figures
nba rondo shines as celtics douse heat in overtime
miami florida jan afp
rajon rondo points included buzzer beating layup to force overtime
wednesday as boston notched nba triumph over miami despite points
from the heat dwyane wade
rondo caught lob from paul pierce at the end of regulation and put it in the
basket to send the game to overtime tied
ray allen scored points and kendrick perkins added points and rebounds
for the celtics who trailed by midway through the fourth quarter
even wade season high points which included steal and dunk that put
miami up by two with sec to play in regulation proved too little
rondo struck again in overtime and his basket with to play in the extra
session sealed the win for boston
paul pierce scored and rasheed wallace added for boston
for the heat udonis haslem scored off the bench and jermaine neal added
the fourth quarter was wild ride as the heat missed of shots in the
final minutes to fall from an point lead to four point deficit with less
than minute to play
when allen drained three pointer the heat looked done
but wade responded with two free throws with seconds left that tied the
game then he stripped the ball from allen and slammed home dunk to put miami
up lead that rondo quickly erased
nba cavs deal short handed wizards another blow
cleveland ohio jan afp
hours after nba commissioner david stern handed out his punishment of gilbert
arenas the cleveland cavaliers punished arenas washington wizards
stern suspended wizards star playmaker arenas indefinitely on wednesday calling
him not currently fit to take the court
arenas is under investigation by authorities after bringing unloaded guns to
washington arena last month and stern was clearly angered by the player
lighthearted response to the matter
it like black cloud over us guard deshawn stevenson said hit us over
the head again and we might break
the cavaliers weren making any allowances however as lebron james scored
points with eight assists and seven rebounds in just three quarters
shaquille neal added points in minutes as cleveland posted season high
for points for the th time in games
antawn jamison scored points and randy foye for washington jamison
admitted the arenas gun flap which has included disputed report that he and
teammate drew guns on each other has had negative effect
this situation has put the whole organization in bad light jamison said
it an unfortunate situation but we have to find way to play through it and
put it behind us it sad but this is not what we are it bad decision on
two people and we have to pay for it
james said he wasn surprised that stern chose to act before the criminal
investigation into arenas actions was complete but he was surprised at the
severity of the punishment
didn know it would be that extreme didn know he would be suspended
indefinitely james said it definitely tough know gil and he loves the
game of basketball and that for anybody to have the game be taken away from
you like that know it tough
but you ve got to use better judgment sometimes
tennis brisbane international results
brisbane australia jan afp
results from the fifth day of the brisbane international tennis tournament on
thursday denotes seed
quarter finals
men
radek stepanek cze bt wayne odesnik usa
women
ana ivanovic srb bt anastasia pavlyuchenkova rus
andrea petkovic ger bt daniela hantuchova svk
mobile phone use may stave off reverse alzheimer study
washington jan afp
long suspected of causing brain tumors mobile phones are now being eyed as key
allies in the fight against alzheimer disease us researchers said wednesday
in study
researchers at the university of south florida usf found to their surprise
that mice they zapped twice daily for an hour each time with electromagnetic
waves similar to those generated by us mobile cellular phones benefited from
the exposure
older mice saw deposits of beta amyloid protein fragment that accumulates
in the brain of alzheimer sufferers to form the disease signature plaques
wiped out and their memories improved after long term exposure to mobile phones
the study published in the journal of alzheimer disease showed
young adult mice with no apparent signs of memory impairment were protected
against alzheimer disease after several months exposure to the phone waves
and the memories of normal mice with no genetic predisposition for alzheimer
disease were boosted after exposure to the electromagnetic waves
no one was more surprised by the results than the researchers themselves who
had embarked on the tests several years ago convinced they would show that the
electromagnetic fields from cell phone would be deleterious to alzheimer
mice lead author gary arendash usf professor told afp
when we got our initial results showing beneficial effect thought give
it few more months and it will get bad for them
it never got bad we just kept getting these beneficial effects in both the
alzheimer and normal mice arendash said
it took several months of exposure before the benefits were seen in mice and
that would be the equivalent of many years in humans arendash said
the mice in the study didn wear tiny headsets or have scientists holding
mobile phones up to their ears instead their cages were arranged around an
antenna that generated mobile phone signal
each animal was housed the same distance from the antenna and exposed to
electromagnetic waves equivalent to what is typically emitted by mobile phone
pressed up against human head
since we selected electromagnetic parameters that were identical to human cell
phone use and tested mice in task closely analogous to human memory test we
believe our findings could have considerable relevance to humans arendash
said
but william thies chief medical and scientific officer of the alzheimer
association said the study was very preliminary and warned against self
medicating by over using cell phone
