baidu officials said they were unable to comment immediately when contacted by
afp but added they planned to issue statement
the iranian cyber army was the name used by hackers who briefly shut down the
popular microblogging site twitter last month
iranian demonstrators protesting the results of june presidential elections used
twitter extensively both to organise marches and to release information about
their movement
their use of the microblogging site led some to dub the pro democracy action
against president mahmoud ahmadinejad twitter revolution
however the reason for the attack on the chinese internet giant was not
immediately clear
chinese authorities blocked twitter and other internet social networking sites
after the iranian protests fearing such sites could be used to foment unrest
analysts have said
but baidu has always remained accessible
using method similar to the attack on twitter the hackers changed baidu
domain name system records redirecting traffic to another site it said
baidu the nation biggest search engine had percent of china search
engine market as of the end of september followed by percent for google
china according to internet research firm analysys international
nba phoenix downs bucks skiles hospitalized
phoenix arizona jan afp
steve nash finished with points and assists as phoenix beat milwaukee
on monday extending their win streak over the bucks at home to
games
milwaukee was missing coach scott skiles who was hospitalized prior to the game
for an irregular heartbeat the bucks also learned monday that high scoring
guard michael redd knee injury would sideline him for the remainder of the
season
jim boylan who coached the bucks said the skiles was resting well
he fine boylan said he ll be joining us in portland he has little
arrhythmia
amare stoudemire had points and rebounds for phoenix and jason richardson
also scored
hakim warrick led milwaukee with points and rebounds and luke ridnour
finished with points rookie brandon jennings added points and andrew
bogut scored points and grabbed rebounds
the bucks have not beaten the phoenix at home since
redd has torn ligaments in his left knee forcing him to end his season early
for second consecutive year
the year old american redd suffered the injury in sunday loss to the
lakers he had an mri scan monday and doctors said surgery would be needed
in games this season redd was averaging points rebounds and
assists over minutes
redd suffered similar injury in january and had surgery four weeks later
increased security in baghdad over attack fears spokesman
baghdad jan afp
iraqi security forces closed off access to large portions of baghdad tuesday and
are conducting vast search operation after receiving information on possible
attacks military spokesman said
security forces have taken preventative security measures as part of search
operation in most of baghdad quarters which has blocked traffic qassem atta
spokesman for the city military commandant told afp
tiger airways advances aircraft delivery
singapore jan afp
singapore budget carrier tiger airways said tuesday it ha brought forward the
delivery of five airbus aircraft to boost its expansion into asia and
australia
the aircraft will now be delivered later this year and in early instead of
the original dates in the firm said in statement
standard chartered bank has completed structured pre delivery payment
financing arrangement to allow for the early delivery of the aircraft the
statement said
in view of the opportunities for us to grow our business in both asia and
australia we have accelerated delivery of these five new aircraft from their
original delivery dates in to now join our fleet later this year and in
early tiger chief executive tony davis said
tiger airways currently operates fleet of airbus aircraft and is
planning to increase that to by december
the carrier which is percent owned by singapore airlines flies from
singapore to destinations across asia and to the australian city of perth it
also operates domestic services in australia
tiger airways expansion plans come despite tough conditions in the airline
industry as the global economy recovers from its worst downturn since the
japan airlines is expected to file for bankruptcy soon with the global
recession and swine flu pandemic dealing heavy blow to its efforts to recover
from financial turbulence stretching back to its privatisation more than two
decades ago
urgent increased security in baghdad over attack fears spokesman
baghdad jan afp
iraqi security forces closed off access to large portions of baghdad tuesday and
are conducting vast search operation after receiving information on possible
attacks military spokesman said
nba ex nba star williams pleads guilty to fatal shooting
somerville new jersey jan afp
ex national basketball association player jayson williams pled guilty and agreed
to serve at least months in jail for accidentally shooting his limousine
driver to death
he pleaded guilty monday to an aggravated assault count for the death of
costas christofi williams was awaiting retrial on reckless manslaughter
charge
williams told the judge that he failed to properly check shotgun he was
showing off to friends before snapping it closed
didn look in the direction the muzzle of the gun was pointed said
williams who was charged with drink driving after smashing his car into tree
in new york last week
the aggravated assault charge includes minimum month sentence while he
could have faced maximum year prison sentence on the earlier reckless
manslaughter charge
under his plea agreement williams will serve months in jail for the
aggravated assault and up to five years for previous conviction of trying to
cover up the shooting the sentences are to run concurrent meaning he will be
eligible for parole after months
