in parallel with conference on afghanistan which is expected to be attended
by senior ministers or leaders from over nations
yemen has welcomed the initiative it step in the right direction that will
mobilize international support for yemeni development and its efforts to battle
unemployment and the effects of poverty the saba news agency quoted an
official yemeni spokesman as saying
but such moves against terrorism were overshadowed saturday by news that danish
police shot and wounded an axe wielding man linked to radical somali islamists
who tried to break into the home of cartoonist notorious for his drawing of
the prophet mohammed
the year old somali national was close to the somali shebab movement and al
qaeda which was responsible for the attacks in the united states the
internal security service pet said
the man was charged saturday with attempted murder of cartoonist kurt
westergaard and policeman
angered by how narrowly tragedy was averted in country still scarred by the
september attacks obama was meanwhile spending the weekend poring over
preliminary reports of two probes he demanded into the christmas attack
the president heads back to washington monday and plans to meet heads of
intelligence agencies and relevant departments tuesday to discuss the findings
rugbyu venter unleashes ref rant as tigers tame sarries
london jan afp
saracens coach brendan venter seems set to face disciplinary action after
criticising the performance of referee david rose following the english
premiership leaders loss away to leicester
venter said rose had been different referee in the second half of saturday
match at welford road and the former springbok went on to slam the overall
standard of officiating in the premiership which he said was main factor in
the general lack of tries this season
saracens were up at the break only for leicester on the back of powerful
scrum performance by their pack to hit back after the break
the tigers saw england fly half toby flood prove major thorn in saracens side
with haul of points from penalties plus conversion of test colleague dan
hipkiss try
the penalty count in the first half was to sarries the penalty count in
the second half was to leicester said venter
didn say to my team look boys we are leading let cheat more the
south african added
we asked the referee to keep everything the same in the second half
for some reason something happened to this poor referee and there was
basically count penalty swing
there was one referee in the first half he walked through maze or something
and he came out another referee
want to look at the opposition shake his hand and say you out thought us
you out played us you out muscled us well done that is not what can do
today venter insisted
this is professional game and this is problem don think referees are
dishonest we just do not have the ability to stay objective
earlier this week venter received an apology from rugby football union referees
chief ed morrison for the performance of referee dean richards in sarries loss
to london irish last week
venter said referees ought to prepare for matches in the same away as coaches
and players
there is problem out there and that is the game is determined by referees and
not by rugby teams he said
just think there is no idea what is going on out there we are professional
we look at rugby games for us it is important
we sat with the referees this week and went through the entire london irish
game and watched every single breakdown
london irish had offences missed last week we had one the words were
sorry we got it unbelievably wrong
made request this week for the referee to look at the video of our last
game and leicester last game but was told they don normally do that
if can watch the opposition last five matches how come the referee doesn
look at the last game and come prepared
everybody says why don you play lot of rugby
go maybe it just not worth it because it is lottery
everybody wants to know why the game is dying maybe that is why the game is
dying
in the day other premiership matches bath beat bottom of the table leeds
gloucester drew with worcester and northampton moved up into second
place thanks to win over london irish secured by chris ashton last
minute try
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 about 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
venezuela begins with electricity rationing
caracas jan afp
oil rich venezuela ushered in with new measures rationing electricity use
in malls businesses and billboards as hugo chavez government aimed to save
power amid crippling drought
the new regulations came into effect january with businesses required to
comply with reduced consumption limits and authorities warning of forced power
cuts and rate hikes if the measures are not followed
decree published on christmas eve states that commercial centers may operate
from am to pm on the electricity grid but beyond that establishments
would have to operate off grid using their own generators
venezuela is flush with oil the country primary export and natural gas
but relies mainly on hydroelectric generation to meet domestic energy demand
