kaia kanepi est bt li na chn
ioana raluca olaru rou bt elena baltacha gbr
elena vesnina rus bt alberta brianti ita
maria kirilenko rus bt tatjana malek ger
new auto sales in japan soar for fifth month
tokyo jan afp
new auto sales in japan rose for fifth straight month in december industry
data showed tuesday helped by tax incentives for motorists to buy more
environmentally sound vehicles
the japan automobile dealers association said cars trucks and buses
were sold in december up percent from year ago
however the annual sales of new vehicles fell percent in to
million units marking sixth straight annual decline as japan economy
struggled through its worst downturn in decades
the figures do not include sales of mini cars or mini trucks with up to cc
engines
government subsidies to spur purchases of environment friendly cars have
supported the ailing sector in recent months
but industry officials have voiced worries about the outlook as many young
people in large cities opt for public transport to avoid the high cost of
maintaining cars
weak consumer spending during the recession has also weighed heavily on the
sector while exports to major overseas markets have slumped prompting japanese
makers to idle plants and slash thousands of jobs
dozens of malaysians face charges after hotel sex raids
kuala lumpur jan afp
dozens of malaysians charged with sexual misconduct in new year day hotel
raids including year old grandmother will face court next month
officials said tuesday
malaysia islamic morality police arrested muslim malays for khalwat or
close proximity under religious laws that bar muslims from being alone with
member of the opposite sex before marriage
the raids targeted budget hotels in the eastern resort town of kuantan the
capital of pahang state
we will be charging them in sharia court in february if found guilty they
face fine and six month jail term ahmad rafli abdul malek head of the
pahang islamic department told afp
ahmad rafli said the year old woman grandmother of eight was caught with
year old man
he related that when his officers knocked on their hotel door they said how
can we open the door we are naked
malaysia has dual track legal system and islamic courts can try muslims who
dominate the multicultural population for religious and moral offences
ahmad rafli said the department was concerned that increasing numbers of couples
were spending time alone before marriage and that this could lead to illicit
sexual activity
then we will face issues such as abortion and dumping of babies he said
malaysia minorities which include ethnic chinese and indian communities have
complained over rising islamisation of the country that is threatening its
secular status
kartika sari dewi shukarno year old part time model was sentenced to six
strokes of the cane by an islamic court in pahang in july for drinking beer
although the punishment has not yet been carried out
china warns us on taiwan arms sales
beijing jan afp
china on tuesday again warned the united states against selling arms to taiwan
amid media speculation that washington could soon act on the island request
for new weapons
we firmly oppose the us selling arms to taiwan foreign ministry spokeswoman
jiang yu told reporters at regular briefing saying beijing has had serious
consultations with washington on the issue
we urge the us to recognise the gravity of selling arms to taiwan cancel any
plans to sell arms to taiwan and stop selling arms to taiwan so as not to damage
china us relations
taiwan president ma ying jeou despite warming ties with beijing has appealed
to the united states for weapons saying the island must stay on guard in light
of the mainland sharp rise in military spending
taipei is reportedly seeking fighter jets as well as helicopters for
military transport and rescue missions to modernise its ageing fleet and us
president barack obama is expected to act on that request in the coming months
washington is the leading arms supplier to self ruled taiwan despite switching
diplomatic recognition from taipei to beijing in
china and taiwan split at the end of civil war in beijing still views
the island as part of its territory awaiting reunification by force if
necessary
during his visit to china in november obama reiterated that the united states
believed there was only one china
the united states is required by law to provide taiwan with weapons of
defensive nature under the taiwan relations act
us defence firm raytheon said last month that it had been awarded contract
worth billion dollars for new patriot missile systems to taiwan but that
the missiles themselves would be part of separate contract
afp world news agenda
paris dec afp
what coming up around the world
obama to hold key talks on terrorism
iraq war inquiry resumes in london
washington us president barack obama to hold key talks with intelligence and
national security chiefs on botched plane bombing which prompted the united
states to revamp its terrorist watchlists attacks
london britain iraq war inquiry resumes with former premier tony blair
expected to testify by early february before further pause until after
elections due by june britain iraq politics inquiry military
brussels spain unveils its artwork which will decorate the hall of the european
council during its six month presidency gmt picture
cairo foreign ministers of egypt france jordan spain and tunisia meet in
bid to relaunch the mediterranean union
lusaka indian prime minister manmohan singh is expected to arrive on three
