bigger not better at montreal olympic stadium
montreal canada
it not the first time that canada has hosted the olympic games montreal won
the bid for the games but vancouver does not want to follow in its
tracks in many respects montreal came to regret the choice as it had no
infrastructure for the event the final bill ended up being astronomical to
this day the olympic stadium is still struggling to find purpose
sport
voiced report
nsv vid
broadcast ready vid
contact
saya oka
afptv
place de la bourse
paris france
tel
fax
afp
taliban kill seven us spies in pakistan police
miranshah pakistan jan afp
taliban militants shot dead seven men in pakistan restive northwest tribal
belt after accusing them of spying for the united states officials said sunday
the bullet ridden bodies of five men were found on sunday dumped by the side of
road in kamsarobi village kilometres miles south of miranshah the
main town in the semi autonomous north waziristan tribal region
taliban killed five men overnight accusing them of spying for americans to
help them launch drone attacks local police official mehboob shah told afp
note found on the body said that the victims were spying on taliban and
anyone doing the same would be killed in this manner he added
the body of sixth man was found in qutabkhel village five kilometres three
miles south of miranshah with similar note from the taliban shah said
adding that he too appeared to have been shot dead overnight
another body of man with warning note from the taliban was found near the
town of mir ali some kilometres miles east of miranshah local police
official qayyum khan told afp
an intelligence official and local tribesmen confirmed the incidents
militants frequently kidnap and kill tribesmen accusing them of spying for the
pakistani government or us forces operating across the border in afghanistan
where taliban fighters are leading an insurgency
volley of drone strikes has hit the northwest this month all in north
waziristan bastion of al qaeda fighters the taliban and the haqqani network
known for staging attacks on us and nato troops in afghanistan
more than people have been killed in about us drone strikes in pakistan
since august
separately paramilitary soldier was killed sunday when taliban militants
fired rocket at convoy near malik deenkhel village in khyber another tribal
district bordering afghanistan
one security forces member was martyred and four others were injured after
rocket fired by militants struck their convoy district chief shafirullah khan
told afp
paramilitary statement late sunday said that three militants including their
local commander were killed in the retaliatory strike
in retaliation security forces cordoned off the area immediately and during
the search operation three militants including an important local commander gul
hakim were killed it said
pakistan rugged tribal regions have been beset by violence since hundreds of
taliban and al qaeda rebels fled across the border to escape the us led invasion
of afghanistan in late
washington says the tribal regions where security forces are battling islamist
militants have become safe haven for extremists
manhunts alienation in latest rwanda genocide film
kigali jan afp
the latest feature film on the rwanda genocide which premiered here at the
weekend shows in excruciating detail what day to day life must have been like
for those who survived beyond the first days of the killing
belgian director philippe van leeuw shot le jour ou dieu est parti en voyage
the day god stayed away over two months june to august partly in
kigali partly in the southwestern province of cyangugu
the title comes from the saying in kinyarwanda that god may spend the daylight
hours somewhere else but always comes home to spend the night in rwanda the
inference being that the genocide in which some people essentially
minority tutsis were killed happened the time he failed to return home to
sleep
jacqueline played by ruth nirere hitherto unknown rwandan actress who won
several awards for the role finds her two children slaughtered on the living
room floor in the first days of the genocide as she attempts to wash the bodies
she is chased out by neighbours who want to lynch her
she watches from distance as an old woman intent on occupying the house
drags the children bodies out onto the street and then sweeps the ground
matter of factly
then begins life of hiding in the forest living like an animal along with
another survivor whose wounds she treats and whose name we never learn
periodically hutu militia hear them in the undergrowth and give chase boasting
of those they have already raped and killed
jacqueline already mad with grief from the loss of her children is pushed over
the brink by the sound of the machete her new companion uses to chop bamboo and
attempts to use the machete to kill him
the film ends with her running back to her village towards the end of the
genocide and collapsing in the street surrounded by her former neighbours who
debate whether they should help her recover kill her or just let her die
the film van leeuw first has minimal dialogue partly in kinyarwanda and
partly in french much of it composed as the actors went along
this film shows more or less all the events of the genocide betrayal by the
neighbour manhunts the anxiety in the hiding places and then there is also
this will to survive theodore simburudali who heads the genocide survivors
association ibuka told afp after watching the film
outside of rwanda the film is unlikely to make it onto mainstream screens many
spectators at thursday avant premiere for officials and diplomats could be
seen averting their eyes from the screen during the most harrowing scenes
at the premiere friday two women walked out unable to stand the scene where
jacqueline finds her children dead
it reminds me of what happened it does bring back emotions yes but we
