overcome the attacker and treated the victims
in statement issued by his office he expressed support for the whole
university community and hopes that investigations will shed light on these
events as soon as possible
football campbell clears way to arsenal comeback
london jan afp
sol campbell is set to complete surprise return to arsenal by the end of the
week after impressing the club backroom staff in minute runout for the
gunners second string
campbell played the first half of the arsenal reserves match at west ham on
tuesday evening and afterwards revealed that he was on the verge of signing
until the end of the season for the club he played for between and
winning two premier league and three fa cup trophies
cannot tell you how much ve missed playing after being out for so long
the former england centreback told reporters
there are still few technicalities to iron out but signing for arsenal
until the end of the season and it is fantastic marvellous
campbell who has been training at arsenal for nearly two months has barely
played since the end of last season following his departure from portsmouth and
subsequent ill fated brief stint with fourth tier outfit notts county
but he appeared sharp as he made series of important interventions and his
performance earned him an enthusiastic review from arsenal reserve team manager
neil banfield
sol is fantastic professional banfield said he came in and said it was
great to be out there playing
he played with these youngsters before and ve got to say he is first
class professional
banfield said he had never expected campbell to last longer than minutes
that was planned to give him run out as he hasn played in five months he
said we may try and get another fixture for him in the coming weeks so he can
get another game
with william gallas and thomas vermaelen performing well this season campbell
is being brought back essentially as cover for arsene wenger first choice
centrebacks
but his former team mate martin keown believes the veteran could play much
more central role in arsenal push to land their first trophy since
without doubt if he had not shown the right signs that he was fit and sharp
enough there is no way that arsenal would have considered it keown said
what would have been concern for them is whether sol still has the hunger to
get back into top level football and he has obviously proved that
keown admitted he was surprised that arsenal manager arsene wenger had decided
to resign player who left the club under something of cloud in the wake of
his half time substitution and subsequent walkout in match against west ham in
february
the gunners boss has passed on opportunities to re sign the likes of nicolas
anelka and patrick vieira in the past but keown believes campbell can have
significant influence on an arsenal squad that is short on the experience of
winning things
think it is as much to do with what he wants in the dressing room keown
added
as young player you need those senior players to help drag you over the line
when you have not won something for number of years as is the case for most
of that group you just need to be nurtured sol is very good at that
and he is very strong and powerful in the air which is maybe something that is
missing from the two current central defenders
gallas and vermaelen are playing very well but without doubt if you are going
to win championship you need three or four good top central defenders
sol is bit like train once you start him up and fire him in the right
direction he takes hell of lot of stopping they will have job to get him
out of the team if he gets into it
tennis sydney international results collated
sydney jan afp
results from the fourth day of the sydney international wta atp tennis
tournament on wednesday denotes seed
women
quarter finals
aravane rezai fra bt flavia pennetta ita
victoria azarenka blr bt dominika cibulkova svk
serena williams usa bt vera dushevina rus
elena dementieva rus bt dinara safina rus
men
second round
richard gasquet fra bt benjamin becker ger
potito starace ita bt daniel gimeno traver esp retired leg
mardy fish usa bt evgeny korolev rus
leonardo mayer arg bt pablo cuevas uru
marcos baghdatis cyp bt viktor troicki srb
lleyton hewitt aus bt andreas seppi ita
julien benneteau fra bt taylor dent usa
peter luczak aus bt tomas berdych cze
football jose angola have mental strength
luanda jan afp
angola coach manuel jose is confident his players have the required fortitude to
deal with any mental scars left by sunday opening game capitulation against
mali
the africa cup of nations hosts return to the frey thursday in their second
group tie facing malawi the surprise table toppers after their defeat of
world cup qualifiers algeria on monday
angola too looked to be set for three points when with quarter of an hour
remaining they led mali by four goals to nothing in sunday curtain raiser
but then followed collapse that was painful to watch at least if you held an
angolan passport as mali clawed their way back into the game and eventually
snatched draw with two injury time goals
another few seconds and mali would probably have grabbed the most improbable of
improbable wins
jose reflecting on sunday drama told press conference at the team hotel in
luanda on wednesday we will have to be mentally very strong to survive that
think we ll be alright have fantastic group of players
said after the match that in over one thousand games ve never seen anything
like that last minutes still feel that now
he put his team collapse down to the fact that half his players are based with
clubs in the angolan league and half elsewhere but not as first team regulars
