years looking forward to we are targeting revenue growth within our
percent goal range
kraft is the world second biggest snacks group after nestle cadbury is the
second largest confectionery company behind mars
tie up between kraft and cadbury would merge leading kraft brands oreo
biscuits and maxwell house coffee with cadbury dairy milk chocolate and
trident chewing gum
alert
iran judiciary confirms nuclear scientist killed in bomb blast
tennis serena warning for open rivals after easy win
sydney jan afp
world number one serena williams has warned her australian open rivals she will
be tough to beat after dropping just three games to reach the quarter finals of
the sydney international on tuesday
the times grand slam champion had minute workout in temperatures topping
degrees celsius degrees fahrenheit in her first match of the season and
put away spaniard maria jose martinez sanchez
williams will have last eight match against rd ranked vera dushevina who
accounted for fellow russian elena vesnina
the american bidding for her fifth australian title this month after winning
last year is typically supremely confident in her ability to take on all
comers
feel like have no pressure on myself she said if play the best can
play ve always said very difficult to beat
her task of landing the sydney wta title has eased with the loss of seeds
caroline wozniacki jelena jankovic and vera zvonareva in her half of the draw
and she has won her only meeting with dushevina
don care who play whenever play someone they play their best she
said
whoever play believe me they re gonna play like number one on that
particular day against me for whatever reason so it doesn matter for me
williams who faces twin belgian threat at this year opening grand slam from
us open champion kim clijsters and seven times major winner justine henin has
won her four australian opens in alternate years
know don say that she told reporter well it not bad thing to
win every other year so not gonna complain about that
so want to win this year but if can win guaranteed next year ok with
that too
world number two dinara safina kept on course to face williams in friday final
when she came back from down in the opening set to beat the th ranked
agnieszka radwanska of poland
the russian who was blitzed by williams in last year australian open final
advanced to the quarter finals with victory
well little bit of slow start but it was start it was winning start
safina said
third seed svetlana kuznetsova crashed out to slovak dominika cibulkova
to continue her dismal run at the sydney tournament
used to it don always play good here only once played the final
here with justine henin kuznetsova said
the th ranked cibulkova will play sixth seed victoria azarenka who saw off
japanese veteran kimiko date krumm in more than two and half
hours
nato revises afghan death toll down to five
kabul jan afp
the nato force in afghanistan on tuesday revised down its death toll for the
previous day stating five foreign soldiers were killed rather than six
three us soldiers one french trooper and british bomb disposal expert were
killed on monday nato international security assistance force isaf said
isaf had said that another soldier died in the clash in eastern afghanistan
which killed the french trooper but said on tuesday that the soldier had in
fact been badly injured
this isaf member was wounded but remains in critical condition the us led
coalition said in statement
the us servicemen were killed fighting insurgents in southern afghanistan the
heartland of the taliban led insurgency while the british ordnance expert was
killed in blast in southern helmand province
total of foreign soldiers have now been killed in afghanistan this year
according to an afp tally based on one kept by independent website
www icasualties org
last year saw record number of international military casualties in
afghanistan up from in
there are about foreign troops under us and nato command based in
afghanistan with about more due to be deployed this year to try to turn
around the costly war against the resurgent taliban
alert
iran lecturer killed in blast taught nuclear physics website
increased security in baghdad over bomb fears officials
baghdad jan afp
iraqi security forces sealed off baghdad on tuesday after being tipped off that
bomb laden cars had been parked in the city prompting traffic gridlock and
fears of violence officials said
security forces have taken preventative security measures as part of search
operation in most of baghdad quarters which has blocked traffic qassim atta
spokesman for the city military command told afp
the iraqi capital was gridlocked for over an hour with cars buses and lorries
backed up as several bridges and routes into the city were closed forcing
people to travel on foot as military helicopters circled overhead
defence ministry official said information had been received that vehicles
containing bombs had been placed in the capital
the commander of security forces then gave the order to stop vehicles
entering the capital the official said confirming the threat of attacks
bridges across the tigris river that lead into the heart of the capital were
temporarily closed following the early morning security alert but re opened
around am gmt
insurgents weakened in the past year have in recent months changed tactics and
mounted successful high profile attacks on hard targets such as government
buildings rather than so called soft targets in civilian areas
co ordinated vehicle bombings in baghdad in august october and december killed
nearly people in all and wounded more than
tuesday heightened state of security comes ahead of the conflict wracked
country general election on march
there are widespread fears in the wake of the bloody attacks conducted in
