Egypt

Related Video Stage 20 recap Stage 20 recap Stage 21 preview More Cycling Videos PARIS (AP)—Alberto Contador won the Tour de France for a second time Wednesday, and Lance Armstrong capped his return to the race with an impressive third-place finish. Mark Cavendish of Britain collected his sixth stage win of this year’s Tour in a sprint after the 101.9-mile course ride from Montereau-Fault-Yonne to the Champs-Elysees. Over nearly 3,500 kilometers and 21 stages of races over three weeks, Contador repelled many challenges in the mountains, excelled in the two time-trials—winning a pivotal race against the clock in the 18th stage—and won the first Alpine stage. Contador, the 2007 champion, also had to battle a rearguard action within his Astana team, where the comeback of Armstrong to the Tour after 3 1/2 years of retirement raised questions about who would be the team leader. Contador began the Tour on July 4 as the pre-race favorite. At only 26 years old, the Spaniard is already one of ...

Thousands of Chinese steel workers rioted at news of a takeover deal, beating one manager to death, a Hong Kong human rights group has said. About 100 people were hurt in violence in the north-eastern city of Tonghua after workers heard that Jianlong Steel would buy a majority share. They were reportedly frustrated at financial problems during Jianlong Steel's temporary control last year. Jianlong general manager Chen Guojun was beaten to death, the group said. The Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy said 30,000 steel workers clashed with riot police on Friday in the north-east province of Jilin. The centre reported that Mr Chen was paid about three million yuan ($440,000) last year, while Tonghua's retired workers received as little as 200 yuan a month. The South China Morning Post quoted a police officer as saying the workers would not allow emergency medical staff to enter the building to help Mr Chen. The Tonghua workers also reportedly blocked highways and sm...

A radical cleric who brokered a failed peace deal in Pakistan's Swat valley has been arrested, officials say. Sufi Mohammad was held in Peshawar in the north-west after being warned not to hold meetings there, officials said. Provincial information minister Iftikhar Hussein told a news conference Sufi Mohammad had been detained for encouraging terrorism and violence. The cleric negotiated a peace deal in February, widely seen as allowing the Taliban to take control of the valley. Militants were allowed to impose Sharia law in the district in exchange for an end to two years of fighting. However the deal later collapsed when Taliban fighters failed to disarm and moved into neighbouring districts. "Instead of keeping his promises by taking steps for the sake of peace, and speaking out against terrorism, he did not utter a single word against terrorists," Mr Hussein told a news conference on Sunday. He said that the influential cleric's stance "encouraged terrorism....

Brazil has agreed to triple its payments to Paraguay for energy from a massive hydro-electric dam on their border, ending a long-running dispute. Under the accord, Brazil will pay Paraguay $360m (£220m) a year for energy from the jointly-operated Itaipu plant, one of the biggest in the world. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called it a "historic agreement" after talks in Paraguay. The deal is a political victory for Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo. His left-wing government had campaigned on an election promise to gain more revenue from the plant. Bitter dispute Under the deal, Paraguay has also won the right to sell excess energy directly to the Brazilian market, rather than exclusively through the state-owned power utility Eletrobras. The joint project was begun in the 1980s when both countries were under military rule. Paraguay - one of the poorest countries in South America - only uses a 5% share of the electricity produced at the plant and said it was obl...

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been taken to hospital after becoming ill while jogging, his office said. Mr Sarkozy's chief of staff said the president was "doing well" and talking normally with medics at the military hospital, AFP news agency reported. Earlier, aides told AFP that the 54-year-old president was suffering from a "minor" nerve complaint. He had immediately been seen by his doctor after "feeling faint", his office said. The incident happened at Mr Sarkozy's weekend retreat near Versailles, outside Paris, and he was taken to a military hospital, AFP said. The Elysee Palace had no further official information. AFP reported that Mr Sarkozy had suffered a vagal nerve attack, adding that it could involve a brief loss of consciousness and change in the heart rate. The vagal nerve is a major nerve that runs from the abdomen to the brain and controls many functions. Mr Sarkozy is regularly seen running and is a keen cyclist. The Elysee ...

