match referee andy pycroft zim
tsunami generating quake possible off indonesia scientists
paris jan afp
huge wave generating quake capable of killing as many people as in the
indian ocean tsunami could strike off the indonesian island of sumatra and the
city of padang is in the firing line team of seismologists said on sunday
the group led by prominent scientist who predicted sumatran quake
with uncanny accuracy issued the warning in letter to the journal nature
geoscience
the peril comes from relentless buildup of pressure over the last two
centuries on section of the sunda trench one of the world most notorious
earthquake zones which runs parallel to the western sumatra coast they said
this section named after the mentawai islands is near failure the letter
warned bluntly
the threat of great tsunamigenic earthquake with magnitude of more than
on the mentawai patch is unabated there is potential for loss of life on
the scale of the indian ocean tsunami
the letter gave no timeframe for this event but warned starkly of the danger for
padang city of people that lies broadside to the risky segment
the threat from such an event is clear and the need for urgent mitigating
action remains extremely high it said
more than people lost their lives in the killer wave of december
when magnitude earthquake occurring farther north on the sunda trench
ruptured the boundary where the australian plate of earth crust plunges
beneath the eurasian plate
the authors of the letter are led by john mccloskey professor of the
environmental sciences research institute at the university of ulster northern
ireland
in march mccloskey warned that the december quake had built up
major stress in an adjoining part of the fault to the south he declared
temblor in the region of magnitude with the capacity to generate tsunami
was imminent and urged the authorities to beef up preparations
such predictions are extraordinarily rare in the world of seismology knowledge
of where earthquakes strike is extensive but the ability to say when they will
occur remains elusive
but mccloskey was proven right within two weeks on march quake
measuring erupted at simeulue island generating three metre feet
tsunami
in the letter to nature geoscience his team explained their calculations for
the vulnerable mentawai segment in the aftermath of magnitude quake that
occurred kilometers miles near padang on september last year killing
more than people
despite its size this event did not ease the pressure on the mentawai section
especially under the island of siberut stresses there have been accumulating
since an magnitude quake in that caused fault slippage of metres
feet and unleashed tsunami that inundated padang and neighbouring
areas
under siberut the largest of the mentawai islands the megathrust strain
energy budget remains substantially unchanged after the quake mccloskey
team said
it is imperative that the indonesian authorites with the assistance of the
international community and non governmental organisations ensure that they
complete the relief effort and earthquake resistant reconstruction following
this earthquake and work with the people in padang to help prepare them for the
next one
tennis australian open men singles draw
melbourne jan afp
the full draw after qualifying was completed for the men singles at the
australian open beginning monday denotes seeding
men
roger federer sui igor andreev rus juan ignacio chela arg victor
hanescu rom stephane robert fra potito starace ita oscar hernandez
esp albert montanes esp lleyton hewitt aus ricardo hocevar
bra christophe rochus bel donald young usa paolo lorenzi ita
marcos baghdatis cyp frederico gil por gilles simon fra fernando
verdasco esp carsten ball aus ivan sergeyev ukr dudi sela isr
rajeev ram usa stefan koubek aut ivan dodig cro juan carlos ferrero
esp juan monaco arg ernests gulbis lat martin vassallo
arguello arg michael llodra fra carlos moya esp illya marchenko
ukr dieter kindlmann ger nikolay davydenko rus novak djokovic srb
daniel gimeno traver esp marinko matosevic aus marco chiudinelli
sui kristof vliegen bel michael berrer ger denis istomin uzb
jeremy chardy fra mikhail youzhny rus richard gasquet fra jan
hajek cze robby ginepri usa lukasz kubot pol mischa zverev ger
santiago giraldo col tommy robredo esp jo wilfried tsonga fra
sergiy stakhovsky ukr fabio fognini ita taylor dent usa ryan harrison
usa janko tipsarevic srb simon greul ger tommy haas ger
nicolas almagro esp xavier malisse bel benjamin becker ger grega
zemlja slo alejandro falla col marcos daniel bra marcel granollers
esp robin soderling swe andy roddick usa thiemo de bakker
ned teimuraz gabashvili rus thomaz bellucci bra feliciano lopez esp
pablo cuevas uru rainer schuettler ger sam querrey usa tomas
berdych cze robin haase ned daniel brands ger evgeny korolev
rus sebastien grosjean fra marsel ilhan tur olivier rochus bel
fernando gonzalez chi marin cilic cro fabrice santoro fra
guillaume rufin fra bernard tomic aus igor kunitsyn rus jose acasuso
arg guillermo garcia lopez esp stanislas wawrinka sui viktor
troicki srb nicolas lapentti ecu philipp petzschner ger florian
mayer ger james blake usa arnaud clement fra michael russell usa
juan martin del potro arg andy murray gbr kevin anderson rsa
marc gicquel fra simone bolelli ita jarkko nieminen fin nick lindahl
aus florent serra fra jurgen melzer aut david ferrer esp
andreas seppi ita louk sorenson irl lu yen hsun tpe daniel koellerer
aut antonio veic cro matthew ebden aus gael monfils fra radek
stepanek cze ivo karlovic cro julien benneteau fra qualifier
mardy fish usa andrey golubev kaz jason kubler aus ivan ljubicic cro
philipp kohlschreiber ger horacio zeballos arg john isner usa
