Man rescued from Haiti rubble two weeks after quake

A man has been pulled alive from the rubble in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince - two weeks after the earthquake that destroyed the city.

US troops rescued the man from the ruins of a building in the centre of the city, and he was taken to hospital.

He had been trapped under the rubble for 12 days, the US military said, and was severely dehydrated.

The rescue comes 14 days after the 7.0-magnitude quake, which killed as many as 200,000 people.

HAITI'S REMARKABLE SURVIVORS Emmannuel Buso, 21 - rescued after 10 days Marie Carida, 84 - saved after 10 days Mendji Bahina Sanon, 11 - trapped for eight days Lozama Hotteline, 25 - pulled out after seven days Elisabeth Joassaint, 15 days - buried for seven days, half her life Ena Zizi, 69 - rescued after seven days Haiti quake: Survivors' stories

Haiti has been rattled by at least 50 tremors since the original quake.

The survivor, a man in his 30s, was pulled from the ruins covered in dust and wearing only underpants.

"He was buried in the rubble for 12 days. The man had a broken leg and severe dehydration," a statement from the US military said.

Although he had been trapped by an aftershock rather than the initial earthquake, the man is the longest survivor so far under the rubble.

On Saturday, Haiti's government declared the search and rescue phase for survivors over.

It is estimated more than 130 people have been pulled alive by rescue teams in the Haitian capital since the quake.

However, many more have been rescued by ordinary Haitians, often with their bare hands.

Aid call

Earlier, Haitian President Rene Preval made an urgent appeal for more tents to house up to a million people left homeless by the tremor.

More than 130 people have been pulled alive from the ruins in Port-au-Prince

Mr Preval said 200,000 tents were needed before the expected start of the rainy season in May.

His call came as donor nations and organisations met in Montreal, Canada, to assess the aid effort.

Mr Preval, who lost his house in the quake, is planning to move into a tent on the lawn of the destroyed National Palace in the centre of the capital.

The Haitian government wants to relocate some 400,000 people, currently in makeshift camps across the capital, to temporary tent villages outside the city.

But aid workers warned that if the camps were too big they could pose security problems, including robberies, rapes and gang activities.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she "resented" criticism of American assistance to Haiti.

She pinpointed some media outlets which had "either misunderstood or deliberately misconstrued what was a civilian and military response".

German government warns against using MS Explorer

The German government has warned web users to find an alternative browser to Internet Explorer to protect security.

The warning from the Federal Office for Information Security comes after Microsoft admitted IE was the weak link in recent attacks on Google's systems.

Microsoft rejected the warning, saying that the risk to users was low and that the browsers' increased security setting would prevent any serious risk.

However, German authorities say that even this would not make IE fully safe.

Thomas Baumgaertner, a spokesman for Microsoft in Germany, said that while they were aware of the warning, they did not agree with it, saying that the attacks on Google were by "highly motivated people with a very specific agenda".

"These were not attacks against general users or consumers," said Mr Baumgaertner.

"There is no threat to the general user, consequently we do not support this warning," he added.

Microsoft says the security hole can be shut by setting the browser's security zone to "high", although this limits functionality and blocks many websites.

However, Graham Cluley of anti-virus firm Sophos, told BBC News that not only did the warning apply to 6, 7 and 8 of the browser, but the instructions on how to exploit the flaw had been posted on the internet.

"This is a vulnerability that was announced in the last couple of days. Microsoft have no patch yet and the implication is that this is the same one that exploited on the attacks on Google earlier this week," he said.

"The way to exploit this flaw has now appeared on the internet, so it is quite possible that everyone is now going to have a go."

Microsoft traditionally release a security update once a month - the next scheduled patch is the 9th of February. However, a spokesman for Microsoft told BBC News that developers for the firm were trying to fix the problem.

"We are working on an update on this issue and this may well involve an out of cycle security update," he said.

Fix development

However, this is no easy task. Not only have the firm got to fix the loophole, but they have to ensure it does not create another one and - equally importantly - works on all computers. This is a challenge compounded by the fact they have to fix three different versions of its browser.

Microsoft said that while all versions of Internet Explorer were affected, the risk was lower with more recent releases of its browser.

The other problem facing developers is that the possible risk might not be prevented by anti-virus software, even when recently updated.