baghdad in the second half of that political violence will rise in the
weeks leading up to the vote
fourteen iraqi politicians and parties linked to ousted dictator saddam
hussein baath party have been barred from taking part in the poll move seen
as blow towards efforts at national reconciliation
the election the second since saddam was toppled in us led invasion in
is seen as crucial step towards consolidating iraq democracy and securing
complete us military exit by the end of as planned
the vote had originally been scheduled for january but was delayed because of
repeated disagreements over the electoral law governing the ballot
sick nigeria leader breaks silence bbc
lagos jan afp
nigerian president umaru yar adua has broken long silence he has kept since
going into hospital in saudi arabia for heart treatment in november telling the
bbc he hopes to resume his duties
the condition of the president has been the source of widespread speculation in
nigeria and on monday some online publications reported he had died the
previous day
nigeria opposition has also demanded tangible proof that yar adua is alive
but speaking to the bbc by telephone yar adua said he was recovering
at the moment am undergoing treatment and getting better from the
treatment hope that very soon there will be tremendous progress which will
allow me to get back home the bbc quoted him as saying
wish at this stage to thank all nigerians for their prayers for my good
health and for their prayers for the nation
yar adua has not been seen or heard from since he was flown to hospital in
saudi arabia on november to be treated for acute pericarditis an
inflammation of the membrane around the heart
critics complain that his long absence has stalled governance in africa most
populous country and second largest producer of oil and there have been growing
calls for the president to step down
the interview with the bbc was published hours after the president spokesman
olusegun adeniyi moved to dismiss mounting rumours over his state of health
the speculations are false the president is alive and actually getting
better he is very much conscious can talk and has been talking including
making phone calls to some people back home adeniyi told afp late monday
aides have for the past seven weeks repeatedly insisted he is responding well to
treatment
tennis champion progresses at heineken open
auckland jan afp
germany philipp kohlschreiber cleared the first hurdle in his bid to repeat
his heineken open triumph tuesday easily dismissing spain inigo
cervantes huegun in the first round
kohlschreiber swept aside his opponent and afterwards said he was
relieved to have avoided clash with former world number three david
nalbandian late withdrawal from the tournament due to an abdominal injury
found out was not playing nalbandian last night kohlschreiber seeded
five said after securing his second round spot
was surprised and in way happy not to play him in the first round he
very good player and it would have been very difficult match
earlier eighth seed albert montanes of spain beat year old australian
qualifier james lemke converting all six of his break point chances
montanes raced away with the first set but lemke played well from the baseline
to put up more of fight in the second
sixth seed juan monaco took just minutes to dispose of fellow argentinian
horacio zeballos
in meeting between argentina numbers two and three monaco capitalised on
four of his nine break points to secure the win
think served really well the world number said
worked hard in the past month to improve my serve and today think served
six or seven aces which is good for me
american john isner with career high ranking of fought back from set
down to beat spaniard guillermo garcia lopez in just under
two hours
thought we didn play very good first set we both made lot of
mistakes the centimetre six feet nine inches american told reporters
in the second set think it could have gone either way played better
tie break than him in the third was able to play more solid and take
advantages of the opportunities had
lanka president offers pre vote concessions to tamils
colombo jan afp
sri lanka president on tuesday offered concessions to ethnic tamil demands for
greater autonomy ahead of elections in which the minority community could play
decisive role
president mahinda rajapakse who is seeking second term said he was proposing
power sharing arrangements to give minority tamils greater say in the
legislature and address long standing demands for devolution of power
tamils account for percent of sri lanka million population and have
long pushed for regional autonomy
the quest for an independent homeland was the main plank of decades long
armed insurgency by tamil tiger separatists that only ended last year with
final military victory over the rebels
the end of the war does not mean the end of the conflict rajapakse told
foreign correspondents at his tightly guarded temple trees residence in colombo
we need to politically address the needs of tamils
his remarks came days after the main tamil political group the tamil national
alliance pledged to support his main presidential challenger former army chief
sarath fonseka
both men are from the majority sinhalese community if they split the sinhalese
vote at the january polls then the tamil vote could prove the deciding
factor
rajapakse had called the election two years ahead of schedule hoping to benefit
from the final defeat of the tamil tigers
but as the architect of the military victory fonseka can also lay claim to
credit for ending the conflict
fonseka has offered to scrap the all powerful presidential system and revert to
parliamentary democracy while rajapakse is offering more representation for
