in which other rebel groups could be involved he said
source in the sudanese government delegation confirmed to afp that there would
be no direct negotiations on sunday with rebel groups but only consultations
with the mediators
source in the un au mediation meanwhile told afp there is no real
cancellation we are working with the government and with the armed movements to
get them working together towards an effective dialogue
this is still ongoing and we will hope to find an appropriate format by
which they can make progress the source said
the sudanese delegation which is headed by ghazi salaheddin the government
pointman on darfur met with bassole on saturday
darfur rebels had two rounds of talks with sudanese government officials in
qatar in february and may of
in february the jem signed an agreement with the khartoum government on
confidence building measures intended to pave the way for further talks but
other factions have refused to join the mooted talks in doha and the jem says
there is no point in taking part if there is no unity among the rebels
rebels and government officials were also due to meet in november but the talks
failed to take place
bassole said earlier this month that talks to settle the festering conflict in
the darfur region would resume in doha before the end of the month with january
set as date for direct talks
the united nations says up to people have died and million fled
their homes since the ethnic minority rebels first rose up against the arab
dominated government in khartoum in february
sudan government says people have been killed
ahmadinejad promises good nuclear news at iran anniversary
tehran jan afp
president mahmoud ahmadinejad said on sunday that iran will declare good news
concerning nuclear fuel plans when the nation marks the st anniversary of the
islamic revolution next month local news agencies reported
when asked by reporters about iran deadline to the west over the nuclear fuel
deal and when tehran will produce percent enriched uranium ahmadinejad said
during the days of dawn february to we will announce good news in
this regard the mehr news agency quoted him as saying
this news is so sweet that it will make any iranian and any freedom loving
person in the world happy this news is about iran scientific advancement
the fars news agency quoted him as saying
the un atomic watchdog has offered proposal which sees the bulk of iran low
enriched uranium being sent to russia and france for further enrichment to
percent level and then returned as fuel for tehran research reactor
iranian officials however have offered counter proposal of phased fuel
swap and foreign minister manouchehr mottaki gave the west one month
ultimatum to accept the iranian plan
iranian officials have threatened that tehran will enrich uranium on its own to
the percent level if the west fails to meet its end january deadline on the
counter proposal
world powers led by washington are against iran enriching uranium the core of
the controversy concerning tehran nuclear programme
they suspect iran is enriching uranium to make atomic weapons charge denied
by tehran which says its nuclear programme is solely aimed at generating
electricity
cycling greipel clinches emphatic win down under
adelaide australia jan afp
germany andre greipel clinched an emphatic second tour down under victory on
sunday as britain team sky rounded off their debut race in impressive style
the champion crossed fifth to preserve his second overall lead marking
spectacular return to australia after he crashed out of last year race and
missed four months following shoulder surgery
american cycling legend lance armstrong who is targeting an eighth tour de
france win at the age of which would make him the oldest champion finished
seconds off the winner to place th overall
really happy and for the team as well greipel said the team did
really good job the last week just really happy
team sky took over in the final section of sunday stage around central
adelaide with chris sutton and greg henderson claiming the rich new outfit
second one two finish of the week
henderson placed third overall putting sky on the podium in their maiden outing
as they bid to produce britain first ever tour de france winner spain luis
leon sanchez took second overall
greipel bombed out of last year race when as defending champion he
ploughed into parked police motorbike and was sidelined for the early part of
the season
he has dominated this week claiming the first two stages with trademark sprints
and then eclipsing an armstrong attack with another powerful finish on day four
on sunday australia wesley sulzberger threatened sensational upset when he
opened up second lead in three man break with four laps of the street
circuit to go
but the runaways were caught kilometres miles from the finish and the
blue and black clad sky riders took over in the last section adding to their
first and second places in last sunday pre tour street race
we took control with around two kilometres to go and we just had the perfect
lead out sutton said
just went as long as could and just held on kicked and went for it and
we went one two which was incredible we re new team everyone working well
together it all about teamwork
australia reigning road race world champion cadel evans finished th to place
sixth overall after his heroic third place in sapping heat on day three and
saturday daring breakaway over the notorious willunga hill
evans who is focusing this year on unfinished business at the giro italia
and tour de france where he has twice placed second said he was surprised by
his strong showing in the season opening race
didn come here with any expectations because putting pressure on yourself
to perform when you haven done the preparation isn healthy he said
hopefully it sign of things to come
the six stage tour down under raced over kilometres of road around
adelaide has grown into one of australia biggest sporting events and this
