supporters trust chairman duncan drasdo who said most supporters have had
enough the latest trading statement would have shown substantial loss were
it not for the sale of ronaldo
the day the glazers put the club up for sale you can expect celebration on the
streets of manchester
last week united manager sir alex ferguson moved to quell fans fears that the
club debts were preventing him from signing new players with the scot
insisting the decision not to spend three quarters of the money received for
ronaldo was his alone
don have any concerns about the financial situation he said there is
absolutely no issue at all am really confident about that
concerns of the supporters are down to the fact that haven moved in the
transfer market
but that is nothing to do with the glazers or with david gill united chief
executive it is simply because am not going to pay million pounds for
striker who is not worth it
the gmt news advisory
washington jan afp
duty editor andrew beatty
news desk
top stories
six foreign soldiers killed in afghanistan
northern ireland leader steps down
two arrested over togo football squad gun attack
afghanistan unrest ndlead wrap
kabul
six international soldiers three of them american and at least one french
are killed in wave of violence in war ravaged afghanistan nato and french
defence authorities say
words gmt by sardar ahmad
nireland britain politics thlead
belfast
northern ireland embattled leader peter robinson steps down temporarily
vowing to clear his name over mischievous financial allegations linked to his
wife affair with teenager
words gmt by eamonn mallie picture
we have also moved nireland britain politics statement text
nireland britain politics robinson bio profile
nireland britain politics offbeat
violence angola togo fbl afr rdlead wrap
cabinda angola
angolan police grill two suspects in deadly shooting attack by separatist
rebels on togo team which cast long shadow over the start of africa
premier football tournament
words moved by colin droniou picture graphic
we have also moved violence angola togo fbl afr security scene
americas
attacks yemen us
washington
the white house expresses confidence in yemeni president ali abdullah saleh
willingness to fight extremism after he said he was open to talking to disarmed
al qaeda militants
words gmt by stephen collinson
us auto show ndlead
detroit michigan
new sense of optimism fills the detroit auto show as the industry looks
forward to recovery from one of its worst years on record
words gmt by mira oberman picture video
us society gays marriage court ndlead
san francisco
landmark court case over same sex marriage gets underway in california with
attorneys for rights activists arguing that voter approved ban on gay weddings
violates the us constitution
words gmt by chanan tigay
venezuela economy finance forex lead
caracas
venezuelan consumers empty supermarket shelves and jostle to buy new tvs and
refrigerators before prices soar after president hugo chavez announced huge
devaluation of the bolivar
words gmt by beatriz lecumberri picture
europe
finance economy bis bank banking emerge thlead
basel switzerland
emerging economies are driving global economic recovery the head of the
european central bank says after central bankers conclude that the world economy
is returning to normality
words moved by andre lehmann
europe weather thlead wrap
madrid
snow falls in parts of spain for the first time in half century as wave of
arctic cold that has killed scores of people and caused billions of euros in
damage to europe economy sweeps southwards
words gmt picture
we have also moved weather climate lead
eu politics parliament commission diplomacy ndlead
brussels
the eu new foreign affairs chief urges europe to play greater role in world
affairs but steers clear of thorny diplomatic issues in confirmation hearing
words moved by lorne cook picture
france britain crime thlead
versailles france
the niece of british government minister tells court she drunkenly plunged
knife into the naked body of frenchman she picked up in bar but has no idea
why she did it
words moved by rory mulholland picture video
britain military nepal politics pensions thlead
london
former gurkha soldiers from nepal lose test case against britain ministry of
defence over pension rights at the high court in london
words moved by katherine haddon
croatia vote rdlead
zagreb
croatia newly elected president ivo josipovic pledges to make the country
shining star of europe by instilling democratic values as the eu hails the
classical music composer victory
words gmt by lajla veselica picture
africa
nigeria politics rally president ndlead
lagos
regional governors from nigeria states head into emergency talks to discuss
the country power vacuum as calls grow for ailing president umaru yar adua to
step down officials say
words moved
asia
us diplomacy asia lead
washington
us secretary of state hillary clinton heads to hawaii for talks aimed at mending
cracks in the year old us japan security alliance the first leg of new
asia tour
words moved by lachlan carmichael
nkorea nuclear weapons us skorea thlead
seoul
north korea calls for talks on treaty to formally end the korean war saying
it wants better ties with the united states and an end to sanctions before
pushing ahead with nuclear disarmament
words gmt by simon martin
we have also moved nkorea us skorea diplomacy armistice facts
nkorea us skorea rights relations
rallying al attiyah pulls the strings coma gains consolation win