with the country in widespread drought late last year chavez announced
sweeping campaign to reduce widespread energy waste stressing that rationing
was necessary to avoid systemic collapse
shopping centers in caracas saturday opened at the appointed new hour although
industry representatives called for extending the time frame arguing that
night time energy consumption is less than percent of the total
the power crunch is expected to have an impact on wide variety of businesses
including cinemas casinos and bingo halls
establishments failing to comply with the measures could face outages for
period of hours and up to hour suspensions in case of recidivism
according to the decree
the regulation also orders businesses to institute savings plans aimed at
shedding consumption by at least percent measure that will be evaluated
monthly by the newly created ministry of electricity
tariff surcharges of up to percent could be imposed on violators
rationing is also to apply to lighted advertisements
introductory measures were evident in caracas last month with the neon signs
that traditionally welcome christmas left unlit
the state controlled aluminum and steel industries halted some of their
production lines in order to reduce energy consumption by some megawatts
mw
electricity demand in venezuela is more than mw far higher than what is
currently generated experts say the power sector requires billion dollars in
investment through
in there were four nationwide blackouts with daily failures common in
several cities
rallying roma casteu claim opening dakar wins
cordoba argentina jan afp
spain nani roma buried the heartache of his dakar experience to clinch
the opening stage of the race on saturday
twelve months ago roma captured the penultimate stage of the race but was
demoted from sixth to in the final overall standings after being hit with
hour time penalty
he then saw his mitsubishi team pull out of the event as the global economic
slowdown took heavy toll on world motorsport
but on saturday he took his bmw to commanding win on the km timed run from
buenos aires to here
he 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 who was disqualified last year was fourth in his
volkswagen while south africa reigning champion giniel de villiers in another
volkswagen was fifth
in the end we were quite surprised by the time we achieved said roma who was
the dakar champion on two wheels in
but happy we had fright with the engine in the middle of the special
stage and had to stop to make few checks but everything was running ok it
only just the start we haven really had battle with the vws yet there is
still lot of the race to go
meanwhile fan was in critical condition after vehicle taking part in the
gruelling event collided with group of spectators
number of other fans were also hurt in the incident which involved the german
swiss duo of mirco schultis and ulrich leardi who were driving desert warrior
car
competitor number schultis leardi collided with group of spectators at
the km mark of the special stage outside the public zone said statement
from the organisers
several people have been injured one of whom is in critical condition local
medical services as well as helicopters have evacuated the injured
france david casteu on sherco won the motorcycling section
casteu just 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
this morning my mechanic said we haven done all this for nothing so if
you want to make an impact go on for the bike we ll see afterwards so
attacked attacked and attacked had great time said casteu
spain jordi viladoms on ktm chile francisco lopez on an aprilia and
french yamaha rider david fretigne made up the top six
widespread flooding prompted organisers to advance the starting point of
saturday stage by km
football reading force liverpool into cup replay
london jan afp
liverpool season suffered another stutter as they were held to draw away
to championship strugglers reading in the third round of the fa cup at the
madejski stadium on saturday
liverpool for whom the fa cup represents their last realistic hope of domestic
silverware this term fell behind in the th minute
ryan bertrand free kick was kept in expertly by grzegorz rasiak at the far
post and following his first time cross simon church scored from barely yard
out
liverpool though were only behind for minutes inspirational captain steven
gerrard scoring with curling yard shot
fernando torres could have won the match in stoppage time but liverpool star
striker headed over the crossbar
before the game we would have probably taken the draw and the chance to go
there anfield and get result reading jobi mcanuff told itv
it great place to play football we ll really enjoy it and hopefully get
another chance to go and express ourselves and get result again
earlier australia tim cahill ensured liverpool city neighbours everton
avoided the embarrassment of third round replay against third tier side
carlisle by scoring the crucial goal in victory at goodison park
everton last season losing finalists went ahead in the th minute when
