snowfall was expected to continue until monday evening and could reach
centimetres inches in some areas of istanbul according to the city
natural disaster coordination centre
alpine skiing world cup slalom results
kitzbuehel austria jan afp
men world cup slalom results on sunday
felix neureuther ger
julien lizeroux fra
giuliano razzoli ita
benjamin raich aut
michael janyk can
marcel hirscher aut
ivica kostelic cro
mattias hargin swe
steve missillier fra
mario matt aut
julien cousineau can
brad spence can
cristian deville ita
trevor white can
naoki yuasa jpn
anton lahdenper swe
silvan zurbriggen sui
wolfgang rl aut
bernard vajdic slo
lars elton myhre nor
kilian albrecht bul
manfred lgg ita
ted ligety usa
thomas mermillod blondin fra
alexandre anselmet fra
reinfried herbst aut
nolan kasper usa
dnf nd leg christoph dreier aut andre myhrer swe filip trejbal cze
dnf st leg manfred pranger aut georg streitberger aut aksel lund svindal
nor jens byggmark swe marc berthod sui
overall world cup standings after events
benjamin raich aut pts
carlo janka sui
didier cuche sui
aksel lund svindal nor
ivica kostelic cro
michael walchhofer aut
julien lizeroux fra
didier fago sui
silvan zurbriggen sui
ted ligety usa
world cup slalom events after events
julien lizeroux fra pts
reinfried herbst aut
ivica kostelic ita
benjamin raich aut
giuliano razzoli ita
world cup super combined standings after of events
benjamin raich aut pts winner of minor globe
carlo janka sui
iviva kostelic cro
silvan zurbriggen sui
bode miller usa
world cup combined standings
ivica kostelic cro
silvan zurbriggen sui
benjamin raich aut
julien lizeroux fra
natko zrncic dim cro
kjetil jansrud nor
carlo janka sui
ondrej bank cze
romed baumann aut
ted ligety usa
dnf downhill maciej bydlinski pol
main dnf in slalom georg streitberger aut aksel lund svindal nor
alexander horoschilow rus andrej sporn slo hans olsson swe
dns slalom bode miller usa christof innerhofer ita
football german league results
berlin jan afp
german league result on sunday afternoon
vfl wolfsburg gentner costa cologne pezzoni freis chihi
playing later
hoffenheim bayer leverkusen
saturday
vfl bochum hashemian sestak schalke sanchez kuranyi
hertha berlin borussia moenchengladbach
werder bremen hunt almeida bayern munich mueller olic
robben
mainz schuerrle hanover
nuremberg eigler eintracht frankfurt koehler
borussia dortmund valdez hamburg
friday
freiburg vfb stuttgart marica
rugby union biarritz seal home draw for cup quarter finals
paris jan afp
french side biarritz may be struggling in the top domestic championship but
their european cup campaign carried on in triumphant fashion on sunday when they
ensured they hosted quarter final after beating scottish outfit glasgow
in their pool two clash
biarritz beaten by irish province munster in the final joined
defending champions leinster and two time titlewinners munster in being
guaranteed home quarter final in the draw due to be held later on sunday
biarritz are likely as in previous years when they have played at home in the
last eight to host the match over the spanish border in san sebastian
three time champions toulouse can displace fellow french side clermont as the
fourth host if they beat english side sale later on sunday in their pool five
match
the other three quarter finalists are stade francais and the two best runners
up welsh side ospreys and champions northampton
alpine skiing neureuther slaloms to maiden world cup triumph
kitzbuehel austria jan afp
germany felix neureuther notched up timely maiden world cup victory ahead of
next month winter olympics when he won the men slalom race here on sunday
neureuther six time world cup podium finisher who had clocked the third
fastest time in the first leg timed combined min sec over the two runs
the german finished sec ahead of in form frenchman julien lizeroux with
italian giuliano razzoli at sec
this has got to be the best day of my career smiled neureuther
the year old was even happier at completing his victory under the watchful
eyes of father christian neureuther himself winner of the slalom here in
and mother rosi mittermaier who won olympic golds in the slalom and
downhill as well as giant slalom silver
this is an historic venue and this comes years after my father christian
win so it really emotional watched my dad victory on video in an austrian
tv cabin that was another era with different skis he added
did good opening leg and then pushed hard on the second the start of the
season was tough had problems motivating myself then after christmas said
this is your year
lizeroux said he had to fight hard after feeling little tired but tiredness
doesn count for much in alpine skiing what makes the difference is the mental
side it was good weekend went down the streif which was childhood
dream for me
razzoli cursed little mistake made part of the way down and had to brake
bit in the second run said to myself wasn far off the podium and had to
go for it
ivica kostelic of croatia winner of the combined was also happy to have landed
that category winning at kitzbuehel is really something else was seventh in
downhill and seventh in slalom the perfect balance
it great day for croatia two on the startline and two in the top five
with natko zrncic dim coming in fifth in the combined
reinfried herbst took sec lead into the second leg but the austrian who
had earlier seen team mate manfred pranger crash out on the first run missed
gate and finished well down the field
italian manfred moelgg another early pace setter also crashed out
meanwhile austrian veteran benjamin raich managed fourth placed finish which
