heineken open victory with win over brazilian thomaz bellucci
kohlschreiber converted five of his six break point opportunities to ensure his
fifth quarter final in six appearances in the atp event
tiananmen tank man pic available on google china
beijing jan afp
the iconic tank man photo taken during the tiananmen crackdown and banned
in china was available on google cn wednesday hours after the online giant
vowed to defy chinese internet censors
google announced tuesday it would no longer censor search engine results in
china and possibly pull out of the world largest online market citing cyber
spy attacks and chinese web censorship
the picture of chinese man who boldly stood in front of line of tanks during
the crack down on pro democracy protests made headlines around the world
it is banned in china where the event is still hugely sensitive
search for the image on google cn displayed the photo immediately while the
image did not come up on baidu com another popular chinese search engine
searches for other sensitive topics such as the dalai lama and the banned
falungong spiritual group were also returned on google but were also available
on some chinese portals
china blocks web content it deems politically objectionable in vast censorship
system dubbed the great firewall of china
google said it was targeted by china based cyber spies along with at least
other unidentified firms in an apparent bid to hack into the email accounts of
rights activists around the world
several people some bearing flowers turned up wednesday at google china
headquarters in beijing to show their support for the internet giant an afp
journalist witnessed
we are ordinary google users who have come here to say thank you we want to
show our support to google said one woman who would not give her name
some internet users expressed dismay at google possible pull out
in an online survey of over people on com popular portal nearly
percent said they did not want to see google leave the chinese market
if google leaves then will not go online one person said on com
google by defending its commercial morals will only receive more of netizens
understanding and support said an online user on sina com another chinese
portal
reaction in china state controlled media was muted
china central television the government main television propaganda arm made
no mention of the story in its midday news broadcast
other major state run outlets ran only brief reports that failed to mention the
allegations of government internet censorship or hacking directed at rights
activists
alert
iran speaker accuses israel cia of murdering nuclear scientist
bodies retrieved after quake philippine diplomat
manila jan afp
rescuers have retrieved several bodies as well as injured survivors after
massive quake toppled the headquarters of the un peacekeeping mission in haiti
filipino diplomat said wednesday
elmer cato spokesman for the philippine mission to the un told local
television that the embassy was in touch with the un authorities about the
rescue efforts ongoing in port au prince after tuesday magnitude quake
we were informed also that there have been several bodies recovered but also
several victims are still alive and subject to recovery efforts cato added
he said the un force advised the filipino mission in new york that some
filipino peacekeepers were trapped in the collapsed headquarters of the un
stabilisation force mission
the rest of the filipino peacekeepers were evacuated from their headquarters
nearby he added and some are taking part in the rescue
large number of un staffers are unaccounted for after massive earthquake
caused serious damage to their headquarters in haiti senior un official said
at the un headquarters late tuesday
yemeni forces kill al qaeda kingpin governor
sanaa jan afp
yemeni security forces have killed an al qaeda kingpin in shabwa province in
intensive operations against the group believed behind the botched bombing of
us airliner an official said wednesday
abdullah mehdar was killed last night by security forces which had besieged the
house he hid in provincial governor ali hassan al ahmadi told reporters
mehdar was the leader of an al qaeda cell in al houta region in the province of
shabwa kilometres miles east of sanaa
security forces were hunting for the remaining members of the cell ahmadi said
the al qaeda branch in yemen claimed responsibility for the failed christmas day
attack on us airliner with the united states accusing the group of training
the alleged perpetrator umar farouk abdulmutallab
ahmadi had told afp tuesday that security forces arrested four al qaeda
suspects two of them wounded in firefight
tribal source said that suspects in the same area managed to escape
police raid and fled to neighbouring mountain
the yemeni government had sent military reinforcements over the past few weeks
to some eastern provinces as it intensified its fight against al qaeda
militants
yemen foreign minister abu bakr al kurbi renewed on tuesday an offer to talk to
the al qaeda loyalists provided they lay down their arms but he warned that the
government would hunt them down if they spurn the offer
dozens of al qaeda militants coming from afghanistan have found refuge in the
rugged kour mountain in southern shabwa province according to ahmadi
yemen insists it can win the war against the militants without us military
intervention but analysts fear it cannot tackle the jihadists on its own
yemen is under pressure to rein in the extremists with the united states and
britain announcing plans to fund the country counter terrorism unit
but us president barack obama has said he has no intention of sending american
troops to yemen or neighbouring somalia
radical yemeni cleric abdulmajeed al zendani branded by the united states as
global terrorist warned on monday that any us military intervention in yemen
to fight al qaeda would be considered an occupation
yemen insists it is winning the war against the jihadists pointing to two
