iker martinez de lizarduy xabier fernandez esp points
nathan outteridge iain jensen aus
pietro sibello gianfranco sibello ita
emmanuel dyen stephane christidis fra
dylan fletcher alain sign gbr
football togo players decide to compete in cup of nations
cabinda angola jan afp
the togo national football side will play in the african cup of nations one of
the players thomas dossevi told afp on sunday despite an earlier decision to
pull out
the players had initially said they didn want to play in the tournament and
the government recalled the team following friday machine gun ambush by
cabinda separatists that killed an assistant coach and squad spokesman
in memory of the dead the national team has decided to play in the african cup
of nations said dossevi
we are all heartbroken it is no longer party but we want to show our
national colours our values and that we are men
football togo players decide to compete in cup of nations
cabinda angola jan afp
the togo national football side will play in the african cup of nations one of
the players thomas dossevi told afp on sunday despite an earlier decision to
pull out
the players had initially said they didn want to play in the tournament and
the government recalled the team following friday machine gun ambush by
cabinda separatists that killed an assistant coach and squad spokesman
urgent football togo players decide to compete in cup of nations
cabinda angola jan afp
the togo national football side will play in the african cup of nations one of
the players thomas dossevi told afp on sunday despite an earlier decision to
pull out
alert
football togo players decide to play in african nations cup player
nba orlando carter has separated shoulder
orlando florida jan afp
orlando vince carter has mild separation of his left shoulder but said he
didn expect the injury to keep him off the nba floor for long
carter who had been in shooting slump was injured in collision with andray
blatche in orlando loss at washington on friday
day after he was able to laugh at how events unfolded when he was hurt and
the magic didn immediately call time out as he lay on the floor
orlando were man short when jason williams hit three pointer before the
magic committed foul to stop the clock
just remember going down and was laying there and looked back and
just see everybody running by me carter said like this is crazy don
run me over
he was then put through his limited paces going through airport security in
washington for the magic flight back to orlando where he was asked to raise
his arms to be screened
it was funny he didn know he like sir you got to put your arm up
carter said
carter said his shoulder is sore but he has already started treatment and hopes
to return as soon as tuesday
it all the same to me sprain separation pain they all intertwine to me
he said but it made for some uncomfortable sleep last night that for sure
orlando coach stan van gundy said redick will start in carter place he
too expected carter to be back soon
it just matter of getting the inflammation and the pain down to where he
can handle it and then he ll be able to play van gundy said don think
it long term thing by any stretch of the imagination
mexico cold snap leaves nine dead
mexico city jan afp
wave of cold weather pummeling much of mexico has left nine people dead the
country health minister said saturday as residents in the normally sun baked
north struggled to cope
since the end of last week we have had nine deaths caused by the cold across
the nation said jose angel cordova noting the northern states were hit
particularly hard
as mexicans accustomed to clement winters took to building snowmen and throwing
snowballs near the usually toasty capital those in the north struggled with
rare sub zero temperatures
chihuahua state desert inferno most of the year saw temperatures plummet
to degrees celsius fahrenheit
coahuila another barren state bordering the united states saw thermometers
touch degrees celsius fahrenheit according to the national
meteorological service
cordova said many of the dead had succumbed to hypothermia while some suffered
from carbon monoxide poisoning as they tried to keep warm
many homes in the country are built without central heating due to the normally
mild winters
the cold also wreaked havoc with travel plans and normal routines with flights
canceled and schools in of states closing schools
meteorologists said the snow and cold was set to continue for the next one to
three days
afp
afp world news service no unauthorized reproduction
avatar rules box office universe
los angeles jan afp
science fiction epic avatar enjoyed another stellar showing at the north
american box office to finish in top spot for the fourth consecutive week final
figures showed monday
oscar winning director james cameron groundbreaking spectacular which has
already grossed billion dollars worldwide scooped another million
dollars box office tracker exhibitor relations said
so far the film has taken million dollars in north america and is on
course to overtake cameron academy awards best picture winner titanic
as the highest grossing film of all time
the phenomenal success of avatar left its nearest rival sherlock holmes
trailing in distant second place with million dollars
director guy ritchie high octane take on the adventures of sir arthur conan
doyle legendary london detective played by robert downey jr has taken
million dollars in three weeks
in third spot was family film alvin and the chipmunks the squeakquel which
scored million dollars
fourth place was occupied by horror movie daybreakers new vampire thriller