la serena chile jan afp
qatar nasser al attiyah kept his hopes alive of winning the car section in the
dakar rally as he won the ninth stage on monday the kilometres special from
copiapo
spanish cyclist marc coma won his third stage of the rally which may prove
little consolation after he was penalised six hours at the weekend which put him
out of contention for the overall title
al attiyah victory saw him close in on overall leader volkswagen team mate
carlos sainz who was second and holds fragile lead of just min sec over
the qatari
another volkswagen driver giniel de villers of south africa last year winner
was third though he is out of contention to retain his title while another team
mate american mark miller stayed third overall after finishing fifth
coma who was penalised the six hours for an illegal tyre change edged out
france cyril despres who remained the overall leader
the spaniard who vainly protested his innocence over the charge sounded like
he couldn wait for the race to be over having contemplated pulling out
altogether when he was penalised
in the end it was good result for me he conceded
thats one more day of the rally gone and one day nearer the finish
despres for his part said he had thoroughly enjoyed his enthralling duel with
coma throughout the stage
it was nice stage even if it was short stage it was intense said
despres
over the first km we kept swapping the lead first it was marc coma then it
was me
we must have overtaken each other times neither of us wanted to give
anything away and its proof that as riders we are very closely matched
in these type of rallys there are rarely final sprints but today monday it
was matter of honour
chile francisco lopez winner of two stages finished third in the stage and
stayed in third place overall while pal ullevalseter of norway was fourth on the
stage and remains in second overall
however with deficit of hr min to make up on despres the norweigan
realistically needs the frenchman to suffer engine problems to have chance of
taking the overall title
us rebuffs north korean call for peace treaty
washington jan afp
the white house on monday dismissed north korea call for talks on treaty to
formally end the korean war before the issue of dismantling pyongyang nuclear
program is put on the table
the north koreans are well aware of what they need to do to come back to
six party talks in dealing with this issue that is give up the idea of
nuclear state on the peninsula white house spokesman robert gibbs said
if they re willing to live up to those obligations then we will make progress
in those talks
north korea earlier foreign ministry statement marked the first time the north
has publicly stated its position on the disarmament negotiations since us envoy
stephen bosworth visited pyongyang last month
bosworth was trying to persuade the communist state to return to the six nation
talks it abandoned last april month before staging second nuclear test no
firm agreement was reached
monday statement said repeated frustrations and failures in the talks
which began in and group the two koreas the united states china russia
and japan showed the need to build confidence among parties concerned
if confidence is to be built between the dprk north korea and the us it is
essential to conclude peace treaty for terminating the state of war root
cause of the hostile relations to begin with said the statement carried by
official media
the north has long called for treaty to officially end the conflict
which terminated only with an armistice leaving the parties technically at war
us led united nations force fought for the south and china backed the
communist north
six party agreements in and envisage talks on peace treaty but only
in return for full denuclearisation the north said the peace pact should come
first
french rocker questioned after ex wife commits suicide
bordeaux france jan afp
french rocker and convicted killer bertrand cantat was quizzed by police after
his ex wife committed suicide by hanging herself officials said monday
an autopsy confirmed that kristina rady had killed herself and she had left
suicide note police said
cantat was asleep at rady bordeaux home in southwest france when she hanged
herself on sunday officials said
noir desir frontman cantat was convicted of beating his actress girlfriend marie
trintignant to death in vilnius hotel in lithuanian court jailed him
for eight years and he was released on parole in
the couple two children year old boy and seven year old girl were not
present in the house when rady committed suicide but one of them made the
chilling discovery when returning home around midday sunday officials said
the year old singer was questioned by police in bordeaux late sunday but no
action was taken against him
cantat has been free on parole since october
known for his edgy music and dark lyrics cantat had married rady of hungarian
origin in but they separated soon after their daughter birth when he met
trintignant
rady was writer and theatre actress who had translated works into hungarian
including marjane satrapi award winning animated works persepolis
she had spoken out in defence of her ex husband during his trial in lithuania
saying he had never been violent with her during their marriage
dhe rlp boc
football another shock as burkina faso hold ivory coast
cabinda angola jan afp
shock filled start to the africa cup of nations continued on monday as title
