but the president whose country is also facing shiite rebellion in the north
and movement for autonomy in the south stressed the government will crack
down heavily on those who resort to violence
they are threat not only to yemen but also to international peace and
security particularly al qaeda they are ignorants drug dealers and
illiterate they have no relation with islam he said
saleh said security forces and air force have achieved impressive victories
against al qaeda in the provinces of abyan shabwa and the capital sanaa
yemeni security forces insist they are winning the war against the jihadists
pointing to two separate air raids in december that killed more than
suspected al qaeda members
on wednesday yemeni officials announced the capture of key qaeda leader
mohammed al hanq and two other militants believed behind threats against western
interests in sanaa that caused embassies to close for several days
yemen insists it can win the war against the militants without us military
intervention but analysts fear osama bin laden ancestral homeland cannot
tackle the jihadists on its own
britain and the united states have already announced plans to fund counter
extremism police in yemen and washington is sharply increasing military and
economic aid to the impoverished nation officials have said
google apologises to chinese writers over book flap
beijing jan afp
internet giant google has issued public apology to chinese writers and
admitted that it scanned books under chinese copyright for its google books
digital library project
copy of the january statement by the asia pacific head of google books erik
hartmann was posted on the website of the chinese writers association one of
the groups leading accusations against google on sunday
hartmann also appeared on chinese state run television on sunday acknowledging
the practice of scanning books had angered chinese writers
through the discussions and communications of recent months it is our
understanding that our communications with chinese writers have not been good
enough hartmann written statement said
google is willing to apologise to chinese authors
according to the china written works copyright society tens of thousands of
books by hundreds of chinese authors have been added to google books the us
giant project to digitise books and post them online
the project has also raised objections from authors and publishers in the united
states france germany and elsewhere
the china written works copyright society is in talks with google to try to
resolve outstanding copyright issues and agree terms for compensation but
chinese writers have so far refused google offers
on december well known chinese fiction writer mian mian launched the
country first civil lawsuit against google seeking yuan
dollars in damages for scanning one of her novels
hartmann statement promised google would scan no more books without
authorisation from chinese writers but made no new offers while expressing
desire to resolve the dispute by march
google reached settlement with us authors and publishers last year over
copyright infringement suit filed in
under the deal google agreed to pay million dollars to resolve pending
claims and establish an independent unit to provide revenue from sales and
advertising to authors and publishers who agree to digitise their books
us judge has scheduled hearing for february on the revised settlement
last month court in france ordered google to pay euros
dollars in damages for digitising french books
croatians vote for president to lead eu entry
zagreb jan afp
croatians voted sunday in presidential run off pitting leftwing professor
against the populist mayor of zagreb with the winner hoping to lead the former
yugoslav republic into the european union
surveys show solid lead for ivo josipovic of the opposition social democrats
sdp against his rival zagreb mayor milan bandic who is standing as an
independent
josipovic won the december first round with percent of the vote more
than double the support for bandic but last month vote was marred by record
low turnout of percent and analysts say bandic is likely to be the main
beneficiary if there is higher participation in the run off
polls opened at am gmt but voting stations were largely empty in the
early morning
in zagreb polling station year old teacher tihana colak said she had voted
for josipovic as he had the credibility to represent croatia in the world as
civilized and decent country
he is an educated man and he clear of corruption she told afp
josipovic year old lecturer in criminal law and classical music composer
has vowed to wage an uncompromising fight against corruption key criteria
for zagreb eu bid
croatia which joined the nato military alliance in hopes to become the
bloc th member by
the fight against corruption is also major domestic issue as the authorities
have recently launched several probes into state run firms over allegations of
graft more than dozen officials have been detained
bandic veteran sdp member expelled from the party when he announced his
candidacy for the presidency last november called on the electorate to vote
for man and not for party and touted his experience as zagreb mayor
bandic has heart experience in politics said bank clerk darko pavlek as
he cast his ballot in zagreb
the results of his energy and willingness are concrete and can be seen in
zagreb the year old added
since bandic first become zagreb mayor decade ago the capital has enjoyed
construction boom and major overhaul of its creaking transport infrastructure
during the campaign the two contenders pledged similar agenda croatia eu
entry during their mandate stepping up the fight against corruption and
reviving the economy in the recession hit country
croatia where unemployment is running at around percent is forecasting
contraction of up to percent in its economy for its external debt has
