serguei sednev ukr penalties
daniel mesotitsch aut at
alexis boeuf fra
jaroslav soukup cze
pavol hurajt svk
christoph stephan ger
maxim tchoukov rus
martin fourcade fra
michal slesingr cze
roman dostal cze
overall world cup standings after out of races
evgeny ustyugov rus points
emil hegle svendsen nor
tim burke usa
christoph sumann aut
simon fourcade fra
eu puts off reply to us request for airport body scanners
toledo spain jan afp
the eu will decide on us request that europe install body scanners at its
airports after studies into their effects on health and privacy are completed
eu officials said thursday in spain
spanish interior minister alfredo perez rubalcaba whose country holds the
rotating presidency of the eu said the european commission was carrying out the
studies into the scanners effectiveness and possible impacts on health and
privacy
once we have these studies on the table we will make decision he told
news conference with us homeland security secretary janet napolitano following
talks with interior ministers from across the nation bloc in toledo
the united states has accelerated the installation of body scanners at its
airports since the attempted attack on christmas day on jet bound for detroit
from amsterdam and it would like the eu to follow its lead to monitor
passengers crossing the atlantic
napolitano said the united states currently employs body scanners at its
airports and intends to have at least within the next year
al qaeda has used and will use its best minds against aviation security and we
must do no less she added
spain wants the nation bloc to develop common policy on the use of the
scanners which can see through clothing to reveal concealed liquids
explosives or weapons
napolitano said the us was not necessarily seeking common eu position on use
of the scanners and was not seeking to impose decision on the bloc but she
defended the effectiveness of the devices
do think they are helpful that is why the us is moving forward and moving
forward with alacrity she said
britain and the netherlands have already said they will employ the scanners
while france and italy plan to try out the expensive devices
scandinavian nations and germany and spain have been more cautious
but german interior thomas de maiziere said there had been some very promising
tests in the netherlands with the scanners and berlin could reach decision
regarding their use by the middle of the year
they have to be effective not harm health and not violate privacy he said
adding it would be better to have joint eu decision in the long term
it is not question of acting under pressure it is question of national and
european security
the outgoing european commission dropped plans to introduce the scanners europe
wide in after the european parliament opposed the move calling for more
studies on the possible radiation dangers and privacy issues involved
privacy campaigners say the technology violates european law by producing
sexually explicit images of the passengers
they have raised the possibility that images taken by the scanners could be
leaked online and want the scanners to be used only if it can be shown that they
definitely improve security do not pose health hazard and do to not infringe
upon privacy rights
the us request has the backing of the eu anti terror coordinator gilles de
kerchove
am in favour of the body scanners as long as there are rules in place it
useful very useful even for detecting cases such as the detroit case where
someone hid explosives around his private parts which were not searched by
hand he said earlier this month
year old nigerian umar farouk abdulmutallab has been accused of trying to
detonate bomb on the flight to detroit and has been charged with the attempted
murder of people he has pleaded not guilty
in vast capital exodus haiti relocates homeless
port au prince jan afp
haiti officials said thursday they were relocating hundreds of thousands of
homeless earthquake victims out of the capital to hastily set up villages around
the country designed to each hold at least people
the government has made available to people free transportation large
operation is taking place we re in the process of relocating homeless people
said haitian interior minister paul antoine bien aime
he said while he didn have exact figures perhaps as many as people
would be moved
officials said the government was paying for at least buses to take victims
to the south and north of the country from the capital port au prince which was
largely destroyed in magnitude earthquake earlier this month
brightly painted public buses were roaming the city to pick up passengers many
of whom were piling on the vehicles roofs desperate to leave behind the
rubble strewn streets and precarious structures weakened by dozens of
aftershocks
it is not clear where the internally displaced people will end up but officials
said they had begun the process with local mayors around the country of
identifying sites for the villages
coming amid public discontent over the government faint performance in the
aftermath of the earthquake the move is one of its first major steps to aid the
hundreds of thousands of people left homeless by the disaster
haiti secretary of state for agriculture michel chancy tasked with
coordinating aid relief told afp that the government had delivered more than
rations in the past week and said authorities aim to deliver
day going forward
throughout port au prince there are food distribution points and water
trucks which carries out two deliveries day chancy said
some remain in make shift shelters in the city and the priority is to
relocate them to the camps or villages outside the city for the time being
the international organisation for migration also said thursday that at least
half million people are living outdoors in improvised camps in the haitian
capital
most people had cobbled together makeshift shelters from sheeting blankets
