quarterback who had thrown only passes in college taking over for texas
but gilbert and the longhorns pushed back he threw two touchdown passes to
jordan shipley to cut the deficit to with less than seven minutes
remaining but then came the fumble and ingram score
minutes later gilbert threw his third interception and trent richardson scored
his second td of the game to make it
the victory makes alabama coach nick saban the first coach to win bcs titles at
two schools alabama and louisiana state university
saban has also served as national football league coach but left the nfl
miami dolphins in january of to return to the collegiate coaching rankings
at alabama
morocco convicts on terror charges
rabat jan afp
moroccan court on thursday sentenced members of suspected terror cell to
prison terms of four to years for planning attacks against tourist and
government targets
prosecutors had alleged that the group known as fath al andalous conquest of
andalusia was well advanced in planning attacks on tourist sites in the
southern city of agadir and military barracks in laayoune
police sources said the group had gained access to chemicals and electronics
used in bombs
the group name refers to the expulsion of muslims from southern spain at the
end of the th century
jal shares drop as bankruptcy looms larger
tokyo jan afp
share prices in japan airlines jal took another dive on friday following news
reports that the government is finalising bankruptcy option for the debt
ridden carrier
asia biggest carrier sank percent to end the morning session at yen
on the tokyo stock exchange
the japanese government is now finalising plan to have jal file for bankruptcy
with guarantee of public support so that the airline can continue operations
jiji press and kyodo news said
transport minister seiji maehara and newly appointed finance minister naoto kan
held closed door meeting friday morning with the state backed enterprise
turnaround initiative corp which is overseeing jal restructuring
japan government has pledged to avoid collapse of the former state owned
carrier but has refused to rule out bankruptcy proceedings which could aid
jal restructuring but would likely leave investors out of pocket
asked if the government is ready to provide support in case jal filed
bankruptcy kan told reporters the government was fully considering such
situation
maehara separately said our stance is that we would like the enterprise
turnaround initiative corp to rebuild jal with public funds
the body will decide on the carrier rescue plan on january likely using
prepackaged bankruptcy the asahi shimbun reported on friday
earlier reports said the turnaround body is preparing billion yen
investment if the airline files for bankruptcy while intending to ask jal
creditors to waive further billion yen in loans to the airline
the carrier is seeking its fourth government bailout since to enable it to
keep flying in the face of mounting debts
the airline which lost about billion dollars in the six months to
september has said it plans thousands of job cuts and drastic reduction in
routes as part of its efforts to return to profitability
jal has been offered financial assistance by both american airlines and delta
air lines which are competing to take stake in the japanese company and
increase their share of the lucrative asian market
tennis wickmayer to face pennetta in auckland final
auckland jan afp
rising belgian tennis star yanina wickmayer left her anti doping woes behind her
friday overcoming israel shahar peer for place in the auckland classic
final
the wta event third seed had to fight hard for nearly an hour and half for
the win over peer who had been dogged all week by small group of
protesters chanting slogans against israel policies towards the palestinians
in the later semi final tournament top seed flavia pennetta needed less than an
hour to beat fellow italian francesca schiavone in lopsided contest
another two anti israeli protesters were arrested during the opening semi final
friday out of group of about who have been chanting noisily outside the
auckland tennis complex throughout peer matches this week
but the israeli world number again showed grit to shut out the distraction in
fighting performance against wickmayer who is ranked places higher
the belgian has had her own problems following her year long suspension in
november by belgian anti doping authorities over her alleged failure to disclose
in advance her whereabouts at certain times for drugs testing
court last month overturned the suspension and the year old us open
semi finalist last year has made the most of her return to the auckland
tournament
am very happy wickmayer said afterwards didn play my best tennis
today
made lot of mistakes especially at the beginning of the second set but
kept fighting each point and improving and by the end of the second set was
playing well
rain delay and windy conditions did not help the players settle into groove
but wickmayer grabbed the initiative after coming back from deficit in the
second set
pennetta had few anxious moments in her thrashing of compatriot and good
friend schiavone whose desperation to find answers to her opponent
consistency only produced long string of mistakes
the match lasted less than an hour and the outcome started to become clear after
pennetta broke the fourth seed serve in the third game of the first set
afterwards the world number said she was expecting very tough final against
wickmayer who last year won their only previous encounter
at the beginning of the tournament didn feel so good but now day by day
starting to feel much better the year old said
my game is more consistent so have to play like this tomorrow
sri lanka accuses un of war crimes crusade
colombo jan afp
