potential to undermine sunni confidence in the goi government of iraq and if
not corrected could undermine security progress
nordic skiing bauer wins tour de ski title
val di fiemme italy jan afp
czech lukas bauer won the men tour de ski competition on sunday seven stage
event that also counts towards the nordic skiing world cup
following the final stage km pursuit which concluded with km haul up
an alpine ski piste bauer finished min sec ahead of favourite petter northug
of norway with titleholder dario cologna of switzerland third at min sec in
the overall standings
starting eight seconds behind favourite northug the year old bauer quickly
caught the world cup leader before making the decisive attack in the first
kilometre of the climb
bauer winner of the final two stages reclaims the title he won in
since the inaugural tour de ski in the season the winner has always
gone on to win the overall world cup title
poland justyna kowalczyk won the women title
golf schwartzel claims another european tour title
east london south africa jan afp
south african charl schwartzel claimed his fourth european tour title sunday by
firing final round to win the africa open
the year old from vereeniging south of johannesburg finished one shot ahead
of compatriot and joint overnight leader thomas aiken to pocket euro
first prize
schwartzel was the lowest ranked golfer in the tournament at and displayed
consistency over the par links cum parkland course with rounds of
and for total in generally favourable conditions
he started the final round two shots off the pace and steadily improved his
position while aiken and fellow third round leader trevor fisher became prone to
errors as the wind started to become factor on the metre layout
schwartzel whose last european tour success came at the madrid masters two
years ago had to endure some anxious minutes after completing his round with
bogey five
aiken found the last green in two and needed to hole his birdie putt for play
off but the ball was always veering right and he had to settle for par second
place and euro cheque
the result ended european dominance in the south africa leg of the road to dubai
series this season with spaniard pablo martin winning the alfred dunhill
championship and scot richie ramsay the south africa open last month
south african jb kruger finished third and fisher shared fourth place with
compatriot chris swanepoel australian rick kulacz and englishman james
morrison
crowd favourite darren clarke from northern ireland africa open runner up to
south african retief goosen last year closed with and ended eight strokes
behind schwartzel
miliband urges end to violence amid karachi killings
karachi jan afp
three days of violence has killed political party workers in pakistan
financial capital karachi security official said on sunday as britain
david miliband urged an end to violence in the country
the targeted killings by unidentified gunmen began after the headless body of
worker from the city dominant political party the mutahida qaumi movement
mqm was discovered on thursday the official said
at least workers belonging to different political parties have lost lives in
the targeted killings in the city since thursday the senior security official
told afp on condition of anonymity
the mqm representing the urdu speaking community and the city dominant party
is the coalition partner of pakistani president asif ali zardari pakistan
peoples party ppp in the southern province of sindh
on friday interior minister rehman malik ordered joint patrols by police and
paramilitary rangers to curb the violence he said that none of the political
parties were involved in the killings
it is the handiwork of those who want to undermine the ppp mqm coalition
government in sindh and also wish to destabilize pakistan he said without
elaborating
on visit to karachi on sunday british foreign secretary david miliband
expressed his concern
want to add my voice to that of many others who said they want to see an end
to political violence immediately miliband told reporters
the future of pakistan and in fact the future of the whole of south asia
depends on political solutions and that is what am determined to continue to
discuss and advocate miliband added
miliband arrived in pakistan on saturday for talks about security and
cooperation on afghanistan ahead of january summit in london
two days before his visit to karachi blast flattened safe house used by
militants killing eight people when explosives apparently detonated
accidentally
suicide bombings and attacks by the taliban and other islamist militant groups
have intensified in recent months as the military pursues an aggressive
offensive to quash insurgent strongholds near the afghan border
pakistan richest city has largely been spared insurgent violence but is
plagued by crime and kidnappings which some analysts say militant groups use to
bankroll their insurgency
afp graphics advisory
paris jan afp
sunday graphics
available now
afghanistan helmand nawa map
map of afghanistan locating death of uk journalist in nawa helmand province
text slug britain afghanistan us military
mm
