the imf called for gradual unwinding of financial sector support measures and
for policymakers to move boldly to reform the financial sector that is at the
heart of the global downturn
policymakers should work toward the objectives of reducing the risks of future
instability and rethinking how the potential fallout of financial crises would
be borne in the future while at the same time making the sector more effective
and resilient
boxing haye to make first defence against ruiz
manchester england jan afp
britain david haye will make the first defence of his world boxing association
wba heavyweight title against john ruiz in manchester on april it was
announced tuesday
the year old haye former world cruiserweight champion won the title from
giant russian nikolai valuev in germany in november
haye will face former wba champion ruiz the number one contender at the men
arena in what he hopes will be stepping stone to his aim of unifying the
heavyweight division by beating the klitschko brothers vitali and wladimir who
between them hold the world boxing council international boxing federation and
world boxing organisation titles
it been years since the heavyweight championship has been fought in
britain and everyone knows had to go to germany to take the title away from
nikolay valuev haye said tuesday
now it time to showcase my skills again in front of the great british public
and delighted to have the fight at manchester men arena
ve been there on many nights to watch ricky hatton joe calzaghe even mike
tyson and the atmosphere was always tremendous
looking forward to getting back to what do best throwing my trademark
hayemakers ruiz is come forward fighter so aim to get at him break him
down and take him out in good style
boxing great oscar de la hoya of golden boy promotions who promote both
fighters said with his explosive fighting style heart youth and charisma
david haye is the most exciting heavyweight in the world
on the other hand john ruiz is very experienced fighter who knows what it
takes to dominate in the heavyweight division and to win when it counts in big
fight
expect great fight that fight fans shouldn miss
haye had won of his professional fights by knockout with one defeat
while year old american ruiz who has won and lost the wba title twice has
record of wins from bouts with eight losses draw and one no contest
eight killed in battle for key western somali town
mogadishu jan afp
heavy clashes tuesday between pro government militias and islamist insurgents
fighting for control of the western somali town of beledweyn have left at least
eight dead officials and witnesses said
the fighting in beledweyn which lies kilometres miles north of
mogadishu and near the border with ethiopia erupted when pro government forces
launched an offensive to wrest back control of the town from insurgents
the allied enemies of allah who were armed by the ethiopian government attacked
our bases in beledweyn but we defeated them and killed many of them sheikh
mohamed moalim harun told afp by phone from beledweyn
their bodies are still strewn across the streets he added
harun is senior commander for the hezb al islam movement hardline insurgent
group allied with the shebab even more radical islamist movement whose leader
recently proclaimed allegiance to osama bin laden
residents said the clashes which involved exchanges of machinegun fire and
mortar shells were the worst they had seen in long time
the fighting was the heaviest beledweyn has seen recently local resident ali
osman told afp saw eight people killed in the clashes most of them
combatants
in the morning the pro government fighters pushed back the shebab and hezb al
islam militants to the western part of town but they were later defeated and
have now left the city he added
around eight people have died and many of those residents who had been
reluctant to flee the city since this latest round of fighting started late last
year are leaving the town today abdullahi ahmed another resident said
don think anybody will want to stay here after this he added
other witnesses gave the same minimum death toll
pro government militia commander adan buqay confirmed the clashes but could not
say how many people died
there was heavy fighting in the town and several people most of them fighters
were killed but don have the detail he told afp
the shebab and hezb al islam took control of most of the city last week after
more heavy fighting they also stormed and looted offices used by two foreign
aid agencies
beledweyn key town lying near the border with ethiopia has changed hands
countless times recently as hezb al islam the shebab the sufi group ahlu sunna
wal jamaa government forces and various local warlords vie for supremacy
football mancini confirms robinho loan talks
manchester england jan afp
manchester city are in negotiations about loaning record signing robinho to one
of two brazilian clubs santos or sao paulo city manager roberto mancini
confirmed on tuesday
mancini also revealed that the brazilian signed from real madrid in for
british transfer record of million pounds is in his squad for wednesday
league cup semi final second leg clash against manchester united at old
trafford
it is possible that something could happen mancini said
this kind of thing does happen know in italy there were instances when clubs
