the world most competitive economy by but never achieved its aims as
governments were under no obligation to conform
spain will launch the initiative at an summit in brussels on february which
will focus on ways to revive sluggish growth
rugbyu celtic league result
london jan afp
celtic league result on saturday
edinburgh cardiff
sunday
munster scarlets postponed crowd safety
friday
postponed frozen pitch
connacht dragons
leinster glasgow
ulster ospreys
football spanish league results st update
madrid jan afp
spanish league results on saturday
valladolid atletico madrid jurado forlan reyes aguero
sevilla romaric racing santander canales
playing later
villarreal almeria gmt
sunday all gmt unless stated
sporting gijon getafe xerez valencia espanyol real zaragoza deportivo
la coruna osasuna malaga athletic bilbao real madrid real mallorca
gmt tenerife barcelona gmt
nhl devils lightning have an abbreviated sunday date
newark new jersey jan afp
the new jersey devils and tampa bay lightning will play the final minutes and
seconds of friday suspended game on sunday at the prudential center arena
friday game between the two national hockey league clubs was suspended in the
second period because of lighting problem
the players and fans waited one hour and minutes before the nhl officials
sent the players and fans home
tampa led with remaining in the middle period when band of lights
dimmed putting the players in the dark
new jersey general manager lou lamoriello said broken circuit breaker at the
three year old arena caused the problem
the devils say they are honoring all tickets from friday contest
afp world news agenda
hong kong jan afp
what coming up around the world
african nations cup kicks off despite togo team tragedy
croatia holds presidential run off vote
verdict in trial of uae president brother
luanda start of the african nations cup tournament in angola two days after
deadly attack on the togo football squad kick off is at gmt violence
angola togo fbl afr
zagreb croatians vote in run off presidential election the winner is expected
to lead the country into the european union polls open at gmt croatia
vote
abu dhabi emirati court gives its verdict in the trial of the uae president
brother charged with torturing an afghan uae rights torture
berlin winter keeps its grip on europe with more snow and sub freezing
temperatures europe weather
islamabad following up after fresh us missile strike kills four militants in
region of northwest pakistan known as stronghold of taliban and al qaeda
linked militants pakistan unrest
rosarno italy developments in southern italy where authorities sent in extra
police and evacuated migrants after residents violently attacked african farm
workers protesting against their conditions italy immigration labour violence
washington admiral michael mullen chairman of the joint chiefs of staff is
interviewed on cnn fareed zakaria gps us politics military
bomb explodes outside greek parliament
athens jan afp
an explosive device went off outside the greek parliament in athens on saturday
prompting prime minister george papandreou to condemn the attack and vow that
democracy will not be terrorised
no one was injured in the blast and no damage was immediately reported police
said
this highly symbolic place for greeks is not guarded and will not be said
citizen protection minister michalis chryssohoidis
we will not put athens under police regime this is free and open city
chryssohoidis said he was convinced that the perpetrators of the attack would be
arrested and brought to justice quickly
following the unprecedented attack on the parliament building papandreou met
with close aides at his office there
democracy will not be terrorised he said on arrival
the explosion around pm gmt was preceded by telephone call to the
eleftherotypia newspaper warning of the blast
police evacuated the area around the site where passers by normally stroll close
to the tomb of the unknown soldier guarded by the presidential evzones guards
the changing of the guard famous for its unique kilt like uniform is very
popular with tourists visiting the greek capital
the explosive went off minutes after the phone call little less than the
time given by the anonymous caller
the device which was fitted with timer was hidden in garbage bin few
metres yards from an evzones sentry box
anti terrorism officers were investigating the attack the first to target the
centre of greek democracy which police blamed on extreme left militants or
anarchists
greece has been rocked by string of attacks against economic interests and
offices of politicians since youth was killed by police officer in december
in the last such attack which caused extensive damage to greece largest
insurance company ethniki asfalistiki was hit in athens on december
it was claimed by the anarchist group conspiracy of the cells of fire which is
seen as responsible for dozens of such attacks against offices and homes of
political leaders
in september last year police found hide out of the group in an athens suburb
and arrested six suspects
another group revolutionary struggle ea has been active for the last six
years and is blacklisted by the european union as terrorist organisation
ea claimed an attack on the athens stock exchange in september which caused no
injuries
europeans stock up as no end to cold snap forecast
berlin jan afp
