13 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
(07/29/07 11:41pm)
PARIS – Alberto Contador won the doping-scarred Tour de France on Sunday, a new, young and unlikely winner for the three-week race shaken to its core by scandals.\nThe 24-year-old rider for the Discovery Channel team was the youngest champion since Jan Ullrich of Germany in 1997. He was the first Spaniard to stand on the winner’s podium since the last of Miguel Indurain’s five titles in 1995.\nHis margin of victory – just 23 seconds ahead of Cadel Evans of Australia – was the second-narrowest in the Tour’s 104-year history, even after 2,200 miles of racing through Britain, Belgium, Spain and France.\n“I think we’ve seen the future of Spanish cycling and perhaps international cycling,” seven-time Tour winner Lance Armstrong said.\nContador had seemed destined for second place until the Tour was hit by a bombshell just five days from the finish: the ouster of race leader Michael Rasmussen. His Rabobank team accused the Dane of having lied about his whereabouts before the Tour to evade doping controls.\nRasmussen’s departure catapulted Contador into the race lead, Evans to the runner-up spot, and U.S. rider Levi Leipheimer into third. Those standings held through the closing four days – including a thrilling time trial Saturday that Leipheimer won and the 91-mile final ride Sunday to Paris’ fan-lined Champs-Elysees from Marcoussis, west of the capital. The stage was won by Daniele Bennati of Italy.\nContador high-fived and hugged his teammates after crossing the line. His original goal was to take the white jersey for the best young rider. In the end, he got both white and yellow jerseys.\nContador was a new star for a race that has been searching for a successor to Armstrong, who retired in 2005, and which is struggling to repair its credibility after two straight years marred by doping.\nThe 2006 winner, Floyd Landis, did not defend his crown because of doping charges hanging over him. This Tour turned into a circus after it emerged that Rasmussen was competing despite missing doping controls in May and June, and after Kazakh star Alexandre Vinokourov – a pre-race favorite – and Cristian Moreni of Italy failed doping tests. They and their teams left the race, and police raided their hotels, searching for doping products.\nInstead of putting the doping cloud left by Landis behind them, Tour organizers again found themselves having to contend daily with the issue. The feel-good factor generated by the race’s July 7 start in London, England – watched by millions of fans – quickly faded.\nA split emerged as Tour organizers blamed the sport’s governing body for not telling them that Rasmussen had missed doping tests. The organizers said they would have prevented him from taking the start had they known. Some newspapers in France declared the Tour dead and said it should be suspended until the sport cleans up.
(07/22/07 11:49pm)
PLATEAU DE BEILLE, France – Michael Rasmussen of Denmark extended his overall lead in the Tour de France on Sunday against all of his top challengers – except Alberto Contador.\nThe Spaniard surged ahead of the Dane at the end of the final climb, tapping his chest and pointing skyward as he finished a bike length ahead of Rasmussen in 5 hours, 25 seconds, 48 seconds to take his first stage victory in the race.\nThe promising 24-year-old Spaniard, who placed third among young cyclists in the 2005 Tour, leapfrogged into second overall 2:23 behind Rasmussen.\n“It’s a great victory,” Contador said. “To win a finish like the Plateau de Beille is a dream.”\nColombia’s Juan Mauricio Soler was third in the stage, 37 seconds back.\nContador and Rasmussen finished alone after outpacing a small group of breakaway riders late in the 122-mile stage from Mazamet to Plateau de Beille in the Pyrenees that featured two very difficult climbs.\nTheir two-man show demonstrated how climbing specialists have an edge in the 94th edition of cycling’s premier race. The stages expected to be crucial in determining the final standings are the next two days in the Pyrenees and a time trial on the eve of the July 29 finish in Paris.\nThe big loser Sunday was Cadel Evans, who had begun the stage in second place, 1 minute back of Rasmussen. The Australian fell behind in the last 3 miles and dropped to third overall, 3:04 back.\n“It was a really, really hard stage” the Predictor Lotto rider said. “Contador and Rasmussen are the best climbers in the Tour de France, I think.”\nRasmussen was guided up the first ascent – the Port de Pailheres – by his Rabobank teammates. But the support riders lost steam in the second climb to Plateau de Beille with some 6 miles left, leaving Rasmussen alone with his top challengers.\nHis yellow jersey unzipped, Rasmussen kept close watch on his five nearby rivals – Contador, Evans, Soler, Levi Leipheimer of the United States and Carlos Sastre of Spain.\nThe riders tested each other with short bursts to see who would be the first to crack. Rasmussen and Contador broke away when the other riders finally began to struggle. The Dane suggested to Contador that the two work together to gain time on their pursuers, and after the stage said Contador deserved the victory.\n“We had a common interest in taking as much time out of our nearest competitors as possible, but when it got close to the finish line we were both racing 100 percent for the victory,” Rasmussen said.\nThe race moves into the second of three grueling days in the Pyrenees on Monday, with a 121.8-mile run from Foix to Loudenvielle-Le Louron.
