fighters
there seems to be only one advantage the number of foreigners who used to
roam markets in the region freely has reduced considerably noor mohammad told
afp by telephone
pakistan unpopular president asif ali zardari says the drone attacks
undermine the nation consensus against militants as it struggles with bombings
that have killed nearly people in less than three years
drone attacks are radicalising other people who may not have supported the
taliban warned yusufzai
but lisa curtis research fellow at washington conservative heritage
foundation said the us administration was more reliant than ever on drones
after fears of al qaeda were renewed by the failed christmas day plot to blow up
an airliner over detroit
the long term costs are that it raising anti americanism in pakistan which
in turn makes it more difficult for us to cooperate with pakistan she said
the united states is increasing pressure on islamabad to take on groups such as
the haqqani network which attacks us forces in afghanistan but is reputed to
retain links with pakistani intelligence
samina ahmed an analyst for the international crisis group said us tactics had
yet to spark major protests and cautioned against exaggerating the impact on
zardari civilian government
if there were drone attacks on urban centres major civilian casualties there
would be public outcry she said it would become major challenge to the
pakistan military and the pakistan government
laser projector set top box win gadget awards
las vegas nevada jan afp
pocket size laser projector and set top box which delivers web content to
your television were named among the best products in an annual competition as
the consumer electronics show ces prepared to wrap up here on sunday
the showwx laser pico projector from microvision won the online vote and the
link boxee box won by audience acclamation in the contest called last gadget
standing sponsored by living in digital times and netshelter technology media
the showwx projector which is about the size of pack of cards uses lasers to
provide high quality wide screen image on any surface
it can connect to mobile phone portable media player or computer and is to go
on sale later this year for dollars
the boxee box which is to be sold for around dollars is set top box that
streams content from the web to tv without the need of computer
it was named the winner over nine other devices through the clapping and
cheering of hundreds of ces attendees measured by an applause meter
in nod to the growing popularity of mobile phone applications the organizers
of the competition also held another contest this year called mobile apps
showdown
the winner of the online vote was gwabbit which organizes the details of
contacts in emails while the audience favorite was clixtr photo sharing
program
six held after tokyo heist may belong to crime group report
hong kong jan afp
six people arrested in hong kong following multi million us dollar jewellery
heist in tokyo may belong to an international crime gang behind similar
robberies report said sunday
the gang known for boring through walls to gain access to jewellery stores
usually leaves the country after robbery japanese press reports said
acting on tip hong kong police said they raided several flats in the southern
chinese city after thieves stole luxury watches and jewellery from store
in tokyo ginza shopping district between december and january
police would not confirm whether the people they arrested last week three men
and three women are connected to other robberies in japan
at the moment the only information we have is that these people are involved
in the latest robbery in tokyo police spokesman said
but the daily south china morning post quoted superintendent adrian kwan of hong
kong organised crime and triad bureau as saying we believe this was not the
first time they have stolen in japan they chose japan as the target because
they found the shops were easier to rob
most of the suspects in previous incidents were of chinese origin as were the
six detained in the latest three million us dollar heist
police seized about luxury watches rings and quantity of cash the
spokesman said adding that some of the stolen goods had already been sold
the property seized is believed to be connected to the robbery in japan he
told afp
the incident follows robbery in february last year involving the theft of
us dollars worth of luxury items from shop also in tokyo ginza
district
both robberies saw the thieves bore through the shops walls to gain access to
luxury items tokyo police have said
group using similar tactics is believed to be responsible for string of
heists in the late and with the syndicate having reappeared in the
past several years according to japanese press reports
cycling armstrong says contador rivalry to intensify
sydney jan afp
seven time record tour de france champion lance armstrong said sunday he expects
his rivalry with alberto contador to increase this year now both riders are
competing in different teams
armstrong who will debut his new radioshack team at next week tour down under
in australia finished third in his comeback tour de france last year as spain
contador won for second time
they were team mates at astana last year but armstrong who dominated the tour
from left astana to spearhead his new radioshack team taking several
riders with him
the two tour champions have made clear their genuine dislike for each other
all the personal stuff aside just speaking about the athlete he fantastic
athlete he very complete rider armstrong told australian associated
press
there going to be lot of buzz and build up about that in especially
now that we ve all left to create another team
will let everyone else build that up will be ready ve got to tell you
armstrong who turns in september said he was growing in confidence that he
can beat contador for an eighth tour de france crown
more excited than was months ago feel good about it really