the angola league stopped two months ago our players weren in the same
physical condition compared to mali with percent of their players based in
europe
on top of that there was enormous pressure as hosts playing in front of our own
fans great responsibility
we will do their best not to disappoint the home fans who were brilliant on
sunday it was great to see the stadium full like that
we want to do our best for these people
urgent un haiti peacekeeper chief believed dead in quake french fm
paris jan afp
the tunisian head of un peacekeepers in haiti and all those around him are
believed dead after their headquarters was damaged by the huge earthquake there
france foreign minister said wednesday
eu gives three million euros in aid to quake hit haiti
brussels jan afp
the european commission released three million euros in emergency aid wednesday
for quake hit haiti and expected to do more once an eu expert is able to report
back with clearer picture of needs
this decision is for three million euros or million dollars it the
maximum we can go to in an emergency procedure of course we can add onto that
in coming days said commission spokesman on humanitarian aid matters
he said an expert was expected in the haitian capital port au prince on
wednesday and would rapidly get preliminary report out so that we can really
get better picture on the ground of what is needed
he said first needs were expected to include fresh water communication
equipment and medical supplies
separately spokeswoman said the commission had activated an assistance
mechanism under which belgium sweden and luxembourg had offered water
purification eqipment tents medical help and search and rescue team
the magnitude quake is feared to have killed thousands of people
spectacular fall from grace for ireland first couple
belfast jan afp
northern ireland leader peter robinson and his wife iris had the lavish
lifestyle and high morals befitting politics first couple making their
fall from grace this week all the more spectacular
iris robinson said she believed god had forgiven her for the affair with
teenager that last week sparked major scandal and caused her husband to stand
aside as first minister
but many have little sympathy
despite long and successful career in politics in belfast and london through
the protestant democratic unionists the year old strident beliefs on
homosexuality made her hate figure in the gay community and beyond
she now faces accusations of hypocrisy as well as damaging revelations about
her financial affairs after it emerged she had arranged two loans from wealthy
developers to help her then year old lover set up cafe
the robinsons who married in both hold seats in britain parliament and
the northern ireland assembly and when peter was named first minister of the
province in june their status as its first couple was confirmed
they had lifestyle to match earning the name the swish family robinson when
it was revealed they jointly received more than pounds dollars
euros year in salaries and expenses
journalist for the sunday herald who visited their home in east belfast said
it was full of priceless antiques silk curtains and chandeliers while there
was also holiday home in florida
their expensive tastes were laid bare last year amid scandal over british
lawmaker parliamentary expenses claims but they denied any wrongdoing
harder to shake off were iris robinson views on homosexuality which caused
media storm just days into her husband term as first minister
her comment that it was an abomination sparked widespread complaints but she
insisted she had right to express her views
iris robinson admission last week of brief affair in with then year
old kirk mccambley the son of an old friend who had recently died was met with
astonishment
there not much sympathy for her said jim taxi driver in north belfast
calling robinson hypocrite
at the time she was coming out with all that stuff about homosexuality she was
committing adultery which is one of the commandments decreed by god in
the bible
iris robinson quit politics shortly after christmas citing ill health but still
faces questions about the loans she raised for mccambley
her husband has stepped aside while officials probe what he knew about the
arrangements although he denies any wrongdoing
but it is the revelations of the sexual adventures of an outwardly puritanical
woman that have caused such stir in province where religion and morality are
so strongly linked to politics
the sign outside the north belfast church where the robinsons sometimes worship
was defaced with the word adulterers gay rights groups have expressed glee at
her downfall and many in the press have been scathing
the image of iris as peter meek subdued wife is nonsense here was woman
mercilessly wielding her authority over powerless young man wrote the sunday
tribune northern editor suzanne breen
in statement last week admitting her adultery iris robinson blamed severe
depression for her behaviour but said she believed god had forgiven her
though my medical condition was factor was not at this time true to the
values professed grieve that have damaged my profession in christ but
am comforted that he was able to forgive even me she said
in parallel statement peter robinson admitted he had considered leaving his
wife but stayed to help her get better she is receiving psychiatric treatment
in belfast
he paid tribute to her support in almost years of marriage saying she had
selflessly backed him while he built his career
commentators have also paid tribute to her hard work and dedication to her
constituents in east belfast but even there supporters were scarce
feel sorry for the family for their kids hope they get past it said
