death sealed the win with something to spare
jerome porical kicked three conversions for good measure as perpignan survived
the absence owing to angina of skipper nicolas mas who was replaced by
bourrust
we showed our spirit out there tonight we put them under pressure and it paid
off tonight we wanted to go for it and we did just that olibeau said
on saturday french rugby giants stade francais and biarritz meet at the stade
de france with both looking for much needed victory to boost their flagging
morale after disappointing campaigns so far this season
stade fortunes have barely improved since australian coach ewen mckenzie was
sacked by owner max guazzini and replaced by former biarritz handler jacques
delmas in september last year while biarritz sit two places above them in sixth
but having already lost eight of their matches
delmas who guided biarritz to two domestic titles and european cup final loss
to munster before being sacked in has had to cope with massive injury
crisis with such experienced campaigners as south african born french
international centre brian liebenberg and italian captain sergio parisse on the
sidelines
biarritz french international flanker imanol harinordoquy will make his return
to competitive action after almost two months out with knee injury
leaders castres are away to montpellier on saturday with the hosts barely making
any changes to the side that defeated stade francais last weekend
only winger thierry brana and hooker mickael ladhuie drop out to be replaced by
benjamin thiery and fabien rofes respectively as montpellier bid to put dent
in castres title ambitions
sunday sees the mouthwatering clash between toulouse and clermont who ran
rampant against title pretenders toulon last sunday and who are determined
finally to land first ever title this season
football images show dazed adebayor after gun ambush
luanda jan afp
images of dazed and tearful emmanuel adebayor and group of his togo
teammates shortly after the deadly machine gun attack on their team buses were
shown on angolan television late friday
manchester city striker adebayor is seen crying and walking around in state of
shock outside hospital in central cabinda the troubled northern province
where togo came under fire from rebels earlier in the afternoon
the ambush as the team crossed the border from congo brazzaville left driver
killed and nine others wounded according to the togolese football federation
one of the injured party is seen being carried into the hospital on stretcher
adebayor who appeared stunned but unharmed and group of his fellow
internationals many with their shirts off were being ferried from training
camp in point noire to cabinda where they were due to open their african
natiions cup campaign against ghana on monday
organisers the confederation of african football are insisting that despite the
tragedy the competition will go ahead
the armed wing of the front for the liberation of the enclave of cabinda flec
embroiled in decades long separatist struggle claimed responsibility in
communique cited by portugal lusa news agency
urgent angola vows to ensure security at african nations cup
luanda jan afp
angola on friday vowed to ensure security at the african nations cup after
deadly shooting attack earlier in the day on togo football squad en route to
the tournament
alert
angola vows to ensure security at african nations cup
blatter to await caf report on togolese attack
paris jan afp
fifa president sepp blatter said friday he was awaiting full report from the
african football confederation caf on the deadly ambush of togo national
team in an angolan enclave
the driver of the bus carrying togo side to the african nations cup was killed
in the attack claimed by the front for the liberation of the enclave of cabinda
flec while nine togolese delegation members were hurt
the caf confirmed the tournament would go ahead although several togolese
players said they no longer wished to participate
fifa statement said football world governing body is in contact with the
caf and its president issa hayatou awaiting from them full report of the
situation
blatter said he was profoundly moved by the incident and declared his
solidarity with the togolese squad
the togolese government was meanwhile sending delegation to the area to offer
moral supportand to evaulate the situation
togo had been due to compete in cabinda starting with match on monday against
ghana ivory coast and burkina faso are also in the group
us to review court decision on blackwater killings
washington jan afp
the us government said friday it will review the decision by us court to drop
charges against american private security guards accused of killing iraqi
civilians in an unprovoked attack in
we respect the independence of the judiciary the decision of the judge does
not exonerate the defendants or necessarily terminate the proceedings state
department spokesman pj crowley told reporters
the department of justice in consultation with the state department will
carefully review the judge decision and assess all available legal options
said crowley the assistant secretary of state for public affairs
the five guards who had been part of convoy of armored vehicles had been
charged with killing unarmed iraqi civilians and wounding others during
the attack at busy baghdad square using guns and grenades
iraq says people were killed
but on december us federal judge ricardo urbina dismissed the charges
against the five guards saying prosecutors violated their rights by using
incriminating statements they had made under immunity during us state
department probe
the verdict provoked furor in iraq
the united states does not tolerate attacks on innocent iraqi civilians
crowley said
whatever the case ultimate outcome we deeply regret the suffering and loss