believe can win the tour de france he said
every time say it there people who say no way just because of my
age but an optimist so staying there
armstrong began his cycling comeback at last year tour down under in adelaide
and it was massive success for local organisers
if lucky enough to get another one tour de france then could see
racing for another season which would mean going again in he said
as far as australia is concerned loved it down there last year the vibe of
the race the treatment of the fans the reception we all had the support of
the local and state south australian government
it first class and the organisation there really deserves lot of standing
ovations three or four years ago it was small race now it on the uci
protour
the tour down under gets underway on january
contador confirmed this month that he will kick off his season during the
tour of the algarve cycling race in portugal mid february
australia welcomes indian call for restraint over attacks
sydney jan afp
australia government on sunday welcomed call from india for restraint in
media coverage of attacks on indians stressing there was no evidence that race
was factor in two recent incidents
new delhi urged its media to act responsibly after an indian man was burned in
an incident in melbourne on saturday week after year old nitin garg was
stabbed to death in the city western suburbs
the attacks followed spate of violence against indians in victoria state last
year and have prompted strong reaction in the indian press with one newspaper
likening australian police to the racist ku klux klan
australia acting foreign minister simon crean welcomed the statement from
foreign ministry spokesman vishnu prakash who advised the indian media to
exercise utmost restraint in reporting on these sensitive issues
am very pleased that overnight the government has issued what believe is
very constructive and responsible advice and that is not to overreact to it to
understand that investigations are being undertaken crean said
we need to get all of the facts first and we shouldn overreact until all of
the facts are in
ties between australia and india growing trade partners have come under
pressure following the murder of garg who was stabbed in the abdomen as he
walked to work at hamburger restaurant late at night
in the latest incident year old jaspreet singh told police that he was
doused with petrol and set on fire by group of men as he parked his car in the
early hours of saturday
singh suffered burns to percent of his body and is recovering in hospital
crean who is also australia trade minister said police had found no evidence
that the latest incidents were racially motivated
think it is also important in terms of the most recent incident that
relative of mr singh also doesn believe that it was racially based
series of attacks on indian nationals and students in australia sparked street
protests in the middle of
croatians vote for president to lead eu entry
zagreb jan afp
croatians were voting sunday in presidential run off pitting leftwing
professor against the populist zagreb mayor with the winner hoping to lead the
former yugoslav republic into the european union
final poll showed solid lead of almost percent for ivo josipovic of the
opposition social democrats sdp against his rival zagreb mayor milan bandic
who ran as an independent
josipovic won the december first round with percent of the vote more
than double the support for bandic
the year old law expert and classical music composer vowed to lead firm
and uncompromised fight against corruption key criteria for zagreb eu bid
croatia which joined the nato military alliance in hopes to become the
eu th member by
bandic veteran sdp member expelled from the party when he announced his
candidacy for the presidency last november called on the electorate vote for
man and not for party
during the campaign the two contenders pledged similar agenda croatia eu
entry during their mandate stepping up the fight against corruption and
reviving the economy in the recession hit country
croatia where unemployment is running at around percent is forecasting
contraction of up to percent in its economy for its external debt has
now risen to nearly percent of gross domestic product gdp official figures
show
despite similar platform bandic and josipovic project vastly different images
josipovic has reputation as competent politician untarnished by corruption
but analysts say with his bookish professorial looks he has failed to connect
strongly with voters
by contrast the energetic and outspoken bandic has styled himself fighter for
the common man
he has also moved to the right trying to pick up voters after the candidate of
the ruling conservative croatian democratic union hdz party failed to make the
run off he also enjoys the backing of croatia powerful roman catholic church
total of million croatians are entitled to vote at polling stations which
opened at am gmt
exit polls are to be released shortly after polls close at pm with the first
official results expected by midnight
malaysian christians defy church attacks
kuala lumpur jan afp
thousands of malaysian christians came out for weekly services sunday despite
three new attacks in campaign of fire bombings that has sent tensions soaring
in the muslim majority nation
two more churches and catholic convent school were targeted early sunday
police said although no one was injured
molotov cocktails were thrown at the all saints church and the school in
taiping in the northern state of perak and bottle of kerosene was found in
another church nearby before sunday services
six churches have now been attacked since friday in an escalating row over the
use of the word allah as translation for the christian god by non muslims
islamic groups have staged protests in response to court ruling last week that
gave catholic newspaper the right to print the word following long running
dispute with the government over the issue
