adelaide
urgent tennis sharapova crashes out of australian open
melbourne jan afp
former champion maria sharapova crashed out of the australian open in the first
round on monday when she was beaten by fellow russian maria
kirilenko
the hangover wins globes best comedy
los angeles jan afp
raunchy adult comedy the hangover upset the odds at the golden globes here
sunday to win best picture in the comedy or musical category
the low budget film about the three men struggling to piece together the events
of hellraising stag party in las vegas beat out the star studded musical
nine for the prize
former heavyweight boxing champion mike tyson who features in cameo role in
the film joined other cast members on stage to accept the award
other nominees included days of summer it complicated and julie
amp julia
golf american palmer wins sony open
honolulu hawaii jan afp
american ryan palmer tapped in for birdie on the final hole to shoot four
under sunday and capture the million dollar pga tour sony open
the year old palmer held off australian robert allenby to win by one shot at
the waialae country club finishing with under
palmer who tied with allenby over the final three holes sunday came up short
of the green on the par five final hole
allenby chipped onto the green to just inside feet of the cup palmer then
bounced his next shot in front of the cup and hit the pin leaving the ball
inches away
allenby missed his birdie putt and palmer tapped in for his third career
victory
this victory puts palmer in the masters tournament for the first time in five
years
allenby fired three under sunday in his bid to win for the third consecutive
time on three different tours
more cold to compound misery in china xinjiang
beijing jan afp
heavy snows in china northwestern xinjiang region have killed four people and
left homes collapsed or damaged with still more icy weather on the way
state media said monday
temperatures over the next few days could fall to as low as minus degrees
celsius minus fahrenheit in parts of xinjiang with blizzards forecast the
china daily newspaper reported
harsh cold front that has gripped vast regions of northern china has already
affected total of people in xinjiang it said without elaborating
more than houses have been flattened or damaged amid the heaviest
snowstorms there in decade and livestock have been killed from
exposure to the cold or lack of food due to the massive snowfalls it said
direct economic losses were estimated at million yuan million dollars
more snow rain and falling temperatures also will affect much of the rest of
china this week the report said
state media reports had said last week that three people had died in xinjiang
and six nationwide
in xinjiang northernmost altay region authorities were attempting to move
more than livestock out of difficult to reach mountain areas to save
them
china has endured an unusually early and cold winter reaching its height since
january with heavy snow across vast parts of the north rare snowfalls further
south and persistent sub freezing temperatures
the situation has caused several provinces and regions to ration electricity or
take other power saving moves to reduce strain on electric grids as residents
turn up the heat to stay warm
state media reports also have said birds were dying in large numbers in northern
china due to the cold and shipping has been disrupted by the worst sea ice in
three decades in northeast china bohai gulf
alert
sharapova knocked out of australian open
americans vow support for quake hit haiti
washington jan afp
thousand americans lit candles and sang hymns at the national cathedral sunday
in honor of quake ravaged haiti expressing solidarity with the millions
affected by the disaster and mourning the deaths of its untold number of
victims
our hearts are broken the episcopal church presiding bishop katharine
jefferts schori said in homily at the interfaith service for america
battered southern neighbor
may this terror shake us out of complacency and willful ignorance our
remembering has to be long term it must endure if it is going to beat back the
terror of this disaster
among the dignitaries attending the solemn service was us ambassador to the
united nations susan rice who read passage from the old testament she was
scheduled to attend un security council meeting on monday on coordinating the
massive influx of aid flooding haiti
yamilee dambrebille lost great aunt and two very close friends in the quake
but she said it was time to seize the moment and rebuild nation already worn
down by hurricanes floods poverty and decades of conflict
everybody is coming together it amazing it brings you to tears she told
afp noting that her parents store was demolished and their house severely
damaged
it makes me sad when talk about it and would rather keep busy here to
support this effort this is my grieving
in the majestic neogothic cathedral the second largest in the united states
worshippers of all faiths and races came together in massive show of support
for the deeply religious country they bowed their heads and clutched lit
candles as they listened intently to hymns and prayers
some found grim resemblance between the horror of tuesday quake and
hurricane katrina which battered new orleans
think american people really understood from all the pictures and the vision
of katrina where the lid was lifted off the reality of poverty said jean
duff who heads the national cathedral global poverty program
we are seeing vividly what poverty looks like now and how it decimates all of
the resources in place like port au prince and our responsibility is the long
term response to address that poverty
beneath the church stained glass windows young and old haitian americans and
