the ministry of social affairs detained nearly people in according
to the report
detainees were arrested for drug use and vagrancy but were also frequently
rounded up in police sweeps of people considered undesirable in advance of
national holidays or international meetings it added
government data revealed that more than of the detainees were aged under
hrw said and one former year old detainee named noh described staff
members using electrical wire for whippings
staff member would use the cable to beat people on each whip the
person skin would come off and stick on the cable he said in the report
tennis davydenko through to quarters after five setter
melbourne jan afp
russian sixth seed nikolay davydenko outlasted spanish ninth seed fernando
verdasco to reach the australian open quarter
finals on monday
davydenko will play either swiss top seed roger federer or australian nd seed
lleyton hewitt in the quarters
activists block nuclear shipment in france
cherbourg france jan afp
greenpeace activists said monday they were blocking train transporting nuclear
waste to the french port of cherbourg from where it was to be shipped to russia
four activists who had chained themselves to the railway line near the harbour
were removed early monday morning by police but more activists were blocking the
line at different location they said
we were dislodged in cherbourg but we are continuing our action some
kilometres miles from the city where we are physically blocking the
passage of the train transporting nuclear waste greenpeace representative
yannick rousselet told afp
two greenpeace activists were chained to the rails just metres from the train
which had stopped he said
an official with french nuclear giant areva confirmed consignment of
tonnes of uranium was headed to russia but denied that it was waste saying it
only needed enrichment
this was rejected by rousselet who called for moratorium on the export of
nuclear waste
the material is due to be loaded onto the freighter kapitan kuroptev to be sent
to russia
japan to give million dollars in aid to haiti media
tokyo jan afp
japan will pledge million dollars in aid to quake hit haiti at donors meet
in montreal monday and may send peacekeepers to the un mission in the caribbean
nation the kyodo news agency reported
the japanese government has decided to increase its aid for quake hit haiti
from five million dollars to million dollars kyodo reported from new york
citing unnamed government sources
international donors prepared to meet monday in canada to discuss rebuilding
haiti after the january quake the worst recorded disaster ever to hit the
americas with death toll expected to top
tokyo is also considering the dispatch of unit of its self defense forces
sdf to join the united nations peacekeeping mission in haiti kyodo reported
foreign minister katsuya okada defence minister toshimi kitazawa and chief
cabinet secretary hirofumi hirano had informally agreed sunday to send an sdf
unit to join the un stabilisation mission in haiti it said
japan military is barred from fighting overseas under the country war
renouncing constitution but it has joined non combat operations including in
iraq and as part of anti piracy patrols off somalia
at the montreal conference the united states canada france brazil and other
donors will attempt to craft long term strategies to lift crippled haiti the
poorest nation in the western hemisphere onto path to recovery
japan had initially pledged five million dollars in the days after the quake an
amount much smaller than the us aid pledge of million dollars and less than
the million dollars vowed by south korea
the kyodo report said that after the initial aid pledge the united nations
strongly urged japan to add more aid as the world second largest economy and
as the second biggest donor to the un
indonesian president releases new pop album
jakarta jan afp
indonesian president susilo bambang yudhoyono has taken break from battling
rampant corruption and mutinous coalition partners to compose another album of
romantic pop songs
ku yakin sampai di sana certain ll get there was released sunday and
features some of indonesia best known singers and musicians
like the year old former general previous two albums ku yakin deals with
themes such as love loyalty and patriotism
in my spare time from fulfilling the people mandate as president like to
express my feelings in works of art the president commonly known as sby writes
on the album cover which features an image of children running with the
indonesian flag
the songs were written from the belief that nothing can change the fate of
nation except the people themselves and the conviction of noble purpose
indonesian idol talent show winners vidi adiano rio febrian and joy tobing
were among the stars who recorded the president songs and performed at
sunday launch which yudhoyono did not attend
the president communicates his feelings through music in this album he wants
people to have big dreams and work hard towards achieving them presidential
spokesman julian aldrin pasha told afp on monday
his songs are about life while travelling in the car he will observe things
around him and then jot down the lyrics and read them out
yudhoyono debut release was rinduku padamu my longing for you in
which was followed by evolusi evolution in
