by an innings at the wanderers to square the series at
england were so infuriated they lodged an official complaint with the
international cricket council icc who have opened an ongoing investigation
arthur said technology did more good than bad but added he had some
misgivings particularly the way in which slightly different systems were in
operation around the world
we have to standardise the use of the udrs across the world by using all the
tools available if hot spot and snicko are used in one series but not
another then the system is half baked
replay technology in other sports such as the ball hitting the line in tennis
or being grounded for try in rugby union is used to determine matters of
fact
but the final question any umpire must answer when ruling on an lbw decision
would the ball have gone on to hit the stumps is matter of opinion
and arthur is not convinced hawkeye judgement should be substituted for that
of an umpire
not percent convinced about the predictive element of hawkeye and
don think many players are either
in order for udrs to be activated players must appeal against the on field
umpire decision and there were times when both sides appeared to be stretching
the rules in this regard to breaking point
the other issue that needs to be clarified is the amount of time taken to
decide whether to call for review arthur said
think it fair to say that both south africa and england did take longer
than we should have done at times
but arthur said that for all the controversy udrs was succeeding in its core
task of eliminating the rank bad as opposed to arguable decision from
international cricket
if the udrs can eliminate the absolute shocker then it is doing its job he
said
haiti aid relief steps up gear as us troops pour in
port au prince jan afp
us troops led by marines fanned out across the ruined haitian capital tuesday
as the us military ramped up huge aid operation for desperate survivors one
week after massive quake
in spectacular move paratroopers from the nd airborne division descended
from helicopters to secure the presidential palace once elegant white
building now surrounded by squalid refugee camp
from there strong squad of soldiers marched to the city general
hospital swamped with injured after the catastrophic magnitude quake
the haitian government said tuesday that people had been killed
were injured and million left homeless in the quake seven days ago
we are here to provide security to the hospital we work with the government of
haiti we have rules of engagement but we are on humanitarian mission
sergeant bill smith told afp
in several pronged operation us marines also landed southwest of the capital
port au prince to link up with un peacekeepers and assess conditions to start
moving in more troops and equipment
state department spokesman gordon duguid said there were troops in or
around haiti most based on us navy vessels anchored offshore
about marines and sailors are also expected to take part in the relief
operation some marines arrived by helicopter tuesday in the devastated town
of leogane to be met by crowd of about haitians
the arrival at the presidential palace was not welcomed by all of the
destitute refugees camping outside it an occupation the palace is our
power our face our pride said feodor desanges
but duguid stressed our troops are here at the invitation of the people in the
name of your president as soon as the haitian people no longer need our
presence we will leave
amid reports of sporadic looting and growing tensions on the streets the un
security council voted unanimously to send extra un troops and police to
haiti to help maintain order and protect aid convoys
relatives told afp that haitian police killed year old girl fabienne
cherisma while firing warning shots over looters in the capital
some witnesses in the angry crowd including the girl father said the
policeman had aimed deliberately at the girl while others spoke of warning
shot that went tragically astray
while the full scale of the disaster remains unclear extraordinary stories of
children and adults surviving several days under collapsed buildings provide
rare glimmers of hope
at the un headquarters in new york secretary general ban ki moon led poignant
wreath laying ceremony in the general assembly exactly one week after the quake
struck at pm gmt
somber looking ban bowed deeply as he faced the un flag that had been flying
atop the headquarters of the un mission in haiti minustah which was flattened
by the quake leaving at least staff dead and missing
with hopes of finding more survivors fading the deputy commander of the
military operation in haiti said us forces would soon switch the focus of the
operation to recovering bodies
we fully expect that we will transition very soon from the search phase to the
recovery phase and obviously we continue to be in prayer said major general
daniel allyn
allyn said there were now some daily flights at the capital damaged
airport and that two additional airstrips in the coastal city of jacmel and in
san isidro in the neighboring dominican republic would be in use by thursday
homeland security secretary janet napolitano has also called up to us coast
guard reservists saying the move will expand our capacity to assist in aid
efforts in haiti
in huge global effort more than billion dollars has been pledged in aid
funding for haiti united nations data showed tuesday
international efforts are also focusing on rebuilding the country with major
donor conference set for monday in montreal us secretary of state hillary
clinton is scheduled to attend
we need to move beyond reconstruction to build new haiti said canadian
foreign minister lawrence cannon
haiti biggest foreign investor digicel said tuesday it was working alongside
former us president bill clinton the special un envoy to haiti on marshall
plan to rebuild the country
meanwhile in surreal scene the giant berth cruise ship liberty of the
seas dropped anchor off the port of labadee where the company leases private
