two killed in thai south ahead of pm visit police
narathiwat thailand jan afp
suspected militants on wednesday shot dead two civilians in thailand restive
south one day ahead of an expected visit by prime minister abhisit vejjajiva
police said
thai buddhist man was killed in pattani province early wednesday in drive by
shooting as he delivered spare parts to motorcycle repair shop they said
earlier gunman on motorcycle shot dead muslim female volunteer guard in
narathiwat province as she travelled to work at the local district office said
police
separatist insurgency in the muslim majority region bordering malaysia erupted
in january and has claimed more than lives
abhisit who admits he has failed to stem the tide of violence in the far south
since taking office year ago is scheduled to pay one day visit to the three
most violent provinces in the south on thursday
the premier will visit narathiwat yala and pattani provinces in largely
symbolic trip in which he will open road plant trees and visit model farm
the violence has escalated over the past six years in the region with string
of bombings shootings and even crucifixions but the shadowy militants never
publicly explain their actions
tensions had bubbled under the surface in the south with occasional flare ups
since predominantly buddhist thailand annexed the former malay muslim sultanate
in
abhisit who visited the region month ago with his malaysian counterpart
admitted that he was unsatisfied with progress to curtail the unrest as he
completed one year in office in december
european stocks edge higher at open
london jan afp
europe main stock markets nudged higher at the start of trading on wednesday
with london benchmark ftse index rising by percent in value to stand
at points
frankfurt dax gained percent to points and in paris the cac
won percent to
hong kong shares end higher
hong kong jan afp
hong kong shares closed percent higher on wednesday in line with regional
markets due to prevailing optimism about the global economic outlook
the benchmark hang seng index added points to with turnover
reaching billion hong kong dollars billion us
and chinese shares closed down percent on investor fears possible rise in
inflation could trigger further government tightening measures dealers said
the benchmark shanghai composite index which covers and shares closed down
points at on turnover of billion yuan billion
dollars
urgent iran president opens new turkmenistan iran gas link
ashgabat jan afp
iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad on wednesday inaugurated new gas
pipeline link to his country from its energy rich neighbor turkmenistan
hong kong gold closes lower
hong kong jan afp
hong kong gold closed lower on wednesday at us dollars an
ounce down from tuesday close of dollars
it opened at dollars
marks and spencer says christmas trade boosts sales
london jan afp
british clothes to food retailer marks and spencer said on wednesday that sales
rose during its third quarter thanks to positive christmas trading period
amp sales rose by percent in the weeks to december last year the
group said in statement sales climbed by percent in britain by
percent in stores abroad and by percent over the internet
we had good christmas continuing the improvements seen throughout
amp chairman stuart rose said in the statement
in food we had our biggest ever christmas fortnight with record one day sales
of over million pounds on december
in general merchandise sales of knitwear sleepwear and footwear were
particularly strong over christmas customers bought more than million mince
pies million bottles of champagne and over eight million jumpers and
cardigans
however total sales at stores open at least year measure tracked by
financial markets increased by only percent during the company third
quarter analysts consensus forecast had been for an increase of percent
according to dow jones newswires
rose said that the company expected trading conditions over the coming year to
remain challenging as result of continuing economic uncertainty
britain is the last major economy officially in recession but data due later
this month is expected to show that the nation returned to growth in the fourth
quarter of
yemen police capture local qaeda chief north of sanaa
sanaa jan afp
yemeni police wednesday arrested local al qaeda chief mohammed al hanq who had
fled security force raid two days ago near the capital security official
said
mohammed al hanq and two others who were wounded were captured in hospital in
amran province north of sanaa the official told afp
alert
iran president opens new turkmenistan iran gas link
thai airways executive chairman quits over excess baggage
bangkok jan afp
the executive chairman of thai airways has resigned over allegations that he
avoided more than dollars in excess baggage charges on flight from
japan the flag carrier said wednesday
wallop bhukkanasut was accused of exploiting his position by transporting
pieces of luggage weighing kilos pounds with his wife and friend
from narita airport in tokyo to bangkok suvarnabhumi airport in november
he tendered his resignation on tuesday said the airline chairman ampon
kittiampon following widespread coverage of the case in the thai media in
recent weeks
he resigned all his positions at thai airways to take responsibility for the
excess baggage case ampon told reporters adding that the positions also
included his role as chairman of low cost subsidiary nok air
documents showed wallop had travelled with his wife and friend on first class
tickets which would only have permitted them to carry luggage weighing
kilos for free
the baggage was then delivered to the airline lost and found office