of life caused by the nisour square shootings he said
and we are fully committed to holding accountable persons who commit such
crimes whether at home or abroad crowley said
during visit to baghdad senator john mccain the republican presidential
candidate in said tuesday he hoped the ruling would be appealed by the us
government
the case was among the most sensational that sought to hold blackwater employees
accountable for what was seen as culture of lawlessness and lack of
accountability in the company iraq operations
blackwater which has since renamed itself xe pulled out of iraq in may after
the us state department refused to renew its contracts
nfl seahawks sack head coach mora
seattle washington jan afp
jim mora who guided the club to record in his one season as head coach
of the seattle seahawks was fired friay following dismal finish to the
national football league season
mora had served as the seahawks assistant coach in the two years prior to be
promoted to the head coaching position
mora was let go after seattle finished the season with four game losing skid
we ve made tough decision today said seattle chief executive tod leiweke
it became apparent after conducting an extensive internal audit that new
direction was needed to provide an opportunity for the organization to be
successful
the seahawks have won just nine games in the past two seasons following five
straight appearances in the playoffs
mora replaced mike holmgren who was head coach from holmgren is now
the president of the cleveland browns
today decision while difficult is part of the process in building
franchise with new vision in leiweke said
getjar smartphone app shop closes in on billion downloads
las vegas nevada jan afp
getjar has become hot spot for free mini applications for just about any kind
of smartphone
nearly million downloads of applications had been logged at getjar com as
of friday and the company expects that number to pass billion in the coming
two to three months
about software developers have accounts to submit programs to getjar
which boasts collection of more than mini applications crafted for
thousands of different types of handsets
there are devices we may not support but they are probably from the stone
age getjar executive patrick mork said while demonstrating the service for afp
at consumer electronics show taking place this week in las vegas
whether you are in france germany spain or anywhere else you just type
getjar com and as soon as it lands it tells you which device you have and
what apps are available and it free
visit to getjar on blackberry on friday popped up an opening page with free
mobile applications including one for speaking google searches and another for
remembering where one parked their car
the website indicated that there had been more than million downloads of
mobile facebook online social networking application from getjar
getjar revenue comes from software makers bidding for prominent display at the
website getjar gets paid the bid price each time an application is downloaded
and gets nothing if there are no downloads according to mork
getjar has been in the mobile applications shop business slightly more than two
years and has started noticing geographic trends when it comes to which devices
and programs are popular
for example an azan application that lets muslims use smartphones to keep track
of how many times to pray daily when and in which directions is among the top
downloads in britain according to getjar
at first couldn understand why azan was so popular in the united kingdom
and then realized most of the downloads were in london which has big muslim
community mork said
we do see cultural nuances between countries
getjar is venture backed and has offices in britain lithuania and silicon
valley in northern california
two men arrested in ny bomb plot probe one charged
new york jan afp
two associates of an afghan immigrant charged in an al qaeda linked plot to
attack new york around last year anniversary of the september attacks were
arrested friday law enforcement officials said
one of the men taxi driver zarein ahmedzay pleaded not guilty after new york
judged charged him with making false statements to the federal bureau of
investigation
fbi agents arrested him earlier along with bosnian immigrant adis medunjanin
who was not expected to be arraigned friday
the men are associates of najibullah zazi who is accused of links to al qaeda
in pakistan and plotting bombing spree in new york around the anniversary of
the attacks said law enforcement source who asked not to be identified
the arrests came as the us government and security services are reeling from
their failure to prevent an attempt to blow up northwest plane bound for
detroit on christmas day
president barack obama has repeatedly singled out the zazi investigation as
proof that us intelligence is in fact doing good job against an increasingly
multi headed foe
ahmedzay attorney michael marinaccio said his client who claims to be
naturalized citizen is accused of having lied about whether he knew whether
john doe went to pakistan for military training
the trips took place in and the fbi last year questioned ahmedzay who has
family in both afghanistan and pakistan according to marinaccio
john doe appears to be reference to zazi who allegedly received training
from group linked to al qaeda while he was in pakistan
the new york times reported that both ahmedzay and medunjanin had participated
in the pakistan trip making them prime suspects in the unfolding bomb plot
probe it said the trio attended the same new york high school
dressed in gray sweatshirt and gray pants for the brief court appearance
ahmedzay was kept in custody pending bail hearings next week
zazi has been charged with conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction and is