resort with beautiful beaches
royal caribbean international which has donated one million dollars to the
haiti relief effort defended its decision to keep taking passengers there by
saying it was important to keep supporting the haitian economy
prince william dodges marriage question
sydney jan afp
prince william second in line to the british throne has side stepped questions
about whether he will wed his long term girlfriend kate middleton
as media speculation grows as to whether the very private prince will pop the
question to his love of six years bold member of crowd in australia took it
upon herself to ask if the pair would tie the knot
but prince william greeting members of the public during visit to run down
aboriginal neighbourhood in sydney on tuesday side stepped the query
as keep saying wait and see he told the woman in comment broadcast on
local media
british media have been rife with speculation of an impending royal engagement
between prince william and middleton
the year old prince is on three day visit to australia during which he has
met with members of the aboriginal community and will also travel to areas
devastated by deadly bushfires last year
giant leaping asian carp threaten us great lakes
chicago jan afp
huge asian carp which act like aquatic vacuum cleaners and leap into the air
when spooked by motorboats may have invaded the us great lakes despite
massive effort to block them officials said tuesday
researchers analyzing water samples have discovered fragments of asian carp dna
in lake michigan although there is still no evidence that that fast breeding
fish have breached electric barriers set up along chicago area waterways
clearly this is not good news said major general john peabody commanding
general of the us army corps of engineers great lakes and ohio river division
the corps is one of host of state and federal agencies working to stop the
spread of the voracious carp which can grow up to seven feet long meters
and weigh pounds kilos
federal officials have warned that asian carp which have no natural predators
could have devastating effect on the great lakes ecosystem and
significant economic impact on the seven billion dollar sport and commercial
fishing industry
from what we have seen in other parts of the country asian carp could out
compete our native sport and commercial fish in southern lake michigan
charlie wooley deputy regional director of the us fish and wildlife service
fws said in statement
we call them an aquatic vacuum cleaner because they filter important food
resources out of the water and turn it into carp biomass
it possible that the dna discovered in two different samples could come from
decomposed carp which was carried through the electric barriers officials said
or it could come from eggs that were transported on the belly of bird another
possibility is that flooding may have allowed the carp may to swim around the
barriers
the short answer is we just don know said fws spokeswoman ashley spratt
we have not actually seen live carp above the barrier she told afp the
information we currently have does not suggest they re there in sustainable
populations
teams will set out on boats as soon as weather allows to search the lake for
signs of live carp and the regional coordinating committee will accelerate its
efforts to block their spread she said
officials are considering number of options including another mass kill
through poisoning sterilizing males to slow breeding building new electrical
barriers and researching other biological controls
the test results were released hours after the fight to block the carp was dealt
blow by the us supreme court which refused to force the closure of the
chicago shipping canal system as an emergency measure to stop the invasion
the motion of michigan for preliminary injunction is denied the supreme court
wrote in single line ruling
michigan attorney general mike cox called upon president barack obama to use his
executive powers to close the locks and said he hoped the supreme court would
consider the issue more carefully in another pending case
am extremely disappointed the supreme court did not push the pause button on
this crisis until an effective plan is in place cox said in statement
while the injunction would have been an extraordinary step by the court
michigan and the other great lakes states are facing an extraordinary crisis
that could forever alter the lakes permanently killing thousands of jobs at
time when families can least afford it
asian carp were originally imported to the southern united states in the
to help keep retention ponds clean at fish farms and waste water treatment
plants
heavy flooding helped them escape into the mississippi in the and they
have since migrated into the missouri and illinois rivers
should they make it into lake michigan in large numbers it would be extremely
difficult to stop their spread throughout the five interconnected great lakes
and up into the st lawrence seaway
fbi arrests in arms industry bribery sting
washington jan afp
fbi agents have arrested people working in the arms and security industries
in massive sting operation charging them with trying to bribe an african
defense minister us officials said tuesday
in the biggest operation ever of its kind the including at least three
british nationals were held under the foreign corrupt practices act fcpa the
department of justice said tuesday
the detainees arrested monday in las vegas nevada the other in miami
are charged with trying to obtain million dollar contract in an african
nation to outfit the presidential guard
this ongoing investigation is the first large scale use of undercover law
enforcement techniques to uncover fcpa violations assistant attorney general
lanny breuer said
the fight to erase foreign bribery from the corporate playbook will not be won
overnight but these actions are turning point
from now on would be fcpa violators should stop and ponder whether the person