paid lot of money for fantastic player but afterwards he needed to play at
another club
negotiations are happening but for now he is part of my squad
robinho has only sporadically produced anything like his best form for city and
appears to have grown disillusioned with life in the north of england
return to his homeland could offer robinho the opportunity to secure place
in brazil world cup squad for this year finals in south africa
the world cup in june is big problem for him said mancini
he wants to play for the national team understand that but must decide
what is best for the team
have five or six strikers to choose from which makes it difficult for him
and me
in manchester city premier league defeat by everton this month robinho
suffered the embarrassment of being taken off by mancini before the end of the
match having only come on as substitute
biathlon poiree finally leaves hospital following quad bike crash
oslo jan afp
former biathlon world champion raphael poiree left hospital tuesday nearly
month after undergoing neck and back surgery following an all terrain quad
vehicle crash
the year old norway based frenchman who retired in sustained the
injuries in late december when the vehicle he was driving in the southwestern
town of eikelandsosen flipped over
the hospital where he was treated confirmed tuesday the former overall world cup
champion had left
in his first interview since the accident the former eight time world champion
told norwegian television nrk sunday that he had come close to being left
paralysed
the doctor told me that missed being paralysed by centimetre said poiree
poiree is married to former biathlete liv grete poiree who used to compete for
her native norway he is also coach with the norwegian junior womens team
speed skating pechstein named in german squad list
berlin jan afp
top german speedskater claudia pechstein has been definitively ruled out of
competing at the vancouver winter olympics her manager said tuesday after
last ditch appeal to swiss federal court
pechstein five time olympic champion was banned for doping in july by
the international skating union isu on the basis of irregularities on her
blood passport and not because she had failed drugs test
the ban was upheld by sport top court the court of arbitration for sport
cas in november
pechstein was given glimmer of hope when after an appeal to the swiss federal
court the highest judicial authority in switzerland she was allowed the chance
to participate in world cup event at salt lake city
however the german skating legend did not obtain the minimum qualification
requirement after finishing th in her preferred event the metres
pechstein name was nonetheless included on list of athletes handed to the
germany olympic committee by german speed skating desg president gerd heinze
last week
the german olympic committee is required to provide definitive list of
athletes going to vancouver by friday afternoon but desg have opted to give
themselves room for manoeuvre in the hope that pechstein appeal is upheld by
swiss court
however the swiss federal court on tuesday rejected her latest appeal
pechstein who has never failed drugs test has always maintained her
innocence and claims that the abnormal readings in her biological passport
occurred naturally
egypt prosecutor calls for death penalty in hezbollah trial
cairo jan afp
the prosecution in trial of alleged hezbollah members charged with planning
attacks in egypt demanded the death sentence on tuesday judicial source said
the prosecutor made the request during hearing at the emergency state security
court trying the high profile case which has damaged relations between egypt
and the powerful lebanese shiite militant group
he called for the harshest sentence against the defendants the judicial
source said the trial will resume on february
the men are accused of plotting attacks against ships in the suez canal and
tourist sites and of spying along with other charges
most of the group which includes five palestinian suspects and one sudanese
were rounded up between late and january
four of the defendants among them the alleged lebanese ringleader mohammed
qublan are being tried in absentia after they fled the country
kurds in halabja celebrate chemical ali execution
halabja iraq jan afp
hundreds of kurds took to the streets of the iraqi town of halabja on tuesday to
celebrate the execution of chemical ali hanged for the gassing of some
of its residents in
the execution is just and it fills me with joy that cannot describe said
kulala mohammed who lost two brothers in the attacks
went to pray at the grave of my brothers and to tell them you can now rest
in peace your enemy has gone forever and halabja can be reborn he told afp
ali hassan al majid better known by his macabre nickname was hanged on monday
after being ordered executed for the halabja attack the fourth death sentence
handed down against the infamous henchman of executed iraqi dictator saddam
hussein
in the town cemetery relatives gathered at am gmt the exact
time years ago that majid forces launched their deadly cocktail of mustard
gas and the nerve agents tabun sarin and vx on the small town
aras abed vice president of the association of halabja victims who lost
family members said he was swimming in happiness
