serbian glamour girl and th seed ana ivanovic overcame some late nerves to
advance to the second round of the australian open on tuesday as she works to
get her career back on track
the former world number one appeared set for the easiest of wins when she led
with two breaks but her serve dramatically deserted her with the match
within reach
american shenay perry who struggled with her own serve broke back and then had
four break points to get the second set back on serve at
but she could not capitalise and it was relieved ivanovic that finally secured
win after minutes
beaten in the final here by russian maria sharapova in the year old is
looking to put disappointing behind her having battled injuries and
indifferent form
she slipped down the rankings to be outside the top for the first time in
five years finishing the season at
her best performances were reaching the fourth round at wimbledon and the french
open
ivanovic will face either argentinian gisela dulko or slovak republic qualifier
zuzana kucova in the second round
obama first state of the union address set for january
washington jan afp
us president barack obama will deliver his first state of the union address on
january the white house announced monday
the speech in which the president discusses the condition of the country and
outlines his legislative priorities to joint session of congress is scheduled
to start at pm gmt january the white house said
the address will be broadcast live on national television and will be streamed
live on www whitehouse gov http www whitehouse gov the white house said
during brutal first year in the white house obama has rarely recreated the
passion of his euphoric campaign but has emerged as calm disciplined
and sometimes reserved figure dealing with the nation severe problems
after obama january inauguration some observers proclaimed an era of
bipartisan politics and racial harmony but those lofty hopes dissolved in
washington political tumult
the us president has seen his stratospheric approval ratings of year ago
plunge to the perilous sub percent range and with unemployment at percent
he is getting low marks in polls on his management of the economy
supporters say that obama inherited terrible economic and political legacy
from his predecessor republican george bush but republicans brand obama
job killing president who made bad situation worse
many experts believe obama prospects will only recover when the us economy
does
the us president turned up the rhetorical heat at meeting with worshippers at
washington church sunday discussing his first year in office in what was
effectively an update of his inaugural address
you know folks ask me sometimes why look so calm obama said
have confession to make there are times when not so calm there are
times when progress seems too slow there are times when the words that are
spoken about me hurt there are times when the barbs sting
there are times when it feels like all these efforts are for naught he added
change is so painfully slow in coming and have to confront my own doubts
obama said
football wenger wants arsenal to seize golden opportunity
london jan afp
arsene wenger admits arsenal have golden opportunity to underline their title
credentials as they bid to go top of the premier league with two goal victory
over bolton on wednesday
wenger side defeated bolton at the reebok stadium on sunday and repeat
of that result in north london would be enough to send the gunners above chelsea
and manchester united into first place
after being widely written off as also rans in november when chelsea win
at the emirates stadium left arsenal points behind the leaders there has
been significant change in fortunes for wenger men
while chelsea and united have squandered points in matches they were expected to
win arsenal have been able to put together an impressive run and wenger knows
it is essential not to waste the chance to grab that coveted first place
it is important psychologically not mathematically so much wenger said we
have good opportunity to do it so we have to focus
when the season started we were not all convinced in our squad maybe that we
could be where we are now now that we are there we want to have go
even if arsenal do go top of the table chelsea will have game in hand on
their london rivals so there is no chance of wenger getting carried away
but the french coach is convinced his young team are capable of lasting the
distance in the title race as long as captain cesc fabregas remains fit and in
form
fabregas has been arguably the premier league best midfielder this season and
produced majestic display against bolton capped by his th league goal of the
season and major role in arsenal second goal
games against title rivals chelsea and united are looming on the horizon for
arsenal so wenger is well aware of the importance of keeping fabregas on his
game
he looks like real general in midfield now and of course that helps as we
go into period of important games wenger said
it was test of character at the reebok stadium and they have shown plenty
which is very good news for us
over the years our strength has increased and we showed we have matured we
know when to go for the fights and we know when to put the ball down
without doubt there is still more to come because we are young team we
have very tough run of games coming up but let be focused on the next one
and keep it simple
with french winger samir nasri and young midfielders aaron ramsey and fran
merida who scored arsenal second against bolton ruled out through injury
wenger is relieved to welcome back theo walcott and denilson
england forward walcott has struggled to shake off host of different injuries
this season but his return will add much needed injection of energy to an
attack already missing robin van persie and nicklas bendtner
they are available for wednesday it is big boost to have them back of course