bypassing usual customs procedures without wallop paying the full excess fee
which would have been more than dollars
wallop has admitted the baggage belonged to him but denies he sought to
transport the goods for commercial gain
thai media reported that wallop claimed to have been carrying fruit in the
luggage on behalf of friend based in japan which was to be donated to
bangkok temple
an independent commission has been set up by the airline to investigate the case
and is due to reveal its findings on january
thai airways posted loss of billion baht million dollars in
and was hit hard by the global financial crisis and political protests that
closed bangkok airports in november december
the airline president piyasvasti amranand said last year that he wanted to
end freeloading by current and former executives of the airline many of whom
claimed free first class seats as matter of course
kenya deports radical jamaican muslim cleric
nairobi jan afp
kenya has deported jamaican muslim cleric abdullah al faisal who is on an
international terror watchlist and served four years in british jail for
inciting racial hatred police said wednesday
al faisal is no longer in the country he has been deported through
neighbouring country police spokesman erick kiraithe told afp
there was problem deporting him initially but we finally managed to get him
out of the country he is headed to jamaica he said
another police source said the cleric who was arrested in mombasa left kenya
monday night by road to neighbouring tanzania
al faisal was arrested on thursday shortly after attending prayers at mosque
in the coastal city of mombasa
police and immigration officials said at the time they arrested the imam for
violating immigration regulations by preaching
al faisal was arrested in britain in after spending years urging his
audiences to kill jews hindus and westerners
urgent yemen police capture local qaeda chief north of sanaa
sanaa jan afp
yemeni police wednesday arrested local al qaeda chief mohammed al hanq who had
fled security force raid two days ago north of the capital security
official said
japan slams dangerous anti whaling protestors
tokyo jan afp
japan lashed out wednesday at anti whaling activists whose futuristic powerboat
was sliced in two in collision in the antarctic accusing them of extremely
dangerous behaviour
the ady gil trimaran came abnormally close to the japanese whaling ship shonan
maru no and suddenly slowed down while crossing in front of it the fisheries
agency said in statement
these acts of sabotage that threaten our country whaling ships and crew were
extremely dangerous it said it is totally unforgivable
there was no major damage to the japanese ship and no japanese crew members were
injured in the collision it said all six crew on the ady gil which holds the
round the world record were rescued unharmed
sea shepherd animal rights activists have harassed the japanese fleet over the
past six hunting seasons and claim to have saved the lives of hundreds of
whales
an international moratorium on commercial whaling was imposed in but japan
kills hundreds each year using loophole that allows lethal research on the
animals
japan makes no secret of the fact that whale meat ends up on dinner tables and
accuses western nations of not respecting its culture
tennis peer braves protest as seeds tumble in classic
auckland jan afp
israel shahar peer overcame the chants of protesters to make the quarter
finals as three other seeds tumbled in the second round of the auckland classic
women tennis tournament here wednesday
the year old world number appeared to cope with the noisy protest against
israel policies towards the palestinians better than her slovakian opponent
magdalena rybarikova
think it was really really bad peer said of the noise coming from outside
the asb tennis centre after her crushing victory in just over an hour
don really have anything to say to the protesters know they can do
whatever they want but as long as winning don care
rybarikova was rattled as around protesters chanted throughout the first set
before police moved in to disperse them arresting one person
have to say it was tough to play during the protest she said
lost the first set because was not concentrating was thinking about that
and not my tennis
top seeded italian flavia pennetta had an easy passage to the quarter finals of
the wta event after beating spain carla suarez navarro
but french fifth seed virginie razzano and seventh seeded compatriot aravane
rezai lost their second round matches along with russian sixth seed elena
vesnina
razzano went down to year old japanese veteran kimiko date
krumm who returned to the circuit in after year retirement
when came back didn have confidence to play speedy ball or powerful
ball date krumm said afterwards of her battle to regain competitiveness
if play more wta tour my eyes and body get used to it
in the quarter finals date krumm will face fellow wildcard and third seed yanina
wickmayer of belgium who beat romanian ioana raluca olaru
have so much respect for her comeback wickmayer said of date krumm
she is great player and great athlete with an awesome mentality
tennis roddick in cruise control against aussie ball
brisbane australia jan afp
andy roddick cruised into the quarter finals of the brisbane international with
comfortable win over australian carsten ball on wednesday
the top seed proved far more consistent than his lesser known opponent in
battle of the big servers seeing off his second australian in row following
first round win over peter luczak
he now faces richard gasquet in the last eight after the frenchman ended
australian hopes when he ousted qualifier matthew ebden
