behavior of one person said nigeria information minister dora akunyili
cuba official communist party daily granma blasted the tightened measures as
anti terrorist paranoia
prominent us muslim rights group criticized the move as ethnic profiling
that disproportionately targets muslims including us citizens visiting family
and friends in countries on the lists or performing pilgrimage to the holy
city of mecca in saudi arabia
while singling out travelers based on religion and national origin may make
some people feel safer it only serves to alienate and stigmatize muslims and
does nothing to improve airline security said council on american islamic
relations cair national executive director nihad awad
obama received review into the incident from the cia on monday and met with
his top counterterrorism advisor john brennan
brennan has defended the nation security agencies saying there had been
no smoking gun that could have helped unmask the plot earlier despite warnings
from abdulmutallab father wealthy nigerian banker
as the country searched for answers to how the attack was only narrowly avoided
fbi agents in ghana investigated abdulmutallab stay there amid allegations he
bought his ticket for detroit in the country
obama has revealed that abdulmutallab had spent time in yemen during the summer
where he was allegedly in contact with al qaeda in the arabian peninsula aqap
the group has claimed responsibility for the thwarted attack
secretary of state hillary clinton meanwhile called instability in yemen
global and regional threat adding that the united states would reopen its
embassy closed since sunday only when conditions permit
us lawmakers are gearing up for series of hearings and briefings into the
botched attack next week and lawmakers are expected to receive the preliminary
findings of the reviews obama ordered
burton said it was unlikely the results of the two reviews would be published
basketball yao ming to become father
beijing jan afp
the wife of nba centre yao ming is expecting their first child sending netizens
into frenzy of hope for new generation to lead china basketball team in
the future
the news that ye li is pregnant is true yao ming and his wife would like to
thank all those who are showing concern yao china based spokesman zhang chi
said in statement to leading portal sina com on tuesday
out of concern for ye li state of mind and the need for relaxed
environment it is not convenient to offer any further information concerning
the baby the spokesman said
according to the beijing news the year old houston rocket out for the
season as he recovers from foot injury is expected to become father in
july no decision has been made on where the baby will be born
both yao and his wife once centre on china women national basketball
team are the offspring of professional athletes they reportedly married at
the request of sports officials in their hometown of shanghai
ever since the metre seven foot six inch yao married his metre wife
in speculation has run rampant as to when their first baby would be born
sina com noted
as both yao and his wife were born in the and are only children the
couple will be allowed to give birth to two children under china recently
relaxed one child family planning policy the report said
we hope that yao ming and ye li will go further and raise more pillars of the
next generation of chinese basketball it said
in sina com online poll percent of more than people voting said
that yao child was likely to grow taller than metres while percent
said the baby would grow taller than metres
yao and his wife returned to china late last year to do promotional work for the
shanghai world expo and to launch the season of the shanghai sharks
professional chinese basketball club that yao recently purchased
octomom doctor accused of gross negligence
los angeles jan afp
the fertility doctor who treated the woman who gave birth to octuplets last year
has been accused of gross negligence disciplinary complaint filed by the
california medical board showed monday
the executive director of the board barbara johnston said in the complaint
that dr michael kamrava had acted beyond reasonable judgement by helping nadya
suleman conceive octuplets
suleman who already had six children became tabloid fixation last
january when she successfully gave birth to octuplets in los angeles and was
dubbed octomom
the case triggered widespread condemnation with experts slamming kamrava west
coast ivf clinic in beverly hills which carried out the treatment
under guidelines issued by the american society of reproductive medicine asrm
woman suleman age should have no more than two embryos implanted
experts say multiple birth babies are often born prematurely suleman
octuplets were born nine and half weeks early which puts them at
significantly greater risk of long term health problems
in addition to questioning kamrava treatment methods johnston complaint
also faults the doctor for not referring suleman to mental health professional
after she repeatedly sought fertility treatment
the complaint also noted that kamrava implanted suleman with number of embryos
far in excess of the american society of reproductive medicine recommendation
and beyond the reasonable judgment of any treating physician
asrm expelled kamrava in september but his medical license was not affected
allowing him to continue treating patients
hearing date has not yet been set for the medical board complaint which could
see kamrava license revoked or suspended
taiwan resumes ban on some us beef imports
taipei jan afp
taiwan parliament tuesday resumed ban on certain us beef imports despite
fears of damage to ties with the united states the island most important
ally
lawmakers unanimously passed an amendment to the food health law banning imports
of cow organs minced beef and other items seen as high risk such as spines and
eyes said parliamentary speaker wang jin pyng
this is victory of the taiwanese people and display of people power
