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&cat=19&pid=15661&cache=true " alt="Michelle Obama makes Haiti trip" class="alignleft" />
The First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, is making an unannounced visit to Haiti. It is her first official trip overseas without US President Barack Obama since he took office last year. She is expected to spend several hours in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince, visiting projects set up in the wake of devastating earthquake in January. Mrs Obama will then fly on to Mexico for a previously announced visit due to last three days. This article is from the BBC News website . © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
April 13, 2010 | Posted in
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&cat=19&pid=15543&cache=true " alt="People ‘happy with body scanners’" class="alignleft" />
Nine out of 10 British people are happy to use full-body scanners being rolled out at UK airports, a survey suggests. The poll of 10,000 people, including 977 Britons, by IT firm Unisys, found acceptance of the scanners was highest in the UK out of the 11 countries. One in three surveyed in Germany and Belgium objected, and only 45% in Hong Kong and 24% in Mexico were in favour. There has been some criticism of the scanners over privacy, as they produce body-length “unclothed” images. The survey also found 91% of the Britons asked would be happy to provide biometric data – such as iris scans and fingerprints – to identify them at airports. Vice-president of global security solutions at Unisys Neil Fisher said: “With airport operator BAA also reporting positive responses to the full-body scanners, it appears that the early controversy surrounding the technology has died down and people are taking a pragmatic approach to their safety. “The question is has the country done enough to subvert another terrorist plot? “What we have done so far is react to threats as they occur, rather than take an holistic view of the threat.” The survey involved people from Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Germany, Hong Kong, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, the UK and the US. This article is from the BBC News website . © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
April 13, 2010 | Posted in
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&cat=19&pid=15430&cache=true " alt="Mexico drug cartels ‘close ranks’" class="alignleft" />
Mexico’s authorities say that two of the country’s most powerful drugs cartels have overcome their rivalry to form an alliance against a third. Ramon Pequeno, head of the Mexican anti-narcotics police, said the Gulf and La Familia cartels were now fighting a group called the Zetas. They are fighting over a lucrative drug transit point on the US border. The Zetas began as hitmen for the Gulf cartel in the 1990s but recently pushed for their own share of the drugs trade. Believed to have emerged from among Mexican army deserters, they are notorious for their readiness to behead victims. Their criminal activities are believed to include drug-trafficking, extortion, migrant-smuggling and kidnapping. Nearly 18,000 people have been killed in drugs-related violence in Mexico since 2006. Some 40,000 soldiers have been sent to border regions to fight the cartels. ‘War on everybody’ The shift in allegiances is apparently fuelling drug-related violence along Mexico’s border with Texas. Intelligence reports indicated the Gulf cartel had recruited La Familia to crush the Zetas in the border state of Tamaulipas, said Mr Pequeno. An official with the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) said a third cartel, the Sinaloa, had also joined the alliance against the Zetas. “It’s an issue of a common enemy,” Will Glaspy, head of the DEA office in the border town of McAllen, told the Associated Press news agency. Banners began appearing in Tamaulipas earlier this year announcing the campaign by “the cartels of Mexico united against the Zetas”. One banner even urged President Felipe Calderon to withdraw the army and let the new alliance exterminate the Zetas, AP notes. Another which was hung from bridges read: “The Gulf Cartel separates itself from the Z [ie the Zetas] in our ranks. We don’t want kidnappers, terrorists, bank robbers, rapists, child killers and traitors.” Videos and e-mails were sent around warning families to stay at home, saying the conflict would get worse. Mr Pequeno said that La Familia, whose stronghold is in the Pacific coast state of Michoacan, had sent a large number of gunmen across the country to Tamaulipas to help the Gulf cartel wipe out Los Zetas. “The Zetas have been trying to wage war on everybody for a while,” Mr Glaspy added. “It’s been well documented that the Gulf cartel has formed alliances with the Sinaloa cartel and [La Familia] to wage war against the Zetas.” This article is from the BBC News website . © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
April 12, 2010 | Posted in
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&cat=19&pid=14590&cache=true " alt="Climate ‘more urgent than ever’" class="alignleft" />
