svk alexandru barbu rom patrick biggs can bjoergvin bjoergvinsson
isl cristian deville ita christoph dreier aut stefan georgiev bul
stefano gross ita leif kristian haugen nor francois place fra mike
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cro stefan jon sigurgeirsson isl matic skube slo bryce stevens aus
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leg wolfgang hoerl aut lars elton myhre nor andre myhrer swe filip
trejbal cze
overall world cup standings after events
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world cup slalom standings after events
reinfried herbst aut
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silvan zurbriggen sui
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thousands of tourists stranded at machu picchu
lima jan afp
peru was tuesday conducting an airlift evacuation of more than foreign
tourists trapped in and around its famed machu picchu ruins by rain and
mudslides that killed at least seven people
the operation which began monday had rescued of the foreigners by late
tuesday emergency services said
most of them were waiting by helipad near the ruins themselves though
were blocked on the inca trail narrow andean pathway up to machu picchu that
takes four days to complete and which was cut in several places by landslides
year old argentine tourist and his year old peruvian mountain guide died
on the trail buried under mudslides the national culture institute in the
nearby town of cusco said
the other fatalities occurred along the valley leading to cusco and in the town
itself two peruvian men drowned in the valley swollen river another died in
landslide and mother and her child were killed in cusco when heavy rainfall
made their home collapse emergency officials said
some americans were among the stranded near machu picchu state department
spokesman philip crowley said in washington
the us embassy in peru has sent four helicopters usually used as part of
anti drug efforts to help with evacuation efforts he said
we are very grateful for the efforts of the government of peru in trying to
help with the evacuation of american citizens near machu picchu he said
fernando celis one of chileans blocked in machu picchu complained to the
online news website emol that some tourists were bribing rescuers to get them
out first
helicopter arrived yesterday to take out the elderly and the unwell and some
tourists who had more money there are almost no north americans left only the
backpackers and british backpackers people on tours who were waving their
money about they were all evacuated he said
he said food was running short
we haven been given anything to eat each one is left to work out his
rations he said adding that the vendors at the tourist site had immediately
doubled their prices when it became clear the foreigners were stuck
machu picchu is one of the most popular destinations for tourists in latin
america attracting more than visitors year
the th century inca fortress is located on high mountain ridge kilometers
miles from cusco railway that transports tourists to the site was
covered by mudslide
the country civil defense service estimated the homes of people in poor
rural areas many of them riverside dwellings made of clay and straw had
been destroyed another people were affected to lesser degree losing
possessions or suffering property damage
authorities were sending tons of food and other aid from lima to cusco by air
and by road including tarpaulins for those left homeless
peru presidential chief of staff javier velasquez traveled to cusco with
emergency level ministers and officials to evaluate the situation and coordinate
rescues
the town has declared day state of emergency after seeing two bridges
collapse and houses destroyed
avatar soars to new world box office record
los angeles jan afp
science fiction epic avatar has set new global box office record taking
billion dollars and sinking titanic to become the biggest earning film of
all time figures showed tuesday
on monday january avatar officially passed titanic to become the
highest grossing film in history at the worldwide box office th century fox
studios said in statement
it added that oscar winning director james cameron groundbreaking
spectacular had by monday taken million dollars more than titanic which
was also directed by cameron
avatar had taken billion dollars compared with the box office total for
the oscar winning titanic which took billion dollars the statement
said
football scottish football league result
glasgow jan afp
scottish football league result on tuesday
third division
livingston elgin city
football scottish premier league result
glasgow england jan afp
scottish premier league result on tuesday
hamilton kilmarnock
playing wednesday all gmt
celtic hibernian
dundee utd st johnstone
falkirk motherwell
hearts aberdeen
st mirren rangers
football french cup results
paris jan afp
french cup results on tuesday
last
auxerre sedan aet
auxerre won on pens
vannes grenoble aet min
last draw
boulogne sur mer or colmar guingamp
auxerre nancy or plabennec
quevilly rennes
lens or marseille toulouse or brest
vesoul paris sg
villefranche sur saone or saint etienne vannes
beauvais sochaux or le mans
bordeaux monaco
ties to be played february or
baseball sign pitcher sheets to one year deal
oakland california jan afp
ben sheets who missed the entire major league baseball season recovering
from right elbow surgery signed one year deal worth million dollars on
tuesday with the oakland
sheets year old right handed pitcher worked out for scouts last week in