minority tamils in new legislative arrangements
all this will require amending the constitution and seeking the approval of the
people at referendum rajapakse said the ordinary people simply want to
live in peace but there is demand and need for political settlement
israel will no longer pay for funerals of terrorists
jerusalem jan afp
israel parliament has adopted legislation that bans the state from paying for
the funeral of any citizen who commits terror attacks against the jewish state
state radio said on tuesday
the law was adopted on monday evening with all deputies in attendance out
of voting in favour
this text will be dissuasive factor for potential terrorists miri regev of
the governing likud party who sponsored the bill told the radio
the israeli state generally pays basic funeral costs for its citizens
the legislation is widely seen as directed at arab israelis who make up
percent of the million population but regev insisted it would also apply to
any jew who carries out terrorist attack
gurkha veterans saddened by british ruling
kathmandu jan afp
gurkha veterans in nepal expressed disappointment tuesday at british court
decision to reject test case seeking equal pension rights for the former
soldiers
we are saddened by the court decision said mahendra lal rai general
secretary of the gurkha army ex servicemen organisation
we don understand why we continue to be denied equal pension rights when we
have received settlement rights and equal status with the british army
the case was brought by the british gurkha welfare society on behalf of two
nepalese gurkha veterans who claimed that the government had unlawfully
discriminated against them on the grounds of age and race
those who retired after july were granted equal pensions in
but around veterans who retired before that date and their dependents
receive only third of what their british counterparts get
the british government defended the high court challenge arguing that gurkha
veterans pensions are paid over longer time period than those of their
british counterparts
but ghising secretary of the united british gurkha ex servicemen
association in nepal said veterans groups would continue to campaign for equal
rights
those who retired before july include the cream of the gurkha veterans
winners of the highest military honours he said this issue must be addressed
immediately
in may last year london allowed all gurkha veterans with at least four years
service to settle in britain after high profile campaign led by the actress
joanna lumley
about gurkhas fought for britain in world war and world war ii and
more than have died in british uniform
around gurkhas now serve in the british army including in afghanistan
japan shrugs off jal tumble as asia shares fall
hong kong jan afp
most asian markets were lower tuesday but tokyo clawed its way into the black
after shrugging off wave of selling orders that engulfed crisis hit japan
airlines
shares in asia biggest airline plummeted almost percent as reports pointed
to looming bankruptcy and delisting that would destroy investors stakes under
court ordered restructuring
delisting now looks almost certain so selling won stop smbc friend
research center analyst mitsuru miyazaki told dow jones newswires as jal dived
by the daily limit of yen to yen
despite the wave of selling tokyo nikkei closed up percent or
points to its highest since october analysts said overall
upbeat market sentiment outmuscled the impact of jal troubles
investors were also boosted by american airlines and its partners increasing
their investment offer to jal to billion dollars as it seeks tie up with
the japanese carrier in bid to get foot in the asian market
the new offer up from previous billion dollars sees american raise the
stakes in its battle with rival delta air lines for jal
with speculation over the japan carrier reaching fever pitch transport minister
seiji maehara was reportedly meeting the heads of the airline creditor banks
later tuesday and planning news conference
elsewhere sydney ended down percent or points at and hong
kong was percent off by the break
in sydney minerals firm alumina lost percent to dollars after us firm
alcoa the first blue chip to report quarterly earnings on wall street
posted lower than forecast profit monday alumina and alcoa are joint venture
partners
the big news of the day came from the us in terms of alcoa fourth quarter
earnings report cmc markets analyst david taylor said
despite strong revenues earnings fell short of expectations and the resources
sector took bit of hit
however shanghai was up percent nudged higher after earlier losses on
mild bargain hunting singapore was percent higher ahead of the corporate
earnings season
the dollar was stable in late asian trade as investors eyed upcoming corporate
earnings reports following disappointment over weak us jobs data on friday
the greenback was at yen in tokyo afternoon trade against in new
york late on monday when japanese markets were closed the euro was little
changed at dollars after and to yen from
oil fell in asia on forecasts the severe cold snap in the united states will
ease and quell demand for heating fuel analysts said
new york main futures contract light sweet crude for february delivery stood
at dollars in the afternoon down cents from new york close
it had hit an intraday peak of dollars monday its highest since october
brent north sea crude for february was down cents at
hong kong gold was marginally higher at us dollars an ounce
up from monday close of dollars
in other markets
seoul closed up percent or points at
taipei lost percent or points to close at
investors moved to take profits on previous gains
wellington fell percent or points to
manila added percent or points to
top traded philippine long distance telephone co rose percent to
