he said have managed this country through good times and difficult economic
times and we can manage through the next stage which is moving from recession
to growth to high levels of growth and employment
brown would not be drawn on date for the general election which he can call
at any time before the current five year parliament expires at midnight on may
he said there would be labour budget this spring if it at the right time
budget is due before march
cricket swann double strike rocks south africa
cape town south africa jan afp
double strike by england off spinner graeme swann plunged south africa into
trouble on the first day of the third test at newlands here on sunday
south africa were for five at tea after being sent in to bat
the host nation appeared to be on the way to recovery after poor start before
swann took two wickets in two balls to put england firmly in control with south
africa on for five
swann man of the match in the first two tests ended run third wicket
stand between jacques kallis and ab de villiers when he had de villiers smartly
caught at short midwicket by captain andrew strauss for
jp duminy then suffered his second successive first ball dismissal when he
pushed forward tentatively and edged catch to wicketkeeper matt prior
kallis was left to carry south africa hopes of reaching competitive total
he was unbeaten on at tea he and wicketkeeper mark boucher not out
added an unbeaten for the sixth wicket to restore the balance to some extent
for the under pressure proteas who trail the four match series
swann took two for and james anderson two for
rain delayed the start of play by half an hour and strauss decision to bowl
first paid an early dividend when anderson had ashwell prince caught behind for
nought off the fourth ball of the match
south africa could have been two down three balls later when graeme smith on
one edged graham onions first delivery into the midriff of swann at second
slip
but swann could not hold the chance although regular second slip paul
collingwood was passed fit to play he was fielding at fine leg to prevent
further damage to dislocated left index finger
smith and hashim amla put on for the second wicket before amla was leg before
wicket to graham onions for smith made before being caught behind off
anderson off the first ball he faced after lunch
shortened morning was played under overcast skies but the sun came out after
lunch and kallis and de villiers batted brightly adding runs off balls
fast bowler makhaya ntini was dropped from the south african team and replaced
by friedel de wet
egypt mubarak replaces transport education ministers
cairo jan afp
egypt president hosni mubarak appointed two new ministers on sunday including
new transport minister to replace mohammed mansur who quit last year over
deadly train crash state news agency mena reported
alaa eldin fahmi the former head of the national post authority will replace
mansur at the transport ministry while ahmed badr the former head of ain shams
university will replace yusri el gamal at the education ministry
mansur resigned after people were killed when passenger train drove full
speed into the back of another an accident that sparked backlash in
parliament
cricket south africa england tea time scoreboard
cape town south africa jan afp
scores at tea on the first day of the third test between south africa and
england at newlands here on sunday
south africa first innings
smith prior anderson
prince prior anderson
amla lbw onions
kallis not out
de villiers strauss swann
duminy prior swann
boucher not out
extras lb nb
total wkts overs
fall of wickets prince amla smith de villiers
duminy
to bat morkel harris steyn de wet
bowling anderson nb onions broad swann
pietersen
england andrew strauss captain alastair cook jonathan trott kevin
pietersen paul collingwood ian bell matt prior wkt stuart broad graeme
swann james anderson graham onions
match position south africa are for five in the first innings
toss england
umpires daryl harper aus tony hill nzl
tv umpire aleem dar pak
match referee roshan mahanama sri
eritrea says attacked by ethiopia
addis ababa jan afp
eritrea accused arch foe ethiopia on sunday of launching attacks along their
disputed border but said its troops had driven off the assault killing
ethiopian soldiers and capturing two
the eritrean foreign affairs ministry said soldiers from ethiopia ruling
tigrai people liberation front tplf had attacked on friday in the zalambesa
area ethiopian officials were not immediately available for comment
in the early morning hours of january st tplf soldiers launched
successive attacks in the zalambesa front and were swiftly driven back the
ministry said in statement on its website
zalambesa lies in the centre of the contested frontier over which neighbours
fought brutal war in the late
ten of their soldiers were killed and two captured leaving six ak
automatic rifles machine gun and communication equipment the statement
said
ethiopian prime minister meles zenawi tplf party is the main member of the
ruling coalition and was close ally of the eritrean government before they
fell out prior to the border war
about people died in the border conflict many in brutal world
war style trench warfare
un backed boundary commission charged with demarcating the border has handed
the disputed town of badme to eritrea but addis ababa has refused to recognise
the ruling
