played friday
pool
montpellier fra worcester eng
newcastle eng padova ita
pool
montauban fra albi fra
played thursday
pool
racing metro fra wasps eng
football german league results
berlin jan afp
german league results on saturday
vfl bochum hashemian sestak schalke sanchez kuranyi
hertha berlin borussia moenchengladbach
werder bremen hunt almeida bayern munich mueller olic
robben
mainz schuerrle hanover
nuremberg eigler eintracht frankfurt koehler
playing later
borussia dortmund hamburg
playing sunday
vfl wolfsburg cologne
hoffenheim bayer leverkusen
played friday
freiburg vfb stuttgart marica
serbian orthodox church enthrones moderate new patriarch
belgrade jan afp
serbia powerful orthodox church enthroned saturday bishop favouring closer
ties with the vatican as its new head in ceremony in belgrade cathedral
but the new patriarch year old irinej told the congregation including top
politicians and representatives of other denominations that the church first
duty was to support the serbian state in its efforts to recover the breakaway
province of kosovo
saturday ceremony was the first part of two stage ritual with the second
part planned to take place in the historic church at pec in western kosovo at
date which has not been fixed
albanian majority kosovo viewed by serbs as the heartland of their culture
declared unilateral independence nearly two years ago and its status has been
recognised by some countries
it is great day for me but also believe for our people and our church
irinej said
he was elected saturday by the bishops in the holy synod when his name was
plucked out of hat containing short list of three
irinej is considered moderate and has signalled his openness to improving
relations with the roman catholic church that have been strained for years
in recent interview he said pope benedict xvi would be welcome to visit
something that would have been unthinkable in serbia only few years ago
the new patriarch is also known to support church reform including ending the
use of the outdated julian calendar which means serbian orthodox christmas is
celebrated two weeks after other christians mark the birth of jesus christ
irinej succeeds patriarch pavle who died in november after long illness
under pavle rule the influence of the church steadily grew after the fall of
communism in the
according to observers irinej would have tough job filling the shoes of
pavle who was regarded as the highest moral authority among the million
serbs the vast majority of whom declare themselves to be orthodox
but serbian media saturday hailed his election calling him tolerant and
moderate stressing that he had been close to pavle
serbian prime minister mirko cvetkovic his deputy ivica dacic speaker of
parliament slavica djukic dejanovic and mayor of belgrade dragan djilas attended
saturday ceremony
president boris tadic sent message of support from new york where he is
attending united nations security council debate on kosovo
our first duty as church is to safeguard our kosovo holy and martyred
land to help our state to defend it from those who wish to seize it irinej
said
kosovo is our holy land our jerusalem he added we must go to pec to
complete this ceremony but can we visit our relics
without them serbia is not serbia without kosovo it is deprived of its heart
and soul
in message published by the kremlin russian president dmitri medvedev
congratulated irinej saying hope that following the example of patriarch
pavle and several other of your predecessors you will contribute to
strengthening the historic ties of brotherhood between the russian and serb
peoples
russia which also has an influential orthodox church is serbia strongest
ally in its refusal to recognise the independence of kosovo
figure skating kostner takes third euro gold despite fall
tallinn jan afp
italy carolina kostner came back from fall to win her third european figure
skating gold here on saturday
the and champion took the title ahead of defending champion laura
lepisto of finland with elene gedevanishvili of georgia winning bronze
think with this officially qualified for my olympic team said the
year old italian who had finished second at nationals
skating to bach air and vivaldi violin concerto she reclaimed the title she
lost last year to lepisto finishing comfortable points ahead of the finn
with gedevanishvili nearly nine points behind the winner
but three weeks before the winter olympics in vancouver the performance of the
europeans is unlikey to worry their rivals in asia and north america despite
kostner warning think we from europe are ready to fight the japanese
koreans and the americans just be ready
the year old from bolzano opened her routine strongly with triple flip
triple toeloop combination but her four minute free skate included just four
clean triple jumps
she fell on her bottom attempting triple loop singled her triple flip and
fought to hold her triple salchow doubled toeloop combination
but she nevertheless placed first in the free skate with points for an
overall total of
you do mistakes that sport but you have to stand up and fight and did
that and that makes me happy said kostner
lepisto who last year became the first finnish skater to win the title also
failed to skate cleanly despite solid opening triple toeloop triple toeloop
combination
she also had four triples in her performance to adios nonino and fuga
misterio but touched the ice on her first double axel fluffed her second
double axel and doubled planned triple lutz and triple loop jumps
she scored third highest in the free skate behind gedevanishvili with and
overall
