heavy rains which flooded parts of australia vast desert centre have brought
rare waterfalls spilling from the iconic monolith uluru or ayers rocks
officials said saturday
the deluge which swept across much of the continent east after tropical
cyclone last month prompted wave of green in the uluru kata tjuta national
park home to the giant red rock
it something that lot of people actually wouldn experience seeing the
park at this time of year when it is green and the plants are really shooting
and the flowers are coming out said park manager christine burke
it very exciting time at the park now to see what happens after we have
good rain and it looks beautiful she told state radio
situated near the centre of the semi arid sturt desert uluru typically receives
little more than inches of rain year and january is its hottest driest
month with temperatures topping to degrees celsius
conditions are overcast on average just five days of the year
uluru is sacred part of aboriginal tribes creation mythology and one of the
nation most recognisable landmarks
australia is currently mulling ban on climbing the rock on cultural and safety
grounds signs at the site ask people not to climb it out of respect for the
aboriginal community but one third of the annual visitors still do so
golf federer wishes pal tiger well
melbourne jan afp
roger federer wished his friend tiger woods well saturday then talked about the
importance of being role model
the two sporting superstars have become pals over the years and the swiss great
said he hoped to see woods sort out his problems
well have just been following it from afar he said when asked at pre
australian open press conference about woods fall from grace
all can say not going to talk about his personal life but wish him
all the best getting back hopefully on the golf course resolving his
problems and see how he goes
woods has suffered momentous fall from his lofty pedestal as one of the
greatest sportsmen in the world since november late night car crash outside
his florida home
the mysterious accident touched off sensational sex scandal with woods
eventually admitting to marital infidelity and declaring that he would take an
indefinite break from golf
asked about the responsibility top sports stars like himself and woods carried
as role models federer said he did not feel any extra pressure to stay squeaky
clean
no mean just try to be myself not change for the press or the public or
the fans he said
if they like me that great if they don that too bad
but think most important is that there lot of fair play involved when
play the game respect for the game respect for the opponent be polite to
everyone you meet
those are key things my parents have taught me and try to do the same thing
sure doing lot of press conferences and not being able to hide on the tennis
court is not an easy thing sometimes
but think ve done well over the years still enjoy doing it even though
there more enjoyable things than doing press conferences it just part of
it
mp rsm
aid trickles onto haiti streets as us troops pour in
port au prince jan afp
thousands of hungry and thirsty destitute victims of the haiti earthquake were
still waiting to receive aid saturday amid massive international efforts to help
them
four days after tuesday earthquake anger and frustration mounted in the
ruined capital city with thousands of people still desperate for food and water
amid the stench of corpses left rotting in the streets
us secretary of state hillary clinton said she will travel to haiti on saturday
to see the earthquake relief efforts first hand deliver supplies and meet
haitian president rene preval
will be taking supplies with me said clinton
we will also be conveying very directly and personally to the haitian people
our long term unwavering support solidarity and sympathies to reinforce
president obama message that they are not facing this crisis alone
vanguard of the us troops being deployed to haiti took control of the
airport clogged with tons of relief supplies and began the first mass
distributions of aid
and the crippled port of the haitian capital received its first supply ship
boat carrying bananas and coal that was greeted with jubilation by desperate
residents
swarm of small boats surrounded the ship at the entrance to the harbor late
friday as it approached crumbled pier with supplies from jeremie haitian
town about kilometers miles from port au prince
bananas will provide local residents with necessary food while coal will help
boil water to avoid the spread of disease
aboard the uss carl vinson aircraft carrier off haiti however the relief
effort had problem after day of frantic helicopter runs there was simply
nothing left to deliver
the relief work also faces logistical challenges according to rear admiral ted
branch the most senior officer aboard the warship
we have lift we have communications we have some command and control but we
don have much relief supplies to offer said branch who commands the battle
group led by the nuclear powered vessel
haitian officials said at least people had been killed and million
left homeless in the caribbean nation one of the poorest countries in the
world
officials have estimated that some three million people third of the
population were affected by the magnitude quake
un chief ban ki moon is set to visit on sunday after the world body appealed for
million dollars from donors ban said the un system was mobilizing all its
resources as fast as we possibly can
the un mission in haiti minustah was hit hard by the quake with of its
employees confirmed dead and unaccounted for
un officials said the world food programme was feeding around people