russia dagestan makhachkala map
map of the russian caucasian republic of dagestan locating death of alleged
militants in the capital makhachkala
text slug russia caucasus unrest dagestan
mm
football africa cup of nations cabinda map
graphic map of the angolan enclave of cabinda
text slug violence angola togo fbl afr
mm
football africa cup of nations presentation
resending presentation of the african nations cup football tournament on january
text slug fbl afr
mm
moved earlier
us attacks nigeria chronology mm
us attacks security measures mm
croatia factfile mm
japan us futenma air base mm
whaling ady gil powerboat factfile mm
malaysia church attacks map mm
que reader factfile mm
us unemployment mm
eu unemployment mm
tennis australia open presentation mm
tennis australia open women mm
tennis australia open men mm
tennis hawkeye factfile mm
paris hong kong
tel
france portugal arrest four suspected eta members
madrid jan afp
police in france and portugal have arrested four suspected members of the armed
basque separatist group eta the spanish interior minister and french judicial
sources announced sunday
there was an operation in the night and four arrests were made two in france
two in portugal believed to be members of eta minister alfredo perez
rubalcaba said
at around pm gmt police arrested man and woman in stolen car
after they had been forced to stop by the roadside in bad weather near clermont
ferrand in central france french judicial sources said
weapons false number plates and fake documents were found on the two suspects
identified by rubalcaba as inaki iribarren galbete and eider uruburu zabaleta
two members of eta military logistical apparatus he said
in northern portugal near the border police arrested man and woman as they
were escaping to spain and seized van in the operation finding explosives
weapons and documents inside
the operation leading to the arrests in france started several months ago when
security forces in the puy de dome region central france detected
concentrated number of abandoned vehicle thefts attributed to eta searches
therefore intensified in the area the spanish interior minister explained
eta considered terrorist organisation by both the united states and the
european union is blamed for deaths in year campaign for independence
in the basque region of northern spain and southwestern france
yemen open to dialogue with qaeda saleh
sanaa jan afp
yemen president ali abdullah saleh said he is open to dialogue with al qaeda
militants as top official warned that dozens of foreign jihadists are
grouping in remote part of the impoverished country
if al qaeda militants lay down their arms renounce violence and terrorism
and return to wisdom we are prepared to deal with them saleh told abu dhabi
tv in an interview carried by yemen saba news agency on sunday
we are prepared to deal with anyone who renounces violence and terrorism he
said
washington has urged yemen to crack down on al qaeda after the local franchise
of osama bin laden network said it was behind christmas day botched bombing
on board us airliner
saleh who also faces shiite rebellion in the north and movement for
autonomy in the south stressed the government will crack down heavily on those
who resort to violence
they are threat not only to yemen but also to international peace and
security particularly al qaeda they are ignorants drug dealers and
illiterate they have no relation with islam he said
the governor of southern shabwa province ali hasan al ahmadi meanwhile was
quoted on sunday as saying al qaeda fighters among them saudis and egyptians
have streamed in from afghanistan to join local members of the jihadist network
on rugged kour mountain
there are dozens of saudi and egyptian al qaeda militants who came to the
province ahmadi told the london based al sharq al awsat daily
this is in addition to yemenis who came from maarib and abyan provinces and
number of militants from shabwa province itself he added
among them he added are the leader of al qaeda in the arabian peninsula aqap
nasser al wahishi his number two saeed ali al shehri saudi and radical us
yemeni cleric anwar al awlaqi
aqap has claimed it was behind the botched christmas day bomb attack aboard us
airliner while yemeni officials have said the would be bomber umar farouk
abdulmutallab had been in contact with awlaqi
the united states has accused the al qaeda branch in yemen of training
abdulmutallab who tried to blow up northwest airlines flight before it landed
in detroit but was overpowered by passengers
it has also accused awlaqi of instigating terrorism and said he had links with
the man suspected of shooting dead people at texas military base in
november major nidal hasan
saudi analyst anwar eshki said al qaeda militants have been fleeing to yemen
after coming under tremendous pressure in afghanistan and pakistan and because
of crackdown in neighbouring saudi arabia
the network is trying to establish itself in yemen eshki head of the jeddah
based middle east strategic studies centre told afp
eshki believes al qaeda in yemen will be far more dangerous than in afghanistan
because of its proximity to gulf oil resources and transportation lines