because they were out for while and it gives us some fresh players as well
wenger said
bolton new boss owen coyle would love to have players of walcott calibre to
bolster his squad as he tries to drag them away from the relegation zone
coyle has had just days to work with his players since arriving from burnley
as the replacement for gary megson but he has already impressed the likes of
captain kevin davies
have seen big change in some of the players from the lads who have been
starting to those on the fringes and those training with the reserves davies
said
have been really impressed with the way the players have responded to him and
think that is credit to him
speaking to players individually they have been impressed with his man
management skills
obama calls lula about joint us brazil canada relief effort
brazil jan afp
us president barack obama called his brazilian counterpart wednesday to propose
joint us brazilian canadian leadership for relief efforts in quake stricken
haiti brazilian government official said monday
obama and president luiz inacio lula da silva spoke for about minutes the
official said with obama suggesting that his government and its chief ally in
the region brazil should work together in rescue efforts
the official with lula office said the us president proposed that the united
states brazil and canada should lead and coordinate efforts by the
international community of haiti donors and other parties
obama and lula discussed aid related issues with the brazilian leader stressing
the need to supplement the efforts of the un mission in haiti minustah
especially with regards to the distribution of food and water
brazil heads minustah which has roughly troops police and about
civilian personnel
un secretary general ban ki moon asked the un security council monday to deploy
an additional police and soldiers to haiti
the united states has approximately us troops overseeing and providing
security to the aid effort and has promised to send more in the coming
weeks
football mascherano says all not lost as spurs await
liverpool england jan afp
javier mascherano believes liverpool can still secure place in next season
champions league despite accepting they deserve all the criticism that has come
their way
even though liverpool have failed to win seven times in their last premier
league matches rafael benitez under performing team will move to within one
point of fourth place if they defeat tottenham hotspur at anfield here on
wednesday
the match against spurs who currently occupy the premier league fourth and
final qualifying spot for europe elite competition has taken on extra
significance for liverpool following their recent woeful form
having seen his side suffer early exits from this season champions league and
fa cup as well as falling out of the race for the english title benitez knows
the only way he can salvage the campaign is by liverpool finishing in fourth
place
but liverpool task against tottenham has been made harder by the absence of
inspirational captain steven gerrard hamstring star striker fernando torres
knee and israeli playmaker yossi benayoun rib who all suffered injuries in
last week shock fa cup loss to second division reading
in the trio absence liverpool could only manage draw in the league against
stoke on saturday but argentina captain mascherano said the team could overcome
their difficulties by pulling together as squad
the situation is enough to get anyone down but this team is going to keep
going forward because of the spirit and history of the club said mascherano
it is normal that we are being criticised we are all to blame for going out
of the champions league and fa cup
we share the credit when things go well and the blame when things go badly
rafa has difficult job because this season key players are getting injured
which would upset the plans of any coach
fernando torres and steven gerrard are fundamental for us and any team would
miss them mascherano added
it is true we are not in certain competitions now but there are still things to
resolve
we have to sort out the problems and win for once prefer to get the
points over the level of our performance
ryan babel is expected to miss the spurs match after angering benitez on the eve
of the stoke match by revealing his frustration on micro blogging site twitter
at not being included in the squad
tottenham have not won league game at anfield since yet redknapp side
arrive at anfield on the back of six match unbeaten run
they surprised liverpool on the opening day of the season benoit assou ekotto
and sebastien bassong setting the tone for the merseyside club poor season by
scoring in home win at white hart lane
redknapp is well aware of the value to liverpool of their england midfielder and
spain forward
be lying if stood here and said that the absence of gerrard and torres
won matter said redknapp of course they are two world class players and
they will miss them
but they have strong squad have never been there and had an easy game it
is difficult place to go
tottenham are without winger aaron lennon due to injury while ledley king is
also expected to be missing with damaged knee
former liverpool striker robbie keane is available but might have to make do
with place on the substitutes bench after being replaced by peter crouch
another anfield old boy during last saturday goalless draw with strugglers
hull city
when crouch came on against hull and not being disrespectful to robbie we
suddenly looked more dangerous said redknapp
they put so many bodies in there and it was hard to play through them
when crouch came on we could miss them out and drop balls up to him and he won
headers and we were getting shots on goal
football time for neill villa to deliver
birmingham england jan afp
martin neill has overseen four years of steady progress since his arrival at
villa park but he will know he will be expected to deliver silverware sooner
rather than later