shopkeeper who asked not to be named but added she very silly woman
alert
un haiti peacekeeper chief believed dead in quake french fm
turkish president threatens to recall israel envoy tv
ankara jan afp
turkey will recall its ambassador from israel if row over the envoy
treatment is not resolved by wednesday evening president abdullah gul was
quoted as saying by the ntv news channel
unless they make up for it by this evening our ambassador will return on the
first plane tomorrow gul said according to ntv
ankara wants formal apology from israel media reports said by the wednesday
deadline for the treatment meted out by israeli deputy foreign minister danny
ayalon to ambassador oguz celikkol on monday
ayalon made celikkol sit on low couch and removed the turkish flag from the
table in meeting called to convey israeli protests over turkish television
series
dollar mixed as china moves to curb credit boom
london jan afp
the dollar traded mixed wednesday after china moves to rein in the country
credit boom sparking concerns that the pace of recovery in the global economy
could lose steam dealers said
in london morning deals the euro rose to dollars from late in
new york on tuesday
against the japanese unit the dollar often seen as safe haven currency
in times of economic uncertainty increased to yen from yen late
on tuesday
risk appetite declined after beijing on tuesday hiked the minimum amount of
money that banks must keep in reserve for the first time in more than year
seeking to prevent the economy overheating after huge stimulus spending
china has been key in helping the rest of the region to get out from last
year recession and quick moderation of chinese demand would withdraw part
of this support calyon analysts wrote in note
the turn in sentiment has hit commodities and commodity currencies particularly
hard they added as would be expected against the background of higher risk
aversion the dollar made up some ground
analysts said they expected beijing to gradually tighten monetary policy further
to fight the risks of excessive liquidity and asset bubbles
sentiment was also dampened by weak earnings report from us aluminium giant
alcoa and as investors waited for the beige book report on economic conditions
in the united states to be released later in the day
market players also digested downbeat economic growth data from germany
germany suffered its worst recession ever last year as europe largest economy
contracted by five percent official data showed
economic activity declined for the first time in six years as exports fell by
percent and business investment plunged by percent the destatis
national data service said in statement
the figure was the worst official figure recorded in germany since the great
depression when annual output contracted by more than seven percent in
it added in report
the german news supported the dollar at the european open but the dollar
position was weakened by last week payrolls data said forex com analyst
jane foley
meanwhile traders were awaiting an interest rate announcement from the european
central bank on thursday
in london on wednesday the euro was changing hands at dollars against
dollars late on tuesday yen pounds and
swiss francs
the dollar stood at yen and swiss francs
the pound was at dollars
on the london bullion market the price of gold fell to dollars an
ounce from dollars on tuesday
four brazilian un peacekeepers die in haiti quake military
brasilia jan afp
four brazilian members of the un peacekeeping force in haiti were killed in the
massive earthquake which struck the impoverished nation military official
said wednesday
general carlos alberto barcellos head of communications for brazil army said
five brazilians were wounded and an undetermined number missing in the aftermath
of tuesday temblor near the capital port au prince the worst to strike
the country in more than century
brazil is the biggest contributor to the un stabilization mission in haiti
minustah with personnel out of total strong force
jordan opposition demands end to cooperation with cia
amman jan afp
jordan islamist led opposition called on the government on wednesday to stop
cooperating with the us central intelligence agency saying that the us led war
in afghanistan is not our war
the american empire war in afghanistan is not our war it not in jordan
interest opposition figures including muslim brotherhood leader hammam
said and outspoken former mps leith shbeilat and tujan feisal said in joint
statement
jordanian policies should be reviewed jordan should stop cooperating with
american and zionist intelligence it should pull out any troops in afghanistan
or any other place they added
the opposition statement came after the death in january suicide bombing in
afghanistan of senior intelligence officer captain ali bin zeid member of the
royal family along with seven cia agents spotlighted jordan role in the
international coalition there
the opposition leaders said the real fascist terrorism is the zionist terrorism
that threatens world peace and jordan future
jordan should not be dragged into wars of others and should not turn into
battlefield they added
during visit to washington on friday foreign minister nasser judeh openly
acknowledged for the first time that jordan had counterterrorism role in
afghanistan and planned to enhance it
on monday prime minister samir rifai defended the kingdom engagement overseas
in the war against terror insisting we will deploy wherever it is necessary
bollywood star highlights plight of indian widows
new delhi jan afp
bollywood star preity zinta said wednesday that misinterpretations of hinduism
often fuelled by greed were partly responsible for the dire plight of