he won second five year term in july with promises of economic growth
political reform and good governance
but his new administration has been beset by corruption scandals and damaging
probe led by two of his coalition partners into controversial bank bailout
lyrics from the title track show the mild mannered president wrestling with the
responsibility of power
although it difficult must go through it
chose the path believe in
don force things that are impossible
my life must be honest and right
passengers cash in on chinese airline fare glitch
beijing jan afp
hundreds of chinese air travellers scored major bargain when computer glitch
allowed them to buy online tickets from china eastern airlines for less than
three dollars
the global times reported that china third largest carrier last week sold
tickets including some first class fares to at least customers for just
yuan dollars each
as result flying from nanchang in the southern province of jiangxi to beijing
will be cheaper than some cross town taxi rides in the capital
one way first class tickets from nanchang to beijing were listed at around
yuan on the airline website on monday
the company acknowledged the computer error and said it would honour the
tickets even though some of them were sold for travel during the peak demand
lunar new year holidays in february when fares normally jump
it is problem caused by our own system passengers holding the cheap
tickets can get on board our promise made to them will not be changed luo
zhuping china eastern spokesman in shanghai told afp on monday
controversy shadows trading debut of russia rusal
hong kong jan afp
debt ridden russian metals giant uc rusal makes its stock market debut this week
in an offering worth billion us dollars that marks one of the most
controversial listings ever in hong kong
the world largest aluminium producer will become the first russian company to
list in hong kong when its shares begin trading on wednesday rusal depositary
receipts are also to float on the paris based euronext bourse
in the lead up to the initial public offering ipo rusal flagged strong
interest from big league investors by selling billion shares at hong
kong dollars us each
but while most ipos in hong kong are avidly followed by the chinese territory
legions of small time investors the securities and futures commission sfc has
slapped rare restrictions on rusal offering
the hong kong regulator stipulated minimum investment in rusal equivalent to
about us dollars which was described as unprecedented by observers of
the local securities regime
shareholder activist david webb said the restriction was meant to scare off
smaller retail investors and was dangerous precedent
on one hand approving the ipo is an implicit endorsement while the
restriction is an implicit risk warning he told afp
rusal page ipo prospectus outlined laundry list of possible risks
including potentially crippling lawsuits its massive debt of billion us
dollars and even the company demise should metals prices plunge again
the company has also been dogged by unproven allegations that chief executive
oleg deripaska has links to organised crime in russia
the share sale document highlights several legal battles including the
possibility of london court ordering deripaska to pay four billion us dollars
to fugitive israeli businessman michael cherney over disputed stake in rusal
cherney is wanted by interpol over spanish allegations of money laundering
the west african nation of guinea is suing rusal for one billion us dollars in
damages stemming from dispute over the privatisation of refinery used in
aluminium production
hong kong exchange repeatedly delayed approval for rusal ipo over concerns
about the company particularly the massive debt racked up when metal prices
plunged during the financial crisis
but rusal has said it reached favourable deal with creditors to restructure
its debt load while metals prices are now on the rise as the global economy
perks up
and rusal said its ipo had still garnered support from institutional
investors including hong kong tycoon li ka shing cheung kong holdings
rusal said it secured four key investors for the share sale malaysian chinese
tycoon robert kuok new york hedge fund paulson et co european banking family
scion nathaniel rothschild and russian state development bank vneshekonombank
or veb
artem volynets rusal deputy chief executive of strategy and business
development dismissed the hong kong regulator restrictions on the ipo
our primary sources of capital are the investment funds who understand our
industry well he told press conference on january we don see any
potential downside in demand
volynets also disputed suggestions that rusal chose to list in hong kong because
the city disclosure rules were less strict than in new york or london
hong kong he said was primarily strategic choice because the company wants
better access to the metals hungry chinese economy
but investor advocate webb warned that investors should still do their
homework
the presence of cornerstone investors is of no value to investment decisions
he said they can have other interests
wife of french ambassador to lebanon on flight that crashed
beirut jan afp
the wife of france ambassador to lebanon was on board an ethiopian airliner
that crashed into the mediterranean sea early monday on takeoff lebanese
