stunning landscape
he looks nice he president but he looks nice one man said
but others thought the ad bad taste
it disrespectful he young man with beautiful family but don see
why he should be portrayed in any other way than as our president jo ponsonby
former bar tender said after taking picture on his throwaway camera
with tireless schedule of press conferences speeches and public appearances
obama is an almost permanent media presence he pops up daily on everything from
cable news channels to low grade gossip tabloids
but weatherproof use of the image photograph shot by the associated press
news agency during the china trip angered the white house just day after an
animal rights group used first lady michelle obama image in campaign
the white house has longstanding policy disapproving of the use of the
president and first family name and likeness for advertising purposes
spokesman ben labolt said
white house official said the administration had contacted these
organizations to ask that they stop using these advertisements as they
misleadingly suggest the approval or endorsement of the president first family
or white house that it does not have
in the case of michelle obama her image appeared in an anti fur photo montage
of us celebrities also including tv hostess oprah winfrey by the group peta
fur free and fabulous the ad declared
we did not consent to it said michelle obama spokesman semonti stephens
weatherproof president freddie stollmack said he had no intention of taking
it down
we not demonstrating that obama is endorsing our product we are just
basically very happy to see that after years we finally got stylish
president he told abc television
whether the ad will sell many jackets for weatherproof is open to question
but few new yorkers walking through that corner of times square failed to notice
the billboard hanging over red lobster restaurant
wow did he agree to do that asked erin crom year old singer
crom said that because obama is so ubiquitous she was not especially shocked at
his face being hijacked to sell clothes he everywhere
student marquis burkes agreed that obama is celebrity but he was made
uncomfortable by the billboard
it does bother me it weird he our first black president and feel not
offended exactly he said but frown upon it
rugby union stade look to arrest slump against biarritz
paris jan afp
french rugby giants stade francais and biarritz meet at the stade de france on
saturday with both looking for much needed victory to boost their flagging
morale after disappointing campaigns so far this season
stade fortunes have barely improved since australian coach ewen mckenzie was
sacked by owner max guazzini and replaced by former biarritz handler jacques
delmas in september last year while biarritz sit two places above them in sixth
but having already lost eight of their matches
delmas who guided biarritz to two domestic titles and european cup final loss
to munster before being sacked in has had to cope with seemingly
neverending injury crisis which includes such experienced campaigners as south
african born french international centre brian liebenberg and italian captain
sergio parisse
to add to his woes he has been left with just one fit scrum half for the match
this weekend in year old benjamin tardy as julien dupuy is serving week
suspension and the other possibilities noel oelschig and charlie davis have been
injured in their two games this year
all of which has left delmas whose side has not exactly bounced into the new
year in impressive style losing to montpellier and eking out desperate
draw with montauban frustrated to say the least
it is true that matches like the one on saturday we would like to play with our
strongest line up said delmas
but how many times have we been able to say that at stade francais never
biarritz french international flanker imanol harinordoquy will make his return
to competitive action after almost two months out with knee injury and
believes that his team must win on saturday to keep their hopes alive of making
the top four by the end of the season
we have lost two many matches that we should have won said harinordoquy who
believes he will get to play up to half an hour of the match
both sides stade and biarritz are neck and neck in the table but really
believe that if we want to consolidate our place in the standings and be in
contention for place in the play offs we need to win this match he added
elsewhere reigning champions perpignan will look to bounce back from
disastrous set of recent results which included them being knocked out of the
european cup when on friday they host racing metro who saw their run of nine
successive victories ended last weekend against bourgoin
leaders castres are away to montpellier on saturday with the hosts barely making
any changes to the side that defeated stade francais last weekend
only winger thierry brana and hooker mickael ladhuie drop out to be replaced by
benjamin thiery and fabien rofes respectively as montpellier bid to put dent
in castres title ambitions
sunday sees the mouthwatering clash between toulouse and clermont who ran
rampant against title pretenders toulon last sunday as they seek once and for
all to finally end their astonishing record of never winning the title
fixtures kick offs in gmt
friday
perpignan racing metro
saturday
montpellier castres bourgoin bayonne toulon montauban albi
brive stade francais biarritz
sunday
toulouse clermont
