be tough to beat after dropping just three games to reach the quarter finals of
the sydney international on tuesday
the times grand slam champion had minute workout in temperatures topping
degrees celsius degrees fahrenheit in her first match of the season and
put away spaniard maria jose martinez sanchez
williams will have last eight match against rd ranked vera dushevina who
accounted for fellow russian elena vesnina
the american bidding for her fifth australian title this month after winning
last year is typically supremely confident in her ability to take on all
comers
feel like have no pressure on myself she said if play the best can
play ve always said very difficult to beat
her task of landing the sydney wta title has eased with the loss of seeds
caroline wozniacki jelena jankovic and vera zvonareva in her half of the draw
and she has won her only meeting with dushevina
don care who play whenever play someone they play their best she
said
whoever play believe me they re gonna play like number one on that
particular day against me for whatever reason so it doesn matter for me
williams who faces twin belgian threat at this year opening grand slam from
us open champion kim clijsters and seven times major winner justine henin has
won her four australian opens in alternate years
know don say that she told reporter well it not bad thing to
win every other year so not gonna complain about that
so want to win this year but if can win guaranteed next year ok with
that too
world number two dinara safina kept on course to face williams in friday final
when she came back from down in the opening set to beat the th ranked
agnieszka radwanska of poland
the russian who was blitzed by williams in last year australian open final
advanced to the quarter finals late wednesday with defending champion elena
dementieva after victory
well little bit of slow start but it was start it was winning
start safina said
dementieva needed more than two hours to extinguish the challenge of slovak
daniela hantuchova
third seed svetlana kuznetsova crashed out to slovak dominika cibulkova
to continue her dismal run at the sydney tournament
used to it don always play good here only once played the final
here with justine henin kuznetsova said
the th ranked cibulkova will play sixth seed victoria azarenka who saw off
japanese veteran kimiko date krumm in more than two and half
hours
hong kong shares end percent lower
hong kong jan afp
hong kong stocks closed percent lower tuesday as dealers moved to take
profits following recent gains
the benchmark hang seng index dropped points to with turnover
reaching billion hong kong dollars billion us
however chinese shares closed up percent as banks and property developers
rebounded on bargain hunting while telecom stocks gained amid expectations that
subscriptions will rise dealers said
the shanghai composite index which covers both and shares was up
points at on turnover of billion yuan billion dollars
airbus could scrap giant project chief executive
london jan afp
european aircraft maker airbus may be forced to scrap its multi billion euro
dollar military plane project if it does not get more funding from
governments the company chief executive has said
we cannot complete the development of this aircraft without significant
financial contribution airbus chief tom enders was quoted as saying in an
interview with bbc world business report late monday
we made big mistake when we entered into contracts for this aircraft six or
seven years ago we should not again take decision which would lead us to
further problems in the years to come he added
developing the high tech transport planes has proved much more costly and
time consuming than anticipated when the project was agreed in by nato
members germany spain france britain turkey belgium and luxembourg
total of aircraft have been ordered for about billion euros billion
dollars but clients are being asked to plough in more to cover unexpected costs
and some countries have voiced unease about the extra costs
airbus and its parent group the european aeronautic defence and space company
eads have been in discussions over cost overruns for several months with the
seven partner countries
the negotiations are to be wrapped up at the end of this month
deliveries are at least three years behind schedule and there have been reports
that the company needs another five billion euros to finish the project
turkey last week said it did not wish to pour more money into the project
according to report in the financial times deutschland also last week enders
told group of airbus directors he no longer believed in pursuing the
programme and had begun to prepare for it to be terminated
britain faces renewed recession risk business group
london jan afp
britain which is forecast to have exited recession during the final quarter of
last year faces serious risk of renewed negative growth the british
chamber of commerce warned on tuesday
economic data support the view that the economy is on the brink of leaving
recession but they do not provide conclusive evidence of any robust and
significant growth in the last three months of the bcc said
official data due on january is widely expected to reveal that britain exited
its longest recession on record during the fourth quarter of
unless the private sector is given the freedom to create jobs and wealth the
uk economic recovery will be slower than it should be and we will face the
serious risk of double dip recession bcc director general david frost said
in his organisation fourth quarter economic survey
frost said the bcc latest quarterly findings were not as impressive as hoped
owing to poor showing for the service sector
on positive note the data revealed strong improvements in employment and