"We've been working to analyse the malware that the Chinese are using. But new versions can always be created," said Mr Cluley.

"We've been working with Microsoft to see if the damage can be mitigated and we are hoping that they will release an emergency patch.

Clinton visits quake-hit Haitians

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has become the first senior Western official to arrive in Haiti after the earthquake that flattened the capital.

Mrs Clinton told the Haitian people that the US would be "here today, tomorrow and for the time ahead".

Tens of thousands of people were killed and survivors have grown desperate as they wait for aid to arrive.

The UN has meanwhile confirmed the head of its mission in Haiti has been found dead in the rubble of its headquarters.

Earlier, Chinese rescuers told the Xinhua news agency that the body of Hedi Annabi, a Tunisian, had been recovered from the building in Port-au-Prince at 1422 local time (2022 GMT) on Saturday.

In a statement issued shortly afterwards, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also confirmed the death of Mr Annabi's deputy, Luiz Carlos da Costa of Brazil, and the acting police commissioner, Doug Coates of Canada.

"Their dearest wish, I'm sure, would be that we carry forward the noble work that they and their colleagues performed so well," said Mr Ban.

Criticism 'not fair'

Mrs Clinton, who is being accompanied by US Agency for International Development (USAID) administrator Rajiv Shah, arrived on a US Coast Guard C-130 carrying aid and is to leave on another with evacuees.

After discussing the relief effort with the President Rene Preval and Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive at the airport, she told a news conference that the United States was "a friend, a partner and a supporter" of Haiti.

"We are here at the invitation of your government to help you," she told Haitians. "We will be here today, tomorrow and for the time ahead."

"Speaking personally, I know of the great resilience and strength of the Haitian people. You have been severely tested, but I believe that Haiti can come back even better and stronger in the future."

Earlier, Mrs Clinton dismissed criticism that aid was not leaving the airport and being delivered to the people who needed it, saying 14 distribution centres were being established around the capital to deliver food and water to the two million people that the US and UN estimates need emergency aid.

The US military is also beginning to use a container port in Cap Haitian, in northern Haiti, which will greatly increase the volume of aid flowing into the country. Port-au-Prince's dock remains inoperable.

Reports coming out of Port-au-Prince had earlier indicated that a crowd of about 1,000 people was involved in a violent fight over goods in one of the city's central commercial streets.

A photographer for the Reuters news agency said that a group of men armed with knives, ice-picks, and hammers fought one another over clothing, toys and any other items they could find in destroyed houses and shops.

"It's anarchy there now, total chaos, the police have gone away," Chris Barria said. "They are fighting, hitting each other, throwing stones at each other."

But the UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, John Holmes, played down the incidents of violence. He told the BBC that the security situation in Haiti was calm, minor incidents apart.

Disaster 'like no other'

Estimates of how many people died following the 7.0 magnitude earthquake on Tuesday have varied.

The Pan American Health Organization put the death toll at 50,000-100,000, while Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive said 100,000 "would seem a minimum".

He said more than 25,000 bodies had been collected and buried. Rescue workers have been racing against time to find survivors still trapped under the rubble.

On Saturday morning, a magnitude-4.5 aftershock struck close to the capital, forcing people to once again flee buildings.

Damage to the seaport, roads and other infrastructure has prevented the speedy distribution of supplies.

US authorities have taken temporary control of the airport to help distribute aid more quickly.

US President Barack Obama met two of his predecessors in the White House - George W Bush and Bill Clinton - to seek their support.

After the talks, Mr Obama said the two men would lead the US fundraising efforts through the Bush-Clinton Haiti Fund.

"America is moving forward with one of the largest relief efforts in its history," Mr Obama said, while warning that recovery would take a long time.

President Bush urged Americans to send "cash", and President Clinton said Haitians "can escape their history and built a better future if we do our part".

A spokeswoman for the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs said aid workers were dealing with a disaster "like no other" in UN memory because the country had been "decapitated".

"Government buildings have collapsed and we do not even have the support of the local infrastructure," Elisabeth Byrs said in Geneva.

Ms Byrs said the situation was even worse than the devastation wrought by the 2004 tsunami in Indonesia's Aceh province.

"It's worse than the Indonesian earthquake where at least we could get the support of some local authorities," she said.

