australian heat
guitar over one shoulder and his official busking pass on one lapel he adjusts
his sunglasses and tunes his strings as he prepares to shake rattle and roll
like his american idol
aboriginals don have an elvis so thought come and be him black
elvis waitairie told afp
elvis can be anyone and call to anyone because elvis takes your heart away
waitairie an indigenous dancer originally from western australia yindjibarndi
country has traded his didgeridoo and clapping sticks for polyester and
rhinestones to be part of australia biggest elvis celebration
as fans in memphis marked what would have been the th birthday of the man
known as the king of rock roll thousands converged on the tiny drought
parched town of parkes kilometres miles west of sydney for the annual
elvis festival
it began almost two decades ago as the dream of bob and anne steel who ran
retro themed reception centre called gracelands and were desperate to liven up
the relentless summer months in the farming and mining town
we had hoped that january festival would bring some business to town and
think everybody doing handstands now anne steel told afp
most people can see what it doing for the economy and by god we needed it
home to straight talking farmers and mining men it seems an unlikely place for
tribute to the pioneering popstar the town only previous claim to fame was
the dish radio telescope used by nasa to receive images of the apollo
moon landing in
but the parkes elvis festival has exploded from humble town carnival with
visitors in to national event which this year attracted more than
people and brought in excess of five million dollars million us to the
local economy
hundreds packed onto the elvis express train from sydney on friday adorned in
their retro best to kick off the festival weekend with serenades by tribute
artist and dancing in the aisles
the trademark quiff and jumpsuit are staple and rarely is there gent to be
seen without sideburns and swivel to his hips priscillas and lisa maries are
also out in full skirted force feather boas and wedding veils in tow
the diehards stake out street corner to busk while others try their hardest
to impress the lookalike contest judges there an elvis idol contest gospel
services and the king castle which hosts the largest collection of elvis
memorabilia in the southern hemisphere
waitairie who has travelled some kilometres to take part plans to win the
street busking crown and renew his wedding vows at the mass back to the altar
with elvis ceremony in park
elvis was about love about peace he said since was liked that about
him
white suited lookalike contestant graeme mackaway who has made the journey to
parkes four times on the elvis express said the main street parade is always
his highlight
every year we come and the crowd gets deeper and deeper and the route seems
longer said the company director who swing dances and collects antique
jukeboxes in his spare time
in just five days the festival brings in more than one tenth of the
person town annual tourism revenue its third largest earner after
agriculture and mining
hotel rooms are booked more than year in advance not just in parkes but
surrounding towns and the sportsground converted into tent city is
overflowing officials say the expanding crowd is getting younger every year
it may have begun as the brainchild of two silly people who were elvis fans
said steel but the festival has become celebration of rock culture and
coming together of city and country life
have been fan since was and now but now you don have to be
an elvis fan there something for everyone she said
the fella who gets dragged here kicking and screaming by his wife is always the
first to book for next year
canadian father happy over son saudi execution reprieve
riyadh jan afp
the father of canadian man sentenced to death for murder in saudi arabia said
he was very happy sunday after the country supreme court granted his son
reprieve and review of the case
it so happy from yesterday until now haven slept said ali kohail after
the court ruled for review of the case of mohammed kohail
he said he had few other details about the ruling saturday in the case
they will go to new court but when don know he told afp by telephone
mohammed kohail canadian citizen of palestinian origin was arrested in
january and sentenced to death after being convicted of killing syrian
youth during vicious schoolyard brawl in jeddah
his brother sultan was sentenced to one year in jail and lashes in the same
case because he was minor at the time of the incident
the government of canada which does not have the death penalty welcomed the
saudi court decision
canada is very pleased to confirm that the death sentence against mohammed
kohail has been revoked and that retrial has been ordered foreign minister
lawrence cannon said in statement
the government of canada has repeatedly raised the cases of sultan and mohammed
kohail directly with senior saudi ministers and this case remains priority
for our government he added
yemen slumping economy fuels extremism analysts
dubai jan afp
yemen crumbling economy has created fertile ground for the spread of extremism
and the rise of secessionist movement in the south and shiite rebellion in
the north officials and analysts say
economic woes in one of the poorest nations on earth have been aggravated by
widespread corruption social injustice and steep decline in oil income which
makes up percent of total state revenues
yemen deteriorating economy is the main driving force behind events in the
country including the spread of al qaeda mohammad al muthaimi economy
professor at sanaa university told afp
he said the terrorism and extremism market in yemen is flourishing with the
al qaeda network attracting desperate unemployed youths
sixty five percent of young people are without job opportunities and extremist
organisations are exploiting the chance to recruit them by handing out much
needed money muthaimi said
unemployment in yemen workforce of million has jumped to percent while
per capita income remains one of the lowest in the region at just above
dollars according to official data compared with more than dollars in
gulf state qatar
the united nations arab human development report said poverty affects