people just looking for way to help were heartened when haitian ambassador
raymond joseph said he saw silver lining amid all the devastation because of
the overwhelming support pouring in from all corners of the globe
in this time of misery tragedy all of you are coming around to help haiti
regain its footing he said
but with the immediate trauma of tuesday disaster threatening to fade with the
passage of time like so many of the other tragedies that have struck the
poorest nation in the americas joseph urged americans to never forget
what you are doing tonight should not stop he said please stay with until
we completely rebuild
baskets were passed down the pews for donations
they quickly filled with crumpled greenbacks and coins it was one of many
offerings the episcopal church was organizing throughout the day across the
united states
isabelle guichard whose parents brothers and uncle survived the temblor said
the non stop media coverage filling living rooms around the world has had an
impact
this time haiti won be forgotten she assured
down the street at the haitian embassy few dozen volunteers worked furiously
to load mountain of donations outside into large storage trucks for shipment
to haiti via two charter planes in the coming days
it just wonderful greater washington haiti relief committee secretary
general magalie emile said as she passed large bags filled with food clothes
and medical supplies down the line
the situation is very desperate it very overwhelming but this is
comforting to be able to see people come together the entire nation come
together and the international community as well she said as darkness fell on
washington under light drizzle
james cameron wins golden globe best director
beverly hills california jan afp
james cameron scooped the best director prize at the golden globes here sunday
for his science fiction blockbuster avatar
it was the second golden globe directing honor for cameron who won the same
award for his epic titanic
the year old canadian avatar has shattered series of box office records
since it was released and is on course to pass titanic as the highest grossing
film in history
the movie has been hailed as cinematic milestone for its use of specially
developed cameras and motion capture technology
accepting the award delighted cameron said he had been expecting to lose out
to ex wife kathryn bigelow who had been nominated for her powerful iraq war
drama the hurt locker
unprepared frankly thought kathryn was going to get this cameron said
but make no mistake very grateful
other nominees included clint eastwood for invictus jason reitman for up in
the air and quentin tarantino for inglourious basterds
china restores texting in xinjiang state media
beijing jan afp
china further eased restrictions on communications in its troubled xinjiang
region restoring text messaging services six months after deadly ethnic unrest
state media said monday
the move followed similar recent moves to reintroduce internet access with
residents now able to access the websites of two state media outlets as well as
two popular web portals sina com cn and sohu com
xinhua news agency quoted an unnamed regional government official as saying text
messaging services were gradually restored on sunday some online banking
services are now also available the report said
the report said the communications blackout put in place after the deadly riots
in the regional capital urumqi in early july which left nearly people dead
had proven effective in helping to maintain regional stability
the official quoted by xinhua did acknowledge the measures had also brought
inconveniences to people lives
mobile users can send texts within china but not to international numbers the
china daily reported citing an official at china mobile the country biggest
operator by subscribers
users are also limited to text messages day and cannot transfer unused
messages to subsequent days the newspaper said
riots erupted in xinjiang capital urumqi on july pitting mainly muslim
uighurs against china majority han in the worst ethnic violence in china in
decades
authorities quickly reacted by restricting the flow of information going in and
out of the region
the government says terrorists separatists and religious extremists used the
internet telephones and mobile text messages to spread rumours and hatred as
the july violence erupted
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
the government has nearly doubled funding for public security in the region for
to billion yuan million dollars as compared with last year
state media reported last week
users quoted by state media welcomed the return of texting but said other
communications services remained blocked
we still can contact people on the internet by email online chat rooms such
as msn and qq are still blocked the global times quoted urumqi resident chen
chao as saying
scorsese honored at golden globes
los angeles jan afp
oscar winning director martin scorsese was awarded the golden globes cecil
demille award here sunday for his outstanding contribution to the entertainment
field
the veteran film maker director of classic films including raging bull
goodfellas and the aviator has already received two best director globes
during his career for the departed and gangs of new york
he had been nominated on five other occasions including four for best director
and once for best screenplay
scorsese was presented with the award by dicaprio and robert de niro after
receiving standing ovation from star studded crowd at the beverly hilton
scorsese has not released feature film since his oscars best picture the
departed but returns next month with shutter island thriller starring
leonardo dicaprio adapted from the dennis lehane novel
haitians pray in ruins as quake toll soars