pesos
dollar steady in asia
tokyo jan afp
the dollar was stable in late asian trade tuesday as traders eyed upcoming
corporate earnings reports following disappointment over last week us jobs
report
the dollar was at yen in tokyo afternoon trade against in new york
late on monday when japanese markets were closed the euro was little changed
at dollars after and to yen from
market players in tokyo returning to work after three day weekend were
unimpressed with last week us labour market report said hideaki inoue chief
forex manager at mitsubishi ufj trust and banking corp
the us economy lost jobs in december official data showed friday
dampening hopes for return to positive employment growth that could lead to
hike in us interest rates and support the greenback
the dollar is set to maintain weak tone into the rest of the week and will
continue to be driven by the gyrations in risk appetite predicted calyon
analyst mitul kotecha
the greenback losses however were capped by recent signs that tokyo is
toughening its stance against strong yen dealers said
new finance minister naoto kan last week called for weaker yen to boost
japan export led economy triggering speculation that the government might
order market intervention to sell the currency
investors are also monitoring us corporate reports for leads on the health of
the world largest economy
we are looking ahead to series of us earning reports for the fourth quarter
inoue said
against asian currencies the dollar rose to south korean won from
on monday to singapore dollars from and to thai
baht from
it increased to philippine pesos from to indonesian rupiah
from and to taiwan dollars from
oil above dollars in asian trade
singapore jan afp
oil fell in asian trade tuesday on forecasts that freezing temperatures in the
united states will moderate and ease demand for heating fuel analysts said but
prices stayed above dollars barrel
new york main futures contract light sweet crude for february delivery was
trading at dollars barrel in the afternoon down cents from the new
york close on monday
the new york contract hit an intra day peak of dollars barrel monday
its highest level since october before slipping into the red as
investors locked in profits for the rest of the day
brent north sea crude for february was down cents at dollars
weaker oil prices are the result of weather forecasts in the united states that
the temperatures would be moderating this week said victor shum senior
principal at purvin and gertz energy consultancy in singapore
it looks like in the us the cold snap is coming to an end
oil prices have nevertheless remained relatively strong despite robust us
supply picture and sentiment may be lifted by expected stronger fourth quarter
company profits in the united states shum said
oil pricing remains very strong given the supply demand balance he said
it going to take two very severe winters to consume all the distillate fuels
that has been stored both onshore and in floating storage facilities
weather aside shum added that the anticipated stronger corporate results would
boost equities and that will likely support oil prices he said
iran university lecturer killed in bomb blast state tv
tehran jan afp
an iranian university lecturer was killed when remote controlled bomb hidden
on his motorbike exploded in tehran on tuesday state run english language press
tv reported
massoud mohammadi professor of tehran university was killed in booby
trapped motorbike blast press tv said adding that it was remote control
bomb blast
the explosion took place near the professor home in qeytariyeh neighbourhood
in northern tehran it said without giving further details
the website of iran state broadcaster said mohammadi was assassinated in
terrorist act by counter revolutionary elements identifying him as
committed revolutionary lecturer
it added that police and security officials had launched an investigation
hif bpz
nissan aims to expand in us boost image with electric leaf
detroit michigan jan afp
nissan hopes to take advantage of weakened detroit to grow its share of the us
market with host of new products including high profile electric car the
japanese automaker top us executive told afp
is going to be for us very strong year in terms of product carlos
tavares executive vice president in charge of the americas said in an
interview monday
we are going to bring eight new products to this market in the next months
nissan managed to expand its share of the us market by points to percent
in even as the overall industry suffered percent drop amid broad
economic crisis
that came on the back of point rise in and helped nissan end the year
in sixth position just points behind chrysler
tavares said will continue to be challenging year but forecast overall
us sales will rise to between to million vehicles from in
we still expect and hope to grow our market share steadily he said adding
that nissan has no intention of buying market share with deep discounts
that would not be healthy we want to do things right and protect our
brand
the troubles at general motors and chrysler which restructured under
bankruptcy protection after seeking billions in emergency government loans
have created additional opportunities for expansion
both automakers have sharply cut back their dealerships and vehicle offerings
and gm is in the midst of eliminating the saturn pontiac and saab brands
while some of those brands buyers will naturally migrate to another gm product
some of those customers are orphans and that creates opportunities tavares
said on the sidelines of the detroit auto show
it offers an opportunity for everybody that fact he said
nissan will reach out with direct marketing to those orphaned customers and help
