algeria hence rangers firepower is severely depleted
while rangers and celtic and points under their belts to date face
off third placed hibernian four points further back host edinburgh rivals
hearts in sunday other game
dundee utd in fourth will hope to recover from their ibrox mauling with home
win saturday over aberdeen while tailenders falkirk need something from their
home meeting with midtable st johnstone if they are to avoid losing touch with
fellow strugglers kilmarnock and st mirren who were also meeting saturday
fixtures gmt unless otherwise stated
saturday
dundee united aberdeen falkirk st johnstone motherwell hamilton st
mirren kilmarnock
sunday
celtic rangers hibernian hearts
football wenger rules out chamakh swoop
london jan afp
arsenal boss arsene wenger on friday ruled out transfer window swoop for
moroccan international striker marouane chamakh long time gunners target
chamakh is in the champions league with bordeaux and at the top of their
league so he will not move now said wenger
he has four months of his contract to go with bordeaux and they have no
interest in selling him
twelve months ago wenger concluded january deal for russian playmaker andrey
arshavin but with robin van persie out for most of the rest of the season the
frenchman desperately needs new striker
but as yet he insists he has no specific target in mind
for now am like was when was student and had to study for an exam
and do not know what will write he said
iraq kidnap hostage arrives back in britain officials
london jan afp
british man kidnapped in iraq in arrived back in britain on friday two
days after his release from two and half years in captivity the foreign
office confirmed
peter moore computer expert who was released unharmed on wednesday touched
down at the royal air force raf base at brize norton in oxfordshire northwest
of london ministry spokesman said
he flew from baghdad earlier friday to amman in jordan where he boarded
challenger executive jet bound for britain
moore landed at about pm gmt and was met by foreign office staff
spokesman said before boarding people carrier to be reunited with his family
off base
we are thrilled to have peter back safely moore step parents fran and
pauline sweeney said in statement
we have lot of catching up to do and would like to have time with peter on
our own we would now ask the media to give us space and privacy
four of moore bodyguards also britons were seized alongside him but are all
thought to have been killed during their captivity
iraq kidnap hostage arrives back in britain officials
london jan afp
british man kidnapped in iraq in arrived back in britain on friday two
days after his release from two and half years in captivity the foreign
office confirmed
peter moore computer expert who was released unharmed on wednesday touched
down at the royal air force raf base at brize norton in oxfordshire northwest
of london ministry spokesman said
he flew from baghdad earlier friday to amman in jordan where he boarded
challenger executive jet bound for britain
moore landed at about pm gmt and was met by foreign office staff
spokesman said before boarding people carrier to be reunited with his family
off base
we are thrilled to have peter back safely moore step parents fran and
pauline sweeney said in statement
we have lot of catching up to do and would like to have time with peter on
our own we would now ask the media to give us space and privacy
four of moore bodyguards also britons were seized alongside him but are all
thought to have been killed during their captivity
iraq takes steps to bring blackwater to justice
baghdad jan afp
iraq said on friday it had begun taking steps to bring blackwater to justice
over the deaths of civilians in one of the bloodiest incidents
involving private security firm here
decision thursday by us court to drop the charges against five blackwater
security guards accused of the deaths has unleashed anger in baghdad where
cabinet minister expressed astonishment
the iraqi government has started to take the necessary measures to bring
blackwater to justice for the killing of iraqi citizens government
spokesman ali al dabbagh said in statement
he did not details on what specific measures were being taken but he had earlier
said an iraqi investigation had shown that the five guards were responsible for
the deaths of the civilians
human rights minister wejdan mikhail told afp she was astonished by the
decision to dismiss the criminal charges against the five
there was so much work done to prosecute these people and to take this case
into court and don understand why the judge took this decision she said
us federal judge ricardo urbina dismissed the charges against the five saying
prosecutors violated their rights by using incriminating statements they had
made under immunity during state department probe
the case was among the most sensational that sought to hold blackwater employees
accountable for what was seen as culture of lawlessness and lack of
accountability as it carried out its duties in iraq
the guards who had been part of convoy of armoured vehicles had been charged
with killing unarmed iraqi civilians and wounding others during an
unprovoked attack at busy baghdad roundabout using guns and grenades
but iraq says people were killed
one of them has said what happened in nisur square how they killed innocent
iraqi people that were just in their cars without any weapons am very
astonished and am waiting for the us embassy to give me the judge decision
in full mikhail said
what happened was very bad because so many innocent iraqi people young
students were shot by someone who liked to shoot unarmed people
