaccines and is looking for investors to help fund clinical trials.

Producing vaccines in plants is less expensive than traditional methods because it requires less labor and technology, Daniell said.

"We're talking about producing mass quantities for pennies on the dollar," he said. "And distribution to mass populations would be easy because it could be made into a simple pill, like a vitamin, which many people routinely take now. There is no need for expensive purification, cold storage, transportation or sterile delivery via injections."

For Daniell, his research is more than his day job. His passion to find vaccines for the world's top 10 diseases as defined by the World Health Organization comes from growing up in India. He watched many of his childhood friends contract malaria, cholera and other diseases.

Daniell, a father of two, joined UCF's Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences in the College of Medicine in 1998. His research led to the formation of the university's first biotechnology company. Daniell also became only the 14th American in the last 222 years to be elected the Italian National Academy of Sciences. In 2007 he was named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences.

"I'm not done yet," he said. "I still have more diseases to attack."
Source: University of Central Florida

Paris Spring Summer 2010 fashion show

A model presents a creation by French designer Stephane Rolland as part of his Haute-Couture Spring Summer 2010 fashion show in Paris January 26, 2010.

A model presents a creation by Italian designer Giorgio Armani as part of his Haute-Couture Spring Summer 2010 fashion show in Paris January 25, 2010.

A model presents a creation by German designer Karl Lagerfeld as part of his Haute-Couture Spring Summer 2010 fashion show for French fashion house Chanel in Paris January 26, 2010.

A model presents a creation by French designer Stephane Rolland as part of his Haute-Couture Spring Summer 2010 fashion show in Paris January 26, 2010.

French designer Stephane Rolland appears at the end of his Haute-Couture Spring Summer 2010 fashion show in Paris January 26, 2010.

A model presents a creation by French designer Stephane Rolland as part of his Haute-Couture Spring Summer 2010 fashion show in Paris January 26, 2010.
(Reuters)

New species found in Ecuador: Glass frog with transparent body

Rain Frog

A new species, this as yet unnamed rain frog looks toward an uncertain future.

The frog is one of 30 unknown species found in Ecuador's highland forests by a team of U.S. and Ecuadorian researchers, the nonprofit, Arizona-based Reptile & Amphibian Ecology International announced January 14, 2010. As Central and South America’s increasingly isolated "islands" of mountaintop forest fall to the ax, and heat up with global warming, scientists fear many such species will be lost before we ever knew they existed, the organization says.

A new species, this as yet unnamed rain frog looks toward an uncertain future.

Slug-Sucking Snake

Just 20 minutes of nighttime searching in a rare patch of coastal dry forest in Ecuador enabled scientists to spot this new species of snake—on a branch just above biologist Paul Hamilton’s head.

The slug-sucking snake is one of a small group that feasts on gastropods such as slugs and snails. Not only is the snake an unknown species, but its closest relative lives almost 350 miles (560 kilometers) away in Peru.

Slug-Sucking Snake

Tree Frog With Red Iris

A new species, announced January 2010, of rain frog crouches on a leaf in its forest home in Ecuador.

The frogs' lifestyle is so thoroughly arboreal that, instead of laying eggs in water, the frogs deposit their eggs in trees. And instead of hatching as tadpoles, the offspring emerge as miniature versions of their parents—some not much larger than pinheads.

Tree Frog With Red Iris

New Species of Stick Insect

The RAEI team uncovered four intriguing stick-insect species—including the above animal—which boast some of the animal kingdom’s best camouflage.

Scientists searching for reptiles and amphibians captured the photogenic insects on film—and later were surprised to learn they'd discovered four new species of the genus Xylospinodes.

New Species of Stick Insect.

Scaly-Eyed Gecko

The scaly-eyed gecko (Lepidoblepharis buchwaldi)—also a new species—can perch comfortably atop a pencil eraser, even as an adult.

"They crawl around in leaf litter on the forest floor, and they are so small they are very hard to find," biologist Hamilton explained. "All of these things take a lot of time to find, and if we don't get to work and put in a lot of hours we're going to miss ever seeing a lot of these little things."

The scaly-eyed gecko (Lepidoblepharis buchwaldi)—also a new species—can perch comfortably atop a pencil eraser, even as an adult.

Lungless Salamander

Like nearly half of the new species announced by RAEI in January 2010, the salamander—which is not a new species—dwells on Cerro Pata de Pájaro. The cloud forest-capped mountain straddles the Equator six miles (ten kilometers) from the Pacific Ocean.

The few square miles of forest here are home to 14 new species found nowhere else.

This lungless salamander, which breathes through its skin, is one of three similar species RAEI scientists spotted in Ecuadorian forests.