(07/11/07 11:46pm)
JOIGNY, France (AP) - Norway’s Thor Hushovd sprinted to victory Wednesday in the fourth stage, and Swiss rider Fabian Cancellara ended the day, for the fifth straight day, in the yellow jersey of the Tour de France leader.\nHushovd triumphed at the end of the mostly flat 119.9-mile ride from Villers-Cotterets to Joigny.\n“Everything took place superbly well,” said Hushovd, who overcame an upset stomach to finish in 4 hours, 37 minutes, 47 seconds for his fifth Tour stage win. “I’m too happy.”\n“I was sure my form wasn’t too bad,” said Hushovd, adding he wasn’t at his best after Monday’s crash.\nRobert Hunter of South Africa was second, and Oscar Freire of Spain was third. They and the main group of riders, which included Cancellara, who finished with the same time as Hushovd.\nCancellara is the only rider to wear the race leader’s yellow jersey this year. He won the prologue and the third stage but lost four seconds from his overall lead Wednesday, cutting it to 29 seconds.\nHushovd, who won the green jersey awarded to the Tour’s best sprinter in 2005, trimmed 20 seconds off his overall time, climbing from ninth to second. Andreas Kloeden of Germany dropped to third, 33 seconds behind.\nAfter a string of mostly flat stages, the race veers into several hilly patches for Thursday’s 113.4-mile trek from the Burgundy town of Chablis to Autun featuring eight medium-grade climbs.\nBold breakaway riders are expected to take the spotlight in the three-week race, before climbers emerge for three days in the Alps starting Saturday.\n“Someone’s really going to have some guts to go for it tomorrow. ... People are going to be biding their time thinking about (the Alps),” said American and Cancellara’s CSC teammate Christian Vandevelde.\nWhen the Tour hits heads into the mountains this weekend, the overall favorites likely will make their moves. Few can be ruled out yet: 160 riders are within two minutes of Cancellara.\nStill, he knows he won’t be wearing yellow for much longer.\n“For me, when I get into the mountains, it’s sure that it’s finished,” Cancellara said.\nKazakhstan’s Alexandre Vinokourov is considered a top contender, though Kloeden, American Levi Leipheimer, Australia’s Cadel Evans, Russian Denis Menchov and Spaniards Alejandro Valverde and Oscar Pereiro are all possibilities.\nTwo riders dropped out of the race after crashing early in Wednesday’s stage. Xavier Zandio of Spain broke his right collarbone, and France’s Remy di Gregorio broke his right elbow.\nA total of four riders have withdrawn, leaving 185 riders left.
(07/08/07 11:16pm)
CANTERBURY, England – Australia’s Robbie McEwen crashed over his handlebars with 12 miles left, got back on his bike and mustered the grit to win the first stage of the 2007 Tour de France on Sunday in a mad-dash sprint.\nWith his wrist aching and right knee cut, McEwen persevered in the English countryside during cycling’s showpiece event. It was a tough, gallant performance and, for a day at least, showed the better side of a sport reeling from a string of doping investigations, admissions and scandals during the last year.\n“This is definitely one of the best ever,” said McEwen, a star sprinter who rides for the Predictor-Lotto team. “After the crash I hurt myself – hurt my wrist – but the boys brought me back. I still can’t believe I won this stage.”\nThis was McEwen’s 12th stage win at the Tour. He finished in 4 hours, 39 minutes, 1 second on a mostly flat 126-mile route to Canterbury that favored sprinters.\nNorway’s Thor Hushovd was second and Belgium’s Tom Boonen was third among the 181 cyclists who had the same time as McEwen.\nMcEwen was tossed from bike during a group crash.\n“The first thing I thought was that I had broken my wrist,” he said. “I couldn’t feel anything. ... It’s worth that pain to have a stage win in the Tour de France.”\nMcEwen tied Germany’s Erik Zabel as record-holder for stage victories among current riders, though far short of Eddy Merckx’s record of 34. Seven-time Tour champion Lance Armstrong won 22 individual stages.\nSwitzerland’s Fabian Cancellara kept the overall leader’s yellow jersey a day after he won the time-trial prologue in London. Andreas Kloeden of Germany is second overall, 13 seconds back, followed by Britain’s David Millar, 21 seconds behind.\nSpain’s Eduardo Gonzalo Ramirez became the first cyclist to drop out of this year’s race after injuring his shoulder in a crash.\nMillar, cheered by local fans, sped ahead for an early breakaway but was caught by a group of four trailing riders and then by the full pack with about 18 miles to go. Millar was awarded the polka-dot jersey, given to the best overall climber in the Tour.\nCycling does not have the same hold in Britain as it does in France. But spectators turned out en masse for the Tour’s first start in London, with up to one million people packing the city’s streets Saturday. On Sunday, tens of thousands lined the route, waving Union Jack flags while brass bands blared jolly tunes. London Mayor Ken Livingstone waved the flag for a ceremonial start on Tower Bridge.\nThe flavor was distinctively British, with some fans sitting in roadside armchairs with potato chips and pints of warm beer to see a race more often associated with wine and cheese picnics in France.\nThe Tour crosses the English Channel on Monday for the second stage, a 105-mile ride from coastal Dunkirk to Ghent, Belgium.