europe endured weekend weather misery with scores of flights cancelled and key
highways cut off saturday as snow blanketed much of the continent and officials
urged people to stock up on supplies
germans were warned to buy enough food and medicines to last for up to four days
in the face of blizzard and then hunker down at home avoiding all non
essential travel
all of germany is white said tania dressel of the german weather services
as much as centimetres inches of snow has fallen in northern and central
germany with more snow forecast for sunday throughout the country
the frigid temperatures claimed more lives on saturday
year old homeless man was found frozen to death in the northwestern french
province of normandy authorities said
and the latest victim of the coldest weather in britain for years was
year old woman who died after being found lying in the snow in newcastle
northeast england police said
what is causing the weather havoc in europe according to meteorologist michel
daloz with meteo france is rare combination of factors depression over
northern italy bringing relatively warm humid air from the mediterranean north
where it has met cold air coming from the north and east
air traffic around the continent faced major disruptions more than flights
were cancelled at frankfurt europe third largest airport spokesman juergen
harrer said with scores more delayed
about third of flights were delayed at paris charles de gaulle airport before
air traffic returned to normal later on saturday
but in the eastern city of lyon about people were stranded at the airport
after several flights were cancelled airport officials said
london heathrow airport cancelled short haul flights and heavy snow led to
dublin airport closing for four hours with more than flights either
cancelled or delayed
traffic was backed up on major links like the highway between germany and
france where police blocked off the border road to trucks for several hours due
to heavy snow german traffic police said
in france significant snowfalls caused major delays to train services and
firefighters in northwest eure region had to rescue overnight some motorists
stranded on blocked roadways officials said
the eurostar rail link between britain and continental europe said it was
operating two thirds of its trains
in london the serpentine outdoor swimming lake in hyde park was closed for the
first time in about years amid icy conditions
the conditions knocked out weekend sports games seven english premier league
football matches were called off and five out of the six premiership rugby union
fixtures were also cancelled
in the czech republic six workers in the central town of chrast escaped unhurt
when factory roof collapsed under the weight of snow lying on it
major highway linking prague with the western city of plzen was blocked for
several hours on saturday after accidents
power outages were reported in poland where about households were without
electricity in the southern region of kielce and katowice after power lines
snapped when snow laden branches of trees fell on them
in italy heavy winds and rain toppled trees in the centre of the country and
around rome leaving some people without electricity civil protection
officials said
still for some the winter freeze led to call for fun and games
in the netherlands thousands donned their ice skates after the skating
federation knsb gave the green light for impromptu events on three lakes around
the country
bomb explodes outside greek parliament
athens jan afp
an explosive device went off outside the greek parliament in athens on saturday
prompting prime minister george papandreou to condemn the attack and vow that
democracy will not be terrorised
no one was injured in the blast and no damage was immediately reported police
said
this highly symbolic place for greeks is not guarded and will not be said
citizen protection minister michalis chryssohoidis
we will not put athens under police regime this is free and open city
chryssohoidis said he was convinced that the perpetrators of the attack would be
arrested and brought to justice quickly
following the unprecedented attack on the parliament building papandreou met
with close aides at his office there
democracy will not be terrorised he said on arrival
the explosion around pm gmt was preceded by telephone call to the
eleftherotypia newspaper warning of the blast
police evacuated the area around the site where passers by normally stroll close
to the tomb of the unknown soldier guarded by the presidential evzones guards
the changing of the guard famous for its unique kilt like uniform is very
popular with tourists visiting the greek capital
the explosive went off minutes after the phone call little less than the
time given by the anonymous caller
the device which was fitted with timer was hidden in garbage bin few
metres yards from an evzones sentry box
anti terrorism officers were investigating the attack the first to target the
centre of greek democracy which police blamed on extreme left militants or
anarchists
greece has been rocked by string of attacks against economic interests and
offices of politicians since youth was killed by police officer in december
in the last such attack which caused extensive damage to greece largest
insurance company ethniki asfalistiki was hit in athens on december
it was claimed by the anarchist group conspiracy of the cells of fire which is