gedevanishvili performance to bizet carmen gave her country their first
medal in an isu event
the year old coached by robin wagner who lead sarah hughes to the
olympic title achieved the highest techncial scores giving her for the
free skate and overall
finland kiira korpi second after the short programme finished off the
podium after sloppy performance in which she fell on triple loop and
touched down on her triple flip
french mayor ordered to take down portrait of vichy leader
caen france jan afp
the mayor of town close to the normandy landing beaches has been ordered to
take down portrait of wartime vichy leader philippe petain hanging in the
municipal offices an official said saturday
christian leyrit the lower normandy prefect or government representative had
written to bernard hoye mayor of gonneville sur mer telling him in the
strongest terms to remove petain picture from the room where marriages are
celebrated the official said
this portrait cannot figure alongside the official portraits hung in town
hall which is highly symbolic place for the french republic leyrit said
the prefect acted on complaint by french based rights group the
international league against racism and antisemitism licra
hoye elected mayor in on an independent ticket was unavailable for
comment saturday but he told afp this month that he would not be removing the
portrait
it has been there for decades he said adding that he was not historian
and did not have to take sides
petain military hero in world war became head of the rump state based at
vichy in central france which collaborated with the german nazi occupiers
following defeat in world war ii
after germany defeat he was tried by the provisional french government of
general charles de gaulle who commuted his death sentence to life imprisonment
and he died in
philippe petain founder and head of the vichy regime was never president of
the republic leyrit told hoye adding that all the actions and laws of his
so called french state had been declared null and void by the provisional
government
recalling that the vichy had allowed or facilitated the deportation of victims
of antisemitism leyrit said that displaying petain portrait infringed the
neutrality of the public service with regard to political religious or
philosophical opinions
licra said it was deplorable that the prefect was obliged to give lessons of
history and law to the mayor of norman town only few months after ceremonies
marking the th anniversary of the allied landings
keeping the picture on show was an affront to the memory of the victims of
petain antisemitic persecutions of the resistance and the allied
combattants it charged
golf abu dhabi feels like home for kaymer
abu dhabi jan afp
martin kaymer shot his third successive round of five under par to lead the
million euro abu dhabi golf championship by one stroke and on course to
repeat his success here in the edition
going into the final day the super talented german who was second here last
year was at under par but snapping at his heels were rory mcilroy of
northern ireland and ian poulter of england
the two were tied for second place after identical rounds of each which put
them at under
swede peter hanson was alone in fourth place at while spaniard alvaro
quiros england chris wood and ireland shane lowry were further shot
behind
overnight leader rick kulacz of australia could only manage and was eighth
at
kaymer who led by six shots going into the final day of the championship
finally won the tournament by four shots over henrik stenson and lee westwood
for his maiden win on the european tour
but he had bit of wobble that day as he won with
the year old has since won three more titles including the french open and
scottish open in back to back weeks last year and is confident the experience
he has gained will stand him in good stead as he tries to go one better than his
second place finish last year
even thought was leading by six shots on the final day played really shy
didn go for the flags and my putting left quite few of them short my
confidence wasn really there said kaymer
obviously have played few years on the european tour since then and won
couple of big events have learnt lot and will surely play lot
differently now
kaymer who is still playing with plates on his ankle following his surgery last
year after go karting accident said his schedule does not give him enough
time to take off the plates even though he does not need them now
could take the plates off today really it has healed the problem is that
if took them out then it would take at least three weeks to recover and at
the moment don have three weeks off in my schedule
am not uncomfortable with the plates on on certain shots little bit
more careful so going to wait until the middle of the season and take them
out in september
kaymer will also be boosted by his terrific playing record at the abu dhabi golf
club where he has finished in the last two years
really like the golf course in general and especially coming from such long
break five or six weeks when was in america you arrive feeling really
motivated and can really wait to play golf again
feel very comfortable out here it felt very similar to the desert in phoenix
where practise in the wintertime so that why probably just feel very
comfortable coming here
mcilroy had no problems in tackling the tough course conditions but developed
stage fright thereafter when he took more than an hour to submit his samples
for random drug test
got stage fright because obviously they have to watch you do everything
think drank three litres of water in the space of about minutes the