think that people faith is greater than what happening around so they
continue to go to church and pray for themselves as well as for the nation
council of churches secretary general hermen shastri told afp
but of course we are not blind to potential threats so churches have taken
measures to increase security around their compounds and are trusting the
police and other enforcement agencies to keep lookout for any suspicious
individuals
about worshippers at the catholic church of assumption in kuala lumpur
one of four in the malaysian capital targeted by the arsonists were briefed by
parish priest phillips muthu on the incident and told to be patient
told them we don want to blame any people any quarter any religion we
are peaceful and we are here to offer our prayer for the nation he told
reporters at the church where fire bomb damaged part of the grounds
of course we are afraid after the incident but life has to go on
deputy natural resources and environment minister joseph kurup who was at the
church with his family urged the catholic community to remain calm and let the
authorities investigate
one worshipper who only wanted to be identified as lee said reactions to the
court ruling from sections of the muslim community had been quite shocking
but think the majority of malaysians are still peace loving and we should
have dialogue to resolve this she said
police car was stationed outside the nearby protestant life chapel church
which had molotov cocktail thrown into its porch and volunteers stood guard
and checked worshippers cars
the strong congregation of the metro tabernacle church the worst damaged
in the attacks moved its service to hall offered by malaysia ruling party
prime minister najib razak has called for calm and said the government will not
tolerate any threat to racial harmony in the multicultural nation home to large
ethnic chinese and indian minorities
tensions were heightened last week when the high court ruled in favour of the
catholic herald newspaper which has been using allah as translation for
god in its malay language section
the government has argued the word should be used only by muslims the ruling
was suspended on wednesday pending an appeal after the government argued the
decision could cause racial conflict
religion and language are sensitive issues in malaysia which experienced deadly
race riots in
the row is among string of religious disputes that have erupted in recent
years straining relations between muslim malays and ethnic chinese and indians
who fear the country is being islamised
about percent of malaysia million people are christians including some
catholics
tennis hewitt untroubled by back injury ahead of open
sydney jan afp
two time major champion lleyton hewitt said sunday he had no concerns that
back spasm he suffered at last week hopman cup will affect his preparations
for the australian open
the australian whose career was threatened by serious hip injury two years
ago received on court treatment during his loss to spaniard tommy
robredo in perth on friday
but hewitt said the problem was not serious enough for him to withdraw from this
week sydney international tournament
it feels pretty good it has been getting treatment and am doing all the
right things since arriving back from perth hewitt told reporters on sunday
having bye into the second round here gives me couple of days up my
sleeves which is good
there was never doubt in my mind that wouldn play here he said adding
that the injury would not put my australian open chances in jeopardy
hewitt who missed large part of the season through injury said he felt
well primed going into his home grand slam
he went out of last year australian open in the first round to chile
fernando gonzalez in five sets after not being seeded
hopefully this year with bit of luck from the draw can put myself in
position to go better and get into the second week said the nd ranked
hewitt
japan us to issue statement on security anniversary
tokyo jan afp
after months of tensions japan and the united states will issue joint
statement aiming to deepen their security alliance next week on the th
anniversary of key treaty reports said sunday
despite simmering row over the relocation of us air base in japan the two
governments aim to stress the crucial contribution of their alliance to global
peace the top selling yomiuri newspaper and other reports said
the governments are preparing for the statement with which prime minister
yukio hatoyama and president barack obama will celebrate the th anniversary
and commit to further deepen the alliance japanese defence minister toshimi
kitazawa said according to jiji press
the security treaty signed on january has formed the bedrock of the
post war japan us alliance under which pacifist japan relies on massive us
military presence to guarantee its security
final arrangements for the statement will be made when foreign minister katsuya
okada and us secretary of state hillary clinton meet in hawaii on tuesday the
yomiuri said
tokyo relations with its most important ally have hit turbulence over the
controversial futenma air base which hatoyama has suggested should be moved off
the southern island of okinawa or even outside japan altogether
the centre left hatoyama who took power in september has pledged to review
past agreements on the us military presence including plans to shift futenma
within okinawa and to deal with washington on more equal basis
during tuesday talks in honolulu clinton will tell okada how important it is
to move forward on these issues in futenma kurt campbell her top diplomat for
asian affairs said thursday
clinton will tell the japanese minister that we also have to have very clear
headed recognition of how important this relationship is how many aspects need
to be maintained and engaged upon campbell said
nba pistons gordon scores league millionth point
detroit michigan jan afp
the pistons ben gordon scored the millionth point in nba history saturday