Displaced people

The UN has launched an appeal for $562m (£346m) intended to help three million people for six months.

Satellite and close-up images of Port-au-Prince devastation

But while aid may be arriving in huge quantities but there is little of sign of a co-ordinated aid effort on the ground, correspondents say.

Many people continue to leave the city, in search of food, water and medicine.

The UN is reporting a rise in the number of people trying to cross into the neighbouring Dominican Republic, and an influx into Haiti's northern cities.

Meanwhile, details are emerging about the extent of the damage beyond Port-au-Prince.

Up to 90% of the buildings have been damaged in Leogane, a town about 19km (18 miles) to the west, the UN said.

"According to the local police, between 5,000 to 10,000 people have been killed and most bodies are still in the collapsed buildings," Ms Byrs said.

Deadly storms sweep eastern Asia Advertisement

Deadly storms sweep eastern Asia

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Waves as high as 9m have been reported on China's south-east coast

Two strong storms across the western Pacific have left scores of people dead or missing.

At least 10 people have been killed in Japan in flash floods generated by the approaching tropical storm Etau.

Meanwhile Typhoon Morakot hit mainland China on Sunday, killing at least one child and prompting almost a million people to flee from coastal areas.

It had previously hit Taiwan, killing at least 12 people and causing the worst flooding in five decades.

Taiwanese rescue teams are still searching for more than 50 people registered as missing.

Typhoons and tropical storms are frequent in the region between July and September.

Swept away

Nearly 50,000 people in western Japan have been told to leave coastal areas after warnings of rain, floods and mudslides triggered by the approaching tropical storm Etau.

Animated guide: Typhoons

Eight people have died in Hyogo prefecture, including one man whose car was swept away by a swollen river and a woman who was found dead in a gutter.

Another woman was killed in a mudslide in Okayama prefecture.

The storm may hit central Japan on Tuesday, an official at the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

Meanwhile, Typhoon Morakot dumped a record 2.5 metres (100 inches) of rain on Taiwan over the weekend, leaving at least 12 people dead, among them a group reportedly washed away from a makeshift shelter in Kaohsiung in the south.

In addition to the dead and missing, another 30 people were injured as Morakot buffeted the island with powerful winds.

In one incident, an entire hotel - empty at the time - was swept away by the waters.

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Taiwan hotel collapses after typhoon

The typhoon then went on to hit mainland China on Sunday afternoon, destroying more than 2,000 houses and causing at least one major river to burst its banks.

Chinese state media said the sky turned completely dark in Beibi, Fujian, when it made landfall.

Trees were uprooted as high winds and heavy rain lashed the coast.

Some 473,000 residents of Zhejiang province were evacuated before the storm struck, as well as 480,000 from Fujian, Xinhua news agency said.

In Zhejiang's Wenzhou City a four year-old child was killed when a house collapsed. Dozens of roads were said to be flooded and the city's airport was closed.

Rescuers used dinghies to reach the worst-hit areas; in one area only the tops of trees were said to be showing above the floodwater.

Although the storm is losing strength, violent rainstorms are expected across six eastern Chinese provinces and Taiwan over the next few hours.

Morakot has also contributed to heavy rains in the Philippines. At least 10 people were killed in flooding and landslides in the north of the country last week.

Bomb attacks in Iraq kill dozens

At least four bombs have exploded in Iraq, killing about 40 people and wounding more than 200.

Two truck bombs exploded in a Shia village near the northern city of Mosul, killing at least 23 people and injuring around 130.

Meanwhile, two bombs went off near construction sites in Baghdad, with 16 people killed and more than 80 wounded.

The attacks come a month after US troops pulled back from cities and handed over security to Iraqi soldiers.

At least 36 people were killed in a series of attacks on Shia areas on Friday.

Losing confidence

At about 0400 (0100 GMT) on Monday, truck bombs exploded nearly simultaneously in the village of Khaznah, 20km (13 miles) east of Mosul.

The blasts were so powerful that at least 30 houses in the village - home to the tiny Shia Shabak ethnic group - were completely destroyed.

Police say the death toll could still rise because many people are still buried under the rubble of their own homes.

Ethnically-mixed Mosul - Iraq's second city - is one of the last strongholds of al-Qaeda in Iraq, and still sees frequent attacks despite a decline in violence elsewhere in the country.

