across asia discount carriers such as airasia are seeking to muscle in on
markets once dominated by flag carriers now hobbled by high cost base
jal collapse came day after singapore based budget airline tiger airways
said it had raised about million us dollars in an initial public offering to
help fund its ambitious expansion plans in asia
the jal tiger story is part of an epic clash between the old world versus the
new battle the old world seems destined to lose analysts at the centre
for asia pacific aviation in sydney wrote in report
carriers in china on course to overtake japan as the world number two
economy are also expected to pose bigger challenge to jal
chinese airlines have strong potential to threaten their japanese rivals as
demand for aviation transport is expected to grow rapidly in asia particularly
china said katsuyuki nakai an analyst at ratings agency standard and poor
diana remembered as prince william visits sydney
sydney jan afp
britain prince william visit to australia this week has revived memories of
his late mother princess diana in whose arms he first visited the country as
nine month old baby
did your mummy die young boy asked the prince during stop at children
playroom in inner city sydney on tuesday
the innocent question briefly held the room before william replied yes she
did it was pretty sad
talk of diana who died in in car crash in paris has been constant
during her eldest son two day stay in sydney in which he spent time with
disadvantaged children and troubled teenagers
new south wales premier kristina keneally said the year old prince was
unlikely to remember much from the visit with his parents during which he
acquired the nickname willie wombat
but you and your mother won many hearts among the people of this country
she told harbourside luncheon held in his honour
images of princess diana who last visited australia in following her
divorce from prince charles are held aloft by those among the throngs of crowds
who have gathered the catch glimpse of the young royal
and royal reporters covering the three day tour to sydney and melbourne speak of
the second in line to the british throne possessing the diana touch and an
easy and comfortable manner with people of all ages
but without princess of his own on his arm prince william will never sparkle
like his mother columnist helen mccabe wrote in the australian adding that
interest in the royal son has faded over the years
it is partly because prince william while once so reminiscent of his mother
now appears to be lot more like his father she said
india wipro third quarter profits up percent
bangalore jan afp
wipro ltd india third largest software exporter said wednesday its
consolidated third quarter net profit beat forecasts to rise percent led by
demand for outsourcing and higher fees
net profit rose to billion rupees million dollars in the three
months ended december up from billion rupees year earlier the
bangalore based company said in statement to the mumbai stock exchange
revenues rose by more than five percent to billion rupees
by us accounting standards wipro showed percent rise in net profit at
billion rupees million dollars from billion rupees year
earlier
we saw positive demand environment driving broad based sequential growth
across all our services and regions said azim premji chairman of wipro in
company statement
it budgets in the calendar year are expected to be flat the company said which
is in line with most analysts forecasts
the company expects revenues from it services to be in the range of billion
to billion dollars for the quarter ending march this year
wipro shares rose as much as percent or rupees to day high of
in early trade wednesday after earnings were announced prices retraced later
on profit taking to down percent or rupees
wipro it services business added new clients in the third quarter and
net addition of employees
in the quarter wipro entered into multi year outsourcing engagement with
leading global tobacco group
the company said its middle east operations also won deals wipro arabia bagged
large order from an upcoming university in saudi arabia to set up their
software and telecom infrastructure
korea think tank says korea kim may be near death
seoul jan afp
north korea ailing leader kim jong il may die in two or three years and this
could spark upheavals such as coup mass unrest or massacres in the communist
nation south korean state think tank says
in rare report forecasting possible regime collapse in the north the korea
institute for national unification kinu also warned that such internal unrest
could prompt the north to start limited war on the korean peninsula
kinu study on unification was released this week days after pyongyang
reacted angrily to reports of separate seoul government contingency plan to
handle unrest in the north
there is high possibility that kim jong il may not exist in the north by
kinu said in its report
the north stated goal is to become powerful and prosperous nation by
the th anniversary of the birth of its founder kim il sung
kim jong il who succeeded his father will be next month he is widely
thought to have suffered stroke in august and is also reportedly
suffering from diabetes and heart disease
the post kim jong il era would likely see change in power elites possibly
including military coup and upheavals such as civil unrest and popular
uprisings massacres and massive outflows of refugees it said
the report presented three scenarios for life after kim third generation
power succession by his son jong un collective military leadership or the
rise of single ruler from the military
it said post kim power vacuum would likely aggravate shortages and corruption
sparking civil unrest and breakdown in order giving the military an excuse to
step in
whatever happens in the north after kim jong il dies south korea should pursue