said lawmaker kuan bi ling from the opposition democratic progressive party or
dpp members of the governing kuomintang party also backed the amendment
us beef has been restricted for years over mad cow concerns
the taipei based liberty times last week cited an unnamed official as saying the
government hoped any us punitive measures would be limited to trade and not
affect arms sales
taiwan government plans to send delegation of government officials
lawmakers and experts to the united states in bid to limit the fallout from
the beef controversy officials said
the legislators move practically overturned decision by the health department
late last year to allow imports of us beef on the bone cow organs and minced
beef which was met with public outcry
the dpp and some activists have accused the authorities of bowing to pressure
from washington to downplay the alleged health risks of certain us beef
products
taiwan banned all us beef imports in december over fears of mad cow
disease in taipei relaxed the rules to permit imports of boneless beef
some scientists believe that consumption of the brains and spinal cords of
animals infected with mad cow disease can lead to the potentially fatal
creutzfeldt jakob disease in humans
japan finance minister silent on chance of resigning
tokyo jan afp
japan finance minister declined to comment tuesday on whether he might step
down for health reasons saying he was still waiting for test results after
being hospitalised last week with fatigue
the doctors decision will come soon hirohisa fujii said at press
conference after regular cabinet meeting will respect the doctors
decision
asked whether he would consider leaving his post if the test results were not
positive fujii said the question was too hypothetical to answer
fujii the oldest member of prime minister yukio hatoyama cabinet was
admitted to hospital on december due to high blood pressure and fatigue after
weeks of hard work on the national budget
he left hospital two days later to attend cabinet meeting but returned for
further tests
the veteran lawmaker was picked by incoming premier hatoyama in september to
steer the world number two economy out of its worst recession in decades
returning to post he held briefly in the early
one of the few members of the current cabinet with previous government
experience he had planned to retire from politics but was persuaded by hatoyama
to stay on to pursue an agenda of slashing public sector waste
his resignation would be another setback for hatoyama who has seen sharp drop
in his approval ratings since he took office in september with polls indicating
voters worry he lacks leadership
hong kong shares rise percent at break
hong kong jan afp
hong kong shares jumped percent on tuesday as investors welcomed rally on
wall street and strong manufacturing data from the united states
the benchmark hang seng index added points to turnover was
billion hong kong dollars billion us
tennis brisbane international results
brisbane australia jan afp
results from the third day of the brisbane international tennis tournament on
tuesday denotes seed
first round
men
carsten ball aus bt mischa zverev ger
tomas berdych cze bt nick lindahl aus
oleksandr dolgopolov jr ukr bt bernard tomic aus
marcos baghdatis cyp bt mardy fish usa
james blake usa bt sam querrey usa
agricultural bank of china plans dual ipo state media
beijing jan afp
state owned agricultural bank of china plans to raise up to billion yuan
billion dollars through initial public offerings in shanghai and hong kong
state media reported tuesday
the bank the only one of china so called big four lenders yet to list
aims to issue billion shares as early as april the english language china
daily said quoting unnamed sources
afp calls to the bank for comment went unanswered
agricultural bank of china the nation third largest bank by assets mainly
services the rural sector
the industrial and commercial bank of china the world biggest bank by market
capitalisation raised billion dollars in shanghai and hong kong in october
world record share offer at the time
bank of china listed in the shanghai and hong kong markets in mid while
china construction bank made its mainland debut in september nearly two
years after listing in hong kong
peru china free trade deal effective next week official
lima jan afp
peru free trade agreement with china will go into effect on january two
weeks ahead of schedule trade minister martin perez said monday
the pact was signed in april and ratified last month
in principle we calculated the trade agreement would go into effect on
february however the process has been completed and the agreement will
kick in much earlier than foreseen perez said as quoted by the andina news
agency
the peru china free trade agreement was signed april in beijing during
visit by peruvian vice president luis giampietri
the deal will lead to the gradual removal of tariffs on more than percent of
goods ranging from chinese electronic products and machinery to peruvian
fishmeal and minerals according to xinhua news agency
under the accord the two nations also pledged to further open their service
sectors and offer favorable treatment to investors
china has become mineral rich peru second largest trading partner after the
united states
peru is major producer of lead zinc copper tin and gold two way trade
totaled about billion dollars in the first months of last year
according to figures published by the chinese commerce ministry
obama to outline us terror watch list reforms
washington jan afp
president barack obama will outline initial reforms to us terror watch lists and
early findings of probes into the thwarted christmas day attack an
administration official said monday
the official who spoke on condition of anonymity told afp that obama would
unveil an initial series of reforms after meeting tuesday with spy agency
chiefs and heads of government agencies with national security responsibilities