in august the hague based eritrea ethiopia claims commission ordered asmara to
pay million dollars in damages sustained during the conflict decision
asmara has pledged to comply with
nordic combined nordic combined results
oberhof germany jan afp
world cup nordic combined results on sunday after the jump and km race jump
placings in brackets
johnny spillane usa
felix gottwald aut at
bjoern kircheisen ger
jason lamy chappuis fra
pavel churavy cze
mario stecher aut
david kreiner aut
bernhard gruber aut
christoph bieler aut
janne ryynaenen fin
overall world cup standings after of events
jason lamy chappuis fra points
tino edelmann ger
felix gottwald aut
johnny spillane usa
bjoern kircheisen ger
us britain close yemen embassies over al qaeda threats
sanaa jan afp
the us and british embassies in yemen closed on sunday amid threats from local
branch of al qaeda after washington and britain vowed to help the impoverished
country in its fight against extremism
the moves came after us president barack obama blamed yemen based al qaeda
affiliate for the foiled christmas day attack on us airliner and day after
us regional military commander general david petraeus visited sanaa
claiming responsibility for the thwarted attack on the detroit bound northwest
airliner al qaeda franchise in yemen urged attacks on embassies and other
western targets in yemen
the us embassy in sanaa is closed today january in response to
ongoing threats by al qaeda in the arabian peninsula aqap to attack american
interests in yemen said statement on the embassy website
britain followed suit with spokeswoman for the foreign office in london
confirming that its sanaa embassy was closed on sunday for security reasons
decision would be be taken later as to whether the mission will reopen on
monday she added
yemeni government official earlier told afp the british embassy is closed
today for security reasons and out of fear of possible al qaeda reactions but
he stressed there were no direct al qaeda threats
spain has also decided to close its embassy in sanaa on monday and tuesday the
spanish newspaper el mundo said on its website quoting embassy sources
aqap on monday urged further attacks on westerners in the arabian peninsula
we call upon every muslim who cares about his religion and doctrine to assist
in expelling the apostasies from the arabian peninsula by killing every
crusader who works at their embassies or other places declare it an all out war
against every crusader on mohammad peninsula on land air and sea an aqap
statement said
london and washington have agreed to fund yemen special counter terrorism unit
special force which in the past has received us training and assistance
battling the murderous ideology of extremist muslims would probably become
feature of this decade british prime minister gordon brown said on sunday
he told bbc television that islamist extremists squeezed out of pakistan and
afghanistan would emerge in struggling states like yemen and somalia as he
pledged extra support
yemen has been recognised like somalia to be one of the areas where we ve got
to not only keep an eye on but we ve got to do more he said
britain has called an international meeting on combating extremism in yemen for
london on january in parallel with conference on afghanistan drawing
senior ministers or leaders from over nations
the yemen sessions of the international conference called by britain would help
sanaa develop the means and will to tackle extremism brown said
on september the us embassy was the target of an attack claimed by al
qaeda in which people were killed seven attackers and others including
yemeni guards and civilians one of them an american woman
last month the defence ministry newspaper said that raid north of the capital
on december killed four suspects and foiled plot to bomb the british
embassy
yemen the ancestral homeland of al qaeda chief osama bin laden has
welcomed the british and us funding decision
any assistance provided to yemen counter terrorism force will be most
welcome government official told afp adding that sanaa would also need help
to modernise its coastguard because of the danger from somalia
somalia shebab insurgents pledged on friday to send militants across the gulf
of aden to yemen to help the al qaeda affiliate behind the failed us airliner
bombing
obama blamed aqap on saturday for the attack on the us jet by year old
nigerian suspect umar farouk abdulmutallab
we know that he travelled to yemen country grappling with crushing poverty
and deadly insurgencies the us president said
it appears that he joined an affiliate of al qaeda and that this group al
qaeda in the arabian peninsula trained him equipped him with those explosives
and directed him to attack that plane headed for america
body of fifth british hostage to be handed over soon iraq
baghdad jan afp
the body of the sole remaining briton of five kidnapped in baghdad in may
by shiite militants will be handed over in the coming days iraq said on sunday
the transfer of alan mcmenemy corpse to britain will bring to an end two
and half year ordeal that has seen several hundred insurgents including the
leader of the group behind the kidnap released in an apparent deal
we expect them to deliver the body within the next few days in order to close
the file iraqi government spokesman ali al dabbagh told afp referring to the
year old bodyguard
foreign office spokeswoman in london told afp our position is unchanged we
