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
two more malaysian churches attacked in allah row
kuala lumpur jan afp
two more malaysian churches were targeted by arsonists sunday police and church
officials said as row escalated over the use of the word allah by non
muslims
the latest attacks in taiping in the northern perak state brought the total
number to six since friday but there were no reports of injuries according to
state police chief zulkifli abdullah
he said molotov cocktail was thrown at all saints church early in the morning
before worshippers attended their sunday service while church officials found
bottle of kerosene in another church
there were black marks on the wall at all saints we believed there was
small fire earlier but there was no damage as the wall was intact zulkifli
told afp
he said bottle of kerosene was thrown into st louis catholic church but added
that the building wasn damaged
four churches in the kuala lumpur area have been hit by firebombs since friday
leaving one badly damaged with its ground floor gutted and prompting prime
minister najib razak to promise to crack down on race crime
hermen shastri secretary general of the council of churches said officials had
stepped up security in the wake of the fresh attacks
the attacks show they are more just prank as it does not appear to be major
attack someone is trying to send signal that they are unhappy he told
afp
religious tensions were heightened in muslim majority malaysia last week when
court ruled in favour of the herald catholic newspaper in its dispute with the
government over the publication use of the word allah
enraged by the ruling muslim groups held protests outside mosques across the
nation friday
the row is among string of religious disputes that have erupted in recent
years straining relations between malays and ethnic chinese and indians who
fear the country is being islamised
about percent of malaysians are christians including some catholics
china exports up percent in december state tv
beijing jan afp
china exports rose percent in december to hit monthly high for
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
the national customs bureau
according to cctv the nation politically sensitive trade surplus hit
billion dollars for the month of december while the full year figure came to
billion dollars
data out of germany last week showed that china overtook europe biggest
economy in november to become the world top exporting nation
malaysian christians undeterred by attacks on churches
kuala lumpur jan afp
malaysian christians turned up to sunday services in their thousands presenting
united front of defiance in the face of series of church firebombings that
has heightened ethnic tensions
four churches have been targeted since friday amid an escalating row over the
use of the word allah as translation for the christian god by non muslims in
the muslim majority nation
islamic groups have staged protests in response to court ruling last week
giving catholic newspaper the right to use 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
hermen shastri the council of churches secretary general told afp
but of course we are not blind to potential threat so churches have taken
measures to increase security around their compounds and 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 the four targeted 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 the fire damaged part of the grounds
of course we are afraid after the incident but life has to go on
joseph kurup deputy natural resources and environment minister who was also at
the church with his family urged the catholic community to remain calm and let
the authorities investigate
it quite shocking for me on the reactions over the court ruling but think
the majority of malaysians are still peace loving and we should have dialogue to
resolve this said another worshipper who only wanted to be identified as lee
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
premier najib razak has called for calm and said the government would not
tolerate any threat to racial harmony in the multicultural nation home to
large number of ethnic chinese and indian minorities
tensions were heightened last week when the high court ruled in favour of the
catholic herald newspaper which has used 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 malays and ethnic chinese and indians who
fear the country is being islamised
about percent of malaysians are christians including some catholics
more than half of those catholics are from indigenous groups most of whom live
in the borneo island states and who mainly speak malay
shanghai expo unleashes architects playful side
shanghai jan afp
at riverfront construction site in shanghai architect andreas bruendler
scratched his head under his hard hat as he tried to explain his concept for
switzerland pavilion at the world expo
chairlift that will carry visitors spiralling up shaft and then over
rooftop meadow before returning inside easy one exterior tiles encasing solar
cells in soybean resin bit more challenging never been done before
since the days of london crystal palace at the first world fair in and
paris eiffel tower in expos have showcased the latest advances in
architecture and engineering shanghai expo aims to awe as well
many of the nearly countries participating in the six month event which
begins on may have poured more money into pavilions than usual in bid to do
national branding and woo consumers in the asian giant officials say
in theory the buildings will only stand for the duration of the expo which is
expected to draw million visitors most of them chinese
but bruendler says that temporariness is liberating
you can explore new concepts you re closer to free idea he said
with real construction it has to hold for years the
limited period for which the pavilion stands here gives you chance to think
about the future developments in architecture
after international competitions and months of construction the steel glass
and wood exteriors of the national pavilions are finally taking shape
katerina dionysopoulou the project architect for britain pavilion said she