separate air raids in december that killed more than suspected al qaeda
militants
week ago officials announced the capture of key al qaeda leader mohammed al
hanq and two other militants believed behind threats against western interests
in sanaa that caused embassies to close for several days
saudi analyst anwar eshki said al qaeda militants have been fleeing to yemen
after coming under tremendous pressure in afghanistan and pakistan and because
of crackdown in neighbouring saudi arabia
the network is trying to establish itself in yemen eshki head of the jeddah
based middle east strategic studies centre told afp
google case shows difficulties of china presence analysts
beijing jan afp
google threat to pull out of china is evidence of the difficulties faced by
foreign firms operating in the land of the great firewall and could signal
tougher government line analysts say
the announcement that the us internet giant might forego operations in the
country with the world largest online population might just be good business
as it has never matched up to its chinese rivals on the mainland they say
this is very politically charged environment duncan clark an analyst at
beijing based high tech consultancy bda told afp
multinationals have been complaining about buy china policies unfair
restrictions and hacking and this is going to be very damaging if there isn
solution
google has said that china based cyber spies struck the internet giant and at
least other unidentified firms in an apparent bid to hack into the email
accounts of activists around the world
the online espionage has led google to reconsider its business operations in
china and it said it will no longer filter internet search engine results in the
asian country
on wednesday searches for sensitive subjects like the dalai lama and tiananmen
revealed photos and results that are often blocked on google cn indicating
google may have already stopped filtering
requests for comment from the chinese government were not immediately answered
google decision to go public with its threat to exit the chinese market
suggested the authorities had closed the door to further talks highlighting the
government increasing hardline towards western companies
there feeling that china is emboldened and that they don need to have the
same sort of dialogue as before clark said
this is the mismatch people here think no one can do without china and
think now some companies are thinking no one can deal with china
officials at microsoft and yahoo did not immediately respond to requests for
comment on google announcement
beijing tightly polices cyberspace employing tens of thousands of people to
monitor online postings chatrooms and blogs as well as relying on companies
including google and yahoo to prevent web users accessing information about
subjects deemed politically sensitive such as tibet and falungong
to get around the great firewall of china savvy web users use proxy servers
or vpns virtual private networks to access blocked websites
they also use abbreviations homonyms and symbolic words such as harmonise
instead of censoring and referring to the communist party as
elinor leung an analyst with credit lyonnais securities asia in hong kong said
the departure of google china president kai fu lee in september may have
contributed to the deterioration in the firm relations with beijing
she said lee had been able to smooth ties with the government after beijing
accused google of illegally spreading pornographic content as part of wider
crack down on what authorities say is unhealthy internet content
on the commercial side google has struggled to take market share from its rival
baidu holding less than percent of the search engine market in china
compared with percent for baidu
its market dominance has reportedly not risen as fast as expected which may
prompt google to have second thought on its initial compromise made to the
chinese government on internet censorship said ren xianfang beijing based
analyst with ihs global insight
shaun rein managing director of china market research group in shanghai said
google might be using the cyberattacks as an excuse to exit china
think google is looking for face saving way to move out of china rein
said
it hasn done well in china google in china has been complete disaster
compared with baidu
nine dead in koran protest shooting in afghanistan police
kandahar afghanistan jan afp
nine people were killed when shooting broke out during mass demonstration in
provincial afghan town over the alleged burning of koran by foreign troops
police said wednesday
the violence erupted on tuesday in the garmsir district of the southern province
of helmand over rumours that nato led forces had defiled copy of the muslim
holy book during military operation local residents and police said
nato said it had no information confirming the civilian deaths but that it was
investigating the incident along with afghan security officials
eight protesters were killed when the protesters attacked national security
officials in garmsir deputy provincial police chief kamaluddin khan told afp
the shooting of the protesters occurred after an afghan guard outside nearby
building was killed by gunfire from the demonstrators side he said
khan said civilians and two afghan policemen were also wounded in the
incident
nato international security assistance force isaf said in statement on
tuesday that its troops had shot dead an insurgent sniper who had shot an
afghan official in the garmsir area
but spokesman for the force said there was no information to back up claims of
civilian deaths in the incident adding that investigations with afghan security
officials were under way
we are continuing with our investigation of the reports that have appeared in
media sergeant jeff loftin said on wednesday
the only shot we know that was fired was from compound rooftop the gunman
was positively identified as sniper and we took him out
