club for the whole month to play in the africa cup of nations so how are the
west londoners coping without the likes of didier drogba
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the quest for olympic gold four months after giving birth
boulogne billancourt france
with the winter olympics coming up in vancouver hopes are high that reigning
world ice dance champions isabelle delobel and olivier schoenfelder can bring
home medal for france but the duo know they re facing an uphill battle the
games come just four months after isabelle gave birth
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head of rome jews asks opening of archives on wartime pope
rome jan afp
the head of rome jewish community on sunday said historians should have access
to vatican archives on world war ii era pope pius xii accused of inaction
during the holocaust
with utmost respect we hope historians will have access to the vatican
archives concerning this period said riccardo pacifici at the start of visit
to rome main synagogue by pope benedict xvi who sparked an outcry among jews
last month by moving pius xii further along the road to sainthood
to defend the new honour for pius xii the vatican said it concerned the wartime
pope piety and not his historical role
the catholic church has long argued that pius xii who was pope from to
saved many jews who were hidden away in religious institutions and that
his silence was born out of wish to avoid aggravating their situation
billionaire ex president vie in chilean election
santiago jan afp
conservative media magnate and an uncharismatic former leftist president were
locked in tight race sunday for chile presidency in an election to succeed
outgoing head of state michelle bachelet
voter intention surveys suggested billionaire sebastian pinera who owns one of
chile four television stations and big stake of the lan airline had
slight edge over eduardo frei who was previously president from to
but percentage point lead was less than the margin of error leaving
sunday runoff much too close to predict
pinera was forecast to pick up percent of the ballots against
percent to frei far narrower outcome than in the first round of the
election december when pinera emerged with percentage point lead
if pinera does win it would end the year hold on power enjoyed by bachelet
leftwing concertacion coalition which has ruled since the end of general
augusto pinochet dictatorship in
bachelet who cannot stand for another term under chile constitution has
helped turn the tide against pinera by throwing her full weight behind frei
bid
she has been leveraging her sky high popularity earned from well received
social welfare program and by successfully guiding chile recovery through last
year global financial crisis
this is very competitive election bachelet said as she voted in the capital
santiago
whoever wins though she vowed to fulfill her presidential duties
at the appropriate time will call the president elect and tomorrow monday
all the powers of the state will salute the president she said
bachelet had been criticized by pinera in the lead up to sunday poll for
interfering in the race in an unfair way
it abusive what the government has done to use and abuse public money
public institutions and even public employees he charged
as he cast his ballot sunday he declared that change was necessary for chile
it like opening the window to let fresh air in he said change is good
after years we are going to do things much better
frei who is seen as lackluster personality hit back as he voted in the town
of la union far south of santiago
we ve heard lot about change but change for what he asked the rightwing
parties backing pinera also backed pinochet and were part of his dictatorship
for years he said
we are seeing very content frei and an insecure pinera who for the first
time is realizing that he can lose the presidential vote runoff political
scientist bernardo navarrete at the university of santiago told afp
some million people are eligible to vote in chile one of latin america
most prosperous nations
polls were to close at pm gmt with first official results expected
three hours later
football villa miss out after hammers draw
london jan afp
aston villa failed to make the most of slip ups by their champions league rivals
after goalless draw at home to strugglers west ham on sunday
the point at villa park saw martin neill men stay sixth in the english
premier league table two places outside of the champions league spots after
saturday where fourth placed tottenham were held to goalless draw by hull
manchester city lost to everton and liverpool drew with stoke
villa have now not won and not scored in the league since beating stoke on
december
but the draw was boost for west ham lifting the london club out of the
relegation zone
away from home it good result west ham captain matthew upson told sky
sports we re improving we ve had some really tight games against some top
teams
