african football had been fired on like dogs
the assailants were hooded and armed to the teeth we stayed under the seats
for minutes it was horrible he told afp
two english premiership players manchester city striker emmanuel adebayor and
aston villa midfielder moustapha salifou emerged unharmed from the attack
their clubs said
angola government denounced the attack by the separatist front for the
liberation of the enclave of cabinda flec and in statement reiterated its
total commitment to guaranteeing everyone security
flec embroiled in decades long separatist struggle said the team military
escorts were the intended target saying one person had been killed and three
seriously injured
this operation is only the start of series of targeted actions that will
continue in all the territory of cabinda it said in statement on portugal
lusa news agency
flec signed peace deal with angola government in but in recent months
has claimed spate of attacks on the military and foreign oil and construction
workers in the province which is physically separated from the rest of the
country by strip of the democratic republic of congo
our great concern is for the players but the championship goes ahead said
souleymane habuba spokesman for the confederation of african football
he said the group vice president had set off for cabinda to find out first
hand what had occurred but questioned why togo had elected to travel by road
caf regulations are clear teams are required to fly rather than travel by
bus he said
member of the local organising committee virgilio santos said all teams were
requested to provide their travel plans
togo was the only team that did not respond and did not notify us they were
coming by road he told afp
togo one of africa top sides and who appeared in the last world cup in
germany were scheduled to start their campaign against ghana on monday in
cabinda
despite long running security concerns oil rich cabinda is to host seven
nations cup matches this month
angola urged against crackdown after togo team shooting
johannesburg jan afp
angola should not use the deadly shooting attack on togo football team to
crack down on media or make unjustified arrests in its restive cabinda province
human rights watch said saturday
one person was killed and nine injured when separatist rebels shot at the team
buses as they headed to cabinda for their first match in the african nations
cup the continent top football event
the apparent rebel attack against convoy of international athletes is
shocking said georgette gagnon africa director at human rights watch
angolan authorities are entitled to step up security in response to this
attack but this does not justify illegal arrests or crackdowns on the media as
it has done in cabinda in the past
human rights watch has documented at least illegal arrests over the last two
years in the tiny province that produces more than half of the oil that has
fuelled angola recent economic boom
most were held incommunicado and suffered torture or other inhumane treatment in
military custody it said
ahead of the tournament angola arrested two journalists who were reporting on
security in the province ahead of the tournament the group said
the rebel front for the liberation of the enclave of cabinda flec signed
peace deal in but sporadic attacks continue against the military as well
as foreign oil and construction workers
flec has claimed responsibility for friday shooting and has threatened to
stage more attacks during the tournament
football chiefs probe togo team shooting
luanda jan afp
togo football team would decide saturday whether to pull out of the african
nations cup after hooded gunmen ambushed their vehicle killing the driver and
leaving nine wounded the squad captain said
african football officials were also due in northern angola to review security
and probe the circumstances surrounding the deadly attack
adebayor the togo team captain said that he would convene meeting at which
the squad would discuss whether or not to stay for the tournament
think lot of players want to leave he told bbc radio five live in
britain
they have seen one of their team mates have bullet in his body who is
crying who is losing consciousness and everything said adebayor who was
shown on angolan television looking dazed and in tears shortly after the attack
if the security is not sure then we will be leaving tomorrow don think
they will be ready to give their life
two players were among the injured when gunmen fired at the team vehicles
after they crossed into angola restive cabinda province from congo brazzaville
on friday according to togo official
organisers who have pledged that the tournament will go ahead said
delegation would be in cabinda on saturday morning while angola prime minister
paulo kassoma was set to meet the confederation of african football president
issa haytou
the meeting would take decisions to guarantee the smooth running of the
competition the body said friday
togo squad member thomas dossevi said the team one of the strongest in
african football had been fired on like dogs
the assailants were hooded and armed to the teeth we stayed under the seats
for minutes it was horrible he told afp
two english premiership players manchester city striker emmanuel adebayor and
aston villa midfielder moustapha salifou emerged unharmed from the attack
their clubs said
angola government denounced the attack by the separatist front for the
liberation of the enclave of cabinda flec and in statement reiterated its
total commitment to guaranteeing everyone security
flec embroiled in decades long separatist struggle said the team military
escorts were the intended target saying one person had been killed and three
seriously injured
this operation is only the start of series of targeted actions that will