favourites ivory coast were held by burkina faso in the opening group
match
hosts angola sensationally surrendered four goal lead when drawing with mali
in the tournament opener on sunday and hours later malawi rocked world
cup qualifiers algeria in another group clash
an ivorian team featuring europe based stars like kolo toure younger brother
yaya and didier drogba dominated possession throughout but created few clearcut
chances and looked far from potential champions
burkina faso set out defensive stall and contained their opponents with
relative comfort to keep alive hopes of finishing among the top two in mini
league completed by ghana and qualifying for the quarter finals
players stood silently before the kick off to honour two togolese fatalities of
an ambush in this restive enclave last friday while police soldiers and special
forces cast ring of steel around complex housing the teams
togo whose delegation flew home on sunday were officially disqualified from
the tournament when they failed to appear for an gmt fixture against ghana
scheduled to be the second half of cabinda double header
ivory coast dominated the first half before sparse crowd at the new
seat chiazi stadium with virtually the entire burkina faso team
retreating behind the ball at the slightest hint of danger
the respect the stallions accorded the elephants in this west african derby was
understandable after losing at home and away when the neighbours clashed
in qualifiers for this tournament
english premiership duo drogba of chelsea and emmanuel eboue of arsenal had
penalty appeals rejected by the tunisian referee in the stamina sapping
conditions
there were also couple of scares for burkinabe goalkeeper daouda diakate who
had the humiliating experience of retrieving the ball from his net five times in
abidjan last september
the cairo based custodian spilled hard long range attempt from midfielder
didier zokora and raced off his line to clutch the ball as bakari kone dashed
forward
cheik tiote adopted more subtle approach to try and break the deadlock and it
almost paid off as his gentle curled shot ended just millimetres off target
kone should have put the elephants ahead when deep cross was played into his
path but failed to get sufficient power into his shot and diakate parry
rescued the stallions
ivory coast resembled five time world cup winners brazil at times as they
retained possession while effortlessly stroking the ball about but the killer
instinct was missing and half time arrived without goal
the burkinabe displayed more adventure in the second half but were lucky to
survive midway through when superb run by kouassi gervinho yao created
golden chance for kone who shot timidly wide
bosnian coach vahid halilhodzic was growing restless on the ivorian bench and
opted to introduce salomon kalou chelsea team mate of drogba as the final
minutes began
charles kabore squandered late half chance in rare burkinabe attack before
goalmouth collision between two ivorians trying to snatch stoppage time winner
summed up dismal evening for the champions
honduras top court accepts case against military over coup
tegucigalpa jan afp
honduras supreme court on monday agreed to hear an abuse of power case
against six senior military officials stemming from the expulsion last year of
president manuel zelaya
supreme court president jorge alberto rivera has accepted the honduras attorney
general petition to hear the case said juan carlos sanchez head of the
army legal department
the issue will be discussed and judge will decide on the measures to take
sanchez told hrn national radio
many observers however have dismissed the first move to prosecute the military
since the june coup as whitewash
the supreme court congress and many business leaders backed zelaya removal
from power after the military which expelled him to costa rica during dispute
over his plans to change the constitution
the ousted president remains holed up in the brazilian embassy where he took
refuge in september
armed forces chief of staff general romeo vasquez velasquez air force chief
venancio cervantes and navy chief luis javier prince are among those who are due
to appear before judge
president elect porfirio lobo is due to take office on january following
november elections held under the de facto regime
the honduran congress is meanwhile preparing to debate an amnesty for those
involved in the coup
protesters in violence hit southern italy we re not racist
rome jan afp
at least people marched monday in the southern italian town of rosarno
where migrant african farm workers came under attack to reject the label
racist italian media reported
abandoned by the state criminalised by the mass media years of co
habitation are not racism the lead banner read
the region has done nothing to resolve the problem of the heavy presence of
immigrants in rosarno and the serious hygienic conditions in which they are
forced to live an organiser told the ansa news agency
organisers said residents of the town of some turned out for the
peaceful protest while police put the figure at
calm was generally restored at the weekend after two days of unrest that
prompted more than africans to flee the calabrian town after clashes left
people injured of them migrants police officers and locals
rosarno police officer speaking on condition of anonymity and referring to
the possible involvement of the region ndrangheta network one of italy
most brutal organised crime groups told afp that several investigations are