port au prince jan afp
despairing haitians prayed in church ruins sunday as rescuers raced against time
to unearth quake survivors and the un vowed to speed up desperately needed
supplies of food water and medicine
the government said bodies had been buried in mass graves since the
earthquake flattened much of the impoverished caribbean nation on january
triggering massive humanitarian crisis
officials fear the eventual death toll could top
survivors were besieging hospitals and makeshift clinics some carrying the
injured on their backs or on carts and violence flared as police tried to stop
looting in city market
the stench of burning bodies hung over slums clinging to haitian hillside as
residents abandoned the search for survivors and torched the squalid ruins
lieutenant general ken keen who is running the vast us military relief
operation said might be possible start point for the final death
toll but that it was too early to know
clearly this is disaster of epic proportions and we ve got lot of work
ahead of us he said
after hours of painstaking digging team from florida unearthed seven year
old girl man aged and year old woman in the mangled wreckage of
supermarket in the ravaged capital port au prince
australian news crews reported putting aside their day jobs to rescue an
month old baby after hearing her cries from underneath the rubble in port au
prince as she lay trapped next to the bodies of her dead parents
and then out of the ruins came this little girl and will never forget it
nine network reporter robert penfold told the australian newspaper
she did not cry she looked astonished almost as if she was seeing the world
for the first time
danish man was pulled unscathed from the flattened un mission but rescuers
knew the likelihood of finding more survivors was waning with every hour
today is the last day that think we will be able to find survivors mainly
because of dehydration said rami peltz rescuer with an israeli team
the church bells lay silent sunday over the ruined capital but the faithful
still gathered in large numbers to pray for solace in the darkest hour of this
deeply religious nation
want to send message of hope because god is still with us even in the
depths of this tragedy and life is not over said father henry marie landasse
as he held mass in the rubble of the main cathedral
but with vital supplies of water and food still struggling to reach some of
those most in need many haitians were close to despair
life is really hard we have nothing said year old jean osee camped out
with his family in front of the presidential palace in makeshift slum of
wretched people
don have much strength to feed him can look after him properly
osee daughter louisoguine said cradling her curly haired baby
hundreds of rioters ransacked hyppolite market in the heart of the capital
police reinforcements descended on the market armed with shotguns and assault
rifles and one rioter man in his was fatally shot in the head an afp
photographer said
in the few medical facilities that are still standing in the city there is not
only shortage of medication but also of staff
they are overwhelmed and bursting at the seams the international committee of
the red cross said
the united nations has estimated that the quake affected three million people
one third of haiti population and left homeless some tent
cities have sprung up in port au prince according to the red cross
some emergency centers will be set up from monday to distribute aid to
victims and provide shelter for the homeless haitian government source said
un chief ban ki moon vowed to accelerate aid efforts after flying over port au
prince am here to say we are with you you are not alone this is tsunami
like disaster he told news conference
ban was to fly back to new york later sunday bearing the bodies of some of the
un staffers killed when the un mission in port au prince collapsed in what
has become the global body worst tragedy ever
canada announced that donor countries would meet in montreal january to
discuss haiti reconstruction
lieutenant general keen promised to redouble efforts after the us military
distributed bottles of water and food rations on saturday
president barack obama mobilized military reserves particularly medical staff
to work on hospital ships another military personnel were due by monday
to join us forces already on the ground or in ships off haiti
on visit to haiti saturday us secretary of state hillary clinton said as
president obama has said we will be here today tomorrow and for the time
ahead
korea pushes ahead with talks despite north threat
seoul jan afp
south korea said monday it is preparing for talks with north korea this week on
economic cooperation despite the threat by the communist state of possible
attack
the north warned friday of possible retaliatory war against the south over
seoul alleged contingency plan to handle regime collapse in the north
on sunday pyongyang state media publicised military drill attended by kim
jong il in which the leader watched his troops shattering the enemy camp to
pieces
friday angry statement which came hours after the north said it would accept
food aid from the south also threatened to cut all dialogue and cooperation
with the south unless it apologises for the alleged plan
but the south unification ministry said monday it plans to send delegates to
talks with the north scheduled for tuesday at the seoul funded industrial site
in kaesong just north of the border
spokesman chun hae sung said the north had not yet sent message approving the
entry of seoul delegates but this would normally come later in the day before
such meeting
apart from accepting food aid the north last week made other apparently
conciliatory gestures after months of cross border tensions
