peter hammarstedt first officer of the sea shepherd group bob barker ship
said the celebrated ady gil was abandoned overnight after tow line snapped
en route to an antarctic research base
the futuristic trimaran which held the round the world record had several
metres yards of its front end sheared off in the collision with japanese
security vessel on wednesday
at this point unfortunately the ady gil is on the bottom of the southern
ocean hammarstedt told afp
it leaves us with no other option but to re take up the pursuit of the whaling
fleet he added we have no intention of backing down we will never
surrender
deputy prime minister julia gillard said australia tokyo embassy had relayed
very strong concerns over recent developments including wednesday crash and
claims the fleet chartered spying flights out of australia
our embassy in tokyo is making high level representations to the japanese
government she said
they have passed to the japanese government our very strong concerns about the
question of flights being chartered potentially in australia to monitor the
activity of protest vessels
they have passed on our very strong concerns about conduct on the high seas and
of course we continue to make it very clear our view about whaling
footage of the crash showed the shonan maru ploughing across the new
zealand registered ady gil bow and firing water cannon while the protest
boat crew dived for safety
hammarstedt said the stricken powerboat bankrolled by hollywood businessman ady
gil broke its tow line after taking on too much water
last time we saw the ady gil the entire engine room was fully submerged in
water as well as the fuel tanks he said
it was going down pretty quickly captain pete bethune estimated two to three
hours before being fully submerged at that point we decided to take up the hunt
for the whaling fleet again
new zealand and australian authorities are investigating the incident while
japan lodged strong protest with the wellington government both the whalers
and the protesters blame each other for the crash
in the last few seconds we realised shit they re actually going to collide
with us recalled new zealand protester simeon houtman who was left with
broken ribs
instinct took over and we all just dived for the aft desk and landed in heap
thankfully everyone survived
sea shepherd claims to have saved hundreds of whales by chasing the japanese
fleet over six year campaign backed by hollywood listers including sean
penn martin sheen and pierce brosnan
japan hunts the animals using loophole in international moratorium
which allows lethal research defying regular protests from australia new
zealand and the netherlands
the skirmishes have grown increasingly sophisticated with the activists
deploying laser like devices and stink bombs and the japanese fleet operating
military style acoustic weapons and water cannon
sea shepherd also claims the japanese chartered flights to pinpoint their
position so that the shonan maru could keep them away from the whalers
setting off pursuit which set back the harassment campaign by weeks
the ady gil which put to sea in december made its first contact with the fleet
before dawn on wednesday before being stricken in the dramatic crash just hours
later
the sleek carbon and kevlar wave piercing trimaran was capable of speeds up to
knots and claimed the circumnavigation record in under its former name
earthrace
china passes germany as top world exporter
frankfurt jan afp
china has surpassed germany as the world leading exporter trade figures
released on friday by the german national statistics office showed
in the months from january to november chinese exports were worth total of
trillion dollars while german data showed that exports from europe
biggest economy amounted to billion euros or trillion dollars
in november the german trade surplus nonetheless climbed to billion euros
according to seasonally corrected figures from the destatis service from
billion in october amid pick up in global trade
the german product specialisation with high share of capital goods and high
presence in asian markets make germany one of the main beneficiaries of an
investment led global recovery ing senior economist carsten brzeski said
he noted that german exports to china had increased by almost percent from
november and that the unadjusted german trade surplus of billion
euros was the country biggest since june
germany is slowly recovering from its worst recession since world war ii after
its economy contracted by around five percent in
analysts polled by dow jones newswires had expected much smaller november
trade surplus of around billion euros meanwhile and the figures will be
welcomed following the release of disappointing retail sales data on thursday
on the balance of payments current account broad measure of trade that
indicates country ability to pay its way in the world germany posted
surplus billion euros up from billion in october
that was also well above analysts forecasts for surplus of billion euros
the indicator is important for the long term confidence of investors and trading
partners but could reinforce critics who say germans should consume more to
contribute to more balanced global economy
brzeski said however that exports would continue to lead the german recovery
this year and added after yesterday disappointing retail sales numbers it
is good to know that the german economy can at least rely on good old friend
its strong export sector
royal bank of scotland announces assets sale
london jan afp
state rescued lender royal bank of scotland said friday it had agreed to sell
assets to aberdeen asset management for almost million pounds million
euros million dollars
the royal bank of scotland group plc has entered into sale agreement with
