andrew bynum scored points and ron artest added for los angeles who have
now lost three of four
duncan shot of from the field while parker went of parker scored
nine points in the final quarter
richard jefferson finished with points and george hill had
bombs shootings wound in thai south police
yala thailand jan afp
suspected militants launched series of bomb and shooting attacks in thailand
troubled muslim majority south wednesday wounding twelve people including three
soldiers police said
more than people have been killed since separatist islamic insurgency
erupted in january in thailand southernmost provinces bordering malaysia
bomb hidden in motorcycle was detonated by mobile phone outside tea shop
in the main town of restive pattani province early wednesday wounding five
villagers
another bomb exploded shortly afterwards at food market in neighbouring yala
province injuring four people including three soldiers
gunmen five minutes later targeted three male fruit vendors in drive by shooting
attacks nearby wounding all of them
the current insurgency erupted in january but tensions had bubbled under
the surface in the south since predominantly buddhist thailand annexed the
former malay muslim sultanate in
the shadowy militants never publicly state their goals and target security
forces officials and civilians alike
tennis del potro djokovic off to winning starts at kooyong
melbourne jan afp
grand slam winners juan martin del potro and novak djokovic warmed up for next
week australian open with comprehensive opening victories wednesday at the
kooyong classic
del potro winner of the us open title four months ago over roger federer got
onto court for the first time since losing the november season ending final in
london to nikolay davydenko emerging with victory over ivan
ljubicic
the veteran croatian was drafted into the eight man tournament field when world
number one roger federer declined the place he had been offered
australian open champion djokovic world number three behind federer and
rafael nadal needed less than an hour to defeat tommy haas after two
losses to the year old german in
the fourth ranked del potro has been given boost thanks to his new york title
and appearance at the world tour finals little more than month ago
feel good with my tennis feel confident said the year old argentine
of course to beat roger in the us open final gave to me lot of motivation
and confidence to keep trying keep working
when go to the court with roger rafa don feel too much different
that important for the career for the future and of course if want to fight
for the number one ranking
del potro broke ljubicic twice in the opening set and kept up the pressure to
sweep to victory
after two day heat wave melbourne temperatures had dropped considerably with
overcast skies and wind
the weather conditions were tough and it was windy said del potro served
well and that important for this kind of match this kind of surface
it good victory for the beginning of the season
djokovic said he enjoyed being down under
got used to playing good tennis on australian soil always happy to come
back have lot of support he said
the serb who retired in the quarter finals against andy roddick because of
sweltering conditions said heat is not one of my allies that for sure but
definitely love playing here so very excited about the tournament
str hg
alert
us calls on china to explain google attacks
philippines says un staff to the rescue after haiti quake
manila jan afp
philippine peacekeepers are taking part in efforts to rescue united nations
staff after massive quake in haiti destroyed un mission headquarters in the
capital an official said wednesday
we were told by the un they were first on scene of the collapsed un
headquarters elmer cato spokesman for the philippine mission to the united
nations told reporters from new york
cato said he did not have any reports of possible filipino casualties following
the magnitude quake in the impoverished caribbean nation which toppled
buildings and triggered fears that hundreds had been killed
the foreign ministry in manila had said earlier it was concerned for the safety
of its military and police peacekeepers in haiti after failing to reach them
following the quake
cato said the filipino peacekeepers were based in building across the street
from the headquarters of the united nations stabilisation mission in haiti
minustah which was reduced to rubble
alain leroy the head of the un department of peacekeeping operations which
oversees the world body various missions around the world said large number
of personnel remain unaccounted for in haiti
the philippines does not have resident diplomatic mission in port au prince
and foreign ministgry spokesman ed malaya said he was not aware if there were
other filipinos living in haiti
korea jails korea spy for years
seoul jan afp
south korean court wednesday jailed college lecturer for years after
convicting him of spying for north korea over almost two decades
the year old identified only by his family name lee was sentenced after
breaching the national security law
lee betrayed the nation and posed threat to national security by providing
military secrets to north korea while spying undercover for it in the past
years read the ruling of the court in suweon south of seoul
as well as the jail term the court also fined lee million won
dollars yonhap news agency reported
officials said lee was recruited by the communist north in while studying
at college in new delhi he later visited pyongyang twice became communist
party member and received at least dollars in funds
after completing graduate courses at home lee worked as college lecturer and
became member of the national unification advisory council status that