korea freezes key interest rate for th month
seoul jan afp
south korea central bank on friday froze its key interest rate at record low
percent for the th consecutive month saying uncertainties remain about
the country economic recovery
in monthly policy meeting the bank of korea bok left the benchmark seven
day repo rate unchanged
it had cut the rate by total of percentage points between october
and february to bolster the economy
the government has said it has no plans to end an expansionary policy as the
economic recovery has yet to gain solid footing
president lee myung bak said on friday there is still no country in the world
that plans to end their expansionary policies aimed at fighting global
economic slowdown
football barca and real target first wins of
madrid jan afp
it has been stuttering start to the new year from all conquering barcelona and
the treble winners hope for their first win of on sunday at promoted
tenerife
barcelona were let off the hook last weekend when their home draw against
villarreal went unpunished as real madrid drew at osasuna so they still
hold two point lead over their rivals but confidence was dented further by
tuesday kings cup first leg defeat to sevilla at camp nou
we have had an unlucky start to failing to win either match but there is
no need to panic said midfielder sergi busquets the results will start
coming very soon and we ll be playing for all the titles at stake
barca must do without top scorer zlatan ibrahimovic through suspension but
argentine lionel messi will be back
the club are also boosted by the return of argentine centre back gaby milito who
played his first competitive match since april against sevilla after
cruciate knee ligament injuries threatened to end his career
tenerife have decent home record losing just two of their eight matches and
are the only promoted side not in the bottom three although they are only two
points above the drop zone
real had midweek rest having already exited the kings cup and after
scoreless draw at osasuna the league top scorers hope to get back on the goal
trail with home victory over high flying real mallorca on sunday
the point against osasuna left bitter taste in our mouth but now we have to
focus on getting three points against mallorca said real striker gonzalo
higuain
real boss manuel pellegrini must do without the suspended duo of lass diarra and
sergio ramos for the mallorca visit but brazilian kaka may return as he recovers
from groin injury
mallorca have won eight out of eight at home to move fourth in the table but are
poor travellers with just one win on the road although coach gregorio manzano
pointed to the fact that the islanders won at the bernabeu last season
can see us winning at the bernabeu just like we did last year and other times
before said manzano dream of winning there again
if mallorca can get point or pull off another big win in madrid it would leave
them as the team with the only perfect home record in the league
sevilla may have beaten barca in the cup but they have lost their last two
league matches and surrendered fourth spot to mallorca falling to fifth ten
points behind leaders barcelona
sevilla host an improving racing santander on saturday with mounting injury
list while frederic kanoute and didier zokora are on international duty for the
african cup of nations
valencia six points behind second placed real madrid have taken advantage of
sevilla troubles to steal into third and are at bottom side xerez on sunday
xerez are eight points from safety having won just one game all season and
overworked goalkeeper renan brito on loan from valencia hopes to get one over
on his old side
it is going to be strange for me because it is the first time have faced my
old team mates said brito we need to end this run and be strong to try and
hurt valencia
elsewhere atletico madrid need to put in good display at valladolid on
saturday to win over their disgruntled fans who watched man atletico crash to
first leg defeat at second division recreativo huelva on wednesday in the
last of the kings cup
want to ask for forgiveness from the fans for this huge disappointment said
manager quique sanchez flores have to look for players that are not going to
disappoint me any more
as it stands atletico are in mid table after terrible start but are points
off the european places and need to improve vastly in the second half of the
season
fixtures
saturday
valladolid atletico madrid gmt sevilla racing santander gmt
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
tennis serena heads hot women field in sydney
sydney jan afp
world number one serena williams headlines crack women field featuring nine
of the world top at the sydney international which starts here on sunday
with the addition of belgian wildcard justine henin there will be four one time
world number ones in the women draw in the last major leadup tournament to
this month australian open
the men draw will play second fiddle to the strong women competition with
french showman and world no gael monfils the top seed ahead of czech tomas
berdych swiss stanislas wawrinka and australia lleyton hewitt
serena williams was named the international tennis federation women world
champion after year in which she captured two grand slam titles and went on to
win the season ending wta championships in doha sealing the no ranking in the
last event of the year
but she also courted controversy when she was hit with record fine and two
