on december eight people were killed in clashes between security forces and
opposition supporters who staged fresh protests
at least of those arrested during the protests are still being held in
tehran police say
cricket icc satisfied with world cup preparations
dhaka jan afp
world cricket chiefs on saturday expressed satisfaction over the preparations
for next year world cup to be jointly hosted by india sri lanka and
bangladesh
international cricket council icc chief executive haroon lorgat said here the
event would be huge success as he expected close to billion people to
watch the opening ceremony in dhaka on february
we are progressing very well in terms of preparations for the world cup am
very satisfied we are doing pretty well lorgat said
world cup organising committee chairman sharad pawar of india said he was
confident the event would be success
am absolutely confident this will be great successful event he said
india will host matches of the nation tournament at eight venues sri
lanka at three venues and bangladesh eight at two places
lorgat also said it would be premature to speculate on the fate of india
ferozeshah kotla ground as cup venue after one dayer against sri lanka was
called off due to dangerous pitch last month
he said the indian cricket authorities had responded to the icc query on the
ground as all cup venues have to pass minimum standards in order to qualify
for hosting the premier event
icc chief match referee ranjan madugalle and head of cricket operations david
richardson would determine what is the appropriate way forward to deal with
that said lorgat
the teams have been divided into two groups of seven each for the preliminary
league with the top four from each group advancing to the quarter finals
defending champions australia head group which includes pakistan new
zealand sri lanka zimbabwe and two qualifiers canada and kenya
the other group comprises india south africa england west indies bangladesh
and qualifiers ireland netherlands
skiing vonn cruises to another world cup downhill win
haus im ennstal austria jan afp
lindsay vonn of the united states made it four in row when she won the second
women world cup downhill race here on saturday
vonn who came home in min sec has dominated the discipline since the
start of the season and the world champion carried on from where she had left
off friday in crushing the competition
swiss nadja kamer was second and ingrid jacquemod of france completed the
podium
the race went ahead in difficult conditions and there were several stoppages
owing to fog and fresh snowfalls with the start put back three times
the conditions forced organisers to shorten the course as well putting the
start line at the level of sunday super
swede anja paerson found the going relatively tough as she could only manage
fifth
biathlon ustyugov wins biathlon world cup race
oberhof germany jan afp
evgeny ustyugov of russia won the men biathlon world cup race here on saturday
ahead of michael greis of germany and carl johan bergman of sweden
the win put ustyugov into the world cup lead taking over from tim burke of the
united states who could only place th
skiing vonn wins world cup downhill
haus im ennstal austria jan afp
lindsay vonn of the united states made it four in row when she won the second
women world cup downhill race here on saturday
bobsleigh world cup results
konigsee germany jan afp
bobsleigh world cup results here on saturday
thomas florschutz richard adjei ger
andre lange kevin kuske ger at
beat hefti thomas lamparter sui
ivo egg roman handschin sui
lyndon rush lascelles brown can
overall world cup standings after the sixth of eight races
ivo rueegg sui points
beat hefti sui
thomas florsch tz ger
karl angerer ger
steven holcomb usa
italians evacuate migrants bring in police after clashes
rome jan afp
italian authorities sent in extra police and evacuated migrants saturday from
southern italian town after residents violently attacked african farm workers
protesting against their conditions
the clashes which began late thursday left people injured in the calabrian
town of rosarno latest reports said but calm was generally restored saturday
with barricades erected by locals dismantled and shops open
police said the injured included foreigners the latest of whom was fired
at with shotgun on saturday policemen and locals
nine buses with police escorts evacuated immigrants early saturday to
reception centre at crotone some kilometres miles from rosarno as
locals applauded
police said some more had fled the town on their own and preparations were
going ahead to move another out to centres elsewhere in southern italy
police chief antonio managnelli announced late friday the despatch of
reinforcements which press reports said would number more than officers
to rosarno
the violence broke out thursday when hundreds of immigrants most of them
africans employed illegally as farm labourers demonstrated after some of them
had been shot at with air rifles ansa said
demonstrators set fire to cars and smashed windscreens before police intervened
leading to scuffle that left several of the demonstrators wounded ansa said
the disturbances continued on friday with about immigrants holding sit
in in the centre of rosarno while italian residents blocked roads and occupied
the town hall
in separate incidents on friday two immigrants were beaten and seriously
wounded with iron bars media and officials said one of the wounded was
admitted to hospital for brain surgery
two other immigrants were hit in the legs with shotgun pellets and five more
were deliberately run over by vehicles driven by locals they said they were
lightly hurt
interior minister roberto maroni member of the anti immigrant northern league