the league cup represents an ideal opportunity for neill who has established
love affair with this much maligned competition both as player with
nottingham forest and manager with leicester city to bring the trophy to
another midlands club
few members of villa largely youthful squad have won major honours while not
since when they won the league cup have the club brought senior trophy
back to their birmingham base
but on wednesday they will be one match away from wembley final when they face
blackburn rovers in the second leg of their league cup semi final having built
lead against their premier league rivals in the opening encounter at ewood
park
neill men will be firm favourites at villa park and their american chairman
randy lerner who has backed his manager with plenty of cash will be in the
stands to see if his side can book place in the first major final of the
english season
villa manager was in no doubt what lifting trophy would mean to the club as
whole regardless of any financial impact
the club will obviously survive without winning the competition but it would be
really great to win something for football club of this standing it would be
fantastic neill said
we should be contesting more semi finals and finals if at all possible it
not easy now with number of clubs improving their standards like tottenham
hotspur and manchester city
there are only four teams left in the competition manchester city and
manchester united are in the other semi final but we re still long way away
from wembley
republic of ireland international richard dunne one of neill shrewdest
signings since his appointment believes the former northern ireland midfielder
can bolster his reputation at villa park by leading the club to the final
think it would be great for martin to win trophy the central defender
signed from manchester city at the start of the season said
obviously the fans love him and if he could bring them trophy it would only
push him higher he added
but the club is progressing and for us to push on to the next level and win
cup is the start of new and successful era for the club
the main thing is to focus on the semi final and not get carried away with
thinking about wembley teams can get sidetracked thinking too far ahead
people are already asking about possible final against manchester city but
ve not got any preference just want to win trophy dunne added
my only concern is aston villa and getting them into the final
blackburn manager sam allardyce meanwhile admits it will be daunting task to
overcome the deficit
rovers head into the game in good spirits after league win over fulham on
sunday but allardyce knows their first leg loss has left blackburn with an
uphill struggle
we wanted something to take into the second leg and we now have huge task
obviously allardyce said we must look forward though and if we get the first
goal and our luck changes we can make game of it
nba high flying robinson lifts knicks over pistons
new york jan afp
nate robinson made his name with spectacular dunks but he showed he no slouch
when it comes to the long ball either
the year old american sank five of nine three pointers and finished with
points as the new york knicks outlasted detroit in the second half of
home and home series
wilson chandler had points while david lee added rebounds and points
for new york which lost to the pistons on saturday
this marked new york second win in their last six games
before the game we just talked about winning by any means necessary said
robinson who announced monday he would attempt to become the first three time
winner of the nba slam dunk contest during all star weekend next month
so our whole aspect was to just come out play hard and win even if it was an
ugly win we just had to get the job done
robinson first won the slam dunk competition in and captured it again in
rodney stuckey had points for detroit who had won three straight heading
into monday contest ben wallace finished with season high points to go
with rebounds
he played extremely well pistons head coach john kuester said of wallace
he competed the entire season he did great job on the boards we needed
other people to step up and we didn get the production in certain situations
senate election pushes obama agenda to cliff edge
boston massachusetts jan afp
voters in massachusetts decide on new senator tuesday and possibly the fate
of president barack obama ambitious reform agenda
the special election to fill the seat of the late democratic veteran edward
kennedy could see republican scott brown score stunning upset against democrat
martha coakley in what was believed to be one of her party safest seats
the latest public policy polling survey conducted over the weekend gives brown
percent to coakley percent while poll commissioned by the politico
website showed the republican ahead to percent
another poll showed the two neck and neck
the stakes are huge not so much for who will represent the northeastern state
but because win by brown would demolish the fragile supermajority democrats
use in the senate to override opposition to health care reform and the rest of
obama agenda
with senate votes democrats are able to prevent republican filibusters and
push through legislation with only democrats would need republican support
which in today increasingly rancorous partisan divide looks unlikely to
happen
the president showed his alarm sunday when he took time off from the haiti
earthquake crisis and other pressing issues to campaign in boston
he told noisy crowd of coakley supporters that the big initiatives of his
presidency the health care plan clean energy initiatives and attempts to
repair the damage from last year financial meltdown are on the line
lot of these measures are going to rest on one vote in the united states
senate obama said that why the opponents of change and progress have been
pouring money in
incredibly obama faces this perilous situation just year after his january