the enemy of the kurds and of all humanity got what he deserved he said
karwan adham who represented some of the victims at the trial said everyone
who commits such crimes and who murders should suffer the same fate as ali
hassan al majid
three quarters of the victims at halabja thought to have been the deadliest
ever gas attack against civilians were women and children
in march as iraq eight year war with iran was coming to an end kurdish
peshmerga rebels with tehran backing took over the farming community of
halabja near the border
the iraqi army responded by bombing the area forcing the rebels to retreat into
the surrounding hills leaving their families behind
iraqi jets then swooped over the small town and for five hours sprayed it with
nerve agents
close cousin of saddam majid had already been sentenced to death for genocide
over the kurdish offensives that left an estimated kurds dead in the
and for war crimes committed during the ill fated shiite uprising in
southern iraq
in march last year the iraqi high tribunal handed down third death sentence
for the murders of dozens of shiites in sadr city and najaf
football egypt not out in unbeaten nations cup run
benguela angola jan afp
title holders egypt take record match unbeaten africa cup of nations run
into semi final against bitter rivals algeria at ombaka stadium thursday
the last country to defeat the six time african champions was algeria who won
group match in the tunisian resort of sousse on january with hocine
achiou snatching late winner
cameroon held the record of matches without loss for years after they
dodged defeat from the second match of the tournament in ivory coast to the
nations cup final in morocco
record egypt run
tunisia
group
feb
at monastir
cameroon
egypt
all cairo
group
jan
libya
jan
morocco
jan
ivory coast
quarter final
feb
democratic republic of congo
semi final
feb
senegal
final
feb
ivory coast on penalties
ghana
kumasi unless noted
group
jan
cameroon
jan
sudan
jan
zambia
quarter final
feb
angola
semi final
feb
ivory coast
final
feb
at accra
cameroon
angola
group
all benguela
jan
nigeria
jan
mozambique
jan
benin
quarter final
jan
cameroon aet
tennis australian open results day nine collated
melbourne jan afp
collated results from day nine of the australian open at melbourne park here
tuesday denotes seeding
men singles
quarter finals
marin cilic cro bt andy roddick usa
andy murray gbr bt rafael nadal esp retired knee
injury
women singles
quarter finals
justine henin bel bt nadia petrova rus
zheng jie chn bt maria kirilenko rus
men doubles
quarter finals
michael kohlmann ger jarkko nieminen fin bt fernando gonzalez chi ivan
ljubicic cro retired
bob bryan mike bryan usa bt eric butorac rajeev ram usa
women doubles
quarter finals
lisa raymond usa rennae stubbs aus bt gisela dulko arg flavia pennetta
ita
venus williams usa serena williams usa bt bethanie mattek sands usa yan
zi chn
kurds in halabja celebrate chemical ali execution
halabja iraq jan afp
hundreds of kurds took to the streets in the iraqi town of halabja on tuesday to
celebrate the execution of chemical ali hanged for the gassing of some
of its residents in
the execution is just and it fills me with joy that cannot describe said
kulala mohammed who lost two brothers in the attacks
went to pray at the grave of my brothers and to tell them you can now rest
in peace your enemy has gone forever and halabja can be reborn he told afp
ali hassan al majid better known by his macabre nickname was hanged on monday
after being ordered executed for the halabja attack the fourth death sentence
handed down against the infamous henchman of executed iraqi dictator saddam
hussein
uganda reverses decision to block british oil bid
kampala jan afp
uganda backed down from pledge to bar tullow oil from acquiring more oil
fields after the uk firm presented the president with choice of chinese
french and us partners officials said tuesday
state minister for investment aston kajara told afp that senior tullow
executives met president yoweri museveni in his office on monday to discuss the
fate of the east african country much coveted oil fields
tullow presented proposal to his excellency the president which revealed they
had number of partners interested in developing oil in uganda he said
kajara listed china state oil giant cnooc france total and us company exxon
mobil as partners it could bring in to develop the oil fields if it was allowed
to buy the assets of its canadian partner heritage oil
tullow and heritage control much of uganda confirmed oil reserves in
partnership tullow by itself also owns separate oil field zone
when heritage announced its desire to sell its share tullow invoked
previously negotiated pre emption right to buy out the canadian company and made
bid of billion dollars
tullow move to swallow up heritage assets had sparked ugandan fears that the
british group would secure virtual monopoly over the country oil fields and
drew pledge by kampala to support rival bid by italian group eni
we haven vetoed yet but our statement is very clear that we shall not allow
process that will promote monopoly and therefore we support the heritage eni
transaction energy minister hillary onek had said last week
eni chief paolo scaroni even told italy la repubblica daily on monday that his
group was planning to invest billion dollars billion euros to develop