continue in all the territory of cabinda it said in statement on portugal
lusa news agency
flec signed peace deal with angola government in but in recent months
has claimed spate of attacks on the military and foreign oil and construction
workers in the province which is physically separated from the rest of the
country by strip of the democratic republic of congo
our great concern is for the players but the championship goes ahead said
souleymane habuba spokesman for the confederation of african football
he said the group vice president had set off for cabinda to find out first
hand what had occurred but questioned why togo had elected to travel by road
caf regulations are clear teams are required to fly rather than travel by
bus he said
member of the local organising committee virgilio santos said all teams were
requested to provide their travel plans
togo was the only team that did not respond and did not notify us they were
coming by road he told afp
togo one of africa top sides and who appeared in the last world cup in
germany were scheduled to start their campaign against ghana on monday in
cabinda
despite long running security concerns oil rich cabinda is to host seven
nations cup matches this month
tennis hopman cup results
perth australia jan afp
results from hopman cup tennis tournament at perth burswood dome on saturday
final
spain bt great britain
women singles laura robson gbr bt maria jose martinez sanchez esp
men singles tommy robredo esp bt andy murray gbr
mixed doubles maria jose martinez sanchez tommy robredo esp bt laura
robson andy murray gbr
powerful quake strikes solomon islands
honiara jan afp
strong magnitude earthquake struck near the solomon islands in the
western pacific on saturday seismologists said but there was no immediate
tsunami warning or reports of damage
the us geological survey said the quake was measured at depth of about
kilometres miles and struck kilometres southeast of the town of gizo at
pm gmt
two aftershocks one of magnitude the other followed about two hours
later
like much of the pacific the solomons regularly experiences earthquakes
string of earthquakes rocked the western solomon islands late tuesday and
early wednesday with the largest recorded at magnitude followed by five
aftershocks
the tremors followed series of quakes on monday with the largest one of
causing tsunami estimated at eight feet nearly metres
around people almost third of the population are believed to have
been left homeless on rendova island due to earthquake and tsunami damage
in april an magnitude earthquake in the western solomons triggered
tsunami that killed more than people and displaced thousands gizo harbour
lost most of it wharves and jetties in the quake and subsequent tsunami
in september last year devastating tsunami swept along coasts in the pacific
islands of samoa and tonga killing people and wiping out entire villages
villages and resorts in samoa american samoa and northern tonga were flattened
by the giant waves generated by the massive earthquake the strongest in
nearly century
huge procession prays for disaster free philippines police
manila jan afp
hundreds of thousands of people prayed for relief from natural disasters
saturday in barefoot religious procession across the capital of the mainly
roman catholic philippines
the annual festival centres on black icon of cross bearing jesus christ
which many filipinos believe can perform miracles to cure the sick drive away
bad luck and bring prosperity
however the parade turned into disaster for at least one participant who was
crushed to death by the crowd staff at state run manila hospital told afp
they look like giant waves senior inspector oscar holguera head of manila
mobile police division said of the sea of humanity swarming around the carriage
being pulled by bare foot devotees holding lengths of stout rope
the devotees wore scarlet shirts and hurled white handkerchiefs and towels at
an ebony hued wooden statue of the black nazarene which volunteers touched
the figure cheeks with before throwing back the cloths to the crowd
police said the parade was expected to reach its final destination the quiapo
church in central manila early evening
there are lot more participants today than last year holguera told afp
estimating the size of the crowd at several hundred thousand people
many people are turning to religion after year of disasters he added
tropical storms floods landslides and maritime disasters killed nearly
people across the philippines in year in which an election linked
massacre claimed lives and volcano also erupted
more than percent of filipinos are catholic and holguera estimated that at
least two million people in this city of more than million had joined or
watched the procession
the life sized sculpture of jesus bearing cross is said to have been carved in
mexico and brought to the philippines by augustinian missionaries in the early
th century during spain galleon trade
filipinos identify with the image because of the trials they undergo year after
year said manila parish priest aris sison
praying for good health and good luck said year old ricardo palacio
manila porter who said his wife left him and their four children several years
ago
he cured my illness and enabled me to walk again said year old grandmother
maria medalla who told afp she left her home near the erupting mayon volcano
southeast of manila last week so she could join this year procession
the local branch of the red cross said it had treated participants by mid
afternoon mostly for symptoms of high blood pressure and one with head
injury
the city government said it deployed more than thousand policemen to maintain
order and redirect traffic
rockets hit us consulate site in west afghanistan officials
kabul jan afp
rockets fired at building that will house the us consulate in the western
