billion dollar year industry which many have feared could be hit hard by the
unusual freezing
financial analysts warned there may be far reaching impact of the cold front
on the fruit market value as farmers scrambled to avert ruined harvest
the state tropical animals too have been affected by the cold snap with
wildlife officials going so far as issuing advisories on how to save frozen
iguanas
the lizards become completely immobile in temperatures below degrees
fahrenheit four degrees celsius as their cold blood stops flowing and have
been filmed this week falling out of perches in trees
residents are advised to place the rigid lizards in sunlight where they can
revive in warmth
chevron pipeline attacked in nigeria
lagos jan afp
crude oil pipeline operated by chevron was attacked by unknown gunmen in
nigeria restive oil producing niger delta region government and security
sources said saturday
the attack on friday took place about kilometres miles southwest of
warri one of the main cities of delta state
we are still trying to unravel why it happened and who was behind said
government official who asked not to be named security source confirmed news
of the attack
chevron spokesman scott walker said there would be no comment while
investigations were underway
we are not speculating on any comment while investigations are underway he
told afp from houston texas
armed groups claiming to seek fairer share of oil revenue for local
communities had since staged attacks on oil installations in the niger
delta playing havoc with output and international oil prices
at the peak of the unrest nigeria the world eighth largest exporter of crude
saw its output slashed by third
but government amnesty deal declared mid has seen lull in attacks and
rise in nigeria oil output to around two million barrels per day according to
government statistics
germany westerwelle debates human rights with saudis
riyadh jan afp
german foreign minister guido westerwelle europe first openly gay top
diplomat said human rights issues were fully aired during visit on saturday
to saudi arabia
we had an extensive discussion about the issue of human rights right through
to the discussion of religious plurality he told reporters after talks with
his saudi counterpart prince saud al faisal
the government of the kingdom of saudi arabia is aware that the european union
has clear position on the issue of the death penalty we are convinced that
the death penalty should be abolished around the world
prince saud told the same news conference that during their discussion he had
made clear to westerwelle that regional cultural and religious traditions must
be respected
would like to stress that we talked about human rights and that includes
different criteria between countries we reached the conclusion that these
matters cannot be imposed by either side summarily and change cannot come
unless is it by conviction
human rights activists in germany had called on westerwelle to take up the issue
of gay rights during his one day visit to saudi arabia where islamic sharia law
permits the imposition of the death penalty for range of crimes including
homosexual relations
sources who took part in the talks said westerwelle directly addressed the issue
of human rights and the death penalty in his talks with prince saud and asked
about the work of the government created saudi human rights commission
prince saud described the efforts of so called national dialogue taking place
between traditionalists and modernisers as well as sunni and shiite clerics
the sources said
westerwelle who arrived in riyadh late friday with business delegation also
held talks with the country finance minister
he was also due to meet king abdullah before flying to qatar for talks on
sunday
dozens join sudan drumming protest in london
london jan afp
around people gathered outside british prime minister gordon brown downing
street office in london on saturday drumming loudly and calling for peace in
sudan
the group waving placards with messages such as protect the civilians in
darfur and uk don forget sudan was campaigning as part of sudan
organised by groups including amnesty international and human rights watch
the initiative brings together drummers from some of the biggest bands in pop
music including phil selway of radiohead and pink floyd nick mason in bid
to create beat for peace in sudan
many of those involved in saturday noisy protest were beating empty plastic
water containers and chanting pro peace slogans
the demonstration came as sudan marks the fifth anniversary of the north south
comprehensive peace agreement which ended year war between majority muslim
northern sudan and the mainly christian and animist south but there are fears
the agreement could be under threat
we are already seeing grave increase in inter ethnic violence in the south
and violence continues in darfur said amnesty tawanda hondora
the coming year poses serious threats to human rights in sudan that can be
prevented if governments act now
brown is expected to meet the leader of the world anglicans archbishop of
canterbury rowan williams and archbishop daniel deng primate of the episcopal
church of the sudan on the issue monday
skiing vonn cruises to another world cup downhill win
haus im ennstal austria jan afp
lindsay vonn of the united states made it four in row when she won the second
women world cup downhill race here on saturday
vonn who came home in min sec has dominated the discipline since the
start of the season and the world champion carried on from where she had left
off friday in crushing the competition
swiss nadja kamer was second sec adrift and ingrid jacquemod of france
completed the podium at sec