the oil rich gulf region provides just under one fifth of the world crude oil
supplies
mohammad al muthaimi economy professor at sanaa university blamed the
faltering economy for the rise of extremism
sixty five percent of young people are without job opportunities and extremist
organisations are exploiting the chance to recruit them by handing out much
needed money he told afp
president saleh meanwhile said the country armed forces have achieved
impressive victories against al qaeda in abyan and shabwa provinces and the
capital sanaa
yemeni security forces insist they are winning the war against the jihadists
pointing to two separate air raids in december that killed more than
suspected al qaeda militants
on wednesday officials announced the capture of key al qaeda leader mohammed
al hanq and two other militants believed behind threats against western
interests in sanaa that caused embassies to close for several days
yemen insists it can win the war against the militants without us military
intervention but analysts fear bin laden ancestral homeland cannot tackle the
jihadists on its own
brother of uae president acquitted in torture trial lawyer
dubai jan afp
an emirati court on sunday acquitted the president brother of charges of
torturing an afghan as seen on us television but convicted five co defendants
including two americans his lawyer said
the court in the united arab emirates uae acquitted sheikh issa bin zayed al
nahayan after establishing he was not responsible for the torture of the
afghan merchant in lawyer habib al mulla told afp
the court accepted our defence that the sheikh was under the influence of drugs
medicine that left him unaware of his actions videotape of which was
broadcast on the us network abc the lawyer said
however the court in the oasis city of al ain ordered two co defendants to pay
temporary compensation of dirhams dollars to the afghan who
can file new lawsuit to claim full compensation the lawyer added
the two us defendants of lebanese origin brothers ghassan and bassam nabulsi
were sentenced to five years in jail each in absentia for having drugged the
sheikh
the lawyer said the afghan victim had demanded compensation from the brothers
rather than from sheikh issa
bassam nabulsi reportedly leaked the video which exposed the case
the court also sentenced three other workers at the farm where the torture took
place to between one and three years in jail for drugging the sheikh likewise
in absentia according to mulla guard at the farm was acquitted
mulla said that sheikh issa who has been in detention for the past seven
months would be released
the verdict however is not final as it will have to be reviewed by higher
court if the public prosecution decides to challenge the ruling
sheikh issa who is the brother of uae president and oil rich abu dhabi ruler
sheikh khalifa bin zayed al nahayan pleaded not guilty at hearing last month
the lawyer told the hearing in december that the sheikh had been drugged against
his will during the incident and had no recollection of what had happened
we submitted medical reports showing that the drugs that the two co defendants
administered to him left him unaware of his actions the lawyer said on
december
allegations against the sheikh emerged after aired the video in april that
appears to show him beating man with whips electric cattle prods and wooden
plank with protruding nails
assisted by police sheikh issa is seen to pour salt in the man wounds and run
over him with sports utility vehicle
the victim needed months of hospital care following the incident he was
reportedly an afghan trader who lost consignment of grain worth dollars
in rare trial of high ranking member of the ruling family sheikh issa was
charged at an opening hearing last october with endangering life causing bodily
harm and with rape for the incident
the lawyer told the court that one of the sheikh co defendants was responsible
for sheikh issa medications and had drugged him then videotaped the incident
and tried to blackmail him
afp gmt news advisory
paris jan afp
duty editor denis barnett
tel
top stories
togo sends plane to take team home from violence marred tournament
snow strong winds bring havoc to europe
obama under pressure to act against intelligence officials
violence angola togo fbl afr thlead wrap
cabinda angola
togo sends plane to take its team home from violence marred africa cup of
nations even though the squad itself wants to take to the pitch in the wake of
friday ambush on their convoy that left at least two dead and nine wounded
words gmt by colin droniou picture graphic
we will also move violence angola togo fbl afr wc opening
europe weather rdlead wrap
berlin
the arctic freeze that has stricken europe left hundreds of people stuck in
vehicles in deep snow or stranded at airports with scores more flights cancelled
and power cuts to thousands of homes
words gmt by simon sturdee picture
attacks us politics
washington
president barack obama comes under pressure from members of congress to hold
intelligence officials responsible for the botched christmas day attack on us
bound passenger jet