louisiana he underwent surgery last february to repair torn flexor tendon
that was injured in
in eight major league baseball seasons after helping the united states win
olympic gold at the sydney olympics sheets went with earned
run average with the milwaukee brewers
the have also taken chance on another pitcher who did not play in
two time all star justin duchscherer who underwent arthroscopic right elbow
surgery last march like sheets duchscherer has said he feels fine
oakland was last in the american league west division last season
canadian lawmaker slams terrorist pie in the face
ottawa jan afp
throwing pie in the face of canada fisheries minister to protest the seal
hunt should earn animal rights group peta terrorist label canadian
lawmaker said tuesday
seal hunt protester hit fisheries minister gail shea with cream pie on
monday as she gave speech in burlington ontario
the animal rights group people for the ethical treatment of animals later
claimed responsibility for the incident
opposition lawmaker gerry byrne urged for an investigation into the incident
that also takes into account shea position as top government official
when someone actually coaches or conducts criminal behavior to impose
political agenda on each and every other citizen of canada that does seem to me
to meet the test of terrorist organization byrne told vocm radio station
am calling on the government of canada to actually investigate whether or not
this organization peta is acting as terrorist organization under canadian
law
peta officials dismissed byrne comments as silly chest beating exercise
it is unlikely to impress anyone who has heart for animals or who is bright
enough to spot the difference between bomb and tofu cream pie peta
president ingrid newkirk said in statement
year old new york city woman was taken into custody and charged with
assault after the pie incident
animal rights groups have waged an aggressive campaign in recent years to try to
stop canada year old commercial seal hunt calling it barbaric
ottawa maintains the survival of the species is not in danger and authorizes the
slaughter of more than seals annually along its atlantic coast
baseball sign pitcher sheets to one year deal
oakland california jan afp
ben sheets who missed the entire major league baseball season recovering
from right elbow surgery signed one year deal worth million dollars on
tuesday with the oakland
sheets year old right handed pitcher worked out for scouts last week in
louisiana he underwent surgery last february to repair torn flexor tendon
that was injured in
in eight major league baseball seasons after helping the united states win
olympic gold at the sydney olympics sheets went with earned
run average with the milwaukee brewers
the have also taken chance on another pitcher who did not play in
two time all star justin duchscherer who underwent arthroscopic right elbow
surgery last march like sheets duchscherer has said he feels fine
oakland was last in the american league west division last season
swiss leader meets chinese amid uighur tension
geneva jan afp
the case of two chinese uighurs detained in guantanamo bay cuba was not raised
at chinese swiss trade talks on tuesday the swiss president office said
beijing has been putting pressure on bern to refuse asylum for the two men
saying they are suspected terrorists and should be returned to china
the issue was not discussed at tuesday talks between swiss president doris
leuthard and chinese deputy prime minister li keqiang leuthard spokeswoman
evelyn kobelt told afp
instead discussion focused on proposed chinese swiss free trade agreement
which would be the first of its kind between european country and the asian
giant
li said he wanted to begin negotiations on deal this year
this is concrete step against protectionism he told journalists
swiss exports to china reached billion swiss francs five billion euros
seven billion dollars in while imports from china were almost four
billion swiss francs in the same year according to swiss statistics
li visit to switzerland came after china warned that relations could be
affected if it takes in the detainees whom it said it wanted back in china the
uighurs are an ethnic group predominantly found in china restive xinjiang
province
suspected terrorists with chinese nationality should be repatriated to china
whatever their ethnicity beijing said
the united states is trying to close the controversial guantanamo prison camp in
cuba where it sent suspects in its war on terror and is seeking countries
willing to accept its inmates
swiss parliamentary commission opposed asylum for the pair who are brothers
two weeks ago
the brothers were among uighurs living in afghanistan when the us led
coalition bombing campaign began there in october month after the
september attacks to wipe out the safe haven for al qaeda activities there
they fled to the mountains but were turned over to pakistani authorities who
then handed them to the united states
the men lawyer elizabeth gilson said they were not terrorists but poor men
detained in error
bahtiyar mahnut the younger of the pair went to afghanistan to find better
life gilson said and his brother arkin went to bring him home
imf calls for depoliticized banking regulation reform
washington jan afp
the international monetary fund called on policymakers tuesday to depoliticize
the reform of banking regulations and ensure that measures will support economic
growth
jose vinals the head of the imf monetary and capital markets department
emphasized at news conference the need for going to safer financial system
