minnesota pittsburgh
colorado calgary so
nashville vancouver
san jose los angeles
eastern conference
atlantic division
new jersey
pittsburgh
ny rangers
philadelphia
ny islanders
northeast division
buffalo
boston
ottawa
montreal
toronto
southeast division
washington
atlanta
tampa bay
florida
carolina
western conference
central division
chicago
nashville
detroit
columbus
st louis
northwest division
calgary
colorado
vancouver
minnesota
edmonton
pacific division
san jose
phoenix
los angeles
dallas
anaheim
note overtime losses ot are worth one point in the standings and are
not included in the loss column
tuesday january th schedule
ottawa at atlanta pm
nashville at edmonton pm
detroit at ny islanders pm
new jersey at ny rangers pm
dallas at philadelphia pm
san jose at phoenix pm
columbus at st louis pm
carolina at toronto pm
washington at tampa bay pm
all times are eastern
afp
sick nigeria leader breaks silence bbc
lagos jan afp
nigerian president umaru yar adua has broken long silence he has kept since
going into hospital in saudi arabia for heart treatment in november telling the
bbc he hopes to resume his duties
the condition of the president has been the source of widespread speculation in
nigeria and on monday some online publications reported he had died the
previous day
nigeria opposition has also demanded tangible proof that yar adua is alive
but speaking to the bbc by telephone yar adua said he was recovering
at the moment am undergoing treatment and getting better from the
treatment hope that very soon there will be tremendous progress which will
allow me to get back home the bbc quoted him as saying
as soon as my doctors discharge me will return to nigeria to resume my
duties
wish at this stage to thank all nigerians for their prayers for my good
health and for their prayers for the nation
yar adua has not been seen or heard from since he was flown to hospital in
saudi arabia on november to be treated for acute pericarditis an
inflammation of the membrane around the heart
critics complain that his long absence has stalled governance in africa most
populous country and second largest producer of oil and there have been growing
calls for the president to step down
the interview with the bbc was published hours after the president spokesman
olusegun adeniyi moved to dismiss mounting rumours over his state of health
the speculations are false the president is alive and actually getting
better he is very much conscious can talk and has been talking including
making phone calls to some people back home adeniyi told afp late monday
aides have for the past seven weeks repeatedly insisted he is responding well to
treatment
football cameroon star eto sends painful warning to gabon
lubango angola jan afp
star striker samuel eto says cameroon are set to inflict more pain on
neighbours gabon when they clash wednesday in the africa cup of nations
the central africa countries came face to face twice within four days last
september in qualifiers for the angola tournament and cameroon team
revitalised by french coach paul le guen triumphed home and away
inter milan goal poacher eto scored in libreville and yaounde and says his
nations cup targets are to lead cameroon to fifth title and beat the
individual goal record for one tournament
cameroon expect to win mini league completed by tunisia and zambia and have
been widely grouped with defending champions egypt ghana and nigeria as the
biggest threats to cup favourites ivory coast
mulamba ndaye from the democratic republic of congo set nine goal record at
the tournament in egypt and while eto has been leading scorer at the
and editions he managed only five each time
captain eto and his indomitable lions launch their campaign at the new
seat chinese built tundavala stadium in this southern town in the first
half of double header completed by champions tunisia against zambia
our nickname has plenty of significance the lion symbolises someone who wants
to command territory earn respect and be feared we will do our best to become
kings of africa eto told reporters
the coach united us at difficult time last year when we had to win games he
is great psychologist and great coach with modern ideas we are thrilled
that his contract has been renewed
we are playing as unit which explains our run of victories in the qualifying
competition and are ready to challenge ghana ivory coast and nigeria for the
title
eto midfielders jean makoun and alexandre song veteran defender rigobert
song and goalkeeper idriss kameni form the core of cameroon team seeking to
emulate their compatriots of and and conquer africa
while cameron boast stars like eto who are household names throughout the
continent out of favour hull city striker daniel cousin is probably the best
known gabon footballer because of his english premiership connection
opposing le guen will be compatriot alain giresse who formed magical france
midfield quartet with michel platini jean tigana and luis fernandez during the
and he does not harbour fond memories of cameroon with the nations cup
qualifying losses coming after an equally painful defeat by their neighbours in