aberdeen asset management plc for the sale of certain fund management assets and
contracts of rbs asset management limited and rbs asset management holdings
the business will be sold for total consideration of million pounds
subject to regulatory approvals the divestment is expected to be completed in
the first quarter of rbs added in statement
rbs is percent owned by the state after receiving massive bailout from the
british government amid the devastating global financial crisis
tennis hopman cup standings
perth australia jan afp
standings from the hopman cup tennis tournament at perth burswood dome after
friday ties
group
played ties won ties lost matches won matches lost
great britain
kazakhstan
russia
germany
great britain advance to saturday final
dead in china gas leak execs admit cover up state media
beijing jan afp
the death toll from gas leak at steel plant in north china has risen to
after executives admitted they had covered up the true scale of the accident
state media said friday
when the gas leak occurred at the puyang iron and steel co in hebei province on
monday officials initially said that only seven workers were killed xinhua
news agency said citing local authorities
but company executives confessed thursday that it had covered up the death toll
during questioning by joint investigative group made up of police and work
safety officials the report said
the deputy manager of the plant was subsequently arrested and two other factory
officials placed under house arrest for the alleged cover up it said
the gas leak occurred as workers were assembling furnace it added
china work safety record is notoriously bad with thousands of people dying
every year in mines factories and on construction sites according to official
tallies
in northwest gansu province five people were killed and one remained missing
after huge explosion thursday at chemical plant belonging to state run china
national petroleum corporation cnpc xinhua said
the explosion and fire at the plant were seen as far away as kilometres
miles the report said
an initial investigation indicated gas leak was to blame
the blast came after diesel pipeline run by cnpc china largest oil refiner
ruptured late last month seriously polluting two tributaries of the yellow
river and threatening drinking water supplies for millions reports said
also on thursday more than workers at an electrical factory in southern
guangdong province tested positive for suspected mercury poisoning stemming from
lax work safety regulations reports said
branson virgin launches british banking shake up
london jan afp
virgin money part of richard branson virgin empire launched shake up of
britain troubled retail banking market on friday with the purchase of
private regional lender
virgin said it had agreed to buy church house trust for million pounds
million dollars and would use the bank to offer savings and mortgage
products to customers under the virgin money brand
the church house trust business offers us strong platform for growth
branson said in statement announcing the deal
virgin money aims to bring simplicity to the uk banking market which has
traditionally been complex sector he added
dead in china gas leak execs admit cover up state media
beijing jan afp
the death toll from gas leak at steel plant in north china has risen to
after executives admitted they had covered up the true scale of the accident
state media said friday
when the gas leak occurred at the puyang iron and steel co in hebei province on
monday officials initially said that only seven workers were killed xinhua
news agency said citing local authorities
but company executives confessed thursday that they had covered up the death
toll during questioning by joint investigative group made up of police and
work safety officials the report said
the deputy manager of the plant was subsequently arrested and two other factory
officials placed under house arrest for the alleged cover up it said
the gas leak occurred as workers were assembling furnace it added
china work safety record is notoriously bad with thousands of people dying
every year in mines factories and on construction sites according to official
tallies
in northwest gansu province five people were killed and one remained missing
after huge explosion thursday at chemical plant belonging to state run china
national petroleum corporation cnpc xinhua said
the explosion and fire at the plant were seen as far away as kilometres
miles the report said
an initial investigation indicated gas leak was to blame
the blast came after diesel pipeline run by cnpc china largest oil refiner
ruptured late last month seriously polluting two tributaries of the yellow
river and threatening drinking water supplies for millions reports said
also on thursday more than workers at an electrical factory in southern
guangdong province tested positive for suspected mercury poisoning stemming from
lax work safety regulations reports said
former jetstar pacific director arrested in vietnam reports
hanoi jan afp
the former director general of privately held jetstar pacific airlines has been
arrested for negligence state linked media reported on friday
hanoi police arrested luong hoai nam on thursday for alleged neglect of
responsibility in the performance of his duty causing serious consequences
reports said
the charge can lead to jail term upon conviction
jetstar pacific is percent owned by australia qantas group according to
the airline website which says the carrier was known as pacific airlines until
may
neither the airline nor police would comment on the reports of nam arrest
nam aged in his late resigned from his post last october after more than
five years with the airline the reports said
they did not clearly explain his alleged neglect but the people police
newspaper reported the airline lost more than million dollars related to