years of probation for an outburst over foot fault call in last september us
open semi final in new york
williams who will be seeking her th major title at the january
australian open in melbourne was beaten by eventual winner elena dementieva in
the semi finals of last year sydney event
the american this time will be up against russian world number two dinara
safina svetlana kuznetsova caroline wozniacki dementieva
victoria azarenka jelena jankovic vera zvonareva and agnieszka
radwanska
safina jankovic and henin are all former world number ones while williams
kuznetsova and henin are grand slam champions
this year tournament will be given added spice by the return of seven time
grand slam champion henin
the three time sydney champion who kicked off the year at the brisbane
international after being away from the game for months says she is playing
under no pressure
it great being back on the court and every match is important and every point
is different henin said at the brisbane tournament
so happy being out there and that what remember now feel no
pressure now
the women draw is very impressive and it will be great to get some tough
competitive matches at the sydney international before heading to melbourne
frenchman monfils played in the brisbane international with his right shoulder
heavily strapped while two time grand slam champion hewitt suffered back spasms
while playing in this week hopman cup in perth
hewitt four time champion of the sydney international has been troubled by
injury over the last two years and his ranking has slipped to
also in the men draw will be australian open finalist marcos baghdatis
feliciano lopez member of the champion spanish davis cup team and frenchman
richard gasquet
the sydney international formerly the nsw open is one of the oldest tennis
events in the world and celebrates its th anniversary this year
spanish police detain convicted eta collaborator reports
madrid jan afp
spanish police detained overnight man who was sentenced to two years in jail
for cooperating with the armed basque separatist group eta spanish media
reported friday
police arrested pedro maria olano zabala in the basque town of lizartza in the
first detention of the year of someone linked the group considered terrorist
organisation by both the european union and the united states the online
edition of daily newspaper el mundo reported
they also searched two homes in the town it added while public radio rne said
zabala is suspected of transporting explosives for eta
last month the spanish government warned that eta may be planning an attack or
kidnapping during spain six month presidency of the eu which began on january
and it raised its terrorism level from one to two on scale of four
indicating probable risk of terrorist attack
in february the national audience spain top criminal court ruled that while
zabala did not belong to eta he contributed to its goals by threatening to
kill the mayor of the town regina otaola who was taken hard line against
basque separatists
the court sentenced him to jail for in september having pointed his finger
at the mayor who belongs to the conservative popular party and said otaola
you are going to die when she hung the spanish flag at the town hall over the
protests of about people
otaola has angered many basque separatists since she was elected mayor of the
town located in valley just south of the seaside resort of san sebastian of
may of that year with her vocal support of spanish unity
aside from hanging the spanish flag at the town hall she has removed photos of
jailed eta members and demanded that all official meetings be conducted in
spanish rather than in the basque language
eta is blamed for deaths in year campaign for independence in the
basque region of northern spain and southwestern france
two ex blackwater staff charged with afghan murders
washington jan afp
two former blackwater employees have been charged with the murder of two afghans
in kabul last year and could face the death penalty the justice department said
thursday
justin cannon of corpus christi texas and christopher drotleff of
virginia beach virginia have been charged with second degree murder following
the shooting deaths of the two afghan men
they were also charged with attempted murder after third man was wounded in
the kabul incident on may when cannon and drotleff were working as
contractors for the department of defense in afghanistan
both men who had provided training to the afghan army in using and maintaining
weapons systems were arrested thursday after the count grand jury
indictment the statement added
they face total of eight charges each including knowingly discharging
firearm to commit crime
blackwater private security firm which has changed its name to xe following
series of highly publicized controversies in iraq is headquartered in north
carolina the two men were employed by paravant llc which is subsidiary of xe
the department of justice said the kabul incident that led to the charges
occurred at the intersection of two roads in the afghan capital
the two men who were shot dead were identified as rahib mirza mohammad also
known as rahib helaludin and romal mohammad naiem
few other details of what had happened were given but some reports said the
shootings arose out of road traffic accident
xe spokesman mark corallo told the washington post the company immediately
and fully cooperated with the government investigation of this tragic incident