(07/08/07 11:16pm)
WIMBLEDON, England – Roger Federer won his fifth consecutive Wimbledon title Sunday, beating nemesis Rafael Nadal in a five-set epic and taking his place in tennis history beside Bjorn Borg.\nThe top-ranked Swiss player was pushed to the limit in a Grand Slam final for the first time, but he held on to win 7-6 (7), 4-6, 7-6 (3), 2-6, 6-2 for his 11th major title.\nFederer is the first man to win five straight titles at the All England Club since Borg did it from 1976-80. The Swede watched the match from the Royal Box with other past champions, and applauded as Federer fell to the ground after an overhead smash on match point.\n“It was such a close match,” Federer said. “I told Rafa at the net he deserved it as well. I’m the lucky one today.”\nFederer stretched his record grass-court winning streak to 53 and his Wimbledon winning streak to 34. He is tied for third on the career list with Borg and Rod Laver at 11 major titles, trailing Pete Sampras’ 14 and Roy Emerson’s 12.\n“Each one is special, no doubt,” Federer said. “To hold the trophy is always the best thing.”\nAfter leaving the court wearing his white sport coat with the gold “RF” badge on the breast pocket, Federer and Borg hugged and visited inside the stadium.\nFederer beat Nadal for only the fifth time in 13 meetings. The Spaniard has defeated Federer in the past two French Open finals to spoil his bid to complete a career Grand Slam.\n“Five titles in a row, so, fantastic,” said Nadal, who also lost to Federer in last year’s final. “Well, anyway, I lose today, but I play great two weeks.”\nFederer saved four break points early in the fifth set, two at 1-1 and two at 2-2. Then, with Nadal serving at 3-2, Federer converted his second break point with a forehand winner after a 14-stroke rally that produced some of the best shots of the match.\nIt was Federer’s first break since the second game of the match.\n“If Rafael had won one of these, I think maybe now Rafael would be the champion,” said Nadal’s uncle and coach, Toni Nadal.\nNadal, who also lost to Federer in last year’s final, had been trying to emulate another of Borg’s records by winning consecutive titles at the French Open and Wimbledon.\nNadal, who played two other five-set matches in a tournament plagued by rain, was on the court for the seventh straight day.\nAfter taking a 4-1 lead in the fourth set, the Spaniard called for a trainer to treat his right knee. Although he returned with tape below the knee cap, it didn’t seem to slow him.\nFederer finished with 24 aces, 65 winners and 34 unforced errors. Nadal had 50 winners and 24 unforced errors.\nNadal also used the “Hawk-Eye” replay technology, which is making its debut at Wimbledon, to great effect. One time, a call reversal in the fourth set infuriated Federer so much that he complained to the chair umpire after being broken for the fourth time.\n“It’s killing me today,” Federer said after sitting down during the changeover.\nIn the first set, Federer converted his third break point in the second game, defensively returning a hard serve from Nadal and watching the Spaniard net a forehand.\nIn the tiebreaker, Federer jumped ahead 5-2 and thought he won the set on his third set point when leading 6-5, but Nadal challenged a call and “Hawk-Eye” showed his shot was in.\nFederer wasted another set point at 7-6, but finally won with a backhand volley after Nadal sent a backhand into the net at 7-7.\nNadal broke Federer at 5-4 to win the second set, converting his first set point with a backhand winner. The Spaniard then pulled within two points of doing the same in the third set, coming back from 40-love to deuce. But Federer used a pair of volleys at the net to hold to 5-5.\nNadal was again two points from the set while leading 6-5, but after he put a forehand into the net, Federer served an ace and then finished it off with a service winner. Federer was broken again to open the fourth set, and Nadal added another to take a 3-0 lead.\nThe last Wimbledon men’s final to go five sets was when Goran Ivanisevic beat Pat Rafter in 2001.
(07/24/06 12:17am)
PARIS -- The highs and lows of Floyd Landis' nail-biter of a bike race ended without a hitch Sunday as he won the Tour de France and kept cycling's most prestigious title in American hands for the eighth straight year. The 30-year-old Landis, pedaling with an injured hip, cruised to victory on the cobblestones of the Champs-Elyses, a day after regaining the leader's yellow jersey and building an insurmountable lead in the final time trial.\n"I kept fighting, never stopped believing," Landis said, shortly after he received the winner's yellow jersey on the podium, joined by his daughter, Ryan.\nLandis picked up where another American left off last year, when Lance Armstrong completed his seventh and final Tour triumph. With the victory, Landis becomes the third American, joining Armstrong and three-time winner Greg LeMond, to win the Tour.\n"I'm proud and happy for Floyd," said Armstrong, who watched the finish on TV from a luxurious hotel room near the Champs-Elyses. "He proved he was the strongest, everybody wrote him off.\n"I'm very proud that an American has won again," he added.\nAs the "The Star-Spangled Banner" played, Landis, cap in hand, stared solemnly at the crowd. But when the anthem ended, he broke into a smile and waved to the fans.\nLandis, who plans to undergo surgery this fall on an arthritic right hip injured in a 2003 crash, said he hoped he would be able to return next year.\n"Right now, that's the plan," Landis said. He dedicated the win to Andy Rihs, owner of his Phonak team.\nSunday's champagne and Landis' fifth yellow jersey of the Tour were possible thanks to a once-in-a-lifetime ride Thursday in the Alps that put the Phonak team leader back in contention, one day after a disastrous ride dropped him from first to 11th, more than eight minutes back.\nAssured of victory, Landis hoisted a champagne glass handed to him from his Phonak team car early in the 154.5-kilometer (96-mile) route from Sceaux-Antony to the capital.\nA day earlier, Landis placed third in the Tour's last time trial, taking the yellow jersey from former teammate Oscar Pereiro of Spain and securing a 59-second lead over the Spaniard.\nThe deficit was virtually impossible to overcome for Pereiro in the flat, short final stage because Landis and his team eyed the Spaniard closely to make sure he didn't try to break away.\nLandis, a former mountain biker who toiled for three years as a U.S. Postal Service team support rider for Armstrong, had sought to apply the Texan's meticulous strategy for winning, until what Landis called "disaster" struck on Stage 16 in the Alps on Wednesday.\nHis plan to allow Pereiro to take the yellow jersey temporarily as the race left the Pyrenees at the end of week two appeared to backfire after Landis lost the jersey in a second Alpine stage at La Toussuire.\nWith a stunning stage win in the last Alpine stage on Thursday, Landis erased more than 7-1/2 minutes of his 8:08 deficit to Pereiro, putting him in a prime position to win by outpacing the Spanish rider in the final time trial Saturday.