no one should feel they are being protected from alzheimer dementia
cognitive decline by using their cell phones based on this study thies said in
statement
the study needs to be replicated in animals before we begin to even consider
trying it in people as animal models of alzheimer and people with the disease
are very different he said
arenbach called the alzheimer association reaction disappointing and so
negative about new research area of neuroscience that could offer real
benefits against the disease in the future especially since new therapeutic
approach is desperately needed and long overdue
the researchers concurred that more research is needed to find out among other
things what the optimal dosage of electromagnetic waves would be the
megaherz in us mobile phones megaherz in european phones or another
frequency and how long effective treatment would have to be
if we can determine the best set of electromagnetic parameters to effectively
prevent beta amyloid aggregation and remove pre existing beta amyloid deposits
from the brain this technology could be quickly translated to human benefit
against alzheimer disease said usf professor chuanhai cao
the new therapy could also be used to treat one of the invisible injuries
suffered by soldiers in war cao said
since production and aggregation of beta amyloid occurs in traumatic brain
injury particularly in soldiers during war the therapeutic impact of our
findings may extend beyond alzheimer disease he said
around million people will be living with dementia this year according to
international umbrella group alzheimer disease international
pentagon officials have said that up to us veterans of iraq and
afghanistan may have suffered brain injuries
nba hawks bounce back with big win over nets
atlanta georgia jan afp
atlanta bounced back from one of their worst offensive efforts with stellar
shooting performance wednesday as they beat struggling nba rivals new jersey
jamal crawford scored points and joe johnson added while sitting out the
fourth quarter
atlanta set season high by making pointers including in the first
half they made percent of their shots from the field
the nets meanwhile missed their first shots and trailed the whole way they
have lost of their last games
yi jianlian led new jersey with points and rebounds devin harris had
points and brook lopez added
the hawks who had been held to season low points as well as season low
field goal average of in loss to miami on monday held players
only meeting to address their struggles and the way forward
think it was good when you police yourself coach doesn have to always do
it crawford said
think every bit of adversity we ve had all season we ve bounced back from
crawford added this was just the biggest bump in the road
woodson said he was satisfied with his team response to their four game losing
streak
thought it was great team effort across the board woodson
said thought our focus was there from beginning to end
vietnam police say pirated discs seized
hanoi jan afp
police in vietnam southern commercial capital ho chi minh city have seized
hundreds of thousands of pirated movie and other discs an officer said
thursday
we discovered discs of all kinds that could be considered pirated
said the policeman who refused to be named
police confiscated the discs during raids late tuesday on businesses licensed
only to trade in blank discs he said
in report late last year the european chamber of commerce in vietnam said
protecting and enforcing intellectual property rights remains problem in the
country where fake goods of all types are widely available
korea samsung sees billion dollar profit in
seoul jan afp
south korea samsung electronics said thursday it expects to post an estimated
billion dollars profit for the fourth quarter to december last year
the world largest memory chip and flat screen tv maker said its consolidated
operating profit is estimated at trillion won billion dollars on sales
of trillion won during the september december period
the earnings guidance estimates came ahead of an official quarterly earnings
report due later this month the company said
samsung said it expects an operating profit of trillion won on record
revenue of trillion won for the full year
the firm projected profit compared with an operating loss of billion won
year earlier and trillion won the previous quarter
despite the upbeat earnings guidance samsung electronics shares were trading
lower at won in the morning down percent from day earlier
it just taking breather today after recent gains greg roh at hmc
investment securities told dow jones newswires
samsung outlook beat our house view and the broad market expectations he
said adding that the company semiconductor and handset divisions were key to
its upbeat guidance
he expects samsung to post an operating profit of four trillion won in the first
quarter and trillion for the whole of on solid demand for memory chips
handsets and flat screen televisions
bombs greet thai pm on visit to troubled south
yala thailand jan afp
suspected separatist militants detonated two bombs in thailand muslim majority
south thursday as prime minister abhisit vejjajiva arrived for visit police
said
the first blast was just metres yards from where abhisit was due to open
road later in the day in the town of yala and slightly wounded policeman who
was part of the security team for the trip they said
the second was also in yala but there were no casualties police said they were
defusing third bomb on the road nearby
abhisit who admits he has failed to stem the violence in the south landed in
narathiwat province and was due to also visit yala and pattani provinces during
the one day visit
more than people have died during six year anti government insurgency
across the three provinces led by shadowy mix of islamist and separatist