survivors lived through worse things than that subsistence farmer who
identified herself only as mrs uwamahoro told afp
she spent the three months of the genocide hiding in the mud in the swamps of
bugesera eating only papyrus leaves
jeanne dusabe hutu friend accompanying her to the screening said she thought
the film was very good and possibly powerful enough to convince some
negationists that the genocide did indeed take place
over the past eight years several feature films have been made about the rwandan
genocide among them the controversial hotel rwanda by irish director terry
george shooting dogs released in the us as beyond the gates by michael
caton jones sometimes in april by haitian director raoul peck and
days low budget feature directed by nick hughes
golf abu dhabi golf championship final scores
abu dhabi jan afp
collated fourth round scores on sunday in the million euro abu dhabi golf
championship counting towards the european pga tour race to dubai
abu dhabi golf club par
martin kaymer ger
ian poulter eng
rory mcilroy nir
shane lowry ire
louis oosthuizen rsa
ariel canete arg rhys davies wal
anders hansen den soren hansen den david
horsey eng
peter hanson swe alvaro quiros esp
sergio garcia esp richard green aus
francesco molinari ita mikko ilonen fin thongchai
jaidee tha anthony kim usa
camilo villegas col chris wood eng
henrik stenson swe steve webster eng otto
hennie rsa jamie donaldson wal thomas aiken rsa
rick kulacz aus
coup allegations raise tension ahead of sri lanka vote
colombo jan afp
tension increased on sunday ahead of sri lanka first peace time presidential
election after the opposition accused the ruling regime of preparing state
backed coup
the allegations raised the prospect of street protests and potentially violent
struggle for power in the country first election since tamil tiger rebels and
their year fight for independence were snubbed out last year
the ruling party led by president mahinda rajapakse denied the charges by
opposition candidate sarath fonseka and said it expected to win fairly in
tuesday contest against the former army chief
campaigning throughout by rajapakse and fonseka former allies who defeated
the tigers in military campaign dogged by war crime allegations has been
bitter and personal
in the face of inevitable defeat the rajapakse regime according to reliable
information seems to be conspiring to thwart the democratic process said
mangala samaraweera former foreign minister and backer of fonseka
at press conference called by fonseka he and his allies pointed to alleged
orders to the army troop movements plans to impede the election commissioner
and preparations to disrupt the media as evidence of coup plot
security sources confirmed to afp that several key army commanders and senior
police official had been transferred from their usual positions but none of the
other claims could be immediately verified
the government denied any intention to subvert the electoral process and said
the president had already ordered the authorities to ensure free and fair
poll
the opposition is making baseless allegations to justify their defeat
rajapakse spokesman chandrapala liyanage said we will have peaceful
election and all indications are that the president is comfortably ahead
in the run up to the poll police say at least four people have been killed and
hundreds wounded in clashes between the factions the house of an influential
opposition figure was bombed on friday
rajapakse nationalist from the majority sinhalese ethnic group called
tuesday vote after only four years of his six year mandate in bid to
harness groundswell of support after the victory over the tigers
fonseka political novice whose popularity and influence also rose with
the military victory dashed rajapakse hopes of an easy ride back to power by
deciding to run as an opposition candidate
the retired four star general accused the president of sidelining him after the
war and making false accusations that he was plotting coup
both men remain dogged by allegations of war crimes and whoever eventually
triumphs will have to contend with pressure from the united nations and western
nations to submit to probe
the united nations says tamil civilians may have died in the final months
of the fighting though the government denies this independent journalists were
not given access to the war zone
the un estimates people were killed in the conflict since
fonseka has said he is willing to face scrutiny for his role in the war but
rajapakse has vowed he will not allow any of his men to be tried
in twist of fate the minority tamils on whose behalf the tigers waged their
war of suicide bombings and assassinations might swing the final result if the
two candidates split the sinhalese vote equally
tamils could decide the next president said political analyst victor ivan of
the ravaya weekly in colombo
rights groups regularly accuse rajapakse of stifling free speech perverting the
judiciary and encouraging corruption through his network of family members in
top government positions
he was also widely criticised by european countries the us and the un for
holding tamil civilians in restricted camps until the end of last year
opposition leader ranil wickremesinghe said they had appealed to police and
security forces not to carry out any illegal government orders relating to the
election
we have to be ready now to protect our franchise we are making counter plans
we will get on to the streets if necessary he said
magic wand bomb detector still rules baghdad checkpoints
baghdad jan afp
bomb detection device newly banned from export in britain and labelled useless
by us forces was still being used at checkpoints in baghdad on sunday to
mixture of confidence and disbelief
we know it doesn work and that it has been banned but we are continuing to
use it an iraqi army lieutenant shaking his head amid busy traffic told an