we set out well today the last few months we ve had an improvement hopefully
we can maintain that to the end of the season
elsewhere blackburn rovers moved up two positions into th place with
win at home to fulham
defender chris samba opened the scoring in the th minute after benni
mccarthy corner to the near post had been cleared off the line by damien duff
south africa mccarthy was also involved in rovers second goal after half
time when new zealand defender ryan nelsen headed in his free kick
in sunday late premier league match third placed arsenal are away to bolton
where win for the gunners would leave them just three points behind leaders
chelsea
football scottish football league tables
glasgow jan afp
scottish football league tables after sunday match played won drawn lost
goals for goals against points
first division
dundee
queen of south
partick
ross county
inverness ct
dunfermline
raith
morton
ayr
airdrie utd
second division
cowdenbeath
stirling
alloa
brechin
dumbarton
stenhousemuir
east fife
peterhead
arbroath
clyde
third division
livingston
east stirling
berwick
forfar
albion
queens park
annan athletic
stranraer
elgin
montrose
football scottish football league result
glasgow jan afp
scottish football league result on sunday
first division
dundee dunfermline
played saturday
raith partick
postponed
ayr airdrie utd
morton inverness ct
ross county queen of the south
second division
east fife cowdenbeath
stenhousemuir arbroath
postponed
brechin dumbarton
clyde alloa
stirling peterhead
third division
montrose stranraer
queen park berwick
postponed
albion livingston
elgin annan athletic
forfar east stirling
why coastal oil spills can pollute for decades study
paris jan afp
oil from the exxon valdez tanker spill that devastated alaska prince
william sound still lies trapped beneath its beaches continuing to pollute once
pristine shores scientists reported sunday
as climate change opens the arctic region to oil exploration and shipping the
findings could prove crucial in devising effective methods for cleaning up
future spills the researchers said
up to now experts puzzled over why remnants of the million gallons of crude
that fouled some kilometers miles of alaskan coastline have
persisted for so long
at first it seemed that nature with some help from technology would soon wash
away one of the worst environmental disasters in history
the spill decimated the region wildlife as well as the state fishing
industry
but within decade it became apparent that the rate at which the oil was
disappearing had dramatically slowed from percent per year to about four
percent
today it is estimated that some gallons remain
michael boufadel and hailong li of temple university in philadelphia
pennsylvania wanted to find out why this oil was not been broken down through
biodegradation and weathering as had been widely predicted
collecting field data and running computer simulations they found the key lay
in the fact that affected beaches consisted of two layers each with different
properties
the geographically variable impact of rising and falling water tables also
played critical role
oil was temporarily stored in the porous upper layer slowing the rate at which
it was subject to weathering according to the study published in the journal
nature geoscience
an environment lacking the kind of nutrients needed by oil eating micro
organisms to thrive further protected the fossil fuel
the second layer while composed largely of the same materials was far less
porous on average water moved through the top layer times faster
when the water level from declining tides fell below the interface between the
two layers oil seeped from the upper to the lower stratum especially where
there was little or no freshwater discharge to compensate
once the oil entered the lower layer it became entrapped by capillary forces
and persisted the authors said
because of the even lower oxygen content in the sub stratum the crude was not
degraded and has remained suspended
the study also said that oil tends to linger on gravel beaches more than on
sandy ones pointing to evidence from previous spills the arrow in nova scotia
canada the metula in the strait of magellan chile and the amoco
cadiz along the french coast of brittany
as global warming is melting the ice cover and exposing the arctic to oil
exploration and shipping through sea routes such as the northwest passage the
risk of oil spills on gravel beaches in high latitude regions will be
increased it said
dna sweep finds new genes linked to diabetes
paris jan afp
hundreds of scientists sifting through genetic data from people have
quintupled the number of gene variants known to boost the risk of diabetes
pair of studies released sunday reported
consortium of researchers first isolated gene mutations that help determine
the body ability to regulate blood sugar and insulin levels the key factors
underlying type diabetes
in companion study the same consortium pooling the resources of more than
institutions in europe the united states canada and australia