(10/11/04 4:11am)
PARIS -- John Galliano is reaching out to flower children; especially those with a platinum credit card.\nThe zany designer, working for his eponymous fashion house, interspersed denim into fluffy cotton dresses and decked out his models in clunky, fur-lined hiking boots, some with stiletto heels, at his spring-summer 2005 ready-to-wear show Saturday.\nAs usual it was sensory overload. There were pillbox hats, multicolored bikinis, pleated skirts with newspaper print designs and basket-like or inflatable hats. Some models had balloons in tow. Galliano said he was inspired by what young women look like after a few days at the Glastonbury Festival, the revelry-rich music bash that draws thousands of fans to southwest England each year. Any hippie could recognize the psychedelia: marijuana-leaf designs and bulbous, lava lamp-like shapes on light skirts in bright pink, orange and yellow. Then there were the flowers. When there weren't outright flower hats in soft pink tones, draping skirts looked like garlands. a bit like Hawaiian leis. The only thing missing was the mud\n"It's the idea of flowers growing out of anywhere, whether it's denim or tweed, and very Glastonbury," Galliano said after his show at the Empire Theater. \nA poster backstage said: "$60 billion heiresses take Glastonbury by storm, too rich to walk."\nThe tunes fit the bill. A medley of Motown hits, the Beach Boys and the Beatles was woven into a baseline of the Nirvana hit "Smells Like Teen Spirit." At Paco Rabanne, designer Rosemary Rodriguez presented silvery belts echoing gunslingers' bullet bands, light eco-friendly cottons and jewelry or accessories galore. This was a noisy collection: dangling copper-colored chains, plastic medallions and beads or scaly dresses clanged and clattered as models traipsed down the runway. It was freewheeling too, and funky foot jewelry gave a feeling of freedom to a few bare feet walking to a throbbing version of "Tainted Love" by Marilyn Manson at the Carrousel du Louvre.\n"I like the idea you don't feel the clothes, that women could move feeling smooth. A bit of a Bohemian attitude," Rabanne said. "And that women can walk barefoot. It's sensual."\nWispy flowered print suits with bell bottoms added to the counterculture flavor. A scaly dress of shimmering off-white plastic harkened back to Rabanne traditions, but Rodriguez offered her own mark to the house with feathery themes.\n"It's almost antinomic to Rabanne. I like the duality and the mix, and the contrast of plastic and feathers," she said backstage. \nIn the nearby Tuileries gardens, Chloe offered the ultimate in airy with flowing, shimmering silks and satins in dusty earth tones along with masculine jackets and ruffled or pleated bib tuxedo tops. British designer Phoebe Philo drew inspiration from yesteryear: There were seersucker suits, classic stiletto heels, flowing scarves or handsome leather Paddington handbags.\n"I love the chicness of the '50s and '60s," said Philo, who is seven months pregnant. "We wanted to keep it relaxed and wearable, and comfy and not too contrived."\nSome of the jackets looked like what a sophisticated French waiter might wear. More feminine were the light camisole-style tops or shirts with knots on the hip with soft skirts or pleated shorts. Versatility was the buzzword.\n"I hate it when you have to wear something in a way that the designer insists," Philo said. "I love it when I get clothes and can move them around, when there are ties everywhere - here or there."\nJapan's Yoichi Nagasawa dipped deeply into the color palette, and her cultural influences stretched from Ethiopia to Thailand with clothes in eye-popping blue, yellow, orange, red and pink. Models wore their hair tight on the head, a bit like cornrows. Long, multicolored armbands and stringy dresses added flair, and diamond-patterned tights resembled what a harlequin might wear.\nThe collection had twinges of the subdued and sexy, too. One-piece gray suits looked like something a workman might wear, and another resembled high-collared suit from Elvis' wardrobe. One sexy black toga-like dress draped coyly off the shoulder. Junko Shimada presented puffy dresses and clever thick anklets over multicolored stilettos, some featuring zebra patterns over the heel. Bags often featured black feathers or gilded chains.\nBy Jamey Keaten\nThe Associated Press \nPARIS -- John Galliano is reaching out to flower children; especially those with a platinum credit card.\nThe zany designer, working for his eponymous fashion house, interspersed denim into fluffy cotton dresses and decked out his models in clunky, fur-lined hiking boots, some with stiletto heels, at his spring-summer 2005 ready-to-wear show Saturday.\nAs usual it was sensory overload. There were pillbox hats, multicolored bikinis, pleated skirts with newspaper print designs and basket-like or inflatable hats. Some models had balloons in tow. Galliano said he was inspired by what young women look like after a few days at the Glastonbury Festival, the revelry-rich music bash that draws thousands of fans to southwest England each year. Any hippie could recognize the psychedelia: marijuana-leaf designs and bulbous, lava lamp-like shapes on light skirts in bright pink, orange and yellow. Then there were the flowers. When there weren't outright flower hats in soft pink tones, draping skirts looked like garlands. a bit like Hawaiian leis. The only thing missing was the mud\n"It's the idea of flowers growing out of anywhere, whether it's denim or tweed, and very Glastonbury," Galliano said after his show at the Empire Theater. \nA poster backstage said: "$60 billion heiresses take Glastonbury by storm, too rich to walk."