cardboard or bits of debris while some had received tents from haitian
authorities or us forces
the count of those who were homeless or staying outside their homes after last
week earthquake was climbing iom spokeswoman said
so far some improvised settlements comprising at least people have
been identified in this city alone out of which settlements have been
assessed by iom the haitian government and humanitarian partners the agency
said thursday
rescue teams from around the world were combing debris in and around port au
prince for survivors nearly nine days after the quake shattered homes and
buildings in the region
splm candidate confident of beating beshir in sudan poll
khartoum jan afp
the candidate of sudan southern former rebel movement said on thursday that he
was confident of defeating veteran incumbent omar el beshir in presidential
election expected in april
yasser arman said he expected to build on the southern support base of his sudan
people liberation movement by campaigning on behalf of all the marginalised
groups of sudan far flung regions
arman who although splm deputy leader is himself northerner added that he
even expected to pick up votes in the capital and its environs as all sudanese
wanted change after years of beshir rule
the marginalised people will make the difference they have been excluded
politically economically and culturally and we are going to restructure the
state in way that can bring them from the periphery to the centre said
arman who is the leading challenger so far to declare his candidacy
have more chances because start with four million voters in the south and
am competing in other areas unlike other candidates
have solid base in the south and from this solid base the splm has wider
support in the north in the west in the east in the centre and believe
that our programme our vision is the only game in town
arman said that only he could deliver on the changes promised under peace
deal between his movement and beshir government including april elections
and referendum on independence for the south promised for
president beshir rules sudan for years and the sudanese are looking for
changes for freedoms for reconciliation for permanent peace for new sudan
on new basis for referendum in time it is only the splm that can guarantee
those results he said
arman said that even sudanese in the country northern heartland had major
interest in voting for candidate who would push for an end to the seven year
old conflict in the western region of darfur and the consolidation of democracy
after the country first multi party elections since
they need democracy and we are for democratization they need peaceful
settlement in darfur and our record is straightforward in darfur and they
need food they need the institutions of the state to be neutral and that cannot
be done by beshir national congress he said
arman secular muslim was born in gezira sudan agricultural heartland
along the nile he studied law in the at cairo university in khartoum
where he was an active member of the communist movement
number of northern opposition groups made common cause with the rebel splm
during the devastating civil war between the mainly muslim north and
the mainly christian or animist south
splm leader salva kiir is standing for election to the presidency of the
autonomous region in south sudan in simultaneous vote that will take place
alongside the election to the national presidency
figure skating european championship results
tallinn jan afp
results from the third day of the european figure skating championships here on
thursday
ice dance
standings after original dance
oksana domnina maxim shabalin rus federica faiella massimo scali
ita jana khokhlova sergei novitski rus nathalie
pechalat fabian bourzat fra sinead kerr john kerr gbr
alexandra zaretsky roman zaretsky isr anna cappellini luca lanotte
ita anna zadorozhniuk sergei verbillo ukr ekaterina
bobrova dmitri soloviev rus alla beknazarova vladimir zuev ukr
nora hoffmann maxim zavozin hun pernelle carron lloyd jones
fra christina beier william beier ger zoe blanc
pierre loup bouquet fra caitlin mallory kristjan rand est
penny coomes nicholas buckland gbr kira geil dmitri matsjuk
aut kamila hajkova david vincour cze allison reed otar
japaridze geo nikola visnova lukas csolley svk katelyn
good nikolaj sorensen den federica testa christopher mior ita
nikki georgiadis graham hockley gre oksana klimova sasha
palomaki fin ramona elsener florian roost sui lesia
valadzenkava vitali vakunov blr
original dance standings
federica faiella massimo scali ita oksana domnina maxim shabalin
rus nathalie pechalat fabian bourzat fra jana
khokhlova sergei novitski rus sinead kerr john kerr gbr
alexandra zaretsky roman zaretsky isr anna zadorozhniuk sergei
verbillo ukr ekaterina bobrova dmitri soloviev rus anna
cappellini luca lanotte ita alla beknazarova vladimir zuev ukr
nora hoffmann maxim zavozin hun pernelle carron lloyd jones
fra zoe blanc pierre loup bouquet fra christina
beier william beier ger caitlin mallory kristjan rand est
penny coomes nicholas buckland gbr kamila hajkova david vincour
cze allison reed otar japaridze geo kira geil dmitri
matsjuk aut nikola visnova lukas csolley svk katelyn
good nikolaj sorensen den oksana klimova sasha palomaki fin
nikki georgiadis graham hockley gre federica
testa christopher mior ita ramona elsener florian roost sui
lesia valadzenkava vitali vakunov blr
alert
us supreme court lifts limits for businesses on campaign financing
british borrowing hits record in december
london jan afp
british state borrowing worsened to record deficit in december data showed
thursday sparking speculation about public spending cuts and taxation hikes in
the months ahead amid looming election
the nation public finances have deteriorated sharply as recession hits
taxation revenues and ramps up spending on unemployment benefits financial
stimulus measures and the enormously expensive banking bailouts