mikhail said she requested meeting with us embassy officials in baghdad the
embassy did not immediately confirm that the meeting would take place or if it
did who it would involve
the judge decision was welcomed however by the company chief executive
joseph yorio who said the company supports the judge decision to dismiss
the charges
from the beginning xe has stood behind the hundreds of brave men who put
themselves in harm way to protect american diplomats working in baghdad and
other combat zones in iraq
the firm renamed itself xe after the iraqi government banned it last january
over the killings
foreign security teams in iraq long operated in legal grey area but under
military accord signed with washington last november baghdad won concession
to lift the immunity to prosecution previously extended to us security
contractors
ordinary iraqis expressed anger at urbina ruling
dropping the charges against those guards disrespects the lives of the
innocents who were killed said abu uday university professor who did not
want to give his given name
the rights of the families of the victims must be guaranteed those who lost
their sons because of the rashness of guards who tried to show off their
abilities with no respect for people lives
blackwater ended its operations in iraq in may after the us state department
refused to renew annual contracts for the company
headquartered in north carolina blackwater was one of the largest security
firms operating in iraq with about staff and had been employed to protect
us government personnel since the invasion
afghan authorities distance themselves from cia black ops
kabul jan afp
afghan authorities were distancing themselves friday from investigations into
suicide bomb attack that killed seven cia agents the us spy agency biggest
single loss of life in almost years
as questions swirled about how the attacker managed to penetrate security at the
base in khost province near the pakistani border the afghan defence ministry
again denied reports that any ministry personnel were involved
the government had no comment and spokesman for president hamid karzai said
there would be no official involvement in any investigation
the cia agents were killed on wednesday when suicide bomber breached the
forward operating base fob camp chapman and detonated an explosives filled
vest in basement gym
the taliban claimed responsibility for the attack
zahir azimi defence ministry spokesman again denied reports that the bomber
was an afghan army officer or posed as one
this is the taliban talking and nothing the taliban says should be believed
he said
the cia uses fobs to collect intelligence and conduct direct drone attacks along
the border between pakistan and afghanistan said western diplomat who
referred to the activities as cia black ops
it should come as no surprise that the afghan government wants nothing to do
with this he said on condition of anonymity
karzai is not interested in the security of these places he has zero control
over the fobs that are located along the border as far as the afghan state is
concerned it black hole and whatever happens is the cia lookout
western military official who also asked not to be named said the cia is on
its own in conducting operations on the us fobs dotted around afghanistan
there not great deal of visibility for what they do except at the state
department the official said
cia operations were part of the overall plan for eradicating the taliban and
developing the country he said but were not part of nato international
security assistance force isaf or us military operations
the new york times said cia officers at the base recently had begun an
aggressive campaign against militant group run by sirajuddin haqqani
citing current and former intelligence officials it said early indications were
that the bomber was brought onto the base as possible informer and might not
have been subjected to rigorous screening
afghan political analyst waheed mujda said it was the focus on the haqqani
network which is close to al qaeda and the taliban that prompted the attack
the cia lowered the flag to half mast at its tightly guarded headquarters in the
washington suburbs but did not release the names of the casualties who died
cloaked in the same anonymity in which they lived
your triumphs and even your names may be unknown to your fellow americans but
your service is deeply appreciated president barack obama wrote in letter to
cia employees
obama said that since the september attacks on the united states the
cia has been tested as never before
the attack comes as the united states increasingly relies on the cia and other
covert forces to pursue strategic goals
intelligence operatives are seen as crucial in laying out the groundwork as
obama and nato allies send in another troops as part of surge expected
to last until late
meanwhile two french journalists kidnapped on wednesday by suspected taliban in
the east of the country are thought to be alive and in good health source
involved in efforts to free them said
but the condition of three afghan assistants abducted with the journalists from
france public television broadcaster was unclear the source told afp from
kabul
britain ministry of defence said british soldier died on thursday of
injuries from roadside bomb attack in afghanistan taking the british toll for
to
isaf said an american soldier died of non battle related injuries in eastern
afghanistan on thursday
the deaths bring to the total number of foreign troops to have died in
afghanistan in according to an afp tally based on that from independent
icasualties org website
nordic skiing tour de ski prologue results
oberhof germany jan afp
