parlemannews websites said
they did not say what charges safai farahani was convicted of
he was rounded up along with scores of prominent reformists and journalists
shortly after the june poll which gave hardliner mahmoud ahmadinejad second
term amid widespread fraud allegations
the government accused its reformist opponents of seeking to undermine the
regime by instigating mass street protests against ahmadinejad
several have been sentenced to hefty prison terms some have been released on
bail pending possible appeals
veteran industrialist safai farahani is one of the leaders of iran
largest reformist party the islamic iran participation front which strongly
backed ahmadinejad leading challenger in the vote former prime minister mir
hossein mousavi
safai farahani also served as an mp between and and as deputy economy
minister and head of iran football federation under the reformist presidency
of mohammad khatami between and
little known student activist majid dorri has also been sentenced to
years in jail opposition website rahesabz said
dorri was sentenced to years in jail after being found guilty of links with
the islamic republic main exiled opposition the people mujahideen
organization the website said
he received another year for acting against national security by participating
in illegal gatherings it added
nordic skiing world cup results
otepaa estonia jan afp
results of the women world cup sprint race here on sunday
anna falk swe mins secs
petra mjadic slo at
aino kaisa saarinen fin
ida ingemarsdotter swe
kirsi peraelae fin
pirjo muranen fin
overall world cup standings after of the races
justyna kowalczyk pol points
petra majdic slo
aino kaisa saarinen fin
arianna follis ita
kristin stoermer steira nor
marit bjoergen nor
riitta liisa roponen fin
marianna longa ita
natalia korosteleva rus
olga savialova rus
nordic combined norwegian moan at the double
chaux neuve france jan afp
norway magnus moan scored his second win of the weekend when he won the th
stage of the nordic combined world cup series on sunday
moan who was in th position after the morning ski jump relied on his
superior cross country skiing skills for victory completing the km race in
min sec
overall leader jason lamy chappuis of france had second start on moan but
the norwegian pegged the frenchman back with austrian mario stecher finishing
third at sec
nordic skiing joensson holds off hattestad to win sprint
otepaa estonia jan afp
sweden emil joensson won the men classic sprint here on sunday after holding
off challenge from norway ola vigen hattestad in photo finish
joennsson came home in time of minutes seconds but hattestad was on
his shoulder at the line and finished with the same time but the swede won by
the narrowest of margins
russia nikita kriukov was third and was also in contention right until the
line as he finished just seconds behind the winner
norway petter northug remains the overwhelming leader in the overall world cup
rankings with points ahead of second placed lukas bauer who has points
first italian survivors of haiti quake arrive home
rome jan afp
first group of italian survivors returned from haiti on sunday local media
reported where of their compatriots remain missing and one is confirmed dead
following the devastating earthquake
the group of survivors consisted of an year old man who has lived in the
impoverished caribbean nation for years pregnant woman as well as four
families with three children and cat
was among the who escaped the collapse of the hotel christopher where the
united nations mission was housed because we were on the lower storeys un
volunteer matteo menin told the ansa news agency
there were italians working from the third floor to the upper storeys and it
possible that some of them are still in the rubble he said adding that he was
lucky because my office had an exit onto the courtyard
as soon as felt the tremor got out he said
tuesday magnitude quake killed as many as people and was also the
worst ever disaster for the un with staffers confirmed dead and nearly
others still unaccounted for
francesco nocera the year old who is originally from naples said that
everything is destroyed our house is damaged and who knows if we will be able
to live there again
had clothes shop but now everything is destroyed and my children advise me
to stay in italy
confused but happy to be alive said un worker cristina lampieri the
earthquake was an awful thing in minute everything changed and the tremors
continued we thought we were on floating platform in our home
the apartment is still standing but it no longer inhabitable and the office
has been destroyed she said
the group flew back on falcon jet that brought team of italian rescue
workers to haiti having flown from port au prince to the dominican republic
aboard an italian transport plane
nordic skiing world cup results
otepaa estonia jan afp
results of the men world cup sprint race here on sunday
emil joensson swe mins seconds
ola vigen hattestad nor at sec
nikita kriukov rus
jesse vaeaenaenen fin
alexander panzhinskiy rus
bjoern lind swe
overall standings after of the races
petter northug nor points
lukas bauer cze
marcus hellner swe
dario cologna sui
jean marc gaillard fra
axel teichmann ger
matti heikkinen fin
rene sommerfeldt ger
giorgio di centa ita
daniel rickardsson swe
golf leading joburg open final round scores
johannesburg jan afp
leading scores after final round of joburg open at par metre royal
johannesburg and kensington golf club sunday rsa unless noted
charl schwartzel
darren clarke nir keith horne
james kamte danny willett eng
soren hansen den joost luiten ned hennie
otto peter whiteford sco
josh cunliffe john parry eng