Heart of Glass

This so-called glass frog's transparent body lacks pigmentation and reveals its organs in action—including a beating heart.

More than 150 species of glass frogs are found in rain forest trees across Central and South America, RAEI says (pictures of tropical rain forests). But many are feeling pressures like those that threaten their frog relatives worldwide.

This so-called glass frog's transparent body lacks pigmentation and reveals its organs in action—including a beating heart.

Dwarf Iguana

A male O'Shaughnessy's Dwarf Iguana (Enyalioides oshaughnessyi) can cut an imposing figure. But the animal may be helpless in the face of threats to its cloud forest home, RAEI says.

Cerro Pata de Pájaro is being deforested on all sides for the expansion of cattle grazing, RAEI says. Climate change may also heat up—and dry up—cloud forests, which could leave animals unable to adapt with nowhere to go.

A male O'Shaughnessy's Dwarf Iguana (Enyalioides oshaughnessyi) can cut an imposing figure. But the animal may be helpless in the face of threats to its cloud forest home, RAEI says.

(CCTV.com)

Swan Lake from Russia with love

A scene from Swan Lake by the Kremlin Ballet Theater

Jan. 26 -- Even a few years ago, ballet in China meant just one thing, Swan Lake, and Russian companies were almost always the most popular. This has gradually changed as more renowned ballet companies from around the world grace the capital's stage.

We've seen British's Royal Ballet, romantic French ballet, contemporary German ballets and mixed American ballet. At the same time, we've realized there are dozens of Russian ballet companies touring the world every day. They boast about their Kirov/Bolshoi pedigrees and have confusing names. The result is that people are becoming more fastidious about which shows they watch.

Picky audiences have forced producers to bring high-class productions to Beijing, otherwise the tickets do not sell.

Beijing XDR Cultural & Communication Company has organized a "Spring For Ballet" festival for the past 10 years and it succeeds because it always invites the Russian National Ballet. It's not as famous as the Kirov or Bolshoi, but is working hard to rise above the second tier and their performances retain real Russian energy and passion.

"Their performances are not without flaws and curious historical details, but its well-trained dancers convey a sense of warmth and personal pride that is rarely seen in touring companies," says Zhao Hong, deputy manager of Beijing XDR Culture & Communication Company.

When the company toured the United States with Swan Lake last year, the Washington Post reviewed it "a cut above many of its rivals. The Swan Lake was the real thing."

The Russian National Ballet Theater was founded in Moscow in the late 1980s when many of the great dancers and choreographers of the Soviet Union's ballet institutions were exercising their new-found creative freedom by starting new companies dedicated not only to tradition but to new developments in dance from around the world.

The principal dancers of the company came from the top ballet companies and academies of Moscow, Riga, Kiev; and even Warsaw, in Poland. In 1994, the legendary Bolshoi principal dancer, Elena Radchenko, was selected as artistic director. She has focused on inheriting the tradition of Russian ballet and developing new talent, with a repertory of virtually all the works of Marius Petipa, including Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker.

For the 10th anniversary of "Spring For Ballet", Beijing XDR Culture & Communication Company will also invite another acclaimed Russian ballet company, the Kremlin Ballet, to this year's festival.

The Kremlin Palace used to be the second stage for the Bolshoi Theater. When Bolshoi stopped using the stage in the late 1980s, Andrei Petrov who had danced as soloist with Bolshoi since 1965, decided to found a new ballet company there. Its premiere production was a full-length ballet Macbeth in 1990.

Petrov, as the artistic director, had a clear vision of the company's development. Its repertoire would be based on the masterpieces and modern dance trends.

"We won't go out to conquer, astonish, enter into competition with the Bolshoi Theater. We simply want to create our own company which will present sound productions in which our young dancers will be able to show what they are made of," says Ekaterina Maximova, who co-founded the company with Petrov.

For "Spring For Ballet," The Kremlin Ballet brings Petrov's 2008 production Figaro, an original comic ballet with music by Rossini and Mozart.

"It's my long time dream to introduce the quick-witted barber on to the ballet stage in a comic work," the choreographer says.

(China Daily)

Low-carbo diet better than low-fat to lower blood pressure

A low-carbohydrate diet may be better than a low-fat diet plus the weight-loss drug orlistat for its effect on helping lower blood pressure, a new study in Monday's Archives of Internal Medicine said.

Reseachers in U.S. picked up 146 overweight or obese adults who were randomly assigned to a low-carbohydrate diet or orlistat with a low-fat diet.

The average age of the study participants was 52 and the average body-mass index was 39 (30 and over is considered obese). Orlistat was marketed as Xenical, a prescription medication, and Alli, available over the counter.

The low-carb diet began with a carbohydrate intake of less than 20 grams of carbohydrates a day. The group taking orlistat received a 120-milligram dose of the drug three times daily and got less than 30 percent of their calories from fat.

