back have lot of support he said
the serb who retired in the australian open quarter finals against andy
roddick because of sweltering conditions added heat is not one of my allies
that for sure
but definitely love playing here so very excited about the tournament
israel apologises for treatment of turkish ambassador
jerusalem jan afp
israel apologised on wednesday for what media termed hazing of the turkish
ambassador but maintained its complaint against turkish television drama it
said portrayed jews as baby snatchers
the prime minister believes that the foreign ministry protest to the turkish
ambassador was just in its essence but should have been conveyed in an
acceptable diplomatic manner benjamin netanyahu office said
the row had fuelled tension between the longtime allies that had been steadily
rising since israel gaza offensive one year ago drew blunt criticism from
turkey
it also came just ahead of planned trip to ankara on sunday by defence
minister ehud barak
deputy foreign minister danny ayalon reprimanded ambassador ahmet celikkol over
the tv series on monday in manner media said was meant to humiliate the
turkish envoy addressing him in hebrew making him sit on low couch and
removing the turkish flag from the table
in the future will clarify my position in diplomatically acceptable ways
ayalon said on wednesday after turkey demanded an apology
my protest against the turkish attacks against israel is alive and well
however it is not my way to disrespect ambassadors ayalon said in
statement
the tv episode that drew ayalon ire shows turkish secret agent storming an
israeli diplomatic mission to rescue turkish boy supposedly kidnapped by
israel mossad overseas intelligence agency
the israeli foreign ministry said the series depicted israel and jews as baby
snatchers and war criminals
scenes of horror devastation in port au prince
port au prince jan afp
streets in the haitian capital port au prince were lined with bodies of the
dead injured and those seeking refuge from crippled buildings in the wake of
massive earthquake
hours after the magnitude quake wrecked even the capital most sturdy
buildings the dust and debris covered port au prince was wracked by dozens more
powerful aftershocks forcing survivors to seek shelter on streets
the center of port au prince has been destroyed it catastrophe wailed
pierre so traumatized he could hardly speak as he surveyed the devastation
around him having walked kilometers miles to find his house
in just one terrifying minute at gmt on tuesday the earth convulsed
flattening buildings and casually tossing chunks of twisted metal and concrete
into the air hundreds are feared to have been killed
haitian police vehicles as well as those from the united nations and the red
cross tried to ferry the wounded to hospital but progress was slow as chunks of
rubble lay strewn across the torn and twisted roads
no corner of the city was spared from the wave of destruction unleashed on
city two million inhabitants witnesses said with plumes of smoke and dust
towering over port au prince many shanty towns and its affluent suburbs alike
the normally gleaming white presidential palace on the central champs de mars
square was seen in ruins its central cupola now collapsed symbol of nation
upended
hospitals hotels schools and government miniseries were also leveled
few residents dared to return indoors terrified of being buried in one of the
large aftershocks which continued to rock the nation
sara fajardo of catholic relief services told afp that staff were terrified the
shocks some measuring as much as would topple more buildings
most of the catholic relief services staff is going to be sleeping on the crs
office compound but they re sleeping outside because they re too afraid to sleep
indoors she said
broken telephone lines and wrecked infrastructure made quick estimates of the
scale of the damage impossible but many feared the worst
when we get an idea of the toll it will be measured in the hundreds local
doctor who was bloodied and nursing an injured left arm told afp
still messages and photos were trickling out via the email and microblogging
site twitter
hearing singing and praying from the carrefour feuilles area my prayers
go out to the folks there wrote one message
but in the gathering darkness it getting quieter in paup singing and
praying was hearing earlier has died down no helicopters no sound of
ambulances another tweet said referring to port au prince
other messages on twitter presaged equally chilling tragedies to come sorry
no word on villa creole wrote one
pictures from around the city showed scenes of utter devastation as dazed
dust covered survivors were helped from the rubble
of those buildings left standing many were scarred by long fissures where the
plaster and bricks had cracked in the force of the quake
the headquarters of the united nations mission in the country was leveled
senior un official alain leroy said
the five story concrete building known as the christopher hotel and located on
the road to petionville has collapsed and was surrounded by brazilian
minustah troops frantically trying to rescue people trapped inside
edmond mulet leroy deputy said typically to people work in the main
headquarters building but he noted the quake struck after pm and it was
not known how many people were still inside
the quake was felt as far away as cuba and the dominican republic but most
initial damage was found in and around the haitian capital
petionville suburb some kilometers seven miles east of the capital was
also badly hit
saw lots of destruction on my way but escaped when the building where
work collapsed said marie claire who works in medical lab in port au
prince
the devastation will only add to the poverty and hardship already faced by the
nation of million people where half of the people are unemployed and some