its dealers take advantage of the void left after neighboring competitor shut
its doors
it impossible to predict what the future will be because it the net balance
of competing moves he cautioned
tavares forecast that gasoline prices will rise as the economy picks up and that
consumers will continue to favor more fuel efficient vehicles
we are in good shape because we continue to reinforce our passenger car
offerings especially the price points between and dollars he said
the all electric leaf set to reach limited number of showrooms later this
year and to be sold on the mass market in will initially contribute
largely by raising the automaker profile
we are not rushing for very steep ramp up tavares said
the first vehicles will be imported from nissan plant in japan but in
they will begin to be manufactured in the united states at plant which has an
annual capacity of battery packs
while most of the early adopters will likely purchase the leaf out of desire
to be environmentally conscious tavares said there could be significant
market among people looking for an economical commuter car
as second or third car it going to be extremely convenient tavares said
tavares said the compact four seater leaf which has maximum range of about
miles kilometers per charge is also the harbinger of the future of
the automobile hybrid competitors he insisted are merely stepping stone
we believe zero emissions is the ultimate goal he said
will it happen in the next three years or five years don know but think
it safe statement to say consumers will not consider non zero emission
vehicle in the future
korea minister cool on korea peace talks offer
seoul jan afp
south korean minister tuesday rebuffed north korea call for early talks on
peace treaty to formally end the korean war saying it must first make progress
in scrapping nuclear weapons
in seoul first public response to pyongyang monday proposal defence
minister kim tae young said stalled six party nuclear disarmament talks must
resume before anything else happens
peace treaty can be discussed only when the six party talks resume and
produce progress in the denuclearising of north korea kim told press
conference
the white house earlier dismissed the north call for talks on treaty to
formally end the war before it puts the issue of dismantling its nuclear
programme on the table
the north koreans are well aware of what they need to do to come back to
six party talks in dealing with this issue that is give up the idea of
nuclear state on the peninsula white house spokesman robert gibbs said
if they re willing to live up to those obligations then we will make progress
in those talks
north korea foreign ministry said monday it wants better ties with the united
states and an end to sanctions before pushing ahead with nuclear disarmament
the conclusion of the peace treaty will help terminate the hostile relations
between the dprk north korea and the us and positively promote the
denuclearisation of the korean peninsula at rapid tempo it said
the north also called for sanctions to be lifted before it returns to the six
party talks which group the two koreas china the united states japan and
russia
the north abandoned the talks last april month before staging second
nuclear test
defence minister kim insisted that south korea be included in negotiating any
peace pact to replace the truce which ended the war in which us led
united nations force supported the south and china backed the north
he said recent peace overtures should not blindfold seoul in its defence posture
against pyongyang
we have seen many cases in history in which north korea made peaceful gesture
while increasing armed provocations kim said our military is fully aware of
and ready for any provocations
but no unusual military movement had been detected in the north he added
south korea has been sceptical of calls for early talks on peace pact
foreign minister yu myung hwan said last week the north may try to bring the
issue into the six party dialogue to try to stall negotiations on scrapping its
nuclear programme
iran university lecturer killed in bomb blast state tv
tehran jan afp
an iranian university lecturer was killed when remote controlled bomb hidden
on his motorbike exploded in tehran on tuesday the state run english language
press tv reported
massoud mohammadi professor of tehran university was killed in booby
trapped motorbike blast on tuesday press tv said adding that it was remote
control bomb blast
the explosion took place near the professor home in qeytariyeh neighbourhood
in northern tehran it said without giving further details
sick nigeria leader breaks silence bbc
london jan afp
nigerian president umaru yar adua has broken long silence he has kept since
going into hospital in saudi arabia for heart treatment in november telling the
bbc he hopes to resume his duties
the condition of the president as been the source of widespread speculation in
nigeria and on monday some online publications reported he had died the
previous day
nigeria opposition has also demanded tangible proof that yar adua is alive
but speaking to the bbc by telephone yar adua said he was recovering
at the moment am undergoing treatment and getting better from the
treatment hope that very soon there will be tremendous progress which will
allow me to get back home the bbc quoted him as saying
wish at this stage to thank all nigerians for their prayers for my good
health and for their prayers for the nation
yar adua has not been seen or heard from since he was flown to hospital in
saudi arabia on november to be treated for acute pericarditis an
inflammation of the membrane around the heart
critics complain that his long absence has stalled governance in africa most
populous country and second largest producer of oil and there have been growing