seen as responsible for dozens of such attacks against offices and homes of
political leaders
in september last year police found hide out of the group in an athens suburb
and arrested six suspects
another group revolutionary struggle ea has been active for the last six
years and is blacklisted by the european union as terrorist organisation
ea claimed an attack on the athens stock exchange in september which caused no
injuries
cb gk boc
gr ce explosion violences elead
attentat engin explosif devant le parlement grec
photo
attention ajoute clarations officielles
ath nes jan afp un attentat engin explosif qui pas fait
de victimes commis samedi ath nes pr de la tombe du soldat
inconnu devant le parlement grec pris pour la premi re fois pour cible par
les extr mistes en plein centre de la capitale indiqu une source
polici re
explosion survenue heure locale gmt et pr un
appel phonique avertissement aupr du quotidien grec elefth rotypia
fait que des ts mineurs brisant quelques vitres des gu rites
polici res aux alentours selon une source polici re
agissant cette attaque in dite le premier ministre georges papandr ou
est rendu son bureau au parlement pour une union avec des
collaborateurs la mocratie ne se laisse pas terroriser il clar
son arriv
ce site une haute charge symbolique pour les grecs il est pas gard et ne
le sera pas nous ne soumettrons pas ath nes un gime policier est une
ville libre et ouverte pour sa part clar sur place le ministre de la
protection du citoyen michalis chryssohoidis il exprim sa conviction que
les auteurs de attentat seront rapidement arr et conduits devant la
justice
la police avait vacu la zone des passants et des evzones membres de la
garde pr sidentielle gardant le monument
explosion de faible puissance est produite minutes apr appel dans
le lai donn par son auteur indiqu une source polici re enqu te
confi aux services anti terroristes
engin muni un canisme de retardement avait plac dans une
poubelle quelques tres une gu rite polici re un des angles de
esplanade abritant le monument en contrebas du parlement pr cis la
source polici re
la rel ve de la garde sur ce site figure parmi un des passages oblig du
tourisme ath nien
imput par la police des activistes extr me gauche ou anarchistes les
attentats explosif ne faisant pas de victimes et visant des int ts
conomiques et des bureaux de personnalit politiques se sont multipli en
gr ce depuis la mort le cembre un adolescent tu par un policier
ath nes
le dernier en date galement pr un appel phonique
avertissement avait vis le cembre immeuble de la plus grande
compagnie assurance grecque ath nes ethniki asfalistiki causant
importants ts
il revendiqu le lendemain par un groupe se clamant de la mouvance
anarchiste la conspiration des cellules de feu auteur depuis de
dizaines attaques contre des bureaux et domiciles de responsables politiques
se clarant hostiles au mode de vie occidental les auteurs du texte de
revendication indiquaient avoir voulu perturber le calme de la ville
la police avait couvert en septembre une planque du groupe dans une
banlieue ath nes et arr six membres pr sum des jeunes gens dont
trois ont plac en tention pr ventive
une autre organisation lutte volutionnaire ea active depuis six ans et
figurant sur la liste des organisations terroristes de union europ enne
avait pour sa part revendiqu en septembre un attentat explosif contre la
bourse ath nes sans victimes
football chelsea the winners as united and arsenal are held
london jan afp
premier league leaders chelsea were the winners on saturday despite their match
being postponed as both their main rivals manchester united and arsenal dropped
points
chelsea whose match was one of seven to be postponed because of the bad
weather in england hold one point advantage over united with game in hand
after the defending champions were held away at in form birmingham city
arsenal have played the same amount of games as chelsea but are three
points adrift after coming away with fortunate home draw over everton
tomas rosicky equalising in the final minute
birmingham managed by alex mcleish who played under united boss sir alex
ferguson when his fellow scot was in charge of aberdeen went ahead in the th
minute when cameron jerome forced the ball home after the visitors failed to
clear corner
but in the rd minute united equalised when scott dann unluckily put through
his own net at st andrews
united finished the match down to men after scotland international midfielder
darren fletcher was sent off for two yellow card offences
the draw meant birmingham extended their club record of successive unbeaten top
flight matches to games
ferguson insisted he had no complaints with his side display despite united
missing the chance to leapfrog chelsea
we played so well in the first half so to lose goal right on half time makes
it difficult because this is hard place to come at the moment but we had the
experience to come back ferguson told espn
they work so hard and make it difficult for you we have to be satisfied with
point especially as we ended with men
however he was furious with referee mark clattenburg for sending off fletcher
haven seen softer sending off for long time it absolutely
ridiculous ferguson insisted
meanwhile delighted mcleish said that was another fantastic performance from
our lads proud of the players