williams played for the philadelphia ers and the new jersey nets between
and
hong kong milkshake murderer in final appeal
hong kong jan afp
an american woman dubbed the milkshake murderer for the killing of her high
flying banker husband in one of hong kong most sensational crime cases
launched her final appeal on tuesday
nancy kissel appeared in hong kong highest court to appeal her conviction
for murdering her husband in by lacing strawberry milkshake with
cocktail of sedatives and bludgeoning him to death with lead ornament
she was sentenced to life in prison in after three month trial which
unveiled heady mix of adultery violence spying greed and enormous wealth
gripping the the former british colony and shocking its expatriate community
gruesome details emerged in the trial including evidence that kissel had rolled
up her husband robert body in large carpet and left it in the bedroom of
their luxurious apartment for days before hiring four workmen to carry it to
store room
prosecutors claimed kissel stood to gain up to million us dollars in
insurance payouts from the death of her husband senior investment banker at
merrill lynch
kissel admitted from the witness box that she killed her husband but claimed
she was acting in self defence after he attacked her with baseball bat on the
night of the murder
her defence team is challenging her conviction before the court of final appeal
on the grounds that the prosecution had breached evidence rules during the
trial her last appeal was dismissed by the court of appeal in
malaysia moderate image bruised by church attacks
kuala lumpur jan afp
malaysia image as moderate muslim nation has suffered blow with spate of
church firebombings that has widened ethnic divisions and posed serious
challenge for prime minister najib razak
nine churches have been attacked since last friday pelted with molotov
cocktails or vandalised amid anger over court ruling that overturned
government ban on non muslims using allah as translation for god
the government has insisted that the use of the word by christians who make up
nine percent of the muslim majority nation population could cause confusion
and encourage religious conversion which is illegal for muslims in malaysia
it is low point for malaysia image as moderate muslim country said azmi
sharom from the universiti malaya of the latest in string of religious
disputes that have raised fears the country is being islamised
they include the sentencing of muslim model to six strokes of the cane for
drinking beer and body snatching cases where islamic authorities have battled
with relatives over the remains of people whose religion is disputed
the tussles have caused unease among malaysia ethnic chinese and indian
minorities who fear their rights are being eroded as political parties battle
for the support of the percent of the population that is malay
the allah row is an ethnic and political thing more than religious one
said azmi arguing that the ban on the use of the word is aimed at shoring up
government support among malays who represent its base
the term allah has been used commonly elsewhere the government is just
pandering to some people who are calling for the ban but most people actually
feel quite indifferent about this issue he said
the ruling party the united malays national organisation umno has been
accused of stoking malay nationalism in order to protect its support base after
elections where it lost ground to the opposition
pollster ibrahim suffian said the church attacks are double edged sword for
najib who came to power last year pledging to heal divisions among the ethnic
groups
if the government doesn appeal against the court ruling it will be seen as
offending the conservative muslims in the country but at the same time he has
pledged to reach out to all minorities he said
it just goes to show the limited amount of room he has between balancing his
political interest and wider malaysian interest said ibrahim head of the
independent polling firm merdeka centre
najib has visited the scene of the most serious of the attacks church that
was partly gutted last friday as have several leaders of the opposition islamic
party which is challenging umno for malay support
the fire bombings come just as malaysia southeast asia third largest economy
is trying to woo foreign investors they also threaten to harm its tourism
industry one of the key foreign exchange earners
this is the communication era so information travels fast tourists will
choose not to visit country faced with conflicts especially religious
conflicts tourism minister ng yen yen has warned
religion and language are sensitive issues in multiracial malaysia which
experienced deadly race riots in
the latest controversy may be prolonged as there have been no steps towards
compromise over the allah case the high court last week suspended the lifting
of the ban but has yet to set date to hear the government appeal
prominent islamic cleric harussani zakaria said he recognised that the disputed
word is widely used by christians in the middle east as well as in neighbouring
indonesia but said it had to be off limits in malaysia
he disputed christians claims that they had used the word for centuries without
incident and accused them of having hidden motives
we are still living in moderate muslim country but we can be tolerant on
issues of faith please just respect our faith that all he told afp
father lawrence andrew the editor of the catholic herald newspaper which
mounted the legal challenge to the government ban was also resolute
how do we withdraw the case when the case has been decided and it was decided
in our favour he asked we have been using the word for so long at least
years here
american airlines says raising jal investment offer
tokyo jan afp