starring ethan hawke willem dafoe and sam neill the film took million
dollars in its opening weekend
love triangle comedy it complicated starring meryl streep alec baldwin and
steve martin dropped to fifth place taking million dollars
in sixth spot was leap year romantic comedy starring amy adams and adam
scott which opened with million
seventh place belonged to the blind side about white couple who give an
illiterate black teen home and new lease on life earning million
dollars
up in the air starring george clooney in the acclaimed story of corporate
downsizer who questions his role in life held eighth place with million
dollars
teen comedy youth in revolt starring michael cera was ninth with million
dollars disney the princess and the frog rounded out the top with
million dollars
ireland leader stands aside over wife sex scandal
belfast jan afp
northern ireland embattled leader peter robinson stepped down temporarily on
monday vowing to clear his name over financial allegations linked to his wife
affair with teenager
robinson will stand down for six weeks lawmakers were told as the pressure
finally got to the first minister after calls mounted for him to go over the sex
and politics row
as father and husband need to devote time to deal with family matters
said drawn looking robinson in televised statement his voice breaking
continue to contend have acted ethically and it is particularly painful at
this time of great personal trauma that have to defend myself from an
unfounded and mischievous allegation he added
his defence came shortly after northern ireland assembly speaker william hay
told lawmakers that enterprise minister arlene foster has been asked to be
acting first minister during his absence with immediate effect
and foster making statement which had been expected to be made by robinson
himself voiced confidence that he would return
peter robinson is going to clear his name and have no doubt about that
matter me standing here is very much for temporary period of time said
the year old mother of three
robinson wife iris also top politician last week admitted having an affair
with then year old kirk mccambley and securing pounds
euros dollars from two wealthy developers to help him set up cafe
peter robinson has denied any knowledge of the deal which he would have had to
report to parliamentary authorities but there were calls for him to quit over
the weekend
the dup power sharing partners sinn fein had tabled an emergency motion
calling for robinson to explain himself before the assembly
robinson year old wife who is expected to quit her seats in the northern
ireland assembly and britain house of commons imminently is receiving what he
described as acute psychiatric treatment in belfast
she previously admitted attempting suicide and suffering severe depression
the scandal is playing out against an already tense backdrop in northern
ireland
power sharing between ex foes the dup and sinn fein was under strain due to
failure to agree on the transfer of policing powers from london to belfast the
last stage of the devolution process
british prime minister gordon brown said late monday he had spoken to foster and
urged lawmakers in the province to stay focused on governing despite the
political firestorm
urge all politicians in northern ireland whatever the turbulence of recent
events to remain focused on the business of government the prime minister
said in statement
irish prime minister brian cowen welcomed peter robinson decision to continue
working on the crucial issue of devolution of policing and justice and his
commitment to successful resolution
robinson conservative dup which is protestant and wants northern ireland to
remain part of britain has since shared devolved powers from london in an
administration with socialists sinn fein which is catholic and wants the
province to join the republic of ireland
their failure to agree when control of the sensitive issue of policing should be
handed to belfast has fuelled concerns that power sharing could break down
there are also fears of return to sustained violence in northern ireland
where three decades of civil unrest known as the troubles killed at least
people but was largely ended by the good friday agreement
last year two british soldiers and policeman were shot dead in attacks
claimed by dissident republicans
in the latest incident friday catholic police officer was seriously injured
after bomb exploded under his car as he drove to work
football english premier league result
london jan afp
english premier league result on monday
manchester city tevez richards blackburn pedersen
sunday
postponed spectator safety
liverpool tottenham
west ham wolverhampton
played saturday
arsenal denilson rosicky everton osman pienaar
birmingham jerome man utd dann og
postponed spectator safety unless stated
burnley stoke
fulham portsmouth
hull chelsea
sunderland bolton
wigan aston villa frozen pitch
attention shoppers wedding in aisle
miami jan afp
if supermarkets be the food of love then fina nikolos and jack frankel have
whole foods market in coral springs florida to thank that where they met on
rainy day in may and that where they married on monday
nikolos and frankel were wedded in the supermarket cafeteria before
friends and family and bemused group of employees and customers the sun
sentinel reported
the elderly couple decided to tie the knot in the same place where they first
set eye on each other when nikolos offered frankel lift in her car as he was
waiting bag in hand for the rain to stop at the supermarket entrance
ever grateful frankel invited nikolos to dinner and the rest is history
next years key for climate change study
