borussia dortmund striker mohamed zidan soon breaks his scoring duck to make
them an even tougher preposition for any other team
weather could well prove factor in this clash because it is hot and humid
in benguela where the pharaohs have played all their matches thus far while
cameroon have been based in lubango which has been cold and wet as result of
frequent heavy downpour
the tension between the two teams heightened saturday evening when
cameroonian officials away egyptian journalists covering the tournament from
their training in benguela on the grounds that egypt had done same to
cameroonian journalists
sam cw
football ferguson tells fans to forget finances and relish rooney
manchester england jan afp
sir alex ferguson has pleaded with manchester united supporters to put their
dissatisfaction with the club owners behind them and back his team as they
attempt to retain their premier league title
before saturday victory over hull which featured an astonishing four goal
performance from wayne rooney ferguson used his programme notes to appeal for
united increasingly militant fans to cease their campaign against the glazer
family
the family of manchester united is under pressure as result of all the issues
and controversies surrounding the ownership and financial situation of our
club wrote ferguson some of our fans are clearly unhappy with the financial
position but we mustn allow the situation to become divisive
could see our opponents rubbing their hands with glee at the thought of
watching us fall out among ourselves if we don all think carefully about what
we are doing
during the victory over hull which took united to the top of the table for the
first time in over three months supporters sporadically broke into chants
against the glazers although ferguson insisted that was no problem for his
players
don think it was dissenting against them at all and don think it
affected the players he said
instead ferguson focused upon rooney performance which took his season
tally to goals three short of his personal best
wayne goals were without doubt the highlight said ferguson
it the first time he has scored four for us and the first time united
player has scored four since ole gunnar solskjaer some years ago
that was pleasing he in great goal scoring form at the moment think he ll
better sure of that he in great goalscoring form and that an
encouragement for wayne he ll want to develop himself as scorer and today
there were some terrific finishes
ferguson was also content with the return of england defender rio ferdinand for
the first time since october
he said thought apart from spell with minutes to go that the back
four looked very comfortable rio presence composure and balance stands out
united now stand top of the premier league for the first time in over three
months the sort of position ferguson insisted he wanted to be in at the start
of the year
goal difference could be important and it significant being top at this time
of the season he added know opponents have games in hand but they have got
to win those games we re in the right place it better being top in january
than anywhere else
opposite number phil brown joined in the praise for rooney astonishing
efforts
when you ve got the quality of wayne rooney playing against you you don feel
hard done by with that scoreline he said half chances came along we didn
take them and he did
just because of his work rate his application he puts defenders under
constant pressure and forces them to make mistakes
that was the difference between the two teams and we didn have the collective
mentality and belief we had last week at spurs
would have to say wayne is the best in europe right now having witnessed
what have just witnessed it certainly bodes well for england this summer
brown will now concentrate on crucial home fixture with wolves next weekend
and added am confident we can get out of trouble and we now have full week
to prepare for team we are capable of beating
british expert lawyers to declare iraq war illegal reports
london jan afp
two former government lawyers involved in the preparations for britain
invasion of iraq will testify at public inquiry this week that the march
conflict was illegal reports said sunday
their evidence will kick start what was already expected to be an explosive few
days at the chilcot inquiry into the war thanks to the appearance friday of
former prime minister tony blair who led britain into the conflict
michael wood the top legal advisor to the foreign office at the time and his
then deputy elizabeth wilmshurst who quit her job in protest at the invasion
are both due to give evidence tuesday
according to the independent on sunday wilmshurst will reveal infighting
between officials and ministers over the legality of deposing iraqi leader
saddam hussein without explicit united nations support
she will say she was far from alone in having doubts about the case and say her
boss wood clearly advised that the war was illegal under international law
the paper said he did not make this view public at the time
report in the observer weekly confirmed that wood was planning to tell the
inquiry that the war was illegal because of the absence of second resolution
from the un security council explicitly authorising the use of force in iraq
britain top legal advisor at the time attorney general lord peter goldsmith
gave the green light for military action under un resolution passed in
november but critics claim he was pressured into it
goldsmith is due to give evidence to the chilcot inquiry on wednesday
football little looking for gers chance
glasgow jan afp
striker andrew little hopes he can force his way into walter smith first team
plans after coming off the bench to rescue point for rangers in draw
with hearts at ibrox
the northern irish international replaced kirk broadfoot with minutes
remaining and popped up in stoppage to stab home the equaliser and keep rangers
