streak state television said on sunday cementing the asian power new status
as the world biggest exporter
exports hit billion dollars during the month bringing the full year
export figure to trillion dollars china central television said quoting
figures from the general administration of customs
data out of germany last week showed that china overtook europe biggest
economy in november to become the world top exporting nation
the december data broke long string stretching back to late in which
monthly chinese exports had contracted as foreign markets dried up in the global
economic downturn
cctv quoted top customs official as saying the figures indicated the worst was
over for china vital export sector
this is an extremely important turning point our nation foreign trade had
been falling for consecutive months but is now growing said huang guohua
head of the customs bureau statistical analysis department
our nation exporters have emerged from their downslide
overall foreign trade both exports and imports fell percent in
to trillion dollars the data showed as monthly exports fell sharply on
year on year basis in each of the first months of the year
but that changed in november when exports slipped just percent the slowest
decline of the year
imports for december reached billion dollars while full year imports came
in at trillion
the figures provided by cctv indicated the nation politically sensitive trade
surplus hit billion dollars for the month of december while the full year
surplus came to billion dollars
the trade surplus was down percent from the xinhua news agency
said
with china trade data for all of now out the nation crowning as the
export champion is expected to be confirmed when germany releases full year
trade figures on february
from january to november chinese exports were worth trillion dollars
while data from the german national statistics office on friday showed that
exports from the european heavyweight amounted to trillion dollars
experts have said resurgence in chinese trade will likely bring renewed
pressure on china to let its yuan currency appreciate
the value of the yuan which has effectively been pegged to the us dollar since
mid has been bone of contention between beijing and its western trading
partners who say it keeps the currency low to boost exports
while china has acknowledged the need to boost domestic consumption and reduce
its reliance on exports and investment to drive the economy it has so far
refused to budge on its currency policy
premier wen jiabao said last month in an interview with state media that china
would not yield to foreign pressure on the yuan
eu aspirant croatia votes for president
zagreb jan afp
polling stations opened across croatia on sunday for presidential run off
election the winner of which leftist intellectual or the populist zagreb
mayor will lead the country into the european union
ivo josipovic of the main opposition social democrats sdp and milan
bandic his former party colleague running as an independent are aspiring
to become the country third president since its independence from the former
yugoslavia in
the winner is to succeed incumbent centrist stipe mesic who steps down on
february after serving his maximum two five year terms
josipovic won the december round with percent of the vote more than
double the support for bandic
final survey on friday tipped josipovic the winner giving him solid almost
percent lead over his rival
croatia joined the nato military alliance in and is hoping to join eu by
some million people are eligible to cast ballots
exit polls are to be released shortly after polls close at pm gmt
with the first official results expected by midnight
explained why light worsens migraines
paris jan afp
discovery among blind people has helped scientists resolve mystery why light
can make migraine go from headache to head splitter according to study
published on sunday
the problem appears to lie with newly discovered bunch of cells in the retina
its authors say
researchers from beth israel deaconess center an affiliate of harvard medical
school made the find after pondering why some blind people who suffer from
migraines also experience photophobia an extreme sensitivity to light that
horribly worsens these headaches
in paper published online in the journal nature neuroscience the team
reported how they probed two groups of migraine suffering blind individuals
one group of six people was totally blind and immune to the normal sleep
wakefulness cycle caused by daylight and night
the other numbering was legally blind because of degenerative diseases of
the eyes they could detect the presence of light and followed the sleep
wakefulness cycle although they could not perceive images
while the patients in the first group did not experience any worsening of their
headaches from light exposure the patients in the second group clearly
described intensified pain when they were exposed to light in particular blue
or grey said senior author rami burstein
this suggested to us that the mechanism of photophobia must involve the optic
nerve because in totally blind individuals the optic nerve does not carry
light signals to the brain
the team theorised that the culprit had to be recently discovered retinal cells
which have melanopsin photoreceptors light sensitive biological triggers for
sleep and wakefulness
these are the only functioning light receptors left among patients who are
legally blind burstein explained
the next step was to test the ideas on lab rats using dyes injected into the
rodents eyes the scientists were able to trace the pathway from the melanopsin