government official and the embassy told afp
among the names on the passenger list was that of marla sanchez pietton the
wife of the french ambassador to lebanon government official said speaking
on condition of anonymity
an embassy spokeswoman confirmed that the ambassador spouse was on board
ethiopian airlines flight which was transporting passengers and seven
crew
there were no immediate reports of survivors
ambassador denis pietton took up his post in lebanon in september
sri lanka president urges free and fair poll
colombo jan afp
sri lanka president vowed monday to ensure the island first post war
presidential election goes off peacefully after deadly violence and opposition
claims the ruling party was plotting coup
at least four people have been killed and hundreds wounded in the run up to
tuesday vote being held after the separatist tamil tiger rebels were defeated
by government troops in may ending almost four decades of conflict
incumbent president mahinda rajapakse who ordered the bloody military offensive
that crushed the tigers is facing the strongest challenge from sarath fonseka
the army chief who led the troops in battle
rajapakse urged the authorities on monday to conduct free and fair poll and
ensure that people could vote without fear of violence
the sri lanka government calls for peaceful election and stands committed to
taking whatever steps deemed necessary to ensure the same his office said in
statement
about public officials will oversee the ballot in which million
people are eligible to choose from candidates
we have sent ballot boxes to the provinces and all public servants involved in
the conduct of the poll will be at their stations by noon today spokesman
for the independent elections commission said
the two sinhalese nationalists fell out after the war with fonseka retiring
from the military after he was sidelined by rajapakse and launching his surprise
challenge for the presidency
fonseka side said sunday there was evidence of coup plot by rajapakse
ruling party to try to hold on to power but the government denied any intention
to subvert the electoral process
rajapakse called tuesday vote after only four years of his six year mandate to
try to harness public acclaim for victory over the tiger rebels who controlled
one third of sri lanka just years ago
the conflict between government troops and the tigers cost between and
lives according to un estimates
tennis australian open results day eight st update
melbourne jan afp
results from day eight of the australian open at melbourne park here monday
denotes seeding
women singles
th round
venus williams usa bt francesca schiavone ita
li na chn bt caroline wozniacki den
men singles
th round
novak djokovic srb bt lukasz kubot pol
afp graphics advisory
hong kong jan afp
we shall move the following graphics
lebanan airport crash
map showing the beirut international airport where an ethiopian airliner crashed
into the mediterranean sea with people on board five minutes after takeoff
early monday
text slug lebanon plane crash
mm
available now
haiti quake
updated graphic showing the epicentre of the january earthquake that has left
death toll that could top according to haitian government official
texts slug haiti quake
mm
available now
sri lanka vote
fact file on the sri lankan presidential election due to be held on tuesday
text slug srilanka vote
mm
available now
afghanistan taliban map
graphic showing the provinces in afghanistan with the strongest taliban
presence
text slug afghanistan unrest politics vote
mm
available now
melamine facts
fact file on the chemical melamine blamed for the deaths of six babies in
dairy scandal now found in food products made by three chinese companies
state media said monday
text slug china food safety milk child
mm
available by gmt
foldable aircraft
fact file with illustration on the icon sport and leisure aircraft with
foldable wings for road transport and amphibious landing gear in production in
the us with first deliveries expected in
stand alone graphic
mm wide
available by gmt
asia pacific markets
closings for key asia pacific markets
text slug stocks
mm
available by gmt
moved earlier
auschwitz birkenau map
map of the auschwitz birkenau death camp of for afp package on the
th anniversary of the liberation of the camp
text slugs poland jews history wwii holocaust auschwitz auschwitz poland
holocaust jews
mm
paris hong kong
tel
japanese shares end down percent
tokyo jan afp
japanese stocks closed down percent on monday hit by another plunge on
wall street where worries mounted about us president barack obama sweeping
bank reform dealers said
the tokyo stock exchange benchmark nikkei index declined points to
after percent drop on friday
the broader topix index of all first section shares fell points or
percent to
sentiment on global markets has soured since obama unveiled last thursday
tough banking reform plan that would limit excessive risk taking blamed for
the financial crisis
it seems that the obama administration is trying to fight the decline in its
voter support by addressing popular criticism against the financial sector
mizuho securities analyst yukio takahashi told dow jones newswires
this issue could continue to weigh on wall street
fight over gas pipeline leaves dead in png reports
port moresby jan afp