wayne odesnik usa lukas lacko svk leonardo mayer arg peter luczak
aus rafael nadal esp
urgent polls open in ukraine presidential elections
kiev jan afp
polls opened sunday in ukraine presidential elections which are expected to
see comeback by pro russian forces five years after the orange revolution
football africa cup of nations group scenarios
cabinda angola jan afp
group of the africa cup of nations is set for thrilling climax monday with
all four countries capable of making the knockout phase
leaders angola face third placed algeria at the november stadium in the
angolan capital luanda while second placed malawi and bottom side mali flew
north for showdown at chiazi stadium in the oil rich cabinda enclave
here are the scenarios facing the four teams ahead of the monday gmt kick
offs in the first edition of the biennial african football showcase to be hosted
by portuguese speaking country
angola
victory over algeria will ensure first place and staying in luanda for
quarter final against the group runners up almost certainly burkina faso or
severely depleted ghana draw would guarantee last eight place while defeat
could lead to elimination
malawi
win againt mali takes them into the quarter finals for the first time and
draw would be enough provided algeria do not win defeat means first round
exit for country making only their second cup appearance and the first in
years
algeria
facing grim prospect of being first world cup qualifiers ousted from the
tournament unless they can upset the odds and defeat cock hoop angola in their
luanda fortress draw will not suffice whatever the result in cabinda because
of minus two goal difference
mali
it win or bust for mali whose coach stephen keshi claimed before the cup
kicked off last weekend that his team were capable of reaching the january
final however they do not want algeria to win as that would mean second place
being settled by goal difference or goals scored between mali and angola
standings
played won drawn lost goals for against points
angola
malawi
algeria
mali
fixtures
times gmt
jan
at november stadium luanda
angola algeria
at chiazi stadium cabinda
malawi mali
note group winners and runners up qualify for quarter finals
previous results
all luanda
jan
angola mali
jan
malawi algeria
jan
algeria mali
angola malawi
ski jumping ammann wins supporo ski jump
sapporo japan jan afp
salt lake city dual gold medallist simon ammann of switzerland posted his fourth
win of the season at the world cup ski jumping here in sapporo on sunday
the year old swiss scored points from two jumps of and
metres beating japan veteran noriaki kasai in second place on points
it was ammann th world cup win since his first victory at oslo in
martin koch of austria finished third with points
ammann the world champion in sapporo also stretched his lead in the
overall standings with total of points
torino olympic champion thomas morgenstern of austria the winner in sapporo on
saturday was second with points and his compatriot andreas kofler third
with points
it was the th leg of the round world cup series with the next round moving
to zakopane in poland on friday
football mali star diarra misses crunch clash with malawi
cabinda angola jan afp
mali will miss midfield ace mahamadou diarra when they face malawi monday in
make or break africa cup of nations group clash
the real madrid star was cautioned when the eagles from west africa drew
with angola and lost to algeria in luanda and must serve an automatic one
match suspension
diarra seydou keita from european and world champions barcelona and momo
sissoko of italian outfit juventus are the men who make the malian midfield tick
and create openings for sevilla striker frederic kanoute
fellow midfielder bakary soumare from french ligue club boulogne has been
sidelined for the same reason after picking up two yellow cards as mali secured
solitary point from possible six
these are massive blows for bottom of the table mali as they must defeat second
placed malawi to have any chance of snatching second place in the mini league
and squeezing into the quarter finals
coach stephen keshi boasted before the tournament that the eagles were capable
of going all the way to the final for the first time since losing to congo
brazzaville in the yaounde decider
and after trailing hosts angola by four goals with minutes left they staged
the greatest comeback in the year nations cup history to snatch draw deep
in stoppage time
but they looked jaded four days later against an algerian side smarting from
three goal hiding by pre tournament no hopers malawi and rafik halliche header
just before half time settled the outcome
now malian salvation lies in beating malawi and third placed algeria not
defeating leaders angola at the same time in the seat november stadium
fortress of the first portuguese speaking nation to stage the event
keshi is furious that mali were robbed of training session before their flight
north from capital city luanda to the oil rich cabinda enclave after algeria
arrived first at double booked venue and refused to budge
malawi coach and former star striker kinnah phiri was equally livid at being
robbed of three practices before midweek loss to angola claiming the
hosts were guilty of the dirty tricks so prevalent in african football
the lowest ranked team in the biennial african football showcase at malawi
were considered potential whipping boys only to upset algeria and match angola
for minutes before conceding two goals in seven minutes
phiri has built the most impressive flames squad for many years with lengthy
ball retention through slick short passes feature and draw would suffice to