The need for a new global climate deal is “greater than ever”, according to developing country delegates speaking at the opening of UN climate talks. Blocs representing the poorest nations called for intensive talks during the year, leading to agreement on a legally binding treaty in December. The EU backed the call, re-stating that the conclusion of December’s Copenhagen summit had not met its ambitions. But other industrialised countries do not appear so keen for a new treaty. The three-day meeting here in Bonn is the first since the Copenhagen summit concluded without the global treaty that many countries had aimed for, instead producing a political declaration known as the Copenhagen Accord. The US and other rich countries see it as a positive development, but others decry it as a figleaf that detracts attention from the real issues. Describing Copenhagen as “a total failure”, Venezuela’s delegation chief Claudia Salerno said the accord would not reduce emissions enough to prevent significant climate impacts on poorer countries. “My country raised its voice against the misnomer ‘Copenhagen Accord’ because… it contains proposals for voluntary reductions in carbon emissions that according to scientists would lead to increases in temperature of about 5C (9F),” she said. “So nobody should be congratulating themselves on that. The urgency we face now is even greater than 2009.” Not all analyses of the Copenhagen Accord’s pledges on curbing carbon emissions produce such high estimates for temperature rise, but many of those pledges are far from precise. Lessons of history The US – which did not speak during the opening session here – has been the accord’s principal champion, saying it “achieves a number of landmark outcomes”. Its written submission to the UN climate convention (UNFCCC) backs “further formalisation of the accord” at this year’s summit in Mexico, and says that “it will be difficult to find consensus around alternative proposals that depart from the accord understandings”. These statements have raised the hackles of developing countries, which interpret them as meaning that the US now sees the accord as the central global agreement and is not prepared to engage in anything that goes much beyond it. “As a well-known politician once said, the one thing we learn from history is that we never learn from history,” said Tosi Mpanu Mpanu from the Democratic Republic of Congo, speaking for the Africa Group of nations. “The Africa Group believes that if we are to avoid a repetition of Copenahgen and repair this damaged process, then we must learn from Copenhagen.” And one of the lessons to learn, he continued, was that breaking away from formal inclusive negotiations and instead focusing on “a secret text put together by a selected few fundamentally broke the trust that is necessary for any partnership that aspires to be succesful and enduring”. Fernando Tudela, the Mexican delegate whose government will host this year’s summit, referred to the need for “an authentic process of multilateral negotiations”, with many others echoing his call. Time and money How and when these negotiations can happen, though, is another matter. Developing country blocs called for at least three extra meetings this year – and perhaps as many as five – in addition to the regular fortnight in Bonn scheduled for June. Staging all the extra meetings between the 2007 Bali summit and Copenhagen cost more than $30m (
April 9, 2010 | Posted in
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&cat=7&pid=14593&cache=true">
&cat=19&pid=14593&cache=true " alt="Climate ‘more urgent than ever’" class="alignleft" />
The need for a new global climate deal is “greater than ever”, according to developing country delegates speaking at the opening of UN climate talks. Blocs representing the poorest nations called for intensive talks during the year, leading to agreement on a legally binding treaty in December. The EU backed the call, re-stating that the conclusion of December’s Copenhagen summit had not met its ambitions. But other industrialised countries do not appear so keen for a new treaty. The three-day meeting here in Bonn is the first since the Copenhagen summit concluded without the global treaty that many countries had aimed for, instead producing a political declaration known as the Copenhagen Accord. The US and other rich countries see it as a positive development, but others decry it as a figleaf that detracts attention from the real issues. Describing Copenhagen as “a total failure”, Venezuela’s delegation chief Claudia Salerno said the accord would not reduce emissions enough to prevent significant climate impacts on poorer countries. “My country raised its voice against the misnomer ‘Copenhagen Accord’ because… it contains proposals for voluntary reductions in carbon emissions that according to scientists would lead to increases in temperature of about 5C (9F),” she said. “So nobody should be congratulating themselves on that. The urgency we face now is even greater than 2009.” Not all