hydrocarbons in uganda after acquiring heritage rights
but information minister kabakumba matsiko told afp tuesday that uganda had not
made final decision to block tullow bid
the final decision is process and government has not yet reached final
decision he said
the latest estimates suggest that uganda northwestern lake albert region holds
two billion barrels of oil
suicide bomb near us base injures nine in kabul
kabul jan afp
suicide bomber struck near us military base in kabul on tuesday injuring at
least nine afghans police and the nato force said just days ahead of global
summit on tackling taliban led insurgency
the attacker detonated car packed with explosives near the main gate of camp
phoenix military base on the outskirts of kabul on the main road to the
eastern provinces other nato member states also have presence in the camp
although there was no immediate claim of responsibility the bombing bore the
hallmarks of the taliban who are waging an increasingly deadly insurgency to
topple the afghan government and oust foreign troops
there was suicide car bomb attack near camp phoenix the suicide attacker
detonated his car close to an international forces convoy kabul police chief
abdul rahman told afp
he said nine afghan civilians including three who worked as interpreters for the
foreign forces were injured adding the situation is under control
nato international security assistance force isaf said it was aware of an
explosion outside the main gate of camp phoenix that occurred this afternoon at
approximately pm gmt
initial reports indicate the cause of the explosion was vehicle borne ied
the force said referring to an improvised explosive device in car
the bombing comes just over week after seven taliban gunmen armed with suicide
vests launched an attack on civilian and government buildings near the
presidential palace in kabul killing five people
the january attack on kabul was one of the most dramatic strikes on the
capital since the us led invasion ousted the taliban government sparking
the insurgency by remnants of the regime
afghanistan on sunday postponed parliamentary vote for four months in the face
of the insurgency and lack of funds move welcomed by the un which had
raised concerns about graft and logistics
afghan president hamid karzai is in istanbul seeking to win support for plan
to convince taliban foot soldiers to lay down their arms in exchange for jobs
and money
on thursday the afghan government and its foreign backers will meet in london
to try and hammer out possible solutions to the insurgency but the taliban
leadership have repeatedly rebuffed any attempts at peace talks
us officials have said the militants will have to see the tide turn against them
on the battlefield before they come to the negotiating table and tens of
thousands more foreign troops are to be deployed this year
us president barack obama has pledged more troops to the afghan conflict
which along with more from other nato members will swell the foreign
force to about by the end of this year
the taliban and other insurgent groups have refused any talks until all the
foreign forces leave afghanistan and frequently attack the troops across
afghanistan with record foreign military casualties last year
camp phoenix was the site of another suicide blast last november when both
foreign soldiers and afghan civilians were injured in similar attack
afghan soldiers are trained at the base by international troops who have put
the training of afghanistan security forces at the heart of efforts to hand
over responsibility for fighting the taliban insurgency
karzai wants to boost the afghan police and army from the current to
by mid next year and will use the conference in the british capital on
thursday to drum up funding for the scheme
sri lanka votes in tense post war election
colombo jan afp
sri lankans voted in their first post war presidential election on tuesday amid
claims of violence and voter intimidation after bitter and highly personal
campaign
the contest was straight fight between the incumbent mahinda rajapakse and
his former army chief sarath fonseka and was seen as too close to call by
political observers
allies in the defeat of the tamil tiger rebels in may the two men had very
acrimonious falling out after the conflict ended and both ran campaigns that
sought to take personal credit for the military victory
polls closed at pm gmt with election monitors reporting turnout of
up to percent in the south of the island but far weaker showing in the
tamil dominated north where voters were rattled by series of pre dawn bomb
blasts
both sides predicted victory when results are announced wednesday and blamed
each other for the poll related violence in several areas that prompted
negative verdict from observers
we can say it was free and fair election because there were number of
incidents all over the country said dissanayake national coordinator of
the independent centre for monitoring election violence cmev
another group the campaign for free and fair elections also raised doubts
citing voter intimidation and administrative obstacles that prevented voters in
northern areas from casting their ballots
fonseka himself could not vote because his name was absent from the
electoral register used for the poll but the election commission said that