party said the tensions were result of too much tolerance towards
clandestine immigration
the right wing daily il giornale owned by the family of prime minister silvio
berlusconi agreed that illegal immigrants should be kept out
but it added once they are here they cannot be shamefully exploited and shot
at while they do work that our unemployed sneer at
priest luigi ciotti founder of the anti mafia association libera pointed
the finger at the ndrangheta the local criminal organisation which dominates
calabria
the mafia which controls the region cynically and pitilessly exploits the
immigrants he told the daily la stampa
the criminal bosses know that illegal immigrants cannot even try to rebel
because they have no identity documents and there fore no protection from the
state
according to italy main trade union cgil about immigrant workers in
italy live in poor conditions similar to those in rosarno being housed in
insalubrious huts without running water
it said immigrants employed as farm labourers earned low wages of around euro
dollars day
the union also accused the mafia of controlling the sector and criticised
maroni statement saying immigrants were paid miserable salaries and have
terrible hours similar to slavery
europe shivers as cold snap hits transport power links
berlin jan afp
europe faced weekend weather misery with scores of flights cancelled saturday as
snow blanketed swathes of the continent severing key highways and disrupting
rail and electricity links
germans were urged to buy enough food and medicines to last for up to four days
in the face of blizzard the government said all non essential travel should
be avoided
more than flights were cancelled at frankfurt europe third largest
airport on saturday spokesman juergen harrer said adding many more had been
delayed
traffic on the highway between germany and france was paralysed saturday
after french police blocked off the border road to trucks due to heavy snow
german traffic police said
with much of britain already shivering through the worst spell of bad winter
weather for more than years further blanketing was expected forecasters
say up to centimetres seven inches could settle in the east
the conditions hit weekend sports games five english premier league football
matches were called off and five out of the six premiership rugby union fixures
were also cancelled
in london the serpentine outdoor swimming lake in hyde park was closed for the
first time in about years amid icy conditions
air travel was also being disrupted at london heathrow airport staff have
been working round the clock to keep the runways clear and predicted delays and
cancellations
the eurostar rail link between britain and continental europe said it was
operating two thirds of services
twenty seven major companies in britain were ordered to halt using gas friday in
order to maintain overall supplies amid unprecedented levels of demand
in france significant snowfalls caused major delays to train services and
southern areas experienced electricity cuts with at least households
affected according to officials
with more snow forecast authorities asked airlines to cut quarter of flights
on saturday at paris main charles de gaulle airport traffic was suspended at
toulouse airport but expected to resume later saturday
several trains were cancelled and many high speed trains were running late the
national rail operator sncf said on saturday
ireland experiencing its worst weather since was again hit by fresh
snowfall in the east which led dublin airport to suspend all operations
education minister batt keefe ordered all state primary and secondary schools
to remain closed until january police and the automobile association said
temperatures were well below zero on all routes with dense freezing fog
causing additional problems
freezing temperatures were reported saturday in spain and portugal affecting
road links authorities in lisbon kept two metro stations overnight to shelter
the homeless
in the netherlands thousands took to the ice saturday as skating federation
knsb gave the green light for impromptu skating events on three lakes in the
centre and north east of the country
dutch railways deployed special teams to prevent railway points from freezing at
key junctions but nevertheless warned of possible delays
scores of flights were cancelled in brussels as belgium experienced its first
heavy snowfalls traffic on highways was affected
polish authorities said about households were without electricity in the
southern region of kielce and katowice after power lines were snapped by heavy
branches felled in the snow
in italy heavy winds and rain toppled trees in the centre of the country and
around rome leaving some people without electricity civil protection
officials said
christian villagers furious after egypt arson attacks
bahgura egypt jan afp
residents of southern egypt village were furious on saturday after houses and
shops owned by coptic christians were burnt as sectarian tensions flared in the
wake of deadly drive by shooting
muslim gunmen shot dead six copts in the nearby town of nagaa hammadi on
wednesday night as worshippers emerged from christmas eve mass one of egypt
deadliest sectarian attacks in years in which policeman was also killed
on saturday men in traditional flowing robes and with crosses tattooed on their
arms surveyed the damage in bahgura where shopfronts that were once blue and
green were now charred black after overnight arson attacks
they charged that muslim thugs who live in the town went on the rampage on
friday night lobbing fireballs into christian owned shops and some houses
muslim residents said the action was in retaliation for the shooting death of