american airlines and its partners have boosted their investment offer to ailing
japan airlines to billion dollars the us carrier said tuesday raising the
stakes in bidding war with delta air lines
american airlines and its partners lifted their proposed investment in asia
biggest carrier which faces likely bankruptcy from previous offer of
billion dollars company statement said
alert
increased security measures in baghdad over attack fears spokesman
india infosys reports drop in net profit
bangalore india jan afp
india second largest software exporter infosys posted tuesday smaller than
expected fall in net profit due to fresh overseas business and predicted strong
growth to come
the percent decline to billion rupees million dollars during the
three months to december allowed the firm to increase its forecast for the full
year to the end of march
analysts had estimated profits for the nasdaq listed firm would be near
billion rupees for the quarter
infosys shares rose percent or rupees to rupees in morning
trade tuesday after the earnings were announced
revenues by indian accounting standards for the bangalore based outsourcer
fell percent to billion rupees it said in statement to the mumbai
stock exchange
by us accounting norms infosys said net profit grew by marginal percent
to million dollars for the december ended quarter
the company raised its full year guidance forecasting revenues in the range of
and billion dollars for the fiscal year ending march to
percent rise
the global economic recovery seems to be led by the us and the financial
services said gopalakrishnan chief executive of infosys in statement
even though it budgets are expected to be flat in offshore outsourcing is
expected to benefit from this recovery
infosys added new clients and net employees in the quarter
the earnings were better than expected the guidance is also strong gaurav
dua head of research with local brokerage sharekhan told afp
strong volume growth and higher staff recruitment are all positive signs for
the future
infosys said it saw strong growth in markets it had recently entered
in the third quarter infosys incorporated its wholly owned brazilian subsidiary
infosys tecnologia do brasil ltda it also opened its first office in
wellington new zealand
woman who saved anne frank diary dead at website
the hague jan afp
the woman who saved anne frank diary from the nazis miep gies died monday
after brief illness her website announced she was years old
gies was the last surviving and best known of the group who helped frank and her
family hide from the nazis during world war ii she collected and hid the
teenager diary after the nazi secret police discovered their hiding place in
an amsterdam office building
anne frank died from disease at the bergen belsen concentration camp but her
father otto returned from auschwitz and gies gave him his daughter diary
the teenager memoir first published in became one of the most renowned
accounts of jews hiding from nazi persecution and has been translated into
languages
born hermine miep santruschitz in vienna in she moved to the netherlands
at age according to biography published on her website www miepgies nl
in she began working for otto frank at his opekta trading company
at great risk to her own safety she helped bring food to the franks and another
family who went into hiding in secret annex of opekta office building from
until their discovery and arrest in
not hero gies was quoted as having said in statement upon her th
birthday
it wasn something planned in advance simply did what could to help
said the statement published by the anne frank museum
gies received numerous honours for her role including from the netherlands
germany and israel yad vashem holocaust memorial centre
urgent american airlines says raising jal investment offer
tokyo jan afp
american airlines and its partners have boosted their investment offer to ailing
japan airlines to billion dollars the us carrier said tuesday raising the
stakes in bidding war with delta air lines
nfl recession takes bite out of super bowl ads
los angeles jan afp
the price of running commercial during the super bowl has dipped lower but
remains the most expensive ad on american television
the global recession has taken bite out of super bowl ads as prices fell for
just the second time in the game history said tns media intelligence on
monday
second commercial during next month super bowl on cbs are now selling for
between million dollars and million dollars according to tns data
compiled from advertisers and media buyers
the figure is down from last year when ads averaged record three million
dollars on nbc
for the first time in years pepsi won advertise its drinks last year
fedex and general motors pulled out
those figures could change because as of friday there are still four of the
commercial slots left
cbs could charge last minute buyers higher prices to bump up the average costs
the super bowl is set for february in miami florida
clinton plays down row over air base
honolulu hawaii jan afp
us secretary of state hillary clinton sought to defuse dispute over us air
base in japan as she arrived in hawaii on monday for talks with her japanese
counterpart katsuya okada
launching her fourth asia tour since becoming the chief us diplomat year ago
clinton said washington intends to exercise influence in asia for another
century and serve as stabilizing force against china rising power
clinton speaking to reporters on the way to honolulu on the eve of talks with
okada played down the dispute over the relocation of the futenma air base on
okinawa that has caused tension in the post war alliance
the significance of our meeting is to reaffirm the centrality of our year
old alliance clinton said on tour that will also take her to papua new
guinea australia and new zealand