ten month unbeaten league record at home intact
teenager scott robinson had given hearts the lead in the th minute just
seconds after christian nade saw red for his second bookable offence
spirited performance from the jambos defence looked to have sealed the win
before little struck his first club for the club it was only the striker
fifth appearance of the season since he made his debut against celtic in
october
the ibrox side options up front are limited with injuries to kris boyd kenny
miller nacho novo and steven naismith
and little who was delighted to get off the mark for the old firm side said
the injury crisis and the current financial problems surrounding the club could
present him and fellow youngsters with chance to grab starting role
the squad at the minute is very thin and it works in favour for me as
hopefully ll get few more chances little said really enjoy getting my
few bits and pieces on the pitch recently so on personal level hopefully can
get more and more game time but for the sake of the team we want all of those
boys back as soon as possible really
the financial situation is not ideal but it certainly good for the young boys
coming through with few of us getting bit more of chance it motivates
them and pushes them on bit
trying to be as confident as can and when get to play up front
looking to score goals it wasn as if it was anything special it broken to
me and if have missed it then it would ve been bad miss
it up to me really that when do get my or minutes here or there that
try to make an impact and suppose scoring goal is good way to do that
first and foremost want to push on and become first team regular
the point takes rangers ten points clear at the top of the scottish premier
league although rivals celtic have two games in hand starting with their match
against st johnstone on sunday
but little said his team mates were disappointed not to get the win and open
point advantage to pile the pressure on their old firm rivals
that was the aim we knew today was going to be hard hearts were always going
to come her and make it difficult for us and unfortunately we didn create as
many chances as we might have liked in the second half the striker added
but there long way to go and every game is just as big as every other game
so hopefully we can get good run like we did in december and push on
rangers coach smith refused to use the injury crisis at ibrox as an excuse for
the dropped points against hearts and praised the youngsters who were asked to
fill in
injuries happen to all the teams throughout the season and you have to cope
with that smith said the difficulty that all the teams have and we re
having at the present moment is that you have to pitch people in who haven
been playing on regular basis and they re not always up to full match
sharpness
it is an awkward situation for the younger boys coming in to handle this for
the simple reason they haven played lot of games throughout the season
rangers face st mirren away on wednesday before taking on falkirk at ibrox on
saturday and smith hopes to have damarcus beasley and steven naismith along with
pedro mendes available for the match
football van gaal delight as bayern go top
berlin jan afp
bayern munich had wonder strike from dutch star arjen robben to thank for
their win at werder bremen which put them top of the bundesliga and left
coach louis van gaal delighted
an eighth consecutive win in all competitions and their sixth in the
bundesliga has put bayern top of the league with single point advantage over
second placed leverkusen who take on hoffenheim on sunday
goals by rising star thomas mueller and croatia striker ivica olic put bayern in
control before robben unleashed direct free kick from metres out which left
bremen goalkeeper tim wiese with no chance of saving
very happy coach said van gaal as his side win left bremen sixth in
the league
werder bremen are team who take risks and we took advantage of that on this
occasion
was pleased we were so keen to attack but unfortunately we failed to make
the most of our chances
it unbelievable we only won we should have won by lot more
we played well but missed far too many chances which is shame
it meant the bench was stressful place right to the end
but it never easy against werder bremen
and dutch winger robben who celebrated his th birthday with the winning goal
his fifth of the season said he could have over taken leverkusen steffan
kiessling as the league top scorer had he taken all his chances
we heading in the right direction and playing good football said robbem
we might have scored ten we had so many chances but didn make the most of
them myself included
could even have overtaken kiessling who has scored goals sometimes the
easy ones just won go in and the difficult ones do
golf bob hope classic scores
la quinta california jan afp
leading scores here on saturday in the third round of the bob hope classic usa
unless noted
alex prugh
bubba watson martin flores
joe ogilvie
tim clark rsa chad collins bill haas
mike weir can
hayes steve elkington aus dj trahan
kevin na ryan moore george mcneill
richard johnson swe
fredrik jacobson swe matt jones aus john senden
aus carl pettersson swe
justin rose gbr ryuji imada jpn
rod pampling aus graham delaet can brendon de
jonge zim greg chalmers aus
brenden pappas rsa henrik bjornstad nor
greg owen gbr michael sim aus
cameron percy aus jesper parnevik swe
brian davis gbr james nitties aus
alex cejka ger garth mulroy rsa
mathew goggin aus
martin laird gbr
daniel chopra swe
david lutterus aus
chris baryla can
obama offers support for bipartisan finance task force
washington jan afp
us president barack obama offered support saturday for the creation of
bipartisan fiscal task force intended to tackle the burgeoning us deficit
legislation mandating the taskforce was introduced last december by democratic
senator kent conrad and republican senator judd gregg it is due to be voted on
this tuesday
