new year eve also presented the world with blue moon the name for
second full moon in one single month for only the second time in nearly two
decades
rio beach party ushers in new year water games in uruguay
rio de janeiro dec afp
thousands of people crammed copacabana beach thursday to celebrate the new year
with massive fireworks display and night of music and revelry
further south in montevideo pedestrians were pelted with water balloons in
uruguay traditional end of year bash
break in the weather after six days of rain opened the human floodgates in
rio most famous beach with authorities expecting up to two million locals and
tourists at free outdoor musical events
some tourists are expected to turn up on the sandy stretch ranging from
low budget travelers sleeping in vans near the beach to jet setters paying up to
dollars for five night stay in luxury hotel
offshore barges loaded with tons of fireworks were preparing to light up
rio guanabara bay and the famous pao de azucar or sugarloaf mountain
enclosing it
the fireworks display is designed by france grupo which lit up the eiffel
tower at the start of the new millennium in
to prevent unrest and tackle crime nearly military police have been
deployed throughout copacabana equipped with israeli made night vision goggles
meanwhile in the uruguayan capital office workers and tourists were all heads
up and dodging water balloons chucked at them from high rises as montevideo
residents celebrated the end of year in the warm summer temperatures of the
southern hemisphere
is it always like this always the same that great happy new year young
brazilian tourist named marcia said after she and her husband were doused with
traditional uruguayan shower
cricket fast bowler taylor freed after arrest for assault
kingston dec afp
west indies fast bowler jerome taylor escaped starting the new year in police
lock up after he was arrested charged and released over an incident at bar
taylor who had to return home early from the west indies recent three test
tour of australia with injuries was charged with using indecent language
assaulting police officer improper conduct and resisting arrest by local
police in his parish st elizabeth
according to police sergeant clifford evans taylor was patron in bar when
police ordered it to close as required at pm
taylor who has played tests and taken wickets since his west indies
debut became abusive and matters escalated when police tried to place handcuffs
on the cricketer
taylor was later released and scheduled to appear in court on january
russia to impose tariffs on oil export to belarus
moscow jan afp
russia will impose customs tariffs on oil supplied to belarus russia
government said early friday as minsk denounced unprecedented pressure on its
delegation due to hold talks in moscow the interfax news agency reported
talks were held from december to practically daily but unfortunately we
did not reach an agreement the government press service was quoted as saying
belarus was informed of russia decision to impose tariffs starting january
the press service said assuring that russia was ready to get rid of tariffs as
soon as requisite documents were signed
meanwhile the belarusian delegation was called back to minsk as russia
offers practically torpedoed the customs bloc set up by russia belarus and
kazakhstan due to be launched july source in minsk told interfax
during talks the belarusian delegation came up against unprecedented pressure
so belarus was forced to call off its delegation but handed over to russia the
documents necessary to continue talks the source added
bitter dispute between russia and belarus two years ago in which minsk angered
moscow by imposing large customs duty on oil transits led to three day cut
in russian oil supplies to the european union
nfl denver stokley fined for swipe at game official
englewood colorado dec afp
the national football league has fined denver receiver brandon stokley
dollars for making contact with an official that led to his being tossed from
last week game in philadelphia
stokley said he would appeal the fine
the year veteran was upset over the lack of an ass interference call on
third down play in the first quarter against the eagles when his route was
disrupted by defender
seeing no penalty flag he sprinted down the field and shouted at official todd
prukop who pointed for him to go to his sideline
as stokley moved to leave the field he turned and waved his right arm in
disgust accidentally slapping prokop hand
nfl titans assistant coach fined for abusing game official
nashville tennessee dec afp
the nfl fined tennessee defensive coordinator chuck cecil dollars for
verbally abusing game official with his comments from the sideline in the
titan loss to the chargers on christmas
the titans had just been flagged for roughing chargers quarterback philip rivers
when an official heard cecil say something
the titans were penalized another yards for unsportsmanlike conduct and
eventualy lost the game
coach jeff fisher defended his first year coordinator saying cecil was
overheard talking to fellow coaches on his headset fisher said thursday after
practice that cecil will explain who he was talking to when he appeals the fine
fisher again declined to discuss what cecil said and that coaches usually get
warnings
hopefully it ll be recognized as misunderstanding fisher said
this isn the first time this season the nfl has fined someone connected with
the titans other than player
team owner bud adams was fined dollars for making obscene hand gestures
after win over buffalo in november
boxing no charges against tyson in airport scuffle
los angeles dec afp