other than that we don know of any other shooting or where these figures come
from he said
isaf said in statement on tuesday that during the protest an insurgent
sniper shot an afghan official who was within fob forward operating base delhi
in garmsir district
isaf service members identified the insurgent sniper shot and killed him
there were no other injuries or shots fired it added
the incident occurred when more than afghan villagers gathered in garmsir
to protest over the alleged burning of koran during nato operation on
monday local residents and police said
doctor at the emergency hospital in the provincial capital lashkar gah who
spoke on condition of anonymity said that more than people had been brought
in with gunshot wounds to the stomach head and legs
two of them are in serious condition he said
helmand provincial governor daud ahmadi has sent delegation of police and
government officials to garmsir to investigate the incident spokesman for his
office said
the investigation has began and the delegation is expected to come back with
report to the governor by this evening the spokesman said
china xinjiang to step up security spending state media
beijing jan afp
funding for public security in china restive xinjiang region will rise nearly
percent in state media said wednesday following ethnic unrest that
left nearly people dead last year
budget proposal placed before xinjiang legislature on tuesday called for
billion yuan million dollars to be spent on public security up
percent the china daily reported
the july riot in urumqi had an enormous impact on the xinjiang people it
has severely damaged social stability in the region the paper quoted regional
chairman nur bekri as telling the xinjiang people congress
bekri said the priority for xinjiang security forces in would be to crack
down on the three forces of terrorism separatism and religious extremism
which the government blamed for the unrest the paper said
china roughly eight million turkic speaking uighurs have long complained of
religious political and cultural oppression by chinese authorities which
china denies
tensions in the vast and remote region bordering on central asia have simmered
for years
in july people were killed and more than people were injured
according to the government in violence between mainly muslim uighurs and han
chinese in the regional capital of urumqi according to government figures
so far people mostly ethnic uighurs have been sentenced to death for the
violence drawing sharp criticism from the west and rights groups concerned that
the accused were denied fair trials
nine executions have so far been reported by state press
new rules publicised in xinjiang last week stipulated that governments down to
the village level must step up identity checks on suspicious persons and monitor
all religious activities state press reports said
local governments must also step up the registration of migrant workers and help
set up region wide information sharing network it said
the newly amended rules which come into effect on february also
stipulate that promotions of government leaders will be subject to their efforts
to stamp out the three forces
asia markets fall as china moves to curb credit
hong kong jan afp
fears that the global recovery may lose steam weighed on asian shares wednesday
as china moved to curb its credit boom and wall street earnings season got off
to weak start
tokyo closed percent lower as shares in stricken japan airlines tumbled
percent to just seven yen eight us cents on flood of sell orders due to
fears the carrier which faces bankruptcy will be delisted
the nikkei shed points to the selling is unstoppable said
hideaki higashi strategist at smbc friend securities
in afternoon trade hong kong slumped percent and the shanghai tumbled
percent after beijing moved to raise the amount of money banks must hold in
reserves by basis points dealers said
that followed beijing decision to raise the yield on one year chinese
government bills for the first time in five months after last week similar
move on another benchmark sale in sign of tighter borrowing costs
investors sentiment was hurt by the sooner than expected reserve requirement
ratio hike while concerns over further monetary tightening will make investors
more cautious in the future citic securities analyst yu jun told dow jones
newswires
sydney lost points or percent to led by resources as
investors took fright at china tightening moves
anything from stocks to currencies exposed to china are being sold said ig
markets research analyst ben potter the market wasn expecting the measures
so soon
engineering and maintenance group worleyparsons dropped percent to
australian dollars us dollars after lowering its full year profit
guidance
seoul kospi closed down points or percent at led by
steelmakers shipbuilders and brokerages on concerns china may soon raise
interest rates singapore was down percent
wall street earlier provided weak lead where the dow jones industrial average
dropped points or percent to end at
traders mulled monday disappointing profit forecast from aluminum giant alcoa
the first of the blue chip us companies to release financial results
possible new us government fee or tax on financial institutions to help recoup
taxpayer bailout funds also weighed on banks
the dollar rose in asian trade as china policy moves sparked demand for the
safe haven greenback dealers said the dollar gained to yen in tokyo
morning trade from in new york late tuesday
the euro dipped to dollars from and was stable at yen
in singapore oil continued to fall from month highs posted earlier this week
on prospects of softening fuel demand in the united states the world biggest
oil consumer
new york main futures contract light sweet crude for delivery in february
fell cents to dollars
brent north sea crude for february delivery was down cents to dollars
hong kong gold opened lower at us dollars an ounce down from
tuesday close of dollars
in other markets
