hands with men who are not family members and cover up in public
pakistan hockey team lost the final to new zealand failing to qualify for
the champions trophy field hockey premier tournament
ejaz waseem reporter who first published the pictures said he hoped sporting
stars would take note of the fines
got these pictures from the net and printed them in the newspaper and after
this fine hope players will not break our traditions said waseem reporter
for urdu point
pakistan hockey team three times olympic and four times world champions have
seen slump in the last ten years they have failed to win major title since
their world cup triumph in australia in
football gunners mulling campbell comeback
london jan afp
arsenal manager arsene wenger on friday hinted that he could be ready to hand
former gunners centreback sol campbell surprise return to the premier league
campbell has been training with his former team mates and is currently
without club after last year departure from portsmouth and his subsequent
ill fated brief stint with fourth tier outfit notts county
the defender left arsenal for portsmouth in the summer of and the quality
of his performances there must have given wenger cause to regret letting him
leave
asked if campbell could be re signed wenger answered equivocally we have
level of interest for every good player the frenchman said before adding he
trains very hard
wenger has indicated that he could be in the market for new striker west
ham england striker carlton cole crystal palace youngster victor moses and
real madrid argentina forward gonzalo higuain are among the names touted as
possible candidates to fill the gap created by robin van persie long term
injury
speculation goes well at the moment wenger observed sometimes people are
very creative and imaginative
have big respect for the press in general but some people are just not
serious they sit behind their desk and they think what kind of stupid idea can
create and the next day you have to answer that stupid idea that is not
really serious
with that proviso wenger did however confirm that he could be ready to spend
this month if find really good opportunity we will do it but for the
rest wait and see he said
wenger dismissed reports that cesc fabregas could be on his way to real madrid
we have long term plan to be winning team and cesc fabregas is part of
that wenger said we have worked very hard with all of our players and they
all have very long contract commitment
arsenal take on everton on saturday having recovered from slipping points
behind chelsea following their home defeat by the blues at the end of
november to be right back in the title race
and with his side in rich vein of form wenger is keen for saturday fixture
at the emirates to survive the freezing weather following the enforced
postponement of wednesday match against bolton
we do not want break because we have good momentum and we do not want to
interrupt that wenger said
but at the moment we have played many games and we have short squad so the
midweek break was little help to recover from some knocks and bruises
wenger added we tried everything to play against bolton because the fixtures
are nightmare and to find reasonable dates in the season is very difficult
hopefully we can play tomorrow because it is very difficult to fix the games
fabregas will miss saturday match with hamstring strain but is expected to
return for next weekend trip to bolton
denmark striker nicklas bendtner has resumed training following groin problem
and could be back in action by the end of the month
lebanon voices concern over us airport screening measures
beirut jan afp
lebanese president michel sleiman voiced concern on friday about us decision
to tighten security measures for airline passengers traveling from lebanon and
other countries
sleiman made the remarks during talks with visiting us congressman alcee
hastings democrat and co chairman of the commission on security and
cooperation in europe statement from the president office said
sleiman told hastings of his concerns over the security measures announced by
the united states and said he has tasked lebanon ambassador to washington
monitor the situation the statement said
lebanon enjoys climate of stability and has shown that it is capable of
combating terrorism the statement added
in the wake of botched christmas day bid to blow up detroit bound northwest
airliner the united states has taken series of security measures including
tougher screening for airlines passengers
the us transportation security administration tsa said the new measures would
include random enhanced checks on all international passengers flying into us
airports as well as compulsory stricter screenings of those coming from or via
countries
the countries targeted by the new measures include cuba iran sudan and syria
all us designated state sponsors of terrorism they also apply to passengers
traveling from or via afghanistan algeria iraq lebanon libya pakistan
saudi arabia somalia yemen and nigeria
on tuesday cuba lodged formal protest against the us screening rules
hastings is in lebanon as part of regional tour during which he held talks on
the influx of iraqi refugees in countries of the region namely jordan and
syria
us republican senator and former presidential candidate john mccain was due in
lebanon later on friday
tennis brilliant nadal reaches doha final
doha jan afp
rafael nadal sent message to the tennis world with the quality of his
performance in reaching only his second final in eight months with super quick
semi final victory in the qatar open on friday
nadal who begins the defence of his australian open title in nine days time in
melbourne needed only minutes to win against viktor troicki the
in form fifth seeded serbian and the beating might easily have been even more
one sided
nadal summoned such an inspired spell of fierce aggression not at all typical