the talks in the secure white house situation room will focus on ongoing reviews
of the foiled attack on us bound jetliner as well as boosted security
measures and improved intelligence sharing for us national security and
counterterrorism operations
the president will receive an update on the investigation from fbi director
robert mueller another on the prosecution of accused plotter umar farouk
abdulmutallab from attorney general eric holder and third on the detection
capabilities review conducted by homeland security secretary janet napolitano
obama top counter terrorism adviser john brennan will lay out findings of his
review of the watch list system and agency heads will talk about reforms they
have already carried out the official said
other expected participants include secretary of state hillary clinton defense
secretary robert gates director of national intelligence dennis blair cia
director leon panetta national security agency director keith alexander and
national security agency director michael leiter
obama will address reporters following the meeting
after returning from his vacation in hawaii on monday obama met with brennan
national security adviser james jones and deputy national security adviser tom
donilon to go over progress made in the initial review into the attack all
three are also scheduled to attend tuesday talks
abdulmutallab year old nigerian is alleged to have tried to detonate
explosives sewn in his underwear as the plane approached detroit to land but
was overpowered by passengers on the flight from amsterdam
the administration ordered tight new security measures for us bound passengers
including random patdowns and baggage checks
travelers flying from or via countries including iran nigeria yemen and
cuba will have to undergo mandatory enhanced screening before boarding their us
bound flights under the new rules which got underway monday
china river pollution serious after oil spill govt
beijing jan afp
two tributaries of china yellow river have been seriously polluted by an oil
spill further contaminating badly tainted drinking water resources the
government said tuesday
up to litres gallons of diesel spilled into the chishui and wei
rivers on wednesday last week after pipeline operated by china largest oil
producer china national petroleum corp ruptured state media said
due to this incident the chishui river was seriously polluted and the wei
river was relatively seriously polluted the government in northern shaanxi
province said in statement posted tuesday on its website
but it said the pollution on the wei river had been effectively controlled
water quality on the two rivers had on monday reached grade five the worst
level in china pollution monitoring scale after falling off the register
following the oil spill it said
level five water is unfit for drinking but can be used for agricultural
purposes according to government standards
the two rivers flow into the yellow river one of china longest rivers and the
source of drinking water for millions of people including residents of eight
cities that lie downstream from the oil spill xinhua news agency said
on sunday diesel was detected in water in the sanmenxia reservoir on the yellow
river in neighbouring henan province it said
in an effort to contain the pollution authorities shut down electricity
production on the sanmenxia dam in an effort to keep the contamination from
flowing downstream to the cities of zhengzhou and kaifeng the report said
the two cities with total population of nearly million people get up to
percent of their tap water from the yellow river the report said residents
in the cities have long depended on bottled water for drinking
more than years of unbridled economic growth have left most of china lakes
and rivers heavily polluted while the nation urban dwellers also face some of
the world worst air pollution
more than million chinese currently do not have access to safe drinking
water according to government data
rugbyu melbourne rebels named as new super team
sydney jan afp
australian rugby chiefs on tuesday named the melbourne rebels as the new team in
next year expanded super series ending lengthy selection process
the australian rugby union aru handed control of the team to the rebels
consortium headed by businessman harold mitchell allowing it to start
recruiting officials and players
rugby chiefs have been mulling which consortium will run the new franchise since
november when melbourne was named as host city for the th super team beating
off strong competition from south africa eastern cape
inevitably these things take while but wouldn say it been tortuous
think it been challenging aru chief executive john neill told reporters
but the outcome we ve reached with harold and his team is good one for rugby
good one for the aru and good one for rugby in melbourne
the rebels will be australia fifth team alongside the new south wales
waratahs queensland reds western force and brumbies in the southern
hemisphere elite provincial competition
south africa new zealand and australia rugby sanzar is moving to expand its
current super formerly super competition from next season in bid to
boost popularity
oil stays above dollars in asian trade
singapore jan afp
oil prices edged up in asian trade tuesday supported by higher consumption of
heating fuel due to cold snap in the northern hemisphere analysts said
data showing that the us manufacturing sector posted its strongest pace of
activity since april also bolstered prices with analysts saying that
firmer recovery in the world biggest economy is good for energy demand
new york main futures contract light sweet crude for delivery in february
was up cents to dollars barrel in morning trade
brent north sea crude for february delivery gained cents to dollars
it an encouraging sign to see quite reasonable declines in the stockpiles of
distillates so you ve got bit of momentum in the market said mark pervan
senior commodities analyst at anz bank in melbourne