percent of yemen million population while according to international
monetary fund reports and government data percent of yemenis live below the
poverty line
the slumping economy is certainly contributing to the rise of al qaeda and
rebel movements corruption is another key problem both these factors make
foreign assistance and investments difficult to come by saudi analyst anwar
eshki said
social injustice within parts of yemen and internal tribal feuds are also
helping al qaeda in yemen which is under pressure in afghanistan and pakistan
eshki head of the jeddah based middle east strategic studies centre told afp
the decline in oil income has had an influence on all conditions from the
viewpoint of the economy finance and security said presidential office head
and chairman of yemen national security agency ali muhammad al anisi
this creates fertile environment conducive to the spread of extremist ideas
and an increase in criminal and terrorist acts he told an international
institute for strategic studies regional security summit in december
oil production in yemen has declined from around half million barrels per day
in to less than bpd last year coupled by sharp drop in oil prices
from its peak of dollars barrel in the summer of
the country already scarce crude oil reserves could be depleted in years
in the absence of any major new discoveries the imf said in its latest
assessment of yemen economy
the start of liquefied natural gas lng exports in november gave yemenis rare
cause to celebrate the billion dollar project is expected to boost economic
development and generate between and billion dollars over the next
years
but the imf said this would only partly compensate for the decline in oil
revenues
yemen faces considerable challenges in dealing with the transition to non oil
economy generating strong non hydrocarbon economic growth ensuring fiscal and
external sustainability and reducing poverty and unemployment the fund said
other major economic challenges include high inflation down from percent at
the end of but still around percent and chronic budget shortfall
despite the government reform programme
the current account deficit stands at seven percent of gross domestic product
estimated at billion dollars following small surplus between and
while foreign debt stands at six billion dollars
the government has turned to energy rich gulf cooperation council gcc states
and the international community for help which muthaimi said has been almost
negligible although riyadh gave sanaa billion dollars in aid over the past
years eshki said
complicating yemen economic challenges is the fact that half of the population
is under and the same proportion is illiterate with as many as percent of
women unable to read or write
muthaimi said funds to lure new recruits are sent from outside to the yemeni
branch of al qaeda which eshki believes will be far more dangerous than in
afghanistan because of its proximity to gulf oil resources and transportation
lines
afp gmt news advisory
paris jan afp
duty editor stefan smith
tel
top stories
cia chief defends beleaguered spy agency
malaysian christians defy allah protests
trade booms for world top exporter china
togo footballers stay in african tournament despite attack
us afghanistan cia qaeda intelligence rdlead
washington
cia director leon panetta reveals that jordanian doctor who killed seven
agency operatives was about to be searched before he blew himself up at us
military base in afghanistan
words gmt
malaysia religion catholic church attack lead
kuala lumpur
thousands of malaysian christians come out for weekly services despite three new
attacks in campaign of fire bombings that has sent tensions soaring in the
muslim majority nation
words gmt by lih yi beh
china economy exports ndlead
beijing
china exports surge percent in december to snap month falling
streak cementing the asian power new status as the world biggest exporter
words gmt by dan martin
violence angola togo fbl afr thlead wrap
luanda
togo performs dramatic turn on their decision to quit the african nations
cup electing instead to stay in angola and compete just hours before the
opening match in luanda
words gmt by nick reeves picture graphic
we will also move violence angola togo fbl afr rebels facts
filing plans by region
europe
croatia vote ndlead
zagreb
croatians vote in presidential run off pitting leftwing professor against
the populist zagreb mayor with the winner hoping to lead the former yugoslav
republic into the european union
words gmt by lajla veselica picture
europe weather lead wrap
berlin
europe endures weekend weather misery with scores of flights cancelled and key
highways cut off as snow blanketed much of the continent and officials urge
people to stock up on supplies
words gmt graphic picture video
eu politics parliament commission advancer
brussels
the european union new foreign affairs chief catherine ashton and would be
eu commissioners face grilling over their suitability for the jobs from monday
in hearings at the european parliament
words gmt by alain jean robert picture
we will also move eu parliament politics commission penpix profile
eu politics parliament commission list
mideast
yemen economy analysis
dubai
yemen crumbling economy has created fertile ground for the spread of extremism
and the rise of secessionist movement in the south and shiite rebellion in
the north officials and analysts say
words gmt by omar hasan
americas
us quake california thlead
san francisco
powerful magnitude earthquake strikes off the coast of northern
california leaving no victims and causing minor damage officials say
words gmt
us auto show
detroit michigan
badly battered detroit is doing its best to put on bright smile for the
nation premier auto show which opens monday in the wake of one of the worst
years in motown history
words gmt by mira oberman
bolivia crime drugs drink
la paz
president evo morales bolivia first indigenous leader known for chewing coca
leaves at un meetings is making fresh push for the plant this time in the
form of soft drink named coca colla
words gmt picture
africa
violence angola togo fbl afr tournament
luanda
up to sunday african nations cup curtain raiser the only shots fired this week
