feature
it will be difficult match they caused us lots of problems in the return
fixture win for lyon on september
paris saint germain th after defeat at lille host sixth placed monaco
with auxerre travelling to nice toulouse taking on nancy and imperilled
boulogne who are second from bottom facing valenciennes
tuesday match sees saint etienne take on rennes with the hosts buoyant after
victory at grenoble on saturday that lifted them three points clear of the
relegation zone
fixtures
tuesday gmt
saint etienne rennes
wednesday gmt unless otherwise stated
grenoble bordeaux lens montpellier lorient lyon marseille le mans
nice auxerre paris saint germain monaco sochaux lille toulouse nancy
boulogne valenciennes gmt
dollar steady in asia
tokyo jan afp
the dollar was little changed against the yen and the euro in asian trade on
tuesday as dealers focused on upcoming economic data and greece debt woes
the dollar slipped to yen in tokyo morning trade from in late
european deals on monday when us markets were closed for national holiday
the euro edged up to dollars from and to yen from
activity was expected to pick up later in the day after slow start to the week
due to the martin luther king holiday in the united states
market players were eyeing germany zew index of economic sentiment due out on
tuesday
the indicator which surveys financial experts on their outlook for europe
biggest economy is expected to have fallen to this month from in
december according to analyst forecasts
greece problems will likely lead to slight decline in the index predicted
calyon currency strategist mitul kotecha
greece ballooning debts cast long shadow over meeting of eurozone finance
ministers monday
german chancellor angela merkel last week said greece fiscal crisis put the
euro in very difficult phase
greece woes will likely cap any gains in the euro kotecha said
investors were also waiting ahead of slew of us earnings reports later this
week after jpmorgan chase opened the earnings season for banks on strong note
last friday
citigroup will release its fourth quarter earnings on tuesday followed by bank
of america morgan stanley and wells fargo on wednesday and goldman sachs on
thursday
first us patrols set scene for haiti aid drop
port au prince jan afp
most of them recently back from combat tours in iraq and afghanistan american
paratroopers boarded waves of choppers monday and flew into the united states
latest nation building adventure
shuttling back and forth navy seahawks disgorged some of the troops on dusty
field barely one kilometer from the haitian capital port au prince airport
hub of the post earthquake international aid effort
the chopper has become classic on television news since when the united
states launched its wars in afghanistan and iraq but in haiti the troops were
greeted not by bombs and gunmen but by worried jobseekers
drawn by the sound of the helicopters hundreds of young men and handful of
young women converged on the landing zone as the men of the first battalion of
the th airborne infantry arrived and deployed to their new camp
the rifle squads were armed with their usual complement of assault rifles light
machine guns and grenade launchers but they walked light on their feet buoyed
by the cautiously warm welcome and by their lack of body armour
no round in the chamber no iba it different laughed one sergeant
referring to the us military warzone practice of readying its weapons to fire
before moving out and of always wearing helmets and vests
here the bullets remained in their magazines and the troops donned cloth caps
to protect them from the hot caribbean sun rather than heavy kevlar to shield
them from shrapnel and sniper rounds
we re trying to look for an initial drop point for humanitarian assistance
lieutenant tate kommer told afp as bravo company second platoon left the
abandoned industrial site that is to be their new home
the st of the th had landed in relatively sparsely populated area just
north of port au prince spot where damage from last week catastropic
earthquake was limited but where poverty is severe
just outside the unit new home bare patch of sand and gravel behind wall
that was once to house new power plant haitians left homeless by the quake
had set up makeshift refugee community on soccer pitch
but while the initial weeks of the mission are geared to the supply of basic
necessities such as water food and emergency medical aid the district
problems date back to long before haiti latest tragedy
somebody came and said the americans were coming some people need meals or
water the country is broken said year old jhon ely when asked why so many
young men had swarmed out to await the helicopters
but he quickly cut to the chase do you need driver used to be driver
for pepsi cola but their business here was broken long before the earthquake
he told two afp journalists accompanying the mission
at the landing site the awaiting crowds had attempted to martial themselves
into lines and draw up lists of names of jobseekers but in the excitement they