take them through provided algeria do not secure maximum points
lanky striker russell mwafulirwa missed the angola game through injury and if
passed fit to operate at the chiazi stadium could trouble malian defence
vulnerable to aerial bombardments
alert
polls open in ukraine presidential elections afp correspondent
football algeria take on angola and fans
luanda jan afp
angola go into monday decisive group game against algeria safe in the
knowledge that draw will be enough to see them progress to the africa cup of
nations quarter finals
the table topping hosts have four points and are sitting pretty as even defeat
would see them go through if mali beat malawi in the mini league second
fixture being staged at the same time up in cabinda
algeria on the other hand need win to ensure their place in the last eight if
they are not to be reliant on the right result from cabinda
the world cup qualifiers lost to malawi in their opener last monday match
played out to crowd that barely reached triple figures
it will be an altogether different story this time around when they will have
vocal local fans up against them
in glaring contrast only half dozen fans have travelled from algeria to
support the desert foxes with visa restrictions and high costs luanda is the
most expensive city in the world for visitors pizza can cost us dollars
the reasons behind the algerian fans no show
angola captain kali paying tribute to the home support said the fans have
been amazing our biggest responsibility is to win for them
while midfielder dede is out he picked up thigh injury in last sunday
draw with mali doubts also persist over the fitness of star striker flavio
the saudi arabia based forward is leading scorer in the competition with three
goals but was taken off in the second half in the win over malawi
gilberto who has also been in good scoring form at the competition and zuela
are also concerns for the hosts
kali noted on friday of course we ve got injuries but there are still another
hours to go
players can recuperate but if one can make it we have the men to replace
him
kali said morale in the hosts camp was high but added we re at home and the
biggest responsibility is to our supporters
he paid tribute to coach manuel jose noted disciplinarian who is something of
national hero in egypt after enjoying fine run of success with al ahly
discipline is the foundation of any team and the boss we call him mister
as he doesn like us to call him anything else is good on that
he also man who has winning mentality and that rubs off on us the
players we have lot of respect for him
over in the algerian camp it hard to assess their mood as coach rabah saadane
has pulled down the shutters banning the media from the last two training
sessions
that provoked an unprecedented boycott of the national team by the algerian
press pack who turned their backs and ignored the players as they emerged from
behind closed doors session on thursday
saadane has also had to deal with one of his squad star midfielder khalid
lemmouchia storming out of the camp and returning home upset that he wasn
being selected
algeria are desperate to make an imprint on this competition ahead of the world
cup where they are drawn in the same first round group as england and the united
states
algeria sports minister hachemi djiar told afp everyone thought they were
finished after that defeat to malawi but they proved with the win against mali
that they have potential
they are young team that has lots of qualities and have confidence in them
that why call on all algerians to get behind them
why coastal oil spills can pollute for decades study
paris jan afp
oil from the exxon valdez tanker spill that devastated alaska prince
william sound still lies trapped beneath its beaches continuing to pollute once
pristine shores scientists reported sunday
as climate change opens the arctic region to oil exploration and shipping the
findings could prove crucial in devising effective methods for cleaning up
future spills the researchers said
up to now experts puzzled over why remnants of the million gallons of crude
that fouled some kilometers miles of alaskan coastline have
persisted for so long
at first it seemed that nature with some help from technology would soon wash
away one of the worst environmental disasters in history
the spill decimated the region wildlife as well as the state fishing
industry
but within decade it became apparent that the rate at which the oil was
disappearing had dramatically slowed from percent per year to about four
percent
today it is estimated that some gallons remain
michael boufadel and hailong li of temple university in philadelphia
pennsylvania wanted to find out why this oil was not been broken down through
biodegradation and weathering as had been widely predicted
collecting field data and running computer simulations they found the key lay
in the fact that affected beaches consisted of two layers each with different
properties
the geographically variable impact of rising and falling water tables also
played critical role
oil was temporarily stored in the porous upper layer slowing the rate at which
it was subject to weathering according to the study published in the journal
nature geoscience
an environment lacking the kind of nutrients needed by oil eating micro
organisms to thrive further protected the fossil fuel
the second layer while composed largely of the same materials was far less
porous on average water moved through the top layer times faster
when the water level from declining tides fell below the interface between the
two layers oil seeped from the upper to the lower stratum especially where
there was little or no freshwater discharge to compensate
