suicide bomber killed three pakistani soldiers on wednesday near the
demarcation line with india in kashmir the latest in spike of attacks in the
pakistani administered zone
the bombing came day after pakistani president asif ali zardari visited the
area declaring that regional peace depended on resolving the dispute over
kashmir fault line that has sparked two wars between india and pakistan
the attacker detonated his explosives outside barracks in tarar khal
southeast of muzaffarabad the capital of pakistani administered kashmir
it was suicide attack the target was the army barracks we have collected
evidence and body parts of the attacker which proves that it was suicide
attack police official irfan masaood kishvi said
it was outside the army barracks three security personnel have been
martyred the injured have been taken to the combined military hospital kishvi
told afp from the nearby town of palandri
kashmir was split into two in the bloody aftermath of independence from british
rule over the subcontinent in nuclear rivals india and pakistan each
control part of the mountainous land but both claim the region in full
tens of thousands of people have been killed in nearly year revolt in
indian kashmir where muslim militants have fought against new delhi rule but
bomb attacks are rare in the pakistani administered zone
the pakistani zone elected leader raja farooq haider condemned the attack in
tarar khal small village with population of around and blamed
taliban linked extremists
the terrorists have attacked the pakistan army and the entire kashmiri nation
condemns this attack he told afp confirming the death toll of three and
adding that soldiers were wounded
the army and people are united against the terrorists and will defeat them we
have taken extra security measures and soon we will arrest the culprits he
added
foreign hand is involved in all these incidents these people are not coming
across the line of control but from our western borders he said
it was the fourth suicide bombing in pakistani kashmir since the first such
attack in the zone last june ten days ago suicide bomber killed seven people
outside shiite muslim mosque in muzaffarabad
attacks blamed mostly on the taliban have killed more than people across
pakistan since july concentrated in the northwest and major cities rather
than the northern mountains and eastern border with india
islamists have carried out the bloody campaign to avenge military offensives and
the government unpopular alliance with the united states in the eight war
against the taliban in neighbouring afghanistan
pakistan is under us pressure to do more to eliminate taliban and al qaeda
linked militants along its western border with afghanistan but the pakistani
military continues to eye india as the primary threat to the country
the whole focus of the world is on pakistan regional peace is linked with the
resolution of the kashmir dispute and peace can only come if the issue is
resolved zardari said in kashmir on tuesday
the bulk of pakistan armed forces are based in the east of the country
although tens of thousands of troops have been waging offensives against taliban
strongholds in the tribal belt on the afghan border in recent years
relations between in india and pakistan deteriorated drastically after the
november attacks on mumbai which new delhi blamed on pakistani militants
and accused official agencies of abetting
india has accused pakistan of arming and funding militants waging the insurgency
in kashmir although islamabad denies all the charges
elephant kills us tourist child in kenya
nairobi jan afp
an american tourist and her one year old daughter have been trampled to death by
an elephant in kenya while others with them during walk through forest
managed to escape police said wednesday
the woman was with the rest of her family walking in forest near the hotel
where they were staying when an elephant attacked them the woman and her
daughter died on the spot but the others escaped unhurt because they were able
to run for their safety senior police officer said
the accident happened in mount kenya forest located in the country centre
police said the woman was aged but gave no details about where she was from
among those who escaped is the deceased woman husband and three other people
who were with her at the time they said
the bodies of the deceased have been transferred to nairobi
asian shares mixed despite fujii resignation offer
hong kong jan afp
asian shares were mixed wednesday as dealers eased off after two days of
advances as reports japan finance minister offered to resign on health
grounds failed to ruffle investors
the nikkei in tokyo closed up percent at while sydney ended flat
at points as optimism about resources stocks was offset by fall in
banking shares
hong kong was percent stronger in afternoon trade as chinese shares rose
percent rebounding from early losses with metals companies leading the
gains singapore was percent up
commodities companies were higher although stronger dollar offset crude
recent gains on severe winter in the northern hemisphere and expectations of
further demand growth due to hopes for the global economy
japanese stocks gained in the first trading session since news broke that
year old finance minister hirohisa fujii had offered to resign for health
reasons
the market was awaiting developments as prime minister yukio hatoyama has
reiterated his desire for his minister to remain in his post
the market is very calm about this said masamichi adachi senior economist
at jpmorgan chase
we don expect major changes from this the budget proposal for the next
fiscal year is already finished it is unlikely that it will be changed
asian auto makers were given boost overnight when data showed they had
overtaken their american counterparts in sales in the united states market
