competition
atletico travel to celta vigo having drawn in the first leg while getafe
host real mallorca holding advantage
earlier valencia missed the chance to move level on points with second placed
real madrid following frustrating draw at promoted tenerife on sunday
valencia had scored nine goals in their last three matches but could not find
the breakthrough against tenerife and now trail real by two points in third
having played one game more
we weren at our best today said valencia coach unai emery however we are
in great position in the league and have to keep on going
tenerife had their chances too but had to be content with point although it is
not enough to move them out of the relegation zone
valencia sit five points ahead of real mallorca who reclaimed fourth spot with
draw at espanyol on sunday
an th minute penalty from borja valero salvaged point for mallorca who go
above deportivo la coruna on goal difference
in other matches villarreal got back to winning ways with victory over
struggling real zaragoza at el madrigal
despite the win villarreal are still down in ninth seven points off the desired
european places
zaragoza are second from bottom and coach jose aurelio gay has not tasted
victory in his five league matches in charge
later on sunday real madrid host malaga at the santiago bernabeu looking for
th consecutive home win in the league to cut barcelona eight point cushion
at the summit
real lost at athletic bilbao last time out and can afford to start
slipping up at home after barca beat valladolid on saturday
barcelona have become only the fifth side to go the first half of the season
unbeaten and no spanish side has ever gone an entire game season without
losing
miracle survival stories from haiti earthquake
port au prince jan afp
hopes faded of finding further survivors beneath the rubble of haiti
earthquake sunday day after rescuers dug out young man who survived days
trapped in the debris
total of people are known to have been saved from the wreckage following
the january quake in which more than people were killed here are
some notable cases
jan an month old girl is rescued by australian television crews from
near the bodies of her parents she did not cry she looked astonished almost
as if she was seeing the world for the first time reporter for the nine
network said
jan girl aged seven man of and woman aged are pulled from
the ruins of supermarket in port au prince by us and turkish rescuers maria
lamy and arielle all with minor injuries were able to survive thanks to food
stuck beneath the rubble with them
jan the german co owner of the capital hotel montana nadine cardoso
riedl is saved thanks to cellphone sms that she managed to send she is
dehydrated but unhurt
jan haitian year old anna zizi sings as mexican firemen pull her from
the ruins of port au prince cathedral her rescuers had been able to feed her
water through tube
jan elisabeth day old baby is rescued from the ruins of house in
the devastated town of jacmel in southern haiti after spending seven days
trapped with nothing to eat or drink her condition is satisfactory rescuers
say
jan the same day neighbours dig an year old girl mendji bahina
sanon from the ruins of her house in port au prince mama is not in the hole
don leave me mama she said in hospital afterwards as her mother tried to
calm her nightmares
jan an year old woman maria carida roman is saved by friends and
family who heard her faint cries from the ruins of her house in the capital she
is badly dehydrated her chest is crushed and she has maggots on her body
doctors say and is transferred to us hospital ship anchored off the haitian
coast
jan hours later emmanuel buso is rescued from ruins near the
presidential palace by team of israeli military rescuers he survived by
drinking his own urine
jan wismond exantus is saved from the wreckage of the shop where he
worked in port au prince after surviving days by drinking coca cola and
eating snacks french us and greek teams rescue him
football spanish league table
madrid jan afp
spanish league table ahead of sunday late match played won drawn lost
goals for goals against points
barcelona
real madrid
valencia
real mallorca
deportivo la coruna
sevilla
getafe
athletic bilbao
villarreal
sporting gijon
atletico madrid
osasuna
racing santander
espanyol
almeria
malaga
valladolid
tenerife
real zaragoza
xerez
us diplomat defends terror country watchlist
algiers jan afp
the nation terror watchlist drawn up by the united states in the wake of the
failed christmas day airliner bombing is not aimed at blacklisting one country
or another us diplomat said on sunday
janet sanderson the us state department deputy assistant secretary for the
gulf said the policy was evolving and was intended to protect air travellers
travellers flying directly or indirectly to the united states from countries on
the list are subject to enhanced security screening
the list includes algeria iran nigeria syria and yemen and number of
countries have strongly protested against their inclusion
our efforts to protect not only our citizens but every traveller are not aimed
at any one country nor are they aimed at blacklisting or pointing out one
country or another sanderson said after talks with algeria junior minister
for north african affairs abdelkader messahel
algerian foreign minister mourad medelci summoned the us ambassador in algiers
david pearce earlier this month to protest at the unfortunate unjustified
and discriminatory decision to include algeria in the list
sanderson who was us ambassador to algeria for number of years said
washington was committed to continuing to consult with the algerian
government on this issue
this policy is evolving we do believe that it will affect and impact every
