shaun is truly an amazing competitor us halfpipe coach mike jankowski said
clark teter olympic runner up gretchen bleiler and elena hight return are
all back from the us women halfpipe lineup
reigning snowboardcross champion wescott will be joined by five time games
champion nate holland olympian graham watanabe and newcomer nick
baumgartner
it was huge battle to make this men sbx team six different us riders have
already been on the world cup podium this season and only four of them make the
olympic team foley said
vancouver is going to be an incredible fight for the podium and our guys are
ready for it
lindsey jacobellis who settled for silver at the olympics returns to the
women snowboardcross lineup as favorite joined by olympic newcomers faye
gulini and callan chythlook sifsof
alpine racers include two time olympian and bronze medalist chris klug and
olympians tyler jewell and michelle gorgone
klug hard work and perseverance have really paid off foley said what an
amazing accomplishment it is for him to make the olympic teams in and
then miss the team in and now make the team again in
zelaya to leave honduras on wednesday
tegucigalpa jan afp
deposed honduran leader manuel zelaya has confirmed he will finally leave on
wednesday the brazilian embassy where he has been holed up for more than four
months
zelaya ousted last july in military backed coup said on tuesday that he had
accepted an invitation from dominican president leonel fernandez to leave the
country with him following the inauguration of his successor
porfirio lobo who was elected in controversial november polls called by interim
leader roberto micheletti is to be sworn in at ceremony in tegucigalpa to be
attended by fernandez
am going to take up his invitation and leave with him fernandez logically
with the approval of the government of lobo sosa zelaya told the local radio
station globo
zelaya made surprise return to the poor central american nation on september
in bid to wrestle power back from micheletti taking up refuge in the
embassy of regional powerhouse brazil
this effort and subsequent attempts to be temporarily reinstated as president
ahead of lobo swearing in have ultimately proved unsuccessful
an angry zelaya issued parting shot against the political persecution that
he said was forcing his departure accusing honduran judges in particular of
treating him unfairly he also promised to return at an unspecified date
zelaya departure and the swearing in of lobo cap months of political turmoil
that have gripped honduras since zelaya was ousted in military backed coup on
june
zelaya was originally elected as moderate conservative but took sharp turn
to the left while in office aligning himself with venezuela socialist leader
hugo chavez and bolivia evo morales
elected in for non renewable four year term he was ousted after forging
ahead with controversial plans to hold referendum to change the constitution
so that he could extend his stay in office
the country top court previously ruled the move was illegal and backed the
bloodless coup during which zelaya was bundled in his pajamas onto plane bound
for costa rica
lobo said last week that zelaya his family and their entourage could leave
honduras with no fear of being arrested
the united states condemned the june coup and called but failed to have
zelaya reinstated it has since recognized lobo election
football ll keep on playing says record breaker hassan
benguela angola jan afp
egypt skipper ahmed hassan insists he will keep going even after he set an
african record of international caps in the africa cup of nations quarter
final win over cameroon
the year old al ahly of egypt midfielder was without doubt the star
attraction in his team victory over hard fighting cameroon here on monday
to set new egyptian and african benchmark
his milestone game started badly when he gifted the indomitable lions th
minute lead by heading into his own net
but he bounced back with two goals at the right end of the pitch and shoot the
defending champions to semi final date with algeria back in benguela on
thursday
even after reaching this individual milestone hassan remained modest and said
victory for the team was lot more important
very happy with this milestone feel still have few competitions in
me want to continue playing for as long as feel am fit said hassan
sporting red egypt jersey that proudly proclaimed the magical number
but even happier that the team won the game egyptian people only care
about the national team results which are more important than any personal
glories
ahmed hassan beat the previous record of compatriot hossam hassan whose
committment was hailed by the egypt skipper
learnt lot from hossam he set an example for all players to follow his
will and determination were exceptional said ahmed hassan now the world
third most capped footballer
making records has been very much part of hassan distinguished career
he is part of the team who have compiled nations cup all time unbeaten run of
matches and ultimate victory on sunday would make the little midfielder the
first player in the history of the competition to lift the trophy three times in
row
egypt would also become the first country to win the nations cup three times in
row it would also be their seventh nations cup title overall
we re here in angola to retain our title and we are still very much on course
to doing just that we would be the first team in africa to win three times in
row he said
we have also not lost for games and would win the trophy for the fourth
time having previously won in and
personally no player has done this in egyptian history
victory in angola would also make up in part for egypt failure to qualify for
the world cup in south africa
we wanted to be at the world cup but it did not happen football can give
you everything our supporters are bit angry that we failed to qualify and
success in angola will make them bit happier
but standing between hassan and egypt for place in sunday final are no other
team than bitter regional rivals algeria who pipped the pharaohs in most