day official visit zambia india diplomacy
afp
manslaughter charges filed over india chimney collapse
ranchi india jan afp
indian police have filed manslaughter charges against three local managers of
the britain based vedanta mining group in connection with an industrial chimney
collapse that killed workers
the three men all employed by vedanta india subsidiary balco were charged in
court with culpable homicide not amounting to murder police officials said
tuesday
another man working as project manager for the indian company contracted to
build the chimney at vedanta owned power plant in the central state of
chattisgarh was also charged
the partially built metre foot chimney collapsed in bad weather on
september burying labourers under tonnes of concrete
ratan lal dangi police chief of korba district where the plant was located
said the charges were backed by expert reports alleging the use of sub standard
materials and inadequate soil testing
dangi said the reports contradicted claims that the weather conditions had
caused the collapse
lightning and bad weather were not the reason rather workmanship was poor
and also the supervision and monitoring were poor he told afp by phone
tennis clijsters sends out warning to rivals
brisbane australia jan afp
kim clijsters sent out an ominous warning to her rivals when she demolished
australia alicia molik in the second round of the brisbane international on
tuesday
the belgian was in ruthless form as she saw off molik in exactly minutes
breaking the australian serve six times on her way to victory
day after fellow comeback queen justine henin ousted second seed nadia petrova
in equally impressive fashion clijsters ensured she would attract just as many
headlines as her countrywoman with dominant display
she broke molik in the first game of the match then broke twice more to wrap up
the first set in just minutes
clijsters continued her rampage as she broke molik at the start of the second
set then held to open lead
molik eventually held serve then managed to break back at to even up the
set but clijsters stepped up gear and won the next three games to take the
match
found it pretty easy to read her serve that was something was worried
about before the match clijsters said
that is one of her best shots but felt comfortable returning and kept the
pressure on her
there is still good chance that the two belgians will meet in saturday
final and clijsters said she had been impressed by what she saw in henin win
over petrova
watched little bit of it on tv very impressive thought clijsters
said
she was moving really well and didn look like she left the sport
on tv she looked fast and strong and assume that when play against her on
the court she ll be the same
while petrova said henin would emerge the winner if the two met in the final
molik wasn so sure
molik who first played clijsters in juniors when they were both said
clijsters was still the same player she was before she retired in
she still incredibly good at the things she always done well molik said
she left the game when she was at the top and think she still at that
level
earlier in the day german andrea petkovic became the first player to go through
to the quarter finals when she came from game down to beat vania king of the
usa
melinda czink the seventh seed from hungary beat czech barbora zahlavova
strycova and advanced to the quarter finals where she could well
play henin if the belgian overcomes sesil karatantcheva on wednesday
us overhauls terror watchlists
washington jan afp
the united states has overhauled its terror watchlists after the attempted
christmas day bombing of an airliner which has led president barack obama to
order widespread review of security measures
obama who has denounced systemic intelligence failures in the bombing
attempt was scheduled to meet tuesday with us intelligence chiefs on findings
of two reviews into nigerian man bid to bring down the us bound jet
an administration official told afp the president would unveil an initial
series of reforms following the meeting
the talks will focus on reviews of the botched attack on northwest flight as
it approached detroit as well as improved intelligence sharing
there already been rescrubbing of all the different lists white house
spokesman bill burton told reporters referring to watchlists of those with
suspected terrorist ties and the narrower list of those barred from boarding us
bound flights
probably thousands upon thousands upon thousands of names were scrubbed and
probably dozens were moved to different lists
obama has directly linked the al qaeda network responsible for the september
attacks on the united states to the bid to blow up the northwest jet
carrying people
nigerian umar farouk abdulmutallab allegedly tried to detonate explosives
sewn in his underwear as the plane was approaching detroit from amsterdam but
the explosives failed to detonate properly and he was overpowered by passengers
the administration has ordered tight new security measures for us bound
passengers
travelers flying to the united states from or via countries including iran
nigeria and yemen will undergo mandatory enhanced screening the new measures
drew protests from some of the countries singled out
it is unfair to discriminate against over million people because of the
behavior of one person said nigeria information minister dora akunyili
cuba official communist party daily granma blasted the measures as anti
terrorist paranoia