retinal cells through the optic nerve and to the brain where they found group
of neurons which became activated during migraines
tiny electrodes inserted into the rats brains determined that within seconds
light unleashed surge of electrical activity in these cells and the cells
remained switched on even after the light was removed
this helps explain why patients say that their headache intensifies within
seconds after exposure to light and improves to minutes after being in the
dark burstein added in press release
the work could be boon for migraine sufferers the authors hope it opens up
exploratory options for drugs that block the pathway enabling migraine
patient to endure light without added pain
migraines are widely researched disorder although the causes remain unclear
they are believed to develop when protective membranes surrounding the brain
become irritated this stimulates pain receptors and in turn causes sensory
neurons to become activated for long periods
football wary favourites coast launch nations cup campaign
luanda jan afp
title favourites ivory coast launch their african nations cup campaign on
monday against burkina faso in the cabinda enclave where the togo squad were
attacked by separatists in terror attack
togo had decided to withdraw late on saturday but early sunday the players opted
to stay and play one of them thomas dossevi told afp
the elephants finished second and fourth in the last two editions of the
biennial african football showcase and the media jury have reached unanimous
verdict that they will go all the way this time in angola
glance at the strong squad reveals why the burden of favouritism must be
carried by team containing stars from some of the strongest and wealthiest
european clubs
defensive general kolo toure receives his pay slip from super rich manchester
city midfielder yaya toure lines up with european and world champions
barcelona and striker didier drogba plays for mighty chelsea
all the other players under the charge of bosnian coach vahid halilhodzic are
with european clubs bar third choice goalkeeper vincent de paul angban of
perennial domestic champions asec mimosas
burkina faso defeated at home and away by the ivorians in the
qualifying competition have little to offer in return with only striker
moumouni dagano creating international headlines last year
he overshadowed drogba and fellow african superstars samuel eto of cameroon
michael essien of ghana and frederic kanoute of mali by finishing leading scorer
with goals in the nations cup qualifiers
but captain drogba has warned his team mates to be vigilant claiming over
confidence contributed heavily to stunning semi final drubbing by egypt in
ghana two years ago
we will be treating every team coming our way in angola with respect humility
and seriousness there is no room for complacency as in ghana no match is won
in advance warned drogba in abidjan
from the bottom of my heart desire to return home with glorious result
which will give joy to the ivorian people my team mates and will be sweating
it out as much as we can
halilhodzic who fears failure to win the nations cup will trigger calls for his
dismissal five months before ivory coast go to the world cup in south africa
worries about the readiness of stars like drogba for steamy angola
we are concerned about all our players fitness especially those like drogba
who are involved in so many matches he told the daily news in tanzania where
the ivorians held pre tournament camp
didier is human being he is not machine even machine needs to rest if
it is to run effectively and efficiently it is unrealistic to play two english
premiership matches within three days
although ivory coast have played matches in nations cup appearances it
will be the first time they face the burkinabe stallions whose best showing was
fourth place under french coach philippe troussier as hosts
on the beat scientists spot genes for heart rhythm
paris jan afp
researchers on sunday said they had identified more than dozen genes that help
modulate heart rate finding that one day may lead to smarter cardiac drugs
three teams working separately netted the genes after comparing the dna codes
of tens of thousands of people of european and indian descent
the genes control electrical impulses that drive the muscles in the cardiac
pump these signals are transmitted by specialised proteins in muscle cells
called ion channels
people with different variants of the genes can be more or alternatively
less at risk of heart flutter and other rhythm problems according to the
authors publishing in the journal nature genetics
the studies were carried out by decode genetics of reykjavik iceland imperial
college london and the helmholtz zentrum muenchen germany
heart disease accounts for more than almost seven million deaths year half of
them through abrupt changes in rhythm such as condition called ventricular
fibrillation
quake off california coast causes minor damage
san francisco jan afp
powerful magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of northern california
saturday leaving no victims and causing minor damage officials said
the us geological survey reported that the tremor occurred miles
kilometers west of ferndale and miles kilometers northwest of
sacramento at depth of nine miles kilometers
the quake hit at pm gmt sunday and was followed by series of four
aftershocks measuring and on the open ended moment magnitude
scale
there were no initial reports of injuries
the national oceanic and atmospheric administration said tsunami was not
expected