country not just travellers from one country or another but at the end of the
day our aim is to make air travel safer for everyone she said
this is an evolutionary process these efforts that we are making together are
always changing in order to meet changing threat that problem is always under
review
messahel reiterated that algeria was surprised to find itself on the risk list
announced by washington on january algeria state news agency aps reported
on january medelci who is due to meet sanderson on monday said algeria
expected to be removed from the list and messahel said sunday algiers had been
given assurances by washington
the watchlist is part of security measures drawn up us president barack obama
administration following young nigerian botched christmas day attempt to
blow up us airliner over detroit
there are currently no direct flights between algeria and the united states and
most algerians transit through paris
football spanish league results st update
madrid jan afp
spanish league results on sunday
sporting gijon racing santander geijo
tenerife valencia
villarreal capdevila nilmar rossi ibagaza real zaragoza
eliseu lafita
xerez bermejo osasuna monreal camunas
espanyol osvaldo real mallorca valero pen
getafe manu del moral atletico madrid
playing later
real madrid malaga gmt
saturday
sevilla negredo almeria
valladolid barcelona xavi alves messi
deportivo la coruna filipe luis juca alvarez athletic bilbao
colotto og
obama confident of repeat fed term for bernanke adviser
washington jan afp
embattled federal reserve chairman ben bernanke will garner enough votes to win
us senate confirmation for second term despite opposition from key democrats
president barack obama top adviser predicted sunday
the president is very confident that the chairman will be confirmed said
adviser david axelrod who praised bernanke handling of the recent global
economic meltdown
chairman bernanke offered very strong and steady leadership during this crisis
without which we may have slipped into the abyss and we are still in
fragile state although the economy is growing axelrod told cnn state of
the union television program
several us senators have vowed to filibuster the nomination which needs votes
for approval most of the senate republicans are expected to vote against
bernanke making it all the more important for bernanke to sew up the support of
democrats
but last week two senior senate democrats barbara boxer and russell feingold
announced that they would vote against bernanke after his first term ends on
january criticizing him for being too closely allied with wall street
senators particularly those facing re election this year also are concerned
about voter anger about the role of the fed in failing to prevent the deep
recession and then in helping to engineer the bailouts of large financial
companies
the growing tide against bernanke has imperiled the fed chairman but top
white house aide on sunday voiced praise of bernanke stewardship of us
monetary policy and said he needs another term as the country banker to ensure
that nascent economic recovery continues on track
there is great deal of concern relative to the financial sector and
understand that we need his leadership axelrod said
president barack obama administration has been scrambling to save his
beleaguered fed nominee first installed by obama predecessor george bush
in february in the face of opposition from members of his own democratic
party
senator john mccain obama republican rival in the presidential race
said he was leaning against supporting bernanke claiming that his policies
were partially responsible for the meltdown that we experienced
chairman bernanke was in charge when we hit the iceberg mccain told cbs
program face the nation
another top republican senator john cornyn said he was certain he would not
vote to approve another term for the fed chair
think ben bernanke is brilliant and an honorable man but one who has
presided over what is crisis of confidence of the american people due to
lack of transparency and accountability with regard to the bailouts and other
activities by the federal reserve he told the fox news sunday program
so regretfully will vote no on his confirmation think they need
fresh start the texas republican said
democrat boxer on the other end of the political spectrum from the pro
business conservative mccain and cornyn said on friday that she too objects
to bernanke return but for quite different reasons
it is time for main street to have champion at the fed our next federal
reserve chairman must represent clean break from the failed policies of the
past
ramped up democratic opposition to second term for bernanke underscores
major populist shift in the political landscape since republicans won stunning
upset last week in the massachusetts election for us senate seat ending the
seat democratic supermajority in the chamber
but analysts have warned that tossing out bernanke could trigger renewed turmoil
in financial markets after speculation that his nomination could be rejected
contributed to sharp stock market drop last week
time magazine named bernanke its person of the year in december
crediting him with helping guide the united states through financial turmoil
british soldier killed in afghan blast government
london jan afp
british soldier was killed in an explosion sunday while on foot patrol in
southern afghanistan the ministry of defence said
the blast hit the serviceman from company rd battalion the rifles near
sangin in helmand province said statement from the ministry
he was in an area known by the british military as the green zone which until
recently had been dominated by insurgents military spokesman said
he was on foot patrol as part of the operations that have been bringing