mike tyson and the photographer who provoked the former heavyweight world
champion ire at los angeles international airport last month won face
charges over their scuffle prosecutors said thursday
city attorney spokesman frank mateljan said prosecutors found insufficient
evidence to charge tyson or photographer tony echeverria
both men were arrested on november after an altercation in which each said
the other hit him
echeverria said blow by tyson the once feared heavyweight world champ
knocked him to the ground and he was treated for cut to the forehead
tyson was traveling with his family when he was mobbed by photographers
his attorney shawn champion holley said at the time that tyson was protecting
his infant daughter after echeverria collided with her stroller
she welcomed the decision not to charge the former fighter
the city attorney decision today is small victory for those who continue to
be harassed annoyed and even stalked by the paparazzi chapman holley said
authorities in arizona said after tyson arrest that they were watching the
case to see if the former boxer should be sent to jail for violating terms of
his probation in drug case in which tyson pleaded guilty to cocaine
possession
the airport incident came after difficult year for tyson who suffered
personal tragedy in may when his four year old daughter died after accidentally
strangling herself with loose cord on treadmill
tyson exploded on the boxing scene in the mid becoming the youngest
heavyweight champion in history in at the age of
considered unbeatable for the rest of the decade tyson career went off the
rails when he suffered shock upset to james buster douglas in
in tyson was convicted of raping beauty queen at pageant in
indianapolis indiana he served three years of six year sentence and was
released in and has always denied raping the woman
iron mike reclaimed the heavyweight throne but lost to evander holyfield in
and notoriously bit holyfield ears twice in rematch adding
banishment to his ridicule
tyson was jailed again in for assaulting two people following traffic
accident tyson filed for bankruptcy in and retired after losses to
britain danny williams in and american kevin mcbride in
korea calls for end to hostile relations with us
seoul jan afp
north korea early friday called for an end to hostile relations with the united
states after year marked by nuclear and missile tests and its rejection of
international peace efforts
the call was made in new year joint editorial of several leading state north
korean newspapers the official korean central news agency kcna said and
comes with us christian missionary apparently detained in the isolated
country
the fundamental task for ensuring peace and stability on the korean peninsula
and in the rest of asia is to put an end to the hostile relationship between the
dprk and the usa kcna quoted the editorial as saying
it also addressed international concerns about pyongyang nuclear capabilities
after saw washington attempt to bring kim jong il communist regime back
to stalled six nation talks on the issue
it is the consistent stand of the dprk north korea to establish lasting
peace system on the korean peninsula and make it nuclear free through dialogue
and negotiations the editorial said
in washington state department official said north korea should demonstrate
its good faith by returning to the six party talks which were last held year
ago
actions speak louder than words the official said speaking on condition of
anonymity good step forward would be to return to six party talks
the us detainee robert park aged was reported by colleagues to have
crossed the frozen tumen river from china on christmas day in one man protest
against repression in the hardline north
us citizen of korean ancestry he claimed he had seen vision from god of
north korea liberation and redemption his colleagues said adding that park
crossed the border shouting came here to proclaim god love
the north said tuesday it had detained an american for illegal entry from china
its first apparent reference to park it said the man whom it did not name was
under investigation
in march two us television journalists who crossed into north korea from china
spent more than four months behind bars for illegal entry
laura ling and euna lee were sentenced to years hard labour but were freed
following mission led by former us president bill clinton in august
after months of sabre rattling marked by nuclear test and missile launches
the north used clinton visit to extend peace feelers to washington
south korea has said park detention would not hurt efforts to resume the six
party nuclear disarmament talks
us envoy stephen bosworth visited pyongyang in december to try to persuade it to
return to the forum which groups the two koreas the us japan russia and
china
friday new year day editorial also put great emphasis on what it called
bringing about radical turn in the people standard of living in
impoverished north korea
this would be achieved by quicker development of light industry and agriculture
kcna said
our building of the country into an economic giant is aimed to all intents and
purposes at radically improving the people standard of living the editorial
quoted kim as saying
the editorial warned neighbouring south korea against committing acts that may
aggravate the confrontation and tension and take the road of respecting the
inter korean declarations promoting north south dialogue and improving the
relations between both sides
snowboarding america pearce injured in training
park city utah dec afp
american snowboarder kevin pearce was injured thursday while training in the
halfpipe at park city mountain resort us snowboarding said