the first edition of the african nations championship for local footballers
giresse resigned amid media and public fury after libreville loss eliminated
gabon from the qualifiers only to alter his decision following discussions with
sympathetic government minister
thai policemen charged over saudi gem murder
bangkok jan afp
thai authorities tuesday charged senior policeman and four other police
officers with murder over the disappearance of saudi businessman that was
linked to the theft of saudi royal jewellery
the charges came day after the saudi charge affaires in bangkok met with
thai prime minister abhisit vejjajiva to seek an end to the bloody year saga
sparked by the theft of the gems from saudi prince palace
the deaths of three saudi diplomats the wife and daughter of jewellery
dealer and saudi businessman mohammad al ruwaily have all been linked to the
case which has soured relations between thailand and saudi arabia
lieutenant general somkid boonthanom police commander of thailand northern
region and four fellow officers had been indicted with the murder of al ruwaily
in the office of the thai attorney general said
somkid and four accomplices were indicted today at the criminal court for
premeditated murder illegal detention and concealment of wrongdoing said
thanapich mulapruk senior official at the attorney general office
all five suspects denied the charges and were released on bail of baht
dollars each he said the court set march as the opening date of
the case
one of thailand biggest mysteries began when thai janitor was jailed for
stealing gems worth million dollars in from the saudi palace where he
worked before smuggling them back to thailand
police recovered most of the jewellery but much of what was returned to the
saudi owner proved to be fake and many pieces are still missing
as the saudis pressed thai authorities to find the rest of the hoard the three
saudi diplomats were shot dead in two separate incidents in single day in
the indictment accuses somkid who at the time ran bangkok southern district
and the other four policemen of abducting al ruwaily in because they
thought he was connected with the deaths of the envoys
the five suspects detained him in hotel and tortured him before shooting him
dead and disposing of his body the indictment said
in october thailand supreme court upheld death sentence for another former
senior policeman who in abducted and murdered gem merchant wife and son
as he investigated the theft of saudi royal jewellery
the merchant santi srithanakhan had bought some of the jewellery stolen in the
heist
somkid brother is key supporter of abhisit and member of the yellow
shirt movement which blockaded bangkok airports in to topple the
previous government loyal to fugitive former premier thaksin shinawatra
prime minister abhisit insisted that his meeting on monday with the top saudi
diplomat in bangkok nabil ashri was not connected with the indictment
as told the saudi diplomat yesterday the government will not interfere and
will not allow anyone else to interfere in the case cannot say whether the
outcome of the case will satisfy everyone abhisit said
finland to try nurse suspected of serial murder
helsinki jan afp
the trial of finnish nurse suspected of five counts of murder six counts of
attempted murder and other crimes is due to begin on january court
official said tuesday
the year old nurse from helsinki is suspected of poisoning patients with
drugs they had not been prescribed including sedatives and opiates helsinki
district court secretary marja leena tuormaa told afp
the accused was in court on tuesday for preparatory hearing to agree on the
procedures of the trial which is expected to last three months tuormaa said
according to finnish news agency stt the suspect denies the charges
basketball nba results and standings
washington jan afp
results and standings after monday national basketball association games
monday january th results
indiana toronto
philadelphia new orleans
atlanta boston
chicago detroit
oklahoma city new york
denver minnesota
phoenix milwaukee
utah miami
cleveland golden state
eastern conference
atlantic div pct gb
boston
toronto
new york
philadelphia
new jersey
central div pct gb
cleveland
chicago
milwaukee
indiana
detroit
southeast div pct gb
orlando
atlanta
miami
charlotte
washington
western conference
northwest div pct gb
denver
portland
oklahoma city
utah
minnesota
pacific div pct gb
la lakers
phoenix
la clippers
sacramento
golden state
southwest div pct gb
dallas
san antonio
houston
new orleans
memphis
tuesday january th schedule
houston at charlotte pm
detroit at washington pm
la clippers at memphis pm
la lakers at san antonio pm
orlando at sacramento pm
all times are eastern
afp
sweet scent of revenge stirs ukraine front runner
mariupol ukraine jan afp
in the final run up to ukraine presidential election front running candidate
viktor yanukovich is smelling revenge for the humiliation of his defeat after
the orange revolution
for all these five years knew this day would come he declared to hero
welcome at campaign rally in the heavily industrial eastern black sea port