they are trying to bribe might really be federal agent
the act bars us companies and citizens from bribing foreign officials to win
business
during the two and half year investigation fbi agents pretended to be acting
on behalf of the defense minister of an african country although no such
minister was involved in the operation
the defendants allegedly agreed to pay percent commission to sales
agent who they thought represented the minister in order to win the million
dollar contract they were told half the commission would be paid to the
defense minister
in fact the sales agent was an undercover fbi agent the department of justice
said
corrupt payments to foreign officials to obtain or retain business erode public
confidence in our free market system and threaten to undermine foreign
governments said us attorney channing phillips
most of the suspects worked for us military equipment manufacturers two worked
for british firms and one for an israeli company the department said without
naming the businesses due to the ongoing nature of the investigation
the companies manufactured such items as ammunition body armor firearms
rifles and grenade launchers as well as tactical and ballistic equipment
after the indictments were revealed agents carried out searches in
places across the united states
british police in london also carried out seven search warrants
in this era of global commerce the fbi is committed to curbing corruption at
home or overseas companies should prosper through honest practices not the
practice of backroom deals and bribery said fbi assistant director kevin
perkins
former justice department fraud chief steven tyrrell called the arrests
extremely significant both in numbers twice as many fpca cases were
brought in than in and in the nature of the investigations
these matters involve the use of traditional undercover investigative
techniques something we have not seen much of in the past in the fcpa
context said tyrrell
tokyo stocks open higher
tokyo jan afp
japanese share prices opened higher wednesday with the benchmark nikkei
index rising points or percent to in the first minute of
trading
shares in japan airlines jal opened at record low of two yen two us cents
down three yen or percent from tuesday close
asia top carrier went bankrupt tuesday with billion dollars of debt in one
of japan biggest ever corporate failures beginning painful overhaul
involving more than job cuts
the tokyo stock exchange said jal shares would be delisted from the bourse on
february or earlier
samsung rambus reach million dollar settlement
washington jan afp
samsung electronics and rambus reached million dollar settlement on
tuesday to patent claims filed against the south korean giant by the us memory
chip company
samsung and rambus said the agreement includes an initial payment by samsung to
rambus of million dollars and quarterly payments of million dollars over
the next five years
in addition samsung will invest million dollars in rambus stock they said
in statement
samsung and rambus said the two companies had also agreed to new licensing
agreement for rambus graphics and mobile memory solutions
bringing together samsung market and technology leadership with our
innovations for high performance and high efficiency memory architectures will
make possible an exciting new generation of mobile computing and consumer
electronics products rambus chief executive harold hughes said
shares in los altos california based rambus gained percent to
dollars in after hours electronic trading
football no surgery for dempsey eases us world cup fears
chicago jan afp
fulham striker clint dempsey will not require surgery to repair his injured
right knee the english premier league side announced tuesday easing us fears
that he might be lost for the world cup
dempsey who plays forward as well as attacking midfielder suffered moderate
ligament damage but an mri scan indicated there was not torn ligament and that
he might play for fulham before the end of the season
that means he should be healthy when the americans face england on june in
their world cup opener in south africa
the news about clint injury is positive especially given the fact that he
will not require surgery us coach bob bradley said we are confident that
clint will be ready to be an important part of our team during the world cup
dempsey was injured during fulham loss sunday at blackburn us team
medical staff have spoken daily with fulham officials since then and will
monitor dempsey progress in the months of rehabilitation to come
dempsey has goals in caps for the americans and seven goals for fulham
this season
the us side is already dealing with injuries to star defender oguchi onyewu who
is rehabilitating after knee surgery and forward charlie davies who suffered
two broken right leg bones and lacerated bladder in car crash
argentine leader postpones china trip in political flap
buenos aires jan afp
argentine president cristina kirchner on tuesday postponed scheduled trip to
china fearing that her vice president would overstep his authority during the
days she is out of the country
kirchner has clashed repeatedly with vice president julio cobos since but
the disagreements have peaked in the last few weeks over the president attempt
to remove central bank chief martin redrado
redrado has refused to dig into the bank reserves to guarantee payment of
new sovereign debt issue fearing that it could open the way to the
creditors laying claim to the bank reserves
kirchner tried to sack redrado as result despite the bank constitutional
autonomy but her order was overturned by argentina courts
ve decided to postpone my trip to china kirchner said at surprise press
conference the trip was originally scheduled to start on friday
it is long time to be absent when the country current vice president does
not fulfill the role assigned by the constitution she said
not only did he become the leader of the opposition but he directly obstructs
and opposes measures that are supported by the presidency kirchner said