taipei closed down points or percent at on concerns
china may take further steps to prevent overheating dealers said
it may take the market day or two to digest the selling pressure said mars
hsu of grand cathay securities
wellington nzx index fell points or percent to close at
yemeni forces kill al qaeda kingpin governor
sanaa jan afp
yemeni security forces have killed the head of an al qaeda cell in the eastern
province of shabwa the governor of the province said on wednesday
abdullah mehdar was killed last night by security forces which had besieged the
house he hid in governor ali hassan al ahmadi told reporters
mehdar was the leader of an al qaeda cell in al houta region in the province of
shabwa kilometres miles east of sanaa
security forces were hunting for the remaining members of the cell ahmadi said
the al qaeda branch in yemen claimed responsibility for the botched christmas
day attack on us airliner with the united states accusing the group of
training the alleged perpetrator umar farouk abdulmutallab
indonesia back tracks on china trade pact
jakarta jan afp
indonesia has asked to re write new regional trade pact with china citing
fears of job losses due to flood of cheap chinese imports across various
sectors officials said wednesday
the government has sought to maintain tariff lines for another two years
rather than cut them as required under the asean china free trade area acfta
which jakarta first signed in and took full effect on january
the letter of notification on negotiations to discuss modifications to the
tariff items was submitted on december trade ministry official gusmardi
bustami said
trade minister mari pangestu has refused to comment on the pact and would not
confirm that formal request for further protection had been sent to the
association of southeast asian nations asean
won comment on the notification letter ve informally discussed the
tariff items with asean she told reporters in response to repeated requests
for clarification of indonesia position
she had previously said only that indonesia would honour its commitments under
the free trade pact
industry ministry spokesman muhdori said two year reprieve from zero tariffs
was required in sectors including electronics machinery furniture steel
textiles and chemicals
asean officials have said it would be strange for indonesia which has the
biggest economy in southeast asia to try to back out of its commitments at such
late date
any such request for delay in tariff reductions would go against asean long
standing drive toward more open regional markets and would require the agreement
of the nine other asean members which is unlikely
the acfta comprises market of billion people making it the largest trade
pact in the world in terms of population size
it has combined gross domestic product of some six trillion dollars and
total trade volume of trillion dollars according to asean figures
indonesian industry bodies have complained that the government has failed to
prepare domestic producers to compete with chinese goods failure acknowledged
by the industry ministry spokesman
the reason for the delay is because we want local industries to be ready for
competition with imported goods muhdori said
indonesian furniture producers association executive director tanangga karim
welcomed the government request for delay amid fears that hundreds of
thousands of indonesian workers could lose their jobs
local computer desk made from particle wood sells for about rupiah
dollars chinese computer desk made from similar materials can sell for
about here karim said
the free trade agreement between asean and china will spell huge job losses at
the big furniture makers here tens of thousands of employees could be laid off
soon
indonesian employers association chairman sofyan wanandi said that while some
sectors would benefit from cheaper chinese inputs and access to chinese markets
on the whole the acfta was bad for indonesia
our products can compete with cheap chinese products and as result many
factories will close down and there will be unemployment he said
asean officials have said southeast asian consumers stand to benefit from
cheaper goods such as chinese made mobile phones while regional manufacturers
would be better placed to piggy back on china industrial development
urgent yemeni forces kill al qaeda kingpin governor
sanaa jan afp
yemeni security forces have killed the head of an al qaeda cell in the eastern
province of shabwa the governor of the province said on wednesday
truck bomb rocks southern afghan district official
kandahar afghanistan jan afp
truck bomb has exploded near the southern afghan city of kandahar with
initial reports indicating that several people have been injured regional
official said wednesday
the bombing in daman district about kilometres six miles east of kandahar
the capital of kandahar province bore the hallmarks of taliban attack though
the militants usually use smaller passenger vehicles said district chief
sirajuddin
truck filled with explosives blew up we don know yet if it was suicide
attack or if the truck was detonated remotely he told afp
he said initial reports indicated that two police officers and several civilians
were wounded investigations were underway he said
several cars and the district administration building were also damaged said
sirajuddin who uses only one name
kandahar province along with neighbouring helmand is seething with an
insurgency which has intensified in the past year as international and afghan
forces have taken the fight to the taliban
the international troops leading the fight under us and nato command are
being supplemented with another over the course of this year
alert
yemeni forces kill al qaeda kingpin governor
png criminals in mass jail break before clinton visit
port moresby jan afp
some of papua new guinea most notorious criminals have escaped from maximum
security unit just ahead of visit by us secretary of state hillary clinton
officials said wednesday