militants who never publicly state their goals
in other violence gunmen on motorcycles wednesday shot dead buddhist man who
ran the local meteorology department in district of pattani police said
year old islamic militant was shot and killed in narathiwat provincial town
wednesday after he clashed with security team that was clearing the area ahead
of abhisit visit
thai authorities have mobilised more than security forces plus eight
helicopters to protect abhisit and senior ministers as they open roads give
gifts to children and visit model village during the trip
it comes just one month after the thai premier visited the region with his
malaysian counterpart to rename bridge between the two countries
tensions have bubbled in the south with occasional flare ups since predominantly
buddhist thailand annexed the former malay muslim sultanate in
woman sues canadian diocese for sexual abuse
washington jan afp
woman is suing the yarmouth diocese in canada nova scotia province for
years of sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of priest in shellburne in the
canadian media said wednesday
linda deschamps said when she was years old she was hired by roman catholic
priest raoul deveau for domestic work in exchange for food and small wage for
her needy family
she alleges deveau threatened to cut off her food if she did not give in to his
sexual advances adding that she remained in the priest service for years
and even moved in with him and called him uncle
her lawsuit targets the yarmouth diocese and halifax archbishop anthony mancini
alleging they did nothing to stop the incorrect relation
father deveau died in the
mancini office declined to comment on the case
this is the second time sexual scandal has hit the catholic church in nova
scotia in september former antigonish diocese bishop raymond lahey was
indicted for possessing child pornography on his personal computer
smithsonian attendence pushes to million visitors in
washington jan afp
with million visitors in the smithsonian institution which oversees
of the most prestigious museums and cultural centers in the united states
has rebounded to pre attendance levels it said wednesday
the increase can be explained in part by the reopening of one of the
smithsonian jewels the national museum of american history which holds one
of the first versions of the stars and stripes flag among other invaluable
objects
after two year renovation the museum saw million visitors during
the institution said
in explaining the rise spokeswoman linda st thomas also cited museums being
open in the evenings during summer months
because the museums are free the tallies cannot be based on ticket sales and
the count can include staff and people who leave and return to museum on the
same day
after getting million visitors in the museums suffered as tourist
traffic sharply curtailed following the attacks on washington and new york
receiving visitors year later and falling to low of million
visitors in
vietnam followers of zen monk go underground
hanoi jan afp
followers of one of the world most influential buddhist monks say they have
gone underground in vietnam after being forced from pagoda that gave them
refuge
about devotees of thich nhat hanh dispersed last month from the phuoc hue
pagoda in central vietnam after visits by what us based rights group described
as orchestrated mobs that included police
it was the second time since september that they had fled from temple after
what human rights watch alleged was year of intensified government effort to
disband the community of young monks and nuns
the devotees fled first from bat nha monastery after thugs and undercover
police armed with hammers descended upon it the watchdog said
their expulsion drew expressions of concern from both the us embassy and the
european parliament
nhat hanh zen monk and peace activist who was confidant of slain us civil
rights leader martin luther king is based at the plum village monastery in
france
it very difficult for us to feel safe in our own country one nun said
declining to reveal her name age or the community where she is staying
she said she was among the last to leave phuoc hue before december deadline
that has sent the majority of devotees underground
the nun said she initially moved to rented house with other followers
elsewhere in the country
suspected plainclothes policeman was always stationed outside the house the
nun said alleging the same thing happened to many many of my brothers and
sisters
the nun said she has since moved to different community where she lives with
other devotees who have so far not been bothered by the authorities
another nun said the monastics have spread out around the country she is among
some followers of nhat hanh who have returned home to their families
not hiding but don want many people to know where am now she said
like the first nun she declined to give her name or location for security
reasons
many temples in vietnam would like to sponsor nhat hanh followers but the
government doesn give permission the first nun said
the government could not immediately respond on wednesday to afp request for
comment
in october foreign ministry spokeswoman described the matter as an internal
buddhist dispute and denied that hundreds of people had been forced from bat
nha
the government of vietnam says it always respects freedom of belief and
religion but all religious activity remains under state control
human rights watch has said the ousting of nhat hanh followers was clearly
linked to his call for religious reforms
nhat hanh teaches what is known as socially engaged buddhism
he travelled to the united states in to call for an end to the vietnam war
and was not allowed to return by either the us backed saigon regime or the
communist government that has ruled reunified vietnam since he visited the
country in and