the overall share of the detroit three general motors ford and chrysler
fell to percent of their home market from percent in
asian brands captured percent share in
the news boosted toyota motors percent
and in australia jetstar and airasia unveiled plans wednesday to slash costs and
ticket prices by pooling some resources taking the first step in an alliance
which could transform the asian budget market
the arrangement was described by jetstar chief executive bruce buchanan as
world first between low cost airlines
shares in qantas of which jetstar is subsidiary rose percent to
australian dollars us shortly after the announcement but ended down one
cent at dollars
overnight new york main futures contract light sweet crude for delivery in
february edged down two cents to close at dollars barrel while brent
north sea crude was steady at dollars in london trading
despite oil losses commodities companies were still upbeat on the general
upward trend in australia miner bhp billiton added percent to
australian dollars while rival rio tinto was percent higher at
the us dollar rose to yen in tokyo afternoon trade from yen in new
york late tuesday the euro dropped to dollars after but rose to
yen against
in hong kong gold was at us dollars an ounce in the afternoon
slightly lower than tuesday close of dollars
elsewhere seoul gained percent to helped by the us auto market
data while taipei added percent to
wellington was percent up at and manila edged percent higher
to
dow jones newswires contributed to this story
tennis hopman cup results
perth australia jan afp
results from hopman cup tennis tournament at perth burswood dome on wednesday
group
great britain bt germany
women singles sabine lisicki ger bt laura robson gbr
men singles andy murray gbr bt philipp kohlschreiber ger
mixed doubles laura robson andy murray gbr bt sabine lisicki philipp
kohlschreiber ger
china films boycott us festival over tibet state media
beijing jan afp
two chinese movies have been pulled out of the palm springs international film
festival in the united states in protest at the inclusion of film about tibet
state run media reported wednesday
the makers of the chinese films were upset over the inclusion of the sun behind
the clouds tibet struggle for freedom the beijing times newspaper said
the film deals with the trials and tribulations of the dalai lama tibet
exiled spiritual leader in advocating autonomy for his himalayan homeland the
festival website said
however the makers of the two chinese movies viewed it as tibetan
independence film the beijing times said
it said the chinese movies included nanjing nanjing also known as city of
life and death about the brutal capture of the city of nanjing by
japanese forces
the other was short film called quick quick slow slow the paper said
officials at the studios that made the chinese films stellar megamedia films
and dfm films shanghai respectively either declined comment or could not be
reached by afp
china accuses the dalai lama of agitating for an independent tibet the tibetan
spiritual leader has repeatedly denied the charges saying he only seeks greater
autonomy for the remote buddhist enclave
earlier this year the screening of film about exiled uighur minority activist
rebiya kadeer at festivals in australia and taiwan prompted either the
withdrawal of chinese films or warnings by beijing not to show the movie
the film was screened anyway
china accuses kadeer of fomenting unrest in its restive xinjiang region home to
more than eight million uighurs muslim minority
tennis auckland classic results
auckland jan afp
results from the third day of the auckland classic women tennis tournament
here wednesday denotes seed
second round
shahar peer isr bt magdalena rybarikova svk
flavia pennetta ita bt carla suarez navarro esp
yanina wickmayer bel bt ioana raluca olaru rou
francesca schiavone ita bt sania mirza ind
maria kirilenko rus bt kaia kanepi est
alize cornet fra bt elena vesnina rus
dominika cibulkova svk bt aravane rezai fra
kimiko date krumm jpn bt virginie razzano fra
seoul repatriates korean fishermen
seoul jan afp
south korea on wednesday repatriated two north korean fishermen who were rescued
earlier this week after their boat drifted into southern waters seoul officials
said
the two returned home via the truce border village of panmunjom in the
demilitarised zone which splits the peninsula the unification ministry said
south korea coastguard rescued the two on sunday near chain of tiny islands
in the sea of japan east sea known as dokdo in korea and takeshima in japan
and they wanted to return home it said
south korea has sent back north koreans who accidentally cross the border but
choose to be repatriated
on october group of north koreans defected to the south after crossing
the border in small fishing boat seoul rejected pyongyang demands to send
them back
but seven north korean fishermen whose boat accidentally drifted into south
korean waters were returned home last month across the closely guarded land
border
seaweed chokes australia great barrier reef
sydney jan afp
australian natural wonder the great barrier reef is overgrown in places by
seaweed in what could be worrying indication of the health of the coral
structure scientists said on wednesday
surveys of the world heritage listed reef already at risk from global warming
found that more than percent of areas closest to shore were dominated by
green weed professor david bellwood said
we knew there would be some weed there we were just surprised how much
bellwood marine biologist from james cook university told afp
we are concerned about it because it does look like lot of weed and in other
places in the world weed is an indication of decline
bellwood said the offshore reefs those at least kilometres miles from
australia eastern coast were largely untouched by the algae but that some of