twelve prisoners including three on death row broke out of bomana prison
outside the capital port moresby early on tuesday after woman posing as
lawyer smuggled in gun
they are all still at large government source told afp
the hardcore criminals were kept in maximum security she said
security has been stepped up in the impoverished but resource rich south pacific
island nation where police are on high alert ahead of clinton six hour
visit on thursday the source added
reports said png most dangerous underworld figure william kapris who was
awaiting trial over bank robberies and also stands accused of rape plane
hijacking and police officer murder was among those on the loose
png officials reportedly described the break out which follows another
involving prisoners from bomana last month as national security issue
the business council of papua new guinea emailed its members urging them to take
extra precautions when moving around port moresby previously described by the
economist intelligence unit as the worst city in the world to live
clinton stopover in port moresby during which she will meet with prime
minister michael somare is the first by us secretary of state since
png escalating hiv aids problem women empowerment and climate change are on
the agenda along with bilateral cooperation
apart from being first lady for years ms clinton has been successful
advocate attorney and senator in her own right as such ms clinton has keen
interest in social and welfare issues somare said
she will have the opportunity during her visit to also speak to women leaders
on issues affecting women urge everyone to once again ensure that the state
secretary visit is successful and memorable
the talks come with trade between the united states and png rising as major oil
companies work to unlock the mountainous country vast energy reserves in the
form of liquefied natural gas lng
through the establishment of our lng projects and the recent foreign direct
investment of us three billion dollars the us is now png second largest
trading partner somare said
after png clinton is to visit new zealand and australia
looting in haiti after quake afp reporter
port au prince jan afp
looters raided supermarket near the earthquake devastated haitian capital
early on wednesday an afp reporter witnessed
items were pilfered from the ruins of the semi collapsed store located near
route de delmas which links the capital port au prince to the upscale suburb of
petionville
tennis sydney international results st update
sydney jan afp
results from the fourth day of the sydney international wta atp tennis
tournament on wednesday denotes seed
women
quarter finals
aravane rezai fra bt flavia pennetta ita
victoria azarenka blr bt dominika cibulkova svk
serena williams usa bt vera dushevina rus
men
second round
richard gasquet fra bt benjamin becker ger
potito starace ita bt daniel gimeno traver esp retired leg
mardy fish usa bt evgeny korolev rus
leonardo mayer arg bt pablo cuevas uru
marcos baghdatis cyp bt viktor troicki srb
lleyton hewitt aus bt andreas seppi ita
julien benneteau fra bt taylor dent usa
peter luczak aus bt tomas berdych cze
google china move puts pressure on other us tech giants
washington jan afp
google refusal to bow to censorship in china puts pressure on other us
technology giants but analysts said it was not immediately certain they would
follow the internet giant lead
china is one of the fastest growing markets in the world said rob enderle of
silicon valley enderle group it is hard one to walk away from
going against government is problematic enderle said if you want to do
business in china you have to follow their rules and china rules are
particularly onerous
google cisco microsoft and yahoo have come under attack in recent years from
rights groups members of the us congress and others accused of abetting web
censorship machine dubbed the great firewall of china
china exercises strict control over the internet blocking sites linked to
chinese dissidents the outlawed falun gong spiritual movement the tibetan
government in exile and those with information on the tiananmen massacre
cisco spokesman said the company had no comment on google announcement it
would no longer filter web search results in china after gmail accounts of
chinese human rights activists around the world were hit by cyberattacks
microsoft declined to comment on google move other than to say it has no
indication that any of our mail properties have been compromised
yahoo spokeswoman welcomed google decision and stressed that the company
while maintaining financial investment had sold its china business and no
longer has operational control over yahoo china
yahoo is committed to protecting human rights and takes our users privacy
and security very seriously the spokeswoman said we condemn any attempts to
infiltrate company networks to obtain user information
we stand aligned with google that these kinds of attacks are deeply disturbing
and strongly believe that the violation of user privacy is something that we as
internet pioneers must all oppose she added
there was no immediate reply from apple to request for comment from afp
apple was reported last month to be blocking iphone users in china from
downloading applications about two figures beijing considers separatists the
dalai lama and exiled uighur leader rebiya kadeer
danny brien of the san francisco based electronic freedom foundation said he
hopes other tech companies will follow google lead
too many of them have been willing to comply with chinese demands that they
check their values at the border brien said in blog post
clothilde le coz washington director of reporters without borders which
organized world day against cyber censorship in march along with amnesty
international welcomed google move but said it was too early to say what
impact it would have
it courageous it something positive in favor of freedom of expression
she told afp but it not immediately clear that others will follow and