security to the local population in that area said the spokesman lieutenant
colonel david wakefield
we have lost one of our comrades and we will remember him
next of kin have been informed said the statement
he is the sixth british soldier to die in afghanistan this year and brings to
the total killed since operations began there in
last year british service personnel died in afghanistan making it the
bloodiest for the military since the falklands war
football quiet rajevic lets semi finalists ghana do the talking
luanda jan afp
there was little fanfare when milovan rajevic was appointed to succeed claude le
roy as manager of ghana but the quiet serb with no previous experience on the
african continent has proved prize catch
under his watch ghana became the first african country to qualify for the
world cup finals and here on sunday he guided his severely injury hit team into
the semi finals of the africa cup of nations
it represents quite an achievement without the black stars best player michael
essien and host of other key squad members including skipper stephen appiah
but with mix of the remaining experienced squad members and youngsters who won
the african under title rajevic side have shrugged off adversity to make it
to the last four
sunday defeat of hosts angola came about when asamoah gyan converted one
of their few chances the four time winners then having the guile to sit on
their lead annd counter attack when the opportunity arose
that has earned them last four date with either zambia or nigeria who play on
monday in lubango
we want to digest this win before thinking about who we would prefer to meet in
the semi final rajevic the former defender and coach of ex european champions
red star belgrade said with the help of his translator
of course we are missing players like essien appiah and anthony annan we have
had to call up lot of new players but what have here is team with very
competitive spirit and competitive style of play
there is an excellent atmosphere in our team which is very important
reflecting on how he had masterminded the end of angola cup dream rajevic
revealed we made good assessment of angola before the match
we knew they were very good in the air and also dangerous attacking down the
right side so we arranged to cancel these dangers out
fortunately we scored an early goal then we decided to defend the result
waiting for the chance to counter attack when angola left us enough space
this match was very tough and difficult both from the players point of view
and leading from the bench
this is an important victory for us very hard victory happy to see that
my guys know how to compete
he then issued warning to ghana rivals for the title and further ahead at
the world cup in south africa
this team can definitely can get better he said
the game was preceded by minute silence for both the victims of the haiti
earthquake and the death on sunday morning of angola coach manuel jose father
have to leave for portugal now to attend the funeral of my father jose told
hushed post match press conference
but am leaving proud to be coach of this team they finish in this
competition with their heads held high
ghana took their first chance to score and we did everything we could to get
goal ourselves
we had couple of chances but we didn have the luck they ghana did
as with all four of angola matches at the november stadium the home
supporters spurred their team on throughout the entire minutes prompting
jose to comment like to thank all the angolan fans who have been with us
from the beginning wish we could have reached the semi finals for them but
the players did their best
china says not involved in cyber attacks on google
beijing jan afp
china on monday denied any state involvement in cyber attacks on google and
defended internet censorship as necessary as row with washington over the us
firm threat to leave the country rumbled on
the statements from beijing carried in twin interviews on the state news agency
xinhua came after the white house said us president barack obama was troubled
by google claims that it had been attacked by china based hackers
the us internet giant has threatened to abandon its chinese search engine and
perhaps end all operations in the country over the cyber attacks it has also
said it is no longer willing to bow to chinese government censors
the accusation that the chinese government participated in any cyber attack
either in an explicit or inexplicit way is groundless and aims to denigrate
china an unnamed spokesman for the ministry of industry and information
technology told xinhua
we are firmly opposed to that the spokesman said
china policy on internet safety is transparent and consistent he added
reiterating that the country was itself the biggest victim of hacking
in separate interview an unidentified spokesperson for the state council or
cabinet said china efforts to regulate the internet were legitimate and
should be free from unjustifiable interferences
that comment came after speech on internet freedom by us secretary of state
hillary clinton in which she lamented what she said was beijing increasing
efforts to control what its million web users can see
china has full justification to regulate what it deems to be harmful internet
content the cabinet spokesperson said noting that such policy had nothing to
do with claims of restrictions on internet freedom
frightened residents flee violence hit nigerian city
jos nigeria jan afp
frightened residents flooded military checkpoint to flee the nigerian city of
jos on sunday after muslim christian clashes that killed nearly people and
gutted scores of buildings
while fighting subsided in the central city and troops were deployed to end the
unrest fleeing residents said they were too frightened to stay