results from the prologue of the world cup tour de ski nordic skiing stage race
here on friday
men km prologue
petter northug nor min sec marcus hellner swe at sec axel
teichmann ger dario cologna sui sergei shiriaev rus
loris frasnelli ita lukas bauer cze jean marc gaillard
fra alexander legkov rus
tour de ski standings after the prologue
petter northug nor min sec marcus hellner swe at sec
axel teichmann ger dario cologna sui sergei shiriaev rus
loris frasnelli ita lukas bauer cze jean marc
gaillard fra alexander legkov rus jesper modin swe
overall world cup standings after of events
petter northug nor pts alexander legkov rus john kristian
dahl nor marcus hellner swe maxim vylegzhanin rus
selected dario cologna sui
women km prologue
petra majdic slo min sec natalia korosteleva rus at sec
justyna kowalczyk pol arianna follis ita miriam gossner
ger aino kaisa saarinen fin celine brun lie nor
riitta liisa roponen fin kristin stoermer steira nor
hanna brodin swe
tour de ski standings after prologue
petra majdic slo min sec natalia korosteleva rus at sec
justyna kowalczyk pol arianna follis ita miriam gossner ger
aino kaisa saarinen fin celine brun lie nor riitta
liisa roponen fin kristin stoermer steira nor hanna brodin
swe
overall world cup standings after of events
marit bjoergen nor pts justyna kowalczyk pol petra majdic
slo aino kaisa saarinen fin natalia korosteleva rus
note prologue winner benefits from bonus of seconds second place
seconds and the third place seconds
alert
at least killed in suicide blast at pakistan volleyball match police
france counts car burnings at new year
paris jan afp
vandals burned cars in france on new year eve and police arrested
hundreds of people the government said on friday
statement from interior minister brice hortefeux put the official toll for
car burnings traditional act of new year mischief in france almost as
high as last year when torched cars were counted
hortefeux said police detained people across the country more than double
the toll year ago at least police officers were injured
turnout for the celebrations in paris was less than half that of last year
hortefeux said with about people crowding the capital compared to
on new year eve
the government had mobilised police in the capital and nationally
for the night glass bottles were prohibited at celebrations in central paris
and customers banned from filling portable containers at petrol pumps
some of the arrests reported were for burning cars and throwing objects at
police
also on new year eve fire caused by an electrical accident in an apartment
in the southern french city of nimes killed five people and left others
injured investigators said
in separate incident people were harmed by carbon monoxide fumes from
faulty heater at party in suburb of paris police said
iraq kidnap hostage arrives back in britain officials
london jan afp
british man kidnapped in iraq in arrived back in britain on friday two
days after his release from two and half years in captivity the foreign
office confirmed
peter moore computer expert who was released unharmed on wednesday touched
down at the royal air force raf base at brize norton in oxfordshire northwest
of london ministry spokesman said
the flight from jordan landed at about pm gmt and moore was met by
foreign office staff he will be reunited with his family later the spokesman
said adding that they had asked for privacy at this time
oil rich eguinea must diversify economy president
malabo jan afp
equatorial guinea president teodoro obiang nguema said in new year message
broadcast on friday that the country must diversify its economy which is
heavily dependent on oil
we cannot focus our country development entirely on the permanent
exploitation of natural resources obiang nguema said in speech delivered
late thursday and broadcast on state media the following day
equatorial guinea draws percent of its revenue from the exploitation of
hydrocarbons
we must diversify our economy promoting agriculture livestock and fish
farming tourism trade he said without proposing plan or funding
equatorial guinea is former spanish colony and until recently one of the
poorest countries in africa it has become one of the continent major oil
producers leading the field after angola and nigeria
despite the strong growth the poor in particular the marginalised bubi ethnic
group have yet to share in the benefits
the president also referred to the fight against corruption
administrative and social corruption is cancer that we must eradicate if we
want profitable and stable economy said obiang nguema who has ruled the
country with an iron fist since
those who embezzle public funds for their own interests must be pursued and
punished in accordance with the law he said
the opposition say that oil revenues are illegally used by members of obiang
nguema government
in report the non governmental organisation transparency international
rated equatorial guinea number for its levels of corruption in list of
countries
transparency international filed lawsuit in december against obiang
nguema and presidents omar bongo ondimba of gabon and denis sassou nguesso of
congo accusing them of acquiring substantial property and assets in france
in october the french courts dismissed the case
football united stress leeds is top priority
manchester england jan afp
manchester united midfielder darren fletcher insists that sundays fa cup duel
with historic rivals leeds is his immediate concern rather than premier
league champions league double
leeds former english champions but currently playing in the third tier of
domestic football after spectacular fall from grace will be the first in