percent live on less than two dollars day
shortly after the massive quake night fell plunging an already tense city and
its ravaged streets into darkness and accentuating the panic and terror among
the population
most radio and television stations had stopped functioning and the airwaves
were only punctuated by few rare radio appeals for help
looting soon began with residents taking items from partially destroyed
supermarket early wednesday
when my batteries die will no longer be able to communicate it going to be
long night our prayers go out to everyone said one twitter message
cricket indian hindu party to ban australian stars
new delhi jan afp
an influential right wing hindu party in mumbai warned wednesday that it would
prevent australia cricketers playing in parts of india because of attacks on
indians living down under
bal thackeray who heads the radical shiv sena party said the australians will
be barred from playing in maharashtra of which mumbai is the state capital
we will not allow kangaroo cricketers to play in mumbai and maharashtra till
the attacks on indians are stopped the ageing thackeray wrote in the shiv sena
mouthpiece saamna
our boys are being stabbed burnt and shot at in that country and still our
cricketers have no qualms in playing with them do they have any national
pride
the murder of nitin garg in melbourne earlier this month caused anger among
indians in australia and overseas and prompted india foreign minister
krishna to suggest it would hurt ties
the murder followed spate of violence against indian students in melbourne
over the past months that has included beatings robberies and stabbings and
has threatened australia education industry
australian cricketers like captain ricky ponting andrew symonds matthew hayden
and shane watson are star attractions in the third edition of the lucrative
indian premier league in march april
two major cities in maharashtra mumbai and nagpur are due to host ipl matches
the shiv sena has in the past prevented pakistan national team from playing in
the state for what it says is islamabad backing of militant activities in
india
thackeray praised movie legend amitabh bachchan for refusing an award from
queensland university in protest at the attack on students in australia
would have been happy if our cricketers too had shown similar self respect in
the matter he wrote
but cricket has become game of money and self respect and patriotism have
taken back seat
seven koreans missing in haiti
seoul jan afp
at least seven south koreans were missing wednesday in haiti after the
impoverished caribbean nation was hit by strong earthquake foreign ministry
officials said
about south korean residents or travellers were known to be in haiti and
seven are missing as of oo pm gmt the ministry said
they include four businessmen who were staying in hotel flattened by the quake
and three others living in the country
ministry official told afp they had confirmed that about south koreans are
safe including female military officer with united nations peacekeeping
mission
tennis hewitt storms into sydney quarters
sydney jan afp
lleyton hewitt spectacularly launched his bid for fifth sydney international
title with the loss of just two games in his opening match of the tournament on
wednesday
the australian two time grand slam champion rattled past italian andreas seppi
in just under an hour to set up an enticing quarter final with marcos
baghdatis on thursday
the fourth seed who claimed the title here in and raced
out of the blocks clinching the first set in just minutes and going on with
the job despite an early service break in the final set
hewitt who had first round bye will now take on baghdatis for the first time
since their epic third round encounter at the australian open which
started just before midnight and ran for four hours minutes
hewitt prevailed but was spent force for his
next match against eventual champion novak djokovic
hopefully it never happens again to anyone hewitt said of his last meeting
with the australian open finalist baghdatis
would have wanted to wipe it out of my memory box if lost the match in
five sets
but obviously winning an epic match in your home grand slam yeah stuff like
that always stays in the back of your mind
hewitt fighting his way back up the rankings to current after hip surgery
in august has healthy respect for the cypriot crowd pleaser
he always class player hewitt said he great ball striker and moves
well from the back of the court he had couple wins this week
hewitt who played in last week hopman cup mixed teams event in perth
effortlessly adjusted to the different playing conditions against seppi
this was my first match outdoors for the year so it was tough match in terms
of the conditions and getting used to that coming from indoors at the hopman
cup handled the conditions well he said
baghdatis progressed with win over sixth seeded serb viktor troicki
it another level obviously baghdatis said he the favourite he
playing good and he playing at home so ll just go out there and try to find
solution to win
czech second seed tomas berdych had an ignominous second round exit to
australian peter luczak who finished strongly for win
davis cup member luzcak will have night quarter final with american mardy
fish who easily put paid to russian evgeny korolev
frenchmen richard gasquet won his second match of the tournament after knocking
out german eighth seed benjamin becker and will face italian
potito starace for place in the semi finals
another frenchman julien benneteau accounted for american lucky loser taylor
dent with dent coming into the draw for injured third
seed stanislas wawrinka of switzerland
benneteau will take on argentina leonardo mayer in the quarters after mayer
win over pablo cuevas of uruguay
hundreds feared dead as quake strikes haiti
port au prince jan afp