Scientists say they have found a new way to mend damage to the heart. When cells turn into fully-formed adult heart muscle they stop dividing, and cannot replace tissue damaged by disease or deformity. But a US team have found a way to coax the cells to start dividing again, raising hopes they could be used to regenerate healthy tissue. The study, carried out on mice and rats by Children's Hospital Boston, appears in the journal Cell. If the same mechanisms identified by the researchers can be shown to work in the human heart, it opens up real possibilities for new and more efficient ways to treat people with heart disease Professor Jeremy PearsonBritish Heart Foundation The researchers say their work could provide an alternative to stem cell therapy, which is still largely untested, and carries a potential risk of side effects. In theory, it could be used to treat heart attack patients, those with heart failure and children with congenital heart defects. The key ingredient is a gr...

Michael Jackson's personal doctor has been identified as the target of a manslaughter investigation into the singer's death, US court papers say. Dr Conrad Murray's medical clinic in Houston, Texas, and another site rented by him were searched on Wednesday. Police have said previously that Dr Murray is not a suspect but the search warrant allowed the authorities to seek evidence of manslaughter. The doctor was at Jackson's mansion and tried to revive him before he died. Dr Murray has already been interviewed twice by police, who had asked for medical records in addition to those already provided. He has not been arrested or formally charged. Unwelcome attention According to the warrant, approved by a Houston judge and filed in Harris County District Court, authorities were looking for "items constituting evidence of the offence of manslaughter that tend to show that Dr Conrad Murray committed the said criminal offence". Items seized during the searches include...

The US Senate says it will not be able to vote on a US healthcare reform bill by August, in a setback to President Barack Obama's proposed timetable. But Mr Obama said he still wanted to see the bill passed by year's end. He said his intention was not to add to the country's fiscal deficit of over $1 trillion, but to address it by tackling spiralling health costs. But Republicans and leading Democrats have objected to the rush, saying the bill will be taken up after the summer. "I think that it's better to have a product that is one that's based on quality and thoughtfulness rather than trying to jam something through," Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid told reporters. The BBC's Jane O'Brien in Washington says the setback is substantial but not terminal. 'Difficult issues' In a major televised news conference on Wednesday, the president stressed the importance of passing the bills by the end of the first week in August, so he would be in ...

The trial of Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi is reported to have resumed in Rangoon, with lawyers presenting closing statements to court. Ms Suu Kyi is being tried on charges of violating the terms of her house arrest in May, after a US man evaded guards and swam to her lakeside home. If convicted she faces up to five years in jail. The trial has been widely condemned as a ploy to keep the Nobel Peace laureate in custody until after elections. Polls are planned by the military government for some time next year. Ms Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won the last elections in 1988 but was never allowed to take power. Ms Suu Kyi, 64, has spent nearly 14 of the last 20 years in detention, much of it at her Rangoon home. 'Law on our side' The trial, which had been expected to wrap up in days when it started, has dragged on for more than two months. A Burmese official who did not wish to be identified told the Associated Press news agency that proceedings had ...

-GRAND-BORNAND, France -- Alberto Contador closed in on victory at the Tour de France on Wednesday after finishing second behind Frank Schleck in the 17th stage as the race left the Alps. triggerAd(1,PaginationPage,11); Lance Armstrong trailed by more than 2 minutes and fell from second to fourth overall in the 105-mile ride from Bourg-Saint-Maurice to Le Grand-Bornand -- seen by many as the toughest stage this year. The stage likely ended any realistic chance Armstrong had of overtaking his Astana teammate Contador, and the seven-time Tour champion will now have to fight for a place on the podium instead. Contador kept the yellow jersey by staying with Schleck and his younger brother Andy in a three-man breakaway at the end of the stage. Andy Schleck finished third and Armstrong fifth, 2:18 back. "I'm very proud of myself -- I'm proud of my brother," Frank Schleck said. The Schleck brothers leapfrogged Armstrong in the overall standings, with Andy 2:26 behind Contado...