year attracted record fans
philippine medical aid team to leave for haiti
manila jan afp
the philippines will send member medical aid team to haiti to help
humanitarian efforts following the devastating earthquake in the caribbean
nation officials said sunday
the team will leave manila monday and will arrive in santo domingo in
neighbouring dominican republic tuesday from there they will travel by road to
haiti the philippines foreign department said
the team will include surgeons nurses public health emergency specialists
sanitary engineers an internal medicine specialist paediatrician
psychologist and social worker the department said in statement
the team supplies and provisions had already been air freighted to haiti and
was expected arrive there ahead of them the department said
this assistance is on top of the dollars the philippine government
donated towards the relief effort the department said
in port au prince the philippines ambassador to cuba macarthur corsino was
arranging the repatriation of philippine adults and dependants the
department added they will be transported by bus to santo domingo from where
they will fly to manila tuesday or wednesday
special task force has accounted for filipinos in haiti it said
three un peacekeepers and un civilian staffer from the philippines were among
the tens of thousands people killed in the powerful earthquake that hit haiti on
january
search is continuing for two philippine workers believed to be buried in the
rubble of collapsed supermarket in haiti
afghanistan postpones parliamentary elections official
kabul jan afp
afghanistan election authorities said sunday they had to postpone
parliamentary elections from may to september because of funding shortage and
lack of security in the troubled country
the independent election commission due to lack of budget security and
uncertainty and logistical challenges has decided to conduct the wolosi jirga
election on september fazil ahmad manawi senior commissioner told
reporters in kabul
wolosi jirga is the official name for afghanistan lower house of the
parliament
the ballot was originally planned for may
taiwan aims to create jobs president
taipei jan afp
taiwan president ma ying jeou said sunday his government aimed to create
jobs this year in bid to cut the island unemployment rate
significantly
taiwan council for economic planning and development has set target for
lowering the island jobless rate from just under six percent in to
percent this year goal that ma said would be no easy task
to help achieve that target the government will try to create up to
jobs this year ma said during trip to hualien in eastern taiwan without
providing details of the job creation scheme
he said there were encouraging signs for employment including gradual
recovery in the the high tech and electronic sectors and consecutive decline
in the unemployment rate for the last four months of
the island unemployment rate came in at percent in december the lowest
rate in eight months and down from percent in the previous month the
directorate general of budget accounting and statistics said
the jobless rate for the full year of was percent compared with
percent in
unemployment in taiwan hit record high of percent in august as the global
economic meltdown dealt heavy blow to the island export dependent economy
the economy contracted percent year on year in the third quarter the
slowest pace of decline in year as world trade picked up
urgent afghanistan postpones parliamentary elections official
kabul jan afp
afghanistan election authorities said sunday that they would postpone
parliamentary elections from may to september due to shortage in funding and
lack of security in the troubled country
tennis australian open schedule
melbourne jan afp
monday schedule of play on show courts for the australian open tennis at
melbourne park denotes seeding all sessions start at am gmt
unless stated
rod laver arena
venus williams usa francesca shiavone ita
fernando verdasco esp nikolay davydenko rus
serena williams usa samantha stosur aus
not before pm gmt
roger federer sui lleyton hewitt aus
vera zvonareva rus victoria azarenka blr
hisense arena
flavia pennetta ita marcelo melo bra jarmila groth samuel groth aus
caroline wozniaki den li na chn
novak djokovic srb lukasz kubot pol
jo wilfried tsonga fra nicolas almagro esp
alert
afghanistan postpones parliamentary elections official
taliban kill six us spies in nw pakistan police
miranshah pakistan jan afp
taliban militants shot dead six men in pakistan restive northwest tribal belt
after accusing them of spying for the united states officials said sunday
the bullet ridden bodies of five men were found on sunday dumped by the side of
road in kamsarobi village kilometres miles south of miranshah the
main town in the semi autonomous north waziristan tribal region
taliban killed five men overnight accusing them of spying for americans to
help them launch drone attacks local police official mehboob shah told afp
note found on the body said that the victims were spying on taliban and
anyone doing the same would be killed in this manner he added
the body of the sixth man was found in qutabkhel village five kilometres three
miles south of miranshah with similar note from the taliban shah said
adding that he too appeared to have been shot dead overnight
an intelligence official and local tribesmen confirmed the incidents
militants frequently kidnap and kill tribesmen accusing them of spying for the
pakistani government or us forces operating across the border in afghanistan
where taliban fighters are leading an insurgency
volley of drone strikes has hit the northwest this month all in north
waziristan bastion of al qaeda fighters the taliban and the haqqani network
known for staging attacks on us and nato troops in afghanistan
more than people have been killed in about us drone strikes in pakistan
since august