the strongest earthquake to hit haiti in over century rocked the impoverished
caribbean nation tuesday toppling buildings and triggering fears that hundreds
have been killed in widespread destruction
some of the country most venerable buildings including haiti presidential
palace were destroyed by the late afternoon magnitude quake and bodies
were seen arrayed in the streets as darkness enveloped panic stricken capital
port au prince
injured homeless and horrified residents of the crowded capital of two million
suffered through the terror of dozens of strong aftershocks according to
scattered eyewitness reports
with major tragedy was unfolding communication and electricity alternated
between patchy and complete cutoff and the full magnitude of destruction
quickly dawned on haitian officials one of whom described the quake as
catastrophe of major proportions
the us geological survey usgs said strong aftershocks hit the country in
the hours after the initial gmt quake
sara fajardo of catholic relief services told afp that staff in the country were
terrified the aftershocks would topple more buildings
there have been buildings that have fallen down there was one right across
from our office fajardo said after crs members spoke with staff in haiti
most of the catholic relief services staff is going to be sleeping on the crs
office compound but they re sleeping outside because they re too afraid to sleep
indoors out of safety concerns she said
early wednesday an afp reporter saw looters raiding supermarket in the north
of the capital scene of devastation with flattened homes and buildings
ripped up telephone poles and crushed cars
the center of port au prince has been destroyed it catastrophe wailed
man named pierre so traumatized he could hardly speak as he surveyed the
disaster
pall of grey smoke hung over part of one city as dazed residents covered in
dust were pulled from the rubble roads and highways had been snapped their
tarmac twisted and torn
video of the initial quake aired on cnn showed thick cloud of dust erupted
from dozens of collapsing buildings obscuring the view of port au prince for
minutes after the temblor
think it really catastrophe of major proportions haiti ambassador to
the united states raymond alcide joseph told cnn
haiti ambassador to mexico said haitian president rene preval and his wife
are alive and well but did not provide further information on their
whereabouts
the situation is very serious ambassador robert manuel told reporters in
mexico city
the headquarters of the un mission in haiti minustah which has served as
peacekeeping mission there since was also destroyed by the temblor
the headquarters of the united nations stabilization mission in haiti has been
destroyed in large part there are numerous people underneath the rubble both
dead and injured local employee said
spokesman for the philippine mission to the un in haiti elmer cato told
local media that rescuers had retrieved several bodies as well as injured
survivors although it was not clear if the bodies were recovered from the un
mission
initial estimates suggested high death toll in the haitian capital an
overcrowded city lined with shantytowns and notorious for its shoddy building
standards
when we get an idea of the toll it will be measured in the hundreds local
doctor who was bloodied and nursing an injured left arm told afp
nations around the world offered aid and the united states france canada and
governments across latin america geared to send help
us president barack obama said my thoughts and prayers go out to those who
have been affected by this earthquake as the state department pentagon and us
southern command began to put together aid teams
the usgs said the epicenter was kilometers nine miles southwest of port au
prince
usgs geophysicist susan potter said the last earthquake of such magnitude to
strike haiti occured in and possibly as far back as
she said that right off the bat we knew that substantial damage was going to be
very likely from tuesday quake in which the caribbean plate and the north
america plate ground together
already the poorest nation in the americas haiti has been hit by series of
recent disasters
three hurricanes and tropical storm pounded haiti in killing people
and leaving more than others missing according to government figures
the country was also gripped by tense political standoff in amid riots
over skyrocketing food prices un troops are regular sight in the country
seventy percent of haiti population lives on less than two dollars per day
and half of its million people are unemployed
about missing in haiti hotel collapse french minister
paris jan afp
around people were missing after hotel popular with tourists in the haiti
capital collapsed in the massive quake there french minister said on radio
europe
am talking about the hotel montana where tourists stay and french nationals
working in haiti stay we know there were people inside the hotel when it
collapsed only around have got out french secretary of state for
cooperation alain joyandet said
he said the french embassy in port au prince had also been damaged in the quake
sixty french nationals have gathered there others are arriving he said
iran speaker accuses israel cia of killing scientist
tehran jan afp
parliament speaker ali larijani iran former chief nuclear negotiator on
wednesday accused intelligence agents of the united states and israel of
plotting bombing which killed top atomic scientist
we had received clear information few days before the assassination that
the intelligence service of the zionist regime with the cooperation of the
cia were seeking to carry out terrorist act in tehran the isna news agency
quoted larijani as saying
massoud ali mohammadi particle physics professor at prestigious tehran
university was killed on tuesday morning by bomb strapped to motorcycle in