was enough to see him leapfrog switzerland carlo janka to the top of the world
cup overall standings
raich was also awarded the crystal globe for winner of the super combined
discipline judged here on the combined times of saturday downhill and the
two leg slalom
it was raich fifth minor globe of his career he won the overall globe in
and has also had four second bests and one third best
finish
last year went out in the slalom and didn get any points in the combined
and that cost me the main globe this time didn want to take any risks
frightened residents flee violence hit nigerian city
jos nigeria jan afp
frightened residents flooded military checkpoint to flee the nigerian city of
jos on sunday after muslim christian clashes that killed nearly people and
gutted scores of buildings
while fighting subsided in the central city and troops were deployed to end the
unrest fleeing residents said they were too frightened to stay
at military checkpoint on the outskirts of jos where long lines of cars and
buses carrying residents formed soldiers searched all vehicles an afp reporter
saw several vehicles were laden with baggage
the last few days have been very traumatising for me and my two children
samira yaya told afp as she was leaving jos
my husband is out of the country on business trip we were indoors without
food or water with killings and burnings all around us am going to kano to
stay with my family until my husband returns feel uneasy here
danladi kabir year old trader told afp as he crammed luggage into taxi
that he was leaving jos for his jigawa home state in northern nigeria
my family in jigawa has been agitated over the fighting in jos and my safety
he said the best way to assure them am alive is to visit home
at least bodies have so far been recovered from wells and pits after the
clashes kuru karama village head umar baza said sunday taking the unofficial
death toll compiled from various sources to
state officials have given no official death toll for the violence which broke
out in jos the capital of plateau state on january and spread to nearby
towns and villages
dozens of cars houses churches and mosques were also burnt during four days of
unrest an overnight curfew remained in effect between pm and am
kuru karama former mining village is muslim enclave in christian region
kilometres miles south of jos
global rights watchdog human rights watch hrw told afp on saturday that
according to figures provided by muslim leaders at least muslims died in
the clashes
as of friday at least muslims have died in jos including those found in
wells in kuru karama this information was provided by muslim officials in jos
hrw spokesman eric guttschuss told afp by telephone from washington
although the christian association of nigeria can has not provided
comprehensive death toll of its members in the fighting one of its officials
chung dabo had earlier told afp that christians died
during sunday sermon before about faithful at saint michael catholic
cathedral in jos located at the heart of the fighting the city head of the
roman catholic church archbishop ignatius kaigama criticised christians and
muslims involved in the violence and those who instigated it
we are potentially great country but we are messing up and we have to accept
that fact he said
our diversity is meant to create harmony and not disharmony but we are using
our differences to unleash destruction and cause problems for ourselves instead
of focusing on technology science and development we are wasting precious time
and energy on mutual altercation he stated
christian and muslim leaders in plateau state have both said the unrest owed
more to the failure of political leaders to address ethnic differences than
inter faith rivalries
kaigama called on members of the two religious communities to return to god
because if we don come back to him we shall continue to go in cycles of
violence destruction and killings
jos has long been hotbed of religious violence in nigeria whose million
people are divided almost equally between followers of the two faiths
an estimated people were killed in religious clashes in the city in late
third round of darfur peace talks yet to kick off in qatar
doha jan afp
no date has yet been set for direct talks between the sudanese government and
rebels after day of consultations between different delegations in doha
qatari official said on sunday
the date to launch negotiations has not been fixed ahmed ben abdallah al
mahmud qatari minister of state for foreign affairs told reporters
we will only be able to fix date after the arrival of delegations and the end
of consultations he said
earlier delegations present in doha had said that direct peace talks between
khartoum and rebel groups had not resumed with the two sides holding separate
consultations with mediators instead
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 sudan 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 group 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 sudanese delegation which is headed by ghazi salaheddin the government
pointman on darfur met bassole on saturday
darfur rebels had two rounds of talks with khartoum government officials in
qatar in february and may
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 materialise
bassole said earlier this month that talks to settle the festering darfur
conflict 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 in darfur first rose up against the
arab dominated sudan government in february
khartoum says people have been killed
japanese residents elect mayor opposing us base
tokyo jan afp
japanese voters in city on okinawa island elected mayor sunday who opposes