series of key games for united
after sunday comes meeting with manchester city in the league cup semi finals
before premier league battle resumes again at birmingham on january
ac milan are then on the agenda in the champions league in february
everyone looks ahead and speaks about the christmas period but the matches we
are into now straight afterwards are just as important said fletcher
just take each game as it comes and think all the other players do the same
thing
you can look too far ahead of yourself and start thinking about what is to come
whether you have an easy run of games
but it never works out like that we have the fa cup the league cup semi final
and then more important league games the best thing to do is try to win them
all
teammate michael carrick said he is relishing united clash with leeds and
feels sir alex ferguson side are on the verge of fine burst of form
united go into the new year two points off the premier league leaders chelsea
and safely through to the knock out phase of the champions league
even so england midfielder carrick accepts united have not hit top gear yet
during the campaign
the old trafford club have lost five matches in the premier league and have been
beset by defensive injuries
those problems at the back are starting to clear up with wes brown and nemanja
vidic forming what looks like solid central defensive partnership
ferguson intends to use his youngsters in the league cup against city but has
said he will opt for strong selection against league one leaders leeds
the yorkshire club who pipped ferguson men to the domestic title in
have been in the third division of english football for three years but as
recently as decade ago were significant top flight contenders
the teams first meeting since leeds were relegated in is eagerly awaited
and the visitors are set to bring supporters to old trafford
but carrick is looking forward to his first taste of this most intense of
fixtures
experiencing those types of feisty atmospheres are why you play football
carrick said
rivalries like that add extra spice it is great for the fans and good for the
players
no matter where you play or whether the atmosphere is for or against you it
is great feeling to play
besiktas were very hostile when we went there earlier this season in the
champions league but it was still terrific to play in
leeds are bringing lot of fans and we are looking forward to it it should be
cracking game
united have lost two of their last five matches at home but beat wigan last
time out and carrick is desperate for them to continue their improvement at old
trafford against leeds
we have not hit top form all season especially at home carrick conceded we
have just been doing enough to get through we know we are better than that and
now is the time to do it
ferguson has hinted that gary neville will play against leeds and he will use
similar side to the one that thrashed wigan
leeds have not won at old trafford since and they go into sunday match as
huge underdogs
but midfielder jonny howson insists they have nothing to fear having narrowly
lost to liverpool in the league cup earlier this season
they have big players but we want to test ourselves and impress against these
players howson said
we have players who can hurt and you saw that against liverpool in the league
cup we caused them problems
saw an interview with jamie carragher where he said we were their toughest
game up to that point so don see why we can cause them united problems
on sunday
french journalists abducted in afghanistan alive source
kabul jan afp
two french journalists kidnapped in eastern afghanistan this week are thought to
be alive and in good health source involved in efforts to free them said
friday
but the condition of three afghan assistants abducted with the journalists from
france public television broadcaster on wednesday was unclear the source told
afp from kabul
the two french journalists appear to be alive in good health and being well
treated said the source
suspected taliban militants snatched the journalists in the war torn country
around kilometres miles from the afghan capital according to french
journalist working with them
iraq takes measures to prosecute blackwater
baghdad iraq jan afp
iraq has begun taking measures to bring blackwater to justice after us court
dropped charges against guards working for the firm accused of killing
civilians in government spokesman ali al dabbagh said friday
the iraqi government has started to take the necessary measures to bring
blackwater to justice for the killing of iraqi citizens dabbagh said in
statement
he did not immediately provide details on what specific measures were being
taken
earlier on friday dabbagh said the government regrets the decision of us
judge to dismiss criminal charges against five blackwater security guards
accused of fatally shooting people in baghdad in september
according to iraq civilians were killed in the shooting but the guards were
charged with deaths
us federal judge ricardo urbina on thursday dismissed the charges against the
five saying prosecutors violated their rights by using incriminating statements
they had made under immunity during state department probe to build their
case
the case was among the most sensational that sought to hold blackwater employees
accountable for what was seen as culture of lawlessness and lack of
accountability as it carried out its duties in iraq
the guards who had been part of convoy of armoured vehicles had been charged
with killing unarmed iraqi civilians and wounding others during an
unprovoked attack at busy baghdad roundabout using guns and grenades
cycling contador to kick off season at tour of the algarve