city of mariupol ahead of the polls on sunday
the cheers for yanukovich deep in the russian speaking east of ukraine are not
surprising this is the political heartland of the man seen as the most pro
moscow of the leading presidential candidates
the region around eastern ukraine main city donetsk also known as the
donbass region includes mariupol and had yanukovich as its governor from
to
his election posters save the donbass let elect the president are
roadside reminders that this is very much his fiefdom as he aspires to become
the fourth president of ukraine since the demise of the soviet union
the rally was held at the sprawling azovstal steel works owned by ukraine
richest man and longtime yanukovich ally rinat akhmetov and attended by
hundreds of metalworkers wearing their hard hats and working coats
they waved portraits of yanukovich and the blue flag of his party of regions and
afterwards several ran after him asking for the autograph of our future
president
yanukovich was declared the winner of the last election back in late only
to see the result annulled after ukrainians took to the streets en masse
alleging rampant electoral fraud in the the orange revolution
viktor yushchenko his pro western rival became head of state instead after an
unprecedented second run off vote but five years on his bid for second
term finds him trailing badly in the opinion polls
knew it yushchenko presidency would end badly yanukovich told his
supporters but never would have imagined it would have been so bad
yanukovich former prime minister opposes ukraine bid to join nato
but it is popular anger over economic slump and ongoing political turmoil that
is powering his popularity
at this decisive moment have come to look you in the eyes and tell you that
am hoping very much for your support
opinion polls conducted shortly before the new year showed yanukovich on course
to win the first round of voting and then beat his main rival prime minister
yulia tymoshenko in the run off
we must decide in what country we want to live yanukovich declaimed
will it be the one in which we have been living these past five years
country of permanent crises country that is both politically and economically
unstable
why did million ukrainians have to watch for five years free show put on
by two leaders he added at later meeting in the city alluding to the
perennial rows between yushchenko and tymoshenko
political economic and social crisis that is the legacy of this team do we
want to continue to ruin our country and humiliate million ukrainians
optimism at detroit auto show as industry banks on recovery
detroit michigan jan afp
revved up sense of optimism has filled the detroit auto show as the industry
looked forward to recovery from one of its worst years on record
automakers are still reeling from collapse in sales to levels not seen since
bankrupting general motors and chrysler and dethroning the detroit three
as the biggest sellers in the us market
china also surpassed the united states for the first time as the world biggest
vehicle market the china association of automobile manufacturers announced in
beijing monday
but the overall mood is significantly more upbeat than year earlier when gm
and chrysler very existence was in doubt as congress sparred over providing
billions of dollars in emergency loans
today is new beginning for the automotive industry transportation secretary
ray lahood told reporters
when people have an opportunity to see the kind of products that are now being
manufactured and will be on display they will realize the auto industry is
manufacturing products people want to drive
ford gm toyota and honda kicked off the show by highlighting their focus on
fuel efficient vehicles
ford which managed to both stay afloat without government bailout and
increase its piece of the shrunken us market in introduced much
anticipated update to its compact ford focus sedan
companies have to pay attention to the three es economy efficient and the
environment chairman bill ford said as he touted the automaker new global
vehicle platforms which will radically reduce costs
toyota unveiled prototype of compact dedicated hybrid vehicle the ft ch
while honda revealed hybrid sports coupe the cr that will hit us
showrooms later this year
gm introduced boxy low lying new compact sport utility vehicle the gmc
granite concept aimed at young urban drivers if it ends up being tapped
for mass market production
the automaker also introduced several smaller cars to be sold under its
chevrolet brand including the spark mini car and sporty aveo prototype
notably absent from the schedule was chrysler which had little to present after
the turmoil of painful divorce from daimler brief takeover by private
equity group cerberus and quick spin through bankruptcy that left the number
three us automaker under the management of italy fiat
yet new chief sergio marchionne was on hand to speak with the media and give
lawmakers tour of the scaled back chrysler display filled with aggressive
trucks muscle cars shiny new sports cars and thanks to the alliance with
fiat maserati ferrari and the fiat minicar