of his heavy topspinning containment oriented clay court style that he took
points in row while swarming all over his unfortunate opponent in the first
set
that launched the majorcan into sequence of eleven successive winning games
it carried him to within two points of taking the second set to love before the
determined troicki rescued semblance of respectability just at the end
the victory kept alive nadal hopes of winning his first atp world tour title
since april last year when he won on clay in rome after which he was blighted
by injury decline in confidence and loss of form
but nadal was very guarded about the final it going to be very difficult
tomorrow he said of his meeting with either roger federer the top seeded
wimbledon and french open champion or nikolay davydenko the third seeded atp
world tour masters champion
have to play my best tennis like this all the time if want to have any
chance of winning
nadal has never been onc to over state his chances he may also have been
concerned not to get over excited by the possibility of another glory day at
last after such long wait and perhaps even mindful of his critics
some of these who have even suggested that the best of nadal is mostly over
though the evidence of this display admittedly brief and against opposition
little below the top level hinted otherwise
nadal attacked with far more venom than usual hitting flatter and harder and
at least third of the time from inside the baseline which he more usually
patrols from several feet back
it brought shorter rallies intense pressure and clean winners most of them
struck with great accuracy and perception
he also served superbly making good ratio of service winners even though the
stats showed only one ace and ventured several bold forays to the net
culminating in several delightful angled volley winners
it suggested that the year old former world number one is trying to increase
his range of stroke making options in an attempt to reduce the strain on his
complaining body over the course of long season
juncker wins spanish eu presidency backing for euro job
madrid jan afp
the eu spanish presidency gave its backing on friday for luxembourg jean
claude juncker to be given new mandate to lead the group of countries that use
the euro in economic and monetary matters
spain will without question support mr juncker said spanish finance minister
elena salgado ahead of vote to give juncker another months as head of the
eurogroup of finance ministers
however salgado also called on luxembourg to implement full fiscal
transparency source of friction for opponents of banking secrecy laws
throughout juncker years in office since the introduction of the single
euro currency
what good for europe is also good for luxembourg she stressed
europe longest serving leader is so far the only candidate for the job of
eurogroup president and barring an unimaginable shock will reaffirm close
control over common money matters after show of hands
the countries at the core of continental europe economy will meet on
january day before finance ministers from all eu nations also gather in
brussels
france christine lagarde had previously suggested an interest were juncker to
have secured the job of the eu first full time president but salgado said she
was not aware of any rival candidates at this stage
italian media have touted an interest from their finance minister giulio
tremonti
salgado also called on juncker to encourage better political coordination in
order to drive stronger growth
biathlon hauswald gets germany off the mark
oberhof germany jan afp
simone hauswald finally gave germany their first biathlon win of this season
world cup series when she won the women sprint on friday
hauswald claimed her fourth career victory in the series after crossing the
finish line in min sec after completing one penalty lap for missed
shot to give watching germans cause for celebration
defending overall champion helena jonsson of sweden was second at sec with
norway ann kristin flatland third at
germany has been one of the most successful biathlon nations in the past decade
however hauswald victory is their first of the season after events men and
women combined
jonsson three time winner this season has reinforced her lead of the world
cup overall race with compatriot anna carin olofsson zidek th friday in
second place
china ministry warns against us weapons sales to taiwan
beijing jan afp
china defence ministry on friday objected to the united states approval of
sales of upgraded missile equipment to taiwan urging washington to respect
china core interests xinhua reported
we urge the united states to respect china core interests the state news
agency quoted spokesman huang xueping as saying
the reaction came after us official in taipei said the us defense department
had approved the sale of patriot missile equipment to taiwan part of package
passed by congress more than year ago
the us defense department awarded lockheed martin corp the contract to provide
patriot missile defence systems to taiwan as part of big arms deal approved by
congress in said the spokesman with the american institute the us de
facto embassy in taipei
the us defense department said in statement on wednesday the contract for
lockheed martin involved basic missile tooling upgrades
on tuesday chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman jiang yu told reporters we
urge the us to recognise the gravity of selling arms to taiwan
she added that beijing had held serious consultations with washington on the
issue
the us should cancel any plans to sell arms to taiwan and stop selling arms to
taiwan so as not to damage china us relations she said
the pentagon in october notified congress of billion dollars in arms
sales to taiwan triggering stern condemnation from china
the package included patriot advanced capability pac missiles worth up