cuba is among four countries along with iran sudan and syria currently deemed
by the state department to be state sponsors of terrorism all are subject to
the rules as are the other countries of concern
prominent us muslim rights group criticized the move as ethnic profiling
while singling out travelers based on religion and national origin may make
some people feel safer it only serves to alienate and stigmatize muslims and
does nothing to improve airline security said nihad awad executive director
of the council on american islamic relations
obama received review into the incident from the cia monday and met with his
top counterterrorism advisor john brennan
brennan has defended the nation security agencies saying there had been
no smoking gun that could have helped unmask the plot earlier despite warnings
from abdulmutallab father wealthy nigerian banker
fbi agents in ghana have also probed abdulmutallab stay there amid allegations
he bought his ticket for detroit in the country
obama says abdulmutallab spent time in yemen during the summer where he was
allegedly in contact with al qaeda in the arabian peninsula which has claimed
responsibility for the thwarted attack
secretary of state hillary clinton meanwhile called instability in yemen
global threat the us embassy in yemen reopened on tuesday after having shut on
sunday due to al qaeda threats
corrected tennis brisbane international results first update
brisbane australia jan afp
results from the third day of the brisbane international tennis tournament on
tuesday denotes seed
first round
men
carsten ball aus bt mischa zverev ger
tomas berdych cze bt nick lindahl aus
oleksandr dolgopolov jr ukr bt bernard tomic aus
marcos baghdatis cyp bt mardy fish usa
james blake usa bt sam querrey usa
matthew ebden aus bt jurgen melzer aut
second round
women
andrea petkovic ger bt vania king usa
melinda czink hun bt barbora zahlavova strycova cze
kim clijsters bel bt alicia molik aus
vietnam condemns china tourism plan for archipelago
hanoi jan afp
vietnam has condemned what it says is chinese plan to develop tourism on the
disputed paracel archipelago
the paracels would be included in china plan to develop nearby hainan island
into an international tourist site vietnamese foreign ministry spokeswoman
nguyen phuong nga said in statement late monday
china announced its intention on december the ministry said
nga demanded china immediately end the plan which causes tension and further
complicates the east sea situation
vietnam and china have long standing dispute over sovereignty of the paracels
and more southerly archipelago the spratlys both are in the south china sea
which vietnam calls the east sea
on tuesday chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman jiang yu said beijing had
taken note of the vietnamese protest
she added want to reiterate that china has indisputable sovereignty over the
spratleys and the paracels
in december vietnam and russia signed major arms deal which reportedly
involves the purchase of six submarines analysts said the deal aims to bolster
hanoi claims against china over the potentially resource rich islands
vietnam says its policy is to ensure peaceful outcome to the maritime
disputes
small cars take centre stage at delhi auto show
new delhi jan afp
global car manufacturers eyeing the explosive growth of the indian market
unveiled new compact models at the delhi auto show tuesday in bid to break the
dominance of entrenched local producers
japanese groups toyota and honda germany volkswagen and us giant general
motors unveiled new models specially designed for the growing car buying middle
classes and the country notoriously bad roads
all face challenge in market growing at more than percent year because
of the dominance of local indo japanese producer maruti suzuki which has
percent market share and indian groups mahindra amp mahindra and tata
in terms of total volume of sales we are not big player but this will change
it volkswagen india marketing manager lutz kothe told afp after presenting the
group new india made polo
the compact hatchback will hit the roads in march at an as yet undisclosed price
and will aim to take on the popular swift model made by maruti
this year delhi auto show is the th but it first caught the world
attention in when indian manufacturer tata motors unveiled its nano the
world cheapest car
the rupee dollar nano added impetus to the race to produce
cheap small vehicles which account for percent of all car sales in india
two wheelers still account for most passenger vehicle sales but rising incomes
mean indians are following the familiar pattern of upgrading their transport
from push bikes to motorbikes then to cars
total car sales are forecast to reach two million this year and triple in the
next decade according to industry estimates
autoexpo which runs in new delhi until january features global
releases of vehicles designed for india new consumer generation
japan toyota took the wraps off its first compact model designed especially
for the country which has adapted suspension for the rough roads plenty of
storage space for large families and an engine for city driving
the etios will probably be launched later this year the company said at
price so far undisclosed that will attract young professionals and
families
toyota plan is to export it from india which though lacking in important
infrastructure such as cutting edge ports is fast developing as small car
production hub