exports within the manufacturing sector said frost
britain has begun as the only top economy in recession after the eurozone
france germany japan and the united states last year each emerged from the
deep downturn that was sparked by the global financial crisis
the british economy which is struggling with high unemployment and massive
public debt caused by the financial crisis has contracted for six quarters in
row its longest recession since official records began in
finance minister alistair darling recently admitted that britain recession
would be deeper than thought with the economy predicted to have shrunk by
percent in compared to previous estimate of percent
the economy is expected to grow percent in according to darling
management of the british economy is the key issue in general election due no
later that june with the opposition conservatives widely expected to oust the
incumbent labour government
second separatist group claims togo football team attack
luanda jan afp
second separatist group on tuesday claimed it was behind last week deadly
shooting on the togolese football team in angola oil rich enclave of cabinda
the attack has already been claimed by rodrigues mingas head of the forces for
the liberation of the state of cabinda military position flec pm one of the
many guerrilla groups battling for independence in the northern province
but larger group known as the front for the liberation of the enclave of
cabinda armed forces of cabinda flec fac on tuesday said they had opened fire
on togo convoy on friday killing two of the squad
we are not terrorists the attack did not target our togolese brothers said
jean claude zita who leads flec fac adding the intended target was the
team angolan military escorts
every time the armed forces of cabinda sees an angolan convoy they open fire
he said
zita dismissed mingas faction as opportunists
tennis sydney international results nd update
sydney jan afp
results from the third day of the sydney international wta atp tennis tournament
on tuesday denotes seed
women
second round
aravane rezai fra bt agnes szavay hun
dinara safina rus bt agnieszka radwanska pol
vera dushevina rus bt elena vesnina rus
serena williams usa bt maria jose martinez sanchez esp
dominika cibulkova svk bt svetlana kuznetsova rus
victoria azarenka blr bt kimiko date krumm jpn
elena dementieva rus bt daniela hantuchova svk
men
first round
benjamin becker ger bt juan ignacio chela arg
viktor troicki srb bt florent serra fra
evgeny korolev rus bt sam querrey usa
julien benneteau fra bt dudi sela isr
mardy fish usa bt carsten ball aus
tennis japan nishikori to miss australian open bid
tokyo jan afp
japan hottest tennis prospect kei nishikori will miss shot at next week
australian open as he has not fully recovered from an elbow injury his agent
said tuesday
he will not take part in the australian open qualifying tournament he has not
fully recovered from the injury and cannot play at percent img tokyo
official hideyuki sakai told afp
for him it would be too much to compete in grand slam event right as he
makes comeback he may start playing again in lower tier tournament
nishikori who turned last month has been out of action since suffering
stress fracture in his right elbow in march last year he underwent surgery in
august and resumed training in late october
while he was sidelined nishikori hailed as prodigy in his early teens has
seen his world ranking plummet to from an all time high of reached last
february
in late november he said he might need one or two more months to be ready to
play in tournament
in his australian open debut last year nishikori lost to austria jurgen
melzer in the first round
he was named the atp newcomer of the year in march the first asian player
to win the award but the elbow problem forced him to withdraw from the french
open wimbledon and the us open last year
nishikori gained attention when foundation established by japan tennis
association president masaaki morita sent him to florida where he started
training at the renowned nick bollettieri academy aged
he made his professional debut in
in only his fifth tournament nishikori caused sensation by capturing his
first atp title at at delray beach in february to become only the second
japanese man to win tour title
nishikori us open debut in where he reached the fourth round beating
then world number four david ferrer of spain put him in the world spotlight and
earned him highly lucrative sponsorship contracts
budapest public transport on strike
budapest jan afp
strike shut down much of the public transport in the hungarian capital tuesday
and led to traffic jams in the city as residents resorted to using their own
cars
fourteen of trade unions joined the walkout including the bus drivers
union after wage talks failed between the city and its public transport company
bkv according to strike committee spokesman gabor nemes
several buses and trams ceased operating or reported delays although budapest
three metro lines were running without disruption bkv said
bkv workers launched the strike after negotiations on new agreement regulating
salaries had failed nemes told hungarian newswire mti
the cash strapped budapest public transport company announced in december it
would cut back on extra payments to workers
the largest rail union announced it would also go on strike in solidarity with
bkv workers but did not say when
thai policemen charged over saudi gem murder
bangkok jan afp
thai authorities tuesday charged senior policeman and four other police
officers with murder over the disappearance of saudi businessman that was
linked to the theft of saudi royal jewellery
the charges came day after the saudi charge affaires in bangkok met with
thai prime minister abhisit vejjajiva to seek an end to the bloody year saga