stayed relaxed waiting for confirmation of the start only really started
my preparations when the start was confirmed said vonn who can realistically
hope to land her third straight overall world cup championship this season
three in row that won be easy said vonn who promised to go on the
attack in the upcoming super gs as she seeks to retain her downhill and super
crowns as well as her overall title
the race went ahead in difficult conditions and there were several stoppages
owing to fog and fresh snowfalls with the start put back three times
the conditions forced organisers to shorten the course as well putting the
start line at the level of sunday super
swede anja paerson found the going relatively tough as she could only manage
fifth
kramer insisted that coming in so close to vonn was victory of sorts in
itself
second behind lindsey vonn is good result with the number one bib it was
hard to know if had skied well but had good feeling
jacquemod was also happy as yesterday put in bad showing like
challenge and that what got today on piste where there weren many places
where you could pull back time
urgent togo football attack isolated nations cup security guaranteed
angolan pm
luanda jan afp
angola prime minister on saturday called the deadly attack on togo football
squad an isolated act as he guaranteed the security of teams at the african
nations cup his office said
alert
togo football attack isolated nations cup security guaranteed angolan pm
settlements major obstacle to mideast talks saudi
riyadh jan afp
saudi arabia said saturday israel settlements policy remains major
obstacle to middle east peace efforts and that freezing settlement growth was
already an internationally agreed requirement
the illegal settlements constitute major obstacle to peace talks foreign
minister prince saud al faisal said in joint news conference with germany
foreign minister guido westerwelle
freeze on settlements is one of the main commitments of the peace process it
is not palestinian condition to resuming negotiations as israel is trying to
promote he said
his comments came day after us secretary of state hillary clinton urged
israelis and palestinians to resume peace talks without preconditions
mentioning specifically arab demands that israel stop building and expansion of
jewish settlements in the occupied west bank and east jerusalem
westerwelle said settlement freeze was part of the road map set out for
peace by the west
the road map conditions constitute an important building block for reviving the
peace process he told reporters this also includes freezing of settlement
activities
this is not only the view and the position of the german government it is also
the position expressed by the european union as whole
luanda shrugs off togo attack readies for nations cup
luanda jan afp
angolans on saturday shrugged off deadly attack on togo football team which
killed at least two people and readied for kick off on the eve of the african
cup of nations
have my ticket will be in the stadium tomorrow said gonclaves mari with
an angolan flag draped over his shoulders
despite television images of shell shocked and tearful togolese team after
friday ambush of their vehicles in the northern cabinda enclave the gun
attack had little impact in the streets of luanda
it been resolved it already over the government said so the togo team is
doing well they will play all that is over year old mari told afp
fearing for their lives on friday players and others on board cowered under
seats for minutes to escape bullets in the assault that player thomas dossevi
described as being fired on like dogs
while the ambush provoked shock on the streets of togo capital lome after the
shooting luanda residents on saturday were confident that the government of
their oil rich nation would address the tragedy
joachim bento wearing an angolan jersey said that he believed everything
will be resolved by the government
you can travel to cabinda as you please without problems he said despite
statement warning of further action by the front for the liberation of the
enclave of cabinda flec which claimed responsibility
state media stayed silent for hours after the attack made international
headlines until late night official statement finally named flec as the
culprits
angolan television later released footage of bloodied people being carried off
the bus and manchester city striker emmanuel adebayor in tears of shock
the tournament organising committee initially denied the shooting telling
told afp blown tyre had caused panic among the players
on saturday the jornal de angola did not mention any fatality
mariette vendor plying nations cup souveniers on the streets had not heard
of the attack which was only reported by local media after several hours but
said these separatists do nothing good
newspaper vendor lao was not worried
it already finished he shouted before dashing between the cars on luanda
clogged streets to sell his papers
tennis clijsters beats henin in thrilling brisbane final
brisbane australia jan afp
belgium kim clijsters outlasted compatriot justine henin
to win drama charged final of the brisbane international tennis tournament on
saturday
the two great rivals battled it out for two hours minutes before clijsters
eventually claimed victory on her fourth championship point
the level was so high it fun to compete in match like that clijsters
said later
its fun to play in big match when you re both playing good tennis that
what it all about
something that really bothered me was that in the previous meetings played
against her wasn always able to play my best tennis
today felt like definitely improved on that and that to me is probably the
most positive thing that can come out of this match