Over 48 weeks, the low-carbohydrate group lost 9.5 percent of their body weight, while the orlistat group lost 8.5 percent. Insulin and glucose markers improved only in the low-carb group, and there was a significant drop in blood pressure in the low-carb group compared to the orlistat group. Similar reductions were seen for diastolic blood pressure.

"Weight loss was similar but substantial in both groups we studied, but blood pressure improved more in the low-carb dieters," said study author Dr. William Yancy Jr., an associate professor of medicine at Duke University Medical Center and a staff physician at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Durham, N.C.

"There are options out there. Pick a diet you think you could stick to better, and work with your physician to help you target the right intervention for you," he advised.

Yancy said the blood pressure and cholesterol drops might have been even more impressive if people had stayed on their medications, but as they lost weight and normalized these readings, the doctors took them off blood-pressure and cholesterol drugs.

Obesity is a significant inducement to many illnesses, including heart disease, stroke, diabetes and many cancers.

"There are many paths to weight loss," said registered dietitian Karen Congro, director of the Wellness for Life Program at The Brooklyn Hospital Center in New York City. What often makes the difference in whether or not a diet is successful, she said, is whether or not there's a counseling and support component to the plan.

These studies show that you don't necessarily need to get to your "ideal body weight" to make substantial improvements to your health, she said. Losing 5 percent to 10 percent of your body weight can make positive changes in blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose control.

"If it can make you a healthier person, then a diet is a success," said Congro.

(Agencies)

Queen Elizabeth II plans to address UN General Assembly

Britain's Queen Elizabeth prepares to record her Christmas Day broadcast to the Commonwealth, in the White drawing room at Buckingham Palace in London, December 10, 2009, in this picture released December 23, 2009.

UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 25 -- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon Monday welcomed the announcement from Buckingham Palace that Queen Elizabeth II will visit United Nations Headquarters in New York in July.

The British monarch is slated to address the 192-member General Assembly on July 6 for the first time in over 50 years.

As Britain's head of state and 15 other UN member states, the only other time the Queen addressed the General Assembly was in 1957.

A statement issued by Ban's spokesperson said Ban warmly welcome the announcement of the upcoming visit.

"He looks forward to receiving Her Majesty personally on this historic occasion," it said.
(Reuters)

Ministerial preparatory conference on quake-ravaged Haiti ends with road map

The Ministerial Preparatory Conference on Haiti is concluded on Monday afternoon in Montreal, Canada, as the Group of Friends of Haiti, major donors and regional and multilateral partners passed a statement, stressing international cooperation and coordination in rebuilding the earthquake-ravaged country in the long term, Jan. 25, 2010. (Xinhua/AFP Photo)

The participants held that an initial 10-year commitment is essential as is a concerted effort to rebuild Haiti's capacity. " Sustainable development, including environmental sustainability, climate resilience, disaster risk reduction and emergency preparedness, will be a cornerstone of our joint approach."

They highlighted the following longer-term strategic objectives: strengthened democratic governance, sustained social and economic development, and enduring stability and respect for the rule of law.

The participants reached a common understanding on a road map towards Haiti's reconstruction and development.

According to such a road map, the participants will restore the operational capacity of the government of Haiti; urgently conduct post-disaster and reconstruction-focused needs assessments; urgently convene an international conference to be held in March at the United Nations, steered by the government of Haiti and supported by key donors and partners including the United States, Canada, Brazil, the European Union and France; convene technical meetings to create an action plan to guide the reconstruction and development.

Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive appreciated the support by the international community, pledging a full and long term cooperation.

At the introductory session earlier, Bellerive said that his government has been contacting extensively with various aspects of the society and is determined to rebuild a new Haiti with generous international supports.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper also delivered opening remarks, calling on the international community to be prepared for a sustained, significant effort in Haiti, working closely with the leadership of the government of Haiti.

Also attending the meeting are foreign ministers and delegates of the Group of Friends of Haiti, the neighboring Dominican Republic, and major donors and key regional and multilateral partners engaged in Haiti: the European Union, Spain and Japan.

A number of international organizations and key international financial institutions, including the Organization of American States, the Caribbean Community, the United Nations, the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the Caribbean Development Bank, also are present.

In addition, non-governmental organizations, Montreal's Haitian Diaspora are also represented at the conference.

Founded in the early 1990s, the Group of Friends of Haiti is an informal association of like-minded nations that meets on the margins of the UN Security Council. Member states are Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, France, Mexico, Peru, the United States and Uruguay.