prices were also lifted by news of robust activity in the us manufacturing
sector in further sign that the us economy key engine for global growth
is well on its way to recovering from deep recession
the institute for supply management said its manufacturing index also known as
the purchasing managers index climbed to percent in december from
percent in november for fifth consecutive month of expansion
the figure was stronger than the consensus estimate of modest rise to
percent any number above percent indicates growth
most analysts are brushing over their outlook and think most of the
market is taking more favourable outlook on demand than last year pervan
said
london based consultancy capital economics said the rebound in the us
manufacturing index should restore some faith in the sustainability of the
industrial recovery
however its said the continued decline in construction spending illustrates
that the recovery is still far from being an economy wide phenomenon
tennis auckland classic venue evacuated over bomb scare
auckland jan afp
police evacuated the stadium hosting the auckland classic women wta event here
tuesday due to bomb scare as handful of anti israel demonstrators picketed
the venue
protesters denied any link to the scare and police said they had found the owner
of an unattended bag that sparked the evacuation and that normal procedure had
been followed
play started minutes late after the all clear was given delaying the
appearance of israel shahar peer who went on to beat unseeded slovenian
polona hercog
spokesman for the eight protesters john minto said the global peace and
justice auckland group had sent letter to peer asking her to withdraw from the
tournament because of israel policies towards the palestinians
the group launched similar protest outside the asb tennis centre last year but
left halfway through peer opening match this time the group plans to stay as
long as the year old remains in the tournament
we will definitely be here if she progresses minto said
britain new airport scanners could break child porn laws
london jan afp
the british government said tuesday it was working to allay fears that body
scanners being introduced at airports would break laws against creating indecent
images of children
prime minister gordon brown said this week heathrow and other british airports
will introduce body scanners as part of efforts by countries to tighten
security following the failed us airliner bomb plot on christmas day
privacy campaigners told the guardian that the images created by the machines
were so graphic they amounted to virtual strip searching and have called for
safeguards to protect the privacy of passengers involved
terri dowty of civil rights group action on rights for children said the
scanners could breach child protection laws which made it illegal to create an
indecent image or pseudo image of child
they do not have the legal power to use full body scanners in this way she
told the newspaper in comments published tuesday
department for transport spokesman said code of practice was being drawn up
for airport staff who will use the scanners
we understand the concerns expressed about privacy in relation to the
deployment of body scanners he said
it is vital staff are properly trained and we are developing code of practice
to ensure these concerns are properly taken into account
existing safeguards also mean those operating scanners are separated from the
device so unable to see the person to whom the image relates and these
anonymous images are deleted immediately he added
some countries led by the united states have announced additional security
measures at airports since nigerian man was charged with trying to blow up
us bound jet on december
umar farouk abdulmutallab reportedly confessed to being trained by an al
qaeda bombmaker in yemen for the suicide mission on the northwest airlines
flight from amsterdam to detroit
it was foiled when explosives allegedly sewn into the man underwear failed to
detonate and passengers jumped on him
brazilian floods kill hopes dim amid grim search
angra dos reis brazil jan afp
rescue teams scoured ravines and hillsides monday searching for survivors of
landslides that have killed people in the past days as hopes dimmed with each
passing hour
searchers found four bodies on monday in angra dos reis beach city
kilometers miles south of rio de janeiro and firefighters said they thought
more bodies could still be found
one of the bodies was that of baby who was not on the list of the missing
this baby was probably with adults who also were buried said pedro machado
civil defense official
some angra inhabitants began evacuating their homes monday by order of the
authorities there an imminent danger of new landslides mayor tuca jordao
told reporters
authorities declined to provide an estimate of how many people were abandoning
their homes but they said sunday that around houses in high risk areas of
the city had been condemned or declared out of bounds
can think about anything else can barely give thanks for being alive
the walls of the home we built with so much sacrifice are already developing
cracks carmen maia reis told reporters after emptying her house of
belongings
her house like many others will be torn down but police have stepped up
patrols of the condemned buildings to prevent looting
angra overlooks ilha grande island where people were killed in friday
landslides including in luxury hotel nestled at the foot of jungle
covered hill
some guests were staying at the hotel sankay which catered to brazilian and
foreign tourists seeking remote beachside hideaway it was not immediately
known if foreigners were among the dead
under blue skies and hot summer sun about rescue workers and sniffer dogs
on monday were searching tonnes of mud and rocks that swept everything out to
sea
angra dos reis was hit by devastating floods in when people were killed
and rescue operations lasted three months