words gmt by stephanie griffith
filing plans by region
europe
britain afghanistan us military thlead
london
british reporter embedded with us marines is killed in afghanistan the second
journalist to die within days while covering the conflict
words gmt by katherine haddon picture
britain politics lead
london
british prime minister gordon brown dismisses failed plot against him as
silliness and reveals he is turning to nelson mandela for inspiration ahead
of this year election
words gmt by katherine haddon
france britain crime advancer
versailles france
the niece of british government minister goes on trial monday accused of the
murder of young frenchman found dead in her apartment with his throat slit
apparently after sex game that turned violent
words gmt
africa
violence angola togo fbl afr rebels interview
johannesburg
separatists who claimed deadly shooting on togo football team threaten new
attacks in angola saying they had warned against hosting the africa cup of
nations in their province
words moved by charlotte plantive
mideast
attacks yemen qaeda ndlead wrap
sanaa
yemen president ali abdullah saleh says he is open to dialogue with al qaeda
militants as top official warns that dozens of foreign jihadists are grouping
in remote part of the impoverished country
words gmt by hamoud mounassar video
uae rights torture thlead
dubai
an emirati court acquits sheikh issa bin zayed the brother of the united arab
emirates president of charges of torturing an afghan citizen but convicts five
co defendants his lawyer says
words gmt by wissam keyrouz file picture
americas
us society gays marriage court
los angeles
opponents and defenders of homosexual marriage in california go toe to toe
monday in federal court in san francisco where suit could decided the future
of gay unions in the united states
words by romain raynaldy
asia
malaysia religion catholic church attack rdlead
kuala lumpur
thousands of malaysian christians come out for weekly services despite new
attacks in an arson campaign that has sent tensions soaring in the muslim
majority nation
words moved by beh lih yi picture
china economy exports rdlead
beijing
china exports surged percent in december to snap month falling
streak the government says cementing the asian power new status as the
world biggest exporter
words moved by dan martin
togo sends plane to bring team home pm
lome jan afp
togo government sent plane sunday to angola to bring home its national
football team from the violence marred africa cup of nations after an attack
left at least two dead and nine others injured said prime minister gilbert
houngbo
we are awaiting the togolise delegation today in lome houngbo told
journalists
togo ordered its footballers home from the africa cup of nations even though
the squad had expressed the desire to stay and take to the pitch in the wake of
friday ambush on their convoy by militants
at least two members of the togolese contingent one an assistant coach the
other team spokesman were killed and nine wounded when hooded gunmen opened
fire on togo players as they drove into angola northern cabinda enclave from
neighbouring congo brazzaville
separatist rebels in cabinda have claimed responsibility for the attack
football accies within ace of rangers cup upset
glasgow jan afp
scottish cup holders rangers just escaped shock fourth round exit away to
hamilton academical after thrilling draw at new douglas park on sunday
rangers the scottish premier league leaders were cruising at up in the
th minute after goals from steven whittaker and kenny miller
but hamilton hit back with three goals in an astonishing minute burst at the
end of the first half simon mensing starting the recovery from the penalty spot
before marco paixao and mickael antoine curier stunned the visitors
however miller controversial penalty just after the hour mark brought the
score back to and ensured replay at ibrox as hamilton played out the final
minutes man down following richie hastings red card
top flight opposition awaits the winners of the replay after they were paired
with st mirren in the fifth round draw which took place after full time
it was fantastic comeback in the first half billy reid the hamilton
manager told sky sports we got break with our penalty then we were
absolutely brilliant
there was no hint of the shock scoreline to come when rangers points ahead
of premier league rivals hamilton went ahead in the fourth minute
hamilton failed to clear steven davis free kick and the ball fell to whittaker
who shot high onto the net
hamilton wasted couple of chances and were punished for their inaccuracy when
miller doubled rangers lead
steven davis ball into the box was helped on by kris boyd and fellow striker
miller shot low past accies goalkeeper tomas cerny
but the match turned when referee charles richmond awarded the home side
penalty after ruling kirk broadfoot had fouled mark mclaughlin in the box as the
players went up for header
mensing made no mistake from the spot and worse was to follow for rangers as
hamilton scored twice in first half stoppage time
rangers goalkeeper allan mcgregor could not deal with james mcarthur free kick