analyses of the Copenhagen Accord’s pledges on curbing carbon emissions produce such high estimates for temperature rise, but many of those pledges are far from precise. Lessons of history The US – which did not speak during the opening session here – has been the accord’s principal champion, saying it “achieves a number of landmark outcomes”. Its written submission to the UN climate convention (UNFCCC) backs “further formalisation of the accord” at this year’s summit in Mexico, and says that “it will be difficult to find consensus around alternative proposals that depart from the accord understandings”. These statements have raised the hackles of developing countries, which interpret them as meaning that the US now sees the accord as the central global agreement and is not prepared to engage in anything that goes much beyond it. “As a well-known politician once said, the one thing we learn from history is that we never learn from history,” said Tosi Mpanu Mpanu from the Democratic Republic of Congo, speaking for the Africa Group of nations. “The Africa Group believes that if we are to avoid a repetition of Copenahgen and repair this damaged process, then we must learn from Copenhagen.” And one of the lessons to learn, he continued, was that breaking away from formal inclusive negotiations and instead focusing on “a secret text put together by a selected few fundamentally broke the trust that is necessary for any partnership that aspires to be succesful and enduring”. Fernando Tudela, the Mexican delegate whose government will host this year’s summit, referred to the need for “an authentic process of multilateral negotiations”, with many others echoing his call. Time and money How and when these negotiations can happen, though, is another matter. Developing country blocs called for at least three extra meetings this year – and perhaps as many as five – in addition to the regular fortnight in Bonn scheduled for June. Staging all the extra meetings between the 2007 Bali summit and Copenhagen cost more than $30m (
April 9, 2010 | Posted in
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&cat=19&pid=14318&cache=true " alt="Man Utd to sign striker Hernandez" class="alignleft" />
Manchester United have agreed a deal to sign striker Javier Hernandez from Mexican side Chivas de Guadalajara for an undisclosed fee. The deal for the 21-year-old, who has scored four goals in four senior international appearances for Mexico, is subject to a work permit. Personal terms have been agreed and Hernandez passed a medical this week. Manager Sir Alex Ferguson said: “I am delighted to have reached a deal to sign such an exciting young striker.” He added: “He has been in prolific form for both his club and his country. He will be a great addition to our squad and we look forward to welcoming our first Mexican player in the summer.” Should Hernandez be granted a work permit, the application for which will be submitted by the club shortly, he will become a United player on 1 July, 2010. As part of the deal, United have agreed to play a match to open the new 45,000 capacity Chivas Stadium in Guadalajara as part of its 2010-11 season preparations. “We are equally excited to play our first game in Mexico, opening the magnificent new Chivas Stadium in July,” added Ferguson. This article is from the BBC News website . © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
April 8, 2010 | Posted in
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&cat=19&pid=14226&cache=true " alt="Mexico drug boss interview furore" class="alignleft" />
A Mexican magazine that published an interview with a Sinaloa drug cartel leader says its distribution in the area has been hampered by intimidation. A spokeswoman said almost all the copies of Proceso aimed for Sinaloa were bought up by two unidentified men. The interview with Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada has sparked major controversy. Proceso, one of Mexico’s top news magazines, said the mass buy-up may have been to prevent the people of Sinaloa from getting hold of copies. It said the action may have been linked to an accompanying article linking the drugs baron with a local politician in the north-western region. ‘Political links’ Margarita Carreon, head of sales for Proceso, said the magazine’s local distributor was on Sunday approached by two men who bought more than 1,700 copies that had yet to be passed on to retailers. She told the BBC that she believed the main reason for the intimidation was not the interview with Mr Zambada itself, but an accompanying article that linked the drugs baron with a local politician. The interview with Mr Zambada came as a surprise in Mexico, since drug barons on the run have rarely offered such access to the media. In the interview, Mr Zambada spoke of his fear of being caught by the authorities and criticized the government’s strategy for dealing with drug violence, which has killed more than 18,000 people since 2006. Mr Zambada also said he often speaks on the phone with the top leader of his cartel and Mexico’s most wanted man, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman. Scoop or scandal? The interview was conducted by the veteran Mexican journalist, Julio Scherer Garcia. It was carried out at an undisclosed location and Mr Scherer Garcia has been criticized by some for offering Mr Zambada a free platform to speak. Others consider the scoop one of Mexico’s top journalistic achievements of recent times. In any case, many think that the apparent intimidation in Sinaloa is a stark reminder of the pressure on journalists in areas most affected by drugs violence. What the debate about the interview seems to confirm above all is that Mexico, including the media, is still learning how to come to terms with its major problem with drug cartels. This article is from the BBC News website . © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
April 7, 2010 | Posted in
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&cat=19&pid=13988&cache=true " alt="US ‘order to kill’ Yemen cleric" class="alignleft" />
The US government has authorised operations to capture or kill the radical Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, currently based in Yemen, reports say. The cleric, who is a US citizen, is being targeted for his involvement in planning attacks on the US, officials told journalists. Mr Awlaki was linked to the attempted bombing of an airliner bound for the US and a shooting on a US Army base. The US has warned Yemen is becoming a safe haven for al-Qaeda. The order was made by the Obama administration earlier this year, but it has just been revealed after a review of national security policy, the New York Times reported. Further approval “The danger Awlaki poses to this country is no longer confined to words, he’s gotten involved in plots,” unnamed officials told the newspaper. Unnamed officials quoted by the Reuters news agency confirmed the story, saying that Mr Awlaki had been placed on a “US target list” of people it had authorised to kill or capture. The list, maintained by the CIA, is thought to be of people the US government believes are planning terrorist attacks against the US. Because Mr Awlaki is an American citizen, his addition had to be approved by the US National Security Council, the paper reported. “Awlaki knows what he’s done, and he knows he won’t be met with handshakes and flowers. None of this should surprise anyone,” the New York Times quoted the official as saying. Failed state Mr Awlaki was born in New Mexico, but is currently based in Yemen. The Yemeni government, with support from the US and Saudi Arabia, has bombed suspected al-Qaeda hideouts in the last few months. But some analysts have warned that Yemen may become a failed state because of the fragile hold the Yemeni government has on its own country. Mr Awlaki was linked to an attack by a US Army major on the Fort Hood base last November, in which 13 people died. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian man accused of trying to blow up a plane on its way into Detroit airport on Christmas Day 2009, allegedly met Mr Awlaki in Yemen weeks before boarding a US-bound plane in Lagos. The cleric became popular among Islamic radicals for his firebrand preaching in English which endorsed the use of violence as a religious duty. He lived and studied in the US where he was an imam in San Diego, where his sermons were attended by two of the 9/11 hijackers. He fled the US in 2007 and went to Yemen. This article is from the BBC News website . © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
April 7, 2010 | Posted in
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&cat=19&pid=12635&cache=true " alt="Men hurt as Elton stage collapses" class="alignleft" />
Three workers were injured when part of the stage for a concert by Sir Elton John at the Chichen Itza ruins in Mexico collapsed during construction. The British singer was not present at the time of the accident on Wednesday night, which left two men with slight injuries and a third with a broken leg. Authorities said the Mayan ruins had not been damaged and that Saturday’s concert would go ahead as scheduled. The accident happened when lighting rails fell onto the stage area. Outside experts have been called in to inspect the structure, a spokesman for Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History said. The incident is not the first to involve a collapsing stage at a musical event. Last July two people were killed in France when the roof of a stage being built for a Madonna concert in Marseille fell in. Another man was killed near Edmonton in August when the stage at an open-air country music festival in Canada collapsed in high winds. Sir Elton was in London this week to mark the fifth anniversary of West End musical Billy Elliot, whose music he composed. After Saturday’s concert in southern Mexico, the 63-year-old travels to the US for 10 additional dates. This article is from the BBC News website . © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
April 2, 2010 | Posted in
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&cat=19&pid=11713&cache=true " alt="Sven who?" class="alignleft" />
