three dakar rally motorcycling titles
the ktm rider dominated the race from start to finish helped considerably by
the six hour penalty meted out to main rival marc coma last weekend for
illegally changing wheel
it was something he could barely have dreamt about when he was garage mechanic
in paris fixing other people bikes in having spent all his money on
competing in the rally of tunisia where he finished th
his first dakar appearance in resulted in th place finish but bmw were
looking for support rider who was also qualified mechanic
didn have penny had invested everything confessed despres who
celebrates his th birthday on january
had just come back from rally didn even have telephone because they
france telecom had cut my line
they bmw called me on friend line it was only small contract but
jumped at the chance added despres who is based in andorra where his
girlfriend resides
it was dream come true for despres who had been bitten by the bug of
motorcycling as schoolboy and had competed in his first moto trial aged just
inspired by friend who had already taken it up
cut up percent of my magazines and stuck the photographs of the riders on
my schoolbooks he admitted unashamedly
from there it was only small step to study motorcycling mechanics and then
pass his professional diploma
since then he has blossomed not only accruing three dakars but also two world
championship titles in this most demanding of rallying challenges although he
is well aware of the frustrations that can cost you race
you have to have full pack of cards to win the dakar said despres who lost
out on the crown on the first stage when problem with his tyres cost him
minutes
speed is not the primary card you require you have to draw up list of what
not to do how to avoid losing minutes on navigational problems speeding
penalties thus you have to be extra vigilant when looking at the roadbooks
but there are also factors such as not waking up too late having enough to eat
when you want to an osteopath always at your disposition
there are so many details to put together that when they are it is the size of
book if have addressed all those little things then when climb onto the
motorbike all that remains for me to do is easy
however despite these battlehardened competitors being tight knit bunch
because of the hardships of their competition despres has little time for the
protestations of innocence from coma over the changing of his wheel
there are five of us who saw his new wheel said despres
he shouldn take us for donkeys
for despres the importance of winning the dakar for the third time is in
establishing his name in the history of the race
winning the toughest race in the world will bring me recognition from my
peers he said
nordic combined norwegian has nothing to moan about in victory
chaux neuve france jan afp
norway magnus moan won the th stage of the nordic combined world cup series
on saturday after denying overall leader jason lamy chappuis of france in the
kilometres race
the year old lamy chappuis won the ski jump in the morning but his rival
moan proved stronger on the km cross country skiing leg when he came home in
winning time of minutes seconds
lamy chappuis finished just seconds behind in second while todd lodwick of
the usa was third at seconds behind moan
the year old norwegian was only after kms and attacked at the km stage
without opposition from the leading trio of americans including lodwick bill
demong and johnny spillane
pre vote stir in ukraine over mystery georgians
donetsk ukraine jan afp
the sudden arrival of hundreds of georgians in east ukraine ahead of
presidential elections sparked controversy saturday with local officials saying
they had come to carry out vote fraud
group of georgians had arrived in the eastern main city of donetsk over
the last days most of them on thursday and friday on chartered flights from
tbilisi said the head of donetsk city council nikolai levchenko
they are all men aged between they are built like sportsmen he added
saying that none of the individuals were on the central election commission
list as accredited observers
we have every reason to believe that these chartered flights arrived with the
aim of disrupting the elections in donetsk he said
he said the local authorities had evidence to show that the georgians had
arrived to disrupt the elections in favour of prime minister yulia tymoshenko
who draws most of her support from the more nationalist west of ukraine
levchenko said customs had found that the group was carrying documents with the
names of all those on the georgian election commission in the city and the
addresses of tymoshenko headquarters in the region
this shows clearly that these people were invited here by the tymoshenko
headquarters to take part in provocations and disrupt the voting in the region
the industrial and russian speaking donetsk region is the stronghold of the
frontrunner viktor yanukovich analysts believe it will be crucial for
tymoshenko his main rival to pick up votes here if she is to defeat him
one of the more minor presidential candidates mikhail brodsky last week
unveiled what he said was telephone conversation in which georgian president
mikheil saakashvili promised tymoshenko his support in the election
saakashvili spokesperson manana manjgaladze said friday that tbilisi was not