brief statement issued by the federation said pearce had been taken to the
university of utah medical center in salt lake city for treatment
media reports said pearce suffered serious head injury when he hit his head on
the halfpipe while attempting trick
the year old was training for olympic qualifying events in mammoth mountain
california next week
al qaeda threat looms into new decade warns british pm
london dec afp
the failed detroit plane bombing showed that terrorism remains very real
global threat as the world enters new decade eight years after british
prime minister gordon brown warned friday
world leaders needed to cooperate urgently to tighten security at airports and
on aircraft following the december attack in which year old nigerian
nearly downed us jet as it prepared to land he said
the new decade is starting as the last began with al qaeda creating
climate of fear he wrote saying the failed bombing had exposed an evolving
terrorist threat and highlighted major new base for terrorism
the failed attack in detroit on christmas day reminds us of deeper reality
that almost years after september th international terrorism is still
very real threat he added
the detroit attack which has led to major review of security procedures and
the coordination of airline and other watch lists had thrown the spotlight onto
the threat posed by militants based in yemen he said
umar farouk abdulmutallab is believed to have been trained in yemen before
embarking on the failed bombing with explosives concealed in his underwear
which remained undetected as he passed through nigerian and dutch airports
enemies of democracy and freedom now trying to mastermind death and
destruction from yemen as well as other better known homes of international
terror such as pakistan and afghanistan are concealing explosives in ways
which are more difficult to detect said brown
al qaeda and their associates continue in their ambition to indoctrinate
thousands of young people around the world with deadly desire to kill and
maim he wrote in an article on his downing street office website
and he said our response in security intelligence policing and military
action is not just an act of choice but an act of necessity
brown said britain has one of the toughest borders in the world and had
screened million passengers in and out of the country against watchlists
including the detroit attempted bomber who was refused visa in may
but in light of the detroit incident we all urgently need to work together on
how we might further tighten these arrangements he said
and he stressed that britain cannot rely only on fortress britain strategy
but must take the fight to where extremists are based in afghanistan
pakistan and all around the world
the detroit plot thankfully failed but it has been another wake up call for
the ongoing battles we must wage not just for security against terror but for
the hearts and minds of generation
afp
afp world news service no unauthorized reproduction
prisoners used to shovel snow bound us capital
washington dec afp
the us capital paid prison inmates to shovel sidewalks crosswalks and bus stops
after the biggest december blizzard in the city history the department of
corrections said thursday
two work crews comprising some prisoners convicted of minor offenses were
deployed around the city december and along with two prison guards to
watch over them doc spokesman michon parker told afp
each inmate was paid dollars per hour for their work he added
the december snowstorm dumped centimeters inches of snow on the
city the heaviest on record in the month of december
the doc did not say which washington locations benefited from the snow shoveling
service
it said it was part of rehabilitation program signed with city authorities in
that pays inmates to clean buildings remove trash and debris and mow
grass
rio hotel horror as landslides kill
angra dos reis brazil jan afp
rescuers saturday pulled more bodies from an avalanche of thick mud and rock
that buried luxury hotel filled with new year revelers as landslides in
southern brazil claimed at least lives
the death toll from the hotel tragedy on ilha grande resort island southwest
of rio rose to
state officials said another landslide in the nearby city of angra dos reis
south of rio left at least people dead part of series of mudslides
brought on by incessant rains that have killed at least people across the
state of rio de janeiro since wednesday and left dozens missing
authorities said the hotel sankay was full to capacity with about guests
including children ringing in the new year at the idyllic seaside getaway on
bananal beach
the complex is nestled at the bottom of jungle covered hillside which gave way
before dawn friday on new year day transforming the tourist paradise into an
unimaginable hell
it was deafening noise ve never heard anything like it loud thunder
that wouldn stop felipe gomes martins hotel neighbor told brazil news
website
there was lot of earth mud trees trees falling and taking away
everything said martins who described how he and his father helped rescue
some people as the landslide swamped the area
rio deputy governor luiz fernando pezao said it was vision of horror
describing it to cbn radio as mountain of rocks and trees covering various
homes
nearby houses had been rented out to vacationers for the holiday period
fire chief said the death toll at the hotel site could rise to and rescue
teams were speeding their search saturday amid warnings of the possibility of
new landslides
the whole area is in severe danger of new landslides due to the vegetation
fire department commander pedro machado told globo news