once the oil entered the lower layer it became entrapped by capillary forces
and persisted the authors said
because of the even lower oxygen content in the sub stratum the crude was not
degraded and has remained suspended
the study also said that oil tends to linger on gravel beaches more than on
sandy ones pointing to evidence from previous spills the arrow in nova scotia
canada the metula in the strait of magellan chile and the amoco
cadiz along the french coast of brittany
as global warming is melting the ice cover and exposing the arctic to oil
exploration and shipping through sea routes such as the northwest passage the
risk of oil spills on gravel beaches in high latitude regions will be
increased it said
desperation in haiti as scale of disaster grows
port au prince jan afp
desperate haiti quake survivors pleaded saturday for vital supplies amid anger
over the chaotic aid effort while the true extent of the disaster beyond the
capital began to emerge
four days after magnitude earthquake brought death and misery on an
unprecedented scale to the impoverished and dysfunctional caribbean nation aid
was trickling in but failing to reach many of those most in need
us helicopters crews flew in and unloaded boxes of vital supplies as massive
queues formed at distribution points where the un world food programme wfp
handed out high energy biscuits
an afp journalist witnessed one us helicopter dropping half dozen small
cartons into stadium of starving haitians some brandishing machetes as they
fought for the items
as the fate of whole towns and villages around the capital in western haiti
remained unclear the united nations said it had never before faced such
humanitarian catastrophe
we have never been confronted with such disaster in the un memory it is like
no other elisabeth byrs spokeswoman of the un office for the coordination of
humanitarian affairs told afp in geneva
the destruction found saturday in the town of leogane just kilometers
miles west of port au prince was staggering street after street of homes
and businesses torn apart
it the very epicenter of the earthquake and many many thousands are dead
said wfp spokesman david orr nearly every house was destroyed here the
military are talking about to dead
the latest overall toll from the haitian government is at least people
dead and million homeless but those figures could soar once the full extent
of the tragedy is known early estimates had spoken of dead
the un said increasing numbers of haitians were trying to cross the border into
the dominican republic to the east and reported surge of quake survivors
fleeing to northern cities
crammed onto overflowing buses or on foot thousands fled the flattened capital
where the stench of decomposing bodies hung in the air and fears grew of angry
riots
the streets smell of death said talulum saint fils who sold her jewelry for
one way bus tickets for her husband and children out of port au prince
go to any place but away from this city she told afp there is no
assistance of any kind and our children simply cannot live like animals
there were complaints of major coordination problems at the us controlled
airport in port au prince the main destination for aid flights
french secretary of state for cooperation alain joyandet said he had lodged an
official complaint with the united states after french plane carrying field
hospital was turned away this was later denied by his own foreign ministry
secretary of state hillary clinton became the highest ranking us official to
visit haiti since the quake and highlighted the urgent need to clear logistical
hurdles
as president barack obama has said we will be here today tomorrow and for
the time ahead she told haitians
you have been severely tested but believe that haiti can come back even
stronger and better in the future
despite obvious organizational failures significant amount of aid was getting
through either through port au prince airport by road from the dominican
republic or from us helicopter flights
red cross coordinator mauricio bustamante said the group had sent planeloads
of personnel and humanitarian aid while fleet of choppers made regular air
drops
but after isolated reports friday of machete wielding gangs terrorizing
survivors there were growing signs saturday of despondency and unease in
country with checkered past of rioting and unrest
two dominicans were seriously wounded after being shot saturday as they handed
out aid local media in the dominican republic reported
exhausted police fired in the air in vain attempt to scare off armed looters
pillaging shops in the capital
barricades of burning tires rubble and corpses blocked main road out of the
city as residents called for the dead bodies to be removed
they already took some bodies away but there are more many more said
charles weber year old voodoo priest in the crowd surrounding roadblock
un chief ban ki moon confirmed saturday the death of his haiti mission chief
hedi annabi as the body faced its biggest ever loss of life with dead and
close to unaccounted for ban was to visit haiti sunday
the un security council will meet monday to discuss coordination of the
international aid operation
indonesian muslims protest against egypt gaza wall
jakarta jan afp
more than indonesian muslims protested in jakarta sunday against an
underground wall being built to block network of tunnels crossing egypt
border with the gaza strip
the demonstrators from the voice of palestine support group carried banners
reading stop building steel wall on gaza and chanted die america die egypt
in front of the egyptian embassy
after years of ignoring the tunnel smuggling which is used to bypass israeli