fell to pushing and shoving once the troops were on the ground
local fixer helped the troops recruit keen platoon of young men pre armed
with their own shovels and pick axes for local work causing stir among others
who were left out but there was more curiosity than aggression
the only augur of future trouble was the gulf in expectations between the local
lads and their new us friends
the unit parent division the nd airborne is currently the united states
global response force rapidly deployable unit to attend to emergencies not
one to launch lengthy efforts to save failed states
the day after last tuesday quake the men were training in the record low
winter temperatures in the north carolina highlands in advance of their next
afgan mission not for peacekeeping and food hand outs in the caribbean
battalion commander lieutenant colonel pat hynes insists the division was glad
for the mission and his men seem cheerful as they joke and play with haitian
civilians but many hopes are resting on them
what are these guys doing here year old pierre killick asked an afp
reporter as the platoon leader talked with franco lebanese businessman about
using his land as food aid distribution point
they want to set up place to hand out food and water for people left
homeless by the earthquake the reporter explained
yeah that not my problem he sighed need job needed job before
all of this
babies pulled from the haitian rubble
port au prince jan afp
nurses at port au prince general hospital clapped heartily as they welcomed
monday baby girl pulled from the rubble six days after the earthquake that
struck haiti and destroyed her home
the child believed to be just months old was covered with dust but
otherwise appeared healthy no one knew her name and rescuers believe her family
died when her home collapsed
this is incredible said nurse that held the baby carefully cleaning her
body and giving her water she has no injuries only child is able to survive
six days in this condition
the unnamed girl is the second baby to be unearthed in haiti in as many days
medics at an israeli field hospital outside the capital have also treated jean
louis brahms an eight month old baby trapped for five days under what used to
be his house
the baby father and older brother escaped the house in time and sustained only
minor injuries but jean louis remained trapped under the rubble for days until
neighbor heard him crying and contacted un peacekeepers
the child mother said she had been back to the home several times waited
called for him and there was no answer
could not stay there could not accept that he was dead and buried in the
rubble so left she said choking back her tears
when look at him now cry out of happiness and believe in god more than
ever she said had lost all hope of finding him alive
jean louis was close to death when he was rescued and had to be revived said
amit assa an israeli doctor at the field hospital
he only reacted to the antibiotics hours later said assa
it incredible that he is alive after five days without water without food
and in this heat
however one of the infant legs was crushed and gangrene had set in we don
know if we can save it assa said
the israeli field hospital has treated some victims the vast majority of
the them pulled found in the collapsed ruins of the city eighty have been
children mostly dazed orphans struggling to grasp what has happened
even the adults found in the utter destruction that littered the capital found
the reality hard to bear perhaps it is better to be young not to understand
the scale of the catastrophe
young woman named rose marie had been constantly crying ever since she was
rescued from collapsed restaurant four days after the quake struck she was
having meal with friends all of whom died close to her and according to
the doctors she does not yet realize that she has survived
she just repeats names and moans said nurse at the field hospital as she
gently treats rose marie injuries she still believes that she in the
restaurant
on nearby cot another survivor jacky desbois constantly relives the two days
he spent in the ruins of church
it was like being alive inside tomb he said believed that god would not
abandon me and prayed but felt like was going crazy thought die
there and no one would find me
some friends got me out but they broke my leg now they have to operate on me
but happy to be alive don care about the leg desbois said
almost week after the earthquake fewer and fewer survivors were being found
among those so called lucky survivors was marie france pulled out late
sunday after having his right arm amputated
didn know what was going on outside my only thought was to live she
mumbled resting at the hospital intensive care unit and still under the
effect of morphine
nearby year old man said he was trapped for four days in his bakery
had already prepared myself to die time was endless when was pulled out
did not know if two days or two weeks had gone by he said