india oppressed and neglected widows
speaking as she took up the role of ambassador for the loomba trust charity
that campaigns for widows rights zinta railed against the indian custom that
widows are forced to stop wearing coloured clothes or jewellery
am hindu and like to say think religion is always interpreted by
various different people and the greatest reason for misinterpreting religion is
always greed zinta told press conference in new delhi
hindu widows in india are not supposed to remarry and often fall into lives of
desperate poverty after being thrown out of the family home because they are
seen as drain on scarce resources
zinta glamorous star of bollywood blockbusters such as kal ho naa ho
tomorrow may never come recently completed management course at harvard
business school and is known as one of india most articulate actresses
cases of sati the outlawed hindu custom when widow is cremated on the
funeral pyre of her husband as an indication of her devotion are now
extremely rare but widows are often left helpless
zinta said that many indian widows struggled to avoid being pulled into
prostitution or become victims of human trafficking
the loomba trust educates children of poor widows across india and has
been supported by former british prime minister tony blair and his wife cherie
since it was founded in
cherie blair told reporters in delhi that like every religion there are
questions that are about the basic tenets of the religion and then there are the
customs and practices that grow up around it
the hindu religion is not the only religion that has problem with that she
said
russia may stop oil supplies to belarus transneft
moscow jan afp
russia may cut oil supplies to belarussian refineries after contract talks
failed but crude transit to europe would be assured russian pipeline firm
transneft said wednesday
the russian monopoly provides oil to belarus two major refineries in
novopolotsk and mozyr as well as to several european nations including germany
and poland through its druzhba pipeline
russia and belarus which earns income from refining and reselling russian
crude oil have been at loggerheads over russian customs duty on oil that
went into effect on new year day
belarussian and russian delegations failed to overcome their differences during
new talks on saturday
transneft spokesman igor dyomin said deliveries to the refineries were running
out soon under the last contracts
for the mozyr refinery contracts for delivery last for one more day for
novopolotsk there are contracts confirmed for one week or maybe more dyomin
told afp
the flow of oil to belarus will be cut off without confirmed contracts he said
but when asked how the situation could affect european supplies the spokesman
said deliveries to poland via the druzhba pipeline still stand and that the
volume is equivalent to the usual amount
three years ago another dispute between moscow and minsk led to the brief
closure of pipeline through belarus which carries around third of russia
total oil exports to europe
belarus is almost completely dependent on russian oil imports
nine dead in koran protest shooting in afghanistan police
kandahar afghanistan jan afp
nine people were killed when shooting broke out during mass demonstration in
provincial afghan town over the alleged burning of koran by foreign troops
police said wednesday
the violence erupted on tuesday in the garmsir district of the southern province
of helmand over rumours that nato led forces had defiled copy of the muslim
holy book during military operation local residents and police said
nato said it had no information confirming the civilian deaths but that it was
investigating the incident along with afghan security officials
eight protesters were killed when the protesters attacked national security
officials in garmsir deputy provincial police chief kamaluddin khan told afp
the protesters were shot after an afghan guard outside nearby building was
killed by gunfire from the demonstrators side he said
khan said civilians and two afghan policemen were also wounded in the
incident
nato international security assistance force isaf said in statement on
tuesday that its troops had shot dead only one insurgent sniper who had killed
an afghan official in the garmsir area
but spokesman for the force said there was no information to back up claims of
civilian deaths in the incident adding that investigations with afghan security
officials were under way
we are continuing with our investigation of the reports that have appeared in
media sergeant jeff loftin said on wednesday
the only shot we know that was fired was from compound rooftop the gunman
was positively identified as sniper and we took him out
other than that we don know of any other shooting or where these figures come
from he said
isaf said in statement on tuesday that during the protest an insurgent
sniper shot an afghan official who was within fob forward operating base delhi
in garmsir district
isaf service members identified the insurgent sniper shot and killed him
there were no other injuries or shots fired it added
the incident occurred when more than afghan villagers gathered in garmsir
to protest over the alleged burning of koran during nato operation on
monday local residents and police said
doctor at the emergency hospital in the provincial capital lashkar gah who
spoke on condition of anonymity said that more than people had been brought
in with gunshot wounds to the stomach head and legs
two of them are in serious condition he said
helmand provincial governor daud ahmadi has sent delegation of police and
government officials to garmsir to investigate the incident spokesman for his