now risen to nearly percent of gross domestic product gdp official figures
show
both candidates have been criticised for having few concrete proposals to tackle
unemployment and the debt the day to day running of the country is largely the
preserve of the conservative government headed by prime minister jaderanka
kosor
despite similar platform bandic and josipovic project vastly different
images
observers say it led to polarisation between civil left or nationalism
playing with rightwing sentiments modern or conservative croatia
josipovic has reputation as competent politician untarnished by corruption
but analysts say with his bookish professorial looks he has failed to connect
strongly with voters
by contrast the energetic and outspoken bandic who insists that his leading
virtues as patriotism philanthropy and love of god has styled himself
fighter for the common man
however observers warn that suspected links with series of corruption affairs
in capital could work against him
in bid to bridge the gap with his rival bandic has also moved to the right
trying to pick up voters from the ruling conservative croatian democratic union
hdz party whose candidate failed to make the run off
he also enjoys the backing of croatia powerful roman catholic church
total of million croatians are entitled to vote polling stations will
close at pm with exit polls to be releases shortly after the first official
results will be released by midnight
billion dollar loan for taiwan high speed rail firm
taipei jan afp
taiwan debt ridden high speed rail company has secured billion us dollars
in new funding as part of efforts to pay off earlier loans an executive said
sunday
billion taiwan dollar billion us syndicated loan signed on friday
will be used to pay off existing loans which taiwan high speed rail corp
obtained at higher interest levels during the project construction
the fund the biggest syndicated loan in taiwan history will save the
company around two billion dollars per year company vice president ted chia
told afp
billed as one the largest privately funded transport projects ever taiwan high
speed rail has instead become more famous for its ability to amass enormous
debt
three years after the much touted rail system went into operation it has
incurred billion taiwan dollars billion us dollars in losses or
roughly two thirds of its capitalisation
an abrupt slowdown in the taiwan economy has meant that the daily
passengers projected by government reports in the and early have now
shrunk to mere per day in reality
the company did not specify the rates of the new loan but local media put the
rates at around percent per annum
the kilometre mile system links taipei in the north with kaohsiung in
the south using japanese bullet train technology
build operate transfer bot formula adopted for the railway charged the
corporation with constructing and running the line for years before handing
it to the government
urgent angolan rebels say weapons will talk in cabinda
johannesburg jan afp
separatist guerrillas who claimed deadly attack on togo football team
threatened new attacks in angola warning on sunday that weapons will continue
to talk in restive cabinda province
alert
angolan separatists say weapons will continue to talk in cabinda
tennis kuznetsova dementieva reach sydney second round
sydney jan afp
third seed svetlana kuznetsova toiled for over two and half hours in sapping
heat to beat alisa kleybanova in an all russian first round encounter at the
sydney international here on sunday
the reigning french open champion needed three sets to put away the th ranked
kleybanova on ken rosewall arena after coming back from
down in the deciding set
kuznetsova who will play either dominika cibulkova or qualifier in the second
round said the win was important ahead of the year opening grand slam
tournament in melbourne starting on january
was down but pushed back when needed most and it worked for me
played good at the important moments in the third set kuznetsova said
alisa started to play definitely better she started to serve better and it was
difficult for me
need some matches am happy in some way to play long match today she
said
it not good for me not to close out the match when have to but to have
long fight it also good because you play lots of points and you get adjusted
to the court and get tested
defending champion elena dementieva had an easier path into the second round
with comfortable win over francesca schiavone of italy
am very proud to be able to defend my title and am looking forward to
playing some tough matches here in preparation for the australian open the
russian fifth seed said
dementieva will face daniela hantuchova in the second round after the unseeded
slovak brushed aside virginie razzano of france
hantuchova who is ranked took just over an hour to see off razzano and said
the work of her australian coach darren cahill was making her better player
he is great he gives me so much advice and so much more confidence and feel
different player now and am really thankful for the opportunity to work with
him she said
just listening to him and what he has to say about my game and how to set out
my goals has really helped me
togo orders attacked team home from african cup
cabinda angola jan afp
togo government insisted sunday that the national football team return from
the african nations cup in angola after deadly attack on their convoy even
after the squad said they wanted to play
hours before the opening match in luanda players said they wanted to honour
those killed in friday separatist attack by sticking with the tournament even
though one teammate lay in johannesburg hospital with bullet wounds
but togo government spokesman pascal bodjona told afp in lome that the team must
return home
people are dead the goalkeeper kodjovi obilale is in intensive care he
said
the best thing to do is not to stay he said the government is maintaining