for thousands haiti healing pivots on an amputation
port au prince jan afp
jacques lorblanches has lost count of the number of amputations he has performed
in the past hours in haiti but he will never forget the ghastly conditions
under which he carried them out
have never seen anything like this infected wounds full of larvae said
the experienced french doctor recounting scene reminiscent of field
hospital on bloody th century battlefield
did my first amputation with three forceps five scissors and scalpel
without water and just flashlight to illuminate the injury said the
surgeon who is part of team sent by the humanitarian organization doctors of
the world
such are the nightmares brought to horrifying life across port au prince after
last week cataclysmic earthquake plunged the haitian capital into ruin
killing feared people and injuring countless more
for many of the injured lucky enough to be rescued new horror begins with the
drastic amputation of one or more limbs and after eventual recovery the
prospects of life of grinding poverty
from saturday to mid day monday out of operations performed by the french
team at the general hospital in port au prince ended in amputation
and even as some of the world most advanced mobile medical facilities are just
short helicopter flight away aboard us aircraft carrier and other ships in
the waters off haiti the story was the same elsewhere in the city
of the operations performed over two days almost all were amputations
said doctor amit assa at another field hospital set up by an israeli team on
the outskirts of the capital
the wounded are brought in by pleading relatives or mute strangers wheeling
them in barrows or carrying them on stretchers fashioned out of doors
as victims arrived with gangrenous limbs crushed days ago by concrete walls or
metal beams doctors explained that it was inevitable that many many surgeries
would end in amputation
like city gripped by war port au prince will be home to thousands of fresh
amputees when all is said and done exacerbating an acute crisis in the western
hemisphere most wretchedly poor nation according to the surgeons
an emotional lorblanches recalled the case of girl injured when wall
collapsed and crushed her hands both of which were amputated by his team on
sunday
we cut to save lives he said our work is small drop in this tragedy
but the cut has become the norm after the operation there is only time for
brief cigarette break before starting anew this time on haitian man whose
left leg had been crushed
the desperate conditions force the doctors to do rapid triage more familiar on
war front lines than in quake hit capital
doubt can mean death observed anesthetist igor auriant
few paces away marie francoise howls in anguish in the aftermath of the loss
of her left arm
her parents perished in the family home when it collapsed in the temblor and
while marie francoise spent hours trapped under the rubble she was eventually
rescued by neighbors
feel happy because alive but do not think about my future lost
everything and can not work she said between sobs
the scene is repeated in badly damaged hospitals and makeshift medical centers
in the city slum carrefour dozens of wounded and dying have lain for hours
even days under sweltering sun waiting to be treated inside tent
amputations are performed one lot after another
there is gangrene everywhere and you amputate on the go said hans van dillen
for years the head of doctors without borders msf mission here that is now
conducting surgeries per day under shocking conditions
on day six you conduct radical surgery there nothing more you can do
and with the number of casualties needing immediate treatment skyrocketing
skull fractures severe burns open wounds we are completely overwhelmed
he said
medical equipment has been late in arriving and the wounded are sorted like
casualties of war forget the hopeless cases postpone care for the less serious
ones and focus on the critically injured who can be saved
the case of john indri santerre who was moaning and rocking in pain was not
deemed serious enough for immediate care his left foot had been crushed and
wrapped in dirty bandage many others were being treated before him
came here so they could cut off my foot can stand the pain and it
been three days waiting said the year old computer expert
for lucile her infected right arm turned gangrenous with the lack of early
medical attention and it was amputated at the general hospital with her other
arm she gripped her mother tightly and sobbed into her shoulder
but lucile personal hell may not be over
now it her leg that is in danger said haitian doctor jean toussaint we
are trying to save her but we can not wait more than few hours to make the
decision
us defense chief praises india restraint after attacks
aboard us military aircraft jan afp
defense secretary robert gates on monday praised india for showing restraint
since the mumbai attacks saying it had kept tensions with pakistan under
control
speaking to reporters on his plane before his arrival in new delhi on tuesday