cricket pace duo restore south african pride
johannesburg jan afp
south africa fast bowling duo of dale steyn and morne morkel finally delivered
as the host nation squared the series with an emphatic innings and run win on
the fourth day of the fourth and final test at the wanderers stadium on sunday
steyn and morkel were excellent on this wicket said england captain andrew
strauss after england were bowled out for in their second innings in the
last over before lunch
south african wicketkeeper mark boucher who shared the man of the series award
with england off spinner graeme swann said he wouldn yet rate them ahead of
allan donald and shaun pollock as pair of fast bowlers he had kept wicket to
but he felt they had the potential to be up there with the best that have ever
played the game
steyn and morkel took seven wickets each and were named joint men of the match
morkel sent the game hurtling to an early finish with spell of three wickets
for no runs in seven balls on sunday morning he finished with four for
only the obdurate paul collingwood stood firm for england scoring on
morning during which seven wickets fell for runs
it was pitch tailor made for the south african pair according to strauss
on wickets that have bit of bounce that playing in their hands he said
morkel has the bounce and steyn the swing
their first spells are as good as anything you ll see in world cricket we felt
that if we could get them into their second or third spells things would get
bit easier but we weren able to do that often enough
both captains had regrets about sharing the honours after hard fought series
england went into the match up in the series after winning by an innings and
runs in the second test in durban
the first and third tests in centurion and cape town were drawn with england
nine down in their second innings on both occasions
we could easily be sitting here up said south africa skipper graeme
smith reflecting on south africa inability to take the final wicket in the
drawn tests
but we lacked the knockout punch and that is the way the game goes but it is
great to have played such convincing cricket in this match
smith said the wanderers pitch had not been nearly as difficult as had been
suggested in the pre match build up
it had something for everyone he said
it had spin it had pace and bounce and the batters who applied themselves got
runs
of those attributes the most important from south africa point of view was
the pace and bounce after pitches in the drawn matches which smith said got
slower and slower as the games went on
strauss said the heavy defeat leaves bit of sour taste in the mouth he
said england had prepared well and had been determined to finish the tour with
series win to go along with their win in one day series
but very proud of the way the team performed over the ten weeks we ve been
here said strauss
to win the one day series was huge achievement and we halved the test series
against one of the best teams in the world
strauss said he felt england had improved
we ve shown resilience and we re hard side to beat which are good
attributes but we re not clinical enough not consistent enough
england will play test series in bangladesh next month and it is not yet
certain whether strauss will lead the side there
the touring squad will be announced in johannesburg on monday and strauss said
he would be at the announcement press conference
the south africans meanwhile make brief return to domestic cricket before
gearing up for tour of india next month
it whole new world touring india said smith
not many teams go there and perform well last time we were there we drew the
test series we ve got few challenges good aggressive mindset going
into those conditions is always crucial
nepal india agree to tackle cross border crime
kathmandu jan afp
nepal and india said sunday they had agreed to tackle cross border terrorism and
organised crime together as indian foreign minister sm krishna wrapped up
three day visit to the himalayan nation
krishna and nepalese counterpart sujata koirala discussed security concerns and
agreed that terrorism and extremism were threat to both countries
they agreed to cooperate closely to end this menace said joint statement
issued at the end of the indian minister visit to nepal
the two ministers also discussed ways to enhance bilateral security cooperation
to control cross border crimes such as smuggling of fake indian currency human
trafficking and arms smuggling
nepal and india share kilometre mile porous border and there
have been concerns over the lack of proper security arrangements between the two
nations
rights groups say more than women are trafficked from nepal into india
every year where they become sex workers
krishna also raised concern about the business environment in nepal affecting
indian investment and joint ventures and urged the nepal government to address
the issue urgently and effectively
nepalese police say kidnappers are targeting the urban middle classes who have
access to money but lack the political connections of the super rich
the country affluent marwari community an ethnic group with its origins in
neighbouring india that is famous for its business and trade links has become
prime target of the criminal gangs
the joint statement said india expressed its commitment to assist nepal in
strengthening peace stability and democratic institutions and for its economic
development
india provides vital lifeline to the landlocked himalayan nation as its sole
supplier of fuel and the two sides share close cultural and religious links
during his visit the indian foreign minister met nepal president the prime