the two sides agreed to hold tuesday talks to discuss ways to revitalise the
kaesong joint industrial estate follow up to last month joint survey of
industrial estates overseas
seoul hopes the meeting the first official contact this year will develop into
regular forum on developing kaesong where north koreans work at
south korean factories
the north also proposed talks to restart another cross border joint venture
tourism resort at mount kumgang but that was before friday statement from the
national defence commission the north top body which is chaired by kim
unconfirmed south korean news reports said last week seoul has drawn up plan
to administer the north in case of regime collapse coup or popular
uprising
we find it deeply regrettable that north korea took threatening stance toward
us based on some unconfirmed media reports the unification ministry spokesman
said
the north said it would stage sacred nationwide retaliatory battle to blow up
the stronghold of the south korean authorities that drew up the plan
the commission termed the alleged document plan to overthrow its socialist
system
tennis rain suspends play at australian open
melbourne jan afp
rain forced suspension in play on the outside courts on the opening day at the
australian open on monday
the centre court match between former champion maria sharapova and her fellow
russian opponent maria kirilenko was continuing under closed roof on the rod
laver arena
fall in oil price wall street sell off hit asian shares
hong kong jan afp
sharp fall in oil prices and wall street worst performance so far in
hit asian stocks monday while new index was launched in china covering the
hong kong taiwan and mainland markets
crude was sent tumbling after the international energy agency iea said last
week that demand this year would be sluggish in the developed world with
emerging markets accounting for any increases
sentiment in the black gold had been hit earlier in the week when the us the
world biggest energy consumer said reserves had increased despite severe
cold snap across much of the country
in singapore new york main contract light sweet crude for february delivery
fell cents to dollars barrel
brent north sea crude for february delivery was cents lower dollars
barrel
new york crude was at month high of dollars last monday on the back
of strong chinese data but has subsequently tumbled
oil is under pressure primarily from economic considerations said victor
shum singapore based analyst with energy consultancy purvin and gertz
some of the economic data out of the us were not really robust and so these
data raised doubts about the health of the us consumer and the strength of the
us economy
tokyo was off percent hong kong lost percent and sydney was
percent lower while singapore was flat
dealers in the region were also absorbing percent fall in new york the
biggest drop this year where better than expected earnings data from chipmaker
intel and bank giant jp morgan failed to lift spirits
chinese and hong kong stocks were also dented by growing concerns beijing will
further tighten monetary policy to keep lid on the nation soaring economic
growth
analysts said the focus this week will likely turn to upcoming chinese economic
data thursday in order to judge whether more tightening measures are required
to keep the china economy from overheating
however china launched the csi cross straits index monday in bid to boost
financial cooperation in the greater china region
the china securities index company said on its website that the market which
covers firms listed in the mainland hong kong and taiwan was down
percent
the dollar was flat against the yen in tokyo morning trade while the euro slid
to dollars in tokyo from in new york late friday the european
unit dropped to yen from
and in hong kong gold opened slightly lower at us dollars an
ounce from friday close of dollars
euro struggles in asia amid greece debt woes
tokyo jan afp
the euro struggled in asian trade monday as investors anticipated weak
business sentiment survey from germany amid worries of looming budget crisis
in greece dealers said
the euro slid to dollars in tokyo morning trade from in new york
late friday it dropped to yen from the dollar was flat at
yen
germany zew economic sentiment index out on tuesday is likely to have taken
beating for the fourth straight month in january on concerns that greece debt
woes may derail recovery in the region dealers said
the indicator which surveys financial experts on their outlook for germany
europe main growth engine is expected to have fallen to this month from
in december according to analyst forecasts
admittedly investors were already keen to sell the single european currency
as concerns about the fallout from the greek debt crisis escalated nab capital
strategist john kyriakopoulos told clients
german chancellor angela merkel last week said greece fiscal crisis put the
euro in very difficult phase while european central bank governor jean
claude trichet warned of bumpy recovery in the fragile eurozone
investors were also waiting ahead of slew of us earnings reports later this
week after jpmorgan chase opened the earnings season for banks on strong note
last friday us markets are closed monday for public holiday
citigroup will release its fourth quarter earnings on tuesday followed by bank
of america morgan stanley and wells fargo on wednesday and goldman sachs on
thursday
dealers said market players will also be looking to china fourth quarter gdp
figure on thursday which is likely to show double digit growth as well as data
showing inflation ticking up
calyon analyst sebastien barbe said he expects that chinese borrowing costs via
market interest rates will increase in the first quarter of the year due to the