aviation fuel purchases
vietnamnet news website reported that the state audit agency concluded there was
lack of management supervision of efforts to hedge petrol costs at the
airline
jetstar pacific losses reached record billion dong now more than
million dollars in the year in which nam earned billion dong in
salary vietnamnet reported
korea marks kim jr birthday as holiday reports
seoul jan afp
north korea celebrated the birthday of leader kim jong il youngest son friday
as holiday moving closer to dynastic succession of power in the communist
state reports and analysts said
state media remained silent but the birthday of kim jong un who turned on
friday was reported to be national holiday by open news for north korea
website and broadcaster in seoul
special educational sessions were held thursday for party members and residents
in pyongyang and other cities to stress loyalty to kim jong un it said
the south unification ministry which deals with cross border relations said
it could not confirm the report
analysts said jong un would step up public activities this year as heir to kim
jong il who took over after his father died in in long planned move
the holiday is still informal but this means north korea has internally
formalised jung un nomination as successor cheong seong chang of seoul
private sejong institute told afp
the regime and state media are waiting for the right opportunity to announce
it he said
the regime uses kim jong il birthday on february as major national
festival to stress loyalty to the dear leader the younger kim birthday does
not yet feature as formal holiday on official documents
succession speculation has intensified since kim senior suffered stroke
in august widespread reports say he has chosen jong un to inherit power
there have been unconfirmed reports that jong un has already been given post
in the communist party in preparation for his eventual takeover
the son is now exercising great influence on daily state affairs in place of
his ailing father cheong said
kim jong il has three sons from two marriages according to analysts
information is scant about jong un the second son of kim jong il third wife
ko yong hee no adult photo of him is publicly available
some reports say jong un born in attended an international school in the
swiss city of berne under pseudonym
kenji fujimoto former personal chef to kim jong il has described the son as
chip off the old block who closely resembles his father physically and in
terms of personality
tennis brisbane international results first update
brisbane australia jan afp
results from the sixth day of the brisbane international tennis tournament on
friday denotes seed
quarter finals
men
tomas berdych cze bt thomaz bellucci bra
semi finals
women
justine henin bel bt ana ivanovic srb
kim clijsters bel bt andrea petkovic ger
china is top world exporter ahead of germany
frankfurt jan afp
china is now the world leading exporter ahead of germany trade figures
released on friday by the german national statistics office showed
in the months from january to november chinese exports reached total value
of trillion dollars while german exports amounted to billion euros
or trillion dollars the data showed
in november the german trade surplus nonetheless climbed to billion euros
according to seasonally corrected figures from the destatis service from
billion in october amid pick up in global trade
germany is slowly recovering from its worst recession since world war ii but
its economy the biggest in europe is nonetheless expected to have contracted
by around five percent in
china is top world exporter ahead of germany
frankfurt jan afp
china is now the world leading exporter ahead of germany trade figures
released on friday by the german national statistics office showed
in the months from january to november chinese exports reached total value
of trillion dollars while german exports amounted to billion euros
or trillion dollars the data showed
nigerian bomb suspect due in court
washington jan afp
the nigerian terror suspect accused of trying to bomb us airliner was to make
his first court appearance friday as president barack obama orderd sweeping
overhaul of flawed intelligence
the arraignment in detroit follows the grand jury indictment of umar farouk
abdulmutallab on six counts including attempted murder and trying to use
weapon of mass destruction aboard us plane arising from the botched al
qaeda plot to blow up northwest airlines flight with people aboard
obama on thursday declared that the buck stops with me over intelligence
shortcomings which led to the thwarted attack and he unveiled measures
including strengthening us watchlists and boosting airport screening as part of
broad orders to close us security gaps
releasing two reports on the christmas day bomb attempt obama said spy agencies
did not properly connect and understand disparate data that could have
detected the plot as it was planned by an al qaeda affiliate in yemen
he said the probes revealed that us analysts knew abdulmutallab was an extremist
and knew al qaeda in yemen was plotting an attack but could not connect the
two strands of intelligence
and as critics charged that his administration has been too soft on terror and
slow to act after the attack obama said the united states was at war with al
qaeda but promised terrorists would not force americans to adopt siege
mentality
am less interested in passing out blame than am in learning from and
correcting these mistakes to make us safer obama said signaling there would
be no immediate firings of top spy chiefs over the security breakdown
ultimately the buck stops with me as president have solemn responsibility
to protect our nation and our people and when the system fails it is my
responsibility