Sven-Goran Eriksson may be a celebrity figure in England after leading the national side to two quarter-finals in the last two World Cups but he is something of an unknown quantity in Ivory Coast, where he has just been appointed national coach. Ivorian newspapers on Monday rushed to publish accounts of Eriksson’s career. Ivorians tend to follow European clubs featuring their own players, especially Chelsea (Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou), Arsenal (Emmanuel Eboue) and Barcelona (Yaya Toure). They did not really pay much attention to his mediocre season at Manchester City, or his previous success at Lazio in Italy. “I can’t say I know too much about him”, said one fan Jean-Paul, while another, Guy Borgon could only say that he had “seen him once on television coaching England”. Among workers queuing up for a shared taxi in Abidjan’s administrative district, there was a noticeable lack of enthusiasm about the new coach. “I’ve never seen the man. I don’t even know where he comes from! I don’t know where the federation find these odd people,” said Joel. “They never ask our opinion on these things. Let them do what they want, we’ll just watch,” he said. ‘Psychological problem’ Eriksson, a Swede who arrives in Ivory Coast after leading Mexico to the World Cup finals, replaces Vahid Halilhodzic, who only lost one competitive match in two years – the one that cost him his job, against Algeria in the quarter-finals of the African Cup of Nations in January. “I don’t know why we got rid of the last coach,” said Martial Achi Gore, waiting for a taxi for the Treichville district. “The guy did his work. Our problem isn’t the coach, it’s a psychological problem. The players need to show more commitment. It’s down to the players.” Halilhodzic used to complain that he had “great players but not a great team”. The country’s European-based stars rarely live up to their potential, when playing together. Eriksson’s job will be to correct that. Hoping for a miracle At the department of English at the University of Cocody, Abidjan’s once prestigious university, there is further evidence that supporters’ morale is at rock-bottom, even though Ivory Coast boasts some of Africa’s best players going into the first World Cup finals being played on the continent. “Bluntly speaking, I expect nothing from this new coach because we just don’t have any time. Serious teams have started working since their qualification day but we are going like a snail,” said student Jean-Rene Trahie Bi. “Even if he has the abilities to do it, I expect nothing, unless there’s a miracle from God…Sven has to construct a new team for us and I think he no time, so can achieve nothing.” On the other side of town in the plush medical centre run by Dr Mohamed Lakiss – one of the Elephants’ most dedicated supporters – optimism is stronger. “I think it’s a good choice and he’s proven himself with England and several other teams. He needs to bring my cohesion to the team. I think we could even get to the semi-finals if the players give their all.” In general though, most Ivorians are disappointed that the fans’ choice, Philippe Troussier, didn’t get the job. The French-Ivorian coach, currently based in Japan, won the Ivorian national league for three successive years as coach of Asec Mimosas, and has since coached Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Burkina Faso and South Africa. Eriksson by contrast has never coached in Africa and last week said that he suspected his lack of French would lead the Ivorian federation to select someone else. ‘Proven’ The Ivorian football federation said it would been looking for a coach who had obtained “strong performances at the World Cup, a reputation as a skilled coach at the highest levels” and who corresponded to the “economic aspects”. On the latter point, officials have yet to reveal how much Eriksson will be paid for his three months’ work, but the previous favourite for the post, Guus Hiddink, is considered locally to have been ruled out due to cost. Speaking on Ivorian state television, Alex Souleymane Bamba, advisor to the head of the Ivorian FA said Eriksson “was a proven and trophy-winning technician.” His objective, said Bamba, was to achieve “an honourable participation” at the World Cup finals in June, which he admitted “will be difficult”. If Eriksson repeats his feat of getting to the World Cup quarter-finals, he would quickly be hailed a legend in Ivory Coast. In the Elephants’ first World Cup finals four years ago they drew a tough group; Holland, Argentina and Serbia and Montenegro, and managed to give a good account of themselves. This time, they have again been unfortunate – drawn in a group with Brazil, Portugal and North Korea. Brazil and Portugal will be familiar opponents to Eriksson – but not necessarily welcome ones. They were the teams which ended England’s World Cup dreams in 2002 and 2006 respectively. This article is from the BBC News website . © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
March 30, 2010 | Posted in
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