However, despite security gains in Baghdad, at least two bombs went off near construction sites in separate parts of the capital on Monday.

They appeared to be mainly targeting labourers who were gathering in the early morning looking for work.

One of the bombs was hidden in a pile of rubbish when it went off in the western district of Hay al-Amel, killing at least seven people and wounding 46.

Minutes later a second bomb went off in the northern area of Shurta Arbaa, killing at least nine people and wounding 35.

The Iraqi government has tried to send a positive message to Iraqis, saying they are in control and these attacks are caused by the remnants of the insurgency.

But this message is getting lost because of the violence, the BBC's Natalia Antelava in Baghdad says.

A car bomb exploded outside a mosque during a funeral service last Friday, killing 30 people.

Meanwhile in Baghdad on Friday, three bombs killed six people returning from a pilgrimage.

Congress OKs $2B refill of 'cash for clunkers'

WASHINGTON – Pedal to the metal, Congress sent President Barack Obama legislation Thursday night with an additional $2 billion for "cash for clunkers," the economy-boosting rebate program that caught the fancy of car buyers and instantly increased sales for an auto industry long mired in recession.

The Senate approved the money on a 60-37 vote after administration officials said an initial $1 billion had run out in only 10 days. The House voted last week to keep alive the program, which gives consumers up to $4,500 in federal subsidies if they trade in their cars for new, more energy-efficient models.

Without action, lawmakers risked a wave of voter discontent as they left the Capitol for a monthlong vacation.

"Cash for clunkers has been a proven success," Obama said in a written statement issued shortly after the vote. "The initial transactions are generating a more than 50 percent increase in fuel economy; they are generating $700 to $1000 in annual savings for consumers in reduced gas costs alone, and they are getting the oldest, dirtiest and most air polluting trucks and SUVs off the road for good."

Senate supporters of the program hailed its effect on the auto industry — which had its best month in nearly a year in July — as well as its claimed environmental benefits.

"The reality is this is a program that has been working. Consumers believe it's working. Small business people believe it's working. People who make steel and aluminum and advertisers ... and everyone who's involved in the larger economic impact of the auto industry believe it is working," said Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich.

The legislation had its share of critics, though, most of them Republicans.

"What we're doing is creating debt. ... The bill to pay for those cars is going to come due on our children and grandchildren," said Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H.

Officials said the program's initial $1 billion probably already has been spent, but a paperwork backlog prevented an accurate accounting. The additional $2 billion is enough to help consumers purchase a half-million more new cars, they added.

There was no suspense about the outcome in the Senate, where supporters of the legislation focused their energies on defeating all attempts at amending the measure. Passage of any changes would effectively scuttle "cash for clunkers," they said, since the House has already begun a summer vacation and is not in session to vote on revisions.

An attempt by Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, to limit the program to lower and middle-income consumers was jettisoned on a vote of 65-32. Gregg's call for Congress to offset the $2 billion with spending cuts elsewhere also failed, 51-46.

On the final vote, 51 Democrats, two independents and seven Republicans supported the bill, while 33 Republicans and four Democrats opposed it.

The Senate's debate capped an unusually swift response by lawmakers, who were informed scarcely a week ago that the program was quickly running short of money.

The government said Wednesday that more than $775 million of the original funds had been spent, accounting for the sale of nearly 185,000 new vehicles. Administration officials estimate the extra funding will last into Labor Day.

Under the program, passenger car owners are eligible for a voucher worth $3,500 if they trade in a vehicle getting 18 miles per gallon or less for a new car getting at least 22 mpg. Vouchers of $4,500 are available for owners who trade in a passenger car getting 18 mpg or less for a model that gets at least 28 mpg.

There are similar guidelines for SUVs and pickup trucks.

Dealers are barred from reselling the trade-ins and are charged with ensuring their destruction.

Jeremy Anwyl, CEO of the auto Web site Edmunds.com, said the unintended result is that vehicle prices are climbing.

"What we've created now is a shortage for key models," he said. "Prices are going up dramatically."

Hyundai Motor Co. has added a day of production at its Montgomery, Ala., factory, while Ford Motor Co. and GM are considering following suit.

Tom Stephens, vice chairman of product development at GM, said in an interview that the company has had spot shortages of compact and midsize cars, which have been popular with consumers jettisoning their clunkers. The company also reported an increase in sales of the Chevrolet HHR small sport utility.