gates expressed admiration for how indian leaders reacted to the attacks
that left dead
the bombing in mumbai was really terrible event and frankly believe that
the indians responded subsequently with great deal of restraint and have
conducted themselves in very statesmanlike manner since that attack
india has blamed the assault by heavily armed gunmen on the pakistan based
islamist group lashkar taiba and called for stepped up pressure on pakistan
to rein in militants
think that even within the framework of that attack and the suspicions that
it created that the two sides have managed to keep the tensions between them at
manageable level gates said
his comments came before visit to india in which the threat posed by militants
in afghanistan and pakistan will be high on the agenda
gates who was due to meet prime minister manmohan singh foreign minister
krishna and defense minister antony said that india and the united states
faced common threat from violent extremists
both of our countries know all too well the terrible human cost of terrorist
attacks gates wrote in commentary in the times of india before his arrival
leaders of both governments have agreed to expand cooperation in sharing tactics
and information in countering terror threats including efforts to disrupt
militant financial networks and safeguard public transit he wrote
in his talks with indian leaders gates told reporters he also planned to
provide an update on the nato led war in afghanistan mission that india has
strongly endorsed
washington has been grateful for india generous reconstruction aid to
afghanistan and steadfast backing for the war against taliban insurgents
after decades of mutual unease during the cold war india relations with the
united states have steadily improved and defense ties have expanded since the
attacks of september including annual joint military exercises
defense related trade is also on the rise after deal in july between the two
countries opened the way for the sale of sophisticated us weaponry to india
gates called the end use monitoring agreement hugely important but said more
needed to be done to expand arms trade between the two countries
he said more us legal barriers needed to be removed that would give india access
to american made military hardware citing agreements on communications and
logistics cooperation that still needed to be sealed
in his newspaper commentary gates wrote that we both have to reexamine
policies dealing with exchanging technology and us regulations particularly
needed to be reformed
india last year bought six hercules transport aircraft from us aviation giant
lockheed martin and boeing said this month that india had expressed interest in
potential purchase of transport planes
the us defense firms also are keenly interested in lucrative contract to build
fighter jets for india along with european russian french and swedish
companies
tennis ivanovic into open second round
melbourne jan afp
serbian ana ivanovic breezed into the second round of the australian open
tuesday with the th seed comfortably beating american shenay perry
olympics bobsleigh luge and skeleton bluffer guide
vancouver canada jan afp
afp bluffer guide to bobsleigh luge and skeleton at the winter olympics
bobsleigh skeleton and luge pretty similar right
well yes and no nerves of steel and doubtless cast iron stomach
required as competitors hurtle down mile long track at around kilometres
miles an hour they also need great strength to hold on as well as steer
themselves safely to the bottom
luge and skeleton competitors both lie on rectangular sled supine that is
feet first for luge and headfirst for skeleton whereas bobsleigh competitors
are able to climb inside their aerodynamic vehicle
skeleton involves one racer but luge can be one or two whereas bobsleigh
involves teams of two or four with both variants having pilot and brakeman
after running down the top section to get some momentum the bobbers leap aboard
as one might passing motorcycle sidecar
so basically what do you do or do you just hang on tight
bobsleigh driver manipulates ropes connected to polished steel runners as
other crew shift their weight to aid steering
the added thrill for skeleton aside from the head first position adopted is
the lack of any steering mechanism
you just have to move your feet but as that creates drag the best riders
dispense with that where they can
how fast is fast
bobs can hit the kph mph mark while skeleton and luge can manage
around kph when it comes to medals time the margins are infinite hence
that need to cut drag an extra one hundredth of second after two heats can
mean golden dreams turn to dust
what are the sports origins
swiss winter sports fans have been converging on st moritz home to the
cresta run for around years to indulge their passion and the more
adventurous soon started producing variants of delivery boy sleighs collisions
with pedestrians meant need to devise steering mechanisms