plans for controversial new us air base complicating row with washington
over relocating troops
two candidates in nago city were squaring off over whether or not to give local
support to plan currently under review by the centre left national
government to build major new marine corps air base there
susumu inamine who campaigned on platform of rejecting the base ousted
yoshikazu shimabukuro with more than strong majority
official figures showed nearly percent turnout by the city voters
ve run this election campaign with the pledge of not to build base in the
coastal area of nago city inamone told more than hundred of his supporters
who shouted and applauded in rapture ll keep to this campaign promise with
firm conviction he said
prime minister yukio hatoyama has said he may scrap an agreement with washington
to relocate the base from its current site in crowded urban area of okinawa to
quieter coastal site in the nago area by
the issue has strained ties between tokyo and washington which marked the th
anniversary of their security pact last tuesday since japan new leaders took
power four months ago ending half century of conservative rule
the southern island of okinawa which saw some of the bloodiest battles of world
war ii hosts more than half of the us troops in japan
while some local businesses benefit from the heavy american military presence
many residents have long opposed it citing crimes committed by servicemen as
well as noise pollution and the threat of accidents
hatoyama whose coalition government includes pacifist groups and stern
opponents of the us military presence has said he will make decision by may
on where to move the controversial futenma air base
some analysts have speculated that hatoyama will ultimately settle with the
current plan as there is no other realistic option for the replacement base in
japan with no other communities willing to host it
even though the central government can technically overrule local government
decision to refuse the base such move could provoke sharp criticism as
hatoyama has vowed to consider pains inflicted on okinawans and to respect
local governments decisions
the cabinet should respond to the will of residents mizuho fukushima the
leader of the socialists the junior coalition partner of hatoyama democratic
party told reporters jiji press reported
some observers have voiced frustration with the premier for making at times
contradictory statements on the issue leaving both okinawans and washington
officials confused about his intentions
what mr hatoyama has said so far is inconsistent and don know how he wants
to settle the base row said yoshinobu yamamoto professor of international
politics at aoyama gakuin university
yamamoto pointed out that as an opposition politician years ago hatoyama
advocated the withdrawal of all permanent us forces from japan
hatoyama last month said that his views had changed but added that there is an
argument about whether it is appropriate to have foreign troops stationed in
japan if you think about the future or years from now
yamamoto said if he truly believes in an alliance without the permanent
presence of us troops in japan there may be fundamental differences in the
perception of the alliance between him and the united states
it could be disaster for the future of the alliance
myspace bids to pay musicians lost royalties of over mln dlrs
cannes france jan afp
social networking site myspace which has enabled many artists to launch their
careers is now helping to pay them back millions of dollars in lost royalties
for songs and performances
myspace ceo owen van natta said sunday the company had signed ground breaking
deal with performance rights group soundexchange to track down some
major independent and unsigned artists owed more than million dollars in
unpaid royalties
the money will be put into escrow as we search for the acts he said at the
opening of the midem industry trade fair his first speech outside the united
states
van natta said he planned to use the myspace platform to put the artists in
touch with soundexchange non profit making performance rights organisation
that collects royalties for the streaming of music on internet satellite radio
on behalf of sound recording copyright owners
the deal with myspace opens up new and effective way of contacting artists who
are registered with myspace but not with soundexchange the companies said in
press release
it can be challenge notifying and convincing artists to register with
soundexchange because they don know they re entitled to these royalties or
believe it too good to be true said soundexchange senior executive bryan
calhoun
myspace which is part of rupert murdoch news corp group has grown into
music power house under the guidance of van natta who talked at midem about how
he and his team have worked to make it easier for users to find new music and
share tracks
this has resulted in users creating over million playlists on myspace music
which van natta said is now the largest advertising supported music business on
the web
myspace which has been going head to head with its closest competitors
facebook to become the most popular social networking space has also launched
the career of many musicians including that of british born sensation lily
allen
four more die in romanian cold snap
bucharest jan afp
cold snap in romania has left four more people dead as temperatures are
expected to plunge to minus degrees celsius minus fahrenheit prime
minister emil boc said sunday
unfortunately for the last hours we have registered four deaths in the