gave him access to confidential data he was arrested last year
information he passed to the north between and february included the
location of key government facilities and of us and south korean military
installations investigators said
lee also acquired military knowledge while serving as an information and
education officer in the army in they said
the two koreas have remained technically at war since their conflict
south korea has jailed numerous spies over the years
in year old woman who came from the north in the guise of defector
and used sex to secure military secrets was jailed for five years
north korea denied she was its agent calling her human scum and describing
the trial as threadbare charade orchestrated to heighten tensions
seoul official data shows more than people have been exposed as spies
for the north since the peninsula was divided in
jal shares dive percent on bankruptcy fears
tokyo jan afp
japan airlines shares plunged more than percent wednesday with analysts
warning they may become almost worthless as investors rush for the exit ahead of
an expected bankruptcy filing
the market value of the once venerable flagship carrier has crashed on fears
that it will seek protection from creditors and delist its shares from the tokyo
stock exchange to aid its restructuring in the face of massive debts
jal share price dived by the daily limit of yen for second straight day
falling percent to hit record low of seven yen eight us cents after
percent drop on tuesday
the selling is unstoppable said hideaki higashi market strategist at smbc
friend securities
event driven market players are hammering down jal it money game the
market is driving the company to go under he said adding that the share price
could technically fall to one yen
while the stock was flooded by deluge of sell orders some speculators were
buying to square their positions or make profit on any rebound
the share price will go near zero said kazuhiro takahashi equity information
chief at daiwa securities capital markets
but some speculators are looking for an opportunity to gain even one yen
jal stock has plunged percent over the past three months its highest share
price since it began merging operations with small domestic carrier japan air
systems was yen seen in
in fresh blow to jal the ratings agency moody downgraded the airline
long term debt rating to ca from caa
the lower rating which puts jal deeper into junk bond status means the airline
is seen as highly vulnerable to default
if the company files legal proceedings it will show greater likelihood of
defaulting on its bonds in addition to securing debt forgiveness from its
relational banks the agency warned in statement
the government has pledged to avoid total collapse of the former state owned
carrier but has signalled likely bankruptcy proceedings which could aid jal
recovery efforts while leaving investors out of pocket
jal is hobbled by heavy costs stretching back to its days as state owned flag
carrier as well as route network that includes flights to small domestic
airports that are often unprofitable to service
us carriers american airlines and delta air lines are in bidding war for
slice of the airline the largest in asia
american airlines its oneworld alliance partners and private equity company tpg
on tuesday lifted their proposed investment in jal to billion dollars from
previous offer of billion dollars
delta has offered jal one billion dollar financial package included
million dollar equity injection as the two airlines seek to increase their
share of the lucrative asian market
the japanese carrier is understood to favour tie up with delta because it has
stronger trans pacific flight network than american airlines
jal which lost about billion dollars in the six months to september is
seeking public aid in the face of mounting debts
according to japanese media jal is set to receive an injection of government
funds worth several hundred billion yen several billion dollars under
restructuring package that would see it file for bankruptcy
at the same time jal creditor banks are expected to be asked to forgive loans
worth several hundred billion yen
the airline is reportedly set to slash more than jobs and sell non core
assets such as hotels to stem massive losses
baidu shares surge as google threatens to quit china
shanghai jan afp
shares in china top search engine baidu surged in after hours trading
wednesday after google vowed to defy china internet censors and threatened to
pull out of the country
the nasdaq listed baidu surged to dollars per share in after hours trade
at gmt up percent from tuesday market close of dollars in
new york
the chinese company declined to comment on google announcement when contacted
by afp wednesday
google said it would no longer follow censors directives to filter search
results in china after cyber spies based there allegedly struck the internet
giant and other firms in bid to hack into the email accounts of activists
around the world
the alleged online espionage has led google to reconsider its business
operations in china the company chief legal officer david drummond said in
blog post
in china baidu is the nation biggest search engine with percent market
share as of end september ahead of google china at percent according to
figures provided by internet research firm analysys international
mexico car industry reports production slump
mexico city jan afp
vehicle production in mexico slumped nearly percent in amid global
crash in the industry automakers said tuesday
the mexican automotive industry association said vehicle production dropped
percent in to million units from million in
the mexican automotive industry has gone through one of its worst crises in