have believed for some time that alan been killed and his immediate family
have been told our views
we continue to urge those holding alan to return his body immediately she
said we re in close contact with the iraqi authorities and we re doing
everything we can to try and secure swift return to the uk
mcmenemy was one of four security guards for peter moore computer
consultant who was released unharmed on wednesday by the league of the righteous
group months after the kidnapping
all four of his bodyguards also britons have since been killed
the bodies of three alec maclachlan jason swindlehurst and jason
creswell were handed over to british officials last year
some commentators said deal may have been done to free moore after qais al
khazaali leader of the league of the righteous group which captured the
britons was recently transferred from us to iraqi custody
the foreign office denied any deal was done saying the united states
transferred khazaali into iraqi custody under the terms of bilateral
agreement
moore returned to britain on friday and said in statement released by the
foreign office that he was delighted to have returned to the uk and to have
been reunited with my family
am looking forward to spending the coming days and weeks catching up on all
the things ve missed over the past two and half years he added
would therefore be grateful if we could be given the space and time we need
to start to get to know one another again
the five were kidnapped from the finance ministry in baghdad in may by
some gunmen from the league of the righteous breakaway shiite militia
us regional military commander general david petraeus said on friday that moore
spent at least part of his time in captivity in iran citing american
intelligence
our intelligence assessment is that he moore certainly has spent part of the
time at the very least in iran part of the time that he was hostage he
told reporters in baghdad while on visit to the iraqi capital
that is based on an intelligence assessment and obviously ve not had
chance to hear it certainly not to talk to him but nor to hear anything that
he has said
british prime minister gordon brown said however that there was no direct
evidence moore was held inside iran
britain guardian newspaper has reported that iran revolutionary guards corps
led the kidnap operation and took the five to iran within day of their
abduction
ve talked to peter and we didn talk about that brown told bbc television
we don have direct evidence from the foreign office of that if evidence
becomes available obviously we ll share it with the people
what happened to peter and the trouble that he had over two years and more
are something that are great problem for us because of the others who didn
survive and the other one who we still don have information about
brief history of mega projects in dubai
dubai jan afp
the gulf emirate of dubai whose biggest state owned group sparked global fears
of debt default in november when it asked for six month debt moratorium has
history of vast imposing projects
burj dubai the world tallest tower being inaugurated on monday is just the
latest of these
as recently as late dubai was still announcing gigantic schemes like the
billion dollar jumeirah gardens new town and one kilometre high structure
nakheel harbour and tower in billion dollar business district
the iconic palm jumeirah development has seen thousands of apartments villas
and luxury hotels built on huge artificial palm tree shaped island
the island luxury atlantis the palm hotel is tourist attraction with
bedrooms as is burj al arab the only hotel anywhere claiming seven
star rating
however only one of the three planned palm islands has been completed while
the world proposed collection of islands forming globe shape is
far from being realised
plans for dubailand billion dollar theme park are also at standstill
market researchers estimate that projects worth up to billion dollars or
percent of the value of all developments are on hold in dubai or other members
of the united arab emirates because of the global economic crisis
but many older schemes have been completed
among them is festival city comprising apartments offices
guest bedrooms restaurants and two shopping centres
another tourist draw is the mall of the emirates opened in and famous for
ski dubai the world largest indoor ski slope
dubai has also been planning yet more shopping malls such as the one million
square metre mall of arabia scheduled for completion in
in terms of infrastructure the opening of al maktoum international dubai
second airport with predicted capacity of million passengers year has
been put back to mid
the airport near jebel ali port is designed to be part of billion dollar
complex that includes freight terminal with capacity of million tonnes
year
the highest towers in the world
dubai jan afp
burj dubai whose inauguration is scheduled for monday will be the biggest
tower in the world at more than metres feet tall
the exact height of the tower has not been officially announced but developer
emaar says the height is at least metres informed internet sites have put
the overall height at metres while architects working in the region say it
could be even higher
the top of the tower is visible from distance of kilometres miles the
first metres are made from concrete world record while the rest of the
structure is made out of metal