in december delegation representing nhat hanh followers asked france for
temporary asylum saying they no longer felt safe in vietnam
we are waiting for the help from outside the first nun said referring to the
asylum request
in country where percent of the population is under the age of most of
nhat hanh followers are young people they meditate to reduce suffering and
cultivate happiness she said
being separated from each other as they are now makes it difficult for them to
carry out their practice the essence of which comes from living as community
the nuns said
in our hearts we would like to have place for us to live together the
second nun said
india love of cars raises vision of traffic horror
new delhi jan afp
excitement about india growing car sales is palpable at this year delhi auto
show but on the congested streets outside drivers are less enthusiastic about
the prospect of more traffic on the roads
venkatraman has about kilometre mile commute to work every day
from his home in new delhi suburb to the international airport where he works
for the cargo service unit of major airline
it already takes minutes to an hour even when he uses brand new stretch of
eight lane expressway and the idea of more cars adding to the tailbacks fills
him with dread
of late the traffic has been going from bad to worse because of so many cars
being introduced he told afp it definitely got worse since started
driving years ago
he says he would gladly leave his white sx from india most popular carmaker
maruti at home
if had connectivity on public transport which was comfortable and convenient
would definitely take it he said
the slogan for the auto event in the indian capital is mobility for all but
the increase in cars in country with notoriously limited infrastructure could
turn driving into an even slower more frustrating crawl
the world bank estimates that traffic in india cities has grown by percent
year for the last decade reducing average speeds during rush hour to five to
kilometres an hour in central areas
inside autoexpo which runs until next tuesday foreign and domestic
manufacturers spoke excitedly about the potential for growth in country with
billion plus population and less than cars per people
annual new car sales are currently about million and are forecast to more
than double to four million by according to forecasts from the society of
indian automobile manufacturers siam
so where will they go when existing roads appear already past saturation point
particularly in the big metropolitan areas of new delhi commercial capital
mumbai and it hub bangalore
is the daily deadlock outside autoexpo vision of the future
the answer has consequences not only for manufacturers of small cars which
account for percent of all auto sales in india but also the foreign high end
producers such as audi or bmw who are eyeing the market
the man tasked with finding solution to these problems is government veteran
kamal nath the ambitious roads minister
the biggest deficit we have today is our infrastructure deficit and at the
heart of our infrastructure deficit is roads he said as he inaugurated the
auto show on wednesday
india has billion dollar plan to upgrade its infrastructure and nath has
been on world tour recently looking for private investment to help him achieve
target of kilometres of new road per year
the current rate of building is about kilometres day short of the
required kilometres day to meet the building target but up from the
kilometres day when nath took office last may he said
india already has the second largest road network in the world measuring
million kilometres but only percent is paved and only third of all
maintenance needs are met the world bank says
journey speeds even on the country highways the vast majority of which are
two lanes can be frustratingly slow at about kilometres an hour in car
and kilometres for buses and trucks
this is significant constraint on economic development in country where
percent of all freight travels by road according to world bank figures
pankaj sharma from the delhi based think tank the center for transforming
india says building new roads is only part of the solution to congestion
the pace of infrastructure growth in india is not matching the growth in
vehicle ownership so traffic conditions are bound to get worse he said
but the building up of infrastructure is only temporary solution they are
doing nothing to reduce the traffic on the road
to cut congestion convenient and affordable public transport systems are needed
that give commuters an alternative he says underlining that india urban
population is forecast to soar
for the industry the focus remains on working with the government to encourage
rapid road building for the shiny models on display at the autoexpo
it be good if there were shiny new roads for them to drive on the head of
gm india karl slym told afp
oil down in asian trade
singapore jan afp
oil prices were down in asia on thursday after hitting month highs in
overnight trade on the back of weak dollar analysts said
new york main futures contract light sweet crude for february delivery shed
cents to dollars barrel the us benchmark oil rose to an intraday
peak of dollars wednesday its highest price since october
brent north sea crude for february delivery fell cents to dollars
cold spell sweeping across the northern hemisphere was also factor behind
the surge in crude prices but investors on thursday were evaluating signs of
weakening energy demand in the us the world biggest oil user analysts said
weekly report by the us department of energy doe wednesday showed that crude
oil reserves rose by million barrels in the week ending january instead
of the expected drop of some barrels
stockpiles of distillates including heating fuel and diesel fell by
barrels in the week sharply below the average analyst forecast of