oh yeah it shook ferndale volunteer fireman manuel enos told afp windows
broke or popped out of storefronts
local media also reported brief power cut ruptured gas lines and damage to
ferndale city hall building pictures posted on the twitter website showed
broken shop windows toppled shelves in stores and products strewn all over the
floor
however lori newquist spokeswoman for the california emergency management
agency told abc television the damage was not serious
at this point no major damages have been reported she said we are
monitoring the situation very closely
however local media reports said about customers were without
electricity and telephone service was spotty throughout the affected area
the los angeles times reported the initial jolt was felt as far away as san
francisco
we ve been through lot of earthquakes but can recall there ever being any
this bad sandra hall owner of antiques and goodies in nearby eureka told the
times
she said the quake moved her store in all directions with broken lamps dishes
and clothing now littered across the shop two women took cover under table
and couple ran out of the main entrance
sandra lewis resident of eureka called the seismic event really scary
it felt like my house jumped up by the foot she told abc could see it
the tv started waving back and forth there was some kind of rumbling noise
things were falling off my shelves and all my picture frames are over
sarah hernandez another eureka resident said she felt shaken and scared
she said her home had suffered no structural damage but some of her personal
belongings were broken in addition there was no power in her neighborhood and
the telephone service was unstable hernandez pointed out
the quake occurred in an area known to seismologists as the mendocino triple
junction where three tectonic plates meet and cause frequent seismic events
this is an earthquake that happened to be in part of california where we have
lot of earthquakes said tom brocher specialist with the us geological
survey this is not surprise
he added that saturday tremor was little bit bigger than most of our
earthquakes out there but it certainly in the range that we see up there
tennis clijsters henin classic shows the belgians are back
brisbane australia jan afp
one classic match was all it took for kim clijsters and justine henin to serve
notice that the belgians are back and looking to dominate women tennis
clijsters beat her great rival in saturday final of the
brisbane international tournament in match that both players later described
as by far the greatest of their encounters
all the more remarkable was that clijsters was playing only her fifth tournament
since making comeback to the sport and henin was playing her first after
deciding to end her month retirement
with the year first grand slam just week away clijsters said it would not
be long before both belgians would be back among the sport elite
think with the level that we both played today think we are both capable
of getting back into the top and think it won take long for justine to
have crack at that clijsters said following her win
the level was so high
it fun to play in big match when you are both playing good tennis and
that what it all about
clijsters noted that this time around it would be three pronged attack from
belgium with the two old stagers joined by fresh faced newcomer in yanina
wickmayer
belgian tennis is on very high level today clijsters said
yanina wickmayer won in auckland today so it was good day for belgian
tennis
the year old clijsters said that in the past she had often been overwhelmed
by the occasion when playing henin and her tennis had suffered as result
that something that really bothered me in the previous meetings against her
that wasn always able to play my best tennis and that something
today that feel definitely improved and that to me is the most positive
thing to come out of this match she said
hope there will be many more and think we set the bar very high for the
rest of the year
henin who injured her leg late in the third set said the tournament had
given her big boost ahead of the australian open
would say it was the most intense match we ve played she said
really happy it gives me the confidence need before the open
clijsters too will head to melbourne full of confidence
it fun to play match like this she said
there were rallies out there where we were both laughing and both having fun
and that what it should be like
it moments like that make you appreciate one another but also make you
appreciate how lucky we are to be playing the sport and being part of great
match like that
cia director defends agency against criticism
washington jan afp
cia director leon panetta in an article published sunday revealed that
jordanian doctor who killed seven agency operatives was about to be searched
before he blew himself up at us military base in afghanistan
this was not question of trusting potential intelligence asset even one
who had provided information that we could verify independently it is never
that simple and no one ignored the hazards panetta wrote in the washington
post
the individual was about to be searched by our security officers distance
away from other intelligence personnel when he set off his explosives
the post said the central intelligence agency had been planning to speak with
the suicide bomber about ways to kill ayman al zawahiri al qaeda number two
leader top us target who remains at large
humam khalil abu mulal al balawi jordanian of palestinian origin who is said
to have been triple agent blew himself up at us military base in khost near