the tower is at the heart of roughly billion dollar billion euro
project named downtown burj dubai which includes the dubai mall one of the
biggest shopping centres in the world
the tower has been under construction since and had originally been
scheduled to be inaugurated in
here are the biggest towers in the world not taking into account their
antennae
feet burj dubai united arab emirates
feet taipei taipei taiwan
feet shanghai world financial centre china
feet willis sears tower chicago united states
feet petronas twin towers kuala lumpur malaysia
feet two international finance centre hong kong
feet empire state building new york united states
feet central plaza hong kong
feet bank of china hong kong
feet jin mao tower shanghai china
among the towers currently under construction
feet the tokyo sky tree originally referred to as new tokyo
tower japan
feet chicago spire chicago united states
feet abraj al bait mecca saudi arabia
feet one world trade center at ground zero new york united
states
feet international commerce centre hong kong
dubai ruler global vision reaches skywards
dubai jan afp
sheikh mohammad bin rashed al maktoum who on monday inaugurates the world
tallest tower to mark his fourth year in power appears determined not to let
debt woes dampen his vision for dubai future
the emirate british educated ruler has been the driving force behind the
spectacular rise of the gulf emirate into boom town and strives to project
the image of modern arab leader
an avid horse racing fan sheikh mohammad has placed little dubai firmly on the
world map as business it leisure and tourism hub creating modern city
where years ago there was mostly sand
monday official opening of burj dubai is on the fourth anniversary of his
accession following the death of his elder brother sheikh maktoum on january
sheikh mohammad has long pushed his vision of elevating dubai to the status
of global city but the opening of the world record breaking skyscraper comes
amid slump in investor confidence over the emirate debt problems
hundreds of other building projects are in mothballs and plunging property
prices and weak demand had already put dampener on new schemes even before
november shock announcement by state owned giant dubai world that it wants to
halt debt payments for six months
despite the emirate financial problems sheikh mohammad has kept both his cool
and his confidence in dubai future
bedouin and the bedouins like to accept challenges he told journalists
recently inside his marbled dubai palace
sheikh mohammad carefully crafted his role as national leader after also
succeeding his brother as vice president and prime minister of the seven member
united arab emirates federation that includes dubai
in february he unveiled an economic plan for dubai aimed at maintaining
double digit growth achieving gross domestic product of billion dollars
and increasing per capita gdp to dollars by
economic aims set out in for the next years have been realised in half
the time with gdp reaching billion dollars in he boasted
over the course of years sheikh mohammad transformed dubai an emirate of
million inhabitants where natives form just around percent of the
population into popular tourist destination particularly with europeans
his decision in to arm dubai with an airline emirates was the first
crucial move in strategy to develop the desert city state into business and
tourism centre
in the following years countless mega projects ranging from the burj dubai
tower to the three kilometre two mile long palm jumeirah artificial island
were launched and specialised free zones were created
even with the current debt crisis dubai remains bustling city full of eye
catching sights
grandiose ventures including dubailand planned as middle east version of
orlando and an indoor ski resort have ensured steady stream of visitors
sheikh mohammad has led the charge to model dubai where asians are by far the
largest group of expatriates followed by arabs and westerners as haven of
tolerance
non muslims can practise religious rituals freely and dubai hosts several
churches but religious freedom has its limits proselytising for any religion
other than islam is strictly prohibited
sheikh mohammad is seen by some as autocratic in state where neither
political parties nor trades unions are allowed
am convinced am leading my people not only on the right path but on the
only one available he writes in his book my vision
according to author jim krane writing in city of gold dubai and the dream of
capitalism sheikh mohammad is as much tribal sheikh as he is twenty first
century politician
born in dubai in sheikh mohammad studied in military college in britain
before starting his public career in as the director of police and public
security in the emirate which was still british protectorate
shortly after independence in december he was promoted to general by
sheikh maktoum and was named defence minister for the new federation post he
still holds
he is passionate about horses and regularly takes part in endurance races he is
also pilot and keen on poetry
sheikh mohammad is married to princess haya daughter of the late king hussein
of jordan who shares his interest in matters equestrian
son from his first marriage sheikh hamdan is dubai crown prince
dubai financial uncertainty overshadows tower opening
dubai jan afp
dubai was preparing sunday to inaugurate the world tallest tower symbol of