madrid jan afp
reigning tour de france champion alberto contador confirmed on friday he will
kick off his season during the tour of the algarve cycling race in portugal
mid february
last year liked the race and think it ideal to start the season
explained the spaniard who is the reigning champion in the portuguese race
then ll go to the paris nice beginning of march where we ll be mainly
looking to work on team level notably on tactical coordination he said
contador winner of the tour de france winner in and added that he
was also counting on competing in the tour of catalonia from march and the
tour of the basque country from april
but he added leaving the door open on the classics we ll decide on that
later
five dead injured in french apartment blaze police
nimes france jan afp
fire in an apartment in the southern french city of nimes killed five members
of the same family on new year day and left other people in the block
injured investigators said friday
the five dead grandmother father an older son teenage girl and
young boy and six of the injured were all in the same apartment on the top
floor of the six storey building fire services said
others in neighbouring apartment were also overcome by fumes four of the
injured were in serious condition
the city deputy public prosecutor gildas pavy told afp that an expert had
found the cause of the blaze to be an electrical accident
iraq takes measures to prosecute blackwater
baghdad iraq jan afp
iraq has begun taking measures to bring blackwater to justice after us court
dropped charges against guards working for the firm accused of killing
civilians in government spokesman ali al dabbagh said friday
the iraqi government has started to take the necessary measures to bring
blackwater to justice for the killing of iraqi citizens dabbagh said in
statement
vienna new year concert reaches record countries
vienna jan afp
the vienna philharmonic acclaimed new year concert led by year old
conductor georges pretre was broadcast friday in record countries and on
the internet for the first time organisers said
nearly million television viewers tuned in worldwide including from
australia china india russia and the united states they said billing it as
the world largest classical music event in terms of international coverage
coveted tickets for the concert were snapped up worldwide year in advance as
has become routine
pretre who also led the concert in offered some new items such as the
overture from the merry wives of windsor in homage to composer otto nicolai
founder of the vienna philharmonic and born years ago
the conductor gave wink to his native france with the overture from jacques
offenbach the rhine fairies and in keeping with tradition closed with the
radetzky march by johann strauss senior
he received three minute standing ovation from the audience and musicians in
the magnificent musikverein hall decorated with flowers from san remo in
italy
pretre is the only frenchman to have conducted the traditional concert which was
first held in and pays homage to the waltz canon of members of austria
strauss composer family
the vienna philharmonic announced friday that austrian conductor franz welser
moest would take the baton for the first time for next year concert
the new year concert provides major earner from cd and dvd rights releases of
which are scheduled for january and respectively
rallying dakar rally director predicts classic edition
buenos aires jan afp
dakar rally director etienne lavigne said friday he expected this years event
to be classic as the racers prepared to set out from buenos aires for days
of desert duelling
as with wines there are different vintages but this one should be grand cru
for the cars and bikes ve got good feeling about it said lavigne saying
that in his pre race visit to the start he came across many drivers who seemed
very happy about the course
with argentina hosting the race for the second straight year after political
instability in africa forced the cancellation of the edition lavigne said
security was paramount
my priority is that things go ahead in good secure conditions but it must also
be interesting and competitive in the sporting sense
there will be big crowd friday we ve done all we can to ensure that it
success
lavigne said that new technical modifications would likely mean heightened
battle for marc coma motorcycling crown but added that where the cars are
concerned the competitors primary adversary will be the terrain with km of
special stages in the overall km race
last year spaniard carlos sainz lost the dakar after an accident three days
from the end this year we ll be into the dunes from day three and so there
could be some large time gaps opening up quite quickly and also some
surprises it promises to be very open
regarding the choice of venue for lavigne said he would wait and see how
this edition worked out in terms of racer satisfaction financially and also
the level of media interest
he noted that the dakar gets more exposure in south america than africa last
year we had hours of tv coverage tv as against two years earlier in
africa we have to keep all these elements in perspective
asked about the possibility of renewed venue switch lavigne said it
if we left here it would be more for eastern africa tunisia libya and egypt
further down in niger and chad it more complicated
urgent iraq takes measures to bring blackwater to justice spokesman
baghdad iraq jan afp
iraq has begun taking measures to bring blackwater to justice after us court
dropped charges against guards working for the firm accused of killing
civilians in government spokesman ali al dabbagh said friday
