kerr john kerr gbr nathalie pechalat fabian bourzat fra
anna cappellini luca lanotte ita alexandra zaretsky roman zaretsky
isr ekaterina bobrova dmitri soloviev rus anna
zadorozhniuk sergei verbillo ukr alla beknazarova vladimir zuev
ukr
nora hoffman maxim zavozin hun pernelle carron lloyd jones
fra christina beier william beier ger kira geil dmitri
matsjuk aut caitlin mallory kristjan rand est penny
coomes nicholas buckland gbr zoe blanc pierre loup bouquet fra
kamila hajkova david vincour cze federica
testa christopher mior ita katelyn good nikolaj sorensen den
nikola visnova lukas csolley svk allison reed otar japaridze
geo ramona elsener florian roost sui nikki
georgiadis graham hockley gre oksana klimova sasha palomaki fin
lesia valadzenkava vitali vakunov blr
withdrew virginiya hoptman pavel filchenkov aze
baseball dodgers sign taiwan hurler kuo to one year deal
los angeles jan afp
hong chih kuo year old left handed relief pitcher from taiwan was among
four players agreeing to one year deals tuesday with the los angeles dodgers
the major league baseball club said
kuo went with earned run average last season for the dodgers
striking out batters while surrendering runs on hits and walks in
innings over games
kuo in five seasons with the dodgers made dollars last year but
will take home dollars for the season
under incentive bonuses kuo would make dollars more for reaching and
appearances and an extra dollars for pitching in or games his
most career appearances in major league season came in
the dodgers also agreed to terms with first baseman james loney catcher russell
martin and relief pitcher george sherrill sherrill will be paid million
dollars in with loney taking home million dollars next season
like kuo they were all eligible for salary arbitration
nearly killed in nigeria religious clashes
kano nigeria jan afp
three days of muslim christian clashes in the nigerian city of jos have left
around people dead clerics and paramedic said tuesday as troops were
deployed to control the unrest
authorities placed the central city under hour curfew amid reports of
continuing armed clashes with terrified residents saying they could hear
gunshots and smoke was billowing from parts of the plateau state capital
nigeria vice president goodluck jonathan sent in troops and ordered security
chiefs to proceed to jos immediately to assess the situation and advise on
further steps his office said
all flights to the city were suspended aviation sources said
leaders of both sides and paramedic issued death tolls that put the number of
dead in fighting which erupted sunday in mainly christian area and spread at
nearly but there was no official confirmation
the clashes were sparked by dispute over the building of mosque residents
said
as at yesterday had dead the secretary of the christian association of
nigeria reverend chung dabo told afp another people were killed on tuesday
in the neighbouring town of bukuru he said
muslim leader balarabe dawud said bodies were brought to the city central
mosque on tuesday on monday he gave death toll of
dawud head of the mosque said at least people had been wounded of whom
had been taken to military hospitals with serious injuries
the mosque had run out of medical supplies he said even neighbourhood private
clinics are full with the injured
mosque employee mohammed shittu told afp the mosque is full with the injured
and the dead
clashes in bukuru on tuesday left another five people dead according to maryam
mohammed paramedic working at the clinic there
as am speaking to you now fighting is ongoing although soldiers have been
deployed so far we have injured and now five dead she told afp
the red cross said more than people were seriously injured and around
people had been displaced
announcing the extension of weekend curfew state information commissioner
gregory yenlong told afp all residents are hereby directed to stay indoors as
security agents work towards restoring peace
christian resident david maiyaki said the clashes had gone on despite the
curfew
we woke up to new fighting this morning as am talking to you we are indoors
but there is burning and gunshots all around us he told afp by phone
from here can hear gunshots and see burning buildings from neighbourhood in
the northern part of the city said another resident ibrahim mudi it seems
that jos north is completely on fire he said
sunday fighting had been confined to the predominantly christian nassarawa
gwon area but spread the army said
jos situated between the muslim dominated north and the christian south has in
recent years been hotbed of religious violence in nigeria whose million
people are divided almost equally between followers of the two faiths
the vice president slammed the lastest outburst of violence and said the
government was determined find permanent solution to the jos crisis his
office said
this is one crisis too many and the federal government finds it most
unacceptable retrogressive and capable of further sundering the bonds of unity
in our country it said in statement
jonathan met with his security chiefs to review situation it said adding
they are also to put in place comprehensive security strategies to ensure that
these constant eruptions do not happen again
in november hundreds of people were killed in two days of fighting in jos
triggered by rumour that mainly muslim party had lost local election to
christian dominated party
at least people were killed in nearby borno state last july when security
forces put down an insurrection by muslim fundamentalist sect
in december around were killed in clashes between security forces and
members of another radical sect in bauchi state
afp world news agenda
hong kong jan afp
what coming up around the world
huge aid operation races against time in haiti
curfew in nigerian city where hundreds killed