\nThe tunes fit the bill. A medley of Motown hits, the Beach Boys and the Beatles was woven into a baseline of the Nirvana hit "Smells Like Teen Spirit." At Paco Rabanne, designer Rosemary Rodriguez presented silvery belts echoing gunslingers' bullet bands, light eco-friendly cottons and jewelry or accessories galore. This was a noisy collection: dangling copper-colored chains, plastic medallions and beads or scaly dresses clanged and clattered as models traipsed down the runway. It was freewheeling too, and funky foot jewelry gave a feeling of freedom to a few bare feet walking to a throbbing version of "Tainted Love" by Marilyn Manson at the Carrousel du Louvre.\n"I like the idea you don't feel the clothes, that women could move feeling smooth. A bit of a Bohemian attitude," Rabanne said. "And that women can walk barefoot. It's sensual."\nWispy flowered print suits with bell bottoms added to the counterculture flavor. A scaly dress of shimmering off-white plastic harkened back to Rabanne traditions, but Rodriguez offered her own mark to the house with feathery themes.\n"It's almost antinomic to Rabanne. I like the duality and the mix, and the contrast of plastic and feathers," she said backstage. \nIn the nearby Tuileries gardens, Chloe offered the ultimate in airy with flowing, shimmering silks and satins in dusty earth tones along with masculine jackets and ruffled or pleated bib tuxedo tops. British designer Phoebe Philo drew inspiration from yesteryear: There were seersucker suits, classic stiletto heels, flowing scarves or handsome leather Paddington handbags.\n"I love the chicness of the '50s and '60s," said Philo, who is seven months pregnant. "We wanted to keep it relaxed and wearable, and comfy and not too contrived."\nSome of the jackets looked like what a sophisticated French waiter might wear. More feminine were the light camisole-style tops or shirts with knots on the hip with soft skirts or pleated shorts. Versatility was the buzzword.\n"I hate it when you have to wear something in a way that the designer insists," Philo said. "I love it when I get clothes and can move them around, when there are ties everywhere - here or there."\nJapan's Yoichi Nagasawa dipped deeply into the color palette, and her cultural influences stretched from Ethiopia to Thailand with clothes in eye-popping blue, yellow, orange, red and pink. Models wore their hair tight on the head, a bit like cornrows. Long, multicolored armbands and stringy dresses added flair, and diamond-patterned tights resembled what a harlequin might wear.\nThe collection had twinges of the subdued and sexy, too. One-piece gray suits looked like something a workman might wear, and another resembled high-collared suit from Elvis' wardrobe. One sexy black toga-like dress draped coyly off the shoulder. Junko Shimada presented puffy dresses and clever thick anklets over multicolored stilettos, some featuring zebra patterns over the heel. Bags often featured black feathers or gilded chains.
(06/07/04 2:13am)
ARROMANCHES, France -- Near the five beaches where waves of Allied soldiers stormed ashore 60 years ago, world leaders put aside their differences Sunday to commemorate the D-Day invasion that broke Nazi Germany's grip on continental Europe.\nPresident Bush and French President Jacques Chirac used the opportunity to reinvigorate the flagging U.S.-European bond cemented during World War II.\nChirac, a leading critic of the U.S.-led war in Iraq, thanked America for its part in the June 6, 1944, invasion of Normandy, one of the boldest military operations ever and one that led to the defeat of Adolf Hitler.\n"France will never forget," Chirac said. "It will never forget those men who made the supreme sacrifice to liberate our soil, our native land, our continent, from the yoke of Nazi barbarity and its murderous folly.\n"Nor will it ever forget its debt to America, its everlasting friend."\nEarlier, Chirac welcomed Bush at the American cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, where 9,387 fallen U.S. service members are buried. There, Bush tried to ease the strain in the trans-Atlantic alliance.\n"The nations that battled across the continent would become trusted partners in the cause of peace. And our great alliance of freedom is strong, and it is still needed today," Bush said. "America would do it again for our friends."\nUnder gloriously sunny skies, Chirac pinned Legion of Honor medals on veterans from 14 nations in a pomp-filled ceremony at Arromanches, near the midpoint of the five code-named beaches where about 156,000 Allied soldiers stormed in from the English Channel.\nAs Allied flags fluttered in the wind, Chirac, Bush and leaders of more than a dozen countries and hundreds of dignitaries gave a standing ovation to the veterans, ranging in age from 79 to 94.\n"To you, on behalf of all French men and women, on behalf of all the heads of state and government gathered here today and of all freedom-loving people, I express our gratitude, our pride and our admiration," Chirac said in a passionate speech to the former combatants.\nThe 14 recipients included Charles Hostler, 84, of Coronado, Calif., a team leader for the Office of Strategic Services, forerunner of the CIA. Hostler's mission was to force German spies along the French coast to send their spymasters false reports on Allied troops.\nAll told, about 300 veterans from more than a dozen countries -- mostly the United States, Britain and Canada -- were to receive the Legion of Honor in ceremonies over the weekend.\nThe world leaders attending the festivities included Russian President Vladimir Putin, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder -- the first German leader to attend a D-Day commemoration in Normandy. Britain's Queen Elizabeth II also attended.\nSchroeder's participation symbolized Germany's transformation from mortal enemy to trusted partner.\n"France's memory of June 6, 1944, is different than that of Germany," Schroeder said. "Nevertheless we share the same common conviction: We want peace."\nThe waves on Normandy shores ran red with blood on D-Day as Allied soldiers scurried across heavily mined and obstacle-covered beaches. Other flew into the back country in gliders or dropped in by parachute, with some getting snagged in trees or buildings.