obama top anti terror official john brennan however delivered personal mea
culpa
told the president today let him down told him that will do
better
obama said the plot was not the fault of single individual or organization
but rather systemic failure across organizations and agencies
he said the us homeland security system and intelligence community broke down in
three ways allowing abdulmutallab to board northwest jet from amsterdam to
detroit with explosives hidden in his underwear
he blamed us spies for not aggressively chasing down the al qaeda in the
arabian peninsula aqap group that planned the attack and then not properly
analyzing intelligence
then the intelligence that was known was not properly filtered through the us
terror watchlist system allowing abdulmutallab onto the plane
to remedy the failures obama said he ordered more careful follow ups on
intelligence leads quicker sharing and better analysis of reports among the
clandestine community and improvements to watchlist procedures
though warning there were no silver bullets obama also vowed significant
investments in aviation security
homeland security secretary janet napolitano promised new and layered
approach and called on other nations to do their part to safeguard their own
citizens as well as us security
napolitano promised to speed up the deployment of body imaging machines at
airports and said the government would aggressively seek to develop new
detection technology
more canine security teams will comb airports and additional uniformed and
undercover detection officers will be deployed including more federal air
marshals on planes
obama director of national intelligence dennis blair said thursday in letter
to employees of the us intelligence agencies that he would push for fresh
and penetrating look at strengthening both human and technical performance in
the field
the central intelligence agency said it planned to increase the number of
analysts looking at yemen and africa
obama has faced barrage of criticism since the attack but in his speech he
attempted to address his critics
we are at war against al qaeda far reaching network of violence and hatred
that attacked us on that killed nearly innocent people and that is
plotting to strike us again he said
we will do whatever it takes to defeat them
tennis hopman cup results
perth australia jan afp
results from hopman cup tennis tournament at perth burswood dome on friday
group
great britain bt russia
women singles elena dementieva rus bt laura robson gbr
men singles andy murray gbr bt igor andreev rus
mixed doubles laura robson andy murray gbr bt elena dementieva igor andreev
rus match tiebreak
kazakhstan bt germany
women singles yaroslava shvedova kaz bt sabine lisicki ger
men singles andrey golubev kaz bt philipp kohlschreiber ger
mixed doubles abandoned
yen slides as tokyo toughens forex stance
tokyo jan afp
the yen fell again in asian trade friday after japan new finance minister
hinted at possible intervention to sell the currency if it shoots higher
naoto kan said that as finance minister it was his duty to take action on
foreign exchange when necessary
he added however that currency rates should in general be decided by markets
kan remarks came day after he rattled markets with call for weaker yen
prompting thinly veiled rebuke from prime minister yukio hatoyama who warned
him not to publicly comment on currency levels
the government basically should not discuss foreign exchange hatoyama told
reporters regarding foreign exchange stability is desirable
the dollar rose to yen in tokyo afternoon trade up from in new york
late on thursday when the japanese currency had fallen sharply in response to
kan remarks
the euro was little changed at dollars after and at against
kan comment thursday that he wanted to see the yen weaken further was widely
seen as signal that tokyo was toughening its stance against the currency
strength which is bad for exporters
the market confirmed the new finance minister stance of favouring weaker
yen so the dollar is staying higher said hideaki inoue chief foreign
exchange manager at mitsubishi ufj trust and banking
kan remarks were in sharp contrast to his predecessor hirohisa fujii who was
widely seen as tolerant of the yen recent strength
the image of mr kan as weak yen person will probably stick said inoue
the test for the government will come if the yen rises sharply again the
market will become cautious about possible intervention
in november the dollar fell to around yen its lowest level since the mid
raising fears for the country export led economy
against asian currencies the dollar rose to singapore dollars from
day earlier to indonesian rupiah from to thai
baht from and to taiwan dollars from
at the same time it dropped to south korean won from while
holding steady at philippine pesos
urgent china is top world exporter ahead of germany statistics
frankfurt jan afp
china is now the world leading exporter ahead of germany trade figures
released on friday by the german national statistics office showed
alert
china is top world exporter ahead of germany statistics
spyker makes last ditch bid for saab ceo
the hague jan afp
dutch sportscar maker spyker has made an eleventh hour updated bid for general
motors swedish unit saab before the expiry of an extended deadline to save it
from closure spyker chief said friday
spyker cars today has made revised offer to general motors for the
acquisition of saab automobile victor muller said in statement
gm extended deadline to consider offers for saab last month after spyker
approached the us automaker with last ditch proposal
we have continued constructive dialogue with gm over the acquisition of
saab muller said we believe the saab brand has lots of potential and would
be keen to close deal as quickly as possible
speaking to afp on thursday he said it is the same offer we made during the