gunbattle over lucrative profits from gas pipeline planned by exxonmobil in
papua new guinea has left people dead and properties destroyed reports
said monday
the violence erupted when gang of villagers from the erave district in the
southern highlands attacked neighbouring clan in pawale village with high
powered guns on the weekend the post courier reported
hundreds of women and children who fled are unaccounted for after houses
and other properties were destroyed the paper said
the raid was believed to be in retaliation for the killing of man ahead of
talks among southern highlands landowners on the sharing of profits from the
billion dollar liquefied natural gas pipeline it said
once complete the pipeline operated by us energy giant exxonmobil and partners
will transport lng from the remote southern highlands to the papua new guinea
capital port moresby from where the gas will be shipped abroad
analysts say the pipeline could double the impoverished pacific country
income but some locals reportedly believe they were excluded from profit
sharing talks on the project
the newspaper said provincial police commander superintendent jimmy onopia had
confirmed fighting had taken place but would not give details on the number of
deaths or amount of damage
police in port moresby were unable to confirm the details
cricket gambhir sehwag hit half centuries
dhaka jan afp
gautam gambhir and virender sehwag completed half centuries as india reached
in their first innings at lunch in reply to bangladesh on the second
day of the second test here on monday
left handed opener gambhir aiming to equal australian don bradman world
record of scoring century in six successive tests was caught behind for
while fending off rising delivery from paceman shafiul islam
gambhir who was on in his team overnight total of for no loss hit nine
fours in his solid ball knock for his th half century in tests
rahul dravid was unbeaten on at the interval with sachin tendulkar
india are now runs behind with eight wickets in hand
sehwag who added for the opening wicket with gambhir fell soon after
reaching his st test half century when he gloved rising ball from shahadat
hossain to wicket keeper mushfiqur rahim
he could add just to his overnight score of hitting eight fours in his
ball knock
dravid was surprised by short pitched delivery from paceman rubel hossain
edging it to the slips where junaid siddique took superb catch but it was
ruled no ball he was then on
india lead the series following their run victory in the opening test in
chittagong on thursday
ethiopian airliner crashes on takeoff in lebanon
beirut jan afp
an ethiopian jet carrying passengers and crew plunged into the sea off
lebanon in ball of fire just after takeoff in stormy weather early monday
witnesses and transport minister ghazi aridi said
it was unclear whether there were any survivors
aridi said ethiopian airlines flight lost contact with the airport control
tower shortly after takeoff and crashed into the mediterranean sea about
kilometres seven miles south of the airport
the control tower was assisting the pilot of the plane on takeoff and suddenly
lost contact for no known reason aridi told reporters adding that the boeing
crashed some kilometres off the coast
families of the passengers some of them weeping could be seen arriving at
beirut international airport where they were escorted to private area to
await news of their loved ones
witnesses reported seeing saw ball of fire as the jet plunged into the sea
the accident took place amid heavy rains and storms in lebanon in the past two
days that have caused heavy flooding and damages in some parts of the country
aridi said the passengers include lebanese ethiopians one iraqi one
french woman one syrian and seven crew members there were also several dual
nationals including two british lebanese one canadian lebanese and russian
lebanese
thousands of ethiopians are employed as domestic workers in lebanon and
ethiopian airlines operates regular flight between addis ababa and beirut
government official told afp that among the passengers was the wife of
france ambassador to lebanon denis pietton
among the names on the passenger list was that of marla sanchez pietton the
wife of the french ambassador to lebanon the official said speaking on
condition of anonymity
ambassador denis pietton took up his post in lebanon in september
an airport official had initially said that people were on board the doomed
flight which he said crashed about five minutes after takeoff at am
gmt
aridi said he had formed an investigative committee to determine the cause of
the crash and had contacted nearby countries to assist in the search and rescue
effort
the lebanese army navy as well as the united nations interim force in lebanon
unifil were assisting in the rescue aridi added
we have contacted everyone inside and outside the country that can assist us
and the lebanese navy the army and unifil have joined in the rescue the
minister added
he said the french organisation responsible for technical investigation of civil
aviation accidents was taking part in the probe
the boeing which entered into commercial service in is one of the
latest versions of the world most widely used short to medium haul airliners
and is capable of carrying up to passengers
the accident comes just one month after panamian flagged ship transporting