sri lanka on friday accused the united nations of crusade to drag it before
war crimes tribunals after it came under new pressure over video that
allegedly shows its troops executing prisoners
un human rights envoy philip alston concluded thursday that video footage
allegedly showing sri lankan troops executing unarmed tamil tiger rebels last
year was authentic and urged colombo to accept an impartial probe
the footage was shot during the final stages of the sri lankan army battle
against the separatist liberation tigers of tamil eelam ltte according to the
group that distributed it
sri lanka human rights minister mahinda samarasinghe said alston the un
special rapporteur on extrajudicial summary or arbitrary executions failed to
follow due process in announcing that the disputed video was genuine
philip alston is on crusade of his own to force an international war crimes
inquiry against sri lanka samarasinghe told afp we object to the procedure
he followed he should have shared his information with us first
samarasinghe insisted that colombo was convinced the video had been altered
as far as we are concerned the video is not genuine and it has been doctored
samarasinghe said
alston said the authenticity of the video was established by three us based
independent qualified experts he had commissioned to conduct an impartial
evaluation after four sri lankan specialists concluded it was fake
the footage shows man dressed in army uniform shooting naked bound and
blindfolded man in the back of the head while the bodies of eight others can be
seen nearby in muddy field
it was not clear if the dead were tiger rebels or civilians th man was also
shot in the same way towards the end of the video with men in the background
gloating over the killings
sri lankan authorities have resisted international calls for war crimes
investigation after the united nations alleged more than civilians had
been killed during the first four months of alone
the tamil rebels were finally vanquished last may after nearly four decades of
ethnic bloodshed that left between and people dead
the government victory ended the ltte four decade struggle for an independent
tamil homeland one of asia longest running ethnic conflicts
china lawyer convicted in mafia case court official
beijing jan afp
the lawyer for an alleged mob boss in southwest china was jailed friday for
fabricating evidence in massive trial that state media said had underscored
major flaws in the country judicial system
court in chongqing sentenced li zhuang to months in prison for faking
evidence in his defence of gong gangmo who is currently standing trial as part
of massive crackdown on local organised crime court official told afp
during his december trial li denied charges he urged gong to testify that
police had tortured him into confessing to his alleged crimes which include
murder and trafficking drugs and weapons state media said
gong has since denied he was tortured and claimed that li beijing based
lawyer who has record of defending alleged gangsters demanded million yuan
four million dollars in fees for an acquittal the china daily reported
gong trial started this week and is expected to last seven days
on thursday li lawyer gao zicheng vowed to appeal the verdict if his client
was found guilty the china news service said
the lawyer was not immediately available for comment following the verdict
so far the crackdown on mafia crime in chongqing has seen up to officials
investigated including the former head of the city judiciary and the deputy
chief justice of the municipality high court
more than people have been arrested six people sentenced to death and
scores of others given jail terms ranging up to life in prison for their
involvement in the sprawling city murky underworld
legal experts have warned that li conviction could discourage attorneys from
representing those charged in connection with the chongqing crackdown creating
breakdown in the guarantee of due process the china daily reported
the paper said hundreds of chinese lawyers have complained about li arrest and
trial citing rampant police interference in defence preparations by refusing
lawyers access to evidence and case documents
police have also violated the law by refusing lawyers private and immediate
access to their clients the paper said adding that defendants had also been
deprived of their legal rights
we need more laws detailing lawyers rights of access to clients and evidence
zhou guangquan deputy dean of the law school at tsinghua university in beijing
told the paper
golf parry senior vie for british open qualifying
sydney jan afp
seasoned golfers craig parry and peter senior will be vying for two of the three
spots at this year british open available through australasian qualifying at
melbourne kingston heath course next week
parry and senior have accumulated british open starts between them and both
have best fourth place finish senior at sandwich in and parry at
carnoustie in
field of players will play holes over two days from january at the
kingston heath layout scene of last year australian masters won by tiger
woods
the top three finishers will earn place at the th british open championship
at st andrews from july
the australasian qualifier will be the first of five regionals to be held ahead
of the open
nba veteran alston headed back to miami
miami jan afp
veteran nba point guard rafer alston is returning to the miami heat where he
played alongside dwyane wade in wade rookie season in
alston contract with the new jersey nets was bought out on tuesday and he
cleared waivers on thursday about an hour late the heat announced he was back
on board and expected to be with the team when they open six game road trip on
friday
