mattias hargin swe
marc gini sui
urs imboden mda
steve missillier fra
mitja valencic slo
silvan zurbriggen sui
felix neureuther ger
lars elton myhre nor
wolfgang hoerl aut
bode miller usa
ondrej bank cze
chinese minister leaves sleone after loan accord
freetown jan afp
chinese foreign minister yang jiechi ended one day visit to sierra leone
sunday after signing loan agreement with the west african state for nine
million dollars for chinese projects
yang who was given colourful welcome ceremony said before his departure
china will stand by sierra leone at all times
he said he had also noted sierra leone request for help in the construction of
new international airport of number of hydro projects
sierra leone foreign minister zainab bangura said the cornerstone of good
ties between the countries was agreement on the one china policy which says
that taiwan and other territories are part of mainland china
the one china policy also reflects in the government stand for tibet which
is historically and geographically part of the national territory of china
the minister added
the chinese minister was due to continue his tour of africa in morocco
egypt arrests christians muslims after arson attacks
cairo jan afp
egyptian authorities have arrested christian and muslim troublemakers after
arsonists set fire to christian owned property in southern egypt police said on
sunday
twenty eight coptic christians and muslims were arrested after friday
sectarian unrest in the village of bahgura provincial police chief mahmud gohar
told state run mena news agency
these people were troublemakers security official said adding the
authorities did not differentiate between christians and muslims
eleven ships and eights houses owned by copts were burnt in bahgura on friday
in the wake of deadly drive by shooting in the nearby town of nagaa hammadi on
coptic christmas eve
egyptian police on saturday charged three men with premeditated murder over
the killing of six coptic christians on wednesday night when gunmen raked
worshippers emerging from christmas mass in nagaa hammadi
police arrested the three after the shooting outside church in which muslim
policeman was also killed all three suspects are muslims and had previous run
ins with police
the nagaa hammadi attack was the deadliest since copts were killed in
sectarian clashes in also in southern egypt
copts who account for up to percent of egypt population of million
complain of routine harassment and systematic discrimination
on sunday pope benedict xvi condemned the murders in nagaa hammadi
the violence against christians in certain countries has caused indignation
among many people among other reasons because it has manifested itself during
the holiest days of the christian tradition the pope said
shocking togo attack won hurt africa world cup zuma
johannesburg jan afp
president jacob zuma denounced on sunday the shocking and unacceptable attack
on togo football team in angola but said it would not affect south africa
hosting of the world cup
zuma arrived in luanda on sunday for the opening ceremony of the africa cup of
nations the continent premier football event that was plunged into tragedy
two days ago when separatist rebels killed two members of togo squad
zuma reiterated that south africa remains percent ready to host the fifa
world cup and dismissed speculation that the angolan incident had any bearing
on the world cup tournament in south africa his office said in statement
the shocking and unacceptable attack on the togolese team should not be blown
out of proportion but should serve as impetus for the african continent and the
world at large to work even harder to rid the world of terrorist activity and
violence wherever it surfaces it said
the nations cup is set to kick off as scheduled late sunday with match between
angola and mali although togo government has ordered its squad to return home
after the shooting in the restive northern enclave of cabinda
zuma offered condolences to the government and people of togo over the shooting
the statement said
he wished members of the team and entourage speedy recovery he also extended
support to the angolan government in its ongoing hard work of bringing about
total peace and stability in the country
alpine skiing lizeroux powers to world cup slalom success
adelboden switzerland jan afp
france julien lizeroux powered to his third world cup victory in the men
slalom here on sunday ahead of austria marcel hirscher and ivica kostelic of
croatia
wearing the no bib lizeroux clocked just the th fastest time in the morning
run finishing sec behind early leader mattias hargin of sweden but turned
on the heat in the second to secure victory with the fastest time
fifth at levi seventh at alta badia third at zagreb on wednesday and winner on
sunday the skier from the french alps confirmed his form just one month before
the start of the vancouver olympics
world cup slalom leader reinfried herbst of austria clocked the second fastest
time in the morning only to ski off the piste minutes from the line but holds
his lead just four points ahead of lizeroux
austria benjamin raich finished fourth to hold his overall world cup lead
afp middle east news summary
nicosia jan afp
top middle east stories on sunday
attacks yemen qaeda
sanaa 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
attacks aviation security us israel
jerusalem an israeli security firm has come under fire for failing to detect
nigerian bomb suspect umar farouk abdulmuttalab despite separate us intelligence
failures an israeli paper reported
us afghanistan cia qaeda intelligence
washington cia director leon panetta revealed in an article in the washington
post that jordanian doctor who killed seven agency operatives was about to be