earlier rosicky stoppage time leveller rescued point for arsenal at snow
covered emirates stadium
everton were on course for shock victory after south african midfielder steven
pienaar scored brilliant goal to put the visitors who kicked off four points
above the relegation zone up with nine minutes left
but there was still time for czech midfielder rosicky to equalise after his shot
looped off australian defender lucas neill and over united states international
goalkeeper tim howard
everton took th minute lead when midfielder leon osman headed in corner
from on loan united states international landon donovan making his debut for
the merseysiders
but the gunners were level before the half hour mark when denilson shot
deflected off osman
then in the st minute australia tim cahill held the ball up and released
pienaar who strode through before cheekily lofting shot over arsenal
goalkeeper manuel almunia
arsenal manager arsene wenger admitted his side still without injured captain
cesc fabregas had been fortunate to gain point
we played against very good everton team who for most of the game was more
dangerous and sharper than us he said
at the end of the day we dropped two points but looking at the game we gained
one point because we were closer to losing the game than to winning it
we got the point because we had the spirit and the desire but we didn find
our game today
everton boss david moyes was in no doubt his side thrashed by arsenal on
the opening day of the season should have come away with victory
we were up into injury time it should have been our day we deserved to
win today moyes told sky sports
nfl bills lynch accused of stealing money from woman report
buffalo new york jan afp
buffalo bills running back marshawn lynch has been accused of taking dollars
from woman at buffalo area restaurant
the alleged victim is the wife of police officer who reported the december
incident the following day and was then interviewed by police on wednesday the
buffalo news reported saturday
she terrified of him he threatened her girlfriend who tried to retrieve the
money after he robbed my wife the woman husband william crawford told the
newspaper he thinks he above the law because of his status as an athlete
the newspaper said police declined to comment other than to confirm the woman
had filed robbery complaint
crawford who didn want to give his wife name because of safety concerns
said the incident occurred at tgi friday restaurant where the police
sergeant wife and her girlfriend had stopped for dinner
lynch who is in his third nfl season has rushed for total of yards in
games this season
togo opposition protests for election reform
lome jan afp
thousands of opposition activists took to the streets of togo capital lome on
saturday in new wave of protests calling for presidential elections next month
to be held over two rounds
demonstrators marched through the streets before attending rally called by the
main opposition union for the forces of change ufc
they brandished placards with slogans such as no two round vote no elections
and bad election equals violence
supporters from the second largest opposition party the action committee for
renewal car also attended the protest marches and the rally
lawmakers voted in to change the togolese constitution and introduce
single round presidential elections under that law president is elected by
simple majority
the ufc and the car last year threatened to boycott the elections if there was
no return to the old two round system
the protesters also demanded revision of the electoral rolls and reduction
of the deposit payable by candidates interesting in taking part in the vote
when they formally declare their candidature presidential hopefuls for the
february elections are to pay fee equivalent to around euros yet
aspiring lawmakers paid about half of that in the legislative elections
football wenger says african nations cup must go on
london jan afp
arsenal manager arsene wenger said on saturday he would not seek the return of
emmanuel eboue and alex song from the african nations cup and insisted the
tournament must go on despite the machine gun attack on the togo team
togo have said they will pull out of the tournament after the rebel ambush on
their team convoy taking the squad to angola that left at least two people dead
and two players with bullet wounds
the incident in the restive angolan enclave of cabinda has raised questions
about the security at the tournament but wenger is happy for eboue to remain
with the ivory coast squad and song to stay with the cameroon camp
we won be asking fifa to release them he said will be happy for eboue
to play in cabinda on monday
don believe you can just stop any competition for any incident because
that would be reward people provoke the incidents the frenchman added
referring to separatist group which says it carried out the attack
it would mean any competition could be stopped at any time
an international federation has to make sure the security is well respected and
good enough for the competition
you have to leave it individually to some players the possibility if they feel
insecure or scared to come away from the competition personally feel that
the competition has to go on
wenger admitted however that the internal problems in angola made cross border
travel concern
it is troubled country because there is political unrest there and there are