determined that two of these newly identified variants directly influenced the
risk of diabetes
it also fingered an additional three genetic culprits that had already been
linked to changes in glucose levels
only four gene variants had previously been associated with glucose metabolism
and just one of them was known to affect type diabetes said jose florez
researcher at massachusetts general hospital and co lead author of one of the
studies
finding these new pathways can help us better understand how glucose is
regulated distinguish between normal and pathological glucose variations and
develop potential new therapies he said in statement
one gene in particular known as gipr was found to play prominent role
usually gipr produces protein that is part of the normal hormone response
to eating stimulating the release of insulin to control sugar levels in the
blood
the mutated version however impairs this response resulted in elevated
glucose
diabetes occurs when our bodies fail to produce sufficient insulin or when our
cells fail to recognise and react to the insulin produced resulting in
abnormally high blood sugar levels
the magic meta analysis of glucose and insulin related traits consortium
investigators noted that other genetic factors related to diabetes remain to be
found
we ve still only identified about percent of the genetic contribution to
glucose levels in nondiabetic individuals so we need to investigate the impact
of other possibly more complex or rare forms of gene variation along with the
role of gene environment interaction in causing type diabetes said florez
diabetes is closely linked to lifestyle especially the kinds and quantity of
food we consume
more than million people worldwide are afflicted with the disease which
kills more than one million people every year according to the world health
organization who
as obesity rates increase the number of deaths could double between and
the who has said
both studies were published online in the journal nature genetics
deadly sectarian clashes in nigeria prompt curfew
kano jan afp
sectarian violence that killed at least nine people led authorities in central
nigeria on sunday to impose dusk to dawn curfew on the city of jos officials
and residents said
the government has placed hour curfew from pm to am on the city
following some violence in nassarawa gwom district of the city information
commissioner for plateau state gregory yenlong told afp
residents said nine people had been killed while six people were injured in
clashes between christians and muslims in the city
was at the jos university hospital where saw nine dead bodies and six
people injured with machete cuts on admission resident and local journalist
musa habibu told afp
he said several houses and vehicles were also burnt
can see billows of dark smoke from burning houses in nassarawa gwom he
added
yenlong could not confirm the death toll
can give any casualty details because we are still awaiting comprehensive
report on the violence he said
plateau police spokesman mohammed lerema said the situation had been brought
under control
jos has been hotbed of religious violence in central nigeria
urgent un chief arrives in haiti to tour ruined mission
port au prince jan afp
un chief ban ki moon arrived in haiti sunday and was to tour the ruins of the un
mission in the capital and meet president rene preval
vatican backed jews discreetly during holocaust pope
rome jan afp
the roman catholic church provided often hidden and discreet support for jews
during the holocaust pope benedict xvi said sunday during landmark visit to
rome main synagogue
unforunately many remained indifferent but many reacted with courage the
pope said the holy see too performed actions of support often hidden and
discreet he added
taliban kidnap two chinese engineers four afghans
kunduz afghanistan jan afp
the taliban has kidnapped two chinese engineers and four afghans accompanying
them in the north of the country local official and the taliban said on
sunday
unknown people kidnapped yesterday saturday two chinese engineers along with
their two local drivers and two guards in qaysar district faryab province
said local government spokesman jawaed bidar
taliban spokesman yusuf ahmadi said that our mujahedeen have taken two chinese
engineers their two drivers and their two guards
ahmadi said the taliban islamic court or shura would decide on their fate
foreign quake survivors return home with tales of horror escape
rome jan afp
foreigners who survived the devastating earthquake in haiti have started
trickling back to their homelands with tales of horror and narrow escape and
filled with sadness for those who perished
first group of italian survivors arrived in rome on sunday local media
reported among them an year old man who lived in the impoverished caribbean
nation for years pregnant woman and four families with three children
everything is destroyed our house is damaged and who knows if we will be able