supporting any candidate and had no plan to intrude on the elections
georgian officials were not available for further comment saturday
election fraud in ukraine remains major issue after the supreme court ordered
re run of the last presidential elections in after discovering mass vote
rigging in favour of yanukovich
football mazzarri defends cup selection ahead of palermo clash
rome jan afp
napoli coach walter mazzarri has defended his midweek coppa italia selection as
his team prepare to host palermo on sunday
mazzarri rested most of his top players for the trip to juventus that ended in
defeat his first in games since taking over from roberto donadoni in
october
napoli are still matches unbeaten in serie and currently holding onto that
crucial fourth place
the team picked had lot of balance we talked about that match and decided
to take the positives out of it said mazzarri
you have to look at the performance and the fact that it was the only match in
which we could look at players who have been less used to see what the future
holds
hence taking everything into consideration picked team with lot of
balance
and they played with the same attitude their team mates had done in the other
games
unfortunately we went out of the cup but that could have happened even if we
had played the others
mazzarri clearly had an eye on sunday match against team just three points
behind them in the table and also challenging for top four finish
and with inter milan away as the prize to juventus for winning in the cup it
seems mazzarri clearly considered he would be better served by saving his
players for league encounters
tomorrow game against palermo will be ultra difficult we re playing team
with good players both individually and collectively with good coach and
we ll need to be at percent he added
guinea seeks new prime minister after crisis deal
conakry jan afp
guinea sought new interim prime minister saturday after deal that sidelines
the country junta chief recently targeted in an assassination bid following
massacre of opposition supporters
on friday guinea political rivals signed the deal providing for elections in
six months and for junta chief captain moussa dadis camara to remain in
convalescence following the december bid to kill him camara is currently in
burkina faso
the first two people put forward for the role of prime minister jean marie
dore and rabiatou serah diallo must go to ouagadougou for talks said
lieutenant mohamed kasse spokesman for interim junta chief general sekouba
konate
dore is spokesman for the forces vives coalition of opposition parties trade
unions and civil society and rabiatou serah diallo is general secretary of the
national confederation of guinean workers
they are due to meet konate camara and burkina faso president blaise compaore
in ouagadougou compaore is mediating between the ruling junta and the
opposition in guinea
however dore and diallo were still in guinea capital conakry midday saturday
general konate is the interim president and head of state for six month
period camara remains president of the cndd guinea national council for
democracy and development kasse said
he added that after the elections automatically he general konate will hand
over his powers
according to kasse while the discussions will occur in burkina faso the
official nomination of interim prime minister will take place in guinea
it is matter of days it is imminent kasse said adding that position
would also be found for the unsuccessful candidate
the deal on friday coming after two days of difficult negotiations was met
with relief from the international community led by france and the african
union which were concerned about an immediate return to guinea by camara
camara was shot in the head by an aide de camp in december after what some said
was dispute over bloody crackdown on an opposition rally in september in
which more than people were shot dead
guinea has marked decisive stage in getting out of the crisis it has been in
for year and on the way to state of law and justice french foreign
minister bernard kouchner had said in statement
france will resolutely back the application of this declaration and in this
framework can soon resume its cooperation it will attempt to mobilize guinea
partners so that they can accompany the process toward elections
president of the african union commission jean ping also welcomed the
agreement describing it as positive evolution of the situation in guinea
alpine skiing world cup giant slalom results
maribor slovenia jan afp
women world cup giant slalom results here on saturday
kathrin zettel aut
maria riesch ger
anja paerson swe
kathrin hoelzl ger
andrea fischbacher aut
ramona siebenhofer aut
michaela kirchgasser aut
viktoria rebensburg ger
lena duerr ger
manuela moelgg ita
tanja poutiainen fin
mona loeseth nor
tina maze slo
karin hackl aut
maria pietilae holmner swe
did not finish
st leg ana bucik slo nadia fanchini ita
leg federica brignone ita stefanie koehle aut lindsey vonn usa
world cup standings
overall after races
lindsey vonn usa pts
maria riesch ger
kathrin zettel aut
anja paerson swe
tina maze slo
giant slalom after races
kathrin zettel aut pts
kathrin holzl ger
tina maze slo
maria pietilae holmner swe
federica brignone ita
pakistani taliban leader denies his death in new recording
peshawar pakistan jan afp
pakistan taliban leader hakimullah mehsud released new audio recording