it not copy of japanese or european model said kazuo okamoto vice
chairman of toyota at the presentation etios is newly developed for customers
in india
recent months have seen foreign giants ford hyundai and renault join stampede
to india where each has promised small cheap model designed for what ford
boss alan mulally termed the sweet spot of the market
japan honda unveiled for the first time small car concept model that it aims
to start selling next year while general motors put on show its new
dollar beat model for the first time
the indian car market is market for small cars jhaneswar sen marketing
director for honda india told reporters eighty percent of the sales are for
the hatchback market
foreign manufacturers have woken up to india potential but analysts and
industry experts believe competition is set to be fierce in the compact and
small car segment as new models are launched
india market has gone from largely closed one two decades ago when consumers
had only couple of locally made alternatives to one offering plethora of
choices
maruti suzuki majority owned by japan suzuki in which volkswagen intends to
buy nearly percent stake said it was aware of the pressure on its market
share
we are trying to expand our portfolio and refresh our products to offer
customers new cars said rao senior director at the group when asked
about the competition
karl slym head of gm india hopes its beat model will help increase sales in
india for the struggling us giant by percent this year but he admitted that
the competition was getting tough
there is competitive market in india he told reporters there are more and
more players coming in with different capabilities
courtroom sketch artist gives glimpse into philippine trial
manila jan afp
ban on cameras at high profile murder trial in the philippines tuesday meant
the authorities had to resort to time tested alternative rarely seen in this
country the courtroom sketch artist
for ala paredes graduate of the sydney design institute in australia the
job of sketching the trial of andal ampatuan jnr the chief suspect in the
massacre of people in november was patriotic duty she could not ignore
it public service didn think of saying no paredes said
the supreme court call to sketch ampatuan jnr court appearance came on the eve
of the trial itself she said
no price was discussed she said adding that she readily agreed
paredes daughter of famous filipino singer said she actually hopes to be
children storybook illustrator instead she found her first commission was to
draw images of the most infamous figure in recent philippine history
she produced five colour sketches of the proceedings all simple and emotionless
except for one showing ampatuan jnr sitting on courtroom bench and looking
back at spectators with mixture of resentment and suspicion
not allowed to elaborate no flights of fancy she said
ampatuan is accused of leading the massacre of people including female
relatives of rival politician as well as journalists and lawyers to prevent
the rival from running against him in elections in may
security for his trial has been tight with the proceedings being held in the
national police headquarters in manila
journalists were barred from bringing cameras cellphones and even audio
recorders into the courtroom
inside the courtroom reporters went through intense body searches to make sure
they did not smuggle in any hidden electronic devices
this is major change from other legal proceedings in this free wheeling
democracy which are openly covered live by television and radio stations
supreme court spokesman midas marquez said it was normal jurisprudence to bar
recording devices so the tribunal decided to bring in an artist common
practice in the united states but relatively new in the philippines
paredes resident of australia who is only in the philippines for christmas
holiday is unsure she will be available for the rest of the trial she is not
even sure she will be paid
but she was eager to get involved
heard of this development in sydney and was deeply affected was glued to
my computer she recalled
it was also the first time paredes had ever been in courtroom
thought would be nervous because of the importance of the case but as soon
as started drawing said to myself you ve got job to do and this
helped her get down to work
india seeks to calm tempers over plan for new state
new delhi jan afp
india home minister called on tuesday for regional politicians to end massive
street protests that have erupted over the proposed creation of new state
chidambaram met with eight political parties in new delhi to try to cool
tensions on the issue of telangana state which would be carved out of andhra
pradesh
urge each of the political parties represented here to show accommodation and
goodwill he said following weeks of strikes street protests and shutdowns
that have paralysed the southern region in recent weeks
the dispute has raged since those in favour of separate telangana state led
by former federal labour minister chandrasekhar rao went on hunger
strike in november
when the national government appeared to cave into their demands those opposed
to the plan took to the streets in andhra pradesh and its state capital
hyderabad home to it giants including google and microsoft
supporters of the proposed new state believe it would allow the poorer sector of
andhra pradesh to claim more of the national budget
hong kong shares end percent up
hong kong jan afp
hong kong shares closed percent up on tuesday as investors followed