decades the association said
around percent of mexico made vehicles are exported to the united states
which saw poor sales as the global economic crisis took its toll
lp arb sah
us lawmaker upbeat on japan war views
washington jan afp
us lawmaker who has spearheaded calls for japan to do more to repent for world
war ii behavior said tuesday after talks in tokyo that he was upbeat about
japan new government
representative mike honda met with japanese officials as part of three member
congressional delegation that visited japan cambodia laos and vietnam
honda said he detected change in attitude since now prime minister yukio
hatoyama left leaning coalition defeated the long ruling conservative liberal
democratic party in august elections
in terms of the issues that we re concerned about ve been given hint that
they re going to be dealt with honda told afp
think there more of an openness in doing that he said
however honda doubted that japan would act immediately to atone further for its
past saying the government first had other priorities such as redress for
japanese who were taken prisoner after defeat in world war ii
honda japanese american who as child was interned by us authorities in
relocation camp in spearheaded house of representatives resolution
urging japan to make an unambiguous apology for the use of sex slaves
japan former conservative prime minister shinzo abe had triggered
controversy for his views on world war ii his government said japan had already
adequately apologized and compensated the former comfort women
honda said that japan new government had made historic transition
my perception of the new government of japan is one of great hope honda said
it was powerful change
his optimism comes despite concern in some quarters in washington about the new
government calls to revamp the half century us japan alliance
secretary of state hillary clinton on tuesday pressed japanese foreign minister
katsuya okada in meeting in hawaii to move ahead on plan to relocate
controversial base on the southern island of okinawa
china rights activists elated by google
washington jan afp
human rights activists rejoiced tuesday over google threat to pull out of
china hoping it would be wake up call for businesses that make compromises
to enter the giant market
blogging sites including twitter were swarmed with messages of elation after the
internet giant shock announcement that it would reconsider its china business
due to sophisticated cyberattacks on human rights activists accounts
through international pressure finally big business in the west has come to
realize its own conscience prominent chinese dissident wei jingsheng told afp
some western businesses thought that by making compromises with the chinese
communists regime they could do business as they wished however this is
impossible because the chinese government would not be satisfied said wei who
lives in exile in the united states after years in prison in china
international human rights group amnesty international hailed google and called
for other companies to follow suit
we welcome google stand and urge other internet companies to follow through
and not be party to china state sponsored internet censorship said kumar
amnesty international washington based advocacy director
we re glad that at last international internet companies are waking up to the
reality that they cannot go along with oppressive nations like china kumar
said
human rights watch arvind ganesan said that google set great example and
voiced hope that more companies and governments would take policies that
safeguard rights
rights champions said that the turn around was especially welcome coming from
google which has long faced the wrath of activists for cooperating with china
official censors
the internet giant in launched its google cn service with an explanation
that it had removed content from search results to conform with local law
it extremely significant because google went in under cloud of criticism
it was quite public that it was making human rights trade off said sharon
hom executive director of new york based human rights in china
it really wake up call to the international community about the real risks
of doing business in china she said
she noted that the decision also came as china takes an increasingly hard line
on domestic dissent both by controlling the internet and clamping down on
activists
intellectual liu xiaobo the author of landmark petition for democratic
reform was last month sentenced to years in jail despite vigorous protests
overseas
but even with google pledging to stop filtering searches internet users in
china will have plenty of obstacles to finding sensitive content share prices
in homegrown chinese search engine baidu soared in after hours following
google announcement
china routinely blocks social networking and blogging sites such as facebook and
twitter although beijing struggled last year to enforce rules that all new
computers be installed with filtering software
global technology companies bristled at the imposition of the green dam
system which china says is designed to protect children from pornography but
activists suspect is really meant to target politically sensitive information
one major target of internet censorship in china is the falun gong spiritual
movement which was banned by china in
levi browde head of the falun dafa information center in new york said that
internet restrictions were way not only to identify and target falun gong
practitioners but to maintain public opinion
prohibiting people from having access to free information about what
happening is one of the biggest enablers not just in the persecution of falun
gong but any sort of large scale persecution this is what makes it possible