at military checkpoint on the outskirts of jos where long lines of cars and
buses carrying residents formed soldiers searched all vehicles an afp reporter
saw several vehicles were laden with baggage
the last few days have been very traumatising for me and my two children
samira yaya told afp as she was leaving jos
my husband is out of the country on business trip we were indoors without
food or water with killings and burnings all around us am going to kano to
stay with my family until my husband returns feel uneasy here
danladi kabir year old trader told afp as he crammed luggage into taxi
that he was leaving jos for his jigawa home state in northern nigeria
my family in jigawa has been agitated over the fighting in jos and my safety
he said the best way to assure them am alive is to visit home
at least bodies have so far been recovered from wells and pits after the
clashes kuru karama village head umar baza said sunday taking the unofficial
death toll compiled from various sources to
kuru karama former mining village is muslim enclave in christian region
kilometres miles south of jos
dozens of cars houses churches and mosques were burnt during four days of
unrest and an overnight curfew remained in effect between pm and am
state officials have given no official death toll for the violence which broke
out in jos the capital of plateau state on january and spread to nearby
towns and villages
global rights watchdog human rights watch hrw told afp on saturday that
according to figures provided by muslim leaders at least muslims died in
the clashes
although the christian association of nigeria can has not provided
comprehensive death toll of its members in the fighting one of its officials
chung dabo earlier told afp that christians died
nigerian relief agency said on sunday it had registered women widowed and
children orphaned by the clashes
the national emergency management agency said it had also recorded more than
people who fled the fighting and sought refuge in its camps in the
neighbouring bauchi state
during sunday sermon before about faithful at saint michael catholic
cathedral in jos located at the heart of the fighting archbishop ignatius
kaigama criticised christians and muslims involved in the violence and those who
instigated it
we are potentially great country but we are messing up and we have to accept
that fact he said
our diversity is meant to create harmony and not disharmony but we are using
our differences to unleash destruction and cause problems for ourselves instead
of focusing on technology science and development we are wasting precious time
and energy on mutual altercation he stated
christian and muslim leaders in plateau state have both said the unrest owed
more to the failure of political leaders to address ethnic differences than
inter faith rivalries
kaigama called on members of the two religious communities to return to god
because if we don come back to him we shall continue to go in cycles of
violence destruction and killings
jos has long been hotbed of religious violence in nigeria whose million
people are divided almost equally between followers of the two faiths
an estimated people were killed in religious clashes in the city in late
bin laden warns obama of more attacks
dubai jan afp
al qaeda chief osama bin laden claimed responsibility for the botched christmas
day bombing of us airliner and vowed further strikes on american targets in
an audio message broadcast on sunday
the message aired by al jazeera television warned us president barack obama the
attack was meant as similar message to september when al qaeda
militants hijacked and crashed passenger jets into iconic american buildings
the recording said it was message from osama to obama and intelcenter us
group that monitors islamist websites said it contained language used by bin
laden in advance of attacks
in the message bin laden praised as hero nigerian national umar farouk
abdulmutallab who allegedly tried to detonate explosives on northwest airlines
plane approaching detroit on december but was foiled by passengers
the message that was conveyed through the attacked plane of the hero umar
farouk is to stress earlier messages delivered to you by the heroes of the
september attack he said
that message is that america should not dream of security until we enjoy it
as reality in palestine
the authenticity of the recording could not immediately be verified but al
jazeera said the voice was bin laden and intelcenter said it appeared to be
genuine
from osama to obama had we been able to deliver our messages to you in words
we would not have sent them by planes the statement said
it is not fair that you america enjoy good life while our brothers in gaza
endure the worst standard of living therefore god willing our attacks against
you will continue as long as you maintain your support to israel
intelcenter said it considered bin laden choice of the phrase peace be upon
those who follow guidance as possible indicator of an upcoming attack in
the next months
al qaeda in the arabian peninsula aqap had claimed responsibility for the
christmas day plane attack and analysts said bin laden through his statement is
stressing he is still in overall control of the network
washington has accused aqap of training abdulmutallab who spent some time in
yemen
the us administration is putting pressure on yemen to clamp down on al qaeda
militants in the impoverished country and an international meeting to discuss
militancy in yemen will be held on january in london
british foreign secretary david miliband said the foiled christmas attack marks
new phase in al qaeda campaign against the west
the heart of the al qaeda senior leadership remains on the afghan pakistan