its decision to call the team back home
the announcement added to confusion over whether togo one of africa strongest
teams would compete in the continent top football event after the attack that
killed the assistant coach and squad spokesman and injured nine
nations cup organisers and angolan prime minister paulo kassoma had made
impassioned pleas for togo to stay making repeated assurances to bolster
security for the games
the cabinda shooting had police on edge in luanda where burst of gunfire was
heard near the centre of the capital early sunday
witness rafael antas said they the police fired shots into the ground after
driver refused to stop for them
the last time heard gunshots in luanda was at the end of the civil war in
said another witness antonia godinha the police are panicking after
what happened up in cabinda she added
togo international thomas dossevi who plays for french side nantes told afp in
cabinda that the players had unanimously decided that they wanted to stay
despite the security worries
we are all heartbroken it is no longer party but we want to show our
national colours our values and that we are men dossevi said
togo captain emmanuel adebayor had earlier been reported by his club manchester
city to be returning to britain
kassoma met with caf president issa hayatou to reassure him about player safety
ahead of the opening match in luanda at gmt sunday
let us go on together united in this big event this major celebration of
african youth in this year of glory for african sport kassoma said on state
radio
hooded gunmen opened fire on the togo team buses as they crossed into the
restive angolan enclave of cabinda in an attack claimed by faction of the
front for the liberation of the enclave of cabinda flec separatist group
battling for independence in the oil rich territory
it warned the attack was only the start of series of targeted actions
goalkeeper obilale was in good condition after undergoing surgery in
johannesburg hospital for gunshot wounds to the lower back and abdomen doctor
told reporters
the operation went well it was routine operation the patient is in good
general condition said surgeon elias degiannis
he had already undergone an operation in cabinda the doctor said adding that
it was still too early to assess the full extent of his injuries
organisers had earlier insisted the games would proceed as planned but did not
say how they would handle togo decision to withdraw its team
caf is continuing with its schedule and the sovereign authorities of the
country angola are taking the adequate measures surrounding security said
constant omari member of the organising committee
hosts angola take on mali sunday at luanda new seat november stadium
in the first game in the day tournament
tennis roddick storms to brisbane victory
brisbane australia jan afp
american andy roddick held off magnificent fight back from radek stepanek to
claim thrilling victory in the final of the brisbane
international on sunday
stepanek saved six match points in the second set tie break but couldn save
seventh and when he served double fault at roddick claimed the first
title of the year
roddick seemed to be headed for straightforward victory when he won the first
set and led in the second
but in match reminiscent of the women final on saturday when justine henin
came back from an almost identical position against kim clijsters stepanek
stormed back against an increasingly agitated roddick
stepanek won five straight games to lead but once the set went to tie
break specialist roddick had the advantage
the american raced to lead before stepanek came back again winning the
next five points to make it
however the huge effort on stiflingly hot brisbane day seemed to take its
toll on the year old czech as his tired looking second serve sailed just over
the service line
it was weird don think ve ever squandered lead where ve been
putting in first serves and making approach shots roddick said
the first time served for it had double fault but don know that
missed ball apart from that
the next one actually made five out of six first serves and again was coming
in
once he got down he kind of loosened up and played more aggressively
in the breaker think it was the same deal he added
made my first serves and think those thoughts were helping me hang on to
the last shred of sanity had
the title is the th of roddick career and his first in australia
certainly don know if expected to come and win my first tournament after
pretty extended lay off he said
the win also put an end to stepanek nine match winning streak in brisbane
which included taking the inaugural title at the queensland tennis centre in
the first set was fascinating battle between the raw power of roddick and
crafty play from stepanek who put the world number seven under real pressure
from the first game
stepanek had break points in the seventh and th games but was unable to
convert them and he was made to pay as the huge serving roddick took control of
the tie break from the first point
roddick came out firing at the start of the second set as he broke stepanek in
the opening game and again two games later to open up lead
stepanek refused to give in and he began to play some superb tennis moving
roddick all over the court bringing him forward with drop shots then lobbing
the american when he was stranded at the net
he had the match under control but was fighting until the last point
never gave up and got my chances at the end in the second set tie break
stepanek said
played great tennis and didn miss many balls and the pressure he was
putting on me until that point completely changed and was putting pressure on
him and was doing it pretty well
malaysian christians defy church attacks
kuala lumpur jan afp
thousands of malaysian christians came out for weekly services sunday despite
new attacks in campaign of arson that has sent tensions soaring in the muslim
majority nation