he said
nba jackson scores as bobcats rally past rockets
charlotte north carolina jan afp
stephen jackson sparked second half rally by finishing with career high
points as the charlotte bobcats defeated the houston rockets on tuesday
jackson hit of shots and made of free throws to go along with eight
rebounds for the bobcats who won their second consecutive game to begin six
game homestand
boris diaw finished with points seven rebounds and six assists while
ronald murray added points in coming off the bench
trevor ariza led the rockets with points luis scola recorded double double
with points and rebounds as houston lost their fifth consecutive game
aaron brooks totalled points and six assists while shane battier and carl
landry each scored points
houston came out quickly in the first half scoring points in half for the
sixth time this season
but the rockets managed just points in the second half
florida haitians frantic to reach relatives in quake area
miami jan afp
hundreds of thousands of haitians living in miami and across florida were
frantically trying to reach their loved ones back home wednesday after
powerful earthquake hit the country causing devastation
people in tight knit haitian communities gathered around radios and computers
eager to hear the latest about the plight of their loved ones after telephone
lines to the impoverished caribbean nation went dead
the earthquake that haiti us ambassador called catastrophe of major
proportions leveled high rises and buildings around the haitian capital
including hospital the presidential palace several ministries and the un
minustah stabilization mission headquarters
there were no immediate estimates on the number of victims but images and
reports from the stricken city suggested substantial casualties
most of the phone lines are down in port au prince don have news from my
relatives leonie hermantin told afp
we couldn contact people working in the office of our organization there
she said referring to her employer the lambi fund of haiti dedicated to
helping the most impoverished nation in the western hemisphere
people are trying to get some information on friends and relatives by the
internet and via facebook hermantin added
george cadet who works for fruit and vegetable importing company garland said
he was glued to several haitian radio stations in miami trying to assess the
extent of the quake damage in port au prince
pretty calm he said most of my family lives far away from port au
prince
haitian groups estimate the number of haitians in miami at around
making it one of the biggest foreign communities in the city after the cuban
population
us calls for release of iran mourning mothers activists
washington jan afp
the united states called tuesday for the immediate release of iran so called
mourning mothers whose children were killed detained or disappeared during
post election violence in the country
the united states urges the immediate and unconditional release of the dozens
of members of the mourning mothers group said secretary of state hillary
clinton in statement
the women were reportedly violently dispersed during peaceful vigil in
tehran on saturday clinton statement said
these women whose children have been killed detained or have gone missing in
post election violence in iran were exercising their universal right to
peaceful expression clinton said
kaleme org the website of opposition leader mir hossein mousavi reported that
the demonstrators were arrested in the laleh park in tehran
they have reportedly done nothing more than peacefully express their grief and
seek accountability from their government the top us diplomat said
as woman mother and person of conscience my heart goes out to them and
their families
if the iranian government wants the respect of the international community it
must respect the rights of its people it must govern through consent and not
coercion
brazil concerned for peacekeepers in haiti
sao paulo jan afp
brazil on tuesday expressed deep concern about the safety of un
peacekeepers under its command in earthquake devastated haiti
there is information that some un military installations suffered damage
information is being gathered on the situation of the brazilian troops in
minustah the un stabilization mission in haiti and other brazilians working
for the un the foreign ministry said in statement
brazilian president luiz inacio lula da silva expressed his deep concern over
the situation of the brazilians and the haitian people it said lula also said
brazil was looking at what help it could send
the un peacekeeping mission in haiti counts total of around soldiers of
various nationalities under brazilian command and police
around brazilian soldiers are incorporated in the mission alongside
troops from argentina bolivia canada chile ecuador france guatemala
jordan nepal paraguay peru the philippines south korea the united states
and uruguay
the head of the un department of peacekeeping operations alain leroy said in
statement that the minustah headquarters in he haitian capital has sustained
serious damage along with other un installations from earthquake that hit
haiti on tuesday
he added for the moment large number of personnel remain unaccounted for
the un peacekeeping mission was set up in haiti in june to ensure security
following an armed insurrection that forced then president jean bertrand
aristide to flee the country
the peacekeepers have been regularly challenged by bloody fueds between armed
drug trafficking gangs
most taiwanese oppose smoking on the move
taipei jan afp
most taiwanese approve of plans to ban smoking while walking survey showed
wednesday indicating that proposed law to curb tobacco use on the move will