saturday saying he was alive and well after us drone missile attack was said
to have killed him
the recording comes day after the taliban released similar audio file in
which mehsud said he was alive but did not mention the specific strike thursday
in pakistan northwest that triggered rumours of his death
after the audio released yesterday some people speculated and said that
did not mention the date mehsud said
today on the th of january am saying it again am alive am ok am
not injured when the drone strike took place was not present in the area
at that time
rallying despres takes dakar bikes title for third time
buenos aires jan afp
frenchman cyril despres won his third dakar rally motorcycling title on saturday
after the th and final stage which was won by portuguese rider ruben faria
despres who will turn on january finished over five minutes behind his
ktm team mate who was exceptionally allowed to attack on the final stage as he
is usually obliged to race behind the frenchman as support rider in case
anything untoward happens to him
norwegian pal ullevalseter finished second overall over an hour behind despres
after finishing second on his ktm in the stage min sec behind faria
chilean francisco chaleco lopez riding an aprilia was third overall less than
five minutes behind the runner up
football last gasp heartbreak for luckless liverpool
stoke on trent england jan afp
robert huth deprived rafael benitez of vital victory as stoke claimed
dramatic equaliser against liverpool minute from time at the britannia stadium
to forcve draw
huth pounced from close range to ensure frustrating end to tortuous week for
benitez with stoke first ever premier league goal against liverpool
sotirios kyrgiakos had appeared set to ease the pressure on the liverpool
manager with his first goal for the club but sustained period of late
pressure from stoke was rewarded right at the death
in the face of severe criticism from former players and just days after
humiliating fa cup exit to reading benitez had attempted to bring light relief
to liverpool troubled season on the eve of this daunting trip
before the corresponding fixture last season benitez produced piece of paper
from his pocket and proceeded to deliver rant aimed at title rival sir alex
ferguson the manchester united manager
at his pre match media conference at the club melwood training base benitez
once again reached for his pocket and produced piece of paper
the difference this time was that the spaniard did it as joke an attempt at
raising the gloom that has descended on anfield
despite benitez attempt at humour the pressure remains on the liverpool
manager and the failure to beat mid table stoke will only lead to more calls
from disgruntled fans for his six year reign at anfield to be brought to an end
alberto aquilani and new signing maxi rodriguez started on the bench while
phillip degen lucas leiva and fabio aurelio all started on day when benitez
was without five first team players steven gerrard fernando torres yossi
benayoun daniel agger and glen johnson
trip to the bearpit of the britannia stadium is enough to test the most
fragile of individuals and stoke are team that despite their deficiencies
are masters at playing to their strengths
series of long throw ins from rory delap typically unnerved the liverpool
defence early on in frantic start
chances were at minimum after such cagey opening but benitez was fidgeting
with fury midway through the half when lucas was clearly hacked down in the
penalty area by danny higginbotham
not only did referee lee mason refuse to award penalty but he booked the
brazilian for diving emphasising the poor fortune benitez is currently
experiencing
stoke mission to pile more agony on benitez suffered blow soon after that
penalty decision when abdoulaye faye and delap were both forced off injured
the potters one of the lowest scorers in the premier league failed to test
reds goalkeeper jose reina once in the first half
liverpool were forced to weather an early aerial bombardment in the second
period but stunned the noisy home crowd into silence in the th minute
aurelio free kick was fumbled by thomas sorensen and kyrgiakos bundled the
ball over the line despite the frantic attempts of higginbotham to hack clear
stoke did not test reina until the th minute when substitute ricardo fuller
headed matt etherington corner straight into the goalkeeper arms
but late bombardment ended with an equaliser when huth stabbed in from yard
out after etherington corner had been headed back across the goalmouth by
higginbotham then flicked on by salif diao
stoke pressed hard for winner but it was liverpool who could have snatched
victory in the fifth minute of injury time aurelio got clear on the left and
curled in superb cross that dirk kuyt from barely five yards out contrived
to head against the post
urgent pakistani taliban leader denies his death in new recording
peshawar pakistan jan afp
pakistan taliban leader hakimullah mehsud released new audio recording
saturday saying he was alive and well after us drone missile attack was said
to have killed him
afp gmt news advisory
paris jan afp
duty editor helen rowe
tel
top stories
haitians flee capital as aid efforts struggle
afghan lawmakers reject karzai cabinet nominees
french academic back in tehran court
haiti quake ndlead wrap