in angola were the deadly bullets which rained down on togo team bus from the
cabinda separatists guns
words gmt by nick reeves picture graphic
violence angola togo fbl afr wc focus
johannesburg
world cup host south africa fears no fall out over the deadly ambush on
togo football team in angola saying the attack will not affect its staging of
fifa june showcase
words gmt by justine gerardy
attacks us nigeria radical
paris
umar farouk abdulmutallab spent years reaching the radical point of no return
and the attempt to blow up passenger jet that he is now accused of commiting
in the united states
words gmt by deborah pasmantier
asia
pakistan us unrest missile lead focus
islamabad
the us drone war in pakistan has made gains in annihilating taliban and al qaeda
commanders but the reliance on the unmanned remotely controlled aircraft risks
fanning islamist violence
words gmt
lifestyle australia entertainment music elvis focus
parkes australia
as fans in memphis marked what would have been the th birthday of the man
known as the king of rock roll thousands converge on the tiny drought
parched town of parkes west of sydney for the annual elvis festival
words gmt by amy coopes pictures
tennis roddick storms to brisbane victory
brisbane australia jan afp
american andy roddick held off magnificent fightback 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 tiebreak 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
tiebreak specialist roddick had the advantage
the american raced to lead before stepanek came 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
the title is the th of roddick career and his first in australia
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 the
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 tiebreak from the first point
roddick came out firing at the start of the second set as he broke stepanek in
the opening game and broke 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
but despite losing his big advantage in the second set roddick showed admirable
fighting spirit to hang on and take the set into tiebreak
yemen ready to talk to qaeda if they disarm
sanaa jan afp
yemeni president ali abdullah saleh has offered to open talks with al qaeda
militants with whom security forces have been fighting bloody battles if they
lay down their arms
if al qaeda militants lay down their arms renounce violence and terrorism
and return to wisdom we are prepared to deal with them he told abu dhabi tv
in an interview carried sunday by yemen saba news agency
we are prepared to deal with anyone who renounces violence and terrorism
saleh said
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 on those who resort to violence
those are threat not only to yemen but also to international peace and
security particularly the 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
togo in dramatic african nations cup turn
luanda jan afp
togo made dramatic turn on their decision to quit the african nations cup
after deadly attack electing instead to stay in angola and compete players
said hours before the competition starts sunday
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
the surprise announcement revoked their earlier intention to fly home in the
wake of friday gun attack by separatist rebels on team buses in cabinda
the attack left at least two dead the assistant coach and squad spokesman
and many injured and led to the team being called back to lome by togo
government
but after impassioned pleas by angolan prime minister paulo kassoma and african
nations cup organisers the players chose to remain
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
it was decision taken nearly unanimously by the team which met during the
night after having been reassured by the angolan authorities he added
midfielder alaixys romao who plays for french club grenoble told the french
sports newspaper equipe the entire delegation just met and after all we ll
be on the pitch monday to play against ghana
people have died for the african nations cup others were injured we can let
them down and leave like cowards he said
our government doesn necessarily agree with us but we are all determined to
play in this competition the decision was taken unanimously
togo captain emmanuel adebayor had earlier been reported by his club manchester
city to be returning to britain
dossevi criticised organisers for not rescheduling the game against ghana
the team is bit bitter we are little disappointed with the confederation
of african football caf which couldn arrange for postponement of our
first match so we could bury our dead
caf puts its interests first and not those of the countries they did not
support us enough
kassoma met with caf president issa hayatou to reassure him about player safety
ahead of the opening match of africa largest football festival in luanda at
gmt
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 team buses as they crossed into the restive
angolan enclave of cabinda killing the assistant coach and squad spokesman
caf official kodjo samlan said earlier reports that one of the bus drivers was
dead were incorrect
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
it warned the attack was only the start of series of targeted actions
on saturday evening goalkeeper kodjovi obilale was in stable condition after
being airlifted to johannesburg hospital where he was expected to undergo
surgery for gunshot wounds to the lower back and abdomen
organisers said the games would proceed as planned
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
corrected tennis murray keeps the faith
perth australia jan afp
scotsman andy murray shrugged off his shock singles loss to veteran spaniard
tommy robredo in the hopman cup final saturday declaring he was still on track
to win the australian open
murray breezed through the first set against robredo in the mixed teams final
dropping just one game on the back of booming serve and impeccable
groundstrokes and was within few points of victory in the second set
however he couldn stifle brave fightback by the spaniard that ultimately
saw robredo win in three sets
until the robredo rally murray hadn dropped set in his four singles matches
here disposing of andrey golubev philipp kohlschreiber and igor andreev in
impressive fashion