separately paramilitary soldier was killed sunday when taliban fired rocket
at convoy near malik deenkhel village in khyber another tribal district
bordering afghanistan
one security forces member was martyred and four others were injured after
rocket fired by militants struck their convoy chief of khyber administration
shafirullah khan told afp
pakistan rugged tribal regions have been beset by violence since hundreds of
taliban and al qaeda rebels fled across the border to escape the us led invasion
of afghanistan in late
washington says the tribal regions where security forces are battling islamist
militants have become safe haven for extremists
us envoy meets second time with israeli pm
jerusalem jan afp
us middle east envoy george mitchell on sunday met for second time with
israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu on regional tour aimed at
relaunching peace talks with the palestinians
israeli government spokesman mark regev said the two met ahead of weekly
israeli cabinet meeting without providing further details
mitchell was also due to meet palestinian president mahmud abbas for second
time later in the day in amman after having held inconclusive meetings with
both leaders last week
the united states has been trying for months to convince both sides to return to
the negotiating table but the palestinians have refused to do so unless israel
halts all settlement growth in the west bank and east jerusalem territories it
occupied in
washington initially backed that demand but has more recently pressed both sides
to immediately return to the talks and praised limited month settlement
slowdown enacted by netanyahu in november
the palestinians have rejected the moratorium on building starts because it
excludes mostly arab east jerusalem which they demand as their capital as
well as public buildings and projects already under way
israel has meanwhile insisted it will not give any more ground and blamed the
palestinians for the impasse
israel vice prime minister silvan shalom on sunday said it was time to say
clearly and unequivocally that there will be no further concessions from israel
for the launching of negotiations
the method of the palestinians is to refuse to resume negotiations to force the
united states to exert pressure on israel he told public radio
the ball is in the palestinian court
tennis kuznetsova says she deserved to lose
melbourne jan afp
french open champion svetlana kuznetsova says she deserved to lose her fourth
round clash at the australian open after crashing out to nadia
petrova on sunday
petrova beat her second grand slam champion in succession when she bundled out
kuznetsova in shade over two hours on the hisense arena after destroying us
open champion kim clijsters in the third round
thought to myself after that clijsters win that have to stay focused for
the next one said petrova the russian th seed
felt like my motivation my concentration was on the same level
kuznetsova the world number three struggled in the third round to beat german
qualifier angelique kerber in match that started late on friday night and
finished early saturday morning
she complained about the scheduling after that match but refused to use it as
an excuse for her loss to petrova
have to go to bed at four in the morning next day of course wake up
early because used to waking up at nine she said
it changes things but to play good and try to win grand slams you have to be
able to perform and to pass through difficult moments like this
definitely it was not the best schedule for me but it not an excuse at all
had all the chances to win today just didn use them that final
kuznetsova appeared distracted in the first set losing her first service game
and struggling to make an impression after that
she fought back in the second set and looked far more composed but despite
breaking to lead in the third that was as good as it got as the year old
petrova stormed through the set without dropping another game
was struggling with finding my rhythm all match but in the second set
managed to find it and started to play better kuznetsova said
and cannot stop at one love in the third did stop
cannot allow that in fourth round to do that to myself didn deserve to
win
kuznetsova had record over petrova heading into the match but conceded she
had been outplayed
it the best ve seen her play in the last two years think but didn
deserve to win because was not playing good enough she said
the win put petrova who was once ranked number three in the world into the
quarter finals of the australian open for only the second time having lost in
to maria sharapova
working hard and digging deep because know there still lot to
accomplish petrova said
want to quit tennis knowing that ve done everything possible that
developed as much as could and gave percent
tennis nadal ready for murray in quarter final
melbourne jan afp
rafael nadal admits he must step up gear to beat andy murray after blunting
the power of giant croatian ivo karlovic sunday to set up an enticing australian
open quarter final against the scot
the defending champion tamed the ft ins karlovic despite the croat
thumping down aces eventually winning
nadal six time grand slam winner now faces fifth seed murray with the in
form briton yet to drop set in the tournament
the spaniard has won seven of their nine previous matches but said that record
would count for little here and that he would need to improve on his form
against karlovic to reach the semis
he is one of the more difficult players to play against nadal said of murray
who beat another big server american john isner
he can play aggressively and he can play defensively he can do lot of
different things during match
have to play better next match if really want to have chances to win
murray is shouldering mounting expectations as he bids to become the first
british man to win grand slam singles title since but nadal said he had
no doubt the year old would win majors before his career was over