being held without bail in brooklyn
prosecutors say he traveled to new york with bomb making instructions in
laptop after receiving training from the al qaeda affiliate he also allegedly
shopped for large quantities of chemicals found in beauty products that could
have been the ingredients for explosives
his father and an imam living in queens have both been charged with lying to the
fbi
according to us media reports the two new arrests took place at night some
hours after fbi agents entered medunjanin home with search warrant and
seized his passport marinaccio said ahmedzay was arrested during his night
shift while driving cab
after losing his passport medunjanin was involved in car accident the report
said and the suspect who was being trailed tried to flee on foot but was
apprehended
he was treated at queens hospital for minor injuries then questioned by
detectives
rallying dakar rally seventh stage results
antofagasta chile jan afp
results of the seventh stage of the dakar rally here on friday kilometres
special from iquique to antofagasta
autos
stage
nasser al attiyah qat volkswagen km in min sec stephane
peterhansel fra bmw carlos sainz esp volkswagen mark
miller usa volkswagen guerlain chicherit fra bmw giniel
de villiers rsa volkswagen orlando terranova fra stradale
krzysztof holowczyc pol nissan nicolas misslin
fra stradale christian lavieille fra nissan
overall
carlos sainz esp volkswagen nasser al attiyah qat volkswagen
mark miller usa volkswagen guerlain chicherit fra bmw
stephane peterhansel fra bmw krzysztof
holowczyc pol nissan carlos sousa por stradale
guilherme spinelli bra stradale leonid novitskiy rus bmw
christian lavieille fra nissan
motorcyclists
cyril despres fra ktm km in hr min sec marc coma esp ktm
at david fretigne fra yamaha ruben faria por ktm
pal ullevalseter nor ktm jose manuel pellicer esp yamaha
juan pedrero garcia esp ktm thomas berglund swe ktm
olivier pain fra yamaha stefan svitko svk ktm
overall
cyril despres fra ktm hr min sec marc coma esp ktm
helder rodrigues por yamaha pal ullevalseter nor ktm
francisco lopez chi aprilia alain duclos fra ktm
david fretigne fra yamaha jonah street usa ktm juan
pedrero garcia esp ktm jose manuel pellicer esp yamaha
european freeze hits transport as britain limits gas
london jan afp
europe was faced with grounded planes and axed trains friday amid bitter winter
weather and hard hit britain was forced to curb industrial gas usage to save
dwindling supplies
significant snowfalls in france caused major delays to train services and
electricity cuts while germans were urged to stock up on food and medicines as
they braced for up to centimetres eight inches of snowfall overnight
what is being forecast for the weekend could lead to chaotic traffic conditions
and potentially leave large parts of germany completely paralysed the autoclub
europa warned
britain suffering its worst winter for three decades prepared for further
freezing conditions as forecasters warned that temperatures would drop below
minus degrees celsius minus four degrees fahrenheit overnight
two men died after falling into frozen lake in leicester central england
hundreds of flights were scrapped leaving more passengers stranded and the
beleaguered eurostar link between britain france and belgium axed half its
services friday and said the disruption would continue into the weekend
the conditions sparked concern for energy supplies in britain where major
companies were ordered to halt using gas friday in order to maintain overall
supplies of the fuel
ninety seven major companies had their gas turned off thursday in the first
such move since although the government said there was no immediate danger
for households
we ve got plenty of supplies the gas storage is about percent full
environment secretary hilary benn told gmtv television
eurostar cancelled half of its trains between london and paris friday and said
only about two thirds of services between london and the continent would operate
over the weekend
it going to be similarly restrictive timetable for saturday with two
thirds of trains in all directions eurostar spokesman told afp in london
adding that it should be the same for sunday
low cost airline easyjet cancelled flights largely to and from london
gatwick and liverpool airports british airways cancelled around departures
from london heathrow while around incoming flights were scrapped
on the roads the aa motor vehicle breakdown service said it had dealt with
breakdowns since december
thousands of schools remained closed while several of the weekend english
premier league football matches were called off including showdown between
heavyweights liverpool and tottenham in northwest england
in france aviation authorities asked airlines to cut quarter of flights on
saturday at paris main charles de gaulle airport due to forecasts for heavy
snow
in the southern city of arles some people were left without electricity
after power lines collapsed under the weight of snow around centimetres fell
in some parts of the southeast
in norway temperatures hit minus degrees celsius in the central village of
folldal the plunging temperatures forced rise in electricity demand sending
prices up too
in poland nine people died in the past two days bringing the total to
since the start of november police spokesman told afp most of the victims
were described as homeless
switzerland kilometre mile gotthard tunnel part of strategic
trans european motorway that runs from germany to italy was due to reopen to
trucks following heavy snowfall
most of mainland spain was put on alert for fresh snowfalls strong winds and
low temperatures while heavy rain caused several floods in the southern
andalusia region
un chief sees disarmament window of opportunity
united nations jan afp
un chief ban ki moon friday hailed what he called new window of opportunity