hotelier caspar badrutt saw money earner and produced the first purpose built
track around the track which helped to make badrutt fortune survives
and has been used in two olympic tournaments
who good at it these days
essentially german speakers they include current luge champion armin
zoeggeler even though he italian his triumph put an end to decade of
domination by german speeding sausage georg hackl
skeleton more new world thing canadian duff gibson succeeding jim shea of
the usa in while fellow american tristan gale won in british women
are emerging with shelley rudman bagging silver four years ago
olympics anglos sliding into vancouver contention
paris jan afp
anglo influence is on the increase in olympic sliding events after decades of
domination by the german speaking nations
that domination largely continues in luge and bobsleigh but in skeleton the
americans canadians and the british are making name for themselves as they
hurl themselves down icy twisting banked tracks in gravity powered sleds
if at least for the women skeleton is the new kid on the block it actually
made its olympic debut far earlier in
two years earlier the international olympic committee ioc had officially
declared skeleton as an olympic sport and jennison heaton promptly gave the
united states gold
four man bobsleigh appeared in the first winter games in five men in
and the two man variant followed in though the events were not included in
while luge came in at the games in innsbruck
women made their olympic skeleton entrance in pairs in at the salt lake
games us star tristan gale landing gold before swiss maya pedersen succeeded
her four years later
taking silver in was briton shelley rudman who is now one of two britons
ranked in the world top ten ahead of fifth placed amy williams another regular
top ten world cup finisher
rudman ousted top ranked mellisa hollingworth in the world cup race at st moritz
last week to show her form with williams fourth
this season has all been about improving every performance to peak ready for
the olympics and things are going well said rudman
returning to the us men skeleton line up after missing out in after
testing positive for banned substance finasteride medication used to treat
hair loss is world champion zach lund
us bobsleigh hopes are high in the shape of steven holcomb and john napier the
world top ranked four man drivers
holcomb and his push team of justin olsen steve mesler and curt tomasevicz will
drive the usa sled in vancouver with napier chuck berkeley chris fogt and
steve langton in usa ii
two man lineups include holcomb and tomasevicz napier and langton with kohn
second yet to be decided
the women lineup features three pairs shauna rohbock and michelle rzepka
erin pac and elana meyers and bree schaaf and emily azevedo
elsewhere reigning two and four man bob champion andre lange of germany is
clearly one to watch as he bids for hat trick in the latter category
in luge look no further for now than italian armin il cannibale zoeggeler
going for third straight gold though russian world cup challenger albert
demtschenko and german world champ felix loch will run him close
among the doppelsitzer luge pairs german world cup leaders andre florschutz
and torsten wustlich are hoping that glory beckons
olympics curling bluffer guide
vancouver jan afp
afp bluffer guide to curling at the winter olympics
curling that the bedpan and house brush sport right
stone and broom if you please the stones are made from scottish granite and
weigh almost kg each the brooms have synthetic bristles unlike the old style
which were made with straw
kg so the winners are always the strongest
not necessarily the idea is to get the stone as close to the centre tee of
circle as possible point is awarded for each stone closer to the tee than
the opponents best provided that the stone is within of the tee this
area is the house accuracy and timing are key rather than brawn
like all winter sports the gold medal favourites will come from the coldest
countries
mostly but great britain men team won the first curling gold at chamonix in
france in and are the current world champions the sport disappeared off
the olympic radar until when switzerland took the men gold while canada
won the women event in the women gold went to britain
doesn sound like the most gripping of sports any storylines should know
sandra schmirler skipped the canada gold medal team but died two years
later at the age of from cancer in turin in denmark women team
needed extra security following outrage in the muslim world after danish
newspaper published cartoons of the prophet muhammad
what should watch for in vancouver
dumping sounds unsavoury but it when player lifts his broom to leave
debris on the ice slowing down the stones of an opponent canadian teammates
marc kennedy ben hebert and richard hart were recently at loggerheads over the
issue in club game
olympics homer marge simpson sprinkle stardust on curling
paris jan afp
curling giants canada and great britain face unexpected competition at the