roddick once again showed no signs of the knee injury that forced him to pull
out of october atp tournament in shanghai
he was in complete control throughout romping through the first set tiebreaker
then breaking ball in the eighth game of the second set and holding his own
serve to clinch victory
we both went in knowing that the serve was going to control most of the big
points in the match and that what happened roddick said later
was just happy that was able to take care of my own serve and got more
and more looks at ball serve as the match wore on
roddick who is making rare foray into doubles this week in bid to get some
more court time said he felt as though he was getting better and better the
more matches he played
made lot of returns think had four errors in the match with
winners served percent first serves so those are numbers you can be happy
with he said
defending champion radek stepanek was pushed to the limit by ukranian qualifier
olexsandr dolgopolov jr an unknown year old who played just two matches on
the atp tour in
major upset looked on the cards when dolgopolov took the first set over the
world number but stepanek showed all his fighting qualities to gradually
wear down dolgopolov taking the second set tiebreak then breaking serve twice
in the third set
after two hours and minutes stepanek took the match
he came out today and he had nothing to lose stepanek said
he was playing big shots and hitting winners from everywhere and would say
for nearly two hours it all went his way
knew had to stay in there and fight it was difficult to play him because
didn know him and didn know what to expect
but when won the second set tiebreak knew that was the moment when the
match turned the other way and was the one who was controlling it
veteran american james blake saved three match points against france marc
gicquel to win
after sharing the first two sets gicquel grabbed the advantage in the third
when he broke blake in the seventh game
but nervous gicquel surrendered the break immediately then missed three
chances to win the match in tense third set tiebreak
wayne odesnik made it three americans in the quarter finals when he beat
colombian alejandro falla
football indian league players in plane harassment charge
new delhi jan afp
top indian football club was embroiled in an embarrassing controversy on
wednesday after two of its nigerian players were accused of molesting female
flight attendant
the players along with the rest of the churchill brothers squad were on their
way to kolkata from goa when the alleged incident took place local media
reported
the team was offloaded during stop over in mumbai where the police arrested
nigerian strikers odafa onyeka okolie and felix chimaokwu as well as team
manager mario soares on charges of molestation the hindustan times said
they were later released on bail ahead of their match in kolkata on thursday
some passengers misbehaved with and abused our crew on board flight sg from
goa to kolkata via mumbai spicejet airlines said in statement
in the interest of the safety of the other passengers our pilot took
decision to offload them in mumbai during the scheduled transit halt
the team management defended its players
our players were having fun inside the flight joaquim alemao co owner of the
goa based club was quoted as saying by the paper
they were raising their arms and while doing so one of our players hit an air
hostess by mistake but he immediately apologised
the matter was over but then another cabin crew intervened and was hell bent on
making an issue out of it
churchill brothers are the defending champions of ileague the country top
soccer division
myanmar video journalist jailed for years rights groups
bangkok jan afp
myanmar court has handed down year jail term to video journalist who
worked with exiled media rights groups said wednesday as the ruling junta
continues its crackdown on dissent
freelance reporter hla hla win was arrested in september after visiting
buddhist monastery in the town of pakokku paris based reporters without borders
and the burma media association said in joint statement
hla hla win was sentenced by court in pakokku on december for an alleged
violation of the country electronics act the groups said woman
accompanying her was sentenced to years in jail they added
there was no immediate confirmation of the sentence from authorities in myanmar
formerly known as burma which remains under tight us and eu sanctions because
of its record on human rights
we are outraged that this young woman has been given year jail term the
two organisations said in the statement
the jailed reporter had worked with the myanmar exile broadcaster democratic
voice of burma based in norway which described the sentence as unjust the
statement said
people had been expecting signs of an opening and goodwill gestures from the
military junta in this election year but this extremely severe sentence on
year old video maker and the junta chief recent threatening comments leave
little hope that the elections will be free they said
reclusive junta leader than shwe said at an independence day ceremony on monday
that plans were underway for elections promised by the regime some time this
year but warned citizens to make correct choices at the polls
reporters without borders said at least journalists and bloggers were
currently detained in myanmar
the very dangerous work carried out by burma video reporters is crucial
for the dissemination of independent propaganda free information both
domestically and abroad they said
hla hla win had already been sentenced in october to seven years in jail under
the export import act for allegedly using an illegally imported motorcycle the
groups said