and her colleagues at heatherwick studio were inspired by photo from an old
expo showing people trying to figure out what to do
the spiky british pavilion is built around the concept of the royal botanical
garden millennium seed bank in london which seeks to preserve plant life
threatened with extinction
the whimsical result with influences ranging from victorian gardens to
science fiction films is captivating
we realised we had to do something that was so different that people would just
literally go towards it dionysopoulou said
we took all the seeds and decided to encapsulate them just like the dna in the
amber in jurassic park she explained
we are putting them inside metre acrylic rods the daylight will make them
shine and small led that is embedded in them will make them glow in the
night
total of rods will protrude from timber box she said
they will catch the breeze of the river and hopefully just quiver she said
for italy pavilion architect giampaolo imbrighi imagined how falling pick up
sticks game italians call shanghai could trace the outlines of narrow
lanes reminiscent of both chinese and italian cities
new material called transparent cement will make up percent of the
pavilion surface area so that its appearance changes throughout the day
the different degrees of transparency make it possible to see light from the
interior on the outside and vice versa imbrighi said
finnish architect teemu kurkela pavilion also experiments with new material
genuine white marble exterior was beyond the budget for his kirnu design
which resembles giant pestle so his team improvised
the surface of the pavilion is made of industrial waste kurkela said
we are using this paper that has been made waterproof by plastic this is new
product developed for the pavilion
as part of efforts to develop greener and more energy efficient buildings many
of the pavilions will harness natural light and be cooled naturally
some like the finnish pavilion are designed to be dismantled after expo and
transported elsewhere to be rebuilt and re used
time and budget constraints can force expo pavilion designers to be even more
creative kurkela said
or maybe we re just crazy he said
bruendler eventually finds the word he was grasping for to explain the
intelligent soybean resin tiles
it battery he said explaining that visitor who uses flash to take
photograph of the pavilion could trigger chain reaction of light running
around the building
the cells collect energy during the day and once their tank is full they
flash they flash by themselves but they also have receiver so you could
provoke the flashing of the whole facade he said
palestinians turn to jobs building settlements they despise
nilin checkpoint west bank jan afp
like most palestinians ismail harb resents the israeli settlements that crown
the hilltops of the occupied west bank but every day he lines up before dawn to
help build them
it not just the money we make in the israeli construction projects but also
that the work in the settlements never stops the year old says as he waits
with hundreds of others in the chilly darkness before sunrise
the workers gather outside military checkpoint starting at am to enter
israel or one of four nearby settlements where most of them will help build new
israeli homes in the occupied territory
western backed palestinian president mahmud abbas has called the settlements the
biggest obstacle to peace and refused to restart negotiations with israel
without complete construction freeze
but thousands of palestinian labourers rely on work in the settlements which
pays more than twice the wages of similar jobs elsewhere in the west bank where
the economy is still recovering from violent uprising
if we could find the same kind of work in palestinian shops then we wouldn
come here every day and face this humiliation before we even get to work harb
says referring to the long wait at the checkpoint
completely agree with the palestinian authority demand to halt the
settlements but where is the alternative that will provide us with decent
living he asks
they stand in line as the sun rises over the imposing white apartment blocks of
the modiin ilit settlement on the other side an israeli soldier yells at the
men in hebrew saying no one arriving after am will be allowed in
think most of the workers here know they are being humiliated but there is
no alternative says raid al rabi who works as carpenter in the nearby
hashmonim settlement
people criticised the palestinians who worked on the separation wall but they
had nothing to say when the workers asked them what the alternative was he
adds referring to israel controversial west bank barrier
nearly half million israelis live in more than settlements scattered
across the occupied west bank including annexed east jerusalem
their number has more than doubled since the start of the oslo peace
process and the palestinians fear further expansion will make it impossible to
establish viable independent state
after months of us pressure rightwing israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu
agreed to month halt to new construction in november but he excluded east
jerusalem public buildings and projects already under way
many of the labourers refused to discuss their reasons for working in the
settlements fearing that doing so could get them in trouble with the
palestinian authority pa or cause them to lose their israeli permits
before the outbreak of the al aqsa intifada or uprising some
palestinians were working inside israel and the settlements according to the
international monetary fund
today only around palestinians have work permits according to the
israeli military
palestinians must pay dollars euros month for permit to work in the
settlements but can still be turned back by the soldiers at the checkpoint at
any time for unspecified security reasons
but construction worker can make to dollars to euros day in
israel and its settlements compared to just dollars euros in areas
controlled by the pa
palestinian employment minister ahmad majdalani says the authority is aware of
the problem but blames israeli closures for the lack of job opportunities