in statement obama acknowledged the massive us deficit but said debt
problems won be solved overnight
the only way to solve our long term fiscal challenge is to solve it together
democrats and republicans he added
that why strongly support legislation currently under consideration to
create bipartisan fiscal commission to come up with set of solutions to
tackle our nation fiscal challenges and call on senators from both parties
to vote for the creation of statutory bipartisan fiscal commission
the bill would establish an member task force of ten democrats and eight
republicans with bipartisan co chairs
it would review all aspects of the current and long term financial condition of
the federal government according to statement from conrad in december
survived on coca cola man stuck days in haiti rubble
port au prince jan afp
year old haitian man rescued on saturday after spending days buried in
the ruins of grocer shop survived on snacks and coca cola he told afp in
hospital interview
feel good said year old wismond exantus after he became the latest
haitian victim of last week earthquake to be pulled from the rubble by
international search and rescue teams
survived by drinking coca cola drank coca cola every day and ate some
little tiny things he explained in creole after having spent week and
half stuck in his place of work the napolitain grocery
felt the tremor and then lost consciousness and when woke up called
out gerald gerald he said referring to co worker
he found himself caught in small pocket in the rubble able to move slightly
to the left and right and to bang on objects to try to attract the attention
of passers by but unable to free himself
didn shout just prayed he said at french field hospital in port au
prince after french american and greek search and rescue teams removed him from
the debris on stretcher
his body is thin but not emaciated his voice weak but not faltering as he
insists there are six more people alive in the building that was his temporary
tomb although rescue workers said they could detect no other signs of life
medics say he is in remarkably good shape given his ordeal and the survivor
thanks god for his rescue as doctors encourage him to sleep
exantus brother jean pierre jeanelie told afp that he had feared for him but
had been unable to approach the ruined shop which lies in an unruly
neighborhood plagued by looters because of the police
helped other people after the quake helped get them out of the rubble but
couldn get to the shop because the police blocked people from going there
he complained
was losing hope but not completely then last night had dream about my
brother and when people told me there was noise coming from the shop couldn
believe it
jeanelie says he lost five family members in the quake that killed over
others their family home was destroyed leaving them to join hundreds of
thousands of others sleeping on the street
we lost everything all our money but people help and give us things he
said
earlier french firefighters who had eventually pulled exantus from the rubble
confirmed that they had not been able to give his neighborhood the attention
they wanted because of the security situation
tear gas and shots fired at haiti aid delivery
port au prince jan afp
un troops fired warning shots and sprayed tear gas on haitian quake survivors
saturday after food delivery to hundreds of them spiraled out of control in
the capital saturday
the distribution of food soybean oil water and radios at former military
airfield began calmly with two long lines of people waiting patiently across
the field an afp photographer saw
brazilian troops missed small early scuffles for aid by many who had seen no
help since the massive january earthquake reduced their homes to rubble and
were eventually forced to resort to tear gas and firing into the air
nevertheless as order broke down and crowds poured out of the lines the
peacekeepers finally abandoned pile of radios and other aid for people to
fight over as they stood by
it was unclear if the delivery by the world food programme and the united
nations stabilization mission in haiti minustah was finally completed
the un security council voted unanimously tuesday to send extra un troops
and police to quake hit haiti to help maintain order and protect humanitarian
convoys
the un mission in haiti deployed in the impoverished nation since mid
currently has roughly troops police and about civilian
personnel
haiti quake toll grows steadily
port au prince jan afp
the death toll from the devastating quake in haiti rose saturday to
according to new official figures
the figure continued to rise from the deaths confirmed by the interior
ministry friday
there is catastrophic damage the ministry said in statement adding
people were injured and one million had been left homeless
it added that most homes had been destroyed in the capital port au prince as
well as the towns of jacmel and leogane to the southwest
at least private hospitals as well as schools banks industry and commerce
have all been badly affected the statement added
haitian man rescued from rubble after days
port au prince jan afp
rescuers pulled man alive from the rubble on saturday days after haiti
devastating earthquake raising hopes of finding more survivors even after the
government called off search efforts
wismond exantus said he survived his ordeal in the ruins of the grocer
shop where he worked by drinking coca cola and eating snacks rare tale of
hope from disaster that has claimed more than lives
his rescue came as thousands of survivors wept outside the capital shattered
cathedral for the funeral of the archbishop of port au prince in moving
ceremony that symbolized the deep mourning of the caribbean nation
feel good exantus told afp in creole from his hospital bed after french
american and greek search and rescue teams removed him from the debris on
stretcher
survived by drinking coca cola drank coca cola every day and ate some