afp correspondent in the capital
it is bullshit the officer who was not authorised to speak to the press
said of the ade which consists of swivelling antenna mounted to hinge on
pistol shaped plastic hand grip but still we are lying about it
the device known as the magic wand uses series of interchangeable credit
card size paper cards said to be able to detect explosives such as and tnt
as well as weapons
it is manufactured by british based company atsc was reputedly sold for between
and dollars per unit and has become ubiquitous in iraq having
been bought in large numbers by local security forces
however british police last week arrested atsc director jim mccormick on
suspicion of fraud by misrepresentation he was bailed pending further
investigation
britain banned export of the device after tests showed it was not suitable for
bomb detection substances as diverse as perfume and metal tooth coatings have
previously been shown to falsely alert its antenna
afp reporters on sunday saw the ade being used in baghdad the restive
northern city of mosul and the sprawling southern city of basra
at checkpoints in the capital several army officers refused to talk about the
device capabilities and referred enquiries to their commanders
an iraqi policeman however defended its use
it works very well said rayad mehdi who works at busy checkpoint in
salhiyah central baghdad district only few hundred metres yards from the
justice ministry and the headquarters of baghdad provincial council that were
ripped apart by twin suicide vehicle bombs on october last year
the attacks left people dead and more than wounded and were the
deadliest in more than two years
mehdi however who has been using the ade for more than year remained
adamant it works when search the cars it detects everything even hydraulic
oil and cds
faisal ghazi security guard who uses the ade at the entrance of the
nearby al mansour hotel had not heard about the british export ban but insisted
it was good equipment
it works very well if you have received proper training ghazi said of the
device which does not need batteries but instead relies on the user static
electricity according to atsc promotional material
major general jihad al jabiri chief of iraq interior ministry directorate for
combating explosives was forced to defend the ade last november after his us
counterpart said he had no confidence that these work
whether it magic or scientific what care about is it detects bombs
jabiri said at the time
the british ban is limited to iraq and afghanistan because the ade is not
classed as military technology the new restrictions were based on the risk that
sale of such goods could cause harm to uk and other friendly forces
the british embassy in baghdad has also raised london concerns about the
ade with iraqi authorities
the government in baghdad has made no official statement
the head of the iraqi parliament defence and security committee however said
he would push for an investigation
we will start to gather evidence to find out how this piece of equipment was
sold to iraq hadi al ameri chair of the committee told afp
if the british company was responsible we will seek compensation via the
ministry of foreign affairs
ammar touma member of the committee earlier said he wanted to know if
corruption was involved
third round of darfur peace talks yet to kick off in qatar
doha jan afp
direct peace talks between the sudanese government and darfur rebel groups did
not resume on sunday as expected with the two sides holding separate
consultations with mediators instead
sunday we have had consultations with qatari mediators and the chief
negotiator for the united nations and african union djibril bassole said ahmed
hussein adam spokesman for the justice and equality movement jem the main
rebel group in darfur
the talks were constructive and transparent we hope among other things to
resolve questions of procedure before entering into direct political
negotiations with the sudanese government he said
source in the sudanese government delegation confirmed to afp that there would
be no direct negotiations on sunday with rebel groups but only consultations
with the mediators
source in the un au mediation meanwhile told afp there is no real
cancellation we are working with the government and with the armed movements to
get them working together towards an effective dialogue
this is still ongoing and we will hope to find an appropriate format by
which they can make progress the source said
the sudanese delegation which is headed by ghazi salaheddin the government
pointman on darfur met with bassole on saturday
darfur rebels had two rounds of talks with sudanese government officials in
qatar in february and may of
but other factions have refused to join the mooted talks in doha and the jem
later said there is no point in taking part if there is no unity among the
rebels
rebels and government officials were also due to meet in november but the talks
failed to take place
bassole said earlier this month that talks to settle the festering conflict in
the darfur region would resume in doha before the end of the month with january
set as date for direct talks
the united nations says up to people have died and million fled
their homes since the ethnic minority rebels first rose up against the arab
dominated government in khartoum in february
sudan government says people have been killed
pakistan police arrest four over anti shiite bombings
karachi jan afp
pakistani police have arrested four members of militant group accused of
bombing shiite religious procession last month in karachi the nation
economic hub senior police official said sunday
we have arrested four men involved in at least three bombings in karachi and
recovered bomb from them karachi police chief waseem ahmad told reporters
cellphone attached to another bomb which could not explode in karachi