first anniversary of obama inauguration
port au prince rescuers search for survivors after haiti devastating quake
but attention increasingly turns to helping the living haiti quake
jos nigeria security forces patrol the streets and enforce round the clock
curfew after deadly christian muslim clashes spread across nigeria central
city of jos nigeria unrest religion
washington first anniversary of obama inauguration us politics year
amsterdam dutch far right mp geert wilders appears for preparatory hearing
ahead of his trial for inciting hatred against muslims including in anti islam
film fitna gmt netherlands islam film politics court
beijing china holds state funeral for peacekeepers killed in haiti haiti
quake china
beirut jerusalem us envoy george mitchell visits lebanon and then starts visit
to israel and the west bank to discuss the stalled middle east peace process
mideast us diplomacy
boston massachusetts results of tight election race to replace the late ted
kennedy in senate with president barack obama ambitious reform agenda
potentially at stake us vote senate
milton keynes england singer amy winehouse due in court over an alleged
assault at theatre last month britain music
moscow court hears appeal by the descendants of the russian imperial family to
reopen probe into the murder of last tsar nicolas ii russia royals history
new delhi news conference with us defense secretary robert gates as he promotes
strategic partnership with india gmt us india
new york bank of america and wells fargo announce earnings gmt us
banking earnings company
sydney first visit to australia by britain prince william since
australia britain royals william
washington us homeland security secretary janet napolitano testifies before the
senate committee on commerce science and transportation about the failed
christmas day attack on northwest flight attacks us politics
afp
facts and figures of un presence in haiti
port au prince jan afp
the united nations stabilization mission in haiti hard hit by the devastating
earthquake there is to boost its civilian and military staff from to
with an annual budget of million dollars minustah as it is known will be
getting an extra peacekeepers for at least six months that will take its
total staff up to military and police
brazilian led minustah in place since was at first charged with
protecting civilians helping to disarm rival militias and working on clear and
transparent electoral processes
but on the heels of last tuesday devastating earthquake it has been retooled
to focus on escorting humanitarian convoys rushing water and food aid to
haitians left with nothing as well as to protect aid distribution points
the catastrophe which has left at least people dead and million
homeless hit home very directly at minustah its headquarters the hotel
christopher collapsed like thousands of other buildings in the capital leaving
at least people dead and more still unaccounted for
among the dead were the tunisian mission chief hedi annabi his brazilian deputy
carlos da costa and the police chief canadian doug coates
guatemala edmond mulet has stepped in as its temporary leader picking up the
pieces after the worst disaster ever to strike un mission
brazil which lost military personnel and was looking for two more still
missing has said it may double its staff which would bring its contribution to
troops
in addition to brazil countries taking part in minustah include jordan
men the philippines peru and guatemala countries on its military side
include argentina chile morocco nepal spain sri lanka and uruguay
tornado warning in california as storm hits
los angeles jan afp
rare tornado warning was issued for los angeles tuesday as storm slammed
into southern california dumping heavy rain and snow across the region and
leaving thousands of homes without power
national weather service meteorologist ryan kittell said strong storm moving
in from the pacific ocean and packing winds of around miles per hour had
triggered the tornado alert
we don have any physical evidence of tornado but our radars indicated it
is spinning rapidly so there good chance of tornado at the surface
kittell told afp
powerful storm fronts developing at sea often weakened by the time they made
landfall kittell cautioned admitting that tornado alerts in sun baked
california were pretty rare
we do get them from time to time but they are pretty rare he said
the storm rolling into southern california on tuesday followed similar weather
front which deluged the region hours earlier
authorities placed hillside communities on alert for flash flooding and
mudslides major concern in regions affected by raging wildfires last year
tuesday storm was one of series of wet weather fronts forecast to hit
southern california this week which are expected to drop as much as inches
of rain in some areas
local power companies reported tuesday that engineers were working to restore
power to nearly customers suffering outages because of the weather
six power talks on iran constructive us
washington jan afp
the latest talks by six world powers on the nuclear standoff with iran were
constructive us officials said tuesday
we are moving on both tracks said state department spokesman philip crowley
referring to diplomacy and the threat of further sanctions we believe we are
making progress
crowley however said iran response to the international community demands
for assurances about its nuclear program have been inadequate
the five permament members of the un security council the united states
france germany russia and china plus germany met saturday in new york but
reached no decision on further sanctions against iran china in particular has
resisted sanctions
iran foreign minister manouchehr mottaki on monday welcomed the realistic
approach taken by the six powers while china called on the sides to show