little tiny things he said
exantus brother said he had been unable to approach the shop in dangerous
area plagued by looters because of the police his family eventually alerted
greek rescue team to his cries deep under the remains of the shop
we can say it really miracle and we can hope that it not the last said
french rescue team commander lieutenant colonel christophe renou
the united nations announced just hours earlier that haiti government had on
friday declared an end to search and rescue efforts so aid workers could focus
on getting supplies to the estimated people left homeless by the quake
but more than international rescue teams ignored the declaration and
continued to search for signs of life having already saved people across
the razed city since the january disaster
the most recent were an year old woman and year old man who were pulled
out on friday both are recovering in hospital
but the tragic aftermath of the quake was on display at the funeral mass for
popular archbishop joseph serge miot in front of the city destroyed roman
catholic cathedral
he died when his office adjoining the cathedral collapsed in the magnitude
quake
president rene preval led crowd of several thousand who wept and sang songs
as the year old churchman body lay in an open casket wearing his ceremonial
miter with visible injuries to his face
the creator wants us to take part in the creation of new country new
haiti new world joseph lafontant the auxiliary bishop who led the service
several thousand people also took part in group prayers on the champ de mars
near the wrecked presidential palace led by energetic evangelists
all the bad spirits in the presidential palace must disappear shouted one
preacher participants prayed shouted and waved their hands toward the palace
the confirmed death toll had risen to by saturday an official
government tally said
aid workers increased the pace of deliveries to those living in squalid
conditions beneath tents or in makeshift camps across the capital
the un world food program said it had distributed two million meals on friday
up from million on thursday total of health facilities were now
running across the city the world health organization said
us marine unit had arrived off the coast of haiti saturday to bolster its aid
contingent the us military said total of us military personnel are
due to be in haiti or on ships offshore by sunday
normal life was also returning to some parts of the capital with some shops and
street vendors back in business traffic flowing and people lining up to wait
for private banks to reopen at last
but elsewhere some pillaging continued in the main shopping street of port au
prince and convoy of food aid being distributed by an unnamed ngo without un
escort was looted in the south of the capital friday
meanwhile huge relocation of survivors out of the capital continued
more than people have taken advantage of the government offer of free
transport to other cities where it is setting up new tent camps the un said an
unknown number of other people had left the capital by private means
hollywood heartthrob george clooney meanwhile led galaxy of stars friday in
telethon fundraiser for quake victims broadcast across every major us television
network
world powers will discuss plans to rebuild the country at major donor
conference on monday in montreal
teams rescue haiti man from rubble days after quake
port au prince jan afp
stubborn international teams ignored the official end of their search and rescue
mission in haiti on saturday and managed to save young earthquake victim
trapped under rubble for days
the foreign rescue teams combing the ruins of port au prince had already
saved trapped people since the january quake but on friday the haiti
government said the focus would now switch to recovery operation
nevertheless when relatives alerted small greek team to wismond exantus
cries deep under the remains of demolished grocer shop french and american
firefighters swung into action and managed to cut him out alive
feel good year old exantus told afp in an interview given after his
rescue as he was being treated in french field hospital
survived by drinking coca cola drank coca cola every day and ate some
little tiny things he explained after having spent week and half stuck in
his place of work the napolitain grocery
after the quake he found himself caught in small pocket in the rubble able to
move slightly to the left and right and to bang on objects to try to attract
the attention of passers by but unable to free himself
didn shout just prayed he said speaking in creole
massive cheer went up from the massed ranks of the world media drawn to
what may sadly be the last of series of miraculous rescues in the otherwise
grim scene left behind by the devastating earthquake
officially the end of the rescue mission was yesterday but because
firefighters are stubborn people they came when they were called said
beaming didier le bret france ambassador to port au prince
what happened is extraordinary he resisted for days which is particularly
incredible he said as the original greek team fell into each other arms
smiling but overwhelmed by the emotion of the moment
exantus looked surprisingly well for someone who had undergone such an ordeal
stuck under crumpled heap of concrete slabs and the remains of wooden store
for week and half
he was able to talk to his rescuers through an air hole cut prior to his rescue
and said he believed six others were buried with him after the rescue the team
started using radar to check this but no sounds were heard
exantus was able to squeeze his brother hand in the ambulance and was still
conscious and looking about when he was taken to field hospital in the leafy
grounds of port au prince french high school
we can say it really miracle and we can hope that it not the last said
lieutenant colonel christophe renou from french firefighting team