under way
also monday the vatican newspaper denounced racism behind the violence
more than sickening the episodes of racism reveal mute and savage hatred
towards another skin colour that we thought we had overcome the osservatore
romano said under the headline italians and racism
for once the press is not exaggerating we have never excelled in our sense
of openness we italians from the north to the south lamented the writer
pope benedict xvi earlier spoke out against the violence saying sunday we
have to go to the heart of the problem of the significance of the human being
an immigrant is human being different in where they came from in their
culture and tradition but person to respect who has rights and
responsibilities
violence must never be means to solve difficulties the pope said
us court to hear guantanamo detainee complaint
new york jan afp
the first detainee to be transferred from guantanamo to new york for trial was
to argue monday in new york that his rights have been violated during five years
of detention
lawyers for ahmed khalfan ghailani tanzanian accused of helping to plot
bloody attacks on us embassies in kenya and tanzania argue that his
constitutional rights have been violated because he was denied speedy trial
he was arrested in and held in secret cia prisons until being transferred
to the controversial guantanamo bay cuba us base he says he suffered
abhorrent abuse during interrogations according to court filing
ghailani allegedly former cook and bodyguard to osama bin laden pleaded not
guilty to federal conspiracy charges in june in new york
the us embassy attacks killed people and injured more than
his case is test of president barack obama decision to close guantanamo and
end years of shadowy legal procedures against terrorism suspects
new york is due to host the trial of five men accused of plotting the september
attacks against the world trade center in new york and the pentagon
outside washington
football atletico on track to sign argentine teen striker
madrid jan afp
atletico madrid president enrique cerezo said on monday that talks to sign
year old striker eduardo salvio from argentine side lanus were on the right
track
hope that salvio will be our next reinforcement the talks are on the right
track and hope that the transfer could be concluded in the coming days he
told reporters in madrid
spain sports media suggest atletico could dish out around million euros for
salvio who made his international debut last year
last week atletico brought in portuguese international midfielder tiago on loan
from juventus for the remainder of the season their first and only signing so
far of the january transfer window
with the arrival of tiago and salvio in principle the winter market will be
closed for us think that both players can contribute goals in addition to
those already in the squad added cerezo
tiago who has also played for chelsea and french giants lyon had been due to
be presented on monday in madrid but he was not able to travel to spain because
of the severe winter weather which has grounded flights across europe
nigerian president health improving spokesman
abuja jan afp
nigeria presidential aides monday said the ailing leader hospitalised in saudi
arabia for an acute heart condition is improving dismissing speculation about
his health and even whether he is still alive
president umaru yar adua has not been seen or heard from since he was flown
to hospital in saudi arabia on november to be treated for acute pericarditis
an inflammation of the membrane around the heart
some online publications on monday reported that the head of state had died on
sunday afternoon
the speculations are false the president is alive and actually getting
better he is very much conscious can talk and has been talking including
making phone calls to some people back home his spokesman olusegun adeniyi
told afp on monday
aides have for the past seven weeks repeatedly insisted he is responding well to
treatment but nigeria opposition has demanded tangible proof that yar adua is
even alive
in the absence of video evidence that the president is indeed getting well it
will become clear that there is funny game going on somewhere the main
opposition party action congress said on monday
critics complain that his long absence has stalled governance in africa most
populous country and second largest producer of oil
governors from nigeria states were to head into emergency talks late monday
to discuss the country power vacuum as calls grew for yar adua to step down
radical yemen cleric warns against us occupation
sanaa jan afp
radical yemeni cleric accused by washington of supporting terrorism warned on
monday against any us troop deployment to yemen to fight al qaeda saying it
would be considered an occupation
sheikh abdulmajeed al zendani also denied having links with us yemeni cleric
anwar al awlaqi who washington believes is behind the botched christmas day us
plane bombing
we reject any military occupation of our country and we do not accept the
return of colonialism zendani told news conference
yemenis rulers and people must be vigilant before protectorate is imposed
on them he warned
he said cooperation with the united states is defined by agreements and these
agreements must be submitted to parliament for its approval
if parliament approved the occupation of yemen the people will rise against
this parliament he warned
zendani also said it was up to parliament to decide whether the united states