to live there again said octogenarian francesco nocera originally from
naples
had clothes shop but now everything is destroyed and my children advise me
to stay in italy
un volunteer matteo menin told the ansa news agency he was among the who
escaped the collapse of the hotel christopher where the united nations mission
was housed
there were italians working from the third floor to the upper storeys and it
possible that some of them are still in the rubble he said adding that he was
lucky because my office had an exit onto the courtyard as soon as felt the
tremor got out
in the netherlands six dutch citizens and their six adoptive haitian children
arrived by military transport plane in the southern town of eindhoven sunday
after being evacuated from haiti via curacao the dutch foreign ministry said
three more dutch nationals and one adoptive haitian child who was seriously
injured in the quake remain in the venezuelan capital the ministry added
quake survivors stepped on home soil grateful to be alive but many with horrific
memories of the chaos and carnage caused by tuesday magnitude quake
slept among corpses walked on blood said michele marie who was among
the first wave of french nationals to return home to paris on friday
people were crushed even if you find members of your family you don
know because they are so badly disfugured said marie who was on holiday in
haiti when the worst quake in more than century hit
thank god because still alive said jerome wilfried sobbing but
crying for all those who were left behind because it really hard
the haitian government has estimated that as many as people were killed
in the quake the number of foreigners who died is as yet unknown with scattered
reports coming in from various countries
italy says it has confirmed the death of one of its citizens while france says
at least french nationals were killed in the haiti disaster and syria reports
two deaths
both canada and china each report eight of their countrymen killed in the quake
many of the foreigners who died in haiti were working with the un mission to the
poorest country in the western hemisphere
the un mission chief in haiti former tunisian diplomat hedi annabi and his
brazilian deputy luiz carlos da costa and the acting police commissioner doug
coates of the royal canadian mounted police were among the casualties of what
un chief ban ki moon called the most serious humanitarian crisis to face the
world body in decades
three jordanian police officers working with the un perished in the quake along
with brazilian peacekeepers un worker from chad and another from
argentina
confused but happy to be alive said un worker cristina lampieri after
touching down in rome sunday
the earthquake was an awful thing in minute everything changed and the
tremors continued we thought we were on floating platform in our home
the apartment is still standing but it no longer inhabitable and the office
has been destroyed she said
football english premier league results st update
london jan afp
english premier league results on sunday
aston villa west ham
blackburn samba nelsen fulham
bolton arsenal gmt
played saturday
chelsea anelka malouda cole lampard ballack
sunderland zenden bent
everton pienaar saha pen man city
man utd berbatov rooney diouf burnley
stoke huth liverpool kyrgiakos
tottenham hull
wolverhampton wigan mccarthy zogbia
postponed waterlogged pitch
portsmouth birmingham
alert
un chief arrives in devastated port au prince
alert
un chief arrives in devastated port au prince
saddam ban threatens sunni stake in iraq elections
baghdad jan afp
the decision to ban iraqi election candidates accused of links with the baath
party of executed dictator saddam hussein could exclude sunnis from the
political arena and usher in new sectarian tensions
the move also threatens to damage the march ballot by creating campaign
battleground where past quarrels will be exposed rather than healed under much
vaunted but stumbling national reconciliation process analysts told afp
an official blacklist has barred candidates including many under law that
bans baathists from all elections
however members of the committee of integrity and accountability whose job is
to vet applicants and purge unsuitable contenders are themselves facing charges
of illegitimacy as they have not been approved by parliament
the ban proves that the reconciliation process almost seven years after
saddam ouster is in trouble said joost hiltermann an iraq specialist and
conflict studies analyst with the international crisis group think tank
it might well torpedo iraq hopes to have relatively free fair and inclusive
elections he said
it shows that political groups are far from accommodating one another let
alone reconciling if this decision is not reversed we might well be facing
new and dangerous escalation of violence he added
the general election is the second such vote since the us led invasion that
toppled saddam but provoked an insurgency that saw tens of thousands die in