seven churches have now been fire bombed or vandalised since friday in an
escalating row over the use of the word allah as translation for the
christian god by non muslims
council of churches secretary general hermen shastri said malaysia christians
who number percent out of population of million were unbowed
think that people faith is greater than what happening around so they
continue to go to church and pray for themselves as well as for the nation he
told afp
but of course we are not blind to potential threats so churches have taken
measures to increase security around their compounds and are trusting the
police and other enforcement agencies to keep lookout for any suspicious
individuals
islamic groups have staged protests after court ruling last week that gave
catholic newspaper the right to print the word allah following long running
dispute with the government over the issue
two churches and catholic convent school were targeted early sunday police
said adding no one was injured
molotov cocktails were thrown at the all saints church and the school in
taiping in the northern state of perak and bottle of kerosene was found in
another church nearby before sunday services
in another incident black paint was hurled onto the window of baptist church
in central malacca state according to police
about worshippers at the catholic church of assumption in kuala lumpur
one of four in the malaysian capital targeted by the arsonists were briefed by
parish priest phillips muthu on the incident
told them we don want to blame any people any quarter any religion we
are peaceful and we are here to offer our prayer for the nation he told
reporters at the church where fire bomb damaged part of the grounds
of course we are afraid after the incident but life has to go on
deputy natural resources and environment minister joseph kurup who was at the
church with his family urged the catholic community to remain calm and let the
authorities investigate
one worshipper who only wanted to be identified as lee said reactions to the
court ruling from sections of the muslim community had been quite shocking
but think the majority of malaysians are still peace loving and we should
have dialogue to resolve this she said
police car was stationed outside the nearby protestant life chapel church
which had molotov cocktail thrown into its porch and volunteers stood guard
and checked worshippers cars
the strong congregation of the metro tabernacle church the worst damaged
in the attacks moved its service to hall offered by malaysia ruling party
prime minister najib razak has called for calm and said the government will not
tolerate any threat to racial harmony in the multicultural nation home to large
ethnic chinese and indian minorities
tensions were heightened last week when the high court ruled in favour of the
catholic herald newspaper which has been using allah as translation for
god in its malay language section
the government has argued the word should be used only by muslims the ruling
was suspended on wednesday pending an appeal after the government argued the
decision could cause racial conflict
the row is among string of religious disputes that have erupted in recent
years straining relations between muslim malays and ethnic chinese and indians
who fear the country is being islamised
china cements export lead with december surge
beijing jan afp
china exports surged percent in december to snap month falling
streak the government said sunday cementing the asian power new status as
the world biggest exporter
exports hit billion dollars during the month as global trade perked up
bringing china full year export figure to trillion dollars according to
figures from the general administration of customs
data out of germany last week showed that china overtook europe biggest
economy in november to become the world top exporting nation
the december data broke long string stretching back to late in which
monthly chinese exports had contracted as foreign markets dried up in the global
economic downturn
state run china central television quoted top customs official as saying the
figures indicated the worst was over for china vital export sector
this is an extremely important turning point our nation foreign trade had
been falling for consecutive months but is now growing said huang guohua
head of the customs bureau statistical analysis department
our nation exporters have emerged from their downslide
overall foreign trade both exports and imports fell percent in
to trillion dollars the data showed as monthly exports fell sharply on
year on year basis in each of the first months of the year
but that changed in november when exports slipped just percent the slowest
decline of the year
imports for december set new monthly record of billion dollars rise of
percent year on year while full year imports came in at trillion
the december import record was fueled in part by percent increase in iron
ore imports the customs administration said as china devoured foreign
resources to fuel its economic boom
the nation politically sensitive trade surplus hit billion dollars for
the month of december while the full year surplus posted rare fall to
billion dollars the customs bureau said
the trade surplus was down percent from it said
with china trade data for all of now out the nation crowning as the
export champion is expected to be confirmed when germany releases full year
trade figures on february
from january to november chinese exports were worth trillion dollars data
from the german national statistics office on friday showed that exports from
the european heavyweight came to trillion dollars in the months
experts have said resurgence in chinese trade will likely bring renewed
pressure on china to let its yuan currency appreciate
the value of the yuan which has effectively been pegged to the us dollar since
mid has been bone of contention between beijing and its western trading