several times day and hopes to feed roughly one million people within days
and two million within month
as un officials on the ground pleaded for more medical and food aid for
survivors looting became widespread and there were angry scuffles at the few
distribution points
people had reserves for few days but now they are dwindling they are afraid
to go downtown in search of food because it has become too dangerous said
haiti resident patricia etique swiss citizen
working from police station close to the airport the haitian government is
trying to provide some governance to the country whose main symbols of power
were torn down by the devastating earthquake
the national palace big white structure that was home to the presidency was
destroyed along with several other buildings that housed ministries
the government has lost its capacity to function properly but it has not
collapsed said president rene preval
but the haitian capital insecure at the best of times is now devoid of
functioning police force when the earthquake hit it also let loose up to
convicts who escaped from the city collapsed jail
all the bandits of the city are now on the streets local policeman said
standing near the jail rifle at the ready they are robbing people it is
big problem
china found five billion tonnes of iron last year govt
beijing jan afp
china discovered five billion tonnes of iron ore deposits last year the
government said
more than three billion tonnes were located in the northeastern province of
liaoning with the rest found in hebei shandong anhui and sichuan said zhang
hongtao chief engineer of the ministry of land and resources
one billion tonnes of reserves in hebei would be easy to mine because of their
shallow depth said zhang quoted in statement posted on the ministry
website on friday
china the world biggest producer of steel is also the largest importer of
iron ore importing around percent or million tonnes in
steel production over the first nine months of last year added up to
million tonnes according to the china iron and steel association
each year chinese steelmakers enter bitter negotiations with the world top
three mining giants brazil vale and anglo australian companies rio tinto
and bhp billiton over the price they will pay for iron ore
annual iron ore pricing negotiations traditionally begin with japan around
november and take place alongside similar negotiations china and beijing
massive imports have been prime driver for price rises in the past few years
the three firms have sidelined beijing from annual talks to set benchmark
contract price the financial times reported earlier this week
the companies plan to present take it or leave it price to chinese steel
mills once negotiations with japan are complete the report said
as far as am concerned they chinese negotiators could come over to
australia if they want to talk an unnamed executive told the paper
turkmenistan sacks incompetent oil and gas chief
ashgabat jan afp
the leader of energy rich turkmenistan has fired his oil and gas minister for
incompetence just three months after appointing him state newspaper reported
saturday
turkmen president gurbanguly berdymukhamedov sacked the minister oraznur
nurmyradov for work deficiencies and temporarily replaced him with his
deputy government newspaper neutral turkmenistan said
certain chiefs of the oil and gas sector carry out their duties carelessly
showing passivity in resolving questions of the development of the sector
berdymukhamedov was quoted as saying in the report
turkmenistan secretive central asian state with huge oil and gas reserves
that have been eyed by china russia and the european union has repeatedly
shaken up its energy chiefs under berdymukhamedov presidency
berdymukhamedov has sacked four oil and gas ministers since all of them
for incompetence according to official explanations nurmyradov had been
appointed in october during the last reshuffle
last week turkmenistan resumed exports of gas to russia after nine month
interruption caused by pipeline explosion and punctuated by squabbling with
russian state controlled gas giant gazprom
the ex soviet republic inaugurated new pipeline to iran earlier this month
and in december it opened major new pipeline to china
cycling armstrong says he sacrifice tour record for team
adelaide australia jan afp
lance armstrong saturday insisted he sacrifice an astonishing tour de france
comeback win for his team hitting back at rival alberto contador who said he
lacked support in last year race
the seven time winner who finished third behind astana team mate contador in
july said he had better chance of victory this year but would pass up the
chance to become the tour oldest champion if instructed by his coach
we ll be in the same position where we have three strong guys in the tour
armstrong told reporters ahead of the tour down under here
sure love to win another one but if somebody else is in better position
to win then we have to support him
spain contador has voiced anger about internal tensions at astana claiming
the team failed to gel behind him as it wrestled to accommodate cycling two
biggest stars
with the precious help of few people resisted the pressure he told ride
cycling review magazine
ex astana director johan bruyneel who has moved with armstrong to the new team
radioshack said he was frustrated by the comments maintaining contador
became the team focus as soon as it was clear he was the strongest rider
think was clear example of team working as team no matter who they
had to work for bruyneel said bit frustrated about the comments that
he didn have any help that was absolutely not the case
armstrong and contador have been involved in bitter verbal war since the race