\nThere is no definitive D-Day death toll, but estimates range from 2,500 to more than 5,000. Bodies still are unearthed along the Normandy coast.\nSoviet generals and many military historians argue that D-Day was of secondary importance in World War II because the German military machine had already been broken beyond recovery in the battles of Stalingrad and Kursk.\nIn the Soviet Union and Russia, D-Day is widely known as the opening of a "second front."\nIn Colleville-sur-Mer, French and American flags flew at half-staff in memory of former President Reagan, who died Saturday at age 93 following a 10-year battle with Alzheimer's disease.\nActor Tom Hanks and director Steven Spielberg, whose movie "Saving Private Ryan" depicted the invasion, sat discreetly in the audience, surrounded by aging veterans in military uniforms and wheelchairs.\nQueen Elizabeth began the commemorations at Juno Beach by thanking Canadian soldiers, who were assigned to capture it during the invasion.\n"Britain had been directly threatened by the enemy, but you came across the Atlantic from the relative security of your homeland to fight for the freedom of Europe," Elizabeth said.\nSeveral thousand people, including hundreds of British veterans, crowded between rows of white gravestones during a British-French memorial service at a British cemetery in Bayeux.\n"On behalf of my generation, the younger one, I thank you," Blair told Australian veteran Gordon Church, 96, who landed on Gold Beach.\nThe queen and Chirac laid a wreath of red poppies at one grave as Australian Prime Minister John Howard and New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark looked on.\nAt dawn Sunday, veterans proudly supporting their medals came to Omaha Beach, the bloodiest of the landing sites, to remember friends killed.\nMore than 500 people attended a ceremony in front of the Caen prison to honor the 87 French Resistance fighters shot to death there by the Gestapo on D-Day.\n"It's very moving to be here," said 76-year-old Robert Duval, whose father was executed. "I come every year, but I would prefer a memorial to honor the dead. That way we wouldn't have to come here to the site of the massacre."\nWith more than 20 world leaders arriving in Normandy at a time of high terror threat, France deployed fighter jets, surface-to-air missiles and 15,000 gendarmes and soldiers for security. Access to the region was sharply restricted by police after daybreak.
(04/12/04 1:47pm)
ALGIERS, Algeria -- Rivals of Algeria's president said they feared fraud in Thursday's election, seen as a pivotal test for democracy in this North African nation emerging from more than a decade of Islamic-inspired bloodshed.\nDozens of soldiers in riot gear lined a highway between the capital and the restive Berber region of Kabylie, east of Algiers, Algeria, in a sign the army was bracing for potential unrest after the vote.\nThe elections went smoothly, though minor skirmishes broke out between rock-throwing youths and riot police near a polling station in a village in Kabylie, Algeria.\nPresident Abdelaziz Bouteflika, a U.S. ally in the war against terrorism, faced five opponents, including his one-time protégé, former Prime Minister Ali Benflis, and Islamic leader Abdallah Djeballah.\nOfficial results were not expected until Friday, and if no candidate wins a majority, there will be a runoff later this month.\nFour hours before the polls closed, the Interior Ministry said the turnout was 46 percent of Algeria's 18 million eligible voters.\nCritics claimed cronies of the 67-year-old president were planning to hijack the election by tampering with votes. About 120 election observers, mostly from Africa and the Middle East, were on hand.\n"He can't win in the first round without using fraud," said Mohammed Khendek, a spokesman for Said Sadi, a candidate from Kabylie.\nIn the 1999 election, six candidates charging fraud pulled out on the eve of the balloting, and Bouteflika won a five-year term.\nThursday, police guarded polling stations as streams of women in headscarves lined up to vote.\nA smiling Bouteflika cast his ballot at a high school near the presidential palace.\nBut in the Kabylie town of Freha, just east of Tizi Ouzou, 60 miles from Algiers, protesters barricaded a street and threw stones at police, who responded with tear gas.\n"Because our demands haven't been answered, we're not going to let anybody vote," said a part-time construction worker who identified himself only as Abrahim.\nBerbers have long demanded greater regional autonomy and recognition of their language, Tamazight.\n"This is going to continue. When the riot police leave, we're going to burn the ballot boxes," said Abrahim, holding a rock.\nRebellions against Algerian authorities erupt frequently in mountainous Kabylie, and the region has boycotted previous elections.\nThe election came as Algeria, a country rich in oil and gas, lurches toward democracy.\nIts nearly 33 million people have lived in the shadow of the powerful military since it gained independence from France in 1962 and suffered through a 12-year Islamic insurgency that erupted after the army canceled legislative elections a Muslim fundamentalist party was poised to win. An estimated 120,000 people have been killed.\nBut apathy is high among voters facing chronic housing shortages and more than 20 percent unemployment.\nAlgeria's Islamic extremist movement has also increasingly become a source of terrorist activities in Europe and North America, feeding international groups that helped al Qaeda.\nIn a joint statement, Benflis and two other candidates said Bouteflika intends "to announce victory in the first round with a percentage of 53-55 percent"
(09/02/03 5:21am)