henin echoed clijsters thoughts saying it was the best of the pair
meetings on the professional tour
would say it was the most intense match we ve played henin said
henin hopes of winning her first tournament since making comeback to the
sport ended with the loss but she showed enough to suggest she will be major
force at the upcoming australian open
clijsters who made her own comeback midway through last year played some
brilliant tennis in the first one and half sets and appeared headed for an
easy victory
but she stumbled badly when trying to close out the match at and henin
seized on her opponent nerves attacking relentlessly and winning five
straight games to put the match back on even terms
henin kept the pressure up at the start of the third winning her first service
game breaking shell shocked clijsters then holding her own serve to lead
and take an apparently firm grip on the final
she had an unbelievable intensity for the first set and half no mistakes
and high level and not used any more to such high level and such
high intensity said henin
didn realise what was happening at the time tried to stay calm she gave
me few opportunities took them
clijsters refused to give in however and broke back to put the set back on
serve only to give away the advantage in the eighth game when she put an
overhead smash into the net to concede the break
but in yet another twist clijsters broke back immediately winning the game in
almost identical fashion this time henin putting smash into the net
henin brought up two championship points in the next game when clijsters served
at to stay in the match but couldn convert either and clijsters held on
with the set almost inevitably going to tie break
clijsters had appeared the more vulnerable throughout the third set but she
quickly opened up lead in the tie break taking it to with second
serve ace
she brought up three championship points at but henin fought back again to
make it
however henin then served double fault and this time clijsters made no
mistake taking her th title with her fourth match point
at the moment on cloud nine clijsters said
just excited at the way the whole match has gone obviously the level was
so high
henin was far from downcast at her inability to close out the match
don have many regrets from to the end of the set because everything
could happen at that time it was so close so tight
really happy it gives me the confidence need before the open
football ono heading back to japan
bochum germany jan afp
japanese international midfielder shinji ono is to leave bundesliga side bochum
and return home to play for shimuzu pulse the german side announced on
saturday
the year old asian player of the year has spent two years in germany but
has struggled to get much much first team football largely due to succession
of injuries
ono played for japan in three world cups and won the uefa cup with dutch
side feyenoord before joining bochum in january
shinji is remarkable player and good man but during his time at bochum he
was badly hit by injuries and was unable to play as much as we would have
wanted said bochum general manager thomas ernst
he was very keen to return to japan to be close to his family and we wish him
all the best he added
two dead in togo football team bus attack official
luanda jan afp
two members of togo football squad died after friday machine gun attack on
the team vehicles in northern angola an official said on saturday on the eve
of the african nations cup kick off
the togo assistant coach and the squad spokesman died in the assault by hooded
gunmen who sprayed the buses with gunfire as they travelled through the restive
northern cabinda enclave
the attack was claimed by the separatist front for the liberation of the enclave
of cabinda flec which has been fighting for decades for the independence of
the oil rich territory
the confederation of african football caf official kodjo samlan speaking
from cabinda said that earlier reports that one of the bus drivers had been
killed were incorrect
communications chief stanislas ocloo and assistant coach abalo amnalete died at
four clock this morning he said
players and others on board fearing for their lives cowered under seats for
minutes to escape the hail of bullets during the ambush squad member thomas
dossevi said afterwards they had been fired on like dogs
we are all little shocked and we re asking why caf the competition
organisers were holding games in cabinda how can you organise tournament in
state of war dossevi told afp saturday
football teams competing in the day tournament expressed deep unease about
the shooting but backed the decision to continue with sunday opening match
african football officials were in cabinda on saturday to review security and
probe the circumstances surrounding the deadly attack which was initally
reported to have wounded nine in the togo squad including two players
angola prime minister paulo kassoma was also set to meet caf president issa
haytou on saturday his government also vowed to reinforce and strengthen all
security mechanisms for the games
the caf is continuing with its schedule and the sovereign authorities of the
country angola are taking the adequate measures surrounding security said
constant omari member of the local organising committee
earlier saturday togo team captain and manchester city striker emmanuel
adebayor said he would convene meeting for the squad would discuss whether to
stay in the tournament
think lot of players want to leave he told bbc radio five live
they have seen one of their team mates have bullet in his body who is
crying who is losing consciousness and everything said adebayor who was
shown on angolan television looking dazed and in tears shortly after the attack