searched before he blew himself up at us military base in afghanistan
uae rights torture
dubai an emirati court acquitted sheikh issa bin zayed the brother of the
united arab emirates president of charges of torturing an afghan citizen his
lawyer told afp
iraq us justice security blackwater
baghdad all but one of the families of iraqis killed in shooting by
us security guards have accepted compensation from the blackwater firm lawyer
wounded in the attack said
iran unrest parliament probe
tehran an iranian probe found former tehran prosecutor responsible for
sending post election protesters to notorious jail where youths were killed
and called for punishments to be meted out
iran politics opposition arrest
tehran iranian security forces have arrested so called mournful mothers
who were protesting in tehran park the death or disappearance of their
children in post election unrest an opposition website reported
us iran nuclear military
washington top us military commander responsible for the middle east and the
gulf region said the united states has developed contingency plans to deal with
iran nuclear facilities insisting that they can be bombed
israel politics trial katsav
jerusalem israel disgraced ex president moshe katsav testified for the first
time in trial in which he faces several counts of rape and sexual harassment
israeli media said
canada saudi justice execution
riyadh the case of canadian man sentenced to death for murder in saudi arabia
could be settled by blood money after the kingdom supreme court granted him
reprieve and case review his father said
indian troops kill two rebels in protest hit kashmir police
srinagar india jan afp
indian troops killed two suspected islamic rebels during gunbattle in kashmir
the army said sunday as eight people were hurt in clashes during second day
of anti government protests
the militants were killed sunday during fierce clash with indian troops in
southern reasi district army spokesman biplab nath told afp
one of our officers was injured during the gunbattle he said
on thursday indian commandos stormed hotel in the kashmiri state summer
capital srinigar where two militants had been holed up for nearly hours
killing the gunmen and bringing an end to the siege
eight people were injured sunday when police fired teargas and swung batons to
disperse several demonstrations by residents protesting the death of year
old student in an alleged police shooting police and witnesses said
protesters said the muslim boy was fatally injured in firing by police during an
anti government demonstration on friday in srinagar the teenager died in
hospital saturday sparking protests
police said they were investigating the death
kashmir is in the grip of two decade long insurgency against indian rule that
has so far left more than people dead by official count
europe freeze strands travellers cuts power
berlin jan afp
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 sunday
the treacherous conditions cut off villages in northern germany and the baltic
islands and disrupted rail traffic with the troubled eurostar still only able
to run two out of three trains under the english channel
the weather which forecasters said was caused by rare depression that they
had called daisy unleashed blizzards in northern germany that left motorways
other roads and railways in impassable at certain points
hundreds of people were stuck in their cars and lorries in snow or in trains
overnight and on sunday morning authorities said
at least when it comes to the north the situation is dramatic maxi hartung
from the german automobile association said on the motorway people have
been stuck for hours
the whole country was blanketed with snow and buffeted by gale force winds in
places leipzig in the east was shivering under centimetres inches the
capital berlin under cm while hamburg in the north west had cm
dozens of villages in rural schleswig holstein and on baltic sea islands were
completely cut off while over thousand car accidents had been reported across
germany in recent days including several that were fatal
air travel were also hit with flights cancelled since midnight gmt as
of midday at frankfurt airport europe third busiest after flights were
scrapped on saturday spokesman told afp
britain in the grip of the coldest weather in years had less fresh snow
that feared overnight to sunday but forecasters warned that it could be back
with vengeance later in the day and overnight
after cancellations at london heathrow on saturday more were scrapped at
british airports on sunday rail traffic was running as normal but eurostar was
only running two out of three trains under the english channel
an alert by authorities about gas shortages due to high demand was lifted on
sunday after additional supplies arrived the weather has killed at least
people according to british media
in london the serpentine swimming lake in hyde park was closed for the first
time in about years seven english premier league football matches were
snowed off as well as all but one premiership rugby union fixture
the unusually harsh conditions are caused by rare combination of relatively
warm humid air from the mediterranean meeting cold air from the north and east
meteorologist michel daloz from meteo france said
in france fresh snow and freezing rain made for another day of disruption with
people including british tourists on their way to skiing break in the
french alps forced to spend the night at lyon airport
around homes in southeastern france were without power for second day
while icy conditions caused numerous accidents on roads around paris prompting
the authorities to close sections of motorway and to ban lorries
in poland around households were left without power after tree branches