acrimonious play off in november to qualify for the world cup
canada touts new focused on helping the poor
ottawa jan afp
canada will champion new identity focused on ending child mortality and
other health woes in poorer countries when it hosts the club of industrialized
nations in june the government said tuesday
details of the plan are to be outlined in canadian prime minister stephen
harper keynote speech at the world economic forum annual meeting in davos
switzerland this week his spokesman dimitri soudas told briefing
it will be the first time harper attends the january wef conference
soudas said harper would use the address to lay out his plan for new agenda
focusing on helping the poorest and most vulnerable
in an opinion letter published earlier in the daily toronto star harper said
the needs new essential purpose after being displaced last year by the
larger as the premier forum for fiscal and economic cooperation
going forward the smaller but still influential should focus on security
concerns and human welfare he said
harper commended the massive international relief effort in haiti after
devastating quake struck two weeks ago
but he added it should not take natural disaster to turn our attention to
the less fortunate
the world poor have been hit hardest by the global economic downturn and in
these difficult times we must address their pressing needs
indeed all too frequently tragedy strikes those that can least afford it the
lack of the most basic services can lead to dire consequences especially for
the world most vulnerable populations
harper wrote that it was not acceptable that women die each year
during pregnancy and childbirth and nine million children die before their fifth
birthday even though inexpensive solutions such as providing clean water
inoculations and better nutrition are available
as president of the in canada will champion major initiative to
improve the health of women and children in the world poorest regions he
said in the letter
as its contribution to this initiative canada will look to mobilize
governments and non governmental organizations as well as private foundations
haiti queues for aid amid fresh aftershocks
port au prince jan afp
vast crowds of haitians massed around aid stations tuesday threatening to
overwhelm emergency food handouts against backdrop of new political and
seismic aftershocks
stung secretary of state hillary clinton defended the united states role in
the relief operation from charges of heavy handed incompetence as us officials
backed plans to cancel haiti debt and consider easing immigration rules
port au prince was rattled by two new earth tremors two weeks after the deadly
earthquake that killed at least people scaring weary and destitute
people from their improvised beds in makeshift camps
we just can get used to these quakes each aftershock is terrifying and
everyone is afraid trader edison constant said exhausted by stream of daily
aftershocks since the devastating magnitude quake on january
the us geological survey which has warned the beleaguered caribbean nation to
expect tremors for the next month measured the second tremor at
hid under my bed said iron merchant julien louis others were more
resigned shuffling out under heavy humid skies to rejoin queues outside money
transfer agencies banks immigration offices and aid distribution centers
in the cite soleil slum several thousand desperate people converged on walled
police compound to receive sacks of relief supplies surging against the steel
gates as officials struggled to let them in one by one
all across the city ad hoc street committees have hung imploring banners in
english and french sos we need help here and we need food and water
in desperate attempts to attract aid agencies attention
with its helicopters in constant rotation overhead and foot patrols
increasingly in evidence in the city the us military has assumed dominant
role in the aid operation and has been largely welcomed by haitians
but clinton was forced to defend the operation from criticism that it had been
badly coordinated with other states and agencies efforts and had been too
heavy handed in the immediate chaotic aftermath of the quake
deeply resent those who attack our country the generosity of our people and
the leadership of our president in trying to respond to historically disastrous
conditions after the earthquake clinton said in washington
some us troops have been sent to haiti to distribute food and water
senior congressional ally of us president barack obama senate majority leader
steny hoyer suggested that washington might temporarily slacken visa rules for
haitians with american connections
and clinton said she favored forgiving haiti already crippling billion dollar
debt
the united states needed to send both troops and civilians to deliver aid to
the haitians who desperately needed it she said we re scrambling as quick as
we could to do everything we needed in the past two weeks
leftist latin american allies venezuela bolivia and cuba have criticized the
united states accusing us forces of occupying the country
senior italian official separately deplored lack of coordinated
international aid effort in haiti saying the united states had too many
officers there and could not find capable leader
the international relief effort has been hampered by traffic congestion and
so far groundless security fears and has yet to get enough aid into the
capital port au prince and flattened towns near the quake epicenter
with the port only recently reopened the hub of the aid operation remains the
airport single road connects the airport the un headquarters and the haitian
government temporary home in dilapidated police station
motley caravan of trucks rented by various military and aid organizations
snakes down this road snarling traffic and holding up aid deliveries
looters were out early tuesday in the capital commercial center and appeared
to be more organized than in past days sharing out the tasks of digging through
the rubble equipped with wagons and sledgehammers