port au prince
fearful haitians flee their putrid quake hit capital in droves as vast
international aid effort struggles to relieve tensions threatening to boil over
into major riots
words gmt by beatriz lecumberri picture graphic video
afghanistan politics cabinet rdlead
kabul
afghan lawmakers reject more than half of president hamid karzai second list
of cabinet nominees following an earlier rejection of most of his first choices
drawing out the country long running political crisis
words gmt by lynne donnell picture
iran france protest trial rdlead
tehran
french academic clotilde reiss lawyer expresses confidence she will be
acquitted after she appears in court in tehran on charges of acting against
iranian national security during anti government protests in june
words gmt by farhad pouladi file picture
haiti
haiti quake refugee exodus lead
port au prince
standing at bus station next to her husband and four children talulum saint
fils is so determined to get as far away from the haitian capital as possible
she has sold her family jewelry for one way tickets
words gmt by beatriz lecumberri picture
haiti quake un rdlead
geneva
the earthquake in haiti is the worst disaster ever confronted by the united
nations spokeswoman says as the catastrophe has wiped out vital
infrastructure in affected regions further complicating relief efforts
words gmt by hui min neo
haiti quake aid wrap
paris
more cash pours in for quake stricken haiti saturday from countries and
individuals after officials said the hundreds of millions of dollars already
pledged in aid was still not enough
words gmt
europe
ukraine vote ndlead
kiev
pro russia politician viktor yanukovich is on course to sweep the first round of
ukraine presidential polls five years after vote rigging by his supporters
sparked the orange revolution
words gmt by stuart williams picture
middle east
attacks yemen lead wrap
sanaa
yemen confirms the deaths of six senior al qaeda figures in an air strike day
earlier while continuing its crackdown on the group by arresting three
suspected militants
words gmt by taieb mahjoub picture
egypt opposition islam rdlead
cairo
egypt main opposition movement the muslim brotherhood appoints conservative
mohammed badie as its new leader in move analysts say signals switch to less
active role in political life
words gmt by mona salem picture
we will also move egypt opposition islam badie profile
americas
iran un nuclear diplomacy lead
new york
six major powers meet here to mull response to iran nuclear defiance but
china is sending lower level diplomat in signal of its reluctance to back
tougher sanctions pushed by the west
words gmt by gerard aziakou
football novo extends rangers lead at the top
hamilton scotland jan afp
rangers extended their lead at the top of the scottish premier league after
nacho novo late strike secured win over hamilton on saturday
walter smith side laboured for long periods at new douglas park before novo
finally broke the deadlock with minutes
the spaniard goal allowed the defending champions to pull points clear of
second placed celtic but tony mowbray men can close the gap with victory
against falkirk later on saturday and also have another game in hand still to
play
rangers captain david weir told espn it always tough any time you go away
in the spl it tough game
we never played well enough in the first half but thought in the second half
we improved and delighted for nacho getting the goal
you don get anything easy coming to places like this you ve got to work hard
and do the dirty jobs
smith made three changes to the side held to draw by hamilton in the
scottish cup last sunday kenny miller and lee mcculloch were both suspended and
kris boyd was sidelined after undergoing groin surgery with novo kevin thomson
and maurice edu coming in
novo gave rangers an early opening when he flicked on for kyle lafferty but the
northern ireland striker fired over under pressure from hamilton goalkeeper
tomas cerny
hamilton squandered golden opportunity to take shock lead when simon mensing
slipped pass through to mickael antoine curier who touched on for marco
paixao but he smashed his effort wide from close range
mensing went even closer when he blasted shot past rangers goalkeeper allan
mcgregor only for danny wilson to clear off the line
antoine curier was constant menace in the first half and he tried his luck
with powerful strike which flashed wide of the target
steven davis shot over from just outside the area as rangers struggled to find
any fluidity before the break
smith would have demanded far more dynamic display at half time and rangers
were able to pile on more pressure after the break
steven whittaker was close with well struck effort which whistled across the
face of goal
whittaker had another chance when he collected davis ball out on the left only
to shoot into the side netting with weak effort
lafferty should have done better than head over with tame effort midway
through the half
antoine curier was agonisingly close to putting hamilton ahead moments later but
his snap shot just missed the target
paixao threatened with superb overhead kick that was just off target and
rangers having rode their luck went ahead in the th minute
sasa papac picked out substitute john fleck and his shot was parried by cerny to
novo who squeezed home from an acute angle
alert