weighed down by snow fell on electricity cables while freezing rain caused
major problems on busy rail links between warsaw and cracow
heavy rain and melting snow have meanwhile led to flooding in parts of croatia
and neighbouring bosnia with an emergency declared in the central croatian
district of lika and homes evacuated
the dutch weather service warned of slippery conditions and snowdrifts on roads
with temperatures on sunday around freezing point with strong winds
biathlon biathlon world cup results
oberhof germany jan afp
biathlon world cup results here on sunday penalties in brackets
men km mass start metre penalty for missed target
ole einar bjorndalen nor min sec tim burke usa at min
sec tomasz sikora pol evgeny ustyugov rus
arnd peiffer ger alexander os nor
simon fourcade fra nikolay kruglov rus lars
berger nor halvard hanevold nor
overall world cup standings after nine of events
tim burke usa pts evgeny ustyugov rus simon fourcade fra
christoph sumann aut emil hegle svendsen nor ole
einar bjoerndalen nor
biathlon bjorndalen claims third victory of season
oberhof germany jan afp
norwegian biathlon legend ole einar bjorndalen claimed his third victory of the
season in the world cup mass start race here on sunday
the norwegian covered the km in freezing conditions and fog in min sec
and with one penalty for missed target to claim his nd career success
american tim burke finished second at min sec with poland tomasz sikora
third at min sec
bjorndalen five time olympic champion is the most titled biathlete in
history with seven overall world cup titles he now has world cup wins to his
name
burke took the overall world cup lead from russia evgeny ustyugov
alpine skiing lizeroux wins men world cup slalom
adelboden switzerland jan afp
france julien lizeroux won the men world cup slalom here on sunday ahead of
austria marcel hirscher and ivica kostelic of croatia
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 whose country is also facing 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 sunday as saying dozens of al qaeda fighters among them saudis and
egyptians have streamed in from afghanistan to join local members of the
jihadist network in lairs carved out in the province 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 marib 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 onboard
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 airline flight before it landed
in detroit but was overpowered by passengers
it has also accused awlaqi of instigating terrorism and has 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 they came under tremendous pressure in afghanistan and pakistan in
addition to crackdown in neighbouring saudi arabia
the al qaeda 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
president saleh meanwhile said security forces and air force have achieved
impressive victories against al qaeda in the provinces of abyan shabwa 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 members
on wednesday yemeni officials announced the capture of key 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 sheikh issa bin zayed the brother of the
united arab emirates president of charges of torturing an afghan citizen his
lawyer told afp
the court acquitted sheikh issa after establishing he was not responsible for
the torture lawyer habib al mulla said
the court accepted our defence that the sheikh was under the influence of drugs
medicine that left him unaware of his actions the lawyer said
the court in the oasis city of al ain however ordered sheikh issa to pay
temporary compensation of dirhams dollars to the afghan who
can file new lawsuit to claim full compensation the lawyer added
sheikh issa who is the brother of uae president and abu dhabi emir sheikh
khalifa bin zayed al nahayan pleaded not guilty at hearing last month
the lawyer told last month hearing 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 us network abc aired 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 load of grain worth dollars
in rare trial of high ranking member of the ruling family sheikh issa was
charged of endangering life causing bodily harm and rape for the incident
which allegedly took place in
he has been in custody for several months and was charged at an opening hearing
in october
the lawyer told last month hearing that one of the sheikh seven co
defendants was responsible for sheikh issa medications and drugged him then
videotaped the incident and tried to blackmail him
athletics bolt set to miss commonwealth games agent
london jan afp
olympic and world champion usain bolt is likely to miss this year commonwealth
games in delhi according to the jamaica sprint star agent
ricky simms quoted by britain mail on sunday newspaper said it now
looking unlikely usain will be going to the commonwealth games his priorities
have to lie elsewhere
simms said the timing of the commonwealth games which take place in delhi in
october would interfere with and metres olympic and world champion
bolt pre season ahead of the campaign
first and foremost is his four year plan leading up to the next olympics which
is exactly what he did prior to beijing in
it started well enough with what he achieved at last summer berlin world
championships but this year is all about the diamond league and continuation
of his preparation for he also views the world championships in and
as crucially important
bolt broke his own and world records in the german capital lowering
his time to seconds and reducing his to secs
simms added the timing of the commonwealth games is the issue here by the
start of october usain will have needed to have rested and then began his pre
season which as every athlete knows is massively important
if you don get your pre season right then you won get the following summer