rebels striking against the government in place he said
but don know what happened it is strange that the bus travelled from congo
to angola knowing that there are rebels from angola on the border on the
congolese side
don know the situation well don know enough about the security
certainly they the organisers think the competition is safe
former arsenal striker emmanuel adebayor now with manchester city was on the
togo bus but escaped unhurt and wenger said the london club was considering
forwarding message of support to its former player
we will speak about it wenger added have not spoken to my players
wenger sympathised with togo position but stressed the competition has still
to go on if the security is well respected in the country
the gunners boss was speaking after arsenal premier league draw at home to
everton on saturday and david moyes the visitors manager echoed his opposite
number message
everton duo joseph yobo and aiyegbeni yakubu are with the nigeria squad and
moyes said the club has contacted joseph yobo and yak is with him and they
are ok it obviously concern for football
think the thing about terrorism in general is that you shouldn bow to it
moyes also raised the question of whether togo players would be allowed by fifa
to return to action for their clubs if they do quit the tournament and how
those who make personal decision to withdraw from the african nations would be
treated
what would fifa do would they allow the players to play moyes said
afptv updated advisory
paris jan afp
we will file the following videos
injured togo team member stable in africa new offer
johannesburg
togo goalkeeper kodjovi obilale was in stable condition in south african
hospital on saturday after deadly rebel ambush on the squad convoy in
angola the hospital said he is conscious and in stable condition he has
suffered two gunshot wounds to the lower back and abdomen said richard
friedland head of the private milpark hospital where the year old was
admitted obilale was airlifted to south africa in the afternoon day after
hooded gunmen who opened fire on togo buses in the restive northern cabinda
enclave killing at least two people ahead of the african nations cup the togo
team withdrew from the tournament on saturday
news sport
images and soundbites of the player doctor to be transmitted by gmt
raw vid
web mmv
we have already filed the following
winter chill tough on french high speed trains maintenance
paris
europe deep freeze has taken its toll on france transport system paralysing
the cross channel eurostar at times and causing delays along its high speed tgv
rail line in regional technical centre engineers and experts are toiling
away repairing windows and windshields shattered by ice and replacing frozen
rails
special report
voiced report
nsv vid
broadcast ready vid
web mmv
thousands join procession of the black nazarene in manila
manila
more than one million people were expected on the streets of manila on saturday
for the procession of the black nazarene life sized charcoal coloured
sculpture of jesus christ said to hold miraculous powers
news
images raw vid
web mmv
yemeni counterterrorism forces in intensive training
sanaa
yemeni counterterrorism forces undertook training on saturday on the outskirts
of the capital sanaa the arab state wants to prove the world that it is
beefing up its operations against al qaeda in the wake of last month failed
terror plot blamed on an al qaeda branch located there
news
raw images
raw vid
web mmv
airline plot suspect in court caps week of intensified security measures
detroit michigan
the arraignment of umar farouk abdulmutallab on friday capped week of us
efforts to revamp counterterrorism strategy and prevent fresh attacks like the
one blamed on the nigerian the thwarted attempt to blow up an airliner on
christmas has triggered global alarms and led to ramp up of security checks
at airports around the world
news special report
voiced report
nsv vid
broadcast ready vid
web mmv
attention clients this video is available under specific license agreement
only for license to this service please contact your afp commercial agent no
access usa japan australia
music stars drum for peace in sudan
washington
drummers from pink floyd radiohead and the police are joining other musicians
to drum for peace in sudan as part of an international campaign to press world
leaders to prevent more bloodshed in africa largest nation the sudan
campaign launched on saturday starts exactly year ahead of key referendum
on southern independence in film features drumroll starting in the
war wracked nation and being picked up and passed like baton between drummers
in over countries including brazil egypt france japan south africa
and the united states
news culture amp lifestyle
raw images
raw
web mmv
as part of our african nations cup coverage we have filed the following
african nations cup leaves nice football club depleted
nice france
european football clubs face tough three weeks as they have to release their
african players for the african nations cup about players will be
temporarily leaving french league one clubs for angola nice is the worst hit
with players leaving to play for their home nation
sport
voiced report
nsv vid
broadcast ready vid
web mmv
rugbyu tuqiri at the double as tigers swat wasps
london jan afp
lote tuqiri scored his first tries for leicester as the tigers thrashed wasps
