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Dozens dead as Syria regime pounds Homs: activists
02/08 | 09:37 GMT
DAMASCUS (AFP) - Syrian forces pressed a relentless assault on the protest city of Homs Wednesday, with dozens of civilians reported killed, hours after President Bashar al-Assad told Russia he was committed to ending the bloodshed.
DAMASCUS (AFP) - Syrian forces pressed a relentless assault on the protest city of Homs Wednesday, with dozens of civilians reported killed, hours after President Bashar al-Assad told Russia he was committed to ending the bloodshed.
The barrage of gunfire, mortars and shells came at daybreak and flattened many buildings in the flashpoint neighbourhood of Baba Amr, a stronghold of army defectors the regime is targeting for a fifth straight day.
Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the overall toll amounted to around 50 dead, including three entire families slain overnight by regime-backed thugs known as Shabiha.
"We expect the death toll to rise ... given the fact that many victims remain under the rubble," Abdel Rahman told AFP.
The most intense shelling was in Baba Amr, where at least 23 buildings were completely destroyed, including a home hit by a rocket that killed a little girl.
Related article: Assad's wife 'defends' Syria crackdown
All power and communications were cut off.
Activists in the besieged central city said the shelling of Baba Amr, Bayada, Karm el-Zeytoun, Khaldiyeh and Wadi Iran districts was a clear bid to pave the way for a ground assault.
"Since dawn the shelling has been extremely intense and they are using rockets and mortars," Omar Shaker, who was reached by satellite telephone from Beirut, told AFP.
"They have destroyed all infrastructure and bombed water tanks and electricity poles. The humanitarian situation is extremely dire and food is lacking.
"We are trying to set up a field hospital but we have no medical supplies."
The Britain-based Observatory has reported several hundred civilians killed since the onslaught on the protest hub was launched overnight Friday.
New clashes were also reported in northwestern Idlib province, leaving one person dead and four wounded.
Elsewhere, the Observatory added, 18 soldiers defected on Wednesday in the southern province of Daraa, cradle of the popular uprising against Assad's 11 years of iron-fisted rule.
Rights groups estimate more than 6,000 people have died in nearly a year of upheaval in the Middle Eastern country, as Assad's hardline regime seeks to snuff out the revolt that began in March with peaceful protests amid the Arab Spring.
Related article: 'God help us': appeal from Syria's Homs
Western and Arab efforts to end the violence have met resistance from Russia, whose foreign minister said after meeting Assad in Damascus on Tuesday that the Syrian leader was "fully committed" to ending the bloodshed.
Sergei Lavrov flew into Damascus to a hero's welcome on Tuesday, with thousands of cheering, flag-waving Assad supporters lining the route of his motorcade.
Russia, which along with China over the weekend vetoed a UN resolution condemning the government crackdown, has staunchly stood by its last ally in the region, a key buyer of Moscow's military hardware that hosts a strategic Russian naval base.
"We (Russia) confirmed our readiness to act for a rapid solution to the crisis based on the plan put forward by the Arab League," said Lavrov, adding Syria was ready to see an enlarged Arab League mission in the country, Russian news agencies reported.
"We have every reason to believe that the signal that we've brought here to move along in a more active manner along all directions has been heard," he said.
"In particular, President Assad assured (us) that he is fully committed to the task of a cessation of violence, from whatever source it comes."
The 22-member Arab League deployed an observer mission to Syria in December to oversee a plan to end the bloodshed, but it was suspended a month later amid increasing violence on the ground.
Related article: Diplomatic moves against Syria
It has since put forward a new plan for Assad to hand his powers to Vice President Faruq al-Shara and for the formation of a national unity government to oversee the preparation of democratic elections.
Lavrov said Syria was pressing ahead with the reforms Assad promised last year and would soon announce the timetable for a referendum on a new constitution to replace the current one that enshrines the dominance of his Baath party.
But US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland voiced scepticism over Assad's promises.
"You can understand that the international community as a whole would be pretty sceptical ... Instead of focusing on ending the violence, what we seem to have is a re-upping of this same offer that Assad has been making for months and months and months," she told reporters in Washington.
Meanwhile, the Lebanese army has tightened controls along the border with Syria, mainly in the north, to prevent smuggling and stop activists from using the country as a base for Assad's opponents.
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Argentina to complain to UN over Falklands
02/08 | 08:49 GMT
BUENOS AIRES (AFP) - Argentina's President Cristina Kirchner slammed Britain for its "militarization" of their conflict over the Falklands, saying she would lodge a formal complaint with the United Nations.
BUENOS AIRES (AFP) - Argentina's President Cristina Kirchner slammed Britain for its "militarization" of their conflict over the Falklands, saying she would lodge a formal complaint with the United Nations.