prompting the american to describe this year showdown as ali frazier
contador two time tour winner who is tipped to challenge armstrong record
seven titles has called their relationship non existent and describes
luxembourg andy schleck as his authentic rival
but armstrong warned that he expects an improved performance in france this year
as he returns to peak form and slims down charity work in the second season of
his comeback
don want to say going to win an eighth tour but will tell you that
expect to be better than wouldn be here if didn think could do
it he said
the texan who turns in december is bidding to outstrip belgian firmin
lambot year old achievement in winning the tour de france aged years and
four months in
armstrong who famously survived testicular cancer to win seven consecutive
tours from to has given himself another two seasons to achieve his
goal
the american cut short his three and half year retirement at last year tour
down under placing th on saturday he demonstrated his enormous popularity
by attracting some amateurs to an impromptu ride announced on twitter
contador is not racing in the season curtain raiser opting instead to
kick off his year at portugal tour of the algarve next month
tennis federer organises haiti relief effort
melbourne jan afp
world number one roger federer has organised charity tennis exhibition on
sunday ahead of the australian open to raise money for victims of the haiti
earthquake
at least people have been killed and million left homeless in the
caribbean nation and federer said he wanted to do something to help
had the idea that we could do something to help haiti after the tragic
earthquake he said here saturday
so spoke to some other top players got some connections you know they
all said yes we should do something
so we re going to play doubles or mixed doubles on sunday also with top
women players and try to fill the stadium rod laver arena
think there will be donation at the door of dollars to come and see us
play it something as tennis family we re very happy to do
un chief ban ki moon is set to visit haiti on sunday with the world body
appealing for million us dollars from donors
nba crawford buzzer beater lifts hawks over suns
atlanta georgia jan afp
jamal crawford nailed game winning three point basket at the buzzer as atlanta
rallied from four point deficit with seconds left to beat phoenix
on friday
we drew it up to get an easy basket said atlanta star joe johnson luckily
we were able to get the three
the hawks trailed after steve nash hit two free throws with seconds
left but atlanta squeezed two more possessions out of the clock and phoenix
missed couple of chances to ice the game
amare stoudemire was fouled and missed one of his free throws after timeout
mike bibby inbounded the ball to crawford who launched footer over jared
dudley
knew was going for win said crawford it felt good started backing
the other way
the hawks celebrated on the court while the officials reviewed the replay video
just to make sure crawford got off the shot in time
al horford led the hawks with points while josh smith had points and
rebounds crawford finished with points and give the hawks chance to
reclaim first in the nba southeast division
everything had to go right coach mike woodson said we were able to pull off
the miracle at the end
stoudemire scored of his points in the second half and pulled down
rebounds for phoenix grant hill added points steve nash had points and
assists
after trailing by as many as points in the first half the hawks scored
straight points in the third quarter for its first lead since the opening
minutes of the game
bibby sparked the run with three pointer then horford and smith scored four
points each for lead which would be atlanta largest lead of the game
tennis verdasco tames tsonga to win kooyong classic
melbourne jan afp
spain fernando verdasco completed perfect preparation for the australian
open by defeating frenchman jo wilfried tsonga saturday to win the
kooyong classic
verdasco who made breakthrough at melbourne park year ago when he took
rafael nadal to five set marathon semi final spent minutes in taming
tsonga the australian open finalist
the ninth ranked spaniard held his nerve in tight ninth game of the first set
saving three set points for
he then broke to seize momentum winning the set and earning the straight set
win on third match point after dominating in the second set
verdasco duplicated his australian open quarter final win over tsonga from
to take the trophy at the eight man special event considered the top tune up for
the opening grand slam of the season starting monday
tennis results from the kooyong classic
melbourne jan afp
results from the kooyong classic here saturday
final
fernando verdasco esp bt jo wilfried tsonga fra
afghan parliament set to vote on second cabinet list
kabul jan afp
afghan lawmakers began voting saturday for president hamid karzai second list
of cabinet nominees after rejecting most of his first choices but are again
expected to veto high number
lawmakers voted against of karzai original choices earlier this month
delivering blow to his authority already undermined after he was declared
winner of an august election marred by massive fraud mostly in his favour
parliamentarians diplomats and analysts said they expected up to one third of
his second round of choices to be rejected in secret ballot
members of afghanistan wolesi jirga the lower house many wearing turbans and
traditional salwar kameez began casting their votes on the nominees at around
am gmt in process expected to last most of the day
the mps spent this week grilling the new nominees men and three women