afghan city of herat damaged two floors but caused no casualties an afghan
official said sunday
the us embassy in kabul confirmed an incident at the consulate site but could
not immediately provide any details
three rockets were fired at the us consulate two hit the third and fourth
floors another missed the compound completely said akramuddin yawar police
chief for the country western zone
no one was injured he said adding the incident happened at pm gmt
friday
the building formerly five star hotel was acquired by the us government to
be re opened as consulate once renovations are completed
the united states is set to deploy another troops to afghanistan to fight
the taliban led insurgency with nato partners set to add over the course
of this year together the us and nato already have troops in the
country
tandem civilian surge is also underway as washington brings in experts as
part of new war strategy shifting from battlefield focus to development and
aid
us government employees based in afghanistan are set to triple in number over
coming months to more than officials say with many to be based in
provincial cities such as herat as well as on military bases across the country
china got taiwan firm to sell nuke parts to iran report
taipei jan afp
taiwanese firm allegedly sold equipment that can be used to make nuclear
weapons to iran under request from china taipei based magazine said
the firm received an online order from china last year to buy pressure
transducers on behalf of an iranian oil company for pipeline construction next
magazine reported this week
the firm later shipped pressure transducers it had acquired from swiss
firm to iran as exporting the items was not illegal in switzerland or taiwan
the report said citing taiwanese trade official
china despite claiming its unwillingness to provide iran with sensitive
technology has secretly shipped critical components to the country through
taiwanese firms the report quoted an unnamed source as saying
the magazine did not identify any of the companies allegedly involved
the deal raised concerns in the us which urged the taiwanese government to
eradicate the smuggling network in order not to violate international
sanctions against iran it said
taiwan bureau of foreign trade has said the device is not restricted but has
nevertheless placed the company on watch list
britain daily telegraph newspaper said last month iran defence officials met
taiwanese firms to buy hundreds of pressure transducers that can be used to make
weapons grade uranium
the paper said iran had tried unsuccessfully to buy the equipment for more than
year from european and american firms before turning to taiwanese company
un officials are investigating whether the european companies conducted proper
checks of end user certificates for the equipment it said
the international community has warned iran to stop construction of its second
uranium enrichment plant wary that it is trying to develop nuclear bomb
iran rejects the charge and says it wants to build civil energy programme
tennis early serena test looms for henin in sydney
sydney jan afp
serena williams has been pitched into potential second round showdown with
comeback star justine henin at next week sydney international following the
draw made here on saturday
the world number one who is bidding for her th major title at this month
australian open will receive bye into the second round of the sydney event
henin who is making return to tennis after months will have to negotiate
first round encounter with spaniard maria jose martinez sanchez before taking
up her th career meeting with the american
it good it will be good test for her and for me said williams who
arrived here on saturday
seven time grand slam champion henin has made an immediate impact in her return
to professional tennis storming to the final of the brisbane international
against fellow belgian kim clijsters
williams said she expected her great rival to be ready for their likely
showdown with the american leading
williams said she didn feel any added pressure to retain her top ranking with
both clijsters and henin returning to big time tennis
don think about it lot ve got lot on my plate everyone assumes that
number one anyway she said
my main goals are always to stay healthy and that huge goal for any
athlete
for me it all about doing the best that can obviously love playing
well in all the grand slams and hate to lose regardless of where it is
williams refused to discuss her outburst over foot fault call in last
september us open semi final in new york which led to record fine and two
years of probation
it all about now she said feel it over it was what it was think
ve spoken enough about it
nine of the world top women players will be in the sydney international
which starts on sunday and is the last major lead up tournament to the january
australian open in melbourne
world number two russian dinara safina also has bye into the second round
where she will face either poland agnieszka radwanska or qualifier while
third seed svetlana kuznetsova has an all russian opener against alisa
kleybanova
fourth seed caroline wozniacki of denmark takes on china li na in the first
round
australian lleyton hewitt bidding for record fifth men sydney atp title
has bye but could face former australian open runner up marcos baghdatis in
the quarter finals
the unseeded baghdatis launches his campaign against australian nick lindahl
while french top seed gael monfils has an opening round bye before second
round encounter with either italian potito starace or qualifier
czech second seed tomas berdych will take on argentine jose acasuso or
australian peter luczak after his first round bye
afghan president set to resubmit cabinet nominees official
kabul jan afp
