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Sea Shepherd anti-whaling activist arrested in Japan
03/12 | 03:46 GMT
©AFP/File / Robert Sullivan
In this 2006 picture captain Pete Bethune is pictured standing next to the alternative-fueled high-speed powerboat Earthrace, later to be renamed the Ady Gil, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Bethune was arrested in Japan on Friday after a harpoon ship he boarded in Antarctic waters last month docked in Tokyo, greeted by police and nationalist protesters.
©AFP/File / Robert Sullivan
Peter Bethune, a member of the militant Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, has been arrsted in Japan
TOKYO (AFP) - A New Zealand anti-whaling activist was arrested in Japan Friday after a harpoon ship he boarded in Antarctic waters last month docked in Tokyo, greeted by police and nationalist protesters.
Peter Bethune, of the militant Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS), was engaged in months of high-seas clashes with the Japanese whaling fleet but has been in custody since mid-February when he boarded the Shonan Maru II.
About 20 angry nationalist protesters with Rising Sun flags, watched over by riot police, lined the pier and shouted through megaphones: "Step forward Pete Bethune! Apologise to the Japanese people! We will tear you apart!"
The harpoon ship docked alongside a vessel of the Japan Coast Guard, whose officers served him with an arrest warrant for trespass on a ship, a charge that can carry up to three years' jail.
It is the latest chapter in a long-running battle between environmentalists and Japanese whalers, who hunt the ocean giants in the name of scientific research, a loophole to a moratorium on whaling.
Japan maintains that whaling has been part of the island-nation's culture for centuries, and it does not hide the fact that whale meat from its expeditions ends up in shops and restaurants.
As TV helicopters buzzed overhead, the protesters -- watched by riot police and plain-clothed officers with video cameras -- also expressed their fury with Australia, which has threatened to take Japan to an international court unless it commits to ending its annual whale hunts.
Japan's Fisheries Minister Hirotaka Akamatsu told a press conference that the nation would maintain a "resolute stance" but said he did not see a diplomatic row brewing.
©AFP Graphic
Graphic on the Japanese whaling catch in Antarctic waters in recent years
Bethune, 44, was the captain of the Sea Shepherds' high-tech powerboat that was sliced in two in a collision with the Shonan Maru II in January.
He climbed aboard the Japanese ship before dawn on February 15 from a jet ski with the stated intention of making a citizen's arrest of captain Hiroyuki Komiya for what he said was the attempted murder of his six crew.
Bethune also presented the Japanese whalers with a three-million-dollar bill for the futuristic carbon-and-kevlar trimaran Ady Gil, which sank in the icy waters a day after the collision on January 6.
Instead, the Japanese whalers took Bethune into custody and sailed for Japan. They reported he was in good health and being treated well, unrestrained but under watch in a private cabin with three meals a day.
The SSCS, which has called Bethune the first New Zealander taken as a "prisoner of war" to Japan since World War II, said on its website it was preparing legal representation for the skipper.
The group declared an end to this season's pursuit of Japanese harpoon ships in Antarctic waters on February 27, saying it had been the most successful campaign so far, saving many whales.
If Bethune faces trial in Japan, it would be the second court case there centred on whaling, besides the ongoing proceedings against two Japanese Greenpeace activists now in the dock in the northern city of Aomori.
The so-called "Tokyo Two" face up to 10 years in prison for theft and trespassing after they took a box of salted whale meat, which they said was proof of embezzlement in Japan's state-funded annual whaling expeditions.
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Juve in Europa League boxseat, Liverpool crash at Lille
03/11 | 22:21 GMT
©AFP / Damien Meyer
Juventus' French forward David Trezeguet celebrates after scoring against Fulham during their UEFA Europa League round of 16 football match at Olympic stadium in Turin. Juve won 3-1.
©AFP / Damien Meyer
Juventus' David Trezeguet celebrates after scoring
PARIS (AFP) - Juventus assumed command of their Europa League last-16 tie against Fulham with a 3-1 first-leg win on Thursday, after beleaguered English giants Liverpool were beaten at Lille.
Juve took an early lead in Turin when centre-back Nicola Legrottaglie headed home from a ninth-minute corner before right-back Jonathan Zebina extended their advantage with a thunderous 25-yard effort.
Dickson Etuhu's deflected shot reduced the arrears but former France international David Trezeguet restored the home side's two-goal cushion by volleying home in first-half injury time after his shot came back off the post.
Valencia were held to a 1-1 draw at home to last season's runners-up Werder Bremen, who took a 24th-minute lead via a Torsten Frings penalty.