right if usain ran in delhi it would not only require him to stay at his best
from pretty much may through to october but then delay his pre season until
christmas or the new year
that would be far too late if he wants to emulate his feats so far on global
stage in it not as if usain doesn want to be at the games it more
the case that he most probably can afford to be there
bolt is not the only high profile athlete who is contemplating missing the
commonwealth games
britain world heptathlon champion jessica ennis said last month the timing of
the games would clash with her preparations for the world indoor championship
and european championship which she considers key staging posts on the way to
the defence of her world title in daegu south korea in
the timing of the commonwealth games is not great ennis said
october is when start my winter training so have to push everything
along and it wouldn be good for doing an indoor season the following year
which need to prepare well for the next world championship
the commonwealth is an organisation largely made up of nations that were once
part of the now defunct british empire
whereas the commonwealth games were once considered one of the major track and
field events outside the olympics the advent of the world championships
european championships and asian games have seen decline in the importance
attached to it by many athletes
martinique guiana vote on more autonomy from france
cayenne french guiana jan afp
voting began sunday in french guiana and on the caribbean island of martinique
in referendum on whether the overseas departments should have more autonomy
from paris
the vote comes year after french overseas departments in the caribbean as well
as the indian ocean island of la reunion were convulsed by strikes and rioting
over low wages and high prices
voters in guiana and martinique will not be able to plump for independence from
paris but can vote to have more say in how they run their own affairs and how
they spend government money
an opinion poll published thursday in martinique said percent of voters on
the island would say no to more autonomy
president nicolas sarkozy announced the vote in june when he travelled to
martinique as part of drive to heal ties with overseas departments where
general strike degenerated into weeks of rioting at the start of
voters in the caribbean island of guadeloupe will not be taking part in the
consultation as their local leaders decided that the tense social climate was
not conducive to holding referendum
martinique which has around residents and guiana vast territory on
the south american continent with some residents will be asked to
approve or reject change in status for their departments
the wording of the question is technical but in essence it asks voters if they
want to change the status to make it more like that governing more autonomous
french territories such as new caledonia in the pacific
if majority say yes then law will be drawn up and later voted upon to
decide how responsibilities are divided up between local authorities and paris
sixty years after being granted the status of department which makes them
legally as french as normandy or provence the tropical territories face
recurrent social problems despite massive financial support from the state
martinique major rum and banana producer and tourist destination for
mainland french seeking winter sunshine has an unemployment rate topping
percent more than twice that of metropolitan france
guiana perhaps best known as the launch site for europe ariane space rockets
faces similarly high joblessness
wages in both departments are significantly lower than on the french mainland
an opinion poll published thursday in martinique said percent of voters on
the island would say no
alpine skiing women world cup super results st update
haus im ennstal austria jan afp
results from the women world cup super here on sunday
lindsey vonn usa
anja paerson swe
martina schild sui
nadia fanchini ita
andrea fischbacher aut
andrea dettling sui
nadja kamer sui
anna fenninger aut
nadia styger sui
julia mancuso usa
tina weirather lie
marion rolland fra
regina mader aut
ingrid jacquemod fra
lucia recchia ita
viktoria rebensburg ger
chemmy alcott gbr
britt janyk can
elisabeth goergl aut
carolina ruiz castillo esp
chelsea marshall usa
nicole schmidhofer aut
elena fanchini ita
maria riesch ger
marie marchand arvier fra
stefanie koehle aut
johanna schnarf ita
kajsa kling swe
margret altacher aut
shona rubens can
edith miklos rom
marusa ferk slo
leanne smith usa
gina stechert ger
stacey cook usa
emily brydon can
keely kelleher usa
wendy siorpaes ita
lotte smiseth sejersted nor
federica brignone ita
aurelie revillet fra
daniela merighetti ita
elena prosteva rus
stefanie moser aut
kathrin hoelzl ger
alice mckennis usa
alexandra coletti mon
sarka zahrobska cze
francesca marsaglia ita
klara krizova cze
karin hackl aut
katja jazbec slo
did not start ana drev slo
did not finish fraenzi aufdenblatten sui monika dumermuth sui kathrin
fuhrer sui jessica lindell vikarby swe tina maze slo marion pellissier
fra georgia simmerling can christina staudinger aut verena stuffer
ita fabienne suter sui
overall world cup standings after events
lindsey vonn usa pts
maria riesch ger
kathrin zettel aut
anja parson swe
tina maze slo
sandrine aubert fra
elisabeth gorgl aut
kathrin holzl ger
maria pietilae holmner swe
sarka zahrobska cze
world cup super results after events
lindsey vonn usa pts
nadia styger sui
elisabeth gorgl aut
martina schild sui
franzi aufdenblatten sui
alpine skiing women world cup super results
haus im ennstal austria jan afp
results from the women world cup super here on sunday
lindsey vonn usa
anja paerson swe
martina schild sui
nadia fanchini ita
andrea fischbacher aut
andrea dettling sui