washington jan afp
world leaders should focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions as much as
possible over the next years to avoid perilous warming conditions
researchers said monday
in the first study of its kind analysts used detailed energy system model to
analyze the relationship between emissions levels in and chances of
achieving end of century targets of two or three degrees celsius or
fahrenheit above the pre industrial average
un climate talks in copenhagen ended last month with non binding agreement to
limit warming to two degrees celsius but did not set binding targets to reduce
the emissions of gases that scientists say are heating up the world atmosphere
to dangerous levels
the study identified critical reductions that if not met could seriously
complicate end of century targets with current energy sources
under one scenario global emissions would need to be reduced by around
percent below levels by in order to meet the target
second case accounting for more rapid increase in demand for land and energy
would require far steeper reductions percent
but the authors concluded that achieving these reductions was barely feasible
with known energy sources
even if we do everything possible to reduce emissions between now and
we only have even odds of hitting the two degree target and then only if we
also did everything possible over the second half of the century too said co
author keywan riahi researcher at the international institute for applied
systems analysis iiasa in austria
lead co author brian neill of the national center for atmospheric research
noted that so long as an effective long term strategy is adopted emissions
could be higher in than levels included in some proposals but still achieve
the two degree celsius goal in the long term
setting mid century targets can help preserve long term policy options while
managing the risks and costs that come with long term goals he said
even if you agree on long term goal without limiting emissions sufficiently
over the next several decades you may find you re unable to achieve it there
risk that potentially desirable options will no longer be technologically
feasible or will be prohibitively expensive to achieve
the study conducted with researchers from iiasa and the energy research center
of the netherlands was published in the proceedings of the national academy of
sciences
nfl seahawks hire carroll as new head coach
seattle washington jan afp
us college gridiron coach pete carroll is headed back to the national football
league this time to be the head coach of the seattle seahawks
carroll who last coached in the national football league in was named as
the new head coach of seattle on monday
we are excited to add pete as our coach seahawks chief executive tod leiweke
said he brings great passion for winning and positive attitude that is
contagious
seattle finished with record this nfl season and fired head coach jim
mora on friday carroll had to beat minnesota assistant coach leslie frazier for
the position
carroll who spent the last nine seasons coaching at the university of southern
california said he will miss working with the players and coaches at usc but
this was an offer he couldn refuse
thought would be here forever and then this came along carroll said it
hurts to separate right now it hurts me and these guys it can keep on going
because can pass up this opportunity this next step represents the
challenge of lifetime
he ends one of the most successful runs in american college football history
compiling record carroll also vacates the job at time when the
programme is waiting for the results of an investigation by the ncaa
it has nothing to do with anything that has happened this is unique
opportunity he said
carroll admitted he hasn slept in days he and the seahawks reached an
agreement sunday night and he signed the contract on monday he also spoke to
the players behind closed doors on monday
the nine years at usc have been the best years of my coaching life carroll
said
it was marvelous experience to be part of do not expect to ever be able to
top what we did just talked to players and that is the reason it was so
special we did so much together
carroll has won two collegiate national championships but his nfl track record
is not so glamorous
he was fired after one season as coach of the new york jets and after three
seasons at the helm of the new england patriots
us surge in afghanistan succeeding commander
washington jan afp
the commander of nato troops in afghanistan said on monday that us troop
buildup in afghanistan had started to turn the tide against the taliban
we ve been at this for about seven months now and believe we ve made
progress general stanley mcchrystal said in an interview with abc television
but he added it not completed mission yet
president barack obama last month approved mcchrystal request for major
increase in us troops in afghanistan ordering reinforcements
the general recounted recent meeting in the helmand river valley in the
country south former taliban stronghold as an example of progress
underway
when sit in an area that the taliban controlled only seven months ago and now
you meet with shura of elders and they describe with considerable optimism the
future you sense the tide is turning he said in remarks posted on the us
network website
mcchrystal issued dire warning to obama in september saying the afghan
mission could fail without more troops
asked if nato led forces were shifting the momentum against taliban insurgents
the general said believe we re doing it right now
believe we ve changed the way we operate in afghanistan we ve changed some