"We will present a complaint to the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly, as this militarization poses a grave danger to international security," Kirchner told a group of politicians and Falklands war veterans.
The two sides have ramped up the rhetoric in the run-up to the 30th anniversary of the war, which broke out on April 2, 1982, when the ruling junta in Buenos Aires invaded the disputed islands in a bid to end British rule.
Britain has held the islands, home to about 3,000 inhabitants, since 1833.
Argentine officials have been seething in recent weeks, denouncing the deployment of a British warship and the dispatch of Prince William, second in line to the throne, for a tour of duty as a helicopter pilot.
Buenos Aires has also reacted sharply to a report that Britain had moved a nuclear submarine to the region, even though British officials have not confirmed the report in the Daily Mail newspaper.
Britain "is once again in the process of militarizing the south Atlantic," Kirchner said in the speech before an audience that included diplomats and opposition leaders, a map of the islands behind her.
"We cannot interpret in any other way the deployment of an ultra-modern destroyer accompanying the heir to the throne, whom we would prefer to see in civilian attire."
She said the Falklands were no longer "the cause of only the people of Argentina, but the cause of all Latin Americans -- and a worldwide cause."
Hundreds of protesters rallied near the Casa Rosada, the government palace where Kirchner was speaking, waving Argentine flags and shouting: "Malvinas! They belong to us!" referring to the islands as they are known here.
In London, a Foreign Office spokesman told AFP: "The people of the Falkland Islands are British out of choice. They are free to determine their own future and there will be no negotiations with Argentina on sovereignty unless the islanders wish it."
Britain's UN ambassador Mark Lyall Grant wrote to the UN last week complaining that Argentina's actions on the Falklands in recent years put in doubt the South American nation's commitment to "peaceful cooperation."
Argentina has obtained the support of neighbors Brazil, Uruguay and Chile, who have all refused to welcome ships flying the Falklands flag in their ports -- a diplomatic offensive that sparked anger in London.
Lyall Grant accused Argentina of "explicitly attempting to restrict trade and threatening the people of the Falkland islands with economic isolation."
Britain's UN envoy said this was the latest in a series of actions by Argentina, including withdrawing from a joint fisheries accord, banning charter flights heading to the islands from using Argentine airspace and passing a law penalizing companies that want to do business with the Falklands.
Britain "has made a number of proposals for different types of cooperation and remains keen to foster a constructive relationship with Argentina and to promote practical cooperation in the South Atlantic," he added.
"These have been rejected."
The tensions have brought together normally feuding Argentine political sectors, with the opposition largely backing Kirchner's position.
"The Malvinas (issue) requires that we take a new look and see Argentina fighting as a whole," said Federico Pinedo, leader of the right-wing Republican Plan bloc, in a radio interview.
Pinedo later called Kirchner's speech "impeccable."
Last week, Prince William began a six-week mission with the Royal Air Force (RAF) in the Falklands, a move that has infuriated Argentina.
The 29-year-old has been sent to the archipelago as part of his duties as an RAF Sea King helicopter pilot, a deployment Britain says is routine but Argentina has slammed as a "provocation."
Both countries will soon mark the anniversary of the 74-day war which cost the lives of 649 Argentine and 255 British troops.
London retained control and has vowed to defend the islands as long as the inhabitants want to be part of Britain.
UK News
Argentina to complain to UN over ...The heroes of India's quest to wipe out polio
02/08 | 05:06 GMT
NEW DELHI (AFP) - Later this month, India will be removed from a dwindling list of countries where polio is considered endemic, a huge achievement made possible by people like Madara, a 76-year-old street hawker.
NEW DELHI (AFP) - Later this month, India will be removed from a dwindling list of countries where polio is considered endemic, a huge achievement made possible by people like Madara, a 76-year-old street hawker.
At a temporary immunisation camp in a slum in the northern district of Ghaziabad, 23 kilometres (14 miles) from New Delhi, he is busy at work shepherding boisterous children into queues.
All around, social workers break open tiny bottles containing a polio vaccine, selecting children from the thronging crowd of toddlers and babies and squirting two drops into their mouths.
Madara, a stick-thin resident from a nearby slum, says he began volunteering to help with the vaccination efforts six years ago when he realised he could use his authority as an elderly figure to encourage participation.
"I decided to get involved because I wanted to do something for the future of our children here," Madara told AFP.
Most of the youngsters, whose parents are often rag-pickers or hawkers, live in the nearby tarpaulin-covered homes, a cramped zone of shanties where sanitation and awareness about hygiene is poor.
Polio, which can be deadly and also causes deformed limbs, spreads via the fecal matter of victims, making slums particularly high-risk areas.