on their suitability for the posts after being ordered by the president to
cancel their winter break to consider the list
there has been high degree of absenteeism during the questioning of the
nominees and expect large number of them perhaps one third will be
rejected said haroun mir director of afghanistan centre for research and
policy studies
lack of political parties means there is little cohesion among lawmakers or
consultation before they vote
mp shukria barakzai said line seemed to have been drawn between those
parliamentarians who do not like what they see and those who want to finalise
the government
barakzai said she believed more candidates would pass the second round of
voting despite divisions among lawmakers
but she added one thing is sure not all the nominees will be passed this
time either
parliament initial rejection of names was seen as huge blow to karzai
who is under enormous pressure to prove his commitment to clean and competent
government in return for ongoing western support to rebuild the country and
fight taliban insurgents
the rejection has left the country without functioning government dragging
out the political stasis that has prevailed since the august election
diplomats said karzai wants government in place ahead of an international
conference in london on january to discuss the country future
the london conference will provide an opportunity for afghanistan and its
western supporters who together have troops fighting the taliban led
insurgency under us and nato command to formalise development and security
plan in one european diplomat said
known for travelling with large entourages karzai is expected to be accompanied
by up to ministers diplomats and analysts said
karzai first list of nominees was clear attempt to appease his critics in
the international community many of whom have made continued support
conditional on concrete progress on eradicating corruption
the seven ministerial nominees who did win approval including interior
defence agriculture and education had largely been given the nod by his
western backers
we think the first names were broadly ok and it was government we could do
business with senior european diplomat said speaking anonymously
with the second lot our concern is that they are political virgins and that
there is lot of political patronage involved he said echoing concerns that
many have little experience but useful connections
analysts said the new nominees represent cross section of afghanistan ethnic
mix of pashtun uzbek tajik and hazara
the list includes three women after the sole female nominee was initially
rejected but analysts said political connections and not competence appeared to
be the main qualification for many in the new line up
other nominees have links to powerful warlords who helped karzai in the august
election analysts said
at least one is aligned with feared uzbek warlord general abdul rashid dostam
two are associated with former president and warlord burhanuddin rabbani and
several with haji mohammad mohaqiq an ethnic hazara former militia leader
also on the list is economy portfolio nominee abdul hadi arghandiwal former
member of hizb islami who now leads pro government wing of the moderate
islamist party
tennis serena plays down injury fears
melbourne jan afp
defending champion serena williams has played down concerns about her
troublesome left knee after cancelling practice session on saturday ahead of
the australian open
the world number one lost in the semi finals of the sydney international on
friday to elena dementieva and was inconvenienced by the injury with her knee
strapped for the match
she admitted it troubled her from the start but said it now felt better
the knee is much better it was good for me to get all those matches in she
insisted
asked if the injury had hampered her preparation for the opening grand slam of
the season she replied absolutely not if anything it helped
played lot of matches in row back to back had long three set match
in the semis
that was good preparation for me because do plan on playing both singles and
doubles here
nevertheless concern remains after she pulled out of her scheduled practice
session saturday
williams said she had enough practice with the sydney warm up event
well definitely had lot of practice with sydney getting that far don
want to push it go too far she said
definitely want to do the best can obviously but also want to pace
myself hopefully can play seven single rounds and six double rounds
williams is searching for her th grand slam singles title at the australian
open next week to put herself alongside billie jean king as one of the all time
greats
the four time winner at melbourne park is clear favourite to lift the trophy
again after stellar but faces tougher task this time with many top
players making significant improvements over the past year
but williams the winner here in has the motivation
knowing one more victory will draw her level with the legendary billie jean king
with grand slam titles
she acknowledged that her task had been made harder by the return of kim
clijsters and justine henin but was excited by the new challenge they posed
what an amazing effort and quality for her justine and kim clijsters it
so good to see two such good players back she said commenting on the classic
brisbane international final this month that featured the two belgians
it good to be back and be part of that strong field just being in the draw
is awesome
williams opens her tournament against poland urszula radwanska the younger
sister of th seed agnieszka radwanska
they have played each other before and williams is not underestimating the
challenge
ve played her before at wimbledon she tough cookie tough player and