alston played last season for orlando when the magic reached the nba finals but
lost to the los angeles lakers
alston started of new jersey first games this season part of the nets
woeful start he shooting only percent this season well below his
career average of percent and was averaging only points even so the
heat are happy to welcome him back
we are thrilled to have skip back in heat uniform as he brings another set
of skills and experience to the point guard position heat president pat riley
said in statement from his time in miami we know both his game and him as
person and we had great experience with him in the past we are very happy to
have skip back in the heat family
alston helped miami close the season with wins in their final
games getting the heat the fourth seed in the eastern conference during that
season he became friend of wade
veteran guys are so important in this league wade said they ve done it for
so long and skip became leader he general on the floor really helps to
lead his team
airline plot suspect to make first detroit court appearance
detroit michigan jan afp
the nigerian terror suspect accused of trying to blow up detroit bound flight
on christmas day will make his first court appearance here friday
the arraignment comes day after us president barack obama vowed sweeping and
costly new measures to fix the intelligence flaws exposed by the al qaeda
attack
umar farouk abdulmutallab was indicted wednesday by grand jury on six
counts arising from the botched plot to blow up an airliner packed with
passengers and crew flying from amsterdam to detroit
the charges included attempted murder and trying to use weapon of mass
destruction aboard us plane
obama blamed us spy agencies for failing to properly connect and analyze signs
that an al qaeda affiliate in yemen was planning the attack
he said us spies failed to aggressively combat al qaeda in the arabian
peninsula aqap that planned the attack then failed to properly analyze
intelligence he also cited mistakes in the us terror watch list system
abdulmutallab was badly burned when the explosive he hid in his underwear caught
fire but failed to blow up as northwest airlines flight began its descent
into detroit
fellow passengers subdued him and the crew was able to put the fire out before
much damage had been done
he spent several days in hospital before being transferred to federal
detention facility in milan michigan
abdulmutallab is set to be arraigned at pm gmt at federal
courthouse in downtown detroit
group of muslim faith leaders is planning to rally outside the courthouse with
signs declaring not in our name
the collective goal of all of us as our president has spoken about is to
defeat the extremists and al qaeda said organizer victor ghalib begg chair of
the council of islamic organizations of michigan
their actions really harm all of us begg told afp referring to islamic
extremists
it gives bad name to muslims and it important for religious leaders to
speak out the things these people do that ticket to hell not to
paradise
michigan district court documents accused abdulmutallab of carrying concealed
bomb of high explosives inside his clothing onto flight
if convicted of trying to use weapon of mass destruction he faces life
imprisonment the department of justice said attempted murder charges carry
maximum sentence of years while two charges of possession and use of
firearm or destructive device carry mandatory years prison term
tennis henin makes final of comeback tournament
brisbane australia jan afp
belgium justine henin thrashed third seed ana ivanovic on friday to
reach the final of her first tournament since coming out of an month
retirement
henin granted wildcard to play this week brisbane international was
ruthless as she disposed of the glamorous serb in just minutes
she will now play either compatriot kim clijsters or german andrea petkovic as
she bids to complete remarkable comeback and win her nd title on the wta
tour
henin who retired from the sport in may looked as though she never been
away against an increasingly dispirited ivanovic
there were no signs of any of the rustiness she displayed in her three set win
over melinda czink in thursday quarter finals as she broke ivanovic three
times in both sets
and while ivanovic like henin former world number one was able to break the
belgian serve in each set henin came back even harder to break back almost
immediately and underline her complete dominance
in the final of my first tournament back it great feeling henin
said
it surprise of course because it not as easy as it may seem because
months with no competition is not that easy
didn really know what to expect coming into the tournament but it more
than could have expected being in the final
henin said her good form here did not change her expectations heading into both
the sydney international beginning next week and the australian open the week
after
have to remember this is my first tournament back in months so if someone
told me before coming to australia that would be in the final of my first
tournament would be happy
it nice feeling but it doesn have to change my expectations
every time walk on the court give it my best and today was better than
yesterday
it tennis sometimes it better sometimes it harder and your opponent
wants the same thing
it tough job
friday semi final was far harder for ivanovic who would have re entered the
top if she had won the tournament
it very disappointing started quite well and had my chances she said
all through most of the match had chances but it was constant fight for
intensity and felt there were lots of ups and downs in my game today and
obviously against player like her you have to keep the level up
vietnam police block access after church unrest