in disarmament and nuclear non proliferation as he met heads of un agencies
tackling the issues
today there is new window of opportunity in disarmament and non
proliferation he told the meeting am convinced there is much we can do to
achieve our common goal of world free of weapons of mass destruction
ban vowed that disarmament and non proliferation would continue to be among his
top priorities in the months ahead
pledge to continue to do everything in my power to advance the goal of
world free of weapons of mass destruction
he particularly called for successful outcome to the nuclear non proliferation
treaty npt review conference here in may
successful outcome would strengthen confidence not only in the treaty but
also for the collective global effort to achieve world free of nuclear
weapons he noted
the previous npt review conference in may ended in disarray with no
agreement from the participants
review conferences have been held every five years since the treaty was ratified
in there are currently signatory countries to the treaty
ban said he would also attend the global zero summit in paris february and
the munich security conference february
the global zero meeting will bring together more than political and military
leaders dedicated to the phased verified elimination of all nuclear weapons
the annual munich conference is the most important independent forum for
exchange of views by international security policy decision makers
the un secretary general said he also planned to attend summit on nuclear
security in washington in april
he met here friday with the new head of the vienna based un international atomic
energy agency yukiya amano of japan the chief of the organization for the
prohibition of chemical weapons based in the hague rogelio pfirter of
argentina and the executive secretary of the vienna based preparatory
commission for the comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty organization tibot
toth of hungary
former betonsports ceo gets months in us prison
washington jan afp
british national who headed online sports wagering company betonsports plc was
sentenced friday to months in prison in the final case related to the
internet gambling operation officials said
david carruthers former director and chief executive of the london listed
betonsports was sentenced in federal court in missouri the us justice
department announced
carruthers was arrested in texas in july and pleaded guilty to
racketeering charges linked to the company operations in the united states
where internet gambling is illegal he had agreed to cooperate with us
authorities
the prosecution and conviction of carruthers is significant to the government
efforts at enforcement of us laws against offshore internet and telephone sports
wagering businesses because carruthers was both foreign national and top
executive of betonsports said assistant us attorney steven holtshouser
previously executives owners and investors believed that they were immune
from the reach of us law enforcement even their business plans were directly
aimed at the us market both the conviction of and sentence handed down against
mr carruthers should send message to any foreign business conducting illegal
activities in the united states that geography does not render it untouchable
the sentencing concludes lengthy investigative and prosecution effort by
several law enforcement agencies the justice department said
last year gary kaplan the founder of betonsports was sentenced to more than
four years in prison after agreeing to forfeit more than million dollars
most publicly traded british gaming firms have quit the us market following
passage of us law that bars banks and credit card firms from processing
payments linked to online gambling
the united states has stepped up crackdown on internet gambling claiming that
even sites operating from offshore violate us laws by taking wagers from
americans
rugbyu english premiership result
london jan afp
english premiership result on friday
sale saracens postponed
italian locals attack migrants nine hurt
rome jan afp
residents of an italian town beat with iron bars shot at and ran over
immigrants friday wounding nine two seriously in second night of
racially charged violence authorities and reports said
the clashes in the southern town of rosarno which erupted thursday during
protest by mainly african farm labourers had injured policemen and
foreigners in two days authorities in reggio calabria province said
around locals armed with batons and metal bars and some carrying clubs and
cans of petrol had meanwhile set up barricade late friday near place where
many immigrants meet italian news agency ansa reported
others had earlier occupied the town hall to demand immigrants be removed
italian media reported
in separate incidents on friday two immigrants were beaten and seriously
wounded with iron bars media and officials said one of the wounded was
admitted to hospital for brain surgery
two other immigrants were shot in the legs with hunting shotguns and five more
were deliberately run over by vehicles driven by locals they said they were
lightly hurt
police arrested the occupants of one of the vehicles ansa said quoting
investigators
police reinforcements had been sent to the area said police chief antonio
manganelli as italian president giorgio napolitano called for an immediate end
to the violence
buses arrived on friday evening to ferry out immigrants local journalist
mario tosti told afp
the violence broke out thursday when hundreds of immigrants most of them
africans employed illegally as farm labourers demonstrated after some of them
had been shot at with an air rifle ansa said
demonstrators set fire to cars and smashed windscreens before police intervened
leading to scuffle that left several of the demonstrators wounded ansa said