sparked by the theft of the gems from saudi prince palace
the deaths of three saudi diplomats the wife and daughter of jewellery
dealer and saudi businessman mohamamad al ruwaily have all been linked to the
case which has soured relations between thailand and saudi arabia
lieutenant general somkid boonthanom police commander of thailand northern
region and four fellow officers had been indicted with the murder of al ruwaily
in the office of the thai attorney general said
somkid and four accomplices were indicted today at the criminal court for
premeditated murder illegal detention and concealment of wrongdoing said
thanapich mulapruk senior official at the attorney general office
all five suspects denied the charges and the court set march as the opening
date of the case he said
the case one of thailand biggest mysteries began when thai janitor was
jailed for stealing gems worth million dollars in from the saudi palace
where he worked before smuggling them back to thailand
police recovered most of the jewellery but much of what was returned to the
saudi owner proved to be fake and many pieces are still missing
as the saudis pressed thai authorities to find the rest of the hoard the three
saudi diplomats were shot dead in two separate incidents in single day in
the indictment accuses somkid who at the time ran bangkok southern district
and the other four policemen of abducting al ruawaily in because they
thought he was connected with the deaths of the envoys
in october thailand supreme court upheld death sentence for another former
senior policeman who in abducted and murdered gem merchant wife and son
as he investigated the theft of saudi royal jewellery
the merchant santi srithanakhan had bought some of the jewellery stolen in the
heist
cricket bangladesh names rookie paceman for india tests
dhaka jan afp
bangladesh cricket selectors on tuesday named uncapped fast bowler shafiul
islam in man squad for the two test series against india starting on
january
the year old made his one day debut in the ongoing tri series against india
and sri lanka and replaces injured captain mashrafe mortaza in the test squad
shakib al hasan will continue to lead bangladesh in the absence of mortaza who
is sidelined following knee surgery
the first test against india the number one test side will be played in
chittagong from january the second test starts in dhaka on january
bangladesh test squad
shakib al hasan capt mushfiqur rahim tamim iqbal imrul kayes junaid
siddique mohammad ashraful raqibul hossain mohammad mahmudullah shahriar
nafees shahadat hossain rubel hossain enamul hossain mahbubul alam shafiul
islam
china shows off air defences with anti missile test
beijing jan afp
china said tuesday it had successfully tested missile intercept system in what
analysts described as show of its advanced air defence capabilities amid
tensions over us arms sales to taiwan
china conducted test of ground based mid range missile interception
technology within its territory which achieved its objective foreign ministry
spokeswoman jiang yu told reporters
this test is defensive in nature and not targeted at any other country and is
consistent with the national defence policy of china jiang said
the news comes soon after us official in taipei said the pentagon had approved
the sale of patriot missile equipment to taiwan as part of package passed by
congress more than year ago
beijing which considers taiwan part of its territory and has vowed to take
the island back by force if necessary has repeatedly voiced its opposition
to the sales and urged washington to cancel the deal
china defence ministry had warned at the weekend that it reserved the right to
take unspecified action if washington followed through with the sale which it
called severe obstacle to china us military ties
the united states is the leading arms supplier to taiwan even though it
switched diplomatic recognition from taipei to beijing in
but analysts said while china test would keep pressure on the united states
over the taiwan deals it was likely to have been conducted as general show of
force
it sounds pretty significant to me richard bitzinger an expert on china
military at nanyang technological university in singapore told afp
the information is pretty thin but the critical fact is that they conducted
successful missile intercept
scott harold an analyst at the rand corporation agreed saying would be
inclined to view the test as stride but how much of one is unclear in the
absence of more information towards missile defence capability
arthur ding an expert at taiwan national chengchi university said the test
would send political signal to the united states and to other countries that
china is prepared for air operations full scale operations by whatever
country
there is no detailed information so it is very hard to assess how much china
has achieved but at least it can show trend that air defence is an area of
focus for the overall military modernisation he said
beijing has poured money into its military in recent years as part of major
drive to upgrade the equipment used by the nation million strong armed
forces
china military spending rose percent in to billion dollars
according to budget submitted to parliament in march the latest in more than
decade long string of double digit increases
but amid growing concern overseas about china military intentions beijing
frequently stresses the defensive nature of its armed forces
china defence modernisation is for the legitimate needs of safeguarding
national sovereignty security and territorial integrity jiang said tuesday
the global times quoted senior military strategist yang chengjun as saying that
the test had ushered china into new phase in terms of missile interception
technologies