to billion dollars
the contract now awarded by the pentagon which totals million dollars and
also covers deals not involving taiwan appears to be for only part of the
missile sale announced in
taiwan and china have been governed independently since the end of civil war
in but beijing considers the island part of its territory and has vowed to
get it back by force if necessary
relations have improved since taiwan current administration assumed power in
may pursuing programme of stepping up economic ties
football nations cup fever grips angola ahead of kick off
luanda jan afp
on the eve of the african nations cup worries about angola readiness to
host the tournament have given way to excitement in the streets with the whole
country counting down to kick off
red black and gold angolan flags are tied to cars and buses while street
sellers snake through luanda traffic their arms full of angolan caps
shirts wigs towels and flags
slogans like united by football have been painted in rainbow colours onto
walls across the oil rich nation and special set of nations cup postage
stamps have been printed to commemorate the event which comes just eight years
after angola ended its bloody year civil war
local media is talking of little else and all over the country organised fan
groups are putting in the final rehearsals ahead of the host nation opening
game against mali at luanda seater november stadium
preparations for the biannual competition staged in luanda benguela lubango
and cabinda went right to the wire with the four new stadiums only finished
in recent weeks and the new airport only opening on tuesday
ticket sales also only began at the end of december but manuel mariano
spokesman for the country organising committee told the angolan media this
week that things were finely tuned and everything would be ready for the
tournament also known by the acronym can
the conclusion that we arrive at is that the machine is finely tuned he said
adding that the airport hotels and transport companies were ready and waiting
for the thousands expected to visit the southern african country in the coming
weeks
paulo bernardo university teacher in lubango in the southwest of angola
told afp things are really hotting up here and the town is getting very busy
everyone is talking about football and the can and there really good
feeling
since peace arrived this town is growing so fast there has been so much
development and can is only adding to that the year old added
ana maria mother of three said she was going to the opening game in
luanda on sunday
don even like football but going with my husband and sons for
angola
street vendor luis celestino added think all the stadiums are going to
be very full during the can
this is the pride of angola everybody together united angola without
problems
angola national team known as the palancas negras black antelopes arrived
in the country on monday after training in portugal returning to weight of
expectation from home fans hoping for good performance
president jose eduardo dos santos who has been in power for years also
personally visited the players during training session to wish them the best
for the tournament staged for the first time in portuguese speaking country
the year old said to have been keen footballer in his youth will attend
sunday glitzy opening ceremony which has been themed around football and
culture and features an artificial light show
the nations cup runs until january the teams taking part are angola
algeria benin cameroon nigeria mozambique ghana togo ivory coast egypt
burkina faso tunisia mali malawi gabon and zambia
swedish carmaker saab put into liquidation union
stockholm jan afp
swedish carmaker saab whose us owner gm has received several bids for the loss
making brand was placed in liquidation on friday the head of sweden main
industrial union said
today saab automobile board has decided on the liquidation of the company
said stefan loefven the head of the if metall union which has representative
on saab board
gm is taking an additional step in the winding up of saab he added
the union criticised gm for taking such step at the same time that it had
confirmed having received several bids for the iconic swedish brand
it is irresponsible of gm as an owner to go in two directions both pursuing
the sale of saab and the winding up loefven said
several groups including dutch sportscar maker spyker and group comprised of
formula one boss bernie ecclestone and luxembourg investment firm have said
they presented gm with last ditch bids to rescue saab
hearing of jailed azerbaijani bloggers appeal postponed
baku jan afp
baku court on friday postponed the hearing of an appeal filed by two
azerbaijani bloggers jailed after posting satirical internet video of donkey
giving press conference their lawyer said
the baku court of appeal wich was due to deal with the appeal of the two
bloggers postponed the hearing to january isakhan ashurov told afp
adnan hajizade and emin milli were found guilty of hooliganism
following scuffle at restaurant in baku in july on november hajizade
was jailed for two years and milli two and half years
they were arrested shortly after posting the donkey video which lampooned
azerbaijan docile press and statements by government officials
the bloggers say they were targeted for political reasons because of their
online criticism of authorities in the oil rich ex soviet republic but
authorities have said the charges were unrelated to the lampoon
western governments and rights groups have accused azerbaijan mainly muslim
republic on the caspian sea of curbing free speech
asurov said the trial was postponed after hajizade and milli demanded the judge
call as witnesses the people who participated in the restaurant scuffle
iraqi archaeologists find ancient sumerian settlement
nasiriyah iraq jan afp