PARIS -- The board of French media group Vivendi Universal will meet today to weigh bids by General Electric Co.'s NBC unit and an investor group led by former Seagram Co. chief Edgar Bronfman Jr. for its hotly contested entertainment assets, officials familiar with the talks said.\nPublished reports Monday indicated that NBC has an edge in the long-running auction for the Vivendi Universal Entertainment assets -- an empire of film, television and theme park properties.\nAn investment banker close to Bronfman said his consortium has all but lost the bidding for VUE, which includes Universal movie and TV studios and the cable properties USA, Sci-Fi and Trio.\n"Let's say there will be no big surprise at the board meeting (today), and we won't mount a last-minute effort to turn the tables around," the banker told Dow Jones Newswires on condition of anonymity.\nThe Bronfman offer would involve more cash, but a tie-up with NBC would ally Vivendi with a corporate powerhouse of the stature of General Electric, company insiders have said.\nA person close to Vivendi confirmed to the Associated Press that the special board meeting was scheduled in Paris for today. Vivendi has been hoping to fetch $14 billion for the assets to pay down huge debts run up during a buyout spree in the late 1990s.\nAfter a board meeting in Paris last week, Vivendi said an eventual agreement with either suitor would leave the French company with a "substantial" stake in a U.S. media group. It also said it would explore a public offering for the entertainment assets.\nSome of the biggest titans of the U.S. media world expressed interest in Vivendi's entertainment arm during the months-long bidding process -- including cable TV mogul John Malone of Liberty Media Corp., CBS and MTV parent Viacom Inc.'s Sumner Redstone and Kirk Kerkorian, the top shareholder in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc.\nThe Bronfman-led group includes Thomas H. Lee Partners, a private equity fund, and Cablevision Systems Corp., a cable TV company in New York that owns AMC, the Independent Film Channel and WE: Women's Entertainment channels.
(03/31/03 4:26am)
BAGRAM, Afghanistan -- An ambush that killed two American servicemen is a sign rebel activity is increasing in Afghanistan following the start of the war in Iraq, an Army spokesman said Sunday.\nCol. Roger King also said the military was considering new offensives in the area of southern Afghanistan where the ambush occurred.\n"This helps paint the picture for future operations," King told reporters. However, he said, the attack also "points out that it's a challenge to pick out enemy forces that are made up of local Afghans."\nLate Sunday, a rocket hit the headquarters of the international peacekeeping force that patrols Kabul, the Afghan capital. No injuries were reported.\nAfghan authorities say Taliban, their al Qaeda allies and forces loyal to a renegade rebel commander are behind the killings and the rocket attacks.\nSaturday's attack in the southern province of Helmand was the first fatal encounter for U.S. forces in Afghanistan since December.\nA Special Forces soldier and an airman were killed and another Special Forces trooper wounded when their four-vehicle convoy was ambushed on a reconnaissance patrol. Three Afghan soldiers also were wounded.\nThe attack occurred two days after an international Red Cross worker was killed in neighboring Kandahar province. The region is the birthplace of the hardline Taliban regime driven from power by American-led forces in late 2001.\nKing said it was not clear whether there was any connection between the two attacks. U.S. forces and Afghan militia have been conducting sweeps in Kandahar province -- and such offensives often spur more rebel activity.\n"If we take aggressive, offensive actions, oftentimes we get a reaction from the enemy forces," King said at Bagram Air Base, the headquarters of the U.S.-led coalition.\nHundreds of coalition forces swept into the Helmand Valley last month for Operation Viper, and patrols of the perilous area continue. The ambush "probably will point to the fact that we need to conduct more operations in the area," King said.\nThe ambush was part of an "uptick" in rebel activity following the start of the Iraq war about 10 days ago, he said. Anti-U.S. forces had vowed to step up attacks if war against Saddam Hussein erupted.\nThe attack raised to 28 the number of combat deaths among the coalition forces in Afghanistan, King said. Another 34 have died in accidents or from other causes.\nOn Thursday, gunmen shot to death a Red Cross water engineer on a dirt road in neighboring Kandahar province, the first foreign aid worker killed since the Taliban fell. The International Committee of the Red Cross curtailed operations in Afghanistan, its largest relief effort.\n"I am struck by what this shows about the enemy," King said of Thursday's attack. "It shows enemy forces have zero regard for the population of Afghanistan. The only people they're hurting in attacks like this are the Afghan population."\nIn a joint U.S.-Afghan military operation against the Taliban in the Kandahar area, eight rebels were killed and 13 captured in two days of fighting, including a suspected senior Taliban leader, said Khalid Pashtoon, a spokesman for the provincial governor of Kandahar.\nLast week, U.S. forces wrapped up Operation Valiant Strike in the Sami Ghar mountains in Kandahar province, and blew up several weapons caches, although they did not come upon any enemy fighters.\nThe rocket that hit the peacekeepers' compound Sunday was one of two to strike Kabul. The second hit the Pul-e-Charkhi area, on the eastern edge of the capital. There were no reports of injuries there either.\nPeacekeepers have stepped up patrols of Kabul since a Dutch soldier was wounded three weeks ago in a mine blast, a spokesman said. The Dutch peacekeeper's translator was killed.\nGerman Lt. Col. Thomas Lobbering, spokesman for the 5,000-strong force, said forces loyal to renegade rebel leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar -- a suspected ally of the Taliban -- have been "reorganizing" for several months.\n"To our judgment, they are not capable of reorganizing themselves in any military sense, but they are capable to commit terrorist attacks, suicide attacks, grenade attacks," Lobbering told The Associated Press.