china needs an improved capability and more means of military defence as the
country faces increasing security threats yang was quoted as saying
one western military expert based in beijing who asked not to be identified
told afp what important is that they showed their willingness to demonstrate
china capabilities
ding said the latest military display could not be compared to test that
saw china destroy one of its own orbiting satellites with missile sparking
international concerns
that test came after the united states under former president george bush
announced plan to weaponise space move opposed by beijing and moscow
monday missile intercept has to do with china own comprehensive air defence
system defence against cruise missiles and against ballistic missiles in the
future or any other air war operations ding said
hyundai eyeing growing share of us auto market
detroit michigan jan afp
hyundai aims to build on its recession busting success by nabbing more
share of the us market this year with new fuel efficient models and
strengthened distribution network company executive says
we have very high hopes for the us and total growth and we re ready for it
david zuchowski sales chief for hyundai motor america told afp on the
sidelines of the detroit auto show
the korean automaker increased its market share in the united states to
percent in against percent year earlier thanks to an eight percent
hyundai sales surge in market that plummeted an alarming percent overall
last year
for zuchowski predicts the us market will reach million vehicle
sales about percent increase over last year million sold with the
second half of the year better than the first
we think that we will increase our sales and our market share he said monday
we expect big things this year with lots of new products and strengthening
of the brand
hyundai was very ambitious and determined he said adding that the company
was seeking consistent year on year growth
and it believes it has tapped into vein of consumer economizing and
uncertainty over the last year by offering its hyundai assurance program which
allows buyers to return their cars if they lose their job
the financial collapse forced people to look for value and fuel efficiency
zuchowski said
the company also wants to strengthen its distribution network and become the
most efficient company in the industry
this summer hyundai will roll out hybrid version of the sonata its first
foray into this niche
the composition of our market is going to change quickly because of the federal
mandate to boost car efficiency of cars and light trucks he said
our industry is going to become more like the european industry in the next
couple of years with more smaller cars but that doesn necessary means they
have to compromise on performance zuchowski added
at the auto show hyundai unveiled snazzy prototype plug in hybrid coupe
dubbed the blue will which will incorporate the use of bio plastics
the brand is committed to reducing the weight of its cars by percent by
philippine carrier to launch singapore manila service
singapore jan afp
philippine based airline said tuesday it will this month become the latest
low fare carrier to launch services between manila and singapore adding to the
competition in the struggling sector
zest air will start the service from january using brand new airbus
aircraft it said in statement
unlike other low fare carriers zest air said it will offer free inflight meals
and snacks and baggage allowance of kilos pounds per passenger
one way ticket for the new route will carry an introductory price of us
dollars it said
the airline which lists prominent filipino businessmen on its board of
directors currently flies from manila to domestic destinations in the
philippines
it also flies four times weekly to incheon in south korea
apart from the premium airlines the singapore manila route is served by budget
carriers such as singapore based tiger airways and jetstar asia as well as cebu
pacific of the philippines
around filipinos live in the city state from domestic helpers to
bankers architects and engineers according to the philippine embassy
zest air enters market severely battered by the recent global economic crisis
which saw cost conscious travellers and companies curb leisure and business air
travel
urgent second separatist group claims togo football team attack
luanda jan afp
second separatist group on tuesday claimed it was behind last week deadly
shooting on the togolese football team in an angolan enclave inside the
democratic republic of congo
malaysian christian challenges seizure of allah cd lawyer
kuala lumpur jan afp
malaysian christian is challenging the seizure of religious cds with the word
allah printed on them in the latest twist of an escalating dispute over use
of the word her lawyer said tuesday
jill ireland of the indigenous melanau tribe from sarawak state on borneo
island is seeking court order to return eight discs seized when she returned
from indonesia in may her lawyer annou xavier said
the legal action comes amid spate of fire bombings against churches across the
nation triggered by the high court december decision to lift government
ban on non muslims using allah as translation for god
the ruling in favour of catholic newspaper the herald which argued for the
right to use allah in its malay language section was suspended last week
pending an appeal after the government argued the decision could cause racial
conflict
ireland is seeking the return of her discs and declaration that she can use
the word allah and to own use and import materials with the word allah in
exercising her religious freedom xavier told reporters
christians in sabah and sarawak have been using the word allah for
centuries he added
ireland is member of the sidang injil borneo sib church one of its churches