could take part in any yemen led raids on al qaeda hideouts
zendani who heads the radical wing of the main opposition al islah party in
yemen has been designated by washington as global terrorist who once served
as spiritual leader for osama bin laden
he has large following in bin laden ancestral homeland which has come under
the spotlight since the failed bombing of detroit bound northwest airliner
yemen is under pressure to rein in al qaeda militants with the united states and
britain announcing plans to fund counter extremism police in the country
but us president barack obama said he has no intention of sending american
troops to yemen or somalia according to excerpts of an interview with people
magazine published on sunday ahead of friday edition
have no intention of sending us boots on the ground in these regions obama
said
yemen authorities have also ruled out the deployment of foreign troops on its
soil and insist they are winning the war against al qaeda pointing to air raids
in december that killed more than suspected militants
yemen will never accept the presence of foreign troops on its territory
senior official said adding that the security forces were successfully
tracking down those who try to undermine security and stability in the
country
the white house expressed confidence in president ali abdullah saleh
willingness to fight extremism after he said he was open to engage in
dialogue with al qaeda militants who gave up jihad
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 late on saturday
zendani heads the al eiman islamic university in yemen and also founded
charitable organisation linked by washington to radical islamists
us born imam anwar al awlaqi who washington suspects of having hand in the
failed bid to blow up northwest airliner worked in the united states for
charitable organisation founded by zendani
was never the teacher of anwar al awlaqi zendani said adding however that
the us yemeni imam could have been influenced by his teachings
am to be responsible for anyone who listens to my sermons or who reads my
books zendani said
us homeland security and counterterrorism adviser john brennan has accused
awlaqi of having links with the man suspected of shooting dead people at
texas military base in november major nidal hasan
he also said that the us born imam might have had contact with nigerian suspect
umar farouk abdulmutallab who has been charged with the bid to blow up the us
airliner and is on trial in the united states
the yemen based al qaeda in the arabian peninsula has claimed responsibility for
the attack again putting the spotlight on yemen an impoverished country with
history of al qaeda militancy
zendani also criticised plans by british prime minister gordon brown to host on
january an international conference on yemen saying it was bound to portray
yemen as failed nation
snooker murphy defeats hendry as williams masters mcleod
london jan afp
shaun murphy beat six times champion stephen hendry in an engrossing first
round tie at the masters snooker tournament at wembley arena here on monday
hendry struck the first century of this year event when the scot break of
levelled the best of frames match at
after fellow former world champion murphy had established lead hendry cut
the deficit to one frame with break of only for his english opponent to
reply in the next with break of
murphy had the chance to win the match but lost control when ahead in
the ninth frame and hendry made him pay
in what turned out to be the final frame hendry needed snookers and murphy
missed the blue after the scottish snooker great had put the white ball tight in
behind the black
but hendry conceded when murphy attempting safety potted the blue
murphy will now play the winner of the match between ali carter and mark
williams
earlier on monday former champion williams proved too strong for qualifier rory
mcleod as the welshman won in the preliminary round
williams won the first frame only for mcleod making his masters debut at the
age of to level in the next
however williams was up by the interval after break of in the fourth
frame before missed pink allowed mcleod to close the gap to just solitary
frame
but in the sixth frame mcleod who needed snookers got two but on williams
third miss turned down the option of using the black as free ball
instead few shots later the englishman failed with an outlandish pot on the
yellow and williams took the frame to go up
williams was happy to have made it to london never mind win after being snowed
in at his home in cwm wales but sponsor provided him with car that
allowed him to drive up to wembley
my sponsor gave me to allow me to get to practise and get over here
wembley williams told worldsnooker com it awful back at home even now
there over two foot of snow
williams who won the last of his masters titles in added it was scrappy
all round
it looked straight forward black to me in the sixth frame it was strange
that he turned it down ran back to the table before he changed his mind then
he took on the craziest yellow after that
football guberti joins samp on loan from roma
rome jan afp
sampdoria on monday confirmed they have signed winger stefano guberti on loan
from as roma until the end of the season
the year old sardinian only joined roma in the summer after his contract at
ascoli ran out but he failed to make any impression in the italian capital
making only six league appearances
football atalanta appoint mutti as new boss