vancouver olympics in the roly poly shape of tv doughnut chomping homer
simpson and his dysfunctional family from hell
the hugely popular american tv cartoon series is celebrating its th
anniversary with an episode to air during the february games in which
homer and long suffering wife marge represent the us in olympic curling
far from being embarrassed by seeing their year old sport lampooned by
springfield most notorious residents curling top officials believe the
unlikely partnership can only benefit its long term future
we re ecstatic about the exposure rick patzke chief executive of usa
curling told reporters recently
the show writers took genuine interest we re pleased with the opportunity to
share more information about our sport with grander audience
the simpsons may be sending up sport which involves teams of four players
desperately sweeping an icy path for heavy granite stone to ease towards its
intended target
but those locked into gold medal pursuit at the games are serious about sport
first played in scotland in the th century and which made its olympic debut at
chamonix in before disappearing off the programme until nagano in
david murdoch who leads the british challenge in canada is the reigning world
champion and is tipped to edge out the home team kevin martin who took silver
in salt lake city in
murdoch has enjoyed four consecutive wins over martin nicknamed mart
including skins tournament last week in ontario where he collected
dollars prize money
it nice to beat another olympian said murdoch in that respect suppose
it psychological boost for us
britain women were surprise olympic champions in with the matronly rhona
martin sending her stone of destiny to capture gold
eight years on the skip is year old eve muirhead striking blonde who
boasts tattoo of the olympic rings on her back
muirhead and her team face stiff opposition from defending champions sweden who
will again be led by anette norberg and also top ranked canada
however china women skipped by bingyu wang affectionately known as betty
are the reigning world champions
the chinese men and women are coached by canadian daniel rafael
olympics speedskating bluffer guide
vancouver jan afp
afp bluffer guide to long track speedskating at the winter olympics
is speedskating like track and field except with ice and skates
yes and no there metre oval shaped ice rink but with only two
competition lanes of at least four metres width with skaters crossing between
the inner and outer lanes during races there are safety pads at the ends in
case skaters slip and slide off course skaters compete in pairs and against the
clock fastest still wins just not with heats trimming the field until the
final
that makes the start crucial doesn it
yes starter has microphone with speakers at the line he says go to the
start and skaters enter the two metre area behind the line each takes
stable position and the starter says ready that when they take their start
positions and stay in them until the starting shot is fired which is supposed
to be between and seconds later woe to those who mess with the pattern
by not getting stable or taking too long to fire the gun
how do false starts work
if one skater goes before the gun breaks his mark too early causing the other
to follow or is slow to take starting position second shot and red flag
stop signal are used to halt the heat one false start is warning two and you
are disqualified
what are the events
men and women each skate and metres plus the team
pursuit women also have metres and men also have metres
when did this become sport
according to the international skating union the first modern competition
came in in norway and the first major international race was in hamburg in
the first worlds were in amsterdam in speedskating was part of the
inaugural winter olympics at chamonix france at least for men women
speedskaters had to wait until for worlds and for the olympics
how do they decide in what order to skate
generally it fastest last within groups by lot the top eight qualifiers
based on times from such things as the world cup events are placed in the last
four groups so expect the podium standers to come from there no matter how many
heats there are then come the next eight divded by lot over four heats and so
forth in longest races women and men it fastest four in
last two groups
what happens if somebody wipes out the other skater or they collide at the
crossing
bad things generally at the transition area the skater going from inner to
outer shall not hinder the one coming from outer to inner skater leaving the
inner lane is responsible unless the rival is trying to obstruct note they do
not change at first straight in and they do have re runs after
minutes rest for those who are wiped out through no fault of their own
what the difference between this sport and short track speedskating
it like five day test cricket and the one day version or rugby sevens and
rugby union or beach volleyball and sepak takraw change the subject and back