weekend of december last year but it is being completely refined following
discussions in recent weeks
muller did not give any details
spyker renewed its initial offer on december two days after gm announced it
would close saab which employs people in sweden by the end of the year
swedish press reports have said that gm agreed to re open negotiations after the
withdrawal of two of spyker russian investors gm was reportedly concerned
about the possible transfer of technical know how to russia
gm had set deadline of gmt thursday for final offers
muller said he did not know whether there were any other bidders
on wednesday gm chief executive officer ed whitacre said he was not confident
of last minute deal to save saab which has barely turned profit in two
decades under gm management
british media reports friday said formula one boss bernie ecclestone had teamed
up with luxembourg investment firm to launch last minute rescue bid for
saab
luxembourg based genii capital announced it was interested in making an offer
with ecclestone just as the deadline for final bids for saab expired at
gmt thursday the bbc reported
the privately held firm said it would aggressively work towards successful
closing of the transaction with all the relevant stakeholders of the company
according to the bbc
it said it believes saab has tremendous brand value in number of key
automotive markets as well as an innovative image the reports said
genii already has links with ecclestone after it last month bought stake in
the renault formula one team allowing the team to remain in the sport
saab is one of four storied brands being shed by gm as part of massive
restructuring effort that began in and accelerated last year when the
largest us automaker went bankrupt
analysts have warned that some jobs could be lost with saab closure
saab was due to resume production on january after four week shutdown as
part of plans to close the plant
its closure would be just the latest upheaval in sweden once blooming auto
industry
two sentenced to death in myanmar for info leak sources
yangon jan afp
two officials have been sentenced to death by court in myanmar for leaking
information official sources said friday in case reportedly involving secret
ties between the ruling junta and north korea
the men were arrested after details and photos about trip to pyongyang by the
myanmar regime third in command general shwe mann were leaked to exiled
media last year the website of thailand based magazine irrawaddy reported
two officials got the death sentence and another one was jailed for years
for leaking information they were sentenced at the special court in insein
prison on thursday one source said on condition of anonymity
the two men sentenced to death were win naing kyaw and thura kyaw while the
jailed man was pyan sein the sources said without giving further details of
the case
win naing kyaw is former military officer and thura kyaw and pyan sein worked
at the ministry of foreign affairs irrawaddy said
the trip by shwe mann who is also the joint chief of staff of the myanmar armed
forces involved procuring military arms and discussing tunnel building and
other matters irrawaddy reported
in june group of exiled myanmar activists released leaked pictures of what
they said was secret network of tunnels built by north korean experts inside
myanmar raising alarm over the country links with nuclear armed pyongyang
the democratic voice of burma said most of the huge vehicle width tunnels were
constructed around the junta new capital naypyidaw
details of the tunnels and of shwe mann trip prompted the united states to
express concerns about myanmar relations with north korea even as washington
pursued new policy of engagement with the military regime
during visit to thailand in july us secretary of state hillary clinton said
the communist state could be sharing atomic technology with military ruled
myanmar posing major threat to the region
the two myanmar officials were sentenced to death under the state emergency act
for leaking military secrets irrawaddy said citing sources in insein prison
notorious jail in yangon where hundreds of dissidents are kept
it said win naing kyaw also received year sentence for violation of the
electronic act and holding illegal foreign currency the act prohibits sending
information photos or video damaging to the regime abroad via the internet
dozens of other officials in the defence and foreign ministries were arrested
after the leaks but the status of their cases is not known the magazine said
myanmar severed ties with pyongyang in following failed assassination
attempt by north korean agents on then south korean president chun doo hwan
during his visit to the southeast asian nation
the bombing killed of chun entourage including cabinet ministers while four
myanmar officials also died but with both countries branded outposts of
tyranny by the united states they later sought to rebuild relations
korea freezes key rate amid claim of govt intervention
seoul jan afp
south korea central bank froze its record low interest rates for an th
straight month friday but the government faced claims of meddling as it emerged
minister sat in on the policy meeting
the bank of korea bok kept the benchmark seven day repo rate at percent in
its monthly policy meeting saying it would not remove stimulus until recovery
in asia fourth economy was well under way
it had cut the rate by total of percentage points between october
and february to bolster the economy
the bank said in statement the country export dominated economy was likely
to sustain growth but there still exists uncertainties along the way
exports continued growing in november along with facility investment
construction and production in the manufacturing sector it said