those closer to shore were choking with weed
while the reason for the build up of greenery was not known bellwood said he
suspected it was because algae eating fish have died out in those areas
the question is does this mean the barrier reef is in real trouble that the
reef is rotting from the inside out or does it mean to say that that amount of
weed is natural and the answer is it hard to say he said
bellwood from the centre of excellence for coral reef studies said the best
defence for the reef would be clean water and the existence of herbivorous fish
which could graze on the weeds
the great barrier reef is in the best condition of any reef in the world he
said
however it is suffering and it has suffered significant declines in coral
cover in the last few years the presence of that weed is just another little
red light
scientists have already warned that the square kilometre square
mile attraction is in serious jeopardy as global warming and chemical runoff
threaten to kill marine species and cause disease outbreaks
bellwood said the seaweed could be just the latest problem for the reef
it just that when you combine run off and fertiliser and pesticides and
climate change and human interaction and coastal erosion and coastal development
and fishing and overfishing these things are all starting to accumulate he
said
the reef is believed to have deteriorated significantly since european
settlement in after enduring coral disease toxic blue green algae and
infestation by pestilent species such as the crown of thorns starfish
new quakes rock solomon islands after tsunami
munda solomon islands jan afp
string of fresh earthquakes rocked the western solomon islands late tuesday
and through wednesday but there were no early reports of damage or casualties
officials said
the largest earthquake late tuesday had magnitude of followed by seven
aftershocks measuring at least in the isolated region about kilometres
miles west of the capital honiara
the latest tremors followed series of quakes on monday with the largest of
causing tsunami estimated at eight feet nearly metres
the national disaster management office estimated tuesday that around
people almost third of the population had been made homeless on rendova
island by the earthquake and tsunami damage
solomon islands police commissioner peter marshall told radio new zealand
wednesday that no fresh damage had been reported from the quake which the
us geological service had earlier measured at
we feel we would have heard by now if had that been the case we have people on
the ground up there marshall said
there have been no reports of any additional injuries damage or deaths
solomon islands prime minister derek sikua visited the affected area wednesday
amid criticisms that the distribution of aid had been slow
don want this operation to be handicapped by lack of money have
instructed the ministry of finance money isn problem go ahead and do what
you have to do sikua told emergency workers in the regional centre of munda
there have been no deaths or major injuries reported from this week swarm of
quakes which followed tsunami in the same region in april that killed
more than people
residents said the quake prompted people in coastal areas to flee for higher
ground with the memories of the disaster still fresh
rendova island bore the brunt of monday quakes with some coastal areas
inundated by the tsunami and hillsides scarred by large landslides
one of the worst affected villages on the island was ratova where houses were
washed away in the tsunami leaving at least people homeless officials said
the numerous landslides had also disrupted water supplies to villages on the
island where rice was being distributed to residents wednesday
on the nearby largely uninhabited island of tetepare foreign holidaymakers
were evacuated from an eco tourism centre on monday none was reported hurt
iranian arrested with drugs at thai airport officials
bangkok jan afp
thai customs officials said wednesday they had arrested an iranian man at
bangkok main international airport carrying four kilograms nine pounds of
methamphetamine hidden in suitcase
ghanavatirajabnejad keyvan was detained at suvarnabhumi airport late
tuesday as he walked through the nothing to declare channel after arriving on an
emirates flight from dubai they said
customs anti narcotics officials found bag of pure methamphetamine commonly
known as ice concealed in special compartment of his luggage they said
the drug has street value of million baht more than dollars
the iranian national was charged with smuggling illicit drugs and possession of
drugs with intent to supply both of which carry the death penalty in thailand
officials said
senior customs department official worapat chaovisit said keyvan refused to
answer questions saying he did not understand english and needed an
interpreter
in the past year customs officials at suvarnbhumi have arrested people
smuggling total of kilos of drugs including heroin methamphetamine
cocaine ecstasy and hashish the customs department said
oil flat in asian trade
singapore jan afp
oil prices were flat in asia on wednesday as stronger dollar offset rising
demand for heating fuel due to cold weather in the northern hemisphere analysts
said
new york main futures contract light sweet crude for delivery in february
was down two cents to dollars barrel in the afternoon
brent north sea crude for february delivery was steady at dollars
positive market sentiment from the continued cold weather across the us and
europe was partly offset by firmer us dollar said the commonwealth bank of
australia in report
stronger us unit makes dollar denominated oil more expensive to holders of
other currencies dampening demand and leading to lower prices
the yen slipped against the dollar in asia on wednesday following reports that
japan finance minister may quit for health reasons while the euro was