nba wade leads short handed heat past hawks
miami jan afp
dwyane wade scored points with eight rebounds monday to lead miami to
nba victory over atlanta despite the absence of heat center jermaine neal
michael beasley scored of his points in the first half as the heat took
charge of the contest early
udonis haslem scored points and quentin richardson grabbed rebounds for
miami which snapped three game skid
the hawks had entered the game averaging points but were held to season
low they also lost the battle on the boards
jamal crawford came off the bench to score points for atlanta who have lost
four in row for the first time since january of last year
joe johnson points made him the only hawks starter in double figures
atlanta have dominated miami in recent years winning of the last meetings
including postseason games they knocked the heat out of last year first round
of the playoffs in seven games
neal was sidelined by strained groin and hip flexor he has experienced
soreness in his groin and hip for about two weeks but the team were hopeful he
would be able to return on wednesday when miami host boston
major chilean copper mines go on strike
santiago jan afp
workers at two mines owned by chile codelco company the world biggest
copper mining concern went on strike monday demanding higher pay and better
work benefits
miners at the chuquicamata and mina sur mines which together account for four
percent of the world copper production are calling for percent pay
hike as copper prices hit month peak at more than dollars per tonne
analysts said copper prices were sent higher by the strike amid fears that
market supply of the commodity will become tighter
both mines belong to codelco the state owned national copper corporation of
chile which produces around million tonnes of copper per year and employs
around workers
about third of the unionized miners failed to show up when their shifts began
at am gmt monday
union leaders said percent of the work force at the two mines joined the
strike
from the start of the day we ve been monitoring the general situation and it
is peaceful codelco human resources chief humberto fernandois told
reporters
some banners posted outside mining headquarters proclaimed all of chile is
benefiting from copper except calama referring to town near chuquicamata
the biggest open pit copper mine in the world
codelco said it has contingency plans to cope with the strike but offered no
details la tercera daily said the company has enough copper reserves for
days and will be able to honor all its january contracts
the company later made new offer to workers raising its proposed wage hike
from percent to percent and increasing bonus payment in bid to end
the strike
union leader hernan guerrero said the offer would be discussed at an emergency
meeting of the rank and file who would vote on it on tuesday
codelco said in statement its new offer was made in the belief it is possible
to work with union leaders and workers toward solution
the government regretted the strike action in one of the treasury biggest
revenue generating sectors
we did everything possible to avoid it but it could not be done this is not
good for the country said president michelle bachelet as the strike got under
way
codelco has been beset by strikes and other worker actions in recent years
which have forced concessions from the company
the copper mining firm could lose eight million dollars per day of strike
action fernandois said
the miners demands for more concessions come as the price of copper which fell
significantly during the global economic crisis has jumped in recent months
amid renewed demand from china the world largest copper consumer
copper prices have rocketed by more than percent since early driven by
signs of global economic recovery after the steep worldwide downturn
chile had copper output of some million tonnes in and was estimated
to have produced similar amount last year accounting for about one third of
global production
us uncovers third gatecrasher at india state dinner
washington jan afp
us authorities said monday that third gatecrasher sneaked into november
white house state dinner for india prime minister after an uninvited couple
raised security concerns
the secret service which protects president barack obama said the individual
came to the white house along with the official indian delegation from nearby
hotel it declined to release much details such as the person name
but the washington post citing an unnamed congressional source reported the
crasher was washington party promoter carlos allen the source read allen name
in official emails and documents that are part of the secret service
investigation according to the newspaper
the post said it spoke with allen last month but that he had denied
knowledge of anything related to the dinner
it also cited an administration official who said the white house has known
about the third gatecrasher since mid december
the person went through required security checks and boarded bus or van from
the indian delegation hotel to the white house to attend obama gala party
for prime minister manmohan singh the secret service said
at present there is nothing to indicate that this individual went through the
receiving line or had contact with the president or first lady it said
rahul chhabra the spokesman for the indian embassy said the person was not
part of the indian delegation
the embassy of india did not arrange his access he said
the state department which generally escorts official guests has undertaken
procedural changes on the handling of foreign delegations according to the
secret service
after boarding the van the group was taken to the white house dropped off at
an unidentified entrance and did not go through any additional screenings or
checkpoints the post said
although allen mingled with administration officials and others on the all star
guest list during the cocktail reception he left before guests sat down for