of our structures believe we are on the way to convincing the afghan people
that we are here to protect them
but he said time was short
think that clock is in the minds of the afghan people so do feel that we
have got to move quickly to convince them that we can help them build
country he said
the head of the defense intelligence agency dia lieutenant general ronald
burgess also struck an optimistic tone on the us led campaign in afghanistan
but said the effect of pakistani operations on the other side of the border
remained unclear
think that we have been very successful in our operations burgess told
voice of america in an interview
but al qaeda and its taliban allies still had the capacity to cause pain and to
bring about some of the more spectacular events that may occur from time to
time he said
it also was still difficult to assess the full impact of recent pakistani
offensives against taliban militants in northwest pakistan he said
how many of the enemy has actually been taken off the board so to speak
burgess said or has the enemy melted away into the countryside or moved to
another location
while there is always something to be gained by forcing the enemy out of its
sanctuary at the end of the day think this is an enemy that you are going to
have to kill
he said the dia was looking at possible lessons that could be drawn from the
recent suicide bombing at us base in eastern afghanistan that killed seven cia
officers and jordanian intelligence official on december
what can we take from that and apply to our tactics techniques and procedures
to ensure that we try to mitigate the possibility of something like that
happening he said
intelligence experts said it was possible the base near khost let its guard down
in searching the bomber because he was coveted informant
tennis heineken open men singles st round
auckland jan afp
results from the second day of the heineken open here on tuesday denotes
seeding
st round
juan monaco arg bt horacio zeballos arg
albert monta esp bt james lemke aus
obama considers bank fee official
washington jan afp
us president barack obama is considering imposing fee on banks to help recoup
taxpayers dollars used rescuing the finance and auto sectors at the height of
the economic crisis an official said monday
suggestions that banks and finance firms could be hit by such levy came as
wall street gears up to announce huge bonus payouts to top executives while the
rest of the united states remains mired in economic woe and high unemployment
the president has made commitment to the american people that he will recoup
their investment in the financial industry senior obama administration said
on condition of anonymity on monday
while we have made great progress in recouping large portion of the
investment consistent with the law the president will propose way to recoup
additional funds and one of the options is levy on financial institutions
white house spokesman robert gibbs earlier said obama was committed to ensuring
tax payers get repaid for the billions of dollars of support given to finance
firms but would not go into specifics
simply would say that the president has talked on number of occasions about
ensuring that the money that taxpayers put up to rescue our financial system is
paid back in full gibbs said
that been the president position think that the least that taxpayers
are owed
the obama administration has repeatedly said it will try to recoup the full cost
of the billion dollar troubled asset relief program tarp
bank fee may also be one way the white house could channel public anger over
big bonus payments on wall street as americans face the reality of percent
unemployment and slow economic recovery
think you ve heard the president throughout the past year talk about the
continued divergence from in all ways reality of what going on main street and
what going on in some of these firms on wall street gibbs said
according to treasury report to congress published on monday the government
had committed billion dollars in tarp funds as of january
of that figure billion dollars have been disbursed out of which
billion dollars has already been repaid by banks leaving billion dollars
outstanding
with the bonuses issue likely to explode into political controversy later in the
week the us government made clear however on monday it had no intention of
imposing one off tax on individual bankers bonuses
asked if the united states was planning to follow moves unveiled this week by
britain and france for community taxes on bankers bonuses treasury
spokeswoman meg reilly said in an email not at this time
tennis heineken open men singles st round
auckland jan afp
results from the second day of the heineken open here on tuesday denotes
seeding
st round
juan monaco arg bt horacio zeballos arg
optimism at detroit auto show as industry banks on recovery
detroit michigan jan afp
new sense of optimism filled the detroit auto show monday as the industry
looked forward to recovery from one of its worst years on record
automakers are still reeling from collapse in sales to levels not seen since
bankrupting general motors and chrysler and dethroning the detroit three
as the biggest sellers in the us market
china also surpassed the united states for the first time as the world biggest
vehicle market the china association of automobile manufacturers announced in
beijing monday
but the overall mood is significantly more upbeat than year earlier when the
very existence of gm and chrysler was in doubt as congress sparred over
providing billions in emergency loans
today is new beginning for the automotive industry transportation secretary