minister former rebel leader prachanda and other political leaders
alpine skiing kostelic wins wengen slalom
wengen switzerland jan afp
croatia ivica kostelic on sunday won the men world cup slalom race here for
his th career success only month after undergoing knee operation
the croat the world slalom champion clocked min sec for the two
runs sec ahead of sweden andre myhrer with austrian reinfried herbst at
sec
kostelic who had already shown no ill effects from his operation having
finished third in the slalom at adelboden led by sec after the first leg
and extended his lead in the second run
it was welcome return to some sort of form for herbst who having won the
first two slaloms of the campaign had failed in the past two races
frenchman julien lizeroux who had won in adelboden finished only fifth failing
to grab sentimental win as tribute to his brother yoann who was killed in
an accident in july on the west face of the jungrau the mountain
overlooking the ski station
the first leg had claimed several high profile contenders including italy
manfred moelgg and mario matt of austria american bode miller who despite
suffering from sore ankle had won the super combined on friday also went out
on the first leg
swiss tyro carlo janka who won saturday downhill retained the lead in the
overall world cup standings
dna sweep finds new genes linked to diabetes
paris jan afp
hundreds of scientists sifting through genetic data from people have
quintupled the number of gene variants known to boost the risk of diabetes
pair of studies released sunday reported
consortium of researchers first isolated gene mutations that help determine
the body ability to regulate blood sugar and insulin levels the key factors
underlying type diabetes
in companion study the same consortium pooling the resources of more than
institutions in europe the united states canada and australia
determined that two of these newly identified variants directly influenced the
risk of diabetes
it also fingered an additional three genetic culprits that had already been
linked to changes in glucose levels
only four gene variants had previously been associated with glucose metabolism
and just one of them was known to affect type diabetes said jose florez
researcher at massachusetts general hospital and co lead author of one of the
studies
finding these new pathways can help us better understand how glucose is
regulated distinguish between normal and pathological glucose variations and
develop potential new therapies he said in statement
one gene in particular known as gipr was found to play prominent role
usually gipr produces protein that is part of the normal hormone response
to eating stimulating the release of insulin to control sugar levels in the
blood
the mutated version however impairs this response resulted in elevated
glucose
diabetes occurs when our bodies fail to produce sufficient insulin or when our
cells fail to recognise and react to the insulin produced resulting in
abnormally high blood sugar levels
the magic meta analysis of glucose and insulin related traits consortium
investigators noted that other genetic factors related to diabetes remain to be
found
we ve still only identified about percent of the genetic contribution to
glucose levels in nondiabetic individuals so we need to investigate the impact
of other possibly more complex or rare forms of gene variation along with the
role of gene environment interaction in causing type diabetes said florez
diabetes is closely linked to lifestyle especially the kinds and quantity of
food we consume
more than million people worldwide are afflicted with the disease which
kills more than one million people every year according to the world health
organization who
as obesity rates increase the number of deaths could double between and
the who has said
both studies were published online in the journal nature genetics
iraq ex deputy pm aziz in hospital after stroke lawyer
baghdad jan afp
former iraq deputy prime minister tareq aziz has suffered stroke and been
moved from jail to us military hospital his lawyer told afp on sunday
he suffered stroke on friday and was transferred to hospital in the us base
at balad kilometres miles north of baghdad said lawyer badie aref
his condition is serious and they will decide today whether he stays in
hospital or should be returned to camp cropper the us run prison in baghdad
where he is detained
aref however did not specify if aziz stroke was cardiac or neurological
aziz was named foreign minister in and then deputy prime minister in
the year old turned himself in to us forces in april after saddam
hussein was overthrown
aziz has been convicted for crimes against humanity
rescuers find haiti quake survivors amid rising toll
port au prince jan afp
rescue teams clawed through the rubble of port au prince for the fifth straight
day sunday still dragging out earthquake survivors even as bodies piled up and
the united nations said it had never confronted such huge disaster
amid new anger over the relief operations some haitians fought for the rations
that are getting through while others carried the injured on their backs or on
carts to emergency hospitals
though survivors are still being dragged out the true scale of the disaster is
slowly beginning to emerge un secretary general ban ki moon called the quake
the most serious humanitarian crisis to face the world body in decades as he
left for port au prince
between and people died just in the town of leogane west of the
capital and the epicentre of the magnitude quake which struck on tuesday
according to un officials the haitian government has estimated about
dead so far and this has been backed by the un