she definitely no push over she said
she younger sister and younger sisters always want to play really hard and
really tough know that for fact
if she progresses williams faces possible quarter final against belarus
seventh seed victoria azarenka or russian ninth seed vera zvonareva and is
projected to meet sister venus in the semis
golf sony open scores
honolulu hawaii jan afp
leading second round scores here on friday in the million dollar sony open
usa unless noted
ryan palmer
robert allenby aus chad campbell zach johnson
steve stricker john merrick jeff quinney
shane bertsch troy matteson davis love angel cabrera
arg
paul goydos michael allen tom lehman mark wilson
roger tambellini stephen ames can
retief goosen rsa rory sabbatini rsa graham delaet can
carl pettersson swe liang wen chong chn
justin rose gbr
marc leishman aus tim clark rsa nathan green aus
ernie els rsa brian davis gbr henrik bjornstad nor
yang kor
ryuji imada jpn nick hern aus jason day aus
ryuichi oda jpn david lutterus aus
fredrik jacobson swe choi kor vijay singh fij
richard johnson swe
failed to make the cut
shigeki maruyama jpn luke donald gbr daisuke maruyama
jpn charlie wi kor cameron percy aus
brendon de jonge zim
daniel chopra swe garth mulroy rsa matt jones aus
jesper parnevik swe stuart appleby aus chris baryla
can
kaname yokoo jpn
brenden pappas rsa
mathias gronberg swe
football beware wounded cameroon lions warns zambia coach
lubango angola jan afp
zambia coach herve renard hopes his players have short memories as they prepare
to face cameroon in the africa cup of nations sunday
after making losing start to the previous tournament in ghana two years ago
the indomitable lions roared back with mauling of the chipolopolo copper
bullets
and after cameroon were stunned by central africa neighbours gabon three
days ago renard has warned his squad that wounded lion is an animal to be
feared
zambia are not scared of cameroon but hope they do not recover their form
against us lion is more dangerous when wounded renard said ahead of the
group showdown against fellow french coach paul le guen
hope we can knock cameroon out of the nations cup and remember this is
battle between cameroon and zambia and not battle between two french coaches
after samuel eto led cameroon flopped zambia had to settle for draw
with tunisia despite taking an early lead through jacob mulenga and creating
more clearcut chances
captain and striker christopher katongo is one of the zambian survivors from the
five goal thrashing in kumasi which equalled the heaviest nations cup loss
suffered by the copper rich country in the competition
he scored the last minute consolation goal after joseph desire job two geremi
njitap achille emana and three time african footballer of the year eto had
struck for cameroon
all but job no longer part of the squad are available for selection as le guen
tries to pick up the pieces and get cameroon back on track for quarter finals
place
losing to an early goal from gabon captain and out of favour hull city striker
daniel cousin meant the frenchman experienced the bitterness of defeat for the
first time since being put in charge of the lions last august
but there was no sign of anxiety from the man who led lyon to three french
titles in row as he put his squad through their paces just few metres from
the hotel housing cameroon and zambia in this southern town
obviously am disappointed at the outcome against gabon and hope for victories
when we meet zambia and tunisia in our remaining group fixtures he said
we remain focused on winning this tournament my players are calm they are
training well and we approach the game against zambia with all the seriousness
it deserves
cameroon did not deserve to fail against gabon as we dominated the greater part
of the game said le guen
gabon tackle champions tunisia earlier sunday in the first half of
double header at the capacity tundavala stadium one of four built for
the tournament with chinese assistance
as supplies begin to arrive haiti still lives in fear
port au prince jan afp
the crippled port of the haitian capital has received its first supply ship
since tuesday killer earthquake boat carrying bananas and coal that was
greeted with jubilation by desperate residents of the devastated city
swarm of small boats surrounded the ship at the entrance to the harbor late
friday as it approached crumbled pier with supplies from jeremie haitian
town about kilometers miles from port au price
bananas will provide local residents with necessary food while coal will help
boil water to avoid spread of disease
but the joyful event did little to change the overall grim situation
the haitian capital insecure at the best of times is now devoid of
functioning police force bringing fears of dystopian war of all against all
in the wake of tuesday huge earthquake
men suddenly appeared with machetes to steal money said evelyne buino young
beautician describing long sleepless night in neighborhood not far from
the ruined city center this is just the beginning
buino immediate fear comes from nearby prison which contained the worst
gangsters in the city
when the earthquake unleashed its fury on port au prince two million
residents it also let loose upon them the convicts who escaped from the
city collapsed jail
the prison large blue iron gate remains closed but its cell block was among
the scores of buildings razed by the quake allowing surviving prisoners to run
free
all the bandits of the city are now on the streets local policeman said
standing near the jail rifle at the ready they are robbing people it is
big problem
with president rene preval at the airport struggling to piece together the