border miliband said echoing the view held by many security experts about
their whereabouts
but there is real issue in yemen the fact that al qaeda in the arabian
peninsula should have tried to strike in detroit marks new phase in the
campaign and that why there an important meeting on yemen on wednesday
yemen has intensified its campaign against al qaeda launching waves of air
strikes on the extremists hideouts and insists it can battle the group on its
own without any foreign military intervention
sanaa stopped granting visas to foreigners at airports on thursday in bid to
curb feared inflow of militants believed to be training with al qaeda
the us senate foreign relations committee released report this week warning
aqap might be training as many as three dozen americans who converted to islam
in prison
intelligence reports have pointed for some time at yemen as new hub for al
qaeda fighters as pressure increases on them in afghanistan and pakistan
michael leiter director of the us national counterterrorism center told
lawmakers in september that yemen could become base for al qaeda to train and
plot anti us attacks
analysts believe the problems facing yemen including shiite rebellion in the
north secessionism in the south and poverty create perfect environment for
al qaeda to thrive
us grand jury has indicted year old abdulmutallab on six counts arising
from the attempt to blow up the jet packed with passengers and crew on
northwest airlines flight from amsterdam
bin laden who has million dollar bounty on his head last made public
statement four months ago when he was quoted as urging european countries to
withdraw their forces from afghanistan
traumatised haitians struggle to comprehend grim fate
port au prince jan afp
it not immediately clear where the crowd gathered in prayer ends and where the
refugee encampment begins as one group of listless traumatised people bleeds
into another
with symbol of state strength haiti once magnificent national palace lying
in ruins behind them thousands left homeless by the devastating quake pin their
hopes of salvation on god rather than on the works of man
the reading is psalm and the reader has high clear voice sometimes
distorted by feedback through the massive rock concert size speakers
hear my prayer lord and let my cry come unto thee she declares hide not
thy face from me in the day when am in trouble incline thine ear unto me in
the day when call answer me speedily
worshippers in the crowd follow the text with their fingers in battered copies
of the bible salvaged from their demolished homes in break in the text their
wavering voices sing along with misericordia prayer
for my days are consumed like smoke and my bones are burned as an hearth the
psalm continues my heart is smitten and withered like grass so that forget
to eat my bread
for have eaten ashes like bread and mingled my drink with weeping runs the
reading because of thine indignation and thy wrath for thou hast lifted me
up and cast me down
many haitians were cast down on january when magnitude quake tore into
the capital and surrounding region burying at least people in the ruins
of their shops and homes and leaving million homeless
now the survivors are looking for sense among the senseless waste queue of
them waits by the side of the stage as the reading continues
one by one they take the microphone and loudly confess their sins and those of
their people begging the forgiveness of god they can only suppose to have
been so angered by haitians that his wrath felled them in their thousands
my days are like shadow that declineth and am withered like grass the
reader continues her voice tireless but thou lord shall endure for ever
and thy remembrance unto all generations
he will regard the prayer of the destitute and not despise their prayer this
shall be written for the generation to come and the people which shall be
created shall praise the lord
not everyone in the crowd has come to pray some are just bored by life in the
tents and makeshift bivouacs carpeting the surrounding ceremonial square others
are here to do what business they can to survive
haggard looking woman hawks neat pile of freshly cleaned and pressed face
towels one optimist has erected stall selling souvenir key rings with the
haitian flags and arm bands celebrating us president barack obama
elsewhere family life continues one woman huddles in tiny patch of shade
breast feeding an infant small boys wash in bucket of soapy water while
nearby their playmates fly kites made of wire and plastic waste
stands sell short sticks of sugar cane and small oily pastries
two young men unload french language textbooks from sack to sell on the
kerbside the cover boasts that readers will become fluent after few easy
lessons but the salesmen themselves struggle to express themselves
what do think of what happened don think anything about it
across the road marshalled by police with pump action shotguns large but
orderly and calm crowd presses around the door of newly reopened bank hoping
to access cash hoping that relatives abroad have sent donations
the cause of the quake was natural but in what other country would it have had
such an effect asks year old security guard mercelus luckner fearful that
he is unemployed after finding his firm offices in ruins
haitians have made many mistakes they offended god god is punishing us he
reasons holding on to vague hope that one of the foreign aid workers arriving
in the city will pluck him from the crowd and offer him job
the psalm ends of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth and the
heavens are the work of thy hands they shall perish but thou shalt endure
afp gmt news advisory
washington jan afp
duty editor michael langan
tel
top stories
bin laden vows more strikes on us