with jump shot with left in the first half of detroit loss to
philadelphia
gordon came off the bench to score points in what turned out to be another
losing night for the pistons detroit are mired in game losing streak
their worst slump since april
the first nba points were scored by new york ossie schectman on november
at toronto maple leaf gardens
us drone war delivers results but at what price
islamabad jan afp
the us drone war in pakistan has made gains in annihilating taliban and al qaeda
commanders but islamist violence on the ground is becoming deadlier and the
programme risks fanning the unrest
while tens of thousands of us troops are fighting the taliban in afghanistan
their presence is unwelcome in ally pakistan and strikes by unmanned aircraft
have become the main if controversial us combat tactic
the long war journal which tracks the strikes says missiles have killed
senior al qaeda leaders and mid level al qaeda and taliban operatives
since january as well as baitullah mehsud the leader of tehreek taliban
ttp the pakistani taliban
despite mehsud death ttp are killing more people than ever and al qaeda
leaders osama bin laden and ayman al zawahiri both believed to be sheltering
along the afghan pakistan border remain at large
don think the group has necessarily been weakened at all in fact we re
seeing more large scale bombings and attacks in pakistan than we ve ever seen
and with very large casualty count said venzke
president barack obama has ordered extra us troops to afghanistan hoping
to turn the tide in the war and deny al qaeda sanctuary but tribal experts fear
drone attacks could spawn war of revenge for years
the way they are now attacking with their drones trying to hit local militants
maybe local militants are not big threat to america but in the future they
could become threat said tribal expert rahimullah yusufzai
the tribal belt is barred to outsiders communication links are poor and foreign
militants are said to impose reign of fear making the cost of the drone
attacks and their long term impact impossible to assess
local residents contacted by afp in north waziristan district where of
the last attacks have struck said families lived in fear over the prospect
of hellfire missile annihilating their home without warning
yet speaking from mir ali one of the main towns in the district one shopkeeper
said the drones did appear to have deterred foreign fighters
there seems to be only one advantage the number of foreigners who used to
roam markets in the region freely has reduced considerably noor mohammad told
afp by telephone
in tribal belt with widespread illiteracy and few jobs militants exploit
drone attacks to recruit and there are fears that pakistan perceived role
undercuts its own counter insurgency campaign against homegrown radicals
president asif ali zardari who is massively unpopular at home has warned that
drone attacks undermine national consensus in the war on militancy as pakistan
struggles with bombings that have killed nearly people in less than three
years
drone attacks are radicalising other people who may not have supported the
taliban warned yusufzai
lisa curtis research fellow at the conservative heritage foundation said the
obama administration had little choice but rely on drones after the failed
christmas day plot to blow up an airliner renewed fears of al qaeda
the long term costs are that it raising anti americanism in pakistan which
in turn makes it more difficult for us to cooperate with pakistan she told
afp
the united states is increasing pressure on islamabad to take on groups such as
the haqqani network which attacks us forces in afghanistan but is reputed to
retain links with pakistani intelligence
samina ahmed an analyst for the international crisis group said us tactics had
yet to spark major protests and cautioned against exaggerating the current
impact for the civilian government
if there were drone attacks on urban centres major civilian casualties there
would be public outcry she said it would become major challenge to the
pakistan military and the pakistan government she added
tennis sydney international results
sydney jan afp
results from the opening day of the sydney international wta atp tennis
tournament on sunday denotes seed
women
first round
daniela hantuchova svk bt virginie razzano fra
svetlana kuznetsova rus bt alisa kleybanova rus
elena dementieva rus bt francesca schiavone ita
nba evans seals dramatic win for kings
sacramento california jan afp
the sacramento kings snapped five game losing streak in dramatic style
saturday as tyreke evans hit jump shot with seven tenths of second left for
nba victory over denver
evans scored points and his winning basket over kenyon martin closed back
and forth final period that saw slew of lead changes
denver smith missed heave from three point range at the buzzer smith
had scored of his points in the fourth quarter
chauncey billups had points for denver and made three pointer that tied the
score at with seconds left
martin had points and rebounds for denver who were without injured star
carmelo anthony for fifth game
spencer hawes scored points omri casspi had and ime udoka chipped in
for the kings who had dropped seven of their previous eight contests
denver trailed by one when nene was called for an offensive foul giving
sacramento the ball with seconds to play
the nuggets fouled beno udrih who made both free throws to put the kings in
front before billups tied it up again
denver fell to without anthony who is expected to play on tuesday against
minnesota
press warns taiwan ma he is facing defeat
taipei jan afp
taiwan press warned beleaguered leader ma ying jeou sunday he could face
humiliating defeat in the presidential election following series of
losses in local polls
ma kuomintang kmt party was beaten saturday by the pro independence
democratic progressive party dpp on saturday in bye elections in taoyuan