he has enough results to be confident of winning grand slam he said
he is going to have lot of chances to win grand slam and he is going do it
for sure
the young scot showcased his exciting strokeplay against isner and believes he
has the game plan to overcome nadal
played some really good matches against him on hard courts said murray who
lost to nadal in five sets in the fourth round of the australian open
think ve got some tactics that work well against him
playing well no question about that just need to play like have been
and maybe bit more if want to win the tournament
nadal had no qualms about facing murray in the quarters as opposed to deeper in
the tournament
the important thing is am in the quarter finals losing only two sets he
said
coming off injury problems that blighted his nadal added that he was
pleased to be in such good form at the start of the new year
being in the quarter finals is good result for me he said it gives me
lot of confidence
despite the th ranked karlovic booming serve nadal made it three wins from
as many meetings with the croat by claiming three crucial service breaks in the
match
the first came in the ninth game of the opening set and allowed nadal to easily
serve out the set although karlovic claimed the second set by breaking nadal to
love in the th game
brilliant forehand pass by nadal gave him an early break in the third set that
he held onto while karlovic double fault in the corresponding game in the
fourth set handed the spaniard another break
boosted by his swag of aces karlovic actually hit winners while nadal
managed
however nadal return consistency was the difference and he conceded few
points cheaply making just unforced errors compared to the croatian
break points on the karlovic serve were rare but nadal made sure they counted
korea lashes out at seoul preemptive strike plan
seoul jan afp
north korea on sunday lashed out at south korea plan to launch preemptive
strike to thwart any nuclear attack from pyongyang as an open declaration of
war state media said
the north general staff of the korean people army said the south korean
defence chief recent remarks on preemptive strike had created grave
situation which could lead to war at any moment
the north armed forces will take prompt and decisive military actions against
any attempt of the south korean puppet authorities and blow up the major
targets including the commanding centre it said according to the korean
central news agency
the agency later carried separate statement by the committee for the peaceful
reunification of korea in protest at seoul alleged contingency plan for
possible unrest in pyongyang as well
this itself is declaration of war against north korea said the state
committee which handles cross border relations with the south
the north warning came days after the south defence minister kim tae young
reiterated that seoul would launch preemptive strike to frustrate any nuclear
attacks by the communist regime
we would have to strike right away if we detected clear intention to attack
south korea with nuclear weapons kim told seoul forum on wednesday
it would be too late and the damage would be too big if in the case of north
korean nuclear attack we had to cope with the attack
the north military statement warned sunday that its armed forces regard this
as the south state policy and was an open declaration of war
kim made similar remarks in sparking the north angry protest and
temporarily expulsion of south korean officials from seoul funded industrial
park just north of the heavily fortified border
international efforts to bring pyongyang back to six party nuclear disarmament
talks have so far made little headway
north korea abandoned the talks last april month before defiantly conducting
second atomic bomb test following its first in which soon led to united
nations sanctions on the communist state
its foreign ministry repeated last week that it would not return to the talks
with the united states china south korea russia and japan until the sanctions
are lifted
the ministry also renewed demand for early discussions on peace pact aimed
at formally ending the war
the united states and south korea have rejected the demands saying the north
must first come back to the disarmament talks and show it is serious about
scrapping its atomic programmes
us assistant secretary of state kurt campbell will visit japan and south korea
early next month to discuss regional security issues including ways to revive
the six party talks
south korean foreign minister yu myung hwan said friday he hopes talks on north
korea nuclear disarmament can resume next month but reaffirmed that sanctions
will remain in force until progress is made
he said china and other participants were making efforts to restart the six
nation talks last held in december
hope the six party talks may resume before or after the lunar new year
february yu told journalists
age old sumo faces call for change
tokyo jan afp
last summer landslide election changed the face of japanese politics now the
year old national sport of sumo faces its own shake up if group of
reformist rebels have their way
the japan sumo association has been thrown into turmoil by seven breakaway
members who have demanded sweeping changes to boost the waning popularity of the
sport which has been hit by series of scandals in recent years
leading the reformist charge in the ritualistic male only sport is former grand
champion takanohana who wants to start by having the association board
members openly elected rather than decided behind closed doors
takanohana goal is to revive the sport which has faced increasing
competition first from baseball and more recently football and to introduce it
in schools to breed new generation of home grown wrestlers
want to expand the spirit of reform takanohana last week told reporters
lot of people aged around like me are thinking of trying to help develop the