there is unprecedented unemployment in the palestinian labour market which is
basically tied to the israeli blockade and the closures he says
the pa has tried to address the problem with economic reforms aimed at promoting
investment and recent campaign to rid shops of settler made products but the
boycott has not been fully implemented
in september the imf projected seven percent real growth rate for in the
west bank but said even that would be quite low for an economy where per
capita gross domestic product gdp has fallen by nearly third since
in the meantime neither the economic growth nor the easing of settlement
construction has done much to stem the early morning commute
the situation forces me to do this bitter work says sharif sanina year
old father of eight waiting in line with the others want to provide for my
family and ll do it any way can
france battles theft of cultural treasures
paris jan afp
french police colonel stephane gauffeny started the year with heavy caseload
his job investigating the theft of art and treasures in france one of the
best endowed and most stolen from countries in the world which was struck by
two major crimes in the week after christmas alone
in the first picture by edgar degas worth euros billion
dollars was unscrewed from the walls of museum in marseille
the colourful pastel of performing singers titled the chorus was on loan
from the musee orsay paris eminent museum of impressionist art
three days later police discovered the theft of some paintings valued at
around million euros including works by picasso and rousseau from private
villa in the south
both cases crossed gauffeny desk at the government cultural theft
investigations squad where he oversees national efforts to identify stolen
objects and beat the traffickers
it an enormous job fascinating job the stocky gendarme told afp
sipping milky coffee at paris cafe after morning of meetings
local and foreign thieves have for years been targeting the collections in
french museums churches and private homes exploiting rich cultural heritage
that draws millions of foreign visitors year
in last year highest profile case thieves broke into museum devoted to
spanish artist pablo picasso in central paris and stole book of his pencil
drawings valued by the government at three million euros
gauffeny says thefts have declined by factor of four in the past decade as
thieves look for loot that is easier to sell and france has stiffened penalties
for those convicted of stealing objects classed as cultural assets
but this still left thefts across the country in according to his
figures
we concentrate our energy on the biggest thefts or the biggest criminal rings
gauffeny said citing an ongoing investigation of auctioneers at the renowned
drouot auction house in paris
two drouot brokers were charged last month after police recovered more than
artworks including painting by the th century artist gustave courbet
seascape under stormy skies worth euros
gauffeny said it was huge case and extremely rare possibly involving scores
of insiders different class of crime from the armed robberies or
opportunistic thefts that his unit has dealt with in the past
we have put all our investigative resources into it he said
the cross border police agency interpol based in lyon cites france and italy
as the two nations worst affected by the theft of precious artworks and
antiques
in august it launched an online catalogue of missing artefacts which lists
hundreds of paintings stolen in france as well as crucifixes chalices and other
treasures burgled from its churches over the decades
france has relatively large national heritage says aline le visage the
representative in france for the art loss register private firm that logs and
identifies stolen objects for victims dealers and other clients
this abundance makes it country of choice for art thieves and many great
works are held not by museums but by private individuals she said
there has been slight fall in thefts over the past years or so on world
level but we have noticed rise in thefts from private owners and also in
galleries
robbers have struck at museums in paris and other cities sometimes in broad
daylight gauffeny says recalling various sting operations and cross border
hand offs of stolen artworks many of which quickly vanish abroad
police say major artworks are usually trafficked abroad sometimes within days
of being stolen most to neighbouring european countries but sometimes as far
as the united states and japan from where they are rarely recovered
demand follows the same general trends as the legal art market and much art
crime is carried out by insiders most of the people fencing the items are art
dealers gauffeny said
objects of lesser value often stay in france sometimes held in reserve by the
traffickers who quietly leak them back onto the market years later
in one operation in in marseille gauffeney said police infiltrated ring
of thieves and seized paintings by monet and sisley after posing as buyers who
wanted to take the works to the united states
in another near lyon an investigation into antique dealing circles led police
to vast haul of stolen goods in storage space spanning hundreds of square
metres
outside the big city museum cases gauffeny and other experts say most of the
crimes hit softer targets unsecured provincial venues churches and homes
didier rykner fine art specialist who monitors thefts on his online journal
la tribune de art said many works are at risk in run down unguarded museums
on which authorities are unwilling to spend money
in my opinion the problem of theft is more serious in churches than in museums
there are major works in churches and they are less well guarded he said
yet the more valuable work is the harder it is to sell because everyone
knows the object
some of the biggest cases such as last year stolen picasso nevertheless
remain unsolved leaving plenty of work for gauffeny department and its huge
database of stolen items
we are always particularly on the look out for national treasures said
gauffeny while for minor or privately owned artefacts the rate of recovery is
low
the fight to recover cultural relics is really fascinating job full of