flexibility and to stick with diplomacy despite the impasse
we continue our conversations in terms of options that are available to us
both in terms of the security council going forward but also steps that can be
taken in coordinated way on national basis crowley said
us senators have drawn up bill that if adopted would impose sanctions on
companies that export fuel to iran
the sanctions imposed so far by the united nations principally target iran
proliferation activity having little real economic impact
the united states britain france russia and germany want them to be enhanced
to target the revenues of the iranian regime
oil prices recover as opec predicts modest demand growth
new york jan afp
oil prices recovered tuesday after five session losing streak as opec forecast
modest growth in world crude demand this year
new york main contract light sweet crude for february delivery jumped
dollars from friday closing price to dollars the market was closed
monday for holiday commemorating legendary civil rights leader martin luther
king
london brent north sea crude for delivery in march gained cents to
dollars
analysts said there were few fundamental reasons for the rebound
think the rebound is technical you may have had some buy orders when the
price dipped below dollars barrel said jason schenker of prestige
economics
he suggested that rising inventory levels could dampen prices again
if you think of what going on in the crude oil market the trick is that it
is well supplied market economic growth is tepid and inventories have been
building in the last couple of weeks in significant way he said
mike fitzpatrick of mf global forecast that crude oil prices would trend around
dollars per barrel during the first quarter of
his forecast was based on tightening credit conditions in china to check
overheating of the world most populous economy among other reasons
whatever data comes from china it will be viewed through the prism of recent
expansionary policies and now that tightening appears to have begun the
reaction will be greater still he said
the opec oil producers cartel on tuesday left unchanged its forecast for annual
oil demand growth
the organization of petroleum exporting countries said in its january report
that world oil demand in was forecast to grow by million barrels per
day bpd to average million bpd representing no major change from last
month
nevertheless prices are likely to be particularly vulnerable to economic
developments during the upcoming low demand second quarter the report said
the persisting stock overhang low seasonal demand and start of refining
maintenance point to the need for continued caution over the coming months as
market volatility is expected to remain
uae energy minister mohammad bin dhaen al hamli said world oil prices were very
reasonable at the moment
asked if he preferred prices to be in excess of dollars barrel he told
reporters on the sidelines of four day alternative energy forum in the uae
capital don like over and don like
oil prices jumped by around percent in as traders were heartened by
evidence that the battered global economy was on the mend with the eurozone
japan and the united states escaping fierce recession
however crude futures have struggled to make much headway in early as
economic data disappoints
at its last meeting in december the opec cartel warned of lingering weakness in
the world economy as it decided to keep crude output quotas unchanged
corporate deals propel wall street
new york jan afp
wall street rallied tuesday as the market was energized by news of big corporate
deals and traders braced for the outcome of key us senate election
the dow jones industrial average rose points percent to
at the closing bell as the key us indexes leapt to their best levels in over
months
the nasdaq composite climbed points percent to and the
standard amp poor index added points percent to
preliminary close of
with trade resuming after three day weekend the market reacted to news that
british chocolate bar maker cadbury agreed to sweetened takeover bid from us
giant kraft foods in multibillion dollar deal to help the food giant expand
its reach in the confectionery sector
that deal along with tyco international agreement to acquire brink home
security are boosting some optimism that confidence is returning to the
corporate sector said analysts at charles schwab amp co
al goldman at wells fargo advisors said the market was on edge ahead of the
results of senate race in massachusetts as it has important political
implications no matter who wins
he said win by the republican challenger would probably be well received by
the market as investors favor congressional gridlock because it may affect the
supermajority needed by senate democrats to pass key measures
john wilson at morgan keegan added that wall street sees republican victory as
way to slow or modify massive health care reform measure being considered in
congress which has raised fears among some in the business community
healthcare stocks seem to be rallying on hopes that the massachusetts election
will change the equation in their favor he said
nba stern denies hawks protest over loss to cavaliers
new york jan afp
nba commissioner david stern denied the atlanta hawks protest of loss
to cleveland three weeks ago because of shot clock operator error the
league announced tuesday
in their complaint the hawks said the shot clock operator failing to re set the
second shot clock after defensive rebound by atlanta with to play in
the fourth quarter warranted replay of the game from that point
stern ruled the shot clock mistake did not have clear impact on the outcome
and as result did not justify the extraordinary remedy of overturning the
result of the december game
cleveland lebron james scored points on his th birthday and anderson