The hosts had Argentine midfielder Ever Banega dismissed in the second half for violent conduct but they drew level almost immediately through Juan Mata, who slotted home after Spain team-mate David Silva's shot was blocked.
©AFP / Denis Charlet
Lille's Eden Hazard (L) vies with Liverpool's Emiliano Insua
A last-minute Hatem Ben Arfa header earned Marseille an impressive 1-1 draw at free-scoring Portuguese league leaders Benfica, while Panathiniakos, who eliminated Serie A heavyweights Roma in the last round, were beaten 3-1 at home by Standard Liege.
Lille followed compatriots Lyon's example, after Claude Puel's side stunned Real Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday, by consigning Liverpool to a 1-0 defeat at the Stadium Lille-Metropole.
Liverpool, a disappointing sixth in the Premier League after losing 1-0 to Wigan on Monday, were short of fluency on an uneven playing surface and sank to defeat when Eden Hazard's 84th-minute free-kick drifted straight in from wide on the left-hand flank.
The Belgian youngster had been a constant torment with his purposeful running and his goal, albeit fortuitous, puts his side in the driving seat prior to the return match at Anfield on March 18.
"I have confidence we can beat anyone on a good day at Anfield," said Liverpool coach Rafael Benitez.
"I would be worried if the players hadn't worked as hard as they have. The fans will play a part, they will push and will be behind the team."
Benitez's Lille counterpart Rudi Garcia said his team still had work to do.
"Everyone thought we were out when the draw was made. Now, although nothing has been decided, it's a good result for us," he said.
"We have to score over there. The first leg should give us confidence and show us that we're capable of competing with such a big team."
©AFP / Natalia Kolesnikova
Obafemi Martins (L) of Wolfsburg vies with Gokdeniz Karadeniz (R) of Rubin
Elsewhere, a delightful curling finish from Bosnian playmaker Zvjezdan Misimovic in the 67th minute earned Wolfsburg a 1-1 draw at Rubin Kazan in the battle of the reigning league champions from Germany and Russia.
Ruud van Nistelrooy scored his first home goal for new club Hamburg as they defeated Anderlecht 3-1, with Jonathan Legear's superb free-kick on the stroke of half-time earning the visitors an away goal.
Sporting Lisbon secured a 0-0 draw at Atletico Madrid despite the 31st-minute dismissal of defender Leandro Grimi for two bookable offences and a straight red card for Tonel in the final minute.
Sports
Juve in Europa League boxseat, Liverpool crash at ...Women protest religious violence in Nigeria
03/11 | 23:42 GMT
©AFPTV
Dressed in black and carrying wooden crosses, thousands of women marched in the Nigerian city of Jos on Thursday to express grief at a new bout of sectarian carnage and anger and the failure to stop it. Duration: 01:15
©AFPTV
Dressed in black and carrying wooden crosses, thousands of women marched in the Nigerian city of Jos on Thursday to express grief at a new bout of sectarian carnage and anger and the failure to stop it. The demonstration in the flashpoint city coincided with the start of a three-day fast ordered by the authorities in central Plateau state as a symbolic commitment to reconciliation between Muslims and Christians.
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Women protest religious violence in ...Gridiron hall of famer Olsen dies
03/11 | 21:09 GMT
©AFP/File / David Maxwell
Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinee Jack Youngblood (L) smiles with former Los Angeles Rams' teammate Merlin Olsen (R) during the enshrinement ceremony at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2001. Olsen, a gridiron Hall of Famer who became a popular actor and broadcaster in the wake of his National Football League career, has died at the age of 69.
©AFP/File / David Maxwell
Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinee Jack Youngblood (L) smiles with former Los Angeles Rams' teammate Merlin Olsen (R)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (AFP) - Merlin Olsen, a gridiron Hall of Famer who became a popular actor and broadcaster in the wake of his National Football League career, has died at the age of 69.
Utah State, where Olsen attended university, said he died outside of Los Angeles early Thursday after battling cancer. He was diagnosed with mesothelioma, a cancer of the lung lining, last year.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell issued a statement lauding Olsen as an "extraordinary person, friend and football player."
"He cared deeply about people, especially those that shared the game of football with him," Goodell said of the player who was a member of the Los Angeles Rams' "Fearsome Foursome."
"Merlin was a larger-than-life person, literally and figuratively, and leaves an enormously positive legacy."
After earning All-American honors at Utah State, Olsen was a first-round draft pick of the Rams in 1962.
The giant from northern Utah joined Deacon Jones, Lamar Lundy and Rosey Grier on the Rams' storied "Fearsome Foursome" defensive line.