donor nations and aid organizations have warned rebuilding the impoverished
country will take at least decade
right now the needs of the people are survival and immediate recovery said
pierre kraehenbuehl director of operations at the international committee of
the red cross
next comes the phase of long term reconstruction he said in tokyo this is
going to be more than years of efforts
haitians who lived with decades of political upheaval and bloodshed fear the
new found international interest in their plight could soon fade
aid organizations fear disease could spread like wildfire if thousands are still
living in tent cities when the rains come in april or may
the west has come to help us it is extraordinary but it will not last said
andre muscadin an evangelical pastor rather than give us fish teach us to
catch fish
donor countries will hold full conference on aid to haiti at the un
headquarters in new york in march
pioneers of mp unveil new chapter in digital music
cannes france jan afp
pioneers in the development of the first mp players this week unveiled ground
breaking technology aimed at offering new content to music lovers during the
midem music industry trade fair
the new mp file format called musicdna offers wide range of additional
content to music lovers about favourite artists and bands including lyrics
videos tour dates and social networks such as twitter viewable alongside
tracks
bach technology the company behind musicdna is headed up by dagfinn bach
leading pioneer of digital music who helped develop the first mp player
twenty years on from the initial development of the mp it is time for digital
audio to once again evolve just as vinyl gave way to the cd and the cd to mp
it is time for the mp to pass the baton on to musicdna the bach technology
ceo told journalists at midem which closes its doors wednesday
musicdna will be available on the company website and is fully compatible on
apple iconic ipods as well as all mp players the company stressed
cost of the file will be up to the retailer but bach said it expects it to be
around the same cost as current mp
experts here this week noted that the new service will compete with apple itunes
lp service which offers users an opportunity to buy additional multimedia
elements and content
the bach format however aims to provide users with more information than on
itunes and to automatically update data on labels bands or retailers each time
the player is connected to the internet
musicdna will also only automatically update legitimately purchased tracks and
anyone downloading the music file illegally will not have their information
updated
record labels such as britain influential independent label beggars group
and tommy boy entertainment have already signed up
other partners on board for the initial launch early this year include delta
records in the united states and italy amiata records
some digital service providers and retailers including china rg which
operates china largest online independent music store sweden inprodicon and
britain people music store are also offering support
none of the world leading record labels however have signed up to date
though company spokesman told afp that it is currently in talks with large
number of other labels including number of major labels
we are getting very good feedback and the fact that we are looking to include
everyone in this and not competing against them helps bach chief executive
stefan kohlmeyer whose company is based in norway germany and china told
journalists
rollout is to be staggered over with full commercial launch expected in
mid
according to the company the musicdna player will be available free from the
musicdna website
response to the announcement was immense with some people trying to
access the website in one day
volleyball us women visit china to face ex coach squad
colorado springs colorado jan afp
the united states women volleyball squad will leave thursday for china to face
their former coach undefeated professional team in an exhibition match
the americans now guided by new zealander hugh mccutcheon will play next
tuesday at guangzhou against evergrande which is coached by jenny lang ping in
match that celebrates the year us china women volleyball rivalry
evergrande went in its inaugural campaign that ended tuesday and will rise
to the chinese league elite division next season
the chinese team features us women national team standouts christa harmotto
and nicole davis who was libero on the us side that took silver medal at the
beijing olympics
after playing for evergrande in the exhibition match the americans will rejoin
the us national side and resume training in anaheim california
lang ping brought young us squad to china in for an eight match pre
olympic tour against chinese pro teams
that american lineup included three players who will be on the court for ths us
squad against evergrande heather hughes tracy stalls and angie pressey
rugby union ospreys in euro line up despite leicester protest
dublin jan afp
the ospreys grip on european cup quarter final place appeared to be
strengthened tuesday when the welsh region were included in fixture list for
this season last eight
the welsh region beat two time european champions leicester in pool six on
saturday to seemingly secure their place in the knockout stages
but leicester protested that no action had been taken against the ospreys when
instead of the regulation players they briefly had in action late on when
lee byrne returned from blood binning only for temporary replacement sonny
parker to stay on the pitch at swansea liberty stadium
european rugby cup erc the tournament organisers said monday they had
received letter of complaint from leicester and that disciplinary officer
roger connor was currently gathering statements and evidence from both clubs
and the match officials relating to the incident in the second half
that left open the possibility of the ospreys being expelled from the tournament
although as this appears to be precluded by tournament rules fine would seem
the more likely punishment