the gulf emirate unbridled ambitions amid ongoing fears about financial
catastrophe
the city state which borrowed heavily to finance its grandiose projects is
nowadays striving to restructure its mountain of debt and face serious crisis
in its once booming real estate sector
some observers appear more confident about dubai ability to navigate its way
out of the crisis after many predicted bankruptcy when it requested debt
repayments standstill for its largest group dubai world in late november
dubai was bailed out with last minute lifeline of billion dollars from
neighbouring emirate abu dhabi which enabled dubai to pay its imminent debt
we are much more confident about the situation of dubai now after abu
dhabi support as well as the comprehensive restructuring plan than we were
one month ago said mahdi mattar chief economist at shuaa capital
the debt story is not as bad as the market initially thought when investors
were assuming the worst he told afp
dubai world began negotiations with its creditors in late december with the hope
of reaching an agreement over restructuring debt of billion dollars owed by
its troubled subsidiaries
the talks followed dubai world payment of billion dollars in maturing
bonds owed by its real estate arm nakheel thanks to abu dhabi help
but the emirate which has little oil resources has to deal with total debt
burden amounting to around billion dollars according to estimates
its fortunes have turned around as the global financial crisis dried up global
finance which was crucial to feed its rapid economic growth mainly in real
estate
in dubai where percent of the population are expatriates percent of the
work force is real estate and construction based said saud masud senior real
estate analyst at ubs bank in dubai
he estimated drop of eight percent in dubai population which was reportedly
around two million before the crisis while he expected two percent drop in
this decrease in population is expected to deepen the decline in property prices
in dubai which dived percent in he said
there is over supply as more houses are being handed over with population
outflows of percent over and handovers of roughly units
during the same period we would not be surprised to see residential over supply
of percent by end of he said
this deterioration has triggered an percent drop in projects in compared
with the previous year
big projects have been delayed indefinitely if investors don pay
developers they in turn will struggle to pay contractors he said
vacant villas and apartment blocks make now up part of dubai landscape while
the most grandiose projects have been put on hold including one kilometre
mile high tower expected to dwarf dubai completed burj dubai whose
final height is more than metres feet
but dubai debt crisis does not mean the emirate will sink in the desert sands
analysts agreed
dubai will not be wiped off the map it is very important centre and model
for the rest of the middle east said masud
dubai infrastructure is unique in the middle east it is regional
financial and tourist hub the challenge is how to come out of the downturn by
diversifying the economy and finding other levers of growth than real estate
he added
mattar agreed that dubai has built an infrastructure second to none in the
region positioning the emirate as the regional service hub
as oil prices remain at these levels and the global economy recovers the
situation of the whole region is on growth recovery path plus for dubai
he added
alpine skiing women world cup results
zagreb croatia jan afp
women world cup slalom results on sunday
sandrine aubert fra
kathrin zettel aut
susanne riesch ger
maria riesch ger
sarka zahrobska cze
tina maze slo
maria pietilae holmner swe
tanja poutiainen fin
manuela moelgg ita
therese borssen swe
ana jelusic cro
christina geiger ger
michaela kirchgasser aut
nastasia noens fra
veronika zuzulova svk
aline bonjour swi
frida hansdotter swe
nina perner ger
brigitte acton can
marusa ferk slo
sanni leinonen fin
nika fleiss cro
mona loeseth nor
jessica puenchera swi
nicole gius ita
disqualified
nd leg katharina duerr ger
did not finish
st leg taina barioz fra camilla borsotti ita eva maria brem aut
hailey duke usa anna fenninger aut matea ferk cro jana gantnerova
svk elisabeth goergl aut anna goodman can rabea grand swi katarina
lavtar slo nina loeseth nor jelena lolovic srb anemone marmottan fra
marina nigg lie zana novakovic bih tea palic cro karen persyn bel
kaylin richardson usa shona rubens can bernadette schild aut lotte
smiseth sejersted nor macarena simari birkner arg carmen thalmann aut
nd leg chiara costazza ita denise feierabend swi marlies schild aut
lindsey vonn usa
nordic combined spillane breaks duck
oberhof germany jan afp
us racer johnny spillane won his first world cup nordic combined event on
sunday seeing off austrian rival felix gottwald at oberhof
spillane stood second after the jump section but upped his game to beat gottwald
by sec as the year old world team champion showed his class in the
km cross country race
german bjoern kircheisen was third sec off the pace
frenchman jason lamy chappuis finished more than sec adrift but still retains
his lead atop the overall world cup standings after germany tino edelmann
could only trail in th
gottwald double olympic champion in in the sprint and the team category
and back in the mix two years after announcing his retirement is now third in