policy of non intervention and respect its people rights to self
determination the report said
discussion of its leader fate is taboo in the north and some analysts said the
kinu report could anger the isolated regime
on friday the north powerful national defence commission ndc led by kim
jong il threatened to break off all dialogue with south korea unless seoul
apologises for an alleged contingency plan to tackle regime collapse
south korean media has reported the existence of the plan which has not been
confirmed by the government
the ndc denounced the alleged plan as crime and said it would stage holy
war against those who drew it up accusing the conservative seoul government of
seeking reunification through absorption
making such sensitive kinu report public in the south is likely to irritate
north korea greatly kim yeon chul of the private hankyoreh peace institute
told afp
yang moo jin of seoul university of north korean studies said the kinu report
touched raw nerve among north koreans by considering the sensitive topic of
regime collapse and could bring an angry response
woman pulled from haiti rubble after seven days
port au prince jan afp
year old woman was pulled from the ruins of port au prince shopping
center on tuesday full seven days after massive earthquake smashed the
haitian capital
she is conscious and in good form rescue worker thiery cerdan told afp
marking the end of nine hour search effort
fellow rescuer bruno besson said the woman hoteline losana was even more
remarkable because she had no access to food or water for full week
being able to pull someone out alive after seven days that is something
incredible he said
between and people are thought to have died in the quake
china online users rage after avatar showings cut
beijing jan afp
china internet users were up in arms wednesday over news that authorities
planned to limit showings of avatar the us blockbuster that has seen millions
flock to cinemas across the nation
avatar was late on the screens how can they pull it ahead of time lamented
one online user on baidu com popular web portal in china
news report posted on the website of the china film group which distributes
movies in the world most populous country indicated that the version of
the film was to be pulled
zhang hongsen deputy director of the china film bureau which is responsible
for movie censorship said tickets for the version of the film were selling
like hot cakes unlike the version
so it normal that the version is coming off screens but the and imax
versions of avatar will not budge he was quoted as saying
china only counts around screens just percent of the nationwide
total of
online users however were angrily speculating that authorities were pulling
some versions of the hollywood blockbuster to make way for confucius china
made patriotic film starring chow yun fat due to come out on friday
if the version of avatar doesn stop and continues until the chinese new
year february not one chinese made film will survive one baidu user
said
had planned to go and see confucius but now seeing this rubbish
shameless behind the scenes behaviour definitely not going to see it
another person wrote on web portal sina com
xinhua news agency reported earlier this month that confucius would open with
prints national record
zhou baolin head of marketing at the china film bureau denied this was the
case
there is no relation between avatar coming off screens and confucius coming
out neither is there any relation with the film content he told afp
suggesting the move was simple business decision
if there was problem with avatar content it would not have gone past the
censors
some movie goers have linked the film portrayal of tribe fight against
humans chasing them from their land on far off planet with forced land
evictions in china which have recently sparked violent clashes
avatar is way too sensitive it is against forced evictions sina com user
said
the china news service quoted zhang as saying that avatar had already raked in
million yuan around million dollars in ticket sales
prince william eyes sydney real estate
sydney jan afp
britain visiting prince william said wednesday he was so thrilled by his warm
welcome to sydney that he like to buy house in the australian harbourside
city
william told guests at traditional australian waterfront barbecue in his
honour that he had enjoyed the most warm welcome ever not just with the
weather but with all sydney people
it has been terrific couple of days in sydney and because of that ve joked
that will actually try and buy house in sydney the prince said
so if any of you have got any properties for sale then please let me know
the prince was mobbed by hundreds of well wishers when he arrived at the
gathering which offered him stunning views of the city famed opera house and
harbour bridge on the second day of three day whistlestop tour of australia
dressed casually in an open collared shirt and loafers the prince enthused
about his surroundings gesturing across glittering waters to the opera house
which sat against cloudless blue sky
what view it is too ve always wanted to see the opera house said
william in his first public remarks since landing in australia on tuesday
the last time was here and saw it it was through very small eyes and
don quite remember very much about it
the open air barbecue topped off two day stay in sydney for the young prince
who last visited australia in the arms of his late mother princess diana when
he was just nine months old in
william requested the unofficial trip as way to get to know the country and
its people taking in poor inner city aboriginal neighbourhood and rehab
centre for drug addicted youth as part of his less than conventional itinerary
his laid back manner and ready humour won the praise of press and punters alike
with many likening him to his much beloved late mother