congressional delegation led by house speaker nancy pelosi saw strong
emphasis on small cars and fuel efficiency at the show with square
foot square meter exhibit of different electric vehicles replete with
tree lined test track
there were also plenty of luxury vehicles on display despite the poor economy
and host of trucks and sport utility vehicles to tempt consumers who are less
environmentally conscious
what we saw here today was vibrant optimistic leadership to leapfrog over the
competition and to keep america number one pelosi said
our hopes are riding on the auto industry succeeding in our country and we
thank all those who are making the progress possible
yet in sign that competition is going to be fierce in optimism was also
being voiced by international manufacturers bent on snagging greater market
share here
nissan hopes to take advantage of weakened detroit to grow its share of us
sales with eight products hitting the market in the next months including
high profile electric car the japanese automaker top us executive told afp
is going to be for us very strong year in terms of product carlos
tavares executive vice president in charge of the americas said in an
interview monday
most analysts forecast moderate rebound in us auto sales to between and
million vehicles this year after dropping percent to million in
that will still be drastically below the to million range posted in each
of the previous years and sales could be sharply hit should the economy take
another bad turn
sri lanka president offers pre vote concessions to tamils
colombo jan afp
sri lanka president on tuesday offered concessions to ethnic tamil demands for
greater autonomy ahead of elections in which the minority community could play
decisive role
president mahinda rajapakse who is seeking second term said he was proposing
power sharing arrangements to give minority tamils greater say in the
legislature and address long standing demands for devolution of power
tamils account for percent of sri lanka million population and have
long pushed for regional autonomy
the quest for an independent homeland was the main plank of decades long
armed insurgency by tamil tiger separatists that only ended last year with
final military victory over the rebels
the end of the war does not mean the end of the conflict rajapakse told
foreign correspondents at his tightly guarded temple trees residence in colombo
we need to politically address the needs of tamils
his remarks came days after the main tamil political group the tamil national
alliance pledged to support his main presidential challenger former army chief
sarath fonseka
both men are from the majority sinhalese community if they split the sinhalese
vote at the january polls the tamil vote could prove the deciding factor
rajapakse called the election two years ahead of schedule hoping to benefit from
the final defeat of the tamil tigers but as the architect of the military
victory fonseka can also lay claim to credit for ending the conflict
both men have toured the tamil heartland of jaffna in the island north this
month to woo the tamils
fonseka has offered to scrap the all powerful presidential system and revert to
parliamentary democracy while rajapakse is offering more representation for
minority tamils in new legislative arrangements
all this will require amending the constitution and seeking the approval of the
people at referendum rajapakse said the ordinary people simply want to
live in peace but there is demand and need for political settlement
the government is seeking foreign help to rebuild the island embattled
northern and eastern regions which will require at least seven billion dollars
in the next three years rajapakse said
we have already started work on highways and electricity he said we are
getting lot of help but we will need more
he said the world bank was spending million dollars over four years to
reconstruct war damaged highways in tamil regions
activists launch leaflets into korea to support missionary
imjingak south korea jan afp
activists tuesday launched thousands of leaflets towards north korea in show
of support for us christian missionary who crossed into the communist state on
one man human rights crusade
we urge an immediate release of all inmates in concentration camps in the
north the activists said in statement released nearly three weeks after
missionary robert park illegally entered north korea
some leaflets were attached to two giant balloons that were released
towards the closely guarded border from imjingak in south korea
death to north korean leader kim jong il regime the leaflet read
park crossed the frozen tumen river from china on christmas day in
protest against repression in the hardline communist north
the north said later it had detained an american for illegal entry an apparent
reference to park and the man was under investigation
the united states is seeking information about park through the swedish embassy
which represents its interests in pyongyang but has heard nothing so far
we are actively working to find out where he is being held and to urge that he