Lured by the offer of bright plastic whistles and paper masks, children were keen to leave their homes, forming a disorderly crowd around the vaccinators as they dispensed the drops to infants and under-fives.
India last reported a fresh polio case more than 12 months ago after monumental efforts by millions of social workers and volunteers who have administered 900 million doses of the vaccine in the last year alone.
If all pending lab tests for the virus return negative as expected, the World Health Organisation will remove India from its list of "polio endemic" countries this month, leaving just Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria in this category.
As well as polio camps like this one in Ghaziabad, teams have travelled door-to-door, educating families about the illness and delivering the vaccine.
They have put up makeshift booths in crowded public areas such as train stations, bus stands and markets, and in other locations, including construction sites where they can catch migrant workers and their children.
A "vaccination on wheels" service was rolled out across the north Indian state of Bihar in which social workers jumped on trains and vaccinated all the children onboard.
In 2008, when floods devastated the state, vaccinators were even sent out in boats.
"We had to make a very detailed, dynamic map of the area and send workers in boats to try and get across to stranded families," Lieven Desomer, head of the polio unit at UN children's agency UNICEF in India, told AFP.
As well as the problems of access, the government and international agencies behind the immunisation drive faced problems of ignorance and prejudice.
Vaccinators were attacked, anxious parents would hide their babies from social workers, and there was particular resistance from the Muslim communities in the north of the country.
"There was a general perception that the vaccine was not clean or safe because it came from the West, and that somehow, taking it would make their women and children infertile," UNICEF's Desomer said.
India's crushing summer heat also caused difficulties because vaccines have to be kept at a low temperature to prevent them expiring.
Five years ago, campaigners decided to ensure that vials were only carried in special carriers equipped with ice packs.
Desomer credited "the dogged persistence" of the Indian government for the fall in infections, and said that in 2011 alone, the state contributed 80 percent of the $264 million committed to the fight against polio.
The results of years of innovation, human endeavour, as well as planning and spending, are reflected in the number of infections.
In 2009, India accounted for half of all cases in the world, but infections plummeted to 42 in 2010 and none in the last 12 months.
"It is an amazing achievement. I sometimes feel like I have to pinch myself to make sure I am not dreaming it," Desomer said, while cautioning against premature celebrations.
"We have to remain vigilant and continue immunisations. Complacency at this stage would be a huge mistake," he said.
India will only be judged to have eradicated the disease if it stays polio-free for another two years.
Health/Medicine
The heroes of India's quest to wipe out ...Big freeze hits French Cup football fixtures
02/08 | 02:59 GMT
PARIS (AFP) - Arctic conditions throughout France have forced the country's football authorities to postpone three last-16 encounters in the French Cup.
PARIS (AFP) - Arctic conditions throughout France have forced the country's football authorities to postpone three last-16 encounters in the French Cup.
Last year's runners-up Paris Saint-Germain had their tie against Dijon - originally scheduled for Tuesday evening in Burgundy - pushed back to next Wednesday, while Marseille's trip to fourth division Bourg-Peronnas was rescheduled too.
The tie between Quevilly and Orleans - a battle between third and fourth-tier sides respectively - also fell victim to the sub-zero temperatures.
Of the games still going ahead, defending champions Lille travel to Ligue 1 rivals Valencinnes on Wednesday.
Rudi Garcia's side are third in the league but have won just one of their past four matches in the top flight.
Lille's match against Sochaux on Sunday was postponed because of snow, and Garcia believes his players will be the "fresher" of the two sides.
"We know that we will without doubt be fresher than Valenciennes, who confronted Dijon this weekend.
"We hope that it won't be too complicated because the absence of matches is going to start becoming a problem in terms of rhythm. For the moment, my players are well and they worked in good spirits at Stade Bonal."
Right-back Mathieu Debuchy insists the club's triumph last year has made them eager to repeat their success this season.
"Wednesday's match won't have the same flavour as the Championship. It's a very important Cup match for us because we have the desire to return to the Stade de France.
"The only way to achieve it is to qualify. We want to win at any cost to continue to dream. Last season, what happened was magical. It gives us the means to re-live it," said Debuchy.
Elsewhere, Lyon host Bordeaux, who are unbeaten in 2012.
Ligue 2 side Chateauroux are out to emulate Guingamp's improbable 2009 triumph, but they face a tricky encounter against Ligue 1 high-flyers Montpellier.
Third division Gazelec Ajaccio take on fourth-tier Drancy in Corsica.
Wednesday
Ajaccio GFCO v Drancy
Chateauroux v Montpellier
Lyon v Bordeaux
Valenciennes v Lille
Wednesday, February 15
Dijon v Paris-Saint Germain
Bourg-Peronnas v Marseille
Tuesday, February 21
Quevilly v Orleans