and terminated the individuals involved for violating company policy he said
there would be no further comment
blackwater was once among the largest security firms operating in iraq after the
us led invasion of
but in september blackwater guards opened fire with automatic weapons
while escorting an american diplomatic convoy through baghdad nisur square
blackwater said their guards had come under attack
week ago federal judge dismissed criminal charges against five blackwater
guards accused of fatally shooting people in the incident
judge ricardo urbina said prosecutors violated the defendants rights by using
incriminating statements they had made under immunity during state department
probe to build their case
but the washington post reported the case was dismissed after attorneys for
about iraqis who sued xe said they had all agreed to financial settlement
originally reached with the company in november
we are pleased that the original settlement has been affirmed by the
plaintiffs the company and plaintiffs attorneys said thursday in joint
statement quoted by the us daily
this enables xe new management to move the company forward free of the costs
and distraction of ongoing litigation and provides some compensation to iraqi
families
blackwater first came under scrutiny on march when four of its
employees were killed by an angry mob in fallujah then sunni arab insurgent
stronghold
us media further reported this week that two xe contractors had been among eight
people killed in suicide bombing at khost base in eastern afghanistan on
december
the reports pointed to continued close relationship between the cia and
blackwater
the firm is believed to have participated in programs to kill top al qaeda
terrorists in and cia snatch and grab missions to capture or kill
insurgents in iraq and afghanistan
but the central intelligence agency had appeared to distance itself from the
firm in recent years
yachting world championship results
freeport bahamas jan afp
standings after the first day of the er world championships on thursday
standings after races qualifying and to start the final gold series
iker martinez de lizarduy xabier fernandez esp points
john pink rick peacock gbr
stevie morrison ben rhodes gbr
paul brotherton mark asquith gbr
emmanuel dyen st phane christidis fra
formula one button says critics make his life easier
london jan afp
world champion jenson button believes all those who have criticised his decision
to move to mclaren are actually helping him
and he is equally adamant that formula one great michael schumacher will be
competitive upon his return to the sport after three years in retirement
button won last year formula one world title driving for the brawn team
but in the englishman will be racing for mclaren where champion and
compatriot lewis hamilton has been for all the british team protestations to
the contrary the number one driver for several seasons
hamilton has been associated with mclaren since his days as boy kart racer and
three times formula one world champion jackie stewart has questioned the wisdom
of button joining team where one of his title rivals is such an established
figure
former ferrari driver eddie irvine was particularly blunt this week saying
button will be murdered by hamilton
but button speaking after seat fitting at mclaren headquarters in woking
south of london on thursday refused to be riled
it makes my life lot easier because in much more relaxed position than
people telling me going to destroy my team mate said button
in way don think it negative maybe it positive it helps you
relax and focus on doing the important stuff
the important thing is confident in my ability so don feel need to
prove anything to anyone
people comments don change anything the only way anything will be changed
is on the circuit this season
since button exit his former team has been taken over by mercedes but
principal ross brawn who helped guide schumacher to seven world titles with
benetton and ferrari remains in charge
brawn is widely agreed to have pulled off dramatic coup in signing the
year old schumacher
many fear the german driver risks tarnishing his reputation with comeback but
button said he expected schumacher to be competitive come the season opening
bahrain grand prix in march
first of all think his return is amazing for the sport said button
having four world champions racing fernando alonso is the other and one of
them schumacher who has achieved more than anyone else in the sport is
great button added
it an unusual decision by michael but he obviously got his reasons having
three years out of the sport and coming back in
think it really good and you have to say fair play to ross for getting him
on board
don think there are many team principals or owners that would be able to
get michael in their car
so it great having him back on the grid and look forward to the challenge
this year with him
sure it going to take couple of tests for him to get back in the
groove but he ll be there for the first race know that for certain
nfl postseason schedule
los angeles jan afp
schedule for the national football league playoffs
wild card round
saturday january
ny jets at cincinnati
philadelphia at dallas
sunday january
baltimore at new england
green bay at arizona
divisional round
saturday january
tbd at new orleans
tbd at indianapolis
sunday january
tbd at minnesota
tbd at san diego
conference championships
sunday january
afc championship game
