(00:13) al-Jazeera’s special team in Haiti reports that donations for the victims flooded into the capital of Port-Au-Prince on Thursday, in the aftermath of the devestating earthquake. He added that most people are living in the street or protecting their (1m), and that the bodies of the deceased have begun to decompose. In this regard, the Red Cross in Haiti has reported that it expects the number of victims from the earthquake to reach 50,000.
(00:40) The People’s Movement to Liberate Sudan nominated the Deputy Secretary of the movement, Yasrah ‘Uman, for the presidential elections that have been set for this coming April. Likewise, the movement nominated it’s President, Sethakir Iyardat, the current Deputy for ‘Umar al-Bashir, for the presidency of southern Sudan, which is the position that he currently holds.
(01:01) A (human) rights organization that 138 people were killed and 344 others injured during clashes in Somalia over the past two weeks.
(01:15) A European Parliament delegation of 50 members representing 12 countries is headed from Cairo to the Rafah border crossing to enter the Gaza strip in the framework of the popular campaign in Europe to raise the blockade on Gaza and express (their) solidarity with the Palestinian people.
(01:35) Various areas around the world will see a partial solar eclipse, said by scientists to be the longest (such) eclipse in 3,000 years. Many people have gathered in Western and Eastern Africa, the Middle East, and different countries in Asia to witness this phenomonan, where the moon comes in front of the sun without completely covering it from view.
(01:57) Russia has said that it has clashes with what it describes as an Islamic revolution in neighboring Georgia, has led to strikes launched against Shishan and neighboring areas.
(00:12) The American Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, expects the number of victims from the earthquake in Haiti will be extremely high, similar to the aftermath of the tsunami that struck the Indian Ocean in 2004, killing 230,000 people. Clinton’s statements came a few hours after the Haitian President expressed his fear that the number killed in the earthquake that struck his country could be in the hundreds of thousands.
(00:41) Qatar has announced that it’s sending humanitarian aid to Haiti. An airplane took off from Doha International Airport transporting medicine, medical and first-aid supplies, as well as food supplies.
(00:53) The Afghan Police said that 15 civilians and a police officer were killed by an explosion in an overcrowded market in the Rosghan region, south of Kabul.
(01:07) An al-Jazeera correspondent in Islamabad relates from a military source that 18 people were killed and 14 others injured by UAV drone strike on a gathering in Waziristan believed to have been carried out by American (forces). It is not clear yet whether or not the Taliban leader in Pakistan, Hakim Allah Mahsud, was killed or injured in (the strike), or if he escaped the area before the attack.
(01:35) Thousands of Iranians participated in the funeral of the nuclear scientist, Mas’ud ‘Ali al-Muhammadi, who was assassinated last Tuesday by a bomb hidden in a motorcycle near his residence in northern Tehran.
(01:51) Religious scholars in Yemen have established a call to jihad in the event the country is subjected to what they describe as an aggressor or invasion. They announced their rejection of any security or military interference (in Yemen), as well as the establishment of any (foreign) bases on Yemeni soil or it’s regional waters.
(00:15) An earthquake with a strength of 7.0 on the Richter scale struck the Haitian peninsula in the Caribbean Sea has led to the destruction of vast areas and many buildings. It’s been reported that there could be up to thousands killed (still) under the rubble of the collapsed buildings. Already, governments from countries around the world have announced (their intent) to deliver hasty support to supply to the victims of (this disaster).
(00:39) An al-Jazeera correspondent in Yemen reports from the Shabwa province that a (person) named ‘Abdullah Mahdhar, leader of an al-Qa’ida cell in the area of al-Hawta, was killed in clashes with Yemeni security forces in the southern Shabwa province.
(00:53) Riyadh announced officially that the President of Syria, Bashar al-Asad, will visit the Kingdom (of Saudi Arabia) today, and will take part in talks with the Saudi family, and the King ‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Abd-al-‘Aziz. The discussions between the two sides will revolve around bilateral relations in addition to regional and national issues.
(01:11) Danny Ayalon, Israel’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, apologized for his conduct with the Turkish Ambassador. He said that the foreign embassies were not amongst his opponents. The Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, had criticized the statements of the Israeli Foreign Ministry as disgracing Turkey in the latest (1m), and Israel promised that it would respond appropriately.
(01:36) In Beirut, the seventh annual conference of the International al-Quds Foundation began with the participation of associations of scientists, intellectuals, and politics. The conference will be discussing issues and developments in al-Quds(Jurusalem) and a number of steps to preserve it’s Arabic and Islamic character.
(01:53) The International Security Assistance Force, or ISAF, in Afghanistan said that two American soldiers were killed this morning in an IED detonation in the southern part of the country. Meanwhile, the United Nations said that this past year was the deadliest for civilians since 2001.