about rescue workers and firefighters aided by rescue dogs wrestled to
remove tons of mud rocks and thick tree trunks in the hope of finding victims
alive on ilha grande but the chances of finding survivors are very slender
machado said
we cannot use heavy equipment because of the risk of setting off new
landslides he said
authorities said most of the bodies recovered earlier were found on land but at
least three had been pulled from the sea
it was not immediately known if there were foreigners among the dead
the hotel sankay which opened in catered to brazilian and foreign
tourists looking for remote beachside hideaway
the island whose bananal beach can only be reached by water is the largest in
translucent bay studded with pristine tropical islands
in the center of the city of angra dos reis seaside town on the mainland
overlooking ilha grande bay about kilometers miles south of rio
another landslide buried several houses killing at least according to
government statement
top brazilian geologist said the natural risk is very severe in locations
like bananal beach where thick vegetation grows in unstable ground on steep
rocky terrain
the occupation of unstable areas is greatly increasing the risk of accidents
alvaro dos santos former director of the technology research institute told
the newspaper folha de sao paulo
although the rains stopped on friday authorities put rio on alert because of
fears of potentially devastating mudslides in its densely populated hillside
favelas or shanty towns
about people were reported killed thursday because of subsidence and house
collapses mainly in and around the city
the mudslides have forced people to leave their homes across the state
about the same number affected by similar mudslides which hit the state one year
ago
darts world championships results
london jan afp
pdc world championships results on saturday
semi finals
simon whitlock aus bt raymond van barneveld ned
phil taylor eng bt mark webster wal
top us anti terror boss vows focus after airliner attack
washington jan afp
the recent failed bid to blow up us airliner is reminder of insidious
terrorist threats faced by the united states according to top us
counterterrorism official who vowed saturday to redouble efforts to prevent
further attacks
michael leiter the director of the us national counterterrorism center warned
the recent attempt by young nigerian man to blow up trans atlantic jet on
december would be followed by more attacks
the failed attempt to destroy northwest flight is the starkest of reminders
of the insidious terrorist threats we face
while this attempt ended in failure we know with absolute certainty that al
qaeda and those who support its ideology continue to refine their methods to
test our defenses and pursue an attack on the homeland
leiter vowed renewed focus as the us intelligence services including the
national counterterrorism center face stern criticism for failing to prevent
the december attack despite warning signs
our most sacred responsibility is to be focused on our mission detecting and
preventing terrorist attacks from happening on our soil and against us
interests leiter said
the american people expect and deserve nothing less
the national counterterrorism center was created in to coordinate efforts
between us intelligence agencies whose failure to share information was
lambasted by the commission into the september attacks
football spanish league table
madrid jan afp
spanish league table after saturday matches played won drawn lost goals
for goals against points
barcelona
real madrid
valencia
sevilla
real mallorca
deportivo la coruna
athletic bilbao
getafe
villarreal
sporting gijon
atletico madrid
valladolid
osasuna
espanyol
tenerife
racing santander
almeria
malaga
real zaragoza
xerez
football barcelona drop first home points in opener
madrid jan afp
barcelona dropped their first home points of the season on saturday in
disappointing home draw with villarreal as the spanish league season resumed
after its winter break
pedro put barca ahead after just seven minutes but david fuster equalised five
minutes after the break to prevent the champions from making it perfect eight
wins at camp nou
real madrid three points behind in second can now move level on points with
victory at osasuna on sunday
we are having good season and have to continue what we are doing said barca
captain carles puyol
we didn get the three points but we were up against one of the best teams in
the league we have to rest now because we have another game very soon
barcelona host sevilla on tuesday in the first leg of the kings cup last
the kings cup was one of six trophies barca won in and they presented their
silverware to the camp nou fans in pre match ceremony
the players were also given guard of honour by villarreal before kick off
barcelona rested lionel messi while andres iniesta started on the bench as he
came back from injury but the celebrations continued as pedro netted the opening
goal
thierry henry hammered spectacular volley against the crossbar and the ball
fell to pedro who controlled brilliantly on his chest and drilled home
villarreal refused to be rattled by the early goal and in the th minute came
within inches of equalising with cani cross finding the onrushing fuster who
was unlucky as his downward header looped over the bar
close to the interval alves whipped in another brilliant cross but the lively
henry could not head in as diego lopez did enough to put him off
minutes into the second half barca midfielder sergi busquets lost the ball and
fuster fired wide it was good chance but barca did not heed the warning and
minute later villarreal equalised