the capital well to do northern suburbs
they the israeli and us intelligence agencies might have thought that in the
face of certain internal disputes there was an opportunity to take this action
and that they could cause friction among academics and harm the country
nuclear research work larijani added
the slain scientist was not stalwart of the iranian government his name
appeared on list of academics backing opposition leader mir hossein mousavi in
the disputed june presidential election which gave president mahmoud
ahmadinejad second term
the opposition claims the vote was massively rigged in ahmadinejad favour for
the past six months it has been holding anti government protests at every
opportunity many of which have been broken up by police who have arrested
hundreds of demonstrators
tennis nalbandian out of australian open
melbourne jan afp
argentina david nalbandian has withdrawn from next week australian open
with an abdominal tear tournament officials said on wednesday
the former wimbledon finalist who at one time reached three in the world but
has dropped to current ranking was unable to compete this week in
tournament in auckland after sustaining the injury while warming up
nalbandian notified australian open officials on wednesday that he was
unfit to compete in the opening grand slam of the year
he was making comeback from hip operation that has sidelined him since last
may
two us soldiers killed in afghan violence nato
kabul jan afp
two us soldiers serving under nato to fight the taliban insurgency in
afghanistan were killed wednesday in an improvised bomb explosion in the
volatile east of the country the force said
nato international security assistance force isaf did not give the exact
location of the incident but much of eastern afghanistan is gripped by the
increasingly deadly insurgency being waged by remnants of the taliban
two isaf service members from the united states were killed today as result
of an ied improvised explosive device strike in eastern afghanistan the
force said in statement
the deaths took to the number of foreign forces killed in afghanistan since
the start of the year according to an afp tally based on that kept by the
independent icasualties org website
last year was the deadliest for foreign forces as well as afghan civilians
caught in crossfire between the militants and the afghan and international
forces trying to quell the insurgency
un report said wednesday that afghan civilians died in violence
percent rise compared to the violence also killed international troops
last year up from who died the year before
the us and nato have troops leading the fight against the taliban with
another being deployed over the course of this year
tennis kooyong classic results collated
melbourne jan afp
collated results from the first day of the kooyong classic here wednesday
st round
juan martin del potro arg bt ivan ljubicic cro
novak djokovic srb bt tommy haas ger
fernando verdasco esp bt fernando gonzalez chi
jo wilfried tsonga fra bt robin soderling swe
urgent about missing in haiti hotel collapse french minister
paris jan afp
around people were missing after hotel popular with tourists in the haiti
capital collapsed in the massive earthquake there french minister said on
radio europe
china xinjiang to step up security spending state media
beijing jan afp
funding for public security in china restive xinjiang region will nearly
double in state media said wednesday following ethnic unrest that left
nearly people dead last year
budget proposal placed before xinjiang legislature on tuesday called for
billion yuan million dollars to be spent on public security up from
billion yuan in the china daily reported
the july riot in urumqi had an enormous impact on the xinjiang people it
has severely damaged social stability in the region the paper quoted regional
chairman nur bekri as telling the xinjiang people congress
bekri said the priority for xinjiang security forces in would be to crack
down on the three forces of terrorism separatism and religious extremism
which the government blamed for the unrest the paper said
china roughly eight million turkic speaking uighurs have long complained of
religious political and cultural oppression by chinese authorities which
china denies
tensions in the vast and remote region bordering on central asia have simmered
for years
in july people were killed and more than people were injured
according to the government in violence between mainly muslim uighurs and han
chinese in the regional capital of urumqi according to government figures
so far people mostly ethnic uighurs have been sentenced to death for the
violence drawing sharp criticism from the west and rights groups concerned that
the accused were denied fair trials
nine executions have so far been reported by state press
new rules publicised in xinjiang last week stipulated that governments down to
the village level must step up identity checks on suspicious persons and monitor
all religious activities state press reports said
local governments must also step up the registration of migrant workers and help
set up region wide information sharing network it said
the newly amended rules which come into effect on february also
stipulate that promotions of government leaders will be subject to their efforts
to stamp out the three forces
world gears up to help quake stricken haiti
port au prince jan afp
the united states france canada and governments across latin america were
gearing up wednesday to help haiti after massive earthquake leveled
buildings and caused an unknown number of casualties
us president barack obama said his government stood ready to assist the people
of haiti as the state department usaid and united states southern command
mobilized the white house said
in miami the us coast guard said it had mobilized cutters and aircraft to