if the security is not sure then we will be leaving tomorrow don think
they will be ready to give their life
two english premiership players adebayor and aston villa midfielder moustapha
salifou emerged unharmed from the attack which came after the two buses
crossed into cabinda from republic of congo on friday
flec said it had been aiming at their police escort and warned this operation
is only the start of series of targeted actions that will continue in all the
territory of cabinda
flec signed peace deal with angola government in but has recently
claimed spate of attacks in the province which is physically separated from
the rest of the country by strip of the democratic republic of congo
caf spokesman souleymane habuba questioned why togo had elected to travel by
road
caf regulations are clear teams are required to fly rather than travel by
bus he said
he added our great concern is for the players but the championship goes
ahead
togo are scheduled to play ghana on monday in cabinda
pakistan support vital to afghan solution miliband
islamabad jan afp
british foreign secretary david miliband said on saturday that stability and
security in war torn afghanistan depended on pakistan and its own battle with
taliban militants
miliband made the comments during visit to the pakistani capital islamabad for
talks with the government about security and cooperation on afghanistan ahead
of january summit in london on afghanistan peace and security
pakistan is vital partner in finding solutions and progress in afghanistan
miliband told joint press conference after holding talks with pakistani
counterpart shah mehmood qureshi
stability security prosperity in afghanistan depend in some part on
stability security and prosperity in pakistan he said
the london conference on afghanistan will look at afghanistan security needs
it will look at its development and government needs and it will look at the
regional contribution
miliband said that the international community should give islamabad more
effective support in tackling the taliban insurgency in the country
northwestern tribal areas bordering afghanistan
in terms of commitment of the international community think we can always do
better and we should always be seeking to do better in respecting pakistan
independence and vitality but also recognising its growing needs he said
the people and the government and security forces of pakistan think recognise
the shared threat that exists internally and need to unite behind it and that
has given significant comfort to the international community he added
more than people have been killed in pakistan since july in attacks
by insurgents fighting to impose islamic sharia and who also oppose islamabad
alliance with the united states in the eight year war against the taliban in
neighbouring afghanistan
boxing iraq seeks improvement in boxing
karachi jan afp
iraq has the potential to do well in international boxing once the country
stabilises said the country boxing chief on saturday after his team won
three medals in tournament in pakistan
three of the eight iraqi boxers entered in the nation benazir bhutto
international boxing championship which finished in karachi friday won medals
result ghazi abdul samad termed satisfactory considering the situation in
iraq
am happy with the results and hope that once the situation back home improves
we can achieve more success at international level especially with the asian
games coming up in china later this year samad told afp
ahmed badr won silver after he lost one sided final to cameroon mulema
joseph in the kg category
mostafa mohammed galloub won another silver in the kg event losing the final
to xuan bao of china after the referee stopped the bout
hassan ali shakir won bronze after losing his semi final bout to the host
country nadir baloch in the kg category on thursday
samad said the boxers find it hard to train under the prevailing circumstances
there is lack of facility and lack of funds but once the situation improves
and with more government support we can hope of improvement and our sports like
football and boxing can win more laurels said samad
he said he hopes an event in kazakhstan next month will help his team prepare
for the asian games in guangzhou china in november
we will send six boxers to the kazakhstan championship starting from february
and hope they get the kind of preparation needed for an event like the asian
games and come good in the bigger events said samad
iraq was banned from competing in the beijing games last year before the
international olympic committee lifted the ban following negotiations however
they couldn get any entry in boxing
football big freeze truncates english premiership programme
london jan afp
the freezing conditions sweeping britain have forced the postponement of seven
matches in the english premiership this weekend with sunday game between west
ham and wolves the latest to go
earlier saturday match between wigan and aston villa was also called off
after under soil heating at wigan dw stadium failed friday and engineers were
unable to fix the problem by the time referee stuart atwell made an early
morning pitch inspection saturday at the north west ground
atwell deemed the surface unplayable following overnight frost
friday saw several postponements with saturday scheduled premier league
matches between burnley and stoke fulham and portsmouth hull and chelsea and
sunderland and bolton as well as sunday fixture between liverpool and
tottenham called off
in all five cases the pitches were playable but concerns over issues such as
iced up streets surrounding grounds which pose safety risk for supporters led
clubs who generally follow advice from local police in making decision to