pressured by worries about europe financial woes
the dollar rose to yen in tokyo afternoon trade from yen in new
york late on tuesday the euro dropped to dollars after but rose
to yen against
cold weather in the united states and europe had been driving prices higher
because of strong demand for heating fuel
but independent oil analyst ellis eckland said the us cold snap is easing
the cold weather is definitively adding to oil demand but the american weather
looks like it is going to ease up so it slightly bearish for oil he said
myanmar video journalist jailed for years rights groups
bangkok jan afp
myanmar court has handed down year jail term to video journalist who
worked with exiled media rights groups said wednesday as the ruling junta
continues its crackdown on dissent
freelance reporter hla hla win was arrested in september after visiting
buddhist monastery in the the town of pakokku paris based reporters without
borders and the burma media association said in joint statement
hla hla win was sentenced by court in pakokku on december for an alleged
violation of the country electronics act the groups said woman
accompanying her was sentenced to years in jail they added
there was no immediate confirmation of the sentence from authorities in myanmar
formerly known as burma which remains under tight us and eu sanctions because
of its record on human rights
we are outraged that this young woman has been given year jail term the
two organisations said in the statement
the jailed reporter had worked with the myanmar exile broadcaster democratic
voice of burma based in norway which described the sentence as unjust the
statement said
people had been expecting signs of an opening and goodwill gestures from the
military junta in this election year but this extremely severe sentence on
year old video maker and the junta chief recent threatening comments leave
little hope that the elections will be free they said
reclusive junta leader than shwe said at an independence day ceremony on monday
that plans were underway for elections promised by the regime some time this
year but warned citizens to make correct choices at the polls
myanmar has handed heavy jail terms to scores of activists monks student
leaders and journalists for their alleged roles in anti junta protests in
last year and for helping victims of cyclone nargis in may
pro democracy icon aung san suu kyi has been detained for most of the last two
decades and had her house arrest extended in august last year effectively
ruling her out of the coming elections
the united states expressed doubt monday that the polls would be credible
jetstar airasia form world first budget airline alliance
sydney jan afp
jetstar and airasia unveiled plans on wednesday to slash costs and ticket prices
by pooling some resources taking the first step in an alliance that could
transform the asian budget market
jetstar chief executive bruce buchanan said the non equity arrangement which he
described as world first between low cost airlines was expected to save
hundreds of millions of dollars in costs
by getting together and focusing on areas where we can actually reduce costs we
think it really exciting opportunity buchanan told reporters calling the
deal an important first step
we have identified many hundreds of millions of dollars of cost saving
opportunities and we think that is an exciting opportunity for us as we launch
this partnership going forward
jetstar subsidiary of australian flag carrier qantas will share parts and
ground and passenger handling services with malaysia airasia which is asia
biggest budget airline
they will also investigate jointly procuring new aircraft cooperate on buying
engineering and maintenance supplies and will carry each other passengers
stranded by breakdowns and other disruptions
qantas chief alan joyce said the deal would give both airlines an edge in the
competitive asian market
jetstar and airasia offer unmatched reach in the asia pacific region with more
routes and lower fares than their main competitors and this new alliance will
enable them to maximise that scale he said
jetstar operating aircraft is the world largest long haul budget carrier
while airasia leads the asian low cost market with planes servicing more than
destinations
analysts said the two were moving to dominate the growing asian budget sector
and were likely to announce further joint ventures
certainly the teaming of two of asia leading low cost carriers suggests that
there will be some move to really dominate this region over the longer term
derek sadubin chief operating officer of the centre for asia pacific aviation
told afp
we expect that the agreement could flourish over time to include revenue
generating agreements and potential joint ventures in range of other areas
ig markets analyst ben potter said jetstar and airasia were thinking outside
the box to stay ahead of the competition
in an extremely competitive environment where airlines have been under constant
pressures from number of different forces this world first alliance is very
positive indeed he said
the asia pacific region is one of the biggest growth markets in aviation so
any ways to further reduce costs and offer more competitive fares will benefit
both shareholders and customers
qantas shares rose percent to australian dollars us shortly after
the announcement shares in the airline closed down one cent at dollars
french and british embassies reopen in yemen
sanaa jan afp
the french embassy in sanaa reopened wednesday after being closed for two days
due to the threat of an al qaeda attack diplomat at the mission said
the british embassy in the yemeni capital also reopened but its consular
services remained closed according to statement on its website
the us embassy had reopened tuesday after two day closure prompted by al qaeda