ray lahood told reporters
when people have an opportunity to see the kind of products that are now being
manufactured and will be on display they will realize the auto industry is
manufacturing products people want to drive
ford gm toyota and honda kicked off the show by highlighting their focus on
fuel efficient vehicles
ford which managed to both stay afloat and increase its piece of the shrunken
us market in introduced much anticipated update to its compact ford
focus sedan
companies have to pay attention to the three es economy efficient and the
environment chairman bill ford said as he touted the automaker new global
vehicle platforms which will radically reduce costs
ford also got boost early monday when its ford fusion hybrid sedan and
ford transit connect truck won the best car and truck of the year respectively
by vote of panel automotive journalists
toyota unveiled prototype of compact dedicated hybrid vehicle the ft ch
which it hopes will help it expand upon the success of the prius while honda
revealed prototype of hybrid luxury sports car the cr for its acura
brand
gm opened its presentations by introducing boxy low lying new compact sport
utility vehicle the gmc granite concept which would be aimed at young
urban drivers if it ends up being tapped for mass market production
the automaker also introduced several new smaller cars set to be sold under its
chevrolet brand
notably absent from the press conference schedule was chrysler which had little
of significance to introduce after the turmoil of painful divorce from
daimler brief takeover by private equity group cerberus and quick spin
through bankruptcy last year which left the number three us automaker under the
management of italy fiat
new chief sergio marchionne was on hand however to speak with the media and
give congressional delegation tour of the scaled back chrysler display which
was filled with aggressive trucks and muscle cars shiny new sports cars and
thanks to the alliance with fiat maserati ferrari and the fiat minicar
the delegation led by house speaker nancy pelosi saw strong emphasis on small
cars and fuel efficiency at the show with square foot exhibit of
different electric vehicles replete with tree lined test track
there were also plenty of luxury vehicles on display despite the poor economy
and host of trucks and sport utility vehicles to tempt consumers who aren as
environmentally conscious
kia capitalized on its corner on the lower cost market with kitchy press
conference styled like an infomercial with the constant refrain but wait
there more as it described its new offerings
there is no doubt that will be challenging year and the competition will
be fierce
most analysts are forecasting moderate rebound in us auto sales to between
and million vehicles this year after dropping percent to million
vehicles in
but that will still be drastically below the to million vehicle range
posted in each of the previous years and sales could be sharply hit should
the economy take another bad turn
afghans believe country heading in right direction poll
london jan afp
the number of afghans who believe their country is on the right track has jumped
sharply from year ago and support for foreign troops has risen according to
poll monday from three broadcasters
support for president hamid karzai whose election last year was mired in
controversy over vote rigging also showed large rise and afghans backing for
the taliban was low
the poll which surveyed around people last month found the number of
afghans saying their nation was going in the right direction at percent up
from percent year ago
but on the negative side those who thought foreign troops were worse at
avoiding civilian casualties had risen with percent saying the situation had
worsened and only percent saying it had improved
the poll was released the same day the nato led alliance in the country
announced the deaths of six foreign soldiers in wave of violence
majority of afghans percent said they felt more optimistic about what
the country will be like in year up from around half of those quizzed last
year
sixty eight percent backed the presence of us troops in the war torn country up
from percent one year ago said the poll commissioned by the british
broadcasting corporation abc news and germany ard
the news came after us president barack obama last month approved major
increase in us troops in afghanistan ordering reinforcements
general stanley mcchrystal commander of nato troops in afghanistan said monday
the troop buildup was starting to turn the tide against the taliban insisting
believe we ve made progress
support for troops from nato troops in the country also rose three points to
percent
karzai was also rated as excellent or good by percent of afghans up from
percent months ago despite the fraud tainted presidential election in august
that saw him re elected
and despite the controversy surrounding the election percent said they were
very or somewhat satisfied with the result
most afghans also showed themselves hostile towards the taliban
ninety percent favoured the current administration to run the country compared
with just six percent for taliban administration
and more than two thirds thought the taliban were the biggest danger to the
country
the survey was carried out in all of afghanistan provinces between december
and by the afghan center for socio economic and opinion research in kabul
us auto show ndlead
washington jan afp
attention editors our scheduled us auto show ndlead is delayed we expect to
move it shortly
baseball baseball star mcgwire admits steroid use
los angeles jan afp