afghan president hamid karzai is set to submit new list of cabinet nominees to
parliament on saturday in his second attempt to form functioning government
and end political crisis an official said
karzai last week ordered the parliament to cancel its winter recess so it could
consider new nominations for cabinet posts after throwing out most of his
original choices
parliamentary speaker yunus qanuni said names would be put forward for
consideration
the list of nominee ministers will soon be presented to parliament by the
second vice president qanuni told parliamentarians referring to mohammed
karim khalili
of the names karzai put forward for cabinet portfolios only seven won
approval in secret ballot of of the lawmakers last week
seventeen were rejected and an th the post of foreign minister was left
outstanding
the rejections have effectively left afghanistan without fully functioning
government dragging out political vacuum that has prevailed since an august
presidential election
karzai issued decree last monday that the legislature should delay its day
recess until he proposed new ministers in place of those rejected
it ordered the national assembly to postpone leave until the members of the
cabinet are approved parliament had been due to break last tuesday
nominees must present themselves to parliament and face questioning from mps
before secret ballot for approval
powerful quake strikes solomon islands
honiara jan afp
strong magnitude earthquake struck near the solomon islands in the
western pacific on saturday seismologists said but there was no immediate
tsunami warning
the us geological survey said the quake was measured at depth of about
kilometres miles and struck kilometres southeast of the town of gizo
like much of the pacific the solomons regularly experiences earthquakes
bur ft elw
urgent powerful quake strikes solomon islands
honiara jan afp
strong magnitude earthquake struck near the solomon islands in the
western pacific on saturday the us geological survey said but there was no
immediate tsunami warning
alert
powerful quake rocks solomon islands
india accuses pakistan of cross border firing
amritsar india jan afp
indian frontier troops saturday accused their pakistani counterparts of firing
at least four rockets across the border into northern punjab but said there were
no casualties
the incident is the second since september when two rockets allegedly fired by
pakistani troops landed near the popular tourist attraction of wagah in indian
punjab
border security force bsf officials said two of the cross border rockets
exploded in farms on the indian side while the remaining two did not detonate
no casualty has been reported bsf official speaking on condition of
anonymity said
frontier commanders from both sides met to discuss the alleged shelling he said
in the sikh pilgrimage city of amritsar
there was no immediate comment available from islamabad but the bsf official
said pakistani commanders at the meeting denied firing the rockets
tensions between the neighbours flared in the wake of the mumbai attacks in
november which india blamed on pakistan based militants and official
agencies of pakistan charge islamabad has denied
exchanges of fire were routine along the disputed border in divided kashmir
until ceasefire agreement between nuclear armed india and pakistan
since the mumbai attacks there have been sporadic small arms exchanges
india and pakistan have fought two of their three wars since independence in
over kashmir which is claimed by both nations
indian punjab was the location of fierce land air battle during the second war
between the countries in
us prepares new sanctions against iran report
washington jan afp
the white house is crafting new financial sanctions targeting the iranian
entities and individuals most directly involved in the crackdown on dissidents
the wall street journal reported saturday
citing unnamed us officials the newspaper said us treasury department
strategists had already been focusing on iran revolutionary guard corps which
has emerged as the economic and military power behind supreme leader ayatollah
ali khamenei and president mahmoud ahmadinejad
but in recent weeks senior dissident figures from iran who have been
speaking at major washington think tanks have made up list of revolutionary
guards related companies they suggest targeting the report said
names on the list include iran largest telecommunications provider
telecommunication company of iran which is majority owned by the guards and
the iranian aluminum company according to the paper
in signal of the white house increased attention to iran political
upheaval secretary of state hillary clinton gathered over coffee at the state
department this week with four leading iran scholars and mapped out the current
dynamics the journal said
one issue explored was how the united states should respond if tehran suddenly
expressed desire to reach compromise on the nuclear issue the report said
clinton asked whether the united states could reach pact without crippling the
prospects for the opposition according to the paper
us allies are mixed in their response to the new focus the journal said one
senior arab official said he told state department officials this week they were
deluded if they though iran was close to experiencing revolution reminiscent
of the shah overthrow
israel believes only widespread sanctions will effectively upend tehran
current political leadership the paper noted
many israeli experts have concluded that expansive sanctions will widen the
schisms between the iranian government and its people said the journal quotes
israeli ambassador michael oren as saying
senior us officials stressed this week that president barack obama isn moving
toward seeking regime change as its policy for iran the report said
rather washington remains committed to dual track approach of pursuing