varejao sank his first nba career three pointer with seconds remaining to
help secure the cavaliers th victory in games
at the cavaliers have the second best record in the nba to the reigning
champion los angeles lakers who are
cleveland has built an game head over chicago in the central division while
atlanta sets the pace in the southeast division at half game ahead of
defending eastern conference champion orlando
haiti death toll rises to government
port au prince jan afp
the number of people killed in last week devastating haitian earthquake has
risen to while were injured and million left homeless the
haitian government said tuesday
the updated figures were contained in an statement issued by haiti civil
defence department which said the beleaguered caribbean nation is in desperate
need of temporary shelters water food medical supplies and counselors
one week ago haiti was hit by massive magnitude quake which shattered
homes and buried citizens under tonnes of rubble across broad area around the
capital port au prince
the statement said half of the buildings in the region had been destroyed
argentina rattled by two earthquakes no casualties
buenos aires jan afp
western argentina was rattled by two moderate earthquakes tuesday that
emphasized the region seismic volatility but left no immediate reports of
damage or casualties
the first quake of magnitude struck in the early hours just southwest of
the town of san juan
its epicenter was at depth of kilometers miles according to the
national institute for earthquake prevention the us geological survey usgs
registered the depth at kilometers
tuesday second tremor stronger magnitude quake occurred kilometers
miles to the north in uninhabited woodland near the village of juan
bautista alberdi along the same andes range
the later quake was at depth of kilometers miles according to the
usgs
on monday san juan was rocked by magnitude temblor at similar depth
just to its north that likewise caused no damage
the quakes were among several to hit south america and the caribbean in recent
days and came one week after massive magnitude earthquake hit haiti
leveling the capital city of port au prince
the number of confirmed deaths from the haiti quake rose to tuesday
argentina lies on faultline and is frequently prey to quakes on sunday
strong magnitude earthquake hit an area in the atlantic ocean off the
southern coast of argentina also without causing damage
the town of san juan has been hit several times in the past the worst being in
when people were killed by magnitude upheaval
haiti facts and figures after the quake
port au prince jan afp
us troops tuesday poured into haiti week after the devastating quake with
officials still trying to estimate the scale of the death and destruction
figures are constantly being modified and updated but here are some of the
latest provided by various organizations and officials
death and destruction
the haitian government said died in the quake while were injured
and million left homeless some officials have spoken of final death toll as
high as
rescue teams were still pulling people from the rubble on monday but hopes were
rapidly fading of finding any more on tuesday seven days after the quake
the international organization of migration has estimated that families
comprising up to one million people need immediate shelter and non food
assistance dozens of tent cities have sprung up
some to percent of buildings in the town of leogane just outside the
capital port au prince near the epicenter of tuesday quake were destroyed
and to percent of buildings in jacmel to the south were leveled
an initial eu assessment found that more than physical structures were
destroyed or damaged in port au prince
nearly two dozen countries said they had nationals dead or missing with un
workers still unaccounted for
rescue teams and deployments
some international search and rescue teams with rescue workers and
dogs were at work had dug more than people from the rubble of collapsed
buildings officials said
the state department said civilian doctors were working in haiti
on the ground some us troops were at work with another stationed
on vessels offshore including marines the us military said marine teams
went ashore in port au prince to protect the us embassy and leogane southwest
of port au prince
the un security council voted unanimously to send extra un troops and
police to haiti which would increase the size of the force to
aid
more than billion dollars have been pledged in aid un data said
canada raised to million us dollars its pledges of aid european union
nations earmarked million euros million dollars in emergency aid and
reconstruction funds and the united states has put up million dollars
thirty us military and coast guard helicopters were delivering aid to haiti
the us military said that it had delivered over bottles of water and
food rations since the quake and us naval ships were producing some
gallons liters of water per day
us military aircraft air dropped some meals and liters of water
to site just outside port au prince on monday the pentagon said
another pounds kilograms of food and water have also delivered by
air to the coastal city of jacmel the military said
three water purification units also were producing water in haiti and four
additional units were due to arrive tuesday
three more emergency field hospitals have been set up and four more are in the
pipeline backing up the five local hospitals that withstood the tremor the
united nations has said
the us hospital ship comfort was on the way and expected to arrive on
wednesday with medical personnel on board
the international organization for migration said it was planning with haitian
authorities to resettle people possibly in an area about kilometers
eight miles northeast of port au prince
logistics
the port au prince airfield was open for operations and was handling