On Jan. 12, a strong earthquake measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale struck areas close to Port-au-Prince, capital of Haiti, causing widespread loss of life and extensive damage to infrastructure. Significant aftershocks followed, the strongest with a magnitude of 5.9 on Jan. 20.
(AFP)

Haiti recovers slowly from deadly quake

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Jan. 23 -- Eleven days after a 7.3-magnitude quake hit Haiti's capital city Port-au-Prince, things are now beginning to return to normal, though very slowly.

People crowd a market in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Jan. 23, 2010.

The much-reported violences, robberies and the like that occurred after the quake are now much less thanks to a joint patrol by U.S. military, UN peacekeeping staff and local police, which has gradually restored social stability in the city, although foreigners are still at risk of getting mobbed by desperate people at the airport.

The logistics problem that grabbed media's headlines last week during which only around 10 percent of homeless people could receive food, are fading away from people's memory with supermarkets finally reopening last Saturday, although the reopening caused a rush of purchases by local people who have been starved for more than 10 days.

Search and rescue teams from the United Nations, different countries as well as aid organizations and international bodies are now still working hard to clear bodies and rubble and offering consultancy service to the survivors.

People who lost their homes are now being settled down in tents outside the city center.

The survivors have different stories to tell.

An injured Haitian child receiving treatment lies in a temporary hospital in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Jan. 23, 2010.

Johnson, a university student from Wamba, a village on the outskirts of Port au Prince, was lucky enough to escape the quake as he did not take the final exam at the Episcopal University on Jan. 12 because he had to meet his best friend Pascal from afar. The quake destroyed the university and 27 of Johnson's 30 classmates who took the exam were killed by the quake.

Despite official warnings that people were extremely unlikely to have survived until last Saturday, rescuers continued work and pulled survivors out from the rubble.

An 84-year-old woman and a 22-year-old man were rescued miraculously on Friday, 10 days after the quake hit Haiti.

The aged woman named Marie Carida Roman was dug out from rubble of her home by her son and neighbors with bare hands.

Carida Roman was struggling in hospital as her body was in bad shape.

The 22-year-old man was rescued by the Israeli rescue team on Friday.

Unlike the old woman, the young man was found in stable condition at an Israeli field hospital in Port-au-Prince.

Some other survivors pulled out from collapsed buildings described how they survived by drinking their own urine during this ordeal.

The United Nations on Friday announced a new estimate of 75,000 deaths in the quake, much less than the earlier estimate of 200,000 by some other sources.

According to the UN estimate, the people who lost their homes number about 1 million, not as many as the earlier estimate of 3 million.

People scavenge in the ruins of a building in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Jan. 23, 2010.

However, there are lots of work to do as most of the buildings in the capital city are distorted and dangerous. More than 40 percent of the buildings in the city were collapsed during the quake which required a lot of work to clear them.

The U.S. army, which controls the capital city's only airport, is busy with directing the landing and taking off of airplanes. But there are still complains from organizations like Doctors without Borders whose aircraft loaded with badly needed medicines and medical treatment equipment cannot land on the airport immediately after arriving.

All eyes are now on the next step to be taken in Haiti: what kind of rebound the city can expect, what kind of rebuilding will take place, if the city will escape the contagion that may follow the collapse of sanitation infrastructure and the fate of the city's many orphans.
(Ubaldo Gonzalez)

At least 46 injured after Iran plane catches fire: report

Iranian firefighters work on a burned Russian-made Iranian passenger plane after its crash landing at Mashhad airport, northeastern Iran, Sunday, Jan. 24, 2010.

TEHRAN, Jan. 24 -- An Iranian passenger plane caught fire on Sunday when it was landing in Iran's northeastern city of Mashhad, injuring at least 46 people on board, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.

"The (Russian-built) Tupolev 154 plane belonging to Taban Airline went off the runaway upon landing and about one third of its rear end broke away," said Avad Erfanian, head of disaster management of Khorasan Razavi province of which Mashhad is the capital.

"There were 157 passengers and 13 crew members on board," he said, "the accident caused no death and most of the injured passengers are in good condition."

The wounded have been transferred to three hospitals in Iran's northeastern city of Mashhad, he added.

Local English-language Press TV said that the plane had departed from Iran's southeastern city of Abandan and its fuselage, one of the wings and the tail section has burned in the fire.

Iranian firefighters work on a burned Russian-made Iranian passenger plane after its crash landing at Mashhad airport, northeastern Iran, Sunday, Jan. 24, 2010.

A firefighter looks into the burnt body of a plane that caught fire while landing in Mashad, 924 km (574 miles) northwest of Tehran January 24, 2010.

Firefighters put out remnants of fire in a plane that caught fire while landing in Mashad, 924 km (574 miles) northwest of Tehran January 24, 2010.
(Reuters)

London

Total Pageviews

Popular Posts

Blog Archive