would have no bearing on his eligibility for the presidency
that did not prevent lawmakers from rajapakse ruling party appearing on
television to say he might be disqualified
the vitriolic nature of the campaign coupled with the personal animosity
between the two main candidates and the reported poll irregularities are likely
to fuel concerns that the loser might reject the result triggering fresh
unrest
ahead of the election fonseka had alleged the government would intimidate
voters and was preparing coup if it lost he had been accused in turn of
working with militia of army deserters to disrupt the ballot
inside menik farm an internment camp for war displaced tamils in the north
people queued for hours to cast their ballots
about men and women some nursing infants lined up under the hot sun in
front of school building in the sprawling complex of makeshift huts and tin
roofed buildings that housed nearly at its height last year
very thirsty and tired and we ve had little to eat but here to vote
voting for new government vijaya letchchami told afp after waiting
for four hours to have her say at the ballot box
she like the vast majority of tamils that afp spoke to in the highly
militarised tamil dominated north said she was voting for fonseka who she saw
as better for ethnic minorities
an estimated people remain in camps which are strictly restricted for the
media
about were freed at the end of last year under pressure from the united
nations which described conditions in them as appalling
rajapakse cast his ballot in his southern home constituency of mulkirigala and
told reporters he was confident of securing second term
we must be ready to face the challenges of reaching new heights after this
vote said the year old who called the election only four years into his
six year term to seize on the victory over the liberation tigers of tamil eelam
ltte
opposition leader ranil wickremesinghe said after polling closed that it had
been by and large peaceful despite some incidents in the north
there was high poll turnout and that will ensure that sarath fonseka will
be president he told reporters
last may rajapakse and fonseka both from the majority sinhalese community
wiped out the ltte who had fought for tamil homeland since in
military campaign since dogged by allegations of war crimes
but from close allies on the battlefield they became irreconcilable enemies
after fonseka year old political novice decided to challenge his former
boss at the ballot box on an anti corruption platform
asian economies seeing growth accelerate imf
washington jan afp
asia developing economies are seeing acceleration in led by china
percent growth rate the imf forecast tuesday as the region recovers swiftly
from global downturn
the emerging economies in the region are set to grow at an average percent
this year as well as in compared with the percent in the
international monetary fund said in its world economic outlook update
china growth was likely to slow to percent next year after posting
percent this year and percent in the imf said
sri lanka votes in tense post war election
colombo jan afp
sri lankans voted in their first post war presidential election on tuesday amid
claims of violence and voter intimidation after bitter and highly personal
campaign
the contest was straight fight between the incumbent mahinda rajapakse and
his former army chief sarath fonseka and was seen as too close to call by
political observers
allies in the defeat of the tamil tiger rebels in may the two men had very
acrimonious falling out after the conflict ended and both ran campaigns that
sought to take personal credit for the military victory
polls closed at pm gmt with election monitors reporting turnout of
up to percent in the south of the island but far weaker showing in the
tamil dominated north where voters were rattled by series of pre dawn bomb
blasts
both sides predicted victory when results are announced wednesday and blamed
each other for the poll related violence in several areas that prompted
negative verdict from observers
we can say it was free and fair election because there were number of
incidents all over the country said dissanayake national coordinator of
the independent centre for monitoring election violence cmev
another group the campaign for free and fair elections also raised doubts
citing voter intimidation and administrative obstacles that prevented voters in
northern areas from casting their ballots
fonseka himself could not vote because his name was absent from the
electoral register used for the poll but the election commission said that
would have no bearing on his eligibility for the presidency
that did not prevent lawmakers from rajapakse ruling party appearing on
television to say he might be disqualified
the vitriolic nature of the campaign coupled with the personal animosity
between the two main candidates and the reported poll irregularities are likely
to fuel concerns that the loser might reject the result triggering fresh
unrest
ahead of the election fonseka had alleged the government would intimidate
voters and was preparing coup if it lost he had been accused in turn of
working with militia of army deserters to disrupt the ballot
inside menik farm an internment camp for war displaced tamils in the north
people queued for hours to cast their ballots