iraqi archaeologists said on friday they have discovered year old
sumerian settlement in southern iraq yielding bounty of historical artefacts
the site in the southern province of dhi qar is in the desert near ancient ur
the biblical birthplace of abraham
there are walls and cornerstones carrying sumerian writings dating back to the
era of the third sumerian dynasty said abdul amir al hamdani head of the
provincial government archaeology department
hamdani said the artefacts which included sickles and knives largely dated
back to around bc during the rule of king amarsin the third king of the
third sumerian dynasty
he said the site changes our perceptions about the sumerian settlements
because they used to be near water or rivers and this one is located in the
desert
the newly discovered site lies around kilometres miles southeast of
nasiriyah the capital of dhi qar and is close to the ancient city of ur
ur of the chaldees was one of the great urban centres of the sumerian
civilisation of southern iraq and remained an important city until its conquest
by alexander the great three centuries before christ
euro shoots higher on us jobs data
london jan afp
the european single currency rallied friday after official data showed that the
united states shed jobs in december in disappointing release that
doused hopes of swift economic recovery
in london afternoon deals the euro spiked to dollars following
publication of the non farm payrolls report it later stood at dollars
up from dollars in new york late on thursday
the american economy lost jobs in december while the unemployment rate
held at percent the us government said friday in report dashing hopes of
turnaround in the ailing labor market
the labor department report on nonfarm payrolls was disappointment to those
hoping for growth in jobs which is critical to recovery from recession
the figure was far worse than the consensus expectation for no change in overall
employment levels and came amid wide array of predictions ranging from steep
losses to modest gains
the december payroll employment figures were weaker than the consensus
estimate which centered on an unchanged reading said calyon analyst michael
carey
bond prices moved sharply higher and the dollar weakened versus the euro he
said
alpine skiing season olympic dream over for injured holaus
haus im ennstal austria jan afp
austrian skier maria holaus has been ruled out for the rest of the season after
suffering fracture to her right ankle the austrian ski federation has
announced
the year old who was among several skiers bidding for place in the women
downhill team for the vancouver olympics next month sustained the injury in
training for the women downhill here friday
holaus speed event specialist who has one world cup victory and three podiums
so far underwent immediate surgery on her ankle at schladming in the south of
austria where she will remain till sunday
croatia says serbia stirs unrealistic dreams of kosovo return
pristina jan afp
outgoing croatian president stipe mesic on friday said belgrade is stirring up
unrealistic dreams of return of kosovo to serbia by encouraging the serb
minority to boycott the newly declared state
it would be good to stop suggesting kosovo citizens of serb nationality refuse
cooperation and participation in the institutions of the new state boycott
elections and in that way deprive themselves of the right to decide the way
they live mesic said
addressing the kosovo parliament mesic added that it would be good to stop
stirring up unrealistic dreams that it is not over yet
mesic who is to step down on february after serving two five year mandates
came to kosovo in his last visit abroad before his mandate expires
the aim of the visit was to discuss bilateral ties and the situation in the
region his office said earlier
however observers in the region have warned that the first official visit of
croatian president since kosovo declared independence threatens zagreb
delicate ties with belgrade
on friday serbian president boris tadic slammed mesic visit saying it
effectively ruins relations with serbia leaving serious and unnecessary
burden for his successor
kosovo ethnic albanian dominated parliament unilaterally declared independence
from serbia on february
croatia recognized the territory independence month later so far
countries including the united states and most european union members have
recognized the newly proclaimed state
mesic told the kosovo parliament that belgrade would have to review its position
on what it considers break away province eventually
serbia does not have to recognize kosovo but sooner or later if for nothing
else than the interest of the serbs who live here it will have to establish
certain modus vivendi with kosovo he said
he stressed that his visit was not intended to antagonize
have to state very clearly my visit to kosovo is not aimed against anybody
it is exclusively for strengthening our bilateral relations mesic said
ih an sb mb
nigerian lawmakers to discuss yar adua illness
abuja jan afp
nigeria parliament plans to discuss president umaru yar adua illness when it
resumes next week after its year end break senior lawmaker said friday
yar adua has been away for nearly seven weeks receiving treatment for
heart condition in saudi arabia
we will discuss the indisposition of the president ita enang lawmaker and
chairman of the house of representatives committee on rules and business told
reporters
he did not give details parliament resumes on tuesday
we will not be able to say what the resolution of the house will be enang
said
usually parliamentary resolutions are advisory but negative one against the
president could be preliminary stage for his impeachment an expert said
yar adua did not delegate his deputy goodluck jonathan to stand in for him and
critics want him to resign saying his long absence is hurting governance in