sanctions egypt began building the wall after falling out with hamas the
islamist movement which rules gaza
we demand egypt to remove the wall on humanitarian grounds erecting the wall
will cause the palestinians to suffer economically food supply will be
affected the group coordinator hisyam sulaiman told afp
the network which hamas has been accused of using to smuggle weapons into the
territory has withstood israeli air strikes and egyptian attempts to flood the
tunnels with water and gas
citing national security egypt is now building an underground iron wall in
bid to tighten its sinai border with the restive palestinian territory
the united states has voiced its support for the wall construction saying it
will stop arms smuggling
indonesia the world most populous muslim nation with million people is
strong supporter of the palestinian cause
us soldier dies in afghanistan nato
kabul jan afp
an american soldier has died in afghanistan after being wounded while fighting
taliban led insurgents nato said sunday
in brief statement nato international security assistance force isaf said
the soldier had died on saturday in eastern afghanistan an increasingly
volatile theatre of the war against the anti government militants
an isaf service member from the united states died of wounds yesterday as
result of an engagement with insurgents in eastern afghanistan it said
it gave no other details
around international service men and women are deployed to afghanistan
under us and nato command for the fight against the islamist militants now in
its ninth year
another troops are being sent to the country and are due to arrive by
august military officials have said
the decision to send more foreign soldiers is part of renewed strategy for
bringing the fight to the taliban while backing up battlefield progress with aid
and development efforts to win over local populations
the increased forces however mean more engagements and inevitably higher
rate of deaths among foreign forces the officials say
this has become evident in recent months as the total death toll among
international soldiers in was compared with for the year before
according to an afp tally based on that kept by the independent website
icasualties org foreign soldiers have died in afghanistan so far in
korean leader watches armed forces drill state media
seoul jan afp
north korean leader kim jong il has watched an armed forces joint drill state
media said sunday in the first such disclosure since he took command of the
military almost two decades ago
in what appeared to be fresh sabre rattling against cold war foe south korea
kim watched his troops shattering the enemy camp to pieces and turning it
into sea of flame during the drill
kim who inspected the field drill of the army navy and airforce from an
observation platform expressed great satisfaction the north korean central
news agency kcna reported
it did not disclose when or where the manoeuvres were held
it is the first time north korea has released news of kim inspecting such
joint drill since he was named supreme commander of the armed forces by his
father kim il sung in december
with the order for the start of the maneuvers flying corps warships and
ground artillery pieces of various kinds showered merciless barrage at the
enemy group in close coordination thus shattering the enemy camp to pieces
and turning it into sea of flame kcna said sunday
yang moo jin of seoul university of north korean studies said the kcna
dispatch was follow up to pyongyang sabre rattling at seoul last week
pyongyang threatened on friday to break off all dialogue with south korea unless
seoul apologises for an alleged contingency plan to handle potential political
instability in the communist state
the north korean news release of kim watching the massive military manoeuvres
is designed to display show of force against south korea in part of its
psychological warfare yang told afp
unconfirmed south korean news reports say officials in seoul have drawn up
plan to administer the north in the event of regime collapse coup or
popular uprising there
the north powerful national defence commission ndc headed by kim denounced
the alleged plan as crime and said it would stage holy war against those
who drew it up
in statement on kcna it termed the alleged document plan to overthrow its
socialist system
the north said monday it wants talks with the united states on treaty to
formally end the korean war before it makes any further moves towards
nuclear disarmament
south korea the united states and japan rejected the pyongyang proposal for
early peace talks saying it must first return to nuclear disarmament forum
the north abandoned the six party forum in april month before staging
second nuclear test
south korean defence ministry spokesman told afp sunday north korea military
was in regular field exercise but showing no unusual movements
some us troops are stationed in south korea in support of
strong south korean military that faces the north korean people army
of million troops
tennis murray not buckling under grand slam expectations
melbourne jan afp
scotland andy murray has embraced rising expectations he is about to end
britain year drought in men grand slam tennis
murray said his preparation for the year first grand slam could not have gone
any better and shrugged off any concerns over the external pressure to deliver
affecting his performance
he said his own expectations were equally as high as those british tennis fans
looking to herald their first singles champion since fred perry at the us
open
no he said when asked if he was feeling the pressure mean think it
good thing you know
feel like playing well enough to win the tournament