over the medium term that is capable of supporting growth
vinals speaking after the release of an update of the imf global financial
stability report said it was very important in the globalized financial
system that the approaches taken by countries are internationally consistent
extensive work has been that has been done under the mandate of the group of
developed and developing countries to sort of depoliticize the planning and the
design of the new regulation and to put in place at the right time in an
internationally consistent manner all these new regulations said vinals
lead author of the report
it very important that one keeps these medium term orientations and that one
depoliticizes the regulatory plans he added
football germany rolfes facing cup injury heartache
stuttgart germany jan afp
bayer leverkusen germany midfielder simon rolfes may miss the world cup finals
after finding out he requires knee surgery national coach joachim loew said
tuesday
rolfes had been complaining of knee pain for several days and germany
medical staff recommended he go under the knife after he met up for squad get
together
it shock for all of us as simon has always performed very well foir the
national team notably in the decisive group qualifier against russia said
loew
to date rolfes has won caps having pushed veteran torsten frings into the
background but he now faces several months on the sidelines
loew also revealed that seven time formula one world champion and comeback man
michael schumacher would attend the squad world cup training camp during may
to help motivate them
schumacher who is friend of striker lukas podolski is set to show up some
time between may and june when the squad will be fine tuning preparations
for south africa at appiano in the italian tyrol
michael schumacher is an idol and hero for many of the players we all like
to see people come in from other sports to hear them talk on how they work and
prepare themselves said loew
schumi just turned is returning to the circuit next season with the new
mercedes gp team after three years away from the sport
he was to have met up the players monday at the mercedes team launch in
stuttgart but the plan fell through
us faults al jazeera english coverage of haiti
washington jan afp
the us state department on tuesday faulted the coverage of the haiti earthquake
by al jazeera english service saying it falsely suggested us militarization
of the country
philip crowley the assistant secretary of state for public affairs said he
complained to the qatar based network english language service about what we
felt was unfair unbalanced coverage of operations in haiti
it suggested there was militarization of the effort crowley told reporters
he criticized an instance in which he said al jazeera english service compared
the port au prince airport the hub of us relief operations to the green zone
where us forces are stationed in baghdad
crowley pointed to al jazeera in response to question seeking clarification of
remarks earlier tuesday by secretary of state hillary clinton who said some
foreign media either misunderstood or deliberately misconstrued the us
decision to send thousands of troops to haiti
clinton strongly defended the us military involvement in haiti saying it was
vital to relief efforts in the wake of the tragedy that killed more than
people
leftist latin american nations such as venezuela and cuba have accused the
united states of occupying haiti the united states sent troops to the poor
caribbean nation in establishing military government that lasted until
the united states has also faced criticism from nato ally italy where senior
official on sunday said washington had sent too many officers to haiti and
could not find capable leader
prime minister silvio berlusconi distanced himself from the remarks tuesday
hailing the united states for its generous and significant intervention in
haiti
al jazeera has had rocky relationship with us authorities who have faulted
its coverage of us foreign policy and its airing of tapes by osama bin laden but
also turned to the network to reach an arab audience
ex guatemalan leader arrested after us extradition request
guatemala city jan afp
former guatemalan leader alfonso portillo was arrested on tuesday following us
extradition request related to charges of money laundering during his
presidency officials said
two days after police searched for him at two homes in guatemala city portillo
was tracked down at the northeastern beach resort of punta de palma on the
atlantic coast said attorney general velasquez zarate
now that he under arrest the us government has days to formalize its
extradition request according to evidence and documents they have velasquez
said in radio interview
guatemalan judicial authorities issued an arrest warrant for portillo on friday
after us officials in florida presented them with an extradition request
portillo fled to mexico in after losing his immunity from prosecution for
alleged corruption during his administration in october he was extradited
from mexico to guatemala where he has been awaiting trial on embezzlement
charges
guatemala has accused portillo of authorizing some million dollars in
transfers to guatemala defense department where officials close to him
allegedly took part of the money
an indictment by grand jury in new york on monday said portillo embezzled
tens of million of dollars worth of public funds portion of which he then
laundered through bank accounts in the united states and europe
yahoo reverses losses posts million dollar net profit