back pass from carlisle adam clayton gifted the ball to toffees striker james
vaughan
but carlisle equalised six minutes later when clayton shot was deflected in by
team mate kevan hurst
the visitors places below everton in the english league season were level
until the nd minute when australia midfielder cahill scored before leighton
baines last minute penalty sealed the win
was not surprised by carlisle but was disappointed that when we went one
up early on we were not able to build on that and control the game better
said everton manager david moyes
carlisle boss greg abbott added we were pleased with what we did we matched
top premier league side from start to finish
premier league basement club portsmouth the fa cup winners had to come
from goal behind to salvage draw at home to championship side coventry
city for whom david bell scored in the th minute
but on the stroke of half time cash strapped pompey equalised through kevin
prince boateng header
sunderland defeated non league barrow at the stadium of light thanks to
steed malbranque goal and two headers from frazier campbell
stoke saw off non league york the latter going ahead through neil barrett
stoke drew level through daniel parslow own goal and went clear through
ricardo fuller before matthew etherington completed the scoring
relegation threatened bolton who on wednesday sacked manager gary megson
endured goalless first half before beating lincoln th out of england
league clubs
championship high flyers nottingham forest held premier league birmingham to
goalless draw in match where forest robert earnshaw missed second half
penalty
in the all premier league clashes aston villa beat blackburn rovers and
wigan came from behind to defeat hull
villa went ahead through nathan delfouneso th minute header before rovers
saw david dunn penalty saved by brad guzan
carlos cuellar header made it before blackburn were reduced to men when
striker el hadji diouf was sent off for challenge on habib beye
nikola kalinic pulled one back for rovers but john carew last minute penalty
secured villa victory
hull went ahead away to wigan thanks to geovanni th minute free kick
but wigan charles zogbia equalised two minutes after the break and the
hosts comeback continued when james mccarthy scored in the rd minute
zogbia half time substitute then made it three minutes later with
scott sinclair adding fourth in the last minute
manchester city won away to championship side middlesbrough thanks to
zimbabwean striker benjani mwaruwari goal minute before the break
tottenham beat second tier peterborough croatia midfielder niko kranjcar
scoring twice before half time
championship side preston who sacked manager alan irvine last week were the
day biggest winners hammering league one colchester
sunday ties feature cup holders chelsea at home to watford manchester united
in action against leeds and arsenal away to london rivals west ham
niger border region clashes leave dead
niamey jan afp
clashes in niger border region with mali have left people dead security
sources said on saturday
heavily armed men attacked the village of tlemsess in the tahoua region few
hundred kilometres miles northwest of niamey on wednesday night killing
three soldiers and civilian source in niamey said speaking on condition of
anonymity
another source in tahoua said one of the attackers vehicles broke down as they
fled towards mali leading to another skirmish in which four soldiers and two
attackers were killed
soldiers found european passport in the broken down vehicle the source added
without giving further details
one person has been arrested though it is still unclear what the attackers
motives were
equestrian ex world gold medallist rider levallois in car crash
rennes france jan afp
french showjumper eric levallois who won team gold at the world equestrian
games in is recovering in hospital after serious car crash
the year old underwent an operation after the accident at the start of the
week his sister sylvie levallois told afp adding that he will be transferred
in the coming days to restart his rehabilitation
he was in very serious condition but we ve seen him improve greatly eric has
found mobility in his legs once more and should be able to walk again she
said
however it was too early to determine if levallois would be able to resume
competition she added
afp americas news agenda for january
washington jan afp
duty editor kerry sheridan
tel
what happening in the americas on sunday
probe into botched jet bombing
washington counter terrorism advisor john brennan to appear on sunday talk
shows as investigation continues into the failed al qaeda bid to blow up us
airliner expect coverage us attacks nigeria
rio de janeiro following rescue efforts after landslides leave about dead in
southern brazil coverage on merit
washington nasa marks the sixth anniversary of the landing on mars of its
spirit robot expect coverage us space
football gerrard spares liverpool cup exit
reading england jan afp
steven gerrard saved liverpool from an embarrassing fa cup exit at the hands of
championship strugglers reading with the equaliser in third round draw at