in central negri sembilan state was targeted on monday in an attack that left
its door charred
daniel raut president of sib in peninsular malaysia said its congregations
on the peninsula as well as members in the borneo island states of sabah
and sarawak worship mainly in the national language malay
we will continue to use the word in our worship because we have been using it
all the while why all of sudden are we being asked to stop using it he
asked
our prayer and hope is that the government will continue to allow us to use the
word he said adding that members were really fearful over the attacks
nine churches have been fire bombed or vandalised so far sending tensions
soaring in the multicultural nation where the muslim malay majority lives
alongside ethnic chinese and indian communities
churches have been pelted with molotov cocktails splashed with black paint and
had windows smashed with stones triggering tighter security at places of
worship nationwide
the row is one of string of religious disputes in recent years that have
raised fears among minorities that the country is being islamised and that
their rights are being eroded
about nine percent of malaysia million people are christians including
catholics more than half of malaysia catholics are from indigenous
groups mostly from borneo
iran confirms nuclear scientist killed in bomb blast
tehran jan afp
the university lecturer killed in bomb blast in the iranian capital on tuesday
was nuclear scientist tehran prosecutor told isna news agency
massoud ali mohammadi was lecturer in nuclear energy and no suspects have yet
been arrested abbas jafari dolatabadi said adding that he was climbing into
his car when nearby parked motorbike exploded
another iranian news agency borna news said mohammadi was senior nuclear
scientist of the country quoting unnamed sources
urgent iran confirms nuclear scientist killed in bomb blast
tehran jan afp
the university lecturer killed in bomb blast in the iranian capital on tuesday
was nuclear scientist tehran prosecutor said in an isna news agency report
retailer metro says sales shed percent
frankfurt jan afp
the german retail giant metro number three worldwide said tuesday that
sales fell by percent to billion euros billion dollars result
of negative foreign exchange rates
metro said that when the effect of the euro strength against other currencies
was stripped out sales would have gained percent
analysts polled by dow jones newswires had forecast slightly higher sales of
billion euros
in its main market of germany the drop in sales was limited to percent at
billion euros despite the country worst post war recession provisional
figures showed
in eastern europe the fall of local currencies against the euro led to
percent drop in sales to billion euros
without the foreign exchange effect they would have gained percent metro
said
the group made it through year that was generally satisfactory boss
eckhard cordes was quoted by statement as saying
we developed our position in many markets during this unprecedented crisis he
stressed
the group has launched cost reduction programme aimed at saving billion
euros by and increased its investment budget to billion from
billion previously
metro plans to open many new stores this year mainly in eastern europe and
asia and is aiming in particular to get foothold in china
aue wai dt
china scraps limits on foreign wind turbine parts
beijing jan afp
china has scrapped restrictions on the use of foreign parts in wind power
turbines state media reported as the nation seeks access to more advanced
technology to meet its clean energy targets
the decision by the national development and reform commission ndrc means wind
farms in china no longer have to source at least percent of turbine parts
from the domestic market the china business news said monday
the restrictions were scrapped late last year but were not announced publicly
the newspaper said
the move would help the development of the country wind power industry and
establish an open market of rational competition the report said citing
statement sent to local governments by the ndrc the country top economic
planning agency
if the limit was kept in place it would hold up china drive for more advanced
wind power technology it said
foreign companies had around percent of china wind turbine market before
the cap was introduced in the global times said tuesday that share stood
at percent in
china installed wind power capacity was forecast to reach gigawatts by the
end of last year xinhua news agency reported last month compared with
gigawatts at the end of
that would lift china to surpass spain and become the world third biggest wind
power producer after the united states and germany the report said
china which relies on coal for more than percent of its energy is the
world largest emitter of the greenhouse gases blamed for global warming
but it has set target of generating percent of its energy from renewable
sources mainly wind and water by
alert
another separatist group claims responsibilty for togo football team attack
cadbury claims outstanding attacks kraft again
london jan afp
british confectioner cadbury on tuesday sought to step up its defence against
hostile multi billion dollar takeover bid by us giant kraft foods telling
shareholders that had been outstanding
cadbury repeated its claim that kraft cash and shares offer worth billion
pounds billion euros billion dollars was derisory and maintained
its revenue targets for
our performance in was outstanding cadbury chief executive todd
stitzer said in statement outlining his company performance and outlook
group sales rose five percent last year cadbury said
we generated good revenue growth despite the weakest economic conditions in