whole process is pretty long anyway you have to pick your cup make sure it
not tampered with and once you ve made your sample you ve got to seal it and
put it in three separate bottles
this is the first time ve had to do it on the european tour did it last
year at the honda classic and had to wait for sergio garcia in front of me
who took about two and half hours trying so an hour is not bad really
biden says us to appeal blackwater court decision
baghdad jan afp
vice president joe biden on saturday announced an appeal into us court
decision to drop charges against five blackwater private security guards accused
of killing iraqi civilians in
dismissal is not an acquittal biden told reporters during visit to
baghdad
today am announcing that the united states government will appeal this
decision our justice department will file that appeal next week he said
the five guards who had been part of convoy of armoured vehicles had been
charged with killing the civilians and wounding others in an attack using
guns and grenades at baghdad busy nisur square in september
charges against the blackwater employees were dismissed last year when judge
ruled us prosecutors violated their rights by using incriminating statements
they had made under immunity during state department probe
the ruling outraged the baghdad government which maintains that people were
killed
the united states is determined to hold to account anyone who commits crimes
against iraqi people biden added
while we fully respect the independence and the integrity of the us judicial
system we were disappointed with the judge decision to dismiss the indictment
which was based on the way some evidence had been acquired
us government to appeal blackwater court decision
baghdad jan afp
vice president joe biden on saturday announced an appeal into us court
decision to drop charges against five blackwater private security guards accused
of killing iraqi civilians in
dismissal is not an acquittal biden told reporters during visit to
baghdad
today am announcing that the united states government will appeal this
decision our justice department will file that appeal next week he said
the five guards who had been part of convoy of armoured vehicles had been
charged with killing the civilians and wounding others in an attack using
guns and grenades at baghdad busy nisour square in september
militants in afghan killings kidnapping
kabul jan afp
militants killed two us soldiers and three civilian women in afghanistan
saturday and kidnapped police chief in series of attacks day after kabul
offered the taliban cash to lay down their arms
the attacks highlighted the daunting task ahead for afghan president hamid
karzai and western leaders trying to improve governance and bring extremists
back into mainstream society in an effort to quell crippling insurgency
the american troopers were killed by an improvised bomb in the south the nato
led international security assistance force announced bringing to the number
of foreign soldiers to die in the war torn country this year
isaf did not say where the troops were attacked but the dangerous southern
provinces of helmand and kandahar are taliban strongholds
insurgents separately killed three afghan women in the eastern province of
paktika the interior ministry said
three women were martyred and another three men were wounded when terrorists
opened fire on civilian station wagon in the morning today it said in
statement
militants led by the taliban have been waging an increasingly deadly rebellion
against the afghan government and foreign troops since us led invasion ousted
the taliban regime in late
karzai unveiled on saturday an ambitious western funded plan to offer money and
jobs to tempt taliban fighters to lay down their arms
his comments made to the bbc came as us defence secretary robert gates
described the taliban as part of afghanistan political fabric but said any
future role would depend on insurgents putting down their weapons
also saturday taliban fighters ambushed patrol led by jamtullah khan the
police chief of shaigal district in kunar province on the border with pakistan
and abducted the officer and two other policemen police said
it was the first abduction of police chief by militants interior ministry
spokesman zemarai bashary told afp
twelve militants were meanwhile killed in helmand officials said
four were blown up by roadside bomb that they were installing and the rest
also placing bomb were killed by afghan and international forces
investigating the first explosion government spokesman daoud ahmadi said
in another attack announced on saturday four afghan soldiers were killed and
one wounded friday when the convoy of the governor of wardak province near kabul
was struck by bomb provincial authorities said
governor mohammad halim fidae survived the attack in which militants also opened
fire on the convoy two suspects were arrested an official said
also friday seven afghan civilians were killed and one wounded in the north
when they tried to dig out bomb left over from the soviet invasion the
interior ministry said
the taliban claimed it had been attack and that eight soldiers were killed
karzai offer of money to the taliban echoed proposals by washington to bring
low and mid level extremists back into mainstream society
in washington on thursday us secretary of state hillary clinton unveiled
long term non military strategy to stabilise afghanistan and pakistan
the plan complements military strategy in which president barack obama
announced on december he would deploy another us troops to afghanistan