but when the fixture list for the last eight was published tuesday it showed the
ospreys away to french club biarritz on april with no mention at all of
leicester
in addition to the erc inquiry leicester chairman peter tom is writing to erc
counterpart jean pierre lux and have instructed lawyers to represent them
statement issued by the tigers on tuesday said the leicester tigers board of
directors have reviewed the footage of saturday heineken european cup pool
three game against ospreys and believe there is clear case for concern
the board has duty to the club and the other teams in the competition to do
everything in their power to help erc to determine as fully and speedily as
possible who was responsible for th player being on the pitch
to that end the club have lodged an official written complaint with erc which
they are now in the process of investigating
everyone at the club is totally committed to supporting the investigation in
any way they can
the statement added leicester tigers chairman peter tom cbe is also writing
to the chairman of erc jean pierre lux to detail our concerns in respect of
the incident and the club has instructed leading firm of sports law
specialists to represent them in this matter
leicester argue the ospreys gained an unfair advantage with byrne helping
thwart tigers attack instigated by scrum half ben youngs during his time on
the field as th player
eventual champions england were fined pounds during the world cup
when wing dan luger briefly appeared as th player during their group victory
over samoa in melbourne
european cup quarter finals
april leinster irl clermont auvergne fra gmt
april biarritz fra ospreys wal gmt
april munster irl northampton eng gmt
april toulouse fra stade francais fra gmt
british invasion of iraq was illegal ex govt lawyer
london jan afp
the invasion of iraq in was illegal former top british government lawyer
told public inquiry into the war tuesday three days before the appearance of
ex prime minister tony blair
considered that the use of force against iraq in march was contrary to
international law michael wood chief legal advisor to the foreign office
between and told the chilcot inquiry in london
in my opinion that use of force had not been authorised by the security
council and had no other legal basis in international law
wood said he told ministers of his concerns but was brushed aside and in the
end the government top lawyer attorney general peter goldsmith gave the
green light for military action
the focus of the chilcot inquiry which began in november has turned to the
legality of the war ahead of the appearance of blair who took britain into the
conflict alongside then us president george bush despite strong opposition
blair partly justified the march invasion by citing iraqi leader saddam
hussein continued defiance of united nations security council resolutions on
weapons of mass destruction wmd
goldsmith gave his approval just days before war saying un resolution
passed in november provided legal base for military action
some critics charge that he was pressured into this view that the conflict was
in fact illegal and blair should be prosecuted accordingly
two weeks before the invasion goldsmith said case could be made for war under
but it would be safest to get second un resolution explicitly
authorising force
when attempts to achieve this collapsed he gave the go ahead
but wood said made clear it was up to the un security council to decide
whether saddam had complied with their demands not individual states and
no such decision had been made
dutch commission made this point this month when it declared that the invasion
had insufficient legitimacy under international law
wood said he challenged the british government view in january after then
foreign secretary jack straw told the us vice president dick cheney that it
would be ok if no second un resolution were obtained
he wrote to straw saying there was no doubt that without further security
council action or any major developments the uk cannot lawfully use force
against iraq but the minister brushed his concerns aside
he straw took the view that was being very dogmatic and that international
law was pretty vague and that he wasn used to people taking such firm
position wood said
wood testimony supports that of his former deputy elizabeth wilmshurst who
resigned before the invasion because she believed it was illegal
wilmshurst told the inquiry tuesday that all the foreign office lawyers had been
entirely of one view and she believed goldsmith was with them until he
delivered his legal opinion on march
the formal advice wasn asked until the very last moment when really it would
have been very very difficult for him to give different view without giving
major public relations advantage to iraq she said
goldsmith is due to appear before the inquiry on wednesday
critics of the invasion say blair who gives evidence friday should be
prosecuted for violating international law
philippe sands professor of law at university college london told afp he may
be vulnerable under the international crime of aggression although this is not
enforceable in english courts or the international criminal court
it is bit of stretch but the possibility cannot be excluded he said
adding at the very least mr blair may wish to exercise some care in making his
international travel arrangements
google voice slips past apple onto iphone
washington jan afp
google on tuesday slipped its voice service onto iphones by using the web to
sidestep apple rejection of mini program to be given away free at the app
store
today we are launching new google voice mobile web app for iphone os and
higher and palm web os devices google engineer michael van ouwerkerk said in
blog post
google is using html technology that allows data rich applications to run
quickly in web browsers according to the engineer
google voice allows users to merge their home office and mobile phones into
single number it also allows them to make cheap international phone calls send
free sms messages and provides transcripts of voice mail messages