flights day the us military said up from flights on saturday
the port at port au prince is likely to be out of operation for to days
the pentagon has said
the us military said it was to start using two other airports one near the
haitian town of jacmel and one in the dominican republic to fly in supplies
afp
rugbyu rfu keep saracens coach venter waiting
london jan afp
saracens coach brendan venter was left waiting to find out what punishment he
would receive from the rugby football union rfu after disciplinary panel
reserved its judgement until wednesday
the former springbok centre appeared before hearing in london on tuesday
charged with conduct prejudicial to the interests of the game after
criticising referee david rose following saracens english premiership
defeat by leicester at welford road on january
venter is accused of questioning rose integrity by saying the official had
been different referee in the second half
the south african remarks received wide publicity partly because he broadened
his comments to slam the standard of officiating in the premiership in general
which he blamed for lack of tries this season
venter said there is problem and that is the game is determined by referees
and not by teams
some said venter remarks would have had more force if they had not been made
on the back of defeat
but he also won backing for drawing attention to the confusion surrounding what
players can and cannot do at the breakdown area
after the leicester match venter said the penalty count in the first half was
to sarries the penalty count in the second half was to leicester
we asked the referee to keep everything the same in the second half something
happened to this poor referee and there was basically penalty swing
there was one referee in the first half he walked through maze or something
and he came out another referee
this is professional game and this is problem don think referees are
dishonest we just do not have the ability to stay objective
venter has been charged specifically due to comments he made during the course
of bbc radio interview in which he said think the referee was influenced
at half time and that all can think
all know is something happened at half time the game changed
venter faces heavy fine and touchline ban if the charges against him are
upheld
trial starts for pakistani scientist in afghan shooting mystery
new york jan afp
pakistani woman accused of trying to kill us servicemen at an afghan police
station was ordered out of new york courtroom tuesday after denouncing the
start of her trial
during one of several outbursts aafia siddiqui appeared to refer to rumors
that she had been held in secret us prison in afghanistan she was then
ordered to be removed from the courtroom
prosecutors described siddiqui as would be terrorist who in july grabbed
us soldier rifle at the afghan police station where she was being
interrogated and tried to slaughter group of servicemen
the defendant picked up that assault rifle saw agents and soldiers and tried
to kill them assistant us attorney jenna dabbs told federal courtroom
overflowing with journalists and supporters of siddiqui
lawyers for the karachi born us educated defendant said there is no hard proof
that she fired shot
you re not going to have any physical evidence that it the rifle was fired
defense attorney charles swift told jurors
siddiqui who supporters claim was held for years at the us base in bagram
afghanistan repeatedly disrupted proceedings
this is not fair court this is something else she said
told by the judge she had right to leave the courtroom and listen from an
adjacent cell via tv monitor she replied being forced
later she protested if you were in secret prison where your children
were tortured she was eventually escorted from the court
frail looking woman educated at the prestigious mit university in
massachusetts siddiqui featured on us list of people suspected of al
qaeda links she is also said to have married relative of plotter khalid
sheikh mohammed although this is disputed
in addition siddiqui is alleged to have been carrying plans for attacks on the
statue of liberty and other new york landmarks at the time of the incident in
afghanistan
however she has not been charged with terrorism and her trial is focusing on
the attempted murder and assault allegations
the trial has drawn widespread attention because it is the most advanced in
string of current cases being handled by us prosecutors in what is frequently
referred to as the war on terror
several other suspects in alleged bomb plots are working their way through the
system and mohammed the self described mastermind of the september
attacks is also due to be tried in new york
according to prosecutors siddiqui was arrested by afghan police july
in the provincial city of ghazni with notes on her referring to mass casualty
attack and target lists including new york most famous landmarks
the next day while being held in the second floor of the local police building
she allegedly grabbed an assault rifle belonging to one of several us
servicemen and fbi agents who had come to interrogate her
she opened fire missed and was shot by one of the us soldiers using handgun
prosecutors allege
they acknowledge there is little direct physical evidence for example there
are no fingerprints on the rifle dabbs said
however there are multiple witnesses and the one thing those americans will
never forget the moment they were convinced they were going to die dabbs told
the jury
defense lawyers say all that is sure is that siddiqui was shot she was
brought to the united states shortly after the incident nursing fresh bullet
wound in her abdomen
swift cast doubt on whether there would have been time for siddiqui to pick up
the rifle and remove the safety catch maneuver for which soldiers have to