the pakistani border on december in the deadliest attack against the spy
agency since
in addition to the agents balawi also killed his jordanian handler top
intelligence officer and member of the royal family
nearly everyone within sight of the bomber died instantly when thousands of
steel pellets exploded from the device
according to the post the victims included top cia expert on al qaeda
year old woman with three children who had spent nearly years in the
agency counterterrorism center and had several brief tours in afghanistan
at least six other people including the cia second in command in afghanistan
were wounded the paper said citing us officials briefed on the incident
in video broadcast saturday balawi said the bombing was an act of revenge for
series of us drone attacks
we tell our emir baitullah mehsud we will never forget his blood it is up to
us to avenge him in and outside america bearded balawi clad in military
uniform said about taliban leader killed in us attack in august
this is message to the enemies of the muslim nation the cia and
jordanian intelligence services
khalil al balawi told afp that the man shown in the video was his son who had
been manipulated by several unidentified intelligence services
fighting back criticism of the agency handling of balawi who posted radical
anti western comments online panetta reacted angrily to comments suggesting
that those who gave their lives somehow brought it upon themselves because of
poor tradecraft
criticism has narrowed on how balawi bypassed checkpoints and was allowed onto
the frontline base which he had never visited before
somebody comes and it like celebration that they re coming it good to
make them feel welcome it good to make them feel important former cia
field officer told the newspaper
the jordanian was heralded as superstar asset so you get an important
visitor coming so you go out and meet him is it bad tradecraft of course
but panetta said the charge was akin to suggesting that marines who die in
firefight brought it upon themselves because they have poor war fighting skills
the cia is also taking heat for foiled christmas day attack with us officials
saying the nigerian accused of trying to detonate explosives aboard us bound
airliner umar farouk abdulmutallab received training from an al qaeda
affiliate in yemen
president barack obama has ordered urgent action at security and intelligence
agencies to fix flaws exposed by the narrowly averted attack saying spy
agencies did not properly connect and understand information that could have
uncovered the plot during its planning stages
the main lesson from this attack is that like our military cia officers are
on the front lines against al qaeda and its violent allies panetta said in his
piece which will be published in sunday print edition of the post
they take risks to confront the enemy gathering information to destroy its
networks and disrupt its operations
golf glover clings to sbs lead ogilvy one shot back
kapalua hawaii jan afp
lucas glover birdied the final hole saturday to keep sole possession of the lead
in the season opening sbs championship with defending champ geoff ogilvy one
shot back
glover the us open champion started the day with three shot lead but fell
behind by two before regaining the top spot at the last where he completed
two under par for under total of
australia ogilvy climbed up the leaderboard with for
knew it was going to tighten up glover said some guys were going to play
well and some guys weren that happened to be me
at glover capitalized on shift in the wind that had the par five playing
short he reached the green in two and two putted to hold the overnight lead for
the third straight day
everybody wants an opportunity on sunday and have that said glover who
struggled on the greens but still had three birdies in his last five holes
my speed was terrible wish could blame it on the wind but mis read the
greens and my speed was bad glover said ll probably work on that little
bit tonight and in the morning
ogilvy round was his seventh straight in the on the plantation course at
kapalua his only mis step was bogey at where he was in bunker he too
birdied the last
plenty of players in the man field open only to last season titlists were
within striking distance four shots separated the top players going into the
final round
this is course where there still guys who can win ogilvy said
scotland martin laird fired for while american ryan moore carded
for
half dozen players were on including reigning british open champion
stewart cink and masters champion angel cabrera of argentina
cink carded and cabrera to join former us open champion retief goosen
of south africa matt kuchar sean hair and john rollins
it that sort of week ogilvy said there are cases when guys go crazy and
win by lot it can bunch up guys as well it doesn matter what you re
shooting
togo in dramatic african nations cup turn
luanda jan afp
togo performed dramatic turn on their decision to quit the african nations
cup electing instead to stay in angola and compete players said hours before
the competition gets underway sunday
in memory of the dead the national team has decided to play in the african
nations cup thomas dossevi who plays for french side nantes told afp
the surprise announcement revoked their earlier intention to fly home in the
wake of friday deadly attack on their team bus in cabinda
the attack by separatist rebels left at least two dead and many injured and led
to the team being called back to lome by the togolese government
but after impassioned pleas by the angolan prime minister paulo kassoma and