member of their community while christian villagers said woman from their
community had died in fire attacks on their property
security sources denied there had been any deaths
past sugarcane fields lining the nile riot police and plain clothed officers
guarded the entrances to villages and towns near nagaa hammadi in impoverished
qena province which relies entirely on sugar production
in bahgura crowd of villagers vented their anger to plain clothes
policeman and at least one person lunged forward in an attempt to hit him
before being restrained by other residents
you don want the truth to come out you don want them to see what
happened one man shouted as police asked reporters to leave town
christian homes and shops were burned by muslims the villagers charged
they are muslims and they live in this village one man said
what can we do they are protected and we are not shouted another
christians in bahgura and in nagaa hammadi where the christmas eve killings
took place are convinced that the authorities are turning blind eye to the
sectarian violence
some even accuse the authorities of actively protecting muslims they say are
behind the simmering tensions
the interior ministry on friday announced the capture of three suspects from
wednesday shooting including nagaa hammadi resident mohammed al kamuni known
locally by his nickname hamam
but the ministry announcement merely left copts demanding more answers
we all know hamam one christian resident of nagaa hammadi told afp he
hired thug we want to know who is really behind the shooting
the nagaa hammadi attack was the deadliest since copts were killed in
sectarian clashes in also in southern egypt
copts who account for nearly percent of egypt population of million
are the middle east largest christian community but complain of routine
harassment and systematic discrimination and marginalisation
in the aftermath of the nagaa hammadi killings many copts fear new outbreak
of violence and are unwilling to tone down their anger at what they say is
government attempt to hush up egypt sectarian problem
the only reason things remain quiet is because of the heavy hand of security
remove that hand and things will blow up malaak told afp declining to
give her surname
another christian who also asked not to be identified said the problem
between muslims and christians is huge and the police security and politicians
are all involved
since the christmas eve attack there has been further sporadic unrest in nagaa
hammadi bahgura and in the nearby mixed hamlet of ezbet tarka
russian climbers die in caucasus avalanche
moscow jan afp
an avalanche in russia north caucasus region of kabardino balkaria killed five
mountain climbers russian news agencies said saturday
the body of fifth alpinist was found local emergency services spokesman
kantemir davydov was quoted by ria novosti as saying
the helicopters will now refuel then the rescue workers and the bodies of the
dead will be flown to nalchik the capital of kabardino balkaria he added
quoted by itar tass
nine person expedition was swept away in the powerful avalanche on friday
while scaling lower mount gedan tau peak of metres feet
agencies said
emergency officials said the bodies of three mountain hikers buried in the
avalanche had been found during search operations earlier saturday while the
body of another hiker was found in rescue efforts late friday
four hikers were able to crawl out of the snow crush on their own and survived
davydov said russian news agencies had earlier reported that five hikers had
survived the avalanche
avalanches are common in the steep peaks of the northern caucasus which host
several winter resorts popular with russians despite instability due to low
level islamist insurgency in the region
counter terrorist operations from neighboring war torn chechnya are often
carried over into the region valleys
due to heightened avalanche risk with heavy snow fall this year authorities
have closed off the top of nearby mount elbrus europe the highest mountain at
metres feet
football atletico madrid take tiago on loan from juve
madrid jan afp
atletico madrid looking to bolster their squad mid season have reached
agreement on six month loan deal for juventus portuguese international
midfielder tiago
atletico madrid have struck an agreement with juventus on loan deal for tiago
cardoso mendes with an option to buy the spanish club said
tiago and previously with benfica and french side lyon is set to add steel
to side already out of the champions league and in midtable in la liga
us warns of potential threat to uganda south sudan flights
kampala jan afp
an air uganda flight to sudan was diverted back to kampala saturday after the us
embassy in khartoum warned american travellers of potential threat to
commercial flights between uganda and south sudan
the plane had taken off from entebbe airport and was on its way to juba the
capital of south sudan when it was ordered to return as precautionary step
ignie igunduura spokesman for uganda civil aviation authority said the plane
had returned to entebbe
no captain would ignore warning of this nature igunduura said we have
heard this information before and we have been aware of this threat for some
time
but any time there is renewed information and this renewed information came
from the us but also others you don start taking chances
warden message published on friday on the us mission website said the
embassy has received information indicating desire by regional extremists to
conduct deadly attack onboard air uganda aircraft between kampala and juba
while the capacity of these extremists to carry out such an attack is unknown