positions in close proximity to haiti to render humanitarian assistance as
needed
usaid said it was dispatching disaster assistance response team and along with
search and rescue team of at least personnel and six rescue dogs
this is tragic situation and we will work alongside the haitian government to
provide immediate assistance in the rescue efforts said usaid administrator
ranjiv shah
brazil president luiz inacio lula da silva said he was very concerned with
the situation in haiti including the fate of some brazilian members of
the strong un stabilization mission in haiti known as minustah which
brazil leads
minustah employee in haiti told afp that the force headquarters had been
largely destroyed in the quake
in paris foreign minister bernard kouchner said france expresses its complete
solidarity with haiti adding that his ministry crisis center had begun
working to mobilize and dispatch without delay urgent aid to port au prince
canada which hosts an strong haitian community said it was deeply
concerned with events unfolding in haiti
canadian foreign affairs minister lawrence cannon said canadian officials are
making contact with trusted humanitarian partners with presence in the region
to identify humanitarian needs resulting from this earthquake
australia also offered to respond to any requests for humanitarian assistance
and said it was seeking as matter of urgency to make contact with two
nationals known to still be in haiti
in bogota the president office said colombia was under alert and ready to
respond to the haitian authorities call for help adding that the defense
ministry and emergency management services were coordinating upcoming assistance
efforts
venezuela said it would send member humanitarian assistance team to haiti
in the next few hours foreign minister nicolas maduro said the team would leave
for port au prince early wednesday bearing food and medical supplies for
stricken haitians
maduro also said he has been unable to contact venezuela ambassador to haiti
or haitian authorities since the earthquake struck
in panama the country foreign minister juan carlos varela pledged that his
government would provide assistance to the united nations office for the
coordination of humanitarian affairs which has base in the country
varela pledged to provide all the infrastructure required for the logistical
coordination of cooperation that should be sent to this brother country
peru said its peacekeeping troops in minustah would help in rescue efforts
in haiti adding that none of the soldiers was injured in the quake
the military personnel has nothing to report and will lend support to the quake
victims to the best of their abilities peru joint chiefs of staff said in
statement
mexico foreign ministry said it was keeping close watch on haiti and had
activated protection plan for mexicans facing an emergency in haiti
in the dominican republic which shares the island of hispaniola with haiti
president leonel fern ndez called on the international community to help haiti
overcome real tragedy he said his government was at the ready to send
assistance
government spokesman said dominican air force plane was ready to pick up
quake victims and that it was sending team of sniffer dogs to search for
victims in the rubble
meanwhile in nearby cuba only kilometers miles from haiti people
in the eastern coastal town of baracoa were evacuated to higher ground as
precaution after the earthquake triggered tsunami alert the civil defense
agency said
the tsunami alert was later lifted but cuba said it remains vigilant for
possible aftershocks and rising sea levels in the eastern provinces an agency
statement said
the initial quake was felt in cuba eastern province of santiago de cuba
alert
about missing in haiti hotel collapse french minister
urgent iran speaker accuses israel cia of killing scientist
tehran jan afp
parliament speaker ali larijani iran former chief nuclear negotiator
wednesday accused intelligence agents of the united states and israel of
plotting the bombing which killed top atomic scientist
tennis hobart international results
hobart australia jan afp
results from the fourth day of the hobart international women tennis
tournament here wednesday denotes seed
second round
kirsten flipkens bel bt aleksandra wozniak can
carla suarez navarro esp bt alicia molik aus
sara errani ita bt kateryna bondarenko ukr
tennis injured ferrero out of heineken open
auckland jan afp
the heineken open lost second drawcard wednesday when former world number one
juan carlos ferrero limped out of the second round with an ankle injury
the loss of the third seed as he trailed swiss qualifier michael lammer in
the first set followed the withdrawal from the auckland event on monday of
argentina david nalbandian with an abdominal injury
the spaniard is unsure if he will be able to recover in time for the australian
open next week but is hoping for the best
they say it not too bad will have to wait three or four days with some
ice take some anti inflammatories and see how it goes ferrero told reporters
want to play over there so will do everything in my power to make it but
we ll see cannot tell you now
world lammer now faces quarter final against eighth seed albert montanes
who beat local hope rubin statham
seventh seed juan monaco and spanish compatriot and fourth seed nicolas almagro
also fell as the line up for the quarter finals was decided
tall american john isner served aces and five breaks of serve to beat monaco
france marc gicquel ranked in the world ensured miserable day for th
ranked almagro with thrashing
spanish top seed tommy robredo coming off hopman cup victory in perth was
not at his best but good enought quarter final spot with hard fought
win over german simon greul
fifth seeded german philipp kohlschreiber stayed on course to repeat his