tokyo relations with its most important ally been strained over the futenma
base which prime minister yukio hatoyama has suggested should be moved off the
southern island of okinawa or even outside japan altogether
it provides stability for the region and think it much bigger than any one
particular issue clinton said of the base
the center 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
but clinton urged patience as new party adjusts to power in japan and put
positive spin on us ties with the new government praising it for setting up
five billion dollar fund for afghanistan
so we see our relationship with japan as very broad and deep and security is
obviously critical part of that but it is by no means the only part she
said
yomiuri newspaper and other reports said sunday that clinton and okada will make
final arrangements tuesday for an anniversary statement by the us and japanese
leaders stressing the contribution of their alliance to global peace
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
during her two day stop clinton will visit the uss arizona memorial in pearl
harbor which commemorates those who died in the japanese surprise attack on
december that brought the united states into world war ii
she will then travel to papua new guinea for talks on climate change and
economic development before heading to new zealand and australia where she
will discuss similar issues as well as international security
kurt campbell the assistant secretary of state for asian affairs said clinton
will also seek advice from australian prime minister kevin rudd who speaks
chinese about how the united states can better work with china
china support is key for us goals in curbing the nuclear ambitions of iran and
north korea as well as combating climate change
for her first overseas trip as chief diplomat clinton visited japan indonesia
south korea and china in february last year she later traveled to india and
thailand in july then singapore and the philippines in november
her repeated visits to asia are signal that the united states intends to be
leader and exercise influence in this region for this century as well as last
century clinton said
there was general sense on the part of our allies and partners in the region
that we were withdrawing she said suggesting the previous administration of
president george bush had neglected the region
but people want to see that the united states is fully engaged in asia so that
as china rises there is presence of the united states as force for peace
and stability as guarantor of security
clinton played down the risk of tension with china as president barack obama
administration supports the sale of defensive arms to taiwan and engages with
the dalai lama the spiritual leader of tibet
what expecting is that we actually have mature relationship that fits the
description that was given at the summit between our two presidents that it be
positive cooperative and comprehensive she said
that means that it doesn go off the rails when we have differences of
opinion
indian cinema banks on its history for oscar success
mumbai jan afp
for many people indian cinema is bollywood but the popular hindi language
movie industry and others like it across the country might have been different
without man called dhundiraj govind phalke
phalke made india first feature film in giving birth to an industry that
is now worth billion rupees billion dollars makes more than
films and attracts over three billion people to theatres every year
now new film has been made about how he did it with hopes of success at this
year academy awards
harishchandrachi factory is india official entry in the best foreign
language film at the oscars having beaten stiff competition for the chance
from higher profile bollywood movies
writer director paresh mokashi said he couldn have wished for better stage
to promote the film and marathi language cinema which has been eclipsed by
bollywood and other regional language movies in recent years
this nomination from india itself is as big as winning an oscar am
delighted he told afp
mokashi who has background in acting and theatre said the idea for his
directorial debut came after he read biography of phalke
was very impressed and could see film on the subject in front of my
eyes he said also knew that most indians know that phalke is the father of
indian cinema but no one knows anything beyond that
they don know what he went through while making this first film and his
struggles
the lumiere brothers new fangled invention of moving pictures was first shown
in india at the plush watson hotel in mumbai in beginning love affair
with celluloid that has lasted more than century
but the films that followed were mostly on topical events and imported screened
to select gatherings of foreigners and the wealthy
phalke former photographer fallen on hard times stumbled across silent
movie screening and was immediately hooked
the result of his effort to make the first indian feature film was raja
harishchandra silent film about king in hindu mythology which was
released in and was an instant hit
phalke took it to london at the outbreak of world war the following year but
turned down deal to make more there
have to keep making films in my country so that it gets established as an
industry at home he is said to have commented
mokashi quest to make film about the making of film reflected the struggle
faced by phalke who put rupees of his own money into the project
colossal sum in early th century india
like phalke no one was prepared to back first time director so mokashi re
mortgaged his home to raise the cash
the film cost me four crore million rupees and nobody was willing to put
money in because there was no big star cast in the film no songs or glamour
he explained
in short there was no poster value for this film but still felt that kind