dialogue aimed at ending iran nuclear program while applying increasing
financial pressure if the talks fail the journal noted
unknown thugs set fire to indian man in melbourne police
sydney jan afp
man of indian descent was recovering in hospital on saturday after being set
on fire in australia police said in the latest in string of similar attacks
police stressed there was no evidence of racial motive after four men poured
an unidentified fluid on the year old man and set it alight in melbourne
suburb leaving him with percent burns
it follows last weekend stabbing murder of an indian man in the city which
prompted new delhi newspaper to print cartoon likening australian police to
the ku klux klan
in the latest incident the victim was parking his car in side street after
dinner with friends when he was attacked in the early hours of saturday his
condition was described as stable
believe there no reason at this stage to consider this in any way racially
motivated detective sergeant neil smyth told reporters
the circumstances of parking car randomly on side street and just some
people approaching him are bit strange and it highly unlikely therefore to
be targeted attack on any individual
police have only vague description of the attackers which is really just
unspecific just four males smyth said it is an unusual event he added
deputy prime minister julia gillard said the government condemns all acts of
violence in the strongest possible way
this matter remains under investigation by the victorian police she said in
statement
the incident follows the january murder of nitin garg which brought sharp
condemnation from india government and allegations of australian racism in
indian media
the mail today defended its cartoon which showed an australian police officer
in ku klux klan hood insisting the melbourne force was racist
organisation
we perceive the melbourne police to be racist organisation simply because it
seems it is not acting fast enough or seriously enough on the attacks on
indian students editor bharat bhushan said in an emailed statement
the incidents follow series of attacks on indian nationals and students in
australia which sparked street protests and diplomatic row in the middle of
last year
nokia urges mobile developers to focus on poor nations
las vegas nevada jan afp
nokia chief executive olli pekka kallasvuo praised the mobile phone on friday as
history changing tool and challenged developers to create programs for poor
countries
these little devices have done more to improve people lives than perhaps any
technology in history the head of the finnish mobile phone giant said in
keynote address at the consumer electronics show ces here
the nokia ceo said relatively cheap mobile phones had done much to improve the
lives of people in developing nations
here is the nokia nothing to get too excited about he said but it
includes built in flashlight dust resistant keypad an fm radio speaking
alarm clock
farmers in india and indonesia can use it to get the latest information on
crops kallasvuo said the mobile device has become necessity for upward
mobility
for the majority of the world people their first and only access to the
internet will be through mobile device not pc he said and this access
is spreading very very fast
kallasvuo said there were billion mobile subscriptions among global
population of billion people we are near the day where we can talk about
the whole connected world he said
he also announced that nokia was putting one million dollars behind the first
nokia growth economy venture challenge to encourage developers to design
mobile products or services that raise the standard of living in poor nations
we want you to come up with new and innovative ways to help people kallasvuo
said
we ve seen what the tech community can do when it focuses on problems that are
also opportunities he said we want to channel that energy toward improving
lives in the developing world
nokia said the venture challenge is not limited to software or hardware that
uses its devices or software platforms the million dollars will be invested in
the organization with the best idea with the winner announced in june
meat soup for all still pipe dream in korea kim
seoul jan afp
north korean leader kim jong il has admitted failing to deliver an acceptable
standard of living for the communist nation people state media reported
saturday
rodong sinmun the official daily newspaper of the ruling communist party
quoted kim as saying much remains to be desired in people quality of life
although the country has become politically and militarily powerful
kim father kim il sung who died in has been named as president for
eternity of north korea
the president has said that people should be allowed to eat white rice and meat
soup wear silk clothes and live under tiled roofs kim jong il was quoted as
saying by rodong
but we ve so far failed to carry out this goal he said will certainly
resolve the issue of people livelihood within the shortest possible period and
achieve the president last wish he said
it was because kim jong il wanted to help improve people living standards that
he made raft of visits to inspect industrial facilities in provincial cities
last year rodong said
the paper urged north koreans to step up efforts to increase production of food
and other necessities
north korea has been suffering chronic food shortages last month it carried
out drastic currency revaluation aimed at weakening the role of free markets
and strengthening the socialist system
cia director defends agency against criticism
washington jan afp
us central intelligence agency director leon panetta on saturday defended the us
spy service against criticism following suicide bombing in afghanistan in
which seven cia operatives had been killed