(03/14/03 5:29am)
BAGRAM, Afghanistan -- Attackers firing machine guns ambushed a convoy of U.S. special forces in eastern Afghanistan, prompting a fierce barrage from U.S. troops and coalition aircraft that killed five enemy fighters Wednesday, an Army spokesman said.\nThe ambush, which left no soldiers injured, came as Army officials said intelligence shows al Qaeda or remnants of the ousted Taliban regime could intensify attacks in Afghanistan if the United States launches war on Iraq.\n"We've had indications and intelligence that point to the possibility of the enemy using operations in other theaters like Iraq as a trigger point for attacks," said Col. Roger King, an Army spokesman.\nStill, he said he doubted there would be a "noticeable increase" in attacks in Afghanistan. "Of course, any time you talk about an increased threat, the individual's awareness level goes up," he said of coalition forces, but added there was no increase planned in the security procedures.\nIn Wednesday's ambush, about 20 attackers positioned on mountain ridges fired small arms and machine guns at the convoy near the midway point on its route from Gardez to Khost, King said.\nTwo attackers were captured and taken into custody for questioning, he said. At least five others were confirmed killed, he said, but it appeared the rest had fled.\nThe special forces, who were accompanied by a few Afghan militiamen, called in F-16 fighters and A-10 aircraft as support in a chase and firefight that lasted several hours, King said. He said the planes dropped two 500-pound bombs on suspected enemy positions and fired hundreds of rounds of ammunition.\nIt was not immediately clear who carried out the attack, but U.S. officials believe al Qaeda, Taliban and loyalists of renegade rebel leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar are active in the area.\nThe groups are believed to have joined forces to attack coalition forces and the U.S.-backed government of President Hamid Karzai.\nThe area in eastern Afghanistan is one of the most active and volatile in the war on terror, with attacks on coalition bases and troops nearly a daily occurrence.\nMost attacks involve rockets shot at U.S. bases using crude timers, most of which miss their mark.\nIn one such incident Thursday, a rocket was fired at a coalition base in the eastern city of Asadabad, though no injuries or damage to coalition equipment was reported, King said. A coalition patrol was deployed to investigate, he said.\nTwenty-three nations participate in the U.S.-led coalition fighting the war against terror in Afghanistan from headquarters at Bagram Air Base north of the capital, Kabul.\nSome rank-and-file in Bagram said they believe an Iraq war could work to the advantage of coalition forces if anti-U.S. groups step up attacks, by drawing the enemy fighters out of hiding.\nOther U.S. soldiers said attacks would be more likely in Afghanistan because they are an easier target than the forces in the Persian Gulf. There are about 11,500 coalition troops operating in Afghanistan, but about 300,000 in the Persian Gulf region.\n"If a war breaks out in Iraq, you can pretty much expect more to happen in Afghanistan," said Spc. Luke Wilson of Kingston Springs, Tenn.\n"I'm not worried; we know our stuff," said Wilson, 21. "If something happens, we're gonna step up and take care of business"
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
PLOUAY, France -- Karsten Kroon led a Dutch sweep of the top three spots in the eighth stage of the Tour de France on Sunday, and three-time champion Lance Armstrong remained in eighth place in the overall standings.\nSpain's Igor Gonzalez Galdeano retained the yellow jersey of overall leader, finishing with the main pack 1 minute, 55 seconds behind Kroon.\nArmstrong finished in the same time as Gonzalez Galdeano and was 34 seconds off the lead in the overall standings.\nKroon, of the Rabobank team, covered the 134.9-mile run through Brittany from Saint-Martin-de-Landelles to Plouay in 4 hours, 36 minutes and 52 seconds. He finished just ahead of compatriots Servais Knaven, of the Domo Farm Frites team, and teammate Erik Dekker.\nKroon, making his debut in the Tour, earned his first stage victory.\n"I'm normally not very emotional, but I just can't hold back the tears after this win," Kroon said. "I'm really moved."\nKroon spoiled hopes of a French victory on the national Bastille Day holiday. Last year, CSC-Tiscali rider Laurent Jalabert of France won the stage on July 14.\nGonzalez Galdeano, who has held the yellow jersey for four days, said it would be "a dream" to maintain the lead after Monday's ninth stage, a 32.2-mile individual time trial from Lanester to Lorient.\n"I'm going to try to have a good time trial -- I'm against the best racer out there," he said.\nArmstrong is favored to win the stage.\nWorld road champion Oscar Freire dropped out of the Tour earlier Sunday. Freire, who won this year's second stage, injured his tailbone in a crash on Saturday.\n"I decided it was probably better not to take the start today," the Spaniard said.\nTests showed Freire did not break any bones, but he said he had trouble sitting.\nAnother crash Saturday cost Armstrong 27 seconds and dropped the Texan from third to eighth in the overall standings. Armstrong wasn't injured and his bid for a fourth straight title remained unscathed.\nHe won last year's Tour with a lead of 6:44.\n"In this business, you always worry about falls or an incident, and for me, it's the first time in four years that it's happened on the Tour de France," Armstrong told French sports daily L'Equipe. "But we avoided the worst"