livestock capsized in stormy weather and sank off the coast of northern lebanon
with around sailors on board
the majority of the sailors were rescued but were unaccounted for and
presumed dead
cricket bangladesh india second test scoreboard
dhaka jan afp
scoreboard at lunch on the second day of the second and final test between
bangladesh and india here on monday
bangladesh st innings mahmudullah not out sharma
india st innings overnight
gambhir rahim shafiul
sehwag rahim shahadat
dravid not out
tendulkar not out
extras lb nb
total for two wickets overs
fall of wickets sehwag gambhir
bowling shafiul shahadat rubel nb shakib
ashraful mahmudullah
toss bangladesh
umpires billy bowden nzl and marais erasmus rsa
tv umpire sharfuddoula shahid ban
match referee andy pycroft zim
tennis djokovic powers into open quarters
melbourne jan afp
serbian third seed novak djokovic powered into the australian open quarter
finals with an emphatic win over poland unseeded lukasz kubot on
monday
kubot ranked th in the world had been gifted spot in the fourth round by
the withdrawal of russian th seed mikhail youzhny from their third round
clash and found djokovic far too good
djokovic struggled with his form little in the opening two rounds but has
gone up gear since and is back in the sort of dominant touch he displayed in
the second half of last year
his next opponent will be either french th seed jo wilfried tsonga or spanish
th seed nicolas almagro with djokovic keen to bury the memories of last
year quarter final when he retired against andy roddick due to fatigue
the australian open champion dropped just four games to uzbekistan denis
istomin in the third round and came out firing against kubot year old in
just his third grand slam
with new coach todd martin watching appreciatively djokovic broke kubot in the
fourth and sixth games of the first set and then achieved another two breaks in
the second set
the serb again broke in the fifth game of the third set and quick victory
loomed but the pole showed some fight by breaking back immediately holding his
own serve for lead and then taking djokovic to deuce in his next service
game
however djokovic broke again in the th game and easily held serve to seal the
win
china firm to send employees to taiwan
taipei jan afp
chinese direct sales firm is planning to send about employees on trip
to taiwan in june amid warming ties between the two former rivals the taiwan
tourism bureau said monday
perfect china co which sells food supplement and skin care products will use
the tour to taiwan as an incentive for its sales agents tourism bureau chief
wayne liu said
working with enterprises like perfect has become the key element in our efforts
to promote taiwan tourism to mainland visitors liu told afp
last year employees from amway china another direct sales firm visited
taiwan on similar incentive tour generating about million taiwan dollars
million us dollars in business for the island
in the number of chinese tourists to taiwan totalled up
percent from
liu said the bureau predicts the number of chinese visitors for will reach
million
wife of french ambassador to lebanon on flight that crashed
beirut jan afp
the wife of france ambassador to lebanon was on board an ethiopian airliner
that crashed into the mediterranean sea early monday on takeoff lebanese
government official told afp
among the names on the passenger list was that of marla sanchez pietton the
wife of the french ambassador to lebanon the official said speaking on
condition of anonymity
ambassador denis pietton took up his post in lebanon in september
tennis djokovic powers into open quarters
melbourne jan afp
serbian third seed novak djokovic stormed into the quarter finals of the
australian open with win over unseeded pole lukasz kubot on
monday
he next plays either th seed jo wilfried tsonga of france or spanish th seed
nicolas almagro
japan pm says anti us base vote will of the people
tokyo jan afp
japan centre left prime minister yukio hatoyama said monday that local
election victory by an opponent of planned us military base on okinawa island
reflects the will of the people
the outcome of the mayoral vote sunday makes it less likely that controversial
new marine corps air base will be built in coastal area of the southern island
on which tens of thousands of us troops are already stationed
the base issue has soured ties between washington and tokyo since hatoyama
government swept to power in august vowing less subservient stance towards
the united states and announcing review of the base issue
both countries agreed in to move the air operations of the locally
unpopular futenma air station from its current spot in crowded urban area to
quieter location near the coastal city of nago by
however hatoyama whose coalition includes strongly pacifist party has said
he will review the plan and decide by may whether to stick with the pact or move
the base to another site either on or off the island
the united states has insisted japan honour the deal which is part of wider
plan to realign its strong troop presence in country where american
forces have been based since the end of world war ii
in sunday vote in nago anti base candidate susumu inamine who was backed by
hatoyama ruling party beat the pro base incumbent yoshikazu shimabukuro by
margin of to votes