sectarian bloodshed in and
defence minister abdel qader jassem al obeidi and prominent sunni lawmaker saleh
al mutlak persistent critic of the government are among those who have been
stopped from taking part
the decision to exclude mutlak and others means iraq is getting dangerously
close to repeat of the heated sectarian political atmosphere seen in the
december elections said reidar visser noted iraq analyst
much needed debate on how best to improve the war torn country prospects
such as repairing its crumbling infrastructure and making best use of likely
surge in oil revenues is also being overshadowed
it means iraqis will be looking to the past focusing on settling scores
instead of facing the future and the many specific issues that need to be
solved added visser who runs the iraq focused website www historiae org
the committee itself hit out on sunday and in statement criticised the united
nation senior representative in iraq urging him to stop interfering saying
it disapproved of his request that the blacklist be shredded
sunnis largely boycotted iraq inaugural post saddam parliamentary election in
the decision cleared the way for dominant shiite government to take
power which exacerbated sunni disenfranchisement and deepened the insurgency
that later took the country to the brink of civil war
baath party membership was key condition for obtaining job and gaining
promotion in public sector employment during saddam regime
controversial process of de baathification was adopted by washington diplomat
paul bremer head of the coalition provisional authority following the invasion
which saw thousands of saddam era employees lose their jobs
according to organisers around candidates from parties comprising
coalitions as well as independents have registered to compete in the march
election
the vote is seen as crucial to consolidating iraq democracy and smoothing the
path for complete us military exit by the end of as planned
michael hanlon national security and defence policy expert and senior
author of the iraq afghanistan and pakistan index projects at the brookings
institute in washington said the ban was setback
very very worried about this the lack of transparency the quality of the
decisions the huge number of people affected all bode quite badly he said
khalaf al alayane sunni mp meanwhile insisted the blacklist was illegal
because the committee has not been approved by parliament
those decisions will affect the national reconciliation process and the
national interest especially after all this time and being able to pass many
obstacles he said alluding to past sectarian violence between sunnis and
shiites
urgent taliban kidnap two chinese engineers four afghans
kunduz afghanistan jan afp
the taliban has kidnapped two chinese engineers and four afghans accompanying
them in the north of the country local official and the taliban said on
sunday
alert
two chinese engineers kidnapped in afghanistan taliban
curfew imposed after deadly sectarian clashes in nigeria
kano jan afp
sectarian violence that killed at least nine people led authorities in central
nigeria on sunday to impose dusk to dawn curfew on the city of jos officials
and residents said
the government has placed hour curfew from pm to am on the city
following some violence in nassarawa gwom district of the city state
information commissioner gregory yenlong told afp
residents said nine people had been killed while six people were injured in
clashes between christian and muslims in the city
toll of up to feared in haiti us general
washington jan afp
the international community fears the death toll from the earthquake in haiti
could be as high as the us general running the military relief effort
indicated sunday cautioning that no one could know for sure
we are going to have to be prepared for the worst lieutenant general ken
keen deputy commander of us southern command said when asked by abc news
whether to people may have died in the disaster
he called those figures start point but cautioned that it too early to
tell exactly what the casualty count will be
previous toll estimates from the haitian government and aid agencies after
tuesday magnitude quake that flattened the capital port au prince and
other towns in western haiti have ranged between and
urgent vatican backed jews discreetly during holocaust pope
rome jan afp
the roman catholic church provided often hidden and discreet support for jews
during the holocaust pope benedict xvi said sunday during landmark visit to
rome main synagogue
football gabon tunisia at half time
lubango angola jan afp
gabon and tunisia were drawing at half time in africa cup of nations group
match here on sunday
urgent curfew imposed after deadly sectarian clashes in nigeria
kano jan afp
sectarian violence that killed at least nine people led authorities in central
nigeria on sunday to impose dusk to dawn curfew on the city of jos officials
and residents said
abu joa mjs
rugby union european cup results
paris jan afp