my duc vietnam jan afp
vietnamese police on friday blocked afp journalists from an area where
according to priest several catholics were wounded when police used tear gas
in dispute over crucifix
this is special order plainclothes immigration policeman said when afp
reporters tried to enter one road leading to dong chiem parish about
kilometres miles from central hanoi in my duc district
at the only other access road several policemen also refused to let the
reporters pass
one immigration officer said there was land dispute and people were not
allowed to enter for their own protection
the immigration police specialise in dealing with foreigners except for an afp
reporter no other foreigners were visible in the farming area where buffalo
worked the fields
unrest broke out before dawn on wednesday when parishioners tried to stop
large group of police and troops sent to dismantle the crucifix on top of
mountain said nguyen van huu the parish priest
he said parishioners told him the police used electric prods tear gas and
stones against the crowd two of whom were seriously injured and taken to hanoi
for treatment
four or five other parishioners were hurt said the priest who was not present
at the time of the incident troops succeeded in dismantling the cross he
added
as described by the priest the clash was one of the most serious recent
incidents in long running series of church state land disputes
the people have not fully recovered yet he said by telephone on friday
police have refused to comment and nobody answered the phone friday at the
local government office the people committee
huu said local authorities argued that the cross was built without permission
last year on state managed land
in fact we have used this land for more than years he said
officials began seizing church property along with many other buildings and
farms more than years ago when communists took power in what was then north
vietnam
the government says it respects freedom of religion
vampire weekend go mexican in new album
paris jan afp
brooklyn rock band vampire weekend still look like kids out of college but they
have been fearlessly innovative for their new album contra on sale january
incorporating latino and mexican sounds
there is sense of nostalgia that is different from our first album
percussionist and producer rostam batmanglij told afp describing the harmonies
as more vulnerable less ordered and structured it different mood
there are high expectations around the new release after the success of their
debut album but the four columbia university graduates are relaxed and
say the pressure came from within rather than from people outside
one thing they did want to avoid was repetition so they broke out of their
brooklyn bubble took trip to mexico and hooked up with brazilian
percussionist maruo reposco
reposco introduced them to the big zabumba drum that sits over the shoulder and
is hit with two sticks to make chopped up sound that can be heard on the song
horchata
the band have played lot with lead singer ezra koenig vocals too treating
his voice on number of tracks and playing with voice encoders to distort or
purify sounds
batmanglij who is also part of an indie electro duo produced the first album
and took charge again for contra as the band felt he was the natural choice
and would do the best job
drummer christopher tomson says they are diplomatic quartet disagreements
yes but ultimately it just the four of us coming up with things and
we can eventually come together and make something pretty good
unusually for pop band two members of vampire weekend have degrees in music
from ivy league columbia university the others majored in english and
russian
batmanglij says he always felt bit of an outsider studying music in the
university context but it did teach him how to really listen and his
expertise is clearly vital to the evolution of vampire weekend sound
feel that for me to do my job as producer each song should have different
characteristics unique sound for each element
vampire weekend are just one of many chart topping brooklyn based bands but
batmanglij denies any rivalry with the likes of mgmt yeasayer or dirty
projectors on the contrary he says with cheeky smile love them all
as for the british music scene vampire weekend remember when oasis duo liam and
noel gallagher split up for good as the columbia boys were due on stage before
the gallagher brothers for the paris rock en seine festival in august
it was very awkward recalls tomson watching their crew breaking down all the
lights and instruments people started crying
but the younger clean cut new york generation looks back fondly on the
manchester bad boys we all liked their first few albums tomson says but
lost touch from there will be sad to see them go
oasis were the face of britpop or in batmanglij words the pinnacle of
british idiocy
but how would vampire weekend like to be remembered years from now
pop music cannibalises itself says batmanglij shrugging off the question
nonchalantly if vampire weekend can capture the mood as they did with their
first album that will do for now
emb ccr ns
nepal war missing leave lasting barrier to peace
bardiya nepal jan afp
shobharani has not seen her husband since the night six years ago when hundreds
of soldiers descended on her small village in western nepal and pulled him from
his bed
ignoring shobharani pleas the soldiers dragged her husband into the street
shouting accusations of his involvement with the maoist rebels waging bloody
insurgency against the state
told them he was just simple farmer but they insisted he was maoist
said shobharani who wished to be identified only by her first name
ran after them with my lamp because it was very dark but one of the soldiers