call off the games
now the only two premier league matches still set to be played on saturday are
birmingam home game against champions manchester united where win for the
visitors would see them leapfrog leaders chelsea at the top of the table and
arsenal fixture against everton
monday encounter between manchester city and blackburn rovers was still
unaffected by saturday afternoon
wigan manager roberto martinez said we are devastated because the club has
worked so hard in these freak weather conditions to make the area surrounding
the stadium safe
the pitch has never been the problem until now
with much of britain blanketed in thick snow almost half this weekend
fixtures in england lower divisions have been called off and only handful of
matches have survived in scotland
all english premier league clubs are required to have under soil heating
but some question what is the point of installing the expensive systems which
make grounds playable in conditions that would once have been deemed unsafe if
matches are still going to be postponed for reasons beyond the clubs control
as has happened with most of this weekend fixtures
clubs are increasingly keen to make early decisions on call offs for fear some
supporters may have already embarked on long journeys as happened to bolton
fans who had travelled to london for midweek match at arsenal only for the
game to be postponed in late afternoon
nevertheless arsenal manager arsene wenger feels matches are being called off
too easily
personally know only the inside of the stadiums don know the
surroundings well enough but must say it is the price we pay for living in
society where everybody wants percent security wenger said friday
nobody accepts any risk any more and everybody is always guided by fear the
frenchman added
if one of people has an accident you feel very guilty and nobody
accepts anymore that the slightest insecurity could exist in our society and
that is why the games are postponed when there is no real need for it
luge world cup results st update
winterberg germany jan afp
luge world cup results here on saturday
men pairs
christian oberstolz patrick gruber ita
gerhard plankensteiner oswald haselrieder ita at
patric leitner alexander resch ger
mark grimmette brian martin usa
tobias wendl tobias arlt ger
overall world cup standings after six out of eight races
andre florschutz torsten wustlich ger points
christian oberstolz patrick gruber ita
patric leitner alexander resch ger
andreas et wolfgang linger aut
tobias wendl tobias arlt ger
afp
men singles
armin zoggeler ita
albert demtschenko rus at
david moller ger
johannes ludwig ger
reinhold rainer ita
overall world cup standings after six out of eight races
armin zoggeler ita points
albert demtschenko rus
david moller ger
felix loch ger
reinhold rainer ita
croatians vote for president to lead eu entry
zagreb jan afp
croatia moved into election gear saturday ahead of sunday presidential run off
vote pitting leftwing professor against the populist zagreb mayor with the
winner expected to lead the former yugoslav republic into the european union
campaigning is traditionally banned on the last day before the vote but on
friday final poll showed solid lead of almost percent for ivo josipovic
of the opposition social democrats sdp against his rival zagreb mayor milan
bandic running as an independent
josipovic won the december first round with percent of the vote more
than double the support for bandic
the year old law expert and classical music composer vowed to lead firm
and uncompromised fight against corruption key criteria for zagreb eu bid
croatia hopes to become the bloc th member by
bandic veteran sdp member expelled from the party when he announced his
candidacy for the presidency last november called the electorate vote for
man and not for party
say yes for croatia of work unity dignity and pride the year old
said at the end of debate
he mounted last minute attack on josipovic by suggesting vote for the
leftwing candidate would mean choice for communist red croatia however
observers noted that bandic himself also emerged from the former communist sdp
party
during the campaign which ended at midnight friday the two contenders pledged
similar agenda the country eu entry the fight against corruption and
revival of the recession hit economy
despite the candidates wide ranging pledges croatian president has limited
powers curtailed by the incumbent stipe mesic who steps down on february
after serving the maximum two terms
voter milena panic librarian told afp saturday she backed josipovic
explaining that she saw him as decent and civilised man another voter
marko zeljeznak however said josipovic was distant while his choice bandic
understood us ordinary people
the president of the former yugoslav republic that proclaimed independence in
is the supreme commander of the army helps shape foreign policy and takes
part in the nomination of secret service chiefs
despite similar platform bandic and josipovic have opposite images and view
points which analysts say led to polarisation between civil left or
nationalism playing with rightwing sentiments modern or conservative
croatia
according to analysts josipovic has reputation as competent mister clean
untarnished by corruption scandals that have engulfed croatian politics but the
bookish professor has trouble stirring up the popular vote they warn
by contrast the energetic and outspoken bandic has styled himself fighter for
the common man and tried to lure rightwing voters to try and bridge the gap with
josipovic
bandic is counting on the votes of supporters of the ruling conservative
croatian democratic union hdz whose candidate did not make it into the run