be released said robert king us special envoy for north korean rights issues
on monday
park us citizen of korean ancestry carried letter calling on kim jong il
to release political prisoners shut concentration camps and improve rights and
conditions according to his colleagues
he claimed he had seen vision from god of north korea liberation and
redemption fellow activists said and had crossed the border shouting came
here to proclaim god love
radio free asia quoting an unidentified us state department official said us
and north korean officials had already met in new york to discuss the issue
last week their diplomats based in beijing discussed the issue again it
reported on its website
us fed earned record billion dollars in report
washington jan afp
the us federal reserve turned record profit of billion dollars last year
even as it plowed money into teetering banks to prevent financial collapse
the washington post reported tuesday
the country central bank played pivotal role in propping up the us economy
in the midst of the sharpest recession since the great depression spending
billions of dollars on highly controversial bailout of financial institutions
the fed unconventional moves led to windfall for the government the post
reported on its website citing its calculations of figures it compiled from
public documents
it said the fed will return billion dollars to the us treasury for the
highest earnings in the year history of the central bank the largest
previous refund was billion dollars in
the daily said the profits earned in large part from the fed aggressive
bond buying as it aimed to push down interest rates and stimulate growth were
far higher than the expected profits of bank of america goldman sachs and jp
morgan combined
the figures lend weight to claims by president barack obama administration
that the fed has been largely successful in its drastic intervention in the us
economy and the protection of the american public
this shows that central banking is great business to be in especially in
crisis vincent reinhart former fed official and current resident scholar at
the american enterprise institute told the post
you buy assets that have nice yield and your cost of funds is very low the
difference is profit reinhart added
in addition to the bonds the central bank also made money on its emergency
loans to banks and financial firms some of which repaid billions of dollars in
loans and interest payments in
the newspaper reported that fed chairman ben bernanke has received modest
raise for bringing the annual salary of one of the most powerful figures
in the united states to just dollars with no bonus
that is in stark contrast to the multi million dollar compensation received by
several top bank executives and as major us banks gear up to announce annual
bonuses for top executives while bracing for political firestorm over
compensation practices that critics say fueled the global financial crisis
second french soldier dies in afghan attack
paris jan afp
french soldier died tuesday day after he was seriously wounded in an attack
on convoy in afghanistan that killed another soldier the defence ministry
said
the attack on monday struck convoy of french and afghan forces in the alasay
valley northeast of kabul the french presidency said
the latest death brought to the number of french soldiers who died in
afghanistan since the current war began in
three us soldiers and british bomb disposal expert were also killed in
afghanistan on monday nato international security assistance force isaf
said
there are about foreign troops under us and nato command based in
afghanistan with about more due to be deployed this year to try to turn
around the costly war against the resurgent taliban
china central bank moves to rein in lending
beijing jan afp
china central bank on tuesday raised the interest rate on its one year
treasury bills which analyst said was an attempt to rein in continued
aggressive lending by the nation banks
it was the second time in week that the people bank of china has increased
its own borrowing costs and came day after state media reported banks extended
billion yuan billion dollars in loans in the first week of
citigroup economists said in research note that the move suggests that
authorities may be nervous about continued aggressive lending
as result further liquidity drains are likely and may come with targeted
mandatory bills and hikes in the reserve requirement it said
the central bank on tuesday sold billion yuan worth of one year bills at
yield of rise of eight basis points and the first hike since august
last thursday it raised the interest rate on its three month treasury bills
the explosion in bank lending this month was larger than the combined
billion yuan in new loans given out in october and november and has set off
alarms in beijing the economic information daily reported monday
the central bank is expected to possibly implement rise in the reserve
requirement ratio the amount banks must set aside in reserves soon after
the chinese new year in mid february to rein in credit it said
that would be the first hike in the deposit reserve ratio for commercial banks