taichung and taitung counties the central election commission said
the china times said the results were another warning to ma and his party
if the ma administration is unable to display its capability of ruling the
country and winning back the trust of people the ruling party could plunge
into difficulties in the coming elections and even the presidential polls
the chinese language newspaper said in an editorial
the bye elections were called after two kmt politicians were stripped of their
titles over vote buying as third kmt lawmaker was elected county chief
the united daily news said the outcome may be another sign of domino effect
in the more decisive elections this year referring to mayoral elections in
five areas later this year and the parliamentary polls in
the kmt has lost all but one of string of elections since ma swept to power in
march on platform of boosting trade with giant neighbour china and
welcoming more chinese tourists
his popularity tumbled to around percent in december compared with
percent in may last year according to survey released by the united daily
news
various opinion polls have indicated that big chunk of taiwanese are critical
of ma crisis management skills among the complaints is the way the government
handled taiwan beef import dispute with the united states
nfl cowboys end playoff skid jets soar over bengals
dallas texas jan afp
the dallas cowboys ended their nfl playoff skid saturday with an emphatic
first round victory over the philadelphia eagles
quarterback tony romo piloted five consecutive scoring drives in the second
quarter as the cowboys won playoff game for the first time since
they had lost six straight postseason contests since then and would have set an
nfl record with another
instead they reprised their victory over the eagles on the last day of the
regular season and booked national conference second round clash at minnesota
where romo will take on his boyhood hero brett favre
the demons are gone crowed cowboys owner jerry jones whose new billion
dollar cowboys stadium was packed with spectators the most in nfl
history for postseason game other than the super bowl
the victory was playoff first for romo who was in the postseason and for
cowboys coach wade phillips who was
just keep trying to get better and eventually things will go your way romo
said going out there and playing this way we have lately is very exciting if
we just keep going forward we ve got chance
the cowboys lost two straight games in december but haven trailed in their
last four contests
this team has hung together all year got stronger at the end of the year and
is playing our best football phillips said think we re playing as good as
anybody right now
dallas again dominated an eagles team they had beaten twice in the regular
season the eagles did get michael vick back from injury and used him in place
of starting quarterback donovan mcnabb for several plays
vick controversial addition by the eagles after his prison term for
bankrolling dog fighting ring threw yard touchdown pass that made it
in the second quarter but then botched handoff in eagles territory dallas
recovered the fumble and romo parlayed it into touchdown
they were better all the way around eagles coach andy reid said when you
get your tail kicked it not great feeling no one expected it
romo threw for yards to mcnabb in the first half as the cowboys built
lead
romo finished of for yards with two touchdowns and no turnovers
it just rewarding romo said it makes me proud of the guys in there
fighting grinding staying committed to the approach
felix jones extended the lead to with yard touchdown run midway
through the third quarter
with marion barber limited by injury jones stepped up and notchd the first
yard game of his career he finished with yards on carries
in cincinnati the new york jets rookie quarterback mark sanchez made stellar
postseason debut going of for passing yards in victory over
cincinnati
sanchez joined shaun king joe flacco and ben roethlisberger in the exclusive
club of rookie signal callers to start and win playoff contest
he had the eye of the tiger today and he was ready to get out there and throw
it around jets coach rex ryan said see him getting better and better each
day on the practice field what job he done think he tired of hearing
he the weak link on this football team
not only did the jets get their first postseason win since but they
engineered back to back sweep of cincinnati after beating the bengals in the
regular season closer for both teams
tight end dustin keller had yard touchdown catch to put the jets ahead to
stay in the second quarter
shonn greene who was third round draft pick also rushed for yards
including yard touchdown for the jets
our guys are resilient said ryan who thought his team was out of playoff
contention after late season loss to atlanta we are heck of football team
if people don believe that then hopefully one day they will and soon
the teams had to battle bitter cold that made handling the ball difficult
cincinnati suffered serious blow on the opening play of the game as starting
linebacker rashad jeanty fractured his leg on the kickoff
jeanty was trying to block for teammate bernard scott when he fell and broke his
left fibula
unfortunately it was sign of things to come for the bengals who are now
in playoff games since
one bright spot for the bengals was cedric benson who ran for playoff team
record of yards
bengals kicker shayne graham missed two field goals in the second half
including yarder with just under four minutes remaining
cincinnati quarterback carson palmer had one touchdown pass and an inteception
he completed of throws for yards
in the second round the jets will play either indianapolis or san diego
the first round continues on sunday when new england host baltimore and arizona
host green bay
china cements export lead with december surge
beijing jan afp
china exports surged percent in december to snap month falling