partners who say it keeps the currency low to boost exports
while china has acknowledged the need to boost domestic consumption and reduce
its reliance on exports and investment to drive the economy it has so far
refused to budge on its currency policy
premier wen jiabao said last month in an interview with state media that china
would not yield to foreign pressure on the yuan
israel ex president testifies in rape trial
jerusalem jan afp
israel disgraced ex president moshe katsav testified for the first time on
sunday in trial in which he faces several counts of rape and sexual
harassment israeli media said
the year old iranian born father of five arrived at tel aviv district court
at am gmt with his lawyers but did not speak to reporters before
entering the closed door hearing
he is expected to be questioned by defence lawyers and prosecutors for three
eight hour sessions per week until the conclusion of the trial which is
expected to come before the jewish passover holiday at the end of march
the trial in which at least witnesses have been called to testify
opened in may with minute session during which katsav pleaded his
innocence
the district court judge then adjourned proceedings until september when
katsav alleged victims began testifying
katsav has been indicted on two counts of rape forcible indecent assault and
abuse of power against an employee at his office while he was tourism minister
in the according to the justice ministry
he is also accused of sexually harassing at least one female employee while he
was president and of obstruction of justice it said
he was forced to step down over the charges in june
korean dies over days after life support cut
seoul jan afp
year old brain dead south korean woman died on sunday more than days
after being taken off life support in the country first case of legal
euthanasia officials said
severance hospital in seoul said the woman identified only by her family name
kim was pronounced dead in the afternoon days after her life support was
removed in accordance with her family wishes and court order
she had continued breathing on her own after her respirator was removed on june
according to the hospital which had opposed the court order
the respirator could have extended her life believe that its removal
shortened her life said park chang il medical doctor and president of yonsei
university health system which runs severance hospital
her case had stoked public debate over person right to die with dignity in
south korea
the patient was declared brain dead in february after she fell into coma
while undergoing lung examination
three months later her children filed court petition after the hospital
rejected their request to remove the life support system
her children said that artificially prolonging her life when she was brain dead
was painful and meaningless
court in december approved the family request saying the patient had
no chance of recovery and that her wish to die could be inferred
the hospital appealed but the supreme court upheld the lower court decision
in favour of the children in may last year
togo football team must come home government
lome jan afp
togo government is sticking by its decision to recall the national football
team from the african nations cup after deadly attack despite the players
wish to play government minister said sunday
the government is maintaining its decision to call the team back home
administration minister and government spokesman pascal bodjona told afp
hours before the competition starts sunday players said they wanted to stay in
angola
in memory of the dead the national team has decided to play in the african
nations cup thomas dossevi who plays for french side nantes told afp
but bodjona said the best thing to do is not to stay
people are dead the goalkeeper kodjovi obilale is in intensive care he
said
hooded gunmen opened fire on the teams buses as they crossed into the restive
angolan enclave of cabinda killing the assistant coach and squad spokesman
the attack was claimed by faction of the front for the liberation of the
enclave of cabinda flec separatist group embroiled in struggle for
independence in the oil rich territory
israeli firm failed to detect would be bomber report
jerusalem jan afp
an israeli security firm has come under fire for failing to detect nigerian bomb
suspect umar farouk abdulmuttalab despite separate us intelligence failures an
israeli paper reported sunday
the israeli owned icts company did not identify the year old charged in
connection with the failed christmas day bombing as flight risk despite
several warning signs the haaretz newspaper said
even if us intelligence failed and the name of the nigerian passenger was not
pinpointed as suspect for the airline he should have stirred the suspicion of
the security officers the newspaper said
his age name illogical travel route high priced ticket purchased at the last
minute his boarding without luggage only carry on and many other signs
should have been sufficient to alert the security officers and warrant further
examination of the suspect
the netherlands based firm provides security services in airports in
countries including france britain spain hungary romania and russia the
newspaper reported
it was established in by former agents of israel internal shin bet
security service and former el al airline security agents the paper added
the company uses security measures pioneered in israel which are aimed at
assessing the degree to which passenger is threat based on several factors
including name age nationality and behaviour during questioning
on friday abdulmutallab pleaded not guilty to six charges including the
attempted murder of people on board the northwest flight from amsterdam as
it descended into detroit
he faces life imprisonment if convicted
the son of prominent nigerian banker was arrested after the botched al qaeda