she went on hunger strike for several days after her arrest and had to be
hospitalised for an unspecified period said the statement
myanmar has handed heavy jail terms to scores of activists monks student
leaders and journalists for their alleged roles in anti junta protests in
and for helping victims of cyclone nargis in may
pro democracy icon aung san suu kyi has been detained for most of the last two
decades and had her house arrest extended in august last year effectively
ruling her out of the coming elections
the united states expressed doubt monday that the polls would be credible
alert
yemen police capture local qaeda chief north of sanaa security official
taiwan wants prosecutors to learn from japanese comics
taipei jan afp
taiwan has asked its prosecutors to read japanese comic book dealing with
compassion and tolerance in an effort to improve their work performance an
official said wednesday
the justice ministry has distributed copies of the japanese manga love
based on the true story of how bereaved mother reconciled with family whose
sixth grader son killed her boy
the touching story was made into critically acclaimed television series in
japan that was aired on the island last year
the reading assignment is part of the ministry efforts to promote restorative
justice which seeks to encourage repair and reconciliation between the
victims and the offenders said gloria fei
we hope prosecutors will become more compassionate so they can help promote
understanding and ease confrontation between the two sides said fei head of
the ministry department of rehabilitation and social protection
japanese pop culture has strong influence in taiwan which was colonised by
japan from to
china deep freeze triggers power shortage
beijing jan afp
frigid siberian cold front gripping northern and central china has caused coal
and power shortages as residents scrambled to keep warm state press reported
wednesday
temperatures early wednesday in beijing fell to minus degrees celsius three
degrees fahrenheit the lowest in the capital since as rare snows
fell in central and eastern china the state weather bureau said
the icy weather has strained the nation power grid with the eastern city of
shanghai and the provinces of jiangsu shandong and hubei cutting power to some
areas as they rationed electricity the china business news reported
rolling blackouts could also occur in other regions it said amid forecasts of
continued cold weather in central and eastern regions where such temperatures
are extremely rare
forecasters with the china meteorological administration have said the cold
weather would continue through the week
in northeastern china the nation coldest region low temperatures were
expected to recover to minus degrees celsius wednesday after plummeting to
minus on monday
the spike in electricity use has crimped coal supplies at power plants as
transport out of the nation northern coal regions was disrupted due to the
cold the guangdong daily reported
the situation evoked memories of an icy cold front that hit in january
bringing record low temperatures transport chaos fuel shortages and power
outages to huge swathe of the country
with coal supplies at some power plants in central china down to about three
days the price of the fossil fuel was rapidly rising the newspaper said
coal producers in china north had begun charging up to percent more per
tonne while in guangdong users were paying up to percent more per tonne and
expecting higher prices it said
the cold front blanketed much of northern china with snow at the weekend
including the biggest snowfall in beijing in decades
the weather caused hundreds of flight cancellations school closures and snarled
traffic across northern china
suspected extremists release kidnapped philippine teenager
zamboanga philippines jan afp
suspected muslim extremists released kidnapped year old boy after holding
him for more than four months in the southern philippines military spokesman
said wednesday
donald capili grandson of former town mayor who was kidnapped august was
freed late tuesday on the island of basilan stronghold of the abu sayyaf
muslim extremist group
capili was fetched from his captors by an emissary of basilan vice governor al
rasheed sakalahul and taken to sakalahul farmhouse said lieutenant colonel
gamal hayudini
donald is in good physical condition hayudini said
sources said an unspecified ransom was paid for capili release but officials
would not confirm it
authorities earlier said that capili had been abducted by the abu sayyaf
muslim extremist group that has been linked by intelligence agencies to the al
qaeda network
the abu sayyaf has been blamed for the worst terror attacks in philippine
history and has often engaged in kidnapping for ransom
the militants are still holding two chinese nationals who were kidnapped on
basilan in november filipino abducted with them was beheaded last month after
his employers failed to pay ransom
regional military chief lieutenant general ben dolorfino said the military
estimated there were about abu sayyaf members but warned that the group had
the capability to recruit new members
their centre of gravity is in their leaders so that is what we should focus on
we expect that once we neutralise the leaders the organisation will crumble
he told reporters in manila
kashmir chief marks year in office with troop cut pledge
srinagar india jan afp
indian kashmir chief minister marked year in office on wednesday by pledging
to slash security forces in the muslim majority region if militant violence
falls further
with the security threat diminishing the lesser will be the need for forces to
deal with it said omar abdullah the year old leader of kashmir ruling