street after street of leogane was flattened
the medecins sans frontiers doctors without borders aid group opened an
emergency hospital at carrefour poor district near leogane msf emergency
coordinator hans van dillen said crowds arrived almost immediately
patients arrived on handcarts or on men backs there are other hospitals in
the area but they are already unable to cope with the number of injured and
have limited resources of personnel and medicines and equipment he said
msf said their doctors and surgeons had been working around the clock
amputating limbs and performing caesarian sections on pregnant women
most bodies are now being pushed into mass graves outside the capital to prevent
the spread of disease but intensive efforts are being pursued to find
survivors
un office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs spokeswoman elisabeth
byrs told afp that more people were pulled out alive from debris on saturday
taking the total to more than since the teams started working
we don give up hope to find more survivors stressed byrs the morale of
the rescue team is very high despite the hardship
some international teams comprising of rescue workers and dogs have
already scoured percent of the worst affected areas hit by the quake about
american troops are being sent to assist and secure the stricken areas
byrs said the way buildings had collapsed left sufficient void spaces that
allow for trapped victims to remain alive
there is still hope the conditions are very favourable it exceptional and
thank god for that she said
but rami peltz rescuer with an israeli team said today is the last day
that think we will be able to find survivors mainly because of dehydration
and the united nations also warned over the scope of the work ahead we have
never been confronted with such disaster in the un memory it is like no
other byrs said on saturday the un chief said am going to haiti with
very heavy heart
us military helicopters crews unloaded boxes of vital supplies as massive queues
formed at distribution points where the un world food programme handed out high
energy food
an afp journalist saw one us helicopter dropping half dozen small cartons into
stadium of starving haitians some brandishing machetes as they fought over
the items
two dominicans were shot and seriously wounded as they handed out aid dominican
media reported carlos gatas and milton matos struggled back to the dominican
republic embassy with gunshot wounds after the apparent attack
the un said increasing numbers of haitians were trying to cross the border into
the dominican republic on the eastern side of hispaniola island and reported
surge of quake survivors fleeing to northern cities
secretary of state hillary clinton became the highest ranking us official to
visit haiti since the quake and highlighted the urgent need to clear logistical
hurdles
you have been severely tested but believe that haiti can come back even
stronger and better in the future she told haitians
former us presidents bill clinton and george bush named by the white house
as special coordinators of aid to haiti launched an appeal to raise tens of
millions of dollars for the stricken country
the president of senegal called on africa to give haitian quake victims land to
restart their lives on the continent where their ancestors were snatched as
slaves
it is our duty to recognise their right to come back to the land of their
ancestors president abdoulaye wade told france info radio while his aides
said land could be found for haitians who go to africa
karzai ban to attend munich security meet organiser
berlin jan afp
afghan president hamid karzai and un secretary general ban ki moon will be the
top speakers at the th annual munich security conference next month the main
organiser said on sunday
karzai ban and the new head of the un nuclear watchdog yukiya amano have all
confirmed their participation wolfgang ischinger told business daily
handelsblatt in an interview pre released ahead of publication on monday
for the first time chinese foreign minister yang jiechi will also attend the
conference he added
however it is unclear whether us defense secretary robert gates will travel
from meeting of nato counterparts in istanbul directly to munich in southern
germany to attend the conference ischinger added
chancellor angela merkel is not expected to be in munich this year for the
conference which begins on february
last year us vice president joe biden was the top speaker at the annual event
which attracts world leaders and top diplomats for series of debates about
global security questions
us drone strike kills in pakistan militant hideout
miranshah pakistan jan afp
us drone attack sunday killed militants in an area of pakistan
northwestern tribal belt where local taliban chief hakimullah mehsud reportedly
escaped death days ago officials said
the attack took place in the area of shaktoi where us missiles pounded an
extremist hideout on thursday kilometres miles southeast of the main
town in the north waziristan tribal region miranshah
that raid triggered rumours that mehsud had been killed or injured but the
chief of the tehreek taliban pakistan ttp released an audio message late
saturday denying reports of his demise and vowing revenge for the us strikes
security officials said us drones appeared to be tracking mehsud in surge in
strikes by unmanned spy planes sunday deadly bombing was the th us drone
strike to hit pakistan tribal belt this month
the target was militant compound said security official in the area
twenty militant deaths have been confirmed
an intelligence official said that drone aircraft fired at least three missiles