the loss again raised questions about murray temperament the scot having been
heavily favoured to break great britain long drought in all four grand slams
last year only to come up short each time
his fourth round losses to marin cilic at the us open and fernando verdasco at
the australian open for which he was pre tournament favourite were
particularly disappointing
however the year old had consistently declared his belief at hopman cup
press engagements that he could win his maiden grand slam singles title in
melbourne and the loss to robredo didn change that
think ready to win it he said of the year first grand slam
just need to play well if do that then there no reason why can
feel like serving well moving well and playing the ball better than
have done for long time at the back of the court and volleyed well this
week
so there not whole lot to complain about
murray was unperturbed by the loss to robredo saying it didn affect his
mindset heading towards melbourne
was just really happy with the way that played the whole of the matches
he said
you know could have won today won all three and still felt the same
obviously would have liked to have won but winning isn always the most
important thing especially when you re going into slam
sure if you asked roger federer how he was feeling this week going into
australia after losing to nikolay davydenko pretty sure it not going to
put whole lot of doubts in his mind
feel like ve prepared well and ready to play there whether won or
lost the match still feel the same about it
the scot said he simply paid for slight lapse against an in form opponent in
the hopman cup final
played great he said
was up and didn for pretty much two sets give him any chance at
all
then had maybe five or minute spell where didn serve well and he
obviously played really well this whole week
really really happy with the way was playing and sure with another
week of training and practising ll be playing better and if do that there
is good chance can win
murray headed to melbourne sunday where he is considering playing in the aami
classic at kooyong to practise and play outdoors after playing indoors here in
preparation for the australian open starting january
south yemenis stage strike to protest oppression
sanaa jan afp
residents of cities in southern yemen on sunday staged general strike to
protest what they termed government oppression as well as action taken against
daily newspaper activists and witnesses said
the strike was almost total in the southern provinces of dhale lahaj shabwa
and abyan as all shops were shut and transportation ground to halt witnesses
told afp
abdo al maatari one of the leaders of the separatist movement in the south
said the half day protest was against central government oppression and would
be peaceful
this protest confirms that we are adopting civilised and peaceful means with
regards to the issue of the south it is practical response to those who tried
to link our movement with al qaeda he told afp
the council of the so called peaceful revolution of the south said in
website statement that the strike was in response to repeated central
government attacks it said the strike would continue until midday sunday
south yemen was an independent state from the time of britain pullout in
until the country was united in the south seceded in sparking
short lived civil war that ended with the region overrun by northern troops
separatists who want to end the north south union are demanding independence in
response to what they say is discrimination by northerners and lack of
financial aid
yemen police last week arrested the owner and editor of al ayyam newspaper the
main southern daily following deadly clashes between police and guards
tennis brisbane international result
brisbane australia jan afp
result from the eighth day of the brisbane international tennis tournament on
sunday denotes seed
final
men
andy roddick usa bt radek stepanek cze
us drone war delivers results but at what price
islamabad jan afp
the us drone war in pakistan has made gains in annihilating taliban and al qaeda
commanders but the reliance on the unmanned remotely controlled aircraft risks
fanning islamist violence
while tens of thousands of us troops are fighting the taliban in afghanistan
their presence is unwelcome in ally pakistan and drone strikes have become the
main combat tactic against militants on the ground
the long war journal website tracking the strikes says us missiles have
killed senior al qaeda leaders and mid level al qaeda and taliban
operatives since january
among the scalps was baitullah mehsud the leader of tehreek taliban ttp
the pakistani taliban
despite mehsud death in august the ttp are killing more people than ever and
al qaeda leaders osama bin laden and ayman al zawahiri both believed to be
sheltering along the afghan pakistan border remain at large
don think the group ttp has necessarily been weakened at all said ben
venzke head of intelcenter private contractor working in support of the us
and european intelligence communities
in fact we re seeing more large scale bombings and attacks in pakistan than
we ve ever seen and with very large casualty count he said
president barack obama has ordered extra us troops to afghanistan hoping
to turn the tide in the war and deny al qaeda sanctuary but tribal experts fear
drone attacks could spawn war of revenge for years
jordanian doctor turned al qaeda double agent blew himself up and killed
seven cia agents in afghanistan on december in the deadliest attack against
the us spy agency since
the bomber humam khalil abu mulal al balawi appeared posthumously in video
broadcast saturday vowing to avenge baitullah mehsud death
the way they are now attacking with their drones trying to hit local militants
maybe local militants are not big threat to america but in the future they
could become threat said tribal expert rahimullah yusufzai
local residents contacted by afp in north waziristan district where of
the last attacks have struck said families lived in fear over the prospect
of hellfire missile annihilating their home without warning
yet speaking from mir ali one of the main towns in the pakistani tribal
district one shopkeeper said the drones did appear to have deterred foreign