A damaging earthquake struck Haiti and has led to wide-spread devastation, amidst fears that thousands have been killed or injured. The news released so far from Haiti indicates that the center of the capital, Port au Prince, was heavily damaged, whereupon buildings have completely collapsed or been extremely damaged. Amongst them are the Presidential palace, the Headquarters of the United Nations’ peacekeeping delegation, as well as hotels and government buildings.
Eyewitnesses reported that there was chaos in the aftermath of the earthquake, which registered a strength of 7.3 on the Richter scale. The ground and wireless telephone communication lines were cut off which has hindered the rescue operations, and scientists have said that the massive damage from the earthquake will the worst near it’s epicenter.
The Haitian Ambassador to Mexico announced that the Haitian president, Rene Preval, “Is alive,” immediately after the big earthquake which damaged the presidential palace.
A spokesperson for the American State Department, Philip Crowley the the American diplomats in Port Au Prince, “Saw a lot of bodies in the streets and on sidewalks,” adding that there were many dead under the rubble (as well). Crowley indicated that the United States has begun organizing it’s airborne aid to send to Haiti.
One of the residents who who witnessed the terror while forced to walk a number of kilometers back to his home said that, “The center of Port Au Prince is already destroyed, it is a true disaster.” A humanitarian aid worker described the situation in Port Au Prince as, “Utter chaos,” and expressed his fears that, “Thousands were killed,” according to what an official said in the American Non-Governmental Organization, “Catholic Relief Services.”
From it’s side, an official from the United Nations announced that a large number of the international organization’s workers were missing as a result of the large damage to the (United Nation)’s Headquarters.
The American Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, announced her country’s readiness to provide aid to the Haitian people in the face of this human catastrophe.
As such, The American administration will send a team to deal with the disaster, including search dogs and tons of rescue supplies, whereas France said that two of it’s planes will be on route to Haiti today with rescue workers and humanitarian relief supplies. Venezuela has already said that is preparing to send military cargo helicopters with food supplies, medicine, and quantities of drinking water.
From it’s side, the Inter-American Development Bank announced that it was going to deliver emergency supplies to Haiti worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The Capital
News reports say that thousands of victim’s corpses are buried under piles of debris, and panic prevails amongst the residents that have taken to the streets as thousands have gathered there. There is darkness in the Haitian capital in which around two million people reside.
Journalists from the France Press news agency indicated that shaking lasted for more than a minute and was so strong you could feel it while riding in a car, while residents vacated their homes for fear of more quakes.
In Washington, the Haitian Ambassador to the United States, Ramon Joseph, announced the earth quake that struck Haiti Tuesday has caused “great destruction.” After talking to the Haitian Foreign Ministry he told the American television station, CNN, “I believe that it is truly a huge catastrophe.”
Threat of Tsunami
The American President, Barack Obama, already announced that he is following the situation in Haiti and assured that his country is ready to provide aid supplies immediately. Obama said in a press release, “Our thoughts and prayers go out to those struck by this earthquake,” adding, “We are following the situation from nearby and are ready to provide aid to the Haitian populace.”
Efforts have already begun to coordinate aid to Haiti by the American State Department, USAID, and SOUTHCOM. Residents of the capital of Haiti rush to save a victim.
The former American President Bill Clinton issued a press release expressing his worry for, and solidarity with the Haitian people, and emphasized the obligation of the United States to aid Haiti in rescue and rebuilding operations.
The American administration announced the dispatch of the first team of rescuers to Haiti who will work to search the rubble for signs of life.
The team consists of 72 people, six search dogs, and they are transporting with them around 48 tons of rescue equipment according to what was released in a report from the American Agency for Aid and Development aka “USAID.”
The report clarified that experts in natural disasters are going to monitor the rescuers to help them evaluate the situation in the Haitian capital that has around two million inhabitants.
The Tsunami center for the Pacific Ocean on Tuesday that the Dominican Republic, Cuba, and the Bahamas were amongst the countries included in the warning (of a Tsunami).
The center added that,”The threat of a wide-spread damaging tsunami is non-existent based off historical records dealing with earthquakes and tsunami waves.” The earthquake resulted in a state of panic and chaos.
Despite that it added, “However, there is still the possiblity of a local tsunami incidents that could affect no more than around 100 kilometers of coastline near the epicenter of the earthquake.”
Two aftershocks occurred that registered 5.9 and 5.5 on the Richter scale minutes after the (original) earthquake.
Reports indicate that the epicenter of the earthquake was at a distance of around 22 kilometers west of Port Au Prince, according to the American Geological Survey.
It’s been noted that Haiti is the poorest nation in the western hemisphere.
nothing further to report 