national conference party
once peace prevails then the need for men in uniform reduces drastically
he said in an english language statement
incidents of unrest in kashmir wracked by separatist insurgency for two
decades were down by about percent last year police say india last year
responded by pulling out some troops from the himalayan region
kashmir is divided into indian and pakistani controlled zones and has been the
trigger for two wars between the south asian rivals since their independence
from britain in
abdullah took office on january last year after state elections that attracted
an unexpectedly high turnout
despite boycott call by separatists and islamic rebels more than percent
of voters took part in the state polls late in which came after period
of direct federal rule
abdullah was backed by india ruling congress party for the top job after
polls in the troubled region produced no single party strong enough to form the
government on its own
the chief minister also said there had been an improvement in human rights
during his tenure
english born abdullah inherited the party leadership in from his father
farooq abdullah but is seen as more moderate
six policemen killed wounded in dagestan report
moscow jan afp
booby trapped car rammed into police vehicle wednesday and exploded killing
six policemen and wounding in the restive russian republic of dagestan
interfax news agency quoted an official as saying
earlier reports said four policemen died in the blast in the north caucasus
region the spokesman for dagestan emergency medical centre said the toll
could mount
the am explosion occurred in front of the traffic police headquarters in
makhachkala the dagestan capital police official told interfax
the police car blocked the booby trapped car as it tried to enter the gate the
official said adding that the police officers at the cost of their lives
prevented terrorist attack with an even greater number of victims
investigators are examining the scene of the explosion
concerns have mounted over increased militant attacks throughout russia
caucasus region where islamist militants have been battling pro kremlin local
authorities and russian security forces in sporadic insurgency
space age powerboat sliced in two by japanese whalers
sydney jan afp
space age powerboat sent to harass japanese whalers was rammed and sliced in
two in its very first clash on wednesday activists said dramatically
escalating hostilities in icy antarctic seas
the futuristic ady gil trimaran which holds the round the world record and was
enlisted by sea shepherd activists for this whaling season received
catastrophic damage and was sinking they said
all six crew who earlier hurled stink bombs at the whalers to disrupt their
annual hunt were rescued unharmed by sea shepherd bob barker ship activists
described the attack as unprovoked and said it was captured on film
the shonan maru no suddenly started up and deliberately rammed the ady gil
ripping eight feet metres of the bow of the vessel completely off sea
shepherd statement said
the ady gil is believed to be sinking and chances of salvage are very grim it
added
the whalers accused the ady gil five new zealand and one dutch crew of trying
to tangle the nisshin maru rudder and propeller with rope and aiming green
laser device at its sailors as well as launching stink bombs
the sea shepherd extremism is becoming more violent their actions are
nothing but felonious behaviour japan institute of cetacean research said in
statement
paul watson captain of sea shepherd steve irwin ship and spokesman for the
group said the annual pursuit had now turned into real whale war
the japanese whalers have now escalated this conflict very violently he said
if they think that our remaining two ships will retreat from the southern ocean
whale sanctuary in the face of their extremism they will be mistaken
we now have real whale war on our hands now and we have no intention of
retreating
the wave piercing carbon and kevlar ady gil bankrolled by hollywood
businessman was one of the world most celebrated vessels in under its
former name earthrace it smashed the world circumnavigation record by two
weeks
this is substantial loss for our organisation said watson the ady gil
the former earthrace represents loss of almost two million dollars
however the loss of single whale is of more importance to us and we will not
lose the ady gil in vain this blow simply strengthens our resolve it does not
weaken our spirit
watson also accused the japanese of using surveillance flights to pinpoint the
anti whaling vessels and send pursuing ships setting back their campaign by
weeks
the activists who set off from australia month ago finally caught up with
the whalers before dawn near antarctica commonwealth bay
sea shepherd activists have harassed the japanese fleet over the past six
hunting seasons and claim to have saved the lives of hundreds of whales
an international moratorium on commercial whaling was imposed in but japan
kills hundreds each year using loophole that allows lethal research on the
animals
tennis brisbane international results first update
brisbane australia jan afp
results from the fourth day of the brisbane international tennis tournament on
wednesday denotes seed
second round
men
james blake usa bt marc gicquel fra
radek stepanek cze bt oleksandr dolgopolov jr ukr
wayne odesnik usa bt alejandro falla col
andy roddick usa bt carsten ball aus
richard gasquet fra bt matthew ebden aus
women
daniela hantuchova svk bt agnes szavay hun
lucie safarova cze bt aleksandra wozniak can
anastasia pavlyuchenkova rus bt roberta vinci ita
suicide bomber kills three at pakistan kashmir army base
muzaffarabad pakistan jan afp