office said
the delegation had begun interviewing eye witnesses and would also meet tribal
elders the spokesman said adding officers from the us marines forces have
also been taking part in these meetings
the investigation has begun and the delegation is expected to come back with
report to the governor by this evening the spokesman said
cricket india sri lanka one day scoreboard
dhaka jan afp
scoreboard after india innings against sri lanka in the triangular one day
series final here on wednesday
india
sehwag sangakkara kulasekara
gambhir kulasekara
kohli sangakkara welegedara
yuvraj singh samaraweera welegedara
ms dhoni sangakkara kulasekara
raina welegedara
jadeja lbw dilshan
harbhajan singh lbw randiv
zaheer khan samaraweera kulasekara
nehra not out
sreesanth perera
extras lb
total for all out overs
fall of wickets gambhir kohli yuvraj dhoni
sehwag jadeja harbhajan zaheer raina
sreesanth
bowling kulasekara welegedara thushara
randiv perera dilshan
toss sri lanka
umpires enamul haque ban and ian gould eng
tv umpire sharfuddoula shahid ban
match referee andy pycroft zim
tennis injured ferrero out of heineken open
auckland jan afp
former world number one juan carlos ferrero limped out of the heineken open with
an ankle injury wednesday leaving him major doubt for next week australian
open
the loss of the third seed as he trailed swiss qualifier michael lammer in
the first set followed the withdrawal from the auckland event on monday of
argentina david nalbandian with an abdominal injury
they say it not too bad will have to wait three or four days with some
ice take some anti inflammatories and see how it goes ferrero told reporters
want to play over there so will do everything in my power to make it but
we ll see cannot tell you now
world ranked lammer now faces quarter final against eighth seed albert
montanes who beat local hope rubin statham
other seeds to depart in the second round included number two david ferrer of
spain who went down in surprise loss to frenchman arnaud clement
seventh seed juan monaco and spanish compatriot and fourth seed nicolas almagro
were also eliminated as the line up for the quarter finals was decided
tall american john isner served aces and five breaks of serve to beat monaco
france marc gicquel ranked in the world ensured miserable day for th
ranked almagro with thrashing
spanish top seed tommy robredo coming off hopman cup victory in perth was
not at his best but good enough to clinch quarter final spot with hard
fought win over german simon greul
fifth seeded german philipp kohlschreiber stayed on course to repeat his
heineken open victory with win over brazilian thomaz bellucci
modern germany hit by historic recession in
wiesbaden germany jan afp
modern germany suffered its worst recession ever last year when europe largest
economy contracted by five percent provisional official figures released on
wednesday showed
economic activity declined for the first time in six years as exports fell by
percent and business investment plunged by percent the destatis
national data service said in statement
the figure was the worst official figure recorded in germany since the great
depression when annual output contracted by more than seven percent in
it added in report
it was also five times the previous post war record of minus percent set in
ihs global insight economist timo klein said as unicredit andreas rees
termed the annus horribilis for the german economy
economic activity expanded in by percent destatis said and the
central bank has estimated it should grow again by percent this year
the economic slump occured essentially during the winter period of late
and early destatis president roderich egeler told press conference
business activity then stabilised at low level
the government also posted better than expected public deficit of billion
euros billion dollars last year around percent of output after
managing to balance its accounts in the data showed
the deterioration of public finances has been much more limited than in most
other eurozone countries ing senior economist carsten brzeski noted
the european union stability and growth pact holds eu members to deficits of
no more than percent of gross domestic product gdp and it was the first
time in four years that berlin exceeded the limit destatis said
it is to release fourth quarter and final growth figures on february
this year the finance ministry has estimated the deficit will exceed
percent of gdp as the government supports activity with stimulus measures that
include tax cuts
government spending jumped by percent in while household consumption
gained slight percent
german authorities have approved stimulus package worth up to billion euros
in including billion euros in tax relief for families
the country export oriented economy was slammed by the global economic
slowdown but should benefit from fresh emerging market demand for capital goods
such as machine tools and chemicals used to produce finished products
the economy ministry was upbeat wednesday despite the historic slump saying the
worst had passed
it is particularly welcome that the labour market has remained surprisingly
resistent economy minister rainer bruederle said in statement
unemployment has been limited by germany short time work scheme under which
the state subsidises shorter hours for workers to avoid widespread layoffs
the number of jobless is nonetheless expected to reach more than million
people this year after averaging million or percent of the workforce
in
brzeski warned the economy had to be rebalanced from dependency on exports
towards more domestic driven growth and concluded not everything is hunky
dory