cobos who is also president of the senate cut short his vacation when the
crisis broke out and has defended the central bank autonomy
he has criticized kirchner attempt to remove redado by decree and said that
congress should debate the issue as well as the payment of debt obligations with
reserves
analysts believe that kirchner fears that during her absence cobos could call
special session of congress to discuss the redado affair kirchner party lost
its majority in argentina congress in june last year
cobos was expelled from the radical civic union when he became kirchner vice
presidential candidate in but the opposition party has since revoked that
decision and he has declared his intention to run for president in
football fergie unmoved as tevez makes his point
manchester jan afp
sir alex ferguson insisted he had no regrets about allowing carlos tevez to
leave manchester united despite the city forward scoring both goals in his new
club victory in the first leg of the league cup cup semi final
the return leg at old trafford on wednesday is finely balanced after tevez
with controversial penalty equalised ryan giggs opening goal before
scoring the second half winner
in tie full of ill feeling between the two old rivals police were
investigating claims that cigarette lighter was thrown at united defender
patrice evra during the second half and of cases of missiles being thrown by
supporters at each other
further tevez made be quiet gesture at former team mate gary neville on the
united bench after scoring his goal with the defender being photographed making
an obscene gesture at tevez in response
the dispute between the two players seemed to stem from comments made by neville
on the day of the game claiming united were correct to allow tevez to leave
tevez was central to much of the animosity and much of the on field drama and
has now scored goals in his last games although ferguson claimed he does
not regret the decision not to stand in the way of him leaving the club and
moving to city
that just the way it happens said ferguson it can be like that it can
bite you we ve had few players leave the club and score against us it not
an issue happy with the players we have
it will be man united crowd at old trafford and with the occasion and what is
at stake we will be okay the fans have part to play the most important
thing is that we perform like we did today
for opposite number roberto mancini his first taste of manchester derby was
one to remember although the city manager was in no mood to become embroiled in
the controversy
carlos played big game very well he scored two important goals but we
played very well after he said to score twice against united showed that
we recovered very well and it important that we won the game
it not big advantage but it is an advantage are we favourites think
we have per cent chance
am very happy for carlos because he is an ex united player don know if
what was said made difference for carlos just hope that he plays as well in
the second game because it will be very difficult at old trafford
what is important is that we have won don know whether they made mistake
letting him go am just happy that he plays for us
city penalty was controversial as rafael pulled back craig bellamy outside
the area continuing the infringement in the area and conceding the spot kick
not getting into the penalty everybody can see it for themselves said
ferguson the kind of decision that gone against us today may go for us
another day
thought we played well we dominated the match there were mad couple of
minutes before the equalising goal we lost our composure for minutes after
that we were okay
for most of the game we were reasonably in control but the mad two minutes
before half time brought them back into the game
the return leg is difficult to predict given flurry of late united chances
but city midfielder gareth barry summed up the feeling in the city camp that
tevez can have decisive role next week
carlos was the difference between the two teams said barry all the talk
before the game was about him and he has done his talking on the pitch with
great performance that the way it written he deserved his goals because of
the way he worked
the tie is still in the balance and we expect tough game at old trafford
they will push on and we expect battle again
tokyo stocks open higher
tokyo jan afp
japanese share prices opened higher wednesday with the benchmark nikkei
index rising points or percent to in the first minute of
trading
german tyrant ad banned in britain
london jan afp
radio advertisement for british recruitment website has been banned for
implying that germans are tyrants watchdog said tuesday
the advertisement for reed showed man speaking to his boss who answered
furiously in german voiceover then said boss bit of tyrant find your
perfect boss on the uk biggest job site
the advertising standards authority asa ordered reed not to show the
advertisement again in its current form after receiving complaints from
members of the public
the humour derived from stereotype at the expense of german people we
considered that the portrayal suggested that german people were more likely to
be unreasonable or aggressive to others the asa said
the ad reinforced negative and outdated cultural stereotype of german people
as overpowering and tyrannical and therefore the ad had the potential to cause
serious offence to some listeners
minister insists britain wanted diplomatic solution on iraq
london jan afp
the first former cabinet minister to give evidence to the iraq war inquiry has
insisted that britain had always wanted diplomatic solution to the crisis
before the invasion
former defence secretary geoff hoon testimony tuesday kicked off appearances
from series of ex cabinet ministers before the eagerly awaited questioning of
former prime minister tony blair on january
hoon said britain had always hoped diplomatic efforts to disarm iraq through the