association beyond its factions
the association made up of stablemasters top athletes and judges in
introduced elections to its board which manages the sport and organises
tournaments ticket sales and broadcasting rights
but in practice the body has only held three votes since then because most
years the make up of the board was decided in backroom talks by influential
faction leaders usually leaving candidates for board positions
in recent years the reclusive body has had to react to series of scandals
including the deadly hazing of teenage wrestler one fighter arrest for
illegal drug use and allegations of match fixing
many japanese were shocked by the case of stable master now in jail who
ordered the brutal toughening up treatment of year old wrestler who died
after being beaten with beer bottle and baseball bat
study by the japan sumo association found that percent of sumo stables
allowed violent beatings of trainees and punishments such as forcing salt or
sand into their mouths
there has also been disquiet over the rising dominance of foreign fighters
mainly from mongolia and eastern europe but as far as brazil and tonga who have
been willing to put up with the gruelling lifestyle of the sumo fighter
sumo has not had japanese born champion in more than three years and in
recent tournaments more than one third of competitors have been foreigners
the spring tournament that ended sunday saw mongolian sumo grand champion
asashoryu clinch his th trophy
to revitalise the sport takanohana has announced his candidacy for election
hoping for the kind of change that transformed japan politics last august
when centre left party ended more than half century of almost unbroken
conservative rule and pledged an end to business as usual
takanohana has said he has prepared manifesto for change although he has
given away few details other than plan to make sumo required course at
elementary and junior high schools
his first aim is to bring greater transparency to the board management through
truly open elections to help the sport reform call that promptly saw him
and his six allies evicted from his faction called nishonoseki
musashigawa the head of the association shrugged off the call for change
saying reform reform what reforms does he want we are already doing
that
undeterred takanohana who won emperor cups during his career and who now
owns sumo stable said his resolve is unshakable declaring want to move
forward firmly
his candidacy is expected to force the association to hold an election for
new board members on february in which members can cast their votes
whatever the outcome takanohana has already made sumo history
have never heard of such daring act within sumo circles retired sumo
great muneyoshi fujisawa who spent years in the ring and five years
coaching told afp his actions may not be easily accepted by the sumo world
which has long cherished conformity and discipline
round the world girl sailor pounded in violent storm
sydney jan afp
an australian schoolgirl bidding to become the youngest person to sail solo
around the world admitted sunday that brutal storm which upended her boat in
giant waves has made her question her trip
sixteen year old jessica watson faced the toughest conditions to date on her
non stop unassisted circumnavigation when she endured hurricane force winds and
waves up to metres feet high in the south atlantic ocean friday
the queenslander was left bruised and feeling like ve aged good years
while her yacht ella pink lady suffered minor damage during the eight hour
storm which tossed the boat beneath crushing waves
it was certainly one of those times when you start questioning exactly why
you re doing this she wrote in her blog
but at no point could not answer my own question with long list of reasons
why the tough times like that aren totally worth it
watson left sydney in her bright pink yacht more than three months ago and
during the storm passed the nautical mile mark on her voyage
the tempest was the first time the schoolgirl had experienced knockdown
when the mast goes below horizontal and dives into the sea
watson who was strapped into seat below deck throughout the ordeal said she
spent the storm with my whole body clenched up holding on various objects
flying around the cabin and ella pink lady complaining loudly under the
strain
we experienced total of knockdowns the second was the most severe with the
mast being pushed degrees in to the water she wrote
actually pushed isn the right word it would be more accurate to say that
ella pink lady was picked up thrown down wave then forced under mountain
of breaking water and violently turned upside down
watson who said gusts had reached speeds of up to knots before she lost her
wind instruments in knockdown said the storm made it too dangerous to be on
deck and she relied on her electric autopilot to hold the vessel on course
we didn come though completely un scathed though as there plenty of minor
damage but luckily nothing bad enough to stop us she said
watson said the solid inch thick stainless steel frame that supported the
boat solar panels had been bent out of shape and the starboard solar panel
distorted while there were few tears in the mainsail
down below the cabin was disaster zone everything is wet or damp she
said adding that the toilet had fallen apart and her stove refused to light
she said by saturday the swell had dropped to more comfortable three metres
and dolphins were swimming beside her boat
the queensland schoolgirl supporters believe her nautical mile journey
which she hopes to complete in eight months to break the record set by fellow
australian jesse martin then aged in is the maritime equivalent of
conquering mount everest
she rounded south america challenging cape horn earlier this month and is now
making her way east towards the falkland islands and the cape of good hope
before tackling the vast southern ocean and returning to australia