shadman town earlier this month led the police to the suspects who were
arrested late saturday from car in hawks bay neighbourhood he said
they belong to the jundullah militant group and they were involved in the
attack on shiite procession in karachi besides two other bombings ahmad said
forty three people were killed in karachi pakistan largest city in
bombing blamed on militants during shiite religious procession last month in
the worst attack on the city in two years
ahmad said that the suspects were plotting to kill leading shiite scholar by
planting the bomb instead seized by police
police backed by paramilitary troops last year killed jundullah top militant
qasim toori and two fellow members of his banned sunni group
two policemen including senior officer were also killed in the shootout at
jundullah hideout in residential area of karachi five people were arrested
including man believed to be from uzbekistan officials have said
toori year old former policeman was wanted for june gun attack on
an army general in karachi which left people dead including seven soldiers
the general survived
suicide bombings and attacks by islamist militants have intensified in recent
months as the military pursues an aggressive offensive to quash insurgent
strongholds near the afghan border
tennis henin rolls on as kuznetsova safina bow out
melbourne jan afp
justine henin was all class as she reached the australian open quarter finals on
day when dinara safina withdrew injured and svetlana kuznetsova crashed out to
nadia petrova
henin continued her amazing comeback when she outplayed fellow belgian yanina
wickmayer sunday but it was very different story for the
two russians
second seed safina pulled out of her match with compatriot maria kirilenko when
an old back injury flared up with the score at in the first set
earlier in the day the third seeded kuznetsova succumbed to the power of fellow
russian petrova who won to continue the great form she displayed
when destroying kim clijsters in the third round
and zheng jie made it memorable day for china when she outlasted ukraine
alona bondarenko to become the first chinese player ever to make
the australian open last eight
the saddest departure was safina whose immediate career is in limbo after
recurrence of the back problems that hindered her late last year
she was in agony after the match and struggled to hold back tears as she faced
the media describing the latest setback as really really terrible
safina runner up here last year said she felt her back go after marathon
sixth game that had eight deuces which she won to lead
it suddenly hit me it was getting worse and worse she said
played long game and won the game turned to my coach and said
cannot move anymore
henin joy at beating wickmayer was in stark contrast to the downcast safina
the year old belgian said she belonged on tennis court after reaching the
quarter finals of her first grand slam since making comeback from retirement
it yeah magical out there the way feel henin said feel so happy on
the court feel it my place
she won tough battle against her year old rival in yet another long contest
the year old third marathon in row and admitted the matches were
beginning to take their toll
my left leg which has been strapped for the past two matches is quite sore
she said
sprained my ankle today also when fell down hope it going to be okay
tomorrow
henin and wickmayer played some superb tennis over two and quarter hours on
the rod laver arena but it was the old stager henin who had the composure when
it was needed
she will now play petrova who is in great form after beating us open champion
clijsters and french open champion kuznetsova in successive rounds
kuznetsova appeared distracted in the first set losing her first service game
and struggling to make an impression after that
she fought back in the second set and looked far more composed but despite
breaking to lead in the third that was as good as it got as petrova stormed
through the set without dropping another game
an overjoyed zheng predicted she and compatriot li na could both make the semi
finals after her win over bondarenko
while li plays her fourth round match on monday zheng could well be on track
for the final four following safina withdrawal with the unseeded kirilenko
her next opponent
emerging nations pledge climate change unity in india talks
new delhi jan afp
environment ministers from brazil south africa india and china said on sunday
that talks in new delhi had further cemented their alliance following the
copenhagen climate change summit
the four emerging economies key bloc within troubled negotiations on how to
tackle global warming lobbied successfully at the copenhagen meeting in
december against binding emissions caps
speaking after sunday talks indian environment minister jairam ramesh said
the group known by the acronym basic had pledged to strengthen its unified
stance but added it seeks consensus with developed countries
we will deepen our co operation ramesh said praising the crucial role the
four countries had played in creating the widely criticised copenhagen accord
the accord was non binding document crafted by small group of countries
including the basic nations on the final day of the talks as the meeting faced
collapse
sunday meeting came ahead of january deadline for countries to say if
they intended to be associated with the copenhagen outcome or what sort of
measures they envisaged taking
as recriminations continue over december summit the united nations climate
change forum is due to resume shortly with ministerial level meeting planned
in mexico at the end of the year
the four ministers meeting in delhi also issued joint statement calling for
rapid distribution of the ten billion dollars that wealthy countries pledged for
tackling climate change in the developing world during