san francisco jan afp
yahoo posted fourth quarter net profit of million dollars on tuesday
compared with loss of million dollars in the same quarter year ago
the internet company said revenue fell four percent in the fourth quarter to
billion dollars
yahoo said its annual net profit was up percent to million dollars
our business has positive momentum and we feel good as we head into
yahoo chief executive carol bartz said adding that demand for premium display
advertising had improved significantly
urgent avatar soars to new world box office record
los angeles jan afp
science fiction epic avatar set new world box office record earning
billion dollars and sinking titanic to become the highest grossing film of all
time figures showed tuesday
new guinea pm seeks free elections
conakry jan afp
guinea new interim prime minister jean marie dore said tuesday he wanted the
transition government to lead the country to transparent and credible
elections and overhaul the military
speaking at ceremony at the national assembly where he was formally handed
power the opposition leader did not give date for the poll but an accord
signed on january said they should take place in six months
we hope for free transparent and credible elections because it is indeed the
required path for our country to attain stability dore told an audience of
hundreds of people including high ranking junta officials
general sekouba konate president of the transition government named dore
interim prime minister last week under deal aimed at guiding the military
ruled country out of month political and human rights crisis
the election will be the first democratic presidential poll in the west african
country since and come after half century of autocratic regimes
initially civilian and then military
konate has also said he wants to organise free elections to be held quickly
at the ceremony dore also called on konate to reorganise and restructure the
military with the support of the international community
it is great army which has glorious past in africa but certain
leadership in an insiduous way contributed to laxness creating situation in
the army that everyone deplores
the army is not solely responsible for its problems it was left to itself and
bad examples led to its current state said dore whom konate officially named
prime minister last week
guinea has been under the rule of military junta since december
in september last year troops massacred more than people during an
opposition rally in conakry stadium according to un investigation and human
rights groups
hundreds of others were injured and many women and young girls were raped they
said
the united nations blamed junta leader captain moussa dadis camara among
others for the killing
camara has however been sidelined after being shot and seriously wounded by his
aide de camp in an apparent assassination bid on december
the new interim government faces the challenge of binding an army which though
it has remained the backbone of successive regimes is riven with deep divisions
that are political and ethnic
it is necessary that together we give unconditional support to general
sekouba konate so that after the transition we have an army which is genuine
instrument of stability dore said
dore is the spokesman of the forces vives coalition of opposition parties
trade unions and civil society he was also injured during the september
massacre
pact reached in ougadougou on january says elections must be held in six
months and transitional authorities members of the junta and active members
of the defence and security forces may not participate
it also stipulates that camara remains in exile
british hostage says beaten shackled in kidnap ordeal
london jan afp
briton kidnapped in iraq described on tuesday how he was chained up beaten
and subject to mock execution during his harrowing hostage ordeal
we were in chains shackled blindfolded handcuffed periodically beaten
water poured over us peter moore told britain channel television news in
his first public comments since being released
the computer expert was freed unharmed in december after months in captivity
during which all four of his bodyguards who were abducted with him are
thought to have been killed
the year old said there were many many times he thought he would not make
it adding on one occasion he believed his captors had actually executed him
one time the guards came in and handcuffed me behind my back blindfolded me
hauled me out put pistol to my head and pulled the trigger and fired another
one off behind my back said moore
just thought was dead then realised that could still hear laughing
was still handcuffed and that wasn the case
moore said the year he was abducted was pretty harsh but added that the
situation improved as time passed and by last year he was out of chains and had
television and even games console
the briton was snatched with his four guards from the finance ministry in
baghdad in may by some gunmen from the league of the righteous
breakaway shiite militia
the bodies of three of the guards were handed to british officials last year and
moore was freed after several hundred insurgents from the group including the
leader were released from us custody
on tuesday he called for the final body of year old guard alan mcmenemy
to be handed over
obviously there still one body left and obviously ask that that body is
released immediately he said
describing the latter stages of his abduction moore said was separated off
from the others in and in for me things were actually pretty good
things improved lot