enjoy broad public support
nearly percent of the island residents oppose smoking while travelling on
foot and more than percent are against smoking while driving according to
survey of over people conducted by taiwan institute of economic research
the poll comes as the environmental protection administration is drafting bill
that will make it illegal to smoke while walking riding motorbike or driving
car
violators will face fine of taiwan dollars us dollars if the law
is approved by parliament the agency said
taiwan has been part of worldwide trend looking to tighten anti smoking rules
in recent years the island banned smoking in all indoor public places in early
it has also outlawed all cigarette advertisement and imposed health tax on
cigarettes move the health department credits with helping to cut smoking by
percent
lung cancer has long been leading cause of death in taiwan which has about
five million smokers out of total population of million according to
government figures
tennis sydney international results
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
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
scenes of horror devastation in port au prince
port au prince jan afp
in just one terrifying minute the earth convulsed tuesday in haiti flattening
buildings and casually tossing chunks of twisted metal and concrete into the
air
thousands fled sobbing in terror and panic onto the streets of the capital port
au prince seeking to escape the fury of the earthquake
but hundreds are feared to have been killed in yet another tragedy to strike the
impoverished caribbean nation which is still trying to recover from series of
hurricanes and storms
the center of port au prince has been destroyed it catastrophe wailed
pierre covered in dust and so shocked he could hardly speak as he surveyed the
devastation around him having walked several kilometers to find his house
no corner of the city had been spared from the wave of destruction which
unleashed its fury on the two million inhabitants for full seconds
witnesses said
many have been forced to abandon the ruins of their homes and were squatting in
sports grounds and open spaces few dared to return indoors terrified of being
buried in one of the huge aftershocks which continued to rock the nation
when we get an idea of the toll it will be measured in the hundreds local
doctor who was bloodied and nursing an injured left arm told afp
rescue efforts were hampered when communications were snapped in the minutes
after the earthquake struck at gmt
haitians said the imposing white presidential palace in center of the city
as well as hospitals hotels and schools had simply all collapsed
of those buildings left standing many were scarred by long fissures where the
plaster and bricks had cracked in the force of the quake
the headquarters of the united nations mission in the country had been leveled
local employee of the un force told afp
the headquarters of the united nations stabilization mission in haiti has been
destroyed in large part there are numerous people underneath the rubble both
dead and injured local employee of the force said
the quake was felt as far away as cuba and the dominican republic but most
initial damage was found in and around the haitian capital
petionville suburb some kilometers seven miles east of the capital was
also badly hit
saw lots of destruction on my way but escaped when the building where
work collapsed said marie claire who works in medical lab in port au
prince
the devastation will only add to the poverty and hardship already faced by the
nation of million people where half of the people are unemployed and some
percent live on less than two dollars day
shortly after the massive quake night fell on the capital plunging an already
tense city and its ravaged streets into darkness and accentuating the panic and
terror among the population
haitian police vehicles as well as those from the united nations and the red
cross tried to ferry the wounded to hospital but progress was slow as chunks of
rubble lay strewn across the roads
communications were also poor with many telephone lines snapped
most radio and television stations had also stopped functioning and the
airwaves were only punctuated by few rare radio appeals for help
at the french school in haiti many pupils remained inside anxiously awaiting
news of their parents no one is hurt and many people have come here to seek
shelter teacher said
early pictures showed scenes of utter devastation as pall of grey smoke hung
over part of one city as dazed residents stared helplessly around them or
rushed to help the injured
oil prices down in asian trade
singapore jan afp
oil prices were lower in asian trade wednesday on signs of softening energy
demand in the us the world biggest oil consumer analysts said
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
signs of weaker us energy demand emerged after the american petroleum institute
api reported tuesday crude stocks in the country rose million barrels
gasoline reserves increased by over six million barrels in the past week it
said with distillate stocks including heating oil up million barrels
the distillates showed build of million barrels which is lot more than
people expected said clarence chu an oil trader with hudson capital energy in
singapore
the api figures come ahead of key weekly us department of energy due later
wednesday which is widely monitored for clues on demand in the world largest
energy user
analysts polled by dow jones newswires expect the doe report to show one
million barrel increase in crude stocks in the past week and gasoline reserves
to also increase by the same margin
philippines concerned over its un staff in quake hit haiti
manila jan afp