nfc championship game
super bowl xliv
sunday february at miami
afc champion nfc champion
nfl familiar foes face off in first round of playoffs
los angeles jan afp
the dallas cowboys will try to end playoff drought and an eagles playoff
winning streak when they face off in the first round saturday in rematch of
their nfl regular season finale
it one of three rematches from last sunday on the four game slate this
weekend along with cincinnati hosting the new york jets and green bay at
arizona
the fourth game sees baltimore at new england where the perennial powerhouse
patriots are retooling in hurry after season ending injury to key receiver
wes welker
the cowboys haven won playoff game in years the eagles have won their
postseason opener in seven straight playoff appearances
cowboys quarterback tony romo was at the helm for the two most recent postseason
disappointments but insists no ghosts will haunt him when he takes the field
when the new billion dollar cowboys stadium hosts its first playoff game
completely different player and this is completely different team
romo said those past games have absolutely no bearing on anything going
forward
certainly dallas go into the playoffs with more momentum than in romo last two
appearances in and they handed new orleans their first loss of the
season beat washington and manhandled philadelphia to end the regular
season
very seldom do you have an opportunity to play team that just got after you
little bit second time eagles coach andy reid said we have that
opportunity to correct ourselves that an approach expect the guys to take
and think with the leadership on this team that will take place
veteran running back brian westbrook spoke to the team immediately after the
defeat on just that topic
we didn do what we set out to do to come in there and play hard and play
physical and play strong for the whole game westbrook said just wanted to
make sure that we had the team attention and let them know how important this
game was coming up
while dallas are in playoff games since cincinnati have only played
one and lost one since
bengals quarterback carson palmer still has bitter memories of when he
suffered knee injury on the first drive of cincinnati playof game against
pittsburgh and the bengals lost
nobody enjoys watching the first round second round third round the super
bowl it tough to do he said of players left on the postseason sidelines
think that is something that has really driven our team and definitely me
in the jets cincinnati face team whose playoff hopes appeared to be deat
before finish that included their victory over lackluster bengals side
last sunday
just hope we go out with the same intensity and sure we will jets coach
rex ryan said knowing that we re going to get cincinnati best shot knowing
that they are going to get ours and see if we re good enough to beat them
on sunday nfc west division winners arizona continue their bid to reach the
super bowl for the second straight season after falling last february to
pittsburgh
with nothing on the line the cardinals rested key players and were less than
impressive in loss to green bay last week but quarterback kurt warner is
clearly ready to pick things up in the rematch
don know the reason for playing the other games unless you are going to
have chance to do this warner said of the playoffs this is fun
opportunities are great think we showed last year that once you get to this
point anything is possible
both teams have injury worries packers cornerback charles woodson is nursing
shoulder injury while arizona receiver anquan boldin has sprained ankle and
cornerback dominique rodgers cromartie has toe and knee injuries
injury has been factor in the patriots preparations for baltimore
the patriots beat the ravens on october but time around new england will be
without league leading receiver welker who suffered serious knee injury in
the final game of the regular season
that means the ravens defensive focus will likely shift to star receiver randy
moss and significant contribution required of rookie julian edelman who
stood in creditably for an injured welker earlier this season
for two days you re going we don have wes what are we going to do said
patriots quarterback tom brady
and then you put together game plan and you get out there and practice and
you re like man ok all that stuff looks pretty good
football italian league table
rome jan afp
italian league table ahead of this weekend matches played won drawn lost
goals for against points
inter milan
ac milan
juventus
napoli
roma
parma
fiorentina
bari
palermo
sampdoria
chievo
cagliari
genoa
lazio
udinese
livorno
bologna
catania
atalanta
siena
football ac milan look to keep pressure on city rivals
rome jan afp
revitalised ac milan side will be looking to keep some pressure on city rivals
and serie leaders inter milan when they travel to third placed juventus on
sunday in match that neither side can really afford to lose if they are to
have any aspirations to wrest the title from inter
while inter should pick up another three points at home to bottom placed siena
on saturday ac milan will be keen to keep up the momentum even if they trail
the leaders by eight points though they have game in hand
ac milan coach leonardo was under pressure earlier in the season after an
uninspiring start to the campaign but his side have suddenly shown flair and
more importantly winning mentality to turn around their season and look the