with an election due by june which prime minister gordon brown labour party
appears set to lose to the opposition conservatives one of the biggest debates
is how to fix soaring public debt
the public sector net borrowing requirement the state preferred measure of
public finances grew to billion pounds billion euros billion
dollars last month the office for national statistics said thursday
that was the highest ever level recorded for december and compared with net
borrowing of billion pounds for the same month one year earlier
however it was smaller than market expectations of billion pounds
according to economists polled by dow jones newswires
the less dire than expected public finance data for december does not alter the
fact that major fiscal surgery is needed for an extended period involving
further and clearer spending cuts as well as tax hikes said ihs global
insight economist howard archer
economist owen james at the centre for economics and business research
consultancy added that the deficit was frightening
while the increase in the level of public debt in december is less than
expected the scale of the deficit remains frightening he said
the additional headroom suggested by today data does provide an opportunity
for the government to begin to bring expenditure in line with income all eyes
will be firmly fixed on the budget this spring
britain total net debt meanwhile has hit billion pounds which was the
equivalent of percent of the nation gross domestic product gdp the ons
added in statement
that was the highest proportion of economic output since records began more than
years ago
the news also comes as greece grapples with soaring debts which have sparked
recent turmoil on global financial markets and created uncertainty about the
economic health of the eurozone peripheral members
britain which is not member of the eurozone but is leading economy in the
european union is the last major world power officially still in recession
many nations around the world are now dealing with the fall out of enormous
borrowing because they implemented emergency economic stimulus measures to
firefight the global financial crisis and deep worldwide downturn
britain has borrowed billion pounds in the financial year which began in
april the ons also revealed on thursday that compared with the billion
pounds recorded at the same stage of last year
the government treasury department said on thursday that borrowing was on
course to hit the official forecast of billion pounds for the
financial year which ends in early april
golf poulter leads charge at abu dhabi
abu dhabi jan afp
ian poulter drained magical foot birdie putt on the final hole to break
logjam on top of the leaderboard as the quality field made mockery of the
thick rough and new grove rules on the opening day of the abu dhabi golf
championship
poulter massive putt took him one clear of pack of nine players bunched at
six under par but the final group threw in couple more scores of seven
under par
joining the englishman on top of the table was compatriot richard bland and
south african keith horne who created bit of their own magic by making their
par putts in near dark conditions
spain sergio garcia who showed no signs of the wrist injury that kept him off
golf for almost two months northern ireland rory mcilroy and birthday boy
alvaro quiros were among those tied for fourth place at six under
joining them were swedes alexander noren and peter hanson argentine daniel
vancsik scot paul lawrie and welshmen stephen dodd and rhys davies
defending champion paul casey lost his ball in the bushes on the eighth hole for
double bogey seven in his even par round while european no lee westwood
was scratchy in his three under par effort
german martin kaymer champion in and runner up last year opened with
five under par
as many as players in the man field were sub par on what turned out to be
perfect day for golf
world no poulter was bogey free for his round and was six under after
holes at one stage before the birdies dried up on the back nine
after the round poulter said wasn expecting to come out quite as fast as
that but ll certainly take it when got in here didn feel per cent
let alone the way it was today
so put an extra long session in on tuesday and on wednesday my hands were
raw and sore
ve obviously done an awful lot of work and it definitely paid off hit
my irons very very solid and holed some nice putts it dried up little bit on
the back nine but the one on the last was little bonus
it was downhill downgrain foot putt haven really had putt outside
feet all day
hit it way too hard probably ten foot too hard guess and it was on line
and lucky enough hit the back of the hole and popped up and dropped
both bland and horne played in the final group of the day both returned bogey
free cards and both made their final putts with just enough light remaining for
them to see it fall into the cup
horne who shot final day in last week jo burg open to finish tied
second continued his good form with
horne said it was terrible we were running like anything to try and finish
just happy to get in and get finished it was pretty dark on the last green
but as said last week had been playing well for long time so there
lot of confidence coming behind it it wasn just that played well that week
just couldn get any scores going before that it wasn like it suddenly
clicked last week
london exhibition shows west debt to muslim scholars
london jan afp
the debt owed by european scholars to their muslim counterparts on everything
from water pumps and blood circulation to engineering and map making was
unveiled in london exhibition on thursday
the organisers of inventions discover the muslim heritage in our world
hope to illuminate years of neglected science from north africa to china
that provided bridge between ancient and renaissance scholarship
in doing so they expressed hope it would help improve understanding between the
muslim world and the west