united nations would bear fruit and he doubted that blair had ever given the
united states unconditional support for military action
blair influential spokesman at the time of the war alastair campbell told
the inquiry last week that blair had sent secret notes to then us president
george bush in the months before the march invasion
campbell said that while blair was pressing bush to seek diplomatic solution
he indicated in his notes he would support military action if the un route
failed
hoon was asked whether he as defence minister would not have expected to have
been consulted if blair were writing notes committing britain to military
action
would have been and that is why do not believe he was ever unconditionally
committing us to anything hoon said think that right up until the vote in
the house of commons our attitude towards the use of force was always
conditional
hoon was referring to the march vote in which british lawmakers backed the
use of military force against saddam hussein regime
on blair talks with bush at the president ranch in crawford texas in april
hoon said he had not been briefed directly on what was said at the
meeting
declassified letters released by the inquiry show that peter goldsmith then
attorney general the government top legal advisor warned hoon in april
there were considerable difficulties in justifying military action
but hoon said that by march shortly before the us led invasion
goldsmith was advising the government that an invasion would not be illegal
goldsmith is due to give evidence on january two days before blair
hoon said he had believed britain ministry of defence mod was content with
the controversial claim in government dossier used to make the case for war
that iraq could deploy weapons of mass destruction within minutes
david kelly an mod weapons expert who believed he may have been the source of
the minute claim later committed suicide officials had confirmed his name
as the source to some journalists
hoon admitted he had not seen the minute claim before it appeared in the
draft dossier but after seeking and receiving satisfactory explanation from
officials thought little more of it
he added he was unaware for months after the invasion why near blanket
press coverage of the minute issue later became controversial until he saw
bbc documentary on it hoon said he was away at the time and had not seen
newspaper headlines
hoon defence minister from to identified mid as the period when
it became clear that washington meant business over iraq because the united
states was deeply traumatised over the september attacks and perceived
saddam as another threat
it also emerged tuesday that more than members of the public had applied
for seats to see blair give evidence to the inquiry including people from
families of service personnel killed in the war
the son of jack straw who was foreign secretary in meanwhile launched
broadside over the government handling of the run up to the war as his father
prepared to give evidence to the inquiry thursday
in an interview with the evening standard newspaper will straw said am
especially deeply angry with blair for being duplicitous about his reasons for
taking us to war with iraq
he wrote later on his blog that the timing of the interview was the decision of
the journalist who interviewed him
afp
afp world news service no unauthorized reproduction
clinton presses yemen to boost development efforts
washington jan afp
us secretary of state hillary clinton on thursday urged yemen to do more for its
political and economic future as part of us funded efforts to fight terrorism
and boost development there
she gave the remarks as yemeni foreign minister abu bakr al kurbi visited
washington after yemen based al qaeda in the arabian peninsula aqap claimed it
was behind botched christmas day bid to down us airliner over detroit
we have worked hard this past year to develop constructive and positive
relationship with yemen around both security and development the chief us
diplomat told reporters as she stood next to kurbi
we believe strongly that we ve seen from the government of yemen very active
and effective commitment to combat the radical extremists particularly al qaeda
in the arabian peninsula in the last months she said
she called the work very positive sign that the united states is building
on
but both countries realize that our relationship cannot be just about the
terrorists she said adding the best way to really get at some of these
underlying problems that exist is through an effective development strategy
she signaled that the united states wanted more efforts from yemen beyond
president ali abdullah saleh point economic plan
we have made clear that we have expectations and we have the right to work with
the government of yemen as we do provide development because we want it to go
for the benefit of the people of yemen she said
we want to see results on the ground we re seeing results in the counter
terrorism efforts and we want to see similar results when it comes to
development she said
clinton said she believed that the foreign minister and other senior yemeni
government officials understood the need for such results
earlier this week clinton named aqap terrorist group in bid to cut support
to the outfit
clinton spokesman philip crowley said the group has claimed it was behind
number of attacks against saudi korean yemeni and us targets since it was
founded in january
obama health care plan in limbo
washington jan afp
president barack obama top ally in the us congress poured cold water thursday
on widely discussed way to rescue his embattled push to overhaul us health
care from deep in political limbo
democratic house speaker nancy pelosi said she did not have the votes to pass
the senate health care bill citing unrest and unease among house
democrats who prefer their more robust version of the sweeping legislation
in its present form without any changes don think it possible to pass
the senate bill in the house she told reporters don see the votes for it