the threat is of sufficient seriousness that all american air travellers should
be made aware
air travellers on any airline and route should maintain vigilance at all times
and should report any suspicious behavior to the proper authorities
the message gave no further details
it also said the state department continues to warn against all travel to
sudan particularly in the darfur area where violence involving government
forces rebel factions and various armed militias continues
american citizens who choose to travel to sudan despite the existing travel
warning and those currently in sudan should review their security posture and
take appropriate precautions
as is routine the message also encourages us citizens in sudan to register with
the embassy to make it easier for the embassy or consulate to contact them in
case of emergency
sudan rejected any security threat as unfounded and criticised the united states
embassy for not cooperating over the matter
this threat is not serious nothing supports these allegations foreign
ministry spokesman moawiya osman khalid told afp
they did not inform us of this security threat we learnt about it from the
embassy website they did not ask for our cooperation which they should have
done before notifying the media he added
but ugandan army spokesman lieutenant colonel felix kulayigye said the security
threat had existed for some time
we are surprised that the us embassy has issued this warning now when they
know very well that we have had this intelligence since early december he
said adding that the threat is most likely somali related
uganda has troops in somalia hotbed of islamic radicalism as part of the
african union peacekeepers protecting the embattled government of president
sharif sheikh ahmed
kulayige said the advisory was unnecessary adding that uganda military
intelligence unit has been working for weeks with air uganda to step up security
precautions on juba bound flights
china urges us to cancel weapons sales to taiwan
beijing jan afp
china urged washington on saturday to abandon plans to sell missile equipment to
taiwan warning the move would violate its security and severely undermine trust
between the us and chinese militaries
the us arms sales to taiwan infringe upon china security interest as well as
peace and stability across the taiwan strait and interfere with china
internal affairs foreign ministry spokeswoman jiang yu said in statement
vice foreign minister he yafei called taiwan the most important and sensitive
issue at the core of sino us relations in an interview saturday with the
official xinhua news agency adding china resolutely opposed the arms sales
us official in taipei said on thursday the us defense department had approved
the sale of patriot missile equipment to taiwan as part of package passed by
congress more than year ago
the foreign ministry statements came after china defense ministry warned that
it reserved the right to take unspecified further action if washington followed
through with the plan
the us side clings obstinately to the bush administration plan of arms sales
to taiwan which severely undermines the mutual trust between the two
militaries defense ministry spokesman huang xueping said
it also brings severe obstacle to the improvement and development of china us
military ties we reserve the right of taking further actions
when us president barack obama visited beijing in november the united states
and china vowed to take concrete steps to advance sustained and reliable
military to military relations in the future
the foreign ministry said it had made solemn representations to the us over
the matter
we urge the us to stop arms sales to taiwan to avoid undermining china us
cooperation jiang said
we urge the us to clearly recognize the severe consequences of arms sales to
taiwan reject the cold war mentality
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 spokesman for the american institute the de facto us
embassy in taipei
the defense department said on wednesday the contract for lockheed martin
involved basic missile tooling upgrades
the pentagon notified congress in october of billion dollars in arms
sales to taiwan sparking 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 stepping up economic ties
tennis sharapova beats wozniacki in hong kong
hong kong jan afp
russian maria sharapova continued her march to the australian open saturday
sweeping rising danish teenager caroline wozniacki in hong kong
exhibition match
wozniacki ranked fourth in the world initially had sharapova on the back foot
with several blistering cross court winners
but sharapova powerful serve and groundstrokes helped her get the better of
the year old dane who lost to american venus williams earlier in the week
sharapova who has been recovering from shoulder injury that sidelined her
for part of last year also beat china zheng jie this week in come from
behind victory at the hong kong tennis classic
it great field good test for the australian open sharapova said of
the exhibition tournament
but she remained circumspect about her chances at the first grand slam of the
season which starts january
whether have good feeling or not you never know the future she told
reporters after her match
still the two wins are good news for the former world number one who is now
ranked after she crashed out of beijing in october in third round loss to
china peng shuai
the russian three time grand slam winner had arthroscopic surgery on her right
shoulder and was out of action until may last year
the hong kong tournament features four teams with three players each
representing russia europe the americas and asia pacific in singles and
mixed doubles play
football nations cup teams worried but the show goes on