if you neglect the contributions of other cultures then it gives you sense of
having cultural superiority which is dangerous said professor salim ts al
hassani who masterminded the exhibition at london science museum
he told afp as we move into new global world we need to respect and
recognise the contributions of all other races and cultures into what we have
today this exhibition demonstrates that
the exhibits span from about to ad which science museum director
professor chris rapley described as time of exceptional scientific and
technological advancement in china india persia africa and the arab world
it aims to highlight the muslim scholars who built on existing knowledge to
develop new ideas about astronomy and maths architecture medicine and
engineering but who have been largely ignored in european history
at the th century observatory in maragha in iran the exhibition notes
astrologists developed new models for understanding the universe which helped
pave the way for copernicus ideas of sun centred solar system in
abbas ibn firnas ninth century scholar also performed one of the first
recorded human flights when he leapt from the minaret of the grand mosque in
cordoba using glider stiffened with wooden struts
cairo medic ibn al nafis is also said to be the first to have accurately
described the part of the cardiovascular system involving the heart and lungs
paving the way for william harvey full description of circulation in
the exhibit also examines th century engineer al jazari who invented the
double action suction pump and his contemporary al idrisi who drew up world
map centuries before columbus and marco polo set off exploring
the muslim world was carrying the torch of human knowledge and understanding
while the west went through its dark ages rapley told afp
it was not just muslim scholars work however they worked with jewish and
christian scientists and built on ideas from the chinese the ancient
babylonians egyptians greeks and persians and the indians
this multicultural message is highlighted in al jazari elephant clock which
featured an indian elephant chinese dragons greek water mechanism an
egyptian phoenix and wooden robots wearing traditional arabian attire
science throughout its history has claimed hugely important role in diffusing
through or simply sidestepping cultural or political barriers and through
that sparking innovation new ideas and advance rapley said
the exhibition is based on hundreds of manuscripts from the period and the
claims of discoveries have been verified by experts at the science museum
inventions is open until april
cricket india wins icc reprieve on unfit kotla pitch
new delhi jan afp
the international cricket council on thursday ruled that new delhi will remain
venue for the world cup despite pitch fiasco late last year
an one day international between india and sri lanka was abandoned after
overs on december due to what match referee alan hurst said was an unfit
wicket at the ferozeshah kotla stadium
an icc investigation the findings of which were released on thursday ruled
that the pitch prepared for the above match was dangerous and should therefore
be classified as nfit
but the governing body accepted plea from the board of control for cricket in
india bcci that the kotla remain world cup venue with an icc pitch
consultant supervising the preparation of the wicket
the bcci in turn agreed not to host any international matches at the kotla for
the rest of
the pitch consultant will oversee the remedial work needed to make the kotla
wicket fit to hold world cup matches an icc release said
the icc general manager david richardson and chief match referee ranjan
madugalle studied video footage of the match and examined the reports of the
match referee and the bcci before reaching decision
we understand that turf pitches by their very nature are not and cannot be
expected to always behave predictably and that an occasional delivery of
unexpected steep bounce while not ideal especially for limited overs cricket
is part of the game richardson said in statement
in this instance however we are of the view that the frequency of the
misbehaving deliveries on average just more than one every three overs and the
excessive degree of variation had the potential to inflict serious injury to the
batsmen
therefore the pitch that was prepared for the above match was angerous and should therefore be classified as nfit
we acknowledge and endorse the decision by the bcci not to schedule any
international cricket at the ground prior to the end of which is
consistent with our own finding
while the pitch was unfit for international cricket it is also worth bearing
in mind that it is the first time the feroz shah kotla pitch has been rated as
unfit
icc chief executive haroon lorgat said he was confident the kotla pitch will
return to international standards by the time the world cup came
we are confident that there is ample time for the necessary remedial work to be
carried out ahead of next year icc cricket world cup said lorgat
it is important now that the work should be carried out and domestic cricket
played on the pitch to make sure it returns to the standards required for high
level international cricket
let not forget this ground is one of the world iconic venues and
it imperative it stages matches during what is the game biggest
tournament lorgat added
the kotla regular test venue is scheduled to host four matches of the world
cup to be organised jointly by india sri lanka and bangladesh in february
april
venezuela government moves into seized supermarkets
caracas jan afp
venezuela president hugo chavez has expropriated franco colombian
hypermarket chain ordering its assets be added to socialist network of
state owned discount stores
chavez signed the decree expropriating the exito supermarket chain on wednesday
after accusing it of price gouging when venezuela devalued its currency the
bolivar last week