pakistani taliban leader denies his death in new audio recording
football nigeria benin teams
benguela angola jan afp
teams for africa cup of nations group match between nigeria and benin here on
saturday
nigeria
vincent enyeama elderson echiejile yusuf mohammed joseph yobo
danny shittu mikel dickson etuhu kalu uche osaze odemwingie
yakubu aiyegbeni chinedu obasi
coach shuaibu amodu
benin
rachad chito khaled adenon djiman koukou damien chrysostome boco
romuald seidath tchomogo emmanuel imorou muri ogounbiyi stephane sessegnon
razak omotoyossi nouhoum kobena
coach michel dessuyer
referee martins de carvalho ang
afp
egypt security court to try suspects in copt killings
cairo jan afp
three muslims accused of gunning down six egyptian christians on the coptic
christmas eve will stand trial before an emergency security court the state
prosecutor said on saturday
abdel magid mahmud said in statement that the three men were charged with
premeditated murder aimed at harming national interests
the suspects were arrested day after the six copts and muslim policeman were
shot dead along stretch of road with churches and shopping centre in the
southern village of naga hammadi
the drive by shooting took place after worshippers emerged from midnight mass
before christmas marked by copts and other orthodox communities across the
world on january
the killings which were condemned by pope benedict xvi sparked outrage among
the country copts who make up nearly percent of egypt million people
and led to clashes with police
number of muslim and coptic homes and stores were attacked and burnt in the
ensuing violence
italian foreign minister franco frattini on visit to cairo on saturday
expressed satisfaction at the quick reaction of the egyptian authorities and
the arrests of suspects in the killings
last week he condemned the violence against copts as horrific and outrageous
and said he would discuss the protection of the copt community with egyptian
foreign minister ahmed abul gheit in cairo
the international community cannot remain indifferent and must never lower its
guard in the face of religious intolerance which is serious violation of
basic human rights frattini said on january
after their meeting abul gheit insisted there are no clouds between italy and
egypt despite frattini previous harsh criticism
sectarian clashes occur regularly in egypt particularly in the rural south but
this month attack was the bloodiest since copts died in clashes in
egyptian human rights activist hafez abu saada said the trial would be the first
conducted by state security court over sectarian attack such courts allow
no right of appeal
it message of reassurance to the copts and to affirm the government
concern towards this case he said
copts complain of discrimination in muslim majority egypt they are permitted to
build churches only after they get presidential permission and must apply to
their governor to renovate churches
the prosecutor did not announce date for the trial
urgent rallying despres takes dakar motorcycling title for third time
buenos aires jan afp
frenchman cyril despres won his third dakar motorcycling title on saturday after
the th and final stage which was won by portuguese rider ruben faria
poverty is world biggest problem bbc poll
london jan afp
poverty is the most serious problem facing the world according to major
worldwide poll out sunday which put the issue well ahead of climate change
terrorism and war
overall percent of people named extreme poverty as the biggest global issue
compared to percent who cited the environment or pollution and percent the
rising cost of food and energy
terrorism human rights and the spread of disease were singled out by
percent climate change and the state of the world economy by percent and war
by percent
even if the global recession has kept economic problems top of people minds
this year extreme poverty is clearly viewed as the world most serious global
problem said sam mountford research director for globescan which conducted
the poll for the bbc world service
but with many other global problems seen as very serious this represents
daunting agenda for institutions like the un and to address
results varied between nations people in india and pakistan rated terrorism as
their top concern and it was also in the top three in britain indonesia and
spain which have suffered major attacks in recent years
japan was the only country to view climate change as the most serious issue
while china ranked it second and the united states ninth
more than people in countries were interviewed face to face online or
over the telephone for the poll which was conducted between june and october
last year
football stoke keep benitez under pressure
london jan afp
liverpool hopes of turning miserable season around suffered another setback
on saturday when they conceded last minute equaliser to stoke in draw at
the britannia stadium
second half goal from sotirios kyrgiakos had looked like it would be enough to
ease the pressure on the reds under fire manager rafael benitez who has had to
contend with calls for him to be sacked following the club fa cup exit to
reading earlier in the week
but the defensive frailty that has hampered liverpool throughout the campaign
was exposed again in the th minute when robert huth scrambled in an equaliser
after the visitors had failed to clear corner