"Consumer confidence is really what you need here," Stephens said. "It's hard for them if they don't know if they have a job or a for-sure paycheck to go out and make a major purchase, so I think this is kind of jump-starting some things."

The longer-term impact of the program is less clear.

"Once these clunker rebates expire, it is over," predicted economist Richard Yamarone of Argus Research. "Consumers are not going to keep buying cars. It is a temporary one-time gimmick, not a long-lasting tonic for the recovery."

In the program so far, GM's share of cars sold is largest, accounting for 18.7 percent of new sales. Toyota Motor Corp. followed with 17.9 percent, while Ford had 16 percent. Detroit automakers represented 45.3 percent of the total sales, while Toyota, Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co., all Japanese firms, totaled 36.5 percent.

Toyota also has the best-selling new model for traders of clunkers, the Corolla. The Ford Focus, Honda Civic, Toyota Prius and Toyota Camry are also favorites. There is one SUV on the list, the Ford Escape, which also comes in a hybrid model that can get up to 32 mpg. Six of the top-10 selling vehicles are built by foreign manufacturers, but most are built in North America.

UK hostages 'likely to be dead'

The five hostages were taken in May 2007

Two more of the British hostages held in Iraq are now thought "very likely" to be dead, the BBC has learned.

Security guards Alan McMenemy, from Glasgow, and Alec Maclachlan, from south Wales, were kidnapped in 2007 along with three other Britons.

The bodies of two of the other men were found last month with gunshot wounds.

The condition of the fifth man, Peter Moore, is not known. The Foreign Office says all efforts are being made to secure the hostages' release.

Mr Moore had been working for American management consultancy Bearingpoint in Iraq, while the other men were security contractors employed to guard him.

The group were captured at Baghdad's Ministry of Finance in May 2007 by about 40 men disguised as Iraqi policemen.

They are understood to belong to an obscure militia known as Islamic Shiite Resistance in Iraq.

There's not much we can do - we feel so helpless Edna Moore, grandmother of hostage Peter Moore

BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner said the Foreign Office told the families of Mr McMenemy and Mr Maclachlan last week that the men had most likely died while in captivity.

And he revealed the kidnappers told the British government a month ago they had two more bodies.

"At the time the hostage-takers handed over the bodies of the two other security guards - Jason Creswell and Jason Swindlehurst - they let it be known that they had two more bodies," he said.

"They have made many claims and counter-claims and that couldn't be verified immediately. The Foreign Office is now pretty certain that it's true."

Government sources had told him that the focus was now on negotiating the release of IT consultant Mr Moore.

The last proof of life sent by his kidnappers was a video handed over in March, but it is not known when the film was made or if he is still alive today.

'Only hope'

His grandmother, Edna Moore, 84, of Wigston, Leicestershire, said the family could "only hope" for Mr Moore's safe return.

"God help the other families. There's not much we can do, we feel so helpless.

"It's terrible, you try to look on the bright side and that's hammering at your brain all the time."

Rev Pauline Barnett, who knows Mr MacLachlan's family, said: "This is dreadful news. If this is true then we are devastated, it's an awful conclusion.

"We've been praying for the family and hoping there would be a good ending to this story."

The bodies of Jason Creswell and Jason Swindlehurst were found in June

The Foreign Office refused to comment on the specifics of the case, saying it did not discuss operational details.

However, a spokeswoman said: "We continue to work intensively for the release of the hostages still held in this highly complex case and are extremely concerned for their safety."

The bodies of Mr Swindlehurst, from Skelmersdale, Lancashire, and Mr Creswell, from Glasgow, were flown back to the UK last month.

News of their deaths came shortly after speculation that a deal to free all five men alive could be close.

Security experts understood there had been positive diplomatic moves behind the scenes, including the release of a prisoner whose freedom was being demanded by the hostage-takers.

But Mr Gardner said: "All the time [the kidnappers] were carrying on these discussions, cynically, they already knew they had dead bodies on their hands - two, possibly four."

Little is known about the captives because of a media blackout during a large period of their captivity.

The blackout originally came on the instruction of the hostage-takers who said they did not want publicity.

This has been Britain's longest running hostage crisis for nearly 20 years.