but the leadership of islamist insurgent groups remain hostile to negotiations
the international forces suffered their highest losses last year since their
arrival in late with dead compared with in according to an
afp tally based on one by the independent icasualties org website
extra troop commitments from nato allies are expected to take to around
the total number of foreign troops operating in afghanistan under us and nato
command in the coming year
france probes migrants mass landing in corsica
bonifacio france jan afp
france launched probe saturday and called for european summit to combat
illegal immigration day after self proclaimed kurds landed in corsica
immigration minister eric besson underscored that the french mediterranean
island could not be allowed to become an entry point for illegal immigrants and
mooted european conference as an investigation began into who the traffickers
were
the migrants who claimed they were kurds from syria were dropped off near the
southern town of bonifacio on friday by boat which then departed officials
said
it was the biggest known mass scale landing on the french island of migrants
whon usually try to enter europe by sea through sicily malta greece and
spain canary islands
the men women five of them pregnant and children were initially
lodged in gynasium in bonifacio but on saturday they were being flown to
mainland france to be housed in detention centres in cities such as marseille
and lyon
each case will be individually assessed the immigration ministry said adding
that the migrants will get an interpreter medical check up information on
aid in case of voluntary return and legal help
besson earlier said some of the migrants identified themselves as kurds from
syria and others said they were from north africa
some of the immigrants resisted being shifted out from the gynasium but were
forced into buses many had refused meal late friday in protest against plans
to relocate them
several rights groups slammed the government response the league of human
rights ldh said their transfer to detention centres went against the tenets of
the french republic
they are not illegals living underground in france but refugees who after
having arrived on french territory have the absolute right to seek exile
it said
and ava basta that enough local organisation espousing racial equality
denounced their transfer saying it would have preferred them to benefit from
hospitality and solidarity that corsicans have displayed in the past
but corsica prefect stephane bouillon said the immigrants could demand exile
and added that they were being moved from the gynasium to ensure better
security and more salubrious surroundings
bouillon the regional governor said an investigation had been launched since
they were clearly brought in by traffickers whom we are now seeking actively
to dismantle such networks
the adults were grilled by police before being sent to the detention centres
the immigrants were all devoid of identity papers but appeared in good health
and were suitably dressed for the european weather bouillon said
they said they did the journey in several stages across the mediterranean and
were transported up to corsica on cargo vessel he added
source close to the case said the vessel in question was either russian or
ukrainian
on saturday the immigration ministry said second vessel suspected of being
involved in the mass landing had been identified and was being checked
haiti calls off search for trapped quake victims
port au prince jan afp
haiti officially abandoned earthquake search and rescue efforts as survivors
gathered in ruined cathedral saturday to mourn the country archbishop and
other victims of the disaster
the government decision came despite the rescue on friday of two people who
spent days buried in the rubble but officials said it was aimed at letting
aid workers focus on getting supplies to hundreds of thousands of people
the united nations warned meanwhile that haiti upcoming rainy season
source of other disasters that have plagued the country in recent years could
pose new threat to beleaguered survivors of the magnitude quake
the world body said people had been saved from debris by international
teams record for such disaster but that the haitian government had
declared the search phase over at pm gmt on friday
the government made its decision after consulting international experts it
sovereign decision elisabeth byrs spokesman for the un office for
coordination of humanitarian affairs told afp
an year old woman and year old man defied the odds by being rescued from
the rubble of buildings in port au prince on friday both were being treated in
hospital
hundreds of mourners including president rene preval were expected to attend the
funeral service of archbishop joseph serge miot of port au prince at the notre
dame de assomption cathedral which was left in ruins by the quake
the year old who was killed in the disaster was popular figure in this
largely catholic country us president barack obama aid coordinator for haiti
rajiv shah was also due to attend the funeral
the united states has sent economic and technical aid to haiti and total of
us military personnel are due to be in haiti or on ships offshore by
sunday
signs of normal life have been returning to port au prince with shops reopening
and on saturday haitians lining up outside private banks as they awaited the
reopening of branches which have been closed since the quake
but as deliveries of food water shelter and medical care scaled up in port au
prince and the worst affected towns of jacmel and leogane huge relocation of