drop of million barrels amid cold weather across sections of the us
the inventory statistics were very bearish said tony nunan tokyo based
risk manager for mitsubishi corp
much bigger draw was expected but it got lot colder after that report so
we could see much bigger draws in inventories next week
nunan added that geopolitical factors including terrorism concerns in yemen
following the attempted christmas day bombing of northwest airlines flight and
tensions between us and iran would also impact oil prices
think that lot of people realise that there is still big threat in yemen
which is right next to saudi arabia so that could be big geopolitical risk
issue
tv rage at consumer electronics show
las vegas nevada jan afp
breathtaking wave of televisions hit the consumer electronics show ces
on wednesday as the technology was touted as the next big thing in home theater
when it comes to home entertainment there really is no experience like
sony chief executive howard stringer said while unveiling innovations on the eve
of the official start of ces in las vegas
we intend to take the lead in we want to provide the most compelling
content possible
the japanese electronics giant plans range from being part of television
network in the united states to streaming live performances in the format
country music star taylor swift performed during the press conference in sony
demonstration of live broadcasting and said she will document her coming
asia tour in the format
the whole thing is turning into the ces showcase don you think
stringer asked rhetorically after swift left the stage
sony has teamed with discovery and imax in television network and with
espn to broadcast soccer and golf matches in
while technology has been around for years it is finally ready for prime
time as proven by box office successes of films avatar and cloudy with
chance of meatballs according to imax
sony will release line of ready televisions this year capable of synching
with sensing units and active shutter glasses for viewing
on the ces show floor massive lcd and plasma tv screens linked to wireless
shutter glasses for effect were prominently displayed
is going to be the next big buzz overton told afp everyone is going to
want it then the gaming systems will jump on
forrester research analyst james mcquivey said that while offerings are
visually stunning it is unlikely consumers will be in hurry to buy the
premium priced television sets
many consumers upgraded to high definition television sets in the past three
years and an infrastructure to deliver content to homes isn in place
according to mcquivey
it is very hard to imagine consumers will run out and buy new tvs when they
just upgraded in mass mcquivey told afp
know we are all excited about how well avatar did but it is very hard to
jump on this band wagon when you don see path for bringing it into anyone
home
the likelihood that adoption of tv may take years as did the blu ray dvd
format didn deter electronics makers
toshiba on wednesday unveiled flat panel television that converts any digital
video into as wave of rich graphics crashed on the shore of the consumer
electronics show ces
with cell tv everything is in toshiba america marketing vice president
scott ramirez said while unveiling cell tv to the press on the eve of ces in las
vegas which this year gathers some industry exhibitors
south korean consumer electronics giant lg announced that this year it will
launch tvs as well as projector panasonic went with live in
it campaign for its electronics
south korea samsung teamed up with dreamworks animation maker of shrek and
other hit movies and technicolor on wednesday in push to bring more
entertainment into the home
samsung dreamworks and technicolor announced they have formed global
strategic alliance to accelerate the worldwide deployment of in home to
mainstream consumers
growth of has been slow because of lack of programming the need to wear
special glasses and the higher prices of sets but last month release of
science fiction blockbuster avatar film by titanic director james
cameron has renewed interest in the medium
we re forging the future of entertainment in what we like to call new
dimension tim baxter president of the consumer electronics division at
samsung electronics america said at samsung press conference
samsung will be marketing complete entertainment offering for the home
featuring television set blu ray player and stylish active shutter
glasses
has had bumpy ride since the first film back in baxter said
today though technology has improved dramatically and it clear people love
watching in theaters
in theaters is gateway into the home said technicolor chief executive
frederic rose
soul searching in india after spate of young suicides
mumbai jan afp
spate of young suicides in mumbai has prompted concern in india with the
country education system family pressures hit film and television reality
shows mooted as possible factors in the deaths
three youngsters were found hanged in the city last weekend an year old
girl year old boy and an year old female medical student
the young girl neha sawant who had appeared on several popular television
talent competitions was reportedly upset at her parents decision to withdraw
her from dance academy
the older girl is said to have taken her own life after failing exams while
police are probing whether the boy killed himself in copycat suicide after
seeing the blockbuster film idiots which has similar incident
suicide provides regular fare for indian newspapers with little or no
commentary or professional advice to counsel those considering it as way out
but with three widely reported deaths in two days mental health professionals
have spoken out amid fears other youngsters could follow suit
suicide is huge social problem sanjay kumawat president of the bombay
