Cube field

Peterhansel and Despres claim stage win
France’s Stephane Peterhansel produced a superb display to clinch the 11th stage of the Dakar Rally as the prestigious offroad race made its Peru debut on Thursday. The 46 year old, who is bidding for a tenth win, proved too strong for his opponents and eventually finished three minutes and 44 seconds ahead of main rival Nani Roma. The Spaniard is now 24 minutes behind Peterhansel in the overall standings while America’s Robby Gordon is currently lying in third place. Meanwhile, France’s Cyril Despres stretched his overall lead on Spain’s reigning champion Marc Coma after securing his fourth stage win. The 37 year old completed the 478km trek from Arica to Arequipa in just over four hours and three minutes, edging out Spain’s Gerard Farres while Coma eventually had to settle for third place. More about: Argentina, Chile, Motorcycling, Motorsport, Rally

Prosecutor calls for Mubarak to be hanged
Hosni Mubarak should be sentenced to death. That’s the view of the chief prosecutor in the former Egyptian leader’s trial on charges of ordering the killing of anti-government protesters. More than 800 hundred people were killed during an uprising that forced the 83-year-old from power in February. Mubarak and his two sons, Gamal and Alaa, also face corruption charges, which carry a maximum penalty of up to 15 years in jail. Six senior police officials and former interior minister Habib al-Adly are also in the dock amid accusations of involvement in the killing of demonstrators. Prosecution lawyers also want those other defendants to receive the maximum sentence of death by hanging. Egypt’s military took power when Mubarak resigned down but its generals have vowed to step aside by the end of June. The country has been hit by more protests in recent months as activists demand a faster transfer to civilian rule, fearing the army is merely trying to buy time to consolidate its own power. More about: Egypt, Egyptian politics, Hosni Mubarak, Trial

Restoration row over da Vinci masterpiece
Two eminent French art experts have resigned over the way a Leonardo da Vinci painting has been restored. The pair claim the Louvre museum in Paris has over-cleaned the 500-year-old ‘Virgin and Child with Saint Anne’ masterpiece. They say the artist would never have wanted the picture to appear so bright. More about: Art, Leonardo da Vinci, Museum, Painting, Paris

Opposition to get tiny foothold in Kazakhstan vote
The people of Kazakhstan vote on Sunday in a general election in which no-one is expecting anything other than a landslide for President Nazarbayev’s ruling party. The longstanding leader has consistently put economic growth before democratic reform, and previous elections have been criticised by international observers. For the first time, the second-placed party will be automatically guaranteed seats in parliament. But commentators see little likelihood of a shift in the balance of power. “Frankly speaking, you don’t need to be Nostradamus to make predictions. (The ruling party) Nur Otan will get a majority. And out of the seven political parties contesting the election only one is formally opposition. The rest, no matter how they position themselves, are still pro-presidential parties,” said political analyst Dosym Satpayev. In power since Soviet times, Nazarbayev remains popular among many who trust him to keep regional conflicts at bay. He has used the country’s vast natural resources pragmatically and his authoritarian regime has been largely spared of western criticism. One outbreak of dissent was recently crushed. A protest by sacked oil workers led to clashes with police during which 17 people were reportedly killed. The president responded by replacing younger officials with trusted hardliners. More about: Electoral campaign, Kazakhstan, Politics, Presidential elections

Hungary: Far-right burns EU flag and demands exit from bloc
Far-right activists in Hungary have burned the EU flag, calling for the country’s exit from the bloc. Some 2,000 demonstrators from the extremist Jobbik party gathered outside the European Commission offices in Budapest. They are angry that cash-strapped Hungary is under pressure to ditch new legislation that Brussels says may violate European laws and principles. “Not only us but many other countries now believe they could be better off outside the EU and then they would not have got into this situation,” said protester Gyorgy Lillik, 63. The EU has raised the prospect of suspending vital funding unless Hungary changes its controversial laws on the central bank and judiciary. Jobbik, Hungary’s second most popular opposition party, is denouncing what it calls an ultimatum from Brussels. More about: European Union, Hungary, Protest

Suspected Mexican drug cartel head captured
Police in Mexico have arrested the suspected leader of the “La Linea” drug cartel. Arturo Bautista was picked up in the northern city of Ciudad Juarez, close to the US border. La Linea is the armed wing of the notorious Juarez cartel. In 2006, the army was sent into Ciudad Juarez as part of the Mexican government’s crackdown on drugs. The city lies south of the US city of El Paso, Texas and is a key transport route for billions dollars of drugs entering America. More than 7,000 murders have been reported in Ciudad Juarez over the last three years. In total, across Mexico, some 46,000 people have keen killed in drug related violence since 2006. More about: Arrest, Drug trafficking, Mexico

Super flatscreen TVs go head-to-head at CES 2012
It is still one of the biggest shows of its kind, but CES – the Consumer Electronics Show – in Las Vegas is not what it used to be; this year will be Microsoft’s last and Apple never bother to attend. But nonetheless some 2,700 exhibitors were on show to launch an array of new products. More about: Las Vegas, New technologies

UK’s Prince Philip makes first appearance after operation
The husband of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth has made his first public appearance after a health scare. Prince Philip, who is 90, attended a new year’s day church service near one of the royals’ residences at Sandringham. Philip appeared to be walking comfortably as he went to and from the St Mary Magdalene church, watched by a small crowd of well-wishers. Over Christmas he spent four nights in hospital following an operation for a blocked artery in his heart. More about: British politics, Queen Elizabeth II, Royal families, United Kingdom

Iberia cancels a third of flights after pilots’ walkout
Some 10,000 passengers with the Spanish airline Iberia have had their travel plans disrupted by a one-day pilots’ strike – the second this month. More than a third of today’s flights – mostly domestic and around Europe – have been cancelled. The pilots fear Iberia’s planned new budget carrier will result in lower pay and job losses. “It’s not fair,” said one young woman at Madrid-Barajas airport, after her connection was cancelled. “I’ve arrived after an 11 hour flight from Montevideo with a little girl. Let them strike, but they shouldn’t get offended when we complain – they always get what they want at our expense.” “They have to strike sometimes, but why me?” asked a middle-aged Englishman. “I have sympathy for them, I have sympathy for me too… and it’s put me in a lot of difficulty now.” Iberia, which denies it plans to cut pilots’ jobs, says alternative journeys have been found for all passengers. It wants to divert planes from loss-making European routes to its new subsidiary Iberia Express to compete with low-cost airlines. More about: Air traffic, Airlines, Spain, Strike