the disturbances continued on friday with about immigrants holding sit
in in the centre of rosarno while italian residents blocked roads and occupied
the town hall
earlier friday the un refugee agency spokeswoman in italy laura boldrini told
afp the body feared an immigrant hunt in rosarno
team from the un high commissioner for refugees was to visit the area on
saturday she said
boldrini said authorities must find those responsible for the air gun shooting
of the immigrants who included political refugees and asylum seekers
she said there should be immediate dialogue including about the inhuman
conditions in which these workers are living the unhealthy cabins without
water without hygiene
interior minister roberto maroni member of the anti immigrant northern league
party said the tensions were result of too much tolerance towards
clandestine immigration
according to italy main trade union cgil about immigrant workers in
italy live in poor conditions similar to those in rosarno
it said immigrants employed as farm labourers earned low wages of around euro
dollars day
the union also accused the mafia of controlling the sector and criticised
maroni statement saying immigrants were paid miserable salaries and have
terrible hours similar to slavery
rugbyu french top results
paris jan afp
french top results on friday
perpignan racing metro
saturday
montpellier castres bourgoin bayonne toulon montauban albi
brive stade francais biarritz
sunday
toulouse clermont
togolese delegation to assess bus attack aftermath
lome jan afp
togo government said friday it is sending officials to the congolese town of
pointe noire across the border from where the national team bus was ambushed in
an angolan enclave friday in an attack that left one dead and nine injured
the driver of the bus carrying togo side to the african nations cup was killed
in the attack claimed by the armed wing of the front for the liberation of the
enclave of cabinda flec while nine togolese delegation members were hurt
as the flec warned of more attacks in its bid to press independence claims the
togolese football federation said officials would set out for the area saturday
and head for pointe noire where the squad was to spend the night
government statement meanwhile said that lome was keeping close eye on
developments after the attack which left some players saying they did not wish
to play the tournament
the government which is monitoring the situation hourly has decided to send
delegation to pointe noire where the team currently are to support our
compatriots and the whole delegation and to evaulate the situation the
statement read
the togolese people will be kept regularly informed on how this painful episode
progresses it added
togo had been due to compete in cabinda starting with match on monday against
ghana ivory coast and burkina faso are also in the group
burkina faso portuguese coach paulo duarte said meanwhile in comments reported
in lisbon that he judged the incident to be an isolated episode
in my opinion security is good we are well protected in my view this is an
isolated episode duarte told portuguese news agency lusa adding that he
believed the togolese should have followed organisers advice and travelled to
angola by air to the capital luanda before heading to cabinda from there
instead they elected to travel directly by road from their own country
the african football confederation which earlier confirmed the tournament would
go ahead had stipulated that all teams should fly in to angola
cabinda rebels claim togo football bus shooting
lisbon jan afp
the armed wing of the front for the liberation of the enclave of cabinda flec
claimed responsibility for friday machine gun attack on convoy transporting
togo football team
on friday at january the flec pm resistance carried out an
attack in the massabi sector against angolan armed forces escorting togo
national selection the group said portugal lusa news agency reported
the attack left one dead and three seriously wounded it added in communique
signed by the group secretary general rodrigues mingas
it warned this operation is only the start of series of targeted actions
that will continue in all the territory of cabinda
togo sources put the toll at one bus driver dead and nine wounded
contacted by telephone an flec commander joao baptista jimbi reiterated to
lusa that the angolan military rather than the visiting footballers were
the intended target
the attack was directed against the military escort of the angolan armed
forces and not against the togo delegation he told the news agency which
closely monitors developments in portugal former colonies
we regret the existence of wounded among our togolese brothers he added
the oil rich angolan enclave of cabinda is hotbed of rebel activity which had
worried authorities in the lead up to the african nations cup
heavy security was to be deployed for the group matches in the continent top
football event to be held in the regional capital cabinda involving ivory
coast togo ghana and burkina faso
cabinda cut off from the rest of angola by the democratic republic of congo
has been embroiled in long running independence struggle but was to host seven
matches in the month long tournament
the conflict officially ended in deal with the flec which however has
made several claims in recent months about attacks on the military and foreign
construction and oil workers based in the province
dollar retreats after weak us jobs report
new york jan afp
the dollar skidded friday as weaker than expected us jobs report dented hopes
for an improvement in the labor market and the wider economy
the data showing loss of jobs in december dashed hopes for return to
positive job growth that could lead to hike in us interest rates and support
the greenback