Olsen was rookie of the year for the Rams in 1962 and is still the Rams' all-time leader in career tackles with 915.
He was voted NFC defensive lineman of the year in 1973 and the NFL Most Valuable Player in 1974, and was voted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1982.
After football, Olsen turned to acting, with a role on the popular US television series "Little House on the Prairie". He also starred in his own series, "Father Murphy," from 1981 to 1983.
People
Gridiron hall of famer Olsen ...Women in black protest in violence-hit Nigeria state
03/11 | 23:42 GMT
©AFP / Pius Utomi Ekpei
Dressed in black, thousands of women marched in a Nigerian city to express grief at a new bout of sectarian carnage and anger at the failure to stop it.
©AFP / Pius Utomi Ekpei
Locals said they would pray for an end to the bloodshed and they had no faith in the security services
JOS, Nigeria (AFP) - Dressed in black and carrying wooden crosses, thousands of women marched Thursday in Nigerian city of Jos to express grief at a new bout of sectarian carnage and anger at the failure to stop it.
The demonstration in the flashpoint capital city coincided with the start of a three-day fast ordered by the authorities in central Plateau state in a symbolic commitment to reconciliation between Muslims and Christians.
The women, some with babies strapped on their backs and others carrying pictures of the children slaughtered in last Sunday's raid blamed on mainly Muslim Fulani cattle herdsmen, called for justice and withdrawal of troops deployed at the peak of the January religious clashes.
©AFPTV
VIDEO: Women protest religious violence in Nigeria. Duration: 01:15
Sunday's raid claimed 109 lives according to police, while the local information commissioner put the figure at 500.
With recriminations still flying around over the weekend massacre, locals said they would pray for an end to the bloodshed as they had lost faith in the security services.
Scene: 'Enough is enough' say Nigerian women
"We are mourning because of the children that were killed on Sunday, we are coming as a mass to cry out," said 32-year-old Rebecca Adiwu as she joined in the mass protest in central Jos.
Some carried Bibles and some held the branches of mango trees in a sign of solidarity.
"We do not want soldiers! No more soldiers!" the protesters chanted, waving their Bibles and crosses in the air.
Helen Laraba, a 26-year-old tailor who was among the women in black, also vented her anger at the military which has been accused of failing to respond to reports that gangs of machete-wielding Muslims had gone on the rampage.
©AFP / Pius Utomi Ekpei
Thousands of women in black, one of them carrying a placard reading, "Why Kill Children?" march in protest
Troop reinforcements are now patrolling the city and the surrounding villages but locals said it was too late.
"They said they would come and protect us, but they didn't do anything for us," said Laraba.
Major-General Salih Maina, in charge of military operations in the region came to his own defence, saying he had commanded troops which went to crush an uprising in Maiduguri last year where 700, mainly Muslims, were killed.
"The public should stop seeing members of the joint task force as enemies, either compromising or being partisan," he told reporters in Jos.
Women and children bore the brunt of the three-hour killing spree in the early hours of Sunday morning.
©AFP / Pius Utomi Ekpei
Women dressed in black march in Jos
It was the latest in a long chapter of sectarian violence and came as locals were still trying to come to terms with Muslim-Christian clashes in Jos in January which left several hundred dead.
Jonah Jang, the governor of Plateau, announced a three-day state-wide fast "to forgive our sins and bring peace" starting Thursday.
"I am already fasting," said 36-year-old accountant Michael Kwakfut. "It's for the healing of our land, because of (the) ... things that we have done."
But Ramadan Shehu, a Muslim was not fasting and said had not plans to do so.
"If we are to be fair, my brethren were killed and massacred in January, but the governor ... did not offer any word of consolation. I find it baffling, now he is calling for fasting and prayers, because his people have been attacked," he said.
©AFP / Pius Utomi Ekpei
Thousands of women in black, one of them carrying a placard reading, "Wickedness must stop"
"Enough is enough, we are tired of this cycle of violence. All we are asking is that our children and women should not be killed anymore. We demand justice," a Christian pastor, Esther Ebanga, told the protesters.
Police have arrested 49 Fulani herdsmen for the killings and said they had confessed to having acted in revenge for attacks in January which left more than 300 mainly Muslims dead.
However a Fulani community leader in Jos said the arrests were the "grossest injustice".
"We call on the federal government to halt the indiscriminate arrest of herdsmen in Plateau State, especially in Mangu and Jos East local government areas from where almost all the cattle rearers were arrested," said Sale Bayari, a member of the presidential committee set up following the earlier killings in Jos.
The latest attacks also caused about 8,000 people to flee their homes, according to the Red Cross.