luanda jan afp
teams at the african nations cup expressed deep unease over friday deadly
attack on togo but backed the decision to continue with the competition despite
the tragic build up to sunday opening game
paul le guen coach of cameroon one of the favourites for the title said on
saturday am little concerned it not worth losing your life for
football
cameroon are playing all their first round games in lubango in the south of the
country away from the troubled northern enclave of cabinda where hooded gunmen
from the separatist front for the liberation of the enclave of cabinda flec
attacked the togo team buses killing driver and injuring nine others
we aren playing in the same region it happened in the north and we ll be
based in the south we ll be far away from the cabinda province le guen told
france infosport
despite the machinegun ambush nations cup teams like malawi were ploughing on
with their preparations
malawi are due to open their cup campaign against algeria on monday and they
held an early morning training session in luanda where they are based for the
first round as scheduled
afterwards eduardo gama the team media officer told afp we are of course
concerned with what has happened to the togo team and we have held talks with
our federation president about security
we have asked for our security to be increased to ensure the players safety
during the tournament
it fair to say our players are worried but can assure our fans that we are
convinced nothing will happen to us while we are in angola
there is no question of us leaving we feel welcome in this country
togo featuring manchester city striker emmanuel adebayor are holding crisis
talks saturday which may well result in their pulling out of the nations
cup
think lot of players want to leave adebayor told bbc radio five live in
britain early saturday
if the security is not sure then we will be leaving tomorrow sunday
don think they will be ready to give their life
togo pull out will leave only ghana ivory coast and burkina faso in cabinda
cup organisers the confederation of african football caf were due to make
statement later saturday on the worrying security situation after emergency
talks between angola prime minister paulo kassoma and caf president issa
haytou
african football officials have also been despatched to cabinda to probe the
circumstances surrounding friday ambush
one possible worry for organisers that the cabinda teams of ghana ivory coast
and burkina faso might request to play their games elsewhere in angola appeared
to be allayed however
none of the trio have expressed any worries nations cup local organising
committee cocan member told afp
the teams are there in cabinda there no sign of any disquiet constant
omari said
caf source echoed omari statement confirming we haven received any
expressions of concern from these teams
we are hearing lots of things and lots of rumours but the one certain aspect
is the investigation being undertaken by competition organisers the can
omari added there is compassion for the victims but as far as
recriminations go that not the concern of caf
the caf is continuing with its schedule and the sovereign authorities of the
country angola are taking the adequate measures surrounding security
omari who is also the president of the democratic republic of congo football
federation invoked precedent to continuing with competition which had been
touched by tragedy
when marc vivien foe died the games continued he said referring to the
fatal heartache suffered by the cameroon midfielder during the
confederations cup in france
an ivory coast official contacted by afp said that as far as they were
concerned the show goes on
for the moment there are no worries he reported
we ve been well received everything is in place for the nations cup to pass
off smoothly we aren feeling concerned
we learned about the attack when we arrived in cabinda yesterday friday
evening we are fully supportive of togo
didier drogba ivory coast are scheduled to face burkina faso with ghana up
against togo both on monday
football hull want players back from african nations
london jan afp
hull manager phil brown has called for the immediate return of his players at
the african nations cup following friday gun attack on the togo team bus
brown added the incident which killed the driver and injured nine threw
question mark over this year world cup finals in south africa
meanwhile rival english premier league boss harry redknapp said organisers
should now think about calling off the african nations cup which is taking
place in angola even though officials insisted friday it would go ahead
hull are one of several english top flight clubs with players at the tournament
in their case gabon striker daniel cousin and nigeria midfielder seyi
olofinjana
am appalled brown told saturday edition of britain sun newspaper this
throws question mark against next summer world cup
you simply cannot put the safety of players officials and fans at the
slightest risk that is totally unacceptable
have two players daniel cousin and seyi olofinjana on duty and want
them back home here with us as quickly as possible
tottenham boss redknapp who does not have any players at the tournament said
it frightening agree it worth considering calling the whole thing off
we can just sit around and wait for the next shooting
the togo team were set to decide saturday whether to withdraw from the
tournament after an attack that took place in the restive enclave of cabinda and
for which the separatist front for the liberation of the enclave of cabinda
flec claimed responsibility
think lot of players want to leave togo team captain and manchester city