survivors out of the capital is also underway
the number of people leaving port au prince is increasing daily the un said
as more than people took advantage of the government offer of free
transport to other cities
an unknown number of other people had left the capital by private means it
said
in port au prince on friday first supply of food was distributed in front of
the champ de mars central plaza which had become huge refugee camp water
tankers and toilet blocks were set up and electricity was being installed
our pathetic awful life will be easier it seems will finally be able to
sleep tonight said suze jean francois one of the first to be given tent at
the site her daughter was killed in the quake
many however remained living in squalid conditions while hospitals reported
heartrending cases such as four year old with cerebral palsy who was abandoned
on doorstep
the child was left with message saying this little boy has no father and no
mother whoever cares about him is his family according to doctors and nurses
at french field hospital in port au prince
the un world food programme said saturday it had scaled up its food aid to quake
survivors and distributed two million meals on friday up from million on
thursday
we are getting the job done even if we wish we could do more quicker the
agency executive director josette sheeran said after two day mission to
haiti
haiti interior ministry said friday the confirmed death toll from the quake
now stood at it said more than people were injured and more
than were living in temporary camps
the un byrs meanwhile underlined that haiti rainy season was about to begin
potentially causing further problems for survivors already exposed to the
elements and at risk of disease
hollywood heartthrob george clooney meanwhile led galaxy of stars friday in
telethon fundraiser for quake victims broadcast across every major us television
network
featuring some celebrities and presented by music channel mtv the line up
for the hope for haiti now telethon included madonna beyonce jay bono
bruce springsteen coldplay and jennifer hudson
the haitian people need our help they need to know they are not alone
clooney told the national audience
pope benedict xvi separately called on haitians to show solidarity over the
distribution of aid to survivors
figure skating european figure skating championships medals table
tallinn jan afp
medals table following the final day of the european figure skating
championships here on saturday
russia
italy
germany
switzerland
finland
france
georgia
football ferguson calls for unity as anti glazer protests mount
manchester jan afp
sir alex ferguson has warned manchester united fans who have mounted protests
against the club american owners that their actions could undermine his
squad drive for silverware
the glazer family who have owned united since have never been popular
with united supporters and recent revelations about the scale of the debt they
have loaded onto the club to finance their takeover have triggered anti glazer
protests at home matches
accounts filed this week revealed that united overall debt has risen to more
than million pounds fuelling view amongst fans that the burden of
servicing the debt is acting as brake on the strengthening of ferguson
squad
the united boss has been supportive of the glazers management of the club and
he has made it clear he feels that the current mood of rebellion among section
of the support will not help his players
one for all and all for one it terrible cliche but nevertheless it does
sum up one of the essentials for success in team sport ferguson wrote in his
programme notes for united league match against hull on saturday
the scot insisted he was not questioning the right of fans to voice their
concern but urged them to ask themselves who would benefit from their actions
not slow to express disapproval myself if there is something don agree
with even in the boardroom with the directors he wrote
but once walk out of the meeting get on with my job as manager of the team
some of our fans are clearly unhappy with the financial position but we
mustn allow the situation to become divisive
the danger as see it is that we could be presented as being split which
could be harmful and inaccurate because believe the vast majority of united
fans are behind us and appreciate the importance of standing together in support
of the team
could see our opponents rubbing their hands with glee at the thought of
watching us fall out among ourselves if we don all think carefully about what
we are doing
we must not lose our focus which from where stand is about building
strong football team that will win trophies that what we are about or at
least should be
ferguson added this is not about stifling criticism it simply plea to
stand together rather than take action that will damage ourselves more than
anyone else
manchester united is bigger than me the players the directors officials and
the fans and particularly at this critical stage of our season we need to pull
in the same direction
it would be shame to lose our concentration now because can really see
light at the end of the tunnel as we ready ourselves to push for the
championship
figure skating european figure skating championships podium
tallinn jan afp
podiums after the final day of the european figure skating championships
here on saturday
men
yevgeny plushenko rus
stephane lambiel sui
brian joubert fra
ladies
carolina kostner ita
laura lepisto fin
elene gedevanishvili geo
pairs
yuko kavaguti alexander smirnov rus
aliona savchenko robin szolkowy ger
maria mukhortova maxim trankov rus
ice dancing