some in the crowds which gathered across the city to see the prince greeted him
with the affectionate nickname willie wombat which was bestowed upon him
during his last visit as an infant
the prince took self deprecating dig at his musical tastes after rap jam
performance by hip hop artists at youth dug rehab centre saying his choice of
music often made him the butt of jokes
can do any beatboxing not so good at that he told prime minister
kevin rudd referring to the vocal percussion stylings of the hip hop trio
before them
normally get the piss taken out of me for my choice of music he joked
mine very varied like rock linkin park kanye west
his marksmanship impressed soldiers at major army base on the city
outskirts winning approval with his willingness to get down on his belly for
live firing exercise with elite snipers returned from iraq and afghanistan
understand he has been in the air force said private jace barnett of
william who graduated as fully fledged royal air force helicopter pilot just
before his trip to australia
it would be bit embarrassing if we let rafie beat us barnett joked to
state radio admitting there had been some good natured rivalry with the prince
on the rifle range
second in line to the british throne william was welcomed to australia tuesday
with traditional aboriginal smoking ceremony in the poor inner city
neighbourhood of redfern which was presided over by an elder daubed in body
paint and bearing smouldering gum leaves
he met with aboriginal elders to discuss among other things the repatriation
of indigenous artefacts and remains including the head of indigenous warrior
pemulwuy
william reportedly slipped out for seafood platter and few beers at
exclusive sydney nightspot bungalow on tuesday night
he will visit bushfire ravaged areas near melbourne on thursday before returning
home the following day his australia tour follows an official visit to new
zealand where he represented his grandmother queen elizabeth ii for the first
time
tennis giantkiller kirilenko marches on
melbourne jan afp
russian giantkiller maria kirilenko who ended maria sharapova australian
open continued her winning ways by beating austria yvonne meusburger in the
second round wednesday
the glamorous world number had her hands full with the cagey and experienced
austrian but the win put her within sight of equalling her best ever
grand slam performance
the year old who has been as high as th in the world reached the fourth
round here in and faces either rd ranked italian roberta vinci or th
ranked american vania king next up
speaking after the win kirilenko said it was hard to compare her form against
meusburger with that against sharapova on monday when she won marathon three
set match
however with last year knee problems behind her kirilenko confidence is on
the rise
am playing good tennis now she said feel physically ready to play three
sets like did against maria
am just trying to do my best and take it step by step
although the scoreline suggested an easy win for the russian the match lasted
one hour and minutes and there were some long games as the austrian defended
stoutly
can say the game was easy for me she said
the score is easy but it was quite long match two sets and almost two
hours
it was very difficult match and have to fight for every point she always
gets the ball back
court clears tv staff over report that fuelled mass rallies
seoul jan afp
south korean court wednesday cleared staff at leading tv station of
distorting report that fuelled mass street protests in against us beef
imports
four producers and scriptwriter at mbc were charged last june with defaming
government officials by exaggerating the risk of mad cow disease associated with
the us imports
the court rejected charges by prosecutors that the report had deliberately
distorted facts and intentionally mistranslated interviews to exaggerate the
threat of the disease
although there was some exaggeration or errors in translation it is hard to
say they deliberately distorted the facts related to the threat of mad cow
disease judge mun sung gwan said in verdict quoted by yonhap news agency
prosecutors who had sought years in jail for the defendants said they
would appeal libel is criminal and not civil offence in south korea
the acquittal was likely further to anger the conservative ruling party which
alleges that some judges have left wing bias members are already fuming about
the recent acquittal of leftist legislator over disturbances in parliament
south korea stopped us beef imports following cases of mad cow disease in the
united states
the two sides reached deal in april to resume most imports sparking
daily protests which rocked president lee myung bak conservative government
and led him to sack three cabinet ministers
tens of thousands rallied for months many of them apparently responding to
internet scare campaigns and to mbc investigative news programme pd notepad
the rallies which soon took on an anti government tone subsided only after
seoul secured extra health safeguards for the meat
mbc insisted its report was aimed at safeguarding public health
tennis peer plays without incident despite protest threat
melbourne jan afp
israeli shahar peer first round match at the australian open passed off
without incident wednesday despite threats of pro palestinian protest
peer woke up wednesday to headlines in melbourne the age newspaper claiming
that protesters were planning to target her match against lucie hradecka of the
czech republic on an outside court
her appearences at the season opening wta event in auckland were similarly
disrupted by people opposing israel policies towards the palestinians
but there was no sign of any trouble during her win here
over hradecka
heard there was going to be something but didn know what was happening
peer said
but didn feel any pressure mean played in auckland and had lot of