inauguration when he made lofty promise of cross party cooperation
republicans who took drubbing during the presidential and general
election now believe they are poised for comeback while democrats are
scared
most damaging of all to the democrats would be the collapse of their bogged down
health care reform plan the bill is said by the party to be almost ready for
passing but if that th senate vote is not there obama landmark initiative
could die
democrats are racing to draw up contingency plans for rapid passing of health
care in the event of losing the massachusetts seat but that would likely
provoke firestorm of republican complaints
republicans could start legal battle over the legitimacy politico reported
equally alarming for obama is the potential for this special election to herald
defeat in the nationwide mid term congressional elections in november
especially troubling for democrats is brown popularity with independents
crucial factor in many elections across the country
registered democrats outnumber republicans three to one in massachusetts but
there are even more independents and public policy polling found that brown
leads to percent in that sector
also he is getting percent of the vote from people who backed obama in last
november presidential election while coakley is getting only four percent of
one time john mccain supporters
republican strategist bradley blakeman wrote on politico that if brown wins
then republicans will see the race as barometer of the storm that is coming
this fall for democrats throughout the country
democrats wrote blakeman will batten down the hatches and hunker down
incumbent democrats will run for the hills away from obama and their
congressional leaders
the analytical rothenberg report said the result as usual in special elections
could depend on turnout and therefore is harder to predict
however the combination of public and private survey research and anecdotal
information now strongly suggests that republican scott brown will defeat
democrat martha coakley
insideradvantage which conducted the poll for politico claimed that coakley
was finished
actually think the bottom is falling out said insideradvantage ceo matt
towery think that this candidate is in freefall clearly this race is
imploding for her
in last minute bid to reverse that momentum coakley aired new tv campaign
ad monday featuring obama appearance on sunday in which he praised her
achievements that analysts said was aimed at getting the party base to hit
the polls
the white house insists that coakley can pull off victory and that health
care reform is safe
the plan to get health care passed is to continue to do what we re doing in
ironing out the differences between the house and senate spokesman robert
gibbs said sunday
said this on friday when was asked and ll say it on sunday on the ride
home we think martha coakley is going to win this race
tennis australian open results day two
melbourne jan afp
results from day two of the australian open at melbourne park here tuesday
denotes seeding
men singles
st round
jarkko nieminen fin bt nick lindahl aus
women singles
st round
ana ivanovic srb bt shenay perry usa
sandra zahlavova cze bt coco vandeweghe usa
aravane rezai fra bt sania mirza ind
marion bartoli fra bt rossana de los rios par
ekaterina makarova rus bt virginie razzano fra
angelique kerber ger bt olga govortsova blr
nadia petrova rus bt edina gallovits rou
apple tablet computer expected at january event
washington jan afp
apple announced monday it would show off its latest creation in san francisco
later this month an event expected to feature the unveiling of long awaited
tablet computer
please join apple on january for special event said typically cryptic
email invitation to journalists from the company behind the macintosh computer
the ipod and the iphone
come see our latest creation said the invitation which featured colorful
blobs of paint surrounding the apple logo
the cupertino california based company did not supply any further details about
the invitation only event to be held at am pacific time gmt at the
yerba buena center for the arts theater in san francisco
apple used the same venue in september for an ipod event featuring the first
public appearance by steve jobs after nearly six months of medical leave during
which the apple chief executive underwent liver transplant
silicon valley has been buzzing for months with rumors that apple plans to
release touchscreen tablet computer that resembles an oversized ipod touch and
analyst douglas mcintyre said the company now needs to deliver
watch apple shares drop percent if it is not the anticipated tablet
computer and percent if steve jobs is not there with the tablet in his hand
mcintyre wrote on wallst com
according to the wall street journal the color multimedia device will allow
users to browse the web listen to music watch movies or television shows and
also serve as an electronic book and newspaper reader
the journal said the apple tablet will have to inch to
centimeter screen and may begin to ship in march
apple routinely refuses to comment on products ahead of their release and
true to form the company has ignored the rumors sweeping technology blogs
letting anticipation and speculation build
the specter of an apple itablet or islate however hovered over the
international consumer electronics show in las vegas earlier this month with
makers of tablet computers jockeying for head start in the marketplace
computer giant hewlett packard was among the companies seeking to get jump on
apple and microsoft chief executive steve ballmer provided glimpse on stage of
an hp slate computer during an appearance at the annual gadget show
but few companies generate the buzz of apple and tablet computer would be the
company first major product release since it came out with the popular iphone
three years ago
no consumer products company today even comes close to apple ability to