the madejski stadium here saturday
gerrard th minute effort ensured liverpool disappointing season didn hit
new low point that would have led to yet more pressure on reds manager rafael
benitez
instead of facing premature exit from the competition liverpool held onto
earn replay against side who lie two points and two places above the second
tier relegation zone but who had still taken the lead through simon church
th minute goal
however there were few more positives for benitez to draw from performance
that was far from convincing
this competition has figured lower down liverpool list of priorities in recent
seasons when the prospect of success in the champions league and continuing
title challenge have dominated thoughts at anfield
this season has followed very different pattern however and benitez side
are four points behind the premier league top four and with only the europa
league to provide new year distraction from domestic difficulties
consequently benitez fielded stronger side than he has done at this stage of
the competition in the past making just four changes from the side that won at
aston villa four days previously
gerrard and fernando torres both started and unsurprisingly liverpool assumed
early control and came close to opening the scoring after just seven minutes
when dirk kuyt came close to connecting with fabio aurelio cross cum shot
reading have endured miserable campaign and came into this game sitting on the
fringes of the championship relegation zone and in search of new manager
following last month dismissal of brendan rodgers
the royals knew they would have to take advantage of any chances that fell their
way and they served early notice of their threat from set pieces when jobi
mcanuff th minute header was ruled out for offside
that should have provided warning sign for the visitors but if it did it went
unheeded by left back emiliano insua who conceded free kick to the left of
reina penalty area
the free kick was in the ideal position for reading ryan bertrand to whip in
left foot cross and the full back delivery was spot on as he picked out
grzegorz rasiak at the far post
it was then far too easy for the pole to shrug off the attentions of stephen
darby and he volleyed back to church who bundled the ball home from just two
yards out
liverpool frequently looked dangerous but their final ball was poor
in the end it took fortunate shot from gerrard and hair breadth offside
decision to drag liverpool back into the tie
the liverpool skipper struck hopeful shot from yards out and kuyt dummy
was enough to unsight home keeper adam federici allowing the effort to creep in
at the far post
torres snapshot flew narrowly over federici crossbar at the start of the
second half but that was rare opportunity for the spaniard whose evening was
summed up late on when he was sent clear and overran the ball
reading meanwhile always looked capable of another opening and it took smart
save from pepe reina to beat away gylfi sigurdsson long range shot
somali charged with attempt to kill danish cartoonist
copenhagen jan afp
danish police on saturday charged somali man with the attempted murder of
cartoonist whose caricatures of the muslim prophet mohammed sparked riots and
protests around the world
the axe wielding year old broke into kurt westergaard home late friday
screaming for revenge and blood the cartoonist hid in panic room with
five year old granddaughter and called the police
police said he threw the axe at one officer who arrived on the scene just
missing him then attacked with knife before they shot him in the arm and
thigh
he was stretchered into court at aarhus northwest denmark saturday wearing
hospital gown and covered with blankets the ritzau agency reported
he had one arm bandaged leg in splint and towel over his face to avoid
identification media reports said while describing him as bearded with
shaved head
charged with double attempted murder he was remanded in custody for four weeks
the first two of them in solitary confinement said court spokesman
although the accused has not been named danish intelligence officers say he
lived near the capital copenhagen and had been linked both to somalia radical
shebab islamic movement and the leaders of al qaeda in east africa
he is also suspected of being implicated in terrorist activities when he was in
east africa the statement added
the individual arrested has also been member of terrorist network implanted
in denmark that has been under surveillance by pet for long time
pet chief jakob scharf told the ritzua agency apparently everything indicates
he acted alone and maybe had sudden impulsion several elements of the
investigation point towards this theory
somalia radical islamic shebab group hailed the attack
we appreciate the incident in which muslim somali boy attacked the devil who
abused our prophet mohammed and we call upon all muslims around the world to
target people like him spokesman sheikh ali muhamud rage told afp
westergaard is one of cartoonists whose drawings on islam were first
published in danish newspaper jyllands posten in september his cartoon