africa most populous country
nigeria laws dictate that head of state can only be declared incapable of
discharging his duties if two thirds majority of the government ministers say
so
the ministers resolution would have to be verified after an examination
conducted by medical panel appointed by the president of the senate its
report will be handed to the president of the senate and speaker of the house of
representatives before he is declared unfit
alternatively the president should write to the legislature that he is unable
to carry out his functions paving the way for the vice president to act as
president
last week jonathan was constitutionally unable to swear in the country new
chief justice forcing the outgoing chief justice to administer the oath of his
successor
tight security as nigerian bomb suspect due in us court
detroit michigan jan afp
young nigerian accused of trying to blow up us plane on christmas day
appears in court friday for the first time as police and marshals locked down
security around detroit courthouse
umar farouk abdulmutallab faces six charges after his arrest following the
botched al qaeda plot when device allegedly stitched into his underwear
failed to detonate on board northwest flight from amsterdam to detroit
the thwarted bombing has triggered us and global alarm leading the united
states to adopt stringent new screening and security measures at airports around
the world dozens of names have also been added to no fly lists
us president barack obama on thursday ordered sweeping overhaul of flawed
intelligence services but said ultimately the buck stops with me
he unveiled measures including strengthening us watchlists and boosting airport
screening as part of broad orders to close us security gaps
releasing two reports on the plane plot obama said spy agencies did not
properly connect and understand disparate data that could have detected the
plot earlier as it was planned by an al qaeda affiliate in yemen
he said the probes revealed that us analysts knew abdulmutallab was an extremist
and knew al qaeda in yemen was plotting an attack but could not connect the
two strands of intelligence
abdulmutallab who spent time in yemen in faces six charges arising out of
the incident including attempted murder of the people on board the plane
and trying to use weapon of mass destruction
ahead of his pm gmt arraignment us marshals were helping local
police secure the area around the us district court in downtown detroit local
media reported
all efforts have been made to ensure that security will be at its highest
level during all matters involving abdulmutallab kevin pettit spokesman for
the us marshals service in detroit told the detroit free press
but early friday there were no visible signs of police apart from truck
parked near the corner of the majestic depression era theodore levin
courthouse as light dusting of snow covered the streets
metal barricades to control traffic cut the road in half as nearly dozen news
crews had set up across the street while an american flag blew in the gentle
wind under blue skies
red white blue bunting hung from courthouse four columns with eagles and
images of the lady justice carved into the stone as woman mopped snow from
the hallway
in continued sign of the heightened vigilance two alleged associates of an
afghan immigrant accused of planning attacks in new york were arrested by the
fbi on friday
they are associates of najibullah zazi who is accused of links to al qaeda in
pakistan and of plotting bombing spree in new york last year around the
anniversary of the attacks law enforcement soure said asking not to be
named
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
dismissing criticism that his administration has been too soft on terror the us
president said thursday the united states was at war with al qaeda
but he vowed americans would not be forced into adopting siege mentality
obama said failure to spot the christmas plot was not the fault of single
individual or organization but rather systemic failure across organizations
and agencies
but he added am less interested in passing out blame than am in learning
from and correcting these mistakes to make us safer
ultimately the buck stops with me as president have solemn responsibility
to protect our nation and our people and when the system fails it is my
responsibility
despite signs that no heads will roll in the immediate aftermath of the security
breakdown obama top anti terror official john brennan offered personal mea
culpa
told the president today let him down told him that will do
better he said in statement
us stocks lower after jobs data disappoints
new york jan afp
wall street stocks slid friday after disappointing government data on the
troubled labor market reignited investor concerns about the pace of economic
recovery
the dow jones industrial average dropped points percent to
in the first five minutes of trade
the technology heavy nasdaq composite slipped points percent to
and the broad market standard amp poor index fell points
percent to
the labor department reported the us economy lost jobs in december while
the unemployment rate held at percent
the payrolls number was much worse than the unchanged reading anticipated by
most analysts while the jobless rate was in line with consensus expectations
job losses seen over the last two years now total million the market
reacted instantly to the news said fred dickson at da davidson amp co
our reaction is that the economic recovery remains very fragile as employers
still are not hiring
bur vs rl
urgent swedish carmaker saab put into liquidation union
stockholm jan afp
swedish carmaker saab whose us owner gm has received several bids for the loss
making brand was placed in liquidation on friday the head of sweden main
industrial union said
ireland leader under pressure over wife lover charges