and that militants had ringed the demolished compound in the remote and
mountainous area and were digging out the bodies
the drones are apparently tracking and targeting pakistani taliban chief
hakimullah mehsud whose presence is frequently reported in the area he said
another security official who also asked not to be named because of the
sensitivity of the us strikes said it was too early to tell if any high value
militant targets were among the killed
mehsud released new audio recording on saturday to dispel rumours of his
death which the military had said they were investigating the ttp said mehsud
left the site of the attack less than an hour beforehand
on the th of january am saying it again am alive am ok am not
injured when the drone strike took place was not present in the area at
that time mehsud said
if the drone attacks continue the ttp will not be responsible for any
dangerous steps in future the government of pakistan will be responsible
hakimullah mehsud assumed leadership of the ttp blamed for the deaths of
thousands of people in attacks across pakistan after his predecessor
baitullah mehsud was killed in us drone strike last august
since he took charge of the ttp militant attacks against civilian and security
targets have surged on january more than people were killed in suicide
blast at volleyball game in northwestern town
then on january hakimullah mehsud appeared in video clip alongside
jordanian who blew himself up on us military base in afghanistan last month
killing seven cia agents and his jordanian handler
the jordanian claimed the attack was to avenge the death of baitullah mehsud
sources close to intelligence services say us efforts to track down hakimullah
mehsud have been stepped up since the cia bombing
volley of drone strikes has rained on the northwest this month all hitting
north waziristan bastion of al qaeda fighters the taliban and the haqqani
network which attacks us and nato troops in afghanistan
more than people have been killed in about us drone strikes in pakistan
since august
washington is also pressing islamabad to tackle militants who use pakistani soil
to launch attacks in neighbouring afghanistan
last year pakistan armed forces carried out multiple assaults on ttp
strongholds across the tribal belt
unrest continues however and on sunday gunmen shot dead an anti taliban elder
in the tribal district of bajaur officials said
malik abdul qayyum who had received threats from the taliban was sprayed with
bullets while leaving his home on the outskirts of the region main town local
administration official fazal rabbi told afp
roadside bomb killed another anti taliban tribal elder hukum khan in
charmang district of bajaur late sunday local official ghulam saeed said
alpine skiing austrian zettel doubles up with slalom victory
maribor slovenia jan afp
austrian kathrin zettel notched up memorable double here on sunday when she
added the world cup slalom title to her giant slalom success on the same slope
hours earlier
zettel clocked combined total over two runs of min sec sec ahead of
slovenian tina maze with maria riesch of germany at sec enough to leapfrog
american lindsey vonn to the head of the world cup overall standings
zettel team mate marlies schild had looked good for at least spot on the
podium after blazing the first run but straddled gate as she forced the pace
on the second
it an amazing day beamed zettel it was really bumpy second run with
flat light making it tough for racing
so happy with this victory on cloud nine and will take that to the
olympics
woke up this morning little tired after my win in the giant so had to
take risks to achieve my first ever slalom win today
don feel under pressure for the olympics not one of the top favourites
for the slalom and can focus on myself
last summer lost two months of training because of an inflamed left knee and
it incredible to have notched up nine podiums and two wins this season
very proud to have won it was very dear wish to get first slalom
victory but the world cup slalom crystal globe is not very important for me
not favourite and maria riesch is very strong
the slalom was the last race in the shortest of alpine skiing disciplines
before the winter olympics at whistler on february
the weekend was not success for speed queen vonn crashing out of the giant
slalom and then failing to make the top of the first run of the slalom who go
on to compete in the second run
riesch third place coupled with second spot in saturday giant allowed
her to leapfrog her close friend in the overall standings
the german slalom specialist has now amassed points with vonn on and
zettel in third on
the closest rival to that trio is sweden anja paerson on
ve been very steady in the slalom this season but without winning four
straight races like the same stage last year said riesch
but you can always enjoy form like that and this season ve only won one
race kathrin zettel is very strong at the moment and the battle for overall
slalom honours will be tight during the last race at garmisch partenkirchen
as for the overall standings it great to be leader but it not the end of
the season there are lot of speed events coming up in the next two weeks and
it will be tough to beat lindsey
second placed maze said her podium finish had made her happy on home snow
tried to enjoy myself on the slope happy because it race that is
particularly important to me since it held in my country said maze
the result was important too after yesterday disappointment in the giant
the women world cup continues next weekend at the italian resort of cortina
ampezzo with super downhill and giant slalom to be raced
pope to visit rome synagogue amid jewish anger
rome jan afp