capital and in the bistrita nasaud area in the north in satu mare in the
northwest and prahova in the south boc said in videoconference with local
government officials
in bucharest year old homeless man was found dead in the street on sunday
an ambulance official told afp he was the second cold victim in the capital
where another homeless man died saturday
in bistrita nasaud year old man was found dead near railway station
from where he was to take the train home mediafax news agency reported
five other people died of exposure on friday and sunday in romania where
ambulance services and police conduct joint patrols to identify homeless people
and lead them to shelters
according to local help group about homeless people live in the
country of them in bucharest
israel says record year for anti semitism
jerusalem jan afp
israel on sunday said that was record year for acts of anti semitism
across the world which were mainly sparked by its war against hamas in the gaza
strip year ago
was the year where the largest number of anti semitic incidents was
recorded said governmental report published ahead of the january
international holocaust remembrance day
with the start of the operation wave of acts of anti semitism started across
the world it said of israel operation cast lead in december and january
during which some palestinians and israelis were killed
according to the report the expressions of anti semitism consisted of acts of
violence the burning of synagogues defacing of cemeteries and holocaust
memorials as well as verbal assaults
but the report also considered as anti semitic acts that sought to
delegitimise israel including some protests against israeli policies
most of the incidents reflected longstanding and known anti semitic ideas but
were extreme intensive and louder than before many of the expressions of
anti semitism in created total link between israelis and jews
diaspora minister yuli edelstein said in the report introduction that it is
hard nowadays to tell the difference between anti israeli attacks in europe and
the united states as well as other places in the world and anti semitic
attacks
the report said anti semitic acts were committed in france in the first half
of of them violent compared with incidents in the same period in
in britain there were anti semitic incidents in the first half of
compared with the previous year it said
prime minister benjamin netanyahu said on sunday that the current form of anti
semitism is mixed with new intention of trying to deny the jewish state the
right of self defence
the war in gaza was an overwhelming military victory for israel but sparked
international condemnation with un human rights council report accusing both
israel and palestinian militants of war crimes
the goldstone report demanded that both sides investigate their actions during
the day conflict and israel is expected to release the results of an
internal military investigation into the war later this week
football french cup results
paris jan afp
french cup results on sunday
last
mulhouse guingamp giresse
playing later
paris saint germain evian
monaco lyon
last matches previously postponed because of poor weather
thiers abessolo nancy curbelo after extra time
nancy won on penalties
st etienne riviere payet sako lorient penalba pen
played saturday
last
bordeaux plasil wendel cavenaghi ajaccio guerriero
beauvais canales pen cuffaut agen
quevilly angers
raon etape vesoul etame
played friday
saumur rennes marveaux sow
last
grenoble matsui ljuboja akrour montpellier montano pen
ait fana
colmar lille after extra time
colmar beat lille on penalties
saint louis neuweg sochaux privat
compiegne lens chretien og
saint ouen aumone sedan
pontivy brest de carvalho
football italian serie table
rome jan afp
italian serie table ahead of sunday late match played won drawn lost
goals for against points
inter milan
ac milan
as roma
napoli
palermo
juventus
cagliari
genoa
fiorentina
sampdoria
bari
parma
chievo
bologna
lazio
livorno
udinese
catania
atalanta
siena
hrw slams acquittal of uae leader brother in torture case
dubai jan afp
human rights watch on sunday slammed 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 renewed criticism of the working
and living conditions of migrant workers in the uae
the foreign ministry reacted by branding the hrw report unbalanced but
ignored reference to the trial
hrw criticised an 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 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 hrw uae
researcher samer muscati said at the news conference
he pointed out that the trial was not open at the beginning to the press which
did not get to cover the prosecution
allegations against the sheikh emerged after video aired in april
appeared to show him beating man with whips electric cattle prods and
wooden plank studded with 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 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 passports
it also underscored the repatriations of tens of thousands of migrant workers on
unpaid vacations after the global financial crisis hit the uae
meanwhile many female domestic workers remained deprived of wages and food
and endured forced confinement and physical or sexual abuse hrw said
it called on the government to establish an independent commission to
investigate and publicly report on the migrant workers issue
although hrw commended uae cabinet approval of compulsory housing standards
for workers it lamented the fact that companies have five years to comply with
the rules which took effect in september
it is unfortunate that hrw report repeats old issues and does not document any