strong economic numbers and rising inflation
tennis zheng wins all china showdown
melbourne jan afp
zheng jie came from set down to win the all chinese showdown with peng shuai
monday and secure her place in the australian open second round
zheng who has slipped down the rankings to after abandoning the chinese
state sports system to manage her own career was in disarray during the first
set crashing before recovering to take the next two sets
it was gutsy victory for zheng over her friend and sets her up with second
round clash against either th seeded spaniard maria jose martinez sanchez or
russian evgeniya rodina
it was the pair first match against each other since when peng scored
three set win in shenzhen
oil tumbles in asian trade on economic concerns
singapore jan afp
oil fell in asian trade monday as economic concerns continued to weigh on
investor sentiment analysts said
new york main contract light sweet crude for february delivery fell cents
to dollars barrel
brent north sea crude for february delivery was down cents to dollars
oil is under pressure primarily from economic considerations said victor
shum singapore based analyst with energy consultancy purvin and gertz
some of the economic data out of the us were not really robust and so these
data raised doubts about the health of the us consumer and the strength of the
us economy
the us is the world biggest energy consumer and global demand for oil has been
affected to large degree by the us economic slowdown
data released friday showed us consumer prices barely rose in december and was
interpreted by economists as sign of lingering weakness in the economy where
consumer spending is major driver of economic activity
the us is still in the grip of intense disinflationary forces despite the
basis effect lifting the headline year on year rate deflation risk is real
said ian shepherdson chief us economist at high frequency economics
meanwhile the international energy agency on friday said oil demand in
would be sluggish in the developed world with emerging markets accounting for
any increases
the agency left unchanged prior forecast of percent rise in global
demand this year to million barrels per day
ban vows to speed up haiti aid
port au prince jan afp
un secretary general ban ki moon vowed to speed up aid efforts to help stricken
haitians as he toured the devastated capital and flew home bearing the un
dead
am here to say we are with you you are not alone this is tsunami like
disaster ban told press conference after flying over the ruined city in
helicopter
the un chief met with president rene preval and had an emotional reunion in
port au prince with michele montas haitian who until late last year was his
spokeswoman
later sunday ban flew back to new york bearing the bodies of some of the un
staffers killed when the un mission in port au prince collapsed in the quake in
what has become the global body worst tragedy ever
am going to haiti with very heavy heart to express solidarity and full
support of the un to the people of haiti ban told journalists at the start of
his day long trip
some un workers are still missing in the rubble of the un mission
but in what ban called small miracle danish un worker was pulled from the
ruins just after the un chief had toured the site struck by tuesday
magnitude quake
jen kristensen was pulled out of the remains of the un six story headquarters
where the walls have become sarcophagus for so many without scratch on him
un firefighter neville fouche expressed his amazement at the rescue five days
after the earthquake how is it possible it is simply miracle he said
ban said the three top priorities were to save as many people as possible to
bring emergency humanitarian aid in the form of water food and medication and
to coordinate the massive aid effort
the un has noted that at least local government structures remained after the
tsunami hit indonesia aceh province but in the haiti town of leogane
for example all public services were lost in the earthquake
between and people are thought to have died in that town alone an
indication of the horrific scale of the catastrophe beyond port au prince
the haitian government said sunday that it had already buried some bodies
in mass graves and was declaring state of emergency until the end of the
month
ban came face to face with the human toll when he toured makeshift tent city
of people which has sprung up on the open air champs de mars square next
to the collapsed presidential palace
we need food we need shelter we need work angry and frustrated haitians
shouted
ban urged them to be patient saying help was coming and warned against
rioting
the fact finding mission was aimed at assessing the caribbean nation needs and
attempting to boost the shattered morale of the brazilian led united nations
stabilization mission in haiti minustah
among the dead being mourned by the un is the head of the mission civilian chief
hedi annabi his brazilian deputy luiz carlos da costa and acting police
commissioner doug coates of the royal canadian mounted police
ban has sent edmond mulet top un peacekeeping official and annabi
predecessor to port au prince to take charge of minustah in an interim
capacity
later he and mulet took part in ceremony to remember the un dead and in
sad symbolic move ban was handed the flag from the un headquarters to take back
to new york with him
the united nations on friday appealed for million dollars from the world
community to help three million quake victims in the western hemisphere
poorest country for the next six months
the money is to be used for urgently needed food water and sanitation medical
supplies tents and blankets logistics and education
ban last toured haiti with former us president bill clinton in march to