cani floated in th minute cross and fuster produced controlled finish at
the back post to stun the hosts
substitute iniesta and zlatan ibrahimovic had chances for barcelona while
giuseppe rossi had shot cleared off the line by puyol two minutes from time
sevilla failed to reclaim third place from valencia following defeat at
atletico madrid
brazilian renato headed sevilla ahead on minutes but disastrous own goal
from ivica dragutinovic three minutes after the break helped atletico draw
level
sevilla had argentine aldo duscher sent off for malicious challenge and
atletico captain antonio lopez scored last minute header to win the game
valencia now lead sevilla by two points while atletico move five points clear of
the relegation zone with morale boosting win
serbian substitute nikola zigic scored stoppage time winner as valencia
defeated espanyol
the giant zigic came off the bench on minutes and headed in the winner from
great cross from joaquin in the second minute of injury time
valencia were without david silva and pablo hernandez due to injury so the
attacking onus fell on spanish international david villa
villa the league top scorer with goals had personal duel with espanyol
goalkeeper carlos kameni who twice denied him in the second half
espanyol had not won away in the league since mid september and it showed as
they clung on although luis garcia had chance to put his side ahead in the
final quarter of an hour
when villa finally beat kameni he was denied by the post with his header hitting
the woodwork on minutes as valencia frustrations continued
it looked like valencia would drop more valuable points at home something that
has been their problem so far but zigic sealed late win and tore off his
shirt to celebrate
we have been on the receiving end of late goals against sporting gijon
atletico madrid and real mallorca so this is really good for us said
valencia coach unai emery
rallying spectator dies as new tragedy hits dakar
cordoba argentina jan afp
the dakar rally grim reputation as the world deadliest race claimed another
victim on saturday when female spectator was killed on the opening stage of
the gruelling km event
four other fans were also hurt in the incident which happened near the town of
rio cuarto around km from buenos aires when car careered off course
year old woman has died she suffered serious injuries to the head as well
as the stomach and pelvis norberto brusa doctor at the cordoba hospital
told tn television
she suffered two heart attacks during her transfer to the hospital despite our
best efforts she died soon after arriving
of the four people injured two were were airlifted along with the woman who
was named as natalia gallardo to cordoba from the rally course
young man of suffered leg fractures while nine year old child was taken
to pediatric hospital and is in stable condition added brusa
two others have less serious injuries and are being treated at the local
hospital at rio cuarto
the accident involved vehicle driven by german swiss duo mirco schultis
and ulrich leardi which came off the track before colliding with the group of
fans
competitor number schultis leardi collided with group of spectators at
the km mark of the special stage outside the public zone secured area
reserved for spectators said statement released by the organisers
five public zones set up along the route of the first stage were planned to
provide safe and secure viewing area for spectators
in all there are such areas set aside on the event stages
the organisers and local authorities appeal once again to the people to show
the greatest care and respect the public zones said race source
the dakar rally which was switched to south america last year because of
increasing security concerns in its traditional african home is widely regarded
as one of the most dangerous events in the world
in french motorcyclist pascal terry was killed while racing in the fourth
stage while two men died when their support lorry was involved in collision
with another vehicle in chile
since the race inception in more than people involved in the event
have been killed
saturday tragedy overshadowed the action which saw spain nani roma win the
car stage taking his bmw to commanding victory on the km timed run from
buenos aires to here
roma the dakar champion on two wheels finished over two minutes ahead of
compatriot and former world rally champion carlos sainz driving volkswagen
while another bmw pilot stephane peterhansel of france was third
qatar nasser al attiyah was fourth in his volkswagen while south africa
reigning champion giniel de villiers in another volkswagen was fifth
france david casteu on sherco won the motorcycling section of the stage
casteu edged out compatriot and ktm rider cyril despres the and
champion while race favourite marc coma of spain on another ktm was
seconds off the pace
football collated spanish league results
madrid jan afp
collated spanish league results on saturday
valencia zigic espanyol
barcelona pedro villarreal fuster
atletico madrid dragutinovic og lopez sevilla renato
sunday all gmt unless stated
sporting gijon malaga getafe valladolid racing santander tenerife
almeria xerez real zaragoza deportivo la coruna real mallorca athletic
bilbao gmt osasuna real madrid gmt
rallying spectator dies as new tragedy hits dakar
cordoba argentina jan afp
the dakar rally grim reputation as the world deadliest race claimed another
victim on saturday when female spectator was killed on the opening stage of
the gruelling km event
four other fans were also hurt in the incident which happened near the town of
rio cuarto around km from buenos aires when car careered off course