african nations cup organisers the players chose to remain
we are all heartbroken it is no longer party but we want to show our
national colours our values and that we are men he said
it was decision taken nearly unanimously by the team which met during the
night after having been reassured by the angolan authorities dossevi added
midfielder alaixys romao who plays for french club grenoble told the french
sports newspaper equipe the entire delegation just met and after all we ll
be on the pitch monday to play against ghana
people have died for the african nations cup others were injured we can let
them down and leave like cowards he added
earlier angola efforts to allay security concerns appeared to have been
ignored by togo
the togolese government has decided to recall its team togolese government
spokesman pascal bodjona said
we cannot in such dramatic circumstance continue the african nations cup
competition this is necessary because the players are in shock
romao said our government doesn necessarily agree with us but we are all
determined to play in this competition the decision was taken unanimously
togo captain emmanuel adebayor had earlier been reported by his club manchester
city to be returning to britain
dossevi criticised organisers for not rescheduling the ghana fixture
the team is bit bitter we are little disappointed with the confederation
of african football caf which couldn arrange for postponement of our
first match so we could bury our dead
caf puts its interests first and not those of the countries
they did not support us enough
kassoma met with caf president issa hayatou to reassure him about player safety
ahead of the opening match of africa largest football festival in luanda
the prime minister considers the incident in cabinda as an isolated act and
repeated that the security of togo team and the other squads is guaranteed
his office said in statement
later kassoma talking on angolan state radio urged togo to stay
let us go on together united in this big event this major celebration of
african youth in this year of glory for african sport
his words were echoed by caf president hayatou
if you choose to remain with us we will help you overcome your pain he said
caf official kodjo samlan said earlier reports that one of the bus drivers had
been killed were incorrect
togo assistant coach and its squad spokesman died after hooded gunmen opened
fire as the team buses crossed into the restive angolan enclave of cabinda
the attack was claimed by the flec pm separatist group embroiled in struggle
for independence in the oil rich territory which warned the attack was only
the start of series of targeted actions
during the minute ambush players and others cowered under seats to escape the
bullets
dossevi said they had been fired on like dogs
we are all little shocked and we re asking why caf were holding games in
cabinda how can you organise tournament in state of war he told afp
on saturday evening goalkeeper kodjovi obilale was in stable condition in
johannesburg hospital where he was expected to undergo surgery for gunshot
wounds to the lower back and abdomen after being airlifted to south africa
organisers said the games would proceed as planned
caf is continuing with its schedule and the sovereign authorities of the
country angola are taking the adequate measures surrounding security said
constant omari member of the local organising committee
hosts angola take on mali sunday at luanda new seat november stadium
in the first game in the day tournament
shoot video on the ski slopes with camera goggles
las vegas nevada jan afp
liquid image company which made splash last year with diving masks
featuring built in still and video camera now has its lens trained on the ski
slopes
the california based company plans to release pair of ski goggles this year
which have digital camera mounted in the middle
the summit series is going to come out in june just in time for next year
skiing and snowboarding season daniel silveira liquid image spokesman said
at the annual consumer electronics show ces in las vegas
silveira said the camera on the ski goggles has about two hours of video
recording time and gigabytes of storage on micro sd card the goggles will
cost dollars
liquid image also plans to release pair of camera equipped swimming goggles in
april for dollars he said
they re limited on space so there only so much technology we could cram in
there but it will do video and it will do photos in lower quality format
silveira said
liquid image first model diving mask with camera that is certified
waterproof to feet meters below the surface has been selling really
well he said
it kind of replacing the market for disposable underwater cameras silveira
said
he said the company also plans to add to its line this year with scuba mask
which features camera capable of shooting high definition video up to feet
meters underwater
the diving masks have two buttons mounted on top and small light which glows
red in photo mode and blue in video mode
the camera equipped diving masks range in price from dollars to dollars
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 new york jets ended playoff drought of their own and extended
cincinnati run of postseason futility with victory over the bengals
rookie quarterback mark sanchez made stellar postseason debut going of
for passing yards
he 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 in cincinnati 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 have not won
playoff game in years
one bright spot for the bengals was cedric benson who ran for playoff team
record of yards