the application accessible on mobile browsers at google com voice lets users
access streamlined version of the google voice inbox and displays the google
number as caller id
google and apple got into tussle last year over voice program for which was
stopped at the door of the app store on the grounds it usurped core telephone
features designed into iphones
ngos warn against militarisation of aid in afghanistan
london jan afp
eight humanitarian organisations urged world powers wednesday to rethink their
policies on using the military to provide aid in afghanistan ahead of major
afghan conference in london
foreign military efforts to win hearts and minds through investment in
development are often poorly executed and less sustainable than civilian
projects and risk putting ordinary afghans at risk they said
the militarization of aid is putting ordinary people on the frontlines of the
conflict said joint report from actionaid afghanaid care christian aid
trocaire oxfam concern worldwide and the norwegian refugee council
afghans say that the military places them at greater risk when they build
schools and clinics which then become targets of armed opposition groups
according to the report the afghan government estimates that international
forces have already spent billion dollars on aid in afghanistan and the us
military alone has budgeted an additional one billion dollars this year
but the agencies warn that far too much of this is focused on short term
activities driven by political pressures to show results while it was often
distributed by proximity to troop deployments rather than humanitarian need
there are no quick fixes in afghanistan and nobody should be cutting corners
the people here deserve better said ashley jackson head of policy for
oxfam international in afghanistan
afghan people have coped with decades of grinding poverty conflict and
disorder and need real long term solutions
foreign ministers including us secretary of state hillary clinton will attend
nation conference on afghanistan in london on thursday aimed at boosting the
domestic security forces there and tackling corruption
world best restaurant el bulli to shut for two years chef
madrid jan afp
el bulli the spanish restaurant repeatedly crowned the world best will be
closed for two years from its chef ferran adria said tuesday citing
fatigue and need to perfect new recipes
no meals will be served in el bulli in and said the controversial
guru of avant garde cuisine and creator of molecular gastronomy
but el bulli is not closing down these are not two years on sabbatical need
time to decide how is going to be we want the year to stand out and
know that when return it will not be the same
statement on the restaurant website added that these two years will be
devoted to thinking planning and preparing the new format for subsequent
years
el bulli on spain northeastern catalan coast last year came top of the
world best restaurants list for the fourth year in row following poll
of more than chefs restaurant critics and industry insiders for britain
restaurant magazine
gourmets the world over reserved sometimes years in advance for table in the
establishment where about avant garde dishes are available on menu for
price of about euros
but adria who appeared tired and nervous said he found working hours
day difficult
it impossible with the current format of el bulli to continue to create he
said at madrid fusion the annual international culinary conference focusing on
the cutting edge in haute cuisine
it like telling british fashion designer john galliano to go work in
factory
he acknowledged that in closing the restaurant he would lose his three michelin
stars
have lot of respect for the guidebooks and when you go you go
adria who joined the kitchen staff of el bulli in and heston blumenthal
in england have since the late rocked the world of gastronomy by using
science to deconstruct and rebuild food both astonishing diners and
delighting reviewers
taste bud treats on the el bulli menu have included oyster meringue hot ice
cream frothy truffle cappuccino and liquid ravioli while vegetables are turned
into lollipops or whipped foams
but he has had to respond to critics who say the chemicals used in his
molecular gastronomy make it unhealthy
can we be proud of cuisine created by ferran adria and his chorus of fans
which fills plates with gelling agents and laboratory emulsifiers another top
spanish chef santi santamaria said in
adria at the time dismissed the comments as nonsense
homemade ice creams those which are excellent must have stabilising
substance to avoid crystallisation sugar goes through chemical and physical
transformation chocolate contains lecithin agar is thick substance that has
been used in japan for centuries he said
santamaria was again dismissive of adria after tuesday announcement
the news of the temporary closure of el bulli seems to be of very secondary
importance especially considering that ferran adria has been increasingly
involved in his other projects mostly related to administration he told afp
after this non news madrid fusion has become madrid bulli
but france joel robuchon one time chef of the century who threw in his
apron to find happiness said he fully backed adria decision
he repeatedly told me he stop work early in life robuchon told afp in
telephone interview he say you were right promise you ll stop
it very time consuming job especially when you re listed as top
establishment by the guides said robuchon you worry about every little
thing there enormous pressure
robuchon was the first of run of great french chefs to turn their backs on
gourmet stardom followed notably by alain senderens in and olivier
roellinger in
sweden guarantees million euro loan for saab minister
stockholm jan afp
sweden will guarantee million euro million dollar loan swedish
carmaker saab requested from the european investment bank enterprise minister
maud olofsson said tuesday following gm confirmation of saab sale to
spyker
we know that the deal has been sealed between spyker and gm and therefore the