protesting but just concentrating on my tennis
tennis player that what concentrating on
peer who was at the centre of storm when she was denied entry to dubai last
february for the two million us dollar dubai championships has no extra
security at the open despite being the only israeli on the women tour
she said she had never asked for anything more than what is provided for other
players
know that there is security going on around me don know exactly how
much but really feel safe she said
guess am just here to focus on my tennis not here to focus on security
or what is going on outside of the court
don know why they don target the israeli men if they give me reason
would understand
but really don know why it me don think did anything wrong
woman pulled from haiti rubble after seven days
port au prince jan afp
year old woman was pulled from the ruins of port au prince shopping
center on tuesday full seven days after massive earthquake smashed the
haitian capital
she is conscious and in good form rescue worker thiery cerdan told afp
malaysian police arrest eight over church firebombing
kuala lumpur jan afp
malaysian police said wednesday they have arrested eight people over the
firebombing of church earlier this month the first in spate of attacks that
have escalated ethnic tensions
the attacks on churches across predominantly muslim malaysia were triggered by
court ruling on december that overturned ban on non muslims using allah
as translation for god
federal criminal investigation chief bakri zinin said police were investigating
whether the eight arrested were also linked to the attacks on other churches
which were pelted with molotov cocktails stones and paint
eight people have been arrested and they are believed to be involved in the
arson attack on the metro tabernacle church they have been remanded for seven
days to facilitate investigations he told reporters
we will investigate whether they are also linked to other cases he said but
added that we believe we have solved this case
so please advise the public don do something that will threaten racial and
religious harmony he said
the three storey metro tabernacle church in suburban kuala lumpur part of the
assemblies of god movement was set ablaze on january in firebombing that
left its ground floor gutted
church leaders said witnesses saw four people ride up on motorcycles smash the
windows and throw things into the building
bakri said the first of the eight to be arrested was detained on tuesday after
seeking hospital treatment for burns on his hands and chest
the group were all aged between and and included three relatives two
siblings and their uncle the remainders were friends of the family group
police statement said the eight were muslim malays
religion and language are sensitive issues in multiracial malaysia which
experienced deadly race riots in
the row over the use of allah is among string of religious disputes that
have erupted in recent years straining relations between malays and minority
ethnic chinese and indians who fear the country is being islamised
the high court last month ruled in favour of the catholic herald newspaper which
has used allah as translation for god in its malay language section the
government has said the word should be used only by muslims
the ruling was suspended pending an appeal after the government argued the
decision could cause racial conflict
malaysia population is percent muslim malay but also includes indigenous
tribes as well as the large ethnic chinese and indian communities practising
buddhism christianity and hinduism among others
more than half of malaysia catholics are from indigenous groups most of whom
live in the borneo island states and who mainly speak malay
china unlikely to break taiwan truce over haiti analysts
beijing jan afp
china keen to preserve warming ties with taiwan is unlikely to try to
curry diplomatic favour with haiti via its aid to the quake ravaged nation
which formally recognises taipei analysts say
beijing growing ties with taiwan since the election of president ma ying jeou
in are more valuable than any possible gain from seizing one of taipei
remaining diplomatic allies they say
since there has been diplomatic truce in place unwritten of course
but it has been respected jean pierre cabestan professor of political
science at hong kong baptist university told afp
since ma election taiwan has kept its allies which are mainly in
africa latin america and the pacific he said
in the past china has used crises in the caribbean nation as one of the tools
in its high stakes game of brinksmanship with its cross strait rival
in in un security council vote beijing did not oppose the return of
exiled president jean bertrand aristide as the united states wanted but in
return demanded to be allowed to trade commercial representatives with haiti
china at the time saw the opening of the trade offices in the two countries as
first step toward eventual normalisation of relations with port au prince and
the development angered taiwan
china contribution of police officers to the un peacekeeping mission in
haiti was also made with an eye on the possibility that the impoverished nation
could reconsider its ties with taipei as result
in more recent years beijing had picked off several of taiwan allies
including costa rica and malawi but since ma took office the two sides have
worked to improve ties especially on the commercial and tourism fronts
beijing has exercised self restraint and hasn taken away diplomatic allies
from taiwan even though three or four countries including nicaragua and
panama that are richer and bigger than haiti have approached it in the past
months said pan hsi tang china expert at taipei tamkang university
it unlikely that beijing will break the diplomatic truce with taiwan for
the sake of haiti and give taiwan opposition the chance to criticise the ma