generate hype and then build market dominance on top of that hype technology
analyst carmy levy said
apple goal with its new tablet based machine is very similar to what it set
out to do when it entered the media player market with its ipod in and the
smartphone market with the iphone in levy said
specifically the company wants to redefine market where other companies have
tried and largely failed to succeed he added
levy said he expected the device to cost around dollars while other analysts
told the wall street journal it may cost as much as dollars
valleywag com silicon valley gossip website recently triggered apple ire
by offering rewards of up to dollars for proof that the notoriously
secretive company has made tablet computer
valleywag declared apple the first winner of its contest after receiving
letter from the company lawyers
we believe you and your company have crossed the line by offering bounty for
the theft of apple trade secrets an apple lawyer said in copy of the
letter posted online by valleywag
pakistani al qaeda scientist trial begins in ny
new york jan afp
the trial of pakistani neuroscientist educated in the united states and
accused of trying to kill us personnel in afghanistan was due to start tuesday
in new york
us authorities say aafia siddiqui is an al qaeda linked would be terrorist
who tried to murder american officers on july after she was detained
by security services in afghanistan
siddiqui is refusing to cooperate with the court and has made repeated outbursts
during pre trial hearings and jury selection
last week she was ordered to be removed from the courtroom after she interrupted
proceedings to tell prospective jurors that she had nothing to do with the
september terrorist attacks and that israel was responsible
she also said she did not want jews serving on the jury
judge ruled in july that siddiqui was mentally fit to stand trial
overruling arguments by her lawyers that she suffered from disturbing
hallucinations while in pre trial detention
but year and half after being brought to the united states much remains
mysterious even bizarre in siddiqui case
brilliant graduate from the top ranked massachusetts institute of technology
and brandeis university near boston siddiqui makes an unusual suspect in what
washington calls the war on terror
the frail looking woman appeared on us list of people suspected of links
to al qaeda and is alleged to have married relative of khalid sheikh mohammed
the confessed organizer of the attacks
but despite being dubbed lady qaeda by parts of the us media she has never
been charged with terrorism
the allegation is that she was detained by afghan forces in the provincial town
of ghazni who found on her notes referring to mass casualty attack and
list of new york landmarks including the statue of liberty
then during her detention she allegedly seized visiting us serviceman
rifle and opened fire missed and was shot in return fire
when she was brought to new york custody shortly after she was nursing fresh
bullet wound in her abdomen
the biggest mystery about siddiqui say human rights groups is her whereabouts
during the five years prior to the alleged assault in the afghan town
siddiqui was living in her homeland of pakistan when she vanished in march
this was at time of intense efforts by us backed pakistani security forces to
root out al qaeda and relatives believe she was grabbed in one of these
operations
where she went then nobody knows
some human rights activists have speculated that siddiqui vanished into secret
us custody and may even have been the legendary prisoner at the bagram
base solitary woman inmate whom other detainees claim to have heard
screaming
the us military has denied this saying the allegation was unfounded
football bordeaux keep an eye on chasing pack
paris jan afp
top meets bottom in france on wednesday with league leaders bordeaux travelling
to apparently doomed grenoble on the back of their draw at home to title
rivals marseille at the weekend
in form lille second will look to extend their winning run in all competitions
to nine games when they visit th ranked sochaux while third placed
montpellier travel to fellow promoted side lens
bordeaux will face the league bottom club without goalkeeper cedric carrasso
and centre back marc planus after both failed to finish sunday game with om
carrasso due to an ankle injury and planus because of red card
youngster lamine sane is expected to deputise for the suspended planus with
veteran ulrich rame continuing in place of carrasso
grenoble who are points adrift of safety at the foot of the table could
call upon togolese midfielder alaixys romao after he returned from the africa
cup of nations in angola following the terrorist attack on the togo squad
bordeaux skipper alou diarra says that his side are well aware of the threats
posed by their title challengers
we know that lille are very good team one of the best in the league and it
doesn surprise me much to see them in this position he said
they won give anything up until the end they re potential candidates for the
title and it nice to see the gap between us and marseille we have big
enough lead to really go for it
marseille who remain points behind bordeaux in fourth place but still have
game in hand host third bottom le mans
argentina left back gabriel heinze misses out with thigh injury sustained
against bordeaux and coach didier deschamps must choose between garry bocaly
right back laurent bonnart or the fit again cyril rool to take his place
losing an important player said deschamps who could be without the
former real madrid man for up to four weeks
lyon got their campaign back on track by winning at nancy on saturday but
they like marseille are points off the leaders pace and face taxing trip
to eighth placed lorient
lorient have started the year really well said lyon coach claude puel who
added that new eight million euro signing dejan lovren is not yet fit enough to