the money must be made available at once as proof of their commitment to
urgently address the global challenge of climate change the ministers said
the copenhagen accord set broad goal of limiting global warming to two degrees
celsius fahrenheit but did not specify the staging points for achieving
this goal or year by which greenhouse gas emissions should peak
instead countries are being urged to identify what actions they intend to take
either as binding curbs on emissions or voluntary action twenty eight billion
dollars in aid have been pledged by rich countries for
speaking at press conference on saturday the head of the un climate science
panel pachauri expressed hope that the basic nations would soon offer
some chance of binding pact in the future
many emerging nations say they will not allow emissions targets to be imposed at
the cost of economic development
golf kaymer wins abu dhabi golf championship
abu dhabi jan afp
germany martin kaymer won the million euro abu dhabi golf championship for
the second time in three years sunday when he prevailed over ian poulter by one
shot
kaymer who started the day one ahead of poulter and rory mcilroy shot six
under par to finish with four day tally of under par
poulter matched him with of his own but kaymer edged ahead with birdie
on the final hole
mcilroy who had slow start and was only one under at the turn made four
birdies on the back nine of the abu dhabi golf club to finish at under par
for sole third place
ahmadinejad unveils wider iran budget report
tehran jan afp
president mahmoud ahmadinejad on sunday presented parliament an annual budget
which puts expenditure percent higher than in iran current financial
year mehr news agency reported
the budget for the year to march was valued at billion dollars based
on an oil price of dollars barrel compared with the billion dollars
for the current year
ahmadinejad presented the new fiscal plan which was broadcast live on state
television but he did not reveal any income or expenditure figures
without quoting sources mehr and isna news agencies reported the overall budget
was billion dollars of which percent was to be allocated to
construction projects
mehr said the budget had taken into account an oil price of dollars barrel
for the said period compared with an average of dollars in year to march
iran earns percent of its total revenues from oil exports
economists have strongly criticised ahmadinejad for policies they say have
created highly since his first term began in
the next year budget is also marked by the start of major plan to scrap
costly subsidies on energy and goods in turn reducing government expenditure
iranian lawmakers have approved ahmadinejad plan to scrap the subsidies which
directly and indirectly cost the government as much as billion dollars
year
the lifting of subsidies is to take place in staged process and is due to be
concluded by the end of the country fifth five year development plan in
march
hrw slams acquittal of uae leader brother in torture case
dubai jan afp
human rights watch slammed on sunday united arab emirates court decision to
acquit the brother of the uae president of torture saying the gulf state
reputation had been sullied
report by the new york based watchdog also criticised the emirati court that
cleared sheikh issa bin zayed al nahayan of charges of torturing an afghan
trader in for failing to provide written reasons for its decision even
though it found all his accomplices guilty
if the uae government really wants to stop torture and to restore its sullied
reputation it has much to do especially in light of sheikh issa
acquittal said joe stork deputy director of hrw middle east division
the government needs to set in motion significant institutional reforms and to
make certain that human rights violations are punished he said in statement
released at dubai news conference during which hrw released its annual report
on rights developments in the uae iran iraq and bahrain
sheikh issa is the brother of the uae president and ruler of oil rich abu dhabi
sheikh khalifa bin zayed al nahayan he was acquitted by an emirati court on
january of any wrongdoing
sheikh issa lawyer said he was cleared on the basis that he was drugged and
therefore not responsible for his actions
as far as know there has not been written verdict issued said hrw uae
researcher samer muscati in the press conference
it is not uncommon in the uae there could be oral verdict he added
muscati pointed out however that the trial was not open at the beginning to
the press which did not get to cover the prosecution
talking about this case in particular does not mean that there are not other
cases of torture he added
allegations against the sheikh emerged after video aired in april
appeared to show him beating man with whips electric cattle prods and
wooden plank with protruding nails
assisted by what appeared to be policemen sheikh issa is seen to pour salt in
the man wounds and run over him with sports utility vehicle
the victim needed months of hospital care following the incident he was
reportedly an afghan trader who lost consignment of grain worth dollars
hrw urged the uae to take steps to improve human rights conditions including
establishing an independent body with authority to investigate abuse and
torture by security personnel others in positions of authority and private
citizens
it also called on the uae to ratify the un convention against torture and other
cruel inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
hrw also claimed that abuse of migrant workers continued highlighting unsafe
working environments and the practice of withholding their travel documents
it also underscored the repatriations of tens of thousands of migrant workers on
unpaid vacations after the global financial crisis hit the uae in order to
avoid paying the workers their due compensations