and paixao scored on the rebound after antoine curier initial shot was
blocked
rangers who already lost davis to injury then saw boyd limp off and their
problems were compounded when mensing played in antoine curier who beat the
stranded mcgregor with composed finish
however rangers were back on level terms in the rd minute after richmond gave
the visitors penalty which infuriated the hosts just as much as his first half
spot kick award had angered the gers
stuart elliott was lying on the ground in the area when the ball hit his arm and
that was enough for richmond to deem his action deliberate handball
miller then kept his cool to send cerny the wrong way from the spot
stu is down on the floor and whether he stuck his arm out don know these
things happen and you have to get on with it mensing said
former rangers midfielder neil mccann broadcasting on sky said how on earth
is he meant to get his hands out of the road
miller conceded it was bit harsh that his hand was on the floor but there
was no doubt it hit his hand
hamilton suffered another blow when in the th minute hastings was sent off
for second bookable offence
tennis cilic retains chennai open title
chennai india jan afp
reigning champion marin cilic of croatia retained the atp chennai open title
with his first ever win over stanislas wawrinka of switzerland on sunday
cilic who had lost all four previous meetings against wawrinka finally broke
the jinx to carve out hard fought win in final that
lasted two hours and minutes
the second seeded cilic became the first player after spanish veteran carlos
moya victories in and to win back to back crowns in south asia
only atp event
the world number earned dollars and ranking points for his morale
boosting effort ahead of the season first grand slam the australian open
which starts in melbourne on january
the st ranked wawrinka seeded third here behind roger soderling and cilic
picked up dollars and ranking points
cilic dropped just one set in five matches in the dollar event at the
nungambakkam tennis stadium to clinch his fourth career title in six atp finals
wawrinka secured the first break of the match in the eight game but cilic broke
back immediately in the ninth to force the set into the tie breaker which the
croatian won easily
the swiss star who called for the trainer in the first set for neck strain
lost his serve in the second game of the second set but broke back in the third
to draw level
cilic wasted two break points for lead as wawrinka fought back to take the
match into second tie breaker which the tall croatian dominated once again
urgent togo sends plane to bring team home pm
lome jan afp
togo government sent plane sunday morning to angola to bring home its
national football team after an attack left at least two dead and nine others
injured the country prime minister said
cricket india sri lanka one day scoreboard
dhaka jan afp
complete scoreboard of the triangular one day series match between india and sri
lanka here on sunday
sri lanka
tharanga karthik tyagi
dilshan gambhir zaheer
sangakkara raina yuvraj
jayawardene kohli zaheer
samaraweera lbw sreesanth
kandamby run out
perera yuvraj mishra
randiv mishra
thushara yuvraj zaheer
welegedara st dhoni mishra
lakmal not out
extras lb nb
total for all out overs
fall of wickets tharanga dilshan jayawardene
samaraweera kandamby perera sangakkara
thushara randiv welegedara
bowling tyagi sreesanth zaheer mishra
nb jadeja yuvraj raina
india
karthik sangakkara thushara
gambhir welegedara perera
kohli not out
yuvraj singh not out
extras lb nb
total for two wickets overs
fall of wickets karthik gambhir
bowling welegedara nb lakmal nb thushara
randiv perera
result india win by eight wickets
toss sri lanka
umpires enamul haque ban and ian gould eng
tv umpire sharfuddoula shahid ban
match referee andy pycroft zim
next match india bangladesh monday
alert
togo sent plane this morning to bring team back home pm
lawmakers call for accountability in foiled christmas day attack
washington jan afp
intelligence officials who failed to prevent the botched christmas day attack on
us bound passenger jet must be held accountable and disciplined two leading
us lawmakers said sunday
someone got to be held responsible republican us senator john mccain told
cnn television state of the union program speaking from jerusalem during
swing through the middle east
senator joseph lieberman an independent concurred that someone in the
administration must pay price for the attack which endangered the life of
nearly passengers
if human errors were made think the humans that made those errors have to be
disciplined so that it never happens again said lieberman who is chairman of
the us senate homeland security committee
think some people have to be held accountable for the mistakes the human
errors that the president acknowledged that enabled the nigerian bomber getting
on the plane lieberman said
obama castigated the us intelligence agencies last week for the lapses but said
he was not interested in singling out individuals for blame calling it
systemic failure
am less interested in passing out blame than am in learning from and