just blew out my lamp and told me must go home she told afp in her village
in nepal western bardiya district former maoist stronghold
they didn even let him put on any clothes before they dragged him away
rights groups say more than people disappeared from bardiya during the
decade long war between nepal maoist former guerrillas and the state most of
them taken by army or police
across the country the government has recorded more than cases of people
forcibly taken by the army police or maoist guerrillas
it says it believes the true figure to be higher with some relatives reluctant
to come forward for fear of retribution
but more than three years after the war ended no official investigations have
been conducted and no one has yet been prosecuted for human rights violations
committed during the war
the situation in bardiya is illustrative of an environment of impunity in
nepal said richard bennett head of the un office of the high commissioner for
human rights ohchr in nepal
bardiya is not the only district where serious human rights violations
including disappearances and killings took place bennett said
it is one which was quite badly affected but the internal conflict in nepal
took place in most of the country and there were human rights violations
committed everywhere
the long promised establishment of commission of inquiry into wartime
disappearances has been delayed by political wrangling leaving many of those
affected with no compensation for the loss of the family main breadwinner
but most say that the hardest thing is not knowing whether their loved ones are
dead or alive
still worry about him said shobharani of her husband one of five men taken
from the village that night
sometimes imagine he is alive but many years have passed so it is unlikely
don know whether he is dead or alive but he is always in my heart
shobharani now supports herself by running small grocery stall she set up
using the rupees dollars she has received in what the government
terms interim relief given to families pending investigations
but she has been forced to move out of her husband house and is now embroiled
in legal battle with his parents over the rights to the property
bagiram chowdary who runs pressure group in bardiya that helps victims
families says such problems are common
for the relatives it is always better to know said chowdary
not knowing leads to big problems both socially and financially without
death certificate land rights cannot be transferred and with no income source
many families struggle to feed themselves
more than three years after the war ended deep suspicions persist and rights
groups say nepal can achieve lasting peace only if the abuses committed during
the war are investigated and the perpetrators punished
in nepal supreme court ordered the government to form commission of
inquiry into conflict related disappearances without delay
but draft bill on the issue has been delayed by the opposition maoists who
have prevented parliament from sitting since their government fell in may
peace and reconstruction minister rakam chemjong said the government was fully
committed to investigating wartime disappearances
if parliament reopens the commission will form as soon as possible he told
afp
the ohchr bennett warned that any delay could further damage nepal fragile
peace
as in any conflict great deal of suffering was caused and if that is not
addressed then those wounds may never heal he said
would say it is crucial for durable peace in nepal that these kinds of human
rights violations are properly addressed
afp features
paris jan afp
we will shortly move the following stories
nepal conflict rights
bardiya nepal
shobharani has not seen her husband since the night six years ago when hundreds
of soldiers descended on her small village in nepal and pulled him from his bed
hundreds of people disappeared during the decade long war between maoist former
guerrillas and the state but there has still been no official investigation into
their fate
words by claire cozens picture video
entertainment music interview
paris
brooklyn rock band vampire weekend still look like kids out of college but they
have been fearlessly innovative for their new album contra on sale january
incorporating latino and mexican sounds
words by emilie bickerton file picture
for questions email nancy shields afp com or call
afp sports schedule for friday january
paris jan afp
afp sports schedule for friday january
football
previews moved ahead of weekend league action in england spain and italy also
scottish cup and french cup action
slugs fbl eng pr fbl esp fbl ita fbl sco cup fbl fra cup
final series of advancers moved ahead of the african nations cup which
begins in angola on sunday see separate advisory
masterslug fbl afr
tennis
roger federer and rafael nadal are into the semi finals of the qatar open while
kim clijsters and justine henin are through to the last four at the brisbane
international as the build up to the australian open gathers pace
atp also at brisbane and chennai wta at auckland
hopman cup continues in perth
slugs tennis atp qat tennis atp wta aus tennis atp ind tennis wta nzl
tennis hopman aus
cricket
bangladesh india at dhaka in the third odi of three nation tournament which
also includes sri lanka
slug cricket ban ind
golf
south africans richard sterne trevor fisher and titch moore share the lead with
dane mark haastrup and swede patrick sjoland going into the second round of the
africa open at the east london golf club
coverage by allan williams
also uspga at kapalua maui hawaii
slug golf espga rsa golf uspga
rallying
seventh stage of the dakar rally over km from iquique to antofagasta in chile
with spain former world rally champion carlos sainz leading the cars
coverage by joris fioriti