depicted mohammed wearing turban in the shape of bomb
the cartoons were considered offensive by many muslims and their publication
sparked violent protests worldwide in january and february as well as
string of death threats
westergaard was badly shaken by the attack at his home at viby near
aarhus
he described on the jyllands posten website how the attacker smashed the front
door with the axe screaming revenge and blood in poor danish
hid in the secure room when he entered the house knew had no chance of
stopping him so called the police westergaard said
it was horrible the most important thing was that had the reaction to secure
myself but it was close very close
bent preben nielsen chief police inspector for east jutland told afp that
police who went to the scene fired at the aggressor as he threatened them with
the axe and knife hitting him in the hip and the right hand
paris based media rights group reporters without borders said they hoped the
courts would deal severely with the person responsible
free expression must be defended against representatives of minority viewpoints
who use weapons in bid to impose terror and silence said the group in
statement
protests over the cartoons saw demonstrators burn danish flags and torch danish
diplomatic offices in damascus beirut and tehran while dozens of people died
in rioting in nigeria libya and pakistan
two tunisians were arrested in denmark in on suspicion of planning to
murder westergaard but released without trial after appealing government order
for their expulsion on national security grounds
internet hackers last april attacked website run by denmark free press
society selling prints of westergaard controversial cartoon the group
director lars hedegaard said
despite this hedegaard said close to of the signed prints had been
sold over half of them to foreign buyers for dollars apiece
denmark muslims make up percent of the population and are the
country second largest religious community
rallying dakar fan in critical condition after accident
cordoba argentina jan afp
dakar rally fan was in critical condition after vehicle taking part in the
gruelling event careered off the course and into group of spectators on
saturday organisers said
the accident happened during the opening stage of the event between buenos
aires and here
number of other fans were also hurt in the incident which involved the german
swiss duo of mirco schultis and ulrich leardi who were driving desert warrior
car
competitor number schultis leardi collided with group of spectators at
the km mark of the special stage outside the public zone said statement
several people have been injured one of whom is in critical condition local
medical services as well as helicopters have evacuated the injured
thousands march in spain for eta prisoners rights
bilbao spain jan afp
thousands of people marched through the northern spanish city of bilbao on
saturday to demand more rights for jailed members of the armed basque separatist
group eta
the protest was called by leftist basque nationalist groups including etxerat
an association of family members of eta prisoners which accuses the governments
of spain and france of punishing jailed members of the outfit by holding them in
prisons far away from their homes
judge in madrid earlier saturday rejected legal move to ban the march by an
association representing the rights of eta victims
but he ruled that the participants must abstain from showing expressions of
support for eta as result the marchers did not display photographs of eta
prisoners unlike in similar march one year ago
the demonstrators marched peacefully across the basque financial capital
saturday evening behind banner reading basque prisoners back home and
chanted basque prisoners to the basque country and no peace without amnesty
jailed eta members are dispersed in prisons throughout spain which makes it
difficult for them to receive visits from family members
on friday spain supreme court ruled that the basque regional government had
exceeded its authority by providing aid to families of prisoners being held
outside of the region to allow them to visit their loved ones
the aid was awarded between and by the basque nationalist party which
held power in the region until last may when it was replaced in elections by the
socialist party
eta considered terrorist organisation by both the european union and the
united states is held responsible for deaths in year campaign for
independence in the basque region of northern spain and southwestern france
spain on tuesday raised its terrorist alert level day after warning that eta
may be planning an attack or kidnapping during madrid six month eu presidency
which began on friday
israeli arabs and jews protest against gaza blockade
tel aviv jan afp
hundreds of israeli pacifists both arabs and jews marched in central tel aviv
on saturday to protest against the blockade imposed by israel on the gaza strip
the demonstrators estimated at more than by organisers of the march
changed slogans urging liberty and justice for gaza as they marked the first