government china friendly policy
xu tiebing an expert on international relations at the communication university
of china in beijing agreed
as ma is facing certain amount of pressure from the opposition the mainland
does not want to reduce taiwan diplomatic sphere of influence with too much
force xu told afp
since last week devastating quake china has allocated million yuan
million dollars in aid and sent strong rescue team to haiti the chinese
red cross has sent further one million dollars
the haiti earthquake and its aftermath have received blanket coverage in china
itself the victim of massive quake in sichuan province in may that left
nearly people dead or missing
on the ground beijing even proposed joint search and rescue effort with
taiwanese personnel but that initiative was rejected by taipei
there is no political ulterior motive this is humanitarian response jean
walnard dorneval haiti commercial representative in china told afp in an
interview in his tiny beijing office
china response is about humanitarian need and helps contribute to un
efforts support the haitian people and save its own nationals
brian bridges head of the political science department at hong kong lingnan
university said that while china was holding firm for the time being it could
try to make diplomatic headway in haiti in the future
he noted that china had sent humanitarian aid to haiti as well as people who
had expertise in dealing with earthquakes who could later become involved in
reconstruction work
it quite likely that this may well work to china diplomatic advantage as
we move further down the road bridges said
urgent woman pulled from haiti rubble after seven days
port au prince jan afp
year old woman was pulled from the rubble of port au prince on tuesday
full seven days after massive earthquake smashed the haitian capital
genting opens singapore hotels ahead of casino theme park
singapore jan afp
malaysian gaming giant genting on wednesday opened four premium hotels at
billion dollar resort in singapore in preparation for the launch of casino
and universal studios theme park
company executives cut ribbon to inaugurate the hotels at the resorts world
sentosa complex at am gmt an auspicious time whose cantonese
pronunciation sounds like to prosper in the language
festive hotel hard rock hotel singapore crockfords tower and hotel michael
together offer rooms and restaurants
they are located on the hilly islet of sentosa linked by causeway to the
southern tip of singapore
genting group chairman lim kok thay said his company was still working with
singapore authorities on finalising the casino license and gave no date for the
start of gambling operations
as far as the casino license is concerned we are still working closely with
the authorities through their checks and inspections lim told reporters after
the opening ceremonies for the hotels
so in other words we are still going through the motions we are waiting for
the gaming license to be issued
lim said decision by universal studios to build its biggest theme park in asia
in south korea was unlikely to negatively affect the us film giant attraction
in singapore which is part of the sentosa casino complex
universal studios on tuesday signed deal with south korean partners to build
its largest theme park in asia at cost of around three trillion won
billion dollars
it good for the industry overall lim said so if you visit korea you
would get curious about the park here in singapore
marine life park maritime museum spa and two more hotels will be
launched at resorts world sentosa after
marina bay sands another singapore casino resort is scheduled to open in april
following construction delays it is being built by us based las vegas sands
singapore gave the go ahead for casino gambling in setting off flurry of
construction which went ahead despite last year recession
the government hopes the casinos will boost the country tourism appeal and
draw more visitors to the small island republic which relies mainly on man made
attractions to entice tourists
the number of tourists visiting singapore rose in november after slumping during
the recession but overall arrivals are expected to fall to million
from million in
alert
woman pulled from haiti rubble after seven days
haiti aid relief steps up gear as us troops pour in
port au prince jan afp
us troops fanned out across the ruined haitian capital tuesday as the military
ramped up huge aid operation with tensions mounting on the streets week
after the catastrophic quake
camped out under makeshift tents among the rubble of buildings flattened by last
tuesday devastating magnitude quake desperate survivors were hunting for
food as international aid finally began flowing
the haitian government said people had been killed in the quake with
another injured and more than million left homeless
while the full scale of the disaster remains unclear extraordinary stories of
children and adults surviving under collapsed buildings provided rare glimmers
of hope
in one dubbed miracle by rescuers mexican firefighters pulled an elderly
woman alive from the ruins of haiti roman catholic cathedral
but on the streets tensions are running high between local police and many
people as looting has become survival strategy
look when you are hungry and poor nobody helps you have to steal defiant
young man named vicent said as people plunged into the ruins of flattened
supermarket in the hope of finding food or something to sell
on tuesday us paratroopers descended from helicopters to secure the
presidential palace once elegant white building in port au prince now in
ruins and surrounded by squalid refugee camp
from there strong squad of soldiers marched to the city general
hospital which is swamped with injured people
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 multi pronged operation us marines also landed southwest of the capital