threats saying on its website that yemeni security forces had addressed
specific area of concern in the north of the capital sanaa on monday
it was apparently referring to security operation yemeni police conducted
monday in the area of arhab kilometres miles north of sanaa where two
suspected members of al qaeda were killed and three others wounded
warnings of possible al qaeda attack had led washington to close its embassy
in sanaa on sunday the british and french authorities followed suit while
japan suspended consular services at its embassy
yemen interior ministry said tuesday all foreign missions and interests were
safe pointing out it has reinforced security measures around embassies and
the residences of foreigners
the ministry also said it arrested five terrorist elements during the past two
days near sanaa but gave no details
long standing concerns that yemen country on the southern tip of the arabian
peninsula has become haven for islamic terror groups were thrown into sharp
focus when nigerian man allegedly trained in yemen was charged with trying to
blow up us bound jet
the botched christmas day attack was claimed by al qaeda in the arabian
peninsula aqap which also urged attacks on western interests in yemen
the would be bomber umar farouk abdulmutallab reportedly confessed to
being trained by an al qaeda bombmaker in yemen for the suicide mission on the
northwest flight from amsterdam to detroit
explosives allegedly sewn into the man underwear failed to detonate and
passengers jumped on him
us president barack obama said tuesday that us intelligence missed red flags
in the arabian peninsula that could have disrupted the plot to blow up the us
bound plane vowing to stop future lapses
it is increasingly clear that intelligence was not fully analysed or fully
leveraged obama said in terse televised statement that not acceptable
and will not tolerate it
he was speaking after meeting us spy chiefs and top national security aides at
the white house to discuss two probes into the attempt to blow up the airliner
as it approached detroit
the bottom line is this the us government had sufficient information to have
uncovered this plot and potentially disrupt the christmas day attack but our
intelligence community failed to connect those dots obama said
when suspected terrorist is able to board plane with explosives on
christmas day the system has failed in potentially disastrous way he said
it my responsibility to find out why and to correct that failure so that we
can prevent such attacks in the future
us intelligence missed other red flags that al qaeda in the arabian peninsula
was plotting to attack us targets both in yemen and the united states itself he
said adding that he had information that it was working with abdulmutallab
the united states has unleashed barrage of measures to stop would be attackers
riding planes into the country overhauling its terror watchlists and adding
dozens more suspects to no fly lists
further boosting security measures all travellers coming from or via terror
linked countries among them yemen will have to undergo compulsory enhanced
screening
corrected new quakes rock solomon islands after tsunami
honiara jan afp
string of fresh earthquakes rocked the western solomon islands late tuesday
and early wednesday but there were no early reports of damage or casualties
officials said
the largest earthquake late tuesday had magnitude of followed by five
aftershocks measuring at least in the isolated region about kilometres
miles west of the capital honiara
the latest tremors followed series of quakes on monday with the largest one
of causing tsunami estimated at eight feet nearly metres high
the national disaster management office said tuesday around people
almost third of the population were believed to be left homeless on rendova
island due to earthquake and tsunami damage
solomon islands police commissioner peter marshall told radio new zealand
wednesday that no fresh damage had been reported from the quake
we feel we would have heard by now if had that been the case we have people on
the ground up there marshall said
there have been no reports of any additional injuries damage or deaths
there have been no deaths or major injuries reported from this week swarm of
quakes which followed tsunami in the same region in april that killed
more than people
disaster management office director loti yates said authorities were still
trying to make an assessment wednesday of the impact of the latest quakes
our officers were not able to carry out an immediate assessment last night
because of the obvious logistic problems with covering an area that is scattered
with islands yates said
rendova island bore the brunt of monday quakes with some coastal areas
inundated by the tsunami and hillsides scarred by large landslides
residents said the quake prompted people in coastal areas to flee for higher
ground with the memories of the disaster still fresh
on the nearby largely uninhabited island of tetepare foreign tourists were
evacuated from an eco tourism centre on monday none was reported hurt
afp graphics advisory
hong kong jan afp
wednesday graphics
pakistan unrest
map locating the area in pakistani administered kashmir where bomb attack
killed three security personnel outside an army barracks according to police
wednesday
text slug pakistan unrest kashmir
mm
available now
google phone
fact file on the new google nexus one smartphone
text slug us it company telecom internet google
mm wide
available by gmt
google phone compared
graphic comparing the new google nexus one smartphone with apple iphone
text slug us it company telecom internet google
mm wide
available by gmt
ady gil powerboat
fact file on the ady gil powerboat reportedly destroyed by japanese fishing
boat wednesday as it took part in operations to disrupt whaling in antarctic
waters