emotion he added
when you return objects stolen from church the whole village comes out to
see you
afp features
paris jan afp
we will shortly move the following stories
highlights
france battles theft of cultural treasures
palestinians turn to jobs building settlements they despise
france art crime theft entertainment feature
paris
french police colonel stephane gauffeny started the year with heavy caseload
his job investigating the theft of art and treasures in france one of the
best endowed and most stolen from countries in the world which was struck by
two major crimes in the week after christmas alone
words by roland lloyd parry picture
mideast conflict palestinian settler construction feature
nilin checkpoint west bank
like most palestinians ismail harb resents the israeli settlements that crown
the hilltops of the occupied west bank but every day he lines up before dawn to
help build them
words by hossam ezzedine picture
china expo architecture design feature
shanghai
at riverfront construction site in shanghai architect andreas bruendler
scratched his head under his hard hat as he tried to explain his concept for
switzerland pavilion at the world expo
words by arcy doran picture
for questions email nancy shields afp com or call
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 player 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
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
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
kassoma met with caf president issa hayatou to reassure 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
hollywood web and gadgets winning mix at ces
las vegas nevada jan afp
the premier consumer electronics show ces which ends here sunday rebounded
from global economic drubbing wowing attendees with gadgets that merge
software entertainment and the web
ces is back analyst rob enderle of the enderle group said of the annual event
at which electronics makers from around the world gather to display their latest
creations
last year when left was thinking it the last ces it was morgue
device makers who felt the chill the fiscal crisis put on sales of consumer
electronics last year poured passion and innovation into proven products and hot
trends such at electronic readers and television sets
this is one of the most exciting ces events we ve had in years said scott
steinberg lead technology analyst for digitaltrends com
there is innovation in terms of incremental gains instead of revolutionary
changes we are seeing baby steps and hints of giant steps to come
two silicon valley titans absent from the show floor left giant footprints on
the gathering of more than exhibitors
ces was awash in reader tablet and slate devices that in some cases seemed
hurried out to get jump on an islate that iphone ipod and macintosh
computer maker apple is expected to unveil later this month
think lot of the tablet buzz was trying to get upwind of apple said roger
kay president of massachusetts based endpoint technologies associates
it kind of game of chicken or leapfrog where you re investing or pretending
to invest in the tablet area in bid to try to claim it before someone else
gets there
host of device makers unveiled smartphones netbooks or tablets based on
google android software
google team had the internet star new nexus one smartphone available for
private meetings and on display one evening at an event in las vegas hotel but
not on the ces show floor
google was kind of the stealth company here enderle said google androids
were in devices all over the place
television makers who have seen prices driven down by competition and the
economy enthralled ces attendees by crafting eye grabbing and internet
services into high definition flat screen models
we ve seen pretty dramatic shift from hardware centric to software centric
gartner analyst van baker said of televisions unveiled at ces which ends
sunday
manufacturers are struggling with that increasing the value with software
implies service and it not an easy transition for them
internet pioneer yahoo added its software widgets to some televisions last
year at ces and built on that momentum this week with an expanded array of sets
and online services
it won be long before every tv is web connected in one shape or form whether
it technology in the tv or through set top box enderle said
they re all pushing this pretty hard
forrester research analyst james mcquivey said that tvs face an uphill
slog and it is unlikely consumers will rush to buy them after many upgraded to
high definition sets in the past three years
don think we are going to be wearing those glasses at home any time
soon steinberg said
growth of has been slow because of lack of programming the need for the
special glasses and the higher prices of sets
but last month release of science fiction blockbuster avatar film by
titanic director james cameron has renewed interest in the medium and espn
discovery and others announced plans this week to broadcast programming
in another nod to digital age tastes ces abounded with chips controllers and
other offerings tailored to enhance videogame play as far as making experiences
by sunday ces had logged more than attendees in percent jump from
last year gathering according to the consumer electronics association that
runs the event
gartner expects consumer electronics sales to improve along with the economy
urgent china exports up percent in december state tv
beijing jan afp
china exports rose percent in december state television said on sunday
quoting the national customs bureau
grenade hurled at cathedral in southern philippines
zamboanga philippines jan afp
grenade went off on sunday outside catholic cathedral on southern
philippine island which has seen bloody muslim extremist attacks in recent
years the military said
unidentified men hurled the grenade before dawn in jolo island capital town of
jolos said brigadier general rustico guerrero head of an anti terrorism task
force
the blast shattered some cathedral windows but no one was injured
previous grenade explosions in the area have been blamed on the abu sayyaf
muslim extremist group linked by intelligence agencies to the al qaeda network