he was in quite large space where he could move bit inside and he found
little bit of water to help him keep going he said
the building was also made of wood in the shade of two larger concrete ones he
added offering some protection from the tropical heat
exantus brother jean pierre jeaneli told afp that he had feared for him but
had been unable to approach the collapsed shop which lies in an unruly
neighborhood plagued by looters because of curfew
helped other people after the quake helped get them out of the rubble but
couldn get to the shop because the police blocked people from going there
he complained
even as the rescuers carried out their work protected by cordon of armed
french gendarmes boisterous gang was ransacking nearby ruin and making off
with stock of new and still boxed electric desk fans
renou said that after friday order to stand down they had stopped doing
general radar sweep of downed buildings but that they would have rescuers on
standby until mid february in case more survivors were found
the daily victories of the international rescue teams have provided story of
hope alongside the bitter aftermath of the magnitude quake which killed
more than people and left hundreds of thousands homeless
afp
afp world news service no unauthorized reproduction
obama aide seeks greater pakistan action
washington jan afp
president barack obama national security adviser on monday called for pakistan
to see greater urgency in the fight against extremism and pledged that
washington was committed for the long haul
retired general james jones said that the role of pakistan was critical for the
future of the region where the united states is pouring thousands more troops
into afghanistan to fight al qaeda and taliban extremists
it is beyond question that the speed with which we re able to achieve our goals
in afghanistan has relationship to the willingness of pakistan to take on the
fact that safe havens exist in the border region jones said at the center for
american progress think tank
jones said the obama administration would make sure we do everything we can
to convince them of the urgency of the moment not just for afghanistan but
for pakistan and the region itself
us officials have long been concerned that elements in the pakistani
establishment support extremists despite the nation offensives against
taliban strongholds in border areas
jones paid quiet visit to islamabad in november in which he was widely
reported to be disappointed about pakistani leaders commitment to targeting al
qaeda extremists on their soil
but jones said that the united states understood pakistani concerns and sought
longer term relationship pointing to giant new us aid package aimed at
boosting infrastructure and democratic institutions
we are entering new strategic relationship jones said in which the united
states is not just interested in short term relationship but long term
relationship that will affect beneficially the future of pakistan as democracy
in areas far beyond security
during visit to islamabad last week defense secretary robert gates promised
to rebuild trust with pakistan and said the united states had committed
grave mistake by scaling back ties with pakistan after both countries worked
to drive the soviets out of afghanistan in the
us officials have urged pakistan to expand its offensive against militants to
north waziristan stronghold for al qaeda and the haqqani network known for
attacking us and nato troops in afghanistan
but pakistan has chosen not to target so called afghan taliban or some other
groups so far and analysts say islamabad has retained ties to some islamist
militants as hedge to protect its influence in neighboring afghanistan
the pakistan military said last week no new operations would be launched until
the current push into south waziristan was complete which would take between
six months to year
senior us military officer meanwhile said pakistan at the moment had to
focus on holding areas where militants had been pushed out and restoring
islamabad authority
he said pakistani officials were trying to point out how much they have
taken on in the past eight nine months since the swat operation started
the military officer who spoke on condition of anonymity told reporters
the key right now is to hold those areas that they have cleared to rebuild
damaged infrastructure reestablish basic services in northwest frontier
province in particular to get the writ of governance back in there the
officer said
on friday pakistani officials said attack helicopters pounded suspected
militant hideout in north waziristan
the us military officer confirmed islamabad operations on the outskirts of
north waziristan main town miranshah saying cobra attack helicopters were
employed against the pakistani taliban the tehreek taliban pakistan ttp
these operations were targeting individuals and leaders from ttp who
apparently eluded the offensive in south waziristan he said
haiti pm begs for quake aid as looting spreads
port au prince jan afp
haiti premier begged foreign donors monday to back the reconstruction of his
quake hit country as fresh looting and chaotic food hand outs underscored the
grim conditions facing survivors
nearly two weeks after the disaster which killed around people and left
million homeless international powers meeting in montreal heard that it would
take at least decade to rebuild the stricken caribbean nation
haitian police shot two people in the head as scavengers plundered the debris in
the ruined heart of port au prince while thousands more people joined mass
exodus from squalid tent camps in the capital
the country is ravaged ask myself how it can be rebuilt after this
catastrophe the haitian government is very corrupt said gesnel faustin
living in tent outside haiti destroyed presidential palace
in montreal haitian prime minister jean max bellerive said the world must map
out long term strategy for the americas poorest country after meeting