of money was needed for marathi film because of its scale
most of my money went on collecting antique items from different places had
to create that era and that cost me lot of money had to be authentic
films in marathi the local language spoken widely in western maharashtra
state were once powerful medium in the state capital mumbai now the
capital of bollywood
but the industry declined as hindi language cinema with its glitz and glamour
took off
even state government subsidies for marathi language films did not help
but the medium was boosted in when the small budget film shwaas
breath was nominated as india official entry for the oscars
the movie about young boy with retinal cancer failed to make the
shortlist despite intense fund raising and lobbying that included bollywood
star amitabh bachchan and the mumbai born india cricketer sachin tendulkar
post shwaas lot of young maharashtrians in their and entered the
industry in big way and started making many films said mokashi
now we re seeing this industry back to the good old days with new directors and
new ideas
harischandrachi factory could avoid the fate of shwaas where lack of
exposure was seen as the reason for its failure to be oscar nominated
indian studio giant utv and paprika media unit of the essar company are
heavily promoting the film which is released on january
mokashi said he feels his film which is up against entries from other
countries has potential with corporate backing and national exposure
including clutch of film festival prizes
didn have money to release the film so released it on the festival
circuit in january and there was very good response now hope this
word of mouth publicity will benefit the film at the box office
no easy riding for gaza bikers
gaza city jan afp
when munzer diyya wants to get away from it all he sits astride his motorcycle
and takes to the open road all kilometres of it
diyya has the misfortune of being an open road enthusiast living in the gaza
strip tiny territory sandwiched between israel and egypt and blockaded by
both
so when he and his buddies gun their engines and head out on the highway they
are reduced to riding only the length of the impoverished and overcrowded
palestinian enclave mere kilometres miles
ride slowly to make it last longer diyya says when ride my bike
spread my wings feel like flying
the ability to spread one wings is sorely needed but very hard to accomplish
in sealed off gaza
the territory one of the most densely populated places on earth where the vast
majority of the population depends on foreign aid has been closed to all but
essential humanitarian goods since islamist hamas took over in june
gaza was also the focus of devastating israeli offensive between december
and january in which about palestinians and israelis were killed
the onslaught was launched on december in response to persistent mortar
and rocket fire from palestinian militants inside the enclave
motorcycle sales have soared in gaza since the hamas takeover two and half
years ago
it mode of transport that is fast and relatively cheap people prefer them
to cars says diyya year old mechanic
because of the blockade gazans rely on smuggling tunnels on the border with
egypt which are used to bring in everything from weapons for hamas to diapers
and food the tunnels are often targeted by israeli warplanes however
bikes are recent phenomenon here says diyya before there was just
little over dozen it was something of an oddity and most came from israel
today diyya estimates that there are motorcycles in the territory
most of them made in china
motorcycle costs euros dollars in egypt and sells here for
euros he says in comparison the starting cost of car can be
times as much
mustafa al khatib year old grocer who bought motorbike year ago
agrees they don cost much and don use much petrol he says
today bikes account for most of the work diyya does in his tiny workshop in
southern gaza city
the blockade has meant shortage of parts and has forced diyya who has been
mechanic for years to be creative if he needs cylinder head gasket for
example he will make one from cardboard
it ll only last year but it better than nothing he says fashioning
gasket by pressing piece of cardboard on top of metal gasket and banging on
it with wrench to get the shape
this costs me pennies he says pointing to the makeshift part if ordered
one from the smuggling tunnels it would cost me dozen shekels three dollars
two euros
if we waited for israel to let in all the things that are needed here the
country would just stop in its tracks he says there shortage of
everything
the influx of bikes has also caused road casualties to soar among gaza
million population with motorcyclists killed and injured since june
the month hamas ousted the secular fatah from the enclave
not day goes by when hospitals don receive someone injured in motorcycle
accident says moawiya hassanein the doctor who is head of gaza medical rescue
services
for most motorcyclists in the territory two wheeler is merely an economical
mode of transport
but not so for diyya and his buddies they are devoted bikers and gaza
claustrophobia has done nothing to dampen their spirit
every thursday we meet at my friend samy house he says we drink coffee
and then we take to the road from gaza to rafah either along the sea or along
the interior
when you re on bike you re in another world diyya adds you feel free
afp features
paris jan afp
we will shortly move the following stories
highlights
no easy riding for gaza bikers
indian cinema banks on its history for oscar success
lifestyle mideast conflict gaza moto feature
gaza city
when munzer diyya wants to get away from it all he sits astride his motorcycle
and takes to the open road all kilometres of it diyya has the misfortune