strong lead on wall street and other regional markets
the benchmark hang seng index added points to with turnover
reaching billion hong kong dollars billion us
on the mainland the shanghai composite index which covers both and shares
was up points or percent at on turnover of billion
yuan billion dollars
but property developers bucked the trend on fears that beijing will introduce
new property tax system soon
nestle says it is paying billion dollars for kraft pizzas
zurich jan afp
food giant nestle announced on tuesday that it was buying kraft foods frozen
pizza units in the united states and canada for billion dollars billion
euros
kraft said it would use the entire proceeds to improve its bid for british
confectionary group cadbury as nestle said it was not interested in buying up
the chocolate bar maker
the statement from nestle was seen as killing rumours that the group which is
cash rich might use its treasure chest to snap up cadbury
kraft said its offer for cadbury would now be about billion euros
nestle chief paul bulke said of the move on kraft pizzas this frozen pizza
business greatly enhances nestle frozen food activities in north america
bringing together selection of great us and canadian brands industry leading
amp and excellent route to market capabilities which complement our
existing ice cream direct store delivery
he said with total sales of around billion swiss francs nestle will
become the world leader in the attractive fast growing frozen pizza category
nestle statement said the us is the largest pizza market in the world with
consumer sales of about billion dollars
it said with estimated sales of billion dollars in kraft foods was the
leader in the frozen pizza category and had enjoyed double digit growth in the
us and canada over the last four years
the brands include digiorno tombstone and california pizza kitchen
selling this business now not only delivers an attractive return for our
shareholders but enables us to better focus our resources on priority global
brands and categories said kraft chief executive officer irene rosenfeld
nestle is well positioned to continue building these powerhouse pizza brands
given its strength in frozen foods rosenfeld said
european stocks stable at open
london jan afp
europe main stock markets held steady at the start of trading on tuesday with
london benchmark ftse index down percent at points
frankfurt dax slid percent to points and in paris the cac
eased percent to stand at
global stock markets began the new year on positive note on monday as
investors counted on strong recovery from the worst economic slump since the
to extend substantial gains made in dealers said
wall street staged strong rally overnight with sentiment boosted by the
global rally that was also helped by corporate dealmaking and upbeat economic
news from the us and china
afp gmt news advisory
paris jan afp
duty editor abhik kumar chanda
tel
us embassy in yemen reopens after qaeda threats
afghanistan cia suicide bomber triple agent
philippines massacre suspect pleads not guity
attacks world wrap
saana
the us mission in yemen reopens following two day closure prompted by al qaeda
threats as us secretary of state hillary clinton warns unrest in the
impoverished arab country is threat to global instability
words gmt by hammoud mounassar
afghanistan unrest jordan qaeda
amman
suicide bomber who killed seven cia agents and jordanian intelligence
officer at us base in afghanistan was jordanian triple agent who duped his
handlers that he was only pretending to desire martyrdom as part of his cover
reports say
words gmt
philippines politics massacre trial rdlead
manila
the prime suspect in the massacre of people in the southern philippines
pleads not guilty to multiple counts of murder in case that has thrown the
spotlight on the nation corruption plagued political and justice systems
words gmt by jason gutierrez picture graphic
europe
health flu france vaccine
paris
france cancels deliveries for million swine flu vaccines after ordering far
more than needed confident it will avoid having to pay compensation to the big
drug companies that provide them
words gmt
asia
asia weather snow wrap
beijing
heavy snow brings more travel chaos to china stranding thousands of truckers
and rail passengers while south korea sends out tens of thousands of civil
servants and soldiers to clear record snowfalls
words gmt
afghanistan unrest politics
kabul
the clock is ticking for afghan president hamid karzai as he puts together
cabinet ahead of an international conference on the country future with his
western backers demanding progress on his commitment to clean government
words gmt by sardar ahmad file picture
india auto ndlead
new delhi
host of new small cars jostle for attention at the start of the indian auto
show showpiece event for compact vehicles in one of the world fastest
growing markets
words gmt by adam plowright picture
americas
attacks us nigeria newseries
washington
us president barack obama prepares for key talks with intelligence and national
security chiefs on botched plane bombing which prompted the united states to
revamp its terrorist watchlists
words gmt by tangi quemener graphic picture
us it company telecom internet google
san francisco
google is to step into the mobile arena with its own nexus one smartphone in
direct challenge to apple heavyweight iphone handsets
words moved by glenn chapman
jal wins backing from workers for pension cuts
tokyo jan afp