was out of the chains had games console had satellite tv
laptop computer ensuite shower and toilet facilities
and he told of his disbelief when he was finally released saying he once
again feared his captors were going to kill him
in all honesty didn believe them when they first said was released and
then thought was really going to be executed he said
the realisation he was free only dawned on moore when stepped out of the
vehicle and somebody from the foreign office walked up to me he said
speculation has swirled over whether moore was held in iran during his kidnap
ordeal
but the computer expert said on tuesday he believed he was held in baghdad and
basra and moved from house to house every three months
medical emergency to last three months in haiti
port au prince jan afp
the emergency medical period in haiti will probably last another three months as
many of the wounded will need regular care for some time leading us surgeon
said tuesday
the emergency phase will be probably two to three months said chris jobe the
head of orthopedic surgery at loma linda university of southern california
volunteer doctors have treated thousands of people since the january quake
hit the caribbean nation many of them with severe crush wounds and broken limbs
after they were hit by crumbling buildings
the problem is that for femur to heal it takes six months said jobe who
oversees three foreign surgery teams from the united states mexico and the
dominican republic at the adventist hospital of diquini
the teams had patients yesterday and of them were potential surgery
patients he said at the hospital on the western outskirts of the devastated
capital port au prince
he was commenting during joint visit by us ambassador kenneth merten and
french ambassador didier le bret who were inspecting the hospital being run by
us and french teams
some french medical teams each made up of doctor nurse and an
assistant have treated some people since the quake
we are going to do our best to help haiti merten said asked about whether
the united states was in for the long term at the hospital
his french counterpart said he had heard of the need for supplies at the diquini
hospital it is going to be big challenge he said
imf world bank announce debt relief for afghanistan
washington jan afp
the imf and the world bank announced tuesday they will support an international
debt relief program of billion dollars for afghanistan after the war ravaged
country completed number of important reforms
the boards of directors of both institutions agreed that the country has taken
the necessary steps to reach the completion point under the enhanced heavily
indebted poor countries hipc initiative the sibling washington based bodies
said in joint statement
afghanistan qualified to become the th country to benefit from the
international program that rescues poor countries from being buried under
interest payments on mountains of debt
under the agreement afghanistan will have total debt service savings of
billion dollars the institutions said
that total includes billion dollars from the hipc initiative million
dollars from paris club creditors beyond hipc and million dollars from the
multilateral debt relief initiative mdri
all multilateral and paris club creditors as well as some other official
creditors have agreed to participate the statement said
to reach the completion point afghanistan carried out number of important
reforms despite an extremely challenging environment characterized by
insecurity food crisis and difficult political situation the
institutions said
the reforms included actions to begin implementing national development
strategy maintain stable macroeconomic environment and enhance debt
management
the afghan authorities also made progress in public financial management mining
sector reforms and transparency and accountability in health and education
services the statement said
based on strong commitments going forward the government of afghanistan was
granted waivers for two completion point triggers on pension reform for public
employees and the military and the restructuring of four key service delivery
ministries both of which had been substantially implemented the institutions
said
the imf and the world bank underscored that reforms under the hipc initiative
are expected to mobilize additional resources and support the country
reconstruction and poverty reduction helping to place it on sustainable path
the afghan government has demonstrated very strong commitment to an ambitious
reform program since it reached its hipc decision point in said nicholas
krafft world bank country director for afghanistan
this is very commendable achievement given the deteriorating security
situation and political uncertainty over the recent election year
officials stressed that even after hipc debt relief afghanistan would remain
country under high risks of debt distress due its reliance on donor funding
enrique gelbard the imf mission chief for afghanistan said that in addition to
improvements in security the key challenges afghanistan faces will be to
increase domestic revenues invest in infrastructure and forge ahead with its
national development plan to reduce poverty
this will require significant efforts by the authorities as well as substantial
and sustained support from donors and multilateral institutions gelbard said
the announcement came ahead of thursday major international conference on
afghanistan in london hosted by britain and aimed at determining the conditions
needed for achieving the international community goals in the insurgency