the leftist president signed the decree in ceremony carried live on national
radio and television
the exito chain majority owned by french group casino has six stores around
the country selling everything from food to home appliances
chavez has shuttered more than retail stores in week long campaign to keep
lid on prices in the wake of the bolivar devaluation which will make it
more costly to import goods
the bolivar devaluation the first since was designed in part to bolster
public finances that have withered amid dwindling oil revenues and rapidly
contracting economy
critics said the move would allow chavez to boost public spending ahead of
elections in september but could severely damage the health of the economy
nr jm ao
malnutrition higher among babies born to india child brides
paris jan afp
babies born to child brides in india run higher risk of malnourishment
compared to those born to older mothers says paper appearing on friday
anita raj professor at boston university school of public health led an
investigation into children born to women who had been married
between the ages of and
more than of the births occurred among child brides the term for girl
who marries before the age of
large majority percent of the child brides babies were malnourished
they were percent liklier to be stunted and percent likelier to be
underweight compared to the children of women aged over
there was no significant difference in birthweight or mortality between the
infants of both groups
the study published online by the british medical journal bmj speculates
that child brides get sidelined by husbands and their in laws and thus cannot
lobby for food for their children
the findings emphasise the value of delayed childbearing among adolescent
wives says raj
they also reveal the need for targeted intervention efforts to support children
born to mothers married as minors
india has the highest number of under five deaths in the world more than
percent of to year olds in india marry before they are and almost
quarter of the same age group have given birth by the time they reach
china europe put markets on edge
london jan afp
stocks got some much needed support thursday from unexpectedly high earnings at
us banking giant goldman sachs despite market jitters over china economy and
huge national debts in europe
investors are worried that the chinese economy which is now the key driver for
global growth as europe and the united states are only slowly emerging from the
world economic crisis may be beginning to overheat
china economy expanded by percent in new data out on thursday
showed while the business consultancy pricewaterhousecoopers pwc forecast
that china could overtake the us as the world top economy by
but china biggest rise in inflation in months underlined the broader
challenges of breakneck growth and came as the world bank and international
monetary fund warned again that the country could face an economic bubble
china gets touch of overheat markets across the rest of the world shudder
that is the way of things today in global economy controlled as much in the
east as it is in the west said analyst howard wheeldon at bgc brokers
the concern over china is playing out against backdrop of investor nerves over
the global economy with the imf and the united nations this week both warning
of possible double dip recession this year
those worries have been heightened in europe where several governments are
struggling to cope with rising debt levels debt troubles in countries like
greece and portugal have also dragged down the euro against the dollar
capital economics an economic consultancy said that there are still major
uncertainties over the likely strength and sustainability of the upturn
meanwhile those euro zone economies with combination of fiscal strains and
competitiveness problems face painful period of adjustment
there was some good news for the stock markets however from the united states
where wall street juggernaut goldman sachs on thursday reported impressive
fourth quarter and full year profit despite the downturn
european equities are getting lift from the goldman sachs results this
afternoon said david morrison an analyst at financial spread betting firm
gft adding profits were very strong and well above the consensus estimate
but he warned gains may be tempered however until after investors have heard
what the president has to say about investment bank regulation today referring
to planned announcement by us president barack obama
wall street stocks suffered their biggest drop for the year on wednesday
following news that china was planning to rein in credit after explosive growth
last year in europe bourses in paris and frankfurt lost percent in value
european markets were sluggish on thursday but avoided the sharp falls of the
previous day
london benchmark ftse inched down percent in afternoon trading
frankfurt dax gained percent and the cac in paris fell percent
the tokyo stock exchange benchmark nikkei index closed up percent on
thursday shrugging off the negative lead from wall street as foreign investors
bought heavyweight companies such as toyota and sony
faster than expected chinese growth has heightened fears that the people bank
of china may hike interest rates this quarter said analyst jane foley at
online trading site forex com
this may not yet be consensus view but the rise in tightening fears was
sufficient to push most asian stock indices lower which led to flurry of
dollar buying
the euro fell amid worries about china and the fiscal crises in europe
the euro was changing hands at dollars in afternoon trading in london
compared to late in new york on wednesday the euro had hit five month
low against the dollar on wednesday
the imf warned portugal on wednesday of the critical importance of getting its
public finances amid existing concerns over greece own massive debt troubles
as soon as markets had digested the situation in greece it now portugal
